Dano at the WSOP

EH, NO

2008-06-15T03:41:00.000-07:00

Looks like my last mobile post didn't go through, so here's the recap of my WSOP 2008 experience: Started off pretty well, actually alot like last year. Early on I took a hit when I picked up pocket tens on the second hand of the day. After an Ace fell on the turn, the aggro dude at my table shoved a bunch of chips in and I laid down my pair. I think it was a bluff, but I didn't wanna kill my stack just minutes into the tournament. Took me from 3,000 to about 2,400. Anyway, things turned around when I took the same dude down pretty hard, calling his suspicious bet on the river. He showed a stone cold bluff on a board with two face cards. I showed a pair of 7s and was on my way to building a decent stack. My big hand during Level 1 came when I limped with pocket 8s, called a preflop raise, and watched a lovely K-K-8 flop unfold before me. My first big mistake of the tourney was that I wasn't able to put my opponent all-in here, as I think he had QQ, JJ, maybe even AK. I slowplayed my full house, check-calling his big bet on the flop. We both checked the turn (!), then unfortunately, a flush card hit the river, I tried to represent a flush bluff with a big bet, but my guy didn't bite. He put me on the flush and folded. I showed him the full boat. The mistake: I shoulda put a small bet in on the turn. He only had about 1,200 left in his stack and there was about the same in the pot. If I bet 400 or so on the turn, he'd have to call for a pot that size, and probably would just stick the rest of his money all-in. Missed opportunity and lesson #1 learned.

Our table broke around the start of level 2, and I slowly built my chips up. After folding about 20 hands in a row, I was down to 4,200 and we had our first break of the day. When we got back to the table, the antes kicked in, and I started going into blind-stealing mode. Pushed all-in preflop three times and took the blinds, 550 at a time. Ran into a problem when a big stacked pro at my table made a stand and milked a ton of chips off me. Then I picked up pocket Aces twice - the first time I was able to exact some revenge on the big stack. Limped into the pot, he raised and I flat-called. Checked the flop, he bet, and I came over the top. He folded, and I took down about 1,800 of his chips. At that point, my stack was at 5,200. Unfortunately, the average was about 5,800, and I was feeling the pinch. Then I look down at pocket tens and decide it's time to pull down a real pot. Made a small raise preflop, and a guy in late position goes over the top. I call him and we see the flop: J-8-2. I decide to make the big move with a check raise all-in, putting him on AK or AQ. Three fourths of the plan worked beautifully: I checked, he bet, and I shoved all-in, hoping to send a strong message. Unfortunately he was holding pocket Kings and insta-called. And that's where my WSOP 2008 journey ended. With a whimper.

By the way, I realize how bad this play was. The smart play on this flop would be a small bet. I would get exactly the information I needed with a $700 bet here. I'd put the feeler out, and he would surely have gone over the top with his kings, and that woulda been the end of that hand. Instead, I got into desperation mode and felt the need to build the stack or go home. Lesson #2 learned. A big, fat, $1,500 lesson.

The kicker: Tonight, I went to the California Casino with mom and sister Nana. I sat down at a stupid video poker machine and hit two jackpots worth $1,200! Made me feel ashamed to call myself a card player. Lame. And I'm sorry I didn't make this blog more interesting this year. Thanks for checkin' in, and we'll do it again next June!

2008-06-14T14:16:00.001-07:00

Ok first 2 rounds done. we started with 3000 chips, I'm at 4700. The field is 2706 players, 270 will make the money. Pee break time!

2008-06-14T11:55:00.001-07:00

Seat 1 table 1 is ready to play. Already about 2500 players and still growing. shuffle up and deal in 5 minutes.

2008-06-14T11:41:00.000-07:00

Let's get it started in here.

DAY 1: IT'S ABOUT THAT TIME

2008-06-14T10:18:00.001-07:00

OK, today's the day. In 2 hours the cards will be in the air, and event #27 will officially be on. Hope to have updates throughout the day, assuming I make it through the day.

2008-06-13T12:58:00.000-07:00

No turning back now. Table 1, Seat 1? Weird.

BABY STEPS

2008-06-13T00:56:00.000-07:00

It's Friday, and I'll be touching down in Vegas around 11:00am. First stop, check in at Harrah's. Second stop, the Rio to register for WSOP event #27, the $1,500 buyin No Limit Hold 'Em tournament. Honestly, I'm not feelin' so confident. I haven't really played competitive poker in quite some time, but I'm trying to convince myself that this will somehow work in my favor against the pros I'll see at the table. Maybe my inept fumbling at the green felt is exactly what I need to build up a monstrous stack of chips on Day 1. We'll see how it goes.

