Dan O'Brien

0 for 14: Uh Oh

Sun, 13 Jun 2010 17:39:52 -0700

A rough start to the WSOP, "men" in the ladies event, an awkward Walmart encounter, and next week's poker schedule...

Contrary to what the title may indicate, I am really not sweating my atrocious start to the 2010 WSOP. If you're surprised, that makes two of us. I came into the series having a halfway decent year on the live circuit, and a rare online semi-heater with a few deep runs in big tournaments. I was feeling good and ready for some strong results to open the World Series. I had a pretty piss poor WSOP last year, so I was anxious to get off to a good start. At zero cashes in fourteen tournaments, that has obviously come and gone. But I'm taking it very well, and there are a few things on my side.

My mental state is good and ready for the stresses of big money tournament poker.

I'm relatively secure financially, and I've been playing more cash poker for a more consistent income. It's very important to be able to look at the WSOP as an opportunity rather than a must-win. There is just too much variance in these events to put the weight of final tables and bracelets on your shoulders. I've also been really active lately, playing golf, basketball and racquetball, working out, and just hanging out with friends barbecuing around the pool. Being happy in life helps to keep things in perspective when poker goes temporarily south.

I'm playing well

I didn't play my best last year. I gambled too much early in the smaller buy-in no limit events, and made a suspect play or two in the only tournaments I really had a chance in. This year, I'm playing very well, and things just aren't working yet. I've mostly been card dead or unlucky early in the events. In the few events I've mounted any sort of charge in, I've taken some pretty brutal beats to send me packin. All I can do is play well and hope the rest falls into place.

Most of the events I've played so far have been on the smaller side.

I'm out $36,000 for the WSOP so far, which isn't bad at all when you consider I've played 14 tournaments. Fortunately, the bigger buy ins I'll be playing are stacked more toward the back of the series. I've only played one 10k and two 5ks so far, with the rest falling between 1k and 2.5k. I may be halfway through the series in terms of tournament quantity, but I'm not even close using buy-ins as the measurement.

I'll be playing the $2,500 6 handed no limit hold'em event tomorrow, and I like my chances in it. I probably won't win it, but I very well could.

A note on the WSOP ladies event

Apparently, there were a few "men" that played in the ladies event at the WSOP this year. All of them should be embarrassed, though I have a feeling none of them is. In just about every ladies event in poker, there is always some douche that plays in the name of civil rights and anti-discrimination. On some level, you can understand where they are coming from: White men have had it extraordinarily tough in this country for a long time. However, any reason a man gives for playing is generally super weak. The ladies event isn't there to segregate, or because the girls need their own event. It's there to give women an opportunity to come out and play against other women, in a setting that may be less intimidating for some than the usually 98% (minimum) male dominated fields. No matter what the reason for having it, it works. Over 1000 women came out to play and enjoy themselves. Any "men" that feel the need to intrude upon this are just lame. Shaun Deeb is one of two guys I know that played. He even went so far as to dress up like a woman. This may have been funny if he didn't actually look just like a woman, which turned things rather creepy. Unfortunately, he forgot the one accessory a real woman never would: a bra. This left his man tits flapping around a bit too freely. I don't know if he lost a bet or won one, but even making this part of a bet is a queer thing to do. I've also heard reports that there was some charitable cause for women used as a front for his participation. That is like going and bothering a bunch of bums in the name of helping the homeless. He seems like a good enough kid otherwise, but for this he's a douche. Ricky Fohrenback, a poker player I've spent time with traveling and would consider a friend, also played. Ricky, you're a douche too.

Grocery Shopping

My good friend, who had been living with me and acting as my assistant for a few months, left to go back to New York last week. Not only do I no longer have anyone to play foosball with, but I had to do my own food shopping yesterday. I know, I know - My life is sooooo hard. So anyway, on my way through the health related isles to pick up some face wash, I stopped and moved my cart to allow a mother and her baby daughter to get by me. They reminded me of my friend who has a 9 month old daughter and I was instantly happier upon seeing them. I smiled at the baby girl first, then the mother. While the baby seemed happy to see me and intrigued with my presence in her sphere as only a baby could be, the mother didn't smile and hurriedly moved along. As I contemplated the different reasons I could have been snubbed - she was in a rush, she didn't like my beard, my smile is creepy - I turned and noticed something. I was standing right next to the condoms. Virtually every brand on the market was right in front of me as I smiled at this mother-daughter combo. No wonder I didn't get the return smile. Rather than explain to her the unfortunate coincidence of our meeting, I thought it better to just let her go on her way and not creep her out any further. Before I went on my way, I noticed one more thing - Magnum condoms are about 30% cheaper than the regular size. Just one more advantage of having a big penis...

This week's schedule:

Monday - $2,500 No Limit Hold'em (6-handed)

Monday - $1,500 Stud 8 or better

Tuesday - $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha

Wednesday - $1,500 No Limit Hold'em

Wednesday - $1,500 HORSE

Thursday - $5,000 No Limit Hold'em (6-handed)

Thursday - $2,500 Pot Limit Hold'em/Omaha

Friday - $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Heads Up Championship

Saturday - $1,000 No Limit Hold'em

Saturday - $3,000 HORSE

Sunday - $10,000 Pot Limit Hold'em Championship

0 for 7 and Absolutely Crushing

Sun, 06 Jun 2010 10:47:35 -0700

The cards don't care how much you think you deserve to win a tournament. They don't care if you're playing lights out, piss awful or somewhere in between. All that matters is what falls and the value of the respective hands when all the cards are out. This is rather unfortunate for me, at least so far.

First, the bad news: The series has not gone well for me thus far. I've played seven tournaments and have been out of all of them on day 1. I don't recall much from the first three, but the last four have been especially brutal. In hold'em, I've busted AA Last night, in No Limit 2-7 Single Draw (a much lesser known but great, great poker game), I got all in pre draw for an over double average pot with a made 9 and was beat out by a two card draw to 2h3h5h. I'm not quite certain of my equity on this hand, but I'd put it about 88-90%. The hold'em hands are frustrating, but there are still hundreds and hundreds of players to wade through even if I win those hands. The deuce hand is far more frustrating, so please allow me a moment to vent.

