Caesars Indiana 5k Main Event

I left my EPT Baden notes at home, so it will be another ten days or so before I post the hands from days three and four.

So I walked into the poker room with this scary Halloween mask on. The plan was to wear it all day and not reveal my identity or talk to anyone but two minutes in they made me take it off so that didn’t work out. It was a sign of things to come I guess.

The only player I recognized was my friend Joel Casper, a really solid player I played with throughout the main event last year, on my direct right. A few minutes in a guy sat down two to my left and I snuck a look at the name on his seat card – Wade Woelfel or something like that, who I knew was soggy_dogg online. Other than that the table was mostly n00bs, including a couple guys who played really bad.

10,000 chips to start

Throughout the tournament I always raised close to 2.5x the BB, never more or less.

25-50

The first hand Casper limped and I limped with Jd9d, the flop was all clubs and I folded to a bet on the turn

Limp QJo board comes A high someone bets I fold.

A few guys limp and I uncharacteristically make it 350 in the SB with KJs, two guys call which I wasn’t expecting. Flop comes A high and I check like a wuss, then check the turn and river too and lose to a measly 66. I think this might be the only hand I regret from all day but you be the judge.

Couple limps to my BB, I have T4o and check. Flop 993 checked around, turn T I bet 125 into 200 they fold.

Limp 87o behind some other limpers (Indianans like limping), flop J32 someone pots it I fold.

Raise 85s cutoff they fold.

Weak player limps, I limp Ks8s, four guys see the flop of Ts2s2d they check to me I bet 150 into 250 they fold.

Raise ATs UTG soggydogg calls flop J63 we both check turn 7 I check-fold.

Limp Td7d in SB BB makes it 250 I quickly call flop Q96 I check he bets 200 I call turn T we both check river 8 I bet 500 he just calls with AJ (higher straight).

Raise A7o cutoff, BB calls and checks in the dark. Flop 985 I bet 200 he makes it 450 I call turn 5 he bets 450 I fold.

Casper limps I limp 7d6d guy makes it 250 BB calls, Casper calls, I call, flop K33 BB leads out all fold.

Soggydogg raises to 150 early position fish calls I call in BB with 87o. Flop T84 two clubs I check dogg checks guy bets 200 I call dogg folds. Turn 5 I check-call 500. River 7c I bet 700 he calls and I win. Good hand there I think. The question is whether I should fire huge if a different club hits the river, the answer is maybe not considering he paid off a smallish bet on that card.

Dogg raises UTG the next hand the same fish calls I fold K9s in SB.

Guy raises UTG I fold KJo on button.

Raise AK cutoff button calls flop AQ8 with a flush draw I bet 250 into 325 he calls turn 6 I bet 600 he folds.

Fish raises UTG I call with Qc9c Flop 655 guy bets I fold.

Fish raises UTG I call with T7o BB calls flop QJT we all check turn x BB bets UTG calls I fold.

Raise AJo get three callers no interest in 853T board.

5 way limped pot I have 53 in SB on a K42 flop BB leads for 250 I am the only caller. Turn Q I check-call 400. River Q I check-fold to 500. This was a marginal hand as I called a pot bet on the flop and 400 more on the turn out of position but I felt like the guy might have two pair and I could get a checkraise in on the river, especially if it was a six but looking back I dunno if I should have even called the first bet.

Two guys limp I limp A3o from the cutoff flop nothing and fold. Again maybe shouldn’t have been in there but these guys were playing so terribly I was absolutely dying to see flops.

I limp Q9o the button limps the SB raises 125 more we both call the flop comes QsJ2s the SB bets 175 I make it 500 to put some heat on the button who could have a drawing hand and also try to figure where I’m at and take control of the hand. The button folds and the SB calls. Turn 4 he checks I bet 500 which was small – I didn’t know if I was beat or not and I was just looking to sneak a bet in there so he would check to me on the river and I could check behind. He calls and checks in the dark, river is a spade, I check, my plan worked perfectly throughout the hand but the son of a gun has AsTs (the nuts).

