rivertapped

Gateway Poker Classic

2011-11-12T21:53:00.000-06:00

I'll be playing several tournaments in the Gateway Poker Classic at Harrah's in St. Louis 12/2/11 thru 12/11/11. I'm looking to sell 30% of my action.

Let me know if you want a piece.

Expenses are set at $1080 and tournament entries & fees at $3920 for a total bankroll of $5000. Each share is $50 and is worth 1% of my final bankroll*. Taxes will be the sole responsibility of the individual shareholders.

Hotel (10 nights) $600
Gas/parking $80
Food, drink, & incidentals $400 ($40/day)

Tentative schedule:

Event #1, 12/3/11 No Limit Holdem entry charge & fee $500 + $65 (2-day event)
Event #2, 12/4/11 No Limit Holdem entry charge & fee $200 + $45 (Seniors event)
Event #3, 12/5/11 No Limit Holdem entry charge & fee $200 + $45
Event #4, 12/6/11 No Limit Holdem entry charge & fee $200 + $45
Event #5, 12/7/11 No Limit Holdem entry charge & fee $300 + $55 (6-max)
Event #6, 12/8/11 No Limit Holdem entry charge & fee $500 + $65 (2-day event)
Event #7, 12/9/11 No Limit Holdem entry charge & fee $300 + $55
Event #8, 12/10/11 No Limit Holdem entry charge & fee $1000 + $100 (2-day Main Event)
Event #9, 12/11/11 No Limit Holdem entry charge & fee $200 + $45

Schedule is subject to change. For instance, If I make it to day two of event #1, I would withdraw from event #2. Entry charges & fees from any events I don't play would revert back to the bankroll.

This is the first time they have held this event, so it's hard to predict the turnout. I'm hoping for 300 or more participants in most of the events.

Based on 300 entrants:

$245 events (4) total prize pool: $60,000 (estimated "in the money" cash of $400 and 1st place of $13,200)

$355 events (2) total prize pool: $90,000 (estimated "in the money" cash of $600 and 1st place of $19,800)

$565 events (2) total prize pool: $150,000 (estimated "in the money" cash of $1000 and 1st place of $33,000)

$1100 event (1) total prize pool: $300,000 (estimated "in the money" cash of $2000 and 1st place of $66,000)

Worst case scenario: no cashes & no withdrawals, final bankroll $0. Each share worth $0.00

Break even scenario: cashes & withdrawals totaling $5000. Each share worth $50.00*

Best case scenario: Six wins ($178,200) & 3 withdrawals ($845), final bankroll $179,045. Each share worth $1,790.45*

*In the event I don't sell 30 shares, I'll remove one or more of the tentatively scheduled tournaments and each share will increase in value.

For instance, if I only sell 8 shares (8x50=400), I'll add my $3500 (70x50) for a total bankroll of $3900 (78 shares). I'd then eliminate Event #8 and have $2820 in tournament fees and $1080 in expenses for a total bankroll $3900. Each of the 78 shares would then be worth 1.282% of my final bankroll.

World Series of Poker-Circuit

2010-04-01T05:51:00.002-05:00

The World Series of Poker-Circuit event comes to St. Louis for the first time. Harrah's casino will host dozens of tournaments spread over the next 2 weeks.

I'm heading down today. Will play some satellites Friday and the $500 tournament on Saturday. If I get knocked out I'll play the $300 Senior's event on Sunday.

Trip report when I get back.

Thanks to my co-investors.

SCOOP Events

2010-02-23T19:09:00.006-06:00

I got all my chips in with pocket Aces up against my opponent's pocket 7's. The flop brought a 7.

The hand didn't particularly bother me, as I'd like to have that situation every hand. The reason I wasn't bothered is because I realize that my Aces are going to lose about 20% of the time.

I might lose with Aces five time in a row, but eventually the math will catch up and I'll win 80% of the time.

Which is why playing poker is clearly a game of skill.

A great place to showcase these skills is at one of the best Online Poker Tournament series, Pokerstars' annual SCOOP events.

One of the fun aspects of the SCOOP tournament is the wide mix of games. Plenty of Hold 'Em avents but also some of the lesser known games too. Below are a couple of videos about these other games.

"How to Play 8 Game Mix" video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIb4oQYsKCE

"How to Play Badugi" video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IGfCrXbExU

See you there.

2010-02-17T19:21:00.001-06:00

2010-01-18T18:42:00.001-06:00

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker! The WBCOOP is a free online Poker tournament open to all Bloggers, so register on WBCOOP to play.

Registration code: 046423

2009-12-27T20:34:00.001-06:00

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Heartland Poker Tour Trip Report

I spent 4 days in St. Louis to participate in the Heartland Poker Tour's first visit to the area. I played in ten tournaments with a total buy-in of $1795. I cashed four times for a total of $1783 for a net loss of $12.

The main poker room at the Ameristar is on the first floor where they held the single table Sit-N-Go satellites, and they had another area set up for the HPT qualifiers and the main event on the second floor at the opposite end of the casino.

The $85 SNG's played down to the final 2, with both advancing to a $360 qualifier. The $120 SNG's advanced the final 3 players.

20% of the entrants in the $360 qualifiers advanced to the $1650 Main Event.

Ameristar - Thursday 11/12/09:

Arrived at the Ameristar just before the 11:00am $360 qualifier was ready to begin. I decided to skip the $85 & $120 single table satellites and jump right in and play.

There were about 65 entrants and I was busted out about 1-1/2 hours into it.

Lost about half my stack when my pocket aces were cracked on the very first hand. Treaded water for the rest of the tournament and busted out with Ace/King suited. Flopped the nut flush draw and bet every street but could not complete my flush.

Went downstairs to the poker room and promptly signed up for an $85 SNG. I won and received a $360 voucher into a qualifier. I immediately signed up for a $120 SNG and won another voucher.

The vouchers were transferable so I went to the tournament area and sold one. I used the other one to play in the 7pm qualifier.

This qualifier had 118 entrants and again I busted out uneventfully about halfway through.

Decided to call it a night and return the next day for another go at it.

Bankroll: -$205

Ameristar - Friday 11/13/09

I played a $120 SNG and lost. Played an $85 SNG and lost. At 5:30 I played in the final $120 SNG of the night for the last qualifier of the tournament which was to begin at 7:00pm.

I won and used the voucher to play it. There were 188 entrants so the tournament would award 37 seats into the main event. I lasted into the final 70 or so but took a horrendous beat that crippled me and was soon eliminated.

No main event for me this year.

Bankroll: -$530

Harrah's - Saturday 11/14/09

Played in their $125 tournament and did not cash.

Bankroll: -$655

Harrah's - Sunday 11/15/09

Woke up Sunday and debated going home or playing one more time in Harrah's $60 noon tournament. Decided to give it one more shot.

There were 55 entrants and I made it to the final two. He had a slight chip advantage with 1st place paying $849 and 2nd place paying $558. I proposed an even money split and he agreed. He got the extra dollar and I took $703.

Final bankroll: -$12

By ending up in the final three, I received an invitation to play in next month's Tournament Of Champions. This tournament is for all the top-3 finishers in Harrah's daily tournaments in the previous month.

It will pay the top 10 finishers with first place receiving $10,000.

Thanks to my co-investors and sorry we didn't post a big win, but I'll be back December 13th to attempt getting the bankroll into the black.

Summary:

Paid 360, won 0
Paid 85, won 360
Paid 120, won 360
Paid 360, won 0
Paid 120, won 0
Paid 85, won 0
Paid 120, won 360
Paid 360, won 0
Paid 125, won 0
Paid 60, won 703

Total:

Paid 1795, won 1783

Heartland Poker Tour comes to St. Louis

2009-10-30T18:14:00.006-05:00

I'm planning on competing in The Heartland Poker Tour at the Ameristar Casino in St. Louis in a couple of weeks.

http://www.heartlandpokertour.com/eventinfo.php?yid=2009&eid=14

The HPT features Main Events with entry fees that are considerably less than WSOP or WPT events, while still offering a televised final table. Another feature of the HPT is that most of the entrants win their way into the Main Event via "Qualifiers" which are held the week prior to the ME.

In the upcoming tourney in St. Louis the Main Event has an entry fee of $1650. You can buy yourself in directly or there are several ways to win your way in.

http://www.heartlandpokertour.com/data/heartlandpokertour/events2009/daydetail386.pdf

Held twice daily, the $360 mega-satellite Qualifiers will advance 20% of the field into the ME. If there are 100 entrants, the final 20 people in the game advance to the ME.

To win your way into a $360 Qualifier, you can play a 10-man satellite for $85 in which the final 2 players advance, or a 10-man $120 satellite in which the final 3 advance.

I arrive on November 12th (Thursday) and the Main Event begins Saturday the 14th, with the televised final table taking place on Sunday the 15th.

I plan on playing at least two of the $360 Qualifiers, hopefully by winning my way in for $85 or $120.

The tourney limit is 660 players, so a sell out will have a prize pool of almost a million dollars. The tourney will pay 10% of the field, with first place getting well into six figures.

My bankroll will be $1130, enough for 2 @ $85, 2 @ $120, and 2 @ $360. I'm also allocating $270 for hotel and travel expenses for a total of $1400.

I'm selling up to 50% of myself at $14.00 a share. Any money won will be added to the starting bankroll of $1130, and each share will get 1% of the final bankroll (less taxes).

Wish me luck and let me know if you want a piece.

In a parallel universe...

2008-09-01T09:32:00.003-05:00

Seeking backers for the 2008 WCOOP

2008-08-02T13:10:00.003-05:00

The PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) returns September 2008, with a guaranteed prize pool of $30,000,000, that’s double the total guarantee of last year, making it the biggest online poker tournament series in the world!

There are 33 different events in total, covering a wide range of poker games, including Hold’em, Omaha, Stud, Razz, HORSE, 2-7 Draw and more. Each event has a huge guarantee prize pool, with many reaching more than $2,000,000!

The series culminates with the $10,000,000 guaranteed Main Event, September 21. Last year’s Main Event was won by ‘Ka$ino’, who took away prize money of $1,378,330!

I'm actively looking for backers into some of these tournies. For buying me into an event, you'll get 60% of my after-tax profit. Contact me for details.

