I'm writing this in my room the morning after my day 2 main event exit, which was just before the dinner break. Busting out of the main changes a few things. I had a fair bit of flexibility with the trip, and there are still lots of other events going on in town, but since I've opted on the site for a pre-set tournament package that culminated in the WSOP main event, that's it for me for this trip and it's now time to make plans to arrive back in the UK on the 11th and not extend for another week or two to keep on playing. I've been here for about seven weeks, though it wasn't all poker, and I'd happily stay longer, but all good things and all that. Everyone who had a share of various sizes in my A package has some return to come from cashes in a few events, and I'll be in touch with you all personally shortly. Not as many cashes as we'd like of course, but hopefully the shareholders got a decent sweat for their buck along the way via the updates, and a shot at something big even if it didn't materialise in the end. It often doesn't in poker tournaments, I made my peace with that simple truth many years ago, and though of course I'm not over the moon to not win something substantial, I still like to think that I'm always learning something and adapting for the better as I go along. Time will tell I guess. It's a very long game.

I love the weather out here at this time of the year, a lot of people can't handle it, as it's mostly uncomfortably hot during the days (we are in the desert after all), but I can't get enough of it. As always on these trips, I missed out on the chance to catch up with far too many good friends here because our schedules just weren't in sync. We all get that, and in the future I'm sure we'll cross paths again here, eat food, talk rubbish, get drunk, and hopefully laugh at the absurdity of life from time to time, which is one of my favourite things of all. If any of this happens off the back of a decent tournament win then it's always so much the better. I met some really great new people here this time around, all either interesting, funny, kind, crazy or flawed (or a mix of all of these) in their own unique ways. It has most certainly prompted me to want to get out in the world and meet more new people, and experience new stuff, as it's generally managed to get a smile out of me on more than one occasion, or at the very least, prompt me to rethink stuff in my own life a little bit. 

This trip was mainly about poker of course, but I'm glad of the fact that I took rest days and did other stuff in between. I know a ton of people that come here for two-three weeks, and just cram as much poker into that time-window as they possibly can, and have zero down time. For me the experience is always far better for spreading the trip out, and I think it was beneficial to my game when I did sit down to play to do so more focused and relaxed. As I said, I still think it's a huge learning curve, and no one ever fully learns. Sometimes the planets just line up for you anyway, and it all goes right, but you still have to give yourself the best shot you can here. I've certainly come away this time with lots of stuff to think about and some new thoughts for approaching the future, which is most probably October/November here for me if I return for the Venetian/Wynn tournaments in the Autumn.

If I reeled off a rambling list of thank-you's, it'd sound an awful lot like I'm accepting an academy award, so let's just not go there until I actually do. I will however express my sincere gratitude for the not inconsiderable number of people who have kept in touch whilst I'm over here, and have pinged me assorted voice/email/text/etc messages of kindness and support. You have all kept me sane at times, made me laugh, made me think, and have shown me that whilst I am admittedly very jaded about the nature of people, and of poker people in particular (I still am by the way), there are some good friends, kind souls, and grounded people who care about me a lot, despite my many faults. Put away the tissues at the back.

Home it is then shortly for me. No brass band waiting to strike up at Gatwick arrivals when the plane touches down, no one meeting me with a bunch of flowers or a fluffy soft toy (shit, what would I do with either of those things anyway?), and no limo standing by to whisk me back into London. Glamorous stuff. A jet set life indeed. But nevertheless, I'm sure I'll regroup and be cracking back into it again very shortly in the future no doubt. For now though, thanks for reading my diatribe, and until the next one, good luck, be grateful for what you have, be nice to each other, and try to be happy and positive. I certainly will x

Starting day 1B today as chip leader on my table, which is always nice. Will update as and when I can, normally on end of level breaks. I had a nice day off yesterday, friends, movie, and some relaxing food and down time. Woke up today and tried to ease gently into the morning, but the people I was talking to were either hyper, overly cheerful, insane or a combination of all three and decided that gently wasn't the answer. Was good to raise a smile from me though :o) . Since we kicked off I'm currently pretty much where I started, I've won a small pot and lost another. Wait and see how the day pans out...

Isaac Haxton was on my table with a short stack. He quickly found KK and got doubled up by KQ. What a life. Maybe not. About two hands later a guy rivered a flush and busted him. He's been replaced by a bigger stack of about the same amount as me, so treading gently, it's a marathon not a sprint.

First break and I'm on 53k. Haven't been able to write much as have been playing a bit, will try to crack out a quick video now during the 20 minutes...

We're back and it's now level 7 and 300/600/75. I've dropped back to 39k when I raised with KK, got called in two spots. It came 10 2 2 and I led out. I got called by one player, then min raised,and the other guy called the min raise also after me. Turn is a horrible 10. I check and the min raiser bets 4400, other guy also calls after I fold and then he folds to an 8500 river bet.

