June 4th: I was back at it again with a Venetian $600 today. For the 1st 3 levels everything went perfect for me. One of the 1st hands of the day I doubled up to 31k with 99 vs 65 on a 955 flop. I continued to increase my stack when I won a very large pots with AA vs QQ on a K high board and with AJo vs J9o on QT5Kx. I was cruising already at 65k on the 1st break and ready for another deep run. However, everything spiraled out of control extremely quickly and for one of the first times this summer I feel like I dusted off a stack in a pretty poor manner. It started when a kid who played every hand limp called my open. I held AJo and we got his last 8k in on J87 when he had T9o. I then lost 20k on a massive bluff attempt that failed. I 3-bet a weak looser man from the button with a random hand, the flop came A high, and he checked called me. The turn came another random card, he lead, I put him all in, and he called with AK (I was drawing dead I think). I really never thought he would play AK the way he did in this hand. I assumed him for an AT-AQ type hand and if he had one of these hands he would have absolutely folded but he didn’t. I lost about 20k this hand and was down to 32k. Then I played 2 hands that really messed me up at the 300-600 level, the last of which ended up being my busto hand. The first of these, a guy in EP opens, I 3-bet from MP with AQs, a new kid at the table cold 4-bets from the button, I ended up folding, and he showed me Q7…ouch. This hand factors into the next hand when on the very next orbit, the same guy opened from the same position, I found AQo again and 3-bet him, the kid from the button cold 4-bets AGAIN to about 7k or so, and this time I decided to jam for my last ~30k or so. He snapped and obviously had KK this time, I lost and busted out way way way earlier than I would have liked to. After this I decided to go out and walk the strip a little bit and take it easy the rest of the night.
June 5th: I didn’t especially feel like playing today so I didn’t. I ended up staying in my hotel room and watching movies for the most part of the day. I felt like I needed to clear my head so I could come back focused and ready to win. I slept a TON and woke up the next day with a tremendous fighting spirit.
June 6th: I played in the Venetian $400 today. I played tight early and eventually got a double at the 200-400 level. A LAG girl opened in EP and I decided to flat in MP with JJ. A guy called on the button and the flop came 982 2 spades. The girl lead out, I jammed for my stack, the guy on the button rejammed, and the girl folded. The guy on the button had KJss and I faded his over flush draw to double. I was on 31k and a couple of hands later I got a ridiculous gift double at the 300-600 level. It folded to me on the button and I found JdJx and opened. Both the blinds called and the flop came 754 all diamonds. They checked to me, I bet 2000, the guy in the SB put me all in for my 29k or so behind, and I called. He showed me 22 with no diamond and when he missed his 1-outer, I doubled to around 62k. Unfortunately I really couldn’t get much going with my stack. I was at 50k at 1.5k-3k and there were 60 players left with 54 paying. I went on a nice run of resteals to build my stack. A really tight girl opened the cutoff, I jammed KQs from the SB, and she folded 99 faceup (I later found out how tight she was and this jam wasn’t that great but I was new to the table so I didn’t realize). Another guy opened and I jammed 77 on him and he folded. The blinds went to 2k-4k and I jammed on the same guys open again with KK this time and he folded. The table was playing really really tight overall so while this next jam may not sound like anything special, it was actually a really sick play at the time. I found 99 UTG +1 and opened to 8k. The kid to my left who was actually a good player flatted with only like 45k in his stack and I immediately thought he had a big hand. The kid behind him who was also playing tight but the ONLY one at the table with an above average stack at the time 3-bet to 19k from MP which is HUGE strength. It got back to me and I figured decided to 4-bet all in for my last 80k or so and they both ended up folding…extremely strong play by me I think. This took my stack to around average at 120k as we got closer to the bubble. A super LAG euro shoved the button for only about 32k, I found A7o in the SB and isoed him and he showed down AQ (somehow). I lost and was down to around 85k. The bubble broke soon after this and I was in the money. I took 85k or so and we were at 2.5k-5k. I was moved to a new table and my bustout hand took place soon after. I was at 75k or so and I found AJo in the cutoff. My plan was to open and basically never fold because Im only getting called by hands that beat me but Im getting shoved on by a much wider range (especially since the bubble just broke). I opened to 10k and both of the blinds called. The flop came 842, they checked, I bet 10k, the SB folded, the BB made it 20k, I shoved for 65k or so, he tanked for FOREVER then eventually called with 99 for the overpair to the board (haha…I kid you not). I did not hit a pair on the turn or river and was busted. Luckily, the man tanked for so long it got me in the next pay level instead of the min cash so I finished 45th for a total of $844. I don’t know how much I like or dislike this play but basically once I decide to open there, I never planned on folding so I didn’t. Its like a reverse stop and go type play…weird but it makes sense in my head. It was like 1 AM after I busted so I went home and went to bed exhausted and disappointed I couldn’t make anything better happen.
