Gray-haired poker TRs: Living the WSOP dream

One small piece of constructive criticism. I like a check-call here instead of a lead. When we flop medium value out of position, I think it's usually best to check to the initial raiser. A lead very much looks like medium value afraid of seeing a turn card, which is what you have in this situation. Think of it this way: If you had 22, 77, or even 87 here would you have led at the flop or would you have hoped to give BTN some rope? Based on other hands you shared, I think you would've slow-played your best value in this spot.

By leading with a medium hand, you telegraph the strength and give semi-bluffs like AJ and KQ a green light to raise you with impunity. This is a great spot for her to raise with overcards because if you fold even just 40% of the time then she's probably printing chips when we consider the equity of whatever random cards she might have had (if it's a hand like KQ then she had 6 outs in addition to the bluff value). She can raise a hand like AJ here. If you call flop, you will probably check turn, allowing her to either double barrel or just try to check back and hit. As played, A8 is probably one of the absolute best hands you show up with in this spot, so folding to a single raise is giving her a lot of "having it" credit. You might have been beaten in this spot, but I still think check-call is going to be better here (maybe check-raise could be interesting too, but that can get messy). Check-call flop and see what she does on the turn. If she checks back the turn, there's a really good chance that she has missed with something like AQ or KJ. If she bets the turn then you have to make a decision.

Against experienced players, I actually like the lead out better when we have top value for the exact reason that it looks weak. If you have 22 here and you lead out, an aggressive player may think you are just trying to end the hand with something like T8 or A7 that hit a little piece of the flop and is afraid of scare cards on the turn. I have owned myself a couple times as the LP player in this spot because I thought my opponents would never lead out with strong value. I would say the trickier line as the BB here is to fast play our best value and proceed cautiously with our medium value. If we are only leading our medium value and slow playing our monsters then we invite bluffs when we lead because they know we aren't doing this with monsters.

Thanks for the insight. This is another leak in my game at times, which is I have flopped close to top end of what I could reasonably hope for even though it is still a medium strength hand. I like your idea of check call better than the way I played it. In the moment (as well as when I typed up the TR) I viewed the hand as, do I call the 3-bet? I never considered the thought that I would have been better off if I simply check called the hand in the first place. This is a little bit (albeit not a full-blown punt) like my full house versus full house punt earlier in my trip. Yes, I had a great hand under normal circumstances, but given the board in that hand I was still very vulnerable. I have to stopping getting so excited at what I have in these sorts of hands (good but vulnerable), and instead realize that it is still very far from the nuts. I tend to be a fold or raise player much of the time with the idea that when in a hand I want the other player to have to make the difficult decisions instead of me having to make all the tough decisions, but I need to recognize the nuance that sometimes there is a more middle of the road approach that makes the most sense. This is not a constant leak, but it is a leak that springs at times. Thanks again for bringing this to my attention.

WSOP Colossus Flight 1B (June 5, 2025) (Part 4 of 15)
With an unmade hand I get Relentless Aggression to back down again … on break I look up Relentless Aggression on Hendon Mob … a player busts from our table, re-enters and gets assigned to our table … I make a GTO approved open and get smashed by the deck

Level 6
400/800/800

I am card dead for most of this level before I get involved in a hand. Mr. Tattoo opens to 1,600 UTG. I have taken notice that Mr. Tattoo opens from UTG a lot. It seems to be a strategy for him that is not dependent on having a premium hand. I do not consider his open to be the typical strength associated with an UTG bet. Relentless Aggression three-bets it to 3,500. Again, this does not mean the usual three-bet strength since Relentless Aggression has shown that he can do this with any two cards. I look down at A-Q offsuit. I don’t think this is a four-bet under normal circumstances, but given my reads on these two players, I pop it to 10,500. Mr. Tattoo folds. Relentless Aggression calls, because … well, because that’s what he does. The flop is K-7-2. All I have is A high, but I know two things: 1) if I show weakness I will certainly lose the pot, and 2) I know that Relentless Aggression considers me tight and I have not had a bluff get exposed at showdown (I’ve bluffed but haven’t had to show). Given my opponent, I do not bet one-third pot like the table usually does post flop. I make another I’m not f*#king around bet of more than half the pot. Relentless Aggression folds. I have 61,700 chips.

