$1500 NLHE WSOP Event 2 Day 1

I am in the event, not as an alternate, but as a playa. The WSOP Staff eventually let in over 100 alternates to make the final field 2,305 players strong. The winner took home $725,000, with 200 players making the money. This was the second largest WSOP in history behind only the 2004 final event (the 2005 final event had 5,600, so it is now the third largest field in WSOP history).

My Goals for the tournament, in the order of importance:

1. Do not Bluff Off My Chips.

2. Play Strong Tight Aggressive Poker.

3. Make the Dinner Break.

4. Make the Money.

5. Make Day Two.

6. Make the Final Table.

7. Win the Bracelet.

Level I 25-25

I started in seat 11 with a table full of people that I did not recognize. That was a good thing. We all started with 1500 in chips and initial blinds of 25-25 and rounds lasting 60 minutes. I never fell below my starting stack and by the middle of the first round was already over 2,000. The players at the table were bad, worse and absolutely pathetic. I started playing the "can I name his hand" in any hand that went to a showdown before the cards were shown (called one kid's set of 10s perfectly before he turned it over). It was as easy a table as I had sat at in many months. AND IT WAS THE DAMN WSOP! Anyway, I was not complaining, especially since the gentleman in seat 10 was the ring leader of bad players (nice guy, but just a plain bad player) and he tripled up within the first 20 minutes. Yum, yum. Those chips were destined to be mine. Just please Lord, do not allow them to break this table too soon. I ended level one with 2,200 chips.

Level II 25-50

Midway through the second level, I had a chip count of approximate 2,900 when this hand comes up. I am in the SB and the action folds around to the CO. He limps, as does the button (Mr. bad player). I know they cannot handle any heat and raise to 250. The one factor I forgot about was that the BB was severely short stacked and he announces relatively forcefully and loudly that he is allin for 325. One of the ESPN camera crews was at the next table and swirl around to capture this hand's action and the boom mike goes right over my head. The CO and Button fold as expected. I start laughing and say "I am embarrassingly far behind, but I have to call." I call. Now if you have not noticed, I have not told you my hand. It was real junk, the 25d.

The BB had A9o. The flop comes J48 with one diamond. The turn was the 4 of diamonds. I start laughing knowing that I was likely about to give this guy a really bad beat. The river is the ......

5 of hearts.

The BB jumps out of his seat like a cannon and starts ranting about raising preflop with 52!!!! "What an idiot!!!!" And storms off. Before the camera moves I see out of the corner of my eye a wad of cash coming over my shoulder. It is Gyndok paying off the Last Longer Bet and says for the camera: "Just like on line eh Grip?"

I end the level with 3,250 chips

Level III 50-100

This level went relatively quitely, except for one memorable hand, and it was against Mr. Bad Player, "MBP." MBP had stayed relatively level since his early rush at around 5,000 chips. I was biding my time and I knew he would move when he shouldn't. I had around 5,500 when this came up:

I am on the Button with JJ. Action folds to MBP in CO, he limps. I raise to 500. BB calls as does MBP. The flop comes 10 6 4 rainbow. It is checked to me and I bet 1,200 leaving me 2,800. BB folds and MBP calls. Turn is a 9. He bets 1,000 into me. I turn and look at him like he has lost his mind. I call. Weak I know, but I thought that if it bricks off on the river he will bluff into me. River is a 4, board now reads 10 9 6 4 4. He checks and I stupidly check behind. I show the jacks and he shows a 9 and mucks.

I end the level with 8,125 chips.

Level IV 100-200.

We are losing players right and left and we are down to three original players from our initial group, but MBP is getting short after the JJ hand above. The kid with the set of 10s is in the seven seat and sitting pretty after hitting four sets in Level III with about 12,000. I determined that I would not do anything stupid and let the chips come to me. I lasted 4.5 hours before I made my first big blunder (one of only two that I recognized for the event).

A player with 15,000 in chips gets moved to the table in seat 3 and immediately begins to play a hyper aggressive style. I decide to avoid him until the time was right. I thought it was time about twenty minutes after he sat down. He raised to 400 in early position. It folded around to me and I thought it was a weak raise and I could take it with a good rereaise with my KQs on the button. I make it 1,400 ( I had 9,000 at the time). He calls. The flop comes 10 7 5 with two spades ( I had hearts). He checks, I bet 2,500. He calls immediately. Now I have watched Mike Caro's DVD on tells and even thought, he is on a draw, it must be spades. There is now 8,100 in the pot.

The turn is a off suit 9, giving me a gut shot, but I was for sure it missed him. He checked. Now my heart, gut, brain, soul and everything in my body told me to move in. But my right index finger starts tapping the table. Wait finger, we move in here!!! Damn that finger is gutless. But my index finger looks up and says "Did you forget about rule number one?"

Anyway, the river is another 9 and he checks and the same damn finger checks right behind him. He shows the AJ spades and takes down a really nice pot because of my finger's gutless move. I am considering the correct punishment for the damn digit still. This made me a little mad at myself as the guy says he would not have a put another chip in on the turn. Sigh.....

I end the round with 4,725 chips.

