WSOP trip report part 5, Grounddonk Day, Event 10

Is there really anyone out there who didn’t enjoy the classic Bill Murray comedy ‘Groundhog day’ which sees Murray’s character reliving the same enjoyable yet torturous day over and over and over, always with the same end result of him waking up in his bed having to do it all over again? The film was funny, poignant, and sweet, and in the end we find out to literally get forward in his life (though the lesson/situation is obviously metaphorical) that Murray must become a better man/decent person. Apparently, I still have some self improvement to go.

Today was the 2k NL event, which I registered for last night so I could sleep a little later. I get over to my table and sit down next to a young guy I will later find out is the pride of NVG, TStoneMBD. On his left is super lag/semi donk cash games player Amnon Fillipe. TStone would bust fairly early, but Fillipe was on my left all day and because of his position and unwillingness to fold, gave me substantial trouble. In the first couple levels I sat most tight though tried to see some flops during the 25/50 level and value town people while the bad players were still in, but nothing really came together. By the first break I’d put my stack from 4000 to 4400. When we come back and blinds are 100/200 I am barely keeping my head above water at like 3800 after paying a couple rounds of blinds and having very little in the way of playable hands. Finally about a half hour into the level I find JJ in the BB. It folds around to a short button who jams, and the SB who’s also somewhat short rejams, and I obviously rejam. Button shows K9, SB 77, and may JJ holds to put me around 7k. By the time we reach 100/200 with 25 ante, I have managed to very slowly grow my stack to about 8200. I have a super tight image when the following (obviously SUPER non standard) hand comes up:
UTG is a really bad/loose player who likes to limp a lot but often gives up his limps quite easy. UTG+1 is Shaundeebs best friend GB2005, an online regular who obviously noticed my tight image. UTG limps, UTG+1 limps, and it folds to me on the CO. I decide with over 1000 out there and my super tight image to raise any 2, and look down at T5o and make it 1400 to go. Unfortunately, Fillipe decides to be a jerk off on the button and flat call, blinds fold, UTG goes “oh wait, did he call? Okay I call to” then GB2005 decides with so much out, he might as well call. Awesome, I am SO smart.

Flop A 2 3

Wow, I could not ask for a better bluffing board since fillipe is realistically only person who can have an A, and even that’s fairly unlikely. UTG checks, UTG+1 checks, I fire 2400 (you can c bet so tiny in live), fillipe folds, UTG fold, GB2005 folds. Sweet.

A few hands later I wake up with AA on the button. An aggro young player raises the 100/200 blinds to 750 in MP2, and the hijack calls. The hijack was a bad middle aged player who post flop had shown a propensity to attempt hopeless bluffs whenever given the opportunity. The CO folds, and I make it 2750 on the button. Both blinds fold, the OR folds, and the HJ calls.
Flop: 8 4 4 rainbow
HJ checks, I decide to check back.
Turn: 8, full rainbow
This all looks very safe to me. HJ bets 3500, I mull things over a moment then call.
River: 9
HJ counts some chips out, looks at my stack, then checks. I move in and he looks annoyed and folds. At this point my stack is quite healthy around 20k


A few hands later GB2005 would bust in a moderately amusing hand. MP1 raises the now 150/300 blinds to 1100, Fillipe calls in LP like he often does, and in the BB GB2005 reraises to 4500, leaving himself around 3500. The original raiser folds, and Fillipe tanks, then calls. GB2005 stops the dealer before he can burn and turn, then moves in blind.

Flop: T 8 5

GB2005 is all in, and Fillipe calls showing KThh. GB2005 turns over AJ and Fillipe immediately begins insulting him about how awful moving all in blind is. “That’s the worst play you can make in holdem, how do you expect to get a fold out of me like that?” Fillipes KT holds and GB2005 starts shooting back “the worst play in holdem is calling there pre flop.”
Fillipe through this kind of “excellent” play, has managed to build quite a stack for himself. Live pro’s are so good.

We go on break and I am feeling good. My table is nowhere near as soft as it’s been in previous days, but it’s still better/softer than your average online table. When we come back blinds are 200/400 with 50 ante.

A few hands into the round I look down at my hand in the BB and again am greeted by AA. It folds to MP2 who makes it 1500, hijack calls, then SB jams for like 11k. I ejaculate, then rejam, with both other players folding. He turns over AKdd and although he flops a flush draw I manage to hold.

The next hand in the SB I look down at QQ. God I’m so good at this game. The player who raised the previous hand, who at this point is fairly short, open raises to 1500 again, it folds to me and I make it 4800 which is almost all in for him. BB folds, he jams, and I hold vs AK. At this point I am around 38 or 39k, which will be about average stack going into the money. I’m feeling very good at this point, perhaps today is the day where things are going to go very right for me at the WSOP, they have so far. Hahahaha, stupid naive Bond18.

