Bond18 - Around the World in 90 Days: Day 52

Posted by Bond18 | Filed under Bond18

The difference between a $1,500 NLH event and a $2,000 PLH event at the WSOP is massive. The $1,500 event got 2,720 entries yesterday. Today’s tournament, with only a $500 higher buy-in and a slightly different variant of poker, only got 605 players.

My starting table is not exactly my first pick in line ups. It has David Pham, Rizen and Zeejustin, as well as a familiar looking Asian guy in the 10 seat. The best way to describe him is that he’s an Asian guy who’s trying to look like an Italian guy; open collared shirt, gold necklace, slicked back pompadour style hair and a look in his eye that says he might blurt “Eh! Whasa matta you?” at the drop of a hat.

I decide to ask Rizen if he’s been taking much shit about the UltimateBet patch he’s wearing (he was recently picked up by them as a sponsored player after the scandal and has taken a ton of shit over it online). He tells me that a few people have said things about how they don’t agree with what he’s doing, but that nobody he really cares about has been rude or insulting or anything like that. I’ve always thought Rizen was a nice guy and a good player, but as I told him and said online, I don’t agree with his decision to sign up with UB given the way they lied to their player base about the super-user scandal.

I start chatting to the lady on my left who seems very friendly but, unfortunately, is the type who likes having an ear for her bad beat stories. One of the major benefits of not speaking any local language in Europe was that I almost never had to endure a bad beat story and pretend like I was actually listening. I have enough trouble talking about a legitimate strategy hand verbally, but listening to a bad beat story just completely turns into white noise at this point. If a person launched into a bad beat story and in the middle said “So he goes all-in, I call with top set, and I’m going to take this knife in my hand here and stab it into your throat” I’d nod and politely say “Man, sick variance. At least you got it in with the best of it.”

Cards get in the air with a 4,000 start bank and hour levels, beginning with 25/50 blinds. The good part about having numerous experienced players at the table is that I won’t have to endure too many arguments about what the maximum allowed raise size is. A few hands in I get involved in a blind vs. blind hand with the Italian looking Asian guy:

Stacks: ~4,000, blinds 25/50. I hold Kd-6d in the BB.

Pre-flop: Folds to the SB, SB completes, I raise to 150, SB calls.

Flop: Th-7h-4h

SB checks, I check.

Turn: Ks

SB bets 200, I call.

River: 3c

SB checks. I think it over and fire 350. SB tosses in the chips and mucks when he sees my hand.

An orbit later I lose a small pot to David Pham where I call his bet on one street then give up on the river to what looks like a value bet. The other players on the table are playing very passive and doing quite a bit of limping. Not long after, I’m involved with the Itasian again:

My stack: 4,200, SB 3,500, blinds 25/50. I hold As-Qs in the BB.

Pre-flop: UTG limps, UTG+1 limps, folds to the button, button limps, SB completes, I raise the pot to 300, UTG calls, UTG+1 calls, button calls. SB thinks it over and repots. I lean back for a second and think about it. Heh, he completed the small, he can’t ever have a good hand here, he just thinks I’m making a play. I shove and the limpers fold.

“Nice hand” says the SB as he throws in the remainder of his chips and then tables his 3-3. Shit.

Flop: K-J-J rainbow

Turn: 4

River: 8

I count out the chips and slide them his way with what must be a fairly annoyed look on my face.

“I thought you had K-6 suited” says the Itasian. I exchange a knowing look with Rizen and Zeejustin.

The very next hand it folds to the Itasian on the button and he raises to 125. I repot with Ad-Qd in the SB and the BB folds. He thinks it over and calls then points to his cards and says “Okay, I have 10 high here, donation.”

Flop: J-6-6 rainbow

I go all-in for the remainder of my stack, and the button flips up his Tc-2c and throws them in the muck. My stack climbs back to 1,200ish.

The next orbit the blinds go up to 50/100 and it’s not long before I’m involved again:

My stack: 1,250, MP1: ~6,000. Blinds 50/100. I hold 6h-6c in the BB.

Pre-flop: Folds to MP1, MP1 limps, MP2 limps, folds to the button, button limps, SB completes, I raise the pot to 600, MP1 calls, the rest fold.

Flop: 5-7-T

I bet all in for my last 650, MP1 calls and tables J-To.

Turn: 9

River: 5

I look up at the clock and realize I still have time to get to the Bellagio tournament. In fact I have so much time I might as well go collect the money I have waiting at pay outs from my various cashes and the final table.

Collecting the money winds up taking about half an hour and I race over to the Bellagio and manage to buy in and get seated about 20 minutes into the first level. It’s one of the Friday $2,000 tournaments so we start with 20,000 in chips and have 40-minute levels.

The Bellagio tournament winds up being a lesson in patience. For hours upon hours I am card dead or just whiff flop after flop. I increase my stack slightly making some thinking call downs on players who are sort of clearly bluffing, but for the most part, it is the most card dead tournament I’ve had throughout my trip. Hours and hours of nothing go by and it’s not until the 1,500/3,000 level that things get interesting:

My stack: 28,000, MP1: ~80,000, blinds 1,500/3,000 with 500 ante. I hold 6-6 in the BB.

Pre-flop: Folds to MP1, MP1 raises to 8,000, folds to me in the BB, I announce all-in, MP1 immediately blurts “SHIT!!” then “Well, I have to call” then tables his 2-2.

Flop: A-7-7

Turn: 4

River: J

I double up to about 60,000. I fold in the SB in the next hand, then get involved the hand after that:

My stack: ~56,000, UTG+1: ~90,000, blinds 1,500/3,000 with 500 ante. I hold Ac-Ah on the button.

Pre-flop: 1 fold, UTG+1 raises to 12,000. UTG+1 is a 30ish French guy who is one of the absolute worst players I have ever seen. That he has chips at this point in the tournament is a testament to MTT variance. It folds to me on the button and I call. Both blinds fold.

Flop: 2c-7s-8d

UTG+1 throws out a mess of 5,000 chips, which appears to be worth about 35,000. I go all-in and he calls then instantly tables As-2s. When I table the A-A he reels back in shock.

Turn: 8c

River: 2d

I tap the table and wish everyone good luck. It’s well past 10PM and because of the Bellagio’s need to get things done in one day, I haven’t eaten yet. God I’m starving.

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