WSOP Beginning

May 2005

Poker has been pretty depressing for me this year as of May 2005. I have not had any big cashes in the tournaments from February on. In fact, reverse trends caused me to rethink my dedication to this silly game of ours. I had tried to win a seat for the WSOP on PokerStars for over two months with no success. It was really weighing on me and my bankroll. Then my boss tells me that he has to be overseas for the week of the final event of the WSOP. That option is now gone (thank God I did not win a seat). Anyway, I talk with Mrs. Grip and we agree that I should go experience the WSOP and I make plans to go out for the first weekend and play in the $1500 NLHE and $1500 PLHE events. I honestly cannot comfortably afford the $5000 weekend alone after the rough start to 2005, so I go out and gather TeamGrip for the weekend and sell 50% of these events to numerous friends and fellow players. Last thing, I decide that if I do not play well in LV, I will put the chips down for the remainder of 2005.

I reserve my SWA ticket and Rio room with two buddies (one player - Crazy Tom and one non-player from KY - BKE). We meet up at the Nashvegas Airport for the last flight out on Thursday night. We land in LV at 10:00 pm, check in and I head straight to the poker Mecca, the WSOP. I turn the last corner in the convention hall and then see the mass of people. TWO lines, one to register as a player and one to pay the entry fee into the events. The decision to come to LV at the last minute really hampered my ability to preregister and prepay on line, so into line one I go. Crazy Tom thinks that I am nuts for standing in these two lines with no guarantee of getting a seat in the NL event, so he heads with BKE to the casino.

One hour and thirty minutes later, I am now an officially registered player for the WSOP. Go to line two. Line two was the worst of the two and rumors abounded that the event was sold out and I was wasting my time. But, hey, that is why I am here, so any chance to get into the event, I will take it. About two hours into the line I am about to break through into the main poker room and Ken Lambert comes out and announces that all players now in line will be registered as alternates and they will only sign up 200 alternates at that. CRAP. I start counting the players in front of me and I come up with a rough number of 130 or so. Okay, you are going to get in, probably by the end of the first round, no later than the middle of the second round. Another hour goes by and I finally get to the cashier and pay my entry fee. I am alternate 126. That should put me at the table around the end of round one with a slightly less than average stack. No problem.

I promptly go to the single table satellite area and play in two single tables. Do not cash in either, but would have had the chip lead in the first one three handed if my AK did not lose to AQ. Sigh, no problem. Get to the room at 4:00 am just when BKE was going to bed. No sign of Crazy Tom, who is still soaking in LV, and playing blackjack (which ends up being good for us - room comped).

BKE get up at 9:00 am and we are talking when Crazy Tom comes cruising into the room. Not to bed mind you, just the room to freshen up. He headed straight down to play in a couple of single table satellites for the PLHE to be held on Saturday. I order room service, shower and put on my tournament uniform, St. Louis Cardinals gear and Ipod, ready for battle.

I get down to the Tournament Room about 11:30 am ready to go to the alternate area when I see a large group of players looking at a list on the wall. I wander over and look at the list. IT IS A SEAT LIST FOR REGISTERED ALTERNATES. What Ken L. did not say was that the list the previous night was capped at 2000 (10 per table) and that the 200 registered alternates were now being seated at the start as all tables no wwould begin 11-handed. WOOHOO, I am in and do not have to wait. That really got me stoked and now I was really ready for battle.

Gyndok and I make our last longer bet, JM from Nashville and I chat for a few moments, we each find out where our seats are at and now it is time for war. My first WSOP event. Not to give much away, but all the effort and time paid off this time.

Next post, the best tournament poker playing of my life, and the crushing end to my first bracelet dream.....

Good luck and see you at the felt.

Fast Forward To June 1 2005. Quick Post

Okay,

Following the debacle of January and the break even drunkfest Super Bowl Weekend, I settle down into my on line tournament routine. About the third week of February, I sign up for the $200 PokerStars $350,000 guarantee with 2570 other runners. I play for the entire afternoon and with 20 left, I am fourth in chips. Unfortunately, I went card dead and busted out 11th for $3500.

The remainder of the spring was uneventful and depressing. An occasional win, many bubbles and numerous early exits littered my on line accounts. Then THE decision. Lets go to the opening weekend of the WSOP in Vegas!!!

The next post will describe the WSOP experience for me and other interesting tidbits about June 2005. It was a nice month.

