The Spew

   Unfortunately, I couldn't get a room at Binions for the weekend, so I had to stay at the Mirage. In order to get the poker rate, I had to log enough hours there. I am a notoriously poor ring game player. I just can't take ring games seriously. I refuse to play at a limit where the money matters, because I want to have fun, and not worry. Last year, my company was acquired for a large cash amount, plus stock. I went to the Bellagio a few weeks later to play, and after checking out all the games, I ended up playing $1-$5 stud! I was doing well, and up about $100, when I started to spew. A player to my left says that I could be a good player if I just played tighter! Heh. I was probably worth more than the whole table combined, and I was just there to have fun and be social. I don't TRY to lose, but I also don't make winning my first priority either. Anyhow, I arrive at the Mirage and proceed to win a bit at $5-$10 stud. I say to someone there that this bodes poorly for me. I have placed in at least one tourney every time I have been to Vegas except one, and that was the only time in years (if ever) that I actually made money in the ring games. Anyhow, I then proceed to spew a few hundred and ease my mind.

Day 2 - Sunday, April 30

The Setup

   Today's specialty is the $2,500 no limit holdem. I had entered two events at last year's WSOP and made it just past the first break. This was, as foreshadowed above, my only profitable ring game trip in years. The year before I had been very nervous and not played particularly well. However, I did manage to accomplish one goal, which was to put someone on tilt. In fact, it was Annie Duke and Melissa Hayden. Anyhow, they had been talking for a while and I had been sitting there quietly (which shows how nervous I was... I hardly EVER shut up). Well, at some point she mentions to her friend that she had made or had wanted to make a last longer bet with Huck Seed. So I chime in "women ALWAYS last longer than men!" Well, she and Melissa turn to me, in dead silence, and stare in disbelief or confusion or whatever for a good 20 seconds before resuming their conversation as if nothing had happened.
  Anyhow, this year, I did WORSE. I busted before the first break and didn't succeed in tilting anyone, except myself. I don't think I played terribly, but I wasn't too happy either.

The Super Satellite

   I proceed to head downstairs and enter a super satellite. 5 hours later, I had my seat for the big event! The first day of main event of the WSOP happened to fall on my birthday this year, and my wife wanted me home for my birthday. Also, I had been signed up for Skip Barber Driving School on May 8 as a birthday present from my wife so I was only planning on staying through Friday, May 5. However, she said if I WON a seat, I could come back for the main event. So, after the super, I called her and let her know that I had good news and bad news...

