Somewhere inside your brain, there are some dedicated neurons and sections of grey matter devoted solely to the game of poker. Of course I can’t be sure of this, it’s just a guess. But why wouldn’t there be? It makes a little bit of sense that you’ve got some internal wiring programmed to make decisions when you’re in a game.
Unfortunately, that section of brainpower doesn’t sit by itself, operating in a vacuum making perfect decisions each time. It’s right next to another part of your brain, perhaps intertwined within other circuitry that muddles with its efficiency. That other part? It’s filled with frustration receptors, self-analysis processes, and if you dig deep enough, you’d find a pipeline straight to irrationality.
Controlling and separating that “other” part from your poker brain is to me the Holy Grail. For it’s that section that shuts down part of my poker capacity when I’m winning and it’s that section that skews the decision-based output when I’m losing.
****
How quickly things can turn around. I’ve mentioned these names before; mainly because of all the players I’ve played with locally, I just happen to think they’re the best. They are the three people I love to play with, but refuse to unless there’s sufficient dead money at the table. Otis. G-Rob. TheMark.
And I’ve seen each of those three go through rough times in poker when each has questioned their abilities. Lord knows I’ve done the same thing. Several times. I can whine about losing with the best of them. During each down swing, I find myself questioning my motives, questioning my abilities, questioning everything.
It’s that “other” part of my brain acting up again.
****
But what can shut that part off or at least put it behind a big enough wall such that it no longer interferes? Well, winning for one. But that is often times out of your control.
Time off? That can do it too. But that’s certainly no fun.
Frankly, I’m not sure if anything can completely remove that part from affecting the other. Perhaps, however, we can control it.
****
Sometimes, it’s something simple.
****
Another reason why I enjoy playing with the aforementioned BigThree is because they have a lot to offer. During play, nobody’s there to teach. But away from the table, the sharing of ideas has without a doubt been extremely beneficial to my game.
Last week, I was at GucciRick’s playing $1/$2 NL. At one point, I was into the game for $700. I made a comeback of sorts finishing down only $40. I had managed to control the “other” part of my brain to a certain point but at certain moments, I was bordering on instability.
Two days later, at the Spring Hotel, I found myself into that $1/$2 NL game for $700 rather quickly. Otis was sitting to my left, doing his best to control the action. But during a break, he said to me, “You made a comeback Monday, right?”
And that was all it took. Segregation of the irrational. Poker brain – Activate! (Apologies to the Wonder Twins)
I finished up over a buy-in, an $800 turnaround.
****
Right now, I need to focus on staying focused. I’m not on fire, but I’ve managed to string together some wins. I need to make sure I don’t let winning interfere with my poker decisions as they have in the past.
And while I’m on this side of rationality, hopefully I can contribute to those on the other side and help them through their personal haze, just as they’ve done for me.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Winnar!!!
Even tournament donkeys have their day.
Thanks to Byron for hosting and the end of the evening railbirders Hoy, Derek, and StatikKing.
Thanks to Byron for hosting and the end of the evening railbirders Hoy, Derek, and StatikKing.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
This is My Home Town
It’s tough to fight the good fight. Those of you who read many of the blogs listed on the right are aware of the current legislation intended to make illegal the act of playing poker online. A dedicated group of players created the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) in an attempt to protect our rights to play the game we enjoy.
Obviously every one of us who plays a significant amount of online poker hopes that the bill doesn’t pass. It has its flaws, but that’s never stopped our government before. Thankfully, there exists some opposition in the form of banking lobbies and such that will hopefully derail the progress of the bill. But then again, based on past history, I don’t think anyone would be surprised if the bill passed despite the efforts of everyone involved. Congress and logic seldom mix.
The only remaining option, should online poker become illegal, would be to play more live poker. In my lovely adopted home state of South Carolina, that recourse is also at risk.
Read This
Like I said, sometimes it’s tough to fight the good fight. But like the PPA, there are those who won’t just silently acquiesce to the nonsense of outlawing the game of poker.
