I slept relatively well last night, only to wake up to the constant text message tones again. This time everyone waited until 7am LV time, so I was happy about that. I do appreciate the support everyone has shown, I just get pissy in the morning. I try to stick to the same routine that I have been...breakfast, hot tub, get dressed to music and generally get myself mentally prepared. I'm not nervous this morning, but I am very excited. I know I've put myself in a position that if I'm able to double up today, I'll be in a great spot.
Pulling in to the Rio, the same song comes on as Day 1 and it's a reminder to not be nervous. I have every idea what I'm doing here, I just need to play my game and move forward. I've had some luck, good and bad, but I'm feeling as confident as I ever have. The players I've faced and the spots I've been in and gotten out of have me very tuned in to the game. Being only a part time player, and not playing a ton online, I usually don't get to this level of play. Sometimes I'm on, sometimes I'm off, but playing consistantly like this has made my game infinitely better and I feel like I can beat anyone. My reading ability is always strong, but I feel like I can almost see my opponents hands at this point. I feel great about today.
Walking up the red carpet on Day 2 is an even better feeling than Day 1. I'm excited, but starting to get really focused. I ignore everything going on around me on the way in and try to make a B line for the UB pro room. On my way to the room though, I physically bump into Scotty Nguyen. Not enamored by his celebrity, I take this moment to apologize for almost knocking him over, but then to ask if he really gave "Shooter" (the guy from my 1st DSE) his nickname. I tell Scotty the story "Shooter" told me, but he has no recollection of it (he looked like he was really thinking hard). I tell him not to worry about it, I was just wondering. Could be that he was drunk and doesn't remember (the story is that Scotty hated "Shooter" until he started buying rounds of shooters at the table for the two of them), or that "Shooter" is a BS'er...either way I don't really care. I work my way through the maze of spectators and players to the pro room. I'm able to sit down and collect my thoughts without a bunch of craziness around me, which is a huge help. I grab a water and head out to find my table with 10 minutes to go until we start.
I find my table (318) and talk to the dealer. His name was Walter and I remember him because on Day 1 when they did the national anthem, he was at the table next to me absolutely belting it out. I asked him if he would do it again today and that I was stoked to be at his table. I look down and someone is in my seat...Walter tells me they had to switch 316 and 318. I have a hard time finding 316 until someone points to the table on the media stage. I'm apparently at the 3rd feature table. I ask a couple more people and they confirm that yes, I am seated there. The 3rd feature table is in the corner of the Amazon Room opposite the "real" feature tables. It is on a small stage, with the press rows built around it. There are no hole cameras, but there is an overhead camera so everyone can see the community cards. It's kind of a weird place to be, as you're away from the cluster f that is the rest of the room, it almost makes for a home game feel...like you're the only table there. Once seated, I spot two pros, Jonathan Aguiar and Craig Gray. There is supposed to be a third, "Miami" John Cernuto, but he is apparently sick and had to go home. He will just be blinded out throughout the day...a very strange situation that generates some buzz throughout the day. I take some flack from JA for wearing UB stuff. This is because all around the room are gigantic posters of the past winners of the Main Event, and hanging over me is the one of Russ Hamilton, with a black tarp over his picture. The situation sucks a little and I laugh it off, because again, not really being an online player I don't care about the UB situation (if you don't know what any of this is about, you can look it up). I'm really hoping the cameras come to the table so I can get paid and freeroll this thing!
Play gets under way and all the BS is gone. JA is the table chip leader with 78k, I have 60k and am in second; everyone else is pretty close to 40k, with 2 guys around 20k. With no one having a huge stack, I immediately decide I'm going to take advantage and continue to play more aggressively than I normally would, trying to stay out of JA and CG's way if possible. We'll start today at the 200/400 level for another hour. Almost immediately I get involved with AK off from late position, facing a raise to 1k with 4 callers in front. I decide to play sneaky and just flat, another 2 callers behind. A39 flops and the original raiser bets another 1k, a weak bet here. Folds to me, where I make it 7k, everyone folds. I'm quickly pushing the 70k mark for the first time. I don't have an opportunity to play anything memorable until the first break, which is only an hour after we start.