Only 250 players signed up for the $1,500 NL Deuce event, and at 1am last night there were around 100 players remaining. The table is 7-handed, and other than myself, there are two good players including Erick Lindgren and an unknown player both on my right, three bad players, and a new player with a pretty big stack who is a decent hold'em player but I'm not sure about his deuce game. I'll be more sure in just a minute. I've been playing extremely well all night, and opening a lot of pots, when the following hand happens. I open the button to 750 at blinds 150/300 and a 75 ante, with an 11k stack. The new player I described is in the big blind, with 16k chips. He looks at his hand, puts on his sunglasses, and fires out about 5000 chips. I move in, he calls, and draws two to beat my pat 9. If you know anything about the game, you know his play is bad, but it is especially piss awful for a few more reasons. Since he is a good enough hold'em player, he should have the mind to know some no limit tournament strategy. He should also have already spotted the three marks at the table. He must also know that he is two to my left, and will have position on me for five of every seven hands. He may not know that I'm the best player at the table (sorry Erick) and top 5 in the tournament, but he should have a better idea of that now. So, this player, who we'll refer to as Mr. Piss Awful for now, decides to play a pot for over 2/3 of his stack, almost 80 blinds total, in a somewhat rare out of position pot, against the best player at the table, with about as bad a hand as you can get in with. Maybe I made him snap, maybe he snapped on his own, or maybe he thinks it's a good play, I don't know. I just know that this tournament was probably my best shot to win a bracelet, and with more than double average in a 100 man field full of people just looking to take a shot at a bracelet, I'm no worse than a 10 or 15 to 1 dog to get one. Wiping the tears, moving on...

And now, the good news: The series is hardly a week old. I'm playing well. Only one buy in was for $5k, with all the others $2,500 or below. I'm going to rehab today. Life is good. If you can keep things in perspective as a professional poker player, especially if you're a tournament player, you'll be a lot more successful, and more than that, live a much happier life. It's easy to get tunnel vision and only see that you have bricked your last seven events; but, in the big picture, it's really only seven events. There are over 30 on my schedule for the month, and that's only this month. Now, I just need to try to make a few day 2s. Because right now I'm on track to play all 30+, and that would be bad.

I'll leave you with this week's schedule. I really hope I don't play all of them like I did last week. I opted to skip the $1k NLH yesterday for the NL Deuce, so I may play it today if rehab isn't amazing. But then again, what are the odds of that?

This week's schedule:

Sunday - Rehab at the Hard Rock, possibly a late reg for the $1,000 No Limit Hold'em

Monday - $1,500 No Limit Hold'em (6-handed)

Tuesday - $5,000 No Limit Hold'em

Wednesday - $10,000 No Limit 2-7 Single Draw Championship

Thursday - $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha

Thursday - $1,500 Seven Card Stud

Friday - $2,500 Limit Hold'em (6-handed), or possibly a day off since I despise limit hold'em

Saturday - $1,000 No Limit Hold'em

Sunday - Who wants to go to rehab?

0 for 1 and I'm Amped!

Sun, 30 May 2010 22:19:34 -0700

It's that special time of year. Every card player's Christmas. The Rio is handing out bundles of cash and with the perfect mix of skill and luck I just may get some of it.

If by some chance I don't hit something big in the next six weeks, it won't be for lack of trying. I live about 15 minutes from the Rio, but I'll be setting up camp in the convention center through mid-July. I've probably glanced at the schedule over 100 times in the past 5 months, but I haven't really mapped out exactly what I'll be playing yet. This is, of course, because I get so excited that I black out every time I try. The WSOP staff seems to have done a real good job this year and I think I'm excited about every single day of tournaments. If there should be an off day, you'll find me at the cash tables at the Rio or Bellagio, and maybe even some satties over there. Bottom line: I'm amped. I'm feeling good, I'm playing well, and I'm putting in a ton of hours. If I don't hit something decent, it can only be because God hates me. But with this mojo, even He might have a tough time getting in the way.

This week's schedule:

Monday - $1,500 No Limit Hold'em

Tuesday - $5,000 No Limit Hold'em Shootout

Tuesday - $1,500 2-7 Triple Draw

Wednesday - $1,500 No Limit Hold'em

Thursday - $1,500 Pot Limit Hold'em

Friday - $1,500 No Limit Hold'em

Saturday - $1,000 No Limit Hold'em

Saturday - $1,500 No Limit 2-7 Single Draw

Sunday - Rehab Party at the Hard Rock, then day 2 of whichever Saturday event I'm still in

Resting up for the Series

Tue, 11 May 2010 22:32:28 -0700

There are a multitude of philosophies when it comes to World Series preparation, falling into two general camps - play a lot and stay sharp or take it easy and avoid getting burnt out. This year, I will definitely be taking it easy.

Since the middle of December, I've been at home in Las Vegas for a grand total of two or three weeks. I've been to Long Island, The Bahamas, upstate New York, Biloxi, Vegas, Los Angeles, Vegas, San Jose, Vegas, Austria, Vegas, Long Island, London to San Remo via bus (a nightmare), Nice, Monte Carlo, and now finally back home to stay for the next several months. Traveling the world is great, but I couldn't be happier to be in Vegas right now. I'm playing a few SCOOP events here and there, and spending the rest of my time working out, playing golf, and just enjoying the Vegas sun. I haven't had much time this year to hang out with my friends and roommates, and I'm pumped to finally have some.

After SCOOP wraps up on Sunday, I'll have about 10 days before the first WSOP event. I'll probably dabble with some mixed cash games to brush up for some tournaments and the side cash action, but the majority of my time will be spent barbecuing, hitting some Vegas pools, and going out with some people that are coming into town.

