Tourney: May 27th 2011 Venetian Deepstack Event #1: $340 Day 1

Today was the first event of the highly anticipated summer Venetian Deepstack series. The first event actually had 2 opening days where if you busted out of Day 1a, you could then play Day 1b to try to get to day 2. The survivors of the field would then rejoin on Sunday to play the official Day 2. This day drew 540 players and we were scheduled to play down to ~70 players to the recombine. You started with 12000 in chips for todays event. My starting table was a pretty good table. There was an extremely TAG kid that played pretty well in seat 2, an online pro that I recognized (but cant remember his name at the moment) in seat 6, I was in the 9 seat, and online pro Pmahoney in the 10 seat right on my left. The rest of the table was a couple of other young kids who had some exploitable leaks and some tight old timers (who are always good to have).

Level 1: 50-100. I folded for an orbit or so and first hand I played, the online guy whose name I cant remember opened for 250 in the cutoff, the button called, and I made it 700 with 66 from the SB and they both folded. I made it 250 from the hijack with K3dd, pmahoney called from the cutoff, the button called, and I check-folded an A94 flop. I made it 250 with 74cc from MP, pma made it 700 behind me and I folded. After that uneventful level, I took 11850 to the next.

Level 2: 75-150. The TAG kid in seat 2 made it 375 and I flatted the button with KQo. The flop came 843, he lead out for 475 and this bet looked weak compared to his previous bet sizes to I made it 1300 and he folded. I stole the blinds with raises to 350 from MP with QTo and again from UTG with JTdd. I limped the SB into pmas BB with Q9ss and bet 200 on JJ9 to take it down. I made it 350 with AQo UTG and everyone folded. I made it 400 with QJdd and one limper and the SB was the only caller. The flop came 974 2 diamonds (me=flush draw) and he check folded to my 650 bet. The unknown internet player in seat 6 made it 400 from the cutoff and I called in the BB with 66. The flop came a beautiful T62 2 diamonds. I checked, he bet out 700, I made it 1850, he made it 4400, and I put him all in for his last 13000 or so. He quickly called showing AKdd for the nut flush draw. The turn came an offsuit J, giving him more outs, but the river came an offsuit 4 giving me the pot. I was up to 27450 and we went to the next level soon after this.

Level 3: 100-200. I made it 475 from EP with 55 and folded when the button made it 1475. I made it 475 UTG +2 with 32dd, pma called from behind, the button went all in for 5k, and I folded (pma had JJ). I made it 475 from MP with 86cc, pma called and so did the BB and we saw a flop of K62. I checked to pma and he bet out, the BB raised, and I folded (pma showed down AA). The SB limped into my BB and I made it 475 from the BB with QTcc. She called and the flop came AQ8 2 clubs, giving me a pair and a flush draw. She lead out for 900, I made it 2225, and she folded. I then made a bad call last hand of the level that cost me some chips. I made it 475 from the cutoff with the T8hh and the TAG kid in seat 2 made it 1200. I decided to call and we took a flop of T75. He lead out for 1500 and I just called. The turn came a Q and we both checked. The river came a K and he lead out for 3000. I called with my 3rd pair but was no good when he showed KK for trip kings. I think the hand played out pretty standardly from my part other than the call on the river. It was a bad call and if I dont call here I am fine with the hand. We went on break and I took 21000 into the 1st break.

Level 4: 100-200 25. I made it 475 from MP with A2dd and they all folded. A weak older man limped in EP and I made it 625 from the button with 98hh to isolate. He was the only caller and he folded to my 800 bet on Q42. A tight older man made it 500 UTG, a semi-spewy asian lady called from UTG +1 (from the QT hand above), and I found QQ UTG +2 and made it 1750. The old man folded and the asian lady called. The flop came 976 2 diamonds, she lead out for 2500, and I put her all in for her last 8500 more and she folded. The asian lady opened the cutoff to 800 and I called on the button with 44. The flop came AKT, she lead out, and I folded. I was up to 25775 and we went to the next level.

