My day in court

Most of the stereotypes that portray the South in the media are pure bullshit. The overalls and bare feet, the KKK running rampant, the no teeth backwoods squeal like a pig butt lover. But the one stereotype where the movies often get it right is the country courthouse.

So I thought as I sat in a chair outside the courtroom of the Sumter County Courthouse in Livingston, Al.., Wednesday afternoon, peering outside a large window at a stately magnolia growing outside the 19th Century building. Inside the courtroom, District Attorney Greg Griggers was prosecuting an assault charge against a man named Jerome who had invited me to see the deplorable and unsafe conditions of the Sumter County High School football field four years ago for a possible newspaper article. An incident at the school led to a fight, which my host tried to break up. But in the end, Jerome himself was charged with assault.

Finally his day in court had come, and I was the only one who could help get him off as I was the sole impartial witness to the fight. The bailiff summoned me and I walked into the room, with its high ceilings and ornately detailed judge’s bench. The facilities screamed Old South. The court reporter swore me in and I took my seat in the witness booth.

While reporting for The T-News, I always admired Griggers’ ability at questioning witnesses, but now the tables were turned and I was the one facing the grilling. Every bit of doubt I had in these events from four years ago he was able to turn on me and portray me as one who was unsure of what really happened. Trying to remember the details of an event that took place so long ago is almost impossible. The essential action was this: Jerome and I walked into the school office and found Jerome's sister and the school secretary jawing at each other. The sister asked to see the school principal and the secretary ignored her. As the secretary turned to walk out of the room, the sister grabbed her and I began to witness the first and only catfight of my life. Jerome tried to break it up and finally some teachers came into the room. One teacher grabbed Jerome and he pushed back, thus the assault charge. The teacher is white and Jerome is black, but I'm not sure it's fair to say the charge was racially motivated (and most of the jury was black, thus eliminating a bias factor against Jerome in his trial).

I finished my dribble and was excused from the courtroom after a few cross examinations. I got in my car and headed south. I received a call from Jerome later that night as I prepared to take a shower in my New Orleans hotel room. He was found guilty.

Quote of the day + WSOP entry

"It’s become almost impossible for entry-level players to get a foothold, much less work their way up the ladder. Juice on the lower buy-in events can be as much as 25%. Add in travel expenses to the never-ending increases in juice and the tournament professional is soon to become an endangered species. The biggest names with huge bankrolls or sponsorship deals will survive, but run-of-the-mill touring pro will not make it unless he gets very lucky in a few big events. " -- 2 + 2 user Blair, lamenting the increasing fees that casinos are charging for tournament entries.

So this is what it feels like...to win a tournament I mean. Now I remember the reason I love this game. It allows me to fulfill my competitive nature in a game of wits when I can't adequately compete in other endeavors. (Though I was the captain of the 1999 University of Alabama Intramural Wiffleball Championship team...)

The tournament in question was a 82-player $10+$1 affair on Poker Share Sunday afternoon. I wouldn't usually get involved in such small fry stuff, but this was part of the Bluff Poker Tour and the winner would get a $1,500 WSOP entry of their choice in addition to about $250 in prize money. Talk about an overlay.

And we started with 2,500 in chips with a slow blind structure, a fantastic pace if you want some play. When we got down to three handed I had 70,000 in chips and the blinds were only 500-1,000! When's the last time you played a tournament where that happened?

I was patient, waited for the aggressive chip leader to make some wrong moves and nailed him. So now I have at least one bracelet event buy in waiting for me this summer, and if there was every any doubt about whether or not I would definitely go to Vegas this ended it.

Quote of the day

"About six months ago I talked to this 17-year-old kid online. He had a brand new Porsche and a condominium he paid for with cash. Dude, when I was 17 I was delivering Chinese food for about $8 an hour." -- Josh Arieh, on the Card Player radio show "The Circuit" discussing the financial success of young online poker players.

Bloggers convention link

Anyone who is thinking about going to this probably already knows all of this already, but here's the link to the World Poker Bloggers Tour thing in Vegas this summer. It's the second week in July, with the tournament on July 8 at Caesar's Palace.

http://www.thisisnotapokerblog.com/archives2/cat_wpbt.html

Quote of the day

"That is kind of like asking how do I prepare to go to Vietnam. Dodge lots of bullets and get lucky at key times," -- 2 + 2 forum member CerebralDamage in response to a question on how to prepare for a major live tournament.

I'm finding some pretty funny stuff out there so I think I'll make "Quote of the Day" a regular feature of this blog, it just won't be every day necessarily, only when the mood strikes.

Good times, bad times, you know I've had my share

The good news: just had an almost +$3,000 week.

The bad news: it only leaves me slightly ahead for the month of April.
I think the most important thing for me is I have my confidence back, and a poker player without confidence is like a Jedi without the Force…or a fat kid without cake.

This is why I love online poker:

Buy-in for $120 at VIP Poker (the former Planet Poker) in a $3/$5 NL game just trying to double up. We are playing three handed.

Hand #6: I get KsJh and make it $15 from the button. Both blinds call.
Flop is Js 2c 3c
Check-check-I bet $40.
SB folds and BB check-raises me all in for my last $60. OK, I think, can’t fold here. Turn and river are blanks. He shows Qh3s

Hand #7: Very next hand, I pick up KK in BB. Button limps and SB folds. I make it $20. Button pops it to $80.
Does he aces? Maybe so, maybe not, but I’ve got to have stones with the second nut pre-flop hand so I push the rest of my stack in the pot (perhaps another $200). He instacalls and board comes Q high. I show first and he folds.

Hand #10: I am in the BB with AK. Button folds and the SB decides he hasn’t quite donked off enough chips so he goes all in over my $5 BB for $100 and change.
I figure at worst I’m a coin flip and more likely I’m 66 percent or better so I call. I get nervous as the board completely misses me. Well, it missed his Q3 as well. If that’s his favorite hand may I suggest finding a new one.

And ten hands later I’m at about $630 and decide I’ve done enough damage for one day. “Take care,” I type to the remaining donk as I depart the table.

I’m far from out of the woods, but I can at least see the daylight. And the killer donkeys seem to have stopped chasing me through Neverwin Forest. Now I look toward Vegas and the WSOP with a brighter outlook (and hopefully a decent bankroll if I can keep this up.)

It’s my goal to head to Vegas around July 6-7 for the bloggers’ weekend, which would be my first trip for that fracas, and stay through BARGE, which runs Aug. 15-20. Yep, that’s a LONG time, about six weeks in all.

It appears I’ll be able to swing it because Ted’s wife is a bigtime slot player at the Reno Fitzgerald’s and they offer her a deal where she can get a room at the Vegas Fitzgerald’s for about $400 for the entire month of July.

After Ted and I split the room, we’re talking about $200 for the month! $7 a day! Unreal.
I also believe I can get a room at the Plaza for BARGE for a couple of weeks in August at $20 per night.

It appears six weeks in Vegas may be very affordable, though I may get sick of 99-cent shrimp cocktails at Golden Gate before it’s over.

Quote of the day

"Gee, I hope it works" -- RGPer Howard Beale's response to a post that Paris Hilton may begin writting a monthly poker column for Bluff magazine, a move that the original poster said could really put poker on the map.

WSOP packages and prelim chips

Here's an listing of some of the various online sites' WSOP qualifying offerings, which I will update many times in the next couple of months:

Party Poker

• Runs a number of daily freerolls into a Saturday tournament. These freerolls are like the old zombie fests. Try to protect your monster hands against 3,500 undead poker players trying to tear you limb for limb. I believe 100 out of this field (which fills up quickly when registration opens) move on to the Saturday tournament. Survive another mine field and win some main event seats or even a $50K HORSE seat. Definitely a long shot, but you can't complain about free!
• Runs a daily $200+$15 sat in which two or three win a ME seat. Another tough road.
• The good ol' Steps and their impossible ladder is back. This year, it's five steps to the top, rather than six, which is a double-edged sword -- fewer rungs to climb but fewer chances to move up. For example, last year on Step 1 I believe the top 2 went to Step 2, now it's only the winner. If you're a good SNG player with a hefty bankroll, play the $500 Step 4s to try for the win. I know one local resident who already won his seat this way.

