Bounty Tournament
Good friends of ours, Counting Girl and One Outer (Buck Nekkid) have been playing in Choctaw Casinos TGIF Bounty Tournament on Friday nights, and doing quite well. We went up last week, and while we didn't fare too well, Counting Girl was in a 3 way chop and took home $710. We had a great time and decided to give it another try this past Friday.
We got there around 5 o'clock and sat down in a 1/2 No LImit game. You get additional chips for playing cash games before the tournament. 3 hours = 600, 2 hours = 300 and 1 hour = 100. Since we were playing 2 hours before the tournament we got the 300 chip bonus. I was a card rack in the cash game. The table was extremely passive. I doubled up early through a player who I would continue to beat up in every pot we were in together. I flopped 4 to the nut flush in clubs, and bet $10. He called. On the turn I hit the flush, he checked, I bet $20. He made it $40....I called. On the river he bet $20...I pushed all in for $62...he called and his K high flush paid me off. Later on he raised preflop with AK...against my QQ. Flop came blanks...he checked...I bet $10. He called. Blank on the turn...I bet $20 and he folded. Later still in late position I found 2c4c and decided to see if this baby suited connector would hit. Limped in on the button. Flop is 2 4 K. I bet $5. A couple of callers. Flush draw is out there. 2 on the turn. I bet $15...he calls. Blank that completes the flush draw on the river. I bet $20 and he calls with a flush, and pays off my boat. He was second best hand to me for 2 hours. This was nice. I won my buy-in to the tournament and then some.
I sit down with my t2,800 and hope to not get involved in any hands early until I see how the table is. 71 runners, it pays top 7. Shuffle up and deal. Unfortunately I get KQ suited the second hand and on a flop of AK4 end up losing a couple hundred when I call down a player min betting A6. I raise preflop with JJ. C bet the Q high flop and get raised...fold my hand. Not the start I had holped for.
After the first 3 20 minute levels we take a break and I've got t2,100. We come back from break and it's 100/200. I limp into a hand on the button with KJ. Flop comes AK7. BB Short stack goes all in for 600. I figure he's pushing if he hit any part of that board. It folds to me and I call. He shows AJ...and I'm drawing to 2 outs. K on the turn. I suck out and get his bounty. (For every player you knock out you get a card, that you cash in when you bust out. Each one is worth $20).A little later I'm on the button with 3 limpers, and I've got AQ. I push with t2,200. It folds to the big stack who calls me with 33. Door card is an ace, and I double up. Now I'm a bit below average stack at the table. A while later I double up the player who doubled me up when I call his all in. I've got TT to his 77. He rivers a str8. I steal a few blinds...lose a few blinds.
We get back from the second break. Down to 3 tables. Blinds are t500 - 1,000. I'm BB. One limper to the player I doubled up. He's on the button and raises to 4,000. I look down at KK, and push all in over the top for a total of 9,000. Everyone folds. Now I've got t14,500 and in good shape at my table.About this time I win 3 BB in a row. I had terrible hands, but no one raised and I hit the flop hard. Flopped a wheel with 23o. Flopped 2 pair with 74. And flopped top pair with Q6. These hands kept me at average stack or a bit above.Short stacks are busting out.
2 tables now. In position I'm stealing blinds. Folding otherwise. I'm not getting involved in any hands.
Somehow I manage to steal and fold my way to the final table.9 players. I'm about the 5th biggest stack. I continue the same game plan. Fold to me in late position I push...otherwise I'm not involved. It's folded to me in the hijack seat and I think about pushing with Ac6c...but I reconsider and think I'll have a better chance later. Good thing. Guy to my left raises, 2 short stacks go all in for less. Big stack to my left has AK, first caller has AJ...other caller has AT. K on the flop. 2 knocked out. In the money.That worked out quite well.
Several hands later the 2 stacks shorter than me mix it up. AQ vs. QQ. Ace on the flop. QQ is gone. Now I'm the short stack with about t16,000. Second shortest stack busts out next hand. And we're down to 5. I'm BB for 4,000. it folds to SB who raises to 10,000. I look at AJo and push all in. He has to call and tables AT. He says "damn...you have me by a notch." I double up and now there isn't really a short stack.
In talking to the player to my left he tells me he has 12 bounty cards. Player across form me has 11. I have 1. How the heck did I get here with 1. So I say..."I'd like to thank you guys for knocking everyone out...apparently I haven't been holding up my end of the bargain." Since the chip leader had about 50,000...I had 32,000 and everyone else had between 25,000 and 40,000, it seemed like now was a good time to chop. Any hand could change things dramatically.
We asked the TD how much it would be to chop...he said $895. The big stack said lets chop. The player with the second biggest stack (who was a card rack for the final two tables getting AA 3 times) had no idea what we were talking about...so we explained it to him. The winner and second place also got entries into the monthly freeroll, so that was still at stake. When 2 of the players said they already had their entries, I suggested the 3 remaining players just high card for it. We agreed. First player pulled a J, next player pulled a 4, and I pulled a 10. $895...plus bounties...mine plus the player I took out for $40 and entry to the October Freeroll. Tipped the dealers $40. Not a bad night at all. So we call it a night and head for home.
On the ride home we talk about our plans for Saturday. We were supposed to go to a wine festival in Grapevine, but rationalized that with the weather from Ike hitting us, it would be a quagmire. That and the fact that Choctaw's monthly deep stack tournament was Saturdcay at 11 am, kind of led us to the decision to try and parlay the bounty tournament chop into a much bigger win. After all we would be basically in the $300 + $30 on a freeroll.
So we get a good nights sleep and then off too Choctaw in the morning.
