Have been having some serious WSOP withdrawal for the past week and the whole experience has been on my mind. It was exactly one month ago that I played my first WSOP event and it was just such fun and something that was long overdue.
Being a fan/junkie/mediocre player.....the week spent in Las Vegas during the Series just fed into my OCD and gave me a whole new vision of how it all works. I have been keeping up for years...during the series every year, I keep the updates constant and watch any and all live streams for the entire time. I print out the schedule ahead of time and write the winners and event details/notes every year like a score sheet.
While at the Rio, was there for eight days, I took some pictures, and small video clips (my bad) and have posted on youtube. Here is the link to the first one. There is a total of 4 and many are blurry and choppy but it kind of gives the newbie an idea of what it was like....so much to see and so many choices.
http://www.youtube.com/user/PokerHagProductions#p/u/3/O1WRgKhkV0E
Already thinking will go back next year and will be doing somethings differently but is good to have learned the ropes and the gawking/tourist thing is out of the way
Friday, July 23, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
Gaming in Texas......latest buzz.......
With the election for Governor of Texas heating up, the gaming possibilities for the state subject is starting to get some play. This morning in the Dallas Morning News, an article appeared and although has no new information, it sort of addresses the efforts by some groups to get a gaming bill on the ballot for Texas voters to approve or disapprove.
The fact still remains that it is in Rick Perry's hands.....it would be nice to have a new governor in Texas next year but in reality, Bill White is a real longshot. Also, White is not too keen on expanding gaming in Texas either but may at least be open to letting it pass the legislature in 2011 so that residents of the state can decide.
Rick Perry has made a lot of $$$ by keeping gaming/casinos/poker out of Texas but with the purchase of properties in Texas by some of the Tribes in Oklahoma, their opposition my subside........it is really the only hope for the forseeable future.
Here is the link to the DMN article today....guess we can read between the lines...not much has changed. We are still funding school and state budgets for Oklahoma and Louisiana as well at Texas by sending our gambling dollars to those states.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/politics/state/stories/070810dntexgamble.11e3f00ec.html
The fact still remains that it is in Rick Perry's hands.....it would be nice to have a new governor in Texas next year but in reality, Bill White is a real longshot. Also, White is not too keen on expanding gaming in Texas either but may at least be open to letting it pass the legislature in 2011 so that residents of the state can decide.
Rick Perry has made a lot of $$$ by keeping gaming/casinos/poker out of Texas but with the purchase of properties in Texas by some of the Tribes in Oklahoma, their opposition my subside........it is really the only hope for the forseeable future.
Here is the link to the DMN article today....guess we can read between the lines...not much has changed. We are still funding school and state budgets for Oklahoma and Louisiana as well at Texas by sending our gambling dollars to those states.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/politics/state/stories/070810dntexgamble.11e3f00ec.html
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Avid Fan at WSOP 2010.....Part Three.......What I will do differently next year..........
Now that the Hag has a year under her belt she is speculating on what will be different about next year. Now that all the "avid fan" issues have been resolved.....the favorite players spotted and lots of railing, the real poker playing is due for review.
While the high profile action was at the Rio, there was lots going on all over town. At least three major lower stakes. deep stack series were taking place at the same time. The Golden Nugget was featuring the "Grand" series which was a series of 57 events that offered deep stack tournaments ranging from $125 to $330 with a grand finale with a buy in of $1080. They had Hold'em, HORSE, and Omaha events with two starting each day. This attracted about 100 to 300 runners for each tourney and first place payouts in the $5k range.
The Venetian held their deep stack tourneys, 50+ events, each day also that ranged in buy ins from $330, $550, and $2,100 with super satellites for $5,000. These tourneys had several hundred entrants and payouts of $40K to over $150K on each day. They also offered Hold'em, Omaha and HORSE events and it was common for some of the well known players to be regulars in these games.
At the Rio, WSOP was also holding $200 buy in, deep stack tournaments each day with 200-700 runners depending on how close to the Main Event and/or the weekends. Big payouts and deep starting stacks make this a great warm up to one of the WSOP events.
I played one of the Grand Series tourneys at the Nugget and was able to cash.....played for 13 hours and it was great experience. Since I live in Texas, have to drive to Oklahoma to play live and do not have access to regular deep stack tournaments. The weekly tourneys I play at Winstar are 3 or 4 hour events and it is helpful to have that long play experience. There are plenty of deep stack offerings online..but is just not the same.
After seeing all that is out there my decision for next year will be to go and play some of the lower buy in events and get used to playing deep stacked. There is good money to be won and the chances for the average player is much better. My idea is that if you cannot hold your own in a $200 to $500 tourney then why pay the big $$$ to play at the WSOP. Now......I would not take anything for playing the event that I played and have no regrets. Now that I see the reality first hand, it makes sense to play some of these alternative events. Also, if you find you can win or even cash in some of these events, it would be a definite advantage to play the higher buy in events at the WSOP.
