Leaving Las Vegas

It's gettin' close to "wheels up" time here in Sin City. I actually stayed an extra night, just because. Been hangin' with a bunch of family who drove down from all points Southern California.

This has been some trip. To Allan, Lorelei and Debbie, thanks for comin' down to cheer on a coupla knuckleheads. Same goes for Mom, Dad, Nana, Mike & Nancy, Brian, Stephanie, Larry and Mia. To everyone else, thanks for checkin' out the blog and sending love from home. And Stewman, next year, we take it all down.

Here are a coupla videos to check out:


Registration Nightmares


Dan Sees Jesus


Allan Gets His Smack On


Stewman Meet TJ Cloutier

Day 2 - All Good Things...

After 14 hours of grueling No Limit Texas Hold 'Em, I'm officially out of the WSOP. I folded my first 5 hands of the day - cards like KQ and K3 suited - and found myself moving up the payout chart, as people were dropping like flies. It was then I decided to make a real attempt to build up my chips and take a shot at a final table appearance. I mean, really, these opportunities don't come around every day. Maybe I coulda just mucked hand after hand to squeak into a slightly higher payout (something I seriously considered), but I guess that's just not how we play. Stewman was right when he said "You just gotta play your game."

First, I got the miracle I desperately needed. The guy to my right - a 21-year-old online pro from Australia - put his micro-stack all-in under the gun, and I looked down at A7 of hearts. I pushed all-in immediately. Luckily, everyone else folded around, and I had the kid's A6 dominated. I paired my 7 on the turn and he was history. Because of the blinds and antes already in the pot, I more than doubled up my stack. This was just what I needed to start my big run. Of course, sometimes things don't work out that way.

On the very next hand I called a minimum raise in the big blind with A4 of diamonds, happy to see a cheap flop. The flop came 8-2-2 with two diamonds and I pushed all-in again, this time on a flush draw semibluff (sorry for the poker geek babble). Unfortunately, the raiser had trips, with a King and a 2! The turn and river failed to deliver my flush diamond, and I was out in 215th place.

It was a great way to bust out, with guns blazin'. I'm glad I talked to the Stewdog beforehand. I definitely woulda felt like a tool if I didn't take a shot at the big score.

As for cards, I think I'm gonna take a short break. If I see another poker chip soon, I just might puke. As for the WSOP, we'll be back, and we're bringing you with us next time.

End of Day 1 - Good News, Bad News

OK, first the good news: I got to sit and play with a true poker icon today. David "The Dragon" Pham. He's the nicest guy in the world, and even autographed my "Poker Shoes".

More good news. I've officially made it to Day 2 of a WSOP event. We started with 2,998 players, making this the 3rd largest field for a poker tournament in the history of EVER. Only the 2006 and 2005 Main Events boasted more entrants. There are 270 players left, and I'm lucky to be one of them.

I also made the money, which means I'm guaranteed a cash prize of at least $3,400.

The bad news? I'm running out of chips. Even though I've maintained a stack of around $20,000, my chipstack relative to those of the other players is way low. As soon as I sit down tomorrow, I'm gonna have to push all-in and pray. So it's unlikely that I'll be in contention for the $727,000 first place prize. But, ya never know.

"The Dragon" was (unfortunately) sitting to my left, and kicked my ass (and the collective asses of the table) all night. He actually read my cards blind 3 times. My hands were virtually exposed to him in a way I can't begin to explain. I'm starting to think the pros really are paranormally gifted. It was fascinating to experience, but it sucked. Big time.

So tomorrow is Day 2, and I'll need the poker gods to shine on me a bit. The ESPN crews will be there, and hopefully I'll stick it out long enough to make the broadcast. Play begins at 2pm. Now, I sleep. Peace.

Saturday, Dinner Break

Poker is a wild game. For the first 2 hours of this tournament Stewman and I were getting spanked on both cheeks. We had plans to play solid, ultra-tight poker. So much for that plan. We both found ourselves making plays at pots within the first hour. Anyway, we got ourselves short-chipped, then grew our stacks back before the first break.

But luck is a fickle thing, and unfortunately Stew busted out by the next break. I hope he gets to post the story. Meanwhile, I managed to catch the perfect situation and flop trips when our table's big stack paired his king.

It's dinner break time, and I've managed to grow my chips to over $20,000. Believe it or not, that puts me near the top of the food chain for this tourney. I was table captain for awhile, but a bigger stack joined us right before the break. Anyway, I'm keeping myself in contention. OK, gotta eat. Play resumes at 9pm tonight, and continues until 2am. I'll keep you posted.

Meeting of the Mikes

One lucky poker player had his dreams come true today. That's right, Mike "The Mouth" Matusow finally got to meet the talented Mr. Stewman.

Almost halfway through day one. Started bad but got good. We started with 3000, I got down to 1400. I'm now at 13000, table captain. Holy cow.

THE TOURNEY - DAY 1, SATURDAY

It's nervous time. In about an hour, "Shuffle up and deal!" will boom through a muffled PA system as Stewdog and I sweat our first hand of the tournament. I'm wondering what my first hole cards will be. Probably something borderline, just to torture me. Ace Jack suited, or pocket sevens.

And I wonder who'll be sitting at my table. Maybe 8 other no-names with the same pipe dream, asking themselves the same question. Then again, when I toured the floor yesterday, I saw the likes of Gus Hansen, Jennifer Harmon, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Phil Ivey and countless other marquee poker stars.

Ace Jack suited. I'll want to play the hand. But I won't. It's Day 1, and I'm officially in survival mode for the first 2 hours. After that, it'll be time to play some poker.

Friday - Hangin' with Allan and Lorelei

Major props to Stewdog for what he just pulled off. Managed to save us about 3 hours of waiting in the ridiculous wsop registration line. We're officially in!

Registration for the WSOP is a bitch.

Gil Zeros at the WSOP

By the way, these are the adidas special edition Gil Zeros I'll be rockin' at the tourney. Yip, that's real poker felt trim. They're like the sun. Don't look directly into the Gil Zeros.

Ever see a 300 dollar rum and coke?

Friday - The Rio

Day 1 - Checking into the Rio

Fear and Loathing Starts Now

Stewdog and I have decided to haul some of our recent poker winnings to Vegas and take our chances at a World Series of Poker tournament. We won't be playing the $10,000 buy-in Main Event, but a smaller $1,500 No Limit tourney.

See, there are 50+ events that make up the WSOP, and this is one of them. Last player standing still gets a coveted bracelet. And if my estimates are on, there could be a $2 million dollar payday for the winner. I'm thinkin' we'll see 4,000 to 6,000 entrants for our event. Which means chances of Stewdog or me cashing are pretty slim. But he seems confident about our final table potential. I think that's a good thing.

Please stay tuned for live updates (I set up mobile blogging, so look out for paparazzi goodness from my cameraphone), or join me at the Rio if you get a chance. I'm leaving for Vegas on Friday June 1st. The tourney runs from June 2nd through the 4th. I'll be on a plane back to Oaktown on the 5th. I'm starting to get nervous.