Gray-haired poker TRs: Living the WSOP dream

WSOP Friday, June 6, 2025 (Part 1 of 2)
I give myself the day off … out of energy much of the day … Las Vegas owes me a quality Beef Wellington … Does Las Vegas have something against Dr Pepper?

I have given myself the day off after yesterday’s long, long, long hours at the poker table. I sleep in and don’t wake up until 12:30 pm.

I am feeling better and think the combination of Nyquil last night and DayQuil when I woke up may have staved off the bubonic plague. I certainly hope so.

I’m not hungry so I just eat a Cherry Cheesecake Greek Yogurt. I work on a trip report draft of yesterday’s WSOP play. Otherwise, I just lounge around my hotel room. I pretty much planted myself on the couch all day.

I had on my schedule for today that if I bagged yesterday I could play in either the Wynn $1,100 or Aria $800, but I think I’d just be lighting my money on fire. I’m really low on energy. Today is a day for rest.

I finally think I might have the energy to shower at 8:00 p.m. I decide I will head over to the Paris to see if I can grab dinner at Gordon Ramsey Steak. After all, Las Vegas owes me a good Beef Wellington. The Beef Wellington at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant was a huge disappointment the other night. In 2024 I had the same dish at Gordon Ramsey Steak, and it was the best I ever had. I want a sure thing. I go online and see that tables are available. It is a Herculean task, but I somehow manage to lift myself off the couch and into a shower.

Before I head out, I private message LVL’s DogFace who has previously told me he gets in town around now. We have said we will try to meet if our poker schedules allow it. I send him my cell phone number so that we can text one another in hopes of connecting. Given that neither one of us will know if we are still alive in our tournaments until it happens, I suspect trying to coordinate a meet up could be difficult. It is worth a try.

I cab it over to the Paris. I go to the Gordon Ramsey hostess stand.

I am dinner riff-raff as I don’t have a reservation. This is not a problem. They send me to the riff-raff zone otherwise known as the bar area. Even better, the bar TV has the Stanley Cup finals game on, and it is in overtime. Unfortunately, there are no high top seats at the bar available, so I grab a seat at a table. I say unfortunately, because a guy who is in a bar seat is partially blocking my line of vision, but at least I can see two-thirds of the screen.

My quest for Beef Wellington here is the polar opposite of what I experienced at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant, which was phenomenal service but food that disappointed me. Here at Gordon Ramsey Steak, the service leaves something to be desired, but the food is phenomenal.

I have to wait for quite a while to get any attention from a server. I order the Beef Wellington and a Dr Pepper. I am informed that they do not offer Dr Pepper. What is wrong with this town? Everywhere I go, no Dr Pepper. It’s the second-best selling soft drink in America behind only Coke. It seems as if Las Vegas has not received the memo. So, I just ask for water.

The food is very slow to arrive, but once it does it is worth the wait. The Beef Wellington is every bit as good as I remember it from a year ago. The beef itself is delicious. There is a spice not typically associated with this dish, but it adds a tasty kick. The surrounding shell is perfect. The potato puree is melt-in-your-mouth great. I do everything but lick the plate clean. 9.5/10.

Yum

WSOP Friday, June 6, 2025 (Part 2 of 2)
I hear and then see my old tablemate Arthur Morris … final two tables may as well be played in a library … contact is made with another LVL member

Once I finish devouring the meal at Gordon Ramsey Steak, I pay and then head over to the Horseshoe WSOP areas to see if anything interesting is happening. First, I go to the Horseshoe Ballroom where flight 1C of the Colossus is fairly deep into the day. It is Level 15, but the money bubble is still a while away. Nothing terribly interesting for me to see. I just experienced this 24 hours ago. I walk over to the Events Center. The $1,500 Badugi tournament is down to its final 13 players. From a 100 feet away I hear a familiar voice. It is Arthur Morris, who I shared a table with at last year’s WSOP. At the time I thought that Morris must be one of the most talkative poker players in the world. Nonstop talker but in a good way. The guy seemed totally immersed in the poker scene, and no matter what direction the conversation went he had really entertaining stories to tell. As I get closer to Morris’ table, I realize something really amusing. Morris isn’t just engaged in conversation with the players at his table, he is also in a conversation with someone at the next table over. At the same time. And it seems like two separate conversations. I’ve obviously heard of players multi table playing in online poker, but I’ve never seen someone multi table converse at a live poker tournament.

As I watch the Badugi tournament, I am again struck by something I have observed repeatedly in this room last year and in 2025. Here we are down to 13 players for a coveted WSOP bracelet, and no one is watching. There are the players, the dealers, a floor person and a couple of Pokernews reporters. And that’s it. No fans. No rail. It brings to mind the old cliché, if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? I don’t say this to infer that getting this far without fanfare lessens the accomplishment. I just think it is really unfortunate that players who get this far at the WSOP often do so amidst little to no buzz. As a former sportswriter I was accustomed to the fanfare that accompanies great accomplishment in big arenas. Sure, I suppose when a final table is reached there are some (but not many) people on the rail. But I feel bad for poker players who reach the pinnacle of their craft only to find that there is no roar of the crowd. If these 13 Badugi players were to play in a library the feel would be identical to what I see at 10:20 pm in the Horseshoe Events Center. That is really too bad.

