Overall a great table though the only decent player was to my left (later learned 2 seat was decent). Early strategy was to play as many hands as possible, hit something big, take a bunch of chips from a weak player, and establish a "he plays crap hands" image so the weak players keep paying me off later.
76hh limp UTG 4 to flop. High cards cked to river fold to bet on river.
2 rzes to 400 EP I call 97cc. Flop KJT one club bet 400 I fold.
UTG rzes to 225 SB calls I call 75o in BB. 972r ck, ck, UTG bets 500, SB folds, I fold.
2 limps UTG. 4 makes it 700. I coldcall with QQ. Others fold. 7c4s3c he checks I bet 800 he calls. Turn 3d he checks I bet 1500 he folds.
4 limps 6 rzes to 325 I call 32cc, BB calls, 4 calls. Flop Q88 cked to 6 he bets 500 I fold.
Folded 87o in BB to a 350 rz.
Folds to me in CO I rz 99 folds.
4 rzs to 250, 5 calls, I make it 1k with QQ, 10 rzes to 2525, I call on setmine. AKx ck ck x ck ck T ck ck she has QQ chop it.
6 rzes to 350 I call 66 2 goes to 1k call I call Tc8c3d ck I ck 2 bets 1500 we both fold.
I limp 66 UTG. Six people see the flop K52 BB bets all fold.
In SB 95dd five see the flop Jc5c4 I ck BB bets 500 all fold to me I fold.
10 rzes UTG to 400 4 calls I fold KJo in pos.
4 intends to rz to 500 but ruled a call I limp J9o in SB. Flop 9c8c8 ck ck 4 bets 500 I call. Turn 2c ck bet 500 I call. River Kc ck ck he has A4hh I win.
I rz 275 QJhh 7 goes to 625, 2 in BB cold calls, I call. Flop Ah4c5c. 2 leads 500 I fold 7 rzes to 2500 2 instafolds AQ faceup.
I limp A9hh UTG just blinds. A44r ck ck I ck. Turn 7 ck ck I bet 200 5 ckrzs to 450 I call. River J he bets 350 I know he has a 4 but call I hate paying these fuckers off but he made a good bet with 94o.
I limp A7dd EP 2 limps 4 rzes to 600 from BB I fold 2 calls flop is Td8d3d betting is subdued.
1 rzes to 300 I call in SB QThh flop 875 I ck fold to an overbet.
I limp UTG 76cc 10 rzs to 500 I decide to call. Flop 8s7s5 I ck she bets 700 I call. Turn Js I ck she bets 1500 I call. River Ks ck ck she has 4c4s gross.I finish the level with 15.9k.

100-200
SB min rzs to 400 I call in BB K7o. Flop QQ7 he bets 600 I call. Turn x ck ck. River T ck ck I win.
5 limps I rz to 650 with JJ folds to 5 who rzes to 2100 I fold.
I limp AQo UTG 8 limps BB cks. Flop 952 ck I bet 400 8 rzs to 1200 I instafold.
2 rzs to 700 I fold ATo in BB.
I limp JTo in SB 8 rzes 1k more in BB I fold.
Trying to stay calm and trap these fools.
1 limps 4 limps 6 limps in SB I ck AcTs in BB. Flop Js6s4s SB leads 400 all fold.
4 rzes to 800 I call in SB with 88 BB calls. Flop K94 ck ck 4 bets 500 I make it 1k BB folds 4 calls. 7 turn ck ck, 6 river ck ck he wins with TT.
Tilting here because people are taking forever to make tiny decisions.
6 limps I limp A9ss LP blinds ck flop T87 two diamonds cked to me I bet 525 all fold.
2 limps I limp 98hh on button 9 makes it 800 from blind 2 calls I call. 75h3 ck ck I ck. Turn Jh SB cks 4 bets 1500 I call. River 2 he bets 1500 I don't try to bluff the calling station and fold.
Next hand 1 limps, 2 limps, 4 limps, I rz to 1k with AA, 8 coldcalls, rest fold. Th9h3 I bet 1.5k, 8 rzs to 3k, I tank and shove 12k total he folds "queens."
Next hand I rz AKcc to 550 in LP 8 calls 10 rzes to 3100 in SB with 11k behind. First instinct is to push but I tank forever and then fold, 8 folds, she shows AA, PHEW that was a close one.
Now a nervewracked 17.2k.
5 goes busto when 2 makes a bad call and sucks out.
Dead SB 4 limps 5 limps I ck K4o in BB. AA8 cked. 7 cked. K ck ck 5 bets 200 I call he has 54s I win.
4 rzes to 1k I fold AJo in SB.
2 limps 4 limps 5 limps I ck K9o in BB. Flop Q44r ck 2 bets 800 fold fold I keep having a voice telling me don't bluff the 2 seat I fold.
6 rzes CO to 600 I rrz to 1800 on button without looking he tanks literally 5 minutes not exaggerating and folds.
I rz 75s LP 8 rrzs 3x I fold.
6 limps early I limp AKo 1 limps 2 goes to 1k folds to me I make it 3200 2 calls. Flop J93r I bet 5100 with 7.5k behind he thinks and folds. Phew.
Finish the level with 20,175.