A couple of players have quickly busted out, and a few much bigger stacks have moved to the table. One guy directly on my left has around 100k, and loves the big power all-in move on the turn or river. He's done it so far about 4 times and each time it has worked. 

This hasn't been a great level for me without doing anything much wrong, just had a slightly shitty run. Right now just rocking up and playing fewer hands as people are calling and raising a LOT lighter than previously. Two guys just got 16k each all in preflop with A6 and 99. I've missed flopping sets and got reraised when I've raised in position. Not super fussed right now, I've dropped to 32k. We restart in 20 at 400/800/100. Off outside for a breather.

Returned from the second break Which is level 8 at 400/800/100 and straight back into it. Shortly after coming back one guy on the table flops the nut flush and hammers it. He's called by a smaller flush, who then rivers a straight flush and wins a big pot off him. The nut flush guy said earlier he doesn't tell bad beat stories but some things are easy for people to say...for the next 30 minutes he is reliving the hand over and over either alone or with others.

I've dropped down to 27k, and the vibe on the table is a lot more frantic than earlier or on day one. Every pot is opened about 2.5x. I'm feeling like I don't have the chips to splash about on this table at all the way it's playing, so I've rocked up and am playing solid hands and nut draws for a while.

I just flopped a set of fives on a 58K flop. Bet out and got no action.

Shortly after this I get 99 and call in position vs a raise and a call. Flop is 910J. Not ideal but I'll take it. Both check to me and I bet 4k, both call. Turn is a queen. Great... 

First guy now bets 9k and gets called by the other up to me.

I don't like my spot at all here now. Maybe jamming the flop might have been an idea, but I only get called if I'm losing here. I fold. River is a four and the original bettor makes it 9k again and is called. He tables KQ for a flopped straight, the other guy mucks. Painful but I guess I dodged a bullet because he wasn't folding.

Half way through the level and I'm trying to grind it to the dinner break. Today hasn't been good cards or flop wise, but I'm pretty sure if I can get to the dinner break and chill for 90 minutes I can come back for level 9 refreshed and guns blazing.

10 minutes before dinner and I've found what I feel is the hand to go with...up or down this is it.

I raise under the gun to 1900 out of a 21k stack at 400//800/100 with Ah10h. I get two callers.

Flop is 7h8hAc. Almost as good as it gets for my hand I think.

I check, first guy makes it 2100, and is reraised to 5200 by the guy who lost earlier with the nut flush vs straight flush. I have 19k, top pair and the nut flush draw. I've seen him play a few hands quite aggressive as he had a big stack before losing with the flush, but I don't give him a set. Maybe a big ace. I'm not sure about the guy behind but feel he is folding and it was just a tester bet. I move all in and hold my breath (metaphorically).

The original bettor folds, and the raiser asks for a count. He doesn't look thrilled with the situation but calls for about 20% of his stack, tabling 8c7s for a flopped bottom two pair. I need a heart, or a pair up that's not the seven or eight.

Turn is the 3s. Now I can win with a 3 also, as well as an ace, a ten, or a heart that doesn't fill him up.

River is the 2c, and I'm now out of the main event almost two levels before the end of day two.

I leave the Rio pretty fast after wishing everyone good luck and getting my stuff together. The table was OK, but I didn't have great cards or get moving today and some days in tournaments are just like that and there's little to add. I can't really over analyse the exit hand because I think the only way I actually win the pot is if I raise a lot bigger preflop, which under the gun with my hand wouldn't have been very wise. I guess it was just how it unfolded and much as I could bemoan the injustice of not hitting a flush, today was just a struggle because I couldn't get any momentum going once the bigger stacks came to the table and started raising every hand.

I'll write more later. Hopefully the updating if not the result was mildly informative. Off to contemplate life. Or at least eat dinner.

On my way over to the Rio now for day 1B of the main. As in recent updates I won't bust a gut trying to write and entertain, but it's a very slow clock so I should be able to say a few bits or update on the break at end of each level. Obviously with the main the poker is primary, I can always update good or bad later. Stay tuned.

Update posted at the first end of level break. I won't be posting whilst playing.

I bought in today,and sat down at my first table in the Pavilion. Couple of friendly faces chatting and enjoying their main event experience, one unsmiling pockmarked kid with his hood up and about 32k already. 

First hand I sit down I get dealt 33, no set, dump. 3rd hand 22. Same story. Pace yourself sunshine.

The hoodie kid is the problem player at the table it seems after a couple of orbits, already been pretty aggressive with his button and in the last few seats. About 3 times he's barrelled every street and bet like 2500/3000 on the end at starting blinds of 50/100. First two times he pushed guys off pots, last time he got called and showed Q10s for a pair of 10's and a missed flush draw. It still won the pot so no idea what the other guy was calling with. I think this table may break soon so I'll pick my battles for now and just chill.