After winning these pots but still having a very tight image, I attempt to try and capitalize. A loose/aggressive button (the guy who bluffed into me with my AA) raises to the button to 1100, the SB folds, and I make it 3500 with K5ss, hoping he’ll remember how bad things turned out last time he called my reraise. He tanks, then reraises 70% of his stack to 8500. Charming, I drop out.

I open raise KJo on the CO and the button, who’s fairly new to the table, jams his 18 BB’s. Okay, fine, have it.

A fairly weak player is moved to my right and keeps min raising when he opens in LP. Both times somebody has popped his min raise, he folds. It folds around to him on the button and he barely over min raises to 900. I make it 2900 in the SB with Q2hh. BB folds, and he calls. Flop 8 4 3. Well at least he probably didn’t hit. I fire out 3600, which he quickly jams over. He would later tell me in what seemed a very honest confession, that he flopped a set.

We go on break again and I am back in the high 20 thousands. We come back with a half hours play before going to dinner, with 300/600 blinds and 75 antes. First hand back I raise KhQd 9 handed in EP to 1800 and the terrible player who “flopped a set” calls in the BB.

Flop: Js 5s 2h
He checks, I fire 2400, he calls.

Turn: Ts
He checks, definitely not my card but I do pick up outs if he doesn’t have a flush. I check back.

River: 7d
He thinks things over, then checks. I decide there’s very little I can represent at this point, and obviously a J is never folding, so I check back. He shows 9s9h, fair enough.

A round later I get AhKd in EP and make it 1800. Fillipe calls me in position, we’re both pretty decent sized but not huge stacks. He’s reraised me quite a few times pre, as well as cold called.
Flop: 8 7 7 rainbow
Blegh, being OOP here sucks so bad. I bet 2400, he flats.
Turn: 6
I check and give up to his bet of about 60% of his stack.

By the time we go to dinner this disastrous half hour has knocked me down to 17k. I go to dinner with a sizeable troupe of 2p2’ers including stevepa, adanthar, mlagoo, iweargoggles, shaundeeb, wardekar, dawgz, and the latest money bags, Thayer. Dinner is a good/social/relaxing time and when I get back to the table I feel pretty at ease and am hoping to repair my stack and make a run. About 10 minutes after we get back I look down at KK in EP. I make it 1800 (same blinds, a half hour more) and the button shoves for 11,500. Blinds fold, I auto call, and he shows AK.
Flop:
A 5 3, A on the door.
Turn/river: Not a king.
Blaaaaaaaaaaaargh, like 5500 left at 3/600. I pay my blinds without a hand to jam, and as I’m about to throw the ante in for my button we are informed that the table is breaking. I am shipped over to a new table where I am obviously seated UTG. After posting my ante I have 4100 left.

The dealer throws me my first card, the Ac! Come on dealer, there’s a bunch of outs in there that give me a shoveable hand, and at these antes some might argue all of them. I look down at the 2nd, the Ad!! I jam my 4100 in the middle, and it folds to the SB who calls with QQ. My AA holds and I’m back well over 8000. I pay my blinds, after which blinds go up to 4/800 with 100 ante. I fold my button to a raise, and on the CO find QJo. The action folds to me, I jam, and pick up blinds+antes. Now I’m a bit over 10k.

I fold my HJ next hand, but in MP2 it folds to me with KQhh and I jam again. Again it folds to me and I am back around 12k. I fold for a round more until I am dealt A9o on the button. It folds to the CO with just under 8k chips, who jams. Hmm, I think this over. CO is a moderately young, European guy, who from the very limited information I had, seemed a little to loose. I ask him how loose he’s jamming, and he smiles and says “ask all them” and points at the others. They all smile. Alright, I rejam, and the blinds fold. The all in player flips up KJo, and my A9 is in front.

Flop: J 6 5, J on the door.
Turn/river: Not important. I am left with like 2400 chips with a 100 ante. I fold to raises with total junk hands until I find 67cc with 1900 left and it folds to me. I jam and run into JJ. GG me.

Yet again I found myself in the tournament with a comfortable/sizeable stack, and yet again it vanished before my eyes. I’ve been doing review sessions of my play (online) in my off time, and I feel like I’m slowing things down well on the tables and thinking over my decisions. A lot of what happened today very little could be done about on either players side of things. I attempted 2 resteals, 2 utg steals (live players hardcore fear utg raises), and a very standard amount of LP raises, if not a little less with Fillipi constantly calling/playing back. I feel I’m adjusting to live pretty well, though sometimes the slow pace, boredom, and peoples moronic [censored] can be quite bothersome.

Anyway, tomorrow is the $1500 short handed event, which I’m getting a major hard on just thinking about. I mean come on, short handed, with LIVE players? Does it get any better than that? Hopefully, tomorrow doesn’t have that strange familiar feeling…

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