My dream trip to the world series will try to update daily
Well my dream trip has arrived. Let me give you a bit of a background on me and then I'll start with the details of yesterday and today. I won the Friday afternoon 280 buyin tournament at the Borgata in Atlantic city. back in August of 2007it was a real nice pay day and my biggest win of my poker career. With that win I put aside 10k and promised my self that I wold take a shot at the main event.
Thurs- So I flew out on Thursday with my cousin Andy who's a nice player in his own right, which is great to have some support and encouragement. We got in thursday at about six checked in at the Rio and since we hadn't ate all day quickly went to the cafe and had a nice meal just beating the rush of players heading for the dinner break of day 1a. Being that the Amazon room was cleared out after we ate we were able to get front row seats to watch the tv table for level 4. Scotty Wynn was playing in it which was really cool since he is a great guy to watch play as he likes to acknowledge the crowd. We had a nice time just relaxing and taking pictures of the table, as well as soem pictures of Joe Hachem who came by. demetri Knobles was sitting next to us. And as we walked around we got to get some good shots of Barry Greenstein and Phil hellmuth. Defenitly a nice way to spend some time and soak in the WSOP.
Friday July 4th- My plan coming in was to register for day1d on Sunday giving me a chance to play in Caesar's 330 buy in tournament on Friday and try to just get some of the jitters out :) being that I haven't held a hand of cards in my hands in a few months as I have been busy with the end of the school year (im a high school teacher) and have been relegated to playing on pokerstars. Unfortunatly my plan was nixed this morning when I went to sign up only to find out that day 1d had been closed out, I'm guessing they need to hold some seats for everyone that is playing in the satellites tomorrow. So with Caesar's tournament being a two day event I and not wanting to play all day with fifty minute levels I decided to skip that and headed to the the Orleans (for the first time) for their noon tournament. it was an 80 dollar buy in with 4000 starting chips 20 minute levels for the first three then moving to 30 minute levels in the 4th level and onward.
Orleans tournament- tournament started with 93 players paying the final table of nine. my goal in this tournament in all honesty was to have fun not put pressure on myself but to simply try to work on some little plays that I have studied over the past months that I had been putting into practice the past few online ever since i read Daniel Negreanu's new book which I cant say enough of, I believe it will becoem a classic. His theories of Small ball are really amazing. Anyway lost about 30 percent of my chips as I had to lay down pocket 6s 7s and 9s to very high cards post flop. Once I won my first pot I started to settle in and began slowly raising my stack by stealing small pots.
My first big pot happened and boy did i get chewed out by someone for this ( have no idea why) level three 75 150 I'm on the button three guys call, I look down to see pocket jacks I decide to just call and see what the flop brings as I have been raising alot 2.5 times the big blind and didnt think that would do much with three callers already. small and big also call. flop comes out 4 6 10 rainbow. checked around to me I bet 500 blinds fold next guy calls. fold fold. turn 2. Check I bet 1200 guy calls river 3 guy checks I bet 2400 he goes into the tank. calls shows A 10 I take down a nice pot. he screaks that my play is horrible. I ignore as he tell the guy next to him how horrible my raises are. win a coupke of more mid pots get moved to a new table as we are down to about 55 players and im at about 12000 chips.
Next pot I get insulted for. blinds are up to 300 600 and I have been card dead for about an hour but have kept my stack about the same by stealing some small pots. I'm on the button and before the hand starts the big blind gets up and goes to the bathroom so his hand gets mucked immediatly. folded around to me. Small blind has been a true rock since Ive been at this table. so with somewhere like 1500 in the pot before anything I've pretty much decided to raise at least a little no matter what my cards are. I look 8 3 diamonds. i raise to 1500, if he raises me or i hit nothing on the flop and he bets I of course get away from it. he calls, flop 8 3 J rainbow, he checks, I bet 1600 hoping he will think i was just trying to steal this pot. He calls. turn 5. he checks I check. river another three. he checks i bet out 2500 he goes all in I cal. he shows King Queen. Starts cursing up a storm. " How the *&*# do you play 8 3. Was it a bad raise? love some feed back on that.
at about 25000 chips level is now 400 800 with 75 ante when fourth to act raises to 2000 I call with K 10 spades and we are heads up flop comes out 9 of spades 4 of spades and 10 of hearts. He goes all in for 13000 more. I call. he shows Q 5 of spades I have him dominated. Turn K of Hearts then u guessed it Jack of clubs. Im down to 9000 I try to survive. and look for a shot to double up. before you know it we are at two tables and about 16 players left and I am card dead and bust out with A 7 to pocket 9s at the 1000 2000 level. what can you do.