   Now, as I have told many people, and as is somewhat alluded to above, I don't consider myself a great player at ring games. I don't think I am very good at any individual game of poker. But I have had very good tournament results. I have placed in the money in about half of the tournaments I have played in, and have placed in stud, limit and no limit holdem, and omaha tourneys. Now, the reason is, I consider myself to be a very good tournament player. The smaller the tournament or the faster the blinds escalate, the more dominant tournament skill becomes over general poker skills. Anyhow, this tournament illustrated the reason why some people, even successful ring players, just can't do well in tournaments. I saw some awful plays, and I also made one play, which I thought was my best play of the super (although it turned out to have no affect on my results) which several people thought was a BAD play. Even after I tried to explain why it was correct, they only conceded "oh, I guess it wasn't THAT bad."
   Anyhow, here's one bad play: We get to the final table. This super pays 3 seats, and three additional cash places, so all but 4 people get some profit out of the table, and there were several short stacks. I had about $8K which was either chip lead, or close to it. I look down first hand and I have A-K. Blinds are $100-$200 and I am second to act, I think. I make it $600 to go, which I figure is a good bet. I don't want to risk a lot, since I have a great shot at a seat if I just maintain my stack, but I want to chip away at the blinds. A small raise or call could invite a raise behind, but a bigger bet leaves me vulnerable. Anyhow, the guy 2 or 3 to my left has about $7K. Now, at this point, I think it's a MAJOR mistake for him to try to tangle with a bigger stack. He's also in great position to get a seat, and he should wait for the small stacks to drop. Anyhow, he goes over the top for a large reraise. It's folded to me and I, of course, muck. I figure he must have a pocket pair and there's no point in me mixing with a large stack at this point. As I fold, he shows me A-Q. I think this move was awful by him.
   We get down to 4 players and one player has almost all the chips. He has about 90+%, and he's still playing very aggressively, stealing and betting, trying to get all the chips. Not sure if this is wise or not. I suppose he just wanted it all over, but he could have waited to win his seat and sat pat and not risked anything. Anyhow, we get to the following situation: Blinds and $400/$800. I am the small blind, and have $800 total, so I am in for half my stack. Under the gun has $400 total (he's also the same guy who made the move with the A-Q). He calls all in. Big blind has about $1300 total. Super stack folds. Now, my initial reaction is that with someone all in, I should fold and let him bust. However, on second thought, in this situation, I had to ask the one all important question of the tourney director: If we both bust, who gets the seat? Well, the person who had more chips before the hand does. That was me. So, if I fold, I lose half my chips. If I call and small stack doesn't win the hand, I get a seat. And even if he DOES win the hand, if I finish second I still get $800 back on the side pot. So the only way I bust out is if I finish 3rd and small stack wins the hand. Anything else I either win the seat then and there, or I get back $800, instead of folding and having $400. Not only that, in the scenario where small stack wins and I finish second, the small stack gets NO extra money from me. He still ends up with only $1200, which is just enough to play the blinds (and he has the BB next). Whereas if I fold and he wins the pot, he still has $1200 but I have only $400 which means next time I am all in, it's for less than one BB. Now, if I were the button and he was all in on one of the blinds, let's say, and I have no money in, it's a tougher call. Here, if I fold I have $800 and if he wins and I finish second, I still have $800, but he gets an extra $400 out of the pot. Still with the hand I had, I'd probably have called from the button. I looked down and saw Ks-Js. I thought given the above, this is a no-brainer call!
   This is the move that I thought was a great move by me, and that afterwards people were criticizing. Well, here comes the REAL kicker: After I call, big blind MUCKS HIS HAND! He mucked to NO BET, since I was all in calling his big blind! At first, I didn't know if I should object or not. I may want an extra chance to win the seat. But instead, now I have a complete freeroll, with my $800 back and a chance to win. Well, as it turns out, small stack has Kc-Qc. Flops comes a Q but also 2 spades and a 10, giving me straight draw and flush draw. Turn comes J. River comes A. Now we both have broadway. Small stack is ready to chop when some points out that there is a flush! At first, I thought it had to be me, since I flopped the flush draw. But it turns out it came running clubs. In fact, after pointing out it was a flush, someone points out he had a ROYAL FLUSH! Oh well. I guess the third player didn't matter. Or did he? If he had 2 small clubs, I'd have been out. This was an outrageously bad laydown. In fact, he ended up being the one player who didn't get a seat!

   As it turns out, my plan for the week was as follows: NL on Sunday, Stud on Monday, take off Tuesday and play satellites because I don't want to play pot limit, play limit on Wednesday, and play hi lo stud on Thursday, then head home. However, now I'd now already won a satellite.

PhoneGyver

   I head upstairs all excited and decide to login and send some email to the Tiltboys. Well, the phone at Binions sucks. There is no data port and the phone jack tabs are broken off on both ends (the wall and phone). And apparently, someone has tried to unplug it before, because the jack part of the phone is pretty much messed and and broken and jiggling around. So, I manage to get the phone line out and use the computer, but in doing so, I finish off breaking the jack so that now it is completely broken (the plastic part it plugs into has broken in two). I try to put the phone back together, but to no avail. I consider going to the front desk and tell them my phone is broken, but how do I explain that I had already made a local call on it? So I look around the room and consider what I have at my disposal to fix the phone. I have no tape or a screwdriver or any glue. I consider maybe some string, but then PhoneGyver takes over. Using a dime, I remove the screws from the bottom of the phone and completely disassemble it. Then I take two of the complimentary Binions envelopes and remove the gum strips. I lick them and use them to tape the plastic jack housing back together. Another few turns of my dime to reassemble the phone and it's as good as new!

Day 3 - Monday, May 1

Seven Stud

   I wake up Monday morning, still in the afterglow of my super satellite victory, and ready to play in the $2,500 stud tourney. Personally, I prefer stud to any other game. I don't know if I am any better at it that any other game, but there are more things to watch and keep track of and so it keeps me from getting bored and then playing too losely. As I have some time to kill before the tourney starts I sit down and play some $1-$5 stud. There was one guy there that I had seen before and who had struck up a conversation with. We play for a while but nothing exciting. After a while, he leaves for another game and shortly thereafter, I'm done killing time and head upstairs to play in the tourney.
   Early on, I get mixed up in a few hands, playing a bit loose and feeling out the table. I play a few drawing hands and build an image as a loose player. So loose in fact, that one hand I catch a 9 (I think) on 5th street and another on 6th. As I get ready to show down at the end of the hand, another player, not in the pot, says "he's got trip 9's." Sure enough, he was correct. I had caught runner runner on 5th and 6th.
   I steadily increase my stack, but I tighten up as well, trying to leverage the earlier loose image. Meanwhile, I see one player at the next table over who easily has managed to quadruple or quintuple his stack very early. However, he managed to blow through his stack, which was probably already big enough to just coast to at least a seat in the money. He didn't even make it to the money (two tables).
   We shuffle around the tables and we get some new faces. One hand, I end up with a very marginal hand but I try to run a bluff on the new guy. He calls me down and takes the pot. Afterwards, Andy Bloch comes over and says "you tried to make a move on Men 'the Master'?" I had heard of Men, but didn't know who he was. Now, I pride myself on tilting famous people (such as Gabe Kaplan and Tori Spelling). So, now I have someone to play with.
   We chat back and forth, and as we get more comfy, I cruise into teasing about his name and making bad jokes, and telling him that I was "the Master Baiter." I even accidentally got him warned for cursing! He had been swearing like a sailor the whole time, and so at one point I turn to him and, in a serious/uptight voice I say "Sir, could you please watch your language?" Well, it turned out the floorman was right behind me and overheard my comment. So he turns to Men and warns him for foul language and tells him if he curses again he will have to sit out for 20 minutes. I tell the floor and Men that I was just joking, but the warning stood. I apologized to Men and told him if he had to stand up, I would stand with him. Anyhow, the warning didn't stop him from cursing and even though the floor overheard him, no action was ever taken.
   At this point, we were down to three tables, and I had a very healthy stack, looking to easily make it into the money, he and I got into a hand. I don't remember what I had, but I was sure I had him beat. After making a bet, he stalls for several minutes, looking around at the other tables, and saying how it would be bad to make it this far and not make it into the money. He eventually folded, but he also didn't make it into the money.
   We get down to two tables (we're now all in the money) and I am still playing very tight and just trying cruise on to the final table without taking a lot of risks. Just work my way up the ladder. We get down to 9 players and there are two short stacks, one at my table and one much shorter stack at the other table. The guy at my table commented that he'd rather but out 9th than make the final table short-stacked. I told him that if he makes the final table, his name gets on the wall (not to mention the extra money). After my comment about the wall, he says something like "Oh" and starts thinking about his position. He asks the dealer about the antes and comments that he could probably last another hour without playing a hand. Five minutes later, he was out of the tournament. Hell, if I had mentioned he also gets a jacket, he might have screwed it down and waited it out! And how he busted shows another major tourney blunder. He bets his hand all the way, picking up hearts for all of his upcards. After betting sixth street, with 4 hearts showing, his opponent, who has barely more chips than him, makes a crying call with one pair of 5's showing. The river comes and he immediately makes an all-in bet, for less than a full bet. She calls, and says that he can't even beat the fives! And with that, I make the final table! Now, this had to be a terrible mistake. After having called on 6th street, it would have been a MAJOR mistake for the woman (Kim Nguyen) to fold on the end. There was so much in the pot and if she folds, she basically crippled and out. If the 4th suited card up didn't scare her, what changed on the river? OK, maybe she had two pair or trips and thought she had a shot to fill, but she still can't fold. Not for a such a small bet on the end and with such a big pot, and where it would leave her. So, that had to be an awful play to try to bluff her at that point. Not to mention, that if he had been observing her throughout the tourney, she was not going to fold here. No way.