Deep Stack Tournament
What a great tournament the Deep Stack Tournament is at Choctaw. $300 + $30. Starting Stack of t8,000. 30 minute blinds. 41 players. And the following blind structure:
25/25
25/50
50/100
75/150
100/200
150/300
200/400
300/600
400/800
500/1000etc.
This was by far the best live tournament structure I had ever played in. Add in that each table had an automatic shuffler, and you were going to get a lot of play for your buy-in.
I'm totally card dead. Early on I get JJ. Raise PF. 2 callers. Flop of 9 5 4. BB donk bets 200...I should have raised, but just call...letting the player with position on me call. K on the turn. BB checks. I check. LP player bets 1,000. BB dumps her hand. I have to dump mine. As things would play out, I'm not sure if that was a good fold or not. LP player was running the table over early, not showing down any hands. Reraising, after a bet and a raise, and getting folded to. He gets caught a couple times on bluffs. Gets somewhat short stacked and ends up going all in with Q6 on a board of AKQT2 with 4 clubs. Third pair. No kicker, on a str8 and flush board with 2 overcards. Oh well.
I manage to hang in till about 2:30 which was 3 and a half hours into the tournament. At that point I had AK on the button. Player who had been very erratic, and overraising with less than premium hands (he was short stack...then big stack...back and forth all day)raised to 2,000. I went all in for 4,700. UTG limper (who was one of the big stacks at the table) Called. Raiser then went all in for 700 more and UTG called him. Raiser had TT. UTG had Kc9C (which had everyone a the table scratching their heads). I caught a K on the river, but it was no match for the T on the flop and another on the turn for Quad T's. To the rail in 24th place.
Merlotgirl had doubled up 2 hands in a row. She got away from her AA hand when she checked behind on a str8 board on the river. Her read was right that he had a 6 for the str8. Well played. Lost the minimum.
Her table was wild. Early on in the 25/25 blind level a dealer from Winstar doubled up when his flopped set beat another players flopped set. Set over set is so sick. Another player at her table doubled up early as well. First 2 players out of the thournament were off her table. Now the clash of the big stacks. Not sure about the early details of the hand other than it was raised preflop. Winstar dealer flops top set...older player bets...gets raised...and pushes all in. Winstar dealer asks him " are you worried if I tell you I flopped top set?" I could hear this at the neighboring table. Older player had flopped AsKs and their were 2 spades on the flop. No spade was to follow. We have a chip leader. At the first break (after 2 hours) he had t35,000 and an enormous mountain of chips.
Merlotgirl played great. Got to the final 2 tables. She got coolered when she pushed all in with JJ in late position, to see the short stack UTG limper call and turn over AA. Nice hand sir. That didn't knock her out but crippled her. With 7s8s in her small blind she completed the bet. Flop came 7Qx, she pushed and got called by the BB who had a Q. Busted in 15th.
We later found out that they chopped when it got to 7 players. They gave the 2 chip leaders $2,000 and the other 5 players got $1,895. One of the players we play with all the time was in on the chop.
It was a great weekend. We learned that Choctaw throws great tournaments. I think it's pretty rare you see a casino tournament where you only pay 10% in juice. That's online type juice. We learned that we're good enough players to play in that level of tournament. And we plan on playing in them in the future.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Friday, September 12, 2008
Viva Las Vegas (Part III)
Vic & Anthony’s
Wednesday, September 3rd was our anniversary. We had planned on going out to a nice dinner, and we were undecided between going to Hugo’s Cellar at the Four Queens, and Vic & Anthony’s at the Golden Nugget. Since we had been treated so well all week at the Nugget, we decided to try Vic & Anthony’s. It was not a mistake. We started with a Martini for me and a Cosmo for Merlotgirl, and they were excellent.
The ambiance was quite nice with rich, dark woods, candlelight, Black & White photos of old Vegas, and Frank Sinatra music playing in the background. It was very much what we had been hoping for. I ordered the Wedge salad, which turned out to be a half head of lettuce, and Merlotgirl had the Pear & Saga Blue Cheese Salad. Both were outstanding. We then opted for a Main Course of Filet Mignon, with a side of Au Gratin Potatoes. The steaks were unbelievable. While they gave us steak knives, you didn’t need them. I proved a point by actually cutting my filet with a fork. It was fantastic. The side order of Au Gratin Potatoes was enough to feed at least four people. It was huge, and also very good. The waiter, (Harold) who knew it was our anniversary then bought out a dessert for us that was incredible as well. It was a no flour chocolate cake. That and a couple of coffees and we had topped off a great anniversary meal.
One older couple stopped by to congratulate us as they were leaving the Restaurant. It seems they had also celebrated their anniversary that night at Vic & Anthony’s. They had a little bit of a head start on us. It was their 54th. It turns out they live only a few miles from us, and have been coming to the Golden Nugget for their anniversary for a very long time. Seems like a good plan to me.
Binion’s Tournament
That night we had planned on playing in the 11:00pm tournament at Binion’s. It was a $75 buy-in freeze out. 20 min. blinds and t5,000 stacks. So we played a bit at the Nugget and wandered over there about 10:45. I’m not sure how many players eventually started the tournament. It seems like we started at four tables, but within a couple 20 minute blind levels were down to 2 tables. Top 3 players got paid.
Merlotgirl was at a different table then me, and she got off to a fast start. She was big stack at her table until her AK flopped top 2 pair, and a young player who had been quite aggressive went all in over the top of her bluff inducing turn bet, to then draw out a flush on the river. He got pretty lucky and he knew it at that point. His game from then on out got quite a bit more passive. While that hit didn’t put Merlotgirl out, it crippled her quite a bit and she lasted a bit longer. I was muddling along at my table, folding everything and stealing blinds when the opportunity presented itself. It seemed like I would always get marginal hands (AJo, ATs, KJs, etc.) in early position, and be glad I mucked them rather than having to call a raise and play them out of position. That made my raises in position seem totally believable, I suppose. The ones I particularly remember were with 87s, 9Ts, and 55.
When we get down to 12 players I’m moved from the table I started at to the other table. I’m somewhere just below average stack at this point from what I can tell. Blinds are now t500 and t1000, and I’ve got about t9,000. For me this is push/fold time. I’ve got enough fold equity that speculative hands shouldn’t be calling my all-ins. Big stacks don’t want to get damaged, and short stacks don’t want to risk their tournament. For the last hour and a half of the tournament my decisions were very easy. Push or Fold.
Each table is 6 handed. My first hand at the new table I am UTG+1 and wake up with AQs. UTG raises to t4,000. He has me covered by about t5,000. I reraise and go all-in for my t9,000. It folds around to him He calls me with KJo. Neither of us improves. I’m now up to t19,500 and in very good position. I’m probably second biggest stack at the table, and third in the tournament now. I gave some back to my caller on the hand when blinds were 1,000 and 2,000 and I was BB. I Called his all in for another 2,000 when I had A9 and his JT hit a J on the Turn.
Shortly we’re down to the Final Table. There are a couple big stacks, a couple short stacks and me and a couple others at around t15,000. I continued to play push/fold and managed to scoop the blinds each time it was folded to me and I pushed. I only got called one time, by the BB who was short stacked. I pushed with 22, he called with K4 and neither of us improved. 22 held up.
We’re down to 6 players and the best hand of the night played out. I wasn’t a part of it, but it was a great hand and I remember it distinctly. The Big Stack is SB and blinds are 1,000 – 2,000. Player to my right, who is UTG. Min raises to 4,000. I fold. Button Folds. SB calls. BB folds. Flop comes up T 4 7 all hearts. SB checks. UTG bets 6,000 (leaving about 8,000 behind). SB snap pushes all in over the top. UTG goes in the tank. Analyzing out loud. “I think I have you beat”, “we might have the same hand”, “did you flop a set?” “or a flush?” “I think I have to call”, What if it’s the same hand?”, “will you show me if I fold?” To which the woman says, “Yes I’ll show you”. He thinks for a while longer….”I can’t believe I played this so bad”. He then folds his hand face up, KT. Top pair, good kicker…no heart. As she rakes the chips, the now huge chip leader tables her cards…a black K and a black T. Same hand.
To make matters worse for the player to my right, we now go on a 10 minute break. He’s steaming the whole time. “I should have called”, “What a terrible mistake”. At the end of the break when we were sitting there I asked him why he was leaving 8,000 behind instead of pushing all in. He said he thought that was a big enough bet to take it down right there. To which I said, but if you push all in for 14,000 you now put all the decisions and doubt on her. “Did you flop a set, or a flush?” The only mistake I see is a) playing that hand in the first place UTG, or b) not pushing and putting the tough decision on her. He busted out shortly after that. I was glad, because while he was a nice guy, I thought he was one of the better players at the table.
We went from 5 handed to 3 handed pretty quickly. One of the key hands for me was when I pushed for t15,000 with AQ and got called by the kid who crippled Merlotgirl earlier. His 66 didn’t improve, and the door card on the flop was an Ace. Now I’m the big stack. When it was final three, and we were all in the money, we moved chips around the table for a bit. A big hand for me was when I was SB and UTG folded, I pushed all in with 74o. Kid thought for a second and folded his hand face up 84o. To which I turned my hand over and showed. This seemed to change his attitude a bit. He seemed to become a little friendlier.
We started talking about chopping, but it seemed more like lets see where we are when we get down to 2 players. I was short stack at this time, but that didn’t last too long. 2 hands later, we were at final 2 players and the kid had me covered by 4,000. Pretty close. In addition to the cash payout Binion’s gives a ticket to a monthly freeroll tournament, and a t-shirt that says “I won a tournament at Binion’s” on it. We had already agreed to give the woman the t-shirt, regardless who won. When I busted her out, me and the kid decided to chop the cash prize, and since he was a local, he could have the seat to the freeroll. So we each got $410, and Merlotgirl and I went back over to the Nugget to play another session of cash.
"Bright light city gonna set my soul Gonna set my soul on fire........
Vic & Anthony’s
Wednesday, September 3rd was our anniversary. We had planned on going out to a nice dinner, and we were undecided between going to Hugo’s Cellar at the Four Queens, and Vic & Anthony’s at the Golden Nugget. Since we had been treated so well all week at the Nugget, we decided to try Vic & Anthony’s. It was not a mistake. We started with a Martini for me and a Cosmo for Merlotgirl, and they were excellent.
The ambiance was quite nice with rich, dark woods, candlelight, Black & White photos of old Vegas, and Frank Sinatra music playing in the background. It was very much what we had been hoping for. I ordered the Wedge salad, which turned out to be a half head of lettuce, and Merlotgirl had the Pear & Saga Blue Cheese Salad. Both were outstanding. We then opted for a Main Course of Filet Mignon, with a side of Au Gratin Potatoes. The steaks were unbelievable. While they gave us steak knives, you didn’t need them. I proved a point by actually cutting my filet with a fork. It was fantastic. The side order of Au Gratin Potatoes was enough to feed at least four people. It was huge, and also very good. The waiter, (Harold) who knew it was our anniversary then bought out a dessert for us that was incredible as well. It was a no flour chocolate cake. That and a couple of coffees and we had topped off a great anniversary meal.
One older couple stopped by to congratulate us as they were leaving the Restaurant. It seems they had also celebrated their anniversary that night at Vic & Anthony’s. They had a little bit of a head start on us. It was their 54th. It turns out they live only a few miles from us, and have been coming to the Golden Nugget for their anniversary for a very long time. Seems like a good plan to me.