I walked out feeling real good about my play even though I didn't cash. spent the rest of the day relaxing, and tryign to get myself mentally prepared for tomm. I went to Caesars and sweated my cousin for a while, he ended up getting 81st missing the money as they were paying 53.
Well thats where I am at. Tomm is my big day, Im feeling pressure im anxious and nervous but all the while excited. I can honestly say im playing some of the best poker I have ever played. So tomm I'll go in with an open mind try to win a quick pot and calm some nerves i assume I'll have and just try my best. My goal survive and make it to day 2. One day at a time, u know?
I'll write another blog tomorrow and let u know how it goes :) If all goes well ill be back wednesday for day 2. if the worst happens Ill take Sunday off and hit Ceasars championship tournament or the venetian deep stack series. but im hoping i won't have to make that decision
There are quite a few crusty old locals that play at the Orleans. But it's a good tournament. I understand why you played the 8 3 hand. I don't understand why he called you all the way down. I guess he wasn't as much of a rock as you thought he was.
Good luck in the Main Event.
Well played. Good luck today (?). I'm guess this was a trip report from Friday but didn't get posted until today.
On the hands, I'd raise with JJ. You're ahead pre-flop and not likely to be good on the flop. But there's something to be said for playing unconventionally. You got the other guy to give up a lot of chips with TPTK drawing slim.
I love the raise with 83. BB gets up and walks and everyone folds, WTF. You have position, dead money and one guy to beat, so raise ATC. Not sure why you checked the turn, but the other guy is a donkey. He checked raised all-in with king high -- was he representing a three?
Good play with the 8,3.Exactly how I would have played it.Good luck in the main!
Nice report! Hope you are still down there playing right now.
@Mikexcx
Is this player any relation to casino owner Steve Wynn?
Sorry, just had to ask.
Absolutely nothing wrong with the 8/3 hand. It was a position raise and he was stupid for playing a marginal hand like KQ OOP. As for the guy earlier with A10, he was just pissed that he lost the hand. But he played the hand terribly, by check calling the whole way down as well as playing A10 out of position. If he is gonna play that hand he needs to lead out. I don't like limping with JJ on the button, but there is nothing wrong with mixing up your play there. Good luck in the main event. Hopefully AVPers can make a good showing.
Whats the name of the book by Negraneu? I'd be interested in reading it
Good report.... Hopefully you will have some even better stories to tell. I am guessing you are still playing in the ME since you haven't posted yet!
Sounds to me that you played well at the Orleans tourney, i have stayed at the Orleans on 7 of my 20 or so trips from the UK and i rate it the game as solid but well beatable in a good run room, good luck and enjoy ur main event i wish it was me ! I shall be on my next vist to Vegas 5 weeks today staying at Wynn + Red Rock for 17 days total i am so looking forward to it
Love the 8,3. Does he really expect you to fold PF there with the BB having gone?? I love situations like that in live games.
GL in the ME.
@mauihaole
Power Hold em' Strategy.
Good read and good luck Sir!
By Scotty Wynn he probably meant Scotty Nguyen .
Good luck in the ME.
Don't worry about getting chewed out regarding your play, doesn't matter what anyone says as long as you win. They want you to play 'their' way so they can win. Good luck.
The 8-3 was the right play. This is a matter of the person not understanding the situation and probably someone is only a level 1 player who only plays the cards and what sort of hand they make. The small blind made a horrible play by calling the raise OOP with KQ, the SB has to re-raise the button in that spot when your steal is obvious. You were dead right to pick up that the SB was too weak to make that sort of play. Good luck with the rest of the trip.
You bet into him and he calls you down with K high plus the board, and he's got the nerve to lay into you? Interesting. For what it is worth, I like your play in that hand.
Good luck in the big show.
Mikexcx: How did your day 1 go? Or did I miss it somewhere?