The World Series is a great opportunity with a lot of big tournaments, but it is also an extremely draining six week period. I'm looking forward to the chance to make some big things happen, and I'll be preparing for it by soaking in as much sun as possible over the next few weeks.

Bay 101 TV Final Table!

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 14:45:42 -0700

I finally made my first WPT TV final table appearance last week at Bay 101. "Finally" may be a bit of an exaggeration, considering that I am 25 and have only been playing WPT events for less than 18 months. However, I think I've earned the right to use such dramatic language. I don't believe that anyone has made as many "second to last" days in WPT events as I have over the past year or so without making the final day. It's always frustrating to get so close to a win and fall short, but I'm happy to have finally broken through into a top 3 spot.

I started day 1 strong at a tough table which included: Phil "USCPhildo" Collins, Antonio Esfandiari, Paul Wasicka, and Josh Arieh. I was involved in nearly every pot and managed to have the winner at almost every showdown. When you're running well and playing well, it's hard for anyone to play back at you. I slowly increased my stack throughout the rest of the day without too many setbacks despite some tough tables.

Day 2 started out even better than day 1. I was the chip leader at my table and came out firing. I opened just about every pot I had the chance to, and was lucky enough to have some hands when I got played back at. I 3 bet called Howard Lederer's shove with AQ and was up against his JJ for a good chunk of chips to add to my stack and a $5,000 bounty as extra incentive to make the call. The flop came 9 T K, which isn't great for my hand since a Q now makes Howard a straight. The turn bricked but the river brought a J to make three Jacks for Lederer but complete my straight. Howard was a gentleman and stuck around for the picture and shirt signing, but the $5,000 bonus was the real prize.

From there I moved to another semi-tough table with plenty of chips on it. I sat next to Jonathan Tamayo when we were 1^st and 2^nd in chips. This didn't last long, as I encountered my first big setback of the tournament. Steve Sung limped the button, Brandon Cantu completed the small blind, and I raised out of the big blind with A9o. Steve Sung now reraised about 25% of stack. Cantu folded, and I decided to move in risking about 40% of my chips. Sung tank called with TT, and I missed to move down to the middle of the pack. My play here was very high variance, very aggressive, and ultimately unnecessary. However, in my defense, I thought he was folding (obviously), and sometimes that's the only reason I need to make a play. Sung makes some very odd stack size plays and I just didn't think he was all that strong here and knew he had no problem folding after putting in 25% of his stack. These odds plays can elicit some odd responses, and that's exactly what he got out of me as well as a bunch of my chips.

I built back up and put a pretty mean cooler on Joe Cassidy when we got all the money in on the turn of a 3 9 T J board with my KQ vs his TT. This propelled me to over 200k and I kept it rolling from there. We hit the money and went 6-handed at 36. My new table was pretty soft and I took advantage. I built up to 400k and then got lucky getting two pair in against a straight on the turn and smashing the four outer on the river for another 100k boost. I ended the day around 450k, about 40% of the final table average with 27 remaining.

Day 3 started pretty mixed, with a few decent pots going my way and a few going against me. Most notably, I lost a flip with KQ against Mclean Karr's 77. This was a mere stepping stone in the most absurd run of cards I've ever seen, but you can see how his story ended at worldpokertour.com. I moved tables and the usual second to last day nonsense began. I proceeded to lose every all in against short stacks and got rivered out of some very crucial pots. I had Joe Sebok's empathy as he watched me fall from over 800k to under 200k. I had members of the press needling me about my falls from grace late in WPTs. And I had my own thoughts as to how miserable yet another WPT choke would be. I wallowed in my own misery for a bit, but this time, I refused to die.

It's a funny thing about going from big stack to short stack; it can be a very freeing experience if you allow it to be. Of course, I'm always trying to accumulate as many chips as possible. However, with a big stack late in these tournaments comes pressure. You have everything to gain, as well as everything to lose. Again, there's nothing better than being a big stack late in a major tournament, but a short stack has one advantage: Nothing to lose. When you're on the shorty, and everyone is just waiting for you to go broke, you have everything to gain but nothing to lose. If you can forget about the stack you had, and live in the moment, you can play your stack well and aggressively and put yourself in good spots to double up. I'm proud to say I was able to go from under 200k to about 500k without ever being called all in. I used this momentum and the confidence it gave me to run it up the rest of the day. We went 5+ hours without losing a player, but finally got to the 7-handed final table after midnight. Andy Seth took out the 7^th place finisher, and the stage was set for the following day's 6-handed TV final table. I'd be going in 3^rd in chips with 1.1 million.

Andy Seth, Phil Hellmuth, Mclean Karr, Hassan Habib, and Matt Keikoan stood between me and my first WPT title. I'll leave the final table happenings to television, and comment on it when it airs around June 7^th or 13^th I'm told. Overall, I'm happy with my play, but we'll see how it looks on TV. It was a good experience and I hope to be back real soon. For now, I'm in Austria for EPT Snowfest. I already busted the main event, but I'll be snowboarding the Alps for the next four days so I can't be too upset. I'm going to try and post some video on here so hopefully that comes out well.

February at the Commerce

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 10:27:36 -0800

I made the drive from Las Vegas to Los Angeles on February 1^st. I planned on staying at the Commerce Casino for virtually the entire month and playing mostly cash games while the tournament action was still small and playing more tournaments as the buy ins got bigger. I used to be a cash player, and I was set on getting back to my old form. Being a tournament player is fun and can be very rewarding, but when you go through long stretches of going deep without breaking through to a top finish, as I have as of late, it can be mentally frustrating and tough on your bankroll. Playing cash games is far less volatile and can make for more consistent income and enable a tournament player to make it through the slow times. Since I used to live in LA and play a lot at the Commerce, I figured this was the best place to get back into the game.

I packed up my car with everything I'd need to make the casino feel like home for the next month. I brought my golf clubs and my longboard (skateboard not surfboard), nearly everything in my bathroom, a small library of books, and a dvd player. I even changed my Netflix subscription to the Commerce address (which reminds me, I should change that back).

