It's Tuesday morning and like I said before, I'm up at 5am after 2 hours of sleep and a bunch of drinks. I decide to get some work done and I write up yesterdays blog. It's at this point I figure I'm going to have to change something or I'm literally going to go crazy. I've been hurt, so I haven't run for a couple weeks, but I've still been working out. Since I've been out here I haven't really done anything physical and I'm getting soft (Ok, softer than I already am). I need to clear my head as well so I figure today is as good as time as any to get back on that horse and go for a run. I step out the back door and the 95 degree heat smacks me in the face. About 100 yards in, it seems every ounce of water has been sucked from my body. My mouth is so dry it feels like I'm breathing sand and I still have over 2 miles to go. I try not to think about it, as I have more pressing issues on my mind, and proceed to weave my way in and out of the pedestrian traffic on the strip. It's like jogging through fumble island. No one gets out of your way, you have no idea when someone is going to stop to take a picture, and people are just staring at me for being so stupid as to run in this heat. As awful as this run sounds, it was much needed, and perhaps the best of my life. I was able to get out a lot of nervous energy, and it feels like I'm getting some sort of normalcy back in my life. I don't know if I'll be doing it again, but this was what I needed. I get back into the casino and it's like I just swallowed an ashtray. I guess being inside you don't realize how disgusting it is, but after a hot run, it's the last thing I want to breathe.
I've never really liked strip clubs all that much, I find them depressing. It's not the bachelor parties and businessmen that are there to have fun and drop dollars, it's the weird guys you always see with their eyes locked in on the strippers, hoping to make eye contact so they can perhaps start up what I'm sure is an awkward conversation. You can see it in their faces that they truly believe the girls like them and have a chance to date them. This is what it's like in a casino at 10am. The same look of desperation on the faces of the guys at the club is the same look on the faces of the masses that drop endless change into slot machines, hoping to hit the big payday that way more than likely won't happen. The chance they're going to hit a big score on a nickel machine is the same chance the weirdo has of bedding the stipper, but neither can stop trying. I generally ignore these people, but this particular morning I wonder if this could happen to me. I know there's a huge difference between what I do and what these people do in terms of the odds and the skills involved, but sometimes after a long session where I've only won a little bit, broke even, or made a correct decision and still lost it all, the gamble aspect of this game lets me know that it's still in control. If I lose my whole bankroll out here, but play correctly and make all the right moves, I'm not going to stop. Does that make me the same as these people? I'm still telling myself no.
I'm going back to the Venetian for the same 7pm tourney as yesterday, but I have some time to kill so I sit down at a 1/2 table at the IP. There's a guy there that has been cut off from drinking wine because they said he's had almost 30. 30!!! He's almost incoherent, his chips are everywhere, and within the first 10 minutes he's literally thrown $50 in $5 chips at me because he says I look like somebody famous so I'm going to order him wine. The only thing I can understand out of him is that he keeps saying he'll be dead in 2 years. I give his money back and leave after playing for about 20 minutes. I don't need to see this before a tourney and while I enjoy picking off fish at a table, this is not my idea playing poker.
Get to the V and they've got a great turnout, 260 players, which will put the winner at a little over 6K. I don't play a hand during the first level, so my image here is tight. I am talkative though, as I don't want them to think I don't know what I'm doing. I proceed to put a play into motion I've been using....I may have talked about it before, but here it works to perfection close to 10 times. Call a min-3x raise preflop. Check call the flop, then lead the turn. They folded to this play every single time. No one thought to look me up once. This built my stack from 7500 to about 10500 to the first break...almost exactly the same amount I had going into yesterdays first break. I coming out of the break I make that same move a couple more times. I've won every pot I've been in, and they've never seen my cards. This is also letting me play my style of small ball poker that is crucial at this stage of the tourney. I finally get AQ suited in mid/late position. Blinds are 300/600, and under the gun + 1 raises to 1700. I flat call and the BB calls. Flop comes out AQ5 rainbow. BB leads for about 2K, original raiser folds, I "nonchalantly" (this is on purpose) toss out a raise to about 5K. BB pines for a minute, finally realizing that no one has seen one of my hands. He mentions the way I tossed my chips out there and tries a power move of all in. I of course insta-call and he's crushed with an A9. I'm up to about 22K at this point. A couple hands later, a guy who appears to be Pable Escobar sits at the table with a gigantic stack. I am no longer table captain. He is very aggressive, raising every pot. This sucks, because for about 4 or 5 consecutive hands, I had great suited connectors and such hands I'd like to play on the cheap, but not for 10-15% of my stack preflop. I finally look down at A2 diamonds and am determined to call a raise from him when it comes. He of course raises preflop to 3600, I'm the only caller. The table is clearly happy when I call because they know I can play post flop poker. Flop is A106, no diamonds. He immediately leads for 4600. I tell him I'm positive he's just double barrelling a Cbet and pine for a minute. He's tough to read, and I don't want to piss off the cartel by busting him up, so I eventually fold. I did talk to him later and he said he had AJ in that spot. True or not, I believe him. We're to the next break and I have about 18K, with blinds going up to 800/1600, 200 ante. I go absolutely card dead at a new table again...I'm running almost exactly the same as yesterday. Down to about 10K, I get moved to a table where there's about a million total, with 3 guys having over 200k. Not a good spot for me. The blinds at 1k/2k, 300 ante. I'm in the BB with 59 suited. A super aggressive big stack raises, as is the norm. The guy next to me that I'd been talking to says, "you get 1 more caller, you have to shove that." I tell him thats the plan regardless of what I have. Get another caller, I shove my last 8K. Flop a 9, river a 5 for a gigantic triple up. Luckbox or not, I still made the right play mathematically and it worked. These are the kind of hands you need to win for a deep run. I'm now at the chip average with 33K, 40 players left, 27 get paid. My chips dwindle again with raises in front of me and no cards to call or shove with. Down to 20K again, I'm able to position shove a couple times to build the stack back up to 35K. Good, but still short at this monster table. A young Londonite had been to my left and he was great to talk to. He's an internet player, but he's solid and we use a very similar style of play. We showed eachother our monster lay downs...he layed AQ, 66, 77, and AK and would've been beat every time. I showed him 77, 88, and AJ 3 times, and I would've been beat every time. My style is sometimes ridiculed by the new breed of player, so it was nice to be able to discuss my style with someone who plays the same AND we got justification in that our reads/laydowns were correct.
