DiploJournal

Free Roll to the Main Event

It’s going to take awhile to get to sleep tonight so I figured I’d update on this unbelievable evening’s events. We had the third day of the WSOP Academy, with the formal classes ending at 1:00 pm and a very quick “shootout” tournament scheduled to take place between 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm. Everyone was then to reconvene at 8:00 in the ballroom for a banquet and the final table of yesterday’s long tournament. I was focused all morning on getting whatever tips I could to prepare for the final table I’d be playing in at 8:00. The material today was a mix of tutorial and “war stories” from three former Main Event winners: Greg Raymer, Phil Helmuth, and Joe Hachem. All good stuff.

With only 1,000 chips and blinds rising every 15 minutes, the 2:00 tournament was an exercise in aggressive play that all but required getting some cards early. The structure did not suit my style very well (which emphasizes controlled aggression and lots of patience), and I figured I’d either push quickly and build a lead, or go bust so I could get some rest before the night’s festivities. Twenty quick hands and I was headed back to the car.

I realized as I walked out of the casino to the parking lot that this was the first time I’d been outside before midnight, other than getting in the car each morning. It was a record 116 degrees outside and I noticed the iPod attached to my car stereo was not responding. It suddenly (duh) occurred to me that if it was 116 degrees outside during the day, that my trunk (where my iPod and camera had been for the past week) was probably 130+. As soon as I got back to the room I brought both upstairs and let them cool off so I could actually touch them, fearful that I’d fried both. Thankfully, a charge of the iPod and a test of the camera confirmed that both survived the Vegas stress test. Amazing.

Anyway, I didn’t sleep in the afternoon, but I did get some much-needed relaxation time. I flipped through the course material on late-stage tournament play, and re-read Doyle Brunson’s chapter on the subject. My intent was to present a very tight, conservative appearance. With over $75,000 in chips, I would have the luxury of waiting for a decent hand before getting too aggressive. I showed up about 1/2 hour before the event, checked in, got some food, and started chatting with some of the others.

We played in a huge ballroom with round tables set up for the 180 people to sit comfortably and eat while we played on a raised stage at the front of the room. They had a television camera and bright lights set up with the live image projected on a huge wall-sized screen. The pros took turns doing the commentary in real time as we played. Initially intimidating, I was really surprised that it wasn’t that hard to tune out the crowd, the cameras and the lights. The commentary, I confess, did have an influence, but I think it was probably positive. Because they were still teaching while we played, it made me play an even more solid game, with very careful attention to how I was sitting, moving chips into the pot, counting chips, etc. I wanted to avoid giving any information or providing an example that would provide “what not to do” fodder for post-hand analysis.

It turned out there were 10 of us, not 9. Among them, a couple of guys who make their living at poker tables, one a Londoner who plays mostly online (and recently won over $250K in the European Online championships), Mr. Dallas from yesterday, and a few amateurs like me. Although some looked more nervous than others, all had played solid poker to get to the final table. I identified up front who I wanted to attack and who I wanted to avoid, who I expected to play very tight and who I expected would get aggressive early.

I did not get great cards over the course of the evening, but I was very patient and waited for the right spots. In my first big hand, I called a $50,000 all-in bet with 7-7, facing down A-8, and coming out on top. That hand moved me into the chip lead which I held until I was down to the final two. I let others knock each other out, moving occasionally to steal a pot every once in awhile, but mostly I tried to stay under the radar.

The second big hand came up when I had the big blind and a guy across the table made a curiously small raise preflop. Blinds were at $5000/$10,000 and he raised to $25,000. The pro from London called, giving me a relatively easy decision. If I have something really strong, I would raise. Otherwise, it’s an easy call to see a cheap flop (bear in mind, I had the chip lead and close to $150,000 at that point with $10,000 already in the pot). I looked down and found a disappointing 8-4 of hearts before making the call. The flop came 3-4-6, a very scary possibility for virtually everyone, given the possible straight. The initial raiser checked, the London pro thought for a bit but checked, and I did the same. Thus, I got a cheap flop and a free turn card.

