As I said in the last blog I played for about two days in the $1500 WSOP NLH Event #39 before getting knocked out in 33rd place. It started with 2715 players so 33rd isn’t too bad but of course not what I wanted. It’s pretty late and I’m really tired but I will write a summary of the big hands/double ups throughout the tournament. I wrote down a bunch of hands but I will just try to keep it to the significant ones.

I played this tournament fairly tight overall. In the first 3 hours I think I only played about 5 hands. My stack got down to 3700 from my original 4500 and a tight player shoved 1825 in middle position at 75/150. I had 88 in the big blind and thought for a little bit and decided to call. He had AJ and the board ran out 956Q7 and I was up to 5500.

At 100/200 a little while later a solid player who had been active in position made it 600 on the cutoff. I have about 5.2k chips in the big blind. I have him covered by a couple hundred. I shoved 77 from the big blind and he thought for about 30 seconds asking himself if he should gamble. He eventually did gamble with AK and I held on a Q3336 board and was up to 10.3k

I’m going through the hands in my phone right now and I see some hands that weren’t huge pots but pretty interesting. Like this pot: On the cutoff an Internet kid (I believe) made it 525 at 100/200. I looked down at AQo in the big blind and decided to just flat out of position. Him and I both had a lot of chips so I decided against 3betting. The flop came KK8r and we both checked. The turn was the As and I check called 700. The river was a 3d and I check called 2100 and he mucked his hand. 15.1k

Short stack shoves 2900 on hijack at 150/300 I make it 5500 on the button with AKcc the board runs QhTc4c4h5c and I hit the flush to go up to 18.5k

I have 16k stack and I make it 1525 on the cutoff with A3hh. The sb is short and he shoves 3k more. Sucks but I am committed to call here. He turns over AQcc (blinds 300/600/75a) and I river him on a K9254 board and go up to 22k.

I blind down to 18k and get moved to a new table. I raise ATo on the cutoff. The small blind calls 1525 and the bb shoves 8500 more. I was coloring up green chips at the time and asked if I could pay him in green chips if I doubled him up. He gave a kind of weakish laugh. He was also wearing a winnimax patch. With these two variables I couldn’t see how I could fold =) and I decided to shove about 16k more. The small blind tanks and folds AQ he says and the bb turns over 44. The board runs out J63A2 and I scoop a nice pot.

The VERY next hand I raise AKo to 1525 on the hijack and the button (the Asian guy who mucked above and could have been tilted) makes it 4k more. We both have decent stacks. I tank a little bit and shove on him. He tanks for 30 seconds or so and calls with QQ. It comes K6653 and I go up to 50.3k

Two new guys with chips come to the table. One is Angel xxxx (guy who won 2k event from Mexico.) I don’t know much about his play but hes raised a couple pots so far being fairly new to the table. He has about 35k-40k in chips and an Asian guy behind him new to the table has about 100k in chips. Angel makes it 2200 (at 500-1k) and the Asian guy calls. A tightish player shoves 14k total and it folds to me on the button with AKo. I tank and move all in for roughly 50k. Angel says he mucked AK and the Asian guy tanks with 77 (saying he should call and gamble cause his 100k stack isn’t enough lol) The shover has JJ and the board runs AK675. 75k now.

6 Hands left in the night for day 1 and I raise QQ black utg. The crazy Asian guy calls from the small blind 2700. Flop comes AT6ddd and we both check. The turn is the Ah and he bets 3500. I call and the river comes the Qd. He checks to me and I decide to bet 11k. He shows AKo no diamond and mucks. I thought for sure he was calling with an ace here on the river that’s why I bet so much. I was surprised he mucked. I ended the first day as one of the leaders with 84.2k

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DAY 2
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My Day 2 starting table was pretty fun. I had yellowsub to my direct right and Raymond Davis to my left. Everyone was having a good time at the table and the hands went by real fast. We were in the money very quickly.

I actually busted the bubble boy who we told to fold until he made the money. Well he folded down to his last 300 chips. He put his 200 ante in and had 100 chips behind on the button on the ABSOLUTE BUBBLE. For some reason he thought he should commit his last 100 chips when it folded to him on the bubble when he could of lasted one more hand and made the money. Yellowsub raised to 5k and I called in the big blind with J7hh. The board ran out AATJ2 and we checked it down and my pair of jacks knocked the guy out who turned up 62o and never had looked at his hand. It was very weird and shocking but nothing surprises me in these $1500 events.

