Christmas Greetings

I just got back from a wonderful Christimas with my wife's family. My in-laws decided to have a destination Xmas in Snowshoe, WV. I have been there a handful of times in high school and college always having a blast, but this year I have officially given up on skiing. The pain in my ankles the last time I attempted was just too much. So with their entire family looking foward to hitting the slopes I was a bit concerned, but they went out of the way to plan plenty of other reindeer games I could participate in. They took me snowmobiling for the first time and tubing for the first time. In addition to that we played a bunch of games and watched a bunch of movies, two things I absolutely love to do. They, as always, out did themselves with the gift giving. I was a very happy little boy Christmas morning.
Every year Morgan and I split up the holidays and every year I think I will miss the family aspects of the holidays, but just like every other year they show me how much a part of the family I am. They are all special people and I am very lucky to call them family.

Justin "robert07" Young

Eric "Basebaldy" Baldin is 2009 POY

Even though Eric and I are competitors in a fairly small market it was incredible watching him go after the 2009 Cardplayer Player of the Year. He made all he sacrifices needed to give himself an optimal chance for a win. Despite Cornell winning two WPT's and Yev winning the biggest live and online tournaments of 2009, Eric was still able to beat them both by a fairly large number. The victory of the Bellagio 1K rebuy event extended his lead to over 1000 points meaning only two guys had a chance to catch him. Not only that, but they had to finish 4th or higher in one of the toughest tournaments of the year.
Eric deserves all of the respect that comes along with this award and will be a great spokesman for poker over his time in this game. He is the "Dallas Clark" of poker. Everyone knows he is extremely skilled, but still manages to fly under the media radar. He is one tv final table away from being a house hold name.
Due to a huge down swing at the end of my 2009 I have had to live thru Eric's successes. Watching a close friend do well has helped me go a little less crazy during this cold streak. I hope if Eric ever runs cold I can win a huge tournament to make him feel better.

Justin "robert07" Young

Out of WPT Bellagio

I came into the day with about 21 big blinds. I wasnt going to press since I knew the structure is really good. I folded in a couple marginal spots in the first orbit erroring on the side of caution. There was a really good spot to steal a blind, but a young guy to my right took it away from me. I thought about 3 bet pushing there, but I wasnt sure how he played. The previous hand to my bust hand, the guy to my left won a nice pot. Which means its another great time to steal his BB. It folded around to the same kid on the button and he raised to 2200. I looked at Q4o and thought it was good enough, so I shoved. He took little time to call 13.5K more with KQ and despite a flop of 235 I was out the door.
I will be playing the $500 today at Bellagio for my last live tourny of the year.

Justin "robert07" Young

Day 1 of WPT Bellgio

Not that WPT's get me excited enough, but since I final tabled this event last year I was just a bit more focused....or so I thought. Its not that I played horrible on day one, but I did make a couple of mistakes. I never made a hand and when I did I called off in bad spots. I did make some nice bluffs to keep myself in the tourny, but it was not enough to earn me a pile of chips. I come into day 2 with 17K and the blinds will be 400/800. I am pleased with my table draw, but when I am this short it may come down to timing.
On a positive note Eric Baldwin won the 1K rebuy event at Bellagio. The win puts a strangle hold on the POY race with only two people having draws to beat him. Even though Yev and Cornell are nice guys I would like everyone to think bad poker thoughts about them today.

Justin "robert07" Young

5K HORSE and 1500 NL

The 5K HORSE was an after thought. I went in just to play the juicy PLO games I had seen in days past. I stopped by the tournament room just to see how many players. To my suprise the number was at 40 and growing. I still went to play cash, but secretly wanted to play the event. I sat down to play 25/50 PLO with a couple fish and a couple really good players who had been up for 30 hrs straight. I just bought in for 5K so I was a bit more selective with my starting hands, and gambled a bit more post flop. Though I thought it was a fine strategy (sp?), it did not go in my favor. The game was playing very loose so 3 people would call me down every time. So the pot was 20K+ but it reduced my odds. I got it in with top set, wraps, combo draws, 2 pairs, etc...and lost every one. After 25K left my possesion I decided to just cut my loses and play the HORSE. I ended up final tabling and finishing just in the money at 8th place. I was short for all of day 2 and got it in, in stud with (KQ)K vs Jason Mercier's (QJ)K leaving me a huge favorite. He ran off A-A on 5th and 6th streets to go ahead and I could not catch up.
I immediatley jumped in the 1500 NL and quickly build my stack to 45K (starting stack 10K). I bluffed off half of it on a missed draw. I slowly built my stack back to 55K going into dinner. Then after dinner I flopped a set and lost and put in 25% of my stack with JJ and folded to James VanAlstine. I was down to 11BB before I knew it and stuck it in with 66 against AK. An ace on the flop sent me packing.
Today is a 5K PLO rebuy which I will not be playing. The last couple months have been horrific for me and despite playing average to above average, my bankroll needs a day off.

Justin "robert07" Young

1K Rebuys and a Miserable Sunday

I played the 1K rebuy a little splashy, but my table was playing fairly nitty. I showed a couple bluffs that worked and from there I got paid off on all my made hands. The big one being KK vs AK for 50K in chips. I did the double add on to put me up to 75K. I chiped up quickly to 100K, but hovered between 120K and 80K for some time. As we approached the bubble I played a bit more aggressivley which allowed me to balloon my stack to 165K when the following hand came up. Player A (a random who on the hand before opened to 16K and folded when a small stack pushed for 30K more), opened for 11K in early. I found AKo and three bet him to 30K in hopes he is either a nit and will fold or feels attacked and will rip with worse. Instead he flat calls. I have not played with him at all, but I guessed he is not capable of slow playing a large hand in this spot. Medium pairs and AQ are the most likely range. The flop was J103 rainbow, he checked and I checked behind. With 135K behind and 75K in pot I did not like a small bet and since I had position I did not like a pot committing bet. The turn was the Ace of hearts and he immediatley bet 50K. I hate my hand and this spot and wanted to fold, but there was too good a chance I had the best hand. I could just call and see if he slows down, but I felt like I would miss some value from his range of worse hands. I decided to rip 85K more and he snapped with the nuts (KQhh). If I could have found the discipline (sp?) to just call and fold to a push on the river, I think that was the correct play. But, since I have never played with him I dont know if I could have done that. So at 115am I busted a couple spots from the money.
I got up Sunday to play the whole slate, but I did not cash in anything making the day a 4K loser. There is a Bellagio tourny today. I have no idea how much or what game, but I am going in to play. I feel like I am playing good poker and expect something to happen soon.

Justin "robert07" Young

1500 with Rebuys PLO

I'll give you a quick run down of the tournament and then the hand I was ousted from the tournament with. I ran as bad as I could during the rebuy portion of the tournament. And of course as I continued to lose I increased my gambling. We will just say I was the "rebuy" leader of the tourny. After the rebuy period closed I hit a couple hands to push me up to 145K (twice avg). A small cooler put me down to about 110K after dinner. There was 16 left and 5 spots pay. 110K was good for average and I liked my table draw. UTG limped for 1600 as did I with a pretty big hand AcQd10d4c. A double suited hand with 3 high connecters is better than a limp hand, but I wanted to see a flop with it. With aggressive players behind I could just call or reraise if certain players popped it. One other person limped and Frank Kasella bet pot out of the SB. Frank had just lost a couple big pots and has a very wide range here. The BB folded and the UTG limper called. UTG is a novice to the game, but usually selects strong hands preflop. All of my options are available and could be correct. I was more worried about UTG than Frank and thought if I pushed that he could call me down with a hand that hand me in big trouble. But....with Frank spewing a little bit I felt a call was best. The other limper folded and with 32K in the pot the flop was QcJd4h giving me top and bottom pair with a gut shot and two back door flush draws. Frank had 32K in his hand and just dropped it in as the flop was being exposed. UTG folded and it was on me with 100K in front of me. Normally I would just shove, but Frank gave a speech that made me think he was strong. The hands I was worried about was JJxx and QJxx. Knowing that Frank would beat in the middle with any draw I decided to just call leaving myself 68K behind. I was going to fold if a A, J, 10, 9, or 8 hit the turn otherwise I was going with it. The turn was a 2s and he quickly annonce all in. I was still sure he liked his hand, but had no clue if I was ahead. I missed both my back doors, but after making the call on the turn I felt I had to call. He showed KhQsJs8h for top two. I needed a A, K or 4 to win, but the 9c fell and I was out. I'd like to think I am a pretty good PLO player, but I am unsure if my analysis of this hand is correct for tounament play. Unfortunatley all the good PLO players I knew were playing, so I will have to wait to run down the hand with them.
There is a 500 NLHE today and I will be playing. Yesterday was a miserable day that had me a huge loser. It will be tough to play well in today's event when I will need to finish 2nd to recoup yesterdays loses.

Justin "robert07" Young

1K Bellagio

The 1K at bellagio started off promising. I bluffed two streets only to get there on the river and got paid off. The pot pushed me to 16K from the 10K starting stack. In a limped pot from the button I called with Q8o. With 6 way action (300 in the pot) the flop came AsQc8s. BB led for 200 and a guy in middle position raised to 600. Another guy cold called and it was on me. I could make an argument for all the options, but I elected to just call. The turn was the 8d giving me a full house. The raiser bet 1700 and the other caller folded. Hands like AA (he was the first limper) and A8 are very possible, but I cant just fold with such a draw heavy board. So I called and the river was the 9s. This completed the flush and a straight. He bet 4200 and as much as I wanted to I could not fold. He showed A8 and scooped the pot. After that I doubled with AK vs QQ aipf. I chiped up to as much as 30K before I started losing chunks at a time. A10 vs JJ, AJ vs 1010 and 77 vs AA put me out the door with about 50 left (160 started).
Today's event is the 1500 PLO with rebuys. I am hoping for a decent turnout of 75 players, but I have been wrong before.