Poker Stars

• The Sunday $650 qualifier continues, with about 600 people competing on a recent Sunday, which yielded about 33 seats. The trick is getting there, and PS continues to run a ton of qualifiers. If you like SNGs you'll like PS new focus on these $16 double shootouts in which the winner gets a $650 seat. PS runs a ton of these around the clock, which means fewer of the $73+$7 or $25+$2 with rebuys multi-table tournaments that other players (like me) prefer.
• PS has released their list of WSOP bracelet events they will allow players to use their W$ to buy into with. All of the tournaments are NLHE and the list can be found here: http://www.pokerstars.com/wsop/fpp/

Ultimate Bet

• As usual, UB is running their $100 and $200 buy ins for main event seats, with sats into these. As with Party, only a handful of people will get seats in these tournaments.
• An interesting thing UB is doing this year is a new series of tournaments every day for specific bracelet events. Buy ins are $30 + rebuys or $50 freezeout. Here's the schedule: http://www.ultimatebet.com/promotions/6-weeks-wsop.html?l=may30

Bodog

• Good overlays here, as Bodog is running multiple tournaments each weekend with buy ins of $67.50, $125 and $250 guaranteeing a ME seat in each one. There haven't been enough people to make the prize pool large enough to cover the $12K package; in fact, some of the fields have had overlays of $6K or so.
• Small overlays are also available in bracelet event packages run on weeknights. The prize is a $1,500 entry and $1,000 cash for a $50 buy in. There are usually only 45 players or so entered into each of these, creating an overlay of about $250 most nights.

Poker Share

• Saving the best for last, as overlays here are astounding! Each Sunday, the site runs a $250 or $500 buy in tournament in which a $13K package is added. For example, I played recently with 30 other patrons, creating a prize pool of $8K. First got a package and second took the prize pool. Does a $13K overlay sound good to you? Not only is the ME tourney a great deal, but so are the satellites to get into them. Each one guarantees two seats into that Sunday's ME tourney. I won a seat recently with 19 players in a $25 buy in. That's a prize pool of $475. But the site guaranteed two $500 + $30 seats!
• PS also runs a $50 + $5 buy in tournament every Wednesday that adds a $1,500 WSOP bracelet event entry to the prize pool. So if there's $1,000 in the pool, the winner gets the seat and second takes the $1,000 (as in the Sunday event). Astounding sats for this one too. Played one this afternoon that guaranteed two seats. Buy in = $5.50. Players = 6. Show me a better deal. Anywhere.

Quote of the day

"That's what I'm trying to do, get a jet, you know, get a couple of jets maybe and be able to fly to my poker tournaments." -- Phil Hellmuth on the Card Player radio show "The Circuit" speaking of his goal of making $100 million to $200 million dollars.

He also lamented the fact that Daniel Negreanu's weekly newspaper column has a wider subscriber base than his own, which is now in about 40 newspapers. Meanwhile, some dude named Johnny Kampis has a column in five newspapers. 8 to 1 ratio of Hellmuth over Kampis? Haha, I'll take it.

That's my Oliver

Oliver Tse once again proves that the only thing bigger than his mouth is his ego. I'm all for good information (which Oliver has plenty of with his insider connections), but not if I have to get it from someone of such arrogance. Check out the link. Apparently, no W$ for tournament buy ins because none of the prelims will be televised this year.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=5576486&page=0&fpart=all&vc=1

Boost of confidence

Isn't it scary how one big win or big loss can affect your outlook on poker? Or maybe it's just me. I've felt like a mangy dog, kicked to the curb, the last couple of months and haven't felt at all confident about my game or my chances of winning in any given session. And then, WHAM, last night I haul in $1,200 in our local $5-$10 limit game. (Obviously, that's a monster win in a game of that size, even if we use a rock that occasionally makes for straight 10-10-10 bets on some hands.)

Two days ago I felt I couldn't win. Now I'm ready to take on the world. Strange, isn't it? At least I feel like I got my mojo back. Groooovy, baby.

I got some other good news Monday as the guy who runs that local game offered to stake me in a $500 NLHE tournament in New Orleans next month. He asked if I was going to the WSOP Circuit Event there and I replied that I was thinking about skipping it since I hadn't been running well and was trying to save up for the big Vegas splash this summer. He offered me the stake, which I very happily accepted. Plus, some of us Tuscaloosa poker players will room together, further saving precious bankroll dollars. I get a freeroll at that event for half any winnings minus the buy in. I've never been one to try to sell pieces of myself, so this will be a first, but one I look forward to.

World Series of Poker schedule and tidbits

Yea, this is nothing new, but I'm posting it here and will link it from the sidebar as part of my resource package.

Apparently, ESPN hasn't decided their broadcast plans yet, so PokerStars hasn't said yet which tournaments players can use their W$ for.

Another tidbit: apparently Harrah's is going to bring some portable toilets for use inside the WSOP area. (They were selling ads to be placed on the toilets on the lifestyle show marketing page on their Web site.) Anyone who was at last year's WSOP remembers what a logjam bathroom breaks were. They are also apparently planning a player's lounge of some sort...describing it as a place to relax, drink, eat and....bet? Perhaps they are going to set up some VP machines...


2006 World Series of Poker Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino June 25 – August 10

Casino Employee No-Limit Event (2 day event)
$500.00
27-Jun-06
Tuesday
12 noon

No-Limit Hold'em (3 day event)
$1,500.00
28-Jun-06
Wednesday
12 noon

Pot-Limit Hold'em (3 day event)
$1,500.00
29-Jun-06
Thursday
12 noon

Limit Hold'em (3 day event)
$1,500.00
30-Jun-06
Friday
12 noon

No-limit Hold'em Short Handed, 6/table (3 day event)
$2,500.00
1-Jul-06
Saturday
12 noon

No-Limit Hold'em (3 day event)
$2,000.00
2-Jul-06
Sunday
12 noon

Limit Hold'em (3 day event)
$3,000.00
3-Jul-06
Monday
12 noon

Omaha Hi-low Split (3 day event)
$2,000.00
4-Jul-06
Tuesday
12 noon

No-Limit Hold'em (3 day event)
$5,000.00
5-Jul-06
Wednesday
12 noon

Seven Card Stud (3 day event)
$1,500.00
6-Jul-06
Thursday
12 noon

Limit Hold'em (3 day event)
$1,500.00
6-Jul-06
Thursday
2:00 PM

Omaha Hi-low Split (2 day event)
$5,000.00
7-Jul-06
Friday
12 noon

No-Limit Hold'em (3 day event)
$2,500.00
8-Jul-06
Saturday
12 noon

No-Limit Hold'em w/re-buys (3 day event)
$1,000.00
9-Jul-06
Sunday
11:00 AM

Ladies Event No-Limit Hold'em (2 day event)
$1,000.00
9-Jul-06
Sunday
12 noon

Pot-Limit Omaha (3 day event)
$10,000.00
10-Jul-06
Monday
12 noon

No-Limit Hold'em (3 day event)
$1,000.00
11-Jul-06
Tuesday
12 noon

Pot-Limit Hold'em (2 day event)
$2,000.00
12-Jul-06
Wednesday
11:00 AM

Seniors No-Limit Hold'em (2 day event)
$1,000.00
12-Jul-06
Wednesday
12 noon

No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball w/rebuys (2 day event)
$5,000.00
13-Jul-06
Thursday
12 noon

No-Limit Hold'em- Short handed 6/table (3 day event)
$2,500.00
14-Jul-06
Friday
12 noon

No-Limit Hold'em (3 day event)
$2,000.00
15-Jul-06
Saturday
12 noon

Limit Hold'em (3 day event)
$3,000.00
15-Jul-06
Saturday
2:00 PM

Omaha Hi-low Split (3 day event)
$3,000.00
16-Jul-06
Sunday
12 noon

No-Limit Hold'em Shootout (3 day event)
$2,000.00
17-Jul-06
Monday
12 noon

Pot-Limit Omaha (2 day event)
$1,500.00
18-Jul-06
Tuesday
12 noon

No-Limit Hold'em (2 day event)
$1,500.00
19-Jul-06
Wednesday
12 noon

Seven Card Stud (2 day event)
$5,000.00
19-Jul-06
Wednesday
2:00 PM

Pot-Limit Hold'em (2 day event)
$2,500.00
20-Jul-06
Thursday
12 noon

No-Limit Hold'em- Short handed 6/table (3 day event)
$5,000.00
21-Jul-06
Friday
12 noon

No-Limit Hold'em (3 day event)
$2,000.00
22-Jul-06
Saturday
12 noon

Pot-Limit Hold'em (3 day event)
$5,000.00
22-Jul-06
Saturday
2:00 PM

Seven Card Razz (2 day event)
$1,500.00
23-Jul-06
Sunday
12 noon

No-Limit Hold'em w/re-buys (3 day event)
$1,000.00
24-Jul-06
Monday
12 noon

Seven Card Hi Low Split (2 day event)
$1,000.00
24-Jul-06
Monday
2:00 PM

Limit Hold'em Shootout (3 day event)
$1,500.00
25-Jul-06
Tuesday
12 noon

No-Limit Hold'em (3 day event)
$1,500.00
25-Jul-06
Tuesday
4:00 PM

H.O.R.S.E. (3 day event)
$50,000.00
26-Jul-06
Wednesday
see below

Satellite Day

27-Jul-06
Thursday

Media/Celebrity Event and Satellite Day

28-Jul-06
Friday

No-Limit Texas Hold'em World Championship Event
$10,000.00
28-Jul-06
Friday
12 Noon

