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    Monday, March 31, 2008

    Uber-Degenerate Weekend


    Although not by design, the weekend turned out to be one of the most poker-filled weekends I've ever had. I accrued over 3,000 FTP points just from Fri-Sun playing a hellacious amount of cards. I played a boatload of cash tables and came out on the losing end overall at the cash games for the weekend.

    My MTT game has been horrific lately but I finally got myself out of the funk last night with a strong 3rd place finish in the Full Tilt $16K guaranteed for $2,850. I had a different type of mindset throughout the tournament and really, really focused on every play. I discontinued any other tables about halfway through and that allowed me to focus completely on just one tournament. I was short for a lot of the tournament but went on a heater with about 3 tables left. At one point with 2 tables left, I had over $900K when the 2nd place guy had only had $300K. I went to the final table with the chip lead and had a pretty big lead with 6 players left which makes the 3rd place finish a little dissapointing.

    I had a guy to my right that could not lay down a hand to a 3-bet and ended up calling my all-in 3-bet twice with 3-3 and K-10 (sigh). I ended up losing two big races 3-handed which is really what CAN'T happen if you want to win a tournament. Overall, I was really pleased with my play and can't remember one hand that I thought I played bad. I can't complain if the cards don't cooperate short-handed. You have to get lucky when you are 3 and 4-handed and it just didn't happen for me.

    Here is the hand history from last night:

    http://www.pokerxfactor.com/HH123568/16K

    Once again, I was a little down on my game and my bankroll was starting to deteriorate and this led to a nice score. It's the story of my poker career. I have to get really down before coming back strong. It makes it a little hard on the nerves but it's worked out great historically for me. Hopefully, I'll be down in the dumps right before the WSOP :):).

    Back to the grind....I know the WSOP seat is coming.

    Thanks for reading,

    W2D

    Friday, March 28, 2008

    Degenerate Thursday night

    Lol....Last night I was like someone that hadn't drank for awhile and was left at a wedding reception with an open bar. Or maybe a guy who just got out of prison and gets dropped at the NCAA cheerleading finals...you get the picture! I had played 2 satellites in the last five days and I was dying for some action. My inner-degenerate took over and I played pretty much anything I could find. Here is how my night went:

    5 MTT's.....0 cashes (-$164)
    5 SNG satellites to the $750K.....2 seats won (+$58)
    3 Turbo 6-max SNG's.....1 1st and 1 2nd (+$38)
    1 Step-1 WSOP SNG.....(-$7.50)
    1 $55 PLO Heads-up SNG.....1st (+$45)
    1 $220 NLHE Heads-up SNG.....1st ($+180)
    300 hands of $1/$2 NLHE 6-max cash.....Up as much as $425 but finished (+$105)

    I pretty much tapped anything that moved in front of me on the screen last night. I finished up around $250 which isn't bad considering I was playing different games, different structues, etc.

    I know it's a little early but I'm starting to grip about the fact that I haven't had the time or opportunities to really shoot for a Main Event seat yet. I'm really aiming towards the $500 Sunday qualifiers and the $1,000 Thursday qualifiers but they just haven't fit into my schedule yet. I see all these people winning their seats in what appears (anyways) to be simple fashion and it gets me frustrated. I've done it in the past so there's no reason I shouldn't be able to do it again. MY TIME IS COMING.........

    Thanks for reading,

    W2D

    Wednesday, March 26, 2008

    Typical Wednesday Night

    As a working dad and husband, I don't have as much time to play as I would like or others may have. Tonight, for instance, I got home around 7:00 and decided to play just two satellites quickly so I wouldn't be up too late. Here is what I got for my efforts:

    $109 buy-in Satellite to the $1K WSOP Satellite
    Full Tilt Poker Game #5797147375: $1K Thursday Main Event Sat (43051340), Table 3 - 50/100 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:09:04 ET - 2008/03/26
    Seat 1: jt3013 (2,640)
    Seat 2: bettin2win (3,035)
    Seat 3: Stroszek (4,425)
    Seat 4: Tilt Head (2,030)
    Seat 5: richochico (2,430)
    Seat 6: pkgrant (1,560)
    Seat 7: HGJ18622 (1,420)
    Seat 8: HelloMoney (3,220)
    Seat 9: pat_e_oh (1,445)
    jt3013 posts the small blind of 50
    bettin2win posts the big blind of 100
    The button is in seat #9
    *** HOLE CARDS ***
    Dealt to HGJ18622 [Kd Ac]
    Stroszek folds
    Tilt Head folds
    richochico folds
    pkgrant folds
    HGJ18622 raises to 300
    HelloMoney has 15 seconds left to act
    HelloMoney raises to 999
    pat_e_oh folds
    jt3013 folds
    bettin2win folds
    HGJ18622 raises to 1,420, and is all in
    HelloMoney calls 421
    HGJ18622 shows [Kd Ac]
    HelloMoney shows [Td Ad]
    *** FLOP *** [Tc Ah 3d]
    *** TURN *** [Tc Ah 3d] [Ts]
    *** RIVER *** [Tc Ah 3d Ts] [Qc]
    HGJ18622 shows two pair, Aces and Tens
    HelloMoney shows a full house, Tens full of Aces
    HelloMoney wins the pot (2,990) with a full house, Tens full of Aces
    HGJ18622 stands up