The turn card was an 8, giving me two-pair. I was still quite concerned about a straight draw, but figured I was well ahead before the river card dropped. I thought about it for a long time, stared down the other two, and moved in $75,000, more than either of my opponents had left. The initial raiser did not take much time, and called. For the moment, I thought I might have just run into three 5s or three 6s. The guy from London then really started thinking hard.

The whole room was absolutely silent as 180 people watched him deliberate. I then spoke up and told him: “Graham, that straight draw is no good. You don’t want to go bust on a draw. Lay it down.” He gave me a big smile, counted his remaining chips, and reluctantly folded a K-7. I was then showing down my two-pair, 8s and 4s, against, unbelievably, an A-Q. The initial raiser was putting me on a complete bluff and had only a deuce on the river as a possible winner to give him a straight. Thankfully, the deuce did not come, and I busted another player.

I ended Graham’s run soon after and I was heads up against Steve from Florida. He had been cleaning out many of the others at the table and I had probably 60% of the chips in play vs. his 40%. I took a couple early pots, switching gears to a much more aggressive game. I got him all-in with my A-8 against his Q-9. No help for either of us on the flop and I was way ahead. He spiked a queen on the turn, however, to gasps around the ballroom. I was now at a decided disadvantage in chips for the first time.

We went back and forth 4 more times, with the chip lead changing hands. Neither of us, however, could win two big pots in a row. I built back up a sizable lead and started leaning on him, raising several pots in a row. In the final hand, I made a moderate raise, inviting Steve to push all-in which he did without a lot of thought, given the size of the pot. I called instantly with A-K and this time it held up against the inferior Q-9, draining the final hand of drama when an ace hit on the flop.

While I’ve won a few tournaments at the local card clubs in San Jose, it was nothing compared to the rush of this final table experience. We did the whole photo of the winning hand in front of the mountain of chips, and the post-win interview. I had a bunch of people come up afterward to offer congratulations and I dreamily provided the organizers with all my pertinent information so they could call-in my registration to the $10,000 Main Event.

I get my table assignment tomorrow and start on Day 1B this Saturday at noon. Because there are so many entrants, there will be four consecutive starting days, beginning tomorrow. If I get through the first day on Saturday, I’ll join the other survivors on Tuesday for Day 2A (Day 1C and 1D survivors play on Wednesday). While it will no doubt be disappointing to bust out early, winning a free ticket certainly makes it easier and I can honestly say if I went home tomorrow without any further excitement, this trip has already exceeded my most optimistic expectations.

Final Table (Finally) at the Academy

After a succession of near misses, I finally made a final table last night. On Day 2 of the WSOP Academy, 185 of us sat down for a tournament structured the same as the nightly Caesar’s tournaments I described in the last post, with a couple of twists. Instead of a typical cash tournament, there is no money distributed for the top 10% of finishers. Instead, the last person standing receives a $10,000 entry into the World Series Main Event. In addition to the camp attendees, all the pros in attendance sat down and played as well. Although the pros could not win the $10K entry, they could (and did) bust out players along the path. Thus, in addition to a mix of strong and weak players attending the camp, we had Greg Raymer, Joe Hashem, Phil Helmuth, Mark Seif, and a slate of other pros. They had a side bet between them with the last pro standing collecting bragging rights and cash from all others.

I sat down to a table with some meek, and some aggressive players, along with Annette15, a pro from Norway (online cash winnings in excess of $3 million despite that fact that she’s too young to compete in U.S. casinos). My first big hand came up early on, when an aggressive player in early position raised to $150, got one caller, and it folded around to me on in the small blind. I found JJ, and re-raised to $450 with the intent of either taking the pot there, realizing that I was a big underdog (if he re-re-raised), or isolating the original raiser. Sure enough, the big blind folded, the original raiser just called, and the other player folded. Isolated against the original raiser, my jacks just improved in value. I was still, however, expecting to let go of them if a king or ace hit the flop (I was less concerned about a queen and would likely bet it if the flop was queen high).