Justin "robert07" Young

Day 2 Venetian Main Event

I went into day 2 with above average chips and a lot of confidence. The day started with me opening a ton of pots causing my stack to be in a constant state of flux. There were a couple tough spots, but overall I did not mind the table. I was moved to the easiest table in the room so I began to open up my game. Though the process was slow, I chipped up from 70K to 130K without much worries. As we were approaching the bubble, I knew I could do some real damage, but I was moved yet again. This time I was moved to the toughest table in the room. I was still able to chip up due to some timely bluffs. I was up to around 200K when the following hand came up. A super tight aggressive player raised from middle and I called from the SB with 96dd (I would fold AJ maybe AQ), and Cantu called from the big. The board was 8c7d3c giving me an open ended draw and a backdoor flush draw. We checked to him and he bet 20K (90%pot). I called and Cantu mucked. I was pretty sure he had an overpair and was hoping to catch the nuts or a good scare card on the turn. The turn was a 8s. It wasnt the best scare card, but I thought I could led out and save having to make a decision when he bet pot. So I bet 29K. He quickly announce raise and made it 90K even. I was still sure he had an overpair, so pushing to represent the third 8 is possible, but with so many draws he could find the courage for a call. Folding is certainly an option, but I wanted to play a bit more high variance since I had a plane reservation the following morning. With a call I would leave myself with 95K, and since I was sure of his hand I was going to open rip if a club hit or if I make my hand. Thinking he has to call if a non club 5 or 10 hits and he has to fold if any club hits. I made the iffy call and I was rewarded with the 5d of the river. I knew he would check behind so I led all in. He started tanking and I was pissed. I was expecting the quick crying call. After about 2 minutes he found a fold. The pot pushed me to 350K and 3rd in chips in the tourny. After losing a few smallish pots I got in 280K with top two pair against Cantu's top pair and a flush draw. The river was his heart and I was down to 45K. After being fortunate to double up with AA vs A3 and again with AQ vs A7, and again with A7 vs KQ I was amongst the trees. Then the night fell apart. I took 77 vs two all in opponents one with Q8ss, and the other with A6hh. I was clean till the river when a Q hit. The pot was 450K and would have put back to 2nd in chips with 25 to go. Then I lost another huge flip with AJo vs 66 for 60% of my stack. Then the same guy finished me off with KK vs my same AJo. I got knocked out with 4 minutes left in the day meaning I could catch my flight, but 19th was very bitter for me. For the starting hands and the all in luck I had I was amazed how deep I made it. I feel like I was playing B+/A- poker, which I havent really played since the WSOP. I am looking foward to the Bellagio starting up.

Justin "robert07" Young

Texas Trip and Day 1 of the Venetian Main

We left on Friday to go to Austin, Texas for Cody's bachalor party. Jon, Cody and I got the airport and start the morning off right with a shot and a beer. Once on the plane a lovely older woman was offered free booze the entire flight if she changed seats for a family. She preceded to get hammered and despite our best efforts to sleep she decided she wanted to talk to us. With Cody's hands in his lap, she scooped up his far arm (grazing his upper leg) to see what time it was. The commotion woke Cody and I both up. The rest of the flight included drunk babbling, close talking and two reinactments of the arm scoop.
Once in Austin we drank ourselves silly dowtown. For lunch the next day we went 30 minutes outside of Austin to "The Salt Lick" for quite possibly the best BBQ I have tasted. Later that night Texas played Kansas in a primetime game. We snuck in 10 pints (not airplane bottles) into the game and proceeded to get wrecked. After the Longhorn cover we hit the bars again and passed out.
The following morning at 5 am we all piled into a shuttle and started a long trip to Dallas. The Dallas/Redskins game was an early game so we had to get on the road. The stadium was amazing, all the pictures and video dont do this monsterous structure justice. Unfortunately the game was equally as bad and not even a last minute drive by the Cowboys could salvage the game in my eyes. After the game we went to a bar and watched the late games. But with the lack of sleep we all kept real quiet for the rest of the night.
The Venetian main event started as we got back, so of course we played. I chipped up from our starting stack of 20K to just under 95K without any real big pots. My last table was pretty tight and I was able to go from 30K to 95K by only showing 2 hands down (both winners and both premium). Day 2 starts at 2pm and I will hopefully have all the chips or be knocked out as I have a flight to go see my family in New Bern, NC early Wednesday morning.

Justin "robert07" Young

1K Venetian

The 1K at Venetian got almost 170 people which is fantastic for a Monday. My starting table consisted of a couple solid players, 2 good players and the rest were just terrible. I busted a short stack as he bluffed his chips into my bottom set. The pot put me up to 25K. I slowly chipped up taking myself out of iffy situations. I even laid down AQ, AQ and AJ preflop to one bet, based on player and bet sizing. These hometown heroes are so used to getting called no matter what they bet. They are used to changing their bet sizing accordingly. So everytime this one guy made 4X or more I would just muck. And he showed AA, AA, and KK. When our table broke I had about 37K. The new table was much more aggressive so I sat back for 3 orbits and played very tight. Then I looked down at Q8dd and raised from middle. A very loose aggresive guy called in position and the flop was 9d8s7c. I c-betted 1500 (60% pot) and he called. The turn was a Ah putting a complete rainbow on board. I put him on a pair and a draw: 109, J9, J8, 66 etc. So instead of possibly bluffing the next two streets I decided to c'raise the turn. I checked and he bet 3500. I raised to 10800 and he snap called, which made me feel good. If a straight card hit then I could just check fold. If it didnt its an easy bluff. The Ks hit and I fired 18500. He gave a speech about how lucky I am and mucked 109. Shortly after that I played a streeet really bad against the same player. I raised with Ad6d and he min 3 bet me to 2400. I called and the flop was 1064 with one diamond. He bet 2K into 6K and since there was a good chance I was ahead with my sixes, so I called. The turn was a Kd. There was about 8k in the pot and he had about 20k in front of him. Of all the options I had I picked the worst. I should have either over bet the pot and try to make him lay down 88, 99, JJ, QQ or I should check and fold to a big bet and call/rip to a small one. I checked and he bet 7K and then I ripped for his last 13K. Even if he had JJ he is making the call. Either way he had AA and I missed my draw. The very next hand there was a raise and 3 callers. I looked down at AKo and 30bbs and put it all in the middle. The 2nd caller made the call with JJ and I was out the door. Considering how splashy I have been playing lately I think I played well outside of the A6dd hand.

Justin "robert07" Young

FTOPS

I played a decent amount of poker this week between sitting on my couch playing FTOPS and sitting in the Venetian playing their deep stack series. Not only did I not final table either one I didnt even cash. I did find some shallow cashes in other events online including a final table in FTP's 100k grtd. I finished 7th as my KK lost to Q7. In a Venetian $300 I built up a huge stack (80K with the blinds 500/1000) when a young kid was moved to our table with about 70K. I opened 3 times in a row, with the 3rd time having AKo. The kid 3 bet to 9K and I needed to decide how much to 4 bet. I made it 24.5K thinking it looked super strong, but the kid ripped and I called off. He had QQ and the board ran out 1099KQ. The river Q crippled me and caused me to lose a chipleading pot.
This week I will play one or two Venetians and one or two sessions online, hopefully giving me some time to get ready to go to Texas this weekend. Cody's bachelor party will be in Austin/Dallas as we will catch a Texas/KU game as well as a Cowboy/Redskin game. I hope my liver can handle the beating of a barely conscience weekend. I am hoping to get some errands done as well as hang out with Morgan in the mean time.

Justin "robert07" Young

FTOPS and My Weekend

The FTOPS started late last week, and per usual I have showed no results. Since I have played FTOPS I have yet to final table let alone win one. I dont have the exact figures, but my ROI has to worse than -100%. I dont understand why with such a large sample size. They have good structures and I would like to think that I play atleast my "B" game as it is a tournament I care about. I guess I can still prove myself with the remaining schedule. I am doubtful to play today as my Denver Broncos look to go 7-1 at home against the Steelers. The Steelers are road favorites which means I am probably going to wager on the Broncos. I am curious to see how we look after getting out manned against Baltimore last week. Time for McDaniels to step up and be a head coach. Everyone was praising him (and rightfully so) when we were 6-0, but its easy when your winning. So lets see how he handles some adversity.
This weekend Mary, Morgan, and I went to a BBQ place and then to see "Zombieland". The BBQ was good and the movie was much better than I thought. The acting was above average with Woody Harleson stealing the show. I was impressed with the writing for a "spoof" zombie movie. Between the jokes and the zombies the movie flew by. Also Bill Murray made an awesome cameo as himself. Sunday I played online all day with only one good result. I won a satty to PCA. It was my 4-5th time trying so I saved some money. I was on the fence about going, but I think this seals it for me.

Justin "robert07" Young

Caesars 5K

We had a tough staring table as Jason Mercier, 'lilholdem', John Little, and Jamie Rosen were all in a row. The day started off great as I chipped up fairly easily in the first level. My ease continued until I cold called a huge 3 bet with 96cc. The 3 better was extremely nitty and I thought it would be a easy spot to win post flop. The flop came 8c7d3c giving me the world. I check raised healthy and he min raised that. I insta shipped and he tanked forever before making a hero call with QhQs. I had been showing some bluffs, so I am not shocked that he called. Somehow I bricked my 15 outs twice and lost a 45K pot and was down to 12K. I may have been tilted as I tried a multi street bluff against a huge calling station. My read was right atleast as he called off with KK on a ace hi flop. In addition to my early exit I lost 18 units to Mercier in prop betting. The kid runs sooooo hot.
I got to see a horror movie the other day in theatres, Paranormal Activity. It was scary, but has yet to yield a nightmare or irry feeling since. So I would recommend it, but dont expect to pee yourself.

Day 3 Bellagio Main Event

My table consisted of Dutch Boyd, Lee Markholt, Chris Ferguson, Gary Gibbs, Mike Leah, and Alan Smurfit. I was pretty card dead all day, but that was no excuse for how bad I played. There were plenty of good spots to 3 bet, which I opted to just call. I tried making moves post flop twice once against Lee Markholt which of course did not work and this hand against Dutch. A weak player opened in early to 8K (blinds 1500/3000) and Dutch called from the button. I had 75dd in the BB and elected to call. The flop was 10d8c6s. We checked to Dutch who bet 12K I called as did the other player. The turn was a 7h putting a 4 card straight on board. We checked to Dutch and he fired 18K. I didnt think he had it so I made it a total of 41K leaving myself 110K behind. He starts to himmm and haww making me think he is going to fold, then he finds a call. My original plan was to push the river unless the board paired, but after an ace hit the river I chickened out. I gave up and he showed 54o for the bottom straight. Turns out his anguish was legitimate and I shoulda fired the river. I got moved to Corwin Cole and Jcarver's table shortly after. I 3 bet Corwin light and he 4 bet pushed. The next time I 3 bet him with 88 to which I was going to call off, but the tight guy in the BB cold 4 bet and I laid them down. Losing that pot put me around 13BB. After 2 orbits with no good spots I found Q9ss on Dan Shak's BB. He is a very tight player so I pushed. The button found AQdd and made the call sending me to the rail before the money.
I am going to play the 5K Caesars tourny on Tuesday leaving today to run some errands and hopefully watch a bad horror movie.

