WSOP 2007: First visit almost over
Juni 22, 2007
Congratulations again to Katja for winning the $1,500 Razz event here at the WSOP and getting the conveted gold bracelet. I was really proud for her and I think the did an awesome job in this tournament. She played 3 days for a total of 38 playing hours (including breaks) to finally win the thing vs. tough competition. Alone on the final table have been lot#s of bracelets: Mark Vos, O’Neil Longson and Men "the Master" Nguyen have 13 between them. O’Neil have won this event already before and is by many considered one of the top lowball players and had he had a demanding chiplead going to the final table. Anyway, nobody could stop Katja on that day. She played focused and aggresive. In two instances she played even to agressive in my book and I was a little scared that she can’t change gears back when needed. But no problem, she slowed down as needed. I railbirded her for much of day 2 and 3 and was very pleased with the way she played. The very same is true for the Ladies Event where Katja got 5th from almost 1,300 ladies where she played very good for long hours (but then failed to continue doing so in the last hour of the tournament).
Now Katja has a WSOP bracelet, something some people especially in the german community seem to be having a problem with. For some of those, let me clarify a few things: of course the bracelet means a whole lot to Katja – businesswise. It confirms her play, is a good marketing tool and proves some success. Now, both Katja and I are the first to admit that just winning a tournament (even a star studded, complicated game, long hours tournament like this) means nothing by itself. Everybody can. It is the consistancy that separates the successfull from the losing players. In this sense this win and the bracelet itself does not mean much for Katja. Winning there or betting busted on the bubble is not really a difference if you are comfortable with the way you played and handled the situation. The rest is just that – variance.
Katja gave a lot of interviews right after her win, the most watched the one on PokerNews and here on IntelliPoker. The english community on 2+2 took it quite well while the german communites are backbiting about her arroganz. I think they want her to say "This is a dream coming true, I won this not alone for me but for my country, god and everybody who has ever posted in a forum". Nothing of this is true. It was not her big dream to win it, it was a professional goal. She did not won it for Germany or God as none of those has ever paided her bills. And for the people in the forums – well, some of them should be aware that sometimes in the poker world the anonomity is broken and people will meet each other face to face. We’ll see what they say then.
I mean, seriously, what some online players might not be aware about: playing live poker for a living requires a certain attitude. While online you don’t see the emotions of your opponents live you are directly confrontated with them. Alone outplaying that poor guy with the desperate face and his very last money on the table just another time requires not only the skill to do so but also the will and "killer-instinct" to do so. Your embaras you opponents, make them leave the the table or reload in front of a full audience. Young players like Sebastian (miami) know what I am talking about as this has be subject of numerous discussions between us – in fact that is one thing very difficult to learn and handle about live poker. I believe this is the reason why so few woman play live poker (successfully) – this mentality is not for everyone and obvious not for many woman. If you look at womans like Jenifer Haarman or Cyndie Violette at the poker table you look into mercyless eyes.
Regarding my own play there is not much to add – I was the first one out of the $3,000 limit holdem event, I did not survice the first round of the heads-up event where I played vs. Lee Watkinson, a very nice guy. After like 90 minutes of play I called a raise with :6d:5d and saw a flop of :6s:6c:5s – flopped boat! Some chips went in on the flop and turn, when a :Qh appeard on the river all the money went in but Lee had :Qs:Qc and won. Yesterday we liked to play the Omaha H/L event but we got "stucked" and could not make in time. As we are leaving home on Sunday we wont play any more tournaments before coming back on July 5th, where Katja playes the "Ante up for Africa" event and we play our first day of the main event on "Day 1C".
Bellagio, where the dealers have Bracelets
Juni 19, 2007
After my unpleasant exit on Friday I decided to skip the $1,500 event on Saturday because it was looking like a big sellout again and I don’t like those large fields – nahh, I am not going to fool you. When I realized I had not yet bought my ticket for this event I went to the cashier, saw an endless line of players trying to buy into that one and had simply no idea of waiting 4+ hours for that event.