Now in the money, I'm still short but by no means am I in a "shove any" frame of mind. Now that I'm here, I don't want a min cash. It's at this point my buddy Chip got off work and he and the chef, Chris come to cheer me on. Chris doesn't know poker all that well, so Chip is explaining to him what's going on. Just as he's saying, "Terry only has 40K right now, but in a minute, he's going to double through that guy across the table with all the chips because he's too aggressive and Terry knows it." I look down at AJ suited...are you kidding me? All this way and that's what I'm going to have to hang my tourney on again? No surprise, Big Aggressive stack raises, I shove, he calls with 55. J in the window for a major double up for me. It's about time that hand does something positive for me. A few minutes later, we're at the final table, and a giant of a man Chip knows comes over and stands with he and Chris. They talk for a while and he's watching me play. Being this close to a win, I don't really turn around to pay attention, I can just hear them. He leaves and Chip goes, "there goes coach, he liked the way you played." I asked what the hell he was talking about, and it turns out it was Dauber from one of my favorite shows of all time, "Coach" (or the voice of Patrick the Starfish from Spongebob for you younger folks). Are you F'ing kidding me I ask Chip. Chip says he's in there all the time and had been playing so he came over to watch some final table. I would've liked to introduce myself to him, but was too wrapped up in the game...oh well. We see a couple guys get knocked out, and we're down to 6 players. I've made a few more monster laydowns that would've lost, and my reads are the only thing keeping me around. I'm sitting super short at 44K. The blinds are 6K/12K 3K ante. I'm under the gun with AQ off suit. I shove, get called by a guy with AA...tough spot there. Pick up 6th, for 1100. I'm definitely happy with this result. Given the cards I was dealt, and all the tough spots, I think I played one of the better tournaments I've played in a while. My reads were spot on, my small ball strategy worked early on, I hit the aggressive players in the right spots, and made huge laydowns. I've decided to play this tourney again tomorrow night (Wednesday), instead of the Rio Deepstack. I really like the Venetian. It's a beautiful place, great dealers, and comfortable poker room. From there I'll play the $340 Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza on Thursday.
I feel great, my mood is decidedly better. There's a huge weight that's been lifted off of me. Not that this is a big score or anything, but I'm glad I could get results relatively quickly, especially considering my mental state outside of the poker rail. Outside the rail I've been a wreck, not eating, sleeping, or being all that positive...but once inside the rail everything disappears and I've been very focused on my game. If only I can be positive in and out of the rail, I may be in good shape. Chip and I decide to get some dinner, since all I had eaten today was half a disgusting cheeseburger. Now only if I can get some sleep tonight we might be in business...
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
You Don't Sweat In a Dry Heat...
The plan today(Monday) was to just go to the pool and chill out, maybe head over to see Chip at Cut for a cocktail or two. There's not really a tournament that I want to play in the daytime, so this seems like a perfect plan.
I've always been told that you don't really sweat in a dry heat. I remember being at the Olympic Track and Field trials in Sacramento, CA in 2000 for a few days and it was 110 everyday, but no humidity. I don't remember sweating at all. I went to the pool today and within 5 minutes, I think I had lost 5lbs of water weight. I was as wet in the pool as I was out of it. If anyone ever trys to tell you about not sweating in the dry heat, tell them to lay in the desert and see if you sweat.
I decide to play the 7pm $120 tournament at Venetian. This is my kind of tourney...230 players, 7500 chips to start, 20 minute levels, but that's reasonable. It reminds me of the Midnight Doublestack at the Taj, without all the bums and murders. I immediately feel at home as I love this structure. Get to the first break with 10500 after playing pretty good position poker and picking up some hands that I raise with to folds. I have the image of a tight, but semi aggressive player, which is perfect for this type of tourney. After the break I get extremely card dead for a long time, along with the fact that 3 players that have double and tripled up are raising/shoving almost every hand. While I know they're just playing internet aggressive poker, I'm still not going to call them with 34 suited. My chips dwindle down to about 6k, with the blinds being 300/600. This is a tough spot, but one that I can still show a little bit of patience with. My range of shove worthy hands opens up a bit, but not to the point where I'm shoving any face card out of position. I get A10 of spades in late position, with a min raise and call in front of me. I insta shove and both call. 2 spades on the flop, blank turn, 10 on the river. They checked all the way through. I'm good with the 10, as the other guys had AJ, A9. This is a huge triple up and I get up to about 20k. I again get into position poker and take down some pots with preflop raises and Cbets after. At the next break I'm sitting at 26k and pretty healthy. This next round is pretty uneventful until just before the break. I've recently been moved to another table. We're at about 65-70 players left. Blinds are 600/1200 100 ante at this point. Under the gun raises to 3200, all folds to me. I'm sitting on the button with KK. I pine for a minute and finally shove in a way that implies an overbet. He thinks for a minute, I've got him covered 26500 to 16K. He finally makes the call with AJ hearts. Flops 3 hearts...terrible. We're on break within the next couple of hands. Coming out of the break, I'm at 10500, blinds 800/1600 200 ante. I'm in the BB right away, fold. SB, fold. They break the table and I'm immediately put back into the BB at my new table, fold. SB, fold. I now about 5k left and am in terrible shape. I shove with 22 and pick up the pot to get back to about 10k. Next hand is AJ hearts...fate! Anyone that plays with me on a regular basis knows this is my least favorite hand and it proves true again. I shove, get called with 55, can't get any help. I'm out in about 50th. I went from making a nice deep run to out pretty quickly. I'm a little disappointed, but I'll definitely be back tomorrow for another.
