Arrived in LV 2 days ago with thoughts of playing in one of the many good tournaments available outside the WSOP. Venetian offers a great deep stack tournament along with Caesar's, Bellagio, and the Wynn. This year I decided to take a couple of days to soak in Vegas to relax and chill prior to playing any serious events. This is the first time I felt very relaxed and not sleep deprived when being in Vegas because usually I get in and start going gung-ho.
Checked in at the Rio seeing many familar faces (especially from Vancouver), pros, wanna be pros, moms, pops, kids, dogs, and 9 Elvis Presleys. What I found funny was the number of poker pros playing table games, and seeing T.J Cloutier spending countless hours (in the same clothes) pissing away thousands at the craps table. I alway knew guys like him indulged excessively in dice but to see it first hand was somewhat amusing. I first saw him at 10 PM Tues night when I decided to get a good night sleep and when I woke up at 8 AM the next day I went downstairs for a coffee and still saw him at the same table leaned over and shaking his head throwing chips at random numbers. I decided to play at this table for the fun of standing beside his 6'5" hunched back frame. I threw down $30 on a couple of numbers while T.J. was rolling. He has no method to throwing dice, in fact he threw it in a manner like he was somewhat fed up and ended up getting on a 4 point streak making me a couple of hundred dollars. He of course never picked up his bets during this lucky streak and he ended up crapping out yet another $4-500 buy in. I went for lunch and came back around 2 PM and he was still standing there and eventually left only to do the whole thing over again at around 11 PM that night with the same routine of me waking up the next day seeing him still there.
So now a couple of days in, I've managed to relax; hit the gym, spa, shop, win a racebook trifecta, lose a small 2 game Magic/Redwings parlay, made a few dollars at the Wynn poker room, it was time to decide if I was going to play in the WSOP or play somewhere else. Ventian, Ceasars, or WSOP - I decided screw it this is once a year - it's triple stack starting chip count buy-in...
WSOP Event 24 $1500 NLHE it is.
Update y'all hopefully with good news...ciao for now!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Thursday, June 19, 2008
EVENT 36 $1500 - Day 1 and Done
12 Noon - Shuffle up and deal - starting chip count: 3000 1 hour blinds
Level 1 - 2400 Players Left
Played pocket 9's twice on the first level and lost both times. Stack sitting at 2400 and next Level 2 blinds 50-100 approaches.
Level 2 - 2100 Players Left
Pocket 2's on the cut off and called for 100. BB raises to 300. I put him on AK and smooth called. Flop: 2 3 5. He bets 700 and I come over him with the set of 2's, he calls and busts out and brings my stack to almost 5K.
Level 3 - 1600 Players Left
Saw us move to the main room beside the ESPN TV table and my stack remained the same until we were moved again. First hand I'm dealt AA and min raise it to 450 and cut off with KK makes it 1450 to go. He has about 3000 left and so I come over him and he calls right away and my AA hold up which brings me to 10K.
Level 4 - 1200 Players Left
Nothing eventful happened other than stealing blinds and picking random hands to raise with in position with my stack being has high as 12000.
Level 5 - 940 Players Left
Utterly card cold. Still feeling strong as the blinds were at 150-300 with 25 ante. Average pre-flop raising is hovering about 950. My stack is slightly shrinking to 9500 but still lots of game.
Level 6 - 650 Players Left
Over 2/3 of the field is gone. My stack sitting just over 8900 and I haven't seen anything. Talking to myself in my head, I am reminding myself there is lots of game left. My cards remain cold. We were roughly 15 minutes away from dinner break. Blinds at 2-400 with 50 antes and I am dealt QQ. I raise to 1000 and player next to me calls but a 3rd raises to 5000. I'm thinking in my head AA and I take a minute to think about what he may have. The re-raise clearly indicated AA or KK. This is the point of the tournament where I've worked hard to build my stack but after being card cold for almost 2 levels the sensibility and maturity to toss the QQ's just went out the window. I call the 5000 and the flop is J-8-6. I'm first to act with 4000 left and I have no choice but to push. He blurbs out something thinking I flopped a set but still calls with AA. I'm very disappointed of course. I shake his hands and I'm done.
Level 1 - 2400 Players Left
Played pocket 9's twice on the first level and lost both times. Stack sitting at 2400 and next Level 2 blinds 50-100 approaches.
Level 2 - 2100 Players Left
Pocket 2's on the cut off and called for 100. BB raises to 300. I put him on AK and smooth called. Flop: 2 3 5. He bets 700 and I come over him with the set of 2's, he calls and busts out and brings my stack to almost 5K.
