There won't be too many hands in here. Tournament hands are in the post by TIGER123 who graciously agreed to take notes for the Hold'Em Tourney. Most or all of the Alt.Drunken.Bastard stuff took place away from the host casino (Resorts - give then a hand and some of your business: great crew in the poker room) as we did not want to put a "bad beat" on ourselves. Certain events have been recalled through an alcoholic haze, but I DID keep extensive notes, so if it sounds like an exaggeration, well, Naaaah, it's what really happened.
The Week Before:
Jeremy Miller(Beavisbot/Satan) and I have agreed to be roomies at ATLARGE. We've never met, but this week we're both on IRC a lot after work practicing up. He's hilarious online. I can't wait to meet him.
Win a 21 person IRC tourney Wednesday (Good omen) to bring me to -7 buy-ins after 185 or so tourneys. Heh. Am ranking #3,218/+0.0034 small bets per hand after over 8,200 hands, mostly H1.
Am disappointed to hear there will be no Calcutta due to fear of CCC busting us up with guns blazing and taking all of ATLARGE with us. I already had planned to print out the rankings of the top 5000 or so IRC Hold'Em players to help handicap...shucks.
By the night before I'm really psyched up. Jeremy tells me he might go down at 2:00AM, he's so fired up. My wife thought I was going to do that too. I might have, but we had ballet tickets for Thursday night.
Sounded too crazed (heh).
FRIDAY:
Excited, I wake up early to get off in the bad weather. It's snowing big beautiful flakes, the last of a record winter's white. Go only 70 on the turnpike, due to weather (this is NEW JERSEY) and have a fine trip down.
Give my car to valet. Oops, no check-in till 4PM. Check bags
(including backgammon set, as I'm hoping to recoup my casino losses by
getting Beavisbot drunk and playing high stakes BG
Off to Buffet, where the first official event is held: lunch. Run
into Jazbo on the way in & we chat. I play at the Mayfair in NY, and
he came up one week to play baby ($1,$2 blinds, $300 buy-in) no-limit
Hold'Em at the club, so he was one of the two RGP folks I already knew.
Scott Byron also plays in that game at the Mayfair, and lets me
sweat him and whisper questions while he plays. Buffet was great,
putting names with faces even better. Find myself confusing Eric with
Doug all week-end (Sorry guys). Sit across from Nolan Dalla, who
writes for Card Player. Hey maybe we'll get some press. We chat
pleasantly and agree to throw the bones later (a premonition).
This is where I see how the whole thing is going to be run. Jazbo has
name badges for everyone all made up ahead of time, has everyone
registered for their events, gotten star cards for everyone and
generally done a completely terrific job of organizing. Even more
impressive is his calm demeanor. R000ling!! [1]
***** [1] Please note "R000ling" is spelled R-three-zero-l-i-n-g but
***** the three is silent.
After buffet it's off to the TAJ to cash a marker and use one of the
Match Plays I get in the mail. OK, $10 pass, $10 match. Roll 10. $50
odds. Roll 9. 10. Yes! Up $120 on my first action. Play one more roll
(just in case
-$20 I decide not to play in the $100+$15 Resorts Hold'Em tourney after
all. I enjoy meeting and sweating Sneezix, LOBOC, Jester, Filaman, DTM
at $5/10 HE. Watched them beat up on 2 non-RGP'rs in the game. Get in
the game finally. 1st hand, I'm BB with K8s flop comes 87x Kx I win!
Later I start to get a read on the table, a rush that would last the
whole weekend at the Hold'Em tables. Called with J9s in late position,
flop came Q9x. I read bettor for AK or AJ overcards and called all the
way. Dragged the pot when two rags fell (It was AK). Later hold TT in
middle and raise, reraised late, call by button, I call. Winner had
KQs. The overcaller had 93o!
Took tons of notes on theory it would either 1) help my cards or 2)
give accurate record of the shit I was holding. On later reflection,
not many interesting hands. Only played 2 blinds in 3 rotations. I
have a good viewing seat next to the final table at the Tourney with 2
of our guys still in, loads of RGP sweaters rooting them on. Congrats
to Jay "Sippy" Sipelstein (2nd) and Dave "DTM" Meeks (4th).
