WSOP
Trip Report
WSOP
Trip Report -- Event #5 No-Limit Hold'em
$2000 + $100 buy-in.
My
traveling companion (Ralph Mair -- occasional
RGP poster) and I planned our trip around
Event #5 at the 2001 WSOP. We both have
young families and being away from home
for more than a few days is a non-starter.
Thus, we had to "pick our tournament"
and this is the one we choose... I played
it, Ralph did not as he didn't feel he
had his "A" game with him.
In
another post you will find all the "other"
content including fun hands, trash talk
and proposition best with street people.
This post is exclusively my experience
in Event #5 at WSOP.
PART
I: ROCK IS A DIRTY WORD
Level
1
Blinds $25 and $25.
My stack $2000
Average stack $2000
And
so it began... 441 entries. To win this
thing you have to double through 8 times...
Good luck. Three things occur to me when
I take it up against the Vegas/California
players: (1) I am intimidated; (2) I will
soon not be intimidated; and (3) They
are NOT intimidated by me.
First,
the I am intimidated because I am simply
not accustomed to playing against players
of such high caliber in such high concentration.
That does, however, wane once I get my
head around the fact that many of these
"talented" players are not really ahead
of me. I can hold my own against most
(note that I say most as you shall discover
later). And the intimidation really disappears
when I figure that I am out and out more
creative than most of the players. Lastly,
I suspect that the Vegas/California set
is simply not intimidated in any way by
players who they do not know from some
place called Saskatoon. They assume that
I am either a fish or a weak tight player.
I am neither (also as you shall see).
So,
my first table is six rocks... You KNOW
exactly where they are. They are capable
of stealing the blinds, but they aren't
capable (I don't think) of standing a
raise without the goods. And there were
two fish who pose more of a problem because
you don't know where they are at and they
cannot be manipulated. They are apt to
call their whole stack with a flush draw
on the turn.
I
am, as far as I can make out, the only
players willing to call a small raise
with a hand like 86s in order to try and
take a rock off for his whole stack. So,
I am happy with my first table... During
level one I play two hands... I fold TT
on the flop. And, I semi bluff one pot.
Level one passes uneventfully.
Level
2
Blinds $25 and $50.
My stack $1825
Average stack $2000
Ah...
the first adversity in the tournament.
About the mid-point of level 2 I find
myself with my original $2000. A rock
in middle position makes a small raise.
A rock on the button pushes all-in $1250.
I am in the small blind with KK. I paused
and thought about this for some time.
I was certain that the first rock had
some sort of a hand... pocket pair 77
or better or a big ace. I was also sure
that the second rock had a BIG hand. In
fact, I should have listened to my first
instinct because I didn't think the second
rock was creative enough to smooth call
AA in the position so I figured the second
rock for a BIG hand. Hmmmm.... In the
end, I called and got shown AA from the
second rock. My stack is reduced to $750.
The deciding factor in making the call
was that the second rock was getting short
stacked and I felt that she might have
been willing to move with a medium pair
in the situation. Sadly, things are now
a crisis situation.
Level
3
Blinds $50 and $75.
My stack $650
Average stack $2000
It
is my general strategy to start taking
some significant chances when I get too
far behind the average stack. Even though
we were still VERY early in this tournament,
I decided that I needed to get back into
things NOW. So, time to show some gamble.
In short order (the first two laps of
the button as I recall I put it all in
with AK and then A2 (under the gun by
the way). No callers. Then, under the
gun I put it in with 99. The small blind
calls me with A2??? I win and these three
hands basically put my stack back to $2000.
Then... adversity number two.
The same rock from level one with AA is
again short stacked. It is checked to
her to my right and she raises all in
to $1200. I look down at AK and come over
the top. It's heads up and I get crushed
by her A8. Arg!!! I actually have my only
"snap" of the day. Few deep breath. Calm
down, calm down. You have been beat twice
and you are still here. Suck it up. I
actually commented: "If I can overcome
this adversity then I will win this tournament
so you folks better watch out."
Level
4
Blinds $50 and $100.
My stack $800
Average stack $2000
Again,
I start the level desperately short stacked.
Whereas in other tournament situations
I might well sit on a short stack and
hope to get a real hand, that just doesn't
sit right with me in this situation since
almost every pot is raised. If it is checked
to the button there WILL be a steal attempt.
In that milieu I think you need to keep
at or above the curve. With that in mind,
at my first opportunity I stole the blinds
(stack now $950). At my second opportunity
(i.e. the next hand) I attempted a steal
again -- $450 to go. I normally would
not make a raise of half my stack, but
I felt the blinds were sufficiently tight
and predictable that $450 would buy the
pot just as well as $900. Moreover there
was no way either blind was coming over
the top without the goods. If they did,
I would fold. They did' t. I held A7o.
Flop J72 two diamonds. I felt that that
rock had called me with a little pair
or a big ace. Thus, with the flop he either
had a big hand or NOTHING. Furthermore,
I guessed that he might attempt to bluff
the turn. I decided that I would check
and call him down if he bet. The turn
was another diamond. He bet. I called.
