chrisjp Event 32 report

[chrisjp]

2304 runners today and they will pay 198. I consider that a huge field for the middle of the week in the middle of the WSOP. Gotta love it! It’s also more fun when there are more people playing from ITH. Matthew, toro, Yankees, and another friend of mine Matt from Vegas are in it today. Hope we can all keep meeting at the breaks.

I start in the Orange Section. Thank god I’m not in the Basilia Room again today. You often have lots of table changes if you begin there. My friend MattB is in Brasilia, poor Matt. But the rest of us are all in the Main Room. I figure my table won’t move until after dinner. That’s what happened in the Saturday 1500. And I was very happy about this because this table was just super.

There is a screw up right from the start. The computers went down and there is a huge line at Registration with people waiting to get into the tournament. My table began with only 7 of the 10 seats filled by actual bodies. No one knew if these were still open seats or the Hellmuth types that always arrive later. I’m hoping for the former. Because their registration is all wacky they decide to play Level 1, 25-50 with 3K starting chips, and then take a 30 minute break to catch up. We will then break after Level 3, after Level 5, and then play for an hour and make the normal dinner break after Level 6.

My table looks great except for a young personable kid from South Africa in my BB. But he ends up not being good, dangerous but not good. I’m in the BB, he raises to 275, why so big, all fold. He shows AA. The next orbit I’m in the BB, he raises to 275, all fold, and shows AA. He’s one of the types that shows and tries to get others to show. And it works. I love it. He tries to get me to show….well ain’t gonna happen. I steal from the empty seat in the BB. There is a limp, another limp, and I limp with KQ on the button. The flop is Kxx. Second limper bets I call. Turn a blank. He checks I bet, he folds. Classic early tournament. Everyone except South Africa is way too timid and predictable. Nothing wild which makes it good at the start so hopefully I can just chip away.

I win a few small pots and move my 3K up to 4K. Then I lose a little. Then the last hand before the break, my favorite hand, I get 22 in the hijack. Wow I’m going to raise with a real hand. It folds to me, I raise, and the BB calls. The flop is 643rainbow. He checks, I bet, he makes a huge raise. I fold and have 2975 chips at the break. Matthew has 2975 chips. Matthew has a super super tough table. Why does he keep getting so unlucky? Mine is just unbelievably good. I hope I can escape gravity.

On to level 2, 50-100. A couple of players have already busted. I have about 3300. Then there is a mini raise from one of the new players at the table. Someone says, “mini raise?” He’s in utg+1. I’m three to his left and have AQ of spades. I don’t feel real good about this, but I’m not folding early in a tournament to a player that appears ordinary. South Africa also calls. Flop is T74 two spades. Mr. Mini bets 500, about 2/3 of the pot. Oh boy. No way am I raising I want South Africa in here too. Plus Mini could have AA, a distinct possibility. I call and South Africa calls. The turn is the Q of hearts. Now Mini moves in for about what I have. My instincts told me to fold, but I knew I would be up to about 7K if I won it. Or at 2700 or so. I make a bad mistake and call. I even thought about this one for a long time which makes it even worse. That queen on the turn sucked me in, and it only gave me two more outs. I won’t do this again! I hope anyway. The call on the flop was fine. I’m getting way better than 4-1 implied odds to hit the spade on the turn, and if I do I’ll stack him. I’m quite sure of that.

He shows the obvious AA and I was left with 11 outs. River: K of spades. Better lucky than good! We counted the chips down and it turned out that he had one $25 chip left. Life is cruel….

I limp on the next hand with 88. A big stack, the guy who c/r me in the 22 hand and who has proven to be a wild reckless player, raises. This is nice. I call and should stack him if I can flop a set. Nope. AKT flop. He bets, I fold.

We are now playing 100/200 on Level 3. I’m getting action. I’m in Seat 7. Seat 8 raises in early position. Seat 3 puts him in. Seat 8 is thinking. Seat 3 shows his cards to his neighbor. Oh boy, he has a monster. Seat 8 calls. Seat 8: TT. Seat 3: KK. Terrible call. Good bye dear friend who had to spend an hour signing up with the computers on the fritz, and now this.

Seat 10 is a very nice, very young, French guy who is really into the soccer match on TV. He is my BB now until they replace #8. Mr. French is the perfect guy to have on your left. He is tight and predictable. He is shortstacked. He's losing and his dear France is also losing the soccer match. He is not happy. Seat 6, loose poor player, raises in the CO. I’m on the button with AKo. Very nice. I reraise him. Mr. French calls for his life. Sounds like a race. #6 folds. Mr. French shows KK. CO says "I had an Ace." Love those words of encouragement. I don’t get lucky.