June 7th: I had an unfortunate hotel incident this weekend, as I was basically booking my hotel week-to-week and this weekend there was a giant party in Las Vegas called the Electric Daisy Carnival. The EDC apparently takes up about every hotel room in Vegas so I could not find a single room anywhere for Saturday night within 50 miles, which is ridiculous. I had to book a more expensive room in Downtown at the Las Vegas Club for Thursday-Friday but nothing on Saturday so my plan was to just stay up all night, check back into the Motel 6 Sunday morning, and sleep all day. Anyways, today there really wasn’t a good tournament I felt like playing in anywhere and I had to go check in and figure out the downtown hotel anyways so I did that. I ended up playing in a cash game at binions for 1 hour but it was a pretty bad table to be at so I left once I was even. The rest of the night, I watched the basketball game and walked around downtown, drinking a little, and went to bed early to play in the Venetian tomorrow.
June 8th: I played in the Venetian $600 and it was probably the hardest starting table ive ever had in a Venetian Deepstack which was really sick. It was also the quickest exit Ive had this summer. I lost 4 straight 3-bet pots over levels 2 and 3 when I 3-bet AK once, AQ twice, and 88 once and ended up having to fold the river when the board ran out badly for me every time. This put me down to like 7500 or so and I ended up getting my last 7500 in bad with QJs vs 88 on a Q984 board and, just like that, I was out before the 1st break. Ugh. The rest of the night was spend walking around downtown again and resting up for Saturday night when I wouldn’t be able to sleep at all.
June 9th: Today was another $600 Venetian that I played in. Fortunately, my table was much softer than the previous day. The first 8 hours of the day were extremely uneventful and I don’t think I really played a significant pot in them, just grinded my stack (and not even that successfully to be honest). I took 23k to the dinner break and we were to come back and play 800-1600. I folded for most of this level until the 2nd to last hand of the level. I was at 16k, a player limped UTG, a LAG in MP made it 4k, I found KK on the button and jammed, the UTG limper rejammed, and the raiser folded. The limpshover showed 22 and I held on a K high board to double to 42k or so. I was really proud of this double because I played so tight and patient and finally was able to get in good. We were down to about 35 players with 18 paying at this point and the blinds went up to 1k-2k. I decided that I had a really tight table image and had strong hands that I showed down so it would be a good time to start trying to accumulate some chips. A LAG guy opened in EP and I reshoved 98o in MP. Unfortunately he called quickly, showing AQo. I wasn’t able to win and was eliminated. It really hurt that one because I played so solid and tight to stay in the tournament then I go out shoving 9 high, but looking back I really don’t hate the shove that much, just sucks he had AQ. I busted about 13 from the money or so. I then had to figure out what I would do for the rest of the night, as I would have to be up all night. It was midnight soon after I busted so we will go to the next day.
June 10th: I went back to my old stomping grounds at the Luxor to play cash. I started at 1 and by 4 AM I had built up a really nice amount of winnings. I got QQ vs JJ AIPF for about $100 and I won another significant pot when I flopped a straight draw flush draw vs a set, called his big bets on the flop and turn, got there on the river, and got about a $125 bet called. I grinded a bunch of small to medium pots and I was up $600 or so and flying high. Unfortunately, I ended up losing a $800 pot when I made the 3rd nut flush vs the 2nd nut flush. What sucks about it is when I make these hand-over-hands is always against the table spewbox so I obviously cant fold the river when we both get there and he 3-bet shoves (it always seems my coolers happen vs the donks so Im forced to lose the maximum). I ended up leaving soon after this and after 5.5 hours of play at the cash table, I finished up $278. I had to kill like 5 more hours before I could actually check in and I was really really really tired so I basically just drove around attempting to stay up until then. I successfully lasted, checked in around 12 PM, and immediately fell asleep, staying asleep basically until Monday morning.
