Within a few days of the start of the World Series, Uncle Tilty came through and provided Shauna and me with an excellent work space. We had a long work table, comfortable chairs, and extension cords and power strips for all our computing needs. When you add the food and drink service and constant access to most of Full Tilt’s 170+ red pros, it was an ideal set up.
Almost too good.
Even though “the Internet is everywhere,” I’m far, far from FTOPS XIII for the next couple days. In the heady time after I finished runner-up in Razz at the World Series, I promised my family anything they wanted. I assumed they’d choose cars, high-tech toys, maybe a working vacuum cleaner. The rats, they picked ME.
In Part I, I explained how, after the star-studded charity tournament for refugees in the Darfur region, Ante Up for Africa, got underway, I chipped up by getting lucky against Superman and Walter Cronkite. That’s the way it went all day: I built chips by playing bad and getting lucky, then gave them all back on the rare occasions I decided to play good. I lost a bunch to Adam “Roothless” Levy when I was all-in with the best hand, and even more with A-K against some dude who called all four of my bets with pocket fours.
I was overwhelmed by the experience of playing in Annie Duke’s and Don Cheatle’s Ante up for Africa tournament on July 2. One of the great rewards from finishing second in Razz was having the money to buy into this event. Unfortunately, I didn’t take good notes. I don’t know if I was stars-truck or just nervous with anticipation about playing the Main Event the next day. But I’ll give you what I’ve got, which are some hastily-composed notes (taken on the sly) and my jumbled recollections. Still, I think it provides a fair idea, in advance of the tournament’s broadcast on ESPN, of what it was like.
After learning poker in Amsterdam from his cousin in 2004, Steve Wong has become an accomplished big-tournament poker player. In his breakthrough year of 2006, he made his first WSOP final table, finishing fourth in the $1,000 NLHE with re-buys, earning over $162,000. In October, at the Bellagio’s Festa al Lago, he won a $5,000 NLHE event, worth nearly $200,000. Just ten days later, after winning a satellite entry into the WPT Main Event, he made the Final Table and finished second, cashing for $542,700. Two months later, at the Bellagio Five-Diamond, he won the $2,500 NLHE, scoring another $215,255. In the three years after the whirlwind of the second half of ‘06, Steve has moved to Las Vegas and followed up those performances with strong finishes in WPT Championships, WSOP circuit Main Events, and in the World Series of Poker.
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So far, I have mostly told you about Jeffrey Lisandro’s aggressive style and the way the other players behaved against it. There’s also the matter of his table image which, though not decisive, definitely worked in his favor. How did Jeffrey Lisandro behave at the table?
Over the last couple weeks, I’ve been winding out my stories from the three days I spent playing Razz. My runner-up finish in the $2,500 Razz event wasn’t just a great personal triumph but an opportunity to see many great and notable players. I’ve already told you about playing with and alongside Dario Minieri, Huckleberry Seed, Archie Karas, Sam Grizzle, and Miami John Cernuto.
But I saved the best for last.
As I was preparing the blog based on my interview with Jeffrey Pollack, I decided to compare player–participation numbers between the 2009 World Series and similar numbers from the year before. Although the year-over-year numbers are equivocal, it was a miracle in this economy that poker has retained its strength of the past several years. As Pollack said during our conversation, “The economy had no effect.”
After I busted from the Main Event, I had an opportunity to interview World Series of Poker commissioner Jeffrey Pollack. It had been a difficult week for Jeffrey. The demands on his time always escalate as the Series goes on, and by the Main Event, he has to work around the clock juggling responsibilities to sponsors, ESPN, tournament administration, players, and Harrah’s. Just a few days earlier, he had to weather the storm surrounding the sell-out of day 1-D of the Main Event, which locked hundreds of players out of the World Championship and forced a year-to-year decline in Main Event participation.
It’s time for me to get back to work. Or time to think about getting back to work. Or time to think about thinking about getting back to work.
It’s taken me twelve days to return to work after the World Series of Poker. If pressed, I’d blame my car’s navigation system, but the better thing is probably to start filling up this space. We have plenty to catch up on, and many interesting things coming up.
