I haven't played any poker since I've come back home to Indiana. I've been taking it easy golfing and hanging out with friends and family. It feels really good to be back home in this great state. I have some live events coming up next week though in Lawrenceburg Indiana. The circuit is called the Indiana State Poker Championships(ISPC). I'll be updating on twitter if you would like to follow. My account there is http://www.twitter.com/k_rock2525. Looks like I'll probably play five events there.
Schedule looks like this
8/3-$300 buyin(deepstacked) start out with 15k chips and they have it listed as a 4 day event.
8/5-$1k buyin start out with 9k chips
8/6-$500 buyin start out with 6k chips
8/15-$1500 buyin start out with 12k chips
8/17-$3k Main Event start out with 20k chips
I don't know what the blind intervals are or anything, just the starting stacks. If I don't make day 2 of the $300 deepstacked, I'm going across the border to watch the Cubs play the Reds. I haven't been to a Reds game in years.
After that, the Horseshoe in New Albany has a circuit going on called the Horseshoe Classic which runs from August 14th-25th. I haven't exactly set a schedule for this circuit yet but I have a tentative one. I'm going to miss the $235 6 max event due to the ISPC Main Event being on the same day, I really like 6 max, oh well.
Here is what I'm looking to play in this series
8/19 $235 rebuy
8/21 $345(I don't know if these are 1 or 2 day events, if its a 2 day I'll be out due to mattster's bachelor party being on the 22nd)
8/24 $2100 Main Event start with 15k chips
The schedule is kind of crappy down there, mostly all being $235's but I might throw some of those in there if the field sizes are decent.
FTOPS(Full Tilt Online Poker Series) is right around the corner too, starting August 5th-16th. I'd say I'll pick up my volume online during this time too, should play anywhere from 3-5 events in this I would imagine. August looks like it will be a really busy month for me, which I kind of enjoy all the live tournaments that are going to be here. I'm hoping to give you an update on every live tourney, but sometimes the time gets away from me. That about sums it up, take care!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
WSOP Main Event
Wrote this 1 week ago just haven't put it up online yet.
Well, I don't know really where to begin. I'm sorry I haven't updated since Day 1A of the main event, I just really haven't been in the writing mood whatsoever. I was trying to stay focused on the job at hand. I'm actually sitting on an airplane right now so you know that's not good news. Actually, sitting first class for the first time ever. All they had left and never wanted to leave a place so bad. I went into day 2A which was on Tuesday with 52.2k in chips and ended up having 240.4k at the end of that night while never being forced with a difficult decision. It might have been the easiest day of poker for me in my life. I got paid every time I flopped a monster. I actually played with Eli Elezra on day 2A, he is a very nice guy with a great sense of humor. It's really fun to play the game when you play with someone like Eli, it just makes you sit back and relax and really enjoy it. It also didn't hurt that I amassed a lot of chips during the day. I actually played a huge pot that could be aired on ESPN. I got in a three way three bet pot preflop with TT. The flop rolled out T84 with 2 clubs. The first player checked, I checked to the three bettor, he made it 12k to go, and the first player got out of the way and I decided to make it 32k to go and he instantly jammed in on me and I obviously called and he showed QQ. The dealer turns a 9 to give him extra outs. This is when Eli says lets get the cameras over here and we proceed to have to wait at least a minute for them to show up. The whole time my heart is pounding as its a massive pot and I keep telling the dealer to just deal the river. But I'm just a no name kid from Indiana so the dealer opted to listen to the great Eli instead of me and thankfully the river was an 8. Afterward a guy from ESPN came up and got my name and phone number. I had a few days to get rested up for the important day 3, I just mainly relaxed and watched TV.
So I come into Day 3 with 240.4k in chips and feeling really good about the way I had been playing. I was 62/2064 I believe heading into this day. I got off to a really rocky start and was at 65k about five hours in and was really down on myself. I had played really well in my opinion I just lost a lot of pots on the river. I ended up building from 65k to 511.5k to end the night though and was in great position again as I was 64/789 heading into Day 4. 648 places paid and the first payout was 21k. Today, which is Saturday was Day 4 started off really well I built from 511.5k into 700k right as the bubble busted without risking a big portion of my stack. Right after the bubble busted I got locked in a blind battle where I flopped bottom two pair verses top two pair and ended up losing around 250k in chips on the hand to knock me down to around 450k. I ended up getting back up to around 500k at 3k-6k with 1k ante when my bust out hand took place. A player under the gun opened to 18k and got a caller from middle position. I look down in the cut off and see KK and make it 57k to go. The under the gun raiser four bets me to 225k or so and the middle position caller folded, and it came back to me and I instantly shoved and he instantly called and flipped up QQ. The flop rolled out JTT and it looks pretty good. The turn was the nastiest card in the deck which obviously was a Q and the river was an A. That pot was over a million in chips, which would have been good for top 20 or so with 457 players left. Instead I'm out 457th for a 25k score.
