No BBT?

First, it appears that the possibility of BBT6 is on shaky ground. Al said he's not sure if he should host another once since so many people don't actually use the WSOP packages won to play in WSOP events.

I can understand the frustration of organizing such a major event with a specific purpose and the winners not fulfilling the purpose of the prizes. On the other hand, unless we're talking about the main event it doesn't matter if a player enter a WSOP bracelet event and wears FTP gear--since it's not on TV the site gets little free advertising. I've used prizes won to play WSOP events. I've also used prizes won just to use as a Vegas bankroll to play smaller tournaments. So perhaps you can blame me for being part of the problem.

Obviously, when the BBT is going on it's about all the bloggers who participate talk about on their blogs so FTP gets plenty of marketing via the buzz there. The question would be how much is that really worth to them? Is it worth as much as the prizes given away?

If BBT6 does not happen I'll miss the camaraderie of the events and the fun in discussing the results on the blog. These are always fun tournaments in which to participate. I realize the blogger events go on all year, but with nothing at stake I can't justify taking the time to play them.

Shoot Al some love. Promise to use any money won to go to Vegas and play a WSOP tournament. Let's see if we can make BBT6 happen.

The Comeback

After months of poker hibernation I've been both playing and winning more in 2011. After piddling around with chump change on FTP I finally deposited enough money to play for real stakes and the results have been good. If not for four, and I mean FOUR on the money, bubbles in FTOPS satellites the last couple of weeks the results would be more in the range of spectacular.

I'm still hooked on those HU Ultra Turbo SNGs, except now I play more PLO8 than Hold'em. I've also hit the .50/$1 Rush PLO table pretty hard in the last week to good results.

This weekend I'm headed to Tunica for some live casino poker, which will be the first I've played since I went to Vegas last summer. I'm looking forward to hitting the real felt for the first time this year. Considering how cooped up I am in my house most of the time, it's hard to fathom that I once spent weeks at a time on the road playing and writing about poker. My lifestyle has changed as dramatically as you can imagine in the last year, but I wouldn't trade John Harper for anything. My son is the light of my life.

As for Vegas in 2011? My streak of attending the last seven WSOPs will not continue unless I "win" my way to Sin City this summer. This brings me to the point that I think has many of us poker bloggers in suspense--is Battle of the Bloggers 6 imminent? Considering we thought it had bit the dust last spring yet Al managed to score even more prizes for us I would be really surprised if BBT does not return. Maybe I'll try to prod Al for some info...

What's Right/Wrong with the WSOP

Jason and I put this together for Al Can't Hang at Poker From the Rail.

Flame away.

Thanks for my invitation for the World Championship of Blogging events, PokerStars. Oh wait, you never gave me a ticket? Guess I better get rid of this free ad I put up for you then...

Poker Goals

Presently, I'm writing an article for FTP Blogger from the Rail about poker goals. What's a good goal? What's reasonable? What should you NOT focus on?

I used myself as an example of a person who used to set bad goals. The prime one being my focus on winning at least $10,000 a year. Because of the fickleness of luck you hit some ridiculously good swings and hellaciously bad swings. Can you really expect to win "X" amount of dollars in a month? In a year? Not really. Your focus should be on improving your game and making good decisions. The wins will come in the long run if you do those things.

It's not that much different than what Nick Saban beats into the minds of his football players. He emphasizes the focus needed to do the right thing and make the right play no matter the situation. If your focus is where it needs to be you will make the same play no matter if it's the first play of the game or in the last two minutes of a tied game.

That being said, I haven't made any goals for myself this year other than to play more poker than I was at the end of last year. I want to bring more balance into my daily structure, with a good mix of writing and poker playing. If there's plenty of writing work to do I will put the brakes on the poker. If writing is slow I can spend more time on my poker game. Definitely I will look for more opportunities to combine the two by writing about poker more this year, seeking out more freelance work and posting on this blog much more often than I did in 2010.

Back in Action!

Long time no see.

The last few months have been relatively busy, with few poker hands played by me. John Harper turned the big ONE in December, and I cannot tell you how much joy he brings into our lives. 'Bama had a decent year that was well below our repeat championship dreams, and Auburn came out of nowhere to win the title. The football season was, however, fun as always. I worked almost all of the home games for CBS and ESPN and was usually outside Bryant-Denny Stadium selling copies of Crimson Magazine before games.

I rarely even thought about poker since I got back from Vegas. When I did sit down to play I couldn't seem to win, and my online bankroll vanished as a result...$20 in PokerStars, $10 in FTP and $60 in WPEX. I think I played live once.

I did not come close to the ol' five figure win, ending my streak of six or seven years of scoring at least $10,000 from poker.

Sometimes poker is telling you to take a break.

So I did.

But I am back.

Well, to a degree. While I will definitely not be jetsetting to such farflung and exotic locales as Tunica, Biloxi and New Orleans on a regular basis, I am at least back to mixing in some online poker with my daily writing activities. Those writing activities have not included the subject of poker much in awhile, what with Rounder magazine seemingly folded.

Things have taken a swing upwards lately. Al Can't Hang is asking some of us regular FTP Blogger from the Rail guest posters to contribute more often, an Jason "Tennessee Spaceman" Kirk and I have begun a point-counterpoint column.

I managed to run that $60 up to $1,000 on WSEX, and thanks for the money I get from the ad for the good folks at FTP I was able to build my bankroll up some on that site, as well. I get to take a little weekend trip up to Tunica for the World Series of Poker Circuit event Feb. 4-7, too.

Howdy

Long time, no see. I realized the other day I haven't posted since before I left for Vegas. The truth is I've taken a hiatus from poker playing, and haven't done much of any poker writing in the last few months. These are the things that usually spur me to update this blog and help explain my prolonged absence.

I had a rare losing stretch in Vegas. For whatever reason I tend to fare well when I visit Sin City, but it wasn't to be on this trip. I didn't get crushed by any means -- I was only there a week -- but I just couldn't seem to win at tournaments or cash games. The main reason I traveled there was for research on a new website project that has yet to come to fruition and seems to have stalled to my frustration. That big news I promised before is not yet official, but we will see.

I actually did pretty good on FTP the latter half of July, between teaching a summer journalism course at a local middle school and working on articles for the fall issue of my Alabama football magazine. After that I hit a rough stretch in August and have played very little poker in the last six weeks. While I am still well ahead for the year, my streak of multiple $10,000 or more poker wins in a calendar year is in danger of ending in 2010.

Considering I have taken close to three months off from poker so far this year that really shouldn't be that much of a surprise, and maybe it's a good thing to take extended breaks as I often feel I can make more money per hour doing other things. Plus, breaks can make me feel renewed and rejuvenated when I come back full force. When I gave up poker for Lent (or at least part of it!) in the spring I bounced back from the break by winning about $3,000 in two weeks.

Here in Tuscaloosa the heat finally broke and we are no longer dealing with highs in the 90s everyday. The Tide pulled out a heart-attack inducing game at Arkansas this past weekend and has a big rematch against Florida this Saturday. As usual, I've been doing stats work for networks and will be working for CBS up in the press box at Bryant-Denny this weekend. I'll also be selling copies of Crimson magazine outside the stadium for most of the rest of the day. Busy times, but good and profitable times.

To conclude this much-delayed post let me share my ups and downs in Vegas this summer:

UPS

Aria -- The casino between Bellagio and Monte Carlo (and also owned by MGM Mirage) opened last December to rave reviews. Now I know why. This place is a great addition to the Strip. The poker room is instantly one of my favorites and offers a great game selection. Poker room manager Adam Altweis is trying to attract some of the high-roller crowd with the one-table Ivey room. I believe a $100-$200 PLO game was taking place one of the times I was in there. I interviewed Adam for my website project and he was very generous with the comps for myself and the friends with whom I was traveling. Aria hosted a summer tournament series concurrent with the WSOP, but the numbers were low. The convention area at which the events took place were spacious and inviting. I played one of their nightly tournaments and the structure was great. In about a 90-player field I played for seven hours and finished 9th.

WSOP -- Criticize the WSOP brass all you want, but they try to make improvements every year. I was impressed that they managed to secure all of the Rio convention space for the WSOP, which allowed for all of the tournament, cash game, satellite action you could stand. I thought the addition of a $200 daily deep-stack tournament in the afternoons was a smart move to steal back some of the poker traffic headed for The Venetian, but I heard the structure was a bit too good and I didn't enter one of these because I didn't want to play until 4 a.m. just to make the final table.



