WSOP Salute to Warriors 2023 - Two Rookies Ride

It began simply. He saw a Twitter post that announced a contest to select a veteran for an expense paid trip to enter the 2023 Las Vegas World Series of Poker. It was for one of over 60 tournaments, this one called the "Salute to Warriors."

The contest was sponsored by self-described "besse frens" Angela Jordison and Jacki Hughes. Over time I've come to think of the two as poker pros although they might disagree. Angela had been playing in a tournament out East I believe. She was so impressed with the sportsmanship and demeanor of one of her competitors (a military veteran) she offered him travel, lodging and entry fees for the upcoming "Salute" tournament.

As news spread, others stepped up to offer sponsorship for more veterans and so, being what I would call expert organizers, Angela and Jacki decided to develop a contest for a total of 10 winners.  Veterans were asked to make a video explaining their military service, interest in poker and the World Series. They also needed to submit documentation of their veteran status.  It was all done online so it was a speedy process.  

I thought; well, I love playing poker and the World Series is right up there on my bucket list so I made a short video and submitted it.  Then, to my surprise, a pal from many previous local tournaments; Charisse Case recommended me. That did it I think.  I was one of the top ten. Donations kept pouring in and in the end Angela and Jacki ended up selecting 15 veterans to sponsor.

Still, I wasn't sure I would be able to make it for a while as some family medical issues needed attention.  Finally, thanks to my daughter Samantha and wife Julieann, things cleared up just a few days before the tournament. Son Tyler also showed interest (To watch over/chaperone his old dad?) so we booked flights.  From Sacramento, Spirit Airlines is the only carrier that offers direct flights to Las Vegas at reasonable times.  They seem to have a pretty bad reputation but our travel both ways was smooth although they do tack on charges for most everything. It was however, a pleasant surprise to find that the bathrooms on the planes weren't coin operated.

For our first morning there, Angela and Jacki had organized a fine breakfast in a private setting.  There, they also handed out gift bags loaded with donated poker merchandise.  We were later joined by Lon McEachern and Norman Chad, legendary voices of poker and both nominees for the 2023 Poker Hall of Fame.  Lon lives in our area. We have played several tournaments together and he also narrated my deepest large poker tournament run a few years earlier so it was a great to see him and introduce my son.

Next, the Salute to Warriors began.  I had a decent day, running deep in the field but not cashing.  Some of our group of "15" ran deeper and I believe a couple of them ended up in the money.  All together, it was most impressive as thousands, more like tens of thousands of players showed to enter dozens of tournaments in and around the Las Vegas strip.

Tyler Thomas Campbell
WSOP winner

On our third day there, it occurred to me that my son should enter a World Series tournament just to chalk up the experience even though he had only played a couple of tournaments many years before. He agreed and at breakfast, he asked many questions about the fundamentals...folding, betting, ranges and such. Together, we covered just enough information to get him started.  It was a $250 Series side event and neither of us had high expectations.  Early on, Tyler caught pocket Aces and had three callers all-in.  His Aces held up, he quadrupled his stack and knocked out two of his three opponents in the process. In a field of over 900 entrants, he played pretty tight from then on and finished in the money!  I was and I am sure proud and happy for him.

In one of the early levels of that tournament, I was in the big blind.  There were mucks all around to the small blind and he called at I think around 2,500.  I looked down at my pocket and it was ten-deuce off suit.  I immediately announced "all-in" and the small blind folded.  I then showed my hand in honor of Doyle Brunson (RIP) and the hand he is most famous for.  The entire table got a kick out of that one. (In case you don't know, he won back-to-back World Series titles with that hand.)

As for me, I met some mighty fine folks, had some deep runs in the three tournaments I entered and enjoyed every bit of it...even the block-long, fast-moving bathroom lines during breaks.  Over the years, I've written maybe a dozen stories about the Texas Hold'em poker experience.  This will likely be the culmination...the end...finis as I gotta' get back in the game and focus on that.  Or will there be more?  We'll see.

In the meantime, for those of you who know, I'll see you at the final table.

   

Hold'em Poker in D'moin Aye Owe Eh

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Remember your first poker tournament?  Or any sort of tournament?  I do.  I wrote about it. 

July 17, 2007

Des Moines:  DeeMoeen. D'moin.

