I feel like I only post on here to bitch or whine about something.. and today won't be any different sadly enough. I just drove home from Hammond after going 0/3 in WSOPC events (TR will be coming in a sec, hold on). I felt pretty shitty cause I was playing great and felt like there was no way I was gonna bust on day 1. Then everyone in our group came and said they were just gonna drive home, and it made me feel like there was no confidence in me and I busted probably 30 minutes later. I know they have school and DJ has a flight tomorrow, but it just felt shitty.

Anyways, on to the TR of the weekend.

I got in Thursday night, picked up Zac from the airport and us and my friend from home Andy relaxed and rested up for the $345 on Friday. Woke up at 7am to pick up DJ from the airport and drove through rush hour in a big city for the first time. That sucked. We got home in time to get to the casino in a decent time, but DJ wasn't registered so he couldn't join us for breakfast as he was in line for 2 hours.

So I start the event, and forget what happened early, but I was grinding a small stack for a while. The only hand I remember early was when I got aces and bump it to 250, get a caller, and an old nit 3bets to 800. I make it 2500 and he calls. Flop Q42, I shove for a psb and he folds KK face-up. Lol. I got short, I had like 6k at 200/400 I think, when I picked up KK. Someone opened early, I didn't say anything but stuck my stack in. SB didn't see it and said call and put in chips.. eventually he was ruled that he called my allin, and I somehow held vs Q2dd on a 2T4d flop. A bit later I lost with AA v set, and had a couple of raise/folds. I eventually get short again and move to a new table of internet grinders, and reshove A9 over a mtt grinder.. into 99 and don't hit. 0/1.

Day 2 is the $555 with the same structure as the $345, which is kinda dumb.. more chips or longer levels please. In any case, I make 18 2nd best hands. Raise AJ, flop is JT7hhh, I bet and bet blank turn and get minraised and have to fold. I call a minraise with QT in the BB, flop Q62ss I c/c, turn Ts I check and he checks behind. River blank I bet and get raised really small and fold. He shows A4ss and I say "clearly". He's not as amused as I am. I get down to 2500 at 150/300, and a guy opens for the 3rd time in the orbit, I shove A9 (maybe I should work on folding A9 more) into AK and don't get there again. 0/2.

Side-note of the $555: Pete (mvpete96, one of my best friends) is all-in on the 2nd hand. He has KK vs AA, rivers a K. Then he has AA against AQ on a Q96A7 board and got up to 40k at 100/200. Sicko. He ended up cashing 40th-ish for ~$1300, so congrats to him.

Today was day 3, the $1100. Hour levels, 15,000 chips, 25/50 blinds. I'm ready to crush the table of 40-70 year olds with two competent kids (one that I played with in Vegas this summer and he was crazy aggro/spewy, he busts in a couple hours). The first hand I play I call a raise with 87hh in LP, and on a 4way flop of Q83dd, I raise the PFR's 300 cbet to 1k because fuck his AA, I'm running this table. Other two guys fold and he calls. Turn is an 8 because I'm ill like that. He c/c 2100. River is 7d, and he c/f to my 6500 bet. Get off my table old guy, this is my day.

Then the poker gods found my table and saw that I was winning so they put a stop to that right away. I raise AdKc and get 3 callers. Flop is like J74ccc, I bet and there's one caller. Turn is 3c, I check and he checks. River is 6s and I bet like 1150 and he makes it 2500. I fold and sigh. I get down to like 11k or so at first break, and get card-dead as I watch Tom Brady put up Madden-like numbers. It gets to the level before dinner break, I think 150/300/25. New player moves to seat 1 with 40k or so (I'm in 2), comments on my Leggo hat, asks if I make videos, etc. I say yeah, and kind of forget about it after a while.

I get a massage with 45 minutes left before dinner, and if anyone knows how I run when I get massages, they know what's coming next. I've always seemed to triple up during the WSOP when getting a massage. So she starts cranking on my back, and it's paaaaainful. She knows I like it rough, at least that's what I'm telling myself. Seat 10 makes it 800, I look down at 99 and raise to 2800 with a 9k stack.. he flats. I already know it's coming, the contortions in my back remind me that I'm getting a massage and I never miss when that happens. Flop comes out J94ss, obviously. He checks, I bet 1450, he c/rs and I shove.. he calls with 44 and I hold.

An orbit or two later, I'm talking to seat 1 about how he never misses a flop and stuff as I'm in the SB. He grabs my card on accident, I figure with that and the massage, I'm blessed. I look down at aces after 3 people call. I raise to 1200 and only seat 1 calls.. I don't even have to look. I know it's coming. Flop is A64, I bet 1/3 pot and he calls. Turn 3 and I check thinking he's gonna fire a decent amount of the time.. he doesn't oblige. River J and I bet 2/3 pot or something and he mucks. Sigh.

After the hand, he says he never got my name, I introduce myself, and he says his name is Cero. I say "oh jesus christ why" as I realize there's gotta not be too many good poker players named Cero and he confirms what I already know when he says he makes videos too. The massage run-good is out in full force and I raise 88 and get a caller. Flop 875 and he c/fs to me. It's really ridiculous that I run so good during massages. I turn my ~7k stack into 25k at dinner break.

We come back and it's 200/400 and I'm feeling amazing. My back feels good, I have chips, and my table is decent. I play a few smaller pots and build up to about 40k. DJ and Pete come over and say that they and Leo and Amanda are going back to Ohio, I semi-tilt. As they leave, I look down at KTcc, I wanna say blinds are still 200/400 and I open to 1k. I get 3 callers, and bink the hell out of the T72cc flop. I bet and the guy to my immediate left calls.. he knows what he's doing but he's not good, he has a pretty wide range here. Others fold, and turn is an offsuit blank, I check thinking I'm gonna c/r and get called by worse a lot. He bets 3k into 12k and I get confused but think he's more weighted towards air now and flat. River is an offsuit J and I check thinking he has air but could maybe have 98, he bets 6k and I call and his JTo is good. Down to 17k.

We go up to 300/600 and I raise AQo an orbit later or so and seat 5 shoves ~11k in, and seat 8 calls allin for like 4500. I reallllllly wanna call and gamble but I decide to sigh/fold and 5 has 99, 8 has AK.. I would've bricked vs the 99, so yay for folding. I still feel good about my play for the day even though my stack is less than solid at 14k or so. Next orbit I raise A4ss, and seat 5 shoves like 7k in.. I feel priced in and call after deliberating and he says he only looked at one and shows me an ace. He has A4 and we chop haha. I get down to ~12k or so, and look down at 77 OTB and raise. SB makes it like 10k and I stick it in and lose the race to AJ to bust 90th.

I drove the 2.5-3 hours home and had a lot of time to think. I was REALLY disappointed as I felt I was playing really well all weekend and had nothing to show for it. It's been the way things have gone for the last few months though and I just feel like I don't know what I'm doing anymore after I have a losing day. It's becoming a problem and it's turning into a depression. I dunno what to do about it but I'm home and ready to put hands in and see if I can get a little more confidence.

This turned into an essay.. sorry.