Being a Pool Boy and Dream Team Poker

I am unsure how many of you have ever been a pool boy, but it is not all the glitz and glamour you see on TV. I was fired this past Friday due to “grooming and attire” whatever that means. Either way I made a cameo in my former boss’ “High Stakes Living” video to remind me of the good ole days. http://www.cardplayer.com/tv/36747
Poker has been pretty rough for me as of late. Despite a final table in the nightly 100R on PS I have still found a way to be down for the week. I went to the Bellagio to play some cash games, but found myself not playing very good, so I decided to play the daily 1K tournament. I won a couple coin flips early to keep me alive. After a table change I was able to raise close to 50% of the time without much resistance. I went from 10K to 30K without showing a hand. Then Jimmy Tran opened UTG to 2200 with the blinds at 400/800. I found KK on the button and reraised to 7K total. He had about 14K left so I fully expected a push or a fold. But to my surprise he just called. The flop came 8s6s5h and he pushed in his remaining 9K. I of course called and he showed Ac8c. I know Jimmy to be a good player, but I did not understand this move at all. Calling 3 bets out of position with a weak hand and not being aware of stack sizes, are some of the biggest mistakes amateurs make. He may have read me as weak and decided to do a stop and go, but I really don’t think that was his intentions. Either way I’m sure I am just bitter that I lost the hand to a river 8. After losing so more money at the 25/50 game I went over to Caesars to register for the Dream Team Poker Tournament. One of my teammates and I proceeded to try and drink all of the liquor in the casino. Not only did we fail, but we each lost all of the remaining cash we had on us playing Bacarat (which might be the dumbest game ever). I awoke hungover, but a good meal and some bloody marys later I was ready for action. I had Maria Ho, David Williams, Frank “Spike” Gallas, and a table full of absolutely horrible players. The media buzz around the tournament attracted players you would normally find at a 1/2 game. I ran my stack up nicely till I flopped top two on a J105 board. I lead and got one caller. Turn was an 8, putting two hearts on board. I bet 2/3 of the pot and he called again. I figured he had a decent jack or KQ. River was a beautiful 2c. So I bet exactly half of his stack (about half the pot). He tanked for about 2 minutes and announced all in. I called happily till he showed the nut and Q9. Soon after with the blinds at 300/600 a couple very weak players limped in. Mario Ho raised to 2100. She is good enough to raise very light here with the dead money in the middle. So I shipped 10K without looking. She made a nice call with AJo, but the board ran out 7 5 10 4 Q giving my mystery cards of 86o a straight. Then I raised to 1450 with 9d3d UTG and got the BB as a caller. Flop came Jh3h2d and I bet 2150. He called and the 2c hit the turn. He immediately shoved all in for 4500. I made a questionable call and he tables A4o for the gutshot. River as a 4 and my hero call was punished. After that I lost AK vs KK, K5 vs JJ, and finally 33 vs 55 to put me out of my misery.
I absolutely loved the tournament though. It was new and innovative and attracted poker fans to play against big names for only $500. I would love to see this run again during the WSOP.

Justin “robert07” Young

Online Poker, Mid Year Resolution, and High Stakes Living

Online poker started off strong this week with a 2nd in the 100 rebuy, but the Sunday lineup and a bad session of PLO today has more than vanquished any profit. I still feel like I have a small edge in online PLO, but I feel I should take a break until I am able to get more money online. Either way the last two days have motivated me not to play until Wednesday night at the earliest. I have plenty of house stuff that needs tending to anyway.
In addition I have set some rules for myself to get back into shape with monetary consequences. With how busy the year as been so far I have neglected any kind of workout routine. I am unsure if it is all the eating or drinking I have been doing or if its simply that things are starting to slow down, but I am motivated. With all the proceeds going to Morgan’s shopping fund. Normally I would send the money to a worthy cause or put it into a vacation fund, but I do not want any excuses to slip up. And though Morgan’s smile makes me very happy, seeing the price tags on some of the items makes me crinch. With the Bellagio, WSOP, and a plethora of visitors coming in now seems like a great time to start good habits.
My buddy Eric’s house is being featured in high stakes living. I have decided to go over there tonite and try to convince him that I could be his pool boy/butler for the shoot. Im sure a costume and or fancy mustache may be required, but I am ok with that. Ill let everyone know how that works out.

