Browse by Tag - WSOP
- Sorted by
- Date
- Most popular
- Most commented
-
Bubble or Bust--Day 3
December 12, 2008$22.8K. Not much of a chip stack when the average is over $85K. But I can’t look at it that way. I have to stay positive. I have to look at it as I’m 2 double-ups from average. Today is the day where I must double up early or I’ll be blinded out. I’m going to have to be aggressive. Hopefully my table will all be wanted to just cash and I can steal some blinds. I’m up early (for Vegas). I could barely get to sleep last night. This was worse than Day 1. At least then I knew that I had some play in my stack. It’s pretty much shove or fold. I may try some stop and go’s. I’ll just have to adjust to my table, taking what I can get.
Since I moved to the Gold Coast yesterday, all my wife and I have to do is walk across the street to the Rio. There aren’t as many people in the casino as there have been on previous days. I guess some of the folks that have already busted out must have gone home or still be crashed in their rooms. OK by me. I’ve got internal pressure enough. We make our way back to the Amazon Room. I still have a few minutes before they’ll allow us to go to our tables. Finally, we’re allowed in. This is it. Time to make some money or bust trying.
Of course, I’m the short stack and I start off in the BB. Does the guy that runs this work for PokerStars?? Rags. Rags. Rags. This could be a short day.
, yes. This is what I’m talking about. Fold, fold, fold. C’mon, I need a raiser. Fold, fold, fold. OK, how about a caller? Hmmm, how should I play this? Should I limp and risk a bad flop? Should I shove and hope somebody thinks I’m just stealing? Maybe I’ll just raise 3xBB. That should weed out the rags but allow anybody with decent cards to call. Then I’ll shove on the flop. “Raise”. Fold, fold, fold. Crap. No action, but at least I’m alive for another round. I figure I have to win a hand per round while hoping for a double-up.There’s my wife standing at the rail. My table is 1 row in so she’s not right behind me but it’s nice having her here. Maybe the cards will continue to come and I can do her proud. Fold. Fold. Pocket 7’s-shove and steal the blinds. OK, that’s 2 hands this round. Fold. Fold. We’re about 200 from the money. At this point, that’d be a major accomplishment. Fold. Fold. OK, they just announced that all of the spectators needed to clear the room. 15 minutes until the 1st break of the day. Fold. Hmmm,
in the SB. Any ace is better than the average starting hand so I’ll continue with my standard 3xBB raise. BB calls. C’mon, dealer. 
. Holy crap, this is it. How to play it? How to play it? Settle down. Settle down. Breathe. Look a bit disgusted but don’t over do it. Pat the table for a check. What?? He bet?? “All-in!!” And call. 
. OK, buddy. I can’t blame you for the call but this one’s got to be mine. “Nothing stupid, dealer.” 
?!? You’ve got to be f%@!# kidding me. No f#$#@ way. “Nice hand. Good game and good luck everyone.” Sure, I’ll shake your hand. I want to knock you in the head but I’ll shake your hand instead.The walk of shame is the worst feeling in the world. That last hand took my emotions from the highest to the lowest with one turn of a card. Now I have to walk out of here knowing I’m beaten. Here’s my wife. “No honey, I’m not going on break early. Well, I guess I am. But mine’s a long break. Like for the rest of the tournament. What happened? I lost. You don’t bust out of a tourney by winning a hand. Look, just give me a minute, OK? Let’s get out of here and I’ll tell you what happened in a minute.”
I found out later that the hand got a write up on CardPlayer.com who was covering the WSOP that year. Doesn’t take away the sting. Looking back there are several hands I would have played differently. Not this last one. But I would have never been blinded down so low on Day 2. Just having some chips could have changed the whole game.
This has been 2 years ago now. Amazing how many things have changed in that short time. The UIGEA was passed and most of the online sites that I liked no longer allow US players. I haven’t really even come close to winning a WSOP seat since then. I’ve tried though. Man I’ve tried. It’s like a drug. Once you play, you know why this is the tourney that everyone wants to win. I can’t get it out of my system. I’ve played some WSOP circuit events with limited success. One year, I’ll make it back. Maybe next year will be the year.
-
The Tension Builds--Day 1A
October 10, 2008I don’t have to play today (thank God after last night) but I figure I’ll go over to the Rio and check out the action on opening day. I also need to go to the 888.com suite and pick up my 888.com gear and apparel. I also want to check out the Lifestyles Expo. So after a quick shower, I take a shuttle over to the Gold Coast and walk over to the Rio.
