You ever notice that in every photo you see of Mike Caro his hair is always sticking up? Does an unkempt mane imply madness, thereby earning him the moniker “Mad Genius of Poker?”
Caro’s hair was relatively combed as he took the stage in the Doyle's Room suite on Wednesday morning to give a seminar on hold’em play. It was standing room only as the crowd squeezed into the suite to listen to one of the original contributors of Super/System.
He opened the seminar with one of his classic tells – that the way players stack chips indicates how they’ll play.
“Conservative means conservative,” Caro said. “If it’s haphazard it’s their personality coming out. Expect them to be loose and reckless.”
Caro then proceeded into a number of tips for limit play, including his advice not to raise in middle position on the final betting round without the nuts.
“You’re much better off calling unless you have an unbeatable hand,” he said.
Caro also advised listeners not to play pocket twos through fours from an early position unless their foes are weak, and to always fold pocket twos through sevens from an early seat in a percentage payoff tournament.
The “mad genius” roamed side to side across the stage as he discussed the penalty of winning a poker tournament. “You have to win all the chips to get the trophy and then you have to give them away,” he said. “You’d rather stumble into [first] if you play for profit.”
In another tell tip, Caro said that players reaching for chips indicate they don’t want you to bet, so go ahead and put chips in the pot. “They’ve just told you that you don’t have to fear someone making an aggressive bet,” he said.
Caro advised the crowd not to put their opponent on a hand, but a range of hands. “You’ll never win at poker if you analyze it like chess.”
Even top players make the mistake of betting too much on the flop or pre-flop, according to Caro. The most profitable routine bet in no limit is one less than the size of the pot, he said. Caro also advised just calling preflop more often to see how the hand develops.
In his final tell of the seminar, Caro said to watch for a player making a little extra motion with their hand at the end of the bet. He said this is a sign of a weak hand or bluff.
In his “final affirmation,” Caro, clad in jeans and a sport coat, asked the crowd to repeat with him, “I am a lucky player. A powerful winning force surrounds me.”
Suddenly, one had to wonder if he had stumbled into a Tony Robbins seminar instead…
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Party Poker blog, Hoyt's BBQ and Wil's wee wee
Dan Michalski has assembled a team of six or either poker bloggers to cover the World Series of Poker for sponsor Party Poker. My job is to provide color and commentary from around the WSOP and Vegas regarding the WSOP. That’s what I’ll be doing in addition to this blog for the next several weeks. So check it out at www.pokerblog.com.
I met Gary Wise on Monday at the Rio. I haven’t mentioned his site yet, but I’ve sent him a few things for his new Web site, which we hope will grow by leaps and bounds in the near future. Read his site and my stuff there at www.wisehandpoker.com.
I got the email from Hoyt (or probably Natalee since Hoyt can’t type for shit…like I can’t play poker for shit) last night for his BBQ party on Saturday. They’re flying the stuff in from Memphis. I should have brought some Dreamland sauce from Tuscaloosa. If only I’d known…
Most of the bloggers have left town, but most of us still remaining met up at the “hooker” bar at the Rio on Monday night. It was good fun drinking beers and sharing stories. Wil Wheaton was there during the dinner break for the $1,000. I introduced myself as Johnny Kampis and then said I’m known as “Tuscaloosa” Johnny and then he knew who I was. For a blog that gets two hits a month, I was amazed at the number of bloggers who had heard of me prior to the weekend.
Wil seems like a great guy, but to me he’ll always be the kid with the leech on his wee wee. It’s an image a guy can’t get out of his head.
Poker wise, Monday was a good day. I sat in two 1-2 NL games and raked in about $450. I think I’m about even for the trip, but I’ll have to do some calculations. I still haven’t played any satellites at the Rio or been to the Orleans for their tournaments, but I expect to do both on Wednesday with more time to burn.
I need to get started writing for Dan, so the post ends here.
I met Gary Wise on Monday at the Rio. I haven’t mentioned his site yet, but I’ve sent him a few things for his new Web site, which we hope will grow by leaps and bounds in the near future. Read his site and my stuff there at www.wisehandpoker.com.
I got the email from Hoyt (or probably Natalee since Hoyt can’t type for shit…like I can’t play poker for shit) last night for his BBQ party on Saturday. They’re flying the stuff in from Memphis. I should have brought some Dreamland sauce from Tuscaloosa. If only I’d known…
Most of the bloggers have left town, but most of us still remaining met up at the “hooker” bar at the Rio on Monday night. It was good fun drinking beers and sharing stories. Wil Wheaton was there during the dinner break for the $1,000. I introduced myself as Johnny Kampis and then said I’m known as “Tuscaloosa” Johnny and then he knew who I was. For a blog that gets two hits a month, I was amazed at the number of bloggers who had heard of me prior to the weekend.
Wil seems like a great guy, but to me he’ll always be the kid with the leech on his wee wee. It’s an image a guy can’t get out of his head.
Poker wise, Monday was a good day. I sat in two 1-2 NL games and raked in about $450. I think I’m about even for the trip, but I’ll have to do some calculations. I still haven’t played any satellites at the Rio or been to the Orleans for their tournaments, but I expect to do both on Wednesday with more time to burn.
I need to get started writing for Dan, so the post ends here.
Bloggerpalooza continued
As usual, the WSOP area was filled with the regular masses as I walked there for the first time Friday morning. The pros, the wannabes, the gawking poker fans -- they all mingled among the various online poker suites, merchandise selling vendor booths and registration area outside the tournament room.
I walked by Shawn Sheikhan, who was berating a friend on a cell phone call. “You went in with that? You’re giving your fucking money away. You don’t need to be playing $5,000 tournaments,” he shouted into the phone.
Inside the tournament area, it was the usual madhouse. Cash games were taking place in one corner, satellites in another, while the day’s big tournament took up most of the space. I hopped on a list for the quickest game I could find, which turned out to be $4-$8 limit. Per usual, I couldn’t beat a donkfest and dropped maybe $35.
What I have yet to mention was the girl I met on the airplane. We’ll call her Karen. We sat beside each other and ended up chatting the entire flight from Denver to Vegas. Karen is from Edmonton and was coming into town for a wedding. We also shared a ride on the shuttle to downtown and agreed to meet again before she left town. (She stayed at the Golden Nugget.)
We made plans on Friday to meet at the MGM that night before I was to play in a blogger mixed game. Karen and I went to the Centrifugal bar for drinks and to watch the barhops and maidens dance on the bar every half hour.
“I can’t believe I’m going to be in Vegas for six weeks,” I told her while sipping a Guinness. At that very moment life was pretty good.
We headed to the poker room after I gave her some hold’em lessons in case she decided to sit in a game and I was just in time to grab a seat in the $2-$4 HORSE game before it filled up. (Karen would later sit in a $2-$4 hold’em game and drop $40 before departing with a headache. So much for my lessons.)
I had no luck in the game, but enjoyed meeting several more bloggers and drinking with them at the bar. (I saw Iggy play almost no poker all weekend, but he always seemed to be at a bar, sitting in a high chair of course.)
Saturday figured to be more eventful as the big bloggers’ tournament was planned for 10 a.m. at Caesars Palace. I had to set my alarm (regrettably, since I was still way behind on sleep) and make my way down to the Strip. The new poker room at Caesars is just off the sports book and it is impressive, with different cash game and tournament rooms.
Several speakers took their turns in front of the crowd before the no limit hold’em tournament, including Michael Craig, author of “The Professor, the Banker and the Suicide King.” Craig related the knick knacks he’s stolen from various poker players, including Andy Beal’s watch, Chris Ferguson’s card cover and Ted Forrest’s Full Tilt jersey. (There’s a story behind the liftings that are too lengthy to describe at this moment. Craig isn’t quite the eager kleptomaniac as the previous sentence makes him sound.)
