Main Event Round 3

After a brutal Round 2 we're back in the ring.

Seat 6 raises to 750 and we call from seat 7 with 56c. Everyone else folds. Flop comes red ATT. Hmmm, there's no chance we want any part of this. He bet. I don't remember what it was. It could have been a simple dare that we would pluck an eyebrow if we lost the pot; we would have folded at any opportunity.

We raise pre-flop twice from late seats, once with AJh and once with QK. Both times everyone folds. Good result. Same thing from seat 3 with 77.

So far today we've had KK, JJ (twice), 77 and 44. Not bad.

Seat 5 raises to 600 and we call from seat 7 with TJc. The BB calls and the flop comes 24T with one club. They check and we bet 1500. They fold. Our stack is almost back to 30,000.

Seat 3 limps and PP in seat 8 raises to 1200. SB folds and we're in the BB with 77. It's 900 to call, and if we think we can get 7200 if we flop a 7, then it's right to call. PP is aggressive, so we call. Seat 3 folds. Flop comes 57T. Fantastic. Let's let him bet. We check and he checks. That's disappointing. Turn comes Q. We bet 1300 and he raises to 3500. We have a lot of chips to get in the pot and we're in no rush. The board is a rainbow, so there's no flush fear. It's highly unlikely that he's raising on a straight draw. The only hands we're afraid of are QQ (which he would have bet post flop) and TT. Really, TT is the only hand he can have that scares us. We raise to 8500 and he raises all in. TT is looking like a real possibility here, but set over set flops are pretty rare and, well, if that's the way we go out, there's no shame in it. Meanwhile, if he has TQ or AA or something like that, we'll double up. We call. As you might have figured out from the timing of this email, he had TT and, with a K on the river, PP put us out of the tournament.

This was the worst WSOP performance ever. I'm going to go flog myself. Thanks for following along. If I can get up the courage, I'll play again next year. Most of it was fun, if troubling.

Eric Kurtzman
Kurtzman Carson Consultants
2335 Alaska Ave
El Segundo, CA 90245
voice (310) 751-1500
fax (310) 751-1550

DISCLAIMER:
Any information and enclosure herein is confidential and may be legally privileged. It is intended for the recipient and its authorized agents only. The author believes the information herein to be reliable and accurate, but Kurtzman Carson Consultants LLC makes no warranty or representation as to its accuracy, completeness, freedom from viruses or errors in transmission. Unless otherwise stated, any opinions expressed herein are those solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Kurtzman Carson Consultants LLC or its affiliates. If you have received this message and are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender immediately by return email and delete any copies you may have received.

Main Event Round 2

We start Round 2 playing 100 200.

Seats 4567 all limp. We haven't seen this yet. We are in seat 8 with AKs, a premium hand. We should raise, but the BB is the short stack with 4400 in chips and hopefully we can induce him to push. We limp, and so does seat 9 and the SB. The BB folds. Sad. Still, we have a monster brewing with 6 other players. Flop comes A47 with 2 diamonds. Great flop for us. Everyone checks to us and we bet 1000 into the 1400 pot. Seats 4 and 5 call. Turn comes 2c, putting 2 clubs on the board. They check and we bet 5000. Seat 4 raises to 10000. Oiy! If he has a set, we're dead. He could have a straight with a 35, but that's highly unlikely. More likely he's on a flush draw hoping we'll fold (or he flopped a set). We call and the river comes Kh. He bets 7000. What to do? The K is a crazy card. It is fantastic if he somehow has 2 pair, but the real threat of a set doesn't get impacted by the K. We call. He shows 35d. He missed is flush draw, but his a straight on the turn. Oiy, that really hurt. That's why we play those 35d sometimes; he got paid big time. We're way down. Time to sit up straight and double up to where we started :( I want to vomit. I'm going to regret not raising pre flop for a long, long time.

Seat 5 limps and everyone folds to us on the button with JQd. We limp and see the flop with the blinds and Seat 5. Flop comes 5JK with 2 spades and a diamond. The BB bets 500 and Seat 5 folds. We call and the SB folds. Turn comes 3s and BB checks. We bet 900 trying to sell a flush. He raises to 2000 and we fold. The bile is spilling upward.

Still thinking of the AKs. I'm not sure there was a worse way to play that hand. Then again, I'm not sure I played it poorly. I would have looked like a genius if the short stack pushed, but I should have folded to the raise on the turn. However, if that raise we're an Ax flush draw, I again would have looked like a genius. The 35 was highly unpredictable. If we though we faced a flush draw, however, we should have pushed all in. My AK couldn't expect to get better. So the play starts to look good, but I should have paid more attention to the number of limpers who got the free flop and I should have given greater chance to a set or straight.

We see a couple flops and discard, each time leaving 600 in the pot. We're down to a third the chips we started with. I'm considering taking a walk, just to relax. That or swearing off anything short of premium hands.

