WSOP Day 2

I was pretty nervous going into day 2. I needed to think about strategy and how I was going to keep going. Lucky hands don't hold up forever. Someone sent me stats on other players at my table, but I didn't want to focus on who was a pro and how much they had previously won. I thought it might psych me out, so instead I focused on the fact that 6 other players had fewer chips than me. Three players had significantly more chips than anyone at the table. They were:

Seat 5 Denny L. Robinson, Las Vegas NV 57,100

Seat 9 Frank Rusnak Chicago IL 77,000

Seat 6 Micah Raskin Long Island NY 107,700

Frank in seat 9 would become my toughest competition, but then later I'd end up busting up his massive tower of chips..

One guy who had an amazing run of luck was:

Seat 3 Johannes Keoerber, Dortmund Germany 35,000 (seated to my immediate left, I was seat 2)

who started day 2 by raising all in. Turns out he had pocket QQ which held up against a caller with AK (Seat 5 Denny L. Robinson Las Vegas NV, starting stack: $57,100) Johannes ended up doubling his $35,000 immediately.

Later Johannes had KK which held up and he doubled again, and again later he had AA. He ended up finishing in 28th place with a payout of $19,000

Anyway back to Frank, seat 9... Frank was a super aggressive player who’s M.O. was playing from early position. I couldn't get too good of a read on his hands which was a problem because when we were two people away from being in the money I got pocket 10s. Pre-flop, Frank raised from the big blind, I believe I re-raised or called. The flop came, something like a 5, 7, and a K.. Frank bet big, I re-raised, again I was sure I was ahead, he called. Finally on the turn Frank just grabbed a huge stack of chips and pushed..I was sure I had him beat, but I was two people away from being in the money...I couldn't push over the top all in, plus there was a K on the board. I had to let the chips I had thrown into the pot go and wait for a more sure hand. It killed me to do it, but I got a chance to redeem myself later..

At dinner I needed to come up with strategy. My friend Josh kept telling me that doubling up would really help. I kept thinking, "How am I just going to double up? I've got to have hands", but my friend's advice was good and the opportunity came up, not just to double up, but triple up, and more..

After I made it into the money the same scenario came up with Frank, where he raised under the gun and was super aggressive, but this time I came over the top and pushed all in with top pair, Jacks and a K kicker, two 2s were showing on the board...Frank audibly let out a "Fuck!" when I re-raised all in. He contemplated my all in raise for quite some time and decided that he wasn't willing to risk more chips to find out whether I had trip 2s or not. He folded, losing a significant portion of his stack.

It turns out that most of the hands he played under the gun were AJ, at least from what I could see the times he showed down. He may have had me beat on that last hand, but he let it go because of the 2s on the board. I think when I had pocket 10s previously before dinner he may have had AJ and missed the board. I probably had him beat but wasn’t able to push all in to find out.

I knew that he'd push all in soon as he had about 1/4 of the stack he had previously, so I waited till I had QQ or better to pop him. Sure enough, like it was scripted out of my head, he pushed all in under the gun with AJ and I had QQ. I called and my QQ held up. I was amazed when Frank, tough competition at the table who made me fold earlier losing $10k in chips, was busted and stood up with a dazed look on his face..

I won a few more pots (one from winner Ray Foley 7/1709 Ante-Up podcast. He recounts key hands and mentions one key hand he lost at about 36:30 of the MP3 http://www.anteupmagazine.com/podcast.html ) and was up to $200K in chips!

It was getting to be 9 and then 10pm possibly even later, maybe 10:30pm, one of the larger starting stacks:

Seat 6 Micah Raskin Long Island, NY 107,700

had long been busted out when his bluff was called by the German guy, Johannes Keoerber, seat 3 who kept doubling up, this time with pocket AAs.

Seat 7 had previously busted out and was replaced by another player who was pretty quiet. Nam Le had also come to our table by then and had replaced Frank in seat 9. Nam didn't have a significant stack when he came to our table, but that would change.

Nam kept looking at my chipstack. Even when I wasn't in a hand he'd look over at it as he reached into his stack to make a bet. I thought, "Uh uh, you're not getting my chips...if I don't get into a hand with you there's no way you can take them" lol. He eyed me every time I folded to see if he'd get the opportunity, but he and I never got into a hand together.

So I'm sitting on $200K in chips and I'm looking at the board and seeing what the payouts are and realizing that if I make it to 54th place I'd be into the next prize level at $9K (There were 60 or so people still in the game). I think ok, just fold, fold, fold, and pay blinds till 30 more people bust then I'd be in the final 3 tables. I'm not sure what happened to that logic..

Shortly after I have my plan all figured out, I get AK, Ace of Spades and King of Clubs. Seat 7 raises 3 times the bb to $12,000, Nam Le calls, I re-raise to $36,000, seat 7 re-raises all in, Nam folds. Seat 7 had previously gone all in twice with pocket QQs. I figure that he had Queens again, and that my AK is good. Plus he says he has about $100K. I’ve got double that. I figure that even if I lose the hand I've got another $100k to work with...

Bad, bad news...this time he's got Aces. Not only that but an Ace of Clubs. The hand that eventually wins the pot is an Ace high club flush. Even if I had had aces I couldn't have won the hand. The only thing that would have saved me is if he hadn't had that CLUB! I had the King high club.

Any way that really hurt. I think that as an 8-5er my brain shut down around 11pm. I knew not to just make all in pre-flop calls. I had been careful on day one when I had pocket aces to check on the flop and feel out my opponent, not this time. I think I also got caught up in all in pre-flop calls because I had seen a lot of that kind of action from other players throughout day 2...

It also turns out that Seat 7 who said he had a little over $100K really had $128K which left me with $78K. Even though this was not the hand I busted out on, I feel that it was the one that basically ended my tourney. Shoulda, coulda woulda.. all you can do is learn from fatal mistakes..

Here's an article about those kinds of all in coin flip situations:

http://www.pokernews.com/strategy/tournament-poker-with-jeremiah-smith-to-flip-or-not-to-flip-6818.htm

Seat 7 now has over $250K in chips, I keep painfully eyeing them, my chips, across the table, and looks like he doesn't know what to do with them, he's looking all over the place and blinking like crazy. Think it gets to his head because then he calls an all in raise from Nam Le with pocket 10s. Nam to his immediate left has KKs. Nams' KKs hold up and now suddenly Nam's got all my chips. Guess all that eyeing worked, my chips are now in Nam's stack..

http://www.pokernews.com/wsop/2009/event-39/day2/page4.htm

Played a little longer then I was down to $48K, shortstacked as blinds were now $4K-$8K. A thought popped into my head pretty strongly, "Next pocket pair and I have to push all in".

Sadly, with $8K out in the bb, I got a pocket pair, the worst one possible, pocket 2s, but I had to go for it. I wonder if anyone read it on my face because..

Amazingly the player 2nd to act, Ray Foley, who had come to the table about an hour or so earlier and who would go on to win the tourney, goes all in with A 4 (can’t remember if it was suited, very well could have been). Very risky move considering there are 5 other players to act after him (we were 9 handed). Someone could have come up with a hand. I think he was just trying to steal the blinds.

I've got a bad hand, but I have a pocket pair, I call. Ray's nervous as he announces, "I've got overs"..time to flip that coin..

4 comes on the flop and no more 2s for me and no straight..

Ray and everyone at the table were very nice and so professional and all stand up to shake my hand and tell me that I had played well. Nice compliment coming from those guys!

I was disappointed, but hey, I made it further than I ever thought I would. It was an incredible first run at WSOP 2009! I’m setting my sights on the ladies event next year.