“I won’t betray confidence, but I’ll steal a pen in a heartbeat,” the author said with a laugh.
Craig is beginning to write his own blog, for Linda at Table Tango.
“I’m excited about writing the blog, writing about people calling me down with sixth pair and taking pictures of them pulling in the pot,” he said.
Jay Greenspan discussed his blog and his new book “Hunting Fish,” in which he travels from town to town across the country searching out the best backroom and casino games.
“I thought it would be nice to put out a book that documented that part of the game,” he said.
Howard Lederer took the microphone to discuss the current anti-online gaming legislation being considered by the House of Representatives.
One aspect of the bill that Lederer believes hasn’t been discussed enough is the provision that “forces banks to essentially become the cops” by monitoring financial transactions. He believes the move could increase the costs of the financial institutions, which would then be passed on to customers.
He also mentioned the provision that requires internet service providers to censor the internet.
“This is a practice that our government criticized China about,” Lederer said. “Apparently it’s ok if it’s something our government [doesn’t want on the Internet.]”
Lederer and other professional poker players traveled to Washington recently to speak on behalf of a lobbying organization fighting the legislation. The player nicknamed “The Professor” said he was glad poker finally had a voice in the capital arguing that poker was a game of skill.
“Poker has never been in Washington making that argument,” he said.
The senator to which Lederer spoke had a change of heart after hearing the poker player’s argument.
“Here was one senator who was neutral before our meeting and now he’s ready to move against it. It shows how foolish poker and poker players were not to be there until recently trying to fight [the legislation].”
Lederer believes the vote in the House will be closer than expected, which could bode well for the Senate tally. He said the American Gaming Association was originally against the bill, but now has taking a neutral stance on it.
“The idea of a prohibition is absurd,” Lederer said of online poker, a version of the game in which 23 million Americans play. “Our number one ally in the world, the UK, is heading in the opposite direction.”
Phil Gordon took the stage and joked about his best friend, Rafe Furst, winning a WSOP bracelet earlier in the week.
“I’m still working on mine, goddamn it,” he joked. “Talk about a fucking tilter.”
Gordon has made five WSOP final tables in the last three years without winning, while this was Furst’s first final table.
The tall poker pro then discussed the charity Cancer Research Prevention Foundation, for which he has helped raise more than a million dollars by convincing fellow players to donate 1 or 2 percent of their tournament winning to the cause. Gordon said Phil Hellmuth helped kick start the 2006 WSOP Put a Bad Beat on Cancer campaign by giving $25,000 from his winnings.
“I hope to make a $100,000 donation, which would be 1 percent of the $10 frickin million,” Gordon quipped.
The Full Tilter then emceed the Roshambo competition. To the unenlightened, this is Rock, Paper, Scissors with a mystical name. We all donated $15 or more toward Put a Bad Beat on Cancer for the chance to be called the blogger Roshambo champion.
Gordon had us all line up in two lines and pick an opponent. We then immediately tossed quickly to see who could take the best two out of three. Amazingly, as bad as others have whipped me at the game, I managed to win my first three matches, making it to the quarterfinals. I went paper first all three times, on the prevailing theory that your average Roshambo player starts off with rock. It worked magnificently until John Caldwell, proprietor of Pokernews.com, tossed me a curveball with the scissors opener. Having me completely off my game, Caldwell made quick work of me in the quarterfinals.
The winner of the competition, whose name escapes me, gets a one-hour poker lesson from Gordon.
The tournament had about 113 entrants, with the top 10 getting the cash and the winner getting the golden hammer trophy. I was never dealt the magical 7-2 until late in the affair and at that point felt it unwise to make a move with “the hammer.” I was earlier dealt Tuscaloosa Slick, or 6-2 for the unenlightened, but had to fold to a re-raise.
Because of numerous suckouts (QQ vs. KK, 77 vs. JJ, A2 vs. AT, etc.) I made it deep, but my luck finally ran out when Double As K-7 trumped my A-8. I had previously received a bustout bounty of aces coasters from a blogger I had not met and a signed dollar bill from Pauly, whose nines I cracked with A-5. Having nothing for Double As, I gave him my Bodog card cover. I bubbled in 12th with my ouster.
Iggy then proceeded to cream me at Roshambo for the millionth time.
I headed to bed early Saturday night as I was just exhausted from the first few days.
I decided to make Sunday my lazy day. No poker. No leaving downtown. And there was the matter of Karen.
As I said, she came here for a wedding. What I didn’t tell you was that the groom was her ex-boyfriend, a very serious ex-boyfriend. So it was pretty weird she got invited. To top it off, she discovered at the bridal shower Saturday night that he cheated on her by dating the bride while Karen and he were still together.
We talked late Saturday night and Karen told me she wanted to get sloppy drunk. I wasn’t sure what to expect beyond the getting drunk part, but things did seem to be lining up for a nice rendezvous.
So I hung around Sunday in the hotel room, waiting for Karen’s call. We met in front of Binion’s and proceeded to Mermaids to get the biggest, tallest daiquiris known to man, in souvenir plastic cups about two feet tall, and planted ourselves in front of penny slot machines. After an hour and half of reel spinning and daiquiri sipping, we walked our drunk selves onto Freemont Street.
Let me preference our next step with these two occurrences while at Mermaids: 1) Karen told me she had a deck of cards in her room, 2) She later asked me what the rules were for strip poker.
As we were in the street, I made the genius recommendation that we go to her room to play poker.
She obtained two rolls of nickels from the change booth at the Nugget and we headed up. I could barely keep my eyes open as we took turns dealing the cards. I called her down every hand, letting her take my nickels, and expecting her to ask for a sock next. But she didn’t.
Before we could play another game I had to worship the porcelain throne. Even though all I had to eat that day was a cereal bar and a couple of shrimp cocktails from the Golden Gate, I should be able to hold my liquor better than a girl.
I had to lie on the bed for awhile as I sobered up some and we played another hold’em game with nickels. This time I played for keeps and took her down. Rather than engage in any extracurricular activities, Karen wanted to get something to eat.
As Karen and I sat in the Nugget restaurant and I wavered between drunk and sober, I managed to let my glass of ice water slip from my right hand, dumping the entire contents into my groin and completely soaking my pants. It looked like I had peed all over myself.
The waitress had a laugh as we asked her for another glass of water and I explained my predicament. Not ten minutes later, I had managed to spill that one across the table top.
“I can’t take you anywhere,” Karen said in the manner of a scolding schoolteacher.
The waitress returned to survey the scene and could not contain her laughter.
“We need a sippy cup,” Karen told her.
“Don’t worry,” the waitress said. “My son does it all the time.”
Great, my motor skills had just been compared to those of a 3-year-old. In truth, the kid could probably run circles around me in my drunken state.
We finished eating and said our goodbyes. I was so sure something was going to happen between us. The stars seem to be aligned, but alas it was not to be. Karen flew back to Edmonton Monday morning.
The saying does apply – what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, unless I blog about it.
UPDATE: Just scored an invite to Hoyt Corkins' BBQ party on the 15th at his house. The pork is being flown in from Memphis. Guest list includes Esfandiari, Laak, Hachem, Raymer, Hellmuth, Lederer...
Other big news today is I'm officially blogging for Dan Michalski and Party Poker at www.pokerblog.com, along with several others. Pay is good and it's for a five-week period during the WSOP, with perhaps more opportunities down the road.
More on all the good news when I have more time to post... :)
I walked by Shawn Sheikhan, who was berating a friend on a cell phone call. “You went in with that? You’re giving your fucking money away. You don’t need to be playing $5,000 tournaments,” he shouted into the phone.
