Some Poker While At the State Bowling Tournament

Every year right around mid March my bowling team goes to bowl in the State Bowling tournament. They rotate the location of the tournament through different cities, and this year the State Bowling Tournament was in the Fox Valley area. One bowling alley was in Appleton, and the other was in Neenah. Since Appleton is only about 30 minutes from Green Bay a couple of my teammates and I thought it would be a good idea to stay at the Oneida casino and hotel in Green Bay.

I had no problem with this since I knew I would get the opportunity to play poker in the poker room there. The weekend had a theme going for me…win at poker, lose at blackjack...win at poker, lose at craps…win at poker, lose at blackjack…win at poker, bowl horrible. I think you get the idea. All in all I finished about $200 up including the cost of the room, meals, and side pots at bowling. Sounds good, right? The only problem was that I had won $700 in my first poker session and $500 in my second poker session. That tells you what kind of weekend I was having with everything else.

I did have an entertaining poker session in my second session, and I wanted to share some of that with you. The session began with me taking a beat when I pushed with a flush draw, hit it, but my opponent had a set that turned in to a full house. Then, after rebuying, I got my chips in with Jacks on a 7-high board against someone with AK. The river brought a King, and now I was rebuying again. Sometimes it just doesn’t come easy. I spent the next three hours getting myself to within a hundred dollars of even, and I caught a rush of cards. It started innocently enough, with me getting AA, reraising someone’s raise, and taking down a pot. On the following hand I was dealt AK, raised, and took down a small pot again when all the limpers folded. I was dealt TT on the next hand, reraised another player, got called, and took down the pot with a bet on the flop. So now I thought I should play the rush. I was dealt 7s-4s and called when there was a raise and a caller in front of me. The flop was: 5s-6s-Th. This gave me an open-ended straight draw, a flush draw, and a straight flush draw. This is a huge flop for me. It was checked to me so I led out and bet. The player behind me raised, and I moved all in. They folded saying they had T-7, so they had top pair, weak kicker. My hand was a favorite, and I raked a nice pot. I still hadn’t shown down a hand, so I knew that my table image had to appear as though I was just shoving chips like a maniac. Well, on the very next hand, I got KK. I raised preflop to $35 and got a caller. It happened to be the same player from when I had TT, and I was getting the feeling that he (and the rest of the table) was getting sick of me pushing them around with my chips. The flop was: J-8-4 (two hearts). I bet, this guy raised, and I called. I happened to have the Kh. The turn was the Ah. Now, if a player is drawing to a flush, a lot of times they are drawing with the Ah, so I didn’t think they had a flush. That made me think that betting was still correct, so I did. My opponent slowed down and just called. The river was another heart giving me the nuts. I bet again, and my opponent gave me a disgusting look. You could tell that he was thinking I was pushing again. He asked me “I suppose you made your flush this time?” as he called my bet. Normally, I would have just told him yes and showed him the cards, but I was trying to put the table on tilt, so I responded “Duhh!!” and flamboyantly turned my cards over. I won the pot, and more importantly, I got every player at the table thinking one thing…get this guy!! Now, I’m sort of used to that from one of the poker leagues I play in, so I adjusted my play.

Over the next two hours, I played five hands. All five times they were premium hands and on four of those five my hand held up. I think I garnered more action than I normally would get because of my actions earlier. As I stated earlier in this post I finished this session up about $500, which was really good considering the way it started.

I just wish I could say my bowling that weekend was good. I shot absolutely awful, with only one game out of nine being above my average. I guess there’s always next year. The State tournament is in Green Bay next year, so I think I’ll get another shot at the tables at Oneida then!

Working in Vegas, Part 2

I was actually working in Las Vegas, so I wasn’t staying out too late on the evenings where I was working the next day. I played poker those evenings at Binion’s, playing the $1/$2 No-Limit Hold ‘em game. I was done working on Thursday, and I had planned my trip so that I was returning early in the morning on Saturday. That allowed me to get some longer sessions of poker in on Thursday and Friday.