My plan going in: don't bust out like a punk in the first half hour. It's time to learn this game again. On day one, I play cards, not people. Wait for the big hand. Flop a monster. Put the chips in with the great hand and hope it stands up to a good hand. Don't donk off my stack holding one measly pair. Remember the gap concept. Play position. Don't steal blinds until they're worth stealing. Don't bluff the maniac. AQ suited is inherently evil. Baby steps.

But God help the table if I find 6-8 suited in late position.

WSOP 2008 - PREPARATION

2008-05-23T01:15:00.000-07:00

Here we go again. Just booked the flights. Stewdog and I will be hittin' Vegas June 13-16, 2008 for event #27 of the World Series of Poker. Another $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold Em event. I haven't really played a casino tournament since October '07, but Stewdog's been trying to keep sharp. This should be interesting.

Anyway, we hope to make another big run, and we hope to see you there. And yes, the shoes are coming with me.

Leaving Las Vegas

2007-06-06T10:01:00.000-07:00

It's gettin' close to "wheels up" time here in Sin City. I actually stayed an extra night, just because. Been hangin' with a bunch of family who drove down from all points Southern California.

This has been some trip. To Allan, Lorelei and Debbie, thanks for comin' down to cheer on a coupla knuckleheads. Same goes for Mom, Dad, Nana, Mike & Nancy, Brian, Stephanie, Larry and Mia. To everyone else, thanks for checkin' out the blog and sending love from home. And Stewman, next year, we take it all down.

Here are a coupla videos to check out:

Registration Nightmares

Dan Sees Jesus

Allan Gets His Smack On

Stewman Meet TJ Cloutier

Day 2 - All Good Things...

2007-06-03T16:42:00.000-07:00

After 14 hours of grueling No Limit Texas Hold 'Em, I'm officially out of the WSOP. I folded my first 5 hands of the day - cards like KQ and K3 suited - and found myself moving up the payout chart, as people were dropping like flies. It was then I decided to make a real attempt to build up my chips and take a shot at a final table appearance. I mean, really, these opportunities don't come around every day. Maybe I coulda just mucked hand after hand to squeak into a slightly higher payout (something I seriously considered), but I guess that's just not how we play. Stewman was right when he said "You just gotta play your game."

First, I got the miracle I desperately needed. The guy to my right - a 21-year-old online pro from Australia - put his micro-stack all-in under the gun, and I looked down at A7 of hearts. I pushed all-in immediately. Luckily, everyone else folded around, and I had the kid's A6 dominated. I paired my 7 on the turn and he was history. Because of the blinds and antes already in the pot, I more than doubled up my stack. This was just what I needed to start my big run. Of course, sometimes things don't work out that way.

On the very next hand I called a minimum raise in the big blind with A4 of diamonds, happy to see a cheap flop. The flop came 8-2-2 with two diamonds and I pushed all-in again, this time on a flush draw semibluff (sorry for the poker geek babble). Unfortunately, the raiser had trips, with a King and a 2! The turn and river failed to deliver my flush diamond, and I was out in 215th place.

It was a great way to bust out, with guns blazin'. I'm glad I talked to the Stewdog beforehand. I definitely woulda felt like a tool if I didn't take a shot at the big score.

As for cards, I think I'm gonna take a short break. If I see another poker chip soon, I just might puke. As for the WSOP, we'll be back, and we're bringing you with us next time.

End of Day 1 - Good News, Bad News

2007-06-03T02:36:00.000-07:00

OK, first the good news: I got to sit and play with a true poker icon today. David "The Dragon" Pham. He's the nicest guy in the world, and even autographed my "Poker Shoes".

More good news. I've officially made it to Day 2 of a WSOP event. We started with 2,998 players, making this the 3rd largest field for a poker tournament in the history of EVER. Only the 2006 and 2005 Main Events boasted more entrants. There are 270 players left, and I'm lucky to be one of them.

I also made the money, which means I'm guaranteed a cash prize of at least $3,400.

The bad news? I'm running out of chips. Even though I've maintained a stack of around $20,000, my chipstack relative to those of the other players is way low. As soon as I sit down tomorrow, I'm gonna have to push all-in and pray. So it's unlikely that I'll be in contention for the $727,000 first place prize. But, ya never know.

