Hilarious

Reading the two entries before this back to back is painfully funny especially in my current state of mind (feeling like I got punched in the stomach and kicked in the crotch). Really shows what it is sometimes like being a professional gambler.

Uh oh

I lost $8000 playing online today at the Party Poker $2000 tables. Easily my biggest loss ever. The players at these tables are much better than the ones at the 1k tables, I don't know their tendencies yet, and most importantly, my luck was horrible all day long. Sets running into higher sets, scare cards coming when I had a big hand, etc. I now need to do some serious soul searching and possibly think about stepping down to the 1k tables. It has been a long time since my bankroll has been in jeopardy but that time may have arrived.

Jonas and Leo arrive tomorrow which is perfect timing.

I Love Online Poker

Three hours, a 3k profit, and most importantly, the 2k tables do not look scary at all. Really makes me feel a lot better about potentially losing 30k out here knowing I can likely make it back with two weeks of not-so-hard work. Sorry for the pompousness but it has been a long time since I have booked a win and the ego needed a boost.

Another Near Miss

Once again, I played great. Once again, my starting table was loaded with terrible players. Once again, I built up an above average stack of chips. And once again, with the money in sight, I gambled in a big pot and came up empty.

By the time the four dead money players at my first table were eliminated, the table consisted of an intimidating bigstacked pro, online rival "LitleBastrd" with a wildly fluctuating but usually big stack, the fearsome Hoyt Corkins, the fantastic Chad Brown, a few inconsequential dudes, and me with a short stack. I hung in there, caught a few breaks, and doubled up on the last hand before the table broke to get to around 12k. I also learned a few things from Brown, who was personable, professional, and free of advertising for online poker sites.

My next table was filled with unknown players and big stacks of chips. Some of these players really knew what they were doing and some had no idea. I never found a hand at this table but kept my stack from dropping too much by making a few plays. Finally with 170 players left paying 100 a huge stack raised in midearly position and I decided to just call with AK of diamonds because a reraise would leave me in an awkward spot chipwise. The big blind called as well and we saw an 882 flop with one diamond. The BB checked and the raiser made a moderate bet which I decided to call in position, hoping that he would shut down on the turn or I would make a deceptive pair. The big blind folded and and a low diamond rolled off the deck. To my disappointment the raiser now moved all in and I reluctantly called after crunching some numbers. He had jacks which was basically what I put him on. None of my 15 outs materialized on the river and I was out. Like the 1.5k NL last week this was a spot where I read my opponent correctly and decided to gamble with a marginal hand in an effort to get a hold of a bunch of chips rather than fight on towards the money with a meager stack.

I can't wait for the main event as I saw tons of players just dying to give away all their chips today and the structure will be good enough that I can get in there and really take advantage of mistakes.

I may fire up a long-awaited online session on the 2k tables right now.

The Laptop Arrives

My computer finally arrived today, which means I will be posting blog entries just about every day. It also means I will soon return to the realm of online poker in an attempt to rebuild my crumbling bankroll.

I saw Batman Begins tonight. I'm not sure I've ever seen a better action movie. I also stumbled upon this movie called The Emperor's Club on cable this afternoon and was shocked at its quality since I'd never heard of it.

Tomorrow is the 2k NL and I'm smelling a money finish.

Playing My Ass Off

I have been playing a lot lately, both at the WSOP and the Palms. I've been playing phenomenal, fearless poker but have little to show for it. In the last two WSOP tournaments I played I was able to more than double my stack both times by winning lots of small pots. In both tournaments I had the "most" chips at my table after a few hours...because I had accumulated a ton of green 25 and black 100 chips but very few pink 500s so in reality I never had that big of a stack.

At the Palms yesterday I was probably the chip leader with 15 left but went out in 11th for a miniscule payday. I got outplayed in one huge pot which left me short enough that I had to risk my whole tournament with pocket eights and I ran into aces. I've been eliminated by AA at least six different times including four at the WSOP.

Only two more chances at the WSOP before the championship. I still believe a breakthrough will come soon.

Comments on the comments others have posted on the blog:

1. Spencetron: Kwicky is right, no one has tamed CU. I actually believe Derg Chan the Master (my brother) currently has the course record.

2. Spencetron: I agreed wholeheartedly with your Safin comment after watching some of that Phillipousis destruction...until the Lopez debacle of course.

3. Uncle Jim: I am looking forward to reading the Camp Lemmon blog.

4. Spencetron: Billups is from Denver, and he is not a buffoon.

5. Smartmomma: Who are you? Mommy?

6. Kwicky, Wolf, Jeremy, and Lazypoo: I really appreciate the words of encouragement. Honestly encouragement and positive thinking is more important than anything else right now.

A Deep Run

Today I played in the 1.5k NLHE at the WSOP. I took a shower and ate, two things I was stupid not to do before the first six tournaments I played.

All day long I found myself at soft tables filled with mediocre players, except for a brief Marcel Luske appearance directly to my left and an hour with my ?friend? Ross Boatman. The second hand I picked up aces and won a decent pot. After that I didn't see a pair bigger than nines for seven hours but I was able to constantly accumulate chips through relentless aggression and pot stealing. After seven hours of battle I finally looked down at pocket queens but actually had to fold when a tight table suddenly went bananas before the action got to me. I was actually very lucky on this hand because if it had gone differently I would have found myself up against aces or kings and likely lost a huge pot.

I went out with 230 left paying 200 places. I had no interest in stalling around trying to eke my way to a 2k payday. I played to win and that was evident in the final hand when I played a marginal hand very aggressively. On the fateful hand I made a great read followed by a slight technical mistake. My opponent hit his hand and that was that.

This was by far the best I have played at the WSOP (probably ever, in fact) and my confidence continues to grow. I'm playing again on Friday and likely again on Saturday so I will soon have more opportunities to break through.

Crewhater note - a few days ago I played the Palms tourney with the Legendary Tom McEvoy directly on my left. Not so shockingly he made two horrible plays to blow his stack. On the first one I limped in first position with sixes and he limped behind me with threes. A player two behind us went all in for a bunch more and I wisely folded. WORLD CHAMPION OF POKER Tom McEvoy then called with his pathetic pocket threes only to find the other player with aces. I desperately wanted to remind him "you can't play small pairs from early position because they can't stand any heat" (some of the shitty advice he dispenses in his neverending series of books) but kept my mouth shut.

