A Fan Sat at My Table: The $2,300 WSOP Super Circuit Event in Montreal
I opened the WSOP Super Circuit in Montreal with the $2,300 event at Playground, which started with a $500,000 guarantee and grew to a prize pool of nearly $1.8 million. I won a coin flip with queens against ace-king, made a river call with pocket eights against a bluff, and busted shoving king-queen into ace-queen held by DJ Sharma, a fan of the channel who had just finished 78th in the WSOP Main Event.
Chapters
- Saying goodbye to Bob in Vegas
- Family time on Fire Island, New York
- Off to Canada and a WSOP Academy IQ test
- Reunited in Montreal
- Arriving at Playground: the $2,300 event
- Early setback: ace-jack vs ace-queen
- Coin flip: queens vs ace-king
- Hand breakdown: small c-bet with pocket tens
- Break banter with Bob
- Hero call with pocket eights
- Ace-king vs ace-four
- Shout-out to DJ and Maddie
- Final all-in: king-queen vs ace-queen
- Trip recap and what’s next
From Vegas to Fire Island to Montreal
The trip started with saying goodbye to Bob in Las Vegas and a stop at home in New York. When I tell people I am from New York, they think of skyscrapers, but I grew up on Long Island, on the beach. We spent family time on Fire Island in Ocean Beach, a little island with no cars where you get around by bike or on foot.
At the airport I took the advanced test on the WSOP Academy app and scored 121. The questions were harder than I expected.
Then it was on to Montreal, where I used to live, and a reunion with Bob after ten days apart, one of the longest we have gone. We shared an Uber with Jonathan Little and took a night off to explore downtown.
The $2,300 event at Playground
The goal for the trip was a WSOP Super Circuit ring. The first event was the $2,300 tournament, with a $500,000 guarantee that kept climbing as players registered, to nearly $1.8 million. We started with 40,000 chips and 40-minute levels, and I late-registered into level four.
An early setback, then a coin flip
I lost half my stack early with ace-jack against ace-queen on an ace-high board. My opponent took a strange betting line, and I paid all three streets.
Then I got it in with pocket queens against ace-king, roughly 54% to 46%. A three on the river and I won the flip, back to over 40 big blinds.
Hand breakdown: a small c-bet with pocket tens
From the button, I re-raised pocket tens against a late-position opener who calls a lot. He called, and the flop came ace-king-queen, a terrible flop for tens. Instead of checking back and giving up control, I bet about 20% of the pot. That turns my hand into a bluff that can fold out weaker hands, and he folded.
A hero call with pocket eights
Down to about 20 big blinds, I had pocket eights on a board of seven-eight-nine-jack with another jack on the river. Any ten made a straight, and my opponent bet almost my whole stack.
I asked myself why he would bet that big with four to a straight on the board. The flush draw had missed, and I did not think he would bet trip jacks that way. I called, and he showed six-three. My pair was good.
The fan who knocked me out
I lost a pot with ace-king against ace-four when my opponent paired the flop, but it was small enough that I still had about 50,000 chips.
At my table was DJ Sharma, husband of Maddie, who watches the channel. DJ had just finished 78th in the WSOP Main Event for about $100,000. Shout-out to both of them.
With the blinds going to 25,000, I shoved about ten big blinds with king-queen from the big blind after DJ raised the button. He had ace-queen, an ace hit the flop, and that was my tournament. Re-entry had just closed.
The trip was down $2,300 CAD, about $1,600 USD, after the first event. It was early, with the meetup game and the $1,500 PLO bounty next.
Questions viewers asked
- What is a prize pool guarantee?
- A promised minimum prize pool, no matter how many players enter. If more players enter than the guarantee covers, the prize pool grows. This event started with a $500,000 guarantee and grew to nearly $1.8 million.
- Why use a small continuation bet on an ace-king-queen flop with pocket tens?
- A bet of about 20% of the pot keeps control of the hand and turns pocket tens into a bluff that can fold out weaker hands. Lexy's opponent folded.
- What is a calling station?
- A player who calls too often and rarely folds. Against calling stations, you raise strong hands for value because they will call with worse.
- What is Fire Island?
- A barrier island off Long Island, New York, with no cars. People get around by bike or on foot. Lexy grew up on Long Island and visits Ocean Beach with family.
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