Sleep With the Fishes, Dine on the Whales

Just want to say a big congrats to all the locals who kicked butt at the Beau Rivage Million Dollar Heater and the just recently completed Boomtown HPT event.  Nice to see some of the good guys run good. First and foremost, my partner Gene D went deep at Boomtown despite being deathly ill the morning of day two.  Great result for a class act.  He earned that one, and faded the bubble breaking with an all in at the same moment as the eventual bubble boy Maurice Hawkins go it in. Jeff Sager went deep at the HPT, somehow holding late on Day two when he got it in with Pocket Kings and was called by I think Queen Jack?  Good for him.  Big Phil is a regular at the Harrahs weeklies and bar tournaments and he confesses to being on fire right now.  Great for him.  He's playing well too.  Saw it first hand at Boomtown where he kept applying the pressure.  I know he bluffed me off at least one hand. Chris Canan pounded the satellites at Boomtown t...

As always since this is first a poker blog let's start with poker. first. Boom! Finally, there is another option for tournament poker players in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.  Have heard great things about the Heartland Poker Tour.  Will get to see it firsthand at the end of the month.  100k guarantee on the reentry event, an 1100 Main Event with multiple flights, and lots of ways to get into all the tournaments cheaply through single and multi-table events.  Big update on the front page of www.gulfcoastpoker.net. Heater! Going to the Beau.  I still have yet to put together my package.  A lot of folks are rolled over into it.  And a number of ya'll have asked me for details.  I think I should get it done by Monday Night. My buddy Kenny will be wearing a dress for Flight A because he lost a bet. You better believe I will be there for that.  Especially, because things seem a little tense between him and his good buddy Charlie who ...

I should probably piece together the emails I sent to my investors for the WSOP and my summer. Some good nuggets in there that are not here.  Wow, I'm really behind in updating. Fast forward to this past month where I played the Beau and the IP.  I want to give a quick shout-out to both staffs, for carefully planning two series at once that I think helped each other out rather than competed to the detriment of the other.  Genius of Henry Garrison, Paul Dutsch and the decision-makers at the Beau to stagger their re-entry event and Main Event with the IP's.  Personally, I think having these tournaments at the same time can draw better than having them back to back.  I know this year scheduling kind of forced both casinos in the same slot.  However, if possible with a little coordination and co-operation (which I realize could be more difficult then it was this year going forward) they could both really benefit.  It's not unrealistic to think two big ev...

So, feeling like this after I busted the Main Event: I decided to go touch the mountains, that for the last few years I've only looked at from the windows of the Rio, way off in the distance under a haze. We headed to the Red Rock Mountains.  So named because the iron in the rocks have oxidized red. Red. Went Hiking. In and around the mountains. Saw some big vistas. And little critters: Little Hands: Plant life: Hidden streams: Natural Monoliths: Trees: Trees: Trees: Big Critters: Teeny, tiny, hidden chip 'n dale critters (look by the tree): Sunbathers: Mine shafts: People: Lichen: Old West balconies: Melting Mountains: Mining Towns: Old Wagons: More ranges: Soaring Opera: Quick Nevada Wedding Chapels: Quick Nevada Burials:

At the Cabana at Mandalay the day before Monkey and I were talking about how bad you'd have to run to bust the Main Event early.  I said I'd need a lot of coolers/bad beats.  Maybe three or four massive ones.  Don't tempt the poker gods with hubris.  They showed me exactly how many I'd need to run through a 50k starting stack. This will not be me this year. ( Another bit of hubris, I've had friends post hand histories usually turning monster stacks into crumbs late in a tournament, and I admit I suspected they were somewhat made up or at least exaggerated.  Part of me just didn't believe they could run so bad.  Well, now I'll believe anything.  This run bad may sound unbelievable but I did live it.  Just gross). I had to Curb My Enthusiasm What a day.  Crushing spiritually.  Kept saying this will turn-- it has to turn.  And part of me loves running bad early, because if I survive, and I keep surviving the potential is...

At the Cabana at Mandalay the day before Monkey and I were talking about how bad you'd have to run to bust the Main Event early.  I said I'd need a lot of coolers/bad beats.  Maybe three or four massive ones.  Don't tempt the poker gods with hubris.  They showed me exactly how many I'd need to run through a 50k starting stack. This will not be me this year. ( Another bit of hubris, I've had friends post hand histories usually turning monster stacks into crumbs late in a tournament, and I admit I suspected they were somewhat made up or at least exaggerated.  Part of me just didn't believe they could run so bad.  Well, now I'll believe anything.  This run bad may sound unbelievable but I did live it.  Just gross). I had to Curb My Enthusiasm What a day.  Crushing spiritually.  Kept saying this will turn-- it has to turn.  And part of me loves running bad early, because if I survive, and I keep surviving the potential is...

Bullet number one of the 888, the first big tournament in my package started out rather nondescript.  You get 5k in chips and 30 minute levels.  Essentially, the Harrahs weekly I grind all the time with just a little bit better structure.  Should be in my sweet spot. We started five handed, max in this tournament is 8 handed, and a guy I recognized on my left seemed to be the best player of the other four.  I hit some big early hands, turned a straight and flopped a flush, both times my opponents showed and had nothing.  Hate getting monsters too early. An older gentleman at the table I decided to target kept hitting hands so maybe a bad choice.  I tried to bluff him once after he bet pre, he c-bet the 9 high flop and then he checked turn and river.  I had A10 and some back door possibilities.  I thought I had some showdown value but there were also some small pairs and better Aces,  I might be able to fold out so I bet.  He called w...