I arrived just in time to play a $300 No Limit tournament, which I lasted all of two hours in. From there, I went down to the 5/10 No Limit cash games and sat in my first live cash game in a long, long time. I didn't play all that well, ran worse, and was lucky to get out losing only one full buy in. I two outed AA with QQ with a river Q to avoid being down two buy ins. This was a rather inauspicious start to my month long grind.

Fortunately, I started playing better and running better the following day. It took me about two more days to get back to even for the trip, and I never looked back from there. I played just two of the small buy in tournaments, and dedicated the rest of my time over the first two weeks to the 5/10 No Limit games. The games were generally very good and I was able to achieve a good win rate over the first ten or twelve days of my trip.

I focused on tournaments more during the second half of the month when the $1k buy ins and up started. I also sat in some mixed games where I played for more money than I'd ever played for. I'll post the story of the second half of my trip in a few days.

Sleepless in Biloxi

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 16:52:36 -0800

As the final six players remaining in the WPT Biloxi were rummaging through their individual suitcases looking for something suitable to wear on television the following day, I was scouring Expedia for the first flight out. It was two o'clock in the morning, and the six twenty-five to Vegas was screaming my name. When you're second in chips with eleven remaining, squeaking out your first WPT final table is little consolation. I grabbed a burger at the twenty-four hour diner at the entrance of the Beau Rivage with Jason Mercier and Phildo Collins and headed over to the bus entrance to catch the airport shuttle. Springing for a cab just didn't seem right after watching over seven hundred thousand dollars slip away yet again.

After several deep runs in WPT events, I made my first final table with a disappointing and frustrating ninth. The story of the tournament was the same as any other. I played well; got lucky a few times, got unlucky a few times, and tried to put myself in a position to win. There was one pivotal hand with eleven left that really hurt me that I'll describe here:

I opened the button with AsQs to 28k at blinds 6k/12k and was called by Jonathon Kantor in the big blind. The flop came out Qh 8d 3h and Jon checked. I bet 37k and he called. The turn was the Ks, and we both checked. The river brought the Ad, giving me two pair. Jon led for 75k, with about 200k behind. I have 500k before acting on the bet. Obviously, folding is not an option. The question here is whether to call or raise. I am only beat by 3 hands realistically: 33, 88, and JT. JT of hearts would make perfect sense, and JT off is a possibility. 33 and 88 are also possible, though I think he probably would have check raised the flop with those hands. This player likes to defend with a lot of hands, including ace rag. So if I move all in, I think he'll call with A3, A8, probably KQ, and possibly Ax of hearts if he thinks I'm making a move, albeit unlikely. I decided that these hands were far more likely than the three that beat me, so now it comes down to a tournament life decision. If I call and lose, I'll still have 230k, or about 20 blinds. Had this number been closer to 100k, I may have called and taken the lower variance option. However, with enough chips to climb back if I lose, and a belief that I am significantly more likely to be called behind, I decided to shove and try to pick up an extra 200k chips. Jon called instantly with 33, and I went from big stack to short stack.

I brought the hand up to Jason Mercier and Daniel Negreanu after it happened, and both said they would probably just call. However, I had been playing with this player for about thirty hours in both the 10k event and the 2k event all the way down to the final table (where I got 6^thand Jon won). I had plenty of information stored to make this decision, and I stand by it. I'm trying to win a tournament here.

I lost a few chips to another amateur by the name of James Reed. He openly acknowledged that he could not compete with good players post flop, and resorted to making fifty blind shoves over any raise with his good hands. I three bet his cut off open, which he obviously called, only to be check shoved on an ace high flop. What could he have here? Very few good players would call my raise preflop with AQ or AK, but with James I was sure he was at least that strong. Though he had very little experience, he was still a formidable opponent.

I've heard a quote several times that people relate to playing poker. It goes something like: "The world's best swordsman does not fear the second greatest swordsman. He fears the amateur because he cannot predict what he will do." First of all, the quote itself is absurd. If I, an amateur swordsman myself, were to take on the world's greatest, I would be dead in seconds, whereas the second greatest may very will win. The same is true in poker. I would prefer to take on an amateur player over a pro any day. However, there is some truth to this analogy in short stack tournament situations. Amateurs consistently make bets and raises without knowing why. Do they want a call or a fold? Who knows? They often don't. They'll call off 40% of their stack preflop without knowing what they want to see on the flop, or what they will do when they hit it. This is the reason tournaments are profitable, but it can also be very dangerous late in tournaments. If you're building a pot late in a tournament against a player who doesn't know the value of his hand, you had better well know the value of yours.

I boarded a stuffy, crowded plane at about six o'clock in the morning. After some pleasantries exchanged with my seat neighbor, I slept all the way to the ground in Memphis. I walked to my new gate, found a row of seats without arm rests, and slept some more. I had a middle seat on the flight back to Vegas. Surprisingly, all the good seats were taken when I had booked just hours before. Right before take off, the pilot informed us we had a flat tire and would be sitting an extra half hour or so until it was fixed. The guy next to me was pissed, but I was too tired to worry about it. I went to sleep and didn't wake up until I could see the Las Vegas Strip.

I'm heading to LA on Monday to start a month long grind. I'll be putting in a lot of hours at the cash tables, as well as playing some of the smaller LAPC events leading up to the bigger ones. It's been a frustrating start to the year, but I'm rededicated to the game and couldn't be more focused. Hopefully I can turn that into cash in LA.

Frustrating but hopeful start to 2010

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:21:56 -0800

The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure just wrapped up in the Bahamas. It was a little colder than usual due to the freeze that has been creeping down the western hemisphere (Dennis Quaid would have you believe it was caused by Global Warming). It's hard to complain when you're surrounded by palm trees in January, so I won't. It was a nice change from the snowy Northeast.

The main event was bigger than ever, and I had an extremely soft table on day 1. Unfortunately, I couldn't get anything going and ended the day with less than I started. Day 2 started out well when I doubled myself back into contention, but ended a short time later. I turned my attention to the 5k, where I played better than I have in a while. I couldn't mount a run on day 2, and ended up finishing short of the final table in 12^th. The field started with 225 people however, so I made a little money for my efforts.

