Subject: Re: SARGE Trip Report From: "Glen Johnson" Newsgroups: rec.gambling.poker Date: Tue, Mar 5, 2002 3:52 PM Message-ID: So no one misses out on this great report, I am embedding the word document into a post. "Ed Barrett" wrote in message news:cN7h8.53452$6j2.3047724@typhoon.austin.rr.com... Trip Report ö SARGE (As related to Poker God) My appointment with Poker God was at 9 AM on the day after my return from SARGE. Itâs something we do after each of my poker ventures. I tell Poker God all about my trip and he offers advice, admonishes me, or pats me on the back for my performance. Poker God insists that I show up fifteen minutes early for our appointments. Itâs his way of letting me know whoâs in charge. At precisely 9 AM, I heard the waiting room loud speaker click on. ãCome on in, Barrett.ä I quickly jumped to my feet and waited in front of the sliding door which Poker God opened from inside. His San Antonio branch office is in the Casino Office Park in the high rent Medical Center area. The door slid open and I entered the office, trying to remember how many times Iâve been there. ãForty seven times,ä he said. Damn it! He even knows my thoughts. Why do we have to go through this when he already knows everything, I thought. ãItâs sort of like confession,ä he said. ãThe big guy up there knows how you did, but he wants you to tell me. Get it off y our chest, so to speak· catharsis is the word, I think.ä I decided to let my mind go blank. Get him to make the next move. ãIt wonât do you any good to block me out. I can see everything that happened. So letâs get on with it.ä ãWhere do I start?ä ãThe nervous, red faced guy who sat down next to you at the airport, then placed two bags on the floor, got up and started to walk quickly down the terminal hallway. What? Did you think he had a bomb in one of the bags?ä I wasnât sure really. But I watched to see where he was going. If he had walked past the restroom, I was out of there! Fortunately, he went in to the menâs room so I dismissed the idea that he had a bomb in one of the bags. He returned a few minutes later. ãJust being cautious,ä I said. Poker God gave me a knowing smile and made a brief notation in his record book.. ãThe crowded plane. That seemed to bother you.ä There he goes again. Telling me what happened then making me talk about it. ãThey were short flights, but it was a little cramped in the two mini-jets that I had to take to Memphis via Dallas. ãWhat did you expect for $115 round trip? Wouldnât you do it again? I didnât comment. The next time Iâd make sure I had an aisle seat. ãOK. So despite the discomfort, you got to Memphis without any problems. What about this Steve Jewett guy? Making all those runs to the airport to pick people up. Wasnât that a little bit above and beyond the call of duty?ä Finally getting to the positives. ãYes·way above the call of duty. And not one word of complaint. He even went out of his way on the way back to the airport on Sunday morning to show Graceland to Joan Hadley and me.ä ãWe need more like him and that Randy Collack guy who runs these shows,ä Poker God said. He leafed through his book of records and made another brief notation, then pasted one of his gold stars on the page. Iâm sure it was on Steve Jewettâs page. Poker God turned back to my page and sat quietly for at least thirty seconds. I couldnât stand it. ãI didnât play very well on this trip,ä I blurted out. Poker God smiled. ãThat was the next issue I wanted to cover, but I wanted you to bring it up.ä ãWell, I did make a few good plays,ä I said. ãWhoa·back up, Barrett. Weâre going to talk about the bad stuff. You can throw in the good stuff later if it makes you feel better.ä More silence. I was having trouble trying to recall all my stupid moves. Poker God was getting impatient. ãLetâs talk about the satellite.ä Poker God finally broke the silence. I liked this. ãI won the satellite,ä I said. ãYou split it with Tom Valentino.ä ãWell. A bird in the hand·ä I said. Poker God made another notation in my record, this time not covering what he was writing. I clearly saw the word in capital letters. ÎWIMP.â ãDoes the name Joe Zatti come to mind?ä Poker God asked. ãItâs Joe Zatto!ä I said with a smile on my face. Poker God had made a mistake. Poker God shook his head. ãDonât you think I know that. I was testing your memory and focus.ä ãWhatâs wrong with my memory and focus?ä I asked. ãWeâll get to that in a minute. Letâs deal with Joe first. ãJoe plays a really good game.ä I said. ãAnd?ä I knew that Poker God knew the mistake Iâd made, and he knew that I knew. I sighed and began to relate the incident. ãI raised with King Jack suited pre-flop and Joe defended from the big blind,ä I said. ãAnd the flop was Ace, Ace, Queen.ä ãRight.ä ãI know Iâm right. Thatâs not the point.ä Poker God tapped his metal military type desk with his long fingernails waiting for me to reply. Despite the cold weather, heâd turned the air conditioning on and the out of sync overhead fan was running on high speed. ãJoe was the chip leader at the table?ä I was freezing and wanted to get this over with. ãBy a wide margin,ä I said. ãAnd you pushed all in on the flop·you were trying to bluff him out. You must have been watching the overhead television when he defended against that last two players who tried to push him off his hand.ä I had seen him defend. Poker God knew this. ãBut I had a read on him,ä I said. ãA read?ä ãI was sure he didnât have an ace and would fold,ä I said confidently. ãHow much of his stack was at risk?ä Poker God wanted to know. ãAbout 40%ä I said. Poker God leafed through his notes. ã22.5%,ä he said. ãHe still didnât have an ace.ä I replied quickly. ãWhat about a queen?ä I slinked down in my chair. That was exactly what Joe had. With a five kicker. He called my raise and had me drawing dead to a king or ten to stay in the tournament. ãI suppose you knew that you were going to catch the miracle ten on the river?ä Poker God leaned back in his chair and smiled. ãOK. So I made a bad play and survived. Everyone gets lucky in tournaments. Poker God sighed and made another notation in my record. ãMy records show that you came back with more money than you took to Tunica. Everything considered, thatâs a small miracle.