Heartland Poker Tour Tourney and trip report (very very long)

[pudley4]

A little background on my poker: I've played a few live tournies at Canterbury before, but never one this large before (either in terms of buy-in or the number of players). In most of our home tournies (12 to 40 players, $25 buy-in), I always seem to end up either not finding any way to accumulate chips, or getting bored and being too aggressive to early. I've played limit holdem for the past 3 years, and I currently play 5/10 on Party (half 6max and the other half 10 player). I very rarely play NL or tournaments (as you'll see), so I was definitely out of my element here.

A few weeks ago, my buddy (Kevin) sent me a link to the Hearland Poker Tour. It's a regional tour a couple of guys started about 9 months ago. They hold smaller buy-in tournies ($250-$1000) in local casinos/cardrooms, and then broadcast the final table throughout the Upper Midwest (from Denver to Omaha to Western Wisconsin, plus parts of Canada; they're currently working on getting a broadcast in Milwaukee and Chicago). They were having a tournament in SW Minnesota, at Jackpot Junction Casino, which is very close to where my friend grew up. He was going down there anyway for a family reunion, so he was planning on playing. I wavered back and forth on going, and was leaning towards staying home, but my wife kept pushing me to play. Between her insistance, and the voice mail I got from my friend on Friday, telling me he had made it to the final day of play, I decided I had to go. Since he was the only one of my group of friends to go, IF he happened to make it on TV, we'd never hear the end of it. I figured I needed to at least take a shot.

The tourney had four "satellites", two on Friday and two on Saturday. Each one took up to 140 players with the top 10% making it back for the Sunday "main event". Buy-in was $250+25, first place was $30,000 guaranteed. Players would start with 10k in chips, blinds 25/50, going up every 30 minutes. They went up at a reasonable rate, which was a good sign. (Side note: The tourney was run very well, the dealers ran from just ok to very good, and the TD was flexible and fair as you'll see later too). The players who made it back to the Sunday event would start over with 30k in chips, and 500/1k blinds. This was important, because it made for a lot of slow play once we neared the magic 10% cutoff.

I left my house at 7 am on Saturday. We just moved about 45 minutes west of Minneapolis, so it was about a 2 hr drive to Jackpot. Registration started at 9 and the first tourney started at 11. I got there at 9 with only a slight detour due to Minnesota's second season - construction (the first season obvisouly being freezing-ass-cold winter). I got to the poker room, and saw only 6 tables ??? I then saw the sign notifying us that the tournament was being held in the convention area. I made my way there and registered while they were still getting everything set up. I noticed it was cold in the room, but didn't think too much of it. Mistake number one - I froze my ass off that day. It didn't help that I sat directly underneath an air vent for about 4 hours.

I went back to the poker room and killed time talking to one of the dealers until a few regulars showed up about 10 am. We started a 2-10 spread limit HE game, and I ran good - last two hands I hit a gutshot on the turn and then a flush on the turn; a sign of things to come? Or was I "using up all my luck"? It didn't matter at the time, because the Poker Room supervisor was telling me and another kid that the tourney was being held up waiting for us, and we'd better get our asses down there. Of course we got there and had to wait another 15 minutes while they decided to change us from 11 players per table down to 10 players per table.

I play good:

First hand: AJo in the BB. One limpers to me, I check. Flop: Axx. I bet 100, he calls. Turn: x. I bet 200, he calls. River: x. I bet 400, he calls and shows 88 (no set).

We lose our first two:

There are 89 players, so the top 9 will make it to tomorrow (Sunday). First round, UTG (who has been very passive so far) makes it 150, LAG calls, tight old guy makes it 450, only UTG and LAG call. Flop T62r. check, LAG bets 1000, other 2 call. Turn: 3. UTG checks, LAG bets 2k, old guy quickly makes it 6k, UTG folds, LAG pushes and old guy quickly calls again. 66 for LAG, AA for old guy, no help on the river, bye-bye. A short time later, blinds are 50/100; UTG makes it 400, UTG+1 calls, folded to young kid (who's decent), he makes it 1300, folded to UTG+1 who goes allin for about 8k. Kid says "I have to call" and flips AA, and destroys UTG+1's overplayed AK.

