WSOP Main Event

I busted out of the Main Event within 30 minutes of Day 2. The tournament actually started off great for me after I doubled up early with AA vs KK all-in preflop. After that hand I lost a big pot when my QQ was shot down by a flopped set with TT. From then on I had several battles in LP stealing attempts and more often than not I was forced to back down after getting repopped time after time.

That left with me 19,200 chips going into Day 2 with blinds of 500/1k/100. After having my stack get munched down in the first few orbits I had 14k when the following hand came up: A player in MP raises it to 3200, I find AKo from the cutoff and shove my 14k all-in. He instacalls me with 56s and the board comes down J5246. Surprisingly, I was not even that disappointed. It was sort of strange but it was almost a relief to be done with the tournament. In one month I'll probably be wondering what could have been but for now I am content with what went down.

I definitely plan on playing again next year, I'll definitely put more effort into qualifying online earlier rather than later. I'm not sure if I'll want to stay here for the whole 6 weeks, but that decision is still a year away :)

Sutti and I will be flying back to Berlin on Tuesday the 17th of July, I can't wait to get back into playing online.

Mama said there would be days like this

Well Sutti and I decided to extend the Vegas trip for another week or so to leave us more time for vacation and hopefully for me to play the Main Event.

I really wanted to satellite in, but after two failed attempts at $1k SNGs I was getting pretty frustrated. Luckily I worked out a deal where I sold off percentages of myself and that also allowed me to split my $10k buy-in 50/50 with someone who has trust in me. It's a pretty big leap of faith by him and I plan on making it a good deal for both of us.

3 nights ago I played a 15-hour long chinese poker session with Seb "miamivice", Nico "belinho" and Nik "Ragen." We were playing for $100/point. I started off terribly, down $5k in the first 2 hours. Then I went on a slow but steady run through the morning hours and eventually finished up $7k after 15 hours of play. Woooo hoooo!

As I would discover last night, that run was just the upside of variance though. I only played a few hours last night but managed to lose $7.5k after an unbelievable amount of surrenders, scoops and royalty payoffs. I went to sleep right away afterwards to try and get it off my mind.

Today's plan is to go the Rio and buy-in for the Main Event, which I'll be playing on Day 1D. After I buy in I'm going to spend the day relaxing and getting my body and mind fit for the madness of tomorrow. I'll probably spend most of the day at the pool as well as get a massage during some point of the day, life can be nice sometimes.

WSOP Event #49 Final Table

I went to the final table with 694,000 which was 6th place out of the 9 remaining players. The final table was to be filmed with hole cards shown and be broadcast online with a 1-hour delay. I was allowed to bring two friends into the secluded area so I had Sutti and Olli in there with me. After getting miked up and told the basics about showing the hole cards to the camera it all finally started.

Me at the final table

Because of my stack size I was left with limited options as to pre- and postflop play. I had plenty of first-in preflop fold equity and minimal reraise preflop fold equity so I was kind of in an awkward spot.

If I remember correctly, the first time I went all-in was after a raise from Ray Spencer in EP. He had been playing pretty poorly on Day 2 and had been playing way too loose at the final table as well if you ask me. Back to the hand: He raised in EP to 100k with blinds of 20k/40k, I shoved on the button (520,00) with 77 and he folded with little hesitation. It turns out he had A6o.

A short while later I had KTo in MP and raised it to 120k. The SB (Leandro Pimentel) shoved from the SB for 550k. Although I was getting good odds, I elected to fold the hand after a lot of consideration. A couple hands before that Pimentel folded AQs to a reraise all-in and showed the table his hand. I knew he was playing somewhat tight and was not going to risk his life on some bogus hand, but apparently this hand I was wrong. As I would later find out in the internet broadcast, he had A5o. He used his image very well.

A few rounds later I had around 700k in the SB and the action was folded to me, I looked down at 89s. Greg Mueller was in the BB and I knew how super-aggressive he was. My plan was to limp reraise all-in because I knew he would raise 60-70% of his hands if I limped in. Unfortunately he checked behind and we saw a flop of A93. I bet 100k, he called quickly. Turn was another A. I checked, he bet 135k. Folding was not an option for me, it was either call or shove. I elected to call and give him another bluffing chance on the river. The came down a J and I checked again. He bet something like 135k again which looked super-suspicious like a value bet. I was now pretty confused, but had to call based simply on the odds. He showed J6o. Wow, what a sick catch.

From that moment on I was extremely crippled. Over the course of the next couple hours I was all-in 4 or 5 more times with hands ranging from JJ to K3o. Each time I took down the blinds + antes which allowed me to maintain my stack and keep it in the ballpark range of 600-800k. Meanwhile 3 people had busted and there were 6 of us left.

