Last night I had dinner with old friends Sheri Winestock and Fred Gitelman – two transplanted Canadians enjoying life permanently in Las Vegas. From here they run the premier online destination for bridge play in the world – www.bridgebase.com.
It seems we have known each other for ever, but in fact they are both only in their early forties. Fred used to cut high school classes to come play at the bridge club I was working in to help finance my education. He always had a sharp mind for the game – so it was not surprising he blossomed into a world class player with numerous victories at the highest levels of the game.
Sheri is pretty damn good too, and is in fact preparing herself for the toughest event on the calendar – the US Open Bridge Championships being held in mid June in Chicago.
Dinner was at my favorite restaurant in Vegas – Sushi Samba – located in the Palazzo hotel. An eclectic mix of three distinct cuisines (with three different kitchens) – Brazilian, Peruvian, and Japanese.
We washed it all down with an elegant cold saki, and the drinks at the bar afterwards did not hurt either. Well that is until I decided to play some double deck blackjack after they left the hotel.
Three "donations" at three consecutive tables resulted in me giving back most of the goodness (read : profits) of the past twenty four hours. With tail between my legs, I slid off to bed, and vowed to be smarter in the morning.
To think I espouse treating blackjack play like a business, and then like a random tourist, I played when my senses were dulled.
This morning, I had a good long swim at Tao beach – wonderful – not so hot as yesterday, and played some highly disciplined BJ after the swim. I can report neither success nor failure though as all my play today has resulted in zero gain or loss.
The daily poker tournament got my attention again today – but I suffered a similar fate to yesterday. I am starting to resent the relatively small starting stack of $7,500 with a rapidly increasing blind and ante structure.
Luck still plays a huge role in the survival process – since you cannot just sit there and play your best poker – you always have an eye on your stack, relative to the table and the average left in the tournament – and you cannot afford too many unsuccessful moves.
My moves all seemed normal to me – but I batted 1 for 6 in the first few hours of the event and could not get myself over an average stack size all day. This was a table where limping was condoned – even encouraged. I rarely limp into a pot – I am a raiser. Each time I raised (or tried a squeeze play) I could not get rid of most of them – each time I had at least a three way pot.
Excepting of course when I was dealt pocket aces in the small blind. Now I was thrilled to be at this type of table. But on that occasion, everyone folded and I got no action – argh!
The hand I went out on was quite bizarre. I held J8 suited in spades in late position, and was able to limp into a multi player flop. The flop was 22J – giving me a respectable two pair. The flop included two diamonds.
I bet out around 2/3 of the pot after two checks, and got one customer, with the others folding, as you would expect with a dangerous board like this.
The turn was another two, giving me a full house with deuces and jacks. I decided to check. The other guy bet out about 2/3 of the pot and I raised him. He re-raised me and I snap shoved all in of course.
He went a little green but decided to call with his AQ of diamonds – quite foolish if you ask me. When we turned over our hands, he got up from his chair and was preparing his stuff to leave, when another deuce hit the table on the river!
Quad deuces on the table. He sat down, content to share the pot, but was blown away when all the chips went over to him.
You see my jacks had been counterfeited by the last deuce – my hand had improved to four deuces – with a jack kicker. His improved to four deuces with an ace kicker. So goodbye Ross.
Another 32nd placing out of 110 players. (Top 13 only get paid today)
I rarely complain these days about bad beats etc. but pleaze, cry me a river!
Probably the only person happy with these developments will be my bridge partner Keith Balcombe, since this means, for the third night in a row, even though I am here on holiday in Las Vegas, I am available again for practice on Fred’s website – www.bridgebase.com
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Great to be back in Vegas - May 5 2010
You would not expect Vegas to change too much in five short months – but there is a palpable hum in the air, which was sorely lacking during all my visits last year. My first clue was the humungous line up for taxis at the airport – last year I could just walk up to the taxi line and be the first guy in line.
The line up yesterday snaked for about 100 meters – and in that blazing sun I think I would have gladly paid for a limo or even a helicopter (!) to whisk me to the Venetian.
No such conveyances were available though, so I settled for the once-scorned tourist bus, which made approximately 17 stops enroute to the Venetian – but at least it was air conditioned!
At check in, the clerk advised me they have been at or near capacity for the past two months – which explains why they want to gouge me for $500 per night at the end of the trip after the promo coupon wears out! (Checking into a different hotel for that night)
This week there seems to be a big IBM convention at the Venetian so the place is crawling with blue shirts, short hair, and name badges.
I had no time for sins or vices; just get ready for dinner with the The Wolffs – Bobby and Judy – who have taken a shine to my writings on www.bridgeblogging.com – so we arranged a terrific get together for drinks and dinner.
We chatted our heads off for a few hours – and folks it doesn’t get much better than sitting with Mr. and Mrs. “Aces on Bridge” and being fed bridge hands and stories between the Caesar salad and veal marsala.
