So I check my calendar late in the day and realize that I’m supposed to be at a concert/fundraiser at the Japanese consulate here in LA in a little over an hour. I contemplate blowing it off, but I know the host is expecting me so I resign myself to the gig. As it turns out, I didn’t have a suit on so I needed to jam home from my office, change and make it back across town, in traffic, by 6:30 or so.

Anyway, I make my way home, pull on a suit and head back out. Now my car came off lease a couple of weeks ago but I haven’t had a chance to find a new rig, so I’ve been rolling around in some rental car that Enterprise dropped off. Anyway, I’m moving along the 10 freeway and I flip down the visor to check my tie. Bam! A gigantic spider drops into my lap and scampers down my leg to the floor. Holy crap!

Ok, this was not some Little Miss Moffet spider…not some daddy long legs “I can run across the surface of water” whisper of a spider…no, in fact, this monster was just slightly smaller than a tarantula I once saw while hiking in Big Sur. Big brown body, furry legs…straight out of Raiders of the Lost Ark. I have no idea where he came from or how the damn visor even stayed in place with this beast on top of it, but in any event, he was now milling around the floorboards.

I grew up in Maine and am not a city boy—I’ve had plenty of critters in between me and where I’m headed—but when you go to check your look and a spider the size of a small dog drops in your lap in a dark car at 60 mph, it’s unsettling. It’s like having the Starbucks girl tell you your coffee is ready and tossing a live snake at you instead of your nonfat latte. WTF!

I’m in traffic in the fast lane, so I turn on the interior lights, work my way over to the shoulder, pull over and jump out. I look back in and hunt the beast down. Ok, there he is staring at me from the console like Kong on the Empire State Building. Whatever, dude, I’m tight for time—I sweep the shaggy bastard out of my car with the rental agreement, collect my wits and head on to the consulate.

Later at the consulate, I’m sitting at a table with one of the artists for the evening, the head of a local bank, a newspaper rep and, as it turns out, some hitter from Lexus of Southern California. After a couple of speeches, a brief series of performances by three young pianists (all cute Asian girls, btw) and some pretty amazing sushi (it was the Japanese consulate after all), I recount my rental car/spider story to my tablemates. The Lexus guy was like “Uh, call me tomorrow and we’ll hook you up.” Ok, you know what, maybe I will. Did I mention my wife’s car is off-lease in two months’ as well?

It’s all about table draw and seat selection, boys!

Cliff notes: Edmond goes to Fresno for the big tournament. Busts out on 1st hand of Day 2. Donates buy-ins in the NL games. Vows to return.

Getting there

Last weekend, I packed up the voice recorder and headed north to play the 3rd Annual Ace of Diamonds tournament at the Club One Casino in Fresno, CA. The Ace of Diamonds is an annual event with a $400 (+$50 fee) buy-in that’s pretty much the biggest tournament in Central California.

The tournament had a Saturday noon start time and I had some business in Fresno on Friday, so I drove up the day before and spent the night at a local hotel. Saturday morning I got up, worked out, grabbed a bite to eat and headed over to the casino. I have to say it was a refreshing change from Southern California where you have to plan each tournament day with an eye to avoiding traffic. In, Fresno, you can pretty much get on the freeway 15 minutes before the start time and go. Ten minutes later, you’re holding a seat assignment. Nice.

Club One is a 49-table card club casino located in downtown Fresno at the corner of Van Ness and Tulare, directly across from the Fresno County courthouse. The card-room, the largest in Central California, is accessible from both the 99 freeway and the 41 freeways, two major Central California thoroughfares. You can find your way to Club One via Google or MapQuest, of course, but absent those aids you can pretty much use the following directions from anywhere:

When you see the tall buildings—that’s Fresno—take the closest exit. Head toward the buiildings. When you see one with neon signs that say Club One Casino, stop. You'll be at the arrow in the satellite image below...





As I drove into town, it looked to me that downtown Fresno seems to be in the early stages of urban revitalization. There are new bank and government buildings interspersed with older buildings that sit gutted and dormant. The Fresno Grizzlies (AAA) play in a beautiful ballpark right in downtown and the Convention Center (host to Fresno State men’s basketball, the Fresno Falcons and cultural mainstays like Riverdance and WWF Fully Loaded) is nearby. It’s obvious that the city is re-investing in its roots, but the neighborhood is still, as they say, “in transition.” On every block you still see vestiges of urban decline—old theaters converted into churches, thrift shops, pawnshops and bail bonds vendors. Whatever…I’m a poker player. If you asked me, there’s something to be said for having sports, liquidity, adjudication and salvation all within a couple of blocks of the card room.


The Cashino

The casino itself is located in a former bank building attached to 200-room hotel undergoing extensive remodeling as a future Holiday Inn. I think the hotel will add more after-hours activity downtown when it reopens, but for now, it’s just a mish-mash of trucks, dumpsters and scaffolding adjacent to the club. You can see the casino here (the hotel is the 7-story building to the right...





And the entrance...




What’s this? No valet? This was a rude shock for an LA softie like me, but I reminded myself that in towns where parking is cheap and plentiful, valet parking is anomaly. I put my ego back in its satin case, navigated my way through the hotel construction, found a spot in the underground garage and took the elevator to the casino floor.


On the inside

As you enter the casino from the elevators, the horse racing lounge...





and bar/restaurant...





are to your immediate right as you walk up a slight ramp past the gift shop onto the casino floor.

Club One’s casino area is one large room with areas designated for higher stakes tables, the cash games, the blackjack/3-card poker area and the tournament section. As you enter the casino area, the high stakes area is to the right in a semi-enclosed, raised area...





and most of the cash games are spread in the surrounding area. The tournament area is to the left rear of the floor. The sign-up board and cage are to the back of the floor...





There's a main brush area to the right (out of the 2nd photo), the cage is to the left of the vault door (legacy of the old bank) and the tournament and NL area is to the back left. Blackjack, three card poker and pai gow are to the left (out of the photo). The floor's bigger than it looks in the photos, for sure.


The tournament

I headed over to the sign-up desk to pay my entry fee and pick up a seating assignment. As I mentioned,the Ace of Diamonds is the largest annual tournament in the area, and it draws primarily from the Fresno area (pop. 480,000 give or take) and the surrounding counties. Last year, there were 281 entrants. This year, the turnout was a bit lower, say 230 or so, but the floor staff I talked to pointed out that last year they advertised on local TV and guaranteed the prize pool at $100,000. This year, they went with word of mouth and fliers in the casino.

In any event, the sign-up went smoothly and the staff and other players seemed pleased with the turnout. If anything, players were excited to play a “big” event and more than one voiced interest in having more of the larger buy-in tournaments. Club One offers tournaments twice daily but those events are smaller buy-ins (<$100) so local residents need to travel to Southern California if they want to play larger events. I think quarterly $450 buy-in events might be a bit much for the local poker economy to digest but a few $300 buy-in events could find some traction.

Side note: at the end of day 1, one of the staffers mentioned that eleven people who won seats didn’t show. No-shows may be common at large LA and Vegas tournaments, but $450 isn’t a throwaway for the Fresno poker demographic. I’m convinced at least a couple will show up on a subsequent Saturday looking for a seat card and feel pretty stupid when they realize they provided an overlay for the rest of the field.


The field

Anyway, the field was somewhat more sedate than the typical So Cal tournament field. I saw the usual tattooed, team-attired players—note to self, this is Raider and 49-er country—but there were fewer Asians or guys in Tilt/Stars gear. For the most part, it was a mix of regulars and aspirants from the surrounding areas, and lots of players and staffers obviously knew each other. A few photos will give you a sense of the competition...








There’s always one, right?




The 2006 defending champ…




The structure

The structure was pretty aggressive so I knew I had to be active, but I hadn’t played a tournament since my CSPC run so I defaulted to a strategy based on the advice my Dad give me as I left for school each day—“Try not to do anything stupid today, ok?” It’s not a bad advice for either a 4th grader or poker player, if you think about it.

On a side note, I later spoke with the tournament staff and they conceded the structure was steep but pointed out that tournament structures have to be submitted to the state for approval. I’m pretty sure the 4th Annual event will have a more playable structure and I’m convinced they’ll see an even bigger field if they do. The casino recently added 8 minutes to their daily tournament levels (now 20 minutes per level) and they’ve seen a nice up-tick in entrants. It seems players want to see a few more hands before they need to start shoving stacks. Go figure.


Cards in the air

The tournament started a little late, maybe 12:20p or so, as the staff was setting up the last tables and giving stragglers a chance to get to their seats. No one complained about the delayed start time and by 12:30, the tournament was moving along.

With my Dad’s advice haunting me, I trying to get a sense of how my table was playing. First few hands…

Folded A6 in middle position. Two club flop mocked me. Whatever.

Next hand, folded T7…7 on flop, 7 on turn. No problem, it was early and I was just looking for a rhythm.

It was soon clear that my table was playing tight. A half a dozen hands in with stacks still 10,000 (+ or – 100) around the table, the cut-off raised to 200 and the big blind called.

Low card flop, two spades. Check. Check. Hmm.

Turn 7. Check. Check.

River Q.

Big blind bet out 200. Cut-off called and showed KK < big blind’s A9 nut flush. This was definitely not the Southern California “chip up now or go home” mentality. Uh, ya'll know you’re allowed to bet those hands on the flop and turn if you’d like, right?

I can’t complain about being card dead; in fact, I got hands all day…I didn’t get AA or AK but picked up AQo like it was on sale, JJ, QQ, lots of playable hands. Actually, I think I got MORE than my share of quality hands, but my default mode is straightforward fold or raise and with everyone playing uber-tight I probably needed to work my bet sizes a little. As it was, I didn’t make any monsters to speak of or run into any lesser hands willing to pay me off.

For example, with the blinds at 50/100, I was sitting with 10,700. Four limpers to me on the dealer button with AQo. I raised to 600 and got one caller. Pot was 1800-ish.

Flop came A24, two hearts. I bet 1200 and he folded before my chips made it to the pot.

Another level in, at 100/200, there was one limper to me in middle position with AQo again. I made it 800 to go and he called. 1900 pot.

Flop came A96 with two diamonds. The limper led out for 1500. Dude…uh, no…that’s not gonna work for me. I re-raised to 3000 and he folded. Ok, maybe I need to back off a little and let guys find a hand.


Service!

Around the first break, I was getting a little hungry and called for service. When LakeofFire did a review of Club One, he touted the Vietnamese cube steak, and one of the servers mentioned it was the most popular item on the Asian menu. I like to think I’ve got a worldly palate, but I wasn’t wild about it. Then again, my frame of reference with Vietnamese food is pretty limited.