Wasted Away Again on Superbowl Sunday

Now that the greatly disappointing January is over and life was getting back to somewhat normal status, my lifelong best friend, Kentucky Rock ("KR") and I take our third annual trek to Las Vegas for Super Bowl weekend. We gather early Saturday morning at the Nashvegas International Terminal and head to the gate with the other cattle to take the non-stop Southwest 7:00 am flight to Sin City. We have been very happy the past two years with our fun at the Super Bowl parties. In year one, we had a very big time at the Mandalay Bay party. Fireworks, food and huge screens in their arena. Nice. In year two, we went to the Palms party, and did not have quite as good a time, except I did meet Pete Rose (in LV of all places) while KR was getting a big screen view of Janet Jackson's boob. Sigh, two interesting tidbits from last year.

This year, we land in LV at 10:00 am and head straight to Caesar's to check in. Not a bad deal for the trip and is really in a great location. But this is Vegas, and we hit the Bellagio before noon. I get on the list for 2-5 No Limit and KR gets on the 4-8 Limit List. Both are longer than my...., well lets just say that the lists are long. I decide to sit down in the 10-20 NL while the fish bowl at the 2-5 clears out. I sit down with $1,200 at a newly opened table. The average stack is around $2,000, so I feel good about my stack size. I work it up to $1,500, when this hand comes up.

UTG limps, folded to CO who makes it $60 (he has been decently active), I make a slightly weak call on the button with KJs. Both blinds call as does the UTG limper. The flop comes J83 with one to my suit. checked to me and I make a 2/3 pot bet of $240. UTG calls. Turn is the 6 of my suit. UTG checks, I think for a few moments and then bet $440, a little less than half the pot, fully prepared to follow him in if he shoves. I have $760 left behind. He calls, which confused me greatly. The River is an offsuit Ace. He looks at it and then bets $500. I go into the tank. What would you do? I really do not think that card could have helped him. I actually put him on 9-10 without a flush draw. I finally call. He taps the table and mucks his hand. Soon after that I take my $1500 win and go to the 2-5, have some fun and unfortunately lose a big pot at the end of the session to lose $400 in the fish tank.

$330 Golden Nugget NLHE.

I had decided that I was going to play in this event before we left on the trip. I had hoped that KR would join me in the tournament, but the 4-8 was too juicy for him and he declined. I rebought and made it to 10th place, paid 9. Sigh. No significant hands, but I was happy to grind out the finish with what could be said was the worst cards possible. Negative $660. Still up for the trip and with my views on the $2-5 at the Bellagio for the Super Sunday day of cards.

Super Bowl Sunday (This one's for you Gyndok)

KR has a tradition on this trip of sleeping in late, while I can't sleep past 7:30 am in Las Vegas regardless of the late night before. I get up and go over to the Bellagio and get a seat relatively quickly in the must move table of $2-5 NL. I lose the first $200 buy in within the first orbit on a busted flush draw semi bluff. I rebuy and build it up to $800 with solid play getting paid off after my bluff got exposed. I get moved to the main table where the following hands comes up after I get my stack up to $1200:

I was in the 10 seat on the button. The only stack close was in the seven seat with $880 (I counted pre flop), lets call him the Manhattan Beach Maniac (“MBM”). Unfortunately for MBM, he was already doing shots of tequila when I sat down at 9:30 am (don’t you just love those guys on vacation in Vegas). MBM makes his standard open raise to $20. Now when I say standard, I mean MBM opened every hand pre flop with that bet. I guess it was the number of chips that were comfortable in his hand. I look down at the 5-6 of clubs, just the type of hand to play against this guy, and I call. The Big Blind calls as well.

FLOP: Q76 rainbow. Interesting.

BB Checks, MBM bets $50, again his standard bet on any flop. I call, BB folds. I am planning on making some kind of move on the turn depending on the card.

Turn: 8 completes the rainbow. Board now reads Q876.

MBM bets $50 again. Now I make it $200 with an interesting card for my hand and a perfect bluff card. MBM thinks, then calls. Okay, not great but nonetheless, regardless of the river, if he checks I am moving all in. I cannot put him on a Q, I thought maybe A-9.

River: Q, Board now reads QQ876. Okay, that could not have helped him.

MBM checks, I go all in. MBM thinks for a nanosecond and says “I call.” With that quick a call, I tap the table and say I can’t beat a call as I announce two pair and show my 5-6. He looks at it and says “your shit is slightly better than my shit” and shows 22. I take all $880 from him with him holding 22. I could not believe it, and the entire table shrieked “Oh my God!”