River was a baby and my 7's were good.
Stack size now $2000.
A
few hands later an UTG player who was
fairly new to the table made a small pre-flop
raise. My guess about this player was
that he was a "limit hold'em thinker."
By that I mean a player who really doesn't
understand implied odds. The type of player
who, for instance, will call a big bet
looking for a flush draw because it never
occurs to him that he will not get paid
off if the flush hits. So... he makes
a small raise. I hold 77 and call the
$300 hoping (obviously) to flop a set.
The flop it 26T. He bets $500. I call.
My thinking is that if he has a hand like
AK then he will check the turn and I will
pick up the pot with a bet. Turn card
J. He bets all-in (more than covering
my $1200 remaining). I called him in a
heartbeat. Can't say why really, I just
didn't like the way he bet it out really
fast and aggressive when the J hit. I
figured he had two overs. I never saw
his cards, but I guess I was right because
he mucked when I showed him the sevens.
Thank you Robert Copps for teaching me
to trust my instincts. If you FEEL sure
about something you are usually right.
Use the force Luke. If only I had trusted
my instincts on that KK hand in the second
level...
I
will say this about the two hands just
described: I could have been wrong. The
good news is that I wasn't. I will say
this too... when I showed the 77 hand
the women to my right (California rock)
says: "I would have called him too." I
thought to myself... NO WAY YOU WOULD
HAVE MADE THAT CALL. That's the problem
with being a rock... you are too easy
to read. Three out of four times that
she raised the blinds I re-raised and
she mucked all three -- AJ and KQ were
two of the hands that she mucked. If you
are going to muck those hands to a re-raise
then you should certainly be stealing
with any two cards -- she wasn't.
Level
5
Blinds $75 and $150.
My stack $4600
Average stack $3000
At
last I found myself where you really want
to be... at or above the curve. Being
the big stack or one of the big stacks
makes you formidable. As long as I am
around the average stack I will attempt
to steal almost every time that I am in
the last position with almost any two
cards -- stack size of the blinds and
type of players that the blinds are is
the determining factor. Give me two rocks
with and I move with ANY two cards EVERY
time.
For
anyone who hasn't read Chuck Thompson's
"The Fox and the Farmer" read it. Live
it. It is reprinted in McEvoy's Tournament
Poker.
Also,
for anyone who hasn't read D.R. Sherer's
tournament book, read it. Live it. I think
it's the best tournament book out there.
Anyway,
I digress, I am far from an expert, but
those two sources gave me the most to
think about and work on to develop my
own strategies.
Also...
apologies for the complete lack of notes
from now through to the beginning of level
eight. At some point between the beginning
of level 5 and the beginning of level
8 I picked up AA and doubled through...
Also, I stole time and time and time again.
But, the stealing came CRASHING to a halt.
We wind the clock forward to the beginning
of level 8 and...
PART
II: THE LAYNE FLACK FACTOR.
Level
8 Blinds $150 and $300
Ante $25 My stack $12,000
Average stack $10,000 (90 players left)
At
some point early in level 7 Layne Flack
was moved to my table. He had a lot of
chips. He was VERY drunk. And, if I thought
I was an aggressive player, Layne Flack
makes me look like a Pekinese at a pit
bull fight. The supper break occurred
before level 8 and it was convenient because
it gave me some time to think about how
to deal with the situation.
Layne
plays almost every pot. Usually for a
small raise, but sometimes with a limp
in. Then, if anyone ever puts in a raise
he simply announces all-in. He has the
table stacked. What this means is that
you must be prepared to play your whole
stack on any given hand. Enter the pot
and Layne is very likely to put you to
the question for you r whole stack. I
was shocked at how frequently players
would put in a small raise and then fold
when Layne would put them all-in. I mean,
you ought to have KNOWN that there is
a very good chance he was going to do
that to you so STOP GIVING HIM YOUR CHIPS!
For
the hour it took to play level 7 I hated
the table. Over supper though I started
to view the situation as an incredible
opportunity. For the most part it is very
hard to get all your money in with the
best of it. Between patience and good
judgment it is hard to find the right
spots. I figured it would be relatively
easy to get all my chips in against Layne
with the best of it... he has (more or
less) a random hand,
So,
my plan was to play three laps of the
button very snug. I was looking for TT
to AA or AJ - AK. With any of those hands
the plan was to put in a little raise
and then HOPE that Layne came over the
top. The second part of the Layne -- one
which I never had to follow through on
but would have -- was to put it all in
with ANY ace. If I had gotten ground down
to $10,000 I would have pulled the trigger
on this plan since double through to $20,000
would be a very strong position to be
in and I did not want to miss the chance
to double through my whole stack.
In
the end, I didn't have to pucker up and
stick in my stack with A4o, I got it in
against Flack holding QQ. He held AK (oops),
but the flop was Q88. Woohoo.
Again,
my notes get sketchy. We fast forward
now to the beginning of level 10...
PART
III: OH MY GAWD I AM IN OVER MY HEAD NOW.