End of Level 6: 59,700 chips.

We go on another break during which time I do a couple of things.

I go over to the Horseshoe Events Center and take some pictures I’ve already posted for the trip report of two head’s up matches for bracelets (Benny Glaser vs. Travis Pearson in one, and Lou Garza vs. Ben Lamb in the other).

The other thing I do, is I go on the WSOP+ app and look up my table. I learn the real name of Relentless Aggression. I do a Hendon Mob search, and I am surprised to see that his live lifetime poker earnings are a little under $44,000. I expected the number to be much, much higher.

Level 7
500/1,000/1,000

A player at our table busts, he re-enters and a minute later has been assigned right back to our table. Strange. What are the odds?

Next comes a hand that I am proud of (although it helped that the flop was extremely friendly to me). I am dealt 8-9 suited. It folds to me in middle position. I know GTO says I am supposed to bet here with what I believe to be the bottom end of acceptable range. This is a spot I have studied, but I’ve had trouble pulling the trigger on. I hitch up my big boy pants, and I put in a bet. I get two calls. Not exactly what I hoped for. Of course, what I hope for next actually occurs. The flop is 8-9-K rainbow. Yay me! Check check check. I slow play in hopes of later action. The turn is a 2. I bet, one player folds but the small blind calls. The river is an A. No straights, no flushes possible. As played, I think it is highly, highly unlikely villain has me beat with A-K. I bet again and get another call. I show. Villain mucks. I win. How come nobody ever told me that when you open with 8-9 suited you flop two pair? No wonder it is GTO approved. I’m kidding of course, but I am pleased that I made the thinly GTO approved pre-flop play. No way I make that opening bet a year ago.

Relentless Aggression knocks out Bucket Hat in flush over flush carnage.

UTG+2, I get dealt 10-10, which is my nemesis hand. Last year at the WSOP this hand gave me all sorts of trouble. I bet and everyone folds. Phew.

The very next hand I am dealt Ah-10h. A year ago, I fold this hand. Today I open with a bet. I get two calls. The flop is K-3-7 no hearts, it checks to Ducky who bets and I fold.

A new player is seated to my immediate left to replace Bucket Hat. New Guy says his table just got broken because the air conditioning vent above it kept flipping dealt cards over. Apparently, that table location is being removed from the tournament.

End of Level 7: 67,700 chips.

WSOP Colossus Flight 1B (June 5, 2025) (Part 5 of 15)
Relentless Aggression finally busts … A-A crushes my soul in a strange way … Quoting Teddy KGB

Level 8
600/1,200/1,200

I am dealt A-9 suited in middle position. I bet 3,000. Mr. Tattoo is in the big blind, and he calls. The flop comes K-7-8. I have more kings in my range than does Mr. Tattoo. Plus, my read on him is that while he likes to be the player putting on the pressure, he doesn’t like it so much when someone puts pressure on him. I bet 4,000 and he folds.

I am dealt A-8 suited UTG+1. I bet 3,000 and everyone folds. I have 72,500 chips.

End of Level 8: 69,500 chips.

Level 9
800/1,600/1,600

Relentless Aggression busts when his J-J runs into Man Purse’s Q-Q. Good riddance. I say this out of respect.

Next comes a hand that I found strangely soul crushing. I am dealt Ac-Ah. I have been card dead for a while (45 minutes or so), so I fear I will get no action. Instead, a raising war breaks out between me and Man Purse who has a big stack. All of my chips go into the middle preflop. This is the dream. I am certain he has kings. I am certain I am about to double up to a really, really healthy chip stack that is well above the current average of 92,220 chips.

