Prelude to a long walk home
December 18, 2007
When I say home, I really mean our hotel - The Paris. I tend to use that term when I go away on vacation, for no other reason than a slip of the tongue. I will often correct myself the first time, but after that I just use the term as one in the same.
Thursday night was interesting. So many people, so many unknowns. I did recognize more than my fair share just based on the pictures I had skimmed over from the previous gatherings. I immediately recoginized Astin as I had met up with him in my home town sometime in the summer for dinner over at the Rock with Fuel. Then I recognized Pauly… you can’t not recognize that guy. He’s like the Tiger Woods of Poker Bloggers. Not just in the “wow there’s Tiger woods over there, let’s get his autograph” but in the “man that dude can write some pretty cool shit. His flow is unmatched, and his style is contagious.” Check out his wicked trip posts if you haven’t already (of course you have, who am I kidding). And while you’re at it, check out Derek’s post too. Just awesome stuff.
Dr. Pauly is so easy to pick out in a crowd because there is always someone trying to get his attention. I stood back and soaked in the atmosphere and watched the masses flow in from various directions surrounding the hooker bar. I then met GCox. He bought me a beer, and then decided to ask who I was… what a great guy. He made me feel very comfortable right away, and I couldn’t think of a better person to meet next based on all the great things that everyone has already written about him.
I then met the rest, of which I am not about to name for the fear of missing one or two. I do remember sitting down with Iggy for a bit and that was a great way to start. I also met up with Alan and LJ and we decided to get some food. We tried the IP, but the service was so brutally slow that we bolted before the bad beat occured. We cut our losses (time only) and went over to Harrahs for some grub. That is when I realized what a big eater LJ is. She ordered what I had (quesadilla’s) AND a philly cheese steak… with fries. LJ (the bubbler) had just bubbled her first of many to come and it was great to grab a table and finally put the face to a couple of names that I had been chatting with over the past few months. Good times. It was about 4am by the time we were done so we grabbed a cab and headed back home.
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We woke up at the crack of nine on Friday morning. After getting a decent night’s sleep (approx. 4 hours) Fuel and I headed over to the Rio to grab some of his stashed cash. I went and got in line at the cafe and he grinded out his options of how to get a nice chunk of change that he had left there from his last trip… the Series.
Breakfast was, just ok. I mean you can’t go wrong with a bunch of your morning staples, but there is something to be said about a plate full of greasy sausage patties…. yummmmmmmyuck. The first one went down just fine, however by the time I hit the third one I felt ill. I should have just stacked them like pancakes (a la Fuel) and hammered them down. I even tried coffee! Yes, you may find that a bit odd that I am even mentioning such a small detail. So I’ll let you in on a little unknown fact - I don’t drink coffee. I’ve had less than ONE cup in 2007 and I broke that semi-streak on Friday…. and I actually liked it! Well, the first few sips anyway… The caffine was all I needed so I toughed it out and drank it down. I’m thinking of starting it up on a regular basis very soon for the sole purpose of a caffine boost. A Red Bull each morning could have a longer term effect me thinks… and this is why I drink water for the most part. As I get older, I think coffee will be the answer.
Ok, so Fuel, Kurokitty and myself win breakfast after Kuro and Gnome show up and we RPS for the bills. 1 up. Thanks Mark!
We hop into Dan’s rent-a-stang and head over to the Venetian, I get my players card and sit down at a 1/2 table. Nothing much to show for it except a few beers and a $42 loss. MiamiDon, CC, Recess and Kurokitty were there throughout the session. I was still getting my feet wet and was encouraging the people that I did know to introduce me to the those that I didn’t yet meet. At times it was difficult to get up and meet everyone that passed by, but Don was good about letting people know who I was (Zeem, Weak, Bayne etc.). I was a bit overwhelmed with meeting so many people in such a small period of time. My only fear was that I would forget who I had already met and introduce myself for a second time… sound familiar?
We head to the Bellagio and have a nice private dinner at Prime. I decided not to high card for my portion and curse myself the rest of the night for not taking the risk… it’s Vegas! This would be ONLY place that I should be doing that. Instead I chickened out along with LJ, CC and Alan and opted for the buyout. 1 down.
We swung by the poker room and we cruz past “Bobby’s Room.” I spot a few knowns such as Sammy Farha and Patrik Antonius (I had to wipe the drool from LJ’s lower lip) and then spot Barry “the Robin Hood of poker” Greenstein” walking right beside me. I contemplate getting a picture, and then decide against such a dorkmove and just moved on.
We grabbed a cab. We get in and it really fucking stinks. Like shit. We look at each other and finally LJ says something like “dude you should really undo your windows and drive around a bit if you are going to FART before you pick people up.” Classic. I busted out laughing (quietly to myself as best I could) and the rest of us just snicker while we hold our breath and beg for a window to be cracked. Stinky beat.
MGM mixed games… what are those? I bailed. I didn’t think I could hack it. In hindsight it is one of the very things I regret not doing the most. I really should have given it a try. For various obvious reasons. One, I got smoked at 1/2 NL anyway. Two, I could have met a lot of cool bloggers a lot faster (call it blogger speed dating if you will). Three, I could have actually won some money donking it up and calling down some crazy pineapple hand I had no business being in. Fun! Oh well, next year I plan on playing more of these types of games and socializing (now that I know a few more people) and less time trying to grind out small marginal wins.
I must say it was fun to watch Bayne run over the table, raise blind with pocket kings against Grubby, and eventually felt-tilt LJ in the process. I think he walked away with 4 or 6 times his buyin. Lucksackbox.
I was drunk. I am 100% sure that 90% of my losses came between the hours of 1am and 4am each night. I would just donk it up like I never have before. I mean I’ve never claimed to be a good cash game player, readers here know that already. I know I can hold my own though, especially against a bunch of tourists. I guess tilting within the first 3 hands really did it to me. I couldn’t recover. I was dealt QQ in the SB. UTG raised it to $17 and it folded to me. I re-raised to $45 and UTG called. The flop comes out all rags with 2 clubs. He bets $12! I raise all in for another $140ish (not sure but it was the rest of my initial $200) and he insta-calls!
He flips over - A4clubs…. a club on the turn and I lose it. I was in shock.
I really should have just got out of my seat and tried my luck and 3/6 random games. I wanted revenge. Except the dirty little fish grabbed his (MY) chips and took off!
Phag.
I was choked and I couldn’t recover. Obviously, I knew what I should have done. But I didn’t and it cost me.
About 4 seat changes later Grubby sits down. Pauly comes over and I finally introduce myself. We chat for a good 5 minutes and the truth is confirmed. He IS the Tiger Woods of poker bloggers. No doubt about it.
Later that night more fun ensues, followed by the dumbest decision I’ve ever made in Vegas.
To be continued…
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