Subject: Reno WPC days 1/2 From: zorak@ninthbit.com (Lone Locust of the Apocalypse) Newsgroups: rec.gambling.poker Date: Mon, Jan 7, 2002 4:29 PM Message-ID: Sat. 5 Jan 2002 Event #1: $330 limit hold'em. Scott Byron bought me in, and when I went to pay him for the entry I only had 100's and 20's so I gave him $340 and we made it a $10 last longer. In the supposedly random seating assignments, I somehow ended up sitting directly to the left of Brian Saltus! About 5 minutes in the empty seat to my left was claimed by an Asian man, who turned out not to be David Chiu, thankfully. I don't remember too much remarkable about this tournament except I thought I played reasonably well, but that didn't prevent me from being 2nd to bust from the table (Brian followed me not too long afterwards). The only consolation is that I out-lasted Bwana by about 15 seconds to r00l him for our last-longer. Crappy blackjack session, other assorted small losses playing PLH, FPDW, and sacrifices to the "what if?" gods of Megabucks. Evening super, only 4 tables, but enough rebuys to pay 4 places: seat in the $5K + 300 cash, $1633, $1000, and $600. I took one rebuy and both add-ons, generally my hands held up. One nice hand: I raised in the cut-off with 99, big blind defended with AK, I flopped a set and checked behind, bet ~pot on the blank turn, and he moved in on me when a king hit on the river. Got down to heads up and my luck ran out, so I took second. Sun. 6 Jan 2002 Played a one-table PLH satellite, $60 for a chance to win $530 (one winner only). I don't remember a lot about this either but more good things happened :-) Laid an egregious suckout on Andy Gamboa when it got folded around to us in the blinds, he raised, I moved in with Ks3s and he called with AQ. But never fear, I made the runner-runner flush. I am a lucky player. A powerful winning force surrounds me. Event #2: $330 PLH. No spectactular cards, went out with 99: I raised some limpers and only the big blind defended. Flop xx3, I bet pot, big blind check-raises me all in for a tiny bit more with A3. 3 on the river, IGHN. More various +EV and -EV gambling. Afternoon super, only 2 tables, but with latecomers replacing non-rebuyers there were 22 total players. Not enough rebuys to award a seat but again 4 places paid, $2168/$1200/$600/$300. I took 2 rebuys and both add-ons. Trapped an aggressive player when I flopped an ace and turned trips. I also laid an even more r00ling bad beat (hm, I sense a theme emerging) on Gloria Tschetschot: she open-raised from the cutoff, I decided to try to move her off her hand with 54s but she called all-in (oops). Flop A3x including the 3 of my suit, running 4's, Gloria GHN. Knocked out Tony Ma when I tried to steal his blind with Td7d, he moved in for a tiny bit more with AcJc and I hit a 7. IAALP. APWFSM. This time when I got down to heads up I was able to push my opponent around and when he did mix it up I ended up on top. Final hand: I limp on the button with 65, he checks. Flop 865, check check. Turn 6, he bets about half his stack, I move in and he calls with KK, no K on the river. Another one-table, $60 NLH this time. Lee Jones played in this too and coincidentally suffered a bad beat shortly after I described my 54s hand to him: he raised with TT and a blind moved in on him with 65(s?) and made a straight, leaving Lee with literally a chip and a chair. I made it down to 3 ways in this one and went out when my 88 lost to A9 which spiked a 9 on the river. All in all a good weekend. OK, so I drew out a bunch of times, but who reads trip reports to hear about how 88 moved in, 77 called and the 88 won, or how AK beat AJ? :-) Anyway I'll be back for the final week if people want a chance to win their chips back :-) -- Z. ____ "Well, I'm sure I'd feel much worse if I weren't under such heavy \ / sedation." [_Spinal Tap_] \/ Subject: Reno WPC non-report (no poker content) From: zorak@ninthbit.com (Lone Locust of the Apocalypse) Newsgroups: rec.gambling.poker Date: Wed, Jan 23, 2002 3:46 PM Message-ID: Part two of my WPC experience was fairly boring poker-wise (in a nutshell, I could not make a draw, and I could not get a made hand to stand up). So I am omitting any description of poker hands and will instead merely list some miscellaneous observations: 1. Obligatory Travel Section #1 (Why not to drive to Reno early Friday evening) I had planned to leave in the early afternoon to try and avoid the traffic, and to arrive in time to maybe play in the super at 7:30. However a project at work kept me into mid/late afternoon at which point I thought to myself "I might as well wait until later tonight" but I got on the road around 6 PM anyway. Well, I was right. I80 was a stop-and-go funfest from Vallejo to Vacaville. At least it cleared up after that, and it ended up taking me 4h30m to get to Reno, which actually isn't too bad, considering. 