So yesterday represented the end of playing poker live and online
in vegas, the good thing with london guests(LGs) over, and who had
no interest in gambling, we had to find other things to do.
If ur not gambling in vegas , then during the day shopping
is the next best thing. Luckily the LGs were organised and
as i woke up at lunch time, they had already organised to see
a cirque de solei show later that night and to fly in a helicopter
to the grand canyon. In an accumulated time of 3 months
of vegas i had not been to the grand canyon and still not
seen a cirque show in vegas.
Headed to the shopping mall, R who gets teased for being quite
ghey/gay when shopping is actually very useful when ur shopping
for clothes. He can spot all the good things straight away. In fact
he looks at a pile of jeans and i see the same thing, and somehow
he distinguishes them all. That being said i didnt end up buying
much.
Saw the cirque show, mysterre, which wasnt bad, the human
strength section which was two guys , when i saw a similar
bit in the adelaide cirque show it was a guy and a girl. Anyway
two guys suspending one another above the ground was
a lot more gay, tho very impressive. Picture someone grabbing
your ankles while your lying face down, then the person
who grabs your ankles is doing a hand stand so they are
perpendicular to one another, then the guy lying down
start lifting the other guy up using his calf and hamstring
muscles. Crazy !
I explained to the LGs that americans have an unhealthy
appetite for lining up, none more apparent than the
fact that people lined up for an hour and a half before
the show to get in, despite the fact that everyone
had reserved seats. Even the guy selling the tickets c0uldnt
explain it.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Vegas and some new guests
so ive finnished with the wpt event, out of my last
vegas poker tournment till next year, but ive still
got another week in vegas, as a couple of friends are
coming from London. I actually think they are coming
tomorrz, and today being Sunday ill play some of
the online tournaments but luckily they call me up
b4 they leave. Anyway i decide to play them and work
it out later if im still in. 10 hands into the FT tourney
they arrive, and they feel like doing something so i
pester Ed to take over. We head to the bellagios noodles
eat the usual. Rewind a few hours as R(cousins wifes
cousin, who i stay with often when im in london, whose
4 years younger ), his 2nd question to me after
arriving was whether i had seen transformers.
I hadnt so after dinner headed off to the Orleans, a budget
looking casino out of the strip that has a cinema complex.
Transformers was pretty pretty good, tho there were
a lot of things that could have been better, ie: more robot
character development etc.
Then we headed back to the rio to check up on Ed, who
miraculously was still in the tournament and a bit annoyed
that i had disapeared for about 6 hours. I think he thought
i was just going to lunch, not to mention he still had to write
abd take photos covering the wsop. so i took over the
tournament, my london friends went to bed; and playing
in the media room i had a few spectators and Ed who
had a 50 percent stake. Soon enuff i was at my second
table in as many weeks in big online tourney, this
time i busted in 6th running into aces, but that
was good for 38k split 50_50. Ed and i got some
drinks and i crashed at 7am , R sleepily asked how
i went, i said good and hes right when hes around
i seem to run good
vegas poker tournment till next year, but ive still
got another week in vegas, as a couple of friends are
coming from London. I actually think they are coming
tomorrz, and today being Sunday ill play some of
the online tournaments but luckily they call me up
b4 they leave. Anyway i decide to play them and work
it out later if im still in. 10 hands into the FT tourney
they arrive, and they feel like doing something so i
pester Ed to take over. We head to the bellagios noodles
eat the usual. Rewind a few hours as R(cousins wifes
cousin, who i stay with often when im in london, whose
4 years younger ), his 2nd question to me after
arriving was whether i had seen transformers.
I hadnt so after dinner headed off to the Orleans, a budget
looking casino out of the strip that has a cinema complex.
Transformers was pretty pretty good, tho there were
a lot of things that could have been better, ie: more robot
character development etc.
Then we headed back to the rio to check up on Ed, who
miraculously was still in the tournament and a bit annoyed
that i had disapeared for about 6 hours. I think he thought
i was just going to lunch, not to mention he still had to write
abd take photos covering the wsop. so i took over the
tournament, my london friends went to bed; and playing
in the media room i had a few spectators and Ed who
had a 50 percent stake. Soon enuff i was at my second
table in as many weeks in big online tourney, this
time i busted in 6th running into aces, but that
was good for 38k split 50_50. Ed and i got some
drinks and i crashed at 7am , R sleepily asked how
i went, i said good and hes right when hes around
i seem to run good
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
WPT bellagio
(my blog is now oscillating between the past and the
(i was going to say present, but unless i write that
"im writing in my blog" then really, its the past or
ill call it, the not so past)
July 2007, So im eating at noodles at the bellagio
for perhaps the 25th time. And i get joined by
an english poker player, and some of his friends.
I find out that the WPT bellagio actually has a day
1c, meaning i can still enter this event ! I manage
to get 10k in cash, and i buy in . I wasnt happy
with how i ended the WSOP, moderately annoyed i didnt
push all in on the last hand, and like leaving a
bitter taste in a mouth i thought a final table
here would definately make this a good vegas trip.
Day 1c, walking across to the bellagio, i discover
i dont have any cufflinks for my shirt, which is no
big deal, but i figure i can get some on the way in.
Hermes has reasonably priced cufflinks for $400
pause not , i mean ..... .... .... NOT. So i find
some for a $100 which still seems ridiculous, but
5 weeks into vegas , represents the only shopping
other than some books.
Being moderately retarded i spend the first 45mins
of the 90min level, trying to get the cufflinks onto
my shirt. However the rest of the day goes pretty good,
building up to 40k , before i have aces into 2 pair,
but at least keep the pot small , but hit a full house
near the end of the day, to finnish with 38k. Ralph perry
says i played well afterwards, which is kind of good
to have someone tell u that after. He was in the infamous
tony g send off. See the video RPerry v TonyG
Head to buffet, but due to the WPT having sensible playing hours
the day finnishes a lot earlier than normal, and i have time to
go out, but figure ill take it easy as ive got day 2 tomorrow.
Day 2 starts off meandering along, i have a few hands that seem
to connect with the flops without getting paid off. And my stack
just floats along. I then have i think k-4 suited on the button,
and someone limps in early pos, i call and the blinds come in.
The flop comes 10-4-2h, limper bets, i call and blinds fold.
Then the turn comes another 4, he bets a lot of chips, i raise,
and he goes all in. He shows 5-5 ?? I win a nice pot and im up to
about 80k. Mike mattusow is on my table, and tells me how he has
only received "charity" twice before. Mike mattusow tho is playing
great, in fact i dont think ive really seen anyone play that good.
You play with a lot of name players, and most of them arent ever
on their game or just not that good. But today, as he explains that
he played really bad in the WSOP is determined to play good in this
tournament. I re-raise him with AA, and he mucks AK very quickly.
His re-raises etc are all timed perfectly and im very impressed.
Generally ive stayed out of his way, but at least beaten him
in the few pots against him. Then i have a hand where i re-raise
with AA again, against someone else. I check it to the river before
better, on a k-10 suited board which is risky but what the hell.
Then i bet and on the river and the other guy folds QQ. Mattusow
tells him he made a bad fold, I said later i had Aces, and he
said hed bet me a $1000 i didnt have AA. Shame there are no
hole card cams, and he offers for me to do a lie detector test.
Dinner break comes up, and i end up eating with mattusow and
a couple of other guys. He talks about how poker players talk
a lot and dont band together to do anything about Harrahs, which
are basically like the evil corporation , much like the empire
in star wars. Its very true, but the players are generally
getting shafted.
After dinner, not much goes right, and i seem to be going
backwards fast. The bubble has burst which is actually a 100ppl
in a 560 player event. Thats the WPT weird payout system, but
at least im getting my money back, which is not the goal.
I am trying to play, but get short stacked , push all in a few times,
then get called with JJ agaisnt AK, hold up, then 2 hands later
AQ vs KK (button v bb), guy who has re-raised me a few times
before, does it again , i make the call. Spike an ace on the
river ! Up to 160 and comfortable. That was actually the 2nd
race of 5 that i won, but luckily i won the ones when my tournament
was on the line. Very next hand i have QQ and run into short stack
AA :( Down to 100ish, and finish the day on 95. Which is not great.
Enter day 3. There are about 60 players left. I am at about 100k,
when i raise with KQ. Flop comes Q-8-2 rainbow. David Benyamine has
called from the bb, he checks i check. Turn comes a Q. I bet
he puts me all in, i call pretty quickly, he has q-10, i double up
to over 200. Check on the flop paid off. I hover around 200, not
getting much, when i pick up KK. Thinking i need to try something
here especially with aggressive ppl on my left who might re-raise,
i flat call the raise, but no one else re-pops and its me and
some other guy. Flop come A-7-7. Dang ! He checks, hmmm, i check.