I had better luck later with the Club One burger. It’s a good burger (and cheap!) and my only complaint was that my server forgot to bring ketchup and mustard with it so I had to ask the Asian hottie next to me to borrow hers. Come to think of it, maybe the server was doing me a favor. In any event, the food here is fine—not as good as Ocean’s or the Bike but competitive with the Commerce and the Hustler.

On the second to last hand before the break after round 3, I was sitting with a little over 11,000 and picked up QQ in the BB. An UTG player, raised to 800. Folded to me, I re-raised to 3000 total, maybe too much, but he’s UTG and I’m in the blinds…let’s see where we are. He showed AQs and folded. Ok, I know where I am—I suck at poker. I headed into the break with about 12,500 chips.


Mixing poker and politics

On the break, I spent a little time chatting with Mike Dages, city council member/poker player. Councilman Dages is a regular at the club and sponsors a charity tournament that has a good turnout. His wife was also playing in the tournament and I was a little envious. When someone asks me “Where’s your wife today?” I get to respond, “In the spa, wrecking my bankroll with a seaweed scrub, shiatsu massage and pedicure.” He gets to respond, “Last I checked, table 3, seat 7…but she was sitting short so who knows? Check the 3/5 game.” In any event, he’s a nice guy and running for mayor in 2008. Hey, if Larry Craig can keep his Senate seat, a poker player can be mayor, right?

Note: Councilman Dages’ wife final tabled the event and took home $7500 in a 10-way chop. And my wife's toes look fantastic.


No action, no traction

After the break, I spent time just trying to pick up blinds. The structure was such that no one ever really built a commanding chip stack relative to the blinds. And without antes at later stages, I felt like I needed to keep active throughout. No matter what I did, though, I was stuck at 11-13k.

With the blinds at 200/400, I raised with A9o from middle position. God help me, I hate A9—a wretched, piece of crap hand with which I’ve managed to donate throughout my poker career. Thankfully, everyone folded.

Another orbit and I had 88 in middle position and raised to 1200. One caller from the blinds. Jack high flop. He checked to me. I bet 2500 and took the pot.

The blinds then bumped to 300/500 and I was sitting with 13500. Pretty much everyone at the table was stuck in the 5-15k range, maybe one guy with 20k.

Folded to me in the cut-off with A5, I made it 2000 to go. Dealer button called, small blind folded.

Flop 988. I continued for 3000. Dealer button showed AJo and folded and small blind commented that he’d folded JJ from the blinds. What, are you serious? Have you seen the structure, sir?


Keep your enemies close

My table was pretty collegial with lots of chatting and showing. The guy next to me mentioned he’d been sponsored by his local card room to play some WSOP events and had moneyed in a few. We end up talking a bit and I reminded him I needed him to do something stupid to chip me up. We both laughed, but it was obvious to me that if he played back at me he’d have a real hand.

Sure enough at 300/500, a girl limped UTG and my “friend” raised to 1600. I picked up JJ and re-raised to 3500. The table collapsed back to him and he insta-shoved. Uh, no thanks. I mucked and he showed AA. Yeah, no kidding. I kicked myself because I knew he’d been playing tight and I ruined any set value I had, but I was happy to have avoided stacking off on some 239 flop.

The last hand before they broke our table, I had 13000 chips and KK in the small blind. Three limpers to me, I made it 2500 to go and got one caller. 6300 pot.

Flop was TT9. I led out for 4000. Guy showed AJs and folded. What’s with all the showing here? And quit playing so tight…shove pre-flop!


Same chips, different table

They reseated me at a new table and the blinds increased to 500/1000. Figure I’ve got 17000+ now.

An orbit in, I’m in the big blind with QJo with a limper from the button. Small blind called and I checked my option.

Q43 rainbow flop

Small blind led out for 2000. I usually re-raise here, but I called hoping to keep a weak Q in the hand. Dealer button folded.

Turn 2. Ok, maybe the smooth call wasn’t my best idea.

SB checked and I bet 3000. He labored and called. Ok, maybe it was a good idea.

River was the 4. Check. Check. Queens were good and now I’m sitting a little better with 21k or so.

At this point, there were 12 tables left with another 8 minutes in the level. We were playing to 7-8 tables today (maybe 6p or so) which was a nice change from the usual mid-afternoon to 2a grind that’s common down south. I’d like to think this is just small-town sensibility, but the reality is the club probably wants to get some cash games running and still have a good crowd tomorrow. Whatever…I can’t begrudge guys for making a living. I went back to stealing.

With the blinds still at 500/1000, it was folded to me on the dealer button with JTo. I made it 3500 to go and took the blinds. I was now sitting with 23,000, an above average stack…of 23 BBs. Ridiculous.

Next hand, I was in the cut-off with QQ. A player someone identified as a good, local player raised to 3500 from UTG. I thought about just re-raising but figured with a shove maybe I could get TT or JJ to call. I moved in and he tanked for a bit and folded. He later pulled me aside and told me he folded 99. Excellent, Edmond. Another blown opportunity. Nice work.


Hand of the day

A couple of orbits later, I was sitting in the BB with 23,500 in total 93o. Three limpers to me and I checked. Flop came 973, two clubs. Ok, here we go. I led out for 3000 into the 4500 pot and an EP limper min-raised me to 6000. Ok, I like it. Next limper promptly shoved. Ugh. I really wanted to chip up here but with how tight table had been playing, it really looked like one of those guys had a set. I resisted the urge to tear the Copags in half and folded. The min-raiser thought for a good two minutes before showing and folding A9; the winner showed a set of threes. Well, thanks for showing, pal, but it still sucked.

After that, I don’t remember much other than folding and shoving my way to 5:30 when we broke with 7 tables remaining. The blinds would start tomorrow at 1000/2000 and I had a anemic 15,000 stack. If you can imagine it, there were at least 15 players sitting shorter than me. Tomorrow was going to be carnage from the start. I stretched and sought solace in the cash games.


It's about giving back...

Following the tournament, I walked around and noticed about 15 cash games including the following:

Limit

1/2, 2/4, 3/6, 4/8, 6/12, 15/30

There were at least two 2/4s and 3/6s and three 6/12s running. The 4/8 had a list and didn’t get going until later as a double jackpot game, but the 15/30 ran all weekend.

No limit

1/1 20-40 min-max buy-in
2/2 40-100 min-max
3/5 100-300 min-max and
5/10 1000-no max that runs on Tue, Thu and weekends

Omaha

3/6 with a kill (Saturdays only)


The Fresno City Council recently amended the city ordinance to allow Club One to spread no limit cash games on a trial basis. Per the amendment, the Club can run three games mid-week and five games on the weekend.

The 1/1 NL game didn’t get down while I was there, but it looked like the 2/2 ran continuously. I can’t vouch for the entire overnight shift but was definitely running at 11a and 2a. The 5/10 game ran about 8+ hours and looked like it played pretty deep—I saw several guys sitting with $3000+. For reference, the Commerce caps the 5/10 NL game at $400 and the Bike 5/10 plays with 500-no max. If you’re a 5/10 player in the area, it’s worth a look.

The local Indian casinos have been running NL games for a while, but it was obvious that the NL game was new to many of the lower stakes players. That said, I managed to dust off several buy-ins in the 2/2 NL with the following gems…

KK v J7s. All-in on the JJ8 flop.

KK v AJs v 88. All-in multi-way pre-flop. JxxxJ board.

KK in position v A8. J8x flop. Raise, re-raise, call pre-flop. He bet out, I raised, he called. A on the turn. He led out and I folded. He showed A8, obv.

QQ v JJ on 8922J board.

Etc. ad nauseum.

I took a break for dinner at a local restaurant but finished the day in fine form, heading into Day 2 of the tournament with a little over 3x BBs and down five buy-ins in low stakes cash games. Just another weekend of EdmondDantes poker.


Thanks for playing, sir.

Day 2 started like Day 1—I got up, worked out, ate, then made the 10-minute drive to the casino. We started Day 2 with 7 tables, but as I mentioned, almost everyone was in rough shape from the start. The blinds started at 2000/4000 and even the chip leader had only 90,000 chips or so. The average stack was 30,000 so I figured it to be a push-fest from the start.

On the very first hand, it was folded to me on the cut-off with QT. I shoved my pathetic 15,000 and got two callers…AJ and 66. Ok, not horrible…I'm 30% or so to triple up.

Flop was an encouraging…

274

Nice! Now I was actually a favorite to triple up with 15 outs twice. Of course, I whiffed them all—turn 3x, river 5x and the 66 took it with a straight. Well, at least I got up and worked out. Good luck, fellas.

The rest of the field thinned pretty quickly and by 3:30 or so they were seating the final table. No sooner had the final table seated, when they showed their good sense and announced a 10-way chop for $7500 with the winner taking the $5000 white gold bracelet. The way the prize pool was structured the winner could have taken home about $25k or so, but everybody seemed pretty happy with the outcome.


The Winnah and his hardware...




Side note: I thought the dealers and floor-staff were professional and friendly and acted like they actually enjoy working there. It was a nice change from the cynics or B-teamers you sometimes find pitching cards in the So Cal or Vegas tournaments. In the entire tournament, I only saw one misdeal, an exposed card that the dealer retrieved and dealt through without any disruption whatsoever. Contrast that with this year’s WSOP where I saw misdeals a couple of times an hour, each of which would stall the play for a good minute or so.

In addition, the tournament tables are a mix of some synthetic felt and some regular felt, but they accommodate 10 players comfortably and are well-maintained. There are no automatic shufflers (auto-shufflers on the cash game tables, though) but again, the dealers were as good as I’ve seen in tournaments resulting in hands per hour higher than those I’ve seen elsewhere. All the chairs are in good shape, albeit fixed leg. And if you’re not comfortable in your chair, just ask. At one point after a table change, I asked for one of the taller chairs and the staff was quick to oblige.


Back on the horse

My Day 2 cash game play was a mixed bag. Highlights of the day included:

(1) Laying down AQo on A347Q board when my opponent showed strength the whole way and shoved the river. He showed A3o. Oh, nice Edmond, way to go. This is LIVE poker, remember?

(2) Flopping sets with 44 and 99, both times against KK and getting it all-in. Ok, that's more like it.

Other than that, it was my usual "raise in position, bet my good hands, fold when I’m beat" strategy that seems to be pretty effective at low stakes NL. I managed to finish the weekend down about $1000 between the tournament and Day 1 cash game carnage, but I thought the games were beatable for an observant, aggressive player.

Overall, I think Club One is a solid choice if you’re looking for action in the Central California area. You can read the review I posted but I could sum it up…plenty of action, excellent dealers, good food. If they fix the structure, I’d play the 4th Annual Ace of Diamonds, for sure. I’m not taking that 10-man chop at the end, though!

Edmond


For reference...

