Yes, it has been quite a while since I posted here. My poker activity has been sporadic since the WSOP, so there hasn't been much to talk about. Let's see what my memory banks can produce from the last few months.
As with so many other poker players, my playing has been reduced quite a bit since the Black Friday shutdown of the big online sites. I played in a few play-money tournaments on PokerStars with some other bloggers, but dropped out of that group when the host insulted me during one of the games. I didn't see any point in sticking around for that. I still have a few dollars on Bodog and play there for small change once in a while, but not much. I tried a free month on ClubWPT.com by mailing in a postcard, but the game offerings were sparse and I didn't care for the interface much., so I didn't send in any more cards to keep it going.
I played in a tourney at Riverwind in Norman OK when we moved our son up there in August. Didn't get very deep in that one. I did better when my wife and I went on another cruise to Alaska in September. I played in a one-table tourney in the ship's casino and chopped first place. I also helped organize a freeroll tourney for the Cruise Trek group that we sailed with, as I did on a previous cruise in 2006. I finished second in the freeroll, which won me a voucher for credit toward a future cruise. So that trip turned me a poker profit.
I play semi-regularly in a local bar league, and have finished in the points a couple of times recently. But I know that my game is rusty and I need to be more focused and brush up on my skills. That need is magnified because I will be playing some "serious" poker in four weeks.
That's right, I will once again be attending the WPBT Winter Classic in Las Vegas. I almost ended up not going this year, but decided that I do not want to miss out on the fun. My wife will be along for the trip again, and we will be doing some non-pokery stuff when I'm not playing. We will be staying at the Imperial Palace, arriving late Wednesday and leaving early Sunday. I'm looking forward to seeing lots of the poker blogger crowd the first weekend in December
On a non-poker note, I am thrilled that the Texas Rangers made it to the World Series for the second consecutive year, but (naturally) disappointed that they weren't able to get that last strike (twice!) to seal the deal. They had a great season and I expect them to continue to play great baseball for years to come.
See you in less than a month in Las Vegas!
Saturday, November 05, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
2011 World Series of Poker report - Doyle Brunson liked my shirt
I never said that I was prompt about posting trip reports. Better late than never, though, right?
My first ever World Series of Poker experience was, overall, fairly positive. I played in the Seniors Championship event, and although I didn't get very far in the tournament, I don't feel like I made any real boneheaded decisions that cost me a chance to go deep. I played a fair amount of poker outside the WSOP, and did some other touristy stuff; more about that shortly.
My adventure started when I flew into Las Vegas the morning of Thursday June 16, the day before the start of the Seniors event. I picked up my rental car and drove across town so I could register for said event. I'm glad I got there early in the day, because I only had to wait in the registration line at the Rio for about 15 minutes. By the time I finished, the line had grown out of the room and just got longer as the day wore on. I then wandered around the convention area of the Rio, where the WSOP events were being held, so I could figure our where everything was. I had never seen so many poker tables, or poker players, in the same place at once. I knew there would be a big field for the Seniors tournament, as well as hundreds of players for the other events. It didn't take long before I saw my first recognizable poker pro, Bertrand "ElkY" Grosspellier, walking through the Pavilion. Soon I was spotting pros every other minute, and I gave up trying to keep track of them all, so you won't see a list of them here.
Eventually I caught up with one of my blogger pals, AlCan'tHang, and chatted with him for a few minutes. Later I would meet up with Dr. Pauly, Special K, F-Train, CKBwoP, and other friends and acquaintances. I didn't do much more than soak up the atmosphere around the WSOP area at the Rio that afternoon.
After a brief trip downtown, I ended up at the Palms to play in the Pokerati mixed NLHE/PLO game Thursday evening. I wasn't playing very much, just treading water, until an interesting hand came up. In middle position, I called a straddle bet of $5 with T9 of clubs. The button, pro Matt Stout who was sitting in for some fun and games, raised to $15. I called the raise to see what might develop, and we were heads up. The flop was TKT, giving me trips. I bet $15, and Matt called. The turn was a 9, filling me up. I thought about checking but decided to see if Matt would call me again like he did on the previous street. I bet $25, which he called fairly quickly. The river was an Ace. I announced all-in, which Matt snap-called. I showed my boat; he turned over QJ for the straight. After that nice pot, I played for a short while longer and decided to call it a night, having been up since about 4:15 AM Dallas time.
The next morning, I attended an interview session with Phil Gordon and Doyle Brunson which was sponsored by BadBeatonCancer.org, which had a booth at the WSOP asking players to donate 1% of their winnings to cancer research. Phil interviewed Doyle about his life in the poker world and about Doyle's own survival of cancer. After the interview, Doyle took questions from the audience. I got in line and asked Doyle how he liked playing in the cash game shows made for TV like The Big Game and High Stakes Poker. He said he loves playing in those games and isn't bothered by the televised nature of them. You may be wondering, where did the title of this post come from? Well, I wore my red Texas Rangers T-shirt that day, with "TEXAS" in big letters on the front. As he finished answering my question, Doyle, a Texas native himself, said, "I like your shirt, by the way."
The Seniors tourney started at 12:00 noon, or actually several minutes later, after the introduction by Oklahoma Johnny Hale and general ceremonial stuff. I had no pros or celebrities at my starting table, but those who were there were nice enough people. A couple of people got annoyed by this or that, but by and large things were pretty friendly. I played tight to start, as did everyone else. I took a few small pots, mostly playing position, but didn't build my chip stack. I made it to the first break with a few more chips than the 3,000 that everyone started with. I knew I was going to need to step things up a bit when we got back, but the cards weren't coming and my opponents had pretty much the same idea as I did, so I found it hard to play back at anyone. As my stack started to shrink, I was looking for a chance to double up while doing so would still gain me a decent stack. I found it when I got AK in late position and reraised all-in the UTG player's 3XBB opening raise. He called, showed QQ, and busted me when the A on the flop had a Q right next to it. I suppose I could have folded preflop, but really, how could I do that? And if I had just called, the chips would have ended up in the middle when the A hit the flop. I don't regret that move, or really anything else I did in the tournament. It just wasn't meant to be, for me, and I'm fine with that.
After I busted, I tracked down Special K, who busted ahead of me on a bad beat. He suggested that we play some cash at Caesars Palace, to check on that action and to get more information about a Super Seniors tourney they were hosting the next day (which turned out to be too pricey for us). We hopped the shuttle bus from the Gold Coast, where we were both staying, to the Strip and walked over to CP. We ended up seated at separate tables, and I think I got the luckier draw. On my immediate left was a gent who was in nearly every hand, making weird bets, calling down with very weak hands, and more or less giving his chips away. I managed to get some of them myself and doubled my buy-in before fatigue got the best of me. I would have loved to stay longer and try to get some more of his donations, but I really felt the need to crash, and to catch the shuttle back to the Gold Coast before it stopped running.
Saturday, I went back to the Rio, thinking about entering the daily $230 deepstack WSOP side tourney. I played some cash at the Rio's regular poker room early in the day, losing a little of my profit from the previous days. By the time I went to check on the deepstack tourney, it was full. I decided to take a break and see what shows were on that might be fun. I had seen an ad for "Recycled Percussion" at the Tropicana, which sounded a lot like Stomp! where the performers bang on all manner of household objects as percussion instruments. That sounded good, so I went to a discount ticket booth on the Strip and bought a ticket for that night's performance. I got a text from Special K, who wanted to play some poker at the MGM Grand. I told him I would meet him after the show.
"Recycled Percussion" was fabulous. A high-energy show with lots of audience participation: everyone coming into the theater was given a drumstick and asked to grab an item out of one of four bins of pots, pans, buckets, and other stuff to hit. It was almost certainly the loudest Vegas show I have ever attended. Go see it if you get the chance.
My session at the MGM Grand was not so fabulous. Just a few minutes after I sat down, I got involved in two big hands. In the first, I started with AA, raised and got one caller. Flop was J rag rag. I bet about half the pot and got called. Turn is another J. I bet half pot again and got smooth called. Figuring that my opponent called me with top pair on the flop and just turned trips, I checked the rag that fell on the river. Opponent bet, I thought for a few minutes and folded. A few hands later, I got AKo in the cutoff. I raised to $12 and got reraised by the button to $25, which I called. Heads up, the flop was KQx. I bet $25 with top pair; button raised all in and had me covered. If I had thought this through, I would have figured out that the three most likely hands where he would push like that, AA, KK and QQ, all had me crushed. My best hope was that he had AQ (I'm ahead) or AK (we probably chop). But, I didn't think it through, called him, and he showed AA. I didn't suck out, and decided to call it a night.
Sunday morning, I walked over to the Rio to sign up for their 10:00 AM daily (non-WSOP) tourney. Only $60+5 to enter. The structure was pretty fast but that didn't bother me for such a small buy-in. I got aggressive early, caught some hands and built my stack and put some pressure on the table. We only ended up with 24 entrants because of a shortage of dealers. After making it to the final table, the cards cooled off for me. I hung in and was the beneficiary of a four-way all-in that busted all three players who were shorter stacked than the winner of the hand. That took us down to four, with three places being paid. We all agreed on a save for the bubble of $20 each so the bubble would get (most of) the buy-in back. I was one of the shorter stacks but another player busted ahead of me, so I made the money. My short stack would not last long, though, and I finished in third place. That payout made up for the buy-in that I lost at the MGM Grand the night before.
I decided to take another tourist break and drive out to Red Rock Canyon Sunday afternoon. It was hot and dry out there, but the scenery was great and I was glad to get out and stretch my legs. I also picked up some nice souvenirs for my wife and son in their gift shop. Much better than the tacky crap in all the casino gift shops. On my way out of the park, I got a text from lightning36, who had just arrived in town for his WSOP trip. We met at the Harrah's buffet for dinner and had a great time catching up.
The trip turned out to be a lot of fun, and I'm glad I went. Not counting the Seniors event buy-in, I came home with more poker money than I started with, and that is always a nice feeling. Will I play in the WSOP again next year? A lot can happen between now and then, so I will make no commitments nor predictions now. What I will say is, I won't rule it out.
My first ever World Series of Poker experience was, overall, fairly positive. I played in the Seniors Championship event, and although I didn't get very far in the tournament, I don't feel like I made any real boneheaded decisions that cost me a chance to go deep. I played a fair amount of poker outside the WSOP, and did some other touristy stuff; more about that shortly.
My adventure started when I flew into Las Vegas the morning of Thursday June 16, the day before the start of the Seniors event. I picked up my rental car and drove across town so I could register for said event. I'm glad I got there early in the day, because I only had to wait in the registration line at the Rio for about 15 minutes. By the time I finished, the line had grown out of the room and just got longer as the day wore on. I then wandered around the convention area of the Rio, where the WSOP events were being held, so I could figure our where everything was. I had never seen so many poker tables, or poker players, in the same place at once. I knew there would be a big field for the Seniors tournament, as well as hundreds of players for the other events. It didn't take long before I saw my first recognizable poker pro, Bertrand "ElkY" Grosspellier, walking through the Pavilion. Soon I was spotting pros every other minute, and I gave up trying to keep track of them all, so you won't see a list of them here.
Eventually I caught up with one of my blogger pals, AlCan'tHang, and chatted with him for a few minutes. Later I would meet up with Dr. Pauly, Special K, F-Train, CKBwoP, and other friends and acquaintances. I didn't do much more than soak up the atmosphere around the WSOP area at the Rio that afternoon.