Inside the tournament area, it was the usual madhouse. Cash games were taking place in one corner, satellites in another, while the day’s big tournament took up most of the space. I hopped on a list for the quickest game I could find, which turned out to be $4-$8 limit. Per usual, I couldn’t beat a donkfest and dropped maybe $35.
What I have yet to mention was the girl I met on the airplane. We’ll call her Karen. We sat beside each other and ended up chatting the entire flight from Denver to Vegas. Karen is from Edmonton and was coming into town for a wedding. We also shared a ride on the shuttle to downtown and agreed to meet again before she left town. (She stayed at the Golden Nugget.)
We made plans on Friday to meet at the MGM that night before I was to play in a blogger mixed game. Karen and I went to the Centrifugal bar for drinks and to watch the barhops and maidens dance on the bar every half hour.
“I can’t believe I’m going to be in Vegas for six weeks,” I told her while sipping a Guinness. At that very moment life was pretty good.
We headed to the poker room after I gave her some hold’em lessons in case she decided to sit in a game and I was just in time to grab a seat in the $2-$4 HORSE game before it filled up. (Karen would later sit in a $2-$4 hold’em game and drop $40 before departing with a headache. So much for my lessons.)
I had no luck in the game, but enjoyed meeting several more bloggers and drinking with them at the bar. (I saw Iggy play almost no poker all weekend, but he always seemed to be at a bar, sitting in a high chair of course.)
Saturday figured to be more eventful as the big bloggers’ tournament was planned for 10 a.m. at Caesars Palace. I had to set my alarm (regrettably, since I was still way behind on sleep) and make my way down to the Strip. The new poker room at Caesars is just off the sports book and it is impressive, with different cash game and tournament rooms.
Several speakers took their turns in front of the crowd before the no limit hold’em tournament, including Michael Craig, author of “The Professor, the Banker and the Suicide King.” Craig related the knick knacks he’s stolen from various poker players, including Andy Beal’s watch, Chris Ferguson’s card cover and Ted Forrest’s Full Tilt jersey. (There’s a story behind the liftings that are too lengthy to describe at this moment. Craig isn’t quite the eager kleptomaniac as the previous sentence makes him sound.)
“I won’t betray confidence, but I’ll steal a pen in a heartbeat,” the author said with a laugh.
Craig is beginning to write his own blog, for Linda at Table Tango.
“I’m excited about writing the blog, writing about people calling me down with sixth pair and taking pictures of them pulling in the pot,” he said.
Jay Greenspan discussed his blog and his new book “Hunting Fish,” in which he travels from town to town across the country searching out the best backroom and casino games.
“I thought it would be nice to put out a book that documented that part of the game,” he said.
Howard Lederer took the microphone to discuss the current anti-online gaming legislation being considered by the House of Representatives.
One aspect of the bill that Lederer believes hasn’t been discussed enough is the provision that “forces banks to essentially become the cops” by monitoring financial transactions. He believes the move could increase the costs of the financial institutions, which would then be passed on to customers.
He also mentioned the provision that requires internet service providers to censor the internet.
“This is a practice that our government criticized China about,” Lederer said. “Apparently it’s ok if it’s something our government [doesn’t want on the Internet.]”
Lederer and other professional poker players traveled to Washington recently to speak on behalf of a lobbying organization fighting the legislation. The player nicknamed “The Professor” said he was glad poker finally had a voice in the capital arguing that poker was a game of skill.
“Poker has never been in Washington making that argument,” he said.
The senator to which Lederer spoke had a change of heart after hearing the poker player’s argument.
“Here was one senator who was neutral before our meeting and now he’s ready to move against it. It shows how foolish poker and poker players were not to be there until recently trying to fight [the legislation].”
Lederer believes the vote in the House will be closer than expected, which could bode well for the Senate tally. He said the American Gaming Association was originally against the bill, but now has taking a neutral stance on it.
“The idea of a prohibition is absurd,” Lederer said of online poker, a version of the game in which 23 million Americans play. “Our number one ally in the world, the UK, is heading in the opposite direction.”
Phil Gordon took the stage and joked about his best friend, Rafe Furst, winning a WSOP bracelet earlier in the week.
“I’m still working on mine, goddamn it,” he joked. “Talk about a fucking tilter.”
Gordon has made five WSOP final tables in the last three years without winning, while this was Furst’s first final table.
The tall poker pro then discussed the charity Cancer Research Prevention Foundation, for which he has helped raise more than a million dollars by convincing fellow players to donate 1 or 2 percent of their tournament winning to the cause. Gordon said Phil Hellmuth helped kick start the 2006 WSOP Put a Bad Beat on Cancer campaign by giving $25,000 from his winnings.
“I hope to make a $100,000 donation, which would be 1 percent of the $10 frickin million,” Gordon quipped.
The Full Tilter then emceed the Roshambo competition. To the unenlightened, this is Rock, Paper, Scissors with a mystical name. We all donated $15 or more toward Put a Bad Beat on Cancer for the chance to be called the blogger Roshambo champion.
Gordon had us all line up in two lines and pick an opponent. We then immediately tossed quickly to see who could take the best two out of three. Amazingly, as bad as others have whipped me at the game, I managed to win my first three matches, making it to the quarterfinals. I went paper first all three times, on the prevailing theory that your average Roshambo player starts off with rock. It worked magnificently until John Caldwell, proprietor of Pokernews.com, tossed me a curveball with the scissors opener. Having me completely off my game, Caldwell made quick work of me in the quarterfinals.
The winner of the competition, whose name escapes me, gets a one-hour poker lesson from Gordon.
The tournament had about 113 entrants, with the top 10 getting the cash and the winner getting the golden hammer trophy. I was never dealt the magical 7-2 until late in the affair and at that point felt it unwise to make a move with “the hammer.” I was earlier dealt Tuscaloosa Slick, or 6-2 for the unenlightened, but had to fold to a re-raise.
Because of numerous suckouts (QQ vs. KK, 77 vs. JJ, A2 vs. AT, etc.) I made it deep, but my luck finally ran out when Double As K-7 trumped my A-8. I had previously received a bustout bounty of aces coasters from a blogger I had not met and a signed dollar bill from Pauly, whose nines I cracked with A-5. Having nothing for Double As, I gave him my Bodog card cover. I bubbled in 12th with my ouster.
Iggy then proceeded to cream me at Roshambo for the millionth time.
I headed to bed early Saturday night as I was just exhausted from the first few days.
I decided to make Sunday my lazy day. No poker. No leaving downtown. And there was the matter of Karen.
As I said, she came here for a wedding. What I didn’t tell you was that the groom was her ex-boyfriend, a very serious ex-boyfriend. So it was pretty weird she got invited. To top it off, she discovered at the bridal shower Saturday night that he cheated on her by dating the bride while Karen and he were still together.
We talked late Saturday night and Karen told me she wanted to get sloppy drunk. I wasn’t sure what to expect beyond the getting drunk part, but things did seem to be lining up for a nice rendezvous.
So I hung around Sunday in the hotel room, waiting for Karen’s call. We met in front of Binion’s and proceeded to Mermaids to get the biggest, tallest daiquiris known to man, in souvenir plastic cups about two feet tall, and planted ourselves in front of penny slot machines. After an hour and half of reel spinning and daiquiri sipping, we walked our drunk selves onto Freemont Street.
Let me preference our next step with these two occurrences while at Mermaids: 1) Karen told me she had a deck of cards in her room, 2) She later asked me what the rules were for strip poker.
As we were in the street, I made the genius recommendation that we go to her room to play poker.
She obtained two rolls of nickels from the change booth at the Nugget and we headed up. I could barely keep my eyes open as we took turns dealing the cards. I called her down every hand, letting her take my nickels, and expecting her to ask for a sock next. But she didn’t.
