I'm writing this on my blackberry as I sit on a plane on the tarmac of an airport in London, Ont. Apparently there's some big storm in Toronto and Pearson won't let anybody land, so they've re-routed us (and everybody else) here, to re-fuel and to just kind of wait. This obviously sucks, but it particularly sucks for these three reasons:

1) I was really really hoping to catch the final day of the US Open on time shifting. That won't be possible now, and I've been following the Open for the last three days in Vegas.

B) I'm a dirty filthy smoker, and it's been like 6 hours since I've had a cigarette. It looks like it could be another four or so hours more, too. They won't let us off the plane because we're inbound from the US, and there is no Customs department at this little airport. So, here we sit.

3) I'm on the aisle seat and the two people next to me speak no English whatsoever. So whenever the guy next to me needs me to move, he hits me in the arm. I'm unbelievably tense at the moment. After he did it the second time, I said "Sir, don't touch me". He clearly didn't understand what I'd said because he immediately did it again. Or maybe... just maybe... he knows exactly what I said and he's seeing how far he can push me. Next time I punch him in the face. Won't he be surprised!

Entertainment is watching these two--who have no idea how to speak any English (or French)--try and operate the inboard Video on Demand system. They carefully but totally randomly press the buttons, and they keep ending up on the "We're sorry, that service is not available" screen. I switched from quietly chuckling to openly laughing about ten minutes ago.

More entertainment is checking SirWatts' blog and seeing that he has posted something to the effect of: "These updates are getting as boring for me to write as they are for you to read, so I'm going to post less frequently. If you don't hear from me just assume I lost about 3K each day". Lol. I love that blog... second-best poker blog on the net!

Update from the captain: we're fucked. The whole world is sitting on this tarmac in London waiting to re-fuel, and Pearson still isn't letting any flights come in. I was supposed to arrive at around 7pm EST. It's 9 and counting. So I figured I'd write up the report now to calm me down, as I sure as hell don't have anything better to do, and I probably write better when I'm irritable anyway.

DAY ONE

The topic of conversation on AM640 as I drive to the airport is degenerate casino gamblers. The irony of this is not lost on me as I go to spend pretty much my only four days off this month in Las Vegas. I've given it some thought, and I've decided that it isn't really a relaxing way to spend these days. It will be fun at times, sure, but relaxing? Not so much. Relaxing would be lying on my couch with Hayley and golfing a lot. But then what would I write about. I encounter no problems whatsoever at Customs, and my flight is only slightly delayed... nothing compared to what I'm going through right now.

I get out of the cab at the Rio, and I realize that nothing changes from tournament to tournament. Always the same snippets of conversation in the hallways: "Sammy is at my table..." "I lost 6000 last night when I had pocket kings and obviously the loosest player at the table woke up with..." "I'd rather play at a table full of TV pros than these young internet..." "I have 60K but it should be about 120 if that moron hadn't called off his whole stack with ace jack OFFSUIT...". And me without my headphones. That's right, I forgot them at home, and the blackberry headphone jack is smaller than the standard 1/8", making them difficult to replace. Damn... they are my last line of defense against conversations like the ones listed above.

So some things never change, but the WSOP in general sure has. The last time I was there was in 2005, which was the first year the Rio hosted the series. Huge improvements. The registration process took about five minutes, despite the fact that I was registering for a fairly low buy-in NLHE tournament less than an hour before go time. They had about 20 cashiers dedicated solely to processing the registrants, and a guy directing those at the front of the line to open spots at the desks. Also, the tournament floor itself looked less like a massive convention centre hall--which it is--and a little more like a poker environment. They'd hung huge pictures of past champions on the walls (sadly, 6th-place finishers from preliminary events did not make the cut) and there was music playing behind the constant drone of chips being shuffled. There were a lot of plasmas tuned to various channels, and when I requested the one nearest me be changed to the US Open it was done immediately.