After a brief trip downtown, I ended up at the Palms to play in the Pokerati mixed NLHE/PLO game Thursday evening. I wasn't playing very much, just treading water, until an interesting hand came up. In middle position, I called a straddle bet of $5 with T9 of clubs. The button, pro Matt Stout who was sitting in for some fun and games, raised to $15. I called the raise to see what might develop, and we were heads up. The flop was TKT, giving me trips. I bet $15, and Matt called. The turn was a 9, filling me up. I thought about checking but decided to see if Matt would call me again like he did on the previous street. I bet $25, which he called fairly quickly. The river was an Ace. I announced all-in, which Matt snap-called. I showed my boat; he turned over QJ for the straight. After that nice pot, I played for a short while longer and decided to call it a night, having been up since about 4:15 AM Dallas time.
The next morning, I attended an interview session with Phil Gordon and Doyle Brunson which was sponsored by BadBeatonCancer.org, which had a booth at the WSOP asking players to donate 1% of their winnings to cancer research. Phil interviewed Doyle about his life in the poker world and about Doyle's own survival of cancer. After the interview, Doyle took questions from the audience. I got in line and asked Doyle how he liked playing in the cash game shows made for TV like The Big Game and High Stakes Poker. He said he loves playing in those games and isn't bothered by the televised nature of them. You may be wondering, where did the title of this post come from? Well, I wore my red Texas Rangers T-shirt that day, with "TEXAS" in big letters on the front. As he finished answering my question, Doyle, a Texas native himself, said, "I like your shirt, by the way."
The Seniors tourney started at 12:00 noon, or actually several minutes later, after the introduction by Oklahoma Johnny Hale and general ceremonial stuff. I had no pros or celebrities at my starting table, but those who were there were nice enough people. A couple of people got annoyed by this or that, but by and large things were pretty friendly. I played tight to start, as did everyone else. I took a few small pots, mostly playing position, but didn't build my chip stack. I made it to the first break with a few more chips than the 3,000 that everyone started with. I knew I was going to need to step things up a bit when we got back, but the cards weren't coming and my opponents had pretty much the same idea as I did, so I found it hard to play back at anyone. As my stack started to shrink, I was looking for a chance to double up while doing so would still gain me a decent stack. I found it when I got AK in late position and reraised all-in the UTG player's 3XBB opening raise. He called, showed QQ, and busted me when the A on the flop had a Q right next to it. I suppose I could have folded preflop, but really, how could I do that? And if I had just called, the chips would have ended up in the middle when the A hit the flop. I don't regret that move, or really anything else I did in the tournament. It just wasn't meant to be, for me, and I'm fine with that.
After I busted, I tracked down Special K, who busted ahead of me on a bad beat. He suggested that we play some cash at Caesars Palace, to check on that action and to get more information about a Super Seniors tourney they were hosting the next day (which turned out to be too pricey for us). We hopped the shuttle bus from the Gold Coast, where we were both staying, to the Strip and walked over to CP. We ended up seated at separate tables, and I think I got the luckier draw. On my immediate left was a gent who was in nearly every hand, making weird bets, calling down with very weak hands, and more or less giving his chips away. I managed to get some of them myself and doubled my buy-in before fatigue got the best of me. I would have loved to stay longer and try to get some more of his donations, but I really felt the need to crash, and to catch the shuttle back to the Gold Coast before it stopped running.
Saturday, I went back to the Rio, thinking about entering the daily $230 deepstack WSOP side tourney. I played some cash at the Rio's regular poker room early in the day, losing a little of my profit from the previous days. By the time I went to check on the deepstack tourney, it was full. I decided to take a break and see what shows were on that might be fun. I had seen an ad for "Recycled Percussion" at the Tropicana, which sounded a lot like Stomp! where the performers bang on all manner of household objects as percussion instruments. That sounded good, so I went to a discount ticket booth on the Strip and bought a ticket for that night's performance. I got a text from Special K, who wanted to play some poker at the MGM Grand. I told him I would meet him after the show.
"Recycled Percussion" was fabulous. A high-energy show with lots of audience participation: everyone coming into the theater was given a drumstick and asked to grab an item out of one of four bins of pots, pans, buckets, and other stuff to hit. It was almost certainly the loudest Vegas show I have ever attended. Go see it if you get the chance.
My session at the MGM Grand was not so fabulous. Just a few minutes after I sat down, I got involved in two big hands. In the first, I started with AA, raised and got one caller. Flop was J rag rag. I bet about half the pot and got called. Turn is another J. I bet half pot again and got smooth called. Figuring that my opponent called me with top pair on the flop and just turned trips, I checked the rag that fell on the river. Opponent bet, I thought for a few minutes and folded. A few hands later, I got AKo in the cutoff. I raised to $12 and got reraised by the button to $25, which I called. Heads up, the flop was KQx. I bet $25 with top pair; button raised all in and had me covered. If I had thought this through, I would have figured out that the three most likely hands where he would push like that, AA, KK and QQ, all had me crushed. My best hope was that he had AQ (I'm ahead) or AK (we probably chop). But, I didn't think it through, called him, and he showed AA. I didn't suck out, and decided to call it a night.
Sunday morning, I walked over to the Rio to sign up for their 10:00 AM daily (non-WSOP) tourney. Only $60+5 to enter. The structure was pretty fast but that didn't bother me for such a small buy-in. I got aggressive early, caught some hands and built my stack and put some pressure on the table. We only ended up with 24 entrants because of a shortage of dealers. After making it to the final table, the cards cooled off for me. I hung in and was the beneficiary of a four-way all-in that busted all three players who were shorter stacked than the winner of the hand. That took us down to four, with three places being paid. We all agreed on a save for the bubble of $20 each so the bubble would get (most of) the buy-in back. I was one of the shorter stacks but another player busted ahead of me, so I made the money. My short stack would not last long, though, and I finished in third place. That payout made up for the buy-in that I lost at the MGM Grand the night before.
I decided to take another tourist break and drive out to Red Rock Canyon Sunday afternoon. It was hot and dry out there, but the scenery was great and I was glad to get out and stretch my legs. I also picked up some nice souvenirs for my wife and son in their gift shop. Much better than the tacky crap in all the casino gift shops. On my way out of the park, I got a text from lightning36, who had just arrived in town for his WSOP trip. We met at the Harrah's buffet for dinner and had a great time catching up.
The trip turned out to be a lot of fun, and I'm glad I went. Not counting the Seniors event buy-in, I came home with more poker money than I started with, and that is always a nice feeling. Will I play in the WSOP again next year? A lot can happen between now and then, so I will make no commitments nor predictions now. What I will say is, I won't rule it out.
Thursday, June 02, 2011
The WSOP competition just got easier - for now
By now you have probably heard that Phil Ivey has declared that he will not be playing in the World Series of Poker this year, and is suing Tiltware, which I believe is the software arm of FullTilt where he has been an icon for several years. The full statement, which was posted May 30, can be found here. While his absence from the WSOP is not likely to benefit me, since my only event will be the Seniors tourney, I suppose there are others who are glad that they won't have to worry about facing him across the table.
His statement, though, brings up a whole host of questions. Some of these points have been discussed all over the web and undoubtedly there will be much more analysis and speculation about what it all means. Here are a few thoughts that have crossed my mind.
One sentence of the statement says, "I am not playing in the World Series of Poker as I do not believe it is fair that I compete when others cannot." This appears to imply that Ivey is sympathetic to the players whose funds are stuck on FullTilt and who cannot cash out the money they intended to use to buy into various WSOP events. This doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. One would think that a top-notch player like Ivey would be happy to have less competition and smaller fields to contend with. How many players will be shut out of the WSOP because of their unavailable funds is unknown (to me, anyway) and may never be known precisely, so maybe it isn't a big number. But how a boycott of the WSOP by Ivey will benefit the stuck players is beyond me. Maybe he is trying to pressure the FullTilt honchos to step on the gas in their efforts to pay out to US players, and if they miraculously succeed, he will rescind his boycott and play in events later in the Series (with FullTilt patch in place). Plus, if his action appears to have had some success in getting players their money, he will gain a lot more positive press and fan appreciation. It still seems to me, though, that the losers in this boycott are Caesars and the WSOP organization, who stand to lose some players who will join the boycott or decide not to show up if they think won't get a chance to interact with Ivey in or around the Series.
The last sentence of the statement says, at the end, "I will, as I have for the last six weeks, dedicate the entirety of my time and efforts to finding a solution for those who have been wronged by the painfully slow process of repayment." My question is, what can Phil Ivey do to "find a solution" to this issue? If he was part of the FullTilt group in charge of handling the player funds, which I seriously doubt, what can he do that he hasn't done already? If he is not part of that group, which I expect is the case, what influence can he have or what can he do about the payouts to the US (and other) players? Does he have enough money in his bank accounts to pay the players what they are owed? If he does, why would he do that? I just haven't figured out why he would say this except as a way to say to the players, "I'm on your side."
I have read a response to Ivey's statement from Tiltware (Pauly quotes it on his site here) which is very unflattering to Ivey and calls his motives into question. It will be interesting to see how all of this shakes out over the next few weeks. Will Ivey and Tiltware kiss and make up? Will a lot of dirty laundry see the light of day? Will FullTilt US members ever see their money? We are in for some entertaining and potentially enlightening exchanges in the near future, methinks.
Meanwhile, two weeks from today I will arrive in Las Vegas to prepare for WSOP Event # 30, the Seniors Texas Hold'Em Championship (No-Limit) which begins at 12:00 noon June 17. I've been doing a lot of reading of my poker books and playing when I have had a chance in the local bar league tournaments. As I type this, I am playing on line in a tournament on the new RISE Poker site, a freeroll with a $1,000 prize pool. My game plan for the WSOP tourney is to play my usual tight-aggressive game and avoid marginal situations to the best of my ability. I fully expect to be outclassed by most of the competition in this tournament, and will be praying for the poker gods and the Card Fairy to smile on me during my participation. I will be sending updates from my plain old dumb cell phone to Twitter, so look for me there as @yestbay if you want to find out how I am doing.
His statement, though, brings up a whole host of questions. Some of these points have been discussed all over the web and undoubtedly there will be much more analysis and speculation about what it all means. Here are a few thoughts that have crossed my mind.
One sentence of the statement says, "I am not playing in the World Series of Poker as I do not believe it is fair that I compete when others cannot." This appears to imply that Ivey is sympathetic to the players whose funds are stuck on FullTilt and who cannot cash out the money they intended to use to buy into various WSOP events. This doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. One would think that a top-notch player like Ivey would be happy to have less competition and smaller fields to contend with. How many players will be shut out of the WSOP because of their unavailable funds is unknown (to me, anyway) and may never be known precisely, so maybe it isn't a big number. But how a boycott of the WSOP by Ivey will benefit the stuck players is beyond me. Maybe he is trying to pressure the FullTilt honchos to step on the gas in their efforts to pay out to US players, and if they miraculously succeed, he will rescind his boycott and play in events later in the Series (with FullTilt patch in place). Plus, if his action appears to have had some success in getting players their money, he will gain a lot more positive press and fan appreciation. It still seems to me, though, that the losers in this boycott are Caesars and the WSOP organization, who stand to lose some players who will join the boycott or decide not to show up if they think won't get a chance to interact with Ivey in or around the Series.
