(Editor's note: The Author had planned a rather lengthy and literate trip report, going so far as to use a laptop and take notes. However, due to that lousy bastard's unfortunate physical condition and his typical redneck technical savvy, the notes are useless and The Author is forced back to his traditional style of just talking right out of his ass.) We got to ATLARGE a little early this year. Monday morning to be exact, trying to avoid the frozen wave of doom that swept the earth. I don't get to play live much at all outside of ARG events so I do try to push it where possible, and this time I may have pushed it too far trying to spend a solid week in the Taj... Everything was spiffy the first few days, beat up on the 5-10 and 3-6 games, managed to cash in one of the Taj tournaments. I like the structure of the Taj's tourneys... no rebuys, and the antes kick in at the third level (100-200 w/ 25 ante). Many of the players seem to be ignorant of pot odds and are fond of limping way too late in the tournament. At one point I from the button raise 3 limpers all in for my last T6800. I don't remember the structure, just that it folded back to me and I doubled through on the hand even though nobody called me... On Thursday other ATLARGERS begin to appear. Some wander into my 5-10 game, others I just see. For some awful reason at about 11PM or so a bunch of us decide we want to play 2-4 Omaha. The Taj relents and gives us a table, but then in typical Taj fashion tell us it must be a must move game for the main 2-4 O8 game. This of course, defeats the purpose and makes no sense seeing that it would really be a "must leave" game as nobody with any sense would willingly go to the main 2-4 O8 game for the same reason that people don't willingly go to prison... So someone, I think me, suggests a half HE half O8 game to avoid the must move, and the Taj people agree. So we have a little rocking 2-4 game where I show off my advanced skill at hitting two outers on the turn and overtipping dealers. Unfortunately I'm starting to feel notsohot, and this is where the whole trip starts to come apart.... Ironically, the list for the above game got long enough where a second non-ATLARGE two-way 2-4 game got started, and wound up breaking the main 2-4 O8 game... So Friday morning I'm really feeling like crap. I vaguely remember the HOE, the only concrete memory I have is busting out in the omaha round with something along the lines of AA35 with a suited ace that got beat both ways. I was short stacked and got about half of my chips in pre-flop and when the flop didn't brick me I felt committed. What I do remember is turning over my hand, and when Goldie (who had the high) started clapping the thought passed through my head that he was acting rather oddly... I guess I was dazed enough to sorta forget about the bustout applause thing... but I soon remembered where I was and what was going on and waived to the applauding throng... Then I went to take a nap. After an hour or so I felt duty bound to try a little more poker, see how it goes. I decide to try a little 3-6 as I am a bit fuzzy. Crappy game, table that time (or at least the floor) forgot, short handed and so forth. I want to leave but the banquet is in less than an hour so suck it up... I torture myself for a while over this, then get up. While walking to the banquet I begin to now REALLY feel like poopie. So I abort and return to my room. Maybe a 14 hour nap would be just the thing before the no-limit. At least that is the plan. I maybe sleep two hours total that night. My throat is driving me nuts, I have some sort of world record for a tongue ulcer (from the cough drops) in that I can see it in the mirror across the room without using my glasses, and best of all the Taj beds and pillows seem to have been designed with the "Cell of Little Ease" as a model. If my tossing and turning could have been harnessed I could have provided a small village with electrical power for the next decade... I was on autopilot for the no-limit. I remember turning a nut straight and then folding on the river when the board paired. I remember a weird hand where I flopped top pair, bet out, was told it was not my turn yet, apologized, and then when the other player bet I folded. I also remember being moved to table1 seat 10, a seat only accessible by hovercraft, and getting to it just in time for break so I could leave and try to get back to it again only to bust out on a 77 vs. AK race five hands past the break so I could force my way out again.... I'm a wreck from lack of sleep, and the first thing that goes for me is my emotional control, so the above just seems like the Worst Thing That Can Happen To Anyone Ever. Totally irrational, but I'm feeling easily put out at this point. This is when I realize that I feel like acting the same way most of the people (not ATLARGERS of course) tend to act at the Taj. Being a Good Country Boy I tend to spectate the kind of urban rudeness here with some level of amusement. Unfortunately, I'm feeling myself slipping into what I mock. Ye gads.. I maintain for the most part though... OK... At this point I'm having No Fun. I appreciate the work done on the whole deal by Goldie and others, and I do wish I could enjoy myself, but I'm a mess. I've been looking forward to this for months and I'm here and I just want someone to shoot me, or at least teleport my sick ass back home. Back to the concrete slab mattress and maybe another 2 hour hot shower. That night I hang out a little in the suite... try to keep a moderate distance in case I'm spreading the SARS virus... hate the idea of just camping out other than the tournaments... hang until about midnight, get some sleep for the Stud tournament... I get up in time for stud. My first ever live high only stud tourney, as I didn't register for it last year. I've had some good results in internet stud tournaments, but I usually just play Stud8, and the big game back home in my youth was 7stud hi/lo no qualifier. I just never really grasped regular stud for some reason. Seems like every time I play it I keep getting great hi/lo hands... Second hand in I get dealt rolled up fives. Nice. I make quads on 4th street. I can dig it. Thing is we are playing 15-30 with a stack of 3K so I'm not going to win it here... I think it would be nice to get this a little later. Unfortunately I catch 2s on 5th and 6th so even though I think my opponent has trip queens he slows down and I win a nice pot rather than a really absurdly large one... From there I muddle on until there are about 5 tables left. I have about 2400, and am waiting for a chance at a noble death so I can sit in the pink chip game for a few minutes at least. Then I make concealed trips on 4th street and manage to almost triple up, and then win the next pot I think on a scary board and a bluff. So I'm doing alright when the table breaks until I get into my saga with Golfman. He has many chips and is playing very aggressive, seemingly completing the bring-in 70% of the time. When there are I think still 3 tables we play a series of crucial hands. In the first, he brings it in and I complete with an ace showing, and a suited QJ under. He calls. He catches small on 4th and I catch a 9. I bet he calls. On 5th street I pair the nine and he pairs a small card. I bet he again calls. On 6th I catch an ace, pairing the door card. He has 3 to a wheel showing. I bet out and he goes into the tank. I think he has a low draw or two pair and is contemplating dumping it. I have maybe 3 bets left and he is pretty deep. He remarks that he can't believe he is laying this down as he made his draw and shows a 6 high straight and folds. After a rather serious limit increase we went at it again. He brought in with a five showing for the full bet (I think... he had maybe raised a bring in), and I raised with an exposed 9 and a suited QJ under with larcenous intent. He called. We both catch 9's on 4th street, and I bet to represent the trips. He calls, which concerned me a bit. I was ready to fold up the tent on 5th street until I catch the case 9. I bet with my exposed trips, and he isn't folding yet. He's just tortured, and says something about it being a close call and now I know he started with rolled up 5s. He calls me down and my trips hold. Llew interjects: O.K, it's late and I spent the whole day giving trumpet and drum lessons to 9-12 year-olds, so maybe I am missing something. How does he call down your exposed trip 9's with rolled up 5's that didn't fill up? Rob "Suddenly" Catlett replies: I was probably all in. The limits were a bit insane. He called me on 5th and 6th and then either I had no chips or I assume I check there on the river with the exposed trips anyway... I can't really remember which, but there was a showdown... I'm somewhat sure I was all in though... The final chapter came with nine left in the tournament, and he again raised someone's bring in only for me to find rolled up queens. I reraised him all in and soon the final table was underway... The final table was quite mad. The limits for most of it were 6K/12K, heavy stuff with only 190K on the table. Then they were 10K/20K. I think I only played one hand without a monster when I completed with an A up only to be reraised by a queen. For some reason I decided a checkraise bluff on 4th street was the correct play, and to my shock I took down the pot. Other than that from what I recall I busted four of the eight remaining players in my march to the title. As I recall these were the hands I started with: (JJ)J (KK)2 (AA)K (77)7 ...given the limits we were pretty much playing no-limit stud anyway... So, I won the ATLARGE stud tournament. I didn't believe it then and I'm not sure I believe it now. I'd have given it to be able to at least breathe without having a knife stuck in my lung, but we all have our little problems in life I guess... Thus ended my ATLARGE. I made it back home where the recovery continues. What did I learn? Being sick at the Taj sucks. Seriously. If the structure is fast enough not really knowing the particular game in a poker tournament is not much of a liability. You can be rolled up 3 times in an hour and not get arrested. --- Suddenly (Rob Catlett)

