Lake Tahoe WSOP Circuit Trip Report
I barely know where to begin. It has been a long trip! I got to Tahoe on Wednesday night and met up with Matthew at the airport. We headed to the casino to play the next day.
In the first event, a $500 limit event, I played well in my estimation. The only real mistake I made was the last hand I played. The cutoff limped first in and I thought about folding but decided to call with 55 behind him. Then the big stack (who had been playing very tight) raised from the SB. I called and wound up with all of my chips in on a 7 high flop only to see his JJ take me down. It was a terrible play. That hand put me out in 10th, one off of the final table. Ugh. My 10th place finish was still good enough to double my money but I was nevertheless disappointed.
In the second event, a $500 limit event, I got very lucky. I either doubled up or busted a player each time I had AA. One hand was very scary when my opponent turned a set of jacks. Unfortunately for him the jack on the turn gave me the nut flush and he saw no help on the river. I left him with 75 in chip left, and after posting a $50 ante, he was ammboed! I blinded off for a while and finally decided to take a coinflip once we were in the money. My AQ was no good vs. 99 but I will take that hand again any time.
The next day was a $1000 NL event. I think I played very well. I defended my blinds at the right times and I pushed people out of pots at all the right times. Then a hand came up that I will never forget. I posted the hand here, but I think my wife already spilled the beans about the result. In the end I decided to take a shot at a huge pot and was out of the tournament in a flash. My father had stopped by to watch and was amazed that I was out after doing so well. Oh, well... I got some quality time with daddy out of it.
The final event was a $1000 limit event. Again, I truly felt on top of my game and managed to survive a few tough hands to make the final table. I ended up busting in 8th place when my QQ lost to 99's quad nines. I am not upset at that hand in the least, but I am much more upset at the hand I misplayed earlier. I had 99 in the BB and called an MP raise and a button call. The MP raiser checked a ten high flop and the button bet. I just called and the raiser called. He suddenly bet out a Q on the turn and I knew I had messed up so I folded. He said he had AQ (obviously) and the button confessed to having a smaller pair. I was not pleased with that mistake. In the end, however, I would have been all in with my QQ and lost to 9999 so it did not really matter.
Overall, I played some of the best poker I have ever played. I made the money in 3 out of 4 events, made one final table, and only missed the money in the other event due to a "that's poker" type of situation. I also had a great time. I had more fun at the table that I can remember having. I felt incredibly relaxed and at no time did I feel overmatched or intimidated by another player. I cannot wait for my next major event.
Personal note:
Right now I am sitting in a crummy motel in Niagra Falls, NY. I am still not home after travelling all day yesterday. Because of a flight delay I missed the Buffalo to Ithaca bus so my wife came to get me. Since we were so close to Niagra Falls we decided to go have a look. Neither of us had been there since we were kids. We also had a look at the new Casino Niagra, which seems to have quite a nice poker room. Then, on the way home, a deer bolted in front of the car and I ran right into it at about 50 miles per hour. Neither of us were hurt, the airbags did not even deploy, but the deer was killed. I feel awful about it. As a result, our 2004 Toyota Matrix is not drivable. My wife rented a car to head back home in order to take a final while I site here in this crappy hotel waiting for the insurance people to look at the car. FYI, Geico's service rules. The silver lining? I have wireless internet at this $30 per night hotel!
In the first event, a $500 limit event, I played well in my estimation. The only real mistake I made was the last hand I played. The cutoff limped first in and I thought about folding but decided to call with 55 behind him. Then the big stack (who had been playing very tight) raised from the SB. I called and wound up with all of my chips in on a 7 high flop only to see his JJ take me down. It was a terrible play. That hand put me out in 10th, one off of the final table. Ugh. My 10th place finish was still good enough to double my money but I was nevertheless disappointed.
In the second event, a $500 limit event, I got very lucky. I either doubled up or busted a player each time I had AA. One hand was very scary when my opponent turned a set of jacks. Unfortunately for him the jack on the turn gave me the nut flush and he saw no help on the river. I left him with 75 in chip left, and after posting a $50 ante, he was ammboed! I blinded off for a while and finally decided to take a coinflip once we were in the money. My AQ was no good vs. 99 but I will take that hand again any time.
The next day was a $1000 NL event. I think I played very well. I defended my blinds at the right times and I pushed people out of pots at all the right times. Then a hand came up that I will never forget. I posted the hand here, but I think my wife already spilled the beans about the result. In the end I decided to take a shot at a huge pot and was out of the tournament in a flash. My father had stopped by to watch and was amazed that I was out after doing so well. Oh, well... I got some quality time with daddy out of it.
The final event was a $1000 limit event. Again, I truly felt on top of my game and managed to survive a few tough hands to make the final table. I ended up busting in 8th place when my QQ lost to 99's quad nines. I am not upset at that hand in the least, but I am much more upset at the hand I misplayed earlier. I had 99 in the BB and called an MP raise and a button call. The MP raiser checked a ten high flop and the button bet. I just called and the raiser called. He suddenly bet out a Q on the turn and I knew I had messed up so I folded. He said he had AQ (obviously) and the button confessed to having a smaller pair. I was not pleased with that mistake. In the end, however, I would have been all in with my QQ and lost to 9999 so it did not really matter.
Overall, I played some of the best poker I have ever played. I made the money in 3 out of 4 events, made one final table, and only missed the money in the other event due to a "that's poker" type of situation. I also had a great time. I had more fun at the table that I can remember having. I felt incredibly relaxed and at no time did I feel overmatched or intimidated by another player. I cannot wait for my next major event.
Personal note:
Right now I am sitting in a crummy motel in Niagra Falls, NY. I am still not home after travelling all day yesterday. Because of a flight delay I missed the Buffalo to Ithaca bus so my wife came to get me. Since we were so close to Niagra Falls we decided to go have a look. Neither of us had been there since we were kids. We also had a look at the new Casino Niagra, which seems to have quite a nice poker room. Then, on the way home, a deer bolted in front of the car and I ran right into it at about 50 miles per hour. Neither of us were hurt, the airbags did not even deploy, but the deer was killed. I feel awful about it. As a result, our 2004 Toyota Matrix is not drivable. My wife rented a car to head back home in order to take a final while I site here in this crappy hotel waiting for the insurance people to look at the car. FYI, Geico's service rules. The silver lining? I have wireless internet at this $30 per night hotel!
1 Comments:
Well, aambo - glad to see who you really are - sort of. This is Ashley, the lez you played with at PS a few nights ago who gave you quite a bit of trash. Although I hated you at first, you kind of grew on me. Normally I try to push maniacs as much as possible. Finally I noticed that you weren't actually a maniac, you were just having fun. However, I did rather enjoy whipping your ass with my boat. You knew I had to have it. Of course you paid me back later. Would have been interesting to hang around a bit longer. I could see that you were actually intelligent, which is unusual at those cheap tables. But, what else would one expect from a UW guy, right? By the way, I was there from 93 - 2000, that's including grad school by the way. Anyway, I rather enjoyed our little "chat." Hope you'll look me up again at PS. I also play UB, Pacific, and Party Poker. Not at those cheap limits, however. I play a little higher at the others, but play at PS for fun and chat. Not that I'm a super pro or anything - my limit is generally $5 - $10, which suits me just fine. I generally just make enough to keep me in Starbucks Mochas and whatever. Pretty much just a grinder. Truthfully, I wouldn't mind hearing from you. Try ashboone75@yahoo.com. My profile is there, too.
Nice chatting, guy.
Ash
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