On Thursday evening I went to play at the Wynn. I’m sure you’ve heard me rave about the Wynn’s poker room. I played in a five hour session there, and after losing a couple hundred dollars I decided that maybe I should take a break and hit a club for the evening, so off to the Bellagio and the Bank I went! I don’t think I’ve ever dropped so much coin for a night of drinking as I did that night! It was a good time though. I was able to chat up a couple of local ladies while I was waiting in line to get in and spent most of the evening with them and their friends.

Friday I decided I would attempt to get into the Bellagio tournament. On Fridays and Saturdays their tournament has an entry of $1060. I really didn’t want to spend that much, but they do have satellites that cost $225 and the top two players get their entry to the $1k tournament, so I played in one of those satellites. After a couple of players were knocked out the remaining players and I noticed something on one of the televisions stationed around the poker room. The Monte Carlo hotel was on fire! It was obvious that the sign was on fire, and it appeared as though several rooms near the top floors were also on fire. I hope that no one was hurt, and if I was reading the screen correctly it appeared as though everyone was evacuated successfully. After the initial excitement of seeing the hotel next to us being on fire it was back to poker. I eventually busted out of the satellite, placing 4th. On my last hand I got it all in on a King-high flop while I was holding K-T. My opponent called with K-9, and the 9 and the turn ended my run at a satellite seat.

I was going to take a walk on the strip, but the news seemed to indicate that the fire at the Monte Carlo was causing a scene on the street, so I ended up playing craps for a while at the Bellagio instead. Luckily, I was ahead from playing poker during the week because I wasn’t getting so lucky at the craps table. After about two hours of craps it was back to the poker room for what I knew was going to be my last session before heading home.

The session started on a losing note when about a half hour in to the session my pocket Queens ran in to pocket Kings. The board bricked out for me, and I had doubled up that player. I added some chips to my stack by rebuying, and on the very next hand I decided to limp with A-5. The flop was pretty much what I was looking for: A-5-5. My opponent had an Ace, and I tried to give the appearance that I may be on tilt from the prior hand. It worked, and I was able to stack that opponent off. It was unfortunate for him because he had lost to A-5 just a couple hands prior to this when someone made a straight with that hand. The session moved along without any serious pots, but about a half hour before I HAD to leave for the airport I had the following hand. I was dealt pocket Aces in the small blind. There had been a raise to $25 and a call by another player, so when the action got to me I popped it to $85. The initial raiser went away, but the other player called. I wasn’t really worried since I had Aces, and the flop was: 9-7-2. This flop appeared pretty safe. Since there was already almost $200 in the pot and I had to act first I bet $125. My opponent moved all in for an additional $70. I had a bad feeling as I grabbed the $70 worth of chips, but with a $600 pot out there I couldn’t fold AA with that board for $70. My gut feeling was confirmed right away as my opponent showed me pocket 7s, giving him a set of 7s. I didn’t catch the necessary Ace, and since I had to leave in half an hour I decided not to rebuy.

My last two trips to Vegas have ended with big hands getting cracked, and I hope that I can end that trend on my next trip. On my last trip to Vegas my last hand there was KK and I lost a large pot. My next trip to Vegas should be the WSOP trip, so let’s hope that I can avoid the big hands getting cracked there!

Working in Vegas, Part 1

As 2008 began, I started to shift my thinking towards preparing for this year’s World Series of Poker. As part of my preparations I wanted to focus on some live play since the WSOP isn’t played over the Internet. I got the opportunity to work for a week in Las Vegas in mid-January, so I left a couple days early and planned my work trip to stay an extra day and a half after I was done working.

I started by playing at the Bellagio, and within two hands I found myself down my initial buy in of $300. I was dealt Q-Q, and with the blinds at $2-$5 a player in front of me raised to $25, so I reraised to $85. My opponent called and the flop came: K-9-x (x was either a 2 or 3). My opponent checked, and I fired $125 in to the $180 pot. My opponent reraised, and I was pretty much committed to calling since I now only had $90 left. My opponent showed me A-K, and I had to rebuy after I didn’t hit my Queen on the turn or river. I continued my tight play, and after about 6 hours, I had worked my stack to about $1400, putting me up approximately $800. I was looking forward to playing at the Wynn’s poker room, so I cashed out and headed over there.