I then proceeded to come in 5^th in the 1k 8 Game Mix tournament when they paid 4, and 17^th in the 5k 6 max tournament when they paid 12. The trip was about breakeven, but I'm happy with my play and have a newly found focus on my tournament game that I'm looking to parlay into some strong finishes in the early part of this year.

For now, I'm heading to upstate NY to a town called Ruedaville where apparently the internet hasn't quite reached. I'm looking forward to snowmobiling, shooting a few guns, snowboarding, and snowboarding off the back of a snowmobile with a wakeboard rope. I'll be in Biloxi, Mississippi next week for the WPT there if I don't kill myself.

It's been a long December...

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 22:49:17 -0800

The temperature crept up into the mid 60s in Vegas this week, but the Bellagio was as cold as it's ever been. I capped off my Five Diamond series with yet another deep run with nothing to show for it. Day 4 of the final WPT of 2009 started with 36 players, 27 of which would be getting paid. I headed into the day with a middle of the pack stack of about 500,000 chips. My good friend Brent Hanks was in even better shape than me with 670,000 chips, so hopes were high.

Things started slowly. I folded mostly for the first few rounds, winning just enough pots to preserve my stack size. This didn't last long however, when I decided to 3bet and call the ensuing 350,000 chip shove from Faraz Jaka with AQ in a cutoff vs. button situation. He showed me AKcc, and I couldn't bink my flopped heart draw for a huge pot. Crippled, I was forced to push A6dd the following round, only to run into what? Good ole AKcc again. This time I was able to win the small pot for my survival. I would have preferred to win the much larger pot a few minutes earlier, but beggars can't be choosers I'm told. I was able to grind my stack back up near the 300k mark, but as the blinds went to 6k/12k, I found myself with just over 200k. I moved in from the small blind over a button open from Faraz Jaka with AQss, and Josh Arieh moved all in right behind me. I said a silent prayer for JJ, but as Jaka folded Arieh tabled yet another AK and that was it. 30^th place and a $15k bubble. Not exactly as planned. Brent was later eliminated in 17^th place to finish off a tough day.

For those keeping score at home, this marks the 4^th WPT day 4 I've made in the past 12 months, dating back to this same tournament last year. I've also managed to make zero day 5s. So this tournament series caps off as well as sums up a pretty tough year on the live circuit. I put myself in a position to win several tournaments, but ended up with a lot of disappointing finishes.

I'll be flying to New York on Monday to spend Christmas and New Year's with my family, friends, and girlfriend. I'm looking forward to some good snowboarding conditions on the East Coast (which is rare). After that, I'm headed to the Bahamas for the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, and hopefully a big kick off to 2010.

Congratulations to Jason Mercier on winning the 2009 Bluff Magazine Player of the Year. Eric Baldwin locked up the 2009 Cardplayer Magazine Player of the Year award with a clutch victory in the Five Diamond $1k rebuy event. Both Jason and Eric are excellent players and good people, so I'm very happy for the both of them. Maybe 2010 is my year.

Happy Holidays and good luck in 2010.

It's been a long December and there's reason to believe...

Maybe this year will be better than the last. - Counting Crows

Jury Duty: The Poker Excusal?

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 04:05:06 -0800

I was notified that I had been selected for jury duty in Clark County (Las Vegas) several months ago. Like any warm blooded American, I tried to get out of it. I postponed it once, didn't show up another time, and finally gave in today and went down there. I'll be traveling for about 90% of January - March of next year, so I wanted to just be done with it all, even though it could mean missing a Bellagio tournament or two.

I arrived for the noon session, and was in the waiting area less than an hour when I saw Jon "PearlJammer" Turner walk in. Turns out he was there for the 9 a.m. session. He managed to dodge jury selection and was headed over to the Bellagio for the $5k HORSE event. I was more focused on making it to the $1,500 NLH the following day, since the HORSE was obviously not gonna happen. He told me to have a badge number toward the end of the group (which I have no control over) and I wouldn't get picked. He was excused, and I headed up to the court room with my group.

I had a relatively early number, so I knew I needed to make an excuse to avoid trial. Jon warned me against the poker tournament excuse, predicting that I would be laughed out of the court room. At least if I was laughed out, I would be out of there I figured. After standing in line with some interesting characters, we were seated and the general questioning began. The session ended with the "undue hardship" question. The judge was asking if it would be an undue hardship for anyone to serve on the jury for the trial, which was slated to take just a few hours the following day. She made it very clear that we were already there that day, and it would just be one more, and that any hardship excuse had better be good. I suppose I could have conjured up something more likely to get me out of it. But it's not in my nature. Plus, I was under oath. So when the judge posed the question, I was the first to raise my hand.

"And what is your undue hardship?" she asked, with a not so subtle touch of sarcasm.

"I'm a self-employed, professional poker player, and I have a poker tournament tomorrow at noon," I replied.

"Where are you playing?"

"At the Bellagio."

"Well I'll try and take that into consideration, but I can't automatically excuse you for a poker tournament."

"I didn't think you could", I retorted extracting a smile from the judge.

After a few more bullshit excuses, everyone was sent on break. When they lined up the prospective jurors, my number was pulled from the line up. I still had to sit there along with everyone else for the next few hours, but when all was said and done, I didn't have to stay for the trial. By the end of it, I was becoming more and more interested in the process and regretted not being part of the jury experience. I'm sure I'll be happy tomorrow morning though, when I can head straight to the Bellagio instead of hauling all the way to downtown Vegas.

So, as it turns out, a poker tournament is a valid excuse for jury duty. Hopefully, I can make something out of it tomorrow so that my excusal doesn't cost me $1,500.