Below is the lineup of tournaments:

EVENT No	DATE	DAY	TIME	BUY-IN	EVENT	GUARANTEE
1	5-Sep	Fri	14:30	$215	NL Hold'em [6-max]	$1,000,000
2	5-Sep	Fri	16:30	$215	PL 5-Card Draw	$100,000
3	6-Sep	Sat	14:30	$215	Limit Hold'em	$300,000
4	6-Sep	Sat	16:30	$215	2-7 Triple Draw	$100,000
5	7-Sep	Sun	14:30	$10,300	High-Roller NL Hold'em	$2,000,000
6	7-Sep	Sun	16:30	$530	NL Hold'em*	$3,000,000
7	8-Sep	Mon	14:30	$215	PL Omaha [6-max]	$300,000
8	8-Sep	Mon	16:30	$320	8-game Mixed Event	$200,000
9	9-Sep	Tue	14:30	$215	NL Hold'em [4-max]	$400,000
10	9-Sep	Tue	16:30	$215	Razz	$100,000
11	10-Sep	Wed	14:30	$320	PL Omaha Hi/Lo	$300,000
12	10-Sep	Wed	16:30	$320	Mixed Hold'em [6-max]	$300,000
13	11-Sep	Thu	14:30	$215	NL Hold'em w/Rebuys	$1,000,000
14	11-Sep	Thu	16:30	$320	7-Card Stud	$100,000
15	12-Sep	Fri	14:30	$320	NL Hold'em [Heads-Up]	$500,000
16	12-Sep	Fri	16:30	$215	PL Omaha [1R1A]	$300,000
17	13-Sep	Sat	14:30	$530	PL Hold'em [6-max]	$400,000
18	13-Sep	Sat	16:30	$215	HORSE	$300,000
19	14-Sep	Sun	14:30	$25,500	High-Roller HU NL Hold'em	$1,600,000
20	14-Sep	Sun	16:30	$1,050	NL Hold'em*	$3,000,000
21	15-Sep	Mon	14:30	$530	7-Card Stud Hi/Lo	$200,000
22	15-Sep	Mon	16:30	$530	Mixed Omaha Hi/Lo [6-max]	$200,000
23	16-Sep	Tue	14:30	$530	NL Hold'em [1R1A]	$500,000
24	16-Sep	Tue	16:30	$530	NL 2-7 Single Draw	$200,000
25	17-Sep	Wed	14:30	$320	PL Omaha w/rebuys	$500,000
26	17-Sep	Wed	16:30	$320	NL Hold'em [6-max]	$500,000
27	18-Sep	Thu	14:30	$530	NL Hold'em Triple Shootout	$300,000
28	18-Sep	Thu	16:30	$530	Limit Omaha Hi/Lo	$400,000
29	19-Sep	Fri	14:30	$530	NLHE w/Rebuys [6-max]	$400,000
30	19-Sep	Fri	16:30	$1,050	PL Omaha	$500,000
31	20-Sep	Sat	14:30	$1,050	Limit Hold'em [6-max]	$500,000
32	20-Sep	Sat	16:30	$10,300	HORSE	$500,000
33	21-Sep	Sun	16:30	$5,200	NL Hold'em Main Event*	$10,000,000

$2200 Sit-N-Go Series

2007-10-19T16:22:00.000-05:00

I've been spending the majority of my poker play in Multi Table Tournaments (MTT). As the name suggests, there are multiple tables involved and there are 180 to 10,000 players entered.

With these larger fields comes a chance to win some serious money. While most of the money (50% or more) is reserved for the final table, 10-20% of the field wins something. Sometimes "making the money" will just get you your entry fee back, or a little more. These MTT's last from 4 hours to 20+ hours.

On the other hand, there are single table Sit-N-Go (SNG) tournaments. These are 9-player tournaments that start as soon as 9 players sign up. These tournaments pay 50% of the prize pool to 1st place, 30% to 2nd, and 20% to 3rd. SNG's are usually completed in less than 1-1/2 hours.

Winning an $11 MTT may pay $10,000 or more, while winning an $11 SNG pays $45.

While it's it's much easier to win a SNG than a large field MTT, the payoff is much smaller. On the other hand, it's not unusual to play many MTT's in a row without cashing once.

Since January 1st of 2006 I've played 530 MTTs and cashed 97 times. An "in the money" rate of 18.3%.

I've played in 525 single table SNG's since I started playing online, with an average buy-in of $39. My total profit over these 525 tournies is $2155, an average of $4.10 per tourney. This represents a 7% Return On Investment (ROI).

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to try to play at least 50 SNG tournies with entry fees of $22, $33, or $55 and see how I do. My goal is to cash in over 50% of the tournies and make a profit of $300.

I'll need to "step-up" my game to reach the $6.00 per tourney goal.

I'll post my results here.

The SNG Experiment

10-16-07 thru 10-22-07

1. $22 tourney, finished 5th, cashed $0, balance of -$22 (99 vs AA)
2. $55 tourney, finished 7th, cashed $0, balance of -$77
3 . $33 tourney, finished 3rd, cashed $54, balance of -$56
4. $22 tourney, finished 8th, cashed $0, balance of -$78 (AK vs QT)
5. $33 tourney, finished 2nd, cashed $81, balance of -$30
6. $22 tourney, finished 2nd, cashed $54, balance of +$2
7. $33 tourney, finished 3rd, cashed $54, balance of +$23
8. $22 tourney, finished 4th, cashed $0, balance of +$1 (AK vs JJ)
9. $33 tourney, finished 5th, cashed $0, balance of -$32 (66 vs JJ)
10. $33 tourney, finished 1st, cashed $135, balance of +$70
11. $33 tourney, finished 5th, cashed $0, balance of +$37 (AK vs QQ + A6)
12. $33 tourney, finished 6th, cashed $0, balance of +$4 (JJ vs AQ)

Results for Week #1: +$4.00 (cashed $378 in 5 of 12 tourneys with buy-ins of $374)
Overall Balance +$4.00

10-23-07 thru 10-29-07

13. $22 tourney, finished 1st, cashed $90, balance of +$72
14. $22 tourney, finished 2nd, cashed $54, balance of +$104
15. $22 tourney, finished 5th, cashed $0, balance of +$82
16. $22 tourney, finished 3rd, cashed $36, balance of +$96

Results for Week #2: +$92.00 (cashed $180 in 3 of 4 tourneys with buy-ins of $88)
Overall balance +$96.00 (cashed $558 in 8 of 16 tourneys with buy-ins of $462)

10-30-07 thru 11-05-07

17. $22 tourney, finished 1st, cashed $90, balance of +$164
18. $33 tourney, finished 1st, cashed $135, balance of +$266
19. $33 tourney, finished 9th, cashed $0, balance of +$233 (44 vs KQs)
20. $33 tourney, finished 7th, cashed $0, balance of +$200 (J5s vs 46s)
21. $33 tourney, finished 7th, cashed $0, balance of +$167 (333 vs AA after flop)
22. $22 tourney, finished 9th, cashed $0, balance of +$145 (AKs vs 77)
23. $33 tourney, finished 9th, cashed $0, balance of +$112 (KK vs 99)
24. $33 tourney, finished 1st, cashed $135, balance of +$214
25. $33 tourney, finished 6th, cashed $0, balance of +$181 (ATs vs AQ)
26. $33 tourney, finished 5th, cashed $0, balance of +$148 (99 vs KQ)

Results for Week #3: +$52.00 (cashed $360 in 3 of 10 tourneys with buy-ins of $308)
Overall balance +$148 (cashed $918 in 11 of 26 tourneys with buy-ins of $770)

11-06-07 thru 11-12-07

27. $33 tourney, finished 2nd, cashed $81, balance of +$196
28. $55 tourney, finished 9th, cashed $0, balance of +$141 (KT vs AA after J6KT turn, river 6)
29. $22 tourney, finished 4th, cashed $0, balance of +$119
30. $33 tourney, finished 3rd, cashed $54, balance of +$140

Results for Week #4: -$8.00 (cashed $135 in 2 of 4 tourneys with buy-ins of $143)
Overall balance: +$140 (cashed $1053 in 13 of 30 tourneys with buy-ins of $913)

11-12-07 thru 11-19-07

31. $22 tourney, finished 3rd, cashed $36, balance of +$154
32.

Results for Week #5: +$14.00 (cashed $36 in 1 of 1 tourney with buy-ins of $22)
Overall balance: +$154 (cashed $1089 in 14 of 31 tourneys with buy-ins of $935)

WBCOOP results

2007-10-14T16:35:00.000-05:00

Well, I lasted about 2-1/2 hours and busted out 336th when my QQ runs into AA. Looks like I'll have to find another way to get to the Bahamas. Details below.

2:00pm CDT

Tournament has started. We start with 10,000 chips and blinds of 25/50. There are 1337 participants.

2:09pm

Well, off to a rough start. On the 9th hand of the game, I raise with pocket tens. Guy goes all-in for 4175. He had lost most of his chips with JJ, calling raiser with a queen on the board. I figured his range of hands was quite large and would include many hands I had crushed. At worst, I figured, I was in for a coin flip situation.

I call and he flips over 33. I'm a huge favorite, but he catches one of the two remaining 3's on the flop, and I'm down to 5575. I'm 1308th of 1323 remaining.

PokerStars Game #12625019335: Tournament #63028692, Freeroll Hold'em No Limit - Level I (25/50) - 2007/10/14 - 15:07:34 (ET)
Table '63028692 88' 9-max Seat #3 is the button
Seat 1: OneTallCrowe (10225 in chips)
Seat 2: Hatchins_11 (7525 in chips)
Seat 3: rivertapped (9750 in chips)
Seat 4: omleny (4175 in chips)
Seat 5: PLHB (18400 in chips)
Seat 6: onasis16 (9925 in chips)
Seat 7: Raynor_88 (9925 in chips)
Seat 8: KevinMillar (10000 in chips)
Seat 9: CocoJr (9975 in chips)
omleny: posts small blind 25
PLHB: posts big blind 50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to rivertapped [Th Td]
onasis16: folds
Hatchins_11 said, "whatever doneky"
Raynor_88: folds
KevinMillar: folds
CocoJr: folds
OneTallCrowe: folds
Hatchins_11: folds
rivertapped: raises 150 to 200
omleny: raises 3975 to 4175 and is all-in
PLHB: folds
rivertapped: calls 3975
*** FLOP *** [3h 2h 4c]
omleny said, "omg"
*** TURN *** [3h 2h 4c] [9h]
*** RIVER *** [3h 2h 4c 9h] [Ad]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
omleny: shows [3c 3d] (three of a kind, Threes)
rivertapped: shows [Th Td] (a pair of Tens)
PLHB said, "lol"
omleny collected 8400 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 8400 | Rake 0
Board [3h 2h 4c 9h Ad]
Seat 1: OneTallCrowe folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Hatchins_11 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: rivertapped (button) showed [Th Td] and lost with a pair of Tens
Seat 4: omleny (small blind) showed [3c 3d] and won (8400) with three of a kind, Threes
Seat 5: PLHB (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: onasis16 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: Raynor_88 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: KevinMillar folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: CocoJr folded before Flop (didn't bet)

2:37pm

I get a strong hand with the Ace/Queen of hearts, flop a queen, and double up. Chip stack now 9450. I'm 569th of 1156 remaining.

