ThePokerResource.net: A Rounder’s blog

WSOP 2008 Main Event, Day 4 – starting chip stack: $376k

WOW!!!  I’m still in and the dream continues, at least for another day.  I end the day with 637k, which is a little disappointing since I was up to 600k after the first level.  Right now I’m absolutely exhausted mentally and physically but it’s all good. 

Blinds 2500-5000 with a 500 ante

I have only a rough game plan for this day.  Obviously, much is dictated by the players at my table and any necessary adjustments will be done on the fly.  Initially, at this level my plan is to play real tight.  We ended Day 3 with 2k-4k and a 500 ante costing 10,500 an orbit.  Now it only costs 12k an orbit, essentially a 15% increase.  Also, I really wanted to get a feel for the table.  The next level of 3k-6k with a 1k ante costs 18k an orbit increasing the blinds and antes 33%.  My intention is to play tight and establish image and then really go after it in the 2^nd level, trying to chip up b/c there is much more to fight for. 

I scan my starting table and see only Hassan Habib as a big name pro.  A big guy from NY (I’m going to refer to him as NY moving forward) has a huge stack of 700k, the rest are a bunch of shorties.  I like my table draw and feel good about playing today.  The old man from day 2 that over raises and sucked out against the Spaniard w/AK vs. AA is at my table.  (Don’t know how he survived this far)   

Half hour into the level NY raises to 15k and I smooth call on the button with AQ off suit.  The flop comes KQ6, he checks and I check.  The turn pairs the 6, he bets 22k and I quickly call.  The river is a blank, he checks and I happily check to get a showdown with the best hand.  Up to 440k right away. 

20 minutes later, Hassan opens for 15.5k and a shortie moves in for 52k total.  I look down at QQ and decide to min raise to 80k or so to ensure it goes heads up.  He turns over AKs and we are raising for a 150k pot.  The flop comes all small.  It bricks off and I bust him to get up to 530k or so.  Wow, this is the first player I busted this whole tournament.  It’s kind of crazy that the field is down to 500 players out of the original 6800 or so and I finally get a bounty.  This is essentially my style of tournament poker.  Bob and weave and play under the radar, wake up with a big hand and play a big pot.

NY opens again for 15k and again I smooth call in late position with AQ off suit.  The flop comes Q56 and he checks.  I bet small, 15k, and he quickly raises to 45k.  The way he raised I’m pretty sure I have him, but I obviously don’t want to play a huge pot and I don’t mind him cutting his own throat on later streets.  The turn is a 10d, he checks and I check.  I’m perfectly happy to give a free card b/c NY comes off as a sicko and very capable of putting me to maximum pressure on the turn by check raising.  Also, I’m satisfied keeping the pot reasonably small so I don’t have to call a huge bet on the river.  The river brings a black 3, he checks and I check.  He turns over A9d for nothing but a back door flush draw and I table the AQ and scoop.  He says “thanks for the free cards.”  I replied, “you scare me so you can get free cards all day against me.”  He smiles and I scoop a decent pot.  NY doesn’t even know that he’s playing right into my hands and a style of poker that I’m most comfortable playing.  Anyways, I’m up to 600k and an even better start.

Blinds 3000-6000 with a 1k ante

Initially, I wanted to be aggressive after it this level but I decide I no longer need to.  My chip position is real good and I’m essentially tied with NY for table chip lead.  There are no huge stacks and our table is not going to break all day.  I play real pretty snug for awhile and I open in middle position with 33 for 18k.  The old man raises to 50k total with about 275k behind.  I deliberate and decide to call hoping to flop a set.  I know that if I flop a set, I’m gonna bust him b/c he is going to move in on any flop.  The flop comes K97, I check and he quickly ships in 275k into a 110k pot.  Man, what a time to put a little 3 ball on the flop. 

I make one weak post flop bluff and shut down, losing another pot.  I’m bleeding chips a bit and back down to 500k but not really worried.  Don’t recall any more hands this level and finish with 510k.

