Let the Games Begin!
The 40th Annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) is underway at the Rio All-Star Suites and Casino in Las Vegas. I’ve been gearing up for these prestigious events and am gunning for a WSOP bracelet.
On Thursday, May 28, I entered the 40K No Limit Hold-Em Event. This tournament was a special event this year, added to the schedule to celebrate the 40 years of WSOP. The top prize would be over $1.8 million and the winner would also receive a special trophy and a vintage 1969 Corvette.
Things were running up and down for me the first four levels, but I stayed focus. After Level 8, I made a comeback and held 176K in chips. At that point, I was about average.
We ended play for the day at almost 1:30 a.m. I held steady during the course of the night and closed with 165.5K chips. My stack was below average, but I felt it was still playable and a force to use if I remained on my “A” game.
The field had been narrowed down to 87 players and the rest of us would return Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. The payouts had been announced so only 27 of us would make the money.
Play throughout the second day kept me in about the same chip count. I was able to double up right before the dinner break and ended level 14 with 360K. The average stacks were about 550K. I still had some work to do before I caught up, but I was confident. We were down to 44 players and I was still in it to win.
After the dinner break and at the end of level 16, my stack was up to 650K. Thirty-six players left and only 9 more to go before the money. The very next hand, I was dealt poker Queens. One player raised pre-flop to 70,000. When the call came to me I pushed all in for 450K. The original raiser called and flipped over A-K.
The flop and turn held up and I was still ahead. I only had to dodge the river card and my chip stack would have been over 1.6 million. I would then have a dominant count and could aggressively play the rest of the tourney.
Unfortunately, an Ace came up on the river and I was busted out in 27th place. It wasn’t the result I was hoping for but that’s poker. I finished the tournament earning $71,878.
I’m going to take a few days and review my play – as well as my opponents’ – and I’ll be back to work on Tuesday.
Until then,
V 