The last sentence of the statement says, at the end, "I will, as I have for the last six weeks, dedicate the entirety of my time and efforts to finding a solution for those who have been wronged by the painfully slow process of repayment." My question is, what can Phil Ivey do to "find a solution" to this issue? If he was part of the FullTilt group in charge of handling the player funds, which I seriously doubt, what can he do that he hasn't done already? If he is not part of that group, which I expect is the case, what influence can he have or what can he do about the payouts to the US (and other) players? Does he have enough money in his bank accounts to pay the players what they are owed? If he does, why would he do that? I just haven't figured out why he would say this except as a way to say to the players, "I'm on your side."
I have read a response to Ivey's statement from Tiltware (Pauly quotes it on his site here) which is very unflattering to Ivey and calls his motives into question. It will be interesting to see how all of this shakes out over the next few weeks. Will Ivey and Tiltware kiss and make up? Will a lot of dirty laundry see the light of day? Will FullTilt US members ever see their money? We are in for some entertaining and potentially enlightening exchanges in the near future, methinks.
Meanwhile, two weeks from today I will arrive in Las Vegas to prepare for WSOP Event # 30, the Seniors Texas Hold'Em Championship (No-Limit) which begins at 12:00 noon June 17. I've been doing a lot of reading of my poker books and playing when I have had a chance in the local bar league tournaments. As I type this, I am playing on line in a tournament on the new RISE Poker site, a freeroll with a $1,000 prize pool. My game plan for the WSOP tourney is to play my usual tight-aggressive game and avoid marginal situations to the best of my ability. I fully expect to be outclassed by most of the competition in this tournament, and will be praying for the poker gods and the Card Fairy to smile on me during my participation. I will be sending updates from my plain old dumb cell phone to Twitter, so look for me there as @yestbay if you want to find out how I am doing.
Sunday, May 01, 2011
Cashed out of PokerStars, and booked for WSOP
The good news: PokerStars has opened up their cashier and is processing cashouts for us US players that can't play with our real money on their site any more. I requested my money, and it was deposited in my bank account within a few days. I guess the next time I want to play for actual dollars on PokerStars, it will be when such play has been legalized and making a deposit is no big deal.
The disappointing news: FullTilt has not yet started offering their (former) US players the ability to cash out. I received an e-mail Friday from them saying that they will have a further update this coming week. Why it should take FT so much longer to come up with a means to send US players their money than it took PokerStars, I have no idea. For the sake of all of us who have funds stuck there, especially those who have large amounts coming to them, I hope it isn't too drawn out a process.
Other good news, for me anyway: I have booked my trip to Las Vegas for the 2011 World Series of Poker Seniors event. I arrive Thursday June 16 and fly home Monday the 20th. I will be staying at the Gold Coast, so I will be able to walk to the Rio for the WSOP event, and be just a shuttle ride or car drive away from the Strip if I bust out early and want to hit the town. I saw in a recent comment that Special K is planning to be there for the same event; it will be nice to have a fellow blogger there to meet up with and cheer on, at least until we both get to the final table. Anyone else who will be in Las Vegas during that time, leave me a comment or e-mail me at david dot westbay at verizon dot net if you want to get together.
I have read a couple of interesting articles on line recently which I recommend you check out:
A legal analysis regarding the "Black Friday" indictments, titled US Attorney's Office on Tilt
One about why outlawing online poker is a dumb idea, one titled Can Poker Save the World?
And one on a similar theme from the L.A. Times titled Federal crackdown on Internet poker looks like a relic from the past
I found all three articles through my friend Linda Geenen from PokerWorks.
Anyhow, I'll be playing in as many free bar league tourneys as I can manage between now and the WSOP trip, to get in whatever practice I can. If I can get up to Oklahoma to play some real poker over the next few weeks, I might try to do that too.
Meanwhile, I have signed up for Heffmike's PokerStars play money Home Game club and plan to play in his inaugural tourney tonight. Go to his blog for details on joining the club.
The disappointing news: FullTilt has not yet started offering their (former) US players the ability to cash out. I received an e-mail Friday from them saying that they will have a further update this coming week. Why it should take FT so much longer to come up with a means to send US players their money than it took PokerStars, I have no idea. For the sake of all of us who have funds stuck there, especially those who have large amounts coming to them, I hope it isn't too drawn out a process.
Other good news, for me anyway: I have booked my trip to Las Vegas for the 2011 World Series of Poker Seniors event. I arrive Thursday June 16 and fly home Monday the 20th. I will be staying at the Gold Coast, so I will be able to walk to the Rio for the WSOP event, and be just a shuttle ride or car drive away from the Strip if I bust out early and want to hit the town. I saw in a recent comment that Special K is planning to be there for the same event; it will be nice to have a fellow blogger there to meet up with and cheer on, at least until we both get to the final table. Anyone else who will be in Las Vegas during that time, leave me a comment or e-mail me at david dot westbay at verizon dot net if you want to get together.
I have read a couple of interesting articles on line recently which I recommend you check out:
A legal analysis regarding the "Black Friday" indictments, titled US Attorney's Office on Tilt
One about why outlawing online poker is a dumb idea, one titled Can Poker Save the World?
And one on a similar theme from the L.A. Times titled Federal crackdown on Internet poker looks like a relic from the past
I found all three articles through my friend Linda Geenen from PokerWorks.
Anyhow, I'll be playing in as many free bar league tourneys as I can manage between now and the WSOP trip, to get in whatever practice I can. If I can get up to Oklahoma to play some real poker over the next few weeks, I might try to do that too.
Meanwhile, I have signed up for Heffmike's PokerStars play money Home Game club and plan to play in his inaugural tourney tonight. Go to his blog for details on joining the club.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Random thoughts, and WSOP plans update
If you are reading this blog, then I expect that you have heard the news about the US Department of Justice charging PokerStars, FullTilt, and Cereus Network (parent of Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet) with a host of crimes including fraud, money laundering, operating an illegal gambling enterprise, and I'm not sure what else. You can read the actual indictment here and the civil suit here (links copied from Pokerati). Lots of bloggers have posted their thoughts on what is going on and may be to come. CK writes a very readable summary of the legal aspects as well as her reactions; Pokerati has a lot of good information or links to it; and there are plenty of others out there for you to search for. Here are a few random comments, observations, and questions from me.
*I have active accounts at three poker sites: PokerStars, FullTilt, and Bodog.
Right now, I can log into PokerStars but I cannot join any cash ring game or register for any tournament which has a "real money" prize or is a satellite to such a tournament. The only thing that appears to be available to me there is play money games. I can't register for an FPP tourney or even a freeroll if it ends up with some sort of tangible prize.
I can't log into FullTilt at all. When I try, I get a message that a software update is available. When I try to accept the update, I get a message that the update could not be retrieved and I should try again later. (I have been getting this message since yesterday, so I don't know how soon I will be able to log into FT, if ever.)
I have no trouble logging into Bodog. They aren't included in the current indictment, and they appear to be operating as usual. Interesting side note: Bodog's website has no mention of the recent developments. I can't say I'm totally surprised; what are they going to say? No doubt they don't want to call undue attention to themselves, so I suppose ignoring it for now is as good a strategy as any.
*Although the dot.com domains for PokerStars, FullTilt and Ultimate Bet have been seized and redirected to a DOJ information page, the dot.net domains for those companies are still available. I have to wonder if the DOJ really wants to shut these companies out of the US market completely if they are leaving the dot.net domains alone (at least for now). Perhaps they concede that they can't legally seize a website if it says all over it that it only offers play money games and no real money play.
*Will this change increase the player base of the online subscription poker sites like ClubWPT.com which appear to be legal in the US? That would seem to make some sense, since the serious online players are going to want to have someplace to ply their trade. I don't have any plans to pay $19.95 a month to join ClubWPT; I don't play often enough in my spare time to make it worth that kind of expense. There is a way to get around the monthly subscription fee, by sending a post card every month; I don't know whether I will go to that trouble or not at this point, but I may try it once to see how it goes.
*Will televised poker shrink due to loss of advertising by the major sites? Probably so, especially in the near term. But the TV producers can always try to find new sponsors for the shows. They will just have to sign up other companies that want to reach the poker-viewing audience. PokerStars' show The Big Game seems likely to take a big hit since the whole premise is to bring an online qualifier onto the show to play against the pros. With no US players eligible to play for the spot, where will the contestants come from? Canada, maybe?
*Without the hundreds of online qualifiers to fill seats, the World Series of Poker could very well see significantly lower turnouts this year and in future years, depending on how everything shakes out. Besides the US players who would have won packages to the WSOP from the major online sites, there are almost certainly players who would have used money from their online bankrolls to pay their way to the big dance. The bright side for the people who do play in the Series is that they won't have fields as large to contend with.
As a small stakes recreational player, this ruling doesn't have a huge effect on my life. I certainly have enjoyed the ability to log on and play whenever I wanted, and will miss it to some degree. I feel for those whose livelihoods have been disrupted by this development. I don't have the faintest clue how all of this will evolve, but it is obvious that things have changed greatly, and most likely permanently, for online poker players in the US.
Meanwhile, my plans to play in the Seniors event in this year's WSOP have not changed to speak of. For quite a while it looked like I was going to abandon the idea, due to some upcoming family stuff. But in looking at the big picture again, it still appears that getting my first WSOP experience under my belt this year is going to work out better than waiting for some future time. I've looked again at airfare, hotel rates, etc. and will probably firm up my plans soon. Once it is all set, I will post more info in hopes that I can meet up with any fellow bloggers or friends that might be in Las Vegas while I am there.
More coming soon....
*I have active accounts at three poker sites: PokerStars, FullTilt, and Bodog.
Right now, I can log into PokerStars but I cannot join any cash ring game or register for any tournament which has a "real money" prize or is a satellite to such a tournament. The only thing that appears to be available to me there is play money games. I can't register for an FPP tourney or even a freeroll if it ends up with some sort of tangible prize.
I can't log into FullTilt at all. When I try, I get a message that a software update is available. When I try to accept the update, I get a message that the update could not be retrieved and I should try again later. (I have been getting this message since yesterday, so I don't know how soon I will be able to log into FT, if ever.)
I have no trouble logging into Bodog. They aren't included in the current indictment, and they appear to be operating as usual. Interesting side note: Bodog's website has no mention of the recent developments. I can't say I'm totally surprised; what are they going to say? No doubt they don't want to call undue attention to themselves, so I suppose ignoring it for now is as good a strategy as any.
*Although the dot.com domains for PokerStars, FullTilt and Ultimate Bet have been seized and redirected to a DOJ information page, the dot.net domains for those companies are still available. I have to wonder if the DOJ really wants to shut these companies out of the US market completely if they are leaving the dot.net domains alone (at least for now). Perhaps they concede that they can't legally seize a website if it says all over it that it only offers play money games and no real money play.
*Will this change increase the player base of the online subscription poker sites like ClubWPT.com which appear to be legal in the US? That would seem to make some sense, since the serious online players are going to want to have someplace to ply their trade. I don't have any plans to pay $19.95 a month to join ClubWPT; I don't play often enough in my spare time to make it worth that kind of expense. There is a way to get around the monthly subscription fee, by sending a post card every month; I don't know whether I will go to that trouble or not at this point, but I may try it once to see how it goes.
