Date: Sat, 10 Aug 2013 00:39:08 -0400 From: Chris OConnor Subject: [BARGE] BARGE 2013 Virgin Queen Trip report - Long, rambling, and some poker content... I've had a week to decompress. It's straying towards procrastination though - and I have started and stopped this trip report enough times that im going to just plow through it with my apologies in advance for some of the outrageous stuff you wont be reading about, and additional apologies for those i have forgot to mention, or whose names I have screwed up. I'd like to start by thanking the welcoming committee and everyone in the BARGE community for making me feel right at home for my first BARGE. As a lot of you know, I am a long time east coast arger, and the term 'like a virgin' and 'virgin in name only' were often bandied about, but despite that virginity really did live up to its reputation. You all made me feel very special and welcome. I feel like although I'm not the ideal candidate for rallying the troops, at the very least for me - and apologies if this sounds selfish - Virgin-queenship pushed me personally further that I might have gone without the title. So, thanks Tracy for encouraging me to do this. Lets start right off with shit that never usually happens; the participation in some of which made those closest to me think to themselves: who the fuck is this guy?? 1) singing karaoke I talked a good game in my pre-barge emails. Fact is, i was scared shitless at the thought of doing karaoke. See? They dont even call it 'singing'; its 'doing', and i 'did' it *once* before, and I didnt like it. At BARGE, it was different. It felt like when I was alone in my car, and singing along to any favorite tune. I was completely able to just enojy being musical, and as an occasional performing musician, performances typically terrify me. Funny; Maybe it's because you have to bare your soul to the audience and be real, where in our day to day lives we get to impersonate. I dont mean to get off track. This is my new favorite bourbon 'Breckenridge' talking; more on that later... Ok, so it was also at this evening of Karaoke that Kevin "Un-veiled" his epic BARGE adaptation of 'American Pie', and brought down the house, and for me it's going to go down as one of those moments, I'll never forget. Kevin, I again applaud you. I have no idea how you even remembered all those verses. all i remember is being rope-a-doped between humorous and touching lines. Other things i recall that evening: Just jumping right up like i was invited and singing a harmony over Rand(i?)(y?) on the chorus of 'you dont know how it feels'. singing 'let it bleed', 'Mustang Sally', 'Alice's restaurant (group)', 'here comes the sun (group)', and of course the now infamous youtube documented 'Bohemien Rhapsody' (group); Epic fail trying to play 'Cotter' on Nolans guitar, and a slight recovery with 'you dont mess around with Jim'. Overall, i was waaaaaay too drunk to actually be trying to play guitar for real. Oh yeah, before I forget, i heart Nolan Dalla. The guy's got a set of pipes, I witnessed someone bare their soul, operatically no less. whoda thunk it. F'n BARGE. Overall, I hope i was not too eager at some times. Again, I was kind of getting 20 years of repressed musical performance enjoyment out of my system... 2) multi-table tournaments bursting into song I had to look it up, but the song is called 'Fugue For Tinhorns', and I was sitting at 6 game i think, With Northshore to my left, Secor across from me, and Bree Goldman to my right. Bree, by the way, was staying focused on the game by alternating between the trny, playing chinese poker against no fewer than 10 different opponents (turn-based?), and some kind of civilization-ish game nicknamed 'COC' (<--- I took this as a sign from the universe that I was exactly where I was supposed to be; call me silly). Anyway, besides Secor knocking me out of the tournament when his Kings found a 2nd pair to my unimproved aces in Stud, I also fondly remember discussing with Northshore the awesome movie 'Let it Ride', ultimately leading to our table, and then other tables bursting into: I got the horse right here The name is Paul Revere And here's a guy that says that the weather's clear Can do, can do, this guy says the horse can do ... 3) multiple offers - as promised - of drinks, and people going out of their way to introduce themselves and just hang out. Just thinking even most recently, my last day - sunday - after a late start (more on that later as well) , walking to the golden gate for breakfast, and starting to turn away at the sight of the line, only to be recognized and called over by Paul Stine and his friend (Crap! Sorry- i Lost the name!) and invited to join for breakfast. But from the moment I arrived, Folks like Ron Grossberg, while likely formulating the optimal chip extraction strategy to apply against me, was simultaneously inviting me along for dinner. You couldnt walk into the coffee shop at Binions without being invited to join a table. on this front, a thank you in particular to the Welcoming committee and old-timers who came to Benny's and introduced themselves, and