Level V 100-200 25 ante

I play zero hands other than the occasional steal and end the round with 3,000 chips exactly.

Level VI 150-300 50 ante

I play a few hands here and double up late with a set on the flop out of the SB with 33 unraised pot. The flop came A38 and double up through a LP's A4.

Our table finally broke and I moved to a new table and see my buddy Rachet is doing decent. I end the round with 5,600 Chips.

Goal 3 met. Dinner time. 380 remaining runners. Average stack around 10,000.

I went to get Sushi with BKE, not playing, and JM, who is also still in but is shorter than I am and not in good position. We already had a 5% save and I was pulling for him to make the money almost as hard as I was pulling for myself. I enjoyed some Tuna and one Kirin Ichiban, the best beer in the world. Period, bar none. Now back to war.

Level VII 200-400 50 ante

I do not recall any key hands. I continued to steal once every two rounds to stay even and chose hands where weak players had limped to increase the bounty. Very passive table and I did not feel comfortable enough to be a big bully as the chip leader was two to my left and was playing very strong. I sat back and bided my time.

I ended the round with 9,500 chips, what I approximately had a few hours earlier before Mr. Finger trumped Mr. Brain.

Level VIII 250-500 75 ante

Each round was costing 1500 in chips, so sitting around was getting to hurt a little. We were now down under 280, with 200 getting paid, so I remembered Rule 4 and tightened down even harder. I am down to 5,200 in chips in the small blind when the following hand came up. It is folded around to the button (7,500 chips) and he raises to 1,500 and I look down at A4 offsuit. I lean back in my chair and decide that it is a clear steal so I go all in. Okay that worked fine until the BB goes into the tank. Crap, I forgot about him. He had us both covered but only by a few thousand chips. He finally folded as did the button in short order. The BB says he laid down AJo because he knew I had a powerhouse hand. I said, yep had you killed. JM got knocked out around this level.

I ended the round with 6,500 in chips. around 270 remained.

Level IX 300-600 75 ante

This was a very quiet and stressful level as we are amazingly close to the money. I remember thinking that it would be awesome if I could find the money in my first WSOP event. I could not get that out of my head. My table was obviously very far down on the break list, so we all got comfortable and the floor kept moving people to our table. The crowd starting gathering around us. I was on a corner table, so we had a large group watching our table. It seemed as though the time just crept by as the floor kept updating the number on the big screen. 260, 250, 240, 230, 225.

Nothing spectacular happened at this level and I ended with 7,000 in chips and around 220 remainded. Damn this was getting close.

Level X 400 800 100 ante

I anticipated that this would be the level that we would make the money. When we got down to 205 players, my most nervous time hit. I was in the SB with 4500 in chips behind my 400 SB (you do the math, I folded everything in this level). A very aggressive player opened for the standard raise in mid position. For the first time in the tournament I peaked at my cards before it was my turn. JJ. Sigh, not what I wanted to see, but I decided that I am going to go against the aggressive guy because I am positive I have him beat. One problem. The button first reraised enough to put me all in. Damn. I think about it for 2 minutes and decide that I have to muck. I do and then the aggressive guy goes into a deep tank. I finally call a clock on him and he mucks 88 face up. The button shows KK and I am glad Mr. Brain was paying attention.

Goal Four Met. Were in the Money. Were in the Money.

I make the money with 3,900 in chips remaining. The average stack is now 16,000 or so. Time to open up this baby and see what she can do. People are dropping like flies when we get out of hand for hand dealing. I decide any Ace or pair and I am pushing. Two hands after we make the money, I am in the UTG +2 and find QQ. Allin. BB is shorter than me calls with A9. I win. 8,000 o so now. Next hand A4s. Shove. Oops. Player to my left pushes immediately behind me. Damn it. He shows AK. Flop comes 454 and now I have 19,000 and I give my clutch a break and slow down. I then break Jennifer Harman's husband, Marco with a flopped set of ducks out of the BB when he shoved preflop for a small raise.

I end the level with 18,600 in chips. Break time. down to 170 or so.

Level XI 500 1000 100 Ante

I am comfortable in chips, probably right on average, but I decide that with the flat payout, I am not going to be complacent even with Goal 5 being met at the end of this hour. The chip leader at the table is two to my right and decides to steal at my SB early in this round. He has around 35,000 in chips (remember this was a passive table). He raises to 3500. I find AQs in the SB. I shove for 16,500 total. He thinks for an eternity and finally calls with 77. I flop a Q and double up.

Scott Fischman then gets moved directly across the table from me in the two seat (I am in the eight seat) with 75,000 in chips. He starts off immediately bullying the table. I really like my seat now. In Fischman's BB, the gentleman I doubled up through earlier goes all in for 14,000 in chips. I have around 33,000 and find JJ. I think on it for a few moments and smooth call. Looking back on it, that was crazy as I was inviting Scott to come over the top with a big reraise to test me. I should have shoved. Anyway, it folds around and the gentleman shows 66 and does not get another one. He is out.

The round ended, and the night. I ended the round with 44,000 in chips good enough for 21st out of 111 remaining.

Goal 5 met. Day Two, with chips.

The outcome of day two in the next post.