*Will televised poker shrink due to loss of advertising by the major sites? Probably so, especially in the near term. But the TV producers can always try to find new sponsors for the shows. They will just have to sign up other companies that want to reach the poker-viewing audience. PokerStars' show The Big Game seems likely to take a big hit since the whole premise is to bring an online qualifier onto the show to play against the pros. With no US players eligible to play for the spot, where will the contestants come from? Canada, maybe?
*Without the hundreds of online qualifiers to fill seats, the World Series of Poker could very well see significantly lower turnouts this year and in future years, depending on how everything shakes out. Besides the US players who would have won packages to the WSOP from the major online sites, there are almost certainly players who would have used money from their online bankrolls to pay their way to the big dance. The bright side for the people who do play in the Series is that they won't have fields as large to contend with.
As a small stakes recreational player, this ruling doesn't have a huge effect on my life. I certainly have enjoyed the ability to log on and play whenever I wanted, and will miss it to some degree. I feel for those whose livelihoods have been disrupted by this development. I don't have the faintest clue how all of this will evolve, but it is obvious that things have changed greatly, and most likely permanently, for online poker players in the US.
Meanwhile, my plans to play in the Seniors event in this year's WSOP have not changed to speak of. For quite a while it looked like I was going to abandon the idea, due to some upcoming family stuff. But in looking at the big picture again, it still appears that getting my first WSOP experience under my belt this year is going to work out better than waiting for some future time. I've looked again at airfare, hotel rates, etc. and will probably firm up my plans soon. Once it is all set, I will post more info in hopes that I can meet up with any fellow bloggers or friends that might be in Las Vegas while I am there.
More coming soon....
Friday, January 28, 2011
WSOP plans, WBCOOP, PokerStars Home Games
This year has not got off to an auspicious start for me as far as poker goes. I made some bone-headed plays in the bar league that I play in, I have min-cashed in exactly two online tournaments so far, and I have felt off my game for pretty much the entire month.
So, naturally, I am making plans to play in the World Series of Poker this summer in Las Vegas. Why, you may ask? A reasonable question, and one that my wife asked when I told her what I am thinking. The bottom line answer is, because I can. Right now, I have the means to enter a (relatively) low buy-in tourney and can afford the travel costs to do it. I have wanted to participate in the WSOP experience for several years now but haven't taken the steps to make it happen. In a few more years, my wife and I are hoping that I can retire early from my current job, following in my wife's footsteps who volunteered to be laid off from her job last fall. I figure that now is a good time for me to fulfill this "dream" of playing in the WSOP, while I have a steady income and don't need to worry about whether the money I might spend playing poker should be used to pay the electric bill instead.
I can't go nuts and jump into the Main Event or anything like that. I feel like I can handle a bottom-tier buy-in event, preferably over a weekend so I don't have to take too many days off work. After examining the recently released event schedule, I have found what I believe is probably the best fit for me: the Seniors No-Limit Hold'em Championship, which starts Friday June 17 at 12:00 noon and has a buy-in of $1,000. Don't be too surprised that I actually qualify for this 50-or-older event, despite my youthful good looks. I know that the majority of my poker blogger friends aren't quite at that milestone in their chronology yet, so I don't expect to see many of them in the event with me. But I am hoping that some will be in Las Vegas during that time, and that I will get to say hello to them in between sessions or before or after the events that everyone enters.
I know that the competition in the Seniors event will be tough. I have no doubt that there will be plenty of long-time players in it with decades more experience than I have. But, at least I won't have to face the ultra-aggressive Internet punks who are barely older than my son. I do plan to study more, and play more, between now and June, to try to find and plug (or at least slow) some of the leaks in my game. If I will have one thing going for me in the event, it's that the chances of any of my opponents having played me before or knowing how I play are infinitesimal.
Besides the preparation for the tournament, I also will need to take care of some logistical stuff. Where to stay? When to arrive in Las Vegas, and when to leave? How to get around while in town? Right now, I will probably fly in the Wednesday night or Thursday morning before the event, giving myself the day on Thursday to relax and maybe meet up with any friends who are available. The Seniors tourney is a three-day event, so I will most likely book a flight home on Monday. If I bust out early, I will have whatever remains of the weekend to hang out, play some cash games, and generally soak up the atmosphere of the WSOP.
I am not sure about where to stay. The Rio itself has rates right now for that weekend that aren't as expensive as I thought they would be, but are a little more than I would like to spend. I could stay on the Strip for less, perhaps in a Caesars property and ride their shuttle to the Rio. But I don't like the idea of depending on their shuttle, nor having to drive a rental car from a Strip property to the Rio every day that I am in the event. The Gold Coast, right next to the Rio, has very good rates and is looking like a definite possibility. I may or may not want to have a rental car. It would give me more freedom, especially if I bust early and want to get around town for the rest of my stay. I'll probably get one, if only to avoid having to deal with cabs and shuttle buses.
I would really like to get some feedback from anyone who has tips for a first-timer at the WSOP, whether it be about playing in the Series, dealing with travel stuff, or whatever. I would also love to hear from anyone who will be in Las Vegas that weekend (June 16 - 19), either visiting or living there, in case we have a chance to meet up. Please leave me a comment or e-mail me at david dot westbay at verizon dot net.
In a short while, I will be playing in today's PokerStars WBCOOP 8-Game tournament. In my previous two attempts in this year's WBCOOP, I have come up short of any prizes. I would like to get some sort of ticket to another event, if nothing else. Although I can afford to pay my own way to the WSOP this summer, winning some money online that I could use towards those expenses would certainly be nice.
On a different note, some of you have probably heard about the PokerStars Home Games that they are now offering. I haven't looked into it too closely yet, but it struck me as a way for poker-playing friends to play together for fun without having to request private tournaments from the poker sites. I will be happy to set up a "club" (as Stars calls them) for any of my blogger pals or other friends who want to play occasionally (or regularly). If you are interested, leave me a comment or drop me an e-mail and I will send you an invitation when I get things going.
I hope to hear from some of you, about the WSOP or about the home game or both, soon!
So, naturally, I am making plans to play in the World Series of Poker this summer in Las Vegas. Why, you may ask? A reasonable question, and one that my wife asked when I told her what I am thinking. The bottom line answer is, because I can. Right now, I have the means to enter a (relatively) low buy-in tourney and can afford the travel costs to do it. I have wanted to participate in the WSOP experience for several years now but haven't taken the steps to make it happen. In a few more years, my wife and I are hoping that I can retire early from my current job, following in my wife's footsteps who volunteered to be laid off from her job last fall. I figure that now is a good time for me to fulfill this "dream" of playing in the WSOP, while I have a steady income and don't need to worry about whether the money I might spend playing poker should be used to pay the electric bill instead.
I can't go nuts and jump into the Main Event or anything like that. I feel like I can handle a bottom-tier buy-in event, preferably over a weekend so I don't have to take too many days off work. After examining the recently released event schedule, I have found what I believe is probably the best fit for me: the Seniors No-Limit Hold'em Championship, which starts Friday June 17 at 12:00 noon and has a buy-in of $1,000. Don't be too surprised that I actually qualify for this 50-or-older event, despite my youthful good looks. I know that the majority of my poker blogger friends aren't quite at that milestone in their chronology yet, so I don't expect to see many of them in the event with me. But I am hoping that some will be in Las Vegas during that time, and that I will get to say hello to them in between sessions or before or after the events that everyone enters.
I know that the competition in the Seniors event will be tough. I have no doubt that there will be plenty of long-time players in it with decades more experience than I have. But, at least I won't have to face the ultra-aggressive Internet punks who are barely older than my son. I do plan to study more, and play more, between now and June, to try to find and plug (or at least slow) some of the leaks in my game. If I will have one thing going for me in the event, it's that the chances of any of my opponents having played me before or knowing how I play are infinitesimal.
Besides the preparation for the tournament, I also will need to take care of some logistical stuff. Where to stay? When to arrive in Las Vegas, and when to leave? How to get around while in town? Right now, I will probably fly in the Wednesday night or Thursday morning before the event, giving myself the day on Thursday to relax and maybe meet up with any friends who are available. The Seniors tourney is a three-day event, so I will most likely book a flight home on Monday. If I bust out early, I will have whatever remains of the weekend to hang out, play some cash games, and generally soak up the atmosphere of the WSOP.
I am not sure about where to stay. The Rio itself has rates right now for that weekend that aren't as expensive as I thought they would be, but are a little more than I would like to spend. I could stay on the Strip for less, perhaps in a Caesars property and ride their shuttle to the Rio. But I don't like the idea of depending on their shuttle, nor having to drive a rental car from a Strip property to the Rio every day that I am in the event. The Gold Coast, right next to the Rio, has very good rates and is looking like a definite possibility. I may or may not want to have a rental car. It would give me more freedom, especially if I bust early and want to get around town for the rest of my stay. I'll probably get one, if only to avoid having to deal with cabs and shuttle buses.
I would really like to get some feedback from anyone who has tips for a first-timer at the WSOP, whether it be about playing in the Series, dealing with travel stuff, or whatever. I would also love to hear from anyone who will be in Las Vegas that weekend (June 16 - 19), either visiting or living there, in case we have a chance to meet up. Please leave me a comment or e-mail me at david dot westbay at verizon dot net.
In a short while, I will be playing in today's PokerStars WBCOOP 8-Game tournament. In my previous two attempts in this year's WBCOOP, I have come up short of any prizes. I would like to get some sort of ticket to another event, if nothing else. Although I can afford to pay my own way to the WSOP this summer, winning some money online that I could use towards those expenses would certainly be nice.
On a different note, some of you have probably heard about the PokerStars Home Games that they are now offering. I haven't looked into it too closely yet, but it struck me as a way for poker-playing friends to play together for fun without having to request private tournaments from the poker sites. I will be happy to set up a "club" (as Stars calls them) for any of my blogger pals or other friends who want to play occasionally (or regularly). If you are interested, leave me a comment or drop me an e-mail and I will send you an invitation when I get things going.
I hope to hear from some of you, about the WSOP or about the home game or both, soon!
Monday, January 17, 2011
PokerStars WBCOOP 2011 - I'm registered; are you?
I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker! The WBCOOP is a free online Poker tournament open to all Bloggers, so register on WBCOOP to play.
Registration code: XXXXXX 157829
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Belated WPBT Winter Classic 2010 trip report
Yes, I have been back from Las Vegas for almost two weeks. I will use the "busy holiday season" excuse for not posting my report sooner. If you want to read into that the "too lazy to get around to it" excuse, I won't say that you are too far wrong.
One big difference about this year's trip compared to previous years is that my wife Pat came along for the first time. That changed my activity schedule somewhat, but I still participated in a fair amount of poker blogger fun. Another change this year is that I didn't arrive until Friday, so I missed the usual introductory get-together at the Geisha Bar at Imperial Palace. I think I will try to make it out on Thursday next time, partly to join the gang at the Geisha Bar and partly so I will have the early half of Friday available for additional tourist time.