That table broke and I had chipped up to about 110-120k at this point. Couple hands in to the new table I raise with TT and the big blind (some lag euro/swiss/etc) defends. The flop comes 942 and I cbet and he thinks about making a play on the pot and folds. I can already tell this guy is going to try to make a move on me. The very next hand I raise KJcc in middle position to 5200 at 1k/2k/300a and he flats in the small blind and the big blind flats. The flop comes 966r and they check to me. I cbet 8kish and he floats me out of position. The turn is a 2 and he checks. I was pretty sure he was on air here and decided to fire another bullet and bet 12kish. He shoved all in for 28k/30k total and when I folded he showed 23o. So he’s calling my raise in the small blind with 23o and floating and shoving on two barrels. Immediately after the hand he got up and I told the table he was going to go brag to his buddy on the rail. I watched the guy go up to his friend and start telling him about the hand and laughing about it. It was a sick read by me but I know people just want to beat me in pots I guess. I tried to needle the guy but his English wasn’t so good. I think he got the point anyways.

I was down to about 80k at this point and the euro guy limps utg for 2k, 2nd position makes it 7300, and 3rd position moved in for 14.5k. I had QQ in middle position and made it 23.3k. They both mucked and the shover had 99 vs my QhQs. The board ran out 962ccc47. I raise and cbet another pot and lose and go down to 50k.

I am pretty sad that my stack was 120k and now was down to 50k because this one guy wanted to outplay me so bad with 23o. It was alright though I was still okay in chips and I was now at a new table with chicagocards1. I waited for a good spot and I folded down to 32k. I shoved A2o on the button and was up to 37.3k I then shoved AKo in 4th position and the small blind tank called with TT. I tried to tell him to just muck it (because I wanted a call) and he finally called. I beat his TT on a AKQxx board and was up to 78k at 1200/2400.

One of the best pots for me that I played during this tournament is probably a pretty standard spot but this pot was special to me because I felt I could have gone broke preflop. First hand back from break the blinds are now 1.5k/3k/500 ante and a new player at the table who I have no idea how he plays makes it 7700 utg. Tight Full Tilt Pro Mandy B calls on the button to my right and I look down at AQo in the small blind. I HATE GOING BROKE WITH AQ TO UTG RAISERS. I absolutely hate it. But having said that, there was about 20k out there to pick up and I only had 70k. I tanked it for a while, about a minute, and decided to just call. The big blind called as well. The flop came J97s and we all checked. The turn was the 5s and I decided to rep JJJ. I know that’s reaching but given my tank everyone could tell I wanted to shove preflop but wasn’t sure about it. I decided to bet 9800 into a 30k pot and everyone mucked. I was up to 95k.

Mandy B limps from the sb and I check my option with Q2o. Flop comes QQ7dd and we both check. Turn is the 9h and she check calls 5k. River is the 3s and she check calls 15k. I win the pot and am up to 116k.

Cutoff shoves 32k I wake up with JJ in the big blind and fade vs a7cc on a Q42cc64 board. 171k.

I now get moved to Roothlus’ table and am doing his direct left (which is a good thing.) He ends up busting in a flip and now with the blinds 2k/4k a short stack shoves 37k with 44. I have KK on the cutoff and call. Board runs K357J and I have 212k going into 4k/8k/1k ante with 62 left.

I raise 88c on cutoff with a 240k stack at 5k/10k/1k. The sb calls who I had played with all day and he loved to see flops. The flop came AQTccc and we all checked. The turn was the 7d and they checked again to me. I decided to bluff here and bet 38k. I know the sb sees me as solid and wont call too light here so I am just really hoping the big blind folds as well. He was also a solid tight player and that flop doesn’t have to hit his range really since hes priced in to call with a lot of hands in that spot. The sb folded and the bb shoved. I mucked and was now at 160k.

The blinds are now 6k/12k/2k ante and I blind down to 94k before shoving 34cc under the gun 7 handed and everyone mucks. The table fills in with chicagocards and Brandon Cantu. The first or second hand Cantu shoves all in for 160k. There is 27k out there to pick up. It folds to me on the cutoff and I have AJo. I have 97k and think this is an easy call. I call and Cantu turns over AKss. I believe he’s shoving really wide here and AJo is profitable. If he had 200k or so it would be a tougher spot but I could of probably found a fold. Oh well. I end up not sucking out and bust in 33rd place for $15,300.

That’s about the gist of all the big hands I played and tomorrow is the $2500 mixed Holdem event I will be playing. I’ll keep everyone updated. Night.