I flop quads...:

I limp UTG with 77 (blinds are 100/200), one more limper, decent button makes it 700, we both call. Flop T77. I check-call the 1.5k bet on the flop, other limper folds, turn is check-check, river is bet 2k -fold. God I play good [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

..then I go card-dead:

The next 3 hours go by in a blur of 62o and me rubbing my arms trying to stay warm. I try checkraising a JJ2 flop against a guy I KNOW doesn't have a J, but he comes over the top and I have to fold my T7. Other than that, nothing eventful happens, and I'm still around 10k in chips. The blinds are 400/800, and I pick up AK UTG. I hate this. I do not want to play it, but I still raise to 2k. Good player in LP calls, and now I really hate my hands. It's HU. Flop Q72. I bet 3k, he raises to 8k, I throw up in my mouth (a la the Sports Guy) and fold and I'm down to 6k in chips [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] Shortly after this, they come around and ask who wants to play in the next tourney (starting at 4:00) if they bust out. My hand is the first in the air.

Stayin Alive:

I keep my stack around 7k for the next hour and the blinds are now 1k/2k with a 100 ante. Good player from the previous hand opens in EP for 5k, folded to me in the sb w/KK and I push, only good player calls with his 44. Just to be safe, I flop a K and double up. I manage to steal a little here and there and get to 23k in chips when we get to 4:00 and the final three tables. The next tourney is set to start, so they move us into the actual poker room. We draw for seats and I get a bad seat - the good player from my table is two to my right, and he's very aggressive, so he'll be coming after my blinds a lot, plus he's got the first chance to isolate and steal. I manage to both avoid him and steal often enough to build my stack a little. I was near the bottom in chip count (blinds were 3k/6k here) but about every 3rd hand we hear "Player down". Suddenly they're breaking up the third table and we're down to 20. A few more steals, a few more bustouts, and we're down to 15. We've got 9 at our table, so the TD taps me on the shoulder and moves me to the other table. Just as I get there, someone from my original table busts out. 14 left. we each lose 1, and then a guy at my table takes about 10 minutes to decide whether his 9s is good on a AsKsTs8sxo board, about 75k in the pot, and he's got 8k left (he's in the sb next hand, blinds are 4k/8k). He finally folds, (he was behind), and gets allin the next hand and loses. 11 left. They'll combine tables at 10 players. We push a few chips around, and suddenly we hear "all in", "call", "all in", "call", "call". Yep, 2 allins and 2 callers. Everyone goes to watch, hoping both the allins will bust out and then we'll be at 9 and done for the day. Unfortunately one of the guys has ATo, hits an A, and it holds up. 10 players left, I'm about 65k in chips, about 7th (a couple of players are around 35-40k).

The final 10...:

We redraw for seats at the final table - good aggressive guy is now two to my left. First hand I'm in the BB, folded to the sb, he completes, I raise with AQo, he folds. This happens again a little while later, and helps me stay alive. Only one small stack gets all-in, but he's got AQ vs JT and easily doubles up. The player 2 to my right has close to 200k in chips, but he's still playing very aggressive. I get QJs on the button with blinds 5/10 and it's folded to me. sb is a small stack (about 45k), I have about 75k, but the big stack in the BB scares me off. I fold, sb folds, and BB shows KK. Nice.

...become the Final 9:

I'm in the 3 seat. Short stack in the 4 seat (about 40k). Other short stack in the 8 seat (about 25k). Blinds are 5k/10. 8 seat has just made it through his blinds, and the BB is now me. UTG (short stack) thinks and thinks and thinks and finally folds. I bet he's got AK. Folded to sb, he completes, I have AQ (yep, that other time I mentioned) and raise, he folds. Someone asks UTG "AK?", he says "yeah", I say "thanks". 2 hands later MP (about 100k) limps, we all fold to sb, he goes all-in. Remember, he's still got 25k in chips, the other short stack only has 25k and will hit the blinds first, AND the aggressive chip leader is in the BB. Anyway, of course the BB calls, limper folds, and we're heads up: KJs for sb, ATo for BB. Flop...

AJT. Turn: x. River: x. And I'll be back on Sunday.

