I win my WSOP Fantasy prop bet with Billy, but it's a pretty joyless victory. My favorite player gets sucked out on to finish 6th ... yet another disappointing Main Event finish for Ivey. Ouch.
Showing posts with label WSOP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WSOP. Show all posts
Sunday, November 8, 2009
A-Q Gets Ivey Again
Pretty brutal. I followed the WSOP Main Event updates, and it seemed like Phil Ivey was really being patient and picking his spots. Finally he ends up getting it in with A-K and Darvin Moon deciding to tango with A-Q. A Queen spikes right away on the flop, and it's bye bye Mr. Greatest Player on Earth.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Phillip D. Ivey makes the Main Event Final Table
As often has been the case with proposition bets between my blogmate Billy and myself, our World Series of Poker Fantasy League has come right down to the wire. With the card player formerly known as No Home Jerome making the November Nine, it looks like I've got a bit of a sweat.
The way that our league is structured, Ivey needs to take at least third place in order for Billy to pass me in the points and win the league. But if Phil continues to make mistakes like this, my lead might be pretty safe. We will find out in two weeks ...
The way that our league is structured, Ivey needs to take at least third place in order for Billy to pass me in the points and win the league. But if Phil continues to make mistakes like this, my lead might be pretty safe. We will find out in two weeks ...
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Lessons from the WSOP
This post is kind of a carry-over from the last one, but with less narrative and more big picture stuff.
First, a little generality I have found to be true about Stud players. In my experience, you can always tell the great Stud players because it seems like they are always making full houses, and it always seems like their weaker two pair hands are still good. That's because these players have really great memories and awareness of the cards that are out. They seem to show down more boats because they only draw to live hands. For instance, if they make a 'surprise' pair on 5th street, they know whether to play it aggressively or passively based on the cards other players have previously folded. They remember, and so they have a better sense than the average player of how likely they are to fill up.
The reason they win with hands like 7's and 5's is along similar lines. They can tell how likely their opponents are to have better hands than them based on the cards that are out. So not only are the great players on the lookout for cards that can help their hands, they are also evaluating how likely their opponents are to have improve their hands as well. Quite the feat.
Well, one of the super-memory guys was the new player on my left. I recognize his face from previous WSOP footage, but I have no idea what his name is. Same goes for a few other people at my table. Can't quite place them.
As I had hoped when I first considered playing this tourney, there were several players who obviously were good overall poker players, but who were not all that experienced in Stud hi-only. There were definitely some dabblers at my table. I used that to my advantage in the early going, as it became clear that these players probably wouldn't last as long, and as the tournament wore on, this dead money would become scarcer and scarcer (just like any tournament).
Like I said in a previous post, one of the things that struck me the most was being one of the better players to start. I had not expected to be in that position at all. I had expected to play tight, wait for good cards and hope that they help up in the shark tank. But when I saw one older gent who is completely clueless, one guy who is the ultimate calling station, another guy constantly drawing to dead hands ... instincts just take over. When the table is playing so passively, I can't help but to attack more often. So that's what I did.
Having said all that, you still have to run well to go far in a tournament. I learned that I am good enough to play in the game, by virtue of lasting as long as I did. I wasn't completely dead money -- were it not for a bad beat (Kings Up improving to beat my Aces Up) I would have been one of the chip leaders. I busted in the middle of the tourney, after all. But at the end of the day, I still lost my $1,500 just like the guy who busted out first. No last longer bets going. It just meant a stay of execution for me. As I walked out, I couldn't help thinking about what if I had put the money towards cash games.
I think I chose the event wisely. There were not as many experts in this game as in, say, a no limit hold'em donkament, just as I had hoped. Also, I was right about the scheduling. With the big names over in the Amazon Room playing more prestigious events, I probably had a better shot at making the money in a WSOP tourney.
There are no events left to play this year. But I will be back for sure next year. And I will make sure that next time, a single tourney isn't such a large hit to my bankroll. Mark my words.
First, a little generality I have found to be true about Stud players. In my experience, you can always tell the great Stud players because it seems like they are always making full houses, and it always seems like their weaker two pair hands are still good. That's because these players have really great memories and awareness of the cards that are out. They seem to show down more boats because they only draw to live hands. For instance, if they make a 'surprise' pair on 5th street, they know whether to play it aggressively or passively based on the cards other players have previously folded. They remember, and so they have a better sense than the average player of how likely they are to fill up.
The reason they win with hands like 7's and 5's is along similar lines. They can tell how likely their opponents are to have better hands than them based on the cards that are out. So not only are the great players on the lookout for cards that can help their hands, they are also evaluating how likely their opponents are to have improve their hands as well. Quite the feat.
Well, one of the super-memory guys was the new player on my left. I recognize his face from previous WSOP footage, but I have no idea what his name is. Same goes for a few other people at my table. Can't quite place them.
As I had hoped when I first considered playing this tourney, there were several players who obviously were good overall poker players, but who were not all that experienced in Stud hi-only. There were definitely some dabblers at my table. I used that to my advantage in the early going, as it became clear that these players probably wouldn't last as long, and as the tournament wore on, this dead money would become scarcer and scarcer (just like any tournament).
Like I said in a previous post, one of the things that struck me the most was being one of the better players to start. I had not expected to be in that position at all. I had expected to play tight, wait for good cards and hope that they help up in the shark tank. But when I saw one older gent who is completely clueless, one guy who is the ultimate calling station, another guy constantly drawing to dead hands ... instincts just take over. When the table is playing so passively, I can't help but to attack more often. So that's what I did.
Having said all that, you still have to run well to go far in a tournament. I learned that I am good enough to play in the game, by virtue of lasting as long as I did. I wasn't completely dead money -- were it not for a bad beat (Kings Up improving to beat my Aces Up) I would have been one of the chip leaders. I busted in the middle of the tourney, after all. But at the end of the day, I still lost my $1,500 just like the guy who busted out first. No last longer bets going. It just meant a stay of execution for me. As I walked out, I couldn't help thinking about what if I had put the money towards cash games.
I think I chose the event wisely. There were not as many experts in this game as in, say, a no limit hold'em donkament, just as I had hoped. Also, I was right about the scheduling. With the big names over in the Amazon Room playing more prestigious events, I probably had a better shot at making the money in a WSOP tourney.
There are no events left to play this year. But I will be back for sure next year. And I will make sure that next time, a single tourney isn't such a large hit to my bankroll. Mark my words.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Where you been, J?
Wow, so much to report, and I haven't gotten around to it until now. It's pretty sad really. I am a poker blogger, I decide to play in the World Series of Poker for the first time ever, and it takes me nearly a month to write about the experience! Pathetic!
Well, where to begin? The flight into McCarran was choppy as usual, but, other than that, uneventful. I played just over an hour of $1/$2 No Limit at Planet Hollywood before hopping over to the Rio to register for the tournament. +$285. I pretty much decided then and there that I wasn't going to play any satellites. I would just buy into the event, and play cash games to earn as much of my buy-in back as possible.
At about 10:30 The Wife and I took the free shuttle to the Rio. I noticed that the tokes to the shuttle driver were not as forthcoming as they had been in the 2008 WSOP. People just sailed on by. Sign of the economic times, I suppose, but I made sure to take care of them on each trip. A buck for shuttle service across the freeway isn't too unreasonable, in my book.
It turns out that you have to get a (free) Harrah's playing card before you can register for any tourney, but that actually turned out to be not bad at all. Because the buy-in was so large, it meant I got hooked up with some nice meal comps and such at Harrah's-owned establishments like Paris and Bally's. Pretty cool. Once that was done, it was on to the tournament cashier's kiosk to make the buy-in. It was anti-climactic, really. I had thought that plunking down fifteen $100 bills to gamble would feel more ominous than it did, but it was more-or-less like any other tournament I've ever played. You pay the money, you get a seat card and a meal comp, end of story. Still, as I walked away, I couldn't help feeling a little giddy. It was official, and there was no turning back now. In a few short hours, I would be playing in the one and only World Series of Poker.
As we made our way back to the strip, however, I could feel that airy giddiness turning into a major headache. The Wife and I grabbed lunch at Paris, where a smoking-hot hostess gave us a really great seat and was generally very nice to us. Of course, as a result, I had to fade all kinds of annoying accusations of checking out said hostess, which did not help my budding headache one bit. But the food was good, and I decided a nap would be a great final preparation for my first step onto the big stage.
When I woke up around 4, the headache was REALLY POUNDING. I was also ridiculously dehydrated. I popped 800mg of ibuprofen and gulped down a liter of water on my way back to the Rio. By the time I got to my seat in the Brasilia Room at 4:30, I felt fantastic. I was alert, but calm. No pain anywhere in my body, I was rarin' to go.