Here's where Vegas can really get people I think. I'm still not ready for a solid 12-16 hour session at a 2/5 or 1/2 table, so I decide to see Chip at Cut. I proceed to get hammered on some absolutely amazing cocktails. He and that staff really put forth the extra effort to provide high quality drinks. I really only had about 5-6 drinks, but I realize I've only eaten a piece of salmon all day and it's just not soaking up the liquor. Now here's what I mean when I say Vegas can get you. If I drink once a month at this point in my life, that's a lot. I had no intention of drinking on any particular day, and now I haven't gone a day without drinking. Not really because I want to drink, but because it's something to do. Now obviously I'm hanging with a friend that's bartending so that doesn't help, but I definitely don't have to drink there but do anyway.
I pass out at 3am and promptly wake up Tuesday Morning at 5am, right as rain. No hangover, nothing. Not tired, just awake. I seriously don't know how my brain and body are doing this. I should be passed out for a day with amount of sleep I'm on and drinks I've had, but nope, I'm ready to go. This is beyond ridiculous at this point....
I've always been told that you don't really sweat in a dry heat. I remember being at the Olympic Track and Field trials in Sacramento, CA in 2000 for a few days and it was 110 everyday, but no humidity. I don't remember sweating at all. I went to the pool today and within 5 minutes, I think I had lost 5lbs of water weight. I was as wet in the pool as I was out of it. If anyone ever trys to tell you about not sweating in the dry heat, tell them to lay in the desert and see if you sweat.
I decide to play the 7pm $120 tournament at Venetian. This is my kind of tourney...230 players, 7500 chips to start, 20 minute levels, but that's reasonable. It reminds me of the Midnight Doublestack at the Taj, without all the bums and murders. I immediately feel at home as I love this structure. Get to the first break with 10500 after playing pretty good position poker and picking up some hands that I raise with to folds. I have the image of a tight, but semi aggressive player, which is perfect for this type of tourney. After the break I get extremely card dead for a long time, along with the fact that 3 players that have double and tripled up are raising/shoving almost every hand. While I know they're just playing internet aggressive poker, I'm still not going to call them with 34 suited. My chips dwindle down to about 6k, with the blinds being 300/600. This is a tough spot, but one that I can still show a little bit of patience with. My range of shove worthy hands opens up a bit, but not to the point where I'm shoving any face card out of position. I get A10 of spades in late position, with a min raise and call in front of me. I insta shove and both call. 2 spades on the flop, blank turn, 10 on the river. They checked all the way through. I'm good with the 10, as the other guys had AJ, A9. This is a huge triple up and I get up to about 20k. I again get into position poker and take down some pots with preflop raises and Cbets after. At the next break I'm sitting at 26k and pretty healthy. This next round is pretty uneventful until just before the break. I've recently been moved to another table. We're at about 65-70 players left. Blinds are 600/1200 100 ante at this point. Under the gun raises to 3200, all folds to me. I'm sitting on the button with KK. I pine for a minute and finally shove in a way that implies an overbet. He thinks for a minute, I've got him covered 26500 to 16K. He finally makes the call with AJ hearts. Flops 3 hearts...terrible. We're on break within the next couple of hands. Coming out of the break, I'm at 10500, blinds 800/1600 200 ante. I'm in the BB right away, fold. SB, fold. They break the table and I'm immediately put back into the BB at my new table, fold. SB, fold. I now about 5k left and am in terrible shape. I shove with 22 and pick up the pot to get back to about 10k. Next hand is AJ hearts...fate! Anyone that plays with me on a regular basis knows this is my least favorite hand and it proves true again. I shove, get called with 55, can't get any help. I'm out in about 50th. I went from making a nice deep run to out pretty quickly. I'm a little disappointed, but I'll definitely be back tomorrow for another.
Here's where Vegas can really get people I think. I'm still not ready for a solid 12-16 hour session at a 2/5 or 1/2 table, so I decide to see Chip at Cut. I proceed to get hammered on some absolutely amazing cocktails. He and that staff really put forth the extra effort to provide high quality drinks. I really only had about 5-6 drinks, but I realize I've only eaten a piece of salmon all day and it's just not soaking up the liquor. Now here's what I mean when I say Vegas can get you. If I drink once a month at this point in my life, that's a lot. I had no intention of drinking on any particular day, and now I haven't gone a day without drinking. Not really because I want to drink, but because it's something to do. Now obviously I'm hanging with a friend that's bartending so that doesn't help, but I definitely don't have to drink there but do anyway.