Anyway, whereas last year I had a host who provided me with VIP check in; airport limos; free access to the VIP lounge, and most food comped if on premises, this trip I am schlepping like everyone else.
Business was so sparse in Vegas last year, even my action was attractive to the hotel. But with prosperity how quickly they forget their friends.
Still, the play’s the thing – isn’t it? Never kid yourself that the amount of action they normally require of you to justify a free room is worth it. If the chip count is not going up, just fuggedabout it!
Anyway, last night I played a little (and I mean a little) blackjack at three tables, winning a modest amount each time. I had some energy to kill before bedtime, so I played some penny Spin Poker on a slot machine. Down $50 and rueing my decision, I got into a pressing situation, and was rewarded with a max bet down ( a grand total of only $6 or 600 units - it's a penny machine remember) with a Royal Flush (with a wildcard deuce) twenty times – resulting in a $120 payout and an eventual profit at the machine of around $76.
In bed by a respectable 11.30 pm (well that’s 2.30 AM my time but who’s counting), I was visited not once but twice by the shrill sound of a wayward bedside alarm clock which the previous joker in my room had set to 3 AM. Eventually ripping it out of the wall (couldn’t figure out how to switch the damn thing off) I got about 6 hours of sleep otherwise.
Downstairs for blackjack – a few short sessions before the daily poker tournament – they all went well till the last one – where I misplaced my customary discipline and patience and wiped out all my morning’s profits at one table.
For $150 I bought into the daily tournament – shoulder to shoulder with 90 other Venetian denizons anxious to claim a piece of the approx $4000 first place prize.
This ended too early for me. When the blinds were at the 7th level, I got all my chips in the middle against Mr. Super Stack. 1/3 of them pre flop when I raised large from the button with JJ to eliminate two limpers, but Mr. Super Stack in the big blind called me effortlessly.
With a hugely wonderful flop of J72 offsuit, Mr. Super Stack came out firing with a half pot size bet, and I (without too much evident enthusiasm) raised him all in. His stack had me well and truly covered 3-4 times over, so of course, he snap called with his KK.
The river alas was a cursed king, and instead of more than doubling up, I was out and on the rail. Ah well, such is the life of a tournament poker player. I ended up around 30th.
Earlier in the event I was in a three way pot with 66. I had raised to 3 times the big blind in late position; the button re-raised me, and the big blind came along for the ride. I was getting good odds to call, but I felt I was in a poor position with a low pair and not on the button – nevertheless I perversely called !
The flop was A 5 A rainbow. They both checked to me, and I looked down at a meager stack and understood my best chance to move onwards was to take this pot down. So I shoved all in – like a man with an ace or even 55 or A5. I wished I had more chips, since my all in was less than half the size of the pot - meaning they would get good odds to call me.
Can you believe what happened next? The button agonized and threw away a pair of kings, after an intense stare down. (He was in the middle of me and the next guy so you can see why he was reticent)
This left the big blind looking at his own pair of jacks, and at me for a hopeful show and tell. But I had my best deadpan look going, and after even more theatrics on his part, he also folded. They were quick to show the table what experts they were - making such big laydowns – so I could not resist – I turned over my 6’s.
This got a huge laugh and applause from the rest of the table – and had these two guys talking to themselves for the rest of the day. I guess they would no longer peg me as super tight.
Within an hour, Mr. Super Stack came to our table and put them both out of their misery on the same hand – when he spiked the nut flush on the river to oust their (tied) winning hands.
Anyway, I was out of the tournament, so I repaired to the blackjack pit to recoup my entry fee and get back in the saddle again. Me and the dealer – one shoe – I only lost two hands, playing two spots in a double deck game. And it was winning ugly. As is so often the case when “the press is on”, you win with hands you would not normally expect to.
Great ! Back up to a new high for the trip – and played a little longer until two jumpers came in and messed with my karma. I humored them for a shoe or two and as my chip stack was treading water, I said thank you and good bye.
Still, all in all, a great start to the trip. Viva Las Vegas!
The line up yesterday snaked for about 100 meters – and in that blazing sun I think I would have gladly paid for a limo or even a helicopter (!) to whisk me to the Venetian.
No such conveyances were available though, so I settled for the once-scorned tourist bus, which made approximately 17 stops enroute to the Venetian – but at least it was air conditioned!
At check in, the clerk advised me they have been at or near capacity for the past two months – which explains why they want to gouge me for $500 per night at the end of the trip after the promo coupon wears out! (Checking into a different hotel for that night)
This week there seems to be a big IBM convention at the Venetian so the place is crawling with blue shirts, short hair, and name badges.
I had no time for sins or vices; just get ready for dinner with the The Wolffs – Bobby and Judy – who have taken a shine to my writings on www.bridgeblogging.com – so we arranged a terrific get together for drinks and dinner.
We chatted our heads off for a few hours – and folks it doesn’t get much better than sitting with Mr. and Mrs. “Aces on Bridge” and being fed bridge hands and stories between the Caesar salad and veal marsala.