Level 5: 150-300 25. An MP player made it 600, a player in LP called, the asian lady in the SB called, and I called the minraise in the BB with J4cc. The flop came K54 and I folded to a bet from the raiser. I made it 650 in the cutoff with KQo and the SB (tight middle age man) was the only caller. The flop came AQ8, he checked, and I checked behind. The turn came a 6, he bet 1000, and I called. The river came a 3 and we went check-check and he showed A9 for the higher pair. I then played an interesting hand with pmahoney. It folded to me in the SB and I found AQo and decided to just limp. He checked behind and the flop came Q92. I lead out for 525 and he made it 1500. I thought about 3-betting here but my goal was to keep the pot smaller so I just called. The turn came a K, making a potential straight and a higher pair than mine. I checked and pma checked as well. The river came an A, giving me 2 pair. I lead out for 2100 and he called with 92 for a flopped bottom 2 pair that was no good when I rivered my higher 2 pair. A weak younger kid limped from EP, I made it 1025 from the button with QQ and everyone folded. I made it 650 in the cutoff with 54cc and the TAG kid in the SB made it 1625. I called and the flop came a nice looking A54. He lead out for 2000, I made it 5750, and he ended up folded showing an A. . .nice fold by him I guess. The weak older man on the button limped, the asian lady in the sb limped, and I made it 1025 in the BB with JThh. The button called and folded on the 533 flop when I bet 1250. I made it 650 from the cutoff with T8hh and everyone folded. After griding out all these small pots this level, I was at 35600 and we went to the next level.

Level 6: 200-400 50. I made it 950 UTG +1 with 22 and pma and the BB called. We checked to the turn on 8438 and I bet 1200. Pma called and the BB folded and the river came a 7. We both checked and my 22 was good. I made it 950 with KThh from MP and the TAG kid called from the cutoff. The flop came AKJ and we both checked. The turn came a 9 I bet 1125 and he called. The river came a 5, I checked, and he bet 2000. This is a really strange spot. I have no idea what hand he is checking behind on the flop, flatting the turn, and betting the river with. It was a really strange line for him to take and I just ended up folding because I really dont know how often, if ever, this kid bluffed the river. The asian lady made it 900 UTG and I found 99 UTG +1 and just called. The flop came A86, she bet out 1700, and I called. The turn came a 2, she checked, I bet 3000, and she folded. I then was handed a nice gift from this lady. She was UTG +1 and decided to just go all in for her last 11500 (at 200-400! 30 bigs!). This was about the 4th time she had done this and I was waiting for a hand to catch her with. This time, I was lucky enough to find JJ UTG +2 and I called her all in. She showed AJo and the board ran out Q7658 and my JJ held up . I was up to 51375 and we went on our 2nd break.

Level 7: 300-600 50. I made it 1350 UTG with 33 and everyone folded. I made it 1325 UTG +2 with 76o, Pma called, the SB called, the BB made it 4600, and I folded (Pma woke up with KK here and got in for about 30k vs the 82 of a really aggressive kid and held). That was it for this uneventful level and I took 48700 to the next.

Level 8: 400-800 75. Despite this being this level, the dealer failed to note the blinds went up so we played a couple of hands at 300-600 during this level. I opened UTG +2 with AKo and got a LP caller and a call from the BB (a new younger kid at the table in seat #6 who was semi-tight but showed the ability to play quite well). We checked down to the river on T8652 and the new younger kid won with 54. The blinds then legitimately went up. The really aggressive kid made it 1700 from the hijack, I found ATss in the SB and called, and pma called as well. The flop came 633 and we checked around. The turn came a 2, I lead out for 2500, pma folded, and the aggro kid called. The river came a 6, putting 2 pair on the board. I checked, and the aggro kid went all in for about 10k. I gave it a good tank but I had no idea where this guy was at (he just put in 30k with 82) so I just folded. I made it 1900 UTG with AKss and the BB (the newer TAG kid in seat #6) was the only caller. The flop came AK9 2 diamonds, he checked, I bet 2200, and he called. The turn came a 4, he checked, I bet 5600, and he called. The river came a 7, he checked, I bet 11800, and he called. Three streets of value FTW. I dont know what he had here but im almost positive it was AQ or AJ watching how he played the rest of the day so it was nice to get so much value here. I found AKo a third time this level and made it 1900 UTG +1. The SB went all in for 5100 and I called. He showed KJo and the board ran out 84264 and I was good for the win. I was at 69100 and we went on the third break.

Level 9: 500-1000 100. I made it 2300 from the hijack with JJ and the BB went all in for 22900. This was the 2nd hand after break and the hand immediately before break, he openshoved his stack (~21000=25+ bigs), I folded 77 in the SB, and he showed AQ. This previous hand made me snap his all in but he showed KK and doubled through me when the board blanked out. I was down to about 45k after this. The guy from the last hand made it 3100 from the hijack and I figured I had built a pretty solid reputation with him (I told him I folded 77 when he pushed, I showed JJ when he pushed) so I 3-bet him from the BB to 8600 with 82o and he instafolded. I made it 2300 from the button with T9o and pma called from the SB. The flop came K75 all diamonds and he check folded to my 2600 bet. I made it 2300 from the hijack with QTcc and pma 3-bet me from the cutoff to 5600 and I folded. I made it 2300 UTG +1 with 77 and everyone folded. The SB limped into my BB and I made it 2600 from the BB with T8o and he folded. I was down to 51900 and we went to the next level.