Playing in the $1k or $1.5 events gives you 3,000 and 4,500 starting chips respectively and one mistake or bad beat virtually wrecks your tournament. If you choose an event with $2,500 or $3,000 the starting chips gives players a lot more flexibility. It seems to me that if you go with the idea of playing the lower buy in events in some of the alternative casinos and have no success whatsoever, you may want to rethink playing in the WSOP. Also, it seems that if you have consistent success at some of these events, you may be better off to keep playing in those. There are really some good payouts and you would have to beat out thousands rather than hundreds at a WSOP event. The higher buy in events at WSOP would then be comparable to the deep stack structure and the number of entrants would be similar.
Another thing I would suggest is if you settle on some of the deep stack events at one of the other casinos, I would suggest that you stay in the hotel in that casino. It is such a long day and traffic in Las Vegas is a real beating that it helps to go for the comfort and familiarity. Next year I will probably play in one of these series and will plan on playing a tournament every other day. This will give plenty of time for cash games and doing other LV fun things. If I achieve some success, will go play one of the higher buy in WSOP events........
One thing I do know is that there are really good players in all of these events.....from the lowest to the highest buy ins... Don't go with the idea that you will capitalize on the donkey play alone...while there is some of that and some lucky suck outs and all styles of play......you still need to get lucky and you still have to be playing your A game. It is true that some A games are much better than others.....do not assume that these low buy in events will mean bad play.....it may be players that you have not heard of before and/or that may not have the larger buy ins and/or just do not want to be under so much pressure. Do not underestimate their level of play or ever estimate yourself........
While the high profile action was at the Rio, there was lots going on all over town. At least three major lower stakes. deep stack series were taking place at the same time. The Golden Nugget was featuring the "Grand" series which was a series of 57 events that offered deep stack tournaments ranging from $125 to $330 with a grand finale with a buy in of $1080. They had Hold'em, HORSE, and Omaha events with two starting each day. This attracted about 100 to 300 runners for each tourney and first place payouts in the $5k range.
The Venetian held their deep stack tourneys, 50+ events, each day also that ranged in buy ins from $330, $550, and $2,100 with super satellites for $5,000. These tourneys had several hundred entrants and payouts of $40K to over $150K on each day. They also offered Hold'em, Omaha and HORSE events and it was common for some of the well known players to be regulars in these games.
At the Rio, WSOP was also holding $200 buy in, deep stack tournaments each day with 200-700 runners depending on how close to the Main Event and/or the weekends. Big payouts and deep starting stacks make this a great warm up to one of the WSOP events.
I played one of the Grand Series tourneys at the Nugget and was able to cash.....played for 13 hours and it was great experience. Since I live in Texas, have to drive to Oklahoma to play live and do not have access to regular deep stack tournaments. The weekly tourneys I play at Winstar are 3 or 4 hour events and it is helpful to have that long play experience. There are plenty of deep stack offerings online..but is just not the same.
After seeing all that is out there my decision for next year will be to go and play some of the lower buy in events and get used to playing deep stacked. There is good money to be won and the chances for the average player is much better. My idea is that if you cannot hold your own in a $200 to $500 tourney then why pay the big $$$ to play at the WSOP. Now......I would not take anything for playing the event that I played and have no regrets. Now that I see the reality first hand, it makes sense to play some of these alternative events. Also, if you find you can win or even cash in some of these events, it would be a definite advantage to play the higher buy in events at the WSOP.
Playing in the $1k or $1.5 events gives you 3,000 and 4,500 starting chips respectively and one mistake or bad beat virtually wrecks your tournament. If you choose an event with $2,500 or $3,000 the starting chips gives players a lot more flexibility. It seems to me that if you go with the idea of playing the lower buy in events in some of the alternative casinos and have no success whatsoever, you may want to rethink playing in the WSOP. Also, it seems that if you have consistent success at some of these events, you may be better off to keep playing in those. There are really some good payouts and you would have to beat out thousands rather than hundreds at a WSOP event. The higher buy in events at WSOP would then be comparable to the deep stack structure and the number of entrants would be similar.
Another thing I would suggest is if you settle on some of the deep stack events at one of the other casinos, I would suggest that you stay in the hotel in that casino. It is such a long day and traffic in Las Vegas is a real beating that it helps to go for the comfort and familiarity. Next year I will probably play in one of these series and will plan on playing a tournament every other day. This will give plenty of time for cash games and doing other LV fun things. If I achieve some success, will go play one of the higher buy in WSOP events........
