TS9's WSOP Trip Report - 2019 Edition
06-06-2019
, 04:10 AM
Hey LVL,
After not making it last year due to the birth of our 2nd child I'm happy to be back again this year taking a shot at a couple of bracelet events and sharing my musings from the trip with the forum.
Many thanks to wifey for staying home and looking after the kids and giving me a free pass to Vegas for 11 days.
Obligatory shoes and roll pics.
Roll in Colombian Pesos before converting. Think having all the small chips in a tournament before the color up.
And after the color up :-(
Day One - Tuesday June 4th
Travel day. Medellin-Panama-Vegas
4 hour layover in Panama. Lets at least start off by trying to eat healthy.
Fettuccine with chicken in pesto sauce washed down with a watermelon juice.
Ready to go.
Uneventful flight and approx 8 hours later we check into the Monte Carlo, err no make that Park MGM. Can't really see much difference.
And from the room can't really see anything. :-(
Too tired to complain now, will try and fix tomorrow.
After not making it last year due to the birth of our 2nd child I'm happy to be back again this year taking a shot at a couple of bracelet events and sharing my musings from the trip with the forum.
Many thanks to wifey for staying home and looking after the kids and giving me a free pass to Vegas for 11 days.
Obligatory shoes and roll pics.
Roll in Colombian Pesos before converting. Think having all the small chips in a tournament before the color up.
And after the color up :-(
Day One - Tuesday June 4th
Travel day. Medellin-Panama-Vegas
4 hour layover in Panama. Lets at least start off by trying to eat healthy.
Fettuccine with chicken in pesto sauce washed down with a watermelon juice.
Ready to go.
Uneventful flight and approx 8 hours later we check into the Monte Carlo, err no make that Park MGM. Can't really see much difference.
And from the room can't really see anything. :-(
Too tired to complain now, will try and fix tomorrow.
06-06-2019
, 04:43 AM
Day Two - Wednesday June 5th
Playing the $1,500 HORSE at the Rio today.
Try to change rooms before I leave for the tournament but nothing available that early so they put a note in my account to hold a room for me on a higher floor for later.
50th anniversary of the WSOP this year. Good year to bink a bracelet me thinks.
Chip up steadily to about 20k (starting stack was 10k) at dinner break.
Same limited food options at Rio and long lines everywhere.
Feeling quite hungry I decide to splurge and opt for Voodoo steakhouse.
Won't get me on the zip line in a million years.
12oz Filet with mashed potatoes. Good temperature and fast to arrive after I told them i was on dinner break and only had an hour to eat.
Tiramisu for dessert. Really good but too much for me. Eyes bigger than belly.
Back to the tournament and two more levels tonight.
Doesn't go as smoothly as before dinner. I go card dead and lose a couple of hands that I do play. Went back down to 8k before winning a couple of smaller pots and finally bagging 14,600 to come back tomorrow.
First level tomorrow will be 1k / 2k so I only have 7 big bets but still feeling positive. Need to be selective and find a couple of good spots early.
Back to the hotel and i manage to change room to one on the 14th floor.
This time I'm directly facing T Mobile Arena
Did they refurb the rooms? Was expecting a bit more modern and/or nicer somehow so a little disappointed.
Best thing is they have big 50inch TV's
Playing the $1,500 HORSE at the Rio today.
Try to change rooms before I leave for the tournament but nothing available that early so they put a note in my account to hold a room for me on a higher floor for later.
50th anniversary of the WSOP this year. Good year to bink a bracelet me thinks.
Chip up steadily to about 20k (starting stack was 10k) at dinner break.
Same limited food options at Rio and long lines everywhere.
Feeling quite hungry I decide to splurge and opt for Voodoo steakhouse.
Won't get me on the zip line in a million years.
12oz Filet with mashed potatoes. Good temperature and fast to arrive after I told them i was on dinner break and only had an hour to eat.
Tiramisu for dessert. Really good but too much for me. Eyes bigger than belly.
Back to the tournament and two more levels tonight.