But it was early. I didn't even have anyone at my table to talk to yet. I decided to wander over to the Amazon Room to see what big names were playing. It turned out that Huck Seed and Todd Brunson were final tabling a mixed event, while Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu were seated close to one another and going deep into a limit hold'em event. The $5K pot limit Omaha event nearby was also chock full of big names ... a quick sweep showed me Victor Ramdin, David Pham, Humberto Brenes ... the list goes on. I happened to stand next to Michael DeMichele briefly, and I let him know that he was on my fantasy team and that I was rooting for him to do well this year. He seemed to be flattered, but I don't think my words really helped him much. After seeing him make strong showings in early events (cashing if not final tabling), he has been M.I.A. in the latter half of the WSOP. Was my speech too much pressure? Or was he just low on funds after buying into the $40K event? Quien sabe?
5 o'clock eventually rolled around, and it was a quick dash back to the Brasilia Room, Table 247. I honestly don't remember too much about specific hands, at least not in great detail. It is more or less a blur, but I do have these general impressions to share:
- The game played very much like my books describe Stud cash games. Specifically, the players were generally much tighter than I am used to seeing. Makes sense, as most of the examples in the books are $15/$30 bet limits at the minimum. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the books prepared me very well for this tournament, even more so than they had for the Stud cash games I have played in my career. For instance, certain isolation plays and bluffs that simply don't work at the $4/$8 tables at Commerce were a gold mine here;
- I was one of the two strongest players at my starting table of eight. The rest were competent, save for one total idiot. But these competent players all had very exploitable tendencies that I picked up on pretty quickly. For such a high buy-in, this was not a shark tank by any stretch of the imagination. Had it been a higher-stakes cash game, I would have made a boatload in short order;
- Much like tournament hold'em, the value in playing draws drops off significantly. You don't see nearly as many straights and flushes shown down as you might in loose cash games; there were a lot more hands that were won by a single pair or two pair;
- The one-hour levels and the deep stacks made for a lot of play, and as such there was no real need to gamble early on. It also provided a great feeling-out period for the table. I had never played in a tournament with levels so lengthy before, so I was more used to just having to play my cards because the blinds go up so quickly.
Early on, I played really aggressively and I read every situation perfectly. Nevertheless, I got dangerously short-stacked very early when my strong starting hands got drawn out on. But the structure allowed me to survive those hits and make a huge comeback to become chip leader at my table. I kept with the good reads, and had a good run of cards to be solidly above the average by the dinner break. I even had the satisfaction of knocking out a couple players. :)
After dinner, however, things did not go so well. We got two new players, who were both as aggressive as I am -- one on my left and one on my right. The new guy on my right was constantly stealing pots before I could do so (disrupting my earlier mojo). And the new guy on my left was more difficult to steal from than his predecessor had been. So it was much tougher for me to put pressure on the table like I had been doing throughout most of the tourney.
One of them was actually more aggressive than me, as hard as that may be to believe. It took me a few hands to figure it out, but he was four-betting me with nothing on several occasions. This was a shock to me, as I am not at all used to players trying to run over me ... it's typically the other way around. On one hand in particular, he four-bet me on 3rd street, four-bet me on 4th, then called every single bet on every street including the river. When he called me at the end, I shrugged a little because I thought there was no way my unimproved split kings were good. When he didn't turn his cards over, I eventually showed my single pair, and he mucked angrily. He thought it was a slowroll! We had a bit of a heated discussion after that, as I tried to calmly explain to him why I thought my hand could not possibly be good once he called down after being so aggressive early on and I was representing a pair of kings the whole way. He just kept repeating that if I shrug like that, it means I don't have anything. Argh, whatever. Ship the chips.
The long and short of it was that I lasted my way into the sixth level, where I was sadly shown the exit. I made Aces and 8's on 4th street (how fitting), and got into a betting and raising war with the new, aggressive player on my left. He ending up making Kings full on that hand after starting with Kings up on 4th. Bad beat. That hand crippled me, and on the next I got it all in with three diamonds on 3rd street. I eventually made Jacks up, but my foe made a straight to knock me out. 209th out of 359 runners. D'oh.
More to come.
Well, where to begin? The flight into McCarran was choppy as usual, but, other than that, uneventful. I played just over an hour of $1/$2 No Limit at Planet Hollywood before hopping over to the Rio to register for the tournament. +$285. I pretty much decided then and there that I wasn't going to play any satellites. I would just buy into the event, and play cash games to earn as much of my buy-in back as possible.
At about 10:30 The Wife and I took the free shuttle to the Rio. I noticed that the tokes to the shuttle driver were not as forthcoming as they had been in the 2008 WSOP. People just sailed on by. Sign of the economic times, I suppose, but I made sure to take care of them on each trip. A buck for shuttle service across the freeway isn't too unreasonable, in my book.
It turns out that you have to get a (free) Harrah's playing card before you can register for any tourney, but that actually turned out to be not bad at all. Because the buy-in was so large, it meant I got hooked up with some nice meal comps and such at Harrah's-owned establishments like Paris and Bally's. Pretty cool. Once that was done, it was on to the tournament cashier's kiosk to make the buy-in. It was anti-climactic, really. I had thought that plunking down fifteen $100 bills to gamble would feel more ominous than it did, but it was more-or-less like any other tournament I've ever played. You pay the money, you get a seat card and a meal comp, end of story. Still, as I walked away, I couldn't help feeling a little giddy. It was official, and there was no turning back now. In a few short hours, I would be playing in the one and only World Series of Poker.
As we made our way back to the strip, however, I could feel that airy giddiness turning into a major headache. The Wife and I grabbed lunch at Paris, where a smoking-hot hostess gave us a really great seat and was generally very nice to us. Of course, as a result, I had to fade all kinds of annoying accusations of checking out said hostess, which did not help my budding headache one bit. But the food was good, and I decided a nap would be a great final preparation for my first step onto the big stage.
When I woke up around 4, the headache was REALLY POUNDING. I was also ridiculously dehydrated. I popped 800mg of ibuprofen and gulped down a liter of water on my way back to the Rio. By the time I got to my seat in the Brasilia Room at 4:30, I felt fantastic. I was alert, but calm. No pain anywhere in my body, I was rarin' to go.
But it was early. I didn't even have anyone at my table to talk to yet. I decided to wander over to the Amazon Room to see what big names were playing. It turned out that Huck Seed and Todd Brunson were final tabling a mixed event, while Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu were seated close to one another and going deep into a limit hold'em event. The $5K pot limit Omaha event nearby was also chock full of big names ... a quick sweep showed me Victor Ramdin, David Pham, Humberto Brenes ... the list goes on. I happened to stand next to Michael DeMichele briefly, and I let him know that he was on my fantasy team and that I was rooting for him to do well this year. He seemed to be flattered, but I don't think my words really helped him much. After seeing him make strong showings in early events (cashing if not final tabling), he has been M.I.A. in the latter half of the WSOP. Was my speech too much pressure? Or was he just low on funds after buying into the $40K event? Quien sabe?
5 o'clock eventually rolled around, and it was a quick dash back to the Brasilia Room, Table 247. I honestly don't remember too much about specific hands, at least not in great detail. It is more or less a blur, but I do have these general impressions to share:
- The game played very much like my books describe Stud cash games. Specifically, the players were generally much tighter than I am used to seeing. Makes sense, as most of the examples in the books are $15/$30 bet limits at the minimum. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the books prepared me very well for this tournament, even more so than they had for the Stud cash games I have played in my career. For instance, certain isolation plays and bluffs that simply don't work at the $4/$8 tables at Commerce were a gold mine here;
- I was one of the two strongest players at my starting table of eight. The rest were competent, save for one total idiot. But these competent players all had very exploitable tendencies that I picked up on pretty quickly. For such a high buy-in, this was not a shark tank by any stretch of the imagination. Had it been a higher-stakes cash game, I would have made a boatload in short order;
- Much like tournament hold'em, the value in playing draws drops off significantly. You don't see nearly as many straights and flushes shown down as you might in loose cash games; there were a lot more hands that were won by a single pair or two pair;
- The one-hour levels and the deep stacks made for a lot of play, and as such there was no real need to gamble early on. It also provided a great feeling-out period for the table. I had never played in a tournament with levels so lengthy before, so I was more used to just having to play my cards because the blinds go up so quickly.
Early on, I played really aggressively and I read every situation perfectly. Nevertheless, I got dangerously short-stacked very early when my strong starting hands got drawn out on. But the structure allowed me to survive those hits and make a huge comeback to become chip leader at my table. I kept with the good reads, and had a good run of cards to be solidly above the average by the dinner break. I even had the satisfaction of knocking out a couple players. :)
After dinner, however, things did not go so well. We got two new players, who were both as aggressive as I am -- one on my left and one on my right. The new guy on my right was constantly stealing pots before I could do so (disrupting my earlier mojo). And the new guy on my left was more difficult to steal from than his predecessor had been. So it was much tougher for me to put pressure on the table like I had been doing throughout most of the tourney.