Friday evening, after checking in at Bally's and grabbing some dinner, my wife and I went to MGM Grand so I could play in the traditional blogger mixed games. Pat went off to look around the casino and hotel, while I sat down with a blogger all-star group that included CJ, Snuffy, Poker Grump, Special K, Very Josie, and 23skidoo. I know there were a couple of others there whom I either did not know or have forgotten (sorry). We played HORSE, and I went up early during the Hold'em and Omaha 8 rounds, but then went card dead during the Razz, Stud and Stud 8 rounds. I walked away a whole $7 in the black, but had fun playing with the group, which is the main thing. There was a very interesting Razz hand involving Josie and skidoo, which you can read about at Josie's blog here or at Grump's blog here. Hilarity always ensues when bloggers play mixed games. I also finally met my last longer teammate BrainMc in person.
Saturday was the day of the big blogger tourney at Aria. Pat and I decided to get over there early to look around the City Center complex a bit since neither of us had seen it before. Beautiful place, with very weird but attractive architecture. I got to the poker room early and hung out with several bloggers while we waited for the starting time to arrive. After a blogger group photo, which I have not seen yet and don't know whether it has been posted anywhere, the tourney began. The Hammers started flying fast and furiously, from players trying to pick up the $50 bounties offered up by PokerStars for the first ten players to win a hand post-flop while playing 7-2 offsuit. I got one early on, raised pre-flop, but took the blinds when no one called. Later, I called a PF raise from Vinnay with 66, whiffed the flop and folded to his C-bet. He showed the Hammer and took one of the last available Hammer bounties before they were all claimed.
I got AA and KK a few times in the early levels, but got no action for them and was unable to build a chip stack. I lasted to about 51st place, when my KT was bested by F-Train's A-rag and another blogger's KJ (sorry that I didn't catch her name). I didn't make my goal of lasting longer than last year's finish of 29th, but I feel like I made mostly good decisions, which is about all you can do anyway. By the end of the night, Miami Don had taken the trophy and first place, in a six-way chop with the other finishers. Congrats to Don! Unfortunately, TAG Team did not finish in the money in the Last Longer Challenge. BrainMc went pretty deep, about 16th I think, but Mike and I didn't hold up as long. Maybe next year.
After I busted out, I called my wife, who had met a friend who lives in the area for lunch and then gone shopping at the Fashion Show Mall. We chilled at the mall for a bit and then headed to the Spice Market Buffet at Planet Hollywood for dinner. We have been to this buffet a few times before and it is a definite favorite. The line to get in was monstrous, but at least we weren't starving when we got in it. The food did not disappoint when we eventually were seated. We bought a 24-hour buffet pass there, which is good at the buffets at all of the Caesars' (formerly Harrah's before the recent corporate name change) properties. After dinner, we went back to Bally's and I played $1/2 NLHE in their poker room for about an hour. I finished up $50, which capped off the night nicely.
We used the buffet pass again the next morning for breakfast at the Flamingo and then dinner at the Rio Sunday evening. In between, we drove down to Hoover Dam to check out the new bridge. The view of the dam from the new bridge is very cool. We then drove back to the Strip, gawked at a few of the casino hotels, and waited in the long line at the Rio for their buffet. One side note about that buffet's queuing system: they had one line for people using coupons, comps, discounts, or other promo-type things, and three or four lines for people paying with cash or credit card. About 95% of the people in line were using something that required them to stand in the promo line, including us with our buffet pass. They would move people along much better if they had more lines for promo customers.
We then drove downtown to check out Glitter Gulch and the Fremont Street Experience, which we had not seen for many years. It was packed with people, which made for a festive atmosphere. There were lots of costumed performers there, including some dressed as rock stars, cartoon and movie characters, and Vegas showgirls. I wish now that I had taken more photos there. I went into Binion's and the Golden Nugget to look at (but not play in this time) their poker rooms. On a future visit, I would like to go back down there and play a few hands, and look around some more.
We drove back to Ballys and hit the sack to get some rest before the flight home on Monday. It was another enjoyable gathering with the poker blogger group, and I look forward to the next one. Many thanks to April, CK, CJ, Al, PokerStars, and everyone else that had a hand in making this event another success.
One big difference about this year's trip compared to previous years is that my wife Pat came along for the first time. That changed my activity schedule somewhat, but I still participated in a fair amount of poker blogger fun. Another change this year is that I didn't arrive until Friday, so I missed the usual introductory get-together at the Geisha Bar at Imperial Palace. I think I will try to make it out on Thursday next time, partly to join the gang at the Geisha Bar and partly so I will have the early half of Friday available for additional tourist time.
Friday evening, after checking in at Bally's and grabbing some dinner, my wife and I went to MGM Grand so I could play in the traditional blogger mixed games. Pat went off to look around the casino and hotel, while I sat down with a blogger all-star group that included CJ, Snuffy, Poker Grump, Special K, Very Josie, and 23skidoo. I know there were a couple of others there whom I either did not know or have forgotten (sorry). We played HORSE, and I went up early during the Hold'em and Omaha 8 rounds, but then went card dead during the Razz, Stud and Stud 8 rounds. I walked away a whole $7 in the black, but had fun playing with the group, which is the main thing. There was a very interesting Razz hand involving Josie and skidoo, which you can read about at Josie's blog here or at Grump's blog here. Hilarity always ensues when bloggers play mixed games. I also finally met my last longer teammate BrainMc in person.
Saturday was the day of the big blogger tourney at Aria. Pat and I decided to get over there early to look around the City Center complex a bit since neither of us had seen it before. Beautiful place, with very weird but attractive architecture. I got to the poker room early and hung out with several bloggers while we waited for the starting time to arrive. After a blogger group photo, which I have not seen yet and don't know whether it has been posted anywhere, the tourney began. The Hammers started flying fast and furiously, from players trying to pick up the $50 bounties offered up by PokerStars for the first ten players to win a hand post-flop while playing 7-2 offsuit. I got one early on, raised pre-flop, but took the blinds when no one called. Later, I called a PF raise from Vinnay with 66, whiffed the flop and folded to his C-bet. He showed the Hammer and took one of the last available Hammer bounties before they were all claimed.
I got AA and KK a few times in the early levels, but got no action for them and was unable to build a chip stack. I lasted to about 51st place, when my KT was bested by F-Train's A-rag and another blogger's KJ (sorry that I didn't catch her name). I didn't make my goal of lasting longer than last year's finish of 29th, but I feel like I made mostly good decisions, which is about all you can do anyway. By the end of the night, Miami Don had taken the trophy and first place, in a six-way chop with the other finishers. Congrats to Don! Unfortunately, TAG Team did not finish in the money in the Last Longer Challenge. BrainMc went pretty deep, about 16th I think, but Mike and I didn't hold up as long. Maybe next year.
After I busted out, I called my wife, who had met a friend who lives in the area for lunch and then gone shopping at the Fashion Show Mall. We chilled at the mall for a bit and then headed to the Spice Market Buffet at Planet Hollywood for dinner. We have been to this buffet a few times before and it is a definite favorite. The line to get in was monstrous, but at least we weren't starving when we got in it. The food did not disappoint when we eventually were seated. We bought a 24-hour buffet pass there, which is good at the buffets at all of the Caesars' (formerly Harrah's before the recent corporate name change) properties. After dinner, we went back to Bally's and I played $1/2 NLHE in their poker room for about an hour. I finished up $50, which capped off the night nicely.
We used the buffet pass again the next morning for breakfast at the Flamingo and then dinner at the Rio Sunday evening. In between, we drove down to Hoover Dam to check out the new bridge. The view of the dam from the new bridge is very cool. We then drove back to the Strip, gawked at a few of the casino hotels, and waited in the long line at the Rio for their buffet. One side note about that buffet's queuing system: they had one line for people using coupons, comps, discounts, or other promo-type things, and three or four lines for people paying with cash or credit card. About 95% of the people in line were using something that required them to stand in the promo line, including us with our buffet pass. They would move people along much better if they had more lines for promo customers.
We then drove downtown to check out Glitter Gulch and the Fremont Street Experience, which we had not seen for many years. It was packed with people, which made for a festive atmosphere. There were lots of costumed performers there, including some dressed as rock stars, cartoon and movie characters, and Vegas showgirls. I wish now that I had taken more photos there. I went into Binion's and the Golden Nugget to look at (but not play in this time) their poker rooms. On a future visit, I would like to go back down there and play a few hands, and look around some more.
We drove back to Ballys and hit the sack to get some rest before the flight home on Monday. It was another enjoyable gathering with the poker blogger group, and I look forward to the next one. Many thanks to April, CK, CJ, Al, PokerStars, and everyone else that had a hand in making this event another success.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Big Game - high and dry, plus WPBT updates
The bad news: my video for the PokerStars Big Game TV show was not chosen as a winner, so I won't be appearing on the show in the near future. I have played in a couple more qualifying tournaments but have not progressed to the final round again (yet). I have some ideas for a new video but will keep them under wraps until I get to the point where I need to make one.
The good news: in case you haven't been marking off the days on your calendar, the 2010 WPBT Winter Classic gathering is only 16 days away. This year, my wife will be along on the trip for the first time, and it will be interesting to see her reactions to the motley group that is the poker bloggers. We arrive Friday afternoon and depart Monday.
If you will be in Las Vegas for the fun that weekend but haven't yet signed up to play in the WPBT tournament, contact Texas April ASAP, via Facebook or her blog, to get on the list.
In other WPBT news, I am pleased to announce that I have joined a team for this year's Last Longer Challenge.
Presenting, TAG Team:
BrainMc
Mike G. (friend of BrainMc)
Yours truly
Opponents, get ready to be smacked down.
The good news: in case you haven't been marking off the days on your calendar, the 2010 WPBT Winter Classic gathering is only 16 days away. This year, my wife will be along on the trip for the first time, and it will be interesting to see her reactions to the motley group that is the poker bloggers. We arrive Friday afternoon and depart Monday.
If you will be in Las Vegas for the fun that weekend but haven't yet signed up to play in the WPBT tournament, contact Texas April ASAP, via Facebook or her blog, to get on the list.
In other WPBT news, I am pleased to announce that I have joined a team for this year's Last Longer Challenge.
Presenting, TAG Team:
BrainMc
Mike G. (friend of BrainMc)
Yours truly
Opponents, get ready to be smacked down.
Saturday, November 06, 2010
Poker Stars Big Game update - in the pool
As I mentioned in my last post, I qualified to play in the second round tournament towards the PokerStars Big Game TV show. So, I played in the second round tournament, finished in the top 1,000, and won an entry into one of the third and final round tournaments. I played in the final round tournament, and just squeaked into the top 200 to make it into the contestant pool. I almost let myself be blinded out of the final round, but woke up to the fact that my chips were disappearing faster than I thought just in time to survive.
Having made it to the contestant pool, I was waiting for the e-mail from PokerStars telling me what I needed to do next. I knew that it involved making a video telling them why I should be the next "Loose Cannon" on the show. However, several days went by and I didn't hear from them. I finally e-mailed PokerStars support asking when I should expect to get the e-mail. The reply said they were sorry I hadn't received it, and gave me the instructions, which are:
• Make a video of yourself explaining why you should be chosen to go on the show to play with $100,000 of PokerStars’ money!
• The video must be a digital movie not larger than 32MB in any of the following formats: .avi, .mp4, .mkv, .h264 • The video must be no more than two minutes in length.
• Audition videos must be submitted within ten days of the satellite in which you placed in the top 200. (They let me off the hook for this one.)