Justin "robert07" Young

Day 2 Bellgaio Main Event

The day started off really well as I got a terrific starting table. Scott Clements was moved to my left and I still did not want to move. The soft spots were all over the place and Scott wasn't messing with me. Unfortunately we were one of the first ones to break. My new table had Carter King, Billy Kopp, Steve Brecher, David Singer, Ralf Perry, Ted Lawson and a guy named Cary whom has owned me everytime we have played. I started to open a lot to see who was going to be a pain. After the 6th 3-bet from a different person I decided everyone, so I played fairly tight. I limped UTG with 66 (blinds 600/1200 100 ante) and Carter made in 4100 in middle position. Both blinds called as did I. The flop came down Js10c6s giving me bottom set. Also with the texture of the board I knew it would be hard for anyone to give me credit for a real hand with so many draws out. It checked to Carter and he bet 10.2K, both blinds folded and I of course raised so I could ensure us to get all the money in the pot. I made it 33.2K and he pushed rather quickly for about 70K total. I called and he was almost drawing dead with the AcJh. The pot pushed me up to 190K. A guy whom I had played with before took David Singers seat. I remembered him to overplay his hands, but he came to the table with a stack of over 250K. I found A10hh UTG+1 and made it 4200 (blinds 800/1600 200ante). The new guy called from the button. His range was wide open at this point. The flop came down 8c7h5c missing me completely, but I liked a c-bet here so I bet 6500. He called quickly, so I gave him credit for a medium to small pair or some kind of draw. The turn was the Qs. As long as he doesnt have a flush draw with a Queen a bet for me made since. So I bet 13.5K, again he called quickly. Although a draw is now most likely now, I still didnt know if I was ahead. The river was a 2d bricking everything. A lot of the time I would check call here to induce a bluff, but I thought hands like 99, 1010, 98, and 97 were in his range so I fired again to get those hands to fold. I put out 5 5K chips for a bet of 25K. He quickly went for chips and I felt sick. Except he grabbed enough for a raise and made it 75K total. I decided to hollywood for 5 seconds before mucking, but in that 5 seconds I thought the raise made absolutely no sense. I know him to overplay his big hands so there was no way he was slow playing a set or a straight. So the only two hands I was worried about was the 9c6c (flopped straight with flush redraw) or the 22 for a rivered set. I was also a bit scared he was bluffing with AJcc. After a long tank I decided to call and he quickly mucked his cards. Part of me was hoping he did have AJcc at that point so I tabled my A10hh for ace hi to see his reaction. The table went nuts, but appartly he only had king high. The hand gave me confidence and also gaurenteed me not to get bluffed much for the rest of the day. The pot pushed me up to 280K, but the last level saw little action and I dribbled down to 260K to end the day. Day 3 is today and I hope to have more good news tommorrow.

Justin "robert07" Young

The Dumbest Bet Ever and the Bellagio Main Event

I have to tell everyone about the dumbest bet ever made by me and quite possibly the entire human race, because with you help of making fun of me I hope to learn a lesson. During the 3K prelim at the Bellagio, Devilfish was at my table with a half stack talking about how he is still going to win. I told him he was not and gave him a line of 25 to 1. He accepted and 10 minutes later he was out the door and I had 1K in my pocket. The next day he was playing 25/50 NL with me and he was losing. He asked me to set a line for him in the 10K PLO. I imagined that the event was going to get 50-60 people and knowing he is a good omaha player I said 40-1. He jumped all over it before I realized that I committed myself to the bet. To make matters worse he told me he wanted another 1K at 35-1....and I accepted. At this point I am feeling dumb, but not horrible. I start to ask people I thought would play the event if they were and all I heard was a resounding "no". I started to get worried so I of course played the event myself. I was one of 16 people who showed up to play. I am feeling dumb now, but the field is tough and I atleast have some control since I am in the tourny. On the first hand Devilfish doubles up, and then on the 8th hand I lose half my stack with top set vs a wrap. At this point I am freaking out a bit. I go out in 14th place while Devilfish finishes the night with the starting stack. With only six people remaining I can barely sleep. I of course have to come down and sweat the final table. With 4 people left Devilfish is the chip lead or tied for the chiplead. I start to think how hard I worked for 75K and how much it'll hurt. Somehow I get a text that Ted Lawson busted him while I was blowing off steam. I had to confirm it, as many people would find it funny to mess with a desperate man. It was true and I was clean. Not only was the line awful I gave him, but risking that much money just to win 2K might be the dumber end. Even if I gave him 11 to one its a dumb bet because I dont want to risk losing 22K for only 2K. And that is why I am quite possibly the dumbest man ever.
On to poker, I played day one of the Bellagio Main Event. I had Lee Watkinson, Evan McNiff, David Oppenhiem, and Abe Moressi at my table. I was coolered early when I flopped 3 eights and bet all three streets heavy only to see Oppenhiem hit the hidden end of his combo draw on the turn. I managed to chip up from 20K (starting stack was 60K) up to 40K by being very aggresive. Then in the last level of the night (300/600 50ante), Oppenhiem limped from the hijack and McNiff raised to 2400 on the button. I looked down at two wonderful kings and made it 7800. Oppenhien tanked for 3 second and reraised all in. McNiff folded and had to tank for a good 20 seconds before I called off. He showed 99 and the board ran out dry. The pot pushed me over 85K where I ended the night. Day 2 is today so hopefully I will have some great news tommorrow.
On a personal note, yesterday was my 3 year anniversary with Morgan. She was cool enough not to care about me playing in the tourny as long as we celebrated afterwards. She has always been supportive of me no matter what. Thanks Morgan.

Justin "robert07" Young

Aruba III

After busting the main event I played two post-lims, a 1K and a 2K shorthanded. The 1K was a bit of a blur as the structure and the scotches were going fast. I of course had a ton of chips then lost some flips and 30/70s to get about avg when we were approaching the bubble. I stayed aggressive, but kept losing races to keep my stack modest. Just before the bubble I lost KK vs AQ for most my stack, but immediately doubled up with 57cc vs A4o to have avg chips (13bbs) going into the money. I doubled up a 4bb stack to put me a bit short, so I of course pushed the cutoff with Q2hh. The chipleader (22BBs) found a call with A8 and it held. I was out in 9th.
The 2K shorthanded went quicker for me. A tight player raised the cutoff and I called the button with 107ss. The small blind who was playing super aggro 3 bet small. I had just enough behind to shove and get him to fold a marginal hand, so I thought. He called pretty quickly getting 1.6 to 1 with A10o.
The rest of the trip consisted of laying out, walking around, eating, drinking, and wacthing Eric make a deep run in the main event. We never got around to tubing or parasailing, but it was certainly a good last few days. Eric got 4th place which was good enough to put him back in first in the Cardplayer POY race. As nice as it was there I was ready to be home. Living out of a suitcase for longer than a week makes me miss home no matter where I am.
Since being home I played a 3K event at Bellagio that attracted 31 people to which I busted around 6pm and put in a session online that saw me lose close to 15K in cash games. There is a 5K event at the Bellagio today, but I am very doubtful I am going to play. That being said I think I am going to go in a play cash

Justin "robert07" Young

Aruba Part II

Now that we had some fun I was very anxious to get to the main event. As I got to my table I only recognized one player. He was solid with the capability to get creative on one street. But after looking over the table I was sure he wouldn't play that many pots with me. On day one I had a few note worthy hands. The first two were against a woman whom I had thought was decent, but as the day went on she proved to be just very unorthodox. She would limp and call raises out of postion and then lead the flop half the time. I raised here BB with K10o and both blinds called. The flop was K106 rainbow. They checked to me and I bet half pot and she called. The turn was a 2 (completing the rainbow). She checked and I bet half pot again (about 3200). She c'raised to 8K. I had about 20k behind, but I did not like a shove just in case she was bluffing or if she had KQ or even AA. There was a strong chance she had 66 as well so I elected to just call and see how strong she looked on the river. The river was another 6 and she quickly checked. At this point 66 was not possible so her range was AA, KQ, KJ, K10, or QJ. I pushed all in thinking I might get action from AA or KQ and might get K10 to fold. After 10 seconds she mucked K10 face up. On hand two against her, she limped UTG and I found KsKc on the button. I made it 825 (blinds 100/200 ante 25). She of course called. The flop was Ah9s7s. She lead 1K and instead of assuming she had it I decided to raise to 2750. She called fairly quickly. The turn was the 7h and she checked. I bet 3800 thinking she would have to fold an ace worse than AJ. She debated for a while and called. The river was the As double pairing the board and making a flush. She reached for chips quickly and tossed in 6k. I had 21K in front of me, for what should have been an easy fold, but for some reason I didnt think she had an ace. Though she was bad she would have raised with AK, AQ, and maybe AJ from early. The way the action went I felt like she had to fold A10 or worse. So it was AJ or a flush to which she did not notice or care about the double paired board, but since I couldnt beat either I decided to push all in. She quickly picked up her cards and mucked the 10 hi flush. Even though I was right, I dont like my play. My table was too easy to make such risky moves. After I of course showed my bluff I made another lo risk bluff and showed rags again. 2 hands later I picked up AA. I of course raised and the flop came Q52 with two clubs. I bet and the button called. Turn was a 9d, and again I bet and he called. The river was a Jh and with about 8K in the pot I pushed him all in for his last 15K. He beat me in the pot and showed KQ proudly. Even though showing bluffs is sometimes frowned on, it got me paid of here for a nice pot. I ended the day with about 62K good for a top ten stack going into day 2.
The first twenty minutes of day 2 is what you dream about. The deck hit me very hard and I busted 4 short stacks while only doubling up one. I had 95K and was looking to run over the table. But my bluffing got me in trouble and then I lost a massive cooler with KQ vs 109 on a KQJ board against an aggressive player. My stack was down to 32ish when the following happened. I raised to 2K (blinds 400/800) with 97hh. The button called and so did the BB. The flop was 7s5h2s, I bet 4K and the button called and the BB folded. The turn was the Jc. With 14K in the pot and 26K in my stack I decided to go for a check raise. He bet 11K and I was taken back. I was hoping he would bet 8K giving me plenty of fold equity. Though I hate my line I decided to call and check call any river that was not a spade. The river was 8s and I check folded. He showed the AQo for ace hi and a nice float on the flop. This is one of the hands where I should have taken another 20 seconds before I checked the turn so I could have a plan for what happened. I always tell people in order to play at a high level you need to plan out the different scenarios in order to be prepared. I did not and was burned by it. I ended up getting it in pre with AKhh vs 66 for 40BB and lost.
Part III coming tommorrow with the rest of the trip.