If you read the above link, you’ll find that one of G-Vegas’ own is challenging an antiquated law whose basis allowed local police to break up a game and arrest its participants. With our state situated on the big ole’ shiny buckle of the Bible belt, you can see how difficult contesting this may become.
But that’s not stopping TheMark and the others who’ve decided against folding their hand. TheMark is perhaps G-Vegas’ most aggressive player. It doesn’t matter if he’s facing the big stack with his tournament life on the line. He knows how to make the correct decisions that give him the best chance to win.
He may be pushing his stack in behind, but I’m rooting for him to hit whatever outs he needs.
Obviously every one of us who plays a significant amount of online poker hopes that the bill doesn’t pass. It has its flaws, but that’s never stopped our government before. Thankfully, there exists some opposition in the form of banking lobbies and such that will hopefully derail the progress of the bill. But then again, based on past history, I don’t think anyone would be surprised if the bill passed despite the efforts of everyone involved. Congress and logic seldom mix.
The only remaining option, should online poker become illegal, would be to play more live poker. In my lovely adopted home state of South Carolina, that recourse is also at risk.
Read This
Like I said, sometimes it’s tough to fight the good fight. But like the PPA, there are those who won’t just silently acquiesce to the nonsense of outlawing the game of poker.
If you read the above link, you’ll find that one of G-Vegas’ own is challenging an antiquated law whose basis allowed local police to break up a game and arrest its participants. With our state situated on the big ole’ shiny buckle of the Bible belt, you can see how difficult contesting this may become.
But that’s not stopping TheMark and the others who’ve decided against folding their hand. TheMark is perhaps G-Vegas’ most aggressive player. It doesn’t matter if he’s facing the big stack with his tournament life on the line. He knows how to make the correct decisions that give him the best chance to win.
He may be pushing his stack in behind, but I’m rooting for him to hit whatever outs he needs.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Wednesdays
Wednesdays. Odin’s Day. Hump days (I wish). Generally speaking who the hell looks forward to a Wednesday? I confess, I do.
Wednesdays are off-days for me from my workout schedule. I’ll do a Monday/Tuesday split, 1 day off (that would be Wednesday), then either Thursday/Friday or Thursday/Saturday split depending on how Friday at work goes.
On Wednesdays, one of the local $1/$2NL underground games goes on at The Spring Hotel, an Otis-derived moniker. With the condition of the G-Vegas home game in the state that it’s in, the appeal of the underground game, rake and all, grows.
And, to top it all off, one of my poker playing buddies from up North is in town again. Yes, that’s right, tonight once again we will be sharing martinis prior to. I like to call it Riding Dirty.
I sent an email to TheMark, G-Rob (Mr. October, NOT!), and Otis about plans to meet at the local PFChangs for drinks, a bit of food, and pre-game revelry. Otis is in, I suspect G-Rob is in too since it’s still only September. TheMark actually has a valid excuse *cough* the wife’s birthday *cough*.
Friends, drinks, poker. An outstanding recipe for my amusement. Five o’clock, post meridian can’t get here soon enough.
Wednesdays. I live for this.
Wednesdays are off-days for me from my workout schedule. I’ll do a Monday/Tuesday split, 1 day off (that would be Wednesday), then either Thursday/Friday or Thursday/Saturday split depending on how Friday at work goes.
On Wednesdays, one of the local $1/$2NL underground games goes on at The Spring Hotel, an Otis-derived moniker. With the condition of the G-Vegas home game in the state that it’s in, the appeal of the underground game, rake and all, grows.
And, to top it all off, one of my poker playing buddies from up North is in town again. Yes, that’s right, tonight once again we will be sharing martinis prior to. I like to call it Riding Dirty.
