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[Jun. 15th, 2007|11:46 am] |
On Monday, we went over to Venetian and played the $330 NL tourney. It got about 550 entrants, and 1st was like $52k. Play was predictably terrible - I'd guess something like 3/4 of the field had no chance of winning the event. The hyped 'deepstack' structure was, of course, not particularly deep. 40 minute levels live just aren't long enough with how slowly people play. I had chipped up from the original 6k starting stack to about 8k when I played the following hand: Blinds 100/200/25a. I raise to 600 from mp with JsJh. 40ish rich bored guy who had been splashing around trying to go bust so he could make his dinner reservation (why play?) calls from the BB and insta-shoves a Ts8s3h flop; he has like 4k total. I call quickly and he tables Ac9s. Turn is the As so I still have outs with jacks and spades, but river bricks and I'm semi crippled. Nothing major happens after that; I shove a few times and don't get called, then the bustout hand. 6 limpers in the field, I check in the BB with 9c2c. Flop is Qc9h4c. I lead, committing myself, UTG raises enough to put me in. He has AQ with no clubs, but I brick and GHN.
Conveniently, Chris, Pete and I all busted at the exact same time so we went home and played some stuff online. I ended up taking down the late night $109 20k gtd. on Stars for $9300. It was certainly nice to start the trip with a win. Pete was sitting next to me sweating basically the entire tourney which made it even more fun. He'd give thoughts here and there so he was invested in the results too. We were both pretty giddy after the win, despite it being 3:30 a.m., so we had a few celebratory drinks. I was lucky to pick up some hands at the ft and get action on them, e.g. 4-handed I make a standard raise on the button with AA and the SB shoves with AJ and I hold. Then I won two races (55>KQs and 99>AQs) to bust the guys in 3rd and 2nd, respectively. I also played an $11r satellite to the 150 seat wsop thing on Stars and won that seat...it feels like there's sort of a lot of pressure to win the main event seat this Sunday so I hope I get that taken care of.
On Tuesday, I slept in, and decided to play the $50k on Stars when I woke up. I got a stack going early but sort of floundered for a while until I ended up racing for a 45k pot which would've put me top 5 in chips right on the bubble. I had AhKd and shoved over an ep raiser, he called with QQ no dime, flop is 3 low diamonds, and somehow I don't get there??? After busting, Chris and I went to play a round of twilight at Wildhorse, the public course that's 3 minutes away. I'm not much of a golfer - ok, I suck and rarely play, but I like being out there and I like drinking so at least there's that. Somehow I managed to play pretty well - I matched Chris' 49 on the front 9 (he plays a lot so I guess that was good), even sinking a 12 foot birdie putt on a par 4 for my first birdie ever (I think). The wheels fell off the wagon a little on the back 9, particularly on the longer par 5s. On one of these I hit two tee shots (I take mulligans liberally from the tee because I suck) on a straight line out of bounds to the exact same spot. Later, I hit a 5 iron directly at the next teebox (which was only about 20 yards to the left of the pin I was aiming for), but I managed hit the golf cart of the guys in front of us, which I thought was hilarious, and they were good guys and laughed about it too. The ball took a super favorable bounce off their cart and I had an easy chip to get on (golf is ez). I finished up pretty strong and closed out with a 105, which for this being the first time out this summer isn't bad for me.
Tuesday night, I decided to take Chris and Pete out for a decent meal to celebrate the Stars win. We went to Sushi Roku at Caesar's, which is one of my favorite restaurants in Vegas. They both ate steaks (puss house about eating raw fish), but I ate like 24 pieces of sushi and it was delicious. The vibe of that place reminds me of South Beach - like, nobody is really dressed up, but you don't want to look like a piece of shit either. Casual chic is the term they use, I guess. They also play good music. It's loungey, but it isn't too 'W hotel acid-jazz-we're-trying-to-sound-hip-but-everyone-knows-this-music-sucks-ish'. Like, you might hear Sneaker Pimps there. Anyway, recommended.