Whoever wins the NBA Championship tomorrow deserves it. The two best teams in one game for everything - I can't wait.

Big Shot Bob

At halftime tonight, Robert "Big Shot Bob" Horry had zero points. But no one will remember that, because Big Shot Bob came through in the clutch, as he always does. When it really mattered, when the game, series and Finals, with the world championship on the line, Horry was the best player on the court.

You could see it in his eyes. When he got the ball and drove the lane for that monster dunk/foul it didn't matter that the World's Best Defender was lurking there, waiting. I saw the replay and I watched Horry's eyes. He just had this look, a resolution that he was not going to be stopped. Somehow he was going to will the ball into the basket, jump fifteen feet into the air if that's what it would take to get over Wallace.

Michael Campbell had the same look. I was watching the US Open Saturday and I saw him play one hole and I immediately thought that guy is going to win the tournament.

The look is most obvious with Tiger Woods. Sometimes he gets that look in his eyes, that power in his stride, and there is just no doubt. Just as there was no doubt whatsoever that Horry was going to drill that 3 at the end of OT tonight.

In December I watched some of the WPT event at Bellagio. On Day 3 of the 5 day tournament I saw Daniel Negreanu and he had that look. As soon as I saw him I was certain he was going to win the tournament. It was like it had already been decided.

After day one of that tournament, with around 200 players still left, Negreanu wrote "It’s going to happen. Call it over confident, call it cocky, call it what you will… I’m going to get the job done." I write everything he reads and that's the only time he's ever made a bold prediction like that. He just knew from the beginning he was going to win the tournament, and he did, just like Michael Campbell knew he was going to win the US Open and Horry knew he was going to make all those shots at the end.

I was watching the final table of the 2004 WSOP tonight. In Josh Arieh's final hand he had nines against Greg Raymer's AQ, a 59% favorite. But when the hands were turned over Arieh had the look of a loser, as if he already knew two queens were coming and he was headed home in third place.

The past couple of weeks Arieh's diary (josharieh.com, the best poker player website there is) has been nothing but positivity. Despite a bad start to the WSOP his attitude was always positive. I wasn't at all surprised when he won a bracelet a few days ago.

Zack, Paul, and I have talked a lot about the importance of positive thinking in poker. I'm not very superstitious but there are times when I have a winning hand or session and I know it's not because I got lucky or played well, but because I knew I was going to win. Or more likely, me knowing that I am going to win actually causes me to get lucky and play well.

I now know that I had no shot of winning anything in the first six tournaments I played at the WSOP because I had the Tim Duncan/Retief Goosen attitude going. Horry's not as good as Duncan and Campbell's no Goosen, but today they knew they were going to win and they did.

A Mini Score

Tonight I won 60% of a $125 sit and go at the Rio. I made a great checkraise for all of my chips with A4 on a K53 board and got the fold I wanted and later dispatched a shortstack with 89 against his QTs. Heads up the other guy had 58% of the chips and offered a 60/40 split. I declined. Eventually I got ahead 60-40 and he now offered me 60% of the cash and I accepted.

I lost my cell phone today, probably on the shuttle between Harrah's and the Rio. All the necessary searches and calls have been made and now I have to cross my fingers and hope the damn thing turns up.

For anyone who has posted a message on the blog, I really appreciate it. Obviously it's difficult and hard to stay positive alone out here and it's great to hear words of encouragement from everyone.

Moon vs. Thomas

The title of this post does not refer to me battling any sort of inner demons or my alter ego "GnightMoon" jockeying with the real me, but rather today's 1.5k NLHE shootout when I had Thomas "Thunder" Keller to my left. I thought I had a good shot in this event since I have so much experience playing single table sit and gos. But I was never able to get much going and busted out with 5 left when I moved in with A6 in the small blind and Keller had kings in the big blind. I wasn't unhappy about my play although I did make one mistake early on calling what I hoped was a bluff. It was nice to play with Keller since he's one of my favorite players and a role model as well.

Tonight I played the Palms tourney. On the second hand I busted a player with a set of kings over his set of tens. I treaded water for the next couple hours before the crapshoot began. Despite cracking aces with KQs my fate was to bust out with 30 left paying 18. Overall though I was quite happy with my play and believe I have patched a couple leaks that have been slowing me down.

I'm not playing again at the WSOP until Wednesday. Now would be a good time to bail but I'm not going anywhere. I need the practice and the dream is still alive. After all, it's almost a full moon.

Gambling Firsts

I forgot to mention in the previous entry that I recently made a couple gambling breakthroughs. On Sunday night I finally beat a low limit hold 'em game, crushing the 3-6 limit at Harrah's to the tune of $150 in an hour and a half. Nothing compared to the life-changing $360 loss at Canterbury Park in September 2003 (a nightmare that drives me to this day).

Nick stopped in Vegas Monday night on his way out to Claremont. Together we made a score at the roulette table. At this one table 22 came up at least six times in the span of 20 rolls and we both rode that cash cow to a nice win. I promised myself I wouldn't fold pocket deuces the next day at the WSOP but lost the only pot I played with them.

The next gambling breakthrough will be Friday when I make my first WSOP cash.

By the way "Pour Some Sugar on Me" is now playing in the internet cafe.

I Hate Las Vegas

The Top 3 reasons why I hate the Strip:

1. The Temperature Problem
It's 100 degrees everyday here but it's always 65 in the casinos. This means that if you walk outside for more than a minute or two during the day you've got to wear shorts and shortsleeves or pay a heavy price. But inside the casinos it's too cold for anything but long sleeves, especially if you're sitting down (eating a meal or playing poker). There's really no way to get around this problem in the summer other than taking cabs everywhere which isn't economical since it takes twenty minutes to drive three blocks because of

2. The Traffic
The foot traffic on the Strip is ridiculous at times and the car traffic is worse. My celebrated "fear of crowds" is prominently on display on those nights when I walk down the strip, ducking in between the 8-member Korean family photographing the 12-man NBDL team while the pack of drunken WASPs steamrolls by. When I take these walks I try to listen to my discman to isolate myself from the madness and drown out

3. The Music
In a span of 24 hours two days ago I heard "Pour Some Sugar on Me" three separate times. This is part of the ever-present Strip Soundtrack which consists only of "I Love Rock and Roll", that new Backstreet Boys song, "I Love Rock and Roll", Maroon 5 (I heard them a ton during the maiden voyage in December and sadly nothing has changed), the ironic "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" and "I Love Rock and Roll."