DOWNS

Binion's -- My old stomping grounds continues to go downhill. As you probably know already, the hotel is closed and my beloved coffee shop was also shut down. Cash games have almost dried up and the Binion's Poker Open events attracted smaller fields than ever before. CK and I played a O8 tourney down there that drew less than 100 players. My Oregon pal Ted had to move over to the Four Queens this year for his usual extended WSOP stay. I managed to visit with him just before I left so it was good to catch up. You could say that poker on Fremont Street in general is a down. There's just not a lot of action here anymore.

Harrah's greed -- While the WSOP has seen improvements in service, it grows ever stronger as a money pit for poker players. Prices at the Poker Kitchen continue to rise. Rake was taken in cash games without a flop. Etc., etc., etc.

Viva Las Vegas!

Can you believe it? Here I come:



For the third consecutive year I said I wasn't going to make it, yet my airline reservation says leaving Birmingham on June 30 and returning from Las Vegas on July 7. I promise to stop saying "this is the summer I don't make it to the WSOP." While I still can't divluge too much about my new project it will have me hitting the ground running when I touch down at McCarran. We should have a site up and running in the next week and then I will kindly ask you to help me promote the heck out of it.

John Harper's "Half" B'day, Plus Big News on the Horizon

John Harper waves to the camera as he celebrates another day of wonderful life. Man, I love having a son. It was hard to adjust to this big change in our lives at first, but I think we've hit a groove -- and John Harper just hit six months, at already nearly 18 lbs. and 27 inches. The kid's going to be a linebacker!

Life is good on the homefront, and things are also improving professionally. I had been considering contacting a certain book publisher on the casino industry for more than a year and finally stopped procrastinating last week. Quickly, the ball has started rolling not on any book deals, but on some poker blogging for a major website. Perhaps not just a blog, but an entire new poker section wholly created by me. I have a conference call about this endeavor Tuesday morning and should have some big news soon.

WSOP From Afar

Since I will not be making my annual trek to poker la-la-land this summer I am admiring the WSOP from afar. I've been playing the Full Tilt Poker Fantasy Poker game for the first time this year and am in the Poker from the Rail group. I thought I had some good picks to start, but so far my team(s) have sucked as I'm only 12th in the group and 4,000 something overall on FTP. I can't believe that many people actually take the time to pick a team. I always thought much of the poker coverage, with excited talk and hype about particular players, was pointless. (Of particular amusement is the pick the finishers of the WPT final table segment on PokerRoad Radio.) Personally, I couldn't care less about individual tournament players. For me, it's always about the game. It seems there are plenty of poker fans out there who DO care about the players and follow them as if they would Kobe, Tiger or Manning.

My pal Brian is headed out to Vegas on Monday for four days and plans to hit the poker scene. We were talking the other day about how he should plan his attack with $1,000 in his pocket. That sparked inspriation for an article I wrote on what to do in Vegas if your poker bankroll is $1,000, $5,000 or $20,000...I sent it to Al for Poker from the Rail so hopefully he runs it. I've sent him several items in the past few weeks, including the timely "Best Players Never to Have Won a Bracelet" article, which featured Michael Mizrachi, who won the $50K the next day.

Even if I can't experience the WSOP first hand this year I can make a little coin in writing about it from the comfort of my Tuscaloosa, Alabama, office. I'm still settling in from the Nicaragua trip and trying to get caught up on things. My office (and house) is so disorganized and cluttered I don't know how I ever get anything done here. I should post some photos on here and you can SEE what I am talking about.

I've been thinking about next year and I've set a goal. Obviously, I would like to return to Vegas in 2011 when John Harper is a year older and perhaps I can get away for a few days. Those month long trips are a thing of the past, but short stays may be feasible. I'm going to start putting money made from ads on this blog toward poker trips such as the WSOP. Hopefully, if I am able to block out some time next summer I will either win money for the trip in BBT6 (fingers crossed that it returns, but I suspect it will) or raise enough on here to fund the getaway.

Until then I'll keep picking fantasy players...

Packing up the BBT

Congrats to the BBT winners last night. I recall seeing jjok and NYRambler (who I have marked in red on my FTP program, meaning I think he's a tough player) as two of the main event winners. Don't know if they plan to actually play the WSOP, but very good luck to them and the other winners (sorry, forgot the rest).

I pretty much packed it in after Sunday. I just returned from Nicaragua and took my shot at the last Sunday freeroll and almost earned my TOC seat. I made only my second final table of the series and busted in sixth when all in with JJ against AK and KQ. I was good to triple until a king smacked the table on the river. After that I decided I didn't want to stay up late on Monday or Wednesday after coming home exhausted from the mission trip. Plus, I needed to spend some quality time with the family after being gone for more than a week.

In years past I was obviously actively involved in the BBT, posting frequently about it on the blog and having better than expected success. This year, I only played about half the events of these poker tournaments. Funny how life changes such as babies being born and mission trips alter your world. It's not that I don't love the BBT and want to participate; it's just that there are other priorities that prevent full attention to this.

I'll try to actually write a trip report of some kind this year. Our church was able to raise enough money to build FOUR houses in the Chacasecra community of Nicaragua this year instead of the lone house we paid for in years past. Our team worked on one house together (oddly located between a bar and a cockfighting ring!) while visiting the other building sites a couple of times.

This week I've been trying to catch up with work after being out a week, shipping some WSOP preview articles to Al for Poker from the Rail, doing some of my online writing work and playing poker online.

Here's a pic from in front of Lake Managua:



That's me in the big hat.

Stinkin' Up the BBT

Two weeks of BBT5 have come and gone and the best I have to show for my efforts is one 15th place finish. I've either caught no cards, played bad by bluffing off my stack, or took bad beats in each event. But that's tournament poker, isn't it? At least the middle item can be prevented by not playing like a donk.

It's going to be a crapshoot to get into the TOC for any of us due to limited amount of tournaments available. I am glad to see that more people are getting into the Sunday invitational that want in it. When I saw that the field was initially limited to 50 and excluded many regular BBT players I figured there would be a big fuss. I didn't see the fuss, but I see that the field size has more than doubled. Good call by Al and the FTP folks. Of course, that 1 in 25 shot at getting to the TOC from the Sunday event has disappeared now, but the move was just.

When BBT5 started I figured I had about a 50-60 percent shot of qualifying for the TOC. Now, I'd say it's more like 10-20 percent. Field sizes have grown, my tournament game is apparently rusty and I will miss a week while gone to Nicaragua. Hard to believe I leave in less than two weeks.

While I am sure that many are glad the old BBT system is gone, I miss the three months and point system league because I think it suits me better. As was evidenced by my results, my saving grace was consistency. In the six months of BBT3 and BBT4 I finished 1st, 16th, 1st, 12th, 1st and 3rd during the six months of competition. I believe the point system made me play more disciplined. My first goal was to try to make the top 25 percent to earn points and then go for the win. The method seemed to work well for me. Thinking back to casino poker tournaments I've won I can hardly recall one I led wire to wire. I think any I won or chopped I just hung around and then caught fire when the blinds rose and it got to shove in time. The same seems to be true ot BBT tournies.

I think I am also hurt by the lack of "skillz" in this BBT. The mixed games in the Skillz tournament suited me. I may not even have an edge against the average field in BBT in NLHE events, but I believe my edge in the rarely played other poker games was quite strong. I won five events in BBT3 and BBT4 and I believe three of them were in non-NLHE games.

So it appears barring some miracle win I will, as expected, not head to Vegas this summer. I'll live vicariously through other bloggers and poker writers. No biggie. A guy needs a break from the madness every once in a while, and I would miss the dickens out of my little one if I was in Nevada. Going to Nicaragua and leaving my family behind will be hard enough. I'll probably be back for WSOP 2011 though.

To be honest, I'm ready for some football. Bama just had its spring scrimmage known as A-Day and my mag Crimson just came out with the spring issue. I might have to look for some NCAA football tickets too and hit up some Bama road games this year.

More BBT thoughts

Al pointed this out in an email, and it's a good point, is if you can get into the TOC of BBT5 there will be a MAXIMUM of 24 players in the final since there are only three tournaments a week for six weeks with a total of four qualifiers from these weekly events. If we have a repeat winner (or top two finisher in the invitational) that will reduce the total number in the TOC by one each time it occurs.

Assuming 24 players in the TOC and all things being equal, a player will have a 1 in 8 chance at a main event seat and a better than 1 in 5 chance of winning one of the prizes. With $34,000 in prizes up for grabs in the TOC each player's equity in this tournament will be $1,416.66...and this is on a freeroll! That's quite a bit better than in the past two BBTs in which the final contained two main event seats and a couple of bracelet race packages. With about 45 players in the final the average equity was around $500.

