Steve's Gambling Sketchbook

September 4, 2009: EHSI Draftday

2009-09-04T22:25:00.003-05:00

July 17, 2009: Potawatomi Poker

2009-07-18T12:47:00.016-05:00

I took the afternoon off from work and headed to Potawatomi Casino for a day of poker. After winning over $1,100 last night while playing online, I was eager to get back in the game.

I arrived at the casino at 12:25pm and signed up to play $4/$8 limit poker. I had to wait 40 minutes, but I was eventually seated at Table #14 and bought in for $200.

After 40 minutes, I had to rebuy for another $100. I was down $175 and things weren't going well. Dealt decent starting cards, I saw an unusually high number of flops, but I just couldn't do anything with them. When I did hit something, an opponent seemed to always have something a little better. As a result, most of my initial $200 was gone in the blink of an eye.

Over the next several hours, I slowly yet surely started to make back my deficit. However, I won my money back a lot slower than I lost it. By 5:00pm, I was within $40 of breakeven.

The Brewer game started shortly after 6:00pm, so that proved to be a nice distraction. By the time the game ended (around 9:00pm), I was up $50 and happy to have grinded my way back into the positive.

About that time, a particularly annoying player by the name of Stanley Pickle sat down next to me. Stanley had consumed a few too many beers during the night and was repeatedly warned by Potawatomi staff to behave himself. After suffering bad beats (or so he thought), Stanley repeatedly threw his cards at the dealer and cursed his luck. Anytime he might have won a pot (long after he folded), Stanley insisted on telling the entire table how unlucky he was and what hole cards he had been holding. If only he hadn't folded, he would have surely beaten us all.

Unfortunately, I didn't have a particularly good time sitting next to Stanley. However, since I was sitting at the only $4/$8 table in the casino, there wasn't much I could do. Another player at the table complained voraciously about Stanely, but the casino staff did little but offer verbal warnings to Stanely throughout the night. After receiving a warning, Stanley would settle down for 15 minutes, but he'd quickly revert to his old form. It was rather annoying listening to his banter. As one player described, it was like sitting at the table with an 8-year-old.

Apparently, Stanley had gotten lucky and won $1,000 on a scratch off lottery ticket earlier in the week. He had been visiting Potawatomi casino every day since that win and was down to his last couple hundred dollars. Luck (or poker etiquette) wasn't on his side.

Despite having to sit next to Stanley, I still sat at Table #14 until 1:15am. When I realized that I had reached the 12-hour mark for time at the table, I decided to end my session.

I left the casino with exactly $110 more than I had arrived with. Considering the fact that I had consumed approximately 12 beverages during my session ($6/beer) and eaten a tasty roast beef sandwich for dinner ($7), I figure that I actually won approximately $200 while playing poker. It's a shame that I dug myself a $175 hole so early in my day, or I would have had a much better session of cards.

I guess that I shouldn't complain. I won some money and - other than Stanley's antics - it was a good time.

July 16, 2009: Cha Ching!

2009-07-16T21:21:00.013-05:00

While watching a couple episodes of Man vs. Food this evening, I decided to join a $75 45-man Hold 'em Tournament on Full Tilt. It's been a long time since I've played in one of these tournaments. Although I don't play them very often, these mini-multi-table tournaments are quite fun (if you get decent cards).

Things started splendidly well. I won the first three hands that I saw and I was quickly the chip leader with 3,500 chips (we started with 1,500 chips). The quick start allowed me to sit back and bide my time while waiting for good hands.

Unfortunately, it took a long time to get a good hand. Dealt very little, I was shortstacked about halfway thru the tournament and found myself hanging on for dear life. At the hour break, we were down to 19 players and I had a below average chip stack. My quick start had officially been squashed.

After a 5-minute break, I struggled along and scooped a small pot once in awhile. It was just enough to stay alive and when we arrived at the final table (9 guys), I was the lowest stack at the table with a little over 2,000 chips. Only 6 players would finish in the money, so I can't say that I was overly optimistic about making the money. However, I was still playing. Thirty-six other players from this tournament couldn't claim the same thing.

That's when things got interesting . . .

