Tahoe 2019 Trip Report
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We had a great time once again in Lake Tahoe. We even managed to come home with some WSOP Ca$h! Dennis and Michael split our promo Grand Prize and they each got to join me in Lake Tahoe to play in a $400 WSOP circuit event. Below is our trip report…
From Dennis:
I had the pleasure of representing the Simone Team in Lake Tahoe. It was a tough group of players to begin with. I got knocked out on the last level before re-entry was coming to an end. I bought in for a second attempt and ran my stack up pretty quickly. Chris witnessed my comeback as he joined my table. He mentioned "Ever since I joined your table, I don't think you've lost a hand picking up HUGE pots". I just smiled while stacking my chips. We eventually parted ways to different tables.
I was chip lead on my new table with a little over 300k. I got involved in a hand where blinds were 2.5k/5k 5kBB ante. I raised 17k UTG +2 with AKcc. SB and UTG called. Flop came Kd6d8s. SB decides to lead out 42k leaving another 150k behind. UTG folds to me. I tank for a little over a minute and raised to 115k to get the obvious straight and flush draws to fold. He quickly announced "ALL IN" and I snap call. He shows K8ss for a flopped 2 pair. I didn't improve and lost over 2/3 of my stack. Eventually went all in with 67cc on a 6s10cQc board with a pair and flush draw. The same player with K8 called my all in with AJ off suit and turned a K for the nut straight. River came a black K but unfortunately, it was the Ks. I placed 16th in Event 4 flight B and 35th between the 3 flights combined and cashed.
Overall, the trip was a success. I had a BLAST!! I definitely would recommend playing the Simone events to anyone who enjoys the game. What more can you ask for? Freeroll tournament, and winner gets a freeroll to the WSOP!! That's a DEAL!! Good luck to the upcoming players, and see you at a final table near you.
-Dennis
From Michael:
Due to my work schedule I had to arrive in Tahoe a couple days early and play in an earlier WSOP event than anticipated. Chris was happy to accommodate and he joined me in the earlier event too! I got to Tahoe Thursday night and met up with Chris Friday morning before the first tournament. If you enjoy poker, and have ever dreamed of playing in a real tournament, Chris does more than help you win a seat. He shares his experiences with you and he will be your number one supporter! It is incredible to be able to meetup and talk to someone before, during, and after the tournament. We went to register together and he helped ease away the nerves before joining the poker fun.
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Throughout the tournament he is checking in to see how you are doing, and really offers genuine encouragement for success. I felt I was lucky with my first table, since everyone seemed to be having a good fun time while trying to beat each other. I lost a big pot to a bluff, and lost even more to some unfortunate run downs. I brought enough money for one re-buy, and had to use it right after the first meal break.
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The second table was a different story. Half the table seemed to know each other, so they must have played a lot of poker together. And the person to my direct left won the tournament in Tahoe the night before! To top it off the person to his left was some semi-pro player who seemed to have a bit of a following. I do not know the specific card holdings that knocked me out, but after a couple more hours I was knocked out again.
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Overall I evaluated my play and I felt there were some minor things I would have changed, but overall it just came down to timing and how many chips which were at stake; like usual I suppose. Either way, it was a blast! And it doesn't end when you get knocked out of the tournament!
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The cash games were always full and available, along with some winner take all sit and gos! After getting knocked out, I played some casino games, and then settled down in a cash game. This is where there are a lot of opportunities to recoup your loses if you are patient. I was lucky to win two HUGE pots over the next 3 or so hours - one while holding the nuts, the other with a bluff catcher hand, after a triple barrel bluff!! It was incredible, after this I up (a little, but still up)!
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It was a tiring adventure playing so much poker. If you have ever dreamed of playing in one of the big real tournaments, being able to join Chris and being able to learn from his experience and get his support is the best way to go in my opinion. I might not have gotten as far as I hoped, but I felt I had a bigger chance to get there having that support.
I always look forward to the events Chris holds, and I think I will try to join him again next year in Tahoe regardless of the outcome in his incredible promo. It ended up being more fun than I expected.
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Thank you again Chris, I can't wait to hear that you take first in one of these big tournaments sometime!
Thank you,
Michael
From Chris Simone:
Playing in Tahoe is always a blast. Every day there is another WSOP circuit event, with cash games and side tournaments sprinkled in between. Time to poker-binge!
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I arrived on Thursday to play in Event#1. It had 237 players and paid 36 spots. I managed to make it all the way to the bubble and when the tournament went hand-for-hand I was sitting with 5-10 big blinds (very short). Usually hand-for-hand will only last for 4-5 hands before the bubble bursts. This time, it lasted 25 hands! That’s almost 3 orbits of hand for hand….pretty nerve wracking for someone with only a couple of big blinds left :-) Well I managed to hang on and make it into the money. I ended up getting knocked out in 30th out of 237 when I flopped a flush but the other player rivered a higher flush. Nevertheless, a decent start.
I played in Event#2 on Friday. There were 196 players. I ended up knocked out in 50th place. A fair showing, but not in the $$$. When I got knocked out of this event I jumped into the afternoon Event#3. There were only 78 players and they paid 12 spots. I managed to make it to 15th (close!) but got knocked out just before the money. It’s good to run this deep, but unfortunately it pays the same as what the first person eliminated from the tourney makes ($0)…lol
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Event#3 had a “B” flight that started on Saturday. ~220 players. I got off to a good start. By the end of the 4th level I had tripled my starting chips. I avoided some trouble when I laid down AK offsuit preflop when I got 4-bet by a tight player who flashed me AA after I folded. Two hours later I got my revenge on that guy… He raised preflop (once again he was holding AA). I had 9,7 suited and decided to call. I flopped a straight and I stacked him for $25k after he fell in love with his aces! At the start of Level 9 (4.5hrs into the tourney) I had about 4x the starting stack ($60k) and was in good shape. I was in the small blind with 7,2 suited. There were 3 limpers by the time it got to me. I make the call knowing it only costs me half a blind and the big blind checks. The flop comes K,8,2 with two of my suit. So I’ve got a pair and a flush draw. I lead out with a small bet and get 1 caller. The turn is a 7 giving me two pair. I bet $3k. He goes all-in for about $15k. I tank for a bit. I think he might be on a flush draw and I’ve got two blockers. I make the call. A 7 comes on the river giving me a full house with my 7,2….lol! I’m up to $85k. Over the next 3 levels I drifted down to $44k. In Level 12 I was down to 15 big blinds. There were 33 players left. 28 players make the money. I managed to build my stack back up to about $90k and made it into the money J. With 22 players left I played 10,10 and lost ~half my stack after a QJ8 flop. In Level 16 I was down to 9 big blinds. It folded around to me on the button and I looked down at A7. I shove all-in and get called by 8,8 in the big blind. His 8s held up and I was eliminated in 22nd place.
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So I managed to get lucky enough to cash in 2 out of the 3 events I played in. It’s not quite as impressive when you consider I had to re-buy into a couple of them so overall I think I was around break even which is a lot better than being behind!
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We just launched our 24th Poker Promotion. This one is once again for a $1500 WSOP Vegas event in June. Hope you can join us! Register HERE.