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ThinkerJE:
Monday 29 June

Feel alot better this morning after a good nights sleep.  I am determined to play good poker today and not make stupid errors like the previous tournament.  An american breakfast (coffee and a doughnut) then onto Caesar"s for the noon megastack.  Another good field with 277 runners lining up and $13k to the winner.

11,650 at end of level 2.
Playing more hands at the early levels when the blinds are low, subject to action and position.  I call a raise of 150 in SB with As Ts and 4 see a flop Ah 3s 6s.  I check hoping raiser will bet but he checks behind.  Turn Jh and I bet 300 and get raised to 900, I call.  River 2d, check check, he says "hearts" and I win a nice pot early with my pair of aces.  Very aggressive re raise with just a heart draw, may have thought I was at it, but to re raise the turn and then not follow through the river does not make sense.  I raise the button to 300 with TT and BB re pops to 900, I call.  Flop 8 5 2 rainbow, he bets 1,800 and I mini tank before calling as he has been playing alot and it may be a continuation bet.  Turn 6 and he fires 3,600, I fold, putting him on an overpair to me (or a good bet).  I raise the cutoff with JJ and the same gut re raises to 750 and I call.  Flop K82 all hearts, he fires 1,500 and I fold.  He shows Ah Kd, which makes me think he did not have it the last time we tangled, nevermind move on, keep focused.

21,150 at end of level 4.
This was a big deciion early in the deepstack.  Active player who has been playing ever hand (really) raises cutoff to 650, button calls and I wake up in BB with QQ.  I re raise to 1,700 and the cutoff immediately shoves the lot all in (he has me well covered).  I can fold and still have 8k back which is well playable.  And normally I would have no problem folding QQ in this spot.  However against this player it was different, I tabk for a good 5 mins and think about the following.  The previous hand he raised and called a big re raise all in with A3 (vs AT) and flopped a 3.  He has also been playing ever hand, but this may mean he actually has the goods this time.  Why the big overbet?  Does he waste AA or KK like this?  AK is very likely, but so is AQ or AT.  I finally decide he is making a move on me and as long as he doesn"t have AA or KK (he can"t can he?) I am in good shape.  I CALL.  QQ vs A4 (???) and the board is no help, up to 21,600.  Good read and tough call.  I don"t like to gamble like this at such an early stage but I felt I had him enough to be worth the risk.

12,100 at end of level 6.
Completely card dead.  Only played one hand.  There is a mid raise to 1,200 and I find TT in SB and call, BB also calls.  Flop J4J rainbow, I bet out 2k to find out where I am and BB raises to 5,500, the raiser folds.  I am not beating much at this point and fold.  Down to 16k.  Then just blind away.  No cards and a crazy table, big all ins being called by utter filth.  400,800,100 when back so need to get moving with only 6M.

13,400 at end of level 7.
Moved all in with AT to no action.  Raise JJ early position to no action.  Re pop active guy all in with 88 to an insta fold.  Good image, get respect when I move any chips.  600,1200,100 when back, still only 5M.

29,000 at end of level 9.
Lady (very attractive with stunning, all be it, fake breasts) limps UTG, I am down to 7K and push with TT, she insta calls.  TT vs KQ ten on flop and a well needed double up.  Next hand KK, raise and get no action.  Next hand, early raise and I find TT again, I ship the lot and they all fold.  Up to 25k.  Raise button to 4,100 (with 33) and BB folds 88 face up.  Wow what an image!!!  Chip daddy raises button, I find AQ in BB and salt n pepa it again, he folds, up to 30k, finally getting some cards.

OUT 48th with 2 mins left in level 11.
Still no hands and surfing the short stack all the way.  Pushing when I can get into the pot first to pick up the blinds to survive another round.  Very active table, difficult to get in the pot first.  Finally ship it with A4 in early position and get called behind.  A4 vs TT, no help gone.  Frustrating day, never really had any chips and so could not play poker, just surviving the best I can.

Simon is still going strong and managed to make the money and into day 2 with around 139k.  Very flat prize structure with 22 players left, need to make top 5 to make some real cash.  He will be looking to final table tomorrow.  Another interesting player still alive (but not on Si"s table) is Paul Wasicka (who finished 2nd to Jamie Gold in the main event for like $8m).  Quite why he is playing in a $340 buy in event is beyond me, but he seemed a really nice bloke, very friendly with people who were starstruck and asking for autographs, and very popular with the ladies.  Simon had no clue who is was until I pointed him out.