200-400
Now need to tighten it up a bit with only 50 BBs and guys opening for 4x.
Rz button without looking blinds fold.
4 limps I limp QJdd five see the flop AdK9d blinds ck 4 shoves for 7k into 2k I fold angrily.
5 rzes to 1300 I call with QQ. Flop Q44 he bets 2k I call. Turn rag he cks I bet 3k he folds immediately.
Rz to 900 UTG with QsJs, 10 makes it 1800 with 1500 behind, I call, she shoves in the dark out of turn, I fold on K32.
Limp 76dd EP 8 limps 10 rzs half her stack to 2400 we fold.
Rz to 1025 UTG with QJdd 1 calls Flop 863 I bet 1275 he rzes I instafold he shows 88.
9 rzs EP to 1200 I call in BB J9ss. As5c3c I ck fold.
Down to 16,175.
Rz AKo to 1100 8 calls flop KcQc8 I bet 1500 he rzs to 3k I call. Turn offsuit ten ck ck. River offsuit 6 I bet 5k he instacalls with AQ. 25,875.
Folds to me in SB I put BB in for 1400 more with A2 he folds.
I rz TT to 1100 all fold.
3 rzs to 1600 I call KQdd flop Ad5d4 he cks I think and ck. Turn 6d he cks I bet 2100 he calls river 5 he cks I bet 6150 he folds JdJs faceup whole table thought I was bluffing.
30,175 @ dinner break (high water mark).

200-400-50
Ready to steal some blinds.
3 limps 5 limps I go 2100 in SB with KJdd. 3 calls.
Flop comes 958 I bet 3k he instapushes for 20k I fold he shows 88 these guys sure can play cards.
2 rzs UTG to 1200 I go 3600 with 97s he folds.
I limp JTo with 4 in the BB 2 makes it 1600 I get bad feeling and fold.
4 limps I limp 86o in SB 554 cked around K turn ck ck 1k we fold.
4 limps I limp 98o LP blinds ck. J74r cked to me I bet 1100 10 calls from the SB with 4.5k behind. Turn Ac ck I bet 2200 she folds disgustedly.
I rz KQcc to 1050 8 shoves for 3600 1 coldcalls I call. Flop Jh6h5h ck ck. Turn 9 ck he bets 5k I fold 1 has 99 8 has AdKd and busts.
1 busts and is replaced by a young Frenchman with plenty of game. Joe Sebok sits down in the 8 seat to my left with 30k apparently on insane monkey tilt.
I rz button to 1100 with AQo Sebok calls in SB. 976 ck ck. A on turn ck I bet 1500 he calls. River 4 he cks I bet 3800 he calls I win.
10 rzs to 1200 I defend BB with ATo. Flop A44 I ck-call 1500. Turn 2 ck ck. River K I bet 2200 she calls with A2cc chop.
2 rzs EP 6 calls I call JTss SB calls. Flop Ks7s2c ck ck 6 allin for 13k into 5200 all fold this shit makes me tilty.
I rz ATo all fold.
6 opens for 1200 EP I call 99 flop 853 ck ck Qh ck ck river Jh ck ck he has AT I win.
31,125 at break.

300-600-75
Walk.
4 rzes to 2200 I fold AJss on button.
I rz QJo to 1700 MP Sebok calls. Jc4s2c I bet 2300 called. Turn 6s I bet 5k he tanks and folds.
1 rzs UTG I fold AJo.
Fold J7s 2nd pos.
Rz AJo UTG steal blinds.
5 rzes to 1600 on button I call in BB with K9o. Flop Kh4h4 ck he instachecks which scares me, when guys like this don't cont-bet flops like that it is worrisome. Turn 7 I ck-call 2k. River Q I bet 3200 he insta-jams for 32k more?! I fold after telling him it can't be a good play, he shows me a Jd.
Folds to my SB I make it 2k with 88 ready to call a Sebok 15k push he folds.
He is now playing as tight as anyone.
The tight Brit in the 9 seat has been replacedby a tight Brit and the woman went busto and replaced by a tight young Irishman.
5 limps I make it 2700 with 65dd all fold.
I fold A7ss EP.
I rz KQo 2nd pos all fold.
1 rzs to 2k I go 6.3k with AA in BB he wants to do it but folds. I had confident body language I think.
4 limps I limp 33 from CO SB shoves for 8k we fold.
I rz AQs 2nd pos all fold.
Fold A2s UTG next hand.
34.3k now.

