I forgot to mention in my last blog that on Thursday I knocked out a guy who was a quadriplegic. Jack Effel had called him onto the stage and wished him luck earlier in the tournament, but he got all of his chips in with Q-Q against K-K and I put out a dry board to knock him out of the tournament. If anyone is wondering how he played the tournament, he had a friend that flashed his cards at him and then the player would verbally state his intention to me. His friend would then physically carry out the play.
On Thursday night I picked AJ up from the airport and we drove the strip before heading back to the apartment. The next day we headed to the Rio to catch some day four action. We sat at the feature table for a while to watch Phil Hellmuth and then left the UFO to see some other players. We saw Eli Elezra, Dennis Phillips, Joseph Cheong, Darus Suharto, David Diaz, Richard Lee, David Chiu, and finally Daniel Negreanu.
We found a spot on the rail next to Negreanu's table and stood there for a couple of hours. The players went hand-for-hand just after we started watching Daniel. The tournament paid 693 players and there were 694 players remaining, so each table dealt one hand simultaneously and when the hand was completed, the dealer stood up and waited until the hand was complete on every remaining table in the tournament before dealing another hand. This went on for around 45 minutes or so, until they finally eliminated the last player to miss the money. Negreanu was all-in and called once during this period and so many cameras came running over that AJ and I couldn't see the table at all. Daniel won the hand to double his chips and stay alive in the tournament, so he avoided being the bubble boy.
Once they finally made the money, we watched Daniel call an all-in w/ A-K against K-J and the cameras came swarming again. It was obvious from Daniel's reaction when a jack hit the board, and he was crippled to only 30,000 or so chips remaining. With the blinds at 3,000/6,000/1,000 he was painfully shortstacked. His table was broken shortly afterwards, he went to another area of the room, and AJ and I decided to head to the Orleans to play in their $125 Friday night tournament. Negreanu actually ended the day at 619,000, so he must have gone on a major heater after we left.
The tournament at the Orleans turned out to be a test of patience for me and I eventually ran out. I looked at a ton of 8-3, 9-4, and J-2 type hands. I played only one hand at the 50/100 level, which was 6♣ 4♠ from the big blind after a middle position player and the small blind had limped. The flop came a beautiful 5♥ 3♠ 2♦ to give me a straight! The small blind bet 100, I raised to 300, the other player folded, and the small blind called. In retrospect, I think I should have smooth called. The turn was the A♦, the small blind checked, and I bet 600, hoping that he hit the ace. But he folded and I had to settle for a small pot.
At the 75/150 level I only played one hand as well. I looked down at 8♥ 8♣ in early position and raised to 400. Three players called and the big blind checked dark before the flop came out. The flop came 9♠ 7♠ 2♣ and I bet 700, thinking that there is an excellent chance that all three opponents missed the flop. Two players folded, but the big blind called. The turn was the 5♣ and we both checked. I could have bet, but I felt the chance to drive out a possible flush draw was trumped by the need to keep the pot small with my weakish hand. The river came the J♠ and the big blind bet 1,100. It could have been a bluff, but I think he made his flush. Or he bet his monster that he was slowplaying earlier in the hand. Either way, I'm pretty sure that I was beat, and I had no problem folding.
At the 100/200 level I, again, played only one hand. I had A♦ K♠ in the big blind. An early position player and the small blind limped in and I decided to check. I don't like my check in retrospect, but at the time I figured both that I had a well disguised hand if I hit it, and that the pot was still pretty small when compared to our stacks, so there was a lot to gain through deception. But I would prefer a raise to 1,000 or so to at least knock out the small blind. As it happened though, I was glad that I checked. The flop came Q♥ 10♣ 4♠, I checked after the small blind, and the other limper bet 600. I decided to just fold and he flashed A♥ Q♦, which certainly would have called me preflop. But again, there is the purpose of raising - I would have gotten more money in the pot when I held a dominating hand.
At the 150/300/25 level, I raised to 825 from middle position with A♦ K♦ and everyone folded. Later I limped from the small blind with Q♠ 9♥ after two other players had called. But the big blind raised to 1,200 and I folded before the flop. At the 200/400/50 level, I raised from the small blind holding A♠ 6♠ and the big blind folded.
I again played only one hand at the 300/600/75 level. Is this getting repetitive yet? Two players, including the small blind, limped in and I looked down at the Williams sisters, Q♠ Q♣, and I raised to 2,200. Both opponents called and we saw a flop of 10♥ 9♣ 4♦. The small blind checked and I bet 5,000, intending to stake my tournament on the hand. Both opponents folded and despite my inactivity, I was up to 13,600 at the break, higher than the starting stack of 12,500.
The blinds were up to 400/800/100 after the break. I was in the big blind holding A♣ Q♦ and only the small blind, an older gentleman, had called. I raised 4,000 more and he called. The flop came Q♥ 4♥ 3♦ and he checked. I was unsure if I should make a small bet to try to get some chips, or if I should shove all-in hoping to look scared. I decided to shove all-in and he grumbled that every time he had black, the dealer put out red. He folded and I moved up to 18,200 chips. Two hands later I was dealt 3♠ 3♣ on the button and everyone else had folded. I raised to 2,000, hoping to steal the blinds, but the big blind called. The flop came an amazing 8♥ 3♥ 3♦ to flop me quad threes! The big blind checked and I checked, hoping a card would come to help him. The turn was the K♥ and we both checked again. The river was the 4♦ and he checked a third time. Bummer. I bet 4,000, but he folded and I showed the table my big hand that made me almost nothing. But that is the paradox. The bigger the hand in poker, the less money you tend to make because you hit the board so hard that there isn't much your opponent can realistically have.
I folded for a long time after this hand and I was moved to the same table as AJ. There was a young player to his left that was having himself a great time making outrageous bets and calls, and, like many people playing that way, hitting everything. I watched him call a large all-in with J-5, though he did lose that hand. I was dealt Q♣ 10♣ on his big blind and I felt that there were many worse hands that he was likely to call, or even reraise, with. He did call, the flop came J♦ 6♣ 4♣ and he bet 6,000. I thought that he might do that with any two cards, so I shoved all-in with my flush draw. He called and showed one of the worst hands I could see, J♣ 2♣, which diminished my chances of hitting my flush. I was down to a Q or club to stay alive, but the board came 8♠ 3♥ and I was out. The same player eliminated AJ about an hour later.
I went in to work early on Saturday to see if I could get into the Main Event, but Amy was going to have to send around 75 dealers home without work as it was, so I really couldn't try to get in. I came back at 1:00 and I was assigned to deal the last 2PM of the WSOP. I dealt six downs and right at the end of my last down I dealt out an awesome hand. A player moved all-in with K♥ Q♣ and he was called by A♠ J♠. The flop came K♠ Q♠ 8♦, giving the all-in player top two pair and the caller flush and straight draws. The turn card was the 10♠, giving the caller a royal flush! It was only the second straight flush I dealt out the entire WSOP and the only royal flush that I've ever seen in person!
After finishing my shift, AJ and I watched Daniel Negreanu bust out of the Main Event before leaving for the day to go walk the strip. I showed him the Caesar's Palace, Bellagio, Mirage, Venetian, and Paris Casinos, and we had a great time, though we were exhausted. Despite staying up until 2AM cleaning the apartment and packing the car, we got up and left around 8AM Sunday morning to drive back home to Sacramento. All in all the trip was absolutely incredible, but it sure is great to be back home!
Monday, August 1, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Day 53: Day 3 of the Main
Thursday was Day 3 of the Main Event and I went to work wondering if it was going to be my last day or not. Amy started with the letter S, and I missed out on the Amazon Room by one person. I started the day on table 1 in the Black section of the Pavilion. Steve Brecher was at my first table and I also dealt to Jon "PearlJammer" Turner later in the day.
There was a fascinating hand on my last table of the day. There were TV cameras surrounding the table and when I got there I saw why. There were monster stacks all over the table and the players were not shy about playing big pots. The second hand after I sat down was a doozy and I'm pretty sure it's going to be on TV. The blinds were 1,200/2,400/300 and a very talkative player, who turned out to be named Max Troccoli, raised preflop to around 7,000. Tuan Vo, a young asian guy with a huge chipstack around 500,000, called from the button. The flop came J♦ 6♣ 4♣ and Troccoli checked. Vo bet 13,500 and Troccoli snap called. The turn was the Q♣ and Troccoli checked again. Vo bet 27,000 and Troccoli called quickly again. The river was the 10♦ and I began counting the deck stub. A voice in my ear told me to protect the muck pile when I was done and I thought I was being reprimanded by the floor, even though my hand was fairly close to the muck already. Troccoli checked a third time. Vo bet 35,000 and Troccoli went into the tank. He seemed to be a very loose, uneducated player, but he seemed genuinely conflicted by this decision. I heard the voice in my ear again, saying that he didn't want either hand to reach the muck and that they wanted to see both players' cards. I realized that the voice must belong to an ESPN exec, not a floorman. Troccoli asked me if he was allowed to call the clock on himself, to which I replied in the negative. The player in seat nine accommodated his request and called the clock for him. Troccoli thanked him and thought for about a minute more while the floor man came over. I figured him for two pair, since A-K would make a straight and any two clubs would make a flush. But then he said that he couldn't even beat two pair, and I couldn't believe he was still thinking about calling. He finally folded K♥ K♣ face up, but then Vo flipped over 7♦ 5♦ for a stone cold bluff to win the pot! Sometimes you just have to tip your cap to a great bluff!
Amy told me that I probably wouldn't get in to deal on Friday and asked me if I would take the day off and come in to work my shift on Saturday at 1PM. AJ was flying in Thursday night, so I agreed to take off Friday to hang out with him. I'll finish out the Vegas blog, containing my last three days soon!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Day 51-52: Pretty slow days
Tuesday was a pretty dull day after the excitement of the previous two days. I didn't get a spot to start the day, but I was assigned to push into the Blue section of the Amazon Room, so I knew I wasn't going to be on a breaking table all day. I dealt to Greg Mueller, but nobody else that I recognized. After getting pushed out at 6:30, I went to the dealer coordinator desk, hoping to get overtime, but Monica didn't keep any 11AM dealers and sent us all home for the night. I only got nine downs, but it could have been worse; my buddy Mike got three downs and spent the rest of the day dealing cash.