I leave the tournament area, and I briefly consider walking to Planet Hollywood to take a shot at getting a piece of 24-layer chocolate cake at Strip House, but that would require a level of effort I haven’t mustered all day. Instead, I go to the Paris cab stand and tell my cab driver to take me to the one place in this town that I know for a fact will have a Dr Pepper. My hotel room.

When I get inside my room, my opened suitcase is still sitting on the ground, still unpacked, now a little more than half full of clothing. I can now say with high certainty that it will not get unpacked this trip. Each day I just take out what I need. For some reason, I enjoy the fact that I am too immersed in poker to bother with the effort needed to unpack my suitcase.

Just before I turn in for the night, I check my 2+2 PMs and see that LVL’s Dogface has responded to the PM I sent him earlier tonight. He sends me his cell phone number and a day that he would like to meet. I’m enjoying the fact that I am getting the opportunity to meet some LVL members on this trip. I feel less isolated than in prior WSOPs when I knew absolutely no one.

I haven't added as many posts as usual today because I have spent the day traveling by car for work. I have to do an on-site inspection of one of my properties that is a couple of states away from where I live. I don't want to post from my car so as to avoid ... CRASH!!!

That would be bad and potentially the end of this trip report, which I'm pretty sure no one wants.

Thus, I will fast forward to the following day in Las Vegas to add to today's content.

Saturday, June 7, 2025: Venetian $800 No Limit Hold’em Ultimate Stack Tournament (Part 1 of 9)
I finally leave my WSOP bubble … the loooooooooong walk to the Venetian poker room … a strange piece of real estate for a poker room

I’m not playing in Day 2 of the Colossus until tomorrow, so today I decide to venture outside the realm of the WSOP. The Venetian has a No Limit Hold’em tournament as part of its own summer series, so let’s go to Venice instead of Paris. This will mark the first time I have played anything in Las Vegas other than a WSOP event.

I order a cab and I tell the cabbie to take me to the Venetian. No sooner do I get inside the cab that I check my Facebook app. Immediately there is an ad for the Venetian. This kind of creeps me out since I get in the cab and the Internet somehow knows that’s where I’m going? Then I remember that I went online this morning to look up the structure of the Venetian tournament I’ll be playing. OK, not creepy. Just invasive.

I cab it to the Venetian, and once I get inside I ask where the poker room is. I get pointed in a direction with the directive that I should keep following the water, and once the water ends I will be close. The water, of course refers to the canal that gondola rides traverse.

So, I start walking … and walking … and walking. I pass shop after shop after shop all wanting to sell me stuff. I hate the fact that the poker room seems like it is light years away from the Venetian casino floor. Not only is the poker room nowhere near the casino, but when I arrive it is clear that the poker room is surrounded by a shopping mall. The Venetian poker room is surrounded by EJ Pretty (women’s clothes and purses), Miner’s Gems (jewelry) & Bauman Rare Books. I will be playing poker inside the equivalent of a Nordstroms.

This reminds me of the time in 1992 that I went to an NCAA men’s basketball Elite Eight tournament game between Michigan and Ohio State. The game was held in Rupp Arena. Home of the University of Kentucky men’s home basketball games. Hallowed ground. So much history in this arena. I was really excited to go there for the first time. I was shocked and disappointed to find out that not only was Rupp Arena attached to a shopping mall, but the way to get inside required us to walk through the mall. Definitely didn’t live up to the hype (I got over it when 6-seed Michigan upset the 1-seeded Ohio State in overtime).

I got over it then. I get over it now. I arrive on the early side so I can get a Venetian player’s card, which takes no time at all. I go to the cage and buy-in to my tournament. I have some time to kill, so I leave the poker room and see if I can find anything interesting. It’s a shopping mall. I find nothing interesting. I go back to the poker room. It’s a perfectly nice room. Lots of tables. Sufficient room between tables. The chairs are comfy. I don’t realize it yet, but by day’s end I will note that every dealer at my table seems very experienced and very capable. There are none of the newbies that overwhelmingly have dealt my tables at the WSOP.

The I notice something exciting. There is a free soda fountain with a bunch of choices. They have Mr Pibb, which is a Dr Pepper knockoff that I find almost as good as my beloved Dr Pepper. I go to the soda fountain, take a glass, add ice and then push on the Mr Pibb lever. Out comes a clear liquid that tastes like seltzer water. What is it about this town rebuffing me over and over and over for Dr Pepper/Mr Pibb?

The room itself is rather plain looking, which is not a big deal, but I would have thought there would be a Venetian theme. I was anticipating something grandiose.

I get to my seat a bit early and chat some with the dealer who tells me that he worked in the corporate world for 16 years prior to quitting and becoming a poker dealer. He mentions that he hopes to play in the WSOP’s Monster Stack tournament.

