Day 2 of Caesars 5K

I came into the day with 65.5K good for above average. My table was horrible as Devo, JC, Sam Stien, Doug Lee, Steve O'Dwyer and a name that escapes me were at my table. The action was pretty aggressive causing me to play a bit tighter. I 3 bet with AQo from the SB only to get 4 bet. I was close to jamming, but doubted he had enough room to fold medium pairs. I was down to 47K when I raised from late position with 76hh. I was called in two spots (button and BB). The flop was Kh10c3h giving me a flush draw. I lead about 60% pot 5500 and Sam Stien made it 17K. It was very close to a fold. I knew he was calling any reraise so I somehow found a call. My plan was to shove any 4,5,6,7 or heart. I actually thought I had fold equity against some hands like bigger hearts, QJ, KJ, and maybe KQ. Plus if I do get called I give myself some extra outs. Either way the 4s hit and I shove for 27K. He snapped with AhKc and I had 11 outs. The river was a black 8 and 1 hour into day 2 I was out.

Justin "robert07" Young

WPT Championship and Caesars 5K

The next best thing to being at a final table is to watch a friend make it there. Shocking enough, Eric Baldwin made the WPT Championship final table. It was a final table with David Bennyamine, Billy Baxter, David Williams, and Sean Buchanan all joining him. Eric played really well and earned himselft a spot heads up for 1.5 million. David Williams had him at a 3 to 1 lead, and early on Eric 3 bet shoved for 23bbs with A5hh. Somehow David made the call with 22 and it was close to a flip going to the flop. The flop was A76 giving Eric a 8 to 1 advantage, but a 2 hit the turn and Eric was drawing dead. 2nd was good for 1 million and Eric's largest pay date. Congrats! With some of Eric's friend from back home and the drunken fools already here it should make for one of the best WPT episodes ever.

I played the 5K at Caesars yesterday. The field was pretty soft and I was fortunate to find some soft tables. I chiped up to 52K by dinner break (starting stack 25K). Then I got in a huge pot with Cantu when I held QQ vs his 88 all in pre flop. Board was QJ5....9.....10 giving him a straight. It was a 58K pot and I was devastated. I managed to work my stack up to as high as 90K before losing a wierd pot at the end of the night with 2nd pair. I ended the day with 65.5K. Day 2 starts in a hour.

Justin "robert07" Young

WPT Championship Day 3

I went into day 3 with almost 300K and a ton of confidence. I woke up to take a look at my table draw and I was amazed. The only 2 names I recognized were Emiline Boich and Matt Stout. I began to look up databases of the other players and only 2 of them had a live cash. I showed up pumped and ready to go. When everyone starting taking their seats I recognized two of them from my day 1 starting table. One was a station and the other was a super nit. I folded for about 1.5 orbits when I attacked the nits BB with Js7h. A guy on the button called and the flop was 9s8s3s giving me a gutter ball and a jack hi flush draw. I bet about have pot and he called. The turn was the 10c giving me a straight. I bet about half pot again and he rips in a 1.5x pot sized raise. I tanked forever obviously scared he had a flush, but I did not think he would make that big of a bet with the nuts. So I called hoping to see a set....and he did. I faded the river and I was up to 440K. I chiped up to about 500K when I got the bad news that the table was breaking. I was sent to a table that included Justin Bonomo, Brandon Cantu, and Ben Fineman. I treaded water for a long time before I got in a big pot with Ben Fineman. He raised the button and I called with 8c6c. The flop was K97 with two spades. He bet 75% pot and I called with my open ender. The turn was a 7c. I checked and he bet about 25% pot. Normally I would be scared he has already filled up, but with the big bet on the flop I was thinking he had AK, AA, or a 7. I called the small bet with intentions of shoving the river (he had about pot behind) if any 10, 5, or spade hit. The 2s hit the river and I represented the spades by pushing all in. He tanked for about 1 minute before calling with K9hh good for top two. The pot pushed me down to 350K. We changed tables and I was moved with Cantu over to a table that had Jaka, Randal Flowers and Yivgeni. I won a small pot early against Jaka to get me to about 375K, then I was handcuffed. I was card dead at a table where I needed cards. I tried some light 3 betting and it was always 4 bet. I tried some light opening and it was always 3 bet. I opened with 22 when Jaka 3 bet me to 32K. I put in the extra 20K and we saw a flop. It was 9c5c2h giving me bottom set. I checked and he bet 42K I just called, becuase I have seen him get stubborn with hands and try to barrell thru. The turn was the 7c putting 3 clubs on board. I checked looking to c'raise all in, but he checked behind. The river was a Kc putting 4 clubs on board and I did not have one. So I attempted a blocker bluff and bet 77K. He tanked for 10 seconds and pushed me all in. I was down to 180K at 3k/6k when I picked up AK. I was hoping to get a three bet from Jaka, but instead the tightest player at the table made it 42K total. I was close to folding, but was a little frustrated and pushed it in. She made the call with 1010 and I bricked out.
On the upside my buddy Eric has made the final table. I am going down to watch him win 1.5 million today.