Iowa:  EyeOA.  Eyeohwah. AyeOweEh.

West Des Moines to be more precise.  I was there on the job…or more precisely three consecutive jobs that would last almost three months. I would make an occasional weekend trip home to Sacramento to show my driver’s license at our door and beg admittance. After a couple of days though, the three beautiful ladies there (wife Julieann, daughter Samantha and Goldy Molly) would tire of my manly habits and wave goodbye sadly(happily) as I headed for the next plane.

West Des Moines is a shining example of modern suburbia. It is a fairly large sized community full of good people that doesn’t seem to have a single building more than twenty years old. It has a huge modern mall and, under construction, one of those live, work, play integrated communities that looks like it is designed for folks to walk everywhere. All in all, a very nice place filled with terrific, hard working folks. It is a great snapshot of America as it seems it should be.

That is not what this story is about though. It’s not about my usual road warrior story either…what I had for dinner (although I know Bob Bunker would prefer I go there).

It’s about gambling. That’s right. It’s the “C’mon dice! Daddy needs a new pair of shoes!” kind of gambling. For the past year or so, when home and in hotel rooms I have been cranking up the tube in the evening and dialing in whatever Texas hold’em poker game happened to be on. Then, while that was playing I would fire up my Mac laptop computer, kick in the Internet router connection and play the same game on line for a couple of hours or so. I was learning the ins and outs and through thousands of games with free, play money.  If you have ever checked this out, you know I am one of hundreds of thousands (millions) of folks who are doing the same damn thing.

I had also played a few live cash games of limit hold’em during my Harley travels in Nevada, not really doing well along the way but figuring I was learning something while having fun. Duh. It doesn’t take much to make me happy sometimes.

Then…I found out there was a casino in the Des Moines area that had poker tables. I would hit them once in a while when laying over on weekends that I had to work.  These guys and ladies were all ages, 21 to 81, male, female, all races, everybody fits. My typical plan was to hit a table with a $100 buy-in and a $3-6 or $4-8 dollar limit game. I made the tables a half dozen times or so and the local good old boys didn’t get too far into my knickers I am proud to say. I may have been down a couple of hundred bucks total.  Cheap lessons and cheap thrills…I was a happy camper.

A week ago I headed to Prairie Meadows north of Des Moines on a Thursday night for some reason.  We had shut down the project at a fairly normal hour and I was anxious to do something.  When I walked into the poker room it was pretty full and I discovered they were just a couple of minutes from beginning a $115 buy-in no-limit Texas hold-em tournament. I figured what the hell; that is just a little more than I would plan to lose in one night so I might as well buy in and learn something. Each player started with 2,500 in chips and we were off! There were 90 entries so the last person would win something over $3,000.

When I sat down I was pretty pumped but I felt pretty good too so I just started playing as I ordinarily would…fairly patient, waiting for cards, rarely bluffing, relying on all my earlier practice to know when I had a good hand and when I didn’t.

I wish I could remember what cards I had the first time I ever went all in. Damn that was cool, saying “all in” and shoving my pile of chips toward the center of the table. I would do it three or four times over the course of the evening and sometime in the third hour I was looking down at roughly 30,000 in chips. I had successfully ridden through the periods of slow hands and the periods of good hands. I was having such a good time I even called Julieann during one of the breaks to tell her I was still in it. More cheap thrills right?!

As we approached four hours, the blinds were something like 1,000-3,000 and we were suddenly at the final table! Ten of us and that meant every one of us would finish in the money. With the high blinds it wasn’t long before three guys were gone. I was dealt an Ace-nine unsuited…what they call a “weak Ace”. I called the 3,000 big blind and most of the table folded until this guy across from me raised another 3,000 or so. I figured it was time for another so I said, “All in.” and felt a little adrenalin fueling things. I probably had 20,000 at the time. The other guy called and we flipped the cards.  He had an Ace-eight unsuited against me. I was thinking I had a pretty good chance, maybe 60-40 to win but an eight hit on the flop and nothing helped on the turn or river so I was out in seventh place. $280 bucks in my pocket and I was pumped. I was thinking if my hand had held up I might have finished in the top 3-5. Wow!

The next Sunday they had a $50 buy-in and I was out mid-way in a field of just over a hundred. Not too good and not too bad. I am not done though. I want to try a few more!  So here’s the deal; saying “All in” and shoving a pile of chips toward the center of a poker table is one damn fine experience. I highly recommend it. I will be watching for chances to try this some more.