PokerStars Game #12625571157: Tournament #63028692, Freeroll Hold'em No Limit - Level III (100/200) - 2007/10/14 - 15:34:06 (ET)
Table '63028692 88' 9-max Seat #6 is the button
Seat 1: OneTallCrowe (12350 in chips)
Seat 2: Hatchins_11 (9350 in chips)
Seat 3: rivertapped (4675 in chips)
Seat 4: omleny (6775 in chips)
Seat 5: PLHB (20600 in chips)
Seat 6: onasis16 (7150 in chips)
Seat 7: Raynor_88 (12425 in chips)
Seat 8: KevinMillar (8550 in chips)
Seat 9: CocoJr (8025 in chips)
Raynor_88: posts small blind 100
KevinMillar: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to rivertapped [Qh Ah]
CocoJr: folds
OneTallCrowe: folds
Hatchins_11: folds
rivertapped: raises 600 to 800
omleny: folds
PLHB: folds
onasis16: folds
Raynor_88: folds
KevinMillar: calls 600
*** FLOP *** [Tc Qc 3h]
KevinMillar: checks
rivertapped: bets 1300
KevinMillar: raises 1300 to 2600
rivertapped: raises 1275 to 3875 and is all-in
KevinMillar: calls 1275
*** TURN *** [Tc Qc 3h] [6h]
*** RIVER *** [Tc Qc 3h 6h] [2c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
KevinMillar: shows [Qs Js] (a pair of Queens)
rivertapped: shows [Qh Ah] (a pair of Queens - Ace kicker)
rivertapped collected 9450 from pot
KevinMillar said, "lol"
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 9450 | Rake 0
Board [Tc Qc 3h 6h 2c]
Seat 1: OneTallCrowe folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Hatchins_11 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: rivertapped showed [Qh Ah] and won (9450) with a pair of Queens
Seat 4: omleny folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: PLHB folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: onasis16 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: Raynor_88 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 8: KevinMillar (big blind) showed [Qs Js] and lost with a pair of Queens
Seat 9: CocoJr folded before Flop (didn't bet)

3:00pm

At the 1-hour break I have 11,550 and am 508th of 953 remaining.

3:22pm

I win a big pot on hand #90 with pocket rockets. Now 290th of 836 remaining with 17,375.

PokerStars Game #12626474179: Tournament #63028692, Freeroll Hold'em No Limit - Level V (200/400) - 2007/10/14 - 16:19:44 (ET)
Table '63028692 88' 9-max Seat #5 is the button
Seat 1: DrHogie (20110 in chips)
Seat 2: Hatchins_11 (5825 in chips)
Seat 3: rivertapped (9750 in chips)
Seat 4: omleny (20875 in chips)
Seat 5: PLHB (19225 in chips)
Seat 6: i am rebar (8975 in chips)
Seat 7: Raynor_88 (22050 in chips)
Seat 8: nabiscofigg (14310 in chips)
Seat 9: CocoJr (20950 in chips)
i am rebar: posts small blind 200
Raynor_88: posts big blind 400
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to rivertapped [Ah Ac]
nabiscofigg: folds
CocoJr: folds
DrHogie: raises 800 to 1200
Hatchins_11: raises 4625 to 5825 and is all-in
rivertapped: calls 5825
omleny: folds
PLHB: folds
i am rebar: folds
Raynor_88: folds
DrHogie: folds
Hatchins_11 said, "nh"
*** FLOP *** [7h 6d 4d]
*** TURN *** [7h 6d 4d] [6h]
*** RIVER *** [7h 6d 4d 6h] [4h]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Hatchins_11: shows [8s 8c] (two pair, Eights and Sixes)
rivertapped: shows [Ah Ac] (two pair, Aces and Sixes)
rivertapped collected 13450 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 13450 | Rake 0
Board [7h 6d 4d 6h 4h]
Seat 1: DrHogie folded before Flop
Seat 2: Hatchins_11 showed [8s 8c] and lost with two pair, Eights and Sixes
Seat 3: rivertapped showed [Ah Ac] and won (13450) with two pair, Aces and Sixes
Seat 4: omleny folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: PLHB (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: i am rebar (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 7: Raynor_88 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 8: nabiscofigg folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: CocoJr folded before Flop (didn't bet)

3:36pm

Sitting with 26,000

Stack: largest 104650, smallest 500, average 19376
Your current position is 154 out of 702
Time bank balance is 114 seconds
in 2 min blinds 400/800
For more information see Tournament Lobby

PokerStars Game #12626700783: Tournament #63028692, Freeroll Hold'em No Limit - Level VI (300/600) - 2007/10/14 - 16:31:33 (ET)
Table '63028692 20' 9-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: QuasiPro (6250 in chips)
Seat 2: ImOnTilt106 (26425 in chips)
Seat 3: Blue123 (6275 in chips)
Seat 4: murrythecat (39619 in chips)
Seat 5: irongirl01 (14850 in chips)
Seat 6: rivertapped (17975 in chips)
Seat 7: WhipArtist (8400 in chips)
Seat 8: gcpwildbill (36450 in chips)
Seat 9: garage13 (11925 in chips)
irongirl01: posts small blind 300
rivertapped: posts big blind 600
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to rivertapped [Ac Qs]
WhipArtist: folds
gcpwildbill: calls 600
garage13: folds
QuasiPro: folds
ImOnTilt106: folds
Blue123: folds
murrythecat: folds
irongirl01: folds
rivertapped: raises 1800 to 2400
gcpwildbill: calls 1800
*** FLOP *** [Ah As 3s]
rivertapped: bets 2400
gcpwildbill: raises 2400 to 4800
rivertapped: raises 4200 to 9000
gcpwildbill said, "all in or fold"
gcpwildbill: folds
rivertapped collected 14700 from pot
rivertapped: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 14700 | Rake 0
Board [Ah As 3s]
Seat 1: QuasiPro folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: ImOnTilt106 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: Blue123 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: murrythecat (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: irongirl01 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: rivertapped (big blind) collected (14700)
Seat 7: WhipArtist folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: gcpwildbill folded on the Flop
Seat 9: garage13 folded before Flop (didn't bet)

3:41pm

Over half the field eliminated. I've got 27,475.

Stack: largest 109050, smallest 200, average 20760
Your current position is 164 out of 648
Time bank balance is 114 seconds
in 12 min blinds 400/800 ante 50

3:44pm

I hit my semi-bluff on the river and reach 42,600.

PokerStars Game #12626893021: Tournament #63028692, Freeroll Hold'em No Limit - Level VII (400/800) - 2007/10/14 - 16:41:48 (ET)
Table '63028692 20' 9-max Seat #9 is the button
Seat 1: QuasiPro (6650 in chips)
Seat 2: ImOnTilt106 (29125 in chips)
Seat 3: Blue123 (5375 in chips)
Seat 4: murrythecat (37819 in chips)
Seat 5: irongirl01 (12950 in chips)
Seat 6: rivertapped (27475 in chips)
Seat 7: WhipArtist (5600 in chips)
Seat 8: gcpwildbill (31650 in chips)
Seat 9: garage13 (11525 in chips)
QuasiPro: posts small blind 400
ImOnTilt106: posts big blind 800
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to rivertapped [Ks As]
Blue123: folds
murrythecat: raises 1600 to 2400
irongirl01: folds
rivertapped: calls 2400
WhipArtist: folds
gcpwildbill: folds
garage13: calls 2400
QuasiPro: folds
ImOnTilt106: folds
*** FLOP *** [2h Js 5s]
murrythecat: checks
rivertapped: bets 9200
garage13: calls 9125 and is all-in
murrythecat: folds
*** TURN *** [2h Js 5s] [Kc]
*** RIVER *** [2h Js 5s Kc] [Qs]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
rivertapped: shows [Ks As] (a flush, Ace high)
garage13: shows [Ac Ad] (a pair of Aces)
ImOnTilt106 said, "gg"
rivertapped collected 26650 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 26650 | Rake 0
Board [2h Js 5s Kc Qs]
Seat 1: QuasiPro (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: ImOnTilt106 (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: Blue123 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: murrythecat folded on the Flop
Seat 5: irongirl01 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: rivertapped showed [Ks As] and won (26650) with a flush, Ace high
Seat 7: WhipArtist folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: gcpwildbill folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: garage13 (button) showed [Ac Ad] and lost with a pair of Aces

4:10pm

At the 2-hour mark and I have 40,400. Sitting 120th of 415 remaining. Blinds going to 500/1000/75.

Freerolls are typically fast paced and this one is no exception. We're averaging 80 hands per hour where normal tournies usually average about 60 hands per hour.

Stack: largest 161714, smallest 625, average 32216
Your current position is 120 out of 415
Time bank balance is 114 seconds

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 160 hands and saw flop:
- 12 out of 18 times while in big blind (66%)
- 2 out of 19 times while in small blind (10%)
- 15 out of 123 times in other positions (12%)
- a total of 29 out of 160 (18%)
Pots won at showdown - 5 of 6 (83%)
Pots won without showdown - 16

4:25pm

I try to steal the blind and Kevicool is having none of it.

PokerStars Game #12627694365: Tournament #63028692, Freeroll Hold'em No Limit - Level IX (500/1000) - 2007/10/14 - 17:24:03 (ET)
Table '63028692 92' 9-max Seat #9 is the button
Seat 1: BlackStar255 (56922 in chips)
Seat 2: robinse (26250 in chips)
Seat 3: Krae33 (54642 in chips)
Seat 4: Dangofett (35975 in chips)
Seat 5: Schukie (18100 in chips)
Seat 6: MayorHerb (101150 in chips)
Seat 7: OzmitaESP (41800 in chips)
Seat 8: rivertapped (38950 in chips)
Seat 9: Kevicool (62325 in chips)
BlackStar255: posts the ante 75
robinse: posts the ante 75
Krae33: posts the ante 75
Dangofett: posts the ante 75
Schukie: posts the ante 75
MayorHerb: posts the ante 75
OzmitaESP: posts the ante 75
rivertapped: posts the ante 75
Kevicool: posts the ante 75
BlackStar255: posts small blind 500
robinse: posts big blind 1000
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to rivertapped [7d Ah]
Krae33: folds
Dangofett: folds
Schukie: folds
MayorHerb: folds
OzmitaESP: folds
rivertapped: raises 2000 to 3000
Kevicool: raises 22000 to 25000
BlackStar255: folds
robinse: folds
rivertapped: folds
Kevicool collected 8175 from pot
Kevicool: doesn't show hand
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 8175 | Rake 0
Seat 1: BlackStar255 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 2: robinse (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 3: Krae33 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: Dangofett folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: Schukie folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: MayorHerb folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: OzmitaESP folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: rivertapped folded before Flop
Seat 9: Kevicool (button) collected (8175)

4:32pm

I risk all my chips with QQ and run into AA. Busted in 336th place.

PokerStars Game #12627813764: Tournament #63028692, Freeroll Hold'em No Limit - Level X (600/1200) - 2007/10/14 - 17:30:29 (ET)
Table '63028692 92' 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: BlackStar255 (47272 in chips)
Seat 2: robinse (24475 in chips)
Seat 3: Krae33 (51092 in chips)
Seat 4: Dangofett (35800 in chips)
Seat 5: BurnleyMik (37078 in chips)
Seat 6: MayorHerb (132325 in chips)
Seat 7: OzmitaESP (41625 in chips)
Seat 8: rivertapped (33600 in chips)
Seat 9: Kevicool (69925 in chips)
BlackStar255: posts the ante 100
robinse: posts the ante 100
Krae33: posts the ante 100
Dangofett: posts the ante 100
BurnleyMik: posts the ante 100
MayorHerb: posts the ante 100
OzmitaESP: posts the ante 100
rivertapped: posts the ante 100
Kevicool: posts the ante 100
Krae33: posts small blind 600
Dangofett: posts big blind 1200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to rivertapped [Qd Qs]
BurnleyMik: folds
MayorHerb: folds
OzmitaESP: folds
rivertapped: raises 2400 to 3600
Kevicool: folds
BlackStar255: folds
robinse: folds
Krae33: folds
Dangofett: raises 4800 to 8400
rivertapped: raises 25100 to 33500 and is all-in
Dangofett: calls 25100
*** FLOP *** [7d Jd Th]
*** TURN *** [7d Jd Th] [8s]
*** RIVER *** [7d Jd Th 8s] [8d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Dangofett: shows [Ah Ad] (two pair, Aces and Eights)
rivertapped: shows [Qd Qs] (two pair, Queens and Eights)
Dangofett collected 68500 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 68500 | Rake 0
Board [7d Jd Th 8s 8d]
Seat 1: BlackStar255 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: robinse (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: Krae33 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 4: Dangofett (big blind) showed [Ah Ad] and won (68500) with two pair, Aces and Eights
Seat 5: BurnleyMik folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: MayorHerb folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: OzmitaESP folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: rivertapped showed [Qd Qs] and lost with two pair, Queens and Eights
Seat 9: Kevicool folded before Flop (didn't bet)

I'll be participating in Pokerstars' Blogger Tournament

2007-10-11T16:21:00.001-05:00

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

This Online Poker Tournament is a No Limit Texas Holdem event exclusive to Bloggers.