One of them was actually more aggressive than me, as hard as that may be to believe. It took me a few hands to figure it out, but he was four-betting me with nothing on several occasions. This was a shock to me, as I am not at all used to players trying to run over me ... it's typically the other way around. On one hand in particular, he four-bet me on 3rd street, four-bet me on 4th, then called every single bet on every street including the river. When he called me at the end, I shrugged a little because I thought there was no way my unimproved split kings were good. When he didn't turn his cards over, I eventually showed my single pair, and he mucked angrily. He thought it was a slowroll! We had a bit of a heated discussion after that, as I tried to calmly explain to him why I thought my hand could not possibly be good once he called down after being so aggressive early on and I was representing a pair of kings the whole way. He just kept repeating that if I shrug like that, it means I don't have anything. Argh, whatever. Ship the chips.
The long and short of it was that I lasted my way into the sixth level, where I was sadly shown the exit. I made Aces and 8's on 4th street (how fitting), and got into a betting and raising war with the new, aggressive player on my left. He ending up making Kings full on that hand after starting with Kings up on 4th. Bad beat. That hand crippled me, and on the next I got it all in with three diamonds on 3rd street. I eventually made Jacks up, but my foe made a straight to knock me out. 209th out of 359 runners. D'oh.
More to come.
Friday, June 5, 2009
I'm Coke'd Up
I.e., full of Coke Zero and Twix bars.
Through certain scientific processes, I have determined that 5CZ + 3TwB => Unholy Crapola. It also means jitters like a mofo. I pulled yet another all-nighter last night, and for once it is actually kicking my ass. I have heard most human beings suffer side effects from lack of sleep ... but I don't recall ever having experienced them. Maybe I'm just getting older and losing my extra-terrestrial powers.
On the positive side of things, I am as pumped as ever to play the WSOP. I have decided to do it, once and for all. I think. At least right now I see myself as just a step away from being king of the poker world. I'm about to take Las Vegas by storm. People will be calling me the next Phil Ivey within 72 hours.
They said there would be hallucinations ... delusions of grandeur ...
So where does that leave us? Obviously if I'm making millions every day playing cards, I'll have little to no time to write down my random thoughts. The blog will have to become history, unless Billy decides to take it up again. This could be farewell, dear lone reader!
Deep breath, and ... back to reality. I am heading home to get some much needed sleep. I am friggin' ripe right now ... haven't showered or shaven in three days. It's time to pack my bags, get some TLC from The Wife (backdoor outs of that happening ... enjoy the double entendre, hey-o!), and ship out to the City of Shattered Dreams. It's Las Vegas, bitch! I can't wait!
Through certain scientific processes, I have determined that 5CZ + 3TwB => Unholy Crapola. It also means jitters like a mofo. I pulled yet another all-nighter last night, and for once it is actually kicking my ass. I have heard most human beings suffer side effects from lack of sleep ... but I don't recall ever having experienced them. Maybe I'm just getting older and losing my extra-terrestrial powers.
On the positive side of things, I am as pumped as ever to play the WSOP. I have decided to do it, once and for all. I think. At least right now I see myself as just a step away from being king of the poker world. I'm about to take Las Vegas by storm. People will be calling me the next Phil Ivey within 72 hours.
They said there would be hallucinations ... delusions of grandeur ...
So where does that leave us? Obviously if I'm making millions every day playing cards, I'll have little to no time to write down my random thoughts. The blog will have to become history, unless Billy decides to take it up again. This could be farewell, dear lone reader!
Deep breath, and ... back to reality. I am heading home to get some much needed sleep. I am friggin' ripe right now ... haven't showered or shaven in three days. It's time to pack my bags, get some TLC from The Wife (backdoor outs of that happening ... enjoy the double entendre, hey-o!), and ship out to the City of Shattered Dreams. It's Las Vegas, bitch! I can't wait!
Miscalculation
I had a bit of a setback on Wednesday night. Went and played some cash stud during offpeak hours (weeknights -EV) and got killed. I was doing a pretty good job of staying even, hanging with the tough grinders there at Commerce. But then I lost a big pot. Basically an idiot with a huge beard cold-called a 3bet on 5th street with a gutshot draw, even though the three betters had all just paired their door cards. I was 3betting my trip 7s against 8's showing and 2's showing, because 8's were dead. Beardo needed a 7 for his straight and stayed in even though I was SCREAMING that I had trip 7's. On the next street, the idiot bricked, the 2's caught my fourth 7, and I caught crap. Beardo grimaced and said that he needed a 7, and then mucked on 6th street. I ended up losing a big pot to a 2's full boat. Steamboat in my case. Ugh. Uncle Tilty showed up and then it was a slow bleed to death from that point on. I should know better than to go to Commerce on a weeknight ... game selection, ai ya.
So I wasn't sure where that left me. My goal of playing Wednesday night was to get myself off the fence and give myself that final shot of confidence (and extra cash) I needed to play in the WSOP. But losing made me more confused than ever. I have been telling more and more people that I'm playing the tourney, in an attempt to shame myself into playing. "You can't back out now, J ... then you'll have to tell everyone that you wussed out." I think it is probably going to work.
Phil Ivey (my favorite poker player other than myself ... awww screw it, I got a man-crush on this brotha) won his 6th bracelet last night after going three WSOP without winning one. Rumor has it that he tipped his entire winnings (over $96k for first place) to the dealer staff, presumably because he made so much money on sidebets. I know he has a standing bet with Daniel Negreanu that they have to pay each other $200k if one of them wins a bracelet. And Phil obviously had several other specific bets with various individuals ... he won't talk about the bets other than to acknowledge their existence. So it's all speculation, but I've heard he might have made as much as $10M in bracelet prop bets. Honestly, I would not put it past him. Ballin' ...
Anyway, I'm happy for Phil, but this is pretty devastating for the fantasy league wager with Billy. I was riding high Wednesday night when I found out Max Pescatori took 4th place in the $10k Stud, good for 8.5 points. But then Ivey snags a bracelet for 20 points, bringing the tally to Billy 21, Jamin 8.5. (Forrest earned Billy a point for taking ninth in the $40k event). And Daniel is currently chip-leading the $10k Mixed Championship through Day 1. This fantasy league could be a rout in the making ...
My new tentative plan is to try and satellite into the event. If it hadn't been for recent things that had come up financially (in addition to a downswing in cash games) I would be playing the event no question. But as it stands, I have about $2,300 total to gamble/eat/party with. That is cutting it somewhat close if I drop $1,500 on the tourney ... definitely a short roll for a three-day trip. The satellites are supposed to be really soft ... I'm confident I can win the entry. But it is sort of a matter of will I have enough time. I am arriving the day of. So chances are I'll have to play perhaps two satellites, AND register for the tourney. And sometimes the satellites have waits. I have pretty much given up on the napping idea. I think I will just have to hit the ground running.
Anyway, I know this post was a bit of a ramble ... not a literary achievement by any stretch of the imag. But, I gtg. Check out the Twitter update feed on the sidebar while I"m gone ------>
Peace!
So I wasn't sure where that left me. My goal of playing Wednesday night was to get myself off the fence and give myself that final shot of confidence (and extra cash) I needed to play in the WSOP. But losing made me more confused than ever. I have been telling more and more people that I'm playing the tourney, in an attempt to shame myself into playing. "You can't back out now, J ... then you'll have to tell everyone that you wussed out." I think it is probably going to work.
Phil Ivey (my favorite poker player other than myself ... awww screw it, I got a man-crush on this brotha) won his 6th bracelet last night after going three WSOP without winning one. Rumor has it that he tipped his entire winnings (over $96k for first place) to the dealer staff, presumably because he made so much money on sidebets. I know he has a standing bet with Daniel Negreanu that they have to pay each other $200k if one of them wins a bracelet. And Phil obviously had several other specific bets with various individuals ... he won't talk about the bets other than to acknowledge their existence. So it's all speculation, but I've heard he might have made as much as $10M in bracelet prop bets. Honestly, I would not put it past him. Ballin' ...
Anyway, I'm happy for Phil, but this is pretty devastating for the fantasy league wager with Billy. I was riding high Wednesday night when I found out Max Pescatori took 4th place in the $10k Stud, good for 8.5 points. But then Ivey snags a bracelet for 20 points, bringing the tally to Billy 21, Jamin 8.5. (Forrest earned Billy a point for taking ninth in the $40k event). And Daniel is currently chip-leading the $10k Mixed Championship through Day 1. This fantasy league could be a rout in the making ...
My new tentative plan is to try and satellite into the event. If it hadn't been for recent things that had come up financially (in addition to a downswing in cash games) I would be playing the event no question. But as it stands, I have about $2,300 total to gamble/eat/party with. That is cutting it somewhat close if I drop $1,500 on the tourney ... definitely a short roll for a three-day trip. The satellites are supposed to be really soft ... I'm confident I can win the entry. But it is sort of a matter of will I have enough time. I am arriving the day of. So chances are I'll have to play perhaps two satellites, AND register for the tourney. And sometimes the satellites have waits. I have pretty much given up on the napping idea. I think I will just have to hit the ground running.