FTOPS Final Table and Thanksgiving Festivities

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:57:09 -0800

I didn't go crazy playing the latest FTOPS, preferring instead to devote more of my time to Foxwoods, cash games, and golf. Foxwoods was a bust, with an early big stack going to waste in the 5k and a heartbreaker in the 10k when Matt Stout flushed the river to beat my top pair about 10 players out of the money. I feel a sudden urge to elaborate on my bust hand.

At blinds 1.5k/3k, Matt Stout opened under the gun + 1 to 8k with approximately 350k-400k to start the hand. I held AKs in the cutoff, and raised to 20.2k with about 125k to start the hand. I can raise small here to give the illusion of fold equity because I don't think Matt, or most solid internet-bred players, will call a 3bet out of position that shallow stacked. To my surprise, the BB cold called. This was a middle aged man who seemed to let his ego play his cards most of the time. While I couldn't discount AA or KK, I think TT, JJ, and QQ make up 90% of his range here. Getting the tantalizing price of over 4.5 to 1, Matt now made the call. The flop fell Kd 7c 4c. Obviously, I'm never folding my hand at this point, and looking to get it in on the flop if possible. After two checks to me, I bet 27.4k, leaving myself about 80k. I really like my bet sizing here because my bet looks like a standard continuation bet in this spot, on a board that is good for me to bluff, and is small enough to induce the BB's pocket pairs to call as well as create the illusion of fold equity if Matt should decide to make a play. The BB folded, and Matt raised to 100k, committing to my all in. I instantly declared "all in" and Matt muttered an obscenity as he put in the few additional chips. He tabled Tc 8c, for a club flush draw and a three-straight of sorts. The turn brought the 6h, the absolute worst non-club in the deck, adding 6 straight outs. The Jc hit the river, and that was it. Matt said "good game", and now I was the one muttering obscenities. While I don't fault Matt's play at any point in the hand, since he was getting a great price preflop and had reason to believe he had fold equity on the flop, this hand illustrates the problem with playing these hands in shallow stack situations. You're rarely going to flop the best hand, and instead are forced to rely on big high-variance semi-bluffs to get value. Obviously, ten high doesn't play well all in on the flop, flush draw or not.

I headed back to Vegas and proceeded to brick some of the FTOPS events, before making a run in the $2,500 buy in event. I got lucky early on to double up, and proceeded to play some of the best poker I've ever played online after that. I accumulated chips for the rest of day 1, and played patient poker for the most part on day 2. I didn't force the action and got very comfortable playing a 20-40bb stack. I finally got some chips by eliminating the 10^th place player, and got to the final table 3^rd in chips, though I was way behind the 1^st and 2^nd place stacks. At the final table, things couldn't have gone much worse. Just about every short stack was doubling in coin flip situations at best, with several 25-30% double ups. After a mid-stack's KK lost to AQo's runnered four flush to beat KK's set, I was forced to call the former mid-stack's 12bb reshove with my 66 and lost to AK. I misplayed one small pot, and eventually had to push A3s from the cutoff, and ran into the BB's AK. I took 8^th place for $55k, but was very disappointed in missing out on the $540k 1^st prize.

I'm heading to NY tomorrow to see my girlfriend, friends, and family, and couldn't be more excited. Thanksgiving tip: Cut up your turkey and mix it in a big mush with your mashed potatoes, stuffing, maybe a little corn, and gravy. It's quite good and good for you. Enjoy the holiday.

9/11 Conspiracy Theories: A Reasonable Man's Argument

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 12:39:24 -0700

America was founded on healthy skepticism of government. It is not only normal, but important that a people question the actions of its government. As John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton was famously quoted, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Open investigation of government activities is necessary for a freely functioning democracy. Of course, total transparency is often unfeasible in matters of national security; and there are very real safety benefits to a certainly level of opaqueness when these matters are concerned. That being said, I would like to see my government functioning at about 99% transparency. I doubt that this will ever happen.

As a healthy skeptic, there are many questions about the events of September 11^th, 2001 that I would like answered that have either been left unanswered or have been answered somewhat inadequately. While there are hundreds of questions out there, I will raise a few of the less absurd, more popular ones: Where are the missing plane parts (engines, etc) from the Pentagon site? Why were some phone calls covered up? Did the government have intelligence about the attacks prior to their occurring? Was special treatment given to Osama Bin Laden and/or his family at any time immediately before, during, or immediately after the attacks? I have not read nor will I read the 9/11 commission report because I lack the time and the desire to do so. I am unsure which questions have been sufficiently answered and which have not. As I stated above, I would like to see more transparency relating to the attacks that day, but I don't believe for a second that the U.S. government had any role in the attacks. I am not an expert on this matter, but I do consider myself a reasonably intelligent human being. The biggest reason that I have discounted the 9/11 conspiracy theories is rarely cited: implausibility.

In the words of South Park's 9/11 "thruther" spoof episode, "It was only the world's most intricate and flawlessly-executed plan ever, ever." Rational thought is a person's most valuable tool. Let's try it here. If you believe that the United States government perpetrated the attacks on September 11^th, 2001, you probably believe the following: Anywhere from tens to hundreds of people inside the U.S. government conspired to take down the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and another target in the Northeast. These tens to hundreds of people never told anyone of their plans, and remain silent to this day. These tens to hundreds of people, in acquiring more conspiring members (demolitionists, pilots, etc.), never happened upon anyone who wasn't willing to go along with their plan who would alert the public, or killed or otherwise dispatched of anyone unwilling to go along. These tens to hundreds of historically inept government employees then arranged for three WTC building to be wired with explosives. This meticulous process went unnoticed by a single person that would alert the public in these 24 hour a day inhabited buildings. These tens to hundreds of people who were able to hijack three planes, were unable to hijack a fourth, or for some other reason decided to fire a missile at the Pentagon and pretend that it was a plane. These tens to hundreds of people were all motivated to kill thousands of innocent U.S. citizens by money, oil, war, or other popular motivators briefly brought up by some conspiracy advocates, but never fully explained. This would be only the start of what you, the conspiracy theorist, would have to believe in order to believe that the U.S. government perpetrated or was otherwise "in on" the 9/11 attacks.