After work on Tuesday there was a dealer appreciation party at PT's, which is a bar that is a dealer hangout during the WSOP every year. They had some free food and a free video poker tournament. I was matched up against Kim, the head dealer coordinator. Of course I jokingly asked her if I was going to be fired on the spot if I beat her, but I had nothing to worry about. She whipped my ass. I proceeded to get drunker than I have been in quite a while, but I caught a ride home with Matt so it was all good.
Wednesday was my first off day after eleven consecutive days of dealing. Good thing too because I woke up with a slight hangover. I ran a couple of errands after Matt took me back to my car and then I went to Green Valley Ranch to play in their $45 HORSE tournament. Much to my chagrin, the tournament was already sold out! I played a little video poker instead, which didn't come anywhere near satisfying my itch to play. I'm picking AJ up from the airport tomorrow night after work and we'll probably play a tourney or two this weekend, so at least I'll get to play again before leaving.
I'm on the schedule to work through Saturday, but neither Matt nor I think that I actually will work that long. They usually start sending dealers home after Day 3 of the Main Event, which is Thursday. As a first year dealer, I should be among the first to be sent home, but Amy seems to like me so maybe I'll last longer than most first years. It would be nice to get 20 more downs before I go!
After work on Tuesday there was a dealer appreciation party at PT's, which is a bar that is a dealer hangout during the WSOP every year. They had some free food and a free video poker tournament. I was matched up against Kim, the head dealer coordinator. Of course I jokingly asked her if I was going to be fired on the spot if I beat her, but I had nothing to worry about. She whipped my ass. I proceeded to get drunker than I have been in quite a while, but I caught a ride home with Matt so it was all good.
Wednesday was my first off day after eleven consecutive days of dealing. Good thing too because I woke up with a slight hangover. I ran a couple of errands after Matt took me back to my car and then I went to Green Valley Ranch to play in their $45 HORSE tournament. Much to my chagrin, the tournament was already sold out! I played a little video poker instead, which didn't come anywhere near satisfying my itch to play. I'm picking AJ up from the airport tomorrow night after work and we'll probably play a tourney or two this weekend, so at least I'll get to play again before leaving.
I'm on the schedule to work through Saturday, but neither Matt nor I think that I actually will work that long. They usually start sending dealers home after Day 3 of the Main Event, which is Thursday. As a first year dealer, I should be among the first to be sent home, but Amy seems to like me so maybe I'll last longer than most first years. It would be nice to get 20 more downs before I go!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Day 49-50: A Couple of Awesome Days!
As expected, Sunday (Day 1D) had the biggest turnout of the Main Event so far with 2,802 players, to bring the total number of players for the event to 6,865. Consequently, for the first time in the Main Event, the dealers were spread a little thin. I began in the Purple section of the Amazon Room at the beginning of a five table row. I dealt to Men "The Master" Nguyen and Grant Hinkle, though my day was pretty uneventful. I was pretty sick for days 1B and 1C, and I woke up still feeling sick on Sunday, but around 10:30AM I started feeling a lot better. I felt so good that when I was pushed out of my rotation at 6:30PM, I went to the dealer coordinator desk and asked to work overtime. I was sent to the Yellow section of the Pavilion and dealt about six hands before the players went on dinner break.
No pushes came on dinner break, it was just ninety minutes of getting paid to babysit an empty table. After dinner the pushes came again, but I was at the beginning of five consecutive tables. The last table in the chain was super strong. The players were raising and re-raising so much that it bordered on reckless. One player had on a Santa Claus costume and I found out afterwards that his name was Jay Houston. He had already impressed me and so did an Englishman at the table who turned out to be James Bord, the 2010 WSOP Europe Main Event winner. The table broke around 10:30PM, and I was sent home after setting a personal high with 20 downs!
On Monday, Day 2A, I was assigned to the White section of the Pavilion, which would be the second section to break. I dealt to "Jovial Gent" Yevgeniy Timoshenko and Ryan Laplante. I watched a hand between the two of them while I waited to push into the table. Laplante was contemplating a 17,000 chip call on the river with a board of J♠ 8♦ 6♥ 3♠ 4♣ showing. He called with A♥ J♦ and Timoshenko showed 8♥ 8♣ for the winning set. Shortly afterward my table broke and I went to find Jimmy, the Monday dealer coordinator, for a new assignment.
Jimmy told me to come back at 4:25 for my new assignment, but fortunately I showed up early because he was looking for someone to replace another dealer immediately. When the WSOP eliminates the small denomination chips from the table, they require one player at the table to trade higher denomination chips with the other players to buy all the lower denomination chips on the table. Some high denomination chips are brought to the table, placed in the chip well, and the dealer is instructed not to touch them. The floorperson verifies the amount of small denomination chips and uses the large denomination chips in the well to, in the presence of the dealer, buy the small chips from the player. The procedure is in the Dealer Handbook and announcements are made over the loudspeaker as well. The dealer that I was sent to replace had ignored all instructions, and was using the yellow 1,000 denomination chips in the well to buy the black 100 and green 25 denomination chips and was placing them in the well. I relieved him and was instructed by the floorperson to count the chips in the well as soon as the players went on break. The other dealer was probably sent home for the remainder of the WSOP, or at least sent to the cash games. Luckily the well still had 20,000 chips, but instead of 20 yellow chips, there were 18 yellow, 10 black, and 40 green chips.
My next table had Scotty Nguyen and Marco Traniello. I think Scotty had just doubled through Marco, because Scotty kept apologizing to Marco and seemed to feel pretty bad for him. Marco was down to 8,000 chips or so, while Scotty had around 45,000. A big stacked middle aged gentleman in seat one raised Scotty's big blind to 3,000 at the 400/800/75 level and Scotty called, saying "This is my favorite hand, baby!" I put out a flop of J♦ 9♣ 4♦ and Scotty checked. Seat one bet 6,000 and Scotty check-raised to 15,000. Seat one asked, "Do I still get a picture if I put you all-in?" Scotty just smiled and seat one moved all-in. Scotty called and an ESPN exec quickly got my attention and told me to hold up. While we waited for the cameras to show up, I had Scotty count his chips and he had 42,600. Seat one's hands were shaking so badly that he couldn't even handle his chips, so I put his chips into the pot for him. The cameras got in place and Scotty finally turned over J♥ 9♥ for top two pair. But seat one turned over J♠ J♣ for top set and Scotty was drawing all but dead. I looked around for someone to tell me to deal the turn; they tell the dealer when to deal the turn and river when a player is all-in, but nobody seemed to be around. I finally found a floorperson, Charlie, and he mouthed "Go!" pretty urgently. I put the 4♥ on the turn and Scotty's tournament was over.
There was no overtime on Monday, so I had to be content with eleven downs and a good story. I think I'll probably look pretty stupid just sitting there looking around on the ESPN coverage, but the good news is that I should be on TV when they show Day 2A!
No pushes came on dinner break, it was just ninety minutes of getting paid to babysit an empty table. After dinner the pushes came again, but I was at the beginning of five consecutive tables. The last table in the chain was super strong. The players were raising and re-raising so much that it bordered on reckless. One player had on a Santa Claus costume and I found out afterwards that his name was Jay Houston. He had already impressed me and so did an Englishman at the table who turned out to be James Bord, the 2010 WSOP Europe Main Event winner. The table broke around 10:30PM, and I was sent home after setting a personal high with 20 downs!
On Monday, Day 2A, I was assigned to the White section of the Pavilion, which would be the second section to break. I dealt to "Jovial Gent" Yevgeniy Timoshenko and Ryan Laplante. I watched a hand between the two of them while I waited to push into the table. Laplante was contemplating a 17,000 chip call on the river with a board of J♠ 8♦ 6♥ 3♠ 4♣ showing. He called with A♥ J♦ and Timoshenko showed 8♥ 8♣ for the winning set. Shortly afterward my table broke and I went to find Jimmy, the Monday dealer coordinator, for a new assignment.
Jimmy told me to come back at 4:25 for my new assignment, but fortunately I showed up early because he was looking for someone to replace another dealer immediately. When the WSOP eliminates the small denomination chips from the table, they require one player at the table to trade higher denomination chips with the other players to buy all the lower denomination chips on the table. Some high denomination chips are brought to the table, placed in the chip well, and the dealer is instructed not to touch them. The floorperson verifies the amount of small denomination chips and uses the large denomination chips in the well to, in the presence of the dealer, buy the small chips from the player. The procedure is in the Dealer Handbook and announcements are made over the loudspeaker as well. The dealer that I was sent to replace had ignored all instructions, and was using the yellow 1,000 denomination chips in the well to buy the black 100 and green 25 denomination chips and was placing them in the well. I relieved him and was instructed by the floorperson to count the chips in the well as soon as the players went on break. The other dealer was probably sent home for the remainder of the WSOP, or at least sent to the cash games. Luckily the well still had 20,000 chips, but instead of 20 yellow chips, there were 18 yellow, 10 black, and 40 green chips.