I pass out at 3am and promptly wake up Tuesday Morning at 5am, right as rain. No hangover, nothing. Not tired, just awake. I seriously don't know how my brain and body are doing this. I should be passed out for a day with amount of sleep I'm on and drinks I've had, but nope, I'm ready to go. This is beyond ridiculous at this point....
Monday, June 28, 2010
Finally Some Poker, the $1K WSOP Day 1b
I get out of bed after another sleepless night. I'm tired beyond exhaustion, but I feel good about playing the 1K WSOP event today. Since I'm up so early, I'm able to take my time in the morning and get myself prepared for the (hopefully) long day ahead of me. I get some cardio done, tons of stretching, listen to some good music, and have some breakfast. This is important as I realize I only ate breakfast yesterday and didn't eat the rest of the day. A little H2H and I'm feeling better than I have all weekend. Being the "smart" guy I am, I decide to take a backroad to the Rio, obviously making me late for the noon start time. No big deal, in big field tournaments, a lot of people are late and it's usually a short table for the first half hour of so.
As I'm pulling up, I get a feeling that I think only the late great Hunter S. Thompson can describe. "I was feeling better now, warm and sleepy and absolutely free. With the palms zipping past and the big sun burning down on the road ahead, I had a flash of something I hadn't felt since my first months in Europe-a mixture of ignorance and a loose, "what the hell" kind of confidence that comes on a man when the wind picks up and he begins to move in a hard straight line toward and unknown horizon." I never had a "Europe" specifically, but a simular experience for sure.
I find valet parking just for WSOP players, which is right next to the pavillion. This is huge, since i won't have to walk the parking garage and the length of the casino to get in...a big time saver. Walking into the room, everything I've felt for the last couple of days, is gone. I am in no way intimidated by this atmosphere; in some respects I would say I relish it. I quickly find my seat at a near full table. Two lesser known pros are to my left. I see more "major" pros everywhere. In my game, I've just walked out of a Field Box seat, stepped in the box, and am ready to face Tim Lincecum.
We're starting with 3k in chips, 1 hours blinds. I can tell it's a talkative table before I even sit down. I walk in to AQ offsuit in middle postion first hand and put up somewhere in the neighborhood of a 3x bet. Immediately I hear the table talking, "did you even look? Where did you come from?" etc... I of course follow this up with a nice, "hey, I was late and need to make up for lost time." This is a great situation for me because even if I lose this hand before we get to the river, it's going to send a message that I'm a loose and aggressive player, which I'm not. Two callers and a junk flop later, I put out a continuation bet ( will be know henceforth as a CBet if needed throughout this blog) and get raised substantially. Looks like someone flopped a set. Oh well, I'm still going to use this to further the image I'm creating. I raise in Early position 3 out of the next 5 hands, winning 2 of them after CBetting the flop, folding the other when someone led into me after the flop. Again, I'm not winning a lot of chips, but the trap is now set. I'm of course in the blinds the next 2 hands, which weren't raised, so as far as anyone can tell, I just play a ton of pots. Once the button has passed me, I can wait a reasonable amount of time for a good hand and get paid on it. The next hour sees me picking up a couple small pots in position to maintain my loose appearance, until I finally get a hand and board that I love to play. With the blinds still only at 50/100, I'm in mid/late position with A5 suited. A min-2.5 raise coming at me with 2 callers in front and a call from the luckbox bigstack behind me...beautiful. Now I get to play a good hand on the cheap with money in the pot. A106 flops with 2 of my suits. Checked twice to me, I'm obviously betting this. Call from the big stack, fold fold. Heads up to the turn. It's a blank, but I'm double barreling that all day, with another call. Blank river, I bet, get called. My A is good, he had the same suit as me, K6. If only I catch that flush, I'm definitely doubling up. Oh well, this gets me pretty healthy early, up to about 5k. Pretty uneventful up to the first break at the 2 hour mark from here.
Go on the lunch break, I'm in line with Umberto Brenes. I pick up a sandwich and stand at a hightop table and who joins me, but Umberto Brenes and Men the Master. It was only for a minute, and I'm not a fanboy because let's face it, I'm here to beat them not get their autograph....but it was still pretty cool.
We come back from the break and I realize at the table next to me is Defending Player of the Year, Jason Mercier, and he is literally staring me down. This went on for a while. I'm looking around to see if it's someone else, but he's definitely staring at me. He's from Ft. Lauderdale, and when he started getting notoriety I always thought he looked familiar, but there's no way he'd remember playing against me if we did. The only thing I can think is that he hates my bright pink shirt....good.
A few hands after the break, I pick up AQ of hearts in mid position. A raise from a tight playing woman in early position is an immediate flag, but of course I have to call any raise. We're at 50/100, I think the raise was 400. Flop is KK7, with 2 hearts. She checks, I make it 450, she immediately raises to 1k. Easily AK, but in all honesty, she could have quad K's here. I call the raise anyway. Trash on the turn and she can't get her chips in fast enough. I happily fold, as I'm not putting just about all my chips in on a 1 card draw. Down to about 3500 in chips, I'm still ok after this hand. Two hands later, our table is broken and I'm now at a new table. I fold 3 straight hands as I watch an aggressive Evelyn Ng looking player being as aggressive one can. I plan to take advantage of this as soon as I can. Next hand, I'm looking at AK offsuit at under the gun + 1 position. Still at 50/100, I make a "weak" raise to 275. Call, call next to me, the AggroNg raises to 800 all day from the button. After what I've seen these last couple of hands, I believe this is a semi-bluff move. I don't think she has a pair here or she goes all in, so I insta-shove. First guy folds, second guy pines for about 3 minutes, talking to himself, huffing and puffing to the point where I definitely think he's calling. No doubt he had QQ or JJ in this spot. He finally folds and she asks for a count and calls before the dealer can even touch my chips. She's got a suited AQ. Flop is trash, turn is a Q. I'm out of the tournament just like that.
