OK - First a quick trip recap and then will post a separate accounting. I think most followed on twitter, so this may be a repeat for some, but I am happy to provide either way.
So I played 5 Tournaments total last week:
WSOP 1k - Played mostly tight the whole day (this is unfortunately the proper strategy, since these tourneys play as <50BB 10-handed no ante poker for the first 5-6 levels). Chipped up to over 4K from 3k starting. Scott Freeman opens UTG=1 to 525 at 100/200 no ante, Euro fish that has been spazzing and playing awful for the last hour flats the button (he went from 20K when I arrived to 8K to start this hand). I have 4200 chips in the SB and an obvious ship with JJ. Scott folds and the fish calls with A8 offsuit. Ace on the turn GG. Amazingly, over half the field was already out when I busted level 5.
Earnings $0
Bellagio $500 rebuy - The tourney structure was actually better than I hoped, as the two optional rebuys allowed for a deeper structure. I had KK cracked by 66 early on, and rebought once to make total buyin of $1k to match package. I really had no hands all day, but field was soft enough to maneuver through anyway. I eventually won a couple flips and got to the final table of 10 (48 runners to start). I lost a big pot with AQ<A10 aipf and became one of the short stacks. A couple other big stacks spazzed out unnecessarily (dude 4bet allin over nit's 3bet with Q10off - ran into QQ) and we got down to 6-handed with 5 spots paying.
So we got to 6-handed and me and the other shortstack dude was dead set on cashing at any cost. He open mucked AJ with 8bbs on the button....I shoved A10off for last 9bbs and ran into the BB's AQ on the stone bubble. Binked a 10 on the turn and then the AQ dude became short and then lost the rest in a horrible beat. So 5-handed, I raise called Mr. Nit/Min-cash's 7bb shove with A8off, he had JJ and I rivered an Ace. I was really pumped to run over the field 4-handed, but lost a huge pot to the one remaining competent player (Young Swede) in bvb battle - this hand was a total cooler really. Then the two chip leaders clashed, and a Bellagio reg named Terry spazzed off almost all his chips with 33 on A55r to Swede's K5. Terry had been stone walling all the chop/deal discussions as the chipleader up to that point, but then begged to do a deal. At first we said no, but then I doubled him 44<A7o aipf, so we reconsidered and I got 6300, which was 500 more than ICM and I had only 8bbs left after the 44 hand.
Earnings $6300
WSOP $2500 6-Max - I drew and incredibly soft initial table for this tournament, and used that and some decent cards to run up a very large initial stack. I beat AA with 10s aipf with the other two 10s out of the deck, so was running well early. I then ran AK, AQ, and QJhh into Jeff Shulman's AA (verified) three hands in 4 orbits to cool things down a little (had 50K from 7500 at 100/200 at one point). I took my 40k stack to a much tougher table late in Day 1. The table was pretty aggro with no one over 30 other than me. I then played a large flip for the first time in the tourney when I 3bet/called 10s vs a pretty Laggy Euro dude's cutoff open. Calling off was pretty close, but I did, he had AK, and I lost a huge pot. Played pretty tight the rest of the day since I had 20-30bb stack, the table was aggro, and I held nothing better than AJ the rest of the day.
Day 2 I drew a table of a Cardrunners unkown, Marco Traniello, a Euro nit, Maridu, and a random. I had 12bbs and blinded down to 8bbs where I jammed the button with K8off, cardrunners dude called with QJoff, and K high held. I then open shipped 88 one other time, and we then made the money. After the money bubble broke, I doubled AQ>KQ to get over 20k. I then bombed allin over three str8 opens and got folds each time and suddenly had 40K at 800/1600. Next hand, random opens the cutoff, I overbet bomb allin again with QQ in a great spot, since he was gonna call me wit 77+, A10+ given my image. He happened to have AK, and I lost the race for 80k. Would have had table chiplead and pretty soft table. Tough one.
Earnings: $5,211
WSOP $1500 - I seriously played at like 10 different tables over the course of Day 1. Things were going well until I took a somewhat bad beat with 107<A5 allin on 753r board for like a 4K pot. I then doubled through Carlos Mortensen AQ>AK aipf, and got some chips again. I then had three preflop battles with Carter Phillips, winning two, and supposedly making a hero fold (hero considering its him) that was correct with 99.
Got Moved again and started to run hot. I full doubled through a real aggro old man when I shoved over his open to 900 at 150/300 for 6200 with AQoff. He snapped JJ and I binked a Q. Then I 3bet a nit's open with AA, the BB cold 4-bet all in with A8ss (?), the nit pushed with KK and I flopped the last Ace to accumulate a large stack. The rest of the day was full of biggish pots, and I happened to lose many of them at the end of the day, including getting bluffed a few times by a really spazzy dude.
