Russ McGinley
01-13-2005, 04:56 PM
First of all, if you are capable of driving to Tunica, do so. Do NOT fly if you do not have prearranged transportation. I had to shell out $170 for cab fares getting to the hotel from the airport and vice versa. What a joke. The airport is about 30 miles away and there is no free (or reasonably priced) shuttles.
Ok, so I get to Tunica and the cab driver leaves me at the wrong hotel. I stayed at the Grand Casino, and they have two hotels across the street from each other, except that "street" is like a mile. I get there around 10am and am told my room is not ready, but they can put me in a handicap room that is ready. Fine, the bathroom will be big at least. So I ask how I'm supposed to get to the other hotel and they tell me "over there", neglecting to point out that there's a free shuttle bus that goes back and forth all day long. So I get to walk there. That was fun.
I get there and they say my room isn't ready. "I don't know why they told you that" when I said that they told me they'd put me in a handicap room that was ready. Idiots. So I leave my stuff with the bellhop and catch a ride over to the Grand Casino, which is another mile or so away. I figured Tunica would be a lot like Vegas but its not. The Grand is like 5 miles away from everything else which is real helpful.
I'm supposed to meet Matt (gojacketz) at noon and its like 11:15. I'm told there's yet another shuttle bus that'll take me to the Gold Strike (meeting place) but it costs a buck and comes along every 45 minutes. This is really starting to piss me off. I sit around until like 11:50 when the bus finally shows. I walk into the casino at noon on the dot and finally find Matt at about 12:10. We hang out and talk as Matt is waiting to play in a limit tourney at the Grand. During our chat we see several PokerSchoolOnline members, for which we are also. They look like dorks and are sitting in a circle in the middle of the room and Matt and I both laugh.
Matt tells me all about an earlier tourney where the waiting time was about 4 hours to sign up, and he played for 15 minutes before busting out. Yikes. We are sitting just outside of the main poker room where one of the early WPO tourneys are going on. As we are talking, they go on break and a bunch of people walk out, including Brett Jungblutt, Eskimo Clark, and Men the Master who I could probably hear from my hotel room 5 miles away. He is loud. He is also about 3 feet tall. I didn't notice anyone else but I wasn't really looking.
We head over to the Grand (where Matt was playing his tourney) and I watch for a little bit before getting bored. Matt busts out a little bit after the first break and decide to go back to our respective rooms. We are both playing in the PokerSchoolOnline members only tourney at 8am. Signup at 7. The Grand doesn't offer the shuttle to the Gold Strike until 10am so Matt agrees to pick me up.
Once the tourney starts that morning, I look around at my table and am thoroughly unimpressed. A couple of old guys, one older lady, one other decent looking chick, and a couple of guys around my age. We all have our username badges on and I only recognize about 3 or 4 of them. I win the first hand out of the gate and earn instant respect.
The game trudges along as everyone is playing super tight and folding to any raise. I cruise into the first break and Matt is strugg-a-ling on another table. My first crucial hand comes along as I pick up a monster, 22, UTG, and decide to try a limp-reraise representing aces since this table is full of stiffs. The old lady, short stacked, makes a small raise and its folded to me. I ask her how much she has left, but she's old and doesn't hear me. I put her all in and she calls immediately and I'm not happy. At least, until she turns over QTo?!!?!? Ugh. Of course the flop comes ten high and no deuce is found. I lose a few grand and my table image is destroyed.
My cards now turn to crap as I don't pick up a playable hand just in time for the antes which kill my stack. Every time I'm on the button or one off it and want to try a position raise, someone beats me to it. I get moved to another table seriously short stacked. Once I get there, the blinds are about 5 seats away and I have like 6k. The blinds were 500-1500 with a 200 ante so I'm in deep trouble and need to make a move. Of course, the best hand I pick up in those 5 hands is like 9 high or something and I can't do anything. The blind gets to me and after posting I have about 3700. UTG goes all-in and its folded to me. I call without looking at my hand. UTG turns over 77 and I pray I have at least one overcard. I slowly squeeze out AJ and the flop hits my ace and I double up.