    $55 Buy-in satellite to the $750K Guaranteed
    Full Tilt Poker Game #5797140963: Satellite to $750K Guarantee (43133382), Table 3 - 25/50 - No Limit Hold'em - 23:08:34 ET - 2008/03/26
    Seat 2: JohnQPoker72 (5,355)
    Seat 3: Cat Woman 2006 (2,980)
    Seat 4: seattlekid206 (2,515)
    Seat 5: Shrubbery (1,870)
    Seat 6: locutus2002 (2,720)
    Seat 7: HGJ18622 (1,510)
    Seat 8: chadlongboy (2,265)
    Cat Woman 2006 posts the small blind of 25
    seattlekid206 posts the big blind of 50
    The button is in seat #2
    *** HOLE CARDS ***
    Dealt to HGJ18622 [Ah 6h]
    Shrubbery folds
    locutus2002 has 15 seconds left to act
    locutus2002 folds
    HGJ18622 raises to 150
    chadlongboy calls 150
    JohnQPoker72 calls 150
    Cat Woman 2006 folds
    seattlekid206 folds
    *** FLOP *** [4h 3h 2s]
    HGJ18622 has 15 seconds left to act
    HGJ18622 bets 200
    chadlongboy has 15 seconds left to act
    chadlongboy raises to 1,000
    JohnQPoker72 folds
    HGJ18622 raises to 1,360, and is all in
    chadlongboy calls 360
    HGJ18622 shows [Ah 6h] <-----------That's 14 outs twice!
    chadlongboy shows [Jh Jc]
    *** TURN *** [4h 3h 2s] [Kd]
    *** RIVER *** [4h 3h 2s Kd] [Js] <------Not a chance!
    HGJ18622 shows Ace King high
    chadlongboy shows three of a kind, Jacks
    chadlongboy wins the pot (3,245) with three of a kind, Jacks
    HGJ18622 stands up

    I love this game...

    Thanks for reading,

    W2D

    Sunday, March 23, 2008

    Just Maddening.....

    WSOP Satellite season has to be the most maddening time of the year for me. Every year, I find new and exciting ways to torture myself. I have played in two bracelet race events this year on Full Tilt. I took 8th out of 91 when 3 $2K packages were being awarded.....and last night I took 16th out of 104 when 10 $2K packages were being awarded. It continues to amaze me how, for someone that puts so much energy into being a good player, I can continue to make fundamental and seemingly beginner mistakes. The following hand came up with 16 players left last night. After I got re-raised, I was discussing what to do with RUBBA and he said, "The proper sat strategy is to fold." I told him "There's no way he has A-A or K-K" and I was willing to basically flip for a $2K seat. Umm......nice read.

    If you polled 200 of the top players in the world, all 200 of them would tell you that in a satellite, in this position, with these stack sizes...this is an auto-fold without A-A or K-K. I guess I'll never learn. Again...It's so frustrating to make mistakes like this. I take away alot of time from being with my wife to play poker and you'd think I'd make the proper decisions to maximize my profits during this time.

    Ugggh.....this one is hard to swallow.

    Thanks for reading,

    W2D

    Full Tilt Poker Game #5758973594: Bracelet Race (43052268), Table 10 - 400/800 Ante 100 - No Limit Hold'em - 0:08:51 ET - 2008/03/24
    Seat 2: voff voff voff (24,355)
    Seat 3: Scott Clements (32,333)
    Seat 4: HB_HITMAN (17,674)
    Seat 5: HGJ18622 (14,589)
    Seat 6: BONCELA (28,968)
    Seat 7: jackfromoz (22,474)
    Seat 8: jaysull (14,435)
    Seat 9: jtchoml (34,182)
    voff voff voff antes 100
    Scott Clements antes 100
    HB_HITMAN antes 100
    HGJ18622 antes 100
    BONCELA antes 100
    jackfromoz antes 100
    jaysull antes 100
    jtchoml antes 100
    jaysull posts the small blind of 400
    jtchoml posts the big blind of 800
    The button is in seat #7
    *** HOLE CARDS ***
    Dealt to HGJ18622 [Kc Ac]
    voff voff voff folds
    Scott Clements folds
    HB_HITMAN folds
    HGJ18622 raises to 2,400
    BONCELA folds
    jackfromoz raises to 22,374, and is all in
    jaysull folds
    jtchoml folds
    voff voff voff has been disconnected
    HGJ18622 has 15 seconds left to act
    HGJ18622 has requested TIME
    voff voff voff has reconnected
    HGJ18622 calls 12,089, and is all in
    jackfromoz shows [Ad As]
    HGJ18622 shows [Kc Ac]
    Uncalled bet of 7,885 returned to jackfromoz
    *** FLOP *** [9h Ah 9d]
    *** TURN *** [9h Ah 9d] [4d]
    *** RIVER *** [9h Ah 9d 4d] [5s]
    jackfromoz shows a full house, Aces full of Nines
    HGJ18622 shows two pair, Aces and Nines
    jackfromoz wins the pot (30,978) with a full house, Aces full of Nines
    HGJ18622 stands up

    Tuesday, March 18, 2008

    WSOP 2006 (Part 4-The Final Chapter)

    As Day 3 neared, I knew how close I was to cashing in the WSOP Main Event and how equally close I was to playing the most terrifying table I had ever faced. My wife and I again flew out to Vegas and took up our customary spot at the Gold Coast Casino next to the Rio. The tournament was starting to take on its own personality now as the antics of Eric Molina had already begun and the trainwreck that was Dmitri Nobles was in full effect. It wasn't until this day that Jamie Gold would really enter the picture and shoot himself up to the top of the leaderboard.