Turn comes a 9, he bets 25k the same size as the raise preflop,
so i just call, reasonably confident, he will check the river
unless he has a good ace. The river comes a Q. He bets again, ifold.
He shows AQ, i lost the minimum i guess, but my plan to double
thru backfired. The table gets broken with some 30+ ppl left. I
have AK, i reraise all in, the guy i had dinner with the previous
night calls with a9. Flop comes a 9, and thats it. No WPT final
table :(
Disapointing but i thought i played pretty good for most of it.
Mattusow ended up finnishing 2nd, here were the results
Reviewing my progress in 10k events so far.
2 aussie millioms - 0 cashes
2 wpt - 2 cashes
1 ept - 1 cash
London Party Poker - 1 cash
2 wsop - 1 cash
5 cashes / 8 events, but no final tables, yet ... London
party poker and now this wpt being my best chances.
(i was going to say present, but unless i write that
"im writing in my blog" then really, its the past or
ill call it, the not so past)
July 2007, So im eating at noodles at the bellagio
for perhaps the 25th time. And i get joined by
an english poker player, and some of his friends.
I find out that the WPT bellagio actually has a day
1c, meaning i can still enter this event ! I manage
to get 10k in cash, and i buy in . I wasnt happy
with how i ended the WSOP, moderately annoyed i didnt
push all in on the last hand, and like leaving a
bitter taste in a mouth i thought a final table
here would definately make this a good vegas trip.
Day 1c, walking across to the bellagio, i discover
i dont have any cufflinks for my shirt, which is no
big deal, but i figure i can get some on the way in.
Hermes has reasonably priced cufflinks for $400
pause not , i mean ..... .... .... NOT. So i find
some for a $100 which still seems ridiculous, but
5 weeks into vegas , represents the only shopping
other than some books.
Being moderately retarded i spend the first 45mins
of the 90min level, trying to get the cufflinks onto
my shirt. However the rest of the day goes pretty good,
building up to 40k , before i have aces into 2 pair,
but at least keep the pot small , but hit a full house
near the end of the day, to finnish with 38k. Ralph perry
says i played well afterwards, which is kind of good
to have someone tell u that after. He was in the infamous
tony g send off. See the video RPerry v TonyG
Head to buffet, but due to the WPT having sensible playing hours
the day finnishes a lot earlier than normal, and i have time to
go out, but figure ill take it easy as ive got day 2 tomorrow.
Day 2 starts off meandering along, i have a few hands that seem
to connect with the flops without getting paid off. And my stack
just floats along. I then have i think k-4 suited on the button,
and someone limps in early pos, i call and the blinds come in.
The flop comes 10-4-2h, limper bets, i call and blinds fold.
Then the turn comes another 4, he bets a lot of chips, i raise,
and he goes all in. He shows 5-5 ?? I win a nice pot and im up to
about 80k. Mike mattusow is on my table, and tells me how he has
only received "charity" twice before. Mike mattusow tho is playing
great, in fact i dont think ive really seen anyone play that good.
You play with a lot of name players, and most of them arent ever
on their game or just not that good. But today, as he explains that
he played really bad in the WSOP is determined to play good in this
tournament. I re-raise him with AA, and he mucks AK very quickly.
His re-raises etc are all timed perfectly and im very impressed.
Generally ive stayed out of his way, but at least beaten him
in the few pots against him. Then i have a hand where i re-raise
with AA again, against someone else. I check it to the river before
better, on a k-10 suited board which is risky but what the hell.
Then i bet and on the river and the other guy folds QQ. Mattusow
tells him he made a bad fold, I said later i had Aces, and he
said hed bet me a $1000 i didnt have AA. Shame there are no
hole card cams, and he offers for me to do a lie detector test.
Dinner break comes up, and i end up eating with mattusow and
a couple of other guys. He talks about how poker players talk
a lot and dont band together to do anything about Harrahs, which
are basically like the evil corporation , much like the empire
in star wars. Its very true, but the players are generally
getting shafted.
After dinner, not much goes right, and i seem to be going
backwards fast. The bubble has burst which is actually a 100ppl
in a 560 player event. Thats the WPT weird payout system, but
at least im getting my money back, which is not the goal.
I am trying to play, but get short stacked , push all in a few times,
then get called with JJ agaisnt AK, hold up, then 2 hands later
AQ vs KK (button v bb), guy who has re-raised me a few times
before, does it again , i make the call. Spike an ace on the
river ! Up to 160 and comfortable. That was actually the 2nd
race of 5 that i won, but luckily i won the ones when my tournament
was on the line. Very next hand i have QQ and run into short stack
AA :( Down to 100ish, and finish the day on 95. Which is not great.
Enter day 3. There are about 60 players left. I am at about 100k,
when i raise with KQ. Flop comes Q-8-2 rainbow. David Benyamine has
called from the bb, he checks i check. Turn comes a Q. I bet
he puts me all in, i call pretty quickly, he has q-10, i double up
to over 200. Check on the flop paid off. I hover around 200, not
getting much, when i pick up KK. Thinking i need to try something
here especially with aggressive ppl on my left who might re-raise,
i flat call the raise, but no one else re-pops and its me and
some other guy. Flop come A-7-7. Dang ! He checks, hmmm, i check.
Turn comes a 9, he bets 25k the same size as the raise preflop,
so i just call, reasonably confident, he will check the river
unless he has a good ace. The river comes a Q. He bets again, ifold.
He shows AQ, i lost the minimum i guess, but my plan to double
thru backfired. The table gets broken with some 30+ ppl left. I
have AK, i reraise all in, the guy i had dinner with the previous
night calls with a9. Flop comes a 9, and thats it. No WPT final
table :(
Disapointing but i thought i played pretty good for most of it.
Mattusow ended up finnishing 2nd, here were the results
Reviewing my progress in 10k events so far.
2 aussie millioms - 0 cashes
2 wpt - 2 cashes
1 ept - 1 cash
London Party Poker - 1 cash
2 wsop - 1 cash
5 cashes / 8 events, but no final tables, yet ... London
party poker and now this wpt being my best chances.
Amsterdam
So i arrived in Amsters a couple of days ago. The taxi driver
didnt know where the hotel was, but i was strangely confident
as he had GPS and was driving a good car. Anyway, we didnt
find the hotel for a while, we could find the street, but the hotel
didnt seem to exist.
Not sure how u miss a hotel this big, but it was night time, and
the problem was their was no naming anywhere. Oh well found
it eventually. The rooms were kinda like my apartment in adelaide
high ceilings ! I could live here, except the nightly rate was about
50% more than my weekly rent, hmm. Played some poker
the next day, ate a big meal of duck and bok choi finally (only
been pasta/pizza/seafood) for the last few weeks.
Had AA beaten with only 5 ppl left in the pokerroom tournament,
by some guy who was on tilt. For some reason the hotel had
free mini bar ! So i drank all the beer and juice and took all
the little alcohol bottles !
Caught up with B and P the next day, and moved into the new apartment,
a lot of stairs and very narrow, but very cool nonetheless. Apparently
built in the 1600s , the golden age of architecture in amsterdam.
Lucky Australia's golden age was in the 1600s, otherwise we would be
leaving eucalyptus houses built by koalas.
Amsters apartment-video
Walking around amsterdam, i was like a kid in a candy store, looking
at the mushrooms on offer, but due to poker tournaments and
hallucinogenics not combining, i have resisted... so far.
didnt know where the hotel was, but i was strangely confident
as he had GPS and was driving a good car. Anyway, we didnt
find the hotel for a while, we could find the street, but the hotel
didnt seem to exist.
Not sure how u miss a hotel this big, but it was night time, andthe problem was their was no naming anywhere. Oh well found
it eventually. The rooms were kinda like my apartment in adelaide
high ceilings ! I could live here, except the nightly rate was about
50% more than my weekly rent, hmm. Played some poker
the next day, ate a big meal of duck and bok choi finally (only
been pasta/pizza/seafood) for the last few weeks.
Had AA beaten with only 5 ppl left in the pokerroom tournament,
by some guy who was on tilt. For some reason the hotel had
free mini bar ! So i drank all the beer and juice and took all
the little alcohol bottles !
Caught up with B and P the next day, and moved into the new apartment,
a lot of stairs and very narrow, but very cool nonetheless. Apparently
built in the 1600s , the golden age of architecture in amsterdam.
