Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[tikay]

The Golden Nugget cardroom really is one of THE most pleasant cardrooms I've ever been in. Not as well-appointed or furnished as, say, DTD, Venetian, Wynn, the (now closed) Aviation in Paris or some of the Grosvenors, admittedly, but everything about it is near perfect.

Big high ceiling (in USA-speak it's technically a ballroom), perfect light levels (it seems like natural light but it's not), loads of space, it's just a relaxed & comfy room to play in. I think it's just the ambience created by the high ceiling & wonderful light levels.

It just relaxes you to play in there.

There was a Seniors Tournament in progress, & I struggled to recognize anyone with the obvious exception of Greg Raymer, who had quite a bunch of chips when I saw him.

[tikay]

.

[tikay]

By a remarkable coincidence I was seated next to a British chap, Danny Newman.

His Hendon has cashes dating back to around 1992, with results all over the UK including the long-defunct Rainbow, London, Vegas, Paris, I.O.M., and a handful of WSOP cashes including an 8th place in a $3000 Omaha 8 or Better WSOP affair no less than 28 years ago.

https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=568


The weird thing is I've never once seen him in the UK, but see him every year here. He has family here but he still lives in the UK.

Note the happy Dealer too. It's that kind of place.

[tikay]

After all that scene-setting, I don't have too much to report about the Tournament.

We started with 30,000, & at the first break I had 37,200, 2nd break 54,500, 3rd break 83,000 (blinds now 2k-2k/1k) before progressing further to briefly rise above 100,000.

After Danny, to my immediate left, departed, I was badly handcuffed in the PLO orbits by a really good PLO lad who FT'd for 6 figures in a WSOP $5k PLO a fortnight ago, & he took Danny's seat. I just could not handle him in PLO, he raised & re-raised relentlessly and had well over 300,000 which was triple average at the time. In a way, a delight to watch, he always knew where he was in a hand, & played what were, to me, some weird combos & had great PLO imagination, which I lack. If I had found the right PLO hand I'd have gone to war with him happily, but I didn't.  So I concentrated on the Big O orbits once he started getting all aggro, I know where I am in a hand much better in Big O.

But after proudly topping 100,000 I'm not sure I won another hand.

I did just about smell the money, but was getting short so went for a Big O flip (A-2-7-J-Q) only to run into our man who flopped trip Kings v me on a high only board (pre-flop a flip) & that was that, 16 places paid & I was going home 24th of 103. Nothing to be proud of or ashamed of. 

Decent effort, but continues the trend of deep but not deep enough.

Very enjoyable though, tempered only by digging my 2026 Vegas hole $400 deeper. At least I swerved a rebuy. Gotta take the positives...

[tikay]

Next up, today, was the $1,000 WSOP Seniors NLH. I think it was just my third NLH WSOP event & the score prior to today was 1 cash, all the way back in 2005, when I ran 31st of about 800 for just over $4,000. Attempt 2 was last year I think & I had a dismal time. All my other WSOP's have been Omaha variants.

I should add that Phil Quayle put me in that 2005 thing on behalf of Wm Hill who, via him, had employed me for Poker 425, he was in charge of Wm Hill poker at the time. One day I'll tell the story of how Phil changed my life 21 years ago in so many ways, in fact, Julian Thew is part of the same story & it was probably down to him that Phil signed me up. That's a whole other story for another day, but if I'd not met Phil, life would have been very different. 20 years of work & play in the Poker business for starters, all down to a combo of Phil & Thewy.

That aside, there's nothing quite like playing a WSOP, & I'm blessed to be able to do so. You need a combination of factors to do it - financial, (aided in my case by a most generous & understanding significant staker), domestic arrangements - I'm single with no family, Gill is low maintenance & supports whatever I do - & health, where I've started to accumulate a few problems which threatened, at one point earlier this year to derail everything, but the NHS did a great job.

All set then, & whatever happens I planned to enjoy it.

10am start, but with such a huge field (3,529 entries today!) I decided to arrive nice & early, just after 8am, then find a nice quiet corner to sit & read my newspapers.