While the casino is not as “busy” as it was last night. It’s clear that there’s a poker tournament going on. Good Lord at all the poker site apparel. You name the site and I bet that I’ve seen somebody wearing their shirt or hat or both. There’s a tension in the air already and there’s still an hour to go before the Main Event starts. I figure I’ll go ahead and stop by the 888.com suite and pick up everything before then so let’s find the right elevators.
Here’s the room. “Good morning, everyone”. These are the same people from last night and most are looking worse for wear. “I need a XXL”. 4 shirts, a hat, and a bag later and I’ve got everything. 1 golf shirt, 1 dress shirt, 1 turtle neck, and 1 soccer jersey. These are real nice but there ain’t no way you’re going to see this fat man in a shiny blue soccer jersey. It just ain’t going to happen.
All of a sudden there’s a call from downstairs. Apparently, a decision was made that no gambling site apparel can be worn during the Main Event. This does not affect the “.net” gear since those are the free-play sites. Only the “.com” sites are affected. You’d think that there was a fire with all of the running around. OK, they seem to have come to a compromise. The apparel can be worn as long as the “.com” is not visible. If you tape over .com, you can wear the 888 gear. Now how retarded is that? How many people will see 888 + black tape and not know that it’s really 888.com? OK, whatever. The stock in 3M tape just went up 5 points. With that crisis averted, I think I’ll get out of everybody’s way and head down to the Lifestyles Expo.
The Lifestyles Expo is a poker shopper’s heaven. Almost every online site has a booth. Plus any poker supply, gear, or apparel that you can think of is represented. There are booths selling card protectors, sun glasses, shirts, tables, and just about anything else poker related that you can think of. I might as well go ahead and get the WSOP souvenirs that I want while I’m here.
OK, I’ve walked around and seen everything that I wanted to see before playing. The Amazon Room is huge. It seems much bigger than it looks like on TV. I’ve been outside and seen where the lavatories and the food tent is located so I won’t wander around during breaks. There’s also a Milwaukee’s Best Light tent where you can lounge a little bit and relax if need be.
Now, let me go ahead and address this. I’m glad that I’m 40 and happily married. Because if I wasn’t, there is nothing but distractions running around here. I’ll say it simply. I don’t think that they could make shorts any smaller, shirts any tighter, or girls (to me) any better looking than what they have parading nonstop around here. The Milwaukee’s Best Light girls and the Absolute Poker girls would be especially distracting. If these girls wore any less clothes, they’d be naked. I heard later that these companies had hired all of the girls from all of the strip clubs in Vegas to come over here and wear their apparel. I don’t know but I’d believe it.
Shuffle up and deal!! The cards are in the air for Day 1A. There’s still a lot of tension in the air. Watching other people play doesn’t interest me so I guess I’ll head back over to the Orleans and start getting ready for Day 1C. But that’s another post……..
(Blog from 2006 WSOP ME)
-
Improving MY Game for the WSOP
September 17, 2008(Blog from the 2006 WSOP Main Event)
OK, I’ve got my seat. I’ve got my plane reservations. I’ve got my motel room. I’ll cab it from the airport to the hotel. I don’t expect to do a lot of traveling around Vegas so there’s no need for the added expense of a rental car. All preparations have been made so now I need to worry about the main preparation…..my game.
I live in Georgia so live play is limited to home games. I just can’t see gaining a lot but I’ll ask the guys that I play with to help me with any tells that I may have. I’m pretty quiet and calm at the tables. I’ve patiently played for hours when I was card dead just to finish the night around even. I can’t really book these as winning sessions but I do leave them feeling that most other players would have become frustrated (which I did) and lost by playing the trash hands that I was dealt (which I didn’t). I don’t really need cash game experience. I need more live tournament experience. I’ve got 2 options for this: Biloxi and Tunica, Mississippi. Biloxi is 2 hours closer but I haven’t played there for a long time so Tunica it is.
I’ve come to Tunica to work on my live tournament skill so I scheduled the trip from Thursday-Sunday. There is a daily tournament at noon at Sam’s Town, an evening tournament at the Grand, and a midnight tournament at the Gold Strike. I’ll see how many of these I can fit into my schedule.
