WSOP is clearly rigged

just kidding. 1500 event didn't go so well, not that that wasn't to be expected, though, with the size of the fields and amount of variance in these things. I got my 3k starting stack (not a great structure) up to 6k by the first break, just grinding down people in small pots with pre flop raises and continuation bets/well-timed stabs. My first table had team pokerstars members Elky and Victor Ramdin at my table. Luckily, neither of them are particularly good at this game, so my table was overall pretty soft as a result. The only real pots that I played at my table consisted of me sucking out on this weird LAGish big young kid when I flatted his small preflop raise utg out of the bb with T9. I check/called a 8TK flop and a jack turn, and the king on the river was checked through and his T8o was no good (whoops!). A bit later, I repopped a middle position open with AQss and on an 8 high flop shoved over the original preflop raiser's flop donk-bet. He tanked for a long time and folded. Soon thereafter, I raised KJdd and was called by victor ramdin in the BB. Flop came KK2 and victor check/raised me from like 425 to 800 something, a little more than a minraise. I asked how much he had behind and he said "not much". I asked again and he gave me his retarded response, along with a number of something like 2k behind. I called and he check/folded an ace turn (that paired him up I think, too) when I accidentally put him all in but left myself 500 chips behind when announcing it and miseyeing my stack. I don't think it mattered a ton but it inevitably looks stronger than I wanted it to, and I would have rather stacked Ramdin than Cripple him.

A bit after the first break, a random donk at the table opened, and the button re-shoved for about 2500 at 2/400/ante. I 4 bet over-shoved AK into the 3 bet shover's AJ, and of course I could not suck out on the AJ [after the jack peeled on the turn]. That took me down when it would otherwise have put me up to ~12-14k and a well above average stack. After that, it was pretty much all downhill. I was moved tables and quickly donked off about 2500 when I raised T7s utg and got called by the button. He wasn't particularly deep, so we ended up getting it in on a ten high flop after he flatted QQ pf, which kind of sucked. I probably should have bet/folded this spot, but the randoms in the shorthanded event play particularly awful, and I had no read on this player at all, so basically getting like 2.5:1 on the shove, and thinking that he's probably dumb, I felt like he could make enough shoves with a big 8 (2nd pair top kicker on a board that he thinks I probably missed), or whiffed overs coming over the top of my continuation bet that I should just call the jam in-game. Oh well. After that, I was basically in push/fold mode, and got a bit of a stack ground back up, but to no avail. Grounded back down to around 14bb with antes, the small blind open-completed and I shoved Q4o in the big blind. He thought for a few seconds, said "lets gamble" or something standard and dumb, and limp/called with QJo. Standard, good game.

After that, we went to Craig's (Irieguy) for a barbeque and to watch the lakers game. Basically all of the 1500nl bustout's, aka everyone we know out here, was there hanging out. After the last person, Todd (bigt349/snoop todd) walked into the house after busting out, upon finally realizing that not one single person we knew was left, we kind of all looked at each other and said "wait, don't we all do this for a living? these 6 max games?" Pretty funny moment with a bunch of stoned/drunk poker players that just busted periodically throughout the day. Overall, a great barbeque and a good time though, especially watching hundo's fly through the room as people kept making random prop bets on what was happening in the basketball game.

Today, I headed down to the Rio to sweat the 5k shootout and play some nl500. I played a bit of cash to start the day, and quickly went up about half a stack when the table limped around and I completed 76ss. On a flop of 9sTsK it checked around to the button who led about 30 into 35, and I check/raised him to 135 total. He tanked for a long while and put his last 100 in over the top when I obviously insta-called the last bit and he showed me T9. A beautiful 8 peeled on the turn, completing my gutshot and leaving the kid really pissed "that people raise on draws and get there" or something ridiculous. I'm not quite sure why everyone is always at the top of their range against me out in Vegas, but, at least some of the house luckbox is working, as Ryan took down his 1st table of the 5k shootout, advancing to the round of 36 tomorrow. I don't think anyone else we know is still in so, let's hope for him shipping a bracelet in a coupe of days.

After leaving the series today, we headed back home with Scott (scotty12). We went back to his place to hang with the other half of last year's WSOP house, and then we ended up at green valley ranch casino for an excellent sushi dinner. Sadly, my luckbox just doesn't usually work right, and I was goated into credit card roulette, the game of flips for the dinner bill that I NEVER EVER WIN EVER NO MATTER WHAT EVER. After having called that I got stuck with the 300 dollar dinner bill *again*. Staaaandard (god damn it, one time let me not lose that stupid rigged game, please).

We donked around at the roulette tables for a little while thereafter before coming back home to relax. I'll probably go down to sweat the next round of the shootout and hopefully to play more. I'll also probably be playing the 1,500 shootout on monday, and an event in the caesar's mega-stack tournament series next week as well. Maybe I can win some money at this tournament thing....or just do the smart thing and grind cash games. One way or another, we'll find out what it'll be (if not hopefully both lucksacking a donkament and putting in cash-game time). That's what's been going on the last day or two, thanks for reading.


-Alex