The phone just keeps ringing...or is that my head? Nope, it's my definitely my phone. I answer to my wife saying, "Are you watching this???!!!" I tell her I have no idea what she's talking about, I am just waking up at the crack of 1pm. "The World Cup final! There's no way you forgot about it!" I am a huge WC fan, but as I've said before, I just haven't been watching TV at all, so I did totally forget about it. It's already halftime as I fire up the huge 20" screen on my in-room TV at the IP. As much fun as it probably is downstairs/next door/in the streets, I have no desire to leave my room at this point because of another monster hangover.
Here I am, my third weekend in Vegas, and I'm breaking so many of the rules I set for myself before I left. I didn't want to drink too much...that one's long gone. I wanted to maintain a regular eating/excercise/sleep schedule...no chance. I wanted to treat every tournament the same regardless of the buy in...didn't happen. I'm now at the point where the only poker I have left to play on this trip is the Main where I'm super short...unless I try to satellite my way into the V's DSE Main Event, which is also tomorrow. This is an idea I had last night while pounding one of many Captain and Gingers. What if I try to win my way into the DSE Main, then if I bust early in the WSOP Main, I can just come right over and play the DSE Main? Chip thinks this is a great idea, but when I finally emerge from my room I decide there's no way I can do this. I don't want to take anything from my play in the WSOP Main, short or not. I still have a chance and I don't want to sell myself short. I'm going to the V this afternoon anyway so I'll check it out, but I'm not going to play.
I have to go to the V today so I can redeem my comps for the DSE events I've played. For every entry, you are allowed a $10 food comp, or you can get a t shirt (cool design), hat, or card protector (really neat design and very heavy). This is a great way to stock up on gifts for my friends back home and I never used them for food, so grab my stack of entries and head out. I take the long way in walking to the V just to get a little excercise and think. I get a text from Chip that says he's working but wants to know what I'm doing today because he's got me "all set up". I don't know what this means, but I soon find out. After loading up at the V's poker gift shop, I head over to Cut to give Chip his card protector and find out what he means. He again asks what I'm doing today, but has an undeniable smirk when asking. I tell him I'm probably going to the pool at IP for a while to search for the Last Unicorn again. Then I'm going to eat somewhere good, since this will probably be my last night to be able to do something like that. He tells me that is perfect, and that I'm ready to go...now. Chip proceeds to tell me that he made some calls earlier in the day, and that the VIP host is expecting me at Encore Beach Club if I want to go to the pool. Also the manager at Postrio, another Wolfgang Puck restaurant, is expecting me for dinner later this evening. It's getting close to 3pm, so I ask if it's too late to go to Encore. He responds, "Dude, it's never too late to look at 10's". Touche'. After thanking Chip, I feel my hangover starting to clear up and my pace quickens to an almost power walk as I make my way back to the IP to grab some pool attire.
I text the host at Encore as I pull up to the garage. Now I've seen Rehab as a television show, but I've never been to a pool of this caliber so I'm not really sure what to expect here. I know some of these places are wild, but I expected Encore to just be a bunch of trust fund baby dolls laying by the pool. When I hit the entrace and caught a glimpse of what I was about to get into, I almost cried/walked away/pitched a tent/cried again. I meet the host as he's getting b****ed at for not letting in Larry Hughes, the (former?) NBA player. As this is happening, I get walked past the line, security, and very importantly, the window where you pay the $50 cover charge. The host walks me to the bar and I can't even talk. He asks if everything is OK, and I assure him that everything is more than OK. He tells me he heard that I'm on to Day 3 of the Main, and that I should come back next week if I smash it. As he says this, a few bikini-clad "people" hear him and I'm an "instant celebrity". We talk for a while and I decide to roam and explore this unbelievable aquatic utopia. The music is thumping, the drinks are flowing, and everyone is dancing. I throw down a few $20 mojitos and start to feel the beat. I eventually get in the pool and try to act as uncreepy as one could alone at a place like this. It dawned on me that I was successful when approached by another group of bikini's that weren't cocktail servers. I hang out for here for a couple of hours, not really wanting to leave. To say that Encore Beach Club is a little bit different than the pool at the IP is like saying Marisa Miller is little bit different than Chelsea Clinton. This was definitely a good decision on Chip's part.
After changing, I head back over to the V for dinner at Postrio. I take a seat at the bar and marvel at the fake St. Mark's Square like a tourist. In a fantastic move on my part, I make the switch to ginger citrus iced tea instead of continuing the mojito train. The Heirloom tomato Caprese was superb. The Chicken Piccata was just OK. The manager makes his way to the bar and talks about the WSOP like I've won the thing already. He comps most of my meal and I leave feeling good.
I hang out with Chip for an hour or two after and discuss tomorrow. I've added up all our strategic conversations from this weekend and have come up with a plan that unfortunately, I'm ready to follow. I have 1 hour left of blinds at 500/1000 100a. This means I have 2 orbits (20 hands) to determine which is the hand I'll hang my tournament on, assuming I'm not BB first. Of course if I find myself in a spot where I can position shove to pick up the blinds and antes, I will. I think the key to tomorrow will be staying over 15k for the first hour. Once I get below 15k, I'm going to have to shove Ace or Face (or worse). That is a sickening feeling, the thought that I literally may have to just shove anything for $10,000. I hate playing poker like this in a $50 tourney, let alone one for $10k.
We discuss many, many scenerios that I may encounter and try to determine whether I'm pushing or not. The main hand that we disagree on most is 89 suited. He asks if I'd shove this hand, and I instantly say I will, without question. He thinks I should only play this hand if there is already a raise and some callers in front, I don't. If this were the middle of Day 1, and I had a bunch of chips to do something like that with, I would. But I'll take the implied odds of that hand right now. I try to explain that 20 hands is not a lot (which he knows), and if I come across a hand like that I'm going to use it. Chip just cannot believe I'd put $10k on a hand like that. I tell him I'd rather it be 89 suited than 103 off and I'm forced to shove because I only have 13 BB's left. We agree to disagree here. He doesn't think I'm going to need to make this decision anyway; that I'm going to double up in the first 10 hands. I wind up making a $30 bet with him that I won't double up in the first 10 hands. So to recap, yes, I just covered a $10,000 bet with $30...seems smart! I make my way out of the V and head "home". Around 1am, Chip calls to see if I want to go to his friends house to cookout and drink. I ask if he remembers that I'm playing the Main in 11 hours. He said he does, he just wanted another opportunity to talk me out of playing 89 suited...
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