Club One Casino
1033 Van Ness Avenue
Fresno, CA 93721
(559) 497-3000

Club One Casino website

Well, it’s been crazy busy lately, and it seems like the days just run together. I’ve had a couple of trips back to New York (the day job), I just got back from the Global Gaming Expo show (aka G2E) in Las Vegas, I have a meeting in Orange County tomorrow and then on to Fresno tomorrow night to pick up my winner’s bracelet in the 3rd Annual Ace of Diamonds tournament at Club One Casino. Next week, I'm heading back home to Maine for the holiday week. And after that, I’ll be hosting a home game at the Commerce Casino to take that service for a testdrive and report back. In any event, lots going on.

Global Gaming Expo (aka G2E)

I wanted to post the results of a recent effort I undertook for the benefit of some of the guys out there trying to build bankrolls, but first, a word on G2E. G2E is the largest gaming show—it’s held in Las Vegas and pretty much every vendor to casinos is there pitching their wares. I was out there researching player tracking systems for a project I’ve been working on. A few minutes after I got there, I noticed a forum discussion starting with Gary Loveman (CEO of Harrahs), former Senator Alfonse D’Amato (now head of the Poker Player’s Alliance) and Terry Lanni, the head of the MGM/Mirage. I sat in and listen for about a half an hour. There were no major insights from the session, but the consensus was that legalized online poker is coming.

Walking the show, I noticed at least three vendors (maybe four) of automated poker tables. Lederer and Ferguson were pitching one of them (Lederer was looking particularly freakish, weird and not very young) and there was activity at all three or four booths, but from what I’ve seen locally in Southern California (Hollywood Park et al.), the early results with automated tables are nothing special. I think there’s a role for them in a smaller 2-3 table club or in larger clubs for single-table tournaments (satellites) or heads up play. But, for the most part, it’s still early in the game for the automated table guys.

Overall, it’s clear from looking around that poker is still the red-headed afterthought of the gaming industry. The show is still all about the slots and financial services (ATMs, cash advances, etc.), although technology is taking more and more floor space every year. Oddly enough, relatively few web services are on display and given the generally poor state of casino websites and how much more important the web is to all companies marketing plans, that’s bound to change. It’s amazing to me how many casinos will acknowledge that 1) their website is lousy and 2) acknowledge it’s the first place visitors go when planning a trip…yet do NOTHING to improve it. Even sophisticated marketers seem to whiff their site. See, for example, www.wynnlasvegas.com. Steve, tell us about the restaurant again…no, please, we want to here it again...flash is fine…

A few thousand hands at low stakes NL

Anyway, on to the "few thousand hands" part of the post. I’ve read a number of blogs in which guys are trying to build a bankroll but suffer swings and get discouraged. I may be being a bit harsh here, but I’d argue that a lot of those “swings” are actually the result of erratic play. You can, in fact, grind out a decent earn and build a nice little bankroll through aggressive, but thoughtful play. Even on Full Tilt.

Post-UIGEA, I withdrew most on my online bankroll (call me a little old lady) but still had a few dollars in my Full Tilt account. I had some IM chats with Landlord79 in which I critiqued some of his plays and figured it would probably be more compelling if I logged a few thousand hands and posted the results.

I started with about $100 overall and sat admittedly underrolled in $.10/$.25 NL playing very basic TAG strategy. After I had a few hundred dollars, I moved up to $.25/$.50 NL to bang out another 10,000 hands. The results:


PT Stats



Graph




In most simplistic terms, my strategy could be summed up as follows:

Respect early position raises.

Raise pre-flop in position and continue if 3 or fewer players.

Avoid stacking off with over-pairs to limp/callers.

If I think I’m beat, fold.

Repeat ad nauseum.

Of course, I had my share of mental lapses and dusted off my stack light. See hands 8500-9500. I’m telling you right now those weren’t so well-played. I also had my share of brutal two outers, runner runner suckouts and not so brutal but nauseating nonetheless 2:1 favorites getting turned or rivered. I think I played great between hands 11,000-13,500 but, as you can see, had nothing to show for it.

As a practical matter, all the hands were played in full ring on Full Tilt. A fair number of the hands were single or double table play while doing other things. At most, I multi-tabled 8 tables, but those were relatively short focused sessions. I can play pretty well at a rate of about 300 hands per hour. Above that, it’s hard to say.

In any event, the point is I managed to build up a what would be a workable bankroll from a modest amount of starting capital. It’s not a huge sample size, and I'm not saying it's a great living, but it’s enough to show that a lower stakes player can build a bankroll without wild swings. You just need to stop spewing and start thinking. And raise in position, please. Note: if anyone wants more PT details or wants to comment, feel free to post me.

Anyway, that's it until I report back from the Club One event. Before I sign off, though, I’ve seen the new TwoRags home and blog pages. Very, very nice. I haven’t been this excited since the Patriots put the Colts on season tilt two weeks ago. Ha!

You know that feeling when you’re watching High Stakes Poker and a guy you used to hang out with pulls up a chair, drops a couple of hundred grand on the felt and promptly stings Phil Hellmuth for another seventy? No? Well, that’s what happened to me about a month ago. Now most guys might call him up and try to scam their way onto the show, but not me. Instead, I shook Mike down for an interview!

Mike was a Stanford classmate of mine and is now a hedge fund manager who lives in Los Angeles with his wife, one son and two daughters. You may have seen him on Episodes 2-7 of season 4 of High Stakes Poker in which he also stacked Eli Elezra with a set and Sammy Farha twice (both times with top pair). He did manage to dust off 100 grand to Elezra in his last hand but shrugs it off later in this interview.





In August 2007, Mike won Event #21 of the Legends of Poker $2k buy-in event, besting a final table that included tournament regulars Jimmy Tran and Shannon Shorr. It was his first hold’em tournament ever. I hate guys like Silent Mike.





A couple of us had the chance to spend some time with Mike early this week and ask him some questions about his recent poker experiences.


EdmondDantes
Hey…nice to see you, Mike. Congrats on your TV appearance and your Legends of Poker win. I have to tell you, I almost spit Diet Coke out my nose when you walked on the set and sat down.

Silent Mike
Thanks, I had a lot of fun.

Nath
So, what drew you to poker originally? Do you play a lot in LA?

Silent Mike
I’ve always enjoyed games ever since I was a kid. I like analyzing risk and developing what I think will be winning strategies. I played a little bit in college and b-school years ago. There was some dingy card room near the Stanford campus, I can’t even remember the name of it. In LA, I just got hooked up in a home game and that’s pretty much all I play.

Bond18
How exactly did you end up getting invited to the High Stake Poker game? And are you going back next year?

Silent Mike
I met Mori, the producer, in a home game I play in and he invited me to play, so I figured why not? I’m not sure what the plans are for next season, but if I get invited back, I would love to play again. It was a crack-up and my kids got a kick out of seeing their dad on TV.

EdmondDantes
Tell us about the format. How long did you play?

Silent Mike
I think I played ten hours total – four the first day and six the second day. They obvious edit out some hands.

Bond18
We assume you watched the episodes in which you played. Can you comment on the difference between what we see and what actually goes on? For example, it looks to us as if Jennifer rarely plays a hand. Is this true, or does it just appear this way from the editing? Approximately what percentage of the hands do they actually show?

Silent Mike
Well, as you probably know, most hands don’t get all that exciting and they select the bigger hands. The tighter players will get less action when they do play so the hands are not quite as entertaining, I guess. I’m pretty sure Jennifer played more hands than those they showed. They’re just picking ones that have some drama to them.

EdmondDantes
Any fun hands we didn’t get to see?

Silent Mike
I actually got deuce/seven six times and bluffed it through four of the times. I think they only showed two.

EdmondDantes
Nice.

Bond18
You looked very comfortable at the table with these big name pros. Did you have much experience playing in games this big and with players of this caliber?

Silent Mike
For some reason, I always feel comfortable playing games. This is obviously a big game but once you get into the rhythm of it, it’s just like any other game. Plus, I’ve played in games with some of these guys before so, other than the cameras, it wasn’t that uncomfortable. ‘Cept, of course, for my bust-out hand.

Nath
From what I saw you seemed to play well, but you've got to be aware that the "pros" consider you a "fish", right? How does that translate the table? Do they make it a friendly place to play or are there some guys who make it obvious that you're the reason they're there?

Silent Mike
Like I said, I enjoy the rhythm, and the interaction between people is a big part of that. I actually liked everyone, even Hellmuth when he wasn’t telling me how horrible I was. [Laughs] I imagine I am a fish relative to these guys who play everyday. I feel like I can play reasonably well, but I definitely don’t have the experience these guys have—particularly putting guys on hands.

Bond18
Did you have a specific strategy going in? From what we saw, you seemed to be willing to mix it up and play a wide range of cards. Is this simply the way it looked because of the editing and hands they showed or were you really playing this loose? If so, what was your thinking here?

Silent Mike
For me, cash games and tournaments are very different. In cash games, I do play a fairly wide range of hands because often times sketchy hands yield the big payoffs. Obviously, it’s important to change your ranges based on position and the players you suspect will be playing the hand post flop.

Bond18
Nice call with the JTo against Hellmuth (Episode 3 (1/4) at 2:50 below). I think the turn call is really standard, but the river was tough. One thing to consider is going into the turn when you check you need to have a plan. When you quickly check, then Phil bets, and you think it over a ton, you're telling Phil you're not really sure of your hand strength. In the future, consider pausing before you check, coming up with a rough plan for Phil's action, be it check, bet of 1/3rd pot, 2/3rds pot, full pot, things like that. Otherwise, you give him to good an idea of where you're at…unless of course you're setting him up to bluff the river with what's basically acting.

Silent Mike
I appreciate the advice. I was definitely not trying to induce a bluff. However, I thought the river an easier call than the turn. Remember the deuce/seven side bet changes your range of possibilities. By the time I called, I felt like there was a good chance I had the best of it. With that board, there were a lot of great possibilities, and his betting did not make sense to me. If he had made a straight or a set, I would have expected a bet that he wanted called. Plus he couldn’t be that confident top pair was good there either. His bet was too big if he really wanted a call.


Episode 3 1/4




EdmondDantes
Looks like you missed a bet in the AJo hand (Epsiode 3 2/4 at about 3:40 below) where you flopped two pair against Matusow but check the river.

Silent Mike
Absolutely.

Bond18
Yeah, did you really think he'd check a better hand to you 3 times?

Silent Mike
Probably not. But remember, at the time, I had been getting good starting cards and playing a bunch of hands. For some reason, I was afraid he might be trapping and I was still just getting oriented to the game.


Episode 3 2/4




LakeofFire
In the hand where you held AK v Matusow's AQ (Episode 3 4/4 at about 3:00), you raised pre-flop to $3k and he called.

3AJ flop. You bet $6k and he raised another $10k. You called.

Matusow bet out on the 8 turn for $15k and you called. And then bet the Q on the river for $30k.

Can you walk us through your thinking? Worried about a set or two pair? Why didn't you re-raise the turn with a flush draw on the board?