The Bellagio is running it’s "Bellagio cup" series right now and I decided to go there, they had scheduled a $5,000 event for this saturday. I bought myself in and was trying to take my seat at 1 p.m. when I got informed that it has been re-scheduled to 2 p.m. so I went to local "Noodles" and had a fantastic lunch there. When I got back shortly before 2 I was informed by the waiting dealers that I am probably "on the final table already" as there have been only 8 entries so far. When the tourney finally started it have been 23 and it filled up to 37 over the course of the following 3 hours (they allowed for such late entries). I was playing good and builded a stack before I ran into a draw holding top two and the draw arrived so I was below average after 4 hours of play (60 minutes levels). With 15 players left (5 in the money) I found :Ks:Kc under the gun, raised and was called by Paul Testud only – the flop looked harmless with :7c:7h:3s so I went all-in but he smiled and called, opening pocket :7s:7d for flopped quads. The field in this tournament was strong as one can expect, on my first table have been Josh Arie, Roland de Wolfe and Michael "TheGrinder" – TheGrinder impressed me the most of all, I had never really played with the guy before and he was strong force on the table. He has fantastic reads, plays fearless and reckless and did build a large stack which eventually vanished when he got very unlucky in three hands in a row (in two he got the money in as a large favorite, in one he flopped two pair with a straiht draw vs. bottom set). I never thought much of the guy so far but honestly he impressed me and showed me there is a whole different, advanced level of play to reach. Thanks for the lesson.
When we have been talking to a dealer, the dealer explained something like "I am more a player than a dealer" and continued with "I have won a bracelet on my own already" – and true it was, the guy won the $2000 limit holdem event in 2003 for $450,000. Wow impressive! Must be shame for the guy dealing to all the clueless people there day-in and day-out. But thats the Bellagio – the best of everything.
My WSOP appreances on Sunday and Monday ($3,000 NLH and today’s $2,500 6max NLH) have been short, I played not even two hours in each of those. My play was not perfect for whatever reason and I in at least one case I made a huge mistake. Bahhh.
Yesterday I went to the Bellagio to play some cash games and got a seat in a 300/600 seven card stud game which has been build around Morad from Afgahnistan – the guy is an action player, he played in Hamburg very often with me - the guy actually won a bracelet in the 2002′ $5,000 Stud event! Also there was Theo Jorgensen from Denmark, winner of the European Stud Championship, a old time stud pro from NYC whom I know for years and one of the best stud players in the world (in my view), a black guy named Walter Davis who helped me to improve my game over the years – not intenal of course, just watching and playing him made my play 5 levels better. The other 3 players were unknown to me. So not an easy task and I had not expected to play that high I had only like 18k on me, 30 big bets – in a stud game (stud has one more betting round) . So I was shortstacked but anyway, I killed the game. In about 3 hours of play I almost trippled my stack, leaving Theo and others clueless (he stood up in frustration after a while, he also lost aces full to a straigh flush in a huge pot vs one of the guys). The only player I could not win against was Morad, who rivered my two times, otherwise I would have scored 50k.
So, here in Las Vegas things are going well for Katja and me – Katja is now playing her day 2 in the Razz event, she is 14th in chips with 122 players left. I have no idea why she likes this game so much but she is very good in it. I hope she makes it to the money or even the final table. Probably she will not look this relaxed now while playing:
WSOP 2007: Gave one back
Juni 16, 2007
While I had 7 suckouts in the 5k NLH event #22 today one was enough to throw me out of the $2000 NLH event. Over 1,600 players entered, 153 in the money. With 250 players left I had to see Katja leaving, she lost half of her above average stack with :Ah:Kh in the small blind vs. :Ax:Ax in the big blind and then the rest of her stack with :As:Js on a board with 2 spades vs. :Kh:Kd. She was left not even 5 minutes when I made my biggest, best laydown so far – I had :As:Ac and the board was :3c:Td:Jd and the action was so that I was sure to be beat and I open folded my aces and the guy showed his pocket :Js:Jc – wow. Still, I had 30,000 left with an average ov 27,000 (that pot still costed me over 20,000). I found :Ah:Kd in middle position, a bad player on my left limped for 800, I made it 5,000 to go, he called. Flop came :2c:3c:6d and he checked. I went all-in without any hesitation and he INSTACALLED, showing :Ah:3h. Wow. For all his chips. Either great play or just crazy. I had the sympathy of the whole table and 900 chips left which I got in blind in the next hand, ready to start another race as two days before. But it was not to be as I ran into kings there and within 6 minutes I was from double average to nothing, leaving the room, stunned.
