Day 2 main event !

(a rare smile)

after cruelly busting out of the sunday million on stars, my hope lies with
the main event ...

Entering day2 with 21k , the starting table draw and early hands are going to be crucial.
Luckily I get hit by the deck, with a good range of raising hands, tho not getting
much action, but still good enuff to get to 35k within 30minutes, before my
unfortunately soft table is broken. The new table has a bunch of big stacks and I
get re-raised str8t away after raising with 99. Except he re-raises the minimum,
confident he has Aces, I call, getting the right price to hit a set and bust him. The
9 doesnt come on the flop, he bets I fold, and sure enuff he shows AA. I pick up KK, and someone limp re-raises me, and I go with it, he has AJ, i double up to about 40ish.
Then not so long after i have KK again and since everyone plays back at me, I double
up to 80ish. Which is average, and plently of chips.


After this nothing goes right and i strugggle to win any pots. I dribble down to 50k,
get moved to another table, try and keep the pots small go down to 20k get up to 50k.
And head to the dinner break in not great shape, but still not out of it.

Sitting around at 45k. I raised to 6k with KQ, and the i get 2 callers. Hmmm.
The Flop comes K-5s-7s, I bet 13 and i get the caller from the blind. The turn is
the 9s, and he just pushes all in. I have 21k, having put 1/2 my chips in there is 67k
and it costs me 21k to call 3 to 1. I also have the King of spades, and i have ruled out the
nut flush. I am still worred out about a smaller flush, tho with blinds 1 and 2k , it will
be difficult to come back. And i still might be ahead as he doesnt have AK or a set i
feel. I call , he turns over 4-6 spades, so i need another spade that doesnt come.
Perhaps i should have push all in on the flop, but he would have called anyway prolly,
tho this was the best way of winning the pot as if he misses the turn , i push , and
i can prolly win the pot. And he folds with one card to come.

Tho its not to be, as my head is spinning and i get up busted out of the main event,
knowing that perhaps it wasnt my day, still the standard of play was pretty bad, so I had
to hang in and maximise my opportunities. Disapointed I leave through the side door,
into the carpark that is the rio, in shock that i busted out ....

Day off

My day off is somewha a bit of mess after coming back to ballys at 8am, and i decide
i want to play the Sunday million on stars and a few other tourneys , After a few hours
im still in the sunday million and busted out of the rest. Anyway with 250 ppl left
i am the chip leader ! I play well , and i get good cards at the right times, picking
off ppls ridiculous plays, and holding it all the way to the final table. Then I have AQ,
and perhaps mistakenly re-raise a tight guy who also has a lot of chips. He calls, and
then check raises me on the K-x-x flop, i fold and he shows KK. Now 2nd in chips, i
have AA in a few hands, and i re-raise a late pos raise out of the blinds. He calls.
The flop comes Q high, i bet big he goes all in. And my aggressiveness a few hands
earlier has paid off, he has KQ. But he spikes a miracle K on the river ! I miss out
on reclaiming the chip lead, and crippled i lose a 60-40 to bust in 7th. The lucky
guy goes onto win a 150k and i get 21k. Dire but the main event is on the next day,
perhaps i will be lucky then ??

After Day 1 : Rumble in the rio ...

So with a day off inbetween my next day in the main event, i have time to wind down
after a long 12 hour day. Ed suggests that we go the bar in the Rio casino, also
dubbed as the hooker bar. So we are sitting down at the bar , its about 4am. On Ed's
left is this English drunk guy, who has busted out of the main event about 12 hours
earlier and has been drinking non-stop since then. He looks a mess, but he is still
going strong, tho his diction has somewhat gone out the window. On my right is some
random girl, tho i dont really pay much attention. I get out my phone, and then this
girl starts talking to me about it, asking some questions. It seems a little bit bizzare
to me, anyway i turn back to Ed and start talking to him. He says you know that
girl is a hooker your talking to. I say 'ofcourse', but really i mean 'ofcourse not'. One
my mind is not thinking straight , and the reason why its called the hooker bar, is
because hookers are hanging out there. Then i look across at the girl and it starts
to make sense. Then i look further along and some "other" girl is talking to a guy,
suddenly i realise, there are hookers everywhere ! Its kind of like that scene in police
academy, of if you go into a bar in sydney and you see that there are no girls in the
bar, and people seem to have a strange attraction to wearing black leather pants,
and then bang , the blue oyster music is playing.

Anyway since i realise the situation, i go back to drinking my corona with ed, enter
ST. ST is a random english guy 2 seats down, who is about 45, and thinks he
is James Bond. He also thinks hes the funniest coolest guy around, and has the
dress sense of an Armani model. He is actively talking to the hooker#1 . She however
is a good judge of character, and can sense that he is a douchebag, however
if hookers ruled out talking to the douchebags they would have to talk to themselves
and other hookers primarily, which is not so profitable. Even then she manages to
determine deicde she has standards. So ends up talking to Ed and I. We find it
hilarious that the guy with the most ridiculous shirt is giving tips to others about fashion.
Hooker#1 leaves , which leaves us talking to ST. Drunk english guy has bought us
some shots of pitrone, and is now dribbling out of his mouth. It is at this high point
he attempts to talk to some other "girls" at the par. Now ST has cornered us and is
reguiling us with stories of how wonderful he is. Turns out he is a poker player, and
has also busted out of the main event. Tho apparently he is some tournament specialist,
even tho i dont seem to recognise his online name. He tells us how in he was in vegas
and he ended up inviting himself along with a dad and his daughter who has turned 21
at the bellagio. Anyway the dad ends up leaving him with his daughter who end up
together for the whole weekend, and the dad picks up some random asian girl. Interesting
21st birhtday present, leaving with the biggest douchebag in vegas.

And then it become apparent what a douche he is , he starts insulting the girls around
the bar, calling them chubby checker, and telling them to lay of the donuts, and how
they are going to crush them with his american thighs (i guess a reference to the
led zepplin song), and telling this black hooker, shes a nigger and all sorts of other things.
Then he starts claiming that the girls would have to pay him, if he was to sleep with
1/2 of them.

Its at this point we challenge him to try and get hooker #1 for $200 who is currently
charging $500 tho a bit desperate coz no one has any money at this bar, tho we figure
even shes not this desperate. He claims she is going to come back and he is going to get
herfor $200.

In the meantime while we're waiting he plays 1 hand of blackjack, never have
i hoped the dealer wins, but miraculously he hits Bj ! Shit. Anyway we wait and wait,
and she doesnt come back. We claim he has lost, and he basically admits he has, but
he wont pay us ($200) ! Ed seems pretty pissed off, i kinda expected it. Then he says,
he will play bj , and if he wins his hand he will pay. We say the 2 are not connected. He
tells us to fk off basically, Even tho he has $5k on him. He then says he will fight
us out in the car park , and if we win we can keep the $5k. Ed is very much in favour
of this, but its 7am, and even tho beating up an english douche in the car park of the rio,
would be satisfying, I dont think its worth while.

So we see what will happen at the BJ tables. Unfortunately he starts badly , and
within 10 minutes hes down 2.5k , meanwhile we're givinghim shit for misplaying his
hands, he is getting more annoyed and althought the chanceof getting our money is
diminishing, this is still entertaining. Then in one shoe, it all turns around, and from
a 2.5k loser hes a 3k winner ! Fk! We get our money, $100 each, and leave the rio at 8am, confident we have met the biggest douche ever. Perhaps my biggest regret , in my
vegas trip might not have been taking him up on the offer to rumble in the rio.

Pre WSOP main event ...

Pre main event practice. ed and i decided to play in
the venetian ($500) tournament, i figured it would
be good practice before the main event as it was a
seepstack event. I got off to a good start from 10k
up to 35k, then everything went wrong, I lost
a lot of races, and busted out 1/2 way thru.

This wasnt the worse thing, as bluff was hosting a
party at the saphire club. I guess most poker parties
seem to be at strip clubs. Got in time for free
drinks, apaprently some stripper dont do coke
contrary to popular belief. Im not sure why ppl
think i am some source of drugs when im out.

Anyway we decided to go back to see Ed in the venetian
and try and get into Tao. At least saphire provide limousine
service to where u want to go. Unfortunately there were
no limos so after complaining a bit, we got the bus ,
and had an english guy who is in an oi band , a fusion
of rock and punk rock and lots of ois ! He was pretty
entertaining, and their band is playing in vegas, might
be worth checking out.

At venetian, ed busts out, but we deal with the most
annoying ppl serving drinks who insist our IDs are
no good, then the security guard who can give you
clearance has lost his ability to laugh, and is a complete
douchebag.

(security guard looking at id)
Friend (who is 35): be careful the ink is strill dry (ie its a fake licence)
security guard just stared at my friend for 20 seconds
Friend: Im only joking
Security guard: we dont joke around here
(more staring)

What is wrong with these ppl ? Anyway ed busts out
in a classic 64 v J4 sb bb conforontation . Try and
get into Tao.