We head back to IP for a couple (just a few) of beers and some pai gow.  I plan to play the megastack again tomorrow so leave Simon around 4am to get some sleep.  He gets 2 more hours in bed as his day 2 starts at 2pm.  If he can go really deep there is a big prize waiting, lets hope (10%)...

NO BAD BEATS - Auckland in the money again...

CrizzyConnor:
Looking forward to seeing how the rest of the week goes.

ThinkerJE:
Tuesday 30 June

Back to Caesar"s at noon for the megastack.  296 runners into total for another 14 hour grind (hopefully).  Si is back for day 2 of yesterday"s event and due to start at 2pm.

14,425 at end of level 2.
Completely card dead.  Not played a single hand, even in the blinds.  Meet up with Si who is feeling good about day 2.

23,900 at end of level 4.
1st hand back after break I raise with Ad Td and get immediately re popped and have to fold.  So much for my tight image then!!!  UTG I raise to 425 with KK and get 3 callers.  Flop is K 5 2 (2 diamonds) and I bet 1,100 and get 1 caller.  Turn is 7s and I bet 2,500 and caller folds showing a king.  I could check the turn but I did not want to let the flush get there.  I raise early with AQ and get 2 callers.  An ace on the flop and a pot sized bet takes it down.  Multiple limpers and I find AQ on the button, now I couls raise to take the dead money but decide I would probably get called anyway so I also limp.  6 players see a A 2 5 rainbow flop, mid position bets 600 and I call to control the pot size, BB also calls.  Turn is 8 and all check.  I now know I have the best hand.  River J and both bet to me.  I bet 1,100 for value and get called by mid position with A9.  Nice 5k pot.  Si has managed to find KK x2 (how does he do that???) and doubled up and made the final table of the megastack event.  A few more exits and he will get a decent payday.

24,500 at end of level 6.
I raise with AK and solid lady calls in SB.  Flop is A J 5 and she bets 1,000 into me.  I think I have the best hand but want to control the pot and so call.  Turn is T and we both check.  River is 4 and she bets 1,500 and I insta call.  She shows AQ and the king kicker is good.  Played that hand conservatively but she may have had AJ in that spot and if I raise she probably bins AQ anyway as she was a solid player, so not too dis pleased with my play.  Raise from active guy and a mid position caller.  Only 1k more and I call in BB with 7h 8h.  Flop is perfection, 6h 9s Tc and I check my straight and he bets 3,400, mid folds and I call.  Turn is 5h, giving me up and down straight flush draw to go with my made straight, I check and after a dwell he checks behind.  River is Qh completing the flush and I bet 5k.  He tanks and folds, probably had nothing and got the maximum.  164 players left with one more level before dinner.  Playing solid and have a good image.  Si finishes 8th in the day 2 of yesterday"s megastack and a top effort.  He picks up $2,600 for his efforts and shows why is he the deepstack specialist (and my poker hero).

33,100 at end of level 7.
15 mins of the level are lost as there is a chip dispute and they have to check the security cameras.  Nothing untoward is discovered and we carry on, but the crazy german guy involved goes on tilt and starts playing every hand.  After losing a big pot he moves in for 5k on the button.  SB calls and I find 77 in BB and also call.  Board comes AQ4,4,5 and is checked down on every street.  SB KJ, crazy german mucks and my sevens take a nice 15k pot.  Don"t play any other hands before dinner.

31,000 at end of level 9.
SS moves all in for 8k and I wake up with AK behind.  I move all in to protect my hand.  AK vs A7, river 7 killler and I am down to 23k.  UTG I raise to 3,500 with AA, mid position and BB both call.  Flop A23 (all spades), I bet 7k and mid folds, BB is all in and has me covered.  I am wary of the made flush or flush draw but no getting away from top set, I call.  To my relief he is drawing to 1 out as he has 33 for set over set.  No case 3 in this cooler hand and I am up to 48k.  I raise in mid position with KQ and get 1 caller.  The flop is 732 with 2 clubs and I know he had to have a pair to call with my image.  So when he bets I decide to give up and fold.  Down to 40k.  Raise with 66 in late position, get re raised and re re raised behind, easy fold, next time I play it will be for the lot. 1k-2k (300) when back, about 5M so short stacked (again) and need to find a spot to get the chips in. 

