Day 2 of the WSOPC NOLA main I wake up in my hotel around
noon after finishing a very long, but very successful day of poker prior. It
felt so surreal, as in I felt it was all a dream. Sometimes my dreams are so
vivid & imaginative that I have to come to realization once I finally wake
up to determine whether the event in question was a figment of my imagination
or was it reality. This series has been filled with variance, success, &
disappointment all rolled up into one state of mind. I did not play the main I
decided to play cash instead. What a great decision that turned out to be. I
went to eat Drago’s char-grilled oysters one final time before I left NOLA. I
had heaps. The meal was absolutely delightful as always. Following lunch, I
immediately drove home to Slidell which is about thirty minutes away &
booked my flight/hotel to Las Vegas for the WSOP! I couldn’t believe it; I was
going back to Vegas. The feeling at that moment was indescribable. Las Vegas is
the center in which all of my dreams & aspirations revolve around, but even
more specifically the World Series of Poker is what I work so hard for day in
& day out to get the opportunity to play birds for life changing money. My
trip is booked & I have approximately one week to relax before what could
be a summer of grinding & debauchery will more than likely take place.
Originally I had only booked my roundtrip from May 30th – June 3rd.
This just didn’t seem like a lot of time so my plan was let’s take it day by
day & see how the events unfold. I certainly looked forward to cancelling
my return flight home & extending my stay in this dry hell hole of a
climate full of degeneracy & mortal sin.
It is May 29th & it feels like Christmas Eve
when I was a kid! The excitement of adult summer camp, unsupervised, is just a
guilty pleasure that I have the opportunity to indulge in as I please. I
literally can’t breathe. I am ready to go to the airport at midnight for a 6:15
am flight. I am literally jacked out of my mind. Endorphins are flowing. The
level of excitement simply cannot be contained. My buddies also are having
difficulty sleeping so we decide to leave for the airport early. We take our
time getting there & still get there too early, but we are here. At last,
the time has come, it’s time to board the plane & leave for what would end
up being one of the most memorable trips of my poker career. For those who know
me well on poker trips I don’t engage in many extracurricular activities nor do
I party often. I rarely see day light until it’s time to go home. This trip was
no different & in the end it’s kind of disappointing because I wanted to
eat several places outside of the casino other than Grand Lux, but I failed in
that aspect yet once again. Anyway we are on our flight & it is very short
& quick. We arrive safely in Las Vegas & while waiting on our baggage,
& the first thing I do is take pictures of scarcely clothed female
tourists. Social media sure got a kick out of it & so did I, however my
friends were not so approving. What would they expect? I am going to be me
& they know that. In the end everything was ok. Once our luggage arrived,
we found our other two friends meeting us at the airport & found our way to
our rent a car. Once luggage was secured we were on our way to the Rio. The
rooms were not readily available for check in before 9:00 am, so we decided to
check out sit & go land/cash game area. I waited zero time before jumping
into the very first pot limit Omaha game I could find. Game selection at this
point was irrelevant. I just got off of a three & a half hour flight plus
forty-five minutes to claim baggage & get to the Rio. I was ready to begin
my summer with a bang, & that I did. After about a six or so hour session
we decided to cash out & book a win. This was a great way to begin my
hopefully very long summer.
This town and especially the Rio during the WSOP offer many
options to poker players and I just had to make a decision on exactly what I
wanted to get into next. I managed to walk aimlessly around the convention
center at the Rio until I ran into someone familiar, which is actually very
easy at this time of year. It’s Friday
afternoon at about 3pm and I’m supposed to play the Millionaire Maker at 11:00
am Vegas time in the morning. I decide to late register the 3pm deepstack bird,
which is a one day turbo structured event. This decision is more than likely
the first poor decision amongst many that end up leading to several more
catastrophic events as time goes by. I end up late registering this tournament
& bust just after 3rd break right about when the structure was
breaking down. I ended up opening/calling off my last 20bb with AQo and ran
into the buttons AKo. Now I am on raging tilt. I shouldn’t be, yet I hate
busting birds or making mistakes even if they seem standard. Jared Tendler has
described that in The Mental Game of Poker as Mistake Tilt. I proceed to go play cash & spew off about
2 buyins before I decide to say fuck it I’m going to the fucking room. I can’t
be anymore oi at this very moment. Once getting to the room I take a shower and
relax. After about an hour or so I begin to feel better.
Then a tumultuous turn of events took place, the downward
spiral of feelings such as loneliness and hopelessness began to rapidly unfold.
