VICTORY AT THE VENETIAN...a little hollow, but still a win!!!!

Okay two things.

(1) I look like hell! I know that. Hey! It was a long, long freaking day! In fact Gary Hager, tourney director says it is the deepest any Deepstack tourney has EVER gone. And I thought our Final Table LAST week went long. Pretty sure when it ended we were at 160k/320k!

(2) This picture isn't exactly official. That trophy is a 'stand in' for the trophy I should have won! And yes, it looks like a big cookie. Well, I like cookies, and it would have tasted delicious. But that is the winning hand, and I did take that bitch down! And it did FEEL GOOD!!!!!

At 1:00pm I agreed to take Mike to Venetian so he could play the noon tourney. About the time I was set to get in the shower Allie Prescott texts me to ask if "I am going to miss watching Liv Boeree BOX today!" WHAT!!!??? You gotta be kidding me!? When? Where? Barry's Gym on S.Highland. At 2pm. Whoa! I had time. So I hurried up and got ready, dropped Mike off at Venetian, and shot over there. Just as I arrived Liv was entering the 'arena' looking very focused and quite bad ass. I'm telling you, this chick is without a doubt my new hero. I have some bad photos that I took (very blurry) to now go along with those of here double-flipping fully clothed into the pool at Allen Berry's rental three weeks ago at the 'drinking games' party. There were a lot of top players there, apparantly this was set up by some people in the poker world, her opponent was a girl named Melissa who works for Poker Pages. Maybe it was Poker News. One of those. Joe Sebok and his boys from Poker Road Radio were there. With Ally was Matt Brady, Mike Beasley, and a few others. Mike and Nick Binger were there. Tony G. Amanda Leatherman. Good crowd. Then the fight began...and it was a 3 round BRAWL! Liv was awesome. But Melissa hung in there too. Liv clearly won the fight...but it was a fantastic fight, and when it was over she came over to get a big celebratory 'atta girl' from all of us. That girl is the NUTS! Oh..the best part was Allie asking her "Ya wanna just go straight to the bar to drink...or do you need to go get showered up and all?" Her response..."What the hell...lets go drink!" Liv Rules!

So then I shot over to the Fashion Show Mall, as my wedding band that actually fits had come in. Exchanged it for the new one. Then headed to Johnny Rockets for the 'ol #12 and a thick vanilla milkshake...and it was off to the Venetian to try and 'do work!'

Arrived on time. Said my hello's. Found my chips. Found Mike...who had just taken another bad beat and was out of the nooner. Poor guy...he's running so bad its almost depressing. But I was feeling optimistic, feeling REALLY good about the day, and didn't want the cloud of negativity swirling around me. So when I drew a table that was inside of the perimeter of where people can stand and watch/sweat, I was almost glad that I was guarded from the distractions of outsiders. Granted, I love the support of my friends and other poker cohorts, but sometimes I just want to get dialed into my little zone and be left alone.

Very first hand of the game...sitting on 410k, guy raises at cutoff and I wake up with AK suited, and reraise half his stack. He folds. Nice start. I would go on a complete TEAR early...rarely going to showdown on anything, and chip up to 850k when the average was 380k. Things were feeling good. Then I misplayed two hands pretty bad. Guy raised UTG. I look down at AQ suited in the BB. I really should have either just folded there, or re-raised the guy. But I flat the 70k raise. Then the guy in the BB does the same. Hmm...spooky. The flop comes all rags, 7 high. Now, had I been heads up...I think I would have moved in on the guy, since he was fairly short, but I had to worry about this guy in between. So when I check, and HE checks...the original raiser (who I later found out had freaking A10) bets out 100k. I fold like a wuss. Had we been heads up, I would have re-raised him to 300 and watched him fold like a cheap suit. It was a bad play by me. The other guy folds, and claimed a pair. Whatever. Maybe he did though, since he made two absolutely HORRID plays in an hour.

Later, with 650K after getting blinded down and having to fold JJ's once and AQ once to a big re-raise (with the guy then showing me JJ...) I pick up 10's behind a guy's early raise. This guy wasn't a very strong player. I felt like I may have had the best hand. So I re-raise him from 75k to 225k. He had a little bit more than that...so when he moves all in I was pot stuck. I was up against two Q's, shit! Now had I flatted the raise...and watched the flop...which had an ACE, I could have checked, folded to any bet...or when he checked to the ace, could have led out big on the turn and gotten him off the hand. It was a bad play on my part...and it took me down to 450k and for the first time was feeling nervous. I wouldn't feel nervous again.

The hot married Asian lady on my right would move in for double my big blind and I had to call with Ac4c...she had AK and it held. No biggie. Then right after that we were down to two tables. From 50 to 18 just like that, under two hours. I got moved up to the Final Table area, table 55...my favorite place!

