Dave's WSOP Adventure -- UPDATE #3
I got a call from Wader. At the supper break he had $25,000 chips. Go Wader!
The photos are at www.CanadianPoker.com.
The tournament is 8300+ players. 10.5 million for first. Twelve players will get at least $1 million.
UPDATE 3: Poker good, craps bad, supper delicious
Morning routine
It’s hard to sleep in Las Vegas. At least, it is for me. After writing up UPDATE #2 it was 2:30 am when I finally went to bed. I got up at 7 am. Ridiculous. I remember last year that when I busted out I slept REALLY well. So, although I do not feel nervous at all I suspect that there is a lot more hidden stress than one realizes.
Nothing else to do, I got up, got some Starbucks (I really do not like Starbucks drip coffee I have decided), and the paper. USA Today has an eight page special section dedicated to the WSOP Championship. This poker thing is really catching on.
I note that when I come back up to the room that my door is ajar. I am reminded of seeing a note somewhere that says “Pull your door shut.†I should take that note seriously since I do not relish the thought of leaving my door open all day. Although the Rio has digital room safes. I am surprised. They gouge you for EVERYTHING else but the room safe is free. In fact, I bought the “five day access†to the spa – five days, $80. And the gym is really small and lousy.
Riding up on the elevator I note that I prefer lower floors. Why? On the way down I have the least time in the elevator and on the way up I am first off so I do not have to wait through all the other people getting off at their floors.
I go for a short, vigorous workout and then meet Randy Blumer at 9:45 to head over to the Venetian for a poker tournament and breakfast. We register and have breakfast.
***INSERT PHOTO***
Two notable cultural differences between U.S. and Canada: (1) “wheat toast†instead of “brown toast†and (2) The egg yolks are REALLY yellow which I assume is because they are corn fed.
Time for some gambling
After breakfast I play a little craps. I have the joy of standing beside “The Assassin.†He is a sixty year old pot-bellied piece of work who knows everything about everything and insists on the craps crew calling him “the assassin.†I would describe him as a male version of a cougar. I net a $35 loss.
Now ready to head to the poker room for the tournament Randy Blumer suggests that we wander into the sports book and place a bet on something that we know absolutely nothing about. Me? Do something impulsive and silly? Hell, yeah! Randy bets on the #4 horse to show. I take an exacta box of 1,3,5,7 ($120). And they’re off! #4 wins by six lengths (Randy scores a $64 win). None of my horses finish in the top three. I lose $120.
The tournament starts at noon. It is a great little tournament. ½ hour levels, lots of chips, good blind structure. I recommend it. There are 66 players. I did not make notes about the tournament as I was trying to make sure I did not over tax my small brain. IN the end, I finished in 6th place for a win of $580 on $180 in entry. Net +400. Poker good. Craps bad.
There are three odd incidents during the tournament.
Incident 1: The dealer advances the button an extra spot, deals, and two players fold. Then it is noted that the button is in the wrong spot. There has not been any action. The floor rules that it stands and keep playing. Poor decision. A misdeal would have been a much better decision.
Incident 2: The dealers change and the new dealer tells the players, “Please protect your cards players I have already mucked to hands this morning.†This results in a giant argument. Several players are all pointing out to him that he should not take his cards if they are not over the fold line, etc. The dealer politely tries to show them what sometimes happens and they keep arguing with him. In essence the players were arguing “We do not have to protect our cards if we do not want to.†OK. Fair enough. The brewhaha comes to an end when I finally point out to the two main parties, “You guys are right. If you do not want to protect your cards you do not have to. Just leave them out there and nobody will mind.â€
Incident #3: Near the bubble I get a guy all in on the turn. I have 5-3 of hearts. He has 5-3 off. The board is A-2-4-K with two hearts. We both have a straight I have a hearts draw. The dealer turns the river, it’s an ace: chop pot. But, very quickly, the dealer turns ANOTHER river and it’s a heart. “Flush†he announces and he mucks ALL the cards and begins pushing me the entire pot. There is a lot of shouting, etc. The floor comes over and the dealer does not understand what the problem is – “This gentleman made a flush on the river and I am giving him the pot.†I was, all along, insisting that it was a chop pot. It was only when the floor arrived that I finally was able to get through to the dealer and the pot was, in fact, split.
At the tournament I bump into Adrian Thomas from B.C. He plays tomorrow at table 28. We make a $100 last-longer bet.
Overall I played very well but I did make one bad call near the end.
Supper and more gambling
Back to the Rio to clean up and head to Fiore for the Team Planet supper. A small, intimate gathering.
***INSERT PHOTO***
I have Kobe beef for the first time ever. It was fantastic. Very tender, very delicious.
And, we made a last longer bet.
***INSERT PHOTO***
After dinner I lured Bob Jarrett to the Craps table. Oops. $500 loss for me. Maybe I can recoup it at roulette. That’s always a good idea. Oops. $300 loss. Oh well, you can’t be a top flight poker player unless you have “the gambling leak.â€
To be by 12:30. I woke up at 6 but I forced myself to stay in bed until 8 am. Although that last two hours of sleep were restless, it was sleep. I am well rested and ready to go.
I am leaving now for a trip to the gym – 20 minute fast run and a quick session of weights – breakfast and day 1b at the WSOP, table 15, seat 7.
The photos are at www.CanadianPoker.com.
The tournament is 8300+ players. 10.5 million for first. Twelve players will get at least $1 million.