During the first break, I ask UB about the bonus for the 3rd feature table, only to find out there isn't one. I then ask if there's a bonus for wearing their patch while the posterboy for cheating is hanging directly over my shoulder (there isn't). I sit down and reflect for a moment, trying to decide where to go from here and thinking about the play of those at my table. While I'm doing this, Annie Duke says her shoulders are killing her, and Tiffany Michelle winds up giving her a massage right in front of me. I'm not a huge fan of either, but I didn't mind this at all. When Tiffany finished up, I told her I was next. She said, "Ha! You can't afford me, but I do like your shirt". I then tell her she may not be able to afford ME, and we make our way back to our tables.
We're heading to the next level of play, and this is where things start to go terribly wrong. Continuing with my aggressive play, I open raise a number of hands pretty light in comparison to my usual range. Right out of the gate I find myself leading with A10 off, K9 off, J10 off, only to be raised and re raised in each instance. Frustrated, I 3x raise a 3bet lead from the short stack with K9suited, only to be shoved upon. I fold again and am quickly back down to 60k. This will be the last time I see that number again today. In the next hour, I open with A10 off 5 more times, to be raised and reraised by tight or solid player EVERY time. I'm a big non believer in A10 off in general, and I'm certainly not calling a re re raised pot without it being suited. I would've lost every single pot. I look at KQ in position with another raise/reraise in front and fold. I've become very passive in a hurry. I'm comfortable laying these hands down, as I don't really believe I'm being pushed around, just running into better hands. I still start feeling less confident about how the day is shaping up and need to do something about it. I'm down to around 50k by the time the next break hits and I feel terrible. All the momentum I had coming into today is gone. I'm going to have to play a hand to completion soon, or I'm going to look weaker than I already do.
Out of the next break, I get my nemesis hand for the day, K9 suited, and raise under the gun to get 2 callers, the button and BB. K106 flops and I lead out for about 1/2 the pot and get the BB to come along. Turn is a 7 and the BB immediately fires out a huge bet. He's a tight player and his jugular vein is almost hitting me in the face it's beating so hard, so I lay it down...under 40k now. A few hands later in late position, I raise with AQ off. AK9 flops and I check/call. The turn is another K, and I lead out with a substantial bet to his call. River is a blank, and I don't think he has a K here, so I bet and he calls with KJ. I'm now down to about 30k and couldn't be sinking faster. I still have over 50BB at this point, so I'm by no means in shove/fold mode, but my range and aggressiveness has closed up significantly.
A bit of hoopla happens when one of the floormen comes over and tell us our entire table is to be moved to another table. There is a ton of confusion over this as 1.) Being a feature table, we're not supposed to be moved, and 2.) We are about to be moved to a break table and as a feature table, we're not to be broken. JA leads the table in a livid rant to the floorman, who is apologetic, but offers no answers. JA demands that Jack Effel come to our table and explain why we're going to be put into a situation that we were never supposed to be put in. Needless to say, this never happens. A very tall British pro named Richard (very familiar, but can't place his last name) had just been moved to our table and was seated next to me and was cordial about everything. He was short as well, but didn't seem too stressed about it. We're eventually moved to a table in the Pavillion, where it is about 40 degrees colder and somehow windy. Another 40 minutes or so at this table and we're broken. So we had a break, then took 10 minutes to bag our chips and walk to a new table, then had to bag our chips and walk to another table. This is common in an event as big as the ME, but it sucked when you don't think you'll be moved all day...and you're short stacked. Word around the campfire at the time was that ESPN wanted to move someone with more "status" to our table, so we got bumped. I never found out who that player was, and don't really care, it was just a weird situation. It turns out that this was not the worst move in the world for me as I was moved to a relatively soft table, and two seats to my left was Lacey Jones...not too shabby. I'm only at this table for a couple of minutes as the dinner break hits. I'm at 30,100...exactly half of what I started the day with and more than a little dejected heading to dinner.