Binion’s Tournament
That night we had planned on playing in the 11:00pm tournament at Binion’s. It was a $75 buy-in freeze out. 20 min. blinds and t5,000 stacks. So we played a bit at the Nugget and wandered over there about 10:45. I’m not sure how many players eventually started the tournament. It seems like we started at four tables, but within a couple 20 minute blind levels were down to 2 tables. Top 3 players got paid.
Merlotgirl was at a different table then me, and she got off to a fast start. She was big stack at her table until her AK flopped top 2 pair, and a young player who had been quite aggressive went all in over the top of her bluff inducing turn bet, to then draw out a flush on the river. He got pretty lucky and he knew it at that point. His game from then on out got quite a bit more passive. While that hit didn’t put Merlotgirl out, it crippled her quite a bit and she lasted a bit longer. I was muddling along at my table, folding everything and stealing blinds when the opportunity presented itself. It seemed like I would always get marginal hands (AJo, ATs, KJs, etc.) in early position, and be glad I mucked them rather than having to call a raise and play them out of position. That made my raises in position seem totally believable, I suppose. The ones I particularly remember were with 87s, 9Ts, and 55.
When we get down to 12 players I’m moved from the table I started at to the other table. I’m somewhere just below average stack at this point from what I can tell. Blinds are now t500 and t1000, and I’ve got about t9,000. For me this is push/fold time. I’ve got enough fold equity that speculative hands shouldn’t be calling my all-ins. Big stacks don’t want to get damaged, and short stacks don’t want to risk their tournament. For the last hour and a half of the tournament my decisions were very easy. Push or Fold.
Each table is 6 handed. My first hand at the new table I am UTG+1 and wake up with AQs. UTG raises to t4,000. He has me covered by about t5,000. I reraise and go all-in for my t9,000. It folds around to him He calls me with KJo. Neither of us improves. I’m now up to t19,500 and in very good position. I’m probably second biggest stack at the table, and third in the tournament now. I gave some back to my caller on the hand when blinds were 1,000 and 2,000 and I was BB. I Called his all in for another 2,000 when I had A9 and his JT hit a J on the Turn.
Shortly we’re down to the Final Table. There are a couple big stacks, a couple short stacks and me and a couple others at around t15,000. I continued to play push/fold and managed to scoop the blinds each time it was folded to me and I pushed. I only got called one time, by the BB who was short stacked. I pushed with 22, he called with K4 and neither of us improved. 22 held up.
We’re down to 6 players and the best hand of the night played out. I wasn’t a part of it, but it was a great hand and I remember it distinctly. The Big Stack is SB and blinds are 1,000 – 2,000. Player to my right, who is UTG. Min raises to 4,000. I fold. Button Folds. SB calls. BB folds. Flop comes up T 4 7 all hearts. SB checks. UTG bets 6,000 (leaving about 8,000 behind). SB snap pushes all in over the top. UTG goes in the tank. Analyzing out loud. “I think I have you beat”, “we might have the same hand”, “did you flop a set?” “or a flush?” “I think I have to call”, What if it’s the same hand?”, “will you show me if I fold?” To which the woman says, “Yes I’ll show you”. He thinks for a while longer….”I can’t believe I played this so bad”. He then folds his hand face up, KT. Top pair, good kicker…no heart. As she rakes the chips, the now huge chip leader tables her cards…a black K and a black T. Same hand.
To make matters worse for the player to my right, we now go on a 10 minute break. He’s steaming the whole time. “I should have called”, “What a terrible mistake”. At the end of the break when we were sitting there I asked him why he was leaving 8,000 behind instead of pushing all in. He said he thought that was a big enough bet to take it down right there. To which I said, but if you push all in for 14,000 you now put all the decisions and doubt on her. “Did you flop a set, or a flush?” The only mistake I see is a) playing that hand in the first place UTG, or b) not pushing and putting the tough decision on her. He busted out shortly after that. I was glad, because while he was a nice guy, I thought he was one of the better players at the table.
We went from 5 handed to 3 handed pretty quickly. One of the key hands for me was when I pushed for t15,000 with AQ and got called by the kid who crippled Merlotgirl earlier. His 66 didn’t improve, and the door card on the flop was an Ace. Now I’m the big stack. When it was final three, and we were all in the money, we moved chips around the table for a bit. A big hand for me was when I was SB and UTG folded, I pushed all in with 74o. Kid thought for a second and folded his hand face up 84o. To which I turned my hand over and showed. This seemed to change his attitude a bit. He seemed to become a little friendlier.
We started talking about chopping, but it seemed more like lets see where we are when we get down to 2 players. I was short stack at this time, but that didn’t last too long. 2 hands later, we were at final 2 players and the kid had me covered by 4,000. Pretty close. In addition to the cash payout Binion’s gives a ticket to a monthly freeroll tournament, and a t-shirt that says “I won a tournament at Binion’s” on it. We had already agreed to give the woman the t-shirt, regardless who won. When I busted her out, me and the kid decided to chop the cash prize, and since he was a local, he could have the seat to the freeroll. So we each got $410, and Merlotgirl and I went back over to the Nugget to play another session of cash.
"Bright light city gonna set my soul Gonna set my soul on fire........
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Viva Las Vegas (Part II)
Oklahoma Johnny Hale
We played in a tournament at Binion’s again. Merlotgirl was at the table next to mine. There is an older gentleman at her table who has a bit of bling on. Gold medallion on a necklace, rings and bracelet. And he’s wearing a blue windbreaker with a map of Oklahoma on the back and the name “Oklahoma Johnny Hale” next to it. I knew the name. Knew he was an old time poker pro who was a contemporary of Doyle Brunson’s. Well, it turns out that it really is Oklahoma Johnny Hale playing in a small tournament at Binion’s. Merlotgirl told me the following stories about her table. With t250 in the pot Johnny bet t1,500 at it. It folded around to the last player, who as he’s folding, asked “Why so much Johnny?” To which Mr. Hale responded…”Why send a boy to do a man’s work?” (I filed that line away for use at a later time). When he busted out later he said “Don’t worry about me, I have plenty of money at home.”
