official sweat your VirgilMalloy in the Main Event thread

[virgilmalloy]

Originally Posted by ikari XD

what sites are streaming content?

worldseriesofpoker.com has some updates, but it's so big right now that you can't really get accurate hand or chip counts. You can follow me attwitter.com/galenwsop

Originally Posted by sportinjordans916

Goodluck... will be following you along with a few other buddies on twitter... be sure to post who is at your table and any interesting hands... How will you
adjust your play since it is such a deep and well structured MTT as opposed to most online mtts... btw any results or key hands in your previous wsop prelim
events?

I will just play it like a cash game 100-300bbs deep, and then tournament concepts kick in when you get shallower than that.

Originally Posted by mrmossyman84

galen whats your seat and table #? might stop by i know a few other people playin day 1-d




you on any of the poker forums either?

Haven't regged yet, and I am super irritated. For some reason I thought you could buy in via debit card, when obv you can't. I didn't want to carry10k of cash, since I was in SD the last two days and flew straight here, and since it's Sunday I am kind of SOL. I'll have to hit up BoA tomorrow at9am, get to the cage at 930 and try to register last minute and pray to GOD it doesn't sell out. Hopefully somebody from 2+2 has like 10k extra lyingaround and can bail me out. This is so annoying ugh.

 

[obie21]

Daniel Negreanu out already?

as well as jerry yang, IMO dude is garbage

 

[virgilmalloy]

Originally Posted by obie21

Daniel Negreanu out already?




as well as jerry yang, IMO dude is garbage

Yeah, but Jerry Yang knows he isn't any good. Which, you know, sucks for the high stakes community.

Jamie Gold singlehandedly kept entire games afloat during the year after he won.

 

[craftsy21]

Originally Posted by VirgilMalloy

Originally Posted by ikari XD

what sites are streaming content?

worldseriesofpoker.com has some updates, but it's so big right now that you can't really get accurate hand or chip counts. You can follow me at twitter.com/galenwsop

Originally Posted by sportinjordans916

Goodluck... will be following you along with a few other buddies on twitter... be sure to post who is at your table and any interesting hands... How will you
adjust your play since it is such a deep and well structured MTT as opposed to most online mtts... btw any results or key hands in your previous wsop prelim
events?

I will just play it like a cash game 100-300bbs deep, and then tournament concepts kick in when you get shallower than that.

Originally Posted by mrmossyman84

galen whats your seat and table #? might stop by i know a few other people playin day 1-d




you on any of the poker forums either?

Haven't regged yet, and I am super irritated. For some reason I thought you could buy in via debit card, when obv you can't. I didn't want to carry 10k of cash, since I was in SD the last two days and flew straight here, and since it's Sunday I am kind of SOL. I'll have to hit up BoA tomorrow at 9am, get to the cage at 930 and try to register last minute and pray to GOD it doesn't sell out. Hopefully somebody from 2+2 has like 10k extra lying around and can bail me out. This is so annoying ugh.

wow that blows... do they really expect people to just be strolling in with 10k in cash constantly? there's gotta be a better way to handlethat...

 

[paul is on tilt]

Oh damn, Galen? I remember your VirgilMalloy username from lastyear's WSOP thread but I didn't know you were him

. I remember your username from when I first signed up on NT. Good to see you in the main event.Good luck!

 

[obie21]

Jerry Yang gets sponsored by the casino i play poker at....i wish he'd play their often...

 

[kicktionair]

I thought that just finished??

 

[virgilmalloy]

Originally Posted by Craftsy21

VirgilMalloy wrote:

---

ikari XD wrote:

---

what sites are streaming content?

worldseriesofpoker.com has some updates, but it's so big right now that you can't really get accurate hand or chip counts. You can follow me at
twitter.com/galenwsop

sportinjordans916 wrote:

---

Goodluck... will be following you along with a few other buddies on twitter... be sure to post who is at your table and any interesting hands... How will
you


adjust your play since it is such a deep and well structured MTT as opposed to most online mtts... btw any results or key hands in your previous wsop
prelim


events?