Trip Report by 8-2 Cactus Kev CHAPTER ONE: A LATE ARRIVAL I had planned to leave around noon Thursday for the drive to A.C., but events out of my control had me finally getting on I-95 around 6pm. I was also bummed that a Saturday night Basia concert (at the Borgata) that I had tix for was suddenly cancelled on Thursday morning. (I later found out that it was due to visa problems). Anyway, I got to the Taj around 9:30, and didn't feel like playing that much "serious" poker; so I jumped in a 2-4 hold'em game, and instantly thought I had somehow driven to California instead and was playing at the Commerce. Seven to eight players on every flop, even with a raise. One of the funnier hands I won was when a two-Heart flop board caught runner-runner Hearts, and the table suddenly came alive. Thankfully, I had the Ace, but the three other players had the King, the Jack, and the Nine. I hung around for about two hours, won five bucks, and crashed for the night. CHAPTER TWO: A GOOD START Of the three tourneys, I enjoy the H.O.E. event the best. I get bored playing the same game for hours upon end, so anything to cycle the games is a good thing in my book. I wound up winning most of my early hands in hold'em. AQ vs A4 with a board of Qx4KK. AQ vs AK with a board of QxxJx. Pocket Aces actually held up once, bringing my total to T5400. I scored a monster pot in Omaha, when I raised pre-flop with Ad2d2h3c, the flop came 4d5dJd for the nut flush, and a 7h hit the turn for a low. Just the night before, 8-2 Mike had reminded me that scooping pots is how you make money in Omaha. That win, combined with a Hi/Lo Stud win of trip Aces beating trip Kings, put me at T10700 at the second break. One thing I noticed in this (and the other two tourneys) is that I tended to get crappy cards early on in the event, but later picked up some premium hands that paid off big in the later, more expensive rounds. So even though I was silently cursing all the lousy hands I'd have to fold over and over again, it worked out to my advantage later on when I started catching the good ones in the middle rounds. So I'll never whine about a slow start again. One other cool item of note. I happened to be at Goldiefish's table, and he taught me an insane game called "Chowaha". I can't wait to give it a try at the next dealer's choice night at the 8-2 Club. I held my own as the tourney continued, was very happy with my play, and found myself at the final two tables. The levels were 1000-2000 at this stage, so any hand I committed to would basically put me all-in. By now, it was around 4:30, and 8-2 Chris volunteered to grab me a sandwich, as I was the only 8-2'r left in the tourney. As with last year, it was an Omaha hand that did me in. In late position, I raised pre-flop with KcQcQdJc, and got at least one caller. The flop was Tc5d8c, so I had both a Straight and a Flush draw. I called the bet, and the turn brought a club Trey. I had the Flush, but it also gave someone a low. I threw in my remaining T2000, hoping to split, but my opponent turned over the Ace-Deuce of Clubs, busting me out at #16. I was sad to miss the final table, but I played well, and I did manage to last longer than my fellow 8-2'rs. Thirteen of us had contributed twenty bucks for a "Best in Show" pool. Whoever placed the best in all three tourneys combined ("best" being determined by arcane formulas courtesy of 8-2 Dave, involving advanced hypermath, logorithms, and the golden ratio) won the $260 prize, so I was at least ahead for that award. CHAPTER THREE: 8-2 COSTS ME A BENJAMIN I take a quick snooze before heading back down for ring games. 8-2 Mike cons me into joining him at a 5-10 hold'em table, and after an hour or two of play, I'm up about fifty. Then, I'm dealt the infamous 82o hand. I smoothly call the bet, and flash my cards to Mike, who has already folded. He whispers back, "You should have raised." I'm thinking he's right when the flop comes 8Q2 rainbow. Me and "Big Matt" Ivestor get into a raising war, and finally put in four bets. The turn is beautiful 8, and I keep raising until I realize that Matt isn't going to stop raising either. Hmmmmmm. Could he have pocket Queens? Nah, he would have raised preflop with Queens. He must be betting his trip Eights, so I raise again. He re-raises. Okay, now I'm scratching my head and just call. The light bulb goes off above my head, and it suddenly dawns on me that he might have Q8. The river is a brick 7, he bets, and I sheepishly call to see his Q8. Oh, that cruel fickle 8-2 hand. Now I'm down fifty, and I lose another fifty before calling it a night. CHAPTER FOUR: TIME PASSES Although I wasn't relishing an entire day of playing Hold'em, I sat down vowing to do better than last year's abysmal outing. We started with T3000, and for the first three rounds, I got nothing but dreck. I had T2875 at the first break, and the exact same amount by the second break. By break three, I had been blinded down to T2400. If I didn't catch a hand soon, it didn't look promising. I finally went all-in with QJs, and got one caller with pocket Tens. A Queen flopped, and the Tens got no help, so that got me to T7600. With over 200 players, it was hard to see who busted out when the clapping was heard. I would try to see if any 8-2'r was standing with the applause, but sometimes I couldn't tell. I think by the third break, three club members had been eliminated. Because of the large number of entrants, a good finish in this tourney would weight extremely heavily in the "Best in Show" prize pool. So I needed to hang on as long as possible. My table is the first to break, and I think I get moved two times. I'm finally seated at table number one. CHAPTER FIVE: A DRAMATIC ENDING I'm the big blind, and look down to see JT suited in Clubs. UTG calls, and the little blind calls. The flop comes a lovely Ad Kc Qh, giving me Broadway. I decide to slowplay my monster, and bet T2000. UTG goes all-in! Yes!!! LB folds, I call, and turn over my Straight. UTG turns over my worst nightmare -- pocket Aces. Holy crap! I start screaming "No Pair! No Pair!" to the dealer, and he flips over my second worst nightmare -- the case Ace!! Quad Aces. IGHN. But WAIT!!! Matt Matros, who is sitting in seat 8, notices that the turn was the Ace of Clubs. Believe it or not, I actually have ONE out card. If the Queen of Clubs falls on the river, I have a Royal, and news of this suck-resuck hand will be echoing through the ARG distros for years to come! The dealer burns and turns. Alas! No Club Queen. IRGHN. I bust out just about at the halfway point, at position #103. I later compute the odds of my opponent beating my Straight after the flop. Turns out I am a 2-1 favorite to win, so I am happy with my all-in bet, and would have done the same thing even if I had known he had Aces. CHAPTER SIX: HOW TO LOSE $300 IN ONE HOUR Later that evening, after eating a comped meal at the buffet with 8-2 Chris, I ventured back into my final ring game play of the weekend. As the day before, I was playing well, was catching cards, and found myself up a hundred after two hours. Then, it started. I'd call with A7s, and make a set with a flop of 779. Queen turn. Bet and numerous callers. Trey river, bet and one caller, who shows QQ. Well, I suppose I should be glad he wasn't raising. Later, I get the pocket ladies and raise. Flop is 862 rainbow. Bet, numerous callers. Turn 4. Bet, and still some callers. River Jack. Bet, and numerous callers. Lose to 84o. Huh? Did I sit down at the 2-4 table by mistake?? Shortly thereafter, I have KJs and raise. Bet a hunk when the flop show K7J. Turn Deuce and bet. River Nine and bet, with it raised back to me. Hmmmm. "He must have QT for the Straight," thinks I. I call to see. He turns over 43 suited in clubs. Double huh?? Oh, I see. He caught runner-runner clubs for his Flush, with absolutely nothing until the river. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. This type of crazy play continued for the rest of the hour, and in that short time, my hundred profit had transmorgrified into a two-hundred loss. I played my final hand in the dark just out of frustration, since looking at my cards obviously wasn't helping my play one iota. I turn in after reading up on some Stud strategy for Sunday's event. CHAPTER SEVEN: THE LAST HUZZAH Well, we were down to the last tourney, and so far, the 8-2 Club was a no-show at any final table. The streak was in serious jeopardy, as there has always been at least one 8-2 member making the final table in at least one of the three tourneys. I like Stud, because of the additional information you get from other player's up cards. I also wanted to place high enough in this tourney to assure my lock for the annual "8-2 Best in Show" pool. The first round was a bizarre one, where Aces and Kings would get beaten by rivered trips, and trips would lose to runner-runner flushes. It got to the point where I really didn't want to get starting cards of a high pair, as the chances of them holding up were apparently extremely slim. 8-2 Dave took some substantial hits from major suckouts, as 8-2 Cary and myself just shook our heads in disbelief, silently glad it wasn't happening to us. By the end of Round One, I had increased my starting stack of T3000 to an "impressive" T3200. Shortly after the break, I got moved to another table -- this time, against two other 8-2 members: Graham and Ron. I won the first hand, but then hit an incredible dry spell. Things were looking bleak chipwise, when I looked down and saw (98)7. Not seeing any Sixes or Tens, I decided to call 8-2 Graham, who had completed the bring-in bet with a Jack showing. I catch a Five, and Graham fires off a bet. I decide to pay for one more card, and lo! it is the magical Six, completing my straight. However, Graham has caught another Jack. He bets, and I raise, expecting him to just call; but he raises! Now I figure he must either have Jacks-Up, or worse yet, trip Jacks. Either way, I've got him beat at present, so I raise it again. Now he's thinking. And thinking. And thinking some more. Finally he calls. I catch an Ace, and he catches a spot card. Since I don't know what card he needs to make his boat, I have no way of telling if sixth street helped him or not. He checks, I bet, and he simply calls. Now I'm sure that sixth street didn't help him. I don't even bother looking at my down card, and bet when he checks to me. Mister Cool, that's me. Sort of like Bond, James Bond. I'm not just Cool, I'm Suffe-cool! When he pauses, I know he didn't make his hand. He thinks for a while longer, and finally calls, revealing his trip Jacks. I turn over my cards, showing my Straight on the first five cards, and then seeing that a river Ten gave me an even higher Straight for added effect. Shazam. More tourney chips for me, and I took them from a possible contender for the "Best in Show" pool. Afterwards, I computed the percentage chance Graham had to make either a boat or quads. Assuming his other two non-Jack cards were all "live", he had a 311/861 = 36.1% chance of beating me. I actually thought his odds of making his hand would be higher. Thrilled with my victory, I take