blonde poker forum

I have decided to keep a daily journal of my first WSOP that I can look back on in future years. I started playing poker in May 2003, I love playing poker, but do not play for a living. My results are poor bearing in mind the number of tournaments I have entered. In fact, I am only 10,000 in profit over my whole poker career after deducting entry fees and expenses. Therefore, if my living depended on poker, I would have died of starvation half way through 2004. The beauty of poker is that you can play with the best players in the world if you are prepared to pay the entry fees. I intend to play 11 events at the WSOP, which will cost me around $33,000 plus expenses of $7,000. Luckily, I won 2 seats for the main event on Party Poker (Nick The Shrew Whiten is using the second one) . Over the last 8 years I have always been comped for all my hotels and expenses in Vegas due to my blackjack play, but this time, I have decided to lay off the blackjack and pay all my own bills ($140 per night at the Rio for 31 nights!), My total costs for the whole trip are therefore $40,000. I have 2 minimum targets for this trip;

1)   To win $50,000 (The theoretical total cost if I had to pay into the main event)
2)   To improve my tournament strategy by playing with the best players in the world

I do not subscribe to the theory shared by many average players like myself, that these top pros only win because they get sponsored into every event, or they just play on their reputation. I believe that they have key qualities that differentiate their play from the rest of the field. They know when to fire the 2nd or 3rd bullet on a bluff, when to re-raise pre-flop with junk, and when to lay down AK. I want to know how, ideally without it costing me $40,000 and this is the best place to learn - so lets hope I get some luck!

Arrived at Manchester Airport and upgraded to 1st Class for 600, no queuing, could even smoke in the 1st class lounge, superb, slept all the way which should surely mean that I will be better prepared for playing poker (justifying wasting money as normal). Everything going well until I left my laptop on a bin outside of the Las Vegas Airport, only realised when I got to the Rio, grabbed a taxi back to airport and it was still there 1 hour later -  I can sense good luck omens. Tipped taxi driver $100 in a fit of euphoria and arrived back at the Rio, checked in, all rooms are suites but mine is on 13th floor overlooking the car park - I thought they didn't have 13th floors in casinos? Straight to the WSOP arena  - it's about a 10 minute walk even though it's attached to the hotel. Slight problem, WSOP have no record of the $50K I wired or the tournaments I pre-registered.
The arena is massive, holding up to 3600 players, but it seems more like a traditional sporting event rather than a casino. Atmosphere a bit strange but staff at Rio are really nice. Cash games are mad, an Irish bloke who I know pretty well, except his name, won $76,000 dollars this morning. I can hear bad beat stories everywhere. Not really anyone here who I know to talk to, maybe seen 10 familiar faces. Everyone seems to playing poker 24 hours a day, tournaments, cash games and satellites, There are 15 tables dedicated to satellites but I don't think I'll play many of them, as I want to be fresh for the events which start at 12pm sharp each day. James Woods (the actor) was playing a $200 single table satellite - the guy out of Deerhunter, Casino and The Generals Daughter. Toby McGuire (Spiderman) is also playing one of the cash games. However, the top poker players are nowhere to be seen, I guess they are staying away from the side poker games to focus on the events - I'm gonna adopt that approach. I've paid $200 dollars for unlimited use of the gym (a nicely negotiated discount of $400 dollars - I need to recoup that 1st class flight upgrade somehow). Apart from a bit of a cold from the air conditioning on the plane I'm feeling focussed and disciplined - that means no blackjack, no boozing, no all night heads-up matches! Nick The Shrew Whiten, Simon Chubby Nowab and John Grumpy Falconer don't arrive for a couple of weeks so no bad influences here either.

I didn't bring any clothes with me to Vegas as I only got back from Disneyworld with my little sister on last Friday, and didn't get around to doing any washing. Went to the Mall on the strip and bought enough clothes to last me 7 days plus a new pair of shades and earphones for my Ipod - key poker accessories. The Rio finally found my entry fees after 2 hours of research, the events co-coordinator, Liz, was really helpful, she's just recovered from cancer and advised me that I should live for today as you never know what tomorrow holds- that advice cost me another $100 tip. Even made it to the gym this morning, Phil The Unibomber Laak was there and we chatted about the Michael Jackson verdict. First event tomorrow, $5000 no limit. My early strategy is to try and trap someone who has AA or KK with my set or 2 pair - that means calling some raises with dubious hole cards but I want to double up early on. I've decided that I won't play my draws as aggressively as normal as it's a 2 day event and a slow clock, so there will be more time to get premium hands, The organisers are expecting a lot of runners as its televised on ESPN.  Liz told me they have 1800 confirmed entries for the $10K main event and are capping it at 6600, so people coming out later shouldn't have a problem getting in. My sparring partner, Carlo Citrone, is here and has had some really terrible bad beats. In one event he had flopped quad 5's on a T55 flop, his opponent holding TT - river T! I told him he deserved it after busting me out of Blackpool with his AJ v my AK.
Dear Poker Gods, please look over me tomorrow

Nice stuff. Will be fun hearing how you get on. We sat for a long time together from two tables out in the 500 at Luton in January. I'm out on the 4th, maybe see you then

Great read Rob....BUT... I have some bad news for you...We have rescheduled our trip so I will be there THIS sunday with chubbs and grumps, so your new found disciplne of not playing the world heads up runner up all night will be tested to the full .

Good luck mate
See you sunday

Kev.

Excellent stuff Rob, excellent, keep them coming pease, our guys are gonna love this stuff.

Two things.

"1,800 confirmed entries"? I thought they had 6,000 confirmed. Can you clarify? Surely the oft-quoted 6,000 was not just hype? I guess "CONFIRMED entries" may be the clue.

The Irishman who won the $76,000 was Denis O'Mahoney, he's a blondeite too, "IrishDenis". Please say hi to him from me, he's a good bud. He & I swapped 10% for the entire Luton Festival earlier this year. I picked up 500 in Prize Money, he picked up 10,000.........Ker-ching!

What a great read for someone who cant go, sigh! Imagine being in Vegas with Robs money and my good looks.....
 
Cant wait for next instalment, keep it up Rob, and GOOD LUCK!

Wish you the best of luck. last year was my first playing live tournament poker at Nottingham and your game impressed me from the start, you sent me home more than once, completely out playing me, a couple of times with big draws and once playing a pair of Kings in position better than I'd ever seen up to that point (and beyond come to think of it).

Hope you smash your targets.

Good luck rob, chubbs and grumps will be there on sunday but the real test will come on the 3rd of july when the Blackpool secret weapon arrives- your nemisis womble. He is hoping you can pay his main event fee with your heads up matches  ;) Hope all goes well for you mate and I will see you on the 3rd.

Looks good dude its $5000 tonight/today 12noon/8pm start uk time hay
Good Luck

Great work Rob, I am so jealous, I wish I was out there playing. Enjoy, have the time of your life.

hi there rob simon here just at johns house thats why you getting reply from his account
anyone who know's rob he is a great lad but his attention span is quite short i.e nano seconds so when i woke up this morning to find that i had recieved an e-mail from the YONGSTA i was quite surprised because when he's away he is uncontactable so for him to get in contact means 3 things
1. hes won money
2.he's had a bad beat
3.he's bored shitless can wait for the lads to be there so we can get out partying and play some heads up
so i hope he has a good game today and wish him all the luck if he has a bad beat believe me he will be battering some blackjack tables and giving plenty of bannter to the dealers so we hope you have a good game rob 4-5 days be good until then
regard
JOHN and simon

And, ahem, a big welcome to the blonde forum to....Burnley John.

Do you play poker mr John? - or can I call you Burnley?

And is it really you? - I was told you could not read or write, or use punctuation. Ridiculous.

But good content, & my guess is thast it's Option 3) - bored, err, that word you used. I've never had an e-mail from Rob - EVER - until today, when he has sent me NINE.

Think he misses his Smithers chappie - what his name? Nick Nice Guy Whiten is it?

nice post rob - you know it was only when we convinced a young tikay to make public his musings that his star eventually started to ascend....
good luck tonight, you got the game, your time has arrived.
cu on the 3rd

See, it's very official now. ".....a young tikay..."

Good Luck tonight Rob, strut your stuff in that strutty way you have!

Read the first line of the burnley john post again ....It was simon posting, john is still trying to work out why the mouse that came with his computer wont eat the cheese he leaves out for it every night ;)

lol - nice one kev!  :)

that the best one liner i have heard this year KEV
going to sleep with a smile c u friday

See ya Friday big boy ... I am bringing a nice bottle of JD with me :)

just talking to talking to john on the phone he's not impressed and pls wait for the call big boy it will be soon

Got up nice an early, went to gym and spent a couple of hours by the pool. Its red hot in the morning but no poker players to be seen, surprise surprise, the action is 24 hours here. There are 3 pools at the Rio, backing onto Caesars Palace and the strip, its beautiful here. Got to arena at 11.55pm, found seat and checked out my opponents. All 3 players to my left were wearing WSOP bracelets including John Hennigan who I had seen on TV playing the WPT.  The 1st level was very aggressive, with John Hennigan taking control of the table. I tried to play a few pots with him but he just bet me out. 2 guys out already, one poor chap ran into quad 9's with his nut flush (turn 9 and river 9!). I was absolutely card dead, by best hand being KQ under the gun. I played a couple of pots with suited connectors but hit nothing. Down to 3,500 chips at the start of level 2. I then played a couple of multi-way pots with 99 and 66 to try and hit a set but without success. Then on the big blind I picked up a massive hand - 55, 6 people limped in and the small blind raised $400. I felt he was weak as he done the same with A8 off suit last round. This made over $1000 in the pot. I thought about passing my 55 but the pot was smiling at me, so I moved all-in for $3000 not expecting a call, or wanting one. The 1st limper said to me, are you all-in? and then took ages to make up his mind and flat called my $3000. I knew I was in deep trouble, as with a hand like AK or TT he would have moved all-in to isolate me. Everyone passed and he turned over AA. Never mind I thought, only a 4-1 dog, Its about time I hit a set - the flop came AKK - game over. The small blind commented that he was glad he passed his A rag, as he would have got involved! What did I learn todayDon't try to be too clever with that many limpers in the pot! There were 498 entries today, I went out 387th, very poor showing. Due to my early exit I'm off to the Palms Hotel tonight to play a $400 comp, there're getting 300+ runners more every night. There is also a $500 at the Bellagio at 2pm every day, so plenty to do if you get knocked out. Had a coffee with Robert Binelli after I got knocked out and he told me that I overplayed my 55 to which I replied, But I never wanted a caller, Rob!  Tikay has asked me to email some photos over, if anyone has any special requests please let me know.

can you send over a few lap dancers

Nice post Riob, vey honest. More of the same - with better results we hope - please.

I loved that post rob, telling us what you were thinking as well as what happend, although I wish your luck had been better

Keep em coming, dont neglect us when your mates get there!

Rob, could you possibly find out what day I am down to play the main event ?

Ralph (Karabiner) Shalson.

Thanks in advance if you can manage it.

At least your consistant dude, out first or all the way!!!!
I'm down and didint even see my hole cards!!!!!!

MMMMMMmmmmm JD straight with lots of ice!

Those Blondites who are flying out Sunday, when and where are you flying from? I'm also flying Sunday and it'd be good to meet a few of ya.

Nice posts Rob.

We are flying from manchester baron...I think there is only one flight from there on a sunday..9.55 am i think

D'oh. Ok I'm going from Gatwick. Cheers anyway. See you out there!

Yeah  i hope so ... Tikay is buying us dinner ya know :)  Talking of which, are we gonna make arrangements for that Mr. Kendall ?

Kev, I don't know Vegas - it's my first visit - so I will need someone to sort a Restaurant. And we need time to invite all the blondeites, & we don't know who's going yet. I am there 3rd July for 2 weeks, I think we oughta have our dinner just before we come home. We may even have a World Champion with us - how good would THAT be?

But YES, I am good for my word - the Blondeites Dinner is on tikay.

Here's a pic of Vegas that Rob Yong sent for you guys. I believe it's the apartment that Rob has rented. Likes to live well, does our Rob.

[attachment deleted by admin]

Not a bad place i suppose..for a holiday home ;)

You should see his Caravan

I wonder how much the window cleaner charges at the rio ?

I wonder how big his ladder is

Rob's, or the window cleaners?

Robs is bound to be a whopper.

Hi Rob,

Love the diary! It makes great reading and I look forward to the next installament.

Loved your honesty on the pair of 5's story, unlucky. I wish you better luck next time and I truly hope you smash your 50K target.

A month in Vegas, now that sounds very, very good.

I took up Poker in January, so I'm still a small "fish" in a huge pond. I dream of going to Vegas like you have and mixing it with the stars and maybe even picking up a win or 2! But will have to remain focused on learning my game for now.

I know the Chris Moneymaker story reads well, and I've read his book. The media make it seem like he was a complete novice, but the truth is he was always a gambler and a man who liked to bet big. He had also played a lot of live games locally.

But that doesn't mean to say I'm not going to have a go on BetFair nxt week to try and qualify!!!!!! LOL!

Anyway, John, I'm insanely jealous. The hype around WSOP 2005 is huge. I watched The Poker Channel last night and saw the RIO hotel; it looks great.

I wish you every success and keep the diary up.

Good luck.

Rich

i thought that was his caravan

least u had the grapefruits to make the move with your 5s.  :)

Spent day by the pool and then went to the Palms tonight to play a $200 re-buy (only 1 allowed so effectively a $400 freeze out). Running pretty well until I busted out with 2 crazy hands. Hand 1 : 2 limpers in the pot and I am on the dolly.. I make my mind up that I am going to raise whatever my hold cards are, as they both are tight players and I have position, so can bluff the flop if one of them calls, I look down and see 72 off suit so I obviously I raise 4 X BB, the first limper calls and the second one passes. Flop comes772, wow, and he bets out full pot, I put him on an over pair and re-raise all in as he cannot pass on this flop so no reason to slowplay, he calls and shows 99. I turn over 72 and the whole table looks disgusted, the guy with 99 says how can you raise with that, to which I reply, I never wanted a caller (sound familiar?). BUT turn K and then river 9!!!! The worst thing was it was the case 9, as the BB said he passed J9! What's the world coming to when these premium hands do not hold up. That cost me 50% of my stack. Hand 2: I am under the gun with AA,  I limp, unfortunately no one raises and everyone passes leaving me and the BB, flop comes 89J, all hearts, I have the ace of hearts but I'm still not over the moon with the flop, the BB bets full pot, I don't put her on a made as she wants me to pass by the size of her bet and her expression, I move -all in, she thinks for ages and then calls with T7 of spades, she had made her straight. No hearts come and I'm out. I played the worst hand in hold'em, 72 off suit, and the best, pocket aces, and got battered both times. Back to the hotel, met Carlson, a guy from California who I met in Maho, had a couple of drinks with him. He has brought his wife and 2 kids to Vegas for the full 6 weeks (one kid is 2 and the other one is just 3 weeks old!). I made my way towards the elevator to get an early night. but for some strange reason I was drawn to a sign saying High Limit Tables and it smiled right at me. Well, nobody is perfect, I've trained at the gym everyday, not been drinking alcohol, not played the cash gamesAND I am better at Blackjack than poker! Anyway, to cut a long story short, I won $40,000 after a long session and deposited the cash behind the cage. That's the last time I play this trip, cause it's7am in the morning and I have not been to bed yet (Chubby - this is why I have not posted, thanks for the mail). 2 lessons learnt today, muck 72 offsuit on the button and raise with AA under the gun..most of the time, but if the 72 is suited

Do I get the feeling that you are one of those guys who's always lucky in life??!!! LOL....

You seem to have a reverse leak going!

i've been waiting 6 hours for you to post now you have acheived your fianancial targetfor the trip you hotel comped been a good f"c*ing boy for 4 days get out there and kick SOME ASS THE YONGSTA WAY you've gone to play poker so stop feeling sorry for yourself and start to have fun give plenty of banter as much as you want no rules there get in the big games and shine like the star we all know you are
be POSITIVE
chubbs

Nice one Rob,
Should get it comped now, vegas here i come!!!!!!!

It's the $1500 limit shootout today.  If you win your table you're in the money. I'm not playing but I have bought 33% of Carlson whose a experienced limit player. He lived in Vegas playing limit at the Bellagio for a living until he started his family. Wish I hadn't now, as he called me at 11am and woke me up! After my blackjack session I only managed 3 hours kip. Some interesting happenings in Vegas.this week: The Wynn Casino (owned and named after Steve Wynn who built the Mirage and the Bellagio) has recently opened and they are paying Daniel Negraneau a huge retainer to play cash games exclusively at their hotel (rumours of the amount vary). He is their Hotel Ambassador and plays all the cash tables even the $2-4 limit. He has also pledged to take any heads-up challenge for ANY amount of money at ANY poker game so I'm gonna ask him if he'll take Tikay on at Piduki for $100. The Wynn have also introduced automatic shufflers to give players more hands per hour and stop dealer collusion. Last night a guy was shot dead just off on the strip in a drive by (less than 3 minutes walk from the Rio), apparently there is 1 homicide per day in Vegas but it never gets put in the papers in case it hurts the tourism. Harrahs, who own the WSOP have just purchased Caesar's Palace Hotel this week so they now own 5 hotels on the strip. The biggest cash game in world is at the Bellagio, most afternoons Doyle Brunson, Gus Hanson, Jonny Chan , Chip Reece, Phil Ivey & Co sit down and play $4000-$8000 dealers choice (yes $8000 to see a flop, or $32,000 with normal 3 bet pre-flop raises). I saw Gus Hanson bet $250K when the board paired up on the river in Pot Limit Omaha , Jonny Chan called with the nut flush and Hanson mucked his bluff and remarked casually to the pit boss, chuck me over another rack of blues!  Over 30 casino's now have poker rooms (a lot of them closed them to put in more slot machines in the 80's) but the comps are still poor for poker players, you get a reduced hotel rate by about 25% and free drinks, although there are not really free as you have to tip the dealer. I'm making sure that I always have lost of change as the last 2 times I have tipped I only had $100 bills!  As usual everyone I speak to is doing okay on the trip so far, rarely does anyone admit they are losing and if they do, write off the next 15 minutes prepare yourself for some bad beat stories. However, everyone is really friendly here and its easy to get to know new people as we all have something in common, we're degenerate gamblers living on the hope we will land a big score. What I place ehI love it!
 