I will just play it like a cash game 100-300bbs deep, and then tournament concepts kick in when you get shallower than that.

mrmossyman84 wrote:

---

galen whats your seat and table #? might stop by i know a few other people playin day 1-d










you on any of the poker forums either?










Haven't regged yet, and I am super irritated. For some reason I thought you could buy in via debit card, when obv you can't. I didn't want to
carry 10k of cash, since I was in SD the last two days and flew straight here, and since it's Sunday I am kind of SOL. I'll have to hit up BoA
tomorrow at 9am, get to the cage at 930 and try to register last minute and pray to GOD it doesn't sell out. Hopefully somebody from 2+2 has like 10k
extra lying around and can bail me out. This is so annoying ugh.

wow that blows... do they really expect people to just be strolling in with 10k in cash constantly? there's gotta be a better way to handle
that...








Well yeah, basically lol. It's just irritating becuase I flew to SD on a whim on Friday to hang out with this girl for the 4th, and then I came heredirectly so I basically haven't had a chance to go to a bank in the last three days so I would've had to carry the cash with me.

Even worse, I planned on registering last week when I was gonna come in to play another 1.5k, but I got the flu and stayed home in SF.

Whatever, I should be able to handle it tomorrow.

 

[obie21]

following you on twitter..keep us updated..good luck

 

[craftsy21]

Originally Posted by VirgilMalloy

Originally Posted by Craftsy21

VirgilMalloy wrote:

---

ikari XD wrote:

---

what sites are streaming content?

worldseriesofpoker.com has some updates, but it's so big right now that you can't really get accurate hand or chip counts. You can follow me at
twitter.com/galenwsop

sportinjordans916 wrote:

---

Goodluck... will be following you along with a few other buddies on twitter... be sure to post who is at your table and any interesting hands... How will
you


adjust your play since it is such a deep and well structured MTT as opposed to most online mtts... btw any results or key hands in your previous wsop
prelim


events?

I will just play it like a cash game 100-300bbs deep, and then tournament concepts kick in when you get shallower than that.

mrmossyman84 wrote:

---

galen whats your seat and table #? might stop by i know a few other people playin day 1-d










you on any of the poker forums either?










Haven't regged yet, and I am super irritated. For some reason I thought you could buy in via debit card, when obv you can't. I didn't want to
carry 10k of cash, since I was in SD the last two days and flew straight here, and since it's Sunday I am kind of SOL. I'll have to hit up BoA
tomorrow at 9am, get to the cage at 930 and try to register last minute and pray to GOD it doesn't sell out. Hopefully somebody from 2+2 has like 10k
extra lying around and can bail me out. This is so annoying ugh.

wow that blows... do they really expect people to just be strolling in with 10k in cash constantly? there's gotta be a better way to handle
that...








Well yeah, basically lol. It's just irritating becuase I flew to SD on a whim on Friday to hang out with this girl for the 4th, and then I came here directly so I basically haven't had a chance to go to a bank in the last three days so I would've had to carry the cash with me.

Even worse, I planned on registering last week when I was gonna come in to play another 1.5k, but I got the flu and stayed home in SF.

Whatever, I should be able to handle it tomorrow.
i swear you used to be able to pre-register online and use a debit/credit card... but I must've been mistaken.

 

[guerrilla warfare]

Diego wrote:

---

So who wants to school a noob?

 

[virgilmalloy]

Originally Posted by Craftsy21

VirgilMalloy wrote:

---

Craftsy21 wrote:

---

VirgilMalloy wrote:

---

ikari XD wrote:

---

what sites are streaming content?

worldseriesofpoker.com has some updates, but it's so big right now that you can't really get accurate hand or chip counts. You can follow me at


twitter.com/galenwsop

sportinjordans916 wrote:

---

Goodluck... will be following you along with a few other buddies on twitter... be sure to post who is at your table and any interesting hands... How
will


you






adjust your play since it is such a deep and well structured MTT as opposed to most online mtts... btw any results or key hands in your previous wsop


prelim






events?






