"The Dragon" was (unfortunately) sitting to my left, and kicked my ass (and the collective asses of the table) all night. He actually read my cards blind 3 times. My hands were virtually exposed to him in a way I can't begin to explain. I'm starting to think the pros really are paranormally gifted. It was fascinating to experience, but it sucked. Big time.

So tomorrow is Day 2, and I'll need the poker gods to shine on me a bit. The ESPN crews will be there, and hopefully I'll stick it out long enough to make the broadcast. Play begins at 2pm. Now, I sleep. Peace.

Saturday, Dinner Break

2007-06-02T20:11:00.000-07:00

Poker is a wild game. For the first 2 hours of this tournament Stewman and I were getting spanked on both cheeks. We had plans to play solid, ultra-tight poker. So much for that plan. We both found ourselves making plays at pots within the first hour. Anyway, we got ourselves short-chipped, then grew our stacks back before the first break.

But luck is a fickle thing, and unfortunately Stew busted out by the next break. I hope he gets to post the story. Meanwhile, I managed to catch the perfect situation and flop trips when our table's big stack paired his king.

It's dinner break time, and I've managed to grow my chips to over $20,000. Believe it or not, that puts me near the top of the food chain for this tourney. I was table captain for awhile, but a bigger stack joined us right before the break. Anyway, I'm keeping myself in contention. OK, gotta eat. Play resumes at 9pm tonight, and continues until 2am. I'll keep you posted.

Meeting of the Mikes

2007-06-02T20:07:00.001-07:00

One lucky poker player had his dreams come true today. That's right, Mike "The Mouth" Matusow finally got to meet the talented Mr. Stewman.

2007-06-02T17:44:00.000-07:00

Almost halfway through day one. Started bad but got good. We started with 3000, I got down to 1400. I'm now at 13000, table captain. Holy cow.

THE TOURNEY - DAY 1, SATURDAY

2007-06-02T10:38:00.000-07:00

It's nervous time. In about an hour, "Shuffle up and deal!" will boom through a muffled PA system as Stewdog and I sweat our first hand of the tournament. I'm wondering what my first hole cards will be. Probably something borderline, just to torture me. Ace Jack suited, or pocket sevens.

And I wonder who'll be sitting at my table. Maybe 8 other no-names with the same pipe dream, asking themselves the same question. Then again, when I toured the floor yesterday, I saw the likes of Gus Hansen, Jennifer Harmon, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Phil Ivey and countless other marquee poker stars.

Ace Jack suited. I'll want to play the hand. But I won't. It's Day 1, and I'm officially in survival mode for the first 2 hours. After that, it'll be time to play some poker.

Friday - Hangin' with Allan and Lorelei

2007-06-02T09:00:00.000-07:00

2007-06-02T04:19:00.001-07:00

Major props to Stewdog for what he just pulled off. Managed to save us about 3 hours of waiting in the ridiculous wsop registration line. We're officially in!

2007-06-02T03:24:00.001-07:00

Registration for the WSOP is a bitch.

Gil Zeros at the WSOP

2007-06-01T19:55:00.000-07:00

By the way, these are the adidas special edition Gil Zeros I'll be rockin' at the tourney. Yip, that's real poker felt trim. They're like the sun. Don't look directly into the Gil Zeros.

2007-06-01T17:39:00.000-07:00

Ever see a 300 dollar rum and coke?

Friday - The Rio

2007-06-01T15:26:00.000-07:00

Day 1 - Checking into the Rio

Fear and Loathing Starts Now

2007-05-27T21:54:00.000-07:00

Stewdog and I have decided to haul some of our recent poker winnings to Vegas and take our chances at a World Series of Poker tournament. We won't be playing the $10,000 buy-in Main Event, but a smaller $1,500 No Limit tourney.

See, there are 50+ events that make up the WSOP, and this is one of them. Last player standing still gets a coveted bracelet. And if my estimates are on, there could be a $2 million dollar payday for the winner. I'm thinkin' we'll see 4,000 to 6,000 entrants for our event. Which means chances of Stewdog or me cashing are pretty slim. But he seems confident about our final table potential. I think that's a good thing.

Please stay tuned for live updates (I set up mobile blogging, so look out for paparazzi goodness from my cameraphone), or join me at the Rio if you get a chance. I'm leaving for Vegas on Friday June 1st. The tourney runs from June 2nd through the 4th. I'll be on a plane back to Oaktown on the 5th. I'm starting to get nervous.