From: Mark Hughes Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2008 15:34:29 -0500 Subject: [BARGE] Oldbear's Great Adventure - Part I - BARGE Trip Report After 8 MARGEs and 4 SARGEs I finally make a trip to BARGE... BARGE VIRGIN TRIP REPORT Part I- Oldbear's Great Adventure Note to BARGE Organizers, Binions, and GN...an absolutely wonderful time..I cannot express how much I appreciate everything done to make BARGE such a success. I had a fantastic time. Thank you again. One minor complaint - Add another table for the 2nd chance NLHE ... 3 tables is just not enough. Note to David Kluchman and Diana Mercer...Damned fine job by both of you!!! I will be forever grateful for all the hard work you put in getting the stray cats (Read Virgins - including myself) organized and appropriately attired for BARGE. Thank you so much for taking on such a difficult task while still trying to play in the tournaments and participating in the social activities. I owe you both and your spouses dinner. Would love to have you join us for MARGE in Biloxi May 09 so I can treat you to some good southern hospitality. Note To Photographers...Rodney Chen and others..outstanding work documenting BARGE!! I really appreciate the pic of me at the table (even though I look like I was on a three day drunk, lack of sleep, and donk session...which I was except for the alcohol.) And Many thanks to Gerald for even finding my pic during the Saturday night dinner. Note to all...I'm going to undoubtedly forget names and incidents for some things..please just "bear" with me. Tuesday 29 July 200 I have to get up at 4:30AM to catch an 8AM Flight out of New Orleans...damned lucky to leave at all...huge thunderstorm over Grand Isle, LA dropping 4" rain per hour moving into New Orleans...lots of lightning at the edge of the city. The flight leaves just in time. Arrive DFW. 757 changed to a 767 for mechanical reasons...lots of room in 767 even for oldbears...change costs 1.5 hours. Arrive LV...Take rental car to Binions and check in. Dumped my bags in the room and headed back out to the airport after getting Binions and Gold Nugget cards and BARGE badge...excited to see old friends from MARGE & SARGE (Schmengie, Peter, Russ, etc.) and meet new ones at BARGE. First one I see is ADB Jupiler. I greet him with a smile and a handshake..it's been a long time since I have seen Ernst at MARGE. I think I still have his little plastic volkswagen key chain...:)) Also meet Patrick Milligan and give him the 2008 MARGE chip he was interested in. He gives me a chip from an earlier BARGE and later Da Pickle gives me a personalized chip from his NLHE win in 2007. Great souvenirs. Thank you both!! Picked up Dave KLuchman and his gracious and lovely wife, Chris. We stopped at a small pizzeria on the way back to Binions and GN. The food was surprisingly good. Arrived for the NL Holdem to Limit HORSE tournament just in time. Dave and Chris head to the GN to check in. No joy for me in the tournament. I head off to play slots and table games...my first three days on slots and table games were a disaster that eventually corrected itself. Remind me to be much more conservative and selective...still had a great time though..is this the first sign of a gambling problem? :)) Finally pack it in for bed. Wednesday 30 July Get up early because I can't sleep. Finally hook up with Patrick Milligan and his better half for a trip to Ice's fantastic EGG & I Breakfast extravaganza. I believe Dave & Chris joined us. Pancakes...and other great food. Leave the E&I stuffed. Thanks so much to Steve Eisenstein again. I'm loaded and ready for "bear"?? Get back to Binions in time for the blackjack tournament. At table 6 I play conservatively and end up chip leader going into hand 24(last hand). Two others are close behind. The chip lead has been like a bouncing ball. I decide to go for all or nothing and bet $1000 on the last hand. I hit a K,J for 20 (Didn't know about the splitting that can be done till after the thing is over...not that it would have helped.) I win my bet and my chip stack is 4500. 2nd Place has decided to only bet $200 in hopes I bust out. 3rd Place bets $1000 to match mine...2nd Place loses his 200. Then, lightning strikes and 3rd place hits a Blackjack. That sux! 3rd place becomes 1st place $4700 to my $4500. I don't make the Blackjack final table...wahhhhhhhhhhh. Very well played ...I think it was Gerdog..but I may be wrong. While walking away from that disaster, I spy Ploink playing the 50 hand VP penny machines. He's having a blast and hits a royal for $40. Nice. I like the machines and spend several hours playing them the rest of the trip. Overall I think I ended up about even after hitting a royal with only a saved Ace. Is that a 4 outer? Lot of fun..wish I had one of those in my house. I dabble in other games, including 3-6 Omaha with a Kill....and boy do I get killed. Lost over $100 there. Finally play in the VP Tournament and am sitting at station 2 next to Warren Sander. We start banging away on the buttons when the tournament staff tells us to go and about 5 hands into the session...may have been more but it didn't seem like it...Chic Natkins hits a Royal...and then quads and God knows what else for close to 6000 points. My measley 1300 is not even close. Warren and I tied with 1365. Saddenz...now I know why several people were whispering "luckbucket" and a few other choice words I won't relate here while Chic giggled 3 rows over after the royal. Time goes by and I try my hand at other slots...Wheel of Fortune, Video Poker, etc and then some table games like Pai Gow, 3 Card Poker, Let it Ride, etc Late Wednesday afternoon dinner at the Ethiopian Restaurant was an education. Patrick, again, offered a ride and I accepted...starting to wonder why I even rented a car. Many Thanks Patrick and Eileen for the rides. Ethiopian food should be listed right up there with the South Beach Diet, Atkins, and other weight loss programs. I can say without a doubt I would lose several pounds in just a week on it. And, the spices lived up to their names... Finally we head back to Binions. By the time the 5 Card Lowball Tournament begins...I 'm feeling much lighter on my feet. I've lost my ass on almost everything I've touched and the Ethiopian dinner didn't help to fatten me up. Maybe that's why i did so poorly in the Lowball tournament...nahhh...To be honest, I have never played 5 Card Lowball. It took me 3/4 of my stack to get a an understanding of the basics. Ok I'm a little slow on the pickup..I admit it....but I played much better after my "epiphany" and busted out 4 hands into the 2nd level. I lived for about 30-40 minutes on less than $500 in chips. At least I learned to dog paddle in Lowball. Don't remember much after lowball...didn't make it to Karaoke...saddenz Thursday 31 July Oh GOD!...the Death March....Many, Many thanks to Kevan for making a place for me. Really a lot of fun in spite of the 4:30 AM wake up. Good golf...well almost..used rented clubs...all the bad shots were the result of the clubs Honest!!...good BARGEr friends (David Kevan, Deron, etc) and a lot of heat...miraculously I managed to keep my 18 hole score under the 3 digit temperature. It was 100 Deg when we left the course for CHORSE. I shot a 99. Hit the shower immediately upon getting back to my room at Binions...got dressed in my finest BARGE Virgin Cotton T-Shirt and Virgin hat and headed to the GN. Arrive after David KLuchman, "Queen Virgin" has already started the first orbit. Diana Mercer sees me and gives me a big bear hug...Super Lady...really appreciate everything she did getting our Team Virgin outfits for us. Get to meet Steve, her other half...super nice guy...but not playing in BARGE...maybe next year. Both VIRGIN Teams have a dismal tournament. The cards were awful...all garbage during the Holdem rounds except for AJ one time and then the flop avoids me. Fold Fold Fold Fold Bet Fold Fold Fold Fold....next level, Fold Fold Bet Fold Fold Bet Fold ETc...then bust out...the other Virgin team was close behind...The Virgins take it on the nose, chin, back of the head...saddenz More to come later. Mark Hughes Oldbear