Charlie Sheen's narration of "Twenty Minutes with the President" has become a popular source for conspiracy theorists to quote. I have neither the time nor the inclination to re-watch the YouTube based conspiracy film "911 Loose Change", but if I recall correctly this was a much more convincing piece. Perhaps I was more gullible back then. In any event, Charlie Sheen's narration is an assault on intelligence. He takes similes and allusions out of context, from the heroes and victims present at the time of the attack that probably never questioned our government's involvement, and distorts them to appear as if these people are describing actual controlled demolitions. He continues with his "evidence" by presenting inaccurate reporting as hard conspiracy. We, the audience, are led to believe that simply because a reporter mistakenly claims that a fire ridden building "has either collapsed or is collapsing", and that building actually collapses an hour later, that he is either a conspirator in the event or has been fed information by some conspirator.

When watching these videos, it is important to keep your mind functioning, as it is easy to become entranced by bogus evidence and get caught up in wild theories. I find this strikingly similar to the theory that the United States faked the Lunar Landing in 1969. Any person ignorant to the workings of space travel (99.99% of the population) could find themselves believing after an hour long TV special that Neil Armstrong never set foot on the Moon. If I wasn't one of those people, I was at the very least intrigued by the bombardment of apparent contradictions in the Lunar Landing described by the special. Thankfully, my high school physics teacher, with the help of some scientific web sites dedicated to the topic, explained the flaws in the TV special, and tore apart the absurd theories using the powerful forces of science and common sense. The 9/11 conspiracy videos are put together in much the same way. There are a few valid questions posed, scattered in a sea of nonsense rhetoric that is designed to convince the audience, not to present real information. It is imperative to understand that just because there may be a few holes in the 9/11 story, that doesn't mean that the government must have been behind it; in the same way that just because there may be a few holes in evolutionary theory, that doesn't mean God necessarily created Adam and Eve a mere 6,000 years ago. Perhaps the story could be filled in a bit, but a slight inaccuracy in one does not necessarily prove the other.

The problem with these videos is that they rarely offer healthy skepticism, but instead rely on misinformation to accuse the federal government of being behind these attacks. This is an extremely serious accusation - a lot more serious than I think conspiracy theorists understand. In order to make such accusations, you had better have done your research and come up with some hard facts. Instead, many theorists haven't even bothered to look at other YouTube videos by scientists and engineers refuting 99% of the claims in the conspiracy videos, let alone do any private research of their own. These videos are not hard to find, and usually offer the insight of intelligent, informed individuals rather than the wild imaginations and emotions common to conspiracy videos. Also, web sites like debunking911.com (and many others I'm sure, this is just the first I found) offer real truth hunters real information about the questions posed by conspiracy videos. For the truly interested, there is a piece by Mark Roberts entitled "World Trade Center Building 7 and the Lies of the 9/11 "Truth Movement". It is a word document nearing 100 pages that I will probably never read, but is required reading before anyone can go around spouting that the U.S. government attacked its own people.

The real enemy here is ignorance. It is a disease more widespread than the common cold, and more devastating than any biological disease I've witnessed. People seemingly cannot help but to preach on subjects which they have little or no knowledge of. Much like the attackers whose inability to question their absurd belief system that convinced them that 72 virgins would be waiting for them upon their death caused the death of 3,000 innocent Americans, the "truthers" who would rather not question the absurdities they spew inflict pain and heartache on the victims' families and desecrate the memory of September 11^th for millions more Americans. As I mentioned above, free speech and skepticism of government is not only a fundamental right for U.S. citizens but necessary to our freely functioning democracy. But the people who make these videos, and those that follow them blindly to the World Trade Center every year to assault this national site of mourning in front of millions who lost loved ones or were there that fateful day, are doing their country no service. They are abominations who should be shunned by society, not embraced as truth seekers. If Charlie Sheen would like to be the face of this movement, then so be it. Not only does his participation in this video make him irresponsible, it makes him a douche bag. That should fit in perfectly on his list of attributes, right under "lack of comedic talent".

Main Event Day 1

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:21:22 -0700

My Main Event started off pretty well with my chip stack growing 50% in the first level of play. I ran my $30,000 starting stack up to $45,000 in the first 2 hours through some good fortune and two well played flush draws. I was playing well and taking advantage of the weak spots at my relatively average table, while playing cautiously against the only other truly competent player. I entered level 2 confident and ready to run on up to $60k +.

Level 2 was generally a rough one. I missed almost every flop and made very few hands that I could bet for value. I chipped down to approximately $40k and tightened up and waited for value spots. This spot would come at the last hand of the level:

A weak and loose player opened in middle position with blinds 100/200 to 625. A poker stars pro who I don't know and who plays OK raised to 1625 from the hijack. I don't think his 3 betting range is all that wide, but he has 3 bet several times in the first 4 hours so it certainly includes more than just AA. I am in the small blind with KK. While calling is a bit awkward in this spot, it is the only viable play for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, it is the only way to get value from my hand. If I raise here, I think the stars pro will fold QQ and AK and reraise with AA, thus shutting out all hands I'm beating and playing with the one hand I am not. Also, the original weak opener could see this as a squeeze spot, and jam his $11k stack with more marginal holdings, shutting out the stars pro and allowing me to make the easy call for 25% of my stack. So I call the 1625, and the original opener moves all in for his last $11k. Everything seems to be going according to plan. At this point however, the stars pro starts the whole Hollywood act. He begins asking for a chip count, hems and haws and finally moves all in for $18,500 total. Now my situation is a lot stickier. Instead of calling off 25% of my chips against a loose player, I would have to call off almost half of my chips against a far tighter player. While only one hand beats me, the likelihood of it being out there just got a lot higher. I went into the tank for a minute or so, and came to the conclusion that the stars player has to play QQ and AK this way as well, and not just AA. I could be wrong about that, but that was my decision. I called and he triumphantly slammed AA on the table, and I tabled my KK as the original opener showed TT. I failed to continue my run of cracking AA with KK, and I was down to $21,000 chips. It was a real tough hand to lose at the end of the level, but I think I made the right play.