a huge hunk of chips from 8-2 Ron on the very next hand, when he makes an A-J Flush on fifth street, but I make an A-Q Flush on sixth street. I'm on fire, and wind up with T7900 by the end of Round Two. I really liked playing at that table, and not just because I won a hunk of chips from both Graham and Ron. We had the funnest (is funnest a word?) table in the room. Poor TrayRacer was getting hit with a huge disproportionate number of bring-in cards. It got so bad, he started actually putting out his bring-in money before the cards were even dealt. And sure enough, he'd be the bring-in! Then, other players started announcing that THEY would be the bring-in player by advance posting their chips, and shazam! they would be right! We were actually having more fun calling out the bring-in's than with the actual playing of the hands. It was one of the highlights of my week. At Round Three, I get moved to yet another table. This one has 8-2 Mike at it, and not only does he have a goodly amount of chips, he is also an excellent Stud player who has placed in the money upon numerous occasions. Plus, if he finishes high enough compared to me, he could sneak in a "Best in Show" win himself. So I really don't want to go head-to-head with him unless absolutely necessary. At this level, we're playing 300-600, and I start with three Hearts and call. When a player pairs her Nine and bets, I call as I caught a fourth Heart. Again, I like Stud because I have seen that Hearts are very live, so I am willing to draw out on her. I brick on Fifth Street, but catch my Flush on Sixth Street and raise her back. She just calls, so I figure her for two pair. I bet the river without looking, she calls, and mucks when I show the Flush. Another sizeable pot won, and angry scowls from 8-2 Mike as my chip lead increases. Shortly after, I'm dealt (AA)K, but another Ace is showing. I raise, and get one caller. I catch the case Ace for trips, followed by a Queen and then another King. With me showing KAQK, my opponent finally tosses away her hand in disgust, and I show my Aces Full of Kings for dramatic effect. My trough is overflowing. CHAPTER EIGHT: A COSTLY ERROR 8-2 Mike finally busts out when his pocket Tens don't improve, and with 8-2 Graham also out, I'm now a lock for the "Best in Show" pool. $260 bonus for Cactus Kev, baby!! Okay, play continues and we're finally down to two tables. I'm doing extremely well, and then I make the one major mistake of my entire tourney play that week. It probably cost me my shot at winning in the top three places. I'm dealt (J9)J and raise when an Eight completes the bring-in. Fourth street doesn't seem to help either of us, so I bet and he calls. My opponent pairs his Eight, and I catch another brick. This time he bets, and I call. I brick again on Sixth Street, but he checks this time, so I do as well. That should have been my clue that all he had was Eights, but alas, my brain must have taken a bathroom break. Well, I catch a Nine on the river, giving me Jacks Up. My opponent bets. Great. What could he have, I wonder? All his up cards are lower than an Eight. Could he have started with Queen or higher in the hole, and paired up on the river like me? If so, his two pair would beat mine, and it would cost me another T3000. Well, I think and think and think some more. I really don't know what to do. I should have looked at all the money in the pot and just called, but I was also trying to play smart poker, which says to fold if you think you're beat. "Save yourself that 3000," I kept hearing my brain say. "He's got Queens-Up or Kings-Up, so fold already!" Reluctantly, I toss my hand into the muck. Half my stack is now gone. I later ask him if my Jacks-Up would have won, and he says yes. He made two smaller pair on the river. Oh well, live and learn. Shake it off and move on. CHAPTER NINE: A CHIP AND A CHAIR We're down to two tables of five each, and playing hand to hand. The antes are now huge, and I'm quickly running out of chips. Finally, two players bust out ahead of me, and I find myself at the final table, in the money! The 8-2 Club final table streak continues!!! The other 8-2'rs decide to hang around to see me through to the bitter end. I appreciated it, guys! I am the shortest stack at the table, but want to do the best I can. I move up in rank when Mordacai gets knocked out, but am still the short stack. I'm waiting to commit my chips on a worthy hand, but I'm catching hands like (83)6 and (T3)7. The antes are T500, and I'm down to my final T1000. I have two hands left in me. But no!! The timer goes off, and the antes bump up to T1000. Great. I'm forced to go all-in on my blind. I announce I'm all-in, put my bust-out 8-2 poker chip token in the pot, and don't even look at my down cards as I stand up, ready to exit. My up card is a 7 of Spades, but my neighbor also has a 7 showing, so that doesn't bode well. An Ace gives the obligatory "complete" steal attempt, but TrayRacer raises with a King showing. The Ace decides to fold, and I get to see what type of hand I'm up against. Well, I find out where the three Wise Men went after delivering their gifts to the baby Jesus, because Peter turns over trip Kings. Ay-yi-yi-yi-yi. Talk about putting the dagger into my chest. Well, I turn over my mystery hole cards, and find a Three and a Ten -- but they are both Spades. Hmmmmmmmm. Three Spades is good. I vainly try to remember how many Spades have been mucked, but I haven't a clue. Fourth street is brick for Pete, brick for me. Fifth street is brick for Pete, Spade for me! Hmmmmmmmm!! This is interesting. Of course, if Pete pairs up, it's over. Sixth street is bricks for both. The down cards come. Pete turns his over first. Brick. All he has is trip Kings. I pause for dramatic effect. I put the voodoo monkey dust on my final down card, and turn it over quickly. Two of Spades!!! Boo-ya!!!! Still alive, baby! Chip and a chair!! My T1000 just turned into T7000. Riding the rush, I ante my T1000 and look down to see pocket Nines. Again, Peter raises with a Five, and I go all-in. Nines for me, (5J)5 for him. Hey, Presto is no g00t for Stud hands, Pete! Let's deal the rest of 'em. Queen for me, brick for him. Brick for me, Jack for him, giving him Jacks-Up. I need help. Lo! another Queen for me, and brick for him! The river helps neither of us, and I nearly triple up to T19000! Cheers from the home team sweating me out! High fives around the table! That's why I like playing with ARG'rs. They are competitive, but friendly, even at the final table. You would never see this in a non-ARG tourney. With ARG events, everyone is there to have a fun time, and if you wind up winning, that's just iceing on the cake. And it's looking like I might pull an "Oscar", just like in yesterday's NLHE tourney. Well, the rush is doomed to not last, and I get all excited when I see (QJ)T. A King completes, I raise, he re-raises, and I'm forced to go all-in. As expected, I'm up against a pair of Kings. At least it's not three of 'em this time! The top end of my Straight is in trouble, with him holding two of my Kings. We both brick on fourth and fifth street, but I catch a Nine on sixth street. An Eight or King on the river will make me another "comeback kid" story. Can the magic possibly continue?? I turn my down card over. It's a Six. Game over, man. Game over. What a wild, wild ride. I get my $158.40 prize money, and head over to the Bombay for some road-food with my last food comp. Lastly, my tradition has always been that upon leaving the Taj, I take twenty bucks and place single one dollar bets for my close friends' numbers at the roulette table. Unlucky 13 turns out to be lucky this time, and my guitar-playin' buddy Scott winds up $35 richer this year. CHAPTER TEN: A JOB WELL DONE So all in all, I had another great ATLARGE weekend, and may have to try to catch my first BARGE this year. TrayRacer told me that SIGGRAPH is either right before (or right after) BARGE this year, so the timing certainly works out. We'll see if it all pans out. Props again to Goldie for another smashing ATLARGE. Love the commemorative poker chip, dude! We're gonna try for at least eighteen 8-2 attendees next year, so watch out. Rumor has it the club shirt color will be forest green in 2006, but maybe we'll make it pink in honor of the Pink Game :) -- "Cactus Kev" Suffecool

Let me add my thanks to the others to Goldie who did an exceptional job in organizing and then running a smooth event. At Atlarge I was humbled by the poker gods. The prior weekend at the Bellagio I won about $5,200 in 6 hours of table play (see trip report which follows). In addition to the very weak play, the gods hit me in the face with winners consistently. Alas, the defending champ of the Atlarge HOE tourney was the second to bust with dead cold cards. That was also the case the night before at the Borgata and would repeat again at the NLHE tourney. I went home -$800, but I will take the juxtaposition of those two weekends anytime. When Matt Matros sat to my left in the NLHE about 4+ hours in and I, as usual, was short stacked, I knew I would be heading for the garage shortly. When I saw he only had about T400 more than I, I thought I might get that copy of his new book. Alas, it was the former, about 2 hands after Matt sat down I made a pre-flop all-in raise in middle position with about T2! 400 with KQo and of course Matt wakes up to his first real hand QQ and IGHN. Matt won my piggie but I did get to take a look at his book.... However, there was an incredible bright spot to the weekend as a result of my being placed to the right of Chrissie, a NLHE and Atlarge newbie. While her play was erratic, she was dominating the table and we would chat about each hand (after the play) and I would point out other ways to think about the play of the hand. It sounds like the coaching paid off since I heard that she came in third. Now we have to get her into shape for the WSOP double shoot out..... It was nice seeing and playing badly against many familiar faces, and missing the ones that were not there. It seems more like a family reunion when we get together rather than a bunch of poker players. There is something very special about that. My job takes me all over the world, I am Hannover Germany right now and I get to play almost everywhere I go. When I do travel I will use an 'arg' chip or spinner to cover my cards, and it always starts a conversation. Many times the folks have heard about BARGE and held it with some respect, and then go on to beat my brains out :) Looking forward to seeing all of you soon uncle al

Complete results for 2004

The story of my ninth BARGE. “…where everybody knows your name.”