Not to go on and on about this, but they've also colour-coded the room, so when you get your seat assignment it will say "Red 34 seat 7" or "Orange 17 seat 8". This narrows things down nicely. And there are a LOT more sponsors and booths and stuff like that. Girls in bikinis walking around selling all manner of things. Does sex sell? I bought two of everything. You should see my carry-on.

2K WSOP NLHE, 1344 entrants. 25/50, 4K chips to start, one hour levels.

I immediately miss my blackberry headphones as an ever-increasing type of poker personality is seated to my right. It's the classic middle-aged to older woman whose husband stopped listening to her about ten years ago. At first I made polite conversation as always but eventually I just wanted to watch the golf and play the poker, so I started giving off not-so-subtle signs that I no longer cared what her kids were up to these days or what the weather was generally like in whatever city it was that she came from. It wasn't working at first, as she kept speaking directly to the back of my head. But finally she said something that made it clear she'd picked up on my vibe. She knew I was Canadian, and she said: "You know, a lot of foreigners think Americans are really obnoxious because we talk a lot at the poker table. And they thing poker should be a quiet serious thing. Can you imagine?" OK, she'd picked up on the vibe, but instead of heeding it, she was playing the passive aggressive game with me. HUGE mistake. I will crush her at the passive aggressive game. So I said: "I don't think it's really about Americans and foreigners so much as it is about talkative people and quiet people. Sometimes quiet people--who can be pretty chatty sometimes--just prefer to be quiet. The important thing, though, is that neither quiet people nor talkative people try to impose their will on the other, because that's when it does become obnoxious. For example, a quiet person should never expect a talkative person to remain quiet just because that's what he'd prefer. And vice-versa." Pwnd. After that, I was left to watch the US Open and the action at the table in peace.

Where was I... ah yes, 25/50 blinds, 4K chips to start.

I raise AQ, get one caller, c-bet the missed flop, and win.

I limp 77 UTG and we take the flop unraised five-handed. Flop: KJ3. Checked around. Turn: T. Checked around. River: 4. Checked around. My hand is good.

I see a bunch of cheap flops with some pretty marginal hands, miss, and fold.

UTG limps, I raise from MP with AcKc, and LP goes to 600. UTG folds. I have about 3600 at this point so just calling is kind of gross, because he's the tightest player at the table by far and I'm not really sure I even want to hit an ace or a king. So, I fold. Which I guess makes me the tightest player at the table, but I don't mind that laydown in that spot.

Button limps, woman to my right (Julia) completes SB, I check 9To BB. Flop 953. Julia leads out 200 and I know she has a big hand but after folding AK pre there's no way I can fold top pair on this flop. I call, button folds. Turn pairs the five, chk chk. River is a jack, chk chk and her A9 wins.

50/100

Here's something you might already know about dirty filthy smokers: a break every two hours in a poker tournament just isn't enough. Something about the pressure of playing combined with the trigger of the general environment means it's gotta be every hour. So as I speed-walk to the nearest smoking area (which is outside, which is about a mile away from the tournament area) I really really wish I had a golf cart. It would be perfect for this particular situation. I would mow these fuckers down, billowing smoke all the way...

I open raise Kc5c in LP and both blinds call. I flop a flush draw (not that I needed to), bet 600, and win.

EP opens to 300, I call MP with AQo, and 2 others call as well. Flop K88. BB checks, EP (preflop raiser) checks, and I see this as his missed opportunity and bet 700. I win.

I've been pretty card dead and have had to bluff a little more in general than I'm used to in these early stages, but it's working all right.

4700.

LP opens to 350, button calls, and I re-raise to 1200 with AKo from the BB. LP calls (to my surprise) and button folds. Flop AQx with two hearts. I think for a bit and bet 1900 of my 3500 or so to make it look like my opponent has fold equity, and it works because he shows me TT after he shoves and I call. The board bricks off and I have about 9K.

Scotty is at the table to my left, and TJ is at the table to my right. If you care about this sort of thing (and not that there's anything wrong with that) then you should know that the "TV pros" are everywhere during the WSOP. Everywhere you look, there they are.