After tossing around some ideas in my head, I decided that I wanted to keep it simple, but do something to make it at least mildly interesting visually without jumping through a lot of technical hoops. You can see the results at the website where the contestant videos have been uploaded:
http://memelabs.com/pokerstars/
At the site, look for the Search box below the main viewing window, type in yestbay1 (my PStars ID) and press Enter, and it should bring up the thumbnail for my video. Click on the thumbnail to select it and then click the play button on the main screen.
It took me several tries to get the video the way I wanted it, and I still would have liked it to turn out better in some respects, but I think it came out OK, and definitely better than some of the others that have been submitted. I do wish that I didn't sound like I have a mouthful of mush. Nevertheless, it's hard to tell what the producers are looking for in these vids, so I will just have to cross my fingers and hope they see something they like in mine. If the long shot comes through and they pick me, you can bet that I will be blogging about it here.
EDIT: I didn't realize it before, but you can vote for the contestant videos by clicking on the "Vote" button in the upper right hand corner of the viewing screen. I don't know if the number of votes has any effect on who gets chosen, but I encourage you to vote for my video, just in case.
In other news, I won a bar league tourney recently for a whopping $50 first prize, and I finished ahead $20 playing $3/$6 LHE up at the Riverwind in Oklahoma on a recent visit with my son up there. I'm on a roll; maybe I should start up those plans to turn pro. Or not.
I'm also counting the days (38 as of today) until I fly to Las Vegas for the WPBT Winter Classic. I have one teammate for the Last Longer Challenge, BrainMc, and we may be looking for a third. Let me know if you are interested in joining us.
Having made it to the contestant pool, I was waiting for the e-mail from PokerStars telling me what I needed to do next. I knew that it involved making a video telling them why I should be the next "Loose Cannon" on the show. However, several days went by and I didn't hear from them. I finally e-mailed PokerStars support asking when I should expect to get the e-mail. The reply said they were sorry I hadn't received it, and gave me the instructions, which are:
• Make a video of yourself explaining why you should be chosen to go on the show to play with $100,000 of PokerStars’ money!
• The video must be a digital movie not larger than 32MB in any of the following formats: .avi, .mp4, .mkv, .h264 • The video must be no more than two minutes in length.
• Audition videos must be submitted within ten days of the satellite in which you placed in the top 200. (They let me off the hook for this one.)
After tossing around some ideas in my head, I decided that I wanted to keep it simple, but do something to make it at least mildly interesting visually without jumping through a lot of technical hoops. You can see the results at the website where the contestant videos have been uploaded:
http://memelabs.com/pokerstars/
At the site, look for the Search box below the main viewing window, type in yestbay1 (my PStars ID) and press Enter, and it should bring up the thumbnail for my video. Click on the thumbnail to select it and then click the play button on the main screen.
It took me several tries to get the video the way I wanted it, and I still would have liked it to turn out better in some respects, but I think it came out OK, and definitely better than some of the others that have been submitted. I do wish that I didn't sound like I have a mouthful of mush. Nevertheless, it's hard to tell what the producers are looking for in these vids, so I will just have to cross my fingers and hope they see something they like in mine. If the long shot comes through and they pick me, you can bet that I will be blogging about it here.
EDIT: I didn't realize it before, but you can vote for the contestant videos by clicking on the "Vote" button in the upper right hand corner of the viewing screen. I don't know if the number of votes has any effect on who gets chosen, but I encourage you to vote for my video, just in case.
In other news, I won a bar league tourney recently for a whopping $50 first prize, and I finished ahead $20 playing $3/$6 LHE up at the Riverwind in Oklahoma on a recent visit with my son up there. I'm on a roll; maybe I should start up those plans to turn pro. Or not.
I'm also counting the days (38 as of today) until I fly to Las Vegas for the WPBT Winter Classic. I have one teammate for the Last Longer Challenge, BrainMc, and we may be looking for a third. Let me know if you are interested in joining us.
Saturday, October 09, 2010
PokerStars Big Game - tourney hand analysis
As many of you probably know, PokerStars presents a TV show called “The Big Game” in which amateurs who qualified in freeroll tournaments on PokerStars get staked $100,000 to play in a high-stakes cash game with professional poker players. I have watched the show and found it rather entertaining and educational. I will have more to say about the Big Game in another post that I am formulating. But this post is about a hand that I played in one of their qualifying tournaments. After it was over, the player who came out on the losing end had some comments about the way I played the hand. I am certainly willing to learn from my mistakes, so I thought it would be worth looking more closely at this hand to see what mistakes I may have made, and what I could have done better.
A little background: in the Round 1 freerolls like this one, the top 300 finishers move on to the next round. Each of the nine players at the table starts with $10,000 in chips. The blinds start at $200/$400 with a $100 ante. So, before any cards are dealt, each player has an M of about 7. This has two effects: (1) you have to start accumulating chips early, and (2) just about every pot is worth contesting. Another thing that happens is that there is a lot of limping, because everyone wants to hit a draw and take down a big pot.
So, here is the hand in question, with my comments added along the way.
*********** # 109 **************
PokerStars Game #50429242296: Tournament #308745183, Freeroll Hold'em No Limit - Level VIII (1200/2400) - 2010/09/30 22:30:29 CT [2010/09/30 23:30:29 ET]
Table '308745183 11' 9-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: Rivit36 (19050 in chips)
Seat 2: iam99930301 (105650 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 3: ResinSystems (77700 in chips)
Seat 4: bunny'sTiger (48450 in chips)
Seat 5: Alley Cat 7 (210175 in chips)
Seat 6: BAPMAN55 (138500 in chips)
Seat 7: yestbay1 (203600 in chips)
PokerStars Game #50429242296: Tournament #308745183, Freeroll Hold'em No Limit - Level VIII (1200/2400) - 2010/09/30 22:30:29 CT [2010/09/30 23:30:29 ET]
Table '308745183 11' 9-max Seat #8 is the button
Seat 1: Rivit36 (19050 in chips)
Seat 2: iam99930301 (105650 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 3: ResinSystems (77700 in chips)
Seat 4: bunny'sTiger (48450 in chips)
Seat 5: Alley Cat 7 (210175 in chips)
Seat 6: BAPMAN55 (138500 in chips)
Seat 7: yestbay1 (203600 in chips)
I am second in chips at my table, and in the cutoff seat. My M is around 23, so I am in decent shape and have some room to maneuver.
Seat 8: kowalabear69 (106050 in chips)
Seat 9: Framkie B (87250 in chips)
Rivit36: posts the ante 600
iam99930301: posts the ante 600
ResinSystems: posts the ante 600
bunny'sTiger: posts the ante 600
Alley Cat 7: posts the ante 600
BAPMAN55: posts the ante 600
yestbay1: posts the ante 600
kowalabear69: posts the ante 600
Framkie B: posts the ante 600
Framkie B: posts small blind 1200
Rivit36: posts big blind 2400
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to yestbay1 [Qd Ad]
A nice hand to play, especially in late position.
iam99930301: folds
ResinSystems: calls 2400
bunny'sTiger: calls 2400
Alley Cat 7: calls 2400
BAPMAN55: folds
yestbay1: calls 2400
Three limpers, so a nice pot is building. If I can hit a big hand, I can add a nice chunk to my stack, so I decide to limp along. I can stand to call a raise, but I don’t expect to see one.
kowalabear69: calls 2400
Framkie B: calls 1200
Rivit36 is disconnected
Rivit36 is connected
Rivit36 has timed out
Rivit36: checks
Pot is now 25,800. I would love to take this one, even on the flop.
*** FLOP *** [6c 4d Kc]
That doesn’t help me at all, but did it hit anyone else? I am ready to fold to a decent-sized bet.
Framkie B: checks
Rivit36: checks
ResinSystems: checks
bunny'sTiger: checks
Alley Cat 7: bets 4800
A bet of less than 1/5 the pot? Hard to tell what kind of hand Alley Cat would bet that amount with. My best guess would be a flush draw, because one or two pair or a set should bet larger to discourage others from drawing. I can certainly afford a call, and might catch an Ace and/or Queen or running cards that could win this pot. Of course, I don’t want to see a club. If someone behind me raises, I am done, with minimal damage to my stack.
yestbay1: calls 4800
kowalabear69: calls 4800
Framkie B: calls 4800
Rivit36 is disconnected
Rivit36 has timed out while disconnected
Rivit36: folds
Rivit36 is sitting out
ResinSystems: folds
bunny'sTiger: folds
Two more callers, so the pot is definitely getting fat; now up to 45K.
*** TURN *** [6c 4d Kc] [Jd]
I love that card, giving me straight and flush draws. I would probably fold to a big bet, though, to guard my stack. I don’t have to finish first, just 300th or better.
Framkie B: checks
Rivit36 is connected
Rivit36 has returned
Alley Cat 7: bets 9600
OK, what is this cat up to? This time it’s just a little more than 1/5 the pot, giving me the odds to draw, especially since Alley Cat has a big stack for me to aim at. Even if someone has a set and would fill up on the river if the board pairs, I still have 7 diamonds as outs (discounting the 6d and Kd) plus 3 Tens for a straight (discounting the Tc which might give someone a crub frush). That’s ten outs, and the Rule of Two says that gives me about a 20% chance of catching a winning card. With the bet of slightly more than 1/5 the pot, I’m getting pretty much the right pot odds up front to call, especially if the players behind me call, plus some implied odds if I can get paid off. I can’t see much reason to fold here, and also no reason to raise since I haven’t made a hand yet.
yestbay1: calls 9600
kowalabear69: calls 9600
Framkie B: calls 9600
And yet more chasers, sweetening the pot even more: 83,400.
*** RIVER *** [6c 4d Kc Jd] [8d]
Gin! How do I get some chips out of these suckers, er, worthy opponents? I hope someone has a lower flush and bets into me…
Framkie B: checks
Alley Cat 7: checks
Well, looks like Alley Cat either missed his draw or got scared by the diamond. Might as well bet a decent amount which I hope can be called by at least one person. How about roughly half the pot?
yestbay1: bets 42400
kowalabear69: folds
Framkie B: folds
Alley Cat 7: calls 42400
Suckered in one, anyway.
*** SHOW DOWN ***
yestbay1: shows [Qd Ad] (a flush, Ace high)
Alley Cat 7: shows [Kh Kd] (three of a kind, Kings)
yestbay1 collected 164600 from pot
Whaddya know. Alley Cat flopped a set of Kings and played them so slow that they got away from him (or her; I will guess “him” for simplicity’s sake). Then comes the commentary….
Alley Cat 7 said, "great very bad playing"
Alley Cat 7 said, "great very bad playing"
Normally I don’t respond to derogatory chat comments, but I thought I would toss one back.
yestbay1 said, "if you say so"
Alley Cat 7 said, " u had nothing and got really lucky for runner runner"
Alley Cat 7 said, "i say so i guess"
Alley Cat 7 said, " u had nothing and got really lucky for runner runner"
Alley Cat 7 said, "i say so i guess"
In the interests of poker education, I decided to let out a little secret of my playing strategy.
yestbay1 said, "you gave me the pot odds"
Which got me the snappy rejoinder:
Alley Cat 7 said, "yeah sure greg"
I have no clue who Greg is. In any event, I have to wonder if Alley Cat realized that he could have prevented getting drawn out on, just by betting more to deny me (or others who were drawing) the right odds to keep trying to get there. Maybe he will learn a lesson from this hand. I did, and it is: don’t slowplay your flopped sets in multi-way pots when there are draws on the board. Then again, I think I learned that lesson a while ago. Nevertheless, an occasional reminder is always a good thing.
