WSOP Event #37 trip report (long)

[kevkev60614]

I entered event #37. My br really didn’t come close to covering a $1,500 buy-in. My goal this entire year had been to build a br in STTs to blow on a WSOP event, and to prepare for it in MTTs. I opened my Stars account for $30 about a year ago, and last week it stood at $1,575. I’m not a baller. I’m not even a pretend baller. I’m just your average Kev. I’ve never played an online MTT over $22. But those who are looking to enter their first WSOP next year might find the trip report interesting.

I pre-registered Monday night. In line, Johnny Chan looked at me. Right then it hit me what I was standing in line to do. I also saw Raymer and a host of other poker celebrities. I’m not sure why, but I really didn’t expect that.

Note: I didn’t use a notebook, and a lot of these numbers are really rough. I was able to remember and write down a surprising number of hands that night, but the stack sizes (particularly of villains) and other info are rough estimates.

Table 1, Level 1: 25/25 Stack=1500
I’m in Seat 3, my favorite. Two to my right is a ridiculous LAGgy woman who looks a lot like Kathy Leibert. She pushed the turn in a retarded spot the second hand with two overs and a flush draw against obvious strength and rivered her flush to take an early chip lead.
My first BB I flop trips in a 4-way pot, led ¾ and take it down. Winning the first pot is a big deal, like all of a sudden it can be done.
I’d be totally unable to steal even if I’d wanted to because Not Kathy is raising pretty much every opportunity and she’s a bad resteal candidate. She’s calling down bets on three streets with AQo, no pair. Sometimes she’s raising to t150 because she thinks it’s level 2. She’s betting into dry side pots with 97o, no pair. It’s awesome. She’s a psycho and I wish I could find a hand against her.
I manage to steal once when Not Kathy leaves the table and I take down a pot by leading with second pair. Slow growth.

Table 1, Level 2: 25/50 Stack ~2000
A couple of orbits go by without much happening until I’m dealt QQ in the SB. There’s a MP raise to t150 from a guy I think I’ve seen on TV. I make it t475; he calls. AT4, two hearts and I have none. I lead for t600 and he thinks for a while and folds.
Shortly thereafter, a young guy who has me covered opens for t200 UTG. I bump it to t550 in MP with AA. He calls. He checks the 992 flop; I bet around t800. He thinks for long enough I’m convinced he doesn’t have a 9, then CRAI. I hold up vs. TT. The young guy, there with his dad I think, then pushbots his way back to a reasonable stack before he busts. I wonder if he’s a trout. Holla?
Someone had been blinded off this whole time finally sits a couple to my left. People are whispering. I finally make out that his name is Tex and he finished 3rd in the ME last year. He explains to us all that he was up late and lost $85K last night.
Not Kathy busts and some guy for Norway takes her seat. He’s an immediately obvious LAG, and I call his UTG raise from EP with AJs and confidence. KKT flop goes check, check. He c/cs the Q turn for t500, then leads the J river for t500. I just call figuring it’s at best a split. He mucks but tells me he had K9o and regrets not betting the flop. I believe him.
AA again in EMP. I raise, Tex reraises, and when it’s folded around I push. I don’t remember stack sizes exactly but a couple hands later I realized that pushing was a mistake. If I’d smooth-called, his c-bet would’ve pot committed him. I blame my lack of cash game experience. Maybe it’s my lack of high-stake MTT experience instead. Not a big error, I guess.
Tex busts, level three starts and I’m unhappy that I have to switch tables.

Table 2, Level 3: 50/100 Stack ~5500
I begin at the table in position 10 (out of 11) by folding so much that my thumb bleeds. Literally. I had to stop folding with my right hand.
A Packers fan sits to my left and I’m dealt AK UTG+1. I raise to t300, he pushes for t1500. It’s folded to me and I think about his range. It’s his first hand at the table, he has no read on me, 15 BBs, is in EP and appears pretty calm. I folded.
Just before the table is broken up (I wasn’t here very long) I’m dealt AK in EP again. A pretty tight player one to my right makes it t300, I ask him how much he has behind and then just call. The flop is K85, he pots it with less than t2000 behind and I push. He finally folds and tells me he had AK and was sure my range was KK+, AK. w00t.

Table 3, Level 4: 100/200 Stack ~6500
The rest of level 3 is pretty uneventful. It is nice that my stack is so large I can afford to sit out an orbit from my new position 11 and observe play before I get my hands dirty. I didn’t really notice that’s what I was doing, but that’s what I was doing.
Anyway, the table appeared very tight at the time. I try to complete n steal my 2nd SB and the bigstack BB raises my flop bet. I fold my garbage and he shows 2 pair. The next hand I open to t600 from the BTN, and the same guy calls me. I’m now annoyed. I c-bet the KJT flop and he folds 99 face up. I quietly muck my J4o.
A tiny stack pushes from MP and I call in the BB getting almost 2 to 1. My ATo is dominated and villain’s AJ holds up.