Lucky Australia's golden age was in the 1600s, otherwise we would be
leaving eucalyptus houses built by koalas.
Amsters apartment-video
Walking around amsterdam, i was like a kid in a candy store, looking
at the mushrooms on offer, but due to poker tournaments and
hallucinogenics not combining, i have resisted... so far.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Day 2 main event !
(a rare smile)
after cruelly busting out of the sunday million on stars, my hope lies with
the main event ...
Entering day2 with 21k , the starting table draw and early hands are going to be crucial.
Luckily I get hit by the deck, with a good range of raising hands, tho not getting
much action, but still good enuff to get to 35k within 30minutes, before my
unfortunately soft table is broken. The new table has a bunch of big stacks and I
get re-raised str8t away after raising with 99. Except he re-raises the minimum,
confident he has Aces, I call, getting the right price to hit a set and bust him. The
9 doesnt come on the flop, he bets I fold, and sure enuff he shows AA. I pick up KK, and someone limp re-raises me, and I go with it, he has AJ, i double up to about 40ish.
Then not so long after i have KK again and since everyone plays back at me, I double
up to 80ish. Which is average, and plently of chips.
After this nothing goes right and i strugggle to win any pots. I dribble down to 50k,
get moved to another table, try and keep the pots small go down to 20k get up to 50k.
And head to the dinner break in not great shape, but still not out of it.
Sitting around at 45k. I raised to 6k with KQ, and the i get 2 callers. Hmmm.
The Flop comes K-5s-7s, I bet 13 and i get the caller from the blind. The turn is
the 9s, and he just pushes all in. I have 21k, having put 1/2 my chips in there is 67k
and it costs me 21k to call 3 to 1. I also have the King of spades, and i have ruled out the
nut flush. I am still worred out about a smaller flush, tho with blinds 1 and 2k , it will
be difficult to come back. And i still might be ahead as he doesnt have AK or a set i
feel. I call , he turns over 4-6 spades, so i need another spade that doesnt come.
Perhaps i should have push all in on the flop, but he would have called anyway prolly,
tho this was the best way of winning the pot as if he misses the turn , i push , and
i can prolly win the pot. And he folds with one card to come.
Tho its not to be, as my head is spinning and i get up busted out of the main event,
knowing that perhaps it wasnt my day, still the standard of play was pretty bad, so I had
to hang in and maximise my opportunities. Disapointed I leave through the side door,
into the carpark that is the rio, in shock that i busted out ....
Day off
My day off is somewha a bit of mess after coming back to ballys at 8am, and i decide
i want to play the Sunday million on stars and a few other tourneys , After a few hours
im still in the sunday million and busted out of the rest. Anyway with 250 ppl left
i am the chip leader ! I play well , and i get good cards at the right times, picking
off ppls ridiculous plays, and holding it all the way to the final table. Then I have AQ,
and perhaps mistakenly re-raise a tight guy who also has a lot of chips. He calls, and
then check raises me on the K-x-x flop, i fold and he shows KK. Now 2nd in chips, i
have AA in a few hands, and i re-raise a late pos raise out of the blinds. He calls.
The flop comes Q high, i bet big he goes all in. And my aggressiveness a few hands
earlier has paid off, he has KQ. But he spikes a miracle K on the river ! I miss out
on reclaiming the chip lead, and crippled i lose a 60-40 to bust in 7th. The lucky
guy goes onto win a 150k and i get 21k. Dire but the main event is on the next day,
perhaps i will be lucky then ??
i want to play the Sunday million on stars and a few other tourneys , After a few hours
im still in the sunday million and busted out of the rest. Anyway with 250 ppl left
i am the chip leader ! I play well , and i get good cards at the right times, picking
off ppls ridiculous plays, and holding it all the way to the final table. Then I have AQ,
and perhaps mistakenly re-raise a tight guy who also has a lot of chips. He calls, and
then check raises me on the K-x-x flop, i fold and he shows KK. Now 2nd in chips, i
have AA in a few hands, and i re-raise a late pos raise out of the blinds. He calls.
The flop comes Q high, i bet big he goes all in. And my aggressiveness a few hands
earlier has paid off, he has KQ. But he spikes a miracle K on the river ! I miss out
on reclaiming the chip lead, and crippled i lose a 60-40 to bust in 7th. The lucky
guy goes onto win a 150k and i get 21k. Dire but the main event is on the next day,
perhaps i will be lucky then ??
After Day 1 : Rumble in the rio ...
So with a day off inbetween my next day in the main event, i have time to wind down
after a long 12 hour day. Ed suggests that we go the bar in the Rio casino, also
dubbed as the hooker bar. So we are sitting down at the bar , its about 4am. On Ed's
left is this English drunk guy, who has busted out of the main event about 12 hours
earlier and has been drinking non-stop since then. He looks a mess, but he is still
going strong, tho his diction has somewhat gone out the window. On my right is some
random girl, tho i dont really pay much attention. I get out my phone, and then this
girl starts talking to me about it, asking some questions. It seems a little bit bizzare
to me, anyway i turn back to Ed and start talking to him. He says you know that
girl is a hooker your talking to. I say 'ofcourse', but really i mean 'ofcourse not'. One
my mind is not thinking straight , and the reason why its called the hooker bar, is
because hookers are hanging out there. Then i look across at the girl and it starts
to make sense. Then i look further along and some "other" girl is talking to a guy,
suddenly i realise, there are hookers everywhere ! Its kind of like that scene in police
academy, of if you go into a bar in sydney and you see that there are no girls in the
bar, and people seem to have a strange attraction to wearing black leather pants,
and then bang , the blue oyster music is playing.
Anyway since i realise the situation, i go back to drinking my corona with ed, enter
ST. ST is a random english guy 2 seats down, who is about 45, and thinks he
is James Bond. He also thinks hes the funniest coolest guy around, and has the
dress sense of an Armani model. He is actively talking to the hooker#1 . She however
is a good judge of character, and can sense that he is a douchebag, however
if hookers ruled out talking to the douchebags they would have to talk to themselves
and other hookers primarily, which is not so profitable. Even then she manages to
determine deicde she has standards. So ends up talking to Ed and I. We find it
hilarious that the guy with the most ridiculous shirt is giving tips to others about fashion.
Hooker#1 leaves , which leaves us talking to ST. Drunk english guy has bought us
some shots of pitrone, and is now dribbling out of his mouth. It is at this high point
he attempts to talk to some other "girls" at the par. Now ST has cornered us and is
reguiling us with stories of how wonderful he is. Turns out he is a poker player, and
has also busted out of the main event. Tho apparently he is some tournament specialist,
even tho i dont seem to recognise his online name. He tells us how in he was in vegas
and he ended up inviting himself along with a dad and his daughter who has turned 21
at the bellagio. Anyway the dad ends up leaving him with his daughter who end up
together for the whole weekend, and the dad picks up some random asian girl. Interesting
21st birhtday present, leaving with the biggest douchebag in vegas.
And then it become apparent what a douche he is , he starts insulting the girls around
the bar, calling them chubby checker, and telling them to lay of the donuts, and how
they are going to crush them with his american thighs (i guess a reference to the
led zepplin song), and telling this black hooker, shes a nigger and all sorts of other things.
Then he starts claiming that the girls would have to pay him, if he was to sleep with
1/2 of them.
Its at this point we challenge him to try and get hooker #1 for $200 who is currently
charging $500 tho a bit desperate coz no one has any money at this bar, tho we figure
even shes not this desperate. He claims she is going to come back and he is going to get
herfor $200.
In the meantime while we're waiting he plays 1 hand of blackjack, never have
i hoped the dealer wins, but miraculously he hits Bj ! Shit. Anyway we wait and wait,
and she doesnt come back. We claim he has lost, and he basically admits he has, but
he wont pay us ($200) ! Ed seems pretty pissed off, i kinda expected it. Then he says,
he will play bj , and if he wins his hand he will pay. We say the 2 are not connected. He
tells us to fk off basically, Even tho he has $5k on him. He then says he will fight
us out in the car park , and if we win we can keep the $5k. Ed is very much in favour
of this, but its 7am, and even tho beating up an english douche in the car park of the rio,
would be satisfying, I dont think its worth while.