As a guy who enjoys competition, but has little athletic ability, I live for the BBT. I'll miss the point system and the monthly races because it was a great yardstick and challenge, but the trade off is well worth it for the increased TOC equity, more prizes and many fewer mathematical headaches for Al!

At the very least the return of the BBT should get us all blogging more often, as I see I am far from the only one who has been lax on his posts in the past year...

The deets of BBT5

If you haven't read it on Poker from the Rail yet, here is the scoop on BBT5.

Leave it to the amazing Allen Rash to hook us up with lots of free goodies -- $50,000 in all, including three main event seats, three $2,000 bracelet race packages and $14,000 in freeroll money. For the rest of you fortunate enough to receive invitations to the Sunday tourneys I will see you there!

Four months with John Harper, Amir Vahedi interview

Well, he and we survived four months. Little guy turned four months old yesterday and celebrated with congestion and diarrhea. He hasn't felt well this week.

Amy fed him rice cereal from a spoon Thursday -- the first semi-solid food for him. He liked it when the spoon was in his mouth, and cried when it wasn't. Surely, it's not as satisfying as the constant flow from a nipple.

Meant to post this when I sent it to Al at Poker From the Rail, but here is the link finally. I had the opportunity to do a phone interview with Amir Vahedi only a couple of months before his passing. It shows how out of touch with poker I was that I did not learn of his death until weeks after it occurred. The interview was for an issue or Rounder that never published. I thought Al might like it as a tribute to the gregarious Vahedi and he ran it here.

I just heard that Al posted via Twitter that there's a BBT5 in the works with $40,000 in free stuff. This comes as a pleasant surprise, and I can't wait to hear the details. I'm really curious what the prizes will be, as I have to assume they will not be WSOP related since the thing would probably not start before May. FTOPS or WPT entries perhaps? I was looking back at BBT4 and I believe the total prizes were about $30,000 (two main event entries, four $2K packages and about $2,000-$2,500 to the overall leadrboard plus jerseys) so this looks to be the biggest BBT yet!

Why wasn't I playing live?

This happened a few weeks ago on FTP as I played one of those Pot-Limit Omaha Rush Poker games. This is the first hand I have ever been involved in that would have qualified for a bad beat jackpot in a casino with such a promotion. Of course, this had to happen in an online game instead...

Interview with "Boston" Rob from Survivor

The following is a Q & A I did for Rounder at the Beau Rivage in 2008. I caught "Boston" Rob Mariano walking out of the casino after busting out of the main event of the Gulf Coast Poker Championship and he granted me a short interview. This was to be for the Celebrity Q & A we did each issue, but it never made it in.

Since he's back on Survivor this season for the "All-Star" game of "Heroes vs. Villains" I figured I would take this one out of the vault.


Rob Mariano Q & A

In 2002, “Boston Rob” Mariano first made his mark on television as a contestant on “Survivor: Marquesas”, where his scheming ways made him a target for the other competitors. Mariano’s popularity convinced producers to bring him back for “Survivor: All-Stars” where he finished runner-up to Amber Brkich, with whom he fell in love on the show and asked to marry him on that season’s reunion show. Since then Mariano has appeared on a number of reality shows, including two seasons of “The Amazing Race” with Brkich. The married couple now lives in Pensacola, Fla., and the 33-year-old Mariano is often found on the poker tournament circuit. We caught up with him after he busted out of Day 2 of the main event of the Southern Poker Championship at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi.

Tell us how you first got into poker.

I’ve been playing poker for about five years when the whole Moneymaker thing got me interested in watching the World Series, and I was fortunate enough to be invited to go out and play in a charity event down in Hawaii for Bodog. It was after I played the main event of the World Series for the first time after I was on “Survivor.” I met Josh Arieh and Daniel Negreanu, became friends with them, and subsequently Erick Lindgren and Gavin Smith, and they really got me into it more.

You’ve played tournaments here at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi before. What brings you to Biloxi for poker?

I’m living in Florida now so I’m playing a lot more on the Gulf Coast and in New Orleans. We also have a home game. We play about three days a week, and then I have a sister who lives in Vegas so I go to Vegas about six or seven times a year and play out there. I try to play the big tournaments when they come to town. I was fortunate I won a last-minute 1K satellite to get into the main event, and I did pretty good yesterday, but I had a bunch of bad beats today. I ran two kings into ace-deuce offsuit and he hit an ace on the river. I flopped top two and a guy went runner runner for a straight. I’ve been playing solid, but I took a bunch of beats along the way. The last hand I just went out on I had two eights in first position. My chips were really low. I popped it to 4,300 with the blinds at 800-1,600 and Barry Greenstein came over the top, which he is going to come over the top a lot with a wide range of hands because I had been playing so tight and don’t have a lot of chips. Unfortunately for me he woke up with two kings in the big blind and that was it for me.

What tournaments do you usually play in Las Vegas?

I play the World Series every year, not necessarily the main event, but I play some of the smaller ones. I play at the Bellagio a lot. I like to play cash too. I play low-limit cash games like $2-$5, sometimes $5-$10.

Does Amber play poker?

No, not too much. She won a charity event one time, though, and at the L.A. Poker Classic a couple of years ago she made it to Day 2 with me so she plays a little bit, but not seriously.

What do you think of the recent seasons of “Survivor”? Do you think it is still interesting?

Yeah, we still watch all the time. We watched this last one that the guy with the bow tie won [Bob Crowley]. I think it has gotten a little bit predictable. They need to re-invent the game a little bit. I can’t believe they’re still doing and falling for the same stuff over and over and over again. It’s like you can get raised so many times from the button before you have to look them up, but they seem to be complacent.

What else have you been up to these days?

I just finished hosting a reality blackjack show at the Windstar Casino out in Oklahoma. I just did that last fall, and took a little time off for myself around the holidays.

Babies, Poker, Alabama Football and the $10,000 Man

I am trying to get back into the swing of things as it comes to regular blogging, but other activities keep pulling me aside...such as raising a child. Little John Harper is almost two months old now and growing at a rapid pace. As such, he needs frequent feedings and diaper changes and certainly lets us know about it with his healthy set of lungs.

Obviously it's high times (and high Tide) here in Tuscaloosa with Bama's victory over Texas for the BCS National Championship. It's definitely a good time to be in the Alabama football magazine business, and I am doing all I can to promote our publication and make some good cheese for myself. I've traveled much of the state trying to get stores to carry our mag, and have found a few potential advertisers for commission sake. We put out a special issue after the championship.



We're working on another project, too, relating to Alabama football that is keeping me busy that we hope to unveil in the next month or two.

Despite this I have found some time for poker. You may recall in one of my few posts from the fall that I was running hot in October. In the end I won about $4,500 playing mostly 1-2 NLHE on World Poker Exchange. You can only cash out $3,000 at a time so I did that and then managed to lose $1,500 back the rest of the year. Nonetheless, with that hot month I managed to (by the skin of my teeth) eclipse the five figure mark in poker winnings for the sixth consecutive year. The final tally was +$10,030. There were a few months during the year in which I played hardly any poker at all so I would call it an average of a $1,000 win a month.

Since I don't keep the best records I cannot say how much my win is per hour, but I do believe that most of my time is better spent on other endeavors. I treat poker these days as more of a side income than the main source of income it once was. Trust me, that stance of mine is a great stress reducer. Poker as a living is a hard road.

I was very fortunate to hit the five-figure mark yet again. For the second straight year I wouldn't have come close without the Battle of the Bloggers series, which is no more -- making a seven-peat even harder. If I had not swapped 10 percent with Drizz and CK in a 08 tourney at Binion's last summer I wouldn't have gotten there. (Thanks guys for both making the final table!)

Despite my reduced playing time I am up about $1,200 this month so who knows? Maybe I get there again. With the little guy in tow and Rounder magazine perhaps gone for good I definitely will not be making many casino trips in 2010. It's highly likely I will not make it to Vegas for the WSOP for the first time since my first WSOP in 2004 as I am committed to the church's Nicaragua trip again, and I don't want to be gone too much during the summer. So if I can retain my $10,000 man title it will be with online poker and Tuscaloosa underground games.