I was able to get in to a $2-$5 game at the Wynn fairly quick, and because I was ahead from my session at the Bellagio and because of the stacks at the table I bought in for $400. At the Wynn you can buy in for as much as you would like. Most poker rooms have a lower limit and upper limit for your buy in. For example, at the Bellagio’s $2-$5 table the buy in range is $100-$500. There were at least three players that had over $2000 at the table, and one of those had over $4000 at the table, so I decided to buy in for the extra $100 for two reasons. First, if I got lucky and picked up a hand I’d be able to double up for more if I bought in for more. Second, big stacks have a tendency to try and put small stacks to “the test” for all of their chips. The more chips I have in my arsenal the harder it will be for them to push me around. After buying in I posted a big blind instead of choosing to wait for the big blind to get to me. Just like in my session at the Bellagio, hand #2 provided a significant change to my stack. I was in early position and was dealt 8-8. A player from UTG (under the gun) raised to $35. This is pretty standard in a game with larger stacks so I decided to call. Three other players also called and off to the flop we went. It came:

K-8-4 (two spades)

The UTG player who had initially raised led out with a bet of $125. I called, figuring that most players would exit the hand and I would be playing heads up against this player with my set of 8s. The player with a $4000 stack moved all in though as the action went around the table. The remaining players folded back to the UTG player, who thought for a long time. He had about $2000 in front of him, and I’m sure he was considering not only what I had and whether I would call, but even if I did call, there would be a significant amount of money in the side pot that was created by Mr. Big Stack. He mucked, and I called. As I turned over my cards I inquired, “You weren’t slowplaying Kings before the flop, were you?”. My opponent chuckled as he turned over A-K when he saw, to his horror I’m sure, that I had a set of 8s. The man was a foreigner, and he got visibly upset when he saw he was almost drawing dead. He actually took his stacks of chips and just shoved them into the pot, creating a mess. It took several minutes to sort out as the dealer and floor supervisor had to “reconstruct” the hand and betting so that I would get paid correctly. Apparently, the foreigner wasn’t used to losing. During the delay he got up and left, but I didn’t care since I already had doubled through him. I played for a couple more hours, and after losing about $150 of what I had won I thought it was time to quit. Not bad for Day #1!

Because I was going to be working the next couple of days I decided to play poker where I was staying, which was Binion’s downtown. I played in the $1-$2 cash game and made it a couple of bucks there. Binion’s holds a nightly tournament, which I got in to both evenings. The tournament had a $60 buy-in, with an optional rebuy/addon, if needed for $40. I had to rebuy, but was doing rather well in the tournament when the following hand came up. I was in the big blind when two other players and the small blind limped to me. I was dealt Q-9. I checked, and the board came Q-9-2, giving me top two pair. I checked, trying to get someone to fire a bet and I would then raise (also known as the check-raise). No one bet, and turn card was a 3. I checked again, thinking for sure that one of my opponents would bet since they had been pretty aggressive at the table. No one bet again and the river showed an Ace. I led out and bet this time, hoping that someone holding an Ace might raise. Well, I got what I wanted. A player moved all-in, and to call wasn’t going to cost me so it was an automatic call. My opponent showed me his A-2. Oops. That’s what I get for trying to get too cute with a hand. The hand left me as a shorter stack, and I never recovered. I exited in 9^th place, which was a final table finish, but in a tournament that had 43 players they were only paying 6 spots, so I finished just outside the money. I’m still kicking myself for how I played that hand, especially since even with the limps the pot was a decent pot! Lesson learned.

A Chip and a Chair, baby!

I have to tell you about a three-week stretch of really good winning poker that I went on during November. It involves some of the craziest stuff I’ve ever had happen on a poker table…

As I had mentioned in my last post, I had taken some time off of poker. When I decided to get back in I started with a terrible run of cards. I would make three of a kind and someone would have a higher three of a kind. I’d hit two pair, and someone would hit their flush draw. Situations were happening that just weren’t working out well for me, and that’s part of the game, too. I was down to $56 in my online poker account and I decided to play a $26 tournament. Now, when I play in these tournaments, my realistic expectation is to cash, and if I get the right breaks at the right time maybe I’ll get lucky and cash big. The event I got in ended up having 1043 players. I was fortunate enough to finish in 7^th place. That paid $751! Not bad for a $26 investment. In all seriousness, I was somewhat disappointed. I wasn’t disappointed in where I finished, but I was disappointed that after going that deep that I was unlucky in the hand the eliminated me. I had AK, my opponent had AQ, and they drew a Queen to beat me. Depending how other things would have gone, first place was $5100!! Ah, well.

