Day 1 in Vegas Get a 4th Place in the Nightly

Drove out to Vegas last week for the WSOP. Not that I was hyped up to play any events. I just wanted to play some small tournaments and see all the WSOP hub bub. I did have a little inclination to play the last $1000 event until I ran into one of my Baton Rouge friends who is a dealer in the WSOP and he told me how bad the structure was and encouraged me to play the Deep Stacks at the Venetian. So any way I drive out there with the plan of parking in the Flamingo. Thats the plan. No other. Play a lot and take car baths. I did have a small hope that my friends Elvis and Lindsey would let me crash on their floor some. Elvis had offered some floor space back in Baton Rouge a month ago. I dont know why I didnt just Priceline a cheap room somewhere. The second to last time I came to Vegas I had no place to stay either. I was there 4 days and got 7 hours sleep in the middle of the trip after renting a bed from a friend who was there for a wedding. For some reaon I just like being alone in Vegas with nothing but a backpack. I think its funny that I look like a street person who isnt worth robbing but really Im walking around with a nice wad of cash.

I show up and immediately buy into a $125 satellite for the $1k. Super turbo SnG but I really felt shitty when I busted out just because the players some how managed to make all the wrong moves. Really the worst poker I've have ever been privy to. People with 6 big blinds limping in with KK in late position with limpers already in the pot. I never got any cards and went out like 6th.

Then I buy into the $185 6pm WSOP nightly. I have cashed in like 6 out of the last 7 nightlies Ive played but that really never makes me feel great about my chances going into the tournaments. I start with 10k in chips. The field is only 270ish. By the time we get to 125 players I have swung between 5k and 12k. Im sitting on 5k when Elvis comes over to see my stack. I pick up AA. Finally a monster. I double up. Then I get moved to another table. I catch a big pair or AK or something and win a pot with a big reraise preflop. So sitting on 15k now and I pick up KK in the small blind as Elvis comes to sweat me again. I really wanted him to stay if that was the luck he was bringing me. A couple people limp for like $800 and this really cute girl raises to like 3k. I reraise all in for like 12k more. All fold to her and she tanks. She is really taking forever and looking me all like she needs to get a read. I really want her to fold AQ so Im very much looking comfy as hell. She calls. Ok here we go. She turns over 98 of hearts. Huh? Thanks for the free chips honey. She went on monkey tilt after that and was out in a few hands. I go on a good preflop run catching big pairs and big cards in late position in unopened pots. I get my stack up to 70k. Then we break the table. I get to my new table and its has a good many wanna be stars. There are two types of players outside of ABC players these days. The old guys who are too dumb to fold and the young kids who are too smart to fold. The old guys litter my cash games and river me often but I love them. They tell you exactly what they have by their bet sizes. The young guys litter the tournaments and make move after move. I just trap them and hope their shenanigans dont get lucky on me. There was this star child (ipod, hoodie, hat, shades, scruffy little side burns and a face that doesnt do well in prison)who early in the tournament was raising constantly and calling reraises with anything and he had run his stack up huge. He liked to talk about his play and the reasons he was doing things. Where was he now? No where. As the blinds got bigger his moves worked less and eventually he torpedoed himself. Well this new table has some hyper aggro players that will always be pushing the margins way too much. Unfortunately I dont catch cards and I lose about 40% of my stack over the next few hours. Unfortunately trapping only works if you get cards so its not a very good strategy all the time. But patience usually pays off. I do make a few blind steals and get respect because I never play a hand. Eventually I make the money bubble with like 20 bb. I basically played super tight folding a ton of AJ and KQ to raises. I play sort of a Kill Phill strategy with some position steals mixed in. We got down to two table and I made some progress mostly from raising with AA and getting reraised by this supper loose aggressive chubby kid with a backwards hat and a New York accent who apparently thinks 77 is a three bet kinda hand against the tightest player at the table. After that I really dont remember what happened but I chipped up to like 270k. Then I get AJ in early position and raise to 30k. Blinds are like 5k/10k at this point. I have been folding these in early position all day. Most of these players havent seen that and chubby guy gives me a call and maybe one other. The flop comes like JJ10. I check. Mr NY bets about the pot. Other guy folds. I move in. He insta calls with pocket 8s. Really? Thanks again dude. Now Im one of the big stacks with like 8 players left. The rest of the tournament is lame. Blinds eat me up as I catch no playable hands. We get down to 4 handed and one of the two constant raisers in the SB open shoves into me in the BB. I have 88. This guy has been doing this with a super wide range. I call myself allin. I was hoping for a naked Ace or an under pair but he has K,10. Yes El Diablo as Monkey would say. That's really the bottom of his range there but unfortunately it plays well against my hand. I lose my first coin flip of the day and go out in 4th. The payout is $3300. I tip the dealers $100 and clear about $3k. Looking back Im super dissapointed about the coin flip and Im pretty upset that my cards were so dead that I didnt get a chance to use my stack. Maybe I shouldve bluffed a few more times but the big stacks were so active that I think I played it right.

So my Nightly Tournament success at these WSOP events continues. I like my strategy. I play super tight and super aggressive preflop. I play pretty aggressive in late position against the right blinds and antes. I usually dont have a big stack until after the money bubble when the chips start flying. Sometimes Im one of the people who barely make the bubble with chips and I go out pretty quick. And sometimes I move up or even make the chop. Maybe one day I will win one of these damn things.

Special thanks to Elvis for letting me come in at 8:30am an crash for a couple hours until the $350 Deep Stack at the Venetian. Oh and fyi if anyone is playing with Elvis just push in. He flopped like 5 sets in the cash game and never won a hand. Sick.