Now, while my wife and I had both heard of Oklahoma Johnny Hale, we didn’t really know anything about him. So when we got home we did a little research and found out the following:
He was responsible for the Seniors event being included in the WSOP starting in 2001.
He was voted the Best All Around Poker player at the 11th WSOP in 1980. As a point of reference Chip Reese was voted Best All Around in 1981.
He regularly sponsors tournaments at the Cherokee Casino in Tulsa.
He was the host of the Senior Event at this years WSOP.
He’s a frequent writer in Poker Player Newspaper.
He assisted in founding the WSOP.
He was the Founder of the Senior World Poker Championship.
As my wife will attest it was a distinct pleasure to play with one of the greats of the game. A man who was a true gentleman, and was truly an ambassador for the game.
(To Be Continued)
Oklahoma Johnny Hale
We played in a tournament at Binion’s again. Merlotgirl was at the table next to mine. There is an older gentleman at her table who has a bit of bling on. Gold medallion on a necklace, rings and bracelet. And he’s wearing a blue windbreaker with a map of Oklahoma on the back and the name “Oklahoma Johnny Hale” next to it. I knew the name. Knew he was an old time poker pro who was a contemporary of Doyle Brunson’s. Well, it turns out that it really is Oklahoma Johnny Hale playing in a small tournament at Binion’s. Merlotgirl told me the following stories about her table. With t250 in the pot Johnny bet t1,500 at it. It folded around to the last player, who as he’s folding, asked “Why so much Johnny?” To which Mr. Hale responded…”Why send a boy to do a man’s work?” (I filed that line away for use at a later time). When he busted out later he said “Don’t worry about me, I have plenty of money at home.”
Now, while my wife and I had both heard of Oklahoma Johnny Hale, we didn’t really know anything about him. So when we got home we did a little research and found out the following:
He was responsible for the Seniors event being included in the WSOP starting in 2001.
He was voted the Best All Around Poker player at the 11th WSOP in 1980. As a point of reference Chip Reese was voted Best All Around in 1981.
He regularly sponsors tournaments at the Cherokee Casino in Tulsa.
He was the host of the Senior Event at this years WSOP.
He’s a frequent writer in Poker Player Newspaper.
He assisted in founding the WSOP.
He was the Founder of the Senior World Poker Championship.
As my wife will attest it was a distinct pleasure to play with one of the greats of the game. A man who was a true gentleman, and was truly an ambassador for the game.
(To Be Continued)
Monday, September 8, 2008
Viva Las Vegas (Part 1)
Viva Las Vegas
Merlotgirl and I have returned from our Annual (at least) pilgrimage to Las Vegas. We were married there last Labor Day and plan on going back for our anniversary every year. This post will be quite long, and possibly broken up into several parts (we’ll see how much I can get done at a sitting). Hopefully it won’t bore the 2 or 3 people who read these things. If it does…oh well…sorry you wasted your time.
I’ll try and make it interesting, but I will be leaving out the XXX stuff. Nuff said.
FIRST CLASS
Our itinerary was as follows:
• Depart DFW at 7:30 AM on Sunday August 31st
• Check into the Golden Nugget
• Depart McCarron Airport at 1:30 PM Thursday, September 4th
That’s it. No other plans.
The trip got off to a rousing start when my lovely wife discovered that for the paltry sum of $100 each, we could upgrade to First Class for the flight to Vegas. Since I had just finished a project where I worked 91 hours in a 7 day period, the luxury of First Class was well worth it. We sat down, ordered a cocktail, loaded “The Grand” into the laptop and had a wonderful flight on US Airways.
For those who don’t already know, “The Grand” is a poker movie which went directly to DVD. I won’t say it’s good. But it is pretty hilarious. Phil Laak, Antonio Esfandiari, Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negraneau, Phil Hellmuth and others have cameo appearances. Woody Harrelson (as a self destructive gambler playing to save his casino), Dennis Farina , Cheryl Hines (as an Annie Duke type), David Cross (as the trash talking brother of Cheryl Hines), Richard Kind (as the Amateur Internet player) and Chris Parnell (as the math wizard), Gabe Kaplan (as the father of Cheryl Hines and David Cross) make this entourage poker comedy quite enjoyable. Phil Gordon and his sidekick are the analysts for “The Grand Poker Championship” of the National Indoor Poker League. It is interesting to note that each actor was given direction concerning their character, and then left to improvise each scene. Supposedly the poker matches were played by the actors as it was being filmed. The ending was determined by how the game turned out on the set. If you’re looking for a great poker movie, watch Rounders. If you’re looking for a poker related laugh…I can recommend this movie.
$20 Trick
We arrive at McCarron and take a cab to the Nugget, where we check our bags with the bellman and head off to the Champagne Brunch. We sat overlooking the Nuggets newly renovated pool (with the Shark Tank in the middle of it) and had a fantastic Brunch while sipping Poinsettias. We’re off to a great start.
When we finish with Brunch it’s still prior to check in time, but we go to the Registration Desk anyway. I slip a $20 between my Drivers License and Credit Card, and ask if there are any Complimentary Upgrades available for us. Lo and behold Derek was able to find a newly renovated North Tower room for us. This room is normally $60 / night more than what we paid…so the $20 was well worth it. The $20 trick works again!!!
We arrive at the room and find a very nice, smoke free room with a new big screen plasma TV. Very nice. Unpack and off to the poker room.
