first main event experience (part 2 of 3)
I wake up at 5am on Sunday(1d) and I'm completely wide awake thinking about getting started in a few hours. I finally fell asleep at 2am so that's a total of 3 hrs for the big day. Try and lie down for a bit around 9am but it's absolutely not happening. Oh well, off to the Rio with almost no sleep but figure adrenelyne should keep me going, not even remotely close to tired at this point.
Seat assignment is in the secondary room where they play the cash games, I recognize two guys at my table from the qualifier, 1 guy actually started the satellite the day before with me. That really helped ease me in, I rarely get nervous but this is obviously a whole new ball game and I wasn't sure what to expect. There were a couple of older gentleman that were pretty weak and was completely comfortable with my table. I try and stay aware of my image and being close to 40 the "kids" automatically peg you as weak tight, but not mixing it up too much I find that I can steal hands fairly often without showing. I tried to use this as much as I could and it was fairly effective.
I play a few hands early and I'm pretty much around my starting stack of 30k, an aggressive french kid raises from cutoff and i call from the sb with a10h. Flop comes qsjs5d, i check and he continues. i think this probably looks like a flop I might like so plan on trying to steal later in the hand or even spike the gutter. Turn is offsuit j, which is the perfect card to represent, and I lead out, he immediately mucks. a10 was probably good there but felt good to steal anyway. A couple of hands later I raise from cutoff with j10s and the button calls. Flop was 942 rainbow, I lead out and button calls. I put him on 66/77/88 and the turn is a 5. I bet out again and he tanks for awhile before mucking. Up a little and feeling great as I really haven't hit anything. UTG i raise with 75c, don't want to be too predictable. Get 3 callers and the flop comes down q75. ok, this has some serious potential, lead out and everybody folds, oh well. Next time around the table I pick up qq utg and raise, get called by utg +1 and aggresive european kid I played with in qualifier from the sb. Flop comes down qcjc5s, dangerous enough not to get cute so I bet at it and they both call. turn is the 9s, I have a very bad feeling that k10 is out there so when small blind checks I check and was kind of surprised when guy to my left checks also. River is the beautiful 5c. At this point the pot is about $2500 and the sb leads out for $600, I raise to $2100, the guy to my left groans and folds, later says he had the 10-8 clubs and tried to get cute. i absolutely believe him as he def wore his emotions on his sleeve. Anyway, kid the hits it to $9000. Hmmm, wasn't expecting that at all, to this point i don't think a single pot was any bigger than about 3k. i go in the tank for about 3 mins and i keep playing the hand back and the only hand I can put him on is 55. I played with him the night before and he is a typical 21 year old northen european agro so I just do see him smooth calling jj there. Maybe peeled one off with 99 or maybe getting out of line with a flush. I decide to just call with my queen's full, show my hand,the kid instantly mucks and I've just become the table donkey judging by the reactions. What?!? How do you just call there?!? I honestly couldn't put him on a single hand that he would call a push other than 55. Anyway, put it behind me and move on. Two hands later I pick up a4h on the small and it's folded to me so I just limp. BB checks it. Flop comes 910j with two hearts. I bet at it and the bb calls, turn is offsuit 7, i check and call a bet from bb. river is the qh, I lead out with a solid bet and get a call. Opponent has k8, he turned the straight and rivered the top end of it, perfect river card. I'm now up to about 43k.
We are probably about half way through the second level and the tables start shrinking. It gets to our table and we are headed to the amazon room. We have to bag our chips and walk single file behind security through some back area to get there. Then boom, amazon door flies open and security is trying to move the crowd out of the way so we can get through "PLAYERS COMING THROUGH! PLAYERS COMING THROUGH", not gonna lie, enjoyed this a lot.
Get seated at my table and there are def a couple of really tough players but also some pretty weak ones. Early on I get q10d on the small blind, button limps (a little scary) so I call, and bb checks. Flop comes q73 and I'm not sure about the button so i decide to keep it small and check it, bb checks and button checks also. Turn is a 2, I lead out and bb raises me, button folds. I'm thinking he made some crappy two pair but it seems a little forced so I call the raise. The river is a 6 I believe and I check to him, he bets $3100 into the pot and I stare at him for a solid minute. He won't look at me, is holding his breath and just seems terrified. Decide to hope I'm right and call with the q, he instantly mucks. Dealer says i have to show to win the pot, never heard of that before but show the q10. Feeling absolutely great and pushing 50k.
