I am not a professional poker player. I am a random poker enthusiast who tries to grind out a profit engaging in my hobby.
This trip report will be much shorter than my WSOP adventure, but its genesis came from a conversation I had in Las Vegas. One day at a table during the main event, I engaged in a conversation with another player from Dallas. The conversation turned to the “River” tournament held at the Winstar casino, in Thackerville, Oklahoma (this is the nearest casino to my home). I asked him his impression of the tournament - he had played the year prior. He said I should definitely give it a shot. How many opportunities would I get to play in a live 2.5 million guarantee poker tournament that was within driving distance to my home?
I had seen advertisements for the tournament around the DFW area, but hadn’t really thought about playing in it for several reasons. 1. Before the World Series, I had never bought into a major live tournament, 2. I heard the structure was terrible, and 3. It occurs at a bad time of the year for me (right at the beginning of the school year). My new friend told me I should really try to get there because even with the structure not being very player friendly, the tournament was a great value due to the larger number of relatively inexperienced players who satellite in.
When I returned home from 10 days in Las Vegas, I was exhausted. I was enjoying the last of my time off with my family before school started back up. I was poker’ed out. But as the echoes of riffling chips finally began to subside. I started to get the itch to play. I jumped online and did my daily SNG grind. Immediately the poker gods exacted a bit of comeuppence, putting me back in my place. I proceeded to have my all-time worst month’s results. At first I was playing well, but getting unlucky and taking some brutal beats. Then I started playing poorly. Like every good poker player, I blamed it on bad luck and the poor play of others – those donkeys never know when to fold. However, when I was honest with myself, I admitted I wasn’t playing well. I wasn’t focused, I was pressing, trying to make things happen, I was chasing draws thinking, “I’ve got the get there, this time. I’ve missed every other time this month.” I was playing bad poker and I knew it.
School was starting and my time was limited. I was stressed out. What I really wanted, was to have some real chips in my hand and to look across into the eyes of a real opponent. I was invited and went to a home game with a bunch of 20-something lawyers. However, playing 50 cent/ dollar cash in someone’s kitchen was not enough to sate my yearnings.
As I was driving home from that game, (un-justifiably late for the amount of money I had won) I saw the billboard for the Winstar “River” Tournament. I decided I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. I may not get the chance to play a big tournament until next year’s World Series. The “River” series includes 8 different tournaments with buy-ins ranging from $300 to the main event at $2100. School would be underway, so the only one I was even thinking about was the main event. I figured I could miss one day of work to pursue the dream once more. However, being the nit I am, (I found a way to disregard the bankroll I had earned the month prior), I looked into satelliting in.
I drove up two weekends in a row to play the $440 mega-satellite that puts the top 20% in the field. I thought, “I placed in the top 2% of the WSOP ME, how hard could it be to place in the top 20% of this tournament populated by mostly recreational players?” (side note: 5000 starting stacks and 20-min levels = Yuck) After lighting $880 dollars on fire, I was frustrated. With a week to go before the event, I didn’t have entry and wondered if I should buy-in for the full amount.
My confidence had taken a beating from my record online downswing and my failure to win a satellite. I thought about not playing. “If I couldn’t satellite in, I shouldn’t be playing” - was my mindset. Even with my take in WSOP, I was not comfortable plunking down $2100. Especially when it seemed I wasn’t on top of my game. Maybe I wasn’t as good as I thought. Maybe the World Series had been a fluke.
I looked to my wife for a nudge in the right direction and a boost in confidence. She said, “Go play. Quit your whining. Just buy your ticket, but don’t be pissy if it doesn’t go your way.”
Instead of calling the casino and buying my entry for full price, I went on 2+2 and craigslist to look for people who were selling their entry for a discount. I struck a deal with a local regular, who had won multiple satellites. I purchased, my $2100 entry for $1850. I was now in for $2730.
Winstar organized this tournament with 3 different starting days (Thursday- Saturday) limited to 500 people plus alternates. Each day they would play down to the top 10%, who would be in the money and return for play on Sunday. If you busted out on Thursday or Friday, you could re-enter on a later starting day. I opted for a Thursday start even though it would require me to miss a day of teaching. My daughter’s soccer team had a tournament scheduled for Friday and Saturday. I didn’t want to miss a game. So I took a “sick day” on Thursday. I actually headed up Wednesday night and stayed at the casino. It is only an hour and 20 minutes away, but I didn’t want to fight traffic and show up irritable or tired.
BTW the hotel at Winstar is brand new and very nice. I was able to get a discounted poker rate of only $49. Good deal.
So my second foray into big buy-in live poker tournaments ensues. I am no longer a naive rookie, but instead a season pro…..??? Hell, I had taken on the best the world had to offer in Las Vegas. I could handle the Texas/Oklahoma Indian Casino regulars. Right?
For parts 2-5 click here.
For parts 2-5 click here.