Well, that 7^th place finish set the stage for something that happened the following day. Every week on Sunday, Full Tilt Poker runs a tournament that has a $216 buy in. Full Tilt also guarantees there will be a prize pool of $750,000. You can pony up the full entry, or you can also play satellite tournaments that will allow you to win your entry. The satellite tournaments vary in dollar amount. I was able to win my entry in a $75 satellite. So I settled in for what I was hoping would be a long evening of poker, and I was right. It was definitely a long evening of poker. Things started out very well, as I was able to double my stack in the first couple of minutes when I flopped three of a kind, also called “a set”. My opponent in the hand was actually trying to bluff, so when he bet and then reraised my raise I was able to rake a nice pot. After the early double up not much happened to me. Certainly I played hands, and I lost some and won some, but nothing too eventful happened. The blinds kept getting higher and higher, and my stack was pretty much staying the same. The tournament had 3806 entrants, and of those 522 people were getting paid.

As the money bubble approached, I started losing chips. In fact, just after the money bubble was burst, I only had enough chips to pay for one more big blind and half of a small blind. I was pretty much just waiting to get knocked out as the blinds moved around the table. Well, they don’t use the phrase in poker “a chip and a chair” for no reason. On the last “free” hand I was going to get to play I decided to shove my chips in with Js-8c rather than wait to see what I was going to get dealt in the big blind. Someone raised and another player called. I didn’t need to see that, but the board came: T-9-9-7-A, and I had made a straight and almost quadrupled my chips in that hand alone! Two hands later, I was dealt A-K (Big Slick), and doubled my chips again. Within the next hour I went from last place to about 50^th place. In the next hour after that the cards continued to go my way, and I went from where I was to the top 5 in the tournament. In fact, with 119 players left I was the chip leader!! I've never gone on a tear like that. In chips I went from about 3500 in chips to just over 1 million chips. I called Dan at the next break of the tournament and he was watching some of my progress as I played. It was unreal. We were at 30 players, and I was still sitting in the top 3 for chips. I was very excited since first place was $134,770! It was right around this time I got dealt a serious blow. I was dealt K-K and raised the pot. Another player reraised all in. Well, I’m not folding K-K. In fact, I can remember telling Dan how excited I was that my opponent had moved in. I called and my opponent showed 4-4. Unfortunately for me, my opponent spiked a 4 giving him a set of fours. I wasn’t knocked out, but I now had about what the average was at that time. If I had won the pot I would have been the clear chip leader…what a swing!

It was at this point my cards “dried up”, and I was left trying to find spots to get my chips in where I thought I’d still be ahead. Eventually, with 15 players remaining, I was dealt A-8 and raised all-in, only to have the player in the big blind have A-A. I didn’t get what I needed to win the hand, and I was eliminated in 15^th place. The payout for that was still the largest single payout I’ve ever gotten from poker…$5405!!

I was able to ride that cash to another excellent finish the following week in that same tournament. Again I had won my entry via a satellite, and in that tournament I finished 33^rd out of 3571 players to win $2251! Also, in this tournament, just like the last tournament, I found myself down to my last chips with about 200 players left, and again I got lucky once, doubled up, and then went on a tear that took me very near to the top of the chip leader board. I was beginning to think that maybe this was the way to win, but I really wouldn’t want to try getting knocked down “to the felt” each time. It’s way too stressful. I really did feel as though I was on my “A” game, having finished 7^th out of 1043, 15^th out of 3806, and 33^rd out of 3751 players in such a short span. It was really an incredible feeling. Hopefully soon, I’ll finish a little better in one of these tournaments, like 1^st!

