WSOP Update #2 - 2k NL Final Table [06.13.2007]
WSOP Event #10 � $2,000 No Limit Hold�em
My first table was pretty soft, although that�s to be expected in fields with 1500 players. One guy to my right recognized me and introduced himself to me: Michael Banducci. He and I used to play against each other all the time in high stakes SNGs. His online name was w0rldsgr8st or something to that effect. Anyway, I was able to chip up nicely at this table. Most the players were fairly transparent and I was able to make a couple of nice big bluffs to gain some chips. After a few hours I left the table with around 16,000 chips (we started with 4,000).
I didn�t play many big pots on day 1. Actually, I can�t recall a single pot I played that was bigger than the size of an average stack. I got really lucky to be at tables with really tight players. I played really loose just chipping up from blind steals. I ended the day somewhere around 20th in chips with 85,000. The thing that makes that really impressive is the fact that 44,000 of those chips were in black chips. I think the ante was 300 (3 black chips) when the day ended, and I had 440 black chips � more than four full racks.
Day 2 was not much like day 1. I played some sick huge pots. The first was against a friend of mine, John Monnette. Blinds were 2,000/4,000 and it folded to John in middle position. He raised to 11,500. I called in the small blind with KTo. The big blind also came along. The flop came ace high. I checked, and so did the BB. Johnny bet 22,500. I decided to checkraise to 50,000. It�s a good bet because I don�t have to invest much, but Johnny basically has to fold unless he has an ace. Unfortunately he moved all-in, and I had to fold, but I think it was a decent stab to take.
So two orbits later, a seemingly identical hand came up. It folded to Johnny in middle position, and he raised to 11,500. I called in the small blind with AQs, and the big blind also came along. The flop came AJ2. I checked, the BB checked, and Johnny bet 22,500. I check raised to 50,000 again. This time, the big blind decided to play along, and he called all-in for the 20,000 or so chips he had. And yet again, Johnny moved all-in. I only had about 70,000 chips left, and the pot was huge at this point, so I called. Unfortunately Johnny had AK and it looked like my tournament was over. The turn was a jack pairing the board, and the river was a miracle queen. Apparently Johnny has a bit of a temper. He snatched the queen from off the board, crumbled it up in his hand it threw at across the table. The floormen didn�t like this too much and they gave him a 27 hand penalty. That�s really brutal when the blinds and antes are that big.
From there I built up to 450,000 or so pretty smoothly. I got moved to a new table. After being there for a few minutes, someone called the guy to my right Spiderman and I recognized the name from some chats earlier. Apparently he tried to make a huge move against Hellmuth on a ragged flop with overcards, and Hellmuth called with pocket 9�s only to see Spiderman spike a jack on him. Naturally that inspired a Hellmuth blowup featuring him rolling around on the floor.
So anyway, not long after being at this table, it folded to Spiderman in the small blind. Blinds were 3k/6k and he opened for 34k. I looked down in the big blind and saw AKo. I reraised to 100,000, and Spiderman moved all-in for about 200,000 more. Against some people, I might hesitate a bit, but this was the easiest call ever given what I heard about him earlier. Spiderman flipped over A5o, and it looked like I was going to be the new chipleader.
Unfortunately Spiderman flopped a five, and before the turn card was even dealt, he was up out of his chair cheering and pumping the fist. Man I hate that stuff. I wanted to spike a king soo badly just to crush his dreams and send him home in shame, but sadly it never came. After that suckout I was back down to around 120k. Average stack at this point was about 140k.
A couple orbits later, I shoved A9s all-in after he opened a pot, and he called with 4�s. I managed to win that coinflip to get back to a workable stack. I chipped up for a while and then yet another huge hand came up.
I raised ATs preflop to my standard raise of 2.5x, and the big blind called. The flop came K74 and the BB checked. I made a small bet, and the BB check raised to 100k. He wasn�t a professional player, and he had just been sucked out on by someone else a few hands before. I really felt like he was weak, and there was virtually no chance he had a king or better in that spot, so I decided to move all-in. He had about 190k left, but unfortunately for me he had basically given up on the tournament at that point. He made a gambly call with 54o which happened to be the best hand. The poker gods didn�t want me to bust from that tournament, and I spiked a ten on the river for a spicy little six outer.
I think I made a great play there. I knew my opponent was weak, so I semi-bluffed all-in. Never in a million years would I have guessed that he would just make a crying call with bottom pair for all his chips for no reason. You won�t get a fold every time you semi-bluff, but fortunately sometimes you will hit when you get called. Also, even if I would have lost that pot, I would have still had an above average stack.
I was on fire the rest of the night. People started playing tight as the final table bubble approached, and I just pillaged and raped the blinds. A couple of short stacks moved all-in against me. I probably won 4 of about 6 coin flips against those short stacks, and combined with the blind steals, I had a monster stack of over 2,000,000 chips going into the final table. The Average chip stack was only 600,000, and I had more than double the amount of chips of the guy in second.