I proceeded to take the elevator downstairs in the mindset to go register for
the Millionaire Maker and to avoid the long lines that come with procrastinating
and being unprepared. As I walk from the masquerade tower in the Rio I have to
pass the pit & all the temptations that come along with it. In this aspect
I failed. I decided to play pai gow poker in which we all know should be a very
low variance slow pace game. It was $25 minimum bet, I decided to begin with a
relatively small amount & go from there. Things managed to go smoothly for
a while. Then whatever it was hit a nerve or triggered my anger in which sent
me into full blown fucking tilt. Tilting in the pit with significant money in
my pocket is never a good scenario. It could turn out very well or well should
we say not so fucking good, and the latter scenario almost always wins. It’s
just part of my nature in which I am trying to change. Now instead of playing 1
hand between $50-$75 dollars, I begin betting $200-$500 across multiple hands.
One can only see where this form of irrational thinking and lack of cognitive
processes leads to. I’m either coming up in a big way or these motherfuckers
are going to break me. I don’t give a fuck at this point. All rationality and
cognitive process is out the window. In the end the casino almost managed to
break me. I left with an undisclosed amount & my dignity. I proceeded to
meet several friends at the buffet and decompressed. Following my meal I began
to struggle with how I felt. My stomach wasn’t feeling so well. Matter in fact
I have not been feeling well since the moment we got here. This was going to
have a major effect in whether or not I decide to play the 11:00am flight of
the Millionaire Maker. I go back to my room and try to recuperate mentally
& physically. When I make the decision to go downstairs I make the decision
to skip the first flight of the Millionaire Maker and play cash instead. I
still had the ability to play the tournament if so desired yet with how my
stomach was feeling & my recent mental blow up I decided cash was best. So
I go buy into a $1/$2 pot limit Omaha game. I double my second hand after
getting it in with a wrap, Nut flush draw, two overs, and a pair if I remember
correctly. I decide to run it twice and I bink both draws on the turn. There
was quite a bit of dead money also in this pot so I then decide to take what I
have on the table and move up to 5/5 pot limit Omaha. I double my buyin in that
game roughly within an hour then decide to get up & take a break. I have
made a significant comeback in relation to my latest downfall. I needed this
boost in my confidence, I needed to repair the damage mentally and physically
that I had just engaged in hours before, this certainly qualifies.
The next few days are quite inconsequential and Monday June
2nd arrives without warning. As I walk into the Pavilion Room of the
Rio where cash games and sit & go land reside; I immediately run into a
good friend whom talks me into playing a deepstack tournament at Binion’s, I
reluctantly agree as I am unsure of the turnout for this event and if the
potential prize pool that will be worth risking a precious buyin for. My friend and I cab it from the Rio to
downtown Vegas, my first time I may add, to Binion’s Horseshoe, the original
home to the World Series of Poker. We arrive in the area in which the
tournament is being held and to our delight the tournament is more than a two table
sit and go. The noon tournament ended up being part of their deepstack series
was a $140 buyin, with 20k starting stacks, and 30 minute levels. By the time
late registration was over there were 177 players and just so happened to be
that Leif Force was the last to late register. I had managed to triple my
starting stack within the first six levels played. I couldn’t ask for a softer
table draw. As the field begins to dwindle, musical chairs are in full effect,
the number of tables naturally begins to decrease, and new faces begin to
appear. The joys of tournament poker!
The tournament has reached a critical stage of the beginning
of the tournament, 500/1000/100 and we are still 10 handed. After a series of
second best hands, my stack has dwindled down below starting stack for the
first time since I sat down. I am in the cutoff with A8ss and as it is folded
to me I open shove for my last 15bb. The big stack that happens to be in the bb
snap calls with KQo, and I am off to the races. The runout was more than kind
to me as it ran out Ax8Q8. I received a full and much needed double. From this
moment I never looked back. I managed to chip up to over 100k by the 3kbb level
where I find my biggest moment of the tournament. This kid two to my right has
been relatively active and his lines have been quite unorthodox or have made
zero sense. He opens to 7k at 3kbb 10 handed with over 100k back. Two spots to
his left I min 3b him to 11k with ATss with the intention of having to play
this hand to the river. He calls. QTxr. He checks and I continue for 15k into
31.5k. He calls. The offsuit ten peels on the turn. Fasten your seatbelts we
are about to get paid. This is literally the best card in the deck for my hand
versus his range. He checks & I snap rip 60k into 61.5k. The look on his
face was priceless as I don’t think he was expecting that. He has no idea I
just got there. After minutes in the tank he asks will I show if he folds I
whisper “No” and he trag’s in a call with KQo then begins to berate me. I
literally laugh out loud making it a point that he opened from early position
with KQo out flopped me, tried to trap & I got there. I reminded him the
importance of hand selection in a sarcastic & demeaning manor since he was
being such a fucking dick to begin with. I really didn’t give a fuck. Moral of
the story when the money went in I got it in good. I managed to crawl for the
next few levels as the structure began to spiral out of control. I had bled my
way down to about 7bb at 10kbb on the money bubble and by sheer variance I wake
up with KK in the big blind as a lady who had open raised after doubling three
hands prior opened and called off to my shove with 99. We hold!