    As I got to seat #10 at Table #135, I did my customary inventory of the table. Jon "G6Dragon" Lane in the #1 seat...random Scandinavian aggro in seat #2...online qualifier in seat #4...A-L-L-E-N Cunningham in seat #5....Michael McClain in seat #6..two random dudes to my right. Okay, sounds like a fairly easy day. I really don't think I'm gay, per se, but for some reason I couldn't keep my eyes off of Allen. He had this aura about him that just emanated "I'm the best player here; please get out of my way." "Shuffle up and Deal" was announced on we were on our way to the money.

    In the first few hours, I could get absolutely nothing going. I played three pots where I ended up throwing out continuation bets post-flop and ALL THREE FUCKING TIMES either McClain and Cunningham raised me and I had to muck. I (seriously) started to think that they could either read my soul, see my cards, or I was just terrible and I had obvious tell. Probably a combination of all 3....Finally, I called a raise of Cunningham's with 10-9 from the SB (because that's how I roll...calling raises out of position with modest holdings against the best NLHE tournament player in the world). The flop came J-8-4 rainbow. I meekly checked and he surprisingly checked behind me. The turn was a beautiful 7 giving me the N-U-T-S! Based on previous hands, Allen had always come over the top of me so I bet out fully expecting that he would re-raise. He thought for just a couple of seconds and threw his cards in the muck. WTF? Now I was convinced that he could read my soul.

    I hovered around $75-80K for a majority of the afternoon as we quickly approached the money. In one hand, I raise from the cutoff with A-K and the Scandinavian enigma called from the BB. The flop came J-10-4; Check-Check. The turn was an 8 putting two spades on the board. He led at the pot for $10,000 and I decided to re-raise to $25,000. In retrospect, I'm not sure what hand I was representing there but I didn't think he had a whole lot either. He called my raise and I was pretty much done with the hand. The river was an off-suit 7 leaving a board of J-10-4-8-7 rainbow. The action went check/check and I turned over my A-high to see that I had won the $65,000 pot. How the hell did that happen? I thought about this hand for a long time afterwards and I guess the only hand he could have had was K-Q of spades to call my raise on the turn. What do you think? Maybe A-Q of spades or even just K-Q off but not too many hands fit into his calling range on the turn that don't beat A-high. This hand was a big relief and put me at my highest point of Day 3 at $111,000. It would be short-lived euphoria.

    Players were busting out at record pace and we quickly got within 10 players of the money. With 10 players left, we began round-for-round (not hand-for-hand) play which allowed each table to play an entire orbit before stopping and waiting for tournament staff. I had just witnessed Cunningham play an incredible pot with Jon Lane where there was heavy action on multiple streets leading to Allen calmly shoving his tournament life in on the river. He did it with such a sense of calm and controlled confidence that it was no wonder that Lane was forced to fold. This hand was at the front of my mind when the following hand played out:

    We were in round-for-round action and I raised from middle position with 6-6. Unfortunately, it was Allen's BB and he called. (At least I had position). The flop came 9-9-2. This is a pretty good flop for 6-6 and I was thinking this at the time. Allen led at the pot for $10,000 and I figured he was putting me on two big cards and was trying to take the pot right there. I decided to call. (In hindsight, this was one of many errors in this hand. If I thought I was good there, I should have raised to really get more information. As it was, I learned nothing by calling other trying to control the size of the pot). The turn was a 3 (still another good card for 6-6) and now Allen led for $20,000. It was here that I really "lost myself" in this hand. My only thought was that Allen was trying to bully an amateur on the cash bubble. I didn't take the time to assign a range of hands to him and really wasn't thinking clearly. I called. The river was a King. By now, there was a mountain of chips in the middle of the table and ESPN was taking everything in. The hand was gaining the attention of neighboring tables and I could feel the spotlight shining on me. Allen led for $38,000 into a $70,000 pot. I could not stop thinking that he was trying to bully me. As much as I hated the King, I failed to ask myself the most important question in situations like that...."What hands can I beat?" In my opinion (now), I could beat 5-5 and a complete bluff. But I wasn't thinking about that...with the ESPN camera directly over my right shoulder and the boom microphone right in front of me hovering over the mound of chips, I placed my sunglasses near my mouth in a moment of pondering before quietly stating, "I call." Allen flipped over the 9-7 for flopped trip 9's and I was devastated.

    I had been pwned, schooled, dominated by the best in the world. It was like a Mack Truck hit me and I never saw where it came from. 5 seconds after the hand....of course...I'm cursing myself internally for the inept way I played the hand but when you're in the middle of it, you just don't see things so clearly. The hand left me with $28,000 at $1K/$2K blinds so I was almost crippled. The money bubble burst a few minutes later and as the room full of 800+ participants celebrated, I sat in my chair with my head in my hands wanting to cry. What should have been the finest moment in my poker career was nothing more than a dissappointment for me. Why? Why? Why did I choose to get fancy with the best player at the table (or in the tournament)? Why didn't I go into Ninja mode and wait for the rush of cards that inevitably comes? These are all questions that I've asked myself 1000 times over the past two years.

