Jason's ridiculous adventure

[JasonEvans]

I am sitting in a hotel room right now in Vegas. I just got done with the first day of play at the World Series of Poker. I am exhausted, excited, frustrated, and many other things. But the biggest thing I am at this point is hungry.

So, I am going to eat but before I do, I wanted to let all of you know about a blog I am writing on my experience so far. Check it out at: scoopthepot.blogspot.com/ (http://scoopthepot.blogspot.com/)

--Jason "I'll let you know how I did on day one tomorrow ;) " Evans

[Bob Green]

I enjoyed visiting your blog and will check back in tomorrow to read your updates. Good luck with your hands.

[DukeDude]

May the cards be with you.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Good luck Jason! And yes, may the cards be with you (and the Force, too!)

Question: Is your $5000 stake your money :eek: or CNN's :D?

[toughbuff1]

Best of luck, Jason. I hope to go to the WSOP one day, too. Tough luck with the jacks, but at least you got your money in good!

[2535Miles]

Hey Jason, good luck! I feel your pain and was crushed just reading your blog. I hope you have tons more fun.

Was the A-10 a good call only because he made his hand?

[kexman]

The A-10 was a bad call since he only had a 20% chance of winning the hand...he was lucky. He had to think jason was bluffing.

Jason, would you have called your hand? You bet first and he should have folded. However, if it was reversed would you have called. You had 80% chance, but if you do that 3 times over the course of the tourney you are down to 50/50. You have to play/gamble occasionally (due to blinds and antes), but it seems like with that many people you would want to keep your gambling (even when the odds are in your favor) to a minimum? Any insights on how the pros play with that many tables?

[BlueDevilJay]

Good story Jason. I'm a big poker fan/player and love reading these kind of stories told from people I "know" so to speak. Tough luck, but its very cool you can say you've been there and played in it. 2300 people involved? We're you playing in the Main Event?

[JasonEvans]

Good luck Jason! And yes, may the cards be with you (and the Force, too!)

Question: Is your $5000 stake your money :eek: or CNN's :D?

The money is mine ;)

I actually am not with CNN anymore as of a few weeks ago. But that is another story for another time.

Also, the blog is updated with the story of my final hand ;)

-Jason "blog can be found at http://scoopthepot.blogspot.com/" Evans

[JasonEvans]

The A-10 was a bad call since he only had a 20% chance of winning the hand...he was lucky. He had to think jason was bluffing.

Jason, would you have called your hand? You bet first and he should have folded. However, if it was reversed would you have called. You had 80% chance, but if you do that 3 times over the course of the tourney you are down to 50/50. You have to play/gamble occasionally (due to blinds and antes), but it seems like with that many people you would want to keep your gambling (even when the odds are in your favor) to a minimum? Any insights on how the pros play with that many tables?

I think his call was solid. The only way he is behind is if I have a face-card pocket pair (which I did). He could have easily put me on a suited Q-10 or J-10 or an A-9 in which case he would have been a pretty solid favorite. Also, he was not calling off all his remaining chips (though he would have been pretty short-stacked with only about 3000 left if he was wrong). Yes, it was a bad call because I had Jacks but I think it was ok aside from that.

One kinda cool note -- Anna, the poker pro sitting next to me, said "pocket Jacks" right before I turned over my hand on the all-in call. Based on the betting, she knew exactly what I had. I take that as a compliment to some extent because it means I played the Js correctly, I think. It is also kinda scary as it shows the pros really know what they are doing, ya know?

The second part of your question is a good one. Would I have made the call if he had been all-in and I knew I was, at best, an 80-20 favorite but was putting my whole stack at risk. Hmmmm. I think I would have. I had been very successful at not going all-in up to that point in the tournament (only two other times did I put my whole stack at risk) but you have to make a stand at some point. It is hard to get it in much better than 80-20. At some point, luck comes into play and I just got unlucky.

As I said, win that pot and I am one of the top ten chip leaders in the room at that moment. I feel like I was playing solidly enough to make the money at that point, which would have been truly amazing for me. If I had laid it down, I would have had about 6000 left in chips, not quite short-stacked, but getting close. I think you have to make the call if you are in my position.

That said, it always feels better to put the pressure on someone else and force them to make the call rather than calling off the rest of your chips. go all-in first, not second, ya know?