Episode 3 4/4




Silent Mike
I actually put him on an ace with a weaker kicker and figured I’d probably get paid more letting him bet into me if he didn’t have the two pair made yet. I don’t remember thinking for a second he might be on a flush draw. I also wanted to mix up my play. I had been the aggressor in a number of hand before that, and I thought it might be good to show I could be a bit more patient.

Bond18
When you raise Phil Laak on the A63 flop with AT (same Episode 3 4/4 above at about 5:00) are you comfortable getting it all in against him? Otherwise, why are you raising on a flop of this texture?

Silent Mike
Like I said, the deuce/seven changes the texture of the game. I would categorize that raise as more of an exploratory raise. I’d rather find out then what he might have, plus I had position on him. Obviously, I would have had a hard time calling a re-raise.

LakeofFire
Walk us through the thinking when Farha played the hand dark (Episode 5 4/4 at about 6:00). What range of hands did you put Sammy on when he moved all in on an A high board? It was the hand where you called his shove with A9o.


Episode 5 4/4




Silent Mike
Sammy was playing extremely loose, and I figured he would expect me to make a move on him with position no matter what. I figured I was stronger than he suspected and decided it was worth a call. Basically, I was playing the player more than playing the hand.

Bond18
Did you find playing mostly straightforward in this game would be highly profitable due to everyone constantly trying to out maneuver each other with fancy plays?

Silent Mike
I played two days and the tables were very different. A straightforward style would have been most successful the second day and that’s exactly how Negreanu played it. Needless to say, he’s pretty good.

EdmondDantes
We saw you outplay Hellmuth and stack Elezra and Farha. Are you aware that if you had hit the open-ended straight draw on Hellmuth (when he had the set and you had 32 in Episode 4) the poker world would be building a shrine to you?

Silent Mike
It would have been nice.

EdmondDantes
Ok, I have to ask. Your bust-out hand (Episode 7 2/4 about 10:15), the KQo over call with Eli Elezra still to act, looked pretty awful from my couch. Was there something else going on there that we couldn’t see? Late for a flight?

Silent Mike
I wish I could use that as an excuse. I had already announced that it was my last hand, and I wish I had left one hand earlier. That said, I don’t feel that it was quite as poor as it looked on TV. With 55k in the pot already, I knew Sammy would make a move with anything and I felt that I had ten outs (4 tens, 3 queens, and 3 kings) against him. Plus, with us both all in, we’d have an opportunity to negotiate some sort of deal. Jamie had folded out of turn, and I knew Elezra only had slightly more than Sammy.

I went all in thinking I could possibly get Ely off a hand by looking stronger, and if he made a call, I still had four outs there. He made a good call, and I looked like a donkey thinking my gut shot was worth an all-in bet. However, if Ely had folded, I believe I would have had positive expected value for calling Sammy with $125k in the pot. As it turned out, Sammy had one of my tens and I put $75k into the pot that only had $35k of expected value.

Needless to say, I needed a lot of things to break my way for my all-in move to have had positive expected value, and then I needed to get lucky on the turn or the river. It’s not my proudest moment, and it was probably time for me to leave.


Editor's note

If you're curious, Mike’s bust-out hand develops in Episode 7 2/4 at about 10:00.

Episode 7 2/4



Mike raised $3k with KQ.

Jamie Gold called with 64.

Eli Elezra raised to $13k with AA

Sammy Farha called with T7.

Mike and Jamie both called. Pot = $53,000

Flop was J 7 9.

Sammy moved in from the blind for $67,000. Total pot was $120,000.

Next to act. Mike says “One sec.” and Jamie folds out of turn thinking Mike has folded. It’s $67k to Mike to call; he thinks for a second and MOVES in for his last $75k with two overs and an inside straight draw.


Episode 7 3/4




Against Sammy alone, Mike was about 30% to win the hand from the flop. Interestingly, if Sammy had moved in with only an open-ended straight draw (86, for example), Mike would’ve been a 2 to 1 favorite to win the hand versus Sammy alone. But assuming Sammy’s moving in with a pair and a draw, a draw or a monster, you can figure Mike’s EV using our Evaluator as seen below.





As you can see in the calculation above, at best, it’s a breakeven proposition. If you want to run it yourself, try the TwoRags EV tools..

The bigger problem, of course, is that Eli is still to act with his aces and calls the additional $75k. Total pot is $271k-ish.

With Eli’s AA in the mix, Mike is a big dog…

AA 61% > T7 26% > KQ 12%

and needs running kings or queens or a jack. They run it twice, there’s no help to Mike either time and he’s out, down $2k for the two-day session.

*End of editor's note*


Bond18
How much did you win in this game in total?

Silent Mike
I won $170k the first day and lost $172k the second day. I finished down two grand for the sessions.

BadgerPro
Ok, how about some player observations…

Bond18
Yeah, what players were you most impressed with? What players were you least impressed with?

Silent Mike
First of all, I like everyone. Even Hellmuth surprisingly. I didn’t mix it up much with Daniel, but I think he is incredible. All those guys have had great success and I wouldn’t like to make any conclusion based on ten hours of play which I think has almost no statistical significance. Ask me after 1000 hours. Mori, you listening? Invite me back!

Hellmuth…as self-centered as he seems?

Silent Mike
Probably, but he’s actually pretty funny if you don’t let him get to you.

Bond18
Matusow…would you stake him?

Silent Mike
I would be unlikely to stake anyone. My view is that if you’re that good, why do you need to be staked?

BadgerPro
Laak...was Jennifer Tilly sweating him?
No.

Bond18
Harman…did she even play any hands?

Silent Mike
She played pretty tight which was probably the best strategy at that table.

BadgerPro
Farha…was he nice about you taking his money?

Silent Mike
Farha & Elezra are both fun to play with. But you honestly never know what Farha’s playing. Eli’s a little more straightforward.

Bond18
Daniel Negreanu?

Silent Mike
I didn’t play too many pots with him, but from what I saw there and have seen on other episodes, he’s pretty good at reading people. And I did learn that he’s a vegan.

Bond18
I read somewhere you have had experience playing in LA with Jamie Gold. How would you rate his game? Is he as irritating as guys say he is?

Silent Mike
I like Jamie, and he has never been anything but nice to me. His game is very entertaining to say the least. He can pretty much have any hand in any situation. And he definitely likes to bluff.

Bond18
If you could punch one player in this game with impunity, how many times would you end up punching Hellmuth?

Silent Mike
None. I actually have a lot of respect for him. Phil obviously thinks highly of his own game, but, you have to admit, he’s got some game. I think the fact that he can get in your head even when he is losing is a part of why he is so good. Plus, everybody else at the table was teasing him when he was talking about me in the third person, so it was easier to take.

Bond18
Come on, how big a fish is Bob Safai?

EdmondDantes
Ok, enough. You’ll have to forgive Bond18. He likes controversy, and you’re obviously trying to get invited back.

Silent Mike
I love Bobby. He plays in the home game sometimes. He’s a good guy, and I know he could have some big nights. He also won $200k for the two days while I ended up losing $2k so I can’t really call him the “fish.” [Laughs]

Nath
How often do you talk to other poker players outside of the game setting?

Silent Mike
Not that much. Everybody pretty much has their own life.

BadgerPro
Let’s rate the cocktail service. Blonde or brunette?

Silent Mike
I think my wife is hotter than either waitress.

EdmondDantes
Nice save. Ok, tell us about the Legends of Poker event. How did you happen to play that particular event? Was it really your first ever?

Silent Mike
I never played a tournament until this year. After HSP, I got it in my head that I’d like to see if I could play in a tournament format. With three kids, a wife, and a full time job, it’s difficult to fit a big multi-day tournaments into my schedule, and I didn’t have much interest in the $30 buy-in type event. The WSOP event that fit my schedule was the Omaha $10k buy-in. I decided to try it even though I’m not an Omaha player. I busted out with five minutes left in the first day but really enjoyed the challenge and felt like making the top 20% was a good start.

The next tournament I played was the Legends of Poker event, and I clearly had some good luck. I haven’t had a chance to play another one and I didn’t get to play the WPT event at the Bike even though I won a seat by winning the $2k buy-in event. I’m looking forward to playing another big event, though. It was a blast.

EdmondDantes
Any interesting hands on the path to the final table? Any gross suck-outs to get there?

Silent Mike
I never really was short stacked throughout and I was the chip leader going into the final two tables. Probably the biggest hand was cracking pocket aces with a flopped two pair. I was in the big blind and the aces had only made a minimum raise so I sort of fell into it.

EdmondDantes
Jimmy Tran and Shannon Shorr were at your final table. Any observations?

Silent Mike
Not really. Like I said, I’m new to tournaments. And everyone was new to me.

EdmondDantes
Ok, a couple of the guys want to know what you do.

Silent Mike
Shoot.

Nath
What’s a hedge fund manager do? In other words, what do you actually do for a living?

Silent Mike
I manage money for high net worth individuals and institutions. We try to put together a portfolio where our longs outperform our shorts. So far, we’ve been pretty good at it. I pretty much spend my day analyzing investments and positions and figuring out where we’re going to invest next.

Nath
What do you think you've learned in the business world that translates to poker?

Silent Mike
With investing, you want to develop edges and investing patterns that lead to repeated success. You also want to make investments appropriate to your risk tolerance and the conviction you have in your edge. Needless to say, these have relevance to poker strategy.

Nath
What do you think about all the kids who currently play for a living? Any advice you would give to them, coming into a relatively large sum of money at a young age, as to how to manage it for their future?

Silent Mike
I would think playing poker full-time would be a tough life. And if you make some dough, save it. It’s a lot easier to lose than it is to make.

Nath
How much effort do you put in to try to improve your poker?

Silent Mike
I like the game and have gone through different phases in my life when I have read a number of books and run numbers on various scenarios. Most recently, I’ve been trying to work on my tournament strategy. Historically, I’ve been strictly a cash game player.

LakeofFire
What poker books have you read? Any ones you thought were particularly good?

Silent Mike
I found Harrington’s books on tournament play to be particularly helpful to me.

EdmondDantes
What’s your favorite casino/card room? Favorite game?

Silent Mike
I don’t play much in card clubs. Just home games mostly. And on TV. [Laughs]

EdmondDantes
Ever play online at all?

Silent Mike
Never for real money.

EdmondDantes
Play money? Seriously?

Silent Mike
Yup. The only hold’em tournament I played prior to the Legends event was a play money event on Full Tilt.

EdmondDantes
Ha!…that’s classic. What’s next? Any tournaments coming up?

Silent Mike
I would like to play some more tournaments but haven’t found the time yet. I’m definitely up for it, though. Let me know next time you’re going to Las Vegas and we’ll mix it up.