The Golden Nuggets Poker Room is not very big. Only 10 tables…but it is very nicely appointed and very comfortable. They were spreading 1-2 No Limit and 3-6 Limit with a Full Kill. We sat at the 3-6 table and played for a few hours until we decided to take a walk around downtown. This session was the beginning of a great week of poker for me. I played 2 – 3 (4 hours or longer) sessions of poker each day, and left each session with more chips then I started.
We later had dinner at The Grotto, and informal Italian Restaurant at the Nugget. It was excellent. Back to the Poker Room where I have another small winning session. Off to bed early the first night.
Labor Day Poker Tournaments
We had planned on playing in Binions 10AM Poker Tournament. When we were in Vegas last year we really liked the feel of Binions and The Golden Nugget. You could feel the essence of pre-strip Vegas, and we liked that vibe. So we were definitely going to play some at Binions. We both entered the 10AM tournament and my better half did much better than I did. I bust out when my 5h6h that flopped an Open Ended Str8 Flush draw failed to improve. I busted out early enough to go buy in the Nugget 11Am Tournament. The Nugget has 4 tournaments daily…all with the same structure. $65 buy in, with one $40 rebuy/add-on. In essence it’s a $105 buy in tournament. You start with t 2,500 and the buy-in or add-on gets you an additional t 3,000. You can rebuy/add on anytime in the first hour (3 (20) minute blind levels). The juice at $13 is pretty steep though. We played them because we really liked the room. I didn’t fare well in this tournament either.
After Merlotgirl busted out we checked on our good friends Ms. America and Bruce who were also celebrating their anniversary in Vegas. We got married the same day as them, only 24 years later. We met them over at the LV Hilton and played some Pai Gow Poker. We came very close to hitting it pretty big there. For those of you who don’t know Pai Gow Poker it’s a pretty simple game and more often then not results in a push with the dealer. You place your bet, and you can place an additional bet for Pairs Plus. In our case it was $5 on the hand, we didn’t play the Pairs Plus. You receive 7 cards and make 2 poker hands. A 5 card hand (which must be better than your 2 card hand) and a 2 card hand. For instance, if you had the following cards As Ah 2d 2s 6d 6c Qd, you would put your 2 2 6 6 Q as your 5 card hand, and your AA as the 2 card hand. You then wait to see the dealers hand. You will obviously win the 2 card hand, and if you win the 5 card hand as well you win your bet minus a small commission. If you lose the 5 card hand, you push that round and keep your bet, just like a push in black jack. Well after we’re playing a while someone else sits down at our table and is playing the Pairs Plus bet. So Merlotgirl decides to try it one time. On that bet you can bet anywhere from $1 on up. If you bet at least $5 on it, you get the “Envy” button, which means if any other player gets a big hand, you also get paid (although not as much). As soon as she places the bet, the gentleman who just joined us looks at his hand and starts babbling that he thinks he has a Royal Flush…He lays his hand down for us to see (which is legal…as a matter of fact the Dealer will help you play your hand if you ask them) and sure enough he has a Royal Flush…not only that but he has a 6 card Str8 Flush. His Royal paid him $750 and earned Merlotgirl $50. If he had somehow managed to also have the 8 of spades, he would have had a 7 card str8 flush which would have paid him $25,000 for his $5 bet, and would have netted my wife $5,000. Close….very very close.
After visiting with our friends a bit we headed back to the Nugget. We watched a movie in our room, and had a bite to eat. Relaxed for a while.
Poker and Politics
After resting for a while we find ourselves back in the Poker Room. Me sitting at a 1-2 NL table, and Merlotgirl at a 3-6 with a kill table right next to mine. I’m folding for an orbit or two…watching and listening. As it turns out my table is turning into quite a collection of characters. The 1 seat is empty. I’m in the 2 seat. In the 3 seat is a player who I played the tournament with earlier that day. He rode a lucky streak which included his preflop all in with 33 beating my TT, when he flopped a set, into the money at the 11 am tournament earlier in the day. In the 4 seat is a gentleman who looked like the Professor from Gilligans Island. 5 seat was several players throughout the night. 6 seat was a gent with a tank top on, crew cut, and I would have to say very opinionated on a variety of topics. A little rough around the edges. 7 seat several players off and on. 8 Seat an older gentleman(when I say older…I’m talking like 80) who apparently had a lot of money to throw around. Seat 9 a Willie Nelson look alike. Cowboy hat…rugged looking, about 70 years old. He was there to gamble…and apparently it didn’t matter how many times he bought in either. I can’t even tell you who was in the 10 seat. The major players in tonights events were 33 (Seat 3), the Professor (seat 4), Crew Cut (Seat 6), Ocho (80 year old in Seat 7), Willie (Seat 8 ) and yours truly.
Talk turns to politics (never a good thing at a poker table) as I’m quietly observing Crew Cut, Ocho and Willie express their displeasure with the Democrats, and expound the virtues of the Republican Party. As I’m enjoying the show at my table for ten minutes or so , I see The Professor getting a little uneasy. Finally, he’s had enough. He speaks up, in a rather loud tone “If I’m going to have to listen to this, then I’m going to have to give my opinion as well….” And he goes off on a defense of the Democrats and making accusations and imflammatory remarks about the Republicans. This sure makes folding easy when there’s a floor show. This continues for several hands…with voices on both sides getting raised. Finally, 33 who I think is trying to be funny stands up and says…”why don’t you 2 dance?” (Meaning The Prof and Willie). Well Willie, who is a Purple Heart Viet Nam war veteran has no problem with this idea…and take it to mean go outside and have at it. Well, this isn’t quite what The Professor was thinking. He being a Viet Nam War conscientious objector and all. It was really getting heated now. I hear the following conversation at my wifes table. Black woman “Is that your husband on that table?” Merlotgirl – “Yes.” Black Woman – “Is he the one wanting them to take it outside?” Merlotgirl – “ I can guarantee you it isn’t him. I’m sure he’s sitting there enjoying the show, just waiting for someone to make a mistake and take their chips.” To which I lean over and smile at both of them. Tee hee.