Doesn't go as smoothly as before dinner. I go card dead and lose a couple of hands that I do play. Went back down to 8k before winning a couple of smaller pots and finally bagging 14,600 to come back tomorrow.
First level tomorrow will be 1k / 2k so I only have 7 big bets but still feeling positive. Need to be selective and find a couple of good spots early.
Back to the hotel and i manage to change room to one on the 14th floor.
This time I'm directly facing T Mobile Arena
Did they refurb the rooms? Was expecting a bit more modern and/or nicer somehow so a little disappointed.
Best thing is they have big 50inch TV's
06-06-2019
, 04:04 PM
Quote:
Day Two - Wednesday June 5th
Playing the $1,500 HORSE at the Rio today.
Try to change rooms before I leave for the tournament but nothing available that early so they put a note in my account to hold a room for me on a higher floor for later.
50th anniversary of the WSOP this year. Good year to bink a bracelet me thinks.
Chip up steadily to about 20k (starting stack was 10k) at dinner break.
Same limited food options at Rio and long lines everywhere.
Feeling quite hungry I decide to splurge and opt for Voodoo steakhouse.
Won't get me on the zip line in a million years.
12oz Filet with mashed potatoes. Good temperature and fast to arrive after I told them i was on dinner break and only had an hour to eat.
Tiramisu for dessert. Really good but too much for me. Eyes bigger than belly.
Back to the tournament and two more levels tonight.
Doesn't go as smoothly as before dinner. I go card dead and lose a couple of hands that I do play. Went back down to 8k before winning a couple of smaller pots and finally bagging 14,600 to come back tomorrow.
First level tomorrow will be 1k / 2k so I only have 7 big bets but still feeling positive. Need to be selective and find a couple of good spots early.
Back to the hotel and i manage to change room to one on the 14th floor.
This time I'm directly facing T Mobile Arena
Did they refurb the rooms? Was expecting a bit more modern and/or nicer somehow so a little disappointed.
Best thing is they have big 50inch TV's
Playing the $1,500 HORSE at the Rio today.
Try to change rooms before I leave for the tournament but nothing available that early so they put a note in my account to hold a room for me on a higher floor for later.
50th anniversary of the WSOP this year. Good year to bink a bracelet me thinks.
Chip up steadily to about 20k (starting stack was 10k) at dinner break.
Same limited food options at Rio and long lines everywhere.
Feeling quite hungry I decide to splurge and opt for Voodoo steakhouse.
Won't get me on the zip line in a million years.
12oz Filet with mashed potatoes. Good temperature and fast to arrive after I told them i was on dinner break and only had an hour to eat.
Tiramisu for dessert. Really good but too much for me. Eyes bigger than belly.
Back to the tournament and two more levels tonight.
Doesn't go as smoothly as before dinner. I go card dead and lose a couple of hands that I do play. Went back down to 8k before winning a couple of smaller pots and finally bagging 14,600 to come back tomorrow.
First level tomorrow will be 1k / 2k so I only have 7 big bets but still feeling positive. Need to be selective and find a couple of good spots early.
Back to the hotel and i manage to change room to one on the 14th floor.
This time I'm directly facing T Mobile Arena
Did they refurb the rooms? Was expecting a bit more modern and/or nicer somehow so a little disappointed.
Best thing is they have big 50inch TV's
Good luck on your day 2 TS9!
06-07-2019
, 04:58 AM
Day Three - Thursday June 6th
Survived a couple of rounds on day two of the HORSE tournament but was fighting a losing battle and finally succumbed after the first break, exiting around 160ish still about 60 players short of the money.
Happy overall with how I played, just could have done with a little cooperation from the cards. For example, nice friendly starting table today and my half of the table all short stacks but we were all positive and knew one of us would get some chips. Turned out to be the guy in seat 8: Won a huge 3 way Stud hand capped on most streets with two pair 4's and 2's against split Aces for one opponent and split Kings for the other, neither of which improved. Took his 14k to 40k in one hand and was off and running. Those are the bits of luck at the right time you need in these things.
