WSOP 2015 Report

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ssbn743

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Well I just got back from Vegas – over 2 weeks of pretty much constant poker. Though I didn’t win a bracelet, my buddy, and member of the Colorado Crew, Adrian Buckley, did - I think I was drunk for a solid 4 days celebrating his win, by the way – I can’t imagine what I’d do if I ever win one; it’s possible that I may not live.

I’m still rooting him on, as he bought into ME flight 1A with his winnings – maybe there’s a second final table in order.

As for me, I did manage to keep my head above water. In the end, I’m basically just down my travel costs – so not as successful as I would like, but I’ll take it. Plus, I feel that played very well (as always I had my mistakes), but if I would have faded a couple river aces, things would have turned out much better.

So, I took a few notes while playing. Frankly, I didn’t note as much as I would have liked, or do usually, but I was playing 16 hours a day on average – and just stopped writing stuff down after a while. Anyway, I like to write this stuff out and analyze it post-mortem – feel free to comment or provide insight and anything.

Event #28 - $1500 Monster Stack ($15k Starting Stack)

Level 2 - Blinds $50/$100

A middle position LAG (loose aggressive) player open raised to $250 and I called from the button with :7s4: :8s4: – the big blind called as well. The middle position player was very active and had already 3-bet, both pre and post flop, multiple times, I called with 78 hoping to catch a good , yet safe looking flop, and let him barrel off.

Pot - $900
Flop- :5s4: :9s4: :10c4:

Umm, we’ll call that a good flop! The big blind checked and the middle position player bet $500. I elected to flat in that spot – if he could see my hand, he probably wouldn’t bet, so I want to take advantage of that mistake. Plus the pot is not all that big, I’d like it to get bigger. The big blind folded and we were heads up.

Pot - $1900
Turn – :6c4:

The middle position player checked to me – I was nearly positive that he did so with the intent of check raising; it was actually pretty obvious. So, I decided to give him the opportunity, even though I just made the nuts - which would typically warrant a check. I bet $1300 and my opponent check-raised to $3300 as expected.

Pot - $6500

Now, I was presented with a choice. There is already quite a large pot out there for the $50/$100 level, and I had the nuts with blockers and improvement opportunities, not to mention 1 out for the stone cold nuts – basically the best situation one could hope for. I didn’t think my opponent could have a set, if I thought that, I would have flat called - I felt he would not have check raised the flop with a flush draw either– but he’s been so aggressive, he may read a 4-bet as weakness and put his stack in. So, I 4-bet to $6.5K and he folded after tanking for a solid minute.

In hindsight, I’m not sure why I thought a 4-bet was a good idea - I wish I would have flat called the turn 3-bet and let him barrel the river. At the time, I raised to get more money in the pot with the nuts and to hopefully get this players entire stack; oh well, it was still a nice pot. Still my thinking, would have been much better against a tight player – with the LAG, I should have simply flatted and let him barrel the river.

Level 2 - Blinds $50/$100

From the big blind I defended against an early position raise and 3 callers with :kc4: :8c4:. Obviously not a great hand against my opponents’ ranges, but a defendable hand from the big blind with a 200BB stack.

Flop- k 8 8

I check/called all the way down and made a min-3bet on the river – my early position opponent sniffed it out and folded; I’m pretty sure he folded AA, or maybe AK. My stack was then at about $24K.

Level 5 - $25/$100/$200 (My Stack - $22K)

My table broke and I got moved to a new table. I ended up at the table next to a guy that had just made two straight flushes in the previous 10 hands; apparently, it was all over Twitter. The chip counter came over and wanted to interview the player; he was a German player and a huge scene ensued when he refused to give his name and didn’t want to be interviewed. Finally, the WSOP staff just let it go, but not before a supervisor of some sort explained to this player that he was just being nice because he had signed a release when he bought in.

Anyway, it turned out to be pretty funny. I saw the second straight flush hit as I was sitting down and it was a 1-outer on the river against an obvious nut flush – so I immediately noted that this player was not shy about getting a good portion of chips in the pot in transparent situations with few outs. He had over $120K when I sat down with my $22K stack – the best part though is that after I was busted, I saw him at the rebuy cage the next morning. HAHA – two straight flushes and an 8x starting stack and he couldn’t make Day 2 – turns out, there is a God after all!


