Event #13 $1500 NL Shootout

I got to the Rio ten minutes early for the tournament, which allowed me to buy a banana for $2.50 and talk to my pal and Poker Hottie of the Day Joe Sebok.


I realized for the first time how much Joe and I have in common. We've both failed to achieve our goals as professional poker players despite plenty of successes. Both of our careers are winding down in melancholy fashion, far from the heights we once tightroped. We're both willing and even somewhat excited to say goodbye to the game, but a little unsure about what to do next. We talked about not being able to match the passion and drive of the younger players infiltrating the circuit, about how we used to obsess constantly over poker hands and now tend to think about other stuff most of the time.

I spent only a little more time playing the tournament than I did talking to Joe. This was the second-quickest bust I've ever had at the WSOP, behind last year's shootout. An amateur player opened for 300 at 25-25 and I just called with black kings. I raised his 350 bet to 750 on the 5s5h4s flop, then called a check-shove for 1200 more after betting 800 on the Ts turn only to be shown red tens.

Event #12 $1500 Triple Chance NLHE

I know there are a lot of people out there reading this blog who will hate me for saying this, but I was kind of bored playing at the WSOP today. You kind of have to win some big pots early or you're stuck in grind mode until you do or you bust. I lost the big pot with KJ against KK on a QTx board and then was just passing the time waiting for a spot to stick it in, and lost when I finally did.

There's a lot of down time playing these donkaments at the WSOP. I pay attention to the hands while they're going on but it's not enough. I check twitter, play games and stuff on the iPhone, and look around at the sea of faces in the sprawling poker rooms. 90% of the players you see in these things aren't aesthetically pleasing. So when you catch sight of someone attractive, it's startling. About a year ago some friends and I started kicking around the idea of a "Poker Hottie of the Day" post on this blog, just joking really, but the idea and the boredom have festered to the point where I'm going to actually start posting them until people get too creeped out by it or the WSOP comes to a close.

The first Poker Hottie of the Day is Maria Ho, who spent the first couple hours of the day in my direct sightline before busting the tournament and exiting the Pavilion. She might have caught me staring once or twice but it was easy to pass off since I would normally be looking in that direction anyways. Maria has been a celebrity in the poker world since she was the last woman standing at the 2007 Main Event, and a celebrity in the real world since appearing on The Amazing Race in 2009. Her carefully constructed look is one part glamour, one part elegance, and one part matron. It's very well executed.


She also just made a monstrous $540k score in the $5k NL so congrats to Maria on a sick pile of cash as well as being the first Poker Hottie of the Day!

Event #9 $1500 2-7 Draw Lowball Final Table

I played flawlessly today but didn't catch the breaks and busted in fifth place for $19,906 to a young man who was clearly destined to win the tournament. I really felt like I was the one destined for first place and was surprised to be knocked out short of the bracelet.

I'll be in the $10k deuce likely selling about half my action unless I make a run in Tuesday's $1500 triple chance or Wednesday's $1500 shootout.

Event #9 $1500 2-7 Draw Lowball Day Two

I am on to the final table of what will likely be the smallest tournament of the 2011 WSOP.

Here are the chip counts entering the final table, which will start at 3 PM Pacific on Monday:

1 Matt Perrins 293,000
2 Bernard Lee 265,000
3 Chris Bjorin 197,500
4 Thomas Fuller 168,000
5 Josh Brikis 119,000
6 Robin Rightmire 107,000
7 Jason Mercier 89,000

And here are the payouts:

1. $102,105
2. $63,112
3. $41,643
4. $28,422
5. $19,906
6. $14,296
7. $10,524

I believe the final table will be streaming live on wsop.com.

Regardless of what happens I'll be playing the $10k 2-7 on Thursday. I'm not sure how much of myself I'll want to sell but probably some.

Event #9 $1500 2-7 Draw Lowball

I had been looking forward to this tournament for a year, when I received a crash-course tutorial and plunged headfirst into the 2010 edition. Deuce to seven immediately became my favorite poker game, and I've played it in online tournaments whenever possible over the last year. It was strange and exciting to sit down at the WSOP for the first time this year and play deuce. I won't be this excited about the start of another tournament until the main event.

I think I've become an excellent deuce to seven player over the past year. It looks like I might get in the $10k deuce on Thursday. If you have any interest in buying a piece of my action, let me know by leaving a comment on this blog or emailing me at gnightmoon@gmail.com right away.

Today was very smooth sailing. It was probably the best 2-7 session I've played so far, without a significant mistake plus some timely moves sprinkled in. I lost just one major pot on the day and finished with average chips with 73 players left paying 28.

Winter Is Coming: 2011 WSOP Preview

I’ve been watching this new HBO show Game of Thrones based on George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire books. The best thing about the books is the way they slowly build suspense and foreboding over the impending arrival of an epic Winter while the bulk of the pages concern less terrifying but still rather worrisome events within Martin’s fantastical society. The show has managed to potently convey that dreadful apprehension, reminding the viewer that Winter Is Coming just often enough to create an ominous specter over the political machinations that dominate the action.

It is a murky time for the American professional poker player. Black Friday cast us into a shadowy realm of change. Though some have been devastated more than others, Black Friday altered all of our lives. Whatever way of life the professional poker player had become accustomed to before this Spring, it isn’t the same now. Most of us don’t really know where we’re going to shake out, and won’t know until after this summer’s World Series of Poker.

The WSOP arrived just soon enough after Black Friday to provide a life raft for the panicking pro. Though few will walk away as big winners, tournament pros have been able to cling to the image of the 2011 WSOP as a refuge from Black Friday’s blizzard. Career evaluations have been put on hold until midsummer, after the WSOP finally winds down. Only then, after the circus finally packs up and leaves Las Vegas, will we really face the music, stand and feel the cold wind blowing against our skin.

