That's my greeting from one player before I even sit down at the table for the first hand today. Fame (or infamy) even on a micro level follows me around like a bad debt in Las Vegas in poker rooms. However it's also a good thing, and of course largely my own doing. With the obvious exceptions of say, Gary Glitter, Hitler or Howard Lederer (not in any order of evil by the way), having a modicum of notoriety isn't always a bed of roses.
Today I am sporting part of my new line in apparel. I actually had it printed especially for the trip along with a few others. Tongue in cheek of course but some will find it funny, and some will get hideously bent out of shape and terribly offended. Most of the offended ones will be sporting sunglasses at the poker table. So it's all good either way..
A slow then turbulent start to level one for me. We start with 7500 chips and the levels are one hour. I play very few pots for the first 35 minutes, then raise in the hijack with 76s. Two callers.
Flop 589 rainbow. Lovely. I fire another 750 and they both call. Ok....
Turn is the Qd. First guy bets 700, I make it 1475, player three folds.
Original bettor immediately announces all in. Marvellous.
To me in this spot it's an easy fold, so I just let it go. He was clearly calling the flop on a draw that got there. It's not worth burning the $1500 buy-in just to prove what I already know. Down to 5k.
Level two and just plodding and waiting. The table doesn't have any obvious easy spots (discounting me of course) and a few of the players I've encountered before and are quite useful and are no strangers to the WSOP. The player on my immediate left was runner up in the Venetian $1,100 MSPT event I played the other day, so his trip is clearly off to a flying start.
Won my first pot with 30 mins to go until the first break. Don't get too excited, it was about 300 chips.
Screen shows 3,466 players so far and climbing.
Finally won a decent sized pot and am back to 6200. Not ideal, but more wiggle room. Don't really want to be committing my stack so early and being under pressure so 6200 at the first break (now) is just fine.
Outside catching some sun in my usual spot by the benches. I am always amused at the myriad of people you see in poker shambling around at the break. Bad jewellery, the same crappy stories and hand histories, and dress sense that would make a colourblind Aborigine blush. I largely avoid all that crap by getting out a minute or two early, and mercifully this area is populated by only a few smokers, which is easily better than 3000 poker bores.
Back from the break and were already under it as the antes kick in on level three!
Not actually so terrible. We're 25/75/150 so not quite time to spazz out just yet.
We had to wait to restart because of the obligatory bracelet ceremonies for the previous day's winners. One of these was Prince, who I've played with over the years quite a lot. Nice guy at the table but let's just say he's the American Willie Tann. I think a line of creditors will be circling the stage for a slice of the $300k he picked up.
Just folded 86s to a raise with nothing invested. Flop was 886. Don't you love it when that happens?
Decided not to rest on my laurels and blind myself to death so swung at a few pots and am now back to 7k. No ones really making any errors which is unusual for a WSOP table, so for now I'm just hunkering down and waiting for greener pastures.
Just starting the fourth hour of today's slog and I'm still around the 7k mark with nothing remarkable to report. The only excitement was when one guy announced "four thousand" under the gun and thew in a 500 chip at 75/150. There was much debate at the table, and they took it as a bet of 400, which I'm pretty convinced was 1000% the wrong ruling after the verbal announcement. I wasn't going to make waves and wasn't even in the pot but I've seen some shitty moves over the years under the guise of an accident.
As someone remarked yesterday, that's why poker tables are oval and not rectangular. They've already used up every angle imaginable...
30 minutes until the next break and I've dropped to 6k again. No dramas, just missed a few flops and paid a few blinds. Still nowhere near panic stations and I'd rather conserve chips for now, especially against astute opponents.
Restarted and I stand corrected. It's 50 ante and 150/300 blinds. I think the structure is a bit different from last year, and it feels like they want to get the dead money busted out nice and early. Still not at panic stations yet so bide my time and all that.
Slid down to 4100 after another decent pocket pair got shredded, raised afterwards with a suited ace and we ended up chopping. I'd have preferred the outright win.
Down to 3k. Raised with AQs and got moved in by a big stack. Decided I'd rather be shoving than calling to give myself an extra way to win. 15 minutes until level 6. Not critically low yet but am certainly not going to be playing the stack I have left passively.
The opportunity arises pretty fast. There's actually a raise to 825 and I jam my last 2650 with 99 hoping it gets through but not minding a caller and a race. All fold except the big blind who flips over 10 10, one of the few hands I don't want to see.
Board runs out with no help and that's that.
It wasn't an easy table by any means but I've no reason to bitch. I held my own and didn't get the initial bump start to have chips with which to manoeuvre. It happens.
I don't like to have a pre set gameplan because all tables are situational, but with the right line up I think I may be a lot more aggressive in tomorrow's $1k WSOP event. We'll have to see the lie of the land.
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