All of those mental preparations, it turned out, were unnecessary. The flop was ideal: T, T, J, giving me a full house. I took some time, and checked, figuring the original raiser would sense weakness. He fired right away with a feeler bet of $500. This, I assume was designed to get some information, but not necessarily to chase me away given that it was less than half the pot. If I raised, he would probably shut down, but if I just called, perhaps he’d keep pushing.

I again took my time and just flat called the bet, hoping that his hand would improve on the turn so he’d keep going. On the turn, an ace hit. I again paused, and checked. I wasn’t worried about his having aces given that he didn’t re-re-raise preflop. The raiser pushed in $1000. I thought about the progression of the hand and put him either on a middle pair, or a big ace. Again, I just called. The river was a 5 — no help. I checked in hopes of getting his last $1500 which he obliged by pushing in as soon as I checked. He went a little white when I insta-called. The full house resulted in lots of oohs and ahhs as the dealer pushed all the chips over to my end (he had 9-9 so my read was right on).

Annette15 showed how she won so much online, getting very aggressive, and just abusing the weaker players at the table. She and I only tangled twice with no real damage either way. She gave me credit for hands both times given my growing chip stack. As the tournament progressed, the tables started breaking with more and more campers busting out. I got lucky twice to keep my steady accumulation going. First, when I hit two pair on the turn with 10-3o to bust a medium stack who overplayed a pair of 9s.

The second hand was a pure fluke, a mistake that turned positive for me. I read the big blind as weak when I was on the button and made a standard raise preflop. Unfortunately, given the quickly rising limits, the standard raise was about half my stack. He talked a lot, and I knew I was behind when he pushed all in, leaving me a with a very tough decision. I had 9-10 of hearts, a good drawing hand, but not a hand you want to go broke with, particularly without the benefit of seeing the flop first. I really would have at least preferred to see a flop, but I had to decide if I was going to proceed with a crippled stack or make a stand with this hand.

I put him on a big ace who did not want me to see a flop, which would have put me as a little over a 2:1 underdog, but the amount of money in the pot was giving me more 2:1 given the amount I had left. It was the right mathematical call, but I knew I’d need to get lucky as I would likely lose 2/3 of the time. I announced that I thought I had two “live cards” as I called the bet and sheepishly turned over my measly suited connectors. My opponent from Dallas was thrilled as he had a pair of queens. I was horribly wrong in my read, and I was well beyond a 2:1 underdog. I needed to get incredibly lucky to survive, with either a straight, a flush, or a miracle two-pair.

Sure enough, the poker gods sent me two more hearts on the flop, giving me 4/5 of a flush with two cards to come. Miraculously, I was now only approx. a 60:40 underdog. I very quietly asked the dealer “one more heart, please” and he obliged with the 7 of hearts on the turn, giving me a flush and converting the queens from a massive favorite to drawing dead (no card on the river could save him). While I was happy to begin stacking my chips, I had to hear about that hand the rest of the night from Mr. Dallas (who did, by the way, still make the final table).

To my immediate left was an incredibly aggressive guy, celebrating his birthday with what looked to be the tournament of his life. He was clearly starting to feel the pressure as we were working our way toward three tables remaining, snapping at his wife to get him something to eat. One thing that became clear, however, was that he was a one move player: All-in, all-in, all-in, typically in the face of a raise. I didn’t particularly want to tangle with him, but when a hand folded around to me in the big blind and with the number of players dwindling, I figured I’d be able to steal his big blind. I raised without even looking at my cards. He looked at his cards, looked at my stack, and pushed all-in. Oops. I’d seen him do it several times the same way, and I didn’t think he had anything. I had him covered (albeit not by a lot), and thought through the bet patterns and his reactions before looking at my cards. Finally, I decided that if I had an ace, a king, or any pair, I’d make the call as I had him on a stone bluff.