Justin "robert07" Young

Aruba part 1

Considering a couple of 4+hr flights and a layover in Philadelphia, the travel went pretty smoothly. Morgan and I took a red eye which put us in Aruba around 2pm on Saturday. It was pretty much what I expected with the beautiful beaches and the carribean resort feel to it. We checked in and went straight to the beach. There were bars and food chains all over the place putting me never to far away from food and alcohol. On Sunday we did the most unAruban thing you can do...we found a sports bar and watched football all day. The beer was small (like 8oz) and expensive. We discovered the local beer called Balashi and proceeded to literally drink them out of it. On a positive note the Broncos went to 4-0 with a great defensive performance against the Cowboys.
We all decided to play on day 1b (Tuesday) in order to do some fun touristy stuff on Monday. Renee made an appointment for us (Morgan & I, Renee & Cody, Eric & Mary, and Titantom & gboro) to take a dunebuggy tour of the island. The dunebuggys are called Tomcars and were originally designed for the Isreali boarder patrol. The looked like fancy ATV's but boy they were powerful. The island is all made from coral that was pushed up due to a underwater volcanic eruption so the terrain was bumpy to say the least. These things could g0 50+mph so taking them up and down hills was a treat. On our tour we saw a scenic church, a lighthouse, and a gold mine not to mention the natural views of a coral coastline being thrashed by the waves. Towards the end of the tour we went snorkling at a small beach. This is always a favorite of mine as I equate it to hiking under water. Morgan and I attempted to take some cool pics with an underwater camera, but its doubful any of them turned out.
I will post part II tommorrow and itll discuss the main event for me.

Justin "robert07" Young

Shinedown

My buddy Nick from college came into to town last Thursday. On Friday we went to the Venetian for the daily tournament. Once we got 5 handed everyone wanted to make a deal. I of course was the only objecter. In my defense they wanted an even chop when I was the chip lead. But everyone got a nice chuckle as I was ousted in 4th place. I played super aggro and got my money in bad 5 times. And despite only being 60%-70% dogs I lost each and every one. On Saturday we went to the Green Valley sportsbook to watch our teams. NC State had a very impressive win over a tough Pitt team. This put the pack at 3-1 going into the ACC schedule. On Sunday Nick went to the strip to play and I decided to play online. I had zero cashes going into the last 5 tournies. I was able to min cash in two of them to ease the pain a bit, but overall it was a bad poker day. On the bright side my Denver Broncos continued their undefeated season crushing the Raiders. Our defense looks like the real thing, but we will find out for sure as we face the Dallas Cowboys next Sunday. On Monday Nick and I were planning to go see Shinedown at The House of Blues. I went down early to put in a small cash game session of 10/20NL. The game was relatively tough except for one huge fish. I had played against him before and attempted what I know now as a silly bluff. He loooooves to make hero calls, especailly if he knows you are capable of bluffing. Becuase of this fact I was on my best behavior, due to him already seeing me try and bluff him before. I will illustrate his fishyness in one hand breakdown. I raised from middle with the 8s7s, the button calls and fish makes it 200 more out of the big. I of course call and the button folds. The flop is Jh9s8h giving me bottom pair and a gutter ball. He bet 380 and knowing I could still be ahead I decided to call in position. The turn was a 8c. He bet 640 this time. I raised to 2040 and he beat me in the pot. The river was a 7h giving me a full house and completing the flush and straight draws. I thought for sure he was just going to push, but to my suprise he checked. I did not think he would pay me off unless he made a straight or flush, but he woulda bet if he hit either. Which means he only had an overpair. I fired out 2800 and he called and tabled aces. He was shocked he was beat on a J9887 board with three hearts out there. He quit and the game broke immediatley. I watched MNF until Nick arrived ready to go. I have heard a few songs from Shinedown, but never enough to know if I liked them. Nick assured me I would and low and behold they kicked ass. It has been a long time since I saw a concert and boy did I miss it. On the way to the dentist today I heard them on the radio and I was shocked how much better they sounded live. If anyone is a fan of rock music and concerts I recommend to go see them.

Justin "robert07" Young

WCOOPing

Morgan's sister and boyfriend were town last weekend. We stayed at the Bellagio on Friday night. Andy (the boyfriend) and I played 1/2 NL much of the afternoon while the girls shopped. I played a bit loose aggressive, but still for some reason wanted to win in front of Andy. I peeled 600 from the session and Andy came away a winner as well. On Saturday we went to Red Rock to go hiking. This is my favorite thing to do in Vegas so I was pumped. It was a bit hot and we ate Chipolte before, so we were only able to stay out for about a hour. The rest of the weekend included watching football, lawn games, and grilling out, so much fun.
When Monday came around I knew I would get back to poker and play a bunch of WCOOPs. I essentially sat on my couch for a week outside of one day where I sat on Cody's couch. Early on I had little success as I only had a couple shallow cashes to talk about. It all changed on Saturday as I won the $500 heads up PLO event. I say Saturday, but the tournament took 21hrs and we finished up on Sunday. I am sure there are some real interesting hands from the 10 heads up matches I played, but the long night has erased most of them. In the last match the key hand was when I held 77xx against his J9xx on a J97 flop. I c'raised and he just called. The turn was the last 7 giving me quads. I bet tiny hoping he thought I was scared betting my straight. He called and the river was a 9. I bet 3/4 pot and he raised small. Although 99 was possible for a bigger quads, I figured he had JJ or J9 so I ripped all in for right at pot. He tanked for a while, but called. The win was my biggest on PokerStars and my first WCOOP title. I set my alarm for 1230p so I could get 4hrs of sleep before I needed to play the Sunday slate. I forfieted the morning tournies and started with the Main Event. I was flush over flushed out of the main, but was able to put enough shallow cashes together to break even including a final table in the 55r PLO. Eric is still in the main with some chips and as Eric is aware the event gives out Cardplayer POYs even though its a online event. So gl.
On a personal note, the Denver Broncos are 2-0 this year after sliding past the Bengals and smashing the Browns (thanks AFC North). I am a realist and know the success probably will not continue, but until then GOOOO BRONCOS!!!!!!!!! SUPER BOWL BOUND BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4th in the 1K

Coming into the final table I had about 95K with the blinds at 3K/6K and avgerage around 110K. At this point it was a very fast structure, but I knew I could pick some spots to keep myselft alive. Dan O'Brien also was at the final table giving USA some decent hope of taking down the title. I played very tight early on, even folding A10 in a decent 3 bet push spot, but I elected to wait and see how the table was playing. Most the action was on the other side of the table giving me few chances to steal. After about a hour and a half I still had 11BB with 4 left. It folded to me in the SB and I pushed without really looking. He called with A10o. I was hopeful when I saw I had live cards (87o), but the board bricked out. I never had a hand better than KJo all day so getting to 4th with limited chips was an accomplishment. I am never thrilled to get knocked out, but in this case 4th was a welcome sight. The score got me close to breaking even in poker for the trip which was exciting in itself.
Morgan's sister and her boyfriend flew into Vegas about the same time as me. We will be staying on the strip tonite and grilling out on Saturday. Though I am very tired and ready to recoup both of them are a lot of fun and I cant wait to hang out.

2K and 1K postlims

The 2K was pretty standard as of late. I near doubled real early, made some QUESTIONABLE decisions to get short, won a ton of flips to be decent, then squeezed into a real hand and got knocked out. It was about 315am here when I did so that kinda sucked.
On the upside I made the final table of the 1K today. I got a ton of chips early only to go card dead when the structure picked up pace. I have about 95K at 3k/6k. The massive stack only has 220K so it'll be time to gamble. Hope to have some great news tom. as well as a fun story of going out to Barcelona to celebrate.

Justin "robert07" Young

1K Euro PLO

I started the day playing online, but after about 30 minutes I realized the internet connection was not stable enough for me to continue. I took my small profit after about 5 disconnections. I went to sweat Eric and play some PLO cash until the tourny started. All the cash is short stack so its mainly about starting hand selection. I didnt see much and didnt feel like gambling so I took a small loss. I watched as Eric just missed the money and we both hopped into the 1K PLO. My table was suprisingly solid and I wiggled my starting stack of 8k up to 10K. I doubled up on a Jd10d4c board with JJxx vs AdKc4dx. That was good enough to get me to the final four tables. Then I lost two key hands. On a board of J764 and two spades I got it in with 53xx vs a medium stack and his 89ss giving him a flush draw and a straight draw. He hit the As giving him half my stack. The very next hand I got it in with top set on a 1085 rainbow board. The caller had the complete wrap of J976. He hit the river and I missed the money. Eric and I are getting ready to play the 2k NL. Hopefully better new tom.

Justin "robert07" Young

Out of EPT Main

Upon sitting down I recognized some faces, but knew no names at my starting table which is always fun at a main event with a 5 million Euro prize pool. Carlos Mortenson did end up sitting down on my left and I did come to find out who some of the players were. All that being said I love to have that table for every 10K+ I play. There was a fishes from Spain, Polland (fill in you joke here), Canada, and Sweden. I was playing extremely nitty for the first two levels to get a feel for the table. I came into level three with 31K (30K starting stack). I started to open a bit more, but nothing to crazy. I missed every flop and was down to 27K when the following hand happened. A spanish fish limped UTG and I raised to 750 with J10cc (blinds 100/200). Polish fish called from the SB and UTG folded. The flop was AK6 rainbow and no clubs. Polish fish stared me down for about 2 minutes before betting 1K. I felt pretty confident he had a medium ace (AQ-A10). So I got creative (although I would frown upon creativity against such a fish, he had shown the ability to fold in wierd spots), I raised to 2400 with the intention that he call and I bet the turn to take it down. He again stared at me for a while and called 1400 more. The turn was a 3 putting no extra draws on the board. I opted to bet 4100 to represtent AK or better to take it down. He again stared into my soul and called. I was ready to be done with the hand, but a K hit the river and he instantly checked. I figured even if he put me on a bluff the 2nd king would scare him so I had to fire another barrell. I bet 8300 and he stared at me so long I forgot what I was holding. He said call in what I can only assume to be Polish and I insta mucked my hand. He showed A10 and waited for a result. The dealer tried to explain to him that he won the hand, but he did not speak english or spanish and was anxious to find out the result. Still unclear to the result he pointed to his ace hoping his hand was good. I was done giggling at him and was mad at my one iffy play in the tourny. Down to 12K I raised the next hand with 88. Spanish fish called who had a pattern of being a calling station. The flop was AK8 with two diamonds and all I could do is think about doubling up. I bet 700 into a pot of 1200 and he called quickly. The turn was a 10d and though I didnt love it I figured betting 1400 after he checked was proper. He looked back and his holdings and called. The river was a blank and I was able to fire 3100 into the pot and get called. The pot put me up to 17Kish and I was feeling better already. A few hands later I raised in late position with J9hh, Peter Hedlund called on the button as did the BB. The flop was 10h8c2h giving me an open ended straight plus flush draw. with 1800ish in the pot I bet 1025 hoping to 3 bet jam. Peter just called and the turn was a 4d. I obviously hated checking, given the potential strength of my hand so I bet 2300. He tanked for a while and called. The turn was the 5d missing everything including the Jack which I had already decided would be good. I gave up and checked, he snap bet 3500 and I almost ripped but I remember how good my table was and folded like a good boy. He happily showed KK and I was fortunate that I did not go bust on that hand. I played super nitty including losing bare min. with 1010 vs QQ on a 8 hi flop. I was around 12K (200/400 blinds 50 ante) when Peter raised from middle position. I felt like I picked up a tell on him and decided he was weak, so when I looked down at two red aces and decided to just call from the BB. The flop was KQ9 with two clubs and already hated my play. He did his standard c-bet (1200 into 2600ish). I made it 3500 with 6700 behind. He called and I immediately loved my hand and figured I would double up as long as a blank hit. The 7h hit and I was in heaven. I calmly went all in and he beat me in the pot with KJss. I unfortunately could not fade 9 outs with one to come as the 10c hit the river. Luckily Eric is still in the tourny so "we" still have a sweat. I did sign up for the PLO tommorrow and hope to have a better showing.