I was in the BB with A7o and it was folded around to John Hunt in the SB. He raised to 220k with blinds of 40/80k. I thought for a couple moments and came over the top for 700k. A7o is not a great hand but is certainly strong blind-on-blind. He called with 99 and I didn't get any help on the board, so I took 6th place for $96,775. I was definitely happy with the result, especially if you consider how shortstacked I was during several spots in the tourney.

I'm not the kind of guy who complains about being carddead, but I did feel that I played well with the few nice cards I got at the final table and made the most out of what I had. Overall I had a really good time, played a great tourney in my opinion and got lucky at the right times for a nice payday. A couple other guys exchanged a few shares with me so they profited nicely as well :) Thanks to everyone for their support during the event!

WSOP Event #49 Day 2

I began the day with just 18,200 chips and blinds of 1k/2k/300. I folded away my big and small blinds and was left with ~13k on my button. If the hand was folded to me, I was pushing any two cards for sure. I knew that and unfortunately my opponents knew that as well, but I was pleasantly surprised to look down at QQ right before I shoved. The BB called with ATs, my hand held and I doubled up.

Still incredibly shortstacked I was moved to a new table. At blinds 1.5k/3k/400 I went all-in for ~30k from LP after it was folded to me and I found KJo. The BB thought and thought and eventually called me with 77. A jack on the flop quickly gave me relief and my stack was beginning to take shape.

I was moved again and had ~80k when the following hand came up. Blinds 2k/4k/500 and a player to my right in EP makes it 13k. I look down at AA and consider my options. Reraising all-in gets him to fold too many hands here, reraising small is too suspicious IMO, so I elect to call and disguise my hand. The BB calls as well and we see a flop of AT6 rainbow. Check check check. Turn is a blank. BB bets 20k, EP raises to 70k, I am all-in for just under 70k, BB folds. EP player shows ATs for top two but it drawing dead.

After this hand I began raising a lot of hands and was getting a good amount of respect at the table. I took down blinds and antes several times, which netted me 12.5k each time. I also eliminated Bradley Berman after I raised on the button with KQo to 18k and he shoved his BB for ~100k. I tanked it, made the call and my hand held against his Q8o. After this I was moved to a new table yet again.

At my new table I had ~300k when the following hand came up. UTG (has me slightly covered) raises to 40k with blinds of 4k/8k/1k. I look down at TdTs in the cutoff and elect to call. The flop comes down Jd8d7d. He checks and I bet out 50k. He checkraises it to 130k total. I go in the tank for several minutes. On the one hand, I could already be drawing close to dead. One the other, I had a feeling... a feeling that he was full of shit. He could easily interpret my small flop bet as a sign of total weakness and just be trying to push me off my hand. The problem is that I had little to no fold equity, as he only had about 130k to call if I pushed. The only hands he could fold would be the total bluffing trash hands or a hand without a diamond. After 3-4 minutes I finally stuck my money in and he went into the tank. Not getting an instacall is a great sign for me there and indeed he did muck his hand, probably hating me with a passion. This was a super tricky hand but was really key for my tournament life.

A few hands later I was UTG and found KK. I raised it to 24k and was called by the button player Thomas Middelthon, chipleader at the time and playing super-aggressive. The flop came down Q85 with two clubs. I lead for 50k, he makes it 150k instantly. I ponder for a few moments before announcing that I'm all-in. He folded before I could even close my mouth. That left me with ~600k which was good enough for 2nd in chips with just over 30 players remaining.

I really couldn't believe it when they came over to me and once again moved to a new table shortly thereafter. We were now down to just over 20 players. I only played a couple hands before our table broke and we re-drew with 18 players. At the point my stack still around 600k, which was slightly more than average. I didn't really do much work because the situations were not right for me, so my stack dwindled down to around 500k. With 12 players to go, the tightest player at the table (Marc Phan) shoved all-in in LP for 200k and I was sitting to his immediate left. Although he hadn't played a hand yet, this could easily be a frustration move by him so I came over the top and went all-in myself to isolate. He showed 22 and the board came down T4Jk4.

Within a couple minutes two other players were eliminated and we had the final table of 9 players set, myself included. I was going to go into the final table the next day with 694,000 chips and blinds of 15k/30k/4k, which was going to leave me shortstacked but with a little breathing room.

WSOP Event #49 Day 1

Event #49 was a $1500 NL Hold'em tournament that attracted 3,151 players. A few hours into the tournament it was announced that it was the 3rd largest tournament of all-time after the previous 2 main events. 324 players would be making the money and the winner would take home over $700k.

The tournament was scheduled to begin at noon local time. Nico and I made it there just before noon only to find out that the event was already full and that we could only get on the alternate list. We were told it would be an hour wait so we bought in anyway. 1 hour quickly became 2 hours of standing around doing nada until our table finally began. Each player got a 3k starting stack, but the blinds were already 100/200!!! That left us each only 15bb to work with, which most people know is next to nothing.

