WSOP Update #1 - Smokey Wins!  [06.12.2007]
Ok, sorry for the lack of updates. I�m gonna try to split this update up into a few pieces so the big pieces of news don�t all get lumped together.

First and foremost, huge congrats go out to Steve �MrSmokey1� Billirakis for winning the $5,000 mixed Hold�em event � the very first event of the WSOP. This made him the youngest player ever to win a bracelet at the tender age of 21 years and 10 days. Smokey is living in the house with all of us, so we were all there cheering him on. It was a lot of fun to watch him. We were making prop bets on him against Greg Mueller, the guy he played heads up. Ship the money our way.

I would say that this is a record that probably won�t ever be broken, however, they are starting the World Series of Poker: Europe this year. That means that some 18 year olds will get a shot at winning a bracelet, although I think there are only three events.

I started that event w/ David �Raptor� Benefield (very good successful online player that just turned 21, keep an eye out for him) to my right, and Smokey directly to his right. Chris Vaughn from Bluff came over to cover me and Raptor, and I told him that Smokey was a really good player that he needs to start covering. Obv Smokey went on to win that tournament. He made one really sick river call against a huge river bet all-in with 3rd pair no kicker and it was good.

Here is a list of the events I played at the beginning of the WSOP:
Event 1: $5k Mixed Holdem
Event 3: $1.5k NL HE
Event 4: $1.5k PL HE
Event 5: $2.5k Omaha 8 / Stud 8 split
Event 8: $1k Rebuy

I started off ok in the first four events, winning some chips, but never lasting that long.

The 1k rebuy was the first tournament I got chips in. The table was somewhat loose, with guys like Josh Arieh and John Racener spending a fair amount on rebuys. I was up to 20k chips (you start with 2k, + 2k for an instant rebuy) through standard rebuy shenanigans after only two rebuys. Then a HUGE pot happened.

I think blinds were 50/100 and there was a 5 way raised pot. I called in the big blind with 74 of hearts.

The flop came KT5 all hearts giving me a flush. I led out for 800. The guy to my left also had a monster stack of around 24,000 (he was probably chip leader of the tournament at the time). He raised to 1800. It folded to Josh Arieh who was going somewhat crazy with the whole rebuy thing. He moved all-in for 5,000. It folded back to me.

So what do you do in my spot? I talked to a few people, and they all thought it was a really tough spot. I guess none of them were actually there seeing the dynamic of the table, because I thought it was a super easy decision. I think most of the people I talked to actually said just call, but I shoved all-in. It wasn�t the first time (or the 2nd, or 3rd�) that I had made a large all-in like that, so it�s hard to know if I�m gambling or actually have a hand. Anyway, the guy to my left with a ton of chips felt like gambling for a huge stack before the rebuy period ended, so he called with KxQh. Arieh had 9x9h, and somehow my hand held up. I ended up with 46,000 at the first break. I didn�t even bother adding on. (Every chip you get in a tournament is less valuable than the chip before it, so chips at 46k are no longer worth the add-on price yada yada yada). I think 2nd in chips only had around 22,000.

I didn�t really pick up any hands over the next few hours. I managed to break even with some occasional steals. After the dinner break, the blinds were pretty huge, and I lost a couple of big pots, and that was all she wrote. One involved running a boat into quads on a super scary board.

In the first few events (other than the 5k), I felt just like I did in Tunica. The players were extremely weak, but I didn�t really feel like I knew how they were playing and/or what level they were thinking on. I kind of expected this since this is my first world series. After the 1k rebuy event, I really felt like I had a good idea on what kind of players I was up against. Despite not cashing after having a huge chip lead, I felt unusually confident going into the $2,000 NL on the next day. There�s a lot to discuss there, so I�ll put that in my next blog.

