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Main Event Kicks Off; PokerNews Freeroll
So the first four flights of the WSOP Main Event have been run and it was all a little anti-climatic to be honest. Besides a little pre-match hype and a bit of an introduction, it really was just another donkament, just one with a little more importance. The reporting was pretty typical of a normal event and there weren’t a whole heap of strange characters unlike previous years.
The strangest thing I heard was that Phil Laak played the entire day in a latex mask as he pretended to be an old man. Strange but true.
We then had the only day off of the entire series where no one had to work. This was the day of the PokerNews freeroll with $5k up for grabs and a few bounties on the biggest donkeys in the field. First hand, I had a chance (although a little unrealistic one)to actually claim a bounty. Fillipe (our Portugese photographer) raised UTG to 150 and John Caldwell (the head honcho and bounty) flat called. It folded to me in the big blind and I tossed 8d2d into the muck like a weak tight fish. Flop A-8-2. Fillipe and John get into a mini-raising war with Fillipe eventually tossing away A-6 and John flashing A-K. I would’ve cracked him and been $300 up after one hand. Doh!
After that I was really tight and pretty card dead. The first hand I was involved with was holding two black kings with blinds at 50/100. Flipchip (another photographer) raised to 250 from middle position and I bumped it to 700 from his direct left. It folded around and Flipchip quickly called. “No ace, no ace, no ace”….Flop A-rag-rag with two diamonds. Flipchip checked and I check behind. Turn was a third diamond and Flipchip moved all in. Urgh. I toss away the kings and am back to 2,200.
A little later that level I raise with pocket nines from the hijack and Change flat called on the button. John called in the big blind and we see a flop of 8-7-5. I lead out for about 650, leaving myself around 1,000. I’m committed to the hand, but Change moved all in. I cringed, knowing that I’m crushed, but it’s a freeroll and I’m not folding. She has pocket aces. A six spikes on the turn to give me my gutshot straight and I double up. Change picks up pocket queens next hand and get them cracked also to bust out. “Right, I’m going to go and get high!” she said between clenched teeth!
So I’m back over 4,000 when Marc Hodge comes over and takes a seat to my left. He’s short but starts moving all in over the top of limpers and raisers to quickly double his stack without a showdown. In one hand I joined in the limping with a pretty JdTd but had to give it up when Marc squeezed. So I’m getting sick of the raising when I find A-J and open for 600. Marc again comes over the top for another 2,000. I guess I can fold here, and I normally would, but it’s a freeroll and he’s done it like 3-4 times in a row so I decide to make a stand. He turns over A-K, the board bricks and I’m back down to about 1,200.
My final hand was with pocket fours under the gun when I shoved all in and Matt makes a fishy call with QsJs. He rivers a queen and I’m done.
However I agreed to swap % with Tim, Logan and Matt (under review for future swaps after that fishy call), and I was looking good for a big score with all three in great shape with 11 players left. However after some confusion about doing a deal due to lack of time, Logan goes for the win and races his big stack against the chip leader with AK vs JJ. The board bricked out and Logan bubbled. They then chopped ten-ways, eventhough Brian was a luckbox to get that far, and Mr. S Horton DELIBERATELY tanked for over five minutes on the bubble with absolute trash cards to limp into the money. SHAME! So I ended up with a small profit thanks to my horsies!
We then headed over to the Palms to the PokerStars party…more details to come…