Rob, you write GREAT. More please, it's so "honest".

good skills chap, sounds like the cavalry are on their way

487 entries in the $1500 limit shootout. Went to arena at around 3pm and bumped into Simon Trumper and Bushy. Bushy's table still had 10 players left on it, while most other tables were down to 6 players, he had a very tough table with Barry Greenstein and TJ Coutier (unfortunately he didn't get through). After a hour chatting to Aces Trumper in Starbucks, Paul Maxfield, who recently won $2m in the WPT $25,000 Bellagio tournament, turned up with his brother-in-law. Paul's a really down to earth bloke and has some interesting views on the future of poker and still definitely has his feet well on the ground (he was stressing the merits of the $10 lunch voucher you get with each tournament entry!).  They are expecting 1000 entries for the $1500 No Limit Shootout tomorrow, this means that you effectively have to win 3 single table satellites to win the event (1000 runners > 100 runners > 10 final table > 1 winner), and with1st prize being over $500,000 - what a tournament. My strategy is to play exactly the same as I do on the Partypoker Steps, very tight until the blinds get more than 10% of the average stack then very aggressive pre-flop later on. I won't be doing any calling, its raise or fold. This strategy has won me over $50,000 on the Partypoker steps in the last 12 months. I find these formats so different to multi- table tournaments due the fact that my hole card values change as each player gets knocked out, which rewards aggressive play later on. While I am very confident for tomorrows format, I'm still not happy with my multi-table tournament strategy for the forthcoming events, I'm doing something fundamentally wrong here, but I am fighting the temptation to tighten up my game too much and play by the book like nearly all of the field do, because you have no edge if you play the same as everyone elsestill, something needs to change. Maybe my coach and mentor, Willy Miagi Tan, can help me out when he arrives. On another note, there is a lot of internet qualifiers here that have not had their seat for the main event sorted out by their web site yet, the Rio have no record of their entry. If you've qualified on the net, I'd chase it up before you get here, the WSOP told me that if you have not received an email confirming your seat, table and day yet, they have not received your entry. I tried to find out when Karabiner was playing but drew a blank. Anyway, I need to give a good showing tomorrow, I am not including the $40,000 I won at Blackjack as trip winnings, so I'm still looking for that $50,000 to breakeven.

Keep the reports coming rob, loving every minute of them. Me and womble are on the same flight as yoyo and tikay and we need you to have won big before then so we can buy dollars from you. If any of the brits score big in the meantime could you please secure 15-20k at a favourable rate for us?
russ

Forget Poker Rob, you should go head to head with TK, what is it about Notts Boys Great Poker Reports, I can Smell the Frapachino in Starbucks.

Shades on, IPOD on, I look like and intend to be a rock who is going to wait for hands early on. I say to myself minimum AQ to play any pot. We have 780 runners, Rounds 1: 80 tables of ten, Round 2: then 13 tables of 6, Final: 2 tables of 6 and 7, only the winner goes through each round and gets in the money. Luca Pandiani is the only player I recognise at my table until the number 1 player in 2004, Daniel Negraneau, comes and sits next to me on my right., Daniel raises out of position with 93 off, re-raises someone with pocket 22 and starts to run over the table with cards that would give David Sklansky a heart attack. Sod it, change of plan for me, shades off, IPOD back in bag, all ideas of tight play out of the window, If Negraneau doesn't need them - neither does the Yongsta. I just cannot be a rockas suited connectors just smile at me. As I move all-in with 75 spades on a Ks 8s 9h flop I feel freed on all my inhibitions (they all pass fortunately including a guy holding A4 of spades!). Negraneau tells me he is running bad and he has lost 3 pots of 1m each over at the Wynn this week, but he's still in profit - just. I want to say that he I wish he would hurry up and bust out so I get these rocks chips and he does, moving all in with Q9 on a JT2 flop. Down to 6 players. Here are a few hands a played, probably badly according to the books I have read:

Hand 1: I get KK under the gun, I limp, Luca moves all in for 50% of my stack, I call, 5 players left.

Hand 2: I get AA under the gun, I raise, no action, Damn, should have limped again.

Hand 3: I have 89 offsuit on the BB, I call 1 small pre-flop raise against a loose player, Flop 567! He bets, I call, next card 7, he moves all in, I call. He has A7. 4 people left.

Hand 4:  I limp with JT off suit under the gun, get 3 callers, I guy wants to raise but calls and moans about me limping in all the time. Flop 894, I check, 1 guy bets, 1 guy calls, I move all in. They all pass, thankfully. I'm pushing my luck with these draws, but my position looks like I have an over pair so the can't call.

Hand 5: Down to 3 players, 1 guy raises, another guy moves-all in, I have AQ spades, chance to knock both of them out and go through to my first WSOP money finish..I fold. They turn over QT and 44 - Ace on flop, I would have won and got through - damn. At least I am heads-up but maybe I made error here as it would only have cost me 40% of my stack.

Hand 6: Been heads-up for 10 minutes, Blinds are only 100-200 and I have 8000 chips, my opponent had 6000. He is an absolute Rock (but he has has 2 WPT final table finishes). My strategy is it to play small pots and steal his chips slowly until.I find JT on the button, I raise 800, he flat calls, whoops, I put him on AQ ish, as he would have re-raises me with AK or a pair based on his play so far, this guy would never slowplay. Flop, KQ2, I am up and down. He checks, I bet my draw $1000, he smooth calls, I know I am in serious trouble but Turn comes a beautiful big fat Ace, I have the nuts and I hope  he has hit 2 pair,. He bets $1500, small bet, he's slowplaying me! I annouce all-in and he calls immediately and turns over KQ (2 pair on flop!), I flip over my TJ to show the nuts and the river comes blank. I am through to my first ever WSOP money finish, although I think it only $3000, it still feels good!!!

I play Round 2 to at 7pm, Thanks to Daniel Negraneua for coming to my table, no shades or IPOD and playing he loose aggressive style, or I may have anted my chips away. No matter what happens now I sticking to my style of   playing cause I've seen the number 1 player in the world play with any 2 cards!

good luck in round 2 rob

remember bracelets are for girlies just bring home the bacon

Anothr great report Rob, I wish I could write like that. someone asked in another thread how they should play in "the big one" in Vegas, and I answerd "play your own game" I honestly believe there is no right way to play this game, what suits one player wont suit another. Having said that, I love to read about other peoples thought processes and plays, and I try to work on my game all the time, shamelessly stealing moves and ideas. I have only been on your table twice. the first time was at Luton when you made an all in move against Carlo which resulted in an early exit. The second time was at Walsall, I remember thinking "Oh shit, its that cocky agressive young fkr from Notts again" I have to admit your game scares me to death, but I was determined not to let you run over me, I played my own game and I think thats what you have to do

Having had the opportunity to have a talk with you during the break at Walsall and again at Notts, Ive realised that whilst you are an agressive young fkr at the table, you are a very nice bloke away from it. I know a soft centre when I see one

I admire your game very much, but I admire your writing skills even more, please keep it up

Good luck in round 2, cant wait to hear about it

Regards

Tom

My table had no name players on it except Kafelnicov, the ex Russian tennis pro. Although the blinds were only 200-300 and everyone had 15,000 chips people were raising 1000 before the flop, so effectively, a lot of your chips are a risk if you play a full pot down to the river. 6 handed means that an Ace X is reasonable strong and the value of small connectors is smaller, as you play most pots heads-up. I lost a $3000 pot early on when I re-raised someone on a flop of 86Q with a gut shot holding 95 off suit (I was in the BB) and then continued the bluff to the river even though I missed the 7 - the SB had slow played AQ on me. 1 round later, I found Kh Qc in the small blind and a guy who had played most pots made it $900. I flat-called but gave him credit for a least a medium ace or a pair. Flop came Ks Js 8h. I decided to check raise him as I felt sure I was ahead. I checked, he bet out only $1000 into a $2100 pot. I felt this was a steal bet with A high so I re-raised him $3000 immediately, without thinking 2 seconds he pushed All-In. Now I had the think, has he AA, KK, JJ AK, 88 or the same hand as me KQ? Would he push all-in with trips? Why a small bet of 1000, this was not a protection bet with AK or a made hand, with so many draws out their he would have bet full pot. I came to the conclusion that he put his bet in very quickly, he did not protect his hand originally, he did not want a call, so he most likely on a flush draw, hopefully not 9Ts, which would give a straight and flush draw, and make me a dog. A flush draw with an Ace was my verdict, which would give him 12 outs, making me the favourite. If I believe I have a mathematical edge in a hand I call, as in the long term, I will win more chips. Also people are less likely to bluff me in the future. So, I moved all my chips in and he flipped over 9T off suit - I had given him too much credit but I sort of liked the move he had pulled on me. This gave him only 8 outs twice and I was over 2-1 on to double up. Turn 8, now I am 6-1..oh XXXX, river 7, making him the straight. Did I play this badly? I had put 33% if my chips into the pot and I could have still passed leaving me with $8000 (over 25 big blinds) BUT I Iike my call, as my thought process necessitated a call if I was correct. Maybe I should not have played KQ off suit in the small blind in case I am up against AA, KK, AK? But, I came here to play poker although I may have passed in a 10 handed game. My first WSOP cash is little over $2000, a very small profit on the tourney but overall I'm happy with my play today, a bit reckless at times but I never called for all of my chips when I was behind and I never had to show down a bluff. We have a break now until Monday when it is the Pot Limit Hold'em $5000. Thanks for reading my journal so far, I've only ever put a handful of posts on a web site before this, and wasn't that confidant when Tikay asked me to do it but its nice when people say they have enjoyed reading it and its my WSOP more interesting.

Unlucky Rob. Looks like you read the situation perfectly. With this standard of opposition you cant do any better than get your chips in when you are a 70% favourite. On another day the hand would stand up and you would be in good shape to progress through to the final.

Well done on your first cash and great reading again rob. Great call as well but you can make the right move at the wrong time sometimes,theres not much you can do about it. Keep cashing sir  8)

Thanks for posting these entries, I, amongst others, have found them fascinating. I won't be going to Vegas so I can experience your time there instead, and it's been great. Thanks again. So, what's next ? ;D ;D

Nice job Rob, both on the writing front which is a great read,

And your first WSOP cash which must be a terrific thrill.

More of the same please, and congrats. !

Great read Rob.....when everyone's out there don't stop the reports....make sure you get to bed early ok !!
If and when Tikay goes deep in a comp we know who to turn to.
All the best and good luck

Great stuff Rob, really enjoyed following your diary so far.

It must have been an experience sitting next to Daniel Negreanu. I'm interested if you are the character that cardplayer were referring to that was giving Negreanu a bit of needle;

"There is quite a feud brewing between Daniel Negreanu and an unknown player in Seat 2 at his table. Shortly after arriving at the table, Negreanu asked his unknown opponent, nicely, to square the table. The unknown decided to take a combative stance, and immediately went to work needling Negreanu. Some bits of conversation for your enjoyment:

 After Negreanu bluffed the unknown out of the first pot they played together:
 
 Negreanu: "That's 75 (in chips) we're coming for the rest."
 Unknown: "I got a surprise for you."

 After the unknown continued to needle Negreanu, and Negreanu dragged another pot:
 
 Negreanu: "You're messing with the wrong guy, bro. I promise."
 Unknown: "You just have luck on your side. Wait until I take that away from you."

Good luck in future events, hope you can cash a few more times
P.S. Go easy on me, this is my first ever post

Hi SMILE, welcome to the forum, nice post, hope its the first of many. They're a great bunch on here and Im sure you will feel at home

Like the alias by the way, its like an instruction, ;D

Rob needling someone over the table? Surely not  ;)

Rob - best read on the web for me at the mo - loving your posts so please keep 'em coming....

Sounds like you are having a great time out there anyway so keep it up, keep enjoying and best of luck at the tables.

Dirk

Rob, you are a STAR. Keep 'em coming Yongsta, keep 'em coming. You have a refreshing honesty to your posts.

Rob is an animal in the table, guys, but a lovely fella off it. Truly.

And welcome to blonde SM1LE, enjoy!

great read rob i know when you got stars at your table it makes you play better so i hope you have stars at your table all the time iknow no-one intimidates you so keep it going how did carslon get on
anway see u tommorow keep the phone on ring you when we arrive

No poker till Monday for me as its all non-hold'em stuff today and tomorrow. I used my last pair of boxer shorts this morning so took a trip to Caesar's Palace Forum shops to re-stock. I decided to stop off at The Bellagio on the way and exercise my WPT 5 Diamonds demons. I hadn't been there since December when I went out 52nd (50th got paid $25K) in the $15K main when I was standing 6th in chips before the hand of death - I held JJ, re-raised the 4th chip leader, he called, flop AA8, he checked, I checked, turn 9, he bet $50k, I moved all-in for $500K representing AK and he called holding A5 of clubs and I was out. I sat at the bar reminiscing the flack I got from everyone after making that move (even total strangers had generously stopped by to tell me I was an idiot that day). Its only over the last couple of months that I have been able admit to myself why I did it - I believe now I made the move for 2 reasons; primarily because I was on the TV table and secondly, I was still really unhappy about the previous hand, when Howard Lederer had correctly laid down KQc on the BB before the flop when I put in a very small raise with AA - he was so close to re-raising me all-in as it was the 3rd consecutive time I had raised his big blind. Anyway, just as I was pondering all of this, a well known Chinese tournament pro (although I can't remember his name!) interrupted my day dreaming by tapping me on the back and saying hey, you the guy that fuxxed up in the WPT, yes?, I smiled through gritted teeth as I remembered he was one of the strangers that had spent over an hour telling me that I suck at poker immediately after my tournament exit. He then asked me for a cigarette, and a light, and then without a word, walked back into the high limit card room still shaking his head in disapproval - anyone would have thought he had paid me into the damn thing. The relevant point here is that top pros never forget a hand or a face, even when they are not even in the hand or on the table! I think I because I am half Chinese, I tend to get a lot of the older Chinese players giving me advice, which is always welcome. I remember Willy Tan taking me aside after I had been playing 3 months and saying, you gotta stop playing this way, son, after he had took all my money in a cash game! It's been one of those days I'm afraid, I even tried a short cut out of Caesars through the casino employee exit and nearly got run over on the freeway and it took over me 2 hours to walk back to the Rio!

Chin up rob and forget the showboating exit hand in the wpt. Best to not dwell on your f*** ups before more big games. I cant even remember my biggest fk up on a tv table (although the number 10 and 6 still keep flashing into my mind). your good mates will be out there in a few hours so have fun with chubbs, kev and burnley.

Nice Posts again Rob, although not sure I like your neagtive thoughts. I was at the WPT event in question and my only thoughts are that there is a very fine line between failure and genius. YOu made a play at a pot, it didnt come off. We have all done that. I think it is admirable that you made the play based on YOUR game, not thinking about the numbers invovled. God bless you for that my friend. You played superbly well to get to where you did then and, without stating the obvious, the way you played, got you that far so dont be too critical.
You also just hit the money in the WSOP and you are on the up. Great stuff, stay positive, I will be rooting for you.
Simon

Another great report from the Yongster!!!!!

Keep it up mate get focused for Monday 5000 dont let that Nowab put you off!!!

Got a text message from the no.2 heads-up player in the world, Chubby Nowab announcing his, Colchester Kev, and Burnley John's arrival in Vegas at about 4pm. I took them over to the Palms $200 tourney but none of us made the money. I lasted longest but went out in a huge 3-way pot holding 5h6h on a 4d7d8d flop. One guy had AdKd and I donated him all of my chips not believing that he had a made flush. I pushed all-in to protect my hand against another diamond on the turn and the guy must have thought it was Xmas AND his birthday. I'm really looking forward to tomorrows $5000 PL as the structure allows a lot of play and I'm expecting 400-500 runners making a prize pool of $2-2.5m. My strategy will be to try and look for opportunities to get involved in multi-way raised pots with suited connectors when I have position. However, I won't be playing hands out of position to avoid feeding the pot for later position raisers and then having to bet draws out of position. The blinds starts at 25-25 and there is no antes so I feel $5000 chips is enough to be patient. Due to the nature of PL, it is very important that I am prepared to lay down AA, KK or top pair after the flop, as trickier players will be calling with lesser hands looking to flop 2 pair or trips which they would not do as much in No Limit. Changing the subject, Simon Nowab and Burnley John (curretntly ranked number 3 in Europe) have over won $500,000 dollars in the last 12 months between them, but neither of them have a current sponsorship deal, I think these 2 guys are great characters on the circuit and it would be nice if one of the web sites decided to invest in them, as they would definitely get their sponsors more PR than most of the sponsored players who are not as networked as they are - these 2 guys talk to everyone and have a rapour across all sectors of the poker community, and it would be great for this double act to get some support. Without meaning to be rude, some of the players who are currently sponsored cannot hold a candle to the results that these 2 odd balls have achieved. I have no personal axe to grind here myself, as I don't get on with either of them, but they have brought in the results.....

Yep, couldnt agree more Rob  I think they should be sponsored as a pair, you just always think of them together. Starsky and Huch, Batman and Robin, Grumpy and Chubbs.

Be honest though, you would fancy a result anywhere if you could send those two in to bat

How's the third member of "the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" (your the good one Kev) my much missed mate, Colchester Kev doing? please pass on my best wishes.

Ps, please let Kev have a go on your laptop Rob (no smut please) he will give us the real sp!

Couldn't agree with Rob more, how the hell have the husband and wife team (we all know whos the daddy) not been picked up by any online site. I have a strong feeling they may be about to be swept up in vegas by one of the better known European sites  ;)

a very very good read Rob, my first visit to the blonde forum and already found it worthwhile.

all the best for the rest of your trip.