Justin "robert07" Young

WPT Day 2

I came into the day with only 28K which was still good for 35bbs. My table was pretty decent considering. I had Charder, Bax, Josh Arieh, and a wildly aggressive Hungarian on my left. I found a spot early to limp push from the SB with AKhh. The Hungarian looked me up with A8dd. Shortly after that I raised with AK and got 3 callers. The flop came K52 with two hearts and I attempted to check raise. Arieh ended up betting and then calling my push with KJ. My hand held and I was up to 90K. Shortly after that I was in the BB and it folded around to the SB he completed and I raised it up with A8cc. He called and the flop was Ah7c2c. He led out 1.5x pot and I raised full pot to pot commit him. He beat me in the pot and showed A7o. I still had 12 outs twice and the Kc hit the turn to bust the SB. We were pretty close on chips and the pot pushed me near 190K. After that Phil Hellmuth moved into his spot. He immediatley lost 3/4 of his chips and was pretty active. I doubled him up with JJ vs KK all in pre and then AJ vs AA all in pre. Those pots and a few others put me down around 20K again. I raised with A10o and the Hungarian called. The flop was 992 and decided to check raise all in for value. A scary move, but one that worked out as the Hungarian bet 2x pot and then called my push with Q6o. My hand held and one orbit later I took QQ against the Hungarians AK. The board bricked out and I was up to 85K. I became a bit more active and was able to chip up to 180K with out having to show down to many hands. Then late in the day I found AA for the first time all tournament. I raised Brandon Cantu's BB and he called. Cantu is a very good and creative player so all I could think about was pot contol. Then the flop came down AJ7 rainbow relieving all my worries. He checked and I bet 7K in to 12ish. He made it 17500 and I was in heavan. I was pretty sure he didnt have much, but I threw in another smallish raise to entice more action. I made it 42.5K total and called quickly. The call told me he had a hand, but not AJ or a set. I put him on AQ and was looking for one big value bet, so when the 2 hit the turn I checked behind him to set up a big bet or raise on the river. The river was a K and he checked. I fired 68K and he snapped with AKo. Looking back I coulda/shoulda doubled up, but the way the hand played out I still think my plan of one big value street was correct. The pot pushed me to about 280K and I ended the night with 296K.
Day 3 coming soon.

Justin "robert07" Young

WPT Main Day 1

On day 1 of the 25K WPT Championship I was pumped and ready to go. As the people were filing in I began to root silently for certain people to pass my table. After it was all filled in I was thrilled. I had Carlos Mortenson, Chris Moore, and Eric Siedel all on my right. Nancy Todd Tyler and Jim Bectel were also at my table but did not see any real problems with them. One hand ONE I find KK. Eric opened to 550 (100/200 blinds) and I elected to be tricky and just call. Jim 3 bet huge to 4500 and Eric folded. I know a lot of peoples strategy in deep tournys is to over bet AA so I was a little weary, but just called. The board was Q88 with two clubs. I checked and he over bet the pot to 10K. I called hoping he would slow down and I could control a bet on the river. The turn was a 6d and I checked. He bet out 40K basically committing himself to the hand. AA, KK, QQ, and AQ were all possible, but I was sure he had AA and I folded. The rest of the day went like that for me. I got a lot of good hands (never AA) and was always up against slightly better. I folded QQ preflop twice (I was right both times), I had JJ vs KK on a 1098 board. I rivered a king hi flush and took it against an ace high flush. Then I had 2 pair on a J10752 board against 98. Needless to say I was short at the end of the night. At 300/600 Carlos opened and Eric called. I had about 18K (30 BBs) and thought it was a good spot to squeeze so I shoved with K7ss. Carlos folded and Eric called with 1010. As I was out the door the table errupted. I looked back and the flop was Js6s2s giving me the flush. I ended the day with 28K.
More is coming about the rest of the tourny. Still a little painful.
Justin "robert07" Young

