WSOP Event 30

Today began my WSOP with KCL, a game I've wanted to play since I began coming to the Series in 2007. I've played TDL, HORSE, and 8-Game Mixed but KCL never fell on the schedule when I could play. This was my first live KCL and really only my second real one ever - the only other one being a Stars Sunday $215 about two weeks before the curtain came down for on-line poker.

I actually had a pretty lucky table draw. John Pham was on it, which meant the table played super-slow (which in retrospect probably helped me). However, he was to my immediate right and I had the best seat at the table. I was in the 4-seat and John Juanda was in the 7-seat. He and Pham tangled often. I had two hands with Juanda - one he raised to 150 at the 25/50 level and I flatted in the BB with 237 and drew two. I hit a #2 and shoved and he looked me up after his one-card draw. The second I opened for 150 he made it 500 and I insta-mucked. Pham took him out, opening and then calling a shove with Luckbox drawing one and Pham standing pat on a jack. For a while there was only one legit lowball player at the table, and he was on my immediate right. The only downside is I probably called loose in spots where Pham was put and I was confident I wouldn't get outplayed after the draw. Misses add up. It was soft but it wasn't this soft: http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/2012-world-series-of-poker/event-30-2-7-draw-lowball/post.205502.htm

I played a pretty uneven game - it's not that I played too tight or too loose - I did both at different times and generally the wrong times. The most mortifying thing happened after the Italian Stars pro (an obvious NLHE player) busted and Eric Lindgren took his seat. I had been getting pairs and sets and even straights dealt to me and after I folded 4468T in early position E-Dog says "I'm not trying to look at your cards but I can see them when you fan them." I think I got lazy with the little Italian dude next to me - E-Dog is not a small guy and sits tall. To make matters worse, he added "and you're throwing away some really good hands." I felt like the teenage girl who gets her period at the school dance while wearing a white dress.

I saw five-card draw hands all day. It's only a 20-to-1 shot to get dealt two-pair so no big deal. Even trips will happen about once every 47 hands. Now, since I played most of the night with John Pham I doubt I was getting 15 hands an hour. I counted sets at least six times but more amazingly, dealt straights five times - including broadway once. Dealt straights should happen about once every 250 hands - I had it five fucking times. All poker players complain, but I complain with statistics.

When our table finally broke I wasn't disappointed. As I said, it was relatively soft because two other players were not only rookies like me they were complete lowball n00bs (not that this stopped me from paying off one of them holding a Q8). My one real misstep was early when I had two bullets behind and raised a 2357 draw. A semi-pro in the 1-seat who was competent but not particularly creative called. We each drew one and I just decided to do a go-and-go and shove anything. At the last second I remembered something Greenstein wrote about lowball and I checked for paint and didn't see it. I shoved and the dude snapped me off with a jack. I said I haven't looked yet but it's not paint, as I turned over my draw. My new card was a queen. Whoops. With that I used my second bullet (had some chips left as I had him covered). My last bullet lasted until we had to put it in after level 4. I also turned a hand early against the same dude because he flatted a raise and left himself 200 total. It didn't matter, I was never folding my ten for 200 and he paired eights. Still, I should have 3-bet enough to put him in even with many behind me left to act (as it happens I may not have gotten value since he was playing to stick around - all in and drawing is like a drug).

The new table started off slow but I figured out the two aggro players just listening to conversation and took a pot off of each. Once we started talking it got riotous and was good fun. Johnathan in the 3-seat was funny and is the dude that took out Ivey (http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/2012-world-series-of-poker/event-30-2-7-draw-lowball/chips.30212.htm). The table behind us had a bunch of drunk dudes, one in particular who we got to hear say, after he pitched the wrong card, "I kept the ace and threw the deuce!" This he said no less than eight times. When the day was almost over he yells "I'm coming back tomorrow sober!" and I responded back "verbal" which cracked up his table. I thought I knew mixed games until I listened to two Cali semi-pros talk about Commerce. It was like another language.

Anyway, with 15 minutes left I had a couple of spots at 200/400-100 where I could have pressed it. But my last two steal attempts had been met with 3-bets that folded me out and I didn't want to risk it. For me, making day 2 was kind of a big deal even if I will wind up shoving early. Also, I'm pretty superstitious and I honestly believe I was getting a range of hands that was horrid to a statistically implausible degree. A new day is just what I need. That said, I am not packing a bag tomorrow.