I had raised a couple of times on a young euro pro who didn't like having a middle aged guy leaning on his blinds. I win a pot with k10 and the next time around I raise with a3h and he comes over the top, i call it. Hoping to steal later in the hand if I miss. Flop was 1094, 1 heart, he leads out at it and I smooth call. Second 9 hits the turn and he makes another big bet at it. He def seems to want me to fold but i chicken out and let it go, might have been a good time to raise but it just doesn't seem worth the risk. Next time around i pick up akc and raise it from the cutoff, button calls , sb calls and he 3 bets it which I'm pretty sure he was going to do. Think about hitting it again but once again chicken out and smooth call, the other two fold. Flop comes down almost the same at the last one 1092 and this time he checks it. Totally out of character so I have a bad feeling and check. Turn is another 10 and he checks again. Hmmm 9's full? complete air? i have no idea what he has and check behind. River is a total brick and leads out for a big bet on the river of $6200. I'm thinking he has 99, aq or aj. I tank and at that point I feel somebody looking over my shoulder, look back and espn guys are there with camera watching my hand play out. I make the hero call with a high. He shows qq, which i really didn't see coming. Looking back I think "you idiot, did you really just kiss away $6200 in the main event with a high?" yep, i did.
Won a decent pot with aq and then raised with ak and the short stack moved in for his last 5k, I had raised it to 1k so immediately called. He shows aqs, flops two spades but it bricks out and im sitting at about 48k again. Get past supper break and play again, we've lost some players and our table is getting tougher. I'm in one seat and 9 seat gets seated wearing his aussie millions bracelet. Didn't recognize him but he was a tough aggressive player. I'm on bb with 10-8 off, button limps, he limps from small and i check it. flop comes down 448, he bets it at and i'm pretty sure he doesn't have a 4 so i figure ill represent one and might have the best hand anyway. I smooth call the flop with the intention of raising him on the turn. q turns and he checks it, I make a small bet which he calls, river is a 2. I make a pretty solid bet at the river and he tanks for awhile and mucks, can see the steam coming off of him and enjoying life. Only other hand of note came late in the last session, the kid that i caught bluffing earlier is on the big so it's folded to me. I limp on the small with k5d, he raises and i don't mind playing a pot with him as i usually know where he stands. Flop comes down kj5, i check and he bets $1600 and I check raise to $4200, really surprised when he calls, turn is offsuit 7 and I bet 7k and he folds. This takes me to about $55000 in the last level of the day.
At this point I am completely drained and I'm watching the clock like I'm back in university accounting class with the time just crawling down. I'm thinking "wtf is the matter with you, this is the main event, enjoy every second of it" but honestly I was so completely drained and have just played the two most exhausting days of poker in my life with hardly any sleep. I'm more than happy to come back with this stack on day 2 and really don't want any tough decisions to set me back. I end up pretty much folding away a few more times around the table until it's time to bag em. End the day with exactly $52,750 and feel extremely satisfied with the day and how it went. Had the one set with qq and outside of a blind steal with another qq didn't have a premium pair or set. I probably bluffed at/stole 7-8 pots post flop and along with some blinds steals felt I played great without really risking much the entire day.
My buddy won a seat in the main event the previous year and tried to tell me how draining it was but you really have to play it to appreciate how long the day really is. I guess it doesn't help having such little sleep but to be honest I wouldn't change a thing. Just a great day that I'll always have to look back on.
This turned out to be way longer that I intended so hope i haven't bored anybody too much but enjoyed recreating my adventure. Day 2b to follow.
Def not too long - enjoy the detail and perspective. Wonder if you would have made the hero call on that one hand if ESPN camera was not involved.
Fascinating read. Those of us who have to live the dream vicariously can't get enough of the this type of nitty gritty. I can start to imagine how it feels to actually play in this event by reading your report. Great job. Can't wait for part 3.
I enjoyed reading this so the length didn't bother me at all. Dare I say I would enjoy even more detail. I'm curious about the hand where the dealer said you had to show to win the hand after villain mucked. Did you consider calling the floor to ask about this? In the end it might not be that big of a deal but in my opinion you had to give information about you to the rest of the table that you shouldn't have had to. Anyone else have insight on this?
Looking forward to part 3.
@wisak7
I heard Bryan Devonshire and Jimmy Fricke talking about this rule on the lone PokerRoad Radio show from the WSOP this year. One of them (I think Fricke) said a dealer called that rule on him and he did call the floor who confirmed that was their rule. I think this is another one of the rules designed to prevent collusion, but I don't like it. The bluff and instamuck when called situation happens often enough that I don't think that alone gives people reason to suspect collusion.