Tomorrow I will make a WSOP pause – there is only a $1,500 event which will be huge so I go and play a $5,000 event at the Bellagio cup.
WSOP 2007: $5000 NLH (2)
Juni 15, 2007
Thanks for all good wishes. They helped me.
I finished this big tournament in 25th place for a $20,040 payout. My 4th cash in this years WSOP. Pretty good. Actually pretty damn good.
Of course, I survived to actually reach the money spots today by a lucky catch, what else? We re-started today with 85 players, 63 in the money. It was all clear that I could not just relax and fold myself into the money (which I would have done actually if possible). Right after 10 minutes I was on the button, it got folded to me and I shoved all-in for 30,000 holding :Ac:9h. Neverwin called immediatly, tex Barch folded. Uhhhh I was in bad shape as Dustin had the :Ax:Qx. But dont worry, I made a flush around my :9h and doubled up to over 70,000 chips.
Like 15 minutes later I was in the big blind and had :Ad:Jd, it got folded to the small blind, David "The Dragon" Pham. He just limped, calling the required 1,500. I raised another 12,000, he counted his stack and re-raised all-in! I had him covered by 8,000 at that time. I went into the tank and finally called – he showed :Ah:2c! The board was safe for me and I was suddenly at 130,000, well above average! I have no idea what his thinking was here, I guess he though he might get me off a hand like KQ or KJ.
The rest is over 4 hours of playing without any playable hand. I doubled up one more time when I was already short with :Ah:Qd vs. the big blind which called me with :7c:8c but that only gave me chips to reach a few higher paid spots. I was never in any position to really attack the tournament. Finally, with 3 tables left I made a all-in steal bet on the button with :Kd:9d but Kathy Liebert called in the small blind with :Ac:5s and made a straight. No more suckout for me.
Overall that was the luckiest tournament in my whole lifetime. Still, I report here only about the lucky spots I found – there have been numerous great plays and good decisions by me throughout the tournament that helped me stay alive and be in the poisition to get lucky. I played mostly very good in this one. Toni Varjawand survived me to finish in 16th place – congratulations Toni!
Pros I played today:
Allan Cunningham (we talked a little about the AQ vs AK hand)
T.J. Cloutier
Kathy Liebert
Jan Soerensen
Michael Mrzichachi
Tomorrow both Katja and I will play the $2,000 NLH event, if this is over for us before 5 p.m. we play the $5,000 HORSE.
WSOP 2007: $5000 NLH (1)
Juni 14, 2007
Just a short update:
I just came back grom another 14 days of tournament poker. Today I played event #22, the $5,000 NLH. 650 or so players entered, right now 85 are left, including me. 63 will be paid ($10,400), the winner will receive almost $800,000. My chances right now are not so good, I sit on 35,400 chips with 1500/3000 blinds and an average stack of about 80,000 chips but I will not easily give up.
These are some of the players I played against today:
Alleily (known from High Stakes Poker) (out)
Chris "Jesus" Fergusen (out)
David "The Dragon" Pham (on my right)
Tex Barch (on my left+1 with 260,000 chips)
Three 2+2er, all playing very good (2 out)
Scotty Nguyen (out)
David Benjamin (on my table now)
Dustin "Neverwin" Woolfe (on my left with 190,000)
You see, I am not in an easy spot. Also, I am embarresed. Despite my goal to play perfect poker today I managed to get my money in 7 times (!) with the worst hand. In 5 of those pots I sucked out, the other two have been the biggest pots in the whole tournamnet that far (so tex Barch as example was all-in vs. me in a 150k pot, he had a set vs. my nut flush draw with overcards). The suckouts have been really embarresing – I survived :Ks:Qd vs :Ax:Ax, :Ac:7c vs. :Kx:Kx, :Ad:Qd vs. :As:Ks on a flop with two spades and no :Qx and :7x:7x vs. :9x:9x. I was down to 800 chips early in the tournament when I flopped the flush with a straight flush redraw but my opponent had the straight flush! I gambled it up and was 15 minutes later back on 30,000 (10k starting chips).
