A Morale Boost to Start 2025

The Wynn Signature Series started a week ago Monday. The $200K tournament started last Thursday. There were three first days (Day 1A, Day 1B, and Day 1C). I “took four bullets” meaning I entered the tournament four times, once on Day 1A, twice on Day 1B, and once on Day 1C. Yesterday, Day 1C, I finally made Day 2 today at noon. Here are some highlights.

Day 1A

I made it far by winning occasional hands and folding the rest. As the field got smaller, I was able to bring my stack up to about double the average stack. Late in the evening, there were 45 players left; 18 would be in the money and go onto Day 2. I felt pretty optimistic but then I lost a few big pots in a row and busted out at #30.

Day 1B

I entered the tournament late, with a stack below average, so when a short stack shoved, I decided to call with pocket 6s. I flopped a set and turned quads. My stack was suddenly great. Then another short stack shoved. I called with AQ. He had AK and won. My stack went from great to mediocre then short. I got AQ and bet 3 times the big blind. The big stack at the table raised. I shoved, because I had less than the starting stack. If I lost, I figured I'd buy back in and have more chips. He called with KK, and I busted out. I immediately bought back in.

I immediately got dealt 4♦6♦ in the big blind. Everyone folded but the small blind who raised from 1.5K to 3.5K. It didn’t cost me much to call, so I did. The flop was 577, giving me a straight draw. He checked; I shoved, hoping to drive him out of the hand, but he called with A7 for trip 7s. I hadn’t considered that he might have that strong a hand. The turn card was K, but the river was 8, giving me the straight! I doubled up.

Later I shoved with KK. I got called by QQ and doubled up again! I then had 1.5 times the average stack.

In a later hand, a guy I had previously won a lot of chips from was bluffing me and I knew it. I had top pair, kings—one in my hand and one on the board. I put him on a small pair. I shoved and he called. I was right. He had 10 3 with a 10 on the board, but on the river he caught a second pair when a 3 came. I was once again short stacked and soon busted out.

Day 1C

I entered the tournament late and immediately began losing hands. I finally got three good hands, and my stack grew to above average. I then knocked out another player and then won another big pot. I had top pair (Qs) in a hand with another player. She bet big on the river. I called, believing she was bluffing. I was correct. She had missed her flush, which is what I had thought, so I took the pot.

Then I lost a few big really pots, and my stack shrunk to 30 big blinds. I figured I needed to tighten up my game. I had taken a few risks that hadn’t worked out.

I got dealt A9. One player raised. I called. Another player called. The flop was 239. I shoved. One player folded. The other called with J9. I more than doubled up! I had about average stack then.

We went on break. My stack had fallen to 20 big blinds after a series of losses. Then I got A3 and chopped when I shoved and was called by a player with A7 but the board ran out AKKQ2. That started my run that all the players at the table began talking about. The next hand I got AK, shoved, and won. The next hand, I got KK, shoved, and chopped with another player who also had KK. Then I got AK, shoved and won. Then I again got KK, shoved and won. Then I got KQ and won. Then I got QJ and won. Then I got A2 and lost a small pot. My amazing winning streak was over, but it had left me with a very big stack.

On the money bubble, my stack was good but not great after a long time of few playable hands and a couple big losses. The players at my table were talking about ICM (Independent Chip Model), which is a mathematical model that defines how to play hands based on player stack sizes and the amount of money at stake. I haven’t studied ICM, but I’m familiar with the concepts. For example, on the money bubble, there is suddenly real money at stake. The professional player to my left, Dustin Lee, had a very short stack. He announced that he was going to fold every hand, hoping to make it into the money. The minimum payout would be about $1200, which was twice the buy-in fee. He had no reason to play any hand except maybe pocket aces. Maybe. He’d have to think about it, because even pocket aces can lose, which in this case meant losing $1200. Playing poker was his living, and so he needed to take home real cash. The player to his left had about 900K in chips, more than twice any other player at the table. His plan was to shove each hand because few players would take him on and risk busting out without getting paid. Even if he lost, he would still be in the tournament with a very big stack. My stack was at about 100K.

