Subject: 2002 ESCARGOT Trip Report by Mickdog From: mpatters@hotmail.com (Michael Patterson) Newsgroups: rec.gambling.poker Date: Sat, Feb 16, 2002 12:50 PM Message-ID: <3c6ec5bd.20626996@netnews.attbi.com> ESCARGOT 2002 Trip report: very long Wednesday. I left Portland rain and was soon landing amongst LA sun (and smog). The Bike limo picked me up and I shared a ride (and a hug) with ADV Beth. After quick stop at the Ramada Commerce, and I arrived at the Bike and signed up for the nooner NLHE tourney. By the time the rebuy period was over, I had invested $65. By the time the tourney was over, I had won back $15, finishing 14th out of 58. My last three hands were KK, AJ, and TT: all losers. Waiting for the ESCARGOT satellites to start, I played some $3-6 HE and won a whopping $21 in two hours. Satellite #1 started and I finished 3rd out of 10. Jerrod won, congrats again! In the second one, I chopped the prize money up with poker writer extordinaire Lou Krieger, netting $100. A CHORSE game was starting up, which was much fun. Sat next to Omaha/8 expert PacPalBuzz, and had a wonderful time donating my chips to him during the O and R rounds. I ended up winning nine bucks over five hours, getting ahead when my K3s beat Patrick Milligan's JTs as the flush came for both of us. Patrick was still nice enough to give me a ride back to the Ramada at 2:00am. Six hours of sleep later I was back at the Bike. The nooner 7 stud hi/lo was less expensive for me (-$35) than the prior nooner even though I didn't finish in the money. This is because I rebought less - sound money saving strategy. JP Massar finished second, good job! On to the ROE tourney. I started at a tough table (we ended up with four players in the money) which meant that chips were being pushed around with few knock outs. I Never built a big stack, but avoided trouble and got moved with three table left. Andrew Prock moved with me and stayed on my left until the final table (which he made as well). Luckily he only crippled my stack once. I made the final table by spiking a 6 for trip 6's over aces up in Eight or Better, and then got a 2 on the river to win with an 84 low. I was the fifth biggest stack at the final table and went out in fifth when my 9 low lost to an 8 low. I netted about $95, but the real reward was making a final table in an ARG event. It was my first and hopefully not my last. Friday was my worst poker day of the trip but one of my best as an ESCARGOTer. It started poorly with a rack and a half spilling in the $3-6 HE. A super-loose guy on my right (he stayed in 90+% of the time) beat me on the turn/river four times. The SCATS tourney was starting up so I headed over and was one of twelve to compete for the TARGET seat. Played tight, and made it to the final four: me, Jerrod, Foldem, and John Reeves. I'm the second biggest stack. John was in the big blind and Peter folded. I look down and see A3s, I put John all in and he turns over 84o. My happiness turns so sadness when an 8 falls on the river. My stack is halved, and when Jerrod raises me and I look down to see QJ in the big blind, I lose to his superior AK. The three of them make a deal and Jerrod wins the seat. I'm feeling a little down, but Peter comes over after the tourney and gives me some pointers on my play. This is what I love about ARG events, the friendship and camaraderie that makes poker fun. Jerrod joined in the discussion and we all agreed that I play too tight, too predictable. I vowed to loosen up and steal a little more tomorrow in the NHLE shootout. Big John stopped by and even though he wasn't feeling well, he had me in stitches with some of the stories he was telling. My favorite was his description of his poker bankroll and his entertainment fund. You'll have to ask him about it cause my explanation won't do it justice. The limit HE tourney was a fast one for me. I got no cards and made mistakes with the ones I did get. I think I was little a little bummed about my earlier losses. Well I lasted past the first break, but that was it. After Creepshow was knocked out too, we stuck around for a while and eventually split a cab back to the hotel. I needed to revitalize. And revitalize I did. The NL shootout was a doozy. All ARG event tables are tough but mine consisted of Creepshow, Bill Chen, Steve Einstein, Barry Tanenbaum, Chuck Humphrey, and little ole me. Steve doubled up early when he eliminated Bill, but it took a while for Barry and Chuck to drop off. Then poor Steve had to suffer two bad beats resulting in his elimination, first was Creepshows 99 sucking out on the river versus Steve's TT, and then my K7 getting a 7 on the river against his all-in AJ. He was a true gentleman while accepting these beats. Creepshow dispenses of me pretty quickly, and I go to the losers bracket, for heads up match play. Scott Samarel is my first opponent. We pass chips back and forth for a while when my AA gets all in against his A6 and it is over. Scott and I had swapped 20% of each other prior to our match so now I had a rooting section. He didn't root long. On hand number four against Betty I reraise all-in with AJ. She turns over JJ and I am out of it. For the second year in a row I finish one win away from the money in this event. Next year I'm cashing. Betty goes on to take third and Ploink defeats Nolan Hee to win it all in two fun matches to watch. Foldem had suggested I play the $6-12 since the rake wasn't as brutal as the $3-6 and the games were quite soft, so I put my name on both the $3-6 and $6-12 lists. The $3-6 came up first and I sat down to a great game. Lots of loose-passive players and a drunk guy on my right. He decided I'd be his new best friend, which normally would make me want to change tables, but I knew he was a live one. So I sucked it up and smiled, chatted, talked smack with him, whatever it took for him to have a good time. My favorite hand of the two-hour session: I have AK sOOted in middle late position. There is a bet, drunk guy raises, I say "I've got good cards" and reraise. Obviously no one believes me, and there is an eight-way flop. The flop comes JT4. There is an early bet, I think about raising, but just call, as does everyone else. The queen comes on the turn (ding!) two suited (not mine). The same person bets early, drunk guy calls, I reraise for fear of a suck-out flush on the river card and get two callers. The river is a beautiful unsuited 2 and now the drunk guy bets out while ribbing me in the arm. "I gotta raise," I say. "You got nothin'," he says laughing all the while. The previous callers fold and the drunk guy calls and proudly flips over a Q and a 7. He seems amazed that I have the nut straight, and goes on and on about how I sucked him in to that one. I win a few more dollars from him and make over a two and a half rack profit, bringing me into positive territory for the weekend. I gleefully cash out and head over to the banquet. Creepshow, Harry Baldwin and I have great poker and non-poker conversations, and then quiet down for John Vorhaus' keynote lecture/stand-up comedy routine. All in all, it was a fun night. But it wasn't over yet. The World Chowaha finals were to be played and I wasn't missing them like last year. Jerrod and Patrick did a great job with the organization and the extra chairs brought by Steve BIA and Russ Fox were much appreciated. I played okay but then got all in against Ploink who took me down. I was happy for him and glad he used my chips to finish second. I made a hasty retreat when Buzz offered to give me a ride to the hotel. I left LA the next day happy that overall, I played well, I saw a lot of old friends and met many new ones, got a taste of the Bike's extra special hospitality, and most off all: I had a maniac drunk guy sitting on my right. Who, I might add, was not an ADBer! See you next year. -Michael 'mickdog' Patterson P.S.: Special thanks to all the Bike staff, headed by The Occupant. Thanks to all the ESCARGOT volunteer organizers. Thanks for the hugs NewJane. Thanks Patrick, Ron, and Dieter for the morning rides to the Bike. Did I already thank the drunk guy?