I sent an email to TheMark, G-Rob (Mr. October, NOT!), and Otis about plans to meet at the local PFChangs for drinks, a bit of food, and pre-game revelry. Otis is in, I suspect G-Rob is in too since it’s still only September. TheMark actually has a valid excuse *cough* the wife’s birthday *cough*.
Friends, drinks, poker. An outstanding recipe for my amusement. Five o’clock, post meridian can’t get here soon enough.
Wednesdays. I live for this.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Sustain
Nigel Tufnel: The sustain, listen to it. Marty DiBergi: I don't hear anything. Nigel Tufnel: Well you would though, if it were playing.
There are many differences between cash games and tournaments. One often-overlooked difference is the sustainability of the two forms of no limit poker. A tournament entry buy-in represents to many people all that they’re willing to lose on a given night. While it may be unfair to call that a safety net, it draws many more people to the game that wouldn’t normally be willing to play. Couple that fact with the added variance of a tournament where even those less skillful can walk away with a significant cash and you have a sustainable player base.
In a cash game, that’s simply not the case.
****
Cash game skill differential amplifies and accelerates the redistribution of money from the bad players to the good. When the good players find that their games dry up they look for others, often times at higher stakes. And when the stakes increase, so does the pace of cash redistribution. The aforementioned reason is primarily why no limit cash games generally have a capped buy-in. It extends its viability.
****
I’m not fond of trying to judge my own skill level in relation to others. I also don’t think that G-Vegas is a hotbed for future Brunson’s, Greenstein’s and Elezra’s. However, the only data I have is that over the past few years, a few players have successfully navigated the trail from low limits, to medium limits, and if they haven’t already arrived there, the high limits.
Last night at TheRick’s, five of those players were there playing 6-handed no limit hold ‘em. Last Thursday, four of those players (by the end of the night) were playing 7-handed no limit hold ‘em.
And I was left wondering at the end of each night, what was the point?
****
When I first went to what I would eventually call the G-Vegas big game, I wrote that it was populated with people who seemed to have a large amount of disposable income. They drove Mercedes, BMW, Hummers, and Jaguars and I was certainly a bit tentative to join the game. In fact, during the no limit Omaha games, I was by far the tightest player there. I was watching, learning, and folding my way to an understanding of how each player played. I soon realized that the gamble was strong with these players.
****
While the gamble was strong, it soon became evident that the lure of any four cards was all that was keeping some of them afloat. The game changed to strictly no limit hold ‘em and unfortunately, many players never changed styles. Any four cards became any two cards, and as is often the case, missing flops became expensive when you pay extra to see them. It’s been a while since I’ve seen those players at TheRick’s. I’m not sure why.
****
A few people are proclaiming poker blogs to be dead too. Poker content is certainly diminished and while many of us have certainly grown as friends, it is becoming more difficult to write quality poker material that hasn’t been done before.
Is it just the natural ebb and flow of a cyclical phenomenon? Or is it the sign that the peak has come and gone?
What was it that drove people to the game in the first place? And is that impetus gone? Did learning the game come too easily? Did mastering the game become too difficult? Is writing about something with which your interest has diminished become tedious?
****
To those of you who feel that you may have lost your way, I have a recommendation that may or may not help. Give yourself a goal and write about attaining it. Write about your feelings on the road towards success or even failure. I remember way back when, that’s why I started blogging. I was trying to recoup a $2100 loss that I incurred upon my initial foray into online poker.
Try to qualify for a major tournament. Focus on beating a particular limit for 3 months. Chronicle the home games you play in. Something.
I truly believe that those of you who want to will find some inspiration and rejuvenate yourselves. If you want to.
Is the G-Vegas home game sustainable? Is poker blogging in general sustainable? Who knows? Not me. The only thing I’m even remotely sure of is that I’ll keep playing. And I’ll keep writing about it here too. It’s not because I feel I have to, it’s because deep down, I still really enjoy the game. Bad beats and all.
