2001

Complete results for 2001

The story of my sixth BARGE.

Dice made for the 11th BARGE in 2001.

Trip Report by Bob Dainauski The Rabbi --------- I arrived early Saturday morning and got on some lists. I took a seat to help start a 2/4 HE game until I got called for something else. Here I met the Rabbi - a gentleman who raised, reraised, or when possible capped the pot for the dozen or so hands I saw at this table. One hand the dealer inadvertently only dealt him one card. This probably would not have slowed him down, but the dealer gave him a second card anyway. He rammed and jammed to the river with 85o [1]. Mind if we call you "Len" to keep it clear? ------------------------------------------- I get in a 5/10 HE game and meet two new (to me) RGPers, Len and Len. Len G later earns Guy of the Year honors when he gives me his banquet ticket and absolutely refuses any compensation. Len, thanks again, that was just incredibly nice of you. Later I sat next to Len Marciano at MATS. Very nice guy. Unfortunately for Len, I sucked out a 4-outer to river a wheel and bust him in 5th place. Len was ever the gentleman in taking this bad beat. Two great guys. Name Those Pocket Cards ----------------------- So I'm playing 5/10 HE and limp it with A2s from the cutoff seat, a few limpers in front of me. Flop is AA2. I check and call with the intent of raising the turn. Turn is a rag, I get in a reraise and only one player stays with me. River is an ugly deuce. Wonderful, split pot, right? I bet anyway Just In Case. Guy raises, no real surprise. I look at the guy. Something tells me that he doesn't work on the Space Shuttle when he's not playing cards, so I 3 bet it. He calls, I get the whole pot. I can't imagine what cards he might have been holding. MATS Results ------------ MATS was won by an aggressive player named Rick (Sorry Rick, I didn't catch your last name). Rick wins a seat at TARGET plus travel expenses. He is still accepting donations of canned goods, however. Congratulations to Rick, and good luck at TARGET! As best as I can remember the bust out order was: (Winner)Rick 2ndTom Goodwin 3rdRussell Rosenbloom 4thMe 5thLen Marciano (up to here is probably right) 6thJerry Gerner 7thRobert Jacobs 8thMatt? (Sorry - not sure - wear your badge!) 9thBruce Kramer 10thNolan Thanks to Jerry for running this event, which was a lot of fun besides being good experience. The Moment of Sheer Terror -------------------------- A hand from the NLHE tournament. My big blind. Folded around to Mordecai on or abouts the button. He raises about half his stack. I move in holding AA. Mordecai thinks out loud for a minute or two. I had just read Nolan's article "The Moment of Sheer Terror" the night before. It is about trying to act calm when you're all-in (or have made a big bet) and your opponent is sweating you. I was thinking about how I had never been in that situation yet, and wondering how it might be. Surprisingly I guess, I felt perfectly calm. I was talking with Mordecai - maybe I shouldn't have been. Anyway, he made a wise laydown of AX after a long deliberation. I don't know much about his NL game, but I would rate Mordecai as among the stronger limit HE players in our group. He was, once again, slaughtering the pink game when I was in it. Incidentally, I got to sit next to Nolan in the stud tournament and got to hear a little bit about his Stu Ungar project. Put me on the waiting list for that book, it's going to be a good one. Worst Mistake in the NLHE ------------------------- Overall I felt I played much better in the NL event this year than last. I think I loosened up appropriately for this blind structure and this group of opponents. Here was a mistake, however: I got carded to a new table and found myself to the right of Raydon, the eventual winner. I know he has a reputation as a very good player, but I've never played with him before. First hand I get dealt I'm in SB, Raydon is in the BB. Folded to me, I raise on a routine steal with Qh8h. At the table I had just left, this was working well. Not here. Raydon turns to me and starts asking me a bunch of questions, obviously feeling me out. I answered him, too, which I guess I probably shouldn't have done. To my dismay, he called. Flop was 996, one heart. I checked and Ray bet almost all-in an amount which would put me almost all-in (we were both short stacked). I felt pot committed at this point and, even though I didn't like it, I raised back a few more chips all-in. He called. The final board was 99689. Raydon had A8 and I'm sure he though he was getting it all instead of half. I got a "Nice hand sir," for my troubles - which I kind of understand, although I didn't think my play was that terrible. The mistake I made here was that I should have gone all-in or folded. Good Laydown ------------ NLHE, very early (5-10 blinds?). Someone raises a small amount in front of me and I reraise with JJ. Someone else reraises behind me and the original raiser goes all-in. I muck, certain that I'm a 4.5:1 dog to one of them. They had QQ and AA. I was glad I didn't get stupid early (I waited until late to get stupid, see above). MATS Miscellany --------------- I thought my play here was decent. Tell me what you think about this hand: All numbers are approximations. I have about T900 and raise to T200 against the T25/T50 blinds from middle position with 88. Russell Rosenbloom reraises from the button (I think) about T500 more. I think about this one quite a while. Here are the factors I was considering: Russell is very observant and knows I haven't been playing as many hands as some of the other guys. So he probably credits me with a real hand and has either probably got me beat or expects I will lay down most hands here. Russell himself hasn't been out of line, or playing too many hands. I don't have enough to reraise and have a prayer at him folding. So I decide I'm in the Small Favorite Or Big Dog situation and let it go. Comments? Walking down after MATS Russell was "debriefing" 2nd place finisher Tom Goodwin. I made it a point to soak up what he was saying. I was * really * impressed by Russell's depth of knowledge on NL. Russell is also hilarious - it's fun to be at the same table. Also Tom has a great game. A lot of people play aggressively, but he