First of all, thanks to Goldie for preparing and planning another great ARG event. In the immortal words of North Shore Mike, I don’t actually claim that everything contained herein is true, but it sure seems to be the way I SAW it. My trip from Virginia started on Friday morning at 10:15. Driving up with StefSeahawk, we somehow manage to get on the road 15 minutes early. Somewhere in Maryland, we stop for a quick bite to eat. Stef buys lunch, and I’m *UP* for the trip. Don’t worry, this didn’t last long. The radar detection gods are kind, and we arrive in the City of Stale Urine shortly before 2 pm. $4 to park in the Taj garage, I might still be *UP* for the trip, but it’s close. Check in to the Taj, get upgraded to slightly nicer room with fridge. Number 3232, not a *horrible* hand if you’re an Omaha player (which I’m not). So far, good omens. I’ve made the decision to play in the Borgata $100 + $20 rebuy event, so we head over. This being my first time in the Borgata, I walk in like it was my first time in Vegas, staring, ooo-ing and ahh-ing like the tourist-a I am. Make way to poker room, see Russell Rosenblum in a NL ring game (max $300 buy-in), make my way to the registration table, and I get seat 1, table 10. Looks like it’ll be a nice sized field. What’s this? I hear someone whispering there are only 9 tables. I find a floorman and ask if we’re going 11 handed. His reply, “Oh, at least.” Twelve handed is a possibility. “Yes.” OK, 12 handed it is. It’s a bit snug, but it’ll do just fine. Sufficient grinding keeps me above the initial buy-in until the add-on period, at which I take my double add-on. Some more grinding, and then my Kings get cracked by Jacks. I cry a bit, and quickly get moved to another table, sitting beside the Tick. Chris has a decent mountain of chips. Not Mount Vesuvius, or Everest, but definitely a good rendition of the Appalachians. He begrudgingly gives me some on blatant steal attempts, but I’m still fairly short-stacked. As we head into the break, half my table is getting up for a much needed run to the men’s room. I look down at K9suited, and decide since 4 or 5 players are getting up, I can justify this as a middle to late-position steal. Soooo, I raise from seat 8, making it 1800 on 300/600 blinds. Now I’ll just sit back and wait for my pot. But wait, the conservative guy in seat 2 with 6000 in chips throws out 1800. OK, time to rethink. Wait???? The guy in seat 4 that hasn’t played a hand since I moved to the table makes it 6000, moving all-in. And then the chip leader at our table immediately to his left just calls him, with well over 10K behind. WTF? I read the re-raiser as very strong based on his manner and the fact that he hasn’t played any hands since I’ve been there. I fold my K9 meekly and start to rise from the table. The guy in seat two openly folds two tens, and the reraiser turns over KJ, while the big stack shows JJ. Great, I made the right decision! The flop comes K59, and I can’t help feel a pit in my stomach. I know, results oriented thinking is the best way to go! After the break, I have trouble building my stack. Soon after I find myself on the rail in time enough to see Russell’s KK get cracked by A4. The flop comes down blank-blank-5, with a 3 on the turn. I mumble, “Well, he only has aces and deuces as outs.” It’s then that the dealer turns over the black 2. Russell tries to rebuild his stack again, but we are soon on our way to dinner at Ombra, the wine bar in the basement of Borgata. When we get to the hostess stand, both a male and female manager are looking down at the book. The male manager nudges the female manager, who looks up at us. “2 please”. “Do you have a reservation?” “Well, we can seat you in about an hour and a half.” Suffering another bad beat, we decide to walk over and sit at the wine bar and dine. Food and wine are both very good, and about an hour later, the hostess bounds over to ask if we’d like a table for dinner now. My, she’s being quite flirtatious. We ask for a table the following night at 8. She makes the reservation for 4 people. Time to head back to the Taj, where I alternately watch the pot-limit game and one of the newbies from my home game play the tightest 2-4 game I’ve ever seen. Fast forward to Saturday morning, and I come down to find out who’s at my table for NL. But first, the s00per-sekrit gift! Goldie breaks out gray fleece vests with the ATLARGE logo on them for all of the attendees. Way cool! Props to Goldie again. I look at my table assignment, figuring with so many newbies, I have a good chance of getting a good draw. Uh, no. Mitch, Tiger, Joan, Jerrod. Is there anybody at my table that I don’t know? Sigh. Goldie asks me if I can run to the slot cage and get $1500 in slot tokens. Chic and I take the walk down. As it turns out, $1500 in slot tokens weighs more than me. I feel a wincing pain, and then something drops and rolls around on the floor. I don’t think it was a slot token. As I hand out bounty coins to each table, my sharply honed math skills allow me to give some players 2 coins while I give others none, and the math still adds up. No, really. I’m more of a feel player. I’m running back and forth to my table trying to make sure I don’t miss a hand. I’ve decided to try wearing sunglasses for the first time. This works out nicely, except for the fact that since they aren’t prescription sunglasses, I can’t really see the rest of the poker room. Even Jerrod looks fuzzy ALLL the way down the other end of the table. That’s okay, because shortly thereafter, Jerrod takes his AK against Mitch’s KK, and now I can’t see him at all. **Quick note, Goldie has placed a $100 bounty on my head for the NL tournament, as I am the 100th person to register for ATLARGE this year. Need to be really early or late next year. Fairly early on, seat ten flat calls preflop, and I look down to 78s. I call, and Tiger checks his BB. The flop comes 784, all clubs. It’s checked around, and an offsuit J falls on the turn. I bet, Tiger doubles my bet quickly, and we lose seat ten. A fourth club on the end gets both of us to check, and tiger turns over AJ. MY 78 holds up! I’m now the chip leader at the table, and I point out that I can’t be busted for my $100 bounty in one hand by anyone. This is said mostly for Joan’s sake, as she has been greedily eyeing my bounty. Shortly thereafter, Mitch dispatches Jerrod, and I am no longer the big stack at the table. But wait, is this pocket Kings I find? The pot is unraised, so I make a decent raise, and Joan decides to go all-in from three seats to my left. I started the hand with T1200, and calling Joan’s bet brings me down to roughly 800. She turns over AKs00ted, and I’m on my way to a big stack again. I’m not positive, but I’m pretty sure everyone at the table hears me gulp when the ace hits on the turn, and I’ve now done my part to put Joan back in the game. As it turns out, today is Joan’s birthday. No, really. It’s her birthday. Happy freakin’ birthday! My present to her is the expression on my face watching Kings get cracked for the second time in less than 24 hours. She is WAAAY too happy. I never really recover from this hand, but the blinds seem to keep going up. I’m nearing my death, when I pick up K8off in the cutoff, which means it’s Joan’s big blind. Well, of course I can steal Joan’s big blind. I make it 3 times the big blind, and Joan quickly calls. The flop comes K59 of hearts. Joan thinks for a minute, and asks me for a chip count. I have 475 left. She makes it 300 instead of pushing me all-in. I push my remaining chips in valiantly along with my bounty, and watch Joan turn over KQ offsuit. I stand up and sigh, knowing Joan has beaten me and taken all of my chips. I decide to cheer for an 8 just for giggles, and then realize neither of us has any hearts in our hand. I then proceed to achieve the most monumental suckout in my recent memory. The turn is the 3 of hearts. I start screaming at the top of my lungs for an 8 or a heart, and the gods smile kindly on me, revealing a fifth heart. Chop! I’ve never felt so gloriously good about a chop. It’s not as good as an eight, but it sure tilts Joan. J She starts ranting about making sure I describe this hand in my trip report. And so, just for you Joan, here it is. Hugs and kisses, sweetie! Happy Birthday. For three hours, Jerrod is the only player to bust out on our table, so we essentially trade chips while the rest of the tournament builds up mountain ranges. In short order, we bust three players from our table, including both of the people to my right and left. Incoming! Matt Matros and a guy named Reggie take the seats to my right and left, respectfully. Both of them bring their chips in racks, as if to scorn our puny stacks. I have enough to post the blinds at $100-$200 just about twice, and then my dance is over. Very shortly, I’m posting the big blind with a puny stack behind. The guy to my left flat calls from under the gun. We get no more callers until Matt throws in another 100 from the small blind, and awaaaay we go. But wait, is that AK I see in the big blind??? In a flurry, I push my mountain in the center, declaring myself all-in for another 325. I add my $5 and $100 bounty to the pot. The guy to my left calls quickly, and then Matt looks at the pot like there’s a worm crawling through the chips. “What’s that?”, he asks. “Uh, that’s my $100 bounty.” “Oh, F***. I forgot about your bounty. I’m all-in”. The guy to my left folds. In fairness to Matt, he says he would have called anyway without the bounty, which is true. He turns over A3 of hearts. Whew, I can finally get back to a real stack and triple through. The flop is all black, eliminating his flush draw. WHAAAATTTT?? What the F*** is a 3 doing out there. I vividly remember slamming my fist against the wall while Matt pounds the table, screaming, “Yeah, baby. I’m up $100.” I’ve had three premium hands in 24 hours, all of which have been busted. After donating money to the 5-10 game at the Taj, it’s time for dinner at Ombra with Russell and Matt. We get there a bit early and see our hostess friend. Russell greases her palm, and she is honestly surprised we are tipping her. This seems odd for an establishment as nice as Borgata. She tells us to let her know when we’re ready to sit down. A few minutes later, we decide to sit down. “Well, it’s going to be about 30 minutes for your table.” So much for having a reservation. Or maybe it was the size of our tip that surprised her? 30 minutes pass, and a mere 15 minutes after that, we’re sitting down to enjoy a good dinner. The trip went by way too fast. Looking forward to seeing most of you at NEPC or Barge. Regards, Edward Pizzarello