Despite these problems I am starting to feel settled here. When I'm not playing I get pretty bored (early this afternoon I watched back to back episodes of "Yes, Dear" (or was it "Still Standing"? I really don't know) since I'm alone and I still don't have my laptop. But I just bought about 15 CDs (by the way there is not a single CD/record store on the Strip, believe me I checked) and the first Harry Potter book which I will soon be the last person on Earth to have read.

Yesterday I built up a big stack very early in the 5k NL (an event I never should have been playing because of the sharkishness of the event). I then didn't win a pot for 2 hours, made two huge mistakes, and went out less than three hours in. I also crapped out quickly from the Palms two nights ago and the 2k PLHE a few days ago. Right now I'm playing poorly and not seeing much in terms of cards. This is always a fatal combination.

However, the 1.5k NLHE Shootout is on Friday. I have great confidence in this event since I have a lot of experience playing one-table tournaments online and this event is really just a series of one-table tourneys. I think this could be the tournament that turns everything around for me.

Moon vs. the Mob

I just spent 30 minutes in an internet cafe writing a blog entry before moronically deleting it so now I will just give a brief recap:

I have been playing excellent poker the last few days. I made nice runs in the 2k NL at the WSOP on Friday and the Palms tonight but both times went out not long before the money. On Friday I played with 3 members of Britain's Hendon Mob (as well as Dewey Tomko, Jeff Shulman and some other fairly big names) before my AK ran into KK and AA on the same hand. It was a pleasure to play with such classy guys since a lot of the players here are rude, crude, charmless douchebags.

Also tonight I got to play with Rod Peate who finished second in the WSOP to the Crewhaters' favorite player Tom McEvoy back in the '80s. He commended me on my play. I should have told him he did the world a great disservice by allowing McEvoy to win the world championship and subsequently write about 8000 horrible poker articles but didn't think of it at the time.

I'm now staying at Harrah's which is a little quieter on the inside than the Rio but loud on the outside since it is located right at the heart of the Strip.

I'm playing the best I've ever played in a casino setting and feeling good about tomorrow's event (2k PLHE) as well as the 5k NL on Tuesday which I really have no business playing but will anyways. I gathered a lot of confidence and inspiration from watching the Bag hold his own against Lederer, Juanda, etc. and feel that a money finish will soon arrive if I keep playing like I have been.

Moon Makes a Score

A lot of news.

First off the Bag will soon be finishing his full, heartpounding account of his run in the $2500 shorthanded tournament from Tuesday. He finished 42nd and cashed for over 6k. Half of this went straight to me, since I bought 50% of his action. Clearly a smart move from the resident professional gambler. His play was absolutely inspiring.

Second, the Rio sucks. First there was the whole "woodpecker on acid" fiasco which led to a room switch and an annoying series of jumps through hoops after I realized I left my cell phone charger in the old room. Then tonight Sanders got locked out of the room. Not because he didn't have his key but because inexplicably it didn't work. Then the water shut off. No sink, no shower, no toilet. Again I was able to snag a $50 comp but this is getting ridiculous. I can't wait to get out of here. The casino is always packed and noisy and it makes my head spin. I really need to be in a chiller environment. Tomorrow is my last day in the Rio.

I made a score tonight at the Palms $200 + one $200 rebuy tournament. Honestly I did not bring the A game until the end of the tournament. Early on I made some mistakes, siphoned some chips, and got shortstacked very early even though I rebought. The last hand before the first break I was lucky to dodge some draws after I flopped two pair in the big blind and I tripled up. I later doubled up with A3 against 77 and K9 against A8s, tripled up with 77 against Q9s and ATs, and tripled up with JJ against 88 and another player who was forced to fold. Once we got to the money (27 players) I was able to win some large pots with uncalled all-in moves and pushed my way to the final table (my first cash and first final table at a casino tournament). This was not virtuoso poker by any means but rather a series of lucky breaks and minimization of mistakes. The blinds were so huge that the play was basically Russian roulette and I was just lucky that the gun assigned to me kept firing blanks.

Down to 9 handed I had 45k with the blinds at 1.5-3k and a 500 ante. So I had 15 times the big blind...and I was second in chips. Everyone had between 25 and 60k with the average around 42k. After a painful negotiating process which brought out the worst side of a couple personalities we agreed to split the money evenly, giving everyone $6600 and the chip leader an extra $1k. With the blinds so huge and almost all the money in the first three spots I accepted the deal even though I felt my expected value was probably more than $6600 in that scenario (since I have a lot of experience in crapshoot Sit 'N Gos.) Jeremy Barr you would have known how to play the hands as well as anyone else.

In other news I am considering bailing out of here. I'm not feeling that confident about my game right now and more importantly I think I would be having more fun in Boulder. I am 100% sure I am going to play in the main event on July 7 but I think staying here for another month straight until then might be too much.

The WSOP $2500 NL 6-man event recap

The following was written by Zack Sanders

Shuffle Up and Deal
When I had originally scheduled my Vegas trip, I wanted to
play in the first event (the $1500 NL), mainly because it best
suited my bankroll. The 6-man (shorthanded) tables intrigued
me but the lowest buyin was $2500. Then I had to reschedule my
trip around my brother's graduation, and so it turned out the
only events I was even there for were the $1500 PL Omaha event
(not a chance I play that) and the $2500 NL Hold'em 6-man
event. I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do and then Tom
approached me and offered to stake me in half the buyin for
the event. I accepted this generous offer and signed up for
the event on Monday (the event was scheduled to start
Tuesday). I had a relaxing night on Monday (that's a first for
Las Vegas) and went to bed around 2 a.m. The tournament
started at noon the next day. I woke up around 11 a.m,
showered, and ate a small lunch but it was hard to eat because
I was both excited and nervous. I had been looking forward to
playing in an event for 6 years and it was finally happening.
I walked into the giant convention center that was
wall-to-wall with poker tables and found my table and seat.
Table 39 Seat 4. I sat down, and already sitting there was
Rajja Kattamuri, a recognizable pro. He was in seat 2. Seat 1
was empty as well as seats 3 and 5. Seat 6 was a known Asian
player who I could not attach a name to. Rajja and him
obviously knew each other. Then to my left (in Seat 5) sits
Allen Cunningham. Two days ago he won the $1500 NL event that
I had originally wanted to play in. A very beastly player and
extremely analytical. Seats 1 and 3 are still empty and then
through the convention center rings "Shuffle-up and Deal." We
are underway.