A player by the name of JohnnyBankn started to dominate. One by one, he knocked players out. At the same time, I kept stealing an occassional blind (they were around 500/1000) and I slowly watched my stack increase. Miraculously (for me), I was able to avoid JohnnyBankn as he wreaked havoc on the rest of the table. Eventually, he knocked out the 7th place player and I was guaranteed a 6th place payout of $155. I was going to be plenty happy with that.

JohnnyBankn kept going, however. The next thing I knew, we were down to three players. I had approximately 5,000 chips, SUCURI had 9,000 chips, and JohnnyBankn had over 50,000 chips. Shortly thereafter, in a hand I barely remember, SUCURI went "all in" with A-10 (I think) and JohnnyBankn called him with J-K. Wouldn't you know it, though? The flop came J-J-K and we were suddenly down to two players: myself and JohnnyBankn. Of course, he had (at least) a 10-to-1 chip count lead on me, so my prospects of winning the tournament were next-to-nothing.

Then, suddenly, the cards turned. I must've won 10 of the 12 hands that I played heads up against JohnnyBankn. It was - to say the least - rather amazing. With so many chips, JohnnyBankn started to call my every "all in", and he kept losing to me. Next thing I knew, I was sitting on 44k and he only had 22k.

The last hand of the tournament epitomized my run. Dealt A-10, I found myself going "all in". At the same time, JohnnyBankn quickly called and flipped over Q-Q. He was looking good. However, an ace came out on the flop and I didn't give up the lead. In fact, another Ace appeared on the turn and I took home a first place prize of exactly $1,179.90. Woo hoo!!

Just like that, my Full Tilt account has over $1,500 in it. Yee haaa!

Here's a quick snapshot of the tournament lobby. If you click on it, you can get a better look. I especially like the box that reads "Congratulations, stv1313".

I suddenly have a renewed sense of confidence as I head to the local casino for a marathon session of live poker tomorrow. Wish me luck!

July 14, 2009: Full Tilting (Again)

2009-07-14T22:17:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago, I deposited $400 into my Full Tilt account and started playing online poker again. It's been quite some time since I last enjoyed the world of the online felt. Yee ha!

Since making that initial deposit, I've already taken my $400 out of the site - which isn't bad. In fact, that means that I'm playing exclusively with profits right now. That's always a good thing!

In this newest adventure, I'm concentrating my play at the Heads-up No-limit Omaha Hi games. I usually buy-in for $50 or $100 and test my luck. My patient play has frustrated some people, but so be it. I'm grinding out a steady profit right now.

I'm amazed at the number of people who will risk their $50 or $100 on a coin flip. Personally, I'm trying to avoid that strategy. I'm really focusing on getting all my money in the middle when I feel I'm solidly ahead - which seems like a stupidly simple strategy. Shouldn't that be the strategy of any poker player?

As I type this entry, I have nearly $500 in my account (remember, I've already taken my $400 out). I've played a fair amount of poker since starting up again, so I can't say that my hourly profit is particularly impressive. Regardless, it's nice to type the word "profit" in this entry.

If nothing else, I figured that I'd quick post this update before I got the chance to lose all this loot. :-) Here's what my account looks like right now. Hopefully, I'll be typing another entry in a couple weeks showing a significantly higher balance.

June 16, 2009: The WSOP

2009-06-16T18:42:00.005-05:00

This past weekend I played in Event #27 of the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. Exactly 2,641 people anted up $1,500 to chase the dream of a first place prize of $639,331. Not surprisingly, I didn't take home the top prize.

Starting with 4,500 chips, not much happened during the first 2 hours of play. Entering the first 20 minute break, I had nearly the exact same number of chips that I started with. I scooped a couple small pots, but those were offset by a few losses in some other pots.

At 3:40pm (we started at noon), I was dealt pocket Q's. I proceeded to double-up to nearly 9,000 chips when another player went "all in" on a flush draw. Thankfully, my pocket Q's held up and things were suddenly looking pretty good.

The very next hand, I was delighted to find pocket Q's in my hand once again. The first player (he played very loose) immediately raised the big blind (200 chips) to 675 chips. The fourth player to act, I made the call and the biggest stack at the table (two to my left) also called. Three of us saw the flop.

It came 9-10-10. The first player immediately declared that he was "all in." I didn't believe him for an instant, so I raised "all in" myself. Unfortunately, the last player in the pot excitedly confirmed that we were both "all in" and declared that he was calling. Uh, oh!