   We break for the night and I strike up a conversation with Andy and also get to know Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, who also made the final table. Chris is a very nice guy. I am very happy for him and all the great results he had at the WSOP in 2000. Anyhow, I am speaking to one other guy who is briefing Chris on the players and he asks me about one of the other players at my table. He said he had played with most of the other people but didn't know that one player. I said to him "You've never played with ME before, have you!" He says, "No. But I'm starting to figure you out!" I said "That's because I have never played higher than $5-$10. Oh wait, Bay 101 used to have a $6-$12 stud game!" Heh. He knew all these guys from $20-$40 or whatever. And here, a lo-limit stud player, who still plays $1-$5, makes the final table.

   I head downstairs to go to bed (OK, I admit it, it took me a week or so to figure out that you could up to the rooms from the second floor) and as I pass the poker room, the guy I knew from the $1-$5 stud game comes over to me and asks "What did you have that hand?" I was completely perplexed. I'd been playing all day in the tourney, for more 12 hours, and I was completely mentally exhausted. So I ask "What hand?", thinking there must have been some crucial hand in the tourney that I don't remember. He says "You know which hand. The one with me before I left." Heh. I've just made the final table at the WSOP, and he's asking me about some $1-$5 stud hand from that morning!

   Before heading to the the WSOP, I had made a bet with Rafe (another one of the Tiltboys) that I would make it into the money in at least one event at the WSOP. During one of the breaks, I had called him to give him the good/bad news. I also had called my wife, when I was already in the money, but before the final table. It was getting late and she was getting ready to go to sleep. So I told her that I would call her when I busted out, unless I made the final table. She woke up the next morning happy to have not gotten a call!

Day 4 - Tuesday, May 2

The Final Table

   I tried to get a good night's sleep, but starting from early in the morning, Tiltboys kept calling me to see how I was doing. I laid in bed, resting but I couldn't get much additionally sleep.

   It worked out quite well that I had made the final table today, of all days, since I wasn't planning on playing in today's regular tournament anyhow (which would have conflicted with the final table). AND, since I had already won a seat for the big dance, I didn't need to play in any more supers, which was my original plan for the day.

   On the forms you fill out for the final table, they ask for various things, like nickname, occupation, etc. Well, I had thought about putting "Tiltboy" as a nickname, but that's not any one person's nickname. I decided to do the much more appropriate thing and put "Tiltboy" as my occupation! As for nickname, well, I told the tournament director I didn't have one, so he put in "Lasts Longer." He turned out ot be pretty prescient. We had filled these out the night before, but when I arrived that afternoon, I asked if I could change my nickname. They asked "to what?" and I said, I'd have to write it down for them. I put down "the Master Baiter." They declined. However, since then, I have decided to shorten my nickname, and I am now offically calling myself Perry "The Baiter" Friedman (IRC nick TheBaiter). I figure, they'll be able to announce THAT, and the pun will be just as obvious to anyone who would have gotten the original pun anyhow.

   The night before I had grabbed a sheet with everyone's chip positions. This is where it stood:
Fred "Fast Freddie" Brown: 85,700
Chris "Jesus" Ferguson: 69,100
Kevin Song: 60,400
Al DeCarlo: 60,100
Perry Friedman: 48,600
Kim Nguyen: 25,200
Perretti Pierre: 24,700
Larry "Lucky Larry" Kantor: 24,700