My next table had Scotty Nguyen and Marco Traniello. I think Scotty had just doubled through Marco, because Scotty kept apologizing to Marco and seemed to feel pretty bad for him. Marco was down to 8,000 chips or so, while Scotty had around 45,000. A big stacked middle aged gentleman in seat one raised Scotty's big blind to 3,000 at the 400/800/75 level and Scotty called, saying "This is my favorite hand, baby!" I put out a flop of J♦ 9♣ 4♦ and Scotty checked. Seat one bet 6,000 and Scotty check-raised to 15,000. Seat one asked, "Do I still get a picture if I put you all-in?" Scotty just smiled and seat one moved all-in. Scotty called and an ESPN exec quickly got my attention and told me to hold up. While we waited for the cameras to show up, I had Scotty count his chips and he had 42,600. Seat one's hands were shaking so badly that he couldn't even handle his chips, so I put his chips into the pot for him. The cameras got in place and Scotty finally turned over J♥ 9♥ for top two pair. But seat one turned over J♠ J♣ for top set and Scotty was drawing all but dead. I looked around for someone to tell me to deal the turn; they tell the dealer when to deal the turn and river when a player is all-in, but nobody seemed to be around. I finally found a floorperson, Charlie, and he mouthed "Go!" pretty urgently. I put the 4♥ on the turn and Scotty's tournament was over.
There was no overtime on Monday, so I had to be content with eleven downs and a good story. I think I'll probably look pretty stupid just sitting there looking around on the ESPN coverage, but the good news is that I should be on TV when they show Day 2A!
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Day 47-48: Finally Dealing the Main Event
Instead of starting with the letter W on Friday, Amy started with M, so I again missed out on dealing the Main Event. I was assigned to deal the 1PM Mega Satellite, but my table was broken pretty quickly. I asked Amy if there was any possibility of staying in tournaments instead of cash and she told me to come back at 3:25 if that's what I wanted. It was only around 2:40, but I gladly took a long break in order to stay in tournaments. Amy actually hooked me up too, as I got six consecutive downs dealing the 4PM Mega to salvage my day.
I was coming down with a head cold, and feeling increasingly sick as the day went on. By Friday night I was in pretty bad shape with a headache, stuffy nose, and all that fun stuff. My roommate Marc gave me some vitamin C pills and those helped quite a bit.
I went in early Saturday and that was almost a huge mistake. When I walked into the break room, Amanda, one of the dealer coordinators, was standing with her back to me talking to some other 11AM dealers. Carl was behind her, saw me, and frantically waved at me to leave. I didn't need to ask any questions; I just spun around and walked away as quickly as I could. Carl thought she was pulling dealers to go to cash, but it turned out that she was forcing dealers to clock in early to deal the 10AM Mega Satellite, which still would have screwed me out of dealing the Main Event for the third day running. As I walked through the Pavilion Room later in the day, I saw most of those dealers in the cash section. It sucks when showing up early to work gets you a raw deal.
Amy started with Z, so I finally got a prime spot in the Amazon Room for Day 1C of the Main Event. Marco Traniello was at my first table, where I dealt out the hand of the series so far. On the third hand of the tournament, I put out a board of 9♥ 8♥ 7♥ J♥ A♥. One player showed 6♥ 5♥ for a straight flush and the other player showed Q♥ 10♥ for a higher straight flush! It was pretty amazing.
Later I dealt to Bernard Lee and got my second hand of the WSOP on PokerNews. Five players saw a flop of A♥ A♦ 9♠ and everyone checked. The turn was the 4♦ and one player bet. Bernie raised and the guy hemmed and hawed before calling. The river was the J♣ and the guy bet out more confidently. The guy was short stacked; they start with 30,000 chips and he only had 6,000 or so left. Bernie raised him all-in and the guy snap called with A♣ 9♣. But Bernie had A♠ J♦ and a better full house to eliminate him.
I also dealt to Gavin Smith. I gave him a bad beat when I put out a board of 10♣ 9♠ 9♣ 7♣ 7♥ when he held K♥ K♣ against 10♦ 9♦. If I keep this stuff up I'm going to get a reputation at the WSOP!
I was coming down with a head cold, and feeling increasingly sick as the day went on. By Friday night I was in pretty bad shape with a headache, stuffy nose, and all that fun stuff. My roommate Marc gave me some vitamin C pills and those helped quite a bit.
I went in early Saturday and that was almost a huge mistake. When I walked into the break room, Amanda, one of the dealer coordinators, was standing with her back to me talking to some other 11AM dealers. Carl was behind her, saw me, and frantically waved at me to leave. I didn't need to ask any questions; I just spun around and walked away as quickly as I could. Carl thought she was pulling dealers to go to cash, but it turned out that she was forcing dealers to clock in early to deal the 10AM Mega Satellite, which still would have screwed me out of dealing the Main Event for the third day running. As I walked through the Pavilion Room later in the day, I saw most of those dealers in the cash section. It sucks when showing up early to work gets you a raw deal.
Amy started with Z, so I finally got a prime spot in the Amazon Room for Day 1C of the Main Event. Marco Traniello was at my first table, where I dealt out the hand of the series so far. On the third hand of the tournament, I put out a board of 9♥ 8♥ 7♥ J♥ A♥. One player showed 6♥ 5♥ for a straight flush and the other player showed Q♥ 10♥ for a higher straight flush! It was pretty amazing.
Later I dealt to Bernard Lee and got my second hand of the WSOP on PokerNews. Five players saw a flop of A♥ A♦ 9♠ and everyone checked. The turn was the 4♦ and one player bet. Bernie raised and the guy hemmed and hawed before calling. The river was the J♣ and the guy bet out more confidently. The guy was short stacked; they start with 30,000 chips and he only had 6,000 or so left. Bernie raised him all-in and the guy snap called with A♣ 9♣. But Bernie had A♠ J♦ and a better full house to eliminate him.
I also dealt to Gavin Smith. I gave him a bad beat when I put out a board of 10♣ 9♠ 9♣ 7♣ 7♥ when he held K♥ K♣ against 10♦ 9♦. If I keep this stuff up I'm going to get a reputation at the WSOP!
Friday, July 8, 2011
Day 45-46: Deepstack and Mega Satellites
On Wednesday I had my choice of assignments, since Amy started with the letter A. I wanted to do day two of the $1,500 No-Limit tournament, but only two people had chosen it so far. If a table is at either edge of the room, it stands a much larger chance of being broken than if it is somewhere in the middle. So I went the safe route and chose the 2PM Deepstack instead. It turned out to be a good choice as I saw several other B's turning in their downcards to the cage early in the day (meaning their table had been broken).
I started on table 11 in the Black section, and six and a half hours later I was waiting to push into table 21. It was the highest numbered table still remaining and looked as if it was about to break any minute. I went to Jena, who was the evening Dealer Coordinator, told her that 21 was about to break, and asked her if I could just push into table 1 instead. She agreed and I ended up being stuck at table 1 for three downs and stuck in the tournament for a total of five more downs, bringing me to a new high of sixteen for one day! I was finally sent home just as the tournament made the money, with 72 remaining out of the 745 player starting field.
With around 95 players remaining, there was a huge hand at my table. The blinds were 3,000/6,000/500 and a player in early position raised to 25,000. The player to his right called and another player called as well. Then another player pushed all-in for 69,000 total. The first raiser called, as did the first caller. The second caller asked how much they had left, but eventually folded. The flop came K♠ Q♣ 7♣ and the first raiser pushed his remaining 8,000 into the pot. The other player called and the first all-in player disgustedly flipped over J♥ J♦. The other all-in player then showed 3♠ 3♥ and the caller showed 4♦ 4♣. The first all-in player suddenly realized that he was ahead and let out a yell of excitement. The turn and river came 8♥ and A♦ and he more than tripled up! The funny part was that the player who folded after calling the 25,000 said that he also could not have beaten the jacks even with an ace, king, and queen on the board. What the hell did he have?
When the field reached less than 80 players, the big stack at my table really abused the money bubble. As everyone played tighter to ensure making it into the money, he started raising every hand to steal the blinds and antes. He was even 3-betting preflop when others raised and making them lay their hands down. Finally a short stack 3-bet all-in for about 34,000 over his raise of 17,000 and he reluctantly called. The short stack showed 4♠ 4♦ and he showed A♥ 2♣. The flop came K♠ 10♠ 4♣ and the short stack yelled "YES!". But poker can be a cruel game and I can be a cruel dealer. The turn and river were the Q♦ and J♥ and the big stack made a straight to eliminate the short stack.
Thursday was Day 1A of the Main Event. After much excitement and anticipation, my day was a big letdown. Amy started with the letter C, so I was screwed. I started at 11AM and my first assignment didn't come until 1:30. I pushed into the 1PM Mega Satellite for three downs, then I went on break and was sent to start the 4PM Mega Satellite. I was sent to a break table, so a half hour into it I went on break again. I came back from break, dealt two tables and went on break again. I'm here to make money, not spend my whole damn day on break! When I came back, the 6PM shift had taken over and I was sent home. It was a lousy day, but I did deal to Darus Suharto and Leif Force. Hopefully today is a much better day, since Amy should be starting on W!
I started on table 11 in the Black section, and six and a half hours later I was waiting to push into table 21. It was the highest numbered table still remaining and looked as if it was about to break any minute. I went to Jena, who was the evening Dealer Coordinator, told her that 21 was about to break, and asked her if I could just push into table 1 instead. She agreed and I ended up being stuck at table 1 for three downs and stuck in the tournament for a total of five more downs, bringing me to a new high of sixteen for one day! I was finally sent home just as the tournament made the money, with 72 remaining out of the 745 player starting field.
With around 95 players remaining, there was a huge hand at my table. The blinds were 3,000/6,000/500 and a player in early position raised to 25,000. The player to his right called and another player called as well. Then another player pushed all-in for 69,000 total. The first raiser called, as did the first caller. The second caller asked how much they had left, but eventually folded. The flop came K♠ Q♣ 7♣ and the first raiser pushed his remaining 8,000 into the pot. The other player called and the first all-in player disgustedly flipped over J♥ J♦. The other all-in player then showed 3♠ 3♥ and the caller showed 4♦ 4♣. The first all-in player suddenly realized that he was ahead and let out a yell of excitement. The turn and river came 8♥ and A♦ and he more than tripled up! The funny part was that the player who folded after calling the 25,000 said that he also could not have beaten the jacks even with an ace, king, and queen on the board. What the hell did he have?
