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#1
01-10-2006, 04:06 PM
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AtlantisTrip report
THis probably isn't the right place for this, but the people I most want to read it post here so here we go
I’m flying over Florida now on my way from Atlanta to Nassau. We left Toronto early this morning and changed planes in Atlanta. This is day 1 of what I hope will be a many entried trip report to the Pokerstars Carribean Adventure, a World Poker Tour Event and the first big buy in event that I have ever participated in. I won my entry through a Stars $600 satellite and it includes the $8K entry, 7 nights at the Atlantis resort and $1,000 for us to get there. My wife is with me, in fact we celebrated our 21st anniversary just last week, and this is the first time we’ve gone away on a trip without any children. Of course I’m hoping I won’t get to spend much time with her as that would mean that I’ve gone deep into the tournament. I am both looking forward to this and dreading it at the same time. I hardly ever play live, and certainly never at stakes like this. I may not be “dead money” but I’m certainly “comatose money”. First of all I’m going to be a nervous wreck, and I have a hard time controlling my hand trembles when I get nervous. If it happens on line who cares? But the last live tournament I played, I turned a set, and my hands started shaking so bad I couldn’t count out a correct amount to bet, so I announced all-in and lost my customer. My only plan for overcoming this will be to start drinking as soon as I sit down at the table. On the other hand I’ve certainly been on a good tournament run lately. But a lot of that has had to do with playing at stakes where the money doesn’t mean that much to me. I can be fearless at bubble time, and when the majority of players tighten up, because there’s always another event tomorrow. I will not get many more chances to play an event like this, and I just can’t see me playing loose and casual on the bubble, when just cashing would be such a significant result for me. Poker Stars is having a Party tonight for all the online qualifiers, and there is a satellite tonight right afterwards. I’m tempted to play the satellite both for practice and the chance to win an entry fee, but I also don’t want to abandon my wife on our first night there. We’ll just see how it goes I guess. I start tomorrow at noon (Thursday). Half the field will be starting on Friday, so if I survive Thursday I won’t play again until Saturday. Lets hope for the best. Thursday Morning I decided not to play last night. The Super was a rebuy with a pretty fast blind structure, which really doesn’t suit me, and doesn’t really give me any practice for the main event. I was real tired too, only getting 3 hours sleep the night before, so I called it an early night and watched the Rose Bowl after taking my wife on a tour of the property. The party Poker Stars put on was amazing. Free drinks and food in a beautiful setting outside on their decks. We sat with a couple we met in the cab on the way from the airport. His name was Steve, turns out he plays as lulubird and his son won the Tunica event last year for 1.6 million. I also met a young guy named Justin who seemed interested when I mentioned that I played as davidross, and I found out later he posted as the Bear. The Poker Stars gang was there, Fossilman and Isabelle Mercier were roaming around and I spoke to both of them. Isabelle was with her mother, who lives just outside Montreal, where I am from. I was looking hard for Gavin Griffin or Justin (Zee Justin) who’s faces I knew hoping they could introduce me to the other 2+2’ers. I finally stopped a guy that I had seen on both my flights, who turned out to be fellow Canadian poster MLE. He got me pointed in the right direction where I met MLG, bugstud, Colson, Schaefer and ZeeJustin. Man these guys are young. I can’t imagine they have any idea how lucky they are to be able to do stuff like this at their age. Well now the real work begins. At this point I just don’t want to embarrass myself. If I go out, I hope it’s on a good play. End of day 1. I’m still alive but barely. The structure is great. We start with 10K in chips, 75 minute levels starting at 25/50. We played until 200/400 with 75 antes today and then stopped. The second flight will go tomorrow and I’ll play again on Saturday. The poker room is set up in a conference room, and there is tons of space and around 60 tables. I had the 8 seat and for my first big tournament, staring straight across the table at me is the most famous stare in poker…Phil Ivey. Being 5 seats apart I hoped that would keep us from playing much. Ha. They had warned us several times last night that we would need photo ID to get our chips today. That didn’t stop the older guy