2014 - Back again in the World Series
This blog was started a few years ago to chronicle my World Series of Poker experiences.
For those of you new to the game, this will be my seventh go at this. I have taken a hiatus over the last couple of years (kids' activities and other travel commitments), but am back again. I have two cashes in my past, so it hasn't all been a total bust! Plus, it's loads of fun. I have equated it to being a huge baseball fan and one day getting to play in the outfield in the actual baseball World Series for a couple of innings. How amazing would that be?
Anyway, this year's field will be split into three opening days. I'm playing in the third of those, Day 1C, today - July 7, 2014. Only 771 entered for Saturday's Day 1A. That was lower than expected. However, numbers were up again for Sunday's Day 1B (2,144). Day 1C is expected to be in the 4000 range. The total should be somewhere over 6,000 vying for the title and the guaranteed $10 million prize. Of the 2,915 who have played in Days 1A or 1B, 1,933 have chips left for tomorrow's Day 2A. That means I've already outlasted nearly 1,000 people! (982 to be exact).
For those who want to follow along, I'll be posting occasional chip stack updates on my twitter handle: @WeilatWSOP. Also, there's an App called MyStack that should have updates. I also plan to blog more details on this site later tonight or tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have a nice stack heading into Day 2B on Wednesday, July 9th.
If you're in the Rio watching this event (and, believe me, it is NOT a spectator event - EXTREMELY BORING to watch live), I'll be in the Pavilion at Black table 180, seat 8.
Later for now.
- Jeff
WELCOME to my 2010 WSOP Main Event blog
Welcome to the 2010 World Series of Poker, Main Event.
Many of you have followed me over the last several years as I head to Las Vegas every summer for the WSOP. So, back by popular demand, starts this year's version.
For the last four years, I've plunked down my $10,000 to buy a seat at the "Greatest Poker Tournament in the World." Fortunately, I have a very understanding wife and family as well as two weeks in early July off from work to make this an annual occurence. Plus, cashing in my first two attempts has helped pay for these further endeavors!
Anyway, in the past, I've sent out long E-mails describing my action at the tables. Many have found the reads interesting and look forward to the annual update. By the way, I've included all of those past E-mail accounts on this blog under June - ARCHIVES - so - if you feel the need - take a look. However, as it's now well into the 21st century, I've finally turned to Blogging and Tweeting for those WSOP updates. Since I'm in my 40s, this "social networking" thing is quite a foreign experience, so bear with me as I fumble through it.
I plan on chiming in with a Twitter update at every break or so during play. Also, at the end of a day, I plan on blogging my usual report here on blogspot.
So ... I can be followed @WeilatWSOP on Twitter and here at WSOP-GoTime.blogspot.com.
I hope it's a long blog that goes on for days and days as I fight with about 7000 others aiming for the big prize.
Feel free to join me on this ride and pass it on to others who might be interested.
Jeff
Many of you have followed me over the last several years as I head to Las Vegas every summer for the WSOP. So, back by popular demand, starts this year's version.
For the last four years, I've plunked down my $10,000 to buy a seat at the "Greatest Poker Tournament in the World." Fortunately, I have a very understanding wife and family as well as two weeks in early July off from work to make this an annual occurence. Plus, cashing in my first two attempts has helped pay for these further endeavors!
Anyway, in the past, I've sent out long E-mails describing my action at the tables. Many have found the reads interesting and look forward to the annual update. By the way, I've included all of those past E-mail accounts on this blog under June - ARCHIVES - so - if you feel the need - take a look. However, as it's now well into the 21st century, I've finally turned to Blogging and Tweeting for those WSOP updates. Since I'm in my 40s, this "social networking" thing is quite a foreign experience, so bear with me as I fumble through it.
I plan on chiming in with a Twitter update at every break or so during play. Also, at the end of a day, I plan on blogging my usual report here on blogspot.
So ... I can be followed @WeilatWSOP on Twitter and here at WSOP-GoTime.blogspot.com.
I hope it's a long blog that goes on for days and days as I fight with about 7000 others aiming for the big prize.
Feel free to join me on this ride and pass it on to others who might be interested.
Jeff
ARCHIVES - 2009 Day 3
Day 3: July 9, 2009
So I finally moved to a different table. I was at table Red 128, Seat 3 and ready to go. I had a slightly below average stack of 80,000 and got off to a very slow start. Blinds were 600/1200 with a 200 ante so just a couple of laps took their toll. I had a tough loss when my AQ lost to AK with an A on the turn. I lost when AJ didn’t improve over a pair of tens. I had a pair of 7s that lost to a pair of 5s when a 5 hit the turn. All-in-all, my stack dwindled quickly to about 46,000 by the first break.
