The Bat Cave

Just sat down in the $585 HORSE Championship at Binions.

I punted this tournament so hard last year I decided to immediately book a flight home and ended my trip.

To illustrate how big of a punt this was, let me tell you about the structure of this event. It’s ridiculous. Starting stacks are 50k with blinds starting at 75/150 and stair-stepping every 40 minutes. That’s a starting stack of 333 big blinds… in a limit tournament… with 40 minute levels… and a soft field!

Making Day 2 in this one seems like a layup. I lasted five hours. It was unbelievable. I obviously didn’t run good, but I’m also sure it was the worst I played the whole summer and I felt like it was a huge wasted opportunity.

Granted, I could have re-entered in Day 1B, but I was so mad at myself I was just… done. Plus, I was really disappointed with the turn out. I can’t remember exactly how many showed up for Day 1A last year but it was definitely less than the 50 players that are already here for Day 1A today.

Not sure if I’ll be posting hands regularly or not, but I will at least post stack updates here on the breaks.

My buddies Tormund and Flipper (formerly known as The Atom) are carrying a 50k stack to Day 2 of the Tag Team event in the WSOP. That puts them in the top 75 stacks of 250ish remaining players. I believe I saw that 150 or so players cash. They got it in with 99 vs JJ late last night and managed to find a 9 on the turn to survive. I’ll update their progress throughout the day. I believe cards were in the air five minutes ago.

The Leak also fired the $1k Ladies Event at the WSOP this morning and I’ll post updates on her status as well. Starting stacks were 5k in that one.

Leggo.

1:17 PM: Wow. I do not have good news.

The Leak is out.

Flipper and Tormund are out.

Yikes.

I have 52.4k on the first break. Nothing really notable the first few levels.

3:13 PM: Okay, Mariners game is over (Sweep!) so I can update a bit more frequently.

Here’s a funky stud hand I’m not sure about.

A 7h up raises, I reraise with split aces, and the bring in calls with a 4 up (what?).

I catch a blank on 4th, the bring in catches a king, and the 7h catches a 3h. I still lead and I’m surprised when the bring in raises. The 7h calls it cold and I call, but I’m kind of baffled at this point.

On 5th I make aces and nines (hidden), but the bring pairs open kings and the 7h3h catches the Kh. The kings lead and the three flush raises. I think I’m supposed to exit here. When the bring in raised on 4th, I thought he paired a king (or he has rolled up fours?) and the three flush is saying he doesn’t care about any of that. But then I start thinking about hands that he might raise on 5th that I’m still beating, like a pair with a four flush, plus he has the Kh showing making it less likely the other player has three kings. All my outs are live, so I call it cold. The kings call also.

Everybody bricks on 6th and we all put in one bet.

On 7th, I don’t improve and the three flush board still bets and I feel like he can never be bluffing at this point, so I fold and he gets check-raised by the kings and loses to kings full of fours. The three flush shows rolled up 7s and I’m pretty sure I messed this hand up on 5th and should have stuck with my first instinct.

In LHE, I 3-bet KK and my opponent donks into me on the Q93 flop. I decide to flat and raise the turn, but the turn card pairs the queen and I decide to call down. He ends up showing me 99! Unlucky but somehow managed to matrix my way to minimum damage.

I bounced back by playing an Omaha 8 hand questionably. Okay I played it bad. I opened AJ93 badugi, got 3-bet, and then called down on a 887QT runout (don’t worry, I donked the river at least). Everyone has been playing O8 really wild at my table so there’s some chance my low draw was good for half and my gut shot is ultimately what made me call and… BINK!

Then I won multiple Razz pots.

Currently sitting on 58k after six levels.

3:45 PM: I saw Sandman talking to the floor man and thought he was signing up to play, but then he disappeared.

I coaxed Flipper into late regging this thing and he got here only to find out that they are taking alternates! So that explains what happened to Sandman.

There were like 40 people here for Day 1A last year, a super disappointing turnout, so it’s been pretty shocking to see 88 players come out to play Day 1A this year. I imagine the field will be similar for Day 1B tomorrow, for about roughly 180 players and a prize pool approaching $100k.

My table appears to be really loose, aggressive, and bad. Reminds me of how I played last year. A bunch of dudes trying to bully what they think is a soft field.

4 PM: Stud 8, 8 up opens, I 3-bet 9A-A, a small up card calls and the bring in calls also.

I catch a 7 on 4th, one of the lows bricks, the other catches an offsuit 8, and the 8 catches a 9. Pretty good street for me. I bet and everybody calls.

On 5th, the 89 makes open 9s, I catch a jack, and the two low boards are bricky, so when the 9s lead out, raising to get heads up even though he likely has two pair makes sense to me. I raise, the two others fold, and he calls.

I plan to check back on 6th unimproved but I make open aces instead and value bet through 7th and get paid off to scoop my biggest pot of the tournament.

The Leak is in action in the Daily Deep Stack at the Rio. I’ll update her progress there.

Flipper got a refund and is across the street playing cash at the Golden Nugget.

5:45 PM: Wonderful. 60 minute dinner break with zero desire to take a break after getting torched in LHE.

Blinds 500/1000, someone opens, I 3-bet QQ from cutoff, button 4-bets, we both call. Flop is T32. We both check-call.

Turn pairs the 2. We both check-call.

River ace. We both check and the button still bets. Kind of weird unless he had AA the whole time or was trying to punt. Other player folds so I’m definitely calling.