Just wanted to tell you that I love reading your trip reports. They have a great mix of background, pictures, and actual poker hand history content. One thing I did notice is that you seem to have a bit more nuance and detail with this year's hand histories. For example, explaining what you are thinking the villain has and what you think the villain expects you to do. I enjoy additional detail with the hand histories so please continue to add as much as you can.

no one watches poker tournaments live because poker is a mind numbing spectator sport. TV with hole cards is just about OK live but great when edited, but without commentary or hole cards it's brutal for any length of time

I posit that many people who can make the final tables of a major tournament lack for friends, social skills, or both. 2+2ers being the obv exception, of course.

As someone who starting playing in 2001, I saw first hand the transition from limit to NL, card sense to solvers, and "normal" people to antisocial nerds wearing hoodies. Obv I'm stereotyping here but I'm going to assume your avg excellent card player is lacking in other aspects that would make for a packed rail.

On a totally related note, I already promised TonySoprano I'd be at any final table he made. Almost thought I'd have to book a ticket back to Vegas for his mixed triple draw run! Ditto for TJ, I've got a piece of him in the main and you'd better believe if he final tables I will not only be there, but I'll heckle/distract/do whatever it takes to his opponents to the point of getting arrested 😀

June 7, 2025: Venetian $800 No Limit Hold’em Ultimate Stack Tournament (Part 2 of 9)
My check-raise scares no one … Euro player next to me keeps running into flushes … I think I have lost more chips than I really have because I forget the actual amount of starting chips everyone gets

Level 1 (40,000 chips)
100/200/200

We start four-handed, and the other three players come out firing, building some pretty decent-sized pots for level 1.

The player two to my right is wearing a shirt with a skeleton on it, so we’ll call him Skeleton (he is also very skinny which also makes the name work). The player to my immediate right is wearing a Michigan State University Spartans hat, so he is Sparty.

In my first hand of the day, Skeleton bets 500 and Sparty calls. I have A-K and raise to 2,000 and both opponents fold.

We add a player and are now five-handed. I have already written a note that Sparty is very aggressive. I seem to be a magnet for aggressive players.

I have K-Q. Skeleton opens to 500 from the button. Sparty is in the small blind and calls. I am the big blind and call. An argument can be made that I should have squeezed.

The flop is Kd-4d-2d. Sparty checks, I check, Skeleton bets, Sparty calls, and now I decide to get cute and I check raise. I don’t have any diamonds but I do have top pair, good (but not nut) kicker. My thinking is Skeleton and Sparty have been playing almost every hand in the short time we have been playing. I have only played one hand prior to this one. Thus, I am banking on them giving my bet a lot of credit. Both players call.

The turn is another 2. Now Sparty leads out with a bet, and both Skeleton and I call. Every one of us has taken the lead at some point in this hand.

The river is a blank. Sparty checks, I check, and Skeleton makes a massive larger than pot bet. Sparty complains that this hand makes no sense and folds. I have top pair pretty good kicker, but any 2 beats me (not likely since Skeleton opened the betting preflop, but he did so from the button, so a suited A-2 or K-2 is possible), there are flushes out there, there are numerous full houses that are possible, there is a top pair better kicker than mine that could be out there. Although Skeleton has played in a lot of hands, this is the first time he has projected so much strength post flop. I decide to fold.

I’m not sure if my earlier check raise was a good idea in which I made a move that didn’t work out, or if it was reckless this early. I saw it as me trying to bluff more than I usually do since I have vowed to ramp up my aggression if I ever want to build a big stack. Maybe it was a mistake. I’m not sure. I think it was worth trying, and I’m just being results oriented since it did not work. And should I have called the polarizing huge river bet, or was it a good fold? This is the type of hand that I wish I had a poker posse to talk it through with at a later time.

The player to my left is European. He speaks with a pretty heavy accent and his raise sizes that he articulates verbally are difficult to understand. Things have also started out terribly for Euro. Twice in a short period of time, Euro has gotten to showdown with a very strong hand only to learn he has run into flushes. He only has 10,000 chips left. Since he is to my direct left, I know I have to be aware that he is going to look to shove if I put in a raise before he acts.

End of Level 1: 35,100 chips.

Level 2
200/300/300

I am in the small blind with 7-8 off suit. It folds to me. Aware that Euro is looking to shove with his chip stack now down to 7,000, I choose to just limp, which only costs me another 100 chips. Sure enough, Euro ships all 7,000 of his chips into the middle. I fold.

At this point, I am starting to make some early assessments. Skeleton will seemingly bet on any street if you show weakness and just check. Sparty is the kind of player who I hate having to deal with, which is he plays in a lot of hands and post flop he makes a lot of small bets to get people to fold as their hand shrinks the deeper into the hand they get.

There is a new player at the table. He is from Russia, and speaks with a definite accent. I am in middle position and get dealt K-Q off suit. I bet 800, and Russia pops it to 2,300. I call. The flop is A-4-7 rainbow. Russia leads out for half pot. I have no read on him since he just joined the table, but the flop missed me, so I fold.

End of Level 2: 29,600 chips (I am upset with myself at the time because for some reason I was thinking starting stack was 50,000. How on earth have I lost 20,400 chips already? The reality was that starting stack was 40,000, but I didn’t remember this until much later).

Thank you for the compliment!