Level 5 - $25/$100/$200 (My Stack - $22K)

While I was on the button, a middle position player with a $2600 (13BB) total stack open raised to $500. Before I even looked at my hand I was thinking call-to-crack. I was pretty certain I was up against a solid range, but on the button with 10x his stack, I thought I’d call and take a flop – hoping to crack him. Found :js4: :9s4: and flat called as planned. The big blind then called as well with about $25K behind.

Pot - $1850
Flop – :jh4: :7h4: :3h4:

The big blind checked and the middle position player shipped his remaining $2100. Well shit, I was then certain I was beat despite getting a pretty good flop for my hand. Since I was certain I was beat, I should fold right? I agree, but talked myself into calling with the thought, “If I’m not playing this flop why did I call pre-flop?” I called the $2100 – then the big blind called as well – ok, it was near this time that I realized I was in even more trouble.

Pot – $8150
Turn – :9h4:

That’s not a good card for me, shit. My big blind opponent stared at the pot and continued to stare and stare some more, to the point where the dealer asked, “You know it’s on you; right?” in the standard Moneymaker moment. She completely ignored the dealer and we sat there some more. I finally said “You know it’s on you; right?” She looked right at me, then all of a sudden bet $1500.

Beyond a shadow of a doubt I knew she had a heart, and it was almost certainly the :ah4:. However, I immediately started doing the math. She bet $1500 into a pot of $8150, which, of course gives me some pretty good pot odds, about 13%-14%. I only have 4 outs x 1, which isn’t good enough, but is surprisingly close. From an implied odds perspective, I know I need to get about 9x her turn bet ($13.5K) in the pot to make this profitable should one of my 4 outs hit – which is doable if she has almost any heart, but especially the :ah4:, as there is already ~$9600 in the pot – really she only has to give me another $4K on the river. But, with the situation, I decided to cut my losses and fold – I shouldn’t have even been in this pot and I got in way deeper that I wanted to anyway – so I made what I believed to be the correct play, after making a two mistakes, and folded.

Pot - $8150

BB – :ah4: :8h4:
MP – :kh4: :kc4:

River – :9d4:

Ok, not to be results-orientated, but, ouch! I don’t know, maybe I don’t get paid enough anyway – though I think runner, runner boat is going to get paid by the nut flush.

Level 10 - $100/$400/$800 (My Stack - $18K)

From the Hi-Jack seat it was folded to me and I open raised :7c4: :7h4: to $1800. An older man on the button flat called me with about $40K behind and both blinds folded; we were heads up. The player on the button had been playing very aggressive, but was not giving much thought to anything but his own hand and position. It was clear that he was a level 1 thinker, at best, and was simply relying on aggression to close the gap.

Pot - $5800
Flop – :2h4: :4d4: :2d4:

I made a continuation bet of $2K, and the button 3-bet to $6K (another sign of a weak player as his bet sizing was always 3x).

I wanted to ship it but let logic take over. This player is just the type to have flat called with JJ or 10 10 and he certainly could have 88 or 99, but he could have 66 too. In the end, I figured at best, I was up against two overs or maybe even something like Ad Jd and reluctantly folded not wanting to risk my tournament against his pretty strong range. Analyzing this situation with Equilab at home, gives me 58%/42% against what I believe his range was (22+,A2s+,KTs+,QTs+,AJo+,A5o-A2o) – maybe I should have shipped it, at the table, this is about what I thought my edge was and thought it was too small to stake much on – or, was this a nitty fold?

I suppose I could have flat called out of position as well, but I really don’t like that line; in fact I hate that line, there is no good turn card that can come short of a 7, but, food for thought I guess.

Level 10 - $100/$400/$800 (My Stack - $14K)

From the Hi-Jack seat on the very next lap around the table it was folded to me again and I open raised to $1800 with :jh4: :jc4:. This time, my familiar foe on the button 3-bet me pre-flop to $6K – and the only reason it wasn’t $5400 was because he couldn’t do the 3 x $1800 math – LOL.