   So, I was sort of in no man's land. I was well above the 3 short stacks, but I was a little over 10K from the "pack". I also noted that if I could take one pot from the top stack, it would be basically a four way race of more ore less equal stacks. Sure enough, the first hand of the the final table, he and I mix it up and I take down a pot. It's now anyone's (well, any of the four of us) game. Incidentally, it was a bit of a beat I put on him, as I caught an open pair that apparently beat his starting pair, and he folded, muttering something indicating how I had caught him. Indeed, "Fast Freddie" lived up to his name, going from top stack to start, to busting out 6th place. And even short-stack Kim Nguyen managed to place ahead of him. I'll leave out the details of much of the final table, as they are available from other sources in more detail than I am willing to go over. Check out my WSOP 2000 page for pictures and links to the stories. I will go into a few things, from my perspective.
   Kevin Song happens to be involved in the bulk of these stories. The first involves myself and Kevin. I called him down with just a pair of fives and took the pot. He was amazed that I could call him down. But really, given my stack at the time and the size of the pot, I had to call on the end, whether I thought I was beat or not. I didn't really think fives would win it, but I had to call at that point. Clearly, I hadn't stayed in all the time just with the fives, I had a draw of some sort, which I can't remember, and he had nothing too threatening showing. But when he bet on the end, the call was pretty easy, given the tournament situation and that my stack would be pretty short if I folded, but would be back in pretty good shape if I won that pot. In a ring game, it would have been a tougher call, although I may have had pot odds to call even there. But given the tournament situation, the decision was much easier. Now, what I should have done after the hand was stand up and show him my shirt, which happened to be my "Roshambo World Championship" shirt, and has in big letters

The Celebration

   So, Chris, his friend Ray, and Andy and I head out to celebrate Chris' victory. We decide to go to Mandalay Bay and eat at some Chinese restaurant there. Now, I am a VERY picky eater. I only eat very bland American food. But, as this was Chris' celebration, I decided I would not say anything and let him do whatever he wanted. By the time we got to Mandalay Bay, however, the restaurant was closed. Actually, BOTH of their Chinese restaurants were closed. "What a suckout", I think to myself. We wander past the Rock Lobster, which I could have eaten at, but they are closed too. Bad beat. Looks like everything is closed, so I suggest the cafe their, which I know is always open and I know I can find something to eat there. We start walking their, but as we do, we come past a sushi bar and people are still eating there. Someone suggests we try it. Bad beat. I still don't say anything, not wanting to break up the fun. Well, it turns out that they had just closed! Chaching! Another suckout. We end up at the cafe, and I get some food after all.

Day 5 - Wednesday, May 3

   Today it's limit holdem, and I've got quite the table. Phil Ivey is to my left and around the bend is Scotty "it all over" Nguyen. Scotty is another very nice guy. And boy did he have to be. We were the first table to break, and there were six pocket aces made at the table. And Scotty was the only one to lose with them. Twice! Every other time it held up, but the two times he got them, he was cracked. He made a comment how he would have already been out had this been a no-limit tourney. But he took it like the gentleman he is (in fact, that's his nickname, Gentleman Scotty or something like that :-)). Later, he brought back a bag of little cookies in the form of playing cards. He gladly shared them with me. Later, I jokingly asked the dealer to call the floor because he (Scotty) had "cards" at the table. Anyhow, I survived the table, but make an early exit in this tournament was well.

Day 6 - Thursday, May 4

   Not much to tell about this. I survived a decent length of time, but the problem with hi-lo stud is that they play it with the same ante/bet structure as regular stud for the same buyin, but it's a much bigger game. You don't get multi-way, raised up pots in regular stud, like you do in hi-lo stud. The variance is much higher, and once you get a high hand cracked, or a good low beat, you're in trouble.

   This ends my first stay in Vegas. But I would be coming back the next week, since I had already won a seat in the big dance. I went home and planned to return for the $5K stud event and play some satellites and hang out ahead of the main event.
   I returned to Vegas to play in the $5,000 stud event, play some satellites, and then play the main event.

