Tao of Poker

Full Tiltdom on Full Tilt

"Gambling is what made this country great, kids!" - Clark W. Griswald, Vegas Vacation

It was another wild Sunday night with bloggers on Full Tilt. I expected 50 players max. for a H.O.R.S.E. tourney with plenty of hijinks. When I saw almost 90, I knew my chances were slim to none that I'd make the money. Oh well, just have fun, right? I spent some time yesterday and today showing Derek how to play Razz and starting hand requirements for Seven-card Stud. I funded his account at the last moment. His laptop was in the shop getting fixed too all week. He just got it back in time to download Full Tilt, get a quick tutorial, and play some H.O.R.S.E..

As expected, I never lasted past Level 9. I busted out on a over-aggressive move in a Seven-card Stud level. At least it was a good run and I outlasted BG, the Bobby Flay of poker bloggers, to win my entry fee back. For our weekly prop bet we threw down $5 on a "last longer" bet. I was victorious and picked up $10 today after The Pope left the hospital in good shape for guy who's been on his deathbed more than Corey Feldman's career. Two weeks ago we gambled on what day the Pope was going to die and BG picked March 10-12. I know, I know... we're batch of bad Catholics. And maybe that's why I failed to make the money in a sanctioned blogger event in like over a year! I bubbled out in Vegas at the Holiday Classic. Maybe I need to improve upon my poker karma and do some more praying to Ganesha to get my poker game and a better balance with nature. Or start praying to St. Patrick for some old fashioned Irish luck to come my way in a few days.


Ganesha

By the way, if I had four arms, I'd be playing with myself all day.

So, I've been playing on Full Tilt for about a week getting accustomed to all the little things about the site that make it cool, different, weird, freaky, sometimes annoying, and overall down right kick ass. I've tripled my buy-in on the passive NL tables after putting a tiny amount of money into my account. I sent Derek a few bucks and blew most of my profits on multi-table tournaments like Razz, Omaha, and NL of course.

I felt confident in my abilities to play every game. My only problem would be patience. The changing format every ten minutes helped keep me in check. I focused better than any other blogger event. Perhaps it was the Grateful Dead bootleg (5.9.77 Buffalo, NY) or the fact I knew I had to concentrate on everyone's cards in Stud, Razz, and Stud 8.

The Cast of Characters

Seat 1: Dr. Pauly... our hero is a mild manner writer from New York City with a penchant for blondes, Northern California Sensimilla, and proposition gambling. He's a Virgo and his favorite Beatle is: Ringo.

Seat 2: The Poker Nerd... from the warm and Sunny state of Florida, our favorite SNGer is looking to make the money in another WPBT event.

Seat 3: ArthurPDent... He is the sworn enemy of G-Rob and resides in G-Vegas, South Carolina.

Seat 4: Jimmy19... He'd go on to make the final table. We cannot confirm nor deny his affiliation with the CIA or any other alphabet government agencies.

Seat 5: Iggy... The two time amateur Whiffle Ball champion from Cincinnati, Ohio was a lock for the 1988 Olympic team if it weren't for that unfortunate accident with the curling iron and vat of vasoline. The scars have since healed and Iggy is looking to prevail in another one of his blogger events.

Seat 6: Matt Stephans... The drunk from Austin, Texas is a man of mystery. He is a loyal blog reader and took third place in the Pauly's Pub Football Pool edging out Haley & Jenna on the last day of the season! 3 is a good number for Matt.

Seat 7: Shill... He's a former Vietnam veteran and a reader/blogger from Michigan/California/Texas who works as a programmer/patent attorney/proctologist by day and plays pot limit Omaha in the backroom of a bowling alley by night. He has one/2.5/three kids and a dog named Fido/Hunter/Blackberry.

Seat 8: Smak... He's a reader/blogger from Arizona/Tennessee/Illinois/Canada who works as a fork lift operator/kindergarten teacher/trout fisherman by day and gambles on the ponies and penny stocks on the Tokyo Stock exchange during the late night hours.

93 players in all for a $465 prize pool. Winner got $139. Top 16 places paid.