The 2nd round of the day started a little better. I had aces in the small blind and won a small pot. I was able to squeeze (reraising over a prior raise and call) from the button with KQ suited. Things came to a head though a few hands later. With about 45,000 in chips, I got tens in late position. The monster stack at our table raised to 4500 under the gun and I called. We both saw a 4 6 7 flop with two spades. He checked and raised my 5000 bet all in. I didn’t have a whole lot of chips left, and decided to call. Sure enough, he had pocket 7s himself and had flopped a set. So I was way behind and in serious jeopardy. I got an 8 on the turn giving me some chances of a lucky survival – a 5 and he and I both have a straight to the 8, a 9 and I have a straight to the 10, or a miracle 10 for my set. The river blanked though and it was over. It would have been tough for me to find a fold there with the overpair. This guy could really have pushed me in with a spade draw or even a hand like a pair of 5s with his straight chances – so I was kind of stuck. Oh well, it was a pretty good run. There were about 1500 left as I bowed out of the WSOP Main Event - 2009 edition.
To console myself, I played some craps at Casino Royale (20x odds) and took them for $800. I also played a very juicy 5/10 NL ring game at the Rio where an aggressive Euro dumped/bluffed about $2000 into my lap over a period of about 90 minutes. So all of that certainly softened the blow. My friend (Sean Lew for those tracking progress on line) is still alive and headed into Day 4. He has 295,000 chips (avg is about 240,000). 810 are left and they’ll play down into the money (top 648) tomorrow. I have 10% of his win if he makes it in, so I may still come out OK! I wish him well.
I hope I didn’t bore you to death with all the details – but your feedback is usually positive. I certainly wish I had better news to report from Day 3. Getting knocked out of the WSOP is always very disappointing.
UPDATE: My friend Sean, however, finally had a good run. He played well into Day 5 finishing 269th and earning $32,963. The two of us have played in four consecutive WSOPs and between us have finished in the money in three of them. Not bad. Would be nice to both finish in the money and go deep in 2010!
So, until next year ….
Jeff
So I finally moved to a different table. I was at table Red 128, Seat 3 and ready to go. I had a slightly below average stack of 80,000 and got off to a very slow start. Blinds were 600/1200 with a 200 ante so just a couple of laps took their toll. I had a tough loss when my AQ lost to AK with an A on the turn. I lost when AJ didn’t improve over a pair of tens. I had a pair of 7s that lost to a pair of 5s when a 5 hit the turn. All-in-all, my stack dwindled quickly to about 46,000 by the first break.
The 2nd round of the day started a little better. I had aces in the small blind and won a small pot. I was able to squeeze (reraising over a prior raise and call) from the button with KQ suited. Things came to a head though a few hands later. With about 45,000 in chips, I got tens in late position. The monster stack at our table raised to 4500 under the gun and I called. We both saw a 4 6 7 flop with two spades. He checked and raised my 5000 bet all in. I didn’t have a whole lot of chips left, and decided to call. Sure enough, he had pocket 7s himself and had flopped a set. So I was way behind and in serious jeopardy. I got an 8 on the turn giving me some chances of a lucky survival – a 5 and he and I both have a straight to the 8, a 9 and I have a straight to the 10, or a miracle 10 for my set. The river blanked though and it was over. It would have been tough for me to find a fold there with the overpair. This guy could really have pushed me in with a spade draw or even a hand like a pair of 5s with his straight chances – so I was kind of stuck. Oh well, it was a pretty good run. There were about 1500 left as I bowed out of the WSOP Main Event - 2009 edition.
To console myself, I played some craps at Casino Royale (20x odds) and took them for $800. I also played a very juicy 5/10 NL ring game at the Rio where an aggressive Euro dumped/bluffed about $2000 into my lap over a period of about 90 minutes. So all of that certainly softened the blow. My friend (Sean Lew for those tracking progress on line) is still alive and headed into Day 4. He has 295,000 chips (avg is about 240,000). 810 are left and they’ll play down into the money (top 648) tomorrow. I have 10% of his win if he makes it in, so I may still come out OK! I wish him well.
I hope I didn’t bore you to death with all the details – but your feedback is usually positive. I certainly wish I had better news to report from Day 3. Getting knocked out of the WSOP is always very disappointing.
UPDATE: My friend Sean, however, finally had a good run. He played well into Day 5 finishing 269th and earning $32,963. The two of us have played in four consecutive WSOPs and between us have finished in the money in three of them. Not bad. Would be nice to both finish in the money and go deep in 2010!
So, until next year ….
Jeff
ARCHIVES - 2009 Day 2
Day 2: July 8, 2009
Oddly enough, despite the redraw of tables, I’m exactly where I was when Day 1 ended: Amazon Blue Table 4, Seat 3. Resetting the scenario as it ended before, I have below the starting 30,000 chips (26, 625) after taking a blow late on Day 1. So … I’m looking to make a move. Fortunately, the structure of this tournament is unbelievable. The blinds are still small (they’ll start at 250/500 with 50 blinds) and each level lasts 2 full hours.