For the third year in a row, I went to Atlantic City during ATLARGE. For the first year in a row, I'm registered and just not in town by coincidence. This trip started, as did the last two, with a bad omen. Two years ago I left my office under blue skies and warm temperatures. Within the first hour it rained. Then it started to snow. Then I found out I was out of windshield wiper fluid. When I stopped at a gas station I had to kick the door open, as the rain and following cold formed a shell of ice around my car. I got frozen cards that trip and lost my ass. Last year, just before leaving I reached into one of my bags for something or another, I can't remember. What I do remember is finding a razor blade in a less than graceful manner. If I look closely I still can see the scar where I chopped the top of my index finger off... I got carved up pretty good on that trip. This year, while sitting at the first traffic light of my trip to ATLARGE, I saw a tire roll by my car. I found this odd, to say the least, and for a second I wondered where it came from. That's when I saw the second tire go by. Then I saw the truck with no tires, and putting my West Virginia Public School education to work deduced that the tires most likely came from the truck. The driver made an effort to continue, and managed to make it all the way to where he completely blocked my path out of town. Then he gave up, got out of the truck, and shrugged. I found a way around the carnage and left that little jackpot behind. At this point I was a little worried about the impending obvious metaphor. I did make it to Atlantic City on Wednesday, and to the best of my hazy recollection the following transpired. I didn't do anything silly like take notes or write anything down, so I trust if I miss details or get names wrong I will receive the abuse I deserve... Wednesday: Into town in the morning ... Check into Taj and pass the time playing a little 3-6 ... Good game .. Get AA ... Capped 8 ways. Flop top set on rainbow board... turn quads, get called 4 ways on the river... no straights or flushes possible. Leave to see Borgata as planned around 4PM. Borgata is nice, but oddly hard to get to if you don't use the tunnel... Just like the Taj, the Borgata's chips stick together, although because of magnets, not dead human skin... playing 6-12 with the WPT crowd... lotta sunglasses and odd raises... Rebuy tournament starts soon, why not try it? $40+10, rebuys to the break... holy crap you never saw so many rebuys... like over 26 at my table no kidding... local vocabulary limited to "All In" and "Double Rebuy..." I manage to tread water until 5 minutes before break... On button, 6 limpers and I see QQ, so I join the "All In" choir... Get called by KJo... K hits turn, consider rebuy... next smallest stack is T3500, double rebuy is T2000... nevermind. Back to the Taj. Wow these chips are dirty... play a little 5-10 and end day up about a hundred... Thursday: Playing more 3-6. Sitting to the right of a young WPT sunglasses type. He's obviously an expert and does not approve of someone's winning with 57o. It offends him. Next hand I raise early position with 45s... first hand I play in 45 mins... 5 callers and he reraises... I cap it... flop the flush draw, we cap the flop 5 ways and then I catch running fours to crack his AA like a walnut. He is a little peeved and explains in detail how much smarter he is than me. I guess image plays and betting draws for value are not worthy of expert consideration. Funny how these plays only look normal to most people if they are the ones making them... I lost a friend today... boo hoo... he claims I couldn't get away with that if it were no limit... I'm pretty sure it wouldn't work if we were playing ping-pong either, but I doubt he'd grasp what I was saying... Later, tired of poker I try some 2-4 Omaha, played here with a half-kill after a $30 scoop. Very odd table, average age of 35 or so rather than the usual 135... when did we get to California?? 8 ways raised pots the norm... sitting to the right of 8-2 Mathman... he's not having luck on the river... 10s full kebonged by a Q on the river... yikes.... like a $150 pot... it only takes one scoop in this game ... good lord that same guy that caught the queen just raised and re-raised when he spiked a 4 on the river to make 4's full on a board of AKK64... and it's good!!! 7 way preflop action for 3 bets, flop comes 222... what do these people have... Mathman wins a pot... only like $40, but ends the drought... he gets up and announces his triumph to the room... standing ovation from the faithful... later hits gutshot straight flush to tick off a local with ace high flush... ten hands later I do the same... then a really weird hand... three ways on the turn in a big kill hand, I have nut low and ace-king high... me and a guy that can't read his hand get the guy to my right in the middle for 4 bets on the turn... river pairs board, I bet out moron raises, poor guy in the middle lays it down... moron has the other A2 but my AK is good for 3 quarters of a $160 pot... guy in the middle laid down a flush... last train to tiltsville... Finish day down about $100... took some sick beats, but that's what I deserve for playing these stakes... Friday: HOE tourney... so that's Raydon... and that's Raydon's foot up my ass... out pretty quick after first break, but not after busting out one of the 8-2's, so I have that going for me, which is nice... 5$ bounty means I lose only $70 on the tourney. Pink chip game anyone? Buckshot raising blind every hand, catching cards making local rock to my left a bit unhinged. I try it once, wind up rivering broadway with QTo... snowshovel-sized pot... my hands start shaking... I'm a f*ck*ng spaz... the cool kids are mocking me... raising war with Buckshot... we are both looking this time... I've got KK... he wants to go all in... I think about it for a second... I don't... I'm also a wuss sometimes... we pound on each other to a board of 9JQ4A... I call the river... not much he has that I can beat, especially after that ace... he has TT... good thing I didn't river the set... game gets tight... time to r00l again... steal blinds from MP with Q5s... get reraised 5 way pot 3 bets.... flop flush draw w/ bottom pair... lets gamble boys... cap the flop... turn might as well be the cut card... lets see the river cheap boys.... flush hits on the river... I raise 8-2 cardshark when he bets out... he pays off... flush g00t... he's critical of my play... I exclaim "whaddya mean!? I flopped bottom pair!!!" He's not pleased. Game gets tighter... I pick up, up about $200. After lunch seat is open in main pink game. Sit between AllKnight and ADB Fich... Tiger123, Goldifish and ADB The Sock are in the game, as are many other ARGers... Set down chips, want to use the facilities... get razzed for not posting... promise I'll raise blind when I get back... get back in big blind... look just for kicks... see 45o, reraise Tiger... many callers... Tiger sneers at me (he may have been drinking) "did you look?" I ask "Me?" and the whole table goes all De Niro for about 15 seconds... I admit I looked... Tiger folds... flop comes A2Q... I have faith so I help cap the flop... turn is a 3... bad card... I prefer to hit those on the river so no one can re-suckout on me... heavy betting... river a blank... I flop over my 45 for the winner... eyes are rolling... no biggie... I tighten up until I hear 8Ts calling for action... why not... RAISE... flop is 9J6 for the much feared straight draw... who am I going to drill this time? turn is some loser card who cares... river a queen... wooHoo!! except it is the 3rd heart... plus whoops the guy in the 4 seat hadn't acted yet... he checks... reshuffle.. new river is a 7 no heart... I just pulled the double suckout... turns out the first river made someone a flush... holy suckout batman... game breaks shortly after... end up $300... Fox IQ test in the hospitality suite... we get all questions right... I manage to offend AlwaysAware with a poorly worded statement about not being in Mensa because I hate hanging around smart people... meant that I don't like hanging with people who primarily identify themselves as smart, not smart people per se... I actually prefer smart people, just not those that think being smart is some kind of celestial honor of extreme importance... no Atlargers I'm aware of fall into that category... oh well... off to the poker room... play in 2-4 holdem.... decide to drink it up a little... cards very unkind... Mathman suggests my putting my last $14 of my $100 buyin on roulette... sounds like a plan... use 00... he says wait until after this hand he will go too... we arrive just in time to see 00 come up... put it on my age next spin... miss by two... blame my parents... Saturday: NLHE tourney... uneventful... fail to get lucky... guy to my right is Alvin... he calls alot... trouble stealing blinds... go out when AKs gets no help against Alvin's 44... he goes deep into the tourney... I go to the hospitality suite... got a bounty though, so I get another $5... few beers... chatting with AlwaysAware... then talking politics with Steve Goldman... he's not a fan of the current administration... I can dig it.. Repeated jestful barbs at PokerStars rep over all the suckouts in the NLHE tourney... Tainted Rouge asks ADB Big Boy about a 10-20 hand... his analysis gets me thinking... going to rattle around in my head for the next 24 hours... will eventually be the thing that gets me out of my mental slump w/r/t poker... reports from the