I turn over my cards and then watch expectantly as Man Purse turns over …

… As-Ad.

I blurt out, “You’ve got to be kidding.”

The turn has two spades. Wait, you mean it gets worse? Man Purse has the spade.

The turn is harmless and we chop.

I feel so unsatisfied. Says me, not Teddy KGB.

End of Level 9: 63,500 chips.

We go on break. I ask Man Purse what he thought when I was about to turn over my cards on the aces versus aces hand. He says, “I thought you had kings for sure.”

I would like to bring your attention to something momentous that has just taken place.

In the (mostly losing) ongoing battle between rppoker and technology, I have finally figured out how to post a youtube video in this thread.

It appears in my last post. It takes place after more than a year of me having to post mere links since I couldn't figure out how to post the actual videos.

I take it all in for a moment, savoring the accomplishment. For the briefest of moments, I am one with technology.

Victory!!!!!!

1 in . Certainly not astronomical.

You mentioned using a notebook and pen. Mind sharing the page that goes with your next write-up?

I've tried, and failed, to keep notes for hands I've found interesting to put in a TR. Looking for a nice solution.

I'll have to dig around to find it, but I think it will be doable.

Thank you, I appreciate it! Please don't put significant effort into getting an image. If it's easy, please do.

Here you go. Tools of the trade. Small notepads that I believe I bought at Barnes & Noble. Sample pages are from the last levels I described ... WSOP Colossus Flight 1B (June 5, 2025) (Part 5 of 15).

WSOP Colossus Flight 1B (June 5, 2025) (Part 6 of 15)
Annoyingly talkative player busts … A new player from China/Boston … Late reg player bets 90% of his chips with just A high … I endure a long period of unplayable cards

Level 10
1,000/2,000/2,000

There have been a couple of knockouts and for the moment our table is seven-handed. New Guy, the one whose table got broken because the A/C vent was tipping over cards, had arrived with a decent stack, but has lost a lot of it. Since he arrived at the table, he has been a nonstop talker, bringing up one new topic after the other out of thin air. Nothing that is part of the flow of conversation. He is determined to get the table talking. Our table has been reasonably talkative, but it has been organic. New Guy seems determined to make sure there is not one second of silence. I find him annoying. I don’t say anything to indicate how I feel. Actually, I don’t say anything at all. I just ignore him. He probably thinks I am unfriendly. I get dealt Q-Q and I bet. New Guy goes all-in. I call. He has A-Q off suit. There is no A to save him, and our table just got quieter. I have 82,500 chips.

NewGuy is quickly replaced by a player who was born in China but has lived in Boston much of his life. I jokingly say, “You don’t have a Boston accent.” This gets a big laugh, and Man Purse says, “How great would an Asian Boston accent be.”

Another new player joins the table. He is a late reg player and on his first hand he gets 45,000 or his 50,000 chips into the middle after the river. He shows down A high and obviously loses.

End of Level 10: 81,500 chips.

WSOP Colossus Flight 1B (June 5, 2025) (Part 7 of 15)
“You have a lot of patience, sir” … dinner break … bad beats galore at the Horseshoe food court … déjà vu from my first WSOP cash last year

Level 11
1,000/2,500/2,500

I do not get dealt a single playable hand.

End of Level 11: 70,500 chips.

Level 12
1,500/3,000/3,000

I do not get dealt a single playable hand.

End of Level 12: 55,500 chips.

We go on dinner break. As I am about to get up from my seat, the player to my immediate right – a young, quiet but good-natured Asian guy – says to me, “You have a lot of patience, sir. No emotion the whole time.”

I say, “Yes, I have been very card dead.”

