Trip Report Day 4 (July 26th)

After busting out of the $1500 NLHE and making a long trip back to Harrah's. I had the munchies and ordered room service at 2am in the morning. A burger, the second most expensive meal of my trip. It came up to somewhere around $18 after giving a nice 20% tip on the BILL (good karma I hope). Slept at like 5-6 am which caused me to wake up around 3-4pm. They must be doing construction as I heard massive drilling at around noon. Luckily i'm a heavy sleeper and can sleep through an earthquake (if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything).

The plan for the day was to hit the RIO, play a satelite and win my way into the Main Event through the Mega Sat. I arrived at around 5pm. The Mega Sat started at 8pm. I decided to play a single table satelite $175 buyin. It was AWFUL. Whenever I got in with the best hand, I would lose, I would only win a hand if there was no show down. I think I didn't play a hand the first level. But early on, I picked up QQ made a raise. Check a Q hi flop (you need to trap and pick up chip early so you have some chips to gamble or call loose pushes or even push yourself). I bet the turn and value bet the river. Prob increased my stack by 50-70% up to like 1400-1800. On the 50/100 level, UTG pushes all in for 400. I see 88 on the SB and make the call. I'm up against 25. Board comes out something like 35x46 and he makes a straight on me. I survive, win a small pot. On 100/200 the SB goes all in for 425 and I call blind getting like 3:1 pot odds call. He has T8 and I have Q8. I close my eyes, say no T, flop spreads a T. Down to like 1000 in chips. It gets folded to me and I push all in with 88, the 25o player see AT and makes the call. A flop GG me.

Feeling a bit supersticious, I revert to my good luck NY Giants Jersey as I deck my colared shirt into my bag, no fancy dress shirt here, baller is coming out to play now. Sign up for the Megas Sat for 500 lamer + 560 cash.

Get something to eat and chillax until the Megas Sat starts. T3000 chips, 40 minute levels, I predict it will take until level 12 or more to win into the seat. Thats about 10 hours of playing. I take my seat, I see overbets after overbets and awful play left and right. People coming in for 8-10x the bet, calling gutshots etc etc. First big hand after playing like pretty much only the blinds or marginal limps, I get AhQx on the SB. I raise it up from 100 to 300. LAGGY BB calls. Flop comes down KQJ (all hearts). I lead out for 300, he calls. Turn is Qo (i made trips + nut flush draw + straight draw) and bet 500 this time. River is the 7o and I think I have the best hand as all he's been doing is calling. I lead out for 600, a value bet and he mulls it over and calls T9 fearing I had the flush. Dam, when a LAGGY player calls down, its hard to think you're beat on that board. So 1/2 my stack gone.

Nearing the first break. I raise it to like 300 pf with 88 (50/100) and LAGGY player goes all in for like 500-600. The preflop overbetter sees the bet and flat calls. What am I to think, overbetter has a hand, NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO just a loose donkey. I need to squeeze the player out the pot and push the rest of my 1600 or more (maybe 1800) chips. Overbetter thinks and eventually mucks. LAGGY thinks hes way overbeat, but see I was reraise ISOing with a mid pair. LAGGY has A9 and board comes out 9xxxT. I later find out overbetter had T9 and is complaining how I reraised an all in and how he could have won the pot. Psft, learn some poker first buddy and then come back to me calling a raise+reraise all in with T9. Althought I always keep my language clean at the table, no disrespecting anyone in person I don't want a beat down. This guy was double my size (width wise).

Hit the break, come back and I later get involved off the BB when a constant miniraiser opens from third position I believe. SB calls I call min with AT. Flop comes down QTx, chk around. Turn is a blank or a low card and I fire out like 2/3 of the pot only to be quickly raised by the min raiser. I mull it over, I don't have many chips, but could he have made a set? AQ? I muck it out of position and no read. Down to my last 600 or so in chips, I see KT on 75/150 and I muck it for some reason, no idea why (maybe a limper) oh well Kxx flop no idea if I was good.

Moved to a new table I somehow get it all in with A7 vs K4. K hit GG ME.

Feeling to need to win, I hit up another $175 SNG. I sit down, a bunch of young player who I think will actually be a tough table. Not many donkeys this time. After I see the play unfold, I think most are solid well rounded players. I think I went card dead for the first 30-40 minutes. Folding and winning uncontested pot so essentially just maintaining my equity for when I go push fold. 4 or 5 handed, on 100/200 blinds I open push 700 from the SB with A7. BB thinks and makes a 2:1 call with JTo. Flop comes KQx (3 flush flop, JT has a flush draw I do not). That is 19 outs (65%) for JT to win the hand. Board blanks out and I hold up. The game then goes 4 handed and what we being to describe as who can squeeze out the best cards. The players to my right and left both probbably had about 3000 chips each with the rest dispersed between me and the other player.