plays with a controlled aggression and knows how to get away from a hand where some of the more loose-aggressive players would get busted. Baby Pot Limit -------------- Last year I wanted to try this but didn't get a seat. This year there was a must move, so I got in around midnight Saturday. I bought in for the minimum ($200), fully expecting to pay it as tuition. I did ok, and managed to double up. Some hands of note: Most amusing hand. Several players for $2 when it gets to Tom Goodwin in late position. He is near the table, but not sitting down - he's talking to someone or something. He says "I'll call blind." Flop is K87. Someone bets $10, couple callers. Tom is still not at the table, and has definitely not seen his cards. He says, "I'll call blind - I might have two kings in the hole." Short story - Tom does have KK, and busts an extreme-sports looking guy (spiky blond hair, major tattoo work) for a pot that must have been over $1200. (Extreme guys last raise all-in was not the full pot, and it was 3 Ben Franklins and some chips - he had 87). Extreme-sports guy went off after this, pumping up a lot of pots. Curious comment: Extreme-sports guy tells Tom "I put you on Kings up." Maybe he thought Tom would lay that down? Folded to Russell who raises in late position. I call in the big blind with JTs (probably a bad idea - and I figure I'm behind preflop). Flop is little rags and I check. He immediately bets the pot (only $10) and announces the bet. I feel he doesn't have any part of this flop and he wouldn't think I would reraise with nothing here. I reraise and he folds immediately. It was only a $20 pot, but I was pleased with my thought process on that one. Got away with a bad play here. I raise to $5 from somewhat early position with AJo (I know, I know - I won't do it again). Extreme guy (see above) makes it $20 and I call with 2 or 3 others. I only called because the raiser was steaming at this point. I wouldn't have liked facing a bet with an Ace on the flop - I was hoping for 2 pair or a J high flop. Flop comes JJ6. Tom Goodwin leads off for $60. I think briefly. I have no doubt he could have played 66 for $20, but I would expect him to slow play with it if that's what he had. My action - what to do? A call might induce more calls, but this pot is already pretty decent. Maybe Tom has a weak jack. I move all-in for another $80. Others fold, Tom thinks briefly and folds. I know he credits me with a J or 66 here. This would be a better story if I had 23o - maybe I should go back and change it. Anyway, Tom later tells me he had a lone 6, which makes sense. Call me a wuss but I left around 3:30 to go get 3 hours sleep. On my way out I walked past the pink game (which I had played in briefly earlier) and it was insane (we could EASILY hear them in the PL game which was against the far glass in the high limit room). Tiger was en fuego - he had enough chips in front of him to fill a bucket! Rumor has it he was up $2K. We may have heard "I don't play hold em" for the last time! I wish I had been in it - to say they were having fun doesn't come close to describing the scene. After breakfast with my parents I got back to the card room. As expected, the PL game is still going. They generously offer me the seat occupied by a sound asleep individual. I feel a little bad about it, but I wake him up (he's not in the game) to get the seat. How stupid is my choice to sit with this lineup? To my immediate right are Nolan, Scott Byron, Russell and then Tom. Russell is tired of waking Tom up when it's his turn to act, so he tells me I'll have to take every-other shift. When it's Tom's turn, I have to peek behind his shades to see if he is thinking or sleeping (no kidding). Three times I have to wake him after long hands play out and it's on him in a new hand. I'm also not kidding when I tell you each time he woke up and immediately said "raise." The best line of the weekend came at this early morning session: (Someone): "A girl spent the night in your bed and you never left the poker room?" Tom Goodwin: "Hey, it was a GOOD game!" These guys are animals! The aforementioned Rabbi is in this game and playing it pretty much like he played the 2/4. I thought I had a good chance to double up again, but I didn't play any hands against him before leaving for the stud tournament. Stud Tournament --------------- Unlike the NL tournament, I feel I have a decent shot in limit stud. I thought I played well, but my only real mistake got me busted. We were down to less players than I realized at the time, when I played (J9)9 for a raise (or maybe a reraise) and got heads up with Bruce Kramer. I had a decent amount of chips, but we were at 200/400, and he had a big stack. He raised me on 4th street but I thought he was testing for a steal and his board was little cards. Short story is he made a straight and busted me. I probably should have avoided such a big stack who could easily afford to draw against me as we were entering the later stages. Bruce impressed me as a very good stud player - and not just because he busted me 2 years in a row. He doesn't make reflexive plays - he's always thinking about the best play in each situation. He made a fantastic play with rolled up trips when he slowed down on fifth street, representing a steal gone bad, and sucked his opponent in for several more big bets. Matt ("Jacksup") also played a good game despite continuously saying he didn't know how to play stud. One more hand of note. I had the bring in with a low card and 22 in the hole, and I had two clubs which were live. I got raised by a 9 in front of Dave (Croson?). He was short stacked after taking several tough beats and getting run down a few times (though not by me) and I was healthy, so I took off a card. I caught a high club and he caught an 8. I check-called. Fifth street I caught another club and decided to bet out, representing clubs. Dave raised me back with nothing showing. He was close to the felt and I called intending to go all the way. I caught another 2 on 6th street giving me trips (although the case 2 was on Dave's board) and a four flush, but Dave paired his door card giving him a pair of 9s showing. He bet all-in. I said "I'm drawing dead if you're full," but I called the bet. My trip 2s beat his two