came to chat it up. Howler? Awooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!! Llew, Secor, Mick, and many others... thanks guys! To my friend Goldie - you have always been an ambassador ATLARGE, and BARGE was no exception. Your kindness and generosity are sincerely appreciated. One of the nicest dinners had in a looong time was at Oscars Steak house, where the entire East Coast Virgin vore were in-fact assembled, i might add. Not to digress but the core virgins were myself, Rick, and Sharon. Both Rick and Sharon were in attendance with their BARGE vetern SO's, all the more contributing to the 'virgin-in-name-only-ness' of our band - but this was an event where we were assembeled, so im counting it as something virgin-esque as well. At my table were Kenny, Kyle, Bruce, Tina, and Goldie. Great meal, great company, great service at Oscars. I ordered the blackened Salmon on a cedar plank - more stuff I never do - and it was fantastic. Kevin Un, Thanks for all the advice and offers of assistance leading up to the event - thank you for never losing your sense of humor - thanks for filling the vacancies on our virgin CHORSE team and for kicking ass. thanks for the hot dog on Fremont, and for humoring me as I babbled on about odd time signatures and double-stop guitar runs. i wish I understood your calcutta thing better. It might have been a hedge against some otherwise poor poker and gambling outcomes that week. Next year. The Goldman Clan: All three of you. Youre all so much damn fun to be around. Dan, I'm really bummed to have missed the bourbon tasting. ill have you know upon my return to NY i picked up a bottle of Breckenridge. It's gone now. Today, I picked up 2 more bottles. Yes, I really like it. Another new one I like, but blew up in my car so be careful: Rowan's Creek. Maybe that too was at the tasting. Sharon, thank you (and tracy as well!) for singing back up on 'Let it Bleed'. you ROCK. Rick Becker - I know I'm tough to tolerate for prolonged periods. You took it like a champ man! nice playing too- east coast virgins representing. Word. Tracy - We're even now :) Sandra - I learned more about you in one conversation at BARGE than all the FARGO's combined. I'm thankful. Please pass along to Dan in case he is not reading this, that im sorry i took him on with 33A and sucked out. Len G - thanks for the Pad Thai. We have a new downtown winnah! See you soon man... Peter Secor - You were like a father to me at this thing, and your interest in my participation and enjoyment, your desire to see me get the most out of this - to see that the virgins were taken care of - to ensure that the BARGE spirit is understood, appreciated, and passed along to the next generation of poker players - your careful attention to my current level of inebriation - Thanks. I wont squander your investment like i did in the calcutta :) Northshore mike - thanks for the drinks and the company in 6 game. Raincheck on like 80 more drinks? maybe some geetar? Dean/redbird - thanks for the craps and for reminding me of my extreme gullibility. That was a memorable win despite the alcohol making it to the occipital lobe Jeanne David - *smooch* - nuff said. Ron Grossberg - you are a sick, sick man, but somehow likeable. next year, you might go with something that accentuates your shoulders and back hair a little less. perhaps a wet suit. Ah, but in all seriousness, you did shave your legs, and that did not go unnoticed. Ron gets the honor of getting the furthest under my skin at the poker table, but even in his case, it wasnt all that bad, and I had many opportunites to mix it up with someone whom I would consider a tricky player, and from whom I might have even managed to drag a few pots, and dare i say, left *him* scratching *his* head? Brief digression: I have always thought that the biggest hole in my game where I wanted to see the most improvement personally was with my table demeanor. I really felt good that despite some of the the unfortunate outcomes in poker last week, I kept the rage to a dull internal roar at worst. The angriest moment ill share with you: Binions daily tournament. I get it in preflop with AA against 55, and she has me covered 2:1. Despite not being in any true danger, celebrating with sheer unadulterated joy at the sight of a 5 in the door. Me, I felt terror before the flop even hit going against 55. So, it wasnt the suckout, but the rude celebration. This is growth for me. trust me. Worst beat: Saturday night. Away from the tables. I walk 1/2 mile to the carson tower at the nugget, done for the night. I had taken something earlier to assist with getting to sleep. It has kicked in. i get up to good ol room 17105, stick my key in the door, and no green light - 2 lights all flashy. I try it another 10 times, every time, 2 lights, all flashy. I check the room #. I am wasted, but it seems right to me. I look around. Yep, surroundings seem right. So, I walk 1/2 mile to the front desk - on my way i see Rick and Tracy heading to bed - so i get to say goodbye which was cool - get to the front desk and explain how the door was doing the 2 light flashy