Vs. Tex Barch I had the :Ad:9d and raised, he called me with :5s:5c. Flop was with one diamond and a :5x. He called a bet from me. The turn brought annother diamond and gave me the nut flush draw which I decided to bet agressvly. He moved in on me. The pot had already 70,000 in there and it was annother 30,000 to call, which I did :( – no luck there, he won, I was down to like 10,000.
Tomorrow I will continue at 2 p.m. on my thougest poker table so far. My goal is to make it to the money and then gamble it up.
WSOP 2007: Railbirding
Juni 12, 2007
My own play the last days is not worth many words: I played the $5,000 limit holdem holdem championship event on Sunday afternoon and lasted for like 5 hours, I guess the minimum you can expect with 10,000 starting chips. I can say that I donked off about 50% of my chips with playing just plain bad and 50% with getting "unlucky" – like this – I raise with :Ks:Kc in early position, get a caller on the button, we see the flop of :Kd:3h:7s heads-up, I bet, get a raise, smoth call only (ohh so tricky, lol, but going for a check-raise on the turn is common practice in this spot) and check the :Ah turn, guy bets, I raise, he re-raises me. I thought fine! guy has AK or set of 7’s and fired one more bet which he only called (I believe he thought betting was capped which is wrong). River is harmless and I fire out, he raises, I three bet and he raises again, before I call I know I am likely beat and indeed he shows me A-A. That happened at limit 200/400 so this and other hands like this costed me lots of chips. Being in 3-way preflop capped pots with hands like :6s:4s also did not really help my stack… my play sucked there, period.
The $2500 NLH event was no difference, I lasted not even 2 hours, when I had the nuts I got no action and when I was behind I gave action. Bad combination.
Katja in the Ladies Championship, Day 1
Katja did a lot better. I was railbirding her $1,000 NLH Ladies Championship event day #2 from the beginning at 2 p.m. There were 65 ladies left and Katja had more than average chips. I have to give my greatest compliments to Katja here; she was the most professional, most cool woman in the whole field. Her fearless reraises of Vanessa Selbst, who was the chipleader at the time have been deadly. Katja reraised Vanessa four times in 60 minutes and Vanessa had to give it up each time to the point where Vanessa loudly complained and anncounced moving all-in blind on Katja’s next reraise and – boom! – Katja reraised again and Vanessa gave it up one more time. Sounds easy and funny but to actually do it even if your hand is worth it takes a lot of nerves. There were 100’s of spectators and lot of media people around.
Without ever being in danger Katja came down to the last 10 players, the real final table, when the first critical situation arised. Katja had 340,000 in chips, on the button. UTG player, with as many chips as her, made a large bet, like 50,000 with blinds at 6/12k. It was folded to Katja. I knew imeediatly from watching that Katja had picked up a big hand. She asked for a count of the raisers chips and thought about the situation for like 4 minutes. Finally, she gave the hand up. I told the specators around me that she must have had :Qx:Qx – no other hand would take her so long in that spot. Shortly after Katja came over and told me that was exactly what she had there.
Day 2, last 10 ladies – the one in the seat #3 did not make it
Not long afterwards a lady busted and Katja made her first WSOP final table! Congratulations! It took me 7 hours standing on the rail, sweating with every hand, so see her achiving her greatest success so far. I mean there have been almost 1,300 ladies in this event and playing through this minefield is a serious task. She is about 4th in chips now but with all womans being close.
Aftert the day we discussed with Vanessa Selbst about the QQ hand – Vanessa said she would have called there, seeing a flop and playing the hand in position then. I disagree – a) only calling here is weak, those ladies have all kinds of strange ideas, UTG raise could have been done with any kind of hand (although not very likely) so she has to raise here to see where she is at in the hand and b) the value of reaching the final table itself is higher than those of possible more chips. Most likely she would have won the pot before the flop, adding "just" 70,000 chips to her stack of about 340k already – not that big a difference. I would say the chance of getting her opponents full stack is about equal as losing her full stack. If she gets a call or a reraise the best she can hope for is being a slight favorite vs. A-K. Overall, I fully agree with the decision there. Well done.
The final table will start today at 2 p.m. – I skipped all of todays events to be able to railbird her again.
Ahh, and congratulations to Phil Hellmuth Jr. for winning his 11th bracelet – truly impressive.