2010 WSOP schedule announced

From the flack at Harrah's last night:

LAS VEGAS (Dec. 17, 2009) – The 41st annual World Series of Poker® (WSOP®) -- a set of poker tournaments open to anyone 21 years of age or older -- returns Thursday, May 27, 2010 when live action and satellites begin. The annual poker extravaganza, which dates back to 1970, is televised exclusively on ESPN from the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and consists of a comprehensive slate of the game’s most popular variations running from May 27-July 17, 2010.

A total of 57 coveted gold bracelets will be up for grabs in 2010 – equal to last year’s total. July 4th is the tournaments sole “off day”, and will be dedicated to satellites for all those seeking another entry option into poker’s biggest event.

On Friday, May 28, the first open bracelet event will be the $50,000 buy-in Player’s Championship – the most expensive buy-in event to ever open up the World Series of Poker. Playing for the bracelet and the prestigious Chip Reese Memorial Trophy, the event will follow an eight-game format made popular by the late poker legend, and those participating in the mythical “Big Game” around Las Vegas card rooms. Over the first four days, Limit Hold’em, Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better, Seven Card Razz, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better, No-Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha and 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball will be played, with the Final Table being No-Limit Hold’em, as was the case when Reese won the inaugural $50K buy-in event in 2006. ESPN will provide television coverage of this event under the new format.

The opening weekend (May 29-30), features a $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament, which last year established a non-Main Event record of 6,012 entrants. The four-day event includes two starting flights, one each on Saturday and Sunday at 12 noon.

Another first at the WSOP this year, the first 5 weekends of the series will feature $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournaments with two starting flights. May 29-30, June 5-6, June 12-13, June 19-20 and June 26-27 will offer No-Limit Hold’em players from the weekend warrior to the most advanced player the opportunity to compete in some of the largest fields of the year for huge prize pools and a gold bracelet. A sixth event on July 1-2, will also offer the same event at the same buy-in level, just days before the Main Event commences.

The 41st annual WSOP will conclude, as is customary now, with the $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Championship (aka the Main Event) which begins play Monday, July 5 and should reach its final table (nine players) on Saturday, July 17, at which time play will be halted for the third consecutive year. The famed tournament’s culmination will be held with the “November Nine” from November 6-9, before a live audience with special primetime coverage from ESPN.

"Whatever your game and whatever your bankroll, the 2010 WSOP schedule offers something for everyone,” said WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel, who will oversee the event for the fifth consecutive year. "We are planning for the largest WSOP ever and look forward to welcoming all players to the Rio in Las Vegas next summer."

The entire convention center of the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino will be exclusively dedicated to the 2010 World Series of Poker for the first time, with tournament tables in the 58,000 square foot Pavilion and the 38,000 square foot Amazon Room. The final number of tables in play is subject to regulatory approval, given just prior to the tournament commencing.

Player comfort is also being addressed by new rules regulating the daily amount of play. Excluding the Main Event, gold bracelet tournaments will begin at 12 noon and 5 PM Pacific Time each day, with a maximum of 10-one hour levels being played for the noon starts, while the 5 PM events playing a maximum of 8 one-hour levels. Day 1 play is expected to conclude at 12:45 AM for noon starts and 2:45 AM for the 5 PM starts. For those advancing past the first day, re-starts for noon bracelet events will be at 2:30 PM, and 5 PM tournaments will restart at 3 PM, with a maximum of 10 levels being played each day until a champion is crowned. The Main Event features two-hour levels and play begins at 12 noon each day.

Registration for all bracelet events will remain open until the start of the third level (approximately 2 hours, 20 minutes after start time) – or until all available seats have sold. Pre-registration for the 2010 WSOP is now available on-site at the Main Cage of the Rio in Las Vegas and online through www.wsop.com. This is the earliest registration has ever opened, as players now have more than five months to register for the first event, and more than six months to register for the Main Event.

Players are encouraged to register in advance to avoid being shutout of their favorite events. Any foreign entrants who wire transfer monies will receive the exchange rate into U.S. dollars at the time of the wire transfer, thus locking in their exchange rate in advance.

New policies and procedures regarding Main Event registration will be detailed in the future, but entrants can expect to be assigned starting days after a certain date. The only way to guarantee your starting day will be to pre-register prior to the determined cut-off date.

All Harrah’s properties in Las Vegas offer special reduced room rates for entrants of WSOP bracelet events. Rates start as low as $69 for players staying at the host property, the Rio. Imperial Palace offers rates as low as $30, and Bally’s, Flamingo, Harrah’s, Paris and Caesars Palace provide WSOP player rates as low as $45-$100 a night. Click here for the special WSOP player hotel rates.

The 2010 WSOP marks the 41st running of the game’s most prestigious annual tournament. In 2009, the WSOP generated the most entries ever (60,875) from 115 different countries that competed for more than $174 million while awarding 57 championship gold bracelets, globally recognized as the game’s top prize.

To view the entire schedule, visit WSOP.com/schedule where you can download event structures, pre-registration forms or save the schedule to your calendar and even link it to your Facebook, Twitter or other social network sites. Media can add a WSOP schedule widget to their websites, by going to WSOP.com/poker-widgets/.

Among the highlights of the 2010 schedule:
• 57 gold bracelet events over 51 days.

• Expanded footprint – The giant Pavilion Ballroom (58,000 sq. feet) will be in use this year for poker in the Rio Convention Center. The Pavilion is the largest ballroom at the Rio, and along with the famed Amazon Room (38,000 sq. feet), will make-up the playing rooms for this year’s WSOP. The entire convention space will be used.

• Expanded capacity – Along with expanded footprint, comes more poker tables. A record 295 tables were utilized last year, and this year’s configuration is still being plotted, but expected to offer about 20 percent more tables.

• No Food Tent – The outdoor food tent will now become an indoor food court experience. The Miranda Ballroom, last year used as a room for play, will be converted into a food court with a variety of popular food items for players and spectators.

• Sensational Structures & Starting Chips – Drafting off last year’s success, all gold bracelet events in 2010 will feature triple the buy-in in starting chips and deep structures, providing plenty of play.

• $25K 6-Handed No-Limit – A new event this year will be a $25,000 buy-in 6-handed No-Limit Hold’em 4-day event. Event #52 begins on Wednesday, June 30 at 12 noon.

• $50K Players Championship – The Chip Reese Trophy is up for grabs at the $50,000 buy-in eight-game mixed event, dubbed the Players Championship, which is being morphed from the $50K H.O.R.S.E. tournament run the past four years. This new eight-game format will serve as the true test of the game’s greatest all-around player and receive star treatment, with ESPN cameras covering the five-day event for television. Event #2 starts on Friday, May 28 at 5:00 PM.

• Still Plenty of H.O.R.S.E. – A new $10,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. Championship tournament will be offered, to go along with $1,500 and $3,000 buy-ins to the popular game.

• The 4th annual Ante Up For Africa Celebrity-Charity Tournament -- $5,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em celebrity and charity tournament on Saturday, July 3, (two days before the Main Event begins) featuring the opportunity for anyone age 21 or older to enter and be seated at the same table as A-list celebrities and top poker pros.

• The Ladies Only No-Limit Hold’em Championship – On Friday, June 11, featuring a $1,000 buy-in and helping to raise awareness for the Nevada Cancer Institute, the official community relations partner of the World Series of Poker.

• The Seniors Only No-Limit Hold’em Championship – On Friday, June 18 , featuring a $1,000 buy-in for all poker enthusiasts 50 years of age or older.

• June $550 No-Limit Hold’em Tournaments – Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 1:00 PM throughout June, the Rio will host new $550 No-Limit Hold’em tournaments for those looking for a Hold’em fix. These are one-day structured tournaments, and not bracelet events.

In addition, a complete array of satellites, from single-table to mega, will be offered beginning from May 27-July 8. Nightly No-Limit Hold’em tournaments will be offered from May 27-July 4 at 7:00 PM and 11:00 PM.

All winners will be required to provide a valid picture ID. Tax forms will be completed for those with winnings in excess of $5,000 net of event buy-in. Players without a Tax Identification Number and foreign players from non-tax treaty countries are subject to up to 30 percentage tax withholding. WSOP reserves the right to cancel, change or modify the tournament or any tournament event, in part or in whole, without notice.