EdmondDantes
Definitely. Well, listen, thanks for spending a few minutes with us. We appreciate the look from the inside of the HSP game and the LoP event. If you get invited back, don’t forget your friends at TwoRags!

Silent Mike
No problem. See you at the tables!

Ok, so I haven't updated since Swami54 ran over me in the unofficial 2R last longer. But that doesn't mean I haven't been busy. Oh no, in fact it's been just this side of chaos at chez Edmond.

First, I was in NY last week and took Adanthar and his wife on a little tour of my stomping grounds when he had a moment in between AP scandal updates. For those interested, here's a little taste of the tour as presented by an award-winning film-maker.

Note by Note - The Making of L1037

By the way, that trailer features a comment by Harry Connick, Jr., a New Orleans native and jazz pianist. You may have seen him in Will & Grace. See him in concert...with a girl.

Second, I got my wife an iPhone for her recent birthday and while the activation of said phone was a breeze, the upgrade of her computer (because it didn't have USB 2.0 port) was less so. Ended up getting her and new MacBook Pro and after a couple of days of screwing around with iTunes libraries and a other file transfers, that little nightmare's over. On the plus side, she likes her phone. She did, though, ask me if I thought it was too big for the case I got her. I was like..."Are you seriously asking me if your phone looks fat in that case?" She's the best.

Third, had to work on a couple of letters of rec ...one for a guy who used to work for me--last minute, London School of Economics...he's now in. And then one for a friend's son's PRESCHOOL application. That admission is pending. LA's a sick place.

Finally, we've been working on lots of cool new site improvements. Over the next few weeks---server willing--you'll see some great features for live tournament updating, exclusive video/instructional content, an interview with a High Stakes Poker player and a home page redesign to improve site navigation. I haven't had this much trouble sitting still since Season 1 of Prison Break. Seriously.

Edmond

PokerStars is hosting the World Blogger Championship of Online Poker, a free-roll to poker players who blog. First prize is a $12k entry into their Caribbean Adventure tournament. Even better, all final table participants will have their blog posted on 'Stars. If you've been blogging for more than two months, you're eligible to play the event. Just follow the link below and sign up. You'll need to include a link to your blog and then follow the directions to post the code into your blog. If you don't blog on TwoRags.com, it's never too late to sign-up and it's FREE. Just register using the link at the top right of this page.

Grab a sandwich, fellas. It’s a long one.

Strange utterances and horrible pronouncements

In the Inferno, the first part of The Divine Comedy, the Roman poet Virgil guides Dante on a tour of Hell, moving past each of nine concentric circles of the damned toward the center of the Earth where Satan lies bound in ice. The inhabitants of each circle are progressively more heinous and their punishments are tailored to their crimes on Earth. It's an entertaining read (translated, of course) and offers surprising parallels to my recent run through the California State Poker Championships (CSPC) at the Commerce Casino.

I hadn’t played a live tournament since the World Series and decided it was time to take a run at a score. The CSPC culminates in a two-day event with a buy-in ($2590) and field that’s just painful enough to make winning it worth the effort. Past champions include Ferguson, Pham, Laak and even Ben Affleck (this is the event he won a couple years back before J-Lo made him kick his poker habit). My own poker skills suggest that writing an Academy Award winning screenplay or getting a PhD in computer science might be easier ways to break into this group, but I’d been off the felt just long enough to once again believe I could be a contender in a live event.

The last few tournaments I’ve played have been stinkers—several hours of awkward thrashing and hacking to stay above average only to be sent to the rail holding a heavy favorite. At best, I feel like I’m in the 5th Circle of Hell alternatively watching the wrathful fighting just above the surface of the Styx or struggling, with the other sullen and slothful, just beneath. Most times though, I feel like I’m stuck in the Vestibule, that nasty holding pen just beyond the gates inscribed “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.” It’s in this spiritual grey area that those souls not quite worthy of heaven but not bad enough for Hell mill about. The wafflers, the ne’er-do-wells, those who never really took a stand in life find themselves here, tormented by hornets and wasps. It’s certainly nothing to look forward to and a great argument for taking action in life and its conflicts. It’s the punishment of the uncommitted, if you will, and not a bad metaphor for my typical tournament experience.

Of course, while I suffer my usual tournament fate, there’s always some cheery soul, breezing along with a monstrous pyramid of chips like Dante himself led safely through wretchedness by Virgil. In my poker career, I've been that carefree guy once—in the satellite I won to enter my first WSOP Main Event. In that sat, I was within a breath of the felt and then suddenly went on a tear that included flopping quads vs a boat, a boat vs trips and at least one three outer. Forty-five minutes later, I had the chip lead by some stupid amount with hours left to play. I can't remember the numbers exactly, but my stack size was so absurd that the tournament director confided to me that I could safely go have a nice dinner and just come back later to pick up my entry ticket. Instead, I stuck around to savor the feeling and, like sex for the first time, it left me convinced that the next time I was in a similar spot, I'd do even more with my stack whether I needed to or not.

The challenge is, of course, building the big stack without the gift of fortune. In the WSOP sat, it was all luck smiling on me, and I understand the math of this game enough to know that hope is not a winning game plan. With that and the “Abandon all hope” quote in mind, I therefore resolved to be more aggressive and take more chances to accumulate chips in this tournament, forsaking survival for the active creation of a stack that would make even LakeofFire blush. Of course, everyone thinks they're a bad-ass right up until the point that they actually NEED to be a bad-ass, so I was looking forward to seeing if I could actually prove myself worthy of my new mindset.

From the dark wood into the depths…

Like Dante’s own journey, the first day of the event started on a dreary note. It rained hard in LA on Friday night and continued off and on through Saturday. I woke up early, uploaded some photos that Landlord79 sent from his recent Biloxi tour—Hard Rock, Beau Rivage and Boomtown—and hit the gym for a nice workout. I like to get a good workout in before a long day of sloth but made a mental note to leave extra early. People in LA get The Fear when it rains—even the most minor drizzle creates all sorts of freeway havoc. As it turned out, though, the weather seemed to have scared them inside. I drove down to the Commerce (maybe 30 minutes from my house) without a hitch and arrived just in time to see Jamie Gold pull up in a new Toyota Prius. Hmmm. He’s shorter than I expected and Earth-friendly.

The tournament started in 20 minutes and I headed up to the second floor tournament area to pick up a new player card (required for entry) and sign up. Commerce holds its tournaments in a 2nd floor ballroom that houses the low stakes NL and limit games. For major tournaments, there's a room divider that's easily retracted creating a larger ballroom capable of handling 60+ tables. The room is self-sufficient with a cashier and snack bar which serves alcohol. There are only a few small flat screen TVs scattered about, but during major tournaments, the tournament clock is projected on a large screen easily visible from any seat in the room. You can get a sense of the room below…








Limbo

This year 362 wretches, including James Woods, Men Nguyen, Amir Vahedi, Kenna James, Cam Hua, John Phan et al., braved the rain to show up for the event. Most of these lost souls have little hope of redemption but are here in Limbo anyway making up a total prize pool of $877,850. Actually, the first Circle of Hell as Dante describes it (aka Limbo) isn’t all that bad; it’s where the pagans are corralled and their punishment is simply that they’ll never see God. Not good, of course, but not as bad as being immersed in a lake of boiling pitch with the corrupt politicians or being steeped in human excrement with the false flatterers. Fortunately, the majority had already secured their spot in Limbo prior to my arrival—the line was short and within five minutes I had my seating ticket and food voucher.

As with most Commerce tournaments, it started on time and without a hitch. For the biggest card room in the world, holding a forty table tournament is roughly comparable to Bond18 making a sandwich—a minor distraction from profitable ring games but critical to keep the machine moving forward.

We started with 5000 chips with the blinds at 25/50 and 60 minute levels. It’s not the deepest start obviously but, for the money, not a bad value. If you’re so inclined you can see the structure here…

The Structure

I didn't think to check early on but most of the tournament was played 9-handed or less. I’m guessing we were 9-handed throughout because I don’t remember ever feeling crowded at the table. In any event, it was a comfortable set up, and at 2p, we were off.

A nice start courtesy of a fraudulent soul

A few hands into the tournament, there was a limper to me in MP with 87. The new, cavalier me figured he’d experiment a little and limped, too. The DB came along and one of the blinds raised to 250. This may be a $2590 buy-in tournament, but it's also the Commerce low stakes NL room where building a pot out of position is sacrosanct, so we all called. There’s 1250 in the pot going to the flop.

A nice T46 flop gave me a double gutter with a flush draw. One of the blinds bet out for 500 and there was one other caller to me. I’m usually raising here but decided to just call, hit the turn and win a big pot instead of just blowing a misguided soul off a smaller one. Hey, Cleopatra and Helen of Troy are in the 2nd Circle with the rest of the lustful; I’ll take my chances. 2750 in the pot headed to the turn.

The turn was the lovely 5 giving me the nut straight. It's checked to me, and I bet 1300 with EP limper coming along. The river was Q something and the EP player…shoved? Uh, ok…I called and he mucked a missed diamond draw. Sir, the 8th Circle of Hell is for the fraudulent and thieves, and I believe they're waiting for you there. The rest of you wretches, meet your early chip leader.

Gluttonous and greedy

At this point, I picked up some nice hands but failed to make much progress. The 3rd Circle houses the gluttonous and the 4th the greedy, but I didn’t care. Like Bush after the 2004 elections, I felt I had a mandate and, however misguided, I intended to act upon it.

AQo. I raised pre-flop with two callers behind. I whiffed the flop but bet out anyway only to be renounced by two callers. The turn blanked and I check-folded in shame like a corrupt politician.

AKo. I raised pre-flop with three callers. Whiffed the flop and check-folded again. Bah! The uncommitted are damned, remember?

AK…with T exposed pre-flop. Like the sorcerers and false prophets in the 9th Circle, I can only see behind me, not the future, so with my royal flush draw ruined, I was satisfied to just raise and take the blinds.

On the last hand of the level, UTG raised to 150. I was on the DB with yet another stupid connector, 75, and called. The small blind re-raised to 750 and we both shamed the low stakes NL room and folded.

At this point, we were an hour in, I'd played about 15 of the 30 or so dealt hands and anyone at the table who hadn’t pegged me for some ridiculous LAG-tard had to be brain-dead.

Sighs and lamentations

The wonderful rush of quality hands deserted me and I treaded water until the last hand before the 10-minute break after Level 2 (50/100). Two limpers to me on the DB with 88, I raised to 400. The small blind completed and the others called to build a 1600 pot.

The flop = J87 with two spades. The small blind led out for 800 and leery of the draw nasty board , I bumped it to 2400. Despite my hyperactive first level, I failed to convince him I was full of crap and he folded. Whatever. It’s better than him hitting his four-outer straight on the turn, I guess. I now had a little over 12,000 chips and was the big stack at the table.