Player #1 flipped over pocket 3's. I wasn't surprised to learn that I had him crushed. Unfortunately, my pocket Q's shrank when Player #3 flipped over 9-10. He had flopped the nut full house. Argh!

To my chagrin, I was suddenly chasing the last two Queens in the deck. Neither of them appeared on the turn or river and I was out of the tournament - just like that. Ooops!

So, just like that, I was down $1,500 for the trip. Thankfully, I found success in other games throughout the Las Vegas Strip during the weekend, and I came back to Milwaukee only down about $700. The cash poker games, in particular, were pretty kind to me.

I was able to find a photo of me playing in the WSOP. Here it is:

May 16, 2009: The Preakness Stakes

2009-05-16T22:27:00.001-05:00

Theresa and I visited Baltimore this weekend. While there, we visited Pimlico Park and attended the Preakness Stakes this afternoon. We personally watched Rachel Alexandra become the first filly to win the race since 1924.

Unfortunately, I can't say that I won any money today. The filly went off at odds less than 2-to-1, so I wasn't motivated to bet on her. If I was going to win something, I wanted to win something. Oh, well.

In case you missed it, here's how it went:

May 8, 2009: Potawatomi Casino

2009-05-10T14:00:00.004-05:00

I visited the local Indian casino today to play some poker. It had been quite some time since I'd been there. As a matter of fact, the entire poker room has been enlarged and relocated since I've last been there. Whereas the old room contained 12 tables (I think), the new room probably holds twice that number.

Arriving around 12:30pm, I sat down at a $4/$8 limit table and bunkered down for a long session. After all was said and done, it was probably the longest session I've ever played at Potawatomi.

The day didn't start particularly well. After three hours, I was down $200. My worst beat came after I watched a flop of Q-6-4 while holding pocket 6's. I lost a huge pot after watching a 10 and a Queen appear on the turn and river. Unofortunately, my opponent was holding Q-10. Ouch!

For most of the day, I was down between $150-$250. I just couldn't seem to catch the right cards and most river cards burned me. I did, however, win a very big pot while holding Q-10 when I caught 2-pair on the river. That pot may have been worth $150 alone. Although they didn't show, I have a hunch that one of my opponents was holding pocket aces and my other combatant in that hand was holding A-10. The river Queen really saved me.

Around midnight, I was down approximately $100. My table started to lose players - until 5 of us remained. Accordingly, I adjusted and started to play seemingly weaker hands much more aggressively. With only 5 players seeing hands, my spectrum for playable hands increased dramatically.

Slowly but surely, I started to bully the table and won my $100 back. I had a tight image to that point, and it allowed me to steal many pots. Around 1:30am, the table finally broke up when one of the five players decided to leave. Given the option of moving to the only other $4/$8 still remaining, I decided that 13 hours of poker was plenty. So, I retired for the day.

After all was said and done, I left the casino with exactly $3 more than what I arrived with. However, when you consider that I enjoyed 9 Miller Lites during my time at the casino, I suppose that I should be happy with the results. I was probably "in the red" for 12.5 of the 13 hours I played, so any kind of profit seems like a big win.

May 7, 2009: Draftbug Freeroll Results

2009-05-07T20:18:00.006-05:00

Not surprisingly, I didn't fair particularly well in last night's blogger freeroll. I finished in 8th place with 36 points.

Ultimately, my failure can be attributed to Randy Johnson. After watching him pitch 7 scoreless innings against Colorado last week, I thought he might have similar success this time around. Six days ago, Johnson fanned 9 Rockies. Last night, Johnson struck out '0' (yes, zero!) batters and was tagged with the loss after giving up 7 runs in 5.2 innings of work. Ouch!

For that effort, Johnson "earned" -4 points in Draftbug's scoring system. Needless to say, it's pretty hard to win a draft when your pitcher records negative points. The winner of our freeroll (TheInsidePitch), meanwhile, scored 61 points - 36 of which came from Johann Santana. Congrats to our winner!

As I mentioned yesterday, my team was short an outfielder. As the deadline for the draft was approaching, I tried to make a last minute change. Unfortunately, the draft started and I was missing an outfielder. Oops!