I'm yet to post on this thread, but I'd just like to say that, as someone who has never been to Vegas, I'm finding your reports pretty entertaining. Keep em up Rob.

agreed, what a great & unique pairing they'd make for any potential sponsor...they're at the right place to stumble across something.

gl today rob

Me too! Chubby & Grumpy are bound to pick up some sponsorship soon, I hope so anyway, they are two great guys. I guess the sponsors are worried that the two boys come from Lancashire, not really known as a poker area. Has there ever been a good poker player from Lancashire?

Ed Burger - welcome to blonde! We have a Private Tourney on Thursday night, Crypto have added 500, & there is 100 on my head. It's a non-profit making thing (well, except for what I win...) for blonde, not some corporate do set up to get your dosh, so I hope you can join us, & meet some of the other guys & gals.

I didn't realise there was a prize for the bubble  :D

Well thank you clever clogs.......

Rob, is there any of "our guys" there tonight who could text me a few updates from the Omaha Final? Paul Maxfield is in it, we need to sweat him.

When people have been asking me questions on this tread I have been emailing them direct BUT Colchester Kev said I must post the answers on the thread for everyones information and to show that I am not ignoring people. Tikay, not sure about Paul Maxwell, just seen him at the bar with Surrinder on my way up to my room. I'll try and find out what happened after I've posted my journal for the day. I talked to min just before the final and he was in good spirits. Roy the Boy went out 20th to a flush draw FYI.

You are a STAR Rob.

What you doing Thursday night, 8pm English? We could use you & some of the boys playing in the Crypto sponsored Blonde Tourney. 20, no juice, 500 added by Crypto, 100 Bounty on me, & bragging rights galore. You need to decide in advance, as we have to issue entrants a password. I am sure guys like Kev will want to play in it.

Sat down to a tough table today, but only 240 runners, I had Daniel Negraneau to my right on the BB this time, and Daniel Alyai on my SB. The conversation on the table was about the number of entries in the main event, Negraneau said there was only 2600 confirmed even though the rumour mill is saying a full house - better get your ticket now! This was the TV table again and there was a microphone handing above the table and cameras from every angle. On hand 3 Negraneau slow played aces (he actually moaned to me when he was re-raised pre-flop with them as I had limped with 3s4s, something that wouldn't go down too well in the UK) and took down a massive pot. He moved all-in on the river and the guy passed QQ on a TJ46 board - great pass. I was wondering how Negraneau had managed to get all his chips in the middle with a 25-25 blind structure until the next hand when I got involved!

Hand 1: 2 limpers in the pot, I am in seat 4, I limp with ATc, the button puts in a small raise of $100 and 1 of the limpers calls, and I call. I make up my mind that if an Ace comes, I'll lay my hand down to a bet. I'm playing this hand to hit a Ten, 2 pair or a flush draw. The flop comes T 4 2 rainbow, limper checks, I bet $400, button flat calls and limper folds (now 1200 in pot). I put him on AA, TT, KT or 2 over cards (not 22,44 as I believe he would have tried to see a cheap flop, or JJ, QQ, KK as he would have -re-raised to protect his hand and build a pot). Turn comes, a lovely Ace, making me top 2 pair. I bet 1200 hoping that he had called with AQ, AK and hit his Acehe just flat calls, now I am confused as he looks very reluctant to call and not happy with the Ace. Anyway, I now think I am 100% ahead but don't know what he has, river comes a King. This is a bit of a scare card for me as he may have the AK so I decide to check to him and to my shock he moves all-in. he can't have had QJ for the straight, so what has he got???? To call me will leave me with $1000 chips. I begin to doubt my reads, but if I was ahead on the turn he can only have AK or KK or QJ, I discount KK (why would he call 30% of his chips with the Ace on the turn) and QJ for obvious reasons. So, I need to put in $2,500 and there is there is over $6000 in the pot - over 2-1I call the bet and he flipps over KK!!!! He had called on the turn and hit his 2 outer on the river; I'm down to $1000 chips after 30 minutes!

Normally when this happens, I like to chuck all my chips in the middle and cross my fingers for a quick double up, but alas, this is pot limit so I can't even go on tilt, I'm trapped in a place I don't want to be! So, I have no option, I compose myself, put my shades on and spend the next 2 hours grinding in back to $3,500 when this hand developed:

Hand 2: Negraneau raised under the gun and gets 1 caller (he always gets callers). I look down and see JhTh on the button and call. Flop comes Kh5h8s, Negraneau checks and the other caller bets $700. I put him on KQ, KJ I am sure I can make him pass if a move all my chips in and I have the flush draw as backup. I'm not really worried about what Negraneau has, as he had checked even though he raised under the gun, even with AA he would have get to protect his hand against the flush draw, especially in pot limit. So, I re-raised with nearly all-in of chips and Negraneau thinks for ages and then just flat calls, the initial bettor folds, I chuck my remaining $400 in the pot and Negraneau matches it. He flips over his cards and says, I really hope you're on a flush draw!, he has Ah8h meaning I was dominated. To make matters worse, I hit my Jack flush and a runner runner straight but he made the Ace flush! Wow, Negraneau called 70% of his chips with the original bettor still to act who had more chips than him, I shook his hand but couldn't resist saying, how can you call with that hand with a man behind you who has you covered? He just winked and said gamble sometimes.

So, did I play badly today? If I had laid down ATc and ThJh pre-flop I may still be in, but then I would not have been involved in these interesting hands. I like to analyse my hands after I have been knocked out, please do not confuse this with replaying bad beat stories. I find the mathematical and psychological side of poker fascinating.but it would be nice to win a few of these big pots every now again!

On a positive note, Burnley John won the $500 freeze out at the Bellagio today, getting $10,000 on his first day in Vegas. He was all in pre-flop with AT v AQ (T on river), 66 V KK (6 on flop), TT v AA (Ten on river). Each time he outdrew someone Chubby and Kev were going crazy on the sidelines. The noise even made Doyle Brunson, Chip Reese  and Phil Ivey look across the room in between a $500K pot!

Another terrific read from The Yongsta, & well done to Grumpy for taking the American's money back to Lancashire, top stuff!

Rob has a fascinating and intriguing way of articulating his thought process in big hands, & us regular guys would be idiots if we could not learn something from these. And I fancy Negranau groaned just a little to find himself next to our Rob once again, Rob has a very "in your face" attitude at the table, not to be confused with arrogance, it' just part of his arsenal.

In Amsterdam last year, he got heads-up with Marcel Luske in a satellite. Marcel is used to dominating the table, & there was Rob, feet on table, beer bottle in hand, ciggie in mouth, moving all-in blind hand after hand. I went up to him & said "careful Rob, do you know who that is?", he replied, "yeah, that's why I am doing it, to tlt him up". Tilt him up he did, & won the sat!

Correct Again TK.

Robs reports just keep getting better, Maybee its because the distractions are still here in the uk!!!

Well done to Grumps lets hope the 2 Burnley boys manage to pull off a deal soooooooooon.

This is priceless - to get a read on how he`s thinking and analysing the play as well as an honest appraisal of how he played post game.
besides actually playing in these games....dream on i couldnt buy this kind of experience/information....and it also shows that even the names dont always play by the odds/rules which gives us all hope.

keep it up and thanks for the time you take to do this....and i hope you pick up some cash...you deserve it.

Here here patman. Rob is becoming our surprise package, a right little blonde hero. Money cant buy this kind of analysis.

Unlucky rob, the KK hand is so bad its unbeliavable. How many mistakes can he make in one hand and still get your chips? Offer mine and wombles congratulations to burnley. Tell him to make sure theres some left for us as he carving every game up he sits in at the minute  ;D

Not a huge amount to report today. The $5000 PL is down to 3 tables, with Devilfish and Steve Liu both still in. Steve has a mountain of chips and looks set to reach the final following the form of his poker partner CT Law. Steve has had some pretty tough beats this week but he has enough chips to wait and prey on the short stacks that cannot damage him. I've played on the same table as Steve quite a few times and he is a real gentleman and one of the genuine nice guys on the circuit. I think that a lot of the dead money has dried up over here reflecting in the relatively low entry, 298, for this event, although I have spoken to a few Americans who say they do not like pot limit. I'm confident that the UK guys coming over will have no problem getting into the main event as the common theory around here is that it won't fill up until the final week when most of the satellites have finished. On my way down to the arena I met Baron from Blonde, and told him he should play the Palms $200 tonight, I saw him 1 hour after the event and he had KK cracked twice and was $400 dollars light. Tomorrow is the $1500 freeze out and I'm sure this will get above 1000 runners and the action will be crazy with everyone trying to double up early on even with 25-25 antes and a 75 minute clock. Its 10pm in Vegas and I'm getting an early night.

Sleep well darling.

xx

Loving the topic Rob  ;D best of luck for the rest of the WSOP!

Good to finally meet fellow blondites out here! ;D

I just had a call from Wilie Tann. Willie aint so hot on posting on Forums, or computers, but he was very insistent that I post this on his behalf.

It's a message from Willie to Rob Yong.

"Rob, keep it up, your reports are very good indeed, we can all learn from them. And you are a very good writer too. I am very proud of you. Well done. Keep the reports coming please"

wow thats almost as inspiring as 'Wax on , wax off'

Wax on, wax off?

C'mon Tikay u need to work on your popular culture... u'd never make my quiz team!

Gissaclue.

Quiz Team. I'm good on trains, Brunel, Victorian Engineering, Racehorse Breeding, True Life Adventure. Don't do ANY fiction stuff or films. Guiess ypu want me for your quiz team now.

Tell you what. One afternoo at the Luton Festival, we will have a little quiz.

Tell me when, I'll wait in the car park until you finish

 :o

Fair enough theres always room for a 'real life adventure' expert on the team  ;)


ok here you go... Willie Tann, popular poker player sponsored by betfair also known as Mr Miyagi, offers words of praise and encouragement to budding WSOP poker diarist Rob Yong....

Mr Miyagi, inspirational character (played by Pat Morita) in 1984 film classic 'The Karate Kid', mentors and trains budding karate student Daniel LaRusso. Famous line from the film when Mr Miyagi teaching said student balance, patience and poise.... 'Wax on , wax off' .... basically he had him waxing his cars!

No fun when u have to explain it!

has willie managed to get past the first page of the thread then? i can remember the phone call to tikays mobile in blackpool

No Ironside, he has not. He rung me today to ask me how to find it for him. After 20 minutes of carefully explaining - "click the mouse now Willie", "Mouse, what Mouse?"....I eventually had to read it to him. He's lovely, just lovely. So is his wife.

For the benefit (?) of others, Willie called me in Blackpool to complain that the Live Update had "disappeared". After 20 minutes of careful explanation, I took the easy course & passed the phone to Ironside to get HIM to explain it. An hour later......

True life adventure, now we have some common ground tikay, I didnt have any real schooling and it was through the need to know about other peoples lives and adventures that I learned to read

I will always remember trying to Join a librairy when I was about 9 and being refused because my hands were grubby, fortunately this didnt put me off and I tried elsewhere and became an avid reader

I've read all the interesting looking autobiographys and biographys in the librairy where I live now, then I found that the uninteresting looking ones were often even beter

People sometimes risked so much to record the things happend to them. Those that have thrown caution to the wind and those that have dragged themselves up from poverty and obscurity.

I even find the horrible stories like tales from Aucshwitz uplifting, because they are by survivors, and I love survivors most of all. cast away on a desert island, stranded on Everest, walking to the pole, Raising a family in a slum with no money, overcoming illness and disability, striving to do things people say cant be done

These are lifes real heroes, and they inspire me

What you describe as the "horrible stories" were my favourites too, ghoulish as it seems.

The POW's in Borneo & the Far East who built the railway. (Oops, Trains again...). Guys cast adrift in a lifeboat for 6 months. Single handed circumnavigation in a sailing ship. Basically, "against all odds", "facing up to adversity" stuff. Never read a Fiction book in my life, never want to. "Real life" is so much more interesting. To me, anyway.

That makes sense. From what I've witnessed RED, you're very hard to get rid of in comps. A survivor with 'Aligator blood. Can't get rid of im.'

DAY 10: Wednesday 21st June -  $1,500 No Limit
The WSOP kept registrations open for 45 minutes after the start of the tourney, as they wanted the field to reach the magic 2000 entry figure. The atmosphere was the best so far in my opinion, I think this was because the arena was actually full and there were crowds of onlookers asking for the stars autographs and trying to catch a glimpse of their idol playing a pot. Phil Helmuth was generating most interest and the railbirds were 5 people thick just to see the 9 times WSOP bracelet in action. Poker is going to be massive in the UK in 3 years time, without a doubt. I arrived at my table to find no name players on it and the table was very tight except for 2 players, one of them called every single raise with any 2 cards - he was out within 15 minutes. By the first break we had lost over 500 players and I was heading the same wayI had only played 5 pots, including the blinds  and anted down to 1000 chips from 1500, my best hand had been AT. Sometimes you just get a cold deck and miss every flop and there is nothing you can do about it  (I will play more cards than the average person so a cold deck for me is a freezing deck for most players). The blinds were at 50-100 so I was in poor shape, with only 1 move left - All-In. I decided to wait for one of the looser players on the table to raise and re-raise all-in with a hand that I was confident that I was at least 60-40 ahead with. This way I could get some chips if he passed or I was odds on to double if he called me. Some players I speak to define a trouble stack at 4 times to big blind (theory being that you have one decent raise left), but I feel that I have a trouble stack at 10 times the BB,, one Re-Raise left, as with 4 times the BB, the Big Blind nearly has pot odds to call you with any 2 cards unless you have a high pocket pair - also there is normally some clever dick that likes knocking people out with 73 off suit when it you can't damage his stack. Anyway, my opportunity arrived shortly:

Hand 1: I am in the SB. I loose player one off the button makes it 300 to go with the blinds at 50-100, making 450 in the pot. This guy thinks he has won the lottery when he is holding a rag ace (A9 or worse) so I hope I find a hand I look down and see AJh in my hand. This is not normally a hand, which I like to make a move with, as it could be dominated by AQ or AK. However, against Mr Rag Ace it is the daddy and I would be over 2-1 on to double up. I push All-In for my last 900 chips and Mr Rag Ace immediately mucks his hand..I reach over the collect the pot when a voice from the Big Blinds says wait a minute, I am still to act. This guy had not played a hand in 2 hours since he doubled up with AA early on, he was the Rock of all Rocks and I had been stealing his BB every round. I get the sinking feeling when I hear how much is it to call and I know my pretty AJh is going to be in crushed by his pocket aces or kings. He puts his 800 chips in the middle and turns over The Rockets, AA. No flush or straight for me and I am out and the Rock wins again. I don't like Rocks and hate giving them my chips, they are not poker players, they just wait for AA, KK and some of their species even fold QQ to a raise. Often people refer to certain top players as Rocks when they are actually not, these players play very tight early on so they can set you up for big bluffs later on. This guy was the Grandfather of Rocks and the poker gods had to give him AA in the Big Blind when I make my move in the SBbut I am not bitter!

Anyway, that's 4 WSOP events played, 1 small money finish and 11 pages of my journal completed. I have 7 more events left to win my $50,000 back. I still believe I am good enough to do it, maybe win more, but my timing is a bit off at the moment, I keep making the Right Moves against the Wrong Hands in the Right Situations!

1.   55 V and AA limper,
2.   Jack flush V Ace Flush
3.   Straight on the river V my top pair
4.   AJ V AA (SB V BB)
   
In 3 of these hands I got all my chips in first and ran into dominating hands and when I lost to the straight on the river I had made the correct call. I'm happy with how I have played, but not with my results so far. However, for the first time I actually understand clearly why I spend so much time playing poker and find the game of No-Limit Hold'em fascinatingit's the psychological and mathematical side of the game, Of course I want to win, but it is the mental stimulation that does it for me. Lets hope I will be able to write about some big pots that I take down in this journal!

Keep plugging away mate your time will come. I had the same shrinking feeling in New orleans, i reraised a loose player with ak only to hear dewy tomko say how much is it having limped from seat one. Sometimes you just know and there is no worse feeling. Sure you will get the 50k back but you should be aiming for a big profit.

A great read, thanks for sharing.

I first came to Vegas when I was 22, 11 years ago, I spent the first 9 years visiting this fantastic place twice a year to play Blackjack, until the Poker Bug bit me 2 years ago. Until I learnt to play Blackjack correctly, I never left Vegas with more than $5 in my pocket and my credit cards were always maxed to the hilt. However, everything was cheap, you could eat of $1, get a cab for $2 and it was $29 per night to stay in the best hotels on The Strip. The casinos wanted to attract people to gamble on the slots and the tables and you could live like a king even on a modest budget. Now the town has changed dramatically and everything on The Strip is expensive and the place is full of tourists as well as gamblers. It has the feel of Disneyworld rather that the murky world of gambling and casinos, McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut.there're all here after your money. About 5 miles away from The Strip is Downtown, where Vegas originated. This is still old style Vegas, the casinos are dark and smoky, the food is cheap and the waitresses are still happy with a $1 tip. It is also the home of the famous Binions Horseshoe, previous host of the WSOP and where the final 2 tables of the WSOP $10,000 event will be held, and my favourite place in Vegas, The Gamblers General Store. The good think about getting knocked out of poker tournaments when you away is that you get plenty time to chill, so I grabbed a cab to Downtown with Grumps, CK, and Chubbs and dropped by the Gamblers General Store to see what new treats then had in stock. They have everything for the degenerate or aspiring trainee gambler here. Every book on gambling, every type of chips, original hotel playing cards, gaming tables and much much more. I left $100 lighter after purchasing Harrington on Hold'em Volume 1 & 2 and Doyle Brunson's Supersystem 2 (Simon Trumper has recommended Dan Harrington's books to me ). We then went over to Binions Horseshoe to see the photos of all the past and present WSOP Champions still framed proudly on the wall at the back of the casino. The atmosphere in the casino was fantastic, you could feel the pressure at all the poker tables, even the low limit games, I couldn't help thinking that the 20 players who reach the final 2 tables in the main event will be having the experience of a lifetime. Imagine, playing here, at the Horseshoe, the most famous poker room in the world, for a first prize of $20m, wouldn't it be great if one the Blonde poker members made it? What about Grumpy John Falkoner's photo on that wall.......Event 5 for me is on Friday, the $2,500 No Limit.