Enough of the preamble, on to the hands. I was the big blind on the 2nd hand and got AK after a 1400 raise and call. I made it 4500 and won the pot uncontested. Good start! Just a few hands later, I had QQ UTG. I made it 1300 and got one caller. The flop was 9 8 6 with 2 clubs (my queens were red). I bet 2500 and was raised to 5500. My opponent on this hand had me covered (a bigger stack), but barely. I raised all-in and he took a long time making his decision. This was good for me because at least I knew he didn’t have 3 of a kind, and likely had a big draw. Sure enough, he had AJ suited in clubs and eventually called. Even though I’m ahead at this point, the actual odds of me winning the hand with the turn and the river still to come are only 55%. Fortunately, he misses his flush and misses his ace and I win a huge pot. This got me to about 60,000 right out of the gate! A few hands later in the round, I got AA and had a shorter stack go all-in with his tens. Too bad for him, but good for me. After one round of Day 2, I was significantly above the average stack with 71,500 chips.
Level 2 brought blinds of 300/600 with a 75 ante. There was a super short stack to my right who I tortured much of this level. As an aside, short stack play at the WSOP is for the most part atrocious. People let their stacks dwindle way too low. This guy was just that way. On at least two occasions he raised and I made a big reraise (once with 99, once with TT). He folded on both these occasions. In truth, his stack was so small that he should be pushing his whole stack in and not dinking around with raises at all. On one occasion, it was folded all the way around to him in the SB. This was the typical scenario where he really should have pushed all-in with any two cards. As it was, he showed me his 72 and folded. I turned over my cards and had 72 also! Ha! Well, I did eventually take him out completely when he pushed as the small blind into my big blind. I had ATs which was an easy call. However, he woke up with AJ and was ahead. But when a ten hit on the river, his chips were finally mine. Anyway, I cruised through the first two rounds heading to the dinner break with a whopping 91,600 chips – quite a jump from my starting 26K.
Level 3 was not quite as exciting. I had KK and won a nice pot. The hand I kept getting was Big Slick (AK). However, I couldn’t hit a flop. I ended up losing some chips on the whole with that damn hand. I probably had it 4 or 5 times. Still, I kept the chip count rising, peaking at about 95,700 at the break.
Level 4 brought blinds of 500/1000 with a 100 ante. I was totally card dead during this level. I think I stole the blinds a couple of times, but I really didn’t win a substantial pot. I simply bled blinds as my stack dwindled. We finally ended for the day at around 10:45 pm PST. I finished the day with 80,100. That’s slightly below average and likely close to a median stack overall. For those who know Sean, he’s cruising along quite nicely. He has 140,000 so far. We get tomorrow off (more golf) and resume Day 3 on Friday at Noon. There are roughly 2100 people left of the original 6494.
That’s all for now. As usual, it’s been a blast so far - but it will be nice to have a full day off. I still think that the money bubble won’t break until Saturday - we’ll see.
More later.
Jeff
Oddly enough, despite the redraw of tables, I’m exactly where I was when Day 1 ended: Amazon Blue Table 4, Seat 3. Resetting the scenario as it ended before, I have below the starting 30,000 chips (26, 625) after taking a blow late on Day 1. So … I’m looking to make a move. Fortunately, the structure of this tournament is unbelievable. The blinds are still small (they’ll start at 250/500 with 50 blinds) and each level lasts 2 full hours.
Enough of the preamble, on to the hands. I was the big blind on the 2nd hand and got AK after a 1400 raise and call. I made it 4500 and won the pot uncontested. Good start! Just a few hands later, I had QQ UTG. I made it 1300 and got one caller. The flop was 9 8 6 with 2 clubs (my queens were red). I bet 2500 and was raised to 5500. My opponent on this hand had me covered (a bigger stack), but barely. I raised all-in and he took a long time making his decision. This was good for me because at least I knew he didn’t have 3 of a kind, and likely had a big draw. Sure enough, he had AJ suited in clubs and eventually called. Even though I’m ahead at this point, the actual odds of me winning the hand with the turn and the river still to come are only 55%. Fortunately, he misses his flush and misses his ace and I win a huge pot. This got me to about 60,000 right out of the gate! A few hands later in the round, I got AA and had a shorter stack go all-in with his tens. Too bad for him, but good for me. After one round of Day 2, I was significantly above the average stack with 71,500 chips.
Level 2 brought blinds of 300/600 with a 75 ante. There was a super short stack to my right who I tortured much of this level. As an aside, short stack play at the WSOP is for the most part atrocious. People let their stacks dwindle way too low. This guy was just that way. On at least two occasions he raised and I made a big reraise (once with 99, once with TT). He folded on both these occasions. In truth, his stack was so small that he should be pushing his whole stack in and not dinking around with raises at all. On one occasion, it was folded all the way around to him in the SB. This was the typical scenario where he really should have pushed all-in with any two cards. As it was, he showed me his 72 and folded. I turned over my cards and had 72 also! Ha! Well, I did eventually take him out completely when he pushed as the small blind into my big blind. I had ATs which was an easy call. However, he woke up with AJ and was ahead. But when a ten hit on the river, his chips were finally mine. Anyway, I cruised through the first two rounds heading to the dinner break with a whopping 91,600 chips – quite a jump from my starting 26K.
