WSOP Wrapup and Bellagio Cup start [07.11.2007]
Well that was painful. If you were wondering� yes, I have busted out of the main event.
I played at two tables and both were amazingly loose and passive with calling stations galore.
The blinds started at 50/100 with 20k in starting chips, and this beauty of a hand happened the first level:
UTG limps, UTG+1 makes it 400. I called with 85 of diamonds, both the blinds called, and the utg limper called.
The flop came 742 with two diamonds. The small blind led out for 2000. The raiser called, and I called.
The turn was the 9 of diamonds completing my flush. It was checked to me, and I bet 6,000. The small blind called, and the raiser folded.
He had a little over 9k left at this point, and the river was a decent card for me, the queen of hearts. He checked and I decided to bet 6k again. I figured that if I said all-in, he might fold because his �tournament life is on the line� (I hate that expression by the way). As expected, he called the 6k. I showed my hand, and he mucked his pocket aces face up (he did NOT have the ace of diamonds).
That was a nice donation, and I was up to 40k really early on.
I don�t remember the action on this hand, but against the same guy that had AA in the previous hand, I got 87 of diamonds all-in against his 55 on the 9652 board with 2 diamonds. I had the nut straight, so he had 10 outs to pair the board. He hit a 5 and quadded up.
Not long after that, during 100/200 blinds, a big stack that was playing really transparently made it 700 in early position. I called with QJo, and the guy to my left called.
Flop: 998 rainbow (2400 in pot). Before the flop came, the raiser LOL checked blind! I don�t think I�ve ever seen a preflop raiser check blind before. I checked, and the dude after me bet 1k. The raiser called, and I figured I was likely to be drawing to 10 outs, so I called as well.
Turn: Q (5400 in pot). The raiser checked and I bet 2500. The guy after me folded, and the raiser called. At this point I was sure I was ahead.
River: T (10400 in pot). The raiser bet 5k into me. So I made my straight, but I hated seeing this bet. He played his hand a lot like TT, especially with the retarded blind check and the resulting action. It was also possible that he had JJ or maybe even some other random jack. I called, and he flipped over TT.
I was back down to 20k after those two suckouts, and I won a couple of pots to get myself right back to 40k.
At 100/200 I raised 66 in EP to 600. 3 people called me including both the blinds.
Flop: 6c 5s 2c (2400 in pot). The SB checked, and the big blind went all-in. I asked for a count and the dealer told me some number in the two thousands. I put those chips out. As I was doing that, someone corrected the dealer and said it was actually 3250, which was good news for me, so I put more chips out. The only seemingly competent player at my table called in late position (A young Swedish player, but not the stereotypical crazy Swede).
Turn: 4c (12150 in pot). That card sucked. If the BB wasn�t shoving a flush draw, then the Swede was fairly likely to have one. I checked, he bet 6k, and I called figuring I was behind but had 10 outs to pair the board and some implied odds. We both started the hand with around 40k, but I knew I wasn�t going to get his whole stack.
River: 3d (12150 in main pot, 12k in side pot). I checked, the Swede bet 6k, and I had to fold. It would have really sucked if he flipped over something like 53 for a straight that we would have chopped, but I was pretty sure he had a flush, which he did.
He flipped over A7 of clubs, and the BB had QJ of clubs.
Not long after that, the Swede raised to 1200 utg at 200/400 blinds. The donk to his left called, and I called in late position with A7 of diamonds.
Flop: AJJ (4200 in pot)
It checked to me, and I bet 2400. The Swede called, and the donk tanked and folded what he later claimed to be AK (LOL).
Turn: 5 (9k in pot)
The Swede checked, and I decided it was very unlikely he had more than 2 outs against me, and I was a lot more likely to get paid off on the river if a value bet was in order.
River: Queen (9k in pot)
He led out into me for 4,000, and I made a crying call. Sure enough, he flipped over QQ. I probably should have folded, but I was afraid he just had something like ace rag in which case a fold would have been disastrous. QQ was really the only hand that made sense, even despite that bad check call on the flop.
