Poker
Camp WPF 2002:
The Championship Event
Day
Two of the Championship Event (10K NLHE):
Tough
starting table, but I am lucky that Layne
is moved within the first fifteen minutes,
maybe even less. He has a ton of chips
and they have to call in Ryder's. Layne
states that there should be exceptions
in moving players. He racks up some of
the lower denomination chips and tells
the floor to bring the rest. We muse if
the other table has any idea what is about
to arrive.
I
can't give you my hands as some of the
people I played with read may this and
I don't want them to know if their reads
were correct or incorrect. But I will
say a couple of things. I happy with the
way I played. Phil Hellmuth is supposedly
a master at reading voices so if you don't
have the goods remain silent. Phil raised
a hand, John Rowan moved in. Phil tried
to get him to talk, he wouldn't say a
word. Phil said "buddy I played with you
yesterday didn't I?" when there is no
response Phil continues that the fella
played pretty tight and he laid down his
pocket jacks face up. John now responds
that the reason Phil has chips and he
doesn't is because he played too tight.
Giving the impression that Phil did have
him beat.
An
orbit or two later. It is folded to Phil
(two to my right) he raises and I reraise.
He eyes my chips so I spread them out
and give him a count. He tells me he is
going to let me have it. An orbit later
he again raises my blind and I again reraise
and he inquires about my chips. I respond
that I have what I had before *plus* what
he gave me :-) He replies that in other
words I am not as strong this time. "Exactly",
is my reply. He folds. An orbit or two
later he raises, Tony Ma reraises and
Phil moves in, Tony calls. QQ for Phil,
KK for Tony, perhaps he should of tried
to get Tony to talk :-) Phil shakes his
heads but is gracious about the loss.
I don't recall off hand the hand that
finished Phil shortly there after, but
I do recall that he was replaced by Chris
"Jesus" Ferguson. Exit one bracelet winner,
enter another :-)
I
raise preflop going back for chips. No
one calls me on a technicality but after
the hand is over (on the flop) Howard
Lederer gently tells me that what I did
was technically a string raise and I should
either bring out all the chips at once
or state the amount I intend to raise.
It is obvious to the table that it was
a "tell" in the heat of battle. A little
while later I raise again and again I
bring out only 1K, this time I stop, but
the table realizes I meant to raise more.
I am called by one of the blinds. The
flop comes AKx with two hearts and I immediately
move in. Steve Z. asks if I would mind
if he acted first since he is the blind,
ooops, I take back my stack. He bets.
I move in. He debates and says she was
too eager to play and isn't afraid of
my bet and lays down AK. It is players
like this that can make the big laydowns
that get to the money. He of course wants
me to show, I, of course don't.
We
are down to three tables, only ten spots
pay. My demise comes when I am moved to
a new table. I don't have the rhythm of
the table, Phil Ivey is raising nearly
every hand, or so it seems (played three
before the break started). I am short,
but I should of just sat back, the structure
allows for time and opportunity even though
I only have about 2.5 orbits. I don't
really factor in that once I get a hand
I get a lot of money from the pot, even
if no one calls. I wouldn't say I panicked,
I thought I found a good spot to gamble.
The first hand back from break I am the
bb and Ivey raises from the sb. I think
that this is a standard play on the short
blind from the huge stack and look to
see AhJh, hmm it started to look good
and I decide to call, planning to move
him off on the flop. The problem is he
bet out 1.5K on a flop of TT9, the bigger
problem is it hadn't initially registered
that the 10 seat, Jay Columbo had limped
preflop, it did register somewhat when
he called Ivey's preflop raise. At this
point (Ivey's flop bet) a disciplined
player folds, realizing they can't take
a headsup play against two players. Not
me I move in the rest of my chips, which
is a little more than double Phil's bet,
Jay and Phil call. The turn is the 5d,
Phil checks, Jay bets and Phil folds...
turns out I am drawing dead..Jay limped
on the button with AA. I gambled when
it was not favorable.. I concentrated
only on what Phil Ivey was doing and trapped
myself broke. I have played with Jay,
I know he likes to be tricky and trap
but that was lost on me in the heat of
battle concentrating only on Phil. Both
of my huge mistakes revolved around not
paying attention to the third guy in the
pot. I had a real shot, I played some
great poker.. I also made some huge mistakes.
