Yeah, I really liked the animal ones. As I have zero artistic ability, I'm always impressed by those who do.

2024 WSOP buildup: April 2, 2024
Rolling on the river, still need more information to finalize my Vegas tournament blueprint

I’ve been a studying machine. I’ve finished the river section of my tournament masterclass. With a tip of the cap to Creedance Clearwater Revival, “I’m rolling, rolling, rolling on the river.” Strangely, there is no guidance on how to avoid river disaster cards. All that’s left are some miscellaneous sections to the masterclass. I’ll be done in no time at all. Not sure what my studying game plan will be once I finish the masterclass with plenty of time to spare before I head to the WSOP.

I’ll figure it out eventually.

What I’d really like to figure out now are the non-WSOP tourneys I’ll be playing in Las Vegas. So far, the Wynn and Venetian have announced the schedules for their summer series, but the MGM Grand, Golden Nugget and Orleans have not released their schedules. The obsessive part of my brain wishes they’d hurry up so I can create my total tournament schedule. Every day I check the Kenny Hallaert 2024 Vegas Summer Poker Schedule excel spread sheet to see if there have been any updates.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...gid=1358752404

I will be playing in four different WSOP tourneys. One of them has four days of flights. The four flights of the $1,000 Mystery Millions creates a possibility for me to play in summer series tournaments at the Wynn of Venetian. For that to happen I would need to bag chips at the end of an early flight, Day 1A for example, which then would mean I wouldn’t need to fire additional bullets during Day 1B, 1C and 1D. If that happens then I think I will play in a Wynn or Venetian tourney(s). I don’t really have an opinion as to whether the Wynn or Venetian would be preferable. Maybe I’ll flip a coin and let fate decide if this comes into play.

In the middle of my WSOP trip there will be one day that I potentially don’t have a WSOP tourney to play in. Also, toward the end of my trip I might have a couple of days without a possible WSOP tourney, although I could play WSOP Daily Deepstack tourneys. Otherwise, maybe I’ll play those days at the Golden Nugget or Orleans. I have a couple of reasons for this. First, it might be interesting to experience the old school vibe of a couple of tournaments that are not on the strip. Second, my buy-in budget is such that if I haven’t cashed in any WSOP events, then I will need lower buy-ins for non-WSOP days. My bankroll management is disciplined and at an elite level. I know myself well enough to know that there is no chace I will exceed my limits. I will play what I am prepared to lose and not a cent more. And if I bink a big tournament windfall (fingers crossed), that money will leave the poker ecosystem where it will be invested and the income earned from said investments will find its way into my future WSOP bankrolls. The principal will never be touched.

In case anyone is wondering, the books I have re-read from my poker library just for the fun of it since my prior post are Ship It Holla Ballas! by Jonathan Grotenstein and Storms Reback, Jonny Magic & The Card Shark Kids by David Kushner, Check-Raising the Devil by Mike Matusow (with Amy Calistri and Tim Lavalli), and Bigger Deal by Anthony Holden. Yes, I am a voracious reader.

I really like the cello player, girl at the candy store, snow angels, paint hands, and the leopard. good stuff.

Slow pony and this for sure. Excellent storytelling! Looking forward to catching up and following along. Thanks for the great read.

2024 WSOP buildup: April 19, 2024
More studying, even more studying, the sands of time move slowly

I finished the tournament poker masterclass of my poker training site a couple weeks ago. So now what? I find a section of the training site designed to prep students for the WSOP (30 separate videos), and I have been intently watching and learning. I quickly finish it and have now started the Advanced Tournament Course. Learning a lot, but still so much more left to learn.

At this point I just wish the start of the WSOP would get here already. I don’t say this because I think I have mastered GTO play. I have not. Not even close. But at this point I have a basic understanding of GTO, and no amount of studying over the next six weeks will earn me a spot on the GTO Poker Dean’s List. I have a style I am comfortable playing, and I think I can play that style far more successfully than I can play a full-blown GTO strategy that I’m just not qualified to attempt. I think what I have learned about GTO poker will be useful, and I will be able to pick some spots to incorporate GTO doctrine, but no way can I effectively play every single hand in a GTO manner. I’ll just get myself into too much trouble if I push the envelope at Mach 10 with my gray hair on fire.

My continued studying is an act of faith, and yet my impatience is such that I just want to play poker in the greatest tournament series on the planet this very second. I want poker summer camp to get here NOW. But the days are crawling at a snail’s pace. I try looking into the future, but Las Vegas and the WSOP are still too far away for me to see.