I open to 300 in LP with AQ and the guy to my immediate left calls. He's been calling quite a few raises, including mine, and seems to know what he is doing. Anyway the flop comes queen high, I bet 500, and he folds.

9450 at the first break. Our table has busted 6 people in the first two levels alone.

100/200, 998 of 1344 left.

Folded to me in SB, I raise AK to 600 and the BB obv calls. Flop 933. I check/value call his 700 bet because he is obv trying to outplay me. Turn is an ace (oops), chk chk. River is another ace, I bet 1200 and he calls and mucks to my AK, asking if I'd fold the flop if he'd bet more. I said something like: "To be honest, I didn't see how that flop would have helped you, and I thought I was slow-playing." He nodded and told me that he understood.

11,700. Avg 5486.

Table change, which really really sucked because I felt like I had a great handle on my table, and a good image myself. I was dealt three hands at my new table before that one broke and I was moved again.

A bunch of limpers and I limp the button with Jd5d. Flop 953, and a guy two to my right who I'd already identified as super aggro bets 900. I call, heads up. Queen on turn, chk chk, queen on river, chk chk, and he announces that he has eight high. I table my J5 and win.

Next hand I open rs KTo in LP to 600 and a small stack in the SB shoves for about 1300 more. I think for a while because I hate my hand and the pot odds are close but not great, and eventually call. I'm thrilled to see that he has 99 but lose the race.

Next hand girl to my right raises to 600 and I call with 33. A different shortstack to my left shoves again and I laugh and say that I just got to the table and I'm going to double every shortstack up. This raise is a little more hefty though, to about 2500. If the original raiser folds or raises, I fold, but of course she just calls so of course I have to call as well. Flop 865 all diamonds (I have black threes not that it matters), chk chk with one all-in. Turn is a black deuce, chk chk. River's a diamond, she looks at her hole cards and bets 2K, and I fold. Her Ad9c beats the all-in player's AhKc, and he is disguested. I say "If it's any consolation I had pocket threes, so if she didn't eliminate you I probably would have". He said "It's not" and walked away.

100/200 a25, 9K in chips.

I raise AQo UTG to 700, MP makes it 2700. I'm still pretty new to the table but he hasn't played a hand yet, and he just looks like a tight player. I fold and the girl next to me tells me after the hand that he's the tightest player at the table.

Things are not going well here. 8K.

Super aggro to my right opens to 525 and I tilt call with 8h9h. Heads up. Flop AQx with two hearts. He bets 800 and I call. Turn is a brick, he checks, and instead of taking the free card for my flush draw I decide to bet. What a terrible idea against this player in particular. I bet 1500, he shoves like 7K, and I have to fold my flush draw when I could have seen a free river card.

Tilting...

5K.

Blinded down to 4275.

I go out for a smoke and almost run into Kathy Leibert while typing notes into my blackberry and attempting to walk at the same time.

EP raises to 600 and I idiotically call with 5d8d in LP on my short-ish stack. Flop K54 chk chk. Turn is a 6 giving me a gutshot to go with my pair, he checks, I bet 2K, he shoves, I have to call and lose to his KQ.

600.

Next hand I open shove 7h9h and lose to an unimproved AQ. I bust probably 750 or so.

OK this plane is finally getting off the ground and heading to Toronto. Just in time. I was about to do something drastic.

I head off to the Bellagio to play $30/$60 and the room is crazy. Every table is occupied, and the lists are long. I do manage to get a seat in a wild game and proceed to lose $700. People call 4 cold with K8 and beat my QQ blah blah blah who cares. A few sick hands and au revoir $700, no big deal for a $30/$60 game, just unfortunate.

DAY TWO

I decide to play the $300 Caesar's event instead of the $2500 Venetian event. This is very unlike me--to actually think and do responsible things when it comes to money--but there were a couple of factors at work here. First of all, and this is totally ridiculous, memories of my last experience in a $2500 at the Venetian were going through my mind. The beats, they weren't pretty. Also, I expected the field to be pretty tough there. Furthermore, Caesar's had been getting some great turnouts, so I expected the field to be big which would create a prize pool worth playing for despite the relatively low buy-in. And finally, there was a 2K event at the Bellagio scheduled for the following day that I wanted to play in, and I didn't really want to pay for back-to-back-to-back 2K+ tournaments. So there you have it.

