Looking forward to 2008

Having narrowly failed to win my seat in Vegas for 2008 in the APAT onlive championship http://www.apat.com/forum/index.php?topic=802.0 I am planning my campaign to get to Vegas. I think I need to take a more scientific approach this year...see my new poker blog for 2008...http://charliepoker2008.blogspot.com/

WSOP 2007 - Video diary

As mentioned in my earlier posts I am going to upload some snippets of video recorded on my phone.
See my you tube page for all of them
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=charliestgeorge
or perhaps this is better
http://www.youtube.com/my_playlists?p=54255D7EF65E2E74

WSOP 2007 Days 8 onwards - a sorry tale

Well I think I am going to have to retire from playing poker.
I am not going to bore you with the details of the last few days but suffice it to say it has not been pretty.
In all - I have played in 33 different tournaments (including single table satellites) for a total cost of $16,865. I only managed to get in the money in 7 of them for total pay out of $3,150 so a net loss of $13,715.
I do not think I was particularly unlucky - mostly it was my own mistakes that led to my downfall. My most succesful games were the cheap single table games. Perhaps next year I should just play those.

WSOP 2007 Day 7 Tue 3rd - CEO blow up

There was a limit hold 'em shoot out tournament today. All the Ladbrokes boys had been entered in this as part of their package - they did not seem too happy about it.
Played a $325 satellite in the morning. Limped along for ages until eliminated 4th when I tried to nick the blinds one too often.

Went with Steve to the Venetian for the CEO poker tour day 2 event . A $500 deep stack tournament - Steve and I were on the same table and I had one of those nightmare games.
In the first level (40 minutes - about 20 hands) I was dealt loads of good starting hands but when I raised with AQ and KK everyone folded. When I raised with AJ twice I got called and got terrible flops - one was all clubs the other KQ7. When I bet into them I got raised and had to fold. I was also deal KQ twice and had to fold to raises.
In the second and third levels I got AK twice and one again after I raised and got called and bet into raggedy flops and had to fold to reraises.
After the break the antes start so when I call about 5 limpers with 2 low clubs the pot is pretty big. Flop comes Q77 with 2 clubs so I decided to move all-in with my flush draw. Unfortnately I get called by someone with a 7 and I do not improve.

I go back to the Rio to play the $500 mega satellite but I don't even make it to the break - not particularly bad play but just a lack of chips to withstand a couple of unlucky match ups.

Cost so far $6,425

WSOP 2007 Day 6 Mon 2nd - River of Dreams

This is the morning of my freebie tournament at the Rio - "River of Dreams".
I decide that I am too scared to play in the $1000 rebuy tournament.
In the morning I play a $225 single table satellite. I get no cards to start with then when the blinds get to 25/50 I pick up AQ in the big blind. There are 3 limpers so I bet 200. I get 1 caller. Flop comes KJ6 two clubs. I bet 300 and he reraises me all-in. I have to fold.
I am now short stacked and when I reraise 2 limpers all-in from the button with AJ a couple of hands later BB wakes up with QQ and I am out.
So I scoot off to the Venetian for the "CEO Poker tour".
Video is here : http://youtube.com/watch?v=Zh7mIcCU_xk

Cost so $5,775

WSOP 2007 Day 5 Sun 1st - Hole in my SHOE

Today is SHOE day.
In the morning I finally managed to win a single table satellite. Well actually we chopped it up when there were just the 2 of us left with roughly the same number of chips. This was a $225 satellite so I won 2 $500 chips.
I used these to buy into the SHOE event, seven card stud, limit hold 'em, and the high/low games omaha eight or better and stud eight or better.
I would never normally play any of these games so it was quite an experience. There were only 730 runners and everyone (apart from me) knew what they were doing. Sat to my left was a guy from Enfield who is a full time player and to his left was Cindy Violette. She was incredibly nice to us - this was in contrast to the woman on my right who had recently made it to a final table (omaha hi-low I think) who whinged all the time about this and that. Most annoyingly I played a big pot with her when I bet wired up 4's in stud high all the way to the river and did not improve whilst she hit her straight.
I played a couple of interesting pots:
The first was probably the least well disguised stud hand ever. I started with an Ace face up and one in the hole so I raised the bring in who was showing a 3. He called. Next card is a K for me and a 5 for him. I bet he calls. Next I get a K. He catches a 6 so I check and he bets. I call. Next I get and A and he gets a 7. This is now pointless so I bet and he folds his straight.
The second hand was in omaha high low when I had AK23 and the flop was AJ7. I was up against a short stack so after a bet on the flop when the turn came T and river 9 we checked it down and when he showed A234 I scooped the pot thanks to my king.
I made it to dinner (better than Shannon Elizabeth) but never really caght any cards to be eliminated around 200th.
Here is the official report...http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com/tourney/updates_pn.asp?tourneyID=3478&groupid=309&m=7&d=1&y=2007

Cost so far $5,000

WSOP 2007 Day 4 Sat 30th - Event 49 - The drunk wins...