Anyway, I know this post was a bit of a ramble ... not a literary achievement by any stretch of the imag. But, I gtg. Check out the Twitter update feed on the sidebar while I"m gone ------>
Peace!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Slim to None
This is approximately what I look like when I'm dressed for work everyday.
Not much to look at, but I guess some women do still go for the whole business suit thing. I would have to admit that I dress a lot better than the salary I make would lead you to expect. Nevertheless, I was more than a little surprised this morning when, as I headed down the elevator with The Wife, a mildly chesty, 30-something blonde saunters in and begins to openly flirt with me. Completely disregards that I'm with The Wife. Maybe this one just has a thing for donkeys and can't help herself ... hmmmm.
But I quickly realize that this is a lose-lose situation for me. I am drawing completely dead here.
I'm happily married, so there is absolutely no chance of anything happening with the blonde. But of course The Wife is still going to make sure I hear about this little encounter ... probably for a long time to come. So even though the circumstances were completely beyond my control, and I did nothing wrong whatsoever, I am still going to be punished somehow. I didn't even get my money's worth by flirting back with the chick.
I realized that my Vegas plans are a bit of a lose-lose as well. If I play the tournament, and (likely) bust out, I may kick myself for not just playing cash games or smaller tournaments. However, if I DO play cash games and still get reamed, then I'll really kick myself for not taking a shot in the tourney. Once again, it's like if I'm going to lose I might as well get my money's worth.
Was that too much of a stretch? Did my analogy hold water? If not, no big deal. I really just wanted to try and use that donkey picture somehow ... it's just so appropriate.
Not much to look at, but I guess some women do still go for the whole business suit thing. I would have to admit that I dress a lot better than the salary I make would lead you to expect. Nevertheless, I was more than a little surprised this morning when, as I headed down the elevator with The Wife, a mildly chesty, 30-something blonde saunters in and begins to openly flirt with me. Completely disregards that I'm with The Wife. Maybe this one just has a thing for donkeys and can't help herself ... hmmmm.
But I quickly realize that this is a lose-lose situation for me. I am drawing completely dead here.
I'm happily married, so there is absolutely no chance of anything happening with the blonde. But of course The Wife is still going to make sure I hear about this little encounter ... probably for a long time to come. So even though the circumstances were completely beyond my control, and I did nothing wrong whatsoever, I am still going to be punished somehow. I didn't even get my money's worth by flirting back with the chick.
I realized that my Vegas plans are a bit of a lose-lose as well. If I play the tournament, and (likely) bust out, I may kick myself for not just playing cash games or smaller tournaments. However, if I DO play cash games and still get reamed, then I'll really kick myself for not taking a shot in the tourney. Once again, it's like if I'm going to lose I might as well get my money's worth.
Was that too much of a stretch? Did my analogy hold water? If not, no big deal. I really just wanted to try and use that donkey picture somehow ... it's just so appropriate.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
20/40 Club?
Been reading online today about Stud hi cash games in Vegas. Assuming this game isn't defunct, it looks like there is a regular 20/40 that runs in the Bellagio. I also found out that it is considered by some to be a relatively soft seat ... and I've always told myself I'd play at Bellagio next time, next time. But now I see this, and for once I can afford the buy-ins. Hmmm. Intriguing.
Of course, to say that me playing 20/40 limit poker would be taking a shot is a GINORMOUS understatement. I would be shooting at the moon. I have never played higher than 4/8 before. This would be a huge jump for me. I'd have to be crazy to even consider it.
Almost as crazy as playing in a $1,500 WSOP event ...
Realistically, my chances of not going broke are probably a lot better playing 20/40 stud for an $800 buy-in than a $1,500 buy-in tournament. The reasons are several. One, I have much more experience playing stud cash games than stud tourneys. Two, the buy-in itself is a lot less ($200 is the minimum buy for 20/40). Three, while four winners can feed off of just two big losers in a cash game, only about 10% of the field gets paid in your typical multi-table tournament.
However, the upside of a tournament is of course MUCH larger than that of a cash game. If you happen to play well and catch good cards in a big tourney, you are looking at a terrific payday. Cash games tend to be more of a grind ... steady profit leading to a larger and larger bankroll over time. A multi-table tourney is like that speculative stock that has maybe a one percent chance of going through the roof, but mostly will either lose or break even. For a great player, cash games are like the bonds that may take the small loss here and there, but generally pay steady dividends over time.
So what kind of investor will I be feeling like this weekend?
I am more than a little tempted to forego Event #16 and put that $1,500 strictly towards cash games. I've heard advice along those lines come from more than one corner. However, when I tell those same guys that I mostly just want to fulfill my dreams of playing in the big time, they all give me this knowing, wistful smile ... and tell me they understand completely.
I kind of wish I hadn't told so many people that I was playing the WSOP now ... at this point I would feel rather sheepish if I backed out. But maybe it's just the wiser move. A better investment. Maybe I'm just getting nervous because the date is approaching and I feel under-prepared. Maybe I am just looking for an excuse to run back to the security blanket. I don't know what I'm going to decide to do four days from now ... I really don't.
Of course, to say that me playing 20/40 limit poker would be taking a shot is a GINORMOUS understatement. I would be shooting at the moon. I have never played higher than 4/8 before. This would be a huge jump for me. I'd have to be crazy to even consider it.
Almost as crazy as playing in a $1,500 WSOP event ...
Realistically, my chances of not going broke are probably a lot better playing 20/40 stud for an $800 buy-in than a $1,500 buy-in tournament. The reasons are several. One, I have much more experience playing stud cash games than stud tourneys. Two, the buy-in itself is a lot less ($200 is the minimum buy for 20/40). Three, while four winners can feed off of just two big losers in a cash game, only about 10% of the field gets paid in your typical multi-table tournament.
However, the upside of a tournament is of course MUCH larger than that of a cash game. If you happen to play well and catch good cards in a big tourney, you are looking at a terrific payday. Cash games tend to be more of a grind ... steady profit leading to a larger and larger bankroll over time. A multi-table tourney is like that speculative stock that has maybe a one percent chance of going through the roof, but mostly will either lose or break even. For a great player, cash games are like the bonds that may take the small loss here and there, but generally pay steady dividends over time.
So what kind of investor will I be feeling like this weekend?
I am more than a little tempted to forego Event #16 and put that $1,500 strictly towards cash games. I've heard advice along those lines come from more than one corner. However, when I tell those same guys that I mostly just want to fulfill my dreams of playing in the big time, they all give me this knowing, wistful smile ... and tell me they understand completely.
I kind of wish I hadn't told so many people that I was playing the WSOP now ... at this point I would feel rather sheepish if I backed out. But maybe it's just the wiser move. A better investment. Maybe I'm just getting nervous because the date is approaching and I feel under-prepared. Maybe I am just looking for an excuse to run back to the security blanket. I don't know what I'm going to decide to do four days from now ... I really don't.
WSOP Fantasy League
This is my first time trying this. It was kind of a last-minute deal ... I asked Billy the day before Event #2** if he was interested in gambling, and of course he said yes. So just like that, we've got ourselves a heads-up fantasy league.
Each of us made a prioritized list of players we would choose, and then we flipped a coin to see whose list would kick off the draft. The way I run in coinflip situations, it should be no surprise that Billy was able to select Phil Ivey as the number one overall draft pick. But I was okay with that, because my first choice was also a Phil -- this one of the Hellmuth variety. In fact, I was able to get my first eight picks through no problem. Our complete lists are below ...
Jamin - Urteamcantspellpokr
Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
Bertrand Grospellier
Erik Seidel
Max Pescatori
Kathy Liebert
Nenad Medic
Andy Bloch
Shaun Deeb
Barry Greenstein
J.C. Tran
Matt Glantz
Mike Matusow
Roland De Wolfe
Michael DeMichele
David Williams
Billy - Guillermo de los Gringos
Phil Ivey
David Benyamine
Chris Ferguson
Daniel Negreanu
Tom Schneider
Erik Lindgren
John Phan
Scotty Nguyen
Michael Mizrachi
Allen Cunningham
David Tran
Ted Forrest
Marcel Luske
Shannon Shorr
Robert Mizrachi
Notable Cockblocks: I was barely able to pick up Andy Bloch ahead of Billy. I think it was a real coup to be able to get him so late in the draft (14th overall pick). The guy has a really great tournament record ... to wit, two WPT final tables and twenty WSOP cashes, including finishing runner-up to Chip Reese in the inaugural $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event over one of the toughest fields ever assembled. No bracelets yet, but in our league you get points for all final table finishes. So I think he'll turn out to be a solid earner.
Of course, there is another side to this. I really wanted Ted Forrest, but somehow I let him slip to 23rd overall!! The guy has five bracelets, and twenty-one WSOP cashes. He's also won two WPT titles on five final tables. This was a major mistake on my part, which has already come back to bite me in the ass. Through three completed events, Ted Forrest is so far the only drafted player to earn any points (by taking 9th place at the $40,000 buy-in WSOP 40th Anniversary Special). Grrrr, the Suicide King! The one that got away!