Jerry Gerner has arranged a TARGET entry tourney for 9 of us. He says
we'll play in his room, using a bed for a table. ("Who would ask you to
use a bed for a table?" Answer: Jerry Gerner). Only problem was we
had to bring the chairs from our room. Now Jerry is staying on the
floor with the parking garage entrance, so they have security in the
hall and an extra lock on the hallway entrance to the rooms. Beavisbot
and I come rolling out of the elevators with the chairs and call
Jerry's room to come let us in the hall.
Security: Where you guys going?
Jerry opens the door and in we go. I suspect the others were not
questioned
***** [2] Prayer Meeting (tm). All rights reserved for ATLARGE
Now here I am with 9 of the finest. I only know Jeremy (barely),
Scott, and a couple of others whose names I recognize from the 'net.
What the hell, this should be a blast. (David Fruchter has posted a
report on this event.) I was third and Jeremy second, as Jerry won his
own tourney. These guys are tough, so I am pleased with my finish. I
would see most of them at the final table tomorrow.
Stay up late carousing with the Alt.Drunken.Bastards contingent. We
(Beavisbot, Timmy, Bruce, Russell, Jester, and I) go over to TAJ to
attempt a mass barring or some other outrageous behavior. Catch up
with Eric Holtman playing Pai Gow. Find empty (almost, soon will be)
Red Dog table.[3] Aha! Just the kind of depravity I had in mind.
***** [3] A certain party suggested playing the Big Wheel, but there
We fill all seats but one and have sweaters behind cheering. Dealer
killing our minimum bet, Waitress bring drinks! action. We need
something to change our luck. It comes to me. Eureka! Dealer, please
turn the little dog around so we can kick his ass! Yes! Major Red Dog
recovery. Eric talks us into returning to Pai Gow, where I proceed to
get get loaded to the (yes) gills and unloaded in the (yuch) pocketbook
banking Pai Gow. Didn't I give this game up a couple of years ago?
Sure I did. Blackjack, breakfast. Finally knock off. Unfortunately,
the path to our room is right past the Resorts Crap tables. Cha Ching!
Let the don't shooters influence my thinking. Donald and Merv will
sleep well tonight. Agree to swap 5% with each of Beavisbot, Jaeger
and Timmy. How bad could that be? This is all pretty hazy, but I'm
pretty sure I got some Rumplemintz units in here somewhere. Get to the
room about 6AM -$800. Jeremy is still out carousing somewhere. Fall
into bed and fall into restless sleep. FORGET TO LEAVE WAKE UP CALL!
Saturday:
Awaken to phone ringing.
OH SHIT! Throw on my clothes and race down...(Nothing like starting on
Vacation). I'm told I won in the blinds with 64 off. Great. Good
start.
Kman quotes me as I try to get my bearings "Yes, dealer, I'm still not
paying attention." Sleep still clogging my brains. I get 55 UTG - make
it T50 to go - win! Presto! Wakes me up. Floor comes by and
threatens dealer with Poker Jail for some infraction. Am playing well,
getting good reads, stealing often, very aggressive with the big
drawing hands. Kman and Sippy go all-in against each other. Whew.
Kman KK, Sippy QQ.
We're down to two tables. This was my goal when I came. Finish
respectably. Cool. Get KQ w/ KQx flop. Go all-in with Alan Aida.
Split it up, as he shows the same. Richard Sooy, the TAJ dealer and
frequent RGP contributor is at our table. He is bullying the table.
Just killing everyone but me. Somehow I have his number. He runs up
the chips, then I take a bunch from him. He's playing everything in
sight and is drawing out on most hands. I have a good stack, about 2/3
of Richard's. I pick up AQs. Richard calls good size raise. Flop
comes Kxx. I read him for another bluff and move all-in. When he
called I figured I was dog meat. Turn: blank River: K. I show and he
mucks! Tiger tells me I am the chip leader.
An interesting hand. Chuck "Conjelco" Weinstock has TT in the T200 Big
Blind. He has T600. There are 12 left, 10 get paid. The big stack
raises all-in from the SB. Do you call?