One thing I do know is that there are really good players in all of these events.....from the lowest to the highest buy ins... Don't go with the idea that you will capitalize on the donkey play alone...while there is some of that and some lucky suck outs and all styles of play......you still need to get lucky and you still have to be playing your A game. It is true that some A games are much better than others.....do not assume that these low buy in events will mean bad play.....it may be players that you have not heard of before and/or that may not have the larger buy ins and/or just do not want to be under so much pressure. Do not underestimate their level of play or ever estimate yourself........
Avid Fan Visits WSOP.........Part Two.........Memorable Moments
Eight days in Las Vegas during the WSOP was truly a fans dream come true. I have been playing hold'em for about eight years after a lifetime of playing cards. My adult children got me hooked after insisting that I quit playing Blackjack and jump on the poker bandwagon. Guess our whole family got caught up in the poker craze fueled by the Moneymaker win and the first season of World Poker Tour on the Travel Channel.
In about 2003, while my daughters and husband were playing poker live and/or online, I had not played a single hand of Hold'em but had been watching on TV, either WSOP or WPT. Most of what I knew came from Mike Sexton and a page my husband had copied out of a book which listed the starting hands/position recommendations for playing. We were in Las Vegas and staying at the Golden Nugget. We check in, I walked across the street to Binions Horseshoe and entered a $60 tournament that was starting. I got a seat next to the dealer and told him I had not played before and to help me not look like a fool. He was accommodating and I played my very first hand.......lasted about 2/3 of the tournament and had the posting blinds and mechanics of play under my belt. I played 4 tournament in 4 days....left Vegas $50 down for the trip. Did not cash in any tourneys but won enough in Blackjack to offset the entry fees....also left Vegas hooked.
Since that time I have watched every poker show on TV.....many times.....have played in casinos all over and play online nearly every day on several different sites. I play very low stakes......lose mostly online and hold my own in live play. I am a complete fan.......follow all the major and not so major tourneys and read blogs, twitter and generally keep up with all things poker.
This trip to Vegas was a fans dream come true and really was an eye opening experience. While I did know from keeping up for years it was just overwhelming to experience the enormity of the WSOP events. Also was so great to see how much access you had to the players and how easy to rail anyone and everyone. There was something interesting going on all the time!!!
Some of the big moments for me was seeing Jack Binion present the bracelet to Phil Ivey and him standing on the stage, hand over heart while the National Anthem played. Also seeing the bracelet presentations of Dean Hamrick and Gavin Smith was very special.
Watching the first two sessions of the Tournament of Champions being filmed by ESPN was also a high point. To sit for 4+ hours and watch some of the greatest players, unedited was just an avid fan's dream. This just topped off several days of watching some of our favorites and seeing how they act, play, and interact with each other was just more than we expected.
A couple of funny things heard while watching the TOC happenings.....while watching one table a guy behind me was obviously with his friend and impressing with his knowledge of the players...he says "look.....there is Barry Greenfeld and Jackie Chan". About an hour later while watching the other table, a guy behind me says to his friend... "look, there is Huck Finn".
Just too many memories to comment on but we were such fan boys and just had so much fun. Will do it again but as far as the actual playing goes......will change up a bit next time......... next post will address next year.
In about 2003, while my daughters and husband were playing poker live and/or online, I had not played a single hand of Hold'em but had been watching on TV, either WSOP or WPT. Most of what I knew came from Mike Sexton and a page my husband had copied out of a book which listed the starting hands/position recommendations for playing. We were in Las Vegas and staying at the Golden Nugget. We check in, I walked across the street to Binions Horseshoe and entered a $60 tournament that was starting. I got a seat next to the dealer and told him I had not played before and to help me not look like a fool. He was accommodating and I played my very first hand.......lasted about 2/3 of the tournament and had the posting blinds and mechanics of play under my belt. I played 4 tournament in 4 days....left Vegas $50 down for the trip. Did not cash in any tourneys but won enough in Blackjack to offset the entry fees....also left Vegas hooked.
Since that time I have watched every poker show on TV.....many times.....have played in casinos all over and play online nearly every day on several different sites. I play very low stakes......lose mostly online and hold my own in live play. I am a complete fan.......follow all the major and not so major tourneys and read blogs, twitter and generally keep up with all things poker.
This trip to Vegas was a fans dream come true and really was an eye opening experience. While I did know from keeping up for years it was just overwhelming to experience the enormity of the WSOP events. Also was so great to see how much access you had to the players and how easy to rail anyone and everyone. There was something interesting going on all the time!!!
Some of the big moments for me was seeing Jack Binion present the bracelet to Phil Ivey and him standing on the stage, hand over heart while the National Anthem played. Also seeing the bracelet presentations of Dean Hamrick and Gavin Smith was very special.
Watching the first two sessions of the Tournament of Champions being filmed by ESPN was also a high point. To sit for 4+ hours and watch some of the greatest players, unedited was just an avid fan's dream. This just topped off several days of watching some of our favorites and seeing how they act, play, and interact with each other was just more than we expected.