I will just play it like a cash game 100-300bbs deep, and then tournament concepts kick in when you get shallower than that.

mrmossyman84 wrote:

---

galen whats your seat and table #? might stop by i know a few other people playin day 1-d






















you on any of the poker forums either?






















Haven't regged yet, and I am super irritated. For some reason I thought you could buy in via debit card, when obv you can't. I didn't want to


carry 10k of cash, since I was in SD the last two days and flew straight here, and since it's Sunday I am kind of SOL. I'll have to hit up BoA


tomorrow at 9am, get to the cage at 930 and try to register last minute and pray to GOD it doesn't sell out. Hopefully somebody from 2+2 has like 10k


extra lying around and can bail me out. This is so annoying ugh.



wow that blows... do they really expect people to just be strolling in with 10k in cash constantly? there's gotta be a better way to
handle


that...


















Well yeah, basically lol. It's just irritating becuase I flew to SD on a whim on Friday to hang out with this girl for the 4th, and then I came here
directly so I basically haven't had a chance to go to a bank in the last three days so I would've had to carry the cash with me.




Even worse, I planned on registering last week when I was gonna come in to play another 1.5k, but I got the flu and stayed home in SF.




Whatever, I should be able to handle it tomorrow.

i swear you used to be able to pre-register online and use a debit/credit card... but I must've been mistaken.








You can pre-reg, although I think you have to wire the money, but I didn't since I mistakenly assumed I could just use my debit card.

 

[mrmossyman84]

that sucks galen...hope you figure stuff out or a 2+2er can help you.

i know your handle on 2+2 now btw

 

[crazy ebw]

Damn today SOLD OUT! Sick!

 

[jdotvo]

by the looks of his twitter. doesn't look like our boy was able to register

 

[mrmossyman84]

yeah he wasn't able to sneak in...harrah's and the rio have advertized the event being at a 3k person cap each day.
they pulled a fast one and only allowed 2800 people to get through today...i think at least 500+ were turned away entry (including galen)
pretty messed up situation harrah's is just making stuff up on the fly basically

 

[obie21]

i was reading his twitter too..succcks!

 

[bowzer blitz]

I thought you were dead or something. Whats good preppy?

 

[craftsy21]

Originally Posted by mrmossyman84

yeah he wasn't able to sneak in...harrah's and the rio have advertized the event being at a 3k person cap each day.
they pulled a fast one and only allowed 2800 people to get through today...i think at least 500+ were turned away entry (including galen)
pretty messed up situation harrah's is just making stuff up on the fly basically

that's really lame. they need to figure out a better method for registration then, you can't be turning away 500x$10,000 worth of entriesjust because people want to wait to the last day to play.

 

[kingtre]

damn sucks- i know alot of people were doing xfers for buyins from 2

didnt they change SOME tables to 10 handed to accommodate more people ?

craziness i tho

ught there would be less than last year...everything else has slowed down

yeah he wasn't able to sneak in...harrah's and the rio have advertized the event being at a 3k person cap each day.
they pulled a fast one and only allowed 2800 people to get through today...i think at least 500+ were turned away entry (including galen)
pretty messed up situation harrah's is just making stuff up on the fly basically
i mean some/most of it is on the players that wait til the last day to register - by doing that you take the chance of it being full

 

[virgilmalloy]

So, I've written about ten pages of complaints about the registration process and how I got locked out, including how I was promised SEVERAL times byHarrah's employees that it would be capped at 3000 if at all. Most said it wouldn't ever be capped.

Long story short, I was there for 9 hours, I talked face to face with Jeff Pollack and Jack Eiffel and with Captain Tom and Mike Sexton. Sexton and Tom went tobat for us, and Harrah's still said no although apparently it was a sick close vote. They basically had three options: do alternates (when someone busts,you fill their seat with a new player), go 10-handed, or do a day 1-e at 6pm. All three were viable, and they had terrible, illogical excuses not to do them.Pollack is a %$!+.

Anyway, I was very, very upset and disappointed and frustrated.

