Stuart Rutter WSOP action for the remainder of the Summer

[shipitgood]

Ul Stu & great reports.

[easypickings]

$1k turbo, 11am

All over quickly unfortunately, in two pots.

5k starting stack, I raised from 4,800 with   to 250 on the button at 50-100. A young European calls the small, big blind folds.

Flop is   , to give me the nut flush draw. He checks, I bet 300 into 600, he calls fairly quickly.

Turn is . (nut flush draw and likely open ended straight draw good)

He checks. With a very likely 15 outs (and probably 18), the only reason not to bet is if there is a significant chance that I get check raised all-in, and have to fold my equity. But with the nut and second nut flush not available, two pair unlikely, and me blocking the hand that he may check-raise the turn as a semi bluff with (by having the ace of diamonds), it feels safe enough to semi-bluff my equity. I bet 800. He calls, less quickly but still reasonably quickly. It does now feel a lot like a strong one pair- and most probably a king.

By this point I have decided he is Italian (fwiw!).

I miss what turns out to be the 18 outer river. It pairs the 4, for     . I had decided that no river card is good to bluff in the circumstances, but the low pairing card is definitely the worst of the lot. It feels right to check behind. He has   .

Down to 3,400 at the 50-100 level, I have    UTG+1, and make it 250. The cutoff called. He has played reasonably randomly, and seems inexperienced.

Flop is . I have 3,150 in a 650 pot, and bet 400. He slowly raises to 1,000. I definitely didn't like the feel of his behaviour- there was possibly something going on, but it was tough at that moment to say whether it was strength or genuine uncertainty. He had previously raised a 223 flop and tank-folded, which was fairly significant information, as it showed exactly that he had raised a marginal hand to leave himself a decision. A pre-flop trap (AA or KK) felt unlikely. Calling to re-assess on the turn just did not feel an option at all. If he does have the 99/TT/JJ we are hoping for, he is going to think its good and ship a non heart, so I just cannot call the flop and fold the turn. And there definitely felt some kind of chance that he not only could have just an eight, but might get it all-in after his previous tank-fold.

I moved all in. The snap was always going to be bad news. He had   and made quads.

Another day where I don't think I would change anything. Don't know whether that makes it any easier to take or not.

[easypickings]

$1,500 no limit, Wednesday 11am

7.2k approaching mid level three. Not too much has happened. Literally every other player on the table seems to be going insane around me. I think there have actually been a higher than average number of set up hands dealt, but still, it feels right to play down the line.

[bagel]

gl tonight mate

if playing razz,(hopefully not because in day 2 of your nl tourney), would be fun to take 1 or 2 % if its free.

either way i will have sent you all outstanding this saturday.

thanks for all the help, its much appreciated. def a few beers flying your way sometime soon.

[easypickings]

$1,500 no limit Wednesday 11am

Sliding.


French guy who isn't folding much raises to 400 at 75-150(25). Two call, I have   in the big and make it up 1,700 from 7.1k. Getting it in against any stack obviously. But the big blind, who has just regged, moves all in for his 7.5k. Sigh, its going to be close pure odds wise, but its a fold.

Raise to 500 at 50-100(25). Italian calls, another calls. Flop , I check, French guy bets,I fold.

4,200

[easypickings]

$1,500 no limit, Wednesday 11am

OUT, late in level 4.

Didn't see a hand all day, and had blinded down from my 4,200 to 3,300. A raise to 500 from UTG2 at 100-200(25). As fitted with the pattern of the table, actually all three players called before it came to me on the button.

I had . It's close. It's obviously unusual to be peeling to see flops off 16.5 bigs, but with position and the unlikelyhood of the blinds squeezing, it felt right. I did give some thought to moving in and benefitting from the 2k dead there if I, say, get heads up all-in, against the initial raiser, but it didn't feel right with next to zero chance of getting all to fold.

Both blinds called, for a very unusual seven way pot.

Flop is . I have 2,800 into a 3,725 pot. It's checked round to me. It's actually this kind of flop that makes my peel pre so borderline, because top pair is not in great shape against a calling range. It's unlikely for me to get it in in good shape- only the blinds should have an inferior queen, and only the two players on my right may call with a hand like AT, if folded round to then.

At the same time, with two backdoors, it must be right to shove when checked to.

The big blind calls, and has   . I guess it's one downfall of them being unlikely to squeeze, that I don't eliminate hands that dominate me, even from the blinds. I think it's just about right overall though- I could have found a fold against a lot of flop actions, buy the check round traps me.

Board runs out no good,

[easypickings]

$3,000 no limit, Thursday

Really tough one to take.  OUT, in level 2.