I try to play some Sit and Go's, but the only ones available are $525, and I'm a little too steamed to play something like that right now, so I go.
Some other highlights from Sunday...
I call Enterprise to tell them about the stolen tag and they tell me to come back so they can put a new one on. I get over there and they proceed to show me what a Nevada temp tag looks like...it's a piece of paper taped to the front window. There never was a tag on the car, I just didn't notice...I'm an idiot.
Played a $40 + 1 rebuy + 1 add on for a total of $60 tournament at the Imperial Palace. I'm the 7th alternate, which means I don't get into the tourney until an hour into it. They give me 4000 in chips and the blinds are already at 200/400, with 300/600 only 3 minutes away. That didn't seem too fair, but I decide to go for it anyway, finishing 10th when a big stack called my all in with J7 against my AK and flops 2 pair. Not very dissappointed here. I play cash for the rest of the evening and make a couple hundred. Give a hundred back at a silly 3 card poker game just for fun to cap the day.
I'm pooling it up tomorrow, so it may be a few days between posts from here (Got to get my bronzed Adonis on). I'm finally settling in, got 3.5 hours of sleep Sunday night, which was a Godsend. For now, the crankiness has dissipated and I'm looking forward to some Rio Deepstack and Venetian Deepstack tournaments later this week. Sorry some of these posts drag on, but I want to chronicle as much as I can in case I need it for future reference.
As I'm pulling up, I get a feeling that I think only the late great Hunter S. Thompson can describe. "I was feeling better now, warm and sleepy and absolutely free. With the palms zipping past and the big sun burning down on the road ahead, I had a flash of something I hadn't felt since my first months in Europe-a mixture of ignorance and a loose, "what the hell" kind of confidence that comes on a man when the wind picks up and he begins to move in a hard straight line toward and unknown horizon." I never had a "Europe" specifically, but a simular experience for sure.
I find valet parking just for WSOP players, which is right next to the pavillion. This is huge, since i won't have to walk the parking garage and the length of the casino to get in...a big time saver. Walking into the room, everything I've felt for the last couple of days, is gone. I am in no way intimidated by this atmosphere; in some respects I would say I relish it. I quickly find my seat at a near full table. Two lesser known pros are to my left. I see more "major" pros everywhere. In my game, I've just walked out of a Field Box seat, stepped in the box, and am ready to face Tim Lincecum.
We're starting with 3k in chips, 1 hours blinds. I can tell it's a talkative table before I even sit down. I walk in to AQ offsuit in middle postion first hand and put up somewhere in the neighborhood of a 3x bet. Immediately I hear the table talking, "did you even look? Where did you come from?" etc... I of course follow this up with a nice, "hey, I was late and need to make up for lost time." This is a great situation for me because even if I lose this hand before we get to the river, it's going to send a message that I'm a loose and aggressive player, which I'm not. Two callers and a junk flop later, I put out a continuation bet ( will be know henceforth as a CBet if needed throughout this blog) and get raised substantially. Looks like someone flopped a set. Oh well, I'm still going to use this to further the image I'm creating. I raise in Early position 3 out of the next 5 hands, winning 2 of them after CBetting the flop, folding the other when someone led into me after the flop. Again, I'm not winning a lot of chips, but the trap is now set. I'm of course in the blinds the next 2 hands, which weren't raised, so as far as anyone can tell, I just play a ton of pots. Once the button has passed me, I can wait a reasonable amount of time for a good hand and get paid on it. The next hour sees me picking up a couple small pots in position to maintain my loose appearance, until I finally get a hand and board that I love to play. With the blinds still only at 50/100, I'm in mid/late position with A5 suited. A min-2.5 raise coming at me with 2 callers in front and a call from the luckbox bigstack behind me...beautiful. Now I get to play a good hand on the cheap with money in the pot. A106 flops with 2 of my suits. Checked twice to me, I'm obviously betting this. Call from the big stack, fold fold. Heads up to the turn. It's a blank, but I'm double barreling that all day, with another call. Blank river, I bet, get called. My A is good, he had the same suit as me, K6. If only I catch that flush, I'm definitely doubling up. Oh well, this gets me pretty healthy early, up to about 5k. Pretty uneventful up to the first break at the 2 hour mark from here.
Go on the lunch break, I'm in line with Umberto Brenes. I pick up a sandwich and stand at a hightop table and who joins me, but Umberto Brenes and Men the Master. It was only for a minute, and I'm not a fanboy because let's face it, I'm here to beat them not get their autograph....but it was still pretty cool.
We come back from the break and I realize at the table next to me is Defending Player of the Year, Jason Mercier, and he is literally staring me down. This went on for a while. I'm looking around to see if it's someone else, but he's definitely staring at me. He's from Ft. Lauderdale, and when he started getting notoriety I always thought he looked familiar, but there's no way he'd remember playing against me if we did. The only thing I can think is that he hates my bright pink shirt....good.