On the 100/200 level, button (player to right) raises to 500. I have about 1200 chips and what could be the best hand with KQ on the SB. I felt compelled to play, but I figured I had to play it strategically. With my chips, I aimed to pull off a stop and go. I would call and push almost all flops. My call opens up the pot odds to the BB who comes along for the ride getting 4:1. Flop comes down nicely QTx giving me top pair. No need to pull the stop and go now, I need to get value for my top pair. I check, BB checks, button makes a 600 CB (Continuation Bet). I insta push for 700 as strength to hopefully get the SB from calling something like Tx (possibly getting a good price to do so). The Button calls and says he needs to get lucky with A4. I hold and am up to 3000 ish in chips. We revert back to a game of preflop poker and squeezing as the blinds are 150/300. The player to my left is now UTG and pushes all in for something in the neighbourhood of 1200-1500 chips. Button folds. The SB who likes to slide his cards over each other on the felt and then squeezes does so and then instapushes as well. I say, I'm going to need to squeeze a big one to make this call. First card, I squeeze....an ACE! I say first cards REALLY NICE, lets squeeze a twin. I squeeze it hard and its an....KING. Well its probably of the the 3 (maybe 4) cards I could squeeze to make the call. Its AK (me) vs A2 (UTG) vs A4 (SB). Board comes out 36x5 BLANK. I hold and now have a 6000 vs 4000 chip lead. He asks if I want to chops. I offer him 40% of 1620 and I would pay the tip. Meaning he gets 650. He mulls it and decides to play it out, while dealer is shouting WINNER ON TABLE BLAH BLAH, I tell the dealer hold up, let him think. We play it out, and I say I'm not a pushover headsup. First hand I raise it 3x with AJ on the button I win. Next hand he limps, I check 57. Flop comes out like 2 paints, chk chk. I fire 400 on the turn and take it down. Next hand I limp the button with like 63 (Harrington says its incorrect to flat out fold the button). Next hand, I forget. Next hand I lim 89o on the button and make a bet with air on the flop and win it. Decisive hand comes up, button raises it from 300 to 700. I make the call with K9o. Flop comes out 9xx and I aim for the checkraise to chip him down but he mull it and checks. Turn is the gin card (K). I again go for the checkraise and he pushes all in, I insta call and his KT doesn't river me. YAYAYAY $1500 Lamers + $120 ($20 tip for dealer, karma points).

I sell off one of my $500 lamers for $500 cash and sit at another $175 Single Table Sat. A hand comes up where I have about 750 chips on 50/100 where a guy to my immed right pushes all in for 675. I squeeze 99 and ask for time remaining on the clock, it was about 4 minutes. Thinking it over, I would have to pay 300 in blinds probably leaving me with 450 if I got no hands the rest of the orbit and made this fold. Decisely, I decided to gamble it up, oops he had AA, down to 75 chips. Next hand I look at the first card, a King and push it all in. 4-5 see the flop and board comes out like QQTQ and 2 players get it all in on the turn when I say, someoen please flip up the Q so I can see I'm dead. One player shows KQ(or QJ) and other shows AT JT?. I flip mine over, show the King, and move it to reveal another King HAHA. I laugh and say I only looked at one card. Oh well. I stick around and chat it up with some other players I spoke with before. Then watched the final table of the Deuce to Seven Loball draw event. Danial Alaei vs David Williams heads up with Evelyn Ng annoucing the action. I saw seated across the table from the rope. Better comfortable view as opposed to sitting on metal benches. Later one some lady comes up to me and taps me on the shoulder and says are we allowed to sit over there. I look at her, she looks familiar and say, "Sure, go ahead. I prefer the nice view from here." while looking from her to Evelyn/Table (Although Vanessa Rousso does look better in person, she was a table across from me in the 1500 event). She hops over the rope followed by...The Grinder...it was Lily Elviro (Mrs Grinder). I also see the end of the 7 Card Stud H/L event which Jeff Madsen final tabled for his fourth time this year (where he won 2 btw). He places third and some guy won. Picture of the bracelet attached.

I watch a bit, talk a bit, get tired and head out the long walk of shame back to the hotel. End of day, unless we want Taxi Ride recap...YAWN