Lets just say I am 'freerolling' going into today. I will explain later.
Left Biloxi Friday morning at 10am. Fully expected to hit that half hour of traffic on the bridge over Lake Pontchatrain (however its spelled!)...and thus be late, but it didn't happen! Wow. Got to Harrah's at 11:15am. There was a line about 50 deep at registration when I arrived. NICE!
Took about 20 minutes to get registered. When the dust settled there ended up being 572 players. Awesome! Everybody was thrilled with the structure. You talk about getting your monies worth. I knew this structure was going to be conducive to allowing for good players to get deep in these, so my immediate goal was to get to the second break (Level 6) and find no more than 3 players to form a 'save pool' alliance...which is, to me a great way to beat the ugly variance that exists in Tournament Poker for a Career. I figured if I could get 4 of us, all with decent chips, inevitably 1 or 2 of us would most likely take a bad beat or a cooler somewhere along the line....but that two of us would most likely make the Final Table. Its basically an insurance policy, an 'ace in the hole.' Ideally we ALL make the Final Table.
So at the end of our 3rd break yesterday, I had formed my alliance with 3 other players, and THANKFULLY none of us are/were at the same table. Nothing worse than trying to avoid whacking one of the other guys when we are at the same table and both have a huge hand. Just sucks!
So basically here is how it works. Four good players. All with decent stacks. We all agree to put 15% of whatever we end up winning into a pot. Currently ALL FOUR of us are in the money...which is nice...so everyone is pulling their own weight! Here is where it gets good. If we go out NOW...we get $583, which isn't jack shit. So a guy would put roughly $90 into the pot. If the next guy goes out...and wins $800...he would put $120 into the pot. Say the next two make the Final Table, one guy wins $7000. He puts $1050 into the pot. So now we have $1260 in there. The last guy gets 2nd place...for $25,000. He puts in $3250....leaving us with $4510. We then CHOP that money up FOUR WAYS....with each guy getting $1127 each. So the guy who put in the most ($3250) actually gets a third of that right back. The guy who finished 2nd in the group contributed $1050 but then gets $1127 back, and of course the other two guys more than double up what they won. This is a great system, especially for situations where you know you are going to be playing ALL the tournaments. Its a great way to potentially overcome a situation where your AA gets cracked deep, with a chance to be chipleader, and then going out 13th and being depressed. One of your Alliance is still alive...so you can now root for him to WIN and make you a nice amount that will heal your pain and suffering...and reduce your variance for the trip.
I would recommend this system for everyone. But inevitably you run into people who are selfish. A guy I thought would do it yesterday was concerned his 'backer' wouldn't approve. He ended up not making the money. His loss. If your backer fully understands the system he would be STUPID not to do it, or want YOU to do it. If I am backing someone, and my player has a plan in place to recoup some money if we take a beatdown late...I am ALL FOR IT! Hey, this is a tough gig, pick up crumbs wherever you can find them to keep yourself in the game. The only way you 'lose' is if you WIN the whole tourney....which today is $48k, and then yeah...my payout is going to be $7200! Sure that sounds like a lot. Granted, I get a large portion of that right back. But when the tables are turned....say I get coolered, and one of the other guys ends up winning??? I'm going to be pretty happy aren't I? What goes around comes around. And just think...if you have a core of 4 or 5 guys, and you are in Vegas, playing a tourney EVERY DAY...you have a simple agreement...whoever among us makes the SECOND BREAK, and has even a decent stack, the deal is ON. Now I have had some agreements with players, most notably Rooster (Rick Rudloff) where ANY tourney we both in we have a 10% share with each other...and that is fine, since he cashes almost as often as I do. But ideally it is smart to do deals with players like this only AFTER you have made it through 5 or 6 levels first.
So anyway....heading back today, we have 36 players left. We started with 572...a great field. 14 hours of play...a long, long grind. But a lot of fun, very stress-free poker....meaning, at no point did it become an all out SHOVE FEST...oh sure, there were your ridiculous all ins, sure...but it wasn't out of hand. And it seemed like the clowns who were shipping it for 15 to 20 big blinds were getting caught and busted. K3 shove lost to QQ. J8 shove lost to KK. A5 shove lost to AK. All were very nice to see! I actually picked up hands yesterday from Level 1 all the way through. I only really made three or four BIG PLAYS to take down pots where had they called I would have been probably OUT. The rest of the time I was usually way ahead. I had AA yesterday SIX times! I had KK once. QQ once. JJ three times, and won with them every time. 1010 three times, had to fold them twice. Folded AQ yesterday in crucial situations 7 times....yeah! SEVEN TIMES. AK won for me 3 times. Didn't flop a set all day. Didn't make a flush. Didn't even hit a straight. Pretty much won with big pairs, and pushing all in over the top of button raisers when I thought/knew they were button poaching. It was a great day. I gobbled an Aderol on the way here and it had me fully charged when I arrived. I was dialed in like a mother all day. So when we go back today at 2pm, we have still got FOUR tables left. Hey, thats just fine with me!