I find something you wrote interesting and worthy of my after-the-fact introspection. I was not aware that there is "more nuance and detail" to my hand histories and thought processes written this year versus last year. It's not something I set as a goal for the writing aspect of my trip report. However, it is something I was consciously trying to be better at while playing this year. I did not enter the writing aspect of the trip report with a new game plan this year. I simply wrote would what happening. I think any change you may perceive is a reflection of how I am playing and not so much how I am writing.

I'd like to think this shows the gradual evolution of myself as a poker player through the studying I did over the past 12 months. I have made a concerted effort to become more aware of villain ranges this year versus last year. It's not that I ignored this in 2024, but I don't think I was as observant of this in 2024 as I am trying to be this year. The first step in solving a problem or a leak in one's game is to be aware of the leak in the first place. I think in 2024 my poker thought processes were two-dimensional. In 2025 I think I have proactively taken baby steps to become more three-dimensional in my thinking.

To be clear, I am still very much a work in process. But as time goes on I am trying to do more than just play the cards I have, and am also pondering my opponent's hand ranges based upon position, playing style, etc., not to mention trying to put myself in my opponent's shoes and determine how they think I am playing in order for me to counter their counter. I'm not all the way there yet. Not even close. But I feel I have made progress. Still a long way to go.

The thought of leon on the rail with an air horn and megaphone, raising hell and telling the Tournament Director that no he won't F-ing quiet down would be enough to get me on a plane to Las Vegas so that I could view this spectacle!!!

June 7, 2025: Venetian $800 No Limit Hold’em Ultimate Stack Tournament (Part 3 of 9)
I keep getting tiny pairs UTG … Gator shows Russia a brazen bluff … most of my table has bagged chips at the WSOP’s Colossus and, like me, will be playing there tomorrow … an internal debate about my place in the WSOP ecosystem

Level 3
200/400/400

Euro gets moved to another table. Shortly thereafter he gets replaced by a player wearing an extremely fancy watch. It seems weird that Euro got moved and then almost immediately got replaced by another player. It is too bad, because I think Euro is going to get his dwindling chips in light, and given my position I think there would have been a decent chance it would be to me if I had a good hand against him.

I start to get cold and I put on a hoodie. It’s not as cold as the WSOP poker ballrooms, but cold enough to add a layer of clothing.

I get dealt 6-6 UTG. Small pairs from early position will be a trend. I think I got dealt 5-5 a half-dozen separate times, mostly from UTG. Given that this table has been 3-betting preflop with great frequency, I usually (but not always) folded low pairs from UTG preflop. If I were dealt these hands in later positions, I would be more willing to play them. I don’t know if I am right or wrong mostly folding these holdings from very early position.

In this particular case, I am relieved that I folded it when Russia opens and a guy wearing a shirt with an alligator on it 3-bets. Russia calls. On every street they bet on a board that runs out A-2-8-K-7 no flush. A raising war ensues after the river, and Gator puts Russia all-in. Russia turns over 8-8 for a flopped set. Gator mucks and from his comments he had a big hand (A-K would make sense).

In the big blind I am dealt 5-5. Skeleton is the button and opens for 1,000. Sparty calls from the small blind. Since I am in the big blind I can close the action, so this time when I have 5-5 I call and hope to set mine. No such luck. The flop is K-3-8. Skeleton bets and I fold.

Soon thereafter, Gator opens for 1,000 from early position. I am in late position with J-K suited. I just call. If it weren’t suited, it might be a tight fold since it is a hand that can be dominated by early-position holdings. But it is suited. Can a case be made to 3-bet? I consider it, but that seems kind of dicey. What if the flop is either K or J high rainbow? I will have hit the flop but I won’t know where I am if early position bets out. I choose to just call. Fancy Watch also calls. The flop is 7-10-7 rainbow. Other than a backdoor straight draw, this flop is of no help to me. I fold to a bet.

Gator and Russia get involved in an interesting hand. At the river there are four clubs on the board. Gator bets. Russia folds. Gator shows the bluff with is 5h-6d for nothing but fourth-best pair, no flush and a lot of initiative. I would never show a bluff this brazen, but Russia does seem like the kind of player who can go on tilt from something like this.

As we start to engage a bit more in conversation, we find out that all four of us at our end of the table bagged chips in the Colossus and will be playing Day 2 tomorrow. As new players join the table over time, over and over it comes out that they bagged the Colossus. It also seems like a lot of the players at this table throughout the various levels know one another. As best I can tell, there aren’t any stone-cold WSOP killers at the table, but for the most part they seem like very capable regulars who have played against one another before. Experienced grinders.

It reminds me of the scene from Rounders where Mike McDermott is playing at the Mirage with a bunch of regulars used to playing one another elsewhere. Joey Knish joins the table making it even more reg heavy. Someone raises, and a regular named Zagosh says, “You know, if we wanted to take each other’s rolls we could’ve just stayed home.” At some point two conventioneers join the table, and McDermott narrates, “These two have no idea what they’re about to walk into. Down here to have a good time and figure why not give poker a try. After all, how different can it be from the home games they’ve played their whole lives. All the luck in the world isn’t going to change things for these guys. They’re simply overmatched.”

