A Day Off with More to Do

Most days off in tournament poker mean that you've busted out of an event and are waiting for another.

It's nice at the Main Event, when you have a few days before heading back to the Amazon Room to unbag your chips.

I played Saturday on Day 1c, specifically choosing that day as I assumed there would be a combination of weaker players who had the weekend off from work combined with guys who'd gotten drunk on the Fourth of July.

Men, beware of smiling women the day after a holiday!

There were a lot of very weak players in the field, and here's what I mean by weak players: they limped into pots a lot, were not very consistent in their betting structure (meaning their bets told a lot about their hands), and they really couldn't change gears.

The inability to play different styles meant that they were much easier to read.

I was 100% focused throughout the entire day, and I really played the players and not my cards. Here is a good example of what I mean:

I was in a pot with a very tight player, calling a reraise with KQs. I checked a flop of Q-7-3 rainbow, then check-raised him $3,300. I'd invested $8k into the pot with that raise, and he then moved all-in for his last $17k in chips.

Beware of smiling women the day after a holiday.

I laid down the hand after some deliberation, although I really never had any intention of calling with the strength he showed. A player two to my right asked me why I never laid a hand down with him heads-up; it was because he was a very different player than the tight player.

I was able to find the loose players, the tighties, the calling stations, the guys who would pay me off, and I was able to focus on each of them. It's been a long time since I've felt that good about my plays.

Probably my only real mistake is when I limp-called UTG with pocket fours, then saw a flop of J-J-4. I only won the minimum amount as I got too aggressive too quickly in the hand.

I felt I was getting a lot of respect from my table, which meant I was able to steal more but also wasn't able to get much action when I had big hands.

I ended the night with $68k in chips, the high count for me during the day. I'm around 400th in chips with over 3,600 players remaining, so I have to be pleased with that.

Oh, I almost forgot the most important thing about Day 1: no pocket aces for me! I have to be the only player at the WSOP who is praying not to be dealt aces, right?

Seebs: Good company at the PokerStars party.

I spent Monday night at the PokerStars party at Rain. I hung out with Joe Sebok, Lisa Cripe, the crew at madeinpoker.com, and the PokerListings team for awhile, and they were all awesome and knew how to have fun.

It was nice to relax for a bit - but I hope it's the last time I relax for many days.

My Chilipoker.com team has been very supportive of me as I made it through the first day, and it's been great to reward them with a good, solid start.

Day 2 should be where the real fun begins, so I hope everyone will be pulling for me here at PokerListings or over at LizLieu.net.

Cheers!

-- Liz Lieu
Pro Poker Player - Poker Diva

More Blogs from Liz Lieu:

• What's Up With the Pros?
• The Rio or the Bellagio?
• 28th Is Not Quite First
• Bagging Chips for the First Time!