2024 WSOP buildup: April 26, 2024
Creating my WSOP road map, do I go all-in on the WSOP or do I sample some other locations as well?

Almost all of the non WSOP summer tournaments have now released their series schedules. My schedule will revolve around the WSOP, but since I only play NLHE events there may be some off days where I either will have to play a WSOP Daily Deepstack or go off site to find NLHE tourneys.

I have an excel spreadsheet (look at gray-haired old-timer me using technology) in which I have been adding my various options. My possibilities look like this:

May 28: Arrive in Vegas. Shop for food. Get the lay of the land at Paris/Horseshoe since my only previous WSOP was at the RIO in 2019.

May 29: WSOP Event #3 Kickoff NLHE freezeout $500. I wish every tournament was a freezeout. I think it should hurt when you get knocked out. I think when you are all-in and lose, your only option should be to find another tournament the next day.

May 30: Either WSOP Event #3 Day 2 or WSOP Event 5A $1,000 Mystery Bounty Flight A.

May 31: Either WSOP Event 5B $1,000 Mystery Bounty Flight B, or if I bagged chips during Flight A (Day 2 is not until June 3) then I will have choices between Venetian $1,100, WSOP Daily Deepstack $250, Aria $600 or Orleans $300. I can’t rule out the possibility of playing Venetian or Wynn ahead of the WSOP Mystery Bounty, depending on how I feel about the structure of the WSOP event (i.e. if it is too much of a high variance shovefest due to how many bullets can be fired in order to try to quickly and aggressively build a big stack).

June 1: Either WSOP Event 5C $1,000 Mystery Bounty Flight C, or if I bagged chips in an earlier flight (Day 2 is not until June 3) then I will have choices between Venetian $1,100, Wynn $1,100, WSOP Daily Deepstack $250, Golden Nugget $150, Aria $60, Orleans $400 or MGM $400. I can’t rule out the possibility of playing Venetian or Wynn ahead of the WSOP Mystery Bounty, depending on how I feel about the structure of the WSOP event.

June 2: Either WSOP Event 5D $1,000 Mystery Bounty Flight D, or if I bagged chips in an earlier flight (Day 2 is not until tomorrow) then I will have choices between Venetian $1,100, Wynn $1,100, WSOP Daily Deepstack $250, Bellagio $200 or Orleans $200. I can’t rule out the possibility of playing Venetian or Wynn ahead of the WSOP Mystery Bounty, depending on how I feel about the structure of the WSOP event.

June 3: Either WSOP Event 5 Mystery Bounty Day 2, or if I failed to make Day 2 then my choices will be WSOP Daily Deepstack $250, or Golden Nugget $200.

June 4: Either WSOP Event 5 Mystery Bounty Day 3, or if I failed to make Day 3 then I will play in WSOP Event #14 Super Turbo Bounty NLHE Freezeout $1,000. Hurray, another freezeout.

June 5: WSOP Event #17 NLHE Deepstack $800. I love the amount of play in a deepstack tourney.

June 6: Either WSOP Event 17 Day 2 or if I fail to make Day 2 then I will choose from WSOP Daily Deepstack $250, Aria $1,100, Golden Nugget $250 or Resorts World $200.

June 7: I leave tomorrow so I have to stick to one-day tourneys, meaning I will choose between WSOP Daily Deepstack $250, Orleans $400, MGM $400 or Resorts World $200. Or, if I am burnt out by poker, I can spend the day in a private cabana by the pool working on my trip report. My money is on me playing somewhere.

June 8: Poker summer camp is over for me and I fly home.

So, if I don’t cash in anything, I think I am looking at around $7,000 in buy-ins. I will not play in cash games. I don’t degen at the craps, blackjack or roulette tables. Video poker is a hard no (looks very fun, but looks very dangerous in how fast losses can mount). I am NLHE tourneys only. I may fire multiple flights, if necessary, in the WSOP Mystery Bounty, but only one bullet per flight because I have no interest in standing in the massive line of people who buy back in same day and are waiting forever for a table spot to open up because a) I have no patience for that, b) I want the full allotment of big blinds that come with a start of day chip stack/structure, and c) bankroll management. Not a criticism of those who fire multiple bullets in a flight, but it’s not something I will choose to do.

I haven’t decided if I want my trip to only include WSOP tourneys, if I want to split my time three-way (between the WSOP, Venetian and Wynn), or if I want to go for a buffet-style taste test of everything (WSOP, Wynn, Venetian, Orleans, Golden Nugget). I expect I will decide what to do on a daily basis with boots on the ground in Las Vegas. I don’t think I will make a decision ahead of time. That said, I suspect I will be heavy on the WSOP.