pair. Dave was a little non-plussed and pointed out the case two on his board, but endured the slings and arrows pretty well. I thought I played it right. They Were Missed ---------------- I only heard Foldem mentioned a few thousand times. Bill Alan I hope you are feeling better. Was Paul McMullin there? I thought he was coming but I don't see how I could have missed him all weekend? One and Only One Suggestion --------------------------- Baby PL was a great way to get cheap experience at the game. My only suggestion is that the MAX buy-in be $200. People were buying in for way more than that, which immediately puts the $200 stacks at a Big Stack vs. Little Stack disadvantage. What's Left? ------------ Another fun year. Nice seeing all the people I've met in years past. Forgive me for not naming each one of you - this is long enough as it is (aren't you glad I didn't take notes?) Each year I come to ATLARGE feeling like I know a lot more about this game than I did a year earlier. And the more I feel I know about poker the more and more impressed I am by how many truly excellent players are part of RGP - and the more I realize how much there is I don't know. I always, always learn a lot by playing with you all. I had a great time, as usual. As always a huge thanks to Tiger and Jazbo for making all this happen. Already looking forward to next year! [1] OF COURSE he won with it. Bob Dainauski Allentown, PA

Trip Report by Buckshot-B BEWARE! This post is abnormally LONG so either print it and read it later so your eyes don't melt from the radiation the monitor emits or read it in parts. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy the post as much as I enjoyed writing it. Hello RGP. I haven't written to this forum in a long while because I really haven't had much to say. It also didn't help that Deja.com was bought out by Google so my preferred form of reading this group was not available for a long time. It is Monday and I have much to say about the ATLARGE event over the weekend. This will definitely be a lengthy trip report so please sit back, make some popcorn, open a bottle of suds and enjoy the reading. I didn't do so well in the tournaments but that wasn't a big deal. I did, however, have a great time meeting all the RGP folks and attaching a face with a moniker. Just to run down a list of the notables that I met. Jazbo, Tiger, Dangerous Dan, AlwaysAware, Jacksup, Rebuy, Sippy, Dave!, JT, Cactus Kev (who I didn't know was a guy I used to play with on Tuesday nights), a guy named Stevie (he won a 7-Stud tournament at the WPO, I think) Escargot Beth (I don't know if that's her posting name but that's how we were introduced), Nolan, Action Bob, Brad and Raydon. There were others that I met that I either already knew or didn't know their names. So where do I begin? If you want to go from the beginning then I guess that would be Thursday night when I arrived with my friend PSU72. He stayed at the Trop while I stayed out on the pike. I think next time I'll make reservations at the Trop. It was a pain in the ass to wait for the shuttle to pick me up and the cab fare was $12 one-way. Anyway, I digress. There's a 7pm Hold'em limit tournament on Thursdays for a small buy-in so I decide to get a little practice in before the events over the weekend. I have some time to kill since we arrived and checked-in by 5:30pm so I get on the waitlist for $10-$20 Stud and play $5-$10 Stud while I'm waiting. To make a long story short, I think I was stuck $200 in the $5-$10 game and $300 in the $10-$20 game before I even hit the tournament. Don't ask me how and don' t ask me why. It just happened. I don't recall anything that jumped out at me in particular other than I was stuck. The tournament went pretty well until I had a few suckouts right after the color-up break. I probably went out in that tournament at 55th or thereabouts. After the tournament was over I picked the $10-$20 Hold'em game to sit until I was too tired to play. I didn't make any headway so it was basically a push until I left at about 3am. Highlight of the night: Playing heads up with Val, $10-$20 Hold'em and only losing one small bet. If anyone who's reading this knows Val then you' ll know what an accomplishment I made. We played only ½ hour and it was a ton of fun. From what I understand he made his way to the pink chips game after we played and Friday morning I met my friend at the Trop at approx. 12ish and we went to the cardroom. There were no games going so I put myself on the $10-$20 Hold' em list while I played $10-$20 Stud. The Trop holds a Friday $100+$15 limit Hold'em tournament at 4pm. I won in January so I, of course, am hoping that I make the final table again. My dreams were cut short when I flopped a set of 7's and my opponent goes runner-runner Broadway on me and the same opponent spikes a King on the turn to kill my pocket Ladies cold. The worse thing about that hand was he raised with KQo UTG then I re-raised. Everyone folds and he calls to see a flop of Ten high rainbow. He checks, I bet and he calls. When the King hits the turn I know it hits him. He makes this story that the pot was too big to fold and if I didn't re-raise he would have folded on the flop. Whatever. From what I understand he was doing very well so good for him. I was also at the table with Nolan and Jacksup, both of which are from my neck of the woods and both great people. It turns out that they've asked me about my home game but haven't been able to make the trip. Hopefully they will be able to make the trip once in a while. Anyway, I bust out one or two hands later and I'm going to the Taj for some action. I jump on the Taj $10-$20 Hold'em list and don't wait too long before I'm sitting down with the tourists and regulars. The table starts to break and it's still fairly early so I head to an open seat in the $15-$30 game. The were a couple of memorable events. This one guy on my left who seemed to play every pot that I played and always sucked out on me on the river. It was quite frustrating and causing me to play worse. He was on my left so I couldn't shake him. I eventually got a seat change. This time it was the new guy on my left that decided to play every pot I played. I'm totally on tilt by this point and I'm getting tired but see