No real regrets, though as I write this
I only now see what it has cost me, nah,
no regrets I will file this in my memory
bank and remember it the next time I get
lucky and win myself a seat in a big one...
or even, when I play in a small one.
I
head back to my room to fire off email
to those that I know care about where
I stand (or in this case no longer stand)
Last year I would of been depressed, this
year I know that I played some great poker
*but* have to work on some things. I decide
the appropriate thing is to "mope", it
was after all my first Championship event
and though I played most of it well, I
am out. But, the best part of my game
is dissecting what is was I did that was
right, wrong and neutral. I try to improve
and I don't think I can by justifying.
Poker does not define me and poker is
not my life. So, I will learn from this
mistake (OK two, but basically the same
mistake) and it will live large for a
long time, but I will not "dwell on it",
I will remember the lessons I learned.
So how can I mope? Not finding great success
in "moping" I was happy to hear Russell
Rosenblum's voice on the other end of
my cell phone calling to inquire if I
was still in and did I want him to hold
their table at Cedars? Since I am out
we (Russell, his wife Anne and myself)
decide to go to the tournament area and
collect Andy Bloch for the dinner break.
As we are gathering Young Phan who has
been playing at the same table as Andy
most of the day says "c'mon, I got a key
to the 8th floor" (private dining room
where everything is comped but the tip)
and off we go. How can I possibly mope,
when life is full of opportunities like
discussing poker at dinner with the likes
of these minds? (Ah, camp dinner you never
know where it will be *dining hall/camp
fire* or who you will be seated with.
Camp can be so diverse and exciting!)
When we return to the tournament area
someone asks me how "I" can watch this.
I don't understand the question and obviously
a blank look is on my face so they continue
to say, when they are knocked out of an
event like this they can't stand to watch
it. Ah, I get the question now... how,
can I not watch it, I paid my tuition
I want the lessons even if they are from
the rail.
We
watch Andy play until 6 AM, making the
cut for day three. The World Poker Tour
(WPT) will be filming day three and airing
it sometime in 2003 (along with 12 other
events). Russell and I may be out but
Andy is in, and we are very very happy
for him. When play continues (two day
later) we are there to cheer our boy on.
He starts as the second lowest in chips,
picks his spots and gambles brilliantly
when he has too. His downfall is moving
in with JT of spades (three handed and
now short again) and being called by Howard
Lederer who has pocket 9's. Though there
are two spades on the flop, Andy fails
to catch another spade, a J or a T. We
later joke with him that he needs to work
on his skills of catching cards. We watch
as Howard Lederer wins and Howard takes
all of us to dinner.
As
we are waiting/gathering outside the restaurant
I am skimming in The Washingtonian (magazine)
article about Russell and the WSOP. I
read out loud the sentence about Russell
being the best player in Washington. Andy's
mom claims that has all changed (with
Andy taking 3rd today to Russell's 6th
at the WSOP). Russell and Andy start adding
up money won in their tourney's (in a
friendly, not a cocky way) and Andy's
mom takes note of the the author of the
article. Andy's parents had come in to
see Bill Cosby the previous night at the
Fox Theater and stuck around to see Andy
play on Sunday. It's easy to see from
where Andy gets his integrity and easy
going ways. It is also refreshing to see
the mutual respect between parents and
son. I imagine they must be a tad concerned
that their MIT/Harvard Law son is playing
poker for a living, but they seem proud
of him and he seems genuinely happy to
have them present. Ah, it's always nice
when camp comes to an end to be reunited
with family (smile) and to share the adventure.
Oh wait, Andy isn't a camper he plays
for a living... well, all camps have special
guests, he is an honorary camper, as without
him and the rest of the gang, camp just
wouldn't have been so much fun. Now, where
are the toasted marshmallows, s'mores
anyone?
Read:
Introduction
to Camp
, Opening
Day
, Arts
& Crafts... er, $340 NLHE Tourney
, Leaving
Camp and Returning
, The
Championship Event Day One
, The
Championship Event Day Two
Joan Hadley
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