Harvest Poker Classic report.
Not much to report, really... 
As if. I go on and on in these things. My poker results were unspectacular, to say the least, but I had a GREAT time nonetheless. When you're playing with money you can afford to lose, it's possible to lose and still have fun, if that makes any sense.
Of course, it would have been much better if I'd won.
Thursday: I arrived in Regina shortly after the start of the O-8 tournament, and found Dave playing at a table near a rail, which meant that I could watch. Because it was O-8 he was able to talk to me in between hands, instead of having to watch his opponents. I don't know much about O-8, but I have a feeling that all you'll get from observing your opponents is a keen sense that he/she is doing a lot of math.
I played some 15/30 and lost a bit, and ate some dinner. A general note about the waiting lists for the cash games for this tournament series... chaos. The staff was all very nice, but the system just wasn't working. Picture a whiteboard at one end of the Air Canada Centre. Now picture a bunch of poker tables at the other. Now make it so there's no PA system. What you'll end up with is dealers yelling 'seat open', but nobody near the whiteboard can hear them. So, the seats stay open, and eventually a player who's been hanging around the tables instead of the whiteboard--regardless of whether or not he was on the list--takes the seat. Since the players on the list are waiting by the list like they're instructed to do, and since nobody near the list has any idea that a seat was ever open in the first place, the people on the list are at a pretty serious disadvantage.
Also, at one point I was third on a list, then I turned around, and when I turned back I was 8th. How that happened, I have no idea... but eventually I figured out that the whiteboard system wasn't a system, and made the best of it. To be fair, though, I think that what they were lacking in organization they made up for with the quantity of tables they had open. It looked like maybe 14 or so at one point.
So, I ate dinner, and then went out for dinner with Dave after he busted. I had a couple of pints, and some good conversation.
Friday: The day started with the pokerforum.ca breakfast, which was a blast. Try having a normal, nonchalant breakfast with a camera operator, sound guy, and producer circling around you... it ain't easy!!!
But we had a good time... I got to meet some forum people, and it was nice to see Adam** again, who did an excellent job of playing the role of 'interviewer' with Dave by asking the questions that the producer wanted to have asked in a very natural way.
Then I played the limit event, and it was a train wreck. Nothing really exciting... no good starting cards, and the starting cards I did have missed the flop completely. I think ATo was the best hand I'd been dealt on the trip so far, including the cash game from the night before, and with the blinds as small as they were it was pretty tough to steal. So, I busted out before the dinner break after a couple of draws missed. Played some 20/40 for a while with, again, unspectacular results. (At this point I was thinking that cards from Regina hated me.) Interestingly enough, some people recognized me from CPP throughout the trip, which I thought was very nice, and a good way to meet people.
One more thing about that 20/40 game. There was a big guy named Joe playing who played any two cards, regardless of position, whether or not the pot had been raised, etc... If he was in the small blind and somebody raised, he'd say "that's my small blind you're trying to steal" and 3-bet it. Furthermore, there was another guy who had it in for him, and was therefore playing any two cards himself, sometimes blind. I was waiting for a hand to get involved with in some of these monster pots, but none came. :frown:
Then I watched Dave at the final table. A note on watching Dave play poker in general: it ain't boring. You don't have to wait very long before he plays a hand, and he's usually raising. I thought he played great... I stood on a chair trying to see the action. The buddha was on the table, and the camera crew was hanging on his every move. Unfortunately, after a couple of pot-committed all-in situations (at least that's what I thought they were from 15 feet away but I might be wrong) he busted out in 6th place. Very nice result, and I'd have to place better than 6th on Saturday to win our last-longer bet.
Saturday: Before the NL tournament started, I ran into Ron again (from my last Regina report) and we had some breakfast. Then I played the tournament, and I busted out before the dinner break again. But, on the upside, I was getting some cards! Also, I had just about the best time I've ever had at a tournament table, except for maybe the summer pokerforum tournament. A few interesting hands... in the first or second level I limped in EP with pocket 3's, one more limper and the blinds checked. Flop was K 6 3 with 2 clubs. I think I check-raised it or something, and it got heads-up with me and the other limper. Turn was another 3, giving me quads, with no more clubs on the board. I made a medium-sized bet, and the limper pushed, and I called. He had pocket sixes for a bigger flopped set, and I'd turned a one-outer on him.