Playoffs in Boston, Christmas in New York

I decided to take some time off of poker after the 2007 WSOP, partly because my work schedule was very hectic, and partly because it was summer and I was trying to enjoy getting out golfing, the weather, and being with friends. Work sent me to Windsor, Washington D.C. (twice), Minneapolis, and Denver in a short span of about 7 weeks. I managed to add a couple more glasses to the Hard Rock collection. If you are unaware of it I do collect them as I get to the locations.

As the 2007 year started to wrap up my work load didn't really decrease all that much. I was sent to several more locations, including Boston in early October, Denver in later October, Atlanta in November, and Manhattan in December. The weather in Boston was great for that time of year, and I was able to get out and do a few things that I hadn't in prior trips. The Red Sox had made the playoffs, and I was going to be in town when Game 1 of the Divisional Series was taking place. Everyone knows how fanatic the Red Sox fans are, so I didn't even consider trying to get a ticket since I guessed that scalpers would be selling them for ridiculous prices. Some of the people I was working with that week had suggested that I go to a pub near Fenway called the Cask 'n Flagon to get involved in the atmosphere of the playoff game. I hopped on the subway and made my way over to the Cask 'n Flagon. It turns out the pub is right next to Fenway Park. After exiting the subway I was approaching Fenway and the pub when I heard someone trying to sell a single ticket. I figured it wouldn't hurt to inquire about it, and the guy was selling the ticket for $80! I was really expecting it cost more, and I didn't even try to haggle with the guy. I paid the $80 and made my way in to the ballpark. What a game, too! Josh Beckett threw a shutout that night! It was really cool hanging out with Red Sox Nation for the game. Everyone getting in to it, singing “Sweet Caroline” in the 8th inning, the whole experience was great. I had never been to Fenway Park and I really wanted to do this at some point, and it turned out I picked a great game to go to for my first time there. On my last day in Boston, I was able to walk the Freedom Trail, where I went by historical locations such as Paul Revere's house, the Old North Church, and the Bunker Hill monument. I really enjoy history and hitting those places and Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market were all neat places to visit.

After Boston, I was sent to Denver, and with the timing of that trip I happened to be out there for Games 3 and 4 of the National League Championship Series that the Colorado Rockies were participating in. I arrived too late to make it over to Coors Field for Game 3, and when I looked in to going to Game 4 the tickets were really expensive for the Tuesday game. As it turns out it's probably a good thing that I didn't go because the Rockies won the game, clinching a spot in the World Series, and the town went nuts! The news was reporting people in the streets partying late in to the night/early in to the morning, and there were severe delays in the train getting from Coors Field to outlying areas, like where I was staying. I did have the opportunity to make it over to the U.S. Mint and take a tour. It was really interesting seeing how the different coins are minted. I also made it up in to the mountains in to a ghost town called Central City and was able to walk around and see some of the historical things. The town was founded in 1859, and several of the buildings still look like they could be originals.

Atlanta in November was a decent trip, too. I had the opportunity to see a friend of mine who lives in the Atlanta area. We were able to get out for a little drinking and it was good to catch up.

In December I got the opportunity to work in New York City. One of the neat things about this trip was the fact that the facility I was working at was located in the Empire State Building! Because the cost of all the hotels in the nearby area during the holiday shopping season, I stayed across the river in Seacaucus, New Jersey. I was really impressed with the public transportation while I was out there. I was able to get from Seacaucus to the Empire State Building using the New Jersey bus, New York subway, and walking, all in about 40 minutes in prime rush hour! Being out there for the holiday shopping season was really neat, too. I was able to get over to Rockefeller Center and saw the Christmas tree. Times Square lit up at night is always a neat experience, and the experience was no different during the holiday season. I got up to the top of the Empire State Building, and that was truly exceptional. First of all, the snow appeared to be flying upward at the 86th floor. The first thing you'll notice though no matter when you're up there is how quiet it is. With all the traffic over a thousand feet below you won't hear any of the traffic below. While I was up there I could faintly hear an outdoor Christmas concert playing in the distance, and with the snow falling it made for a really neat experience. I only wish that my camera could take better pictures at night time!