Justin "robert07" Young

First two Days of Barcelona

The first day was a bit of a blur for me. We got in at 845am Barcelona time (1145pm pst). We went through a long cab ride and a wonderful lunch and before we knew it was 1pm. We headed over to the casino to check out the scene. We of course headed to the bar and indulged ourselves with Estralla Damm's (spanish beer). This to0k its toll becaus after 25 hrs after being awake we caved in around 5pm local time.
We woke up around 4am local time (11 hrs of sleep) and watched super trooper till breakfast was open. After breakfast we went a sight seeing. A few beers and a bunch a walking later we bought a ticket to a tourist bus. We were able to see a good bit of the city without having to move which pleased me. After a couple hours of this we got of close to where we got on looking for a place for lunch. A bar that happened to serve to lunch caught our attention and we stepped in. They served massive mugs of beer and a couple bites of food. When all was said and done I had a healthy buzz and we were walking back to the hotel. Along the way a few other bars caught our attention and of course stopped in for the facilities and a brew.
The sights were great and the beer was delecious, but we have to play an EPT tommorrow, so we are attempting to stay up till 11pm local time to get acclamated. I am a bit drunk (cant see) so I might be able to fill in some details tommorrow.

Justin "robert07" Young

Rugby, ND...onto Barcelona Spain

A friend and a neighbor, Cody Slaubaugh, got married this past weekend in his home town of Rugby, ND. Morgan and I of course jumped at the chance to go, because how many times can we have the conversation "Wish we had an excuse to go to North Dakota". We flew into Bismarck and joined Eric and Jon Little in renting a car for the 3 hour drive to Rugby. Everyone that was coming in decided to stay at the nicer of the two hotels in town, the Econo Lodge. We luck sacked our way into the nut room as our back door opened directly into the common pool area. Most of the poker playing friends had never been to a town as small as Rugby, (pop. 2200) which made it more fun. We had a good time soaking in the local flavor as we toured the bars of Rugby. We played a multitude of bar gams and ordered plenty of shots with beer chasers.
The ceremony itself was actually enjoyable as the priest had some verbal slip ups to keep me paying attention, including "You may kiss yourselfs".... in was funny.
The reception was about how I pictured it, everyone was smashed, Adam laying down in the middle of the dance floor because he did not have the will to get up after falling for a second time, Eric copying some kids doing the "Thriller Dance", and a 70 year old man in a T-Shirt and bushy beard doing bird whistles during the last half hour. After this mess we figured we would all go to Renee's farm and start a bon fire. Luckily a shuttle was available for transportation and we found our way back to the comforts of the Econo Lodge.
On Sunday we all got together for a BBQ and tossed the football around. We tried to make it a quiet night as we all had to get up early the next day, but 2 am got there fast and we all knew Monday would be horrible.
I will be spending today packing, as I am going to Barcelona. Eric is of course taking this Cardplayer POY race seriously and wants to get to the soft fields of the EPT. I have never been to Europe before, but I hear Barcelona is a great place to start. I took a solid three years of spanish in school, but unless everyone speaks in only numbers and colors I am sure I will be a bit lost. I am sure Barcelonians are more worldy than most and speak english as well.
Hopefully I will be able to keep up with my blogs while I am out there for the next 8 days.

Justin "robert07" Young

Legends Main Event and Mexican Poker

Eric and I drove down to LA on Friday to play in the Legends main event at the Bicycle. On the drive down we decided we were going to watch the Dodger/Cub game that night. Shannon had just arrived as well and got us nice seats to the game. An old friend of mine from college, Wade, joined us as well. The game itself was exciting as the Dodger pitchers combined for a one hitter. LA ended up with the close victory 2-1. Afterwards we were treated with fireworks as we got to go out onto the field.
The tournament didnt start till 3pm, so we had plenty of time to sleep off the night before. I was feeling anxious to get back to playing a live tournament. My table wasnt too bad considering the field. Fatal Error, Todd Terry, Taleebi, and Randallin highlighted my table. In addition there was 4 complete marks who did not understand the game very well. Despite all the dead chips at the table I was continually owned by FatalError and Todd Terry for most the day. They both held position and cards over me, but there was little reason for me to make the moves I did. Going into the last level of the day I had about 18K (starting stack 30K). I was fortunate to have two pair when Taleebi moved all in on the turn with just middle pair. In addition I was able to get multiple streets of value with KK against Randallin. Before I knew it I was up to 50K and beginning to open up my game. I was able to finish the day with 67K only having to show down one hand in the last hour.
Day two was a bit tougher as I doubled up two short stacks the very first two hands of the day. I was under 40K before I knew it. The table itself wasnt too bad with David Sands, snowman, and a short stacked Lee Markholt at my table. I was opening a lot, but was never able to get much going. Everytime I won a big pot I lost 4 small ones right after. I raised UTG+1 with 76hh and the BB, a component player, called. The board was 7s4s3c. He checked and I bet half the pot. He called and the turn was 10h. He checked and I bet half pot again looking for him to check most rivers to me. The river was the Ac. He paused for a second and bet 5K (about 20%pot). In my mind I was beat, but did not think he had a good ace. It looked like a blocker bet with a middle pair like 88 or 99 or maybe a smallish ace rag of spades. I decided a raise was my best option so I made it 17.5K. He mucked pretty quickly confirming my read. I busted a very small stack with KK vs A7o to put me around 70K again when I decided to play awful. Let me preface this by saying I think I played every street incorrect. Snowman ( who had started to open a lot from late) raised to 2200 (blinds 400/800) from the cutoff. I called from the big with A6hh. The flop was Kd6s3d. I checked and he c-bet 2800. I called. The turn was a Js, I checked and he bet 6400. I somehow found a call with third pair out of position. The river was a 2s making the back door flush and completing a possible straight. I checked and he bet 11.5k leaving himslelf 20K. I almost salvaged some poker knowledge by raising all in or folding, but somehow found the worst decision. I call. He quickly showed K10o for a sick river value bet. I few orbits later I was down to my last 18bb when I found KK. David raised UTG and I had a no brainer. He found the aces though and I was out the door.
Despite Eric being knocked out as we decided to do some drinking a try a new poker game they spread at the Bike. "Mexican Poker" is pretty much a no limt, 5 card stud, with a short deck and a wild card. The two of us and Stephen O'Dwyer wanted to play so we got them to start a game for us. It was full and there was a must move inside of 15 minutes after seeing the "drunk idiots" wanting to learn the game. There was high drama as one of our opponents shorted the pot on purpose. I called him out and the rest of the night had some tension to it. Due to a drink called a John Brown (all I know is it has lots of liquor, milk, and pepsi) and the angles that were pulled against him, Eric was not to happy. We were told numerous times by the floor that "you guys really need to be careful and leave". We ignored their warning and got into many verbal arguements. At one point Jose (a local) pulled back a 100 dollar chip after he saw he was behind in a hand against Eric. Jose tried to say it was no big deal, then Eric replies "If I go to your work and order 5 burgers and only get 4 its not ok!" We left with our lives and most of the money we sat with. I have a feeling mexican poker will catch on at Maderia Canyon.

Justin "robert07" Young

FTOPS

With the FTOPS winding down, I decided to put in some real time online. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday I played all day. Without having any major success, I was able to have a very good 3 days. I was able to manage a bunch of small cashes in bigger events including the FTOPS 2500 and the FTOPS main. I final tabled the UB 500 as well as a $10 event. I also made the deepest run in the Sunday Million I have ever made. I was knocked out 22nd. The structure was so fast at that point that catching cards became very important. I won a massive pot with QQ vs AJ to put me in the chiplead for a second. One orbit later I ran KK into a medium stack and 1010 the board was xxxx10. I managed to build my stack up a bit to 3M with blinds at 65K/130K. I found Q3o in the SB and the BB had 1M. It seemed like a no brainer push with the blinds so high. The BB found Q7o and held. I ended up getting it all in with KQ vs JJ for over 4M, but lost the fake flip.
Congrats to Cody who was on fire pulling in a 2nd and a 10th in FTOP events. Also congrats to Eric who officially regained 1st place in the Cardplayer POY race with a 3rd in LA yesterday. I will be heading to LA this weekend for the Legends main event and maybe a baseball game. If anyone is looking for someone else to cheer for may I suggest Eric Baldwin who if victorious will have to sport a lovely molester moustache for the remainder of the year.

Justin "robert07" Young

FTOPS

FTOPS started late last week, which I was excited about, considering I have never done well in any event. I played on Friday, Sunday, and Monday. Had some good runs, but never got a nice score. I was heads up for a small belt on FT. I had a nice 8 to 1 chip lead and couldnt close the door. I had him all in with: J2 vs AJ, 65 vs A9, 22 vs AK, AQ vs AJ, AK vs AQ and lost them all. I know I got it in bad a couple times, but the chances that I lose all the hands are about 2%. On Sunday I made the final two tables in the 150R and 75K grtd, but fizzled out before any real money. Monday saw me get to the final table of the 80K grtd, but I went out 8th for a small cash. I still think I am playing well and hope to put one of those FTOPS jerseys on my back.

I have been feeling a bit under the weather as of late, so my small workout program has gone to a no workout program. I hope to have the motivation to get back into it once I kick the cold.