As an aside, one of things that's cool about playing a poker tournament in LA is that besides the usual raft of degenerates, you meet some interesting dudes. At my table directly to my left was Martin Shafer, Head of Castle Rock Entertainment and a regular high stakes player. CastleRock's credits include When Harry Met Sally, A Few Good Men, The Shawshank Redemption, Best in Show and Seinfeld. We had a fun chat about the early years of Seinfeld and the most recent season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Unfortunately, his luck with TV and film picks was a little better than with his poker. He was out shortly before level 4.

Level 3 was uneventful but Level 4 (100/200) got spirited when two big stacks directly to my right decided to mix it up. Big stack limped in UTG and it folded around to 2nd big stack in the big blind to his direct right. BB raised to 800 and the big stack called.

Flop was KJ8. Check, check. Turn was a 9 at which point it turned into a silly min-raise fest. It all got in with the bigger big stack’s slow-played eights demolished by a turned set of nines. Slow player (SP) promptly hit a couple of good hands in a row and was back in contention and I tried to figure out where I stand at the table.

To my right, I had two loose players. SP to my direct right would call down with 3rd pair with Harpies shrieking in his face and the guy to his right was the big stack (courtesy of the set of 9s) at the table.

To my left, there was a calling station maybe three seats away and apparently, he’s anxious to see me progress to the next level with his chips. I raised an unopened pot with 9s to 750; he called. Flop came 8 high and I continued with 1300. He showed KJ and folded. Two hands later, I raised with AJo to 750. Same guy called. I continued with 1300 and took the pot. Sir, please report to the 7th Circle with the other prodigals who squandered their possessions.

What makes you think I’m coveting your jacket?

We're four hours in now, about halfway through the field with 20 tables still active—call it 180 players left. There were about 1.8 million chips in play and I was stuck around 12k-ish, a little over average courtesy of expert plays like the following.

Limped to me in the small blind with A9o, I completed and saw a JT8 flop. I check-called the flop and led out at the turn to take the pot. In retrospect, there’s nothing special about the hand other than how poorly I played it out of position, but like confession, it makes me feel better for having admitted and taken responsibility for it.

Looking around the table, there was a kid across from me in a Party Poker jacket. Not just any Party Poker jacket, mind you. He was sporting the tan faux suede one from the old days when it was the nicest item in the Party Poker store. He completed his look by putting on his Oakleys every time he was in a hand so I could tell he meant business.

To his right and across from me was a woman who I've seen in LA tournaments and remember blowing the old, nitty me off a pair of queens early in the LA Poker Classic. In her bust-out hand here, she raised UTG and PartyPoker jacket guy (PPJG) called and I called in position with 77. She bet out for 1200 on an 8 high flop. In turn, he raised to another 2700 and I ducked out of the hand. Back to her, she thought for a bit and moved all-in for another couple thousand. He snap-called with JJ. Her 89 didn’t improve and headed off to the 7th Circle to lament with the other suicides.

We broke for dinner with 20 minutes left at Level 5. I was still holding 12k, about average, and got encouragement from Adanthar, nath, LakeofFire, lakong and PianoMan. The general consensus was that I’ll need to get busy after dinner but not do anything stupid. Nice to know that, to a man, my poker colleagues felt the need to remind me not to be a lazy fool.

I stare death in the face

We returned from dinner with 17 tables left, 9 players per table. We were still at Level 5 with 100/200/25 ante. I was UTG+1 the gun with TT and raised to 1000, PartyPoker jacket guy (SB) and big stack (BB) both called.

The flop brought 987 and PartyPoker jacket guy led out for 300 (WTF?) into a 3000 pot. BB called, obviously. I was a suspicious of that laughable bet but made it 3000 straight. Back to you, sir. Are you virtuous or a hypocrite? While he was thinking, I was trying to sort out what I'd do if he shoved. I was mostly worried about a set, obv. I didn't figure he had an over pair given his PF play or the high end of a straight with me holding two of the Ts. I figured I had 30% equity in this pot, but I had 7-8k left behind. If he shoved, it would be a close call and I could be way behind. As it was, he folded QQ face up. Uh, what?

At this point, the big stack went on a rant about how I had AK and he'd have never laid down there…blah, blah, blah. I was tempted to point out to him that heretics in the 6th Circle are trapped in flaming tombs and the fraudulent advisers in 8th Circle are encased in individual flames so either way he wouldn’t be needing that stupid hoodie he was wearing much longer. But PPJG was convinced his read was good. "The only hand I'd want to see there was JJ. He's got a lot of outs if he had TT or the big flush draw, and I'm smoked if he's got kings." I'll give him credit. Despite his donkish flop bet, PartyPoker jacket guy thought it out.

That said, I'll never understand why guys recap their thought process openly at the table. From that little exchange, I pegged the big stack as a dope who'd think anybody was "making a move." and the PartyPoker jacket guy as a thoughtful player. Had they both kept quiet, I'd be none the wiser about either.

Confronting the heretic

A few hands later, it was limped to me on the dealer button with 88. I raised to 800 and was joined by two callers including the non-believer with the big stack.

Flop was T87.

Big stack bet 1000 and when I raised to 3000, he blurted out "I can't beat AKo." And shows 53. He then went through some expert analysis about how he should've re-raised me.

"Yeah, I don't know what I'd have done if you'd re-raised me." I said and let him stew on that. I'm not sure which circle of Hell is reserved for donuts, but just hang out in the 8th Circle with the other sowers of discord. We’ll let you know.

The heretic and I mix it up a little later, 30 minutes into level 6. There were 15 tables remaining with an average stack of 15,000. I was sitting with 17,500 chips and Q6 in SB. I taunted the Furies and completed.

The flop was KJT.

I checked and the all-knowing big stack bet 2000. I contemplated check-raising but opted to call since I wasn’t sure how I want to play the turn if he called a raise.

Turn was 4

Check. Check. Oooo…thanks.

4

Ok, then…I bet out 2000 with my flush, and the big stack was apoplectic. "I'm folding the winning hand! I can't believe I'm folding the winning hand!" I grinned and said, "You folded a made hand just ‘cause I repped the flush? Dude, you were getting 3 to 1 or something..." and stacked the chips. “That’s all right. You and I will meet again.” He countered. Oooooo, so foreboding…

On the last hand before the break, I was UTG with AK and raised. An Asian guy in LP called and we saw an awesome...

AK9 flop.

I bet 2500 with my top two. He called.

Turn was a 3. I bet 5000. He called.

River was another 3. I bet another 5000 and he folded his missed royal flush draw and we're on to Level 7 with me sitting with about 30k. What’s that? Nice hand, you say? Thanks…please note that false flatterers are in Circle 8.

Back from the abyss

Over the course of the next hour and a half I managed to evaporate 11 or 12k chips via general stupidity and had 19,000 chips as we headed into Level 8 (300/600 with 75 ante). We were playing eight people per table, so there was 1500 in the pot to start the hand.

Kenna James was now at my table with a slightly less than average stack. We also had a massive chip leader present who was on one of those heaters that’s just nauseating to watch. He flopped quads and got paid. Turned a boat and got paid. If he was in the hand, he hit it…and got paid. So fun to watch and live vicariously when you’re fighting to stay average. Ah, well, Dante dealt with envy in the Purgatorio. Perhaps another day.

Wielding my own stack like a three legged stool in a bar fight, I worked back up to 24,000 chips, but then promptly gave it back when I opened from the cut-off with QT and one of the blinds pushed on me. Couple thousand to call, whatever. He showed K3 and doubled through.

An orbit later I raised from DB with 33 and SB pushed on me for another couple thousand. He showed AK and the remaining seven aces and five kings in the deck found their way to the board. Anyone else here need chips while I’m at it?

I re-surveyed my situation. To my direct right, one guy who's been playing tight. I had him covered. Two and three spots to the right are two big chip stacks, maybe 40k and 50k. Two shorties to my direct left so I have to be careful about raising indiscriminately. I finally sorted it all out and was promptly moved to another table where now I was the short stack. Lovely.

I sat down and two to my left was some Middle Eastern guy with shiny gold rim sunglasses. My first hand in, I raised his blind with KTo. He defended against my obvious move and led out at the T high flop. Sir, this one’s for the violent ones over in the 7th Circle. I moved ALL IN for the first time of the day. He looked at me as if I’d stolen his pinkie ring and folded. Let that be a lesson to those who would defend their blind against me. I’ll flop TPGK and shove with conviction.

A few hands later I was UTG with 88 and raised. There was one caller behind, a younger, confident player who looked fully capable of floating some grey-haired pretender with a voice recorder.

The flop was 99x, two diamonds and I bet 4000. He called.

Turn was a blank. I bet 6000. He called. Eww. Sixes? Sevens? A9?

River was an ace.

Nath's recent post flashed through my mind, but I check anyway, and because he hadn't read said post, the player checked behind. 88 goot and I was healthy again with about 34k chips.

More confrontations with the damned

With the blinds going to 400/800/100 ante, we colored up the little ones. I had 35k chips with an average stack at 25k and 60 people left and set off on a little bit of a heater.

Some would be seducer raised my blind from the button. I re-raised with my beefy pair of 5s and took his chips. In the DB with QQ, I raised again and again took the pot. Next hand, AK in the CO. Guy in front limped, I raised for the third time in a row and again took the pot down. Can’t you guys see I’m just messing with you? Gimme some action! I was now sitting with over 40k chips.

We broke at level 10 (500/1000/200). It was quarter of one in the morning, we were playing down to 27 or 2a and with 52 players left, it looked like 2a. Side note: at 1a and there’s a ton of people playing baby NL upstairs at the Commerce. 8-10 tables fighting over $10 pots. Nice.

Back from the break, I raised with KJo from the CO and folded to re-raise from a guy who's been playing tight.

PartyPoker jacket guy was still in and re-seated to my right. He looked like the chip leader.

I picked up some chips when a short stack pushed from UTG and I called with JJ from the blind. He turned over K5o and the jacks held.

I had a nervous moment with TT in the DB when a woman with 60k two seats to my right raised to 4k. I re-raised another 10k. She stared at me for about two minutes and folded AQo face up.

The very next hand, I was in the CO with AK. Big stack to my direct right raised from the hijack to 3500. I re-raised another 10k. He folded. At this point, my table thinks I’m a bad-ass for playing sheriff to the two big stacks at the table.

It was quarter of 2 now and I made a mental note to not do something stupid from here out. We’re 42 players left and I was tired. I’d just as soon get some sleep before mixing it up any further.

I was moved to a table with Amir Vahedi. When I sat, Amir's in the middle of a one orbit timeout for language and was still whining his case from the other side of the velvet rope. What adult does that? Get some dignity, sir.

At 10 minutes of 2a, the level changed and the blinds increased to 600/1200/200. I folded my way to the finish, bagged up 42,800 chips and headed home pretty much in the middle of the pack going into day 2. I got home around 2:40a still would up from the day. I got a bite to eat, answered some emails and finally crashed around 3:30a.