Needless to say the floor was called over, and reminded everyone that it’s not a good idea to talk politics at a poker table. Everyone agreed. Of course it didn’t stop the comments…but everyone agreed. And oh yeah, I love it when a plan comes together. 2 hands after a visit from the floor. The following happened. I wake up with 77 in the Big blind. It gets raised to $7 and I call, along with 5 others. Flop comes up 5 7 9 rainbow, with the 7 being the door card. $$$ flashing before my eyes. I check…and quite unexpectedly…it checks around. Fooey. 9 on the turn. Cha ching…boat. I’ll give it 1 more shot at checking. 33 bets $30…woo hoo. It folds around to me. I raise to $80. He gets this disgusted look…checks my stack which ahs only another $60 behind and he pushes all in. I insta call. He says…shit…do you have a boat. I nod my head as I table my 77’s. He flopped a str8 and is drawing dead. Ship it!!!!!!!
Next Installment will include playing a tournament with Oklahoma Johnny Hale (The Gentleman Gambler and winner of the Best All Around Poker Player at the WSOP in 1980 when they voted on it), winning a tournament at Binions, "whoaaaaa", more cash games and controversy at the Nugget
Merlotgirl and I have returned from our Annual (at least) pilgrimage to Las Vegas. We were married there last Labor Day and plan on going back for our anniversary every year. This post will be quite long, and possibly broken up into several parts (we’ll see how much I can get done at a sitting). Hopefully it won’t bore the 2 or 3 people who read these things. If it does…oh well…sorry you wasted your time.
I’ll try and make it interesting, but I will be leaving out the XXX stuff. Nuff said.
FIRST CLASS
Our itinerary was as follows:
• Depart DFW at 7:30 AM on Sunday August 31st
• Check into the Golden Nugget
• Depart McCarron Airport at 1:30 PM Thursday, September 4th
That’s it. No other plans.
The trip got off to a rousing start when my lovely wife discovered that for the paltry sum of $100 each, we could upgrade to First Class for the flight to Vegas. Since I had just finished a project where I worked 91 hours in a 7 day period, the luxury of First Class was well worth it. We sat down, ordered a cocktail, loaded “The Grand” into the laptop and had a wonderful flight on US Airways.
For those who don’t already know, “The Grand” is a poker movie which went directly to DVD. I won’t say it’s good. But it is pretty hilarious. Phil Laak, Antonio Esfandiari, Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negraneau, Phil Hellmuth and others have cameo appearances. Woody Harrelson (as a self destructive gambler playing to save his casino), Dennis Farina , Cheryl Hines (as an Annie Duke type), David Cross (as the trash talking brother of Cheryl Hines), Richard Kind (as the Amateur Internet player) and Chris Parnell (as the math wizard), Gabe Kaplan (as the father of Cheryl Hines and David Cross) make this entourage poker comedy quite enjoyable. Phil Gordon and his sidekick are the analysts for “The Grand Poker Championship” of the National Indoor Poker League. It is interesting to note that each actor was given direction concerning their character, and then left to improvise each scene. Supposedly the poker matches were played by the actors as it was being filmed. The ending was determined by how the game turned out on the set. If you’re looking for a great poker movie, watch Rounders. If you’re looking for a poker related laugh…I can recommend this movie.
$20 Trick
We arrive at McCarron and take a cab to the Nugget, where we check our bags with the bellman and head off to the Champagne Brunch. We sat overlooking the Nuggets newly renovated pool (with the Shark Tank in the middle of it) and had a fantastic Brunch while sipping Poinsettias. We’re off to a great start.
When we finish with Brunch it’s still prior to check in time, but we go to the Registration Desk anyway. I slip a $20 between my Drivers License and Credit Card, and ask if there are any Complimentary Upgrades available for us. Lo and behold Derek was able to find a newly renovated North Tower room for us. This room is normally $60 / night more than what we paid…so the $20 was well worth it. The $20 trick works again!!!
We arrive at the room and find a very nice, smoke free room with a new big screen plasma TV. Very nice. Unpack and off to the poker room.
The Golden Nuggets Poker Room is not very big. Only 10 tables…but it is very nicely appointed and very comfortable. They were spreading 1-2 No Limit and 3-6 Limit with a Full Kill. We sat at the 3-6 table and played for a few hours until we decided to take a walk around downtown. This session was the beginning of a great week of poker for me. I played 2 – 3 (4 hours or longer) sessions of poker each day, and left each session with more chips then I started.
We later had dinner at The Grotto, and informal Italian Restaurant at the Nugget. It was excellent. Back to the Poker Room where I have another small winning session. Off to bed early the first night.
Labor Day Poker Tournaments
We had planned on playing in Binions 10AM Poker Tournament. When we were in Vegas last year we really liked the feel of Binions and The Golden Nugget. You could feel the essence of pre-strip Vegas, and we liked that vibe. So we were definitely going to play some at Binions. We both entered the 10AM tournament and my better half did much better than I did. I bust out when my 5h6h that flopped an Open Ended Str8 Flush draw failed to improve. I busted out early enough to go buy in the Nugget 11Am Tournament. The Nugget has 4 tournaments daily…all with the same structure. $65 buy in, with one $40 rebuy/add-on. In essence it’s a $105 buy in tournament. You start with t 2,500 and the buy-in or add-on gets you an additional t 3,000. You can rebuy/add on anytime in the first hour (3 (20) minute blind levels). The juice at $13 is pretty steep though. We played them because we really liked the room. I didn’t fare well in this tournament either.