Rumblings of a possible save deal started, as the usually do when you get down to 2 tables in an extremely top-heavy payout tourney. Oh...btw, the word is out that the NEXT Venetian event will 100% for sure have a flattened out pay structure, so for all of you coming out here in October for the next event, you will be happy to know that when you cash you will no longer make 60 to 130 for 'just cashing' but instead make about 2.5x your buy-in, which is how it needs/ought to be. Kudos to the people at Venetian for hearing our concerns and doing something about it. They couldn't do it in midstream at this event due to the fact that they had advertised it in several publications as having the payout structure it has. That makes sense.

One or two guys who don't play much, who had managed to luckbox their way into over a million chips, wouldn't entertain any ideas regarding a 'save' deal, which I had put on the table. The good news is that neither of those two guys would finish in the top 8.

I am going to kind of cut to the chase here. I would make the Final Table with a medium stack. I then ordered the SNAP MONKEYS! Which if you don't know, are Red Snappers, but with a splash of delicious Chambord, and reserved exclusively for Final Tables. I got EVERYONE but the guy in Seat 6, the eventual 'Bad Guy' in this tourney, to share a Snap Monkey with me...the Final Table beads went on...and we were off! On a marathon!

On the break before the Final Table began, I met a guy who is on my Facebook and who reads this blog. He was playing in the 7pm donkfest and proceeds to tell me about some jerkoff who keeps calling clock on everyone, and then bitching constantly about the other players. I had to see this guy. So when I went over to his table, and I saw this guy...beady-eyed, short little jerk with a hat on backwards, who just happened to be jawing with the dealer when I arrived...it became an AUTOMATIC bounty! I told the whole table there was a $100 bounty on the guy...and they all went bananas. Only thing is, I told them, if the table breaks or if he wins (obviously) I get the $100 back. Well, what ended up happening was that everyone started gunning for him...and he would end up with a HUGE chipstack...then they broke that table, so I got my $100 back, and I'm guessing I won a new fan! That guy had to be loving me!

My first really huge hand and pot should have NEVER happened. This guy to my left, who was one of the guys who got chips and wouldn't deal, limps in UTG with AK. Another person flatted the 120k. I get a free look in the BB with K6. The flop comes K-10-6. Rainbow. Wow! I announce, "I'll check-raise." Dude UTG of course bets out...300k. Other guy folds. Back to me. "Hmmmm...well, lets see, 550k in the pot...I have 650 behind...I really want to get maximum value here, but don't want you to fold...of course, there is a couple hands that could have me beat...the DEVIL would be one of them....but I think I am good. Yeah, I guess the correct play here is all in..." So with that the dealer looks at me in that "So, are you all in?" face...and I nodded, yes. Dude SNAP CALLS! Of course. Because he is one of those guys who is never folding top pair, top kicker, even for half his stack. The turn is a 6. Sweet! And I double up to over 2 million.

I would sit around for hours...not winning anything big, not losing anything big. Picking up a hand every so often, getting a walk once in a while. One of my better plays was raising at cutoff with 22 and getting a call from the SB. THe flop comes out J-9-3. He checks and I instantly fire out 300k. He tanked for awhile then folded. Sweet.

We finally get down to 7. The guy in the 6 seat, an Asian kid named Duy...was a complete jerk. Never smiled. Was having no fun. Wouldn't talk to anyone. Just had his bitch of a wife watching from behind the fence...and his three 'boys.' The whole table was growing increasingly resentful of this guy. He had over 3 million in chips and just wouldn't even LISTEN to any talk of a save deal. Well, I let it go...at this point I was just getting myself focused to win it all. First was 74k. Second only 39k. I wanted to win, and I wanted to beat THIS GUY.

Well, they were all down at that end of the table in the 7, 8, and 9 seat working on him while I was busy listening to music and talking to my little contingent of followers on my end of the table, I was in the 3 seat. All of a sudden, they all ask me "Hey Monkey...how do you feel about giving him 50k and we all take the rest?" Hmmm I looked at my stack, 2.2million, then his...and decided that this deal SUCKED. NO way! But lets look at the numbers. I just couldn't help feeling that if I didn't do SOME kind of a deal it might be a huge disservice to these other players, not to mention the fact that I have been trying to pull a nice cash with my backer and that I've just gotten married, will be going home in couple weeks and would like to lock up a nice nest egg to survive on when I get home. Last thing I want to do is nix any deal, and end up going out 7th for $11k. I would both look and feel pretty stupid.

So I propose a different deal. We give the asshole $45k, we each take $22k each, and leave $20k on the table to play for. I introduce a stipulation, that if ANYONE gets Heads UP with the asshole, the other player, should they lose, automatically gets at LEAST another $5k. So this jerkoff had a chance to win $60k and the rest of us a minimum of $27k, maximum of $37k. Whatever, all parties agreed and we signed the agreement and started back to play.