About half of my backers agreed to back me for some Bellagio Cup events, so I played in the $2k (owned $1.1k of myself) and lost in two hands, but the won$3.2k (owned all of myself) in a sng that evening.

I played in the $3k on Wednesday (owned 1.4k of myself) and busted again. I moseyed around a bit and then on a whim I decided to play in the $540 nightly(owned all of myself again) which had 119 players and I ended up taking it down at 6am, chopping 4 ways to take $11,740 so that was pretty sick and made mefeel a lot better.

Ended the trip up $13k overall, just got back to SF, might head back there in a couple weeks.

I am going to post my trip reports in a minute.

 

[virgilmalloy]

TR from winning $12k in the $540 nightly and example of what running insanely good looks like:

Originally Posted by VirgilMalloy

I'm sitting in McCarren right now and I haven't slept in 24 hours. I'm a bit dazed and keep doing stupid stuff. I left my bag at the scanning area, and i just spent the last hour waiting in line for my 7:55 flight at the wrong gate.

Eventually, I noticed that everybody else in line with me was (a) old, (b) white, (c) dressed very conservatively, (d) wearing cowboy hats. I ask the old guy next to me, "uh sir, is this for the 7:55 to SFO?"

As soon as he opens his mouth to reply, I hear his Texas drawl and know I'm screwed. "I'm sorry, this here flight is for San Antonio."

Oops. Now I'm on the 10am, so I've got two hours to kill, so you guys get to read my trip report, which probably makes sense to me now, but when I re-read it won't make any sense at whatsoever.

Also, I left my bag at the scanner. Need to sleep.

*******

After my much-chronicled failure to get into the WSOP ME as the 4th person to get locked out, I went to go play Bellagio Events. I bricked the 2k (owned 1.1k of myself) and the 3.k (owned 1.5k of myself) in epic run-bad fashion, but won 3.2k in a sat.

Today I played in the 3k and busted around 4pm and was considering going home, going to my friend's apartment to play online or playing in the 540 nightly. Fortunately, I chose the latter.

*******

I go outside the Fontana room to take a nap in the warm shade, but I get woken up because the Bellagio water show plays "The Ecstasy of Gold" from the good, the bad, and the ugly and I get too fired up to sleep because that song is basically the nuts. I hang out and eat the worst cookie I've ever had (not to mention that it was like $4).

One of the masseuses recognizes me from the day before, and comes up and chats me up for 15 minutes or so before she goes back on her shift. She is a good conversationalist.

Then, I end up talking to one of the guys that got locked out of the WSOP with me for a good while. (Sorry, I forgot your name, I met like 15 people this week and can't keep the names straight). He seems nice and bright and we complain more about Harrah's and talk about poker.

We watch the water show again (Hey Big Spender, this time) and go play.


***********

My table is ridiculous. Loose, passive donks, tight passive donks and one hyper aggro maniac donk who keeps raising 6xbb preflop, overbetting pots and taking shots of patron. Eight shots of patron are consumed by the table in the first level. I suspect that the Russian in seat 1 is paying the waitress to bring him water shots while the aggro donk gets patron, but then again he's Russian so he was probably drunk already anyway.

I pray to the poker gods that I am able to take advantage of this nonsense.

I develop a very tag image the first two levels, raising only 4 or 5 out of 40 hands but cbetting and 2x barreling them and taking them down. I lose some in blinds and a couple of 3bets where I give up when there are bets and raises in front of me on the flop.

Half of the table is basically playing their hands face-up, and everybody has enormous leaks which become readily apparent in the first two levels.

I am excited, since I can now lag it up at 100/200/25 when we get there.

I get to 12k but lose a pretty sick hand:

1. Guy limps utg (he had previously limped UTG with QTs, check checked flop, fired the turn with air, and checked the river) and I raise to 400 with A2cc. Flop is AT6r, he checks and I check behind since the board is fairly innocuous and he only calls me with better aces anyway.

Turn is T, and he bets like 2/3 pot, and seems super weak and I get the same vibes as the QT hand, so I call.