June 11th: There weren’t too many good tournaments today so I chose to play in the Binions $210 6-max. I grinded my 20k starting stack to about 25k then at 300-600, I opened the button with A9o, the BB jammed 18k, and I snapped (30 bigs, A9o, NP). He showed 88 and I lost the flip down and I was down to about 6k. I knew he was going to jam there super wide and 88 was basically at the TOP of his range (any big hand hes going to be just raising and not jamming hence the instacall). I was able to double through the same guy when my KQs outraced his JJ to get back to 14k. I took this 14k and grinded it up through smallish to medium pots, the biggest of which I flopped top 2 with AK and got 3 streets of value. I was at 42k or so when I found AJo in the SB and raised into the same guys BB at 500-1000. He moved in for 30k and I called him instantly again. This time, he showed KQo but was able to outrace my AJ and knock me back to 12k at 500-1000. I stole a couple of hands then got a full triple when I got in with QQ vs TT vs 66 to get back to 45k or so. I slowly grinded up my stack through a bunch of smaller pots and one decent sized pot when I 5-bet shoved AQo preflop at 1.5k-3k in a button v BB battle. I was up to 118k at dinner. There were 12 left and 8 paid and the blinds would be 2k-4k when we came back. I was probably 3rd or 4th in chips at this point. One of the first hands after dinner, I got a huge double from the chip leader when I opened J9s, turned a flush, moved all in on the river, and got called. This took me to 250k or so and I was massive chip leader of the tournament (there were 10 people left and 1.2 mill chips in play so I had about 20% of the chips in play). I worked it up to 300k but lost 100k of it with AK vs AJ AIPF. Sick because if I hold here I have like 35% of the chips in play with 9 left but alas, I was down to 200k. I held around this much but lost a significant pot at 3k-6k when I opened A5s, and got called by the BB. The flop came A high, 2 spades, and I decided to keep the pot small by just checking behind. The turn came a spade and he lead both the turn and river, with me calling both streets. He showed K2ss for the nut flush and I was knocked down to about 130k. We went to the final table soon after this, 6 left, I had 130k, and the blinds were 5k-10k. I reshipped 88 on an open, he called with KQo, and I held to double to almost 300k. This hand basically crippled him and we were down to 5. I was probably 3rd in chips with 2 bigger stacks, 2 shorter stacks, and me in the middle. I got involved in a strange pot with one of the bigger stacks that ended not the way I wanted it to. I found TT UTG and made it 20k and he called from the SB. The flop came J97, he checked, I bet 25k, and he called. The turn came a 4, he checked, I bet 50k, and he put me all in for my ~200k behind. He was an older guy who played semi-tight but I certainly thought he was capable of not having a J here. I didn’t know for sure where I was at but I really thought that he might be bluffing or making this play with a 9 so I went with my guy and decided to make the hero call. Unfortunately, he showed me 77 for a set, I failed to hit on the river, and busted in 5th place. Ugh…I guess that I just went with my gut feeling and chose to call but that being said I really don’t know if I like this call. Im pretty sure I could have just grinded the table down instead of trying to be a hero and make a call like that. I ended up cashing for $895 so a decent result but it could have been a lot better.