The cab driver who took me to Caesar's immediately identifies me as a poker player despite the fact that I got in at the main entrance of the Rio, as opposed to the convention (WSOP) entrance. He says that I don't look like a local, but that I look like I fit here somehow. And that I definitely look like a poker player. Hmmm... if you want to see for yourself, here's a picture taken of me during the previous day's event:

http://www.printroom.com/ViewGalleryPhoto.asp?evgroupid=0&userid=worldseriesofpoker&gallery_id=1126724&tcount=39&scount=14

Granted, it was taken while I was playing poker, so yeah, I probably do look like a poker player.

I arrive at Caesar's early, win $200 at blackjack and watch as much of the US Open as I can. This seems like a good time to mention that I went to Vegas alone... my weird freelance schedule doesn't really fit with my friend's vacation/work schedule, and Hayley was working as well. As I sat there in the sports book watching golf, I contemplated whether or not I enjoyed being in Vegas by myself. I think I've gone there six times now, and twice has been alone. It's good and bad. The good part is that I can do whatever I want, whenever I want, without worrying about having to meet up with someone at a certain time or wonder if I'm spending more time at the poker tables than my travel companion would like. The bad part is that there are a lot of couples walking around and having fun in Vegas, and a lot of friends getting hammered and playing playing Texas Hold'em Bonus Poker together. Sniff. Next time I go with the boys or Hayley, even if it means saying no to some work in order to accomodate that.

$300 NLHE Caesar's, 622 entrants (biggest turnout for them to date).

12,500 chips to start, 25/50, 40 or 50 minute levels, I forget.

Limp Jd8d MP, heads up vs BB, I miss the flop, chk chk, bet a queen on the turn and win.

I limp/call a raise with 66, miss, fold.

Limp 5c6c on the button after 2 limpers, flop 996 2 spades. Checked to me, I bet 200 and win.

Open raise Qs5s to 150

OK I'm home now. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaay later than expected. HOW SICK IS IT THAT TIGER PULLED OFF THAT BIRDIE PUTT ON 18 TODAY???? I just watched the highlights and am ecstatic that I didn't miss the end of the Open, as they play a full 18-hole playoff match tomorrow to decide the winner. Ship it to Woods imo.

Open raise Qs5s to 150 MP, get 4 callers. Total miss on an unbluffable flop (something like 79T with two hearts) so I elect not to c-bet, and a good thing because a couple of people got it all-in on this flop with hands that I didn't make note of.

Raise AK UTG and win.

Call a raise from the SB with 2h4h (lol) miss and fold.

UTG limps, I raise to 200 with KK in MP, the button re-raises to 800, UTG folds, I go to 2200, and he folds QQ face-up. Damn deepstack tournaments, allowing players to get away from big hands...

I open raise to 150 with QQ in MP and get 4 callers. Flop j82r, I bet 500 and win.

13,700.

Limp Ac7c and call a small raise multiway, miss, fold.

Next hand QhTh limp, 3 to flop: J89 with two hearts. Jesus. Checked around. Turn Ah I bet 150, win, show my hand.

50/100

Next hand Ah7h and I open to 300 in EP. MP lady goes to 800, SB calls, and I have to call so I do.

Flop: A85. SB checks, I check, lady bets 1/2 of her 5500 or so. SB folds. I know I'm leading because this lady flat calls AK-AJ preflop, so I just call because I also know she'll donk-shove her JJ-KK on the turn.

Turn: T. I check, she shoves, I instacall and she shows me TT. A little sick, that is. I get a bunch of "nice reads" from the table. The lady says "That's what I put you on" which honestly made me lol, so at least I got a good laugh out of the experience.