139,500 at end of level 11.
I push with 77 and pick up the blinds.  Then there is a raise from active in the cutoff, then another active re raises from the button.  I figure these to are having a personal duel and in the SB I look down at JJ.  Wow, this is a tough spot.  I tank and consider my options.  Against other solid players it would be a fold.  However I figured that I had the best hand as the re raiser on the button could be making that play with marginal hands like AT, AJ or even 88, 99, maybe even KQ or KJ.  I was not worried about the initial raiser, he he had it this time well so be it.  The other problem was that I was going to get called, whatever the button"s hand, I had no fold equity, so I had to be sure I was in front.  I decide it was a good spot and move all in for 28k.  Initial raiser mucks fast as expected.  Button pulls a face, looks at the pot and then mucks!!!  Wow, the table can"t believe he did not call getting over 3 to 1 in the pot (with chips behind).  I must have been in very good shape but I am happ to take the pot without showdown.  He said I must have had at least QQ in that spot and therefore he probably had Ax or Kx or some other junk.  I was pleased with the read and the nice pot I picked up.  Up to 47k.  Then SS UTG pushes for 21k and all fold to me in BB and I find 55.  It is half my stack to call and I tank again.  His range is huge but he has not played a hand and I will be racing at best.  I decide to grow a pair and call.  55 vs AT, 5 on flop seals it and I am up to 70k.  Table consensus is that it was a good call in my spot and I am pleased, up to 70k.  Then the big hand.  UTG rasies to 8k (he has raised the last 3 hands in a row) and I find JJ nd re raise to 22k.  Back round to UTG with an insta all in.  I have 50k back and it feels like AK to me.  Tank again and think that I am racing at best again, decide to risk it all again and call.  JJ vs AA (bad read that one), suck out city on flop with a jack in the door and I luckbox my way to 150k.  His active record and insta all in convinced me he did not have AA, KK or QQ and I was lucky to still be alive.  Rather be lucky than good (which is a good case for me).

141,000 at end of level 13.
Blinding away and not playing any hands (and hoping not to see JJ again).  I rasie with AT and have to fold to an all in re raise behind.  Active mid raises and button calls.  In SB I find 99 and just call, hoping to flop monster.  Flop AJ7 and I am done with the hand and so check.  I get a free turn as they both check behind (this happens alot in the US, in the UK the flop gets bet lots more and you have to pay to see the turn).  Turn is 9 and bingo I have hit my card, i check intending to re push when they bet, but they both check again (damm).  River 8 which is a bad card for me as I now lose to a ten.  I check and button bets 12k, insta call and my set is good.  Nice pot, probably would not get anymore if I bet as they did not have much of it anyway.  32 players left and play has really tightened up approaching the bubble.

87,000 at end of play for the evening (when the bubble burst).
Last 3 tables and hand for hand as we are at the money bubble.  They do things differently at Caesar"s when hand for hand.  They stop the clock and hands are dealt on each table.  If no flops are seen on any table then they take 1 minute off the clock and move onto the next hand (no matter how long it takes to complete).  If a flop is seen then they take 2 minutes off the clock (again even if it takes 15 minutes to complete the hand).  I rather like this as it gives the SS"s more chance and saves you sitting around on the other table watching the clock tick down while the hand is played out on the other table.  I think it is a much fairer way of doing things.  SS button moves all in for 39k total, I am in SB with 6k already invested and A9.  His range is huge and I can take him out, or still have over 100k left if I lose.  I call and chip daddy BB pushes all in!!!  Insta fold and he turns over the monster 44 (SUCH BAD PLAY), why bet me out of a dry side pot.  He should just call and check it down unless he hits, or even fold pre flop if he doesn"t want to get involved.  But to move all in, what if I have AA, which I play the same way, absolute madness.  It turns out the button woke up with a hand as QQ vs 44 and he doubles up.  An ace on the turn would have won it for me and burst the bubble, stupid BB play, agreed by the rest of the table (my reaction told I had an ace).  I also have to fold TT to a raise and re raise all in, but finally the bubble bursts and we are in the money.  Pleased to make day 2 but disappointed not to have more chips and will be looking to get busy tomorrow.