red Aces UTG. I make a raise and the guy on my left (GOL) and the BB are the only callers. The flop is Kc 3s Ac. The BB bets, I raise, the GOL calls and the BB folds. The turn is a blank, I bet and GOL calls. The river is the 3c and I check the flush. GOL bets and I feel myself boiling. I angrily say, "Nice way to crack a set, but I'll call anyway to keep you honest." I hear the dealer, through the fog of what is my TILT, say, "Full house." I look at the board again and am stunned. I then reflect back to the flop. "Didn't I say to myself, Self, wouldn't it be nice if the 3 of clubs hit?" I think out loud that I must be too tired to play if I miss the full house and glance down at my watch to see 5am staring back at me. I call a cab and hit the bed by 6am. I ended up being stuck $500 for the evening. Saturday I make it to the Trop at about 12ish-1ish and the joint is jumping. The ATLARGE tournament is going to start soon (2pm) and all the hopefuls are here. I sit at $10-$20 Stud while I wait until the tourney starts. When 2pm rolls around I meet with Tiger and he gives me an envelope with my name tag and receipt. I try and calm myself down with little bits of advice and go to my table. I'm sitting on the left of Jazbo but don't recognize the others at the table. Jazbo and I talk from time to time and mix it up in one pot but that was about the extent of that table. Our table broke fairly early and I find myself sitting with Cactus Kev (the guy I mentioned above). I was the chip leader at my table before it broke and was close to him being the chip leader at this table. I get a little action here and there and make my mistake to Kev when I have pocket Tens and he's holding Cowboys. He made a raise of T200 and I came over the top for T400. I think he wants to make an all-in re-raise but does something wrong and its approximately T400 more. The flop is small and he puts me all-in. I don't believe that I have enough to survive with the blinds being 50-100 so I make the crying call and pray for a Ten. It doesn't make the board and I'm the 22nd person gone. Not a very strong showing for Buckshot-B in the tournaments and, to tell you the truth, not a very good weekend all around. But they say that poker is a strange game where fortunes can change with the turn of a card. I take it they didn't have me in mind specifically but it was certainly something to ponder when I made my first attempt at Pot Limit Hold'em. Before I get into the Pot Limit game I went to Hooters and ate with my friend who also went out of the tournament with pocket Tens. Blatant male non sequitur to follow. Will everyone agree that most of the women in NJ are gorgeous, but all have big noses? Or maybe it's just the ones in Hooters? I don't know, maybe it's just me? End of blatant male non sequitur. We discuss poker a bit and how we went out of the tournament. I was very disappointed in the way that I went out. I knew he had an overpair to mine and yet I didn 't fold. It was just plain dumb poker on my part and as all the books say, "If you think your hand can't win then make the fold." I should not have called the re-raise by him and I still would have been in a good place with about T800 in chips. Cest Lavie. I watch my alma mater beat Georgia State. After a few beers I go back upstairs and see if I can make a difference in my attitude and play better poker. I put my name on the $10-$20 Hold'em list and find my friend and sweat him for a little while. There's a pink chip game going and I notice that there's a lot of commotion at one table with one seat open next to the pink chip game. I make my way over there and see that it's a $1-$2 Pot Limit Hold'em game and everyone is talking about rules and the such. Carbonara is looking at the game and it looks as if he wants to play. I ask him if he's going to sit and he says, "I don't know." There isn't anyone else that looks as if they want to play so I ask him if he doesn't want the seat if I can sit. He says no problem and I find myself in my first Pot Limit Hold'em game. I don't know what to say about Pot Limit Hold'em. I can say that it is a totally different mentality than limit games, but you already knew that. I can say that I was a little bit jumpy, but you probably already knew that too, especially if you watched me play the game. So let's skip all the bull and get on with the game. I only had $700 left of the money that I brought with me. I kept $200 in my pocket and placed $500 in play. I let myself know that the $500 was all I was going to wager and if I lost it all, so be it. Needless to say the game was good, REAL good. I never had to worry about losing the money on the table because I never lost a pot. Let me repeat that because it sounds like a lie even as I see it being typed. I NEVER lost a pot. If I was in the pot to the river I raked the chips. Every time. I think the best thing about not losing a single pot was I was always in the lead and never sucked out on anyone. I have many, many stories so I'll just got through them one at a time. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed playing and I hope to convey the same excitement as I felt while I was playing. Here's the table seat by seat: #1 Asian guy by the name of Chucky(?). Apparently unlimited BR and loves action. This guy made the game enjoyable. #2 Dangerous Dan. Good player. Very personable. #3 Greek guy. Peppered hair, pleasant guy. He gave me a couple of tips on playing Pot Limit. #4 ME! A great guy with a brilliant smile and verve. Wonderful to talk to #5 JT. Investment banker. We talked throughout the night. According to him, he's overpaid and enjoys his job but it's very monotonous. I take it that he plays poker to break that monotony. He also gave me some Pot Limit tips. #6 Corky. I've seen him at the Trop before so I take it he's a regular. I remember playing with him in the first No-Limit tourney I entered at the Trop. If you look in the archives you'll see the hand I'm talking about. He had AQ in the SB and I had pocket Queens in middle position. The flop was AQx. Need I say anymore? The main thing I remember about him is that night is he dropped $600 on one hand and had to rebuy. After that loss he was acting a little whiny and just generally irritable. There was a rule that you