Great reports Rob , hope the books show you how knowledgeable you are as your reports have revealed .

TK , the actor who played Mr Moryiagi was also in the film about Stuey Ungar .

I have been writing a blog on my exploits and those of the Brits on my site , nowhere near as comprehensive as TK's as i'll leave him to do his excellent job when he finally honours us with his presence !

I wrote an article called Tournament Rollercoaster published last January , basically it follows 2 years in my life as a travelling pro written in the same open style that Rob uses but not as entertaining , if you want to read it there is a link on my home page at www.simonacestrumper.com , by the way TK isn't it about time we swapped links ?

Good luck to all in the Crypto tournament tonight and hope to see some of you here for the big one .

All the best

Having had 3 seconds , it's about time one of us got the bracelet !

ACES

Wow these reports just blow you away!!!!!!!!!
Excelent Post Rob, your playing a good game at the moment we can all see that you deserve a good win soon.
You just need a bit of luck.Good Luck Mate.
Say hi to The burnley /Colchester Boys.

Comments as before Rob - your stuff is blowing away everyone else's.

Simon - I agree, can't believe we have not already done so. I will drop a note to Rhow today & ask her to sort it.

I really enjoyed reading your diary posts Rob... keep up the good work

DAY 12: Friday 23rdst June Missed Opportunities and Bad Play
I was having a great dream about building my own casino on the strip and was just at the part when I was asking Celine Deon to cut the ribbon at the grand opening, when I was awoken by a knock at the door at 11.45am (I was playing at 12pm). It was the three musketeers, Grumps, Chubbs and CK wanting to change some euros for dollars. I had slept sweetly for 14 hours and in 5 seconds transformed from Las Vegas Casino Baron back to me, not so bad though, cause I'm playing No Limit Hold'em at the WSOP today!  When I arrived at my table I only recognised Bruno Fitoussi 3 to my right which meant that I was going to have my blinds put under pressure all afternoon. Today was a day of missed opportunities for me, I ended up going out 500th out of 1,056 runners but I felt I should have won a lot more chips and been in much better shape. As usual in my journal, here are a few key hands I played (or misplayed!):

Hand 1:
In the first level of 25-25, I am under the gun with AhTh, the sort of hand that I'd like to play against the Blinds but not that I want to waste too many chips with. I limp and everyone passes to the BB. 8 times out of 10 this happens over here because the American players seem to limp with AA and KK under the gun more than we do back home. The flop comes A 6 9, BB checks and I bet 100, he calls (I feel he has a weak Ace or 2 Pair), Turn comes a 2, and he checks and I bet 200 to show strength, but he calls, river a K, and I don't want to put any more money in this pot, but he doesn't let me off and bets 1000. I think I'm behind to 2 pair and still make a terrible callhe turns over AJ to beat my AT. Down to 1200 chips and I played this hand like a sucker.
Hand 2:
I had built back to 3000 chips by the next level of 25-50 with some nice solid cards; I had AK twice and flopped top pair, and had re-raised with pairs and not got called. However, the very skilful Mr Fitussi had been stealing my Blinds and my Button (it wasn't personal, he was stealing everyone else's as well!) so I felt I needed to make a stand. I had 2 rocks to my left and when he raised $150 again to pinch their blinds I looked down to see Ad7d, I called because I had position on him and made up my mind that I was going try and outplay this perennial poker thief on the flop. The flop came down rags, 5s 8h 2d, he bet $300 and I re-raised him $600 but to my disappointment he flat called, I need some help here, next card 5c and I'm not bluffing at this pot anymore, I'm done with it, its history, he can have it, BUT then he checks to me. He must have 99 or TT or maybe even 67 suited (its so hard to put the top players on hands) and he is scared I have a bigger over pair or have hit a set on him, or maybe I have A5he does not look confident. There is 2000 chips in that pot that I am going to lose unless I can make him pass. I make my mind up that my hand is not A7, it is pocket Queens, and I move-all for 1900 confidently. Bruno has about 1700 chips left and I soon feel like I want the ground to swallow me up as he looks at me, and looks at me, and looks at me. Seconds feel like minutes, minutes like hours. I now know he has at least A8 or 99 and I can't believe I am going out this early again, on a stone-cold bluff.  I feel like he can see right through me, like my Dad used to look at me when he could smell cigarette smoke on my clothes when I was 12.  I feel like saying, Bruno, please stop staring at me, just call and let me leave the table in peace. Then to my shock, Bruno mucks his hand, pats the table and says nice hand. I try to look disappointed and moan out loud to the Rock on my left, I didn't think he could pass his over pair, what a great laydown, I never get paid when I flop top set.

Hand 3:
A loose player raises SB 400, blinds 50-100, I have AcAd and just flat call looking to slow play, risky, but every time he has been re-raised he had passed, and I want him in. The flop comes ThJhQh - nightmare for AcAs. We check it down  and he turns over KsKc - what an idiot I am, if I had put a small re-raise pre-flop he would have moved all-in and I would have doubled up. Even if I bet on the flop he may have moved-all in with and over pair and a straight draw (although I may have passed)? Is it bad timing or am I playing like a 20 re-buy player!

Hand 4:
Blinds 50-100, early position Rock raises and gets 2 callers, I am on button with 2h2d, flop Qc 2c 6d, I have a set, at last! Triple up time is here, initial raiser bets 400, gets one caller. What do I do - move in or slow play to get 2 people chips? No straight draw there but one of them may have 2 clubs. I could move-in and get 1 caller and double up? I'm just about to flat call and try to milk them when I little voice says stop being clever, Dickhead, and I move it my 3000 stack. To my dismay both of them fold and I win an average pot, the original raiser turns to me and says he mucked AQ and he put me on a flush draw, but didn't want to gamble, eh??? I feel sick, why didn't he call then? Another missed opportunity.

Hand 5:
Blinds 100-200, early raise of 600, I am on BB with QhJh, my opponent most likely has AQ, AK, AA, KK, QQ, JJ maybe TT. I am putting 400 in to win 900 and he covers my 4000 stack. Flop comes JdTh9h, I have top pair, and a straight flush draw. I think my J may be good as I don't believe this player would have raised with AJ in seat 2, Most likely he has AK and even if he has AA I can hit any of 4 Kings, 4 eights, 3 queens, 2 jacks and 7 hearts, giving me 20 outs x 2, making me a still a big favourite. I move-all all my chips and he calls instantly with QcQs and I miss my massive draw (although I was not in as good shape as I had calculated, as a non heart K or 8 would split the pot and a queen would give him the set). Out in 500th place.

I am sitting in the coffee bar at the Rio at 7pm posting this journal on a wireless GPRS laptop. Isn't technology amazing? I am wondering why I moved All-In 13 times in 4 hours today, more than the rest of the players at the table did put together, maybe I should learn from a comment from the French Master, Bruno Fitussi, when I raised his BB with 56s- He looked at his cards, contemplating making a move on me until I said, If you move in, Bruno, I promise you I will call, he looked at me through is tinted glasses, and cooly said, of course, as he mucked his cards. What he actually politely meant was, you are a Maniac.

As you know Rob, I play a lot of poker, but every time I read one of your posts I cant wait to get bck to the table and play again. Believe it or not, reading about your game helps me to analyse my own

Good luck

Tom

Awesome Rob, awesome. I bet you have learned a lot during this WSOP already.

The KK v AA happened to me in Vienna recently, & I felt the same - why oh why did I not RR him - he woulda moved in for sure, bingo! But we don't KNOW that he's got a monster, so it's not a bad play, it's just rotten timing.

Enjoyed the "imagined my A-5 was QQ" trick. I have tried imagining my J-5 is KK but it don't seem to work for me - the dealer refuses to play along, & insists that it really is J-5. I say "no, lets imagine it's KK", but it dont cut any ice.

Keep them coming please Rob, you have gained much respect and a huge following over here. We- blonde, Gala Notts, & your mates - are all very proud of you.

Great thread Rob - keep em coming and good luck!

More please rob. Love the play with the JQh. Even though he did have the queens you were still a marginal favourite in the hand. You call with these connected suiteds to catch flops just like this and you missed your outs.

Another great report Rob.

You have an ability to paint vivid pictures with words.

Thanks, and please keep them coming.

What's interesting Rob, is that when I started out at Nottingham you were one of the players that I was out played by and always seemed two steps ahead of me. It's encouraging to see that you have to analyse and rethink your game the same as I do, that you have insecuritys about your game, and that you too find yourself facing players that seem two steps ahead of you. I hope you come back from the WSOP with confidence in your game and a healthy profit and I hope when I get my shot I can approach it with the same healthy learnig attitude you seem to.

Great stuff Rob
When i log in your updates are the ones i look for first, nice to see a poker player being so honest and open in his thought processes.
Wish all blondites the best of luck out there but even if we don't get a winner ( in prize money )  crikey me, what a great life we lead....gambling, drinking, and.....well 2 out of 3 isn't bad Rob eh ?

Dear All,

thank you all very much for your kind comments, I've honestly felt chuffed. I've had 1800 hits in 10 days, the most ever on Blonde. I am glad some of you poker locals also have commented that there is a little more to me than the trash talking, gambling, re-raising cocky so and so I sometimes am the poker table. I am particulary interested in analysing hands and plays I make or made on me, I have been doing this for myself anyway in "the master spreadsheet (yes chubby) " after every major tournament I play so its not been much extra work doing these posts on Blonde. Although I have only been playing for 24 months, and my actual results are not in the same league as the top pros (ie. I've not made a bean), I believe my analysis of no limit hold'em is actually ahead of my poker table experience and this may help people starting out on the circuit (some aspiring poker players have emailed me directly saying this analysis is really helping them). Also, I don't play poker for a living so don't mind being total honest (lets face it - do you really think all these top pros are going to tell us how they actually play for $19.99 in paperback when there living depends on it, for example, I've read TJ Coutiers book, "Competion Hold'em" and he simply does not play anything remotely like he writes in the book!)If people are genuinely interested, particulary those who have only been playing for a short time, after the WSOP, I have no problem with sharing information on how these top players play in some sort of "blog" or "forum" type format. For example, I could detail:

1. My Poker Monthly Profit and Loss (this may show people the actual costs of doing the circuit - not just the prize money, my costs for the next 12 months will be
around 175,000 in fees and expenses so this might make interesting reading when I'm down over 100k in first 6 months!)
2. My 2005 - 2006 12 Month Schedule (and reasons why I have chosen certain tournaments)
3. Detailed Analysis of Key Hands from each tournament I play (particularly stuff that the top players do)
4. Background information of Locations / tournaments I visit (+ a few photos) so you get an idea what all these places are actually like.

Let me know what you think? Cheers Rob

That would be really cool Rob, you see a lot of blogs that say "i won xxx today on such and such a site and "i finished one off the bubble here" but with no reality to it.
They never say "it cost me 300 to enter then 5 rebuys cuz i'm a moron, then went tilting on the cash game and lost another 2000" cuz they are a little embarrassed with themselves and only wanna concentrate on the highs.
I think the question you ask has already been answered by the hits and the feedback and i for one will be a regular reader, and hey wouldn't hurt to give yourself a bit of exposure to attract a bit of sponsorship  ;D

Keep it up and good luck,
Ian

If only they could get there hands on the spreadsheet HMMMMMMMMM
It hold the key to NO LIMIT HOLDEM
In the Shops for Christmas 19.99

Keep pressing on Rob
cant wait

great stuff yongster, ur keepin us on the edge of our seats here while we tediously count down the hours til our departure

you'll blow em all away soon, keep on believing

...some pics would be cool

x

Rob,

The 3 pics you sent were lovely, but two of them were too big. But we CAN downsize them. So keep sending pics to my private e-address, & I'll get them up on "your" part of the site!

If you want to know how to upload pics onto the Forum yourself, send a PM to Ironside, he's the daddy.

But to temporarily satisfy Julian's demand for pics, here's another from Norway. I label all my pics on my computer in a way in which I know I shall be able to find them. I called this one ActionJack.

[attachment deleted by admin]

Tikay, how much time did you spend on your Norwegian trip photographing fish ?   ???

Ooh, no more than 2 or 3 days. It's not every day you see ActionJack and Devilfish both gutted.

you beat me to the gutted Joke so I removed it

Valvster,

I have regrettably felt it necessary to delete your maiden post.

I have made a few enquiries, & I understand it was meant as a joke, & no malice was intended. But this Forum is a family place, and I am afraid that your post may not be seen in that light, & was a tad "edgy". OK, I'm old-fashioned, but this is blonde, & we just don't do that kinda thing.

I hope you are OK with his. If not, please call me - Rob or Nick will give you my number.

Take care now.

Welcome to blonde!

i am on the bmi fligth on the 3rd sorted it all yesterday...

i do have some baggage tho in the name of LATIF! he said we were going to play kalooki for 11hours on the plane!

I said that there would be some heads up matchs... he said good good i'll play them all! I think he ment at the same time in some sort of grand master chess game playing each of u at ur seats while running around the plane! its not goingt to be a quiet journey if anyone hoped for it lol. i won 10 comp at teesside last night, i tell u thats harder than world series! 88players and its a mine field.

At-iT

LATIF? Well played my friend. Manchester Airport is suddenly transformed into a casino  ;D

another fish on its way as well!!

Ariston - how about a heads up re-match over a starbucks in manc airport - give you chance to restore some credibility!

we have chips and cards already packed. be there early and we can have a mini freezout, we have enough players. Losers (ie u lot) can play heads up.

Rob,

Firstly may i congratulate you on your successes so far

Your blog is perfect, the elite description of some of your experiences are, by far the best i have i have read on the web so far
The description you give paints a picture in your mind of whats its like to be out there DOING IT.

Im sure many blondeites will agree with me, the effort your putting into these posts will no doubt reward you some time in the future.

I know we dont know each other personally but i feel it is necessary to thank you for some very, honest, eye opening, fascinating and emotional content.

Once again good luck and keep those posts coming  :)

regards

Ben Mayhew

Rob Yong is a poker superstar!

These reports are fantastic.

Tikay i hope that rob's journal, when finished, finds pride of place in the articles section. Where it more than deserves to be!

Good luck Rob in the rest of your WSOP comps.

lmao

dltto

Just to back up what everyone else is saying Rob, absolutely fasinating reading. Best of luck.

hi there nick this is a personal message from simon using rob's computer we are missing you big boy can't wait for u big boy these guy's are boring can't wait for the real deal to come and show the way how the big boy's are while i am writing this personal message for u nick rob and john are having a personal discussion u know what i mean big boy can't wait for the real deal get here and let's go bungie jumping and roller coasting and go carting by the way nick john and rob are a bit paroniad and reading my post so they have decide to have a bet who beats each other in go carting like a last longer type bet but the situation is very interesting john and rob went out at the same time with 60 players left and they had last longer bet it was seconds between them going on and on john had short stack and rob was short stack both on big blind took a stand with ident6ical situation button raise and took a stand with kqsiuted(rob) kj suited (john) and me and kev are between the discussion my stand is that it took rob a little extra time to come to us because he had to get his handbag so it was a draw but will these guy listen so can't wait for u to come c u soon

you lot better stop all that bickering b4 i get there
how did you get on in the tourney

chubbs! 1 week to go cant wait. If they both went out at the same time its either a tie or give it to the man that got outdrawn. As they both went out with junk I think kev should win the last longer money  ;D

This was my sixth event at the WSOP event and my overall best performance so far until I managed to spunk my chips away (as Thewy would say). I played for 9 hours and went out 60th out of 400. I had been in great shape all day, I had 20,000 chips when the average was 5,000. Today saw the best aspects of my game, and also the worst. Here's a few hands I played that demonstrate this:

Hand 1(my best one play so far)
Blinds 50-100, I have 6000 chips, one of the full tilt pros came to my table and started raising every hand, betting the flop and running over the table. It was amazing to watch him double his chip stack from 4000 to 8000 in 45 minutes without a single showdown. Then I got a monster hand, 4d5d on the button. He limped under the gun, as usual, representing AA for the 100th time so I put in a small raise of 300 to disguise my baby connector. He called the raise but looked offended! I felt he had a small pair or suited cards. Flop comes 10d Qs 3d, which gives me the flush draw. He checks, I bet 700, he calls, Turn comes a 3s, he checks, I bet 1400 and he calls, whoops!. River comes Jc, great if I had been betting with a legitimate raising hand like AdKd instead of 4d5d! I have invested 2400 of my stack in this pot; I still have 3600 left, enough to fight back. I've just made up my mind to check the river and muck my 5 high discreetly BUT he bets 1000 into the 5000 pot - this sends alarm bells ringing - why the hell would he do that? I have shown strength pre-flop, on the flop and turn - if he actually had the goods he would surely bet more and expect to get paid off. He must have put me on at least AQ. If he had an average hand such as KQ he would have checked. I look at him closely, behind the glasses and cap is weakness. I am now 75% confident that he was also on the flush draw and missed, so he going for a 5-1 shot (bet 1000 to win 5000) that I was betting on the come with a hand like KJ or Ax of diamonds! I want that pot and `I am not going to win it by calling with 5 high! On The Poker Channel, Hendon Mobster, Barney Boatman, says if a player takes a long time and then re-raises, he normally had a big hand, so I put a chip on my cards, wait a couple of minutes and re-raise all in for 3600 with 5 high - he immediately mucks his cards, phew. For that moment, that split second, that little piece of time, I felt like the best player in the WSOP arena. I wanted to show my bluff, I wanted the table to know what a great player I was, but I mucked wisely.

Hand 1 (Why get involved with 96s?)
Blinds 75-150. 20,000 chips, I feel good, well above average. 4 limpers and I have 9h6h on the button, I limp for 150. Flop comes 8h, 5h, 4d. I have a middle pin straight flush draw (any 7 or heart). Under the gun bets 800, all pass to me and I-re-raise him - all in for his remaining 3000. I never stopped to think whether I thought he would pass or not. He shows 5c4c, 2 pair and I miss my draw. I was surprised by his hand as I thought he may limped in with an overpair, but I didn't expect him to pass, so why re-raise him on a semi-bluff, the only way I could win was to hit my flush or straight - which makes me an underdog - why make this move when I didn't think he would pass? Down to 15,000 chips.

Hand 2 (A bad call)
Blinds 75-150, Jon Shipley comes and sits down. He raises 1000 in seat 5 when I am on the button, and I re-raise him 3000 with AQs and he flat calls. I have seen him make this move on TV, he is going to push-all in on the flop if no ace comes and outplay me (effectively only giving me 3 cards to hit the flop making him a 66% favourite to win the hand unless I have an overpair), so I make my mind up I am calling whatever comes on the flop to counter his tactics. It comes K 4 5 rainbow. Surprise, surprise, he moves -all in for his last 2500 and I call like a shot - what a stupid play, I am only beating AJ or AT and I never even thought about it. I was more concerned about not being outplayed than my own hand strength. He turns over 99, no A or Q comes. I am down to 10,000 chips.

Hand 3 (losing my confidence)
Blinds 200-400. An unbelievably tight player limps for 400, I find QQ on the button, I raise 1400, he re-raises me 4000 reprenting AA or KK. He covers me in chips, but I can't believe this absolute rock would make risk limping with AA KK and losing to 72 off suit, most likely he has AK. But then, I have been raising limpers all afternoon on my button with any 2 cards to steal chips so maybe he is trapping me. I ask him if he has AA or KK and he goes a beetroot colour, I tell him I have a big hand and he look like he is going to explode. His hands are shaking with excitement that I am going to make him the 3rd person I double up in 30 minutes! I pass QQ pre-flop, yes Tikay, I pass QQ pre-flop. All the energy drains out of me, I have been outplayed by the rock! I can feel myself tiltingnow down to 9000 chips. I declare to the table that I am not passing to another re-raise today.


Hand 4 (why race?)
80 players left, I still have average chips, 10,000. I have 99 on the button, I raise 1000, BB re-raises 3000, he only had 2000 chips left, I re-raise him all in and he calls. He has AKs and hits his King. I knew I was 50:50 at best, so why not get away from the hand? Down to 500 chips. I just want to get my chips and gamble, I can feel the tilt.

Hand 5 (just gambling)
I have now doubled 3 people up in the last hour. I raise 1000 with KQ out of position and a new player to the table the same chips as me re-raises 3000, I dump my last 4000 chips in the middle hoping that he has JJ, TT, 99. He turns over JJ and no K or Q comes and I am out. By this time I am not even reading situations, just gambling.

Summary
I played a number of very good hands today as well to get myself in a strong position. The 9s6s draw I played sent me on the slippery road to doubling up 3 more players. Passing QQ was a great lay down, as the guy told me at the break that he had AA and had just limped because it was my button BUT this correct play actually sent me on more tilt, effectively searching for opportunuites to play 50 50 coin flips to try and get back my chips quickly. Poker is an amazing game - it brings out the worst and best in a person. The best players utilise and develop their best qualities and are able to suppress their demons. My demons are lack of patience, lack of disciple and stubbornness, until I can learn to control them, I will never move my game on. I'm going to speak to one or 2 of the more patient professional for some advice before the next tournament on Tuesday.

I was looking at Simon Trumper's web site www.simonacestrumper.com and it is definately worth looking at if any blondites are looking for more information like the sort of stuff that I have been writing in my journal. He has over 70 threads with lots of stuff on tournamants and hand analysis etc and also an interesting story called the Tournamant Rollarcoaster which is a good read. Cheers Rob

It's the $5000 Omaha Buy-In today (and double top up!) today, everyone is talking about the real cost of this tournament and general consensus is that it will cost between $15,000 and $25,000 even for the averagely cautious player. I don't play Omaha anymore, even though I made the 2 finals last year, at the Vic and in Paris.  I find it easier to study 1 game and NL hold'em obviously first choice. I've spent the day on my own today, reading my Dan Harrington book, which is absolutely excellent by the way. I've also got the day off tomorrow so I'll take the opportunity to relax again. Realistically, for a stay of this long, a hotel room is not really suitable, the guys who hired apartments have got the right idea. When my partner in crime, Nick arrives on Thursday, I'll talk to him about maybe buying a place out here, you can still get something for just over 100k, and with the expenses etc of hotels, it will pay for itself and be a more confortable habitat. Average properties in Vegas have been increasing at 54% per annum for the last 5 years! If you want to play the 3 Bellagio tournaments, the WPT Mirage Showdown and the WSOP its works out at nearly 15 weeks in Vegas per year. America is really the place to play poker, its all about getting value for your expenses. For example, the recent Head-Up in Barcelona was effective 2 reasonable tournements (1000 and 2000)  with a combined prize pool of 400K over 9 days, its just not economical to play there in my opinion. In contrast, if you come to the Festa De Lago for 9 days, you can play 6 tournaments with a total prize pool of 10m, there is no comparison. My last thought of today is the contrasting styles of poker over here, you have the players who sit tight and wait for a double up, but are always average chips at best, or the very aggressive players who either get chips or bust out early. Poker theory says that the most proftable method of playing is the opposite of your opponents at the table, so surely super-aggressive is the way to approach the main event??? At least this way you can get enough chips to take a few bad beats or lost coin-flips against shorter stacks. Everyone I have spoken to is telling me how tight they are going to play, that's a lot of blinds and antes available for the aggressive players like Negraneau and Co.

I have been thinking for some time prior to thi years WSOP that the 'true champion' will be the winner of the $5000 Omaha. Wondered what others thought.

Keep up the fantastic work Rob. If only I had a budget I would be commissioning some articles from you after the WSOP.

Look forward to more instalments.

Ive read hundreds of articles about the wsop, and thousands about poker in general, Robs stuff is on par with the best of them.

two great posts rob,
be careful though, you'll be ruining that bad boy image of yours & coming across as a great thinker of the game.
cu on sunday

This is sooooo good Rob.

But I must make one point. When you lose a "race" it don't make it a bad play. If you' have won, you would not give it another thought.

Its good - EXCELLENT in fact - to be self critical. It's counter productive if you beat yourself up about a play that did not work out.

Once the hand is over, it's history. Easy to say, mind.....

You have taken your game to a new level Rob, & your writing is a revelation.

On behalf of all Poker 425 & blonde viewers, thanks for sharing your experience with us. Your reports are the best coming out of Vegas by far.

Talking of which, slightly off topic, I have been appalled by the poor quality of Live Updates from Vegas. If blonde can't better that (starting next week) it's time to pack up.

Just for the record.

You no my views

Roll on Thursday

We don't......

Its a forum tikay, people arent supposed to view their thoughts on here are they?

I'm just nosey.

Maybe the $10k freezeout will produce the "true" Omaha champ.

Just for the record: to show my support to our star reporter/poster
You no my views: non of your business
Nosey: yes you r

Is that a no, you won't tell me then?

Dont get all cheeky cos you got a nice touch at the weekend

How you hear about that? She promised complete discretion for an extra 10.

Rob's bored again - I've had 2 e-mails from him today. Get out there & do your Smithers thing, he needs you.

It seems like a lifetime till thursday
I will send your love when i see him and the rest of the crew

Good.

Remind me what you said your views were.

You doing Notts tonight?

Rob Simon wants you to get in touch, either phone us at the orleans room 1764   tel. 7023657111
cheers
Kev.

Eh? no the $10k freezeout will produce a champion in the discipline of No Limit Texas Hold'Em. Is it not possible that one day even if it's not today that the most prestigous event could be something other than a no limit hold'em event. Perhaps, say a pot limit omaha event without the thousands of online qualifiers and with an average outlay of $15k - $25k. Was just a thought, not to worry.

Starting to see more familiar faces around here now, Laurence Gosney, Vicky Coren, Willy Tan, Paul Testud to name a few. Last night history was made, Jonny Chan won his 10th WSOP Bracelet when he beat Phil Unibomber Laak is the $2,500 PL Hold'em final. He has now overtaken Phil Helmuth who has just the 9 bracelets.  The American actress, Jenniffer Tilly (who is Phil Laaks girlfriend) won the WSOP Ladies Event. The big guns seem to have had a good WSOP with Barry Greenstein, Eric Seidel and TJ Coutier also winning bracelets. On a 9 handed table yesterday, in the PL $2,500, there was Phil Helmuth, Jonny Chan, Phil Laak, Barry Greenstein and Phil Ivey, imagine sitting at that table and trying to steal the blinds! It is noticeable that some of the poker superstars have been absent from a lot of the events, preferring to play the large cash games that going on. I suppose these guys can't get up for a $2000 buy-in events anymore when they are playing 4000-8000 blinds with a 1000 ante! One thing that continues to puzzle me about poker players, hardly anyone admits they are a loser, especially online. Ask anyone at random here, and I'll give you $100 for anyone that admits to you that they are losing on the side action here, or losing on online, if you give me $5 for everyone that says they are winning. I am definitely an observer here, I'm not really part of the hardcore poker community, but I am enjoying observing, once I have played an event, the last thing I want to do is see another 2 hole cards, which puts me in the minority as most people are straight onto a cash game or a satelitte, within minutes of their tournament exit, hoping for a change of luck. It's the $2000 NL tomorrow, which will pull over 1000 entries+, $500,000+ to the winner but 900 people $2000 lighter in their pockets. Dan Harrington says that when a top player purchases their ticket, they have at least 4 times more chance of making the money than an average player, therefore mathematically their ticket is immediately worth $8,000 (less the 3% casino rake), an astute investment, and an interesting theory. Chris Moneymaker give us average players the delusion that keeps us buying these entry tickets to feed the casino rake and the top players pockets, when if fact, we are just gambling against much more unfavourable odds than we could get on roulette table. Coming here has really helped me understand how poker tournaments operate, they are like the lottery, the top players know what the first 2 numbers coming out are, but we can still outdraw them with our random 6 numbers, a combination of our families birth dates and our lucky numbers! Sometimes this happens, which misguides us. The only answer is to improve our games or we will continue to feed the system in which the fittest will ultimately survive, or we could get a lucky win.

Rob, a great series of posts, enjoy each and every one, but got to say the truth hurts in that last couple of sentences.

As for going into a cash game after bombing out of a Comp, some say it needs a different mind set and there should be at least a few hours wait before going from one into another.... comments? (Maybe a new thread)

Rob Absolutely fantastic read and certainly makes a change from some other reports.  Anyway best of luck in the rest of your tournaments and keep those posts coming.

Cheers

Scotty

Every post from Rob gives us a fresh insight into the game and the people who play it, for me these reports are the next best thing to being there.

Thanks Rob

You ow me $100 as im one of the few that cant win a button /tiddly wink on the internet thanks mate

Or in Live play either.......

I managed to play 2 hands before I was out today (which is twice as many as I played in the main event in Luton last month). Ironic really, as I had passed Lucky Steve Lui on the way to the arena at 12.05pm as he had busted out in 5 minutes with a straight flush draw, that I should be busted out soon after.  The problem with these smaller events is that you simply do not get enough chips to play one pot to the river and still be in reasonable shape. Example, blinds 25-25, one raise of 100, 3 callers, raiser bets 400 on flop and to call costs you 25% of your starting stack. To re-raise him 1200 with your top pair will cost you over 60%, so you have to win your first major pot, and by the river, you are all-in. The best strategy seems to be to not play any pots early on and look for a double up when the blinds reach 50-100, where you could still have over 1500 chips at your disposal if you did not play a hand. This was going to be my strategy today, until I got involved in 2 pots when I was in the big blind.

Hand 1: Passive play with a pair and a flush draw
1 middle position raise of 100, one caller, I am on the BB with 6c3c. There is 250 in the pot and it costs me 50 to call, I am getting pot odds of 4-1, so even if one person has AA, its correct to call, never mind implied odds. The flop comes down 3s 7c 9c. I have a pair and a flush draw. I check and the original bettor bets 200, the other player folds. I am out of position so don't want to re-raise and have to bluff the turn, so I just call, hoping for a 6, a 3 or any club, although I am almost sure my I am ahead. Next card comes 7h, I check and the raiser checks. River Td, I have missed but am still beating AK, AQ, AJ, I check and he best 300, I call and he turns over QT off suit, my hesitancy to get involved has cost me 25% of my stack, if I had check-raised on the flop, or bet the turn, I would have won, its not like me to play so weakly, but when you have been missing draws all week, you don't want to go all-in on one in the first 5 minutes of the tourney.  Down to 1500 chips.

Hand 2: Aggressive play with a pair and a flush draw
I am on the BB with 7h2h and there are 4 limpers, making 150 in the pot including the SB who calls. The flops comes down 7d, 4h, 5h. I again have a pair and a flush draw, although an A7 or 87 or 67 is likely to among the limpers. I lead out betting 150, limper 1 and 2 pass, limper 3 re-raises to 400, I guess with A7 or maybe 88, 99. Limper 3 calls the 400 and the SB passes. What is going on? I analyse the situation and come to the conclusion that limper 2 had a hand that is beating mine, but will not call an all-in from the BB, as I could have anything. However, limper 2 has 44, 55 or 68, and is slow playing. I do not believe either have flush draws as 400 is 20% of there stack, calling to hit 1 card is not really a play, as if the heart comes, you probably won't get paid. Now, to stay in the tournamant here I should fold my hand, I still have 1300 chips, however, there is now 1100 in the pot. I know the second caller will call with his trips or straight (I think the nut straight is most likely) so if I go all-in for 1300, he will put another 1050, making 2100 in the pot, so I am getting 7-4 on my money if only he calls, and 7/2 if caller one also calls (I am 2-1 to make the flush). However, if one of them has 6h8h I am drawing dead. I move my 1300 chips in the middle, caller1 passes and caller 2 calls. He has the nut straight 6d8s and I am drawing to 9 outs twice. Turn comes 7s giving me trips, meaning any 2,4, 5,7 or heart wins me the pot (19 outs, 43% of the deck)a rotten Qs hit the river and I am out, having played 2 hands 63 and 72!

I put my chips in on a draw knowing I would get at least one caller, which not recommended play, however I did justify it with Pot Odds. If I had not played the 63s so weakly in the first hand, I may have passed the 72s on the flop. The whole thing is a bit comical really, but I guess not many players can say they moved all-in on 2 opponents with 72 after a re-raise and a flat call at the WSOP. In fact, I wonder if it has ever happened before! Minutes before my exit, Simon Nowab got knocked out with his KK v AA on the next table, all in pre-flop, the flop came 678, turn T, Simon was heard shouting for a 9 to make a split pot, which we had a laugh about afterwards. I lot of people went out early today due to the lack of chips in relation to the betting, I'm just trying to find someone who went out with 72 to make me feel remotely normal. I'm going to give Dan Harrington his books back and ask him for $59 rebate, as he does not have a section titled How not to get involved in stupid plays on your BB! Tomorrow is the $5000 NL 6 handed tourney, which will be great to play, as 6 handed forces action.

On a honest note, and I want my journal to be truthful, so when I look back on it is an accurate reflection, I'm feeling a bit fed up now, I've had 15 days here, only cashed once and not really had the rub of the green, although I agree than some of my play has been questionable, I like to call it unorthodox. The real reason is that I also know that I am an average player here at best, which hurts. The standard here is high, and I find myself thinking about the famous poker saying, if after 15 minutes you can't spot the sucker at the tableget up and leave cause its you. I hope people reading this do not find this negative, as I am really enjoying speaking to new people and learning more about poker, I'm just being a realist, to get a result here I have to get very very lucky, as my play alone is just not good enough to compete with the quality of these fields. Some players will believe this attitude is self-defeatist, but I actually think you need to know where you are, to get where you want in life, and kidding yourself does you no good in the long term. So, lets get very lucky tomorrow and bust out the better players!

Rob your unorthodox style will trouble the "players" once you catch a break and get hold of a stack. At the minute all the plays seem to be going by the book, the majority of your bust outs seem to have been to players not outplaying you just you missing a draw. Dont know why you are thinking they are better than you and I do think you could do with getting your head together before the next event. If you are going in thinking you need to get lucky to progress you may as well not bother. There is very little difference between "them" and you, no disrespect but 12 months ago John was playing 10 comps at salford/blackpool and look at him now. Chubbs has gone through the same transformation- are you saying they are far better players than you? Ok Titles aside I dont think you would shrink away from playing them would you? Stop beating yourself up and go and have some fun and win something for gods sake, you know the play you would normally make with the 36 clubs so if the situation arises again tomorrow make the play you feel the most comfortable with. Play your own game not the one which is misconceived to be the correct way to play.

Good luck Rob, don't fall into the trap of waiting for AA KK etc, its too boring and you can still get outdrawn! :)

Have you been playing single table sats or cash at all?

Ditto Ariston!!!

You took the words out of me key board

if 63c is a playable hand in your book you got to be prepared to think its AA

Just because your missing dont let it affect your normal (unauthodox) game.

Good luck on the 6 handed

Thanks TK
nearly missed that
sounds like a chirp to me

Thanks again for the great report Rob, Im trying hard to learn from your experiences, they certainly make me think

ps, I dont have to remind myself that Im not good enough, tikay does it for me

Would it be worth making this thread a sticky?

Don't want the newbies missing out on a great read.  :)

It "sticky's" itself snoopy, simply because Rob posts every few days, & that in itself generates feedback for days and days. But if it's in danger of slipping off the leader board, so to speak, I will sticky it. I have promised Game for Life that they can stay at the top for a few days, but we will certainly sticky Rob if we need to. His posts have been a revelation.

How lucky are we on blonde to have Vegas diaries from Rob Yong and El Blondie, and even Simon Trumper gives us a few Diary Entries. Can't be bad, eh?

And whisper it quietly, but if I can persuade them, I may even get Smokin Steve (on behalf of him and Xuyen), & Thewy to post a few entries from Vegas during the WSOP. The Dream Team!

