Day 2- Main Event

A field of nearly 1,100 has been narrowed to 251 for Day 2 of The New Year Invitational at Harrahs. I am poised to make a deep run to the final table for this event. It is announced that nearly everyone today will make it to a payday except for the first elimination. I have been seated at a new table for Day 2 and will again need to make adjustments to continue building a chip stack. Blinds are now 400-800 with 100 antes and blinds will be going up every 15 minutes. At some point, probably in three levels, nearly every hand or involvement in a pot will be a coin flip for the chips. Two minutes into the day, we have our 1st elimination of the day and it is at our table: A,A loses to 2,7 suited. Player A under the gun raises to 1200 and Player B (chip stacked) raises to 2400 and Player A merely calls. the flop is Q, 6, 9 all diamonds and Player A (aces) raises all-in for 6900 and Player B calls with his made flush, the turn and river are no help and Player A bemoans his bad luck. In my opinion, Player A should have went all-in after Player B made the first raise. The bubble has been burst and everyone remaining including me is in the money. I have been passive thus far in Day 2 and am able to pick up the last 3 hands of the level to increase my stack to 17,400.

Level 2 blinds of Day 2 are 500, 1000 with 200 antes. Now it costs 1,700 every 10 hands. In the next 10 minutes, nearly 1/4 of the field is eliminated and we are down to 170. The next play level (higher prize money) begins at 99-51. I win two hands in this level with a pair of 5s (pre-flop and raise from mid-position with K,10 to increase my stack to 19,500. Thus far, my table is 70% aggressive and 30% tight as a rock.

Level 3 blinds are 600-1200 with 300 antes. This level is a trying one for me as my stack is decimated from 20,000 to 9,500 through a series of suck outs but it happens. I am dealt A,K suited and raise to 2500 from middle position and am called by the big blind with 3,4 suited. The flop is A,5,K and I bet 4000 which is a pot sized bet. The big blind goes all-in for 2,000 more and I call. The river brings a 2 for the straight. Unbelievable, just lost half of my stack to a suck out on the river. There are now three huge stacks at the table and I'm in average chip position but am severely crippled without a chip cushion. The last hand of the level I lose with pocket Jacks to a set of nines but fortunately the other player had only 3,000 in chips.

Level 4 blinds are 1000-2000 with 400 antes. We are a designated move to tables in that players will be moved to our table. The field is now down to 95 players. It is go time for me. I either accumulate chips now or risk getting blinded out. I did not come here to lose but to win. I am dealt 3,7 suited in the big blind and it is raised by the button to 5000. I go all-in for my remaining 4000 and the button player folds. I did not have much but did have more chips than the button player and end up foiling his steal bet with a re-steal bet of my own. My chip stack is now back at 10,000. The next hand, I'm dealt 8,8 and raise from under the gun position for 5500 and it is folded around to the cut-off man (position before the button) and he goes all-in for 4,000 with A,8. The blinds fold and I take down the pot after an uneventful board. i now have 22,000 in chips and am on the rise. Level 4 ends with me at 19,500 in chips- roughly what started Day 2 with. The field is now at 65 and the pace is picking up with the ever increasing blind structure.

Level 5 Blinds 2000-4000 with 500 antes. Our table gets 5 new players (all short-stacks) and are eliminated within 5 hands. I win with pocket 10s against 2 all-ins and grow my stack to 36,000. The field is now down to 70. Our table is down to 6 players and we are informed that our table will be breaking up at the end of the level. Just when I was getting my roll on and we have to move, bummer! Level 5 ends and my stack is at 33,600. I am moved to the center feature table and at the big-stack table. This is not going to be easy. A quick survey of the chip counts at my new table are: 45,000; 56,000; 100,000; 90,000; 72,000; 28,000; 30,000; 14,000; 11,000 and my 33,600. My game plan is to pick on the short-stacks and to avoid the big stacks unless I have premium hands such as 10s and higher and A,10 or higher.

Level 6 Blinds 4000-8000 with 1000 antes. I am able to steal the 1st pot with a 15,000 bet pre-flop and my stack is at 55,500. This was a crucial steal because I am about to pay the blinds and that will cost me 14,000 the next two hands, if I do not bet any more or raise. The next hand I am dealt 4,9 in the big blind and am raised to 12,000 total by the button position player and I have to call because it is only 4,000 more to me to win a pot of over 38,000. He flips over Q,J and his hand hold up. Now my stack is at 42,500. The field is now down to 60 players. I shell out 4000 for the small blind. Can I take a pass and skip my blind? Again it is raised to 13,000 by another short-stacked player and I call with K,Q and the big blind calls as well. The flop is K, 8, 10 and I check and the big blind bets 10,000 and I raise to 13,000 to put him all-in and he calls. He flips over K,8 for two pair and the button shows A,J and two pair holds up; thereby decreasing my stack to 25,500. Two consecutive hands again consecutive short-stacks and I lose the pot. I got my wish of facing the short-stacks but manage to lose both pots. The tournament director comes over to out table and informs us that we will be moving to a new table unless a player busts out the next hand. My sixth sense tells me that I should fold this next hand and wait for a new table but in the button position, I am dealt K,Q suited and there are no players in the pot before me. With only 25,00 in chips, I only have 3.5 times the big blind and have two options: fold or all-in. I go all-in and am called by the big blind with pocket Aces. Shit, that was one of two hands I did not want to face but I have live cards. The flop is K, J,10 with two hearts. I now have open ended straight flush or royal flush draw and a flush draw. I am now a slight favorite to win the hand because I have 14 outs to win the hand, any heart, a Q, or a K. The turn is 6 of clubs and the river is a 2 of diamonds and there goes my tournament. Should I have folded? No, I was playing to win and needed to get some chips fast or risk getting blinded out. Had I won the last hand then my stack would have been over 80,000 and I could have made it to inside 30 players. 10 minutes after I busted out, the field was inside 30.

Not a bad trip for me pokerwise, two deep in the money finishes (1st, and 59th). Gambling wise, it was another story as I could not hit anything to save my butt. However, I was here for the poker and made away with decent poker trip of about 9,500 in tourney winnings.

My next planned trip will be in mid February for WSOP Circuit in Council Bluffs. The WSOP Circuit is going on in Tunica this month and I may go there but for now will do some resting to catch up on work and to avoid burnout.

See you at the next table!
Chewey