ABOUT THE WSOP
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is the largest, richest and most prestigious gaming event in the world awarding millions of dollars in prize money and the prestigious gold bracelet, globally recognized as the sport’s top prize. Featuring a comprehensive slate of tournaments in every major poker variation, the WSOP is poker’s longest running tournament in the world, dating back to 1970. In 2009, the event attracted 60,875 entrants from 115 different countries to the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and awarded over $174 million in prize money. The WSOP in December, 2008 was named the 7th most admired sports brand in North America by the Turnkey Sports Survey, trailing only the older and more established NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NASCAR and PGA Tour among sports properties. In addition, the WSOP has experienced groundbreaking alliances in broadcasting, digital media and corporate sponsorships, while successfully expanding the brand internationally with the advent in 2007 of the World Series of Poker EuropeSM. For more information on the World Series of Poker, please visit our website at www.WSOP.com.


And after all that hullaboo here is the actual sched:

Fri, May 28th
12:00 PM
2-Day Event Event #1: Casino Employees No-Limit Hold'em
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $500

Fri, May 28th
5:00 PM
5-Day Event Event #2: The Player's Championship
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now

Limit Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better, Seven Card Razz,
Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better, No-Limit Hold'em,
Pot-Limit Omaha, 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball
$50,000

Sat, May 29th
12:00 PM
4-Day Event Event #3: No-Limit Hold'em
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $1,000

Sun, May 30th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #4: Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $1,500

Mon, May 31st
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #5: No-Limit Hold'em
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $1,500

Tue, Jun 1st
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #6: No-Limit Hold'em Shootout (2000 players max)
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $5,000

Tue, Jun 1st
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #7: 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball (Limit)
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $2,500

Wed, Jun 2nd
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #8: No-Limit Hold’em
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $1,500

Thu, Jun 3rd
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #9: Pot-Limit Hold'em
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $1,500

Thu, Jun 3rd
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #10: Seven Card Stud Championship
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $10,000

Fri, Jun 4th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #11: No-Limit Hold'em
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $1,500

Fri, Jun 4th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #12: Limit Hold’em
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $1,500

Sat, Jun 5th
12:00 PM
4-Day Event Event #13: No-Limit Hold’em
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $1,000
Sat, Jun 5th

5:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #14: 2-7 Draw Lowball (No-Limit)
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $1,500

Sun, Jun 6th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #15: Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better Championship
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $10,000

Mon, Jun 7th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #16: No-Limit Hold’em / Six Handed
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $1,500

Tue, Jun 8th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #17: No-Limit Hold'em
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $5,000

Wed, Jun 9th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #18: Limit Hold'em
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $2,000

Wed, Jun 9th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #19: 2-7 Draw Lowball Championship (No-Limit)
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $10,000

Thu, Jun 10th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #20: Pot-Limit Omaha
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $1,500

Thu, Jun 10th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #21: Seven Card Stud
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $1,500

Fri, Jun 11th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #22: Ladies No-Limit Hold’em Championship
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $1,000

Fri, Jun 11th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #23: Limit Hold'em / Six Handed
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $2,500

Sat, Jun 12th
12:00 PM
4-Day Event Event #24: No-Limit Hold’em
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $1,000

Sat, Jun 12th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #25: Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better Championship
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $10,000

Mon, Jun 14th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #26: No-Limit Hold'em / Six Handed
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $2,500

Mon, Jun 14th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #27: Seven Card Stud Hi-Low-8 or Better
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $1,500

Tue, Jun 15th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #28: Pot-Limit Omaha
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $2,500

Tue, Jun 15th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #29: Limit Hold'em Championship
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $10,000

Wed, Jun 16th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #30: No-Limit Hold’em
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $1,500

Wed, Jun 16th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #31: H.O.R.S.E.
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now

Limit Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better, Seven Card Razz,
Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better
$1,500

Thu, Jun 17th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #32: No-Limit Hold'em / Six Handed
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $5,000

Thu, Jun 17th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #33: Pot-Limit Hold'em/Omaha
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $2,500

Fri, Jun 18th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #34: Seniors No-Limit Hold’em Championship
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $1,000

Fri, Jun 18th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #35: Heads Up No-Limit Hold'em Championship (256 player max)
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $10,000

Sat, Jun 19th
12:00 PM
4-Day Event Event #36: No-Limit Hold’em
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $1,000

Sat, Jun 19th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #37: H.O.R.S.E.
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now

Limit Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better, Seven Card Razz,
Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better
$3,000

Sun, Jun 20th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #38: Pot-Limit Hold'em Championship
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $10,000

Mon, Jun 21st
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #39: No-Limit Hold'em Shootout (2,000 player max)
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $1,500

Mon, Jun 21st
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #40: Seven Card Razz
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $2,500

Tue, Jun 22nd
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #41: Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-low Split-8 or Better
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $1,500

Wed, Jun 23rd
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #42: No-Limit Hold’em
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $1,500

Wed, Jun 23rd
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #43: H.O.R.S.E. Championship
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now

Limit Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better, Seven Card Razz,
Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better
$10,000

Thu, Jun 24th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #44: Mixed Hold'em (Limit/No-Limit)
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $2,500

Fri, Jun 25th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #45: No-Limit Hold’em
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $1,500

Fri, Jun 25th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #46: Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-low Split-8 or Better
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $5,000

Sat, Jun 26th
12:00 PM
4-Day Event Event #47: No-Limit Hold’em
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $1,000

Sat, Jun 26th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #48: Mixed Event
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $2,500

Mon, Jun 28th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #49: No-Limit Hold'em
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $1,500

Mon, Jun 28th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #50: Pot-Limit Omaha
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $5,000

Tue, Jun 29th
12:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #51: Triple Chance No-Limit Hold’em
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $3,000

Wed, Jun 30th
12:00 PM
4-Day Event Event #52: No-Limit Hold’em / Six Handed
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $25,000

Wed, Jun 30th
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #53: Limit Hold’em Shootout
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $1,500

Thu, Jul 1st
12:00 PM
4-Day Event Event #54: No-Limit Hold’em
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $1,000

Thu, Jul 1st
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #55: Pot-Limit Omaha Championship
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $10,000

Fri, Jul 2nd
5:00 PM
3-Day Event Event #56: No-Limit Hold’em
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now $2,500

Sat, Jul 3rd
2:00 PM
1-Day Event Ante Up For Africa Poker Tournament
Structure Sheet $5,000

Mon, Jul 5th
12:00 PM
13-Day Event Event #57: No-Limit Hold'em Championship
Structure Sheet Pre-Register Now
July 5,2010 12:00 PM Day 1A
July 6,2010 12:00 PM Day 1B
July 7,2010 12:00 PM Day 1C
July 8,2010 12:00 PM Day 1D
July 9,2010 12:00 PM Day 2A
July 10,2010 12:00 PM Day 2B
July 11,2010 12:00 PM Media Event
July 12,2010 12:00 PM Day 3
July 13,2010 12:00 PM Day 4
July 14,2010 12:00 PM Day 5
July 15,2010 12:00 PM Day 6
July 16,2010 12:00 PM Day 7 (play down to 27 players)
July 17,2010 12:00 PM Day 8 (play down to 9 players)
November,2010 TBD FINAL TABLE

$10,000

General Information

For events 3, 13, 24, 36, 47, 54, and 57, you may request your first day of play based on seating availability.

For vendor information please call 702-777-2310

Single Table Satellites, Mega Satellites and Live Action begin on May 27, 2010:

No-Limit Hold'em Tournaments Every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday June 1-30
$550 Buy-In No-Limit Hold'em tournaments Daily at 1PM. Structure Sheet

Nightly No-Limit Hold'em Tournament Schedule May 27-July 4:
$340 Buy-In No-Limit Hold'em tournaments nightly at 7 PM. Structure Sheet
$200 Buy-In No-Limit Hold'em tournaments nightly at 11pm. Structure Sheet

Mega Satellite Schedule: May 27-July 2
$330 Buy-In Mega Satellites Daily at 3 PM. Structure Sheet
$550 Buy-In Mega Satellites Daily at 9 PM. Structure Sheet

Mega Satellite Days July 3-7:
$550 Buy-In Mega Satellites at 10 AM and 4 PM. Structure Sheet
$1060 Buy-In Mega Satellites at 1 PM. Structure Sheet
$2080 Buy-In Mega Satellites at 9 PM. Structure Sheet

Turbo Mega Satellite July 8:
$1060 Buy-In Turbo Mega Satellite at 8AM. Structure Sheet

$25k Six Handed No-Limit Hold'em Mega Satellite Days June 27-29:
$1570 Buy-In Mega Satellites at 8 PM. Structure Sheet

$50k The Player's Championship Mega Satellites May 27:
$2250 Buy-In Mega Satellites at 1 PM, 4 PM, and 8 PM. Structure Sheet

The Following Take-Out Percentages Will Be Withheld From the Buy-In for House Fees and Dealer/Staff Tokes
Buy-In Take-Out
$500.00 10%
$1000.00 10%
$1500.00 10%
$2000.00 9%
$2500.00 8%
$3000.00 8%
$5000.00 6%
$10,000.00 6%
$25,000.00 5%
$50,000.00 4%

John Harper Kampis arrives!

