Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[Kev B]

Just received this text from my son :-

"I just bought some back to life!!! I got flagged down to a man who had no heart beat and was not breathing.. So I start cpr and mouth to mouth and I got him breathing again. Paramedics took control once they turned up but I brought him back to life. I feel incredible ATM."


Feeling like a really proud parent at the mo with a lump in my throat.

Well done your son.

[TightEnd]

enjoyed this one which i saw today

Click to see full-size image.

[engy]

well done mr dickies son, must make you feel on top of the world to bring someone back to life, and lol at the gym story

[celtic]

Unlucky Tony, just catching up.

Loved the stories by mrD and mantis

[tikay]

Unlucky Tony, just catching up.

Loved the stories by mrD and mantis

Think it is the stakers who gut unlucky, truth to tell.

Stakers Report will follow shortly.

[tikay]

Stakers Update - WSOP $1,500 PLO

We are running out of time & deep in the hole, so if we are going to lose a few bob, the least I can do is try & explain where the money went, how, & some of the thought processes.

The bare facts - we busted 4 hands from the end of Day One, running Kings into Aces, & having both our suits dominated. The play was correct, the timing was not.

Some of the private thought processes, good & bad......

A little cash the previous day had done me the world of good & I went into the Event in good heart.

In Level 10, I was having a bit of a mental battle with myself. I knew I could make Day 2, & making Day 2 always feels good. Making Day Two with 8 or 10 bigs, as I have more times than enough, is not so good, it's embarrassing actually.  But we are deep in a hole, & there was $2,500 for a min cash. I could deffo fold to that. Half an hour ago I (stupidly) wandered into the room where Day Two was an hour old, & the bubble had long burst. That $2,500 would make quite a difference. So, in a way, I'm relatively pleased that I was able to pull the trigger & take my chance n a 2xUp, to, perhaps, gear up for a deeper run.

The problem, of course, is nothing to do with "shall I gamble or creep into the money", the problem is deeper, I should have opened up & taken my chances a lot earlier. "Gamble" is still a problem to me.

I did learn a ton yesterday though, & will be a better PLO player for it.

More follows.......

 

[tikay]

The table was fun early doors, though Crocodile Howard Plant was a tad irksome, but it's Live Poker, & we share with all sorts.

He kept doing that bloody stupid move where, facing a raise, he stared at his opponent, & then picked up all his chips to make the "fake all-in" move, then pulling them back & laughing hilariously, as he looked for recognition that others had seen his "joke". Nobody thought it wise to tell him that a) this is Pot Limit, & b) we've seen that sixteen zillion times, it's maybe a bigger poker cliché than a flop of 9-9-9 followed by "call the police", "show one, show all" or "sick, so so sick". He was old, too. Old people are such a pain.  He had played a Tourney elsewhere recently, & he was determined to talk through every hand he had played.

He busted quite early, but then made a right cock of himself. He had top set, but the flop was two spades & a running straight (7-8-9), so when he re-potted & got TWO callers, he had to be facing two big draws. The spades got there of course, & he went apeshit, "I HAD TOP SET, HOW COULD YOU CALL?, I WAS MILES AHEAD". Someone said "mate, it's a drawing game", to which he replied "BUT I HAD TOP SET, DON'T YOU EVEN FEEL SORRY FOR ME?". Err, no mate. I almost never feel sorry for ANYONE in poker. We are playing poker, in the WSOP in Vegas, sod feeling sorry for anyone.

The rest of the table were great lads, & none of them bothered me as to relative skill levels. Excellent, we can progress here, then.

And then Frenchie arrived, & he was the key to the whole day really.

He was two to my right, & was completely cutting off my "spots". Every hand, raise or re-raise. His cards seemed to be irrelevant, he was just controlling & bossing the table. He never once spoke (except during a monster argument in Level 9), but he seemed a decent kid, very much in the zone, nothing offensive about him, & at first he scared me, as he seemed so good.

He soon had 30,000, & not only was he playing very aggro, but he was hitting everything. I mean, he just pinged every board, including quads TWICE v nut full houses.

