I've been back home a week putting it all in perspective. At the bustout moment, 487th place might as well have been 4870th place, but here in Encinitas it's the difference between being a colorful degenerate and a minor rock star. Other than forgetting I had tickets to Tuesday's Pageant of the Masters and a couple of annoying $38 late fees on credit cards I've functioned quite well. I've got a ton of enthusiasm for taking my commodities fund to the next level and I've been trading really well.
Writing this blog has been equally satisfying and almost as much fun as playing poker. I will miss it as much as the World Series of Poker, but it's time to say good bye until next year.
Good luck, everyone!
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Poker's little secret
The big $4000-$8000 game in Las Vegas rarely starts these days. Susquehanna's top traders can't make money any more online. (Susquehanna is the gamer's Wall Street firm--they hire backgammon players and actually teach poker as part of their curriculum. A few more months on my own and they'll be my only realistic career option.) Chat boxes online tell the same story. Internet poker as an ATM is dying.
My own experience, with this year off to a record start and a little over ten thousand in the week I've been back, seems more and more like positive semivariance and less and less like a promising career choice.
The root of the problem lies at the bottom of the poker pyramid. The much-loathed UIGEA (Uniform Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) has made it much more difficult for casual players to deposit money online. The smaller stakes games are now filled with poker bots, automated programs with increasingly sophisticated poker strategies, that suck money from the players at the low end of the poker food chain. With a greatly diminshed ability for rank amateurs to get lucky and try their hand at larger games, the supply of easy money in the bigger games is choked off.
It's a vicious cycle. Without fish in the $500-1000 game, those players drop down a level or two to compete with me in the $100-200 and $200-400 games, making them that much tougher.
This process won't happen overnight, but over the course of the next several years. There's going to be an awful lot of 24-year olds applying to Susquehanna after that!
It's been a great ride, a career highlight, and I hope I can extract a half million or so more before it's all over.
My own experience, with this year off to a record start and a little over ten thousand in the week I've been back, seems more and more like positive semivariance and less and less like a promising career choice.
The root of the problem lies at the bottom of the poker pyramid. The much-loathed UIGEA (Uniform Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) has made it much more difficult for casual players to deposit money online. The smaller stakes games are now filled with poker bots, automated programs with increasingly sophisticated poker strategies, that suck money from the players at the low end of the poker food chain. With a greatly diminshed ability for rank amateurs to get lucky and try their hand at larger games, the supply of easy money in the bigger games is choked off.
It's a vicious cycle. Without fish in the $500-1000 game, those players drop down a level or two to compete with me in the $100-200 and $200-400 games, making them that much tougher.
This process won't happen overnight, but over the course of the next several years. There's going to be an awful lot of 24-year olds applying to Susquehanna after that!
It's been a great ride, a career highlight, and I hope I can extract a half million or so more before it's all over.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Out!
487th, $25,000, out on the last hand of the night...the crippling blow came much earlier, when the first to act raised to $15,000 and I found myself with two Kings in the big blind. While I was contemplating what to do, he said "I'll give anyone who doubles me up one percent of my action." This obviously meant that he would call, so I moved in and he called with A K. At the time, I was about a 70% favorite, looing like a 91% favorite when the first four cards were J J 3 J. Unfortunately, an Ace came on the river and the dealer shoved the $225,000 pot to him. Ouch!
I had only $65,000 left, about one fourth of the average stack, but played it carefully and shrewdly and worked it up to $150,000 again. I then lost three successive coin flips,finally busting out on the very last hand of the night to the A K guy when I had 8 8 and he had A K again. Once I was out, everyone erupted in cheers, as they were all moving on to day 4. There were so many bustouts it was going to take a tortuous hour of standing in various lines to get paid. I wisely bolted, but now have to wait until they re-open at 1 pm.
There are no words to describe the sadness I feel, hopes and dreams crushed. A couple drinks, a late meal, and a sleeping pill are the best I can do. Tomorrow, perhaps, I will have some appreciation for my Vegas trips this year, which have now been not only a wild ride, but also a modest financial success.