When the field reached less than 80 players, the big stack at my table really abused the money bubble. As everyone played tighter to ensure making it into the money, he started raising every hand to steal the blinds and antes. He was even 3-betting preflop when others raised and making them lay their hands down. Finally a short stack 3-bet all-in for about 34,000 over his raise of 17,000 and he reluctantly called. The short stack showed 4♠ 4♦ and he showed A♥ 2♣. The flop came K♠ 10♠ 4♣ and the short stack yelled "YES!". But poker can be a cruel game and I can be a cruel dealer. The turn and river were the Q♦ and J♥ and the big stack made a straight to eliminate the short stack.
Thursday was Day 1A of the Main Event. After much excitement and anticipation, my day was a big letdown. Amy started with the letter C, so I was screwed. I started at 11AM and my first assignment didn't come until 1:30. I pushed into the 1PM Mega Satellite for three downs, then I went on break and was sent to start the 4PM Mega Satellite. I was sent to a break table, so a half hour into it I went on break again. I came back from break, dealt two tables and went on break again. I'm here to make money, not spend my whole damn day on break! When I came back, the 6PM shift had taken over and I was sent home. It was a lousy day, but I did deal to Darus Suharto and Leif Force. Hopefully today is a much better day, since Amy should be starting on W!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Day 42-44: Lot of Tournament Downs
Sunday was the second starting day of the last $1,000 No-Limit Hold 'em tournament of the WSOP. I thought I was in for an awful day because Amy started with the letter C when she gave out assignments. The day before, she started with the letter G, and Matt, whose last name is Francis, ended up getting sent to the cash games along with all the other F's, because Amy was out of assignments when she got to them. Luckily, Sunday was a busier start day than Saturday and I was sent to the Orange section of the Amazon Room to start the tournament. So many dealers were needed that they pulled dealers from earlier shifts out of cash and satellites to start the tournament too.
Christian Harder was at my first table and later I dealt to Andre Akkari and Maria Mayrnick. I hit another sweet spot as my table broke between 3:00 and 3:30, which resulted in my assignment to start the 4:00PM Deepstack tournament. It's always a nice day when I get to spend the whole shift dealing tournaments!
I was scheduled to work at 1PM on Monday and I got to do my first day two restart. The $1,000 No-Limit Hold 'em had 638 players returning for day two out of a starting field of 4,576, 468 of which would make it into the money. Unfortunately, I only got to deal for about twenty minutes before they broke my table. It was enough time to dish out a bad beat however. Angel Guillen moved all-in and an older gentleman with a smaller stack called himself all-in w/ J♦ 6♦. Guillen had K♠ K♣ and I put out a board of A♥ K♥ 4♣ Q♣ 10♠ to give the older guy a straight to beat Guillen's set of kings.
After my table was broken, I was assigned to be a cage runner yet again. This time I got six downs out of it, so it wasn't as much of a waste of time. After I was released from that assignment, I was sent to the White section to start the 8PM Mega satellite. The buy-in was $550 and a whopping 483 players entered! So they sent 24 winners to the Main Event. We were locked into dealing; there were not enough dealers to push us, so I got seven consecutive downs without a break. It brought my total for the day to fifteen downs, which is tied for my best ever day! Also, I got to deal to Richard Lee, who finished 6th in the 2006 WSOP Main Event after running J-J into Jamie Gold's Q-Q.
Tuesday was the last tournament starting day of the WSOP before the Main Event. I started the $1,500 No-Limit Hold 'em tournament, which had 3,389 players, far more than anticipated. I dealt to Lauren Kling, Melanie Weisner, and Jean-Robert Bellande. I dished out a bad beat to Mr. Bellande too. He called two all-ins in front of him with A♥ K♠. The first all-in, with the shortest stack, had K♦ 4♠ and the second all-in had A♣ 6♣. So he had both of them dominated. The flop was safe, but I put a 6 on the turn to take away most of Jean-Robert's chips. I ended up with a very respectable thirteen downs, but that paled to my roommate Matt, who was locked in much of the day and didn't get off until 10:00, earning nineteen downs in the process!
I start at 1PM tomorrow (Wednesday) and hopefully I get either the $1,500 restart, the 2PM Deepstack, or satellites. I do not want cash games or the restart of the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High/Low Split. Thursday is Day 1A of the Main Event, so things should be getting really interesting real soon!
Christian Harder was at my first table and later I dealt to Andre Akkari and Maria Mayrnick. I hit another sweet spot as my table broke between 3:00 and 3:30, which resulted in my assignment to start the 4:00PM Deepstack tournament. It's always a nice day when I get to spend the whole shift dealing tournaments!
I was scheduled to work at 1PM on Monday and I got to do my first day two restart. The $1,000 No-Limit Hold 'em had 638 players returning for day two out of a starting field of 4,576, 468 of which would make it into the money. Unfortunately, I only got to deal for about twenty minutes before they broke my table. It was enough time to dish out a bad beat however. Angel Guillen moved all-in and an older gentleman with a smaller stack called himself all-in w/ J♦ 6♦. Guillen had K♠ K♣ and I put out a board of A♥ K♥ 4♣ Q♣ 10♠ to give the older guy a straight to beat Guillen's set of kings.
After my table was broken, I was assigned to be a cage runner yet again. This time I got six downs out of it, so it wasn't as much of a waste of time. After I was released from that assignment, I was sent to the White section to start the 8PM Mega satellite. The buy-in was $550 and a whopping 483 players entered! So they sent 24 winners to the Main Event. We were locked into dealing; there were not enough dealers to push us, so I got seven consecutive downs without a break. It brought my total for the day to fifteen downs, which is tied for my best ever day! Also, I got to deal to Richard Lee, who finished 6th in the 2006 WSOP Main Event after running J-J into Jamie Gold's Q-Q.
Tuesday was the last tournament starting day of the WSOP before the Main Event. I started the $1,500 No-Limit Hold 'em tournament, which had 3,389 players, far more than anticipated. I dealt to Lauren Kling, Melanie Weisner, and Jean-Robert Bellande. I dished out a bad beat to Mr. Bellande too. He called two all-ins in front of him with A♥ K♠. The first all-in, with the shortest stack, had K♦ 4♠ and the second all-in had A♣ 6♣. So he had both of them dominated. The flop was safe, but I put a 6 on the turn to take away most of Jean-Robert's chips. I ended up with a very respectable thirteen downs, but that paled to my roommate Matt, who was locked in much of the day and didn't get off until 10:00, earning nineteen downs in the process!
I start at 1PM tomorrow (Wednesday) and hopefully I get either the $1,500 restart, the 2PM Deepstack, or satellites. I do not want cash games or the restart of the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High/Low Split. Thursday is Day 1A of the Main Event, so things should be getting really interesting real soon!
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Day 39-41: Parents' Visit
Thursday started out as a letdown. My parents were excited to watch me deal. I started at 1PM and volunteered for the 2PM Deepstack, but I was sent to a section for late registering players. I literally sat at an empty table for over two hours with the starting chip stacks in front of me, just waiting for customers. Finally my parents couldn't wait any longer, because they had tickets to see the Blue Man Group. Soon after they left, players finally came to my section. I dealt two hands and then my table was broken.
My day finally got better after that. Amy sent me to deal the 5PM start of the $2,500 Mixed Limit / No-Limit Hold 'em. I was in a good rhythm and probably had my best dealing day of the WSOP so far. I dealt to Jimmy "Gobboboy" Fricke, Gavin Griffin, Nick Binger, Erica Schoenberg, Ray Henson, and Fabrice Soulier. Fabrice was in the one seat, and man did he reek of cigarette smoke! I ended the day with twelve downs, which brought my final weekly total to a new high of 63 downs!
I spent Friday with my parents and then Dad and I went to the Orleans to play in their Friday night $125 No-Limit Hold 'em tournament. I didn't play a hand in the first level of the tournament and I only played one in the second level where the blinds were 75/150. That hand was 10♠ 7♠, where I limped on the button after two players had limped already. The flop came 6♦ 3♠ 2♥ and we all checked. The turn was the K♠ and I bet 275. One player called and the river was the 8♠. I bet 775 with my flush and my opponent folded.
I also only played one hand in the 100/200 level and it was a doozy. I had 6♥ 6♣ UTG (UTG = under the gun, meaning that I'm first to act before the flop) and raised to 475. Three players called and the flop came Q♣ 6♠ 4♥. I bet 1,150 with my set of sixes and only the small blind called. The turn was the 8♥ and the SB checked again. I bet 2,300 and he called. The river was the 2♦ and the SB moved all-in for 5,900 more. My first thought was that both straight draws on the flop had gotten there; if he called with 7-5 or 5-3 he had me beat. There was 14,300 in the pot and it cost me 5,900 to call, so I had to be pretty sure I was beat if I was going to fold a set. My opponent seemed a little loose, but he seemed competent and I really didn't see him going nuts with A-Q or 8-6 or anything like that. And since my betting line had been super strong all hand, he couldn't be expecting me to fold. He expected me to call. But I didn't have the guts to go with my read and fold a monster hand. I told him that I thought he had 7-5 or 5-3, but that I wasn't good enough to fold my set and I called. He flipped over 7♣ 5♣, just like I thought and my stack was decimated from the starting stack of 12,500 all the way down to 3,100.
The blinds were still pretty small, and I did a good job of berating myself while staying off of tilt. In the next level of 150/300/25, an early position player limped, a lady raised to 800, and another player called. I looked down at A♠ A♣ and moved all-in for 2,650 total. The limper folded, but both other players called and checked down a board of A♥ K♦ Q♠ 6♣ 7♥. I flipped over my aces and tripled up to 7,650.
A few hands later, at the 200/400/50 level, I picked up 10♠ 10♥ after an early position player had raised to 1,500. I moved all-in for 7,500 and he called with A♦ K♣. The board came 8♥ 7♥ 6♣ 7♦ 10♦ and I doubled up with my full house to 16,150, which was above the average stack! A few hands later I limped Q♣ 4♣ from the button to see a six handed flop, but it came K♠ 5♦ 3♠ and I folded to a bet.