On Wednesday, Chris and I headed over to Binion's to play their $150 PLO tourney. I was impressed with the way this tourney was run. We went to sort of donk around and check out the scene over there since they are running daily tourneys, and I'm glad we did. Shannon Elizabeth played and she was in my line of sight for the duration of my tourney existence; this obviously made the trip worthwhile. I never got anything going in the tourney, but Chris ended up getting a ton of chips so I decided to bail and cabbed it over to the Rio. I watched some of the $2500 NL final table with Devon Porter and John Phan. I saw Devon double up on a really crazy hand. They were 4-handed, blinds were 30k/60k I think. Guy opens utg for 180k, Devon moves in from the SB for around 500k total, utg calls. Devon has 3s3h, other guy has Ad7d. Flop comes 542, two diamonds. Turn pairs the 5. River 3d, giving the other guy the nut flush, but Devon makes a boat. Even Devon thought he was toast when the dime peeled, but the place went nuts; it'll be a great tv hand. I also railed some of the $5k NL event, which had a pretty stacked field. It occurred to me how silly it must feel to play these tourneys if you're someone like Chip Reese. The buy-in is a bit more than half a bet in the game you play...he seemed bored and busted while I was there.
Later Wednesday night I decided to play the late $109 on Stars again and took 3rd this time for $3500. There was some pretty massive hosage this time, but it happened in spots where the plays were absolute no brainers. First one, I think blinds were 200/400 and really active guy directly on my right raises, I have like 11.5k and TT. I shove, Pete is directly to my left at the table and sitting across the room from me in real life. He says, "I don't think I can fold." I reply, "do what you have to do." He overshoves 20k. Original raiser instacalls with AA. Pete has AK. I spike a T on the flop and no one else improves, so I then have a ton of chips. Around bubble time I have QQ hold against A2 for a huge pot. At the final table I shove 77 from the sb on a lp raiser only to have the bb wake up with AA. So that cripples me, and a few hands later I'm forced to shove AQ against an ep raise and a flatcall in between. Ep raiser has KK, but I spike an ace on the river to get back to almost average. Three handed, the other two were playing very, very timidly, trying to lock up 2nd place money so I was shoving a whole bunch, probably top 40% or so, and I eventually shoved K6 from the sb into the JJ of the bb and failed to hose for once.
Yesterday I played my first $540 at Venetian. 10k starting chips, same structure as the 330s, 40 minute levels, etc. Huge field again, around 550 entrants I guess, so first was $78k. I didn't really have many interesting hands...just chipped up slowly in the early going. There was one spot I hated. Blinds 200/400/25a. I have like 17k and raise to 1200 utg+1 with TT. Guy two behind me recently doubled in a huge pot with top 2 against top and bottom so he's sitting on like 60k. He flatcalls. Guy two behind him has like 7k total and shoves, it folds back around to me. I have no idea what to do here. Guy with 7k is a younger, competent internet player. He had shoved over a raise previously once and showed AK. He takes zero time to make his decision. I guess his range is basically TT+, AK, so I decide to fold. It's a weird spot because it feels like if I'm significantly shorter or deeper, I probably have to call...Huge stack folds too somehow and says while pointing to me, "if he was callin, then i'm a-defuhnettleh callin". Bustout hand happens at 300/600/50a. I have like 22k. Imminently trappable older guy raises to 2k from CO. I flat in the BB with KK. Flop Q-high, check, bet, raise, instashove, instacall. He has AQ, turn Q, ighn. I came home and felt like getting obliterated so Chris and I went on a beer run, then grabbed dinner at this place called Memphis Barbeque here in Henderson. It was good and cheap, so I'm sure we'll go back. When we came home, I convinced Chris to take part in my desperate attempts to cling to youth and we did a power hour and played battleship style hu matches with no blind increases on stars. Good times.
Today I don't really feel like playing so I sat out the daily stuff online. Think I'll go to the pool and chill and maybe play some golf later. I want to be as fresh as possible for the wsop sats on Sunday. |
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