At one point, the chip leader was in the big blind. Everyone had folded to me on the button and I had pocket Js, a very good hand. I suddenly had an opportunity to shove and gain some chips and possibly even double up. However, the chip leader had so many chips that he had incentive to call me even with a bad hand to possibly knock me out and put everyone, including himself, into the money. Even a bad hand has a chance of winning. I thought about it for a while and (painfully) chose to fold. It might have influenced me that I had a memory of being on the bubble a few years ago, getting pocket Js, shoving, and running into pocket As to bust me out. Dustin on my left, was so short, with less than 10 big blinds, that he would likely bust out before me (see more about that later). And there were other short stacks remaining in the tournament. I decided to not take a chance until I was in the money.

When I told the other players that I had folded pocket Js, they were astounded. “I can shove but I can’t call,” the chip leader told me, meaning that he could shove with any hand and intimidate any player into folding, but he was unlikely to call anyone who shoved first. I explained that I had played in several high-stakes tournaments last month without a cash and decided I needed a morale boost. They understood.

Shortly after that, I got A♥10♣ and, inexplicitly, the chip leader folded rather than shove. That gave me an opportunity, so I raised and got one caller. The flop was A♠3♥5♥. I had a pair of aces and a backdoor flush draw. I bet and the other player called. I decided that if the next card was a heart, I would shove, representing that I had hit the nut flush when, in reality, I needed one more heart. When I saw the heart come on the turn, I snap shoved. But then I got scared. The other player was thinking about calling. There were a lot of hands that could beat me, but then I looked again at the turn card and saw it was 10♥, giving me the top two pair. Since the other player didn’t immediately call me, but had to think about it, I knew I was ahead. After about a minute, he called with A♦Q♥. He could still beat me with a queen, but the river was J♥, actually giving me the nut flush I had just represented. I doubled up.

It was about midnight when my wife Carrie texted me, asking how it was going and whether I’d be coming home soon. I replied, “I hope it ends soon. Someone needs to bust. Could be 5 minutes or 2 hours.” After an hour and 10 minutes, the bubble broke. I bagged 213K in chips, about average. My friend Dustin had bagged 15K, about 2.5 big blinds. He had barely cashed.

Day 2

Day 2 started at noon. Over the previous three days, there had been a total of 733 entries. There were 90 players left on Day 2. First place would win $66,752.

I played very few hands for the first couple hours while my stack dwindled. The players at my table almost all had much bigger stacks than me, and I just wasn’t getting decent cards. Then I got A♦6♦ in early position. I min raised. Everyone folded but the big blind who was the table chip leader. He called. The flop was A♥6♣K♦, giving me two pair. I bet 16K hoping he had a K or thought I was bluffing. He folded, but it was still a nice win.

As players busted out and the field shrank, my table was broken, and I was sent to another table. There was Dustin to my left. I was amazed that he was still in the tournament. He told me that he had built his 15K stack up to an amazing 300K before slowly losing most of it. He was now shorter than me and busted out after a few more hands.

As Day 2 went on, I survived through seven pay jumps. I played very few hands, winning almost all of them, but my stack dwindling just from paying the blinds and antes.

I was down to about 8 big blinds when I got Q 10 under the gun. I decided I needed to bet on something soon, and this was the best I’d seen in a long while, so I shoved. I got called by a player with AK. Neither of us connected with the board, but he didn’t need to. I busted out at #35.

I really thought I might make it all the way this time, but I had a deep run, a good time, and got paid off. Also, my confidence got a much-needed boost. I’m prepared to play again, but probably not until February since I’ll be traveling much of this month but looking forward to a triumphant return to poker.

About the author

Bob Zeidman is a high-stakes recreational poker player. He created Good Beat Poker, a free online poker site using patented technology for audio and video—see and hear the other players at the table if you choose.