Level
10
Blinds $200 and $400
Ante $100
My stack $24,500
Average stack $20,000 (40 players left)
I
was a little ahead of the curve, but got
moved to a new table and one of the first
hands I saw played made me realize that
I was NOW in over my head. There were
not one or two creative players at the
table, there were now five or six...
In
fact, the lineup was:
Seat 1: Rock. Willing to make steal raise,
but not a re-steal.
Seat 2: Super rock. Weak tight.
Seat 3: Me (judge for yourself)
Seat 4: WSOP bracelet holder John Esposito
Seat 5: Stan from California. Fox. Made
the final table. Capable of re-raise
bluff. I saw him do it.
Seat 6: WSOP bracelet
Seat 7: Fish that has been VERY lucky
so far today
Seat 8: Jeff from California. Made the
final table. Capable of
re-raise bluff. I saw him do it.
Seat 9: Rock. One steal raise only.
Course
when I sit down I am unaware of most of
the players, but in one of the first hands
I see Esposito in middle position raises,
the fish in 7 calls and then Jeff in 8
comes over the top for all his chips.
Esposito folds. Fish calls all-in. On
the river the fish turns over KJs and
Jeff turns over A3. I looked at that hand
and knew for the first time that day I
was playing against some VERY dangerous
players. Flack is dangerous, but I felt
I had him in a box. These guys... oh oh.
I'm in trouble.
There
are four hands of note for the remainder
of the tournament for me. Where the occurred
I am not sure. Somewhere between the start
of level 10 and the end of level 11 the
following two hands played out.
Hand
1. I am the big blind. It is unraised.
I hold Q2 off. There are three limpers.
The flop is T93 rainbow. It is checked
to the button I figure to be a "one-raise"
rock and he bets. I check-raise all-in
and he shows me a nine and then folds.
I win some chips on a pure bluff.
Hand
2. The same "one-raise" rock moves all
in. I call (about half my stack) with
AK. He announces that he has three outs
and does not show. I win some serious
chips. This hand resulted in some serious
chat around the table. It seems that some
thought I was fishing for action with
the smooth call and I must have had AA
or KK. My thoughts were that there was
nothing to be gained by moving in the
pot since it was a dead pot. If someone
came over top of me I would probable have
mucked since I am giving ALL of these
players credit for understanding that
it's a dead pot and they can't win it
with a bluff. In other words, if you had
wanted to move over the top of me and
play the all-in hand heads up with my
chips as dead money you could have, I
just couldn't imagine anyone doing it.
Now onto my sad demise...
Level
12
Blinds $500 and $1000 Ante $200
My stack $44,2000
Average stack $25,000 (32 players left)
Jeff
in the 8 seat was having quite a conversation
about players who were just trying to
make the money and players who were trying
to win. I suspect that Jeff and others
had me in the "make the money category"
They're wrong. I had one plan, and one
plan only at this point and that was to
win. I had lots of chips. I could have,
I suppose, sat on them. In retrospect,
I should have sat on them. Inexperience
and weak play at this level cost me I
think.
Hand
3. I raise three off the button with J9o.
California Stan calls me on the button
(he has position on me). Both blinds fold.
The flop is K96. I make a pot size bet.
Stan smooth calls. Turn is 2. I check.
Stan bets. I fold. I lost around $15,000
on the hand.
In
post game analysis I think this... I do
not have the pre-flop raise. Hey, I am
trying to get my hands on some chips and
stealing is about the best way I know
how. BUT BUT BUT... when I am called by
a player who has position on me... Gulp.
I think now that there were a couple of
ways I SHOULD have played the hand. First,
I should have simply checked and folded
on the flop. When a tricky player has
position on you then cut your losses and
get out. Second, I could have pushed all
in on the flop. There aren't too many
hands that Stan could have to call me...
AA, AK, KK, 99 or 66. The most likely
of those is 66. A third option would be
to check-raise the turn if he bets. The
upshot is this... I had a tricky player
behind me and I played the hand weakly
and practically invited him to take the
pot which he did.
This
is that hand that I have played over time
and time again and wish I could have back.
My last time at the WSOP I played one
hand at the final table that still haunts
me. You just can't make ANY mistakes.
Hand
4. Still not in the money, but I was (I
admit) rattled. I raised all-in UTG with
66. I was called by Berry Johnston with
JJ. The big blind mucked AK and had us
both covered. Whew. I lost the rest of
my money (almost) and really did, at that
point simply do whatever I could to survive
until 27th. I made it there with 8800
chips and went bust in the first hand
after 27th when I called all-in with A4o.
I am, I must admit, pleased. What the
hell I have played two WSOP tournaments
and taken a 5th and a 27th (money) finish.
But... now that a few days have passed
I am getting a little mad at myself for
making such a sausage-head play so late
into the tournament. Ah well.. there is
always next year... Playing starting with
level 8 against players the caliber of
Flack is an education that you cannot
equal and I've got a year to think about
it.
Regards,
Dave Scharf
Saskatoon, SK
dave@canadianpoker.com
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