Newsgroups: rec.gambling.poker
From: zorak@best.com (Lone Locust of the Apocalypse)
Subject: Zorak's first main event trip report
Date: Tue, 15 May 2001 07:40:10 GMT

or, subtitle: It's Monday night, why am I in my room eating room service
and watching Ally McBeal?  (Theories on the latter part are discouraged.)

Flew in Sunday afternoon, played a couple one-table satellites.

First one, it seemed like every time I tried to steal from the
button or the small blind, the guy on my left woke up with a hand.
And I don't just say this because he re-raised and I let him run
over me -- he showed me ~70% of his hands and he had AQs, JJ, AK,
etc.  So not only was I unable to steal, but the guy on my left
was becoming the chip leader.  And I wasn't getting cards otherwise.

Second satellite I played, I again basically got no cards.  I went
in UTG with JJ for about 8x the big blind, got called by someone
because I was more or less the short stack.  He has 88.  The flop
is J8x, heh, and I double through.  No joy though, because I am
soon forced to move in with 99 vs. Ac9c and some other hand and
the Ac9c makes a flush.

So including all satellites and supers it costs me $13,000 to enter
the main event.  Whee.  But Jesus tells me he spent $16,000 to enter
last year and look at the ROI he got.  So I figure I'm ahead of
the curve.

I draw table 26, seat 6.  In seats 2 and 3 are Linda Johnson and
David Pham.  Seat 9 is Layne Flack but apparently he was up all
night (including a "drunk satellite" where he and Scotty Nguyen
got heads up and much gambling occurred) and he didn't show up
until midway through the second round.

Nothing much exciting occurs the first round, during which I add
an incredible $100 to my $10,000 starting stack.  Second round, I
win a few, lose a few, and have around $7700.  Blinds $50 and $100,
I decide to take a flyer from middle position and make it $300 to
go with Kc9c (table has been playing pretty tight, and I have a
tight conservative image, so this has some chance of succeeding).
Guy on my left calls, David Pham calls.  Oh well.  I'm done unless
something good flops.  Something good flops: K9x, albet with two
hearts.  I bet $1000 into the $950 pot.  Seat 7 calls, David folds.
Seat 7 has been taking cards off for pot-sized and near-pot-sized
bets and getting there, but has since lost a few hands.  He has
about $4K left after calling.  Turn is an off-suit jack.  I move
in, he calls.  Uh-oh.  "Two pair?"  "Yeah."  He has KJ.  Nice catch,
sir.

I managed to steal/double through my way back up to $4K+, then went
back down to aorund $2700 when I was dealt 6s4s on the button.  3
people limped in in front of me, I called for $100.  Flop 9s5c3s.
Checked to me, I bet $600, folded around to Hertzel Zalewski who
makes it $2K to go, I put the rest of my chips in.  He has As7s so
I only have one flush out but I still have straight and pair outs.
Turn 3, river J, IGHN.

In hindsight it's easy to say I could have just not played both of
these hands but that seems to be playing results a bit.  Dunno.
Anyway hopefully next year Paul won't get himself barred and I can
play more WSOP events :-)

 -- Z.
                                                                           ____
  "... with liberty and justice for *ALL*."  [emphasis added]              \  /
                                                                            \/