Is my luck changing?:

I get my receipt for the Sunday entry, head out to my car, and realize I have no cell phone service at all. I also realize the only place I have Kevin's brother's cell phone number is on my cell phone VM. I start driving around with my cell phone open and up in the air, trying to get a signal. I'd get one bar, and slam on the brakes, only to dial and get the "no service" message. Finally about 30 minutes later I'm on the top of a small hill and I get 2 bars. I retrieve the VM, call the cell phone - no answer. I leave a few messages, then head back to Jackpot to get something to eat. I pull into the parking lot, and notice I now have 2 bars for my signal? Where the hell did that come from? I quickly call Kevin and this time get through. He gives me directions to where he's at and I head out. He's at a family reunion, and we get back just in time to miss all the singing. Bummer [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]. We throw down a few, talk about our respective tournaments so far, play a few outdoor horseshoe-type games, and then it's dark and time for fireworks. They dropped over a grand on the fireworks, and got some pretty cool ones. The one I liked the best was the one that shot way up in the air, exploded, and then the rocket landed directly behind Kevin's head! Oops - guys, I think you need to aim them a little more towards the corn fields. Thanks. We stay at Kevin's sister's house and decide to get up at 7:30 the next morning. It's about 45 minutes to Jackpot, and we want to eat breakfast. It's a good thing we got up early because we got out to the car and realized I had locked my keys in the car! No spares either. Kevin's brother messed around with the lock until about 8:10 and just as Kevin headed back into the house to get his keys, the lock popped. Whew. We made it with about 5 minutes to spare.

Let's get aggressive:

We get to registration and find out they're taking a poll. Originally only 25 of the 39 players were getting paid. A few people complained, so they asked us if we'd rather pay everyone or keep the original payout. With our two votes, it was about 27-6 in favor of paying everyone. This will help cut down on the tight play in the beginning because no one has to worry about missing the money any more. We get to our seats and I see the good player is sitting two to my right again. I suck at picking seats. First hand (oh, we start over with 30k in chips, blinds are 500/1k, and go up the same as the previous day, but the antes don't start until 3k/6k + 300ante); anyway, first hand I'm in the hijack with A7o. Folded to me - let's see how tight these guys are playing. I raise to 3k, folded to BB, he makes it 6k. Oops. I call, flop is AAQ. He bets 5k. I think and raise to 10k - it's the last money I'm putting in this pot. He shakes his head and folds. I think I suck.

Someone's getting trapped (but I don't know who):

I continue to play aggressive, pick up more than my fair share of blinds, bet out from the blinds and pick up pots, and I'm up over 55k when this happens: We're down to about 35 players, blinds are 1k/2k. Folded to good player on the button, he raises to 5k, sb folds, I have ATo. I make it 10k, he calls. Flop: Ac 2c 3x. I check, he bets 8k, I make it 20k, he goes allin for about 6k more. I call and he shows KK and gets no help. I'm now the big chip leader only 45 minutes into the tourney.

Getting put to the test:

I've been very aggressive and stolen a lot. I've come over the top a few times (usually with a good hand) and I'm up over 140k in chips. I get AQo in EP and make it 15k (blinds are 3k/6k + 300 ante, 10 players at the table). Only BB calls. Flop: Jh 7h 4h. BB pushes (about 68k). I have the Ah. I think. And think. And think. Someone calls for a clock. I have one minute left. I just about fold, then say "screw it, I have the Ah, I call". He shows Ac 6c. A heart on the turn makes my own heart start beating again. I'm over 200k in chips with 19 players left.

I play bad (but the TD rules good):

The next orbit, blinds are still the same, and UTG+2 goes all in for 3k. Folded to CO, an aggressive player with a decent (100k) stack. He makes it 12k. I think maybe he's stealing light, so I make it 40k with JcTc. SB thinks for a long time and finally folds. BB folds, but CO calls. Damn. Flop: 9c 6x 5x. Checked to me. I bet 25k, hoping he's on a small pair or just two big cards and he'll fold. Nope, he comes over the top for 60k. Um, I fold. Now, he shows us QQ, and then turns his cards face down and throws them towards the dealer and the muck. The dealer puts his hand and arm down and stops the cards before they touch the muck. The dealer and a few players say "wait, there's still an all in player in the hand". CO apologizes and says he was so caught up in the play with me that he forgot there was another player in. Now the allin player wants the hand ruled dead. "He mucked his hand" was the argument. Most of us disagreed with the old guy (except for one other older player, who also wanted the hand ruled dead), because his hand never touched the muck and was clearly identifiable. He yells for the TD to make a ruling, so she comes over, listes to the dealer (who explained it very clearly) and she immediately ruled the hand was live. Thank you. Old guy shows his A5, gets no help on the turn or river, and stomps off.