Four people had limped and I looked down at 10♠ 10♣ the next time the button came to me. I decided to limp along to minimize my risk, while concealing the strength of my hand. The flop came Q♦ 10♥ 9♦ and the UTG limper bet 1,500. One player called before the decision came to me. I was afraid of K-J, but I think the worst mistake I could make would be to call (aside from folding of course), since a king, jack, or eight could easily come and make my decision much more difficult. I raised to 6,000 and both players folded to boost my stack over 20,000.
Right before the end of the level I decided to use my stack a little bit, and I raised to 1,025 from the hijack with A♠ 5♠. The cutoff called and we saw a flop of 9♠ 3♦ 2♠. I bet 1,625 with my flush and straight draws, he called, and the turn was the 2♥. I bet 2,100, hoping to force a fold, but my opponent called again. The river was the Q♠ to bring home my flush, but with a pair on board and my opponent's actions, he could easily have a full house to beat me. I decided to check with the intention of calling any bet. He bet 3,000, I called, and he showed 3♥ 3♣ for a full house. He was shocked that I didn't raise with my flush and a little irritated that I didn't double him up. Bad break for me, but I think that I played the hand very well, so I was happy even though my stack was reduced to 12,600.
After that I moved tables, and with the blinds at 300/600/75, I looked down at Q♥ Q♣. The woman to my right had raised to 1,200 and I 3-bet to 4,200. She called, the flop came A♠ J♣ 4♦ and she shoved all-in for around 8,000. I snap folded my hand face up and she showed me her A♣ J♦. Good laydown, but it was a pretty easy decision. An orbit or so later I was dealt A♦ A♣ and raised to 1,500. The BB called and we saw a flop of K♥ 9♠ 8♣. I bet 2,000 after the BB checked and she called. The turn was the Q♠ and she checked again. I moved all-in and she folded to raise my stack to 11,075. A few hands later, I raised from UTG+1 with K♥ Q♥ and stole the blinds and antes.
At the 400/800/100 level I decided to get aggressive since I had a pretty short stack of 11,500. I raised to 2,100 from the button with J♥ 7♦ only to have the SB shove all-in on me, forcing me to fold (he showed Q♦ Q♣). Then I shoved all-in from middle position w/ 4♠ 4♥ and stole the blinds. I raised w/ Q♦ 8♦ from the hijack, but the button pushed all-in, and I had to fold again. Finally, with the blinds about to go up again, I shoved my final 6,600 with K♦ 4♦ from UTG. I was called by K♥ K♣ and I was eliminated when the board came 10♠ 5♥ 2♣ 4♠ 2♦. The tournament had around 200 players and paid 20. Dad finished 22nd.
Saturday was the first starting day of the last $1,000 No-Limit Hold 'em tournament of the WSOP. I somehow ended up with thirteen downs, despite being near the bottom of the alphabet. I started in the Purple section of the Amazon Room and my section was getting broken first, but they stopped when they got to my row and broke the Orange section instead. They broke my table ninety minutes later and I approached Amy for a new assignment. The girl in front of me was sent to the cash games and I braced for the worst. But then Amy got on her radio and said "Ok, I sent you six, do you need any more?" The answer was no and I was sent to the White section of the Pavilion to replace a dealer that wanted to EO. White is the second best tournament spot after the Black section so all in all, it was a nice day!
My day finally got better after that. Amy sent me to deal the 5PM start of the $2,500 Mixed Limit / No-Limit Hold 'em. I was in a good rhythm and probably had my best dealing day of the WSOP so far. I dealt to Jimmy "Gobboboy" Fricke, Gavin Griffin, Nick Binger, Erica Schoenberg, Ray Henson, and Fabrice Soulier. Fabrice was in the one seat, and man did he reek of cigarette smoke! I ended the day with twelve downs, which brought my final weekly total to a new high of 63 downs!
I spent Friday with my parents and then Dad and I went to the Orleans to play in their Friday night $125 No-Limit Hold 'em tournament. I didn't play a hand in the first level of the tournament and I only played one in the second level where the blinds were 75/150. That hand was 10♠ 7♠, where I limped on the button after two players had limped already. The flop came 6♦ 3♠ 2♥ and we all checked. The turn was the K♠ and I bet 275. One player called and the river was the 8♠. I bet 775 with my flush and my opponent folded.
I also only played one hand in the 100/200 level and it was a doozy. I had 6♥ 6♣ UTG (UTG = under the gun, meaning that I'm first to act before the flop) and raised to 475. Three players called and the flop came Q♣ 6♠ 4♥. I bet 1,150 with my set of sixes and only the small blind called. The turn was the 8♥ and the SB checked again. I bet 2,300 and he called. The river was the 2♦ and the SB moved all-in for 5,900 more. My first thought was that both straight draws on the flop had gotten there; if he called with 7-5 or 5-3 he had me beat. There was 14,300 in the pot and it cost me 5,900 to call, so I had to be pretty sure I was beat if I was going to fold a set. My opponent seemed a little loose, but he seemed competent and I really didn't see him going nuts with A-Q or 8-6 or anything like that. And since my betting line had been super strong all hand, he couldn't be expecting me to fold. He expected me to call. But I didn't have the guts to go with my read and fold a monster hand. I told him that I thought he had 7-5 or 5-3, but that I wasn't good enough to fold my set and I called. He flipped over 7♣ 5♣, just like I thought and my stack was decimated from the starting stack of 12,500 all the way down to 3,100.
The blinds were still pretty small, and I did a good job of berating myself while staying off of tilt. In the next level of 150/300/25, an early position player limped, a lady raised to 800, and another player called. I looked down at A♠ A♣ and moved all-in for 2,650 total. The limper folded, but both other players called and checked down a board of A♥ K♦ Q♠ 6♣ 7♥. I flipped over my aces and tripled up to 7,650.
A few hands later, at the 200/400/50 level, I picked up 10♠ 10♥ after an early position player had raised to 1,500. I moved all-in for 7,500 and he called with A♦ K♣. The board came 8♥ 7♥ 6♣ 7♦ 10♦ and I doubled up with my full house to 16,150, which was above the average stack! A few hands later I limped Q♣ 4♣ from the button to see a six handed flop, but it came K♠ 5♦ 3♠ and I folded to a bet.
Four people had limped and I looked down at 10♠ 10♣ the next time the button came to me. I decided to limp along to minimize my risk, while concealing the strength of my hand. The flop came Q♦ 10♥ 9♦ and the UTG limper bet 1,500. One player called before the decision came to me. I was afraid of K-J, but I think the worst mistake I could make would be to call (aside from folding of course), since a king, jack, or eight could easily come and make my decision much more difficult. I raised to 6,000 and both players folded to boost my stack over 20,000.
Right before the end of the level I decided to use my stack a little bit, and I raised to 1,025 from the hijack with A♠ 5♠. The cutoff called and we saw a flop of 9♠ 3♦ 2♠. I bet 1,625 with my flush and straight draws, he called, and the turn was the 2♥. I bet 2,100, hoping to force a fold, but my opponent called again. The river was the Q♠ to bring home my flush, but with a pair on board and my opponent's actions, he could easily have a full house to beat me. I decided to check with the intention of calling any bet. He bet 3,000, I called, and he showed 3♥ 3♣ for a full house. He was shocked that I didn't raise with my flush and a little irritated that I didn't double him up. Bad break for me, but I think that I played the hand very well, so I was happy even though my stack was reduced to 12,600.
After that I moved tables, and with the blinds at 300/600/75, I looked down at Q♥ Q♣. The woman to my right had raised to 1,200 and I 3-bet to 4,200. She called, the flop came A♠ J♣ 4♦ and she shoved all-in for around 8,000. I snap folded my hand face up and she showed me her A♣ J♦. Good laydown, but it was a pretty easy decision. An orbit or so later I was dealt A♦ A♣ and raised to 1,500. The BB called and we saw a flop of K♥ 9♠ 8♣. I bet 2,000 after the BB checked and she called. The turn was the Q♠ and she checked again. I moved all-in and she folded to raise my stack to 11,075. A few hands later, I raised from UTG+1 with K♥ Q♥ and stole the blinds and antes.
At the 400/800/100 level I decided to get aggressive since I had a pretty short stack of 11,500. I raised to 2,100 from the button with J♥ 7♦ only to have the SB shove all-in on me, forcing me to fold (he showed Q♦ Q♣). Then I shoved all-in from middle position w/ 4♠ 4♥ and stole the blinds. I raised w/ Q♦ 8♦ from the hijack, but the button pushed all-in, and I had to fold again. Finally, with the blinds about to go up again, I shoved my final 6,600 with K♦ 4♦ from UTG. I was called by K♥ K♣ and I was eliminated when the board came 10♠ 5♥ 2♣ 4♠ 2♦. The tournament had around 200 players and paid 20. Dad finished 22nd.
Saturday was the first starting day of the last $1,000 No-Limit Hold 'em tournament of the WSOP. I somehow ended up with thirteen downs, despite being near the bottom of the alphabet. I started in the Purple section of the Amazon Room and my section was getting broken first, but they stopped when they got to my row and broke the Orange section instead. They broke my table ninety minutes later and I approached Amy for a new assignment. The girl in front of me was sent to the cash games and I braced for the worst. But then Amy got on her radio and said "Ok, I sent you six, do you need any more?" The answer was no and I was sent to the White section of the Pavilion to replace a dealer that wanted to EO. White is the second best tournament spot after the Black section so all in all, it was a nice day!
