Almost Booked
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
My oh my. Played in the Skillz Game last night, busting 7th out of 17th. I was in 1st for most of the tourney up until the final table, but when the blinds get high in limit games and the table is playing fast and loose, shit happens. I busted from the $75 Token Frenzy when my A9 fell to A4. Lemon!
I was perusing my email yesterday when I got word from PokerWolf about his pending first trip to Vegas, scheduled for December 12th weekend. It got me thinking about my poker calendar for the year, since part of me really wants to see more of the US's poker offerings.
Whenever I hear of poker trips, I first go check Travelocity and JetBlue for a sampling of what I can expect by way of flights. This is before I even consider whether travel is a real possibility. In fact, it often happens even though I know I cannot make a trip.
Example, Okie Vegas. Last year, I went down to Oklahoma to visit GCox and assorted poker bloggers (you can read about that trip HERE and HERE). Even though I know I cannot go this year (I don't have the time off and I'm going to Colorado for an anti-semetic wedding the very next week), whenever G mentions Okie Vegas 2008, I check flight costs.
I followed my usual routine with Wolf's announcement and found roundtrip flights from JetBlue for approximately $350. I then went to phase 2, checking hypothetical hotels.
When it comes to travel with wifey Kim, I try to stay at decent places, even though wifey Kim is very cool when it comes to accomodations. But solo, I'm looking for two things: price and convenience. It's a delicate balancing act that I perfected in AC with my patent-pending HoP Atlantic City Hotel Locator System (cheapest casino/hotel on the boardwalk). In Vegas, it really boils down to one thing, the Imperial Palace.
The IP was my stomping grounds for the WPBT Winter Gathering 2007 and did the job better than expected. The IP is a shithole hotel, now owned by Harrahs, with rooms that were surprisingly clean and reasonably spacious. I even had a balconey. The poker room is relatively small for Vegas, with barely anything spread about 1/2 NL (2/5 NL did start once) and terrible players. I like terrible players. It also had some sweet jackpot deals, if you are into that sort of thing. During certain hours, you got paid if Aces or Kings were cracked. At other times, you got to spin a prize wheel (cash and prizes) for any full house or better. There is a board with high hand jackpots for quads, straight flushes and royal flushes of various suits, all with their own varying payouts. There may've even been a traditional bad beat jackpot. Whatever the case, that's a lot of extra gamble for a dinky room.
The prices at IP are phenomenal for that weekend. Extending the trip to three nights would cost about $250, which will likely be less as we get closer and I get deals from Harrah's. If I split the room with one person (likely Wolf, my roomie from my first AlCantHang Bash), the cost is just $125. Do the math, people! Vegas on my birthday weekend for less than $500!
Phase 3 of trip planning is probably the most difficult: the conversation. Wifey Kim is nothing if not accomodating and I am nothing if not borne of a guilty conscious, so I asked her with trepidation if it would bother her if I went to Vegas solo for my birthday weekend. And of course, she obliged, only concerned of how I was paying for it (either poker money, or more likely saving up a little on the side).
And so, here we are. Phase 4, booking. I haven't pulled the trigger and I will try to wait, since I have to make sure that it is a truly viable trip. The hardest part is getting time off from work. I get three weeks a year and last year, I went a day over, using one of this year's days. As it stands, I have already taken three days in February, leaving me with eleven days off. I am taking three more days in July for the anti-semetic wedding and another five days in August for wifey Kim and my California adventure. The result is a tiny three days left, with at least one ear marked for the annual Very Jewish Christmas in Atlantic City.
Two days. Hmmm.... Take one for the Bash this year, and I only have one left. But that just might be enough.
Meanwhile, let's see what's doing with my WSOP Prop Bets:
Fuel55- Most Cash Won (Fuel's Sorel Mizzi, Phil Hellmuth and Jonathan Little vs. my Allen Cunningham, Phil Ivey and Johnny Chan)
My picks are holding up against Fuel, thanks to a deep cash by Chan and consistent efforts by Cunningham and Ivey. I lead $401,526 to Fuel's $114,702.
Phil Hellmuth, $100,292, 8th, Event #28, $5k PLO Rebuy
Sorel Mizzi, $8,103, 68th, Event #5, the $1000 rebuy, and
$6,307, 29th, Event #24, $2.5k PLHE/PLO
Phil Ivey, $37,130 9th, Event #14, the $10k Stud World Championship, and
$7,998, 23rd, Event #22, $4k HORSE
Allen Cunningham, $6,247, 22nd, Event #10, $2,500 OE, good and
$76,205, 4th, Event #24, $2.5k PLHE/PLO
Johnny Chan, $27,072, 13th, Event #8, the $10k Mixed Game Championship, and
$246,874, 4th, Event #28, $5k PLO Rebuy
Ingoal- Most Cash Won (Ingoal's Daniel Negreanu and Jesus Ferguson vs. my Bill Chen and TJ Cloutier)
Ingoal is whooping me good with $462,095 to my pathetic $15,594, thanks to a stellar run by Negreanu and Cloutier's utter failure to cash once. Here are the cashes thus far:
Daniel Negreanu, $16,496, 22nd, Event #5, $1000 rebuy, and
$33,417, 11th, Event #14, the $10k Stud World Championship) and
$204,874, 1st, Event #20, $2k LHE, and
$123,437, 7th, Event #28, $5k PLO Rebuy
Jesus Ferguson, $14,438, 51st, Event #25, the $10k HU Championship, and
$69,433, 10th, Event #28, the $5k PLO Rebuy
Bill Chen, $15,594, 19th, Event #31, $3k NLHE Shorthanded
UWannaBet- Most FinalTable/Bracelets (UWanna's Michael Binger, Brandon Cantu and Erik Seidel vs. my Cunningham, Johnny Chan and Joe Hachem)
Thanks to two recent final tables by Chan and Cunningham, my bet with UWanna is even. Here are the final tables:
Michael Binger, Event #5, $1000 rebuy
Brandon Cantu's, 9th, Event #10, OE.
Cunningham, 4th, Event #24, $2.5k PLHE/PLO
Chan, 4th, Event #28, $5k PLO Rebuy
That's everything up to Event #33, which still has some players in contention. Looks like it was a good idea to diversify, since I'm looking mighty even across the board.
Poker at the Wall Street Game on Thursday.
Until next time, make mine poker!
posted by Jordan @ 10:00 AM,
4 Comments:
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At 2:58 PM,
Patch said...
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This is going back a ways. Okay, a LONG ways. I recall staying at the IP for a full week during the summer. $7 per night Sunday through Thursday, $14 on Friday, $21 on Saturday. And it wasn't even that "per person, double occupancy" nonsense. At the time a basic room at Caesar's was $125 mid-week. I think I had most of the floor to myself in the hotel at the IP.
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At 8:13 PM,
toolowbrow said...
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'wifey' kim.
way to objectify her -
At 12:29 AM,
Jordan said...
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New reader, James? She's been wifey Kim for the last two years and fiance Kim before that. I would never objectify my P.O.A. wife. Booya!
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At 7:11 PM,
toolowbrow said...
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why do i doubt that p.o.a. stands for piece of ass (which she definitely is) instead of some over obsessed poker acronym?