Older friendly guy on my right has won about 5 pots since I sat down and was climbing steadily. He just decided to run a 3 barrel bluff on some Brazilian kid on a 3456K board with 95s, betting out for 6k on the river. The kid with 444 looked most pained, but finally called anyway after 5 minutes.

First break. My 30k starting stack looks more like 32k. Good start.

update posted at start of end of level 2 break...

Back from first break and I've lost a small pot with 55 when I call a raise from the kid on my left (who has the most spindly fingers I've ever seen, he looks seriously malnourished) and the flop comes 3 overcards and now he wants to bet 1k. Fine, he can have it. Next.

Spindly fingered kid just tried a 2500 river bluff that didn't go as planned versus a guy who has played about 2 hands all day. Board is QA936. Edward Scissorhands shows 10 9 for a pair of nines, the Rock of Gibraltar calls his bet with A9, aces and nines and wins. Easy game.

Macaulay Culkin is at it yet again. He pretty much always raises his button, and always 3 bets in position. Pretty transparent to me. Very early on today, so I'll let him just get on with it, he's playing a pretty high variance game for level 2 of the WSOP main. He's sat directly on my left so if anything it's a good thing as I am not entering pots with stupidly speculative hands, and have the potential to trap with big hands if I just let him do all the raising he seems to want to be doing so early.

Seen a couple of flops, 27500 midway through level two.

Called a raise with 88 in a four way pot from the pockmarked kid, flopped middle set, and value-towned him on the river. Back up to 32,000.

Two hands later I play QQ very cute and in a three way pot I get away when it comes 567, one bets out for 1100, and gets raised to 3700. I just leave them to it. The vibe on this table already to me is to see cheap flops and let one of the three aggro-merchants just bet themselves into a pine box.

Now we're motoring. Up to 44k. Not from where I'd have expected though. The nice older guy to my right just button raised to 600 and I called with 99. Flop A93. I slow play it and he bets 1200 on the flop and 3k on the turn. Both times I just call. On the river the board reads a fairly comfortable but not out of the woods A935Q. I check, thinking he'll fire again. He does.

He bets 9000!

I can try a soul read at this point and tell him he's rivered a set of queens. I could say that he's raised the button on a steal and turned an ugly straight. So many choices.

My choice is to decide that he's full of it so I call him. He shows air, and I win a nice one. He's now down to 6300. What a great tournament the WSOP main event truly is :o)

Shortly after he gets it all in with A6 offsuit on a 623 flop, and is called by 44. He holds and doubles. He's a nice guy and I'm glad he's still in. To be mercenary in the poker sense I'm glad he won the pot because he's likely to bluff them all off again.

Pockmarked kid just got chopped down from 45k to under 10k. Basically he had JJ on a JA3 flop, an ace fell on the turn and he stacked off to a guy holding A3 who made aces full versus Jacks full. He looks ashen now and I'd expect him to probably be even more aggressive now to try to get back into it. This is a great illustration of how easy it is to mis-step in this event and be chopped down to matchsticks when there is no need to be getting so active so early. There is another day one tomorrow for Christ's sake, it's very tough to win it today on level two. 

Second break and I'm off out for some sun. I'm happily sitting on 45k right now and have never really been under any pressure. Perfect.

Back now for level 3 and we're at 150/300. A few players on my table either love a gamble, or have no idea how to play a two hour tournament clock. Some of them are now down to 5-10k already, which creates a new problem. Some of these ballonheads are going to be going for broke now far quicker, because they played the way they did in levels one and two. They have zero chance of winning, but they can destroy your chance of winning if you let them because they are short stacked and suddenly 66 looks like a great hand to get 10k in the middle to take a shot at 150/300. Don't do it. Seriously.

One shaggy haired guy in a baseball cap and headphones ripped into the dealer a while ago for not showing a players cards when he mucked them quite high. I'm a big believer in never being a dick to either dealers, or the people who prepare or bring you food and drink... Because you never know. It's just not worth it. There are ways and ways of saying something and the guy seemed quite rude about it so I stuck up for the dealer which he seemed to appreciate. Possibly karma took a hand shortly afterwards, and shaggy got chopped down to 5k when Longfingers rivered a flush on him. I seem to be in the mood for playful nicknames today.

Anyway, I'm still on about 42k and not doing very much right now, happy to let the mayhem unfold around me as we are almost at the halfway point in this level.

Became a victim of my own aforementioned prophecy when I played a pot with the pockmarked kid who's short stacked. I didn't double him up but took a hit when I flopped a pair and a small flush draw, and lost to a bigger pair. 38k.

Got it back pretty quickly from Longfingers when I raise with AsJs and the flop comes 8 10 Q with two spades. Nice flop for me. We dance round a little bit and I river a non-nut straight and am back on 43k again. He's chip leader on the table, is on my left and has about 70k. Nice enough kid, and certainly capable and aggressive. Patience.