Registration code: 5568206

This is a tournament for people who have a blog. Wish me luck! October 14, 2007 -- 3pm ET

It's time once again for the World Blogger Championship of Online Poker (WBCOOP). PokerStars knows how important bloggers are to the poker community and this is our chance to give something back to the writers who tell poker's greatest stories. If you have a regularly updated blog, we're ready to give you a seat in a $40,000 freeroll.

In 2005, PokerStars was the first online poker site to start a fulltime blog chronicling the biggest action online and around the world. That same year, PokerStars launched the World Blogger Championship of Online Poker. Each year, the tournament has gotten bigger. In 2005, easywind won the event and a trip to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. In 2006, Daleroxxu won a seat in the World Series Main Event. This year, we're giving out $40,000 worth of prizes tailored to every blogger's needs, and we're sending the winner to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.

If you're ready to face off against your fellow writers in the biggest blogger freeroll around, see all the details below and register today.

World Blogger Championship of Online Poker Information

Prizes - $40,000 worth of prizes, from huge tournament entries to top of the line electronics.

World Blogger Championship of Online Poker Prizes

1st place -- $12,000 Prize Package to the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure

You want something worth blogging about? How about a trip to the Bahamas to play for life-changing money and a chance to be on international television? The PokerStars Caribbean Adventure is now an EPT event and will be held at the biggest and best resort in the Caribbean, Atlantis on Paradise Island. Winning this prize will give you a hotel room for seven nights, $2000 traveling money, and an entry into the $8,000 main event. That's something to write home about.

Note: This package is reserved for players who agree to wear PokerStars clothing for the duration of their tournament play. You must be 18 or older to play in the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.

2nd place -- Pioneer 50-inch Plasma TV

Watch all your favorite poker shows in style. This HD Plasma TV sets the highest standard of high-definition audio and video and will be the perfect addition to your home entertainment system.

3rd place - Blogger's Prize Package

All you need to take your blogging to the next level. The Blogger's Prize Package will give you a widescreen 24" computer monitor, a Canon Rebel digital SLR camera, and a Sony Camcorder. Blog your trip reports and home game action in style.

4th place - Player's Prize Package

Win this package and people will be blogging about you and your home game. You will receive a brand new poker table and a deluxe 500-piece clay chip set to host the next big game at your place. Not enough for the player in you? Okay, then we'll throw in a ticket to the weekly PokerStars $215 Sunday Million.

5th place - Sunday Million Marathon Package

It's one thing to be able to take one shot at the PokerStars Sunday Million. It's another thing entirely to be able to take a shot for eight weeks. Included in the Sunday Million Marathon Package are eight $215 Sunday Million tickets to be used whenever you want. There's no telling how much this prize is really worth. It's up to you!

6th place - The Big Ones Package

It's not every day or every week that PokerStars up the buy-in to the Sunday Million, but when it happens, it's huge. The Big Ones Package will give you a $530 Sunday Million ticket and a $1,050 Sunday Million ticket to use when you're feeling up to running with the big dogs.

7th place - Sunday Million Quarterly $1,050 Ticket

The buy-in is bigger, the field is smaller, and the guarantee is always the same. The $1,050 PokerStars Sunday Million happens four times a year and this ticket will get you a free seat. The competition is tough but the potential payoff is huge.

8th place - Canon Rebel Digital SLR Camera

Every good blogger knows the value of photos and every good photographer knows the value of a digital SLR camera. Throw away your point-and-shoot pocket camera and start taking some real photos with this Canon Rebel.

9th place - Luxury Poker Chip Set

It's the type of chip set that will have chip-rifflers begging to play at your place. This luxury chip set gives you 600 top of the line clay chips, an amazing wooden case, and a two-deck card set to host your next home game.

10th place - Bubbler's Book Bonanza

So, you bubbled the final table. It was a heck of an achievement to make it so far. Maybe you just need to read up on the game a little more? We'll help you out. Finish on the final table bubble and we'll give you every book in the PokerStars FPP store library. That's 33 books to keep your mind busy and get you over the hump in your game.

11th - 18th place - XBox 360 Elite

Everybody needs a break from the tables every now and then. The XBox 360 Elite will give you that chance. With a XBox console, big hard drive, wireless controller, wired headset, and black finish, this is the perfect way to work off your tilt.

19th-27th place - 160gb iPod

It's the latest generation of iPod with storage space bigger than some home computers. A huge 160gb of space lets you pack just about anything you want in your iPod and take it along with you. Perfect for the plane ride to Vegas or those tilty moments at the table.

28th-36th place - 80gb iPod

When the guy next to you at the tables is talking too much during a long session, you sometimes need 80 gigs of iPod power to hold you until the guys busts out. Win this prize and you'll never have to worry about what you're listening to again.

37th-45th place - 8gb iPod nano

The newest iPod nano is on the maket and it's yours if you place 37th-45th. It may be tiny but it has all the video capabilities you need to watch the latest shows and video podcasts.

46th-81st - Traveler's package

Hitting the road? You're going to need the right equipment. The Traveler's Package contains a nice PokerStars duffle bag and a set-up of plastic PokerStars cards. No matter where you go, you'll be ready to play.

In addition, all bloggers who make the final table will have their blogs linked from the PokerStars Blog. You deserve some recognition for beating the field and we're happy to give it to you!

Upcoming WCOOP in September

2007-08-09T12:56:00.000-05:00

UPDATE:I didn't play in any WCOOP events. I won 2 satellites to the $530 events but chose to keep the cash. On my limited bankroll and with no backers, I chose to keep the $1060 and play in lower buy-in events.

Congratulations to Jamie (gobboboy) Fricke from Mahomet (Leonard Fogerson's grandson). He played in 10 events and cashed twice. He earned $13,857 for a 15th place finish in the $530 No-Limit Hold 'Em event #5 and $1719 for 136th place in the $215 NLHE w/rebuys event #9.

Pokerstars is hosting their WCOOP again in September. I'm hoping to play in several of the no-limit Hold 'Em events. The schedule is below:

World Championship of Online Poker

The PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) is the largest tournament series held online and one of the largest poker series in the world, online or offline. In 2006, PokerStars hosted 18 events and guaranteed $10,000,000, eventually awarding over $18,500,000 in prizes!

Each year, the prizes get bigger. In 2002, MultiMarine of Sweden won $65,450 in the main championship event. In 2003, DeOhGee won $222,750 in the main event. In 2004, Ragde won $424,945 in the big one. In 2005, Panella86 won the championship event and took home $577,342. Last year, none other than pro player J.C. Tran won the WCOOP main event bracelet, beating a field of 2,510 players and pocketing more than $600,000!

This year, the events are bigger, and once again PokerStars is hosting more than the year before. The NLHE Triple Shootout (last held in WCOOP 2005) returns and two new games, 5-Card Draw and 2-7 Triple Draw, make their way onto the schedule, which culminates with the prestigious Main Event with a guaranteed prize pool of $5,000,000! WCOOP 2007 boasts 23 events with a combined guaranteed prize pool of $15,000,000!

World Championship of Online Poker FAQ

WCOOP 2007 Schedule

EVENT No	DATE	DAY	TIME	EVENT	BUY-IN	GUARANTEE
1	Sep.14	Friday	15:00	NL Hold'em [6-max]	$215	$400,000
2	Sep.14	Friday	16:30	PL 5-Card Draw	$215	$100,000
3	Sep.15	Saturday	15:00	PL Omaha [6-max]	$215	$200,000
4	Sep.15	Saturday	16:30	2-7 Triple Draw	$215	$100,000
5	Sep.16	Sunday	16:30	NL Hold'em	$530	$2,000,000
6	Sep.17	Monday	15:00	PL Omaha w/Rebuys	$320	$400,000
7	Sep.18	Tuesday	15:00	Limit Hold'em	$215	$100,000
8	Sep.19	Wednesday	15:00	Limit Omaha H/L	$530	$300,000
9	Sep.20	Thursday	15:00	NL Hold'em w/Rebuys	$215	$1,000,000
10	Sep.21	Friday	15:00	NL Hold'em Match Play	$320	$500,000
11	Sep.21	Friday	16:30	Razz	$215	$100,000
12	Sep.22	Saturday	15:00	HORSE	$215	$200,000
13	Sep.22	Saturday	16:30	PL Hold'em	$530	$400,000
14	Sep.23	Sunday	16:30	NL Hold'em	$1,050	$2,000,000
15	Sep.24	Monday	15:00	7 Card Stud	$320	$100,000
16	Sep.25	Tuesday	15:00	PL Omaha H/L	$320	$200,000
17	Sep.26	Wednesday	15:00	NL Hold'em [6-max]	$320	$400,000
18	Sep.27	Thursday	15:00	7 Card Stud H/L	$530	$200,000
19	Sep.28	Friday	15:00	PL Omaha	$530	$300,000
20	Sep.28	Friday	16:30	NL Hold'em Triple Shootout	$530	$200,000
21	Sep.29	Saturday	15:00	HORSE	$5,200	$500,000
22	Sep.29	Saturday	16:30	Limit Hold'em	$1,050	$200,000
23	Sep.30	Sunday	16:30	NL Hold'em Main Event	$2,600	$5,000,000

The schedule listed above is here for informational purposes only and is in no way binding on PokerStars. The official scheduled time, date, game, buy-in, and guaranteed prize pool for each event is posted to the PokerStars client under the Events/WCOOP tab. Management reserves the right to modify or remove any or all events and related information, without notice, prior to the start of any event and assumes no liability towards any player in connection with any such modification or removal.

Heartland Poker Tour results

2007-07-29T15:21:00.000-05:00

Friday night (07-27-07) I played in a $450 qualifier to the $2200 Main Event of the Heartland Poker Tour event in Gary, Indiana.

I've never been so "card dead" in a tournament. In just under 2 hours of play, the best hand I was dealt was pocket eights, which I folded to an all-in bet after a flop of AQT.

My lack of quality starting hands coupled with my aggressive table doomed me. When you aren't getting cards, you need to see some cheap flops and hope to hit your hand or outplay your opponents post-flop. But I didn't get many chances to see a cheap flop, as almost every pot was contested aggressively.

We started with 10,000 in chips with 100/100 blinds and I lasted about 2 hours. After having my stack whittled away to a short-stack, I was eliminated in a 50/50 race with my 66 vs, AQ suited.

Not much you can do at an aggressive table when the deck is so cold.