I limp KJo multiway. Miss flop, checked around, miss turn, I bet and win.

Limp 5h6h UTG, 5 to the flop of three diamonds, checked around. Turn diamond checked around. River diamond checked around. We slowly flip over our hands... not one of the five of us has a diamond so we all play the board lol.

3 limpers to me, I complete SB Q6o. Flop AQJ with 2 diamonds. Checked around. Turn Ah putting 2 flush draws out there now. I bet 450 and get one caller. River black 5, check check and my hand is good.

8K after all of that stuff.

Shortly after that EP raises to 325, and I re-raise to 850 with KK. He calls.

Flop: AK8, he check/calls my 1200 bet. Turn: 8. He checks, I bet 1800, he shoves, and I call. He has AA and I fail to hit my one-outer and bust out.

I don't really know what to do at that point, as I'd planned to be in this event for much longer. I decide on my default activity which is $30/$60 lhe at Bellagio. It's crazy as always... Doyle, David, Gus, Eli and Huck are playing the big game in Bobby's Room. The rumour was that the game was dying, but it was very much alive when I was there.

I note that I'm 0 for about 25 or so at flopping sets in Vegas so far. Many, many pairs have been played in tournaments and cash games, and the only time I flopped a set was in the above hand with kings, when my opponent did the same with aces.

$30/$60 lhe hand:

I am SB with Kc6c and call a single raise 5 way. Flop Kxx with 2 clubs. We go five bets 3 way with me raising and re-raising every chance I get.

Turn: Ac. Lol. I bet, MP calls, LP raises, I 3-bet, MP folds, LP calls.

River: A fourth club. I bet, LP shakes his head and says "what the hell are you representing???". He eventually calls and says "nice hand" when I show him the nuts. Ship the 1K pot pls ty.

I note that I am watching Tiger play day two of the US Open now. (I requested it at Caesar's, and it's obv on in the poker room at Bellagio). He ended day one like +3 and now he's only one off the lead after sick birdie putts in like 5 of his back 9 holes.

+$935

To the Rio for their 7pm $300 donkament. Phil H. walks out the door as I walk in. When I told Hayley that I almost ran into him, she asked if I punched him.... the joke being that Sam Grizzle is famous for pretty much one thing: punching Phil Hellmuth. Hayley feels that if that's all it takes to play poker in the big televised tournaments, then maybe I should punch him as well. She might be on to something.

RIO $300, 5K chips to start, 40 minute levels, 25/50. 235 entrants.

I took very few notes during this because I didn't really care. A few notes though:

At 50/100 I raise JJ to 300 in EP and some lagtard calls. Flop A89, I bet 500 and he calls. Turn is a 3, I bet 500 and he calls. River is a 6, I check planning to call any bet. Sure enough he bets 1200, I snap call and he turbo mucks. I show my JJ pwnage imo.

Raise KQ to 300 bb calls. Flop KJ3 with 2 diamonds, he checks, I bet 500, he calls. Turn is xd, chk chk. River K, he bets 1500, I call with my trips and lose to the nut flush.

During a break, I strike up a conversation outside with Claudia, one half of Claudia and Gabe. I get a little taste of what life is like as a full-time tournament grinder. Between them, they are in for 60K in tournament entries so far in this still young WSOP (I assume they share bankrolls). Gabe (Costner) cashed 17K in the 5K shootout but that's it for them so far. They also play the 50/100 PLO game here and Claudia says they have made up most of the 60K that way. Gabe is currently 2nd in chips with 40 players left in the $2500 PLO/PLH event. (I checked, he ended up finishing 20th for about 7K). They play poker professionally, as a couple. Claudia and Gabe.

100/200 a25, 190 players left, I have 4300.

I bust with AJ like this imo: I raise to 600 and BB calls. Flop QJx with 2 spades, check check. Turn is another queen, I bet 1500 (the size of the pot, and almost half my remaining stack) and he calls. The turn is a spade, he shoves, I call because I can't see him calling 1500 with his/my stack on a flush draw with one card to come, but that is in fact exactly what he did as I am shown the 5s6s.