Then had a bad beat as my iPhone died. Screen completely unresponsive. Took it to the geniuses at the Apple store in Caesar's Forum shops who confirmed it was probably beyond repair. To be fair it was pretty banged up and the screen wasn't the original anyway. They said they could put a new screen in but no guarantees that would help so opted to buy a new one. A necessary but unexpected extra expense :-(
So this is the reason we're a bit light on photos today as they were all in my old phone.
After Caesar's walked to Aria for some PLO cash action and got seated at a 1/2 game after a couple of hours wait. I normally play 2/5 or 5/10 but current bankroll doesn't allow so will have to grind the low limits.
Table was surprisingly tight for 1/2 (plays 1/2/5 as its 5 for the next person to enter the pot) but I didn't mind. I don't tend to do well in very loose 6 people to every flop type of games. Picked off Aces with 9987 when a 9 flopped, getting a double up on my initial stack and continued by picking up small pots here and there, never really playing a big pot, not that there were very many at the table.
The lone photo for today
$800 profit from 6 hours play.
Park MGM gripe. No mini bar in room. I rang down and asked if they could send a fridge up? Yes was the reply, but at a cost of $25 per day! Fcuk that. Only wanted to keep my water and juice cold that I have in the room. I'll go to the ice machine instead.
Survived a couple of rounds on day two of the HORSE tournament but was fighting a losing battle and finally succumbed after the first break, exiting around 160ish still about 60 players short of the money.
Happy overall with how I played, just could have done with a little cooperation from the cards. For example, nice friendly starting table today and my half of the table all short stacks but we were all positive and knew one of us would get some chips. Turned out to be the guy in seat 8: Won a huge 3 way Stud hand capped on most streets with two pair 4's and 2's against split Aces for one opponent and split Kings for the other, neither of which improved. Took his 14k to 40k in one hand and was off and running. Those are the bits of luck at the right time you need in these things.
Then had a bad beat as my iPhone died. Screen completely unresponsive. Took it to the geniuses at the Apple store in Caesar's Forum shops who confirmed it was probably beyond repair. To be fair it was pretty banged up and the screen wasn't the original anyway. They said they could put a new screen in but no guarantees that would help so opted to buy a new one. A necessary but unexpected extra expense :-(
So this is the reason we're a bit light on photos today as they were all in my old phone.
After Caesar's walked to Aria for some PLO cash action and got seated at a 1/2 game after a couple of hours wait. I normally play 2/5 or 5/10 but current bankroll doesn't allow so will have to grind the low limits.
Table was surprisingly tight for 1/2 (plays 1/2/5 as its 5 for the next person to enter the pot) but I didn't mind. I don't tend to do well in very loose 6 people to every flop type of games. Picked off Aces with 9987 when a 9 flopped, getting a double up on my initial stack and continued by picking up small pots here and there, never really playing a big pot, not that there were very many at the table.
The lone photo for today
$800 profit from 6 hours play.
Park MGM gripe. No mini bar in room. I rang down and asked if they could send a fridge up? Yes was the reply, but at a cost of $25 per day! Fcuk that. Only wanted to keep my water and juice cold that I have in the room. I'll go to the ice machine instead.
Last edited by TonySoprano9; 06-07-2019 at 05:04 AM.
06-07-2019
, 08:50 AM
06-07-2019
, 01:06 PM
Quote:
Day Three - Thursday June 6th
Survived a couple of rounds on day two of the HORSE tournament but was fighting a losing battle and finally succumbed after the first break, exiting around 160ish still about 60 players short of the money.
Happy overall with how I played, just could have done with a little cooperation from the cards. For example, nice friendly starting table today and my half of the table all short stacks but we were all positive and knew one of us would get some chips. Turned out to be the guy in seat 8: Won a huge 3 way Stud hand capped on most streets with two pair 4's and 2's against split Aces for one opponent and split Kings for the other, neither of which improved. Took his 14k to 40k in one hand and was off and running. Those are the bits of luck at the right time you need in these things.