There are many differences between cash games and tournaments. One often-overlooked difference is the sustainability of the two forms of no limit poker. A tournament entry buy-in represents to many people all that they’re willing to lose on a given night. While it may be unfair to call that a safety net, it draws many more people to the game that wouldn’t normally be willing to play. Couple that fact with the added variance of a tournament where even those less skillful can walk away with a significant cash and you have a sustainable player base.
In a cash game, that’s simply not the case.
****
Cash game skill differential amplifies and accelerates the redistribution of money from the bad players to the good. When the good players find that their games dry up they look for others, often times at higher stakes. And when the stakes increase, so does the pace of cash redistribution. The aforementioned reason is primarily why no limit cash games generally have a capped buy-in. It extends its viability.
****
I’m not fond of trying to judge my own skill level in relation to others. I also don’t think that G-Vegas is a hotbed for future Brunson’s, Greenstein’s and Elezra’s. However, the only data I have is that over the past few years, a few players have successfully navigated the trail from low limits, to medium limits, and if they haven’t already arrived there, the high limits.
Last night at TheRick’s, five of those players were there playing 6-handed no limit hold ‘em. Last Thursday, four of those players (by the end of the night) were playing 7-handed no limit hold ‘em.
And I was left wondering at the end of each night, what was the point?
****
When I first went to what I would eventually call the G-Vegas big game, I wrote that it was populated with people who seemed to have a large amount of disposable income. They drove Mercedes, BMW, Hummers, and Jaguars and I was certainly a bit tentative to join the game. In fact, during the no limit Omaha games, I was by far the tightest player there. I was watching, learning, and folding my way to an understanding of how each player played. I soon realized that the gamble was strong with these players.
****
While the gamble was strong, it soon became evident that the lure of any four cards was all that was keeping some of them afloat. The game changed to strictly no limit hold ‘em and unfortunately, many players never changed styles. Any four cards became any two cards, and as is often the case, missing flops became expensive when you pay extra to see them. It’s been a while since I’ve seen those players at TheRick’s. I’m not sure why.
****
A few people are proclaiming poker blogs to be dead too. Poker content is certainly diminished and while many of us have certainly grown as friends, it is becoming more difficult to write quality poker material that hasn’t been done before.
Is it just the natural ebb and flow of a cyclical phenomenon? Or is it the sign that the peak has come and gone?
What was it that drove people to the game in the first place? And is that impetus gone? Did learning the game come too easily? Did mastering the game become too difficult? Is writing about something with which your interest has diminished become tedious?
****
To those of you who feel that you may have lost your way, I have a recommendation that may or may not help. Give yourself a goal and write about attaining it. Write about your feelings on the road towards success or even failure. I remember way back when, that’s why I started blogging. I was trying to recoup a $2100 loss that I incurred upon my initial foray into online poker.
Try to qualify for a major tournament. Focus on beating a particular limit for 3 months. Chronicle the home games you play in. Something.
I truly believe that those of you who want to will find some inspiration and rejuvenate yourselves. If you want to.
Is the G-Vegas home game sustainable? Is poker blogging in general sustainable? Who knows? Not me. The only thing I’m even remotely sure of is that I’ll keep playing. And I’ll keep writing about it here too. It’s not because I feel I have to, it’s because deep down, I still really enjoy the game. Bad beats and all.
Wednesday, September 6, 2006
Invitational Results
It was the best of times....it was the worst of times....
Ah, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
****
In college, we had a group of friends that would always pretty much seem to go out together. Among our circle, one friend was consistently scheduling the evening’s plans prior to, and for that earned himself the nickname “Planmaker.” We used to sing the words “Planmaker” to the theme song of the 007 classic Moonraker. That is, until we realized it was actually to the tune of Goldfinger. But I digress.
When it comes to poker tournaments in G-Vegas, I am the de facto Planmaker. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I’m a control freak. In order to guarantee a good tournament structure, I create it, then I run it. But what does it mean to my already sub-standard tournament game? Well, it means I play worse. If that’s even possible.