As to what he meant about me showing no emotion, I think that was a compliment. I have seen a number of players at my tables who decide they are card dead get increasingly agitated. One player the other day got to a point where he vocally complained after every single hand he had to fold preflop. He could not comprehend the unfairness of it all. Another player I faced who wasn’t getting cards, you could see the agitation boiling to the surface after every unplayable duo of cards was dealt to him. Another player in one of my tourneys would pound the table on several occasions after the lack of cards got to him. I don’t really understand these emotional outbursts. Everyone goes card dead at certain times. It is nothing personal. The cards don’t have it in for you. You just have to be patient and hope/wait for better cards to come your way. Before I leave the table, I see that I have won the color up. Hey, it’s the first chip I’ve won in quite a while.

During dinner break I check my phone and see that Man Purse has a top five stack with over 500,000 chips. I also consider the fact that I still have chips heading into Level 13 when late reg will be over. This means I am only firing one bullet today, which means I just made $500. I say made $500, maybe you say saved $500. Made/saved, I see no distinction.

As I walk toward dinner, I contemplate the fact that I did not play a single hand in levels 11 and 12. The closest I came to getting into a hand was when UTG opened and I had 2-2 UTG+1. Given the UTG raise and the fact that there were so many players left to act, I did not see the point of calling and trying to set mine when there were seven players still to act who could 3-bet me off my nominal holdings.

While still walking to dinner, I check Hendon Mob and see that the player to my right who commented at how patient I had been has lifetime live tournament earnings of $150,000.

My walk to dinner takes me to the Horseshoe Food Court. I don’t want the stress of going to a real restaurant and worrying about whether I can get back in time for Level 13 to start. I decide I will get in the Subway sandwich line. This line is longer than the other lines. The reason the line is long, I quickly realize, is because there is only one worker there. And her only speed seems to be slow. Still, it is clear to me that the pace will give me more than enough time to eat. When it is finally my turn, I order a cheesy garlic steak sub and a Dr Pepper …

… and they’re out of Dr Pepper …

… and the food court TVs are set to a women’s college softball game instead of the fourth quarter of the NBA Finals Game 1, which went down to the final buzzer in the Indiana Pacers dramatic 1-point win over Oklahoma City.

No Dr Pepper, bad TV decision. Running bad.

As I am eating my sub, I am thinking about what awaits me when I return to Level 1. I will have 14 big blinds when play begins. I can still be patient for a while. I don’t need to go all-in with 5-7 suited in the first orbit.

I call Mrs. rppoker and tell her I am still alive in my tournament, but if I don’t get some hands soon I won’t last long. She tells me not to give up. When I hang up, I recall that I was in exactly this same situation the one time I cashed in WSOP 2024. I was on dinner break in the Horseshoe Food Court, although I am pretty sure I had a chili cheese dog from Nathan’s back then. Anyway, I had almost the exact same conversation with Mrs. rppoker in 2024 about being low on chips and unlikely to last much longer, only to find a cash.

If I did it then, no reason I can’t do it now. It is not impossible to spin it up if I get some cards.

WSOP Colossus Flight 1B (June 5, 2025) (Part 8 of 15)
My patience is respected and rewarded … I get aggressive ... It’s a coin flip … playing 2-J like it’s the nuts

Level 13
2,000/4,000/4,000

I immediately have to post the big blind and then the small blind. I get rags and fold both times. Down to 46,000 chips.

I get dealt K-10 suited. I go all-in. Aware of how patient I have been, everyone assumes I have a royal flush and folds.

The next hand I play, Man Purse opens. As the table big stack, he has been opening liberally. It folds to me and I go all in with K-8 suited. Man Purse folds and he seems to say something that indicates he shouldn’t have given me the opportunity to go all-in and force his fold given whatever cards he had.

Next comes the hand of the tournament for me. I am dealt 7-7. I really don’t want to just make a bet and if called have to navigate over cards post flop. So, I go all-in. I get called by A-K. It’s a coin flip, and I win the race. The flop was Q-J-2 so I had to fade a 10, K and A on the turn and river. There was no pain for me, and suddenly I have 136,000 chips.