Your Friendly Road Warrior Correspondent,

 

The Perfect Muck

Folks, when you've played thousands of hands of tournament Texas Hold'em Poker certain things begin to come naturally.  Mucking is one of them. If you don't know already,  here's what "muck" in this form means:

Muck in gambling has multiple meanings. In poker, it most often refers to the pile of discarded cards into which players may throw their folded hands, and into which the dealer may place burned cards. It may also refer to the action of throwing a hand into the muck. - Wikipedia

When you bail out of a hand you can muck a ton of different ways. This ranges from simply sliding your cards unseen by others toward the center of the table and taking your hand off them to tossing them straight into the dealer's muck, again unseen. Judging from the Wikipedia definition, you could say you can "muck to the muck." I wouldn't suggest saying that in a live game though. Some players, the more burly among them, might counter with many forms of remarks...none complimentary.

This...is a "pig in muck."  Not the same thing
but a very close resemblance to the cards
that end up there.

But this is about The Perfect Muck. I am referring to a toss of the cards through the air on a direct, uninterrupted path to the stack of cards referred to as the "dealer's  muck" or stack of burned cards. In all modesty (not really), I must admit I have perfected such a move. Here, the cards are gently wedged against the inside of the thumb, the index and forefingers of one hand. Next, they are spun through the air, flat and unexposed, and land gently 'midst the dealer's muck.

But there is yet another, better muck out there folks.  I will call it the "Bruce Fling Flick Muck."  It involves pointing your two pocket cards at the dealer's muck and with an invisible 'flick' the cards fly through the air to their objective.  I have come across one, just one player whose name is (you guessed it) Bruce Fling.  Bruce fly's, or his cards do, solo among thousands...one who can make this move easily and naturally, every time.  It is an awesome thing to witness.  In fact, just today I was discussing this with an experienced dealer who agrees it's the best we have ever seen.

Now, I must also admit that I occasionally miss my version of The Perfect Muck and have what I call a "spasm." When this happens my cards fly in different directions, sometimes toward other players. Fortunately, I have learned to be very quick with apologies and have yet to suffer anything more than a little humiliation.

Thanks and...See you at the final table.

Quantum Poker - The Wrinkle's Run

We used to have these terms; "Squeeze" referring to someone who was young and "Wrinkle" was...well you know, the opposite.  I have now moved well beyond wrinkle status.  However, somehow I manage to hang around in poker tournaments to reach the final 'cash' table now and then. This is in spite of the fact that there are plenty of "squeezes" hanging around to apply the pressure with smart, aggressive play.

This past November, one of our newer Sacramento area casinos, Stones Gambling Hall put on their "Quantum" tournament. This included a number of satellite tourneys a player could use to qualify for the final day, in all a $100,000 guaranteed pot. I got lucky in one of the cheaper $120 qualifiers and won $250 while bagging 91,000 chips to go along with a seat in the "Main Event" final day tournament. On that day, you could just enter cold for $900 and get 100,000 starting chips or have previously qualified as I did. You could also re-enter for another $900 if you got knocked out.

Early on the final day a poker pal, Eric, shoved all-in in front of me with pocket queens while I was sitting on pocket Aces and I doubled up.

It was pretty cool that Eric went to the cashier's cage, bought in again for another $900 and ended up finishing 7th overall in the tournament.

The rest of the day went pretty smooth with no major set backs and I continued to increase my chip stack in spite of the young, and not-so-young guns in the crowd. We went from 11Am to about 11PM with a ten-minute break every couple of hours. Then, to my surprise, I found myself among the 9 players headed to the final table.

Final table underway!
(click on the photo to enlarge)

Stones Gambling Hall's Table #11 is set up professionally for televising with commentary. It has several cameras and special lighting. The table is set up to electronically read the cards players as they are dealt so commentators can share details about players and hands with their audience. What made this event special was our commentators; Lon McEachern, the "voice of poker" pretty much world-wide and Michale Loncar, teaching pro. Those two were the frosting on the cake for a great tournament.

Our final table was to be broadcast live on Twitch.tv. That meant a 20-minute delay so competitors couldn't be coached by outsiders during real-time action.