2. A Powerful Losing Force Surrounds Me The only time I ever play keno is if I'm killing time in a restaurant waiting for food, or if I have some sort of funbook coupon. If you ever know someone who needs a good dose of humility for whatever reason, I have discovered that there is nothing for knocking your ego down a few notches like taking a seat in the keno lounge. Simply sitting down in a keno chair instantly conveys a nearly tangible aura of loser-ness that is evident to everyone around you. Even the roulette players sneer at you as they walk past. You almost want to carry a sign saying "I'M ONLY PLAYING ONE GAME AND I'M USING A COUPON, HONEST." 3. Reno on $7.50/day Near the tournament area there is a person tending a small stand that offers things like hot dogs, soup, pre-made salad/sandwiches, and canned soda at pretty good prices. There is a sign saying "Poker Tournament Only" but no evidence that this is being verified in any way. The prices are actually pretty good (but it shows -- the soup comes in a paper cup). It strikes me that you could eat here two meals a day, sleep between hands, and periodically wipe your face off with the moist towelettes for slot/VP players and not even need a room. Your clothes might begin to smell after a couple days but that can probably be taken care of by wearing a pine tree air freshener around your neck. 4. Isn't it really irritating how, when you peel up the corner of your cards, a 4 can look like an A at first glance? 5. Slow People Should Not Sit At Third Base Don't you hate people who take forever on every single blackjack play? I played briefly at a table where the guy at third base was taking so long to play his hands that by the time the dealer completed the hand and went around collecting/paying I'd forgotten what my hole cards were. 6. Obligatory Travel Section #2 On my return trip, as I was coming up the hill towards the 37 turnoff, I saw a pickup in the next lane that had the add-on house accessory that basically turns a pickup truck into a mini-RV. On the back, using sticker letter sets, the owner had written on one corner "The only thing I ask at job interviews is whether they press charges" and in the other corner he had the red and white "diver down" flag, preceded by the word "MUFF." As I was chuckling over these items and passing by on his left, the truck started edging into my lane. I honked. He continued to move into my lane. I honked again. No change. I did a continuous honk, while mentally panicking because the lane on my left was occupied also so I had nowhere to go. At the last second the guy finally noticed me and swerved out of the way. About half a mile later, he comes up on my left, weaves in between me and the car in front of me, blatantly cutting me off, then weaves into the lane on my right again. As I pass by him the second time, we look at each other and he gives me a dirty look. On the off chance he is reading this account, hey buddy, *you* tried to change into *my* lane without checking your blind spot, so where do you get off getting pissed at me? I like your humor, but learn to drive. 7. Obligatory Travel Section #3 (The Man Beats Me Down) Somewhere outside of Auburn, two CHP cruisers zoomed onto the highway in front of me with their lights on. I immediately slowed down. The first one pulled over the car in front of me. The second one got in behind me and pulled me over. "The plane is out doing traffic patrol today and they got you doing __ over Clipper Gap." @$?#*%&! I admit nothing, but I should probably start paying attention to those "patrolled by aircraft" tags on the speed limit signs. I wonder if they patrol at night too. (The cruisers themselves are easier to look out for...) -- Z. ____ I'm nice... He's nice... and we're both f---ing lunatics. \ / Can I come in please? [_Flatliners_] \/