The summer I have been enjoying because of poker is coming to a close, but not before one last summer in Vegas. I’m going to enjoy the hell out of it. I’ll be making that terrifying turn off I-15 through the merging traffic to the Flamingo exit every day, parking half a mile from the tables, feeling the excitement soar through my body along with the heat rising off the blacktop on the hike into the Rio, plopping down every day to take another desperate shot at The Big Score. I’ll be playing my usual diet of 20-25 tournaments, mostly huge-field donkaments with a few mixed games thrown in. I’m gonna gamble with my gambling friends. I’m gonna take a look at the snowfield on Mount Charleston and guess when the last of it will be melted. I’m gonna go swimming and bowling and watch the summer movies. I’m gonna listen to Cake while driving around town. I’ll eat at the Lotus, Ping Pang Pong, Sammy’s, Roberto’s, the M Buffet. It’s gonna be an exciting six weeks. And after that, it’ll be time to prepare for the Winter. But that might not be so bad either. After all, Fall is my favorite season.

My 100 Favorite Songs

Addendum:
The Killers – Losing Touch
Dolly Parton – Jolene
The Replacements – Shiftless When Idle
Brendan Benson – Alternative To Love

100. Toadies – Possum Kingdom
99. The Stills – Lola Stars and Stripes
98. Weezer – Say It Ain’t So
97. Shivaree – Goodnight Moon
96. Toadies – Tyler
95. Hunters & Collectors – Holy Grail
94. The Black Crowes – Jealous Again
93. Weezer – Buddy Holly
92. Josh Rouse – My Love Has Gone
91. Ben Kweller – Thirteen
90. Coldplay – Swallowed In The Sea
89. The Cardigans – Live and Learn
88. Guster – Satellite
87. Fatboy Slim – Praise You
86. Led Zeppelin – How Many More Times
85. Johnny Cash – Ring of Fire
84. The Doors – L.A. Woman
83. Cake – End of the Movie
82. Bob Dylan – A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall
81. Cornershop – Brimful of Asha
80. Moby – South Side
79. Alice in Chains – No Excuses
78. Creedence Clearwater Revival – Proud Mary
77. The Doors – Light My Fire
76. George Thorogood & The Destroyers – One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer
75. Alice in Chains – Down in a Hole
74. U2 – One
73. John Hiatt – Cry Love
72. Van Morrison – Tupelo Honey
71. Oasis – Underneath the Sky
70. Fountains of Wayne – Stacy’s Mom
69. Smoking Popes – Pretty Pathetic
68. The Cars – My Best Friend’s Girl
67. Grand Funk Railroad – I’m Your Captain (Closer to Home)
66. Alice in Chains – Man in the Box
65. Audioslave – I Am The Highway
64. Queen – I Want To Break Free
63. Creedence Clearwater Revival – Bad Moon Rising
62. Rogue Wave – Temporary
61. Pure Prairie League – Falling in and Out of Love/Amie
60. Todd Rundgren – Bang The Drum All Day
59. Annie – Heartbeat
58. The Black Crowes – Gone
57. James Taylor – Mexico
56. Bob Dylan – Isis
55. Gillian Welch – Elvis Presley Blues
54. Sheryl Crow – All I Wanna Do
53. The Eagles – Desperado
52. Cake – Mexico
51. The Strokes – 12:51
50. Everclear – Santa Monica
49. The Rolling Stones – Brown Sugar
48. Big Star – Thirteen
47. The Verve – Lucky Man
46. The Presidents of the United States of America – Stranger
45. Dire Straits – Money For Nothing
44. Jeff Buckley – Hallelujah
43. The Stranglers – Golden Brown
42. Aimee Mann – Wise Up
41. Michael Nyman – The Heart Asks Pleasure First
40. Cyndi Lauper – Time After Time
39. Badly Drawn Boy – You Were Right
38. Marcy Playground – Sex and Candy
37. The Presidents of the United States of America – Naked and Famous
36. The Shins – New Slang
35. The Rolling Stones – Dead Flowers
34. Van Morrison – Stranded
33. Bob Dylan – Tangled Up In Blue
32. Audioslave – Doesn’t Remind Me
31. Tom Petty – I Won’t Back Down
30. Nada Surf – Inside of Love
29. Bob Dylan – Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
28. Peter Bjorn and John – Objects of My Affection
27. Steve Miller Band – Jet Airliner
26. Iggy Pop – The Passenger
25. Hans Zimmer – Fort Walton, Kansas
24. Badly Drawn Boy – The Shining (Avalanches Good Word For the Weekend Remix)
23. Crowded House – Don’t Dream It’s Over
22. Steely Dan – Do It Again
21. Al Stewart – Time Passages
20. Tom Petty – Learning To Fly
19. Fleetwood Mac – Gypsy
18. Nada Surf – Blonde on Blonde
17. The Killers – All These Things That I’ve Done
16. U2 – With Or Without You
15. Social Distortion – Bad Luck
14. Blur – No Distance Left To Run
13. Cracker – Low
12. LCD Soundsystem – All My Friends
11. The Rolling Stones – No Expectations
10. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Salvation
9. AC/DC – It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘N’ Roll)
8. Thelma Houston – Don’t Leave Me This Way
7. Wolf Parade – I’ll Believe In Anything
6. Green Day – Basket Case
5. Bob Dylan – Like A Rolling Stone
4. Jimmy Buffett – Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes
3. Blondie – Heart of Glass
2. Ray LaMontagne – Empty
1. Oasis – Supersonic