Big Blog Upcoming

Here's a taste:
http://www.wsop.com/news/2012/Jun/3843/CLIFF-GOLDKIND-BAGS-559514-PLUS-POKERS-MOST-COVETED-PRIZE.html

Live from the MGM Grand

More stacks like this on a daily basis, please!

Hey everyone,

After losing yesterday, I decided to take the night off from poker and enjoy the Heat's win over the Celtics.  Tomorrow is a big game 7, and I am looking forward to watching it on the huge screens at one of the sports books.  As we walked home from the Bellagio sports book, I weaved my way through the many, many people on the strip handing out cards and pamphlets for sex workers to anyone who is willing to take them...and some who are unwilling.  As I walked down the Strip in front of Paris, I suddenly felt something hit me in the chest and fall on top of the box of leftover pizza I was taking back to our timeshare.  I looked down and discovered a pamphlet advertising "escorts" and other services.  Apparently someone was determined to make sure that I received their publication, much to the delight of those who witnessed the sneak attack.

Pokerwise, today went much better than yesterday, and I have started to recover from yesterday's loss.  I went over to Venetian today and played cash games, which went great for a while.  In the last few minutes, I lost back about half of what I had won over the few hours prior, but I still booked a good win.  It was a bit frustrating, as I was up alot more, but it was still nice to get a solid win.  I feel much more comfortable playing cash games than I did last year, and I am enjoying playing alot.

Tonight, I decided to head over to MGM to play, as this weekend is the big Pacquiao fight at MGM, and I was expecting there to be alot of money thrown around here.  The poker game, however, was a bit of a let-down, but the good news is I made a quick few bucks in about an hour before I decided to call it a night.  I am hoping tomorrow will be a big day on the Strip, as lots of people are in town for the fight and the Electric Daisy Carnival, a huuuuge techno/electronica concert/rave thing that takes place in Vegas every year.  Should be lots of games around town.  Wish me luck!

-Danny

Swings

My stack in WSOP event 9 at around my high point on Day 2

Man, the swings in poker can be brutal!  Last night I had a great cash game session at Aria and was feeling on top of the world.  The night before, I had lost 1 buyin playing at the Bellagio after trying a few bluffs, but I recovered plus some last night after winning a huge pot.  I had 6 9 of spades, and the button raised.  The small blind called and I called from the big blind.  The flop was the King of spades, 6 of hearts, and 3 of spades, giving me middle pair and a flush draw.  This was a huge flop for me, so I checked to the button who bet.  I raised, he reraised, and I moved all in for the biggest cash game pot I have played since I came out here.  I was in about as great a shape as I could be, as all he has was a lower flush draw with 8 4 of spades.  All he could really hit to beat me was an 8, as spades gave me a higher flush.  We both ended up hitting the flush, and I took a monster pot to end the night.

Aria chips after winning the big pot

Today, unfortunately, was a different story at the WSOP cash games.  Every big hand I had today was either already behind or ahead but got outdrawn.  While yesterday felt like I was unstoppable, today feels like I can't win.  But that's okay with me.  It's what I signed up for, and it's why poker is a tough way to make money.  If you can't handle the swings, you shouldn't be playing because they can destroy you.  Downswings are inevitable, and I have learned to take them in stride over the last two summers here.  I just have to keep playing my game and things will turn around.  I have seen it time and time again.  I am still doing well for the trip, as I am down some in cash games but up more from the tournament.  It is time to start heading back in the right direction and go on another upswing soon!

Tonight, I will probably watch the Heat game somewhere and hope that they pull off a big win in Boston.  For the last game, I went and watched the game with a few friends at the Caesars sports book, which was fun until we lost.  Walking back down the strip, I was openly mocked for my Heat jersey by Boston fans and Heat haters alike, so hopefully we can get some revenge tonight.

Whether I play cash games again tonight or tomorrow, hopefully things are about to turn back around!

Strong Start at the WSOP!

 Hey everyone!

My first post from Vegas is an exciting one for me.  Warning: It got a little long, but I bolded the basic points so you can skim if you want.  I hope you enjoy it!

Saturday
First things first:  I arrived in Vegas Saturday night at around 7 Vegas time, so I headed straight to our room at Polo Towers, which turned out to be pretty sweet.  Big master bedroom with a King+ bed, living room with a pullout couch, solid kitchen, and big bathroom.  It is definitely more than I expected from the timeshare that we got a pretty great deal on for the week.  Here are a few pics of the room:

So after I checked in and put my stuff down, I had a couple hours before Cliff got in, so I did the only thing I could think of: go play poker!  I played for about 2 hours at Aria before Cliff called and said he was on his way to Polo and took a small loss.  Even so, it felt great to be back at the poker table, and I was now even more excited for the summer than I already was.  After Cliff got in, we headed over to the Rio, as we had both decided to play in the World Series of Poker event the next day!  It was going to be one of the biggest tournaments of the summer, so we decided to take a shot at the $1,500 buyin tournament.  I had planned on playing a tournament later in the summer, but this was going to be a big tournament with a huge prizepool, so we both decided it was possibly the best value of the summer and too big to pass up!