Day 1A 2000 play down to 800

29-Jul-06
Saturday
12 Noon

Day 1B 2000 play down to 800

30-Jul-06
Sunday
12 Noon

Day 1C 2000 play down to 800

31-Jul-06
Monday
12 Noon

Day 1D 2000 play down to 800

1-Aug-06
Tuesday
12 noon

A + B 1600 to 700

2-Aug-06
Wednesday
12 noon

C + D 1600 to 700

3-Aug-06
Thursday
Day off for main event


No-Limit Hold'em (2 day event)
$1,000.00
4-Aug-06
Friday
12 noon

ABCD Play 1400 down to 600

5-Aug-06
Saturday
12 noon

Play 600 down to 300

5-Aug-06
Saturday
10:00 AM
No-Limit Hold'em (2 day event)
$1,500.00

6-Aug-06
Sunday
12 noon

Play 300 down to 150

6-Aug-06
Sunday
10:00 AM
No-Limit Hold'em (2 day event)
$1,500.00

7-Aug-06
Monday
12 noon

Play 150 down to 60

7-Aug-06
Monday
10:00 AM
No-Limit Hold'em (2 day event)
$1,500.00

8-Aug-06
Tuesday
12 noon

Play 60 down to 27

8-Aug-06
Tuesday
10:00 AM
No-Limit Hold'em (2 day event)
$1,500.00

9-Aug-06
Wednesday
12 noon

Play 27 down to 9

9-Aug-06
Wednesday
10:00 AM
No-Limit Hold'em (1 day event)
$1,500.00

10-Aug-06
Thursday
12 noon

Final Table

Satellite Schedule
$225 Buy-In Super Satellites will take place daily at 3 p.m and 9 p.m.. $1060 Buy-In Mega Satellites will take place nightly at 7 p.m. (Super Satellite Days on July 26 and July 27: $225 buy-in Super Satellite will take place at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. $1060 buy-in Mega Satellite will take place at 1 p.m. and 8 p.m.)

Second Chance Tournament Schedule
$540 Buy-In No-Limit Hold'em tournaments will take place daily at 5 p.m. $225 Buy-In No-Limit Hold'em tournaments will take place nightly at 11 p.m.

The following percentages will be withheld from each buy-in for each event:
Buy-in
Take-Out
$500
10%
$1,000.00
9%
$1,500.00
9%
$2,000.00
9%
$2,500.00
8%
$3,000.00
8%
$5,000.00
6%
$10,000.00
6%
Harrah's reserves the right to cancel, change or modify the tournament or any tournament event, in part or in whole, without notice.

New poll, search bar and other improvements

You may recall that poll on the top professional poker player that I have had since I first started this blog in October naught four. Well, I finally got a new one. Check out the new poll in the right-hand sidebar. How many people will enter this year's WSOP main event? I'm curious to find out. That number could be a good indicator of how much growth the game of poker will see in the next year. I suspect the growth will slow and perhaps plateau in 2007.

I'm trying to figure out this HTML crap with moderate success. You may have noticed the page is now wider than before. I've also added a Google search tool at the top of the page in which you can surf the Web from Poker Nation or search the blog for poker content.

MissT WSOP qualifier

MissT is an avid RGPer and hostess of a number of bracelet event WSOP qualifiers on Poker Stars. The link to her site is below. She asked for some pimpage to fill the one up she is planning for Sunday so here's the details:

For all you players that have been following the MissT74 WSOP Qualifiers, there will only be ONE more before I leave, and thus this will be the last one for about 3 weeks time. I will start them back up once I'm back home and caught up on work and home life. If you're interested, email me ASAP, as I anticipate this one filling up due to there not being one for the past 2 weeks, and it being the last one for the next 3 weeks.

INFO:
Date: Sunday, 4/23/06
Time: 10:00 pm EST
Game: NLHE
Players: min 20, max 30
Cost: $50.00
Transfer: $40.00 to MissT74 from (Kingman) on PokerStars and then email me. Your password will be issued at that time.
Prize: $1,000 WSOP seat if there are 20 players, $1,500 WSOP seat if there are 30 players.

Any questions, again, simply email me. Pass the word around, everyone is welcomed. Feel free to pimp this on your blog if you'd be so kind to, that way I can assure that it gets filled up and that I'm not stressing out 15 mins before the event is suppose to start. LOL. tanya@pecksmedicalbilling.com is the email address.

Upcoming in Poker Nation

In an attempt to make this blog more of a resource than it has been, I plan in the next few months to make some posts that could be of great use to my brethren. To wit, you will see:

• A listing of some of the available WSOP packages on each site and a comparison of some of the satellite offerings
• Planning for the WSOP: Using my first-hand experience, I'll share some useful tidbits with some of you WSOP virgins who may be reading this
• A comparison of some of the tournaments and tournament sites across the country that I have traveled to for those of you considering which places you may want to travel in 2006-2007
• A look at which online sites have some tournament overlays
• A rake comparison of some online sites
• And whatever other useful stuff I can come up with between now and then

I also plan to link to these specific posts from my blog sidebar, so the information will be easy to find in the future. Check back early and often as I'll shoot these posts out from time to time in the coming months. As always, thanks for your patronage.

Quote of the day

"A few? 10 percent of the field cashes. How can you say that most everyone has "no chance" to cash when one player from every table will cash, and there is enough dead money to fill every crate in the last scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark?" -- 2 + 2 user epdaws in response to a comment that only a few people have a chance to cash in the WSOP main event

Yes, I'm turning into a shill

For a year a and a half I didn't worry about affiliate links and any of that jazzy BS to put on this blog, but I figure now that I might as well try to make a little money with this little blog, so you will now see some ads on this here little page as I also try to jazz it up in other ways to compensate for the clutter.

If the Noble pop-up is really annoying, set your browser to eliminate pop-ups. If you haven't already done this, I don't know why because pop ups drive me batty and I figured they drive most people the same. Let me say one thing about Noble, though. It's the site in which I've won most of my money in the past year, grinding it out at the 10-20 limit games. Many of the guys who I often beat are now playing the 30-60 and 50-100 limit tables the site recently opened up, so it might be worth your while to check the site out. But if you do check it out, please do so through my pop up or link. Grazi. http://adv.noblepoker.com/cgi-bin/SetupPoker.exe?id=N&member=18100000&profile=8520

Let me also pimp Poker Savvy real quickly. When Jay Greenspan first started it a few years ago, I enjoyed reading the variety of content on there. In fact, I told Jay we ought to start a Poker Savvy Magazine together. He wasn't much into it and I didn't really have the know how. This was before the onslaught of All-In, Bluff, Poker Pro and the rest....so who knows what might have been? I only recently checked the site out again and they have good promotions working. If you sign up with some online poker sites through them you can get some good bonuses and earn Poker Savvy points that can be used for various merchandse. Check them out at this link: http://www.pokersavvy.com/r/3607

It's hard out here for a poker player

How many times can you say it? This game is humbling. This game is humbling. This game is humbling.

And if you're trying to make a living at it, it's hard to justify it as a career when you win $500 in the first quarter of the year. That's where I stand after three months. Good thing I'm embarking on a new career soon.

Have I played poorly? Not really. Have I gone on tilt? Only mildly. What's wrong with my play? I can't think of anything. I'm playing the same way I was when I was winning.

So why am I losing? This is the part that contradicts those who scream at the top of their lungs that poker is not gambling. I call bullshit. I used to be one of those staunch defenders. Hell, I used to refer to poker as a "sport." (No, it isn't.)

This truth seems evident: in a skillful contest, the person who wins is the one who is able to use his skill to defeat his opponent. Does this happen in poker? Certainly. Does the most skillful play or player always win? Certainly not. I may make a great read and snuff out a bluff, but if I call and get outdrawn then my skillful play does not benefit me.

You play this game long enough, you learn that poker is a mix of luck and skill. Skill really does win out in the long run, but how long is that run? Because when you hit a bad streak for three months you really start to wonder. And you can't tell me I'm not "gambling" that my luck is going to turn around soon. The truth is I just don't know.

I'm sitting in The Tuscaloosa News as I write this. I'm back temporarily, putting together an annual fact book for the newspaper in an independent contract that will last through the month. It's weird being back in the office. I get bored and antsy as I've enjoyed nine freedoms of cubicle freedom, but being back with the co-workers also has a comfortable familiar feeling too. The important thing about the job is it helps keep me afloat as I ride through the rocky waters of a poker losing streak. I hope my boat doesn't run aground in the meantime.

Do I usually sound this stupid?

The Birmingham News recently published an article about college kids and poker in which writer Thomas Spencer spoke with experts, students and the likes of yours truly about the popularity and dangers of youthful card playing. He also spoke at length with Shannon Storr, the former UA student who did very well in the Aussie Millions (see previous blog posts.) Here's the part where I come into play:

Johnny Kampis, a UA graduate who is taking a year off for poker before starting on a master's degree in marketing, said there's a lot more poker around the university than during his days as an undergraduate.