****
First, some atmosphere, a slew of pictures:
****
Certainly, there’s a strategy to a tournament like this. You need to acquire points. Taking gambles early on and risking a big goose egg is not a sound approach. But that’s exactly what I did.
In tourney #1, I crippled myself by putting TripJax to the test and pushed on a 15-outs twice scenario. Sure, in a cash game, we’d all do the same. In this structure, the payoff in equity is not worth the risk. I missed. When I finally pushed my top pair, bottom kicker into Falstaff’s set, I managed to secure my 1st round zero. In fact, after round 1, I was tied with G-Rob for points. And he wasn’t even playing. Little did I know that G-Rob would still be tied with me after Round 2.
****
Round 1 winners included StanTheMan, Gamecock – who appeared out of the G-Vegas woodwork to come unleash his solid tourney game on the unwashed masses, and TheMark who wanted to retain the title he earned last year.
Otis, after a 4th place finish in Round 1 had this to say: Otis on the BadBeatDevice.
One minor consolation was that if you busted early in any round, there was plenty of food:
One anonymous player must have busted with aces: Argh.
Thanks go out to Mrs_Blood, MrsAllIn, and Shep and Debbie Smith for providing superb food for the local degenerates.
****
Round 2 is where things really start to happen. Or, if you’re me, it’s where the wheels fall off. Again, I gifted Falstaff all my chips and chants of “I suck, I suck” were emanating throughout casa de Blood. At least in my mind.
Gamecock took down his 2nd straight tournament, cementing his second consecutive spot at the final table. TheMark, negotiated a deal with Random101 wherein he took $50 and 8 points, leaving Random101 with 9 points and a very likely spot at the final table. Otis recovered from his own self-loathing just in time to score a second round victory himself.
When the points were tallied post-Round 2, I was officially eliminated.
****
Because of the fact that a few people had crushed Rounds 1 and 2, it left little doubt as to who would advance. In fact, two people failed to return for Round 3. And to that I say, “BOGUS!”
Granted, as the host, I had nowhere to go, but I’ll be damned if I wasn’t going to shoot for the $50 prize awarded to each round’s winner.
And that’s exactly what I did. It was too little too late, but I finally got headsup with StanTheMan and had a 3:1 chip advantage. Stan wanted a deal. I told him all deals start with me getting $50. He took the points and I salvaged part of the day.
I wasn’t the only one to salvage a moral victory. TeddyBallgame was about to pack it in as well. I convinced him to stay, and like a trooper, he did. He took home a 1st place prize for $50 as well.
There was only one table left to play round 3, and it pitted TheMark against Gamecock. It was a rematch of last year’s final two. It was a match between two players who already won their buy-in’s back by virtue of winning two previous rounds.
TheMark would emerge victorious in the final preliminary match. Was it a portent of things to come?
****
Sunday came, and with it the final table. Here were the participants:
Stan the Man:
Random101:
Dr.AlanShaw:
TheMark:
Gamecock:
And your favorite professional blogger, Otis:
****
The action got off to a fast and furious start. TheMark employed his aggressive style, but for whatever reason, was StanTheMan had his number. Stan came over the top of Mark several times, eating into his starting stack significantly.
One thing’s for sure in tournament play, when you live by the sword, you die by the sword. Stan’s aggression level managed to double up Random101 when Random flopped a set of Queens. Then Stan was eliminated by Gamecock when he called off all his chips into the nuts. Hmm…that’s something I would do.
The fifth place finisher would leave on a sour note:
TheMark came over the top of Otis’ bet with Q9 on a Q-hi board. Otis called with QT and that was all she wrote for TheMark. There would be no repeat winner. However, one thing’s for certain, TheMark solidified himself as one of G-Vegas’ best tourney players, a title I’m certain he’s proud of. There are many in these here parts that look up to his tourney game, yours truly included.