Today I play in my first WSOP event - $1500 buy-in.

Start with $3000 in chips and blinds 25/50.
I get nothing playable for an hour until AT suited in mid position. I raise and the guy in seat one spills his coffee on the table. The coffee lake is so big we have to move after everyone folds - hilarious.
Move to a nice table and sit next to a 21 year old canadian. She is quite cute but counts her chips all the time and insists on giving us the exact number and the time to the break almost once a minute.
I only have around $2000 when I pick up 99 in the BB. Blinds are 100/200 25 ante so after 1 limper I raise to 800. Unfortunately he calls. Flop is 345. Check check. Turn is 2. Sh** - he must have a straight! I check so does he. River J. Check check - he shows 77 - result. He thought I had a straight.
A few rounds later I have Q8 suited hearts on the button. I call 2 limpers. Flop is Q52 with two diamonds. All check so I try to nick the pot by betting 1000. 1 limper calls. Turn is 8d so when checked to me I move all-in. He thinks for ever before calling with QJ (the jack is a diamond)- he does not improve so I pick up a nice pot.
Make a few more raises until our table breaks and I am moved to table 5 where there is an agressive drunk player. Unfortunately he is on the button when I am BB and the guy to my right has an enormous stack. Drunk spends all his time having a go at the guy on my left who is ignoring him by playing his ipod. This makes him even more annoyed. We play a few hands before the break and then on the final hand I pick up AJd in late position. I call a minimum raise from UTG and flop comes AJ7. He bets $2K so I raise $4K and he moves all-in which I call. He has AK. Result. I am up to $18,000 chips. Pick up a couple more pots after the break to get to $20,000. Then I hit trouble with Mr Drunk.
This is one of those situations where I felt that I was going to be pushed around for the rest of the evening. We are on a table that is not going to be broken so I can be sure that I am going to have to play with the drunk constantly going at me. I therefore make a concious decision to take him on at some time. He thinks I am a fish so I expect him to try to bully me. If that sounds like a limp excuse for what happens next - then it is!
I have 77 on BB so when he makes a min raise to 1200 on the button after one limper I decide to test the water with a min raise before the flop. Limper folds and he just calls. I am certain that whatever the flop he is going to try to bully me and so I have pretty much decided whatever the flop I am going to check and if he bets go all-in. or call if he goes all-inj himself. When it comes A63 all clubs I am not worried about the flush but I am worried about the ace. I check he goes all-in and then starts prattling on about how much trouble I am in. One of my 77s is a club so I decide to call. If it had been any other player I would have folded.
Unfortunately he has 89 clubs - I can't believe it....!I am crippled - down to 3k so I hang around a few hands, push with K9 and get called by AQ and am out 600th out of 3300 odd - darn it!

Cost so far $4425

WSOP 2007 Day 3 Fri 29th - Lets Go to Venice

I am playing in the noon big stack tournament at the Venetian so I go there a bit earlier to wander along the canals.
Each time I come back I forget how absurd Las Vegas is and the Ventetian is much the best example.
Last year I bought some prints from the art shop just off St Mark's square so I went in to chat to the shop owner.
He said they will be moving to a new shop in the Palazzio development and that the canal was being extended as well. Madness.

There are 570 runners in the tournament paying $500 each. We start with $10,000 and I get no hands for the first few levels - I am down to $7000 when I call 1 limper with K3 hearts on the button on the last hand before the dinner break when blinds are 300/600 with 50 ante. Flop is K92. Check from BB and bet of $1000 from the limper (who is a pretty aggressive player). I decide he has nothing so go all in over the top. Suddenly the BB wakes up and calls and Mr aggressive folds. I am looking at a set of 2s from the BB but the dealer gets me runner, runner 6 then 4 for a straight. Now I have 16k chips .

I then make a few standard plays, knocking out someone with AK vs AQ and TT vs 77. I make a tidy reraise all-in from the BB with 55 versus a couple of limpers.
So I get to the dinner break with $40K and about 120 left - average stack $49k.
I celebrate with a quality mealof chicken tenders and chips - the american equivalent of nuggets.