"There has been an influx of younger players," said Kampis, 29. "There are some of them that play almost every night. They all play No-Limit Texas Hold'em. They play what they see on TV. They are using their parents' money, so they don't mind if they lose it all."

If the professional gambling lifestyle is alluring for college kids, Kampis warns, that dream fades fast. Kampis hasn't had the big break that propelled Shorr, but he's getting by playing tournaments across the country. He's looking forward to returning to school in the fall.

"Playing poker for a living is not what it's cracked up to be," he said. "It's a good hobby and fun game. Don't make it your life. It becomes a grind and is less enjoyable than it used to be."

Now, don't think I'm accusing Spencer of misquoting me, an accusation which as a reporter I absolutely hated (though these things do happen from time to time, what with imperfect hearing and all.) I recall speaking to him in a slow and slurred fashion when he called me while I was in Reno. Perhaps I was half drunk at the time. I do remember hemming and hawing as if I could not complete a coherent thought, which is probably apparent from the quotes he could and did use. I think Spencer did convey my rambling thoughts well as my main point was that I do believe too many people are or thinking about chasing a pipe dream.

Maybe my book, if it is ever published, will save a few people from acting too quickly and harshly as I think it will provide a strong warning to prospective pros. Then again, when they read about my jetsetting across the country while still keeping my head above water, the reading could have the opposite effect.

The curtain closes on Reno

Last night was an alcohol induced blur, but here's a few things I remember:

Watching Barry Greenstein bowl demonstrated what a perfectionist he is. Jason, Allie and I watched him roll a number of strikes and saw him return from the lane shaking his head. Even though he knocked down all the pins, Barry knew he had gotten lucky and he wasn't happy he had not rolled a perfect ball. He was there bowling with a lady friend and his son, Joe Sebok. Barry left early as he was still in the main event. As I write, he leads with nine people remaining.

Gavin Smith is not such a good bowler. He and Paul, a cameraman for the WPT, competed against Jason and Allie for smallish wagers. Gavin and Paul won both times, though only because Allie is apparently terrible at bowling. I didn't get in the game except to fill in for Allie while he fetched drinks and I rolled a strike on that one bowl. So therefore I had a perfect game. (Like that logic?)

When I met Gavin he asked me, "Do you play poker?" My response? "Not very well."

Shawn Rice and Hoyt Corkins made it down to the lanes. (Natalie, Hoyt's girlfriend, was already there rolling with the rest of us. She graduated from the same Memphis high school class as Allie. Small world me thinks.) I saw that Shawn was wearing a Texas Tech cap and I, wearing my Bama cap, asked him how he liked the Cotton Bowl. (About as well as Jim Anderson I suspect.) Shawn didn't seem to enjoy my teasing as I patted his meaty shoulders in jest.

There were a number of attractive females among the poker media at the lanes and most everyone was wondering who the heck I was. I tried the James Spader bit on Lena, an editor of some sort with All-In who is stunning, but it wasn't working. Gavin tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Leave her alone. I'm banging that tonight." I think he was joking. I think.

Later at the craps table, Gavin, Allie and Kenna James were throwing big bets down. They were being antagonized by a fellow in Cincinnati Reds garb on the opposite end. I don't remember exactly what Gavin told him, but it was something to the effect of "The dark side's going down Spiderman." Or something like that. Got to love the guy. He is a bit of a nut. You may recall from my previous posts that I saw him chewing on some of those plastic fish at BARGE last year.

And one other thing, Courtney Friel is smokin', I mean SMOKIN', in a pair of jeans.

I awoke around noon today and headed down to the poker room. And it was almost completely dead except for the furious action around the three remaining tables. They played from 27 down to the final six today, with the WPT taping tomorrow. What must it be like to be a player in that situation? I would love to find out. I decided not to bother playing in a game. I bid Jason adieu until New Orleans in May and headed toward the room.

On the way I ran into Kyle, a dealer from Cincinnati I had befriended on the trip. He told me he might not be dealing at the WSOP this summer because he's thinking about just playing. Yep, he's considering moving to Vegas and turning pro. The poker hype keeps churning out dreamers. May Kyle's dreams come true.

Hoyt's musings

I kicked back with Jason Kirk, aka the Tennessee Spaceman, and his buddy Allie (sp?) from Memphis last night. Jason is now THE tournament coverage guy for Bluff magazine and got here Monday to cover the main event.

We played some SNGs with some of the fellows who had busted out of the main event as the 590 player field was cut to 200 by day’s end. One of those, Gary Gibbs, finished 10th in the main event of the World Poker Open in Tunica in January. (Allie took 15th in said tournament.) He was eliminated by Gavin Smith in a hand that has been much discussed in the poker world since it was played, a hand in which Gibbs rivered a straight and Smith rivered a flush. Rather than try to explain it here for the uninformed, I’ll send you to this link for a comprehensive examination of the hand:

http://cardplayer.com/poker_magazine/archives/?a_id=15343&m_id=65585

As Gibbs explained to us Monday night, “Gavin was playing for the takeaway and I knew where he was. He didn’t know where I was, but I didn’t know his suit.”

Not surprising in a SNG that featured two final table finishers from Tunica and several participants in the main event in Reno, I did not cash.

I spent most of Tuesday at the Peppermill, playing in a poker and blackjack tournament (though not at the same time), but saw T.J. Cloutier and Mark Seif playing craps before I left. Jason told me T.J. busted out this morning.

His craps play is legendary. I believe Andy Bloch wrote something on his WPT Fan Web site to the effect that if you haven’t been asked by T.J. for a loan you haven’t really arrived in the poker world.

“T.J., you roll more sevens than anyone alive,” I heard someone say as I passed the craps table on the way to catch the shuttle bus.

I was relaxing in my hotel room this evening when I got a call from Natalie, Hoyt Corkins’ girlfriend. The reception was garbled, but I made out that they were in the poker room. So I threw on my shoes and headed downstairs to find Hoyt without his trademark cowboy hat. Clad in a baseball cap and leather jacket, he was chewing on a cigar while sitting in the ten seat in a $25-$50 blinds no limit game. To his right sat Lee Markholt and in the five seat was Kenna James, getting a deep back massage.

In the first hand I observed, Kenna raised under the gun to $400. The action moved to Hoyt and he tossed in $1,600 in chips. The action returned to Kenna, who thought for a moment.

“How much you got behind you Hoyt?” he asked.

Hoyt picked up his stack of hundreds and did a quick mental count.

“Ten thousand,” he replied.

“I raise,” Kenna said. He counted out thirty Benjamins and dropped them into the pot.

Hoyt thought for a minute and then picked up his stack of hundreds as if to call or raise before tossing his cards into the muck.

“Your kings are good,” he said.

I didn’t want to bother Hoyt in the middle of a game, but he welcomed me to sit beside him and ask some questions. So I took Natalie’s seat as she went to Johnny Rocket’s for a milkshake and began prying.

His initial answers were simple and amusing. What’s the hardest part about life on the circuit? Losing. What’s the best part? Winning. Hoyt laughed as he answered.

He explained further.

“When you’ve got your confidence and you can feel things and you’re in the zone,” he said. “That’s the good part about poker.”

“Making a bluff and catching that magic card.” I thought immediately of the trips he made against Phil Hellmuth at the World Poker Finals a few years ago that had the Poker Brat fuming.

Hoyt used to focus on Omaha, and his only WSOP bracelet was in that game back in the 1980s. Back in his cattle farming days, Hoyt played a lot of Omaha in Tunica and Philadelphia, Miss. He finally decided to play no limit hold’em.

“When I saw the TV coverage of the tournaments kick in I thought I would give it a shot,” he said.

Now NLHE is his focus and he loves it.

“It really is the Cadillac of poker. I has a lot of moves and it changes so much.”

Suddenly our interview was interrupted.

“Are you being interviewed?” a played I didn’t recognize called out from the three seat. “You know we’re going to needle you now.”

“I’m from Alabama too,” I told the guy. “So don’t give him too hard a time.”

I asked Hoyt what’s the hardest part about the travel.

“I couldn’t make it without Natalie,” he said. “She takes care of the planning and the packing. Half the time I don’t know what airline we’re flying on.”

He believes having someone to take care of the travel arrangements gives him a small edge.

“Every small edge helps,” he said. “I just come and play poker.”

Hoyt said he plays about 30 major tournaments a year, a mix that includes perhaps 10 World Poker Tour events, 12 World Series of Poker tournaments and a handful of WSOP Circuit events.

“I try to keep the tournaments down because they are mentally draining,” he said.

His advice to young aspiring pros: “If you’re going to school, stay in school. Forget about it.”

That statement is a testament to how difficult it can be to make it on the poker tournament circuit. Hoyt believes some people are born with the ability to succeed while others are not.

“There’s a lot of people trying, but there’s not too many make it,” he said. “The odds are not good.”

I also played poker the other day with Ken Shamrock, a former professional wrestler and current Ultimate Fighting stud. He's not too bad (it was a 10-20 limit hold'em game), but he's still a little rough around the edges. He did put four aces on me though. 