Level 10: 600-1200 100. An older man who had been opening a decent amount of time made it 3600 from EP and I 3-bet him from the button to 8100 with 77. He called and the flop came 852. He checked and I put him all in for his last ~15k and he folded. I made it 2700 from UTG +1 with JTss, pma called behind, the button went all in for 17k, and I folded. I made it 2700 from the button with 55, pma made it 6600 from the SB, and I called. The flop came J94, he checked, and I checked behind. The turn came another J, he checked, I bet 5500, and he called. The river came a K and we both checked and my 55 was good when he showed A4. The newer TAG kid (who paid me off when I had AK) made it 2700 from MP, I found QQ in the hijack and made it 6600 and everyone folded. I was up to 75900 and we went on the dinner break.

Level 11: 800-1600 200. I made it 3500 from UTG +2 with QJo and everyone folded. I then ran a bluff that failed and cost me some chips. It folded to the SB in my BB (he was a pretty good, aggressive player) and we had a dynamic in our SB vs BB hands that was basically me giving up every time and him taking my big blind. He had raised his SB twice and I had folded and he had limped twice and I checked down/folded to a bet (I did raise his limp once too but that was an isolated incident). Anyways, this time he limped again and I checked behind with K2o. The flop came 644, he checked, I bet 2000, and he called. The turn came a 5, he checked, and I checked behind. The river came an A, he lead out for 5000, an I decided that since I had played him so passively in previous BvB confrontations, I could really rep a strong hand here and get him to easily fold an A (a highly probable limping hand for him). I made it 13300 but he instantly went all in for ~40k. I obviously had to fold but its hard to bluff a person when they have the hand youre repping! I was down to 56k or so after this. The guy from this hand opened to 4400 from MP and I flatted right behind him with KQdd. The flop came KJ5, he bet out 5700, I made it 12300, and he folded AT face up. I was at 67900 after this and we went to the next level.

Level 12: 1000-2000 300. I made it 4500 UTG +1 with Q8o and everyone folded. I made it 4500 in the cutoff with JTo and pma flatted from the button. The flop came AK5, I c-bet 5200 and he called. The turn came T, I checked, he bet out 11000, and I folded. It folded to the SB and he limped and I checked my option with A5ss. The flop came A43 2 diamonds, he bet 2600, and I called. The turn came an offsuit 5, he checked, and I checked behind for pot control. The river came the Td completing a flush, he checked, I bet 5600, and he folded. I was down to 61700 and we went to the next level.

Level 13: 1200-2400 300. I made it 4800 (I thought we were still on last level so my raise turned out to be a minraise. . .oops) from the button with A2dd and the BB called. The flop came 833, he checked, I bet 5600, and he folded. I made it 5100 UTG +1 with 43ss and everyone folded. I made it 5100 from MP with KTo and the TAG kid in seat #2 (from earlier on in the tournament) made it 14000 from the button and I folded. I made it 5100 UTG +2 with 33 and the button (the man who I 3-bet with 77 earlier on) moved all in for 23100. I thought about it for a while and ended up calling because Im I only have to call 18k more and I think im flipping with him more often than pot odds dictate. He flipped over AT0 and the board ran out K7452 and I won the race. Next hand, I made it 5100 with 88 UTG +1. A newly moved to our table Mike Laing called out of the BB and we saw a flop of A64 3 hearts. He checked, I bet 6500, and he called. We checked down the turn and river of A9 (no hearts) and he showed 7h7x which was no good. Next hand after this, I made it 5100 UTG with TT and everyone folded. I made it 5100 from the hijack with QJss and everyone folded. I was at 113500 and we went to the next level.

Level 14: 1500-3000 400. We actually didnt get to play too much of this level. About 10 minutes into the level, we reached 70 players and drew to play 8 more hands for the day. I opened to 6800 UTG +2 with AQo and everyone folded. I found my first KK of the day 3rd to last hand of the day, opened to 7100 UTG, and everyone folded. After this the day ended with me having 115500 in chips.

There were 67 people that survived this session. There will probably be about the same amount from tomorrows day 1B. They are setting it up so that 12% of the field is remaining when we get to day 2, and only 10% cash so there will probably be 15-20 people who come back for Day 2 and dont get paid. I think it was a successful day of poker for me. I played well, made a few hands, and look to continue to do so once Day 2 starts. When we come back, we will be playing 2000-4000 500 so I will have just under 30 bigs. We are starting Sunday at 4 PM so it is going ot be a long grind to get to the real money. Hopefully I can play as well and as patient as I did today and am able to do something special.