Another Day at The WSOP

The Pot Limit Omaha event started out pretty well. I am excited to play the PLO events this year because I have been playing a huge amount and feel good about my game. My first table was a good one, all except for Nam Le, who I have the utmost respect for both as a player and a person. The structure is different this year in that you start with 1,500 in chips and get two “add-on” chips, each can be traded for 1,500 chips anytime in the first three levels. The strategy of when to use them comes into play. I decided not to use them early and wait until either the end of the third level, or if I go broke. My plan was working and my initial table broke and I was sent to an even better one. Eric Cajalais and Nenad Medic were two of the players, and they play with no fear, more of an aggressive cash game style.

I was slowly chipping up and picked up KKQ10 suited in early position and limped. In PLO I almost never raise in early position. I may re-raise, and certainly will call, but controlling the pot size and playing the flop and turn is what PLO is about. So anyway, Eric raises pot and with the blinds 75-150 and two limpers before him that equates to 825 total. I am the only caller and I was not impressed that Eric had a big hand. I have played a lot of cash games with him over the years and have a feel for his game. He is very aggressive and plays a “Durr” style game, and loves to put pressure on you. The flop comes AK3 and I check to him. He has about 12k in chips and he is never checking in this situation, so rather than risk him folding to my bet, I am checking 100% of the time. He doesn’t disappoint and bets the pot, and I raise all in for a pot of almost 9,000 chips, with an average stack being about 6,000 at this time. He shows A3J7, a 6 comes on the river and he needs to hit any of two aces left in the deck, which somehow happens. I am 65% pre-flop, 89% on the flop and 95% on the turn favorite to win, and double up. It was, to say the least, disappointing, but that’s the way it goes in poker, especially PLO. I use my re-buy chips and get 3,000 and I’m ready to rumble. A few hands later I pick up AQQ7 double suited and Eric was again the raiser, this time in the big blind I re-raise and he calls. The flop comes A J 7 with two of my suit to the ace. I bet the pot, which puts me all in, and he calls showing AK54. I am a 2:1 favorite right up until the jack peels off on the turn, and no miracle river card for me.

I then went down the block to the Bellagio and entered the $1,080 daily NLH tournament. It attracted 64 players and I seemed to be on cruise control, slowly chipping up. I had one fun hand with about 16 players left it was folded around to me in the cut off, and I hadn’t played a hand in about two revolutions, so I raised dark (without looking at my hand). I do this on occasion when I am in the zone and playing the players. The small blind calls and we are heads up to the flop, which came QJ9. I began the hand with 40k in chips and with the blinds 500-1000 and the ante 200, I had raised 2,700, making the pot about 8,000. My read on him as the flop came, was one of weakness and I made a blind continuation bet of 6,000. He immediately came over the top all-in. We had about the same size stacks and I then felt it was time to look at my hand before making a decision. Well, I look down at pocket Queens, no only kidding, I had Q2, which I still felt based on my read I was a head, so I called. He showed 89 and looked horrified when he saw Q2. The board bricked and I doubled up and took over as chip leader. He berated me to no end, saying again and again what a bad beat I had just given him. I usually stay quiet in these situations, but after he kept going on and on about how bad I play and how it was such a horrendous beat I finally said: “let me ask you a question, when in the hand was I behind? Was it pre-flop, or perhaps on the flop? Maybe I’m missing something here but I cant figure out at what point I was behind.” Well that went over like a fart in church; I think he is still mumbling to himself.

After that all was going well until we were 6 handed and I called a short stack’s all in with AQ and he had KJ and spiked a J. Then another player pushed after I raised the button with 99, he had been going all in every 5th hand and had never been called. I double him up with KJ with a river J. I do finally go out putting it in behind with AQ v. AK. All in all it was a profitable day but still somewhat disappointing.