Day 2

My wife and cats were annoyingly active by 8a so I got up, bummed around for a bit and rattled off 40 minutes of laps in the pool to get the blood flowing and feel good about sitting for another day. I pulled on a black t-shirt with Russian wording on it that I've convinced myself is from some seedy Moscow strip club. Next time I see him, Adanthar will probably point out to me that Alexi's construction business spelled "plumbing" wrong on their promo shirts, but for now I feel like an edgy bad-ass.

It was quarter of 2p when I got back to the Commerce. I looked at the day 2 seating draw and discovered I was 20th of 40 players with 42,800. At my table, I started the day with one of the chip leaders to my direct right and Vahedi to my far left. Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am, stuck in the middle…

We started with 5 tables, eight to a table, and I made my way to the bubble staying pretty much even, raising when folded to me and 3-betting out of my blind at opportune moments. I managed to pick up some ok hands to work with—A5o, 99, whatever—so I held my own against a pretty active table.

The bubble

At 28 players, the two big stacks at my table (both to my right) got it all in with KK v AA. One player raised from the CO, the other re-raised from the BB. The big stack moved in and the other stack insta-called with AA. Cue much howling and celebration by the short stacks until they realized that KK player had AA slightly covered and both players were still alive after the hand. Sit down, fellas, and act like men.

As it turns out, the KK player kept his cool, tripled up and made the money easily. And in a divine twist of fate, the Bubble Boy was the heretic/sower of discord who'd been the big stack at my table and repeatedly miscalled my hand the prior day. The 8th Circle’s a nasty, nasty place, sir. Let that be a lesson to ya!

Where’s Virgil when you need him?

After the bubble broke, I moved to a new table with 50k+ versus the 64k average where I engaged in the first of several end game gaffes. With the blinds increased to 1000/2000/300 ante, there was an UTG raiser to 7000. With one caller to me on the DB with 67, I called. 19k pot, why not? Well, maybe because I’m not deep enough to make the implied odds work or outplay the other guys on the flop, but hey, we’re all just trying to learn, right? As the dealer burned, I mentally prepared to push with any pair and a draw. Of course, the flop was 833 two diamonds. 26k pot. UTG bet out 11k. I have 43k+ behind. I folded and wondered if they were still serving lunch back in Limbo with the other non-committals.

[As an aside, I posted this hand on 2+2 and the general consensus was fold pre-flop and jam flop as played. Oops.]

The next orbit brought the first limped pot in a while. It was limped to me on DB with A4. Not willing to spoil the moment or build a pot with a baby ace, I limped, too. When everyone checked the A on the flop, I bet 7500 and took the pot.

Down to 24 players, I had K8o in the BB. The CO, an Asian player I recognized from another tournament, raised my BB to 6500 for the second time in a row. I re-raised this obvious steal attempt another 16k and he folded without incident. 8th Circle for you, sir, perhaps? That’s right…with the other fraudulent ones.

I was still sitting relatively short with 50k and we were playing 5-handed while the TD sorted out the next table move. It was folded to me on DB with QJo so I raised to 10k just to blow the blinds out. Yikes…the small blind came over the top for 18k total. Gross, but I called getting a 3 or 4 to 1. He showed KK but a QJ on the flop sent him to the rail. Wow, so that’s what it feels like to suck-out late. Ok, then.

In which I’m labeled a Thief

I was now sitting with 80k chips with 23 players and raised to 8k from the CO with 55. The big blind, some guy named Dallas (“As in Texas.”…uh, right…I think I got that) re-raised another 10k and showed J9o. He said he raised dark because I've been raising his button EVERY TIME. The new me must be the new me, because that’s the first time anyone’s ever accused me of that. Somewhere LakeofFire was beaming with pride.

We were down to last two tables (18 people left) still at 1500/3000/500. I was using my 58k to steal blinds but making no headway to the field. There was a flurry of carnage when the panderers and seducers at the other table took on Eric Crisp, the big stack and eventual tournament winner, who celebrated each confrontation like Terrell Owens of old. This looks like his first real win and I’m sure he played well, but if I could have any wish in the poker world, it would be that people learn to win gracefully. I mean is it too much to ask to see a little more Tom Brady and a little less Chaz Michael Michaels on the felt?

The 9th Circle is not for the timid

In any event, we’re down to 15 players. Dante’s 9th Circle of Hell is reserved for traitors—not your basic two-face scum, but those who’ve committed crimes against their kin and God. I can’t say I’m overly religious but I am loyal and there’s no way the ultimate spot for me would include the likes of Judas, Cassius et tu, Brutus? That said, the following hand extended my betrayal of self-commitment and set off a nauseating hand sequence.

I was UTG with 44 with Can Kim Hua two seats my right. He was a big stack and raised any limped or unopened pot. I was sitting with 50k—just enough to wait for a better spot—and knowing a limp would draw a beefy raise and a raise could well result in a sickening raise, re-raise, fold sequence, I folded.

Of course, Hua raised and a couple of players joined him in the pot. I don’t remember anything from the rest of the hand except the giant 4 in the middle of it and the massive number of chips that found their way to the pot thereafter. I considered bludgeoning myself to death on the felt and joining the suicides in the 7th Circle but shook it off and regrouped.

Three hands later, I was on the DB with 44 again. There was a raise in front and then a re-raise. I folded, obv, and the original raiser called. Again I don’t remember much from the flop except yet another humungous 4 in the middle of it and a ton of gut-wrenching action.

No salvation for the patient

So now I’m headed into the break with 40k, demoralized, with the blinds going to 2000/4000/1000 ante when we return. I got a breath of air, when first hand back after the break, I picked up KK. Halleluiah…there’s a raise in front of me to 12k. I considered re-raising to 30k but figured leaving 10k behind pretty much turns my hand over pre-flop. I shoved for my 40k hoping to get action from a hand like 99 or AQ but was instead rewarded with a penitent fold. Ugh.

I added to my stack until right before dinner shoving with AJ and KQ from mid-late position but then gave it back when I raised with A7o and folded to a shove. The last hand before dinner sealed my fate.

I was UTG with AQo and about 42k. As soon as I saw my cards, I thought “Shove.” but I saw a conservative player with 100k in chips to my direct left reaching for chips. I’m not the connoisseur of live tells that Landlord79 is, but I’ve watched my cats wrestle each other enough to know that when one of them starts shaking with his hind legs in a crouch, there’s gonna be action. I opted to play it safe and raised to 14k—a raise that had been getting it done, but, in retrospect, was the worst of the available alternatives. My stalker behind labored and finally called. Hmm, that feels like AJ-AQ or a middle pair. Everyone else folded and I glued my eyes to him on the flop.

Ugh. He didn’t seem at all disappointed with the T84 flop.

In the absence of a read or holding the A or Q there, I shove the flop, but my instincts screamed “Check!” He bet, of course, and flashed a set of Ts when I folded. I congratulated myself for pulling myself out of the fiend’s mouth but it was little consolation—my swimming skills are suspect in my heated pool and now I was immersed in the burning lake and sinking fast.

I was in 13th place and thinking how apropos that finish would be when a player to my left with a 2x average stack raised and 4-bet with T8, his “favorite hand.” 3-better showed TT and T8 player was done. I never understood the favorite hands thing, especially when faced with a big re-raise. It’s sort of like wearing your favorite suit to a firing squad and expecting a happy ending. Well, no…I don’t think he was offering a massage, sir.

Back to the surface

In any event, we were playing 6-handed now and I was in horrible shape when we broke for dinner. As soon as we came back, I knew I had to find any spot to get it in. The problem was, we were short-handed and there was action on both my blinds. 62o, 84s…the usual. Finally, I was in the DB with 20k or so with KT. When the hijack raised (a big stack raising light…T9, A6 and the like), I shrugged and shoved. One caller behind (ugh) and they checked down a J9x flop. “Q!” I’m thinking but the poker gods did not see me worthy of salvation and my prayer went unanswered. JJ > KQo > KTo and I was out in 12th. Good game, sir, here's $10,535 for your 18 hours work.

Results of the CA State Poker Championships

Like Dante’s work, the end was pretty anti-climatic. One minute I was staring at the final Circle, and the next minute I was back on Earth. I cashed out the $10,535 in chips and drove home happy with my 1st day play but aware that I mangled a couple of critical spots on the 2nd day that cost me a spot at the final table. That said, I survived the Inferno and consider myself in a better position to find my way toward part 3 of the epic (Paradise, for those of you digging for the Cliff Notes). Unfortunately, in the three part classic, there’s a stop in Purgatory to deal with before Paradise can be enjoyed. Whatever, Purgatory’s where those whose vices include extravagance and sins of the flesh hang out. At least I’ll know my way around those parts.

Still digging,

Edmond

P.S. For reference...

Defying even the most aggressively managed expectations, I made it into day 2 of the California State Poker Championships with an average stack. 362 runners started the day; we're down to 40 players with the money at 27.

Play resumes tomorrow at 2p PST with blinds at 600/1200 and a 200 ante. I'm sitting with 42,800 (average is 45,000 or so). Remaining players include James Woods and Amir Vahedi; notables eliminated today include Jamie Gold, Men Nguyen, Kenna James, etc.

I've been hovering around an average stack since my early chip lead (15 minutes in a guy shoved into my flopped straight). I can't say I've been card dead--I flopped straights and sets, had AK a number of times and AA-99 repeatedly. Apparently, I've been unable to convince my opponents I'm full of crap so the vast majority of my hands have gone raise, nail flop, bet out, win modest pot. Whatever, it's better than the alternative.

I'll write something witty and poignant to convey the hurt and shame of my flame-out later tomorrow night, but for now I'm into day 2 with enough chips to see a flop.

Edmond

It's not personal.

In the Godfather: Part II, there’s a scene where Hyman Roth discusses the murder of his Las Vegas friend Moe Green with Michael Corleone.

“There was this kid I grew up with - he was younger than me. Sorta looked up to me - you know. We did our first work together - worked our way out of the street. Things were good, we made the most of it. During Prohibition - we ran molasses into Canada - made a fortune - you father, too. As much as anyone, I loved him - and trusted him. Later on he had an idea - to build a city out of a desert stop-over for GI's on the way to the West Coast. That kid's name was Moe Green - and the city he invented was Las Vegas. This was a great man - a man of vision and guts. And there isn't even a plaque - or a signpost - or a statue of him in that town! Someone put a bullet through his eye. No one knows who gave the order - when I heard it, I wasn't angry; I knew Moe - I knew he was head-strong, talking loud, saying stupid things. So when he turned up dead - I let it go. And I said to myself, this is the business we've chosen - I didn't ask who gave the order - because it had nothing to do with business!