Regardless, my position players accounted for 40 points. That's more than any other team that played in the freeroll. Obviously, Randy Johnson killed me. Argh!

If you'd like to join the fun on Draftbug, just click on the icon on the right side of this blog. A new freeroll kicks off every day. Let's see if you can beat stv1313!

May 6, 2009: Draftbug Blogger Freeroll

2009-05-06T19:16:00.005-05:00

I joined Draftbug's Blogger Freeroll this evening. Here was my competition. If you feel like browsing around the internet for awhile, feel free to check out these other sites. Since I'm a contributor, I'd particular recommend visiting the site listed next to Kyle Humberman. :-)

Alex Zelvin - http://waiverwire.blogspot.com/
Kyle Huberman - http://draftbugmillionaire.blogspot.com/
Dave Hall - http://www.rotoguru2.com/
Troy Patterson - http://www.rotosavants.com/
Sean - http://www.27pitches.com/
Nick Cichielo - http://www.junkballers.com/
Mark Perry - http://www.pokerbankrollblog.com/
Josh Culp - http://www.futureoffantasy.com/
Dan Williams - http://www.theinsidepitch.com/
Justin Hulsey - http://fandemoniumsports.blogspot.com/
Paul Bourdett - http://www.rotoexperts.com/
Mike - http://winatfantasysportslive.com/

Sometime tomorrow, I'll post an update regarding the results of this competition. At this point, I don't like my chances. I tried making a last second change, and I was left with a roster that's missing an outfielder. Ooops!

April 26, 2009: Fantasy Baseball Season Begins

2009-04-26T11:49:00.006-05:00

With Draftmix unable to host fantasy baseball leagues this year, I've found a couple new sites to play at during this MLB season. First and foremost, I'm spending the most time at Draftbug. In fact, I've already become a charter member of the Draftbug Millionaire blog. Check out that blog to see how we're doing!

Admittedly, however, my first week hasn't been very productive at this new site. As the chart (below) shows, I've actually lost $13.51 so far. Oh, well. There's plenty of time to start making some money!

I also joined Snapdraft yesterday and played 9 leagues. Amazingly, I went 9-for-9! I doubt it'll ever happen again, but it's a nice way to start my career on that site, ehh?

I've made an initial deposit of $100 at each site. We'll see if I can duplicate my efforts at Drafmix, where I made over $3,500 in 18 months of action.

March 15, 2009: Propaganda Poker

2009-03-15T12:54:00.003-05:00

While reading Highstakesnews the other day, I found that they were offering a $15 promotion to anyone who established a new account at Propagandapoker.com. So, I logged onto the website and followed the instructions for getting my free $15. It's not a lot of money, but I thought it would be fun to see if I could grow the $15 into something substantial.

Unfortunately, after comleting an application form, I received an error message instructing me to contact Customer Support. So, I did. They sent me an email shortly thereafter:

Dear Steve,

We dont accept US residents. Sorry, mate!

Best regards,
Raymond Hope
Team Propagandapoker

March 12, 2009: Ultimatebet Freeroll

2009-03-12T18:21:00.009-05:00

A few days ago, I found this message in my inbox:

Steve,

Where on earth have you been? Since you've been gone from the tables, the action at UltimateBet has gotten hotter than ever, players have cashed in on all sorts of free stuff, and we've given away over $30 million to victims of bad beats.

We think you deserve to be a part of the unreal action so we’ve reserved a spot for you in an exclusive $10,000 Freeroll. It takes place on March 12th, 2009 at 8pm ET.

Welcome back to the bigger and better UltimateBet!

Sincerely,
The UltimateBet Team

I don't usually ignore the opportunity to win free money, so I played in this freeroll tonight. Exactly 1,301 players signed up to play in a tournament that had a top prize of $2,300.

Unfortunately, I didn't catch any cards. I lasted for nearly two hours, but I eventually bowed out in 356th place. So much for my free shot at the big prize.

March 11, 2009: $69 Tourneys are Fun!

2009-03-11T19:51:00.008-05:00

If nothing else, the no-limit tables at Full Tilt are rather exciting. Hundreds of dollars fly to-and-from my account whenever I sit down - but the final net result is rather ordinary. In fact, during the first week of March, I broke nearly even. At my peak, I was up about $800. At my low point, I had given away most of the money in my account. In the end, however, I was sitting with $700 when I decided to start playing some Sit 'n' Go Tournaments.