People really are getting stir crazy on this table. AK and AQ just got 13k each in the middle preflop. It ran out 33422 and they chopped. The AQ was the nice older guy in my right who looked like he was about to have a massive heart attack as the board cards were dealt. I gently said to him to settle down a little now he has a new lease of life from the split pot. He didn't listen. The very next hand he shoved again preflop with AQ offsuit (we're at 150/300 and he had 13k), and he got called by JJ and is now out. Sad, but it's survival of the fittest and all that.

I've lain low for a lot of this level and seen some shocking stuff. A few bustouts and people overplaying the crap out of some hands I wouldn't even call a raise with on day one of the main unless times were desperate. I've pretty much just played solid so far. The odd timed steal but nothing to go mad about.

I've just hit 51k. Flopped a set of threes (I actually seem to be flopping sets today), and housed up on the turn. Milked the other guy with a 4k river bet with my underfull. 90 minute dinner break is approaching and I'm quite happy with progress so far today. Grab some food, go back to the room and have a hot bath and relax for a bit. I'll even leave a few minutes early if it doesn't cost me any chips to avoid the traffic shenanigans as people bottleneck out of the Rio exits.

Shit. Plan B.

Nothing poker related don't fret you panicky investors. Whilst in the middle of level 3 someone's phone bleeped at the table and they said it was a flash flood warning. An hour ago it was lovely and sunny out and in the 90's, so how bad would a bit of rain in Las Vegas actually be?

Bad. Really bad. Biblical flood bad.

I normally tease my US pals about how terribly they all drive if there's a bit of rain on the roads here. Everyone goes at 4mph and panics when the windscreen wipers have to be used. This time I'll give them a pass. My dreams of a hot bath, civilised in room dining and all life's comforts for an hour quickly vanished once I was out on the road. The water on the streets at some point was literally halfway up the side of my car whilst the rain came down and everything fogged up terribly. I'm used to bad weather driving in the UK but I have to say this was pretty scary stuff.

I ended up settling for a chicken burger on a side street and abandoned any hope of making the hotel in this horrendous weather. I'm just about to carefully limp back to the Rio. If I clear the next 2 levels to wrap up day one then my reward can be a nice hot bath tonight in 5 hours or so. Wish me luck getting back to the Rio!

We're back and I survived the horrors of Las Vegas flash floods. Seriously. That shit was actually scary and the small snippets of video don't even slightly do it justice. There were cars strewn all over the roads broken down and about a third submerged in fast flowing rainwater. One local just said it's far and away the worst rainfall he's ever seen here in 19 years. And it came out of nowhere in minutes. Anyway...

Things have heated up a little at the table and a few people are serial raising the minimum. I'm happy to just let it happen right now. Too many people let their ego get in the way of trying to accomplish the job of going deep in the tournament. It's impossible to make the money on day one, and I'm still continually astounded by the people who always seem to be trying to do it despite the fact it's physically impossible. Ho hum.

Longfingers has a media blogger who keeps walking up and talking to him in Spanish or something right beside me. I appreciate that it's someone's mother tongue, but it's actually a bit irritating when he continually does it when the guy's not in a hand, and sometimes stands there chatting for like 10 minutes before wandering away for a bit. I don't want to be "that" guy. The one who continually finds stuff to bitch about at the table. This table has its share of people who appear to not give a shit. Not posting antes repeatedly until asked, getting up and walking away from the table after looking at their hand (essentially folding out of turn), flashing cards, all the normal misdemeanours that people who know the game and the etiquette of it wouldn't do. You have to remember that the WSOP is a hugely eclectic mix of both abilities and cultures here. When people are either unknowledgable, or are just plain ignorant I always try to rise above it and not get pissy and be the guy who quotes the rules. Sometimes it's irritating when you can see that people do it on purpose.

45 minutes left in level 4, and I'm on 46k. Seen a few flops but not really getting out of line at all.

Shaggy has been a serial raiser on my big blind. He just did it again to 1400, so this time I tanked a little and then jammed 4k straight back up him. He looked somewhat disgruntled and shuffled around a bit, then showed me AQ offsuit and mucked. That'll learn him.

End of level four, and finally break time. I'm on 47k.

Not sure if my battery will hold out for the entire last level here, but I'll do my best.

Pockmarked kid is now out. He was short all day after being crippled by aces full earlier when he had jacks full. Finally 98 suited raised his blind and he shipped his last 4k or so with 33. A nine flopped and that was that.

Now at 200/400/50. Last level of the day and the one where the blinds and antes actually start to bite a bit if you're short stacked. I see people do very queer things on this level, a couple of pretty big pots already, none of them with much of a hand. The last level of the day certainly makes some folks do some odd stuff...

Stole the odd one, and lost a few small ones. I've hit 50k with 1 hour 15 min to go today.

Occasionally a pretty big hand does come up however... Longfingers just added 30k to his stack with AA against a nice but weaker player's KK. Some people would shrug and just say what can you do? But the truth of it was that an ace flopped, and the KK didn't need to be in the spot he found himself... Calling off his whole stack to an all in raise after he reraised preflop to 10,500 at 200/400. Longfingers is now on about 100k.

iPad died so I wasn't making too many notes. Also I was intent on paying attention on the last level of the day anyway. The good news is...