Absolutely knackerred and head to IP to find Si (whose bad run at the tables continues, good job he can play poker), we chill for a bit but I soon crash to refresh myself for day 2 at 2pm.

NO BAD BEATS - another Vegas mini cash, bring on a big one!!!

ThinkerJE:
Wednesday 1 July

Another good nights sleep (no drinks last night) and I am ready to take on day 2 of the megastacks.  Simon has already started as he is in the noon megastack.  At 2pm we sit down to continue where we left off last night.  The pay structure is very flat with the most money in the top 5 therefore I am looking to get hyper aggressive to get chips for the final table, I will be looking to take shots when I think it warrants it and basically look to push the mainly passive septics around.

OUT 22nd 2 minutes into level 15.
1st hand of day, all fold to me on the button and I see the ace of spades and move all in, no action, I show the ace.  2nd hand, active foreign guy raises and I see AQ and push all in again, he quickly mucks, I show the ace of spades again.  Then the exit hand and on reflection a mistake by me.  7 handed, I raise in mid position with KQ and the big chip daddy flat calls on the button.  Then active foreign guy in the BB re raises to 80k.  Now he has just knocked 2 people out with AQ & AA in the last 2 hands and has plenty of chips.  I played with him all day yesterday and he was the guy that folded when he was priced into call when I had JJ.  I know he is a player and likes to make moves and I feel that he may be making a squeeze play with the button calling behind.  I also wonder if he can have the goods again this hand and that if he has AT or AJ or JJ or TT I am not in that bad of a shape (especially if the button also has an ace).  In fact there are only 5 hands I am really worried about with KQ (AA, KK, QQ, AK or AQ).  I tank for a while and even feel he may fold to an all in as he did yesterday.  I decide that with the player involved if I move in I have a great chance to double up and get chips for the final table.  So I push and he calls.  KQ vs AK and no suck out sees me felted.  At the time I felt okay with the play, it is very aggressive but the active happened to have the goods this time.  On reflection I now feel I made a mistake.  I could have folded and still have 110k to play with, which was definitely playable at this level.  Also it was very likely active had a hand with the chip monster in the pot and he had to call (as he did yesterday but folded) so I had no fold equity.  Basically I stuck my chips in the pot hoping to be 50-50 at best (if he had JJ say), with an ace I am 40% at best or totally dominated as was the case.  Once I worked this out I was totally mad with myself.  I worked so hard to get into that position and then threw it all away with one stupid error.  Simon does not make this play (which is why he is an deepstack master).  I was determined to be aggressive, but this was reckless.  I hate getting knocked out of tournaments, but it hurts even more when I have messed up.  If the cards go against me so be it, but don"t screw yourself over.  This is a prime example of the thinker blow up and is something that I must address.  I do cash for $876 but this is not the point, it should have been a lot more.

Still steaming with myself I decide beer is in order so have a couple of miller lites with dinner.  I pop back to see that Si is in good shape again and I resign myself to pai gow and beer.  I am not expecting to see Si until after 2am (ie when he makes day 2) so I am dissapointed when I get a pat on the back around 1am.  He went deep again but busted (can"t remember the details, but he probably got his chips in good, as he always does).  We hit pai gow and beer hard until around 5 or 6 in the morning.  Rhonda is on hand to keep the drinks flowing, she really is a cutie, my favourite cocktail girl in LV.  She got a big tip...

NO BAD BEATS - just bad poker play...

ThinkerJE:
Thursday 2 July

I have arranged to meet Si at 12.30pm at IP reception so that we can get the Deuce to Binion"s for the $500 poker classic event.  This is a one day event which is important as we fly home tomorrow and don"t want to do a hoppy (so named after a mate who made day 2 of a tournament when he was due t fly home and had to change flights & hotels etc, it was ugly).  Woke up at 12.10 feeling very much the worse for wear.  Managed to drag myself out of bed and we head to Binion"s.  Still can"t eat anything, which cannot be good preparation for a poker tournament.  We check out the Nugget before the start and it appears that Ladbrokes have their main event crew playing an event there.  There are 20 odd players in Ladbrokes gear playing on 2 tables and Roy "The Boy" Brindley is floating around.  Always on the marketing buzz the sponsors image can be seen all around.  John Magill is playing but I don"t recognise anyone else.  It looks like they really look after their main event qualifiers and I may have a bash at this next year.  I definitely fancy the wsop main event next year, so 365 days to qualify (or save up, win the lottery...).