Blinds are now 1500/3000 with 500 ante so as soon as I get AK I have to go all-in - but run into JJ and I am out.
Go to the Rio to buy-in for the event on Saturday. Play a baby sit single table satellite at $125. Don't get any real cards but get to 3rd with a minute stack - no deals done so I am knocked out fairly quickly.

Cost so far $2925

WSOP 2007 Day 2 Thur 28th - Beware the little old lady

Mark and I had wanted to play at the Venetian in the $300 deep stack event but it was full when I arrived at 11 am - I put myself down on the reserve list - I was 204th in line - what is going on?

So we dashed over to the Wynn to play the $300 tournament at noon. I had suggested we walk there because it was next door. Mark wanted a $50 bet that it was not. Anyway we get a cab and it would seem that the Venetian is building a massive new wing between it and the Wynn - I think we would need a stewards enquiry as to whether about a mile of building site is enough to mean something is not next door.

Start with $3000 and get up to $5000 when my AA takes out QQ.

After about 10 minutes there is a tap on my shoulder and Mark has done his usual trick of getting knocked out early doors - some rubbish about flush verses full house. He takes my Venetian reserve ticket and decides to go back to see if he can sneak in.
He also has the small matter to sort out of leaving several $1000 in his previous hotel room safe when checking out. I am slightly concerned - since some of it is mine...!

I then lose AK vs AJ to be down to $400 but I get a couple of quick double ups and make some good all-ins to get to $8000 when I trap someone with my KK vs 77. He manages to make a flush - aargh. I finish around 45 out of 90.

Go to the Rio to play a $325 STS and then the $1000 event at 9pm. The satelite is a disaster. Lose with TT early on when having made a big raise which is called I have to fold to a flop of A76. I am then crippled and so have to push with AJ and get called by AK to finish 7/10.

The $1000 tournament is easily the hardest I play in. No limping and very serious with a $5000 stack. Early on I make a very cheeky move calling with 89h under the gun. Get 1 caller and SB calls. Flop is 789, so I check and when the limper bets big I move all-in and he folds. Not much happens until about an hour in when I think I make my first serious blunder on the tour so far. I pick up AQ UTG and make a standard raise. I get minimum raised from late position and the blinds fold. I just call. The pot is now pretty big. The flop comes KT8 and this is where I probable go wrong by betting about half the pot. He reraises me all-in and has so few extra chips I have to call. He has KK so I lose about 2/3 of my chips. I am not sure if I could have avoided this. If I had checked the flop I might have been able to fold to a bet from him. I am now short stacked and then get moved to another table. I scrape along and eventually make a stand with TT which runs into QQ and I am out 30/60.

It is good to see some of those cliches come good. I am finished for the day so I play a cheapo STT for $125. There is a little old lady who absolutely crushes the table with a lot of help from the dealer and the usual I don't know what I am doing Hollywooding. I manage to avoid her until there are 4 of us left when I raise her all-in with AJ and she has 66. I don't improve so leave her to demolish the rest.

Cost so far $2325

WSOP 2007 Day 1 Wed 27th - Wimbledon Connection

I arrive early afternoon in Vegas after a 10 hour flight to the usual sauna experience while waiting for a cab.

On previous trips I have started in the downmarket Excalibur hotel but this time I am going to try another similar quality venue - the Saharah. You know what you are in for when you arrive and the best they can come up with is that the Beatles stayed in room 2333 in 1965. I get to my room and I am not disappointed (in that I am disappointed by the quality of the room) - clearly $39 per night is the right price.

So I head straight off to the Rio hotel convention centre which is where the World Series of Poker is being held. My partner in crime for the first part of the trip is Mark, who is busy hammering the 2/5 no limit game when I arrive. It is good to see has managed to persuade the locals to go for a straddle (fnar fnar).
I go to the satellite area and sign for a $225 single table satellite straight away and to the $500 mega satellite at 9pm. The single table is quite uneventful until I go all in with AK vs K7 and he catches a 7 to knock me out in 5th place. What a fish.

(hmm looks like I'd better get working on my poker glossary soon - casual readers may not know what a straddle or a fish is - try this site for now http://www.thepokeroracle.com/s.html)

The 9pm mega satellite has 200 entrants so there are 10 seats up for grabs. I witness some atrocious play considering we have ponyed up $500. On my starting table there are 2 other Brits one of whom is a classic east end boy - his banter is a bit lost on most of our chubby american friends. His buddy is also a Londoner and when I ask him where from he says Wimbledon - I explain that I had been at Earlsfield station a mere 15 hours earlier that day - small world eh?
Essex man does not last long, calling an all in with AT - not a good idea. I scrape along, flopping a set of 8's at one point to win a medium pot and eventually knockout Mr Wimbledon when we are down to about 50 players when he moves all-in on me with AJ and I have AK.

