In the poker-world there is a famous adage, "Poker is hours of boredom punctuated with moments of terror," after grinding Las Vegas cash games for over a week now I can honestly say I've lived and breathed that tagline. Cash games* can be gruelling, both mentally (as long hours can go by without anything much happening at all) and emotionally (the bankroll swings, both ups & downs, can turn your stomach inside out). So, with the previous night's cash game loss heavy on my conscious I decided it would be a nice change of pace to enter into a tournament where I would only have to risk a small amount of money for a potential big pay-day! After a speedy Google search at tournaments running that afternoon, and a shower, I was off.
I took a cab to the Golden Nugget in Downtown, Las Vegas. Downtown is what's considered 'old' Vegas, with the famous Fremont Street Experience it's main hub, an open street mall of Vegas's oldest casinos and attractions - Elvis impersonators, transvestites + a myriad of other street performers pave the street. Arriving at the Nugget I marched across the casino floor, through a haze of cigarette smoke and past the Nugget's outdoor poolside/aquarium area (complete with perspex water slide that slips through a shark tank!), to the tournament hall. Registering for the 5pm $125 No-:Limit Hold'em event I took my seat. By my best guess I was the youngest player at the table, dealer included, by about 20 years and by the way my competition handled their cards and chips I knew I'd posses a healthy advantage over these fish.
Sure enough, as the tournament edged on the number of players in the field shrunk but my chip stack grew. From four starting tables came three, then from three came two and I still survived. However, in the 4th hour of play I had come into a run of bad cards and found myself on the short stack. With only enough chips to make it through another 2 rounds of play at my table I came into an interesting spot. Sitting in late position I was dealt a pair of 9s in the hole. "Perfect!" I though to myself, exactly the hand that can double me up and get me back in the running for a shot at the money. But, before I could make a play the gentleman in first position made a raise to 2700 (with the blinds at 400/800) then a snap raise by the guy immediately after him to 7000! It folded across to me, and with a mere 5700 and already almost 10,000 worth of action in front of me I knew my 9s were no good. I reluctantly slid them into the muck and to my great relief a woman left to act behind me pushed in her stack for a 4th raise to 17,000 total. The action played out as expected - the original raiser A-K, the next guy with a pair of Kings and the woman a pair of Aces. No 9 came on the board, and thanks to my careful read I lived to play another hand. Two hands later I got 10-9 in against 10-7 and doubled up, then doubled up again a hand later with A-J into J-7.
Play continued to the final table, where only 5 players out of the 41 entrants would make money, I was 2nd in chips at my table determined to take it down. With 10 players remaining I have 52,000 in chips out of 328,000 chips total in play and I feel I still have a BIG edge over the other players. We play it down to 6 and I take out the 6th place finisher with my pair of Jacks to his pair of 7s. With that I make my first ever live tournament money, I'd won tournaments online before but there's something special about having a castle of chips in front of you to help you feel like you've truly conquered the competition. However, ready to start the next hand (and a thing new to me that I'd only heard about but never come across online) all the players at the table stood up and started shaking hands announcing that this was the perfect time to strike up a deal. With the prize pool at just under $4,000 they said that if I and the other chipleader (sharing the lead at about 90,000 chips a piece) took $1,000 each that would leave $600 and change for the remaining 3 players to share evenly. With 1st place only paying $1,300, and 2nd $900, anyway as it was I was happy to take the deal, taking down my first live cash in a tournament for a chopped 1st place of $1,000 - also my first 4 figure score!! ^_^
... So, I know I haven't updated much recently and the reason being is that it hasn't been the easiest week-and-a-bit in terms of poker. Losing, as I've mentioned in an earlier post, is a part of the game and to be expected even for the best players. It's just I haven't had a lot of good news to report on this past week and as a result I hadn't found it in me to write about any of it - I wanted to wait until I did have something good to write about. Also, the thought of 'letting you down' for those reading back home was also on my mind. I know that's completely ridiculous and the exact opposite of why I had decided to come out here alone in the first place (so that the consequences of my actions wouldn't affect anyone else but myself), but I found myself feeling ashamed nonetheless.