I stay alive long enough to move again. We are down to 4 tables now. Top 18 get paid. I pick up JJ and knock out a player with A6. A few hands later, UTG, short stack, goes all-in, and I call with AJ. He flips over T4. Flop comes with a ten and he starts celebrating like he's on TV. Dipshit. River is another ten and he starts dancing and yelling. First place pays $4,000 jackass, not $5 million.
I recover and knock someone else out with AK against his 88, and he gives me a neat little spinner for knocking him out. We get down to 19 and some guy asks for a deal. He wants the 19th place player to get paid 18th place money that comes out of the purse of the winner. So they allow it and we're all in the money. Several people go out quickly. With 11 players left (10 make final table), UTG makes it 12k to go and the player on my right makes it 45k. I look down to find AdKd. With 30k left or so, and being in the bottom 3 in chips, I quickly call. UTG decides to go away and its heads up. He flips over JJ and I feel pretty good. At least, until the flop comes J-x-x. But, with two diamonds! I have hope. Turn is a king which pisses me off to no end. River is black and I'm out 11th. I make my buy-in plus $17 for my 5 hours of work. Awesome! I tip the dealers, who were very good, and go back to the hotel.
I thought about playing a cash game but my I wanted to play in a regular tournament and my bankroll couldn't handle both. I decided to play in the Wednesday $300+40 NLHE tourney with one $100 rebuy. This couldn't have gone worse. My table doesn't look that impressive and they mostly play like morons. One early hand, UTG raises to $200 and gets called by an old guy. SB makes a decent size raise, UTG reraises, old guy cold-calls (????), SB re-reraises (still not all-in), and the other two call. This old guy just called off like 3/4ths of his stack. Flop comes K-T-7. SB goes all-in, both the players call in a shot. I figure someone has AA, someone else has AK or a set, and someone else is overplaying their hand. SB flips over AA. UTG flips over KQ. Old guy flips over J9 (idiot). Turn is an 8 to give the old guy the nuts and the whole table groans. He explains, "I had to call there, I was pot committed!". Moron.
My first big snag came up when I limped after an early limper with Td9d. Both the blinds come along and its 4-way. Flop is K-9-5 with two diamonds. I make a pot-sized bet and get called only by the SB, who is a loose calling station. Turn is an ace, which is a real scare card. I figure he's got a king with a bad kicker and I think that ace may scare him, but I'm also fearful that he's got some hand like A-8 and called because he's stupid. I bet $500 (about 1/3 the pot) and he calls quickly. Turn is a blank. He checks and I think about pushing all-in but I don't think he'll fold, so I make another $500 bet and he says "you got me" and CALLS?!!?!?!? He quickly flips over K3 and I get to muck without showing. That hurt.
Next big pot comes like this: UTG kid (who had KQ in the first hand) move all-in and I look down to find two jacks. I reraise all-in to isolate us, and the woman on my left pushes all-in. I think I'm doomed when the UTG turns over KQ. I turn over my jacks and the woman says "I have two of those" and turns over the other two jacks. Great. Board misses everyone and me and the woman split while the UTG guy busts out. Quick note: Clonie Gowen played in this event and the women at the table despise her. She had gotten up out of her seat (bathroom maybe) and they ragged on her big time.
Old guy who won that monster pot with J9 had been making 5x BB raises almost every hand and winning the blinds uncontested. I pick up 99 and he raises again. I push all-in immediately as I feel I have the best hand, although I figure he's likely got two overs and will call. Woman on my left immediately pushes her stack in and that's not a good sign. Folded to the old guy who calls easily and flips his queens over. Woman shows jacks. Man this sucks. Board misses everyone until the river queen gives the old guy an overkill set. I decide to rebuy to try and save face from busting out 150th or so (out of 165), and that was a nice waste of $100, as I made that last about 10 minutes. With the blinds at 100-200, calling station dude makes it 500 and that seems weak to me. I'm in the BB with Kh8h and call. Flop comes K-x-x with one heart. I check, he bets 500, I go all-in, he calls instantly and shows KJ. Christ. I get no 8 and bust out 140-something.
All in all, it was a great experience. I was nervous for the very first hand of the PSO tourney making my bet as my hand shook a little, but after that I wasn't nervous at all. I watched a little of the final table of that PSO tourney and one guy's hand nearly threw his chips all over the room because his hand was shaking so much. When the PSO tourney started, I honestly felt that I was going to win it, and had I been able to win that AK v JJ battle I think I probably would have been able to cruise into the top 5 at worst. I felt pretty confident in the other tourney but the cards weren't there for me. But next time, I'm definitely driving.