A few memories from today: seeing Forest Griffin, who just won a huge upset Ultimate Fighting championship victory and played in the world series of poker with cuts on his face and a black eye. An attractive woman in a modern burkha (otherwise you couldn't tell) on the rail at the table next to me, reading the Koran out loud as she roots for her partner. Evelyn Ng and Shannon Elizabeth at the same table. A man who misread his A 4 as A A -- you can see from the typefont how they can easily be confused--and went all in for $90,000 against an opponent who had the real A A. "I have A A too," he said, and rolled over A 4. Ooops! No problem, the flop comes 4 4 4 and the A A is drawing completely dead.
My brother is fond of saying "That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger." I believe this will be true about my Vegas trip.
I just would have liked to have lasted a little while longer.
I had only $65,000 left, about one fourth of the average stack, but played it carefully and shrewdly and worked it up to $150,000 again. I then lost three successive coin flips,finally busting out on the very last hand of the night to the A K guy when I had 8 8 and he had A K again. Once I was out, everyone erupted in cheers, as they were all moving on to day 4. There were so many bustouts it was going to take a tortuous hour of standing in various lines to get paid. I wisely bolted, but now have to wait until they re-open at 1 pm.
There are no words to describe the sadness I feel, hopes and dreams crushed. A couple drinks, a late meal, and a sleeping pill are the best I can do. Tomorrow, perhaps, I will have some appreciation for my Vegas trips this year, which have now been not only a wild ride, but also a modest financial success.
A few memories from today: seeing Forest Griffin, who just won a huge upset Ultimate Fighting championship victory and played in the world series of poker with cuts on his face and a black eye. An attractive woman in a modern burkha (otherwise you couldn't tell) on the rail at the table next to me, reading the Koran out loud as she roots for her partner. Evelyn Ng and Shannon Elizabeth at the same table. A man who misread his A 4 as A A -- you can see from the typefont how they can easily be confused--and went all in for $90,000 against an opponent who had the real A A. "I have A A too," he said, and rolled over A 4. Ooops! No problem, the flop comes 4 4 4 and the A A is drawing completely dead.
My brother is fond of saying "That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger." I believe this will be true about my Vegas trip.
I just would have liked to have lasted a little while longer.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Brief update, dinner break, Day 3
Out of a starting field of 6844, we are down to around 750. Of these 750, 666 will walk away with a guaranteed $21,000 and a shot at $9.1 million. The other 84 will get nothing. Play will be very tense for the next three hours until we hit 666.
I've played like a nit for the past few hours, not entering many pots and occasionally exploiting my tight image for a reraise steal. It hasn't been fun. I got ground down to around $140,000 before winning a huge pot from Robert Mizrachi when my J J connected strongly with a Q Q J flop. Now I've got $200,000 in chips, a little above average.
If I were playing optimally, I'd go crazy here trying to rob people. Unfortunately, I suffer from a common amateur drawback--making the money has too much non-monetary utility to really risk it. So it's back to being a bit of a nit until the bubble breaks.
I've played like a nit for the past few hours, not entering many pots and occasionally exploiting my tight image for a reraise steal. It hasn't been fun. I got ground down to around $140,000 before winning a huge pot from Robert Mizrachi when my J J connected strongly with a Q Q J flop. Now I've got $200,000 in chips, a little above average.
If I were playing optimally, I'd go crazy here trying to rob people. Unfortunately, I suffer from a common amateur drawback--making the money has too much non-monetary utility to really risk it. So it's back to being a bit of a nit until the bubble breaks.
On to day 3...with a boatload of chips!
Almost 3 am and we replay again at noon, with half the field fresh from a day off, so this may be brief. I rode a sick roller coaster for the last four hours of the day, losing 28,000 on the very first hand when I made what can only be called a speculative all-in re-raise of a very tight player who raised in the cut-off. He had K K. Oops! I chip my way back to $32,000 and order a massage from my masseuse from 10 days ago. Immediately, one of the old fishes min-raised to $2000 in the hijack and I smooth-called with 8 8. The big blind raised $5000 more, the old fish called, and I moved in for 25,000 more. The big blind folded, and the old fish hemmed and hawed and finally called with A K. I flop a set and am back to $70,000.
