David Williams' Blog

Stud was a blast. I arrived at the Rio a little bit early and tried to find Scott Fishman for to get the same tips he gave Johnny Bax for the first stud event. He gave me some helpful tips, most of which just made sense. I was very excited and at first it was very hard to keep up with the folded up cards. People folded too quickly and I didn't have time to memorize them. Luckily, I was able to catch up with the timing of the folds and a few levels in; I could tell you every card folded, including the suit. I held my own pretty well and caught some pretty good cards and was able to get my 5k up to 16k by the dinner break. Obviously I wasn't playing perfect, or close to it, but a lot of players told me they didn't believe I had never played before. That made me feel great. After dinner I took two sick ones, but I really don't feel like any bad beat stories, so I'll just sum up the two hands. Basically I had trip 10s on fifth street and was against a 3 flush and didn’t fill up, while he caught his flush. That hurt and about 5 min later, the exact same thing happened. I paired my door card on 5th to make trip 10s again, and was against 578 with two spades. On 6th I didn't fill up and he caught the worst card in the world for me, the 6 of spades. I played on but didn't fill up and he also made a backdoor flush. Oh well. I was a tad bit upset, that I lost with such big hands, but I had so much fun and I'm very disappointed there isn't another stud event at the World Series this year. I went home surprisingly happy and got ready for bed.

Today I left for the Rio with Noah (Exclusive online) in the best mood I had been in the entire series. All the "running bad" didn't seem to matter. I sat at my table and the only player I knew was Clonie Gowen, two to my left. There was only one interesting hand and something about it is close to last night. I raise to 75 with the blinds at 25-25 to open the pot in late position with QcTc. The guy behind me seems kinda funny and reluctantly calls, as does one person behind him and the BB. The flop is T84 with one club. Not a bad flop for me, and I know not to go broke on this flop. It is checked to me and I bet 225, happy to pick up the pot here and let no over cards come. If called, I know I can improve or pick up a flush or straight draw. The player behind me, that acted funny when calling, made it 450. He raised the absolute minimum. What in the hell is that move? The other two folded and I decided I was at least calling. I had 2500 (starting chips) to begin the hand, I put in 300 and had about 2200 left. If I call I would have 1975. I didn't want to raise, as I already smelled something when he called me preflop, and I thought he may have just called me with JJ or QQ. Most likely JJ since I have a Q. I just called his raise. The turn was a 10. Uh oh, trip 10s again. I don't believe in that superstitious mumbo jumbo, and I checked going for my signature move (as they said in TILT, hehe) the check raise. He bet 600 and I considered the chances of him having the best hand. I really didn't think he had 88 or 44. There was no reason for him to raise me on that flop or get rid of the other two in the hand. I also didn't think he had AT and would play it that way. It seems he would raise more with such a vulnerable hand. I really thought he had JJ, by his actions preflop and how the hand was playing out. It seems his minimum raise on the flop was actually a raise that left him an "escape route" if I were to move in. That way he could lay down his JJ if I had a bigger pair and still have chips. I thought for a while, tried to give off some false weak tells and moved in on him. A raise of 1375. He began to think. When this happened, I was 100% sure I was good. There is no way he would think this long with a better hand. I was trying to will him into calling. Thinking in my head CALL! CALL! CALL! I began to shake slightly and act nervous and drink water hoping he would. He looked over at me and threw his chips in the pot. I turned over my hand and a big frown came over his face. He turned up JJ. I was dead on. That felt great to put him exactly on a hand, and have him close to dead. Well, if you read the title of this story, I'm sure you can figure out the river. I was ok though; I smiled and went out to wait for Noah. He busted shortly after, and we went home and relaxed. My barber came over and I got a much needed shave and haircut. I took a nap and got ready for tomorrow.

Playing the stud event changed something in me. I am not sure what it is, but I am not that upset anymore. I had fun playing poker yesterday and today, and that is what matters. I'm just going to continue to enjoy myself and whatever happens, happens. I appreciate all the emails and comments, and my next entry is going to be an answer to the comments I haven't responded to yet. I try and respond to everyone at least once that emails, but I can't have 100 ongoing email conversations. I love answering a quick question or two. I've also gotten a lot of request for autographed pics lately. I am going to get a P.O. Box and I'll put up an address to send a self addressed stamped envelope that will fit the size of the pictures I get. I will post when that is all setup, probably after the WSOP. Oh, and after the WSOP, Bodog is having celebrity poker event in Hawaii. Josh and I will be going and I am super excited to get a vacation. Bodog is great, and are doing alot of things to make their site better for their customers. If you want to try and win a trip to Hawaii too, sign up for Bodog, make a deposit and refer a friend to do the same. For each friend you refer, you'll be entered again. That's enough advertising for me. I am going to get some food and continue to relax. My mom gets tomorrow to play the Ladies Event on Sunday. Can't wait for her to get here, I seem to play better with her watching. Don't wanna look dumb in front of mom.