didn't have to post if you didn't abuse it and after Corky lost that pot he had a problem with that rule so we had to post thereafter. When he left the game we changed the ruling back. #7 Tony P. Clothing store owner and Trop regular. He also made the game good. #8 Brad. RGPer and good guy. Kinda looks like Billy Idol but only better looking. LOL. #9 Guy named Stephen. Did very, very well at the table. He made some good hands and one amazing call. I'll get into that later. He's also good guy. #10 Ralph. He was the ATLARGE Stud winner last year and plays Pot Limit at the Sands on Friday nights. That was the lineup when the table opened. There was no dispute that Stephen in seat #9 and myself did the best out of everyone that night. I took my buyin and left $2000 up for the night. I played a few hands very poorly but played some hands pretty well. I made only one tough call but that wasn't until Sunday morning. Anyway, the first hand that I played was the 3rd hand dealt in the game. I was in the BB and had AQo. There were a few players limping so it was relatively small. When the action got to #1 he raised and made it $10 to go. I think the button and SB called and I called. There were a few other callers. The flop is AKT rainbow. It gets checked around to #1 and he bets the pot. It's folded to me and I call then it's heads-up. The turn is a blank and I check again. #1 bets and I call. We check the brick that hits on the river and I beat his pocket Jacks. After the hand was over I tell myself that I'm such a woman and want to know if my husband plays the game. Being as it was my first ever Pot Limit hand I didn't know what to expect. I didn't want to lose to a straight just in case. I was willing to make the calls but I wasn't willing to put in any bets until I was more comfortable with how the game is played and how the players played. I'm sure that this type of play is detrimental to survival in Pot Limit. It didn't take me long to catch on to the game. I noticed that raising big pairs early didn't do much for limiting the field. I also noticed that I naturally wanted to play connectors, suited connectors, Ax suited and small pairs because it was so cheap to see a flop. Position did play a big part in the game but I wasn't afraid to limp UTG with something like 8s9s. A couple of times I raised hands like 7s8s on the button after the field limped. I guess I'll have to get some material on the game and study. I'm sure that stack size and image plays a big part in the game but I never seemed to have any issues along those lines. Like I said earlier, I did not lose a pot at showdown all night. I tried not to put myself in a bad place and tried to pick my spots carefully. As the night wore on I played more and more hands. I played a number of pairs that won when I bet the pot on the flop. I had pocket 7's once on a Jack high board and everyone folded when I bet. I must have flopped what felt like ten sets. I had pocket Kings about five times and won most of them. There were a few hands that I had I want to talk more about because I thought they were either exciting or fun or complex or all of the above. If you'd like to comment of how I played the hand or comment on my thoughts on a particular hand then please do so. I would enjoy the criticism. Hands of the night: I'm on the button with AJo and the table is mostly limping. Our friend in #1 raises the pot to $5 and everyone calls. There's about $40 in the pot when we see the flop. The flop is KQx rainbow. It is checked to #1 who bets the pot, #2 and I call. I figured that calling the $40 was worth it if a Ten hits the turn. No one could be on a flush draw and if anyone had flopped a set they would have bet it out knowing that #1 would protect their hand with a re-raise. It was normal for #1 to make that kind of play. Most of the time he did it just to make the pot big in case he did hit his hand. Everyone up to #1 folded. The Tc hits the turn and I'm about to piss my pants. #1 is first to act and immediately fires about a pot sized bet. I think it was $100. Dangerous Dan (#3) is next to act and calls the bet after thinking for a little bit. When I raised the pot, I think it put me all-in (I had about $900). There is much deliberation before #1 decides to call and #3 folds. I' m hoping nothing hits the end that would have us split the pot. I was happy to see the 2d hit the river. #1 turns his hand over and shows AQ. That was the first and only time that I was all-in a pot. It was the most incredible adrenaline rush that I have ever experienced. Well, skydiving is a pretty f-ing intense rush too so I guess it was along those lines. If you've never been skydiving I suggest that you give it a whirl. It's better than sex and lasts longer. LOL. As I said before, #1 made the game. I think he put $5,000 into the table before he finally left. Somewhere before this hand #6, Corky, has left to get something to eat and another buy takes his place. By this time there is a must move table feeing this one. How sweet is that? The only thing that I can remember about this guy is that he glasses were tinted yellow. I have pocket Aces UTG and make a little raise of $5. I know its not going to knock anyone out of the pot but I figured to build a pot nicely then bring the hammer down on the flop. There are a few callers so the pot opens at $40. The flop is AK5 rainbow. Sweet! I figure if I bet it will be folded around since my image has been fairly good. Unless someone caught two pair I wasn't going to get any action. I think about checking in the hopes that someone will bet it out. Certainly a free card can't hurt me but the more I thought about it the more I felt betting the pot was better. I didn't think I was going to trap anyone here since the board looked as if it hit my hand and checking wasn't going to fool anyone. So I decide to bet the pot. The #6 yellow tinted glasses man raises! Everyone folds to me and I'm just elated. I can't think of anything except spout a smart assed comment under my breath. I say, "I must be in trouble." I know it was an asinine thing to say but it just escaped me. I re-raised the pot and the amount just about covered him so he raised all-in. I showed my Aces and he says he can't win unless he goes runner-runner. A deuce hits the