One of the chip leaders

One of the chip leaders

OK, I made it through the day, but I needed a ton of patience and discipline today. I had a few droughts that were a little sick, but that's the way it goes some days. I started a little sour and was down to $130,000, but then bet Eli Elezra $10,000 on myself to final table at 9-to-1. The key for me tomorrow is to hang in there and stick to my game plan of playing super conservative poker. By playing super tight, I will have the best hand over and over again. Of course, it would be nice to catch a rush!!! I ended the day with $412,000…

Pissed off to the max!!

I tried so hard today. I left it all on the table. As time passed by I fought harder and harder. I watched a lot of bad play, but not nearly as much as I see on a daily basis at the WSOP. As the players fell from 50 to 25, I couldn't seem to win a decent pot. In Hold'em I didn't win one pot in the first 30 minute session, then in the next session I won two antes, and one small pot where Bruno called my pre-flop raise, and then mucked on the flop.

Early on I made a mistake in the seven card stud that was costly. I called a raise with (8-4) 4 as the low card vs. Bruno's Q. On fourth street he broke off, I hit a 6, he bet, and I just called sensing weakness. I made up my mind that he had Q-J-10 and decided to pop him next street. He hit a 10 and bet (I hit a 2). Now I should have raised it up, or mucked my hand. But since a sense weakness, I should have popped him. Instead, I called the $20,000 bet, and he caught a Q (paired his door card), then after I folded, he showed me the suited K-2 in the hole. My raise would have worked!!

Two and a half hours later I made another stud mistake. I raised it up with a 10 up (without looking at my hole cards, as there were four 7's on board), and Thor Hansen called with a dead seven (of clubs). He hit a 5 and I checked in the dark. He bet, and I looked back at 10-2 in the hole. I should have popped him with my pair of tens, but I didn't. Instead I called, and now he caught an off suit 8 (7-8-5) and I checked again. Stupid!! I should have popped him on the turn and lead on fifth street. In any case, now he broke into 8-7-6-5, and now I checked again. I should have bet it!! Instead he bet, and I called. On the river, I checked, he bet, and I folded. He claimed that he had Ac-4c in the hole, and made a straight. I know he would have folded, had I simply bet out on fifth street. Still, one missed bet turned out to be pretty expensive (about $100,000), and sometimes my missed bets make me money.

It was amazing how I never won any big pots today (maybe two of three) in eight hours of play. It seemed like I always won early in the hand, not late. I had a couple of nice pots going where I did bet all the way and only got half, or was scooped. I took a tough beat from Bruno Fitoussi in stud 8/b (obviously he doesn't play that game in Paris!), and lost a coin flip to him in Hold'em. All-in-all it was almost as frustrating as being eliminated in the big one. Bottom line: I felt like I played great poker and gave myself a big chance, but then I never caught a rush. I never had over $450,000. I watched many lesser players go to one million or close to it while I hung in there for two days waiting for my rush. That is powerful though. When you can hang in there and give yourself a chance. That's all I can do.

Afterwards my wife and I watched a movie and chilled, and then I watched another movie with my youngest son. It is great to have my parents, wife and one of my sons here with me in Vegas. My parents faithfully "Sweated me" in the HORSE tournament all day long! I may take tomorrow off, depending on how tired I am. It is a good game for me, Omaha 8/b, but taking the day off entails hanging out with my family, taking the kids to the Luxor arcade, catching a show like "Love" or "Ka," and just generally chilling out.