Tourney: June 18th 2011 WSOP Event #32: $1500

So after some discussion between David and I, David went to his backer to see if he could put me in a couple of WSOP events. It is actually very very exciting to me to be able to play in these events as I would normally not be able to afford these buy ins. The deal that we set up was that I would play in the $1500 event today and the $1000 event tomorrow. Of my $2500 in buy ins, I would pay $675 of it, David would take $200 of it for himself, and Davids backer would take $1625 of the buy in. With all of the numbers run, I would be getting 40% of my winnings, Davids backer would be getting 52%, and David would have the remaining 8%. Luckily for me, Davids backer was interested in the proposition and I was able to play in the event.

Todays event was the $1500 NL. The field drew over 2800 players, paying out around 280 people. My opening table had some tough players on it but also had some weak spots that I would try to be able to take advantage of. The structure did not allow us to play as deep as we do at the Venetian as we only started with 4500 chips, however the levels are an hour long and they don’t skip ANY levels so its still not bad.

Level 1: 25-25. First hand of my WSOP, I found Q8o in the BB and checked with 3 limps. The flop came 872, 1 of the limpers bet 50, another called, and I called as well. The turn came a 7 and we all checked and when the river came an A, a limper bet 125 and I folded. Second hand, I was in the SB with 3 limpers and checked 74o. The flop came 754, I bet 50 and got 2 calls from limpers. The turn came an 8 filling a one card open ender. I checked, one of the limpers bet 125 and I was the only caller. The river came an A, I checked, he bet 300, and I folded. I found AQcc in the hijack and made it 75. The cutoff was the only caller and the flop came Qx8c6c giving me top-top with the nut flush draw. I checked, he bet 150, I raised to 400, and he called. The turn came a T, I checked, and he checked behind. The river came an 8, I checked and he checked behind mucking when I showed. I played this hand oddly but I just tried to keep the pot small, possibly missing value in the process. I limped 33 from the button behind 1 limper but was no good on an AA6K5 board. There was 1 limper to me in the hijack and I attempted to iso by making it 75 with A4ss. The button called as did the limper and we saw an AQ9 flop. I bet 125 when it was checked to me and the limper was the only caller. The turn came a 7 and he strangely donked out 225. I called and the river came a 6. He donked out 525 and I made a bad call and was no good when he showed AQ for top 2. This was just an ugly had altogether. The call on the river is absolutely atrocious and I am never ever good against this player. I have no good explanation as to why I called here and I am disappointed with this play. An aggressive player UTG +1 made it 75 and I called on the button with 65ss. The flop came 653, he lead out for 125, I made it 400, and he folded. I made it 75 from the hijack with 99 and everyone folded. Because of my bad call, I was down to 3875 and we went to the next level.

Level 2: 25-50. An aggressive woman player in the cutoff made it 125, the button called, I found KTss in the SB and called, and the BB called. The flop came As9x4s giving me the nut flush draw. We checked to the original raiser who bet 325 and I was the only caller. The turn came the 2s giving me the nuts, I checked, but she checked behind. The river came an offsuit 6, I lead for 1025, and she folded. I made it 125 from the cutoff with T6cc and the SB was the only caller. The flop came J99, he checked, I bet 150, he raised to 375, and I folded. An aggressive older man made it 125 from the button and I called in the SB with AQo. The flop came 773 and I check called 150. The turn came a 2 and I check called 400. The river came a T, I checked, and he checked behind and my AQ high was good. I think the call on the flop is standard. I called on the turn because he was opening pretty wide and the 2 is a great card to 2 barrel representing a big pair. I cant say for sure if I would have called a 3rd barrel but after calling the first 2, it seems unlikely the T would have gotten a fold from me. I made it 125 with A9dd from MP and everyone folded. I made it 125 from UTG with KJdd and a really tight older man made it 300 in MP. I know that he has a massive hand (probably AA or KK to be honest) but I figured if I made a monster I would get paid off regardless so I called. The flop came T96, I checked, he bet 400, I folded, and he showed AA. The active lady made it 125 from EP and I found QQ in MP and just flatted. The flop came K87 2 diamonds, she lead out 225, and I called. The turn came the 5d giving me a flush draw to go with my pair. She lead out for 450 and I called. The river came an offsuit 9, she checked and I decided to just check behind and she mucked when I showed my hand. I was up to 5500 and we went to the next level.