I'm through to day two. I bagged up 53,700 which is healthy. Stole a few and won a few legitimately today but was overall solid and just let others make the mistakes, which is what day one of the WSOP main for me is all about.

Tomorrow will be a day of rest. I'll do a video or write something once I surface after a long sleep. I've played 10 hours today and with breaks it adds up to around 13 hours out and about. My bed and some happy thoughts beckon...

I've had quite a bit of juggling around to do today as I needed to move locations for a few days as we have something of an overpopulation problem at the house with some extra people coming into town. I certainly wouldn't complain about it, I've a really good set up there, and the guy who owns the house is a great friend who always helps me out. Living off strip I always see as a bonus here rather than a minus. Despite the fact it often gets either very lonely there, or sometimes maddeningly frustrating and annoying depending on who else is around (close friends will smile to themselves at that one, but let's not get into that in print) it also affords me a good deal of alone time to think and just have my own space, which is a really good thing sometimes. A luxury that you can forget and take for granted until you don't have it any more, then you realise.

I've mainly been cleaning and chasing up last minute odds and ends today, but the plan is to hopefully play the WSOP main event on Monday, which would be day 1B at the Rio..

The bottom line of the trip so far, is I've played $17k in tournaments, and I've cashed for about $7500. Could have been better, could have been worse. I've had a lot of very deep runs and near the money finishes in tournaments, some brutal moments and times when things didn't go as planned, but I have very often been frustrated as I haven't amassed the big stack that I far prefer playing tournaments with (sure, who doesn't?), so I have been on the back foot and playing defensively at times. Maybe it's my game, maybe it was continually doing the updates whilst playing, maybe it was just what it was. I'm always aware that a mix of people read the updates, so I guess I try to make them colourful even for the non poker people so they are at least moderately interesting to read and not just a set of hand histories. I do know it's far better to hit the ground running and to be playing the package from a position of profit than to be feeling like its a struggle every time, and watching awful play get rewarded over and over. I remember one year winning over $40k in the first event that I played in, and yes, the series felt a whole lot better for the next few weeks! Awful players will win sometimes of course, that's why there is a poker world, so I'd certainly not ever gripe about it when they do. In fact it's a reason that I bother a lot less with the UK circuit these days. The fields are smaller and tougher in the UK than here, the prize pools not as appealing, and yes, you do get bad players of course, but far less of them who just spazz and make ridiculous mistakes over and over. That's my feeling anyway.

It also makes me wonder when I get various comments from people in different formats what life they actually imagine I'm living here when I come to play. Snippets I have been sent in the last few weeks include:

"The updates are informative, one day I'd like to do what you do and take these trips".

"What a life you lead, it must be great to not have a boss and just play whenever you like, or just sleep in".

"Las Vegas, I'm so jealous, it must be great partying all the time at night and playing poker in the days".

"Sucks seeing you turn into one of those poker guys writing about cute girls".

"I don't know how you can do what you do and play, and get sucked out on for weeks on end over and over. It'd drive me insane".

"How cool to just be able to just play poker every single day".

Though mostly well meaning, these comments are largely misguided, naive, or just flat out wrong, as anyone who has ever done this or anything like it here for an extended period would likely tell you.

Not to get things totally out of perspective. The weather is generally great, it's not nearly as tough as digging ditches every day, there is a degree of freedom and choice, and I do meet some great, fun sometimes cute (girls) and interesting people, and make new friends and connect with old ones. That's roughly where the dream ends though.

Just to clarify...

Winning a tournament, or getting a big cash is a great feeling. Yes. However 99% of the time, most poker players don't win or cash big. A lot of it is many wasted hours and disappointment. A lot a lot.

If you think about giving it all up and coming out here and doing this for a living, don't. If you're a dealer, a casino worker, someone with a regular job, someone who thinks one day you'll play full time and win a fortune, don't. Keep the job, play when you can and take shots, by all means, but keep the job. Seriously. It's better for both the soul and the sanity. It takes a special kind of person to do this over and over. That may not be a good thing.

There are no parties. Or very rarely, maybe once a year. Mostly it's 12 hours of focus, an outdraw, and then some very late food and troubled sleep before resetting and starting it all over the next day.

I write about food, cute girls and other non poker stuff in an attempt to make the writing mildly interesting to read if you're not a poker player. I'm not a sex maniac. Well I am, but only with the right person. The amount of times I've been laid in the last 2 months as a result of me making a cute girl smile is precisely zero. Maybe in all honesty I don't try too hard. Maybe I just like making pretty girls smile.

I don't know how I do it over and over either sometimes when awful things happen. Maybe I already am insane, however, there it is. I've been doing it far too long to be doing anything else. And I'm OK with that.