Good luck me.

Good luck you, indeed. Safe travels, run good.

my trip excel spreadsheet has like a dozen tabs.

2024 WSOP buildup: May 17, 2024
Apparently, they don’t keep much money in banks

I still have a week-and-a-half before I head to Vegas, but I decide to go to my bank to get my bankroll. I like doing things ahead of time (I’m a five minutes early is on time kind of guy).

It’s a good thing. I ask to see a personal banker (I don’t want to advertise to everyone in the teller line the amount of cash I am requesting). A personal banker brings me to her office and I tell her how many $100 bills (buy-ins) and how many $1 bills (tipping) that I want, and she looks back at me with a blank look.

I sense there may be a problem.

“Uhhhh,” she stammers. “We don’t have that many bills like that here. We’ll have to order them for you.”

“OK,” I reply. “How long will that take?”

“A little under a week.”

This stunned me, but the time line works for my WSOP schedule so I don’t raise a fuss.

That said, an old-time punch line pops into my ahead. It has to do with 1950s bank robber Willie Sutton who was asked why he robbed banks, and he answered, “Because that’s where the money is.”

Not anymore.

Not to derail a great thread, but banks are a fkn fraud operation. They keep your money hostage, and it's almost impossible to get them out. Especially in some European countries this stuff is getting real bad, all under the guise of 'safety' and 'money laundering'.

If I hadn't been so lazy, I would strongly consider finding another way to store my money. That is, if the bank would let me take it all out

2024 WSOP buildup: May 18, 2024
Is there such a thing as a life NIT? If so, I plead guilty for the next handful of days

When my first child was born 30 years ago, I retired my golf clubs. I felt that all the time spent on the golf course pre-children made sense, but with a child I felt the time element of golf was family unfriendly.

Maybe a dozen years later, one of my kids needed a golf ball for a school project. When I went to the garage to get a golf ball from my long ignored/forgotten golf bag, the zipper to the pouch with the golf balls was rusted shut.

Fast forward to last year, when both of my daughters were grown up and no longer living in our house. Around the same time, Mrs. rppoker started talking about maybe wanting a second home some day in a warm climate so we could avoid the Chicago winters. That got me thinking, what would I do in Arizona or California all winter? Starting to play golf again seemed like a worthy consideration.

Just one problem, in 2014 I tore the labrum to my shoulder. How I tore it is slightly embarrassing/a good story. It isn’t the most manly injury. I was at the NCAA basketball tournament in Indianapolis with my dad watching Michigan beat Tennessee in the Sweet 16 in a game in which it almost blew a 15-point lead. Late in the game I was cheering a decisive play for Michigan and I did a double fist pump into the air, at which point I felt a tweak in my shoulder area. It was clear something wasn’t right but the pain wasn’t terrible. It was tolerable enough that I went to the Elite Eight game two days later where Michigan lost a tight game to Kentucky (all high-fiving was done with my other arm). As the days went on, the tweak started to slowly but increasingly get worse. I went to the doctor and found out my labrum was torn, but I chose not to get surgery (the recovery is said to be long and brutal) and instead did physical therapy and I believe I received a shot or two. That eliminated the pain eventually, but it also meant I was limited as to what things I can do. I can’t shoot a basketball, for example.

So now that I was thinking about taking up golf in the year 2023, I wondered if it was a realistic possibility as far as my labrum was concerned. I knew that actions above the shoulder (serving a tennis ball) were out of the question, but a golf swing is much lower. I asked both my internist and my pain medicine doctor (I have a trapezoid issue that requires medicine to mask the pain) if a golf swing would cause me a problem. Both said they thought I would be fine. The pain medicine doctor had me do some physical therapy for a month to strengthen the necessary but long dormant muscles, and then gave me her blessing. I went out and bought a pitching wedge at a PGA Superstore, went to the driving range once or twice a week, and my shoulder did not explode.

So, by now you are thinking, what on God’s green earth does any of this have to do with poker. Patience, dear reader.

The game plan was that I would buy a set of golf clubs in 2024 and actually attempt to venture onto a golf course rather than just go to the driving range. Today was the day that I bought the set of golf clubs. I bought them, and then I refused to use them. I vowed not to touch them until after my WSOP is concluded. No way I want to risk re-injuring my torn labrum this close to the WSOP. The pain at its worst 10 years ago was such that playing poker for 10-12 hours a day for 12 days would be impossible.

