Caesars IN WSOP $300+40 tournament report

[Bigdaddydvo]

We arrived at the boat around 1120. The wife, the boy and I did the early check in, and I managed to make the LONG run from the hotel room to the Deli next to Legends to pick them up some food, back to the room, and down to the table by 1200 when the first card was dealt. There was really an amazing buzz in the room…similar to what WSOP at the Rio felt like. What first took me by surprise was 700 players ready to play, and there were close to 300 alternates! As folks would get knocked out, an alternate would sit down. This continued until blinds were as high as 100/200 (you started w/1500 chips, so coming in w/7.5 BB wouldn’t have been fun) All said and done 954 entrants, making it the largest WSOP Circuit $300+40 on record. On to some hands:

Level 1: 25/25: The table was a bit loose passive….plenty of limpers, but no one getting too much out of line. I lost the first 4 pots I was involved in…AQ, AJ, 22 and AT due to missing the flop completely and being out of position most of the time. Made most of it up by limping w/KQ, eventually making top 2 pair, and value betting the whole time. Stack around 1450 by the end of this level.

Level 2: 25/50: Folded to a decent player on the button who raises to 150. I figure it’s a position raise and his range could be wide, so I reraise to 400 w/AJo in hopes of taking it down right there. He says, “what is it, 250 more to call?” and he throws in the chips. Flop is J-J-4. Great flop, but with the PF raise a check would be very suspicious. I fire out a weak 200 chip bet, and he calls immediately. Turn is like a 5, I ponder for a second and check. He moves in and I instacall. He was awfully sad to see that his QJs was no good. No river queen, I nearly double up, and send my first WSOP player packing (never busted anyone in WSOP ME). A KQo raise in the CO also wins me the blinds at this level.

Level 3: 50/100: Get AA UTG, raise to 300. All fold. Only aces I saw all day. Had a couple steals from CO and button, but other than that, mostly card dead.

Level 3: Nothing significant, mostly card dead.
Level 4: 100/200: As I bled chips away down to about 2400, I raise UTG w/AJs to 600. A player who seemed solid/decent moved in on me from the CO. Had him covered by a couple hundred. I was getting roughly 2:1 on my money, but I’m at best a coinfllip vs. TT or lower, 3:1 dog vs. AQ or AK, and 2.5 to 1 against QQ or KK which is suspected was the likely culprit. I fold and hate it. 2 hands later there are 3 limpers, and the button minraises to 400. I have AQs in the BB and instapush. All fold, and the button says, “Nah, losing would knock me down too far” and folds. Made up for the AJs a few hands earlier.

Level 4: 150/300: Don’t play a hand and continue to bleed. Even marginal semisteal hands like KJ become unplayable due to EP raises.

Level 5: 200/400. Getting down to the felt and having NO reasonable place to put my chips in. I post my 400 chip blind, leaving me w/about 700 left. Pretty much playing any two, but I was delighted to see 3-3. Until one player moved in and another called. After saying to one of my favorite Caesar’s dealers, Grace, “I need a miracle!” I saw it wasn’t too bad as it was 33 vs. AK vs. AQ. With a flop of A-2-4, it was time to open the luckbox. A rivered 5 triples me up!!!! I could only laugh. Wouldn’t be the last time I tap into the luckbox. After winning blinds by moving in w/AQ and AK, I actually got as high as 4,000. I wound up making a cutsie open-raise w/KJo in the highjack only to have the button who had me slightly covered move in. Could have saved myself some grief if I had just moved in. I curse and fold….probably my biggest mistake of the day. A few hands I hit the luckbox again, moving in from SB w/AT against BB’s AQ and spiking a T.

Level 6: 300/600, w/ 75 ante: I have around 2K in chips, and am pondering times I could have moved in from the CO w/92o. A supershort guy who very closely resembles Verne Troyer, a.k.a. “Mini Me” raised 3xBB. In the BB I move the rest of my chips in w/KQo and say a prayer to my Guardian Angel that he has TT or something. He doesn’t….it’s AA. I don’t watch the turn or river after an A flops.

Overall finished about 200 out of 954. Out of the money, but I’m pleased with how well I played since the cards didn’t cooperate much and I had to resort to short stack poker for most of the day. DEFINITELY an improvement over the WSOP ME, even though I lasted exactly 6 hours in each (stacks were much deeper during WSOP ME at that point obviously).

After dinner and consolation with the wife, and her obligatory $100 playing Video Poker, I hit a $120 SNG around 11PM in an attempt to win a seat in the Saturday $1K event. It was crapshoot poker at its finest. Busted 4th when I came over the top of a LAG’s raise w/88 and ran into QQ. The play was so atroicious that I considered hanging out and playing SNGs all night, but being tired got the best of me. I know there were some complaints in earlier threads about some issues happening, but from my perspective it was run fairly well considering that Caesars doesn’t handle that many players very often. A floor guy told me that they’re working on doing 2 WSOP Circuit events there per year. Not sure if the demand is there, but perhaps the strong showing of the $300 buy in gives them indication that it is.

No specific details on side games, but I know there were a whole host of satellites and side games happening….similar to what could be seen at the Rio (only on a smaller scale of course). PL Omaha, 10/20 and 20/40 each w/Full Kill. I even heard 10/25 NL but didn’t witness it myself. I highly recommend people check it out. The buzz is infectious and folks are ready to GAMBOOL!

[RJT]

You rock daddy-o. You are becoming one of my heroes. Wish I was there, too.

Where do you live? I am in NE Ohio. I am going to the Navy game. If you are going to be there too, let me know.

Wishing you good cards,

RJT

[tripdad]

i was there yesterday and today, and played in the $340 event yesterday.

my report: i got AA twice early, but failed to get much action with them. same with AK. i picked up a small pot or two playing out of the blinds with bluffs on ragedy boards into the right players. the biggest my stack got was to 1800 chips. i busted out when the action folded around to the SB, who raised. i had 1250 in chips, and the blinds were 100/200. i had AK, and pushed. he called with 88. he won. i was out about 10 minutes before the last alternate entered the tourney.

as for the side action, i played 2 single table satellites, and took marginally bad beats in both (one was my 88 vs. A7 all in preflop, and the other, i had A8s in against 1 medium stack with KQ and one small stack with K8...both hit 2 pair, and the medium stack had enough to effectively cripple me. had i won that hand, i would have been HU with a 7 to 1 chip lead.), finishing 3rd in both.

other than that, i played about 10 hours total of $2/5 no limit with moderate success. the game i was in today was fantastic, but i had planned to play only a couple hours, and cashed out a modest win because i missed my kids and wanted to get home.

i plan to be back next week some time, and plan to play mostly $120 single table sattelites, but i'm sure i'll wander over and see a megafish or 2 in the n/l game and take a shot at it.

[siccjay]

I went over there for a minute just to check it out. That place is a madhouse. The limit event was down to about 4 tables but the cash games and sats were CRAZY. I wish I had the drive to play tourneys because I'm sure there are plenty of donks.

[steamboatin]

I looked all over for you but didn't see you. I played 6-12 until 11 PM.

[Chipr777]

[ QUOTE ]

The play was so atroicious that I considered hanging out and playing SNGs all night

[/ QUOTE ]
I've been dealing the Satalites all week and all I can say is it's the worst display of poker I've seen in my 13 years in the business.