Does this describe me? Am I the conventioneers in this clip? On the one hand, when you consider how little poker I have played live in my lifetime, it would seem so. On the other hand, I am getting some results, and for the most part I don’t feel overmatched. Every once in a while, however, I do face an opponent who makes me feel inferior. I am not intimidated, but, every once in a while, I have moments of self-doubt. Am I delusional playing in giant ballrooms and poker rooms where everyone has me beat in experience? Am I blissfully unaware of the absurdity of what I am putting myself up against? Or do I know exactly what I am up against and have the attitude necessary to not freeze like a deer in the headlights thereby giving myself a puncher’s chance?

At no time have I faced a player that freaked me out. There have been players whose game I recognize as difficult for me, and I am careful to pick my spots against them. But I haven’t played scared when I get in a hand against them. I have played tight aggressive against these types of players, allowing them to steal small amounts from me when I am in the blinds with mediocre or worse holdings, but at the same time I have been more than willing to pick spots where I bluff them off hands because they have to honor the fact that I have showed I have it when I get to showdown.

OK, enough of my internal battles. Back to poker at the Venetian.

End of Level 3: 28,000 chips.

Highly inappropriate table talk with another player (you) in the hand who has yet to act! Probably not worthy of a warning, but too many people comment on hands when there are players still left to act behind them.

June 7, 2025: Venetian $800 No Limit Hold’em Ultimate Stack Tournament (Part 4 of 9)
The player to my left has a service dog … the dog is a former Marine … The dog’s sidekick has a WSOP circuit ring ... I have A-A and I’m pretty sure the dog doesn’t sense it

Level 4
300/600/600

Sparty busts Fancy Watch. Sparty is accumulating a lot of chips. Once again, I have the best player at the table sitting next to me with heaps of chips. Yes, I have position on him, but I am still wary of his caliber of play.

Russia opens from early position. I have A-Q off suit. Do I 3-bet or just call? On the one hand I have been pretty tight so far. A 3-bet should get respect given what I think my table image is. On the other hand, A-Q against an early position bet seems like the kind of hand where I will win a small pot (if my opponent has Q-Q and I flop an A) or lose a big pot (if my opponent has A-K and there is an A on the flop). I decide to under rep my hand, see a flop and assess. I don’t want to blast off all my chips with A-Q against an early position raise. I just call. The small blind also calls. The flop is 2-4-7. I check and fold to Russia’s post flop bet.

Russia gets moved to a new table.

A new player joins the table and is seated to my immediate left. He has a service dog with him. I have seen them often at the WSOP. Dog Guy says the service dog is friendly. I pet the dog, and we are now friends. The dog’s name is Lakota. She is 10 years old and is a former Marine. Lakota used to be a watch dog for a general at Camp Pendleton. She is a German Sheppard Siberian Husky. Dog Guy says this summer is Lakota’s fourth WSOP. For God’s sake, even the service dog has more experience than me at the WSOP (this is my third).

I am in middle position and I get dealt 5-5 again. I have been folding 5-5 from early position, but I decide to open to 1,800 from middle position. Everyone folds. It feels like forever since I have won a pot.

Someone notices that Dog Guy is wearing a WSOP circuit ring. Dog Guy is more than happy to tell the story about how he won it.

Sparty opens from UTG. I am UTG+1 and I have 5-5. Again. I fold. Why can’t I get A-A instead of 5-5 all the time? If 5-5 were the nuts, I’d probably be the tournament chip leader.

End of Level 4: 25,400 chips

Level 5
400/800/800

I haven’t been able to get anything going so far today. I remind myself I have almost 32 BBs.

I am dealt A-J. An early position player opens. Sparty calls. I call. A woman around my age who has been a tough player (it has been clear that some of the other players know and respect her game) raises.

I will end up playing against her both today at the Venetian and tomorrow at the WSOP. From talking to her at the table tomorrow I decide she is a real class act. Respects the game. Respects her opponents. Wins pots with grace. Loses pots with dignity. Class Act is what I name her.

Is Class Act squeezing with a monster, or is she squeezing because Sparty and I only called the early position raise? Early Position Player folds. So does Sparty. I call. I think this is probably a mistake. Her range to do a squeeze against three players with chips in the pot seems way ahead of my A-J. Plus, while she has shown controlled aggression, she has not seemed to get out of line up to now. But the fact is that Early Position and Sparty folding allowed me to close the action, so I called. Again, I think this was a mistake. What am I really beating here? But A-J was the prettiest hand I’d seen in a while, and I got too attached to it. The flop is 3-4-10. Class Act bets and I fold.

I am down to 17,900 chips

I am dealt A-A. Hallelujah!!!!!! I hear angels singing. I bet 2,000. I’m worried the service dog will sense the firepower of my hand and start barking. Fortunately, the dog is napping. Better yet, I get two calls. The flop is 3-3-5. It seems unlikely that either opponent would call an early position bet preflop with a 3. I bet 3,000 and both players fold. Perhaps I should have just checked to give them a chance to catch up some.