Thanks to the backers and we'll get 'em next time.

Pat F. 60 shares ($270)
Carolyn T. 4 shares ($18)
John G. 4 shares ($18)
Jim K. 4 shares ($18)
Brian M. 4 shares ($18)
Bob S. 4 shares ($18)
Susan L. 4 shares ($18)
Joe T. 12 shares ($54)
Bill W. 4 shares ($18)

The rest of the story....

2007-07-20T23:58:00.000-05:00

After busting out of the Main Event, I still had 11 days in Vegas. I moved downtown to Binion's for the rest of the trip.

Binion's had a poker tournament at 10am, 2pm, 8pm, and 2am every day. I played in several of these, along with a couple of noon tournaments at Fitzgerald's.

My best finish was in a $70 tourney (with optional $40 rebuy) with a guaranteed prize pool of $10,000.

We started with 125 players. When we got down to 7 players, a deal was agreed to, with the chip leader getting $1500 and the rest of us getting $1100.

I made 3 final tables and cashed 5 times for a small overall profit of about $1400. I got on the list for cash games a couple of times but never played. There was always a waiting list and by the time my name got called I was gone or I had missed the page.

One night I was at the craps table a little before 2am. Gavin Smith, a very successful pro poker player, was at the table and obviously had consumed more than a few adult beverages.

When he and his buddies headed to the poker room to play in the 2am tourney, I tagged along.

As the tourney started, I was at the same table as Gavin. Knowing he liked proposition bets, I proposed a $100 "last longer" bet with him. The first of us to get busted from the tourney would pay the other, $100.

As he tipped the waitress $20 from his huge wad of cash, he accepted my bet. He was playing wildly and I thought it was a good bet.

A few hands into the tourney, I proposed another $100 prop bet. I bet the next 3-card flop we saw, would be mostly or all the same color. He could choose the color.

He said he'd take the bet, with the added stipulation that if all 3 cards were the same color, the loser would have to pay double ($200). I agreed, he chose "red", and we waited for the next flop to occur.

It was 2 red cards and one black. I paid him his $100 and the table got a good laugh.

I was later moved from his table but, periodically, he would loudly yell across the room "Where's your stack, Illinois Last Longer?" I'd report my status and he'd reply with his.

When we got down to the final 2 tables, I was reunited with him back at my table. I flopped bottom 2-pair and an opponent flopped a set, and I was out. I paid Gavin another $100 and wished the table good luck.

He was wild and crazy and it was a pleasure playing the tourney with him.

I played craps, slots, video poker, Let It Ride, and Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em and had some luck at all of them. I'd win enough each day to fund the next day as well as my food, cabs, and other expenses.

I got the "poker rate" for my room at Binion's ($29 per night), so my $1000 Pokerstars allotment covered my room and air fare.

My gambling winnings paid for everything else and I arrived back home with $200 more than I left with (not counting the WSOP poker bankroll).

It's been about 9 or 10 years since I've been to Binion's and there have been some changes. They were first bought out by Harrah's who wanted to obtain the rights to the WSOP. They soon sold off Binion's casino. Binion's changed hands again recently.

They used to offer "100 times" odds bets on the pass line, now it's "5 times". Cigarettes used to be free to players, now they're $6.

The beverage service was absolutely horrible and they have more than a few surly, disinterested dealers. The service and food at their cafe and snack bars was below average, again with unfriendly staff.

The new bean counters don't have the same approach to the customers as Benny Binion had. Poor guy's probably spinning in his grave.

I made it to a couple of shows. Trekked to the Sahara one night to see The Platters, The Coasters, and The Drifter's (more specifically The Platters, Beary Hobb's Drifters and Cornell Gunter's Coasters). Cost with tips and drinks was about $70 and well worth it.

Saw a "Country Superstars Tribute" show at Fitzgeralds with look-alike artists portraying Tim Mcgraw, Faith Hill, Shania Twain and others. $39.95 and not a bad show for the money.

Got my caricature drawn for $10.

Spent over $200 on cabs. Probably should have rented a car.

The Golden Nugget had a really talented gal in their Piano Bar Monday and Tuesday nights. I didn't care for the main act that was in the room the rest of the week.

A kiosk with an oxygen bar was just outside Binion's. They'd hook you up to scented oxygen and demonstrate their various massage tools on you for 15 minutes. You also got a bottle of vitamin water for the $16 fee.

I frequented this place daily, sometimes twice a day.

Spent about $800 on massages at $120 a pop. As usual, the best money I spent in Vegas.

All in all, a memorable experience.

2007 WSOP Results

2007-07-20T13:37:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm home after 15 days in sunny Las Vegas and countless hours at the gaming tables and forgettable buffet rooms.

I arrived on the 4th of July (Wednesday) about 10:30am Vegas time. As my room was not available yet, I headed to the Rio to plunk down my (our) $10,000 and register for the Main Event. The cute cashier didn't even blink as I handed her a hundred $100 bills. She ran them thru a counterfeit detection machine, counted them and handed me a receipt, along with a voucher good for a whopping $10 at any Rio eating facility.

Of course a hamburger, drink, and chips cost $11.25.

Day one had been split into 4 sessions, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Sunday's session was full and I chose the Saturday session that I had hoped would be available.

Then I was off to Treasure Island to register with Pokerstars and pick up my Pokerstars clothing. I was issued a backpack filled with a hockey jersey, a polo shirt, a tee-shirt, a pullover, a hat, a visor, a 1 ounce silver round card protector, and other assorted items, all plastered with the Pokerstars logos.

I was looking for an exit when I spied daylight thru some glass doors. As I went thru the doors into the 123 degree Vegas oven, I found myself at the Pirate Ship exhibit with no exit to the street. I went back inside the casino to find the real exit and spotted a "Let It Ride" table.

As I peeled off a hundred dollar bill and sat down, I noticed the $15 minimum and realized I might not be there long. On my second hand I looked down at a pair of Kings and tucked my "no brainer" under my chips and "Let It Ride". The dealer dutifully exposed a pair of Kings in her hand, giving me 4-of-a-kind and a $1900 payoff.

I donated a few hundred back over the next hour or so, finally walking with a $1600 profit. My trip was off to a rousing start!

The Main Event

On Saturday I grabbed a cab to the Rio for Day 1. My plan was to play tight, small-pot poker on Day 1, and try to make it to Day 2 with at least an average stack.

We started at noon with each blind level lasting 2 hours and I played only a handful of times during the first few hours. There were recognizable players and celebrities everywhere in the massive Amazon room, but none at my table.

I slipped a note about myself to a Pokernews reporter covering our area. I didn't know if he'd consider it newsworthy but figured it was worth a try. Sure enough, he gave me a small blurb on their live coverage blog.

http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/2007-wsop/event-55-world-championship-no-limit-holdem/day1b/page19.htm

After a break I settled back in my seat and a fellow with a media badge, tapped me on the shoulder. He was from ESPN and had read the Pokernews mention. He briefly interviewed me and wished me good luck. Had I gone further in the tournament I'm sure he would have been back to further explore the "feel-good" story of Pat Fleming and his Bement Backers.

We were playing ABC poker with a raise of 3 times the Big Blind being typical. I had pocket Kings once and AK once, winning a small pot each time when all folded to my standard raises.

After about 8 hours we went on a 90 minute dinner break and I was hovering at a little over 20,000 chips (we started with 20,000).

At about 11pm my stack was about 18,000 and I was dealt pocket Queens. At this point in the tournament, the big blind was 600 and the small blind was 300, with a 75 chip ante per player. With 10 players at my table, that meant each pot started with 1650 in blinds and antes.

Two more players entered the pot for 600 each and the action was on me. The pot now contained 2850, so I made a raise to 2800. The small blind folded, the big blind called me, and the other two players both folded. There was now 7850 in the pot.

The flop was Jack, 7, 4. He checked and I bet 6000, about 3/4 the pot. He went all-in for a total of 7200. Since it only cost me another 1200 to stay in this 20,000+ pot, I called.

We then turned over our hole cards and I fully expected him to have 2-pair or three of a kind, since he had check raised me on the flop. I was praying he had something like Ace/Jack or King/Jack.

I was thrilled to see he only had a pair of fives, and badly trailed my pair of Queens. I was an 88% favorite to win the 22,250 pot and be sitting with over 30,0000 nearing the end of Day 1 and be in great shape (at this point, the average chip stack was about 32,000).

He needed a 5 to win, I needed anything but a 5, to hold him off.

Forty-Three unseen cards.
Forty-One of them were not a 5.
Two of them were 5's.

Alas, it was not to be. He caught one of the two remaining fives on the turn and I was left with a short stack of 8,000. The blinds were soon to go to 400/800 with a 100 ante, meaning I could last only about 4 orbits before being blinded away.

This put me in "shove" mode, looking for any decent hand to try to double up with and get back in the game. A few hands later I committed all my chips with pocket sixes and was called by a big stack with KJ. A classic 50/50 "coin flip" which I was unable to win, eliminating me about 12 hours into Day 1.

http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/2007-wsop/event-55-world-championship-no-limit-holdem/day1b/page6.htm

Overall, I was pleased with the way I played. I didn't feel I missed many opportunities and got my money in the pot as a huge favorite. The cards just didn't fall my way this time.

Thanks to all my backers and sorry I didn't bring us home some money.

Below are some top names that played the same day as I did, and the time (where available) that they, too, busted out on Day 1:

Eliminated:

John Juanda 3:40 pm

Barny Boatman 4:48 pm

Davidson Matthew 5:28 pm

Sam Farha 5:32 pm

Howard Lederer 5:59 pm

Simon 'Aces' Trumper 6:02 pm

Scott Clements 6:02 pm

Aaron Kanter

Patrick Bruel

Kevin "BeL0WaB0Ve" Saul

Barny Boatman

Sam Grizzle

Mads Wissing Andersen

Mike Wattel

Vanessa Selbst

David Williams 6:15 pm

Steve Wong 6:15 pm

Allyn Jaffrey Shulman

Robert Cheung 6:15 pm

Annie Duke 6:20 pm

Dan Shak 6:35 pm

Dan Nassif 6:49 pm

David "Chino" Rheem

Paul Sexton

David Bach 6:55 pm

Justin Bonomo 6:59 pm

Juha Helppi

Roland de Wolfe

Dan Alspach

Jennifer Harman 8:54 pm

Jeff Lisandro 8:55 pm

Norm Macdonald 8:58 pm

Kathy Liebert 9:01 pm

Scott Fischman 9:03 pm

Marc Karam 9:06 pm

Isabelle Mercier 9:21 pm

Max Pescatori 9:29 pm

David Singer 10:21 pm

Erik Seidel 10:30 pm

Pat Fleming 11:35 pm

I Move Downtown

After busting out of the Main Event I decided to move Downtown to Binions. Cheaper rooms and cheaper table limits along with a wider choice of casinos and activities. I did stay one night at the Rio and was impressed with the luxurious suite.

But given the choice of a $99 suite or a $29 room at Binions, I opted for the cheaper alternative.

The 2nd Chance Tournies

I played in a $550 2nd Chance tournament on Thursday (July 12th). In these tournaments you started with only 2000 chips with 20 minute levels so it required a more aggressive approach.

