#303 - Moments of 2007, Part II – A Most Unique FTOPS Main Event
December 27, 2007
Over the course of 2007, I would play almost every FTOPS event, and go in hock more than ten dimes doing so. I would also write about my experiences, the experiences of some other pros, some final tables, and even tabulate and explain the mostly disappointing experiences of the Full Tilt pros in these high-profile events. Back in February, when I first started the blog, Uncle Tilty told me he wanted me to cover the FTOPS as part of my blogging responsibilities.
I had no idea what he wanted, and soon discovered he, too, had no idea. I got extremely lucky in my maiden effort. Some pros went very deep in the early events and I wrote about that. I had some bizarre playing experiences, and wrote about that. Then Clonie Gowen surprised me by coming to Scottsdale and playing the Main Event in my study.
CLONIE GOWEN IS SOLID
We have three different internet connections between us - my home wireless, the Verizon wireless on my back-up computer, and Clonie’s Sprint wireless on her computer - but she can’t stay connected. Not my fault; we don’t even have a last-longer bet.
Clonie is over 6,500, fast. She raised with K-K and got called from behind. The flop came K-4-2. She bet small (”I hope he comes over the top”) and was called. The turn brought another 4 for a full house. “I’m going to check and hope he bets.” He checked. After a jack on the river, Clonie bet a little less than half the pot and got called. The other player had 2-5s.
A few hands later:
“I have king-queen of hearts in the cut-off. I’m going to raise it … no, there’s a limper under the gun. I’m going to limp. No, I’m going to pot it - no, I’ll limp. I’m always worried about that limp under the gun, and I’ll still have position.” She limps and the player behind her on the button makes it 200.
“Ruh-roh.”
Clonie does Scooby-Doo? “Yeah, I always do that.”
She folds.
This, from the first break:
We’re at the first break in the Main Event. I have 4,465 chips. Clonie has 6,230. I’m trying to figure out the reason for the disparity. ”Clonie, I’ve seen 25% of the flops. That’s not too many, is it?” She checked her stats: 9%.
“I MISSED LOVE AND SYMPATHY”
Clonie Gowen is reading my issue of PSYCHOLOGY TODAY between hands. Next thing I know, she’s taking the quiz, “Match the Emotion with the Kind of Touch.” She scored four of six, correlating anger, disgust, fear, and gratitude with their kind of touch. “I missed love and sympathy. I got them mixed up.”
WIN A DATE WITH CLONIE GOWEN
I didn’t know Clonie as well as I do now and I was a little ga-ga over her presence. And, as was frequently but not always the case as I got to know her better, she was larger than life. For example:
Like when she mentioned to me, in passing, that she got bought by the kicker for the Seattle Seahawks for $5,000.
“I was playing poker in London when a friend asked me to donate something for a charity auction. I was going to give him a jersey but there wasn’t time to get it to him for the auction. So he said, ‘How about if I auction a date with Clonie Gowen?’ I told him, ‘I’m not looking to date anyone.’ He said, ‘It will get great publicity and I’ll bid on it and win it.’ So it turns out my friend is nowhere to be found during this part of the auction and I get a call from the kicker for the Seattle Seahawks at 2 AM, telling me that he bought a date with me for $5,000.”
MY POETIC ASPIRATIONS
One of the players who went very deep in that FTOPS Main Event went under the name of Miss Lulu. I had learned just a few days before that Miss Lulu was a Phoenix-area resident and therefore was afforded the remarkable opportunity of watching a big-time online final table from the home of one of the participants. I composed this ditty in honor of the occasion:
Miss Lulu plays pot limit Omaha
and online tournaments for fun
Miss Lulu who took fourth place
is Robert Williamson
(the Third)
Comments
Got something to say?