Satellites

   One night there was a single table stud satellite, and I had Andy Bloch buy me in. I told him if he bought me in 100%, I would take 10% of the winnings. I just wanted to play, but I didn't want to use my own money. So a freeroll was pretty cool. I was pretty friendly with some of the players who were in and Men "the Master" Nguyen, who I had met during the $2,500 stud event, was also playing. Myself and the other player had a blast making every bad joke about Men that you could imagine. I told him I had been to his place. Or that I thought I had. Because there was a sign out front that said "Men's Room." Another player commented that he (men)was "playing with boys" (of course, WE were playing with Men). The funniest line, which almost caused me to spit my water all over the table, was when someone said "Men is from Mars."
   Well, I got down to almost no chips left, but then I made a huge recovery. The satellite only paid one spot, and I ended up heads up with Men. He had a chip lead, and I tried to cut a deal. It was later and I was getting tired and I was going to play the next day. And besides, besides, I was on a freeroll, so any money was better than none. Men did not want to bargain. I offered him $4,000 to my $1,000. This was an insanely good deal for him. Our chips were not that uneven, although he had a decent lead. After I won another pot, he called his backer and we struck the deal. Now, when I came back to Andy with his money, he was happy at first until I told him about the deal. Well, he made money for nothing, and besides, if I was dumb enough to make such a bad deal, imagine how badly I would have played if I kept playing! But, in hindsight, I think this was a bad idea. At the very least, since I was on a freeroll, it was worth the money (I only got like $40 since I only got 10% of the PROFIT), just for the experience of playing heads up with Men. I had made a nice comeback, and I was not afraid of him, since I had gotten the best of him earlier in the $2,500 event.

   Another satellite I played in was a one table no limit satellite with, among others, John Bonetti. We got down to three players and one player, a female, wanted to cut a deal. We were all about even, but John had a small lead, so I said we'd have to give him something extra to make it fair. But he did not want to deal. We played around some more and ended up about where we started, and she asked for a deal again. When John refused the deal this time, she jammed the next hand. I held a small pair, and I figured she was just on tilt, so I called. I ended up winning the hand and crippling her. At this point, she was very short-stacked and on tilt. She was to my right and John's left. And the next two times she had the big blind, John put her all in with a raise from the small blind and both times, as soon as she called, he said "nice call" and she won both pots. I had no idea what John was thinking. She was very short stacked on tilt and he tried to bluff her out with pure crap twice and was shocked when she called. There was no way she was going to fold, especially the first time when she was really short. This was just sheer madness, I thought. He doubled her up twice and eventually John busted out third. I had exactly twice her stack at that point and we ended up cutting a deal, although she kept trying to finagle a better deal. In fact, when I knew I had exactly twice her stack, because I knew how many chips were in play, but she insisted we count down both stacks.

Phil Satellite Stories

   When I got back for my second stay, Phil Gordon, a fellow Tiltboy had arrived for some action. He had some very interesting satellite experiences that I witnessed. The first was a classic! Phil won a pot in an Omaha Hi-Lo game and busted from the satellite! Phil had gotten into a side pot that had three chips in it, and Phil ended up chopping the low with another player. Well, the other player was closer to the button, so he got 2 chips for high, and then 1 for low. Needless to say, Phil was quite unhappy! Phil calls for the floorman, but clearly this was the right decision. Now, those of you who know Phil, you know he is quite susceptible to going on tilt. And tilt he did.

   Phil enters another Omaha tournament and this time he is running over the table. He has a huge stack and ends up getting in a hand with none other than TJ Cloutier. Well, Phil has the nut full-house on the flop and TJ calls. They turn over the hand, and it turns out TJ's only out was runner quads. And what happens? Runner runner quads! Phil goes ballistic! Now, Phil still was second stack, and had plenty of chips, so I call him aside and try to calm him down. I knew that if I didn't, Phil would spew through the rest of his chips in no time flat. I told Phil he still had second stack and was only one or two hands from winning the thing and to calm down. Well, Phil was still steaming a bit, but he did calm down and ended up winning the satellite. Even though I take great pleasure in tilting Phil (as the next story, and innumerable untold stories could show), this was one occasion where I decided to help get Phil OFF tilt and it ended up quite profitable for him.

   Another Phil satellite story involves him, I, and Andy Bloch. We all decided to enter a lowball satellite and make a last longer bet. Well, I had played lowball once before in my life, but I decided to give it a try. I did OK, but I was the first of the three of us out. Phil ended up making it all the way to third out of ten players, but Andy finished second! Needless to say, Phil was once again on tilt. And this time, I couldn't resist but to add insult to injury. I need to interject here that Phil is EXTREMELY competitive. And he also has been playing tournaments for a while, in his semi-retirement. He was really tilted that I had gotten a WSOP jacket before he did. He actually made it into the money in a couple of WSOP events, but I ended up with a jacket on only my second event in WSOP 2000, and only my 4th WSOP event ever. So, I walk up to Phil, who is still smarting from finishing third and not even winning his last longer bet and say "Hey, now we BOTH have finished third in an event at the World Series!"