Later in the level, I am in the big blind. The small blind limps. I have 2-J and I just tap the table. I am surprised the small blind just called since I will likely have to fold if I get the rags you’d assume I was likely to have. But maybe the aggression I have shown this level makes him keep it small in case I shove again. Although, obviously I now have too many chips to go all-in.

The flop comes 5-5-6. The small blind checks. The flop smashes both of our ranges. I think to myself, what would I do if I had a 5. I would check hoping to induce on a later street. So, I check. I decide I am betting pretty much any turn card. The turn is a Q. The small blind checks, I bet and I take it down.

End of Level 13: 136,000 chips

fun

WSOP Colossus Flight 1B (June 5, 2025) (Part 9 of 15)
I get dealt some good hands … for the first time I start to think I can make the money … I get needled after I fold … my risk-reward tolerance

Level 14
3,000/5,000/5,000

From UTG I am dealt A-K suited and I bet 15,000. Man Purse, who has heaps of chips, calls. The flop is a wonderful K-Q-7. Man Purse has shown a propensity of being sticky given his mountain of chips. I bet 20,000, and unfortunately he folds. I have 164,000 chips.

It is about this time that I start feeling what might be the very start of a flu like cold. The Horseshoe Ballroom has been really cold all day, so that might be the reason. Or it might be the WSOP flu like I got in 2019 (or, as I called it at the time, the bubonic plague). Or it might be my allergies. I don’t know what it is, but this is a lousy time for it to make its appearance.

When I am on the button it folds to me. I have K-Q. I bet 15,000 and I take down the pot.

For the first time I start to think that I can make it into the money. I try to put this out of my mind. Still quite a way to go. As it turns out, the money bubble will not burst until almost the very end of the last level of the day (level 17).

Next hand I am in, the player to my right who earlier commented on my patience opens for 11,000. I have 8-8. I finally have a decent chip stack. I don’t want to blast off with just 8-8. I decide to just call and try to set mine. I’ll either lose a small bet or win a boatload of chips if I hit my set. Unfortunately, Mr. Tattoo decides to go all-in for 50,000 chips. It folds to the original bettor and he folds. The way I see it, I am either dominated (versus a bigger pair) or it’s a coin flip (versus two over cards). I suppose villain might have 7-7 or worse, but that seems the least likely of possibilities. I don’t want to play this big a pot with I’m dominated or it’s a coin flip as the premise. I fold. A pro who joined the table a couple of levels ago needles me: “How can you fold to a bet of 50,000 chips when you already put 11,000 chips in the middle?” This pro has been needling everyone and joking around a ton since he joined the table. I say, “I didn’t want to play that big a pot with what I had.”

Both the pro and the nice guy to my right laugh at this answer. The nice guy says to me quietly, “You shouldn’t say that.” Then he adds, “I thought for sure you were going to call. If I’d known you would fold, I would have called.”

I don’t put much stock in what The Needler has said. He seems like kind of a self-impressed jerk. The people at the other end of the table seem to enjoy his banter. A couple of players on my side of the table clearly do not. While The Needler is probably a life of the party type guy, I think he is also a little bit of a bully.

What bothers me more is the reaction of the nice guy to my right. While he wants my chips, I also can tell he wants me to make the money. Every time I have gone all-in the last couple of levels he has double-tapped the table in front of me as if to say good luck. The fact that my response caused him to laugh at first before trying to be nice about it makes me think he believes I was wrong to fold. My guess is that both of these players do not value a min cash. They want to build a big stack so they can have a chance to play for the big prize money at the top. I get that and can appreciate why they would think that way.

But that is not my initial motivation. I want to cash. In my entire lifetime, I have played almost no live tournament poker outside of the WSOP (and I haven’t played all that much in the WSOP). For me to cash a WSOP event for a second straight year would be a massive accomplishment given my utter lack of experience. Sure, I’d love to win the big money at the top. Who wouldn’t? But cashing in a WSOP event for a second straight year is a top of the mountaintop goal for me.