This begs the question, does my scaredy-cat approach to my new golf clubs mean I am a life NIT? Is this the life equivalent of folding Q-Q in an unraised pot on a WSOP poker tournament money bubble? If it is, I gladly plead guilty as charged. I am so fired up about the impending WSOP that there is no way I am taking any chances. Golf can wait.

Scared money makes no money my friend!!!
Just kidding, I am loving your writing and you can definitely tell a story. Similar thing happened to me when my wife and I had our 2 kids. Pre-kids I was playing 25-30 rounds of golf a year and got my handicap down to a respectable 11-12. After 2 kids and not playing much golf for 10+ years I joked with my friends and clients that each daughter added 5 strokes to my golf game. In life, I would rather be a shitty golfer and a good father, than a good golfer but a shitty father.

Best of luck in this year’s WSOP and I will be refreshing this thread on the regular when you start posting your trip report.

Depends what bank and how big of a branch! I never have issues taking out 10-15k for my wsop trips from Chase.

And since you have a car i think? Vegas branches have a lot of cash on hand

2024 WSOP buildup: May 21, 2024
Celtics vs. Pacers, Game 1 of Eastern Conference Finals

I am watching the Celtics-Pacers NBA playoff game on TV. Great game. Close game. Dramatic game.

Overtime.

I am on the edge of my seat.

Then I have a sudden realization. I will be at the WSOP in seven days. As soon as I take my first step on Las Vegas land I will completely lose track of the fact that the NBA playoffs are ongoing.

And just like that, overtime does not seem all that interesting anymore.

Yea Vegas branches are definitely way more used to big deposits and withdrawals than most places.

Thank you to the 2+2 LVL community

As I am moving about in a frenzy trying to take care of everything for my business and my family before I leave for the WSOP, I just wanted to take a moment to thank 2+2's Las Vegas Lifestyle community.

All of your compliments, comments, opinions, suggestions, etc. in my trip report are greatly appreciated. Knowing that people are following along makes it so much easier/rewarding to keep writing.

This trip report is really the first thing I have written of any substance since I left sports writing 22 years ago. When I changed careers at that time, people kept asking me if I was going to miss writing since they knew how much I loved doing so. I said that on the one hand, of course I'd miss it. I was passionate about doing it. On the other hand, I was reaching a point where the writing process had become so easy that I was no longer feeling challenged. It reminded me of something my dad's best friend once said to me. He was an extremely successful labor attorney and he made the comment that the road to professional mastery is very interesting, but once he'd mastered his craft it started to feel somewhat redundant/mundane. That's kind of where I was heading when I left sports writing.

I have really enjoyed combining the writing and poker components of my skill set. Poker writing is new to me, and therefore the process is exciting, interesting and challenging to me. It has re-awakened my love of writing.

And the way you all have nurtured my trip report with your support/kindness has been phenomenal. So thank you!

Thank YOU for sharing! These trips are exhausting in and of themselves in terms of planning and execution, least of all documenting everything on top of that. Great to be along for the ride!

2024 WSOP buildup: May 23, 2024
A poker sweat even before I leave for Las Vegas

I call my bank to see if my tournament bankroll and tip money has come in. I am told it has not arrived yet.

Don’t freak out, I tell myself. (I'm freaking out).

I ask if they can make a call to track the status.

They say they can’t call to find out when money deliveries are made for security reasons. While this is perfectly logical from their perspective, from my side of things this is approaching freak out level DEFCON 3 status.

Still, I don’t freak out on the outside (I am very much freaking out on the inside). I remind myself that you catch more flies with honey, so I calmly ask how much money I can withdraw if the money does not get delivered by tomorrow since the bank is closed Monday for Memorial Day and I leave the following day.

I am told that if necessary they will be able to come up with the money since this is not my fault.

I don’t ask how they will suddenly be able to find a solution. I’m just relieved to hear that they will make it happen.

A few hours later I receive a much-desired phone call. My money has arrived.

About an hour before the bank closes, I get there. There are no customers inside, which is good. I’d prefer strangers not see me receive this much money. I ask the bank teller to run the hundred dollar bills through their money counter. They bring me back to the counter, and it checks out. I tell them they don’t need to run the large stack of one dollar bills (for tipping) through the machine. I’ll take their word for it on the small bills.

The bank teller asks me what the money is for, probably because of the sum I am receiving. I tell him it is to play in the World Series of Poker. He types this information into the computer.