Then had a bad beat as my iPhone died. Screen completely unresponsive. Took it to the geniuses at the Apple store in Caesar's Forum shops who confirmed it was probably beyond repair. To be fair it was pretty banged up and the screen wasn't the original anyway. They said they could put a new screen in but no guarantees that would help so opted to buy a new one. A necessary but unexpected extra expense :-(
So this is the reason we're a bit light on photos today as they were all in my old phone.
After Caesar's walked to Aria for some PLO cash action and got seated at a 1/2 game after a couple of hours wait. I normally play 2/5 or 5/10 but current bankroll doesn't allow so will have to grind the low limits.
Table was surprisingly tight for 1/2 (plays 1/2/5 as its 5 for the next person to enter the pot) but I didn't mind. I don't tend to do well in very loose 6 people to every flop type of games. Picked off Aces with 9987 when a 9 flopped, getting a double up on my initial stack and continued by picking up small pots here and there, never really playing a big pot, not that there were very many at the table.
The lone photo for today
$800 profit from 6 hours play.
Park MGM gripe. No mini bar in room. I rang down and asked if they could send a fridge up? Yes was the reply, but at a cost of $25 per day! Fcuk that. Only wanted to keep my water and juice cold that I have in the room. I'll go to the ice machine instead.
Survived a couple of rounds on day two of the HORSE tournament but was fighting a losing battle and finally succumbed after the first break, exiting around 160ish still about 60 players short of the money.
Happy overall with how I played, just could have done with a little cooperation from the cards. For example, nice friendly starting table today and my half of the table all short stacks but we were all positive and knew one of us would get some chips. Turned out to be the guy in seat 8: Won a huge 3 way Stud hand capped on most streets with two pair 4's and 2's against split Aces for one opponent and split Kings for the other, neither of which improved. Took his 14k to 40k in one hand and was off and running. Those are the bits of luck at the right time you need in these things.
Then had a bad beat as my iPhone died. Screen completely unresponsive. Took it to the geniuses at the Apple store in Caesar's Forum shops who confirmed it was probably beyond repair. To be fair it was pretty banged up and the screen wasn't the original anyway. They said they could put a new screen in but no guarantees that would help so opted to buy a new one. A necessary but unexpected extra expense :-(
So this is the reason we're a bit light on photos today as they were all in my old phone.
After Caesar's walked to Aria for some PLO cash action and got seated at a 1/2 game after a couple of hours wait. I normally play 2/5 or 5/10 but current bankroll doesn't allow so will have to grind the low limits.
Table was surprisingly tight for 1/2 (plays 1/2/5 as its 5 for the next person to enter the pot) but I didn't mind. I don't tend to do well in very loose 6 people to every flop type of games. Picked off Aces with 9987 when a 9 flopped, getting a double up on my initial stack and continued by picking up small pots here and there, never really playing a big pot, not that there were very many at the table.
The lone photo for today
$800 profit from 6 hours play.
Park MGM gripe. No mini bar in room. I rang down and asked if they could send a fridge up? Yes was the reply, but at a cost of $25 per day! Fcuk that. Only wanted to keep my water and juice cold that I have in the room. I'll go to the ice machine instead.
What you described in the 1/2/5 PLO at Aria is what I also experienced my last Vegas trip in early March. In my experience the looser PLO action happens after 11 pm and more so on the weekends.
06-07-2019
, 02:17 PM
B
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06-08-2019
, 06:17 AM
Day Four - Friday June 6th
Decided to give the milly maker a miss and play the Stud tournament today which is a 3pm start so leisurely morning at the pool.
Also noticed this from my rather dirty window.
New Raiders stadium coming along nicely. Will have to come during football season when its open, although dread to think what hotel prices will be like for weekends when there's a home game.
New pool area at Park MGM has 3 separate pool, the biggest one is quite long and good for swimming lengths.
Ate lunch at Eataly which is new since I was last here. It's, as the name suggests, an Italian themed market type place with various food places and stalls.
The gnocchi was very good. Fresh, homemade, nice sauce, not overly complicated. My only gripe was the portion size was a bit small. First time I've ever had that problem in this country.
Got off to an okay start in the Stud tournament including this hand that made the live updates:
Not sure what Barry had as he didn't show, either a bigger set than my 4's or he made a straight.
