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#302 – Moments of 2007, Part I – Thank You
I know it’s been awhile since I’ve been out on the tournament circuit. Since we discovered that Jo Anne had breast cancer – I was actually playing the Orleans Open championship when Jo Anne called to tell me the mammogram results were “suspicious” – I’ve been off circuit other than the previously-planned London trip for the WSOP-Europe and the Million Dollar Cash Game. I made two very short trips to Las Vegas, one on assignment for Uncle Tilty and one to attend Chip Reese’s funeral.
I have enjoyed the unaccustomed time at home and a truly positive effect of Jo Anne’s cancer has been that I’ve been motivated to do more for her and we’ve spent a lot more time together. I always knew the difference between what was fun and profitable and what was REALLY important in my life, though circumstances have forced me to act on that knowledge.
Still, part of me misses the excitement of something new around every corner. When I’m around poker and poker players, the only predictable thing about my daily like is that it will be unpredictable. Truly, every day doesn’t involve Steve Martin correcting me on odds and outs, or Ted Forrest rummaging through trash to find out if the chicken he just consumed should have been cooked first. But those things actually DID HAPPEN in 2007, along with a lot of other interesting stuff.
Usually, I am much more interested in the future than the past. We’re going to talk about WSOP 2008 plenty. And I have February 21, 2008, circled on the calendar as Jo Anne’s final chemotherapy treatment. Just a week after that, I’m anticipating my return to tournament poker at the Wynn Classic II. We’ll talk about that tournament in advance. I understand Jay Greenspan will be posting here to let you know what’s going on at the Aussie Millions. 2008 is going to be busy and exciting and I hope I’ll be participating and writing about it for The Full Tilt Poker Blog.
But who knows what the future holds? As much as I could cherish time “spent” with people I might never meet, who I might never hear from, and whose knowledge of me come from reading about my thoughts and experiences (maybe months after I’ve written them), I’ve cherished the experience of writing The Full Tilt Poker Blog during 2007.
I’ve been able to share some really neat experiences:
FTOPS – I’ve written about several of my experiences as well as those of the pros who have participated in this series of big tournaments on Full Tilt. The most interesting and unusual was in late February, when Clonie Gowen surprised me by coming to Scottsdale and playing the Main Event in my study, then we reconvened at Robert Williamson III’s darkened house in the middle of the night when he, under the nom de plume “Miss Lulu”, made the final table.
NBC Heads-Up Championship – This was a very unusual and interesting event to cover, part big-time tournament and part TV production. Because the matches were short in duration, there were opportunities to interact with the players not present in other tournaments. Once I learned to dodge the cameras, I could cover this event like no one else and like no other event.
Bellagio Five Star – This series of tournaments in April ended with the WPT Championship. For me, though, just the novelty of popping in an out of town, playing some, meeting new friends, and keeping up with my old friends gave me a lot of interesting stuff to write about.
Manhattan – I traveled to New York to attend some parties held in honor of my friend Tony Holden and the launch of BIGGER DEAL, the sequel to one of the most important books I’ve ever read. I mean, how cool is this? I read BIG DEAL and for years imagine what it would be like playing poker in big-time tournaments, writing about the game, and hanging around with the biggest stars. And then I’m going to parties with Steve Martin and Tina Brown, celebrating the publication of the sequel, in which I’m one of the characters, a friend of the author, playing in big time poker tournaments, writing about the game, and hanging around with the biggest stars.
2007 World Series of Poker – Gee, where to start? The World Series is such a cool experience that I get excited just thinking about it. I had many tremendous personal experiences: my first cash, my first final table, a second final table just a week later. There were adventures with Clonie Gowen, Shannon Elizabeth, Phil Hellmuth, Ted Forrest, Annie Duke, Eskimo Clark, Randy Jensen, Andy Bloch, and many others.
First-hand experience in bankroll management with Chris Ferguson – I watched Chris online and talked on the phone with him when he crossed the $10,000 mark, starting from zero less than 18 months earlier. I’m still amazed at how simple his rules are to explain, how they guarantee keeping players in action, and yet how practically no one can follow them.
World Series of Poker-Europe – London was great, the poker was great, a lot of my friends were there, Ty Stewart and Jeffrey Pollack were great, and I haven’t even been able to share it all yet.
The Million Dollar Cash Game – I started live-blogging this as an obligation, merely recounting a slow-moving television production. By the end of the two days, I saw one of the most interesting hands of poker ever televised and witnessed interaction and heard stories that, even after four years in poker, amazed me.
I’ve also appreciated the opportunity to share stories of my personal life. An important part of how I’ve dealt with my wife’s cancer has been sharing stories and observations. Like it or not, you have been the target. I’ve gotten some very positive feedback and received a lot of heartfelt good wishes.
So I’m going to spend the rest of this year, especially because this blog isn’t indexed, reliving some of those moments. I’m going to take a few of my favorite moments and share them again. Where I can, I’ll just reprint what I wrote initially. Where I can fix or improve or provide additional information or perspective, I’ll do that too.
It’s been a great year and a wonderful experience being able to share parts of it with you. I hope you enjoy the look back. Maybe we’ll even find some moments you missed the first time.