River is a 3 and he bets the pot and I find this super weird. He hadn't double barrel bluffed in two instances before (one with the QTs), but I didn't really think that strong aces were a part of his range because he had raised most of his strong hands preflop.

I get really confused, because I felt that he was really weak on the turn, and now he seems more relaxed and is friendly when I talk to him and now my read is that he's vbetting. I am completely perplexed, so I call.

He flips over 33... oops. I lose the hand, but I'm actually shocked at how accurate my read was and I am praying that I get enough chips to do damage.


2. I am now down to 7k at 100/200/25. Weakish donk raises CO to 550, hyper aggro flats on BB, and old weak/passive player in SB flats. With about 1.8k in the pot and no real signs of strength, I am basically jamming like top 50% here.

I look down at Q9o and jam. This was my first squeeze of the tourney, and all three tank and tank and tank and fold.

They ask to see, since the table had been showing a lot of hands and I quickly decide that I can do more with the information of what they have than vice versa, and that I can also adjust better so I show.
CO had ATo, hyper aggro had K9o and BB had A3o.

In retrospect, I should have said no.


3. Two interesting A high river spots. I was good both times, but mucked the first one and called down the second one when the guy's line made like no sense and seemed almost certainly to be a bluff.


4. Shortie gets it in with 88 at 1/2/no ante and I finally have a hand and KK holds and I am up to 12625.


5. I raise with 99, get one caller. check check an ATx flop, turn is a blank, I bet he calls, river is a third suited card he checks I check he shows a rivered flush.


6. Fold 40 hands in a row minus #5. Completely card dead, down to 6.x k. Basically fold through 100/200 and 100/200/25, the two levels I had planned to crank up my aggression. Standard card-dead, can't get anything higher than an 8. This probably works out okay, since it prevents me from doing anything stupid and spewy.


7. Now at 200/400/25 and only 6.5k or so, I am desperate for hands to jam. I finally pick up 87s and jam over a limper from late pos, and then raise AK from UTG and pick up pots both times to get me to 8.x k. Also, saw a flopped straight flush vs. nut flush... ouch.


8. Young, aggressive, competent player with like 6k raises to 1200 from CO while I am in SB with AJo. He's smart enough to know that he needs to be raising really wide here, and I think he folds to a jam 20-25% of the time, and I think that AJo is well ahead of his range anyway. I jam, he calls with KQo. Board runs out 10 high and I double.


9. A couple of hands later, I raise AK from early, a the patron-drinking Russian who has 3bet me a bunch raises, I ship and he calls with QQ. I flop an ace to get to 37k.


10. Not long after, I get AK > QQ a second time, and I have now gone from 6k to 53k in about 30 minutes.


11. For the next few hours I don't really play any significant hands. Steal a couple times, 3bet and get folds a couple of times, chip up to about 65k.



12. At 3/6/1 with 55k, I raise QQ from the CO, short-+#$ button flats. Flop is T44, pot is about 7k and he has 9k behind, so I check to him knowing that he is shoving 100% here given that flop. He shoves, I snap, he has AA and I drop to 42k.


13. With about 27 left I have a very interesting hand. I am on the button with AA and about 34k at 6/12/1. I have raised a few buttons in the past two levels and been 3bet fairly frequently (later, I found out that this was not because the guy was 3betting wide, but because he had JJ, AJ and AQ when I raised).

I raise to 3400 and SB raises to 8800.

I am in kind of an awkward spot with 31k behind. A shove gets folded to too frequently, I later decided that I should have flatted (we can have this discussion separately) but I instead reraise to 20k leaving myself 11k behind.

I do this because the guy has only been at the table for 1 level and I haven't really said much, or done anything other than open fold or bet/fold to raises, and he has no reason to think that I am competent. In this tourney, folding with >50% of your chips in the middle is pretty standard, and in one case a guy even folded to a shove on the flop getting 11-1, etc.

I felt like that in this situation a minraise looked strong, a ship looked strong, but a raise to 20k looked like "hey I'm a donk that's trying to bluff you but in case I am wrong I want to leave myself some chips".