Before we could play another game I had to worship the porcelain throne. Even though all I had to eat that day was a cereal bar and a couple of shrimp cocktails from the Golden Gate, I should be able to hold my liquor better than a girl.
I had to lie on the bed for awhile as I sobered up some and we played another hold’em game with nickels. This time I played for keeps and took her down. Rather than engage in any extracurricular activities, Karen wanted to get something to eat.
As Karen and I sat in the Nugget restaurant and I wavered between drunk and sober, I managed to let my glass of ice water slip from my right hand, dumping the entire contents into my groin and completely soaking my pants. It looked like I had peed all over myself.
The waitress had a laugh as we asked her for another glass of water and I explained my predicament. Not ten minutes later, I had managed to spill that one across the table top.
“I can’t take you anywhere,” Karen said in the manner of a scolding schoolteacher.
The waitress returned to survey the scene and could not contain her laughter.
“We need a sippy cup,” Karen told her.
“Don’t worry,” the waitress said. “My son does it all the time.”
Great, my motor skills had just been compared to those of a 3-year-old. In truth, the kid could probably run circles around me in my drunken state.
We finished eating and said our goodbyes. I was so sure something was going to happen between us. The stars seem to be aligned, but alas it was not to be. Karen flew back to Edmonton Monday morning.
The saying does apply – what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, unless I blog about it.
UPDATE: Just scored an invite to Hoyt Corkins' BBQ party on the 15th at his house. The pork is being flown in from Memphis. Guest list includes Esfandiari, Laak, Hachem, Raymer, Hellmuth, Lederer...
Other big news today is I'm officially blogging for Dan Michalski and Party Poker at www.pokerblog.com, along with several others. Pay is good and it's for a five-week period during the WSOP, with perhaps more opportunities down the road.
More on all the good news when I have more time to post... :)
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Bloggerpalooza
I had almost forgotten how bright the lights are, how busty the women are, how annoying the little Mexican men are who flick the stripper cards toward my face.
Almost.
What can you say about Vegas? It fits like an old glove for me. I love this city.
And I’ve been so busy the last three days that this is my first chance to post.
The sky filled with the white flash of lightning as we descended on Vegas. An electrical storm over a city of a million lights was quite the sight. I arrived at Binion’s around 11:30 Thursday night and got my hotel key from the reservation desk just off the poker room. After getting settled I wandered back down to look for Ted. Sure enough, there was the old timer playing the nightly 8 p.m. tournament.
“You’re playing too tight Teddy,” I remarked when he mucked a hand as I walked up to the rail.
I offered him a hand, but he gave me a fist bump instead. Maybe he’s got a Howie Mandel thing going on.
Ted and I did some catching up since our last meeting in Reno. He made the final table a few minutes later and I bid him adieu to make my way down to the Excalibur where the bloggers were staying and meeting up that night.
There were several games going in the Excalibur poker room when I arrived, but not recognizing anybody there I sat down in a 1-2 NL game. Finally some familiar faces popped up – Dr. Pauly, Iggy, Tennessee Spaceman – and we chatted it up. I got up from my game an $80 loser and met up with a bunch of them at the Sherwood Forest Bar. I met new faces like Static Cling and Zeem and April Kyle, the fantastic organizer of the weekend’s events. Before I passed out, I decided to make my way back to Binion’s.
My head hit the pillow and I was out like a light.
Being newly arrived in Vegas, there was still enough excitement in my body that I couldn’t sleep past 10. That, and Ted making a racket in the room.
I noticed the laptop laying under his bed and asked him about it. Ted said he had lost $400 on Party Poker because he couldn’t operate the touch pad.
“I folded goddamn aces pre-flop,” he said.
A “sketchy” fellow, as Ted called him, was supposed to bring him a mouse for his laptop.
(Fast forward to Sunday morning as I type this. I just got a knock on the door and went to see who it was. A tall middle-eastern man with shades on his eyes and lipstick on his cheek appeared at the door asking for Ted. Yep, it was the “sketchy” fellow. He told me his name is Kay and handed me his number to give to Ted. We enjoyed a minutes long conversation about New Orleans after he asked me where I was from. Kay is a doctor and he knows some doctor in Lafayette, La., that he stayed with to attend a medical conference in the Big Easy several years ago.
Kay told me we should meet for dinner one night and parted with these helpful words, “I know everything in Vegas. Whatever you want, I got it.” He did deliver on the mouse – Ted got it Saturday night, and proceeded to break the retractable cord. Never let an old man near new technology.)
So Friday morning I headed down past the Neonopolis to the bus stop. Being here for six weeks I just don’t have the capital to ride taxis everywhere. Ted said it’s costing him about $30 a day, whereas I can get a 30-day bus pass for $40. Heck, you hear some interesting conversations and met some interesting characters on a public bus. The Vegas bus system is new and improved as well. They’ve added these double decker buses for Strip to Downtown routes and call them The Deuce, some clever name bestowed on the system by some clever smartass.
The ride at the top is pleasant and provides a nice view of the city.
I took my seat at the top Friday morning and heard some old fellow talking about the condos going up downtown across from the bus stop.
“They’re building these damn high rises everywhere,” said the man, who I swore sounded just like the D’Agostino fan I met at the World Poker Tour taping at the Borgata in September.
He’s really not exaggerating. In addition to the Downtown condos, you’ve got Turnberry Place on the north end of the Strip, The Sky just down from Turnberry, Panorama off the strip behind the Bellagio and the Playboy tower going up behind The Palms.
I still haven’t decided which residence I’ll choose after winning the WSOP.
The bus driver quipped that the new Nevada state bird is the crane, in reference to the massive structures used to build the towers.
I made the slow ride down to the Rio and took the familiar walk back to the convention center
To be continued later (Ted needs the phone line)
Almost.
What can you say about Vegas? It fits like an old glove for me. I love this city.
And I’ve been so busy the last three days that this is my first chance to post.
The sky filled with the white flash of lightning as we descended on Vegas. An electrical storm over a city of a million lights was quite the sight. I arrived at Binion’s around 11:30 Thursday night and got my hotel key from the reservation desk just off the poker room. After getting settled I wandered back down to look for Ted. Sure enough, there was the old timer playing the nightly 8 p.m. tournament.
“You’re playing too tight Teddy,” I remarked when he mucked a hand as I walked up to the rail.
I offered him a hand, but he gave me a fist bump instead. Maybe he’s got a Howie Mandel thing going on.
Ted and I did some catching up since our last meeting in Reno. He made the final table a few minutes later and I bid him adieu to make my way down to the Excalibur where the bloggers were staying and meeting up that night.
There were several games going in the Excalibur poker room when I arrived, but not recognizing anybody there I sat down in a 1-2 NL game. Finally some familiar faces popped up – Dr. Pauly, Iggy, Tennessee Spaceman – and we chatted it up. I got up from my game an $80 loser and met up with a bunch of them at the Sherwood Forest Bar. I met new faces like Static Cling and Zeem and April Kyle, the fantastic organizer of the weekend’s events. Before I passed out, I decided to make my way back to Binion’s.
My head hit the pillow and I was out like a light.
Being newly arrived in Vegas, there was still enough excitement in my body that I couldn’t sleep past 10. That, and Ted making a racket in the room.
I noticed the laptop laying under his bed and asked him about it. Ted said he had lost $400 on Party Poker because he couldn’t operate the touch pad.
“I folded goddamn aces pre-flop,” he said.
A “sketchy” fellow, as Ted called him, was supposed to bring him a mouse for his laptop.
(Fast forward to Sunday morning as I type this. I just got a knock on the door and went to see who it was. A tall middle-eastern man with shades on his eyes and lipstick on his cheek appeared at the door asking for Ted. Yep, it was the “sketchy” fellow. He told me his name is Kay and handed me his number to give to Ted. We enjoyed a minutes long conversation about New Orleans after he asked me where I was from. Kay is a doctor and he knows some doctor in Lafayette, La., that he stayed with to attend a medical conference in the Big Easy several years ago.