****
Dr. AlanShaw would soon follow suit, pushing his entire stack into the hands of another nut-holding Gamecock. Two-pair vs. the nut flush is always a loser and Dr.Alan took home 4th place for his efforts. Not too shabby for a G-Vegas part-timer.
****
With three players remaining, it looked grim for Otis. He was severely shortstacked, and as such, offered a deal such that 3rd place would get a save. Gamecock was having none of that, and as the massive chip leader, who could blame him?
The stacks where roughly T900 for Gamecock, T250 for Random101 and about T50 for Otis. With the blinds soon hitting the 10/20 level, Random101 could have played the waiting game.
****
With the payouts being $975 for 1st, $475 for 2nd and $0 for third, how do you play this hand? The blinds are 8/16.
You are in second chip position as noted above. The shortstack on the button folds and the big stack in the small blind raises your big blind 3x. You find AQ and with position on the small blind, call.
The flop is AKQ. The small blind bets T75.
Your move?
****
Random101 pushed. I don’t blame him. It wasn’t much more for Gamecock to call. But all Gamecock had was a T8 or T6, I can’t quite remember. He did call and on one of the most brutal rivers I’ve ever seen, caught his Jack to take Random101 out on the bubble. Otis had a hard time keeping himself at the table and not doing a little jig on the front porch.
****
Once we were down to the final two, as is tradition here on the World Poker Tour…I mean here in G-Vegas, we make the money presentation:
To first place went $975, a coveted BBSOP 2006 money clip, a PokerStars WSOP 2006 Football jersey and a Pokerstars WSOP 2006 cap.
Second place would receive $475, a Pokerstars T-shirt, a Pokerstars.net ballcap and a 2006 WSOP card protector.
Again, much thanks to Otis for providing the schwag.
****
Otis did make a valiant run as the shortstack, doubling up at least twice. Finally, Otis succumbed to the big stack of Gamecock on this hand:
For the record, Otis had K7 and took an early lead in the race scenario. But the 9 on the river filled another inside straight draw for Gamecock and he took the whole thing down.
Not too shabby, finishing 2nd in ’05 and 1st in ’06.
****
Even though they fell a bit short, all was not lost for Random101 nor for Otis. Otis donated his second place Stars gear to Random. With his 2nd place finish in the biggest buy-in event thus far, Otis took over 1st place in the G-Vegas 2006 Player of the Year race. Updated standings can be found here:
G-Vegas 2006
****
Man, what a weekend. I’m not sure I can host much more of these things as they definitely take their toll. Most likely, with the passage of time, my enthusiasm will grow once again and I’ll host the first ever, G-Vegas Championship event to determine the 2006 Champion and Player of the Year.
The only thing that’s for sure is that it won’t be me.
Ah, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
****
In college, we had a group of friends that would always pretty much seem to go out together. Among our circle, one friend was consistently scheduling the evening’s plans prior to, and for that earned himself the nickname “Planmaker.” We used to sing the words “Planmaker” to the theme song of the 007 classic Moonraker. That is, until we realized it was actually to the tune of Goldfinger. But I digress.
When it comes to poker tournaments in G-Vegas, I am the de facto Planmaker. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I’m a control freak. In order to guarantee a good tournament structure, I create it, then I run it. But what does it mean to my already sub-standard tournament game? Well, it means I play worse. If that’s even possible.
****
First, some atmosphere, a slew of pictures:
****
Certainly, there’s a strategy to a tournament like this. You need to acquire points. Taking gambles early on and risking a big goose egg is not a sound approach. But that’s exactly what I did.
In tourney #1, I crippled myself by putting TripJax to the test and pushed on a 15-outs twice scenario. Sure, in a cash game, we’d all do the same. In this structure, the payoff in equity is not worth the risk. I missed. When I finally pushed my top pair, bottom kicker into Falstaff’s set, I managed to secure my 1st round zero. In fact, after round 1, I was tied with G-Rob for points. And he wasn’t even playing. Little did I know that G-Rob would still be tied with me after Round 2.