turn and he gets up and leaves. I mutter an apology about the hand and he pays no mind. There is new blood about this time. #8 leaves to eat at the banquet; #1 is busted so we get a couple more people into the game. #5 also leaves because he's playing in the Stud tournament so he wants to catch some good sleep for the event. Right before #1 gets busted out this hand goes down as the most amazing hand of the evening. I'm on the button with Ac6c. There are a couple of limpers but the people involved are #9 and #1. The flop comes down 5h5d6d. Everyone checks to #1 and he bets. I take a good look at him and my first instinct is to raise, but then I talk myself out of it in case he has the 5. I say to him, "I know you have the 5 but I'll just call you anyway." Everyone folds to #9 who also calls. There's about $150 in the pot on the turn. The Qs comes off and I'm left wishing it was a 6 or an Ace or I made a raise on the flop. #9 checks and #1 bets the pot. I've got no choice but to fold now. I didn't really believe that he had a 5 but I figured he must have a face card at least and I wasn't about to put anymore in with another person to act behind me. I make the fold and #9 calls. Well, between the two of them I know I was beat. The river is a 4 and #9 checks and #1 bets the pot one last time. It's a $300 bet to #9 and he says what I've been saying all night when I called #1 down on a hand, "Just to keep you honest I'll call." It turns out that #1 was on a total bluff with KTo and #9 called pairing the 4 on the end with 4c7c. It was most definitely the biggest call of the night. We must have talked about that hand every chance we got. I don 't think that I'll ever forget that hand for as long as I live. Stephen, #9, had the biggest brass iron balls hands down. Corky comes back into the game for a little bit and we tussle together in a hand. I am UTG with Cowboys and make the bet $5. Tony P., who was sitting in #7, has since moved directly on my left and calls. Corky has replaced #3 and is sitting on my right. There is $40 in the pot on the flop. The flop is Ks9s6d. I bet out the pot and Tony P. calls. It is folded around to Corky who also calls. I figure they are both on flush draws or maybe a weak King. I think real hard that I want to see the 6s hit the turn so their hands will be made. Much to my chagrin the 8s hits the turn. I'm not sure what the best play is here. If I bet it out and Tony P. raises I have to figure I'm looking at a flush and I have 10 outs. I think Tony has me covered so it's a matter of whether or not I believe they have the flush. I've played Tony in the $10-$20 game so I can read him pretty well. I've never played in a ring game with Corky so I'm not able put a read on him just yet. I do "feel" that he's not the type of guy to part with his money with nothing. I decide to check the turn and hope that Tony doesn't bet so I can see that the river makes me full house. Tony does make a bet. He bets only $100 like he's tryin g to get everyone to call. I don't think he has the flush, but I do but him on two pair. The $100 bet doesn't scare me and I start to push my stack in the middle. Suddenly I hear this voice on my right. "Re-raise all in dealer." Corky has just moved almost $400 into the pot. Now what the hell did I get wedged in-between? Are there two flushes? I think real long and real hard about the hand. I start to muck my top set and say, "This is the biggest laydown I will have made all night." I push the cards to #1 and Dangerous Dan takes a peek at the hand too. #1 just about goes bananas when Tony folds. #1 shouts how he'd put his entire business up to call the hand. I don't know. Maybe I did do a stupid thing by folding but I just couldn't call. It's not like limit Hold'em where it's only going to cost a big bet of $20 or $40. This was $400 and if I was wrong I was going to put a big dent in my stacks. Not only this but Tony still needed to act. If he comes over the top of me then I'm really screwed. There's no way I can call another raise. I think I made the right decision but we'll never know since we didn' t get to see the river and Corky doesn't divulge his hands. I'm not pressed about the fold although it would have been nice to see if I would have made the house or not. What would you have done? I don't think there were other memorable hands that night except when I had flopped a set of Kings and a guy named Alan, who apparently played Pot Limit at Resorts back in the day, flopped a set of 9's. That was about the extent of Saturday's game. AlwaysAware, Dave!, Sippy and some other RGPer had sat down after the guy in #1 left so it soon became a RGP event. I'm sure Sippy was very happy to see pocket Kings in his very first hand but the thrill was quickly diminished when his friend pushed him all-in with Aces. Welcome to the game! Sunday morning. Feeling refreshed and fancy-free I notice that the Pot Limit game is still going. There are mostly new faces but there are a couple of RGPers playing. This is when I met Chuck who's a pro tournament player. I chat with him for a bit about being a pro player and mention I'd like to take some time off to travel with him and see what it's like to live that life. I said that I would write a book and use his life as the fulcrum character that drives the epic. He gave a jolly laugh and said that you have to love poker to do what he does and cannot be affected by half the stuff that happens to you "out there". The main thing I notice about him is his demeanor. His countenance isn't creased from worries or etched by anxiety. He is a guy that's happy to be healthy and playing cards. He tells me a John Bonetti story that's a classic and I hope to use it someday. At the final table in the USPC and John limps UTG with pocket Aces. One other guy pushes all-in with pocket Kings and John eagerly calls. The man with the Kings declares what he's holding and asks John what his cards are. John quickly retorts, "I have an overpair." Is that classic or what? I sit in the #10 seat and the couple of people that I recognize are AlwaysAware and JT. The ATLARGE Stud tournament is about to start so AlwaysAware has to leave the game to play Stud. Well, to make a long story short (too late) I lost my first Pot Limit pot. Let's break down the