Kay told me we should meet for dinner one night and parted with these helpful words, “I know everything in Vegas. Whatever you want, I got it.” He did deliver on the mouse – Ted got it Saturday night, and proceeded to break the retractable cord. Never let an old man near new technology.)
So Friday morning I headed down past the Neonopolis to the bus stop. Being here for six weeks I just don’t have the capital to ride taxis everywhere. Ted said it’s costing him about $30 a day, whereas I can get a 30-day bus pass for $40. Heck, you hear some interesting conversations and met some interesting characters on a public bus. The Vegas bus system is new and improved as well. They’ve added these double decker buses for Strip to Downtown routes and call them The Deuce, some clever name bestowed on the system by some clever smartass.
The ride at the top is pleasant and provides a nice view of the city.
I took my seat at the top Friday morning and heard some old fellow talking about the condos going up downtown across from the bus stop.
“They’re building these damn high rises everywhere,” said the man, who I swore sounded just like the D’Agostino fan I met at the World Poker Tour taping at the Borgata in September.
He’s really not exaggerating. In addition to the Downtown condos, you’ve got Turnberry Place on the north end of the Strip, The Sky just down from Turnberry, Panorama off the strip behind the Bellagio and the Playboy tower going up behind The Palms.
I still haven’t decided which residence I’ll choose after winning the WSOP.
The bus driver quipped that the new Nevada state bird is the crane, in reference to the massive structures used to build the towers.
I made the slow ride down to the Rio and took the familiar walk back to the convention center
To be continued later (Ted needs the phone line)
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Yeah, I got the itch
24 hours from now I'll be sitting in a Denver airport waiting for my connecting flight to McCarran.
What can I say? Ah....
Will I be broke in six weeks? Or will I own the keys to a condo at Turnberry Place?
Stay tuned for updates throughout the summer. Where else on the net can you get trip reports from the bloggers tour and BARGE, as well as live vicariously through a participant in the main event and a trip to the shrine of Bob, a.k.a. The Price is Right? Nowhere, folks, nowhere.
Ciao.
What can I say? Ah....
Will I be broke in six weeks? Or will I own the keys to a condo at Turnberry Place?
Stay tuned for updates throughout the summer. Where else on the net can you get trip reports from the bloggers tour and BARGE, as well as live vicariously through a participant in the main event and a trip to the shrine of Bob, a.k.a. The Price is Right? Nowhere, folks, nowhere.
Ciao.
Monday, July 03, 2006
T-minus 3 days
Last week was sort of a poker boot camp for me -- lots of live action in Tuscaloosa, some MTTs, reading strategy books from the masters of the game as well as narratives from the likes of Chris Moneymaker for inspiration. (Not exactly the greatest writer of our time I'm afraid. If I read one more "I threw in with them" or "I bet straight away" I told myself I would put down the book, but I refrained.) One thing I noticed about Moneymaker after reading ths book is his scary gambling problem. The guy was up to his eyeballs in debt thanks to a nasty sports betting habit. He was only a break even poker player until he won the main event. Quite a lucky story.
Can it happen again?
It probably will for somebody, but the key here is will that somebody be yours truly.
I realized the other day while playing a tournament on Full Tilt that I just haven't played many MTTs in the past year. I'd been so busy with grinding out a living at the cash games and leaving my tournament action for my various trips that I never played many online tournaments. Maybe that was my mistake.
It hasn't been much of a living this year. Adding up my monthly totals for the first six months of this year, I found that I had won...are you ready for this?...a grand total of $3,000 playing poker.
Did I really win nearly $10,000 last August? (Oh yes, wasn't this in my last post?)
What the heck went wrong here? That's how fickle this silly game is. You think you're a world beater one month and the next you can't win a hand. It's pretty disheartening when you're sitting there in your little local $5-$10 limit game and terrible players are cackling as they draw out on you repeatedly. But then you realize how stupid it is really to play poker for a living. These people have real jobs and they're just playing poker to blow off some steam and have a good time while it's your fucking livelihood. Who's the chump?
I let a notable anniversary pass recently without acknowledgment -- that's the anniversary of my unemployment. It was one year ago sometime last week that I left the paper. Since I decided months ago not to go back, I haven't really thought about it much. But there it is. I'll discuss the significance of that more when I'm chilling in my Binion's hotel room.
Can it happen again?
It probably will for somebody, but the key here is will that somebody be yours truly.
I realized the other day while playing a tournament on Full Tilt that I just haven't played many MTTs in the past year. I'd been so busy with grinding out a living at the cash games and leaving my tournament action for my various trips that I never played many online tournaments. Maybe that was my mistake.
It hasn't been much of a living this year. Adding up my monthly totals for the first six months of this year, I found that I had won...are you ready for this?...a grand total of $3,000 playing poker.
Did I really win nearly $10,000 last August? (Oh yes, wasn't this in my last post?)
What the heck went wrong here? That's how fickle this silly game is. You think you're a world beater one month and the next you can't win a hand. It's pretty disheartening when you're sitting there in your little local $5-$10 limit game and terrible players are cackling as they draw out on you repeatedly. But then you realize how stupid it is really to play poker for a living. These people have real jobs and they're just playing poker to blow off some steam and have a good time while it's your fucking livelihood. Who's the chump?
I let a notable anniversary pass recently without acknowledgment -- that's the anniversary of my unemployment. It was one year ago sometime last week that I left the paper. Since I decided months ago not to go back, I haven't really thought about it much. But there it is. I'll discuss the significance of that more when I'm chilling in my Binion's hotel room.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Guide to Vegas and the WSOP
OK, here's the thing I promised:
HOW TO GET TO THE WSOP
The Rio is about a mile off the Strip. I walked the route a few times, but I wouldn’t recommend it as it’s hot as fire in the daytime and dark and scary at night. The cheapest way is by city bus, which was the method I mostly used last year. A 30-day pass is about $30 and single rides are $1.50 or $2. The bus drops you off right in front of the casino. Taxis are, of course, most expensive and were about $10-$12 from Downtown. Strip rates depend how close you are to the Rio. The taxis will drop you off near the back, which is a much closer walk to the WSOP area.
If you enter the Rio from the front you walk straight back through a long corridor to the back of the building. It’s a solid quarter mile walk.
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT AT THE WSOP
It’s a sight to behold if you’ve never been. The tournament room is huge, but what do you expect from a facility that must hold 200 tables? You may notice the dark area in the back with the “stars” in black background. That’s the ESPN filming area. The cash games in 2005 were played front right in the room, while satellites were in the front left. On many days, all the tables will be used for only the main tournament of the day until tables can be broken down in the afternoon. The nightly second chance tournament is played in the back left of the room. Walk into the room on any given day and there are many different games going on at once.
SIGNING UP
The main tournament registration area is outside before you reach the room. You’ll also find tournament schedules and structures piled on tables out there. Sign up for cash games at the desk near the cash game area. They use the computer system where you can see how far down the list you are. Lots of hold’em games and limits, a few Omaha games and not much stud.
For satellites, unless there is a big crowd, you can just sit around and wait for one to end and then walk up and grab a seat for the next one. When it is busy, a line forms behind a podium in the area. There are lots of $125 satellites for 2 $500 buy-in chips and $50 satellites in which two players receive $225 vouchers for the nightly second chance tournament.
TOURNAMENTS
There is one, and sometimes two, bracelet events each day. All of the $1,500 NLHE tournaments will have monster fields near 2,000 people, while the bigger buy in NLHE are somewhat smaller. Limit hold’em and Omaha and stud events have more modest fields of 500 or less. Triple-draw lowball is a pro only field, and let’s not even talk about the $50,000 HORSE tournament.