--Jason "thanks for reading the blog everyone" Evans

[A-Tex Devil]

You definitely got unlucky. One option is to push pre-flop since your stack was so low compared to the combined blinds and antes (With M < 10, Harrington, I think, has you pushing here with mid to high pairs, especially with a lot of limpers - first in vigorish and all. I may be remembering wrong though). The blinds must have been moving up fast, as 8,000 is a pretty low average stack when compared to the $1,100 in antes and blinds.

A-10 maybe doesn't call you down pre flop. I know I don't call with A-10 pre flop for a significant chunk of my stack, but I don't know how deep the guy with the A-10 was. If he has a huge stack, he probably calls anyway.

All that being said, you got 'em in ahead and lost. That's poker. Good luck in the next tourney!! I'm jealous!

[bhop22]

Jason, good luck from the ATL with your WSOP experience.

[bhd28]

Good luck from here, too. And thanks for posting and the blog. I am really interested in seeing how it goes.

[JasonEvans]

You definitely got unlucky. One option is to push pre-flop since your stack was so low compared to the combined blinds and antes (With M < 10, Harrington, I think, has you pushing here with mid to high pairs, especially with a lot of limpers - first in vigorish and all. I may be remembering wrong though). The blinds must have been moving up fast, as 8,000 is a pretty low average stack when compared to the $1,100 in antes and blinds.

A-10 maybe doesn't call you down pre flop. I know I don't call with A-10 pre flop for a significant chunk of my stack, but I don't know how deep the guy with the A-10 was. If he has a huge stack, he probably calls anyway.

All that being said, you got 'em in ahead and lost. That's poker. Good luck in the next tourney!! I'm jealous!

I certainly thought about a pre-flop push. With so many callers there was a nice chunck of change in the pot already, but I wanted to have the option to get away from the hand if there was a lot of paint on the flop. I did not want to put my tournament at risk on Jacks unless I was pretty sure they were a very strong favorite.

Think about it this way-- any call I get pre-flop is probably going to be someone who is coin-flip (2 overcards) or better (high pocket pair) on me. I am losing all my chips to the high pocket pair every day of the week, and I can live with that, but I would have been pretty upset to get a call from a KQ or AQ and then lost to a Q, K, or A on the flop. I wanted the option to stick around which is why I did not pre-flop push.

Hard to say which is the better play. I think my play gave me a chance to double up while the pre-flop play only gets called when you are in much worse of a situation. Does that make any sense?

Then again, Dan Harrington certainly knows better than I do and I may just push all-in if I am fortunate enough to be in a situation like that in the future.

--Jason "thanks for all the interest in my adventure" Evans

[A-Tex Devil]

I certainly thought about a pre-flop push. With so many callers there was a nice chunck of change in the pot already, but I wanted to have the option to get away from the and if there was a lot of paint on the flop. I did not want to put my tournament at risk on Jacks unless I was pretty sure they were a very strong favorite.

Think about it this way-- any call I get pre-flop is probably going to be someone who is coin-flip (2 overcards) or better (high pocket pair) on me. I am losing all my chips to the high pocket pair every day of the week, and I can live with that, but I would have been pretty upset to get a call from a KQ or AQ and then lost to a Q, K, or A on the flop. I wanted the option to stick around which is why I did not pre-flop push.

Hard to say which is the better play. I think my play gave me a chance to double up while the pre-flop play only gets called when you are in much worse of a situation. Does that make any sense?

Then again, Dan Harrington certainly knows better than I do and I may just push all-in if I am fortunate enough to be in a situation like that in the future.

--Jason "thanks for all the interest in my adventure" Evans

No criticism here - and I'm not sure either is the better play. You certainly played it to maximize the money. If things work out with the odds, you make more than if everyone folded pre-flop. I'll be following along! Good luck!

[JasonEvans]

scoopthepot.blogspot.com (http://scoopthepot.blogspot.com/) has been updated with some more hands (mostly losing ones) as well as a preview of my tournament tomorrow.

--Jason "thanks for reading and feel free to leave a comment there as well as here!" Evans

[ForeverBlowingBubbles]

I like the layout/color scheme. Simple, attractive, and easy to read.

[YmoBeThere]

When it is all said and done, I have a few random questions about your prep for the whole event...