About an hour into the tourney I looked down at pocket Queens. I raised 3 times the Big Blind and got one caller. The flop came three low rags. I checked with the intention of check-raising my opponent if he took a stab at the pot. He bet about half the pot and I re-raised a little more than half of my chips. When he went all-in, I decided to make my stand and called. He showed me pocket Kings and I was gone.

He played this hand well by just flat calling my pre-flop raise, disguising his monster. Knowing the format dictated aggressive risky play, he gave me just enough rope to hang myself.

I was prepared to take another stab on Sunday (the 15th) and took another $20 cab ride to the Rio. Unfortunately, I was informed the 2nd Chance tournies had been canceled. I was not too happy about this, as I wasted $40 in cab rides.

Since I was only able to play one $550 tourney, shareholders of the 2nd Chance pool will get a $22 per share refund.

Thanks again for the backing.

I'll post some more about the rest of my trip later.

Main Event info and tidbits

2007-07-01T15:41:00.000-05:00

Below is the blinds structure and schedule for the Main Event. The first day is broken down into three days (Day 1A, Day 1B, and Day 1C). You are allowed to pick whichever day you want if there is space available.

I hope to play my first day on Saturday (July 7th), as I will be moving from the Super-8 and checking into the Rio on Sunday. My second choice will be Friday.

If I have access to a computer I'll post updates here. If not, Les J. and Jim K. have 800-numbers for me to call, and I'll try to keep them updated with my progress.

The best site I've found for realtime WSOP updates is:

http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/

You'll need to select "Event #55".

I fly out on the 4th of July and will arrive in Vegas at about 10:30am (Vegas time). First on the agenda after checking into the Super-8, will be going to the Rio and registering for the Main Event. I'll then go to Treasure Island where Pokerstars is set up, to sign their "Terms and Conditions" form and pick up my Pokerstars clothing.

I'll then consider my options for watching the various 4th of July celebrations in town.

A couple of off-days to acclimatize myself and get over the jet-lag, and hopefully I'll start playing on Saturday.

Assuming I survive Day 1, I'll have a couple more off-days and resume play on Day 2, at noon Tuesday.

SCHEDULE OF PLAY

LEVEL	ANTE	BLINDS
1	-	$50-$100
2	-	$100-$200
3	-	$200-$400
4	$50	$200-$400
5	$75	$300-$600
Remove $25 Chips
6	$100	$400-$800
END OF DAYS 1A, 1B, and 1C
7	$100	$500-$1,000
8	$200	$600-$1,200
9	$200	$800-$1,600
10	$300	$1,000-$2,000
11	$300	$1,200-$2,400
12	$400	$1,500-$3,000
Remove $100 Chips
13	$500	$2,000-$4,000
14	$500	$2,500-$5,000
Remove $500 Chips
15	$1,000	$3,000-$6,000
16	$1,000	$4,000-$8,000
17	$1,000	$5,000-$10,000
18	$2,000	$6,000-$12,000
19	$2,000	$8,000-$16,000
20	$3,000	$10,000-$20,000
21	$3,000	$12,000-$24,000
22	$4,000	$15,000-$30,000
Remove $1,000 Chips
23	$5,000	$20,000-$40,000
24	$5,000	$25,000-$50,000
25	$10,000	$30,000-$60,000
26	$10,000	$40,000-$80,000
27	$10,000	$50,000-$100,000
28	$15,000	$60,000-$120,000
29	$20,000	$80,000-$160,000
30	$30,000	$100,000-$200,000
31	$30,000	$120,000-$240,000
32	$40,000	$150,000-$300,000
33	$50,000	$200,000-$400,000
34	$50,000	$250,000-$500,000
35	$75,000	$300,000-$600,000
36	$100,000	$400,000-$800,000
37	$150,000	$500,000-$1,000,000
38	$200,000	$600,000-$1,200,000
39	$200,000	$800,000-$1,600,000
40	$300,000	$1,000,000-$2,000,000
41	$300,000	$1,200,000-$2,400,000
42	$400,000	$1,500,000-$3,000,000
43	$500,000	$2,000,000-$4,000,000
44	$500,000	$2,500,000-$5,000,000
45	$1,000,000	$3,000,000-$6,000,000

•	Play will begin on days 1A, 1B, and 1C at 12 pm.
•	All Levels will last 120 minutes.
•	Players may select their first day of play until that day if full.
•	Play will continue on day 1A, 1B, and 1C until the completion of level 6.
•	Dinner is at 7:30PM each night and will last 90 minutes.
•	Monday July 9 is an off day unless a 4th starting day 1D is needed to accommodate field size.
•	Day 2 - The field will be combined together from days 1A, 1B, and 1C Play will continue at 12 PM, on Tuesday, July 10, 2007, and play 5 levels. (Day 2 could be split into 2 days)
•	Day 3 - play will continue at 12 PM, on Wednesday, July 11, 2007, and play 5 levels.
•	Day 4 - play will continue at 12 PM, on Thursday, July 12, 2007, and play 5 levels.
•	Day 5 - play will continue at 12 PM, on Friday, July 13, 2007, and play 5 levels.
•	Day 6 - play will continue at 12 PM, on Saturday, July 14, 2007, and play down to 36 players.
•	Day 7 - play will continue at 12 PM, on Sunday, July 15, 2007, and play down to 9 players.
•	Day 8 - Players will have a day off on Monday, July 16, 2007.
•	The Final Table will resume play at 12 PM on Tuesday, July 17, 2007.

Players begin with $20,000 in Tournament Chips. All levels will last 120 minutes. Breaks will be every level and last 20 minutes. The Rio reserves the right to alter or change the schedule in order to play the tournament in the above mentioned timeframe. 4.2% of the total entry pool will be withheld for entry fees, and 1.8% of the total entry pool will be withheld for tournament staff.

2006 REIGNING CHAMPION
Jamie Gold $12,000,000
2006 Entries 8,773

Plan "B"

2007-06-09T16:22:00.001-05:00

SOLD OUT!

UPDATED 7-02-07: A total of 50 shares were sold, meaning I'll play in at least three, $550 tournaments if time allows. Each share is worth 2% of the after tax winnings in the $550 tournaments. If less than three tournies are played, any unused funds will be refunded to the investers.

While I intend to win the WSOP Main Event, I realize there is a chance that I won't.

Therefore I'm building a bankroll to use in the 2nd chance tourneys.

There are eight $550 "2nd Chance" tournaments, one each day, from July 9th thru July 16th.

If and when I get knocked out of the Main Event, I'll play in these the rest of the week. These are one day events and will pay approximately 10% of the field.

In a perfect world, I'll be involved in the Main Event all the way to the Final Table and won't play in any of these 2nd chance tourneys. In that case, all stakers money will be refunded.

Realistically though, I'll probably have at least a few days where I'll be able to play some.

Maximum of 100 shares at $33 per share will be enough to play in at least 6 of them. If I sell out, each share would be worth 1% of my after tax winnings. If I don't sell out, I'll use the bankroll to play as many times as I can and each share will be prorated.

For example, if I sell only 50 shares, each share would be worth 2% of a $1650 bankroll (enough to play in at least 3 of them).

SHAREHOLDERS:

Pat F. 8.7425 shares ($288.50)
John G. 1 share ($33)
Carolyn T. 1 share ($33)
Jim K. 1 share ($33)
Rick P. 2 shares ($66)
Richard G. 6 shares ($198)
Jerry M. 1 share ($33)
Mac 1 share ($33)
Ann L. 2 shares ($66)
Brian M. 1 share ($33)
Anonymous Cardinal Fan 1 share ($33)
Bob S. 75.75% of 1 share ($25)
Alan F. 4.5 shares ($148.50)
Susan L. 1 share ($33)
Kenny W. 1 share ($33)
Jeff F. 3 shares ($99)
Les J. 6 shares ($198)
Dave P. 1 share ($33)
Joe T. 3 shares ($99)
Dave C. 1 share ($33)
Steve R. 2 shares ($66)
Bill W. 1 share ($33)

TOTAL SHARES SOLD: 50
Each share worth 2% of the after-tax winnings in the $550 tournies.

If you have a piece of the Main Event bankroll, I highly recommend spreading some of your risk by investing in this bankroll as well (or shifting some of your Main Event money to this one).

You don't want to have all your eggs in one basket. The Main Event will be a one-shot deal, while this bankroll will be spread over multiple tournaments, offering a better chance of cashing (albeit for a smaller amount).

Thanks in advance,

Pat

Vegas, here I come

2007-06-06T22:30:00.000-05:00

SOLD OUT!

I'm going to play in the Main Event of the 2007 World Series of Poker being held at the Rio in Vegas, July 6th thru July 17th.

It is a $10,000 buy-in, so there are 100 shares available, at $100 per share (you can buy less than a full share if you choose).

First place will likely be between $10 million and $12 million. Just making the money will be $20,000 or more.

Each share will get you 1% of my 2007 WSOP Main Event winnings, after taxes.

I reserve the right to make deals at the table as I see fit.

Pokerstars will pay me an additional $100,000 if I make the Final Table, $250,000 if I make the Final 3, and $1,000,000 if I win the tournament. 100% of this additional money and any money or goods from endorsements or Pokerstars promotions will belong to me alone.

If you buy 10 shares, you get 1 share for free (limit of 2 free shares)

For agreeing to wear Pokerstars attire, I'll get $1000 to offset the lodging and other expenses, so the stakers will not have to bear those expenses on this trip.

I've decided to offer a bonus to my Catoosa trip stakers. For each share you bought of the Catoosa trip (not counting any bonus shares you had), you can buy one share of the WSOP for a discounted price of $75. For instance, If you bought 1 share of the Catoosa trip, you can buy 1 share of the WSOP trip for $75. If you bought 3 shares of the Catoosa trip, you can buy up to 3 shares of the WSOP trip for $75 each.

I've made my flight and room reservations and leave on the 4th of July.

I'll be at the Super 8 on Koval Lane for four days from July 4th thru July 7th, at the Rio for five days July 8th thru July 12th, and back at the Super 8 for six days July 13th thru July 18th.

Here are the shareholders so far:

Pat F. 9-5/6 shares ($983.34)

Les J. 28 shares (includes 10 shares at Catoosa discount, 16 regular shares, and 2 bonus shares) ($2350)

Alan F. 1 share ($100)

Kenny W. 1 share ($100)

John G. 1 share at Catoosa discount ($75)

Jeff F. 4 shares (includes 1 share at Catoosa discount) ($375)

Dean B. 11 shares (includes 10 shares and 1 bonus share) ($1000)

Phil F. 11 shares (includes 10 shares and 1 bonus share) ($1000)

Dan F. 5 shares ($500)

Mike M. 1 share ($100)

Jim K. 2 shares at Catoosa discount ($150)

Scotty J. 1 share at Catoosa discount ($75)

Junior V. 1 share at Catoosa discount ($75)

Carolyn T. 1 share ($100)

Richard G. 2 shares ($200)

Chad S. 1 share at Catoosa discount ($75)

Rick P. 2 shares (including 1 share at Catoosa discount) ($175)

Jerry M. 3 shares at Catoosa discount ($225)

Mac. 3 shares at Catoosa discount ($225)

Ann L. 1/2 share ($50)

Brian M. 2/3 share ($66.66)

Bob S. 1 share at Catoosa discount ($75.00)

Jeff B. 1 share ($100)

Dave P. 1 share at Catoosa discount ($75)

Joe T. 2 shares ($200)

Dave C. 1 share at Catoosa discount ($75)

Kenny M. 1 share ($100)

Bill W. 1 share ($100)

Andy F. 1 share ($100)

Jerry G. 1 share ($100)

SHARES SOLD: 100
Each share worth 1% of the after-tax winnings in the Main Event

If you would like to shift some of your money to the "2nd Chance" bankroll, let me know. This will free up some shares for others and spread your risk over several tournaments rather that 1. All your eggs in one basket, don't ya know.