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Day 37-38: Dealing and Payout Running
On Tuesday, I dealt another $1,500 No-Limit Hold 'em tournament. I dealt to Joe Sebok, but nobody else that I recognized. After a while, Jimmy came by and removed the break sticker from the table I was dealing at, meaning that there is no longer a break for the dealer after getting pushed from that table; the dealer just pushes into the next table in line. He told me not to push and to go see Amy when I got pushed. I thought for a minute that I was in trouble for something and then I heard him tell the dealer behind me the same thing. Then I realized that it was around 3:15, and that the Deepstack was probably delayed until 4PM and that I was probably going to be dealing it.
My suspicions were confirmed and I was sent to deal the Deepstack. The end result was that I dealt eight straight downs without a break. It was exhausting, but I did get a lot of downs in, so I'll be happy come payday.
On Wednesday my shift started at 1PM and I was right at the bottom of the alphabet. I got the option of being a payout runner for the $1,500 tournament, which was in day two and about to burst the money bubble. I was worried that if I turned it down I might get sent to cash so I took it. It was a very easy job. All I had to do was get players that had just busted, and escort them to the payout station which was twenty feet away. The down side was that I had nothing to do until 3:30 and I only worked for an hour, getting only two downs. When I went to Amy to get a new assignment, she was letting people leave for the day. My parents had just driven into town an hour before, so I decided to leave.
I met my parents at the Venetian and we walked around for a bit before going to dinner at Canaletto. Dinner was great and my Dad and I decided to go to the Rio and check out some tournaments afterwards. We watched the final eight players of the $10,000 Six-handed event for a bit, but then the $2,500 Mixed Stud/Omaha High/Low tournament went to the final table. We got a seat overlooking the table, which included Michael Mizrachi and Scotty Nguyen. We were pretty tired, so we left when there were still seven players remaining.
My suspicions were confirmed and I was sent to deal the Deepstack. The end result was that I dealt eight straight downs without a break. It was exhausting, but I did get a lot of downs in, so I'll be happy come payday.
On Wednesday my shift started at 1PM and I was right at the bottom of the alphabet. I got the option of being a payout runner for the $1,500 tournament, which was in day two and about to burst the money bubble. I was worried that if I turned it down I might get sent to cash so I took it. It was a very easy job. All I had to do was get players that had just busted, and escort them to the payout station which was twenty feet away. The down side was that I had nothing to do until 3:30 and I only worked for an hour, getting only two downs. When I went to Amy to get a new assignment, she was letting people leave for the day. My parents had just driven into town an hour before, so I decided to leave.
I met my parents at the Venetian and we walked around for a bit before going to dinner at Canaletto. Dinner was great and my Dad and I decided to go to the Rio and check out some tournaments afterwards. We watched the final eight players of the $10,000 Six-handed event for a bit, but then the $2,500 Mixed Stud/Omaha High/Low tournament went to the final table. We got a seat overlooking the table, which included Michael Mizrachi and Scotty Nguyen. We were pretty tired, so we left when there were still seven players remaining.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Day 31-36: Jessica's visit
On Wednesday I dealt another $1,500 No-Limit Hold 'em tournament. I dealt to Dennis Phillips, Adam Levy, and Rene Angelil, who is Celine Dion's husband and manager. I somehow scraped twelve downs out of the day, despite only getting three at a time between breaks. It looked for a while like I was going to be stuck in the box throughout the players' dinner break, but they sent a relief for me a little after 7:00.
Wednesday night I picked Jessica up from the airport. On Thursday it was 108 degrees and we went to the Hoover Dam. The full fledged tour wasn't for another couple of hours, so we did the power plant tour which starts every fifteen minutes instead. The video they showed us was incredibly corny, but the dam tour was fascinating! After leaving the dam, we went to the Rio for their seafood buffet which was really good, but expensive. Gotta love the employee discount!
On Friday, I worked the 1PM to 9PM shift for the first time. I was right at the top of the alphabet and had my choice between dealing day three of the $1,500 No-Limit Hold 'em, day three of the $2,500 Pot-Limit Hold 'em / Omaha mix, day two of the $5,000 Six-handed No-Limit Hold 'em, or the 2:00PM daily Deepstack tournament. In hopes of an easy day I chose the Deepstack. It also was the only tournament where I would start getting downs at 1:30; the others were either 2:30 or 3:00 restarts. I started on table 264 in the tan section of the Amazon Room, which was the first table in a set of six straight with no breaks. Fortunately, I didn't need to use the bathroom or anything! I dealt seven straight downs, getting stuck once when no push came, and then they broke my table. I was worried that they would send me to cash, but then I realized that my break would be over at 5:30, just in time for the 6:00PM Deepstack! Sure enough, I was sent to start the Deepstack and ended up back in the tan section again. Jamie, who runs the evening Deepstack, told us to pick a table so I went back to 264 again to maximize my downs. I got six more in before getting relieved, to bring my daily total to thirteen downs. Good day!
Saturday held yet another $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold 'em, and I was assigned a table in the prime real estate black section. My day was mostly uneventful, except for one table where I had my first major screw-up of the WSOP. One player moved all-in for 1,625 chips and another tossed in a blue 500 chip, a green 25 chip, and a handful of black 100 chips. My first mistake was not verifying the amount exactly, because this player had given me problems at the table already. He threw chips into the pot in phases, and I had already forced him to only call when he wanted to raise earlier. The all-in player showed 6♥ 6♣ and the caller showed A♥ 6♦. Another player said aloud that he folded A-5, so only two aces were left in the deck to eliminate the all-in player. I dragged the bets into the pot, burned a card, and started to put out a flop when another player stopped me and asked me to verify the call. The caller was actually 200 chips short, and after getting the chips from him I continued to put out a flop. One problem. I thought that I had put one flop card down already, when I had actually put two. So I rolled out a four card flop of A♠ 3♠ 3♥ 3♣. The worst part was that I knew immediately what had happened and that the ace was supposed to be the burn card for the turn. We called the floor, who instructed me to mix the cards together face down while he turned his back. I misunderstood him and mixed the flop cards with the entire deck stub to turn this into a full fledged fiasco! We had to call a tournament supervisor to the table and everything. I was supposed to only mix the flop cards together and the floor would randomly select the three to be the flop and the fourth would be the burn card for the turn. Now I had to continue mixing and put out a whole new board. I managed to flop the A♠ again to eliminate the all-in player from the tournament. I felt awful about him getting eliminated because of my mistake. Fortunately I was moving to the next table immediately afterwards so I was able to get composed again fairly quickly.
On Saturday night Jessica and I went to Japonais, which is an excellent restaurant inside the Mirage. We had a spicy octopus roll and sweet and sour calamari in a wasabi vinaigrette, which were both to die for! Jess ordered nori encrusted salmon and I ordered a pork loin with clams for our entrees which were both good, but not as good as the appetizers. It was a great meal overall though!
Sunday was yet another $1,000 No-Limit Hold 'em. I was near the bottom of the alphabet and started in the blue section of the Amazon Room. I didn't even know the Amazon had a blue section! My table broke after only a half hour of dealing and I had to go get a new assignment from Amy. Lucky for me, I pushed into the black section in the Pavilion again! The biggest name pro that I dealt to was Alex Jacob who won the US Poker Championship in 2006. Two interesting hands came up in the tournament, one because it was hilarious and one because it illustrates a subtle poker concept that apparently not all WSOP players understand.
The first hand occurred when a player made a bet with a board that read 10♥ 6♣ 10♠ Q♦ 6♥. The other player in the hand thought for a while and finally called. The first player instantly threw his cards face down across the table. Some players do this when they get caught bluffing, and it annoys some players to no end because they paid money to see the other player's hand. I properly mucked his cards and then the caller showed 5♦ 4♥. His cards didn't even play (he played the board, two pair with a queen kicker), but he won the entire pot because the bluffer mucked his hand!
The second hand is a subtle concept that all good players apply, and is one of the major leaks in the game of mediocre players. Four players saw a flop of A♥ 7♠ 4♦, and the player who had raised preflop bet. One player called. The turn was the 2♠ and the bettor bet again. The caller called again. The river was the J♦ and the bettor now checked. The caller now made a bet of around 400 into a pot of around 1,000. The other player called and showed A♠ 9♠ after the river bettor had shown A♣ 8♦. The river bettor made a large mistake in betting the river in my opinion. It is referred to as a reverse freeroll; it is a bet that can only lose money. The reason for this is that his opponent is almost never folding a better hand than his pair of aces, so the bet has no value as a bluff. Additionally, his opponent is almost never calling with a hand that he can beat, so the bet cannot be for value. So he can't win any more money with a bet, but he can lose more. His pair of aces has showdown value; checking behind the first player is the optimal play here. True, this level of thinking is a little advanced, but I would expect most WSOP players to be thinking on this level, or even above it.
Caesars' properties combine to offer a buffet deal where you can eat at any of the buffets as many times as you like within 24 hours for only $45! Sunday night Jessica and I went to the Paris Casino for our first buffet. The prime rib was awesome, and the rest of the buffet was pretty good. We went to Caesars Palace for breakfast on Monday, which wasn't all that good. We then hit the Rio buffet for lunch. While we were there I made Jessica put up with me giving her a tour of the WSOP. That evening we hit Planet Hollywood for dinner, which was the best of all the buffets. They had a Middle Eastern section, which no other buffets had, and their kabobs were excellent. Also their crab legs were even better than the seafood buffet at the Rio!
On Tuesday morning I had to take Jessica to the airport, which sucked. At least she was able to spend five days with me, two of which I had off. It worked out really well, and we had a great time!
Wednesday night I picked Jessica up from the airport. On Thursday it was 108 degrees and we went to the Hoover Dam. The full fledged tour wasn't for another couple of hours, so we did the power plant tour which starts every fifteen minutes instead. The video they showed us was incredibly corny, but the dam tour was fascinating! After leaving the dam, we went to the Rio for their seafood buffet which was really good, but expensive. Gotta love the employee discount!