cardroom... unreal suckouts in the NLHE and forget about live games as lists are unreal... Mathman in the money in the NLHE... good to hear, and pretty clutch considering his Omaha results the last few days... hanging with Raydon and others... start talking about blackjack... interesting... I deal a few hands... next thing I know the PL game breaks out... I'm feeling like an ATLARGE pledge or something so I deal the thing... start getting toked... I give them back.. Don Perry finds out I'm a lawyer... tokes stop... they find out I'm a public defender... tokes start up again... Raydon and Treasure driving Perry nuts by raising every hand... others splash around... Don Perry apparently orders 24 cases of beer... they want cash.. order canceled... mmmm.. pizza... go to bed having played no live games... up $40 from the tokes...only way that game was +EV for me... Sunday: No stud for me... try a little 10-20 now that I am thinking... TaintedRogue (Ken Lovering) and ADB Big Boy are in the game... catch a no brainer... AA makes a set get called in 2 places on the river... first time playing 10-20 in several years... been low-rolling lately...little nervy, but much different than my usual 3-6, need to remember these guys have a clue... 3 hours of being on edge... have lunch with Ken... analyize some of the hands... I'm now out of what I now recognize was an extrended poker doldrum... may actually make the leap to 10-20 this time... wonder if this new purpose will survive until my next live poker trip... take a break after lunch... call the wife... play a little more 10-20... I'm not good at this... yet... I guess the first step is to recognize my weakness, I'm just not thinking as well as I should, lack of experience... I win $100 in 2 hours... start to get the fear... need to take my 10-20 in small doses for a while... move back to 3-6 for a relaxing evening of no-foldem... I'm playing much better than I was even 2 days ago... something has clicked and I feel a lot better about the game and my approach to it... Monday: The 121234384 hour drive back to West Virginia. Back to the real world... Final Thoughts: It was a great trip. While I didn't name a whole lot of people I met I do remember the people if not all the names. Everyone seemed very likable, and I find myself doing quick geographical and vacation-time calculations to see what other ARG-events I can make. I've been in a bit of a funk with poker lately, and for good or ill I'm out of that now. Future full of promise and all that. The wheels never did come off... my omen streak has ended... Rob Catlett ([FunBot] Suddenly)

Let me start by apologizing again to Joan. :-) ATLARGE was a blast! I spent more time watching than playing. Congrats to Dave L (NotTrump) on his excellent play over the weekend. He placed 2nd in the HOE tourney and WON the NLHE event. Here are a few memorable moments and random thoughts about the weekend. They are in no particular order (Sorry to disappoint you Dave L ;-) Meeting face-to-face with many of the RGPers that I respect and admire. AlwaysAware (Joan) TaintedRogue (Ken Lovering) NotTrump (Dave L) and too many others to name! One hand of note: Late in the NLHE event on Saturday. Down to 5 players (As I recall) Dave L moves all in pre-flop and gets one caller. Dave turns up KQ and his opponent (I forget his name...sorry) turns up Q9. The flop comes Q9x. OUCH! Dave L is in trouble. Turn is no help to either. River is (you know what is coming!) a KING. And that ladies and gentlemen is a three-outer! Dave L jumped out of his seat! I'll admit that he did receive a bit of good fortune with that hand. However, he played extremely well throughout the tournament and ended up on top. Way to go Dave! Enjoy your leather jacket! Dinner at the Borgata buffet on Saturday night. Great people, great food, great time! (I hope you enjoyed your birthday dinner Joan.) After our meal, we ran into Russell Rosenblum. He shared a few of his experiences from the final table at the WSOP in 2002 (He took 6th!) It was very interesting. The hospitality suite! It was nice to have a place to go and sit with other RGPers. The coronas with limes were a nice touch. Thanks to Goldie for providing the beer! Grabbing a bite to eat with Ken Lovering at Sbarro. It was nice chatting with you Ken! I should have gotten the chicken :-) Talking strategy with Dave L. Congrats again Dave! You had a great weekend. Special thanks to Stephan Goldman (goldie) for putting this event together. Thanks also to PokerStars for providing us with all sorts of goodies and the Taj for being a great host! I can't wait for ATLARGE 2K5

Part 1 (HOE) Okay, I started writing a trip/tourney report, and realized that it was just way too long. In fact, this section alone is probably too long. So, I am dividing my trip report up into three sections: The HOE Tourney Report, The NLHE Tourney Report, and Overall trip report, which will include my Stud Tourney report (As everyone knows, Stud is just a game of luck, anyway ;)) Before I get started, let me say thanks to Steve Goldman for setting this event up, to Tom Gitto for making treating us like royalty, and to PokerStars and Rich Korbin for their support. Even without the tourney victories, it was one of the most fun weekends I've ever had. I look forward to next year, and am already trying to convince the wife that we should postpone our next trip to Vegas to coincide with BARGE... Dave L's ATLARGE 2004 HOE Tourney Report: My first-ever -ARG tourney, and I have the pleasure of sitting down at an extremely tough first table. The starting table included Tiger to my left, JacksUp, a few ADB ringers, and god only knows who else I am leaving out. The fish had arrived as promised, and I could see these sharks licking their chops. Key hands: HU in stud 8b portion ADB bigboy misreading his hand in stud, not putting me all in, thinking we were splitting high low. Turns out he had an ace high flush he overlooked, and just checked instead of putting me all in, leaving me with $200 in chips. (pot size around 2k) Took those 200 chips and 200 prayers and hoped for a bit of luck, which thankfully came. After a few more double ups, I was able to breathe a little and wait for better opportunities. I was able to double up with KJ (which became my unsung hand in the 2 tournaments) when I went all in UTG for 1800 and blinds at 300-600 (or possibly 400-800 I really don't remember.there were about 20 players remaining at the time). No caller till the BB, who had a big stack and, after going into the tank, made the call with what I believe was t-8 to "due his duty as a big stack" and take try to take me out. The KJ held up, and I again had some breathing room. 6 players left, I was shortsacked. Dealt AA on button. I have T9200. raise from utg. I re-raise. 3 bet by BB (Raydon) and capped by utg, who is now all in. I call. Raydon (still with about T4500) calls. Flop comes JxK rainbow. I check, turn and river are both blank, I check down, never putting in my last T1200. Scoop the 24,000+ pot to get me back in the tournament. Got a little shit from the railbirds at first for not going all in, but it turns out that most thought I had enough chips to put the BB all in, which I did not. In fact, the way I saw it, best I could do was win T1200 more chips, and worst case is lose the tourney. While I am surprised he didn't put me all in, I don't think me voluntarily going all in here is a bad decision, as winning an extra 1200 chips to me is not worth the risk of being knocked out should a suckout occur. (It turns out later that because I had $100 chips, and Raydon had $500 and 1k chips, they thought I had HIM covered and could have put him in) Thoughts on my play here? I personally have no regrets, and would play it the same way just about every time. During most of the Final Table, uncle Al and I were chip Co-leaders. While it's rare to see the two chip leaders engaging very often at a final table, Al and I tangled at least 10 times, often chopping Hi and Low. The remaining players were just sitting back and waiting for once of us to miss a key draw, and knock the other out. There were some great battles, and try as hard as we could, we just couldn't knock each other out. (Thankfully, we eventually were able to knock the remaining players out ;)). When Uncle Al and I got to Heads up (and we were HU for more than 90 minutes!!), I was admittedly and obviously fatigued (As Uncle Al told me later, he could tell I was off my game). Very rare for me in a tournament. I do not want to make excuses, but I hadn't eaten all day and was on 2 hours sleep. Also just started the Atkins diet that week, which can mess with your mind if you don't eat. (Al was also going on no food/sleep, and he handled it much better than I did.) Anyway, Al later told me I had him out chipped about 5-1 at one point. I honestly don't remember this at all..in fact I NEVER realized I had more than a slight chip lead. This has never happened to me in a tournament before and I can promise will never happen again. Key Hand: with what was apparently a big chip lead for me at the time, I get AT diamonds in the BB. I raise, Al calls. Flop comes 5QJ, 2 diamonds. I have a killer draw. Al checks, I bet, Al calls. Turn blank. Al checks, I bet, Al calls. River is a blank. Al checks. I'm about to check, when I see Al picking up his cards as if to muck them, so I bet. (In case he had a small pp) He calls. He flips K5os (no diamonds) to take the pot. This, for me, was the turning point of the match. Later that night. I had dinner with Al. I asked him HOW he could call me down with bottom pair. He said he had a read on me that I had nothing. I don't know how accurate this is or if I was giving off the vibes, because with all my draws I felt as tho my bets were more value bets than even really bluffs. I liked my hand after the flop. I wasn't bluffing when I bet. And, as to him getting ready to muck his cards, he claimed I must have been hallucinating, which is definitely a possibility ;). I did my best to end the tournament during the 15 minute hold'em phase, because I was dreading the 25 