So we see what will happen at the BJ tables. Unfortunately he starts badly , and
within 10 minutes hes down 2.5k , meanwhile we're givinghim shit for misplaying his
hands, he is getting more annoyed and althought the chanceof getting our money is
diminishing, this is still entertaining. Then in one shoe, it all turns around, and from
a 2.5k loser hes a 3k winner ! Fk! We get our money, $100 each, and leave the rio at 8am, confident we have met the biggest douche ever. Perhaps my biggest regret , in my
vegas trip might not have been taking him up on the offer to rumble in the rio.
after a long 12 hour day. Ed suggests that we go the bar in the Rio casino, also
dubbed as the hooker bar. So we are sitting down at the bar , its about 4am. On Ed's
left is this English drunk guy, who has busted out of the main event about 12 hours
earlier and has been drinking non-stop since then. He looks a mess, but he is still
going strong, tho his diction has somewhat gone out the window. On my right is some
random girl, tho i dont really pay much attention. I get out my phone, and then this
girl starts talking to me about it, asking some questions. It seems a little bit bizzare
to me, anyway i turn back to Ed and start talking to him. He says you know that
girl is a hooker your talking to. I say 'ofcourse', but really i mean 'ofcourse not'. One
my mind is not thinking straight , and the reason why its called the hooker bar, is
because hookers are hanging out there. Then i look across at the girl and it starts
to make sense. Then i look further along and some "other" girl is talking to a guy,
suddenly i realise, there are hookers everywhere ! Its kind of like that scene in police
academy, of if you go into a bar in sydney and you see that there are no girls in the
bar, and people seem to have a strange attraction to wearing black leather pants,
and then bang , the blue oyster music is playing.
Anyway since i realise the situation, i go back to drinking my corona with ed, enter
ST. ST is a random english guy 2 seats down, who is about 45, and thinks he
is James Bond. He also thinks hes the funniest coolest guy around, and has the
dress sense of an Armani model. He is actively talking to the hooker#1 . She however
is a good judge of character, and can sense that he is a douchebag, however
if hookers ruled out talking to the douchebags they would have to talk to themselves
and other hookers primarily, which is not so profitable. Even then she manages to
determine deicde she has standards. So ends up talking to Ed and I. We find it
hilarious that the guy with the most ridiculous shirt is giving tips to others about fashion.
Hooker#1 leaves , which leaves us talking to ST. Drunk english guy has bought us
some shots of pitrone, and is now dribbling out of his mouth. It is at this high point
he attempts to talk to some other "girls" at the par. Now ST has cornered us and is
reguiling us with stories of how wonderful he is. Turns out he is a poker player, and
has also busted out of the main event. Tho apparently he is some tournament specialist,
even tho i dont seem to recognise his online name. He tells us how in he was in vegas
and he ended up inviting himself along with a dad and his daughter who has turned 21
at the bellagio. Anyway the dad ends up leaving him with his daughter who end up
together for the whole weekend, and the dad picks up some random asian girl. Interesting
21st birhtday present, leaving with the biggest douchebag in vegas.
And then it become apparent what a douche he is , he starts insulting the girls around
the bar, calling them chubby checker, and telling them to lay of the donuts, and how
they are going to crush them with his american thighs (i guess a reference to the
led zepplin song), and telling this black hooker, shes a nigger and all sorts of other things.
Then he starts claiming that the girls would have to pay him, if he was to sleep with
1/2 of them.
Its at this point we challenge him to try and get hooker #1 for $200 who is currently
charging $500 tho a bit desperate coz no one has any money at this bar, tho we figure
even shes not this desperate. He claims she is going to come back and he is going to get
herfor $200.
In the meantime while we're waiting he plays 1 hand of blackjack, never have
i hoped the dealer wins, but miraculously he hits Bj ! Shit. Anyway we wait and wait,
and she doesnt come back. We claim he has lost, and he basically admits he has, but
he wont pay us ($200) ! Ed seems pretty pissed off, i kinda expected it. Then he says,
he will play bj , and if he wins his hand he will pay. We say the 2 are not connected. He
tells us to fk off basically, Even tho he has $5k on him. He then says he will fight
us out in the car park , and if we win we can keep the $5k. Ed is very much in favour
of this, but its 7am, and even tho beating up an english douche in the car park of the rio,
would be satisfying, I dont think its worth while.
So we see what will happen at the BJ tables. Unfortunately he starts badly , and
within 10 minutes hes down 2.5k , meanwhile we're givinghim shit for misplaying his
hands, he is getting more annoyed and althought the chanceof getting our money is
diminishing, this is still entertaining. Then in one shoe, it all turns around, and from
a 2.5k loser hes a 3k winner ! Fk! We get our money, $100 each, and leave the rio at 8am, confident we have met the biggest douche ever. Perhaps my biggest regret , in my
vegas trip might not have been taking him up on the offer to rumble in the rio.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Pre WSOP main event ...
Pre main event practice. ed and i decided to play in
the venetian ($500) tournament, i figured it would
be good practice before the main event as it was a
seepstack event. I got off to a good start from 10k
up to 35k, then everything went wrong, I lost
a lot of races, and busted out 1/2 way thru.
This wasnt the worse thing, as bluff was hosting a
party at the saphire club. I guess most poker parties
seem to be at strip clubs. Got in time for free
drinks, apaprently some stripper dont do coke
contrary to popular belief. Im not sure why ppl
think i am some source of drugs when im out.
Anyway we decided to go back to see Ed in the venetian
and try and get into Tao. At least saphire provide limousine
service to where u want to go. Unfortunately there were
no limos so after complaining a bit, we got the bus ,
and had an english guy who is in an oi band , a fusion
of rock and punk rock and lots of ois ! He was pretty
entertaining, and their band is playing in vegas, might
be worth checking out.
At venetian, ed busts out, but we deal with the most
annoying ppl serving drinks who insist our IDs are
no good, then the security guard who can give you
clearance has lost his ability to laugh, and is a complete
douchebag.
(security guard looking at id)
Friend (who is 35): be careful the ink is strill dry (ie its a fake licence)
security guard just stared at my friend for 20 seconds
Friend: Im only joking
Security guard: we dont joke around here
(more staring)
What is wrong with these ppl ? Anyway ed busts out
in a classic 64 v J4 sb bb conforontation . Try and
get into Tao.
Ok tao has a dress code, and 3 of us have collared
shirts and 2 dont. No shops are open that sell shirts,
so we have to pull the switcheroo. ie. ppl walking
out with collared shirts to give ppl waiting outside,
while ppl inside are shirtless . Tao is pretty
quiet downstairs, tho im the only one who manages
to walk upstairs, is it because im black and they cant see
me ?
head home 6am , with a day to rest b4 the main event ...
the venetian ($500) tournament, i figured it would
be good practice before the main event as it was a
seepstack event. I got off to a good start from 10k
up to 35k, then everything went wrong, I lost
a lot of races, and busted out 1/2 way thru.
This wasnt the worse thing, as bluff was hosting a
party at the saphire club. I guess most poker parties
seem to be at strip clubs. Got in time for free
drinks, apaprently some stripper dont do coke
contrary to popular belief. Im not sure why ppl
think i am some source of drugs when im out.
Anyway we decided to go back to see Ed in the venetian
and try and get into Tao. At least saphire provide limousine
service to where u want to go. Unfortunately there were
no limos so after complaining a bit, we got the bus ,
and had an english guy who is in an oi band , a fusion
of rock and punk rock and lots of ois ! He was pretty
entertaining, and their band is playing in vegas, might
be worth checking out.
At venetian, ed busts out, but we deal with the most
annoying ppl serving drinks who insist our IDs are
no good, then the security guard who can give you
clearance has lost his ability to laugh, and is a complete
douchebag.
(security guard looking at id)
Friend (who is 35): be careful the ink is strill dry (ie its a fake licence)
security guard just stared at my friend for 20 seconds
Friend: Im only joking
Security guard: we dont joke around here
(more staring)
What is wrong with these ppl ? Anyway ed busts out
in a classic 64 v J4 sb bb conforontation . Try and
get into Tao.
Ok tao has a dress code, and 3 of us have collared
shirts and 2 dont. No shops are open that sell shirts,
so we have to pull the switcheroo. ie. ppl walking
out with collared shirts to give ppl waiting outside,
while ppl inside are shirtless . Tao is pretty
quiet downstairs, tho im the only one who manages
to walk upstairs, is it because im black and they cant see
me ?
head home 6am , with a day to rest b4 the main event ...
Main event !
Day 1 of the main event, has arrived, the moment ive been waiting for !
Well actually after being here for so long i thought may be when
the main event came id actually a bit blassiez. But nope , I was
actually excited and desperate to play really good ! I was almost
a little bit nervous before. So far it hasnt been the best wsop 3 cahses
out of 18 is ok but not great. And this is definately my best event.
