[22:09] Adanthar: so I have a limit shootout table with matt matros, david levi, shawn keller and 2 other guys who aren't supposed to suck
[22:10] Adanthar: so they all suck, and david levi CR's me in a 3 bet PF pot with Qc8x on an AcTc3x board, I am never EVER folding KQ to that clown, he gets there
[22:10] Adanthar: (turn Kc obv so I lose the most)
[22:11] Adanthar: but that's ok, I come back, run a big bluff on Keller then bust him with the only time I bad beat someone all tourney, pick up pots playing well and get 3 handed with Matros and Levi with a chip lead
[22:12] Adanthar: I raise A6, MM calls from the SB (yes calls) with A3, flop A32 with a flush draw, MM is playing so passive that when he CR's I ACTUALLY THINK ABOUT FOLDING TOP PAIR ON THE TURN 3 HANDED IN LIMIT
[22:12] Adanthar: but ok fine, I still have chips
[22:12] Adanthar: I raise 88, MM calls
[22:12] Adanthar: flop 652, I bet he calls
[22:12] Adanthar: I check dark, turn 3, he bets, of course I CR, he calls
[22:12] Adanthar: river 6, I bet, HE CALLS WITH Q4 FOR THE TURNED GUTSHOT AND NEVER RAISES ANYWHERE
[22:13] Adanthar: LIVE POKER IS SO AWESOME

I'm willing to concede Matt Matros just had an off day - all right, he was way too passive, whatever. That happens. But when David Levi calls my raises 8 billion times and leads out (instead of, say, letting me lose chips) whenever he hits top pair...there's just something weird about how these guys can possibly win money at poker.

They're great at hitting 20%'s in big pots, though!

edit: although I have to admit that MM asking who I was and visibly being impressed with my play (you know, prior to the whole 'turn a gutshot and never raise' thing) was a cheap thrill.

I just realized I said '2 for 13' in my last entry but didn't explain what that actually means. Most people don't understand how ridiculous the tournament scene is, so think about it this way:

WSOP tournaments, like most tournaments, pay the top 10% or so, meaning that I'm above average (not that the sample size means anything, heh.) However, obviously, only the top few spots really pay anything - the rest range from 2-10 buyins. To put it another way, instead of the 1 in 10 expectation of an average player, my 2 for 13 finish cost my backers ~13 thousand bucks so far.

This is by no means bad - it's basically close to breaking even (in fact, I myself will probably roughly break even on the trip after costs, because I'm up a few thousand in satellites, have the 3K from Matt for the Sunday Million help, etc., not counting the main event.) Nor are my results anywhere near the bottom. Of the eight people being staked by my backers, only two I know of have actually come out ahead thus far - not nearly enough to cover their combined buyins - and I'm probably third or fourth of the eighth on the ladder. That's not counting the 70,000 in ME $ they will be shelling out. There's an amazing amount of trading online cash for actual cash going on, several people I've always thought were good have left early due to losing their entire bankrolls (admittedly, strip clubs and blackjack pits have a lot to do with this), and this is all just the tip of the iceberg.

I personally know four people who are up $150,000+ due to coming out to Vegas. I also know roughly ten times that many who are down on their trips, including practically every single tourney pro I have talked to [minus the ones who actually have top 5 finishes - but the ones with a 7'th or 8'th place finish *still* often have a losing month.]

On the one hand, there's no question that over the long run, there is an amazing amount of money to be made here. On the other, it's all about buying the 'top 3 out of a pool of a thousand' lottery ticket, and, just looking at the percentages...that's potentially a pretty long dry spell waiting to happen. There are good reasons why so many tourney pros eventually wind up switching to cash.

The rebuy results = pretty uneventful. I busted 370-ish out of 1000 after misplaying a hand, but in retrospect it was a pretty tough spot to avoid. I also had two major suckouts - one QQ > AA during the rebuy period that meant I was in for the minimum 4K, and one AK > KK hand to double through Marc Karam in a big pot (mind you, I already busted him in razz once) - so, once again, I can't really complain. I used a voice recorder for key hands (for both this and the 1500) and will be putting everything down as soon as I'm done with the limit shootout. Sneak preview: David Williams and Mark Seif both play weird, Shannon Elizabeth is a tiltbox, and I'm stealing so many lines from Jordan Morgan it's not even funny.

To add things up, my total this summer is 2 cashes in 13 big live tourneys with 2 to play (the main event and the shootout tomorrow), 3 day 2's, and a bunch of (probably 5 or 6) dinner breaks. It's not what I was hoping for, but on the other hand, I feel like I ran cold enough in enough critical spots [losing that gigantic coinflip in the 6 max event alone was probably worth 15-20 thousand bucks] that, if/when everything evens out long term, I'm a huge favorite in these things. When all is said and done, I get money back from my backers, and I add up the taxi rides, plane tickets, extra rent, etc., this will probably add up to be a relatively expensive vacation, but I've learned enough from this that I feel I'm a much better and more confident player for it, not to mention the contacts. It's going to be worth it in the end (unless I bubble the ME, in which case, look for me high jumping off the Luxor...just kidding), and frankly, I've made enough from poker that this stuff easily fits into the budget.

I play on day 1B (I think it's the 7'th) and Minsun, my wife, gets into Vegas for a week on the night of the 5'th, so essentially, after the LSO I'll be on a several day break from live poker. This is going to be a good time to go over all of my notes, think about hands, sit back and analyze the last month...not to mention have a bunch of fun hanging out with my lover and best friend I haven't seen in a month :) Life is good.

Step 1: Get dealt 66x1, 55x2, 22x1 and no other pairs or AT+ in 4 hours
Step 2: Drift down from 93K at 1/2K to 43K at 2/4K
Step 3: Lose a race
Step 4: Collect a 3.5 buyin payout for finishing 112'th of 3100-odd people

Honestly, I can't complain - this wasn't the worst tourney I've played this WSOP, but I caught my share of breaks on Day 1 to finish where I did. It does suck to run this cold in the important spots, however.

Full report coming when I get a chance to type it out. I'm changing plans and actually playing in the 1K rebuy tomorrow, so this may take a little while.

I skipped Friday's 2K event due largely to lack of sleep, but played in today's 1500 event. Despite starting the day as an alternate 2 hours in (meaning everyone at my table started the tournament with 15 BB) *and* playing mediocre [not that I played that bad on the whole, but a couple of plays definitely made the other guy Sklansky bucks], I actually have a 2x average 93K stack going into Day 2 with 250/3100 or so left. Play bad, get there, I guess.

Big update if/when I busto since I have a ton of hands to post.