Last month at the Beau Rivage, Johnny Groomes and I had a lot of conversation over the structure, which I and many others thought was unfairly punishing good players with its accellerated levels. His argument was that the structure I was seeking would end up like this one just did. Playing until 2am, and only being down to 36 players. And he thought this was bad. I couldn't find one guy last night who was unhappy. The play was great, the blinds when we broke for the night were 2k/4k and the average stack size is 100k. So the average stack is what? 25 BB's? Pretty awesome I think. Steve Frezer is THE MAN. Let me tell you what else Steve did....I mean, this guy is HELL BENT on listening to the players and giving us whatever we ask for or want, within reason.
TK Miles found Steve early in the day and asked about the $550 single table satellites. He wasn't happy with the starting chips and 20 minute levels. So what did Steve do? CHANGED IT. RIGHT THEN AND THERE! Took the chips from 3000 to 5000! And from 20 min's to 30 min's! So I took it one step further, and talked to him about the $125 SNG's, my bread and butter usually. They were only giving 1000 starting chips, like it used to be...and THAT SUCKS! So what does he do? MAKES IT 1500! Just like that! FREAKING AWESOME!!!! STEVE FREZER FOR PRESIDENT!!!!
The floor did an outstanding job on the first day as well. The day was not without its wrinkles. Unfortunately. And I should call attention to it I guess. Getting a liscense to deal in the State of Louisiana is a nightmare. I wrote about the struggles Bobby had two months ago when getting his. So, inevitably, you are going to miss out on a lot of good dealers with past 'issues' that may or may not be what us normal (me, normal?) people would consider a 'big deal' and instead get a bunch of mutants with squeaky clean records, just out of dealer school, or ripped from Blackjack tables and asked to deal poker for the first time in their lives. Almost forgot to mention...I was involved in EIGHT table moves yesterday......yeah! EIGHT! That has GOT to be a record. Never ONCE though did I draw seat 1 or 10! Sweeeeeet! So lets just say I intereacted with a LOT of players yesterday! Back to the dealer thing. We had three dealers who were painfully awful. Slowwwwwww......incorrect on several occasions....it was all I could do on a lot of occasions to not rip all the hair out of my head. I tried very hard to be patient...but jeeezuz, you can only take SO MUCH sometimes! The good thing, I guess, is that they ADMIT to being new, ASK for patience, and don't try to cop an attitude and PRETEND like they know it all. So, you know....a little humility will get you a long way, I suppose.
Technology update. Ever since I scrubbed my Blackberry and reinstalled everything, I can't get any updates on my Facebook to come through. No idea why. Its making me nuts. I did, however just figure out a way to link my phone via mobile blogging straight to this blog site...so from now...through this event and into the World Series this summer, I will be set up to send mobile updates straight from my seat to this site. Pretty cool, and easy once I got it figured out.
Remember this name. TIFFANY BURKE. I am. I will be straight up about this. I have friends in this job I do. And occassionally I get lucky and get things I may not have earned. One buddy, who is a HUGE gambler...gave me a copy of his SEVEN STAR players card a couple years ago. Now, if I was a dick...I could abuse the shit out of it, use it to get food, and beverage, and hotel rooms...you know...fully exploit it. But I am not a dick. So really, the ONLY thing I use it for, is valet parking. Mainly here, in New Orleans, becuase they want $25 or $30 here. Which is a fucking joke. Additionally, I have a Platinum card, in my own name of course. Now, I did not EARN Platinum. But a good buddy in Vegas, at Ceasers decided to grace me with a Platinum players card, and with the name "Monkey" on it...which was very cool. Unbeknownst to me, this Platinum card entitled me to free valet as well. I didn't even know that.