He shows me AJ offsuit.

What.

Very next hand I lose a big pot with AKdd vs KK.

Peaked at like 75k and suddenly I have 54.5k.

What a joke.

7:12 PM: The brutality continued after dinner and I bottomed out at 36k before winning a couple Razz pots. I’m back up over 41k now.

Sandman finally gets a seat… in round 10… at 1200/2400 limits… at my table.

He has more chips than me.

7:20 PM: Sandman just won a very big Stud pot. He has way more chips than me. Wth.

7:22 PM: Split kings < buried tens. 33k.

Sigh.

7:49 PM: Open A2-3 in Stud 8, some goon with TT-9 3-bets, we get another caller, so I just call. The 9 catches a 3 and the other guy bricks, so I bet when I pick up a 4 and only the TT-93 calls.

On 5th I catch a 7 and the freeroll is on. He calls.

I make 7s on 6th and he pairs his 3 and decides it’s a good time to get 3.5 big bets in for the rest of his stack even though he’s 0% to scoop the pot.

I don’t catch an ace, seven or five and his tens and threes are good for half.

Thanks for trying though.

Just got stubborn with Sandman in Stud 8 holding 66-5K9K-A when he has xx-A943-x showing. He gave up on 6th when I made open kings and let me show down for free because… I was scooping!

46k

8:17 PM: The Leak is making a serious run in the Rio Daily Deep Stack. She has 265k with blinds at 3000/6000 and 181 left. I think she said 150 or so cash. The Riddler is also still in the Daily and he apparently has a big stack too.

UPDATE: The Leak has cashed the Daily Deep Stack. She will have a Hendonmob profile! Congrats babe!

8:40 PM: Busted a player in Razz and now I’m back over 50k.

Sandman just doubled up… to 11k.

8:50 PM: Groan. Huge 3-way Razz pot:

Sandman: xx-2K28-x

Me: 52-7Q98-Q

Third Player: xx-644T-x

Bets go in on every street with Sandman all in on 5th. Third player turns over A28 for the scoop. I had a slight lead on 6th in a 40k pot and now I have 30k on break.

9:08 PM: Peaking! I have 33-K in a 4-way pot and spike a 3 on 4th. I check, the last player with a jack up bets and I check-raise, a player with 8c6c 3-bets, and the jack folds. Feels like a flush draw to me, so my plan is to call and…

Bet when he bricks on 5th. He calls.

I make open kings on 6th (a full house) and he has 8c6cJJ showing… and calls… and then calls again on 7th.

I now have 86k. Game on.

9:59 PM: The Leak just ran QQ into AA… flopped a set… and lost to a rivered set. She has 70k now which is probably ten bigs or so.

10:46 PM: Last hand of Razz and middle position raises with a king up. Some people are startled but no one says anything.

Me: 86-5797-T

Him: xx-KQ39-x

Sick thing is I don’t have him board locked but he’s probably been drawing dead since he clearly thinks he’s playing Stud. He put in multiple small bets on 3rd and 4th and big bets on 5th and 6th before seeming to realize his mistake.

A very nice gift.

I lost a couple big Stud pots after that so I still only have 97k.

11:10 PM: I have 92k with 37 players left. 119k is current average stack. Three more levels tonight and I need to make a late push because if I bust this I’m not sure I can do another 14 hour day of HORSE.

The Leak has ran her 70k stack back up to 250k. There are 69 left in the Daily Deep Stack and I believe The Riddler is also one of those players.

Correction: The Riddler out in 61st place.

11:37 PM: Look at The Leak go!

Meanwhile I’m peaking at 117K. Creeping up on an average stack!

11:50 PM: Fun LHE hand I wasn’t involved in. Button opens, small blind 3-bets, button calls.

Flop is A83 with two clubs. Small blind bets and button calls.

Turn is 2 of clubs. Small blind check-calls.

River blank. They both check. Small blind shows KcJ. Button immediately expresses disbelief, flashes J9 of SPADES, and says “you all saw that, right?” like the small blind was the one on a pure torch. Button left himself with 1.25 big bets, which may have won him the pot if he put it in on the river.

I am above average at 170k now. Two more levels!

12:06 AM: The Leak busts in 43rd when her QQ runs into KK.

Nice run baby!! Congrats!

12:16 AM: I just took the sickest, sickest SICKEST Razz beat ever.

Someone opens, middle position calls with a QUEEN up, I call A7-3

On 4th I catch a 5, the opener catches a ten, and the queen catches a 2. I bet, they both call.

On 5th I catch a king, the ten catches good and the queen catches a 6. The ten leads and we both call.

On 6th the ten catches bad, I catch a 6, and the queen catches a ten… AND BETS.

I cant fucking believe my good fortune. I raise the other guy out and this dip shit calls.

On 7th, I don’t improve but I have a 76 so I bet it and HE RAISES ME.

THIS CAN’T BE FUCKING REAL. It can’t be.

I call. He shows a 65.

HOLY FUCK.

I have 85k after losing this 238k pot.

UN-FUCKING-BELIEVABLE.

I am literally BOILING right now.

How is this my summer?

12:41 AM: And after playing at the same table for 13+ hours I get moved to balance with 30 minutes left so I don’t even get a chance to double through the jackass that got me.

12:56 AM: I’m out. What a day. Lose a 240k pot for a top 5 stack in the most ridiculous fashion ever in the second to last level of the night and then bust with 15 minutes left in the day.

Good night.