   I also played some Omaha satellites. I played in one, and ended up busting Phil from it! He was on MEGA tilt and started yelling at me for playing such a hand, and so on. He later came back and apologized but also pointed out some other player at the table and told me he was really good and if I could cut any sort of deal with him, I should! Well, sure enough, I end up getting heads up with that very same player. I had the chip lead and talks of a deal came up. Given what Phil had said, I felt good about myself. He offered me more than half the money and then Phil comes over and says "don't take it!!" The man who said take any deal was now telling me not to. Of course, I ended up taking the deal. Just imagine how tilted I would have been if I hadn't and I busted and got nothing, all because of Phil!

Super Satellite Silliness

   Well, I could tell my share of bad beat stories, but why bother. The only bad beat that would have been worth mentioning would be if I had won the $10K main event. And the bad beat would have been for the dealers. Because I would have stiffed them. All because of one douchebag super satellite dealer. I was in a super, and we just had gone to break when my cellphone rings. It was my parents calling. I answer the phone and the dealer tells me that I need to get up from the table if I am going to talk on the phone! I told him we were on break! There was NO ACTION going on. But he rudely insisted I had to stand up. I was quite pissed! Not only was this just STUPID - we were on BREAK - but the dealer was also rude. I vowed if I wont he main event, I would refuse to tip and I would let everyone know it was this dealer's fault!

7-Stud, Part Deux

   The $5,000 stud event was pretty uneventful. I was actually doing very well, until one hand that was a make/break hand for the tourney. I started aces and finished aces, and lost to Larry Flynt, who was holding 2's and 4's in a three way pot. Was betting this hand from the beginning and got two callers to the end. I have no idea what the third player could have been holding. One of my aces was showing, so it was pretty clear what I was representing (which was, in fact, what I had). After that hand, I was back to even for the tournament, but I dwindled from there. Had I won that pot, I'd have had more than double my buyin.

   I did resist poking fun of Larry. I told Phil "Tiltboy" Gordon that I was going to tell Larry my nickname was "the Peeper" and that it was "the Peeper" vs. Larry Flynt. But it's hard to needle a man in a wheelchair, especially when he has his own bodyguards!

   Larry managed to parlay that hand into making the final table. He got there with a short stack, but he did make it. Someone commented that he "limped" into the final table. I think he actually "rolled" into the final table, but he just did so short-stacked.

Main event

   The main event started on May 15, my birthday. I had said beforehand that my goal was to at least make it through my birthday. I was pretty nervous entering the main event, and before it started Phil Gordon came over and said to just play conservatively and wait for a pocket pair and hope to flop a set. I took his advice, and played way too tight. I mean, I've played no limit tournaments before, but for some reason, my brain just didn't work well and I was just too nervous. I played way too tight and conservative. Of course, I also had a rather tough table. Lyle Berman and Berry Johnsonwere at my table from the start. Lyle played pretty well, until dinner, and then spewed away his chips. Someone commented that he must have had some win with dinner becuase he never plays like that. Interestingly, the only time I flopped a set with a pocket pair was against Lyle, and even though I flopped top set, I had to fold before the river. The board flopped all hearts and so I had to be careful, and by the end, another heart had come and a straight flush was possible. I mucked and Lyle did in fact have the straight flush. I also had Chris Tsiprailidis as my table. He had just $3000 limit Holdem event early in the WSOP. And then, a few hours in, Amarillo Slim came over to my table, with Gerlado Rivera and a camera crew in tow. Slim made some funny plays and stole a lot. In retrospect, considering I was playing badly anyhow, I should have made a move on him one of those times. Of course, by the time I noticed he was stealing around back EVERY time, it was too late to do anything about it because our table broke. Just once I would have liked to have made a move, while the camera crew was there. Either I could win the pot and show down a bluff and try to tilt Slim and get on TV, or I just lose to a "pro" and it's no big deal.
   Anyhow, after it became clear that the first "day" would actually last past midnight, I told Phil and a few other people that with my luck, I'd make it past midnight but not through the first "day." Sure enough, as my stack dwindled and midnight approached, I was waiting and praying I could make it to the break right around midnight. I survived, but when we resumed I was in desperate shape. Eventually, I moved all in against Mike Sexton with presto (pocket fives) and lost to his Ax (I think AQ).
   All in all, I think I played poorly. I guess it was just the nerves of playing in "the Big Dance" that got to me. It was much like the first tournaments I ever played in at the WSOP, in 1999. Even though I'd now played in a few more, and done well, I was still nervous for this one. Hopefully, I've got that out of my system now.