Nah, I'm not going to play this one...
(click on the photo to enlarge)

I was pretty excited about the whole thing so I texted the family in case they were still up and could watch. Son Tyler and wife Julieann were up and dialed it right in. It wasn't long before he began coaching me on general play and I loved it. Some of Tyler's texts included:

He's telling me to say calm - much like I used to advise him when he was pitching in baseball; "Deep breath, back of the hand." The "breath" to help calm him and "Back of the hand" a technical reference to positioning his pitching (left) hand toward the batter before he began his wind up.

(click on the photo to enlarge)

I did not have the presence of mind to tell him even pocket Aces gets beat 18% of the time but his advice was right on. Loved the "unzip" part...right after following this advise, we caught a couple of hands and got back in the game enough to outlast a couple more players.

(click on the photo to enlarge)

We couldn't hear the commentators at the table so it was pretty cool that Tyler shared their impressions with me.  I went out fifth and, as I was cashing Tournament Director Justin Kuraitis asked me if I wanted a security escort to the parking garage. I initially said "no" but after collecting that fifth place cash I thought better of it and the guard accompanied me to the car. It was 2:30 am so not a bad idea eh?!

And there you have it...an old wrinkle's adventure. If you want to see some of the actual proceedings here is a link to the YouTube episode: Quantum $100k Guaranteed Final Table.

Thanks Stones Gambling Hall, Thanks Son Tyler and most of all, thanks Lady Luck!

The "Clock"

In the poker game of Texas hold'em there is an etiquette option for a player to call the "clock" on an opponent.  This occurs when a player is taking what appears to be more than a reasonable amount of time to make a decision to call, raise or fold his hand. It is an option rarely used because players recognize how tough a decision can be and generally want to give their opponents all the time they need.  

The vast majority of players make their decisions quickly. But, calling the "clock" can be useful when a player "tanks" (takes too long to take action).  In reality, you might not see a clock called in thousands of tournament poker hands.  When it does happen, the dealer calls the Tournament Director to the table to notify the player and begin a 30 second countdown, typically with "10 second" and "5 second" reminders.

So here's the story...yesterday in our local Capital Casino Sunday tournament we were well into the second series of four intervals (maybe 2 hours) when this hand occurred:

I was at or near the big blind (last to bet on a hand preflop) and looked down at Ace, six unsuited.  I had a decent chip stack of about 20,000.  The blinds were 300/600.  Bets went around the 10 player table and there were 4-5 callers before my turn.  I rarely play Aces with small kickers but, since no one had raised I sensed an opportunity to take down the sizable pot by semi-bluffing so I raised to 6,000.  Players folded around the table but one player, with a somewhat larger chip stack decided to go "all-in."

I was sitting with one third of my stack in the pot and was almost certain I would be behind when the hands were revealed.  My choices were to "ship" the rest of my chips to a likely losing cause or fold.  I did have a small chance my Ace was on top but it didn't look good. At that time we had maybe 30 players left of 60+ in the tournament so we weren't that close that I had to hang on to my chips in hopes of hitting the final and cashing.

Being left handed - I have to admit that I struggle with working without deadlines so that probably had a lot to do with my predicament as I sat for long time trying to decide what to do.  Then finally, one of my old pals, "A.F." said something like; "Tom, with all respect and I love you like a brother and all but you have to make a decision here." Ordinarily, players not involved in a hand are not allowed to comment while another player is all in but no one including me objected. I said something like: "Your are right A.F. - go ahead and call a clock on me." He didn't want to do it so I called one on myself.

In 8 years or so of live tournament poker I have only seen a clock called maybe a dozen times and two of those times I have called it on myself.  I needed that deadline in order to act you see. I really can't see that as associated with being left-handed but the old wives tale says we lefties are procrastinators so I will go with that.

The Tournament Director came to our table and the dealer told him I had called the clock on myself.  The Director, Mark then began a 30 second clock.  "Ten seconds."  "Five seconds."  At that I decided it was probably time for me to go home so I shoved my remaining chips into the pot.  My opponent showed Ace, Jack off suit against my Ace, six off suit.  The flop (next three cards) was uneventful, the turn was the same...nothing for either player.