Blinds 4000-8000 with a 1k ante

We get a new player Joel from LA.  He’s originally from the NY but I’ve played a fair amount of cash games with him in LA.  I limp after NY limps with KQ off.  The SB completes and Joel checks his BB.  The flop comes off A63 rainbow and it is checked to me.  I take a weak stab at the pot for 12k into a 40k pot.  Joel now raises it 20k making it 32k total w/a 350k stack.  I think for awhile and conclude that he shouldn’t have raised me here, opening the door for me to out play him.  I know he’s pretty solid and I’m pretty sure his range is AJ, A10 or maybe A3 but highly unlikely to be a better hand than that.  I know If I put some pressure on him he’s very likely to fold so I make it 72k, making it a 40k reraise.  After about 30 seconds, he folds claiming he had AJ.  It’s such a hard spot for him b/c I’m making the pot bigger and making his decision on the turn real big anyways.  He was better off checking and calling.

I open for 33k w/ 73 off suit after a tight player limped utg.  To my horror he reraises to 93k which I obviously fold.  Hoping to get a steal there…oh well.

Last hand before the dinner break.  A new solid players raises to 24k and a same player utg smooth calls and I decide to squeeze out of the BB with Q3 off and make it 80k to go.  They quickly fold and I quickly stack an extra 60k to put me back up to 600k going to dinner.

Blinds 5000-10000 with a 1k ante

Another small jump in blinds and this is the last level of the day.  I really want to chip up to 800k which seems like a reasonable goal.  NY limps from the SB and I check with QJs from the BB.  The flop comes A102 with 2 diamonds, he checks and I check.  The turn brings a Kc giving me the nuts.  He checks and I reach for my stack to bet 10k or so but he reaches at the same time, so I quickly adjust my bet to 20k knowing I’m getting called, which he does.  The river is the 7d making a flush and he bets out 55k and starts talking.  I know I should have probably fold, but I call like a fool and he shows me 23d for a flush.  This puts me down to 500k and I’m very unhappy. 

I limp after a tight player limps utg (same player who limp reraised me), and I call in late position with K2h.  The cutoff calls and a real tight player on the button makes it 30k total.  We all call making this a pretty big pot of 150k.  The flop comes 974 all hearts….booyeah.   The player utg checks and I weak lead for 55k.  Both players behind me fold and the UTG calls.  I’m really nervous that he limped with Axh or something and that he has a bigger stack than me.  The turn brings a Jc, he checks and I decide to check.  The river is the Ah giving me the nuts or known nuts.  I already had the nuts b/c the Ah was out of play.  The player checks and I fire out 100k.  He agonizes, calls and shows Q10 with the Qh.  I scoop this monster and the biggest pot of my tournament to top me off at 780k.  Other tables are playing $1 million pots and this pot at $500k is probably the biggest at my table so far.

On literally the last hand of the night, the same player limps UTG, NY calls and I decide to call with 76d, knowing the UTG has a huge hand and I can win a real big one if I flop huge.  We see the flop 5 handed and it comes off 754 with 2 spades.  The utg bets 35k which NY calls and I call.  The turn is a Kh, he bets 35k again with NY and me calling.  The river is the Qs.  He checks and then NY bets 80k, which I fold to.  I was gonna fire a huge shell on the river to represent a flush but NY bet out and started chirping left and right so I knew he had a monster.  The UTG agonizes and finally calls QQ for NY and KK for the other player.  Set over set.   So I lose 80k on the last hand of the night to finish with 637k.  I get a little lucky there and I’m up to well over a million.  Oh well.

Overall, my play was largely dictated by the players at my table.  I started off strong but never had a premium hand after the first level.  We are now down to 189 people left and tomorrow I’m back to below average but not by much.  I’m obviously excited and as grueling as it is to write after all this poker I look forward to it.  Thanks for the support.

KK