"Dude, come down here now, my table is insane"
The tournament structure was pretty good. We all started with
2500 chips and the blinds for the first level were 25-25 and
they went up every hour from there. In the early stages there
is no calling. It was only raising and folding. The trouble
was, I didn't realize this at first - because I was mainly
just calling. It was obviously not working out because when I
missed the flop, I would have to fold. 4-handed everything was
pretty aggressive. I lost 700 chips in the first 10-15
minutes. Then I won a small pot and was stacking my chips and
directly to my right in Seat 3 sits none other than Howard
Lederer - the Poker Professor. I was half excited and half
wanted to piss my pants. I was just extremely thankful he was
to my right. Immediately after that a well-dressed gentleman
sits down in Seat 1. He cordially says "Howard" to which
Lederer responds "Allen." Then I knew who this was. It was WPT
champion Allen Goehring. The table was complete, and I knew
all of them. None of them knew me. The rail now crowded around
my table. Even though there were pros at every table, this
table was particularly fascinating to them. It felt like it
was the final table already based on the photographs and
crowd. Now it was time for me to make some moves.

Brave Call
I was down to about 1800 in chips when the first crucial hand
came up. Allen G. made it 50 to go like he had been doing
every time he raised. I look down and JJ in the small blind
and decide to make it 200 total. He thinks for a minute and
calls. The flop comes QQ9, and I decide to check, somewhat
hoping he would bet so that I could raise. But then he checks
quickly. The turn is a T and I check again. He fires out a bet
of 400. And I call quickly, thinking he could have AT or just
a J. The river is a horrifying T. Now I don't beat as much as
I did before. I check, and he bets 950 and I go into the tank.
If I lose this, I am basically done. I think for about 2 min
and decide he is bluffing or has an A and thinks I will lay
down. I call. And he says, "I just have an A." And I show my
JJ and take down the pot. To which Howard turns to me and says
"nice call."

Gnight Allen
For about 1 hour after that (actually a little past 1 hour and
8 minutes, which was Howard's over/under on when Goehring
would get eliminated) my stack was pretty constant, around
3100. At 1 hour and 12 minutes after their bet was made, I
eliminated Allen Goehring when I raised in second position
with KdTd and he went all in in the cutoff for not even a
minimum raise more; I had to call. He ended up having AT and I
spiked a K on the turn to send the WPT champion packing. To
add insult to injury, Howard had the over bet.

Don't Mess with the Bag
The table was frustrating in the time around the first break.
These shorthanded tables are all about raising and position,
and every time I was the button, Howard would raise the BB, and
every time I was the cutoff Rajja would calmly raise the BB as
well. I don't even have to mention that when it was my BB or
SB, there was a raise almost every time. This was not good for
me, I needed those chips. I talked to Tom during the break and
he reminded me to not be afraid to come back over the top of
these guys with nothing. Because I have been playing so tight,
they would probably have to lay most hands down. A few hands
after the break, Lederer does the usual raise to 200 in the
cutoff and I have the button. I decide that I am going to
reraise with any two cards, and I look down and it happens to
be Tom's favorite 83off. I make it 650 and he thinks for a bit
and folds. The same attempt was made 5 hands later against
Rajja and it worked like a charm. I was finally starting the
show some sack at this table, and people began to not push me
around any more.

Douche Facial (Not as nasty as it sounds)
Around this same time Allen Cunningham is eliminated by an
unknown player who had earlier replaced the known but unknown
Asian. Cunningham was eliminated by this guy who new-school
played his AK to take him down. Well-played I thought. In
Goehring's seat sat a total tool. Tom and I referred to him as
"Douche" the rest of the tournament. He was a middle aged guy
in a Polo shirt and swimming trunks. He basically just took
Patron shots, drank beer and tried to hit on all the female
dealers. He was making both terrible plays and terrible calls.
He was also making terrible folds, as is evident in this hand.
Blinds are 50-100 and I make it 300 to go in second position
with A6off. It folds around to Douche who flat calls in the
SB. Rajja folds. The flop comes 654 rainbow and he checks. I
decide to make the sneaky check. The turn comes a K. He checks
again and I fire off 450. Douche thinks for a little bit and
says to the dealer, "Now why couldn't that have been an A?" He
checks his cards once more and mucks. As the pot is being
pushed to me, I flash him my ace. To which he responds, "Well
yeah, but at least you didn't have a 6 with your ace." This
comment was too funny to not show him the other card, so I
did.

A Friend Amongst Scary Beasts
A few minutes later, in Cunningham's former seat sits a guy
that looks just like your typical business professional. Suit
pants, white collared shirt with one button undone, and a nice
watch. After talking to him later, I found out that he
actually was a business professional, and also a tournament
poker professional - Chad Lane. The trouble was, I didn't
realize this until after the following hand. It folds around
to me in the small blind with the blinds at 50-100. I make it
300 to go with 52off and Chad thinks for a minute and calls.
The flop comes J76, and I check. He bets 250 and I
check-reraise 400 more. He thinks for a minute and calls. At
this point I am a little worried. The turn is an A. A good
card for me I thought. I bet out 700 and he folds after a
short think. I show the table my hand, and he responds
"touche." Despite that move by me, Chad and I struck up a
friendship at the table. He really gave me confidence by
telling me that I was playing well and that he was impressed
it was only my second real live tournament ever. I was sad to
see him later eliminated in the day on a terrible beat - AK vs
KJ all in preflop.

