WPT North American Championship - Updates
Here is the link from Day 1 of the WPT NAC:
http://news.pokerpages.com/index.php?option=com_simpleblog&task=view&id=1780
Looks like about 500 players so they have had to split the tournament into two days. Any forum members that we should be watching out for? Lots of the big name pros playing in this tournament, unlike the Cdn Open.
http://news.pokerpages.com/index.php?option=com_simpleblog&task=view&id=1780
Looks like about 500 players so they have had to split the tournament into two days. Any forum members that we should be watching out for? Lots of the big name pros playing in this tournament, unlike the Cdn Open.
Comments
I busted out somewhere around 160 of the 265 that started wednesday. I decided to play wednesday instead of thursday, because if I busted out, I could try to drink my 10k worth of free booze at the WPT players party that night (a bad omen, in retrospect).
Sadly, the poker gods were not looking out for me, as I couldn't hit a flop all day. I only hit 1 set in 10 hours--and didn't get paid for it. 2nd hand of the day, my top two KJ lost when 78 hit trip 7s on the river. And I was betting it pretty hard and have no idea how buddy could call me with bottom pair to the river??? Next hand, my pocket Queens lost to pocket kings, but luckily and Ace hit on the turn and kept me from going broke. After that I treaded water between 12k and 15k for the next 8 hours, winning and losing some small pots. Every time I made a move, it seemed like someone was coming over the top. It was so frustrating, to wait years to play in an event like this and not get any cards to work with.
I had one table change at level 3 - to a table with John Juanda. I asked him if anyone has ever called him, "A Fish Called Juanda" and he looked at me like I was crazy. Amnon Filippe was also at the table and they both had over 60k in chips, so I had to avoid them and try to pick on the smaller stacks. Amnon is a really nice guy and I hope he does well. I must have picked up AK and AQ like 6 times, made big raises to like 4 or 5 BBs, and then couldn't hit the flop. Then I would make continuation bets and get raised over the top, and in those instances I was not willing to re-raise all my chips back with just Ace high. Amnon did it twice to me, and both times he should big pockets.
Only by stealing once every few orbits was I able to keep at around 12k... I got pocket Jacks, made a big raise, and then someone went all in behind me. I threw them away. He showed Aces. Then I got all my chips in, about 10k, with Jacks again, and got called by the lady beside me, with Jacks. Just typical of the day.
With my M lower than 10, and facing a table with a lot of chips, I knew I had to make a move. I didn't want to just fold until Friday, to say I lasted the first day, and then have to play with like 6k. What's the point? So I pushed all-in from the button with 99, over the top of a raiser in early position. BB calls with AA. That was that.
All in all - an incredible experience. I will be back next year for sure. Everyone I met was so friendly. I ate lunch with Jim McManus - which was a thrill for me, as I am a writer too. I had dinner with the winner of the WPT Foxwoods from this year. I can't remember his name but he was a Guyanese guy from New York. He told me about being on high stakes poker just last week.
Actually, everyone I met was really nice. Gavin Smith is insane. He paid this stuntman I was hanging out with from L.A. 200 bucks to drink 10 vodka shooters. And the guy did it without blinking. Unreal. Then Gavin offered him 500 to do 10 more, and the stuntman's girlfriend (who is the WPT media director) freaked out and wouldn't let him do it. We closed down dragonfly last night and Gavin was so smashed, it was hilarious. I was hanging out with the Press girls, and then when they introduced me to Gavin as a journalist, he told them I was a poker player and that I was bullshitting them. I guess he saw me in the tournament that day.
So having busted out of the event, I picked up a press pass and get to watch all the action from tableside. I'm at my laptop right now inside the room, and just saw Negreanu bust out first on day 2! Set of Queens took down his KK. Sitting right beside Daniel was Carlo Coliaccovo's twin brother.