minute Omaha HL portion that was about to follow. Not only is Omaha HL my worst overall game, but HU Omaha is far and away my single worst game (ask Wayno). Anyway, the Omaha section began. I must have looked like crap because both the TD and Al asked me if I wanted to take a break...I said no (big mistake). I was even having trouble stacking my chips. They kept falling all over the table. I started to become more concerned about my chips than the cards. I was so out of it I didn't even know I was out of it. Al, however, noticed it and jumped all over me. He outplayed me every step of the way on Omaha, and by the time the 25 minutes was up, he had 90% of the chips. I had enough to cover a few Big Bets in the stud 8/b portion, and that was about it. After my first 2 hands fell apart on 4th and 5th street, I was forced to go all in on the third hand (I had barely enough chips to make one big bet), and went all in with T48 rainbow as the bring in, closed my eyes and prayed. Well, I did actually hit a pair of Aces on 6th, but Al made 2 pair on 7th and it was adios to me. Because of the length of the tournament (Almost 10 hours) we did discuss switching to NL Hold'em to close it out (rather than switching to Omaha), and foregoing the format, but Al and I decided at the last minute that we would stick with the structure of the event. HOE is about all around skills, and to switch to NL Hold'em out of nowhere we both felt would undermine the integrity of the event. Even though I lost, I am glad we stuck to the format. Even if I had managed to win by switching to NL Hold'em, the win wouldn't have meant as much as if we did it "honestly." Congrats to Uncle Al for playing one hell of a tournament. He read me like a book at the final table, knew I wasn't focused in on what was happening, waited for the Omaha portion (which is his strength) and ate me alive. It was his first tournament win (after finishing 2nd and Third in past years in -ARG events) and he wanted 1st place badly. He sure as hell earned it. I had the pleasure of having dinner with him (and Ken Lovering and Mike ???) that evening, and while I may have lost the tournament, I gained a friend. Of course, once I found out that he would receive a Leather and Wool personally-embroidered Pokerstars Jacket for finishing first, (and I would receive the more "standard" Pokerstars jacket), I knew I had to win the NLHE "big one" the next day. We made a pact over dinner to once again finish 1st and second, but with the outcome of courser being reversed this time. One of us lived up to his end of the bargain, and the other didn't.. Part 2 Dave L's ATLARGE NLHE Tournament Report Having learned my lesson about fatigue and hunger from the HOE tournament, I decided to play it smart. Rather than play poker Friday evening, I went straight to bed after dinner (around midnight-1 AM). I agreed to meet some friends for breakfast, and buy for ADB Bigboy (for forgetting to put me all in when he had the nuts ;)). The plan was to meet at the Brush at 10:00, and fill up for the tournament. Well, after the alarm fails to go off, Ken Lovering (who I shared a room with) wakes me up at 10:30!!! Shit! I scamper downstairs in the nick of time, and apologize to everyone I can find for standing them up. So much for a proper breakfast. (Tho Ken was nice enough to get me a nutra-grain bar from the newsstand). The NLHE tourney started with a field of 158 tournament players. Tournament players include Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, Layne Flack, Chip Reese, Daniel Negreanu, and Dave Ulliott. Thankfully, none of them were at this tournament. However, facing a group of poker aficionados in a multi-table NLHE event is hardly a walk in the park. I kept looking for the fish at my table, but saw only my own reflection. I knew it was gonna be a fun trip when I go to take my seat, and just to my right is "Uncle Al" Stuart, who I had just yesterday lost to in the HOE event (and stood up this morning for breakfast). I started off playing very tight, and don't even recall playing a hand during the first level or two. During the third level, I go for a smoke, come back and see that Al had busted out in the 2 minutes I was gone, officially breaking his promise to meet me once again at the final table. Knowing how hard busting out of one of these things can be, I waited the obligatory mourning period of 10 seconds before demanding he fork over the cash for our last-longer bet. Once Al was gone, I opened my game up a bit, and went on a nice run. I amassed a nice number of chips, when I suffered a horrendous bad beat when I was able to get the short stack all in with my 99 vs her TT, and a 9 never hit to board. After the table broke, I found myself at a new table where it appeared every damn chip in the tournament had ended up (except, of course, for the massive stack JacksUp had been accumulating behind my back) Key Hand: A short stack UTG goes all in, and is quickly isolated all in by a big stack one to his left. I look down and see QQ, and go into the tank. I decide to muck, and cringe when I see 99 vs JJ. The Queen on the flop was just the icing. Still, I have no regrets, and would likely make the same play 8 times out of 10 (with an average stack). Soon, I find myself moved yet again, to the table commandeered by Jacksup (Matt Matros). From a quick glance at his stack, it appears he has 30% of the chips in play, and there are still 40+ people remaining in the tournament. In fact, it appears as tho his stack of bounty chips is larger than my stack of tournament chips. I bring my enormous stack of 1400 with me. With the blinds at 300/600, things don't look too good. On my second hand, I find myself utg, and look down to see QT s00ted. I go all in, and pray. Folded around to Riley, who goes into the tanke for about 3 minutes. Finally he says "I know you play tight.you aren't going all in with garbage." And folds. Now, it's on the BB, David K (who I would later knock out at the final table). He thinks for awhile. He has me more than covered, tells me he has an ace but thinks he's out-kicked, and mucks it, letting me scoop those sweet, sweet blinds. He leans over and asks me what I had, and promise to tell him after the tourney. Well, Dave, now ya know. Sorry ;). A little while later I am again short stacked (what else is new?). I have around T2800, and the blinds are 400/800 and fast approaching. In EMP, I look down and see KJd, and decide to take a stab at the blinds, and hope I am not called. I don't like the fact that Jacksup has the SB, and my all in would barely make a dent in his stack, but I am hoping that he doesn't have anything he can call with. I go all in, and, of course, he calls. I announce he has me before the cards are flipped, and he turns over A8d.killing my flush outs. A sweet Jack hits the flop (and I believe even a K on the turn), and I double up. After a few more orbits where I pretty much blind off a few more chips, I look up at the TD and ask for a table change, and the TD is happy to oblige! (OK, so maybe it had something to do with it now being down to two tables.) By the grace of god, I am moved to table 2. I would guess that 80% of the chips in play ended up on table 1, allowing a bit of breathing room for my very, very short stack. (See a theme here?). I get a few lucky breaks, and actually manage to double up on the first hand. Next hand I semi-bluff steal the blinds with KQ all in UTG, get my BB back uncontested, and steal the BB from the SB. Now I look down on the button and see AA. Folded to me and I go all in. The BB calls with AT, and I double up. I have a workable stack now! I am even able to get the blinds 2 more times this orbit, and in the span of about 10 hands my I went from felt to back in contention. Soon, 2 becomes 1, and we have our final table set. My stack is pretty small, but workable. Key Hand: With a smallish stack, I make my standard 3x the BB raise with KQ from mp. The button, with a significantly larger stack, puts me all in. I call. He says "you got me" and flips over Q9. The flop comes Qx9. My stomach sinks. Turn brings a T, leaving me with 7 outs. And whaddya know, a King comes on the river. For the first time ever in a tournament, I jump up, shout, pump my fist, and high five whoever the hell was standing behind me. I was now among the chip leaders (probably #2 or 3 at this point) and the game was on. Now 5 handed, folded to me I look down and see AQs in the SB. I think for about 20 seconds, hopefully making it seem like I am deciding whether to muck or call, and raise the minimum. Dave K, the BB, announces all in, and I call. I have him covered, but if he wins I'll be pretty well crippled. He flips JJ, I flip my AQ, and the race is on. The flop is rags, but the turn brings my ace. I win the coinflip, the Wonder BallT, and now have a big chip lead. Key Hand: with about a 2-1 chip lead over #2 (Greg, to my right) All fold to him in the sb. He raises the minimum (standard for him). I look down and see AQ. I eye his stack, and ask for a countdown. I decide to raise half slightly more than half his stack, forcing him to either go all in or fold. (I wanted the call, and didn't want to force him out of the pot). He goes all in. I call. I flip over AQ, he flips KQ. Flop comes 9TJ, giving him the nuts (the turn, not that it mattered, was an 8, making the official result a K-high straight beating a Q-high). We are now about even in chips, and the co-leaders. Down to 3 handed, and the blinds at 3000/6000, The button, Greg, calls. I look down and see 78s and complete, and the short stacked BB (Desmond) goes all in for about 21K more. Button folds, and at first I am ready to fold, but I start thinking. I am almost positive the BB is bluffing here, but I still am losing to a bluff. There's 18k of dead money in the pot, plus his 21k. He is a very tough player, and I want him out, but also don't want to double him up. I figure if he has one overcard, I am probably a 45% dog, and with 2 overs I am 2-1. The pot is paying me about 2-1 to call. So, knowing I am behind, I call. He claims "you got me" and I say "I wouldn't