He folds AQ. Later he said that he felt like I was really strong and he wouldn't have called a minraise or a ship either, and if I flatted the flop would have to be either Q high or A high for him to shove. We actually had a long chat, and he seemed well versed in all the concepts of tournament poker, so I feel less bad about it.


14. I have a brain fart and make a ******ed muck in the BB when the pot total is like 6k and the button shoves for like 7k more than my BB and I fold Q7o. It's like 2am at this point and I am starting to have mental cramps. I hate myself immediately as I fold.


15. Two hands later, I raise AJs from the button, a guy jams over me and I fold. I have like 40k or so still.


16. I am in BB with 41k at 8/16/2, 23 players left 9 pay. CO (non thinking old player) opens for 4k and Button (solid older 20s player) flats. Perfect squeeze spot and I jam ATo for 37k more.

CO tanks and folds (77 he said) and CO tanks for a solid minute before forcing himself to call with AQo.

I say something like, "wow, how do you even think about that?" and I feel bad when I flop a T and hold and move up to 72k on the suckout. He was gracious and took it well.

I am very thankful that when the lady sold me my entry and said, "good luck" I said thanks, but then paused and stepped back to the cage and asked, "actually can you wish me awesome mind-bending luck instead?" She gave me the 'you are a freak and a very weird dude' look but obliged. Clearly she did not know I had a 3 outer to hit on the bubble six hours later.



17. 21 players left at this point. I lose a decent pot at 1.5k/3k/300 when I raise 3bb utg with AJo (table was VERY tight and also 7 handed) and BB with 10bbs flats (?). Flop is A92 all spades. He checks, I shove for his remaining 7bbs and he snaps with the nut flush.


18. The very next hand I am bb he is sb. folded to him, he limps and I consider raising, since I almost always raise SB limpers with atc, but I give him credit for not being an idiot and feel like he probably has a reasonable hand, so I check with 62o. Flop is ATx, he looks genuinely unhappy and checks, I bet 2/3 pot. He calls but is clearly not happy about it. Turn is a T and he checks and I bet 2/3 pot again and he begrudgingly mucks 99 faceup.


19. Next orbit, I am in BB and CO shoves for 10bbs and I snap with 99. He has q3o and flops a flush draw but I fade it and get back up to 78k.


20. Sick read. Woman I haven't played with at all (we had just consolidated to 2 tables) opens to 8k at 1.5k/3k/x from CO. She only has 26k left and I have 88 in the SB. BB had been playing super tag (very tight but very aggro when he had a hand) so I just flat because I didn't want to raise and then get jammed on by BB. Plus, I figure I can make a good decision on the flop and either jam or check/call.

Flop is Kh5c4c. I check, and she insta-shoves 26k into 22k. I tank and talk to her for a bit and she doesn't seem very happy that I am not mucking and it doesn't seem to be an act. I kind of drag it out for a minute and she's trying not to say anything and eventually says in a voice that was part irritated / part desperate, "I don't know why you are taking so long if you can't beat ace king."

Wat? She's trying to pretend she has AK? If she has AK and I do anything other than snap-call her shove, she is absolutely crushing me and would be perfectly content to sit there and wait for me to call. She's either super weak and trying to talk me off of a weak king, or putting on an academy award winning performance.

As the last word of leaves her mouth, I am already calling nearly certain that I am good. She tables QJo and I fade six outs and get over 100k.


**************

21. We go to the final table 10 handed at 6k/12k/1k, with 9 making the money. I take down a couple of pots, and get two walks (v. lucky) in the BB. I lose one pot where I raise TT get two callers, and check around a Q75 flop. 9 turn, BB leads for a small bet, I call, button calls. River is an 8, he checks, I check, button bets 30k, he calls I turbo fold he has KQo button had a missed draw.


22. Seven and six handed I get aggressive and start picking up a lot of pots and chipping up. I take out a 9bb short stack bvb when he shoves k7o and i snap 44 and I hold.