June 12th: I played in another deepstack $600 today, and ended up at another ridiculously difficult table. I actually ran really hot, getting a lot of big pairs today. However, the table was really good so I was unable to really get paid off for any of them. I was down to 10k because of some weird hand that I got unlucky on the river on that I don’t remember the details when I was able to double up during the 150-300 level. A kid opened to 600 UTG and I called from the BB with 97s. The flop came 942, I checked, he bet, I raised, he put me all in, and I called. He showed AJo and was unable to pair and I doubled. I was at 23k but I lost a pretty big pot at 150-300 with QQ vs 98 on KT868. At 200-400, I got a lady with a 13k stack in with my AA vs her JJ and held to get to 30k or so. Unfortunately, like I said this table was really tough so it was mostly just pushing chips around back and forth and not too many big pots. I made a mistake trying to come out of my shell a little bit and it basically cost me the tournament. I was at 35k at 400-800 and a guy in MP opened to 1600. It folded to me in the BB and I decided to take a flop with Q4dd. The flop came J85 2 diamonds, I checked, he bet 2500, I put him all in for his last 15k or so behind, and he quickly called showing QQ. I was unable to make my flush and was knocked down to 15k or so. We went to 500-1000, a kid opened to 2000 in MP, I found 66 on the button and shipped it in, and the BB called all in for his last 10k or so. The BB showed KK and I wasn’t able to win and was knocked down to 5k. I got my last 5k in a couple hands later with JTs vs AK and wasn’t able to win and was busted. Today was a good example of compounding mistakes. In poker, when you make a mistake it tends to compound and you make other mistakes because of it. I made a bad speculative call preflop and was punished by getting it in bad and not getting there on the flop. After this tournament, I kind of had a weird feeling about the deepstacks the rest of the summer. The fields were getting tougher and tougher and more difficult so I legitimately didnt know how many more I was going to play the rest of the summer. Instead, I came up with a plan. I would be playing in sattys at the WSOP to try to play in those events and even if they didn’t work out, I would play in the WSOP 1ks as the fields would be hopefully softer and more what I was looking for. The first one was this Sunday so I would spend the next couple of days grinding sattys to try to win my seat into it.
June 13th: I got to the Rio and there was a really long line at the Sattys so I decided to join the daily $235 instead. First hand I played I made top pair on the flop (and 2 pair on the river) with AQs and got 3 GIANT streets of value vs what I presume was a weaker ace to push my stack to 23k. I hovered around here, stealing the occasional pot to get to 28k or so. At 300-600, I opened AKo and got 1 caller. The flop came A84 2 diamonds with me having the A of diamonds. I lead 2000, and he called. The turn came a 5d, giving me the nut flush draw with my A. I bet 4000, he made it 8000, and I called. The river came a complete blank, I checked, he bet 7000, I called, but was no good when he showed J9dd. I guess real champions fold the river here but whatever, they guy was a complete alien (as most people in this tournament are) so I called. I was down to 10k or so after this. At 300-600 a kid pushed 9k all in UTG and I found AKo in MP and reshoved. He showed me KK and I wasn’t able to make an ace and down to my last 1k. I lost this 1k in an uneventful way and busted out. After this, I went to the sattys to grind. First one I joined was a $125. I worked my stack up to about 1800 by stealing until the 150-300 level. At 150-300 I was in the BB with 2 limps and the SB and I had T9ss and checked. The flop came 855 and it checked around. The turn came the Js giving me an open ender with a flush draw, the SB lead for just 300, I was basically forced to call, and everyone else folded. The river came a blank, she bet, I folded, and she showed a 5. I was down to 1200 and a couple of hands later, I shoved KQs, got called by 99, and lost busting out. The 2nd one I played was a $175. 2nd hand of the tournament, I limped 44 on the button behind 4 other limpers. The flop came J54, the stupid idiot lady in the SB lead out for a ridiculous 300, it folded to me, and I called. The turn came another J, she went all in for her last 550 or so, I called, she showed KJ and the river came a 5 making her a higher full house. Luckily for me she was stupid and had lost 150 chips on the 1st hand so I had 150 left still. A couple of hands later, I found JJ, put my last 150 in, the stupid lady called and showed 55 but I was no good on an AQ55x board and was out in like 5 hands. The 3rd one I played was another $125. I stole some but not that much and I eventually got my last 1500 in at 200-400 with QJ vs KQ and lost. After this I decided to stop playing for the night leaving me 0 for 6 on the summer in sattys.