Been awhile since my last post, but it has been a very busy time as they often are around here during football season. Amy and I got out little football on Dec. 8 with the arrival of John Harper Kampis, measuring in at 8 lbs. 4 oz. and 20 inches long. Not sure his reach, but I figured for babies he has to at least be in the welterweight class.

The Amazing Race

Photo: CBS


I'm sure most reading this are aware that we have two known poker players participating on CBS' The Amazing Race this season in the form of Maria Ho and Tiffany Michelle. I don't call them poker professionals because that is not a word I throw around lightly, unlike most people in poker -- especially those who want people to think they are better than they really are.

That's not to say that either of these girls is not a poker "pro". The only ancedotal evidence I have to go on is the WSOP. Maria and Tiffany are most famous for being the last women standing in the Main Event of the World Series of Poker in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Maria finished 33rd and Tiffany was 17th. I don't believe this fact has been discussed during the CBS telecasts, but perhaps explaining it to viewers at home would be a bit too wordy for a fast-paced show.

Otherwise, I don't think either of them has much of a tournament record to speak of. When I interviewed Maria after the 2007 WSOP she talked about playing high stakes limit hold'em cash games at the Commerce with good success. When I interviewed Tiffany after last year's WSOP she spoke mostly about here past acting gigs and work with PokerNews. While I do know that her most famous acting role was as a dying teenager in the arms of Noah Wyle I don't know of her poker success outside the WSOP.

While I will grant that reality show producers can edit the film to make participants look as bad as possible, Tiffany and Maria did a good job of giving themselves a black eye early on when they told their competitors that they worked with homeless children rather than played poker for a living. The jig was up when some people recognized them at the airport and they looked really bad for that lie. However, they have settled in since then and have even made an alliance in the race with a couple of guys who waited for them to get a replacement car after Maria tried to drive over a steel barrier and busted the radiator. This followed Michelle allowing one of the guys to use her ladle during a water-finding challenge in the Dubai desert.

While Tiffany and Maria have looked better in character in recent episodes they are very fortunate to still be in the race. During the first two-hour episode they came in last during one leg of the race, but were lucky it was a non-elimination leg. This is a feature the producers have added during The Amazing Race's run that I can't stand. If they want to extend the number of episodes to air during a season they should add more teams, not let some lucky teams off the hook in such a cheesy fashion. It feels like cheating.

Maria and Tiffany caught another break two episodes ago when the team that reached the finish line first lost a passport and were eliminated when they could not find it. TiffMar was last on that leg and would have been booted from the race that time, too, if not for a second lucky break. It appears they have caught a couple of two outers.

Can that luck continue? A team of two women has never won The Amazing Race. Due to some physical challenges that pop up along the way a team of two females can find themselves at a disadvantage. There is one precedent that has previously been set in which TiffMar is following the form. A few seasons ago two hippie-type guys finished last during two non-elimination legs and went on to win the race. Just as with as poker tournament it takes a fair amount of luck to win The Amazing Race.

"When are you going to update your blog?"

That is a comment I heard frequently in July and August, less so in September and October as Amy figured I had given up blogging completely. It's weird how often after I return from Vegas I am kind of burned out on poker and let the blog marinate for months at a time (a good five solid months in 2006, in fact).

I played little poker after I returned home, but have been firing up the online games at more regular intervals in the last month or so. I have been on a tear in the month of October that I don't want to discuss too much for fear of bringing the bragging curse upon myself. Perhaps at the end of the month if I show a tidy profit will I discuss those recent adventures on the virtual felt.

It's been an exciting and trying time since the end of June. Good news first -- we found out we are having a boy! We are naming him John Harper Kampis. He will be the fourth generation John/Johnny on my side of the family, and Harper is Amy's maiden name and just so happens to work well as a boy's name. So there that is. While that is new news on Poker Nation it's old hat for us. Shows how long it's been since I posted. In fact, we are now less than two months from Amy's due date of Dec. 15. We have the nursery painted and now I need to vacuum and steam clean the floor and get the windows fixed. Then it will be time to start putting in the furniture and decorating.





They say he looks like me, but I don't know how you can tell that from the ultrasound pics.

The sad news was that my grandmother passed away. She had battled brain cancer for more than a year and complications from that finally took her from us. I was particularly close to "Nannie" because she and Papa lived just down the road from us so I saw them nearly every day growing up. Papa died from liver cancer in 1998 and my maternal grandparents each died in 1999 and 2000. So Nannie was the only grandparent I had for nine years. She was the kindest, most generous woman you could ever hope to meet. She taught two and three-year-old Sunday School classes for decades and attended the same church for about 50 years. She will be forever missed.



In the months I slacked off from posting on this blog I let the five-year anniversary of Poker Nation pass without notice. My first post on here was Oct. 4, 2004. I enjoy reflecting back on that time and how much my life has changed in the last five years. In the fall of 2004 I was filled with hubris. I was winning consistently at the poker table and about to head up to Foxwoods for the World Poker Finals. I was considering leaving my newspaper job the next summer to go off on my own poker/freelance journey, a decision I would make in a few short months after that first post. That was originally intended as a one-year break that turned into four years, four months and counting, with grad school, marriage, and an impending baby along the way. Oh what a journey it has been. I'll reflect more on that in the coming weeks (I promise!)

I still have the people of Nicaragua in my heart, but the photos were on my now dead laptop. My tech pro cousin is in the process of transferring my hard drive to my new laptop so I hope to finally put up some trip reports soon. I talk often with my fellow church members who went on the trip, and every single one can't wait to return. Despite the heat, the hard work, the longing for home it's all worth it to see what a huge difference you can make in the lives of a few people.

Trip report coming...

...but I think I will try something a little different. Since I took two major trips in the month of June and the experiences in Nicaragua and Las Vegas were such a jarring juxtoposition I think I will try a little experiment in trip reportage I'll call the Nicavegas report. Coming soon.

Let's talke Vegas meetups FINAL

I leave for Vegas in five hours and I am not sure how my internet situation is going to be in the next week so this is probably my last post on the 25th meetup. We never set any definite hours, but based on the discussion I'll throw this schedule up that I think will work for most so if you're coming to part or all of the festivities here it is:

June 25th

4 p.m. Blogger mixed games at the IP. If no one shows up this early at least I will be around playing some 1/2. Look for the dumb looking white as a sheet guy in the beige old school WSOP cap.

9 p.m. Leave IP for the Hooker Bar at the Rio for drinks and revelry.

11 p.m. Head to the Gold Coast for some late night bowling. Bring your $20s to destroy Dan "Wolfman" Michalski at bowling prop bets.

See you there!

The Mission Trip: Into a Foreign Land

I have taken my time getting to this trip report simply because it is hard to write. No words, no pictures, no first-hand account can fairly describe the magnitude of the poverty in Nicaragua or the emotional impact it had on those who took this mission trip. It was particularly tough on me because I had never undertaken such a project as many in the group had done.

Because of the late start typing up this report I may not finish it before I leave for Vegas, so I might conclude it while in Vegas or after I get back. I just hope you will read it whenever I do get it all together because I hope in some small way this might spur you to take some action to help your fellow man. I know I've been searching my brain since I got back, trying to deal with the mixed emotions I am feeling. To be honest it's been hard to get "up" for Vegas because I keep thinking about the people we met and the situations in which they live while I enjoy the cool air-condtioning of my home while drinking my morning coffee and playing Scrabble on my computer...and then I head off to Vegas. It seems overly extravagant after spending more than a week in Nicaragua.

The first day was an early one, as we met at our church, Trinity United Methodist (less than two blocks from Bryant-Denny Stadium) at 2 a.m. for the drive to Atlanta. It saved us almost $200 per ticket to fly out of Atlanta instead of Birmingham so we made the three-hour commute over the state line, beating rush hour traffic for our 8 a.m. flight.

From Atlanta we flew to Miami (first time there for me, although just being in the airport doesn't really count) where we waited more than three hours for our next flight. Our already long day was made longer when our flight to Managua was delayed for nearly two hours. Our plane to Managua was the largest in which I had ever ridden, with three seats on each side and a middle row of four seats, and it was nearly full. Having never flown in one of these, it made me think of the "movie" planes. Note how movies set on planes never take place on one of those six seats per row types.

