Foxwoods WPF 10K WPT Event Trip Report: You Play the Hands... Part 1

This year I wasn't going to publish a trip report, but Andy convinced me otherwise, he was quick off the Bloch in assuring me that I am still developing as a player and any concerns I may have about giving anything away won't be an issue (i.e. I will be changing up my game). By my exit at 54 (out of 313 starters) I had learned much. By day one I knew that someone else in my seat would have had chips (or gone broke) and by my exit on day two 15 hours after the tournament began, I already knew what needed work. So, don't try to use these hands against me (smile) as many of them I would have played differently were the event held today. This year instead of providing my point of view, I will give you the vantage point as if you were playing the game at my table (i.e. not privy to my cards) You can play along and see if you can identified the hands based on action and board cards. Where cards are actually shown down I will give you the results so you can use that information to base future decisions.

Day One From the View of Table 16 Seat 6:

It's going to be a good day. Dealer rotation: *excellent* (shout out to James, Jonny, Jesse and Daniel). Order tables will break: Table 16 breaks 5th to last. Barring getting moved (which is unusual at Foxwoods, another table would have to extremely short) I will remain at Table 16 in Seat 6 until day's end. I don't care who is at the table, I am happy that I won't be doing a table tour and in need of reestablishing my image.

Speaking of who is at the table: In the 1 seat is Alan Miller: a local semipro that will not be intimidated by the pro's and has stated he will only be playing "group 1 hands, today." I note him as a possible place from which to steal. In the 2 seat is another local Andy Latto: An ARG'er that is very mathematically inclined and a solid player. Seat 3 is Tony Ma. Seat 4 is Diego Cordovez. Seat 5 is unknown to me: but he gives me trouble the entire day, I never ONCE got a walk in the blinds, not ONCE. If it is limped around to him in the sb he raises, if there are other players he completes. He has obviously played this game before! I am seat 6. The 7 seat is Junior Sample: Also unknown to me but players like Miami John and John Bonetti stop by to chat it up with Junior. Turns out Junior is a *talker*, but in a good way. The 8 seat is occupied late by Erik Seidel. The 9 seat is unknown to me and I suspect has gained entry by satellite, seems a bit nervous and happy to be playing the event. The 10 seat turns out to be a dead stack which is good since we are playing at a stud table. Once a few bust outs have taken place including the 9 seat at our table. The players occupying the 10 seats are relocated to various tables and Chris "Jesus" Ferguson finds his way to table 16. Anybody handicapping the table would put me at the second weakest player (and now that the 9 seat is gone, it's all mine baby!!! I AM the weakest player at the table! In addition there are at least four players that hold gold bracelets.

The blinds start at 50/100, starting chips are 10K and the rounds are 75 minutes. The cards are in the air and Andy Latto has made it known that he is going to play strong. He takes the first three pots. I wonder if he had anything on any of the hands. Example: Preflop raise by Andy is called by 3 players. The board is As8s5dKd With a flop raise and a turn bet. On the river the third diamond hits and the 9 seat bets 100 into an 8100 pot. Andy Latto moves in and the 100 bettor sweats a long time before folding. The other player has also dropped. Andy Latto probably had the goods on this hand, but the other two I am thinking were steals. I am watching Andy implement his strategy of making his presence known early, building the chips and being a contender. I watch Andy to see if he gives off any clues in mannerism or amount to time he takes in making decisions and file it away for a possible later confrontation.

In a deep stack event it is correct to call more and try to hit. Premium hands are harder to protect. The event plays differently. If however you take chances and don't get lucky you need to change gears.

I am a the sb and see a flop of Th8hQd. I check the flop and Junior bets 100, I call. The turn is 7s. I bet 300 and Junior raises to 600. I call. When the river comes 2c I bet 1200 and Junior moves his chips in. I say something like, so much for dancing the waltz - you really want to fox-trot? I really wish they had a one time "do over" in tourney's. I think long and hard about this hand before I muck it. Thoughts on what the blind vs blind had?

I am on the button with my head in my hands still thinking about the last hand and note two limpers in front of me so I limp and the blinds call. The flop comes AcTd4h. Blinds check and Alan Miller bets 500. I call. Junior Sample raises to 1500, Alan Miller folds I reraise to 3500 and Junior calls. The turn is 5h Junior checks, I move my chips in and Junior goes into the think tank. When he emerges he folds. Alan Miller calls out what he thought the hands were. I can't speak for Junior but I think he is probably correct, can you call the hands?

At some point in round one Erik Seidel takes his seat and I secretly pray that it takes him awhile to determine that the player to his left (the 9 sear) is inexperienced at NL. I must have prayed to the wrong god as the very first hand Erik plays he raises to 700 and the 9 seat says "make it 900" and throws out 900 in chips. Doesn't take Erick long to bet, get him to put in chips and then force him off the hand. We have all been waiting for seat 9 to get a bad ace and get married to the hand. He shows a bad ace before letting Erik take the pot. Erik you really should take a bit more time to show up when there is dead money in the event!

Then a few hands later it happens. There is a raise preflop and Tony Ma bets 500 into a flop of KTK and the 9 seats moves all his chips in. I don't remember if anyone else was in the hand, but by the time it got back to Tony it was headsup. Tony calls ands shows pocket Ts for T's full. The nine seat show a bad K (suited) and his time in this event is now a memory. During the rest of the day the 9 seat returns from time to time and sweats the table. I thought about asking him his name, but I didn't want to embarrass him when I wrote this, so I thought it best to keep him anonymous. But who hasn't made the mistakes he made when first starting out? Hanging around and watching is a sure sign (imo) that he will emerge stronger and wiser the next time.