A few hands after the break, I pick up AQ of hearts in mid position. A raise from a tight playing woman in early position is an immediate flag, but of course I have to call any raise. We're at 50/100, I think the raise was 400. Flop is KK7, with 2 hearts. She checks, I make it 450, she immediately raises to 1k. Easily AK, but in all honesty, she could have quad K's here. I call the raise anyway. Trash on the turn and she can't get her chips in fast enough. I happily fold, as I'm not putting just about all my chips in on a 1 card draw. Down to about 3500 in chips, I'm still ok after this hand. Two hands later, our table is broken and I'm now at a new table. I fold 3 straight hands as I watch an aggressive Evelyn Ng looking player being as aggressive one can. I plan to take advantage of this as soon as I can. Next hand, I'm looking at AK offsuit at under the gun + 1 position. Still at 50/100, I make a "weak" raise to 275. Call, call next to me, the AggroNg raises to 800 all day from the button. After what I've seen these last couple of hands, I believe this is a semi-bluff move. I don't think she has a pair here or she goes all in, so I insta-shove. First guy folds, second guy pines for about 3 minutes, talking to himself, huffing and puffing to the point where I definitely think he's calling. No doubt he had QQ or JJ in this spot. He finally folds and she asks for a count and calls before the dealer can even touch my chips. She's got a suited AQ. Flop is trash, turn is a Q. I'm out of the tournament just like that.
I try to play some Sit and Go's, but the only ones available are $525, and I'm a little too steamed to play something like that right now, so I go.
Some other highlights from Sunday...
I call Enterprise to tell them about the stolen tag and they tell me to come back so they can put a new one on. I get over there and they proceed to show me what a Nevada temp tag looks like...it's a piece of paper taped to the front window. There never was a tag on the car, I just didn't notice...I'm an idiot.
Played a $40 + 1 rebuy + 1 add on for a total of $60 tournament at the Imperial Palace. I'm the 7th alternate, which means I don't get into the tourney until an hour into it. They give me 4000 in chips and the blinds are already at 200/400, with 300/600 only 3 minutes away. That didn't seem too fair, but I decide to go for it anyway, finishing 10th when a big stack called my all in with J7 against my AK and flops 2 pair. Not very dissappointed here. I play cash for the rest of the evening and make a couple hundred. Give a hundred back at a silly 3 card poker game just for fun to cap the day.
I'm pooling it up tomorrow, so it may be a few days between posts from here (Got to get my bronzed Adonis on). I'm finally settling in, got 3.5 hours of sleep Sunday night, which was a Godsend. For now, the crankiness has dissipated and I'm looking forward to some Rio Deepstack and Venetian Deepstack tournaments later this week. Sorry some of these posts drag on, but I want to chronicle as much as I can in case I need it for future reference.
33rd Birthday in Vegas...Not Nearly As Exciting As It Sounds
Note: I had written this post earlier, but it didn't save and I lost it. I'm re-writing it, but in an abbreviated form.
Finally in Vegas! I got in around 6pm Friday. Rented my Kia, and I'm off to get settled in. I wish I could say I slept on the flight over, but that's a near impossibility for me. It doesn't matter how tired I am, sleeping in moving vehicles just isn't my thing. After I get settled in, a pretty uneventful Friday night happens. I'm not in a rush to gamble, as I have a ton of time here, and I like to be in the right mindframe. Not sleeping for a couple days is certainly not the right mindframe for profitable poker. Tomorrow (Saturday) is my birthday, but I won't be drinking Saturday night because I have a $1K WSOP Tournament on Sunday at noon and want to have my wits about me. I wind up cruising the Strip with a friend and have some drinks, playing a little 3 card poker along the way. I make my way back to the hotel, and try to get some sleep. Unfortunately, one of my odd quirks is rearing its ugly head...I never seem to be able to sleep the first night I'm out of town. It doesn't matter where I am, or how tired I am, it just doesn't happen. Even now, with cocktails flowing, having not really had a good nights sleep since Tuesday, I cannot fall asleep.
My plan for Saturday is pretty simple...I'm going to go to check out Planet Hollywood because I may stay there for a day or two later in the week, then go to the Rio to get the lay of the land and register for Sundays tournament. Much easier said than done. If you've never been to Vegas on the weekend in the summer, let me give you an idea of how it is. The Strip is about 8 lanes wide, and it is absolutely packed. Pedestrians walk everywhere and don't care if cars are coming. Drivers are everywhere and don't care that people are walking in the middle of the road. Everyone drives super slow (not that you could drive fast) to gawk at the weirdos dressed up in ridicul0us costumes, take pictures of the hotels, and try to catch a glimpse of the Bellagio fountain show. All of this is done at a snails pace in bumper to bumper traffic. I check out PH and decide to stay where I am for the entire time. I'm in a central location so there's no reason to move. I get to the Rio and realize that the Pavillion and the event in general is way bigger than I even imagined. Not intimidating really, just gigantic and awesome. I get back to the parking garage to realize someone has stolen the temp tags off my Kia! Jerks!!! I know the Optima is a hot ride and all, but come on. No big deal, I can't imagine I'm going to get pulled over with all the other nonsense going on around me so I'll worry about it later. I get back to my hotel, valet is full, parking garage is full so I have to park at a completely different property. Total time for this round trip = 2.5 hours. PH is about 5 properties away and the Rio is no more than 2 miles from the hotel. My level of crankiness is building at this point.
After hanging around a bit, I decide to check out Aria in Center City. It's very nice and gigantic. I'm dressed up because I don't really know what I'm going to get into. A host asks if I'd like to check out their club, Haze. Being my birthday, I figure what the hell. The line was 1-1.5 hours to get in. D-bags and skanks everywhere. Seriously, the crowd at The Pool at Harrah's in AC looks less douchy than this bunch. Anyone that knows me knows there's no chance I'm waiting in line like that, especially when I wasn't even going to drink. I miraculously find my way out of the maze that is Aria's parking garage a solid 40 minutes later. That crankiness level is creeping up another level.