Playing poker every day isn't cool. Far from it. That's why I don't do it every day, I do it when I have to.

Might sound heavy going, but I guess I'm just trying to dispel a few myths. It can be a good life for sure now and then, but there are plenty of times when it's far from ideal. Don't envy the life, Or harbour misconceptions about it. Live your own fulfilling one instead, and maybe I will too.

I had a few errands to run today, including chasing round after some main event shares that were outstanding, so I dropped into PH at the end of level 2 for their one day $200k guaranteed event. My last package A tournament before the WSOP main event. Busy room even though a lot of people are over at the Rio playing in the $777 WSOP event. Off we go.

Second level.

I chat to a nice young Asian kid on the table and am cracking jokes. He thinks it's hilarious, most of the rest of the table don't. We love a tough crowd. I soften them up a bit by level three and a few people are talking whilst I'm maintaining starting stack. One older guy who is listening but doing his best not to smile or react finally bursts out laughing, when I start telling the dealer a story.

"I still remember the last thing my grandmother ever said to me". She said "what are you doing in here with that hammer?!?!". He almost spat his drink over his neighbour. It was worth it for comedy value and once he'd cracked a smile he'd lost the battle, and gave up and joined in at the table. This is what I need when I play, to relax people and make them smile. It just works for me.

Mood of the table is better. I've dropped down to 12k but only through missing flops.

Level 5 and I flop a set of fives. I bet the river and get raised. I tank and tell the guy he rivered a set of tens. He shows me tens. Happy days.

Level 6 is nearly done and I find QQ and jam in a raise/called pot and pick up 5k when no one else wants to commit. Back to 16k again.

Miss a few flops and drift back to 10k. 

Level 7 and I lose AK vs AJ when I flop a king and he turns a gutshot on a QK9 flop, nasty but not terminal. Back down to 7500.

Reach level 9 and lost 2 players in a big 1010 vs AK vs QQ coup. 1010 busts them both.

Level 10, still hanging on at around 9k. Biding my time.

Level 11 at 600/1200/200, and I jam Q10 and get called by a big stack with A4. The flop is QQ5 so I double back to 18k. 511 players with more still coming in. Dropped down to 14k then back up to 20 again. 

Chubby kid came to the table with a 15k alternate stack. He gets AA and doubles, then gets 101010 and doubles again...charmed. I jam with AQ and he calls me with A4, I flop a Queen and it's all good, up to 28k finally.

28k at dinner break. I'm too far from home to drive back in an hour, and don't fancy a huge meal so I just stay close, chat to some interesting and very cute people. That always cheers me up.

Back again and we're at level 13. I fold AQs to a raise on the button as I've put nothing in and the vibe is that it's going to be expensive if I don't hit, the next hand I jam A9s and get the chips straight back again.

Lots of bustouts now, prize pool is up. 54 get paid, still 130/527 left and $43k for first, $783 for 54th.

Level 14 and now 120 left, me 28k at 1200/2400/400. Selective jamming when needed. My table breaks.

I steal a couple on my new table, up to 40k now, but lots of menacing big stacks around me so not being too splashy.

One guy with 140k just raised to 5400 with A7 offsuit, solid woman with AK then shoves for 30k, he snap calls hits two 7s, she leaves shaking her head

Level 15 and I'm on 32k at 1500/3000/400. There are 90 players left, it seems to have become a shovefest all around as people find any ace or any pair and seem to just get as much money in preflop as they possibly can...

Just folded A10 in my big blind as I can really only ship or fold in my spot. 25k.

One older guy has just come to the table with a huge stack, and immediately gives about 2/3 of it away to a guy who had 22 on a 101058K board. He shows A9 offsuit and thinks there was a nine on the board, hence him calling a 30k river bet with ace high. 5 minutes later he dusts off most of the rest of it with a red K9 on a 479 all club flop with a huge bet and a big raise ahead of him. He jams his K9...AA with the Ac calls him. He then turns a king and the AA goes white. River is a 7 and the K9 guy gets up and fist pumps before the dealer tells him that he's actually lost. I really don't mean it to sound insulting and of course I'd never ever say such a thing at the poker table, but it does sometimes illustrate vividly how pretty small the gap is sometimes between someone who plays well winning a pot, and someone who plays basically pretty horribly, can't read the board, and has no awareness of situations whatsoever ending up winning the pot instead. Poker can be brutal, tournaments many more times so.

This is very swiftly illustrated (or maybe it's just simply karma for my opinion) when we're down to 80 players, 26 spots off the money from over 500 entrants, and I've got only just over 5 big blinds left and am going to be in the big blind the very next hand. The current big blind has a lot of chips, but I've played her before and she's most certainly not a bad player at all and is more than capable of folding, so I squeeze out the first card which is a king...and then get it in, hoping I can just get the bet through for some more room to manoeuvre.