So here I am last night. Its 3am. I do NOT have a hotel room YET! Well, Kenny Milam...an older guy I have played with a lot...who recently won an event somewhere, not sure where...but a really cool dude...appproaches me and says "Hey Monkey, did I hear that you didn't have a room yet? Well, I live here, and Harrah's gave me a comped room through Monday that I am not using tonight...if you would like to stay there tonight its all yours." Wow? No shit? Thanks Kenny...that is VERY COOL OF YOU MAN! So I took his room key and began my procession to the hotel.
So I give my ticket to this little bitch at the valet counter and she says..."That will be $25!, unless you have a Seven Star or Platinum card!" A what? Whoa huh? See, I am not going to present the 7 Star if I don't have to, especially if it might reflect bad on the guy who gave it to me. So when I hear her say Platinum, I think "Oh cool! I have that...no problem" and give it to her. What does she do? "Sir this players card expired in January. You are going to have to get a new card at the Rewards Center or pay $30. And I have to CONFISCATE THIS CARD!!!! I ripped it from her hand. "Like hell you are lady! This is how I register for tournaments. But I will go the stupid rewards center I guess...since I have no intention to pay you $30 for parking!"
I go the Rewards Center on the other side of the casino. CLOSED! What the hell. Gotta go to the OTHER SIDE of the casino to the desk that IS open. So I arrive and here is Tiffany Burke. Her job is to 'assist casino guests' in their attempts to get their players cards. You know...so they can GAMBLE. Which means...'donating' money to Harrahs 97% of the time. Right? You following me? So I explain my situation to her. Pffft! She takes my card, tells me I only rate for GOLD now...won't give the other back, and basically talks down to me like I am a peon. I tell her that I have been in and out of valet twice today already...and that if she thinks I am paying $30 she is out of her mind, not when I could have parked in the garage for free. "Do you want me to call a manager" she snottily asks? Well, I would say so since your only priority seems to be seeing how pissed off you can make me!
So I stand there waiting....5 minutes, 10 minutes....you kidding me? 15 minutes. COME ON! I ask her...I am waiting for a manager right? "Mmmmmhmmmmm." Is this person going to be here soon? "I don't know." I mean...just a total bitch. And no....we are/were not the same race. And when there were people of HER race at the counter, people who didn't even understand the situation...they of course ALL started giving me the stink eye look as well. As though I had TP'ed their houses or something. I need to start wearing a hat that says "I am NOT a southern REDNECK! I am from the PACIFIC NORTHWEST! It is OKAY to be NICE to me! My great great great granddaddy did not OWN any of your people!!!!!"
Manager finally shows up. She is....mmm...lets call it, a LITTLE more helpful. She gets me a comp for the parking. After another 15 minutes. So I basically spent 30 minutes just trying to leave! When I get back to the valet counter, that first bitch is like "Sorry for the inconvenience Mr. Souther, I hope you aren't still mad at me" to which I reply "I am very much still mad at you. The way you handled that was RIDICULOUS! You could have simply given me my damn car, and asked that I get my card updated the next day. Your actions would suggest that I was trying to STEAL $30 of parking from your beloved Harrah's. But instead you use the word CONFISCATE to tell me how Harrah's has DIRECTED you to take people's expired cards. It is a very humiliating way to treat a guest. Its like knowing you have a 10k spending limit on a credit card that has a balance of $1500, that you pay on time every month...and being out at dinner with 5 or 6 very important dinner guests, and having the waitress walk up in front of everyone and tell you your card has been declined! How would that make YOU feel!?? Or are you capable of feeling those thoughts? Maybe not! But yeah...I am still pissed off at you! Have a nice day!"
And that concluded my day at Harrah's! So, I am back to parking in the damn parking garage here, which I loathe! And when I get back to Vegas, I will find my buddy, and see about getting my Platinum status returned to me! And by the way, this is the first time I have ever stayed in a Harrah's room here, and it is very nice. Wish I could afford to stay here the whole time, and alone. I really kind of like having my own room. Even if I win this thing today I can't do it...my backer is getting too much of the pie! Not that this is a bad thing...my backer DESERVES SOME PIE!!!!! I'm just not going to spend a good portion of my winnings on a nice hotel room. Suppose today at some point I will find someone to room with and get a place. For now, everything is in my car!!!!
So on a scale of 1 to 10, I think I would have to give Day One an 8. I will try out the new mobile blogging thing during todays tournament. See if any of you actually follow it. Was this a long entry? I fear it might have been! Thanks for staying this long!!!!
MONKEY
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1 comment:
Could you explain how your backing works?
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