I fill out the withdrawal slip and the teller says he has to get his manager to sign off on this. His manager comes over, reads on the computer that the money is for the WSOP, and clearly he thinks this is the most interesting part of his day. He asks a few questions about the WSOP, and since there are still no other customers I don’t mind discussing the matter. He then says he knows someone who played professionally for a couple of years, and then says, “He came in around 100th place in the Main Event one year. Is that good?”

Yes, I tell him, that is very good.

I head out of the bank, and all of a sudden all kinds of people are getting out of cars and headed toward the bank entrance. It’s a set up!!!!!!

The first to walk near me is a woman. An older woman. I’d guess 75 years old. She looks tough. And she’s walking with a cane … which can be used as a weapon!!

I step aside, I hold my envelop full of money a little bit tighter, and she walks into the bank without incident. OK, that was a false alarm. I scoot quickly to my car. I get in, quickly lock the door and drive away as fast as I can.

I get home without incident. I find an out of the way spot to stash my cash. Now I need to protect my cash between now and when I leave in five days. There’s no excess cash in my WSOP bankroll to hire a security guard. Then I see my dog Astro. He is a sheltie, and shelties are very barky dogs. If a master thief breaks into our house, Astro will give him an earful.



However, after the initial explosion of barking, a good thief will quickly seize on Astro’s biggest leak as a guard dog. If the thief gives him a treat, Astro will sell his soul to the devil. Astro is a good boy, a very good boy, but once a thief starts feeding him treats, Astro will voluntarily share where Mrs. rppoker’s jewelry is. Fortunately, Astro did not see where I hid my WSOP bankroll.

As for Mrs. rppoker, I can’t count on her to be much of a deterrent. She fractured her ankle a month ago. She was talking to my younger daughter in one direction while walking Astro on a leash in the other direction when Astro saw a squirrel, tried to take off in pursuit and … you can figure out the rest. Mrs. rppoker stopped needing her walking boot yesterday but she is still moving kind of slow.

As for me, I figure if I have to throw a punch in anger my torn labrum from 10 years ago is sure to explode.

To recap, yes I have let my imagination completely run wild, but the paranoia that goes with carrying around this much cash is real. That means the WSOP emotions rattling around inside my brain are paranoia, impatience and excitement. It’s getting very crowded inside my head.

Don't secure the cash so well that it's still hidden away when you land at LAS.

Ummm...Mrs rppoker...can you wire me over that money, please?"

Also, Astro is a good dog!

Astro looks like a fearsome guard dog…. Who would roll over for a thief if belly rubs were involved.

I can relate to the heightened situational awareness carrying lots of cash. Try it on the Vegas streets at night!

I’m curious who you bank with if they can’t come up with several thousand cash on the spot. I bank with one of the 4 biggest US banks, and have never had a problem getting up to 10k with no questions asked.

…Hope it’s not SVB!

It's not SVB. It's not a Big 4 bank. It's a bank with branches in 27 states. I don't think the total dollar amount caused them a problem. I think it was the quantity of $100 bills that caused them an issue.

This reminds me my 90 year old grandma wanted 15,000 in cash for various things.

I told her to just write me a check and I'd give her 15k in cash.

She definitely thinks I'm selling drugs on some level and insists on going to the bank which obviously I take her to. After 2 hours of nonsense she gets the cash.

Also future reference you don't even need the one dollar bills from the bank -the casino has plenty !

Enjoy your trip and thanks for the read.

It's actually nice to see things through the eyes of a rec player who also isn't just there to totally degen it up.

2024 WSOP buildup: May 24, 2024
Good luck wishes, Rounders reference (cliche yes, but come on I’m entitled to one)

I bring a memo to all of my tenants in my office buildings telling them when I will be out of town and who they should call with any issues while I am gone.

Inevitably, my tenants ask where I am going, and. When I say Las Vegas to play in the World Series of Poker, the response is almost always, “Good luck.”

Of course, this makes me think of the final scene of the movie Rounders:

[last lines of the movie]

Taxi Driver: Vegas, huh?

Mike: Yep.

Taxi Driver: Good luck, man.

Mike: [narrating] People insist on calling it luck. [to taxi driver] Thanks. [narrating] First prize at the World Series of Poker is a million dollars. Does it have my name on it? I don't know. But I'm going to find out.

The inference is that for top players, poker is a skill game, not luck.

As for me, given the brutal negative variance I kept running into on improbable river disasters in 2019, I will be quite happy if luck chooses to shine upon me this time around in 2024.

Will variance swing in my favor in 2024? I don't know. But I'm going to find out.

Great story. Yes, it's true that I'm not looking to degen it up. Actually, in two days I will explain what my concept of degening will be. And it is very, very, very tame.