I looked at the first card and it was a 4. Not good. The second card was a king. Ugh. Courage of convictions? Rely on the read and hope the poker gods were still with me? Yep. With a “let’s gamble,” I called and turned over K4. The guy went absolutely nuts. “How the HELL can you call me with that shit?!” What an idiot!” yadda yadda yadda. At that point, I knew I was ahead and, sure enough, he turned over 8h 6d. The flop comes king high and the birthday boy took his rant on the road. Mr. Dallas leans over and says “nice call” and that he would have called with just about anything given the way the guy had been playing.

From there, it was a relatively easy cruise, stealing the occasional pot when in position and avoiding any hard decisions. After two more hours, we were down to 10 players, with the final 9 to play the following night for the $10K ticket. At this point, there were two tables of 5, playing hand-for-hand (meaning that when one table finishes a hand, it waits for the other table to finish a hand so people don’t intentionally delay in hopes of the other table busting someone first).

During the first hand, I was the first to act (a position that typically folds just about anything because everyone else gets the advantage of acting after you). I had a bit of a dilemma, looking at Q-Q. This is a monster hand when playing with only 5 players, but any ace or any king has the ability to beat me. I had a little above average with $40,000 or so in front of me, with blinds at $2,000/$4,000 and $300 antes. Thus, the money in the middle totaled $7,500. I thought about it for awhile, looked at everyone else who had peaked at their cards, and raised to $16,000, hoping I could just take the blinds and antes or, at worst, get one smaller stack caller. I was scared to death of the chip leader pushing back, assuming that I’d have to make an uneasy call all-in preflop. If I got a caller and no all-in preflop, I was prepared to dump the queens if a king or ace hit the flop.

The guy to my immediate left thought briefly and pushed all-in. This was actually a very good thing for me because (1) he had fewer chips than I did so worst case scenario I was still alive, and (2) it would likely chase away anyone who wanted to just call. Sure enough, Mr. Dallas in the big blind thought for a long time before mucking his pair of 9s (a very good lay-down). I called immediately and realized I was a huge favorite when my queens faced down against a pair of jacks. Both suits were identical, meaning that the jacks could not get lucky with a flush. No help on the board and we were down to nine.

We play the final table tonight at 8:00 pm during the final banquet of the Academy. There will be a raised platform up front and we’ll play with closed circuit cameras broadcasting to big screen TVs throughout the hall for the others to watch while they eat. The winner gets the magic $10K ticket, while 2nd and 3rd get certificates to a future Academy (not sure what I’d do with that). Each of us get a $300 pair of Oakley sunglasses, so at least I can say I won something tangible on this trip.

This morning’s session was fun in that they announced the final table and had us stand during the introductions. Although all the players are within range of each other, I’m in second place currently with $79,300. The chip leader has $95K and the short stack has about $25K. With the blinds at $3,000/$6,000, and $500 antes, there won’t be a whole lot of options. Each pot will start with $13,500 in blinds and antes. I’ll need to find a strong hand and push as most everyone will either fold or move all-in. I’m intending to play it conservatively in hopes that the small stacks get overly aggressive. If I get a hand, I’ll have no hesitation in moving it all in, but I think my greatest advantage would be playing heads up so I’ll likely get out of the way with anything marginal.

No matter how it turns out, it’s the perfect capper to what has been a very strong week. I’ve gone deep in every tournament I’ve played, and it gives me enough confidence and momentum to go forward with the Main Event, whether I win the ticket or not. I had a good chat with Joe Hachem, the 2005 Main Event winner (Aussi, Aussi, Aussi) who had some good first-day advice.

I’ll update with the results of the final table tomorrow.