Went for breakfast with Willy Tan this morning hoping for some good advice. We were joined by a friend of Willy's whose theory of poker was very simply, he told me that I should only bet with the nuts and call with the nuts, that way I won't lose chips (he actually meant it!). After breakfast I went back to the room and re-read Dan Harrington's chapter on short-handed play. On my table that day was a young lady who I had busted out of a the $1000 final at the Bellagio last year, she informed me that she had turned professional shortly after that and was going to knock me out of this event. I also had a really nice guy who I had busted out of the $2000 PL earlier on in the WSOP, and 2 other players who I had also played with in previous touramants. This meant that I had playing experience with 4 out of 5 of my opponents, so I was very happy with my table. After one guy got knocked out early, Peter Costa came to our table which meant I knew 100% of the table. I got up to 8000 chips from my starting stack of 5000 within 3 hours of play without having to showdown many hands, all was going well until me and Peter clashed in the following hand:

Hand 1: Slow play No.1
Peter raised on the button making it 600 to go, blinds 100-200. I have KK and smooth called, the BB folds. Flop comes 678 rainbow, I check, Peter checks. Turn Q, I check, Peter best 1000. Now, I decide to try and extract some chips from Peter and just call and raise a further 1000 to keep him in, Peter calls the 1000 making 5400 in the pot. I think he may have a Queen or maybe a straight draw. When the river comes another Q I suspect he was on a draw (maybe A9) and has missed, so I check, as a better hand can only call me if I bet. Peter bets out 2000, and I call him immediately with my KK, he turns over QT, he had made runner runner Q. Peter told me that I should have re-raised 3000 or gone all in on the turn, and he would have passed. He also says if he had missed his 9, T, or Q (his 9 outs) he would not have paid me a penny more, even with top pair. I understand where is he coming from, as I gave him pot odds of 4.4-1 on a 5-1 shot and the implied odds make it a reasonable call, but I wanted him in so I took the risk. This pot really damaged me and put me back down to 3000 chips, and I felt I had been unlucky.

Hand 2: Slow play No. 2
I managed to build my way back to 6000 chips, again without having to show down a hand, playing aggressively and stealing chips. This included moving in on with 4 spades on the board with no spade in my hand after my opponent had tried to steal on the river, moving in with on a flush draw and moving in with KJ off suit on a QQA flop (he passed his Ace). I still felt I was feeling the table well and my timing was getting back in line. However, when I picked up K9 off suit on the SB and the BB put in a raise of 800. I decied to call the raise, as I had played with this guy and know I could move him off a hand if he missed the flop, so I called. The flop came Ks 9c 2d, I have flopped top 2 pair. I check, he checks, turn 3s, I check again, and he still checks. I am praying for an ace to hit and a seemingly harmless 8s comes on the river. I looks like I cannot get paid much so I bet 500 into a 2000 pot looking like I am on a total steal, hoping that he could have something, he re-raises me 3000. What the hell is going on, has he been slow playing me with a set? Surely he could not runner runnered a flush? I decide to just call rather then move in and he turns over AsQs, he has hit the miracle backdoor flush, and I gave him the all the free cards to do it. I slow playing works, you are a hero, if not, you look an absolute XXXX, at least I just called instead of moving in.

Hand 3:
Those 2 hands have crippled me and I am felling rough. I am down to 2000 chips with 100-200 blind and 25 antes, and I move all-in on the young lady that said she was going to knock me out. I hope she has A2 - A6. She turns over 77, which is actually worse than her having KK or QQ for me! Never mind I thought, I get 5 cards to hit and Ace (30% chance), first card out, the case 7,making her trips! Out 100th out of 360 players.




Chubby and CK supported me all day today, and we have just finished a mini 3-way tournament in my room for 25 pound a person. I hit a straight flush, trips 5 times, the nut flush, 4 other flushes, 3 straights and 2 full houses. I had the best run off cards for the last 2 weeks, every slow play worked, and all my draws hit.  Typical.

I only have the $3000 NL, the $1000 Buy-In NL and the $10K Main event left to play. I've done by best in all the events so far, learnt a hell of a lot, and been able to get a benchmark of what my poker play is like compared world-class players.  The fact that I believe (and said in my previous journal entry) there is a gulf between myself and some of these players is a very positive thing as it gives me something to aspire to. If I came to the WSOP and my conclusion was that only luck separated us, what would be the point of continuing playing? I'm very pleased that coming here has convinced me that poker is ultimately a game of skill, timing, perception and thought deduction. This conculsion is backed up by Phil Ivey's gold bracelet yesterday in the Omaha, Look at the list of winners this year so far, most of them are considered the best players in the world. The hands I have described to you have been the big pots I have played, I have not selectively left out the pots where I have outdrawn people. The simple analysis of my play so far is that I have made ill-timed semi-bluffs when I am not at least 50% sure my opponents will pass, and I have not hit. Coupled with this bad timing, I have not had the run of the cards over the last 2 weeks, but overall, my results correlate directly to my ability in comparison the other players, and I need at least 18 months of table experience to compete. This is what I came here to do, watch, learn, and adjust, and you must pay for your lessons in this life. I know one day I will look back at this journal and cringe at some of the plays I have made, but that's the great thing about poker, as I said in one of very first posts, if you are willing to put up the entry fees, you can play at the highest level. Again, I really appreciate the comments about my journal, I have had 4 people who I have never met come up to today and said that they have read it and really enjoyed it, which really makes me feel better after the last couple of weeks.

Carlo Citrone and Laurance Gosney have made the final table of the $2000 No Limit. It will be played at 3pm tomorrow.  It would mean so much to them to both get a Bracelet so good luck to them both and hopefully they will stay out of each others way until they get heads-up.

Rob if you get to speak to Carlo give him my best wishes and tell him the whole Geordie Nation is behind him.

Rob, that is your best post yet, and I especially loved the overall analysis of where you think you stand in the poker world.

Tonight's Carlo/Gosney Final? I am trying to get a blondeite in Vegas to text me updates so we can do a Live Update. Any ideas who we have available? CK maybe?

And you should be aware that Poker 425 are promoting the Forum big-style - full page ad in the Racing Post no less - so your Journal is not only appreciated by us all, but it will gain much wider readership. And so it should, it's unique, and it's a breathtakingly good read.

Hi TK, Nick here just woke a very tired Rob after my 10 hour flight.
Gonna take the lap top to watch the final and we will take it in turns to update for you you lucky man.

Gonna for a coffee i will keep in touch

Nick

yeeeeehaaaaaaa

Nick,


I LOVE YOU

Your all set now that Smithers has arrived. When you mentioned Nick being Smithers the other day Tikay me and womble agreed there isnt a more appropriate nickname on the circuit.

Nick? He's the PERFECT Smithers, eh?

Yellow Card for the first wise guy to suggest who the perfect Mr Burns is - careful now........

I would think of you more as Abe

Who Abe?

as in abes odessey perhaps?

Not a big Simpsons fan the obviously Tikay. I darent tell you who it is Tikay.

tikay would make a great methos from "highlander" tv series

So cruel
(http://www.thesimpsons.stopklatka.pl/bohaterowie/img/rodzina_abe.jpg)

Thanks robert, here comes my first yellow card.

It was to set the scene, as it were. I got one last night, I was mortified.

That's Grandpa - the one in the home who dribbles. Surely some mistake......

Tell you what though. Thewy is the school bus driver.

Okely Dokely!

The last time I saw Lawrence was at the 100 Nottingham re-buy, he had arrived at 9.03pm and had missed the 9.00pm deadline that Gala enforce. He had just driven 100mph for 90 miles from Leeds, and they still did not let him in. He was very polite, but firm about his views to the Gala staff, said his goodbyes, and left to return to home. Would they dare turn him away now.........I have just returned to my room after sharing a drink with the new $2000 NL WSOP Champion, Lawrence Gosney. We (Chuubs, CK, The Shrew) supported him all day in the final.

I especially wanted support him as Lawrence called me continually to get updates, when Nick "The Shrew"Whiten made his first major uk final at the Vic Club in March. Lawrence is a genuine guy, he travels the globe in search of respect in the poker world. He is mild mannered, but aggressive at the table. He is a prepared to gamble and revles in being the "table captain", he want to be the player who is making the action. I have played with him many times, and clashed with him on many occasions, but he is one of the real top blokes on the poker circuit. When and since Lawrence won today, he has accepted his prize modestly and graciously, showing little emotion, but I know HOW MUCH this actually means to him. Anyone that would travel to remote places to get a few extra European ranking points at obscure tournaments is saying, I want to be respected as one of the best poker players around. This is why I am so chuffed that he won, because I know he will be so proud of that bracelet, and the prize money, although nice, is only the icing on the cake.

I also loved the fact that when someone suggested to him that he should go and wear a certain web sites t-shirt for $10k, he said XXXX off. How refreshing in an environment when money is king and players are manipulated by a few quid (these sites only want to talk to them when they are in the final, not support them before they get there).

Lawrence's win today is the perfect example of what you need to win a tournament on one given day - you need to play exceptionally well according to your chip position and the players at your table, but you also cannot win a tournament without getting lucking at least once. When Lawrence moved in with 2c2d and the BB called with KhKs, Lawrence faced elimination in 4th place. However, he sat there, cool as a cucumber, while "Neverwin" (what a nickname!) got out of his seat and put his head in hands preying for his 90% favourite to hold up. I was sure he was going to outdraw him and this was not the end of his tournament. When the flop came 3 clubs, giving Lawrence 12 outs I was shocked a 2 hadn't come, however the hands became almost equal in win probability after the flop, and when that Qc came on the turn Lawrence showed no emotion, jus collected the chips like he had won a pot in the 20 re-buy at Gala. This was the key hand of the final for him but I was so impressed by his composure. We bought the dealer who dealt the flush a couple of drinks afterwards and he said he also had a feeling that the KK was going to lose, we all did, it was weird, normally when your mate has his back against the wall, you think the worst, but for some strange reason, there was a feeling across the whole room that the 22 were going to win, even when the club came on the turn there was no gasp of surprise which you normally happens in these final occasions.

It's almost like it was destiny for Lawrence to win today, imagine if Carlo had incorrectly called the 3 way all-in with his QQ, this would have changed the whole game, and the 22 v KK would never have happened, as Carlo would have eliminated "Neverwin" and became chip leader himself. I just think today the Poker Gods said, Mr Gosney, you are an excellent player, you have paid your dues to poker, you've had enough near misses, its your day, son, enjoy it. That's the thing about poker, its unpredictable, and any player can win on a specific day, but Lawrence has worked hard for a win like this, its deserved, he played great poker.

It's the $3000 NL tomorrow, I asked Lawrence if he was playing and he replied immediately, no, then paused and said, $3000 no limit eh.maybe!

Stop editing it Rob, its a great report as always

ps Tell Lawrence Im so pleased for him, he deserves it

Great review Rob. I was also present when they turned Lawrence away - correctly, it must be said - because he arrived late. Lawrence shrugged his shoulders & just walked away. A real man, a mans man.

An honest man, too. He bluffed away a huge stack at Blackpool in the Mick Fletcher comp, & I was gutted for him. He rung me while driving home & just said he'd made a complete pigs ear of the comp, & only had himself to blame. Total honesty.

Lord Lawrence of Leeds it is then.

The thread was drifting.  :P

We are about due another episode from Rob. But Smithers Whiten is out there now, diverting Rob's attention from the serious matters in hand.

CK - sort him out!

The diary makes fantastic reading Rob, keep it up (i mean the writing) and id like to add i am made up for Loso Goso i think hes a great player and a great personality (no i didnt say he had a personality i said he was one their s a difference) what a win well done mate !


See you tomorrow guys lets bring at least one more bracelet home.

DAY 18: Friday 1st July  Pocket Kings in the $3000 NL
I had some well known pros at my table including JC Tran (35 WSOP money finishes) and Paul Darden (2004 WPT Winner). With only 3000 chips and 60minute levels the field started to bust out pretty quickly as some players tried to double up early. I am still unsure what the correct strategy to deploy is:

Option 1  - Get busy early, see flops and gamble and try and mass chips
Option 2  - Play tight and start making moves when the blinds are worth stealing.

Overall, at the WSOP, nearly all the top players try to get chips early or bust out, so that can control their tables. Maybe this is reflective of their poker bankrolls, or their sponsorship deals. Consequently, Option 1 must be the optimal choice of strategy?

I was doing pretty well after 2 hours play, I had increased my stack to 6000, but played few pots. This was not intentional, just that I had 3 aggressive players to my right so when I was in late position, the pot had already been raised. These were players that would always bet the flop whether they missed or not, and put in a second bullet on the turn for good measure, so calling raises with marginal hands was not profitable. Ie. If you don't hit the flop big, the aggressive player bets you out of it even though you may be ahead with bottom pair. One interesting pot I played and should have got paid more on was:

Hand 1 - QJs in the BB
Blinds 50-100. Daniel Alayie raised my BB, this guy is super aggressive and has a great playing style. He rarely enters a pot without raising or re-raising and will try and outplay you on the flop. He is also a player than can lay down a hand as well. This is the second time I have played against him in the WSOP. Anyway, back to the hand, everyone folds to me on the BB and I look down to see QhJh, a nice hand to see a flop with, and a hand you can still get away from if you hit only a Q or a J. I call his raise of 300 and there is 650 in the pot. The flop comes KdTs6c, I have an up and down straight draw. I don't really betting draws out of position because if you miss, you feel obliged to bet the turn and river aswell! So I decide to check call, as Daniel will bet the flop whatever is on there. He bets out 500, I call, and the turn comes an As, giving me the NUTS. I am in a perfect situation, I am in pot with an aggressive player betting into me on a rainbow board with the NUTS. I check, and Daniel bets out 1000, now I need to decide whether to slow play, or try and get the chips in now. On a board of KT6A it is very possible he has 2 pair, in which case he will call an all-in now, but if a scare card like a J,Q comes  on the river, or the board pairs up, he may not pay me off. I decide to move-in for 4000 chips, on the basis that calling 1000 (25% of my stack) would actually represent more strength than moving all-in, to a top player. He gives me the staredown, I try to look like I do not want a call, whatever this expression looks like, he counts and re-counts his chips, I am thinking, Call, please call, 10,000 pot coming my way.., and then to my dismay he MUCKS his hand in disgust and gives me a knowing look. I shrugged my shoulders, but inside I was disappointed, he made a good laydown.

JC Tran was getting on my nerves, everytime he raised he put at least 10X the BB, until the hand when he knocked me out.

Hand 2 - Pocket Kings on the Button
With the blinds 50-100, I have 6000 chips. JC Tran raised incorrectly 150, now we had been playing this level for 50 minutes and it was an obviously a moody. He had a big hand and was trying it on. I put him on QQ minimum, some of these guys will pull any stroke in the book to get an advantage. The dealer makes him raise 200 (the minimum) and he starts to moan than he only wants to call now, but the raise stands. Everyone passes to me on the button, I look down to see the cowboys, KK. However, because of Tran's moody, I am worried he has AA. I decide to put in a disproportionate raise, and if he moves-all in I will pass, yes, pass KK pre-flop!!!. This may seem strange, as KK is the second best hand in the pack, but his moody made it so obvious that he was holding a big pair. I have seen him play AK, he raises 15 x the BB!! So, I re-raise 1200, 6 times his raise. This raise is saying to him, I have a very big hand, and if you have AA there is no need to slow play it, as I will put all of my chips in with you pre-flop now (for me, its actually saying the opposite, as I have already agreed to pass if he moves all-in with AA). But this raise seems to slow him down, he thinks for a minute and then just flat calls, and I realistically discount AA as a possible hand for him. The flop comes Q 6 4 rainbow, he checks, I bet without thinking 1500, leaving me only 3000 chips (I think I spent so much time analysing pre-flop, that I felt my KK was good, and had lost my inhibitions). He calls the 1500, which is alarm bells for me, 2 hands I am losing to, QQ or AA. I just know he had QQ now, so when he checks the harmless 9d on the turn, I check as well. Top players never let you off the hook, and he bets $3000 on the river when another rag 2c falls. The way my thought process have gone, how can I be winning in this hand, He has done a massive pre-flop moody, then called a pre-flop raise of 6 times his original raise, he has check called me for 1500 on the flop, but how can I pass KK on this board? I can't pass, I am not good enough to lay down this hand, I call like any lemon does, and he shows one queens, pauses and casually flips over the second queen. I don't feel bad as I expected it, I knew the only hand he could call such a big pre-flop raise with, but did not dare go all-in with was QQ. This is how Trans thought processes went:

Do a moody and attract someone holding an AQ type of hand to re-raise him.
I tell him that I have KK or AA with my huge pre-flop raise.
He knows he needs to hit a set on the flop, 10-1 shot, but if he does, he gets all my chips.
He makes an implied odds call to win all of my chips + the pot which (total of $6300).
But Tran is a gambler, happy to put up $1000 in to win $6300, a 6-1 hot, on a 10-1 shot.
Also, if he doubles up he has the opportunity to dominate the table.

I have no problem with how he played the hand, okay he got lucky to hit the set, but if I truly had faith in my analysis, I must put him on QQ and should pass my KK. Interesting hand though.


I saw Simon Nowab in the smoking area 5 minutes afterwards, he rushed back to his table to find KK in the BB. A raise, then a re-raise, he moves all-in, AQ calls him and the flop comes QQ2, game over. Pocket King's no good today!!!!!

Nick The Shrew Whiten played the $3000.  He is nicknamed The Shrew due to his very tight play, because Phil Helmuth calls a tight player a Mouse in his latest book, therefore a Shrew must be even tighter!). He moved-all in for $7000 chips on an up and down straight draw which is well outside of his normal style of play, must be the jetlag or personal problems!!!!!

In an effort to get my $3000 buy-in back I have had a bet with Simon Chubby Nowab. On September 31st 2005, is he weights less than 11st10 (my weight) I will pay him $6000, if he weighs more, he pays me $3000. He is currently 14st and wants to shed the Chubby nickname and replace it with The Love Machine (which is the nickname he gives himself). I still think my $3000 a banker though, and we've agreed to use my scales!

... and in a WSOP event...... isn't that of what dreams are made!

Thanks again for the insight.