ä ãI played well in the 15-30 game. And my 10-20 play showed a small profit. And then there was the 5th place finish in the no limit holdâem tournament. ãThe 15-30 play was flawless. The 10-20? You needed a miracle rush at midnight of the final night of your stay to avoid a catastrophe. Weâve already alluded to your luck in the no limit. But overall, your play was passable in the tournament.ä Iâd made some huge mistakes in the last 10-20 game and was $500 down that night, but then I countered with two pretty nice moves when I finally went into a zone. ãThe local player who put you on tilt in the game in the pit. Letâs talk about him.ä Poker God said. ãHorrible player; raising with J-4 off and 9-3 suited from early position.ä ãAnd he beat your pocket kings and pocket aces.ä ãRight. OK·OK. I know that you know that. And it did put me on tilt. I was just waiting for a chance to trap him. ãAnd the opportunity came when you played A9 suited in late position and the flop was Ace, nine, deuce.ä ãRight. I check-raised him and he called. And then an eight came on the turn. I had him cold and took him to four bets.ä ãAnd about the time the five of hearts came on the river you noticed that the eight on the turn was the third club on board.ä I cringed. ãAnd he showed me the 9-7 of clubs.ä Poker God sighed. ãNext,ä he said. ãThat was my last big mistake,ä I said. Total silence. It must have been three minutes before I broke down. ãThe low ball and c-horse games werenât my best efforts.ä ãYou were card dead in c-horse. Minus $190 in two hours wasnât bad.ä I couldnât believe that Poker God was giving me a small concession. It didnât last. ãThe three draw low-ball. Minus $260 in 4 hours. What was that all about?ä ãWell. We were all friends and everyone was playing loose, so I joined in.ä ãAre you aware that the only games youâve lost money at in the last two ÎARGE events youâve attended were in games against Îfriends?â Any more mistakes?ä he wanted to know. I was painfully aware that my ring game losses were against other SARGE players.. More silence. Poker God stood up and walked to the lone window in his office and opened it. The cold breeze prompted my memory. ãThe final table,ä I said. ãI did make a small error, but Iâm not sure it was my fault.ä ãAnd?ä ãIâm going to take my Mulligan,ä I said. Poker God allowed me skip one issue per session. ãOK. You can have that one. But it was really poor focus on your part. Any idea why you made the mistake?ä ãIâm not sure. Maybe I was tired.ä ãWhat about aging?ä ãMy mindâs as sharp as it was thirty years ago,ä I said. ãIâll give you about a 90% on the memory part of your mind, but your focus comes in a country mild behind.ä He was right. Especially in the early part of the tournament I was having trouble concentrating. The four AM quitting time on the low ball game the night before didnât help. And the mistake at the final table. That was a focus problem. ãI read your last thoughts,ä Poker God said. ãWhat are you going to do about it?ä ãI donât know,ä I said quickly. ãOK. Hereâs a few suggestions. No late night games the night before a tournament; stay in your room and meditate until fifteen minutes before tournament start time, and donât eat a heavy meal before playing.ä Iâd violated all three of Poker Godâs suggestions. The late night low ball game, the big breakfast at the buffet and going directly to the poker room at 10 AM for a noon tournament. Guilty on all counts. ãNext issue. What about the other players at SARGE? Anything to report? As was always the case, the average SARGE player was way above the average player in the casino we were visiting inmy opinion. ãWes Tilley, John Werthwein, and Joan Hadley stand out in my mind,ä I said. ãThe other pros already know theyâre good and donât need mention here.ä ãJoan Hadley? I didnât think a woman would get much respect. Why is she special?ä More than anything, it was the focus that I didnât have that impressed me most about Joan. She was totally involved in every hand, whether she was in the hand or not. Something we should all strive to do. ãSheâs always smiling,ä I said. ãAnd thatâs bad?ä ãIt makes it almost impossible to get a read on her. In the local no limit tournament I watched her smile down a non-SARGE player in a key hand. I thought he was going to crawl under the table.ä Poker God turned to an unused page and started a file on Joan. ãWhat about your son Rich? Didnât he have a really strong showing in the final tournament?ä I hadnât forgotten about Richâs gigantic comeback in the no limit tournament. I just wanted Poker God to bring him up. Otherwise, heâd of brought up the nepotism thing. ãYes. Rich came back from $125 out of his original $3,000 stack to win the no limit tournament.ä ãAnd youâre very proud of his accomplishment?ä It was Richâs second ÎARGE tournament win. Heâd won the Omaha-8 at MARGE a few years ago. ãOf course Iâm proud of him,ä I said, and then added, ãBut he had a good teacher.ä ãYou taught him everything he knows about poker?ä ãMost of it.ä Poker God stared at me. Iâd forgotten that he knows everything. ãI did get him to switch from 7-stud to holdâem,ä I said. ãAnd you taught him how to play?ä Not true. Rich lives in Colorado; Iâm in Texas. ãI loaned him a book on poker once. Next issue,ä I said. It was time to get tough with Poker God. He laughed out loud. ãAnything else?ä He asked. ãYes. As usual, Jimmy Sommerfield and his entire staff treated us as though they really enjoyed our company and were happy that we returned for SARGE 2. This means a lot to me and the other SARGE attendees.ä Poker God nodded. ãSummarize the whole trip,ä he said with a note of finality in his voice. ãI had a great time meeting with some old friends, meeting new friends and playing some very enjoyable games. Even in the games that didnât prove to be profitable.ä ãAnd youâll be back next year.ä ãWithout a doubt.ä Poker God closed the record book, got up and moved toward the door. It was my cue to leave. Iâd survived visit number 48. Ed Barrett (Old Poker Guy/Poker Player)