On Friday, I worked the 1PM to 9PM shift for the first time. I was right at the top of the alphabet and had my choice between dealing day three of the $1,500 No-Limit Hold 'em, day three of the $2,500 Pot-Limit Hold 'em / Omaha mix, day two of the $5,000 Six-handed No-Limit Hold 'em, or the 2:00PM daily Deepstack tournament. In hopes of an easy day I chose the Deepstack. It also was the only tournament where I would start getting downs at 1:30; the others were either 2:30 or 3:00 restarts. I started on table 264 in the tan section of the Amazon Room, which was the first table in a set of six straight with no breaks. Fortunately, I didn't need to use the bathroom or anything! I dealt seven straight downs, getting stuck once when no push came, and then they broke my table. I was worried that they would send me to cash, but then I realized that my break would be over at 5:30, just in time for the 6:00PM Deepstack! Sure enough, I was sent to start the Deepstack and ended up back in the tan section again. Jamie, who runs the evening Deepstack, told us to pick a table so I went back to 264 again to maximize my downs. I got six more in before getting relieved, to bring my daily total to thirteen downs. Good day!
Saturday held yet another $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold 'em, and I was assigned a table in the prime real estate black section. My day was mostly uneventful, except for one table where I had my first major screw-up of the WSOP. One player moved all-in for 1,625 chips and another tossed in a blue 500 chip, a green 25 chip, and a handful of black 100 chips. My first mistake was not verifying the amount exactly, because this player had given me problems at the table already. He threw chips into the pot in phases, and I had already forced him to only call when he wanted to raise earlier. The all-in player showed 6♥ 6♣ and the caller showed A♥ 6♦. Another player said aloud that he folded A-5, so only two aces were left in the deck to eliminate the all-in player. I dragged the bets into the pot, burned a card, and started to put out a flop when another player stopped me and asked me to verify the call. The caller was actually 200 chips short, and after getting the chips from him I continued to put out a flop. One problem. I thought that I had put one flop card down already, when I had actually put two. So I rolled out a four card flop of A♠ 3♠ 3♥ 3♣. The worst part was that I knew immediately what had happened and that the ace was supposed to be the burn card for the turn. We called the floor, who instructed me to mix the cards together face down while he turned his back. I misunderstood him and mixed the flop cards with the entire deck stub to turn this into a full fledged fiasco! We had to call a tournament supervisor to the table and everything. I was supposed to only mix the flop cards together and the floor would randomly select the three to be the flop and the fourth would be the burn card for the turn. Now I had to continue mixing and put out a whole new board. I managed to flop the A♠ again to eliminate the all-in player from the tournament. I felt awful about him getting eliminated because of my mistake. Fortunately I was moving to the next table immediately afterwards so I was able to get composed again fairly quickly.
On Saturday night Jessica and I went to Japonais, which is an excellent restaurant inside the Mirage. We had a spicy octopus roll and sweet and sour calamari in a wasabi vinaigrette, which were both to die for! Jess ordered nori encrusted salmon and I ordered a pork loin with clams for our entrees which were both good, but not as good as the appetizers. It was a great meal overall though!
Sunday was yet another $1,000 No-Limit Hold 'em. I was near the bottom of the alphabet and started in the blue section of the Amazon Room. I didn't even know the Amazon had a blue section! My table broke after only a half hour of dealing and I had to go get a new assignment from Amy. Lucky for me, I pushed into the black section in the Pavilion again! The biggest name pro that I dealt to was Alex Jacob who won the US Poker Championship in 2006. Two interesting hands came up in the tournament, one because it was hilarious and one because it illustrates a subtle poker concept that apparently not all WSOP players understand.
The first hand occurred when a player made a bet with a board that read 10♥ 6♣ 10♠ Q♦ 6♥. The other player in the hand thought for a while and finally called. The first player instantly threw his cards face down across the table. Some players do this when they get caught bluffing, and it annoys some players to no end because they paid money to see the other player's hand. I properly mucked his cards and then the caller showed 5♦ 4♥. His cards didn't even play (he played the board, two pair with a queen kicker), but he won the entire pot because the bluffer mucked his hand!
The second hand is a subtle concept that all good players apply, and is one of the major leaks in the game of mediocre players. Four players saw a flop of A♥ 7♠ 4♦, and the player who had raised preflop bet. One player called. The turn was the 2♠ and the bettor bet again. The caller called again. The river was the J♦ and the bettor now checked. The caller now made a bet of around 400 into a pot of around 1,000. The other player called and showed A♠ 9♠ after the river bettor had shown A♣ 8♦. The river bettor made a large mistake in betting the river in my opinion. It is referred to as a reverse freeroll; it is a bet that can only lose money. The reason for this is that his opponent is almost never folding a better hand than his pair of aces, so the bet has no value as a bluff. Additionally, his opponent is almost never calling with a hand that he can beat, so the bet cannot be for value. So he can't win any more money with a bet, but he can lose more. His pair of aces has showdown value; checking behind the first player is the optimal play here. True, this level of thinking is a little advanced, but I would expect most WSOP players to be thinking on this level, or even above it.
Caesars' properties combine to offer a buffet deal where you can eat at any of the buffets as many times as you like within 24 hours for only $45! Sunday night Jessica and I went to the Paris Casino for our first buffet. The prime rib was awesome, and the rest of the buffet was pretty good. We went to Caesars Palace for breakfast on Monday, which wasn't all that good. We then hit the Rio buffet for lunch. While we were there I made Jessica put up with me giving her a tour of the WSOP. That evening we hit Planet Hollywood for dinner, which was the best of all the buffets. They had a Middle Eastern section, which no other buffets had, and their kabobs were excellent. Also their crab legs were even better than the seafood buffet at the Rio!
On Tuesday morning I had to take Jessica to the airport, which sucked. At least she was able to spend five days with me, two of which I had off. It worked out really well, and we had a great time!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Day 30: Satellite action
On Tuesday I was near the bottom of the list and I was homeless for the first hour. Amy met a group of us behind the Pavilion doors to give out assignments and said she had a couple of satellite spots available. A guy next to me and I both said "Sats" and put up our hands at the exact same time. Amy laughed and sent us both to the satellite section.
My first satellite was a $275 buy-in which sucks because the players get 1,500 starting chips instead of 1,000 and the blinds go up every 20 minutes instead of 15. Normally, the winner gets five $500 tournament chips and $120 in cash, though players work out deals once they are heads-up a lot of the time. When the satellite got three handed, they decided to play it out and give first place three chips, second place two chips, and third got the cash. Then they played the tightest poker imaginable, trying to not finish third. The satellite, which should take two hours or below, took over three hours. They were all such tightwads that I was thrilled when first and second both handed me $20 after the satellite was over. I was expecting to get stiffed.
I didn't get another satellite until 5:00 because there were too many dealers in the section and not enough tables available. Usually dealers can get four satellites in a day, but I was looking at two. Fortunately, my second satellite was a $1,050 buy-in, which awards 20 $500 chips and $120 cash, and I get paid $25 instead of the normal $15 for dealing it! A bunch of internet kids, an older foreign sounding guy, and Dan Heimiller sat down to play. I was a bad beat dealer at this table as I beat Q-Q with K-7 (two kings hit the board), A-A with 2-2 (deuce on the turn), A-K with K-Q (straight after ace flopped), A-7 with 7-5 (an ace in the window and two fives hit the board), and Q-Q with Q-9s (flush on turn). The two players remaining decided to chop it and gave me $105, so I went away happy even though the satellite finished at 8:30.
Jessica has been visiting me for five days, during which I have neglected to blog. I will blog more tonight and try to catch up a bit.
My first satellite was a $275 buy-in which sucks because the players get 1,500 starting chips instead of 1,000 and the blinds go up every 20 minutes instead of 15. Normally, the winner gets five $500 tournament chips and $120 in cash, though players work out deals once they are heads-up a lot of the time. When the satellite got three handed, they decided to play it out and give first place three chips, second place two chips, and third got the cash. Then they played the tightest poker imaginable, trying to not finish third. The satellite, which should take two hours or below, took over three hours. They were all such tightwads that I was thrilled when first and second both handed me $20 after the satellite was over. I was expecting to get stiffed.
I didn't get another satellite until 5:00 because there were too many dealers in the section and not enough tables available. Usually dealers can get four satellites in a day, but I was looking at two. Fortunately, my second satellite was a $1,050 buy-in, which awards 20 $500 chips and $120 cash, and I get paid $25 instead of the normal $15 for dealing it! A bunch of internet kids, an older foreign sounding guy, and Dan Heimiller sat down to play. I was a bad beat dealer at this table as I beat Q-Q with K-7 (two kings hit the board), A-A with 2-2 (deuce on the turn), A-K with K-Q (straight after ace flopped), A-7 with 7-5 (an ace in the window and two fives hit the board), and Q-Q with Q-9s (flush on turn). The two players remaining decided to chop it and gave me $105, so I went away happy even though the satellite finished at 8:30.
Jessica has been visiting me for five days, during which I have neglected to blog. I will blog more tonight and try to catch up a bit.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Day 27-29: Fun Weekend and Good Monday
On Saturday, I dealt another $1,500 No-Limit Hold 'em. Matt Stout showed up ten minutes late at my first table and immediately wanted to speak to the floorman. Since he was one of the later signups for the event, he drew seat 8, which is left vacant at every table and seat 8's chips are not blinded off to allow late registrants to play with a full stack. The only penalty (if you can call it that) is that they have to wait until their big blind to be dealt in for the first time. He argued that he had bought his seat the night before and that he shouldn't have to wait to be dealt in. He threw a small fit about it and the floorman came over and told me to deal him in. So I dealt him in on the first hand he was at the table, which was one hand before he would be the big blind anyway. Really, dude?
My first break coincided with the players' first break which always sucks because there is no easier money than getting credit for a down spent babysitting chips. Strange as it is, I dealt to my cousin, Michael Kinney, on my second table after the break. He told me that my uncle Mick made it late into day one of the senior's event, but busted right before the day ended. Michael was pretty card dead; he only played a couple of pots while I dealt and won none of them.