Level 3 - 1600 Players Left
Saw us move to the main room beside the ESPN TV table and my stack remained the same until we were moved again. First hand I'm dealt AA and min raise it to 450 and cut off with KK makes it 1450 to go. He has about 3000 left and so I come over him and he calls right away and my AA hold up which brings me to 10K.
Level 4 - 1200 Players Left
Nothing eventful happened other than stealing blinds and picking random hands to raise with in position with my stack being has high as 12000.
Level 5 - 940 Players Left
Utterly card cold. Still feeling strong as the blinds were at 150-300 with 25 ante. Average pre-flop raising is hovering about 950. My stack is slightly shrinking to 9500 but still lots of game.
Level 6 - 650 Players Left
Over 2/3 of the field is gone. My stack sitting just over 8900 and I haven't seen anything. Talking to myself in my head, I am reminding myself there is lots of game left. My cards remain cold. We were roughly 15 minutes away from dinner break. Blinds at 2-400 with 50 antes and I am dealt QQ. I raise to 1000 and player next to me calls but a 3rd raises to 5000. I'm thinking in my head AA and I take a minute to think about what he may have. The re-raise clearly indicated AA or KK. This is the point of the tournament where I've worked hard to build my stack but after being card cold for almost 2 levels the sensibility and maturity to toss the QQ's just went out the window. I call the 5000 and the flop is J-8-6. I'm first to act with 4000 left and I have no choice but to push. He blurbs out something thinking I flopped a set but still calls with AA. I'm very disappointed of course. I shake his hands and I'm done.
Arrived, registered, and ready to go....
We checked in last night at around midnight after picking up our car rental and headed straight to the Rio to register for Event 36. 1350 poeple were registered as of 1:AM so my prediction of 2300-2600 players is right on track.
40 degrees of dry heat and you really feel it. It's weird because I don't perspire as much here as I do back home. But I'm rested and ready. Took in about 6 hours sleep and hearty breakfast and big cup of coffee. I'm feeling great!
40 degrees of dry heat and you really feel it. It's weird because I don't perspire as much here as I do back home. But I'm rested and ready. Took in about 6 hours sleep and hearty breakfast and big cup of coffee. I'm feeling great!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
WSOP 2008 June 18-22
One year later and another chance of poker glory in one of the events of the 2008 WSOP. Chances are slim to none with relatively small buy in and huge field but it is still worth a shot. Large field tournaments like these are literally like satellites in Day 1 with the actual tournament starting in Day 2 and if you are fortunate enough to survive the countless All-ins and 50/50's then you have more than likely reached Day 3.
I will be heading down with my dad and bro with intentions of spending quality family time with the boys...hahahahahaa. My dad will be playing in some juicy $5-$10 NL side cash games while my brother Russ is still debating on either playing in a satellite Sit N Go for the event or buy directly in, which if he does the latter then he will likely be relegated to find his "lucky" slot machine with the old ladies. (He won 3 jackpots last year playing quarter slots taking home over $7K).
We fly into LAS tomorrow night and will be heading straight to the Rio to register for the $1500 Buy In NLHE Event 36 being held at noon on June 19/08. Judging from the participant numbers from the previous events this year, there could be anywhere from 1500-3000 players. Seeing that this is close to a weekend and the WSOP being in full swing, I expect the number of players to hover around 2300. Serge "The Jesus" Denis has picked up 10% of my action. (He played and fought fiercely in the Razz event last week being short stacked and knocked out with a 6-high hand - a damn good hand in that game).
The weather is expected to average over 40 C degrees during the day and 28 C degrees at night. My approach this year will be much different. I'm going to make it a point to enjoy my stay and take the time to relax and find a pool to lounge and drink when I'm not playing.
Talk to y'all again once I'm registered and settled in.
I will be heading down with my dad and bro with intentions of spending quality family time with the boys...hahahahahaa. My dad will be playing in some juicy $5-$10 NL side cash games while my brother Russ is still debating on either playing in a satellite Sit N Go for the event or buy directly in, which if he does the latter then he will likely be relegated to find his "lucky" slot machine with the old ladies. (He won 3 jackpots last year playing quarter slots taking home over $7K).
We fly into LAS tomorrow night and will be heading straight to the Rio to register for the $1500 Buy In NLHE Event 36 being held at noon on June 19/08. Judging from the participant numbers from the previous events this year, there could be anywhere from 1500-3000 players. Seeing that this is close to a weekend and the WSOP being in full swing, I expect the number of players to hover around 2300. Serge "The Jesus" Denis has picked up 10% of my action. (He played and fought fiercely in the Razz event last week being short stacked and knocked out with a 6-high hand - a damn good hand in that game).