Raise 75s guy calls I check-fold on KT4 flop.

7275

50-100

Late position raises I call with KTo in the BB board of rags is checked down he wins with AQ maybe I need to fire the turn and river there.

Moved to new table where I would spend the rest of the day.

I can honestly say there wasn’t a single good player at this table. If you guys are reading this I am just being honest, you all have a lot to learn.

Get walked the first hand which was nice because I was the BB two hands in a row.

Raise button to 250 with T6s the SB makes it 500 I call flop is 997 he bets 500 I fold he shows KK this was just how the tournament went for me in the early going.

Guy raises UTG I call with TT flop is A53 he checks I bet 500 he folds.

Raise KsJs BB calls flop Th9c8h we both check turn 5 he bets 300 I call river 3h he bets 500 I fold.

Limp 88 UTG some old guy makes it 350 and I sense enormous strength, BB calls, I call, flop 9c6c6 we check to the old guy who bets 625 I know he’s huge BB hesitantly calls I fold. The BB checkraised the turn and shoved the river, and the old guy folded what he said was AA – pretty sure the BB had him.

Guy raises I fold 86s in the SB – officially out of gear four finally, it was fun (not) while it lasted…

Fold 98o in position to a raise.

Guy limps I limp JhTh six guys see the flop which is KhQh3 checked to me I bet 450 only the BB calls turn 2x he checks I bet 1400 he folds. Raise AhKh button calls BB calls. This is a good time to introduce the BB who is a kid named Bryan Sapp or “squirrely1” or something online. He was probably the second best and second most active player at the table behind me and basically knew what he was doing, but butchered several hands pretty badly…anyways I have AhKh here and the flop comes Ks8s7s and we all checked. The turn was the 6c and Sapp bet 500, I called and then the button raised to 2000, then Sapp shoved for 7k so obviously I folded. It was pretty funny cause the button quickly called not realizing Sapp had a grey 5k chip in there. Sapp flopped a flush with Js4s and the button was drawing dead with T9 for a straight.

Raise ATs UTG steal blinds.

Fold J9o in BB to Sapp’s cutoff raise.

Limp Ts7c in SB BB checks flop Ks9s5s check-check. Turn 4s I check-call 100. River K check-check I win.

Two guys limp I limp Q9o on button flop 832 fold to a bet and a raise though it crossed my mind to make a move cause Sapp was the raiser and he played “raise only” poker meaning he would never flat call a bet postflop, he always raised so he could just have an eight here and have an easy laydown if I came along. Anyways I spend a lot more time thinking about moves I could make than actually making them…

Raise TT win blinds.

Cutoff limps I limp Ts6s from the SB flop comes T32 I bet 175 they fold.

Raise ATo from the cutoff BB defends flop comes Jc72c check-check turn K he checks I bet 400 he makes it 1k I fold very reluctantly, again thinking about moves I could make if I had more chips and wasn’t wearing a skirt.

5900

In the old days I would get pretty pissed off at situations like this, playing with a bunch of tools but not getting anything going and getting short-stacked. I think I’ve matured a lot though and I was actually feeling fine at this point, knowing I still had 30 BBs with no ante and could just play really tight the next level. I’ve come back from the short stack so many times now it doesn’t faze me at all. I really feel this is one of the biggest mistakes the less experienced players make, panicking and dumping their chips if they get off to a bad start. I’ve actually gotten off to a bad start in most of the tournaments I’ve done well in, amazingly enough.

100-200

Fold QJ EP.

Fold 88 in BB to a raise and reraise.

Fold AJo 3^rd pos.

EP raises to 500 I shove for 5500 in SB with AK BB folds jacks EP folds too.

Guy limps I fold A4s MP.

Buncha limps I fold JTo cutoff.

Fold A9s to EP raise.

Raise 88 MP they fold.

Five guys limp to my BB I check 95o. Q83 checked around, turn 8 checked around river 9 checked to one of the limpers he bets 600 folds to me I fold.

Two guys limp I fold K5o in SB.

Sapp raises to 600 I have AJo and 5800 on button – I decide folding is my best play.

Raise KQs hijack they fold.

Fold 55 EP.

Two guys limp I fold 94o in the SB.

5800

100-200-25

Raise KQ MP they fold.

Raise AJo EP they fold.

Fold A5o hijack.

Raise JJ EP Sapp calls in BB board of AKxxx is checked all the way down I beat his 66.

Next hand raise JTs UTG get reraised and fold.

Sapp raises cutoff I fold T9o in BB.

Active guy limps I limp J3s from the SB flop comes 922 I think about leading out but check the BB checks the limper bets I think about raising really close to doing it but I fold.

Sapp raises I reraise A2s he folds.

Raise 5d4d cutoff the SB calls. Flop T32 all diamonds he checks I bet 850 he calls turn Js he checks I bet 1650 he shoves me in for about 3500 more which was a scary line but I call. He has AdK, I fade a diamond to double up.

Two guys limp and a dude shoves for 1800 I make it 4k with AK, get it heads up, and lose to QJo.

Raise 99 EP Sapp calls in BB and check-folds to my bet on 554 flop.

Fold A4s EP next hand.

13,225

200-400-50

EP raises I find TT in BB. He has 8k behind. I almost just folded preflop but called. Flop AQx I check he bets 1500 I thought he might not like the flop but folded.

A friend of mine “Slippin Thru” raised to 1200 and I called on the button with Js4s. This was a player-specific move as I noticed all day Slip was checking and folding when he missed so I thought I would just buy the pot if he didn’t like the flop. Sure enough it came AcQsxs and he checked and folded to my bet. I flopped a flush draw but that was irrelevant. Slip if you’re reading this I really recommend you mix up your play and get a little more aggressive. Try checkraising flops that you hit or betting at flops like this one. You have a very tight image, so try to use it to buy a few pots.

Raise the next hand QJo cutoff win blinds.

Fold 74s EP.

Raise QcTc UTG +1 a fishy guy calls flop is JhTh8c I check he bets 3k (overbet) I shove for 10k more he folds.

Raise next hand UTG 9d8d two guys call flop is 633 I bet 2100 they both want to kill me but fold.

I want to make a point here about gear-changing. A couple levels ago I was open-folding ace-jack and now here I am calling raises with jack-four and raising under the gun with suited connectors and bluffing at pots. When it was 100-200 no ante and I had 30 BBs there is no reason to do anything but play tight but now there is 1100 in every pot, guys are getting scared of me, and I have chips to work with and outplay guys.

Limp T2o SB BB raises I fold.

Raise 99 to 1025 the fish in the SB makes it 3025 with 15k behind I had no read, tanked forever and folded. This was in a period where I was raising half the hands so I was expecting someone to reraise but then again this is Indiana so they probably have a hand when they do it.

Raise AQ EP guys are really getting annoyed but all fold.

Next hand raise QQ second position and three guys call. Then Slippin Thru in the BB shoves for 6k. The first caller has a big stack so it would suck if he was trapping me with AA but I decide the best play is to shove. The first guy tanks forever and then folds what he says was AK and then the next guy tanks and folds sevens. Slip has ATo and I win, but would have lost to both the AK and the 77.

UTG limps a guy makes it 1k I fold A7o in BB.

EP limps I limp 6c4c SB makes it 1600 folds to me I call board of AQ748 is hurriedly checked down he wins with KcQc.

Limp 66 UTG a short stack raises to 1200 I call flop AKx check check turn A I check he tries to induce me with some table talk then jams I fold instantly he laughs in disgust.

Limp A2o on button last hand before break. SB makes a small raise BB folds I call flop is QQJ he bets 1500 I really think about making a move but fold.

25,400 at dinner break

300-600-75

Raise JJ cutoff they fold.

Sapp raises to 1600 EP he is sitting on around 20k I decide he is definitely shoving AK and most importantly I want to play every hand postflop for the minimum so I just call with QQ. The fish in the SB calls too and the flop comes JsT7s. They checked to me and I really thought about checking behind because I was worried about either one jamming and me being in a tough spot but I decided to bet 3300 and the small blind instantly pushed in for 12.5k more. I immediately announced I was going to need a lot of time to think about this one and ended up taking about three minutes before finally folding. I really considered all the angles. One of the biggest considerations was that if I called and lost I would be back down to a short stack whereas if I folded I could keep pillaging the table and seeing some flops. Still though, it was probably a bad fold against his range which I think included AsTs, AJ, KJ, and QJ. The whole hand comes down to the range of hands he would call a raise with in the small blind, and JJ TT and 77 certainly lead that list. Also Indianans generally don’t semibluff as much as most players so it makes AsTs and KQ a little less likely. Definitely my hardest decision of the day and ultimately, it may have been a bad one. Later on the guy made some really terrible preflop shoves, he really had no idea what he was doing. I just don’t know about this one, and would appreciate feedback.

Guy raises to 2k with 14k behind I jam from the SB with AK he folds.

Two guys limp I limp 74s from the cutoff it gets jammed and rejammed behind me I fold obviously.

Raise 99 they fold.

Fold QTo next hand EP.

Fold 43s next hand.

Old guy makes it 2650 UTG a fish flat calls I have 55 in the BB. It’s 2050 more for me to call with 6875 in the pot already. Both these guys play wildly and poorly after the flop so it’s almost a guaranteed stacking if I hit the 5. UTG has 12.7k behind and the other guy has over 15k. There is a slim chance of outplaying them if it comes A high or something and what finally gets me to call is the realization that both will stack off if they have overpairs or top pair on the flop. The flop comes 652 with two diamonds, I check, UTG instantly shoves, the other guy folds, I call, he has 88 with the 8d, it comes running diamonds and I lose. I slammed the table in disgust when the fourth diamond hit which I am disappointed I did because I have really done a good job lately of playing with class and also keeping my emotion totally even-keel. I had been playing well all day long without too much luck and this pot would have gotten me to the final table, I really felt.

Left with 8.5k.

Guy shoves for 5.9k Sapp smoothcalls both in EP I decide to fold AQ. They have KT and JJ – I would have lost to both.

Guy raises LP I fold A7o in SB.

Shove K9o on the button win the blinds.

Raise TT to 1550 BB calls flop K32 he checks I decide to check turn K he checks I jam for 7k he folds.

9600

400-800-100

Fish jams UTG for 14k I fold two red sixes LP button jams with AcKs UTG has Ad9h four hearts hit and UTG wins. This was kind of a devastating pot to watch because if the idiot hadn’t shoved UTG I would have shoved and then doubled through the AK.

Fold K9o hijack.

Fold T8o hijack 7300.

Fold 98o second pos 7100.

Guy raises LP I shove for 5300 with QQ he has AcQc board comes AQxxx I double up.

Next hand I have AQ and 12.5k which is interesting – I jam and all fold.

Fold KQo EP with 14,700 and table going bananas at this point sure enough it gets raised and reraised behind me.

Sapp raises from the cutoff I almost instapush Q6o in the BB but end up folding – he “couldn’t have called a push.”

Guy limps I fold 62s in SB.

Sapp raises EP to 2200 I shove with AK for 12,800 some guy tanks behind us and folds then Sapp says he thinks we both have an ace so he calls with 88…this bothered me for the following reasons:

1. I would never shove with 77 or lower, but Sapp doesn’t know this
2. The guy actually had 99, not an ace
3. It was enough to get him off 88
4. I lost the race

I was pretty disappointed afterwards, there was no question I was the best player at that table and the overall field was so hilariously weak. I remember playing a Five Diamond tournament last winter at the Bellagio at a table with Nam Le and thinking “there’s no way we’re gonna get rid of this guy unless someone sucks out on him.” I’m obviously not Nam Le but yesterday at Caesars Indiana, I sure felt like it.