I was really not sure how to deal with him. My first reaction was "when will our table break?". That came up bad, it would not be breaking until very late in the day.

Then I decided to seek a bit of advice from Cos, who was just a few tables away, but every time I went across, Cos was in a hand.

Anyway, bla bla, I eventually worked it out - just play back at him. That takes rather more heart & courage than I generally exhibit, especially when I'm knocking it in, but I made myself do it, & won 4 pots in a row, & soon I had a really playable, & above average, stack. All thanks to playing back against Frenchie. I'm loving life now. 

YES YES YES. This is cool. This is great. No table break please.

But then, as ever, & from where I least expected it, something changed all that.

More follows......

[atdc21]

  great write ups Tony,

[Doobs]

Can we knock the pensioners here?

I have been thinking that I should really have a go at the seniors in the not too distant future.  In my last tournament at the Wynn, two separate pensioners did the "how much is it?" slowroll with aces, and each time they were last to act and clearly facing less than a pot size bet on the flop.  I suppose I should be glad they didn't do the "your in trouble son".  Neither was against me, but I was thinking after that 3 days of watching people limp aces, do this post flop might make me lose the will to live.  I was also previously thinking a bracelet is a bracelet, but now I am not so sure.

I am sure they'd all be doing the fake all in move and various other vintage angle shoots too.  Not sure I can do it, persuade me.

[tikay]

Can we knock the pensioners here?

I have been thinking that I should really have a go at the seniors in the not too distant future.  In my last tournament at the Wynn, two separate pensioners did the "how much is it?" slowroll with aces, and each time they were last to act and clearly facing less than a pot size bet on the flop.  I suppose I should be glad they didn't do the "your in trouble son".  Neither was against me, but I was thinking after that 3 days of watching people limp aces, do this post flop might make me lose the will to live.  I was also previously thinking a bracelet is a bracelet, but now I am not so sure.

I am sure they'd all be doing the fake all in move and various other vintage angle shoots too.  Not sure I can do it, persuade me.

Absolutely.

They are as bad as any at that nonsense. I've seen it so many times this trip.

Truly, I think all ages do it, but yes, the wrinklies are amongst the most regular exponents.

You learn a great deal about people's character at the poker table. When folks do the slow roll thing, I always try to imagine what they are like in real life. What possible pleasure can anyone get from such a thing? Do they really like doing stuff to hurt others?

It really reminds me of Noel Edmonds, & Gotcha, where the whole "joke" was to embarrass someone. Lovely.



I have a strange feeling that Camel will be a Noel Edmonds fan, you know.

I can't believe he dislikes Chris Evans. I mean really, He'll be Sir Chris Evans soon, let's hope.

Anyway, I need to get on with this WSOP Waffley Stakers Report.

[tikay]

great write ups Tony,

Waffle of the highest order.

[JohnCharver]

Thread has been excellent during vegas, honest and interesting. ty

[tikay]

Thread has been excellent during vegas, honest and interesting. ty

Much appreciated, John, never even knew you read it.

If only I could play poker a bit better, but honestly, the psychology of the game amazes & fascinates, & how we cope with the vagaries. With age, of course, we lose our ego, so it's much easier to discuss & admit our failings. For youngsters, that's a lot more difficult, as it was for me when I was a young man.

I made a complete cock of myself yesterday, partly due to sitting in a bad seat (I have poor eyes these days) & I thought I'd busted. I could not see properly from seat 8. In fact, I'd won, which caused much hilarity on the Table. It never bothered me one iota to repeat the story here though. A bit of humility does no harm.

[Karabiner]

Do you remember Jake from Gala Nottingham Tony?

He had that fake chip-shove down to a fine art rather like the old Peter Beardsley stepover which I used to liken it to. That was twenty years ago mind you.

I think it's time you did a little ripping..

[jakally]

It really reminds me of Noel Edmonds, & Gotcha, where the whole "joke" was to embarrass someone. Lovely.

Honestly Teeeks, I'm going to lose all respect for you sometime soon. Gotchas were the best thing on TV.
Embarrassing someone? A well known TV face, who would get endless free publicity for their troubles. Do me a small favour.
All about maintaining perspective really.