June 14th I actually went to the Rio today planning on playing the daily again today as I had played well yesterday and wanted another chance. However, the line was ridiculously long so I decided to go straight to the sattys. I played a $125. I was up to 1300 or so but lost some chips after another hand where I flopped a straight draw flush draw from the BB and was forced to put in more chips and missed. After this I put my last 700 in preflop with 96o and got called by A4o. I turned a 6 and held for a nice double. After this I stole my way all the way up to 3000 or so. We were 5 handed at 150-300 and a guy moved all in for 1000 UTG. The SB called, I found 99 in the BB and reshoved and the SB called. He had about 3000 too. The UTG had A6dd and the SB had KQo. I held against the KQ but not against the A6 when he made a flush and went to 4000. If I win this I have like 7000 and most of the chips in play but I was still chip leader with 4000. We were 4 handed and went to 200-400. A couple of hands in, it folded to the SB and he shoved my BB for 2000. I found 55 and called, he showed ATo but flopped an A to win the flip to knock me to 2k. Next orbit, the same thing happened, him shoving my BB from the SB. I woke up with 55, called again, this time he showed K8o and ended up rivering a straight to bust me out of the tournament. I was too disappointed after this to play another satty so I took the night off, watched the basketball game, and had a few beers.
June 15th: With me planning on playing the WSOP on Sunday, the Venetian had a 2 starting day $400 today so I couldn’t play day 1A today because if I make day 2, I am not able to play the WSOP on Sunday (when the day 2 for the Venetian is). I tried to play some cash at MGM Grand today but there was a hand that will haunt me probably for forever happened. I was in for $650 and had a stack at about $400 at the time. It folded to me on the button and I made it $5 with A4dd with a dead SB and only the BB. The BB called and the flop came Q32 2 diamonds, giving me the nut flush draw with a straight draw. He checked, I bet $10, and he called. The turn came a 4, pairing me. He checked, I bet $25, and he called again. The river came the 2 of diamonds, giving me the nut flush. He checked, I bet $65, and he jammed for about $370 total!!! What am I to do here…I have no idea. He was a tight player and I knew he was never doing this without a huge hand. I ended up folding and he showed me the KQdd for the 2nd nut flush. UGHHHHHHHH worst fold ever. I end up with a really positive night if I call here but I chickened out and folded. Don’t really want to talk about the hand too much because ive analyzed it in my head enough to this point…I probably should have called I guess. As it is, I played 2.25 hours and lost $278 instead of being up a decent amount. After this I couldn’t take anymore poker so I went out drinking. I went to Diablos at the Monte Carlo but felt I wasn’t in the mood so I ended up sneaking a few 24 oz beers into the movie “The Dictator” and just watching that and going to bed.
June 16th: With me planning on playing the WSOP the next day, I basically took the day off of everything. I mostly just relaxed, walked around the WSOP and watched the play mentally preparing myself for the next day. I went to bed early.
June 17th: Today was my big day, my WSOP 1k event. Since it was such a big deal I tried to keep better track of the hands in my head so I will probably go into greater detail for this event than all of the others (although Im still doing this from memory so Ill probably forget a few of the exact details). We started out at 25-25 blinds with 3000 in chips. I was able to grind my stack up through some smaller pots. With 1 limper I made it 125 with A3s and got 2 callers. The flop came 855 and my c-bet of 200 was good to take it down. I found KK after 1 limper and made it 150 and got 2 callers. The flop came K high with 2 diamonds, they checked to me, I bet 300, and one of the limpers called. The turn came a diamond, causing me to check behind when he checked, but when the river came a blank and he checked, I fired 700 and he folded. I was at 3825 or so and took around this much to the 25-50 level. I folded for the better part of the level but with about 20 minutes left in it, it folded to me on the button. I found KTo and raised it to 125, the BB who was a younger euro kid (who wasn’t necessarily LAG but was certainly capable of making plays) 3-bet me to 350. I thought that he could be doing this with basically ATC so I 4-bet him to 875. However, he instantly moved in on me for his 3200 effective so I was forced to fold. After this I was back down to less than a starting stack with 2900 or so. I got as low as 2200 or so after I called a raise with KQ, the flop came AKx, I called 2 streets with it, but was no good when he showed A6. I hung around this amount until last hand of the level. A guy raised in MP to 125, 2 others called from the cutoff and the