WSOP Day Two

Day two: Sunday 7/9

I forgot to mention that on the night before, as I walked down the loooooong hall to the WSOP area at the Rio, I had my first celebrity poker player sighting - I saw Tony G (the loud Australian guy) leaving, and he didn't look happy.

I woke up around 11am and wasted an hour on the phone with tech support trying to get my room's internet connection working. That didn't work, so I packed my laptop into my backpack and headed over to the Rio, hoping they had a wireless hotspot that I could use.

When I got there around noon, the place was bustling. All of the hospitality suites were open and had booth babes handing out free crap. I decided to wait on the suites and headed inside.

The main room was packed with people. Every table seemed to be up and running, and there were spectators everywhere. Imagine every strip being fenced at Summer Nationals with the full cadre of spectators and coaches watching. It was a similar feeling of controlled chaos.

I milled about for a while, joining in the spectating. Today there were two big events underway - the $1000 Women's event, and the $10,000 Pot-limit Omaha event. There were a lot of spectators around the Omaha event and I quickly saw why... In the space of maybe 10 tables, I saw a whole gaggle of famous faces: Gus Hansen, Marcel Luske, Mark Seif, Doyle Brunson, Jennifer Harmon, Howard Lederer, Joe Hachem, Greg Raymer, Mike Caro, Erik Seidl, and Scotty Nguyen. I actually witnessed Marcel Luske eliminate Gus Hansen.

I didn't want to look like a tourist, so I refrained from taking pictures, even though I did have my camera with me. Would like to meet a few of my favorite poker players though, and if I do, I'll play the role of the dopey fan.

Eventually, I got in line to play a satellite. Today they must have had something like 30 tables of satellites going. There was a reasonably long line waiting to get into them, and I had to wait maybe 20 minutes before being seated at a $125 event.

Once the game got underway, I quickly built up a modest chip lead. I was playing tight as usual, but I was getting some good hands. However, a disaster then occurred. I was in the big blind with 10-2. I saw a free flop, which came JdTd2c, giving me two pair. I bet strong since I didn't want the diamond draws to stick around, and was raised by the guy on the button (everyone else had folded). I called, putting him on maybe a pair of jacks or a draw to the nut flush. The turn brought the Jc, so I suspected jacks were less likely. I checked, he bet a modest amount, and I called. The river brought Qh, so I checked. He bet and I called. He showed 89 offsuit for the straight. I was correct that he was on a draw, and in retrospect, I probably should have bet my two pair more aggressively. Anyway, I busted out in 10th place shortly thereafter since he took most of my chips. How embarrasing.

After a brief walk to clear my head and jot down some notes, I got back in line and eventually got into a $175 satellite. Little did I know, this too was headed for disaster! I picked up AJh in early position and put in a big raise. Everyone folded except the button, who called. The flop came QJ4 with two diamonds. I bet strong, and she called. I suspected that she didn't have a queen, since if she did, I would have expected a reraise especially with the diamond draw out there. The turn was the 4s. Rather than making the mistake of checking like I did in the last event, I continued betting and she called. The river brought the 3d making a possible flush. I checked, she went all-in for her few remaining chips. I called (we were about equal in chips) and she showed ATd. As I suspected, I was ahead until the damn diamond came on the river. Despite the loss, I felt that I played that much better - I was betting the right amount to give her the wrong price to try to hit her flush. I guess it still wasn't enough, perhaps I needed to move all-in on the flop. Oh well.

I walked around a bit and then jumped into a $125 satellite. This was a total disaster. On the crucial hand, I was in the blind with J5h. The flop was all hearts, so I checked. One guy bets and I call. I figure he had top pair. The turn is a rag, so I check again. The guy bets again, and I call. The river comes the Ah, which looks to be a good card for me since now only two cards can beat me. Well, the guy had Kh3c. I couldn't believe it - not only did he call preflop with such crap, but his betting just didn't make sense to me. I was out in 9th place.

At this point, I started to wonder what the hell was going on. I felt like I had been playing well. In fact, in all three cases, my reads on the player's hands was pretty accurate. And in each case, they hit their miracle card on the river, with me being ahead up until then. It was very frustrating.

I decided to hit the various hospitality suites to get my mind off of things. That was great fun. I got several free t-shirts and various other bits of swag that are certain to make all of you jealous.

Eventually, it was time to try again. I got into a $175 satellite and this time, things went my way. I read several players perfectly. One key hand - I raised with AQ in early position. A loose player with a big stack (he had been getting lucky with crap hands) in middle position called, everyone else folded. Flop came AK3, so I checked. The loose player bet and I went all-in. He quickly called and showed A7. I suspected he had a weaker kicker and was right. My hand held up and I doubled up. He was out two hands later. Another key hand was when I finally picked up aces. I raised preflop and was called by the button who had shown the pattern of trying to steal pots when it was checked to her. Flop came 939 rainbow and I checked. She bet and I called. Turn was a rag, and I checked. She bet and I raised. She went all in and I called. She showed garbage - K8 offsuit or some such crap. I knocked her out and pulled into a huge lead.

Eventually, one of the other players knocked out a few people and when it was heads up, we made a deal and split the prize - I took 2 of the $500 chips and he took one plus the $120 cash. I then went to the registration desk and used my two chips to buy into the $1000 event.

With that done, I gave myself to be the dorky tourist and strolled around with my camera, taking pictures of the venue and some of the famous players.

So in the end, I payed $775 in satellite entry fees to get into the $1000 event. While that's not too much of a discount, I'm still happy with that result. I may even play more satellite events before I leave in the hopes that I can make some more (by selling the $500 chips). After all, I did come to play!

I'll have my laptop with me tomorrow during the event. During the breaks (every 2 hours), I'll try to fire it up to blog some updates.