I built my stack up nicely, without taking any further rebuys after the initial immediate one. After the add-on came around I had about 7K, and was top 3 at my table, for a minimal cost. So, I was feeling pretty good, and then things went wrong. I had TT in the BB with the blinds at 75/150 I think, and called a raise from an MP player. Heads-up, and the flop came Q93. I checked, he bet, and I called. I didn't really know where I was at, but I didn't think my opponent would be able to fire another bullet without the goods on the turn, so I was just going to see what he'd do. The turn was a 7 or something, I checked, he made a bigger bet, and I folded.
Then I bluffed off half of my stack against a player who was just checking and calling me with a flopped set. He wasn't a great player, and I don't think he knew where he was at in the hand, which made me think I could steal it, so I tried to steal it and failed. That brought me down to around 2700 with 150/300 blinds and a 25 ante. I picked up AKo UTG, and thought and thought about how much to bet. Triple the blinds? That's 1/3 of my stack, and what do I do on the flop if I miss? I decided to just push and hope for the best. I got called by a player with a 4K stack, who had TT. Flop had an ace, turn was a ten, and that was it for me!
20/40 that night was much better, and I managed to win back almost half of my weekend's losses, which had amounted to about $300 in cash games to that point, $800 in tournament expenses, and $200 to Dave.
One other thing: an announcement was made before Saturday's tournament that Casino Regina, in conjunction with Dave Scharf, CPP and the CPT, will be hosting a tournament with a $1 million prize pool. No details yet (dates, buy-in, etc...) but I suspect that Dave has chosen Casino Regina to host the 'CPT championship event' with a buy-in of around 2000 or 2500 or so. I'm totally guessing, though.
Sunday: I got to watch a lot of people freak out at an airport today. I had to go from Regina to Calgary, and then hop on a plane from Calgary to Toronto. Apparently there was a flight that was supposed to go to Halifax, leaving from the same gate as the one I was waiting at in Calgary today. It was seriously delayed, and the Halifax-bound people were wondering what the hell was going on, because the Toronto passengers were boarding before the Halifax plane even showed up. Finally the announcement was made: Halifax is under 2 feet of snow, the power's out, and the Halifax airport's closed for 2 days. Ouch. THAT'S a bad beat.
Cheers,
all_aces
As if. I go on and on in these things. My poker results were unspectacular, to say the least, but I had a GREAT time nonetheless. When you're playing with money you can afford to lose, it's possible to lose and still have fun, if that makes any sense.Of course, it would have been much better if I'd won.
Thursday: I arrived in Regina shortly after the start of the O-8 tournament, and found Dave playing at a table near a rail, which meant that I could watch. Because it was O-8 he was able to talk to me in between hands, instead of having to watch his opponents. I don't know much about O-8, but I have a feeling that all you'll get from observing your opponents is a keen sense that he/she is doing a lot of math.
I played some 15/30 and lost a bit, and ate some dinner. A general note about the waiting lists for the cash games for this tournament series... chaos. The staff was all very nice, but the system just wasn't working. Picture a whiteboard at one end of the Air Canada Centre. Now picture a bunch of poker tables at the other. Now make it so there's no PA system. What you'll end up with is dealers yelling 'seat open', but nobody near the whiteboard can hear them. So, the seats stay open, and eventually a player who's been hanging around the tables instead of the whiteboard--regardless of whether or not he was on the list--takes the seat. Since the players on the list are waiting by the list like they're instructed to do, and since nobody near the list has any idea that a seat was ever open in the first place, the people on the list are at a pretty serious disadvantage.
