Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2003 08:18:28 -0700 (PDT) From: Lrd Thanatos To: barge@barge.org Subject: [BARGE] BARGE Trip Report - Freaks and Geeks!! My First Barge. What a Blast. Many Many Kudosâ to the Staff at Binions and the organizers of BARGE!! Thanks for a great time. Last Year. I happened to be in Vegas during Barge and stumbled into a few side games with various Barger`s while I was there and decided I must be part of the madness this year. My FiancŽ discovered that there was also a Star Trek Convention going on while I would be there so she would come along and play at the Geek Fest whilst I played at the Freak Fest. The only problem with this great plan was that I was going to be limited in my BARGE participation to daytime activities because she would want to do dinner and shows each night. Thursday - We get to the Atlanta Airport early Thursday Morning and start the trip out lucky enough to score first class upgrades for the 4 hour flight to Vegas. Another small concession I had made to the S.O. was that we would stay at the LV Hilton where her convention was and I would cab it back and forth to downtown. The rooms at the Hilton are not bad but the location sucks. I ended up spending over $200 on cab fare while I was there going back and forth to Downtown, The Mirage and the LV Hilton. Soon as we check-in, I head downtown to pick up my BARGE Badge and then head over to the Mirage to get into a Satellite for the NL Tournament later that night. The deal was that if I won the Satellite I could play in the tournament that night, If not I had to take the S.O. to a nice Restaurant for dinner instead. I play alright for a while and we are down to 5 players left when I look down from the button and find Presto! Of course I move all-in with this Monster (It is BARGE Week right?) well a fellow BARGER (Len) finds the nerve to call from the Big Blind with K-10 and Catches a 10 on the flop to end my shot playing cards all night. That $25 satellite ended up costing $150 after tip but the Steak was good. Friday Morning I catch Cab over to the Horseshoe to get settled in for the T.O.C. Tournament. I really have no clue how to play Omaha and not much better with Stud so I accept that I am dead Money going into this one but I am hoping to get a feel of how some of the other players play before the NL on Saturday. I get lucky a few times and make it down to about half the player left in when I find myself in a sizable Omaha Pot. The turn gives me the nut straight (it is the second Diamond) and I get the Pot Capped. Well the river brings the 3rd Diamond and the other player bets out. I hold the Ace of Diamonds but nothing to back it up. I know he has the flush but I decide that I canât win calling nor folding so I raise it (Did I mention I am a Lousy OMAHA Player??) He of course has to call with his K high flush with pot big as it is and I am crippled. I go out a few hands later. Back to the Hilton to lick my wounds, we have dinner and drinks that night with some of the B Actors from various Sci-Fi TV series that my FiancŽ had met at the Star Trek convention. It was surreal sitting at the bar in the Hilton with Boomer from Battlestar Galactica and the guy from Land of the Giants instead of attending the Symposium. Next year the S.O. Stays home!! Saturday Morning ö Back over to Binions for the NLHE event. I play fairly solid through the first 2 breaks make it down to last thirty players before I self destruct. It was a horrible call on my part that did the damage in a hand I never should have played but the Tournament was a lot of fun. I end up having to take the S.O. to the Penn and Teller show at the RIO instead of going to the Barge Banquet that night. The show was amusing and doing this got me a free pass for the rest of the evening. After the show I drop off the Baggage at the Hilton and head for Horseshoe. One word of advice, if your S.O. does not play Poker, Leave their slack ass at home when you go to BARGE!! Lesson Learned. Late Saturday Night - The real highlight of the weekend was the "Must Drink" ăMust Moveä H.O.R.S.E. with Q`s are wild whenever a Female is on the Button (2 Females in the Game). The Craps game in-between hands was also amusing. I played in the must move game for about 10 Gin and Tonic`s before finally getting a seat in the main game. Soon as I get in the main game, the deck runs over me and I am dragging Pot after Pot for a while. I make sure toke about 1/4 of each pot. A few Gin and Tonics later I decide that other Table is much louder and even more obnoxious so I move back to play with them. (I like loud and obnoxious). Definitely the most fun I have had in a long time. I donât remember any hands but I know I was playing horribly and enjoying every minute of it. I finally gave up about 4:00 am and cashed out exactly $10 and at least 15 Gin and Tonics up for the night. Sunday Morning- OOOoowoowwww!!! My Head!! That Hurt!! Many Many Many Thanks to the Organizers and especially the Staff at the Horseshoe!! Canât wait till next year!! LT __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com ________ Thanks to PokerStars, Paradise Poker, and Quiotix Technologies for their generous sponsorship of BARGE 2003.