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.
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