Coyler to the rescue

Two more attempts at the Caesars megastack. In both, I experimented wigth a very different style from my normal live one. Early on I went uberlag, opening 80% plus of pots folded round to me. I hit nothing early so I doubled down by degrees only to double back up. I opened KJs utg and got reraised by a young Dutch guy who clearky knew I was opening very light. Normally KJs is a hand I'd bin pretty fast to a reraise (in fact, I wouldn't even open it early) but decided it was a marginal call given how lightly I'm getting reraised here. I flopped an open ended straight/royal flush draw, called a ship after check raising a pot sized bet, and found myself freerolling to the flush against another KJ. The flush duly arrived. A couple of hands later, I got the rest of the Dutch guy's stack when he called a 4 bet shove with AQ v my AK and I held. I motored up to 85K without too much difficulty until rising blinds and antes forced people to start playing back at me. Untimely card death meant I eventually withered out in 29th, 11 off the bubble. Disappointing in the end but I was happy with how I'd played in a style I may wheel out in the main event if the conditions are right. I'm less than convinced my normal TAG live game is optimal in the US and structures with early significant antes. Waiting for big hands works in Ireland where you can play one hand every 6 hours, open AA utg, and find some eejit willing to ship AT behind. That doesn't seem to be the way to go in the US: apart from the fact that you often simply can't afford to wait for premiums, the best way to get action if you are lucky enough to be dealt one is to have riled up the table with constant raising before.

Yesterday I decided to relocate to the Rio for a number of reasons: after a week of near misses in MTTs I wanted to get some actual cash and the soft STTs in the Rio seemed the way to go. Another reason was the treatment I received from the rudest dealer I've ever seen in Caesars the previous night. Met Paul Coyle and he suggested we chop our action in a couple of STTs. This proved a winner for me as I busted out early in both and he chopped both. Std appalling: first one, first hand, everyone playing 1500, blinds 25/25, dude raises to 75 in CO. I make it 225 in SB with KK and we get it in on a T72 flop. He has T9o and pings a 9 on the turn. Gg, wp, inspired call for 15% of stack pre.

In the second one I got an early doubleup and then doubled down with KJ v 64o. Dude called 20% of stack pre with the 64 and flopped the nuts (we didn't get the rest in until a K hit the turn). Same guy managed to donk off a huge stack twice. So basically Coyler saved my day and made it my first profitable one since I got here. Despite apparently having little experience of them he played absolutely flawlessly. A total natural.

Plan was to grind some more today but the young lad needed a day off after his heroics the previous evening so he headed off to Hangover with Chubbs and Big Mick G instead. I played 2 and chopped second for a $700 profit on day. Congrats to dagunman on his second cash of this year's WSOP. Sterling effort.

Tomorrow I play my second WSOP event, so fingers crossed for that.

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