As you probably know, the WSOP are staged in adjacent casinos, Paris & Horseshoe, though the playing areas are quite close, maybe 200 yards apart. Halfway, there's a bar with nice comfy padded chairs, so I settled down there with my newspapers & a $8.50 Starby.

[tikay]

There are thousand of poker players at the WSOP so it's amazing that you bump into so many familiar faces from DTD & elsewhere back home.

No sooner had I sat down than along came Raggy & Martin Frey, who soon had a kalooki school on the go. Not for me thank you, they'd skin me alive.

[tikay]

Others to drop by or join us included John Duthie, Marcel Luske, Johnny Hewston, Uncle & a few who's name evades me. Mr Duthie is 68 now, & is wearing well.

Anyone remember this image of John back in the day which sparked a whole bunch of memes?

In fact I have a wonderful John Duthie story, but again, that's for another day.

[tikay]

Anyway, 10am soon approached, & I headed for my table.

I must add, the WSOP Live App is a wonderful piece of kit.

[tikay]

My memory is shot to bits so I took a few notes on my own WhatsApp, & I reproduce them in (almost) their original form.


Win the blinds (100+100+100) with 10-10 and K-K.

Raise with A-10ss, bet the QQ44 turn, he calls. Check the 9 river, no idea where I am. He had 3-3 (= no hand!).

Raise with KQcc, take it on Q high flop.

Raise with K-Jss, miss, stab, give up when Mr Shove moves all-in then proudly shows top two.

Raise with J-J, flop a set on a 2 diamond flop, take it down.

And so on...

Raise with 5-5 from CO, checked to me on Q-J-9 flop, stab, both call, give up. 21,900.

[tikay]

Card-rack? Just a bit, not sure I can recall having so many decent hands in 1 level.

Not complaining here, but on a passive table, with Blinds 100-100-100 you don't really accumulate chips despite so many hands.

End of Level 1 arrives & it's all going along nicely.

[tikay]

Two "interesting" players on the table.

One is the best part of 90 years old & is in every pot.

Early doors in Level 1 he twice confuses his chip sizes & throws in 5,500 (5k + 500) rather than the obviously intended 600 (500 + 100). To be fair, the chip colours of the 500 & 5,000 are very similar. He claims he's colour blind, & maybe he is.

On one occasion he did it I had A-10, but I quickly abandoned the idea of a squeeze, he'd call for sure, & it's way too early for that sort of malarky.

Soon, with J-9 on a J high flop he bet quite big. Q-Q man jams on him, & our hero calls instantly with J-9, only to river another J & get the lot.

Next, he's in 3 way action v flopped flush, flopped straight, & our 90 year-old has top 2, & boats up on the river to bust 2 players.

The other interesting one we'll call Mr Shove. Any time he found a big hand he simply moved all-in pre-flop.

Anyway, fella (K-K) makes it 1,600 to go & Mr Shove makes his trademark move, all-in for about 30,000. Naturally, K-K man is loving life until he sees Mr Shove has the Aces. Not sure I've ever seen Aces played worse but it worked so good luck to him.

[tikay]

Call a raise with A5hh. Flop K-J-9hh. Check call 1,000. Blank turn, check call again. Off suit A on river, check check and I'm good v his K-Q, and he gives me some verbal. 24 000.

[tikay]

Amazingly, 10% of the field are busto in first 2 levels.

[tikay]

Setback costs me 7,000. Had K-Jss 5 way and flopped the flush. Bet 2,500, 1 caller. Blank turn, bet 4,500. Call. Spade river, and he moves all in. Pretty sure, as played, he has the Ace. Fold. Thankfully he showed me the A of spades. (As-Qh)

[tikay]

K-10, flop K-J-9, bet 1,500. Mr Tight makes it 4,500. Fold. He flashes K-J.

Raise with K-Qcc, Mr Tight calls. Bet the 5 high flop, he calls. 4 turn brings 4 card straight, we check it down. He has 7-7. Struggling a little now, down to 17,000.

Next hand....