Bond18 – Around the World in 90 Days: Day 47

Posted by Bond18 | Filed under Bond18

Waking up today is pure pain. I am over half way done in my poker trip, but this portion where I have something to play every day with no breaks in between is the toughest physically and mentally. I’ve fallen significantly behind in my writing as a result of having so many long and exhausting days at the Rio, and I think the quality has fallen off as well. In Europe I had time to sit and think things over and try to be clever, but with the WSOP it feels more mechanical, closer to reporting than creative writing. Still, at least I am cashing in things and not just wasting a ton of time then bubbling, and I feel like I’m still playing mostly well with occasional hilariously bad mistakes. Live and learn though.

I order a cab to the Rio since the whole house is staying home today. I feel pretty awake for the minimal amount of sleep I’m surviving on and I’ve got a good feeling about today’s event. When I arrive at the Rio I meet up with Australian StevoL and agree to swap 5% again. Looking around the tournament it’s clear I was correct about the field, although there are some very good Internet players around, their numbers are significantly down from the $5,000 event. In fact, entrants in general are down. The $5,000 event got 731 entries, the $2,000 1,344, but the $3,000 only winds up getting 716. The tournament starts us with 6,000 chips and starts at 25/50 blinds.

I don’t know anyone at my starting table that well. There’s a player two seats on my left who is in his upper 20’s and just reeks of Euro LAG. I don’t know how to put it, something about the way he’s dressed, the way he bets, the way he behaves, he just reeks of it. I feel like him trying to make a move is just inevitable. With that fairly odd assessment, the following hand comes up with no real history:

Stacks: ~6,000, blinds 25/50. I hold As-Jh on the button.

Pre-flop: Folds to me on the button, I raise to 150, SB calls, Euro in the BB makes it 550. In many tournaments I just fold here, but I couldn’t get the notion that he was pulling something out of my head. I call and the SB also calls.

Flop: Ad-Ts-3c

SB checks, BB quickly fires 1,500, I think briefly and call, SB folds.

Turn: 6s

The BB quickly moves all-in. What the hell? Okay, let’s think his range over here. A-A, T-T, and A-T don’t play like this, firing full pot on the flop and quickly jamming the turn. A-Q needs to at least think things over before it jams the turn, since this guy seems smart enough to know there’s not a ton he can get called by. I think even A-K would think the turn over, though I guess he could have that. So I guess he has A-K or some kind of weird bluff/semi bluff. That and I just can’t get the idea that he’s a Euro LAG dying to make a move out of my head.

"Uh…I call."

The BB winces slightly and turns over his hand, K-To. I table my A-J and his eyes get big. "AJ….uh, wow. Nice call? A-J?" I’d be surprised if I was him too.

River: 3s

The Euro stands up and walks away. I take out my pen and paper and try to start writing. My right hand is shaking violently again.

I start chatting quite a lot to the player on my left. He’s a fun guy who has a lot of interesting stories to tell. He leans over to me and quietly tells me a story about the young and nearly silent Asian girl who is sitting in the seat 4 on our table.

"You see the girl over there? I was playing in the $2,500 mixed Pot-Limit Omaha and Pot-Limit Hold ‘em event with her. We were playing an Omaha hand where she flopped top set of Aces with the nut flush draw, and I had the full wrap. She checked the flop to slowplay and I ended up sucking out on her for this massive pot. She only had a few chips left and she suddenly starts balling her eyes out. Just absolutely sobbing right there on the table, I’ve never seen anything like it before. I felt so bad, that I took out $2,500 in chips from my pocket and tossed it to her. She actually ended up making a bit of a come back, then busted out in hold ‘em."

My eyes go wide and I make the obvious joke "So if you bust me and I turn on the water works can I have $3,000?"

"No."

The rest of the 25/50 level passes without incident for me. The table is busting out a surprising amount of players for the moderately deep starting stack, and a new player is moved to the table in the 5 seat. He’s in his mid 40’s, wearing sunglasses, and has a mustache. He looks like he might leap out of his seat and say "DA BEARS!" at any moment. He’s been pretty straight forward when the following hand comes up:

My stack: ~13,000, MP2: ~13,000, blinds 50/100. I hold As-Jd on the CO.

Pre-flop: Folds to MP2, MP2 raises to 350, HJ folds, I call, the rest fold.