Level 3 was not quite as exciting. I had KK and won a nice pot. The hand I kept getting was Big Slick (AK). However, I couldn’t hit a flop. I ended up losing some chips on the whole with that damn hand. I probably had it 4 or 5 times. Still, I kept the chip count rising, peaking at about 95,700 at the break.
Level 4 brought blinds of 500/1000 with a 100 ante. I was totally card dead during this level. I think I stole the blinds a couple of times, but I really didn’t win a substantial pot. I simply bled blinds as my stack dwindled. We finally ended for the day at around 10:45 pm PST. I finished the day with 80,100. That’s slightly below average and likely close to a median stack overall. For those who know Sean, he’s cruising along quite nicely. He has 140,000 so far. We get tomorrow off (more golf) and resume Day 3 on Friday at Noon. There are roughly 2100 people left of the original 6494.
That’s all for now. As usual, it’s been a blast so far - but it will be nice to have a full day off. I still think that the money bubble won’t break until Saturday - we’ll see.
More later.
Jeff
ARCHIVES - 2009 Day 1
So it’s Day 1 at the 2009 WSOP. Chad Norman and Lon McEachern (the ESPN poker announcers) get the honor of announcing those famous words for the start of any tournament “Shuffle up and deal!!” – and Day 1D of the WSOP is under way.
My table this year was very strange. It was a very passive table. Almost no reraising, lots of limped pots. Pots were generally small. Only a few monster hands. No recognizable pros were at my table. In fact, for the whole night, only 1 player at my table was busted out (spoiler alert: it wasn’t me!). Also, the number of total entries grew so much over the last two Day 1s that Days 1C and 1D were played for a whole 5 rounds after all – to thin the field. They’ll make it up to us by having Day 2A go for 5 rounds while we all will go for just 4 rounds on our Day 2B tomorrow (Wednesday). So we did play ‘til 1 am after all.
OK, on to the hands. On the very, very, very first hand of the tournament, I was dealt 44 UTG (under the gun i.e. very first to act after the blinds). I like to make a small raise here to help build a pot should I hit a nice 4 on the flop. Only the guy after me called. We then saw an A Q x flop with two spades. I then will often represent an ace, so I bet out 350 and got called. We both checked when another spade hit the turn. Then the river was a 4th spade. I realized here that I definitely don’t have the best hand (no 4 of spades), so the only way to win is to bet as if I have a decent spade. I make it 750 on the river. He sighs, then folds. Whew! I hate to outright bluff on the frickin’ first hand of the tournament, but there it is. The rest of the round was pretty boring. I got aces once on the button. I raised a typical raise and both blinds called. They then folded to my continuation bet on the flop. Toward the very end of the round, I got into a hand with a pair of nines. I called an early position raiser. Then called his continuation bet on a Q x x flop. He bet again and I laid it down. That took a little chunk. Ended the round with 29,500, slightly down from my original 30,000.
I had a ton of action in Round 2, blinds 100/200. I called a raise from the BB with a pair of 8s. The flop was 6 7 T – not bad for eights. I checked and he bet 600. I raised to 1800 hoping to win it right there. He called. We ended up checking it down after that and my 8s were good as he had AK that didn’t improve. A very tight player made an early raise. I found AK (both diamonds) on the button. I decide to just call. I get a delicious flop of K x x with two diamonds. This is a huge flop with top pair, top kicker and the nut flush draw. I really want action with this hand. Anyway, he bets 1200 and I raise to 3500 wanting him to play along. He thought for awhile, then folded. Oh well. I had KQ of spades once on a K 2 2 flop. I ended winning a nice pot when I got called on my post flop bets then made a flush on the river. All-in-all, things went great and I built my stack to 42,400 after Round 2.
I got a little more aggressive in Round 3 (blinds 150/300). I made a raise from the cut-off (just before the button) with QJ. Only the BB called. I saw a nice flop of J 6 3. I just checked the flop. He then called my turn bet. I checked on the river – turns out he had flopped a set of 3s! Good thing he played it so passively. I could have lost a lot more chips. Later I’m on the button with the K4 of diamonds. There are a couple of limpers, so I decide to play along. The SB next to me then makes it 1100. After 4 people call, I pretty much have to call the remaining 800. Well the flop is garbage, and everybody checks. The turn is a 4, we still all check. The river is a second 4 giving me runner runner trips. Everybody folded to my river bet. Still a nice pot. In a nutshell, that’s how passive my table was. So, a good round. I’m headed into the dinner break with 46,400 chips – good enough for the lead at my table.