The first player to bust at our table is gone. Probably 15% of the field is busted. That doesn't make me feel better. Aaaggghhh!

In seat 6 we limp in with 67c. Seat 7 limps and seat 8 raises to 800. We call as does seat 7. The flop comes 45Q with 2 clubs giving us an open-ended straight draw and a flush draw, for 15 outs, or roughly 53%. We check and seat 7 bets 1000. Seat 8 folds. If we were playing 3 handed, I might make a small raise to build the pot. Here, with just over 50% playing heads-up, I'd rather take the pot down now or race for the double up. We push all in. He folds; that's just fine. We're back over 10,000, actually over 11.

Seat 3 raises to 500 and gets 3 callers including the short stack. It's only 400 for us to call from the SB with Q9h, so we do and the BB does. Six players. Happy to see a flop for 3000. Flop comes 8TQ with one heart. We check and everyone checks to the button who bets 1600. He's very aggressive, and likely doesn't have a Q, but he could. We call hoping for a 9Q or h to turn. Everyone else folds. Turn comes Td. Terrible, now he beats us with a T. We check and he bets 3000. We have to fold or push. If the turn had been a rag, we might push. We fold. Back to just over 10,000.

We've lost another player; the short stack is gone.

Last hand of the round everyone folds to us in seat 7. We raise to 600 with 45h hoping everyone will fold and make their ways to the bathrooms instead of fight over the final pot. The blinds both call and the flop comes A35 with 1 heart. Not bad, but not great. The SB bets 1000 and the BB folds. Do we call 1000 to win a pot of 2800? Hunt for the 245 or 2 hearts? We call. Turn comes 2. Miracle card; we have a straight. SB bets 800 into us. We were hoping for a big bet; 800 is less than the bet on the flop. Very strange. We have almost 9000; how to get that all in? We call, just hoping the river isn't a 4 (which would put the straight on the board). River comes 2, pairing the board. This could give him a full house, but if that's why we exit the tournament in 2 rounds, so be it. He bets 2000, which is somewhat eclectic in light of the 1000 and then 800. We go into the tank for a minute and then push all in. He goes deep into the tank, which is great, because he would have snap called with a full house and likely with the 46 straight too. He mulls it over for a while. I stand up and get my bag, ready to exit with everyone leaving for break. Finally he calls and mucks his hand when he sees the straight.

Still very frustrated with the AKs hand, but we finish Round 2 with 21,700 in chips. That's a fighting stack, even if it's only 72% of what we started with. That was a great time to get lucky and the double up would indicate that it couldn't have been played better.

Trying to flush the AKs out of my furry donkey head, but I know that's the hand I will most likely remember tomorrow and next year.
Eric Kurtzman
Kurtzman Carson Consultants
2335 Alaska Ave
El Segundo, CA 90245
voice (310) 751-1500
fax (310) 751-1550

DISCLAIMER:
Any information and enclosure herein is confidential and may be legally privileged. It is intended for the recipient and its authorized agents only. The author believes the information herein to be reliable and accurate, but Kurtzman Carson Consultants LLC makes no warranty or representation as to its accuracy, completeness, freedom from viruses or errors in transmission. Unless otherwise stated, any opinions expressed herein are those solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Kurtzman Carson Consultants LLC or its affiliates. If you have received this message and are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender immediately by return email and delete any copies you may have received.

Main Event Round 1

Welcome fans to the World Series of Poker. Imagine yourself in the largest event room you've ever seen and fill it with the smell of a freshmen dorm room, complete with pot, doritos and. Of course, sweat. But not the healthy clean sweat of your 18th year on earth, the sweat of the world's least healthy athletes, hot dog eating competitors included.

We are playing Day 1 today, but we are in the 4th Day 1 (group D). Survivors of Day 1 from group D will play again Monday in Day 2 against the survivors of Day 1 who played yesterday in group C. Those who survive Day 2, for all groups, ABCD, will finally fit under one roof for Day 3 a few days later.

We start playing 50 100 with 30,000 chips; each Round lasts 2 hours. We're sitting in Seat 1 on Table Orange 316. Over 2000 players are in today's Day 1. Big turn out. We begin in the SB, which is fine. We start with Billy Joel "Pressure" on the iPod, and away we go!

As a quick aside, I will be focusing on the play of my opponents even after I fold, so I will not be able to give a play by play in general. Speaking of my opponents, I'm happy to report that I don't recognize any of them.

First hand everyone folds to seat 8 who bets 225 (no one sitting in seat 9 at the moment). Looks like a steal, but we'll let our 50 SB go, along with our Q5s. The BB calls and flop comes 4TK rainbow. BB bets 200 and Seat 8 raises to 525. BB folds. They could have had anything. Their play, however, was what you would expect from good players; no donkeys next to us.