    After the bubble burst, I open-shoved two times without getting a call as I battled to stay afloat. Over 100 players went busto in the first 30 minutes after the bubble. As they announced the last hand before the dinner break, I open shoved the cutoff with Kh-7h for 13+BB and the button called. The SB then re-raised all-in and the button called him. I knew I was in trouble. SB had A-K; Button had Ac-Jc; and I had my Kh-4h. The board played out and the button ended up making a club flush and busting both of us. I walked to the cashier area as the 793rd place finisher in the 2006 WSOP Main Event.

    In one way, I wish I could have alot of decisions back to do over that day. I know infinitely more now about playing a short stack then I did back then so I really feel I could have survived for a lot longer even after the hand with Allen. I wish I would have recognized the dangers of playing world-class players out of position. But....those experiences are something that can never be taken from me and I will always remember that day and the experience of playing with the best in the world.

    The hand with Allen was captured by ESPN and I see it every once in awhile being played on ESPN. If, on the Day 3 broadcast, you see a guy wearing a black cap and with his sunglasses in his mouth contemplating a call of Allen Cunningham, that's me. You will then see all of my chips being bulldozered over to Allen as he stacks them. I guess that's my 5 seconds of fame! It was fun to watch Allen make it all the way to 4-handed play at the final table. A little piece of me couldn't help but think that I had something to do with catapulting him onto the final table (hee-hee).

    The $16,493 check they wrote me slightly soothed my wounds as my wife and I went out for a lobster dinner. It took me a long time to get over busting out of that tournament and I'm always wondering if I'll ever get such a chance again.

    Well....in 3 months, I plan on finding out.

    Thanks for reading,

    W2D

    Monday, March 17, 2008

    Close Call


    It has been a tough three weeks as I've seen my bankroll take a considerable hit since my win in the $23K guaranteed. Frankly, I've been playing relatively awful and wondering if I would ever cash again. I had a long talk with RUBBA and he convinced me to play the TILT $1 Million guaranteed. He said that I've always been about taking shots and he had confidence in me.

    7.5 hours later, I finished 40th in the damn thing for a $2,700 score. There were over 2,300 entrants. I played focused and controlled poker throughout and then hung on as I went completely card dead the last 2 hours. I shoved A-K UTG and got a call from K-K and that was that......Sigh.....Just one time let me run like a complete God with a horseshoe up my ass just for like 90 minutes at the end of a major tournament. I'm convinced that's what you need to have happen.

    Oh well....that little score helped soothe the wounds of the last 2 weeks and basically got me even for the month of March. Now it's time to ride that momentum to another big score and help sew up my WSOP ME entry.

    Thanks for reading,

    W2D

    Wednesday, March 12, 2008

    WSOP 2006 (Part 3)

    I appreciate the kind words that people left me after Part 2. I enjoy reading Main event stories so I'm glad others liked mine.

    I'm not going to lie.....going back to work after being the chip leader at the WSOP was actually pretty cool. Everyone's ego needs a stroke every once in awhile, right? I spent most of my day talking to friends and co-workers about the experience and thinking about what was in store for me on Day 2. My wife and I flew back out to Vegas that night after getting home from work. There is something about flying back and forth to Vegas to play poker that just gets me totally pumped up. It definitely appeals to the degenerate gambler in me and allows me to play the part of "high-roller" if only for a brief moment in time...

    I don't remember having a particular gameplan going into Day 2. I knew that I would be the chipleader at my table for sure so I wanted to take advantage of that as much as possible. When I got to seat #6 at table #142, I again tried to take inventory of the players. I laughed at Harrah's "random table draw" as I was seated with three other players from my final Day 1 table. There was tight nitty guy in seat 1...young and appeared solid player in seat 2...uber-nit asian guy to my right...what looked like a member of 50-cent's posse to my left...and 3 random donks in 8 through 10. I was ready to continue my quest!!

    I raised the first two pots of the day and took the blinds and antes without a call. This definitely put some "puff in my chest" and I thought I might just run this table over today. Just a couple of minutes later, with the blinds at $250/$500, I raised to $1500 from middle position with Q-9off and the SB min-raised me to $3000. Sigh....I'll never understand what they hope to accomplish with a bet like that but with over $5,000 in the pot, I was obviously calling $1,500 more in position. The flop came down Q-7-2. Somehow, all the money got in there (I think he had around $16K total) and he showed K-K. Turn......Queen. Thank you, sir, nice playing with you.

    Now, I was definitely feeling good about the day. I slowed down a bit for about an hour before it folded to the button who raised my BB. I looked down at 5-5 and had a ton of fold equity and easily had him covered. I just decided to ship it and he called and showed A-Q. The flop was benign but a nasty ace reared it's head on the turn and I took a hit to my stack. There were no other hands of interest (that I can remember) other than one that I wasn't even a part of. Within the first hour of the day, seats 8 and 9 got in a pre-flop raising war and ended up getting their entire stacks in with A-10 and K-Q. The rest of the table was pretty much speechless and the A-10 guy ended up winning the hand. He was pumped up after the hand and the table did a good job of not tapping the glass by simply congratulating him on a great hand. I took stock of the event and didn't realize how important it would be later in the day.

    Beginning of the Day- $72,600
    End of Level 7- $73,300
    End of Level 8- $83,700

    Sometime during the 3rd or 4th hour of the day, a player got moved to Seat #3 that was just maniacal. He had a PokerStars jersey on with the moniker "NuttBoy" and would put in huge overbets in a number of pots. He bragged about playing high stakes on STARS and knowing all of the big internet players but I had never heard of him (and haven't to this day). He was harmless and definitely brought some spice to the table.