Anyway, I took my time and 4-bet all-in after both blinds folded. He tanked for two solid minutes as I calmly stared at the table; but I was thinking “call, call, call, call…please call”. Anyway, he finally called and showed :ah4: :10h4:

Pot - $30,200
Flop – :8h4: :qc4: :2h4:
Turn – :6h4:
River - I don’t remember

That was it – my Monster Stack was over after losing nearly a 70/30. Oh well, I don’t think I could get it in much better than that.

$235 3pm Daily non-bracelet event at the Rio

I played in several of these, but experienced very standard situations. These are tough, with 1K+ field sizes, but with ~$40K up top, I was interested. I cashed in two (2/10 overall), one for $3600 and another for $850, so I had decent results (+$2100) in these events despite the enormous and pretty weak/soft fields.

I really only have 1 hand to discuss.

With a 15BB stack from the button, I open raised (2.25x) with :7h4: :7c4: after it was folded to me. The small blind folded but the big blind called with 13BB’s and we went to flop heads up.

Pot – 5BB’s
Flop – :kc4: :6c4: :2c4:

I watched my opponent double check his cards, and it was clear he was not acting – then lead out for 1BB, actually about 25% pot.

I knew the double check meant one of two things:
1. He paired a King and couldn’t remember what the other card was (“Maybe I made Kings up!”)
2. Or he was looking to see the size of the one club in his hand

Anything else and he wouldn’t have needed to check. I figured at the table that I was way ahead of a club draw with a made hand and a blocker, (and I really thought that was the largest probability, especially with the blocking bet he made on the flop), and I had 11 outs (9 clubs and 2 sevens) against the rest of his range. The only hand that would really suck for me would be Kjc of something like that.

Anyway, I decided that I was profitable against his range, and when coupled with fold equity, felt I had to take this spot and 3-bet shipped my remaining 12BB’s. My opponent snap called and rolled K2o.

Pot - $27BB’s
Turn – :8s4:
River – :7s4:

It was pretty funny as he started cussing me for hitting a two-outer – to which I was thinking, “Well, I actually had 5 times that many outs”. Then he went over to his crew on the rail and started pointing me (the idiot) out to his buddies.

OK, so I thought this was really +EV, but maybe not, maybe I am an idiot. Plugging his range in Equilab:

(AKs,A6s,A2s,K6s,K2s,62s,AcQc,KcQc,AcJc,KcJc,QcJc,AcTc,KcTc,QcTc,JcTc,Ac9c,Kc9c,Qc9c,Jc9c,Ac8c,Kc8c,Qc8c,Jc8c,Ac7c,Kc7c,Qc7c,Jc7c,Qc6c,Jc6c,Ac5c,Kc5c,Qc5c,Jc5c,Ac4c,Kc4c,Qc4c,Jc4c,Ac3c,Kc3c,Qc3c,Jc3c,Qc2c,Jc2c,K6o,K2o,62o)

Yields only 32% equity for my hand. It’s hard to say how much fold equity I have in this spot, but I’d have to say I have quite a bit against the majority of his range, or at least half of it – can I call this +EV, say 52% equity? I thought I was much better than this with actual equity – but I guess not.
 
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T

Tredine

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Really cool to see your buddy claim victory. I watched most of that table on Twitch.tv. His Kingdom Hearts hoodie definitely made him stand out. = p

I have a few thoughts on the 77 hand vs. the older, aggressive sir. Given your stack size, folding is probably ok since you're left with 20 bigs and could find a profitable spot later on.
But you're right that he could have a big overpair he flatted here...and if he's the kind of player who wouldn't 3-bet with the button to inflate the pot and +value his hand, it makes it tricky to know what he's got. My first thought was like TdQd or KdQd.

I'm pretty nitty myself and bluff catch a lot so I'm just check calling the flop to see what he does on the turn. But betting out there probably saved you some chips so the play yields more information/read and might even preserve your stack better in the long run vs this type of player.
For me, I'm checking, he probably bets out $4500 or $5000 and I'm calling not really sure where I am. Yeah, a small bet might be the best play here. It's probably one of those situations where we are both -EV, but your move leads to less than mine.

The K2 hand was funny to read. The way the villain reacted was priceless lol. Given your stack size and how strong your hand is vs a bb-defenders range, I'd ship it there too.
If we fold, were down to like 12 or 12.5 bbs (no antes)? We probably find a situation during the next orbit where we hope to be 60/40 and win a lot less chips. Seems like you got it in fine.