Oh, Gavin is playing today BTW, and hie eyes are so bloodshoot it's hilarious. I just walked over to his table and told everyone to take it easy on him since we closed down the club at 3 a.m. There was this really pretty internet player who was also in the club with us at 3. She offered me a few shooters and pulled out a huge wad of $100 American bills. But some guy who was trying to pick her up paid for the drinks. Thanks buddy! I just saw her at her table now and she told me she went back to her room last night and won 35k playing on-line completely hammered. Unreal the lives some of these pros live.
I'll post some more later.
I think the total count of pros in the field was about 10%. Amnon told me yesterday that at WPT events, it's usually closer to 40%.
I am finding it very hard to work while the tournament is going on. I still can't believe I'm out, and it's depressing. There is no way I am going to last until Sunday, it's too hard to watch other people play, so I'm going to play some poker now.
Just reading your re-cap make me want to play in this event next year and I'm really going to try and give it a shot.
Prophet 22
I have 3 pros at my table, a couple of scandanavian guys and a costa rican who won a WPT event in 2000 or 2001. Gonna play tight!!!
The deck smacks me in the face and then punches me in the gut. 4 of my first 8 hands are qq twice and aa twice, I flop sets twice and lose all 4 hands. I've lost 4k in chips in 20 min. and i haven't shown a hand yet. I know what the table is thinking, " here's where I can double through on. " YUCK!!
Lots of time, no need to panic, lots of play left.
Run my chips back to 21k, 1 minute before dinner, "i'm ready for a break", limp, limp , pro to my right goes to 800, look down KK. I will just call, Ace comes off I can comfortably throw my hand away. Guy to my left calls and one more caller, 3500 pot.
Flop comes K-8-5 with 2 clubs, jackpot!! Pro checks , I bet 2k , guy to my left goes to 5k, fold, fold. I'm not going to get fancy, ALL-IN, he calls. I table my set, he tables his set of 8's. I open my big mouth and say "sorry man" just as the dealer is in slow motion turning the GROSSEST 8 i have ever seen. My stack is decimated. The guy has the audacity to tell me how he got rivered earlier a couple of times for 8k. Yeah that makes me feel better.
Dinner almost came up, and I last another hour after the break before sent packing.
There was a guy 3 tables up from me where all the action was. This guy in seat 10 apparantly says to the table " I am going to raise blind All-in every time the levels change 4 times in a row". Yeah right. Guess what, he did it. 25-50 blinds , call, call, Raise to 19600, fold all the way around. Every level. Set the table right off. Guys calling him down with k-7s , A-4 s, it was nuts. He had the chip lead at his table at the dinner break. Comes back from dinner and a blind change and busts out 3 or 4 hands later. I guess no one told him he was playing for a million plus $$$$.
The experience was unbelivable! The event was top notch and I pray i get another chance next year.
I don't get how you can flop sets twice and lose the hands without showing. Can you tell us the HHs?
Yeah I don't get that, you only lost $4k with 2x AA, and 2x QQ, and twice you flopped sets? Did you fold to reraises?
I try to get fancy, end up trapping myself, both times my oppenents drew inside on me ( I made it too cheap) and both times I had to pay off their river bets because there were too many other hands I beat, and then mucked my cards after they tabled their hands.
I wish I laid it down. I pushed in, he thought about it for another minute, and called with the nines. I don't know what felt worse, the fact that I lost, or the fact that I had a good idea that his hand was good, but I still couldn't get away from it. I guess I convinced myself he had AK too, and didn't want him to show me after I laid it down.
Today I won back about half of it so all in all, it's a lesson learned I guess. But I got the hell out of the Falls as soon as I could.
The side games were pretty crazy last night. I was the only Canadian at my table, in between two Danes and another Swede. A lot of people had busted out of the WPT, and a bunch other were just there for the action. Amir Vahedi was playing in the big game 2 tables away, and these guys had stacks of brown bills pilled up about 5 inches high. If anyone wants some crazy action, tonight and tomorrow at Fallsview will be bananas.
While the 25-25 level was added to the structure, there was an important level taken out. A typical tournament goes 50-100, 100-200, then 100-200 with an ante. This one goes 25-25, 25-50, 50-100, 100-200 with an ante, skipping the 100-200 level.