When World Series higher ups changed the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha tournament into a re-buy event at the very last second last week, they were shocked that such a move could cause such rancor amongst the players. Obviously, they had never witnessed the start of a re-buy event before, the first several hours of which can turn fine upstanding citizens into lunatic gamblers.
The Full Tilt lounge is poker’s equivalent of a football locker room. It’s where the Full Tilt players go to relax during breaks in play. Some recharge their iPods. Others flop themselves upon one of the long couches and close their eyes, if only to block out the noisy chaotic casino environment for a second or two. While hanging out in the lounge, I have observed some priceless moments. Here are my favorites:
I won’t be surprised if Erick Lindgren emerges victorious from today’s final table of the $5,000 Short-Handed No-Limit Hold’em event, and I doubt anyone else will either. He’s already won two World Poker Tour tournaments and he barely looks old enough to drink in bars (not that that’s ever stopped him). But at times poker is as much a game of luck as it is skill, and no one benefited more from the good wishes of the poker gods than E-Dog did yesterday.
Phil Gordon recommended that I go for a straight-razor shave at Truefitt & Hill in the Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace. Phil’s won well over $1 million playing cards in his lifetime. He’s bagged a World Poker Tour title. He’s a bestselling author and a television celebrity. So who am I to disagree? Besides, it was time. I have been sporting a beard that was on the verge of going Grizzly Adams on me.
You know how at a poker tournament there’s always that pack of people numbly walking the halls complaining about bad beats? Well, at this year’s World Series that tired tradition has nearly been replaced with the bitching from players about the collective ineptitude of the dealers. Totally unbiased aside: it’s completely justified too. Care to hear some examples?
I am starting to loathe Day Ones of the (relatively) low-stakes no-limit hold’em tournaments here at the Rio. Today, the $2,000 No-Limit Hold’em event started and the dreamers crawled out of the woodworks to seek fame and fortune amongst the pros. They crowd the hallways, take all the parking spaces, jam up the bathrooms, hawk loogies indoors within sight of ladies, and, worst of all, put bad beats on the pros. If you need to hear some good ones, just find Mike Matusow and he’ll give you an earfu
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There are a couple stories that capture the essence of my experience at this year’s World Series and then there’s what happened to me yesterday, which does that and a little more. After learning, chatting, and playing with the pros all day, I decided to do a little investigative reporting at a low-limit no-limit cash game.
After enduring the succession of mini-controversies that have thus far plagued this year’s World Series, today I decided to concentrate on a topic with a little less bite: fashion. The way poker players dress has always shocked me. In what other field will you encounter a millionaire going to work in sweat pants and flip flops? The incongruity was never clearer for me than the moment I witnessed a $10,000 bundle of cash being handed over from one player to another and the receiver matter-of-factly tucking the wad of cash…. into the pocket of his ratty cargo shorts. Ten grand in cargo shorts. Bizarre.
Gavin Smith is off to his typical hot start in today’s $5,000 Short-Handed No-Limit Hold’em event. He in particular seems to feed off the poor play and bad decision-making that usually springs from amateurs in the first few rounds of play in these large multi-table tournaments. A gambler’s gambler, he’ll pounce on every opportunity given him to double up or call it an early day. In one such instance he called an all-in preflop re-raise with A-K and caught an ace on the flop to take down his opponent’s jacks. “You’re not going to get me to fold those coin flips,” Gavin said as if his tournament hadn’t been at stake. “What, are you crazy?”
We’ve tried very hard since November to negotiate a settlement of the release with the World Poker Tour. We were bargaining in good faith as best we could. There are some very important elements of that release that are completely unacceptable. There are other issues beside the release, but I’d day the release was the thing that got us here.