[JasonEvans]

When it is all said and done, I have a few random questions about your prep for the whole event...

Dude, I live in Atlanta (no nearby casinos) and hate playing online (plus, online games "feel" very different from live events) so my prep was pretty darn minimal.

-Jason "unless you mean making hotel/airplane reservations and the such, which is best done well in advance ;) " Evans

[JasonEvans]

Ya'll will LOVE this!!!

Check these out (http://www.printroom.com/ViewgalleryPhoto.asp?userid=worldseriesofpoker&gallery_id=1137158&image_id=52).

-Jason "note, they were done at the very start of play, so my chip stack looks tiny" Evans

[Clipsfan]

Count me as another who enjoyed reading your blog and will look forward to more updates. I also read a ton of poker blogs around this time of year.

Also, I think you played the jacks correctly. 80% chance of winning when you get your money in the pot was about as good as it was going to get, bad luck not winning it.

[Clipsfan]

Ya'll will LOVE this!!!

Check these out (http://www.printroom.com/ViewgalleryPhoto.asp?userid=worldseriesofpoker&gallery_id=1137158&image_id=52).

-Jason "note, they were done at the very start of play, so my chip stack looks tiny" Evans

Nice jersey!

[Udaman]

Jason - not to kick a guy while he's down.....but your all-in call was very risky. You were still around average in terms of chips. He had simply bet $1,500, which you could have called.

As you laid out, there were three other people who called pre-flop, which likely meant that they either had low pocket pairs, or (as you correctly indicated) Ace or King something with a decent kicker.

Yes, the flop came back pretty good (no chance of straight or flush)....but the fact that the guy bid meant that he certainly had caught a pair....and maybe, just maybe he now had trips and was trying to bid low to get someone all in. You knew that he likely had a pair of 10's, 9's or 4's with a high card kicker, and that meant that you had an 80% chance of winning. Those are good odds...but when you go all in, it means 1 out of 5 times you are out of the tournament.

Personally, I would have called his $1,500, then prayed for a low card or Jack. When the pair on the board came, you would have folded if he bid anything (and thanked yourself for not going all in on the flop).

Now, that being said, he's an absolute idiot for calling your all-in, because at that point he must have known you had a high pair, and that his odds were pretty small. You got unlucky in the fact that he called you....but I would not have gone all in.

Again, easy to say from my computer at work. You are living the dream out there, though.

[toughbuff1]

I disagree. I think it was the right play at the time. Jason represented at least an over-pair if not a set when he went all-in, and the guy was a fool for calling. Besides, I'd rather go out making an aggressive move, than calling off all of my chips. Not that I would want to go out, but at least you make the other guy make a tough decision (unless you're betting into the nuts).

The only other way I may have played it differently was pushing all-in pre-flop like A-Tex suggested. The only people you have to sweat having a higher pocket pair are the big blind, and the first limper (who may have wanted to limp-raise). I doubt any limpers later in the action would want to go in with a higher pocket pair without isolating. And most likely more than one of these limpers had at least one over-card, making the odds greater that Jason's jacks would hold up if someone did in fact call him with an AK or AQ. I doubt anyone would call a $7600 raise at that point with just a KQ, an AQ qould be a tough call, and an AK would probably be at best a coin-flip.

Of course, thats just my own idiotic opinion. I'm not a pro poker player, I just play one in my home game every Tuesday night.

[toughbuff1]

Oh, and good luck in today's event Jason. Make us proud!!!

[DukeDude]

Ya'll will LOVE this!!!

Check these out (http://www.printroom.com/ViewgalleryPhoto.asp?userid=worldseriesofpoker&gallery_id=1137158&image_id=52).

-Jason "note, they were done at the very start of play, so my chip stack looks tiny" Evans

You have the same tell as LeChiffre from Casino Royale! Who's jersey are you wearing?

[YmoBeThere]

That is why they call it gambling...

[Udaman]

Toughbluff - you and I agree that the person who called him made a dumb move....but he had the chips to do it. He was sitting at $11,000, and if he lost, he would still be at $3,000. Not great. But not totally dead.