400-800-100.
4 limps I limp T9ss LP Sebok shoves 15k we fold.
I rz QJo MP folds.
I fold J7s UTG.
Folds to me in SB I walk Sebok with 93o.
I rz T9o button steal blinds.
Next hand I look at Kc and rz CO, BB shoves for 17k thought he was weak but fold K8o.
Two hands later rz T9ss folds.
Rz AJo 2nd pos all fold.
Walk. Guys shutting down for night.
I limp 44 Sebok rzes to 3500 1 shoves for 35k I fold Sebok calls with AKss 1 has KK and wins the monster pot, Sebok back to fumes.
3 rzs to 2500 I defend BB with K8cc.
Flop Td9d5 ck ck turn 6 I bet 4k he disgustedly folds AQ.
5 rzs to 3500 I fold KTcc 5 shows KK.
Folds to me in SB I put Sebok in for 5200 with QJss he calls K8o I lose.
I fold QTo in MP SB wakes up with AA.
I rz in the dark SB wakes up with AA and repops.
I put Sebok in for 10k with T7ss in SB he folds.
1 rzs to 2600 I call KJcc CO. Flop Ts8s7s ck ck turn rag he bets 4k I fold.
5 seat with 50k stalls several hands to avoid the big blind I tell him he "should be embarassed." 5 if you're reading this you're a crap player with no game who hit some hands and played bad, you won't be doing anything in this tournament, also please don't ever again yell in ecstasy when you bust a guy wearing a poker hat that says "good luck daddy", RIP douchebag.

End night with 29,500.

We hiked out in time to watch the Silverton 4th of July Home-town Parade. It was awesome. The people were fired up. Happy to be there, happy to be alive. Jets flew overhead, even though Silverton has a population of less than 1000. Classic cars and bikes came by firing beads and candy at the kids. A firetruck sprayed people down.

When it was over I drove to Vegas. It's 100 miles between Shiprock, New Mexico and Kayenta, Arizona, but you don't know the significance of that number until you're there. It's many hundreds from Kayenta to Vegas.

At 9:30 PM, I got to Vegas. Jim Morrison was yelling about Mr. Mojo Risin' as fireworks were exploding above the Strip. I was delirious.

The next day I woke up and felt a little closer to fine.
 
I play Saturday. I have an advantage over those who have spent the last week in Vegas.

Bill Edler
Always seems to be in the thick of it late in the deep stack events, and finally got that big breakthrough score.
 
Jamie Gold
It seems Jamie needs a) chips and b) weak players to do his thing. Both are found in high quantities at the WSOP main event.
 
Joe Hachem
The all-time leader in ROI with a sample size of 2+ majors.
 
Phil Hellmuth
Possibly the best no limit hold em tournament player ever, and certainly the current best at dancing through modern poker's monster donkey fields.
 
Phil Ivey
The only player on this list with two deep runs the last four years.
 
Alex Jacob
A classic  "go big or go home" guy and a master of wielding the big stack.
 
Marc Karam
Unmatched results in a small sample size of deepstack events.
 
Erick Lindgren
Always a factor.
 
Michael Mizrachi
Looking to put a miserable WSOP behind him.
 
Carlos Mortensen
Fresh, accomplished, fearless, and lethal with chips.
Daniel Negreanu
Plays a perfect game for the WSOP, playing tons of small pots giving him a chance to feast on the fish without risking his tournament life.

David Pham
Amazingly, the Dragon's biggest lifetime score was for $477k, back in 2003. Due for a monster result.
Kido Pham
People don't realize how rarely this guy plays - less than me, less than anyone on this list.

JC Tran
Probably the best overall NLHE tourney player.
 
James Van Alstyne
Deep in the freezer lately.
 
Paul Wasicka
When the Kwickfish is excited to play in a 5k+ event, his results are basically unmatched.

Seat One Don Baruch

Seat Two Daniel Negreanu

Seat Three Jared Davis

Seat Four Thomas Fuller

Seat Five Fred Goldberg

Seat Six Brandon Lee

Seat Seven Michael Wehner

Seat Eight Doug Baughman

Seat Nine Erick Lindgren

Everyone started with 300k with blinds at 3k-6k and a 1k ante.