Next orbit I’m in the SB and South Africa in the BB. No one in #8 yet. Folds to me and I raise with K4o. South Africa calls. Oops. Flop is AK9 2 flush. I start counting out chips for a bet not really knowing what I am going to do. South Africa mucks his cards. Yeah me! I really hadn’t decided what to do yet. He told me he had 88.

A new guy moves into my small blind. OTB I get J8s. I raise first in. SB mucks South Africa in the BB shows an Ace and mucks. God love him.

Later there is an early position raise, a call. Then a shortie moves all in, but he didn’t have a really small stack. I look down from the button and see AQo. I’m thinking and the raiser just looks like he can’t wait to play. This is definitely no time to isolate. I fold. Raiser pushes. It’s AK for raiser and KQ for shortie.

I’m in the BB. #3 limps. #5 limps. The SB completes. Do I really have to look? I raise to 1025. They all fold.

But no….our table is breaking. NO! Oh well I’m off to Blue #5 with 9800 chips. The average is around 5K, so this is nice. I hope #5 table is soft, because that table will not break today.

I’m in Seat 1. I get to the table and there is one big stack immediately to my left. He’s a young chubby kid with a baseball cap, a hooded sweatshirt, and dark glasses. And he’s very adroit with his chips and his cards. This is ominous. Oh well. I go completely card dead. But at least the timing is good. I get to check out the players. We play all the way through this level and into Level 4, 100/200A25. Now stealing becomes valuable. I have played 45 minutes here and haven’t played a hand. Geez. I mean I had nothing. But the table is really soft except for the thorn to my left. Seat 3, Seat 4, and Seat 5 are all passive and weak. Seat 6 is too loose. Seat 7 is a young kid but he is a true target when in the BB. Very tight. Seat 7 raises UTG and Seat 3 calls. Flop is Axx 2 hearts. Seat 7 checks and Seat 3 bets 1000. Seat 7 raises to 5000. Whoa, looks like AK to me. Seat 3 thinks for a long time and moves in. He has Seat 7 covered by 1500 chips. Seat 7 calls of course and shows AQ. Seat 3 has A7. What??? Seat 7 rakes in a huge pot.

On the next hand I am dealt 98o and Seat 7 is stacking his chips in the BB. Perfect time to steal with Seat 7 stacking his chips. He won’t play without a good hand. I raise. Seat 2 is loose and tricky and has been stealing a lot, but he is not a maniac. He folds. Oh no, Seat 3 is thinking. I forgot to note that Seat 3 is now a shortie who might be steaming. Stupid me. Plus if he moves in I will have to call and reveal my weak holding. I had raised to 550. Seat 3 finally calls. Calls?? He should be weak. Flop is T73rainbow. I bet two yellows…2K. He folds. Whew. Gotta stay more alert though.

I’m dwindling. This sucks. Q3, K4, T2, 63. Anytime I get a picture card it’s with a low card. I’m in the BB with QT. Seat 2 limps, 3 limps, 4 limps, 5 limps, 7 limps. Wow. I check. Flop is Qxx rainbow. I check. It’s check to Seat 4 who moves in for his last 2500. Hmmm. Random small pair? I will have to think hard about calling. But Seat 7 calls. OK now it is easy. I fold. Seat 7 shows QTs. Seat 4 shows KK. KK really? Yes. Well that’s a winner.

We are now in Level 5, 150/300A25. This is really pathetic being so card dead. I’m down to 8K, then 7K, then 6K. Just nothing. The whole hour. We get to the final hand of the Level and we will be on a 20 minute break. My young friend in Seat 7 is in the BB. OK, going to try to steal this. I get up as the cards are being dealt, get an apple out of my backpack, and take a look at my cards. OK, I sit back down and get serious and raise. Fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, fold.

OK I have 6800 at this break, a little below average. At the break, since no one appears at our meeting place, it is clear that I am the only survivor to this point. Too bad.

Well it’s time to talk about another hand. Really pathetic and really embarrassing. I’m in the SB with K7o. Folded to me. I have a tight image obviously. I raise into Seat 2, the tricky player. He had almost busted early but is back to a stack larger than mine. He calls. Flop is AJx 2 clubs. I think and check. He checks. Turn is a blank. I bet, he calls. River is a third club. I check he checks. I tap the table and he shows J9s. My play is horrible. The prelop raise is debatable. The check on the flop is a give up, fine. He checks behind. Does he have garbage. Very unlikely. Probably a pair. But if he has nothing I’m in the lead so just check it down. Turn is a blank. I bet the turn….HORRIBLE. Ok I’ve got that off my chest. Really disappointing though. Don’t know why I did it. I think when you are card dead and dwindling you have to be extra careful and thoughtful.