A couple of funny things heard while watching the TOC happenings.....while watching one table a guy behind me was obviously with his friend and impressing with his knowledge of the players...he says "look.....there is Barry Greenfeld and Jackie Chan". About an hour later while watching the other table, a guy behind me says to his friend... "look, there is Huck Finn".
Just too many memories to comment on but we were such fan boys and just had so much fun. Will do it again but as far as the actual playing goes......will change up a bit next time......... next post will address next year.
Avid Fan at First WSOP........ Part One.....Overall Impressions
After following poker and the WSOP for many years, 2010 was my first trek to Las Vegas while the events were taking place and what an experience it was. I tentatively planned on playing two events and ended up playing only one. The hubby and I were having so much fun watching that was just not in the cards for the second event.
The day we arrived we went to the Rio to get registered for Event 42. Had been reading some of the comments on Twitter about the hassle of registration and just did not want to wait until that morning just in case...well, it took about 3 minutes or less. Was prepared with my Reward Card, Driver's License, and SS card if needed. Piece of cake, gave them cash and was ready to go.
While walking down the hall we started spotting familiar faces from the poker world and we peaked into the Pavilion and Amazon rooms and were able to watch several events taking place and some final tables. It was very exciting....all we could have hoped for.
Arrived the next day right at noon for the start. Wish I had been early to do some looking around but went to my table and was seated with Shannon Elizabeth and Lee Childs.....I follow both on Twitter so that was fun. Layne Flack was at a nearby table and again spotted many familiar faces. Shannon was very pretty and nice and Lee quite personable/nice guy. After the first break, had a table change.......moved to table 25 and there was Nam Le....one of my very favorite players to watch.....gulp.....
While at this second table was surrounded by many well known players......Tom Dwan was a couple of tables away and Dean Hamrick...who ended up winning the event, was at the next one. I loved being able to spend hours observing the action.....my problem was getting no cards....at all. At the first table was able to build a little bit of a stack, it was not to be for the second......and I was eliminated right before the dinner break.
Some of the things that were the most surprising to me was the great level of play. I really had expected one giant shove fest from the beginning but that was not the way it was.....at least on my tables. The structure really drove the action. There were all kinds of players from LAG, TAG, and all in between but not just open shoving and careless play. Nam was quite measured in his play......he did cash......and one Northern European guy was quite aggressive and played a lot of hands but when called down either had the goods or was on a credible draw which he hit regularly.
Bottom line was the ones getting the cards were winning.....no cards for 2 or 3 hours is the kiss of death. I had figured how long I had before getting desperate and was patient but just never turned around in time. Others were low stacked like I was and were able to get the hand in time to stay alive........not to be for me. It is just the way it is......no regrets.
The day we arrived we went to the Rio to get registered for Event 42. Had been reading some of the comments on Twitter about the hassle of registration and just did not want to wait until that morning just in case...well, it took about 3 minutes or less. Was prepared with my Reward Card, Driver's License, and SS card if needed. Piece of cake, gave them cash and was ready to go.
While walking down the hall we started spotting familiar faces from the poker world and we peaked into the Pavilion and Amazon rooms and were able to watch several events taking place and some final tables. It was very exciting....all we could have hoped for.
Arrived the next day right at noon for the start. Wish I had been early to do some looking around but went to my table and was seated with Shannon Elizabeth and Lee Childs.....I follow both on Twitter so that was fun. Layne Flack was at a nearby table and again spotted many familiar faces. Shannon was very pretty and nice and Lee quite personable/nice guy. After the first break, had a table change.......moved to table 25 and there was Nam Le....one of my very favorite players to watch.....gulp.....
While at this second table was surrounded by many well known players......Tom Dwan was a couple of tables away and Dean Hamrick...who ended up winning the event, was at the next one. I loved being able to spend hours observing the action.....my problem was getting no cards....at all. At the first table was able to build a little bit of a stack, it was not to be for the second......and I was eliminated right before the dinner break.
Some of the things that were the most surprising to me was the great level of play. I really had expected one giant shove fest from the beginning but that was not the way it was.....at least on my tables. The structure really drove the action. There were all kinds of players from LAG, TAG, and all in between but not just open shoving and careless play. Nam was quite measured in his play......he did cash......and one Northern European guy was quite aggressive and played a lot of hands but when called down either had the goods or was on a credible draw which he hit regularly.
Bottom line was the ones getting the cards were winning.....no cards for 2 or 3 hours is the kiss of death. I had figured how long I had before getting desperate and was patient but just never turned around in time. Others were low stacked like I was and were able to get the hand in time to stay alive........not to be for me. It is just the way it is......no regrets.
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