The weather is expected to average over 40 C degrees during the day and 28 C degrees at night. My approach this year will be much different. I'm going to make it a point to enjoy my stay and take the time to relax and find a pool to lounge and drink when I'm not playing.
Talk to y'all again once I'm registered and settled in.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
WSOP 2007 WHOOPING
NLHE Event 27 - Over 2300 entrants X $1500.00 = a lot of dough to be had (not by me). I made it to Round 4 - blind of $100/$200 + $25 ante with a chip stack not exceeding $5500. I moved to a table where the average stack was around $10K. I misplayed AK out of position against JJ, and didn't re-reraise it pre-flop (or laid it down on a raise) by smooth calling. Board was 7 7 7 and I check raised his bet on the flop assuming he had the identical hand (AK) and went down like a b all of fire with no A or K help. I felt I had to be aggressive to build any stack and that was a huge mistake. I had a lot of play and chips left to be more patient as the 1 hour blind levels allowed for such strategy.
The Binions Classic $200+0 6 Handed NLHE - Over 250 players - didn't go so hot too the following day. Stinging from the day's previous WSOP event, I came in thinking I needed to be patient, but that's not the strategy in a short handed event. I won't go into details other than that I did not change gears properly.
On a postive note, congratulations to Serge "The Jesus" for finishing 39th in the WSOP RAZZ $1500. It wasn't in the money (32nd was cash) but the table he was on was tough as nails (every player was a ranked pro). His blog: www.myfirstworldseriesofpoker.blogspot.com will give you the details.
The Binions Classic $200+0 6 Handed NLHE - Over 250 players - didn't go so hot too the following day. Stinging from the day's previous WSOP event, I came in thinking I needed to be patient, but that's not the strategy in a short handed event. I won't go into details other than that I did not change gears properly.
On a postive note, congratulations to Serge "The Jesus" for finishing 39th in the WSOP RAZZ $1500. It wasn't in the money (32nd was cash) but the table he was on was tough as nails (every player was a ranked pro). His blog: www.myfirstworldseriesofpoker.blogspot.com will give you the details.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Wuzzup WSOP Registering - The Night Before
Arrived into Vegas last night at around 9pm to temperatures hovering over 105 F. The funniest thing I heard on the flight in, was a guy I was sitting with and his buddy telling me that they will be golfing on Sunday on a reduced twilight rate. Twilight golf starts here at 8:10 AM, it's that f****n hot.
I rented a big black Impala (Texas licence plated...how Hold 'Em appropriate) with cool robust air conditioning, and headed over the the Rio Suites home of the WSOP 2007. Met up with Gaby (poker supe) for a much needed bite to eat and it was suggested I register for the tournament now (meaning 11 PM last night) because the registration line ups can be 2-3 hours long the day of the event you want to play in.
The registration area is located at the entrance where the WSOP is being played. It seemed like there was 400+ tables still busy with games. Walking in, the first 20-30 tables are reserved for satellites, behind those tables are about 40-50 cash games ranging from 4-8 limit too serious NL buy ins, and adjacent to those tables are the remaining players from yesterdays events. I believe there were about 179 players remaining in one area of yesterday's Event 25 $2000 NLHE with 150 to be in the cash. Of course amongst those remaining, every table had at least one or two household named pro....David "Devilfish" Ulliott, Annie Duke, John Juanda...blah blah blah blah blah. I don't get star struck when it comes to poker, BUT another funny thing from yesterday, Scotty Nguyen handing out his cell number to some young ditzy broads that went "ga-ga" bumping into him in the events lobby. He looked like a little MAN WHORE with that greasy mullet going on. Can't you hear him now with his trademark, 'ALL YOU CAN EAT BABY'.???
Anyways, after a short 20 min. wait in the registration line, I bucked up the $1500.00 for Event 27, noon start time, and this is where I sit:
Table 52 Seat 9 (out of 300 Tables).
I rented a big black Impala (Texas licence plated...how Hold 'Em appropriate) with cool robust air conditioning, and headed over the the Rio Suites home of the WSOP 2007. Met up with Gaby (poker supe) for a much needed bite to eat and it was suggested I register for the tournament now (meaning 11 PM last night) because the registration line ups can be 2-3 hours long the day of the event you want to play in.