WSOP 2007: Cashed again
Juni 10, 2007
Play today started at 2 p.m. with 51 players left and somehow I had a very bad feeling. While I was confident yesterday today I was lacking it when play started. For whatever reason I made it one of my priorities to reach a money spot, probably a follow-up of my all-in move with 9-2o on the final table of the rebuy event (something like show the world that I can do better bla bla bla). My strategy was clear: play super tight until the money and then let the crazyness begin. Reaching the money was all in all very easy, as an example how tight I played: I raised UTG with :Jh:Jd, got a re-raise and simple and quickly folded (player showed me queens). As normal it took quite a while before the bubble bursted but I was not in any real danger anytime to make it, spare a bad beat.
After we reached the money seats were redrawn and I was moved to a table with Humberto Brenes, Joe Sebok (Barry Greensteins son) and Allan Cunningham. I was down to like 50,000 chips at that time with the average being about 130,000, blinds at 6000/12000. I survived an all-in pot vs Cunningham who raised out of the small blind with :Qd:Td but I found :Ax:Kx which held up. One or two more blind steals or reraises and I was again at about 120,000 when we were down to 27 players and seats were redrawn again. Same table for me, again with Cunningham, Alex Kravchenko and others. Shortly afterwards I found my very first pair of aces since 5 days on the button. Kravencko in the cutoff made a standard steal raise, I doubled his bet but the small blind moved all-in for over 90,000! Kravenchko called for all his chips (89,000 that was) in an instant and I of course also called with my :Ah:As. Small blind player had :Ax:Kx and Kravchenko had :Qx:Qx and I almost trippled up to 300,000 in chips, double the average!
From here on I should have been able to reach the final table but I made a crucial mistake. A big mistake. Like a 220,000 chips mistake. I raised UTG with :Ad:Qc and was called by Cunningham on the button. Flop came down :Ac:Ks:Tc and I insta-betted 52,000 chips, the pot size. Allan Cunningham re-raised all-in for about 137,000 chips more. Uff. I went into the tank. The pot had 156,000 in there, it was 137,000 to call (I had over 220,000 left at that time). What could he have? Flopped straight? From all I knew about Cunnigham he would not call a raise from UTG with QJ. Maybe AK? Hmmm, could be but would he not have raised that before the flop? What’s left? A set, AT, AJ or a move to get me away from the hand. I had AJ beat. Somehow I came to the conclusion that he must have Ace-Ten for two pair but I was pretty confident that I would beat that – any J would give me a straight, any Q better two pair and with a K coming my kicker Q would be playing. After long 3 minutes I called, being filmed in the face by two ESPN cameras (which really makes thinking not really easier and getting experience in playing before cameras and more than 100 spektators who watch your every move is something I not thought off as that important before). Of course Cunningham plays better that I think of him and he showed me :Ax:Kx for top two pair and I was drawing to runner-runner queens or one the remaining four jacks for a straight. No help and I lost a monster pot, leaving me with like 80,000 only.
I doubled up again and survived the following time. With like 130,000 in chips seats were redrawn again when only 18 players have been left. I was moved to the other table where I arrived with 150,000 chips and on the button. Nice. The first hand I layed down after a raise from Jeff Lissandro in the cutoff but the very next hand I found :Ad:7d in the cutoff, it was folded to me, I raised the pot to 42,000 all fold to the big blind who announces re-raise, annother 70,000 on top, all-in. I looked at him and saw that he was thinking I was making a move only and called instantly. He said "you got me" and showed :Kh:Qh. My hand was good but the flop sealed my fate with :9x:Tx:Jx which gave him the straight right away. I had 22,000 left which went all-in in the next hand with :Ks:Jc, the small blind found :7x:7x which made a straight and I was out in 18th place ($17,770).
Believe it or not, I played my best game for two days except for two playing mistakes: the day before when I lost myself with two fives in the hole and acted to fast and today vs. Cunningham when I failed to lay my hand down as should have done. Becoming 18th ist fully ok with me here, nobody doing two such big mistakes in a world series of poker championship event tournament should be awarded (I know, it happens over and over again, still I think it shouldnt) by a final table or even a braclet. I played very, very good in this tournament except those two hands and my confidience in my holdem game could not be higher right now.