Terrible Beats
In the period of one hour I took two pretty bad beats. The
first was for a smallish pot when I had AT vs A4 all in
preflop. He hit a flush on the river. The other was against
Douche when he wildly went all in for half my stack with
A2suited and I called with my KK. He turned a straight and
gained a lot of chips in the minutes that followed that hand.
I on the other hand (no pun intended), had to rebuild my stack
to its average glory.

Howard's End
The crowd around the table was starting to grow even more. It
was partly because our table was on the edge of the room, and
the rail had a good view from there. It was also because in
the matrix of the closest 6 tables sat Lederer, Negreanu,
Duke, Matusow, Rajja, Giang, etc. All the camera flashes and
whispers were all starting to get to me so I decided to take
care of the problem by eliminating the source. Two people
limped on my BB and Howard did as well in the SB. I checked
with my 86off. The flop was as pretty as it gets. 975 rainbow.
The nizzity nuts. Howard checks, I check, and the two limpers
check. The turn is a very intriguing 9. Howard takes a little
longer to act this time and then checks. I found this weird
because at this table, Howard was trying to be the captain. If
he smelled weakness, he pounced. The flop wreaked of weakness,
and he still chose to check. I glanced subtly at Lederer's
stack and saw that it was about 1800 (somewhat short). I
decide to make it a small 400. The two limpers fold and it
comes back to Howard who starts playing with his chips and
stacking them in different ways. He puts them in one big pile
and moves all in. I calmly ask the dealer how much more, call,
and show him my flopped straight. He has J9 and gets no help
on the river. No question an unavoidable for him on the turn,
but if I bet the flop, he might have been able to get away
from it. As I stacked my chips, I gave a little chuckle to
myself. I had just eliminated Howard Lederer. At that point I
knew the rest of the day was going to be fun.

It's Raining Pros!
Not long after the table is rid of Lederers, Goehrings, and
Cunninghams, the seats are filled by two more TV
personalities: Harry Demetrieau to my right and Jeff Lesandro
two to my left. The other bad part of it was they had HUGE
stacks. I knew this had potential to be very bad. Demetrieau
is fairly mild mannered and polite and so is Jeff. Neither of
them I would want to mess with at the table, but Lesandro is
the type of guy I would not want to mess with off the table.
He has a Sopranos look to him that would put anybody on edge.
Not long after they arrive I double up my stack through Harry.
He raised under the gun and I stacked up my chips in two
separate piles and pushed one of them in, intending to go all
in with my QQ. I started pushing the other in and they called
a string bet on me. I was not intending to do this, as it
would be pointless for me to leave myself with only 1500. But
rules are rules - just one of those things from being an
online player that you have to get used to in real
tournaments. This time, my mistake actually worked out for the
best. Because the raise was smaller, Harry felt more compelled
to call. When he did, I announced all in in the dark. The flop
was J78 and he called my dark all in with 22. The two-outer
didn't get there and I doubled up to about 8k in chips. Chad
was eliminated by Harry on the afformentioned bad beat and in
his place sat another pro J.C. Tran. Normally a scary Asian
player whom you would not want on your left, but he was
extremely short stacked and barely played a hand. Not too
much happened in the next half hour as we had to stop dealing
for some time because we only had 4 people at the table, With
5 minutes left until the dinner break, a guy who was also
named Isaac sat down in Douche's former seat. Douche was
eliminated earlier by Lesandro on a brilliantly played hand.
This guy had an absolute mountain of chips - approx. 42k. The
clock ticked down and it was finally dinner time. We had an 1
hour break and Tom and I went to eat and discuss the next few
hours of play.

Dinner Break - Finally
Out of 548 entries into the tournament, there were now 92
left. 66 people make the money, and first gets 316k. Again it
was hard to eat much because I was so excited and nervous.

Lesandro - As Scary as He Looks
After dinner, our table played for about 15 minutes before it
was broken up. The blinds were 150-300 with a 25 chip ante. I
made the standard raise to 900 in the cutoff with QQ and Jeff
called in the SB. The flop was AT9. He checks, and I elect to
check. The turn is a T, and he bets out 2k. I think for about
30 seconds and minimum raise 2k more to 4k, putting my whole
tournament at risk. He folded fairly quickly and I took down a
decent pot. When the table broke, I had about 10k in chips.
There were now about 77 people left. The average stack at this
point was about 15k. I was still below average, like I had
been the whole day, and needed a double-up to make sure that I
survived the bubble at 66 and to put myself in better shape to
accumulate chips. As it was, I really didn't have the stack to
bluff, and would have to let the table sort of run over me
until I picked up a hand. I was not afraid to go out before
the money, my focus was on elevating my status for the rest of
the tournament and going for first place.

My New Table, Does it Ever End?
I move over to Table 139, Seat 5. The view isn't as good from
Seat 5, but it wasn't terrible. The view got a lot worse when
I looked up and realized that I formed an invisible triangle
with tournament pros David Levi and John Juanda (a complete
and utter beast and the obvious table captain). Then the
crucial hand that elevated me into the money came up. David
Levi raised in the cutoff to 1800. The button folded, and I
moved all in with my 33 for 7k more. It folded back around to
him and he didn't take long to call. With the speed at which
he called, I thought I was screwed, but then he turns over
T9off. I was a little happier now about my chances. When the
dealer set out the flop the cards appeared to me in this
order. A jack was first off in the door, followed by a
horrifying 9. The dealer then moves his hand off of the third
card and reveals a miracle 3. I doubled up and now was a
pretty sure shot to make the money. In the time that past from
70 people left to 66, there was not much action at our table.
Juanda basically raised every pot and most of the time people
folded. I raised his BB one time with KcQc and he called. The
flop came 6h7h8h and he bet into me. Which I thought me might
do with any two cards and no matter what the flop was. I
folded not wanting to tangle with him on such a bad board. Tom
later told me he was fiending for me to reraise Juanda, but I
never had the cards or the sack. Right on the bubble I flopped
the second nut flush in the SB against the shortstacked BB. He seemed upset that I even called the bet preflop. He said something weird like, "Hey man, I thought we were friends." Tom was my only friend in all this as far as I was concerned. It
went check-check on the flop and the turn was an offsuit Q. I
bet 1k and he reraised 2.5k more. I announced all in but the
dealer didn't hear me. It was ruled a call and I said "all in
in the dark." A fourth heart came on the river and he
reluctantly folded his two pair. I knew that's what he had,
but the four-flush screwed me out of a call I think.