Justin “robert07” Young

Out Early in 10K

I was extremely happy I decided to play the 10K main event at the Wynn when I saw they were going to break 100 people for the event. I was even happier when I saw my table draw. Evan McNiff, Small Holdem (both on my immediate right) and Eric “basebaldy” Baldwin were the only people I recognized as good players at my table. I was even happier as one of the unknowns min raised Chad on the river with a flush on a AA884 board after Chad bet 1.2X pot. I was thinking how bad I would have to be not to have 50K+ by the end of the day. Only 3 hands worth talking about:
1) I am the 4th one to call a UTG raise to 225 with 77 in the SB. Flop came 7h4s2h. It checked around to Evan who bet 750 from the button. I raised to 2250 and he called. 8h hit the turn, and I decided to check call, the 3300 turn bet. River did not pair the board and I hated putting out a blocker bet against Evan, so I opted for the check fold to a 9500 bet.
2) I called a UTG raise with 7h4h on the button. The flop came Ah9s7d and UTG bet out 600. I put him on AK or AQ and decided to call the bet in position. Turn was a 3c putting the full rainbow out there. He bet 1800 and I was even more sure he had a big ace. With no real draw out there I decided to raise to 5100 representing a set or 2 pair. He called fairly quickly, and checked when the 6s came on the river. Thinking the only hands he would call me with on the turn being an iffy two pair like A7 or 10 8 / 8 6 for a straight draw. It was 50/50 he would call me with two pair, the river 6 made a straight for 10 8, and my pair of sevens were good against 8 6. So I decided not to fire the last bullet and check. He showed the AJhh for an amazing??? call on the turn.
3) I limped with 8d5d at the 75/150 level, and the same guy who I played the previous hand with raised to 675. I called and we saw a flop of 9c8s8h. I check called 1200 on the flop. The turn was a 6h, I checked and he bet 2600. I had about 16500 total and decided a shove would look weak and he might call me with an overpair or just a 9. He tanked for 10 seconds and called with 10 8o. gg.

Justin “robert07” Young

Out 5th in the 3K Wynn Classic

The final 10 players included David Peters, Adam Levy, Russell Rosenblum, Ryan Welch, Francois Safieddine and a Britsh kid named Jared Abrahams. I knew with Adam, David and Jared all on my left I would need to pick up a hand early to keep them from 3 betting me with my smallish stack. After being quiet for a couple orbits, I picked up KK on the button. Russell raised from middle position and shoved 13BB, he called my push with 88. I flopped a boat and doubled up to just under 30BB. In the next level (3k/6k), Russell completed from the SB and I checked with the 75cc. The flop came Ac5s4d, and he checked to me. Thinking my 5 is good I bet 8k into the pot. Russell raised to 22k. If I called it would leave me 91k. Still believing my 5 is good most of the time, I decided to call. I thought Russell wouldn’t bet again unless he had 2 pair or better. The turn was a 7d, and Russell went all in. It looked like my read was off about the strength of his hand, but turning 2 pair meant I couldn’t fold. I called and he turned over 54o, and the flopped 2 pair. My hand held again and I doubled up to 250k. With 5 people left I was 2nd in chips with Jared the overwhelming chipleader, with about 650k. Jared continually 3 bet me very light in position giving me 4.5 to 1 to call. I called a handful of times with suited connectors and some big aces, all with no success. The 3rd time he did it, I called with AJo, and the flop came KsJc7s. I checked and he bet 40k into the 85k pot. I called leaving myself 125k. The turn brought a 8h. I check folded thinking he couldn’t fire 2 bullets there with a hand I could beat. He told me he had KQ later on, meaning a 4 bet or fold was a better line than calling with his range. A couple of hands later, I raised on the button with 22. He 3 bet me again and I decided to 4 bet shove. He called quickly and tabled AA. The board ran out 2KJ, K, A. flopping me a set, but rivering Jared the best hand.
The fifth place finish is a little upsetting, due to improper plays against the chipleader. But, 15k and another final table is very satisfying. My recent success influenced me to play the main event and the Wynn, Table 38 Seat 4. Good Luck everyone.