By folding my 8-8, I felt I was more likely than not to make the money. If I were to make the call and lose that hand either dominated or in a coin flip, I felt I was more likely than not to come up just short of the money. My risk-reward tolerance as a recreational player called for a fold. I get why a pro‘s risk-reward tolerance would say go for it. Rightly or wrongly, I am fine with my decision to fold.

The one thing I don’t quite get is why the original bettor folded given the fact that he showed early aggression whereas I only called his bet. I would think his range of hands is much stronger than mine as played.

It is only after the fact that I contemplate most of this. In real time I almost immediately put it behind me, and focus on the fact that I still think I am in good position to make the money. There are 772 players remaining, and 497 will cash.

End of Level 14: 153,000 chips.

WSOP Colossus Flight 1B (June 5, 2025) (Part 11 of 15)
The final level of the day begins and we still aren’t in the money … the blinds are becoming a problem … I can probably fold to the money but a great opportunity presents itself to add chips

Level 17
5,000/10,000/10,000

This is the last scheduled level of the day, but an announcement is made that we will go to Level 18 if the money bubble does not burst in Level 17.

I go through the blinds once, and I am down to 98,000 chips.

I go through the big blind and I am down to 78,000 chips.

I am dealt A-5 off suit in the small blind. Amazingly, it folds to me. 2024 rppoker would fold here, but 2025 rppoker believes the play here is to go all-in. I am really, really close to the money, but this appears to be free chips for the taking if I am courageous enough to try to grab them. I am pretty sure GTO says this is a slam-dunk all-in. I have no idea what ICM dictates I do here. It would really suck to go all-in, get called by 6-6 and bust this close to the money.

Come on, man! There are free chips just begging me to take them. If I dare. Do I dare? Am I willing to put on my big boy pants? Am I willing to embrace the aggressive side of the risk-reward battle I wrestle with so much?

A decision has to be made and … and … and …

… I go for it. All-in. Now I hold my breath and hope. The big blind takes a fairly long time to decide. I am thinking, “Fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, fold.” Anything else on my mind? “Fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, fold.” Yeah, but what else am I thinking? “Fold, fold, fold, fold, fold, fold.”

I really, really, really want to make it to the money. The big blind keeps tanking and either has a close decision or he has decided to make me suffer for as long as possible.

Finally, the big blind decides and … and … and …

… folds.

Thank God! I tell myself to start breathing again. I have 103,000 chips. I am out of the danger zone. I can definitely fold my way into the money if I so choose.

The big blind who just folded doesn’t ask me what I had, but if he did my answer was going to be, “Quads!”

In the 88 hand there is 12500 in the pot pre and then there are the 2x11 and then the all in gyy’s 11

So 45.5k. Then his shove is another 39 on top.

So you need to use 39k chips to win another 84.4k.

Given how wide the all in guy will be with 10bb, this is definitely a clear call with a pair.

However it is your money and your decision and the people needling you are idiots

Mathematically, of course, you are right. Emotionally, I wasn't prepared to make that call. However, I totally get your point.

And to be totally honest, I did not run the math, which is bad on my part. I'm not saying I would have made the call anyway, but this is a case where I did not think it through enough. I absolutely should have run the math. I simply made an emotional, scared decision. I didn't even realize my process was wrong until you just brought this up. Thank you.

WSOP Colossus Flight 1B (June 5, 2025) (Part 12 of 15)
The Needler chickens out in pretty much the same situation he mocked me for earlier … a gift from the poker Gods, I am dealt A-A and I recall some LVL advice about this exact situation

Next hand after I steal the blinds, The Needler calls a preflop bet only to see someone else go all-in for like five times The Needler’s call. The original bettor folds, and so does The Needler. The Needler says it was too much for him to call with what he had. WTF. This is exactly the same scenario that he mocked me for earlier. I say nothing. It’s not my nature to trash talk someone. But if anyone ever deserved to receive the needle, it’s this guy. I think about all of this, but … I say nothing.