button, I found 77 in the SB and called also, and the BB called too. The board ran to the turn 9635 where I bet 300 and they all folded. I took about 2800 to the next level. We went to 50-100. There was 1 limp to the cutoff and he made it 350. I found AA in the cutoff and 3-bet to 800. The flop came K75, he checked, I bet 600, and he folded. At some point in this level, a LAG opened UTG to 225, I found JJ in the cutoff and 3-bet to 550 causing him to fold. I was back up to around 3800 and we went to 75-150. I hovered around this amount for the greater part of the level. I raised KK but everyone folded. Towards the end of the level, there were 5 limps to my BB. I found AQo and decided with 3500 chips and a lot of dead money out there, it was a good idea just to ship it in. I did and the 2nd limper decided to call off his last 2000. Like a retard, he showed JTs and he obviously outflipped me, flopping 3 10s and knocking me down to 1500. What an idiot some people just don’t understand poker I guess. Anyways, very next hand, it folded to me in the SB and I found AA. Sweet no action. I decided to just limp and I bet the flop on a fairly random board causing a fold. I was moved tables and before I could play a hand at the new table, we went on break and up a level. I was at like 1700 or so. A couple of hands in the new table, I was in the BB for 200. A LAG opened in EP, I found 99 in the BB and shipped it in and he called. The board ran out AK8JT allowing me to basically not be able to beat ANY hand he had but luckily he showed down 87s for a silly double up for me. I was at 3500 or so. I continued to play tightly. I was at around this much and we went to a 100-200 25 level. A younger tight kid opened to 600 in EP, I found JJ in MP and shoved, he called and showed AKo. I, again, was able to win the flip and boost my stack to a respectable 8000 or so. I took around this much to the next break and the level went up to 150-300 25. About half way through the level, a really LAG type guy directly on my right with a TON of chips opened to 700 UTG +2. I found AA right behind him in MP and 3-bet him to 1825. He called and the flop came 988 2 hearts. He checked, I bet 1500, and he called. The turn came the 10h putting 3 hearts on board (I had the A of hearts). He decided to put me all in for my last ~4700 behind which I called immediately. He showed me 87s for trip 8s but I was able to river a heart for the suckout and the win. Pretty rough hand for me…I feel scummy getting it in bad and sucking out here but cmon Im never folding in this spot especially since I had put in like 25% of my stack BEFORE the flop…I guess I just run good. Anyways, this hand doubled me up 16k or so. After this. the blinds went up to 200-400 50 and I went on a pretty mean run to get my stack even higher. A dumb stupid tight lady limped in EP, a short stack made it 2100 or so (of his 3500 or so), I found TT in the BB and decided to go all in for the lady’s effect 7500 and his 3500. The dumb lady called and so did the all in guy. The dumb lady showed AKo and the short stack showed 99. I was in bad shape when I saw the door card of an A but the T followed it up directly and I was able to win the flop and domination to increase my stack to 32k or so. About an orbit later, I found TT again, this time in EP and opened. A player in MP moved in for 6k or so, I called, and he showed AJo. Again, I saw the door card was an A and was ready to accept the loss but, again, the T followed the A and I was able to win another flip to boost my stack to right around 40k. Around this point we went on another break and the blinds went up to 300-600 75. I found AQo and opened in EP. A guy shoved his last 8000 from MP and I decided to call. He showed TT and unfortunately, I was not able to win the flip this time and was knocked down to 32k or so. The rest of the 300-600 level and the 400-800 level were really rough on me. There were 3 super LAGs on my right and I simply could not find any good spots at all to play pots with them. I mean I wasn’t really even playing scared…I just literally did not find any spots…every time it was a good spot to 3-bet them I found a complete garbage hand. Even so, I was pretty much able to maintain my stack at around the 30k mark. I opened a couple of times with small pairs but had to fold to 3-bets myself and I was able to 3-bet one of the LAGgy players with AQo one hand but other than that, it was mostly just find a spot to steal by raising. My stack was still around 30k or so when we went up to the 500-1000 level. Within the first 5 minutes of the level, the bubble had burst and we were in the money. One of the 1st hands in the money, the LAGgy guy on my right opened from the button, I found 77 in the SB and jammed for the BBs effective 20k and his effective 15k and they both folded. My stack was at around 35k and we were approaching the end of day 1. There were around 250 players left (we had gone up a pay level already) when I played