Pre-Day 5 and 6: Obv Brag Post

Hello all, and thanks for stopping by. Before we continue with the Vegas Trip Report, I need to insert f a bragging post. I hit one of my goals for the year, and I'm damn happy.

I won the $10 PLO8 re-buy on Stars. 264 entrants, 365 re-buys, and 167 add-ons. $7960 in the prize pool. Here's a screen shot.

But wait, Bill! You say. That shows a SECOND place finish, and OPR says you finished second as well. How can you claim the win?

Well friends, let me tell you. I'm not going to use the winners name as he was a complete tool and I don't want him to find this post in a search and read about what I did to him, as that would spoil the fun.

So, let us discover the tale together, shall we?

I got into the tourney a bit late, after about 45 minutes. Got it all in on a flip and had to double rebuy. With the add-on, I was in for $51 and hoping to cash to at least break even for the night. As I tend to do, I had two cash games running and ran a SnG as well (which I won) which basically turned this thing into a free-roll, so the pressure was off. I did well, hanging out above the chip average for most of the tourney coming out of the first break on a good run.

Around bubble time, I got in a bit of trouble. I had AA67ds, we got it all in pre-flop and ended up (luckily) chopping for the low end versus A288 when he flopped a set of 8s on a 9 8 K board. Runner runner low (including the deuce) kept me from going out. The next hand I had AA23ds and got quartered with A2TT when the flop came T 9 4. Runner runner for the low again, but I wasn't moving the wrong way. I was down to bubble time with 8413 in chips and 1000/2000 blinds. Not good. I got it in with KK53 and chopped, no luck. I can't call in the blinds with the action in front of me, and I'm down to 4913 and in last place. I have QQK2 and shove, and find out I'm up against A24dJd. Urp!. Board comes out 6 9d 5d and I have a LOT of outs to dodge. Turn is the 9h, and I just have to hope for no diamond, no ace. Kh on the river and I'm up to 11826. The bubble pops! Weeeee! I made $0.74 at least!

I go card dead for a few orbits, and drop down to 8326, again almost last place. I find KKT7 in the SB and the CO raises, but not pot. I shove, he calls and shows A289. K 6 6 flop and I'm golden. 9 on the turn and I scoop. Lucky when I need to be! Up to 18652!

The big hand comes when I get involved with one of the big stacks at the table. I have AhKhQhJs on the button and smooth-call a pot raise. Flop is 8d 3c Jd. The bettor insta-bets enough to put me all in. I tank for a minute, and burn some time off my clock. It is do or die time and I call. He shows As Kd 9h 7d with just the 2nd nut flush and bad low draw. 3s on the turn and Jd on the river and suddenly I have 46k and I'm average stack.

I three bet with AA35 and the original raiser mucks, and I'm up to just under 60k. I get the chance to take out a shorty with A2K7, suited A and he shows AA34 no suits and the board flops K 9 7. Now I'm the table CL and we are getting down to the final 3 tables. I can smell that FT!

New player at the table sits and starts to be really active. He's up to 107k when I find AA38 double suited in late position. He again raises, and I re-pot. The button has under 10k and I have 80k. Button calls all in and player smooth-calls. Flop is T 4 8, rainbow. Big stack checks, and I shove, trying to get him to fold and leave some dead money in the pot. He calls and tables 2346. Button shows AKKJ. I'm happy with the 9 on the turn, but the 2 on the river means I just chop up the blinds and button. But now I know this guy is loose, so I make a note.

I take a hit when my flopped 2 pair lose to a wheel. I should have though the hand through more, I moved too quickly. He had an obvious low draw and I should have been able to muck on the turn when he 3-bet and saved about 24k. I drop back to under 60k. By this time, the jerk that "won" has got to the table and we are moving toward the FT bubble.

I get down to under 50k and find A229 with the blinds at 2k/4k. The active player pots and I smooth call in position. The flop is 9 9 Q. Bingo! He checks and I decide to look weak and only bet out 12k. He insta-calls. 4d on the turn and he checks. I shove, he calls and shows AKJT. He needs an 8, T, J or K. Q on the river and I am back up to just under 100k.

Then the hand that gave me the confidence happened. With about 16 players left, an aggressive player at the table that was making a lot of plays at pots. I found A762 with the ace suited in middle position. Aggro and one player smooth call and I pot it. Blinds fold, and both limpers call. One is short with 26k, the aggro has 110k, and I have 92k. Flop is T Q 4 with one of my suit. The aggro checks. Shortie shoves for 4500. I call, aggro just calls. He would normally be shoving here, so I start to try to put him on a hand. 2 on the turn doesn't help. He checks, I check. River is another 2. He bets out about half the pot. This was totally out of character and got me to tank for a minute. Could he have a boat? Would he have played QQ or TT this way? I finally decide he must have what I had, A2xx, and neither of his other cards paired, so he didn't have a boat. Why? Why would he let me draw at a low when he could have shoved the turn to isolate and push me out, creating some dead money in the pot? This was the late in the tourney, so he wasn't trying to just get a player out, he was trying to win. A2xx was the only choice. I call and he tables A257. We chop up the shortie, but now I feel good.