Round 4 (150/300 with 25 antes) turned out to be a killer. As the tournament went on, I was raising a lot more and slowly and steadily building a nice chip stack. The guy to my left was getting shorter and shorter (around 15 – 17K). He was very active and I could tell he was in get-some-more-chips-quickly-or-just-go-home mode. I was eyeing those chips longingly and looking for a way to send him out of here. I had built my stack to about 54,000 when this evilness happened. I’m dealt 77 UTG. I make it 700. The villain next to me calls (he’s played a ton of pots, never folding to raises, so he could have had anything). The two of us see an 8 8 9 flop – pretty good for sevens. I call his 1500 bet. The turn is a 7 giving me a sneaky full house. I check, with the intent of reraising big. He just checks. The turn is a J which looks good to me. If he was trying to hit a straight, that should do it which would get crushed by my full house. I bet about 3500, he makes it 8000. At this point, he only had 4500 left. I assume he likely has a ten and I have him. I get him all-in and he calls in an instant (rarely a good sign!). Turns out he had a pair of jacks in his hand giving him a better full house on the river. OUCH! So I had to ship over a bunch of chips to him, knocking me back to an average stack. Dang, all that work destroyed on one turn of the cards. As it turns out, there was really nothing I could have done to alter this outcome. He’s certainly not going to fold JJ on that board no matter what I do on the turn. So it was back to the drawing board. I was at 36,300 with one more round of Day 1 to go.
Round 5 (200/400 +50) was up and down – ending down. I built it up to the low 40s before making some ill-advised bluff attempts late. I got no action when I had QQ (twice). Anyway, I’m down to 26,625 at the end of Day 1. Still beats being felted and out with zero chips – but if I had won that one big pot, I’d like to think I’d be sitting pretty, somewhere in the 70K range. Oh well. I still have over 50 big blinds in my arsenal of chips and will be alive for Day 2. That’s 4 for 4 making it into Day 2. Still an accomplishment.
A total of 6494 entered this year. There were so many people trying to get in at the last minute, that they supposedly turned away 800 people! They just didn’t have room. First place gets over $8.5M. Just making the final table makes $1.2M. So we’ll see how tomorrow goes. Those who have followed these reports over the years know of Sean who comes out with me every year. He plays very well, yet has never made it out of Day 1. Well this year is different as he has 79,000 in chips heading into Wednesday. So keep your fingers crossed for us both. I again apologize if these are so dreadfully long and boring. It still beats the alternative – busting out early!
More later.
Jeff
My table this year was very strange. It was a very passive table. Almost no reraising, lots of limped pots. Pots were generally small. Only a few monster hands. No recognizable pros were at my table. In fact, for the whole night, only 1 player at my table was busted out (spoiler alert: it wasn’t me!). Also, the number of total entries grew so much over the last two Day 1s that Days 1C and 1D were played for a whole 5 rounds after all – to thin the field. They’ll make it up to us by having Day 2A go for 5 rounds while we all will go for just 4 rounds on our Day 2B tomorrow (Wednesday). So we did play ‘til 1 am after all.
OK, on to the hands. On the very, very, very first hand of the tournament, I was dealt 44 UTG (under the gun i.e. very first to act after the blinds). I like to make a small raise here to help build a pot should I hit a nice 4 on the flop. Only the guy after me called. We then saw an A Q x flop with two spades. I then will often represent an ace, so I bet out 350 and got called. We both checked when another spade hit the turn. Then the river was a 4th spade. I realized here that I definitely don’t have the best hand (no 4 of spades), so the only way to win is to bet as if I have a decent spade. I make it 750 on the river. He sighs, then folds. Whew! I hate to outright bluff on the frickin’ first hand of the tournament, but there it is. The rest of the round was pretty boring. I got aces once on the button. I raised a typical raise and both blinds called. They then folded to my continuation bet on the flop. Toward the very end of the round, I got into a hand with a pair of nines. I called an early position raiser. Then called his continuation bet on a Q x x flop. He bet again and I laid it down. That took a little chunk. Ended the round with 29,500, slightly down from my original 30,000.
I had a ton of action in Round 2, blinds 100/200. I called a raise from the BB with a pair of 8s. The flop was 6 7 T – not bad for eights. I checked and he bet 600. I raised to 1800 hoping to win it right there. He called. We ended up checking it down after that and my 8s were good as he had AK that didn’t improve. A very tight player made an early raise. I found AK (both diamonds) on the button. I decide to just call. I get a delicious flop of K x x with two diamonds. This is a huge flop with top pair, top kicker and the nut flush draw. I really want action with this hand. Anyway, he bets 1200 and I raise to 3500 wanting him to play along. He thought for awhile, then folded. Oh well. I had KQ of spades once on a K 2 2 flop. I ended winning a nice pot when I got called on my post flop bets then made a flush on the river. All-in-all, things went great and I built my stack to 42,400 after Round 2.
I got a little more aggressive in Round 3 (blinds 150/300). I made a raise from the cut-off (just before the button) with QJ. Only the BB called. I saw a nice flop of J 6 3. I just checked the flop. He then called my turn bet. I checked on the river – turns out he had flopped a set of 3s! Good thing he played it so passively. I could have lost a lot more chips. Later I’m on the button with the K4 of diamonds. There are a couple of limpers, so I decide to play along. The SB next to me then makes it 1100. After 4 people call, I pretty much have to call the remaining 800. Well the flop is garbage, and everybody checks. The turn is a 4, we still all check. The river is a second 4 giving me runner runner trips. Everybody folded to my river bet. Still a nice pot. In a nutshell, that’s how passive my table was. So, a good round. I’m headed into the dinner break with 46,400 chips – good enough for the lead at my table.