    During levels 9 and 10, I really didn't see a lot of action. I did not get dealt A-A or K-K one time before the dinner break and was just kinda hanging around as the day wore on. Midway through level 9, I called a raise on the button with 8d-6d from the same guy that had slaughtered me late on Day 1 with the A-K on an A-A-? board. The flop came Kd-7d-4h and I called a $4,000 bet from him with my flush and gutshot draw. The turn was the 2 of diamonds. After a series of raises, we were all-in and I tabled my diamond flush to see his....set of sevens. I had to fade 10 outs to get my stack close to $100,000 for the first time today. I stood up and got my wife's attention to let her know I was in a big pot. The dealer peeled the river and dropped a King on the board to make his full house. aodfi diafdfc amx,f[ioxfjdsjf//............The $40,000 pot was shipped his way and I was pissed. My wife thought I may have been eliminated based on my reaction (she was about 30 feet away) but I went over to tell her that I still had around $52,000.

    I slowly chipped my way back up to around $65,000 when they announced it was the last hand of level 10. Players began to filter out of the room for the break as their last hand was completed. Amidst the chaos, I saw the "A-10" player from earlier raise to $5,000 from early position and the other players fold and leave as the action came to them. I was on the button and squeezed my cards out to see the loveliest sight of them all....two red Aces! I knew had a fish on the line and I did not want him to get away. I decided to re-raise him to $15,000 and make it look like he had fold equity if he 4-bet. By this time, most players in the room had left and we were one of the few tables left playing a hand. ESPN cameras knew we had a big hand brewing and they came over to capture the action. "A-10" was in the tank for several minutes and I tried my best to look weak (if I even know what the hell that means). I had gotten to know the ESPN crew from day 1 as they were very interested in me for a variety of reasons (my tattoos, my hat (kids pictures), the fact that I was a police officer). "A-10" finally decided he was "all-in" and, needless to say, I beat him in the pot. He sheepishly tabled As-Ks and we had ourselves an $85,000 pot. I stood up and got a little more animated than I usually do but considering the circumstances, I'm okay with my behavior (wink). The dealer laid the flop out of 6s-2h-2d. It doesn't get much better than that. The turn was the 10 of spades. Umm.....it doesn't get much WORSE than that. Are you kidding me? Was it really going to happen to me? Was I really going to get runner-runnered to get my aces cracked? The dealer painstakingly peeled the last card off and it was the Jack of diamonds. YESSSSSS!!!! I was pumped. I was well over $110,000 and after getting congratulated by everyone around, I stormed out of the room for the break feeling like I was on top of the world.

    End of Level 9- $78,000
    End of Level 10- $112,000

    Upon returning from this break, we were told by tournament staff that we would only be playing one more level. After playing until 3:00 the previous morning, this was a welcomed respite and made it so we were looking to get out of there around 12:30. I had one more level to either survive or thrive.

    The blinds were $600/$1,200 so that gives you some idea how deepstacked this tournament is at this point. During the last level, I played two hands of significance, one which I just love and one that makes me grrrrrowl. I had been feeling pretty good after coming back from the break and had played a couple of pots rather liberally. I had seen 50-cent's posse member (to my left) play a hand and make a comment during the hand that indicated to me that he was really NOT looking to go home during this last level. A short time later, it folded to me and I opened from the button for $4,000 with Kd-8d and he promptly min-raised me to $8,000 from the SB. Why do people keep doing this? Of course, I'm never folding so I call and the flop is 9s-9h-4h. He bets (rather quickly) $4,000 into a $19,000 pot. WTF? It reeked of weakness and rather than raise him here, I decided to float him and see what transpired. The turn was an off-suit 2 and he checked. Now I was fairly confident that he had no part of this board and probably should have bet here but I decided to peel one more off and see what happened on the river. The river was a 3rd heart and he meekly bet $5,000 into a $27,000 pot. I just decided there was no way he had anything here but how do I go about winning this pot? Believe it or not, I actually thought back to a hand that Daniel Negreanu played with Freddy Deeb in the 2004 Championship at the Plaza. It was made famous when Dan Harrington analyzed it at the back of his first Harrington on Hold'em. It involved a pot where Daniel bluffed on the river by betting a relatively small amount into the pot. Freddy commented, "I wished you had bet more, I would have called" before folding. Doyle refers to this as a "Post-oak bluff." I decided to raise to $13,000 actually making it only $8K more to call a $45,000 pot. He tanked for quite awhile before saying "You must have made your flush" and mucking A-K face-up. I'm sorry......but I just had to do it. I flipped over my Kd-8d and he literally almost hit the roof. He jumped out of his chair and huffed and puffed for a good 60 seconds before returning to the table. God I loved that hand...............

    With 20 minutes left in the day and the blinds still at $600/$1,200, a short stack open-shoved the hijack position for $25,000. I was in the SB and looked down at Ac-Kc. I had approx. $130,000 in chips and I know it is probably an auto-call but it's just frustrating to call that much without a pair. I went ahead and called and he tabled J-J. The board bricked and I was left with a little over $100,000 as the day finished.

