my WSOP experience

[f3lix]

Ladies and Gentlemen of Nubblies, there are times in each of your lives when you will discover true happiness in the form of something that you like to do. When you reach the pinnacle event of this acitivity, it is extremely rewarding, as some of you already know. With that said, I'd like to share with you a day that set the bar for me in the activity that I enjoy doing; poker.

It was about 10 pm the preceding night when I decided to go back to my hotel and get a good night's sleep for an event that would set the course for my entire future playing poker. It was at this time that I realized my event was 14 hours away and that I didn't need to go back yet. The amusement I gained out of this, is with 95% of jobs out there, you are on a set schedule that runs somewhere around 9am to 5pm. Poker is 24/7 and is whenever, wherever, and however much you want it for. The freedom is endless. After sitting at a table for a few more hours, I gathered myself together and headed back to my hotel for an arrival at 12:30 am. After setting the room alarm and my cell phone alarm, I was off to sleep.

At 10 am the next morning, I found myself ready for such an exciting day. I showered and put my T-shirt and shorts on. I gathered my WSOP ID card and event registration card and headed downstairs to the breakfast buffet. This day would not be ruined by greasy food of diahretic potential, so I ate fruit, a small helping of scrambled eggs, toast, and orange juice. What certainly wasn't worth the $12.99 paid, I set my sights on the taxi cab that awaited my request to head to the Rio.

Upon arriving, I found myself over 40 minutes early. I headed to the Full Tilt poker hostpitality tent to talk to Perry Friedman and Clint Beard. Discovering that Perry was going to be in the tourney, I smiled knowing it would be fun playing with numerous professionals in a tournament. What I didn't expect, was the number of players that felt the $1000 Stud/Eight or Better tourney was calling them, too. I made my way to my seat at 11:45 am; 15 minutes until starting time. I looked around at the sea of tables and then it hit me. There were 50 tables in my area and many more in another area that was preparing for the tournament. The largest Stud 8/b tourney I'm aware of had around 250 players. This looked huge. The players began showing up minutes and seconds before the tourney began. Then I heard the words... Shuffle up and Deal!

My table was full of nameless faces, excluding the 1996 champion of the event sitting one seat to my right. As I watched the chips move around from player to player, I got into my first hand. My concealed jacks with a door card showing a 4 gave me a great position to play in; players would think I had a low draw going when I raised. On 4th street came my third jack. I checked (showing slight frustration) and the betting began. I simply called all the way to the 6th card being dealt, when I decided it was time to start raising it up. With four players in the hand, my trip jacks held for the high and I jumped into the chiplead at the table. At the first 2 hour break, I found myself with 1600 of the 8000 chips at the table, carrying a nice chiplead at my table. The next 2 hour segment was not as pleasant.

Over levels 3 and 4, I saw our past champion soar into the chiplead, taking about 30% of the table's chips into his possession. Another player at the table was fortunate to see his lone pair of Queens hold up three times against numerous lows and numerous opponents. It was against this player that I had gained about 300 chips earlier. It was his turn to fire back. My betting pattern showed that I had a made low hand, along with a possible flush. The guy kept calling me, and I was a bit scared, as I had a low draw, straight draw, AND a flush draw. The 7th card was a golden ticket; my flush hit. The man said, I know I have the high and that you have the low, so I'll just check. I then realized...he had a flush, too. My ten kicker wasn't going to hold, and he would call a bet anyway. I checked behind him to find that I lost 1/3 of my stack to his bigger flush.

Within the next hour, 3 players from my table were busted, and I saw my stack move back to about 1200 in chips (started with 1000). A very large stacked man showed up to fill the seat of a departed fellow. This man was your typical whigger, sporting aparrel similar to FUBU. I noticed that he loved raising and reraising with three low cards to start, and he proclaimed himself "A pyschotic razz player". Oh boy Soon after, I found myself with AK in the hole and a J showing. I raised. It folded around to him, in which he questioned "Raising with a jack?" I just stared at him as he reraised with his dinky little 5 showing. At this point, I put him on 3,7 in the hole, no idea why, but that's what I did. It folded back to me, where I called. the next round of cards were dealt, in which I hit an Ace for AAKJ and he had himself a Jack. Here, I made the biggest and costliest mistake of the tournament. I checked. What I figured was, that a bet would push him out, and I wanted him drawing to the low hand. I don't know what the fuck I was thinking He checked right behind me. 5th street was a nightmare, as I hit a 9 and whigger hit a 5. Now he has 5J5 showing and I fear he has trip 5s. I check, he bets, I call. 6th street turned all my fears into reality. He catches another Jack and I get an 8. He has xx5J5J and I have (AK)JA98. I am buried, drawing to 12 outs, unless he hits or has already hit a full house. I am frustrated that he has caught these cards, especially since he (what I think) started with a low draw. I am sickened that I let him see his pair of 5s for free. The problem with this hand, is that if I go to the river and call down to a losing hand, I will have lost 2/3rds my stack on this hand alone. I cannot make that call knowing I could be drawing dead. I fold. My stack never recovered. Luckily I was soon moved to another table.