I head outside to make some calls and try to figure out what the hell just happened. I learn that the chip average is somewhere around 75k, so I'm still not going to shove anything, but I don't want to go into Day 3 this short...something has to be done, or I'm done. I go to the UB room to enjoy some dinner and just chill out. There are a couple of friendly people in there and we talk. I then have to endure Billy Kopp's arrogant rants for a few minutes before he takes off somewhere. With about a half hour Tiffany Michelle comes back to the room and hangs out; there are only about 10 of us in the room at this point. I point to my shoulders and tell her I'm definitely ready for that massage, and she laughs again. She then says, "I'm not going to massage someone when I don't even know their name! I'm Tiffany". I tell her I know, and formally introduce myself. We laugh, and trade stories of short stack poker. She had had a rollercoaster day, where I had just gone from the top of the hill to the bottom. She hangs for a few more minutes before leaving with her hot friend. With only 9 players in the room, someone from UB decides to give away 2 ipods in a raffle. We each got a ticket and they drew out of a hat. In typical fashion for the day, I didn't win one. This gives me an even worse feeling headed to the final hours of Day 2.
Coming out of the dinner break, the blinds are 400/800 100a for an hour, then we'll play 500/1000 100a for an hour to close out the day. Again, very strange the way all these breaks are timed. I made this comment a few times, and I'll say it here. If you can't grind for 16 hours a day, you shouldn't be playing the Main Event. Why we need a 20 minute break, play for an hour, 90 minute dinner break, then play for 2 hours and go home is beyond me...why not finish the level? Either way, we're back to the action. I immediately pick up 99 and raise to 5k, whereupon I'm immediately put all in. I tank for a while, the guy had been playing pretty solid in the short time I'd been at this table, and I fold face up. I didn't get a read on him after I folded, and the hand lingered for a minute in my brain. I know conventional wisdom says to shove there, but I didn't like it...I haven't played for almost 3 days to put my tournament life on the line with a mid pair and a bad read. I'm now down to 23k and hurting terribly. Just as I'm sulking internally, Lacey Jones loses a big hand and there must be 100 people around our table. This wakes me up a little bit and gets me out of my funk and I try to stay focused on moving forward. Just then I get a text from my playing partner that says, "I remember the event this winter in AC when you had nothing at the bubble but played your game and finished 18th." I text back, "I remember, but what do I do here? Try to hold on for Monday, or just say F*** it?" I realize what I just texted and decided right then that I will never give up, I still have over 20BB and I'll do whatever I can to continue. I pick up my favorite hand right when I hit the send button, 44. I shove to no callers. I pick up my nemesis hand in mid position, AJ off, and open shove again to no callers. Now at 500/1000 100a, I've let the stack shrink again. With about 30 minutes left in the day and a stack of about 18k, I'm facing a raise from mid position to 2400. I look down at KK, tank for show, then shove. He was sitting on about 90k, but folds. I'm now up to a still short 24k. With about 10 minutes to go, I'm in the hijack AJ off and face a raise of 2200. Mistake or not, I flat call and completely whiff the flop. Player couldn't shove fast enough and I fold. I end Day 2 at 20,200 chips and couldn't feel worse. I'm pretty sure I was supposed to be out of this thing by now with the hands I've had, but I'm not. I don't necessarily think this is a great thing. I now have to wait the whole weekend to seal my fate. Oh well, another weekend in Vegas...it could be worse. I stare at Lacey for another second after bagging my chips and head out the door. (On a side note, as we were bagging the chips, the guy that shoved on my 99 earlier said, "Man, you shouldn't be here. I had you crushed when you raised with those 9's". That made me feel a little better at least.)
I had "planned" on leaving tomorrow, so I extend my stay until Tuesday and call the airline to change my flight home for Tuesday morning. This really sucks, when I extended everything after Day 1, I was sure I'd still be here this weekend and knew I'd be doing all this again. This time, I'm not so sure. Monday morning looms over me as my D Day unless I find a way to survive. Chip is getting off of work just as I'm finishing my day and we meet up to tie one on. He drills me over and over about shoving the KK at the end of the session. I tell him with 18k, in the BB, and the stack in front of the other guy, I shove 100/100 times. He disagrees and thinks I should've bumped it to 10k to get some action. I say there's no way I'd put myself in a position to see an A on the flop and be stuck. We nearly fist fight over this argument, but it's all in fun (not so much for me). We hang/drink for a while and he heads out.
I don't know what I'll do tomorrow other than try to not sulk and enjoy what will probably be my last weekend in Vegas...
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