Anyway, whereas last year I had a host who provided me with VIP check in; airport limos; free access to the VIP lounge, and most food comped if on premises, this trip I am schlepping like everyone else.
Business was so sparse in Vegas last year, even my action was attractive to the hotel. But with prosperity how quickly they forget their friends.
Still, the play’s the thing – isn’t it? Never kid yourself that the amount of action they normally require of you to justify a free room is worth it. If the chip count is not going up, just fuggedabout it!
Anyway, last night I played a little (and I mean a little) blackjack at three tables, winning a modest amount each time. I had some energy to kill before bedtime, so I played some penny Spin Poker on a slot machine. Down $50 and rueing my decision, I got into a pressing situation, and was rewarded with a max bet down ( a grand total of only $6 or 600 units - it's a penny machine remember) with a Royal Flush (with a wildcard deuce) twenty times – resulting in a $120 payout and an eventual profit at the machine of around $76.
In bed by a respectable 11.30 pm (well that’s 2.30 AM my time but who’s counting), I was visited not once but twice by the shrill sound of a wayward bedside alarm clock which the previous joker in my room had set to 3 AM. Eventually ripping it out of the wall (couldn’t figure out how to switch the damn thing off) I got about 6 hours of sleep otherwise.
Downstairs for blackjack – a few short sessions before the daily poker tournament – they all went well till the last one – where I misplaced my customary discipline and patience and wiped out all my morning’s profits at one table.
For $150 I bought into the daily tournament – shoulder to shoulder with 90 other Venetian denizons anxious to claim a piece of the approx $4000 first place prize.
This ended too early for me. When the blinds were at the 7th level, I got all my chips in the middle against Mr. Super Stack. 1/3 of them pre flop when I raised large from the button with JJ to eliminate two limpers, but Mr. Super Stack in the big blind called me effortlessly.
With a hugely wonderful flop of J72 offsuit, Mr. Super Stack came out firing with a half pot size bet, and I (without too much evident enthusiasm) raised him all in. His stack had me well and truly covered 3-4 times over, so of course, he snap called with his KK.
The river alas was a cursed king, and instead of more than doubling up, I was out and on the rail. Ah well, such is the life of a tournament poker player. I ended up around 30th.
Earlier in the event I was in a three way pot with 66. I had raised to 3 times the big blind in late position; the button re-raised me, and the big blind came along for the ride. I was getting good odds to call, but I felt I was in a poor position with a low pair and not on the button – nevertheless I perversely called !
The flop was A 5 A rainbow. They both checked to me, and I looked down at a meager stack and understood my best chance to move onwards was to take this pot down. So I shoved all in – like a man with an ace or even 55 or A5. I wished I had more chips, since my all in was less than half the size of the pot - meaning they would get good odds to call me.
Can you believe what happened next? The button agonized and threw away a pair of kings, after an intense stare down. (He was in the middle of me and the next guy so you can see why he was reticent)
This left the big blind looking at his own pair of jacks, and at me for a hopeful show and tell. But I had my best deadpan look going, and after even more theatrics on his part, he also folded. They were quick to show the table what experts they were - making such big laydowns – so I could not resist – I turned over my 6’s.
This got a huge laugh and applause from the rest of the table – and had these two guys talking to themselves for the rest of the day. I guess they would no longer peg me as super tight.
Within an hour, Mr. Super Stack came to our table and put them both out of their misery on the same hand – when he spiked the nut flush on the river to oust their (tied) winning hands.
Anyway, I was out of the tournament, so I repaired to the blackjack pit to recoup my entry fee and get back in the saddle again. Me and the dealer – one shoe – I only lost two hands, playing two spots in a double deck game. And it was winning ugly. As is so often the case when “the press is on”, you win with hands you would not normally expect to.
Great ! Back up to a new high for the trip – and played a little longer until two jumpers came in and messed with my karma. I humored them for a shoe or two and as my chip stack was treading water, I said thank you and good bye.
Still, all in all, a great start to the trip. Viva Las Vegas!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Fallsview $2,500 Event Final Table
If I am ever going to win a bigger than one day tournament, I will look back at the past two days and recall just what it took for Gavin Smith to win Fallsview's $2,500 event this morning.
Day two play began at noon on January 11. By late afternoon, the field was down to two tables, and by mid evening, the final table was set.
However, in a battle of epic proportions, the table remained active for around ten hours of play, and the event did not actually end till 7.30 AM this morning, January 12, when Gavin Smith finally bested Narinder Khasria.
Narinder, Gavin, and (Mak) Siamak Soleimanian, duelled three handed for over five hours - quite extraordinary, and then heads up play between Gavin and Narinder lasted around two and half hours.
The chip stacks ebbed and flowed and as a spectator it was utterly compelling. In the interests of integrity of reporting I must confess I vacated the playing area at 6 AM - much as I wanted to see it till the end, I could not keep my eyes open any longer.