At least we got it in the monster stack as a 70/30. It always hurts losing QQ to AJ or JJ to KT. = (

I hope to be able to play the wsop in the next few years man. Glad you had a blast and good luck to you and your crew in the future.

/wave
 
ghOst

ghOst

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Your dude had a Kingdom of Hearts hoodie?? Who is he? I'll follow!
 
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horp22

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Thanks for sharing your experience. The hand I want to comment on is you folding two pair on turn agains't nut flush possibility, while you had the 'odds' or roi to call and see if you can make a full house. When that happens to me, seeing my card come after folding, I'm sure is what will put me on tilt the rest of the tournament. If you could only keep from seeing the outcome of that hand your attitude might have been different. That's one up for something you can't unsee, lol.
 
4soul

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cool tips in your trip! :) love the way of your trips sevens :D
 
PokerGrinder

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I love the 78 call from the Button and that flop. :)
 
S

ssbn743

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Your dude had a Kingdom of Hearts hoodie?? Who is he? I'll follow!

Adrian Buckley - he's way famous now :)

By the way guys, it's the experience of a lifetime to see your buddy win a bracelet. In a lot of ways, it's actually better for me. He's already had low-life scum, or ex-friends, hitting him up for money, plus several other problems that come with the money - it's been one easy and fun ride for me though - and actually seeing a bracelet is just awesome!

The hoodie he wore was actually given to him by his brother. It arrived in the mail the day he left for Vegas, so he wore it and it became a good luck charm. He wore it all summer long (just got busted out of the ME yesterday) and is going to put the hoodie in a shadow box and hang it on the wall - so you won't be seeing that anymore!
 
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Tredine

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Adrian Buckley - he's way famous now :)

By the way guys, it's the experience of a lifetime to see your buddy win a bracelet. In a lot of ways, it's actually better for me. He's already had low-life scum, or ex-friends, hitting him up for money, plus several other problems that come with the money - it's been one easy and fun ride for me though - and actually seeing a bracelet is just awesome!

The hoodie he wore was actually given to him by his brother. It arrived in the mail the day he left for Vegas, so he wore it and it became a good luck charm. He wore it all summer long (just got busted out of the ME yesterday) and is going to put the hoodie in a shadow box and hang it on the wall - so you won't be seeing that anymore!

Yeah man, sounds super thrilling! I understand the external baggage that comes along with winning but I'm sure that intrinsic feeling of pride and accomplishment after victory at a FT makes it all worth it. I mean 7200+ players and he took it down! Amazing man.

Hope to see you guys make some moves in upcoming events. Good luck!
 
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ssbn743

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Just saw this thread. What a story about OP's friend and that final table:

http://www.wsop.com/news/2015/Jun/6...2015-WSOP-MILLIONAIRE-MAKER-CHAMPIONSHIP.html

It’s nothing short of amazing – He even had dinner with Busquet, where they primarily talked about the hand that pretty much crippled Busquet with 3 players remaining. Ad9d for Busquet against K8o for Adrian. Adrian said just talking to him about a hand in poker was like a dream.

He had several other amusing antidotes too – apparently Mike Sexton wore make-up for day four, haha! I guess they all got a pretty good laugh out of that.

He said Eric Lindgren is really cool and one of the nicest guy’s he’s ever met.

Zarco was a total A-Hole; and you can get a sense of that just watching the heads-up match. Unfortunately you can’t hear some of the things that were begin said at the table – I guess he was constantly belittling Adrian right at the table and had such a negative, superiority complex that Adrian knew he was going to win. He just kept letting him talk and letting him get more and more riled up. Granted, no one is denying that Adrian caught a few lucky cards, (especially that $500K, 3s on the river) but just as he said in his post-game interview, “poker is high variance” – Zarco didn’t even want to shake his hand at the end; but did in a half-ass way that Adrian described as shaking hands with a woman.

Beating Busquet and then actually getting to discuss the hand with him was a true highlight for him – he almost seemed more excited about that than winning a bracelet.
 
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Jho789

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wow nice hands I like the 1st hand I think u played with 0 mistakes nice share.
 
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PoliticoV

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Really interesting hands. Learnt a great deal from them. Good luck in future!
 
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