About 15 minutes later I find something out that makes me HATE the deal. Because he was guaranteed the most amount of money, he would AUTOMATICALLY go down on the results sheet, and in the tournament leaders points contest...as the winner, and would be given the option of taking the trophy for first. That pissed me off, because I am now in excellent shape to make a run at the best all-around player award, with two final tables now (2nd, on paper and 5th, from last week) and 2 other cashes. I should be in the Top 5 for sure. Maurice Hawkins is the leader, having WON two of the events.

Well, I express my irritation with this, but then also add "you know, I can't imagine that ANYONE who doesn't WIN a tournament would take the trophy saying he had...that would just be a joke! I mean, I know a guy (won't mention his name, but it rhymes with FAKE) who paid someone at a circuit event in New Orleans to have the ring...even though he finished in 2nd place. Gave the guy like 10k extra! I'm sorry, but when I get a trophy or a ring or a bracelet, I want to feel that great feeling you get when you have ACTUALLY WON IT!" Kind of thought that little statement would have prevented that kind of stupid situation. I was wrong!

When we got 5 handed, I made a move on the little prick. In the SB I moved all in on him with K8. I know, I know...crazy. But he has been poaching my blinds relentlessly. Also, I had just lost a huge chunk of chips when a guy shoved a large stack all in with 66 and ran into my KK...only to flop 8-6-8. It held! Then I get KK two hands later, limp into the Asian guys' BB with it, expecting him to again raise. He doesnt. An Ace flops. I bet. He moves all in. SHIT. I fold face up. So when I move in on him with K8...he SNAP CALLS me with, ahem....A6 offsuit! I turn a KING! The whole crowd goes a little crazy! THAT FELT AWESOME!!!!! And now he was the shortstack!

He would go OUT a few hands later and we all rejoiced, but not before we watched him pick up the trophy and leave. We all kind of sat there with our jaws open...wow. Really? But Gary said he was entitled, nothing he could do about it. So that trophy you see me posing with is the trophy from one of the upcoming events. At least its a cool picture right!??

As soon as we got rid of him, we agreed to chop the rest of the prize pool! It then pretty much became a few buddies just having a good time playing some poker. It was a great way to end the night. When we got down to just me and a really cool guy from Macedonia...who incidentally, I had just been calling 'Macedonia' all night...we agreed to play each other heads-up for $200 and bragging rights! We played for about half an hour before I beat him with A6 against...wow, not even sure...think he has K high, maybe Q9 suited.

Its the greatest feeling to be the last one sitting there...with ALL the chips. With all your friends and poker acquaintances coming over to congratulate you. Dealers happy for you, floor guys happy for you. Its a huge feeling of relief that comes over you. I saved my new buddy from Macedonia 3,000 bucks when, instead of getting taxed 30% for being a foreigner, I let him sign for less, I signed for more, and paid him the difference in cash. Didn't cost me anything. Made him a bunch. But I told him I would only do it for him if he agreed to leave the dealers and floor people at LEAST 500 bucks. He of course agreed to do that. I left the floor and dealers $750. They were most appreciative, and I was only too happy to give it. I did, however...totally FORGET to leave a seperate tip for Jeremy, my 'lick' victim from the previous night! I will take care of that tonight or tomorrow.

Mike is sitting here Jonesing for the chance to go to SNG-Land tonight. I guess I will go over and do that for his sake. And go ahead and buy into tomorrow's $550 so we don't have to fight the big crowd tomorrow.

After the tourney ended...and it was 4am!!! I got a text from Joe Cutler, ordering me to get my ass over to Rhino! Why not, sounds good! And it was a big welcoming party awaiting me there. I love winning! God its the greatest, everyone that you are really friends with are always SO happy for you. So I try to keep that in mind when I am running bad and one of them is winning. You know, what comes around goes around! Don't get TOO happy or TOO full of yourself when you are winning, and dont get TOO depressed or down on yourself, and bitter towards those doing well when you aren't winning. Its a good credo to follow. We had a great time at Rhino, and when we finally got back to the MGM...at 8am, kind of forgot that we had to checkout at...yikes, 11am. We woke up at 1:30 and had to negotiate with the front desk to avoid another charge for the day. They let us slide! Thanks MGM GRAND!!!!

Well, that pretty much wraps it up! I got a TON of Facebook shout outs during the tournament, and I wish to thank all of you! I love that! Gives me so much confidence, and honestly, really keeps me focused! The staff and dealers at the Venetian were, again...truly terrific all tournament! It was just one, big, gigantic KICKASS tournament! I just wish I would have won ALL THE MONEY and taken home the trophy! But hey...I have a lot to feel good about and be thankful for

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BTW, no word at ALL from anyone at WSOP, RIO, or HARRAH's regarding that mess. Hey, whatever. I can only do so much. I am not letting it get me down. I feel too great today!

MONKEY