Anyway, it's all out in the open now! At least today I had something positive to write about, and the win made a big difference in moving my bankroll in the right direction. With renewed confidence I'm looking forward to more wins to report on in the posts to come.
PS - Again, apologies if all the poker talk bored you guys. I'll try and mix the next one up a bit more...
PPS - Here's a quick look at what the Fremont Street Experience is like!
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*Where poker chips in play represent real cash values, a $5 bet is worth 5 real dollars won or lost. The goal of cash game play is to finish a session with more money than you started with. Opposed to tournament play, where a nominal entry fee is paid up front in exchange for tournament chips, chips that have no cash value but are an indicator as to your progress in the tournament. The goal of tournament play is to accumulate all other player's chips in play.
Thursday 28 June 2012
Tuesday 19 June 2012
It's big, really BIG!
No, not my John Thomas! (But, thank you for thinking it).
And no, not my ego... that would need a whole post all to it's own.
Las Vegas silly! Along with EVERYTHING in it.
BIG food. BIG cars. BIG buildings. BIG people. BIG breasts (both males and females). BIG drinks. BIG drinkers. BIG winners and BIGGER losers.
I think the idea is if you're in Vegas and you're living large, think BIGGER. People don't come here to have their expectations fall short or allow their inhibitions get the better of them. Although I prepared myself as best I could, I still find myself constantly surprised by this city. More than a few times I've been manoeuvring through a swarm of tourists with my thumbs firmly snug in the straps of my backpack, jaw gaping and neck craned 90 degrees staring up towards the heavens of which these Mega-Resorts seem to sit amongst proudly. When I manage to get my head out of the clouds and bring my attention back to Strip level I find my mouth then remains ajar as I witness small children dancing with 7 foot KISS impersonators and women drinking from 2 yard-stick cocktails (one in either hand) at 10 in the morning. I must look a right twat. But I can't help it! I'm just impressed by almost everything!! Granted it's not exactly at all what anyone would consider classy or dignified, but Vegas doesn't care. It sets out to be the most unique, most over-the-top, most unforgettable holiday destination in the world and it does so in a hot-tub overflowing with strippers, wearing aviator sunglasses and a chewed up cigar burning through it's sinful grin. And if you don't like it Vegas doesn't care, Vegas is baddass!
Las Vegas, it's kind of a BIG-deal... just get a load of this BIG-fountain!
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NOTE: The following blog text is purely poker related material. With profit/loss, hand histories, thoughts, jargon and other boring stuff most reading this won't be interested in. The only reason I include is for my own reflection and records. Please heed this warning and skip the below if you wish to stay conscious.
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In poker news, I played 10.5 hours of poker today at the MGM Grand and Aria playing $1/$2 & $1/$3 turning a $125 profit!
One interesting hand at 1/3 I'm holding J-10 of hearts in the highjack and make open to my standard raise of $10 when it gets folded to me, I get two callers to my immediate left in the cutoff and the button. The flop comes down Q-9-6 rainbow and I check first to act with my open-ender with the intention of check-raising a bet Q off of one pair, the cutoff makes it $20 into $34 and the button flats behind. I follow through with my plan and make an overbet raise to $85 into $74. Cutoff counts his remaining stack behind after the $65 raise (leaving him roughly $60), tanks and calls. The button flats as well with the added value. The turn is another Q and I check thinking I'm only getting called by made hands. To my surprise it goes check-check and we see the river, an inconsequential 4. Final board reading Q-9-6-Q-4. I check again and it checks through. I announce, "You got it, Jack high", ready to muck my hand but neither player is turning up their hand. I showdown my J-10 and both players keep their hands face down before embarrasingly showing me two worse draws! 10-8o for the cutoff and 7-8s for the button! I take down the $289 pot with Jack high :)
I'll keep the poker news to a minimum as I need to eat something. But it's nice for my first day of play to be a winning day :)
And no, not my ego... that would need a whole post all to it's own.
Las Vegas silly! Along with EVERYTHING in it.
