Day 3...Ceasers Palace Maega Stack

We went to Ceasers Palace on Wednesday to check out the Mega Stack series they had going on over there, and made the decision to play there based on the biggest factor...flight times. Based on the 2 previous days at the Venetian, we decided that one of us would have to get the final table with close to the chip lead in order to miss our flight on Thur. 10 thru 7 would put us probably break even on changing flights...etc.

I think they had close to 90 people, and the structure was very different in that there were no green antes ($25). The antes started with the black chips ($100)...and they didn't start until the 7th or 8th level. I hovered around 20-25 BB's until the dinner break when we were down to 2 tables. I busted out in 14th place, and they were only paying 9. I was really upset with myself as the hand I was crippled on... I felt I played terriable. The blinds were at 200/800/1600 and I had right below 30k. I was in mid-late position and I made a move at the blinds and antes with AJc. I open shoved, and he SB woke up with QQ. We were the 2 short stacks at the table, and I barely had him covered...I was on fumes and doubled up twice...to no avail. The only bustout in the trip I got my chips in bad. I could not get that …as Monk says, “Courtesy Double-up”

I have been listening to pokerroad and heard Dan Kelly/Gobboboys comments about open it being +EV shoving from the sb as light as K-8. Reading BarryG's post on the forums (Must read for players) made me sick to my stomach ...again …as that is how I felt. There were so many other ways to play that hand where I don't lose my stack. Why not 3x there and fold when the SB shoves over the top of me??? Why risk my tournament life there?...I don’t know but the sickest thing was I knew the sec I pushed my stack out there…I was in trouble. That sixth sense/instinct/Gut feeling went haywire. I am a little bummed that the guy staking me didn’t win any money, but I felt from an overall trip…I played well…In fact…I don’t know how I could have played any better on the first 2 days, but I have to dig in. I still have holes that need to be plugged. I have to identify my mistakes and think higher.

I did beat the cash games and so did the guy I went with, so that was a big positive.

Overall Trip observations:
-I hope to never see another Ed Hardy shirt or hat…ever ;-)
-Those people standing on the sidewalk giving out the flyers to the strip clubs…they were 2-3 feet apart…I shit you not. I could stand between them and reach out and touch 2 of them. Every 3rd or 4th step someone was trying to hand me a flyer to go to the same club. I felt like saying, “What happened in the 2-3 seconds/3-4 steps ago when I turned your buddy down that would make me now think…Yea…I want to take YOUR flier and go look at naked women dancing”
-The most encouraging part of the trip was to see the donks were out in force. I witnessed some of the most bizarre plays, and this was not tourist…people who really thought they were the shit. Case in point, the kid that called me a donkey. Let me set the stage here. I sit down at my table and on the 8-9th hand this kid bluffs off ¾ of his stack at 25/50 when he bet out 7100 to try to steal a 2600 pot on the river…obvious over bet. The person called him and he had air (Really???). 8-9 hands later I am in LP with 8h6h and there are 4 limpers to me...I Limp. The kid raises 4x to $200 with around 3k left, and all the limpers call…Uh…yea…I call. I hit my hand and stack the kid when the board was 9 high and he held JJ. At this point I get berated for calling a raise with 86h and I sit and listen to him wanting to be like the Poker Brat soooo bad. His buddy walks up and he says, “I can’t beat these Donkeys man…calling a raise with 86h…but they were suited”…He pointed to me when his buddy asked which one and I could not stop myself. I bust out laughing at the kid and the dealer freezes. I say, “Dude…You really have no idea how bad you play do you…you really don’t”…”You are out of a Mega Stack tournament and we haven’t even made 2 revolutions of the button…were on the 17th or 18th hand….You can’t grasp that can you?” …oh well.
-The airport...People…if you don’t need to charge your phones…need power for your laptop…if you don’t need “Power” at all…and there are plenty of open seats…Don’t F*&#’in take up all the seats around the power outlets!!!! I walked up with my laptop in hand and stared at the laptop…and at the people sitting around it…nothing. Whatever…I sat on the floor.
Oh well…enough of that…what else? Pro’s…Jimmy Fricke was at the table next to me…J.J Liu was there also. Not a bunch with the LA Poker Classic going on. I did get to talk to Fish for awhile and he said him and Matt G. were going to head to LA.

Overall it was a great trip. I think my backer may be ready to fire a couple of more bullets…we will see.


"You went halfway around the world. You spent a fortune. You did terrible things. Really terrible things Robert. And all for nothing." Christian Bale as Borden in "The Prestige"