I talked to a few of my friends and they said they were proud of me or something to that effect. I am very thankful to have them in my life but people who don't play poker for a living just don't understand how tough of a game this is and how frustrating it is. Everyone's always like yeah ole K-Rock plays poker for a living he's got it so easy. Yeah right buddy, you sit there for thirteen hours a day for four days knowing that first place is 8.5 million and you only get 25k after getting two outed for a top 20 stack with 457 people left that started with close to 6500 in the biggest tourney of your life. Also, when you do this for a living your not guaranteed that paycheck at the end of the week. It's a great feeling to cash the world series of poker main event, don't get me wrong, but not to bust in that fashion for that amount of chips. 25K seems so small, when first place is 8.5 million and ninth is 1.2 million. I put so much time into this one tourney and I'll always remember that hand, what could have been ya know. That's poker though, you can only try to get in with the best of it then it's out of your hands. I'm just so glad to be on this airplane heading home to see my family and friends. I've been away for around 42 days now and I'd say this is my last trip to Vegas for that amount of time. So hard being away from the people you love and that you see everyday in your life for that amount of time. First thing I do when I get back to Brownstown is go see my nephew, Skyler and my niece, who I haven't gotten the opportunity to see yet, Mallory. I've never been so mentally drained in my life, the hopes and dreams smashed by one hand, one card. I feel like I let a lot of people down and all I can say is that I put everything I had into this tourney and never quit fighting. I want to thank everyone who showed me support through text messaging and facebook. It gave me a ton of motivation and confidence to know everyone was pulling for me. I hope that one day I'll be back in the same exact spot that I was in today and hopefully next time my hand holds. That's all you can do in this silly game. Well I'm starting to ramble, so I should probably let ya go. I do plan on taking some time off to get some rest. Take care, later
Well, I don't know really where to begin. I'm sorry I haven't updated since Day 1A of the main event, I just really haven't been in the writing mood whatsoever. I was trying to stay focused on the job at hand. I'm actually sitting on an airplane right now so you know that's not good news. Actually, sitting first class for the first time ever. All they had left and never wanted to leave a place so bad. I went into day 2A which was on Tuesday with 52.2k in chips and ended up having 240.4k at the end of that night while never being forced with a difficult decision. It might have been the easiest day of poker for me in my life. I got paid every time I flopped a monster. I actually played with Eli Elezra on day 2A, he is a very nice guy with a great sense of humor. It's really fun to play the game when you play with someone like Eli, it just makes you sit back and relax and really enjoy it. It also didn't hurt that I amassed a lot of chips during the day. I actually played a huge pot that could be aired on ESPN. I got in a three way three bet pot preflop with TT. The flop rolled out T84 with 2 clubs. The first player checked, I checked to the three bettor, he made it 12k to go, and the first player got out of the way and I decided to make it 32k to go and he instantly jammed in on me and I obviously called and he showed QQ. The dealer turns a 9 to give him extra outs. This is when Eli says lets get the cameras over here and we proceed to have to wait at least a minute for them to show up. The whole time my heart is pounding as its a massive pot and I keep telling the dealer to just deal the river. But I'm just a no name kid from Indiana so the dealer opted to listen to the great Eli instead of me and thankfully the river was an 8. Afterward a guy from ESPN came up and got my name and phone number. I had a few days to get rested up for the important day 3, I just mainly relaxed and watched TV.
So I come into Day 3 with 240.4k in chips and feeling really good about the way I had been playing. I was 62/2064 I believe heading into this day. I got off to a really rocky start and was at 65k about five hours in and was really down on myself. I had played really well in my opinion I just lost a lot of pots on the river. I ended up building from 65k to 511.5k to end the night though and was in great position again as I was 64/789 heading into Day 4. 648 places paid and the first payout was 21k. Today, which is Saturday was Day 4 started off really well I built from 511.5k into 700k right as the bubble busted without risking a big portion of my stack. Right after the bubble busted I got locked in a blind battle where I flopped bottom two pair verses top two pair and ended up losing around 250k in chips on the hand to knock me down to around 450k. I ended up getting back up to around 500k at 3k-6k with 1k ante when my bust out hand took place. A player under the gun opened to 18k and got a caller from middle position. I look down in the cut off and see KK and make it 57k to go. The under the gun raiser four bets me to 225k or so and the middle position caller folded, and it came back to me and I instantly shoved and he instantly called and flipped up QQ. The flop rolled out JTT and it looks pretty good. The turn was the nastiest card in the deck which obviously was a Q and the river was an A. That pot was over a million in chips, which would have been good for top 20 or so with 457 players left. Instead I'm out 457th for a 25k score.