I know it's been a few days since my last update. It is so hard to come home at 4pm (like everyday) after playing your heart out and getting knocked out, and write about what happened. I don't like to hear bad beat stories, so I don't want to be the one telling them. Although this blog is quickly becoming "Listen to how bad I'm running, wah wah wah." I am very thankful for the position I am in life, but many people think being a professional poker player is the greatest life, with nothing but joy. While it is the greatest, for me at least, it is not always fun and easy. I was talking to Lyle Berman today and he summed it up pretty well. He said "It's tough playing tournaments, even if you are the world's greatest, because most of the time you will fail." What he means is; you will lose more tournaments than you win, and you have to be able to deal with all the failures and keep pressing on. This is the mantra I've been trying to live by this WSOP, but it's becoming so hard. I have been so focused, and been doing everything I can to be prepared for each tournament. I've been getting rest, staying stress free (outside of poker), and not been going out with that party animal Antonio Esfandiari. I show up each day ready to play and make good decisions and it just isn't working.

The next event I played in after the $2500 Limit Hold’em tournament was the $1500 Pot Limit Omaha. I built my chips up fairly early in the first level, thanks to some people who really didn't know how to play PLO and was up to about 6k. I got moved to a fairly good table and an interesting hand came up. It folded to a guy who had just been moved to the table on the button and he raises the pot with blinds of 75-150 to 525. The SB folded and I had QQJT in the BB. He had about 3k in chips left, and I had 6k so I called. No reason to raise here out of position, when if I flop anything major, I can checkraise him all in. The flop is 8d9d3d, and I don't have any diamonds. I check, prepared to fold and so does he. This seems a little odd, and I immediately discount him from having the nut flush. I think in PLO you have to bet your hand if you flop one that is easily beatable with the turn of a card. The board can easily pair, and its dangerous to let your opponent have that chance to draw out for free, especially with 4 cards in their hand, it's more likely. The turn is the 6h and I check again. He bets 1k with 2k behind. I think for a while and decide he doesn't have a strong hand and move him in for 2k more. I am hoping he doesn't have a flush high enough to call with or a set. He thinks for a while and calls. It seems I must be dead until I see his hand. AdAK7 with no second diamond! He just called with one pair and no redraws. This call is one of the worst calls I can imagine in Omaha. If I have a flush, he is dead. If I have a straight, he is dead. If I have a set, he has 2 outs, and even if I have 2 pair, he has 8 outs. There are almost no hands he can beat, and most hands that raise him there have him close to drawing dead. I still have a huge redraw with the wrap straight draw, but the river misses me and I am down to 2200 or so. This is the reason I love tournaments. People try and give their chips away. I discussed my raise with numerous PLO "experts" and no one has found a fault in my raise, nor have they found a way to call with his hand. After that I whittled away and was out. I was happy with how I played and regretted skipping the 2k rebuy event after seeing how most of the players play PLO.

I skipped the 5k PL Hold’em event to have a day of rest and catch up on some things that needed to be done. Dry cleaning, grocery shopping, etc. I was pretty excited about the 2500 Omaha hi-lo event the next day. I called Annie Duke, one of the best O/8 players around to get some pointers for the next day. I had to trade her 1% of me in the event for her "top secret" tips, but I feel it was well worth it. Well, nothing really came together and the limits got high while my chips went the other way, and I was out around my usual time, 4pm. I was very happy with my play. I suppressed my "inner donkey" and played very tight, which is really important in this game. When I got the hands you are supposed to play, nothing materialized and I had to fold early to save chips. I can't wait to give it another shot in the 5k O/8 event.

After that I was seriously considering following in the steps of my friend Phil Ivey and hanging it up at the WSOP until the main event, although for different reasons. He doesn't really care about them, and is playing the 4k-8k game over at the Bellagio with Doyle, Chip, and the gang. I was just jaded and upset at poker. I talked with Evelyn and Noah and they convinced me I needed to play the next event, $1500 NL Hold’em. I got my spirit back and got all pumped up for it. I woke up ready to game and me and Noah drove down to the Rio. I was surprised to see 2000 players signed up on a Wednesday. God I love poker. I sat at my table with 9 people I've never seen before. Yum Yum. Although we didn't start with many chips, I felt my chances to accumulate them here were great.