This is the man, the myth, etc. He needs no introduction. 

This is NOT James Spader 

This is James Spader 

The main event begins

Finally, it feels like a real poker tournament is taking place here. There was action. There was urgency. There was Eric Lindren hugging Evelyn Ng and giving Carlos Mortensen a high five. There was Barry Greenstein walking through the room carrying a couple of copies of his book.

And once again, I'm left on the curb. Still disheartened from my bad luck, I didn't even attempt either of the two mega satellites that were held on Sunday. Like Ted and Stephen, I plan to re-focus my energy toward the WSOP. Hopefully, I can win a seat in the main event, as well as some other tournament entries online in the next few months.

Ted just missed getting his seat in today's main event last night and so decided to take off this morning on his seven hour drive back home to Oregon. I'll miss the old fellow. He would make a good father figure -- if my father were a pervert.

We plan to room again in Vegas, at either Binion's or the Plaza.

I saw Hoyt again today, but he didn't have time to talk as the tournament was about to begin. T.J. Cloutier told me last night that he would talk with me this morning, but I didn't see him until he was already seated and ready for the tournament to begin.

"Guess I'll have to catch you another time," I said as I walked up to him.

"I'll be around," he replied. "I've got to teach this WPT Boot Camp after this thing is over."

Other than that, I've just sat up in my room all day, playing online poker. I figured out I can get net access for $11 a day so I decided to take it easy today and use my computer.

A hand from a WPC event

I posted this hand on RGP minutes ago. It's how I busted out of a tourney the other day. This play could be questioned, but most of my other defeats were just plain bad luck (I promise.)

Earlier this week I'm playing in a $330 NLHE event at the World Poker Challenge in Reno when this hand occurs. Comments and criticisms are welcomed and appreciated.

I'm dealt Q-K in the BB when big bully raises from the cutoff seat. Our bully has won some monster pots and has about 6,000 in chips (we started with 1,500) and makes it 150 to go on the 25-50 blinds. I call to see a flop. It comes T-T-5 (rainbow) and I check to bully. He bets 250. I think he could have anything and I would really like to show some cojones so I call, planning to take the pot on the turn. The turn is a J and I check as planned. He bets another 250, a bet that seems to just want me to go away. I pause and then check-raise all in for another 700. I had hardly played a hand and hoped he had noticed my tight image. I think he has to believe I have a T or J and fold given his less than 3 to 1 pot odds. Guess not.

He calls with 8-8.

The river is a blank and IGHN...or up to my room anyway.

What is poker?

What is poker?

It’s an old guy in a trucker’s hat that reads “You should have been a hemorrhoid because you’re such a pain in my ass” laughing with his poker buddies.

It’s the matronly woman who looks like June Cleaver with glasses who plays ok, just well enough to make the final table of a women’s event, but not good enough to compete with the tournament regulars.

It’s the brash Italian who criticizes the June Cleaver type for the questionable plays she makes while the hypocrite calls off many of his chips on even more questionable plays.

It’s the intermediate player in the Alabama cap visiting a far away state and observing all of these characters while wondering himself, “why do we all do it?”

It’s the players of a weekly tournament at the Eldorado Casino in downtown Reno, buying in for $65 and trying to win about $1,300 as the neon lights flash outside and pedestrians brave the cold on their way to and fro.

Three times Tuesday I could have made a sizable score and three times I lost. Never is poker more humbling than when you can’t catch a single break, no matter how many times you try or how well you play. Every time you’re in a big pot or a big hand you just know the river card or the flop is going to turn against you. First, there was the $110 SNG in which I lost on the river, costing me at least $400. Then I played in a 10-20 Omaha H/L game in which I had it on the turn and lost on the river. The pot was about $300-$400. And lastly there was the aforementioned Eldorado tournament, in which the blinds got ridiculous and I raised in the cutoff with A-4 and the guy in the big blind had to call with Q-2 and he won the hand. The next hand I’m in the big blind and most of my chips are in the pot. I lose that one with A-6 to J-J. Bye bye $1,300 pay day. Meanwhile a couple of young players with no clue what they’re doing were still in the thick of things.

Is this what I left my job for? To watch my dreams of riches disappear in the flash of a river card. Am I that bad or just unlucky?

Yesterday afternoon, I came up to the room to rest for awhile and Ted was lying on his bed watching his ubiquitous Fox News. He has to take some pills on Wednesday that kind of conk him out so he usually just takes it easy. As he and I lay on our respective beds watching Bill O’Reilly, Ted said something that chilled me.

“I think of that grandson of mine. He’s 12 now. You fuck around for a couple of years and he’s 14. There’s something missing in that equation.”

My mother is having some heart troubles and is going to a cardiologist in Birmingham next week. It was heart problems that killed her mother. Meanwhile, I’m goofing around in Reno. What the fuck am I doing?

I’ve only spent about three months on the road in the past year, and it’s only a one-year adventure (plus a couple of months), but Ted stays gone six months out of the year on his poker trips.

“I could be making a lot more money at home than I could out here playing poker,” he continued.

“So why do it?” I asked.

“Sometimes you’ve got to get away from the rat race.”

I can’t argue that point. The newspaper began to feel like a rat race after awhile, but I have to wonder if we all spend too much time away from the race in our quest for poker dominancy.

I see so many of the same faces on every tournament stop. How many families is this quest breaking?

I have to think the dealers are the smart ones. Granted, many of them play when they’re not working, but I suppose they watch enough poker that they are good enough to at least break even. When they are working, they make pretty good money.

I finally got the chance to interview Connie Mertens, the dealer from DeValls Bluff, Ark., who I met at the WSOP and saw again in Tunica and here.

She and her husband used to own some businesses in their hometown, but they sold them and she decided to try dealing poker. Mertens trained in Gulfport and dealt at the Isle of Capri Casino in Lula, Miss. (just south of Tunica) for awhile and then decided to try the tournament circuit.

“It’s a tough job because you don’t know what it’s like until you get there,” she said. Like Reno, for example, where the crowds are not very large and there are more than enough dealers.

The 2005 WSOP was Merten’s first big tournament. She said John Bonetti was intimidating.

“He was a mean old man,” she said. “Any dealer can’t say they’re not intimidated when they first walk in.”

Mertens said she misses being away from her husband and her grandkids, though her husband often travels to the tournaments near the end of the affairs for a little R and R.

Although Mertens said it’s tough to live out of a suitcase, but she plans to continue the circuit for another few years. She likes the camaraderie with her fellow dealers and the money is good.

“The advantage of this is you make a lot at one time. What job can you work three weeks on and five weeks off?”

She makes a good point. I wish I could find one of those jobs.

Instead, I’m walking out of the Eldorard on a Tuesday night as Italian blowhard, who finished fifth after losing with a favorite, paces the sidewalk mumbling to himself.

May I never become that guy.

Mark Twain worked as a newspaper reporter in Virginia City as a young man, but he wasn't into molestation (unless it involved a cigar.) 

The so-called "Suicide Table." This faro table allegedly caused the financial downfall of numerous men, who killed themselves afterwards.  

One of the saloons of VC 

Downtown Virginia City, an old mining town where loads of silver were discovered. 

Your hero on the shores of the lake 

Lake Tahoe. It really is quite breathtaking. 

On the way from Reno to Carson City 

There was a St. Patty's Day celebration going on last weekend in front of Fitzgerald's. 

The famous sign 

Sadly, the Horseshoe in Reno is a pawn shop now. 

Another view of good ol' trashy downtown Reno 

Downtown Reno 

The Truckee River winds through downtown Reno 

This was the view from the hotel room my first morning in Reno. Dorothy, we're not in Alabama anymore. 

The Buss, dealer complaints and a little high low

Rule No. 45 of Poker: If a player uses comments usually reserved for online play, such as “nice river” or “nice catch,” at a casino poker table, that player is generally a fish and easily beaten.

I should add as an addendum that this player I have in mind as I write this used the “nice river” comment to me after I made a four flush on the river with my pocket aces, after he had made a flush on the turn with Jd8d. Sorry for being such a fish, sir.

In the meantime, as we move away from the rules of poker, let’s welcome Jerry Buss to town. Ted played a SNG with him yesterday and I saw him this morning as Ted and I played a SNG. Clad in an untucked collared shirt and worn out blue jeans, Buss clenched a fistful of hundreds on his way to sign up for today’s $330 limit hold’em event.

Buss (the owner of the Lakers for those not in the know) looked like a guy who just walked in from the street. An odd look for a man with multi-millions in the bank.

Buss is the only “celebrity poker player” I’ve seen since I’ve been here, unless we count William Hung (and let’s don’t.) I don’t imagine we’ll see many come to town until next week right before the big one starts.