Week in Online and one Live Session

I have been attempting to get in a groove this week. Work out in the morning, do atleast one thing on my to do list and then play online at night. Despite noticing myself getting less motivated as the week is going on I have stuck to it pretty well. Our scale is out of batteries, which may be a good thing, because I dont think I am dropping any weight this quickly and I dont want to be discouraged. So of course "get scale batteries" is at the bottom of my to do list.
Online has been quiet this week with a couple very shallow cashes. I was chip leader for a good hour in the UB 1K, only to lose 1 coinflip and 2 40/60's to go out 27th.
After getting up early to wait for the GE repairman, I decided to go in to the Bellagio to put in some time. Despite it being a slow time the game was pretty good, and a handful of them were talking about some insane 25/50 from the night before. I am sure it went again last night, but I was looking foward to coming home and hanging out with Morgan. Unfortunately/fortunately I got to talk to my brother. We have been playing phone tag for over a month, so I didnt even get much time with Morgan.
O'Neil was in the game and he was squeezing every chance he got which is fine, but I'm assuming he was on a heater because he had 10K+ in front of him opposed to his usual 1K. We played a couple big pots, but he picked off 2 bluffs to put me right a even despite the table. I straddled to 40 and UTG called, then UTG +1 made it 160. There was one caller and I looked down at 107hh. The raiser was pretty tight, but loosened way up after seeing how the table was playing, so I repoped to 600. UTG immediately announce raise and threw in 2K more. He had about 14K behind and I had him covered. If I was in position I would not even hesitate to call, but out made it much closer. His hand is so polarized (AA or KK) I decided to call and check raise all in a number of flops. I know he will put me QQ or JJ or AK in that spot so I represent those hands if needed in addition to hopefully picking up a pair or a draw. The flop was QQJ and I was already gitty about the opportunity to bluff, but he checked behind. The turn was another Q and I was handcuffed. I couldn't represent anything and checked. He checked again. The river was blank and I almost fired thinking he might have AK, but I stuck to my original range and gave up. He gave a speech and showed KK assuming for some reason they werent good. I clawed back a little bit to be a small loser in the game.

Justin "robert07" Young

1K on UB and the Jellison Wedding in NC

I dont remember much from the 1K on UB, but I know I won a handful of coin flips to get the final table. I also know I got in my 15bb with JJ vs QJhh to get knocked out 7th. Outside of that I have know idea if I played well or not. A final table for a 1K online is always nice though given the strength of the fields.
Morgan and I went to Greensboro, NC from Thursday to Sunday for a wedding. One of Morgan's best friends from high school/college (Jane-Marie) was taking the plunge and marrying Brandon Ellison. I actually lived with Jane-Marie for 6 months after I graduated from college. She is an incredibely cool girl that deserves the best. In came Brandon and I was immediately impressed. He is a guy's guy that everyone likes being around. He seemed to be a perfect fit for Jane-Marie. Somehow he pulls of being a yoga enthusiest and has the capability to drink any bar out of beer (tough combo).
The weekend itself was a blast. The rehersal dinner was on the third floor of a bar complete with a pool table, darts and all the alcohol you could drink. Morgan ended the night by talking a guy and a girl to do a push up contest and then hopping on the back of the guy to make it fair. She of course fell twice, but managed not to flash anybody, because she is classy like that. Brandon's family was a treat. They joined the festivities and were very outgoing in meeting everyone. His mom was probably my fav. as she was upbeat the entire time, also she was phenominal dancer. The ceramony was just how I like em, short and sweet and even included the bride giggling through the line "till death parts us" in the vowels. The reception was at a contry club complete with wonderful food and a great band. I of course drank so much I convinced myself I was a good, make that great dancer. All the guests were into it as most of us made it past 1am in celebration. I was paying for it a little bit the next day, but it was a tremendous event. Congrats guys.

Justin "robert07" Young

Super Tuesday and Going back to NC

I played the full day of tournaments yesterday without any real good results. I played a decent bit of 25/50 PLO and 40/80 7 game mix in between. The 7 game mix is my new favorite thing to do online. It combines HORSE with PLO and NLH. I am competent to good at all the games, so whatever edge I give up in some of the limit games I feel I can recoup in the PLO and NLH.
In the 1K on stars I doubled up at the beginning of the 2nd hour to have around 6K in chips when this hand went down. I was just moved to this table and the hand was against 2 guys I did not recognize. UTG raised to 505 (blinds 100/200 no ante). The SB called and I had the 32ss in the BB. Normally I would call every time in this spot, but the 1k is a very tough field and I lose equity trying to play this hand against great competition. But since I did not know who the other 2 were and they both had me covered I decided to go with it. The flop was Jd4d3h giving me bottom pair and not much more. To my suprise it checked around. This is a extremely tough flop to slow play if you are the original raiser. The SB could have been looking to C'raise, but I still felt my hand was good. My plan was to lead almost any turn if the SB checked to me. The turn was the 2h putting two flush draws out there and giving me bottom two pair. SB checked and I bet 900 into a pot of 1500, leaving me 4900 behind. The original raiser called, and I assumed he picked up a flush draw and a gutter straight draw, something like AQhh. The SB then pushed all in. The pot now had effectively 8900 in it and 4900 to call with a person behind. My initial read was to fold but I had a hard time putting the SB on a hand that would check that board twice. If he had a made hand he has to be sure someone will bet in order to protect his hand. I was thinking he had a very strong hand like J10hh, so I made the call. Another problem with the call is that I am giving UTG equity to go with his hand if he thinks he has 12 outs. He tanked forever and found a fold. The SB had AA meaning I had to fade a A,J and 4. I did and won a nice pot. I dont really like playing AA that way against good opponents. He put him self in a very tough spot out of position. After missing his opportunity to c'raise the flop he felt he didnt want to led with so many scare cards out there, but leading had to be right unless you are certain AA are still good. Anyway, I feel like im ramblin...I ended up with a huge stack then lost 2 massive coin flips back to back to allow me to squeak into the money and not much more.

I will going to Greensboro, NC tommorrow for a wedding. Jamborie and Brandon and two very good friends and will be looking foward to the weekend.

Justin "robert07" Young

Weekend

Thursday I woke up and was very anxious about a charity tournament that I was hosting. I say I was hosting, but there were plenty of bigger names there. I showed up a hour early to help out however I could. Lisa Wheeler had everything looking good. All I had to do was sign a couple things for prizes and for poker fans. The buy in was $220 with $30 rebuys for the first hour. I pushed all in about 15 times never having the best of it. I was in for 700ish and minimum chips going into the 2nd hour. I ran my stack up pretty nicely as I got paid off with all my big hands. I eneded up making the final table, but ran my QQ into QJdd for a chip lead stack. I was actually mad at first, but it didnt take long to forget about it. The tourny raised over 11K and saw the likes of Eric Baldwin, Elky, Lisa Hamilton, Cody Slaubaugh, Pam Brunson, Chainsaw, Lacey Jones, Lee Watkinson, Marsha Waggoner, and Chip and Karina Jett. In addition a bunch of cash game regulars came out to lend there support. Thank you Paul, Tom, Tony, Mitch, Teddy and anyone else I didnt see or am forgeting. On top of all that they had a silent auction. Of which there was a bat signed by the entire 2004 Boston Red Sox up for grabs. I won it on a steal and will be displaying it proudly in my game room.
On Friday and Saturday I did my best to make a dent into my to do list. Though I didnt get all I wanted to done, it felt good to start.
Sunday was the online slate for me. The early tournys saw me squeak into the money in some spots but no real FT sweats. In the later half I made a run in the 100r on PS only to see my biggish stack crushed by QQ vs my AK. My last sweat was the FT mulligan. I never had a bunch of chips, but always seemed to win a flip when I got down under 15BB. At the final table my 99 destroyed KK with a 9 on the river giving me a decent stack down the stretch. I had 3/4 of the chips when I got heads up against a guy who was playing pretty nitty. I began to pressure him with a lot of preflop betting. With this style I would expect me to get it in bad a lot, but some how I had him all in with the following hands A7 vs A3, 22 vs AK, and A5 vs A10. The A7 vs A3 was the worst one. The flop came 865 almost assuring there would be no chop and giving me plenty of nut redraws. Somehow a blank and a 3 hit the board. I ended up getting it in with A7 vs his Q5 for about 30% of the chips in play. But the board was 952QA giving him two pair. It was still a nice score, but getting beat when you feel you have a huge edge is never fun.

Justin "robert07" Young

1st Week of Rest

Now with the tournaments out of town I am able to relax and attempt to take care of some of the things I have been putting off. On Monday I took Eric to go pick up his car at the amazing sushi place we went to on Friday night. We of course stopped in and had lunch there. As it turns out it is just as good sober as it is with a pint of scotch in front of you. I had to do and interview for Channel 3 Sports to promote a poker charity event afterwards. The nice ladies from the Homestead met me there and we did a quick 5 minute interview with Kevin West. I watched it later and it came off pretty good. The tournament is today and I am hopeful for a large turnout. After the interview I planned a celebration night for my Brawl belt. Eric and Mary met Morgan and I for dinner and the italian restaurant in the M. After dinner Cody and Kessler met us for drinks and gambling. The women had to go home around 1030, but the rest of us tried to drink enough to counteract what we were losing in gambling. I feel like we came close, but we were all close to broke by the end of the night. The next day I had to get up and pay off the ticket I got a month ago. I was still a bit drunk when I got up so I ride there wasnt that bad, as I was singing and laughing at myself most the way, but the wait in line or the ride in the hot sun sobered me up enough to be extremely hungover. I got Arby's and slept/laid on the couch the rest of the day. Wednesday I went in to the Bellagio to put in a session and to spread the word about the charity tournament. I stopped around 330 with one fun hand of note. After two limpers I made it 100 (playing 10/20) from middle position with AJss. The BB and both limpers called. The flop was Kh7h5d. Everyone checked to me and I bet 300. The BB called and the rest folded. He was a component player who saw me play very solid up to this point. I thought he either had a draw or KQ/KJ. The turn was a 5c. He checked and I bet 660. He thought for a while and called. I still wasnt sure if he was drawing or not, so I didnt know what I was rooting for. The river was the 3h. He led 700 into a 2300 pot. It screamed blocker bet, I just had to determine if I could make him let a king go. I decided to go for it and made it 2700. He tanked a long time, but let it go. I won a small amount on the day and needed to pick up my niece who was in town for one night before going back to Wyoming.

Justin "robert07" Young

Weekend Fun

Morgan and I ran some errands on Saturday and finally got to hang out a little bit together. With the WSOP, Bellagio Cup, and family in town we havent seen each other that much. I was also able to do some things I have been putting off, like starting to make plans for Aruba. I have never been, but I hear its just the nut. Saturday night we went out to eat with Mary and Eric down by Green Valley Ranch. Afterwards we played at the arcade and went to see "Public Enimies". The movie had its problems with story, but the acting and directing were top notch. Not that anyone cares, but I give it a 6.5 out of 10. Eric and I proceeded to drink and watch the super cell in our backyards till 230am. I got up earlier than I intended to play the full Sunday slate online. The day started off really slow as I lost an above avg stack close to the money in 3 tournys. I did manage to make 2 final tables, the Sunday Brawl and the 200 on UB. I ended up going 1st and 4th respectfully. It was by far the best Sunday I have ever had. The Brawl was more than triple my biggest online score. Once we were three handed the play slowed down a bit as everyone that was left was playing very well. Heads up play was a bit different as my opponent tightened up and I was able to be the aggresor in most of the pots. I won small pot after small pot till I had a 8 to 1 chip lead. I ripped in his 11BB with K9o and he called with Ace rag. I won the flip and the belt.