There are five limpers on a board of K67. There is a bet of 500 and it is called in 5 spots. The turn is a 7 and Erik bets 1200, folded to me and I call. The river is a 7 and Erik checks (or maybe I checked the turn and he bet and I called. I don't remember position on this hand, but I think I am the button,... can't imagine I am in this hand unless I have position) any way I bet 2400 on the river and Erik takes a long long think and mucks. Andy Latto asks me about the hand as his feeling is that is was going to be a chop. I tell him I can't say but we can discuss the hand after the tournament is over if he wants. That's fine with him since he is sure that I remember the hand.

I am in the cutoff and raise to 300 when it comes folded to me and Junior reraises to 800 from the button (damn players that have played the game whom I know little about to my right AND my left) I call (out of position) and I don't remember the board, middle to little. I check and Junior looks me over and says "I don't trust you" This sets off alarm bells, he is either trying to flatter me into making a mistake or he has a huge hand, or both. We check it down and he shows AK to my AQ. Turns out the comment is meant to slow me down :-)

When my sb blind comes around I surrender my to Junior and say "not worth playing" and show 72o. Junior flips over AA.

At the end of round one I have 13,050 in chips. A stronger player would have had played a few more hands cheaply that ending up hitting. I am playing too tight and too weak.

I am folding stuff like AJ & KT suited, even in late position. I tell myself that it's because I have discipline, the truth is it could be very dangerous for me in this field. I do limp with QT a couple of times and never see a flop I like. The third time I get QdTh I just toss it (even though it is a "feeling" hand to me, I justify that this limping and not hitting just isn't working out) The flop comes AKJ with two diamonds.. argh! And Andy Latto and the 9 seat do a little dance before the 9 seat surrenders.. DAMN DAMN DAMN too TIGHT TIGHT TIGHT... Of course I tell myself that I dodged a bullet when the turn would have come a diamond and lost all my chips when the 4th diamond didn't appear on the river.

Next hand I limp and then call a 450 raise from Andy with the AdTd and Andy of course bets a flop that didn't hit me... so much for sticking my neck out again....Weak players need to learn their limits.....

Erik is now raising a lot and I am folding hands where I should probably take a look, seeing a flop that would have hit me and then wonder if I would have played the rest of the hand correctly.

The first round of this event was the ONLY time that you could enter a pot by limping. Thereafter the game adjusted and if your hand couldn't stand a raise you either had to throw it away or be the raiser and put others to the test.

Btw, blinds are now 75/150. Tony Ma raises to 450 preflop and is called by Chris Ferguson. Tony bets 500 on a flop of 2d6cJh and Chris raises to 1600 Tony calls. The turn is the Ah and Tony bets 2500 and Chris calls. The river is the Kc and it is check/check. AK for Chris with Tony mucking.

Alan MIller and Tony Ma play a hand implementing some small flop betting followed by checking down a board of 7hTcJh6cTh with the pot going to Alan with AT to Tony's A6.

I raise preflop to 450 and am called by CF (Chris Ferguson) and DC (Diego Cordovez). The flop comes 2c5c7d. DC bets 500, I fold and CF raises to 2500. DC moves all in and CF thinks for just a bit and calls with AQ of clubs to DC's pocket 5's. Turn is Qs followed by 6h and CF is counting out 7,600 in chips to be shipped to DC.

It is interesting to watch Chris play. His stack is now hurting, but he is by no means out. Within an hour he will have triple the starting chips. He later makes a comment that he put it in with the worst of it three times winning two out of three.

The blinds go to 100/200 and I begin the level with 11,475..

There are a lot of limpers including "unknown to me" in the 5 seat, I will call him Manny because that is what I thought he said he name was, but later when I checked the players remaining on Day Two I don't see a Manny. But Manny he shall be :-) Anyway, Manny raises to 900 (to punish the limpers.. remember after the first round there is NO limping at this table) and Junior plays a pot with him. The flop is Js9s6. Manny leads with 800. Game over.

Alan raises to 600 and is called by DC. The flop comes QT2 and DC bets 1400. No further notes but I believe this is the hand where Alan emerges with the Royal Flush.

Andy (Latto) is back to raise and take it poker. And I can't decipher my notes about a pot but the end result is Andy taking the pot with a 2K bet into a multiplayer pot :0(

Alan raises 500 and releases to Andy when he moves his stack in. Alan shows AK and mucks and Andy turns over QQ.

I didn't record Erik's exit hand but I believe it was to CF and I don't remember if it was before or after this hand went down. Probably after since I was still thinking about it and CF had ES (Erik Seidel) covered in chips. CF raises in early position on my blind to 600 and I defend. The flop comes Jc8h2c. I bet 1200. CF calls. The turn is the 8c and I bet 3600 and CF calls. The river is Ah, I check and CF moves his stack in. I fold. I talked to CF about this hand later and I believe what he told me. I suspect he is willing to talk about it since I have a long way to go before I am a real threat to him, we share some mutual friends and who doesn't want to see me succeed! Anyway, I am not going to say what he had (or said he had and I believe) but let's see if you can figure out what I had. I talked to Andy Bloch about his hand at dinner and he tells me I should have gone broke on the hand getting the rest of my chips in on the turn, I shouldn't have any chips. Russell Rosenblum, on the other hand disagrees that all the chips should have gone in. I suspect one day I will have a playing style that meets somewhere in the middle of these two players that I greatly respect, yet play very differently.

Anyway someone gets a hand and mixes is up with Andy Latto with Andy taking the worst of it and he busts just before dinner. My chip counts were as follows: end of round one 13,050, end of round two 11,475, end of round 3 10,275 and in the middle of round 4 at the dinner break I am at 4,200.

Joan Hadley

WPF Trip Report 2003