I still had almost 20k after those hands, but then I want on a run similar to what happened to me on day one of the Bellagio 25k. I just kept flopping pairs and losing small pots with them. I was able to get away from top pair cheaply several times, but the damage adds up fast when you are playing 200/400. Eventually I was down to 5k and made a good semi-bluff with a gut shot. I got one guy to fold a big overpair, but unfortunately one of the blinds woke up behind him with a set. I missed my straight (and my overcard was no longer live), and I was out of the WSOP.
I felt miserable after that. Things started off so well and the players at my table were so bad that my expectations were really high. There was nothing I could do though. I really brought out my A game, but those four suckouts, and then the run of cold of cards after were more than anyone could handle.
I felt unreal bad for the next few hours. I thought about how badly the WSOP went for me. When I was in amazing shape to win a bracelet, I ran kings into aces for 70% of the chips in play for the entire tournament. The only other event I got to day three in was the 50k horse, in which I had over a million chips in, only to bubble the one event you don�t want to bubble on day four. There�s nothing more brutal than a $88,000 bubble after having that many chips.
Wow, I managed to depress myself again just by writing that.
After a while I looked back on the real results from the WSOP, and it made me feel A LOT better.
I made a lot of money myself.
I made a lot of money on the people I staked / bought action from.
I got a ton of great press including a simulcasted final table, and the final table I did the commentary of.
I finally got a lot of ESPN time (in the 50k HORSE).
I got a wonderful sponsorship deal from Bodog.
And I still have a ton of friends AND horses with lots of chips in the Main Event.
Even forgetting all that, my personal life is amazing right now for reasons that can�t be too hard to guess.
Ok, that�s it for the WSOP; time to move on. I played day 1 of the $10,000 Bellagio Cup WPT yesterday. I brought my A game again and doubled up to 40,000 chips pretty early. From there I grinded up to 65k.
Kido Pham was at my table, but luckily he was two seats to my right, and I really took advantage of it. He was playing loose, although not his �mythical super aggro gambly game�. I reraised him three times early on, with AJ, then Q9o and then 99. He folded two of those preflop, and the other to a c-bet from me on the flop.
At 200/400 Kido raised the button to 1200. I reraised AK in the big blind to 3600, and he called. The flop came 877, and I checked. Kido bet 4,000, and I checkraised all-in. He grumbled a bit and finally folded.
THE VERY NEXT HAND, Kido raised the cutoff to 1500, and I looked down at AK in the small blind. I tried not to laugh when I saw it, and was successful. I raised to 4500, and Haralabos (SP?) who was on the other side of the table started laughing. This was the 5th time I had reraised Kido, and the second hand IN A ROW I had reraised him. Again, I tried not to laugh, but this time I was unsuccessful. I quickly put on a straight face, only to see Ian Johns in the big blind throw out a lot of chips for a reraise. He had about 30k total, and it was an amount big enough that he was almost definitely committed for his whole stack. Kido was happy to see someone make a stand against me, and folded. I pushed all-in, and Ian called with Jacks.
There was over 60k in the pot, and it all got shipped to IanJ after I lost the coinflip.
I was down to 40k after that and just grinded for a bit.
Something that almost never happens to me happened later in the day. I made an elaborate multi-street bluff, complete with a flop float, and it failed! I can�t really talk about this hand without giving away too much about how I play and think, so I can�t really discuss it.
Long story short, I raised more than half my stack on the turn when I felt someone had a weak-ish one pair hand, and he moved all-in with that weak-ish one pair hand, and I was forced to fold with only about 18k chips left.
Blinds were 300/600 by this point, and I lost a couple of small pots bringing me down to 13,450 when the day finished.
So I have fewer chips than a starting stack which kind of sucks, but there�s nothing I can do other than bring me A-game to when I play again on Friday (they added a 3rd day 1 at the last minute which kind of sucked). I have had a lot of success at Bellagio WPT events, so don�t count me out just yet.
Thanks for reading, and sorry that I couldn�t bring home any bracelets this year.
� Justin Bonomo