23. With five left, a guy loses AQ vs AK and is down to like 60k. I am at like 240k at this point.


24. Older straightforward guy raises 2500 at 4k/8k from the CO and I somehow read him as super strong and fold AQ (BB has same read and folds 66), and he shows AK. The sun is rising and the sky is getting light outside, and it's beautiful over the water.


25. I pick up AA on the button, and raise to 20k. BB is short with 55k (who had just lost AQ vs. AK) and he flats (?). Flop is K7x, and he jams and I snap and he has Q high no draw and I get to 300k


*****************

At six am we are finally four handed, at 240k, 270k 300k (me) 330k so we decide to chip-chop since the counts are so close and the prize pool is very steep:
19.7k first
13.6k second
8.xk third
4.3k fourth

We get the printout and one guy starts grousing, and says he wants 11000 (he has 10940) so me and chip leader both give him $30 and he is happy.

Final counts will be posted later, but it was like 12.4k, 11.7k for me, 11k and 10.6k or something.

I actually felt like I had a huge advantage at that point since all three of my opponents were older gentlemen who were exhausted, while I am 23, used to not sleeping, and on lots of peppermints.

However I felt that the variance of the prize pool was just too big, and I had to check my ego and realize that I had had about six brain farts in the last hour:

-not calling with that Q7
-'raising' to 1.1k at 2k/4k blinds (instead of 11k)
-trying to add up how much money was in the top 5 and taking a solid minute and a half to do it
-somehow twice I counted pots as twice as large as they actually were when I was watching other people's hands... still not sure how.


********

So we chopped, I took my 11.7k, filled out a bunch of tax forms and weighed playing in Friday's 5k (backed, obv) and decided against it.

I tipped each of the guys running the tourney $20, but none of the other guys did. Is this standard? Should I have not tipped? Tipped more?

I went outside and watched the sun rise, felt good and grabbed a taxi to the airport.


And just in time, it is time to board my flight. Good thing there's no wireless in the Fontana room, or else I might have made a sweat thread when I FT'd, and well... bakes.

 

[virgilmalloy]

TR from playing 2 hands and busting out of the $2k, or what running insanely bad looks like:

Originally Posted by VirgilMalloy

Trip report for today:

Woke up feeling good, got to the Bellagio and registered. Saw Gus Hansen walking down the hall, saw Bond18 at the table across to me and a couple of other guys I recognized but didn't know.

I lasted a grand total of 35 minutes and played two hands.

My table was 7 old 40-50ish passive players, one young guy with a pstars hat and one maniac. The maniac is the villian in both of my hands.

He was 40ish and seemed like a normal person (i.e. no mental disabilities). In the 35 minutes I played, he didn't fold a hand preflop.

He won a huge pot early when he cold called a 3bet with 72o, called a bet on the flop and turned a straight.

A few hands later, he raised with 42o, young pstars guy in BB 3bets with KK, he calls. Flop is J42r. Young check raises, maniac shoves, young guy snaps and bricks out.

So Maniac is at like 25k when I play my first hand:

Maniac raises to 200 at 25/50 from late position, I have AsAc in the big blind and 3b to 750 and he calls. Flop (1550) is Ts9c7s. I lead for 1000, he minraises to 2000 and I call. Turn (5550) is a low spade, I think 3s, which gives me the NFD. I check, he bets 2000 I call. River (9550) is 2h. I check, he shoves for my last 5200 or so, and I tank and fold and he shows KsJs for the turned flush. I'm down to 5200, but I'm still 100bbs deep and I feel pretty confident about chipping up with all the passive players at my table.

About six hands later I pick up AhAc UTG+1. I open for 200 (4xbb) and old guy calls, maniac calls, Button calls, BB calls (I mean... lol).

Flop (1050) is AdTd7h. BB checks, I am about to bet but old guy throws in 500. There's kind of an awkward moment, but I say, "go ahead" and check. Maniac raises to 1500, Button folds BB folds. I shove for 5000, and old guy folds.

Maniac shrugs and calls, and tables 8h6c.

Obviously he hits his gutshot and the turn is 9c, and I don't fill up when the river is a red King and I'm out in 35 minutes.