I slowly built my 1500 up to 2000 when this hand came up. A fairly tight player who I had been keeping my eye on made it 75 to go, 25-25 blinds. I called on the button with 9c9s. I didn't see much value in raising and getting reraised off. My goal was to hit a set and double up. The SB also called. The flop was 9h2hJs. I was elated. The SB checked and the raiser bet 125 into the 250 pot. I thought for a while and called. I wanted him to think I had a draw, and I was pretty sure the only hand he could have with a draw was AhKh, but I really felt he had a big pair. I was hoping the SB would go a little nutty and I would be able to get it in 3 ways, but he folded. The turn was Ts and the raiser bet out 300 now. The pot was 500 and his under bet seemed fishy. I was pretty sure he didn't have KQ. He just didn't seem like the kind of guy to raise it coming in, and bet that flop with it. I wanted to seem like I was making a move and I quickly raised him to 700. I was trying to get him to move in on me like he did in a pot we played earlier. He sat there then just called. That worried me a little bit. I thought he may have picked up a spade draw, or had AQ or AK for a gutshot draw. The river was 4s, completing the backdoor flush and he immediately bet out 500. I had 1050 left and just called. He had TT, he turned an overset. I was crushed, but felt good I managed to not go broke that hand and still had 550 left.

The blinds went up shortly after to 25-50 and I was in the BB of 50. The first guy limps under the gun, and 3 more limp. Nick Mao (a very aggressive player I met at the WSOP New Orleans circuit event) has been moved to our table and is in the SB with about 5k in chips. He thinks and raises it to 500. I check my hand and have Ah9h. Normally I would have not even thought and folded. But, I know Nick is a good player and very aggressive. With chips, it is a great move for him to raise there and try and pick up all the dead money that limped in, 300. I decided that Nick would make this move with pretty much any hand and that my A9 suited was most likely the best hand. I moved in for 50 more, not much, basically a call. Now the guy that limped first in goes all in for 1000 total. @*#! He was trapping and I got trapped, or so I thought. It folded back to Nick, and he didn't make what seemed like an automatic call with any semi decent hand. There was now 2300 in the middle and it was only 500 for him to call. He went into the tank and I knew I was right about his hand. It must have been total garbage. Since I was all in and I know him, I leaned over to see his hand while he was thinking. It wouldn't affect me, since I had no more decisions to make. I confirmed my read when I saw A2o. He folded which is correct, and I started to pack my bag as I turned over my A9, fully expecting to be dominated. My opponent turned over KQ!!! WHAT! He just put his money in after a big raise, and a call all in with that! And most likely he has to know Nick is going to call (90% of the time). Well the flop was good, all low cards, and the turn was not. He made his Q, and I picked up a flush draw, but did not improve. I was out WELL before 4pm this time, but I felt I played both my critical hands well. The set hand was just bad luck, and I managed to avoid going broke, which I felt was notable. The A9 hand I felt I made a great read and call, but it just didn't work out.

You would think this would further depress me, but it actually made me feel good. I was happy at how I played those hands, and feel if I keep it up, when I start running hot, it's going to be bad for everyone else at the Rio.

I was planning on skipping the 5k 7 card stud event, since it was 5k and I had never played a hand of 7 card stud hi before. I wanted to play, just didn't want to spend the money. I asked a few people if they would put me in, and I would give them 80% of my action, since all I really want is a bracelet anyways. Everyone thought I was crazy since I have money and because I hadn't played stud. I was talking with Tuan Le and Alan Richardson of www.nutzchips.com and they had an idea. They offered me a chance to play Tuan in stud heads up. If I lose, I pay Tuan $200, and if I somehow beat him, they put me in and I play for 33%, giving them 66%. I was amped and ready to take my shot. We bought two racks of $1 Bellagio chips, a deck of cards and went to Tuan's room. Alan was dealing and in about 15 mins I had demolished Tuan. I am playing stud tomorrow. Tuan gave me a few tips for the event, and I turned down their offer to go to the "gentleman's establishment" in exchange to get some rest and be ready to play a new game, although I am up writing this thing. I feel I owe it to my readers since I've been slacking in updates.

Ok this one is long enough and I have to be well rested for tomorrow. I get to play a pressure free tournament, since I don't have any expectations. I am just going to do my best, and if I am home by 4pm, I will know I gave it a shot, and that I was not a favorite to succeed, and I won't be depressed. Stay tuned for the results of my stud experiment. Rumor has it, Johnny Bax, the guy that won the first event, had also never played a hand of stud in his life before the tournament. I have played hi/lo and the 5 hands I bashed Tuan in the night before, but it would be quite a story if both Stud Hi events were won by total Stud amateurs. I mean how could I not play, they named the game after me. :-)