Excellent analysis again Rob--Thank you-- Just making me more and more jealous! Still off to play the 100 at Nottingham tonight-- Not quite the same as WSOP tho!
Malc-M

We're starting to talk strategies about the main event now. There are now 4600 confirmed entries. There are 3 days of heats where 2200 people will play down to 500 on each day. $10,000 chips with 2-hour levels with blinds starting at 25-50. Nick and I are playing on Day 2, Friday 8th July. If we get through Day 1, we will resume on Day 4, Monday 10th, with 1500 runners and the top 660 will get paid.. Day 4 and 5 and 6 will play 5 levels per day, and day 7 will play down to 36 players. The action will then move the Horseshoe on Day 8, playing down to the final table of 9 players. An interesting fact is that out of 6,600 starting runners, 30 players will be dealt AA on the first hand, if they manage to get the pot heads-up and get all of their chips in against their opponent, 6 people will be elimatated with AA and have only played 1 hand in the WSOP main event! Everyone is saying how tight they intend to play and they SHOULD get through the first day, however, 4100 won't, no matter how conservative their approach is.

Today, we went to the Bellagio and had dinner in a restaurant called Noodles, it's excellent. We then took a look in the Poker room, its full, or course. Chip Reece and Doyle were in their private office, chatting away to their fellow players, pausing to look at their cards, and flicking a few $25,000 chips in the pot carelessly. This room is a dangerous place, its where the up and coming players who have recent big win get invited to come and play with Chip and Doyle, and donate their recently won tournament prize to the pot. People come and go in this game, but the same old faces survive. According to a dealer at the Rio, Gus Hansen lost $6m in one session two weeks ago in the big cash game, the only event in the WSOP that Gus has played is the $10k Omaha yesterday, and the dealer told us that he is on the felt (Vegas terms for broke). Every time I come to Vegas I hear that Gus Hansen is broke, yet he still manages to lose a few million the next time he plays! Another story the dealer told me was that when Phil Ivey won a tournament this year for $1m, the casino kept the whole lot, as he had $1m marker with them for Blackjack losses! There is something special about the players at this game, they are at the pinnacle of the poker world, they are the top predators in the food chain of poker. The money pours into the game through tournaments and the $1-$2 games, moves up to the $5-10, eventually ending up at the Biggest Cash Game in Vegas, less the casino's rake. Every cash game player starting out dreaming of growing their modest bankroll big enough to have a crack at the big one at the Bellagio, very few make it, and only the mercurial Phil Ivey has survived it.

The Blondites arrive in this fantastic 24 hour city today, each with their own ambitions of leaving with gold on the plane home. Good luck to them all. Unless I do well in the big one, I'll be leaving with empty pockets and a few stories..

..... to remember for ages to come. Like Max Boyce you can say "..... and *I* was there"

Good luck and thanks again for the report.

Every time I read one of your reports Rob, my patience wears thinner.

I can almost taste the atmosphere, and I know that I am one of the very lucky ones.

Yes I am dreaming as we all are that are lucky enough to be "in the hat".

Thanks so much for sharing everything with us all.

See you guys Tuesday.

Ralph

My Math is not the best but I think that should that be 30 players will get AA first hand??? 6,600 runners, 1 in 220 chance of getting it. Could be wrong though....
Great read again Rob. Seriously, it is getting me so excited about the start of the WSOP. I think some of the TV channels should run it live, maybe two or three TV tables with a 15 minutes delay or something. Surely it would get great numbers?

Something i been saying a while approx 1 in 30 will get KK, and of those it is more likely that someone will have AA on 1 of those tables than not, so dont go all in hand 1 with KK!!

Gus has played 2 events so far....................it wouldn't surprise me if he were broke but lets be honest he could get sponsored for every event if he wanted to play

I dont profess to understand it, and Im in no position to make a judgement, but every time ive seen Gus win anything, he's put his chips in when he was behind and sucked out ??? ??? ???

But if he has pot odds then surely it is a good call?

DAY 20: Sunday 3rd July  The Blondites arrive
No poker today so we went to the arena to support Simon Trumper in the $10,000 Omaha. He was chips leader having double the chips of any other player in the field. They played down to 18 players and although Simon's chips decreased over the day, he still managed to get into the money and finished the night with just under $100,000 chips, 7th out of 18. He returns tomorrow and fingers crossed for him to get a good payday. I had a bit of shock when I say that Tikay has modernised his look somewhat, bleaching his hair totally blonde - even blonder than El Blondie. Nice to see some familiar faces like Thewy, Zach, Womble and Ariston over here, although I have to admit, after 20 days over here, I'm finding it hard be the life and soul. I have notices a tired look in a lot of the English players that have been over here as long as me, their expressions say, I've played a hell of a lot of poker, spent loads of my bankroll, and I haven't even got a sun tan to show for it.

I had a good chat with Peter Costa and his lovely wife yesterday. He told me about a very interesting hand that he played with Huck Seed, ex WSOP Champion, in the Omaha. It demonstrates the discipline and focus of these top players. I hope he doesn't mind me writing about it. Basically, Peter made a straight flush, and bet out $4000 into a $5000 pot, Huck Seed had made the Ace Flush and ONLY called the $4000 (their was no possibility of a full house on the board)! Peter, brother of Kim who plays at Gala, Nottingham, is a top bloke; he always has time to speak to you, and is very honest about life on the professional poker circuit. He is also down to the last 18 in the Omaha with about the same chips as Trumper.

The WSOP main event is $10,000, but to do whole 6 weeks will cost you nearer $100,000 or $70,000 if you just play the hold'em events. With cash games and satellites 24hrs a day, a lot of poker players will have blown their bankrolls by July 16th. Of course, a few players will be richer, but the many will be broke, if not in debt.

The walk on the way back from the arena is often a sad one, as well as the bad beat stories, I have heard players begging their friends or family to wire or lend them money, I have even seen players crying after going on tilt in a cash game. The life of the gambler is an emotionally draining one, it sends you into desperation. When you have no money in your pocket, all you want to do is get cash from any source to feed the monster, you promise to stick to a new improved disciplined system, but after a few losses you slide back to old habits. This is the side of poker that the WPT and WSOP do not show on TV. However, when you get THAT win, life is a bunch of roses again and its time to go shopping and blow your winnings, treat your loved ones, and tell everyone how you played your A game.

scarey stuff Rob, another excellent post

Independence day in America and they are celebrating it with a huge firework display in Vegas. Meanwhile, Simon Aces Trumper is down to the last 6 in the Omaha $10,000 buy in.  It looks as if a top 3 finish is the minimum he will achieve, and with a 1st prize of $511,000, Simon is probably wishing he bought 100% of himself, and we are all wishing we bought some of the shares, that he advertised on the Blondepoker forum for this event!

For the rest of us, we had the $1000 Re-buy today. I decided not to go mad with the re-buys and just give it a go by investing a maximum of $3000. Unfortuantely, I had Scott Fishman (triple Bracelet winner) and Daniel Negraneau on my table, both of whom were willing to invest considerablely more! The sight of their pile of $5,000 cash chips in front of them (buy-ins at the ready) could have meant an expensive day for me, but after Fishman decided to put me all in pre-flop with 9T offsuit, I decided to bow out gracefully (I actually called him with JTs and had him in bad shape pre-flop but he spiked his nine), Anyway, I didn't fancy beating my personal record of 19 re-buys in the 20 Nottingham Gala comp!

Nick had a similar problem with John Juanda, he moved all-in pre-flop with 92 offsuit in a raised pot with 5 callers! Some of the pros were treating this tournamant as a way of having a bit of a gamble and play cards they would not normally play (last year Daniel Negraneau had 27 re-buys and won it!). For the rest of us, I think we should stay away from these type of events in the future and let the big boys fight it out to be Champion Re-buyer. A few people were saying they were being disrespectful to the other players on limited budgets, but I can understand why they do this, just letting off a bit of steam away from their normally high-stakes pressurised environments.

Only 3 days till we play in the main event, and no poker scheduled in between. This event is our last chance to get a few dollars back before we return to sunny England. Although the field will be 6600, I hope some of the English players go far, I am not sure how many we have in, but I bets its over 70 players, a mix of experience operators and some eager amateurs! In 12 days time, someone will be picking up $15m, 14 other people will be millionaires and 10% of the field will have made a profit, however small.

Being honest, personally, I feel too tired to look at 2 hole cards after 20 days here, I'm probably not in great frame of mind to play a big event like this, and if I don't get through the first day. I'll be flying home to see my family and friends ASAP. I don't want to discourage other players from doing the whole nice yards next year, and I'd probably feel different if I had done a bit better, but I'm absolutely shattered. I have the upmost respect for the guys that do this for a living, playing every day under intense pressure. For 8 years, I worked 80+ hours a week in business, and that's a walk in the park to 20 days of bad beats and silly mistakes!

This WSOP has illustrated the growth in poker, unprecedented fields and prize pools, a new venue and its big business. I hope the some of the players who win the big money in this year's main event are some of the guys that really need it, the seasoned pros who have been broke and broke again, just managing to scrape together their $10k buy-in at the last minute, instead of some part-time $20 dollar internet qualifiers. Lady luck, smile on those who have contributed their lives to the game, and help make it what it is now, but have bugger-all to show for it!

Hi all.

My first post on here.

Rob, I just read the whole of your report in one go and for someone like me who has only taken up poker 3 months ago this is am amazing report which gives an insight that no other book I have read comes close to. I play mostly online and have only played 3 live tournaments so far but you are allowing me to travel forward in time, experience wise, with your honest reports and analysis. I would have to of lost a lot more money to see what you have just given me. Thank you.

I may not be the most experienced player but I can recognise intelligence and desire, both of which equate to potential. You have enormous potential to get where you want to be so don't beat yourself up over bad beats or mistakes when you are fatigued. Bad beats you can't control and mistakes are just lessons in disguise that if used properly will benefit your game. I hope you go all the way, mate.

Thanks once again for the reports.
I wish you and all the Brits the very best of luck. :)

What an excellent first post. Welcome Maroon.

Thanks, Tightend.  :)

Agreed, very good.
Welcome

Welcome to the forum Maroon. This whole thread ought to be bottled it is quality stuff, thanks Rob.

Where abouts are you Maroon and where do you play live?

Perhaps after the WSOP is over someone with administrator status at Blonde could gather up Rob's posts from Vegas and link them all  in the "Articles" section as a series via the front page, as DC's articles appear when published?

I think reading them will stand the test of time. I certainly will remember to re-read them before I go out in a year's time

Thanks all for the welcome.

I live near Brighton and so far have played at the Rendezvous in the Marina.  Might try the Grosvenor this Friday though.

Cheers all.

First, welcome aboard Maroon, lovely post Sir.

Next - Yes, we WILL consolidate Rob's 2005 WSOP Journal into an "article". I have read hundreds of Vegas Trip Reports, & none betters Rob's - even the late Andy Glazier, who was THE main man before his untimely death.

Once the 2005 WSOP is over, we will sort Rob's tome out & let you guys know. I saw him today, he's in great form, but realistic as ever. Truth is, he can't wait to get home, but that's all part of it's fascination, the total self-honesty. Only an idiot could not learn something from Rob's efforts to enlighten us to the real Vegas story.

I have been to the Grosvenor B'ton beforre, full of friendly though frightenly enthusiastic people. Funnily enough I'm trying the Rendezvous this Friday for the first time.

You trying the 5k satellite?

Yep, that's the one.

It looks like the rumours about 10,000 + players in the main event may have been just rumours, although there will be double last years entry at least. On Thursday Grumpy and Chubbs are playing, so we'll be supporting them, as Nick and me are not playing till Friday.

Everyone is saying that they are going to play like rocks all day, not playing a single hand unless its AA or KK. The problem with that it that it will cost 12,450 in posted antes and blinds to get through the first day, so you still have to play poker. Also, average chips will be around 33,000, so who wants be still at 10,000 at the end of the day?

I can't wait to start playing now, I either do well or fly home to see my family and friends, so I'm quite happy either way.  However, if I could get a good run in the Big One, it would make up for all the other losses on this trip. To be honest, to get through the Day 1 is going to make up for everything! I think a lot will depend on the table I get, hopefully me and 9 other Internet qualifiers from obscure sites, who will not pass top pair.

DAY 23: Wednesday 6th July  1 day to go
I'm getting a bit nervous about playing on Friday, every tournament for me is a roller coaster, as I play so many pots, and I face with so many tough decisions. This is the biggest tournament of the year and I want to go back home feeling I have put in a good performance but I know that if I have 5h6h, and the flop comes 2 hearts, I'm not passing, so I could be out on my ear very early on. My head keeps saying, 2 hour levels, 10,000 chips, you can wait for hands, but my heart says play your own game, with so many people playing tight, there will so many easy chips ready for the taking.

Grump, Ariston, Chubbs, Womble, Shrew, Big Barry (from Notts) and me decided to play a single table satellite in my room last night. It was a $500 buy-in, 1st prize $2500, 2nd $1000.  The Rocks prevailed, and Womble and Grumpy split the prize pool 1,750 each. My partner in crime, Nick The Shrew Whiten, decided to take it upon himself to try and knock me out at every opportunity, charming eh?

So far they have 5600 confirmed entries for the main event, people are so desperate to get in cheaply that they are playing $1000 Shootouts. This is when 10 people put in $1000 each, get dealt 2 cards face-up each, the flop, turn and river are dealt, and the winner takes the $10,000!

We went down to the arena to support Chubbs and Grumpy, its mahem. 200 tables and spectators are 6 people deep. There are TV camera's everywhere, microphones dangles over the tables where the stars are sat, hoping to hear some trash-talking. To reach the arena you are forced to be diverted through a large mall, full of stalls trying to get you to sign up for their web site, or selling poker memorabilia, poker tables, personalised dealer buttons, poker software, and instructional videos. It's big business here, there was even a queue to get your photo taken with The Flying Dutchman, Marcel Luske, who incidentally, is one of the friendliest stars on the circuit. Poker is just huge over here, the top players are worshipped and everybody is trying to cash in on the poker boom.

Meanwhile, the WSOP have decided to speed up the structure half way through today, as people are not getting knocked out quick enough! They reduced to levels by 20 minutes (from 2 hours to 1 hour 40 minutes) and decided to play 6 levels on Day 1,2 and 3. I think this is wrong and unfair on players who have planned their tournament strategy based on 2-hour levels. Having played the WPT 5 Diamonds at the Bellagio, where you actually get 2 X your buy-in in chips (30,000 for $15,000 Buy-In) and it is superbly run, hats off to The Bellagio, and a big thumbs down to the WSOP.

Tomorrow is my big day, my first WSOP main event. If the deck hits me in the face, I'll be chipped up and through to Day 4, but if the cards run badly, I'll be out early.

I've came here to play poker, not wait for Aces, and I'll play be playing Dan Harrington's' version of super-aggressive poker (this means that 40% of the deck are playable cards!). Of course, I won't be calling many raises out of position, but I will be raising with any 2 cards that are suited or connected with 2 gaps or less in any position.

To most players this is a very reckless style of play, but on a tight table, you can accumulate chips quickly, also if you hit the flop, you can double up. However, if there are 2 other loose players at the table, I will be forced to be a bit more cautious in early position. If I can acculumate $30,000 chips I will switch to Dan Harrington's Conservative Style, which is basically playing AQ minimum and see out the rest of the day.

I've had 22 days here, played a hell of a lot of poker, missed all my big draws and had my premium hands outdrawn, I want to end my trip going down fighting, WIN or LOSE. In 2004, Raymer documented every hand he played, and I'm going to the same, as I'm not sure whether I will ever get this opportunity again. Good luck to everyone.

last year the levels were 1hr 40m and 6 levels per day, so no change

Thanks Rob, again. To play the big 'un like that is going to take guts but, looking at the reports on how people were playing the first day, it could pay off. Wouldn't it be good to get reports from you after each of your daily sessions which could be saved under "How I one the World Series"!

Good luck, mate!

Good luck forr today!!!!!

I've enjoyedyour musings.........Best of luck for the WSOP

"How I one the World Series"

I'm sure Rob would prefer to use the title "How I won the World Series".

he is a lawyer leave him alone they got to be thick to its part of their job training

good luck rob i hope the poker gods are smiling on you tonight!

Some of us can't be perfect all of the time. I have been known to make the odd, annual, spelling error. I try not to let it affect my humility

DAY 25: Friday 8th July  Main Event Day 2
I hadn't slept well, kept thinking about how I was going to play and the conflict between survival in the tournament and getting a big chip stack. Went to breakfast with Nick in the San Paulo Caf?at about 10am and was kindly joined by Gary Bush when he saw that my diamond card got me to the front of the queue. I find talking with Bushy a strange, as often he will walk away from you in mid conversation, then come back 10 minutes later and resume the same conversation at exactly the same point! I like the guy though; he's a unique character and is also extremely knowledgeable about poker, he actually makes a lot of sense when you can get him to stand still.

I reached my table, no 46 seat 7, just as those famous words, shuffle up and deal echoed around the arena, good start, I'm on time! I only knew 2 players at the table, on my immediate right, Jo Beavers (Hendon Mob), and on my immediate left, Eric Lingren, double WPT Winner. The rest of the players looked nervous and had internet shirts on and I assumed they were mostly satellite qualifiers. Bad news and goods news, Eric Lingren presence would restrict my play (as he had position on me), but Jo Beavers wasn't going to give me such a hard time stealing my blinds. Overall, I was happy with my table.

Level 1 25-50 Fell out with Eric Lingren already!

I played 14 hands in this level and increased my stack to 13,500 by the end of the level. An excellent start. These chips were won in 2 hands:

Hand 1
I raised 200 in seat 7 with 4d5d and of course Eric Lingren called on the button. I was finding it really difficult to play a pot in position as he was playing every pot! The flop came, Qs 4c 5h, I have 2 pair. I bet 400 and Eric calls thinking I have missed, Turn 9d, I check to show weakness and he bets 1200, I flat call, River Kh, I check and he thinks about bluffing again but unfortunately does not (there was no point of me betting on the river as he would just fold), I show my hand and he mucks.