For television, they had us play in a small, blacked out room. We were allowed one guest apiece but I snuck in MasterJ along with PiMaster. I had never played with hole card cameras and, at first, it was a little uncomfortable. My chips were in the way and I struggled to show the cards to the cameras. The producers asked me a few times to hold my cards higher and longer for the camera.

Since this was a shootout, the players had not played with each other in the tournament until the final table and everyone came in with the same chip stack. I knew a decent amount about the games of Negreanu, Lindgren, and Goldberg, but nothing about anyone else. No one knew anything about me other than what they could find on the internet.

I was planning on playing my usual super-tight early game as I had the first two tables. I raised the second hand with A10 in early position and everyone folded. A couple hands later I got a walk. After this I didn’t play a hand for quite a while. The other guys were playing quite tight also.

There was a lot of banter at the table, mostly between Erick and Daniel. Daniel is perhaps the funniest guy I have ever seen at a poker table. His schtick was actually much funnier in person than on tv.

Erick and Fred got involved in a pot where Fred limp-called a large raise with 54 against Erick’s AJ and wound up winning it with a pair of fives on a scary board. This hand appeared to put both players on tilt – Erick was annoyed Fred called such a big raise with such a small hand and annoyed at himself for not buying the pot postflop; Fred may have gotten annoyed at Erick’s light chastising.

After folding a couple rounds Erick raised my big blind and I called with K10. The flop came 1093 and I had to decide on a course of action. I thought about leading out but don’t like that play against an aggressive player like Lindgren unless you are comfortable with your hand. Madsen liked a checkraise, which I really don’t like, because it would commit such a big chunk of my stack and give Erick the opportunity to push me out with a big draw with the A or a hand like QJ. I decided to check and call and think this is the best play.

The turn was the 5. Madsen said he would have liked me to bet out and I tend to agree. I didn’t because I felt like I wouldn’t gain much information from a bet out (Erick could raise with an unmade hand or smoothcall with a big one, leaving me informationless to make a river decision). Still, I think betting out would have been a good play because it wouldn’t give him much info and my hand was quite vulnerable.

Erick checked behind so I thought I probably had the best hand, and the river came 7. I now had to decide if I wanted to check and call or bet. I decided if I bet Erick would only raise with a high flush, and he might call with many hands, maybe any pair. It looked like I might have two high cards with a spade. Schneider and Madsen thought the best play was to check-call. I think it’s quite close, but prefer betting against a professional like Lindgren who is more likely to make thin calls and less likely to bluff rivers. I bet about 60% of the pot and Erick folded what I later learned was AJ. Considering what he had checking would have been better but I’m happy with my decision to bet.

Erick and Brandon Lee were the most aggressive players at the table in the early going. Brandon was playing the most hands and doing a lot of preflop reraising. We all thought he was a maniac but the video reveals he was just picking up a lot of big hands. During this stretch I tried a button raise of his blind with 109 but Brandon reraised (with what turned out to be AK and I instafolded.

Daniel won a big race to bust Fred and we were at eight. I raised AK in early position and Brandon, now directly to my left, made a 3x reraise. I felt he was tremendously strong this time. He had reraised me a few hands ago so wouldn’t want to do it again without a big one. His body language was strong and confident. I was in early position and he was right behind me. I never thought about coming back over the top because of my read. I considered calling but eventually decided to just fold. This was a classic Moon weak-tight cash-game based play and a questionable tournament laydown, even considering my read and the state of the tournament. It turned out Lee had JJ.

My next big blind Erick limped and I checked with 97. The flop came 10610 and I checked. Erick bet as expected and I decided he couldn’t just have the pot that easily. I knew a call would scare the crap out of him so I decided to do that and buy the pot later. However, the turn was the 10. My plans to represent a ten were now foiled. I checked and Erick bet, which surprised me. I figured he’d check behind there with or without a hand. I couldn’t see him betting without a pair bigger than sixes so I quickly folded. It turned out he had KK.

I folded the next couple orbits and then a strange hand came up. Baruch doubled the 8k big blind to 16 in early position, which he hadn’t been doing. Usually he was raising 3-5x the blind. I looked down at KK and really wasn’t too happy about it. I felt Baruch probably had aces or some crap like a suited connector. I thought reraising would accomplish nothing, but I didn’t want to let a bunch of players in behind me. I eventually made it 50k. When it got back to Baruch he took a long time before calling, which had me even more puzzled. The flop came A54 and Baruch immediately went all-in for 2x the pot. It almost seemed like he was going to go all-in no matter what hit.