After that it was downhill. Kept getting good hands only for my opponents to make straights or flushes on the last card. Lost with Aces up, Kings up twice and a set of Jacks. Wasn't to be my day and busted during level 8.
Headed to Aria for a late night 1/2/5 PLO session.
There were 3 x 1/2/5 games going and one of them looked very good with a couple of drunk guys and a lot of chips on the table but of course I couldn't get in that one. Played a 4 hour session ending with a profit of $350.
Decided to give the milly maker a miss and play the Stud tournament today which is a 3pm start so leisurely morning at the pool.
Also noticed this from my rather dirty window.
New Raiders stadium coming along nicely. Will have to come during football season when its open, although dread to think what hotel prices will be like for weekends when there's a home game.
New pool area at Park MGM has 3 separate pool, the biggest one is quite long and good for swimming lengths.
Ate lunch at Eataly which is new since I was last here. It's, as the name suggests, an Italian themed market type place with various food places and stalls.
The gnocchi was very good. Fresh, homemade, nice sauce, not overly complicated. My only gripe was the portion size was a bit small. First time I've ever had that problem in this country.
Got off to an okay start in the Stud tournament including this hand that made the live updates:
Not sure what Barry had as he didn't show, either a bigger set than my 4's or he made a straight.
After that it was downhill. Kept getting good hands only for my opponents to make straights or flushes on the last card. Lost with Aces up, Kings up twice and a set of Jacks. Wasn't to be my day and busted during level 8.
Headed to Aria for a late night 1/2/5 PLO session.
There were 3 x 1/2/5 games going and one of them looked very good with a couple of drunk guys and a lot of chips on the table but of course I couldn't get in that one. Played a 4 hour session ending with a profit of $350.
06-09-2019
, 02:11 AM
Day Five - Saturday June 8th
Contemplated playing the Milly Maker today but decided against it. Needed a day off from tournaments.
In Medellin I've been learning to play 3 cushion billiards which is very popular there and am hooked on the game, so when I found a place online here in Vegas that has billiard tables I had to check it out.
The place is called Gorilla Cafe and the address is 1801 E Tropicana Ave. they have both billiard and pool tables and the girl that runs it, Anna, is very friendly as were all the people there. Would highly recommend a visit for anyone that plays pool or billiards.
They were actually having a 3 cushion tournament today so I did end up playing a tournament after all! It was a friendly affair, 8 players, $25 buy in, winner take all.
I lost my first round match to Jorge who funnily enough is from Medellin but now lives here. The rest of the field was made up of 1 American and 5 Mexicans. All nice people and a couple of good players amongst them.
It was good to get out of the casino and do something different but after the diversion it was back to Aria and the grind.
Two 1/2/5 PLO games going and they were both horrible. I played them both after table changing thinking the other table must be better than the first table I was at but I was wrong.
How can the games be so bad? Saturday evening in Vegas and games filled with pros and nits and no one drinking? Seriously about half the hands were one person open for a raise and everyone folds.
The only person drinking at the table was me :-( So when I heard the floor call open seating 5/5 PLO I couldn't resist.
In reality its 5/5/10 as they play with a rock so quite a big game with most of the players buying in for either 1k or the 2k max. I'm not really rolled for the game on this trip so I took my $500 buy in from the 1/2/5 game which had grown to about $600 and short stacked it.
I'd grown my stack to about $800 when the following hand occurred.
6 way pre-flop action for $65 each.
I held A357 ds. Flop A-8-2 rainbow
Everyone checked to the original raiser who continued for $200
Whats my play?
I win a couple more pots before a couple of the weaker players are replaced by 2k max buy-in nits, non talkative, non social, game now not good so I call it a night.
+$1,000 after 5.5 hours.
Have to reward myself:
Contemplated playing the Milly Maker today but decided against it. Needed a day off from tournaments.
In Medellin I've been learning to play 3 cushion billiards which is very popular there and am hooked on the game, so when I found a place online here in Vegas that has billiard tables I had to check it out.