I dominate good:

Two times I'm in the BB and defend against an allin: One time the sb goes allin with T7 and I call with K7. Another time the button goes allin with A9 and I defend with AJ. I've got back over 200k in chips and there's only 15 players left now.

I dominate bad:

Blinds are 4k/8k + 400ante. I stole the blinds from the button last hand, and now have AJo in the CO. Folded to me, I raise to 25k, button goes allin for 28k more. I call, he shows ATo. Flop: AKT. Turn: x. River: x. Good times.

I play REALLY bad:

We're now at the final table. 10 players, blinds are 5k/10k + 500 ante. Final 6 are going to be on TV. Payouts are about 2k for 10th, about 4k for 6th, then 5k, 7k, 8k, 11k, and 30k for first. I've got about 200k in chips, and I'm the chip leader by what I think is a pretty decent margin. Folded to button who raises to 30k. I have Qs9s in the BB and call. Flop: JT2r (one spade). I bet 40k, he goes allin. I eyeball his stack, and it looks like he's got about 90k left. So I've got to call about 50k in a 200k pot, which would leave me with about 80k left. Ok, I'm not too happy about it, but I priced myself into the call. I call, and we start counting the chips. Um, how come I have to keep putting out more chips? Oh, I guess he's really got about 140k left in chips, and really only had a little over 180k in chips to start the hand. Nice, I just called off almost my entire stack against...AJ. Well, it could be worse. I guess I'm about a 60/40 dog, maybe a little closer. I feel sick. I remember why I hate tournaments. Turn...Q. I'm now ahead, but he still has outs. River...Q. It's true - God does look after children and fools.

And then there were 6:

7 handed, blinds 6k/12k + 500ante. I'm over 400k in chips and playing very tight. I WILL make it on TV, and I WILL make laydowns early if I need to. It's not the highest EV, but I got this far and I'm not throwing it away. I'm UTG with 77 and make it 35k. UTG+1 calls (185k stack), next player (very aggressive, pretty tight so far, 275k stack) makes it 100k, folded to me, I laugh and fold, UTG+1 calls. Flop: Txx, two hearts. UTG+1 goes all-in, UTG+2 quickly calls. UTG+1 flips AQ? UTG+2 flips QQ. No help and we're suddenly filling out forms and learning how to hold our cards for the cameras.

Nervous? What's there to be nervous about - it's only TV:

They want us back in about 30 minutes to start playing (1:30). I call my wife and she tells me she's driving down to see. I tell her not to bother because it's two hours and even though I'm number 2 in chips, I don't know if I'll still be around when she gets here. She comes down anyway. I get back to the table, and they're still doing crowd shots. They ask a bunch of people to come sit up in the chairs and I oblige. They decide it's probably not a good idea to have one of the players show up in a crowd shot, so I have to leave [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] They get some crowd shots, some empty table shots, do some mike checks, then try to get some crowd reactions. They're supposed to cheer, then they're supposed to be shocked, then half are supposed to cheer and half are supposed to be sad, then they do the "suspense shot". All I can say is, if we're as bad at poker as these people are at acting, this is going to be the worst TV show ever. They come out and remind us to just relax and be ourselves and pretend like it's our regular Friday night home game. No worries there. Then we hear "20 seconds to taping" and the room is completely silent. Um, this feels weird. I can feel the cameras on me, and all the people staring at me (all 30 or 40 of them). Then the cards are in the air, and I forget all about the cameras. The first hand comes and goes, and I don't remember a thing about it. Wait, I folded - I remember that. The blinds were rolled back to 3k/6k to give us a little more play - I like that decision a lot. The chip counts were: me, 1 seat, 383k; young aggro guy who knows BK in seat 2, 107k; old aggro guy in seat 3, 450k; young local guy in seat 4, 100k; old "tourney pro" from Hinkley MN casino in seat 5, 70k; young good player from Fargo in seat 6, 100k. There weren't too many interesting hands early. A lot of chips just got pushed back and forth. One time the 6 seat open raised on the button to 18k. I had JJ and made it 55k and he folded. I don't even remember the hands that knocked out seats 4,5,and 6. We got down to 3 handed, and I went card dead just as seats 2 and 3 went all-out aggro on each other. The only hands they showed down were: seat 2 open-limped from the sb with QQ, 3 raised to about 4x the BB with 44, 2 reraised about 2x more and pushed on a T8x flop and got called. Very soon after, seat 2 open raised from the button, seat 3 reraised, I folded, 2 pushed with AA and 3 called with KQs. And we were down to 2.

