Heads up against Raymer WSOP Day 1 report

[SeriousStudent]

This is my first WSOP main event, and I’ve played only a handful of $500+ buy in live tournaments.

My first table is full of no name players, and at the end of the first break I’m up to 13,000 in chips.Over the next two levels, my chip count is bouncing up and down between 9,000 and 13,000, and after losing a pot AJs with two matching flush cards on flop but no help, I’m back down to 9000. Our table breaks, and my card is table 10 seat 1.

When I found table 10 in the massive hall, there was no one sitting there, so I approached the tournament director saying there must be a mistake. He said “No mistake, you are on the ESPN featured table on the platform in the center of the room”.

I sit down, get miked up by a guy with his hands up my shirt, and there is Greg Raymer in seat 7. I immediately go card dead for the next 2 hours, make two bluffs from late position with nothing, win one and lose one.

There is a small dot on the felt where you are supposed to put your cards, and an extra high railing around the table. I was more concerned with making sure the camera could see my cards than shielding them properly, and at the break one of the other players insisted that the player on my left saw my cards on the bluff I made in late position. How he knew, I don’t know, but I won’t make that mistake again. Fortunately it cost me only 800 chips.

At 7,000 in chips with the blinds 150/300 and 50 antes, UTG+1 opens with 950 and I call on the button with a pair of tens. Flop comes Q98 rainbow, he checks, I bet 1500, he check raises me all in. I thought longer about this hand than any in the tournament and decided to fold. Rayner says – “that was a bluff if I’ve ever seen one”, and my opponent flips over J9. That hurt, as I’m now at 4,000 remaining.

A few hands later, MP player opens with 900, called by the button, and I find A7 of diamonds in the big blind. I’ve got to do something soon, so I decide to call. Flop is Q38 two diamonds. I check, MP checks, button bets 1000, I call, MP calls. Turn is my diamond! I check, MP goes all in, button calls the all in and I can’t get my chips out there fast enough. Suddenly I’m at 12000+. I win a few pots bluffing ( with completely protected cards!) and another pot without a showdown and I’m up to about 15,000.

About 20 minutes later, Raymer makes it 900 to go in MP, button calls, I call in the big blind with AT diamonds. Flop comes all diamonds and Raymer has a piece of it. I wish I could remember what diamonds, but it is all a blur. I guess I can see it on TV later!

I check, he bets out 3,000 and I call. Turn is a blank. I check, he bets out 5,000 and I check raise all in, which he calls. He said he put me on the Ace of diamonds only. Heads up against Raymer I extract 15,000 and double up to 30,000. Yes, that hand played itself, but I didn’t care.

But with every up in poker, there is a down, and mine was to come about 9pm with 150-300 blinds and 25 antes. UTG makes it 1000 to go, there are 2 callers, and in the small blind I have J2. 4000 in the pot, 750 to call, I decide to gamble. BB calls as well.

Flop comes 89T. I check, big blind checks, UTG makes it 2000 ( he’s a short stack with about 6,000) folded to me, I call, big blind calls.

Turn is a Q. Pot has about 10,000 in it. I make it 8,000 to go to chase out the set that I think the UTG player may have. The big blind calls ( he is a LAG and bluffed earlier on the big blind with Q3 all in and then showed his hand). He has 4500 left after the call. He’s got the Jack for sure, and a good chance that he has the KJ. I’m hoping for a King on the river and he says “ I need that river”. River is a blank. I check, he goes all in. I looked at him and asked if he had the KJ, and there was no reaction except a small twitch of his lips. Somehow I became almost certain he had the KJ but there was 30,000 or so in the pot and I was getting 3 to 1 on even a split pot, so against my instinct I called and sure enough he flipped over the KJ to take the pot.

Now my stack is cut in half to 15k but then I find two black Queens in UTG+2 and raise 3x the big blind. Raymer calls on the button and here we are heads up again. Flop is K37 two diamonds. I bet out 2,000, and Raymer calls. Turn is the 3rd diamond. I hoping Raymer hadn’t forgotten about my two big wins with diamonds flushes, one against him. I bet out 4,000 and he thinks and says “You are Diamond Dave. I’ve got a great hand, but I smell diamonds”. Maybe I outplayed him there, but will have to wait for the TV to see if that hand is televised.

I end the day with 36,675 in 175th when the dealing is done at 2:30am. Raymer dropped from 60,000 when I sat down to 39,000 or so at the end of the day.

By the way, he is a very personable guy to play against, but those glasses are effective in person!

What an experience.

SeriousStudent= David Stamm ( misspelled Stramm on the cardplayer results site)

[Rick Diesel]

Great report, keep the updates coming.

[TxSteve]

Thanks for the report...pretty entertaining!

I bet you can't wait to hear norman chad ragging you about your play!! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

good luck when you get back to the tables!!

steve

[SossMan]

a nice day 1.

only one critique....

J2? I'm all for pot odds, but you are OOP vs. an UTG raiser with a terrible hand and you're not even closing the action. Hate hate hate it....

Other than that, well played.

[nolanfan34]

Nice write up, GL the rest of the way.

I hate the way you played the J2 hand. Even getting 5-1 or so in the SB, I see no reason to get involved in a multiway pot, out of position, with a 100BB stack. Not to say that I haven't made the same type of move before, especially when feeling confident after winning some big hands.

[nolanfan34]

[ QUOTE ]
J2? I'm all for pot odds, but you are OOP vs. an UTG raiser with a terrible hand and you're not even closing the action. Hate hate hate it....

Other than that, well played.

[/ QUOTE ]

Dammit, not fast enough, again. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[vindikation]

Great report thanks.

GOOD LUCK!

[chet]

Do you know what prompted Raymer to say that it "was a bluff if I've ever seen one"?

[junkmail3]

Finally a positive report ... I mean, dang!

[burningyen]

David, congrats on surviving the day! I was watching the TV table for a while, before Greg went on his monster run. Were you the guy in the aqua t-shirt?