details. I have pocket Aces on the button. There are a few players in the pot so I give it a raise. The pot is $40. The flop is Js5d2d and everyone checks to me I bet the pot and the SB gives it raise to $80 everyone folds to me and I come over the top for $200. He thinks for a minute and I'm hoping that I didn't make a mistake. There is the possibility that he's got a set and if he plays back I think to myself that I have to fold. He calls and it's heads-up. A diamond hits the turn and we both check. Now I figure he probably has two pair or a set and he wants to be but he hesitates on the diamond seeing the flush and decides to check. There's no way I'm going to bet and I'm praying for a miracle Ace. A blank hits the river and he bets $40. How can I not call that? He shows 52o for the flopped two pair. I hear him talking with Raydon about how he thought I might have had a set of Jacks. I dropped one of my Aces on the table before I muck the hand. Damn! It didn't cost me that much and I had a sneaking suspicion that I was beat, but damn, I didn't want to lose to 52o. During that same session I had 52o in a walked BB and flopped two pair only to lose to a straight on the river. 52o is the bane of my existence. Those were the only two pots that I lost that day. I don't need to get into the hands that I played Sunday except one that I made a major bluff with. I have Presto on the button and the same guy that had the 52o is in the pot. I'm pretty sure it was heads up and there might have been a raise pre-flop. I'm sure there was a raise and I think I was the one who made it. Anyway, the flop is 9d9hJd and it is checked to me so I bet the pot. It is folded to the 52o guy and he check raises me. I get out of my seat and do some complaining and I come back to the table and call. I look at him as the turn is the 8h. He makes a pot sized bet and I stare at him and say, "You've got the 9 don't you?" He comes back, "Yes, I'll be honest I have a 9." I start to stack my chips like I'm going to call and say, "Well, I guess we'll see who has the bigger kicker. Raise the pot." He thinks as I put my chips and cash up which I think amounts to $345. He mucks and Raydon says, "He had pocket Jacks or something." Then he looks at me and asks what I had. I reply, "I didn't have pocket Jacks." After a while Rebuy comes to the table and asks for a seat change button. I offer to give him my seat which he politely accepts. Honestly, the only reason I wanted to give my seat is so I can sit on left. This will backfire on me because he plays the first 2 hands that he's dealt and wins at least $600. I start laughing and tell him he has to pay me a small commission for me giving him that seat. Then he starts laughing. Yeah, like he's going to give me a nickel. LOL. Lastly, I make a really, really bad call with Kc5c against Raydon. We're in a family pot together and the flop is 3K7 rainbow. I give it a check and it' s checked around. I figure my King might be good so I bet the pot which is about $80(?) when the 2s hits the turn. It is folded to Raydon and he raises the pot. Everyone folds to me and I'm stuck thinking he might have 2 pair but my guts are telling me that he's making a play. I deliberate for a little while and finally make the call. I know it's not the best play to make but I just couldn't put him on two pair. I thought that maybe he had a 7 and if I hit a 5 on the river I would be really, really happy. The 8s hits the river and we both check. He shows the exact same hand that I have except he's offsuit. It was said to be the second amazing call of the game, the first being the 4c7c the night before. Raydon extends his hand to me and gives it a shake and says nice call. I know it was bad poker but like I've said before I'm not too familiar with the mechanics of the game. The only thing that I had going for me in that hand was that I was almost 100% sure that he was making a play for the pot and I was almost 100% sure I wasn't going to lose. I didn't think we were going to chop but I wasn't going to complain. I guess that's about all I have to say. I guess that's also about enough, eh? I won a grand playing Sunday so the weekend was good for me. I wish I had done a little better in the tournaments, but there's always next year. I don't know if Props and Slops are a tradition on RGP but I like them so I' m going use them. It isn't like you're going to stop reading this super long report now, are you? PROPS: PSU72 for driving to AC and back. Carbonara and Jacksup (Matt Matros) for being a great guys and talking me into the Pot Limit game. Escargot Beth for the hug when we first met. Nolan for being the reason that the phrase "Oh, you're NOT going to like this.." swept the cardroom. Doing the wave at the first NL tournament table to loosen everyone up. heh. Pot Limit Hold'em. Seat #1 Chucky(?) JT and the Greek for giving me that little bit of advice that helped me to calm down. Jazbo and Tiger for making ATLARGE such a big success. Pink Chip game. Aii-Yah! T.K. for running the tournaments perfectly. Stephen and Brad for telling me laying down the set of Kings was a good play. Ralph for all the great Resort Pot Limit stories. Having Cowboys about 5 times and losing only once with them. Flopping about 124289832765947 sets. Not losing a single pot Saturday night. Hooters. Hooters waitresses. Tropicana. Having the nuts and someone else raising the pot. He-he. Dennis and Chris for making the final table in the ATLARGE 7-Stud Tournament. Chopping a pot with Raydon. Chuck the Tournament Pro player. Hooters waitresses. Maryland making the Sweet 16. and of course Presto! SLOPS: 52o Corky for being a dweeb when he lost that pot and then asking how much money was in front of me when it was clear that I had him more than covered. Me not seeing the perfect card hitting the river and almost mucking a full house. The two fights that erupted at the Trop before the NL tournament. Me making that call with Kc5c. I should have played the hand better. Cactus Kev for having a big chip lead and still busting out early. Well, that's about it fellow RGPers. I hope everyone had just as much fun as I did. There wasn't a single RGPer that I met that wasn't a pleasure to meet. Take care everyone and I'll see you next year or sooner. ~stephen aka Buckshot-B