Bad but not unexpected. Badugi is one of the newest additions to the WSOP lineup, debuting as a standalone event in 2023 after first appearing as an option in the 2015 $1,500 Dealers Choice 6-Max. Nobody really plays it by itself (players in my dealer's choice home game sometimes call normal-high/Badugi-low split pot games). Give it at least a decade to become more popular (or not).

June 7, 2025: Venetian $800 No Limit Hold’em Ultimate Stack Tournament (Part 5 of 9)
I see a spot, I go after the spot, apparently it wasn’t a spot … I go all-in, two additional players go all-in, but I do have outs … Dog Guy’s speech play works

End of Level 5: 21,000 chips.

Level 6
500/1,000/1,000

I am dealt J-Q off suit. It folds to me in late position. I open to 2,300. This is the first time all day I’ve opened this light. I tell myself this is a spot, and I go after it. The big blind pops it to 6,500. If I were a lot deeper maybe I call, but I am getting pretty low on chips. I can’t afford to call this bet. I fold.

End of Level 6: 13,800 chips.

Level 7
600/1,200/1,200

It folds to me in the small blind. I have A-4 off suit. I go all-in. Dog Guy folds. I’m glad his service dog can’t sense my slight discomfort going all-in with this hand. Fortunately, the dog is still napping.

I am UTG and I have A-10 off suit. I only have 11 big blinds. I go all-in. Dog Guy is UTG+1 and goes all-in. That’s not a good sign. A new player is UTG+2 and he goes all-in. That’s really not a good sign. Dog Guy has J-J. The new player has K-K. At least my A is still live. Skeleton is not in the hand, but he says, “You can triple up here.” He has a point. At least if I hit my ace, I get a triple rather than just a double. Every once in a while, you need to get lucky. I have three outs. I need an A.

The flop is 5-5-10. Now I have five outs. I need an A or a 10.

The turn is a useless 3.

One card remaining. And it is …

… an A on the river.

I’m still in the tournament. I’m alive! I’m alive!!!!!!

I didn’t want the action I got, until I did!

Right after this hand, Sparty tells Skeleton he went to Michigan State. I pipe in that I went to Michigan. Skeleton says he went to Ohio State. I ask Skeleton if he would have encouraged me that I could triple up if he’d known I was his sports rival. He laughs.

While I am finally somewhat healthy in chips, Dog Guy got decimated. He has 11,000 chips. He looks at his cards the next hand and announces, “I need to rebuy,” and he goes all-in. His speech play gives the illusion that he is going in light. Skeleton calls. Dog Guy has K-K. Nothing light about that. Skeleton has A-9 suited. Dog Guy’s kings hold.

End of Level 7: 39,400 chips (almost starting stack).

This is slightly too wide as per SnapShove, at least if playing 9-handed (which I assume it is at Venetian). AJo+ for the off-suit hands is the line here (also A8s+ and A5s).

Personally I fold here, unless I know that my table is very weak-tight and will be afraid to call with the correct hands. But with this many players behind, it's just too likely that someone will wake up with a better hand.

Certainly not terrible though by any means, especially since you have a tight image and might get someone to fold stuff like AJ behind you.

Much has been made of the new "Venetian" poker room location. Personally, I don't mind it too much, but it's an odd choice. It's really much closer to the Palazzo gambling floor than the Venetian casino. For all intents and purposes, it is the Palazzo poker room. They don't call it that because Venetian is the bigger brand between the two properties. What I like about the room is the lack of casino smoke and noise. The drink machines are also a plus.

Fine to 3-bet KQ pre vs. a BTN open and SB flat, as we should be ahead most of the time. BTN range is wide if he's competent. SB range shouldn't be too nutty given that he just flatted. Good chance KQ is winning here. KQ is strong, but doesn't want to go multi-way. Flatting is still winning chips, but 3-bet is probably best.

Post-flop, KQ is strong on this board, but a lot more vulnerable without the flush potential. It's probably a spot where I try to see a cheap showdown instead of building a big pot. If we want to simplify our decisions, we should be most aggressive with our best value and our bluffs. That way we have easy decisions when we face resistance (we know if we're ahead or behind). You are somewhat stuck in the middle here, not knowing if you are raising for value or bluffing. Then the river bet comes in and you have a tough decision. A pretty good general maxim for NLHE tournaments is not to bloat the pot with medium value.

Tough decisions are inevitable, but we're going to face more of them if we are building big pots without clarity about where we stand in the hand.

BigWhale and DogFace, thanks for the analysis. I am going to have to study your thoughts later. I am swamped in real life. I did an out-of-state on-site inspection of one of my properties today and then back at my hotel room I have typed up my report for my partner in the investment. I have one office building that is being sold and closes on Friday, so there have been multiple phone calls. Another office building after not generating offers the past years all of a sudden today has three investment groups bidding on it, and there have been numerous phone calls with my real estate broker. Plus, I am about to go to dinner with my best friend from college.

So don't take the lack of response to your hand analysis as a lack of appreciation. I very much appreciate it and will study your thoughts in detail when I have time in a couple of days.