    End of Day 2- $102,400

    As we bagged our chips, we were told that there were approx. 1,100 players remaining in the Main Event and 890 players would cash. We all now knew that early in Day 3, the money would be reached. I bagged my chips and walked to my new table draw for Day 3. As I arrived at Table #135, I was left relatively speechless. Now I should have known that as the field thinned, the tables would get tougher but I had clearly drawn the most difficult table in the entire f'in room. In seat #1 was the chip leader of the tournament with over $475,000 in chips, Jon "G6Dragon" Lane. In seat #7 was Michael McClain, final tablist from the 2004 WSOP Main Event and one hell of a player. But those two were really the least of my worries....sitting in seat #6 was a guy that would probably make the shortlist (Top 5) of virtually anyone that knows anything about poker for the best NLHE players in the world. As Norman Chad likes to say...."He's A-L-L-E-N Cunningham." He was sitting there with over $180,000 in chips and, frankly, I was really excited to get the opportunity to play with him. Little did I know how that excitement would turn to horror in just 48 hours.

    I would like to have accumulated more chips on Day 2 but I lost two races and couldn't fade 10 outs on the river for a $40K pot so, all in all, it was a fairly successful day. If anyone had said at the start of the tournament that I could start Day 3 with 80+BB, I would have taken them up on the offer right then and there.

    Stay tuned for Part 4 as you experience what it's like to win a huge pot with Ace-high, why I think Allen Cunningham can read minds, and why I've never been so dissappointed to be featured on ESPN.

    Thanks for reading,

    W2D

    Thursday, March 6, 2008

    2006 WSOP (Part 2)


    Before I start chronicling Day 1 of my 2006 WSOP Main Event experience, I hinted during Part 1 of this story why I thought there will never be a WSOP like the 2006 edition. Allow me to elaborate.....

    2005 was the first year that the WSOP had switched from Binion's Horseshoe to the Amazon Room at the RIO hotel. 25 years of history on Fremont Street had packed up and moved across the 15 freeway and 2005 seemed to be the year that they got acclimated to their new home. If 2005 was the moving in period, then 2006 ended up being the housewarming party. It was like a POKER ORGASM!!!! The "Poker Life Expo" was like a giant playground for adult poker players. Every online poker site had a booth (Bodog's was two stories) and they were all trying to out do each other. Free gifts, drawings for prizes, celebrity autograph sessions....it was one giant party. There was an aura of invincibility within the poker community as lots of people were making LOTS of money and the UIGEA was nowhere on the horizon. It was clearly the "Best of Times" for both live and online poker. Having been there both the year before and the year after, I don't believe they will ever be able to replicate the atmosphere of 2006.

    Upon my arrival in Las Vegas, I checked into the Gold Coast Casino which is located directly across the street from the RIO. It is the classic "old style" Vegas casino with $2 blackjack, a 24-hour diner, and shabby rooms with smoke-lined curtains. But with that in mind, I have stayed there many times during my adventures as you can't beat both the price and the location.

    As I awoke for my Day 1 experience (I was playing on Day 1C), I don't recall feeling especially nervous. After my success in 2005, I'm sure I had a certain level of expectation that it would be as easy this year as it was in 2005. After all, I started with $1500 in chips last year and now I have $10,000 in chips with 2-hour blind levels (weeeeeee!!). As I sat down at seat #10 at Table #192 (There were over 200 tables in the room), I tried to take quick stock of my opponents at the table. Directly to my right was a middle-aged Middle Eastern man...Directly to his right was a rather "portly" female that we would later learn was Sabyl Cohen, the highest finishing female in the 2006 Main Event (51st place).....Random Euro dude in Seat 6....Random guy wearing a Full Tilt jersey he got from winning his seat online in seat 4....and a younger gentleman in Seat 1 that I would come to learn was a fairly good player. The anticipation began to climax as the clock neared 12:00. I had reached my destination in my young poker career and I was ready to go for a ride. SHUFFLE UP AND DEAL!!!!

    I got the BUTTON!!!!! I remember joking that I had already won something as seat 10 was awarded the button (I knew this was an omen....I was destined for great things). I squeezed my first hand ever in the WSOP Main Event.....a 7......and......a....2! The HAMMER!!! My first hand ever in the Main Event was 7-2. There was a raise in front of me and some distant voice in the caverns of my soul screamed, "Re-pop him and show the table." I quickly gagged that voice and promptly slid my cards to the muck. As the second hand was dealt, I again squeezed the plastic rectangular jewels in my hands and looked at....Q-Q. Mr. Middle East raised to my right and I decided to smooth call in position. The flop came a yummy Q-10-2 rainbow. He meekly checked and my 1/2 pot bet was practically beaten in the middle by his cards. Top set down the drain. A short time later, the blinds were still 25/50 when I raised to 200 with 8-8 from middle position. The SB, random Euro dude, re-raised 800 more and I decided to call in position and hope to hit a monster. The flop came down 10h-8c-4h. It didn't take him long to lead at the pot for $1,300 into an approx. $2,100 pot. I didn't take too long in raising him to $3,100 and he went into the tank. I now remember thinking that I didn't know what I was going to do if he 4-bet all-in. I laugh about it now because I would beat him in the pot with middle set but when you've waited so long to play in the Main Event, you start concocting scenarios where he has 10-10 and really don't want to bust out in level 1. After a couple of minutes, he folded and I began to chip up rather nicely.

    I was the table captain for the first three hours and was really controlling the play at the table. I had chipped up to around $20,000 when I began to sense that the guy directly to my left (Seat #1) was getting annoyed at my aggression and was looking to play back at me. A short time later, it folded to me on the button and I raised to $300 with 10-10. He re-raised me from the SB to $1,050 and again I just sensed that he was really trying to slow me down. I decided that he really didn't have a hand and I 4-bet him to $2,900. He thought for about 3 minutes before mucking his cards. A short time later, our table broke.