I got off a pretty decent start and built up to over $6k without many showdowns. A couple hours I had over $9k when the following hand came up. Blinds 100/200/25: UTG+1 (~7k chips) raised to 1100. I looked down at 99 and considered my options. Playing for set value is borderline at best given the raise and stack sizes but I elected to call anyway as I might have the best hand. All others fold and the flop comes down J 8 2 with a flushdraw. He throws out 2200 and I go in the tank. From my experience online, a 5BB EP raise is usually something like AK, sometimes JJ or TT. Though this player was playing tight, that range was great for me. If he has AK he is folding to my shove, JJ is unlikely because of the large instabet on the flop and I can easily push him off TT with an all-in shove. After some deliberation I finally shove all-in and he thinks for a minute or so before finally calling with KK. OOPS!!! The dealer throws a 9 on the turn and my opponent takes a hike. I am just too lucky.

Fast forward to blinds 200/400/50. I have just over 10k. UTG shoves for 5k and I am sitting UTG+1 with TT. He had been shoving a ton preflop and never been called yet but I knew my hand had a good chance of beating him. It was a thin decision, but I eventually re-shoved for 10k. A player in MP starts crying around saying "Ohhhhh sooooooo sick" after looking at his cards, thinks for 1 minutes, and goes all in as well for just under 10k. Folded around to the BB who ALSO calls for 4k. Showdown:
UTG - 66, Me - TT, MP - KK, BB - QQ

Nobody's hand improves and the MP player kicks 2 people out. I am left with precisely 375 chips, not even 1 BB. I throw in my 50 ante and now have 325 chips. A new player is put in the BB so I will be UTG for this hand. I throw in my 325 chips with A7o and am reraised by an EP player. Everyone folds and he shows KK. The flop is 876, turn 3, river 7.

I now have ~13oo and am in the BB. I pay my BB and am left with around 900. A player in EP makes it 1200, a player in MP calls, Nico calls from the button and I am all-in with 64s getting incredible odds. The flop is T63. EP checks, MP bets 3k, both others fold. MP shows AKo (on that note lol donkaments) and I hit a 4 on the turn to seal the deal. Thanks for bluffing the dry side pot, bro, you're a lifesaver. Nico folded 99 and would have eliminated me because a T hit the river.

A little while later I had around 7k and was in the BB. It's folded to Nico who raises to 1200 in LP. The SB repops to 4800 and I look down at two black aces. I shove for 7k, Nico folds, SB knows whats up but has to call anyway and shows KQo. The board comes down KJ25Q. Luckily for me, 4 of those cards were spades and I doubled up.

VERY NEXT HAND: I am stacking chips as a player in EP (the guy who quadrupled with KK) makes it 1200. Folded to me and I see 55 so I call for set value as we are both deep. The flop comes down A54 with two hearts and I check. He bets 2400, I make it 7k even. He thinks forever and calls. At this point I have him on something like AQ. Turn is a 9. I shove, he takes his time again before eventually folding. I could have potentially gotten more value out of the hand but was happy with the result anyway.

So in those few minutes I went from ~7k to ~30k and was covered by only one person at the table. At this point there were just around 700 players left with the top 324 getting paid. I got moved to a new table and made it through the bubble with around 40k chips. They announced that we would be playing one more hand before breaking for the night. The blinds were 1k/2k/200 and I looked down at JJ in EP. I raised it to 6k and it was folded to the BB who called, leaving himself 13k behind. The flop came down Q74 and he immediately shoves. This smelled like a stop-and-go so after some thought I elected to call. He showed 75s for middle pair. The turn was a 5 and the river was a K so he doubled up and took around half of my stack. OUCH!

I ended the day with 18,200 chips knowing that I would be UTG in the first hand the following day. I was down but not out.

Rushing, Vienna, Vegas

My upswing just doesn't seem to want to stop, not that I'm complaining. This is without a doubt the longest (and simultaneously the largest) upswing I've experienced in my 3 years of playing poker. As of right now I'm up just over $22.7k for the month alone and we're just 9 days into June. It's time like this when you feel invincible and I'll be the first to admit that I feel pretty damn good right now. I've played around 9k hands this month so I'm definitely on target to get in at least the 20k hands that I wanted to before flying to Kansas.

It looks like I won't be making it to the Austrian Masters at CCC next week. This will be the first week of tournaments that I'll be missing in Vienna (made it to the last 3 or 4 I believe). I was really hoping to make it down there again but it's not looking like it's gonna happen this time, oh well.

As each days goes by I'm getting more and more excited for Las Vegas. In my mind I'm kinda disappointed with myself for only booking one week to be out there, I feel like the time is going to absolutely fly by when I'm out there and I won't realize what hit me until it's time to go again. Who knows, if things go well for me as well as Olli and Sutti we can think about extending the stay a little bit. I'd also like to hop over to California for a day or two if possible. So many things to do, so little time to do them in...