June 7, 2025: Venetian $800 No Limit Hold’em Ultimate Stack Tournament (Part 6 of 9)
I keep getting in hands against Class Act … With K-10 the board is scary, but I run a bluff … Skeleton faces the dilemma of whether to order food at the table when short on chips

Level 8
800/1,600/1,600

I am dealt K-J suited in middle position. I bet 4,500. Class Act calls. The flop is Q-8-4. All I have is K high, but I believe my table image is still that I am tight. I show strength and bet. Class Act folds.

Class Act min bets from UTG+2. I have K-10 suited in the big blind, and I call. I whiff the flop. I check, Class Act bets, and I fold.

It folds to me in the small blind. I have 7-8 suited. I call. Dog Guy checks from the big blind. The flop is A-10-7. In a small blind versus big blind min battle I figure there is a good chance I am good with third pair. I bet and take it.

It folds to me in middle position. I look down at K-10, and I bet 4,500. Class Act is in the small blind and a new guy who will be a thorn in my side in the big blind both call. The flop is A-A-7. As the opener I have way more aces in my range than do the blinds. I bet and take it.

End of Level 8: 54,100 chips.

We go on break.

Level 9
1,000/2,000/2,000

I am as healthy in chips as I’ve been all day. Even so, at 54,000 chips (I lost the color up race), I am still below tournament chip average of 75,912.

Skeleton is hungry. He asked for food service over two hours ago, yet no one has come by so far. The dealer says he has pressed whatever button he needs to push for a food service request, but they are running waaaay behind. Finally, someone arrives to take Skeleton’s order just as the new level is about to start. The problem is Skeleton is short on chips. He asks how long it will take for the food to arrive. The server asks what he will order. Skeleton says a shrimp Caesar salad. The server says she can rush it through in … 30 minutes. That’s rushing? For a salad? Skeleton ponders this, asks what happens if he gets knocked out before the food comes, and before the server can answer he says, “Never mind. I’m not going to order.” The server leaves, and Skeleton says to me, “If I double up, I’m going to be mad I didn’t order.” I reply, “I guess that will be a good problem to have.”

On the first hand after break, Skeleton goes all in with Ac-3c. He gets called by J-10. The flop is 7-8-9 no clubs and Skeleton’s foe has flopped the nut straight. Skeleton gets up and says, “That’s why I didn’t order food.”

OK, I just got back from having dinner with my college friend, and I can now respond. It's kind of a funny story. When I did my final edit of this, the following thoughts went through my head," This looks a little bit light to have played it like I did. It's not terrible. It's kind of close. But I don't think I should have gone with it."

That's not the funny part. The funny part is the last thought I had, which was, "BigWhale is totally going to call me on this."

I have reached the point where when I play a hand wrong or slightly wrong I can sense you looking over my shoulder, ready to impart wisdom.

As I think back on this hand, I think I was too focused on the fact that K-Q is the type of hand that can get you in trouble when it is dominated by A-K. I was way too quick to see monsters under the bed. What I didn't focus on was the fact that I shouldn't have given that much credit to players in such late position. In the immediate aftermath I recognized that this would have been a good time for a squeeze play, but I didn't factor in the strong possibility that a button raise and a small blind flat are very likely holding medium or weak holdings. Could button have A-K? Of course. But it is also highly likely that he was looking to steal light. I considered a squeeze play but didn't execute it. Thinking it through now, a raise from me should have been the definite way to go. Was just a call horrendous? I don't think it was that level of terrible, but I do think that raising was the far better choice.

There was a spot, and I failed to completely see it. Or I saw a spot and chickened out from taking it. If it didn't belong as intellectual property of Daniel Negreanu and his vlogs, I would say this was an oopsey on the oopsey meter.

June 7, 2025: Venetian $800 No Limit Hold’em Ultimate Stack Tournament (Part 7 of 9)
Downswing Guy tells a tale of run bad woe, leading Dog Guy to tell all of his bad beat stories … Downswing Guy wins a pot and says he was certain the three-outer was coming to break his spirit … Tight player opens UTG, Nemesis shoves all-in huge, and I look down at J-J

I get dealt A-K off suit. I open for 5,000. Class Act calls. She seems to like to get in hands where I open. The flop is 7-4-3. I bet. She folds. I have 59,000 chips.

A new player arrives and takes Skeleton’s seat. He knows Dog Guy and tells him he hasn’t cashed anything since Memorial Day. He’s already busted two bullets today at the WSOP Colossus, so he came here to late reg. He goes at length how bad he’s running, how cold the cards are for him and all of the bad beats he has endured recently. This leads to Dog Guy describing a litany of bad beats he’s suffered in his career. The new player is looking for sympathy not someone else’s bad beat stories. He is not handling his downswing well at all.

End of Level 9: 54,000 chips.

Level 10
1,500/2,500/2,500

Downswing Guy starts talking about 80%/20% hands. I say that by definition, those lesser hands are supposed to get there sometimes. Downswing Guy says, “Sometimes? I’m losing to that all of the time.”

I mark down in my notes that it sounds to me like Downswing Guy may be seeing monsters under the bed too much.

Downswing guy gets it all in with Q-J against his opponent’s Q-10. Downswing Guy is a huge favorite and his hand holds for a double up.