The river (seventh and last card) came and BOOM, it was a six giving me the win.  This is called a "suck-out" in poker parlance and it was big.  I pulled in around 50,000 in chips and was on my way to a 3-way chop (tie) for first place in the tournament, pocketing 8 times the entry fee.

I had several other suck-outs yesterday...it was one of those days where Lady Luck kept patting me on the back even when I didn't deserve it.  It happens to all us players now and then.

This reminds me that poker is, in many ways like Christmas.  The dealer gives you cards (presents). When you look (open) at them you see something you were hoping for 'Pocket Aces!' or you see another set of underwear that Grandma gave you, or something in between.  It's the in-betweens that can give you fits.

See you at the Final Table.

Poker - When You're Losing

Probably the most memorable quote I have heard concerning poker, mainly Texas Hold'em Poker is one from Daniel "Kid Poker" Negraenu.  Someone asked him about the difference between a professional and an amateur poker player.  His answer; "When an amateur is winning, he thinks he is good.  When he is losing, he thinks he is bad."  Here, I believe he is subtly pointing out that we, us amateurs that is, often forget how significant plain old good luck is.

Sure there is plenty of patience and skill involved in the game but Lady Luck is definitely the Big Kahuna.  Around Hold'em tournaments at break time, sad stories abound: "I had xx, the other guy had xx.  The flop came, then the turn came then the river and  then the lucky sob had xxxxx and beat me."  If you are listening you hear these stories at a ratio easily exceeding 10:1 in favor of "sad" as opposed to "glad."  My overall calculation of the factors it takes to win at the game, in another story in another time, goes like this: Luck, 25%; Skill, 25%; Patience, 25%; and finally Luck again, 25%.  Yeah, yeah Vern I know I have made this point before... right here...in this entry: "Aces in Places"

If you are a fairly long-term amateur like me, sometimes those hard luck stories hit you personally and if they occur close together you start feeling the Negraenu syndrome - like you are a "bad" player.

The spoils of a hold'em game...

Case in Point:  Yesterday (Sunday) I was in the weekly tourney on my home court (Capital Casino) and I had an extraordinary run of luck, as in "bad luck."  The same guy (Let's call him "Lucky SOB") nailed me three times with *suck-outs.

The very first hand of the tournament, I looked down at pocket Aces, slowed played them a little to build the pot and lost to Lucky SOB who had King, Jack off-suit and hit two pair.  Okay, no serious damage as I only dropped about 1/6th of my stack.  A little later I look down at an Ace-Jack off-suit, smooth call the blinds and flop Ace, Jack.  Again trying to draw action I put in a small bet and get a couple of calls.  The cards play out and I end up losing over half my stack to to Lucky SOB who rivered a straight.  Next, I have worked my stack back up and my pocket tens get short stack shoved by a different player with pocket Queens that hold up.

I hang steady for another hour or two, and build my stack up a little.  We have redrawn twice and my new table includes the guy who sucked out on me twice earlier.  The blinds are almost a third of my stack at 1,600 and I am in the big blind.  I look down at pocket tens.  Every one folds behind me except Lucky SOB who calls my blind.  I figure I can get him this time so I shove my stack of 6,000+ and he calls damn near immediately.  He turns over Queen, Seven of diamonds.  the board plays out and on the river he ends up wrapping a straight around the 7 so I am out.  Lucky SOB has nailed me three times including the very beginning and the very end.  I have never been zapped by one player so many times before.

My chip stack at it's peak that day...

And you are absolutely right Daniel, the whole deal made me feel like a crappy player.  But I will be back soon because the week before that...I absolutely kicked ass and cashed three times for thousands.  That's how she goes though...old Lady Luck - she gives you a smooch one day and whacks you with a hammer the next saying; "Let's not get too full of ourselves dooooooood."

*Suck Out - When someone with a lesser hand wins.

Luck Of The Draw - Where Poker Begins

Texas Hold'em poker tournaments are like a reflecting pool on life. Take a close look at the features of one and you may see most or all the features of the other.  I mean you don't choose anything about your start in life. Parents, race, location are all the luck of the draw right?  But they are all reflected in you. A poker tournaments begins the same way. You don't choose your seat.  Yet the game unfolds with many similarities to life.  And sometimes....sometimes it is almost to much to take in at once.