****
Round 1 winners included StanTheMan, Gamecock – who appeared out of the G-Vegas woodwork to come unleash his solid tourney game on the unwashed masses, and TheMark who wanted to retain the title he earned last year.
Otis, after a 4th place finish in Round 1 had this to say: Otis on the BadBeatDevice.
One minor consolation was that if you busted early in any round, there was plenty of food:
One anonymous player must have busted with aces: Argh.
Thanks go out to Mrs_Blood, MrsAllIn, and Shep and Debbie Smith for providing superb food for the local degenerates.
****
Round 2 is where things really start to happen. Or, if you’re me, it’s where the wheels fall off. Again, I gifted Falstaff all my chips and chants of “I suck, I suck” were emanating throughout casa de Blood. At least in my mind.
Gamecock took down his 2nd straight tournament, cementing his second consecutive spot at the final table. TheMark, negotiated a deal with Random101 wherein he took $50 and 8 points, leaving Random101 with 9 points and a very likely spot at the final table. Otis recovered from his own self-loathing just in time to score a second round victory himself.
When the points were tallied post-Round 2, I was officially eliminated.
****
Because of the fact that a few people had crushed Rounds 1 and 2, it left little doubt as to who would advance. In fact, two people failed to return for Round 3. And to that I say, “BOGUS!”
Granted, as the host, I had nowhere to go, but I’ll be damned if I wasn’t going to shoot for the $50 prize awarded to each round’s winner.
And that’s exactly what I did. It was too little too late, but I finally got headsup with StanTheMan and had a 3:1 chip advantage. Stan wanted a deal. I told him all deals start with me getting $50. He took the points and I salvaged part of the day.
I wasn’t the only one to salvage a moral victory. TeddyBallgame was about to pack it in as well. I convinced him to stay, and like a trooper, he did. He took home a 1st place prize for $50 as well.
There was only one table left to play round 3, and it pitted TheMark against Gamecock. It was a rematch of last year’s final two. It was a match between two players who already won their buy-in’s back by virtue of winning two previous rounds.
TheMark would emerge victorious in the final preliminary match. Was it a portent of things to come?
****
Sunday came, and with it the final table. Here were the participants:
Stan the Man:
Random101:
Dr.AlanShaw:
TheMark:
Gamecock:
And your favorite professional blogger, Otis:
****
The action got off to a fast and furious start. TheMark employed his aggressive style, but for whatever reason, was StanTheMan had his number. Stan came over the top of Mark several times, eating into his starting stack significantly.
One thing’s for sure in tournament play, when you live by the sword, you die by the sword. Stan’s aggression level managed to double up Random101 when Random flopped a set of Queens. Then Stan was eliminated by Gamecock when he called off all his chips into the nuts. Hmm…that’s something I would do.
The fifth place finisher would leave on a sour note:
TheMark came over the top of Otis’ bet with Q9 on a Q-hi board. Otis called with QT and that was all she wrote for TheMark. There would be no repeat winner. However, one thing’s for certain, TheMark solidified himself as one of G-Vegas’ best tourney players, a title I’m certain he’s proud of. There are many in these here parts that look up to his tourney game, yours truly included.
****
Dr. AlanShaw would soon follow suit, pushing his entire stack into the hands of another nut-holding Gamecock. Two-pair vs. the nut flush is always a loser and Dr.Alan took home 4th place for his efforts. Not too shabby for a G-Vegas part-timer.
****
With three players remaining, it looked grim for Otis. He was severely shortstacked, and as such, offered a deal such that 3rd place would get a save. Gamecock was having none of that, and as the massive chip leader, who could blame him?
The stacks where roughly T900 for Gamecock, T250 for Random101 and about T50 for Otis. With the blinds soon hitting the 10/20 level, Random101 could have played the waiting game.
****
With the payouts being $975 for 1st, $475 for 2nd and $0 for third, how do you play this hand? The blinds are 8/16.