Downswing Guy says, “I was certain a 10 was coming.”

Yep, monsters under the bed.

Next, I face a very difficult decision. UTG, a straight forward, tight player who has not gotten out of line since joining the table, bets 6,000. UTG+2 is a newish player to the table who I can’t remember playing a hand and seems very tight goes all-in for 43,500. I look down at J-J. I go into the blender. I take my time. The UTG bet seems likely to be a strong holding. The player who has gone all-in, who will become my nemesis, seems to have a hand that screams strength. I mean, he has gone all-in over an UTG bet. And for all I know, UTG may also have a monster. If UTG calls it seems highly likely that one of them has a premium pocket pair that dominates me, while the other guy either has A-K or another pair that dominates me. I don’t see any way I am ahead here. My J-J is a good hand, but it shrivels up in the face of all the heat it is under. If UTG had not bet and UTG+2 jammed then I could probably make a case for a call and hope I’m up against A-K. But with two players showing this much strength from early position, I just can’t see the case for making the call. Am I guilty of seeing not real monsters under the bed like I just wrote in my notes about Downswing Guy? Well, sometimes there actually are monsters under the bed. I think this is one of those times. I fold.

UTG also folds, so I never find out what Nemesis actually went all-in with.

I get dealt K-9 in the Cutoff. I bet 7,000 and take it down.

June 7, 2025: Venetian $800 No Limit Hold’em Ultimate Stack Tournament (Part 8 of 9)
I’m prepared to make a big all-in bluff against Nemesis but he beats me to the punch … Nemesis opens and I have A-A …

Next comes a crucial and, I think, very interesting hand. I open with A-J off suit. Nemesis, who has gotten more active, calls from the big blind. The flop comes K-Q-2, which smashes my range as the opener much more than it hits a big blind caller. Nemesis checks, I bet and he calls. This surprises me. The turn is a blank, and I am surprised again when Nemesis leads out with a tiny bet of 2,500. Is this simply a blocker bet because he doesn’t want me to bet big? Or does he have a monster and he has bet small to either keep me in the hand or induce me to bet big. The bet is too small to fold to. My plan is that if he checks the river, I am going to go all-in. I’ve never made a big bluff like this for everything before but this seems like a tool I need in my toolbox. If Nemesis bets the river (assuming it misses me) then I plan to fold. The river misses me, Nemesis bets and I fold. I’m not happy to lose this hand, but I am pleased that I at least considered the possibility of bluffing with A high if Nemesis showed any weakness on the river. I consider this progress. Or is this reckless thinking? Once again, I wish I had a poker posse in town to discuss this with. I am down to 34,000 chips.

I am down to 13.6 blinds. I don’t need to completely panic, but I do think I want to look for spots to go all-in with a reasonable hand. In other words, hands worthy of going in when first into the pot, but hands I have to fold if someone beats me into the pot. Three hands in a row I get hands that I can go all-in with if first into the pot (K-9 suited for example) but each time someone else goes all-in (the blinds are becoming an issue for multiple people at our table) before I can act.

Then I think I am thrown a life preserver. Nemesis opens for 6,000 from UTG+1. This should indicate strength. I look down at A-A. It’s like a miracle. With only 34,000 chips, I don’t think I can raise to 12,000 or 18,000. That looks waaaaaaay too strong. I think going all-in is the call. Going all-in gives the perception of a good hand but not the nuts. I go all-in. How can Nemesis make an early position raise and then fold to an all-in bet that is for less than half his chip stack? Nemesis folds.

Nooooooooooo!!!!!! It’s like he has God Mode turned on and can see my cards. I did not see a fold coming. He truly is my nemesis.

End of Level 10: 39,500 chips

June 7, 2025: Venetian $800 No Limit Hold’em Ultimate Stack Tournament (Part 9 of 9)
New player is out-of-line rude to his opponent … I’m getting low on chips, make a move and run into A-A, but look at all of my outs

Level 11
1,500/3,000/3,000

Two new players are involved in a hand. The player with the smaller stack is all-in with A-4 against his opponent’s K-9. In a show of sportsmanship, the guy with K-9 says, “Good luck.” In an unsportsmanlike retort, the guy with A-4 angrily scowls and growls, “You need the luck.” The flop hits neither. The turn hits neither. The river is a …

… K …

… is for Karma.

Rude Guy is out. Don’t go away mad, just go away.

The blinds hit me once, but I’m not finding a playable hand. I am down to about 10 big blinds, and the blinds are about to hit me again. I really need to find a hand to go with. From UTG+1, I look down at As-4s. A weak ace is near bottom of range I will go with from early position. It is suited. It is barely good enough. Barely. All-in.

It folds to Nemesis who calls. Of course he does. Nemesis turns over Ac-Ah.

I’m doomed.

Or maybe not.

The flop is 2c-3s- 9h. I have a straight draw and a back door flush draw.

The turn is 8s. I now have both a straight draw and a flush draw. Any 5 and any spade. Somehow, I have 12 outs.

No joy. I whiff the river, and I’m out.

A-4 almost pulled off a miracle today. Tomorrow that same hand will be a force to be reckoned with.