Vegas Day 1 - Tilt before seeing a card

Date: Sat, Jun 7, 2008 Professional

For the last 15 minutes I have waging a war with the electronic curtains in the Venetian. They appear to operate via remote control but I have been unable to locate the device. I am getting the mechanism to work via rudimentary prodding at the moment, but when I want them to open they shut, and when I want them to shut they open. So far I have given a full frontal to the Strip, and have also been unpacking in the dark.

Prior to this it took us 25 minutes to locate the lifts to get up to the room. We are on floor 29, and I discovered sets of lifts that serviced 1-9 and also 10-28 before finally getting to the correct ones. I also had to lug around 2 big suitcases during this adventure, because I was too tight to tip the bellboy a few dollars.

Add to this, my suitcase was the very last one off the flight and the omens are not good. Or perhaps I am just incompetent ;)

Another development is that I decided to bleach my hair for the trip. It hasn't come out quite as natural as I hoped - my mop is now very bright and there is definitely a hint of orange in there. Consequently I now look like the love child of a 1982 Steve Davis, and Silas, the albino monk from The Da Vinci Code.

I am very tired, but we are going to pop over to the Rio in an hour or so to see what is going on. I'm going to register for the 5k NLHE which starts in three days, and Shazbo and Professor Geoff are also going to sign up for some events as well (Shazbo plays the Ladies Championship WSOP tournament tomorrow).

To get into Vegas time, I'm sure we'll also play in a hundred dollar crapshoot at Treasure Island or perhaps Harrahs, but they way today is going I can only foresee outdraws. While Shazbo plays the Ladies Event tomorrow, myself and the Professor are playing the $500 Caesars deep stacked tournament which has a 15k starting stack, although I imagine the antes will kick in fast.

I'll update after Caesars........

VEGAS MINI P&L
Big Ticket Events o
Crapshoots 0
Cash Games 0
Total 0

Jimbo happiness level - Negative 5

Donkey Socialism

Date: Thu, Jun 5, 2008 Professional

Tax the rich, and give it the poor. It's never really been my motto, but since I was team captain at the Loose Cannon team event last night, I used this as an excuse to reallocate chips between my squad members with the fervour of Denis Healy on a 1970s budget day. The "lucky" subjects in my kingdom were Shazbo, Volcano and the Big R.

The rules were as follows: All members would be on a separate table, and those tables would play until there were 5 players remaining. At a break, if any of your players had been resourceful enough to gather any excess chips, a captain could redistribute funds to the underachieving members of the team. It was a £40 buy in, £20 going to the team fund and £20 to the individual fund. All clear? Off we go........

Hands 1-3
I lose a succession of hands to the wise old owl Houghton with top pair but being outkicked. A valuable lesson in not playing such garbage as K9, K5 and J7 ahead of WSOP. Hmm - maybe I shouldn't have read the Gus Hansen book Fluke lent me - down to 3k.

Hand4
1 limper UTG and I flat call in mid position with AQ, blinds are 100-200. The blinds come along for the ride.

Flop Q, 2, 3 rainbow

I bet 600, and the UTG raiser pushes for 1300 total and I have to call and get shown a set of 3s to be drawing extremely thin.

What's this though? It's break time, and with a combination of resourcefulness and hard work the Volcano has worked his way up to 13k in chips in the first hour. Since I am only on a thousand, I move straight into Denis Healy mode, and go over to correct this social injustice. In the blink of a tax inspector's eye, both myself and the Big R are back up to our original starting stacks. Shazbo has climbed to 6.5k, but I deem this to be just below the tax band.

A number of hands pass through uneventfully, and I am back down to 2.8k when this happens:

Hand5
There is an early limper and I go to limp with J7. However, since I am a layabout and general unproductive member of my mini poker economy, I am not concentrating properly and throw in three 500 chips in error, hence accidentally raising to 1500 with my dreadful hand. The limper goes to re-raise but he screws it up as well and it goes as a call. High class poker.....