I know that there's not a whole lot of poker in this blog (none at all to this point), but you can tell I was kind of busy later in the year for 2007. I'll have some more poker in the next posting, as I've got some tournaments to tell you about including my best cash ever.

The 2007 WSOP trip

The 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) took place from June 1, 2007, through July 18. In 2006, Dan and I went out for the initial event. This year, more $1500 events were added, so we planned on playing in event #38, a $1500 buy-in event. Part of this was because of scheduling conflicts and part of it was because the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event was starting the next day. We knew that the H.O.R.S.E. event would have all of the poker pros that we would recognize, and would provide some good opportunity to watch all the pros playing together. For those that aren’t familiar with all the poker games, H.O.R.S.E. is a combination of 5 Limit games: Hold ‘em, Omaha Hi/Lo, Razz, Seven-card Stud, and Seven-card Stud Hi/Lo Eight or Better. They rotate through the games at set intervals. Playing this game is probably a true test of the best overall skills of a poker player since they need to be proficient in all of the more commonly played forms of poker.

A friend and colleague of mine, Adam, and his wife were also going to be in Vegas for the WSOP at the same time Dan and I were and they were also planning on playing in event #38.

This trip was also a little different since I went out to Vegas with less than the necessary buy in for the event, so I was going to have to win some cash (about $500) while I was out there in order to play in the event. I was on a work trip in Dayton, and would be going to Vegas without a break in between. I did have an extended layover in Milwaukee of all places because of the way the flight plan worked, but a friend of mine was kind enough to pick me up and prepare a nice meal at home while I was on that layover. Also, upon arriving in Vegas, I was going to be without a hotel for about 28 hours because Dan was arriving the day after I had arrived. My plan was to play poker either at the Rio or the Wynn until Dan arrived. So, after arriving in Vegas and dropping my luggage off at the Bellagio, I caught a cab and headed to the Rio to see what the action was like there.

The poker room area was plenty busy, and I grabbed a seat at a $2/$5 No-Limit Hold ‘em table. After about 5 hours of play I had managed to win slightly more than $1300 through some pretty solid play. I was playing in the graveyard shift, so there was quite a bit of play coming from players that had drunk a little too much, so it was an entertaining game to play. I played until about 5am, and since I now had my buy-in covered for event #38 I decided to try my hand at a satellite tournament. The way the satellites work you can get in to a tournament with 9 other players at a smaller buy-in, and can win satellite chips that you can then use as your entry fee. Depending on the buy-in either the top spot gets the chips, or sometimes the top two get chips. I played two satellite tournaments that morning without success, and decided to make my way back to the Bellagio to grab some breakfast. I still had about 11 hours to go before Dan arrived! After eating I was feeling re-energized so I sat down at the Bellagio’s poker room to play some more poker. I managed to recoup what I had lost in the satellites and a couple hundred more. I was really getting tired, so I cashed out, got caught up on some voicemail messages that I missed while playing at the table, and walked around the Bellagio until Dan arrived. Man, I was really looking forward to getting some sleep!

Dan and I got the opportunity to play some poker at the Rio, and we got our entry in to the event as well. My sleep schedule was completely thrown off at this point. We met up with Adam and Tanya, and talked a little about plans for the day/evening. We got some more poker in, and then got some rest before the day of the event. As it got closer to the start of the event the four of us met up again so that we knew where each other was sitting. I had an unfortunate draw and was sitting in the outdoor tent they had set up outside the Amazon Room of the Rio. It was unfortunate because mid-June in Vegas in a tent with a couple hundred other people isn’t exactly comfortable for playing poker. I answered a couple last minute phone calls and good-luck text messages, and then took my seat. Mimi Tran was seated two to my right, so she was on the button when I was in the big blind. That’s not exactly the scenario I’m looking for since she is a known pro, and plays aggressive.