With Jason in the small blinds, his caller probably thought that he had a small pair in hand, or maybe had hit a small pair on the flop. He might also have thought that he had caught a pair of 10's, with a high card, but not an Ace, and thus that he had him beat. Jason's position and his calls made him certainly think that he didn't have pocket J's or better. I'm sure when Jason flipped them over, he was pretty bummed - until the 10 came up on the turn.

Again, my feeling with Jason is that to go all-in in a tournament where if you don't win you are out of the tournament is a very, very dangerous thing to do, and you should only do so when you feel solidly in control of where things stand. Based on the bidding, he knew that the guy had at least a pair with a high kicker, (in which case there was still a 1 in 5 chance his tournament would be over if he went all in), and possibly he had three of a kind, which would mean there was a 90% chance his tournament was over. Expected value there shows that you have about a 40% chance of losing. Those are bad odds to risk losing your tournament.

I agree that sometimes you have to go for it...but in a tournament where you are playing to make the top 200 and you are near the chip average, going all in against someone with a larger stack...should be almost a last resort. If you have more money than they do, then definitely go for it....but otherwise you are risking your tournament life, when the object is to hold on.

[A-Tex Devil]

Udaman -- If you are playing just to cash, then maybe you bet a bit less. But if he wants a chance to do more than make it past the bubble, I think Jason has to go all in either pre flop or at flop to push out any over cards. But if you bet less and the guy comes over the top, do you fold? I put the pressure on the other dude immediately.

The biggest factor, though, on why I think he made the right move is the size of his stack compared to blinds and antes. He was in a great spot there, and he drops $1,100 every time the button comes around which is a huge chunk of what he has left. It may not get much better than that JJ overpair.

That tourney had to have been an all in fest getting towards the end. The size of the blinds compared to the average stack doesn't allow for any real finesse unless you have a huge stack.

[Udaman]

A-Tex - I'm not saying he played poorly. Just personally, I would not have done it. Not with three people having called the BB. That meant there were good high cards out there, and possibly low pairs that could get tripped up.

No problem with him seeing the flop, but when the guy bet a decent amount, you are putting your tournament life on the line with about a 45% chance of losing. I get that number by figuring that no way does the guy bet unless he has either A,10, K,10, Q,10, J,10 or A, 3, or 10,10 6,6 or 3,3. Expected value of those 8 hands is that you lose 47% of the time.

Also, you mention that every time the button comes around, he would be out $1,100, and that's true. But he had $5,100 left, and assuming 10 people at the table, that's at least another 50 hands. Win a few more - steal a few blinds, and you are right back in it.

In no limit holdem, I don't go all in unless:

1) I'm the big stack, or bigger than the guy I'm going all-in on.

2) I'm down to near the end, and know I only have maybe 4-5 total hands left.

3) I know I've got a super, super chance to win, and only a terrible card will doom me (i.e. not 20%).

4) I have the nuts.

[toughbuff1]

Toughbluff - you and I agree that the person who called him made a dumb move....but he had the chips to do it. He was sitting at $11,000, and if he lost, he would still be at $3,000. Not great. But not totally dead.

With Jason in the small blinds, his caller probably thought that he had a small pair in hand, or maybe had hit a small pair on the flop. He might also have thought that he had caught a pair of 10's, with a high card, but not an Ace, and thus that he had him beat. Jason's position and his calls made him certainly think that he didn't have pocket J's or better. I'm sure when Jason flipped them over, he was pretty bummed - until the 10 came up on the turn.

Again, my feeling with Jason is that to go all-in in a tournament where if you don't win you are out of the tournament is a very, very dangerous thing to do, and you should only do so when you feel solidly in control of where things stand. Based on the bidding, he knew that the guy had at least a pair with a high kicker, (in which case there was still a 1 in 5 chance his tournament would be over if he went all in), and possibly he had three of a kind, which would mean there was a 90% chance his tournament was over. Expected value there shows that you have about a 40% chance of losing. Those are bad odds to risk losing your tournament.

I agree that sometimes you have to go for it...but in a tournament where you are playing to make the top 200 and you are near the chip average, going all in against someone with a larger stack...should be almost a last resort. If you have more money than they do, then definitely go for it....but otherwise you are risking your tournament life, when the object is to hold on.

True, there would be a 1/5 chance that his tournament would be over if the guy called, and then hit. But with that bet, there is a very good chance he takes down the pot without the guy calling, so his odds were way higher.