Thanks to all the investors!

Pat

How I did it.....Heads-up for $12,000 WSOP package

2007-06-06T16:02:00.000-05:00

For those of you who can stand the tedious task of reading hand histories, click on
the "comments" link at the bottom of this post. I've posted the 32 hands I played
heads-up with Bignutts1, to finish the tourney (hand #499 thru hand #530).

We started off with him holding a 520,821 to 287,769 chip advantage over me.

I went into heads-up mode, meaning relentless aggression and fearless bluffs.

I felt I had a pretty good read on my opponent on my immediate left. He was
playing a bit too timidly and predictably, and had been nursing a big stack from
the start of the Final Table.

His pokerdb and OPR stats weren't great, with limited experience. I assumed he's had
less heads-up experience than myself.

Of the final 32 hands, he won 10 pots and I won 22.

Of the 10 pots he won, 7 of them were minimal (just the blinds).

He won 1 pot of six-figures, I won 4.

While I never folded my small blind to him, he folded his to me, 4 times.

I "bought" 15 pots, by inducing a fold when I had nothing.

I win my way into WSOP Main Event

2007-06-06T04:58:00.000-05:00

I used 1000 frequent player points tonight and played in a 539-man tourney on Pokerstars, with the winner receiving a $12,000 package to the Main Event of the 2007 WSOP, July 6th thru 17th.

Got some luck, played smart, and after 6-1/2 hours I'd accumulated all 808,500 in chips, and I won the thing!

A deal was agreed to, heads up, where the winner would transfer $1000 to the 2nd place finisher.

So I get the $10,000 seat to the WSOP and an additional $1000 if I agree to wear Pokerstars attire during the tourney (another $1000 if I'm still alive in the tourney on July 11th).

Go to the following web address to see the final hand:

http://www.pokerhand.org/?1156096

Wish me luck, and start saving up some share money!

Pat

Upcoming Heartland Poker Tour event in Gary, Indiana

2007-06-03T17:40:00.000-05:00

UPDATE: This trip is pending. I may or may not play this tourney depending on the results of my Las Vegas WSOP trip. Stay tuned for later developments:

The Heartland Poker Tour comes to the Majestic Star riverboat in Gary, Indiana July 21st thru 29th.

http://www.heartlandpokertour.com/events.php

I plan on arriving on Thursday, July 26th. I'll play up to three, $450 qualifiers to the $2200 Main Event. The Main Event is a three day tourney beginning on Saturday the 28th.

Poker Bankroll $1350
Motel $260
Expenses $190

Total bankroll $1800

There will be 100 shares at $18 per share. I'll be selling up to 50 shares (assuming there are still some backers willing to get back on the horse). There will be a limit of 25 shares to any one individual, to prevent someone like Arthur Capi from buying all the shares and hogging the winnings.

Tentative schedule:

Thursday the 26th, 7pm, $450 qualifier

Friday the 27th, 10am, $450 qualifier

Friday the 27th, 5pm, $450 qualifier

Saturday the 28th, 9am (Flight "A") or 5pm (Flight "B"), Main Event Day 1

Sunday the 29th, 9am, Main Event Day 2

Monday the 30th, 2pm, televised Main Event Final Table

The Heartland Poker Tour uses a qualifying format to enable smaller rooms to accommodate the field. Excerpts below from their FAQ page:

After trying to answer as many questions as possible, we decided to sit down with Greg Lang, the co-founder of the Heartland Poker Tour and talk to him about the HPT and the structure.)

HPT: "Greg, thanks for joining us. Many HPT fans and followers who have either been at the events or watched the final table at home, have often asked about the final table structure and how you came up with it. What was your criteria when deciding on a structure format?"

Greg: "When we (Todd & I) sat down and began to develop the structure of the Heartland Poker Tour, we had several things we wanted to accomplish."

"First, we wanted to develop a structure that could potentially accommodate 1,000 players. There are very few casinos throughout the United States, much less in America’s heartland, that have the resources, space, tables, and chips to accommodate this. A multi-qualifier event structure allows us to accomplish our goal, by holding the biggest and best tournaments with moderate buy-ins. We needed to accomplish all of this, while catching the action on tape for a top notch televised poker show."

"Second, it had to be flexible. We realize, most Heartland Poker Tour players are NOT professionals! They have real jobs, families and busy schedules. Most people can not take off an entire week to play a poker tournament (even though we would all like to). This is real life and people are busy with varying priorities. To host successful tournaments, we knew we had to be sensitive to that.

Holding multiple qualifiers gives HPT players an opportunity to balance their busy lives and the ability to play a competitive televised poker tournament that fits their schedule (not ours) with HUGE prize pools. NO ONE else in the poker world is providing this. Plus, if a player does take a few days off and travels a great distance to play, the multiple qualifier structure affords him or her a chance to possibly play another qualifier. Our main event structure is not a re-buy tournament! The option to play another qualifier (at full entry fee) is a unique way to grow the prize pool and eliminate the “crazy” play that almost always accompanies a "re-buy" tournament."

"Third, the Heartland Poker Tour had to offer moderate buy-ins. We made a decision early on in the development of the HPT, that we wanted to stay true to our positioning statement that anyone can play our events. This meant keeping the buy-ins moderate and affordable for our core players. The Heartland Poker Tour is not a recreational $200 bar tournament, but it is not a WSOP or WPT level buy in either. We feel we have truly created a unique structure and buy in for real people, with huge prize pools for people that love to play poker competitively. As one TV executive put it, “The HPT players are more plumbers, than professionals and it makes for GREAT poker!”

"Last, but not least, we needed large prize pools. We were motivated to create a structure that would continually develop $250,000 to potentially $1,000,000 prize pools all while keeping the buy in between $300 and $1,000. With the multiple qualifier structure, we have been able to maximize hosting property resources and are proud to say that the prize pools continue to grow well beyond the $250,000 mark. No other structure I have ever seen allows players to enter for $300 and compete for a prize pool exceeding $250,000. We are proud to say this structure was created by players, for players, and they love it."

HPT: "Why do you typically host two qualifiers in one day?"

Greg: "Weekends are short and time is precious for most of our players. So, this gives individuals the option of when they would like to play. If they plan on committing the whole day, they may be able to play twice, if they choose. We are also able to maximize the hosting properties’ resources that are available and ready for tournament use."

HPT: "How many chips do players start with and why?"

Greg: "Typically in our event players start with 10,000 in the qualifiers and 15,000 in the main event finals. It allows for more play and better poker. This is very rare in today’s poker world, as other poker hosts are always looking to “speed up the play”. With a deep stack, the best players should typically prevail. It protects a strong player from bad beats and suck outs. When we reach the final table, there is often more than three million chips in play."

HPT: "Most recreational tournaments in the poker community are typically 10 to 20 minute rounds, why 30 minute rounds in the HPT?"

Greg: "We wanted to make it more about the poker and less about the clock. With 10,000 in chips and ½ hour rounds, we feel this makes for solid play all around. Anything longer than 30 minutes would make it difficult to play four qualifiers in a weekend and tape the final table. We are however beginning to add additional tournaments at some events that feature larger buy-ins and longer rounds with a more traditional structure."

HPT: "How many players qualify for the main event finals?"

Greg: "The top 20% from each qualifier. If there are 200 players in a qualifier, 40 of them will make it to the main event finals. At the finals they re-chip to 15,000 and grind it out with 30 minute rounds until a HPT champion is crowned. A player that goes deep on a Main event day can expect 13-15 hours of poker "

HPT: "Why are antes in place?"

Greg: "This is common in larger, more competitive tournaments and thus makes for better poker. Relating to the HPT and the 20% qualifying structure, it prevents a player from getting lucky on a suck out early on and coasting into the top 20%. If a player just gets lucky and doubles or triples up, often they think they can sit on their hands and coast into the finals. With antes in place, they wouldn't be able to do that because the blinds and antes will eat them up. They need to keep their head in the game and play poker to survive. No coasting here in the Heartland Poker Tour."

HPT: "Why do the Main Event finals start so early ... many of them at 8am ?"

Greg: "I get this question a LOT. An early AM start allows us to maximize our time, the number of seats available at a particular property, the number of qualifiers that can be run and the ability to run longer rounds and maximize the prize pool. With an early start, we can grind through 200 players or more, tape a final table, and finish before midnight. Remember, as much as we like to think we are, most of us are NOT pros and we do have real jobs. So most of us either playing or working behind the scenes have to be ready for work on Monday"

HPT: "What is the “direct buy-in” to the Main Event and how did you come up with the amount?"

Greg: "Again, it is about flexibility and appealing to all types of players. If a player does not want to play a qualifier or can't play in a qualifier, they have the option to direct buy into the finals. After all, it is poker and poker is about money. The direct buy in is calculated using 20% of the qualifier. If the qualifiers cost $500, that is 20% or $2,500 to buy in directly to the qualifier. That is five times the buy in. No deals here. If a player decides NOT to play a qualifier to enter the finals, they have pay their fair share. As a player that qualified for $500, it is important to remember that you now only need to make it through one additional player that contributed what it would have taken 5 other players to equal in terms of prize pool."

HPT: "Do a lot of people buy-in directly?"

Greg: "What do you mean by "a lot"? As our events grow and attract more players from around the country, direct buy-ins are becoming more and more common at each event. It is increasing
the prize pool and raising the level of play. If you are going to plunk down that kind of cash, chances are you're not a donkey. Most of these players probably will not be calling down to the river only to turn their bottom pair into trips. However, these are the guys that may be pushing in late position pre-flop with 8-3 off, so be careful."

HPT: "How come your chips don’t carry forward from the qualifiers to the finals?"

Greg: "Another good question. In a perfect world, this could happen, unfortunately it just doesn't work out this way. There's not always the same amount of chips in play for every qualifier. Every player knows the structure before the game starts and should adjust their strategy accordingly. It really does make for great poker in the main event finals."

HPT: "Are you looking at making any changes to your main event structure?"

Greg: "When it is in the interest of fair play and a great tournament, changes are always possible. However, it seems to be working very well and players really seem to like it. We actually crafted our current structure after months of tweaking and hundreds of comments over the last year. We even opened up a forum on our web site to solicit comments from players. Our current main event structure is the result of those comments from the players and fans. However, we're now running more than one tournament at some events. These ancillary tournaments have limited seating, feature a larger buy in and represent a more traditional structure."

HPT: "Where can players get the specific structures for each event?"

Greg: "Right here on our web site. We're committed to having complete up to date information for all of the tournaments we host. Our site, heartlandpokertour.com, will always be the home for the official structure of every HPT tournament. Of course, you can always call or visit the host casino, which is also listed on our site too."

HPT: "Is there anything else you would like to add?"

