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weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Man we're playing good these days. It's the end of day two and I have the second most chips. 393k. It's been a fun journey getting here.
With what happened this weekend I was way more anti-social than I usually am. I usually answer too honestly when people ask me "How are you?" I didn't really want to talk about it - mostly becuase I have zero clue what these emotions are going to look like. I spent every break in the car. This definitely helped my focus, although I think that I came off as a bit nittier.
The structure in this tourney is like the best ever. There's a big jump next level, going from 1k-2k/300 to 1500-3k/400, but other than that they're all there starting at 50-100 with 50k behind. Super deep. So, I develop a super lag image, part cards, part the general nittiness of tourney players this deep. Unknown raises to 700 at 100-200 with about 35k behind. I flat A T , and we see a flop heads up. I flop a flush draw, he bets, I raise, he calls, turn the nuts, he check calls, river still the nuts, he check-calls all-in. That was nice.
Around that point this dude named Mike next to me proposed to Howard Lederer that he be given 10-1 that I would have more chips at the end of day 1 than Billy Baxter, who ended day 1a with the lead at 167k. After some discussion Howard accepted laying $5k at 10-1. I got in the action for $500 as did Greg "FBT" Mueller, who already had laid 10k to howard at 5-1 that somebody would eclipse Billy's stack by the end of days play. In the end seven players did, Howard ships $1800 to Greg, but since I wasn't one of them, Mike and I ship $500 to Howard. I ended with a pretty crappy stack at 62k considering that I had 105k at the end of level 4. I admit, I spewed some off in level 5.
After that several of us hung out at the Fontana Bar, and I found myself in a prop bet with Leia. My friend Kimberly was playing $1 video poker on a $20 Bellagio ticket that I bought off B for $20 at the Venetian... sigh... and she had AKQJx on the first draw. The AJ were suited. We debated that holding the AJ was better than holding the AKQJ. She says, no way, you hold all four even if you have three suited. No way I say, bet you a thousand, we clarify that I am saying on an AKQJx board with three to a royal it is more +ev to draw to the royal and she took the draw one to broadway side. The judge was the basic strategy card in the gift shop. Her, Dutch, and myself marched into the gift shop. It read basically, do the first one of these things that you have to draw, starting at like 4 to a royal. Bout five notches down, it says "3 to a royal." Not good enough, she appeals to David Sklansky, he verifys, ship it.
"I don't have the cash."
Hmm. Said I'd be paid today. Nope.
Anyways, so I go to Joey Bartholdi's place, and a bunch of us have a good ol time hanging out. We wrapped it up with a good hour long jam session with Dutch on the piano, me and Joey switching in and out between drums, persussion, electric and acoustic guitar. Goooood times.
Coming into today I had two names at my table, both to my right. Daniel Negreanu in the 10 seat and Eli Elezera in the 1 seat. I was thrilled about this, but this blog is getting enough traffic now that I'm not going to talk about why. The players that I had to my left were excellent spots to have also. Anyways, I don't play a dang hand the entire first level. I picked up the blinds and antes once opening from UTG... but I was basically a nit. Eli remind me so several times. So, come into level two with 55k, everybody thinks I'm a nit, and I get up to 100k without seeing a showdown or having a hand that I could take to showdown. Now everybody thinks I'm nuts, Eli (who I have a lot of history with and generally never believes me) opens, I flat, somebody else calls, we see a flop. Oh yeah, I have KJ. Flop K J X . Eli bets 9500, I snap make it 30k + cheese (small chips), other guy folds, Eli tanks, basically puts me in, I make sure on chip counts and we get it in. He has AxK . Turn 3 . Please don't... They didn't.
[x] 206k.
Move on to level eight. I'm loving life, playing pots, making reads, things are good. Negreanu opens his standard 2.5x to 2500, I 3x + cheese quickly with A K , tight old guy on the cutoff makes it 20k... bout 2.5x, leaving himself with 45k behind or so. Daniel folds, I feel like he's on the weak side of his range and is tight enough to fold QQ, so I jam it in. He tanks for about four minutes, getting almost 2-1 on his call, gets the clock called on him, I am completely convinced that he was about to fold jacks face up to me and I am loving life. I feel like I'm on a stone freeroll. He says, "okay, I call," and turns up two kings! LOL... I felt slowrolled. As the day progressed I realized that my read on him was accurate that he was on the weak side of his range, but I also realized that his range there is precicely KK and AA. Whoops... This is something that Daniel spoke with me about - how Daniel realized how horrible of a play my shove was while I felt it was brilliant, and it is purely his experience and talent reading live players. Part of me wants to argue random berzerko factor, random screw this kid he three-bets all the time I have jacks I'm re-raising factor... but, I really think he's right. And he was proven right as the game went on. He folded QQ to one of my three bets in the last level in the same exact situation.
End level with about 160k.
Level nine, play a bunch of goofy pots, end level with 130k.
Level ten. Weeeeeeeeeee. K, so... this is how this got started. I have about 130k, open with A Q , Daniel flats in the small blind and covers me by about 20k, Eli ships it from the big blind for like 7x to 35k or so... yeah, we were playing 1-2k. I see this one coming a mile away and make it 90k to go with my AQ, basically shoving and obviously isolating. Daniel tanks for a long time, folds AK (weeeeee), Eli has 88, I flop two spades, turn an ace and it holds.
About ten minutes later I play a super sick pot with Phil Galfond. He's "OMGClayAIken" and basically one of the sickest NL Hold'em players around. I open with K J , guy to my left calls, Phil calls, everybody else folds. Flop Kx6 7 . I c-bet like 12k into the 18k pot, Phil calls. Turn, 3 . I check, Phil bets 27k, I call. Turn A , and I LOVE this card, I check, Phil bets 47k, I tank for a good two minutes making sure that I really do love the card, cause I know he's aggro enough to bet the naked A on the turn, but after replaying the hand (plus the voice was screaming CALL!), I slid 47k into the pot. He quickly turned over his cards, the T 9 . Ship ship!
From there I just put on a clinic. I'm so proud of my sick run because I didn't have any real lucky spot or set-up/cooler spot - I manufactured/got lucky on a win with the AQ over Eli's 88, but got max value from the hand on Phil and was accumulating the small pots nicely also. I made a bunch of hands, got real good value on them, avoid some dirty spots, and made one sick fold vs. Daniel that was reported wrong. He opens at 1k-2k for 4800, guy to my right calls, I call, Phil makes it 23k, Daniel calls with about 80k more behind, and I call. Phil and I are both about 380k deep at this point. Flop T9x rainbow, checks around. Turn a brick, Daniel checks, I bet 46k, Phil folds (said he has AK), Daniel moves all in for like 38k more. LOL. I was getting something ridic like five or six to one to call, but there was no way my 88 was good with the way the action played out there. I was convinced that Daniel had better than one pair and was right - he had a set, either the tens or nines.
So... I'm feeling great. End of day two 2nd in chips... 393k. gogogogogo!
Peace and good luck,
Devo
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