******

I cut out the satty TR, but I shipped a $330 for $3.2k because nobody knows how to play jam/fold in live poker.

 

[virgilmalloy]

TR from the 3k, or when things just generally aren't that great and you lose your first flip:

Originally Posted by VirgilMalloy

I woke up feeling very good. I crashed at my friend Lauren's place and she has an awesome spot at the panorama towers with a sick view.

Sat down for the $3k at 55 - 6, a couple russians, mostly old guys.

About 10 hands in, a guy that doesn't seem too bright (warning #1) raises to 150 at 50/150 from MP. I flat on the button with Ts8s.
Flop is Q73. He checks, I check.
Turn is a J. He bets 250 I raise to 800 eh calls.
River is a 6. He checks, I bet about the pot (~$2k) and he calls with 44.

Next hand that I play is vs a young guy that I would later learn was very laggy raises from MP and I flat with AK on the big blind. I check call on an ugly flop and check fold Q turn.

I fold a ton of hands, folding AJ, KQ 66 etc. from early position, building a tight image at the low blind levels so that I can become very aggressive once we hit antes.

Mid pos raises I 3bet reasonably large with AQ, he calls with J9 and flops a 9 high flop, and we check it down.

Get moved to a really tough table, but get a sick double up hand after folding about 20 hands in a row. I raise 7h6h from MP to 250 at 50/100 and BB calls. Flop is AQ5cc.
He checks, I bet 350, he calls.
Turn is an 8, check check.
River is a 9. He leads, I raise and he shoves and I snap with the nuts. He shows QQ. He says "after what happened to you yesterday, you definitely deserve that hand." (He was at my starting table yesterday).

Yesterday's villain gets moved to my table, but he plays tight/passive the entire time he's there. Very, very weird.

11450 at first break.

New table is hyper aggro, tons of 3betting tons of open raising, no limping or flatting whatsoever.

I pick up one pot 2x barreling TT on a K high board. I raise/fold 77 and KQs from mid position.

Next hand of interest, early raises to 550 at 100/200 and gets two callers. I flat in SB with JJ (8k behind, didn't want to shove 40bbs, and I felt that BB was competent enough to squeeze very wide since he was relatively short. So I flatted, hoping that BB would squeeze, and then I would muck if he got called and call if it folded to me). Sure enough, BB shoves for about 5k, and original raiser reships for 11k. I turbo muck my JJ, and BB turns over TT and original raiser turns over AK (oops). He turns an ace and wins.

I open AJs from CO and get 3bet again and fold.

I fold fold fold for an hour, and finally open T9s from the button and the big blind (only donk at my table) jams for like a million bbs and I fold.

At this point my image is shot, I have bet/folded or 3bet/folded like 7 or 8 times and only won a couple of pots. I'm perceived as pretty weak so I nit it up and wait for a good opportunity to 4bet jam someone looking to take advantage of me.

After folding for the rest of the level and half of 100/200/25, I finally get a good spot. I have 9600 and I raise to 600 on MP3 with 77. HJ flats, Button flats, BB who seems like a very solid, aggressive, competent player makes it 2.2k.
I tank and 4bet shove for 9k. I put him on a pretty wide range here, like 99+, AJs+, AQo, KQs, but I expect him to fold everything but JJ+ and AK and maybe AQ if he somehow knows that I am aggressive despite my recent play.. I have an outrageous amount of fold equity since I've bet-folded 7 or 8 times and haven't re-shipped vs. counter aggression yet. I was risking 9k to win 4.3k and I think that the FE alone makes it a good shove, not to mention I do have some limited equity.

BB tanks and calls with AK.
Flop is T76
Turn J
River Q

GG.

 

[virgilmalloy]

Oh yeah, and obviously I got my nostradamus on a little bit. From my Twitter at 6pm yesterday before I played the $540:

Well at least my luck thus far has been hyper polarized which is what you want for tourneys. I am going to take a snooze outside the fontana / Andthen go on a massive heater and win the 540 nightly. I own all of myself in this one.