The table was an absolute dream. I couldn't believe it in a 3k tournament, I guess it was possibly the one incredibly lucky table draw in the whole room. I would say, in the last few years, the best I've ever seen. Matt Affleck was the only exception; apart from that, there were literally 7 guys, just having fun, talking, limping into every pot.

Matt had an absolute dream in the first level. 2 guys just gave him a stack (he managed to move in for 3xpot 88 on 9765J and was called on the river, and moved in about 2x pot with QQ on QQT98 and was called by AJ). One guy remained as the short stack, and the other (incredibly) was replaced by someone very similar.

They didn't seem to be bluffing at all; It was the dream to play against; all 7 just put in chips when they had a hand, and checked when they didn't.

The whole time I was trying to work out how to play against Affleck (three to my right), but most of the time, at 25/50, it was easy just to limp into everything that I could in position. I played two small pots of substance:

1) Dealt  UTG, I made it 300(!) at 25-50 and 3 called. Flop  , check-fold.

2) Two limped to my small blind, I limped  , board was  , I bet 300 into 400, big blind called; I bet 500 into 1000, he called, and bet 1,200 into 2,000. He called, and had  .

I had 12,300 at the start of 50-100. By this point, one of the limpy guys had been moved, and replaced by Nick Binger, to my direct left. Then, this happened.

At 50-100, Binger opens to 300 UTG. Guy to his left folds, and then ALL SIX others, including Affleck, call. Pot is 2,200 coming to me. I have  in the big blind. At this point, I'm very conscious of what could arise- that I three bet, he four bets, and I have the nightmare live poker decision.

I gave some brief thought to not three-betting, but it is just a no. Ultimately it's a table where I have to try and get the chips if they are there to get, and it is very possible that I would get the lot in on something as simple as J32 against JT.

I three bet to 1,800. At this point, I put myself in the rare spot of not knowing for sure what I would do if the decision came. However, knew that I would be able to tank without giving anything away, should the 4-bet come at me. The most likely outcome is a Binger fold and one or two calls from the recs, and then it will be a inevitably big pot, but one in which it will often be easy to make the right decision.

(Sadly, Binger has aces)

He acted it well. I was able to see the clock, and his tank was just under 4 minutes. I regretted that I didn't know how Binger plays, but I had to conclude he is good enough to at least know it's a good spot to 4bet bluff, and not too nitty to have some chance of getting it in with JJ, given how strange the spot was. I think it probably is the case that his tank was deliberate, and implying exactly what he should try to imply- that he was taking in what a strange spot  this 8-way pot was, and tanking what to do with a tough decision (whether that tough decision was JJ,AK, or a 4-bet bluff). I was conscious that I wasn't going to draw anything like a definite read from his tank, but it definitely did work for him, as it influenced me a little.

He 4-bet to 3,800 (he has almost exactly 15k). I then  went into a long tank myself (I had been aware as I three-bet that it was fine to tank this decision, without making any hand more or less likely).

I came to these decisions:

1) There is at least some kind of chance this is a bluff. He won't think there is much chance at all I am light, but he should be aware of everything about the spot that the four bet puts me in- The fact that it puts me to a decision for everything, made more difficult by the dream, passive table. So tough to put a number on it, but I had to make a guess, and it was that he would bluff 20% of his hands that were a 4bet-fold. I pick up 7,700 if this is the case.

2) It's horrible for him if he has jacks. His long tanks works there; I guesstimate it as 50% that if he does have JJ, he will get them in, and so his tank works as implying that he is working out whether he wants to 4-bet call it off with jacks.

3) The circumstances mean that he may well have to 4bet-call it off with AK.


I move in. He snaps, he has aces. Board is J8432.

I think ultimately it is a cooler of circumstance. It was important to think rationally, but I was of course aware that it was a disgusting spot to have to get in 120 bigs with QQ.

Would appreciate people's thoughts, but my feeling is that a) I have to three-bet, and now the six calls obviously make the pot so inflated that it will put me to a decision for everything if Binger does 4-bet, and

b) The spot is now horrible enough for him with JJ and AK, that I have to get it in.

Tough to take, I feel stunned to have busted from that table so early; the kind of live poker decision with so many elements, that it is a decision I've never come had before.

[Longines]

Stuart, it's been an absolute pleasure reading your updates through the series, you can even make NLHE interesting. Many, many thanks for taking the time.

[DungBeetle]

Stuart, it's been an absolute pleasure reading your updates through the series, you can even make NLHE interesting. Many, many thanks for taking the time.

Agree.  A cracking read every day.  Good luck for rest of trip.

[booder]

Stuart, it's been an absolute pleasure reading your updates through the series, you can even make NLHE interesting. Many, many thanks for taking the time.

Agree.  A cracking read every day.  Good luck for rest of trip.

[easypickings]

Thanks so much guys. It means a lot, especially when it hasn't gone too great. Hopefully some one including better news in the Main!