    End of Level 1-$17,000
    End of Level 2-$21,050
    End of Level 3-$33,350

    I got moved across the Amazon room to table #26, seat #9, and began an 8-hour experience that I'm fairly sure I will never experience again. This was simply the softest, worst playing, horrific table I had ever seen or heard about. For the most part, everything I tried seemed to work. Shortly after the table change, I raised to $600 with Ac-Qc and got a call from the Big Blind. The flop came 9-7-2. The BB checked, I bet 900, and he quickly called. I had seen him play some horrific hands and knew he was terrible but after his call on the flop, I was pretty much done with the hand. The turn was an 8 (3rd spade) and it went check-check. The river came another 8 and this time he checked again. Now I began to think that he simply had two overs and thought he also may lay down a small pocket pair to a bet. I bet $1,500and he quickly called. I sheepishly turned over my Ace high and the dealer began to push the pot towards me. I saw that he had tabled the ever powerful Ks-Qh for King high with no pair and no draw. I (along with most of the rest of the table) was flabbergasted.

    I would eventually bust this K-Q player when he came over the top of my UTG raise with K-4 and I tabled A-K (you gotta love live donks). A couple of hands later, I completed the SB with 4-4 and three of us saw a flop of A-Q-4. I led at the pot for $400 and the BB raised me to $1,000. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he doesn't have A-A or Q-Q in an unraised pot so I'm hoping he has two pair. I 4-bet to $3,000 and he quickly comes over the top all-in. I snap call and he shows A-Q. Turn-6...River-7. GG, nh, vul, wp. Welcome to Coolerville.

    Later, I limped UTG with 5-5 and both blinds saw a flop with me of 8-8-4. I bet 1/2 pot and both players call. Turn-7. I bet 1/2 pot and both players called. River-2 (8-8-4-7-2 board). I bet 1/2 pot and both players called. MY POCKETFIVES WERE GOOD!!! What the hell did they have to call three streets? This was typical of the play all day during Day one.

    End of Level 4-$54,500
    End of Level 5-$69,300

    This table continued to be a fun table to play at. The guy from Seat #1 at my original table was moved there and I found out that he was a good friend of Greg "FBT" Mueller and a professional player (My original read was spot on...I knew he was good). I also got to sit and chat with Dan "BOKE" Bokesch who I knew from the online sites. He was an incredibly classy player and lots of fun to talk to. During Level 6, I was playing about 1/2 the pots and winning a large majority of them. At one point in the level, I had over $120,000 and no one else in the room had over $100K. I was the chipleader of the WSOP Main Event. Pocketfives.com reporters were taking my picture and providing constant updates of my chip stack on their site. Cardplayer.com was also snapping photos and listing me as the chip leader in the tournament. I was literally living out a fantasy for all to see. Other players were coming to our table just to see my chip stack. It's a moment in time that I will never forget. (The above picture is at one of my highest points of the day. It's my favorite picture of all-time).

    At last, the fun would not last forever. A southern gentleman was moved to the other end of the table and seemed to be a fish ripe for the taking. I had seen him misplay some hands and was really looking to skin him up and send him on his way as the day came to an end. I raised from middle position with 7-6off (of course) and he called me in the BB. The flop came down A-5-A. He checked and I bet. He smooth called me and at this point I was both tired and completely full of adrenaline thinking that I could not lose a pot. The turn came a rag and he checked again. This time I quickly said, "I'm all-in." He thought for around 5 seconds before giving the speech you never want to hear, "I guess I have to call" as he tabled A-K. I had picked a wonderful time to completely naked bluff right into a monster. Here's the best part....he had considerably more chips than I thought he had (to the tune of around $25K). I threw my cards in the muck before the dealer even dealt the river which caused quite a furor from other players at the table. The floor was called and I was chastised for not showing my cards after being called. Frankly, I really didn't give a shit. I was in a daze (it was well after 1:30 in the morning) and had just dusted off a considerable amount of chips. I lost a few more minor pots and as we bagged our chips, I was dissappointed to see that I only had $72,600.

    While the average stack was around $28,000, I could not help but think that I had blown a huge opportunity. I know that tournaments aren't won on Day one but it seemed like my reckless abandon had really gotten out of hand after the clock had tolled midnight. I had got caught up in the mystique of being chip leader and being the center of the media attention and thought that I could run everyone over. It was as surreal as it gets to be amongst the leaders after Day 1 of the Main Event and somehow be dissappointed. Unfortunately, it was pushing 3:00 in the morning before we got out of there and I had to go back to my room, pack up, and head straight to the airport without sleeping. I ended up catching 2 hours of sleep in the airport gate area waiting for my flight home. I had to go home and work one day before flying back for Day 2B.

    There is no doubt that I will never forget my experiences during day 1. I went on quite a heater and really played well at most junctures of the day. I set myself up great for Day 2 which is really all you can ask for. I had three all-in preflop confrontations and I won every one (A-K v. K-4; Q-Q v. 8-8; A-K v. 7-7). Stay tuned for Part 3 as I chronicle the roller coaster that was Day 2 of the WSOP Main Event.