Exhausted, but not really tired, I decide to see if my friend is working at the Venetian. I want to check out the V anyway, because they have a tournament series I want to play in also, and it's right next to where I'm staying, so it'll be convenient. I make my way to Cut, Wolfgang Puck's Steakhouse in the Palazzo building of the V and find Chip, my longtime friend, but one I haven't seen in about 4 years when I was in Vegas last. I'm definitely happy to see a friendly face. I decide to have a glass of Red to try to put me to sleep. Chip tells about all the celebs that come into the place and it sounds pretty cool. It is an extremely nice restaurant. He tells me to turn around and who's behind me? It's Wayne Brady! He looks like he's about to choke a bitch, but obviously he's super friendly about it. I'm pretty sure a pro baller sat next to me too. He looked really familiar, but the name escapes me. Chip gets off, and we decide to go next door to one of Mario Batalli's spots B&B, where I have one of the top 5 best cocktails I've ever had. Chip has to work a double tomorrow, so we part ways and I head back to the hotel. A nervous excitement/crankiness/I don't know what has come over me at this point and my body refuses to shut down.
I lay in bed for a while and just can't sleep again. I'm happy I got to hang with Chip, and will be doing so more this week, but the insomnia is taking over. This can't be good for my play tomorrow...I guess we'll see.
Finally in Vegas! I got in around 6pm Friday. Rented my Kia, and I'm off to get settled in. I wish I could say I slept on the flight over, but that's a near impossibility for me. It doesn't matter how tired I am, sleeping in moving vehicles just isn't my thing. After I get settled in, a pretty uneventful Friday night happens. I'm not in a rush to gamble, as I have a ton of time here, and I like to be in the right mindframe. Not sleeping for a couple days is certainly not the right mindframe for profitable poker. Tomorrow (Saturday) is my birthday, but I won't be drinking Saturday night because I have a $1K WSOP Tournament on Sunday at noon and want to have my wits about me. I wind up cruising the Strip with a friend and have some drinks, playing a little 3 card poker along the way. I make my way back to the hotel, and try to get some sleep. Unfortunately, one of my odd quirks is rearing its ugly head...I never seem to be able to sleep the first night I'm out of town. It doesn't matter where I am, or how tired I am, it just doesn't happen. Even now, with cocktails flowing, having not really had a good nights sleep since Tuesday, I cannot fall asleep.
My plan for Saturday is pretty simple...I'm going to go to check out Planet Hollywood because I may stay there for a day or two later in the week, then go to the Rio to get the lay of the land and register for Sundays tournament. Much easier said than done. If you've never been to Vegas on the weekend in the summer, let me give you an idea of how it is. The Strip is about 8 lanes wide, and it is absolutely packed. Pedestrians walk everywhere and don't care if cars are coming. Drivers are everywhere and don't care that people are walking in the middle of the road. Everyone drives super slow (not that you could drive fast) to gawk at the weirdos dressed up in ridicul0us costumes, take pictures of the hotels, and try to catch a glimpse of the Bellagio fountain show. All of this is done at a snails pace in bumper to bumper traffic. I check out PH and decide to stay where I am for the entire time. I'm in a central location so there's no reason to move. I get to the Rio and realize that the Pavillion and the event in general is way bigger than I even imagined. Not intimidating really, just gigantic and awesome. I get back to the parking garage to realize someone has stolen the temp tags off my Kia! Jerks!!! I know the Optima is a hot ride and all, but come on. No big deal, I can't imagine I'm going to get pulled over with all the other nonsense going on around me so I'll worry about it later. I get back to my hotel, valet is full, parking garage is full so I have to park at a completely different property. Total time for this round trip = 2.5 hours. PH is about 5 properties away and the Rio is no more than 2 miles from the hotel. My level of crankiness is building at this point.
After hanging around a bit, I decide to check out Aria in Center City. It's very nice and gigantic. I'm dressed up because I don't really know what I'm going to get into. A host asks if I'd like to check out their club, Haze. Being my birthday, I figure what the hell. The line was 1-1.5 hours to get in. D-bags and skanks everywhere. Seriously, the crowd at The Pool at Harrah's in AC looks less douchy than this bunch. Anyone that knows me knows there's no chance I'm waiting in line like that, especially when I wasn't even going to drink. I miraculously find my way out of the maze that is Aria's parking garage a solid 40 minutes later. That crankiness level is creeping up another level.
Exhausted, but not really tired, I decide to see if my friend is working at the Venetian. I want to check out the V anyway, because they have a tournament series I want to play in also, and it's right next to where I'm staying, so it'll be convenient. I make my way to Cut, Wolfgang Puck's Steakhouse in the Palazzo building of the V and find Chip, my longtime friend, but one I haven't seen in about 4 years when I was in Vegas last. I'm definitely happy to see a friendly face. I decide to have a glass of Red to try to put me to sleep. Chip tells about all the celebs that come into the place and it sounds pretty cool. It is an extremely nice restaurant. He tells me to turn around and who's behind me? It's Wayne Brady! He looks like he's about to choke a bitch, but obviously he's super friendly about it. I'm pretty sure a pro baller sat next to me too. He looked really familiar, but the name escapes me. Chip gets off, and we decide to go next door to one of Mario Batalli's spots B&B, where I have one of the top 5 best cocktails I've ever had. Chip has to work a double tomorrow, so we part ways and I head back to the hotel. A nervous excitement/crankiness/I don't know what has come over me at this point and my body refuses to shut down.