Flop 8, King, Ace

I have no option but to push for my last 1300 and try and carry off my pre-flop agression. Hallelujah - the early limper has a set of 8s and I get ready to leave the table as I only have 300 chips left.

However, very next hand, two big stacks go head to head and we are down to 5 players and action on our table stops. I cast my beady eye over to Volcano's stack, and notice he has played well once again and is back up to 13k. I lick my lips and the prospect of my imminent new found wealth. The Volcano looks resigned as I approach his table and reward his endevours with another thumping tax.

Shazbo is out to a very bad call - she moved in with KK and was called with AJ. When the Ace hits, the villain fist pumps and shouts "Yes - Good Call". I guess we could all make "good calls" if we knew what was coming on the flop mate.

My all seeing eye also notices that the Big R has also built himself up to about 9k, so I go and take a few thousand off him as well to balance the social scales. All is well in the layabout leader's world, as I have 5k to take into the next session, whilst my subjects for some reason seem slightly demotivated.

Blinds are now 300-600

Hand6
Folded to me in late position and I push with 9s4s to pick up the blinds. BB calls with AK but I hit a 9 on the river to cripple him..............oh yeah I'm playing well tonight. ;)

Hand7
I sit out a couple of orbits, and miss a few flops and the blinds are now 400-800 and I have about 8k. I raise UTG+1 with Kd10h to 2.5k (we are playing 6 handed). Jody pushes all in for 18k. I know I am losing, but the blinds are so big and there are still about 30 players left. I decide I have to gamble or I am a sitting duck, and Jody caps my great night by flipping AK which dominates me. It holds up.

So it came to pass...............with a starting stack of 4k I exited the tournament having burned through 13k. For the Volcano it was the evening of discontent........


PROFIT/(LOSS) USD 2008
Live Holdem Tournaments 2,940
Live Holdem Cash (1,681)
Live Omaha 110
Live "Professional" Tournaments (11,476)
Home Games 540
Online Holdem Tournaments 56,628
Online Holdem Cash 17,026
Online Omaha 330
Sundry 854
Rake (2,167)
61,939

Returning to form at just the right time

Date: Sun, Jun 1, 2008 Professional

I was really nervous about my form going into Vegas - I wasn't worried about my play, just the fact that I couldn't seem to hit a flop, and opponents would always hit the draw against me when I was ahead. Thankfully the last 2 weeks seem to have turned this around, and not a moment too soon, ahead of the biggest trip of the year.

Thursday was Fluke's home game, and I played pretty solidly, before a heads up session at the end against the Baron (Tom), where I got a huge slice of luck and took pretty much all the money left on the table. In the earlier games, Uncle Paulie was very unlucky to get quartered in Omaha8 when my straight turned into a straight flush on the turn to give me the high. We also played a round with a Joker, and I recieved it twice, winning big pots and eliminating the Professor.

We then came to heads up at the end of the evening - some players had left with modest profits, but mine and the Baron's stack were by far the largest. There was a bit of history to the killer hand, as Tom had previously bluffed me off the best hand with 72o in a big pot. I was dealt 4c5d and raised it up to £6. Tom re-raised to £18 with J10 I think, and I called.

Flop was 5, 6, J. I led out for £30, Tom repopped to £100 and I shoved with bottom pair for about £300 more. As soon as I saw the Baron's expression, I knew he must have the Jack, but after vexing he made the call with his top pair. Turn was a 4 to give me two pair and win me the final pot of about £700, leaving me a profit of about £550 for the night. The baron took it well, and I think still made a profit for the evening as well, even after that cruel turn.

Last night I followed this up with a rather good online session. I played three Full Tilt tournaments without success, but made 2 final tables on other sites. In the cryptologic 20k guaranteed I took down 4th place for $1,500, and on the PokerStars 25k guaranteed I placed 7th or 8th for about $1,000. Making two final tables in such big runner fields is pretty solid stuff, and a great morale boost.