When there are about 40 players left I get involved in a very controversial hand. Blinds are 400/800 with 100 ante. There is a very iffy looking call from mid position (no-one is calling at this point -raise or fold so he must have a monster looking for a reraise). I decide to call with A4d and so do the blinds. Pot is 4200. Flop comes Q84 rainbow. Original limper checks and I attempt to steal with a $2000 bet in case he had AK and missed or may be JJ or lower, blinds fold and limper calls. Turn is a 7. He bets $2000 and I have to call since the pot is now $10000 - may be he does have AK and I am winning! River is a J and he checks to me. The only hand I can possibly beat now is AK. He only has $6k left and I only have $4k so I think he wants me to try to bluff him off. Well I know that won't work so I just show my hand and say "I can't bet - you must be winning".
He then chucks his hand face down in the middle and when the dealer starts pushing the pot to me he complains and said I had folded. wtf - since when has been showing your huge pair of 4's been a fold? Anyway the floor man is called and of course gives me the pot - result!
I get down to the last 3 tables but the blinds are absurdly high and so I have to push. Run in to AA in the small blind when raising from the button with QT which cripples me and then shortly after my AT loses to AK, despite the dealer flopping me a T - he turns a K. Perhaps my best chance has gone?
Net cost so far $725

Las Vegas Trip - June 2007

So here I am again in Las Vegas trying to win a seat into the main event of the World Series of Poker.
It costs $10,000 to enter and last year there were nearly 8,000 entrants. The winner got $12 million. It may not be quite so many this year - we shall see.
For those of you who find the jargon in my blogs unintelligible fear not. This year I will be adding a poker guide - but may not be for a couple of days yet.
In the mean time try this site http://www.thepokeroracle.com/s.html for expanation of some poker terms.
Also my phone has a video facility so I am going to attempt to publish some of that later if possible.
First to the action...

The Big Game - All Change

The times they are a changin'.

A new year and a new venue...Tower Bridge is the new Balham.

Thanks to Louis and James for hosting. They provided a decent table top with cup holders and for the first time ever a dealer for the night.

Having a dealer is a bit like Sky plus - it will be a bit difficult to go back. We probably played twice as many hands as we normally do and for me this was a good thing. I got AA three times and rather curiously had 2 red jacks twice in consecutive hands. So I can't say it was particularly skillful to end up well ahead...and I certainly have no bad beat stories to tell.

Here are the scores
Charlie + 735
Jim +361
Dave +224
Wilson +62
Neil -12
Mark -260
Louis - 400
Ben - 700

...and the jackpot was not won so there will be £160 in the pot next time.

Aussie Trip - 2007/01/16 - Out on Day 2

I don't even make it to the first break...

I start on the farthest flung outpost - table 42. We only play 8 hands before the table is broken and I move to a table which has Chris "Jesus" Ferguson sat 3 to my left.

I have played a couple of hands when I pick up AK spades in the SB. Blinds are 500/1000 ante 50 and I have around 38,000 chips. There is a raise all-in from mid position of 9,500 chips so when it comes round to me I go all-in to make sure the BB does not play too. The raiser flips 44 and I do not hit anything so I am down below 30,000.

The cameras are on Jesus because he is short stacked. Then this happens:
Jesus Doubled Up
Chris "Jesus" Ferguson raised preflop with A-K. Bryan Clark re-raised and Jesus moved all in. Clark showed A-10. Jesus was ahead all the way and rivered a King to seal the hand. The pot was worth over 50K.
I thought this was rubbish play from Clark. Jesus made a standard raise, when Clark reraised and then Jesus moved all-in I think he did not need to call. Surely Jesus must have a better hand than A9? But I guess the appeal of knocking out such a well known pro was too much. However - wait to see what I do later with the same hand!

I am now getting pretty short stacked. The blinds plus antes are 1,900.I try to steal the blinds and get reraised all-in. Then I get good odds to call with KQ and then TJ in late position. On the KQ hand the flop comes 888 and turn K. I bet out and get called. We check the rag river and split the pot when the other player shows AK - he had not raised before the flop so I think this was a lucky escape for me. If it had been a K high flop I would have got all my chips in.

