I decided to play live rather than online on Sunday, so this report is about the Bellagio Daily $1k NLHE tourney. I hadn’t felt motivated to play online, discussed it with Rob, who has a significant percentage of my live tourney action here, and he agreed that if my mind was set on playing live rather than online then that was the best thing to do.

So I walked over to the Bellagio and got registered just a few minutes after the 2pm start time. They keep registration open until 6pm, so usually the field grows to double the starting number. When I registered there were only 32 players, but looking around they generally looked like a bunch of tourists, with only one guy I recognised as a Bellagio regular and he’s a kinda so-so player too.

Half of my opening table had decided that a 2pm tourney was the ideal occasion to start getting drunk early and that certainly kept the cocktail waitress busy. I had an apple juice and some tea. I’m not going to describe the whole table, because I got moved after an hour or so, but it was bad with a lot of limping.

A few hands at my first table:

My Stack 10k, OTB ~10k, Blinds 25/50, I hold 7s4s in BB

Limp-fest with five players to a flop of 6s5h2s and I lead for 175. OTB calls and turn blanks. I check-call 525, river blanks and I check-fold. Yawn!

My Stack ~8.5k, Seat 2 OTB with ~8.5k, Blinds 50/100, I hold 8s9s UTG

I limp, three other limpers plus the blinds and we see a flop of Ts7h5s. That looks familiar, another double draw. I decide to try to C/R this time. Seat 2 has already had around three Jack’n’Cokes and makes it 400. I raise to 1200 and he says “OK, time to gamble, I’m all in”. I think for a while and tell him that I know he has the NFD so I’m folding and muck face-up. He says “Nice read” and shows me As7s.

My Stack ~7.5k, Seat 6 ~7.5k, Blinds 50/100, I hold QdJd in HJ. A couple of limpers, I limp and CO makes it 500. Folds to me and it’s a questionable call versus a competent player, but Seat 6 seems to be quite bad and I figure that creates enough value to call. Flop Q62 rainbow. I think Seat 6 is bad enough to bluff multi-streets if he has missed here, so I plan on check-calling. He bets 1000 and I quickly call. Turn is another blank and I check again. There is 3.5k in the pot and he insta-shoves for 5k. That seems pretty weak and I ask him “Why so much?” He says nothing, but looks a little nervous, covers part of his face with his hands and does not look at me. This can sometimes indicate a bluff, but I wasn’t sure. He was breathing quite heavily, his chest distinctly in-and-out. I remember reading that if they’re bluffing to watch their breathing for a minute or two and, if it subsides, that’s indicative of a bluff, whereas if it keeps going they’ve usually got it and can’t stop the heavy breathing due to their excitement at their hand. His heavy-breathing did not subside. I decided he had it and folded. Hmm?

I then get moved to Seat 2 of another table with around 6k. This is also pretty weak. Notable players are Seat 4 (Bellagio semi-decent regular), Seat 6 (older woman wearing shades) and Seat 8 (youngish American guy plays aggro and has a big stack).

I open with 55 from MP and get 3-bet by Seat 8 from the BB. I give it up. By the time we reach the first break I am down to literally a chip and a chair: I have one 5k chip remaining from my 10k starting stack.

First hand back from the break, I open QJo OTB for 525 and get 3-bet by Seat 4. Another fold, sigh, and he shows me AJo. I manage to win one uncontested pot and then this happens:

My Stack ~4.9k, Seat 6 ~15k, Blinds 100/200/25, I hold 88 in MP.

I open for 525 resolving to call or shove if anyone 3-bets me again. Seats 6, 7 and 8 all call and I think that this would be a good time to a flop a set. The door card is an Ace, but behind that is a beautiful 8, with an offsuit 3 making it the most perfect rainbow flop for middle set that you could possibly wish for. I check, Seat 6 makes it 1500 and the others fold. After pausing for a while, I call. Turn blanks and I check again. She moves-in, I insta-call and she’s drawing dead with ATo. See what I mean about the strength of the players?

After that double through I manage to pull a multi-street bluff versus Seat 4, because I know he’s good enough to fold. I can’t remember the details, but that chipped me up a bit before my next hand arrived and boy was it a classic:

My Stack ~12.5k, Seat 8 ~20k, Blinds 100/200/25, I hold AA OTB.

Seat 8 opens for 625 and I pause for a while and observe him. He looks confident, so I 3-bet to 1900. After the blinds fold, he quickly announces all-in and I beat him into the pot and flip up my rockets. He has 99, LOL! As the dealer laid out a raggedy rainbow flop, Seat 4 decides that this is a good time to announce

“I FOLDED A NINE”

The dealer instantly placed the last remaining Nine on the board and I’m outta there with a “good game” to the table and a “well-played” to Seat 8.

It’s my first real bad beat of the series and I’m happy to go out that way because it demonstrates the huge amount of value in these live tourneys when they want to play 125BB pots with 99.

I went over to the Rio to see how my friends were doing. Luke had made Day 2 of the $1500 NLHE, but managed to bust just out of the money. Rob was early in the $1500 HORSE tourney (he busts late in the evening). I played some 2-5 cash, but once again can’t beat the Rio curse and ended the day down.

Ho hum! On to the $2k NLHE today…

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