I manage to win quite a few pots within the next several
orbits and just after my double I make the money which paid 18 spots. One
elimination after another the final table is finally within reach and
fortunately I have chips for this structure at least. I finally reach the
unofficial final table! It’s time to close!
The unofficial final table began ten handed and very quickly
it had made it down to six handed where for me the most pivotal handoff the
tournament takes place. I start the hand from the cutoff and look down at 66. I
have roughly 400k back at 20kbb I open to 40k with the intention that if the
big blind rips I am 100% calling. I get my wish and I tank call off for 20bb
effective. It’s a race, 66 vs AKo. I flop a 6 on a rather dry board for the
full double. It certainly feels good to win a flip at such a critical stage of
the tournament. After two quick eliminations we are down to 4 handed and I have
a little over 800k in chips of the 3.540 million in play. The same guy whom I
doubled thru earlier I shoved the button with 22 for 250k effective at 60kbb
and he snap called off from the small blind with AKo. The big blind folded. The
runout was rough yet ended in my favor. It ran out K8x29 and there were now 3
left. I now had roughly 1.375 million of the 3.540 million in play which is
roughly 38.8% of the chips in play. I don’t remember the exact payout structure
except that 1st place originally was $5250. After reviewing chip
chop numbers I was to receive like 3700 for first. I started out negotiating
that if I did not get $4k we were going to play it out. I ended up settling for
$3.8k and was happier than I could imagine at that given time. First actual non
nightly first place! It certainly felt great! I love the feeling of when my
back is against a wall. It gives me strength to concentrate on the quality of
my decisions, my actions, and my process. It gives all of this a deeper meaning
and allows it to take the primary role in which it was intended.
Tomorrow or what I should say it already is Tuesday June 3rd.
My flight is scheduled for 12:00 pm departure back to NOLA. I said fuck this I
spent too much time, money, & effort getting here so I decided to cancel my
flight. One of the most memorable & exciting decisions I have ever made. I
know that may sound simple to most, but for me it was a huge step forward! So I
had called southwest airlines and cancelled my flight, it was time to stay in
Vegas to do work! I meet up with the boss in sit and go land at about 9:00am to
do just that. At this point I have made some serious adjustments in my single
table game and it was time to put those changes into action. Needless to say
over the course of the next few days I had played roughly 30 single tables
& had a relatively rough outcome. I had cashed 3/30 with no outright wins.
Still a very small sample size relative & I still had some minor mistakes
and adjustments to make. Cash has been the only steady area for me so far this
summer and even there I have had my fair share of variance. So needless to say
the next few days are just real meh, rather uneventful, and unimportant to the
overall story so I will spare the details.
It has felt like I have gone non-stop since I have been in
Vegas. Basically I have. It is now time for me to take a few days off and they
could not have come at a better time. One of my closest friends in the poker
world, Kevin Eyster, is super deep in the $5k 6m no limit bracelet event. Sick
brag I know. The tournament had 541 entrants. The top 60 players would finish
ITM and earn a share of the $2,452,700 prize pool that was created. At this
juncture the tournament was now down below 25 players. This was becoming a
surreal moment in my career. This was also prior to one of my really good
friends Chris Hunichen being eliminated. My initial thoughts were let’s get
Huni & 1$D HU one fucking time! The $5k 6m is one of the most prestigious bracelet
events of the summer! This would be simply amazing to witness. Now as the field
dwindles & the night is coming to a close the field is bagging chips with I
believe 19 players remaining. Tomorrow they will battle it out on the felt for
an opportunity to play for the title & $622,998! I am speechless. I have no
idea what that feels like, yet I know one day it will become unconsciously competent.
Day 3 of the $5k 6m has finally come! The tournament will play down to the
final table and a winner will be crowned as the 2014 $5k 6m bracelet winner.
The blood is flowing through my veins. My mind questions “Is this real”? The
time has arrived; the tournament has reached the final table.