**We started counting at Event #2, because Event #1 was the Casino Employees tournament. I don't think either of us were planning to draft Andrew Cohen ... whoever he is.
Each of us made a prioritized list of players we would choose, and then we flipped a coin to see whose list would kick off the draft. The way I run in coinflip situations, it should be no surprise that Billy was able to select Phil Ivey as the number one overall draft pick. But I was okay with that, because my first choice was also a Phil -- this one of the Hellmuth variety. In fact, I was able to get my first eight picks through no problem. Our complete lists are below ...
Jamin - Urteamcantspellpokr
Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
Bertrand Grospellier
Erik Seidel
Max Pescatori
Kathy Liebert
Nenad Medic
Andy Bloch
Shaun Deeb
Barry Greenstein
J.C. Tran
Matt Glantz
Mike Matusow
Roland De Wolfe
Michael DeMichele
David Williams
Billy - Guillermo de los Gringos
Phil Ivey
David Benyamine
Chris Ferguson
Daniel Negreanu
Tom Schneider
Erik Lindgren
John Phan
Scotty Nguyen
Michael Mizrachi
Allen Cunningham
David Tran
Ted Forrest
Marcel Luske
Shannon Shorr
Robert Mizrachi
Notable Cockblocks: I was barely able to pick up Andy Bloch ahead of Billy. I think it was a real coup to be able to get him so late in the draft (14th overall pick). The guy has a really great tournament record ... to wit, two WPT final tables and twenty WSOP cashes, including finishing runner-up to Chip Reese in the inaugural $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event over one of the toughest fields ever assembled. No bracelets yet, but in our league you get points for all final table finishes. So I think he'll turn out to be a solid earner.
Of course, there is another side to this. I really wanted Ted Forrest, but somehow I let him slip to 23rd overall!! The guy has five bracelets, and twenty-one WSOP cashes. He's also won two WPT titles on five final tables. This was a major mistake on my part, which has already come back to bite me in the ass. Through three completed events, Ted Forrest is so far the only drafted player to earn any points (by taking 9th place at the $40,000 buy-in WSOP 40th Anniversary Special). Grrrr, the Suicide King! The one that got away!
**We started counting at Event #2, because Event #1 was the Casino Employees tournament. I don't think either of us were planning to draft Andrew Cohen ... whoever he is.
Monday, June 1, 2009
"Mymymy Poker Face, My PoPoker Face"
"Who is this Lady Gaga I've been hearing so much about?" ~Ben "Superdome" Peters
"First prize at the World Series of Poker is a million bucks. Does it have my name on it? I don't know. But I'm gonna find out." ~Mike McDermott, Rounders
_ _
The $1,500 Stud tournament last year paid exactly $135,753 for first place. I've been secretly plotting what I'll do if I win that amount. Four C-class Mercedes, 675 Nintendo Wii's, and 271,506 McDonald's apple pies are all in the running.
After taxes, it's not really quit-your-job-and-turn-poker-pro money. But damn it, it's close. My workload lately has just been bananas, so I would have to think looooong and hard about walking away if I made a big score. Of course, such speculation is the definition of counting a chicken before it hatches. In actuality, I don't really think so highly of my stud game to expect to take down a major tournament against the pros on my very first try.
But I can dream.
At work, however, I have to keep up appearances and pretend that I have some interest in the tasks that I'm performing. In reality, I'm just going through the motions for a few more days until I hit the desert. My heart is in Vegas. Honestly, that's probably where the money would go if I did go deep in Event #16. The Wife and I are seriously considering buying a house out there. The prices of homes are ridiculously low in that area right now, especially compared to West Los Angeles, where we live. Buying property out there would definitely be on the table if I won. It can't really get much cheaper than it is now.
So at my job lately, it's all I can do to appear like I give a crap. It's my poker facade. I'm sure once I've gone broke and return to town with my tail between my legs, things will go back to normal. Yes, soon enough I'll be able to continue with the "f**king grind" that is my life. For now, though, the dream is alive.
"First prize at the World Series of Poker is a million bucks. Does it have my name on it? I don't know. But I'm gonna find out." ~Mike McDermott, Rounders
_ _
The $1,500 Stud tournament last year paid exactly $135,753 for first place. I've been secretly plotting what I'll do if I win that amount. Four C-class Mercedes, 675 Nintendo Wii's, and 271,506 McDonald's apple pies are all in the running.
After taxes, it's not really quit-your-job-and-turn-poker-pro money. But damn it, it's close. My workload lately has just been bananas, so I would have to think looooong and hard about walking away if I made a big score. Of course, such speculation is the definition of counting a chicken before it hatches. In actuality, I don't really think so highly of my stud game to expect to take down a major tournament against the pros on my very first try.
But I can dream.
At work, however, I have to keep up appearances and pretend that I have some interest in the tasks that I'm performing. In reality, I'm just going through the motions for a few more days until I hit the desert. My heart is in Vegas. Honestly, that's probably where the money would go if I did go deep in Event #16. The Wife and I are seriously considering buying a house out there. The prices of homes are ridiculously low in that area right now, especially compared to West Los Angeles, where we live. Buying property out there would definitely be on the table if I won. It can't really get much cheaper than it is now.
So at my job lately, it's all I can do to appear like I give a crap. It's my poker facade. I'm sure once I've gone broke and return to town with my tail between my legs, things will go back to normal. Yes, soon enough I'll be able to continue with the "f**king grind" that is my life. For now, though, the dream is alive.
Fired up! Ready to go!
My reading schedule is all out of whack, but I'm making some pretty good progress. I went ahead and picked up the Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide, and I thought Keith Sexton's piece about starting hands in tournament stud was excellent. I didn't think so highly, however, of David Grey's section. As mentioned previously, I read a review on it, and I would have to agree with the reviewer's assessment that Grey's teaching is just way too vague to be of much use. Hopefully, the other sections will justify the $30 I spent on it, whenever I get around to perusing them. So far I think I've gotten about $3 worth of value. Will update.
Last night, I went and played the 4/8 Stud at Commerce, then came home and read the Chip Reese section of SuperSystem. It was really encouraging to re-read that text after so long ... there were some tactics that I had just glossed over in the past, but which I had nonetheless been executing at the table. Things in the book that I had not highlighted before, but had somehow managed to learn through experience. Certain concepts made more sense to me now. So I'm starting to feel pretty confident about my game. I'm definitely NOWHERE NEAR a Ted Forrest or a John Hennigan, but right now I am pretty sure I'm currently getting the maximum out of my abilities.
(Sidebar: This is why it's recommended to read poker books after you are already somewhat familiar with a particular game. Sure, there are some books made especially for the complete novice. But even with those, I think you'll get more out of text if you already have a good grasp on the mechanics and basic rhythms of play. Then you can read up and plug some of the [inevitable] holes in your game. Play more, and then re-read. Rinse, and repeat. My two cents.)
Today on the bus to work, and on my lunch break, I've been reading the Sklansky text. This is an extremely dense book, and there are a lot of things I did not pick up on while reading through it before. They do a really good job of covering just about every situation that might arise in a seven-card stud cash game. Better put -- they provide enough examples of concepts and the different variations on those concepts that come up during gameplay that it's really easy to extrapolate their teachings to cover any hand of stud poker. Must read!
I've also been practicing on PokerStars with stud tournaments. I've played in two of them, and busted in each. Not a great sign. But these were low-stakes donkaments, with plenty of idiots who chased me down the river every time I picked up a good starting hand. I imagine the quality of play in a $1,500 tourney will be higher. Plus, I generally just do better in live games. There are so many small things that don't really translate to online play. Thus, I'm not too concerned about my lack of success on Stars. It's good practice just to see how play is affected by the rising blinds, how the inability to rebuy changes strategy, etc. ... I've experienced these things in hold'em tournaments but not in stud. The lack of many other ways to practice makes the frustration of online play kinda worth it.
That's about all I have to report. I blast off in five days, and it can't get here soon enough. It's taking a lot for me to resist playing in hold'em home games until the big day. But I'm busy enough at work that I can manage the urge ... I think.
Last night, I went and played the 4/8 Stud at Commerce, then came home and read the Chip Reese section of SuperSystem. It was really encouraging to re-read that text after so long ... there were some tactics that I had just glossed over in the past, but which I had nonetheless been executing at the table. Things in the book that I had not highlighted before, but had somehow managed to learn through experience. Certain concepts made more sense to me now. So I'm starting to feel pretty confident about my game. I'm definitely NOWHERE NEAR a Ted Forrest or a John Hennigan, but right now I am pretty sure I'm currently getting the maximum out of my abilities.
