I arrived at the Tuna Club a bit later than usual. I had all my usual poker gear except for a card cap and sunglasses (bad planning), but I was delayed due to work. The Big Bossman gave me a file just before quitting time and asked me to analyze it in advance of a settlement conference today. “Work on this tonight,” was his instructions, so instead of my plan to head to Tuna Club earlier than necessary (as I usually do, only to wonder why I arrive so early), I got to work and grinded out several more hours.
Once done, though, I was on my way for 5/10 LO8, which runs every Wednesday at the Tuna Club. I walked in and the table was already in full swing. I got a seat, ate my quick dinner (steak and jalapeno quesadilla from the Chexican restaurant next door) and then got to work.
It was clear that I was not the only person heading to AC for the weekend. W mentioned that she had extra space in her hotel room if anyone wanted to split the cost. Boat, a big, 50-year old black guy who could pass for 25, was also chatting about accomodations. One guy, though, seemed to have more information than most.
I had never previously met the guy wit the answers, but at a poker table, its usually easy to strike up a friendly conversation. I piped in, “So, you played this tournament before?” AnswerMan said yes, so I followed up with some more questions.
How many runners did it get last time? 225 or so.
How did you do? 10th place.
How much did you win? A little over $1,000.
What was the buy-in? The same. $350+50.
What day of the week was the game last time? Friday and Saturday.
When did the game end on Friday? 1:15 AM, once down to 27 players.
When did action start on Saturday? 1 or 2 PM. (This time, action restarts at 2)
How late did you play on day 2? Until 6 PM, at which point, there were still 9 players left.
I mulled all of this over. I had planned on this trip for weeks, if not months. This was going to be my coming out party for 2010, out to the world of higher-stakes (but not high-stakes) tournament poker. And here I was feeling iffy about it.
Nothing seemed to make sense. I had already co-opted Roose and Hole to join me for the trip. Unfortunately, they both planned to only come down for Friday night and leave Saturday, which left me in AC alone and without a ride home. W mentioned that the busses from AC to NY are actually more expensive than the busses from NY to AC roundtrip, which makes some sense, since the AC casinos will subsidize you coming to them, but won’t subsidize you leaving. That meant that potentially, if I were to win the event or even final table, I would complete play around 6-8 PM Sunday night, then have to find a bus, take almost 3 hours door to door, and then appear at Court the next morning for work.
That is not how I play poker. One of the things i learned in my online poker junkie days was to never start a tournament you couldn’t finish. There was nothing worse than starting a tournament only to stare at the clock several hours later, kinda hoping to lose just so you could sleep. It would be much worse in AC, since I had so much traveling before I could rest. But if that was the only problem, perhaps I could make it work.
It wasn’t. That payout really stuck in my craw. I could make $1,000 profit at Showboat’s soft-as-butter tournaments with a $120 buy-in. I’d done it before, on several occasions, so why spend days in a tournament for a similar payout for 10th place. Let’s be real here. I play with the intention of winning, but I also am aware that sometimes, you can do everything right and still lose. Final tabling was a noble goal, but if I needed to be in the top few spots to see some real money, maybe I was putting too much emphasis on this one particular tournament.
These things danced in my head: timing and money. Timing and money. Timing and money. And then it became clear. I was putting too much pressure on this one tournament. Much like how wifey Kim and I decided that in two years we’d buy a house, only to learn that two years later, our feelings had changed, so to had my initial feelings changed. I was no longer looking forward to this tournament, but was almost anxious about it. I didn’t want to travel to AC with my buddies only to ditch out on them the entire time and play one single tournament whose potential profit, aside from the top spots, could be reached at a cash game or a lower buy-in tournament. I did not want to place myself in a situation where I was essentially losing (either monetarily or by wasting time and making my life more difficult) unless I took down a top tier spot. It just wasn’t adding up.
Thankfully, I have good degenerate friends, and when I informed them of my thoughts, they still wanted to go to AC. So, I’m still going. We have a cheapo room at the Hilton (another hitch, since its as far from the Borg as possible while still being a casino/hotel), so we’ll probably spend our time in the Trop poker room or even make it out to the Showboat late night tournament.
We’ll head back to NY on Saturday, likely in the early afternoon, but my poker doesn’t end there. Perhaps the straw that broke the camels back, Dawn decided to throw her monthly homegame that night. It’s a $30 rebuy, and I’ve had some success in the past, so I’m excited to play. I also haven’t attended one of these in months, so its always fun catching up with people.
Sorry if you are disappointed in me, but I do this for you, my dear readers. Ah, who am I kidding. I have to be true to myself, and that means not standing on ceremony.
Until next time, make mine poker!
January 21st, 2010 - 3:16 pm
Jordan,
I think it’s a smart move. Distractions are always deadly at the poker table. Although I’m sad that we won’t be winning O-8 tourneys on opposite coasts around the same time, I’m glad that you have the self-awareness to do what’s right for your mindset.