He decides to fold and try to survive. (I had 22).
My notes end as we move to the final table. My hands are sweaty and
shaking a little with nervousness. I am far to nervous to take notes
[4]. Jeez, I'm in the money and chip leader by at least 2x anyone
else.
***** [4] Tiger123 has already posted as I write this.
I've seen these faces before! Half these guys were at the Prayer
Meeting (tm)! I am in trouble.
Richard had made me too many gifts and was first out. We have already
agreed to try rocks & beers later at the TAJ with him dealing. What a
great guy!
Mostly I'm just being bled away, without taking much part in the
action. I don't want to have the middle stacks double through me, so I
try to get involved only with the smaller ones, as best I can. I'm
especially worried about Jerry and JP. Jerry won last night and I know
he's on his game. JP is scary. He is incredibly intense at the table.
It's like an aura. Everyone else I'm comfortable with.
When we're down to 4 or 5, Jazbo brings out the plaques for 1st, 2nd &
3rd and they leave them on the table. Ooh, those look great. I want
one.
Jerry takes out everyone else and builds up to about 2-1 chip lead.
Now we're heads up. Shit. Why didn't I read all those recent posts &
articles on Tourney pot splitting? Whoda thunk it? I ask Jerry if he
wants to deal. I am secretly hoping he'll take it. I figure it should
go about 60-40 for the cash & play for the Plaque. I really don't care
about the cash that much [5], but, man, would I love that Trophy. He
smiles coyly and says "Let's play a little". Frankly I would do the
same in his shoes.
***** [5] The ATLARGE Hold'Em tourney had 54 Entries. First Place paid
I decide to play one-connectors and suited stuff for my junk hands and
throw away most of the rest, more or less maintaining discipline,
unless I get really short-stacked. We trade blinds quite a bit. I
suck out with a straight all-in with T9 vs K7s, and again when T4s
makes 4s and they hold up. We trade blinds back and forth for a while.
I pick up 62o in BB, and Jerry just calls, trying to get action. I was
surprised because I don't remember seeing a free card at this table.
Flop comes 229 and I push all-in and Jerry calls with KQo. He doesn't
help and a 9 rivers me a full house [6].
***** [6] Does this mean 62off can be called a "foldem"? You know like
Now I'm leading and feeling confident. A few hands later I go all-in
with 88 and suck-out a runner-runner flush to take an all but
insurmountable lead. I try to win on T2off (doyle brunson) thinking it
would be neat, but Jerry held on. A few hands later I finally beat an
extremely difficult and gracious opponent to become the Hold'Em champ
of ATLARGE!
I would like to take a minute to congratulate and thank the staff and
dealers at Resorts. They don't usually deal no-limit, nor work at that
hour, nor for so little in tips (I'm pretty sure everyone kicked in
5%). They were courteous, efficient, and, sensibly, let us help them
if they needed it. The tourney came off without a hitch (as did 7-card
the next day) and the right guy won
PART 2: The Dark Side. Coming soon to a newsgroup near you!
Part 2 will include the TOP 10 REASONS FOR ATTENDING BARGE!
foldem
Beavisbot: Heh,heh,heh.
Me: We're having a Prayer Meeting (tm) [2]
Security: Oh, OK.
***** Tournament. No use without permission. Violators will be
***** laughed at and forced to play $1-$2 Omaha/8 with the Mad
***** Russian.
***** are levels I will not sink to.
"Hullo?"
"This is TIGER123. Are you playing in the Tourney?"
***** You can get the final hands from his 4/1/96 Resorts ATLARGE
***** Report. I must say that I don't believe I've ever met a jollier
***** person than Tiger. He sure did a great job with keeping the
***** hands and all.
***** $1,026. After 5% to the dealers and 15% to my
***** Alt.Drunken.Bastard buddies, less about 1/3 in taxes, I net $500.
***** Second Place paid $400something with no taxes.
***** when you have 55 and call "PRESTO!" and the other guy says
***** "Irwin?" You would call "FOLDEM" and the other guy would mutter
***** "shit".