So far, I like the results!

For the 2nd time in less than a week, I finished 2nd in a 45-man $69 tournament tonight. Considering that 2nd place pays exactly $776.25, I've experienced a tidy profit of over $1,500 while playing at Full Tilt over the past few days. I'm sure I'll find a way to give back a bunch of these winnings, but I feel pretty good about my game right now. A prudent poker player might bank this money for a $1,500 event at the WSOP in June, but that's three months from now. I can't wait that long to let these winnings ride!

Here's a screen shot from tonight's tourney:

February 27, 2009: Update

2009-02-27T19:31:00.005-06:00

My experiment at the 6-handed $2/$4 hold 'em tables is over. Although my plan seemed well conceived, I (apparently) don't have the patience for that game. After a few weeks of $2/$4, I grew tired with my lack of progress. In particular, one bad night of cards helped hasten my retreat from those tables. When I realized how long it might take to recoup those losses, I decided to increase my stakes.

Since leaving the $2/$4 tables, I've played $3/$6, $5/$10 and even some $8/$16 hold 'em while finding a bit of luck. Ultimately, however, I've settled in at the 2-handed Omaha Hi No-Limit tables.

A few days ago, I watched Phil Ivey win $900,000 in one night while on Full Tilt Poker. That gave me the itch to try Omaha Hi - and I haven't left. The $1/$2 tables, in particular, seem to be my best fit. I usually sit down with $200 and take my chances. After a few days at these tables, I'm 3-for-4 with my "all in" declarations. If I can keep winning 75% of my "all in" hands, there is no way I'll ever lose again! he he

In the hand I lost, I was holding a pair of 4's and saw a flop of K-9-4. Unfortunately, my opponent had a pair of 9's in his hand. Ooops! That was a particularly costly hand.

Admittedly, I got EXTREMELY lucky earlier tonight. I flopped 2-pair while holding K-10 and found myself "all in" against an extremely agressive player who I thought was drawing. As it turns out, he had two 10's in his hand and had flopped a set. I was about to lose a very big hand (at least $200) until another King appeared on the turn and I came from behind to win with the bigger full house. I'm confident that my opponent was cursing his luck after that hand.

Since my last post, I've cashed $500 out of my account. The check arrived in less than a week! Even with that, the balance in my account is higher than when I last posted, so I've definitely found some good luck the past couple weeks. Let's hope I can keep it up!

February 15, 2008: This Week's Summary

2009-02-15T19:19:00.004-06:00

My experiment at $2/$4 didn't last very long. Earlier this week, I found myself in a minor losing streak (I was almost down $100 this week) when I started to get bored.

I ventured to the $3/$6 tables and won a little money. Ultimately, however, I found myself playing a lot of 1-on-1 tournaments for $20 to $50 and found moderate success.

As I type, my account is up to $604.23. That's not too bad.

February 9, 2009: Poker-Edge Stats

2009-02-08T21:30:00.008-06:00

Before I get too far into my $2/$4 experiment on Full Tilt, I thought I'd run a quick report from Poker-Edge concerning my play. I don't know how far back these stats go (I've been playing on Full Tilt for a few years), but it'll be interesting to see if these stats change over the next couple months - provided I stick to my plan and stay on the $2/$4 tables.

Supposedly, I am a Bomb (Aggressive/Aggressive) right now. My aggressive play pre and post flop makes the table "fear me."

Ha ha!

February 8, 2009: Week #1 in the Books

2009-02-08T17:03:00.004-06:00

It's been exactly one week since I deposited $100 into my Full Tilt account and devoted myself exclusively to the 6-handed $2/$4 tables. After just one week, there are a few things I've noticed:

1. There are A LOT of bad players at these tables.

2. Most of the guys that could be termed "average" simply don't understand the strategy of playing 6-handed.

3. It's still a chore grinding out profits.

I logged into Full Tilt Poker six different times this week and had a winning session each time. Still, I find it hard to play more than 90 minutes at a time. Maybe it's just me, but grinding away at these low stakes is rather exhausting.