Hand 2
I raise 300 in mid position with AA (a big raise to protect my hand this early in the tournament) the BB flat calls. He puts his sunglasses on and stares straight at me, who cares, I have AA. I want a unpaired rainbow flop but it comes down TsTh2d. The only hands I am scared about are JT, AT, 77, he check. I decide to check to give him a free card if he has AQ or AK, and also keep the pot small in case he is slow playing a monster. The Turn is a 2h, he checks, I bet 1000 into a 700 pot, he flat calls. River comes 5s and he checks again. He has showed real weakness throughout the hand, and I come to the conclusion he has 88,99, JJ. However, I check the river and flop over my AA, he mucks. Now, I know I could have milked him for another 1000 on the river, but I just don't want to risk being check raised on a TT22 board against the BB. I heard Eric say, you had him, man behind me, and I turned round and said very politley, would you bet with that board? He replied sarcastically, I don't give free advice in major tournanamnts! Eric Lingren is a world-class player who I aspire to play like, so I told him where to stick his advice and we never spoke one word for the next 8 hours (even though we were sat next to each other!).

Level 2 50-100 Static
No progress this level, finshed up with 13,400 chips but I only played 4 hands! This was nothing to do with my cards, just that someone had nearly always raised before me so I could not enter the pot as the aggressor. I raised a couple of times in early position to steal the blinds and that was it. I was getting on pretty well with Jo Beavers and hoped that we wouldn't clash. I'm a bit soft like that, when I get on with someone at the table, I try and stay out there pots, sometimes subconsciously.

Level 3 75-150 Lingren The Master
Although I had fell out with Eric, I think the guy is absolute class. He was playing at least 1 every 3 pots and I wasn't even concentrating on my situation, I was watching him take apart these weak players who checked to him allowing him to bet them out, time and time again. His main move was to call the raisers bet on the flop in late position, then call there bet on the flop, and turn, and if they check the river (or flop or turn) he would bet them out! He even did this move on the experienced Jo Beavers when Jo laid his hand down when Eric represented the flush on the river. I tried to stay away from Eric even passing my SB when he was on the BB, however, when I was forced to play AQs on the small blind heads-up with Eric's BB, he bet of the flop, the turn and the river and my Ace high was good! I would like to say for the record though, that this is the highest calibre player I have ever sat on the same poker table as. I rate him much higher than Negraneau, as he is much more aggressiveI just feel that Negraneau is more of a gambler, and Eric Lingren is a Stone Cold Killer. However, Negraneau is has much better table manners!

This was a good level for me, finishing on 16,500 chips. Bearing in mind I bluffed 3500 away when I raised with 23 on the button, missed the flop, turn and river, and bluffed every street, I was well happy with the 16,500 finishing chips stack.

I played too many hands this level - 16 to be exact. I was too loose, but the table was tight, I raised with Q3, 52, 23 and wasted chips bluffing into big hands on the flop. The problem with me is once I have fired the 1st bullet, I can't stop firing, and end up firing the 3rd bullet on the river and having to muck my hand quickly!

Hand 3
The hand that I won my chips on was a crazy one. I limped in with 77 under the gun for 150. The Button raises 750, one of the looser played who had just lost half his stack with trip Q's and was steaming. Anyway, I wanted a raise when holding 77, to hit a set and bust someone, so I called the 750. Now when a under the gun limper calls a raise for 4 x the BB, its very suspicious. Although, I only had 77, I felt the whole table felt I hand AA or KK, including the button raiser. The flop was 885, a great flop for 77, or AA, or KK! I decided to check - raise, I'm sure that I am ahead, and I know that he will bet - why not? So, I tap the table and bets 2500, a big bet into a 1650 pot - this concerns me a bit, as he may be protecting 99, TT, JJ. I should probably lay my hand down now, that's seems too much of a big bet with AK, AQ, AJ. Hold on - I limped under the gun and smooth called his raise, he has 5,000 chips, I have 12,000 chips, there is 4150 in the middle, I announce ALL-IN, he takes ages, gives me the full rubdown and eventually shows me a T and passes??  I guess he had TT or AT, I felt full of confidence. It's not like me to take 3 levels to move all-in.

Level 4 100-200 'In the groove
I only played 3 hands this level but won every single one. I picked up KK but got no action. However, at the end of this level I had 24,000, up 7,500 and over double average for the field. The low number of hands was just due to the pots being raised by the time it got to me.

Hand 4
I raised 300 in mid position with 99 and was re-raised 1800 by the weakest player on the table, this guy had haemorrhaging chips by calling raises and passing on the flop, and raising himself and checking the flop. I thought about flat calling and betting the flop if no Ace or King came, but this system has been letting me down recently. Also, I had laid down 33 and 77 to re-raises this level already, and most of the time my pocket pairs are in front. I get a count, he has 4,000 chips, enough to pass if I move-all in, However, this guy will not pass, so I guess I can fold, lose the 300, or gamble on a 50:50 at best for 5500 chips to win 6,400. I announce ALL-IN, and he calls immedialty with AQ off suit. My pocket 99 hold up in front of the ESPN cameras and we're up to $24,000 chips.

Level 5 100 -200 + 25 Ante How do I get paid?
I had AA twice, KK twice, QQ, AK 3 times, hit a full house with my JJ on a KKJ flop and lost chips this level. I only won $1000 plus the blinds and antes with all these hands. I was playing so loose this level, I raised 5 hands on the trot with trash, got AA and they still all passed.  Eric Lingren had been knocked out with QQ v AA held by Paul Zimbler which allowed me to play more freely. I must have won 10 rounds of blinds and antes this level but blew them all away on this hand:

Hand 5
I called a raise with QcTc on the button, planning to do a Eric Lingren move on the raisor, who looked like he was petrified entering the pot. The flop came down KKT rainbow, he bets 1000, I smooth call, although I think I am ahead. The Turn comes a 6d and he bets 1000, a weak bet or a milk bet, I re-raise him 4000 expecting to pick up the pot and this little, quiet, timid student looking individual says all-in! It will only cost me another 5000 to call, I have already put 6000 in, I've got a T with a Q kicker, what am I beating, what I am I drawing to? I have to pass but I'm still healthy at 26,000.


Level 6 150-300 + 25 Ante How do I get paid version2
890 players left out of 200. Average chips 21,000, I have 26,000. Playing to 650 players, I should make the next day. In this level I had AA twice again, KK, QQ, AK - all I won was the blinds and antes again. I'm feeling robbed by the Poker Gods. It seemed like every time I raised with average hands like J8s I got re-raised, and when I had the goods, nobody was interested. The last 2 levels have given me the best run of hole cards in my poker life, and my chip stack was the same. I started to feel frustrated, and wasted a few thousand chips calling raises out of position. I was hoping for a table move, as I got the feeling that some of the players were noticing I was playing a little too loose, and every time I raised, it took an age to get round the table! However, I managed to get lucky and hit a flush with 5h7h and ended the level with 28,000.

Level 7 200 - 400 + 50 Ante
We had been playing for over 10 hours and I was in good shape. I decided to slow down, look for a opportunity to take out a short stack, and try and stay away from any major pots, especially when I'm bluffing. I also thought that the table has started to view my raises with more and more suspician and I was getting re-raised more often (except when I had the goods). When I was on the button the BB was re-raising me and had taken a few thousand off me recently, I could just never find a hand on the button until..

My last WSOP Hand
I picked up AK on button and raise 1500. The small blind, a very tight player thinks for ages and then finally passes (he had TT) and the tricky player on the BB re-raises me 4500, surprise, surprise. Finally I have a hand to play back at him and I announce ALL-IN  and he call like a shot and flips over AA. I let out a cry of Oh my God and walk away from the table, the ESPN cameras rush over got the all-in but I don't even watch the flop, turn or river (the case Ace actually came on the turn). I feel sick inside, my stomach wrenches, my first thought is of quitting poker for ever, I pick up my stuff, shake hands with the table and walk quickly to the smoking area. Chubbs, Grumpy and CK follow me out, all I keep saying is, 'What are the odds of that, AK on the button, AA on the BB, what a joke, this game is a joke, I thought he was making a move on me, I can't believe it. Burnley John kindly points out that I could have flat called the 4,500 and passed on the flop (as the Ace does not come till the turn), I feel like telling him to XXXX, especially when he reminds me that you need patience, control and discipline to win a poker tournamant. I know people are only being helpful, but at the time

I went out 800th out of 2000 players. Nick went out shortly after me with A6 of an A 6 J flop, the guy hit a backdoor flush holding A9s, Nick's gutted. Everyone's gutted who went out. We all feel sick. Its like someone has kicked you in the XXXX repeatedly, or if you made a mistake (and maybe I did),  continued to kick you!

DAY 26: Saturday 9th July  Homeward bound
Flights changed to this Sunday. I'm coming home. I feel mentally and physically drained. I'm $50,000 lighter in the pocket and am not sure what lies ahead for me in the poker arena, if anything. I have learnt so much here, I know I can mix it up with the best players in the world, but the facts speak for themselves, 11 events and only 1 place in the money. Maybe I should have come here and played a good solid game, I am sure my results would have been better (they couldn't be much worse!), but I tried every move in the book and left empty handed. The correct word is A FISH!

This journal has kept me company; I've never done one before. I'd like to thank everyone for all their nice comments. It's been an adventure, a long time away from home, my friends and my family.


Did I learn from the pros?      Definitely, more that I could every have hoped

Best Players I played with?      Bruno Fitussi and Eric Lingren   

Do I rate the WSOP & Rio?      No, WPT Bellagio is a different league

Favourite Moment:   Winning my table in the $2500 Shootout and Lawrence Gosney winning a Bracelet      

Worst Moment:   Hearing call when all-in with AK in $10K WSOP Main Event   
Best Laugh:            Simon 'Chubby Nowab doing press-ups in Rio bar


Saddest Moment:   Walking through Bad Beat Alley seeing players actually crying after being knocked out

Most Embarrassing Moment:   My room bill being put on stop when I had ordered room service for 7 people

Biggest Mistake:         Moving all-in with 72s with a re-raise and a flat call

Best Move:            Bluffing Bruno Fitussi all-in with on the turn

Liked The Most:         Witnessing some of the best players moves live

Disliked The Most:         The amount of chips you get in other WSOP events

Most Irritating:         The TIN number required to collect your winning

Overall, was it all worth it?       I don't know

Will I play here again?      I'm not sure

Did I enjoy myself here?      Sometimes

Am I skint?            Definitely, very

How do I feel now?         Tired, Dazed and Confused.


THE END


Cheers

Rob   

"Was it worth it?"  Yes Rob, it was, you cant buy memories like that

"Will I play here again?" I have a little 100 that says you will be back next year

I think I got more out of this journal than you did

Thank you

Rob, thank you for sharing your thoughts, emotions and insights.  It sounds to me like you held your own with the best in the world.

Well done and all the best for the future.

PS. Someone pick this guy up for a writing slot in poker please.  The best I've read about WSOP by far.

Thanks Rob...great reading.
I agree that its sad the Rio is not a patch on the WPT and isn't a patch on Binions either. They also deserve a good kicking for the ITIN fiasco. It makes european players lives a misery for no reason whatsoever.
Isn't it amazing that Eric Lindgren has done so badly this year? Every time I sit with him I am so impressed.

Anyways...I am getting some Blondepoker shirts printed up. They will be similar to the Full Tilt hockey shirts, but will have two numbers or letters on the back. Can I get you and Nick a couple ? What size are you both ? and what does Nick want on the back of his ? (I was going to put 7 2 on yours!)

Nice read Rob.  Thoroughly enjoyed your posts. They inspired me to have a crack at a diary myself.

We got back today, Lawrence Gosney gave us a lift to airport, he still talks to us lesser mortals but he keep kissing his wrist every 2 minutes?

I've just read my journal and it all seems a long way away from where I am now, sitting in my conservatory.

I can't believe how many grammer and spelling mistakes are in it, I'll clean it up and keep it for posterity!

Cheers to all Blondites. See some of you at the $100 re-buy at Notts in a couple of weeks!


Cheers Rob

The last sentance says everything you need to know,about a real poker player. :).
There's no mistaking were all in for the long term.
Great read Rob..........and good luck in the notts comp.

TTT - In case there's someone who hasn't read this masterpiece yet...

Great account of your trip Rob - haven't posted on the thread before but have thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

I only started playing online a few months ago and had my own very low key trip to Vegas at the end of May - stayed in the Golden Nugget for a week and sat down with the locals and tourists for my first live poker experience. Had planned to play at Binions but to be honest didn't think it was that impressive (I'm sure it's different for the WSOP Final !). Came away a little bit ahead in cash and a long way ahead in experience! A slightly different level to the sort of money and game level you've been dealing in in Vegas, but the process is still the same i suppose!

Good luck with your next tournament ..... i'd imagine there's every chance you'll win it on the rebound!

PS For anyone else on the forum - i live in Reading; can anyone recommend the best places to play live in striking distance?
Cheers

Dave - 72 suited would be better! Nick on plays AA so I'm not sure. I'm medium and he's prob large.

Thanks for all your nice comments everyone, I've still got jetlag, went to sleep 5pm last night, got up 3am. Still got the poker bug as I'm playing a STT on Party now!

Great to hear you're not put off the game.

Just spoke to Willy Tan, he is absolutley over the moon. What a popular result. Looking forward to "nipping him" for a few dollars when he gets back.

bump

Just read the whole thing - great writing Rob - not read such a refreshingly honest account for ages- seriously great. Definitely hope to read about your next WSOP visit! 

bump

thanks Richard

Snoopy, what the hell does BUMP mean

hi rob any look in vegas ;sleep; ;sleep; ;sleep; ;sleep; ;sleep; ;sleep; ;sleep; ;sleep;

It brings the thread back to the top

Blackjack gone great $50K up, not played much poker, just been sight seeing. Cheers Rob

Rob, i have just read this for the first time. FANTASTIC. People often describe reports as that, but this was a diffrent level, i really couldnt stop reading! (and i have a bloody headache which is probably now going to last another 2 hrs!)

I hope you can put something together for the WPT event, and any other event!

My friend and blondite 'reevio' is flying out today with the mob keep an eye out for him, he is playing the super sat i hope you can give him some advice!

Good luck Rob.

P.S. 66, what a horrible call  :D

wow what a great post Rob, I've just read it too and loved it :)

i just read this thread and then joined the forum.  What a great descriptive experience of your WSOP visit.

Welcome to Blonde.  :hello:

Absolutly superb reading - good luck next year if you make it

thanks, I've actually never read it after i wrote it. If i go to WSOP in 2006 I'll read it only the plane to really depress me!

Just read this tonight after just being given the link by someone else.
Fantastic reporting. As a lower stakes player i dont think i will ever even visit Vegas never mind play there but after reading this i certainly would love to .

Good luck

Paul

Just Read for the first time................EXCELLENT ROB.............PURE CLASS

Nice people are still reading this thread, even that fish, Ben Grundy, said he got round to reading it and liked it. Cheers Rob

I read this thread a long time ago and have recently re-read it.

It gives a wonderful insight into the WSOP lifestyle, thanks for taking the time to write it! Still 3 years to wait til im legal in the USA  ;tk;

LeKnave.

Hopefully this post will have bumped the thread so it can be discovered by someone else. ;)

I have just stumbled across this thread and what a great read it is.

I have been contemplating whether or not to stump up the £1060 for todays event at DTD because I wasn't quite in the mood but this has sorted me out 100%

I genuinely wasn't sure whether to play today but this has given me just a little bit of inspiration and the kick up the backside I needed.

Let's hope it gives me a little bit of luck too.

Off to DTD for the main event it is then.

Cheers for the read Rob.

Agreed, just read it again. Quality.

Excellent read! Thanks Rob for taking the time to write such interesting posts while in Vegas! Definitely inspiring!

Definatly

Very interesting post rob, any idea on how things went? i mean this is a 2 year old thread lol

see this

http://blondepoker.com/forum/index.php?topic=3985.0

Bump

Wow,

Glad i  found this, i was looking for current reports. Anything new Rob?

Steve

Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr  ic   DTD  :)

such a fantastic read.

loved it.

Just read this great read need to get rob out to another wsop to do another!

Brilliant read...

Thanks guys, seems a long time ago now! Can't beleive people still read it!

once i stgarted i couldnt stop interesting to see how far the game as come as a relative new boy i didnt know poker exissted in 200 i was only 14! and all the big names you mention in these posts are still regognizable today!

But would you have believed when writing this post, that if you mentioned the name rob yong or dtd anywhere in the poker community across the uk it would be regognised!

For someone that has grown up in the new world. A world where poker is mainstream, thousands of ME players are commonplace, where pro's are mentioned as legends far less frequently than they should be and the fact that the online generation has made its impact loud and clear...This has to be the best read ive had on the topic of poker in my entire life. Literally, i cant think of anything more eye opening than this.

Laptops with wireless being amazing? Structures that most people would scoff at. The WPT being considered far better than the WSOP. Names winning bracelets that have now been etched into history (Chan's 10th and PH-JR only having 9 hit home just how long ago this is)...it goes to show how lucky we are to play this game today, and the humble beginnings that the game came from...the fact that its gone from a seedy back room game to this thousands+ spectacle to the global brand it is today...did players 8 years ago ever think poker would be considered a sport? no. And while not completely accepted as one, its these days that got us there.

Even the small stuff that i've grown to consider the norm...the £100 rebuy in gala, the fact that dusk was nowhere to be seen at this point, heck Tighty not being an admin! its the little things that, when you think about it, make someone like me realise just how long ago this was...and ive gotta say its nice to see the names from then survive to today.

My generation owes this game, this sport, this spectacle to the old days...to the roots with which it was raised. My generation owes its very existence in this game and alot of people owe their careers and life earnings to something that, even ten years ago, was considered a seedy back-room game predominately played by card sharks, degen gamblers and generic crooks....sure we still have that today, but look where its come!


I thank you rob, heck all of you, for being able to read this and, even if only slightly, to relive the days that made the game what it is today...Alot of the younger kids don't and probably never will appreciate just what things were like at the top and bottom end of the game 8/10 years ago. Next time we play a tournament and bemoan little details, or rage about insignificant events in our careers...ill look back on this and cherish what we have, and where this game is now, its thanks to you guys, even if only slightly, that it happened...

Wouldn't have it any other way.

Just found this, what a gem!


Superbly Written


Best thing ive read online in a very long time


Looking forward to reading more of your journals/articles


Have you written anything lately rob?

Huge respect to everyone writing these blogs.

The summary of emotions at the end Rob are incredible

Page one here I come.

Done, great read.

the day I get to play a wsop event will be the day I win in life haha!

brilliant read rob, great to look back on