Round 4 (150/300 with 25 antes) turned out to be a killer. As the tournament went on, I was raising a lot more and slowly and steadily building a nice chip stack. The guy to my left was getting shorter and shorter (around 15 – 17K). He was very active and I could tell he was in get-some-more-chips-quickly-or-just-go-home mode. I was eyeing those chips longingly and looking for a way to send him out of here. I had built my stack to about 54,000 when this evilness happened. I’m dealt 77 UTG. I make it 700. The villain next to me calls (he’s played a ton of pots, never folding to raises, so he could have had anything). The two of us see an 8 8 9 flop – pretty good for sevens. I call his 1500 bet. The turn is a 7 giving me a sneaky full house. I check, with the intent of reraising big. He just checks. The turn is a J which looks good to me. If he was trying to hit a straight, that should do it which would get crushed by my full house. I bet about 3500, he makes it 8000. At this point, he only had 4500 left. I assume he likely has a ten and I have him. I get him all-in and he calls in an instant (rarely a good sign!). Turns out he had a pair of jacks in his hand giving him a better full house on the river. OUCH! So I had to ship over a bunch of chips to him, knocking me back to an average stack. Dang, all that work destroyed on one turn of the cards. As it turns out, there was really nothing I could have done to alter this outcome. He’s certainly not going to fold JJ on that board no matter what I do on the turn. So it was back to the drawing board. I was at 36,300 with one more round of Day 1 to go.
Round 5 (200/400 +50) was up and down – ending down. I built it up to the low 40s before making some ill-advised bluff attempts late. I got no action when I had QQ (twice). Anyway, I’m down to 26,625 at the end of Day 1. Still beats being felted and out with zero chips – but if I had won that one big pot, I’d like to think I’d be sitting pretty, somewhere in the 70K range. Oh well. I still have over 50 big blinds in my arsenal of chips and will be alive for Day 2. That’s 4 for 4 making it into Day 2. Still an accomplishment.
A total of 6494 entered this year. There were so many people trying to get in at the last minute, that they supposedly turned away 800 people! They just didn’t have room. First place gets over $8.5M. Just making the final table makes $1.2M. So we’ll see how tomorrow goes. Those who have followed these reports over the years know of Sean who comes out with me every year. He plays very well, yet has never made it out of Day 1. Well this year is different as he has 79,000 in chips heading into Wednesday. So keep your fingers crossed for us both. I again apologize if these are so dreadfully long and boring. It still beats the alternative – busting out early!
More later.
Jeff
ARCHIVES - 2009 Pre-WSOP Report
OK, back by popular demand. I’m again documenting my experiences at the WSOP in Las Vegas, NV. There are some new readers, so to catch everyone up, this is my 4th run at the $10,000 Main Event. All have been a blast and great experiences. The first two resulted in making it into the money with a 548th finish in 2006 and a 455th finish in 2007. Last year, not so good as I busted out late in Day 2. However, I had my best first day ever, more than doubling my starting chips. Anyway, none of that matters now as everybody starts with a fresh slate and a new stack for 2009.
Speaking of the 2009 WSOP, there are some interesting changes to the format this year. First of all, instead of 20,000 chips, everyone is starting with 30,000 chips. In 2006, you got 10,000 in chips for your $10,000. In 2007, they upped it to 20,000 chips – but essentially just doubled the blinds/antes – making it a trivial increase. This year it’s up to 30,000 chips, but no real change in the blinds. This makes a HUGE difference. The stack sizes are now even that much more monstrous compared to the tiny early blinds. Each level of blinds lasts a full two hours, too, so lots and lots of play. Also this year, they’re playing only 4 total rounds the first day. Back in 2006, they played 6 rounds and we didn’t end Day 1 until about 3:30 am. After that, it was 5 rounds ending at a more manageable 1:00 am or so. Now, only 4 rounds that will end before 11 pm. Not exactly sure why they made this change. With the bigger stacks and the significant drop in 1st day levels, the bubble (the point where people get into the money) won’t likely happen until late in Day 4 at the earliest – instead of Day 3 as it has in the recent past. Gee, now if I make it into the money, I’ll have to postpone my flight back – Oh, well! That would be a good problem to have.
So, I recently just finished my annual walk-through of the Rio completing my registration for my first day tomorrow. The massive Amazon Room at the Rio is again packed wall-to-wall with poker tables. As usual, it is an amazing sight to see. Numbers are down quite a bit this year. Day 1 had 1116 entries. 873 for Day 2 and 1697 for Day 3. They say Day 4 may be the largest of the four, so we’ll wait for the final numbers to come in. 6844 played in 2008. 6358 in 2007. The biggest field so far was 8773 in 2007. The official entry number won’t be available until later tomorrow – but it will certainly take a dip.