To be effective at the $2/$4 level, I don't feel comfortable "taking a hand off." As such, even when I fold, I'm watching the other players at the table to see if I can pick up on something. I definitely concentrate more at these tables than when I simply play 10-man Sit 'n' Go Tournaments.

Week #1 of my $2/$4 plan resulted in profits of $330.73. That's not too bad, if you ask me.

February 6, 2009: Slow 'n' Steady

2009-02-06T22:00:00.004-06:00

Over the past few days, I've probably played about 6 hours of poker at the $2/$4 tables at Full Tilt Poker. I can't say that I made a ton of money during those 6 hours (about $100), but it's better than losing right?

In less than a week, I've turned my initial $100 deposit into over $350. That's not too bad. It's a slow grind, but it's a steady winning grind. I just hope I can stay disciplined and keep from wandering away from the $2/$4 tables.

February 3, 2009: Remember Me?

2009-02-04T18:17:00.003-06:00

Boy . . . I haven't made an entry in this Sketchbook in quite some time, have I? Time to hop back on the wagon!

Over the past few months, I've been focusing my energy at Draftmix. Over the course of the NFL season, I posted a nice little profit on the site. In fact, I'm already counting the minutes until the MLB season begins. Hopefully, my good fortunes continue. If you feel like clicking over to the site, feel free to check the leaderboard. You'll notice stv1313 at the top of the board. Woo hoo!

In December, I used some of my Draftmix profits to purchase a freestanding Ms. Pac Man machine for the basement. Although I rarely played the game during the 80's, my wife and I regularly play a game or two each night before going to bed. It's kinda addicting!

In addition to that, I used some of my winnings to purchase a replacement 8-iron, which I lost while golfing last year. The rest of my winnings have been "banked" for a future trip to Las Vegas (probably in May for the WSOP).

As I wait for the MLB season to begin, I've decided to rejoin the world of online poker. Depositing $100 into my Full Tilt Poker account on Sunday, I'm going to perform a little experiment and limit my play exclusively to 6-handed $2/$4 limit poker. I haven't played much online poker lately, so I figured I'd start slow.

Admittedly, this isn't exactly "high stakes" poker, but I feel that I'm better than 95% of the donkeys who play at this level. So, let's see if I can grind out some profits and see how things shake out. Even if I win substantially, I'm going to resist the temptation to move up a level. I want to see what happens if I simply stay at $2/$4 for the forseeable future.

Three days into my experiment, things are going fine enough. I've probably played 10 hours of poker during the past few days and my initial $100 deposit has grown to exactly $261.73 (as shown below). I'm guessing that I won't continue to maintain a profit of 8 big blinds an hour, but I can dream, can't I?

Although I don't plan on making an entry every day, I'll regularly report my progress during this experiment. Even if no one ever reads these updates, it'll serve as a nice tracking tool for my own selfish purposes.

Wish me luck!

August 13, 2008: Multi-Table Success

2008-08-17T20:49:00.008-05:00

After returning from Vegas two months ago, I haven't found much success in the online poker world. Although I feel like my game isn't suffering, I just can't win the coin flips needed to find success in a multi-table tournament. Tonight, I finally won some of those coin flips.

I joined a $100 tournament this evening on Full Tilt and 297 other people signed up to play. The tourney started around 6:30pm CST and lasted until 1:00am. Although I hadn't expected such a good performance, I ended up playing until just after midnight.

After the dust had settled, I finished in 9th place. My untimely demise occured while holding pocket 9's. Sitting with a sizeable stack of chips, I misread an opponent who was holding pocket Queens and my tourney was over in the blink of an eye (oops!). However, as a result of making the final table (barely!), I claimed a prize of $1,544 - which means that I claimed a nice profit of $1,444 while sitting on my couch this evening.

Although I've had a tough run the past couple months, my losses haven't come close to approaching the $1,444 I won tonight. So, just like that, I'm up!

Per usual, you'll get a much better look at this tournament payout summary if you click on the image. That's me in 9th place!

June 17, 2008: Las Vegas Recap

2008-06-17T19:41:00.017-05:00

Well . . . I've returned to civilization after spending the last five days in Las Vegas. While I was out there, I had hoped to provide live updates on my activity, but I found WIFI access in Vegas to be sporadic - at best. As a result, I couldn't use my IPOD touch as much as I hoped. So, here's an extremely condensed report of my latest visit to Sin City:

The gambling activity started shortly after David and I arrived Friday evening. A short session of craps resulted in some small losses - and we adjourned to our room relatively early in anticipation for Saturday afternoon's Event #27 World Series of Poker tournament. It's probably the earliest I've ever gone to bed when in Vegas. Nevertheless, I didn't want to be sleepy the next day.