As for me, I continue to lose to players who play poker worse than Stephen Hawking plays Pictionary. I did find some success in a $10-$20 Omaha Hi-Lo game last night and will use the proceeds to play the $330 O H/L tourney tomorrow morning. Ted and I both agree that the overall play here is better than you would find in Vegas. Fewer tourists, more real poker players. And when the few who can’t play keep lucking out on you, you know it’s going to be a bad trip.

The Hilton is also not nearly as crowded as any other poker stop I’ve been to. If you play past midnight, you’ll find that the poker room is nearly dead at that point, with few games still running. It’s very strange. I guess Reno is one of the more isolated stops on the tour. The others, like Foxwoods or Tunica, are close to a large segment of the country’s population. That’s my best guess anyway.

I played with Jen, a former dealer here, in a $4-$8 game on Sunday. She travels the circuit, dealing the WSOP events, and came here for her first WPT tournament. But her box was $60 short one night and she flipped management the bird rather than make up the difference. Now she just plays poker.

When I told here I was trying to interview some dealers for a possible poker magazine story, she started going off.

“Harrah’s has ruined the World Series. And they don’t help us out on rooms or travel costs….”

I always assumed that the casinos put the dealers up for the duration of the tournament, but apparently the dealers have to pay their own way. Jen stayed with a friend at Arizona Charlie’s for about $40 a night, $20 after the rate was split between them. I didn’t get a chance to ask her how much dealers make a day, but I figure after minimum wage and tips, they should get around $20-$25 an hour.

Jen told me that the dealers got shorted at the WSOP last summer from the main event. She said their envelopes of cash were about $1,000 short of what they should have been after the 2 percent was taken out of the prize pool. She also told me that Joe Hachem didn’t leave any extra tip on his $7.5 million victory.

“A writer for Card Player told him we were already taken care of,” she said.

I’ll leave you with my favorite dealer story of the trip. One night I sat at a table with a fellow who was drinking heavily and acting very slowly. The dealer, a guy who isn’t afraid to speak his mind, leaned over to the player to his right and asked, “Is he drunk or just stupid?” loud enough to be heard by me, sitting at the center of the table. I laughed so hard I squirted Guinness out my nose. (Believe it or not, they serve that beer here at the Hilton.)

Yesterday, the same dealer was off duty and sat down in my game. Shortly afterwards, a complete fish busted out and left the table.

“That guy,” I told the opinionated dealer, “he was just stupid.”

That sickening feeling

Rule No. 126 of Poker: If a player is wearing a T-shirt that reads, “World Poker Tour Texas Hold’em Player,” he probably sucks at poker.

That thought crossed my mind as I watched this fashionista drag in a monster pot with 5-7 offsuit, which he had limped with from early position in this $4-$8 game.

Sometimes this game makes me want to throw up; I mean I just want to barf all over the table. I’ve played practically nothing but small stakes for several days as I protect my bankroll and see if my luck will turn around, and while I grind out small wins, the aforementioned champion rakes in hundreds of dollars.

Some people, it seems, are just luckier than others.

I made my way downtown to some of the other casinos on Friday. The few that feature poker rooms have little action. I saw a $2-$4 limit game at the Circus Circus and two $3-$6 games at Harrah’s (of all places.) The only decent poker room downtown is apparently at the El Dorado, which has a very nice and busy room. I took off the training wheels momentarily and sat down in a $3-$5 NL game with a short buy-in of $200. For once, I was the lucky one. My A-K of hearts turned a flush after I got it all in on the flop by betting the pot. The fellow who flopped a set of queens wasn’t too happy about it.

As usual, I am running into the same dealers and players that seem to pop up at every tournament stop. Kyle, a dealer from Cincinnati who is about my age, was in Tunica in January and at the WSOP last summer. I’ve seen him play more than deal as they seem to have more dealers than they need around here. He and I plan to talk more in depth about the dealing life later.

There’s the guy with the Eastern European accent and the wide-brimmed hat that I kept running into at the Plaza last summer, Michael something or other. He looks and sounds like a guy who ought to be chasing teenagers through a wheat field with a scythe in a Hollywood production, but apparently he plays good poker instead. He won one of the early events here in Reno and I recall him telling me last summer that he was running well in the WSOP until he took a bad beat.

The best bad beat I heard at the WSOP, however, was from the Texas exterminator with the long hair and the white tank top and blue jeans who was obviously going for the Kid Rock look. I had also met him at the Plaza, but ran into him again while playing a tournament at the Sahara.

Kid told me he flopped a flush and got it all in on the flop and a guy called him with two pair.

“He rivered a full house and I went in the bathroom to throw up,” he said.

See, I’m not the only one with gastrointestinal troubles in this game.

March Madness

I got up early Thursday to grab me a spot for the day in the Hilton sportsbook. Being in Nevada in March, I didn’t plan to miss my chance to catch all of the NCAA tournament action amongst the degenerate sport bettors of the country. The sportsbook was unsurprisingly much busier than I had seen it earlier in the week.

I ended up sitting in the third row beside an accountant named Dave from Oakland, a congenial 38-year-old who works for a maker of fine chocolates – the kind of chocolates not sold in stores that either Dave or I would frequent. Dave said he takes the first two days of the tournament off every year so he can watch without interference, and he often goes to a sportsbook so he can watch all of the games at once. We both had our stacks of betting slips handy as we followed the action. Mine included a couple of $5 longshot 12-team parlays that would pay $5,000 if they hit and, of course, a $25 bet on Bama at +2.5 against Marquette.

I only had a passing interest in most of the early games, but enjoyed listening to the cheers and groans as the bettors reacted to how their horses were faring. If you’ve never watched a major sporting event in a sportsbook, I recommend it.

Bama opened strong, taking a 44-30 halftime lead. Guard Jean Felix, one of our top bricklayers, whose philosophy is shoot until you hit, couldn’t miss a three. He poured in something like 35 points as Bama held on for a 90-85 win. I let out a big “Roll Tide” that was followed by another “Roll Tide” from a woman across the way. No doubt her return call was based on finances, not a fan’s emotion.

I’ve found I don’t like Reno too well because it looks too damn much like downtown Vegas. You’ve got pawn shops and wedding chapels intermingled with the casinos in downtown. It looks like a dump. Only the snow-covered mountains in the distance provide a scenic respite. I also like this coffee house, Java Jungle, I use to log on to the net. As I type an Irishman clad in green is singing “I Would Walk 500 Miles” while strumming his guitar, providing some free St. Patty’s day musical entertainment.

The Hilton is also on the other side of the interstate from downtown and, I’m told, a 25-minute walk to the other casinos (through an area much like that between the Strip and Downtown in Vegas.) Without my own transportation and economical travel available, the place feels like an island. You can get to downtown for free from here, but you have to take a shuttle from here to the airport and then another shuttle from the airport to your downtown casino of choice. I tried it today and it took about an hour. That’s no problem when you’re in no hurry.

Ted drove me in his big Ford diesel to find the coffee shop on Wednesday so I could post my earlier blog entries and check email, and then we headed to the Peppermill to play a NLHE tourney. The casino is a feast for the eyes, with a low ceiling and dark atmosphere that is interrupted by the bright neon lights that are everywhere in this joint. The poker room is also dark with bright lights with green shades, similar to what you see above many pool tables, providing adequate light for the games. As usual, I started well in the tournament, lost a couple of coin flips, and finished out of the money. Ted took second for $350 or so.

I haven’t played much poker since, choosing to spend most of the last couple of days watching basketball and protecting my bankroll to ensure it will last for two more weeks. Oh to be broke with a week left to spend in a town like Reno. I perish the thought.

He bangs

I played Tuesday night with the man, the myth, the legend. That’s right readers…it’s William Hung.

If the name doesn’t ring a bell, here’s four words for you: American Idol & “She Bangs.”

It hadn’t been a good day. I busted out of the $330 NLHE about halfway through and lost some river suckouts in the 10-20 game to drop another $200. I was taking it easy in a $4-$8 game when I heard Hung was in the room, so I decided to get on the list for the $2-$4 game.

You may recall that Hung parlayed his 15 minutes of Idol fame into a recording contract where he butchered some other cheesy pop songs. He’s continuing that parlay. Hung said he’s in town to play a private concert tomorrow night at a conference center in town and I had to wonder how that works. Does he sing a selection of cover songs and then comes back for an encore to sing “She Bangs?”

Hung may have made the most success of mediocrity than any person since Pauly Shore.

And yes, he’s just as geeky in person as you might suspect, but he gets plenty of attention. A group of poker personnel that had just finished their shifts invited him to sing karaoke with them.

“That’s not really my thing,” he said.

Others came up for photos and autographs. The real question: does he get the women?

A dealer who had never heard of the kid, asked him about his success.

"They said you were on American Idol. How did you do?"

"Pretty good," was Hung's reply.

Sure, kid.

When Hung checkraised a guy in front of him, I couldn’t resist. “He bangs,” I said.

Kids say (and wear) the darndest things

The first at the Dallas airport, where I had a four-hour layover Monday, looked like he just stepped out of the deep woods of Arkansas. With his parents and brother, the bucktoothed kid wore a blue T-shirt that read, “I (Heart) Hot Moms.” Probably his Sunday best.