I sort of thought about calling, but not really. I didn’t know what to put him on but I can’t just call it off with kings on an ace-high board, as Madsen and Schneider said. Baruch had AJ. I have no idea what he was thinking at any point in the hand.

I raised the next hand with A10 figuring no one would mess with me but both Lee and Wehner called in position. The flop came 884 and I thought for a while about betting. I decided at least one of them probably had a pair and wouldn’t fold to a bet so I checked and folded to Wehner’s bet. It turned out Lee flopped quads with 88 so in this case my weak-tight play worked out for the best. In addition, the A hit the turn, so I got bailed out by Wehner’s attempted steal with J10.

Play lulled after this and Erick was the next to go. After a short break, Baruch raised in late position and I found KK in the small blind. Baruch raised habitually in late position and I needed a double-up (it turned out he had 53, so I decided to slowplay. Lee thought for a while in the big blind, then called. It looked like he was contemplating a reraise but decided to just call. The flop came J84 and I led for 25k. Lee quickly made a small raise to 60k and I put him on a big hand. I was worried he flopped a set but there was no folding at this point so I went all-in for about 100k more when Baruch folded. Lee quickly called with AJ and I doubled up when the K hit the turn. This was a brutal cooler for Brandon that couldn’t have been avoided when I decided to slowplay.

It should be noted that Baughman made the play of the day, betting a Q35 flop with A3, then reraising when Daniel checkraised. Baughman may have played the best of anyone that day, but he was extremely card-dead and busted in a massive pot with Q10 against Negreanu’s AK on a flop of KJ3.

After a second break I limped the small blind with 44 and Brandon raised from the big blind. I called and the flop came K94. I checked and Brandon made a substantial bet. I felt like he hit it pretty good so I immediately announced all-in. Brandon instacalled me again with KQ, I dodged a heart, and doubled up to second in chips. The two double-ups against Brandon were pretty much dumb luck. If the cards had been reversed, he would likely have doubled. I think I played the hands well but it didn’t really matter.

The next hand I played was 109 under the gun. This was my best steal position with Daniel in the small blind. I raised and only Daniel called. The flop came J85 and I bet 50k after Daniel checked. He called. The turn was the 6 and I had an interesting decision after Daniel checked. Some people have said that the six on the turn was likely to help Daniel’s hand, and therefore I should check. I do think this card will often help him out, but I also didn’t think he had two pair. I really thought he would bet out there with two pair on that board especially with me raising under the gun and betting the flop. Also, I didn’t think he would raise me with anything less than two pair since we were the two chip leaders. I ultimately decided to bet 100k on the turn hoping Daniel would fold a hand like A8 or A5. He thought for a bit and then called.

The river came 2 and Daniel checked again. This is where I blew the bracelet. If I had bet the river, Daniel would have been in a terrible spot and a call would have been heroic. There was no reason whatsoever to think I could have anything but a monster there. Both Madsen and Schneider commented that once I bet the turn, I was committed to the bluff and needed to bet the river. I completely agree. The line here was to check the turn or bet both the turn and river. It was hard to bet the river after getting called twice by a great player (and loose caller) like Negreanu but a world-class player would have fired the river there and picked up the pot. Hands like this make all the difference.

Daniel busted Lee and Wehner and suddenly we were down to 4. I had gone card dead and lost several small pots, 20-70k at a time. I think I played most of these hands properly but I wasn’t hitting anything. With the fast play and consolidation, I was soon the short stack. One hand I totally screwed up was when Jared limped from the small blind and I checked QJ in the big blind. The flop came A66 and he quickly checked, which worried me. I checked behind. The turn was the 3 and it again went check-check. The river was the 3 and now Jared bet out. I was honestly thinking that I had queen high here and not the board. Unbelievably I did not realize that I was playing the board. I was thinking about all the hands queen high could beat and eventually called. Even thinking I had queen high this was a dumb call cause I felt Jared had something all along. What an idiot I am sometimes.

Another one I tried to trap the short-stacked Wehner (in the big blind) by limping AQ from the small blind after Baruch limped, but he just checked and I folded to a bet and a call on the J96 flop. Another Daniel raised and I called with 22. The flop came Q96 and Daniel quickly checked. I felt like he had hit it in some way so I checked. The turn was the 9, Daniel bet out, and I folded. He had 108 for a double gutshot.

I raised a couple hands and ran into big pairs and suddenly I was down to thirteen big blinds. I found A5 in first position and shoved in. Considering the tight, passive nature of the table and the chip stacks, I think this was a bad shove. I could have raised and folded if someone came over the top, knowing I was dominated. Jared woke up with AA and I was finished.