The buy-in for Event #27 was $1,500 and I saw a lot of famous poker players during my time there. I nearly shared a bathroom with Chris "Jesus" Ferguson at the Rio, but I was walking out of the bathroom as he was walking in. If I had more energy, I'd write all the names of the poker professionals I recognized. I did, however, find myself sitting only two tables away from Greg Raymer when the event started. The field was capped at 2,700 players.

Unfortunately, my 1st appearance in the WSOP wasn't particularly exciting. Starting with 3,000 chips, I didn't play a lot of hands for the 1st two hours. In fact, when we hit our first 20 minute break, I had 2,800 chips and had participated in a small handful of pots. I may have scooped five pots - none of which were particularly big.

Shortly after that 1st break, I found myself holding an unsuited AQ while sitting in the small blind. One of the short stacks at the table went "all in" ahead of me, and I decided to make the call. I was hoping he was holding an Ace with a small kicker, but he flipped over AK and took half my chips.

On the very next hand, I was dealt a suited AQ. The table folded around to me and I went "all in" with the blinds immediately behind me. The small blind (the biggest stack at the table) called my bet and he flipped over pocket 4's. Quite naturally, I got no help and was eliminated with a whimper. Ooops!

So, after all was said and done, my first venture to the World Series was quite uneventful. Nevertheless, David and I have agreed to make this an annual event, so it won't be the only time I make this venture. Hopefully, I'll find better luck in the future. David, meanwhile, played for about 6 hours before being eliminated.

Everyone who participates in the WSOP is given an opportunity to purchase a commemorative photo. Since my experience wasn't all that memorable, I'm taking a pass. However, I was able to find a bootleg photo of myself on the internet. Here I am sometime during the action. For all I know, this was seconds before I was eliminated:

Thankfully, the rest of my time in Vegas was relatively profitable. As an example, I entered the daily $120 hold 'em tournament at the Wynn on Monday. The highlight of that tournament was sitting at the same table as Dmitri Nobles (pictured below). Some of you may recall that Dmitri was the Day #1 chip leader at the 2006 Main Event of the WSOP. I remember him being a loose aggressive player, and he didn't disappoint at the Wynn tournament. I scooped one nice pot against him, but otherwise I just sat back and enjoyed his lively banter and the action he brought to the table.

Starting at 2pm, the Wynn Tournament lasted over 6 hours - despite the fact that only 50 people played. Dmitri was eliminated relatively early, but I eventually made it to the final table. At that point, one person suggested that we pay the top 9 spots - but we all agreed to limit the payout to the top 5 spots. I argued, in particular, that I wasn't interested in playing 6 hours of poker in Las Vegas to only win $100.

Ultimately, I was happy with that decision, because I eventually claimed the 4th place prize. The final results are posted on Wynn's website, but I'll save everyone the time of surfing over there. In fact, here's a snapshot of the top 5 players. The German player, in particular, was an enjoyable fellow and I was glad to see him win. You'll probably hafta click on the image to really read the results:

So, after all the dust had settled, I "only" lost $400 on the entire trip. Considering that I frittered away $1,500 in the WSOP, however, I'm happy to record a modest loss. That means I won $1,100 on other gambling adventures.

The experience was great and I look forward to doing it again next year. In fact, if anyone wants to join David and I next year, let us know. The more, the merrier!!

I'd write more about the last five days, but we all know the saying - what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!

March 15, 2008: Full Tilt Update

2008-03-15T22:37:00.006-05:00

When the week started, I had the $317 in my account that I claimed while playing in last weekend's Full Tilt Poker Tournament. After numerous hours of various poker action this week, I can proudly declare that I now have a whopping $360 in my account. Woo hoo!

For the most part, the last six days haven't been successful. Focusing mostly on 1-table $10 Sit 'n' Go Tournaments, my account has slowly bled. Thankfully, I exercised a fair amount of discipline, and I didn't go crazy and lose all my money.