You walk up to the registration window, pay your entry fee and are handed a random card or ticket by the person there.  It tells you what table and what seat you are beginning the tournament with.  As the tournament progresses you may be moved around as part of a process the director uses to keep player numbers balanced at the tables.  Typically, this happens as other contestants are knocked out and there are fewer tables needed.

So your seat and table draw is where Lady Luck first enters the scene.  As the tournament progresses with "cards in the air" certain seats end up luckier than others.  Most often, momentum shifts among seats and the luck moves around.  This is most always the case but every once in while, the Lady hovers over one seat for a long, long time.  When this happens, even an average or below average player can run up a big stack of chips just going with the flow of cards.  In poker parlance, this is called a "heater" or a "run" and maybe some other names I am not familiar with.

On a recent Saturday at my local favorite haunt, Sacramento's Capital Casino, I witnessed a rare, extended run on a seat at a table near mine.  In my seven years of getting poker lessons (Yes Vern, each tournament is a lesson) I have seen maybe one other like it.

From what I could tell, the player was hitting everything he went for.  The proof was a huge stack of chips in comparison with the average stack among the rest of us.  I am guessing he had over 200,000 compared to an average of 20,000.  Over the years I had seen some great runs but quite as wild as this one...

But there was one thing I didn't notice as his action was going on behind me - I would just turn and look occasionally when the other players at his table would make a "holy crap he hit again" type noise like "OOOOOoooohhhhh!"  The thing I didn't notice, but heard about some time after, was that the player was so excited about his run of luck, he was ordering himself beers two at a time. (I should probably point out here that 99% or more poker players don't drink at all during a tournament.)

Then, it was fairly late in the tournament, only two tables left out of seven that started, maybe 20 players left out of seventy.  I noticed movement, looked up and saw our tournament director gently sliding the lucky player, who was passed out in his chair, away from our tables and into a corner of the casino.  I swear there was a smile on the player's face as he and his chair slid by.  The director then parked him in a corner where he slumped over his arms on a small table and appeared to be sleeping.

A few minutes later, he barfed all over the table and floor in front of him.  The director and pit boss then slid him and his chair out of the casino to the sidewalk and two security guards were assigned to watch over him.  The casino staff quickly cleaned up the mess and things sort of returned to normal.  What wasn't normal was the large stack of chips the player left in his original seat position.  This meant that he would be dealt hands that would be automatically folded by the dealer and that his chip stack would draw down as his turn for blinds and antes came around.

It wasn't long after that I was knocked out of the tournament and left.  A couple days later I asked the director how it all ended.  He told me the player remained passed out for about two and a half hours then recovered somewhat.  After some discussion, the director determined the player was capable of returning to the game so he did...with chips left of course.  The last three players, including the two-beer man with the lucky seat ended up chopping for a couple thousand dollars each.

There is a moral here somewhere I guess - sometimes Lady Luck will hang around and crown you even when you don't necessarily deserve it.

And yes Vern, the casino was practicing some seriously good customer service that day...

Aces...In Places

The last Sunday in May began poorly. I was at Sacramento's Capital Casino weekly Texas hold'em poker tournament and we were about 30 minutes in when I made my first mistake of the day.

I had a marginal hand, a pocket ace and an off-suit nine and made it to the flop without anyone else tossing in a significant raise. Otherwise I would have folded. The flop came and showed another ace giving me top pair with a questionable kicker. The player before me quickly tossed a fair amount of chips in the pot and I read his actions lightly, like he was playing loose aggressive. I figured he also had an ace and was wondering who might have the better kicker so I called with a quarter of my stack.

Early on in these tournaments it's a little easier to call in this position because you also have a "pink" chip in your stack that allows you one re-buy at the same price as the initial entry. This lets you get another stack of chips if you bust out on a bad beat or bad read.

The turn and river came and with that, my opponent quickly tossed in what basically amounted to the remainder of  my chip stack. I tanked for a while thinking it over and eventually called. He turned over a king and ten for two pair and I was reaching for that pink chip to re-buy. It was just a crappy read on my part and once again shows my tendency to overplay top pair. It wasn't too bad a move to call his first big bet but I definitely screwed up calling his last one. Of course, keep in mind if he would have turned up another ace with a weaker kicker I would have been patting myself on the back for picking him off - another mistake when actually I would have been just plain lucky but "there lies the rub" as the dude from Hamlet says right?!