Ok, so I get to Tunica and the cab driver leaves me at the wrong hotel. I stayed at the Grand Casino, and they have two hotels across the street from each other, except that "street" is like a mile. I get there around 10am and am told my room is not ready, but they can put me in a handicap room that is ready. Fine, the bathroom will be big at least. So I ask how I'm supposed to get to the other hotel and they tell me "over there", neglecting to point out that there's a free shuttle bus that goes back and forth all day long. So I get to walk there. That was fun.
I get there and they say my room isn't ready. "I don't know why they told you that" when I said that they told me they'd put me in a handicap room that was ready. Idiots. So I leave my stuff with the bellhop and catch a ride over to the Grand Casino, which is another mile or so away. I figured Tunica would be a lot like Vegas but its not. The Grand is like 5 miles away from everything else which is real helpful.
I'm supposed to meet Matt (gojacketz) at noon and its like 11:15. I'm told there's yet another shuttle bus that'll take me to the Gold Strike (meeting place) but it costs a buck and comes along every 45 minutes. This is really starting to piss me off. I sit around until like 11:50 when the bus finally shows. I walk into the casino at noon on the dot and finally find Matt at about 12:10. We hang out and talk as Matt is waiting to play in a limit tourney at the Grand. During our chat we see several PokerSchoolOnline members, for which we are also. They look like dorks and are sitting in a circle in the middle of the room and Matt and I both laugh.
Matt tells me all about an earlier tourney where the waiting time was about 4 hours to sign up, and he played for 15 minutes before busting out. Yikes. We are sitting just outside of the main poker room where one of the early WPO tourneys are going on. As we are talking, they go on break and a bunch of people walk out, including Brett Jungblutt, Eskimo Clark, and Men the Master who I could probably hear from my hotel room 5 miles away. He is loud. He is also about 3 feet tall. I didn't notice anyone else but I wasn't really looking.
We head over to the Grand (where Matt was playing his tourney) and I watch for a little bit before getting bored. Matt busts out a little bit after the first break and decide to go back to our respective rooms. We are both playing in the PokerSchoolOnline members only tourney at 8am. Signup at 7. The Grand doesn't offer the shuttle to the Gold Strike until 10am so Matt agrees to pick me up.
Once the tourney starts that morning, I look around at my table and am thoroughly unimpressed. A couple of old guys, one older lady, one other decent looking chick, and a couple of guys around my age. We all have our username badges on and I only recognize about 3 or 4 of them. I win the first hand out of the gate and earn instant respect.
The game trudges along as everyone is playing super tight and folding to any raise. I cruise into the first break and Matt is strugg-a-ling on another table. My first crucial hand comes along as I pick up a monster, 22, UTG, and decide to try a limp-reraise representing aces since this table is full of stiffs. The old lady, short stacked, makes a small raise and its folded to me. I ask her how much she has left, but she's old and doesn't hear me. I put her all in and she calls immediately and I'm not happy. At least, until she turns over QTo?!!?!? Ugh. Of course the flop comes ten high and no deuce is found. I lose a few grand and my table image is destroyed.
My cards now turn to crap as I don't pick up a playable hand just in time for the antes which kill my stack. Every time I'm on the button or one off it and want to try a position raise, someone beats me to it. I get moved to another table seriously short stacked. Once I get there, the blinds are about 5 seats away and I have like 6k. The blinds were 500-1500 with a 200 ante so I'm in deep trouble and need to make a move. Of course, the best hand I pick up in those 5 hands is like 9 high or something and I can't do anything. The blind gets to me and after posting I have about 3700. UTG goes all-in and its folded to me. I call without looking at my hand. UTG turns over 77 and I pray I have at least one overcard. I slowly squeeze out AJ and the flop hits my ace and I double up.
I stay alive long enough to move again. We are down to 4 tables now. Top 18 get paid. I pick up JJ and knock out a player with A6. A few hands later, UTG, short stack, goes all-in, and I call with AJ. He flips over T4. Flop comes with a ten and he starts celebrating like he's on TV. Dipshit. River is another ten and he starts dancing and yelling. First place pays $4,000 jackass, not $5 million.
