Vegas Ahoy!

It's quite early in the year to be thinking of the 2008 WSOP (July), but various qualification routes are already in progress.

At the beginning of January, I didn't yet realise that I was going to be physically able to go to Vegas this year (back then, annual leave was a key factor). However, Gutshot started running a $5 rebuy daily, as a satellite into a monthly final. The final would produce a main event package.

Well, $5 ? Hard not to. So on January 2nd, I duly entered and $15 later (2 rebuys, no add-on) I had my ticket to the 31st January final and pretty much forgot about it.

However, when 31st January came around, the context had altered a little. I had just handed in my notice at work so, all of a sudden, the thought of winning a package to Vegas was quite interesting. Add to that the fact that a lot of the 40 runners were personally known to me from the gutshot club and forum, and I really wanted to do well.

I checked the structure: 3,000 chips, 15minute levels, 10/20 starting blinds - in internet terms, a deep-stack event. Proper poker.

So, I resolved to play really tight poker, and I did. Fold after fold. Raise / re-raise / fold. Etc. Down to 2,075 chips, and the field had only thinned to about 31 players with over an hour gone.

Now, a hand. AK on the big blind. One MP limper for 150. SB raised to 650. Result. I re-raised all in and, after a dwell, the SB eventually called with AQ ! Can't ask for more than that - the AK held and I now had a little more than average for the first time in the event.

Next hand. JJ on the small blind !! Fantastic. Folded to me, I make it 400. The BB is short-stacked himself having been playing a tight game like me. He has 2,100 total and moves all-in. Sigh. Well, what am I supposed to do ? I couldn't think about it for too long as the time-bank on my software was broken (no idea why !) and I pretty much insta-called anyway.

KQ-clubs for him. That's about as 50/50 as it comes. The flop was all low with no clubs. Looking good, but the turn brings a King. I'm right back to where I was !

Shortly afterwards, I had my luckiest break. Folded to me in the SB. I have J5o. The BB has been really passive so I think I'll take a liberty of calling to see if I hit. I hit. J82 flop. I check, intending to check-raise. He bets, I check-raise all-in and he insta-calls. He has J2 !!

Oh dear. Well, I hit my kicker on the turn and I'm back in the game. After that, I did hit a run of cards (picking up KK on at least 3 occasions). I move steadily up the leaderboard and once I hit the chip lead I become very aggressive - raising nearly every pot pre-flop if folded to me.

I varied my raises a little, but basically I let position be the indicator rather than the cards, so I was making the same raise with KK as with T8o. For the most part, the others let me take it down and I just added steadily to my stack. If re-raised, I laid it down. If called, I bet nearly every flop.

It worked really well. At one stage on the final table, I did lose three reasonable pots in a row and fell back to the middle of the pack, but I still had about average chips and an adequate M (with the slow structure) so I ground it back up without too much opposition.

Heads-up, I started with about a 7/4 chip-lead and continued the aggressive strategy. It became apparent my opponent would see a reasonable number of flops but not continue without a piece of it. So, for the most part, it was easy to know where I was.

I did drop a couple of large pots including one where I started with AK and he with 59o. I raised pf and was called. I bet the 234-flop and was called. Ace on the turn. I checked / checked behind. River 3. I bet, he raised. I called and was shown the straight.

I did drop out of the chip lead briefly after that hand, but carried on with the same style until the lead was restored. I was about a 2/1 leader when the last hand came.

I had AQ. I raised. He re-raised, and I called. Q-3-2 flop with two hearts. I bet. He raised. I re-raised all in and He called with A3 (there was a three on board) and no flush draw. My hand stood up.

Fantastic ! It was a small field of 40, but it still had to be won. I was absolutely delighted to be the first to be on the Team Gutshot roster for Vegas 2008. Hopefully there may be as many as 30 or 40 of us eventually.

Last year, when I went out independently, I still wore the Team Gutshot colours but it means a lot to me to be a bona-fide member of The Only Real Team in Poker.