Ok tao has a dress code, and 3 of us have collared
shirts and 2 dont. No shops are open that sell shirts,
so we have to pull the switcheroo. ie. ppl walking
out with collared shirts to give ppl waiting outside,
while ppl inside are shirtless . Tao is pretty
quiet downstairs, tho im the only one who manages
to walk upstairs, is it because im black and they cant see
me ?

head home 6am , with a day to rest b4 the main event ...

Main event !

Day 1 of the main event, has arrived, the moment ive been waiting for !
Well actually after being here for so long i thought may be when
the main event came id actually a bit blassiez. But nope , I was
actually excited and desperate to play really good ! I was almost
a little bit nervous before. So far it hasnt been the best wsop 3 cahses
out of 18 is ok but not great. And this is definately my best event.

First hand of the day and I win ! Ok things looking good. But unfortunately
i dont really know what happened somehow my chips disapeared. I
would re-raise the button with ak then bet and hed call, and forced
to slow down Id lose a pot. Then someone was bluffing or were they ,
i couldnt hit a flop. And oh my god im down to 3600 chips, starting
with 20k. The key hand came up where I called a raise with JJ.
On a flop fo k-4-2. I called the flop bet, The turn he checked, and i checked,
and on the river k-4h-2-7h-2h, he puts me all in. I wasnt sure where
i was i thought his body language was that I was ahead, tho i couldnt
bring myself to calling there. And i folded like a little girl. I figure
i can make a stand on my own terms

I pick up Aces slow play them , win a ok pot for my stack, get up to 6k, then
last hand b4 level 2 all in with KK against some guy thinking
i was making a move , he had 10-10 and up to 12k. Then
i have 10h-10d , i raise and i get a caller. Flop comes
8c-7c-4c. He bets 1200 i call. Figure no point allowing him to
re-raise me with a draw and overs on that flop. So i call, then
the turn comes 9d. I check again, he best 4500, 1/2 my stack
and i just much the 10-10s, turns out he had 9-9 with 9 of clubs,
now i felt good ! Raise with qj flop qj9 and someguy makes a move
with aj and i double past 20k ! back in it.

From there i get moved to a new table, where there are 2 crazy
old men. Standard crazy old men moves:
1. blinds 200-400 , open raise for 20k
2. 6k in the pot, bets 500 etc etc

I get hammered by one of the old men on my preflop raises, but
im winning a lot pots, and i just march all the way to 65k value
betting and slowplaying hands in all the right spots.

Then the hand that ruined my day in the last level has to come !
Blinds 400-800, 100 ante. Crazy old man limps cut off, solid
guy limps button i call sb with 8c-9c , BB (berry johntson, 1986
main event champ ) checks.

Flop Kc-10c-4c. (4200) in the pot) Flop is checked around,
planning to raise against crazy old guy. River Ad. A good
card for me, now someone can make Aces up or a str8t.
I lead out and bet 2800, Berry calls, crazy old man pushes
all in for +25K. Solid guy folds. I think about it a bit worried
about berry, but theres so many hands he can call with there,
and im 99% sure crazy old guy has aces up or str8t. I call
with flush. Then berry pushes all in. Now theres over
a 100k in the pot, and its 10k for me to call. Im very sure he
has the nut flush but i call hoping for a set, or may be a smaller
flush tho very unlikely. He shows the nuts, and my day
is ruined.

I hang in to the end of the day , with 20,700 chips. And
a lot of work to be done in day 2 .

4th of july fireworks

4th of July

Yesterday was the 4th of July in Vegas and the US of A.
Which means fireworks and crazy celebrations ?! I heard
that the casinos let of fireworks from the tops of the buildings,
and its amazing . But that wasnt the case this year, as it
wasnt on for some reason. Anyway I learnt that Canada
day, which has no significance is on July 1st and is a poor
a cousin to July 4.

Rewind a few hours, afternoon, I was playing the stars tourney
($320 Wednesday) got off to a decent start, someone told
me how terrible I was, which is always encouraging, seriously
I like people to tell me how bad I play online from time to time,
it means Im gambling somewhat. Then i realise im suppose to
meet some people earlier than anticipated and need someone to
take over. I sms frage, magically like a genie he appears on msn
and willingly obliges. Its lunch time over there, he says hes
hungry, so i call up beyond India (restaurant in adelaide that delivers)
Find out they dont deliver unless u order $60 at lunchtime, oh well
what the heck order some food attempt to pay for it. Then i speak
to him on msn, and he says hes not at home. Fk it ! Tho luckily
he turns out he was joking. So hopefully he enjoyed it, i followed
his progress a bit, tho he busted out 3/4 in. I think i would make a good
boss , look after the employees, may be...