(Sidebar: This is why it's recommended to read poker books after you are already somewhat familiar with a particular game. Sure, there are some books made especially for the complete novice. But even with those, I think you'll get more out of text if you already have a good grasp on the mechanics and basic rhythms of play. Then you can read up and plug some of the [inevitable] holes in your game. Play more, and then re-read. Rinse, and repeat. My two cents.)
Today on the bus to work, and on my lunch break, I've been reading the Sklansky text. This is an extremely dense book, and there are a lot of things I did not pick up on while reading through it before. They do a really good job of covering just about every situation that might arise in a seven-card stud cash game. Better put -- they provide enough examples of concepts and the different variations on those concepts that come up during gameplay that it's really easy to extrapolate their teachings to cover any hand of stud poker. Must read!
I've also been practicing on PokerStars with stud tournaments. I've played in two of them, and busted in each. Not a great sign. But these were low-stakes donkaments, with plenty of idiots who chased me down the river every time I picked up a good starting hand. I imagine the quality of play in a $1,500 tourney will be higher. Plus, I generally just do better in live games. There are so many small things that don't really translate to online play. Thus, I'm not too concerned about my lack of success on Stars. It's good practice just to see how play is affected by the rising blinds, how the inability to rebuy changes strategy, etc. ... I've experienced these things in hold'em tournaments but not in stud. The lack of many other ways to practice makes the frustration of online play kinda worth it.
That's about all I have to report. I blast off in five days, and it can't get here soon enough. It's taking a lot for me to resist playing in hold'em home games until the big day. But I'm busy enough at work that I can manage the urge ... I think.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Is this me?
Tao of Poker - Donkeys at the 2008 WSOP
I'm a fan of Pauly's blog, though I haven't really kept up with him with any regularity. The picture he paints of the $1,500 WSOP events is pretty bleak. Thousands of clueless donkeys being led to the slaughter, and then braying about their terrible luck to their loved ones during the walk of shame through the Amazon Room and back to their hotels. Hundreds of home game heroes and weekend warriors with dreams of poker glory filling their sad little heads. And the local Vegas pros who are only too willing to relieve the poor wretches of their precious bankrolls.
Naturally, I would like to think of myself as one of the winners. I have spreadsheets and logs that tell me that I'm a winning poker player. I've played at enough cardrooms and in enough house games to feel that I can go toe-to-toe with just about any low- to mid-stakes player the country can offer. I definitely think I have an edge in your typical donkament field. I would like to think that I'm different.
But this is the World Series of Poker.
And EVERYONE thinks they are different.
Probably the only way I'll find out what role I'll be playing in the Rio's annual Fish Festival (alternatively nicknamed "Slaughterhouse Rock") is to actually find out. Buy a seat and play in the damned thing. One tournament loss doesn't necessarily doom a poker player to the depths of obscurity forever, but one big win can certainly propel him to some ridiculous heights. I've already decided to take my shot, as stated in previous posts. But reading that Tao post today was pretty freakin' sobering. Quite the cautionary tale.
Forking over fifteen Benjamins isn't something I can take lightly just yet. So I'm going to have to try my best to make this an investment, and not just a charitable donation.
I'm a fan of Pauly's blog, though I haven't really kept up with him with any regularity. The picture he paints of the $1,500 WSOP events is pretty bleak. Thousands of clueless donkeys being led to the slaughter, and then braying about their terrible luck to their loved ones during the walk of shame through the Amazon Room and back to their hotels. Hundreds of home game heroes and weekend warriors with dreams of poker glory filling their sad little heads. And the local Vegas pros who are only too willing to relieve the poor wretches of their precious bankrolls.
Naturally, I would like to think of myself as one of the winners. I have spreadsheets and logs that tell me that I'm a winning poker player. I've played at enough cardrooms and in enough house games to feel that I can go toe-to-toe with just about any low- to mid-stakes player the country can offer. I definitely think I have an edge in your typical donkament field. I would like to think that I'm different.
But this is the World Series of Poker.
And EVERYONE thinks they are different.
Probably the only way I'll find out what role I'll be playing in the Rio's annual Fish Festival (alternatively nicknamed "Slaughterhouse Rock") is to actually find out. Buy a seat and play in the damned thing. One tournament loss doesn't necessarily doom a poker player to the depths of obscurity forever, but one big win can certainly propel him to some ridiculous heights. I've already decided to take my shot, as stated in previous posts. But reading that Tao post today was pretty freakin' sobering. Quite the cautionary tale.
Forking over fifteen Benjamins isn't something I can take lightly just yet. So I'm going to have to try my best to make this an investment, and not just a charitable donation.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Hollywood Swingin'
Gah! What a brutal couple of days bankroll-wise. Saturday I was debating whether or not I should play the cash games after a local home tournament. I ended up doing so, and proceeded to lose about $580 playing heads up and then three-handed. Both guys I can outplay pretty easily; one is far too loose and the other too tight. But the loose guy was hitting everything. Turning an out-kicked pair into two pair. Turning a lower pair into trips. Making all of his draws while I missed mine. Outflopping me with dominated hands. And so on ...
The tight guy was hitting on me too. On one hand, I flop top pair with the nut flush draw. He flops a set, and trap-calls my lead-out bet. I make my flush on the turn, and lead out again. He raises, I shove, and he calls. But, I get Greensteined when the Ace pairs on the river. Another time, his low flopped straight holds up against my bigger open-ender plus flush draw. Ai ya!
And this morning, I had to drop about $720 on dental care ... my insurance policy (a good one!) only covered half of my crown procedure. In hindsight, I might have been better off claiming I forgot my checkbook in the car and dodging payment until after the Vegas trip. But that would have required me to screen phone calls for the next few weeks, and ignore all the "courtesy" notices that come in the mail. Well, some time ago I decided that that portion of my life would be over. So I sucked it up and shelled out the cash then and there.
Nevertheless, now I'm stuck $1,300 and I still have a week and a half before I even get on the plane to Vegas. This will put a cramp in my side action, for sure. After paying for food and drink for three days in a city that is particularly well-designed to separate tourists from their hard-earned cash, I'm down to about $600 to play games other than Event #16 ... yikes!
I think it's time to either find some investors, or to make a quick score or three before I go ...
BTW: Until fairly recently, $600 would have been plenty of bankroll for me to have a great Vegas trip with plenty of gamble. Nowadays, it feels like chump change. I can't decide if that means I've progressed a lot or just become more of a degen.
The tight guy was hitting on me too. On one hand, I flop top pair with the nut flush draw. He flops a set, and trap-calls my lead-out bet. I make my flush on the turn, and lead out again. He raises, I shove, and he calls. But, I get Greensteined when the Ace pairs on the river. Another time, his low flopped straight holds up against my bigger open-ender plus flush draw. Ai ya!
And this morning, I had to drop about $720 on dental care ... my insurance policy (a good one!) only covered half of my crown procedure. In hindsight, I might have been better off claiming I forgot my checkbook in the car and dodging payment until after the Vegas trip. But that would have required me to screen phone calls for the next few weeks, and ignore all the "courtesy" notices that come in the mail. Well, some time ago I decided that that portion of my life would be over. So I sucked it up and shelled out the cash then and there.
Nevertheless, now I'm stuck $1,300 and I still have a week and a half before I even get on the plane to Vegas. This will put a cramp in my side action, for sure. After paying for food and drink for three days in a city that is particularly well-designed to separate tourists from their hard-earned cash, I'm down to about $600 to play games other than Event #16 ... yikes!
I think it's time to either find some investors, or to make a quick score or three before I go ...
BTW: Until fairly recently, $600 would have been plenty of bankroll for me to have a great Vegas trip with plenty of gamble. Nowadays, it feels like chump change. I can't decide if that means I've progressed a lot or just become more of a degen.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Light Reading
To help me prepare for the stud event, I have decided to revisit what I consider the sacred texts of seven-card stud play. I know reading up before a major tournament probably seems routine to most amateur and semi-pro poker players out there (they're thinking DUH, or should I say durrrr?), but I'm trying my best to document my entire process of preparing for and playing this event. Afterward, the plan is to review what preparations seemed helpful and what things I would have been okay without. This should help me prepare better for next year's Series, and give my poker friends some tools to use in their eventual quests for bracelet glory. A little bit of analysis, as Phil Laak [1] would say, "for the television audience at home."
The book that first gave me an inclination to try my hand at seven-card stud was the late Chip Reese's section of the original Supersystem. His writing style is ridiculously easy for the beginner to digest, and yet includes enough advanced concepts that after reading through it once or twice, you will absolutely be able to hold your own in most stud cash games.
The other book that really shaped me as a rookie was Sklansky's Seven-Card Stud for Advanced Players. Most poker book enthusiasts will tell you that this is required reading for any intermediate stud player looking to improve his or her game. I would agree with them wholeheartedly. This book expands on many of the concepts that Reese's writings introduce, and also contains many ideas all its own.