Level 3: 50-100. A player in EP made it 250 and got 2 callers to me in the SB. I came along with 44 but check folded a J83 flop. I then was able to get a massive rush that allowed me to chip up a ton. I was able to get pretty lucky to start this rush. I was UTG +1 and made it 250 with A4hh. The button went all in for 925 and I called. He showed AJo and the board ran out K93K4 giving me a rivered pair to win the pot. I limped in the cutoff with 44 but folded a K92 flop. An aggressive younger player made it 250 in EP and I found AKo in the cutoff and just flatted. The flop came Q62, he checked, I bet 325, and he folded. I don’t know specifically why I chose to flat in this situation but I felt my odds of winning a bigger pot were higher if I just called. I then was able to win a massive pot that is extremely interesting. I opened to 250 in the hijack with QTcc and the button called. The flop came T33 2 hearts, I lead out for 325, he made it 1200, I moved all in for 6500 or so, and he called. He showed JT and the board ran out 73 and I was able to win a massive pot to get up to 13k. This is a super odd pot. The guy had been playing really aggressively and pretty well in general. I honestly had no idea what to do on the flop when he made such a big reraise. I felt like puking while I was shoving, when he was tanking, and even when he called. It was kind of a panic shove and definitely a –EV play (I am hardly ever getting called by worse) but this time I guess it worked out. I limped the button with 22 and found myself only against the BB. We checked down KJ34A where I bet 150 and he folded. The aggressive older man on my right made it 250 in MP and I called right behind him in the hijack with QJss. The flop came AJ5, he checked, and I checked behind. The turn came an 8, he bet 300, and I called. The river came a 9 and we both checked and my QJ was good. I made it 250 from UTG +1 with JJ and everyone folded. I limped UTG with 44 and this lead 4 other people to limp behind. The flop came 642 flopping me a set. The BB lead out for 500, I called, and a limper in LP called. The turn came the 5h putting 2 hearts on board. We checked to the LP limper, he went all in for 1975, the BB folded, and I called. He showed 76hh for a flush draw/open ended straight draw (and an irrelevant top pair). The river came an offsuit T and I faded his outs and won another nice pot. I was all the way up to 17775 and we went to the next level.

Level 4: 75-150. A new active middle aged man made it 425 from UTG +2 and I called from the hijack with AQo. We checked down JTT97 and I was good when he showed A6. I made it 350 from MP with KJo and the SB was the only caller. The flop came A64 2 clubs, he checked, I bet 400, and he called. The turn came an 8, he checked, and I checked behind. The river came an offsuit J, he lead out for 1575, and I folded. I made it 350 from the cutoff with AQo and the BB was the only caller. We checked down 94385 and I was good. I made it 350 from UTG +1 with KTcc and everyone folded. I was at 16950 and we went to the next level.
Level 5: 100-200. I made it 450 from UTG +2 with KJo and got called by a player in MP and the SB. The flop came K65 and we checked around. The turn came an 8, I bet 625, and everyone folded. My check on the flop was both for pot control and for value. The active middle aged man opened to 525 from UTG +1 and I 3-bet to 1325 from the cutoff with KJo and everyone folded. I made it 450 from UTG with KTcc and the active middle aged player called in the hijack. The flop came K94 and we both checked. The turn came another 4, I bet 625, and he called. The river came a 5, I bet 1500, and he folded. Again, I am checking the flop for pot control and value. I was up to 18950 and we went to the next level.

Level 6: 100-200 25. At the start of this level, poker pro and ESPN champ Matt Affleck sat at the table. I opened to 450 with 74dd from MP and everyone folded (Affleck folded his button. . .it looked like he really wanted to play). Soon after this, I was moved to a new table that contained 2 time WPT champ Alan Goehring in seat 2, David Baker (the old one. . .not the young one) in seat 5, and myself in seat 9. First hand I played at this table, I opened to 450 from UTG +1 with T7cc, Goehring called, an aggressive kid in the cutoff made it 1675, and we both folded. A player in MP made it 550 and I found AKo on the button and 3-bet to 1325 resulting in everyone folding. I made it 450 from the cutoff with K5hh and Goerhing called from his BB. The flop came JT2 2 hearts, he checked, and I checked behind. The turn came a 2h giving me the flush, he checked, I bet 625, and he folded. I made it 450 from MP with 76dd, Goerhing called from the button, and the aggressive kid 3-bet again to 1650 which resulted in us folding (again). I made it 450 from UTG +1 with 66 and David called from the button. The BB called also and we saw a KK9 flop. We checked to David, he bet 850, and we both folded. I then played an interesting hand that saw me take a little hit in chips. I opened to 450 with ATss from UTG +1 and got called by the button, the SB, and the BB. The flop came 652 and we checked around. The turn came the 5s putting 2 spades on board (giving me a flush draw). The SB checked and the lady in the BB went all in for 2775. Normally I wouldn’t really consider calling here but I was looking at her and she looked so weak and uncomfortable like she really really didn’t want a call. I also noted that the other 2 people, the button and the SB, had basically checked out of the hand. I really thought that my A high might be good and that she might have a lower flush draw or 87 or something so I called and even if I was wrong, I had several outs. The other 2 people folded and she showed 92 for bottom pair. I guess my read of her being weak was correct but she had a pair. I had outs but the river came a blank and I dropped some chips. I was at 16000 and we went on the dinner break.