The Bubble Bursts
After going hand-for-hand for about 15 minutes, the 67th
person was eliminated and a round of applause broke out. Now
the aggression could resume without fear of getting 67th. The two-pair guy who I had tangled with pre-bubble was quickly
eliminated and his Seat 6 became empty for a few minutes.
After some commotion at another table, Antonio Esfandiari,
also know as "The Magician" sat in the vacant seat,
unfortunately to my left. Normally this would be bad news, but
I was used to it by now.

Aggression Against the Beasts
After a series of hands in which I raised two consecutive pots
- one with AA and one with 96off - I came upon AQ. I raised
the pot again in second position. This time it was Juanda's
button. Once I set my chips in the pot my eye caught Juanda
staring at me with his big head and big eyes. He glanced at
his cards and gave me this look that made me pray for a none
raise-worthy hand the next time around. The look basically
told me "you better not do that again, this is my territory."
He folded and intently focused on the rest of the hand. David
Levi in the BB called my raise - I think mainly cause he was
sick of the raises. The flop came AQ8 with two hearts.
Beautiful. I bet 2k and he immediately called. The turn was
the 5h and he checks and I quickly check. The river is a blank
and he bets 5k into me. It really didn't look like a flush,
but this bet represented a lot of my chips. I decided he had a
bad ace or a lower two pair and called. It turned out to be
correct, and I won a sizeable pot.

"Nice call man"
There was a gentleman to my right who liked to limp into a lot
pots. Normally this plan was foiled because someone always
raised. I was in the BB and it folded to him in the SB and he
just called. I had J8 and the flop was 875 with two diamonds.
He bets the size of the pot, and I flat call. The turn was an
offsuit K. Then, he quickly goes all in! I think for a minute
and put him on a diamond draw. It turns out that I am right,
and he has AdTd. He has a lot of outs but the river is a
blank, and he is eliminated. Esfandiari turns to me and
acknowledges the call.

A Funny Hand
This hand was probably my favorite from the day. Not
necessarily because I thought it was raw ownage or anything,
but because of the reaction it got. An unknown player limped
and it folded around to me in the SB. I called with J9off and
Esfandiari checked in the BB. The flop was J77, a decent flop
for me. I decided to check in early position and Esfandiari
made the expected bet. 1200 chips. Then the limper quickly
called! Now what to do. I thought I had the best hand. I
didn't want to get bullied by the Magician so I made it a
large 5000 more. The Magician quickly folded and the action
came around to the original limper. He went into the TANK. He
literally thought for 4 minutes. He was asking me all sorts of
questions about my hand. I wouldn't budge. I didn't even move
my mouth. After a very long think he shows the rail his hand
and shows it face up on the table. AJ!! I was just going to
muck, but this was great. I lofted the J9 up in the air and it
landed face up on top of his hand. The rail erupted with
confusion and the normally stoic John Juanda stood up and
exclaimed, "What a play!" What a moment. I felt like I had
finally earned the respect from the other players and the
rail. It was a great feeling.

The Magician Makes Bag Disappear
I was rolling good. I was making some plays, some hands, and
some bluffs. Most things were working out. Then, in the SB,
when it folded around to me with Magician in the BB, I look
down at AK. I thought about limping because I knew the
Magician would try to bully me, but in the end I decided to
make a big raise. Of course he called. The flop was Q high,
and I decided to bet 6k. He raised 14k more and I had to fold.
He said he had KQ and I sort of believed him. The VERY next
hand on the button I look down at AQ. I make the standard
raise and Magician comes over the top AGAIN. I decide this is
not the time to be bullied and go all in. At that moment he
has this pained look on his face. I feel a lot of excitement.
Maybe I caught him bluffing. Then he calls and turns over QQ.
The flop is ugly and I get not help. My run ends in 42nd place
, earning me $6,050. Not a bad pay day.

Conclusions
First off, I want to say that this was one of the best experiences of my life, and I want to thank Tom for his generosity and faith in backing me in such a venture. I felt like I played with the best in the world and held my own. It wasn't like I encountered a couple of pros along the way, I played against all pros all day with the occasional buffer of a bad player. More important than any cash netted was the respect I felt I earned from other players who are at the highest level in the world. My confidence is as high as it's ever been and I am excited for the future.

BAGGAGE CLAIM!!!

Sanders played all day today in the 2.5k shorthanded. All day long his tables were stuffed with top pros, including Howard Lederer, Alan Goehring, Allen Cunningham, Harry Demetriou, Jeff Lisandro, JC Tran, John Juanda, and Antonio Esfandiari. I was a nervous wreck the whole time sweating him on the rail and making constant phone calls to curious Crewhaters. The Bag was in the zone all day long, snapping off big bluffs from Goehring, Lisandro, and David Levy. He also came over the top with nothing a couple times when he thought the situation was right. I will let him tell his full story here tomorrow but for now I will say the Bag caught a horrible break when the Magician sat down to his left with a monster stack and the Bag ran into his buzzsaw. We're now both rooting for Esfandiari to win the whole thing (he's second in chips with 30 something left).

Time to celebrate.

When it Rains, it Pours

I have had a rough go of it so far in the WSOP.

I got here Thursday night and spent about four hours waiting in line to buy into the first event, the $1500 NL. First it looked like I was not going to get in, then it looked like I was going to be an alternate, and finally they decided to make all the tables 11-handed at the start and I wound up getting a seat. I then went to bed and had sort of a hard time sleeping because of nerves.

The Rio and especially the Convention Center where the WSOP is being held is an absolute zoo. Every time I walk over to the playing area my head starts spinning from all the activity. Pretty much every big name in poker is here and they all congregate in the playing area. Before the tournaments, all the veteran players socialize and the cliques of younger tournament circuit players huddle around. It's actually fairly highschoolish. And I'm the new kid (along with about 700 others). There are a ton of players in their young 20s here, as well as a lot of old timers. I've been much more impressed by the play of the youngsters. In fact, the winner of the $1500 limit yesterday is only 21 and 3 months (meaning my dream of being the youngest-ever bracelet winner is now over).