BIG food. BIG cars. BIG buildings. BIG people. BIG breasts (both males and females). BIG drinks. BIG drinkers. BIG winners and BIGGER losers.
I think the idea is if you're in Vegas and you're living large, think BIGGER. People don't come here to have their expectations fall short or allow their inhibitions get the better of them. Although I prepared myself as best I could, I still find myself constantly surprised by this city. More than a few times I've been manoeuvring through a swarm of tourists with my thumbs firmly snug in the straps of my backpack, jaw gaping and neck craned 90 degrees staring up towards the heavens of which these Mega-Resorts seem to sit amongst proudly. When I manage to get my head out of the clouds and bring my attention back to Strip level I find my mouth then remains ajar as I witness small children dancing with 7 foot KISS impersonators and women drinking from 2 yard-stick cocktails (one in either hand) at 10 in the morning. I must look a right twat. But I can't help it! I'm just impressed by almost everything!! Granted it's not exactly at all what anyone would consider classy or dignified, but Vegas doesn't care. It sets out to be the most unique, most over-the-top, most unforgettable holiday destination in the world and it does so in a hot-tub overflowing with strippers, wearing aviator sunglasses and a chewed up cigar burning through it's sinful grin. And if you don't like it Vegas doesn't care, Vegas is baddass!
Las Vegas, it's kind of a BIG-deal... just get a load of this BIG-fountain!
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
NOTE: The following blog text is purely poker related material. With profit/loss, hand histories, thoughts, jargon and other boring stuff most reading this won't be interested in. The only reason I include is for my own reflection and records. Please heed this warning and skip the below if you wish to stay conscious.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
In poker news, I played 10.5 hours of poker today at the MGM Grand and Aria playing $1/$2 & $1/$3 turning a $125 profit!
One interesting hand at 1/3 I'm holding J-10 of hearts in the highjack and make open to my standard raise of $10 when it gets folded to me, I get two callers to my immediate left in the cutoff and the button. The flop comes down Q-9-6 rainbow and I check first to act with my open-ender with the intention of check-raising a bet Q off of one pair, the cutoff makes it $20 into $34 and the button flats behind. I follow through with my plan and make an overbet raise to $85 into $74. Cutoff counts his remaining stack behind after the $65 raise (leaving him roughly $60), tanks and calls. The button flats as well with the added value. The turn is another Q and I check thinking I'm only getting called by made hands. To my surprise it goes check-check and we see the river, an inconsequential 4. Final board reading Q-9-6-Q-4. I check again and it checks through. I announce, "You got it, Jack high", ready to muck my hand but neither player is turning up their hand. I showdown my J-10 and both players keep their hands face down before embarrasingly showing me two worse draws! 10-8o for the cutoff and 7-8s for the button! I take down the $289 pot with Jack high :)
I'll keep the poker news to a minimum as I need to eat something. But it's nice for my first day of play to be a winning day :)
Sunday 17 June 2012
"Some choose to chase their dreams while others just dream about them."
The Q♥ rolls off on the river and Daniel Negreanu's pair of aces holds up against David Williams' kings on KJ6J board, after a quick chip count and an explosive fist-pump Negreanu is crowned his first World Poker Tour title.
I witnessed this on another Saturday night up late watching a new 'reality' show, imagine 14 year old awkward-teen-boy phase. I didn't understand girls, couldn't work out why school was important, wasn't invited to any cool parties and was too tired to get off the couch after the Saturday action-flick. So I stumbled upon this show that portrayed gambling as a sport and seemed interesting enough, especially after hearing they were playing for over a million dollars in prize money, though probably anything is more interesting when a million is thrown in the mix.
It wouldn't be the only WPT title Negreanu won that year, he went on to take down the Bellagio's Five Diamond World Poker Classic in Las Vegas for another $1.7mill, and I watched him pave his way to 2004 Player-of-the-Year and quickly he became my poker idol. At age 18 he dropped out of high school to play as a rounder finding underground illegal games in his home city of Toronto before moving out to Las Vegas when he was 21. As one of the youngest rounders in the game at the time, Negreanu would soon be known by the wider poker community as 'Kid Poker', a name that became synonymous with his progressive and savy new approach to the game of which he crushed and made his fortune.