I lay in bed for a while and just can't sleep again. I'm happy I got to hang with Chip, and will be doing so more this week, but the insomnia is taking over. This can't be good for my play tomorrow...I guess we'll see.
Friday, June 25, 2010
12 Hours...
Well here I am, 12 hours until I'm finally in Vegas. After years of dreaming about doing this, months of planning, the last couple weeks being consumed by it, and the final crazy days before actually leaving, I am now only hours from actually touching down in Vegas. For those who don't know, let's back it up...
I've been a gambler my whole life, you could say I was born into it. I grew up watching and learning from some great, and some terrible gamblers. When I hit my late teens/early 20's, I hooked up with one of the great, anonymous hustlers of my generation. We took weekly (sometimes twice weekly) trips to Atlantic City where I learned his long list of rules to gambling to win (there's a big difference between gambling and gambling to win). I applied these rules to the game he taught me the best, blackjack, with moderate success. A couple years later I switched over to Limit and No Limit Texas Hold'em. It's a game that I took to immediately. I loved (and still love) the decision making, math, and personalities involved in the game. I'm above average in the math, but it was the reading of people that pushed me deeper into the game. The psychology involved in the game forces you to pay attention at all times and discover patterns in people to figure out what they're doing...this is something I definitely excel at.
After years of practing, playing, reading, and developing strategy, I came to the conclusion that I could be a big time tournament player. I played a couple of large field tournaments online (knocking out a pro in one you may have heard of, Phil Ivey...pretty exciting) and decided I needed to play live, where my ability to determine what my opponent is doing is much more prevelant. I hit a snag, lost bankroll after bankroll for a couple of years, but within the last year or two, I've become a profitable tournament player, which is a pretty tough feat. After taking down the championship of a local poker series, I finally had the bankroll to play in the WSOP Main Event without worrying too much about money. Winning the Main Event is probably the goal of every tournament poker player, and I am no different. I know there's a certain level of luck involved in a tournament of this magnatude, but I can't help but think I have more than a fighting chance at bringing home the coveted bracelet if I play to the best of my abilities.
So now here I am, 12 hours, make that 11 hours, before I embark on a potential life changing trip to Las Vegas. I've been awake since Wednesday morning, it is now Friday morning. I'm so excited and neurotic that I'm constantly thinking about what to pack and how to play when I get there. I don't really think I'm nervous, but there's an anxiety present that I can't really explain. I'll be in Vegas for about a week and a half before the Main Event starts, playing in smaller tournaments and getting myself set up out there so I am fully prepared in every way to play my best poker come the Main Event. I'm going alone, one of my best friends and poker partners may meet me out there, but it's probably less than 50/50. It will be a little bit of a challenge in that I'm going to have to absorb losses and plays mentally on my own, which is something I'm not really used to. I'm going to chronicle the trip as best I can for those of you that would like to "play along at home." This is my first blog, so bear with me if the posts are late or ramble on. I'm still not really sure what I want to communicate, but hopefully I'll figure it out as I go. 10 hours, 45 minutes.......
I've been a gambler my whole life, you could say I was born into it. I grew up watching and learning from some great, and some terrible gamblers. When I hit my late teens/early 20's, I hooked up with one of the great, anonymous hustlers of my generation. We took weekly (sometimes twice weekly) trips to Atlantic City where I learned his long list of rules to gambling to win (there's a big difference between gambling and gambling to win). I applied these rules to the game he taught me the best, blackjack, with moderate success. A couple years later I switched over to Limit and No Limit Texas Hold'em. It's a game that I took to immediately. I loved (and still love) the decision making, math, and personalities involved in the game. I'm above average in the math, but it was the reading of people that pushed me deeper into the game. The psychology involved in the game forces you to pay attention at all times and discover patterns in people to figure out what they're doing...this is something I definitely excel at.
After years of practing, playing, reading, and developing strategy, I came to the conclusion that I could be a big time tournament player. I played a couple of large field tournaments online (knocking out a pro in one you may have heard of, Phil Ivey...pretty exciting) and decided I needed to play live, where my ability to determine what my opponent is doing is much more prevelant. I hit a snag, lost bankroll after bankroll for a couple of years, but within the last year or two, I've become a profitable tournament player, which is a pretty tough feat. After taking down the championship of a local poker series, I finally had the bankroll to play in the WSOP Main Event without worrying too much about money. Winning the Main Event is probably the goal of every tournament poker player, and I am no different. I know there's a certain level of luck involved in a tournament of this magnatude, but I can't help but think I have more than a fighting chance at bringing home the coveted bracelet if I play to the best of my abilities.
So now here I am, 12 hours, make that 11 hours, before I embark on a potential life changing trip to Las Vegas. I've been awake since Wednesday morning, it is now Friday morning. I'm so excited and neurotic that I'm constantly thinking about what to pack and how to play when I get there. I don't really think I'm nervous, but there's an anxiety present that I can't really explain. I'll be in Vegas for about a week and a half before the Main Event starts, playing in smaller tournaments and getting myself set up out there so I am fully prepared in every way to play my best poker come the Main Event. I'm going alone, one of my best friends and poker partners may meet me out there, but it's probably less than 50/50. It will be a little bit of a challenge in that I'm going to have to absorb losses and plays mentally on my own, which is something I'm not really used to. I'm going to chronicle the trip as best I can for those of you that would like to "play along at home." This is my first blog, so bear with me if the posts are late or ramble on. I'm still not really sure what I want to communicate, but hopefully I'll figure it out as I go. 10 hours, 45 minutes.......
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