I recover and knock someone else out with AK against his 88, and he gives me a neat little spinner for knocking him out. We get down to 19 and some guy asks for a deal. He wants the 19th place player to get paid 18th place money that comes out of the purse of the winner. So they allow it and we're all in the money. Several people go out quickly. With 11 players left (10 make final table), UTG makes it 12k to go and the player on my right makes it 45k. I look down to find AdKd. With 30k left or so, and being in the bottom 3 in chips, I quickly call. UTG decides to go away and its heads up. He flips over JJ and I feel pretty good. At least, until the flop comes J-x-x. But, with two diamonds! I have hope. Turn is a king which pisses me off to no end. River is black and I'm out 11th. I make my buy-in plus $17 for my 5 hours of work. Awesome! I tip the dealers, who were very good, and go back to the hotel.
I thought about playing a cash game but my I wanted to play in a regular tournament and my bankroll couldn't handle both. I decided to play in the Wednesday $300+40 NLHE tourney with one $100 rebuy. This couldn't have gone worse. My table doesn't look that impressive and they mostly play like morons. One early hand, UTG raises to $200 and gets called by an old guy. SB makes a decent size raise, UTG reraises, old guy cold-calls (????), SB re-reraises (still not all-in), and the other two call. This old guy just called off like 3/4ths of his stack. Flop comes K-T-7. SB goes all-in, both the players call in a shot. I figure someone has AA, someone else has AK or a set, and someone else is overplaying their hand. SB flips over AA. UTG flips over KQ. Old guy flips over J9 (idiot). Turn is an 8 to give the old guy the nuts and the whole table groans. He explains, "I had to call there, I was pot committed!". Moron.
My first big snag came up when I limped after an early limper with Td9d. Both the blinds come along and its 4-way. Flop is K-9-5 with two diamonds. I make a pot-sized bet and get called only by the SB, who is a loose calling station. Turn is an ace, which is a real scare card. I figure he's got a king with a bad kicker and I think that ace may scare him, but I'm also fearful that he's got some hand like A-8 and called because he's stupid. I bet $500 (about 1/3 the pot) and he calls quickly. Turn is a blank. He checks and I think about pushing all-in but I don't think he'll fold, so I make another $500 bet and he says "you got me" and CALLS?!!?!?!? He quickly flips over K3 and I get to muck without showing. That hurt.
Next big pot comes like this: UTG kid (who had KQ in the first hand) move all-in and I look down to find two jacks. I reraise all-in to isolate us, and the woman on my left pushes all-in. I think I'm doomed when the UTG turns over KQ. I turn over my jacks and the woman says "I have two of those" and turns over the other two jacks. Great. Board misses everyone and me and the woman split while the UTG guy busts out. Quick note: Clonie Gowen played in this event and the women at the table despise her. She had gotten up out of her seat (bathroom maybe) and they ragged on her big time.
Old guy who won that monster pot with J9 had been making 5x BB raises almost every hand and winning the blinds uncontested. I pick up 99 and he raises again. I push all-in immediately as I feel I have the best hand, although I figure he's likely got two overs and will call. Woman on my left immediately pushes her stack in and that's not a good sign. Folded to the old guy who calls easily and flips his queens over. Woman shows jacks. Man this sucks. Board misses everyone until the river queen gives the old guy an overkill set. I decide to rebuy to try and save face from busting out 150th or so (out of 165), and that was a nice waste of $100, as I made that last about 10 minutes. With the blinds at 100-200, calling station dude makes it 500 and that seems weak to me. I'm in the BB with Kh8h and call. Flop comes K-x-x with one heart. I check, he bets 500, I go all-in, he calls instantly and shows KJ. Christ. I get no 8 and bust out 140-something.
All in all, it was a great experience. I was nervous for the very first hand of the PSO tourney making my bet as my hand shook a little, but after that I wasn't nervous at all. I watched a little of the final table of that PSO tourney and one guy's hand nearly threw his chips all over the room because his hand was shaking so much. When the PSO tourney started, I honestly felt that I was going to win it, and had I been able to win that AK v JJ battle I think I probably would have been able to cruise into the top 5 at worst. I felt pretty confident in the other tourney but the cards weren't there for me. But next time, I'm definitely driving.