David Williams' Blog

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. :-)