Thanks for writing report, I enjoyed read it. One of my goals is to someday play in the main event.
Great read so far.....more please!
Thanks for sharing your experience with us.
Thanks for the feedback guys, I enjoy writing about it but wouldn't if I didn't know if anybody else was interested or not. Somebody mentioned that the hero/idiot call took place with espn over my shoulder and if that might have affected my decision. I would have to say it must have, it def wasn't a rushed decision but looking back it seemed I was talking myself into what i hoped his hand was and not being remotely objective. I rarely make boneheaded calls like that and it didn't seem so at the time but it had to have been a factor. I was conscious of the cameras being there but was far from feeling panicked/rushed/pressured or anything like that, but maybe just them just being there was enough to subtly affect my thought process. Anyway, I was happy with the way I put it behind me and still rallied, but would still love to have that decision back. I could say of day 1 that I played great and didn't do anything stupid!
looking back, i didn't 4 bet him so he probably didn't think ak was in my range. Therefore he felt a little safer giving away free cards like he did. Well played him, he def got the max out of me.
@missingflops
I heard Bryan Devonshire and Jimmy Fricke talking about this rule on the lone PokerRoad Radio show from the WSOP this year. One of them
think Fricke) said a dealer called that rule on him and he did call the floor who confirmed that was their rule. I think this is another one of the rules designed to prevent collusion, but I don't like it. The bluff and instamuck when called situation happens often enough that I don't think that alone gives people reason to suspect collusion.[/quote]
At the two Oklahoma casinos where I have played the most, Winstar in Thackerville and Choctaw in Durant, this rule applies in any hand that goes to showdown. In fact, I remember seeing dealers asking players to show both cards at least twice the last time I was at Choctaw, after the remaining players in the hand had already mucked. The venues where I periodically play in the Dallas area also use this rule. I have only spent a few days in Vegas (during two trips in 04 and 06) and do not recall any hands where the rule would have applied.
Is the requirement for showing two cards to win a hand at showdown not a common rule in LV casinos? What about casinos in other parts of the country?
Edited to add bold text, cuz I definitely have seen dealers ask players to show both cards more than twice.
I was under the impression that if there's a bet and a call on the river, even if one player mucks, the winning player must show their hand to receive the pot?
In my experience if only one player has a live hand at showdown that player gets the pot and doesnt have to show. Now thats different from the situation where the person who's supposed to show first says something like, "I missed" but doesn't muck his hand. In that case the dealer won't push the pot till hands are tabled.
I think that it's different if you bet and he mucks opposed to betting, calling then muck.
This is a fantastic read. I'm loving the honesty about it. Esp the follow uP comment about the cameras being there! Looking forward to part 3.
I also saw that part 1 had a mention from Dan Savage on his twitter (may have already been mentioned)
Unfortunately you'll get lots more honesty in part 3.
I didn't know part 1 got mentioned in a twitter update. What is the link? And who is Dan Savage?
@bucktooth1
I'm pretty sure he meant Matt Savage the renowned poker tournament director and not Dan Savage who writes a relationship and sex advice column.
Here is a link to Matt Savage's Twitter post where he linked to the trip report. Matt is really good about taking questions on Twitter regarding tournament rulings and it looks like someone was asking him about what the staff was doing during the bubble play in your satellite.
Can an admin check if there is a problem with part 3 of 3? I can see it but it comes up as nobody having viewed it. It's hurting my feelings.
Something weird is going on. If I pull up the trip reports forum, I see that topic listed, but when I click on it, it says topic does not exist. I sent the OD a message about the problem.
The OD is the man who can fix anything!
Stand by folks... Sometimes he can even fix things without even touching his keyboard...just by using the force.
Bucktooth,
Please don't have you're feeling hurt. It seems to be a tech glitch. I actually got into to read the 3rd part but then couldn't comment. In case, I haven't already done so -- thank you for posting about your journey in the Main Event. It was very interesting and you couldn't possibly put too much detail in. I enjoyed all 3 parts although I wish part 3 had a better ending. Still thanks again and I hope that part 3 shows up where it's easier to see and comment on soon, because I'm sure a number of people will enjoy it.