Note: Here I was also violating another solid hold'em rule of thumb which is to generally avoid big pots early in a tournament,  I thought of that too when I was tanking and ignored it. Wrong again.

So there I was, very early in the tournament and down an entire stack of chips - not a good prospect. Toward the end of the first series of four 20-minute intervals and not long before the first break, I caught pocket Aces. I played them gently and they doubled me up on an all-in bet. This made up for my earlier mistake and took me close to my original position.

The chances of being dealt pocket Aces back-to-back are 1 in 48,841 and that is exactly what happened next. I didn't get as much action that time but added a few chips bringing me up to about even with the buy-in amount.

Things slowed until well into the next series. Between the blinds, antes and drawing dead hands, I found myself down to less than an initial stack again. For the second time in the tournament, it wasn't looking good.

Then things again took a turn. I am not sure anyone has calculated the odds of getting pocket aces five times in a single 6-hour tournament but that is what ended up happening to me on that fateful last Sunday. I caught solid action along the way and ended up hitting the final table with a healthy stack. I also caught a full house along the way and the last five of 62 of us ended up chopping (splitting) the pot five ways.

In another odds defying development, my aces were not cracked (beaten) a single time that day and, according to the pundits, a little under 20% of the time that is exactly what happens.

Equal parts of Luck, Patience, Luck and Skill - that is what I think it takes to win in these tournaments (yeah, yeah that equals 50% luck). Some days luck takes up more like 75%+ and as for last Sunday...well, you know.

 

Profiles in Poker

This week I wrote a tribute to one of my fellow Texas Hold'em tournament players. He had what was, to my way of thinking, a monumental birthday...his 95th.  I sent the tribute to some of my pals as I knew they would all get off on any story that includes the word, "donuts."

They all seemed impressed with my description of my poker pal's character and intellectual vitality.  One of them even suggested (you know who you are) I write my next book and fill it with descriptions of this gentleman and others perhaps like him...suggested title; "Profiles in Poker."

Well, I have been thinking about another book but don't think I have enough gumption to find and fill it with descriptions as interesting as the one I have written. Nonetheless, here is an edited version of the first, and probably last one I have written:

December 3, 2015 - This morning I stopped at a donut shop on the way in to the Capital Casino poker tournament.  It was my second time, having been sent originally by someone who rightfully claimed they make the best in Sacramento.  I bought two glazed and a small coffee to work on while I waited for the lady to box a couple of dozen to take with me.

It was just the lady working the counter and me inside.  The shop is located near Interstate 80 on Watt Avenue here.  This can be a pretty nasty location as not so many years ago some robbers executed a guy and girl working at a pizza joint in the same strip mall.  As I sat there I thought, “Damn, what if someone just walked in here and started spraying the place with bullets just because of a bad donut or maybe a “too hot” cup of coffee? I mean hey…look what happened in San Bernardino just yesterday right?  Plus there have been more mass shootings in the US than days in the year so far. 

Then I thought, “Good  location for it but bad bang for the buck as with just two of us there wouldn’t be much “spraying” necessary. Nah, they would probably go for a bigger location with a lot more potential victims so then I relaxed and turned to better thoughts.

I was buying the donuts for one of my poker pals, "Ritz" to celebrate the occasion of his birthday today.  He is 95 and still sharp enough to play competitive poker and play it well.  He is big man, with a large frame and stands tall at around six feet even at his age.  His son, who is about my age, accompanies him 3-4 times a week to play the tournaments. This gentleman is a fine character who immigrated from Italy when he was little.  He was orphaned and lived alone, surviving in a Sacramento basement for more than a year before he was a teenager. Later, he married (lasted almost 70 years before she passed) and served a “duration of the war” hitch in the Navy.  To make extra dough to send home, he ironed clothes for his shipmates.

L-R Ritz Naygrow and Alphonso Ford
(Alphonso is a former silicon valley exec who 
played football at UCLA, but that's another story...) 

With the money he saved, he later bought a water bottling firm, and went to work.  He was successful and as time passed he bought other water companies that eventually included several states. His forte’ was integrating the new companies and making them profitable.  In 1979, a company in France paid Ritz over $60 million for his companies.

I know this because I have a copy of Ritz’s biography right here on my desk.