Players eliminated recently were in the likes of Greg
Merson, Griffin Benger, Kory Kilpatrick, & Pratyush Buddiga. The final
table is a pretty sick line up, but nothing that has not been navigated before.
The final table consisted of Kevin Eyster, Bryn Kenney, Andrew Lichtenberger,
Jeremy Kottler, Pierre Neuville, & David Borrat. The final table has its
standard variety of high level play, monster pots, & coolers. The first
memorable instance comes when the tournament reaches 4 handed play. Only Bryn
Kenney, Andrew Lichtenberger, Pierre Neuville, and Kevin Eyster remain left in
contention for the bracelet & $622,998. Pierre is in the small blind &
Kevin is in the big. Bryn folds the cutoff/UTG and Andrew folds his button.
Blind versus blind play is one of the most exciting dynamics of full ring or shorthanded
play yet will usually rarely occur until the latter stages of the tournament.
Effective stacks are roughly 1.6M at 50Kbb. The average is roughly 2,028,750M
and I believe Kevin has the chip lead at the moment with just under/over 3M
chips. There is only 8,115,000M in play. Pierre opens from the SB to like
120,000. Kevin 3b from the BB to roughly 350,000 but I can’t exactly remember
at the very moment. Pierre 4b piles and Kevin essentially snap called. Pierre
tables A7o versus Kevin’s TT. Kevin is in great shape to bring this show three
handed. Now I am going to provide a little back-story & the stage within
the stage. In Kevin’s section of the thunder-dome all of his closest friends
not currently engaged in another tournament are currently railing him along
with his girlfriend Cassie. We unfortunately have one cancerous tumor that in
the end I can’t speak for Kevin yet I feel that with the group that was in
attendance will whole heartedly agree with my forthcoming analysis. For
discussion purposes I will refer to this person as “Shadow” to reveal his
identity to those who have not heard the story. The moment Pierre and Kevin get
it in BvB, Shadow proceeds to say something below his breath yet loud enough
for someone in our section to hear. His words I cannot quote yet they are in
the vicinity of saying something like “Watch an ace come in the window.” This
obviously changes nothing in relation toward the outcome, yet I think it was
agreeable that we did not want to be around that type of negativity at this
point in time. He was asked to leave and finally someone blew up on him.
Whether he misunderstood what was going on I have no idea, but when he turned
around and told me to “Go fuck myself you fat piece of shit” I fucking lost it.
Read the opening to my prior blog. I have come to a point in my life where I
will no longer let someone disrespect me to my face or take advantage of me any
longer. I just won’t fucking deal with it. With that being said my rebuttal was
“If I ever see you outside of the Rio I will fucking bury your ass in the
fucking desert.” It wasn’t a threat nor is it a declaration yet it was me
standing up for myself and I will never apologize for that. I did what I felt
was necessary at the time without giving it too much thought. This person will
spend their life fading me. Glhf bud!
I inherently get 86’ed by Rio security for the night and at
this point I am not happy about it. I am a very large man by nature and this is
one of those times I could not escape that reality. I took the consequences but
not willingly and without explanation. My phone was completely dead and the
internet was so fucked up beyond recognition without being extorted for
$14.00/day for hotel internet that I could not follow what was going on online.
I had no way of receiving updates on Kevin’s progress. This was unbelievably fucking
tilting. As the night progressed I finally decided to charge my phone and I was
made aware by text messages that Kevin and Pierre had bagged chips. Their heads-up
battle for the bracelet will continue tomorrow. This must have been a sign from
God that I was destined to see Kevin realize all of his hard work and struggles
will finally payoff. This is the moment that as poker players we all dream
about. It’s what we work our entire lives for, this one moment, the opportunity
to seize everything we have ever wanted. He captured that moment and will
forever be immortalized in WSOP history! This was the most surreal moment of my
poker career in a moment that I was not personally involved in playing wise.
The feelings of joy and gratitude just flooded my soul. The fact that I was
just able to witness something so great and unfathomable has made me realize
how blessed I am. Some work their entire lives and never get to realize a
moment like this. That is how I will define that moment for you.
Just to be here, to experience the World Series of Poker,
was a blessing in its own. Some people never get to experience it so for that I
am truly grateful. I can’t even remember how many more days I spent in Vegas it
was all a blur. I ended up booking my ticket home and began planning my return
trip for the main event which was merely only two weeks away. It was a much
needed two weeks’ worth of relaxing and even some life changing events occurred.
Till next time. Enjoy!