Regardless, I just can't seem to take 1st place in these Sit 'n' Go Tournaments. I'm reaching the money fairly regularly, but the "big" money is claimed by taking 1st place. A flurry of 2nd and 3rd place finishes won't really result in much profit if you can't take first.

Down to my last $140 (I was down nearly $200 this week), I decided to join a $10 90-man tournament this evening. Remarkably, I found success. Over the course of 3 hours, I won a few coin flips and made it to the final table. From there, I played smart poker and eventually claimed the title.

A couple years ago, I recall winning a tournament that had about 100 people playing. Tonight's victory is probably my 2nd largest victory, although the amount of my winnings isn't exactly crazy. Regardless, it feels pretty good to outlast 89 other players!

March 9, 2008: Full Tilt $750,000 Guaranteed

2008-03-09T21:41:00.007-05:00

Two weeks ago, David won a significant amount of cash playing in UltimateBet's weekly Sunday $215 tournament. Although David is a decent poker player (he'll be joining me in Vegas at the WSOP), I don't believe he's any better than me. So, why can't I win some significant loot sometime?

With that in mind, I beat my head against a brick wall this afternoon at Full Tilt Poker. Playing a variety of ring games and Sit 'n' Go Tournaments, I basically broke even. So, I decided to invest the last $215 of my account balance in this evening's $750,000 Guaranteed tournament.

Exactly 3,984 people signed up to play. Yikes!

Unfortunately, I couldn't seem to catch any cards. Slowly yet surely, my starting stack of 3,000 chips dwindled until I found myself with 585 chips two hours into the tournament. At that point, I had won exactly 5 hands. Boooooring!!

Then, during the next 30 minutes, I scooped three nice pots and suddenly found myself with over 13,000 chips. I actually found myself above average when we got down to 1,200 players. Woo Hoo!!

Then, once again, my cards went dry. However, I folded smartly and eventually found myself "in the money" - which came when we got down to 522 players.

Not long afterward, I found myself folding pocket Queens and declared myself "all in". I had 5,000 chips (which wasn't chump change), but it wasn't enough to scare the Big Blind. He had 45,000 chips and called my bet while holding K-8 offsuit.

Wouldn't you know it? A king appeared on the flop and I was eliminated in 452nd place. Had I only won that hand, I would've been armed and dangerous.

Instead, I won a prize of exactly $317.92.

That isn't exactly a bounty of loot, but it's better than nothing - I suppose. When you consider that I was down to 585 chips at one time, I guess I shouldn't complain too much. At least I gave it a run.

March 7, 2008: More Blackjack

2008-03-09T21:35:00.004-05:00

I had planned on "bonding" with UltimateBet's Blackjack program this weekend. I was going to stick to a specific plan and track my results. If nothing else, I hoped to prove that Blackjack could be beaten.

Unfortunately, that didn't quite work out.

I played for two hours this evening. Sticking to a stategy of playing 3 hands at once, I proceeded to lose $150. The dealer simply hit WAY too many cards and I couldn't catch any breaks. So, my "experiment" ended before it started. Ooops!!

With my account balance back down to $200, I decided to transfer my money to Full Tilt Poker. Maybe I'll try my luck on Sunday at the poker tables.

March 4: 2008: Back to UltimateBet

2008-03-05T16:03:00.010-06:00

On June 14th, David and I are venturing to Las Vegas to play in a preliminary $1,500 event at the World Series of Poker. I'm already counting the minutes!

I booked our flights to Sin City today. Surprisingly, the Midwest Express flight is rather inexpensive and will only cost $267. I fully expected that we'd be paying closer to $350 to fly out there.

I booked our two flights today. To reimburse me for the cost of his own flight, David sent $267 to my UltimateBet account. As a result, I've suddenly got some money to play with. Woo hoo!! Otherwise, I had no viable method for depositing money at UltimateBet.

Armed with a fresh bankroll, I sat at an Ultimatebet blackjack table for about 2 hours tonight. After the dust had settled, I had claimed a profit of exactly $140. If my goal is to win enough money to cover the cost of my flight, I'm already halfway there.

Admittedly, Ultimatebet's Blackjack tables are complete luck. So, I guess I got a little lucky tonight. We'll see if I can give back some of this money over the next few days . . .