Table 3, Level 5: 100/200, Ante 25, ~ 6000
A guy in a cowboy hat three to my right has been minraising, then c-betting and taking down pots. He does so in EP and I r/r w/AKs. He pretty quickly folds. An orbit later he raises to t600 with about t4000 behind and I see 88 in the SB. I push (completely forgetting that the bigstack BB hadn’t acted yet because I hate position 11 and I’m retarded) and villain again fairly quickly folds.
The guy in seat seven limps UTG and warning bells go off in my head. He is NOT the type to limp UTG. In fact, I don’t know that I’d seen him limp pf before that. I look down and see AKo. I decide I might be wrong but raise to only t900, whereas normally I’d make it t1000 behind a limper. He pushes for t5000 or so and I think I see his hands shake a little. I don’t think I’ve ever folded AK pf twice in a tourney before but here we are.
Two hands later UTG raises to 3BBs and I get JJ in EP. I ask him how much he has behind, (t1900) and my stack is about t6500 still. I call. Villain bets t700 I think on the T74 flop and I pause to think. I’d seen him showdown AA an orbit before. He’d been asked how big his stack was and he’d counted it up and made a joke. He’d been talking about how he “had to just pick a spot and go” and he’d been looking at the felt. This time he was staring at me, quiet and jokeless. I decide I’m ahead and push. Later, I’d be told by my growing group of sweaters how completely obvious it was that he wanted a call. AA holds up and I’m down to ~t4000.
I’m surprisingly cool but sit out an orbit, and the table continues to be tight. Then I open on the BTN with some garbage and take it down. I open again from the CO with 43s and ZOMG I get stop n go’d by the BB. I’m a big dog to any two so I fold. I think back on it and decide I’ve been too LAG and I need to cool off a bit. I get QQ the very next hand, however, so that plan will have to wait. I open for 3BBs again and the stop n goer pushes from the SB. I ask for a count but already know I’m going to call. I’m getting a distinct “I’ve had enough of this” vibe from villain. I cover him by about t1000; he has t2500 or so. He has AQo and rivers an Ace. To add insult to injury, the blinds go up.

Table 3, Level 6: 150/300, Ante 25 ~ 1000
The second hand into it, I push KJo from MLP and Villain McShakyHands from before calls me w/87o citing good pot odds. I flop a Jack and double up.
I pass on an opportunity to push from the hijack with J3s. Opponent ranges are pretty wide, I think.

Table 4, Level 6: 150/300, Ante 25 ~ 1700
I’m moved back to position three, which is my favorite and where I started. Deep down I know it’s going to matter very little, though.
I fold ATo to an EP raise.
I’m down to t1500 when I push from EMP with 88. I’m called by AJo, and I go upstairs to cry into my pillow for an hour.

I finished around 450th out of over 2,800. I’m extremely happy with the way I played, and not that upset with the results. Obviously a cash would’ve been nice, but the next best thing in my mind is playing very well, getting some experience, and knowing I got it all in pretty consistently with the best hand. Overall, I was very surprised at how bad the field was. I included Not Kathy as an example, but really there were a lot of poor players and better yet, it’s easier to see their faults than it is online. If you can afford it, you’re not making a huge mistake by entering an event next year.

A special thanks to MyTurn2Raise, who sweated me through the whole thing.

Also thanks to the MTTF, without whom I’d not have had the confidence to register nor the know-how to make it through the first blind level. I’ll be back to the MTTF in a year. For now it’s back to STTs to start building my roll again…

[bobbycharles]

Thanks for the report and congrats on taking the plunge. I'm there next year for sure.
Regards.....BobbyCharles

[0evg0]

I've given you [censored] on this forum, but nice job man. Live play = super easy. I'm pretty sure the first AK fold was bad, but otherwise sounds like you handled yourself better than most first time live tourney players.

[MyTurn2Raise]

good report....I surprisingly remembered nearly all of this despite the free drinks from Bodog.

have to agree with 0veg0...live tourney fields are ridiculously weak. I had to catch myself from spitting up my beer a few times sweating from the rail.

[DVO]

Nice report, sorry about the AQ / QQ bad beat. FWIW it sounds like you are ready to move up from the $22's as soon you can.

[kevkev60614]

[ QUOTE ]
I've given you [censored] on this forum

[/ QUOTE ]
You give me [censored] when I deserve it. I've posted a lot of beginner's mistakes because I'm a beginner. Very often I disagreed with your tone, but eventually I came to realize that you post like you play: as close to the border of too aggressive as you can get. Anyway, thanks for reading.

[ QUOTE ]
I'm pretty sure the first AK fold was bad

[/ QUOTE ]
I don't thik so, but I tend to give pf r/rs a lot of respect. Especially since it came from EP and he couldn't have possibly pegged me as a LAG since it was his first hand. How often is this AQ? He's not so short as to be desperate.