on my right from showing up with no ID. He said he wouldn’t go get it and they told him he couldn’t play. He demanded his money back and they agreed. He left with the tournament director, but to no one’s surprised came back about 10 minutes after we started with his ID. I was so nervous at the start, but sometime in the first level I completed the small blind behind Ivey’s limp and another with AK. The flop was checked around but a K turned. I checked it over to Phil and he bet. When it came back to me I check raised him and he folded. I check-raised Phil freackin Ivey, and suddenly my butterfly’s were gone. I hardly played a hand at all and finished level 1 with 9400 chips. During the 2nd level my tight image paid off. I got some reasonable hands and won pots uncontested. My fears about being the worst player at the table were unfounded because the guy on Ivey’s right was very weak. I also noticed Phil played every pot the weak guy played too without exception. He took most of them away from him and was building a nice stack. On one hand the weak player limped and Phil limped right behind him. One more caller and I had KcQc on the button, and made a fair sized raise. The weak player called, as he had on every other raise, but Ivey and the other caller folded. The flop came down Kh 8h 8d. I bet just over half the pot and the guy called. When the 3h turned he immediately called all-in. He had 1800 left, and I would be left with around 7K if I called and lost. I was pretty sure I was going to call, when the guy in the 10 seat who talked after every flop, describing what he would have had if he had stayed, said, “oh I would have busted him” indicating to me he had either the flush or an 8. To me that made it even more likely that my buddy was bluffing and I called. He had pocket 7’s and I was up to 14K. Level 3 was a bad one for me. Very few cards, and the hands I played went nowhere. It was clear that I was becoming a target too. Ivey raised my blind 6 times in a row, and got re-raised twice as everyone else knew he was after my blinds. I wanted desperately to play back, but I kept picking up Q2 and 94 in my blinds. I was down to 10K again by the end of the level. Level 4 introduced antes at 100/200. Down to 8500, the guy on my right who is also from the Toronto area, and quite aggressive open raised UTG. I had 66 and took a minute to think about it. He (as well as everyone else) was playing very aggressively post flop against me. I had no doubt I would get paid if I made a hand, but being in such early position I was afraid I’d have to fold to a re-raise. I took a chance and called, everyone else got out of the way. The flop was a beautiful Q86 rainbow. I called his flop bet as I had done a couple of times already. The turn was a 7 putting 2 hearts on the board and he bet big again. I pushed all-in and it was only a 2K raise to him, and his stack was deep. He called so quick I thought he had QQ, but it was KK and suddenly I was up to 17K. I dropped back to 15 by the dinner break and felt great. Unfortunately that was the highlight. I won 1 pot in the last 2 levels with pocket JJ’s. I made a button re-raise with TT over a LP raise and when he pushed I laid them down. He is another young kid who plays as nutzsobig, and went very deep in the tournament. Just think, maybe I could have taken him out right there. He had AK he told me later, and I wish I had taken my chance right then. I won the blinds once on a raise with A3s, and with 5 minutes to go, and only 7K left I pushed with KQ and won one more set of blinds and antes. After dinner Barry Greenstein showed up and took the seat on Ivey’s left with 30K in chips, and another young kid (who I found out later was a 2+2’er) took the seat on his left with 30K also. Now it wasn’t only Ivey after my blinds but all 3 of them. It didn’t take long for the 2 big stacks to go at it, and much to my surprise they got it all in with blinds at 150/300 they played a 60K pot. QJ for the 2+2’er and TT for Barry. When the flop came QJT Barry overbet the pot and the kid raised all-in. Barry called, had his hand hold up and went to 60K in chips. It was something else to watch Ivey. He played so many pots. He never open limped once, but would limp anywhere in LP if there was a limp before him. He called tons of raises too. He would bet almost any flop that was checked to him, and either fold or play if re-raised. He didn’t show down many hands, but actually found himself pretty low on chips at one point. Then he picked up KK in LP and got it all in with a guy in EP with AK and once he doubled once he was off to the races. He ended the day with 28K, Greenstein is still at 60K. I’m at 7700, and with the blinds going to 300/600 with a 100 ante, I have about 2 orbits to get my chips in on Saturday. I haven’t seen aces or Kings yet, QQ won the