On my very next table, I looked to my right and saw my roommate Marc seated next to me in seat ten. After dealing at the table for about ten minutes, a wild sequence of hands ensued. First, an early position short stacked player raised and a late position player raised all-in. Marc looked at his cards, thought for a few seconds, and said "I'm all-in". The first player called and flipped over A♣ K♣, the second showed 6♥ 6♦, and Marc showed his A♠ A♥. I put out a board of Q♠ 10♠ 4♣ 8♥ 4♦ and Marc knocked two players out of the tournament! Less than an orbit later, another early position player raised and was called. Marc re-raised and showed A-A again after both opponents folded. A couple of hands later, Marc won again and showed K-K. I was sure happy we hadn't told anyone we were staying in the same place. Marc actually made it to day two and cashed in the tournament! He made $3,000 for finishing 220th out of 2800ish players.
Sunday morning was another $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold 'em tournament. Adam "Roothlus" Levy and Hoyt Corkins were at my first table. Faraz Jaka was at my second table and Bruce Buffer was at my third. Bruce's brother Michael Buffer is the "Let's Get Ready to Rumble" guy that introduces every major boxing match, it seems. Later in the day, I dealt to Tom Schneider, the 2007 WSOP Player of the Year. I asked him if it's surreal to see his face blown up on one of the banners outside the poker room. He laughed and said that he doesn't really think about it anymore. He said that he was really lucky that year. I talked to him quite a bit and actually talked to him a little more after my shift. He is a really nice guy.
Monday was the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha six-handed event. Yikes! PLO is always difficult to deal anyway, and when you add in the pressure of many recognizable pros at the tables, it gets pretty rough. Barry Greenstein was at my first table and he was running those guys over. He check-raised almost every dangerous looking flop and his opponents almost always folded. I also dealt to Lex Veldhuis before I had the privilege of dealing to one of the many tables of death. This six-handed table contained Brandon Adams, Amnon Filippi, Layne Flack, JC Tran, Brian Hastings, and Ryan Dodge. Fortunately for those guys, the table broke after a half hour.
Since my table broke, I had to go and get a new assignment from Jimmy. Lots of people were getting sent back into the tournament, but he asked the woman in front of me if she wanted live (cash) or satellites. She replied that she didn't like either, and before Jimmy could respond I popped over her shoulder and said "I like satellites!" Jimmy said ok and sent me to satellites. Besides my six tournament downs, I worked two single table satellites ($15 each) and made $70 in tips. A good day overall!
My first break coincided with the players' first break which always sucks because there is no easier money than getting credit for a down spent babysitting chips. Strange as it is, I dealt to my cousin, Michael Kinney, on my second table after the break. He told me that my uncle Mick made it late into day one of the senior's event, but busted right before the day ended. Michael was pretty card dead; he only played a couple of pots while I dealt and won none of them.
On my very next table, I looked to my right and saw my roommate Marc seated next to me in seat ten. After dealing at the table for about ten minutes, a wild sequence of hands ensued. First, an early position short stacked player raised and a late position player raised all-in. Marc looked at his cards, thought for a few seconds, and said "I'm all-in". The first player called and flipped over A♣ K♣, the second showed 6♥ 6♦, and Marc showed his A♠ A♥. I put out a board of Q♠ 10♠ 4♣ 8♥ 4♦ and Marc knocked two players out of the tournament! Less than an orbit later, another early position player raised and was called. Marc re-raised and showed A-A again after both opponents folded. A couple of hands later, Marc won again and showed K-K. I was sure happy we hadn't told anyone we were staying in the same place. Marc actually made it to day two and cashed in the tournament! He made $3,000 for finishing 220th out of 2800ish players.
Sunday morning was another $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold 'em tournament. Adam "Roothlus" Levy and Hoyt Corkins were at my first table. Faraz Jaka was at my second table and Bruce Buffer was at my third. Bruce's brother Michael Buffer is the "Let's Get Ready to Rumble" guy that introduces every major boxing match, it seems. Later in the day, I dealt to Tom Schneider, the 2007 WSOP Player of the Year. I asked him if it's surreal to see his face blown up on one of the banners outside the poker room. He laughed and said that he doesn't really think about it anymore. He said that he was really lucky that year. I talked to him quite a bit and actually talked to him a little more after my shift. He is a really nice guy.
Monday was the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha six-handed event. Yikes! PLO is always difficult to deal anyway, and when you add in the pressure of many recognizable pros at the tables, it gets pretty rough. Barry Greenstein was at my first table and he was running those guys over. He check-raised almost every dangerous looking flop and his opponents almost always folded. I also dealt to Lex Veldhuis before I had the privilege of dealing to one of the many tables of death. This six-handed table contained Brandon Adams, Amnon Filippi, Layne Flack, JC Tran, Brian Hastings, and Ryan Dodge. Fortunately for those guys, the table broke after a half hour.
Since my table broke, I had to go and get a new assignment from Jimmy. Lots of people were getting sent back into the tournament, but he asked the woman in front of me if she wanted live (cash) or satellites. She replied that she didn't like either, and before Jimmy could respond I popped over her shoulder and said "I like satellites!" Jimmy said ok and sent me to satellites. Besides my six tournament downs, I worked two single table satellites ($15 each) and made $70 in tips. A good day overall!
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Day 24-26: A lot of dealing
Wednesday was the start of eight straight working days for me. It was the $2,500 6-handed No Limit Hold 'em tournament. Amy started with dealers whose last names start with D, so I was right near the bottom of the list and I did not get an assignment to start the tournament. However, I did get to push into the Black section, which meant that I would be dealing the tourney all day. The only interesting thing that happened all day was that I had a pot where a woman moved all-in with A♥ A♦ and was called by a guy with Q♠ Q♣. The flop came K♦ Q♦ 4♦ giving the queens a set, but giving the aces a flush draw. The turn and river were the 10♦ and 5♦, doubling the aces with a flush.
On Wednesday morning my Uncle Mick from Alaska called me up and told me that he was staying at the Rio for the Seniors event and asked if I wanted to meet for breakfast Thursday morning. So I met up with him, his son Michael, and their friend at the Sao Paolo Cafe and had my favorite breakfast dish, Eggs Benedict. It was great to see him again and to finally meet Michael, who has won a $10K buy-in televised WPT event in Reno. They told me a few poker war stories and I told them a few of mine too. We had a lot of fun.
Thursday's tournament was $1,500 No Limit Hold 'em and Amy started with the letter B, giving me a prime location where I was assured of dealing the tournament all day! I dealt to Liv Boeree, but she was short stacked and not in a chatty mood. The most interesting thing that happened all day was getting a player all-in w/ K-K against A-A and flopping a king to double him up.
Friday was the $1,000 Seniors No Limit Hold 'em. The tournament was pretty fun to deal as most of the players were friendly and talkative. My first table featured the defending champion of the event, Harold Angle. They tried to do the pledge of allegiance before the event started, but first "Oklahoma" Johnny Hale, then his daughter screwed it up. It was lame and hilarious at the same time. The event was the largest live single day starting event in history, with 3,752 entrants! Every table in the Rio was used for the tournament and one thing about the seniors, they are conservative. Nobody was in a hurry to bust out and consequently, the 2PM Deepstack tourney and both day twos of tourneys from the day before were delayed until 4PM. I dealt my first straight flush of the tournament when a player tabled 5♠ 2♠ to perfectly match my board of A♥ J♠ 4♠ 3♠ A♠! I dealt ten downs of the seniors tournament and then I was assigned to start the 6PM Deepstack tournament. I needed to drop Matt off at the airport at 7, but nobody came to push me off of my table. Good thing Cheng, who roomed with Matt last year, was staying at our place and carpooling with us. He borrowed my keys and took Matt to the airport while I dealt for two hours before my relief came. I was pretty happy with fourteen downs.
This weekend is another $1,500 and $1,000 Hold 'em. Should be extremely busy. Hopefully I get a lot more tournament downs in!
On Wednesday morning my Uncle Mick from Alaska called me up and told me that he was staying at the Rio for the Seniors event and asked if I wanted to meet for breakfast Thursday morning. So I met up with him, his son Michael, and their friend at the Sao Paolo Cafe and had my favorite breakfast dish, Eggs Benedict. It was great to see him again and to finally meet Michael, who has won a $10K buy-in televised WPT event in Reno. They told me a few poker war stories and I told them a few of mine too. We had a lot of fun.
Thursday's tournament was $1,500 No Limit Hold 'em and Amy started with the letter B, giving me a prime location where I was assured of dealing the tournament all day! I dealt to Liv Boeree, but she was short stacked and not in a chatty mood. The most interesting thing that happened all day was getting a player all-in w/ K-K against A-A and flopping a king to double him up.
Friday was the $1,000 Seniors No Limit Hold 'em. The tournament was pretty fun to deal as most of the players were friendly and talkative. My first table featured the defending champion of the event, Harold Angle. They tried to do the pledge of allegiance before the event started, but first "Oklahoma" Johnny Hale, then his daughter screwed it up. It was lame and hilarious at the same time. The event was the largest live single day starting event in history, with 3,752 entrants! Every table in the Rio was used for the tournament and one thing about the seniors, they are conservative. Nobody was in a hurry to bust out and consequently, the 2PM Deepstack tourney and both day twos of tourneys from the day before were delayed until 4PM. I dealt my first straight flush of the tournament when a player tabled 5♠ 2♠ to perfectly match my board of A♥ J♠ 4♠ 3♠ A♠! I dealt ten downs of the seniors tournament and then I was assigned to start the 6PM Deepstack tournament. I needed to drop Matt off at the airport at 7, but nobody came to push me off of my table. Good thing Cheng, who roomed with Matt last year, was staying at our place and carpooling with us. He borrowed my keys and took Matt to the airport while I dealt for two hours before my relief came. I was pretty happy with fourteen downs.
This weekend is another $1,500 and $1,000 Hold 'em. Should be extremely busy. Hopefully I get a lot more tournament downs in!
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