The WPT is in Town, and I Made a Day Two Already!
August 9th, 2007

WSOP Wrapup and Bellagio Cup start
July 11th, 2007

WSOP #8 - 1k Rebuy and Ante Up for Africa
July 5th, 2007

WSOP #7 - Nobody Calls Earl a Chicken
July 2nd, 2007

WSOP #6 - 1.5k NL and the Robert Williamson Angle Shot
June 30th, 2007

WSOP #5 - 50k HORSE, and LOL Hellmuthaments #2
June 29th, 2007

WSOP #4 - Day 3 of the 50k Horse!
June 25th, 2007

WSOP #3 - Minor Cold Streak, 1.5k NL Commentary and 50k Horse
June 22nd, 2007

WSOP Update #2 - 2k NL Final Table
June 13th, 2007

WSOP Update #1 - Smokey Wins!
June 12th, 2007

It Has Begun!
May 31st, 2007

Once
May 26th, 2007

HORSE!
April 30th, 2007

Bellagio 25k Main Event
April 29th, 2007

Bellagio Update
April 11th, 2007

Brand New x3
April 4th, 2007

PoY, Reality TV Show, and Jennifer Tilly
March 30th, 2007

San Jose and some Interesting Hands
March 11th, 2007

Wynn 10k
March 8th, 2007

Alan Sass wins a tourney, and the cover of Bluff Magazine!
March 4th, 2007

Overdue Update
February 23rd, 2007

Two more huge finishes (Including a win finally)!!!
January 11th, 2007

I Am Justin Bonomo. Hear Me Roar!
December 22nd, 2006

The Dreaded TV Bubble
December 21st, 2006

Such Zees
December 17th, 2006

8th in Chips After Day 1a in the Main Event
December 15th, 2006

Doing Well Again!
December 10th, 2006

Back to Back Final Tables!
December 8th, 2006

Day 2!
December 6th, 2006

lol.
December 2nd, 2006

Slackage, SENS, and Elections
November 11th, 2006

Festa Al Lago at the Bellagio
October 12th, 2006

Aruba: non-poker stuff
October 11th, 2006

Aruba Tournament Report
October 10th, 2006

Summary of the Legislation against Unlawful Internet Gambling
October 4th, 2006

Aruba and the Methuselah Foundation
September 24th, 2006

Poker, Ebooks, and Obadiahs
September 15th, 2006

My Weekend
September 10th, 2006

My Favorite 2+2 Post of All Time
September 4th, 2006

Look! It's a blog!!!!!!!!!11!!1!1!!one!!1!
September 3rd, 2006

Overdue Update
July 13th, 2006

Random Public Service Announcement
June 16th, 2006

Brutal Downswing, Beautiful Recovery
February 23rd, 2006

The Quest Begins
February 20th, 2006

Day 1 Complete
February 20th, 2006

New Article
February 19th, 2006

Another Quick Update
February 16th, 2006

Stuff
February 7th, 2006

Random Update
January 27th, 2006

Exposing the Scammer and a Rant About Emails
January 18th, 2006

Dissecting a Hand #1
January 17th, 2006

WPT Update #2
January 12th, 2006

WPT Update #1
January 6th, 2006

Holiday Stuff
December 29th, 2005

The TLB Record and a Million Dollar Beating
December 22nd, 2005

N82 Guest Writes a Blog
December 19th, 2005

Vegas Baby!
December 15th, 2005

The Race is On!
December 14th, 2005

$137,000 and Rakeback Info!
December 11th, 2005

MySpace!
December 9th, 2005

October + November Results
December 5th, 2005

Live Long Enough to Live Forever
November 30th, 2005

Thanksgiving
November 23rd, 2005

Back to the Old Routine
November 15th, 2005

An Update! (Finally)
November 5th, 2005

The Boys Are Back in Town
October 27th, 2005

A HUGE Score!
October 22nd, 2005

Sundays...
October 16th, 2005

Another Tournament Win
October 10th, 2005

The Day the World Ended
October 8th, 2005

Aruba Trip Report
October 7th, 2005

Ding! (from Aruba)
September 26th, 2005

A Quick $20k!
September 21st, 2005

WCOOP Main Event - Jordan Berkowitz Wins
September 18th, 2005

Photo Gallery Update and 5k SNG Stats
September 15th, 2005

WCOOP, Bellagio, UB, and Some Screen Names
September 11th, 2005

WCOOP Update
September 9th, 2005

A MEGA Update
September 7th, 2005

Vegas Baby!
September 6th, 2005

Back to Work
September 4th, 2005

Victory!
August 29th, 2005

Paaaaiiiiiinn
August 26th, 2005

Veronica O, The Aristocrats, and Ian
August 25th, 2005

The Grind
August 23rd, 2005

A Terrible Day
August 19th, 2005

I'm Home
August 11th, 2005

Update from Amsterdam
July 30th, 2005

Quick Update
July 17th, 2005

An Absolutely Amazing Day
July 12th, 2005

The Quest is Complete!
July 11th, 2005

Back from Mexico
July 6th, 2005

Going to Mexico
June 27th, 2005

Quest Results After the Halfway Mark
June 26th, 2005

Party Poker Million Dollar Guarenteed
June 25th, 2005

Back from Vegas
June 23rd, 2005

Las Vegas
June 21st, 2005

I Bought a Car
June 18th, 2005

A Quest Update
June 15th, 2005

A New Quest
June 13th, 2005

Magic Players Are Taking the Poker World by Storm
June 10th, 2005

10/20 NL and SNGs
June 6th, 2005

Sneak Peak
June 2nd, 2005

Life in LA
May 31st, 2005

Stuff
May 19th, 2005

Another Final Table Report
May 16th, 2005

LA
May 15th, 2005

30 hours til LA
May 8th, 2005

Super Tuesday Tournament Report
May 4th, 2005

Taking it to the Next Level
May 2nd, 2005

A Not So Super Monday
April 26th, 2005

LA here I come!
April 26th, 2005

Turning Stone Conclusion
April 25th, 2005

Turning Stone Update 2
April 22nd, 2005

Turning Stone Update 1
April 21st, 2005

EPT Deauville on TV
April 19th, 2005

Drunken Home Game
April 16th, 2005

Catching Up
April 15th, 2005

Monte Carlo EPT Part I.
March 15th, 2005

WOW - Vienna Tournament Recap
March 11th, 2005

Sleepless in Vienna
March 10th, 2005

Going to Vienna
March 9th, 2005