Justin "robert07" Young

Busted from Bellagio Cup

I had about 18BB coming into the day, but felt confident that I would keep myselft afloat until I found a favorable spot to double up. Adam and Phil Hellmuth were on my right and David Levi was two to my left, so the opportunities were going to be there to 3 bet shove and to steal from my button. I 3 bet all in twice against Phil's SB raise once with K6o and the other with Q10ss. He gave a nice 30 second speech before folding both times and I already knew we might get into it a little bit. I have met Phil away from the table before and he was the nicest guy, but my biggest pet pieve is people who berate and talk down to other players. So without attacking him or his game and snuck in some comments directed towards him. He let me know he did not appreciate it and decided to stop talking to me. I am sure there are plenty of less mature ways he could have handled it, but the silent treatment was fine by me. Adam proceeded to bust him when he flopped a set and turned quads against Phil's top pair top kicker. Adam played the hand beautifully, but Phil played it pretty poor. After check calling the flop, Adam led the turn. Phil for some reason elected to min raise, which I dont hate as long as he had a plan as do what to do after that. Adam put him the rest of the way in (which was only 20% of the pot), Phil tanked for five minutes and called. I chipped up enough to have 20BB going into 1500/3000, which was my goal. I just open pushed from UTG with AKo and got no callers, but I also knew that my BB was extremely vaulnerable after winning a pot. I expected a couple spots to raise my BB light. Steve Gross was one of the people, and he did raise. A guy to his left 3 bet him and I began to wonder if it was because he noticed the same thing I did. I decided A10s or better or 66 or better was going to go all in, thinking I would be ahead of both their ranges. I looked down at KK and could not believe how lucky I was to get it in with such and big hand in this spot. The 3 better of course called, but he happened to have AA, meh. The board ran out J109102 and I was out the door 75thish.
I proceeded to play and bust the 500 event that started at two and then played some blackjack until Morgan and Todd came for dinner. We had a great time hanging out, but I was a little relieved not have poker or guests for a while.
On Friday Morgan and I met up with Adam, Katz, Shannon, Jesse, Mary and Base for a 51's game and some sushi afterwards at Kai. It was the best sushi I have ever had and it was not expensive at all. We had a real fun night, but those of us that lived 40 minutes away opted for a cab ride back as opposed to a night of craps and scotch. Hopefully we will have time to do something similar before everyone leaves town.

Justin "robert07" Young

Day 2 Bellagio Cup

Day 2 was similar to day 1, I was card dead and couldn't ever get anything going. I hung around my starting stack by raising a lot pre flop, but the table starting taking flops with me with better hands. I tried a bluff for 40% of my stack when a nit led into me when I raised pre. He snap shoved and I kept my 25K for a better spot. I doubled up shortly after with QQ vs Amak's 88. After a few more pots I was around 75K when I raised UTG with 107hh. I got 4 callers and the flop was 8d6h6d. We all checked around and the 9h hit the turn giving me the str8 and a flush draw. I led 40% pot looking to get raised. Devilfish called and the river was the Qc. I thought there was a good chance he would bluff at it if he missed so I decided to check call. He put a huge bet out there and I insta called. He turned up 66 for quads. I guess I am freerollin, but the hand cut me in half and I had 35K going into the last level. I probably went all in ten times the last level with everything from 75dd to QQ. I was never called once, but every time I got above 30BB I would open and get 3 bet. I am heading into tommorrow with 40K. Something will have to happen soon, but anything can happen.

Justin "robert07" Young

Day 1 Bellagio Cup

Day 1 for the Bellagio Cup allows me to play more of a cash game style which is generally good against tournament players. After a massive redraw we started 30 minutes late. I had Toto, Hoyt, David Chui, Jim Hanna, and Charder at my table. I got paid on two big streets with bottom set to start the day, but level two found me missing all kinds of draws. I flopped a double gutter and turned a flush draw against Hoyt and missed, I missed a pair and a str8 draw against a fish that would pay me off big, not to mention your every day flush and straight draws. I was down to 45K after level two. I managed to to chip up to starting stack by staying aggressive over the next two levels. The last level was a tough one. UTG I raised with QQ (this after getting 3 bet the previous 3 times I opened) Jim Hanna 3 bet to 4800 leaving him 33K behind. I could just turn it into a set mine, but there is too good a chance I have the best hand. If I three bet I am not getting played with unless he has AA or KK. It is a tough spot with the position and the stack sizes. I decided to 4 bet fold, which I still dont know if it is right. I made it 13200 and he insta ripped the rest. I mucked despite getting better than two to one. Shortly there after I 3 bet with AKo only to have a nit 4 bet. I laid it down and all of a sudden I had less that 35K. I called a raise with QJcc from the button. The flop was K96 rainbow (with one club). He c'betted and I decided to float. The turn was the 10h giving me the nuts. He bet the turn which he generally does not do without a decent hand. I was in a tough spot to call or to raise. If I raise he has to have two pair or better to call, but if I just call there are so many cards that could come where he could check fold. I got greedy and went ahead with a raise looking to double up. He snap mucked and I felt like I missed out on a huge oppurtunity. I ended the day with just over 45K which is good for 55BBs.
My brother-in-law is in town and on my day off we were able to go hiking, swimming, go to a movie, go out to dinner, and even squeeze in some games of pool and yahtzee. It was a relaxing day off and I am sorry to see him go tonite. Hopefully my mind will be focused for the restart today at noon.

Justin "robert07" Young

Day 3 WSOP Recap

I looked up my table the night before and was pleased to only find one tough player. There were two others that had a handful of results, but I was very happy with the draw. The first hand I played I called a raise with 87hh from the BB. The flop was Q73 rainbow. I check called a pot sized bet against a older man from South Africa. I had absolutely no idea how he played, but he had just a few thousand less than me to start the hand. The turn was a 8c completing a rainbow. I checked and he bet 8500 (about 2/3 pot). I made it 23500 and he tanked for 20 seconds before announcing raise. He min raised it 15K more. Not having played with him before I elected the less dangerous route and just called with intentions of leading the river. I led 32K after a brick hit and he called quickly and tabled KK like it was the nuts. I showed my two pair and he went into a tirade about how his big hands always gets cracked. If I coulda heard this speech earlier I woulda put it all in and watched him beat me in the pot. After that I was the table leader, I raised about 1/3 of the time and quietly built my stack to over 300K. Mark Testler (sp??) raised UTG and I called in position with 5d4d. The flop was 1072 with two diamonds. He bet 8k into a 10k pot, and I called. The turn was a 5s. He now bet 14k into a 26K pot which seemed wierd, but I knew he was good enough to bet smaller to induce a semi bluff from me for his last 55K. So elected to call not knowing where I was. The river was a 6s. He tanked for 5 seconds and put it all in. My instinct was to call, because usually in those spots a made hand will check or put a blocker bet out there to induce a bluff from a missed draw. The only way a ship is right is if he had 89, a set or complete air. It was by far my longest tank of the series. The reasons to fold was that the field was soft enough where there was little reason to take marginal chances and in addition Mark knew fact that too. So after 5+ minutes I folded and he snap shows KQo for absolutely nothing. It was the second time that I ignored my first read and talked myself into a bad decision (KK vs AA). To make matters worse they broke our table the next hand. I moved to a table where I did not know anyone. The kid to my left was opening every pot and was quite successful, so I began to open half the time it opened to me. The kid constantly reraised me. I 4 bet with KK once and saw 3-4 flops by flatting out of position. He was definately a thorn in my side. I decided I would open from early position more given that it is tougher to 3 bet with so many behind. So I raised UTG with J4cc and a medium stack called from the button and the BB (who was literally so worried about making the money that he asked the floor if he could ask me not to collect the antes for my side of the table, because it would take an extra 5 seconds for the dealers to do it, the extra time would mean less hands.... blah blah blah.) who 3 bet to 16K. The original raise was to 6100, so it looked to me that he had a hand like AK, QQ, or JJ where he was just trying to find out where he was. So I went with my instinct and tried to tell him, I reraised to 55K. Button folded and you could tell he was sick. He had another 70K behind the 16K. He tanked forever, looking over at the clock and how many people were left. He finally announced all in and I beat him in the pot for fun. He almost threw up, until I showed my hand. Then he was genuinelly (sp??) mad at me. He stormed away from the table, even though the board didnt even give me a sweat. Going into the last level I had 200K playing 1500/3000. I was of course looking for a spot to trap the aggro kid and I got it. A decent nit opened from late and I smooth called with AQcc from the cutoff with intentions of inducing a squeeze from aggro kid. Aggro kid fell into the trap and made it 28K. First guy folded and accidently flipped his cards up (99). I was even happier seeing that, so now even if he had a small pair I had all my outs. I reraised the pot up to 93K. He quickly announced all in and I called. He tabled KK. I was so confident that I was going to win I did not even start to pack up. The flop was J107 giving me a gut shot to go with a live ace. The turn was a 9 giving me an open ender. But the dealer must have messed up because a 2 hit the river and I was out like that. Putting in 65bb with AQ seems like a marginal spot, but I dont mind it considering the kid behind me. But Eric rationalized it other way and said that I could have easily survived the next 30 minutes and got a redraw for day 4 where I most likely would have gotten a better seat. It is sound advice, and makes me hate the play now.

I will write a recap of Day 1 Bellagio Cup Main Event soon.

Justin "robert07" Young

Out of WSOP Main Event

I will do a hand break down of the days' events tommorrow, but I figured I'd let everyone know I didnt slump into a depression from bubbling another WSOP main. I tried to set up a squeeze situation for a supper aggro kid on my direct left when I just flatted a raise with AQcc. The kid I was setting up had KK. I am playing the Bellagio Main Event today. The days are pretty short so I hope to just make it through with slightly better than starting stack.