Bellagio Prelims

In between friends and family in town I played a handful of Bellagio Prelim events. The fields were pretty small for the most part, but its still one of my favorite places to play. I would like to tell you some interesting stories about how I got ousted from each one, but too much time has gone by to remember each dissapointment. I'll do some highlights.
After getting burned in each of the other rebuy events I played, I decided to show up late and just pay 4K so I would do a immediate rebuy and 2 add ons. I chiped up early as I got action on almost all of my big starting hands including busting 3 people the first 3 times I got aces. I accumulated a nice pile when I got to pop my cherry in a poker feat I had never done. Alex Gomes was playing good and aggressive and for the third consecutive time he raised a tight players BB. I looked down at J2cc and 3 bet him to 15K (blinds at 1k/2k). He eyeballed my stack and made it 40K. I thought he might be full of shit so I made sure I had enough to make him fold. I barely did with 155K total, but still pulled the trigger. He snap folded and I got to enjoy my first 5 bet with air. That being said there was a good chance that Jack hi was good. I went card dead after that which is not a good thing after you show J2 in a massive pot. I ended up squeaking into the final table and then got knocked out 7th when I shoved 9.5bbs with J10o and was looked up by Alex with A9dd. The flop gave me hope when KQ8 rolled off, but blanks hit and I was out.
Now for an embarrassing story. In the 5K I built up a decent stack coming back from dinner. I lost a big pot to Justin Bonomo when we both flopped top pair. Then I won a smallish pot where I had to show down 103hh. With my image where I thought it was I was excited when I got AKdd. I opened thinking I would get 3 bet. I did and I decided to 4 bet pot commit. So I made it 19.5k of my 46K total. Without earphones in and without a cocktail in my system I swore he said "all in". I already told myself I was calling so I turned over my hand and pushed my chips foward. As it turns out he said call and now I had to play the flop with my hand face up. The flop came J83 rainbow and he shoved from the SB. Despite not getting the odds if he had a pair I almost called cause I felt like he had AQ or the same hand. I chickened out and watched 40% of my chips dissapear. I played nitty for a while and got in 14 BBs with A6o vs 55. I lost the flip and was out the door.
The 25K main event starts today and I am pumped. I woke up at 630 this morning with excitement. I did finally go back to bed for another 2 hours so now I am well rested. I will have an update of day 1 soon.

Justin "robert07" Young

Matt and Andy

I had a couple high school friends in town this past weekend. They are two of my favorite people in the world and on a very short list of people I keep up with from high school. I didnt have any stress to show them a good time despite one being a first timer to vegas and the other hasnt been here since he hit puberty. They are laid back and easy to entertain.
After I picked them up from the airport we grabbed food and caught up a bit. After a short rest we went out to Red Rocks which is my favorite place in Vegas (craps table is a close second). After a long hike we loaded up on meat and grilled out. The next day the memory of good meat clouded out minds and we needed more so we grilled out again for lunch. I took them to the strip just as my buddy was getting heads up in a Bellagio tournament. They were nice enough to walk around by themselves and let me play a short session. On the way back we hit up Veloce which is a good sushi restaraunt on top of the M casino. A few rolls and a bunch of drinks later we were ready for bed.
We woke up and drove to the Grand Canyon because its something that everyone needs to see. We hike around for a little bit and called it a day. We woke up early to go hiking all morning. We found a sweet little trail along the wall. There was no one else in sight and we took in some great views. We drove back hitting up In-N-Out for lunch (another must do). After we got back and relaxed we decided to eat more meat. Morgan, Cody, and Renee joined us at the steak joint in the M. After a terrific meal and some drinks we headed back to my place and played pool till we couldnt stand up.
We took it easy on their last day and headed to the strip for dinner and so the boys could walk around Vegas at night. It was a fantastic visit and cant wait for me to go visit them in Raleigh.

I have been playing poker and will get to some recaps on the next blog, but I am running late for Bellagio's 5K today.

Justin "robert07" Young

April Tournies + Friends in Town

A few days before April 1st my sister called me up and said that she and my niece wanted to come visit for a day. I was ready to call her bluff, but sure enough at 8am on April 1st they were waiting at the airport. We caught up, hung out on the strip, and went to a hockey game for Shelley's birthday. They left the next day to pick up a car, but we had a lot of fun for 24 hours.
I have played a handful of tournys this month with nothing to show for it. I am going with reads a lot more with mixed results. Case in point: to get knocked out of today's 1K tourny at the Bellagio I called all in with King hi, because I was convinced he had a straight draw. Thats a bit extreme and I need to realize how weak most of these fields are. There is no reason to risk all of my chips in a marginal spot like that one. With the 25K main event coming up I need to be in the right mind set. So the next 2 weeks it will be important to play well. On a side note I made a bet against Ben Fineman today getting 3 to 2 that the main will get 300 contestants. I maybe a fish, but I am a hopeful fish.
I did have a sweat for a final table last night in the Venetian 1K. We were down to 16 players with me at or near the chip lead when the following hand went down. I raised the cutoff with 98dd and the small blind (who has a bunch of chips too) called as well. I had no previous history with him and my only read was that he liked to splash around. The flop was Qd10c6s giving me a double gutter. He checked and I bet 3500 (pot was about 8K). He called and the turn was a Qh. He checked and I checked for fear he could c'raise me off my hand. The turn was a beautiful 7d giving me the nut straight. He quickly bet 13500. My first instinct was to just call, due to the size of the bet. But I convinced myselft he would do that with AQ and KQ as well, so I made a raise to 52K. He tanked forever and counted out his chips and the longer he took the more I tried to look weak. It worked and he called, but the also has 66 for a boat. Another instinct play that went wrong, but thats a huge cooler for that stage of the tourny. I ended up going out 12th and out of the money.
My high school buddies Matt and Andy and coming out on Thursday. We will be going to the Grand Canyon and some other Vegas activities. Cant wait.

Justin "robert07" Young