I flew my parents out here so they could watch me, and my brother drove out as well. Unfortunately, they were doing an internet webcast of the final table that would show all the hole cards, so they had to completely sequester the players. First they took our cell phones and even our ipods. They then put us in small room enclosed off by twenty foot black curtains. They were pretty gung-ho about making sure we weren�t communicating with anyone on the outside. They even had five security guards escort us to the bathroom during our break.
You can watch the final table online at www.WorldSeriesofPoker.com. It costs $50, but you get a year�s subscription to bluff, and you can download any of the online broadcasts they are doing, or watch the events with a 1 hour delay. I think they are doing 11 WSOP final tables, and 17 Circuit Events. It�s a really cool idea, and definitely worth the $50 to someone that enjoys watching poker. The best part is you get to see every hand rather than just the big exciting pots they usually show on TV.
I think I played really well at the final table. I started with 2,000,000 in chips but lost some pretty much right away. I knew everyone at the table knew how loose I had been the night before, so I switched gears and played my tight game.
It wasn�t long before Will Durkee became my nemesis at the final table. I raised 99 and he shoved with KT and I called. He won the coinflip and doubled up. Not long later, I raised his big blind with TT. The flop came KJx. We both checked. Turn: ace. Check check again. River: Ace. He fired out a bet and I insta-mucked. Turns out he had AJo. Nice hand sir.
I fell down to 1.2 mil at one point, but it didn�t take me long to get all my chips back. I raised Stan�s big blind with A8ss, and the flop came 467 with two spades. He checked, and I bet out small and he raised me all-in with T8o (double gutter). I instacalled, and Stan missed his 5 outer.
I also knocked out the chess champion to my right (I forget his name) when he shoved Q3 and I called with AJs.
Most of my chips came from picking up lots of small pots left and right. It wasn�t long before I was up to 2.3 million in chips, and we were down to 4 players.
Blinds were 20k/40k and the button opened for 100k. Durkee reraised to 375k, and I woke up with KK in the big blind. I moved all-in, but I wasn�t too happy when it folded back to Will. He shook his head and said, �Man, I�m so lucky�. Uh oh, that�s not what you want to hear someone say after you move all-in with the second nuts. Sure enough, he called and flipped over aces. I blinked, and when I opened my eyes up again I was last in chips. That pot had more than 2/3 of all the chips in play in it.
For those of you that are new to the blog, a similar hand happened at the WPT in the Bahamas. With 11 players left, I had 2x average and was 2nd in chips when I got KK all-in against Isaac Haxton�s AA. Sure enough he was the chip leader and was the only one that could even come close to busting me. I actually should have folded KK there (see the blog I wrote back in January for more on this), but this time it wasn�t even close. There was no way I could have even considered folding KK this time around. It was just plain brutal.
The very next hand, Durkee wasn�t even close to done stack his chips, and he raised under the gun. I was next to act on the button with KTo. A couple of people asked my why I moved all-in, and there were several reasons for it.
The first thing to consider in this situation is how the other short stacks are going to play. Game theory dictates the short stacks should play tight and hope the others bust. Unfortunately, when three players are doing this, they lose a ton of combined equity to the big stack. It�s like a game of chicken where the only one that can possibly win is the only guy that doesn�t have to play. Basically, If I wanted to move up in the pay scale, I would have to sacrifice a ton of equity in chips in the next few orbits.
The other thing was that if I ever wanted any fold equity over the top of a raise, this would be my last chance. After the blinds passed, I would be to short to move anyone off a hand. Will had a massive chip lead after the AA vs KK hand, so I thought it was fairly likely he was about to open up his game and start raising a lot, and I also thought he would fold some hands like weak aces, giving me a stack I could work with.
Also, if I did manage to double up through him, I would have been in great position to bully around the two stacks to my left that would be forced into a folding competition trying to outlast each other, a situation that would be very profitable for me.
Also, I can�t neglect to mention the bracelet factor. Every poker player (myself included) dreams of winning a bracelet. A bracelet would be so valuable to me that I would hate to have to play a fold-battle for 2nd place.
My all-in definitely was marginal at best, but even in hindsight, I think it was the correct play, and I�d make it again given the chance.
Anyway, Durkee called with 77 and won yet another coin flip against me. He ran super hot that day, and no one could take that bracelet from him.
So yeah, I made a WSOP final table, and got $156,000 for it, but I�m not gonna lie: I�m EXTREMELY disappointed about it. Situations like that don�t come along very often, and it might be years before I make another final table with a chip lead that big.
I was so close to winning that bracelet, and having it slip away from me just makes me want to win one so much more. I�ve been super focused so far. I�ve only taken one day off, and I haven�t been drinking or even going out at all. I get rest each night before every tournament, and stay 100% focused until I�m out. I�ve been playing my A game, and I�m going to play my heart out trying to win a bracelet.
I did a couple of interviews for RawVegasTV and Bluff Magazine and what not, so make sure to keep an eye out for those. Also, I was asked to do commentary for one of the final table broadcasts, and I chose event #35, a $1,500 NL event. The timing is perfect because the final table is the day before the $50,000 HORSE (which I�m planning on playing at this point, although it�s still up in the air). Make sure you watch it. I�ll do my best to make it entertaining and educational.
Anyway, back to the WSOP grind for me. Wish me luck!
� Justin Bonomo