Sunday
We made our way over to the Rio Sunday at noon for Event 9 of the WSOP, hyped for the event, which would be the first WSOP tournament for both of us.  It got 3,404 people, and first prize is over $700,000. The top 342 players would get paid a minimum of $2,800.  The tournament started slowly, as I remained around starting stack of $4500 in chips.  After grinding for hours, I finally picked up a few hands and got up to 24,000 chips at my high point.  However, near the end of the night, disaster struck as I attempted a big bluff that got called.  I was left with just around 6,000 chips, but I didn't give up and finished the day with 10,200 chips.  I was ecstatic to have made day 2 of my first WSOP event!  I was concerned about my chipstack though, which would be just under 12 big blinds when I came back today.

Monday
I came in to the 2nd day of the tournament very short and knew I had to make moves quickly.  As luck would have it, I picked up pocket Aces the first hand of the day!  I limped in, as I had many aggressive players at my table and alot of short stacks who I thought would shove.  It folded around to the small blind, who was the chip leader of the tournament at that point with over 100,000 chips.  He started to put the wheels of my plan in motion with a raise to 2800, and then the big blind moved all in for about 13,000 with pocket 5s!  I called all in for my 10,200, and the big blind called with Ace Queen.  My hand held up and suddenly I had over 30,000 in chips and felt really good.  I won't bore you with all the details, but after a few hours of play, we finally made the money!  I cashed in my first WSOP tournament, and it felt great, especially since the buyin was very large for my taste at this point.  For most of the tournament, I was short stacked, including for much of the time after we got in the money.  I never gave up, even when I got very short, and I kept myself afloat long enough to get 102nd place for $4,595!!!  It felt like such an accomplishment, as I was card-dead(never got many great hands) for almost the entire tournament but kept myself alive to finish in the top 3% of the tournament.

The money is a great boost to my summer bankroll, but more than that the experience was incredible.  I am so glad that I decided to play.  Even if I didn't make it into the money today, I was so glad to have gotten the opportunity to play the entire day yesterday.  I had such a great time.  It has always been a dream for me to play in the WSOP, whether in the Main Event or a side event like this one.  The last two summers here playing cash games were great, but I regretted not ever entering a WSOP event.  I have no more regrets.  I got to go after my goal of winning a bracelet and the cash that comes with it, and I came out ahead.  I am really looking forward to the rest of the summer as I try to build my bankroll further playing cash games.  Hopefully I will get to play another event this summer, but if not, I am really glad I got to accomplish one of my goals so early in the trip.


This has gotten long enough, but I was a succinct as I could be about the tournament.  I would love to go through all of the interesting hands I played, but you guys would get crazy bored!  Thanks for reading, and I will update again soon.

-Danny

2012: Hopefully My Biggest Summer Yet

Hey everyone,

I'm excited to be returning to Vegas for a another summer, so the blog is back for its third installment!  Alot of you read at least some of the last 2 summers, but if you're new to the blog or want to go back and read, the posts from the last 2 summers can still be found here.  The newest posts will appear on top of the page, and all other posts will follow behind or be logged in the archive which can be found on the left side of the page.

This summer should be the biggest and best yet.  I had a great time in Vegas on my own the last 2 summers, but this summer I am excited that Cliff will be joining me for the entire month plus that I will be there.  Cliff's friend Tony will also be coming out for the last few weeks, so it will be nice to have other people there to hang out, eat, and discuss poker with.  We have been planning this for months, and it has all worked out nicely so far.  We have a timeshare on the strip for the first week, as well as for the last 2 weeks, and the rest of the time will be spent at Harrahs, where I stayed for much of my summer last year.  I am really excited about the timeshares, since we'll have a full kitchen and fridge to eat a little healthier and not have to dine out every meal.

With Cliff and Tony joining me in Vegas, I think I am set up to have a more profitable summer than the last 2.  I look forward to talking poker with and learning from them.  I'll most likely be playing 2/5 No Limit cash games for most of the summer, with a few tournaments mixed in.  One of my main goals is to play at least 1 World Series of Poker event while I am out there, so hopefully the cash games will go well enough to afford the buy-in(s).  This summer will also be alot more fun, since I haven't seen Cliff (in person-Skype doesn't count) since college graduation.  I have also been studying cash game theory, and Cliff and I have done some work on tournament strategy, so I feel even more prepared for the summer than I have previous years.  I am really excited to get out there this weekend and play my best.  Hopefully good things will follow.  Thanks for reading, and I hope those of you who choose to follow along enjoy the blog!  Check back at the end of the weekend/beginning of the week for my first update from Vegas.