Also, at one point I was third on a list, then I turned around, and when I turned back I was 8th. How that happened, I have no idea... but eventually I figured out that the whiteboard system wasn't a system, and made the best of it. To be fair, though, I think that what they were lacking in organization they made up for with the quantity of tables they had open. It looked like maybe 14 or so at one point.
So, I ate dinner, and then went out for dinner with Dave after he busted. I had a couple of pints, and some good conversation.
Friday: The day started with the pokerforum.ca breakfast, which was a blast. Try having a normal, nonchalant breakfast with a camera operator, sound guy, and producer circling around you... it ain't easy!!!
But we had a good time... I got to meet some forum people, and it was nice to see Adam** again, who did an excellent job of playing the role of 'interviewer' with Dave by asking the questions that the producer wanted to have asked in a very natural way.Then I played the limit event, and it was a train wreck. Nothing really exciting... no good starting cards, and the starting cards I did have missed the flop completely. I think ATo was the best hand I'd been dealt on the trip so far, including the cash game from the night before, and with the blinds as small as they were it was pretty tough to steal. So, I busted out before the dinner break after a couple of draws missed. Played some 20/40 for a while with, again, unspectacular results. (At this point I was thinking that cards from Regina hated me.) Interestingly enough, some people recognized me from CPP throughout the trip, which I thought was very nice, and a good way to meet people.
One more thing about that 20/40 game. There was a big guy named Joe playing who played any two cards, regardless of position, whether or not the pot had been raised, etc... If he was in the small blind and somebody raised, he'd say "that's my small blind you're trying to steal" and 3-bet it. Furthermore, there was another guy who had it in for him, and was therefore playing any two cards himself, sometimes blind. I was waiting for a hand to get involved with in some of these monster pots, but none came. :frown:
Then I watched Dave at the final table. A note on watching Dave play poker in general: it ain't boring. You don't have to wait very long before he plays a hand, and he's usually raising. I thought he played great... I stood on a chair trying to see the action. The buddha was on the table, and the camera crew was hanging on his every move. Unfortunately, after a couple of pot-committed all-in situations (at least that's what I thought they were from 15 feet away but I might be wrong) he busted out in 6th place. Very nice result, and I'd have to place better than 6th on Saturday to win our last-longer bet.
Saturday: Before the NL tournament started, I ran into Ron again (from my last Regina report) and we had some breakfast. Then I played the tournament, and I busted out before the dinner break again. But, on the upside, I was getting some cards! Also, I had just about the best time I've ever had at a tournament table, except for maybe the summer pokerforum tournament. A few interesting hands... in the first or second level I limped in EP with pocket 3's, one more limper and the blinds checked. Flop was K 6 3 with 2 clubs. I think I check-raised it or something, and it got heads-up with me and the other limper. Turn was another 3, giving me quads, with no more clubs on the board. I made a medium-sized bet, and the limper pushed, and I called. He had pocket sixes for a bigger flopped set, and I'd turned a one-outer on him.
I built my stack up nicely, without taking any further rebuys after the initial immediate one. After the add-on came around I had about 7K, and was top 3 at my table, for a minimal cost. So, I was feeling pretty good, and then things went wrong. I had TT in the BB with the blinds at 75/150 I think, and called a raise from an MP player. Heads-up, and the flop came Q93. I checked, he bet, and I called. I didn't really know where I was at, but I didn't think my opponent would be able to fire another bullet without the goods on the turn, so I was just going to see what he'd do. The turn was a 7 or something, I checked, he made a bigger bet, and I folded.
Then I bluffed off half of my stack against a player who was just checking and calling me with a flopped set. He wasn't a great player, and I don't think he knew where he was at in the hand, which made me think I could steal it, so I tried to steal it and failed. That brought me down to around 2700 with 150/300 blinds and a 25 ante. I picked up AKo UTG, and thought and thought about how much to bet. Triple the blinds? That's 1/3 of my stack, and what do I do on the flop if I miss? I decided to just push and hope for the best. I got called by a player with a 4K stack, who had TT. Flop had an ace, turn was a ten, and that was it for me!