I win $600 playing my Texas Hold'em Bonus Poker, also known as the best game in the world. After that, it's back to the Bellagio for more $30/$60. Forget about cash games at the Rio... the lists are insane. As I find out, though, the lists at the Bellagio have gotten pretty insane themselves, so I cab it right back to the Rio, wasting time and cab fares.

I play a $525 satellite for fun, thinking that if I win I'll just sell the lammers in the tournament registration line. The table is pretty jovial, and everybody there with the possible exception of me seems to be playing well, well below their bankroll.

I watch as 55 vs 33 get it all in on a xx53 board. She spikes a three on the river and the guy with the fives is quite upset as walks away. An older gentleman to my right quietly says "welcome to hell" which makes me and the guy across from me laugh for about five minutes.

I watch as the same woman who hit that one-outer gets her very considerable stack all-in preflop when the blinds are pretty low. Before they turn over their cards, she asks her opponent: "Do you have pocket aces?" He says "not even close" and turns over pocket nines. She says "Oh, same thing I guess" and tables pocket sevens. This also makes me and the guy across from me laugh for about five minutes. "Do you have pocket aces? Or kings? Or queens, jacks, tens, nines, or eights?" He says he has to remember that line and use it at some point in the future. Welcome to hell.

Two hands of note for me: at 25 25 I raise KTo and get a couple of callers. Flop T46 with two hearts, I bet 100 and get one caller. Turn is the 3 of hearts, I bet 300 and he calls. River is a fourth heart, I do not have any hearts, chk chk and my opponent wins with 5s7s. In retrospect I should have bet the river but it was pretty easy to put my opponent on a draw at that point.

My bustout hand was embarrassing but I'll tell it anyway, KQ at 25 50 (btw only 2K chips to start) and I raise to 150 of my remaining 1400 or so. BB calls. Flop 235, he checks, I bet 300, he calls. Turn 4, chk chk. River queen, he shoves, I tank, and finally decide to make a hero call with my last 1K. He of course rolls over an ace and I don't stick around to see the other card.

DAY THREE

Off to the Bellagio for their unbelievable breakfast before the 2K event. Two random cab driver quotes:

"Once you live in Vegas, you don't want to gamble anymore", and

"Yeah I see a lot of crazy stuff. A lot of idiots do stupid things in this cab. I try to be the chief idiot, but it's hard sometimes."

During breakfast, I think about how the trip has gone so far, which isn't all that great. Two $300 tournaments and one 2K event, busto busto busto. A $500 single table sat, busto in 6th. $30/$60 I'm slightly ahead, and I'm killing Texas Holdem Bonus Poker, but overall it's been an unsuccessful trip to this point. What did I really expect though? I came down to play in precisely one WSOP event, and I expect to final table it? Talented players (like SirWatts for example) have played 10 to 15 of these events so far without a single cash, and I expect to waltz into Vegas and outlast a huge field for a bracelet one time? Not likely. So yeah, that's the reality. But reality's OK, in fact I like it. During that breakfast I thought about my current work situation, girlfriend situation, friends and family and golf situation, and it all made me feel a lot better about the losing trip. OK, except maybe the golf. Anyway, the point is that all that stuff I just mentioned is reality, and all of this stuff in Vegas is not, and it's important for me to keep everything in focus in that way. Which then made me wonder how the poker pros do it. I mean, if thinking about real life makes me feel better about a losing poker trip, what would I do if that losing poker trip was actually real life? I guess everybody has something to get them motivated, but I dunno.

$30/$60 pre-tournament at Bellagio. Welcome to hell: I have AcQc and raise, get called only by the guy to my left. The game just started up so I have no idea what he's like. Flop: KQT with 2 clubs. Hellooooo... I bet, he calls. Turn is the 9s, I check/call. River is a brick, I check/pay him off and lose to his red nines. For those of you keeping score at home, yes, that is a one-outer. A jack doesn't help him, it gives me a higher straight. The nine of clubs doesn't help him (immediately) as it gives me the flush. So yes, only the nine of spades. Right away, no delay.

