WSOP Day 1 Update

Today was ultimately a very good day – I finished with 83,900, nearly 3x the starting stack and more than 2x the average at day’s end – but it was much more stressful than I’d prefer Day 1 of the WSOP to be. I lost both pre-flop all-ins I played, once with AKs < JJ and once with JJ < 99, and didn’t have too many choice pre-flop hands. That was particularly problematic because the two players on my right were pretty good and extremely active, making it tough to win pots without some kind of hand. I ended up having to run some big bluffs, including 4-betting KQ then double barreling for more than half of my stack and 3-betting all-in with overs and a flush draw in a 3-bet pot.

My most stressful hand of the day was also one of the biggest and was picked up by PokerNews:

The preflop action was related to us second hand, but it sounds like Chavignon opened with a raise, Brokos reraised, Chavignon four-bet, Brokos reraised again, and Chavignon called. The flop then came  and Chavignon fired a bet of 10,000 that Brokos called. The pair then checked down the  turn and  river.

Chavignon tabled  — he’d flopped two pair, then the jack on the turn had counterfeited his hand. Brokos showed , that turn jack having made his hand best.

The action was actually crazier than that. At 200/400/50, three hands before the end of the night, Chavignon opened to 800 from three of the button. He had a monster stack, that was very standard for him, and given who was in the BB I honestly think he was opening any two. The player in between us, who was also very active and very perceptive and was very capable of 3-betting light in a good spot like this, made it 2100 from the HJ. So now here I am holding ATs in the CO with a re-raise in front of me and I feel like I have the nuts.

I made it 5300, and the action folded back to Chavignon who made it 10,800. The guy in the middle folded, and I was still convinced ATs was good. That’s how much Chavignon hated to give up a pot. If I’d been a little shorter I’d have just shoved pre, but I had about 60K behind which seemed a little too much so I called.

I thought a long time when he bet 10K on the flop. At that point that pot was basically the size of my stack and I kinda felt like I should jam for protection, but I’m drawing near dead when called and I didn’t want to risk 50K at the end of Day 1 of the main event. So I called.

I wasn’t thrilled about giving a free card on the turn, since he could easily have random diamonds, but I still didn’t think I’d be good if any more money went into the pot (OK maybe occasionally he jams with a semi-bluff but I can’t call) so I had to check behind. I was relieved to check back the river and of course to see that he’d been counterfeited on the turn, though really more money went into the pot when I was ahead than when I was behind.

I am very much looking forward to a relaxing day tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for following along.