-Danny

Profit

Hey everyone,

First of all, I want to thank all of you who read any or all of my blog this summer. If nothing else, it was a good way for me to chronicle my time in Vegas for me to look back on and remember all that I went through. Hopefully some of you got something out of it too, whether it was a sense of the highs and lows of poker or simply entertainment. I hope I didn't worry anyone during my bad swings. In poker, the swings can be insane. Sometimes, the good runs make us feel like the best players in the world, while the bad runs make us question why we even sit down at the tables.

As much as I love the game, poker can be very stressful when you play for a living. Having to go to the ATM the morning after a bad loss can be quite disheartening. It is almost like the poker player's version of the walk of shame. This can hurt even more when just a few days before you had so much cash that you didn't know where to put it all. Such was my first week and a half in Vegas. My first session, I lost $500 and began to bemoan my luck. However, it instantly turned and I went on my biggest cash game upswing ever, easily making more money in 4 and a half days than I did all last summer. I began to think of all the possibilities: How much money I could make, World Series of Poker events I could play, dreams of playing the Main Event. In fact, I was worried about what I would do with my cash, as the ATMs in Vegas did not have slots for deposits, only withdrawals(those geniuses!).

All those thoughts drifted away just a few days later, as I began my walk of shame to get more money. The downswing was even bigger than my initial upswing. Poker can be so crazy, especially now that I was playing higher stakes than I had last summer. Even though I understood the variance in poker and was prepared for it, it still hurt and I began to wonder when things would turn around. Luckily, things turned before my bankroll was too far depleted and I began to approach even again. It began with my deep run in the Venetian tournament and continued with a few profitable cash game sessions. But, as soon as I approached the profit line, another downswing struck hard.

As I began to recover from my second harsh downswing, time began to wind down on my Vegas journey. As it got closer to my departure, I knew I had to buckle down and focus. I played tight, solid poker and concentrated on playing each hand to the best of my abilities. It sounds simple, but it is not always so easy in practice. During my last week, I was extremely focused and luckily ran decently too. By the final day, I was practically even and my profit for the trip depended solely on my last 2 sessions. I lost the night before, putting me down slightly for the trip. After winning early in the final day, I was up a mere 76 dollars and my fate would rest on my final session before I cabbed it from the Rio to the airport.

The first few hours of my final Vegas poker session went pretty terribly, and I found myself down to 77 dollars from my initial $400 buyin. There was no point in buying back in, as I had just 45 minutes until I had to leave for my flight. I decided to just play my short stack as effectively as I could and finish my session as best as I could. I shoved over a straddle to pick up the blinds, then soon found myself in the small blind after a button straddle. I moved all in for my 89 dollars with Ace King and got a call from a crazy guy who had 10 2 of clubs (seriously?). I flopped a King on a KQJ flop and was lucky to fade his straight draw. Up to around $175, I found KJ in another straddled pot and called the 10 dollars after a few others. The straddler, as they often do, raised to 45 when it came to him. 3 others called, so I took the flop with my KJ planning to shove any piece if I hit. The flop came 1096, and lucky for me everyone checked. I turned the nuts, as an offsuit Queen hit the turn. They checked to me, and I bet 55 with my straight. The straddler folded and the two crazy guys in early position called my bet. We saw a 5 on the river, which kept my hand safe with my nut straight. After the first guy checked, crazy guy from the 10 2 hand bet 100, putting me all in for my final $80 or so. I called of course, and the first guy folded and I won the pot. I left soon after, with my initial buyin up to around $500 from my low point of $77.

I was so happy to make that comeback in my last 45 minutes of my trip. It felt like justice, as I was finally in the black again after such a trying summer which saw me dip so far into the red. After the first few days of the summer, I would have laughed at the notion that I would be happy breaking even at the end of the month. But, after all that I went through at the tables, I am proud to say that I barely squeaked into profit. It looked like I was doomed to have a losing summer, but I made the necessary adjustments to my game and worked hard to put myself in a position to win. I am once again happy that I went to Vegas. I didn't always play my best, but I am happy with my play in the end and my ability to react to adversity. I believe that if I played another month, I would be in way better shape to win. I am a much better cash game player now than I was a few weeks ago, and I am still learning. It will be strange to now be without poker for a while as I attend grad school in Atlanta, but I will be looking forward to perhaps another journey next summer in Vegas if it is in the cards. Til' next time...

-Danny

Homeward Bound

I'm comin home! Right now, I'm sitting in the Las Vegas airport now waiting for my flight to Chicago which leaves at 1:30 am Vegas time. Then its a 2hr 45 min layover in Chi-town and finally my flight home. I get in around 1:40pm Ft. Lauderdale time. Man it's gonna be a long night. Once I am home and recovered, I will do a full write up of my trip. Spoilers: Made it back above even! Just barely, but I made it and I'm very happy about it. Poker was very trying this summer and I am very proud that I stuck with it and grinded out the tiny profit that I ended with. More to come next time...