Epilogue: I did finish in the top 300 and went on to the next round. More about that in a future post….
Friday, September 10, 2010
WPBT Luckbox Last Longer Challenge III (plus bonuses!)
As you may recall, the Luckbox organized a last longer challenge for last year's WPBT Winter Classic tournament. For 2010, the challenge has expanded to new heights of awesomeness. All the details are here, but below are some highlights.
The Luckbox Last Longer Challenge III, or L-Cubed-Cubed, just starts where last year's contest left off. PokerStars is once again adding to the contest prize pool, this year to the tune of $3,000. They are also sponsoring two new add-ons to the fun: $100 bounties on ten players from the original WPBT tournament in 2004, and a $500 prize pool for the first ten (post-flop) winning Hammers dropped in the tourney.
Be sure to read the whole post at www.upforpoker.com to get the nitty-gritty. Once you have done that, come on back, and leave me a comment if you would like to join me on a team for the L-Cubed-Cubed, or e-mail me at david [dot] westbay [at] verizon [dot] net. I look forward to going deep in the tournament with two of my fellow bloggers and taking down the big prize.
And if you haven't made plans to attend the Classic this year, what are you waiting for? If you are on Facebook, sign up to attend the tourney at this page; if you aren't on FB, read more about it and leave a comment at This Is Not a Poker Blog.
Many thanks to the fine folks at PokerStars for the very generous bonus prizes for this event, and to the Luckbox for putting it together! And to April, of course, for organizing the tourney.
Who will be on the winning team with me?? Get your name in fast - first come, first served. Once our team is formed, we will discuss our team name. It should be intimidating and awesome. Put your thinking caps on.
See you there!
The Luckbox Last Longer Challenge III, or L-Cubed-Cubed, just starts where last year's contest left off. PokerStars is once again adding to the contest prize pool, this year to the tune of $3,000. They are also sponsoring two new add-ons to the fun: $100 bounties on ten players from the original WPBT tournament in 2004, and a $500 prize pool for the first ten (post-flop) winning Hammers dropped in the tourney.
Be sure to read the whole post at www.upforpoker.com to get the nitty-gritty. Once you have done that, come on back, and leave me a comment if you would like to join me on a team for the L-Cubed-Cubed, or e-mail me at david [dot] westbay [at] verizon [dot] net. I look forward to going deep in the tournament with two of my fellow bloggers and taking down the big prize.
And if you haven't made plans to attend the Classic this year, what are you waiting for? If you are on Facebook, sign up to attend the tourney at this page; if you aren't on FB, read more about it and leave a comment at This Is Not a Poker Blog.
Many thanks to the fine folks at PokerStars for the very generous bonus prizes for this event, and to the Luckbox for putting it together! And to April, of course, for organizing the tourney.
Who will be on the winning team with me?? Get your name in fast - first come, first served. Once our team is formed, we will discuss our team name. It should be intimidating and awesome. Put your thinking caps on.
See you there!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Success story
As I predicted in my last post, I dropped in at the Riverwind Casino in Norman, OK, this past weekend to play some poker. In fact, my son Ben and I played in their Saturday morning bounty tournament, where the buy-in was $50 + $10, + $25 towards the bounty. I had never played in this tourney before so I didn't know what to expect in terms of number of players, structure, skill levels of my opponents, or much of anything else. Actually, I hadn't played in more than a handful of live, cash buy-in tournaments up to that one; the great majority of my playing is online. But this one went fairly well for me.
There were 71 entrants; 8 places paid. Everyone started with $2000 in chips, and blinds started at $25/$25, with levels lasting 20 minutes. I played my usual tight game at the beginning, and most of the other players did the same. In fact, there was plenty of limping and a lot of multi-way pots. I didn't get much going early on, but I took a few pots to keep from being blinded off too fast. My stack started shrinking, though, and it took a couple of decent-sized pots to stay afloat. I won a bounty when I called a shortie's all-in with A-J and caught a Jack to beat his 99. After that, I stole a few times and won a few others, holding my head above water but never threatening to take the chip lead.
I wish I remembered more details about specific hands, but there weren't many that stuck in my mind. I do feel like I didn't make any bone-headed mistakes or decisions that stand out in my memory. Suffice it to say, I made the final table and finished 7th, for my first live cash tournament payout. I won a second bounty along the way, so my total cash-out was $210.00. Less my $85 buy-in, I gained $125.00 net, which will cover my buy-in to the blogger tournament at the Winter Classic in December. I know that this is no big deal to almost anyone who might read this, but I feel good about the fact that I finally made the money in a "real" tournament, as I always thought I could. Hopefully this will be the first of many live cashes as time goes on. Finishing well in the aforementioned blogger tourney in December is definitely a goal this year.
Oh - my son busted early on. It was his first live tournament and he was a bit intimidated. I told him not to worry about it and that more experience will make him feel more comfortable.
I think I will leave it at that for now. I may have to try the same tournament when I am in Norman again to visit Ben later in the school year. With a little luck, I will do as well as this time, if not better.
There were 71 entrants; 8 places paid. Everyone started with $2000 in chips, and blinds started at $25/$25, with levels lasting 20 minutes. I played my usual tight game at the beginning, and most of the other players did the same. In fact, there was plenty of limping and a lot of multi-way pots. I didn't get much going early on, but I took a few pots to keep from being blinded off too fast. My stack started shrinking, though, and it took a couple of decent-sized pots to stay afloat. I won a bounty when I called a shortie's all-in with A-J and caught a Jack to beat his 99. After that, I stole a few times and won a few others, holding my head above water but never threatening to take the chip lead.
I wish I remembered more details about specific hands, but there weren't many that stuck in my mind. I do feel like I didn't make any bone-headed mistakes or decisions that stand out in my memory. Suffice it to say, I made the final table and finished 7th, for my first live cash tournament payout. I won a second bounty along the way, so my total cash-out was $210.00. Less my $85 buy-in, I gained $125.00 net, which will cover my buy-in to the blogger tournament at the Winter Classic in December. I know that this is no big deal to almost anyone who might read this, but I feel good about the fact that I finally made the money in a "real" tournament, as I always thought I could. Hopefully this will be the first of many live cashes as time goes on. Finishing well in the aforementioned blogger tourney in December is definitely a goal this year.
Oh - my son busted early on. It was his first live tournament and he was a bit intimidated. I told him not to worry about it and that more experience will make him feel more comfortable.
I think I will leave it at that for now. I may have to try the same tournament when I am in Norman again to visit Ben later in the school year. With a little luck, I will do as well as this time, if not better.
Monday, July 26, 2010
WPBT Winter Classic, "Lost Vegas," and other random updates
Can it only be five months away, give or take a few days? Yes, the 2010 WPBT Winter Classic is closer than you think, and many have already made their plans to join in the insanity, including yours truly. Texas April has arranged the blogger tournament at the shiny new Aria Hotel and Casino on Saturday December 11. Of course, the other usual shenanigans are bound to ensue such as the Friday night mixed games at MGM Grand, the annual Thursday night introductory gathering at the Geisha Bar (which I will miss this year, but you should try to attend anyway), and other unpredictable hijinks and debauchery.
If you aren't already on the "I wouldn't miss it" list, you can RSVP via the Facebook event page or at the post on April's blog. See you there!
Next item: I recently ordered my copy of Dr. Pauly's long-awaited new book, "Lost Vegas," and you should get it too. If you are a fan of his poker blog, and who isn't, this book is bound to be a must-read.
As for my poker activities of late, well, it hasn't been pretty. Since May 18, I have cashed in exactly two tournaments out of 25 played. I am also slightly in the red in cash games over that period. I am looking forward to this run-bad streak ending, and soon. I also expect to get a little bit of live poker in next month when we move our son back up to Norman, OK for his sophomore year at OU. I plan to drop in at the Riverwind Casino up there and take another shot at their poker room.
Meanwhile, I'll be watching the ESPN coverage of this year's WSOP, and also watching the Texas Rangers as they do their best to hold onto first place in the AL West and win that division title. I want to go to another playoff game, and this time see the Rangers win it and go deep.
If you aren't already on the "I wouldn't miss it" list, you can RSVP via the Facebook event page or at the post on April's blog. See you there!
Next item: I recently ordered my copy of Dr. Pauly's long-awaited new book, "Lost Vegas," and you should get it too. If you are a fan of his poker blog, and who isn't, this book is bound to be a must-read.
As for my poker activities of late, well, it hasn't been pretty. Since May 18, I have cashed in exactly two tournaments out of 25 played. I am also slightly in the red in cash games over that period. I am looking forward to this run-bad streak ending, and soon. I also expect to get a little bit of live poker in next month when we move our son back up to Norman, OK for his sophomore year at OU. I plan to drop in at the Riverwind Casino up there and take another shot at their poker room.
Meanwhile, I'll be watching the ESPN coverage of this year's WSOP, and also watching the Texas Rangers as they do their best to hold onto first place in the AL West and win that division title. I want to go to another playoff game, and this time see the Rangers win it and go deep.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Yet another post about the WSOP Ladies Event
There have been many articles and blog posts about the World Series of Poker Ladies Event and whether or not it should be continued. Let me direct you here for a well-written post about this particular blogger's thoughts on the subject, which also includes links to other sites and posts on the subject. I don't fully agree with the position stated in this blogger's post, but it has a lot of merit.
I would like to hear what the people who actually *played* in the WSOP Ladies Event, this year and in past years, have to say. Those people are the ones most likely to be affected by any change in the status of the event, so I am very curious to hear what they think. I would like to see a poll or survey taken of these players, with questions including, but not limited to, the following:
*Did you play in only the Ladies Event at the WSOP, or did you play in any other events?
*If you played only in the Ladies Event, why did you make that choice?
- Scheduling
- Buy-in amount
- Preferred playing with ladies instead of men
- Thought the field would be softer
- Wanted to socialize with friends also entered in the event
- Someone recommended this event
- Other
*If you played in other events, which ones?
*If the WSOP eliminated the Ladies Event, would you play in other WSOP events instead? If so, which ones would you be most likely to play?
*If the Ladies Event were changed to a non-bracelet event, would you still play in it?
*Do you think that the WSOP Ladies Event has a positive, negative, or neutral effect on the participation of females in poker?
*If you could recommend one or two changes, however small or large, to the WSOP Ladies Event, what would they be?
Since the Ladies Event has a reasonable turn-out each year, it makes financial sense for Harrah's to continue offering it. If it is going to continue, then I think it makes sense for the participants to have input into how (or whether) it is offered.
I am not convinced that deleting the Ladies Event from the WSOP will have a positive effect on women's standing or participation in poker or in the WSOP in particular. Many seem to think that the women players should only be playing in open events, because there is no reason for them to feel that they can't compete on a level playing field with men. I think that a survey like the one I propose would give us at least some information about whether the Ladies Event is full of women who only play that event, or who play other events, or who would not play at all if that event weren't offered, along with a glimpse of why they feel the way they do.
If such a survey has been conducted, please leave a comment with a link where one might find the results.
I would like to hear what the people who actually *played* in the WSOP Ladies Event, this year and in past years, have to say. Those people are the ones most likely to be affected by any change in the status of the event, so I am very curious to hear what they think. I would like to see a poll or survey taken of these players, with questions including, but not limited to, the following:
*Did you play in only the Ladies Event at the WSOP, or did you play in any other events?
