VEGAS

Tom and I played poker at Excalibur, Mirage, Harrah's, and Mandalay Bay. We won consistantly at the Mirage and I won a couple of hundred at Mandalay Bay, so we were up for the week in cash games, despite a few losing sessions. On Sunday, I paid $175 to play in a one-table winner-takes-all satellite for the $1500 event on Monday.

I was content to wait for good cards while the token female played fast and loose, hitting hand after hand and building up a big lead. The first few players who busted out all exited on failed draws. I figured I could play good cards for value at this table. I finally found QQ after a call and a raise. The raiser was short-stacked, due to a failed draw, so I came over the top all in, which forced out the original caller. The short-stack called me and my queens held up.

I was able to hang tight and watch the field narrow. The lady was still raking, but her play was getting sloppy. When there were five players remaining, I could tell that it was going to come down to me versus one other guy and the winner would be whichever of us were able to take a bite out of the lady's stack. I had the chance to knock out the guy when he got short-stacked. He was all-in on my blind and although I had a crummy hand, I took a shot at knocking him out. Neither of us improved and his better cards stood up. He then got aggressive and compiled a ton of chips as I went completely card dead. It got down to he and me and the lady and with the blinds increasing, my cards were so horrid that I wasn't able to defend myself at all. Finally, as I was getting short-stacked, I moved in with KJh and the lady woke up with wired eights, which held up. I went out in third place and the other guy ultimately won.

I did not play in the $1500 Monday tournament or the $1000 Tuesday tournament. Tom left Tuesday, so after a fine Thai lunch, I headed to the Rio and played a $125 sit-and-go for the $1000 Wednesday tournament. I played absolutely horribly. After watching the first three pots go straight to the preflop raiser, I got crafty and raised in 7th position with A3. The big blind defended and the flop came 774. I put in a big bet and he called. The turn was a 3 and I fired another shell, which he called. The river was a king and he bet it out. I could only fold and curse my misguided aggression. When you begin with only $1000 in chips, this is not a good way to start. So, short-stacked, I was looking for any pair. I finally found fives and wound up going all in against not one, but two higher pairs - tens and aces. It was all over but the crying.

I dusted myself off and bought into another $125 satellite. I waited for the cards this time and didn't force the action. I got into a pot cheaply with 44 and the flop came A54 with two hearts. I bet out and was raised a good amount, which I didn't mind at all. I came back all in and he called with A6. He must have figured me for a heart draw. The turn was an ace, making me vulnerable to ten cards in the deck, but the river was a harmless 8 and I doubled up.

Soon after, I called a first-position raise with JJ and there was a third caller. A first position raise must be respected, since the hand is usually comprised of queens, kings, and aces in some combination. I figured calling with jacks and taking a flop was more prudent than getting into a raising war preflop. The flop came 553 and the preflop raiser checked it to me. This made me fairly confident that I had the best hand, so I thought a while about exactly how much to bet. I settled on $425 and the overcaller folded. The first position guy took my deliberate thinking as a bluff and came over the top all in, figuring he had me beat. I considered my options. He could have been trapping with a high pair, but I found it unlikely that he would have checked this flop if he held a pair higher than mine. There were only three hands that had me beat so I decided he would have to show me one of them to beat me. I called all in and he showed AQ. He couldn't believe that I had jacks because I played it different than he would have. My jacks could have been fours against his overcards, and a queen came on the river to kill me.

I contributed $125 to a third attempt, and my luck ran about the same. I got one Doylesque hand in before my demise, when I raised with 98d and found one caller. The flop came Q75 one diamond, and I went all in with my inside straight/backdoor flush draw. I didn't have enough chips to get involved with the hand in any check-call kind of way, so I figured I would lay odds that he wouldn't have a queen. He wound up calling me with 88, figuring if I had a queen, I wouldn't have overbet. It was a good call. I hit a 9 on the turn to take the hand and double up.

I waited for another good hand as the blinds increased. I found KQs on the button and when it folded around to me, I put in a big raise. The big blind had a ton of chips and found a hand he wanted to play, but knew it was vulnerable, so he reraised me a ton, mandating that I would be playing for all my chips if I contested. I called immediately. He showed Q9d and I was in real good shape ... until the nine came on the turn and knocked me out of the tourney. Once again, I got all my chips into the pot with the odds in my favor, but it was not to be.

I was $375 invested into the $1000 tourney already. I didn't really want to throw a thousand dollars at the event, but at the same time, I was in Vegas with all the pros, and having busted out so early in the main event, I was anxious to play a WSOP event before I left town, and the Wednesday tourney was my last chance. I was wavering on whether or not I would enter when Fougan the Furious Frenchman approached and asked me if I was playing tomorrow. He had won his first satellite, so he was already in. I told him I was not sure, and he retorted with an offer to trade 20% of each other if I played. So, if one of us makes the money, the other guy gets 20% of the payout. This was a generous offer of goodwill, which I accepted.

The event began with $1000 in chips and 40-minute levels. I didn't recognize any of the players at my table, but there was the usual assortment of aggressive players and tight players. I got up to $1100 then squandered a few hundred on a draw that didn't pan out. I held QJc in the small blind and the flop came ATx with two clubs. The flop checked around. A blank fell on the turn and I bet out but found a caller. The river blanked as well, and I checked it down and lost to T9.

I had to tighten up after that, and I missed a golden opportunity. I will normally call with any pair in early position, trying to get a cheap chance at flopping a set. But after falling below my starting stack, I decided to muck my deuces in first position, rather than risking getting raised off the hand. There turned out to be no raisers, four callers and a flop of 832 rainbow. I would have made some bank if I had been in there.

The next hand I played was against the same guy who had beat me with the T9. He was in just about every pot, so I was looking to snare him into a big one with my pocket rockets. I put in the standard preflop raise from the big blind in hopes to get heads up, which I did. The flop came jack high, and I put in a third of my remaining chips, which he called. The turn brought an 8 which didn't figure to help either of us. I pushed in the rest of my chips and he called with KJ. It wasn't a great call, since I was playing from the get-go as if I had jacks beat. But he had me covered, so he made the call. Along comes Mr. King on the river to end the dream. I wish this stuff didn't happen in thousand dollar tournaments.