There were many moments of high drama - especially when it got three handed, after Mark Zajdner's pocket kings were outflopped by Gavin Smith's pocket 4's.
If not for two tough beats, Mak might well be the champion and the toast of the Fallsview Poker room. He had qualified near the bottom of the list for day 2 (proving my position was not as ridiculous as it seemed) and worked his way all the way to the final table, where a key showdown hand with his quad sixes propelled him to the chip lead.
Gavin Smith was down to a relatively short stack when he shoved all in from the button with KJ offsuited, and Mak called with AQ suited. The river spiked a king though, and Gavin survived and revived his chances.
On Mak's exit hand, his stack was now covered by Gavin's when they got it all in again. This time Gavin had A10 and Mak had AK and a ten hit the board and Mak hit the rail.
Narinder had his own dramatics on a couple of occasions. He doubled up on Gavin early in heads up when HIS 4's flopped a set and beat Gavin's pocket 9's.
Later, he was all in again with 107 suited against AJ suited. The board had KJ8A9 and the river completed a gut shot straight for Narinder, besting Gavin's top two pair, and extending the play once again during heads up.
The most spectactular exit was probably perpetrated on Aadam Daya (5th) by Narinder. Short stacked Aadam shoved from the button with KQ offsuit. Narinder looked down at his cards in the big blind and found two aces ! Saying, "well I guess I have to call", he flipped open his aces to a forlorn looking Aadam.
The railbirds all stand and crane their necks in unison whenever there is a final table all-in confrontation, and what a treat they got here.
The flop came J104 rainbow, breathing life into Aadam's dominated KQ as now he had an open ended straight draw.
Sure enough, the next card was an ace on the turn, converting the losing hand into a Broadway straight, while improving Narinder's hand to three aces.
The river card was an unbelievable fourth ace, and the crowd roared and groaned as Aadam went from hero to zero in a few short seconds, and Narinder was joyously smiling from ear to ear, as his quad aces took down the pot and eliminated Aadam.
The top five places were as follows :
1st Gavin Smith $188,743
2nd Narinder Khasria $94,371
3rd Siamak Soleimanian $47,186
4th Mark Zajdner $37,749
5th Aadam Daya $25,795
It is clear luck plays a major part in the outcome of a poker tournament - everyone in the late stages of a tournament has won hands they were "supposed to lose" - ie they were in tough against an opponent's hand with better odds to win, but the lesser hand prevailed.
In this case, each player of the final four had more than one such hand - so one could argue the luck evened out.
Sometimes the luck factor is not so relevant on a hand - the pot may be small, or neither player maybe be facing elimination if the result goes against him.
However, it certainly seemed like the high luck factor hands had lots of drama and import when they came up at this final table.
For sure, the most experienced poker player won in the end - but he would be the first to admit, any of the final three could have won this thing, and had their chances.
They all played well, and they deserve their big payday.
Day two play began at noon on January 11. By late afternoon, the field was down to two tables, and by mid evening, the final table was set.
However, in a battle of epic proportions, the table remained active for around ten hours of play, and the event did not actually end till 7.30 AM this morning, January 12, when Gavin Smith finally bested Narinder Khasria.
Narinder, Gavin, and (Mak) Siamak Soleimanian, duelled three handed for over five hours - quite extraordinary, and then heads up play between Gavin and Narinder lasted around two and half hours.
The chip stacks ebbed and flowed and as a spectator it was utterly compelling. In the interests of integrity of reporting I must confess I vacated the playing area at 6 AM - much as I wanted to see it till the end, I could not keep my eyes open any longer.
There were many moments of high drama - especially when it got three handed, after Mark Zajdner's pocket kings were outflopped by Gavin Smith's pocket 4's.
If not for two tough beats, Mak might well be the champion and the toast of the Fallsview Poker room. He had qualified near the bottom of the list for day 2 (proving my position was not as ridiculous as it seemed) and worked his way all the way to the final table, where a key showdown hand with his quad sixes propelled him to the chip lead.
Gavin Smith was down to a relatively short stack when he shoved all in from the button with KJ offsuited, and Mak called with AQ suited. The river spiked a king though, and Gavin survived and revived his chances.
On Mak's exit hand, his stack was now covered by Gavin's when they got it all in again. This time Gavin had A10 and Mak had AK and a ten hit the board and Mak hit the rail.
Narinder had his own dramatics on a couple of occasions. He doubled up on Gavin early in heads up when HIS 4's flopped a set and beat Gavin's pocket 9's.
Later, he was all in again with 107 suited against AJ suited. The board had KJ8A9 and the river completed a gut shot straight for Narinder, besting Gavin's top two pair, and extending the play once again during heads up.
The most spectactular exit was probably perpetrated on Aadam Daya (5th) by Narinder. Short stacked Aadam shoved from the button with KQ offsuit. Narinder looked down at his cards in the big blind and found two aces ! Saying, "well I guess I have to call", he flipped open his aces to a forlorn looking Aadam.
The railbirds all stand and crane their necks in unison whenever there is a final table all-in confrontation, and what a treat they got here.
The flop came J104 rainbow, breathing life into Aadam's dominated KQ as now he had an open ended straight draw.
Sure enough, the next card was an ace on the turn, converting the losing hand into a Broadway straight, while improving Narinder's hand to three aces.
The river card was an unbelievable fourth ace, and the crowd roared and groaned as Aadam went from hero to zero in a few short seconds, and Narinder was joyously smiling from ear to ear, as his quad aces took down the pot and eliminated Aadam.
The top five places were as follows :
1st Gavin Smith $188,743
2nd Narinder Khasria $94,371
3rd Siamak Soleimanian $47,186
4th Mark Zajdner $37,749
5th Aadam Daya $25,795
It is clear luck plays a major part in the outcome of a poker tournament - everyone in the late stages of a tournament has won hands they were "supposed to lose" - ie they were in tough against an opponent's hand with better odds to win, but the lesser hand prevailed.
In this case, each player of the final four had more than one such hand - so one could argue the luck evened out.
Sometimes the luck factor is not so relevant on a hand - the pot may be small, or neither player maybe be facing elimination if the result goes against him.
However, it certainly seemed like the high luck factor hands had lots of drama and import when they came up at this final table.
For sure, the most experienced poker player won in the end - but he would be the first to admit, any of the final three could have won this thing, and had their chances.
They all played well, and they deserve their big payday.
Monday, January 11, 2010
The gods have spoken
The gods have spoken. No more poker tournaments at Fallsview this week for me. I decided to parlay my table winnings back into the dreaded satellites for the $5,000 Main Event.
I made it to Stage 3 whereby the top two places (from ten) win an entry. We got down to four good players – Matt, in seat 8, Vince in seat 2, me in seat 4, and Steve in seat 6.
This one went quite a bit longer than my earlier experiences, we got through blinds as high as $300/$600/$100 with only $20,000 chips in play.
I was able to double up off Vince at a key point when he shoved me all in with an aggressive suited 107 in the small blind, after the other two had folded. I was looking at A5 suited.
I figured Vince thought I was pretty tight, having laid down an AK pre flop earlier when the action got too hot. (That was a good laydown insomuch as I was up against 99 and KK, but bad insomuch as the flop contained an Ace and I could have taken out two players at that time – including Matt – who ended up being one of the two winners)
I was pretty sure he would steal from me with a wide range of hands. Feeling fatalistic, I called, and was gratified to see I had a reasonable shot against 107. We were both suited in diamonds.
The flop included a 98, so now Vince was looking to hit an open ended straight, but nothing came, and I survived.
I needed that double up and I began to play some real poker with more chips at my disposal, and accumulated some more. I may even have been chip leader when I picked up JJ on the dealer button with the blinds $200/$400/$75.
I raised to $1,400 and Matt shoved all in from the big blind. He had about $2,000 chips fewer than I did. Seemed like an automatic call from me, so I did. He turned over A2 offsuit, so my pair looked good.
Until the flop was Ace 2 Ace !! That’s right, Matt flopped a full house from nowhere. And to make the story even more spectacular, an Ace came on the river, and his quad Aces beat my full house of Aces and Jacks.
What a spectacular hand – but not for me. Had I won the hand, for sure I win my entry into tomorrow's main event.
I hung in for several more orbits, but had to make a move soon with the blinds so big. I went out fourth when Steve’s pocket 4’s bested my Q8 offsuit when I was in the big blind.
That left three roughly even stacks till Steve and Vince mixed things up with an open-ended straight draw for Vince against bottom pair for Steve. When the board ran dry, Vince joined me on the rail. He’s going back in for one more crack at it, but not me - there will be plenty of tourneys in my future.
I have been railbirding a bit at the $2,500 tournament - which is down to only two tables now. Continuing where he left off last night, Gavin Smith (now from Las Vegas but originally a Guelph lad) is steam rolling over his table and has a huge stack.
I made it to Stage 3 whereby the top two places (from ten) win an entry. We got down to four good players – Matt, in seat 8, Vince in seat 2, me in seat 4, and Steve in seat 6.
This one went quite a bit longer than my earlier experiences, we got through blinds as high as $300/$600/$100 with only $20,000 chips in play.
I was able to double up off Vince at a key point when he shoved me all in with an aggressive suited 107 in the small blind, after the other two had folded. I was looking at A5 suited.
I figured Vince thought I was pretty tight, having laid down an AK pre flop earlier when the action got too hot. (That was a good laydown insomuch as I was up against 99 and KK, but bad insomuch as the flop contained an Ace and I could have taken out two players at that time – including Matt – who ended up being one of the two winners)
I was pretty sure he would steal from me with a wide range of hands. Feeling fatalistic, I called, and was gratified to see I had a reasonable shot against 107. We were both suited in diamonds.