There will be a daily $540 second chance tournament at 5 p.m. and another one for $225 at 11 p.m.
Super satellites, with a $230 buy in plus rebuys, take place daily at 3 p.m. for a seat in the main event. A nightly mega satellite for $1,060 is held at 7 p.m. Leading up to the ME on July 26 and July 27, there will be two supers and two megas each day. The first main event seat you win you must play, but if you win a second seat you get $10,000 in lammers that you can use to buy into other tournaments or sell. If you need to sell lammers, stand near the registration area and offer them up. You should be able to get face value so don’t take anything less.
FREEBIES TO LOOK FOR
Find the Full Tilt Poker hospitality suite and register there. In 2005, they gave out caps, T-shirts, posters and mouse pads, as well as free drinks – both alcoholic and non. There are plenty of poker magazines floating around. Not much else will be free until the WSOP exhibition show starts around the time of the main event, and that show has all the freebies you can stand – caps, visors, shirts, spinners, magazines, autographs from pros, etc. Bluff Magazine had an interesting promotion where they would take your picture and put you on a 5 x 7 photo that looked like the cover of their magazine, proclaiming you the winner of the WSOP. Not sure if they will bring that back in 2006.
WHAT TO EAT AND DRINK
There will be a snack bar set up outside the tournament area offering overpriced sandwiches and pizza. Drinks can be found there or in the gift shop next to it. All of the restaurants in the Rio are also overpriced. Even when you buy into a tournament and get a coupon it only pays for half of the $27 buffet. Fact is, when you’re at the WSOP you’re going to pay to eat. Not sure about food in the near vicinity other than a Mexican restaurant at the Palms that has decent prices and good food.
PROBLEMS TO AVOID
There was a serious bathroom shortage in 2005 as there was only one men’s bathroom near the tournament area. Avoid this line by walking 100 yards back toward the casino to a second bathroom. I believe the Rio is planning to set up some portable toilets somewhere near the tournament area if you’re not too discriminating.
There can also be some really long lines for tournament registration if you wait around until close to the time of the event. If you have the money already, pre-register online. If you have to sign up on site, do it when the lines are short, like really early in the morning or in the afternoon.
OTHER POKER IN VEGAS
Better than ever with the opening of posh new rooms at Caesars Palace and The Venetian. Best rooms in town include those two, Wynn, Bellagio and Mirage. MGM has a pretty nice room but not a wide selection of games. Higher limits can be found at the rest. Some friends of mine watched a $400-$800 razz game at Caesars over Memorial Day weekend that included Shawn Sheikhan and Eskimo Clark.
There are more tournaments than I can possibly list. Pick up an issue of Card Player for a comprehensive listing of the plethora of daily offerings. The biggest daily tournaments are at the Bellagio, Wynn and Mirage, with buy ins from $300 to $1,000 on many days. I like playing the $100 tournaments down at Binion’s and the Plaza (especially since I won one at Binion’s last summer for $3,300 and change).
As for other major tournaments, the Bellagio will hold the Bellagio Cup tournament again this summer from July 24-Aug. 10. All events are NLHE with $1,000 buy-ins running twice a day until Aug. 7, when the $10K main event begins.
The Orleans will host the Orleans Open from July 1-16. This event will feature a variety of poker disciplines with buy-ins starting at $300.
Last year, the Palms held a summer tournament and the Plaza had the Ultimate Poker Challenge, but I don’t believe either one is having those events this year to coincide with the WSOP.
HOW TO GET TO THE WSOP
The Rio is about a mile off the Strip. I walked the route a few times, but I wouldn’t recommend it as it’s hot as fire in the daytime and dark and scary at night. The cheapest way is by city bus, which was the method I mostly used last year. A 30-day pass is about $30 and single rides are $1.50 or $2. The bus drops you off right in front of the casino. Taxis are, of course, most expensive and were about $10-$12 from Downtown. Strip rates depend how close you are to the Rio. The taxis will drop you off near the back, which is a much closer walk to the WSOP area.
If you enter the Rio from the front you walk straight back through a long corridor to the back of the building. It’s a solid quarter mile walk.
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT AT THE WSOP
It’s a sight to behold if you’ve never been. The tournament room is huge, but what do you expect from a facility that must hold 200 tables? You may notice the dark area in the back with the “stars” in black background. That’s the ESPN filming area. The cash games in 2005 were played front right in the room, while satellites were in the front left. On many days, all the tables will be used for only the main tournament of the day until tables can be broken down in the afternoon. The nightly second chance tournament is played in the back left of the room. Walk into the room on any given day and there are many different games going on at once.
SIGNING UP
The main tournament registration area is outside before you reach the room. You’ll also find tournament schedules and structures piled on tables out there. Sign up for cash games at the desk near the cash game area. They use the computer system where you can see how far down the list you are. Lots of hold’em games and limits, a few Omaha games and not much stud.
For satellites, unless there is a big crowd, you can just sit around and wait for one to end and then walk up and grab a seat for the next one. When it is busy, a line forms behind a podium in the area. There are lots of $125 satellites for 2 $500 buy-in chips and $50 satellites in which two players receive $225 vouchers for the nightly second chance tournament.
TOURNAMENTS
There is one, and sometimes two, bracelet events each day. All of the $1,500 NLHE tournaments will have monster fields near 2,000 people, while the bigger buy in NLHE are somewhat smaller. Limit hold’em and Omaha and stud events have more modest fields of 500 or less. Triple-draw lowball is a pro only field, and let’s not even talk about the $50,000 HORSE tournament.
There will be a daily $540 second chance tournament at 5 p.m. and another one for $225 at 11 p.m.
Super satellites, with a $230 buy in plus rebuys, take place daily at 3 p.m. for a seat in the main event. A nightly mega satellite for $1,060 is held at 7 p.m. Leading up to the ME on July 26 and July 27, there will be two supers and two megas each day. The first main event seat you win you must play, but if you win a second seat you get $10,000 in lammers that you can use to buy into other tournaments or sell. If you need to sell lammers, stand near the registration area and offer them up. You should be able to get face value so don’t take anything less.
FREEBIES TO LOOK FOR
Find the Full Tilt Poker hospitality suite and register there. In 2005, they gave out caps, T-shirts, posters and mouse pads, as well as free drinks – both alcoholic and non. There are plenty of poker magazines floating around. Not much else will be free until the WSOP exhibition show starts around the time of the main event, and that show has all the freebies you can stand – caps, visors, shirts, spinners, magazines, autographs from pros, etc. Bluff Magazine had an interesting promotion where they would take your picture and put you on a 5 x 7 photo that looked like the cover of their magazine, proclaiming you the winner of the WSOP. Not sure if they will bring that back in 2006.
WHAT TO EAT AND DRINK
There will be a snack bar set up outside the tournament area offering overpriced sandwiches and pizza. Drinks can be found there or in the gift shop next to it. All of the restaurants in the Rio are also overpriced. Even when you buy into a tournament and get a coupon it only pays for half of the $27 buffet. Fact is, when you’re at the WSOP you’re going to pay to eat. Not sure about food in the near vicinity other than a Mexican restaurant at the Palms that has decent prices and good food.
PROBLEMS TO AVOID
There was a serious bathroom shortage in 2005 as there was only one men’s bathroom near the tournament area. Avoid this line by walking 100 yards back toward the casino to a second bathroom. I believe the Rio is planning to set up some portable toilets somewhere near the tournament area if you’re not too discriminating.
There can also be some really long lines for tournament registration if you wait around until close to the time of the event. If you have the money already, pre-register online. If you have to sign up on site, do it when the lines are short, like really early in the morning or in the afternoon.