probably the sickest hand of the summer. First some backstory to the hand: earlier on in the orbit, the guy 2 on my left lost a big flip for a better part of his stack, He folded until UTG where he mentioned to the guy next to him “I guess that this is the last hand I can actually look at my cards before I have to shove blind”. Luckily I was paying attention to him saying this because after he folded, I knew he was ready to ship it in in the BB. However, the stupid people at the table don’t pay attention to things like this (like the guy on my right…it was a new guy but I could tell he was still LAG and overall pretty stupid). Anyways, if folded to the guy to my right in the cutoff and he opened to 2300 and I KNEW that he was opening light despite the fact that the BB only had like 5500 because he is too stupid to realize stuff like this. I was on the button and found the beautiful AA. I thought it over and because I knew that he was opening light and the fact that the guy was going to shove in the BB, I could just call, then he would have to call the all in, and I could jam over the top for bonus chips after he had to flat the all in. Therefore, I decided to just flat the raise with AA from the button. The SB folded and the BB tanked for a while and decided just to call. This kind of ruined my plan but I still had the guy trapped pretty well. The flop came Q54, the BB went all in for his last 3600, the guy called (as planned), I raised it to 9100, the guy tanked for a while and decided to put me all in for my last 24k or so behind. I quickly called but was absolutely distraught when he showed me the old Q5o. Like I said, the retard doesn’t realize that the BB is short and he shouldn’t be opening there but hes too stupid to think about things like that. I couldn’t get the turn or river to help me out at all and I busted in around 250ish for $2012. It makes me sick to my stomach that if I would have had like 70k when the average was 30k going to day 2 but as it is I busted with about 10 minutes left in day 1. Ugh. This is like the worst hand ever to think about and I just cant stand it. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate how I played the hand. I think I played the hand very well in fact. I just cant believe how dumb the hand had to play out like that. I hate it. As it is I guess its good that I made it deep and cashed and everything. I certainly won my share of flips plus I got it in bad with AA once before so I cant complain too much but I just cant help but think what could have been if I win this. Anyways, I busted at about 150 AM and didn’t get home until about 230 and was absolutely exhausted so I went to bed, not knowing whether or not I would be ready to play tomorrow.
June 18th: I decided to get right back on the bike even after the disappointment of yesterday. I tried a different venue today, playing Wynn Summer Classic $550 event today. I have to say, I was SHOCKED at the terrible play here. However, the field was really small with only 48 runners. Everyone at my starting table was basically retarded but I just couldn’t get anything going. I lost about half my stack like 3 hours in when I 3-bet one of the donks with A9s, flopped an ace, but lost at showdown to AT. I folded for the next hour waiting for a spot to get it in vs one of the donks but it didn’t really come. I shoved my last 5800 at 300-600 with 98s and got called and reshoved by AQ and Q5 but didn’t get there and ended up busting earlier than I would have liked.
June 19th: I was debating today between playing another Wynn (because of how soft the field was) or the Venetian. I really was feeling the Venetian so I decided to give it another shot with a $600 there. Luckily I got a really really soft table draw. I won a big pot early with I 3-bet KJo, the board ran out QT879, and I got a double pot size value bet called on the river (by what im presuming was a J). I was up to 23k. I slowly increased my stack until I lost a sick pot at 150-300 where I 3-bet AT to 1500. The flop came A72, the original raiser lead for 2000, and I called. The turn came a 9, she bet 3600, and I called. The river came another 9, she bet 5200, I called, and she showed J9o for the sick runner runner. I was down to about 8k or so after this and after losing a little, I got in with AKo vs QQ, hit 2 aces, and doubled back to 15k. I won a couple of nice pots to get back to 23k but then at the 300-600 level lost 3 weird and goofy small pots to take my stack back to 15k. At 400-800, a LAG opened to 2000, I shoved 14k from the button with KJs but the SB and BB woke up with KK and AA respectively and I busted out.
Its been an interesting couple of weeks but I actually am still glad Im in Vegas. I plan on probably staying another 2 weeks or so but well see how my results are. Ill absolutely try to update more than once every 2 weeks, not just for your benefit but also because I need to do so because writing these take forever if I let them build up too much.