Greg: "That is it. Pretty straight forward. We truly believe that we have developed a very unique and fair structure that promotes strong play and continuously finds the best players in the money. At the same time, we are maximizing schedule flexibility, property resources, and time available to complete the tournament. If you have played one of our events and have comments on how to make it better, we invite your comments. We can be reached through the contact us tab on our site."

Catoosa Report

2007-05-31T21:22:00.000-05:00

After nine days of bad beats, suckouts, and chip shuffling, I'm back home from Catoosa.

I played in 20 Sit-n-Go (SNG) 10-man tournies and 7 Multi-Table (MTT) tournies ranging from 138 to 396 players.

The 10-man SNG's paid the winner with "Tournament Chips" that had no cash value, but could be used to buy-in to future tournaments. For instance, the $85 SNG paid the winner 700 in Tournament Chips and $50 in cash. These could be easily converted to cash by selling them to other players.

Virtually every SNG ended with a chop. I didn't see a single one, played all the way to one winner.

Using the $2770 poker bankroll, I paid a total of $3370 in buy-in /entry fees and received a total of $1640 in cashes, for a net poker loss of $1730.

The motel was cheaper than expected, $468 (we saved $162).

Adding this $162 to the ending poker bankroll of $1040, each share is worth a whopping $12.02.

Overall, I was pleased with the way I played but did make a couple of blunders. Here are the results and some key hands:

$45 SNG finished 10th. My trip Queens are outkicked when my QT lost to opponent's QK after QQ4 flop. (Poker bankroll to $2725)

$125 SNG finished 5th. My JJ lost to ATs (a folder said he mucked an ace) when the river brought an ace. (Poker bankroll to $2600)

$85 SNG finished 6th. From the Big Blind with 34, I see a flop of A34. I check raise trap my opponent with A8. River brings an ace to save him and bust me. (Poker bankroll to $2515)

$85 SNG chopped the pot 3 ways for $185 to me. Chip leader had 10,400 in chips to our 2200 and 2400. Chopped it $380 (less dealer tip), $185, and $185 (Poker bankroll to $2615)

$45 SNG finished 6th when my 66 lost to 99 (I considered this to be a blunder. Pushed too hard, too early, with too little). (Poker bankroll to $2570)

$85 SNG chopped 3-ways for $150 to me. Co-chip leaders had 6k and 7k to my 1800. Offered me $150 and, with the blinds escalating, I accepted it. (Poker bankroll to $2635)

$85 SNG finished 5th. Tuff luck loser with AA vs. QQ. He catches runner-runner spades for a flush. (Poker bankroll to $2550)

$125 SNG finished 9th. Flopped a set of Tens, but opponent had flopped a set of Jacks. (Poker bankroll to $2425)

$45 SNG chopped 2-ways for $100 to me. I had the chip lead but took a big loss with AJ vs AQ. Chip leader had 12,300 to my 2700 and offered me $100. I jumped at it. (Poker bankroll to $2480)

$85 SNG chopped 2-ways for $185 to me. He offered me $185 with 11,000 to 4000 lead and I said no. A few hands later at 11,800 to 3200, I said yes. (Poker bankroll to $2580)

$85 SNG finished 4th. Flop brought me a flush draw and open ended straight draw. I was short so I pushed. Got a caller but couldn't improve. (Poker bankroll to $2495)

Bought a $100 Tournament chip for $85 in cash for a $15 profit. (Poker bankroll to $2510)

$85 SNG chopped 3-ways for $350 to me (less $20 dealer tip) $200 each to other two. (Poker bankroll to $2755)

$130 MTT with 396 entrants. Finished 328th. I held AT and flop of Ts 7s 4x gave me top pair/top kicker. The As on the turn made me top 2-pair but turned my opponent's Js 6s into a flush. No full boat on the river for me and I'm busted. (Poker bankroll to $2625)

$45 SNG finished 3rd. Another blunder when I chased a flush and didn't get there. Had a really weak player at the table and I should have picked a better spot. (Poker bankroll to $2580)

$330 MTT with 285 entrants, finished 242nd. This one really stuck in my craw. I had about 3800 in chips and looked down at pocket Queens. I raised $300 preflop (25/50 blinds) chasing 4 limpers and getting one caller. Flop came Q, 8, 9. I check, he bets 800 into an 800 pot. I raise 1600 to 2400. He re-raises all-in for my last 1100. Now, I ask myself if he would have called a 300 pre-flop raise with TJ. I convince myself he wouldn't have, and with so much of my stack already committed to the hand, I call. I was wrong, he did have TJ and busted me out. Ouch! (Poker bankroll to $2250)

$85 SNG finished 5th. Short and pushed with KT vs AK. Folder said he mucked pocket tens making the situation even bleaker. No case ten for me, and I'm out. (Poker bankroll to $2165)

$125 SNG finished 7th. Lost two big hands while ahead in this one, JJ vs AT, and AA vs QQ. (Poker bankroll to $2040)

$85 SNG chopped 2 ways for $300 to me. He had me about 2 to 1 in chips and when he offered a 450/300 chop I took it. (Poker bankroll to $2255)

$85 SNG finished 8th. I got caught bluffing when river brought 3rd heart to the board. Stupid play that early. (Poker bankroll to $2170)

$85 SNG chopped 2 ways 50/50 for $375 to me. (Poker bankroll to $2460)

$125 SNG finished 5th. Card dead session. (Poker bankroll to $2335)

$550 Mega Satellite paying 12 seats into $5000 Main Event, finished 90th of 138. AJ vs AK crippled me and QQ vs AA finished it. (Poker bankroll to $1785)

$230 MTT with 420 entrants, finished 375th. QQ vs AK suited. Turn brought a King and I'm out early again. Damn! (Poker bankroll to $1555)

$230 MTT with 221 entrants, finished 88th. My "chip and a chair" tourney. Early on, I got involved with pocket Kings vs Pocket Jacks. She caught a Jack and I thought I was eliminated. The dealer counted down the chips and I was still alive, with a single $25 chip. A few hands later I quintupled up to 125. Then I quadrupled up to 500. Then quadrupled up again to 2000. Eventually built my stack back up to 4500. Finally was ousted when my JJ ran into AA. (Poker bankroll to $1325)

$120 MTT with 224 entrants, finished 54th. I had about 6000 in chips and bet 2000 with pocket nines. When my opponent raised me all-in, I folded. Then went card dead for the rest of the tourney. (Poker bankroll to $1205)

$45 SNG finished 4th. Another tuff loss when my top 2-pair lost to river set. JQs (me), board 5 J Q 7 K, opponent KK. (Poker bankroll to $1160)

$120 MTT with 192 entrants, finished 154th. Made a good laydown in this one when opponent went all-in with pocket Kings. I folded pocket Queens. A shortstack called with AK so we got to see board of 2 Q 2 T K. I eventually busted when my pocket Kings lost to moron who called with TJ suited (flop was T J 8). (Poker bankroll to $1040)

Though I didn't go as deep as I would have liked, or cashed as much as I would have liked, I felt pretty good about the way I played. One of these days my big faves are going to hold up and get me to a final table.

Thanks again to all my backers, and hope to do better the next time.

Several name pros were on hand including Clonie Gowan, Men The Master, Young Phan, Todd Brunson, Nam Le, Mike Matusow, and of course, Scotty Nguyen.

Scotty took the time to come to every table in the MTT's and wish the players good luck and shake some hands.

Next up on the horizon, The Heartland Poker Tour in Gary, Indiana in July.

Details to follow.

Final Payouts:

Pat F. 66 shares. $793.32
Susan L. 1 share. $12.02
John G. 1 share. $12.02
Jim K. 3 shares. $36.06
Jeff F. 1 share. $12.02
Scotty J. 2 shares. $24.04
Junior V. 3 shares. $36.06
Bob S. 1 share. $12.02
Chad S. 1 share. $12.02
Jerry M. 3 shares. $36.06
Mac M. 3 shares. $36.06
Les J. 11 shares. $132.22
Rick P. 1 share. $12.02
Dave C. 1 share. $12.02
Rich G. 1 share. $12.02
Dave P. 1 share. $12.02

Tournament is underway.

2007-05-19T15:46:00.000-05:00

The 1st event is over.

TULSA, OK - Clarence Helms and his wife of 55 years, Patsy Helms, outlasted 188 other pairs to capture the $200+20 No-Limit Hold'em 'Jack ‘n Jill' event to kick-off the third annual 'Scotty Nguyen Challenge', at the Cherokee Casino, in Tulsa OK.

The Helms, from Bullard, Texas, collected $11,849 for 1st Place. Explaining their victory, Clarence said, 'We know each other pretty good.'

The 'Scotty Nguyen Challenge', May 17 - 31, is expected to attract record-breaking numbers of players. 'We've filled all the rooms at our four properties and we're putting people up in nearby Tulsa hotels,' reports Director of Table Games, Rick O' Connell.

During the days ahead, well known poker pros and celebrities will continue to swell the ranks of players participating in what has become the biggest, richest tournament in this part of the country. Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher, Mike Matasow, Pat Fleming, Berry Johnston, and T.J. Cloutier, are just a few of the poker stars who've confirmed they're coming.

http://www.pokerpages.com/tournament/result18114.htm

Get 'em warmed up for me, boys.

Thanks to the Catoosa poker tournament stakers

2007-05-09T14:44:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to thank all of you who've bought a piece of me for the Catoosa poker tournament trip.

At $40 a share, here are the shareholders:

Pat F. 66 shares
Susan L. 1 share
John G. 1 share
Jim K. 3 shares
Jeff F. 1 share
Scotty J. 2 shares
Junior V. 3 shares
Bob S. 1 share
Chad S. 1 share
Jerry M. 3 shares
Mac M. 3 shares
Les J. 11 shares
Rick P. 1 share
Dave C. 1 share
Rich G. 1 share
Dave P. 1 share

Shuffle up and deal.

Pat

Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge III in Catoosa, Oklahoma

2007-05-09T14:18:00.000-05:00

I'll be leaving for Catoosa, Ok. (near Tulsa) on May 21st to play in the Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge III. I plan on playing in 8 to 10 poker tournaments.

Bankroll for poker and expenses will be $4000. I'm tentatively planning on playing in the following tournies:

May 22nd $550 Mega-Satellite to the $5,000 Main Event. No Limit Hold 'Em

May 23rd $120 cash tournament NLHE

May 24th $330 cash tournament NLHE

May 25th $230 cash tournament NLHE

May 26th $1070 cash tournament NLHE

May 27th $230 cash tournament NLHE

May 28th $120 cash tournament NLHE

May 29th $120 cash tournament NLHE

Total Buy-Ins: $2770
Hotel: (9 nites) $630
Food & drink: $300
Travel: $300

Total bankroll: $4000

My goal is to win my way into the $5,000 Main Event, which is a 3-day event and begins on May 27th.

I'll try to accomplish this by winning a seat in a satellite or mega-satellite tourney, or by winning enough in the cash tournies to buy my way in.

The tournies listed are subject to change. For instance, the $330 tourney on May 24th is a 2-day event. If I advance to the second day, I'd be skipping the $230 tourney on the 25th.

Instead of playing the $1070 tourney, I may decide to play two $550 mega-satellites. Etc.

You can follow the action of some of the tournaments online, via the links at left.

Welcome

2007-05-09T14:12:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my blog. I'll use this space to muse about poker and provide updates on my on-line and "real" world poker sessions.