I talked to a few of my friends and they said they were proud of me or something to that effect. I am very thankful to have them in my life but people who don't play poker for a living just don't understand how tough of a game this is and how frustrating it is. Everyone's always like yeah ole K-Rock plays poker for a living he's got it so easy. Yeah right buddy, you sit there for thirteen hours a day for four days knowing that first place is 8.5 million and you only get 25k after getting two outed for a top 20 stack with 457 people left that started with close to 6500 in the biggest tourney of your life. Also, when you do this for a living your not guaranteed that paycheck at the end of the week. It's a great feeling to cash the world series of poker main event, don't get me wrong, but not to bust in that fashion for that amount of chips. 25K seems so small, when first place is 8.5 million and ninth is 1.2 million. I put so much time into this one tourney and I'll always remember that hand, what could have been ya know. That's poker though, you can only try to get in with the best of it then it's out of your hands. I'm just so glad to be on this airplane heading home to see my family and friends. I've been away for around 42 days now and I'd say this is my last trip to Vegas for that amount of time. So hard being away from the people you love and that you see everyday in your life for that amount of time. First thing I do when I get back to Brownstown is go see my nephew, Skyler and my niece, who I haven't gotten the opportunity to see yet, Mallory. I've never been so mentally drained in my life, the hopes and dreams smashed by one hand, one card. I feel like I let a lot of people down and all I can say is that I put everything I had into this tourney and never quit fighting. I want to thank everyone who showed me support through text messaging and facebook. It gave me a ton of motivation and confidence to know everyone was pulling for me. I hope that one day I'll be back in the same exact spot that I was in today and hopefully next time my hand holds. That's all you can do in this silly game. Well I'm starting to ramble, so I should probably let ya go. I do plan on taking some time off to get some rest. Take care, later
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Update from the WSOP inlcuding Day 1A of the Main Event
I played in Day 1A yesterday of the WSOP Main Event. It has a very good structure starting out with 30k in chips and two hour levels with the blinds starting at 50-100. In the first level, I hit two boats and a straight flush but never got paid on any of them but built up to 37k at the end of the first level. During the second level, I had to lay JJ down on a 882 flop the opponent showed me AA. Dinner break rolled around and my stack had slipped down to 27k. After dinner break, in the third level I won AT vs KQ all in preflop vs a shortstack and a few other small pots and built my stack up to 40k by the end of the third level. Within the first 10 minutes of the fourth level, my stack dwindled to 29k after whiffing a openended straight flush draw plus an over. I somehow managed to run my 29k stack into 52.2k in the last hour of play without a showdown. So I go into Day 2A on Tuesday with a 52.2k stack when average is somewhere around 40k. Blinds will start out at 200-400 with a 25ante? I believe, it may be a 50 ante. So I'm sitting on 130BB or so and hopefully can run good on Day 2.
I only ended up playing a few more tournaments since my last update, deciding to go out and have some fun a few nights and just relax. One of them was a $1500 WSOP where I ran KK into AA right before dinner break in a 90BB in a blind battle. Matt "mattster24" Sterling got 5th in the $1500 Limit Holdem Shootout for a smooth $35k. He got very unlucky five handed getting AA cracked by Greg Mueller(who ended up winning the event) and right before that he ran AK into AA on a K high flop. Congrats to him though as it was a good score and a great accomplishment. That about sums it up, I'll try to have an update late Tuesday night or on Wednesday. It could end up being later though, if I bust I plan to fly back to Indiana as soon as possible. Take it easy, later
I only ended up playing a few more tournaments since my last update, deciding to go out and have some fun a few nights and just relax. One of them was a $1500 WSOP where I ran KK into AA right before dinner break in a 90BB in a blind battle. Matt "mattster24" Sterling got 5th in the $1500 Limit Holdem Shootout for a smooth $35k. He got very unlucky five handed getting AA cracked by Greg Mueller(who ended up winning the event) and right before that he ran AK into AA on a K high flop. Congrats to him though as it was a good score and a great accomplishment. That about sums it up, I'll try to have an update late Tuesday night or on Wednesday. It could end up being later though, if I bust I plan to fly back to Indiana as soon as possible. Take it easy, later
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