You have to accumulate chips somehow in order to win the tournament. I agree you want to put your stack at risk as few times as possible, because even if you are a heavy favorite each time you are all-in, eventually you will get bad-beated. However, In this case, with Jason as the aggressor and also having great odds, I still say he made the right play.

[JasonEvans]

http://scoopthepot.blogspot.com (http://scoopthepot.blogspot.com/) has been updated with my sad results from the second tournament. I was so freakin' card dead it was unreal (aside from a beautiful pocket rockets that chipped me up strongly early on). You can read all about it and tell me why I was a donk ;)

--Jason "not getting cards is really exhausting" Evans

[2535Miles]

http://scoopthepot.blogspot.com (http://scoopthepot.blogspot.com/) has been updated with my sad results from the second tournament. I was so freakin' card dead it was unreal (aside from a beautiful pocket rockets that chipped me up strongly early on). You can read all about it and tell me why I was a donk ;)
Hey Jason, I wish the end story had a happy ending but it's still a great blog. I've really enjoyed reading it and felt myself smiling during the high spots, and saying "damn" during the lows. You are from being the king of donkeydom. Good stuff.

[Udaman]

Having the K fall on the river just stinks. In a tournament like that, with that many people, you need to be on the "getting" side of that to have any chance, and if you are on the receiving side, just once, you are probably out.

True story....One time I'm playing and I'm in the BB and get unsuited 7,2. Worst hand in poker. A few people call, but nobody raises, so I get to see the flop.

Flop goes down 7,7,2. I now have a boat. One person even says, "boy, wish I hadn't folded my 7,2." Lots of laughter. Meanwhile, I'm trying not to sweat.

There's a mediocre raise that one other guy calls, as do I. Turn is a 6. Guy does a decent raise, other person folds, and I go all in. After a while, he calls and flips over A,7 (not even suited). River is an Ace. Done, and done! Table couldn't believe my luck - or lack of thereof.

Moral of the story - never play 7,2. Ever :-)

[micah75]

http://scoopthepot.blogspot.com (http://scoopthepot.blogspot.com/) has been updated with my sad results from the second tournament. I was so freakin' card dead it was unreal (aside from a beautiful pocket rockets that chipped me up strongly early on). You can read all about it and tell me why I was a donk ;)

--Jason "not getting cards is really exhausting" Evans

I think you folded those AJ hands correctly. It's possible your opponents were taking advantage of your tight image at the time. Still, AJ is kind of marginal. As you alluded to, if anyone raises, they most likely have a better A or a pocket pair.

If you're card dead, you're card dead. It happens. There's not much you can do except tough it out and hope the drought ends soon.

That was interesting about the shaky hands while stacking the chips, with the lady next to you asking if you were cold or nervous. Generally, shaky hands is a huge tell that someone has a monster hand. I guess when the adrenelin is flowing, there's not much you can do. I watched a poker show once where they monitored the heartbeats of the players during the action. Even some of the pros had heartbeats over 170 during big hands. Others were able to remain steady regardless of the situation. Some pros drink.. I suspect to calm their nerves, such as Scotty Nguyen (the pro you bumped into.) Did the shaky hands affect you at all in the 2nd tourney?

Anyway, very interesting blog. It must be somewhat intimidating to be up against so many pros (both online and B&M.) Hopefully the outcome will be more favorable the next time around, with some experience under your belt.

[ArkieDukie]

Hey, Jason, is it too late to call in the DBR Good Karma tsunami? It's worked pretty well for people applying for jobs and selling houses. If it extends to poker, I'm sending good karma your way!

[JasonEvans]

Yes, it is too late. I am done with the WSOP -- for now ;)

--Jason "thanks tho!!" Evans

[BCGroup]

So Jason, did you say you had changed jobs.....? what's up (if you want to share)?

[JasonEvans]

So Jason, did you say you had changed jobs.....? what's up (if you want to share)?

Long story but I am no longer at CNN. It was 100% my choice. I just decided 18+ years was long enough and I wanted some time off. I had a bunch of stuff I wanted to do this summer and I am getting all of it done.

I'll say more some time soon. But, I am no longer a CNN employee.

