Phil wins big! What is this, a roller coaster?

Weds. night I had a great workout, and then Chan called me to play some Chinese poker for $500 a point. I agreed, and we were to meet at around 10:15. Chan called to say that Barry Greenstein was waiting for me. We started the game, and I played until 4:00 am, and quit up $65,000 or so. Then twenty minutes later I sat down in my former "Hot seat" and won $100,000 straight! It was a sick rush, and I felt great winning big especially as I ran so bad in earlier games this year. At one point-around noon-I was up almost $200,000 for the night. Finally, I took a $151,000 win and quit at 3:00 pm, only to have to rush to my room and write my column, which was due at noon, sigh (you can read it up above). Then I slept a double shift, 4:00 pm until 1:00 am, and then I went to bed at 6:00 am, and woke up at noon.

Phil blows it again!

In the first WSOP tournament on Friday, I steadily built my chips up to $45,000 or so, risk free. I was playing great, and running well in the sense that I never put in more than $7,000 in any one single pot all day. I never was tested or challenged until 11:45 pm, when I screwed up big time! Many players would think that what I did wasn't that bad, but I know better. With the blinds at $400-$800, I opened for $2,000 with pocket jacks. Everyone folded around to the big blind, and he reraised it $4,000 more. Unfortunately he was a new player that I do not remember playing with before. I called the $4,000, and the flop was 7c-5h-2c. He bet out $5,600, and I called. Now the seven paired, and he bet out $12,000. I studied for a long while, and tried to imagine what he might have had. Although pocket queens flashed in my mind briefly, I was convinced that he was bluffing. I felt like he couldn't have A-A or K-K, because I usually feel it when someone has one of those hands. I asked how much he had left, and he said, "$11,800." Finally, I made myself slow down and try my best to read him. I made a mistake, that's all. I moved all-in, and he called saying, "You must have kings or jacks." Good read, unfortunately for me it was the jacks. I said, "You must have queens." And then he showed queens.

Last year, I would have folded at some point in the hand. Many times even before the flop. I mean why not fold, I hadn't been challenged all day long! Why not continue to build my chip stack risk free? Why lose $39,000 with a lousy pair of jacks? What a bad play for me to risk all of those "Risk free" chips on this one hand. The good thing about the WSOP is that I can make adjustments the next day. Still, will I have "Risk free" chips the next day? It doesn't have to happen, that's for sure. I played so perfectly for so many hours, and only needed to play semi-perfectly for two more hours to make it through the day. The cards were good enough for me to still be in there, my game was great enough to keep me in there, but I threw it all away on one reckless play!! I'm pissed off at myself and disgusted that I didn't have a better read.

The very next hand I raised it up with Ac-Jc, and everyone folded. The very next hand I opened for $2,500 with 10-10, and gave a speech (trying to induce action). The very guy that bluffed me out at Mandalay Bay earlier this week with his 3-3 vs. my 9-9 called the bet. Perfect! The flop was perfect as well J-J-8. I checked, to let him commit himself with his small pair, and sure enough he bet $2,500. I made it $5,000, and he raised my last $3,000 or so. I insta-called, and he showed me Qs-Js. What a donk, he called my raise with Q-J!! This pissed me off big time. I watched the same guy call raises with 10d-9d at the $1,000-$2,000 limit Hold'em level (the tournament was (half-no limit and half-limit), and win pot after pot. Such bad plays, but such perfect rewards, although he will probably blow off a pile of chips with an inferior hand soon.

Never mind any of this BS (there are a million donks here, why focus on their bad plays?), I need to look at what I'm doing wrong. Why, oh why, couldn't I make the easy lay down with my pocket jacks? Hopefully I'll make the adjustments that I need to make for tomorrows tournament. If I can accumulate so many chips risk free, then clearly I'm playing at a super high level, now I need to make the great lay downs that I'm known to make. Now I need to focus all the way until 2:00 am!!!!! Now I need to go out and win number 11 sometime soon.