The place is called Gorilla Cafe and the address is 1801 E Tropicana Ave. they have both billiard and pool tables and the girl that runs it, Anna, is very friendly as were all the people there. Would highly recommend a visit for anyone that plays pool or billiards.
They were actually having a 3 cushion tournament today so I did end up playing a tournament after all! It was a friendly affair, 8 players, $25 buy in, winner take all.
I lost my first round match to Jorge who funnily enough is from Medellin but now lives here. The rest of the field was made up of 1 American and 5 Mexicans. All nice people and a couple of good players amongst them.
It was good to get out of the casino and do something different but after the diversion it was back to Aria and the grind.
Two 1/2/5 PLO games going and they were both horrible. I played them both after table changing thinking the other table must be better than the first table I was at but I was wrong.
How can the games be so bad? Saturday evening in Vegas and games filled with pros and nits and no one drinking? Seriously about half the hands were one person open for a raise and everyone folds.
The only person drinking at the table was me :-( So when I heard the floor call open seating 5/5 PLO I couldn't resist.
In reality its 5/5/10 as they play with a rock so quite a big game with most of the players buying in for either 1k or the 2k max. I'm not really rolled for the game on this trip so I took my $500 buy in from the 1/2/5 game which had grown to about $600 and short stacked it.
I'd grown my stack to about $800 when the following hand occurred.
6 way pre-flop action for $65 each.
I held A357 ds. Flop A-8-2 rainbow
Everyone checked to the original raiser who continued for $200
Whats my play?
Spoiler:
I win a couple more pots before a couple of the weaker players are replaced by 2k max buy-in nits, non talkative, non social, game now not good so I call it a night.
+$1,000 after 5.5 hours.
Have to reward myself:
06-09-2019
, 08:09 AM
Nice little Aria plo session 
Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk
06-10-2019
, 06:36 AM
Day Six - Sunday June 9th
Slept in then went to meet my buddy Rex for lunch. He suggested Twin Peaks because as he put it "if you're going to be playing poker all day I thought you at least need to see some tits and ass first"
Bar food, it is what it is.
But they do deliver on their promise of scenic views.
Random strip shot.
Glutton for punishment. Eight Game Mix today.
Playing in the Amazon room.
I chipped up steadily throughout the day increasing my 10k starting stack to about 35k before a bad level 8 saw me sitting on 20k at the last break of the night.
Return from the break to find 6 time bracelet winner Jeff Lisandro has been moved into the empty seat next to me and he proceeds to win 3 Stud hands on the trot including one against me. Note to self - try to avoid tangling with one of the best Stud players in the world.
I did avoid him for the remaining time and managed to win some pots off other players and knock a short stack out in PLO to bag a slightly above average 41k.
Counting the chips to go in the bag. Guy at the far end of the table has about 80k and the old guy to my left is Jeff's official bag man so he says, as he sat down to take care of the formalities after the last hand of the night while Jeff made a swift exit.
Re-start tomorrow at 2pm.
Slept in then went to meet my buddy Rex for lunch. He suggested Twin Peaks because as he put it "if you're going to be playing poker all day I thought you at least need to see some tits and ass first"
Bar food, it is what it is.
But they do deliver on their promise of scenic views.
Random strip shot.
Glutton for punishment. Eight Game Mix today.
Playing in the Amazon room.
I chipped up steadily throughout the day increasing my 10k starting stack to about 35k before a bad level 8 saw me sitting on 20k at the last break of the night.
Return from the break to find 6 time bracelet winner Jeff Lisandro has been moved into the empty seat next to me and he proceeds to win 3 Stud hands on the trot including one against me. Note to self - try to avoid tangling with one of the best Stud players in the world.
I did avoid him for the remaining time and managed to win some pots off other players and knock a short stack out in PLO to bag a slightly above average 41k.
Counting the chips to go in the bag. Guy at the far end of the table has about 80k and the old guy to my left is Jeff's official bag man so he says, as he sat down to take care of the formalities after the last hand of the night while Jeff made a swift exit.
Re-start tomorrow at 2pm.