-Jason "I am not going to become a pro poker player, that's for sure!" Evans

[2535Miles]

Yes, it is too late. I am done with the WSOP -- for now ;)
Bummer. My buddies and I just got into town after standing around the kitchen at 3:30 AM and deciding Vegas was a good idea. We were gonna come cheer you on. :)

[Deslok]

Bummer. My buddies and I just got into town after standing around the kitchen at 3:30 AM and deciding Vegas was a good idea. We were gonna come cheer you on. :)

Geez, and Jason could have had his own rooting section... just got into town myself(now looking for the coolest day to hit the canyon... looks like Wednesday, only a high of 105... oof).

[2535Miles]

Geez, and Jason could have had his own rooting section... just got into town myself(now looking for the coolest day to hit the canyon... looks like Wednesday, only a high of 105... oof).
Ugh the heat was brutal! At 2:00 AM it was a cool 103 degrees. Even my sweat was sweating.

[Deslok]

The part I find bizarre is that from 11pm on, its still hot but the heat is coming up from the pavements around(in some spots, crossing the road, it almost painful on my eyes just because you aren't used to dealing with the heat on the underside of your eyebrows).

Anyway, time to take my stroll through some more casinos before hitting the pool around lunch time.

[YmoBeThere]

How was the overall attendance at the events you went to? More or less than '07? Day 2 of the main event as I type...

[throatybeard]

Then again, Dan Harrington certainly knows better than I do

Is he still wearing those Red Sox flatbrims? I always thought that was hilarious to see on a guy his age.

[YmoBeThere]

Former Main Event winner Huck Seed busted out in 17 minutes...

[YmoBeThere]

Sorry to bump an old thread, but the Main Event at the World Series of Poker goes from 9 to 2 today.

Live audio is available at www.Bluffmagazine.com

[YmoBeThere]

After 53 hands, someone finally goes out. Craig Marquis loses out to the straight on the river...the small stack(Kelly Kim) to start the day just earned an additional $380K+ by being patient and sticking around.

[YmoBeThere]

Kelly Kim goes out the very next hand...

[sue71, esq]

Ymo, are you watching this on tv or is it on the internet... or are you doing the Bluff feed... how are you getting updates?

[YmoBeThere]

Ymo, are you watching this on tv or is it on the internet... or are you doing the Bluff feed... how are you getting updates?


I was using the Bluff feed, but closed it by accident. :( Now I can't get back in because its too busy. The WSOP site has updates but they were lagging considerably behind the Bluff feed.

[YmoBeThere]

And now the WSOP site is crashing...uggghhh.

[roywhite]

Ya'll will LOVE this!!!

Check these out (http://www.printroom.com/ViewgalleryPhoto.asp?userid=worldseriesofpoker&gallery_id=1137158&image_id=52).

-Jason "note, they were done at the very start of play, so my chip stack looks tiny" Evans

Classic.

I'm not a poker player, so my questions are pretty simple:
What number (if any) is on the jersey?
Do you have your name (or a Duke hoopster) on the back?

Way to represent.:)

[JasonEvans]

Classic.

I'm not a poker player, so my questions are pretty simple:
What number (if any) is on the jersey?
Do you have your name (or a Duke hoopster) on the back?

Way to represent.:)

The jersey was a vintage Grant Hill #33 and, yes, it says "Hill" on the back.

And, thanks to you reminding me about it, I figured out a way to show the images from that website here -- at least I think. Check these out--

http://www.printroom.com/gallerythumb17/137886/20080619090550216116.JPG http://www.printroom.com/gallerythumb17/137886/20080619090556140027.JPG http://www.printroom.com/gallerythumb17/137886/20080619090622184261.JPG

--Jason "ahhh-- good memories!" Evans

[sue71, esq]

The jersey was a vintage Grant Hill #33 and, yes, it says "Hill" on the back.

And, thanks to you reminding me about it, I figured out a way to show the images from that website here -- at least I think. Check these out--

http://www.printroom.com/gallerythumb17/137886/20080619090550216116.JPG http://www.printroom.com/gallerythumb17/137886/20080619090556140027.JPG http://www.printroom.com/gallerythumb17/137886/20080619090622184261.JPG

--Jason "ahhh-- good memories!" Evans

Jason, dark shades and an accompanying Duke hat next year and you'll psyche them all out!

[YmoBeThere]

Black headphones would complete the look.

Main event down to two, it'll be finished tomorrow.