Flop: Ah-Kd-9h

MP2 checks, I bet 550, MP2 thinks briefly and calls.

Turn: Ad

MP2 checks. This is an odd card. Online, I would always bet again here since many players will call down fairly light when the A pairs. However, if the MP2 player has a pair of some kind, or K-Qo, or anything like that, he seems straight forward enough to just check-fold the turn and believe the second barrel. The only flush draws I can really see him having here are Kh-Qh, Kh-Jh and Qh-Jh, and I would think he bets the flop pretty often with those, though he might check and call Qh-Jh. I decide my hand is probably a two streets of value hand in this particular live spot, and the best way to get it out of this particular villain is to check. I check behind.

River: 4d

MP2 checks. I think over my amount and bet 1,200. MP2 quickly check-raises to 3,200. What? What the hell? I slow down and think over the hand and his range. Against this opponent I just can’t see any hand I could beat a river check-raise against. No straight forward live player ever check-raises the river as a bluff, and I don’t really beat anything that check-raises for value either. I think it over for a while, then toss my hand in the muck.

When we reach the 100/200 level, things start going wrong for me at a steady but slow pace. Pretty much every pot I enter gets an undesirable result. When I raise high cards I get called and get a very dry, low card flop which I continuation bet and get called. When I raise pairs, I get over-card boards and either check-fold or try one bet depending on texture. When I raise suited connectors, I get a very nice texture to fire at like 4-A-4 or K-7-2, but every bet gets called down. I don’t lose a large amount on any hand, but I continually lose a small amount. I play a hand with the young (and surprisingly aggressive) Asian girl where she raises in late position. I call in the SB and the 4-4-3 flop goes check/check. On the turn, I check an 8 and she bets 700. I call pretty confident I’m ahead from the way she’s played previous hands, but when a K hits the river and she fires 1,200, I give it up.

Most of the pots are against a player in seat 1 who keeps flat calling me and connecting with the flop. He has shown an inability to make value bets, such as a hand where I raised 9d-8d and got a 4-A-4 flop, which I bet and he called. The turn came Q and we both checked. The river came a rag card and when I checked, he checked back with A-J. We also played another hand where he demonstrated an unwillingness to value bet in a fairly clear spot. I also witnessed him make a river bluff against the Asian girl in a pot both players played passively. With that history, the following hand comes up:

My stack: ~10,000, SB~14,000, blinds 100/200. I hold Ah-5c on the HJ and the button is out of his seat.

Pre-flop: Folds to me, I raise to 550, CO calls, SB calls, BB folds.

Flop: Q-J-4 rainbow

SB checks, I check, CO checks.

Turn: J

SB checks, I check, CO checks.

River: 5

SB thinks briefly then fires 1,200. Weird. If he can’t value bet thin, I can’t imagine he’s betting with a hand like K-Q. It also seems weird that he would slow-play a hand with a J this far, though I guess he could have something like A-J. Still, after seeing the river bluff in the passive pot against the girl, I decide to call. The CO folds and the SB tables his Q-Jo. Wow, I am a moron.

I spend most of my time between hands chatting with the player on my left and the new player on his left, who was moved there after the Euro busted. The player on my left tells me a piece of information worth repeating, but asks not to be named, so I tell him I’ll name him “Mr. X” in my trip report. He tells me that a good friend of his is an agent for a major bookie. He tells me that Mark Seif opened an account with his friend and in his first week of sports betting, lost over $200,000 and has not made any effort to pay since. He tells me Seif is a major sports betting degenerate who has lost massive amounts and attempts to pay his debts in worthless UltimateBet stock. He calls Seif a "degenerate piece of shit", and that all of this happened before the AP scandal even leaked. We are in full agreement.

While I have no reason to doubt Mr. X’s story (especially considering everything else he told me checked out with the player on his left, who also plays in Bobby’s room at the Bellagio), whether it’s true or not doesn’t change how much of a scum bag useless piece of shit Mark Seif is. My favorite part of that AP story is when Seif was confronted about watching the replay of the potripper tournament online and gave the following response in the chat:

