Sunday, July 24, 2011

Foxwoods Trip Report


The rest of the family was out of town this weekend, so I figured it would be the perfect opportunity to make the journey down to Foxwoods for the 1st time for some poker. If you're planning on going, I highly recommend reading the FAQ's on the 2+2 thread.

I saw they had a nightly deepstack tourney at 6:00 PM, so I wanted to make sure I got down there in plenty of time to register for that. Door to door it's 250 miles, so I left a little before noon. The drive down was relatively uneventful, as I listened to some podcasts on my iphone to get me fired up from Tao of Pokerati and ESPN: The Poker Edge. I did miss one exit in Hartford, and got to see more of downtown than I was planning on. You also go thru the middle of Norwich, which could be a little tricky without a GPS.

I arrived ~ 3:30 PM and parked in the Rainmaker garage on the 3rd level, as they did have a nice lighted system telling me the 1st 2 levels were full. It was a short walk into the casino & I took the escalator down to the poker room. The WPT Poker Room is the largest on the East Coast, and it does have a lot of tables with 104 (I'd say they were 80% in use), but it doesn't have a huge feel to the room as the ceiling is lower in most places, and it's more L or T shaped, and closed in, as opposed to one big open room.

I got my WPT Dream Card. Pro Tip: Get your dream card in the poker room if you want the nice WPT logo. There is a desk just to the left of the cashiers cage. This is now my second favorite casino players card, behind the WSOP Total Rewards Card.

I put my name on the list for 1-2 PLO8 and 1-2 NL, which got called 1st. Sat down in the 10 seat, banging my knee on the toke box, and bought in for $100. Lost a couple pots w/99 & suited connectors when they called me for the 1-2 PLO8 game. Went ahead & registered for the 6 PM tourney early during a dealer/till change. Didn't really get much going in the PLO8 game & headed back up upstairs @ 6:00PM for the NL "DeepStack" tourney.

I was glad I registered early for the tourney, as the line was 50+ deep when we got started ~ 6:05 PM. We ended up w/336 runners for the $120 buy-in. We started w/15,000 chips, and blinds 25-50, but the levels were only 20 minutes. My 1st table was definitely a mix of players. Had one tough laydown w/TPTK when a guy check raised me on the flop & made a big bet on the turn for most of my chips. He had shown he was capable of having less than me, but I decided to wait for a better spot. Hovered right around starting stack for 1st 8 levels until our table broke.

By the time I got to my second table it was generally much better, but had become more of a push fest. 35 were getting paid & when we got down to ~ 60 I was short stacked & got the 1st of my 1st 2 double ups. The second was close to a triple up, when I got it AIPF with AdTd vs 2 others and hit my flush on the river putting me up towards 100k in chips.

We were down under 40 players & nearing the bubble when I got KK in the small blind. Blinds were 8000/16000 with 1000 ante. UTG limped. It got folded around to me where I went all in for ~ 50k. BB folded & UTG called me w/AdJd. flop was safe, but turn was A, and no K on river was the end for me on the bubble with a nasty beat. C'est la vie. Obviously I was playing to win & not just folding to the money. 35th would have paid $230 & 1st was over $7,000. Even though the 20 min blind levels don't make it a true deep stack tourney, I was still happy I entered & feel like I got my $ worth for 6 hours of play. Saw AA get cracked at least twice all in pre-flop by AK (4flush) and QT (boat).

Wasn't ready to leave yet, so I got my name on the 1-2 PLO list, and 1-2 PLO8 interest list. Walked to the Dunkin Donuts just a few steps from the casino in the complex & got a flatbread ham, cheese, & bacon sandwich. My dream card earnings from just playing that day paid for all but $0.90 worth. Scarfed it down while waiting for my initials to be called (they do initials at Foxwoods, not names).

Got called to the 1-2 PLO game & decided to do the short stack approach & try to run it up. Bought in for $60 & lost that when my KQQJ got rivered. Rebought for $100 & hit a big 3-way all in on the flop when my open ended straight draw hit on the turn & then my backdoor flush hit on the river. Won a few other decent pots & was able to run it up close to $600. Ended up cashing out $516. So after 12+ hours of fun poker at Foxwoods I ended up $235.
Made the drive home OK this morning as the sun came up, with one stop for gas, diet Mt. Dew, and food.

Overall I enjoyed my trip to Foxwoods and would definitely go back. I wish the deep stack tourney had longer levels, but I did like that the 1-2 PLO games were really 1-2, as opposed to the $5 bring in at the Rio during the WSOP.

Boat

6 comments:

Memphis MOJO said...

Good report. Good job at the PLO table.

undecidedtm said...

u mainly grind PLO no NLHE?

SmBoatDrinks said...

If they're all available I prefer:
1. PLO8
2. PLO
3. NL Hold'em

gynexin said...

this morning as the sun came up, with one stop for gas, diet Mt. Dew, and food.

adam said...

Wonder where's the best spot to park and what's the rate like?
hotels near foxwoods

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