Anyway, tomorrow I’ll be at table 4 seat 3 in the Amazon Blue room for the big event to kick off at 12 Noon. We’ll start with 30,000 chips and blinds of 50 and 100. Each level lasts 2 hours with 20 minute breaks in between – and a 2 hour dinner break. Should I survive, my Day 2 won’t be until Wednesday, July 8th. To follow some of the action, there are usually posts/blogs on worldseriesofpoker.com, pokerpages.com, among several others. Final chip counts are usually on worldseriesofpoker.com the following morning – hope I’m listed!
Anyway, just another glimpse of what it’s like here at the World Series. When I describe it to non-poker players, I still equate it to playing in the Super Bowl or baseball World Series. Not only are you at the event, but you’re on the field! It’s great.
The last few years I’ve at least had two or three days worth of E-mail updates to friends and family describing the action. Like last year, I wanted to get this preliminary E-mail out to ensure that I get at least two updates in the mail this year. My next E-mail might be very short and full of bad news and an early exit. But hey, you never know!
Thanks for listening.
Jeff Weil
Speaking of the 2009 WSOP, there are some interesting changes to the format this year. First of all, instead of 20,000 chips, everyone is starting with 30,000 chips. In 2006, you got 10,000 in chips for your $10,000. In 2007, they upped it to 20,000 chips – but essentially just doubled the blinds/antes – making it a trivial increase. This year it’s up to 30,000 chips, but no real change in the blinds. This makes a HUGE difference. The stack sizes are now even that much more monstrous compared to the tiny early blinds. Each level of blinds lasts a full two hours, too, so lots and lots of play. Also this year, they’re playing only 4 total rounds the first day. Back in 2006, they played 6 rounds and we didn’t end Day 1 until about 3:30 am. After that, it was 5 rounds ending at a more manageable 1:00 am or so. Now, only 4 rounds that will end before 11 pm. Not exactly sure why they made this change. With the bigger stacks and the significant drop in 1st day levels, the bubble (the point where people get into the money) won’t likely happen until late in Day 4 at the earliest – instead of Day 3 as it has in the recent past. Gee, now if I make it into the money, I’ll have to postpone my flight back – Oh, well! That would be a good problem to have.
So, I recently just finished my annual walk-through of the Rio completing my registration for my first day tomorrow. The massive Amazon Room at the Rio is again packed wall-to-wall with poker tables. As usual, it is an amazing sight to see. Numbers are down quite a bit this year. Day 1 had 1116 entries. 873 for Day 2 and 1697 for Day 3. They say Day 4 may be the largest of the four, so we’ll wait for the final numbers to come in. 6844 played in 2008. 6358 in 2007. The biggest field so far was 8773 in 2007. The official entry number won’t be available until later tomorrow – but it will certainly take a dip.
Anyway, tomorrow I’ll be at table 4 seat 3 in the Amazon Blue room for the big event to kick off at 12 Noon. We’ll start with 30,000 chips and blinds of 50 and 100. Each level lasts 2 hours with 20 minute breaks in between – and a 2 hour dinner break. Should I survive, my Day 2 won’t be until Wednesday, July 8th. To follow some of the action, there are usually posts/blogs on worldseriesofpoker.com, pokerpages.com, among several others. Final chip counts are usually on worldseriesofpoker.com the following morning – hope I’m listed!
Anyway, just another glimpse of what it’s like here at the World Series. When I describe it to non-poker players, I still equate it to playing in the Super Bowl or baseball World Series. Not only are you at the event, but you’re on the field! It’s great.
The last few years I’ve at least had two or three days worth of E-mail updates to friends and family describing the action. Like last year, I wanted to get this preliminary E-mail out to ensure that I get at least two updates in the mail this year. My next E-mail might be very short and full of bad news and an early exit. But hey, you never know!
Thanks for listening.
Jeff Weil
ARCHIVES - 2008 Day 2
Welcome again to my 2008 WSOP trip report – Day 2B – July 9, 2008
Well, roughly 2300 first day survivors joined me for Day 2B of the Series. Yesterday, the Day 2A folks got down to 465 players. They’ll meet the survivors of today on Thursday. I was again in the Amazon room, Red Table #18, seat 6. I had $71,750 in chips to start the day which was good enough for third at my table. Two slightly bigger stacks (one just over $80K) were to my left – two short stacks ($11K and $14K) were to my right.
The blinds started at 250/500 with a 50 ante. Nothing too exciting this level. I had trouble getting in a groove … it seemed like most of my weaker raises (KJ or A9) were getting reraised – thus forcing a fold. I dropped to 66,750 after the first level.
I got back in the swing of things during the second level. I had a big hand with AA with a J 9 6 flop with two diamonds. The turn brought another diamond (I had the ace of diamonds). I made a big check raise and my opponent folded. I got my stack back up to 77,000.
Round 3 started my downward spiral. I had a monstrous stack three to my left. I raised his big blind with a pair of sixes. He reraised me but I decided to see the flop. The flop was all rags – like 2 4 7 – not bad for a pair of sixes. I figured he likely had a hand like AQ or AK. He continue bet and I raised him. He then went all-in after some deliberation. I had to fold. He said later that he had aces. Oops, bad timing there. Anyway, my stack dripped down to $53,700 at the dinner break.