    Thanks for reading

    W2D

    Tuesday, March 4, 2008

    WSOP 2006 (Part 1)

    Finally...I have found some time to chronicle my improbable journey to the 2006 World Series of Poker. If you haven't had the opportunity to read about the 2005 WSOP, I suggest that you read those posts before reading this one. So....here it goes.

    After my 24th place finish in a preliminary event in 2005, I was eager to get another chance to prove myself in 2006. The online poker scene was in full force as this was still pre-UIGEA so the satellite scene was pretty juicy on STARS and TILT. Beginning in March of 2006, I went on one of the most frustrating runs of my life as I had heartbreak after heartbreak in various levels of WSOP satellites. I won't bore you with the details but it really felt like the stars were just aligned for me NOT to be playing in the Main Event in 2006. I was having relative success in regular MTT's but could simply not get it done in the numerous satellites I played. I must have played a minimum of five $200 race-for-the-bracelet satellites on Full Tilt with no success. I also played the $650 STARS Sunday satellite twice with nothing to show for it. July and August were fast approaching and I was on the outside looking in.

    On 7/9/06, I had satellited into the Full Tilt $200K guar. (the predecessor of the now $750K). I was lucky enough to have my biggest finish ever in a Sunday major as I came in 7th place for $6,700 (I think 7th place now in that tournament pays something like $18,000 :(:( ) This gave a boost to my bankroll and allowed me to play a few more satellites which again resulted in zilch! At the time, I was in a 9-month leadership course in San Diego that called for me to be in San Diego for three nights every month for nine months. On 7/24, just 3 days before the WSOP main event was to start, I found myself alone in a hotel room on a Monday evening with no plans of attending the Main Event. Full Tilt was running their LAST WSOP satellite of the year (a $1K buy-in which gave away 8 packages). I called my wife, Carrie, and talked to her about playing in it for one last shot. I was really down on my game at that point after a frusatrating 4 months of satellites but she gave me an incredible pep talk and convinced me to buy directly into the $1k satellite and give it a shot. How many guys' wives would take the time to convince their husband to spend $1,000? Needless to say, I run good in life with her as my wife. (that rhymes!)

    Well....as you probably guessed, as I sat alone in a distant hotel with nothing but a 15" Dell laptop, I navigated myself through a pro-laden field to win a $12,000 WSOP package that Monday night. I have never been so excited to make that phone call to Carrie. I calmly told her that I had won a seat and she just about jumped through the roof. Considering that it was only days away, I immediately began making flight and hotel arrangements for the upcoming weekend. I chose to play in Day 1C which was on Saturday which allowed me to take the least amount of time off of work. I can tell you that I didn't hear a thing my instructor said for the next two days in my class.

    It had finally happened....I was going to the big dance! Not unlike Michael McDermott in Rounders, this little grinder was going to go take on the best in the world. I was too excited to think about gameplans, strategy, or anything else. I was going to the promised land and nothing was getting in my way.

    Stay tuned for Part 2 as I describe the feelings associated with Day 1 of the Main Event, why I think there will never be another WSOP like 2006, and how a police officer from Southern California took the poker world by storm and put his name at the top of the World Series of Poker Main Event leaderboard.

    Thanks for reading,

    W2D

    Sunday, March 2, 2008

    More Sundays! (A day of 2-outers)

    Sigh.....another Sunday, another series of heartbreaks. I played in seven MTT's and cashed in two. I went deep in the TILT $28K and finished 39th out of 1,339 entrants. The hand history below pretty much sums up my day...

    Full Tilt Poker Game #5480552805: $28,000 Guarantee (40998448), Table 53 - 2500/5000 Ante 600 - No Limit Hold'em - 2:00:27 ET - 2008/03/03
    Seat 1: Tony Eusebio (111,712)
    Seat 2: VandyMD09 (83,962)
    Seat 3: LooK_My_Bluff (130,936)
    Seat 4: IBFT (194,902)
    Seat 5: Lebatard (88,894)
    Seat 6: DRwvu (159,106)
    Seat 7: Brootal Boobs (67,884)
    Seat 9: HGJ18622 (44,791)
    Tony Eusebio antes 600
    VandyMD09 antes 600
    LooK_My_Bluff antes 600
    IBFT antes 600
    Lebatard antes 600
    DRwvu antes 600
    Brootal Boobs antes 600
    HGJ18622 antes 600
    Tony Eusebio posts the small blind of 2,500
    VandyMD09 posts the big blind of 5,000
    The button is in seat #9
    *** HOLE CARDS ***
    Dealt to HGJ18622 [Kd Qd]
    LooK_My_Bluff folds
    IBFT has reconnected
    IBFT has 15 seconds left to act
    IBFT folds
    Lebatard has 15 seconds left to act
    Lebatard folds
    DRwvu folds
    Brootal Boobs folds
    HGJ18622 raises to 44,191, and is all in
    Tony Eusebio raises to 111,112, and is all in
    VandyMD09 folds
    Tony Eusebio shows [8h 8d]
    HGJ18622 shows [Kd Qd]
    Uncalled bet of 66,921 returned to Tony Eusebio
    *** FLOP *** [Ac As Ts]
    *** TURN *** [Ac As Ts] [Th]
    *** RIVER *** [Ac As Ts Th] [8c]
    Tony Eusebio shows a full house, Eights full of Aces
    HGJ18622 shows two pair, Aces and Tens
    Tony Eusebio wins the pot (98,182) with a full house, Eights full of Aces

    I hate this f$%&in game!!!!!!!!

    Thanks for reading,

    W2D