The flop included a 98, so now Vince was looking to hit an open ended straight, but nothing came, and I survived.
I needed that double up and I began to play some real poker with more chips at my disposal, and accumulated some more. I may even have been chip leader when I picked up JJ on the dealer button with the blinds $200/$400/$75.
I raised to $1,400 and Matt shoved all in from the big blind. He had about $2,000 chips fewer than I did. Seemed like an automatic call from me, so I did. He turned over A2 offsuit, so my pair looked good.
Until the flop was Ace 2 Ace !! That’s right, Matt flopped a full house from nowhere. And to make the story even more spectacular, an Ace came on the river, and his quad Aces beat my full house of Aces and Jacks.
What a spectacular hand – but not for me. Had I won the hand, for sure I win my entry into tomorrow's main event.
I hung in for several more orbits, but had to make a move soon with the blinds so big. I went out fourth when Steve’s pocket 4’s bested my Q8 offsuit when I was in the big blind.
That left three roughly even stacks till Steve and Vince mixed things up with an open-ended straight draw for Vince against bottom pair for Steve. When the board ran dry, Vince joined me on the rail. He’s going back in for one more crack at it, but not me - there will be plenty of tourneys in my future.
I have been railbirding a bit at the $2,500 tournament - which is down to only two tables now. Continuing where he left off last night, Gavin Smith (now from Las Vegas but originally a Guelph lad) is steam rolling over his table and has a huge stack.
No Miracle at the Falls
Day two of a tournament is so cool. Everyone who comes back to play is a survivor and a "winner", and the cameraderie is palpable.
As I suspected, I was the absolute lowest qualifier, and would have to shove all in with almost any cards in the beginning.
The stars were giving off lots of good signs though. First good omen was when I was given the dealer's button to start the day. This meant I would not have to post blinds for a whole orbit. Still, with antes at $300 and blinds a $800/$1,600 I could not be choosy with my hand selection.
Second good omen was the very first hand I picked up premium cards with AK offsuit. All folded to me, and I shoved all in of course. Both the small and the big blinds called me. They then checked down the flop, turn, and river. The board was an unfortunate 88JJ4 - the two pairs negating the advantage my king kicker had for my Ace.
This meant instead of quadrupling my stack on the very first hand, I "only" doubled up. Still, a very good start - bit sort of like doubling down and getting a 21 at Blackjack and finding out declarer matches your result.
The very next hand I picked up a pair of 5's one off the dealer button. Again, a very good scenario for me. I plan to shove and now my modest stack is big enough that I may not be an automatic call by the blinds.
However, the guy on my right raised. Hoping he had two picture cards, or connectors (but no pair unless it was lower) I raised all in.
Yes, every one else folded and he showed KQ offsuit - which was about as good as I could expect from my point of view.
The whole table was rooting for me as the flop yielded 993 and I was ahead with two pairs, on my way to a semi-playable stack.
But the next card was a dagger in my heart - a king; and for good measure, the death blow on the river (overkill - I was already beaten) was a queen. Off to the rail I went in 57th spot and to a round of applause from the fun bunch of players remaining in the room.
I decided to parlay my winnings at last night's funky Ultimate Poker table game into the Satellites for a last kick at qualifying for the $5,000 entry. That would be a story too !
Anyway, so far so good, and the Stage 3 satellite is starting shortly. The top two players will win their entry. Yes it's a turkey shoot but hell I really want to play in the main event - but I cannot justify yet buying an entry outright.
As I suspected, I was the absolute lowest qualifier, and would have to shove all in with almost any cards in the beginning.
The stars were giving off lots of good signs though. First good omen was when I was given the dealer's button to start the day. This meant I would not have to post blinds for a whole orbit. Still, with antes at $300 and blinds a $800/$1,600 I could not be choosy with my hand selection.
Second good omen was the very first hand I picked up premium cards with AK offsuit. All folded to me, and I shoved all in of course. Both the small and the big blinds called me. They then checked down the flop, turn, and river. The board was an unfortunate 88JJ4 - the two pairs negating the advantage my king kicker had for my Ace.
This meant instead of quadrupling my stack on the very first hand, I "only" doubled up. Still, a very good start - bit sort of like doubling down and getting a 21 at Blackjack and finding out declarer matches your result.
The very next hand I picked up a pair of 5's one off the dealer button. Again, a very good scenario for me. I plan to shove and now my modest stack is big enough that I may not be an automatic call by the blinds.
However, the guy on my right raised. Hoping he had two picture cards, or connectors (but no pair unless it was lower) I raised all in.
Yes, every one else folded and he showed KQ offsuit - which was about as good as I could expect from my point of view.
The whole table was rooting for me as the flop yielded 993 and I was ahead with two pairs, on my way to a semi-playable stack.
But the next card was a dagger in my heart - a king; and for good measure, the death blow on the river (overkill - I was already beaten) was a queen. Off to the rail I went in 57th spot and to a round of applause from the fun bunch of players remaining in the room.
