Slow start

Played Caesars 11 PM just after getting here. Probably a mistake as I was pretty knackered but tbh didn't make any difference to the outcome. The structure is pretty fast, I got nothing early doors, and had drifted down a bit from starting stack and getting shortish when I got it in with JT v KQ on a JT3 board. You know you're running bad when you start expecting the beats so I sat there waiting for the 9 or A to hit but no, turn a 3, river a K, counterfeited.

Played the Venetian deepstack the next day. Started extremely well and got up to 20K with no incident and was feeling good about myself as the last hand before the first break was dealt. Looking down at KK, I raised a very bad player's utg limp, a good old school pro called on the button, as did the big blind and the limper. Flop 532 with two spades, checked to me, I bet 1500, only to get check raised to 6000 by the limper. After due consideration, I decided my kings were probably good with his most likely holdings either a draw or a smaller overpair, so I shipped. He was on a draw all right: K6s (spades). He hit his flush on the turn with the 2 of spades, which did give me some hope of a redraw to a house on the river, but no. To make things worse, he celebrated exuberantly and started trying to explain how he'd played the hand perfectly. Ever the gracious loser, I said I thought iot was pretty horrible play particularly pre, but hey he'd got lucky so well done. Actually, I think I may just have said the first part :)

Short after the break, I did get a needed doubleup. My exit was pretty std: playing 7K and with 3K in the middle after 4 limpers, I decided KQs was good enough to ship in the circumstances. The second limper, an old school Texas road gambler pro, called with a most unexpected AK. Very unusual way to play AK, and not without merit, keeping the pot small initially and inducing squeezes from worse aces and kings behind.

Ran into Nicky Power in the Rio and set up his Internet for the poor scared old guy, ran into John O'Shea and Marty who had just cashed in the 5K PLO, went for something to eat with Paul Coyle (who is crushing 2/5 out here) and BigMickG (who went deep in yesterday's 2K event). Paul and myself heading to Caesar's for the nightly tourney. Played some 2/5 cash for an hour before in a very soft game where despite card death I ground out a princely $64 profit. Paul made money too. We both made the second last table but ultimately no good. Std was dreadful: two sample hands. Having again drifted back to 4K, a late position guy raised to 325, I made it 1100 in the BB with AQ, and he called. I check shipped a K52 all club flop (I had the A of clubs) and was called and up against a very surprising Q5o, I rivered an ace. Then playing 7K with blinds 200/400/50, I shipped AK from mip position and the same guy called for most of his stack with AT. Pretty shocking call live (online it happens all the time which is why AK is a great ship in those spots), and I held up. Exit hand reasonably std. Blinds 600/1200/100 and playing 17K, utg limp, mid pos call, Paul bumped it up to 3600 in the CO, and my AK in the SB is a pretty std ship. Utg reshipped JJ and held.

Overall happy with my play so far and hopefully I can keep it going when it counts more in tomorrow's WSOP side event.

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