Shortly after getting started, I received a text message that Adam was out. That sucked. I was hoping that all 4 of us would go deep and possibly cash, much like Dan and I had done last year. About two hours in to the tournament I found myself in late position when someone in early position had just called the big blind. I looked down and saw that I had been dealt two lovely ladies:

Q-Q

I chose to raise about five times the big blind. That chased the two blinds out of the hand, and the person who had just called, otherwise known as “limping”, called my raise. The board came somewhat ugly for me:

A-A-J

Now, often times when a pair hits the board it’s unlikely that a player has that card in their hand. When the board happens to contain two Aces or Kings it does make it a little more likely to be in play because people like to play starting hands that contain those particular ranks. My opponent checked to me, and I decided to get a feel of where I was at by putting a bet in to the pot. My opponent almost immediately called, and I made the decision that I was going to be done with this hand because I really felt that they had an Ace in their hand. The only way I was going to put more in to the pot would be if I hit a Queen to give me a full house. All of the action up to this point would seem in order with someone holding an Ace as a hole card. The turn came:

9

and my opponent checked. I also checked, using the reasoning I just explained as my reason for checking. The river came:

Q

giving me a full house. My opponent bet, which I was anticipating since I had put him on a hand with an Ace. I then raised with my full house. My opponent thought for a brief moment and then called, showing me: A-9. This gave him a hand of A-A-A-9-9 (Aces full of 9s) to my Q-Q-Q-A-A (Queens full of Aces). The hand didn’t knock me out, but it did cripple me. Most of you might be wondering why he didn’t raise me again, but he quickly explained (without any prompting) that he thought that I had raised initially with AK or AQ, possibly AJ, and he didn’t want to go broke if I had AQ or AJ. I didn’t have to show my hand because he had shown his first, but I did mention to him that the river card “was the best card he could have had hit the board”. It was the only card that would have cost me more chips…ugh!!

Shortly after that I was on the button with KToffsuit, and no one had raised so I moved all in to steal the blinds and was called by the big blind, who was holding K8. The board hit an 8 and bricked out for me, and my WSOP was over. I had lasted about 3 hours. I was extremely disappointed, but sometimes, that’s just the way poker goes. I made a couple of phone calls to let some people know how I finished, and then I found Adam and found out how he was eliminated.Dan was eliminated at about 5:00 or so. He lasted about 5 hours, and Tanya lasted to almost the dinner break. We were a pretty disappointed bunch. I think that we probably thought that out of the four of us one of us would surely cash. We still had a few days left in Vegas, and I played plenty of poker and still had a decent time. Certainly not the same as 2006, and I was eagerly looking forward to getting home by the end of the 2007 WSOP trip.

How the poker landscape has changed for me

Poker has been crazy for me since the World Series of Poker ended for me in 2006. The regulations that kicked in late in 2006 took the site that I regularly play offline for players from the United States. As you may recall from prior postings I played in the $10/$20 Limit game or $5/$10 Limit game for the most part. The sites that I now play have those offerings; however, they don’t have nearly the same number of players playing at those tables. On the old site, I could log in and there would be 15-20 full tables running those games at those levels. On the site I now play at, Full Tilt, there would be maybe 2 tables at 5/10 and they would only have a 10/20 game going at their busiest times.

To make the adjustment I’ve moved back in to No Limit Texas Hold ‘em. I’ve always enjoyed playing No Limit, but the game at Party Poker (the old site) was easy to beat. There is a definite difference between playing Limit and No Limit. The obvious difference is that in any given No Limit hand your whole stack of chips is at risk where in Limit there are caps for the betting.

The No Limit game that I choose to play is at varying different levels. I typically will play either $1/$2 or $2/$4 No Limit Texas Hold ‘em. For those of you not entirely familiar with the game that means that in a hand there will be two forced bets from the first two people dealt cards. The first person (also called the Small Blind) will have to put in the lower amount, and the second person (called the Big Blind) will put in the higher amount. If my bankroll is high enough I will occasionally dabble with $3/$6 game.

I often get asked “How much should my bankroll be?”, and “What level should I play?”. Every player is different, but I usually plan to have 7 buy-ins at whatever level I am going to play, but definitely never less than 4 buy-ins. My minimum buy-in for a level is going to be 40 times whatever the Big Blind (BB) is. So at the $1/$2 level, my buy-in will be $80, and I would need to have at least $560 to play at that level. If I’m running cold and I drop below $320 (four buy-ins), I will drop down to the next lower game. OK, enough about bankroll management. Look for me to try and get a portion of 2007 caught up in the next postings.