Top-pros I played against on my tables today:
- Joe Sebok
– Allan Cunningham
– Erik "rizen" Lynch
– Gavin Griffin
– Humberto Brenes
– Jeff Lissandro
– Jason Lester
– Alex Kravenchko
– Steve Billirakis
Tomorrow I will play the $5,000 limit holdem championship event (oh what a change in gears that will be) at 5 p.m.
WSOP 2007: Playing with the best
Juni 9, 2007
Easy smiling as the chipleader at the time with Frank and Katja
Sorry but this will be a short update only as I am tired like hell. I bought myself in to the $5,000 potlimit holdem event as did 390 other players, most of them well known full time professional players. I made it through day 1, now 53 players are left, 36 will be in the money and I have 110,000 in chips with the average being at about 75,000. It could have been way more, I was already at 180,000 but I lost a big pot, recovered to 150,000 but lost the very last hand of the day also with :As:Js on a :Ac:Qd:7h :Qh :3c board when my opponent had the :7x:7x on the button.
I played and survived today long hours with:
- Phil Hellmuth (out)
– Josh Arie (out)
– Robert Willamson III (out)
– Jason Strasser (out)
– Dewey Tomkow (eleminated by me)
– Thomas Wahlross (out)
– Michael Gracz (eleminated by me)
– Howard Lederer (out)
– three top online pros which names I don’t know (2 taken out by me, ‘raszi’ still in)
– two well-known live game/tournament pros which names I don’t know
It was a very though game today and I played my very best game, except in one hand very late today (which costed my 70,000 in chips right away) when I could not stop my fast playing in time and called an all-in bet to fast and without proper thinking. I even gave my first autogram today, lol.
This is what Jason Strasser wrote in his blog:
Though tables are no fun
Unfortunately, i have to report that I am currently at the toughest table of my WSOP career. Robert Williamson III, Thomas Walroos, and a good online European player (Raszi) round out my table. There are really no weak spots at the table.
The entertaining factor of the day was Phil Hellmuth, which whom I talked very much because "he couldnt figure me out" – lol. I doubt I will be able to report tomorrow because besides the fact that I play day two of this event at 3 p.m. I will nevertheless play the $1500 NLH at noon (this is crazy, I know and I would give my ticket back this time – but to do so I need to go over there to the Rio tomorrow and if I am there I can also play ;).
More about all this on Sunday.
WSOP 2007: 9-2 offsuit not the best hand??
Juni 8, 2007
Wow, I wonder.
Here is my story from todays final table in the $1000 with rebuys event: I started with 225,000 in the cutoff seat, being the shortstack. Every hand took like forever so the 20 minutes that have been left in the level have been used after 4 or 5 hands already. I got only trash hands that far and there was always a raise and in some cases a reraise. The tricky playing Michael Gracz was doing a lot of this raising. So, in hand #11 this changed: I was again in the cutoff, Dolph Arnold limped from UTG for 20,000, bringing the total in the pot now to 77,000 chips. Two players including Gracz folded and it was up to me. This was exactly the kind of situation I was looking for – I had played many hours the day before with Arnold and I knew how he played which hand from which position. The day before he had limped with hands like JTs, KTo, AJo and ATs. He did even open-limp on the button with KTo one time but he never ever slowplayed. They guy is playing poker since 60 years and if there is a defintion for "rock" thats your man.
I was 100% sure that he would not call an all-raise from me and the other players would be in a difficult position to call because of him limping UTG so I decided to squezze play here. I did check my cards only to give other players the idea that I might actually be interested in them, in fact I would have done this move with all possible 169 starting hand types. Unfortunatly the player in the big blind, Michael Chu, a very good asian player, found a hand just to good hand: :As:Ks and called. Arnold folded as expected and that was it. Chu flopped an ace, on the turn I had an inside straight draw for 4 outs but it was not to be. $34,200 for me in 9th place.