It doesn't take much to see the the immediate magnetic attraction I had to this, previously unknown, profession. You mean to tell me there are people dropping out of high school, playing a game for a living and making a shit-ton of money simply by outsmarting people? Yep, in my eyes these pro-players (Phil Ivey - 'The Tiger Woods of Poker', Gus Hansen 'The Great Dane' and Doyle Brunson 'The Godfather of Poker') were kings among men. Naturally, the rollercoaster lifestyle of gambling profession (which I'd learn much about about years on) was absent from the glossy sheen of these TV pros, but at this time all I saw were cards, sick bluffs and mountains of cash. God, life must be good right?
Though it would be years before I could catch a taste of what the life of a grinder would be. Throughout high school my friends and I would play $20 home games, I lost most of the time and it wasn't until after school in 2009 that I took the time to learn the math, game theory and effective strategies of poker all of which, at least in theory, came quite easy for me. I translated my new found poker knowledge into grinding online micro stakes tournaments, and found I could turn a small profit. In 2011 life had finally presented a scenario where I had an opportunity to play live casino cash games for a living, I had an accumulated bankroll and no job but buckets of passion. It was a chance to rise above the 9-5, escape that predictable monotonous rat-race in an attempt at something great. Something the school guidance counsellor didn't advise, something that made my parent's uncomfortable, the TAX-man sweat and that made me feel alive.
So I dove straight in, and whilst my game was sound the one thing I hadn't factored into the equation was my inexperience with Tilt* and bankroll variance - which is a fancy way to say losing. In poker short term gains/losses are not indicative of a player's capacity to turn a profit - similar to a company having a quarterly deficit but turn an overall profit for the year, and although I understood this I would easily Tilt at the onset of any losing session. I had proven though to have grinded a consistent living over the months I played however my losing sessions would send me spiralling into doubt and anxiety of my game, the money and the notion that I had in fact made a mistake in my decision to play full-time. Subsequently, I returned to the work force at the end of that year, eagerly anticipating the warm comfort of a fortnightly paycheck.
Not even a month back into the real-world I immediately began to regret my decision. I missed not having to set an alarm clock. I missed paying my rent in $100 bills. I missed the felt under my palms and the chips between my fingers. But most of all I missed the feeling of freedom it gave me, the sense of accomplishment from day to day and the fact that I worked for Me. And, like the apple on Newton's head, it hit me instantly that I wouldn't rest until I'd fist-pumped my first major championship title, poker glory and a shot at living out my dream that started 7 years ago in my parent's basement.
So, now my goal was clear, be a professional poker player and put everything I have into making it a reality, and if I still happen to fail after that I would know that I'd done all I could do to realise my dream. And here I am, sitting and typing on Delta flight VA6552 (Sydney to Los Angeles) on route to Las Vegas to be a part of the 43rd Annual World Series of Poker. I'll use this blog to chronicle my thoughts, feelings, experiences, chip counts (poker updates) and hand histories of my time in Vegas. I'll make a point though that I think this will be the only post to be of this prolific style, so if you've fallen asleep reading my introductory post stay tuned for the next.
I'll make a promise of big shiny lights, wads of cash, lines of cokes of a hooker's breast and whatever else Vegas inspires.
*Tilt = The loss of one's ability to make clear and accurate decisions in poker. Often brought upon by any (or all) of the following: losing, fear of losing, consumption of alcohol, personal problems away from the table, emotional instability.
I witnessed this on another Saturday night up late watching a new 'reality' show, imagine 14 year old awkward-teen-boy phase. I didn't understand girls, couldn't work out why school was important, wasn't invited to any cool parties and was too tired to get off the couch after the Saturday action-flick. So I stumbled upon this show that portrayed gambling as a sport and seemed interesting enough, especially after hearing they were playing for over a million dollars in prize money, though probably anything is more interesting when a million is thrown in the mix.