Ritz is 95 today and here is why I think so highly of him.  He is every bit the consummate gentleman our pal and former Air Force Colonel Bill Grinstaff (RIP) was.  An example…we were on a tournament break a couple of years ago and I noticed a bathroom habit of Ritz'…yup, a bathroom. I was waiting behind him for a sink and saw him turn after washing his hands to pull a paper towel from the dispenser. There are two dispensers side-by-side and he took one towel, dried his hands then advanced both machines so there would be towels handy for the next person.  I have since copied that move and once told his son Tom that I call it the "Ritz Naygrow Memorial Towel Move.” Yes there could be a better title and there are likely many more and better examples but you get my drift I think.  This was before I read his bio so I already had a hunch about the man I would find in his book.

A few weeks ago on impulse I gave Ritz a copy of “Badass” in return for the copy of his biography he had graciously sent.  He later told me my book was full of “Goddamn vivid descriptions” and it should be in “Every Harley shop in the United States.” (I didn’t tell him that most Harley riders can’t read and those few who can won’t....just kidding.) This proves Ritz is an expert bullshitter too, just like all of us.  

I got the donuts safely to the Casino without eating more and the pit boss helped me set them up for crew and players who were so inclined.  I used a big Sharpie and wrote on the boxes; ‘Happy Birthday Ritz!" We gave him the pick of the first one and I got a big hug from a good friend.  I am a happy camper.

(I recall old friend Paul Murrell telling me he spent some time working in a donut shop in his youth. I think it was his father’s. Years later, Paul and I equipped a contract proposal War Room in Baton Rouge with 2 dozen Crispy Kreme donuts a day to help team members wrestle with their writing anxiety. So here we have yet another good donut story or two eh Paul?!)

Chasing the "Cheese*

Once you have played live Texas Hold'em poker tournaments a while you come to the realization that, as in life, anything can happen. Consider three of the tournaments I have failed miserably in over the past couple or weeks:

One of those fine days when I won all the "cheese."
Here , the tournament director is forking it over,
thank you Mark Pritchett

The first occurred when I caught Jack, nine off suit pockets (first two down cards in my hand) five, yes five times in the first hour. The first two times I called small blinds just to ride along and see if I might catch anything on the flop (first three common cards dealer turns face up on the board). The flop gave me open ended straight draws both times (not a bad thing) so I hung on as long as the bets weren't too big. Sure enough the bets on the table got too big for me to test the odds (about 16% each to hit on the last two cards, "turn and river") so I folded. The third time I caught them I hung around and hit two pair on the flop. I eventually had to fold as the board showed too may hands that could beat me then two large wagers convinced me someone had hit (sure enough straights appeared on the showdown). I caught the same pocket two more times and dumped them in disgust pre-flop (something I should have done the first three times).

The lesson here; quit chasing mediocre hands even when the blinds are really small.

A tournament or two later I caught pocket Aces three times in the first hour. This is a hand that wins approximately 72% of the time but not that day. The first time I was beat by a bigger hand (two pair or something bigger I forget).  The second time I won a small amount as no other players had good enough draws to stay in the hand with me. The third time I chopped with another player who also had pocket Aces. The likelihood of drawing pocket Aces is less than 1 in 200 but that day I caught them three times right?!  To win just one of the hands was also defying the odds...in a bad way. That left me shaking my head well through the first tournament break and into the third hour when, you guessed it, pocket Aces knocked me and my lesser hand out of the tournament.

The lesson here; Lady Luck doesn't always smile on you, you pitiful poker player Campbell.

A tournament or two later I caught some more mighty fine appearing hands, again in the first hour of the tournament. Three times I caught strong Ace pockets. Ace, Jack of hearts, Ace, King of diamonds and Ace, King of hearts. Each time I made it to the flop and each time caught flush draws. A nut flush draw off the flop has a one in five chance of hitting each time on the next two cards. I managed to miss all three and by that time I was once again knocked out of a tournament....go figure.

The lesson here; Lady Luck has a way of rubbing it in doesn't she?!

I don't know. I would guess the chances of any one of these three situations occurring in many years of poker are pretty slim but then again, "anything can happen" right?!

Yes Sir it all happened right here at Sacramento's famous Capital Casino.  If you should visit, you may occasionally spot a famous player such as...well, you know...

*You may have already guessed that "Cheese" is cash in poker vernacular...cold, hard cash.