I decided to parlay my winnings at last night's funky Ultimate Poker table game into the Satellites for a last kick at qualifying for the $5,000 entry. That would be a story too !
Anyway, so far so good, and the Stage 3 satellite is starting shortly. The top two players will win their entry. Yes it's a turkey shoot but hell I really want to play in the main event - but I cannot justify yet buying an entry outright.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Hanging in by my finger nails at Fallsview
Well, we just finished up more than eleven hours of play in the $2,500 entry event. The field has been whittled down to 58 players from an original 276. I did not stick around to find out my exact placement, but I would hazard I am between 55th and 58th -lol.
Just had absolutely no cards to work with the past few hours. Other than that I really enjoyed my table. Canadian superstar Gavin Smith was putting on a clinic in seat 5 (I was in seat 9) and amassing a large bouquet of chips.
More importantly, he was witty, sharp, down to earth, and a helluva player to boot. There was a fair amount of idolisation going on at the table, but he handled it real well.
For the first five hours or so I was at a very tough table. On my right was Vinnie Lozon, fresh off a 4th place finish in the $1,000 event (cashing $16,238) and on my left was Jason X, who recently cashed $32,000 in a World Poker Tour event.
As I left the playing area I noted that 6 of our original ten were still in the event, and it would have been 7, but Josh was busted with about five minutes to go.
Considering the field is down to around 20% of its original number, for 60% of our table to survive beats the odds.
Vinnie was still in form and amassed over $60,000 chips pretty quickly. Being surrounded by good players in dominating form made my survival a bit sweeter I suppose - but I feel that if I had had any cards at all the past few hours, or maybe an easier draw (if there was one) I may have gone even deeper.
My goal was to cash, since even 27th pays $9,574.
I have some hands, but I don't feel like hashing them right now. I have only a couple of regrets. Once I could have taken down a lot of dead money by executing a squeeze play in the small blind with A9 suited. Had I bet all in at my turn pre flop, I would likely have induced everyone to fold. There were five others in this pot, which is pretty unusual. Most pots end up heads up - or at most three players.
Another time, I gave a second life to Farhad Husaini (who happened to come second in the $1,000 event, winning $40,595)
Just before the dinner break he re-raised my $2,200 to $6,700 (all in for Farhad). I was feeling good, as I had been on a mild heater, winning three pots in a row, including two showdowns.
I justifed calling his all in bet to myself, and saw I was drawing to only two outs, as he had JJ and I had 88.
No miracles here for me,and I donated an extra $4,500 to Farhad. He is a very good player, so maybe he did not need "my help", but I see he is still in the event.
I don't think I had a call - if he had a pair, it was for sure higher than mine - I gambled he was going all in with "paint" - two picture cards - and if we had a "race" that my pair would stand up. No need for me to gamble at that time though.
But I will shove all in without a second's thought if I get 88 early tomorrow.
Anyway, we resume at noon on Monday. For those of you who don't really understand poker, but who are rooting for me - I truly thank you for your interest and support, but I warn you I will likely be eliminated within 20 minutes tomorrow - barring miracles - which of course, I will visualize all night and play for with vim and vigour when the time comes.
Just had absolutely no cards to work with the past few hours. Other than that I really enjoyed my table. Canadian superstar Gavin Smith was putting on a clinic in seat 5 (I was in seat 9) and amassing a large bouquet of chips.
More importantly, he was witty, sharp, down to earth, and a helluva player to boot. There was a fair amount of idolisation going on at the table, but he handled it real well.
For the first five hours or so I was at a very tough table. On my right was Vinnie Lozon, fresh off a 4th place finish in the $1,000 event (cashing $16,238) and on my left was Jason X, who recently cashed $32,000 in a World Poker Tour event.
As I left the playing area I noted that 6 of our original ten were still in the event, and it would have been 7, but Josh was busted with about five minutes to go.
Considering the field is down to around 20% of its original number, for 60% of our table to survive beats the odds.
Vinnie was still in form and amassed over $60,000 chips pretty quickly. Being surrounded by good players in dominating form made my survival a bit sweeter I suppose - but I feel that if I had had any cards at all the past few hours, or maybe an easier draw (if there was one) I may have gone even deeper.
My goal was to cash, since even 27th pays $9,574.
I have some hands, but I don't feel like hashing them right now. I have only a couple of regrets. Once I could have taken down a lot of dead money by executing a squeeze play in the small blind with A9 suited. Had I bet all in at my turn pre flop, I would likely have induced everyone to fold. There were five others in this pot, which is pretty unusual. Most pots end up heads up - or at most three players.
Another time, I gave a second life to Farhad Husaini (who happened to come second in the $1,000 event, winning $40,595)
Just before the dinner break he re-raised my $2,200 to $6,700 (all in for Farhad). I was feeling good, as I had been on a mild heater, winning three pots in a row, including two showdowns.
I justifed calling his all in bet to myself, and saw I was drawing to only two outs, as he had JJ and I had 88.