That elusive form appears to have returned.............let's hope it sticks around for another 2 weeks eh?


PROFIT/(LOSS) USD 2008
Live Holdem Tournaments 3,020
Live Holdem Cash (1,711)
Live Omaha 110
Live "Professional" Tournaments (11,476)
Home Games 540
Online Holdem Tournaments 56,628
Online Holdem Cash 17,026
Online Omaha 330
Sundry 854
Rake (2,167)
61,939

Final Vegas Schedule

Date: Wed, May 28, 2008 Professional

I've tinkered with my WSOP schedule endlessly over the last few weeks, but I think I've now hit on the final line up. I've decided I'm not going to play the 5k event unless early results are good, because my live results haven't been great for the last 2 months and I want to play my way in, rather than hitting a big tournament early. I'll also play the 10k heads up if I get an early cash, but my initial budget is a little over 12k USD I think. Here is the line up - I'll try and blog each morning to let you know how it's going.

8 June - $540 Caesars deep stack
9 June - $500 Binnions deep stack (can't wait to play at old skool Binnions)
10 June - $1,500 WSOP Omaha (can't resist against my better judgement)
11 June - $330 Venetian deep stack
12 June - $2,000 WSOP NLHE
13 June - $2,500 Venetian deep stack
14 June - $250 Binnions short handed
15 June - $3,000 WSOP NLHE
16 June - eat at Denny's in poverty
17 June - Fly home

I've also got $1k for crapshoots with the lads, and $1k for cash games.

Tomorrow, I've opted for a Dealer's choice home game at Fluke's rather than bother with Gutshot. Next week sees a team event at Loose Cannon on Wednesday, followed by the league on Thursday before I fly out..................the poker frenzy is about to kick off...........stay tuned.

My Nightmare WSOP 6-Pack

Date: Fri, May 23, 2008 Professional

Disclaimer: All comments in this article are of the blog writer's sole opinion and it is left to the reader to form their own views on whether they are justified. ;)

I've played and watched a lot of poker over the last couple of years, and in my view I don't think it's controversial to state that there are a fair number of idiots in the game. I'm not talking of people who make poor calls, and suck out on you for all your chips. I'm referring to the self-important, the attention seekers, the ungracious and the critical - generally the sort of people who stop new players coming into the game.

Whilst there are certainly enough good eggs in the game who quietly go about their business, it will always be the actions of the few that grab the attention. Since WSOP is just around the corner, and I'll get the chance to rub shoulders with the world poker pool in the near future, I thought I'd compose my nightmare table of 6 that I could be allocated:

Seat 1) Andreas Krause

With nearly a decade of impressive tournament results behind him, this guy is the real deal as far as poker skill is concerned. Unfortunately, from a behavioural aspect when rivering someone at WSOP 2007 he opted for a slightly over the top reaction (our German friend's hand starts at 5:40 on this clip):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSCswxMcYDo

I was quite happily dozing on the couch watching the poker, when this nearly gave me a heart attack. Totally unnecessary, and enough to earn a berth on my nightmare table. My only other interaction with Krause was at the Irish Open - the German player was striding around the CityWest Hotel, wearing the tightest pair of red tracksuit bottoms I have every seen, prominent camel tail on display.

You have to feel sorry for the Germans sometimes. They were just thanking their stars that Michael Schumacher had retired, when this fellow pops up into the limelight.

Seat 2) Rain Khan

BULLDOZER! What more can I add to what has been said already? The guy acts like an 8 year old in the playground, rubbing any success he has in other players' faces. One of those loud people that think they are funny, when in fact they are just tedious. If I end up on the same table as this guy at WSOP I hope to able to keep my temper in check for at least the first orbit.