Everyone folds to us in seat 5 with JQ and we raise to 275. The blinds call and the flop comes 88K. They check and we bet 425. They fold. Excellent!

Side note. Something here I've never seen. There's a man wearing 2 pair of glasses. He has the poker mirror glasses pushed tightly against his face, which I always think are funny because I have to believe there are times people can see his cards in them. But then he has reading glasses hanging at the tip of his nose.

We see a couple of flops and then discard our hands, and we're back to our starting chips. Okay.

We play our first questionable hand from the button. With 4 players ahead of us in for 400 and the blinds behind us, we call 400 with J5h. We probably should have discarded, but the table is seeing action and with a 2000 plus pot to start, if we hit, we'll get paid well. Unfortunately, we got a second chance to discard after the 239 rainbow flop, and we did.

There's a guy at our table who has won big pot after big pot by hitting great cards. He also seems to be a donkey. He has bet 3 times out of order from the button, mistakenly thinking he's in the SB. One time he even took the SB's chips as change when he called a pre-flop bet. Now it's our turn against him. We'll call him PP (for the Pink Panther bc we can't spell the french guy's name).

PP raises to 375 from seat 7 and we raise to 975 from the SB with our first premium hand, AQc. He calls. Flop comes 4QA with 2 hearts. Excellent. We bet 1000 and he calls. Turn comes 6h. Terrible. There's a heart flush on the board. Unlikely he has it, but . . . We bet 1500 and he calls. River comes 2d rag. We check and he bets 3500. Unless he has 2 hearts or a set, or a 35, we'll win. We call and he turns over A5h. PP strikes again. Ouch!

Seat 3 raises to 200 and seats 56 and 7 call. We call from seat 8 with 57s. Seat 9 calls. It's a family pot, but the SB raises to 1150 and everyone folds to us. It's a long shot, but huge payout if we hit. We call, and we're happy to see seat 9 call flop comes 68A giving us an open ended straight draw. SB bets 2050. We could raise, even though we're behind, and hope he folds? But we have to hope seat 9 folds too. We call and seat 9 folds. Turn comes 7 giving us a pair. Not what we were looking for, but some value. He checks. Should we bet and hope he folds? Maybe, but what if he raises and then we lose that bet and have to fold without seeing the river? We check. Turn comes J, no help. He checks. We bet 2750 hoping he has something like 99 or TT and will fold. It's a small bet relative to the pot, but sometimes those are the scariest. He folds. Yay! We're almost back to even!

Everyone folds to us and we raise to 350 from the button with AT. BB calls and flop comes 48Q. BB checks and after a moment of thought we check. Turn comes 6. BB bets 525 and after a moment of thought we raise to 1400. We're representing that we have a Q and if he doesn't he should fold. Apparently he didn't. He folds and we're one step closer to even.

Seat 5 raises to 350 and gets calls from seat 7 and 8. We're in the BB with our first pocket pair, KK. Giddey-up Cowboys! We raise to 1350 and here's where it gets odd. Seat 5 raises the 3950 and everyone else folds. Does he have AA? Do we want to get crushed in round 1 that way? No, but can we live with ourselves if we fold so irrationally, no. So, call or raise? We're out of position so we'd like to raise, but we'd also like to make sure the flop doesn't have an A before committing all our chips. Then again, he only has another 11,000 in chips. If we call, the pot will be over 8000. Why take the chance he gets to see that A? Even if he doesn't have one, there's a good chance he pushes post flop regardless. It will never be easier to make the call than now (unless a K flops). Also, if we push, we risk another 11000, but maybe he folds and we get his 4000 without ever seeing the flop. We push. He thinks for a minute, which is all we really wanted. That means he doesn't have AA. He thinks for another minute and discards. Yay! We're back over where we started!

Seat 7 raises to 300 and we call from seat 8 with JJ. No one else calls and the flop comes TJK with 2 clubs love the flopped J, but what a scary board. Flushes and straight and lions and tigers. He bets 400. We have too much fear to slow play and raise to 1200. He folds. That's fine. That was too harsh of a board for us. Any club, Q, K, A, or 9 would have put us in an awkward spot.

We finish Round 1 after getting punched by PP with 33,525 in chips. Happy result.
Eric Kurtzman
Kurtzman Carson Consultants
2335 Alaska Ave
El Segundo, CA 90245
voice (310) 751-1500
fax (310) 751-1550

DISCLAIMER:
Any information and enclosure herein is confidential and may be legally privileged. It is intended for the recipient and its authorized agents only. The author believes the information herein to be reliable and accurate, but Kurtzman Carson Consultants LLC makes no warranty or representation as to its accuracy, completeness, freedom from viruses or errors in transmission. Unless otherwise stated, any opinions expressed herein are those solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Kurtzman Carson Consultants LLC or its affiliates. If you have received this message and are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender immediately by return email and delete any copies you may have received.