#443 - WSOP Notebook #16 - There is a Reason They Play Razz on Friday the 13th

[written Friday the 13th in darkness] 

“I love Razz because when you are out, you feel happy to be away from the torture, so it is all upside.”

- Annie Duke

This is not a blog entry, so much as it is a ransom note.

Did you know that voodoo is recognized as an official religion in Haiti? I wonder how that happened. Was there a vote? A campaign? Was a political contribution necessary? How did voodoo maintain its official status through different rulers, juntas, U.N. intervention, etc. I wonder what didn’t make the cut if voodoo did. What does voodoo get for being an official state religion?

I am always attentive to my hygiene at the World Series of Poker, and everywhere for that matter, but I gave it extra attention today, Friday the 13th.

I clipped my toenails and was very careful to collect the clippings and throw them in the garbage. Then I made sure to take the bag of garbage to the dumpster. Then I waited at the dumpster until it was emptied. You know, that’s how they make voodoo dolls: out of nail clippings and hair. I haven’t owned a hairbrush since the days of disco, so this is the only precaution I needed to take.

Yesterday, because I behaved like I was going to bust immediately, I purposely showed up at the World Series like I just crawled out of bed. Actually, I carefully worked out that look as a form of reverse voodoo. And it worked, until I ran into an aces-up full house in Stud.

But I’m taking no chances today. There will be plenty of players in the field who look like pictures on milk cartons or tacked up to telephone poles or “before” pictures for the newest hair, makeup, and weight loss scams. Not me. Not on Friday the 13th.

I’m seated at Table 3, Seat 3, in the corner of the room. If I turn around, I can see almost everybody playing the tournament. There are a lot of familiar faces in the room. One person I don’t have to turn around to see is Greg Raymer. He is in Seat 4. I can also see, without turning around, Eskimo Clark at the next table, Table 6, looking robust and healthy. Two tables away are Billy Baxter and Dewey TomKo. What’s that, like eleven bracelets between them? Seven or eight in lowball?

Yuval Bronshtein came by and wished me luck. I didn’t recognize him at first because his hair was done up in a blue Mohawk. You wouldn’t know from his hairstyle, but he has probably played more Razz in the last 12 months than anyone else in the field.

We started at 5 PM with 3,000 chips. At 5:37 I had 3,630. With one exception, there was never a hand for the rest of my brief Razz tournament where I had more chips than the hand before. I went from 5:37 to the first break at 7 PM without playing a single hand. It’s not like I need much of an excuse to play a hand. One decent up-card is enough to give me motivation to steal or stick around to try to steal from somebody with a legitimate hand who breaks off on fourth or fifth street. I never even had cards good enough to do that.

I lamented this during the first break, but I didn’t realize it was a godsend. The real problems don’t come from unanswered prayers – they come from answered prayers. Shortly after the break, in the space of 8 hands, I received 6 hands that were playable. That cost me the rest of my chips, including the last 2 hands when I made 3 of a kind.

By 8:15 PM, I was out of the tournament, my earliest exit in this World Series. I managed to bust at the exact same moment as Eskimo Clark. There may be a message there, but I hope not.