My luck continues:

We're heads up, and it's time for a break. Some of the guys back in the truck come out and let us know we're doing a great job. They tell us to keep up the chatter because they're getting really good sound from us. They bring out the money and put it on the table. It looks pretty pathetic. We start off and I'm hot. I'm raising and he's folding. He's raising, I'm reraising and he's folding. He started off a little over 2-1 ahead in chips, but I'm catching up. I get QTs and raise to about 35k he calls. Flop: KJJ. Check check. Turn: 9. He bets 50k, I make it 120k. He calls. River: x. check, I bet 100k, he calls and doesn't show. I've got the lead now.

So close:

Lots of boredom now. Mostly me raising and him folding. Once in a while he'll defend and take it down, but there's not much going on. I still have the chip lead about 700k-500k when this happens: He raises to about 50k, I call with QJo. Flop: Qd 7d 2x. I've been checking and folding a lot after defending, so I check again. He bets 100k, I raise to 250k, he calls. Turn: Jx. I push, he calls. Everyone gets excited and we flip our cards. Td 9d for him. He's got 14 outs. I'm over 2-1 to win this thing. River...8s. Damn. The crowd gives an honest reaction - some cheered, some groaned. We count it out - I'm down to about 200k in chips. And I go very card dead. 92o, 63o, T4o. It's brutal. Blinds are 8k-16k and I'm just getting bled to death. I raise to 45k with QJo, he goes allin, and I fold. It's the last hand before the break. It comes just in time.

Gotta take a stand:

We come back from the break, and I'm down 1.05m to 150k, blinds at 10k/20k. We push a little back and forth and then he raises to 40k and I call with Qh 3h. Flop: Th 7x 3x. I bet 50k and hope he raises all-in. He does, I call, but he shows T6o. Turn: xh. River: xh and I runner runner him to get to over 200k. Next hand I have QTs and raise to 50k, he calls. Flop: K9xr. I bet 50k, he calls. I think he's got a 9, or maybe smaller pocket pair. Turn: x. I bet 50k, he raises to 100k. Damn, I have to call, I still think I have 10 outs. River: x. He bets, I fold. He shows AKo. Big oops. I'm down to about 90k. Soon after he pushes and I have to call with Qc 6c. He shows K5, neither one of us is helped and I'm nothing more than the first loser. I get my exit interview, chat a little with some of the guys from the show, my wife talks them into giving me an oversized check too [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] and I collect my cash and leave. 11.5k for something I didn't really want to do in the first place. Not a bad weekend.

Closing thoughts:

1 - The people in charge of this tournament did an excellent job. There were no poor dealers, and the 3 at the final table were all very good. I really liked how they rolled the blinds back at the final table (and they notified us when we still had about 10 players that they would do this, so everyone was aware and could adjust their strategy accordingly)

2 - This whole experience reaffirmed why I don't like tournaments. Most of the afternoon on Saturday I spent with 10x the BB. I was one missed blind steal away from being desperate. On Sunday, I got very lucky and was able to build a big chip stack. Without that stack, I'm right there with the rest of the guys, scrambling and trying to avoid the big stack bullies. Even with that advantage, I made one very bad mistake and had to get lucky as an underdog just to make it to the final 6. All in all I think I played very well, but still needed several lucky breaks just to get to the final 6, let alone win the whole thing. It's hard enough sometimes reconciling the disconnect between playing good poker and winning money, and in tournaments this is just magnified.

3 - Being on TV isn't all that difficult. Like I said before, the 20 or so seconds between the time the room quieted down and the time the cards flew were the weirdest. Once there was something to focus on, it became just another card game. I was easily able to joke around and chat it up with everyone, but a few of the guys were deathly silent. Maybe they're like that normally, but I usually am too. Knowing this was for TV made it even more fun, and since it was probably a once-in-a-lifetime thing for me, I figured I might as well enjoy it as much as possible.