That reminds me of another hand from earlier. I have A6s in the CO. A very shortstacked lady in MP, but not a tight player, moves in for 2BBs. I call. This is a poor call with a tricky player on the button and two blinds left to act. Calling from the blinds is fine. But they all fold and she flips ATo.

Flop: 345 Turn: 6 River: 7

We are now in to Level 6: 200-400A50 Antes have doubled. M is falling. OK let’s get some cards. But I don’t. Well I do get AK OTB. I raise first in and the blinds fold. I get AQs a couple of orbits later in MP. I raise. The tight predictable player in Seat 3 calls. Flop is Txx. I check, he bets, I fold.

Interesting hand I’m not involved in. Folds to Seat 2 OTB. He raises. SB calls. BB, the rock in Seat 3 thinks a long time. I know he has a good hand and wants to raise but is too scared. He finally calls. Flop is AK9. SB checks, BB bets pot committing himself, although he might still fold. Seat 2 puts him all in. BB says, “Well if you’ve got a set you got me.” and calls. AK for BB. AJ for tricky player in Seat 2. Seat 2 didn’t have a prayer of winning this one. I guess he isn’t as good as I thought. That’s nice.

We are approaching dinner hour and another blind increase. There are only about 500 survivors at this point with the average stack over 10K. I am down to 4500 chips. While my M is still above 4 it will be dropping after the blinds go up in Level 7. But more importantly I’ve got to get some chips so I can win the chips off these weak players before they are replaced by stronger ones. Boy this is frustrating. OK I have got to risk doubling up before the break which is less than 15 minutes away. I’m in the BB. Please fold around to late position. It folds to the CO, a ZEEJustin lookalike. He has a big stack too, but that is where the resemblance ends. He is loose and poor, but not aggro. He raises to 1200. The button, another loose player who the orbit before called a raise with T9s, calls. OK, the classic squeeze set up. Well it’s not classic because BTN has trivial pot odds to call if I push. But he still might fold. I think I have to push with any two here. I really do. I’ll have a decent 7K stack if they fold, and 11K or 14K if one or both call and I get lucky. Anyway time to look at the cards. KQo. Wow, this is easy. It may not be a winner but it’s easy. “All in”. ZJ folds instantly. And now BTN goes into the tank for more than 5 minutes. I actually think I am ahead. He finally calls and flips A7. Off to the races.

Flop is Qxx Yeah!!!!
Turn blank Yeah
River Ace

BTN about jumps through the roof.

I get my backpack and say “Good Luck everyone.” Well I had my shot to get back into it. But was not to be. I hit my 11 outer earlier and this was payback.

But I feel good, getting good experience, really feeling good actually. Still have to work on minimizing those mistakes. One misplay can just kill you.

On to Thursday.

Chris

ps. I forgot one of my hands...let's call it the bizarre gift. We are at 100/200, the third level, and this older guy comes to the table with about 3500 chips. He is UTG on the first hand. He raises to 600. I am in MP and wake up with the Rockets. Wow. I raise to 1500. He calls quickly. The flop is Kxx 2 suited. He doesn't take very long and pushes. Wow, crazy. If he made a set of Kings, well any set, he would check. Well, that's not really true....he should check but who knows what in the world he is doing. Does he also have AA? It doesn't really matter this is an easy call. I call. He turns up K9s.

He misses his 5 outer, quietly gets up from the table, and and we are on to the next hand.

[kw]

Sorry it didn't work out Chris, but another great tournament report.

Are you taking notes when you are playing or at breaks? I can't imagine remembering all that information and the hands without doing so.

[chrisjp]

No notes. Just have very fortunate recall.

[krazytxan]

I am loving your tournament reports!!

GL Thursday

[chrisjp]

I forgot one of my hands...let's call it the bizarre gift. We are at 100/200, the third level, and this older guy comes to the table with about 3500 chips. He is UTG on the first hand. He raises to 600. I am in MP and wake up with the Rockets. Wow. I raise to 1500. He calls quickly. The flop is Kxx 2 suited. He doesn't take very long and pushes. Wow, crazy. If he made a set of Kings, well any set, he would check. But it doesn't really matter this is an easy call. I call. He turns up K9s.

He misses his 5 outer, quietly gets up from the table, and and we are on to the next hand.

[ImBetterDude]

I just wish I had a BR of between $50,000 and $100,000...because my job would consist of tournament poker; and what a life it would be! I'd be felting dudes like that old guy left and right.