Justin “robert07” Young

2K, Night at Pallazo, 3K

The 2K at the Wynn Classic was not all that exciting. My starting table started off really well as there was a good mix of good aggression and poor plays from my table. I never got much above the stating stack though. Then I got moved to a very tough and very fun table. Basebaldy, Sorel, Dan OBrien, and Bushman were all playing a game called “Lodden Thinks”. This is where you ask an impartial person to answer a question that no one actually knows the answer. Like “How many cameras are in the Wynn Casino?” Then we auction a number to what number he is thinking. Someone will eventually buy the number and the group will choose sides (over/under). You book the action and find out the third partys locked in guess. Its more fun to play than it is to explain. I ended up winning half my buy in back as I was on the correct side of every line set. The tournament ended with me opening with AQo UTG, and had Evan McNiff 3- bet me all in for around 18BB. I thought his range would be pretty large here, so I called and he showed AK. His hand held, and I was out.
We all went out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant in the Palazzo, where my wife lost the flip for the bill. But when she loses I lose, so I picked up the tab. While I was playing some blackjack, I bumped into my friend Jeff Shu, and we decided to do some late night drinking after he got back from dinner. When he got back he hooked me up with casino hosts to the Palazzo/Venetian and one from Caesars. We drank very well and very free all night in the VIP section at the Venetian. A few hours of degenerate gambling and some good late night food later I went to bed happy with a little extra money in my pocket.
I got up just in time for the 3K at the Wynn, where they attracted 90 players. During the first hour of play I ran a couple small bluffs that both happened to include the 3s in my hand. The table made a big deal about it, so looking for fun I decided to try and win every time I had the 3s in my hand. I got creative on a couple of them, but they all worked. And I showed the 3s everytime. This allowed me to get decent action on my made hands. I got moved to a very tough table where I had to stop my shenanigans. I managed to slowly chip up, but always staying below average. The night ended with 10 people around 530am. We decided to just pay the 10th place out of pocket so we could go home. I have about 76K with the blinds at 2K/4K, so I have some work to do. 1st place is over 90K, so hopefully my next blog will be a happy one.

Justin “robert07” Young

Wynn Classic 1K rebuy Final Table

I made my 2nd final table of the Wynn Classic yesterday in the 1K rebuy. The field was small and tough, with 81K going to the winner. The FT featured: The “Thrill”, Dan OBrien, Jason Mercier, Corwin Cole, and Jon “pearljammer” Turner. Also the chipleader was a 21 year old named Jared Ingles who I think played very well.
The day started as the night ended, with everyone fighting for the weaker blinds and Corwin 3 betting me. I managed to wake up with 1010 when PearlJammer shoved from the cutoff with 66. The knockout put me about avg with the blinds at 3k/6k. Then in the battle for the blinds, Jared raised to 19k. I called with A6o. Flop was J75 rainbow, and Jared checked. I checked behind thinking my hand was good, but fearing a c’raise with air from Jared. Turn was another 7, putting two clubs on board. He fired 26k and I called still thinking Ace hi was good. River was the Ac. He tanked for 30 seconds and announced all in. I had 160K left, and though I thought I was good, I figured it was a pretty marginal spot for a hero call. I flashed the ace, and he flashed the Q9o for complete air. One orbit later, UTG raises to 17.5k and the short stack flats from the middle leaving himself 66k. I called with 44 from the BB, looking to set mine and bust two players. Both players were playing very str8 forward and I expected medium to big pocket pairs from both. Flop was Kd7c6h, and I was done with the hand until they both checked behind me. Turn was a 5d. I decided to take a stab and bet 33k (half of the short stack, giving me good protection from a call from the UTG raiser). But to my surprise UTG raised to 80k total, and the short stack snap shoved. So it was 47k more to me with about 240k+ in the pot. If I call I am left with about 65k. I decide to call, planning to shove any 3,4,8 or diamond giving me 8 nut outs, 2 marginal outs, and 7 bluffing outs for the side pot. The river was a 3s, and I went all in, and UTG cursed under his breath and folded QQ pretty quickly (which means the flush bluff would have worked as well). The short stack showed 55 for a turned set. The pot pushed me up over 300K. I doubled up Dan just before he was knocked out, as my 1010 could not hold against his K8o. Three handed I limped from the SB with two black threes. Jason raised 20K more with the blinds 4k/8k. Although I think a raise to 78k looked stronger, I decided to shove a total of 200k all in. He called very quickly with KQo. The board ran out QQ6K9, giving me little sweat that I could continue the tournament.
Still the 32K is a nice score as I am hopefully building momentum for the summer. I am planning on playing the 2k and 3k at the Wynn, and giving myself a 20% chance to play the main event. Hope to see everyone out there.

Justin “robert07” Young