I made a fateful error early in the next round. I was moved to another table and again had a big stack to my left. The blinds were 500/1000 with a 100 ante. I raised one off the button to 3000 with AK. The big stack was in the small blind and made it 8000 to go. Here’s where I made the blunder of the tournament. My first instinct was to reraise, perhaps even going all in. That would have been great. Instead, I chose to only call. I figured he likely had a pair and I didn’t want to risk it all on a race – I thought I was too deep in chips. The flop was an innocent 7 4 2. He checked as did I. The turn was a 5 and he bet 10,000. At this point, I really thought he had a hand like AQ or AJ and that he was trying to buy the pot. So again I just called. The river was another 5. We both checked and he turned over a measly 7 3! His pair of sevens won the pot. Obviously, if I push preflop or at least raise substantially, he’d fold. So, instead of gaining say 10,000, I lost 18,000. I never really did recover. I had a great flop of J J 2 with a pair of twos, but got no significant action. I was getting pretty short on chips and found QJ suited on the button. I raised only to get called again by that big stack to my left (are you sensing a theme yet?). Anyway, the flop was really quite good A T 9 giving me an open-ended straight draw. The big stack bet into me – maybe testing to see if I had an ace. I decided to raise all-in for two reasons: 1. I have a lot of outs with the open-ended straight draw. 2. I had raised preflop indicating a good hand like a good ace. I thought I could push him off a small ace. Anyway, he pondered for a good 4 or 5 minutes before making the call with an A 7. Yuck. I really thought he’d fold a weak ace there. But again, he was a pretty big stack and could afford to take some chances. Anyway, my straight draw did not come in and I was sent to the rail.
All-in-all, there were about 1300 people left at this point from the original 6844. So, I can’t really feel too bad. Still, it leaves a very sour taste in my mouth!
Until next year.
Jeff
Well, roughly 2300 first day survivors joined me for Day 2B of the Series. Yesterday, the Day 2A folks got down to 465 players. They’ll meet the survivors of today on Thursday. I was again in the Amazon room, Red Table #18, seat 6. I had $71,750 in chips to start the day which was good enough for third at my table. Two slightly bigger stacks (one just over $80K) were to my left – two short stacks ($11K and $14K) were to my right.
The blinds started at 250/500 with a 50 ante. Nothing too exciting this level. I had trouble getting in a groove … it seemed like most of my weaker raises (KJ or A9) were getting reraised – thus forcing a fold. I dropped to 66,750 after the first level.
I got back in the swing of things during the second level. I had a big hand with AA with a J 9 6 flop with two diamonds. The turn brought another diamond (I had the ace of diamonds). I made a big check raise and my opponent folded. I got my stack back up to 77,000.
Round 3 started my downward spiral. I had a monstrous stack three to my left. I raised his big blind with a pair of sixes. He reraised me but I decided to see the flop. The flop was all rags – like 2 4 7 – not bad for a pair of sixes. I figured he likely had a hand like AQ or AK. He continue bet and I raised him. He then went all-in after some deliberation. I had to fold. He said later that he had aces. Oops, bad timing there. Anyway, my stack dripped down to $53,700 at the dinner break.
I made a fateful error early in the next round. I was moved to another table and again had a big stack to my left. The blinds were 500/1000 with a 100 ante. I raised one off the button to 3000 with AK. The big stack was in the small blind and made it 8000 to go. Here’s where I made the blunder of the tournament. My first instinct was to reraise, perhaps even going all in. That would have been great. Instead, I chose to only call. I figured he likely had a pair and I didn’t want to risk it all on a race – I thought I was too deep in chips. The flop was an innocent 7 4 2. He checked as did I. The turn was a 5 and he bet 10,000. At this point, I really thought he had a hand like AQ or AJ and that he was trying to buy the pot. So again I just called. The river was another 5. We both checked and he turned over a measly 7 3! His pair of sevens won the pot. Obviously, if I push preflop or at least raise substantially, he’d fold. So, instead of gaining say 10,000, I lost 18,000. I never really did recover. I had a great flop of J J 2 with a pair of twos, but got no significant action. I was getting pretty short on chips and found QJ suited on the button. I raised only to get called again by that big stack to my left (are you sensing a theme yet?). Anyway, the flop was really quite good A T 9 giving me an open-ended straight draw. The big stack bet into me – maybe testing to see if I had an ace. I decided to raise all-in for two reasons: 1. I have a lot of outs with the open-ended straight draw. 2. I had raised preflop indicating a good hand like a good ace. I thought I could push him off a small ace. Anyway, he pondered for a good 4 or 5 minutes before making the call with an A 7. Yuck. I really thought he’d fold a weak ace there. But again, he was a pretty big stack and could afford to take some chances. Anyway, my straight draw did not come in and I was sent to the rail.
All-in-all, there were about 1300 people left at this point from the original 6844. So, I can’t really feel too bad. Still, it leaves a very sour taste in my mouth!
Until next year.
Jeff
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