Atlantic City March 7-8 2008

I was gifted an entry fee into event #3 of the WSOP Circuit Event at Caesars (action photo here) . Although I was still in the throes of coping with Brett Favre's retirement, I was well rested and full of confidence. My table was nothing short of horrible. I've never seen such bad play at this buy-in. One player, who seemed vaguely familiar from other tourneys I've played, was playing what seemed to be any two cards. A few young kids were just ghastly.

After level 1 I had built my starting 4K stack to 5K. A new arrival took a beat and was left short stacked. He limps UTG and I wake up with KK from LP. I raise 5BB to put him nearly all in. He thinks it over and calls with TJo. He flopps trip tens and fills up on the river - I'm down to nearly 4K. A few hands later in the same orbit I get KK again and raise it 3.5BB. Mr. ATC calls. Flop comes 86x two diamonds. I put him on a flush and/or straight draw, and bet the pot - he calls. The turn is blank and I'm not feeling comfortable about the draw, so I shove AI. He calls and shows 86 for two pair. I'm crippled at 250. The very next hand I pick up JJ only to run into AA and I'm out in just 80 minutes.

I quickly race over to Showboat to enter the 2pm. A small field of only 54. I'm super tilting, so very first hand I get a LP limper and I raise with ATd in CO. There are two callers to see a flop of A8A. LP caller bets, I RR, and LP caller goes AI. I call and she shows A8 for a boat. Turn is no help but river is a ten. I double up on the very first hand. I play fairly straight-forward and stay above average stacked. Down to two tables I race my JJ against AK and double up. I later triple up when JJ holds up against AK and 88. I reach the final table in reasonable shape. Things go up and down for me until we're on the bubble. I pick up QQ in the small blind and want the big blind to commit chips. Rather than shove I make a small raise. BB says she reads me for weakness and shoves Q6d, my QQ holds up. We pay off the bubble and we then slug it out for a good
while. At four, we are all tired and starving so we chop, albeit not as equitably as it should have been. Two of the regulars give me a hard time about taking care of shorty, who walks away with more than he should have. I have a slight chip lead so I technically take first, a milestone for me and a good confidence builder. I would have liked to play it out but my true love, eating, was calling.

I bolt over to the Taj for my reservation at the Indian restuarant. Homey I.B. is late so I'm there alone - literally, I'm the only one in the place. I would soon find out why. My tomato soup was actually Campbells (I know that taste) with some red pepper in it. The vegetable samosas were not fresh, and the lamb saag was bland. Two enthusiastic thumbs down for Royal Albert's Indian Palace.

I hook up with I.B. and we play ring games at the Trop until I drag him away at 1am after my KK loses to 88 to bust me. I'm unable to convince I.B. to get some sleep, so in the spirit of Stu Unger, he pulls an all-nighter at Caesars. His average nightly sleep over the past week is about the value of Pi to 7 decimal places - there must be a team of scientists somewhere dying to study this grinder. I commit to playing the 11:15 Trop tournament (86 entrants) and I convince I.B. to join me, who agrees in his vegetated state. However at this point I don't know if his yes means yes or if he even understands the question. I see him register, but then he's gone, and then I see him sitted at the next table. I bare down and commit myself to not playing a single hand until the antes kick in at round 4 (ala Stu Unger), but I'm reading the table so well that I make good strides even with nothing. I pick my spots well and my premium hands hold up when I need them, and I make a good lay down or two. Down to 22 I have a reasonable 65K but at 18 I'm at 45K. At 14 I'm at 28K with blinds at 3000/6000/1000 when I pick up QQ. I shove all in and I get no callers, putting me back up to ~46K. I show the QQ. Next orbit there is a button raise of about 20K from an Opp who has picked on my blinds for the last couple orbits. I know him from our original table and he has shown down both quality and wide ranges. I look down at A9s and decide I want to play for the win and come over the top. He deliberates then calls with 22, which holds up and I'm out. The players pay the bubble which soon pops and the final table of 10 is set with I.B. in the chip lead. He and the others eventually chop at 5. The ride home I think about the A9 vs 22 and making the final table. What does it mean to "play for the win" if you know there will be a chop at 3 or 5? With nearly 4-5 equal stacks to mine, I wonder if a shove there is right, especially considering the 11th spot (just 3 away) was paid bubble money. I guess I have to live with my decision. 14/86 isn't bad, but finishing ITM twice would have been a nice way to wrap up the trip.

The Polish Open starts March 10, and I am not happy that I have to miss that event. I have such fond memories of Poland and was only able to see Warsaw briefly in 1988. The situation there at that time was much different than it is today. I'll never forget one man's solution to reversing his country's dire situation, as he shared with me these two easy steps:
1. Declare war on the United States
2. Surrender the next day
He told me that the Polish people wanted all of our generals to come into Poland - General Motors, General Mills, General Foods. Well, it took a long time but at last they're there. But I'll have to wait for another time to enjoy their humor and borsch - until then, I have a home game tonight.