First hand of the day and I win ! Ok things looking good. But unfortunately
i dont really know what happened somehow my chips disapeared. I
would re-raise the button with ak then bet and hed call, and forced
to slow down Id lose a pot. Then someone was bluffing or were they ,
i couldnt hit a flop. And oh my god im down to 3600 chips, starting
with 20k. The key hand came up where I called a raise with JJ.
On a flop fo k-4-2. I called the flop bet, The turn he checked, and i checked,
and on the river k-4h-2-7h-2h, he puts me all in. I wasnt sure where
i was i thought his body language was that I was ahead, tho i couldnt
bring myself to calling there. And i folded like a little girl. I figure
i can make a stand on my own terms
I pick up Aces slow play them , win a ok pot for my stack, get up to 6k, then
last hand b4 level 2 all in with KK against some guy thinking
i was making a move , he had 10-10 and up to 12k. Then
i have 10h-10d , i raise and i get a caller. Flop comes
8c-7c-4c. He bets 1200 i call. Figure no point allowing him to
re-raise me with a draw and overs on that flop. So i call, then
the turn comes 9d. I check again, he best 4500, 1/2 my stack
and i just much the 10-10s, turns out he had 9-9 with 9 of clubs,
now i felt good ! Raise with qj flop qj9 and someguy makes a move
with aj and i double past 20k ! back in it.
From there i get moved to a new table, where there are 2 crazy
old men. Standard crazy old men moves:
1. blinds 200-400 , open raise for 20k
2. 6k in the pot, bets 500 etc etc
I get hammered by one of the old men on my preflop raises, but
im winning a lot pots, and i just march all the way to 65k value
betting and slowplaying hands in all the right spots.
Then the hand that ruined my day in the last level has to come !
Blinds 400-800, 100 ante. Crazy old man limps cut off, solid
guy limps button i call sb with 8c-9c , BB (berry johntson, 1986
main event champ ) checks.
Flop Kc-10c-4c. (4200) in the pot) Flop is checked around,
planning to raise against crazy old guy. River Ad. A good
card for me, now someone can make Aces up or a str8t.
I lead out and bet 2800, Berry calls, crazy old man pushes
all in for +25K. Solid guy folds. I think about it a bit worried
about berry, but theres so many hands he can call with there,
and im 99% sure crazy old guy has aces up or str8t. I call
with flush. Then berry pushes all in. Now theres over
a 100k in the pot, and its 10k for me to call. Im very sure he
has the nut flush but i call hoping for a set, or may be a smaller
flush tho very unlikely. He shows the nuts, and my day
is ruined.
I hang in to the end of the day , with 20,700 chips. And
a lot of work to be done in day 2 .
Thursday, July 5, 2007
4th of July
Yesterday was the 4th of July in Vegas and the US of A.
Which means fireworks and crazy celebrations ?! I heard
that the casinos let of fireworks from the tops of the buildings,
and its amazing . But that wasnt the case this year, as it
wasnt on for some reason. Anyway I learnt that Canada
day, which has no significance is on July 1st and is a poor
a cousin to July 4.
Rewind a few hours, afternoon, I was playing the stars tourney
($320 Wednesday) got off to a decent start, someone told
me how terrible I was, which is always encouraging, seriously
I like people to tell me how bad I play online from time to time,
it means Im gambling somewhat. Then i realise im suppose to
meet some people earlier than anticipated and need someone to
take over. I sms frage, magically like a genie he appears on msn
and willingly obliges. Its lunch time over there, he says hes
hungry, so i call up beyond India (restaurant in adelaide that delivers)
Find out they dont deliver unless u order $60 at lunchtime, oh well
what the heck order some food attempt to pay for it. Then i speak
to him on msn, and he says hes not at home. Fk it ! Tho luckily
he turns out he was joking. So hopefully he enjoyed it, i followed
his progress a bit, tho he busted out 3/4 in. I think i would make a good
boss , look after the employees, may be...
HEad out to dinner at Pho So 1, a vietnamenese place , in what seems
to be little vietnam in vegas, we are the only non vietnames eating here,
which is a good sign. Pho , chilli chicken, vietnamese beer etc etc. All
good stuff, and super cheap.
As we are leaving we see fireworks (small ones) being shot up in the
distance, hey that would be cool if we got fireworks and set it off in
the rio carpark ? Turns out there is a small fireworks store just
up ahead. Like a kid in a candy store, years of repressed pyrotechnic
urges overflow, and I ask them for "The Big Bang : Maximum Charge"
A massive box of fireworks worth $500, (illegal in seventeen states,
perhaps) Unfortunately they dont stock it, but we get a few other
boxes of fireworks. Head back to the rio, our voice of reason explains
that perhaps setting them off in the rio would be a bit ridiculous,
so we drive to this empty lot in vegas, one of many. Are we walking
over buried bodies in the ground may be.
Open the box, discover that there are no rockets which is disapointing,
but still enuff strange flashing lights , bruning fizzing objects, that
you can throw in the air to have some fun. Lightly burn my hands
a little, and wend up throwing up a whole bunch of fireworks together
and set them off, which results in a series of bright flashing light,
loud sounds, and a small fire. The only residential place within
seeing distance at least hasnt called the police. a few coronas
and a couple of boxes of fireworks later, we search for rockets
to shoot up in the air. The country redneck fireworks guy refuses
to sell us any and says they are banned in this state, but u can
got to these other places, which wont be open at midnight, and
our 45minutes away in an indian reservation. Damn.
Head back to rio, go with a friend to the Wynn , damn the wynn
is nice. Its all new and done up. Get up some more beers,
head out to some poker party at a strip club, hosted by K&J jett.
Whom we saw earlier in the night whilst buying fireworks. Anyway
we get there, and our friend tells us some rapper pacman, was involved
in some shooting earlier this year here. Which is understanable coz
it feels pretty deserted. Well this place is pretty pretty bad, in that
no one is really here. The 4 of us almsot double the non-stripper crowd.
I guess they have no friends, or they already left, or there was
another shooting. At least the first round of drinks is free and its
free to get in. The first stripper uses the pole more to lean on to
support herself instead of dancing. Pole leaning, may be thats the
new craze in the US. Tho the next girl is ridiculous amazing at pole
dancing, and im not easily impressed. I dont know what the
terms for the moves are but, apache helicopter descending at high
speed could have been one of them.
In the corner the husband of the couple that organised the party
is getting a lap dance whilst the wife is sitting right next to the stage,
putting $1 bills into the stripper, that was unexpected. But why
organise a party there if your not going to be into it, tho next time
invite some friends. Steve Z famous poker player and bookie, had
a party the night b4 with a 1000 ppl , why didnt we go to that...
By the end of the night, we are the only ones there, and as a result
the strippers descend on us like seagulls, and its not even the "good"
strippers as they have left. In fact my friend has to pay $5 for a stripper
to get off his leg, as the pressure from her weight is like a tourniquet
cutting off circulation. At least they have wheelie chairs which you
can spin around and scoot around the floors . But by the end enuff
is enuff. Tho one of the black strippers knew where adelaide was,
I was very impressed, no one knows where adelaide was. But then
this was the converstation the same stripper had with my french
friend during a lap dance.
S: So where are you from ?
B: France
S: oh thats nice, thats part of the UK isnt it
B: No its France
S: Oh france , but its still the UK
B: No we are seperated by water, we are seperate
countries, and we actually hate each other
S: Ah, yeh I was never that good at maths
B: You mean georgraphy ?
S: yeh thats right.
COmedy Gold !
Then one of the guys who was there, left
and came back 20mins later saying he was mugged by
some drug guy using a box cutter (retractable razor) but gave
him his decoy wallet (which he always carries). Then a stripper
said oh your friend is here, he was in the private room for the
last 20minutes. What a douchebag.
Head back to wynn for another drink, back to ballys. Ed crashes
over , he has lots of famous ppl on his phone , especially poker ppl.
Non poker ppl include tobey macquire and corey feldman , but
poker ppl include hellmuth , chan etc etc. Ring up hellmuth, but
they all go to voice message, he has a very ghey message, which
goes on for about 2 minutes about how he is playing in the wsop.
Ring up Jonny, his is very short , leave a message
"Did you have it, Johnny ?"
Which at 5am after a few drinks seems funny, fall asleep, non-poker
days seem more fun :)
Which means fireworks and crazy celebrations ?! I heard
that the casinos let of fireworks from the tops of the buildings,
and its amazing . But that wasnt the case this year, as it
wasnt on for some reason. Anyway I learnt that Canada
day, which has no significance is on July 1st and is a poor
a cousin to July 4.