*If you played only in the Ladies Event, why did you make that choice?
- Scheduling
- Buy-in amount
- Preferred playing with ladies instead of men
- Thought the field would be softer
- Wanted to socialize with friends also entered in the event
- Someone recommended this event
- Other
*If you played in other events, which ones?
*If the WSOP eliminated the Ladies Event, would you play in other WSOP events instead? If so, which ones would you be most likely to play?
*If the Ladies Event were changed to a non-bracelet event, would you still play in it?
*Do you think that the WSOP Ladies Event has a positive, negative, or neutral effect on the participation of females in poker?
*If you could recommend one or two changes, however small or large, to the WSOP Ladies Event, what would they be?
Since the Ladies Event has a reasonable turn-out each year, it makes financial sense for Harrah's to continue offering it. If it is going to continue, then I think it makes sense for the participants to have input into how (or whether) it is offered.
I am not convinced that deleting the Ladies Event from the WSOP will have a positive effect on women's standing or participation in poker or in the WSOP in particular. Many seem to think that the women players should only be playing in open events, because there is no reason for them to feel that they can't compete on a level playing field with men. I think that a survey like the one I propose would give us at least some information about whether the Ladies Event is full of women who only play that event, or who play other events, or who would not play at all if that event weren't offered, along with a glimpse of why they feel the way they do.
If such a survey has been conducted, please leave a comment with a link where one might find the results.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
WPBT Gives Back tourney reminder
Just a reminder that this Wednesday is the charity tourney on FullTilt to raise some money for the Ronald McDonald House Charities. They are a great group and deserve your support. I am registered for the tournament, and you should be too.
The details again:
Date: Wednesday June 16
Time: 9PM CDT (Same time as Mookie)
It will actually be running in place of the Mookie. BDR will be broadcasting it.
Charity: Ronald McDonald House
$5 + $5 (Tournament, charity)
Password= vegas1
Tournament#= 164273435
Ronald McDonald and his friends, including your intrepid tournament organizer OhCaptain, thank you. See you at the tables.
Sunday, June 06, 2010
My warning was heeded, but... and charity tourney pimpage
Update: I was right about my streak of bad cards finally coming to an end. In the Blogger Battle Royale this afternoon, I got AA, KK, and even QQ, a few times. However, I was unable to get any action when I had those hands, and therefore got no traction in the tourney. My best moment was when I flopped two pair and doubled through SmBoatDrinks when he tried to push me off the hand. After that, I slowly blinded off until my AQ < Smokkee's 44. Congrats to actyper for taking it down.
I'm feeling a bit pokered out at the moment, so I may take a break from playing this week. But I am signed up for the Ronald McDonald House charity tourney set up by OhCaptain:
Date: June 16
Time: 9PM CDT (Same time as Mookie)
It will actually be running in place of the Mookie. BDR will be broadcasting it.
Charity: Ronald McDonald House
$5 + $5 (Tournament, charity)
Password= vegas1
Tournament#= 164273435
Be there.
I'm feeling a bit pokered out at the moment, so I may take a break from playing this week. But I am signed up for the Ronald McDonald House charity tourney set up by OhCaptain:
Date: June 16
Time: 9PM CDT (Same time as Mookie)
It will actually be running in place of the Mookie. BDR will be broadcasting it.
Charity: Ronald McDonald House
$5 + $5 (Tournament, charity)
Password= vegas1
Tournament#= 164273435
Be there.
Fair warning
I have had at least a week's worth of card death leading up to today. So, I must be due to get some strong hands. If you are playing in the Blogger Battle Royale this afternoon, be advised that I feel good about my chances of getting some cards that will take me deep into this tourney.
Play back at me at your peril.
That is all.
Play back at me at your peril.
That is all.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Blogger Battle Royale, and other updates
I have been away for about ten days so I am doing some catching up. Let me first say congratulations to the WSOP Main Event seat winners of the BBT5 Tournament of Champions: jjok, NYRambler, and Adam27X. Good luck in the big show!
On June 6, the final BBT event of the year will be held, the Blogger Battle Royale freeroll. To get an entry, the Official BBT Badge is to be displayed on one's blog, so here you go:
Although I only ended up playing in one BBT event this year, I have been trying to follow along to see how my fellow bloggers have been doing. I look forward to playing in the freeroll on Sunday and winning myself a birthday gift of the $2,000 WSOP package.
My absence has been due to a cruise that my wife, son, mother, and I took to Alaska. We had a great time and enjoyed unusually nice weather for mid-May, at least according to the residents of the cities we visited. No rain, and warm temperatures the whole time.
The cruise ship had a poker table, where they spread $1-2 NLHE when the casino was open, and also had a few tournaments. I never got into any of the tournaments; they weren't well publicized and I either didn't hear about them until after they had finished, or I signed up too late and the tourney was full. However, I did get a fair amount of cash play in. Most of the players fell into one of two categories: tight-passive or inexperienced. There was one older gent who was rather aggressive and tended to overbet to protect his hand. When I picked up on his pattern (which took about three hands), I looked for a chance to take advantage of it. That chance came late in the cruise.
I joined the game with a nearly full table and sat in the seat directly to Older Gent's left. A few hands in, he shoved in early position for about $45. I looked down at two red Kings and called. I had him covered. Everyone else folded. He turned up AQ of hearts. A King came on the flop, which was a big help to me since the turn and river were A-Q. There was no flush or straight, and I took a nice pot, my biggest of the trip. At the end of the vacation, I came home ahead, which was a nice feeling.
Now, it's back to the daily grind of the day job and the occasional online and bar league poker play. See you at the virtual tables.
On June 6, the final BBT event of the year will be held, the Blogger Battle Royale freeroll. To get an entry, the Official BBT Badge is to be displayed on one's blog, so here you go:
 |
Although I only ended up playing in one BBT event this year, I have been trying to follow along to see how my fellow bloggers have been doing. I look forward to playing in the freeroll on Sunday and winning myself a birthday gift of the $2,000 WSOP package.
My absence has been due to a cruise that my wife, son, mother, and I took to Alaska. We had a great time and enjoyed unusually nice weather for mid-May, at least according to the residents of the cities we visited. No rain, and warm temperatures the whole time.
The cruise ship had a poker table, where they spread $1-2 NLHE when the casino was open, and also had a few tournaments. I never got into any of the tournaments; they weren't well publicized and I either didn't hear about them until after they had finished, or I signed up too late and the tourney was full. However, I did get a fair amount of cash play in. Most of the players fell into one of two categories: tight-passive or inexperienced. There was one older gent who was rather aggressive and tended to overbet to protect his hand. When I picked up on his pattern (which took about three hands), I looked for a chance to take advantage of it. That chance came late in the cruise.
I joined the game with a nearly full table and sat in the seat directly to Older Gent's left. A few hands in, he shoved in early position for about $45. I looked down at two red Kings and called. I had him covered. Everyone else folded. He turned up AQ of hearts. A King came on the flop, which was a big help to me since the turn and river were A-Q. There was no flush or straight, and I took a nice pot, my biggest of the trip. At the end of the vacation, I came home ahead, which was a nice feeling.
Now, it's back to the daily grind of the day job and the occasional online and bar league poker play. See you at the virtual tables.
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
BBT5 update, and is it time to cash out?
I played in the first Mookie tournament of the BBT5 a couple of weeks ago. I cashed, but only high enough to get my buy-in back plus $1.10. Nevertheless, it felt good to go deep in a tourney with some stiff competition.
Speaking of which, it also felt good to play in the same game as people who know what they are doing. I have played in so many donkfests lately that it was a welcome surprise to see players actually fold to a raise instead of calling to the river with junk hands that anyone who has a clue would have mucked preflop. I also enjoyed seeing some familiar names at my table. It reminded me of the good old days when we all played together because it was fun, and not because there were high-dollar prizes at stake. (Not that I have anything against high-dollar prizes, mind you.)
All that said, I'm not sure how many more BBT5 tourneys I will end up playing, if any. The start times for the non-invitational games are on the late side for me because of my early work start time. I also don't have a large enough bankroll to play in them regularly. I got into a couple of FPP token-prize tourneys to try to win a token towards the Monday night BBT game, but those didn't work out. I will keep plugging away in various tournaments and ring games and perhaps I will win enough to feel comfortable buying into another BBT event or two in the next couple of weeks.
But this leads to my next topic of discussion: with the UIGEA supposedly taking effect as of June 1, how hard will it be to withdraw any money that I have on the poker sites? Suppose I score a big win and want to get some or all of the cash instead of leaving it in my online poker site account? I will admit that I haven't thoroughly searched the Net for a lot of detail on what is expected to happen. Maybe withdrawals will be no more difficult than they are today, although I hear that they can be a hassle at some sites. I have the feeling that making deposits will be much harder, maybe nearly impossible, once the UIGEA starts being enforced. But do I want to leave my money on line, knowing that I may have a hell of a time getting it back some day? Do I want to bother putting in the time and effort to win a big tournament, not knowing if I will ever get to benefit from it? I would love to hear others' thoughts on this subject. Have you changed the way you play, or where you play, or cashed out some or all of your online stakes?
I don't have any life-changing or bill-paying money tied up in poker sites. Maybe I will just keep playing with it as a form of entertainment, knowing that I may never see a profit from it. But I might want to get some of it out, if only so I can set it aside for use at a live, legal cardroom somewhere.
Your comments are welcome.
Speaking of which, it also felt good to play in the same game as people who know what they are doing. I have played in so many donkfests lately that it was a welcome surprise to see players actually fold to a raise instead of calling to the river with junk hands that anyone who has a clue would have mucked preflop. I also enjoyed seeing some familiar names at my table. It reminded me of the good old days when we all played together because it was fun, and not because there were high-dollar prizes at stake. (Not that I have anything against high-dollar prizes, mind you.)
All that said, I'm not sure how many more BBT5 tourneys I will end up playing, if any. The start times for the non-invitational games are on the late side for me because of my early work start time. I also don't have a large enough bankroll to play in them regularly. I got into a couple of FPP token-prize tourneys to try to win a token towards the Monday night BBT game, but those didn't work out. I will keep plugging away in various tournaments and ring games and perhaps I will win enough to feel comfortable buying into another BBT event or two in the next couple of weeks.
But this leads to my next topic of discussion: with the UIGEA supposedly taking effect as of June 1, how hard will it be to withdraw any money that I have on the poker sites? Suppose I score a big win and want to get some or all of the cash instead of leaving it in my online poker site account? I will admit that I haven't thoroughly searched the Net for a lot of detail on what is expected to happen. Maybe withdrawals will be no more difficult than they are today, although I hear that they can be a hassle at some sites. I have the feeling that making deposits will be much harder, maybe nearly impossible, once the UIGEA starts being enforced. But do I want to leave my money on line, knowing that I may have a hell of a time getting it back some day? Do I want to bother putting in the time and effort to win a big tournament, not knowing if I will ever get to benefit from it? I would love to hear others' thoughts on this subject. Have you changed the way you play, or where you play, or cashed out some or all of your online stakes?
I don't have any life-changing or bill-paying money tied up in poker sites. Maybe I will just keep playing with it as a form of entertainment, knowing that I may never see a profit from it. But I might want to get some of it out, if only so I can set it aside for use at a live, legal cardroom somewhere.
Your comments are welcome.
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