HEad out to dinner at Pho So 1, a vietnamenese place , in what seems
to be little vietnam in vegas, we are the only non vietnames eating here,
which is a good sign. Pho , chilli chicken, vietnamese beer etc etc. All
good stuff, and super cheap.

As we are leaving we see fireworks (small ones) being shot up in the
distance, hey that would be cool if we got fireworks and set it off in
the rio carpark ? Turns out there is a small fireworks store just
up ahead. Like a kid in a candy store, years of repressed pyrotechnic
urges overflow, and I ask them for "The Big Bang : Maximum Charge"
A massive box of fireworks worth $500, (illegal in seventeen states,
perhaps) Unfortunately they dont stock it, but we get a few other
boxes of fireworks. Head back to the rio, our voice of reason explains
that perhaps setting them off in the rio would be a bit ridiculous,
so we drive to this empty lot in vegas, one of many. Are we walking
over buried bodies in the ground may be.

Open the box, discover that there are no rockets which is disapointing,
but still enuff strange flashing lights , bruning fizzing objects, that
you can throw in the air to have some fun. Lightly burn my hands
a little, and wend up throwing up a whole bunch of fireworks together
and set them off, which results in a series of bright flashing light,
loud sounds, and a small fire. The only residential place within
seeing distance at least hasnt called the police. a few coronas
and a couple of boxes of fireworks later, we search for rockets
to shoot up in the air. The country redneck fireworks guy refuses
to sell us any and says they are banned in this state, but u can
got to these other places, which wont be open at midnight, and
our 45minutes away in an indian reservation. Damn.

Head back to rio, go with a friend to the Wynn , damn the wynn
is nice. Its all new and done up. Get up some more beers,
head out to some poker party at a strip club, hosted by K&J jett.
Whom we saw earlier in the night whilst buying fireworks. Anyway
we get there, and our friend tells us some rapper pacman, was involved
in some shooting earlier this year here. Which is understanable coz
it feels pretty deserted. Well this place is pretty pretty bad, in that
no one is really here. The 4 of us almsot double the non-stripper crowd.
I guess they have no friends, or they already left, or there was
another shooting. At least the first round of drinks is free and its
free to get in. The first stripper uses the pole more to lean on to
support herself instead of dancing. Pole leaning, may be thats the
new craze in the US. Tho the next girl is ridiculous amazing at pole
dancing, and im not easily impressed. I dont know what the
terms for the moves are but, apache helicopter descending at high
speed could have been one of them.

In the corner the husband of the couple that organised the party
is getting a lap dance whilst the wife is sitting right next to the stage,
putting $1 bills into the stripper, that was unexpected. But why
organise a party there if your not going to be into it, tho next time
invite some friends. Steve Z famous poker player and bookie, had
a party the night b4 with a 1000 ppl , why didnt we go to that...

By the end of the night, we are the only ones there, and as a result
the strippers descend on us like seagulls, and its not even the "good"
strippers as they have left. In fact my friend has to pay $5 for a stripper
to get off his leg, as the pressure from her weight is like a tourniquet
cutting off circulation. At least they have wheelie chairs which you
can spin around and scoot around the floors . But by the end enuff
is enuff. Tho one of the black strippers knew where adelaide was,
I was very impressed, no one knows where adelaide was. But then
this was the converstation the same stripper had with my french
friend during a lap dance.
S: So where are you from ?
B: France
S: oh thats nice, thats part of the UK isnt it
B: No its France
S: Oh france , but its still the UK
B: No we are seperated by water, we are seperate
countries, and we actually hate each other
S: Ah, yeh I was never that good at maths
B: You mean georgraphy ?
S: yeh thats right.

COmedy Gold !

Then one of the guys who was there, left
and came back 20mins later saying he was mugged by
some drug guy using a box cutter (retractable razor) but gave
him his decoy wallet (which he always carries). Then a stripper
said oh your friend is here, he was in the private room for the
last 20minutes. What a douchebag.

Head back to wynn for another drink, back to ballys. Ed crashes
over , he has lots of famous ppl on his phone , especially poker ppl.
Non poker ppl include tobey macquire and corey feldman , but
poker ppl include hellmuth , chan etc etc. Ring up hellmuth, but
they all go to voice message, he has a very ghey message, which
goes on for about 2 minutes about how he is playing in the wsop.
Ring up Jonny, his is very short , leave a message
"Did you have it, Johnny ?"

Which at 5am after a few drinks seems funny, fall asleep, non-poker
days seem more fun :)