Here is my Indiana report.
Got down to Caesar's late Friday night and checked in. My plan was to play the $1000+60 mega satellite (to the $10k main event) at 1pm on Saturday and then a one table satellite later if I didn't get in.
The mega satellite started out really well. We got 3,000 in chips and the blinds were 25/25 and only went up every fourty minutes... a nice structure for sure. The first big pot I played was when I had JJ and raise a few limpers out of the SB, only the button called. The flop was 963 and I bet and he called. I really thought at this point 78 was a likely hand, well a 7 came on the turn and I pushed and he called, and I busted him when he missed on the river. That gave me some momentum... I was quickly up to around 12,500 after a few levels. My rush subsided a bit and I misplayed a few hands and was quickly down to only about 2400 with the blinds 200/400. From there I doubled up once, and then again in the blinds with KK vs AQ, and got it back up to 12,000+ a little while later when my AK beat QQ.
We were down to 3 tables now with 14 spots paying seats and I quickly went card dead. Eventually I stuck it in with QT against AK and lost. I finished 24th, only ten spots away. The bad part was it lasted 7 hours or so and I was exhausted. I vegged out in the room for awhile, debating whether I should commit another $1,000 to a one table satellite... I finally decided to. Turned out to be a good decision.
On the very first hand of the one table, I flopped top set and got it all in with a guy who had top pair/flush draw on the turn and I doubled up. (I had 8,000 and the blinds were only 25/50). It was clear there were about 7 donkeys and myself and the young guy to my right. I started adding up what I had heard from him so far, lives in Oklahoma, he was hanging out with Gavin Griffin, I put 2 and 2 together and figured he was ImSoLucky0 from online play and introduced myself. A nice guy and we had a fun time playing the satellite. He got me good when he raised to 300 utg and I made it 900 with KK. He called, and doubled through me when he flopped a set of queens. Things were looking really desperate as I was down to 2400 with the blinds 200/400, there were maybe 4 or 5 players left. Then I caught a rush. I doubled up with 8T when I flopped the nut straight out of the blinds, then later saw a flop with J9 and got it all in with KT on a 89T flop and spiked a J on the river. I finally had some ammo four handed when this hand came up. Imsolucky (Jordan) limped UTG, I limped on the button with AhTh and the blinds came. The flop was AK5 and it was checked to me, I bet 1500 (pot was probably 2400 at this point), Jordan check raised me to 4500. I thought for awhile and got the feeling he wasn't happy with his hand so I jammed, having him covered by a bit. He said "I guess I call" and showed A6 and I busted him to move into second place with three remaining. Third place was extremely short.
I busted third place and we started heads up - me with a small lead of maybe 24000 to 16000. My opponent was extremely passive, once checking his option in the BB with JJ and once with 99. Most hands went like this, I would raise from the button and he would call. He or I would bet into the flop and take the pot down. He was never going to bluff me for sure. On the final hand, I limped with T7 and he checked the BB. The flop was K72 and he check called. I was ready to shutdown but a 7 came on the turn and he check called again, and check called all in on the river with 99 and I had the seat! After picking up my voucher and a few hundred dollars cash, and then being badgered to tip (I hate that), I went back to the room... as it was 2am and I had to play again in 10 hours.
I get to my starting table expecting to see no one I knew, and I was a bit wrong. There were 128 players and probably 12 well known players and I had four of them at my table. Kathy Liebert in seat 2, Scott Fischman in the 5, Erik Seidel in the 6, me in the 8 and Liz Lieu in the 9. We started with 10,000 and the blinds were 25/50.
In level 1, I won a nice pot from the old crazy guy in seat 3. I opened for 150 in EP with T9o, he re-raised to 450 from the button and i called. The flop was J82 two hearts and I check called 500. On the turn, an A came and it went check/check. The 7h came on the river and I bet 1500 and he called and MHIG. One pot I played with Liz. I open from the button for 200 with J9. I meant it to be 150 but the dealer didn't hear me call it out so it stayed 200. Liz called from the SB and the flop came K78. It went check/check and the beautiful T came on the turn. She checked, I bet 300, she made it 1000, I made it 2800 and she folded. I wish i would have just smooth called here but I remember there being a flush draw out there.