MARK SEIF: yes i was watching the hands on a player

MARK SEIF: i actually saw quite a few hands that suggest he couldn’t see

MARK SEIF: the hands – he played very poorly if he could see them

MARK SEIF: i watched 80 something hands

MARK SEIF: i marked a few which troubled me

MARK SEIF: i marked a few that it appears there is no way he could see

MARK SEIF: the hands

MARK SEIF: that’s my honet opinion so far

MARK SEIF: still havent seen it all

MARK SEIF: i never said he was legit – dont put words in my mouth pleas

MARK SEIF: yeah that’s what i watched some of the hands on – you tube

You’d have to be the world’s largest retard to not figure what was up with that hand history after 20 hands, let alone 80. Meanwhile, Seif’s face is still plastered on the adds for WSOP Academy (an instructional camp for people wanting to learn poker) on 2+2, which is not only incredible for the fact that he was involved in this scandal, but also that a guy who plays that terrible (and that’s not resentment talking) is allowed to instruct. When he finally did an interview for RawVegas, the most stunning part of the interview wasn’t that he denied involvement, but that he got AP’s cock out of his mouth long enough to do a seven-minute interview.

Mr. X helps fill the boredom between hands with his stories, though none quite match the level of the Seif one. Our chat carries us through the 100/200 with 25 ante level with zero interesting hands, though I do regain a few chips taking down small pots. At the 150/300 level I find A-A in late position and a guy with 3,150 shoves in front of me. I call and when he tables T-T I’m feeling good until the board comes with a 6-high straight, chopping the pot. During my chat with Mr. X I also learn a fair bit about the way he plays, which leads to the next hand:

My stack: ~8,000, Mr. X: ~30,000, blinds 150/300 with 25 ante. I hold 8-8 in the BB.

Pre-flop: Mr. X raises to 700 UTG, folds to the CO, CO calls, folds to me in the BB, I call. During our talks, Mr. X mentioned some story where he thought he should use a small raise to gain value from his opponent and his tiny pre-flop raise here makes me highly suspicious about his hand.

Flop: 2-7-6 rainbow

I check, Mr. X bets 1,700, CO folds. I shrug, show my 88 to Mr. X and fold. He tells me nice lay down and tables A-A.

Just a few hands later the two of us are involved again:

My stack: ~7,500, Mr. X: ~32,000, blinds 150/300 with 25 ante. I hold Qs-Ts on the CO.

Pre-flop: Folds to me on the CO, I raise to 750, Mr. X calls on the button, both blinds fold.

Flop: 5c-9h-7s

Mr. X calls pretty loose pre-flop and I think this is the kind of flop that could hit him pretty well, plus he also peels fairly wide. I check and he checks back.

Turn: Th

I lead 1,125 and Mr. X makes it 3,300. Hmm, this is weird. He just saw me make what he considers a big lay down, and he just might three bet A-T pre flop in these positions with the way he plays. I don’t think he’d check a set on this board, but he could have K-T. He could also have Q-T or J-T. He could also be on a semi-bluff or just pure bluff thinking I fold too much. I mull it over, then announce all-in. Mr. X mucks almost instantly and tells me nice hand.

I sit tight through most of the 200/400 level and my stack refuses to move upwards. It’s not until the 300/600 level that I get involved again:

My stack: ~10,500, BB: ~13,000, blinds 300/600 with 75 ante. I hold As-Jh UTG+1 at an 8-handed table. BB is a fairly straight forward guy who hasn’t been at the table very long.

Pre-flop: Folds to me, I raise to 1,500 (online I don’t raise/fold this stack much at all and would often pass, live it seems more acceptable) it folds around to the BB, BB looks like he’s going to fold, then decides to toss the 900 chips in.

Flop: Jc-4d-3d

BB checks. Well, again it’s not something I’d ever do online, but I kind of think checking might be best here. I don’t have a ton of chips behind and getting it in on two streets doesn’t seem that hard. Also, the flop is so dry and so harmless I don’t know what he can possibly pay off with, since his pre-flop behavior certainly doesn’t seem like he has a pair. I decide to check behind.

Turn: Td

BB checks, I fire 2,200, BB moves all-in, I call. BB shows Js-4s and I now realize why he almost folded pre-flop. I get out of my chair.

River: Th

"Okay that works" I blurt as I sit back down.

Not long after the hand, ex music producer and WPT final tableist Joe Simmons gets moved to the table. I tell him we played together during last years WSOP ME for a long time, and he stares at me blankly and says he has no idea. Not long after he sits down we’re involved:

My stack: ~25,000, Simmons: 13,600, blinds 300/600 with 75 ante. I hold Ah-Kc in the SB.