We finally arrived in Managua late in the afternoon after a two and a half hour flight. After going through customs (much easier leaving the U.S. than it is entering it, more on that later) we met our bus driver, Juan Pablo. That's him on top of the van loading our stuff.



Our pastor, Wade, has worked with Juan Pablo since he took his first mission trip here earlier this decade. The two have worked together several times since then. Not only does Juan Pablo drive us around, but he is also active in the home construction, having been a construction worker in his younger years. He is very friendly and a true man of God. When we met him at the airport I reached down to shake his hand and he gave me a big hug. Juan Pablo's English is about on par with my Spanish, which means he won't be giving speeches anytime soon. We also met the second local member of our team, Tonia, who would be our translator on the trip.



We loaded up and headed on the two-hour drive to Leon, the cultural capital of the country, a city once considered to be the capital itself. Our final destination would be Chacraseca, one of the poorest areas of what is considered the poorest country in Central America. As we traversed the streets of Managua, we came across several kids begging. We passed out a few coins and snacks, but were told that adults often farm out kids to beg for them. There were few traffic lights, as drivers here just tend to sort out the traffic details themselves, creating some hairy situations.



We drove through the countryside, spotting several volcanoes in the distance. Most of them are dormant, but some have erupted in recent years, killing people in their wake. Most of the volcanic areas are remote and sparsely populated, however.

We arrived in Leon and dined in a local restaurant, which would be one of the last fancy meals we would eat in a while. One thing I learned was that Coca-Cola tastes the best when it's poured out of a glass bottle in a foreign land.

After our meal we headed down bumpy dirt roads to our final destination, the Casa de Paz in Chacraseca. Created by a nun in the 1980s, the Peace House serves as a boarding house for missionaries in the area doing projects. It would be our home for the next week.



That's team member Wes on the left, our translator Tonia in the middle and Wade on the right.

We got to the Peace House at about 10 p.m., after 20 hours of travel. We were all dead tired and quickly got out sleeping clothes out of our bag. The room for the men was tightly packed with bunk beds and storage containers so four of us decided to sleep outside.



It was much cooler out here on the porch, and as we prepared to bed down for our first night it began to rain. The drops hitting the tin roof made a peaceful sound that quickly put us all to sleep.

Vegas plans

It's now five days and counting until my trip to Vegas Monday afternoon and night. I always like to fly in at night if possible, when the city is lit up and at its most beautiful. It's a tough adjustment to go from the mindset I had in Nicaragua to get my poker game face on for Vegas, but I have this week to prepare. Watched some Ocean's 11 Tuesday, probably watching my old 2004 WSOP event DVD later this week.

Like many of you, I've had some problems with the recent money grab by the feds, but it looks like I'll be able to get my bankroll out and ready to play next week. I hope that this overstep by the NY DA's office will actually help our cause and make the good folks of Congress realize that peer-to-peer online poker (the new buzzword) should be legalized and regulated in the United States.

We made some tentative plans for the 25th, but I would like to nail down some definite (or at least good estimated) times for anyone else who might decide to join us. (I've also sent this as an email to the people who have expressed an interest in this.)

What time do we plan to start playing mixed games at the IP? I figure we ought to cut it off around 9 or so to move west for drinking and bowling. My thoughts are to drink at the Hooker Bar at the Rio as some in the group may have never been to the "legendary" setting, and it might be easier to pick up more for our group among those working at the WSOP. Spend some time there and then walk over to the Gold Coast for bowling. Thoughts?

I recently heard that my good friend Brian and another friend are coming out to Vegas for a couple of days, something like June 28-30. We are planning on playing some poker tournaments at Binion's on the 28th and Venetian on the 29th. If I recall correctly, this will be the first time Brian and I set foot in Binion's at the same time since our first trip to the WSOP in 2004.

By the way, people have left comments or emailed me about helping me with my link and color issue. Please send any helpful hints my way as I am HTML deficient. I have been trying to change my background color in the main heading so that it matches the color of my sidebar, but it always seems to go back to the default color when I preview the changes. What do I need to do to get the colors the same for the main and sidebar? Thanks for the help, and continue to send feedback regarding the 25th.

Back from Nicaragua

First of all, thanks to the very kind donations and well wishes from all who contributed. This trip was an amazing, amazing experience. Words and pictures truly cannot describe the conditions and my emotions and experiences in a just manner, but I will post the best trip report I can over the next several days.

I see I have missed a very interesting week in online poker, with the seizure of players' money. How sick is it to think that my own money is safer in an offshore online poker account than it is in the hands of the federal government? Oh wait, never mind...

It is unfortunate that this has occurred here at WSOP time although highly unlikely the timing is coincidental. There are an awful lot of $10,000 checks floating around in the ether, you know. I am surprised by the lack of articles I have seen in poker media on how this could affect main event turnout. It certainly affects me as I now have to scramble around to gather up the bankroll I need for my Vegas trip that begins next Monday. I hope everyone is still able to make it out to Nevada who planned to. Meetup post coming.

Nicaragua mission trip

As some of you who have talked to me recently know, I am soon embarking on a mission trip with Trinity United Methodist church here in Tuscaloosa to Nicaragua where we will be helping to build a house for a family and donating money to a project to bring clean water to thousands more families in the Chacasecra area. We have done a number of fundraising projects toward this effort and have been quite successful. However, each of us is tasked with our own personal fundraising to pay for the trip and I am kindly asking if any of you could help me in this regard. $5, $10, $20, anything you can give will be greatly appreciated and I will email you a receipt for the tax deduction when I return. Any donations can be sent to me via PayPal at jkampis@hotmail.com. I will hammer some nails in your honor.

Thank you very much and God bless.

Johnny K.

Veteran Vegas tips

Here's another one I put together last month that may not run anywhere. Perhaps in the next issue of Rounder. Here's a sneak peek, just in case:

Veteran tips for the WSOP

By Johnny Kampis

I’ve been traveling to Las Vegas for the WSOP every year since 2004, and with so many players new to the game it practically makes me a veteran. Having navigated my way through the halls of the Rio and the streets of Sin City without going broke, I felt I could provide some tips for those making their first trip to Vegas for the WSOP. Even if you’ve been a time or two I hope these tips will provide some help for survival in the poker jungle.

Make a plan of attack before you go. Before flying into McCarran Airport, learn all you can about the WSOP and other poker options in Las Vegas. Which WSOP events would you like to play? Can you afford them? Should you try to satellite your way in? How about the cash games? There are a number of other tournament series taking place concurrently with the WSOP with lower buy-ins. Consider playing in some of these during your trip. I like to look at all of the tournament schedules and see which events work best for me on each day and make my own tentative playing schedule during my trip. My plans always change somewhat, but it gives me a good roadmap from which to start.

Pace yourself and your bankroll. First, make a budget and stick to it. If you have $5,000 to take to Vegas to play at the WSOP for two weeks don’t blow through it and take out another $5,000 at the ATMs. The key to this is to pace yourself. If you hop off the plane, throw your bags on the hotel bed and head to the nearest $2/$5 NLHE table enjoy yourself, but if you lose $500 right off the bat go take a break. Don’t lose a big chunk of your bankroll the first couple of days after you arrive or you may end up going broke during the middle of your trip if your luck doesn’t turn.

Don’t get star struck. If this is your first trip to the Amazon ballroom the WSOP can be overwhelming. The room is big, really big – 200 plus tables big. You’ll see many of the poker stars that are regularly on TV and if you enter some bracelet events you may be pitted against some of them. Always remember, though, that you’re still sitting at a standard looking poker table and playing with the same standard 52-card deck. It’s like the scene in “Hoosiers” when Coach Norman Dale has his players measure the height of the hoop in Indianapolis – still the standard 10 feet. The competition may seem greater, but the game is still the same.

Enjoy the city. Especially if this is your first trip to Vegas, please don’t spend all your time at the poker tables. In my opinion, this is one of the greatest cities in the world and I look forward to the trip every summer. There is so much to see and do here that you should definitely soak it in rather than play cards all day and night. See a show, walk through some casinos and hit the clubs. That being said…

Watch out for the dark side. By that I mean the pit games. Many a poker player has lost a good portion of his bankroll at blackjack, craps, pai gow, and so on and so forth. By all means enjoy yourself with a little table game or slot action, but don’t blow a healthy percentage of your bankroll on the games where you are bucking impossible-to-beat house odds.

Follow this practical advice and I hope you hit it big in Vegas this summer.

It's over...

...in more ways than one.