After dinner I came back and continued my descent. I bottomed out at 7700 chips at the end of level 3, before doubling up during the last level of the day and ending with $15.6k. Though I'm obviously disappointed with my day 1 finish, I'm still very much in the tournament with 40 big blinds and looking to make some moves to the upside today. It's only the biggest tournament of the year, wish me luck.

Half-Past June

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:30:54 -0700

June is officially half over and I've got one measly min-cash to show for it. Yesterday's $2,000 No Limit Hold'em event was the same tournament that I took 3rd in last year. I entered the day looking for a repeat final table appearance, and instead made it about 10 minutes into level 2. I was pretty unlucky to lose the first half of my stack, but I threw away the second half and was really unhappy with myself. Event #34 $1,500 No Limit Hold'em is today and I'm looking forward to playing better and trying to build a stack for a change. It has to happen eventually.

In other news, I went to the gym yesterday and actually lifted a weight for the first time in probably 6 months +. I've been trying to eat well and exercise, but it is always hard to do and nearly impossible during the World Series. So many people are in town for the month that are constantly looking to go out and do something any time they're not in a tournament. The out-of-towners currently testing my discipline include: Jason Mercier (as I am writing his name, he actually just asked "What happened last night?"), Allen Bari, Steve Levy, and Anthony Spinella. It's incredibly difficult to stay healthy when you have the opportunity to go out every night, but I've been treating my body so awfully the past few weeks that I have no choice but to stay strong.

I'm definitely feeling a late season push. So far, it's been a pretty disappointing series for most of the kids I run with. Out of myself, Andy Zuzolo, Kung Fu Craig Montalbano, Brent Hanks, Phil "Phildo" Collins, Brandon Garrity, Greg Aversa, Matt Berkey, Brian Lamanna, Allen Bari, and Steve Levy; the best result was a final table bubble by Phildo in the $1,500 Pot Limt Hold'em. The only person to do something of any merit thus far has been Jason Mercier, with a big bracelet win in the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha. He's also made some deep runs in some other tournaments, including the $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Heads Up event. He's so sick that it's actually starting to annoy me, but I guess I'll just go on pretending to be happy for him.

I'm off to start this late season push. Laaaaaata.

I'm a Professional?

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:55:51 -0700

Since most of you have no idea who I am, I'll begin with a little back story.

My poker career started in the Fall of 2002 during my freshman year of college. My college roommate, Andy Zuzolo, and I watched Matt Damon take on John Malkovich in the poker classic, Rounders, and quickly became fascinated with the game. After a little internet investigative work into the rules of Texas Hold'em and what burn cards were, we started playing in our dorm lounge.

It didn't take long to realize that this game could be beaten, so I read every book available and started discussing hand scenarios with Andy while continuing to play every day in the lounge with my floor mates. In my second semester, I started playing at another dorm where a bit more money was being thrown around and made about $1,500 dollars. When I came back for my sophomore year, that game had dried up and I needed a new way to fund my eating and drinking habits. I deposited $50 onto Party Poker, turned J 8 into quad 8's for almost $100 bucks and never looked back. I was grinding .25/.50 cent blinds no limit hold'em and cashing out $500 dollars every 4 days or so. A few weeks later, my roommate Andy and I entered a $50 tournament with 699 players and finished 1^st and 2^nd (He took first). We chopped it up just about evenly and each took $6,500 for our efforts. We took all our friends who had stayed up until 5 a.m. to watch the final table out to a celebratory McDonald's breakfast, and from that point on I was officially hooked on poker.

Fast forward past all the college cash, sit 'n' go, and multi-table tournament grinding to pay rent and for my spending habits, to my Wall Street trading job I took coming out of school in 2006. I got the interview thanks to a college professor who thought my poker skills would translate well into the trading world, so I was very upfront with my new owners and boss about my side job. I requested to start working in August so that I could play in some WSOP events that summer. I busted the three prelims I played shy of any money, but wound up running up enough money in side games to justify to myself a WSOP main event bid. I took 349^th out of the record 8,773 player field for about $35,000 and was off to Wall Street to try out a real job.

I had wanted to start playing poker full time when I graduated, but turning down a trading job on Wall Street seemed like a bad idea. I was smart enough to know I could use a back up if poker didn't work out, and figured I could still play on the side to make some extra money. I enjoyed trading, but didn't like the sales aspect of my job. Good people, good boss, good owners (not only did they OK me to take 2 weeks off for the 2007 WSOP but they even bought some pieces of me in some events), but it just wasn't for me. I didn't make much money at the 2007 WSOP, but just being there was enough to convince me it was time to leave Wall Street.

I left New York that August and drove across the country to Los Angeles with my friend Kevin. I set up shop in my friend Victor's living room with the intention of staying a few weeks for the California State Poker Championship at Commerce Casino. A few weeks turned into eight months of sleeping on an air mattress in Victor and his roommate Danny's living room while playing tournament and cash games at Commerce as well as online. When Spring '08 rolled around, I wanted to get my own place and I knew I'd be in Vegas for the WSOP during June and July, so I decided to look for a place there.

I moved to Vegas in April 2008 with my college roommate Andy Zuzolo and high school buddy Craig Montalbano. I grinded small no limit games online 12 tables at a time to build up a roll for the 2008 WSOP. I bricked a few early tournaments before taking 3^rd in the $2,000 No Limit Hold'em event. My pocket 8s lost to pockets 6s all in pre flop for a massive chip lead pot to conclude one of the best and most disappointing days of my life.

For the past year, I've been traveling the tournament circuit all over the country as well as a few stops in Europe. I've had a pretty decent 2009 so far, but have been unable to break through and get a win after several deep runs. I'll be playing over 20 events during the 2009 WSOP, with all intentions of clearing that hurdle and winning my first bracelet.

The hunt resumes today with the $1,500 No Limit Hold'em Shootout and the $10,000 NL 2-7 Single Draw event.