UPDATE 3: Poker good, craps bad, supper delicious
Morning routine
It’s hard to sleep in Las Vegas. At least, it is for me. After writing up UPDATE #2 it was 2:30 am when I finally went to bed. I got up at 7 am. Ridiculous. I remember last year that when I busted out I slept REALLY well. So, although I do not feel nervous at all I suspect that there is a lot more hidden stress than one realizes.
Nothing else to do, I got up, got some Starbucks (I really do not like Starbucks drip coffee I have decided), and the paper. USA Today has an eight page special section dedicated to the WSOP Championship. This poker thing is really catching on.
I note that when I come back up to the room that my door is ajar. I am reminded of seeing a note somewhere that says “Pull your door shut.†I should take that note seriously since I do not relish the thought of leaving my door open all day. Although the Rio has digital room safes. I am surprised. They gouge you for EVERYTHING else but the room safe is free. In fact, I bought the “five day access†to the spa – five days, $80. And the gym is really small and lousy.
Riding up on the elevator I note that I prefer lower floors. Why? On the way down I have the least time in the elevator and on the way up I am first off so I do not have to wait through all the other people getting off at their floors.
I go for a short, vigorous workout and then meet Randy Blumer at 9:45 to head over to the Venetian for a poker tournament and breakfast. We register and have breakfast.
***INSERT PHOTO***
Two notable cultural differences between U.S. and Canada: (1) “wheat toast†instead of “brown toast†and (2) The egg yolks are REALLY yellow which I assume is because they are corn fed.
Time for some gambling
After breakfast I play a little craps. I have the joy of standing beside “The Assassin.†He is a sixty year old pot-bellied piece of work who knows everything about everything and insists on the craps crew calling him “the assassin.†I would describe him as a male version of a cougar. I net a $35 loss.
Now ready to head to the poker room for the tournament Randy Blumer suggests that we wander into the sports book and place a bet on something that we know absolutely nothing about. Me? Do something impulsive and silly? Hell, yeah! Randy bets on the #4 horse to show. I take an exacta box of 1,3,5,7 ($120). And they’re off! #4 wins by six lengths (Randy scores a $64 win). None of my horses finish in the top three. I lose $120.
The tournament starts at noon. It is a great little tournament. ½ hour levels, lots of chips, good blind structure. I recommend it. There are 66 players. I did not make notes about the tournament as I was trying to make sure I did not over tax my small brain. IN the end, I finished in 6th place for a win of $580 on $180 in entry. Net +400. Poker good. Craps bad.
There are three odd incidents during the tournament.
Incident 1: The dealer advances the button an extra spot, deals, and two players fold. Then it is noted that the button is in the wrong spot. There has not been any action. The floor rules that it stands and keep playing. Poor decision. A misdeal would have been a much better decision.
Incident 2: The dealers change and the new dealer tells the players, “Please protect your cards players I have already mucked to hands this morning.†This results in a giant argument. Several players are all pointing out to him that he should not take his cards if they are not over the fold line, etc. The dealer politely tries to show them what sometimes happens and they keep arguing with him. In essence the players were arguing “We do not have to protect our cards if we do not want to.†OK. Fair enough. The brewhaha comes to an end when I finally point out to the two main parties, “You guys are right. If you do not want to protect your cards you do not have to. Just leave them out there and nobody will mind.â€
Incident #3: Near the bubble I get a guy all in on the turn. I have 5-3 of hearts. He has 5-3 off. The board is A-2-4-K with two hearts. We both have a straight I have a hearts draw. The dealer turns the river, it’s an ace: chop pot. But, very quickly, the dealer turns ANOTHER river and it’s a heart. “Flush†he announces and he mucks ALL the cards and begins pushing me the entire pot. There is a lot of shouting, etc. The floor comes over and the dealer does not understand what the problem is – “This gentleman made a flush on the river and I am giving him the pot.†I was, all along, insisting that it was a chop pot. It was only when the floor arrived that I finally was able to get through to the dealer and the pot was, in fact, split.
At the tournament I bump into Adrian Thomas from B.C. He plays tomorrow at table 28. We make a $100 last-longer bet.
Overall I played very well but I did make one bad call near the end.
Supper and more gambling
Back to the Rio to clean up and head to Fiore for the Team Planet supper. A small, intimate gathering.
***INSERT PHOTO***
I have Kobe beef for the first time ever. It was fantastic. Very tender, very delicious.
And, we made a last longer bet.
***INSERT PHOTO***
After dinner I lured Bob Jarrett to the Craps table. Oops. $500 loss for me. Maybe I can recoup it at roulette. That’s always a good idea. Oops. $300 loss. Oh well, you can’t be a top flight poker player unless you have “the gambling leak.â€
To be by 12:30. I woke up at 6 but I forced myself to stay in bed until 8 am. Although that last two hours of sleep were restless, it was sleep. I am well rested and ready to go.
I am leaving now for a trip to the gym – 20 minute fast run and a quick session of weights – breakfast and day 1b at the WSOP, table 15, seat 7.
Comments
That is brutal! With all the stuff coming out of the WSOP (pre-ME) and reports on the different side-games and tournies, it sounds like you need to pay pretty close attention to make sure you don't get screwed (and even then they may make the wrong decision anyway). Classy that you were arguing "right" rather than staying quiet.
I'm loving your reports, can't wait for the next one. Good luck with 1b!
I am gald to see that you stuck up for what was right. A lot of people would have kept their mouths shut.
Don't you love free rolling for the win on chopped pots?
Keep'em coming!