Overall I really didn’t play great poker, especially at the final table. I actually played better in the three subsequent tournaments I played at the WSOP. The first round I ran good, didn’t run into hands when I had moderate holdings, took advantage of a couple weak players, and played well heads up. The second round I had a bunch of huge hands at an aggressive table, made one mistake heads up, and got lucky. The third round I coolered Brandon Lee twice, then went card-dead and ran out of gas. Nowhere in there did I do anything special.

I attribute my result to three causes:

1) I was extremely enthusiastic throughout the tournament, always thinking positive thoughts and believing I was going to win.

2) I had a lot of good cards, took only one bad beat, and flopped a ton of sets.

3) I have run quite poorly in live tournaments, so it was only a matter of time before good things started happening to me.

I learned a ton from playing the tournament and watching the final table. My table presence is pretty terrible. It’s something we’ve worked on before (Mike Odeh was a master of table presence and often discussed its importance) but I get sloppy at times. Since watching myself play on tv I’ve put a lot of emphasis on better posture and presence. I’m also trying to stare players down or look into space rather than covering my face with my hands. Finally, I’m going to try to play even slower than I usually do and think even more heavily about my decisions. The difference between good and average players is so small. One or two pots per day can make the difference. If I had picked up that pot with the busted straight draw, I would have been in contention for the bracelet.

Making a WSOP final table was a great experience, one of the most exciting events of my poker career. At first I was relatively happy with the $68k score, but now I realize how fleeting those opportunities are and I’m hungry to return. Thanks to all the people who supported me before, during, and after the tournament. Records were set for text messages, emails, phone calls, and blog comments. I hope to surpass this result soon, if for no other reason than to set a new blog comment record.

The big disaster in the 5k HU was the awarding of byes. A heads-up tournament requires a bracket-style single elimination system. For the tournament to work, players must be eliminated by one half in every round until only one remains. There must be 2 to the x power players, as long as x is a whole number. So there can be 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, etc. players. At first it appeared the WSOP would cap the entrants at one of these numbers, most likely 256. The day before the tournament started, however, it was announced the cap would be 512. The powers that be elected to set the cap at 512 surely knowing that they likely wouldn't get that many registrants, knowing this would necessitate awarding byes in order to consolidate the field to exactly 256 players.

They wound up with 392 players, which meant that 120 received a first round bye and 272 played in the first round. Half of these first round winners, 136, would advance to play in the second round. The byes were drawn randomly.

392 players put up $5000 apiece, generating 1,960,000. After Harrah's took 6% rake, the total prizepool was $1,842,400. The average equity for the 392 players was $4700 (1.8424m/392). The average equity for the 120 players with byes was $7,197 ( 1.842m/256), as they were playing in a 256-player tournament. The average equity for the 272 players without byes was $3598 (1.842m/512), as they were playing in what amounted to a 512-player tournament. 120 players had double the equity of the other 272, because they were randomly given byes.

The goal of any poker tournament director should be to provide maximum fairness and minimum luck. When 30% of the field has double the equity of the other 70%, because their names were drawn out of a hat, that constitutes a MAJOR ethical problem.

One seemingly obvious solution would have been to have given the players in the first round a 50% refund. The 272 first-round players would pay $2500 apiece for the right to play one match for a $5000 seat to the "real" tournament. This is how the Mirage ran their heads-up tournament in May. However, there are two problems with this refund idea.

First, there is an equity redistribution problem. The 120 players with byes have an initial average equity of $4700, as they are random players who signed up for the tournamnet. The 272 drawn to play in the first round also have an initial average equity of $4700, also being random players who signed up for the tournament. However, when the 136 winners join the 120 byes, an equity gap has been created. These 136 winners defeated 136 losers. On some level, the 136 winners are better players than the 136 losers. 136 players who are on average weaker than the average sample have been eliminated from the tournament.

The 136 winners can also be thought of as better than the 120 random players who received byes. So at this point, we have a field of 256 players. 120 of these players have an average skill level for the original 372 player field. 136 of these players have an above average skill level for the original 372 player field (we know this because they won their first round match). Also, these 136 players only had to make half the investment of the other 120. The 136 winners had to pay half the investment of the 120 byes to play in a tournament twice as large - but their tournament had an easier field. So receiving a bye would be a disadvantage from an equity standpoint.

The second problem, of course, is that Harrah's would lose out on a lot of juice.

The only real way to have prevented this would have been to cap the tournament at 256 players, but again, Harrah's wouldn't get maximum juice that way. Sadly, that seems to be the most indicative factor determining the organization of today's World Series of Poker. 