blinds for me, and I only got AK once too. Now it’s time to get lucky. Tomorrow is a beach day with my wife and I’ll hope to get hot on Saturday. By the end of the day they were lined up 4 or 5 deep around our table watching the 2 superstars. The felt on our table was awful, and as the day went on it got worse. Cards were exposed again and again. I can’t imagine what it will be like by day 4 or 5. Saturday Well, Against all odds, my little starting stack of 7700 held up through 11 hours of play today and with 67 players left I’m still alive…barely again. We started at 1:00 PM and I had a much better table today. In a big coincidence Jen Harman was at my table. Last night when I met up with my wife she told me that she had just danced with the female poker player married to the hair dresser. It seems Jen had had a couple of drinks and was passing my wife in the hallway, did a little spin with her and continued on her way. Now here I was playing with her. Another 2+2’er (who’s real name is Joe and who’s posting name escapes me again) was beside her with a stack similar to mine. I was lucky enough to have drawn the button. On the second hand it was folded to me in the cut off and with A9 I pushed. No calls. Next hand I get TT and push again, and the BB called me with 33 and my hand held up, and I had a little breathing room. Then I get 99 and raise 1800 only to have the SB push on me and I gave it up. One orbit later I have KQ on the button, bet 1800, the SB pushes and I called. I have him covered by around 6K. He has 88 and I don’t catch up and now I’m down below my starting stack. Folded to me on the next hand I push with T7 and win the blinds. Then on the very next hand, behind a limp I have As Ks and push. I get called in the blinds with QQ and the limper folds. The flop makes him a set, but puts 2 spades on the board. I make my flush on the river and I’m backing business. In 30 minutes I played more hands than I had in the entire first day. Amazingly that AK hand is also the last hand I’ll show down all day. I pick up enough hands to stay ahead of the blinds, but I’m never anywhere near average. The day started with 350 players and when my table broke we were down to 200.The payout structure was strange with 130 getting paid (with only 730 entries this is close to 20%). 130th gets $10,600, and 26th is only 16,900 so you get a way bigger increase just cashing. With blinds at 600/1200, and antes at 200 I hit a great run of cards.I was down to around 15K. A woman I’ve seen profiled on Canadian TV(not for poker ability, she is rather well put together, wears low cut tops and a hat that says “Big Pairs”) raised it to 5K and I pushed from the BB with AJ. She thought and folded. Then behind a raise and a cold call I have QQ on the button and I push again. 2 more folds and I’m close to 30K. In my next BB Matt Matros raised, 2 cold calls and I have AK in the BB. Not wanting to play 4 ways I pushed again and all 3 folded. Suddenly I have almost 30K nad look good to cash. We got down to 140 fairly quickly and then it takes a while for the last 10 to go. Luckily for me the big stacks were on my right, and I was able to pick up 1 set of blinds and ante’s each orbit to maintain my stack. 99 and A5s were my stealing hands. Then we were in. 2 players went out at the same time and I had not only a great vacation, but 10K to take home with me. Right after the bubble, I pushed over top of an LP raise with 88 and he folded. So I still haven’t showed a single hand at this table. So then my big question hand comes up. Blinds are now 800/1600 with a 200 ante. There is a raise from 2 off the button to 5K, and a call on the button from the gigantic stack who plays as Viking7 and won over 300K in the WCOOP 2nd biggest event. I look down in the BB at AA. I had over 40K, and I have no idea how much to raise. I have no desire to get cute and play it 3 ways, so I decided to push. It’s a terrible overbet, but I’ve pushed so many times, and haven’t showed a hand that I know they’re getting suspicious. The first guy folded right away, but the big stack thought for at least 5 minutes, before saying “I guess there is no reason to call” and flashed TT. I really thought he was going to call. That was it for good cards though. I was able to see 2 flops with small pairs, missed them both and essentially got blinded down. The table is pretty aggressive and with a medium stack I never had a hand good enough to play, and as I became a short stack, I never had it folded to me, and certainly saw nothing to play, and man I was willing to play anything. So there are 67 left, I’ve made 12K now, but I’m down to 21,200 and the blinds are 1200/2400 with a 400 ante. I’m sure I’m the smallest stack left, but I’ll get a chance again tomorrow to double and double and double. My wife stayed to watch the entire day today. She is calling herself my poker muse, and there seems to be something to it. She watched the only 2 levels I did well on Thursday, and was right there as I built my stack today. Unfortunately as we approached the bubble, they put up barriers to keep spectators away but she stayed until the bitter end. 11 hours watching someone play a card game that you don’t understand. If that isn’t love I don’t know what is!! Sunday I played all of 1 hand today. I was UTG at a 7 handed table with Kd Jd. The blinds and antes will take 4500 of my 22K so it seemed like a pretty good hand to go with. The BB took a long time thinking about it, he was only at 33K, but he called with A9, I got no help and was gone. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do for the rest of the day. We went down to the beach for a bit and when my wife went for a nap I played a $100 Sit n go. I have no idea why people like playing these. The 25/50 level lasted 5 hands. And at 50/100 people are pushing all in. There was very little skill to it. Pick the right time to push or get lucky. I finished 4th so I guess I picked the wrong time. On the plus side we went to one of the upscale restaurants for a late dinner and it was clearly the best meal of the week. Monday I decided to play the $1500 buy in event today. It was a great format. 3K in chips and 40 minute levels. I got off to a great start. I did get my AK beat by Q2 on an AQ7 flop when he called my flop bet, bet into me on the turn, and then sucked out when a 2 rivered. But I made a flush against him on the next hand, then flopped trip aces against KK, and finally flopped a set with JJ on a KJJ flop, got 3 callers on the flop and turn, and when the river made a flush, got 1 caller on the river. I was over 6K in chips early. Interesting combination of poor and strong players. Strassa came to the table with around 3K in chips and built it to 10K in short order with what can only be described as a Kamikaze style (unless he was on the greatest card rush ever). He played beautifully, pushing guys who would be pushed (I saw one guy lay down JJ on an 8 high flop to a raise that I would have pushed so fast on), and laying down if someone pushed back. Then when he got caught with a worse kicker on the first hand he had to show down, he hit his kicker on the river (he also had 9 flush outs) and climbed way up. Then he tightened up considerably. We were only at 100/200 no antes yet when I gave him my last 5K. There was an EP raise to 600 and a smooth call from Strassa. I had KK in the BB and decided to just call. Flop was Qxx, it was checked to strass who bet 1500. I raised it to 3K and he pushed. I called my last 1200 or so and he flipped aces. Yuck. So that will be it for poker for me. I’ve had a blast, but every time I play live I remember why I like online so much better. I’ve had to listen to Mike Matusow dropping F-Bombs for days on end. I’ve sat next to people who haven’t bathed in days. I hate watching people being rude to staff. It’s probably only 1% of the players who fit any of these categories too, 99% of the people are great, but it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Having said that though, I want to play in more of them. I need to work on my game a lot though, and I think what i really need is one or two people that I can bounce ideas off of. I’m going to work on finding someone who thinks the way I do, and seeing if we can work something out. There is still another cocktail party for us Tuesday night, and a breakfast on Wednesday before we fly home. Stars gave us these amazing gift bags, which are really travel bags, and inside are a couple of t-shirts, a real nice golf shirt, a hockey style jersey and an amazingly nice all-weather jacket. Unfortunately every piece has a poker stars logo on it, and since I don’t advertise to friends and neighbours what I do for a living, I have no idea who is going to end up with all this great stuff. Probably my brother I guess. The final is going on now, and I didn’t play with anyone who is there. I did get to play with some people who made me realize how much I could still improve though. Now back to reality. I can’t believe I’ll be shoveling snow again tomorrow. 
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#7
01-10-2006, 04:33 PM
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Re: AtlantisTrip report
Awesome! I really enjoyed reading it!
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#10
01-10-2006, 07:21 PM
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Re: AtlantisTrip report
nice report. i thought the AJ push vs the big-breasted woman was risky, but she must've been raising from late position, or else you'd developed one hell of a tell from staring at her so long.
see you at the limit tables tomorrow
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