Who wants to be a millionaire? Me!
If you read Part 1 and Part 2 of my Tales From the WSOP series, you will know that I made it to Las Vegas for the tournament without much trouble, but then proved unsuccesful in the Salute to Warriors and Seniors events.
on this occasion I had no real choice but to tighten up
After playing very long days since I arrived, I slept in (deliberately) the morning of the first flight of the Milly Maker which meant I got there two and a half levels in. This turned out to be a mistake: I got a dreaded “late reg table.” Late reggers tend to be tougher players than average, and when they open a new table and put a pile of them on there together, well, you can end up with the toughest starting tables known to humanity. Which is exactly what happened this time: my table included European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona champion Stephen Song, and three players who are regulars in Tritons and other high rollers. So far I’ve been doing well early on building stacks by playing a much looser style than I typically play live, but on this occasion I had no real choice but to tighten up.
The two most interesting hands I played were both against Stephen.
First I opened 7s6s on the button to 1400 at bb600 playing just over 60k. Stephen calls the big blind playing 37kish
Flop 8h5h2h
Check check. I don’t want to get check raised here
Turn Jd
Check check. Again, I don’t want to get check raised. If I miss the river I have an easy bluff I think
River 4d
He leads for 2500. I raise to 10k, thinking there are a lot of worse hands like two pair or worse straights that can pay me off. After a long tank he shoves for 33700. I tank, don’t really get anything off him physically (not that I was expecting to, but you never know). My hand is a pure bluff catcher now and without a heart I folded.
Thinking in game
Ok so let me explain my thought process at every point in the hand, but first I will give a bit of relevant background.
It had a disproportionately high number of top players
Stephen knows who I am, we played together briefly at Irish Open which he has already indicated he remembers, and he is calling me by first name. This is relevant only because it means he more likely has a more realistic view of how I play compared to the typical American I play against over here who just sees an old guy in a funky shirt and thinks old man coffee. However, we haven’t played much together and he may view me as tighter than I am in practise because I was playing tight at this table which included not only him and the three high roller regs but also ACR pro Drew D’Amato and two other good regs (note to future self: never register a midweek first flight of an event like this again. It had a disproportionately high number of top players who are looking to give themselves as many shots as possible).
So preflop, it’s obviously a standard open. On the flop, I figured it’s a mix between check and bet small in theory (which it is when I checked it later). In practise, I decided I didn’t want to get check raised, so I checked.
On the turn, I considered betting the Broadway card more strongly. Again it felt like a mix in theory (and again it is: I checked it later). Ultimately I landed on check for two reasons: I still don’t want to get check raised, and if I don’t improve on the river I think I have a great bluff candidate with 7 high. It’s important to have bluffs in every possible line and this felt like a good one to slot into the check flop check turn bluff river line.
On the river I thought I had a very clear value raise as I can get called by a lot of worse hands. When he shoved I did tank and he looked super comfortable throughout. My hand felt like a fold anyway because it’s just a bluff catcher now, and any other bluff catcher with a heart makes a better call. A few people I ran the hand by said I have no flushes here so I’m kind of at the top of my range here, but I definitely have flushes there. Against a random recreational I probably don’t, but against Stephen I want to have uncapped ranges at every point in the hand, so I will split my nut flushes between all the possible lines. Against someone as capable and aggressive as Stephen I will actually move more nut flushes than I should into the passive lines to protect all the weaker hands in those ranges, and to potentially exploit him if he over aggresses.
Again, the solver mixes call and fold on the river (it always raises the lead).
The final song
Stephen’s bust out was somewhat interesting too. It’s first hand after dinner break (so late reg/reentry has just closed). The bb is sitting out, as is the high roller reg on the button (neither have come back from dinner) so the table is effectively seven handed. I open utg to 2400 at bb1200 playing 44k with black nines. Next to act, Stephen threebets to 8k playing 43k. I call.
Flop 8c 6c 3s
I check, he bets 9500, I shove, he calls and I hold against Qs 8s.
Our table broke shortly thereafter and my second table was a lot softer, and I quickly spun up to 150k. I ended up bagging 91k after perhaps being too aggressive with my table chip lead in the last hour of play. I thought the recreational players at my table would be tightening up keen to book Day 2, but realized a little too late it was quite the contrary: guys were shoving in preflop with T2o “to make it worth my while coming back on Sunday.” Nevertheless, it’s always nice to bag at the first attempt, not least because it saves you all the reentry bullets you were intending to fire!
Good routines are vital in Vegas, and so far I’ve settled into the grind
With Day 2 being Sunday, that left me a few days to play dailies and satellites, and schedule some chill time to be ready for the next session. Good routines are vital in Vegas, and so far I’ve settled into the grind, not just playing but on the content front too. I’ve been putting out daily video diaries on my social media, and writing and producing other content for my training site SimplifyPoker. With a full four weeks still to come, I’m looking to pace myself, not lose my mind, and who knows maybe even get a proper deep run, if not a bracelet.