The Battle of the Bloggers Tournament Series 4 is now in the books, at least the regular season is, with the postseason coming up Sunday. It was another dandy and I plan a complete wrap-up and awards aplenty after the TOC and my trip to Nicaragua.

Great finish Sunday. QueensUp had won back-to-back events to take over the May and overall points leads, but HighOnPoker came in third in Brit Blogger and neither made the points in the Big Game so HOP was able to reclaim the lead and the May win. I still had a chance to retake my overall points lead with a final table run in the Big Game after not being able to play in the Brit Blogger, but my 12th place finish was not enough and I ended up 12 points behind QueensUp. Congrats to QueensUp and HighOnPoker for their respective wins.

Because his week was so strong last week, I give the Week 13 Player of the Week award to QueensUp (but don't worry HOP there are MORE awards to come later this month). Sorry Brian, I am lazy today and did not update a graphic for you...

Al posted today that this marks the end of not just the BBT4, but the BBT in general, but all good things must eventually come to an end. I think we all knew this gravy train wasn't going to run forever. I personally did not become involved until last year for BBT3, which I think was the first really big year with points standings and many, many prizes. Obviously, I have been very fortunate in my results in winning March and May in BBT3 and April in BBT4 (heh, does that make me a Triple Crown winner?) and the writing prize last time. If not for a one outer by Loretta8 against me in the TOC last year I may have also won another $10,000. There is still, however, a chance of that this year.

I thought it would be interesting to go back and look at the six months of results over BBT3 and BBT4 to see how everyone stacked up against one another (and, yes, as a total brag on my part because I knew going in what the numbers would show). I saw how many players from BBT3 were scarce or non-existent (or just plain ran bad) this year and how others came on the scene in full force in BBT4. Here is the top 10 points leaders for the last two BBTs combined:

1. Tuscaloosa John 3,776
2. Shabazz Jenkins 2,634
3. heffmike 2,480.5
4. QueensUp/PokerBrian 2,442.8
5. twoblackaces 2,220.3
6. lucko21 2,203.6
7. lightning36 2,128.4
8. NumbBono 2,023.8
9. hoyazo 1,941.8
10. ChippyMcStacks 1,879.2

Yep, total brag. ;)

Let's talk Vegas meetups Part 4

So the 25th seems to work for several people. I was hoping to send out an email soon with everyone's email and phone numbers for easier communication, so if you want to be on that list and haven't given me your contact info do email me at jkampis@hotmail.com. If you don't want your phone number disseminated among the group please say so. (And if you want CK's SSN shoot me a line.)

Here is who I think are "yeas" among BBT players--

APOSEC72, I have email and no number
SmBoatDrinks, email and no number
Queens Up, got all yours
Lex Luther, no contact info
CK, don't think I have any for you either

Oh, and feel free to also share your first name if you want. Hi, I'm Johnny.

We should have others join us as well. Perhaps some CELEBRITY POKER BLOGGERS!!!

I had suggested dinner, then a handful of hours of mixed games, then drinks and bowling at the Gold Coast (or drinks at the HB in the Rio, the moving over to GC perhaps). CK thought that might be packing in too much, and she may very well be right. I believe her thoughts were skip dinner, go straight to mixed games, then drinking and bowling. I guess it all depends on how much time everyone has and how long they wish to do each activity. Let's start hammering out a more definite schedule so folks will know when to be where. Please leave some comments with timeline suggestions.

Mission: Impossible plus Vegas Moments

Me winning the May leaderboard? That is now Mission: Impossible.

But heck, I thought I had the overall leaderboard sewn up. TJ back-to-back in BBT3 and BBT4! But then QueensUp does the true back-to-back by winning both the Skillz Stud and Mookie events this week. I told QueensUp he is the TuscaloosaJohn of 2009. I won March and May last year and the overall leaderboard. QueensUp is likely to do the same this year -- well if he somehow won the overall leaderboard by 500 points it would be about the same (end of brag).

Oh, I decided since we had a little extra play on Sunday with two more events that I would include those in Week 13 for Player of the Week consideration, hence no POW yet, but you can be sure it will take a lot to knock a certain player off that perch after Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

I won't even be able to play the Brit Blogger Sunday as I have a mission team meeting at church. That trip to Nicaragua is now about a week away (have I even mentioned it on this blog? I thought I had, at least in passing). My only chance to regain my overall leaderboard status is the Big Game. Can I go back-to-back in winning that sucker? My ego and bankroll hopes so.

--

Here's a bonus morsel. I started to put this together for somebody... Al, Rounder, etc., but it didn't seem to fit anywhere so I'll just stick it on here. Vegas virgins take note. Here are some cool things you should do while in town that are either off the beaten path or tucked into the corner of a behemoth casino. It's really an unfinished article with only a few "moments" listed, but I hope what's here will be useful. Readers please leave any additional ideas in the comments. Maybe you can share a "moment" with me of which I was not aware.




Shrimp cocktails at the Golden Gate

Sure the place is dingy and you can smell the mustiness when you walk through the front door, but if you’ve never been in here you are missing out on a treat. Walk to the back of the tiny Golden Gate – the oldest casino in Vegas – and order a shrimp cocktail. If you have a player’s club card you can still get what has for years been called the city’s best value – the 99-cent shrimp cocktail. There is nothing spectacular about it. It’s just a big sundae glass full of pretty good tasting shrimp with cocktail sauce poured on top. Grab your glass and a drink, find a seat and listen to the piano player entertain the crowd. Relax and enjoy this reminder of what Vegas used to be like, and occasionally still is.


Sigma Derby at the MGM Grand

Reportedly the last working member of its kind on the Las Vegas Strip, this quarter muncher is tucked between some slots near the lion habitat and maybe 50 yards behind the sportsbook. Sigma Derby is a mechanical horse racing game. Between every “race” the odds will be posted for various exactas of two horses finishing one-two (it doesn’t matter which is first and which is second, actually, as you are just betting on the horses that will be top two). Some odds will be as low as 2-to-1, while some will approach 100-to-1. You put in your quarters and bet however many credits you want on two horses. After 30 seconds the horses will race out of the gates, with two eventually pulling away from the pack to the finish line. Sigma Derby is a fun place to waste a roll of quarters and is generally packed with its limited seating.


Red Rock Canyon




A cheap lounge act

These are harder to find these days, but look through the Vegas guides while in the city for advertisements. I’m not talking about something like Legends in Concert or American Superstars. My aim is much lower. I can remember while traveling with my friend Brian for the WSOP in 2004 when we stopped into the Plaza to look around and were offered free show tickets with a drink purchase. We walked in and were “entertained” by a guy doing bad impersonations of famous celebrities. The show was pure cheese, but we loved every minute of it – perhaps because it was cheese, Vegas cheese that is.


Auto collection at Imperial Palace

If you are a car buff you will probably get a kick out of spending an hour in here. Free tickets are commonly found in some of the Vegas publications around town so the cost is certainly not an impediment. The cars in here are actually for sale, but you can’t afford them unless you have a wheelbarrow full of money (put that WSOP win to good use here). Antique Rolls Royces, famous cars from television and movie productions, rare prototypes, this collection has them all here on a floor in the Imperial Palace’s parking garage.

TJ'S BBT Player of the Week

HighOnPoker continues to just win baby, with a victory in the Riverchasers last week. For monthly and overall leaderboard purposes it is very good. For my Player of the Week awards I look more at consistency in any given week, so even though HighOnPoker is thrashing us on the May points standings he is not my Week 12 POW.

Instead that honor goes to heffmike, who final tabled the Riverchasers (6th), Skillz (6th) and Mookie (9th) in Week 12. Three final tables in four events is tough to accomplish, but heffmike has shown an ability to keep himself in the running. He also jumped to second on the overall leaderboard (since eclipsed by QueensUp's Skillz win last night). Plus, he just found out he's having a baby girl! Check his blog for more details. Great week for heffmike, who is TJ'S Player of the Week for Week 12.



Meanwhile, I am on a major cold snap in the BBT. Last night was the worst as I went from chipleader with about 25 left to out in 19th. How do you even do that? Answer = combination of bad play and bad luck. I believe I have gone seven events without making the points, which is probably my longest streak in the BBT. Good timing for that after climbing to the top of the May leaderboard. After HighOnPoker's runner-up finish in the stud event it's a very long way to the top indeed, and now I am looking at up at five or six people. Oh, and did I mention I also will miss the Brit Blogger this Sunday? I don't think ol' TJ will win two monthly awards this time. Now if I can just hold off the challengers for the overall leaderboard...