This entry isn't going to be very long; or I don't plan on it, but you never know once I get started. I haven't written a short one yet. When I last left you I was pumped about the NL Shootout coming up the next day. Well I showed up and had one of the strongest tables in the room, although it was nothing compared to table with Arieh, Lindgren, Harman, Hilger, Mercier, and Watkinson. My table: 1- Casey Kastle, 2- Pascal Perrault, 4- Allen Cunningham, 5- Ester Rossi, 6- ME, 7- Mike Laing, 9- Matt Matros, 10- Chip Jett. Seats 3 and 8 I didn't know. I was ready to play and very focused. I was able to win a lot of small pots and pick up chips while everyone else seemed to blast theirs off pretty quickly. I won a coin flip to eliminate Matros, and found AK when Cunningham moved in with QJ. I ended up 3 handed with Mike Laing and the guy I didn't know in seat 8. I had 3000 of the 15000, Mike had 7000 and the other guy had the rest. Mike raised on the button to 325 with blinds at 50/100. I looked down to see AK and made it 1025, leaving myself 2075. Mike called and we took the flop. I was praying to pair up, because I knew he would call if he had anything. First card is see is a K, the flop is K5Q. I moved in for 2075, he thought and called and showed 95!!! He is a nut job, the turn and river were safe and I was up to 6k. I chopped away for a while and got to 7500, with Mike having 6000 and the other guy 1500. Meanwhile, every time I was in the SB I limped in (regardless of my hand), only to have Mike raise. I folded almost every time, and kept limping, waiting for a hand to reraise him since his raises were too big. I was winning other pots, so this wasn't costing me much. Finally I limp again for 100, completing the 200 BB and Mike raises to 1100. I find AsTs and decide that unless he coincidently found a hand, he would have a hard time calling and he might call with worse Aces. I move him in for 4800 more. He thinks for a while and finally calls and has AJ :-(. He flops a J and I am the short stack. Two hands later and I am out. I really blew it. I don't think my play was bad; I did give him a pretty tough call for all his chips, considering I limp-folded the SB 100 times already to him. The problem is, I was chopping away at both of them, and he would call me on any flop no matter how small his hand was and how big mine was, so there was no reason for me to play a big pot with him preflop with AT. I should have just folded and kept beating them out a few 100 each round. Mike went on to lose it and that was that. Noah won his first table and cashed for the first time in this WSOP.

I was pretty bummed that I had such a good chance and took an unnecessary risk and went home and slept it off. Today was the $2500 Limit Hold'em event. I was late again, but hadn't lost much. Matt Dean was in seat 4, Shane Schleger was seat 5, Luis Santoni seat 6, my friend from years of playing Magic, William (Huey) Jensen was seat 7, and I was in seat 10. I quickly ran my chips back up above 2500, to about 3500. Then the crazy hand happened. I was under the gun and had 22. I decided to limp in, since I didn't want to get isolated out of position and figured I might start a chain reaction of limping, which is fine since I was planning on flopping a set anyways. Well, everyone but two people called and we saw the flop 8 ways!!! The first card I see is a 2! The flop was 652 rainbow. I bet out, knowing someone would raise it and we could start building my pot. It folded to Shane and he called with a stack of about 1000 left. Huey raised to 200 and when it came back to me I made it 300. Shane now made it 400 and Huey called. I was a little concerned about 66,55 and 34, but decided I got my 2 and it was not time to slow down just yet, I made it 500 and they called. The turn was a 5 and I checked. Shane bet 200 of his 300 left, and Huey just called. Now I knew he didn't have me beat and he must have flopped a straight. I raised and Shane called all-in for his last 100. Huey made a good fold and laid down his 34. Shane says "I hit my gin card on the turn" and I replied "so did I" and showed my full house. He frowned and turned over 85o. The river was a 5, and he made quads and won a pot of about 3200 in level 3. I was demoralized and my chips were worse. I stayed focused, but never got a hand or had one hold up and was out in the next level.

4pm and I was on my way home again. This is becoming a bad trend. On my way out I ran into Robert Williamson III, a good friend from back home in Dallas and a great player. He invited me for drinks and Mexican food over at the Palms and we grabbed Annie Duke and headed over. Her stepbrother showed up, as did Robert's wife Kate. We had some great food, margaritas and good conversation, but I was just too down about the poker to really enjoy myself. I headed home and slept the afternoon away again. I woke up about 11pm and headed over to the Rio to play some Magic with about 9 others who used to play, but now play poker. We just played casually and had a great time. It has been a very long time since I played, and it was nice to do something purely for fun. It was relaxing and cleared my head a little bit. It also didn't hurt that I didn't lose one match either :-). We waited for Noah to finish the day; he ended up 6th out of the remaining 20 and has to play tomorrow at 2pm. I am pulling hard for him; so far my friends have fared pretty well. Efro and Josh both won events, and now it's Noah's turn.

This was a little longer than I planned and would be longer if it wasn't 4:30am. I have two tournaments to play tomorrow. I hope I can't play the 2nd, because it means I am still in the first, $1500 PLO.