OTHER POKER IN VEGAS
Better than ever with the opening of posh new rooms at Caesars Palace and The Venetian. Best rooms in town include those two, Wynn, Bellagio and Mirage. MGM has a pretty nice room but not a wide selection of games. Higher limits can be found at the rest. Some friends of mine watched a $400-$800 razz game at Caesars over Memorial Day weekend that included Shawn Sheikhan and Eskimo Clark.
There are more tournaments than I can possibly list. Pick up an issue of Card Player for a comprehensive listing of the plethora of daily offerings. The biggest daily tournaments are at the Bellagio, Wynn and Mirage, with buy ins from $300 to $1,000 on many days. I like playing the $100 tournaments down at Binion’s and the Plaza (especially since I won one at Binion’s last summer for $3,300 and change).
As for other major tournaments, the Bellagio will hold the Bellagio Cup tournament again this summer from July 24-Aug. 10. All events are NLHE with $1,000 buy-ins running twice a day until Aug. 7, when the $10K main event begins.
The Orleans will host the Orleans Open from July 1-16. This event will feature a variety of poker disciplines with buy-ins starting at $300.
Last year, the Palms held a summer tournament and the Plaza had the Ultimate Poker Challenge, but I don’t believe either one is having those events this year to coincide with the WSOP.
Clonie Gowen in Maxim
From Card Player: The July Maxim features Clonie Gowen on the cover and in a bikini in a WSOP preview. Here's what she had to say:
"I've been asked to do this sort of thing before," says Gowan, "but the last offer was from Playboy. And though my sister and mother were all for it, I reviewed the terms and thought it best I keep my clothes on," Gowen said. "Maxim had someone for everything. There was a hair stylist, make-up artist, wardrobe technician, dozens of assistants, and when my nerves started to get the best of me, they had a bartender on staff pouring me a cocktail."
"I've been asked to do this sort of thing before," says Gowan, "but the last offer was from Playboy. And though my sister and mother were all for it, I reviewed the terms and thought it best I keep my clothes on," Gowen said. "Maxim had someone for everything. There was a hair stylist, make-up artist, wardrobe technician, dozens of assistants, and when my nerves started to get the best of me, they had a bartender on staff pouring me a cocktail."
Monday, June 26, 2006
WSOP time...come on down
Yesterday I watched a world cup match between Portugal and the Netherlands, then I walked over to my neighbor’s house to watch his paint dry.
But back in the real world, I’m starting to get more than a little excited about Vegas. The World Series of Poker is starting as we speak. I’ve decided against driving cross country and booked my flight for July 6. The blogger get together is that weekend. I play the $1,500 on July 18 and the next week some friends are flying into town and we’re driving to L.A. for a week and hopefully a spot on The Price is Right. (More on that in a minute.)
When I return it will be time to gear up for the main event. I haven’t received confirmation of my registration so I don’t yet know which day I will play. I asked for day two since I figured more weekend warriors will be in the field in an effort to cut taking many vacation days.
For now, I look at it as a lottery ticket, albeit a $10,000 one. Playing poker may not be quite so simple as pulling six ping pong balls out of a hopper, but to make it through a two-week field of 8,000 or so takes a lot of luck, skill often be damned. I have no unrealistic expectations of how I will fare. I would be plenty happy to make the dough and to make it any deeper would be a dream. All I can do is give it my best. It was always my goal to play the main event in 2006 so any success is icing on the cake, though a nice win would be a great financial help. I tell friends that $150,000 dropped in my lap post taxes would be all I need…pay my house off, send my parents back to Italy and buy me a new car.
To explain that second part – my dad was drafted back in the Vietnam days of the mid 1960s and was training at Fort Benning, Ga., when a particularly harsh drill instructor marched his boys a bit too hard and my dad was among the casualties with a broken foot. It was quite to his benefit as instead of preparing for a trip to the hells in southeast Asia, he was instead sent to a NATO base in Naples, Italy. He lived there for two years in an apartment and my mother lived with him for a year. I can only imagine being newly married and in love in a place like that. They’ve never been back, and I’ve secretly wanted to win enough money playing poker to send them there. So far, I haven’t come close. Did I really win $9,500 last August? It seems like a dream it was so long ago.
Anyway, back to the L.A. trip. Five summers ago, my friends Brian, his wife Heather and Mahn booked our first trip to Las Vegas and we planned to drive to L.A. for a day to try to get on TPIR. It’s been Brian’s favorite game show since he was a kid and it was always his dream to become a contestant. But back in the stone age of 2001, TPIR didn’t offer the e-ticketing it does today so we had to write for our tickets. Forty-five days after writing and the day of the flight having arrived, we still had not received our tickets so the side trip was scrapped.
The tickets came in the mail the next day.
This time was can print our tickets so that won’t be an issue. I’m hoping to audition for Jeopardy! while we’re out there as well and take the daunting quiz they give you.
My former boss sent me this interesting NYTimes article about potential TPIR contestants you might enjoy: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/13/arts/television/13pric.html?ex=1151208000&en=ea1fffc626b5c89b&ei=5070
I always thought an interesting follow up book if I ever get this first one published would be to write about TV game show contestants and their efforts for big money, big prizes...
But back in the real world, I’m starting to get more than a little excited about Vegas. The World Series of Poker is starting as we speak. I’ve decided against driving cross country and booked my flight for July 6. The blogger get together is that weekend. I play the $1,500 on July 18 and the next week some friends are flying into town and we’re driving to L.A. for a week and hopefully a spot on The Price is Right. (More on that in a minute.)
When I return it will be time to gear up for the main event. I haven’t received confirmation of my registration so I don’t yet know which day I will play. I asked for day two since I figured more weekend warriors will be in the field in an effort to cut taking many vacation days.
For now, I look at it as a lottery ticket, albeit a $10,000 one. Playing poker may not be quite so simple as pulling six ping pong balls out of a hopper, but to make it through a two-week field of 8,000 or so takes a lot of luck, skill often be damned. I have no unrealistic expectations of how I will fare. I would be plenty happy to make the dough and to make it any deeper would be a dream. All I can do is give it my best. It was always my goal to play the main event in 2006 so any success is icing on the cake, though a nice win would be a great financial help. I tell friends that $150,000 dropped in my lap post taxes would be all I need…pay my house off, send my parents back to Italy and buy me a new car.
To explain that second part – my dad was drafted back in the Vietnam days of the mid 1960s and was training at Fort Benning, Ga., when a particularly harsh drill instructor marched his boys a bit too hard and my dad was among the casualties with a broken foot. It was quite to his benefit as instead of preparing for a trip to the hells in southeast Asia, he was instead sent to a NATO base in Naples, Italy. He lived there for two years in an apartment and my mother lived with him for a year. I can only imagine being newly married and in love in a place like that. They’ve never been back, and I’ve secretly wanted to win enough money playing poker to send them there. So far, I haven’t come close. Did I really win $9,500 last August? It seems like a dream it was so long ago.
Anyway, back to the L.A. trip. Five summers ago, my friends Brian, his wife Heather and Mahn booked our first trip to Las Vegas and we planned to drive to L.A. for a day to try to get on TPIR. It’s been Brian’s favorite game show since he was a kid and it was always his dream to become a contestant. But back in the stone age of 2001, TPIR didn’t offer the e-ticketing it does today so we had to write for our tickets. Forty-five days after writing and the day of the flight having arrived, we still had not received our tickets so the side trip was scrapped.
The tickets came in the mail the next day.
This time was can print our tickets so that won’t be an issue. I’m hoping to audition for Jeopardy! while we’re out there as well and take the daunting quiz they give you.
My former boss sent me this interesting NYTimes article about potential TPIR contestants you might enjoy: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/13/arts/television/13pric.html?ex=1151208000&en=ea1fffc626b5c89b&ei=5070
I always thought an interesting follow up book if I ever get this first one published would be to write about TV game show contestants and their efforts for big money, big prizes...