Dave
I have toying with playing the main event for a couple of years now and decided I to get serious with satellites etc for next year.. clearing my schedule for the dates as we speak... this was a fascinating read and I found it interesting how you played the pots - certainly the rivered full house - would you say you approached that differently because it was the main event. Ie looking for monsters in players hands... I understand completely your call rather than raise because of winning a big enough pot however honestly in any other tournament are you shipping them all in there.... Is there a case of I dont want to go out at this stage or do you think cautious play is not a bad thing. I read an article from a Pro who was amazed how quickly amateurs in the main event try to get all in... going to read the next chapter!
hi - Just read part 3 - found it... as noted something wrong with it on the forum though..hopefully they will sort it soon so we can comment! Its one of the most interesting pieces I have read regarding the experience of playing the main event. Thank you for posting in such detail and dont be so hard on yourself... cooler exit. Unlucky.
hey Jaychee,
thanks for the reply, I will say I'd squirrel away a few extra pennies and if you are going to play a qualifier, skip the $500 one and play the $1000(+60). The play was similar but it seemed tough enough grinding my way to the top 60ish, can't imagine trying to outlast half that field again.
There were a few factors in the qq's full hand, I don't think I've ever just called top full house in my life. Factor 1, I really didn't want to be under 5k 3 hours into the tourney. Any other tourney I would just push and if i ran into quads i ran into quads. Other factors were the fact that I honestly couldn't put him on a hand he would call a push with. This analysis is probably incorrect though, he was a young euro, barely looked 21 so maybe he could have made a panic mistake and called with ace high flush. I know there wasn't a hand I could have had that i would have called a push with but he could have done something dumb. Third factor was the tables were breaking behind me so I wasn't that worried about my image. It felt kind of like "inception" with me being in a dream (main event) and the tables were collapsing behind me. Anyway, I could see we weren't going to be long for the table so image wasn't a factor. With all those factors I just felt conservative was the way to go in this spot. If you read my posts I have no problem admitting when I do something dumb but I really don't mind the call here. Def very consdervative but I just don't see him having a full house here. It's either a flush, a bluff (unlikely) or quads (unlikely). Forgot to mention factor 4, I mentioned my buddy played last year and late on day 3 he flopped a set of 8's over a set of 7's. Villain hit 4th 7 on the river. His last piece of advice before coming in was "don't have a boat run into quads and you'll be fine". Then we had a chuckle. I would have to say that snuck into my thouggt process too.
Great read. I think your smooth call with top full is correct.
He's three-bet the river. Either
1) He just doesn't believe you and thinks he can steal the pot
2) He has a big hand -- JJ, 99, or 55
3) He has the nut flush and doesn't see the board is paired
In 1, he's not calling a shove. 3 seems unlikely by the time he three bets, and to call off with the flush on a paired board he has to be terrible or totally in a daze. A very good player would check-call or lead-fold to the raise. An OK player might lead-call the raise.
So either he has 55 and will snap call your shove. Or he has JJ and might call. I think 99 has to put you on QQ/JJ if you shove. Like you, I don't see much value in raising.
Ah yes, Matt Savage not Dan Savage. Now i think about it, Dan Savage is some crazy sex coloumnist that writes about the bizarre. Someone told me...
Hey Bucktooth, you mentioned something about Hockey stadiums. Did you mean when going to watch? because it seemed to me that you were saying that you had played NHL.
[quote="Vancouvervilla"]Ah yes, Matt Savage not Dan Savage. Now i think about it, Dan Savage is some crazy sex coloumnist that writes about the bizarre. Someone told me...
Hey Bucktooth, you mentioned something about Hockey stadiums. Did you mean when going to watch? because it seemed to me that you were saying that you had played NHL.[/quote]
I def didn't mean to come off like I played in the NHL. I was talking about events I was really pumped up for and that would be high school and senior level hockey games on the east coast. We might get 3 thousand people packed into an arena to watch us play game 7 type situation. Sorry for any confusion, believe me, no scouts were ever watching me play!
Great trip report so far buck. Are you still on the east coast? If so, whereabouts?
I have been trying to win enough to get into the Main Event for the last 4 years. Got close to winning in a PokerStars satellite a few years ago and also in a casino satellite in Niagara Falls, but never far enough.
I played in one of the $240 2pm tourneys this year in the hopes of winning enough cash to pay for the entry but alas I was pretty sick this year and finished just outside the money. I also played in a couple of the $330 satellites last year but those are so fast it's hard to win unless you get sick cards. In any event I will try again next year and after reading your trip report I think maybe I'll give the $1k satellite a go.
On to part 3.
Jess