When I am UTG+1 I look down and I see the dream. A-A. I have 10 big blinds. A memory flashes into my brain. I had a similar situation somewhere in the past. I just made a regular raise and everyone folded. Someone in LVL (I think it was either TJ or BigWhale) said that under the circumstances betting 2-3 BBs with only 10 BBs screamed strength. The advice given me was to go all-in because that would look less strong.

So, I go all-in. Do I want a call? Of course I do. On the other hand, with us not that many bust outs away from me making the money, the only way I fail to cash is if someone calls and delivers a bad beat. Still, I want the call.

Everyone folds. I am almost equal parts disappointed and relieved.

Some time passes. I have to post the blinds again. I am down to 103,000 chips.

We get very, very close to the money. There are 500 players remaining, and 497 will get paid.

WSOP Colossus Flight 1B (June 5, 2025) (Part 13 of 15)
The tournament is paused seemingly to go hand for hand … we hear the magic words

The tournament is paused. There are only six minutes left in the level, but we are two bust outs away from the money bubble bursting.

The dealers are told to finish the hand in play, and once it is over they should stand up. Hand-for-hand play seems imminent. A little bit of time passes while hands are finished at each table.

Then comes the announcement, “Congratulations, you have made the money.”

People all throughout the room cheer and clap. A lot of people have their cell phones out to commemorate the moment. I don’t join in on the cheering or clapping. My cell phone stays in my pocket. I don’t feel like jumping up and down so much as I feel reflective. I feel a combination of relief and accomplishment. A wave of emotion. My second WSOP cash in two years. When I first started this unlikely, uphill journey, I hoped that results like this were achievable. I didn’t know if they really were possible. I mean, play almost no live tournaments, study diligently on a poker training site at night and think I could compete at the most prestigious poker series in the world, was I out of my mind? I was well aware of the possibility that I was fooling myself in the Land of Delusion.

But I’ve just accomplished something. Again. Consecutive years with a WSOP cash. I don’t feel like jumping up and down and clapping and cheering. As I stay seated, I feel inner-peace. It just feels so … so … I struggle for the right word. It feels so validating. I think I may have used that word a year ago when I cashed for the first time, but as much as I search for a new word, it’s still the only word that describes what I am feeling this time around. Validation. I’ve done it. I’VE DONE IT!!!!!! I’ve done what I suspect no one back home thought I could do when I first talked about the seemingly ridiculous notion of playing in the WSOP. I swell with pride. While everyone else claps and cheers, I just soak it all in. Two WSOP cashes in two years. I am performing so far beyond reasonable expectations I don’t even have the words to describe it. I search for the perfect word, but I can’t find it. Maybe that describes it perfectly. I, a former writer who has churned out over 100,000 words in this thread, am at a loss for the right word to describe my seemingly unlikely, seemingly absurd, seemingly unattainable accomplishment. A WSOP cash in two consecutive years. Turns out it wasn’t unlikely. Turns out it wasn’t absurd. Turns out it wasn’t unattainable. I’VE DONE IT! More accurately, I’ve done it AGAIN!!!!!

An announcement is made that we will play three more hands and then bag chips.

I totally get it. I open folded QQ for 16 bb near the bubble of the Millionaire Maker on my first WSOP trip.

utg opens min, utg+1 3 bets and I have QQ. Both had giant stacks and were messing with each other. It's not an incredible spot given their positions, but it's definitely a shove. But I wanted the cash so much that I folded.

(Q high flop too!)

Thanks for the notebook pics. Gives me an idea

looking forward to hear how day 2 goes

And there will be a Day 2 because ...