I am currently re-reading Sklansky, with an eye toward finishing it by the middle of next week, and to read the Reese section by the end of next week. Then I'll have one more week to review all my notes on each before the trip. I am debating picking up the Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide. From the review I've read, David Grey's section on Stud tournaments is solid, but not spectacular. Worth it? I am also questioning if I really need to buy and read through Max Stern's Championship Stud in the short amount of time I have before the tournament. Debatable. But I generally prefer more information to less, so we'll see. (I've heard that the Razz section of Championship is one of the definitive texts, though.)
I also plan to skim through the manuals in the hours before the tournament, just as a bit of a warm-up exercise. A little last-minute cram, just like back in college. I think this preparation strategy has an edge over playing stud hands immediately before the event (which was another option I considered). This is because I want to have in my head the correct way to play certain hands -- not just the way that I typically play them. Although I feel I am pretty good at stud, even winning players have certain tendencies and weaknesses that cause them to lose equity over the long run, to not make as much as they could. Including the pros. Like Phil Ivey [2] said, "I don't know anybody who plays every hand perfect ... besides Phil Hellmuth." [3] So I'm thinking it'll be good to get outside of my own mind, to a certain extent.
The question is, will this cause me to over-think, and not trust the instincts that I've built up over all my hands of play? As Phil Gordon [4] said, “It doesn't take a rocket scientist to be good at poker. Anybody with a fourth-grade education can figure out the logic behind the odds and outs.” I guess if I bust out early or play some hands egregiously, there will be plenty of time to second-guess the method. For now, I think doing plenty of reading beforehand will be +EV.
The book that first gave me an inclination to try my hand at seven-card stud was the late Chip Reese's section of the original Supersystem. His writing style is ridiculously easy for the beginner to digest, and yet includes enough advanced concepts that after reading through it once or twice, you will absolutely be able to hold your own in most stud cash games.
The other book that really shaped me as a rookie was Sklansky's Seven-Card Stud for Advanced Players. Most poker book enthusiasts will tell you that this is required reading for any intermediate stud player looking to improve his or her game. I would agree with them wholeheartedly. This book expands on many of the concepts that Reese's writings introduce, and also contains many ideas all its own.
I am currently re-reading Sklansky, with an eye toward finishing it by the middle of next week, and to read the Reese section by the end of next week. Then I'll have one more week to review all my notes on each before the trip. I am debating picking up the Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide. From the review I've read, David Grey's section on Stud tournaments is solid, but not spectacular. Worth it? I am also questioning if I really need to buy and read through Max Stern's Championship Stud in the short amount of time I have before the tournament. Debatable. But I generally prefer more information to less, so we'll see. (I've heard that the Razz section of Championship is one of the definitive texts, though.)
I also plan to skim through the manuals in the hours before the tournament, just as a bit of a warm-up exercise. A little last-minute cram, just like back in college. I think this preparation strategy has an edge over playing stud hands immediately before the event (which was another option I considered). This is because I want to have in my head the correct way to play certain hands -- not just the way that I typically play them. Although I feel I am pretty good at stud, even winning players have certain tendencies and weaknesses that cause them to lose equity over the long run, to not make as much as they could. Including the pros. Like Phil Ivey [2] said, "I don't know anybody who plays every hand perfect ... besides Phil Hellmuth." [3] So I'm thinking it'll be good to get outside of my own mind, to a certain extent.
The question is, will this cause me to over-think, and not trust the instincts that I've built up over all my hands of play? As Phil Gordon [4] said, “It doesn't take a rocket scientist to be good at poker. Anybody with a fourth-grade education can figure out the logic behind the odds and outs.” I guess if I bust out early or play some hands egregiously, there will be plenty of time to second-guess the method. For now, I think doing plenty of reading beforehand will be +EV.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Staying at Planet Hollywood
Wow, how things change! I just booked a room for the weekend of the 6th at Planet Hollywood. The last time I blogged about poker (November 2007), PH was just about to have its grand opening. I played in their poker room once during last summer's WSOP, and I have to say I liked it. I only played for about an hour, but I'll never forget them giving everyone free donuts for breakfast. This was like manna from heaven at the time, as I had just pulled an all-nighter on the first leg of a 5-day/4-night stay, had already blown through a rather unhealthy percentage of my bankroll, and needed the carbs just to keep my eyes open until I could check into my hotel room later in the day ... but that's another story for another time. I have so many tales I wish I had blogged about from that summer, but I should be focusing on this World Series, not last year's! Suffice it to say that, even though I know many casinos offer little comps like that, the timing of that particular courtesy gave PH an A+ for first impressions.Another big change is that "the wife," as I occasionally referred to my longtime girlfriend, has now become The Wife. We got hitched three weeks ago (no, not in Vegas, though I somehow maneuvered my way into spending part of our honeymoon there, hehe) and she's coming along on this trip to root for me and such. I have mixed feelings about this. Obviously we are still newlyweds, and naturally we both want to maximize the honeymoon phase of our marriage as best we can. Spend as much time together as possible. Still, it does mean that I'll have one more thing to worry about. During our past trips to Glitter Gulch together, there has been some tension arising from the fact that I tend to want to play as much poker as possible when I'm there. It's just extremely torturous for me to be around such a high concentration of fish and not be allowed to cast a net! So in order for me to be happy, it means either her sweating me for hours on end (boring), or her finding other activities during the long stretches that I'm playing (lonely). Also, she likes to do things like going to shows and going to the trendy ultraclubs -- activities which tend to have the same peak hours as juicy poker games, and which cost me rather than earn me money. For one of us to be happy and the other not be miserable requires quite the balancing act.
The Wife has assured me that this trip will be different. "Since the main reason for the trip is for you to play poker, and I'm just tagging along," she says to me, "I'll totally be fine with you playing as much as you need to." And somehow, I actually believe her. I can't even count the number of times that she has surprised me by being a heckuva trooper, putting up with all kinds of less-than-ideal situations with nary a complaint. There's a reason she's The Wife now. I am giving her the benefit of the doubt for the time being.
And there is a side of me that really wants her to be there. I won't have any poker buddies out there (at least as of now) to encourage me to play well and to mourn my bad beats with me. Even though I am naturally a bit of a lone wolf, a part of me didn't want to step into such a large ring without having someone in my corner between the rounds. Hopefully The Wife can double as my "Mick." I think subconsciously, this came through when I was selecting my room. Las Vegas isn't doing so well with this economic downturn, and as such there are some hotels offering some sick deals on rooms right now.
Unfortunately, Planet Hollywood is not one of those hotels. I am paying about triple the bare minimum price to stay in Vegas that weekend, and I am sure on some level I chose PH because I knew The Wife was more likely to come along than if I had booked, say, Gold Coast, which is much cheaper and pretty much right next to the Rio (i.e., absurdly more practical), but perhaps not as glitzy. (Comma count = six on that last sentence. I'm, sorry, Mrs., Stave.)
On the bright side, PH is right smack in the middle of the Strip, and I can reach all kinds of great cash game action with a short stroll in either direction. Or just right downstairs. Furthermore, the stop for the twice-an-hour free shuttle to the Rio sits just between PH and Paris. So there's some practicality there too.
I only hope that the PH buffet is as scrumptious as its predecessor Aladdin's was back in the day. Hopefully, change turns out to be good.
The WSOP and Me.
Well, I am finally going to do it. I've decided it's time for me to try my luck in the greatest tournament series on the planet - the World Series of Poker. I'm going to play Event #16, the $1,500 Seven-Card Stud tournament on June 6th.
I feel like this is as good a time as any to take my shot. I have now been playing cards for almost five years. At one point in poker's history, that would be considered barely getting your feet wet. But with the advent of online poker, and the immense volume of poker strategy literature that is available these days, players can rather quickly gain a lifetime's worth of experience in a relatively short period of time. The speed of online poker, and the ability to play multiple tables at once, allows a player to see hands at a rate the old pros could never achieve. Simultaneously, poker books and articles are widely available, and allow a player to learn tricks and avoid traps that Doyle Brunson and T.J. Cloutier had to learn the hard way. (Incidentally, both of these guys have written influential poker books themselves.) The poker information out there allows us newer players to stand on the shoulders of giants, so to speak.
Do I think I'm ready for the challenge, or that I can really compete with the professionals for a bracelet? Yes and No. Or rather, No, and Yes. To play a WSOP event in 2009 has been one of my poker goals since at least 2007 (another being to play the Main Event in 2010). Now that the time is here, I can't honestly say that I'm a favorite to even make the money in an event. Furthermore, this will be the largest buy-in I have ever made into a single session of either cash or tournament poker. So I think there is a very real chance that the money on the line will affect my play negatively. Lastly, I really just can't shake the feeling that I'm just throwing away $1,500 by doing this. Do I really have the bankroll to potentially blow through a dime and a half in a few hours, and not miss it? No, I do not.