 I folded about twenty hands before picking up AQ after the maniac limped. At this point he hadn't yet exhibited his maniacism. I made it 2500 after his 600 limp expecting to just pick it up right there but when it got back to him he quickly moved all-in for around 13,000. I thought for about ninety seconds and then folded. This was literally the first hand I had played so there was no reason for him to think I had anything but a monster. He ended up showing KK.
 
An orbit later the same guy limped and I again made a large raise, this time with AJ, and when it got back to him he reraised me once again. I knew he had to have a monster to pull this one twice so my cards hit the muck within a couple seconds. He showed AA.
 
At this point I was the short stack of the ten. I got lucky though and nailed a K97 flop with the 77 and doubled through an AK in a raised 4-way pot. I checked the flop from the small blind and was facing a bet and a raise for almost all my chips by the time it got back to me, so that was an easy double-up. Not too much later I busted the same guy with AA against his 55.

We got down to two players without much trouble. The professor to my left busted a young player with a sneakily played AA against JJ on a board of 101036 in a reraised pot, then broke Adams with KK against A2 on a 432 board, again by just calling the preflop reraise. I was happy to see Adams go as he is a skilled lunatic and would be tough to beat coming from behind.

On the other hand the professor was getting a hold of a ton of chips and in the shootout format you have to get ALL of the chips so consolidation to one player is a bad thing unless that player is you. Fortunately I was able to win a large pot with QQ preflop, bust an Armenian pro with AK against his AJ, and then oust the Australian to my right with A10 against K3. There were some steals and small pots and a successful checkraise with 99 against the Armenian on a K72 board but mostly it was really easy straightforward poker.

My heads up opponent was a cagey professor named Stephen. He didn't really play tight but he wasn't really loose either. His game was really hard to figure out actually. This tournament was his first ever at a casino but I think he could be an extremely successful player on the tournament circuit if that was what he chose to do. I really had a hard time figuring out what he had in a bunch of hands but it seemed every time there was a big bet out there, he had way the best of it. When we started he was up around 170k-130k and it wasn't too long before he had me down to 100k.

At this point I made a decision that I was going to have to start making some reckless moves if I wanted to get back in the match. The crucial hand came when he raised on the button and I reraised with 75. The flop came Q65 and he called my continuation bet. The turn was the 10 and I decided the tournament was over if I checked so I moved all-in. This hand was pretty wild and non-professional. I can't see a top pro getting all his money in the pot in a spot like this just praying his opponent will fold with no idea what he has. Like I said though, Stephen was running me over and I felt I needed to take some risks to shake it up. Luckily he folded.

Just a couple hands later he limped on the button and I raised it up with Qc8c. He called. The flop came something like 993 and I bet out. He raised liked I had hoped and I shoved in for a huge amount more. He folded and now I had a small chip lead.

The next big pot we played came when I raised the button to 4500 with 96. He called. The flop came KQ7 and he checked. I bet bigger than I usually do, 7.5k I think, as I had earlier when I flopped top set with KK and had shown the hand. He called. The turn came 8 and he led out for 7k. I considered taking the cheap card but instead decided to stay aggressive and represent a big hand and raised to 20k. He thought for a long time and then raised 18k more.

At this point I sat back in my chair and sighed, which was a mistake. People told me later I looked really weak when I did this, though I don't know if Stephen was paying attention. I thought for quite a while about whether to just call or not and then sort of suddenly decided Stephen probably didn't have a big hand, was feeler-raising, and would have to fold one pair if I moved in for his last 100k. I declared all-in and Stephen didn't take too long before calling with K9.

I think I made a good poker play here, and my opponent played the hand quite poorly. I was aggressive every step of the way and my betting represented a huge hand. However, I made a gigantic mistake. I had been pushing Stephen around lately and I failed to consider his psychological state. If I had not gone all-in in the face of heavy betting on two of the previous few hands, Stephen might have given me more credit for a big hand and maybe laid his top pair down. As it was, Stephen was likely sick of getting pushed around and felt he needed to take a stand.

Before I even processed what was happening, the 5 was on the felt and they were counting the chips down. I immediately started apologizing to Stephen for the bad beat and told him how well he had played. His wife had just come over to watch and said "so he just hit a straight on the river?" I felt really terrible, but the match was over and I was going to a WSOP final table.

A few days ago I did something I had never before done or even considered: I unregistered for a poker tournament. The day before I played the $1500 NL and didn't really give it everything I had. I watched some of my final table and lost some confidence and desire. When I woke up I just really wasn't feeling great about my game and my chances in the $3k NL. I walked over to the Rio and unregistered.

