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Morning has arrived and with it, new energy and oddly enough, a sore throat. My plan is to embrace the former and ignore the latter until it goes back to wherever it came from.
As promised, details:
Part 1: The Ladies Event & $1000 No Limit Hold 'Em
I feel that a little back-story (i.e. the online qualifier) is necessary here. After sadly taking one of my best friends (HP nickname jmpulido - be nice to him at the tables and try not to suck out) to the airport for an extended return to his native Venezuela at 4 in the morning, I crashed, forgetting entirely about the HP Ladies qualifier I wanted to enter. I woke up shortly before the start of the tourney, and almost went right back to sleep. The little alarm in my head went off, sleep and poker debated briefly in my brain, and the winning decision was, "I feel kinda lucky today." How can anyone turn down the chance for a great trip to the WSOP for five dollars and fifty cents? I was shocked that the field was only 160 ladies. Are there really that few of us on the site? Where was everyone?
A cup of coffee, a bowl of cereal and a few big pots later, I was feeling very good about my decision. After a very big pot late in the tournament, it was time to call dad. If you've read my bio, you know that he was THE formative influence in my poker life. I didn't want to jinx myself, but I wanted him to get to watch in case I won. He had trouble signing up for an account fast enough, so I provided the play by play. When it was all over, Dad was on the phone, booking their (the folks) flights to Vegas. Here come the Grizzwalds.
To be perfectly honest, this was not our first trip to the WSOP, but the second. Last year I busted out of the Ladies Event in fifty-five minutes. Although my game has improved a great deal in the last year, given the same set of circumstances again, I would bust out in the same exact way every time. With a starting stack of a thousand chips (increased this year to 1500 in the same event), there isn't much you can do if things don't go your way. About twenty minutes in I was crippled by set over set (my 8s to her Js), grateful to make it out of the hand with any chips at all. Then, in a hand with a lot of preflop action, I looked down at ace-queen. I didn't have enough chips to scare anyone away, so I simply called, thinking if I missed the flop I would at least survive to see another. The flop came A-A-5, the action was check to me, and I couldn't get my chips in the pot fast enough. Unfortunately, the girl to my left seemed as eager, perhaps more than I was. Ace-King, I figured and asked her, "What's your kicker?" She gave me a funny little look and like Matt Damon says, I knew before the cards were turned over. Pocket 5s.
I stepped away, dazed. Out of my first WSOP event before the first round was over. The money, yes, but this year, I first just wanted to see some blinds go up. Thanks to HP, however, before the playing came some partying. As if it wasn't enough that for my $5.50 I was getting hotel, airfare, really cute swag and entry into the tournament, I was soon informed that there would also be a fancy dinner with the famous girls. I'm telling you, this is the best poker site on earth. Over a cocktail hour and a four course meal, I chatted away with Mimi Rogers, Ricki Lake, Victoria Pratt, Kelly Hu and (apologies to the others who were all fabulous) my own personal favorite, Anne Heche. The girls were clamoring for poker advice and Mimi was happy to oblige. As expected from the way she performs at the tables, her advice was very solid. She advocated tight agressive play, my favorite kind, and every once in awhile I felt the need to pipe right in myself.
Conversation went from poker to child-rearing to childhood and a million other places. Only briefly did they chat about the film industry, seeming mostly interested in everything else. Just a bunch of girls, a couple significant others and a few HP dudes enjoying good food, good wine and good people.
That, as it turns out, is a lot of back-story. I keep promising poker and rambling on about anything but. The cards are to come. Now, however, I have to run off to pick up my little cousin who's in town for the weekend (why I couldn't stay in Vegas). More blogging soon.
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