The registration area is located at the entrance where the WSOP is being played. It seemed like there was 400+ tables still busy with games. Walking in, the first 20-30 tables are reserved for satellites, behind those tables are about 40-50 cash games ranging from 4-8 limit too serious NL buy ins, and adjacent to those tables are the remaining players from yesterdays events. I believe there were about 179 players remaining in one area of yesterday's Event 25 $2000 NLHE with 150 to be in the cash. Of course amongst those remaining, every table had at least one or two household named pro....David "Devilfish" Ulliott, Annie Duke, John Juanda...blah blah blah blah blah. I don't get star struck when it comes to poker, BUT another funny thing from yesterday, Scotty Nguyen handing out his cell number to some young ditzy broads that went "ga-ga" bumping into him in the events lobby. He looked like a little MAN WHORE with that greasy mullet going on. Can't you hear him now with his trademark, 'ALL YOU CAN EAT BABY'.???
Anyways, after a short 20 min. wait in the registration line, I bucked up the $1500.00 for Event 27, noon start time, and this is where I sit:
Table 52 Seat 9 (out of 300 Tables).
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Wuzzup WSOP 2007
Welcome to RayRay's highly anticipated poker blog. Don't miss our Weekly..."GARE-EEE AND GUMMERS PONDERS" Feature in this informative piece of fine literary mastery.
First off, CONGRATULATIONS to SERGE (The Jesus) for earning his seat on the Main Event WSOP!!! (Liam 4:1 chip lead???)
Preparations have begun to play in next Saturday's (June 16/07) WSOP $1500 No-Limit Hold 'Em Event 27 . Starting chip count: 3000 and hourly blinds with breaks every 2 levels.
The last 2 identical events: WSOP Event 3 (Jun 3/07) paid 1st place: $727,000.00 with 2,998 entries and WSOP Event 15 (Jun 9/07) is looking similar with 2,628 entrants with money cut offs at 270 spots. The end of Day 1 of EVENT 15 was already at the money with 170 players remaining.
I like to think I'm a realist when it comes to playing these events. There's just too many trap doors with agressive pros and lucky fish and I can't even imagine how many times one has to go "All In" to place even in the money.
Reading some pro poker player blogs that are playing in this week's WSOP events: "Bad Day For A Good Player", "Fold, Fold, Fold...and Out", "My First Hand in 4 Hours", "I Can't Win With Aces", "Crazy Table But I'm Out".
This is how RayRay is going to play: ONE HAND at a time-ONE TABLE at a time with WELL TIMED AGGRESSION/FOLDING....... "Geee... that's the secret!!! I don't think 2,000 other players will be thinking that way...BAhahahahaaaaa!!!".
Seriously though, I am going to offset playing in a field like this by: PLAY A GOOD GAME with NO EXPECTATIONS/PRESSURE and ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE.
...And if that does't fly, there's always the Mini WSOP at Binion's $200+$0 Six Player NL HE Event 17 on Sunday June 17 2:00 PM. http://www.cardplayer.com/tournaments/event_list/1927
First off, CONGRATULATIONS to SERGE (The Jesus) for earning his seat on the Main Event WSOP!!! (Liam 4:1 chip lead???)
Preparations have begun to play in next Saturday's (June 16/07) WSOP $1500 No-Limit Hold 'Em Event 27 . Starting chip count: 3000 and hourly blinds with breaks every 2 levels.
The last 2 identical events: WSOP Event 3 (Jun 3/07) paid 1st place: $727,000.00 with 2,998 entries and WSOP Event 15 (Jun 9/07) is looking similar with 2,628 entrants with money cut offs at 270 spots. The end of Day 1 of EVENT 15 was already at the money with 170 players remaining.
I like to think I'm a realist when it comes to playing these events. There's just too many trap doors with agressive pros and lucky fish and I can't even imagine how many times one has to go "All In" to place even in the money.
Reading some pro poker player blogs that are playing in this week's WSOP events: "Bad Day For A Good Player", "Fold, Fold, Fold...and Out", "My First Hand in 4 Hours", "I Can't Win With Aces", "Crazy Table But I'm Out".
This is how RayRay is going to play: ONE HAND at a time-ONE TABLE at a time with WELL TIMED AGGRESSION/FOLDING....... "Geee... that's the secret!!! I don't think 2,000 other players will be thinking that way...BAhahahahaaaaa!!!".
Seriously though, I am going to offset playing in a field like this by: PLAY A GOOD GAME with NO EXPECTATIONS/PRESSURE and ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE.
...And if that does't fly, there's always the Mini WSOP at Binion's $200+$0 Six Player NL HE Event 17 on Sunday June 17 2:00 PM. http://www.cardplayer.com/tournaments/event_list/1927
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