On the plane to Reno, I sat beside a Hispanic kid of probably 12 years. He used his food tray to play some weird solitaire game I couldn’t quite figure out so I taught him to play tonk. He didn’t seem very interested so I let him return to his game. He repaid me by laying two of the foulest smelling farts I’ve ever had the displeasure of smelling. His father sat across the aisle, watching the Season 1 DVD of “Lost” on his laptop.

“You’re watching a show about a plane crash on a plane,” the kid told his father.

Thankfully, we made it safe and sound.

A new life at 30?

After much pondering, I've decided to attend grad school in the fall. I'll stick around Tuscaloosa (since I now have pretty thick roots here) and study marketing. It's a one-year program that will hopefully open some new doors for me.

This also means that despite my whining and sputtering, I'll be earning my bread next year much as I have done the last --playing poker and performing whatever odd jobs I can find. TV work = good money. Hopefully, I can get more of it and worry less about trying to keep the money flowing in with poker.

My decision not to return to the paper also means I have my summer free again, so unless I go broke I'll be back in Vegas for much of the WSOP, as well as BARGE, which ends three days before grad school begins. What sweet timing.

Flying to Reno on Monday and will be there for a few weeks. Hopefully, I'll provide better reports and a few pro interviews than the Tunica trip. I seemed to be in a fog in January.

The past two months haven't been much better as I've struggled since that 3hr. $2K win. Taking other people's money can cause conflicting emotions, but it's not as bad as losing your own.

A post two months too late

"Imagination is at the heart of poker. Just as there is no right way to write a song or paint a picture, there is no right way to play poker. The best players are experimenting and adjusting all the time. The beauty of the game lies in this ever-shifting landscape, and it keeps us interested each time we sit down." --Erik Seidel

That quote I lifted from Iggy's last blog post, not because I was deeply moved or affected by it, but just to juxtapose it with this quote:

"Erik Seidel is a pussy!" --Iggy

Sadly, I did not blog about my last night in Tunica, after my paltry $1,250 tournament win and insane head cold had me ready to head home. But trust me, it was a fun evening, hanging out with Iggy, Otis, Badblood, CJ and Gordon, talking poker and playing Roshambo.

We give $60 to Gordon to sit down and try to buy into the $400-$800 limit game at the Gold Strike with Mimi Tran, Hasan Habib and a few others.

"You can't sit here," I believe Chad Brown told young Gordon as he spread three Action Jacksons across the felt.

But the highlight of the evening for me was Iggy's two attempts to get Seidel to play Roshambo with him as he walked by.

"That's really not my thing," Seidel said as he strolled by on the later attempt.

As Seidel started descending the escalator, Iggy shouted that previous quote. Those present nearly rolled.

Anyway, that's the story in brief.

Deal Me In 3-3

(I'm only going to post these when they have some value to blog readers. Writing about the basics of hold'em serves you no purpose, but they are the subject of many of my columns. It is for novices, after all. I assume you aren't one of them.)


DEAL ME IN

By Johnny Kampis

UA STUDENT TELLS OF AUSSIE SUCCESS

University of Alabama student Shannon Storr, who took some time off to play online poker, recently won $205,000 in the Aussie Millions tournament in Melbourne. We recently chatted about his efforts.

Q. How were you able to finish fourth in the Aussie Millions? What was the key to your success?

A. I made it very clear by my style of play that I was at The Australian Poker Championship to win. I wasn't interested in sitting back and trying to finish in the money. To propel myself to the final table, I used naked aggression and my ability to manipulate others into doing what I wanted.

Q. How did you get into poker, and how long have you been playing? Where did you get your start?

A. I started playing $5 house game tournaments with my college friends back in November of 2003. I made my first online deposit to PartyPoker in April of 2004. I've played online probably 95 percent of the days since I made my first deposit. It wasn't until about June 2005 that I started playing stakes that you could actually make a nice living off of. It is pretty amazing to see where I am now compared to where I was when I started 30 months ago.

Q. I understand that you dropped out of school at UA to pursue playing poker for a living. Is this temporary, or do you hope to make it a career? Do you plan to hit the tournament circuit?

A. At this point I plan on playing it by ear. I'm not going to swear that I'm going back to school in the fall of 2006 or whether I'm going to continue to play poker professionally. I finished fourth at the Aussie Millions for $205,000 and second at the Canadian Poker Championship for $75,000, so poker is very, very, very good right now. I will say that it is going to be hard to go back to school when I can, potentially, make eight times as much as a poker player then I would with my civil engineering degree. I've done quite a bit of traveling so far in 2006 and will continue to travel internationally until I turn 21 on June 7th. I then plan on moving to Las Vegas for the month of July to play all of the hold 'em events at the World Series of Poker.

Q. What advice would you give to novice poker players?

A. Poker isn't for everyone. A very small percentage of people who ever play poker can beat it over a long period of time. In my two short years I've seen it turn people's lives totally upside down. I've seen it make happy people miserable and make wealthy people struggle. If I could offer one piece of advice to amateur players it would be to play within your bankroll. You can't make a living playing poker just on skill. You have to have the ability to manage your money wisely and determine what types of games are best for you.

Reach Johnny Kampis at dealmeincolumn@hotmail.com.


The kid seems to have a pretty good head on his shoulders except for this line..."I will say that it is going to be hard to go back to school when I can, potentially, make eight times as much as a poker player than I would with my civil engineering degree."

Now, I don't disagree with his thought of playing poker for a living if he thinks he can cut it. Early results are, obviously, very positive. But I doubt he could consistently make eight times what a civil engineer makes. He uses the word "potentially." That I will give him.

Making money, earning a living

Making my way, anyway I know how. But that's just a little bit more than the law will allow.

Just brushed my teeth -- one of those everyday daily grind things – and looked at my toothbrush holder and noticed it has holes for four brushes. Of course, this isn’t the first time I noticed it, but it’s the first time I thought it would be nice if there were a second toothbrush in the holder. I don’t think it’s going to happen anytime soon, but I look forward to the day.

Yes, welcome to my crazy, neurotic – and sometimes romantic – brain. The brain that occasionally spits out a wise and well-timed poker move and other times helps me self destruct. The past week has been a struggle. I thought it was going to be a gangbuster month, but it’s looking much, much less than extraordinary on the poker front.

As my luck and my attitude towards the game sour, I’ve become serious about other means of income. I’ve made no decisions about the future, though I am leaning toward going to grad school and obtaining a master’s in marketing. If I do that, I don’t plan to go the financial aid route, but will try to support myself by doing these televised games (good money, but not enough games right now), writing, and, yes, poker.

I seemed to have been born with a knack for making money (paid my rent in college by scalping football tickets, paid for video games in high school by selling baseball cards, etc. etc.) and am pretty much debt free other than this mortgage payment. I’m a good money manager. It’s helped me be successful at poker.

Although the columnist ambitions of Phil Hellmuth and Daniel Negreanu initially discouraged me from trying to sell my own column beyond its home of the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group, I’m now launching a nationwide email offensive to newspapers editors. I think I provide a pretty good service, with a mix of columns on strategy, on-the-scene reporting and miscellaneous subjects like pro interviews or lists of the best poker books to read. And I say so in my emails. I’m also only trying to get $10 per paper per week, so it’s economical. It’s an inexpensive way for them to fill some space with a topic that should be of interest to many readers, and all it requires from me is to include their email address when I send out my weekly column. Truly a win, win. We’ll see what kind of response I get.

I’m not sure my heart’s in this college poker book. I’m just not certain how to write it and I don’t think I really care so much about the subject matter. I’m trying to sell another book, a guidebook I won’t divulge too much about yet, to Fodor’s. Although rejected by my agent, I just don’t see how this idea wouldn’t sell. As always, time will tell.

An easy buck, but for what? (Part 2)

I enjoyed the comments that were posted following the first installment of this topic. Some agreed, others disagreed, but they all made good, strong arguments for their viewpoints.

I think I should note that of the two reasons I gave for why I enjoy poker less than I used to is the feeling unproductive part. The taking advantage of others is of much secondary importance. While I wonder about these people, I also realize they are going to put their money up for grabs no matter what I do, so if I am the one to win it, so be it. I have, on a couple of occasions, suggested to a player that they take a break when they seem to go on tilt. But, yeah, most of the time I just take their money.

At least I'm trying to empathize a little, and depending on your view of this issue you either think that's a great idea or a terrible one. I think it all originates from this thought I had recently as I approach my 30th birthday in June -- I've spent the first 30 years of my life being pretty selfish. I'd like to spend the next 30 being a better man.

As the fourth decade of my existence dawns, I see myself trying to settle down soon. I've started dating a girl who I think has serious potential and if she's the one (or whenever I find "the one") I don't want to be trying to start a family and having to play poker for a living to support it. Even if I could cut it, which I probably could, there would be a serious stigma put on me as "the professional gambler."