Rewind a few hours, afternoon, I was playing the stars tourney
($320 Wednesday) got off to a decent start, someone told
me how terrible I was, which is always encouraging, seriously
I like people to tell me how bad I play online from time to time,
it means Im gambling somewhat. Then i realise im suppose to
meet some people earlier than anticipated and need someone to
take over. I sms frage, magically like a genie he appears on msn
and willingly obliges. Its lunch time over there, he says hes
hungry, so i call up beyond India (restaurant in adelaide that delivers)
Find out they dont deliver unless u order $60 at lunchtime, oh well
what the heck order some food attempt to pay for it. Then i speak
to him on msn, and he says hes not at home. Fk it ! Tho luckily
he turns out he was joking. So hopefully he enjoyed it, i followed
his progress a bit, tho he busted out 3/4 in. I think i would make a good
boss , look after the employees, may be...
HEad out to dinner at Pho So 1, a vietnamenese place , in what seems
to be little vietnam in vegas, we are the only non vietnames eating here,
which is a good sign. Pho , chilli chicken, vietnamese beer etc etc. All
good stuff, and super cheap.
As we are leaving we see fireworks (small ones) being shot up in the
distance, hey that would be cool if we got fireworks and set it off in
the rio carpark ? Turns out there is a small fireworks store just
up ahead. Like a kid in a candy store, years of repressed pyrotechnic
urges overflow, and I ask them for "The Big Bang : Maximum Charge"
A massive box of fireworks worth $500, (illegal in seventeen states,
perhaps) Unfortunately they dont stock it, but we get a few other
boxes of fireworks. Head back to the rio, our voice of reason explains
that perhaps setting them off in the rio would be a bit ridiculous,
so we drive to this empty lot in vegas, one of many. Are we walking
over buried bodies in the ground may be.
Open the box, discover that there are no rockets which is disapointing,
but still enuff strange flashing lights , bruning fizzing objects, that
you can throw in the air to have some fun. Lightly burn my hands
a little, and wend up throwing up a whole bunch of fireworks together
and set them off, which results in a series of bright flashing light,
loud sounds, and a small fire. The only residential place within
seeing distance at least hasnt called the police. a few coronas
and a couple of boxes of fireworks later, we search for rockets
to shoot up in the air. The country redneck fireworks guy refuses
to sell us any and says they are banned in this state, but u can
got to these other places, which wont be open at midnight, and
our 45minutes away in an indian reservation. Damn.
Head back to rio, go with a friend to the Wynn , damn the wynn
is nice. Its all new and done up. Get up some more beers,
head out to some poker party at a strip club, hosted by K&J jett.
Whom we saw earlier in the night whilst buying fireworks. Anyway
we get there, and our friend tells us some rapper pacman, was involved
in some shooting earlier this year here. Which is understanable coz
it feels pretty deserted. Well this place is pretty pretty bad, in that
no one is really here. The 4 of us almsot double the non-stripper crowd.
I guess they have no friends, or they already left, or there was
another shooting. At least the first round of drinks is free and its
free to get in. The first stripper uses the pole more to lean on to
support herself instead of dancing. Pole leaning, may be thats the
new craze in the US. Tho the next girl is ridiculous amazing at pole
dancing, and im not easily impressed. I dont know what the
terms for the moves are but, apache helicopter descending at high
speed could have been one of them.
In the corner the husband of the couple that organised the party
is getting a lap dance whilst the wife is sitting right next to the stage,
putting $1 bills into the stripper, that was unexpected. But why
organise a party there if your not going to be into it, tho next time
invite some friends. Steve Z famous poker player and bookie, had
a party the night b4 with a 1000 ppl , why didnt we go to that...
By the end of the night, we are the only ones there, and as a result
the strippers descend on us like seagulls, and its not even the "good"
strippers as they have left. In fact my friend has to pay $5 for a stripper
to get off his leg, as the pressure from her weight is like a tourniquet
cutting off circulation. At least they have wheelie chairs which you
can spin around and scoot around the floors . But by the end enuff
is enuff. Tho one of the black strippers knew where adelaide was,
I was very impressed, no one knows where adelaide was. But then
this was the converstation the same stripper had with my french
friend during a lap dance.
S: So where are you from ?
B: France
S: oh thats nice, thats part of the UK isnt it
B: No its France
S: Oh france , but its still the UK
B: No we are seperated by water, we are seperate
countries, and we actually hate each other
S: Ah, yeh I was never that good at maths
B: You mean georgraphy ?
S: yeh thats right.
COmedy Gold !
Then one of the guys who was there, left
and came back 20mins later saying he was mugged by
some drug guy using a box cutter (retractable razor) but gave
him his decoy wallet (which he always carries). Then a stripper
said oh your friend is here, he was in the private room for the
last 20minutes. What a douchebag.
Head back to wynn for another drink, back to ballys. Ed crashes
over , he has lots of famous ppl on his phone , especially poker ppl.
Non poker ppl include tobey macquire and corey feldman , but
poker ppl include hellmuth , chan etc etc. Ring up hellmuth, but
they all go to voice message, he has a very ghey message, which
goes on for about 2 minutes about how he is playing in the wsop.
Ring up Jonny, his is very short , leave a message
"Did you have it, Johnny ?"
Which at 5am after a few drinks seems funny, fall asleep, non-poker
days seem more fun :)
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
And then ...
So after sleeping thru the limit event starting time, with dual alarm
failure . 1 = am/pm and 2= not turned on .
I tired to sign up for the main event, after picking up
the cash from ozgary. Yep 10k in well not so crisp 100s.
Earlier in the day i found out neteller had blocked my account
but that was coz i tried to log on in the US which is a nono,
so its ok i havent lost a whole heap of money. Anyway
go to the cage to sign up, theres a special place for international
people, which can skip the other stupid line, I have only
really discovered this 6 weeks into the wsop. Better late
than never. So i register and find out for day 3, im drawn
into the tent*
*tent -this big pavilion/marquee thing harrahs has constructed
which used to be the food area last year. It is airconditioned but its outside
in the 40+ degree weather and hence its not that cool, and it smellls
like poker players in there. One of the days it was really windy,
people actually thought it was going to blow over, and someone
was walking outside and got cut by a piece of flying metal. So the
tent, is not optimal.
As a result im not that thrilled about this. But what can you do ?
Also you could be stuck in there for 10 hours +. The lady says
well you can change your day if you have a reason. Being
a nice lady, she says its ok you dont need a real reason, and tells
the superivsor, that i changed my mind a bit late, and i wanted
to play day 2 ! She redraws for me, and yep maximum, im in the
tent again for day 2 ! Fk it , there are 60 of 240 tables in the tent,
so im a 1 in 4 shot of being in there. She says well come again
tomorrow and try.
So after that grab dinner with a friend, and for some reason
i feel like playing blackjack. 10 hours later, $3500 down ,
in a bid to get my room comped. I go to bed after 7am.
Tho the funny thing while playing, was i realised i didnt
actually need to be anywhere at any time, it was kind of
surreal. Not having any obligations, commitments. I felt
very unproductive in terms of usefulness to society. The
dealer wanted to be a nurse, but dealing pays a lot better,
so she chose to do that . At least a nurse is useful, being a lawyer
is just as evil.
Tho at the end of the blackjack session, this absolutely pissed
chinese guy comes in. I was playing in the higher / high
stakes room, and he can barely keep his head above the table.
Orders a few drinks including a glass of louis something. Which
usually costs $140 a glass, and is the strongest smelling brandy
ever. But he was highly entertaining, tho casinos are so wrong,
basically taking money from him, giving him a $5k marker, and
getting him more drinks.
evil evil ppl ....
failure . 1 = am/pm and 2= not turned on .
I tired to sign up for the main event, after picking up
the cash from ozgary. Yep 10k in well not so crisp 100s.
Earlier in the day i found out neteller had blocked my account
but that was coz i tried to log on in the US which is a nono,
so its ok i havent lost a whole heap of money. Anyway
go to the cage to sign up, theres a special place for international
people, which can skip the other stupid line, I have only
really discovered this 6 weeks into the wsop. Better late
than never. So i register and find out for day 3, im drawn
into the tent*
*tent -this big pavilion/marquee thing harrahs has constructed
which used to be the food area last year. It is airconditioned but its outside
in the 40+ degree weather and hence its not that cool, and it smellls
like poker players in there. One of the days it was really windy,
people actually thought it was going to blow over, and someone
was walking outside and got cut by a piece of flying metal. So the
tent, is not optimal.