Justin "robert07" Young

Day 2 WSOP

I loved my day 2 draw. There were two players capable of bluffing more than one street and the rest were just looking to play ABC style poker. I began opening and C betting much more than I usually do. I was able to chip up with out much headache. I raised on the button with 3d2d and the SB 3 bet me. It was the first time he had done so all day so I put him on a huge hand. I called and the flop was Ad7c7h. He bet like 1/3 pot. I felt like he had AK or a hand I could easily get to lay down, so I called. Turn was the Jd, actually giving me a flush draw. He checked and I bet 1/3 pot thinking he has to lay down everything but AK. He did and I of course showed the bluff. I was on the right side of a cooler with middle set vs top and bottom on a J52 board. The pot put me around 140K when our table broke. The new table had Chris "bushman" on my left which I didnt like, but it looked like a fun table. There were a bunch of nits and a few guys that would bluff with no real plan. I knew it would have more volitility, but I also knew I could end up with 300K if things went right. A guy who I had pegged as the 2nd biggest nit at the table opened to 2200 at 400/800. I looked down at KK and made it 6500. A fishy guy decides to flat from the SB and the nit insta makes it 22200. I know I am supposed to fold. I was already fine with being wrong, but then the what ifs started. And I began to talk myself into it. So I ended up making a horrific raise all in. Fish folded and the nit of course had AA. I flopped a flush draw, but I got what I deserved when AA held up and I was down to 65K. I followed it up with turning a flopped set into a bluff for no reason and falling under 50K. I took the break to reorganize my thoughts and layout the plan for the last level. I still had just under 50BB and was essentially freaking out over nothing. I made a couple of semi bluffs against stacks I felt really wanted to make day 3 and then I busted a short stack with 1010 vs QJhh to put me over 90K. Then I raised to 2500 with A4hh from the cutoff and both blinds called. The flop was 10h8h6c. The SB, who was the biggest nit at the table bet full pot 8K. BB folded and I had a decision. I felt like he had A10, JJ, or even QQ in this spot leaving me 9 to 12 outs. I also felt like he would lay down A10 and JJ if I raised and represented a huge over pair. So I made it 25K total. He quickly moved all in for another 15K making it over a 85K pot. He turned over 88 for middle set, and my hopeful 12 outer turned into a 8 outer with him having the redraw. The 7h hit the turn and now I had to fade. The river was a black Q and I was up over 130K. With the newly found stack and a table full of guys looking to make day 3, I opened my game up. I opened about 1/3 of the time and managed to push my stack near 150K without even seeing a flop. Day 3 is Friday and I will be doing research on my table tonite.

Justin "robert07" Young

Morgan's Bday

We had an absolute blast yesterday for Morgan's birthday. Morgan and I went to the grocery strore to get what we thought would be way too much food. We got beef terriaki (sp?), salmon, hamburgers, potato salad, fries, zucchini, asparagus, and I made a huge batch of guacamole. Shannon, Katz, Chuck, Jesse, and Nate all showed up around 230. We drank by the pool coming up with random prop bets of which Jesse was the big loser. Cody and his brother Shaun came over and we decided to go to the park and play croquet. We all had to hop a fence, but we got to a very nice baseball field in order to play. Katz, Morgan and I were the only team not to win, but I blame it on there being no croquet in New Jersey. We came back to the house where Mary and Renee met us. I proceeded to cook for everyone. I actually did not have any of the food so I dont know how good it was, but it was all gone outside of a piece of salmon and 1/4 of a zucchini. We went on to finally use our fire pit and make smores. All in all it was a terrific day. I am sure we will be well rested for today's day 2 of the WSOP.

Justin "robert07" Young

Day 1 WSOP

The day started out pretty poor for me, on the fifth hand I raised a limped pot out of the blinds with AQdd. The flop was AA3 with two hearts. I bet out 25% pot only to have the SB raise big to 2500. I thought a three bet was correct instead of just calling him down. So I made it 7200. He eventually ripped and I laid down AQ. It is a very margainal spot and in this tourny there is no reason to stick it in. I lost a combo draw soon after that to put me down below 15K (starting stack 30K). At the very end of the level I got paid of on three streets with a set of fives. The pot put me over 27K. A younger kid raised in middle and I called with 7c4c. The SB a middle aged man 3 bet the pot. With everyone so deep I call a lot of 3 bets with suited connecters. Especially when it coming from the blinds and from a player without the capability of doing it light. His range is so polarized that I would be ok with calling it with almost any 2 cards under a 9. The flop was J82 all clubs and the SB led half pot. I raised tiny hoping he would think he had fold equity if he pushed. He did, but it didnt matter as he had top set and we were getting it in no matter what. My hand held and the pot put me over 55K. I continued to call 3 bets for the rest of the night. My success was margainal, but the whole reason I do is for hands like this one. It allows you to built chips in a hurry and it also puts a little bit of fear into the average poker player knowing I will do it with any two cards. I picked up my aggression towards the end of the night and managed to chip up to 76,300 without much resistance. Day 2 is Wednesday.
Today is Morgan's Bday so I will be at her beck and call for the remainder of the day. She deserves to have some fun after putting up with me for the last 6 weeks.

Justin "robert07" Young

Bellagio Prelims and Fourth of July Weekend

Morgan and I decided to stay on the stip over 4th of July weekend. We both enjoy the fireworks, but the traffic and the crowds are unbearable. I played the Bellagio 1500 on the day we checked in and despite feeling and playing pretty well I was caught in a couple bad hands to end my day. I raised with 76ss from middle, button and BB called. Flop was K75 with two spades. I bet about half pot, looking for a raise so I could 3 bet rip. The button just called and the 8d hit the turn giving me an open ender to go along with my pair and flush draw. I bet enough to pot committ myself if he shoved, and he did. He showed KK for top set. The river somehow missed me and I was down to 25BB. I really like how the guy with KK played his hand, not that it matters too much with what I had. But even if I had air I woulda fired the turn, meaning he woulda got max value from his hand. The very next hand I raised some limpers with AKdd. UTG raised enough to put me in and he showed QQ. I lost the race. We meet up with Katz, Michelle, Shannon, and Chuck for dinner at the Wynn. Dinner was very good and I managed to dodge the flip for the check. We continued to have drinks till bed time.
On the fourth I opted out of the Rehab experience due to a small cold and little desire to sit in the sun all day. I played the Bellagio, after a lovely brunch with Morgan. It didnt last long, as I called in a multi way raised pot with 2c3c. The flop was great 4s5s6d. I c'raised enough to pot committ myself in this already large pot. I was hoping to convey a combo draw and get action from an overpair. I did just that as JsJh got it in with me. The man with the JJ stormed off thinking he was drawing dead, but the Qs hit the turn then the 8s gave him the winning flush. He had me covered and I was out the door. I still dont know if he ever came back to see his chipstack. I proceeded to put in a cash game session till dinner time. We went over to a cookout at Zach, Marco, and Evan's place. Everyone was pretty hammered so we said our hellos and good byes inside of a hour. Traffic was horrible getting back to the strip, but we did get to see the fireworks pretty well from the car. Morgan and I played BJ and roulette the rest of the night for some free drinks. We ended the night with room service and a good night sleep.
My main event is today. We will be playing 5 two hour levels. Updates coming tom.

Justin "robert07" Young

5K Shorthanded

The field somehow ballooned to over 900 people for this 5K event. I am excited for any shorthanded event, but 1st place was getting over 1M. My table was suprisingly soft and despite getting bluffed out of a huge pot and being down to 9K (starting stack 15K) early, I ended up with about 30K at the first break. My table got progressively worse as the weaker players started to bust. I could never really get above 35K despite feeling like I was playing well. After 2nd break I started to 3 bet the medium stacks a bunch to get up to about 33K, then I opened with AKo UTG. The SB just ripped 33BB (19K) and I of course called. He showed 99 and he won the race without a sweat. I doubled up shortly after with AJ on a AJ8 board vs J8 to put me about where I was. Then I raised UTG with 88 and "Jesus" called me out of the BB. The flop was 1098 and he checked. I bet 60% pot and he raised 3x. I was scared that I was beat on that baord, but there was no other line I could take that made sense, so I shoved. He called quickly and showed 1010 for a bigger set. I needed the 8d, but only got a tease as the 9d hit the river.
My niece is in town, so I wont be playing much poker till Friday.

Justin "robert07" Young

1500 NL and 3K NL

The 1500 started out fun. I doubled up early with a set vs an overpair. Then I played a combo draw very aggressively and was called by two pair. I hit my straight and I was up to 13K early (starting stack 4500). I splashed around a bit too much and never really could increase chips over the next few levels. Mike Watson was moved to our table into the cutoff with about 3500 in chips. I found KQss UTG and decided to try a very thin value resqueeze. I limped as did a couple others and Mike raised it up as I expected. I made a large reraise and he called the rest of his chips with 77. My play is very margainal, but I dont mind it with all the extra dead money. I lost the flip and was down to 9K. I was moved to a table where I did not recognize anyone. The very first hand a Euro raised from middle and I called in position with A9ss. The flop was 1097 with 2 diamonds. He bet 1900 into a pot of 1600. It looked like he had some kind of draw and I called, with intentions of shoving if a brick hit the turn. The turn was a 9h and he immediately ripped. I called the rest of my stack and he showed AA. My read was off, but I dont mind my play here even though I was extremely lucky. Going into dinner I had 13.5K. Two hands after dinner break a semi active guy on the button raised to 1050 (200/400 blinds). The same Euro reraised from the SB to 4500. I found JJ in the BB and decided to go all in. Though he was getting better than 2 to 1 he tanked for a while. After he didnt snap call, I was begging for a call, thinking he had a middle pair. Yet again my read was wrong as he kinda slowrolled me with AK. The board ran out Q1084A, and I was out the door.
The 3K got over 850 players making a very nice prize pool. I chiped up early and took down a nice pot with 98ss vs a set and two pair on a board of J10875. The pot pushed me over 22K (starting stack 9K). I tightened up right away with every intention of making a deep run into the night. Going into level 5 I was down to 20.5K (blinds 100/200 ante 25). Liebert raised from early and a horrible older french gentlemen 3 bet to 1500. I found two red kings in the BB and 4 bet to 4400 leaving myself 16K behind. I knew he would flat call unless he had aces and he did. I saw him do something similar with AQs so I assumed that was the bottom of his range. The flop was Q107 all hearts. I didnt love the Q, but I had the Kh making my hand very strong. I lead 6500 and he snap pushed. With under 10 left and over 30 in the pot I made the call thinking I either had 11 outs or had to dodge 11 outs. He flipped over the QQ for top set. The turn was Ad giving me a straight draw, but the river was a black 10 and I was out the door just missing out on a 3x avg stack in a soft field. Meh
I am skipping the 1500 tommorrow despite a horrible field. The line was way too long already and I was a bit tilted after getting knocked out. I will be taking care of some odds and ends and then prepare to play on Tuesday's 5K shorthanded event.
In addition my niece is coming in to visit. I will be a little busy, but I am sure we will have some fun despite her being under age.

Justin "robert07" Young