WSOP Colossus Flight 1B (June 5, 2025) (Part 14 of 15)
Bagging chips … fist bumps … best of all, I did not luck box my way here

Cashing is awesome. But now I’d really like to bag chips. I’m kind of hoping I don’t get dealt a hand that will bust me. If I get good cards I’ll play them, but I’d really like to bag chips, even if it isn’t all that many chips.

I am dealt 2-7, 4-9, 3-8. Fold, fold and fold. Wheeeeeeeeeee! I’m bagging chips!!!!!

After the last hand, the guy to my right (who commented on how patient I was when card dead) fist bumps me. I can tell he is very happy I made the money. He has a ton of chips, so he’s happier for me than he is for himself at the concept of bagging chips. He clearly has identified me for exactly what I am … someone who is thrilled at the prospect of a min cash and an invitation to Day 2.

Another player who only was at my table for a few levels tells me I made some well-timed all-ins. I tell him about the very late A-A hand where I went all-in for 10 BBs because I felt that just making a regular bet would look way too strong, and he agrees that going all-in was the better play. He then says to me, “I noticed you taking notes in your little notebook. Do you know that you can take notes in your phone.” I smile and say, “Yes, I know. But I can write my notes faster with a pen in my notebook than I can tap them into my phone. I’m a dinosaur.” He is much younger than me and he laughs. Unlike The Needler, he is laughing with me and not at me. He seems like a tournament grinder, and I appreciate the fact that he is trying to help me regarding the best way to take notes.

Let’s get back to the fact that I’m bagging chips. I bagged chips in the 2019 WSOP Big 50, but you didn’t actually cash until Day 2, and I busted before the money when my queens ran into aces.

I cashed in 2024, but I did not bag chips.

This is the first time I have ever cashed and bagged at the WSOP. I am also proud of the fact that I cashed on a single Day 1B bullet. Yes, I fired two bullets on Day 1A, but let me have my moment. Compare this to last year’s Mystery Millions where I fired all four Day 1s and never cashed. This is progress.

I am fumbling around trying to figure out how to unseal and then seal my bag. The young man who suggested I type poker notes into my phone sees me struggling, and he shows me how to open the bag and then seal it. I’m new to this. Heck, I’m still new to pretty much everything in poker. And yet I have now cashed in consecutive years at the WSOP. I am punching way above my weight class. I am thrilled. I am also proud of the fact that I earned my way into the money. I did not make the money by being a luck box. I did not make the money by getting it in bad and delivering bad beats for heaps of undeserved chips. I won one critical coin flip. While fortunate, that is not luck in a poker sense. I am supposed to win half my coin flips. Today was my turn to win one. Unlikely variance was not the reason I cashed.

It is 12:30 am, and after 14-and-a-half hours my poker day is done.

End of Level 17: 103,000 chips.

WSOP Colossus Flight 1B (June 5, 2025) (Part 15 of 15)
Do I have a cold coming on? … I take immediate action … savoring the moment

With my chips properly bagged, I head toward the Paris cab stand. As the adrenaline subsides a bit, I once again become aware that I may have the very, very start of a cold coming on. It’s too soon to say if it is sickness or allergies. I remember that there is a stand at the Paris just outside the casino that sells some over the counter cold medicine. I don’t really know why I know this, but I do. I get there and I buy both NyQuil and DayQuil. I intend to nuke whatever bug I may have coming on before it can get worse. I use my Caesars Reward card, and I save $20 on the purchase.

I get back to my hotel room, and I am tired yet too wired to go to sleep. I finally go to bed at 2:30 a.m. Given the combination of not feeling great and going to sleep so late, I make the decision to take tomorrow off. I do not set my alarm. There are still two Day 1s left to play in the Colossus, so I feel confident I will not sleep through the start of Day 2.

Before I nod off to sleep, I have the thought that no matter what happens the rest of WSOP 2025, it is already a rousing success in my mind.