Subject: Re: POST MARGE TRIP REPORTS HERE From: "Steve Eisenstein" Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2001 04:24:39 GMT I'm very spotty at doing my trip reports. I still owe Part II of my FARGO report. Maybe because I never take notes at the table. I'm too busy talking, looking for tells and staring at the cocktail waitress's cleavage. However, for my f avorite ARG event I'll try a short one here. I won't bore anyone with one of those "my horrible flight" stories. I will only say that I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing armed soldiers at the airport. It's a little too much like Da Nang for my taste and memory. Suffice it to say I got from Newark to Houston in one piece where I met up with Russell Fox. We took the plane to Gulfport together, got in my rental car and headed to the Grand. This is my third MARGE. I am a proud plank holder and the Biloxi Grand is possibly my f avorite poker room on the planet. The dealers are great, the games are full of action, the locals are friendly and the supervisors are the best. Probably the only downside is the cigarette smoke but I didn't sit next to Bill Hafey all that much this weekend. As I said, I don't take notes. So you will be spared the usual endless repetition of bad beat stories and hand histories and maybe I'll be spared Patti Beadle's critique. Just a few highlights of the trip. Ring Games: There was a good variety of games spread while we were there. The 20-40 stud and the 30-60 holdem were especially juicy. I was the only Marger in both games and the locals, many of whom I recognized from earlier trips, were interested in what we were doing until I told them what the prizes were. They quickly lost interest as the tournaments were beneath them. I will never understand this. These aren't big games. To me 30-60 is like 1-3. I play poker because I enjoy it, not to make my living. If I wanted to support my lifestyle I would have to play 2000-4000 every day and be pretty successful at it. Why do people think of nothing but the money. When I win a tournament and tell someone, it really bugs me when the only thing they can ask is how much did you win. Adolph Hitler said in Mein Kampf that success is the sole earthly judge of right and wrong. That's a philosophy I don't care to adopt. I'll play for the competition and enjoyment, thank you. Wow, how's that for a digression. Anyway, I did enjoy a good measure of success in the ring games both fiscally and in the more important coin of good times earned. I think the finest moment of all was to see the looks on the faces of everyone at the 30-60 holdem table as I announced that I was giving up the seat to go play in the 4-8 CHORSE game because damn it I came here to have a good time with my friends and that's what I was going to do. You would have thought I had used the Stars and Bars for toilet paper by the looks I received. One other game bears mention. After the "banquet" Saturday night I retired back to the poker room to start up the Chowaha game. Debbie Manuel, the tournament director handed me the mike and asked me to explain the game to the poker room. Following my explanation and buy in a crowd of about a dozen locals gathered behind me to watch the game and this crazy Yankee assemble 1500 white chips into an attempt at a castle. I started winning however, and ran out of room to try building anything. All I could do was cash out 5 racks ahead after toking at least 2. The usual good times were had by all as I held my cards up behind me and exclaimed to the crowd with each 7-5 off, "Premium Chowaha Hand" and with each AKs, "garbage". My predicitions as to which of these hands would end up winning were invariably correct. Tournaments: I participated in 4 tournaments. I was utterly clueless in the Pot Limit Omaha High on Thursday night and finished somewhere in the teens. I will lobby long and hard not to include it next year. The only good thing about it was sitting next to and chatting up Barry Shulman midway through. Much friendlier and more approachable than I had imagined. During the day Friday I played in the hotel's limit holdem tournament. I ha d won this event last year and had high hopes. Unfortunately I bubbled when I had the bad judgment to take aces up against fours. Naturally he made a wheel and I was out. As I told Barry later, I'm sure I could have hunkered down and finished in the money but I don't play tournaments for tenth place. If I see a chance to get some chips I'm going to take it, no matter what the consequences. An hour later started the Marge TOC tournament. As a stud player I figured I had an advantage. Unfortunately, the Omaha portion got me. I would build up my stack in stud, promise myself not to get involved in Omaha hands, break the promise and have to rebuild in stud. I kept doing that, up and down, until the game turned to all no limit holdem with a little more than 2 tables left. We were down to 10 when I had about the 4th smallest stack. I found ATd in the big blind. All folded to the button who put in a standard raise. I smelled steal and got it all in against his K9. Naturally, he flopped a Chris Ferguson miracle 9 and I was out, in the money but out of luck. The last day's no limit holdem tourney was good fun until the end. The one hand I'll relate was a call with A8 in mid position when the blinds were fairly low. The flop came 8Q8 with two spades. There was a mid sized bet to me. I didn't like the spades and made it a thousand to go rather than slow playing. The turn was the case 8. To my utter delight I faced an all in bet f rom the original bettor. Hmmmm, let's see, quad 8's, ace kicker, yeah, I think I can call. Only one problem, I decided to sleep with one eye open that night so my roomie, the original bettor, didn't slit my throat. Sorry Bob. I think I played fairly well until the last hand. I won't relate it. It's too embarrassing. It was one of those plays that you say to yourself later, what the hell was I thinking? Suffice it to say I deserved what I got. Miscellaneous Events: Outside of poker there were a couple of trip highlights. On Wednesday night about 18 of us went over to Beau Rivage for dinner and drinks at the Brew Pub. I tried the sampler of 6 different beers, then had a couple of full sized ones and some hard liquor back at the Grand. Together with the 8 or nine vodkas, 5 beers and three double Baileys I had Saturday night this was my audition for the coveted ADB status. Alas, the honor went to Rick Charles. Guess I'll try again next time. Finally, on Saturday night was the symposium. Barry Shulman gave an interesting speech. His comments about not calling so much in tournaments were particularly apt. One incident too funny not to relate. Those in the know are aware of the origins of the "Blend in" story from Marge I. I won't relate it here. I'll make this an entirely inside joke. As we all walked over to the rooms where the symposium were being held we passed the main ballroom area. Deja vu, there we were in the middle of a few hundred tuxedoed men and gowned women (and one guy in a full dress kilt). Even worse, the narrow entrance we had to file past was filled with people waiting to have their pictures taken. We had to walk right between the photographers and the subjects to get by. The old timers understood just how funny this was. After a few drinks I decided I need to visit the men's room. The only one was back out where this party was being held. As I stood there, a man in a tuxedo and sash stood next to me. I engaged him in conversation and learned that this was one of the Crews from Mardi Gras. Fun people to be sure. I think the best look was from Tony Collins as he came by the gathering in the main room 5 minutes later on his way late to the symposium only to find me in the middle of a group of several well dressed men, talking and holding a drink. Yes, I was blending in. Well, that's about it. If you couldn't tell, I had a great time. I can't wait for the next one. I hope I see each and every one of you before another year has passed. Let me just end by thanking everyone involved, Steve, Randy, Tony Collins and especially Debbie Manuel and the staff at the Grand. They just don't get any better. Steve "Ice" Eisenstein