Any number of examples available on youtube - I have opted for a montage, for maximum irritant factor:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kh49fHFMUTg

Seat 3) Beth Shak + Husband

Hugely annoying wife/husband combination. Classic hand from WSOP 2007 - early position raises, Shak pushes and is insta-called by Hellmuth. The early raiser has pocket Kings and while he is pondering this tricky decision for his tournament life, Shak basically puts her cards on her forehead by performing some kind of erotic dance, purring "I got it". Meanwhile, Hubby in the crowd is saying, right in the initial raiser's vision, "I think she has it" whilst making two large tippee signs with his hand. Despite the wealth of information at his disposal the initial raiser panics, calls and faces 2 lots of pocket rockets as Hellmuth also has the nuts. Shak's display is not over however, as when she has to expose her cards she puts them on top of her head before virtually rubbing them on herself, then noticing that Hellmuth has the same hand and she is pretty unlikely to scoop.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_idnY8czeQ

The second incident with this combo, occurred when Shak was bust out of WSOPE by Annette Obrestad. The husband, in the background as usual, amusingly finds it necessary to come forward and say in a very loud voice "she sucks". Classy people.

Seat 4) Josh Arieh

Multiple irritant offender during WSOP 2004. Arrogant, loud and performs no self evaluation whatsoever. He called David Williams "a joke" after he attempted a re-steal with pocket 5s at the final table against Arieh's Big Slick and they hold up, before swapping sides on elimination and telling Williams to bust out "clueless" Raymer.

The worst offence occurs during a hand with Harry Demetriou with 19 players remaining. Arieh has been aggressive all tournament, and fires out on a flop where he has multiple draws. Demetriou, correctly pushes back at him and goes allin with top pair. Arieh instacalls (with the worst hand), before berating Demitriou's play. Arieh's hand hits the draws to keep him in the tournament and he then embarks on the worst piece of sportsmanship you are likely to see. (link below - you'll need to copy and paste this one - it's the first hand).

http://www.pokertube.com/Movies.aspx?movie=1101&title=WSOP_-_2004_Main_Event_Ep8_5_5&player=1&page=1&FreeText=wsop%20-%202004%20main&list=9

Seat 5) Jimbo

Upstanding member of the poker community - all round good egg ;)

Seat 6) ROLAQ

No annoying table would be complete without the obligatory ROLAQ - Random Online Loud American Qualifer. These fellows pop up at each and every WSOP, EPT and WPT in an approximate ratio of one per table. I have played with many a fine and gentlemanly American player (take Sir Mike for instance), but unfortunately the Americans will never be painted in a great light because they provide such a large percentage of most poker fields, and statistically cannot help but provide the majority of the idiots.

The "ROLAQ" will generally have qualified for $200 or less by bumbling through any number of satellites to get here. He will be keen on getting as much TV time as possible by commenting on most hands, shouting loudly and cheering bad beats. If he doesn't happen to be on the TV table - no problem. Plan B involves ROLAQ standing on his chair every time he is allin, and bellowing to see whichever card will extricate himself from whatever dominated position he has got himself into.

Hundreds of examples available online, but I've gone for Mr Vance at EPT Copenhagen. I should add that the Danes eventually could take no more, and Vance was crowned champion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VCr0G_tGpU

So there's the table I really hope not to encounter at WSOP. I guess we better do the nightmare hand as well:

We are all playing 20k in chips. Khan is babbling away to no-one in particular pre-flop, as he has been doing for the last 4 hours. Krause limps with K2, Khan folds and Shak raises to 1k with AA. Arieh decides to take control of the hand by raising to 4k with 6d8d. I re-raise to 12k also holding AA. ROLAQ debates out loud for 5 minutes for the TV cameras, saying he is holding a monster and what a decision this is with 3 raises in front of him. He eventually makes a "big fold" and bins KJ. Krause calls, Shak calls, Arieh calls.

Flop 4, 5, K giving Arieh one of his dodgy inside straight draws. ROLAQ howls with anguish, loudly proclaiming "he would have had it". Shak is now dancing on the spot mouthing the words "I got it" to hubby in the crowd, so I suspect I can only split this. I push, Krause calls with top pair as does Shak with the other rockets. Arieh calls with his draw and once the cards are on the back, berates me loudly for my play, saying "you wanna gamble?..........we can gamble......".

Turn is a 3 and the river is a 6 giving Krause an unlikely straight and he releases a huge Bavarian bellow of triumph and gets to play 3 handed with ROLAQ and Khan. Khan now guaranteed 200k - "BULLDOZER!" ;)

3 Card Irish

Date: Thu, May 22, 2008 Professional

Welcome to 3 card Irish, debuted at Loose Cannon last night. I've played this game before in a cash game, but never before in a tournament. The format was £20 buy in with optional rebuy/add-on. I ended up placing 3rd for a mighty £20 profit, but at least I am continuing my revival from earlier in the week, as well as hitting some flops pretty nicely.

For those who haven't played 3CI before, you are dealt 3 cards pre-flop and then there is a round of betting. The flop comes down, then followed by another round of betting. At this point all players must discard one card, and then the hand plays out like holdem (i.e. you don't need to use both cards like Omaha).

For me, it's a game of straights. The flushes play pretty similar to holdem, in that your don't get double flush draws like you do in Omaha. It's nice to have a flush backup in your hand, but that is not the key to the game. You have to be careful in this game, as you will hit a good flop (i.e. 2 pair/trips/FH/quads) about 8% of the time compared to holdem's 3.5%. If you bare in mind this is before the discard, and the fact that this does not factor in straight/flush draws you can see it is an action game. Arguably, you get more action than Omaha, due to the fact that you only have to use one of your hole cards, so have a back door route to 4 board flushes and of course it's easier to have a full house.

My strategy for playing this game is to play tight, as you will get action no matter how dormant you have been. Best starting hands are (just my opinion so don't take as gospel):

AAsKs - the nuts with flush and straight draw back up

KKsAs - huge pair with flush and straight draw back up

QsJs10 - gives multiple straight options which will always be the nut straight


QsJs9 - as above, but many not so chances to hit as you must hit the 10.

Certainly an enjoyable game, although I'm still working out what the optimal strategy is. The cash game was a rare success as well - about £250 up for the night. It looks like my recent poor form may be turning around just in time for Vegas......

PROFIT/(LOSS) USD 2008
Live Holdem Tournaments 3,020
Live Holdem Cash (1,711)
Live Omaha 110
Live "Professional" Tournaments (11,476)
Home Games (760)
Online Holdem Tournaments 55,293
Online Holdem Cash 17,026
Online Omaha 330
Sundry 854
Rake (2,067)
59,404

Setting up the play

Date: Mon, May 19, 2008 Professional

So when I left you I had just won 3k on FT. After that I played a beauty on Stars in the midnight $100. The BB next to me was getting really hacked off, because I kept pushing most rounds against him in an un-raised pot, and was winning the not inconsiderable blinds. He was 2nd chip leader, I was leader and it was close to the bubble and he couldn't call without a great hand. Eventually I get AA in the small blind, and push on him for 50 times the blind - a huge overbet. He snaps and calls with AsQs.

Flop: Spade, Spade, Spade........ :(

I'd been setting that play up for about an hour, and then it blew up in my face. I would have been monster chip leader instead I was crippled and out next hand with J10.

Footnote - Full Tilt tournament in previous post I in fact came 7th and not 6th so was 1.1k worse off when I came to withdraw :( Spreadsheet duly amended.


PROFIT/(LOSS) USD 2008
Live Holdem Tournaments 3,020
Live Holdem Cash (2,211)
Live Omaha 110
Live "Professional" Tournaments (12,691)
Home Games (760)
Online Holdem Tournaments 55,832
Online Holdem Cash 17,026
Online Omaha 330
Sundry 814
Rake (2,005)
59,458