The $1500 NL finally got started about half an hour late with over 2500 players. The structures of these tournaments are very fast at the beginning before they start to slow down. As the event got started I talked to the guy to my right, Dimitri, and it calmed me down. He had won a big Bellagio event two months ago and after talking to him I realized we play similar stakes online and I felt like I could compete at this level. The first big hand I played was at the 25-25 level (we started with 1500 chips). Dimitri raised to 100 on the button and I decided to reraise to 400 with 99 in the SB. He thought for a while and called. The flop was 673 with two hearts and I felt I really had no choice but to move all in for about 900. Dimitri thought for a while muttering "fifty-fifty" before calling with Q-J of hearts. He's actually a small favorite in this spot but I was lucky to hold him off and I was up to 2600.

In the 50-100 level I lost most of my chips when the cutoff opened for 400 and I pushed him in with AQ. He called with AK, it held up, and I was down to around 600. Just a couple hands later though I called all-in with A8 against the same player's A6 and doubled up. Not too long after that I doubled up with JJ against 99 and was up to around 3k.

I then got moved to a new table that I felt very comfortable at. I raised the first two hands and won both times to get to 3500. Then the button raised and I moved all in with AK in the BB. He immediately called, all-in, with AQ, for a pot of over 6k. The flop was QJJ, the turn a J, the river a 5, and I was decimated, down to 600 with the blinds at 100-200. I moved all-in the next two hands with Q3s in the SB and QTs on the button and both times the blinds couldn't call. I then got moved again.

After a couple more uncalled moveins I was up to 2500. After folding a few blinds I was at 2200 with the blinds at 100-200 and a 25 ante. With over 500 in the pot preflop and my short stack, I was not afraid to take some risks to go after the blinds. A weird situation then developed. One player was talking on a cell and his hand was declared dead. Another player was gone. UTG folded and I decided to move in with K8, knowing I only had 6 players to get through and enough of a stack to get them to fold marginal hands. A Denver player named Tom Lee who has been on television a couple times then stuck 600 into the pot. He didn't realize I had already moved in before him. Normally I think he is required to leave money in the pot but I decided to keep my mouth shut since I had a meager K8 and did not want a call. He ended up folding and getting all his chips back. However the BB called with AQ. I flopped an 8 but the river was an ace and that was the end of my first WSOP tournament.

DB Larson aka Felonious, Dave Majzler, and two guys I hadn't known before stayed with me at the Rio Thursday until Saturday morning. Most of the time I was too mentally fatigued or focused on the next day's tournament to do much with them but they're all great guys and it was nice having some company. However I think their recent run of badbeatitis was contagious and I got infected.

The next day was the $1500 NL. My table had four players I recognized including Todd Brunson (Doyle's son). One hand Todd raised the minimum and I called with KQ in the BB (what hand do you not call a raise with?) The flop was J43 with two diamonds and a heart. I checked and he quickly checked behind me. The turn was a jack and I bet out 100. He quickly raised to 250. I started thinking and thought that he was making a common pro move (check the flop with nothing, then raise the turn). This move is especially common against weak players, and I had no doubt Todd thought of me as a weak player. I also thought if I reraised Todd would have to put me on at least a jack and would have to fold unless he had a monster (which I doubted). Thus I raised 200 more. He thought for a bit and then reraised. Now I obviously had to fold and was down below 1k in chips. After mulling the hand over extensively I am almost certain he flopped a set and turned a boat. Todd (and everyone else) was betting every flop after they raised preflop and therefore I should have known he flopped a monster since he checked the flop against the blind who he certainly thought was a weak player.

I also called several raises with hands like J9s, JTs, 97s, and AQ, and missed every time. Eventually down to 700 with the blinds at 25-50 I limped UTG with TT. A middle position player announced that he wanted to raise the maximum. The way he did it made me think he did not have KK or AA, though I was concerned about QQ and JJ. I thought AQ and AK were most likely. When it got back to me I decided with my short stack I really had no choice but to play this hand and I moved all-in. In retrospect I could have flat-called and then moved in no matter what the flop was. It's possible that's a better play; I'm not sure right now. Anyways he reluctantly called with 88 and rivered a flush.

At night I played some $5-$10 NL. I saw nothing decent at all until I limped in second position with KTs after UTG limped. The flop was a dreamy AQJ and UTG bet $40. I made it $100. When it got back to him he made it $300. I thought for a bit and then moved all in. He reluctantly called $350 more with AQ and rivered a queen.

I was almost back up to even after winning a few pots before losing most of my stack with AK on a A457K board. My opponent slowplayed 44 masterfully and extracted maximum value.

The next night at the Palms I made two bad plays to get knocked out of their nightly $200 w/ $200 rebuy tourney. I then found a seat in a $2-$5 NL game. Eventually I got it all in on the turn with 89 against TT on a 789Q board for an $800 pot and the river was a queen. Not that bad a beat but just discouraging because I played the hand very well and very courageously.

The Bag got here Sunday night. He made a nice run in the Palms tourney (without having to rebuy) before losing a huge pot with QQc against JJ on a Jxx all club flop. He has also become a dangerous blackjack player capable of beating the game and has logged several hours already.

Yesterday morning we were awakened around 9 AM by a noise Sanders described as "a woodpecker on acid." It sounded like someone was jackhammering in the room right above us. It subsided, but then we were reawakened by security around 10 AM. There was some confusion over my payment for the room which I had to take care of. Shortly after the extremely loud noise returned and I called the front desk in disgust. There was some sort of construction happening 3 floors above us. After being told that this construction would continue throughout the week I demanded to be moved to a new room as well as compensation for a "ruined night of sleep." I was given a $50 voucher which we used on the fabulous buffet here. In addition housekeeping had robbed us of towels without replacement. "When it rains, it pours," Sanders said.