So I now have around 24,000 in chips when I pick up AT diamonds on the button. The small blind is a player I have seen before when I played Omaha hi-lo. Ironically I was chatting to him before we started today. He had been playing on the same table as Patric Antonius who he said had been bullying the table, so he had hardly been able to play a hand. From his accent and play I figure him for a solid logical east german and so when I put in a standard raise to 3,500 and he raises to 8,500 I have a long hard think. (Later, looking him up on the internet I find he is Marek Kolk who won the Pacific Poker UK Open earlier this year)
The pot contains around 14,000 chips and I have around 20,000. I have been raising quite a lot from late position, so I think that he is a good enough player to decide to raise me back with any reasonable hand. However I also think that he would not be prepared to put in all his chips on a coinflip. So he may well fold a small pair and perhaps as much as AJ. So I thought that an all-in move might work here - so I go for it. He does not quite insta-call but does not think too long before calling and flipping JJ. Unfortunately no Ace comes to rescue me so I am out.

On reflection, perhaps this was a rash move but it felt like the right thing to do at the time.

...and I don't even get the correct report on pokernews - I moved to Makary's seat!

Kolk Doubled Up
Andrew Makary EliminatedMarek Kolk was all in with J-J against Andrew Makary's A-10. Kolk's J-J held up and Makary headed to the rail.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about my trip and maybe might want to join me in Las Vegas in July for the big one.

Aussie Trip - 2007/01/15 - The Big Day

I made it through to day 2 with 40,900 chips.

On a pretty tough table - up to 30,000 at one point in the late afternoon but lost a lot of chips when raised with AJ, bet and got called on a flop of QJ7 - had to fold to an all-in when the turn was Q.

Some extracts from pokernews about my table:

It Happens Every Day
Right about this time of day we seem to find another "name" player. Today it's Jean Robert Bellande who has been hiding at the furthest table. JR has been having a rough time of it, mostly due to the play of Van Marcus. "He has been abusing me" reports Jean Robert.

Van Marcus Wants to Fight
On a flop of Q-7-3, Player A bet out for 500. Player B from America dropped two 500 chips out. He said he wanted to just flat call but the dealer said that bet was binding. He protested and then Van Marcus re-raised to 2500. Player A folded and Player B moved all-in. Marcus called with 7-7 and Player B had Q-Q for top set Van Marcus had him covered and was not eliminated but he was fuming over the angle shooting incident. He challenged the young American to fight in the parking lot. Stay tuned for an update on the possible fisticuffs.

This Van Marcus guy was immediately to my right and in some ways it was good to have him in a lot of pots - it was certainly never dull

Key hands before dinner
Call 2 limpers including Van from the button with J9 hearts with blinds. 150/300 (50) ante. Flop is 872, 1 heart. We all check. Turn is Q and when Van bets 600 I misread my hand and think I have a bellybuster straight draw so I decide to raise to 1500 thinking I might nick the pot anyway. Van calls but the river is the perfect 10 so when he bets 1500 I min raise to 2100 which he calls showing 2 pairs Q8. He asks me how I could raise with a gutshot draw and then laughs when I say I misread the turn - confirming my fish status.

I bust a mid position min raiser when several calls around give me odds to call with my 55 in the small blind. I hit my set and when I check it he goes all-in with his AA. Ho ho.

Key hands after dinner
Blinds are up to 200/400 with 75 ante and I leak chips when a couple of semi steal raises with 99 and AJ get dangerous flops which I have to fold when met by big bets.

I am down to around 11,000 when I pick up TT in the BB and after a limper to my left calls a short stack min raises from mid position. I go all-in and he calls with 99 so I bust him.

Finally we have the hand of the day for me.
We have just got to the final level 400/800 (100) and I get AQ (red mixed) in the BB. The "young american" just calls from mid position so I bet 2500.
Flop is AK3 (K3 are both clubs). He has always bet out no matter what he has, so I decide to check. Sure enough he bets 5000 so I go all-in since I know he can't have AK or KK and if he has trip 3's I suspect he would have checked trying to lure me in.
He asks the dealer for a count of the pot (but in fact the dealer just spreads the pot - apparently they don't count it). My raise is t0 19000, so he is getting about 2:1. I put him on Ax of clubs so the odds will be about right for him to call with a flush draw. He thinks for ever and then calls with K7 diamonds!!! He says "I thought you had nothing". What hand can I have that he would be beating? Would I really go all-in with QQ or K6 with that board. Anyway I am not complaining when he does not get lucky so I win a massive pot and pretty much fold everything apart from a couple of steals to end the day at 40,900.
We started at 11.30 finished just after midnight had a 10 minute break every 90 mins and 1 hour for dinner so I am pretty knackered.