You also must consider where I live. This is the heart of the Bible belt, where a state legislator tried to remove all books, plays and any other media depicting homosexuality from schools and libraries and where the former state Supreme Court chief lost his job for refusing to remove a monument to the Ten Commandments he had installed in the Capitol building. And these are no minority viewpoints. This is a supremely conservative state, the reddest of the red states.

It's really awkward here, as it probably is across the country despite poker's sudden popularity, to tell someone you play poker for a living. I always, always add that I'm taking a year off from a newspaper job to write a book about what it's like to try playing professionally. Why? Because most people would think I'm nuts if they thought I was trying to make a career out of it. Nothing will change that opinion.

Deal Me In 2-17

Here's the column for this week. Major pimpage to 100,000+ newspaper subscribers for five poker blogs, so if any of you in this column haven't linked to my blog, feel free to do so. :)

(Yes, my linkage is woefully inadequate. Maybe I'll correct that one of these days.)

DEAL ME IN

By Johnny Kampis

I gave you a link recently to one of the best poker blogs, Guinness and Poker (guinnessandpoker.blogspot.com), where the proprietor, who goes by Iggy, really drinks lots of Guinness and plays lots of poker. In between guzzles, he finds the time to provide one of the most informative poker Web logs on the Internet. And taking time from his writing, Iggy helped me pick out his top five poker blogs. Below is the list, with additional comments by him. Follow the links and enjoy.

Poker Works (http://table-tango.pokerworks.com/)

Linda, a long-time dealer at the Bellagio, provides perhaps the best inside information on the Web for the poker aficionado. Anyone who plays any serious poker in Las Vegas darkens the doors of the Bellagio poker room, so Linda finds many great stories to share. She recently blogged some on the big game between the top pros and Texas billionaire banker Andy Beal.

Iggy says, “This veteran high-limit dealer at the Bellagio has seen and heard it all. She is the blogmother.”

Tao Poker (http://taopoker.blogspot.com)

Paul McGrupp, a novelist from New York City, decided to combine his love of writing and playing poker into what has become among the best read blogs on the Internet. He spent most of last summer at the World Series of Poker live blogging the action there and his became the go-to site for the latest tournament information. He now travels the tournament circuit, blogging and churning out freelance articles, while also sharing his personal successes and failures.

Iggy says, “Hunter S. Thompson meets Hemingway. Pauly is living the fantasy life. People should pay money to live life like Pauly.”

Up For Poker (http://www.upforanything.net/poker)

An irreverent look at poker and life, this blog is co-written by three journalists from South Carolina and is as likely to discuss the whereabouts of Steve Guttenberg as the merits of going all-in preflop with ace-king.

Iggy says, “Three gifted writers, um, telling their tales.”

Cards Speak (http://cardsspeak.servebeer.com/)

Known online as HDouble, this writer named Hank provides one of the best blogs that could help you improve your game. Deep into philosophy, Hank writes often about how having the right attitude will help you improve your play. Where else can you read about the poker wisdom contained within the movie The Good, the Bad and the Ugly?

Iggy says, “He doesn’t write often but when he does, Jesus. He’s our Abdul Jalib, best praise I can give.”

Double As (http://doubleas.blogspot.com/)

Doubleas shares his personals poker development on his blog. For the last couple of years, he’s written about how his game has developed and what lessons he’s learned, his struggles and successes in an attempt at poker mastery.

Iggy says, “Hank is to limit as doubleas is to NL.”

Reach Johnny Kampis at jkampis@hotmail.com.

Here it is, Deal Me In

OK, I'm finally going to start posting my newspaper columns on here. These run weekly in papers in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Houma and Thibodaux, La. and Lakeland, Fla. And for these I am richly compensated -- not. It gets my name out there, anyway.

DEAL ME IN

By Johnny Kampis

It shouldn’t be too surprising considering poker’s popularity these days that there are a number of Web sits with rich and helpful content. Let’s look at some of the best.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/ubbthreads.php

Started by poker theorists David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth, this is the best discussion group for poker theory, and various categories are broken down by subject, making it easy to find what you are seeking. If you want to debate the merits of pushing all in with Ace-King in no limit Texas hold’em with Daniel Negreanu or Greg Raymer, this is the place to be.

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.gambling.poker

This is the best site on which to view the Usenet discussion group rec.gambling.poker, known as RGP for short. RGP’s best days are behind it. Several of today’s pros, like Chris Ferguson and Paul Phillips, used to post here, but now it’s filled with spam and political discussion. It’s a very popular and cluttered site, but if you wade through the muck, there’s still plenty of useful strategy discussion and general poker discussion within. RGP can also be viewed at recpoker.com. And if you see FellKnight, tell him TuscaloosaJohnny sent you.

www.cardplayer.com

This home site for the popular poker magazine is a variable cornucopia of useful information. Not only can you read all of the magazine’s current and past articles here, but you can check the upcoming tournament schedule, get daily tournament updates, play poker for fun and prizes and read about any other poker news. This site has the poker odds calculator I mentioned in an earlier column and also has its own discussion forum.

www.pokerpages.com

Though not as clean looking as the Card Player Web site, Poker Pages has much of the same content, with tournament reports and strategy columns galore. This site also features a section on the history of the World Series of Poker for poker nostalgia buffs. There’s no shortage of online poker site ads either, which clutters the pages.

http://guinnessandpoker.blogspot.com/

A hub for poker content, this is probably the best of the poker blogs. Started a couple of years ago by a player named Tom in Cincinnati who goes by Iggy, this site quickly became popular among the recreational set. Rich in both entertaining general poker content and personal stories of win and woe, it’s a fascinating read. Tom also has links to hundreds of other poker blogs, some more worthwhile than others. I’ll discuss some of the better ones in next week’s column.

Reach Johnny Kampis at jkampis@hotmail.com.

An easy buck, but for what?

Poker is a lazy man's way to make a living. There, I said it, and it's hard to deny the validity of that statement. I took (at least) a year off of working in the real world to travel the tournament circuit and play at home online to report on what it's like to take the plunge of playing professionally. I think I can sum it up in two quick thoughts:

1) I can make a living playing poker

2) I don't like the way it makes me feel

I had lunch with a former boss today and we talked about this in some length. I can make two strong arguments against playing poker for a living.

First, it makes one feel unproductive. Let's be honest here. Most of us are raised with the thought ingrained in us that we must contribute to society in some way. Now while there are a lot of poker players who would respond with, "Fuck that," there are still many who probably feel like I do, but won't speak up. When I'm at home playing poker online I feel like a slug. Sometimes I wish someone would just pour salt on me. Our waiter today told us his wife at home just had a child and he waits tables at Lone Star and bartends at a couple of watering holes in town to support his family.

I could have told him this. "Hi, I'm Johnny, I sit at home and play poker on my computer. I work a lot less than you (not at all, really) but make a lot more money than you. Hell Ben (that was his name), if you play poker recreationally online, you might be one of the people whose hard earned money I take on a daily basis."

Which brings me to my second point, to win at poker you must prey on the weak -- both the weak minded and the emotionally weak. The worst players are the dumb ones who don't know proper game strategy, yet hop in a $10-$20 limit game anyway and the ones who can't control their emotions and play on tilt, bleeding chips in the process. It's those two sets of players from which we make our money.

Michael (that's my former boss) made the argument that businesses have to prey on people to make their money. He said if he walks into Lowe's and buys a sledgehammer, he doesn't feel he's being taken advantage of. My counterpoint is that we all make our money from other people, the difference is the manner in which we take it. As long as you're not price gouging, operating a business is an honest way to make a buck. People know what they're getting into. Many people playing poker don't realize what they're getting into because they are too weak. The rising popularity of the game has made poker akin to a black hole, it sucks people (and their money) into a place they cannot escape. I wonder how many more clients Gamboholics Anonymous has now after the poker boom.

I had my best session of poker ever last Tuesday. I played my regular shorthanded $10-$20 limit game for three hours and won almost $2,000. I hit everything. But I wondered later about the people I took the money off of. A couple of guys probably lost $500 to me. Could they stand to lose that much?

How can you be a successful gambler and have a conscious, Michael asked me. I may have a consciousness talking to you now, I replied, but when I'm at the table or on the computer I'm all business. I never softplay anyone at the table, but there are some people I wonder about later. I wonder if they can really afford to be losing that much money and why they don't stop. I think the answer is simply because they can't.

A poker player with a conscience? Weird, isn't it?

So does this mean I am quitting the game? Nope. I'm still holding to the game plan. I'll go to Reno in March and to Las Vegas in the summer. I'll play some tournaments and try to win a bundle. I'll interview some pros. I'll write a book.

I just don't see the game of poker quite as I did a year ago. I don't see it as my ticket to riches and the way out of a life I thought I was bored with. Sometimes if you run away from something long enough, you forget why it was you were running in the first place. Sometimes you wonder why you were running away at all.