The Bag is now playing in the $2500 NL shorthanded event. I bought 50% of his action so obviously I am hoping for a bigtime result. At 1:00 I received two text messages from the Bag. The first said "my table is insane" and the second said "get down here right now." His starting table consisted of Alan Goehring, Raja Kattamuri (top 20 in Cardplayer of the Year right now), Howard Lederer, Sanders, Allen Cunningham, and "an Asian guy I've seen on WPT." The rail surrounding the table was pretty thick. So far the Bag has been holding his own, calling down a huge bluff by Goehring and bluffing Chad Layne (who replaced Cunningham) out of a nice pot. After he called Goehring's bluff Lederer looked at him and said "nice call sir."

I'm going back down there to check on him now.

The Adventure Begins

Goodbye to all my friends at home
Goodbye to people I’ve trusted
I’ve got to go out and make my way
I might get rich you know I might get busted
But my heart keeps calling me backwards
As I get on the 707
Riding high I got tears in my eyes
You know you got to go through hell
Before you get to heaven

- Steve Miller, "Jet Airliner"

43 Hours Till the Madness

Sanders aka Baggage Claim informed me this morning that Party Poker had opened up even higher stakes tables, including $10-20 blinds NLHE with a $2000 maximum buy-in. Of course I had to take a gander, and found myself at a table within seconds. I only played one table since I was doing some other stuff and really just wanted to take a look at a table. The tables were loaded with players I had never seen before who I assume to be proposition players. Most everybody was playing really tight. Two consecutive hands were folded all the way around to the BB. I won a decent pot early on when I flopped trip sevens and was up about $400 when this hand came up:

A new player posts a $20 blind behind me and someone limps in ahead. I decide to raise to around $170 with AQo in an attempt to win the dead money out there. The SB, who has over 5k and is someone I've never seen before, flat calls. To make this call I right away assume he has AK or a middle-high pair likely 99-QQ. The flop comes TT5 with two hearts and one diamond and he checks. I decide to take a stab hoping he'll lay down AK and bet around $240. He quickly calls. Now I think he probably has JJ or QQ and I'm trying to decide if I am going to continue this charade. The turn is the 4d. He bets out $500. Now I am almost certain he has 99, JJ, or QQ and is trying to protect his hand. I decide to go all in for about $1600 more since I've been representing a big pair this whole hand and there's so much $$ in the middle I can't help but want to steal it. He thinks for about 30 seconds and then calls. The river is a king and I shouted something obscene. Then it pushes GnightMoon the $5000 pot!!!! He had Ah2h!! I thought 2k NL might be too high for the maniacs but apparently not.

This 2k NL will probably be my bread and butter eventually, but I won't be playing online again anytime soon. It's time for the real thing. My preregistration and accompanying wire transfer went through today. I'm now signed up and paid for the following events:

Friday June 10 2k NLHE
Sunday June 12 2k PLHE
Tuesday June 14 5k NLHE
Friday June 17 1.5k NLHE Shootout
Wednesday June 22 1.5k NLHE
Friday June 24 2.5k NLHE
Saturday June 25 2.5k PLHE
Tuesday June 28 2k NLHE
Friday July 1 3k NLHE
Thursday July 7 No-limit Texas Hold'em World Championship Event

That's right I am all signed up for the Big One. Very exciting. Which is a good thing since they might run out of seats...6600 might not be enough.

I also plan on playing the 1.5k NLHE Friday and the 1.5k PLHE Saturday. The Felon aka Felonious Larsonious aka David Brian "DB" Larson was going to play the Friday event along with me but his bankroll didn't quite get where it needed to be in order for him to play. Still, he and Dave Majzler and a couple other guys are going to be out there to watch the madness and support me from the rail. They left this morning and they'll be staying with me at the Rio tomorrow through Saturday night.

The Bag (and the Wolf I believe) will arrive in a few days. I think I'm going to buy 50% of Bag's action and find an opening on the rail for the 2.5k Shorthanded NLHE on Tuesday.

The Tour finally convened for a frolf game at CU this afternoon. Brooks led almost the whole way and finally put it away with a birdie on the 18th. I played decent but lost my focus on a few key shots and that ultimately cost me the win. It's really a lot like poker - one or two mistakes and/or a bad break and you're out if the competition is decent. Hopefully my focus will be better on Friday than it was today.

WSOP Goals

"OK, let's see if I've got this straight: A player who has never been to a WSOP festival before, coming for the entire six-plus weeks?
"Yeah, I've got some advice – you're crazy. Maybe a couple of weeks at the beginning, or a couple at the end. Maybe. I've been to the WSOP about 10 times, and I'm not sure that I'm going to be able to cope."
- Joe Beevers, Hendon Mob

"If you've never been before, then going for the whole thing is probably a mistake. You need to get used to this, otherwise you may be easily overwhelmed and burn yourself out trying to do too much, and end up costing yourself money. Even for many pros, for whom the WSOP is the make-it-or-break-it time of year, there's too much pressure. They either hit it big, or they lose a bundle. And there are always more losers than winners in poker."
- Greg Raymer

I got these quotes from espn.com's "Jackpot Jay" Lovinger, who writes a crappy column on Page 2. Reading them reminded me how intense this whole experience is going to be, and that I can't set unreasonable expectations for my first World Series. I've been thinking a lot about my goals for the Series.

One goal I have is to make a final table. Making a final table would really legitimize my name in the poker world and open a lot of doors (potential staking and sponsorship opportunities) for the future. Obviously if I make a televised final table these doors would open even wider (and then I could give a concrete answer to the question I get the most - "so when are you going to be on tv?")

I really don't have financial goals for this WSOP. If I lose 40k, so be it. I'm confident I can rebuild.

Instead my goal is to conduct myself as a professional. This means behaving profesionally at the table, and preparing myself to play my best when I'm not at the table. Analyzing each and every hand I play and trying to determine if I could have played it better is also a big part of this.

It's also a goal of mine to end the Series as a better player than I am today. I feel like my strategy is excellent but I am concerned about the "physical" aspects of the game, especially giving off tells. I'm also not great at picking up on the tells of other players and aim to improve on both of these aspects. I feel that if I can improve on the physical parts of the game I will be unstoppable.

My number one goal though is to have the best time of my life. I've been looking forward to playing at the World Series for years, and believe this is what I was born to do. Two days to go.