Now, for all those that think "How the hell can he make this play with just 92o?" let me say that I am perfectly fine with it, I had my reasoning (which was that I expected to add 50% of chips to my stack in about 85% of the times and even if I get called I have at least a 20% chance to add 120% chips to my stack – in fact in the given situation vs. AKs I had even more chances, I guess like 30% to win the hand). So I would do it again and again. Of course I discussed the hand with some other players here and although not everybody would do it himself (like Andreas Krause said smilingly) I found good support in many players fotr this move. This is one the plays that makes you look great if you survive it (say hello Gus Hansen) or look a like dumb if you fail. Even if I’m fully wrong here and just made a very foolish play this hand will give me a lot of action in the future :D
Conclusion: although I took 7 rebuys in this event and busted out on the final table holding 92o I am 100% fine with the way I played that tournament. That this playing style is not for everybody is ok to me – the good thing about poker is everybody is responsible for his own decisions and results. And I guess reaching the final table in an event considered by many one of the most difficult tournaments of the WSOP is not too bad at all.
Tomorrow is the $5,000 pot limit holdem and should this be over quickly at 5 p.m. the $1,500 stud event.
WSOP 2007: ITM finally :)
Juni 7, 2007
What a day. I reached the televised final table of the $1,000 rebuy event.
I started at noon in the $2,000 NLH event fully aware that my second day in the $1,000+rebuys was starting at 2 a.m. – I was short in chips in the rebuy event so I figured my chances to stay there for quite some time as quite low. My strategy looked like this: get chips or die trying in the 2k event until 2 a.m., then concentrate on the rebuy. If I bust out of the first event, so what ? If I make it far in the rebuy event and have to be blinded off then may it be so. That strategy kind of worked here.
In the 2k event I doubled up after two minutes against Layne Flack who by now must hate me. I throwed him out near the final table bubble of the $5,000 seven card stud event back in 2001, in 2003 I took him out of the $5,000 Omaha high-low event and yesterday I cracked his :Ks:Kc with a mere :6h:4c. Shortly after I won a race with AK vs JJ and was at almost 14,000 chips after 30 minutes. I kept 12k of this for the first two hours and left my stack alone then going to the rebuy tournament. Average was like 90,000 chips there, I had 35,000. Still I hung in, stealing a little here and there but laying down big hands after reraises also – most promintently AJs and AQo in the big blind which did help my image on the table a lot (of course I showed this to the table) and was right in both laydowns – I would have been vs. AA and AKs. As I started to get a few more chips (without any showdown) it became impossible for me to really play the two events. I was hardly able to follow the several seat movements. Still, after 4 hours of play in the rebuy tournament I had over 5k left in the 2k event which I brought in with :8x:8x when I was in the BB vs a LP raise (200/400 blinds, raise was 1600 so pushing was OK imo) who happened to have :As:Jh ands called – river :Ac ended my 2k event.
I was a little sad for not being able to play in the star studded 5k stud championship event but at the time this started I started to believe that I have a chance to go further in the rebuy tourney as I had a pretty good understanding of what happened on my table (if I could avoid or survive those nasty big pair vs big pair/AK situations). After all, 7stud is my best game, I made a final table in that event in 2001 and I like though competition. Anyway, I skipped it.
So in the rebuy I finally had two big hands with two tables left: UTG raised, he button called and I found :Qx:Q in my big blind and pushed. UTG did fold but the button called with :Ac:Qd and lost, doubling me up (I was very short at this time). Next I played against pbdrunks: all folded, he made raise in the small blind and I called holding :Qs:Jc after a while of thinking. Flop came out of a wet dream: :Qx:Jx:Jx, flopped boat for me. He checked, I checked. Turn was a rag 3 and he checked, now I was hard thinking what to do here. In finally decdided to make a weak looking steal bet, like 25% of my chips, adding a little bit hollywood – you know, looking at your chips, pondering how much you have if you lose or fold to a raise, hestitating and all that kind of stuff. When I did bet he took 10 seconds to went all-in and I of course called instantly. He had :6s:6c and was drawing dead. It turned out he had a little less chips than me so I was suddenly at almost 400,000 in chips, slightly above average.
That was it that day for me, I played no more hands. I did raise a few times but somebody reraised big and I had to give it up. Shortly after the 10 handed final table was setup there was an uggly small blind vs big blind situation where the SB had AKs and the BB had queens – an Ace on the river ended the day and brought me to final table. I am shortstacked there with 225,000 in a 2000/8000/16000 structure but I still have like 15 BB and being in the cutoff position, so everything can happen.