Tuesday, January 31, 2012

New Year...Outlook looks great...MDH

Just got back from the Beau Rivage and the Million Dollar Heater last week and had a great time. I was there covering the final table of the $5k main event that baarreeeellly covered the Guarantee, and I was giving minute by minute updates on our facebook page and the main website. Thanks Mary for the assignment...I really enjoyed it.

Of course I did not get to play in the $5k Main Event as I fired all my satty bullets and called it quits. Its very discouraging, but all poker players know that feeling of covering/sweating a tournament when you know you are good enough to play in the event...you just could not Satty in. I think Kai and Monk have both blogged about this recently.

The 1st $500 freezeout there were giving out 6 seats and half of one in cash and I get knocked out 9th where I really feel like I played well...Definitely good enough to get a seat. Never had my tournament life at risk until we were down to the Final Table, but I did get it in bad. This old dude that was the table "luckbox" raises to $7200 when we were at 1500-3000...I am sitting on about 12 bigs (37k) when I look down at Jacks (JJ) from the button. Ben Mintz is on the BB with a little smaller stack. I decide to Tank-Shove there and the blinds immediately get out of the way...here is where it gets interesting.

I push my stack out and sit back and the guy just looks at me...I say, "I think its about 35k ish I will count it" and I reached up and started to count the stacks when the guys eventually looks at me and goes, "Yea...I call" and turns up bullets (AA). I almost puke and Ben Mintz says, "No way...He didn't just do that"...While I am standing up Ben says, "Your gonna get there GeneD if there is any justice in poker your gonna get there"...as every card hit the table Ben would say "Get There"..."Get There"...well...I didn't get there LOL.

I just stood there in disbelief for a second that I could get slow rolled sooooo bad. I have blogged on here before about the donkfish at Shortys, but this is a major tournament series...oh well.

I also had to fade a sicko table when we were down to 2 tables with the following players all within striking distance. John Evans (Who I felt played the best tournament poker I have seen in a long time)....Brian “Sno0owman” Hawkins on my left in 2 separate tables in this thing...Corey "comandr_cool" Burbick...Ben "TheDestroyer" Mintz ...and Tony "Boston Tony" Ruberto who had just snapped off the WPT Main Event in Jacksonville, FL for $320,000 (I whiffed those Satty's also in Jax)...all at my table. I really enjoyed playing with those guys though.

Another Satty on Sunday and I get it in with 3 tables left with about 9 BBs ...3 ways...with me sitting on AA...vs Chris Bigler's AK ...and Corey "Slim" Wunstell's K-10o...only somehow they get both the last 2 kings in the deck on the board...siigghhh

So...Winner of the $5k Main Event in the MDH...Was local Pro John Dolan ...and there was his girlfriend and some other local people there to sweat the action. I got to meet his girlfriend and she is a really nice person, and their gonna be great parents. They have a 3month old now...wow...I can remember when Ivey was 3 months old...siigghh LOL

Dolan came into the final table as the chip leader, and he had to fade a stacked final table that included WPT Champion Randall Flowers, WSOP bracelet winner Ryan "gutshotallin" Welch and Lock Poker Pro Matt "allinat420" Stout. Rounding out the field were a few unknown players and online poker pro Glenn Poole, who scored his first big live score and banked $185,367 for the runner-up finish.

I want to give a quick "Shout Out" to Glenn Poole from Memphis, TN as he and I got to talking during the series and became fast friends...We have alot in common.

What else is going on nowadays...Job situation is looking good. I should have something locked up soon, but we will see. Hopefully things will work out for my poker travels in Feb.

My Plans (Sans Job) will be to hopefully head to Tunica in the next few days. I have had a death in the family, and there is a funeral on Thursday. Hit the 2-5 cash game and start to move into bigger cash games, and hit as many tourneys as I can...Then come back early next week. It is nice not having to "chase" the points for the Million Dollar Freeroll.

From there I am thinking "roadtrip" to Heartland Poker Tour in Daytona, FL where they are having a Televised Final Table to break up the ride...then on to West Palm Beach for the WSOP-C event and that $550 "Milly Guarantee". We think they are going to blow this thing out, and the prize pool could almost double like the Beau's did. I will fire as many bullets as I can if it balloon's into as big as we think. From there head home hopefully into a new job for 2012...we will see. I am going alone as I never know what is going to happen with my family, but I will have lots of friends at all of these events.

Played the tournament they had in Houma last weekend, and did a 4 way chop for 2nd place money. It was a really cool environment and cool people, so now all we need to do is get the structure fixed up a little. Props out to Alex Tassin for making that thing happen and for seeing the situation, and be willing to adjust. They have a lot of potential with this game...the place they had it...etc. I was in n for $150 buyin and out with 4th place money of $750...Chopped with Matt Stroud, Summerall and some guy I never seen before.


I did cash in the 1st tournament of the MDH where it was a 2 day event and they guaranteed $250,000 with a $340 buy-in...Wow did this thing go viral...they busted the guarantee on the 1st day, and they came close to doubling the prize pool. I am telling you that I talked to a guy from Tennessee that him as his buddies were checking online and when they saw the Guarantee bust on 1st day...they all piled in his car...5 of them...and they took turns driving and drove through the night to get there in time for a shot at Day 2. I think the "Milly Guarantee" in West Palm will be the same way. I got like 75th out of over 1450 players for a little over $1k ($1075). I was super disappointed in how I went out in that thing also...siigghh .


I have been grinding the Merge network recently also online...FT'ed a micro tourney the other night...good practice...got 4th.


GCP Forum should be rolled out soon...we have it up and the software is in place but Bill and I are learning the "backend" of the software and how to use the thing. Look for it soon.


Looking forward to the upcoming weeks and playing in the tourneys...gonna miss my wife and son something fierce but have to do it...The time is right...Its time to do work...


"Remember when you was a kid and you would spend the whole year waiting for summer vacation and when it finally came it would fly by just like that? It's funny, Jimmy, life has a way of flying by faster than any old summer vacation really fucking does" Bill Nunn as "Easy Wind" in the movie Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead