Golden Nugget $240 HORSE

I didn't plan on doing a Running Log for this tournament on Monday. However, I ended up typing up some notes on each break about what happened.

"Shuffle Up & Deal" - We start with 12k chips, and levels are 40 minutes long with Level 1 being 50/100. Therefore,  we start with 120 Big Bets, which means the first few hours of this tourney are meaningless. There is no danger of going broke, or getting a big stack. I'm gonna play ABC tight, in order to set up a table image for when the levels and pots are more meaningful. It would be like sitting at a $3/$6 table with $720. You can't win or lose enough compared to what we started with.

Rather large crowd, according to the locals, with 15 - 18 tables set-up. That is a lot more than the $135 NLHE tourney that just started on the other side of the room. I assume it's due to the $1500 HORSE on Wednesday.

Some pros that I spotted in the field include Tom McEvoy, Ylon Schwartz, and Chip & Karina Jett.

Break #1 - 13275 chips heading into 200/400. First hand I won was in Razz, and I hit the Steel Wheel. In Stud-8, I hit Quad Aces, and scooped when the Low missed.

Joke told at the table. "What's the difference between a poker pro and a large pepperoni pizza?"

"The large pizza can feed a family of four."

Break #2 - Just over 29k chips going into the 600/1200 level. Things went very good during this stretch. No monster hands or pots, just no bad luck. The only bad hand was in Stud-8. I started out with (Kc 2c) 4c. By 6th Street, I picked up the Flush and Wheel Draws, but airballed on 7th against two players.

They finally put out the attendance and payouts: 176 players, with 18 getting paid.

I'm the clear chip leader at my table. We finally lost a player, and a few others are under 5k.

Now the real tournament starts.

Break #3 (Dinner Time) - 30200 before the 1500/3000 Level. 102 players left. Things have been going normal, with some good and some bad. Only half of my original table is still here.

Now is the part of the tourney I need to get lucky, or at least avoid the bad luck. Players will be busting out quickly. I have a decent stack, but one or two bad hands could make this a short night.

Break #4 - I had a few annoying pots shortly after dinner, although I probably shouldn't have even gotten involved in some of them. I dropped down into Super-Nit gear, and slowly grew my stack. My table recently broke, and we are down to seven tables. The structure is approaching the silly stage, as I only have 5 Big Bets. If I can catch a card or two, then I can get a real chip stack. But I need to pick my battles carefully. I have 40000 chips going to the 4k/8k level.

Break #5 - 2nd hand back from break, I had an unusual Razz hand which will be a future Hand Of The Day.

It didn't take long for our table to break, and I got seated next to Karina on her right. When we broke later, the two of us were again seated next to each other, but I had position on her this time.

The cards were mixed for me, and I never got the big stack. I would gain some chips, and then lose them in an annoying hand. In Omaha-8, I 3-Bet preflop with Ad Kh 3d 2h, and airballed everything. In Stud, I completed and then 3-Bet with (AA)6 against someone with (XX)7. I bet 4th and 5th, but checked 6th and 7th because I didn't improve. He ended up with some random Two Pair.

We are down to 20 players, two away from the money. Someone at our table brought up a Bubble Save, and I snap-called on the "No". (On this break, Karina thanked me for doing that.) Of course, right after I said "No", I had one of my annoying hands, and became the shortstack at the table.

I have 39k going into 10k/20k level. Cross your fingers.

Break #6 - It took a few hands to get rid of #20, which got us to the official bubble. Hand-For-Hand play started on the three tables. There was no super short stack at our table, so play was relatively normal. We started in Stud-8, which is good for a shortstack because all you have to do is post an ante. But then we switched to Hold'em, which is terrible because you have to pay 15k for the BB and SB, which is close to half my stack. Fortunately, I started the Holdem round on the Button.

It took about six or seven hands to pop the Bubble on another table. Two hands later, UTG raised (20k), and he seemed to be on the nitty side. It folded to me in the BB, and I look down at KQo. I only have 35k, with 10k in the BB. This is a yucky spot, as I'm either dominated, or a coin flip. But we are in the money, and if I want to go deep, then I need chips. I raised, and we got it All-In. Unfortunately, UTG had the worst possible hand, KK. Naturally, an Ace hit the Flop, and the J on the Turn gave me a gutshot. However, the River was a brick, and I finished in 18th place.

At 12:30am, I left the Golden Nugget with $545 after the Dealer's Tip.