As a result im not that thrilled about this. But what can you do ?
Also you could be stuck in there for 10 hours +. The lady says
well you can change your day if you have a reason. Being
a nice lady, she says its ok you dont need a real reason, and tells
the superivsor, that i changed my mind a bit late, and i wanted
to play day 2 ! She redraws for me, and yep maximum, im in the
tent again for day 2 ! Fk it , there are 60 of 240 tables in the tent,
so im a 1 in 4 shot of being in there. She says well come again
tomorrow and try.
So after that grab dinner with a friend, and for some reason
i feel like playing blackjack. 10 hours later, $3500 down ,
in a bid to get my room comped. I go to bed after 7am.
Tho the funny thing while playing, was i realised i didnt
actually need to be anywhere at any time, it was kind of
surreal. Not having any obligations, commitments. I felt
very unproductive in terms of usefulness to society. The
dealer wanted to be a nurse, but dealing pays a lot better,
so she chose to do that . At least a nurse is useful, being a lawyer
is just as evil.
Tho at the end of the blackjack session, this absolutely pissed
chinese guy comes in. I was playing in the higher / high
stakes room, and he can barely keep his head above the table.
Orders a few drinks including a glass of louis something. Which
usually costs $140 a glass, and is the strongest smelling brandy
ever. But he was highly entertaining, tho casinos are so wrong,
basically taking money from him, giving him a $5k marker, and
getting him more drinks.
evil evil ppl ....
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
1K Rebuy
Gutshot webpage - excerpt
http://www.gutshot.com/e/coverage.php?tourna=80&day=32&limitvb=10&limitb=0&limitt=10&show=s&search=
(scroll down)
So after the above incident i came back with 10s all in
hitting quads, and for the first time in 20 tournaments i sucked out as
more than 60-40 underdog with 99 against KK. And i was back in it!
The frustrating thing is , it was the first time in ages that i pushed all in
and well of course Ks are going to call but still, cmon ! So i try and just
call with AQ fromt he blinds and a3 sucks out. Get moved to a new table,
and in trouble push all in, no callers. Look down at AK, figure wat the
heck ill just push all in and not raise , looks more desperate. (plus i need
chips) And lee watkinson in the blinds call, KK again . No suck out , and
thats it. Oh well really its barrys fault for ruining my tournament
busted out 200th (99 cash)
Sunday, July 1, 2007
1500NL
The 3rd biggest WSOP event ever ! 3200 ppl. Not many
chips a recipe for a quick exit. First hand , a guy in the cut
off limps, i have AdKs in the bb and raise 3.5x. He calls. Flop
comes K-9d-3d. I bet he raises, i call. Turn comes a 4,
I check he bets again and I call. River comes the 4d. I check
again, and he pushes all in. So much for him slowing down,
tho his bet on the turn looked, weak. The only hands he should have
really are KX diamonds, 3-3, or may be k-9. Betting a weak
king doesnt make a lot of sense. But its a 1500 event. So i call,
he has KJ, phew i double up first hand. Slow play a few more
hands, and up to 15k (starting stack3k). After that i get
nothing and everything goes backward. AK against 6-4 os
holds up hours later and AK against a7 and im up to 25k
at the end of day 1 and in the money !
Day 2 i dont get much, kj holds up agaisnt 9s, knock out a
small stack win a pot, and im up to 70k at average. Tho
once again, i dont seem to pick up any opportunities to
steal or pick up the antes, or re-raise, perhaps im blind.
Down to 40 i have to steal with j-8 etc, and finally i get
caught moving in with 7-6 agaisnt 10-10 and bust out
in 68th. Not bad , and i survived as along as possible whilst
trying to get on a rush that didnt eventuate.
Folding another hand - i think this is where
i folded aq to the early pos raise and short stack allin.
Which was correct, but early stack had 66 and and short
stack aj , and hit an ace, doh !
went to capital grill the night b4, and had a big juicy
steak, vodka cranberries and other beverages. Great
way to wind down after a night of poker.
chips a recipe for a quick exit. First hand , a guy in the cut
off limps, i have AdKs in the bb and raise 3.5x. He calls. Flop
comes K-9d-3d. I bet he raises, i call. Turn comes a 4,
I check he bets again and I call. River comes the 4d. I check
again, and he pushes all in. So much for him slowing down,
tho his bet on the turn looked, weak. The only hands he should have
really are KX diamonds, 3-3, or may be k-9. Betting a weak
king doesnt make a lot of sense. But its a 1500 event. So i call,
he has KJ, phew i double up first hand. Slow play a few more
hands, and up to 15k (starting stack3k). After that i get
nothing and everything goes backward. AK against 6-4 os
holds up hours later and AK against a7 and im up to 25k
at the end of day 1 and in the money !
Day 2 i dont get much, kj holds up agaisnt 9s, knock out a
small stack win a pot, and im up to 70k at average. Tho
once again, i dont seem to pick up any opportunities to
steal or pick up the antes, or re-raise, perhaps im blind.
Down to 40 i have to steal with j-8 etc, and finally i get
caught moving in with 7-6 agaisnt 10-10 and bust out
in 68th. Not bad , and i survived as along as possible whilst
trying to get on a rush that didnt eventuate.
Folding another hand - i think this is where
i folded aq to the early pos raise and short stack allin.
Which was correct, but early stack had 66 and and short
stack aj , and hit an ace, doh !
went to capital grill the night b4, and had a big juicy
steak, vodka cranberries and other beverages. Great
way to wind down after a night of poker.
1/2 Day off, I wish i was a little kid
After i busted out of the 2k, decided to do some non-poker stuff.
French friend went to new york to go on the roller coaster.
Which he said was two slow, but i thought it was fast enuff.
A bit short the ride, but flipped upside down a few times and
i thought it was pretty good , especially since i was asleep an
hour ago. Then did the zoltar fortune like in Big. I dunno
if i wished to be a little kid or win the world series. Anyway
my fortune said something about success coming, but to give
it away to the poor.
French friend got a not so good fortune, i guess their all not
good. Played blackjack, got beaten, and also got the most
obnoxious annoying dealer, who was a stickler for all the stupid
rules. Off to fix to eat kobe steak, cocktails etc, highly recommended,
then sign up for the 1500 event at the rio, then midnight 10 pin
bowling, which somehow i won !
French friend went to new york to go on the roller coaster.
Which he said was two slow, but i thought it was fast enuff.
A bit short the ride, but flipped upside down a few times and
i thought it was pretty good , especially since i was asleep an
hour ago. Then did the zoltar fortune like in Big. I dunno
if i wished to be a little kid or win the world series. Anyway
my fortune said something about success coming, but to give
it away to the poor.
French friend got a not so good fortune, i guess their all not
good. Played blackjack, got beaten, and also got the most
obnoxious annoying dealer, who was a stickler for all the stupid
rules. Off to fix to eat kobe steak, cocktails etc, highly recommended,
then sign up for the 1500 event at the rio, then midnight 10 pin
bowling, which somehow i won !
2K NL + 1000 High Lo Stud
So i played in a couple of events the 2K nl event. Which was
a quick short affair. I had a nut flush draw that didnt
come, another missed flush draw, folded 2 pair on a flop
of 7d-6d-4d, pushed with JJ ran into KK (turned into quads)
and that was it .
So the high lo stud event was on the next day. There was a line
up and i ended up buying aussie player van in, which turned
out to be a mistake. After a few hands here and there, I got
involved in a big hand, where i ended up with a 7-6-5-4-3,
a str8 and a 7-6 low , against Van and some other person.
In the end i was all in, he had a better low possible, tho prolly
not a better, high, and the other person had nothing. In the
end he showed a 6 high str8t for a better low and not a better
high. As the dealer pushed me my 1/2 of the pot, he realised
oh i have a flush. Which he picked up on the end. Damn, got scooped!
and out. Tip dont buy other people into tourneys.
a quick short affair. I had a nut flush draw that didnt
come, another missed flush draw, folded 2 pair on a flop
of 7d-6d-4d, pushed with JJ ran into KK (turned into quads)
and that was it .
So the high lo stud event was on the next day. There was a line
up and i ended up buying aussie player van in, which turned
out to be a mistake. After a few hands here and there, I got
involved in a big hand, where i ended up with a 7-6-5-4-3,
a str8 and a 7-6 low , against Van and some other person.