You are in second chip position as noted above. The shortstack on the button folds and the big stack in the small blind raises your big blind 3x. You find AQ and with position on the small blind, call.
The flop is AKQ. The small blind bets T75.
Your move?
****
Random101 pushed. I don’t blame him. It wasn’t much more for Gamecock to call. But all Gamecock had was a T8 or T6, I can’t quite remember. He did call and on one of the most brutal rivers I’ve ever seen, caught his Jack to take Random101 out on the bubble. Otis had a hard time keeping himself at the table and not doing a little jig on the front porch.
****
Once we were down to the final two, as is tradition here on the World Poker Tour…I mean here in G-Vegas, we make the money presentation:
To first place went $975, a coveted BBSOP 2006 money clip, a PokerStars WSOP 2006 Football jersey and a Pokerstars WSOP 2006 cap.
Second place would receive $475, a Pokerstars T-shirt, a Pokerstars.net ballcap and a 2006 WSOP card protector.
Again, much thanks to Otis for providing the schwag.
****
Otis did make a valiant run as the shortstack, doubling up at least twice. Finally, Otis succumbed to the big stack of Gamecock on this hand:
For the record, Otis had K7 and took an early lead in the race scenario. But the 9 on the river filled another inside straight draw for Gamecock and he took the whole thing down.
Not too shabby, finishing 2nd in ’05 and 1st in ’06.
****
Even though they fell a bit short, all was not lost for Random101 nor for Otis. Otis donated his second place Stars gear to Random. With his 2nd place finish in the biggest buy-in event thus far, Otis took over 1st place in the G-Vegas 2006 Player of the Year race. Updated standings can be found here:
G-Vegas 2006
****
Man, what a weekend. I’m not sure I can host much more of these things as they definitely take their toll. Most likely, with the passage of time, my enthusiasm will grow once again and I’ll host the first ever, G-Vegas Championship event to determine the 2006 Champion and Player of the Year.
The only thing that’s for sure is that it won’t be me.
Friday, September 1, 2006
Wish You Were Here
It's the night before the big tourney and all through the house, things are starting to take shape. Even a mouse. That doesn't make sense, but I thought, you know, it should rhyme like that Christmas poem does. 'cause I'm all about iambic pentameter. Shit, now I'm going to have to look up iambic. Hey, I got it right.
I've got my table, Shep is bringing his custom table, Random101 is bringing his table-top and 5 additional chairs. I've got my custom ceramic BadBlood chips, Otis is bringing his clay (real) pokerchips.com chips, Falstaff is bringing both his ceramic Nevada Jacks and NexGen chips.
Most importantly, MrsBlood is cooking her custom meatballs and baking her custom chocolate chip cookies.
Better yet, I've got 100 proof SoCo, Patrone tequila, Grey Goose and Three Olives vodka, and some beer. Gotta have beer.
Bustout victims will get their choice of honorary Maudie-steel-chair-memorial-Tequila shot or Pre-Boathouse-AlCantHang-SoCo shot. I know, tough choice.
By Monday, I should have plenty o' pix, stories, and maybe even some sound bites. I'm oh so very psyched.
I've got my table, Shep is bringing his custom table, Random101 is bringing his table-top and 5 additional chairs. I've got my custom ceramic BadBlood chips, Otis is bringing his clay (real) pokerchips.com chips, Falstaff is bringing both his ceramic Nevada Jacks and NexGen chips.
Most importantly, MrsBlood is cooking her custom meatballs and baking her custom chocolate chip cookies.
Better yet, I've got 100 proof SoCo, Patrone tequila, Grey Goose and Three Olives vodka, and some beer. Gotta have beer.
Bustout victims will get their choice of honorary Maudie-steel-chair-memorial-Tequila shot or Pre-Boathouse-AlCantHang-SoCo shot. I know, tough choice.
By Monday, I should have plenty o' pix, stories, and maybe even some sound bites. I'm oh so very psyched.
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