Everyone duly folds as requested, until it reaches the aforementioned old guy who can't read the board, his hand, or situations. He's put nothing at all in the pot yet but asks for a count. Once the dealer counts down my stack and it's clear it's actually about 3/4 of his chips in order to play the hand, he thinks for a second with trembling hands, and finally calls me with...

22. Yep.It's not a misprint.

I flip over K9

Again I'm never going to berate anyone at the table, but it's the one play in tournament poker I truly despise and can't see how any half reasonable player would ever make. Someone calling virtually all in with 22. They might even be winning at this point, but unless the next five cards that appear on the board are all twos or something lower, then there really is absolutely no hand at all they want to be up against, unless maybe I've done it with 32. Anyway, off we go.

Board runs out 3Q1010...

So I can still win this thing with a King, a nine, a Jack, a queen or a three.

River is a six. The old guy stands up and cheers loudly, and virtually high-fives the dealer. Everyone looks slightly embarrassed.

"Well played. Good luck everyone". Exit the building. 9 hours wasted. I spoke to a very cute girl for a while and made her smile and blush. That was something, but it wasn't really $400 worth.

I've often been asked how I maintain such focus and composure when I'm playing, and how in the face of really horrible play I can manage to just shrug it off and keep going over and over. 

Honestly? On days like today? Sometimes I really don't know the answer either. I'm just lucky I guess.

There are now 13% in shares only left for the main. I will buy up whatever is left unsold myself. Email me if you wish to buy a share, prices are on the share prices/info tab.

Scrub that. Now 9% left.

I can do this update now with a reasonably clear conscience, as we're currently on the second break. I said I was going to try not updating while I'm playing so I'll give myself a pass for this. Apologies if the writing is a little bit sloppy.

Level one, everyone is pretty jovial. 20k start stack. A new guy comes to table, and almost immediately gets 20k all in preflop with 76 offsuit, he is called by AK, and loses A huge pot. Other people around the table are quietly scoffing to each other under their breaths about how someone can possibly play so bad. Funny thing is, I certainly don't think it's a great way to play but I actually like his shove a whole lot better than the call from the other guy who had the AK. I guess  we all see things differently. On we go.

Level 4 and I'm up to 22k. Little to report, I'm plodding along. 542 players just for today's flight so far. I found the one guy who has a problem with the antes being collected by me at the table. As always the dealer is fine about it. I won't let it bother me, some people are just naturally douchebags who want to have an issue with something even if it's doing no harm.

First break and I'm on 24k.

Level 6 , now 641 players in, and I'm on 23k, still not doing very much.

Level 7 and I've gone down to 16k after having JJ and raising preflop, betting out on a 267 flop, one guy calls. King on turn Ace on river...now he wants to bet 5k, I fold.

Guys around me are discussing hands and bad beats from the One Drop, and previous WSOP events. I'm thinking about gouging out my own eyeballs with my giraffe...so many opinions, so many "it was so sick's" for about the last 30 mins. They are really nice guys for sure, but they're all so very caught up in the hero worship of the WSOP, and in the mindset of how a hand "should" have been played "correctly". It's mind blowing how similarly that they all think about poker. It gives me a headache. I'm most certainly not trying to say that my way is any better, but still, the herd mentality of most players once they start talking about poker is staggering to me, even to this day. What's even more staggering is that so many of them think they are unique in the way they play.

JJ Liu has rebought and is on my table. We're always pretty friendly and have played together a bunch over the years. I reraise her preflop holding QQ when I'm on 15k, and she calls. Flop KJ5, I jam 10,500 and she dwells and then folds.

Back to 21k at the colour up break. That's all for now as we're going back.

Level 9 and the final count for today on screen shows 786 players now. I flop a set and play it fast. Up to 24k. The Indian (not Asian!) guy in the two seat is on 90k. People keep trying to bluff and push him off pots when it's pretty obvious he's either too crazy or too bad to fold... Ever. People just keep stacking off to him.

Level 10, it's now 500/1000/100. I'm now down to 17k just from seeing flops. A little later I'm down to 13k after raising with AQs and getting jammed on and folding. The way this table has been playing maybe I should have just gone with it. For some reason I think I'm better than that.

Just came round blind on blind. I jammed it in with 10 5 off. 13k still. Waiting patently for the Indian guy to double me up.

Just jammed 44 got it through. Don't really want to just keep existing on 13k, and I could do with playing a pot and doubling up but don't have the chips to really raise/fold.

Screen shows 360/786 remain today.

Raise with KQs, Indian guy calls me. Flop 567 none of my suits he moves me all in, I fold.

Now on Level 11 at 600/1200/200. Still around 13k. Two guys just got 32k in the middle with...55 and 33. God help us. This kind of goes back to what I said earlier about the poker mindset. After the 33 guy busted and other guy at the table was saying that because he had the odds, he HAD to call the shove from the 55 guy. I bite my lip. To so many of these people "I'm getting the right price but I'm losing or I'm in horrible shape with 33" doesn't even figure into the mindset. I find it amazing.maybe it's just me. The guy who called with the 33 actually said "please have AK" as he called, so he was calling off his whole stack hoping for a flip. I guess tournament poker really has evolved.

I've limped with AJ, flop comes Jack high, I check, Indian guy bets 3k. I shove, he folds.

Next hand I limp AQ, same thing...queen high flop.i check. He bets 3k. I shove, he folds again. He keeps wriggling off the hook. At least I'm back up to around 28k as we approach the dinner break.

Just been moved after my table broke. We're now on dinner break and I'm on 27k. One hours R & R, a pizza, and a cheeky cocktail or two to unwind after 7 hours of utter carnage. 

Back from break, a few empty seats with stacks on my table as guys have obviously overstayed in the restaurant.

Something about breaks and when people get back from them occasionally induces what I like to call "the spazz factor" in some players. 2 hands back and I've just see two young kids get over 40k in the middle. They flip over A10 offsuit and K10. K10 wins. Time to stick on a crash helmet I guess.

Again. KQ and K6 play a 50k pot. Flop K64 and the KQ dusts off 4/5 of his stack.

I've seen one flop with 88 and it was QKA. Goodbye Kevin.

They're doing the numbers and merging the flights on the computer. The room is full of chatter as players ask the dealers and floor "how many total players? How many get paid? What time is the restart tomorrow? When do we play to today?" I'm sure some of these questions are valid but a whole bunch of them are really retarded also. We've still got about 40 tables left and today is only flight C of day one of the event. I'm pretty sure we're nowhere near the money just yet. It feels like so many players just ask because they like the sound their own voices and think they're on TV, and vary rarely because they actually need to know the information at this point in the tournament. Another weird aspect of poker. I might write a piece on it if I get the time because I find it genuinely puzzling.

Out. Simple as that. Guy raises to 4200, one called for 4200, I shove AKs on the button for 22k. One calls one folds. Off we go...

Me AKs

Him QQ

Flop K4Q.

Goodnight. Can't complain, and those are simply the hands that either win or lose you a big stack or the tournament. There was enough money in the middle to win there and then, and if I had money left behind it would have gone in when I hit the flop anyway. What are you going to do?

What I'm going to do is go home after 8 and a half hours at the Golden Nugget.

Well, we've made another day two, and we've made the money in the PH $300. That's the good news.

The bad news is to follow...

Level 16

I've looked at the pay structure for this and first is around $27,000, paying down to 54th that pays out $480. Not even double your buy in back. I know that some of the casinos just love a flat payout structure, more people get some money, and they think it keeps people coming back into the economy. Personally I prefer very too heavy payouts, because I like to win tournaments, I don't really want my buy in and a bit back after a day and a half. Looking at the payouts I'm feeling that if we make the money I certainly won't hang around to try to generate chips, it's almost like 54th-34th aren't really worth winning. Anyway.

My AK beat an all in with AQ. Up to 140k quickly. I took a flier for half my stack on the button when a shorter stack jammed. I'm not going to win this damn thing by continually throwing away hands, so based on my earlier comments I thought we'd give it a go. Success so far.

I've then dumped 66 on my bb when a tight female player jammed all in.

So much for that read. A few hands later I raise with 99, same girl calls 10000 w As4s, flops an ace and I lose 23k. Lovely.

First break after that hiccup and I'm back down to 93k...56 players now left from 496, and 54 get paid.

The aggressive chip leader on out table sitting two to my right with shades and a backwards baseball hat wants to raise pretty much every single hand on the bubble, which is ticking me off a bit, although of course it's perfectly the right thing to do...he has the chips. He has shown down 33 and not much else and keeps winning pots. he gets it all in with the aforementioned A4 girl on a 722 flop, he has 88, her 1010 she doubles up so maybe it'll slow him down a little. I was pretty surprised he flipped over something as good as 88. Hand for hand now. I feel like he's raising super light and abusing the table, and discounting ego (which might sound strange) but I'm sorry but not going to stand for it bubble or no bubble if the right hand comes up.

Be careful what you wish for.

He raises yet again. I'm down to about 77k at 2500/5000/500. I flat call with AsQs, I consider getting it in there and then as I think he's light but there are too many people behind me... We get one other caller. Flop 8 10 Q one spade. He bets out and I jam. He flips over....J9. Great. No help for me and that's that. As I'm getting ready to leave the floorman stops me.

Two of us have busted out at the same time and we split the bubble, so I get $384... Well that's a pleasant surprise but not really what I wanted. Like I say the pay jumps were so minuscule I felt like that was a good spot to shoot for a 170-200k stack. 20 minutes later after I've left I get a message from the management at PH saying they've overpaid me by $144, so when I go back I actually owe THEM money. Cherry on the cake. What are you gonna do....

Tomorrow Golden Nugget main event. That is all.

Footnote: this is the cab driving in front of me on the way home. I couldn't have put it better if I tried.