Day 1 down... · 3:53pm Jun 2nd, 2017
No success to report. Opened with a C-note on craps and lost it pretty quick--it's amazing how unfriendly dice can be at times. Then again, success at that seems rare for me. After that, I gorged on the breakfast buffet, took a four mile walk upstrip towards the Stratosphere and back to walk it off, then walked further to the Aria to see what tournaments they were offering. Nothing that interested me, so I hopped a cab to the Rio for my first WSOP action. The events opened this very week, actually. Started by putting down $200 in a cash game. Not much luck until late, when I called a raise to $15 with 3-6 of hearts--something I don't normally do unless there are more people in the pot. drawing hands like that (which I define as hands with both straight and flush potential) need as many people in the pot as possible to maximize potential payback if you do hit for all the times you won't.
Well, no straight or flush possibility, but I did flop a 3, giving me a pair. In fact, the board was quite ragged, something like 3-5-9. If the guy raised with two overcards like A-K or K-Q, I actually have him beat at that point, but if he's got an overpair like J-J or Q-Q...
The name of this game is making educated reads and guesses. He's first to act, after the flop, so he bets out $50 into the ragged board. Now the question is, is he just making a continuation bet (continuing to bet since he was the raiser to represent a big hand), or does he actually have a pair, which means I'm beat? I think about it for a minute or two, decide he's got overcards, and push all-in with my pair of 3s.
A gutsy move to say the least, and not one I normally do there. He looks dubious at that, asking me why I took so long. I replied that it was either because I wasn't sure what he had, or I was 'Hollywooding' (acting) to try to look reluctant and make him more likely to call. "Good answer!" someone else at the table said. So he considers that... and does indeed make the call. Unlike in a tournament, where if there's an all-in and a call, both sides have to show their hands immediately, there's no requirement to do so in a cash game except at the end to claim the pot, so neither of us show and the remaining two cards are dealt out. The turn is a blank, the river... a 6, giving me two pair.
Somewhat excited, I show my hand and it's a winner. He doesn't show his, but I have to assume he had a pair in the hole. So a misread, but one that turns out golden. I double-up to nearly $400 and later walk away with $360, giving me a $160 profit on the session. That's poker for you... you can do everything right and lose, or make a mistake and win big. Is it better to be lucky than good? Well, you have to be both at points to succeed, and you can't take it personally when those breaks go against you as they inevitably would.
After that, I played in a $235 daily tournament at the Rio. It's a deepstack, meaning they start us off with 15,000 in chips and blinds are longer, 30 minutes. It starts at 2pm and often takes twelve hours to play out, meaning you might still be making bets deep into the morning. I had horrible luck at this event last year after being at least modestly successful at them the previous two years, so I hoped things might go better this time.
Nope. I was card-dead pretty much the entire way but still survived nearly four hours with a couple bluffs and otherwise playing very tight. Did get lucky once when I cracked pocket aces with pocket eights, but my A-J ended up in a tie with K-J, a hand I'm nearly a 3 to 1 favorite against when he flopped a straight (flop of A-Q-10) and I rivered a King to give me a straight as well. I don't really call that lucky since I began a solid favorite, but it did keep me alive for another hour. In the end, needing chips, I raised into the blinds with K-4 offsuit after it had been folded around to me, hoping everyone else folds so I can win the blinds and antes and pay for the next nine hands, but I get a call from the big blind. Flop comes K-8-8, which is probably very good news for me. Checked to me, I go all-in expecting my pair of kings is good, and get instantly called. He had 8-9 in the hole, giving him three of a kind. Figures, but again, that's poker. Luck will work for you and against you, and you have to accept it either way. So I walked away with a shrug and didn't play any more the rest of the night, heading back to the strip on the Rio shuttle bus to find some dinner. A good burger soothed my soul.
So, let's see... after one full day, one cash game, two tournaments (the first being last night after I got in) and one round of craps, I'm now down $475, which is fine for a $2000 bankroll--that's all I allow myself to gamble in any given year. Just to put things in perspective, I saw this one college-age guy sit down at the cash game table I was at with $1000 (I bought in for $200)... and lose it all in the space of twenty minutes. Just wish some of it had gone to me... but the point is, I'm a lot more controlled about my play than that, or try to be. I always buy in for the minimum in a cash game and don't punch above my weight or play above my bankroll. If I lose, I don't throw good money after bad; I cease play for the day and do something else for a bit. "Know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away..."
So what's on tap for today? Having checked tournament schedules, it appears that once again my biggest bank for the buck is the WSOP at the Rio. I could try to win entry to a very big $565 tournament with a million dollars guaranteed to the winner, or I could play cash games followed by the $235 daily deepstack again. The Venetian and Aria tournaments today are all $400 or more, and I don't really want to put that much money down on a single tournament unless I win my way in via 'satellite' tournament which have much lower buy-ins and you play for tournament credit instead of cash.
Guess we'll see. Time to get some grub and hit the tables again... at least my food is pretty much free this trip, since I used a credit card this past year that gives me reward points spendable at a lot of resorts here.