Trip Report by PubInfoGuy For those of you who have never attended Atlarge, either because you don't know much about it, or feel you are too much a "low-roller" to play with some of the "names" of RGP poker, scroll through this mini-trip report. I'm Pubinfoguy, self-proclaimed leader of the "Minnow Division" of Atlarge. That means I'm only recently a regular at the 1-5 stud level, and have most of my several thousand hours of play at the 1-3 game. Atlarge VI was my second experience with the group. As a regular at the Tropicana Poker Club, I had seen these people with Atlarge badges in '99 and asked what it was about. So I signed up last year for Atlarge V and my wife and I had a great time, even though she only attended the banquet and not the tournaments. I was "allowed" to participate as it was our wedding anniversary weekend and that was my present. Naturally, I didn't expect to win anything last year, and I didn't. It was just a familiarization tour to see if we enjoyed the events. Now, all you low-limit players, Atlarge draws in some big poker names, but without the big stakes it takes to compete at big name and costly tournaments. Hell, the two tourneys, no-limit hold'em and stud, are only $60 each. Even a Dad paying off college loans up the wazzo can afford that once a year. But I digress. I didn't expect to win anything this year, either, but ...heh, heh, heh. Despite not being much of an experienced hold'em player and only playing no-limit for the second time in my life, I lasted two hours in the Saturday tournament. I was the 38th player knocked out in the field, so no disgrace there, especially since the first poor soul out was gone within four minutes of the cards being in the air. Then to the banquet and a pleasant dinner with Nolan Dalla and some other fine folks. Nolan knows as much about politics as he does about poker and the NFL., so the conversation was extremely pleasant. Poker Gods are approachable by us mere mortals! Art Santella, another fine poker writer was in attendance, although his hair was not. Sunday moring was the stud event, $300 in play chips to start. Having played in a few of the $25 toruneys and some of the freerolls, I was familiar with the structure and have even placed in the money on rare occasions. However, say I, what chance do I have at Table 6, seat 7, sandwiched between Will Espin, founder of the Trop Poker Club, to my right, and ICE to my left? Despite some early setbacks, and a numb feeling that I might be one of the early ones out, I got good cards at just the right time, several times, and survived as others fell by the wayside. One of my mentors, Dr. Alan Schoonmaker, author of "The Psychology of Poker", told me a few weeks ago ""DAI - Don't Assume Intelligence". So I took a page out of his book and did some rather dumb things myself. About mid-way, I was moved when my table broke down, and on the very first hand a young man (can't remember his name) came blasting into my forced bet. I had split duces and a hidden ace. Being stuborn and not seeing anything special out of his hand, I held on for dear life and won the thing with only those duces vs. his ace high. Go ahead and beat me, but don't try to intimidate me. The VC couldn't, so you won't either, a philosophy I developed more than 30 years ago in a combat zone far deadlier than a poker table (although I see similarities). Anyway, I'm using my short term luck to hang in and am amazed to see folks like Tiger and Jazbo (who did a wonderful job of organizing) knocked out, along with Will Espin and even the immortal "Ray Don", Ray Di Donato, profiled in Card Player this month. It was a pleasure on Saturday to chat with a fellow Vietnam Vet like you, Ray, and I was fully prepared several times Sunday to be punched out and give you a hug, but still survived. So then its down to two tables, and players are dropping. I survive to the final nine. Talk about "Survivor"! Who will be kicked off the island and out of the money? It looks like me, cause I'm being anteed and forced bet down low with only garbage that can't possibly be defended. Then, wham, two guys go all-in and it's down to the magic eight. A guarantee of 99 clams! As the final table starts, I yell, "Anybody want to make a deal?" and am willing to settle for $100. Actually, I believe deal making is bad for tournament poker and I may expound on that in a later post. Can you even begin to imagine the thrill of making this particular final table? Here I am, short chipped and obviously the player from the lowest stakes ring games, and out-experienced by several miles, but still alive! When the ultimate winner of the tournamet is wearing a World Series of Poker cap, and it ain't something he picked up at a flea market, the Minnow has reached uncharted waters. Well, that's the greatness of Atlarge. An ordinary player has the ability to rub elbows and learn from the best at an affordable cost. And these guys, and girls, may know your main purpose is to build up the prize pool, but they still are nice about it. So here I am, and suddenly the first player goes down. A few hands later, I've got split Jacks and sevens at fourth street against Mordicai's open fours. I'm all in and turn over as does he. And I'm ahead of his two's and fours ... until short term luck rolls in his favor at the river when he hits his four. Still, I place seventh for $132 bucks. I had told Nolan Dalla Saturday night at the banquet that I was no threat to his Poker Ratings chart. Gee Nolan, how about a measley half a point or so :). So if you haven't been to Atlarge yet, I hope this tempts you into siging up for next year, even if you are a little fish like me. Who knows? You too might make that astonishing final table.! Pubinfoguy - Glenn R. Nickerson

All chips in the 2001: A Poker Odyssey set have a common obverse (Buzz Aldrin holding Presto) with a different scene for each face featuring a space scene and a “Prestolith” (our version of a monolith). Notice also that there are 2 forms of the Prestolith. Development Notes Much consideration was given to switching back to Chipco International for these chips. Patrick sent this message to interested parties with a link to this image as to how chips would change from the original Paul-son design. ...