No miracles here for me,and I donated an extra $4,500 to Farhad. He is a very good player, so maybe he did not need "my help", but I see he is still in the event.
I don't think I had a call - if he had a pair, it was for sure higher than mine - I gambled he was going all in with "paint" - two picture cards - and if we had a "race" that my pair would stand up. No need for me to gamble at that time though.
But I will shove all in without a second's thought if I get 88 early tomorrow.
Anyway, we resume at noon on Monday. For those of you who don't really understand poker, but who are rooting for me - I truly thank you for your interest and support, but I warn you I will likely be eliminated within 20 minutes tomorrow - barring miracles - which of course, I will visualize all night and play for with vim and vigour when the time comes.
Bad beat at blackjack
Last night I was trying to kill time constructively - I didn't want to do anything "heavy", but I didn't want to idle in my room either. There's only so many Dexter episodes I can watch at one time.
So I played a shoe of blackjack here and there; some 5 cent Spin Spoker on the slots; kibitzed with some of the players in the poker room who I have met over the past few days, and tried to stay out of trouble.
Blackjack was mixed. I would win a few hundred, stop, play later, lose a few hundred, and never broke out much in either direction. Towards the end of the evening, though, the losing sessions outnumbered the winning ones.
Towards the end of the evening, playing heads up against the dealer, I felt it necessary to spread to three hands, as this was about the only tool in my arsenal I had left at this tough table.
My seat one was dealt two Aces; seat two was dealt 99 for 18; and seat 3 was dealt K10 for a solid 20.
$100 on each hand, I was not charmed to see the dealer show an Ace. My first decision was whether or not to take an insurance bet against the dealer having a blackjack.
I decided no insurance. Declarer checked for a picture card, and 'no one home', we were good.
Next decision was whether or not I should split the Aces. Almost every one I have ever played with would think I am nuts for even thinking I had a decision here - they view the split as automatic, but I don't.
Having said that, I decided to split - hoping at least one of the two hands would be a winner.
This brought my action on this single deal up to $400. Joy of joys, the first Ace begat a Jack, and the second Ace begat a queen for two solid twenty ones.
So to summarise, I have four $100 hands face up on the table against the dealer showing an Ace but no blackjack.
I have K10 99 AQ AJ
The dealer turned over a four to go with his Ace. In a second, joy turned to incredulity when the next card out was a six, giving him an in-your-face twenty one of his own.
Lose $200. Next victim please !
Before he could scoop the cards away for the next deal, I said "Wait! Let me take a picture with my camera phone!"
Of course, the supe wouldn't let me, and anyway, I had no intentions of doing so - I just needed to vent in some way - this seemed healthier than slamming the table or throwing my drink at the poor dealer.
I played a few more hands, but I was too foggy - I really did not know how to beat this table - I had given it my best, and my best wasn't enough. I declared temporary defeat, and went to bed. (Better to lose a skirmish, but win the war later)
So I played a shoe of blackjack here and there; some 5 cent Spin Spoker on the slots; kibitzed with some of the players in the poker room who I have met over the past few days, and tried to stay out of trouble.
Blackjack was mixed. I would win a few hundred, stop, play later, lose a few hundred, and never broke out much in either direction. Towards the end of the evening, though, the losing sessions outnumbered the winning ones.
Towards the end of the evening, playing heads up against the dealer, I felt it necessary to spread to three hands, as this was about the only tool in my arsenal I had left at this tough table.
My seat one was dealt two Aces; seat two was dealt 99 for 18; and seat 3 was dealt K10 for a solid 20.
$100 on each hand, I was not charmed to see the dealer show an Ace. My first decision was whether or not to take an insurance bet against the dealer having a blackjack.
I decided no insurance. Declarer checked for a picture card, and 'no one home', we were good.
Next decision was whether or not I should split the Aces. Almost every one I have ever played with would think I am nuts for even thinking I had a decision here - they view the split as automatic, but I don't.
Having said that, I decided to split - hoping at least one of the two hands would be a winner.
This brought my action on this single deal up to $400. Joy of joys, the first Ace begat a Jack, and the second Ace begat a queen for two solid twenty ones.
So to summarise, I have four $100 hands face up on the table against the dealer showing an Ace but no blackjack.
I have K10 99 AQ AJ
The dealer turned over a four to go with his Ace. In a second, joy turned to incredulity when the next card out was a six, giving him an in-your-face twenty one of his own.
Lose $200. Next victim please !
Before he could scoop the cards away for the next deal, I said "Wait! Let me take a picture with my camera phone!"
Of course, the supe wouldn't let me, and anyway, I had no intentions of doing so - I just needed to vent in some way - this seemed healthier than slamming the table or throwing my drink at the poor dealer.
I played a few more hands, but I was too foggy - I really did not know how to beat this table - I had given it my best, and my best wasn't enough. I declared temporary defeat, and went to bed. (Better to lose a skirmish, but win the war later)
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