I've learned that you just shouldn't play poker unless you really want to. I've made that mistake before and paid a literal price. Friends of mine have made that mistake this WSOP and paid the price. In tournaments I've done well in, I've been hungry, relaxed, and confident. I was none of those, so I practiced some good gambling habits and saved my $3000.

Mistake #2: I had 13.8k with the blinds at 400-800-100. It was folded to me in the cutoff where I looked at pocket fours. The button folded out of turn while I thought about what to do. Steve Danneman in the small blind had about 11k and the BB had me covered by about 1k. Four of the five pros I talked to said within ten seconds that the right play here is to push all-in. I stupidly made it 2k and the BB quickly made it 5.5k. I was really confident he had crap and moved in quickly. He didn't like it but made a pot-odds call with A7 off and I lost on a board of 10857A.
 
You won't see ZeeJustin or TheWacoKidd make mistakes like these. Today it cost me.

There were some pretty bad players at the table who busted fast in a predictable fashion of losing a cooler, then tilt-panicking and dumping their short stacks. I feel short-stack blowups are one of the biggest ways the amateurs play worse than the pros - they panic and throw their tournament away when a comeback is still possible.

I won a good pot with a slowplayed AK against AJ on a board of A7437 where I may have missed a little value, then lost it back with JJ against 55 on a board of 1055K8. If I had been raised by quads on the flop here I would have been out less than an hour into the tournament.

Then a pattern emerged which would repeat itself the next two tables: I got all my chips from one loose-aggressive player. There was this maniacal amateur who would raise 83 offsuit and other crap like that in late position all the time.

One hand he raised and then I reraised about 60% of my stack with 99. He called so I assumed he was doing a stop n go but heprobably had no idea what a stop n go was. The flop came 975 and he checked, which was weird. I eventually decided to just stick the rest in and he called with AQ...okay. The turn was a scary 8 but the river paired the board and I doubled up to a healthy position. The very next hand I raised 1010 and Howard moved in; I called and outran his KQ and I was now the chipleader.

I extended the lead a bit later when the maniac raised and I reraised from the small blind with 88. He then called half his stack. The flop came J1010 and I put him in. He thought for like two minutes and then folded KQ faceup! Getting like 3.5:1 or something. Definitely one of the worst folds I've ever seen...and he was a maniac. This is why the WSOP is such a juicy tournament, even with the outrageous juice Harrah's takes. The fields are the softest you'll ever find withthese buyins. The equity for good players is just so enormous. The maniac rabbit-hunted and found an ace on the river...which would have made me the short stack with like 5 left.

A bit after this I raised and the maniac moved in. I made a marginal call with 98 thinking he was fairly weak...whoops he had jacks and I doubled him up. Then Jennifer won a coinflip against a really solid player and he was short stacked. Not long after I busted him with KK against A3 suited.

We played three-handed for a while and I accumulated some more chips. One hand Jennifer raised the button, the maniac called and I called with 44. The flop came 844 and we all checked. The turn was a 9 or something and the maniac bet out - I just called and Jennifer mucked. The river was a Q, he bet, I shoved, and he folded. He was eliminated (I think by Jennifer but I don't remember how) a bit later and we were heads up. I think I had 18k and she had about 12k when we started.

I grinded her down a little bit and then she limped the button and I raised with QQ in the BB. She called, then called my bet on a 1085 flop. The turn was a 6 putting two flush draws out and I shoved in. She thought for a good two minutes and folded. I now had a lead of like 23k to 7k.

She came back though and took a small lead. One hand I paid off her 74 on a board of 9449K with ace high. In retrospect this was a mistake because she bluffed pretty rarely. At this point I was really, really worried about losing and what it would do to my emotional state having blown a 3:1 chip lead in my first tournament back at the WSOP. Luckily we went on break and MasterJ and PiMaster were there for me.

We played something like two and a half hours heads up. Jennifer and I both play really nitty small-pot poker so it went on forever. You wouldn't think I could outplay a famous pro like Jennifer playing small ball but, as Jennifer would admit later, she's really not that great at no limit hold em. I know her cards were shitty but she was playing too tight, too passively, and not bluffing enough.

It took me a while to realize it but eventually I decided to just run over her and it worked - luckily she didn't pick up a hand to trap me in that stage. Soon I had her down to around eight big blinds and called her shove with A5 when she had Q5 suited...but she sucked out. I ground her down again though and finished her off raising 103 offsuit on the button and getting it all in on the turn of 1032X when she had J10.

I was really, really excited to win because of all the turmoil in my recent life and how long the heads up went on for. It was a fantastic feeling to have won something.  I'll post about the second round and final table soon...