I look at him in wonder and only say one thing: “You called?” The dealer looks up to the podium as the drunk is staggering to the bathroom and says: “Put me on the play list right now!” MBM comes back and drunkenly builds his stack back up to $1,000 (after 5-6 rebuys), with no help from me. He goes to the main cage to cash $30,000 in Mandalay Bay chips to make his Super Bowl Wager of $20,000 on the Patriots (yes he had a bad day). When MBM had been gone long enough doing this transaction to get his second “No Player Button” I look at the dealer and say: “I do not care how long he is gone, and whatever blinds I have to post for him, DO NOT PICK HIM UP!” The entire table echoed my thoughts. Unfortunately, MBM never makes it back by the time I leave to go watch the game. Oh well, all good things must end.

One other hand of interest at this table. The player in the one seat was a nice kid, but super aggressive. He had reraised my preflop raise three times, and this hand came up a couple of orbits after the MBM gift. I have KQs in mid position and open for 20, he makes it a 50 with about 600 behind. Folds to BB, who calls, as do I.

FLOP: QQ4 rainbow.

Now sometimes it is right to slow play a monster flop like this, but this kid is ripe to be picked off, so after the BB checks I bet $90 (about half the pot), he raises to $200. BB folds. I immediately go all in. he goes into the tank for over a minute, says "you can't have a queen," calls and turns over A4. See sometimes aggressiveness early in a hand pays off. A 4 on the turn breaths some life into him, but the river was not the miracle 4 and I take down a very nice pot.

I leave the table with $2850, a very nice and unexpected large win. It will be needed later in the day, I promise.

Super Bowl

KR and I go to Marguaritaville to watch the game as we are not high rollers and all the big parties have since been shut down in Vegas thanks to the NFL. We have a blast and make our standard bets among ourselves to save that juice. Our bar tab and dinner tab is not insigificant, and I get relatively bored with the game at half time. Its off to the Mirage for the $220 w/rebuys NLHE. I am warning all now, the rest of the post is not pretty.

$220 Mirage Rebuy Event.

I leave KR at the restaurant and sprint to the Mirage Poker Room for the event. I sign up and find out that it is only two tables. I get to the tables after a couple of hands have been dealt. I rebuy immediately, a bad sign of things to come. I open up my "I am the best in the world" persona and proceed to build a massive stack and lose a massive stack and rebuy a few times in the interim. KR shows up and goes to the book to watch the rest of the game. The guys at the table were great fun, except for some punk Gynocologist from Houston who finds a way to remind guys about my rebuying habit. I do not remember any hands in the rebuy period, but I do have 9 rebuy receipts at home that shows I really do know how to give away chips sometimes. For more information on this timeframe, contact Gyndok, he unfortunately remembers it vividly.

Within the first orbit after the rebuy period is over, I pick up QQ in the SB. A solid player opens in mid position for a normal raise, the button calls, I go all in, a shorter stack in the BB calls instantly. The initial raiser thinks for 10 seconds looks at me and says, "your hand does not bother me, but I don't think I have the BB beat." He calls with A7o. Button folds. BB has 10s. Of course an Ace comes on the turn and knocks us both out. Sigh. What a bad way to spend my newly found MBM gift. Anyway, Gyndok goes on to finish second and says he enjoyed the extraordinarily large prize pool, which I am still waiting for my commission.

After the tournament, KR and I decide to play some 8-16 limit together. The above description of my alcohol-induced bad playing continued and I ended the day down $300 total. Stupid, but yet believable.

Monday, Poker Day

Okay, now that the wildness of Super Bowl Sunday has worked itself out of my system along with the alcohol, I head back to the Bellagio to continue play in the 2-5 NL. I play it all day, until 10:00 pm without any noteworthy hands, and cash out $50 down for the day. Thank goodness for the Ipod from Mrs. Grip for Christmas, it made the day go smoothly.

Tuesday, Poker Day II

Southwest has decided to treat us card players to a treat with a late non-stop leaving at 5:00 PM. Now, we can't waste such a treat and head back to the Bellagio for some more card craziness. The most interesting part of this day is that the casino staff was breaking down the room to begin its construction of the new room (which is impressive). There were only 15 tables or so going and one hand of interest. I am into the game for $600 and have $285 in front of me. KR comes over to remind me that it is time to leave. I play around to UTG and then in my last hand of the trip:

AA! I raise to 20, folds around to an aggresive guy in the CO. He makes it a $100 with $150 or so behind. Folds to me and I make it $200, and he stacks off. I call, he has AKs and is way behind. My hand holds up and I stand up down only $60 for the day.