Only 75 runners for the $500 Binion"s Poker Classic, which is disappointing as the HORSE event has over 230.  The field looks tough though including 2007 main event winner Jerry Yang (why he is playing in this event is anybody"s guess) & TV TD Mad Marty Wilson (who I think also works for Ladbrokes).  15k starting stacks and 45 minute blind levels means the structure is good and another deep finish is anticipated (well for Si anyway).

12,100 at end of level 3.
No hands (again).  Re raise with AK but get called and bet into on a 789 flop and have to release.  Call a raise in mid position with JJ then have to fold on an ace high flop.  Call the actve button raise in BB with KQ and call a bet on the QT9 flop.  Turn 5 goes check check then on the river 8 he pushes for 2,500.  He must have a ten so I fold.  Can"t get anything going and feel rubbish.

8,600 at end of level 6.
Bleeding chips having to release AK, AQ & 66 when the flops do not help (as I always get at least 1 caller).  Down to 3,700, UTG raise and a call behind.  I find Ah Kh in SB and ship the lot.  UTG re raises (damm) and caller folds.  AK vs QQ (phew...) ace on the flop saves me.  All fold to me in SB with TT.  BB is active who defends so I limp.  As if by magic BB raises and I re ship the lot.  He thinks, shows me an ace and folds.  Least I got that read right.  I am playing too passive today, calling too much, need to get aggressive (but not reckless) when back.  Blinds 400-800 (100) so only 4M.

OUT 26th at end of level 8.
I push 3 times in position to take the blinds & antes (A5, KT & J8).  I double up when I push with 44 for 8,600 and get called.  44 vs AJ, jack in the door but the flop also brings a 4 and I am up to 19k.  Duck n dive for a bit before being moved to Jerry Yang"s table.  He busts 2 hands later bluffing pre flop with 45 vs AK.  He shakes everybody"s hand and we wish him the best for the main event tomorrow.  Guy next to me says "Very nice man, don"t think much of his poker game though".  I think I have a good image and so raise UTG with Ah Jd, and get 4 callers (!?!?!).  Flop is 678 (all spades) and I am done with the hand.  We all check and the turn is Ad, I spot an opportunity and push all in.  They all fold, good read.  Chip daddy raises button and I call in SB with AT.  I miss the flop and have to release as he is solid and will have something.  I still have around 18k when the exit hand occurs.  Big chip daddy who has just moved to table raises the cutoff and the button smooth calls.  This looks weak and I am already looking to squeeze this spot before I even look at my cards.  I like to make this play when I think I can get it through and my range of hands is fairly big in this spot.  I find AJ and decide to ship the lot, I"m all in.  As long as I get past the daddy I should pick up 9k without showdown and add 35% to my stack.  Big chip daddy folds quickly to my relief, then the button pauses to think.  He announces let"s race and calls the additional 15k more leaving himself only 5k back.  AJ vs AQ no suck out and I am felted.  I cannot understand how he can make this call.  Unless he puts me on a steal, but why not re raise pre flop if you are going to call anyway (that way I bin my AJ very easily).  Fair play he got his chips in with the best hand but I cannot understand how he calls (as did the rest of the table).  I stand by the move and think I played it perfect, the guy made a good call (what a HERO).  This sucks, Las Vegas is over for another year.

Si is still in and has over 40k so I am expecting to collect another 10% before the end of the night.  I am finally hungary and head to the diner for a chilli cheese dog and large soda.  Very nice and hits the spot.  I return to the tables to see Si firstly standing, then walking away looking angry.  He has busted having flopped a flush and got it all in against a guy with top pair and the nut flush draw.  River killer knocks him out, very unlucky.  We are both down now as the trip is over, we fly home tomorrow. 

The bus ride from hell follows.  The bus is packed and takes forever between stops.  There is a drunk singing and telling jokes on loop that is just not funny.  In the end we get off 2 stops early and walk the rest of the way back to IP, it took us over an hour to get back.  We play some pai gow and sip soft drinks but we are depressed and down.  I crash around 2am and decide to pack so that I can sleep in tomorrow morning.  Check out at 11am but flight not till 16:40 so we have some time to kill tomoorow, no looking forward to that.

NO BAD BEATS - there is always next year...

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