I leave that game even anyway, and play a last-minute single table satellite to the 2K event that's about to start. $450 buy-in, two winners. I obv bubble it in 3rd place despite having a nice chip lead 3-handed. Huge blinds, and I lost two flips in a row. Wheeee! But of course I buy into the event anyway. I have some notes, but not as many as other tournaments because they're pretty strict about it there, and I was sick of writing so much while playing poker.

2K BELLAGIO, 20K chips to start, 40 min. levels, 114 entrants. 9 paid, 81K to first.

This is the event I won last time I was in Vegas, except with a bigger buy-in. The trophy, I imagined, would be the same, and of course I was thinking about how sweet it would be to have TWO of those nice trophies on my bar.

25 50

Guy to my right opens to 150, I call with JdTd. Flop AT3, he bets 300 and I call. Turn T, he checks, I bet 600 and win.

Next hand same guy chops a big pot with me when his QJ catches up to my KJ on a Jx333 final board.

UTG goes 700 at 100/200, I call with AK in MP. I usually re-raise but I have to respect his UTG raise and it's a deepstack tournament which means I can just play it like a nit and fold if I miss the flop without losing much.

Flop: K65, he checks which is odd, I bet 1K and he calls. Turn is an 8, he checks again and I check, because it's all very weird. ie: what would he raise UTG preflop and then check/call a K65 flop with? So in the interests of pot control (have your pot spade or neutered) I checked behind on the turn. River 4, he bets 2500, I call and am absolutely disgusted when he turns over pocket fours.

So that makes 3 times (again, if you're counting) that someone has turned or in this case rivered a 2 or 1 outer on me in Vegas. (Lady's TT hits T on turn at Caesar's, guy hits the only nine in the deck in the $30/$60 right before this tournament, and now this.) I really don't want this blog to just become a litany of bad beat stories, which is why I include so many hands. It's like camouflage. They blend in. This one though is pretty bad because of the way it went down:

I am EP with JsJh and raise to 700. I probably have like 15K at this point (from 20K) and we're probably playing 100/200 a25. Guy to my immediate left re-raises to 2K total. I call. Flop: 7s8sTs. A pretty good flop for me... overpair and a flush draw. He immediately looks at his hole cards to see if he has a spade. I laugh and say "You're checking, huh?". He says "Yeah, I'm checking". I look at my hand again and say "Well I'm checking too then". The dealer takes this (justifiably, I suppose) to mean that we have both checked this flop, and puts out the turn card: 4s, giving me a flush. The guy freaks out and says he didn't check, blah blah, the floor is called, and he says to play out the flop action. I check, he bets 3K, and I call. The 4s is then put back into the deck to my surprise, and the 3h is dealt instead. I check, he bets 5K, and I have to fold. He shows me two red kings to prove he wasn't angling on the flop... he had to bet that hand on that flop and so forth. Fair enough, but if the hand had played out like it should have, he would have bet 3K on the flop, and I would have called and hit my flush on the turn. Now, there's no guarantee that I would have won at that point as he could have made me very uncomfortable with just the jack-high flush, but the more likely scenario is that he would have to slow way down with his red kings on a 4-spade board, giving me the pot.

So yeah, it sucked to lose in that way, despite the fact that the best hand won.

I have like 10K at the first break, half the starting stack, and I wrote "lolololololol".

200/400 a25 UTG raises to 1200, MP calls, LP calls, and so I call in the BB with Qh3h and probably 8K at this point. Flop T32 with two hearts. I consider just shoving but decide I actually want to gamble on a full double-up with this hand, so I check. UTG (preflop raiser) checks, and MP (guy who hit the four on the river for a set) bets 2700. LP folds and I shove, UTG folds and MP calls. He has JJ which I beat when I spike a heart on the turn.

22K.