Hit the airport and head back to Nashvegas, with the thoughts that I would not be back to Vegas in 2005. That does not hold out to be true, not even close.

The next post will describe the months of on line tournaments from February 2005 - May 2005. Some good, some bad and some downright ugly. After that post, my WSOP experience with other tidbits from June, all good.

$3000 WPO NLHE EVENT

Okay,

After a poor start to the WPO, I brilliantly decide to dedicate the remainder of my cushy 2005 tournament bankroll to winning the $3000 NLHE event. I drive down on Friday night, meet up with the Weasel and we discuss the decision over a $330 single table satellite. Of course I promptly go out third with him taking second. Oh well, lets try another. After a while I felt like Jimmy Buffet in "God's Own Drunk," and I downed another and another and another and before you know it I proceeded to do the Bear Dance. Four single tables at $330 a pop. Zero seats. Ego bruised, bankroll decimated, I went to bed.

Got two hours sleep and go down to try one more $330 satellite. Clonie Gowen and a couple of other familiar faces were there. Down to four, I have the chip lead, so naturally I finish fourth. Sigh. But I am playing well, so what do I do? Yep, I buy into the event with 385 other runners. $4750 invested into a $3,000 +100 event, my bankroll management definitely needs some significant attention. Well good thing is an unknown player won the event. Bad thing is, it was not me. I very uncerimoniously finished well back in the pack around 260th. Two hands of interest included me laying down 99 to a clear steal move and getting knocked out with 77 against a 553 flop.

Hand One. WARNING - BADLY PLAYED HAND DESCRIBED HERE. NOT FOR THE TIMID OR WEAK AT HEART. Initial table was relatively soft. A lot of feel bets and very few raises. I hover around 3,000 until this hand comes up in round two, blinds 25-50. I open in mid position with 99 to 200. Get one caller from late position from an active player that has me covered. Flop comes 235 rainbow. I bet 500, slightly more than the pot (475). He makes it 1500. I make a horrible decision and just call his raise leaving me 1500. The turn is a J. I check, he shoves, I fold. See I told you it was badly played. I should have folded or pushed on the flop. Still think it was a clear steal, but I would like to have some comments. I rank this hand as the worse played hand of tournament poker I have played all year.

Hand Two. New Table, ten minutes after the first break. blinds 50-100 I have 1100 when the hand begins. Mid position, I limp after two other limpers with 77. Six way action on the flop. Flop comes 553. First limper bets out 300. I go all in for 1000. It folds around to him and he goes into the tank for a few seconds (10 or so) and finally looks up and says "oh sorry I was thinking about something else, I call, I have a full house and turned over 33." Oh well, slow rolled out of the tournament by my own stupidity. Again poorly played and this one cost me any shot at the money. Sigh. Bad playing really hurts more than bad beats.

The only good thing was that I got out in time to sign up for the $200 event at the Shoe with the Weasel. Now something you should know, the weasel and I have a standing $20 last longer in any event we play in together, and I really like taking that beer money from him, especially in this one because I was drinking and raising and having a blast. I made it deep and got crippled with three tables left with 99 v. KJs. I need to stop playing 99, I really do. But if Phil H. can win with that hand, hey anyone can I say.

I bust out of the Super Satellite that night after investing my new maximum in supers, $400.

That was the end of my WPO this year. It really was a bad start to a year that held a lot of promise, and probably still does, but a sour taste that has lingered well into the summer. The cushy $4000 tournament bankroll is now gone, plus some, and I must grind out the entries for big events in the cash games in Nashville, which unfortunately become less available thanks to certain people in the community, mainly the police and bad guys wanting to rob games.

My congrats goes out to Buzz, Earnie, Mark and the others for a successful culmination of the unfortunate run in with the authorities in February. Without specifics, they got off with a slap on the wrist and an opportunity to keep it from ever showing up on their respective records. Ah finally some common sense in the legal community here in Nashvegas.

Next post, the annual trek to Vegas for the Super Bowl with Kentucky Rock. Please remember before you read the next post that poker and alcohol, especially marguaritias and rebuy events, do not mix.

Good Luck and See You at the Felt.

Start to 2005 - World Poker Open - Tunica

Welcome to my blog. Lets just say that my 2005 poker year did not start off with a bang. More of a thud. Being in the south, the start to the poker new year always begins in Tunica with the World Poker Open. I planned for this and had a nice $4000 cushion to fund this years tournaments. I planned on starting with the $500 NLHE (No Limit Hold 'em for newbies out there) followed by the $500 rebuy NLHE and the $1000 NLHE. Sprinkled in were the single table satellites and super satellites for the $10,000 Main Event.