4 - Once I got to heads up, it really wasn't about the money. My bankroll is big enough for the games I want to play right now, so I don't need any more money for that. I'm definitely not ready to play the 15/30 consistently, since the swings at 5/10 6max are sometimes almost more than I can stand. Winning an extra 19000 isn't going to drastically change my life in any way - it would help pay off some of the house we just bought, but it's not like I could quit my job or anything because of it. If you would have told me before the tourney started that I'd finish 2nd, I would have jumped at that result. Once I got there though, and was that close to winning it, losing was just absolutely crushing.

See? I told you it was long.

[Cosimo]

Great report, thanks for posting!

[Bartman387]

awesome report, cant wait to see it on FSN, did they say when its supposed to air?

[kasey2004]

Great report !

Im still waiting to play in the HPT. Im looking foreward to watching it on TV

[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] Kasey [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]

[tek]

[ QUOTE ]
And then there were 6:

7 handed, blinds 6k/12k + 500ante. I'm UTG with 77 and make it 35k. UTG+1 calls (185k stack), next player (very aggressive, pretty tight so far, 275k stack) makes it 100k, folded to me, I laugh and fold, UTG+1 calls. Flop: Txx, two hearts. UTG+1 goes all-in, UTG+2 quickly calls. UTG+1 flips AQ? UTG+2 flips QQ. No help and we're suddenly filling out forms and learning how to hold our cards for the cameras.

[/ QUOTE ]

That was me [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] I was hoping everyone would fold and I could go heads up with you. I soon realized I'd be heads up with the old guy. I knew you both had a pair and didn't care because I was running sooo good throughout the tournament. I figure I'd spike an Ace and beat whomever I was up against and double up to a 1.85 Q.

Turns out I had too many outs...

Anyway, here's a review of my thoughts (I didn't keep a notebood like you did...)

Played the 4PM qualifying shift on Friday. Saw some midwest tournament regulars. First hour I received AK twice, AQ once, middle A's a few times--none of which connected. Down 2K. Moved to another table and the magic began. Had okay results with regular hands, but went all in seven times and made my draw every time. Down to eleven with nine coming back Sunday. I just do the origami and coast in.

On Sunday, I vote for 25 pay outs. Bunch of pussies vote for 40. Oh well.

We start playing at 9. At 9:05 a guy in EP goes all in! Let the games begin...I peek at

AA [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

I get all my chips in before he finishes. I win heads up unimproved and double up quick.

A few hands later the guy behind me who had accumulated enough chips to be ahead of me raises. I have pocket 10's. I call. Flop is A1010 [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

I bet 10k hoping for a reraise. He calls. I bet 30k on the turn, he calls. Hmmm, he isn't afraid. But obviously he isn't reraising to keep me from folding. Egggselent. I go all in on the river and he calls. I show quads. He shows

AKo [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

He is in bad shape and is soon out of the tourny.

Next victim. "Indian Joe" A regular tourney player. I've seen him around. Played NL at St. Croix with him once. Never played a tourney hand against him. Until now...

He is down to 11K and goes all in PF. Folds to me, I call.

He has 88 and I have AKo. Flop is 1010x. Turn 10. Looks like ol' Joe is going to double up on an impressive board. But NOOO! The river is a K .

OMG, I knocked Joe out!
He smiles in a rather bemused manner and just stares in the distance for about 2 minutes...

New table. Spike a 9 on the river to knock a young gun with two pair out. Spike a 10 or a K on the river (forgot which) to make two pair against an old rock on a straight draw.

Final table. Get a A8 against YOU with a A9 on a scary board. You bet hard all the way and I flat call and win with an 8 on the board. [img]/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]

And then the magic ends. I had used up all my suckouts. The pair of Q's hold up against my AhQd. But it was a fun run.

And I agree, the tournament was well run. The TV table (which I had seen at Northern Lights) was totally as professional as what you see on the WPT. The scaffolding around it with all the cables, lights and cameras was impressive.

I left after collecting my $4245, so I'll have to see you guys on FSN in October...

[gadflier]

Outstanding report; congratulations.