After Merlotgirl busted out we checked on our good friends Ms. America and Bruce who were also celebrating their anniversary in Vegas. We got married the same day as them, only 24 years later. We met them over at the LV Hilton and played some Pai Gow Poker. We came very close to hitting it pretty big there. For those of you who don’t know Pai Gow Poker it’s a pretty simple game and more often then not results in a push with the dealer. You place your bet, and you can place an additional bet for Pairs Plus. In our case it was $5 on the hand, we didn’t play the Pairs Plus. You receive 7 cards and make 2 poker hands. A 5 card hand (which must be better than your 2 card hand) and a 2 card hand. For instance, if you had the following cards As Ah 2d 2s 6d 6c Qd, you would put your 2 2 6 6 Q as your 5 card hand, and your AA as the 2 card hand. You then wait to see the dealers hand. You will obviously win the 2 card hand, and if you win the 5 card hand as well you win your bet minus a small commission. If you lose the 5 card hand, you push that round and keep your bet, just like a push in black jack. Well after we’re playing a while someone else sits down at our table and is playing the Pairs Plus bet. So Merlotgirl decides to try it one time. On that bet you can bet anywhere from $1 on up. If you bet at least $5 on it, you get the “Envy” button, which means if any other player gets a big hand, you also get paid (although not as much). As soon as she places the bet, the gentleman who just joined us looks at his hand and starts babbling that he thinks he has a Royal Flush…He lays his hand down for us to see (which is legal…as a matter of fact the Dealer will help you play your hand if you ask them) and sure enough he has a Royal Flush…not only that but he has a 6 card Str8 Flush. His Royal paid him $750 and earned Merlotgirl $50. If he had somehow managed to also have the 8 of spades, he would have had a 7 card str8 flush which would have paid him $25,000 for his $5 bet, and would have netted my wife $5,000. Close….very very close.
After visiting with our friends a bit we headed back to the Nugget. We watched a movie in our room, and had a bite to eat. Relaxed for a while.
Poker and Politics
After resting for a while we find ourselves back in the Poker Room. Me sitting at a 1-2 NL table, and Merlotgirl at a 3-6 with a kill table right next to mine. I’m folding for an orbit or two…watching and listening. As it turns out my table is turning into quite a collection of characters. The 1 seat is empty. I’m in the 2 seat. In the 3 seat is a player who I played the tournament with earlier that day. He rode a lucky streak which included his preflop all in with 33 beating my TT, when he flopped a set, into the money at the 11 am tournament earlier in the day. In the 4 seat is a gentleman who looked like the Professor from Gilligans Island. 5 seat was several players throughout the night. 6 seat was a gent with a tank top on, crew cut, and I would have to say very opinionated on a variety of topics. A little rough around the edges. 7 seat several players off and on. 8 Seat an older gentleman(when I say older…I’m talking like 80) who apparently had a lot of money to throw around. Seat 9 a Willie Nelson look alike. Cowboy hat…rugged looking, about 70 years old. He was there to gamble…and apparently it didn’t matter how many times he bought in either. I can’t even tell you who was in the 10 seat. The major players in tonights events were 33 (Seat 3), the Professor (seat 4), Crew Cut (Seat 6), Ocho (80 year old in Seat 7), Willie (Seat 8 ) and yours truly.
Talk turns to politics (never a good thing at a poker table) as I’m quietly observing Crew Cut, Ocho and Willie express their displeasure with the Democrats, and expound the virtues of the Republican Party. As I’m enjoying the show at my table for ten minutes or so , I see The Professor getting a little uneasy. Finally, he’s had enough. He speaks up, in a rather loud tone “If I’m going to have to listen to this, then I’m going to have to give my opinion as well….” And he goes off on a defense of the Democrats and making accusations and imflammatory remarks about the Republicans. This sure makes folding easy when there’s a floor show. This continues for several hands…with voices on both sides getting raised. Finally, 33 who I think is trying to be funny stands up and says…”why don’t you 2 dance?” (Meaning The Prof and Willie). Well Willie, who is a Purple Heart Viet Nam war veteran has no problem with this idea…and take it to mean go outside and have at it. Well, this isn’t quite what The Professor was thinking. He being a Viet Nam War conscientious objector and all. It was really getting heated now. I hear the following conversation at my wifes table. Black woman “Is that your husband on that table?” Merlotgirl – “Yes.” Black Woman – “Is he the one wanting them to take it outside?” Merlotgirl – “ I can guarantee you it isn’t him. I’m sure he’s sitting there enjoying the show, just waiting for someone to make a mistake and take their chips.” To which I lean over and smile at both of them. Tee hee.
Needless to say the floor was called over, and reminded everyone that it’s not a good idea to talk politics at a poker table. Everyone agreed. Of course it didn’t stop the comments…but everyone agreed. And oh yeah, I love it when a plan comes together. 2 hands after a visit from the floor. The following happened. I wake up with 77 in the Big blind. It gets raised to $7 and I call, along with 5 others. Flop comes up 5 7 9 rainbow, with the 7 being the door card. $$$ flashing before my eyes. I check…and quite unexpectedly…it checks around. Fooey. 9 on the turn. Cha ching…boat. I’ll give it 1 more shot at checking. 33 bets $30…woo hoo. It folds around to me. I raise to $80. He gets this disgusted look…checks my stack which ahs only another $60 behind and he pushes all in. I insta call. He says…shit…do you have a boat. I nod my head as I table my 77’s. He flopped a str8 and is drawing dead. Ship it!!!!!!!
Next Installment will include playing a tournament with Oklahoma Johnny Hale (The Gentleman Gambler and winner of the Best All Around Poker Player at the WSOP in 1980 when they voted on it), winning a tournament at Binions, "whoaaaaa", more cash games and controversy at the Nugget
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