be so sure." He flips his K2os and the railbirds start chirping when they see me CALLING with 78s. The board does neither of us any good, and he doubles up. We are now all virtually even in chips. Visions of Matt's KK losing to KQ flash before my eyes, and I decide to make a deal. We chop it up using 1500 as the base, and decide on 1500, 2000, 29XX (rather than 900, 2100, 36XX). Eventually, we are down to 2, when Greg's PP takes down Desmond's Ace high (Desmond was actually survived the battle I think, but don't recall the hand that finally knocked him out, but for all intents and purposes, that was the hand that did him in). I settle into Heads up mode. For those that don't know me, HU and shorthanded are my bread and butter. After about 10 minutes, I had taken control of the match, applying constant pressure. Few hands made it past the flop/turn, and I was winning most of them. I look down and see KTs in the BB. Greg raises the minimum for the SB, and I put in my My standard raise of 18k. He goes all in, and I go DEEP in the tank. If I call, I'll be left with about 15k in chips. The tournament will virtually be over. I figure I am probably a coin flip, but could also be beat. If I let him take the pot, then we are about even in chips. I decide I DON'T want a coin flip at this point, and muck, (after about 3-5 minutes, maybe even longer). I go back to grinding out small wins, but change my raise from 3x the BB to 1 or 2x the BB. Not once do I check when first to act, or complete from the SB. After grinding it out for a good 45 minutes or so (give or take 15 minutes), the TD announces a break after this hand (if we want one, and I do). Joan (Always Aware), the lone railbird seated at the final table (the perks of being the birthday girl) jokes with the TD that "Don't worry, Dave is going to end it right here." (I had about a 2-1 or 3-2 chip lead) In the SB, Greg doubles the BB. I look down and see pocket fours, and for a second, think of what Joanie just said and consider pushing all in. But then I remember my promise to myself NOT to get involved in a coin flip unless I absolutely had to. Besides, I smelled something funny on this hand, and put Greg on either a PP or big hand (ala AK). I decide to just call. The flop comes J 4 K (2 diamonds). I think for about 20 seconds. If he has AK or AJ, he will push in here. If I bet, I may scare him off. I think back and realize that I had been applying CONSTANT pressure to this kid, never once letting him have first action when he had the button. I decide to see what happens if I gave him the green light to bully me, and check to him for the first time since it became heads up. He goes all in, I quickly call. He flips Pocket sixes, I flip my set of 4s, and Joan becomes a prophet. The Jacket is mine, the plaque is mine, and I am able to wrap up the best all-around for ATLARGE 2004. Coincidentally enough, this was technically my first weekend ever as a poker pro, as my consulting gig had ended the day before ATLARGE began. I want to congratulate Greg on a well played tournament. As Joan has mentioned, this was his first-ever tournament, and he had only been playing for 4 months!!! Not a bad way to start a poker career... Part 3 Ken Lovering (Tainted Rogue) picked me up at around 7 or 8pm on Friday and we drove off for AC. Got there without incident, and checked into the Taj (or as I like to refer to it, as "The Pit"). About 7 years ago, I made a vow NEVER to return to the Trump Taj Mahal (Hence one of the reasons for my online nickname), but for ATLARGE, I figured I would make an exception. I am glad I did. The people at the Taj Poker room treated us like gods. I was pleasantly surprised to see how much the casino staff changed. Ken and I checked out the Poker Room, but ultimately decided to just go to bed and prepare for the next day. Finally fell asleep around 4 or 5 am (part insomnia on my part, and part because I was afraid of Ken trying to play "grabby ass" when I fell asleep.). Went down to sign in for the HOE event, and right away I spot Joan. She acts like she doesn't know me, and has security escort me out of the casino. (Thankfully, security at the Taj leaves a bit to be desired, and I was able to just walk right back in.) Since Joan wanted nothing to do with me, I began talking to others. I was amazed by how friendly everyone was, and while I can't remember any specific names or people, I knew right away this was going to be a good trip. Grabbed my R00ling ATLARGE vest and other goodies, and went to find my seat. Ran into Matt Matros (jacksup) right before the HOE tournament was about to begin. Based on his posts to RGP, I was really looking forward to meeting him. For some reason, I pictured him as a mid-30's, sunglass-wearing Chip-Jett looking guy who could intimidate you with a glare. I couldn't have been more wrong. Simply one of the nicest people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. During the first break of the HOE tournament, I ask Joan if we had a last longer bet (I couldn't remember). She responds, "No," kicks me in the shin, and walks away. I head back to my table, heartbroken. Around 3:00 I find out that Joan, Matt, and a few others are off to the Borgata to sign up for the $100+ rebuy tournament. I want to go over with them, but a small and unexpected snafu arises.I'm still alive in the HOE tourney, but barely. I vow to meet them over there and buy Joan dinner (for her birthday) once I bust out. Of course, Joan decides that I am not worth waiting for, and eats dinner without me. So, after the dinner Al, the winner of the HOE event, gets 4 of us passes (Ken, me, Mike, and Al) to the high roller buffet at the Taj (forget the name of it). The food is so/so, but the company is great. After dinner, Ken and Mike head up to bed, and Al and I decide to go to the poker room and "just look." It's about 11 Pm, and I have no intention of playing. So, at 11:05 Al and I are sitting at a 3/6 table. I am playing very tight, using the game to hone my HE skills for the big NLHE event the next day, when I realize..WTF am I doing? I am here for ARGE, dammit. I quickly slip into a game of "no peeky" with Al (but never announce it). Riley G is also at our table, and appears to be racking in the chips. At exactly midnight, Al and I get up and go to bed. I count my chips.down about 15 BBs. For me, that's a good session. We make a last longer pact and a vow to finish 1-2 once again in the tournament the next day. The bastard broke his promise. In the beginning of the NLHE tournament, I mention to Steve Goldman that it's Joan's Bday, and perhaps we should all sing to her (Al planted the seed in my head). A very off key rendition of "Happy Birthday to you" erupts from the tournament group, and Joan comes over and once again kicks me in my shins. Had a good time in the NLHE tournament, and won my last longer bet with Joan. I was pleasantly surprised when she didn't kick me in the shins when paying me, but rather simply spit in my face. I could see we were getting closer. After the NLHE tournament, the only thing left to conquer was the Stud game on Sunday. I expected absolutely nothing from the stud tournament. I freely admit that not only do I suck at straight stud, but being a stud 8b player, my starting hand standards are severely screwed up. Knowing this ahead of time, I stayed up the previous night till around 4 talking poker with some friends (Tainted Rogue, Always Aware, Golfman316 (or whatever damn number his is), "Uncle Al" Stuart, and Mike Klein) and touring the casinos. We had dinner at Borgata, and planned on playing some HE there. Ran into some friends (Jacksup, Russ Rosenbloom, and others) on the way to the poker room and never ended up playing. It sounds cheesy, but I can play poker any time.the time spent with the other ATLARGERs when NOT playing was just as satisfying, if not more so, than anything that happened at the tables. Unlike prior to the hold'em tournament, getting a goods night rest came second to having a good night. I arrived at the Stud tournament about 20 minutes late, and was never really a factor. Had some fun, and won yet another last longer against Joan (as if there was any doubt). Her attempts to bribe the rest of the table and double my bounty (and god knows what other "favors" she promised them) did her no good, as he table ganged up against her villany and teamed up to bust her out. (ok, so maybe it wasn't quite that dramatic). Had great 8b hands.A24s, 345, A23, etc..but unfortunately it was stud hi only. I reprimanded the dealer for dealing me cards for the wrong game, and things quickly turned around. I finally had a few nice starting hands that never seemed to develop to their full potential. In fact, one of the few times I saw 7th street was on my last hand of the tournament. My final hand.all in with QAQ (2 spades) against the big stack (Scott Hermes, who finished third), who called because he had more chips than god. He flipped over 55x (yes, I said 55, there is no presto in stud!). I made a broadway str8 on 6th street, but 7th street unfortunately brought my opponent a baby flush. IGHN. I lasted to level 5 or 6, and finished somewhere in the 30s. Had lunch with ADB Big Boy, and decided I BETTER play some ring games before leaving. Eventually, I got in the juiciest 10/20 game I ever saw. 6-9 average players on average seeing a flop, which was always AT LEAST 2 bet, often capped. Average pot size was around $400. Needless to say, the variance was high. I was quickly up about $250, then almost as quickly down $250. For the next 2 hours or so, I fluctuated between 200 down and 200 up. Had GREAT cards, but they just weren't holding up. (Bluffing in this game was not an option, and don't even bother thinking about slowplaying). It got to the point where people were capping inside straight draws on the TURN for value. :P. Needless to say, I was down around $500 by the time Ken Lovering told me to get my ass up because we had to go. Kicking and screaming, I left the table. Down a bit for the day, but up a lot of memories for the weekend. -Dave L

Complete results for BARGE 2003.