Subject: Escargot (non) Trip Report From: "Russell Fox" Newsgroups: rec.gambling.poker Date: Mon, Feb 11, 2002 9:28 AM Message-ID: It's only 35 miles from Irvine to the Bike so I can't really call this a trip report. But like the last 3 years I thoroughly enjoyed Escargot 2002. Some highlights: - Jerrod winning the pre-tourney satellite. Down to 3, myself (BB), Jerrod & Barry Tanenbaum. Jerrod, with the largest stack raises; Barry goes all-in for $50 more; I re-raise all-in with AQs. Jerrod thinks for quite a while and calls with QJo (Barry had Kx). A jack comes and Jerrod takes the money (had Jerrod lost he would have been out-chipped by about 3 to 2). - Jerrod wins SCATS (a satellite to Target). Hmm, a pattern developing? Jerrod continues to get the best of me...how can you play such a silly hand as AA when I have KK? - Beth Even wins the ROE tourney. Beth played really well and got a lot of cards -- a deadly combination (for everyone else). - Nolan Hee won the LHE & finished 2nd in the NLHE. Wow! - Ploink (Chris Straghalis) won the NLHE tourney. There definitely needs to be an asterisk here -- not that Ploink didn't deserve his win -- but that he almost didn't make the tourney! Saturday morning there were traffic accidents on almost every freeway leading to the Bike. Ploink was an hour late to the event (I bought his entry for him) and started at a huge disadvantage. Yet he still managed to win, losing only the first final match to Nolan (it was double elimination -- Ploink won the winners bracket). My table was typical of the 8 in action. Scott Byron was to my left (I may have to bribe Chuck & Zimmers so that Scott isn't to the left of me at Barge 2002), John Reeves to my right, with NewJane and Harry Baldwin also at my table. Playing at an arg event is so pleasant in comparison to normal (LA) games. I don't notice it much anymore but later that evening Scott mentioned (while we were playing 6/12 Omaha) that the players in LA are among the rudest around and that the Bike allows them to be that way. And while I agree with Scott it was **worse** several months ago -- the Bike has actually tightened up their tolerance for abuse! But I digress.... I bust out in 3rd (at our table -- it was a shootout format moving to match-play) when I re-raise all-in with AT; John Reeves had raised with KQ. I like the flop of AJx but say to myself -- don't pair up that ten. Of course, I do and I'm straight out of the tourney.... - Peter Secor won the World Chowaha Championship. I didn't see Peter in action (I didn't last long in this event -- I haven't learned that effective strategy includes folding KK and playing 64o).... - The Orange County contingent did very well. Ploink, Jerrod, Nolan and John Reeves (who finished high in the NLHE tourney) are all regular denizens of our home games. What am I doing with this crowd? - The Barge 2002 chips were very well received (thanks, Patrick Milligan). Look for a link to the order page coming to both the Barge newslist and rgp soon. - The Bike did a great job hosting us. They treated us in a first-class manner and ran all the legal games we asked for. - I enjoyed meeting and talking with all of the fellow Escargoters. If I pointed some people out I'd be skipping others. Next year I am the lead organizer of this event. So if you have any ideas, changes, questions, comments, criticisms, etc., please email me. - Playing in a 6/12 HE game with Matt Matros & Patrick Flanagan after busting out of the NLHE on Saturday, I watched Patrick get quad 3's. Matt, the loser in the hand, then deadpanned, "You may have the winning hand...." - Finally, Gary (creepshow), you are at least as tight a player as I am. I look forward to seeing all of you at Barge and, hopefully, next year at Escargot 2003. -- Russ Fox