January 7, 2005 $500 NLHE Event

I get to Tunica the night before and promptly get in the long line for the single table satellites. I go 0-3. Oh well, thats poker I say. I have a friend buy me into the $500 event as the line is very long and he was already there early on Thursday. There were 1449 runners. I play exactly three hands, lose all. I make a short stack stand on the button with a very short stack with AJ0 four handed. Lose (like I should) to AQ. Out before the first break. Onward and upward.

January 8, 2005 $500 LHE Event

I had no intentions on playing this event as tournament limit poker is really like watching paint dry in Tunica, but with nothing else to do, I sign up. There were 1117 of us that wanted to spend this Saturday watching paint dry. Good initial table, with a bully three to my right. He is consistently raising in late position and I am waiting to bust into him. We both have decents stacks midway through the second level. For the third time in a row, he raises my big blind from the cutoff position. I have A3s and decide to play back at him on the flop. I call this raise and the flop comes 45J rainbow. I check, he bets and then we get into a raising war with it four bet in the end. Turn is a 9. I bet he just calls. The river is the beautiful 2. Regardless of this card I think I already have the best hand. I bet he calls and just goes off when he sees that my wheel just ran over him. I misread him, he had presto for a flopped set. Lucky I know, but believe it or not, that hand got me going and before I knew it, we were down to 100 players with 80 making the money. I survive the bubble, make the money and fold crap cards all the way down to 52nd place, good for $1276. Great for me, positive cash flow from the main tournaments. Oh, I went 0-3 in single tables and invested $600 into the super satellite the previous night and went out early with my AA getting pounded.

January 9 $500 NLHE (w/rebuys) (I know Gyndok - me and rebuys do not get along)

This event intrigued me as I have never played in a rebuy event this large. However, I thought the prospects of rebuying 2 or 3 times would limit the field during the $500 weekend series of events. I was right as only 628 players signed up. I decided that my budget was going to be $1500 regardless of how well I was playing. My first table was fairly aggressive (rebuys cause that) and had some bracelet holders. Freddie Deeb (finished third in this event) and Avner Levy (multiple WPO winner) were at my table. Avner was three to my right and Deeb was three to my left. Avner tripled up early and used this opportunity to take long breaks to avoid rebuying. I got down to 700 in chips, rebought and doubled up the very next hand with 9-10s when i flopped both an open ended straight and flush draw. Hit the straight on the turn and get all the chips in v. the BB. He had 9-10o. I rivered the flush to scoop a nice pot. I stay at around $3000 in chips and get moved to a new table. Not a great table, but not that bad.

Last hand before the rebuys are done. I limp UTG with 99. UTG +1 calls and mid position player shoves a stack equal to a rebuy amount. Folds to me and I have a decision to make. I think about it for a few seconds and call (Other limper folds). My thoughts were that my hand was good and if I lost I could always add on, but if I win I could save the $500 add on. He had AKo and won the race with an A on the flop. I add on and have $4000 in chips, which I think is average.

First hand after the break, I am in the BB. Blinds are 100-200. Folds around to a rookie in the SB. He raises to 400. I have AA. I make it 1000. He calls. The flop comes KQ4 with 2 spades. He checks, I shove, he calls immediately. I panic thinking I ran into a monster until he turns over AJ?!?!??! I am a huge favorite. My AA holds and I double up to $8000 which is now the boss stack at the table. I like my chances as we are down to 360 players and I have some solid reads on the players to my left.

I build my stack up to 10,000 and then this CRAP happened (which as you will read in my future posts is indicative of my 2005). I am on the button with AA, blinds are 200-400 w/50 ante. The other big stack at the table is four to my right and open raises with a bet of 4,000 leaving him 3,000 in chips. Weird large raise. Folded to me and I shove knowing he is almost certainly pot stuck with that opening raise. He grimmaced and said he had to call, which he did. He had AQs. Okay, so I am not a good enough player to survive when I am a 95% favorite. Flop came KJ3, and while he was walking away from the table the ugly 10 came on the turn. Sigh. Back down to 3,000 instead of being at 20,000 and a real threat to make it very deep.

I lasted about thirty more minutes and got all my chips in from the button with AKs v. QQ. The Board bricked off and I went out around 270 or so. Played the best I had played in months and drove back to Nashville very dejected.

The $1000 NLHE was very uneventful and I went bust around the third level.

The next post will talk about the 0-5 in the $330 single tables and the $3000 NLHE debacle.

Play well and see you at that felt.