It wouldn't be the only WPT title Negreanu won that year, he went on to take down the Bellagio's Five Diamond World Poker Classic in Las Vegas for another $1.7mill, and I watched him pave his way to 2004 Player-of-the-Year and quickly he became my poker idol. At age 18 he dropped out of high school to play as a rounder finding underground illegal games in his home city of Toronto before moving out to Las Vegas when he was 21. As one of the youngest rounders in the game at the time, Negreanu would soon be known by the wider poker community as 'Kid Poker', a name that became synonymous with his progressive and savy new approach to the game of which he crushed and made his fortune.
It doesn't take much to see the the immediate magnetic attraction I had to this, previously unknown, profession. You mean to tell me there are people dropping out of high school, playing a game for a living and making a shit-ton of money simply by outsmarting people? Yep, in my eyes these pro-players (Phil Ivey - 'The Tiger Woods of Poker', Gus Hansen 'The Great Dane' and Doyle Brunson 'The Godfather of Poker') were kings among men. Naturally, the rollercoaster lifestyle of gambling profession (which I'd learn much about about years on) was absent from the glossy sheen of these TV pros, but at this time all I saw were cards, sick bluffs and mountains of cash. God, life must be good right?
Though it would be years before I could catch a taste of what the life of a grinder would be. Throughout high school my friends and I would play $20 home games, I lost most of the time and it wasn't until after school in 2009 that I took the time to learn the math, game theory and effective strategies of poker all of which, at least in theory, came quite easy for me. I translated my new found poker knowledge into grinding online micro stakes tournaments, and found I could turn a small profit. In 2011 life had finally presented a scenario where I had an opportunity to play live casino cash games for a living, I had an accumulated bankroll and no job but buckets of passion. It was a chance to rise above the 9-5, escape that predictable monotonous rat-race in an attempt at something great. Something the school guidance counsellor didn't advise, something that made my parent's uncomfortable, the TAX-man sweat and that made me feel alive.
So I dove straight in, and whilst my game was sound the one thing I hadn't factored into the equation was my inexperience with Tilt* and bankroll variance - which is a fancy way to say losing. In poker short term gains/losses are not indicative of a player's capacity to turn a profit - similar to a company having a quarterly deficit but turn an overall profit for the year, and although I understood this I would easily Tilt at the onset of any losing session. I had proven though to have grinded a consistent living over the months I played however my losing sessions would send me spiralling into doubt and anxiety of my game, the money and the notion that I had in fact made a mistake in my decision to play full-time. Subsequently, I returned to the work force at the end of that year, eagerly anticipating the warm comfort of a fortnightly paycheck.
Not even a month back into the real-world I immediately began to regret my decision. I missed not having to set an alarm clock. I missed paying my rent in $100 bills. I missed the felt under my palms and the chips between my fingers. But most of all I missed the feeling of freedom it gave me, the sense of accomplishment from day to day and the fact that I worked for Me. And, like the apple on Newton's head, it hit me instantly that I wouldn't rest until I'd fist-pumped my first major championship title, poker glory and a shot at living out my dream that started 7 years ago in my parent's basement.
So, now my goal was clear, be a professional poker player and put everything I have into making it a reality, and if I still happen to fail after that I would know that I'd done all I could do to realise my dream. And here I am, sitting and typing on Delta flight VA6552 (Sydney to Los Angeles) on route to Las Vegas to be a part of the 43rd Annual World Series of Poker. I'll use this blog to chronicle my thoughts, feelings, experiences, chip counts (poker updates) and hand histories of my time in Vegas. I'll make a point though that I think this will be the only post to be of this prolific style, so if you've fallen asleep reading my introductory post stay tuned for the next.
I'll make a promise of big shiny lights, wads of cash, lines of cokes of a hooker's breast and whatever else Vegas inspires.
*Tilt = The loss of one's ability to make clear and accurate decisions in poker. Often brought upon by any (or all) of the following: losing, fear of losing, consumption of alcohol, personal problems away from the table, emotional instability.
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