Day 2 started with 20bbs and was really not that eventful since I was card dead and had to play tightish until we made the money. I then jammed 99 over a cutoff open from the button with 99 and 20bbs. Was beyond standard obv, and the aggro opener had AA. I got teased on a board of 4x7d8d10dX where i turned an OESFD and bricked.
Earnings: $2,908
WSOP $2500 PLH/PLO - Late Reg'd for this one and doubled second hand. Dude opened to 150 at 25/50. I called K10ss on the button. Flop 952ss. He potted, I called. Turn offsuit 10. He potted. I called again. River red K. He bombed allin and I called. He showed QQ. From there, it was up and down for a while as table mainly watched Lakers/Celtics Game 7. I lost a few pots and then doubled through Josh Arieh with wrap and flush draw versus his bare AAxx. I held up as I turned him dead. I later busted Arieh with top set of Aces versus his flush draw and gutshot allin on AK5ss flop in 3bet pot. I was up to 50K and took 48K into Day 2.
Day 2 was pretty smooth other than one stupid bluffing war I got into with an asian dude in PLO where he got the last punch in. I then bet folded QQ during PLH on J33 to Rob Hollink's shove in a spot that I plan to post in High-Stakes MTT forum. Wanted to puke on that one. I recovered by busting short stack with low wrap hand versus his AAxx where I flopped two pair and got it in. When the bubble burst, I had an above average stack of 90k and 45 runners left.
I then got moved and lost a fairly very large PLO pot to John Kabbaj (won $10K PLH bracelet last year and is a nit) with QQJ10 versus his J957 on a J99 board. If it was not him in that pot, I would have 4bet allin on the flop, but should have just folded flop to him as LOL as that seems. Turn was a K (giving me useless str8 obv). River Ace went check/check with him last to act to give you an idea what a nit he is.....
I then bluffed off most of my stack in a spot that I am really ok with (other than result obv). Craig Gray opened for a min-raise UTG and I flatted button with QJ108. Flop is A104r and he bet 2/3rds pot. I floated for several reasons: I have a gutter to the nuts, Craig is strong holdem player, but weaker/inexperienced in PLO and will play more str8 forwardly on later streets, I am pretty sure he does not have top set of Aces given preflop action.
Turn is a offsuit 2 and he checks. I have an obvious barrel, and definitely have a low wrap hand in my range given I flatted button. He thought for quite some time and almost folded the turn. He called reluctantly. River is a 5. He checked again and I bombed the river. He called pretty quickly with A348 and a rivered wheel. The 5 on the river is just really an unlucky card for me. He admitted afterward that he was check/folding all rivers other than A,4, or 5. I put him on A4 actually, and was giving up on those cards on the river. So the only card where I bluff allin and get called is the 5. The rest of the cards work, or I can make the best hand with a K or a 10. Very good spot gone bad.....still not fun to bluff off your stack deep in a tourney.
I then doubled through Victor Ramdin with A7hh versus his AJ in BVB battle aipf. Board came J92810 and I called for the 10. Thought that was going to be the turning point, but not to be. One orbit later, I got in with J1096 versus KKxx on Q93r. I am a 60/40 favorite on the flop, but did not hold. The turn was a disgusting 3, and river a 7.
Earnings $6440
ME Mega - Since I made three str8 Day 2s after chopping the Bellagio, I was pretty playing long hours every day for a week and put off the Mega until the last day of the trip. The last day they got a small field and I elected to stay in a very juicy PLO cash game where I lost a 25 to 1 shot to only make 3K profit in the game.
The issues with the ME Mega were several - the fields were not very big (25-50 runners), so structure caught up with you quickly. You start with only 4k chips and 30 minute levels. Also, they do not force the winners to actually win an entry to the WSOP ME. You can take cash instead, so every one that I witnessed was chopped 4/5 ways (for like 3-4K each) since players had less than 10bbs at the end and there was not a requirement to actually award a seat. So basically it's a 36-man turbo with a shallow structure and less bubble pressure since money deals are done every time. Hope all understand.....
Trip Summary
So that is a super long summary of the trip - took me an hour to write. I am not sure if it is even necessary, but I try to provide max info to investors. It was a great trip overall, cashing 4 str8 tourneys (stats say I would be 10,000 to 1 dog to accomplish this.....assuming fields were evenly matched skill wise).
However, I am a little frustrated that I did not run better in the big pots in Day 2s. Overall, happy with my play and feel I did my best for investors. We all made money, which is the main goal of these forums anyway.
Next post will summarize numbers - thanks for reading.
Stewart
