Busting The Main Event To A Straight Flush After Flopping Quad Sixes Is a Brutal Way To Go Out
That just ain't right. The deck man, the deck don't give a fuck. That's my biggest takeaway after 2 weeks in Vegas playing WSOP tournaments. The deck isn't just. It doesn't care what cards you start with. There's no rhyme nor reason why it runs out the way it does. You can have KK and the flop comes Ace high, it doesn't care. You can see someone win a flip with JJ vs AK and then lose 10 flips in a row vs AK, it doesn't care. And you can flop quads and still lose in the MAIN EVENT to a rivered straight flush. Just the way things go in the poker world.
I had a great time out at the WSOP. I feel I played pretty good poker, cashing in both the $400 and $600 events, but was unable to make deep runs in either. In the $400 I lost two straight 60/40's to bust at the end of the night on day 1, and in the $600 I ran up a decent sized stack before losing QQ to KJ aipf (all in pre flop) and then AKhh to 33 aipf to bust. Just the way those bounces go sometimes.
In the $1500 turbo bounty I accumulated 4 bounties so I made a profit in the tournament, but then lost another flip for my god damn life, losing TT to AK before the money.
In the $3k I felt great. I thought I was going to make a great run in it. And then I had JJ in the small blind and put in a 3bet after an early position open, he jammed, and I called, and once again was up against AK. The board ran out pure until the river binked it for my opponent, once again sending me to the rail. That one will sting the most for me, as if my Jacks held I would have a TONNNNNNN of chips and in great position to make a run, as we were around 100 off the money at that point. I am still super bummed. I will never flat JJ in the small blind there- that's just pussy poker. But there's always the results-oriented voice in the back of your head, knowing if you flat JJ and check raise the flop you take it down. But that's chicken shit poker. I'd rather play it the correct way.
And then the Main Event. I played great and ran better on Day 1, bagging 200k. Day 2 was the opposite- I didn't play up to par and I also only won like 3 or 4 hands all day, busting before dinner. That's certainly a day I'd like to have back. Nothing went my way and I sort of spiraled, eventually busting when my TT lost to AK aipf, as was tradition on this trip.
Shout out to the Main Event though. Best tournament in the freaking world. What a tournament. It's like...too good. My only complaint is it moves too slowly. And this year's was massive- online poker is banned in all but 6 states, and it still nearly broke the all time record for most entrants! Poker is booming, baby.
If online poker was regulated and legal across all 50, with online qualifiers and all that, mama mia, I cannot even imagine how big it would be. Hopefully we find out soon.
I would currently rate my poker game as "much better than I've ever been, with lots of room to improve". I'll be working with a coach moving forward and come this time next year I'm **Ben Mintz voice** really gonna show 'em somethin'. I had 2 WSOP cashes in 5 events, which is pretty cool. But tournament poker is so unforgiving. The unfortunate part about tournament poker is it sometimes doesn't matter how well you play, the results are the results. Let's say your QQ holds over KJ, or your AKhh wins the flip for a top 10 stack in the $600, everyone looks at you differently. There's a reason some of the best players in the world will go on runs where they win EVERYTHING, and then they will brick 25 tournaments in a row. You have to play great, but you have to run great as well. Hoping next year is my year to put both together.
So what's the plan? Work, work, work, study, study, study. I'm gonna get coaching, I'm going to put in work every day off the felt to study, and I'm going to be 12x better at this time next year. We always say on the podcast "if you want to get great at poker and be a winning player, all the resources are out there, you just gotta want it". Well I want it. And I'm gonna get it. See ya next year, Vegas.
PS: It was so awesome seeing all the stoolies support for all the fellas while out there. Mintzy playing next to Ivey was a surreal experience to witness
Smitty's AA fold was unreal
And Owen shined like the star he is
Appreciate all the new followers, hope you guys check out the podcast too- we will continue to have the biggest guests and give out the best tips for becoming a better player. Onwards and upwards!