BAD NEWS, GOOD NEWS

I've been hesitant to update the blog, because quite frankly, it was a horrendous week, and I'm embarrassed by how poorly I've faired. I had a couple of good weeks while tinkering with Omaha Hi-Lo, and I got to thinking that I was a natch at the game. I began the week a loser, and kept throwing good money after bad, waiting for the luck to turn around. By the time I realized it was not luck, but inferior play, I had given back the entire five grand that it took me two weeks to win. A couple of those sessions, I was up over a thousand dollars, before finishing in the red. Every day I came back for more punishment. By the end of the week, I was ready to take a poker sabbatical to get myself straight. I ordered the Cloutier/McEvoy Omaha book, as well as Dan Harrington's tournament Hold'em book. Saturday, I stayed away from the tables, and instead read some Harrington.

Sunday, I was away from the tables until midafternoon, when I found myself alone in the house, and took a peek at the PokerStars offerings, as all the good Hold'em tourneys are on the weekends. I found a player points tourney for a chance at entry into a good tournament next weekend. I entered that, and lasted quite awhile, but in the end, I fell short of the prize pool. I looked around for other low cost options, and found instead the weekly $650 buy-in tournament for a shot at entry into the World Series of Poker main event. I have put at least that much money into the double shootouts, with nothing to show for it (notwithstanding the $1000 cash, which has paid for all the efforts). I thought that pushing $650 into this kitty could be a good idea, since all I would need to do is finish in the top 14 of a 264 field. 15-27 got their money refunded, and the top 14 got their week in Vegas, which is what I've been gunning for since returning from Monaco.

I've never laid out this much cash for a tournament, but I figured I'm 60 pages into Harrington, and nothing will ensure that a cheap guy like me plays flawlessly like having over six hundred bucks invested. The short version of the story to follow is that I couldn't have played better. The levels were 30 minutes which was leisurely. I played conservative from the get-go, sprinkling in enough steals of the blinds to keep myself afloat. The real magic began when I called a raise and two calls with 22. The big blind put in a 4x raise and everyone folded to me, so I played. I knew that I was speculating on a baby pair, but the nice thing is that either I'm going to win a monster, or I will have no trouble folding after the flop. The flop came 2K4, and I put in a beautiful check-raise, which he called. The turn was a 4 and I made a strong bet, which he called. The river was an 8 and I shoved in my remaining $2500. He thought and thought, which had me wishing I could take back that all-in and turn it into a $1K bet, which he could call. He was a good player, and I figured he was on his way to a good laydown, but he surprised me by calling off all his chips. He had AA, which makes sense. He would have folded anything else, so it's good that I went all-in. He probably figured in the end that I likely had AK, This made me the chip leader at the table.

The magic continued a short time later when AA put in a baby raise from first position. There was a call, and I called with TJ. The flop came T9J and the rockets ignored the ugly texture of the flop and committed all his chips. I had him covered, so it was an easy call with top two pair. My hand held up and my stack was impressive.

Everything was looking good. I was the first player to reach $50K. I went into lockdown mode and played like Harrington, very conservatively unless a steal was in order. Several times I came over the top of a raiser and won the hand preflop. I made one great laydown too: there was an early position raiser, and I held QQ on the button. I put in a big raise, figuring he had at least one overcard, so I didn't so much want to see a flop. He thought awhile, then called. The flop came 89T rainbow. He checked to me, and I put in a big bet, hoping he would fold AK. He raised me, which got me to thinking. The old Dude would have blindly gone all in here, but the post-Monaco Dude considered my opponent's possible holdings. He would not have check-raised with AK, and he would not have played QJ this way, so he pretty much had to have one of these hands: AA, KK, JJ, or TT. Of these, the only one I could beat was JJ and even that had a great draw against me. I laid down my queens, satisfied that I had gotten away cheaply. I asked him if he had jacks, and he responded "better" so I figure kings.

I managed to steal enough to win back what I had lost on that hand. My next dilemma came when I held AQs on the big blind. There was a raise from third position, then the fifth position player went all in with a short stack. Old Dude would have pushed here, but new Dude decided to let it go. The other player called and showed AJs against the short stack's K9h. I would have been the preflop favorite, but three hearts came on the flop to double up the short stack and make me glad I folded. I might have made some money off the AJ, as the board came 4A88Q, but it would have come at the cost of giving two grand extra to the short stack. I felt that things were going good for me, as I was making great folds that I previously was not capable of, and I was picking good spots to get my money in the middle.

My favorite hand of the evening came when I held J9 in the big blind and defended after the small blind put in a 3x raise. The flop came 68T, two hearts. He came out betting, and I called. The turn was a blank, and he checked. I could have bet to try to take the pot, but I figured, I could check and possibly hit my bingo, with my backup that I would bet strong if any heart came. The river was bingo, a black queen. He had KQ and I managed to extract $6000 from him.

I was coasting and rooting for bad cards to make for easy folds. Everytime I got good cards, I played them strongly and won the blinds uncontested. I wasn't interested in making a run for first place, only to stay in the upper echelon and outlast the short stacks. When I was dealt AA under the gun, I made a huge raise and everyone folded. Soon after, when I was on the big blind, the first position player called, and I figured he had aces. Nobody calls from first position unless they have aces, that's why I don't do it. I figure I'm more likely to get a call if I come out with a big raise. Sure enough, the guy had aces and managed to get the KQ all in when a king flopped. The queen was soon to follow, and once again aces go down in flames. As they say, it is better to win a small pot than to lose a big one, so kids, play your aces strong. The only time I slowplay aces is if I'm in desperate need of chips and willing to take on the risk of letting opponents into the pot. When I have lots of chips, I play them strong and win whatever anyone is willing to give me. Old Dude used to get crafty and lose big pots and fall from top ten to middle of the pack, or on occasion, elimination.

Players were holding on tight to their short stacks, trying to get the WSOP seat. Ever since reaching $50K, I hovered between $42K-$55K the entire time, taking no undue risks to jeopardize my stack. Finally, we were down to 15 players and the short stack was two players to my left. He was folding everything, hoping to outlast one more player at the other table. It was neat how our table banded together, identifying the common enemy. Whenever the short stack was on the blinds ($1k-$2K), there would always be someone to put in a big raise to force him to fold. One time it folded around to me, and I put in the obligatory raise on the button with 96, which forced his fold. Finally, he went all in under the gun with 66. I called $4K more from the small blind with KT. I merely called, hoping that the big blind would take his cue to enter the pot. He wisely called. The flop came KJT. Any other time, I would have come out betting, but the proper play here is for both of us to check in down so that we have two chances to knock out the short stack. I checked and the big blind played his part to perfection by checking behind me. We checked it all the way down, and my two pair held up. The tournament, after six and a half hours, was ended immediately with a message of congratulations.

I finally did it! I'm going to the 2005 World Series of Poker! I won the $10,000 entry to the main event, $1000 spending cash, and a room (probably at the Rio) for nine nights (July 7-15)! Anybody willing to sleep on my floor and buy me water is encouraged to join me for a magical week in the big city.