January 21st, 2010 - 9:03 pm
If you ever really get stuck in AC, I live @exit 135 off the GSP, which is a quick train ride back to Revis-ville. Just drop me a note and if life makes it possible, I’d swing down to AC (~90 minutes), play some pokerz for a bit and be happy to give you a lift back…pokergrump or CK will vouch for me…
January 21st, 2010 - 11:12 pm
Sounds like the smart move of an experienced player. Success in life is based on making good decisions.
January 22nd, 2010 - 3:30 pm
While I was looking forward to your straight-forward, candid recap of that tourney, I have to say that I am impressed with the self-awareness which allowed you to make the better decision in regards to your time vs. money issue.
I believe you sometimes just have to “take a shot” but that time for you is not now. Maybe in the near future you can plan the trip as more of a social experiment gallop into the high”er”-stakes poker tourney just to get your feet wet. This way you can block the time accordingly and still play the way that you enjoy playing. I personally, try to get there early and sit a cash game to get over the initial adrenaline rush. Then, and only then, is it down to business.
Been a while, but good to see you are still blogging.
Regards,
MG
January 24th, 2010 - 3:38 am
Took my first trip to Atlantic City Saturday, so here’s a mini trip report(I played at the Showboat):
Atlantic City didn’t go (anywhere near) as well as I hoped. But it went close to how I expected.
First, let me say that I loved the casino… There’s just something better about playing there. Anyway, I went, put my name on 1-2 NLHE list, got called after a while, and sat down with my $160 in chips(max buy-in was $300). Like the fourth or fifth hand I’m dealt is pocket queens, so I raise it up, get a caller, bet after the flop is all under cards, called again, bet after the turn, he folds and I’m to $200 or so. A couple of hands later I pick up pocket Kings, so I raise it again, get a caller. Flop comes something like J-2-2(I’m sure of the deuces and it was either a J or Q) and he checks. I bet $25 or so, he raises to $100. Thinking back, I wish I had either called or, more likely, shoved, but this was like my 10th hand so I was still a little timid. I folded, but now I’m thinking the guy probably had AJ or AQ, and then his actions make sense and I’d have been the favorite.
A little bit later I get pocket queens again, but this time I just limp in and have to fold to a bet after an Ace and King comes on the flop. A few hands after that I get pocket Kings… again. I make a pre-flop raise and the caller is the same guy who I folded to last time with Kings. Flop comes J-8-5 with two clubs(the J and 5 I believe). He checks, I bet something like $35 dollars, he says he’ll put me all-in(he has me covered by a lot) and I call. I show my King(including the King of clubs), he shows Q-9 of clubs. Plenty of outs for him. Turn is the 4 of spades, but then the river is a spade, I think the 6. Dagger.
Anyway, I was definitely not on my game at the table simply because it was a brand new experience and I was still getting used to it. Not to say I would’ve played that last hand differently, but I might’ve played the earlier hand with Kings differently, as well as a few others. I’m confident once I get back there I’ll be a lot more comfortable.
After grabbing something cheap and quick for dinner, I register for $85+$15 7 pm tournament. I felt a lot more comfortable at the table, owing to losing my casino virginity earlier in the afternoon and having more tournament experience. I wasn’t getting the pocket kings and queens this time, though, so I was mostly treading water while the blinds ate away at me. I moved all-in with pocket tens(by far the best hand I saw in the tournament) and got called by AQ. He hit an ace on the flop(J-A-7) but I hit the runner-runner 9 and 8 to give me a straight. That doubled me up but it was right back to folding away. The hand I got knocked on I played stupidly: I called a pre-flop raise in Ace-6 diamonds(yeah, exactly) and the flop came A-J-something(like a 3 or 4) with nary a diamond to be seen. Pre-flop raiser bet out, I pushed all-in, he showed his AJ for an easy win(he even made a full house on the turn). Just a bad hand overall from me, since I went in with nothing and bet with only top pair and a bad kicker. Doing stuff like that has been a problem for me online too, so I’ll have to work on it.
So in the end, our hero lost all his money. I had fun though, and I’m definitely hoping to get back down there in a few months, we’ll see how my money situation is. Like I said, it went about as I expected, being my first time in a casino and all. Next time I play there I’ll be a lot more at ease and able to play a better game.
–
Sucks I couldn’t make pocket kings work either time. The Q9 hand I’m fine with, I think I made the right call and he caught one of his numerous outs. But the one with the J-2-2 flop is bugging me a little bit. Having no reads on the guy other than that his chip stack is like $400, being new to the table, what would you do there?
January 24th, 2010 - 3:42 am
The river was a club* to make his flush in the second pocket kings hand, obviously. Not a spade.