Pre-flop: Simmons raises UTG to 1,900, folds to me in the SB, I re-raise to 6,000, BB folds, Simmons thinks it over for a long time then says "Okay you got it" and moves all-in. I call and he shows 9h-9c.

Flop: Ac-3c-9d

Turn: Qc

River: 5h

I count out the amount and slide it over to him. The very next hand, I get involved again:

My stack: ~12,000, HJ: ~5,000, blinds 300/600 with 75 ante. I hold As-Js on the button.

Pre-flop: Folds to the HJ, HJ goes all in, CO folds, I announce all-in, both blinds fold. The HJ shows 6h-4h.

Flop: 2s-8s-Ks

Minor overkill.

Turn: Kh

River: Ah

Simmons looks over at me “Wow, on tilt huh?”

“Huh? What?”

“You re-shoved, coulda just called.”

“Ah.”

I fold up until the point I’m UTG and again find myself involved in a pot with Simmons:

My stack: ~21,000, Simmons: ~25,000, blinds 300/600 with 75 ante. I hold Ah-Jc UTG.

Preflop: I raise to 1,600, UTG+1 folds, Simmons tries to call UTG+2 but mistakenly throws out a 1,000 chip instead of a 100 with the three 500 ones. The table discusses what’s to be done and the dealer says it must stand as a raise for 2,600 in total. It folds back to me and I announce raise then make it 8,600 total. Simmons stares me down, looks over, and asks me how much I have left. He thinks it over, then calls.

Flop: 4d-9s-Qs

I move all-in for 12,600, Simmons quickly calls and shows Qd-Jd. I stand up from my chair.

Turn: Ac

Whoa, that’s pretty sweet. I pull my chair out and sit back down.

River: 9h

I collect the large pot and Simmons immediately starts complaining, “They try to give their chips to me. They put it all in the middle with no chance and the good lord gives it to them. They try so hard to give it to me.” He continues with this for quite some time.

My stack increases to nearly 45,000 and I’m one of the leaders of the tournament. With the stacks so deep at the table, I find increasing room to play pots in position. I find one such spot against the player who plays very honest and doesn’t value bet wide enough:

My stack: ~42,000, UTG: ~35,000, blinds 300/600 with 75 ante. I hold Ac-Jc on the button.

Pre-flop: UTG raises to 1,500, folds to me on the button, I call, both blinds fold.

Flop: 2c-Ad-4h

UTG checks, I check behind because he’s the type of player to give up on the A too quickly.

Turn: Tc

UTG checks, I bet 2,200, UTG calls.

River: 9d

UTG checks, I think it over a little bit, then bet 4,200. UTG goes into the tank, then reluctantly slides 4,200 into the pot. I table the A-J and he mucks.

Part way through the 400/800 level our table gets broken up and I’m moved to a new and much tougher looking table with numerous young players, including online player ‘Sowers’. After running a re-steal with T-3o pre-flop which gets called, he becomes quite short stacked. A couple hands afterwards, I open raise A-K in early position, get called by the HJ, and Sowers shoves on the button. It folds back to me and I re-shove, which results in the HJ folding. Sowers shows 7-7 and I flop so hard with top pair and the nut flush draw that he’s down to one out, which never comes.

When play ends without much more incident, I find myself at a comfortable finish with 64,000, a bit above average but not much so. We’re only one table away from the money and my third straight WSOP cash, and with the 2PM restart, I finally have some time for sleep.

When I get home, I read myself to sleep. I like to follow all the various blogs during the WSOP. The ones I read most frequently include:

Dr. Pauly’s Tao of Poker, of course. Pauly writes about all the little goings on during the series and the various forms of degeneracy all the biggest names take part in.
Shaniac’s You Can’t Miss What You Can’t Measure. Shaniac isn’t as frequent as many wish he’d be, but when he gets down to it, his writing is top notch in the poker world.
Full Tilt Poker’s Poker From The Rail Blog. There’s some good stuff up here guys, I recommend checking out One Angry Monkey’s new post comparing Full Tilt Pros to Simpsons quotes.
Sirwatts blog at tworags.com. Sirwatts updates pretty frequently and talks about his tournament hands, and since he’s not the type to complain about it around the house, it’s the only way I can find out what happened to him.
My girlfriend’s blog at her own Celinalin.com page. That is, if she would ever update it.