Thursday—I got a late start leaving out this morning so it was actually around noon when I left. It’s a 6.5 hour drive to Tunica so I got to Tunica around 5:30 (different time zone). Once I get checked in, get up to my room, grab some supper, and get my head right after the long drive, it’s around 7:30. I’m too late for the evening tournament so maybe I’ll play the midnight tournament. I played some cash game at Sam’ Town and made around $100 but it should have been much more. Damn, I’m tired. Forget the midnight tournament. I’m headed to bed.
Friday-Sunday—I played in a total of 4 tournaments and put in around 15 hours in cash game play. In the money in 2 of 4 with one final table. Went out in 4th in that one. Overall, I’m up $300 for the trip and I learned a few lessons to take with me to Vegas.
LESSON 1- Get plenty of rest so I can play my top game.
LESSON 2- Don’t take maniacal play personally even if they’re an ass. They will draw out on you.
LESSON 3- If you won’t chop with the locals, you will become a target (shouldn’t apply to the Main Event but may if I play other daily tournaments on days off).
LESSON 4- Absolutely wait until action is on you before you even look at your cards. I got this from someone else that telegraphed their moves EVERY hand. They would hold their cards if they were folding or cap them and start counting chips if they were calling or raising.
LESSON 5- Don’t take maniacal play personally even if they’re an ass. They will draw out on you. I know this is the same as lesson 2 but the guy REALLY was an ass.Sunday afternoon- I guess it’s time to drive back to Georgia. Not as much tourney play under my belt as I would have liked but there’s no way to improve 10 fold in the next month. Time to just settle down and take my game to Vegas.
-
Blogging a Main Event
September 03, 2008I've been a PokerNewser for a while now and freeroll tournaments have come and gone. Great opportunities have been won to play in several different tournaments. Whenever a player has won one of these, I've asked that they blog about their experiences. I have yet to read one even though almost every winner has said that they would keep us posted. So, I decided to go back and record my experience in the 2006 WSOP Main Event. I'll do this as if I was blogging as I went along (Something that I wish I had done). I'll take it from beginning to end. When I'm done, I hope that it can serve as an example of what a good blog might look like.
Any comments or questions would be appreciated.
-
Can Anything Cure This Itch?
June 04, 2008I've been following all of the great PokerNews Live Reporting of all of the WSOP events so far and damn, it's given me the itch to go. So far, PokerNews has told me where to eat, party, and play while I'm in Vegas. The only problem is I haven't won a seat yet. It's always the details that bite you.
OK. So I look at it as having 5 more chances to get a seat:
1. The Bodog 5 Seat Guaranteed. Only 5 seats but it should be a relatively small field.
2. The WSOP Freeroll on PoolStars. But I'd have to get VERY lucky.
3. PokerNews Freeroll on Duplicate. Not really poker but WTF.
4. The Chris Moneymaker tourney on PokerStars. I won't buy in but may try to satellite.
5. The 200 Seat Guaranteed on PokerStars. $370 and it should be a HUGE field.Oh yeah, I forgot about lottery tickets. Better chance of winning on PoolStars.
I've got to find a way to get a seat or this will be one sad summer.
-
2008 WSOP
May 06, 2008I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. I guess when you reach a certain age, you qualify to be reflective of things in your life. One thing that seems to consume a lot of my time (and I'm glad that it does) is poker. I play online 40+ hours per week. I play in a live home game once/week. I moderate the forum here on PokerNews. I read as much strategy and other poker books and articles as possible. Simply, poker is a large part of my life right now.
I qualified for the 2006 WSOP on Pacific. Now with the UIGEA, that's not an option. So I play the US friendly sites. I'm working on various ways to get my 2008 seat. I'm qualified on PoolStars for their WSOP final. I'm qualified on Bodog for their final. I'm working on Stars to do the same.
It was almost unbearable to sit at home last year and track the tournament here on PokerNews Live Reporting. The coverage was great but I WASN'T THERE.
Time to get a seat.
-
WSOP Circuit Event--Tunica
August 29, 2007I finally made up my mind. I was either going to play in a few minor events at the WSOP Circuit Event in Tunica or at the WPT Event in Biloxi. Well, I'm Tunica bound as soon as I get home from work tomorrow. That way I can play in a tourney Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I'll report the results in later posts. Wish me luck.