For the first time all tournament I shift into maniac mode and steal with 7 2 and 10 2 just because the situation calls for it. The kid on my right is a human card rack, re-raising me almost every time. The few hands he shows are legitimate, so I give him credit for a while. Finally, I feel I can no longer raise, so I limp on the button with K J. He raises to $6,000. I'm sick of it, so I re-raise to $20,000. He folds K J face up, so of course I show him the same hand.
We're all pretty ragged after 9 1/2 hours of play. I keep vowing to steal and re-steal more, but can't always pull the trigger. Usually, too, it would have worked. Finally, in the last 10 minutes I pick up A A and raise a limper to 5500. The small blind, min-raises to 11,000, signifying a really strong hand. Against most players, I would smooth call here, but he is a banana so I raise to $30,000. He moves in instantly and I call my remaining $45,000. He has K K, of course. If a King comes, I will be out of the tournament.................but the board is safe and I double up to $158,000. I was quite content to end the day at $75,000 so this is huge!
We are down to 1324 players out of the original 6844. The average stack is $103,000, so I am in great shape. Tomorrow should be fun. There's just one problem--I am totally wound up and celebrate 55 stories up at the Voodoo Lounge, where 30 mile an hour winds, 95 degree heat, and the best view in Vegas compliment my mood.
Time for sleep, let's hope a couple Tylenol PM can get the job done.
For the first time all tournament I shift into maniac mode and steal with 7 2 and 10 2 just because the situation calls for it. The kid on my right is a human card rack, re-raising me almost every time. The few hands he shows are legitimate, so I give him credit for a while. Finally, I feel I can no longer raise, so I limp on the button with K J. He raises to $6,000. I'm sick of it, so I re-raise to $20,000. He folds K J face up, so of course I show him the same hand.
We're all pretty ragged after 9 1/2 hours of play. I keep vowing to steal and re-steal more, but can't always pull the trigger. Usually, too, it would have worked. Finally, in the last 10 minutes I pick up A A and raise a limper to 5500. The small blind, min-raises to 11,000, signifying a really strong hand. Against most players, I would smooth call here, but he is a banana so I raise to $30,000. He moves in instantly and I call my remaining $45,000. He has K K, of course. If a King comes, I will be out of the tournament.................but the board is safe and I double up to $158,000. I was quite content to end the day at $75,000 so this is huge!
We are down to 1324 players out of the original 6844. The average stack is $103,000, so I am in great shape. Tomorrow should be fun. There's just one problem--I am totally wound up and celebrate 55 stories up at the Voodoo Lounge, where 30 mile an hour winds, 95 degree heat, and the best view in Vegas compliment my mood.
Time for sleep, let's hope a couple Tylenol PM can get the job done.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Quick update, dinner break, day 2
47K, average is 75K. Some old guy is so tight I'm raising his big blind without looking at my cards in the cutoff. Another old guy was moved to our table and nearly always limps, folding to a raise 90% of the time. The dangerous internet kid has donked off 3/4 of his chips to an Asian maniac who is now trying to take over the table.
Four more hours.
Now I know why I put up with the Rio--I've had time to eat, shower, blog, and even a quick nap. Try doing that at the Bellagio, you high rollers!
Four more hours.
Now I know why I put up with the Rio--I've had time to eat, shower, blog, and even a quick nap. Try doing that at the Bellagio, you high rollers!
Day 2, four hours in
After a nice rush up to $50,000 I am moved to a tough table where I have yet to win a hand. Down to $40K after four hours. We're getting rid of the now-unnecessary $25 chips so I have an extra ten minutes--time enough to hit the room, take a rejuvenating shower, and change clothes.
I'm well below average, but the beauty of this event is that there's plenty of play left.
Feeling good, ready to get a little frisky if the right opportunity comes along.
I'm well below average, but the beauty of this event is that there's plenty of play left.
Feeling good, ready to get a little frisky if the right opportunity comes along.
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