At the second break I am slightly above average with 34K, playing 400 800 with about 70 left. Things are actually looking pretty good at this point... I feel I'm playing well and have been busy picking up a lot of small pots after that Qh3h double up.

UTG raises to 2700, and I call in LP with JJ for the same reasons as I just called with AK (vs 44) earlier: I respect a UTG raise, he has the same stack as I do, lots of chips, if I don't like the flop I fold, if I do then we'll see. Flop: 773, he checks, I bet 5K, he raises to 12,500. Interesting spot. He's representing QQ - AA, but something about it doesn't add up to me and I just don't believe him. So I shove for about 15K more and he snapcalls with AQo. OK... he just called off 15K on a 773 rainbow flop with AQo. Alrighty then... Obv Q on river and I bust out. 60K if my 75% or so advantage holds up after the money goes in, wah wah I know but that was the worst one of the trip. You know, the classic lines swirling in my head... how does he call off 15K more with ace high when we're still at 400/800 blah blah blah. I mean, as always, it's what I want. I want to be a 75% favourite for a 60K stack at 400/800. That is a desirable situation.

Interestingly enough, mere moments after I bust in this way, I receive the following PM on my blackberry from a member at pokerforum.ca who shall remain anonymous:

"alright i am seriously frustrated, how long a bad luck stretch have you guys been on??? i am going on 13 games of being outflopped by bad callers, being rivered by 2 outers god knows how many times and getting total crap for loooooooooong stretches.

i feel so lost cause the above is happening, already have a non existent bankroll and this is not happening, how do you guys have so much luck??

how long of a stretch of bad luck have you guys had?

kinda desperate for some coaching or something to go right."

The irony... so heavy... given the timing...

It wasn't a fun cab ride back to the Rio, despite the fact that I had to smile when the Bellagio cabstand guy asked me how the tournament were going. I mean really, I'm not wearing an "I'm a Poker Player" t-shirt or anything... wtf... Anyway, just like after the beat I took at the $2500 Venetian event on my last trip, I was thinking that I'd never play another donkament again in my life, etc etc, fuck poker, etc etc, stupid morons, etc etc. Of course, none of that lasted. 15 minutes later I bought into the nightly $300 at the Rio.

As I walked down the hall to register, I noticed in my frustration that a LOT of other people were frustrated as well, which reminded me that there were a lot more people losing than winning here at the WSOP. It really is a cruel game, and I'm sure all of these frustrated people have stories just like the ones I have... ones that begin with "I can't believe that moron actually...". Of course, none of these stories would be all that noteworthy if things had gone the other way, like for example that queen hadn't come on the river. But I digress.

I see Barry G with a very hot very young woman.

I'm pretty sure the dealers at the Rio only get to choose from a handful of nametags, as a disproportionately high number of them are named Andy and--oddly enough--Rusty. I also randomly note that--for many people--standing under the cool mist that is sprayed near the cabstands outside is the closest they'll come to showering for a week. Hygiene is at an all-time low at the WSOP. The guy next to me in that night's $300 at the Rio has such bad breath that the air coming out of his nose reeks. I'm used to the bad breath from mouth breathers, but this is ridiculous.

I also note that prostitutes have joined the crowd inside the Rio in the WSOP area, and are doing their best to fit in. They kind of do.

I bust out of the $300 when I eventually shove my 10XBB stack over an EP raise with AQ, only to run into KK. Do I suck out? Of course I don't.

I play Texas Hold'em Bonus Poker with a couple of internet poker kids who are getting hammered and betting $100/$200 on the game. It's pretty fun actually, and I have my first couple of beers of the trip. Gobboboy (the "freak and very weird dude") randomly shows up to watch the degeneracy. I win a few hundred, go to my room, and watch golf highlights.

OK that's it for yet another epic trip report, hope you found it somewhat enjoyable. My next entry will be who knows when... I'm considering playing the $1700 or whatever MTT at Turning Stone at the end of this month but I might just play golf instead. Speaking of which, I have my second lesson tomorrow. Irons have improved... must now seek help with the driver imo.