Level 7: 150-300 25. I found AA UTG +1 and made it 650 and the girl from the previous hand called from the BB. The flop came KK4 and we both checked. The turn came a 5, she checked, I bet 800, and she folded. However, this is basically the last hand all night where things went OK for me and I ended up in a freefall where I couldn’t catch myself. The first hand that set me in the wrong direction was actually the very next hand. I opened to 650 from UTG when I found AKo and the BB was the only caller. The flop came 985, he checked, and I decided to check behind. The turn came an 8, pairing the board, he bet out 800, and I called. I feel like this is a fairly standard call as he could be betting about anything after I showed weakness on the flop. The river came a T, he lead for 1300, and I decided to call with my A high but it was no good when he showed 76 for the flopped straight. This isn’t the best call obviously but I don’t really hate it. While he doesn’t have a specific range that I can actually beat, there are a ton of hands where he has pairs and just check/calls the river so a bet is either extreme strength or complete air. I opted to call after assessing the situation but was wrong this time. A player UTG +2 opened to 675, got 2 callers, and I decided to call from the SB with A8ss. The flop came JT3 and I check folded. I made it 650 from the cutoff with JTo, the button called, and Goerhing went all in for about 4k causing me to fold. I was at around 11k when I moved to a new table and we soon went to the next level with me having 11200.

Level 8: 200-400 50. The freefall continued this level. I really did try to stop the bleeding but I made a couple of more bad plays resulting in my demise. A player in EP opened to 900 and I called in the hijack with AQo. The BB called as well and the flop came KJ3. They checked to me and I decided to take a stab with a bet of 1200. The BB folded but the initial raiser called. I decided to shut it down on a 3 turn and 8 river and his 77 was good. Ugh. . .I definitely should have put a 2nd barrel out there. I knew exactly where he was at and I just didn’t follow through with a bet on the turn. It is possible a bet on the river could have even gotten him off 77 so it was poor form on my part to let him get off easy. I then ran a bluff that actually worked to get some of my chips back. I opened to 950 from UTG +1 with 55 and UTG +2 was the only caller. The flop came JT6, I checked, and he checked behind. The turn was a T, I checked, he bet 1000, and I called. The river was a Q, I lead out for 2625 (repping AK) and he folded showing 99. Ugh. . .another pot I played poorly. Obviously my river bet was nice but just raising and playing it so soft vs an easy opponent is not a good play. I should be c-betting the flop and calling the turn is equally as big as a disaster but I guess I saved myself a little bit by making a steal on the river. A player in EP made it 1000 and I called from the cutoff with QJss. The flop came T97, he lead out for 2200, and I decided that this was too much of my stack to call off and that he was calling if I pushed all in so I just folded. Another terrible play. Calling preflop is dreadful. . .I may have been steaming from losing my chips in spewy fashion before. Additionally, if I am going to be making the mistake of calling preflop then what kind of flop am I looking for to put my chips in on? I found ATo UTG +2, made it 950, and everyone folded. A player in MP made it 1100, the SB called, and I called in the BB with A7cc. The flop came Q83 and I check folded to a bet. Again, not really my normal form to be calling here. . .pretty poor. Then came my bust out hand. I was at 8500 chips or so when an active younger player opened to 1800 from EP. I found 77 on the button and jammed it in and he called with JJ. The board did not bring a 7 and I busted much earlier than I would have liked to. This was probably a bad push because the guy opened to 1800 at 200-400 and its obviously strength.

I don’t know what got into my head during the last 2 levels but somehow I played sub optimally in about every situation. I forced spots, made bad plays, and called in situations I would normally never call in. Worst part about it is that I was able to get chips but I blew them. I was absolutely gutted about how today finished and cant believe I blew such a legitimate chance at getting a deep run at the WSOP. I need to get my head on straight to be able to play tomorrow.