I move up to 5th in chips by bullying a little with 12 left. It looks like the shorties are trying to hang on for the Final Table, so a few of us start abusing them a bit. I knock out the FT bubble boy when I 4-bet him with A39J with a suited A. He shows AAQ7, 4 suited. Board runs out 4 A T K Q and I scoop. Whoops. I make it to the final table 2nd in chips with almost 200k! Sometimes, you have to get lucky. And boy, did I, once we made the FT.

I get to the CL with 8 left after flopping a set of 3s on a 3 8 3 board from the BB. I check the flop to see what people want to do. CR the bettor (who is the tool in this story) and he calls. J on the turn and I shove, he folds. I'm up to 400k. We get down to 5-handed and I make a play against the CL with a nut flush and backdoor low draw on the flop, and he folds. After we 3-bet PF. That gives me the CL again from him.

I take out the aggro player from earlier in 5th place with AK87 vs A358 when we get him all in PF. He has 185k and I have 506k with 5k/10k blinds. Board runs out 4 6 6 T 6 and I scoop. Now I'm up to 700k in chips. The 2nd place guy has 276k. 3rd has 152k and 4th 147k. I can smell the win.

Two hands later I get AKT2 with the K suited and pot. 2nd place re-pots and I decide to put hi all in. He shows AKT4, so most likely we will chop. Board runs out J J 3 9. Then the 2 on the river gives me the scoop. How sick is that? Now I have 967K, 2nd has 167k, 3rd has 142k. Blinds at 5k/10k.

Third place guys says "let's just give Illini the first and split second and third". I of course, agree :) But 2nd, the tool stays quiet. I go into aggro mode and start hammering the guy who wants to make the deal as he is the BB on my button. I start hammering the tool when it is his BB and my SB. If the SB limps on my BB, I'm jamming. I double the tool up with J873 vs A295 when he is down to 25k in chips, so not a big deal. I have 972k at the time :) I double him again with KJ33 vs K987 when he hits two pair. Now he's up to 91k, and I still have 922k. 2nd place is getting smart and starts jamming on his button and I have to fold. He moves up to 251k in chips.

I double the tool again with KK33ds from the SB when I jam into his A248. He flops 2 pair. Now he's up to 170k. I have 861k, and 2nd has 245k. Still comfy lead. 2nd is still trying to get the tool to agree to a deal, but he's not talking. We think maybe he is chat blocked. Nope, turns out he's just an asshole. I keep hammering and get back to 951k, tool is at 206k and now the other dealmaker is in 3rd with 120k when the tool speaks up. I propose the deal when I get 1st and they chop 3nd and 3rd evenly. He says "no". I propose 1400 for me (first is 1552.20) and they chop the rest. "no" again.

Okay, I keep hammering. No mod yet, so I jam a few more pots. The 3rd place guy is getting frantic, he "just wants 1k". The tool wants a chop of 1350/1225/1025. I say I can't take less than 1400 with my stack. The tool starts being a jackass, saying that "he's the best player and can't take less than 1250". I stick to my guns for the 1400. 3rd finally gives in and takes the 950 and change, getting 75 more than 3rd and the tool gets 75 more than 2nd. I'm okay with giving up the 150 to get the "win".

So the mod restarts the tourney and I'm happy with my "win". I take out 3rd in the first hand after the deal, but strangely, the tool folds. What? Didn't we just make a deal? What's this asshole's problem now? I jam every hand and he's just folding. Huh? Does he really want to play this out? Let's just get it over with it's friggin 3:20 in the morning, you know?

But he decides to be an ass. He's folding, waiting for a big hand. My stack is over 1M in chips and the blinds are 8k/16k. I debate sitting out and making him blind me out for an hour just to piss him off. But then I realize, in a moment of insight, that this guy still thinks he can beat me and WANTS to beat me. He thinks he shouldn't have taken the deal. So I figure out what make him even MORE pissed. I decide to throw the game and (hopefully) make him think that he gave up $300, not gained $75. It's brilliant. He definitely has the ego to believe it.

So, I throw the game. I make donkey plays. I re-raise into a board of A8A8 with 9974 when he has an obvious A. I call his raise from OOP with K443 and get lucky with a 567 flop. I 4-bet with QQ36 when this guy is only playing AA or A2xx, still, HU. I know he has one of those, he's a 1-D player, but I want him to think he's the shit and gave up value. I hope I am tilting him all to hell.

Please, oh please, make him think it was a "real" win!! I can't wait to meet him in a tourney again and pound the crap out of him. Sure, he "won" the tourney, it says so right up there. But we all know the real story now, don't we.

So the BR got a nice boost. I'm happy. I was able to get some revenge on him. Now I can play some higher cash and SnGs. I might play a WCOOP event. I can't play the FTOPS, as I can't get out of work on the 12th for the PLO8 event. Hopefully I can keep the streak alive and move up some more. I have the momentum and the confidence. So watch out!

I'll cya at the tables.