20/40 that night was much better, and I managed to win back almost half of my weekend's losses, which had amounted to about $300 in cash games to that point, $800 in tournament expenses, and $200 to Dave.
One other thing: an announcement was made before Saturday's tournament that Casino Regina, in conjunction with Dave Scharf, CPP and the CPT, will be hosting a tournament with a $1 million prize pool. No details yet (dates, buy-in, etc...) but I suspect that Dave has chosen Casino Regina to host the 'CPT championship event' with a buy-in of around 2000 or 2500 or so. I'm totally guessing, though.
Sunday: I got to watch a lot of people freak out at an airport today. I had to go from Regina to Calgary, and then hop on a plane from Calgary to Toronto. Apparently there was a flight that was supposed to go to Halifax, leaving from the same gate as the one I was waiting at in Calgary today. It was seriously delayed, and the Halifax-bound people were wondering what the hell was going on, because the Toronto passengers were boarding before the Halifax plane even showed up. Finally the announcement was made: Halifax is under 2 feet of snow, the power's out, and the Halifax airport's closed for 2 days. Ouch. THAT'S a bad beat.
Cheers,
all_aces
Comments
WOW. If this is true, I cannot wait for the announcment. Any idea when the official anouncement will be? Any idea when they will announce the time, date, buyin and what not? I will be there for sure! Gurantee it!
WOOOHOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!
As for more info, I have none. I did hear about two other things as well, though. One is a $1000 buy-in tournament in Calgary. I believe it's being run by Cash Casino, and they're renting a big space to host it in, which will accomodate 250 people. The other is a possible 10K WPT event happening at Fallsview in January, although that seems a bit early IMO considering they don't have poker yet.
I don't have any more details, but I'm sure people will post info here as it becomes available.
Cheers,
all_aces
If Dave Scharf can here me...
PLEASE RELEASE MORE INFO!!!!!!!!
LOL, Im all a buzz now over that.
I remember Joe from my stint at the Harvest Classic two years ago.
We were playing 10-20 back then. Even more action than Teach!
I figured he would raise with any facecard from any position, and
otherwise just call, unless his stack was big, then he'd raise anyway.
Huge variance -- negative expectation -- great for the game.
all_aces, thanks for ribs, martinis, and wine. I am not sure that I thanked you are the time. You are a great host. Thanks.
I don't have too much more info to release. There are several possible scenarios currently playing out. Soon, I hope, there will be more focus.
Joe is... well... hard to play against for a lot of reasons.
ROFLMAO.
I also kinda wish I was there Friday and Saturday... would have been a fun time. Would you guys (Scharf, all_aces) have had some ribs left for me? LOL.
Heck Ill be in Regina in March for the CPT poker tournament then, so I guess I will wait till then too me ya'll...
PS: Dave Scharf, looking forward too your Friday and Saturday trip reports.
ScottyZ
Overall the trip was fun. The action was great. The tournament structure was HORRIBLE though.
The NL ended too early. Half an hour for the final table was too short. The blinds and antes were too big at that point which didn't allow the players to play the flop. Everything was pre-flop. The average stacks could only push.
Oh well. See you guys at the next event
There is a rumour that the event will be the $10,000USD Doyle Brunson North American Championship. Negotiations are still going on though.
They are also opening a cardroom at the old Casino in Niagra.
Keep us posted.
It is true, email and ask texdolly and he'll tell you.
Next years "Doyle Brunson's North American Poker Championship" currently slated for next October, is scheduled to be played in a yet to be announced casino In Ontario Canada.
They plan to have the buyin set at 10K US$$.
My guess is that by then the dollars are equal so I dont see that being much of an issue. (Flame that!)
I spent a lot of time there, including in a casino, but I had no idea there were 2.
I think the new one has been there for about a year.
Also on the Falls...Im heading there this weekend so will ask around.......
Ah Joe(smile on face from ear to ear)................
Nice report AA, Hope to see you in March.
10K USD should cost us about 9k CND by the time the tournament hits, with our economy going so strong.