Russian Poker Player's Adventure at Mirage During WSOP

The first day of the main event of the World Series of Poker, known as Day 1A, is typically ignored by Russian players and those from other former Soviet countries. However, Anton Makievsky, Anatoly Filatov, and a few others participated this year. The author decided to spend his free evening playing mixed games at the Mirage poker club, inspired by tweets from Remko Rinkema, a PokerNews journalist known for his enthusiasm for mixed games and finishing second in the M-SCOOP 8-Game event this year.

The author found a mixed game table at the Mirage with unfamiliar games and decided to wait for Remko's colleagues at a nearby tournament table. The tournament had a $65 buy-in with a $15 rake, a starting stack of 8,000 chips, and blinds starting at 50/100. The author noted the presence of several women players, including a stern-looking brunette, a full-figured Latina, and a Chinese woman engrossed in her tablet. Two noisy men in their 40s were identified as local regulars who played many hands and discussed poker strategies.

The author played a hand where he raised pre-flop with Kh Qh and received calls from two regulars, but no one showed interest in the flop, turn, or river. In another hand, the author lost more than half his stack when he raised with Ax Qx and faced a strong bet from an opponent on the turn. Remko Rinkema and his colleagues joined the $4/$8 mixed game table, and the author planned to join them after busting out of the tournament.