good reading itt, please continue op

Another great read Secret! Looking forward to the next installment.

Good stuff! Nice avatar by the way.

2nd part was too short!

Great read so far

I agree. And who's the idiot that told him to truncate the damn thing?

Day 1C Part 2 – Bluffing, Eating with the Pros and Expensive Nightcaps

Level 2 started off rough -- I was moving in he wrong direction. I made a lame bluff at a pot that no one wanted and was picked off. Then I flopped a straight flush draw and couldn’t get there against top pair. I proceeded to go card dead for about an hour. My stack was down to 39K when on the last hand of the level my mid position pocket nines called a small raise and saw a 9 high flop. I won a pot of 10K against a JJ on a board of 934 (rainbow) 7 K. At this point not one person at my table has come close to getting knocked out. Everyone has stayed in line and shown good discipline even in cooler type hands that could have gotten ugly. I still feel I have a good read on most of the players at my table and my table image is that of a tight-cautious player despite the one bad bluff. Chip count 49K.

I spent most of the second break standing in line to pee. I figure only at a poker tournament is this a real big problem. I also physically bumped into Annie Duke in the hallway and she looked pissed. Not bc I bumped her, just in general. I wanted to say something witty about “Celebrity Apprentice,” but she didn’t seem to be in the mood to chat.

About halfway through level three I decided to bluff. Taken out of context this hand looks reckless, but over the previous five hours I had developed a tight image by not playing many hands. When I did play, I showed down big hands, and I made folds in tough spots, so my table image was good. The young kid two to my right has been opening a lot of hands and I had folded to him many times. I know he is opening a large range.

So this time, when he raises from the button and the small blind folds, I decide to call with the 54 of spades. This hand is way out of my image’s range. When the flop came J88, I decide right away that I am going to check raise no matter what. A few of reasons – 1. I had not check raised one time yet – so it looks legit. 2. That flop misses most hands so my opponent is unlikely to have improved. 3. My opponent knows I’m a tight player and his reaction will define both his hand and mine.

He called my check raise, but he looked terribly uncomfortable doing so. I am hoping some card will come on the turn that will make me want to give up my bluff. But at the same time I really felt he did not have a super strong hand and he certainly did not know where I was. The turn is a third 8 giving me Imaginary quads or filling up my non-existent boat. I decide to check- call, as it would fit my image of being super nitty. He paused and didn’t look like he wanted to bet, but he did and I called. The river was a 10 and I knew there was only one way to win the hand -- I had to finish the story. I lead out for a bet of about 2/3 pot. He thought for a long time and folded what must have been a small full house or a straight. Good fold considering the story I told. Based on everything leading up to that moment there was no way I was betting worse then jacks full of 8’s there.

He turned to me and said, “I just can’t see you bluffing here.”
Image is everything.

Towards the end of level 3, my chip count peaked at about 59K but, the last few hands I missed some draws and ended the level at 53.9K.

During the dinner break, my wife and I ate at the “Fulltilt eat with the pros” dinner that they had for online qualifiers. There were a bunch of big names there that I pointed out to my wife. She wasn’t impressed. She knows nothing about poker except that I play a lot and “Donkey” is not a compliment.

The food was not very good, but I wasn’t very hungry. My wife insisted that I eat something. Before we left for Vegas I told her that I needed her to fill an important role for me. You see I wasn’t there with any poker buddies. I had no one to talk over hands or situations with. My wife has never played a hand of poker, but I told her that she could play a vital role on “Team 1-secret-1.” I needed my own my Sam Chauhan. She looked at me with what s becoming an all too familiar look of “WTF?” And I explained briefly the concept of a “mind set coach.” She seemed pleased to have a role.

Besides teaching I have been a coach for 16 years and for most of my life I had been a high level athlete used to following the orders of a coach. My wife on the other hand was on the dance team and has never coached anyone, but I told her that her job was to be my coach. She was to give me pep talks, to keep me thinking positively, to keep me focused, eating well, and rested. During this dinner break, she went into action as my nutritionist. She knows that if I get busy and focused I can forget to eat. It comes from years of forced starvation to make weight. So she made sure I at least had a well-balanced meal. I don’t remember what it consisted of, but I was fuelled up.

We happened to find an empty seat across from Chip Jett and his wife Katrina. They were there with their two children. I used the kids (who are similar in age to my own) as a conversation starter. I told Chip that we had played against each other online recently. We had a very nice conversation. He was super nice and willing to share. I asked him about how he got into poker. I also asked some questions about the realities of living as a professional poker player. I have no desire to quit my job (at least until I final table this event), but I am intrigued by this life style. He admitted that budgeting and planning was difficult because your income isn’t steady or guaranteed.

I then solicited a bit of advice for how to go about playing the last level of the day. I felt my table was really playing well and I wasn’t finding too many spots because of aggressive players on both sides of me. He basically said I had enough chips to sit on if I didn’t want to get involved. I can’t say enough about what a good guy and family man he seemed to be.

I did finally get up to my room for a short bit over the dinner break. I was surprised by how large the room was and what a nice view of the strip (albeit across the highway) we had. I splashed some water on my face and made the mile long jog back to the convention center for the last level.

The last level was uneventful. I sat on my chips mostly and tried to stay focused. After I would fold, I would pick a player still in the hand and try to play their cards (mentally of course – for some reason they frown on actually taking someone else’s cards and playing them). It was amazing how well I played when I wasn’t in the hand. I need to be this objective when I am in the hand.

I ended the day with 50,725. I was exhausted but wired at the same time. My wife had gone on to bed shortly after dinner, so I made the stroll back through the Rio and decided I would need a drink to help me unwind and sleep. I didn’t want to pay for one, bc… well.. I’m a nit. So I decided the smart thing to do would be to sit down at a blackjack table, play a few hands and get my “free” drink. The only table I could find with a seat open was playing $25 a hand. I thought to myself, what the hell, I’m playing a 10K buy-in. I can play $25 a hand. That ‘free” Vodka and grapefruit cost me $125. Oops. And then it hit me. My worst fear was past. I didn’t bust day 1. I was officially into day 2 of the WSOP Main Event! I had played well and felt very comfortable with my reads and decisions. Pretty F’ing cool.

I got back to the room and my wife asks me what took so long. I tell her I stopped for a drink to help unwind (I didn’t mention the cost). She asks if I thought a BJ would help me unwind? Does a bear S@#t in the woods?

Cool story man...so how was the BJ from the wifey?

Leo Doc is one of your TR inspirations you say...

vn so far, keep 'em coming.
I think I'll have to make a run at the steps this year, sounds like a decent way to sattelite in.

Just one question... Your wife won't be reading this, right?

awesome read, I'm rootin for you!

Great read. And your wife sounds like a keeper lol.

+1....for sure.

Hoping for part 3 by the time I get home from work tonight.