Sleep With the Fishes, Dine on the Whales

Just read through the title before I started typing and it seems like I ended it with I pee bad news.  Maybe if I had some snow, I could test that out.  Yes, I'm juvenile. WSOP Academy First things first, I'll be working the WSOP Academy at Harrahs this weekend as the local "pro."  Inexplicably, Harrahs will also be hosting a WSOP Main Event satellite (during this event) on Saturday.  Huh?  It would be one thing if they started it after the Academy, they could have brought in the out of towners that are coming to the Academy and want to test their games and some of the local players.  Doing it concurrently just makes no sense.  Besides the fact nobody knew about his until Wednesday. I would love it if Harrahs New Orleans would just give GCP a  call.  I'd be happy to help them massively improve their bottom line when it comes to poker.  So many little things they could do, cost efficient things, that could put them where they belong ...

First off, congrats to Jeremy Gaubert for his second title at the WPO.  Lots of respect for the Chemist who was overdue for another first place finish.  122k is a nice payday. Alright, what's been going on.  Went on a family vacation to Pensacola Beach.  I had every intention of playing at the Pensacola Racetrack and never made it over.  Maybe next time.  Thanks to Michael Kmetz who offered to show me around. That being said, the trip was one bad experience after every good one. For example, we had some of our best beach/pool days in years. Then at around five or so, the bad would start to happen.  On one day we watched helplessly as our three year broke our fairly new tablet after about 5 minutes of use.  Tile floors are not forgiving.  Minus a few hundred dollars there.  The next day, one bite into steak dinner (the highlight meal of the trip) the fire alarm went off and we had to descend 12 flights of steps.  With six kid...

Going to pour a lot of things into this one. For the first time in a while I'm not at the WSOP even for a piece of it.  It sucks and at the same time I think the year off gives some great perspective.  Like many, or dare I say most, I ran terrible at last years WSOP.  I won't bore you with the bad beats or cooler but there were plenty.  I think my experience leached into my play and outlook on poker for the months that followed in a negative way. Lets be clear, I didn't go not because I didn't want to and not because I wasn't planning on it.  I wanted to go and I thought I was going, but life kind of happened.  I'll get to that.  It's been nice, well let me clarify, it's been educational to experience it from afar via social media and have a new perspective on the crushing pain some of the players are dealing with.  I recently wrote this to a friend: "Yeah it's just voluntary torture most of the time.  Pretty sicko.  After last su...

, Seemed like I completely avoided the lunacy of last years World Series, and though I tasted bad beats and coolers this series it was nothing outside the ordinary.  The final night though it just seemed destined for things to sting.  In the 3 pm tournament after the first break I found myself needing to fold Queens on a 7 high flop.  I 3bet and was 4bet pre.  I played with this player in a mega earlier in the week (rated him as good), and though I knew he was capable of 4betting a wide range, I thought he wasn't picking a moment to mix it up.  Considered folding pre but decided I'd play it like a small pair and try to make a set because we were both deep enough that I had the implied odds.  I wiffed he fired again.  I told him I laid down a big hand, he showed Aces and couldn't believe we didn't get it in pre when I told him I had queens. The night before late in the main, when desperate for a hand I found Jacks and was intent on playing them, ...

Played the five o'clock mega the thursday before the Main Event..  Thought I built a good table image and chipped up pretty quickly.  Also, made some thin value bets and got calls.  So playing well. Can't remember precisely where it came undone.  Think about two thirds of the field was gone and I made a couple of raises I had to fold to shoves. The last one like that I opened KQ o/s in the hijack seat.  Player on the button who didn't show down many hands but I believed to be tight shoved.   He was also good enough to steal.  But I thought I'd find a better spot.  Didn't.  Reshoved myself, light with QJ suited, and the initial raiser Mihail, a wide open cash game player, who actually had a hand this time with 99 and I lost the race.  He thought about folding because of my image and our history.  Good thing is I  might get some calls from his weaker hands in the future, bad thing is I was out. No nightly tournaments and...

Another Day.  Another bubble.  This time the stone cold bubble.   The Mega only had 49 entries.  They were gong to award 4 players 2k in chips and the 5th player $1800 in cash. This was the type of event that would set up the series nicely for me, and everybody that bought a piece of my package. Grinded through the field.  Entered final table with chip average.  Went card dead and took a minor hit when I called two small stacks shove with AK and was up against vs. AJ v. 99.  AJ took it all. At seven handed a player got a one round penalty.  Then another player brought up the idea of a save.  6th and 7th would get 400 and everybody else would get 1800.  I looked at the table and it was very likely I was one of three short stacks playing for the final spot.  I agreed and so did every one else.       Then the following transpired.  The guy who brought up the idea shoved.  I was in the small bli...