Level 1... Hold'em: My best game by far and I lost some chips early on 88. T1365 when the level ends and I'm 68 out of 93.

Level 2... Omaha Hi/Lo: I chop a pot with AcKs5c4s. Man, I love doubled suited A-K in Omaha with Wheel cards. T1470 and 49 out of 93.

Level 3... Razz: Playing tournament Razz reminds me of when I used to be a freshman in high school and I forgot to do my Latin homework and there's that sick feeling in my stomach that I get just before the priest is going to call on me and expose me to the world under God's eyes that I'm a dumb ass who didn't bother to do the assigned work. Those damned Jesuits! Fear and guilt will drive you insane. Just look at Michael Jackson. Moving on... I lost some chips and was looking terrible with T725. 85th out of 93 and my back against the wall.

Level 4... Stud: Going from Razz to Stud is like watching a Hee Haw episode then comparing it to a David Mamet play. I dipped to below T600 and I knew I needed to catch some high cards and try to bluff at a few pots. With K-A/K, I went heads up with Matt and completed the bet. I caught another A and bet out on fourth street. Matt folded to the best hand I had up until that point. T870 and I ended the level 83 out of 91 with BG lurking wondering when I'd bust out.

Level 5... Stud Hi/Lo: Playing Stud Hi/Lo is similar to when your girlfriend gets a little drunk on the cheap jug of wine you picked up at the 7/11 and she seductively says, "Let's experiment a little bit in the bedroom tonight, Honeybear!" Sure you have a good time and never knew you were capable of doing weird, lubricious things, but at some point you lose your bankroll and your dignity when the polaroids hit the internet. Down to T700, I chopped a pot with aces up on 10-10/A. The next hand, I picked up more chips with Ad-Kx/Jd-Kd. A few hand later Iggy was shortstacked. I had As-10s/Ax and Iggy moved all in. I won with aces and tens again and knocked out Iggy. I continued my rush with two more hands with aces showing and had T1588. I was 42 out of 82. I doubled up inside of ten minutes and felt dirty the entire time doing it as we completed the first cycle of HORSE.

Level 6... Hold'em: Finally! Being back to Hold'em again in a HORSE tourney is like coming home after an insane bad acid trip. You feel so warm and fuzzy inside you could explode. I lost my blinds and played KQs and missed my flop. T1273 by the break. T53 out of 71 but the real news was Derek. He was 9th overall at the break. StB from Beer City Poker joined my table.

Level 7... Omaha Hi/Lo: I made a second rush during Omaha. AQ42 double suited hooked me up with a pot. Same with AK73 double suited. I won a big pot with Qd-10d-9h-8h. I had a straight and flush draw on the turn and called a big bet and hit my draw. With T2340, I moved up to 27th out of 58.

Level 8... Razz: I lost a big pot to Matt S. Oh well. He was the chip leader and playing a little loose so I took a shot and it was close. Inside of one orbit I had to bring it in 5 times... with a K three times! Unreal. 44 out of 53 with T953.

Level 9... Stud: I won a hand early and had T1300. Then I blew it with Qs-10s/Ks. I knew that by fifth street I'd be all in so made the decision to push it all the way. I was heads up against an ace and figured even if he had a pair, I'd catch my draw. I missed even with a Js coming my way! Out in 46th place. Missed the money.

I sweated Derek and he went on a run. By the second break he was 19 out of 23. He got as high up as third in chips and looked like he'd be a lock for the final table. He had one bad suckout and ended up in 10th missing the final table by one spot. At least he made the prize money for the first time in a blogger event.


The Money Winners
Congrats to Derek and Maudie for making the money. Here's what Royal had to say about Derek's run:

Derek played absolutely great! He was fearlessly aggressive and while sitting to his left I only played the goods against him. I was / am very impressed.

Congrats to the rest of the folks who made the money especially Royal! Good job buddy. Thanks to Iggy for setting this up. See you on Poker Stars at the end of the month for the next event. Wish I could write more, but I'm tired and after to work on something before I crash.