Tuesday, February 3, 2009 - Debo34
This past weekend was Superbowl weekend, and I spent that time doing the same thing I have done every year since 1996. I met up with a group of close friends in Reno for a weekend of nonstop partying and gambling. This trip started 13 years ago with 4 people and has turned into a much bigger party than that over the years. This year we had 24 people make it to Reno traveling from all over the states. The majority of the group still lives in Oregon, but we had a few fly in from Detroit, St. Louis, and Virginia, and Florida.
This year was not any different from years past. Like always it was a group of close friends hanging out, catching up, and apparently trying to break multiple drinking records. Friday night we all met up in out hotel room for cocktail hour (or two) before heading downtown. We spent a few hours gambling at a casino before we ended up at a karaoke bar until about 3am watching multiple members of our group making fools of themselves singing.
Saturday we usually find a group activity to do during the day. One year we rented a paintball course and had a blast. This year we decided on some bowling and go cart racing. We had 5 teams of four per team in the bowling competition. Of course Some money changed hands during the day and there was a lot of trash talk as well.
Saturday night 8 of us peeled off from the group and decided to go to a concert. The 80’s group Tesla was in town so we decided to go check it out. I’m always ready for a good old 80’s hair band or as my buddy Kurt calls it… 80’s butt rock. Surprisingly Tesla still had a little game left and put on a pretty decent show. I’m not going to go as far as saying it was great, but it was certainly worth the price for a ticket.
Sunday it was time for the big game. We all meet up for breakfast and to put in a sports wager or 2 on the game. For the past 4 years we have rented out the back half of a local bar for our group. They do a good job of bringing in food and serving us as many cocktails as humanly possible. The game was great despite my dislike for the Steelers (sorry Gene). It’s kind of like the quote in that movie Anchorman when Vince Vaughn’s character says, I hate your guts Ron Burgandy, but boy do I respect you. I feel the same way about the Steelers. I can’t help but to respect a class organization like them, but I certainly wasn’t rooting for them. My big bet for the day was a 2 team parlay having the Steelers -6.5 and the under 47. The bet looked very promising the majority of the game then the wheels fell off. I ended up losing both ways on that bet. I however won money for the game thanks to Gary Russell. He was 25 to 1 to score the first TD and I put a little coin on him and he came through.
It was great catching up with old friends, now its time to catch up on some sleep. I am guessing I will get more sleep tonight than the past 3 days combined.
Debo
Tags: karaoke, paintball, Reno, Steelers, Superbowl, Tesla, Vince Vaughn
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Saturday, January 31, 2009 - Phil Hellmuth
On Super Bowl weekend in 2001, all of the players had been eliminated from the $5,000 buy-in World Poker Challenge’s Championship event except renowned player Mike Laing, with $200,000 in chips, and unknown Bill Eichel, who had $630,000 in chips. The two were locked in a one-on-one poker duel and the game was no-limit hold’em, where you can bet any amount at any time.
With 166 entries, first place in this event would pay $331,000; second place $166,000. Not bad for two days work at the Reno Hilton! Besides the money, a measure of history was at stake. This event figured to be one of the top-six “Prestigious Poker Events” of 2001. If it were pro golf, we would call it a “major.”With the blinds (reserve bets) at $7,000-$15,000 and the antes at $3,000 a player, the following key hand came up between Laing and Eichel. Laing called $8,000 on the button (the dealer) with a 4-9, and Eichel then checked from the big blind (he made no bet because he’d already placed the big blind bet). The flop came down 4c-7s-Jd, and Eichel bet out $100,000. Now the heat was on Laing, who was staring down a $100,000 bet into a $36,000 pot with a measly pair of fours! At this point the writing was on the wall: time to fold. For Laing to call or move all-in, he would have to sort out — with nothing more than his guts and feel — what Eichel had.
Good “guts and feel” are what separate the men from the boys in the poker world. In theory, if you knew everyone’s hole cards for every hand, then you would never lose. Thus, it is important to “read” people well. You learn to measure a man’s relative strength by your instincts, and his “tells” (signs like not being able to look his opponent squarely in the eye when bluffing). A few other common tells are: when players act weak they’re usually strong; when players talk they’re usually strong; and when players bet quickly they’re usually weak. Although there are many well-known tells out there, personally, I like to stare down my opponent and trust my own feelings.
As Laing pondered the possibilities, he suddenly decided that Eichel was bluffing, and that his pair of fours was the better hand. Laing then moved all-in for $190,000, a mere $90,000 raise, and incredibly, Eichel folded and Laing won the pot! Give Mike Laing a lot of credit here. He risked it all on guts and feel (his read of Bill Eichel’s tells), and he was right! Two hands later, Mike went on to win the World Poker Challenge Championship and the $331,000 first prize.
RAISE OR FOLD
A common tell is:
a) When a player talks he’s usually strong
b) When a player acts weak he’s probably strong
c) When a player bets quickly he’s usually weak
d) All of the above
Answer: D
Tags: Hilton, Mike Laing, Reno, Super Bowl, World Poker
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Sunday, January 25, 2009 - Debo34
The thing I value most in my life is my family. Spending time away from home many times throughout the year can be tough, but that’s the life of a poker player. I’ve been home for about 2 months straight, and have loved every minute of it. I always enjoy being home for the holidays. It’s at this point every year that I start to get the itch to get out and play some live tournaments. The time that I try to layout most of my years schedule and start booking flights and hotel rooms. The past 2 years I have been in Los Angeles for the LAPC in February. I decided to skip that event this year and spend a few extra weeks at home.
The first trip I plan on making is to Reno. Reno is always an easy trip for me only being a 6 hour drive from my home. I have always had good success in Reno and have enjoyed the tournaments there. It’s always a place where tons of my friends go, and we can usually get away and do a few fun things away from the tables. This trip is planned for late February through early March.
Something that caught my eye this week, which I had no idea even existed was the poker in the Alps satellites on UB. I have never been anywhere in Europe before and this looks very appealing to me. I am going to take a few cracks at the satellites on the site and see if I can win one of the 8k packages. This looks like it could really be a cool place to go play some cards. You can see the all the details of the event here.
http://www.ultimatebet.com/poker-promotion/poker-news-cup
After these events I am undecided as to what will be next for me, but I am leaning towards the WSOP circuit event at Caesars Las Vegas. I love the poker room at Caesars, and the event schedule looks very good as well. About that time it will be time to start making my WSOP plans for the summer.
I have a few weeks home before I head out for some live events and I plan on enjoying it. Tomorrow I am heading up into the mountains to a place called Diamond Lake. 10 of us have rented two cabins for the weekend to do some snowmobiling and play some cards. This trip is guys only weekend so I also planned a trip Valentines Day weekend for my family. I will be taking them to a similar trip to a different location called Elk Lake. Both should be a blast, and I am really looking forward to them.
Hope everyone’s New Year is off to a great start.
Good luck,
Debo
Tags: Austria, Debo34, family, LAPC, Reno, WSOP
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