You can see the last line here…

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Nice hand, sir!

The other day a friend of mine (newer player) called me up steaming. He had just left the Hustler Casino following a nasty beat after he had moved all in pre-flop with KK v villain’s 87o. He said, “I just looked at this guy. I mean who calls an all-in with 87o for two hundred dollars? I had only been there like 10 minutes but I was so pissed I just picked up and left.”

I said to him, “Let me get this right. You left a game with a guy on your right who was willing to call off his stack when he was, at best, a 2 to 1 dog against an unknown player? That’s stupid, sure…but you’re even more stupid for leaving. Instead of calling for your keys, you should have been calling for chips!”

I went further. “Listen. Yeah, you had a dream spot there, but the ugly truth is that 20% of the time you’re going get cracked. And when there’s a lot at stake, it’s gonna suck. You see the KK v 87o and mentally book the win at 100%, but 20 times out of 100, the chips go elsewhere. If you can’t come to grips with that, DON’T PLAY THE GAME. Seriously.”

After a little self-reflection on his part and additional love from me, “What? You want 8 guys in there leaning on you with good cards all the time? Wake up.”, I think he got it. I felt a little bit like Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross* but he’s gonna be a better player for it. My conscience is clear.

"Running bad" you say?

A little while later, I was talking to another friend who was complaining that he’s been “running bad.” What is that? A downswing? Variance? Come on. It’s just the math at work and the math works the same for everybody. If we all played the same, our short term swings would vary but our long-term results graph would look the same. The fact that our longer term results differ means one thing—some players are good (or constantly improving) and others aren’t. You’re either playing well, marginally or badly. The math is just there sorting it all out.

When a player believes he’s “running badly”, I think he should ask “Am I playing well or poorly?” and be HONEST with himself. If he’s making good decisions, his concerns should be bankroll management, game selection and getting more hands or tournaments in. If he’s making sub par decisions or doesn’t honestly know if he’s playing well or poorly, he should take the time to study, review hands and retool his game. The only player that I see on televised events consistently talking about “running bad” is Mike Matusow. Funny, most of the decisions I see him make on TV are horrible. He “runs badly”? Gee, what a shocker.

It's just business.

In contrast, I have a friend who used to be a professional blackjack player. He and his partners would look for favorable casino conditions, play basic strategy and watch for edges. When the deck was favorable, they’d press their edge as much as possible and let the math sort it out. Of course, they had downswings but there was no talk of “running bad”. They would shrug variance off as part of the business. To manage downswings, they relied on bankroll management and simply looked for MORE opportunities to put money to work with an edge. They made a great living.

In short, Hyman Roth got it right. He didn’t bitch when a good friend got shot because he knew from an early age it was the nature of the business. Hence, he avoided the mental anguish of the emotional swings of his business. Harsh? Yeah, but the applicability is there for a successful poker player. Bad beats, downswings, variance…whatever. Learn to deal with it or find another way to make a living. It’s the business we’ve chosen.

Edmond


Postscript...

* In the movie Glengarry Glen Ross, there’s a scene in which Blake (played by Alec Baldwin) is sent in to kick a group of under-performing salesman into gear. For most of the movie, the salesmen bemoan the working conditions, the lifestyle and the quality of the leads they get from headquarters. Blake will have none of it.

It’s a great scene with classic lines and must see viewing for anyone in any kind of sales. If you haven’t quoted “Put down that coffee. Coffee is for CLOSERS only.”, you need to find a spot for it!

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On Friday last, I was inspired by Pechorin's recent run through Europe and weighed my immediate options for a live poker tourney fix. Hmmm….I could head down to Redondo Beach for the soft home tournament I deal for a friend. Alternatively, lakong wanted me to come with him to the California State Poker Championships. The CSPC is a bigger field of better players (obv), but on a Friday afternoon that West LA to Commerce run is an even worse drive than the one to Redondo Beach. My home game host also pitched that he’s restocked the Jack Daniels, pushed back the start time to let me duck the worst of Friday afternoon traffic and adjusted the blind structure like I’ve suggested. Ok, Redondo it is.

New & Improved

We start with 3000 chips (5/10 blinds, 15 minute levels), run about 4 hours and pay 3 spots. If we finish early and there’s interest, we run a second one. I serve as the principal dealer and ad hoc floor person by virtue of my ability to shuffle, calculate side pots and interpret the dead button rule, all while under the influence of alcohol. Friday, we drew about 12 guys and ran a $100 freeze-out with 50% to the winner.

As I mentioned in earlier posts, several of the players in the game lack fundamentals and make plays that are hilarious or nauseating depending on whether or not they hit their 4-outer. One player in particular has, to date, shown little or no sense of hand values or judgment in the times we’ve played. That said, he’s a nice guy and anxious to learn, so I’ve given him a couple of basic books to get a better handle on the game.

Last night the improvements in his play were noticeable. He’s playing fewer hands, betting his good hands (he used to slow play any decent hand) and showing down quality. Unfortunately, another player in our group (the host) didn’t really pick up on it.

Midway through the tournament with the blinds at 150/300, UTG raised to 1000 and it folded around to the DB (our host), who called. Small blind folded and New & Improved player announced a re-raise to 3000. UTG min-raiser promptly re-raised all-in and DB… called. WTF? They show down…

QQ (UTG) v 66 (host) v JJ (New & Improved)

The queens held and our host was out. New & Improved player had both players covered courtesy of an earlier boat, so he survived the beat and continued.

On the break, the host came up to me, “My call with the sixes was a bad call, right?” Not one to sugarcoat, I told him that no, it was moronic. “Well you know New & Improved. He could have anything. I figured he’d have something stupid like 97 or KJ.” Are you brain dead? He’s playing different tonight—tighter, more card and board aware—and he’s shown great hands all night. And what about the UTG player?

Follow your head...or don't

In any event, he was out and I was still in. I continued to deal and play ABC poker and, as expected, the field thinned to 6 or so after a couple of hours. The key point in the tournament came with the blinds at 150/300 when it was limped to me in the big blind with K5o. Flop is a nifty KT5 and I led out with a half-pot bet, about 20% of my stack. One caller to the dealer button, who shoved. I called, of course, and the other player shrugged and said “I guess I have to call.”

We show K5 v KJ v AQ and I’m dodging fishhooks for the win.

Hold…I burn and turn a Q…hold…I burn and river a blank. K5 goot!

Down to four players, I was a slight chip leader but everyone was pretty evenly stacked. I dealt out a new hand and as players were checking their hole cards, another player started chop talk.

I was on the DB with AQo and curious to see how this developed but I stuck to my usual “I’m good either way. Whatever you guys want.” The small blind, heretofore open to chop talk, was suddenly uninterested in a deal. “Let’s play for a bit.” Uh, noted. We played on but I was concerned about the small blind now.

The blinds were 300/600 and with a fold to me, I raised my AQo to 2400. SM insta-called and the big blind folded. Careful, Edmond.

Flop came AJT rainbow. SB checked to me. What hands would make him duck a chop…probably TT+, ATo+. The only hands I really wanted him to have here are KK, QQ or AQ…and I had a Q so that made AQ and QQ less likely. Whatever, I shoved anyway. It’s a home game, right? He beat me to the pot and I expected the worst when he turned over…A9. Ok, so much for my ability to read a player. Thank god I didn’t have the good judgment to follow it.

My AQ held and now I was the monster stack. The other players were beside themselves and howled at A9 player for loading me up. Feeling generous, I offered the following chop “If you want, I’ll take the winner’s share and you guys can split the rest.” They took it immediately, I pocketed the six hundie and we were on to tournament #2.

As we’re setting up, New & Improved took me aside and said, “I was surprised you would let us chop with a big stack like that.” I confided in him, “Uh, you know I can’t win MORE than the winner’s share, right?” He’s obviously not at that chapter yet.

Rinse & repeat

Ten of the original twelve stuck around for the second tournament, this one for a $60 buy-in. Again, I ground my way down to the final three not getting out of line with anything. I’d normally be more aggressive late (these guys LOVE to fold near the money), but I could tell the player to my left wanted to go home. Last thing I wanted was him calling my T5o button shove light. Sure enough, a few hands later, he raised with J9 and called a shove for 30 BBs. J9 < AKo and we were down to two. The other player and I then chopped for 1st and 2nd place money with a little premium for the dealer.

At this point, it was about 1a. I was net $700 on the evening not counting drinks and goodwill generated. Meanwhile, lakong sent me a voicemail that he’d chopped a satellite but pretty much fizzled in the CAPC event. Meh, sometimes it’s better to take the sure thing.

Opera in a poker blog? WTF?

You may know that last week the music world lost a giant when tenor Luciano Pavarotti succumbed to pancreatic cancer. Unlike many classical music or opera stars, Pavarotti was open to other genres and made his music more accessible via charity concerts and collaborative duets with such artists as Bono, Meatloaf, Queen, James Brown, Barry White, et al.

He was launched into popular culture well past his prime after a performance of Nessun Dorma for the opening ceremony of the 1990 World Cup in Italy. It’s an aria from the final act of Puccini’s opera Turandot and became his signature piece. You can see him singing it at the closing ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics at Torino, Italy below. Not bad for “past his prime”, right?



He spent the latter part of his career pretty much phoning it in to opera houses (one critic put it succinctly…”he reminded me of a friendly stagehand who'd wandered onstage in the middle of an opera and decided to make the best of it.”) and printing multi-platinum CDs with Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras, aka The Three Tenors.

No opera critic ever gave him the high marks for his Three Tenors gigs that he’d have pulled for one of his 70s era performances of La Boheme, but audiences loved the crossover work, and on his worst day, he could easily hold his own with likes of Bono and Meatloaf. Furthermore, selling out a stadium paid better than selling out the Metropolitan Opera House. Play with worse players and get paid more? Pavarotti understood the value of good game selection. RIP, sir…you were a MONSTER.

Nice Potts

Fast forward to the summer of 2007 when Paul Potts, a contestant on Britain’s Got Talent (an American Idol type show in the UK), sings Nessun Dorma in his audition as seen below. It’s perhaps better titled “Cell phone salesman in bad suit sings Puccini and stuns Simon Cowell and 2,000 members of the audience to tears...”



Potts ultimately won the entire competition, beating the odds maker favorite, a talented 6-year-old girl singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow. He released an album and the single of that aria reached #2 on the UK charts, the highest position ever for a classical recording.

Believe it or not, there’s a lesson in these two performances for poker players. First, however talented you are, there’s value in good game selection. Exposing others to your talents may turn you on to a bigger market that can have a dramatic impact on your bankroll. Less competition for better money? Put your ego away and your wallet will prosper. Second, as the host of my home game learned, you need to remember that the guy that looks like a donk may, in fact, have real talent. Be careful how you judge him on first glance; he may just leave you stunned and sobbing.

Still digging,

Edmond