$1500 WSOP event - Gutted

Day 5

Today I played the $1500 WSOP NLHE Event. I registered for it yesterday and the plan the night before was to get a early night (well early for Vegas!), and be up in time to relax in the sun before the event.

I woke up at midday, and as the event started at midday all wasn't going to plan. After a shower and shave i wandered over to the Rio stopping at Starbucks on the way to get a sandwich and a vanilla frappuccino. I arrived nearly an hour late, but had only lost around 150 chips out of the 3000 i started with. With 1 hour levels and a very slow structure their is play, but i favoured a tight aggressive stance as their is a huge amount of poor players in this event.

3rd hand in and i look down to find AA in the BB. It folds to the small blind who raises to 200. I min raise to 400 and he calls. The flop comes down Q42. He bets out 600 and I ponder before calling. He bets the the Turn (K) to the tune of 800 and then I raise all in. He dwells up for 5 mins before mucking his card. He claims to have mucked AK. Unlikely as he was committed by the turn. The very next hand I look down to see JJ, i'm starting to feel like it's my day. It folds to the cut-off who raises (it had been a lively table with a double up or bust mentality) to 300. I raise to 800 and the BB folds. It goes back to him and he pushes for nearly 6k?! What does he put me on that he can do this? Anyway i'm pretty sure i'm ahead, but even if he has AK,AQ etc then it's a coin flip. I fold and flip over the jacks. The table at this point can't believe i folded jacks which I guess is typical of the $1500 WSOP events. In the first 4 hours or so there was no other major hands of note, my chips when up and down but always in the right direction. By dinner there were only 670 players left out of the 2,714 players that entered and i was on 17k in chips, which was a little above average.

After dinner I play two pots in quick succession.

Hand 1 - I raise from early position with AJ sooted. The BB calls and we see a flop. It comes 258 rainbow and he checks to me. I figure to call the raise pre-flop he must have big cards KQ KJ maybe as the call represented nearly 20% of his stack. I bet out at the flop and he pushes. As i have nothing and no draws I fold. Down to 14k in chips. Was this the right fold?

Hand 2 - Folds to the SB (i'm in the BB). SB raises to 2400 (Blinds were 600/300/75) and I min raise with AK to 5000. He ponders then calls so we see a flop. the flop come A72 all Spades, and I have none. He checks to me and I push. Now I have him on AK as well, AQ, or maybe AJ. He thinks for 5 mins and and eventually calls and flips over KK, with the king of spades. I dodge the spades and double up to 28kk!!

Sadly after that i go card dead. I steel where I can, but which a raise before me and no cards it was hard work. We got down to around 350 with me only 14k in chips and around an hour from the money. I look down in the cut off to see 88. Now if I raise to (500/1k blinds) 4k am i going to fold for a reraise. It would leave me crippled so i decide to push. I get called by KK in the BB and the rest is history. I felt gutted afterwards as I probably could have limped into the money, but wanted to go further so was happy at this stage to gamble a little more...

Next attempt is money, but to play then i'll have to sell 40% of me. I try and raise the funds today.

Off today to play Sat's and at the Bellagio against the rich tourists with cash to lose...