I get thrown into the same table as Perry Friedman and Alan Boston. Right next to my table is Marcel Luske causing a frenzie of noise at his table. I begin enjoying the tournament at this point. At this table, I am in survival mode, going in 3 times surviving 60%-40% hands each time. This run saw the elimination of Perry Friedman and two other players. My final hand at the table finds the wheel (an A-5 straight) to scoop a man out of most of his chips. I get moved into a new table.

I sit down and see David Sklansky to my immeadiate left, followed by Kirill Gerasimov to his left. Now THIS is what I came to Vegas for I've been riding my short stack for about 3 hours now, and it is soon to be dinner time. I survive another all-in when Sklansky fails to take me out with a brick 7th street and my fetal, never improving pocket 10s held. Then my table takes on a new face. Men "The Master" Nguyen. fuck. On the last hand before dinner, I am dealt (10,A)K. The man to my right calls the bring in, and I raise. It folds around back to the man on my right. He calls. Fuck...oh well...maybe he'll miss... 4th street delivers him an Ace and me a Jack. I've got a gut shot straight draw going and he checks to me with chips in hand ready to call my bet. He says, "Go ahead and bet." My scare cards are over and he's hitting a low hand, I can't bet. I check behind him in which he catches a third low card and bets into me when my 5th card is a 9. I must fold, as I could be in much worse shape than what shows. I show him my hand and lay it down. He gives me a look of bizarre confusion and asks, "What were you playing that for?" I described that all my outs were live. He returns, "You had no pair and now low draw, you were in very bad shape to begin with." I ask what I could have done, and he says to come find him after the tourney and he'll talk to me about how to play the game. This is quite baffling to me, as I have played this game for over 14 months and have won numerous tournaments as well as hundreds of dollars at cash tables playing my method. BUT, I am always willing to learn and improve. After dinner, I find him and ask him how I should be playing. He replies the key to the game is having a strong starting high hand, or 3 to a low to start. flush and straight draws are worthless. You must guarantee yourself half the pot before the 4th card comes out. I had never looked at it this way before.

Kirill and Sklanksy have been busted out and we are down to about 150 of the 600 that started the tourney, still 100 out of the pay. A friendly lady sits down in Kirill's place. About 1/2 hour later, I get (JK)A suited and raise, to receive FIVE callers! I'm already thinking fuck when I get two. I bricked on the fourth card and the bets and raises began, leaving me in the dust. I tell the man next to me that I had that hand to start, and he looks at me again and says, I wouldn't even call with that hand. The lady overhears and asks what I had. After hearing the hand, she gives the look of drinking sour milk, with an appropriate sound effect of gross. I am stunned by this. After watching a few more hands, I realize that everybody at the table is raising with 3 to a low and playing these same hands and styles that the man to my right is. Well I'll be damned.

After surviving on a short-stacked, and obviously for a reason, I finally get a rush of cards that finds Men Nguyen and I splitting pots out from two different players. I now have my biggest stack of the tournament... a whopping 2500 in chips, with the average around 5k. I have a little big of breathing room, but not much. My stack gets anted down to 2100 chips when I looked down and see (25)3. YES!!! I raise, 3 callers. All show low cards, including Men Nguyen. 4th street gives me a 4, and everybody but Men misses their low. Men shows a 7,4. I bet, he raises, I reraise, he reraises and we agree to just put all the chips in, since we had lost track of how many had occurred. We turn over our cards. My 2,3,4,5 is actually a favorite over Men's 4,4,7,7. Any A or 6 gives me the nut low and a likely scoop of the pot. Then 5th street comes...I get a Q and Men gets a 7. Motherfucker!!! Now I cannot win the high and Men took another one of my outs. I am now looking at 13 outs. 6th street comes, Men gets ANOTHER SEVEN. QUAD SEVENS! I get a King. 12 outs and one card...what's going on here. The 7th card is dealt down, Men turns it over...an Ace...I know it's over...I turn over my 10 for the whole table to see it with me. I smile and shake Men's hand. He, of course, is all smiles, too. After eight grueling hours of concentration and a 130th place finish, my first ever World Series of Poker is over. What a dramatic way to go, especially considering I was favorite to win when all the chips went in and could have done some damage had I taken the pot down.

Men Nguyen went on to get 7th place in the tournament. He is just as commical in person as he is on TV. After adjusting my playing style to when the man to my right suggested, I went on to terrorize cash tables online, upon returning home. I can only hope to find him one day in the future and thank him for his guidance, as he has already made me back the $1k it cost me to learn the information. The experience was a positive one and very enjoyable throughout. I was pleased to not get busted early on like so many did. I was pleased to get to play with some of the greatest players in the world. All of it was a tremendous experience, one that I will never forget.

[Repugnant Abomination]

Awesome post dude. Glad you had such a great time.

No shit, that was a great post.

Very exciting.

[Orgazmo]

Unreal.

Great post.

[Ironic Mustache]

Tilt.

[Ugly Bastard]

Nice

-Ugly Bastard