Mirage No limit

   I decide to enter a no-limit tourney at the Mirage, to try and get off tilt from the events of the day before. It was $60 buyin with unlimited rebuys for the first few rounds. My table was playing very loose, with players making liberal rebuys. I decided to encourage this and figured I would be willing to take multiple rebuys. Heck, at $40 a pop, it's cheap compared to what I lost at the WSOP :-) And I wanted to encourage everyone else to play loose too. I wanted lots of chips available at my table so I could win a lot of things worked out. My strategy was pretty much fold or jam. Push my big hands hard, knowing everyone was playing loose and if I hit, I'd get paid off big time. I ended up doing about 7 or 8 rebuys, before finally flopping a set with one of my pocket pairs. After that big pot, I tightened up. I eventually flopped another set with a pocket pair and got paid off again, and I left that table with a huge stack.
   When we got down to two tables, they did not start off playing hand for hand. They waited until it was one player away from the final table, even though we were in the money now. At one point, someone at the other table took several minutes to play his hand. My table kept looking over to their table, but we kept on playing. Finally, we called the floor over to ask him to put a clock on the other player, which he did. After they finished the hand, the stalling player, who won the pot, said to his tablemates he had been stalling for their own good. This ticked me off. It was one thing for him to stall, but to out and out admit he was doing it on purpose ticked me off. The next hand, their was an all-in from an early position player. When the action got to me, I sat there and thought, and thought, and stalled, and stalled... but as I was doing this, I mouthed to the all-in player that I was folding. I wanted to stall, but I didn't want the all-in player to sweat over it. After a long stall, I finally folded the hand, as did the rest of the table. This is the silliness of not going hand for hand when there are two tables and you are already in the money, working up the prize list (or if you are one out of the money). I ended up making the final table, and finishing 7th, making enough money to more than cover buyin and my rebuys :-)

My First Royal

   Still on tilt about how I played in the main event, I decide to enter a tourney at the Orleans as well. I have done well at the Orleans, having made the final table in every tourney (about 4 so far) I had played in so far, although I have never won one. This is a limit holdem tournament, with rebuys and bounties ($5 for knocking someone out). I am dealt QsJs in the big blind and the flop comes KT9, with the Ks. I end up going 4 bets with another guy and a third player calls all the way. So far, so good. Then the turn comes. It's a Ts, pairing the board. BUT, now I have picked up an open-ended straight flush redraw, if someone happened to have filled up. I suspect the person who was reraising me did NOT have QJ, but if they did, I am freerolling now with a big draw. If they flopped trips or two pair, I still have outs, although they are slim. I bet, he raises all in, caller calls, I reraise to build a side pot. River comes the beautiful ace of spades! I bet and the third player finally folds. What could they have been holding? Before the all-in player shows his hand, I stand up and announce "FULL HOUSE NO GOOD!" and show my royal! He goes on tilt and rebuys, showing his K-T. Of course, he really shouldn't be on tilt, since he was nuts to cap it up on the flop with two pair with a possible straight out. And who knows what the third player was thinking or playing. If anyone should have been on tilt it was me, since it was only the first limit of betting, so even after winning that pot, I barely had more than someone who had just taken a rebuy to add to their initial buyin. If I had that hand later in the tourney, I'd have been set. Not to mention that since he could rebuy, I didn't even get a $5 bustout bonus. Luckily, I did manage make another final table, but was the first one out from the final table after my pocket twos ended up as nut low when the board two paired :-)