But I think the second question -- whether or not I can compete -- has a different answer. I do not consider myself a tournament specialist by any means. I greatly prefer to play cash games. But my tournament record is nothing to sneeze at. I find that I often play better in tournaments, as somehow I do a better job of reining in my loose-aggressive tendencies until they are needed. And I've crushed most seven-card stud games I've played in. Along with cash no-limit hold'em, it is one of the games in which I consider myself an expert.
Furthermore, I've taken some steps to improve my chances. Since I can only afford a low buy-in, I've decided to stay away from the no limit hold'em events. While I have the most experience playing that game, I know that there are thousands of other young guns out there who also play that game better than any other. But there aren't so many young guns who are aces at seven-stud. I consider myself pretty rare in that regard, as the average stud player is much older than 26. The game just is not as popular these days.
And since the smaller buy-in no limit events tend to have fields through the roof and are often lotteries, I've elected to play an event that historically has had tiny fields by comparison. Last year there were 381 entrants. Given the current recession, I expect that number to stay at about the same level.
Another advantage to playing a limit event as opposed to pot limit or no limit is that the effects of getting unlucky on one hand are limited, at least in the early rounds. Of course, as the blinds and antes increase, it can get to the point where you go broke in one hand in stud just like in no limit hold'em. But early on, the big coolers and bad beats won't hurt as much, and won't knock you out two seconds into the tournament.
This particular tournament is also good because I think a lot of the top pros will be tied up elsewhere. Event #16 starts at 5pm, but there is a $5,000 No Limit event that starts at noon the same day. With the higher buy-in, I'd expect several of the big names to be playing that tournament. I'm sure there will be some that bust out of the $5K really quickly, but hopefully that steams them up enough that they come over and play worse in the stud tourney. Even pros aren't completely immune to the effects of bad beats and extended sessions.
However, there are some factors that will be working against me in the event (outside of the obvious ones like my lack of experience in big events, lack of experience in stud tournaments as opposed to cash games, etc.). The hugest disadvantage is the sleep factor. Hundreds of thousands of World Series hopefuls have come to the big show, completely unprepared for the looooong, long hours required for these events. I have played a few long sessions in my life, but only a handful as long as this one rates to be if I survive the first day. The schedule says play will begin at 5pm and end at approximately 3am on Sunday. Then we're back at it at 2pm on Sunday!! I'll be doubly disadvantaged, because I am flying into Vegas Saturday morning at 8am (!), which means I'll have to wake up at about 5am to fly from Los Angeles.
It will take a LOT of discipline for me to rest up in my hotel room, and not try and get in on too much of the side action before the event. And, this being such a monumental step in my poker career, there is a significant chance that I'll be too amped up in the early afternoon to get any rest. So a large part of my survival will rest on my ability to avoid physically and mentally crashing at around 10pm. I think my odds of being at the top of my game in those crucial rounds are realistically slim.
I had originally wanted to play some satellites before the event, but now I'm a bit more ambivalent about it. I think winning a seat for $175 will allow me to play a lot more comfortably than ponying up the full amount. Even if I have to play two or three satellites to get the buy-in, I'll feel much better about the stakes. However, as mentioned above, all that poker action might worsen my play, as the number of hours played in one day continues to mount. I haven't decided yet what to do about it. I might play the event until I bust, and then play satellites and cash games afterwards to "retroactively" win my buy-in. Or something along those lines.
So is the whole thing worth it? I know that I will inevitably be pretty disappointed if/when I bust out of the tournament. That is the nature of tournaments -- the only person who doesn't get sent home is the winner. Even second place wishes they had done better.
But I think it's good that I am not really expecting much in the way of results. I mostly just want to get the experience under my belt, but still have a shot at winning something. This first step into a larger arena will give me a better idea of what to expect in World Series to come. And, if nothing else, I'm guaranteed to have at least a few stories to tell.
Nevertheless, I wouldn't play if I didn't think I had a chance to win.
I feel like this is as good a time as any to take my shot. I have now been playing cards for almost five years. At one point in poker's history, that would be considered barely getting your feet wet. But with the advent of online poker, and the immense volume of poker strategy literature that is available these days, players can rather quickly gain a lifetime's worth of experience in a relatively short period of time. The speed of online poker, and the ability to play multiple tables at once, allows a player to see hands at a rate the old pros could never achieve. Simultaneously, poker books and articles are widely available, and allow a player to learn tricks and avoid traps that Doyle Brunson and T.J. Cloutier had to learn the hard way. (Incidentally, both of these guys have written influential poker books themselves.) The poker information out there allows us newer players to stand on the shoulders of giants, so to speak.
Do I think I'm ready for the challenge, or that I can really compete with the professionals for a bracelet? Yes and No. Or rather, No, and Yes. To play a WSOP event in 2009 has been one of my poker goals since at least 2007 (another being to play the Main Event in 2010). Now that the time is here, I can't honestly say that I'm a favorite to even make the money in an event. Furthermore, this will be the largest buy-in I have ever made into a single session of either cash or tournament poker. So I think there is a very real chance that the money on the line will affect my play negatively. Lastly, I really just can't shake the feeling that I'm just throwing away $1,500 by doing this. Do I really have the bankroll to potentially blow through a dime and a half in a few hours, and not miss it? No, I do not.
But I think the second question -- whether or not I can compete -- has a different answer. I do not consider myself a tournament specialist by any means. I greatly prefer to play cash games. But my tournament record is nothing to sneeze at. I find that I often play better in tournaments, as somehow I do a better job of reining in my loose-aggressive tendencies until they are needed. And I've crushed most seven-card stud games I've played in. Along with cash no-limit hold'em, it is one of the games in which I consider myself an expert.
Furthermore, I've taken some steps to improve my chances. Since I can only afford a low buy-in, I've decided to stay away from the no limit hold'em events. While I have the most experience playing that game, I know that there are thousands of other young guns out there who also play that game better than any other. But there aren't so many young guns who are aces at seven-stud. I consider myself pretty rare in that regard, as the average stud player is much older than 26. The game just is not as popular these days.
And since the smaller buy-in no limit events tend to have fields through the roof and are often lotteries, I've elected to play an event that historically has had tiny fields by comparison. Last year there were 381 entrants. Given the current recession, I expect that number to stay at about the same level.
Another advantage to playing a limit event as opposed to pot limit or no limit is that the effects of getting unlucky on one hand are limited, at least in the early rounds. Of course, as the blinds and antes increase, it can get to the point where you go broke in one hand in stud just like in no limit hold'em. But early on, the big coolers and bad beats won't hurt as much, and won't knock you out two seconds into the tournament.
This particular tournament is also good because I think a lot of the top pros will be tied up elsewhere. Event #16 starts at 5pm, but there is a $5,000 No Limit event that starts at noon the same day. With the higher buy-in, I'd expect several of the big names to be playing that tournament. I'm sure there will be some that bust out of the $5K really quickly, but hopefully that steams them up enough that they come over and play worse in the stud tourney. Even pros aren't completely immune to the effects of bad beats and extended sessions.
However, there are some factors that will be working against me in the event (outside of the obvious ones like my lack of experience in big events, lack of experience in stud tournaments as opposed to cash games, etc.). The hugest disadvantage is the sleep factor. Hundreds of thousands of World Series hopefuls have come to the big show, completely unprepared for the looooong, long hours required for these events. I have played a few long sessions in my life, but only a handful as long as this one rates to be if I survive the first day. The schedule says play will begin at 5pm and end at approximately 3am on Sunday. Then we're back at it at 2pm on Sunday!! I'll be doubly disadvantaged, because I am flying into Vegas Saturday morning at 8am (!), which means I'll have to wake up at about 5am to fly from Los Angeles.
It will take a LOT of discipline for me to rest up in my hotel room, and not try and get in on too much of the side action before the event. And, this being such a monumental step in my poker career, there is a significant chance that I'll be too amped up in the early afternoon to get any rest. So a large part of my survival will rest on my ability to avoid physically and mentally crashing at around 10pm. I think my odds of being at the top of my game in those crucial rounds are realistically slim.
I had originally wanted to play some satellites before the event, but now I'm a bit more ambivalent about it. I think winning a seat for $175 will allow me to play a lot more comfortably than ponying up the full amount. Even if I have to play two or three satellites to get the buy-in, I'll feel much better about the stakes. However, as mentioned above, all that poker action might worsen my play, as the number of hours played in one day continues to mount. I haven't decided yet what to do about it. I might play the event until I bust, and then play satellites and cash games afterwards to "retroactively" win my buy-in. Or something along those lines.
So is the whole thing worth it? I know that I will inevitably be pretty disappointed if/when I bust out of the tournament. That is the nature of tournaments -- the only person who doesn't get sent home is the winner. Even second place wishes they had done better.
But I think it's good that I am not really expecting much in the way of results. I mostly just want to get the experience under my belt, but still have a shot at winning something. This first step into a larger arena will give me a better idea of what to expect in World Series to come. And, if nothing else, I'm guaranteed to have at least a few stories to tell.
Nevertheless, I wouldn't play if I didn't think I had a chance to win.
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