thing and not the green light and open sesame thing. he basically says its my fault, and advises i keep the cards away from cell phones. Granted, im hoping my phone is actually in the room, and not knowing if im going to be seeing it for sure in the room is adding to the anticipation. good thing i took something to help me get to sleep. so he gives me a new card, and I walk the 1/2 mile back up to the room, get up to good old 17105, stick the key in the door, and same thing - 2 flashy lights. I am officially extremely bummed out, and EXTREMELY tired. So i trudge 1/2 mile back to the front desk. now theres a couple people in line, and they all have problems; 2 girls with a 'where the fuck is our room reservation' look, followed by a classic 'im here to stay in room 2104 - i think its 2104 - my friends are tom and steve - and wait, my names not at the desk? you mean i cant just be given a key!!??' guy, and i see that the desk clerk notices me, but he lets me stand there for - no joke - 20 minutes. It is now past 2:00 AM. I finally get to re-approach. So i tell him, same thing; 2 flashy lights; no open sesame. And he says now that the battery in the door must be dead - THAT'S what that flashy thing signifies. I tell him i am not walking back down a 3rd time this (morning), and he says not to worry; that the maintenance guys will let me in first and they'll fix the door from the outside. So I trudge 1/2 mile back up to my room, and in this case, the maintenance guy was indeed not far behind, but he was equipped with no more than the same useless mag card that had failed me for who knows how long now. He gets on the walkie talkie thing, and asks; what does it mean when the door does the 2 light flashy thing [paraphrasing], and i over hear the reply that it means the door needs to be reprogrammed. So the maintenance guy turns to me as if i didnt just hear it myself, and informs me that he has to come back with the guy with the tool to reprogram the door. I am now sitting on the hallway floor across from my room. My BARGE is ending with a whimper. 15 minutes later 2 people come back up, and he is training the new guy how to reprogram the door. experienced door reprogrammer guy asks how my evening is going. 'Shitty', i say. He replies that if the front desk had simply told them what was going on in the first place, id've been asleep by now. This confirms for me that despite my heavy sedation, i had accurately called this as a failure of customer service on the front desks part. So, i think i played the next 2 streets perfectly at least. When i got into the room, I called the front desk, advised briefly on the experience, and said at that point i was only seeking a late checkout. i said I would discuss how the matter could be further resolved in the morning. And long story short, next morning, I spoke to a mgr at the front desk - and I did not have to wait to speak to him - and upon hearing of the ordeal, with me not missing an opportunity to use the "half mile" phrase over and over, replied that he was embarassed. He comped me Saturday. Best poker successes: TOC This is the format in which i excel. Many many ATLARGE TOC final tables, with 1st always being elusive. BARGE was the same. I dont know what it is about limit that gives me greater clarity and confidence in my actions, but I played good and managed to avoid self-destruction through the change to NL, the shovefest it becomes, and made it to the final table. It was shortly after the 9th player busted and i was shortstacked (i think Gillian was the only player not shortstacked), and the UTG shoves all in. Thats been the play for the last hour, so this is essentially a call to me, and I look down to see QQ. I call. Im actually up against AA, and I'm out when they dont suckout. Im a little bummed, but its general 'im out. boooooo.' malaise unrelated to the hands, which were on autopilot at that point. I would have much rather had hands to fold, as Gillian then proceeded to gobble up chip stacks. 8th paid 260 and the next payout was 430ish. Big jumps. Meh. Had I won the thing outright, Id only have been down 500 for the trip. It was that kind of week for me with games of skill and chance. I'm glad that a good amount of cash found its way into toke buckets. CHORSE: It helps when Un, JP, and llew backfill some open spots. I had no idea what I was doing. Despite being felted in a round and forcing Rick to sit out a round of omaha, my team still carried me to a 2nd place finish. Sharon made her CP debut and held her own, certainly better than I. Ron G owned me in Hold em. You guys play goot! Thanks :) Theres so much more that I can recall, some that I cannot, some have been redacted. I take away more fond memories than I expected I could cram in. Certainly too many to recount in this writing. BARGE was everything everyone said it would be. The coolest part is that I have been to Vegas lots of times, and it always felt like Vegas. This felt like an ARG event. Ok. At some point you just have to pull the trigger and hit 'send'. Thanks everyone for letting me be a part. See you all soon. Chris O'Connor COC