Thursday, June 15, 2006
A man looks back at 30
I haven't been posting much lately, reverting back to my default lazy self. I've spent the past few days up in Cullman, that little burg in north Alabama that I can always go back to...and am expected to go back to.
I turned 30 today, not quite middle aged, not quite young anymore, sort of in the Twilight Zone of ages. At the very least, it will be much harder to pick up college aged girls. Without lying.
I'm typing at my parents' computer with its glacial internet and strange noise emitting monitor, as my dad flips on the news and hollers at my brother to come and eat. I decided to get a metal detector for my birthday, for something different to do while getting away from poker and as an impoteus to exercise more.
The odd thing about the past few months, pokerwise, is that I have struggled mightily and I continue to struggle, yet as the sunshine peeked through the clouds for brief hours, I managed to win two WSOP seats valued at $11,500. That's certainly exciting, but the euphoria ends pretty quick when you continue to lose at the cash gaems. Eleven thousand in cash would sure come in handy right now, yet I don't want to go selling all of my action lest I luck up, as the clouds disappear completely for a week, and I go very deep into the main event.
I've even dipped a bit into my reserves, pulling a grand out of my Ameritrade account to tide over my checking account for now. It's not dire by any means, but I like to keep my reserves as my reserves. Then again, what's the purpose for reserves if you don't use those reserves? But after you use your reserves then you have no more reserves. Ah, the trouble with finances.
Saturday, I ride with the family down to Orlando. My mother works at ALFA and her office often wins trips each summer to various vacation points in the Southeast. This year it's Mickey land.
I'll part with this comment from my friend Brian as he wished me happy b'day today, "Thirty years old and ain't got no damn job." I cannot deny.
I turned 30 today, not quite middle aged, not quite young anymore, sort of in the Twilight Zone of ages. At the very least, it will be much harder to pick up college aged girls. Without lying.
I'm typing at my parents' computer with its glacial internet and strange noise emitting monitor, as my dad flips on the news and hollers at my brother to come and eat. I decided to get a metal detector for my birthday, for something different to do while getting away from poker and as an impoteus to exercise more.
The odd thing about the past few months, pokerwise, is that I have struggled mightily and I continue to struggle, yet as the sunshine peeked through the clouds for brief hours, I managed to win two WSOP seats valued at $11,500. That's certainly exciting, but the euphoria ends pretty quick when you continue to lose at the cash gaems. Eleven thousand in cash would sure come in handy right now, yet I don't want to go selling all of my action lest I luck up, as the clouds disappear completely for a week, and I go very deep into the main event.
I've even dipped a bit into my reserves, pulling a grand out of my Ameritrade account to tide over my checking account for now. It's not dire by any means, but I like to keep my reserves as my reserves. Then again, what's the purpose for reserves if you don't use those reserves? But after you use your reserves then you have no more reserves. Ah, the trouble with finances.
Saturday, I ride with the family down to Orlando. My mother works at ALFA and her office often wins trips each summer to various vacation points in the Southeast. This year it's Mickey land.
I'll part with this comment from my friend Brian as he wished me happy b'day today, "Thirty years old and ain't got no damn job." I cannot deny.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Ode to the WSOP
No matter how much poker has grown or will grow, no matter how saturated the television market becomes with poker programming, the World Series of Poker will continue to be the sun around which the poker universe revolves.
The WSOP, after all, is where the explosion began, from the first freezeout tournament to the colorful characeters like Doyle Brunson, Amarillo Slim and Puggy Pearson that captured the attention of the early poker fans. As history has given way to the present, the uniqueness and quaintness of those early years has metamorphised into this huge event where thousands come to try their skill and their luck. The tournament has moved from Binion's to the Rio, soon to move to Caesar's Palace. Hell, the Horseshoe isn't even the Horseshoe anymore.
Even though the tournament has tossed aside its past and is virtually unrecognizable from what was first deemed the World Series of Poker, it continues to be the one central thing that aspiring poker players dare to reach. Winning the WSOP is climbing the Mt. Everest of poker tournaments, now more so than ever. Win it and you're called the world champion, World Poker Tour be damned.
When I started this run last June and jetsetted off to Vegas, I didn't try that hard to win my way into the main event. For one thing, it's no easy task and my poor start to the trip led me to more conservative use of my bankroll. For another, all good stories deserve a good ending. Hickory High wins the Indiana state basketball championship, Luke Skywalker blows up the Death Star, Cinderella finds her prince (or rather he finds her). Winning an WSOP entry and faring well in 2005 would have been rather anticlimatic, don't you think?
Wouldn't the storybook ending be me winning the damn thing this year, as the sun sets on my one-year professional poker tour?
At least I'll get the chance to find out. I won my entry on Sunday.
It was a mere 36-player field on Poker Share, it of the fantastic overlays (which ended Sunday unfortunately), and there were two $13,000 packages up for grabs, as well as $5,000 cash for third. We made a final table deal in which three $10,000 entries would be distributed (and no cash) while fourth would get $1,000.
It was a rather comfortable tournament for me as I don't EVER remember being all in. I built my stack steadily at first and then won a key race with QQ vs. AK. I also got lucky by drawing out on a guy I was trying to bluff and then played smart, aggressive poker when the contenders began to drop from the final table. When we were four handed, I was practically tied for third in chips; by the time I called the all in that ended the tournament, I had 50K and fourth was 15K.
So now I have my lottery ticket, one that could be worth up to $10 million. Win or lose, I can't wait to savor playing on poker's biggest stage.
The WSOP, after all, is where the explosion began, from the first freezeout tournament to the colorful characeters like Doyle Brunson, Amarillo Slim and Puggy Pearson that captured the attention of the early poker fans. As history has given way to the present, the uniqueness and quaintness of those early years has metamorphised into this huge event where thousands come to try their skill and their luck. The tournament has moved from Binion's to the Rio, soon to move to Caesar's Palace. Hell, the Horseshoe isn't even the Horseshoe anymore.
Even though the tournament has tossed aside its past and is virtually unrecognizable from what was first deemed the World Series of Poker, it continues to be the one central thing that aspiring poker players dare to reach. Winning the WSOP is climbing the Mt. Everest of poker tournaments, now more so than ever. Win it and you're called the world champion, World Poker Tour be damned.
When I started this run last June and jetsetted off to Vegas, I didn't try that hard to win my way into the main event. For one thing, it's no easy task and my poor start to the trip led me to more conservative use of my bankroll. For another, all good stories deserve a good ending. Hickory High wins the Indiana state basketball championship, Luke Skywalker blows up the Death Star, Cinderella finds her prince (or rather he finds her). Winning an WSOP entry and faring well in 2005 would have been rather anticlimatic, don't you think?
Wouldn't the storybook ending be me winning the damn thing this year, as the sun sets on my one-year professional poker tour?
At least I'll get the chance to find out. I won my entry on Sunday.
It was a mere 36-player field on Poker Share, it of the fantastic overlays (which ended Sunday unfortunately), and there were two $13,000 packages up for grabs, as well as $5,000 cash for third. We made a final table deal in which three $10,000 entries would be distributed (and no cash) while fourth would get $1,000.
It was a rather comfortable tournament for me as I don't EVER remember being all in. I built my stack steadily at first and then won a key race with QQ vs. AK. I also got lucky by drawing out on a guy I was trying to bluff and then played smart, aggressive poker when the contenders began to drop from the final table. When we were four handed, I was practically tied for third in chips; by the time I called the all in that ended the tournament, I had 50K and fourth was 15K.
So now I have my lottery ticket, one that could be worth up to $10 million. Win or lose, I can't wait to savor playing on poker's biggest stage.
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