My World Series Experience

I was at some of the World Series of Poker 2008 and it was my first time at the event. I was only there for 4 days, and I played in event 48, a no-limit hold ’em event that was set to last 3 days if you made it to the final table. It started with about 2,600 people and I managed to outlast my friends to make it to busting out around with 500 people left. You know what all the losers say, “I didn’t make the money but it was a great experience.” There is some truth to that if it is your first time at the WSOP! It is a bit like poker heaven. All the table felt is brand new with no worn down sections like the crappy cardhouse near me. All the cards are new and crisp, and the atmosphere is electric.

There is one hand I had in the early rounds which goes as follows. The blinds were 25-50, I had about $3500 in chips, and I had [7s][7h] in early position. I open raise to $200, and I get three callers.

The flop is [7c][8c][9h]. I am first to act and bet out $500. The first person folds, the second and third people call.

The turn is [Jh]. I bet out $1000 and he calls. The river puts another possibility out there, [2c]. At this point, I check. The fact that both of these guys are hanging around doesn’t make me happy. I have bottom set, and there is a potential straight and flush out there.

The first guy checks, the second guy goes all-in and has me covered by a little bit. It is early in the tournament and I figure that I don’t want to bust out so early, and I still have enough chips to get back in the tournament, so I fold.

The first guy calls and turns over [Ad][9s]. The second guy turns over [Jh][8h] for two pair. Man, I almost jumped out of my seat for laying down to these guys!

I really figured one of these guys either had the Ten or a Club or even a better set. It turns out later the guy who won said he was playing very loose and aggressive to try and chip up fast. Well, poker is a series of lessons, isn’t it?

I swear this hand left me steaming for a good 15 minutes, but I managed to stay tight until I calmed down and then ramped up my chips for a bit until I lost steam at the end of the day. I can’t wait until next year 🙂