The Millionaire Maker, Day 2
Note: if you want a reference for poker lingo, click here.
Day 2 started yesterday at 11 AM. When I got to my table, I was excited to realize that I was the table chip leader. What I didn't realize was that this was a 5-day tournament, so there was still a ways to go to getting that coveted WSOP winner’s bracelet.
There were 2,618 players left out of 11,996 total entries. 1,800 would be paid.
In the very first hand, I got KK under the gun. I raised from 2500 to 6K. Everyone folded.
Professional player James Calderaro was (again) at my table. He was at my table in an earlier tournament. I got K3 in the big blind. Calderaro raised from 2500 to 5500. I decided that I would call if one other player called, and one did, giving me good pot odds (i.e., a lot of money in the pot compared to how much I needed to bet). The flop was 2KK. This looked very good for me. I checked. Calderaro bet 11K. The other player folded. I called. The flop was 3, giving me the nuts, a full house! I checked. Calderaro bet 20K! I put him on either AK or pocket 2s. Why else would he bet so high? He could potentially have pocket 3s or also have K3, but both were unlikely because it meant all the 3s or all the Ks were out. In any case, I was either ahead of him or a very low chance of us having the same hand and chopping the pot. He was pot committed at that point, meaning he couldn’t fold because his stack would then be so low that he’d be out of the tournament soon—unless he had been bluffing—so I shoved. If he had AK, he might fold knowing there were hands that beat him, but he called. So I concluded he had pocket 2s and I was right. He busted out and my stack was then huge.
About 2 hours in, there were 2,000 players left.
I got 10 8 in the big blind. One player min raised, another called, so I called. The flop was 10 8 J. I bet big, one player folded, the remaining player called. The turn was Q. I bet even bigger and the other player called. The river was K. I checked; he checked. He had Q 10 for a bigger two pair. Damn! Maybe I should have bet more after the flop. At least the K on the river had limited my losses because there was an open-ended straight on the board, which kept the other player from betting just in case I had hit the straight with a 9 or A.
After about another hour, there were 1,900 players left.
About a half hour after that, we were playing hand-for-hand with 1,809 players left. This means all the tables play only one hand and then wait for all tables to complete the hand before playing another hand. When all tables have completed one hand, the tournament director announces for all tables to play another hand. This continues until someone busts out and “the money bubble is burst.” This is done in tournaments so that players at one table don’t delay their game while waiting for a player at another table to bust out. However, before we played even one hand, ten players busted out, so the remaining players were all in the money! I had made a guaranteed profit!
After that, though, my luck changed. I started getting good cards that didn't connect on the flop. This is a bad situation because I bet on many hands before the flop but had to fold after the flop. So I was leaking chips. As blinds went up, my stack got even shorter with respect to the blinds.
I just barely made the first payment jump. I shoved with A 10 but got no callers. With exactly 10 big blinds in my stack (60K), I got A5, an OK hand to play and a good hand to shove. One player min raised to 12K. Another player called. I could have shoved but decided to just call and see the flop, which was 5 Q 7. The first player checked. Hoping I was the only player to connect with the board, I shoved. The third player called, the first player folded, and the third player showed Q 10. He had connected with his Q. I didn't improve, so I was out at #1,109 out of 11,906 entries.
Still itching to play more poker, I went to the South Point Casino and played in a cheap evening tournament. It was probably a mistake, especially given that I had a very early business call and didn’t finish until about midnight. I just barely cashed, finishing 18 out of 144 entries.
Overall, poker has been going better than last year’s WSOP, and this year has been better than last year overall. There are still a number of WSOP events, including the Main Event in late July. I remain optimistic.
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.