In level 2, I played a huge pot with Scott. He had limped a lot in level 1 and played postflop well. He opened for 300 UTG and had me covered by 500 (I had 13k) and I decided to take a flop in position with Ah5h. Everyone else folded and the flop came Ac5c4s. Scott bet 500, and I made it 1500. He thought a sec and made it 4000. I took a lot of time at this point. I wanted to sell AQ, AJ as much as possible but also protect against the club draw and try to figure out if he plays AA this fast. I decided re-raising here would get him to fold, so I just called. The turn was a 6c, not a great card because it completes the flush. But I can't imagine him re-raising the flop with just a club draw. He instantly pushes. I didn't tank too long before calling and he had AK no club. He's got 6 outs on the river and misses and I am up to 26000 and he has 500. Meanwhile, the Seat 1 busts old crazy guy in seat 3 in this bizarro hand. Limped pot, the flop comes 589 all spades. There is maybe 450 in the pot and old guy bets 1200. Seat 1 min raises to 2400. Old guy in seat 3 calls. The turn is an 8 and they eventually get it all in, seat 1 with 89 and seat 3 with 55. I can't imagine a worse play then min raising an overbet on the flop with top two on a one suit board. Seat 1 is a donk, but a donk with chips.
Seat 3 gets replaced by a loose player who is clearly there to just enjoy himself. On one of the first hands, Scott pushes for 500 utg, Liz pushes for maybe 2300 (blinds 50/100 mind you) and seat 3 insta calls with 88. He wins the pot against air from Scott and 66 from Liz and knocks both of them out.
Hands that I recall from levels 3 and 4 : I open in EP with JJ and seat 4 calls out of the BB. Flop is 862 and he leads for pot size and I call. Turn is a 6 and he bets 1500 and I call. River is a blank, check/check, he shows 55, MHIG. Seat 4 raises one limper to 600, seat 5 cold calls, I make it 2400 with KK, seat 4 instantly pushes for 8k total with 55 and MHIG. I get a cheap look in a 5 way pot with 55 in the SB. Flop is AK4 two diamonds, checked around. Turn is an offsuit 5, I lead for 800, BB folds, limper folds, seat 4 makes it 3000 leaving himself 5000 more, I jam on him, he calls with A9 no diamond. He's drawing dead and I have 45k at the dinner break. (Meanwhile Chris Ferguson takes his seat).
Chris has 12k, Kathy about 7k and Erik about 8k when we come back from the dinner break. Erik opens for 850 (blinds 150/300) and I smooth call with KK, and Kathy calls from the BB. The flop is K76 and Erik bets 1600, I call, and Kathy mucks. The turn is a 5 and Erik checks and I jam. He thinks forever before calling with AA. What a nice read it was by him to not put his chips in there quickly. I said that as he got up and Ferguson agreed his chips would have been in there instantly. A few hands later I raise with AK and Kathy jams and I call, she has 99, spikes the 9d on the river (after I had flopped an ace), she says "YESSSSS", but I show her the nut flush and she walks away pretty dejected. I am up to 63k at this point. Erik is replaced by Adam Friedman, the red headed kid that was shown crying on ESPN last week. He thinks he is the nuts, and he isn't, and that annoys me at the poker table. People who constantly complain about what other cards are played by the other people at the table and how they play them are so annoying. Anyway, he bluffs Seat 1 on the night's final hand and does a lap around the table telling everyone how great he is, nh sir. I end day 1 with 56625, good for fourth out of 53 remaining.
I drew Vinnie Vinh with his 66k three seats to my right. The day didn't go well for me. I picked up AA against a guy that was eager to put his chips in preflop but he mucked JJ. Later, he pushed for about 20 big blinds from EP and I called with 88. It was a marginal call, except he had pushed UTG with 10 bb's with TJ. I was very annoyed when he flipped over KK and I shipped 11k his way. I got it back up to 37k when I won a showdown with AQ vs KQ and we were down to 27 and that was the end of day 2.
Day 3 I drew Vinnie again and took a nice little pot off of him early with TT. The blinds were 500/1000/100 now... my stack fluctuated down to 30, up to 40, but I never picked up a hand at the right time. The whole day I pretty much either won preflop or got called and then lost postflop. It was a bit brutal. Finally the blinds were 800/1600 and I had only about 19000. I open pushed with 22, re-raised Vinnie with 33 and suddenly was back up to 29k. Still, I'm the short stack, they only pay 9 spots and we were down to 13. I pick up KK only a hand or two later and open for 5k. MP, who had played tight began to reach for chips and I knew he was raising. I also knew any raise would commit both of us. I was so excited I almost leapt out of my chair. He made it 24k and I pushed in for 4 or 5k more, he looked disgusted and flipped up 33. I was now looking at 80% equity and a pot of 60k to get back into the thick of things. The flop was 754 which gave him 6 outs. They delayed the cards as they were announcing the hand to the crowd and the 3c came on the turn to put me in horrible shape. The 2 came on the river and I was gone. All in once in level 2 against Fischman and now again with 13 people left, both with huge equity.
Looking forward to the $15k bellagio tourney in december for sure.
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