In the end i was all in, he had a better low possible, tho prolly
not a better, high, and the other person had nothing. In the
end he showed a 6 high str8t for a better low and not a better
high. As the dealer pushed me my 1/2 of the pot, he realised
oh i have a flush. Which he picked up on the end. Damn, got scooped!
and out. Tip dont buy other people into tourneys.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
2k limit
So i woke up in time to play the 2k limit event. Ive always
enjoyed playing limit tournaments for some reason. Generally
you cant go bust in one hand ! And you get to play some flops,
which i like to do. The latter stages of a NL can be very, pre-flop.
To start off with things didnt go that great, and i was almost
out, but my aces held up and i managed to survive. From
there things went my way, connecting with flops , and i was
up to almost 20k. Then of course it went pear shapes for
a bit and i was down to 10k. Then a key hand came up where
a late position guy raised, i re-raised with Askd, and he 4 bet
me. The flop came j-2s-4s. He bet i called. Turn came a 7,
he bet and i called. Then the river came the Js. I checked
and he bet virtually putting me all in. I thought for a while
and called, he showed a-5, bang ! I was back in it. Ended
the day on about 22k. I was playing a mixed bag of hands,
even tho ppl were tightening up, I prolly coulda played a few
hands better.
Day 2 64ppl left, 45 ppl get money. I got off to a good start
just playing solid hands, and catching a few breaks, and
i was up to 50k (avg 42) with 40 left and in the money !
Then the Key hand comes up. I 3 bet with 9s he 4 bets.
The flop comes 8h-6-5. He bets i call. Turn comes a 9h,
he bets i raise he calls. River comes a black king, he
checks and i bet, and he calls. Do u have a str8t he says?
I say no, he shows Ks :(( Set over set argh ! 70k
pot slides his way.
Then i raise with Ad-4d, early position, same guy calls
me , flop comes 5d-4c-3d. Im all in he has 10s. And my
17 outs dont materialise, and just like that out in 36th.
$5500 for 36th, which for some reason they dont
tax me, great break ! Which was also good, considering
we went out after the tournament after day 1 and played
some crappy craps.
I picked up the full tilt book the previous night, and
read the limit section, which surprisingly was very
informative !
hot tip buy : Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide
Anyway getting closer !
enjoyed playing limit tournaments for some reason. Generally
you cant go bust in one hand ! And you get to play some flops,
which i like to do. The latter stages of a NL can be very, pre-flop.
To start off with things didnt go that great, and i was almost
out, but my aces held up and i managed to survive. From
there things went my way, connecting with flops , and i was
up to almost 20k. Then of course it went pear shapes for
a bit and i was down to 10k. Then a key hand came up where
a late position guy raised, i re-raised with Askd, and he 4 bet
me. The flop came j-2s-4s. He bet i called. Turn came a 7,
he bet and i called. Then the river came the Js. I checked
and he bet virtually putting me all in. I thought for a while
and called, he showed a-5, bang ! I was back in it. Ended
the day on about 22k. I was playing a mixed bag of hands,
even tho ppl were tightening up, I prolly coulda played a few
hands better.
Day 2 64ppl left, 45 ppl get money. I got off to a good start
just playing solid hands, and catching a few breaks, and
i was up to 50k (avg 42) with 40 left and in the money !
Then the Key hand comes up. I 3 bet with 9s he 4 bets.
The flop comes 8h-6-5. He bets i call. Turn comes a 9h,
he bets i raise he calls. River comes a black king, he
checks and i bet, and he calls. Do u have a str8t he says?
I say no, he shows Ks :(( Set over set argh ! 70k
pot slides his way.
Then i raise with Ad-4d, early position, same guy calls
me , flop comes 5d-4c-3d. Im all in he has 10s. And my
17 outs dont materialise, and just like that out in 36th.
$5500 for 36th, which for some reason they dont
tax me, great break ! Which was also good, considering
we went out after the tournament after day 1 and played
some crappy craps.
I picked up the full tilt book the previous night, and
read the limit section, which surprisingly was very
informative !
hot tip buy : Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide
Anyway getting closer !
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Poker is a 100% luck and a 100% skill
Thats right theres 200% in poker, and most of its bs. Theres
so many jokers winning tournaments, cashing deep in events.
I figure it may as well be me ! Unfortunately theres not
many good events on at the moment. May be i should
play tomorrows limit. I played some interesting online
tourneys today. If you are playing like the maniac on the table,
remember people wont fold much to you. Which is obvious,
tho usually i play solid so i forgot, stupid!
Vegas newly born child , vegas ...
so many jokers winning tournaments, cashing deep in events.
I figure it may as well be me ! Unfortunately theres not
many good events on at the moment. May be i should
play tomorrows limit. I played some interesting online
tourneys today. If you are playing like the maniac on the table,
remember people wont fold much to you. Which is obvious,
tho usually i play solid so i forgot, stupid!
Vegas newly born child , vegas ...
Sunday, June 24, 2007
the tide is turning
Ive managed to switch the online drought, and in the
space of a few tourneys , im back to square (online)
I final tabled the $109 rebuy ($950), 55th in the stars
million ($3700) and 1st in Stars 100k (25k).
Went out last night and got too drunk, which made
playign the tourneys today tuff, but what the heck !
Ended up in some dodgy pool hall near the ariport,
drinks at the bellagio, trying to walk across a fountain
at caesars and then playing craps at casino royale at 7am.
Oh and we got into a food fight at the mirage, well it
was really just a friendly fight, when a guy frisbeed
a pancake from the next table to ours. My friend
took a bite out of it, then i frisbeed it long, hit a girl
in the head 5-10m away. She looked around in confusion,
and the staff came in and confiscated the remaining
frisbees/pancakes.
Now to try and win some live events !
Vegas little infant , vegas ...
space of a few tourneys , im back to square (online)
I final tabled the $109 rebuy ($950), 55th in the stars
million ($3700) and 1st in Stars 100k (25k).
Went out last night and got too drunk, which made
playign the tourneys today tuff, but what the heck !
Ended up in some dodgy pool hall near the ariport,
drinks at the bellagio, trying to walk across a fountain
at caesars and then playing craps at casino royale at 7am.
Oh and we got into a food fight at the mirage, well it
was really just a friendly fight, when a guy frisbeed
a pancake from the next table to ours. My friend
took a bite out of it, then i frisbeed it long, hit a girl
in the head 5-10m away. She looked around in confusion,
and the staff came in and confiscated the remaining
frisbees/pancakes.
Now to try and win some live events !
Vegas little infant , vegas ...
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Spirit breaking
So i decided to play the 2k pl. Which suits my game , nice
slow structure, no antes. I catch a break early having AA
against QQ, and end up running my starting stack
from 4k to 16k , playing really good. I mean im not making
crazy bluffs, but just picking up small pots here and there,
choosing spots carefully. Anyway its all too painful, I get
blinded down a bit, even tho i raise virtually at every opportunity,
9-8 suited etc. And then i hit some good cards, and make some good
plays and im up to 35k (around average). Then a few minutes
later, there are about 60 or so ppl left, im 2nd in chips on the
table. So im looking at making the money, and then keep the
roll going! Suddenly i look down at Kings , and 30 seconds
later the chip leader has all my chips, as were both all in preflop,
and of course he has Aces. Another kick in the pants, lucky i
was wearing cricket box. Anyway as far as poker goes, its a
bit like scarface , with all the bullet holes !
The weather is still hot, the poker is still cold , but there
is more to life than poker, except when ur in vegas in the wsop.
Apparently the forecast for cheetas - is for scattered panties,
and partly covered dancers (thats a quote from the add)
slow structure, no antes. I catch a break early having AA
against QQ, and end up running my starting stack
from 4k to 16k , playing really good. I mean im not making
crazy bluffs, but just picking up small pots here and there,
choosing spots carefully. Anyway its all too painful, I get
blinded down a bit, even tho i raise virtually at every opportunity,
9-8 suited etc. And then i hit some good cards, and make some good
plays and im up to 35k (around average). Then a few minutes
later, there are about 60 or so ppl left, im 2nd in chips on the
table. So im looking at making the money, and then keep the
roll going! Suddenly i look down at Kings , and 30 seconds
later the chip leader has all my chips, as were both all in preflop,
and of course he has Aces. Another kick in the pants, lucky i
was wearing cricket box. Anyway as far as poker goes, its a
bit like scarface , with all the bullet holes !
The weather is still hot, the poker is still cold , but there
is more to life than poker, except when ur in vegas in the wsop.
Apparently the forecast for cheetas - is for scattered panties,
and partly covered dancers (thats a quote from the add)
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