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Today was a lot like yesterday.  We had breakfast, then did more live learning labs.  In the labs yesterday, we simulated early stages of a tournament.  Today they changed it a little bit in that we were in the middle and late stages.  Everybody was given different stack sizes and we played hands out for a couple of hours. The pros were there to give their analysis.  At my table today was Karina Jett, John D’Agostino, Nick Brancato, and Bill Chen.  All four were great.  Bill was especially good because he approached the game from a mathematical standpoint - which I obviously like.  I found myself not really analyzing the hands like the pros did, but rather I was analyzing what the pros were analyzing.  I watched each pro and what they were critiquing in each player.  The players at the table today were a lot worse than they were yesterday, so the pros had a field day with the analysis!

We also got out seating assignments for the single table tournaments.  They put a pro at each table.  I am with Mike Binger - a pro who placed 3rd to Jamie Gold in the 2006 WSOP.  We each got 1500 tournament chips and the levels were 15 minutes long.  I hate these kinds of tournaments.  It boils down to sheer luck.  The winner received 3 days and 2 nights at Cable Beach Resort and entry into a $50,000 freeroll. 

During the tournament, I had two playable hands.  The first one was when I was on  the button.  The action went like this:

Blinds:  50/100 (level 3)

UTG:  Fold

UTG + 1:  Raise to 300. 

It is folded to me.  I have:

 

I cannot call here.   I must push.  Since I only had T1375 chips, I had to push all-in.  UTG calls and he shows:

 

We ended up with a split pot.  The next hand that I played was when I was on the button again.  I had 1375 chips again and the blinds were 150/300 + 25 ante.  It was folded to me and I looked down at:

 

I pushed all in trying to steal.  The big blind calls with:

 

When neither one of us improved, I was out in 5th place.  Oh well.

I played cash games for awhile.  I centured to the 5/10 NL table.  It had a $500 minimum buy-in and the max was uncapped.  There must have been $30,000 on the table.  Kenna James was there.  He lost two hands pretty quick, then he decided that he was going to quit for the night.  It was not too long before the game broke.  Everybody wanted to go to bed to get sleep for the first day of the Main Event.

Speaking of sleep, that is what I am going to do.  I looked at the seating assignments.  I am at the same table as Vanessa Rousso.  Also, since I am at table 8, I doubt that my table will be broken.  I must plan on being against Vanessa all day.  It should be interesting!

We woke up on Monday morning and off to Breakfast we went. It was held in the Rainforest Theatre. After breakfast all of the pros were asked to speak for about 5 minutes giving everybody some advice. I did not take notes, but Donna did. Here are her notes:Hi Folks…

In addition to all of Bob’s observations and experiences, I thought I’d share with you some of the advice given by the “PROS” in this morning’s Welcome Session. I will also add that I am actually sitting poolside with a pina colada in a coconut shell beside my mouse pad! Yes, I’m being glanced at by my fellow sun worshipers – but hey I’ll take this one for the team. After all, it’s a rough job, but someone has to do it!

Jean-Robert Bellande - To be honest, he was the first speaker and I hadn’t started taking notes yet so all I can remember is that he was on the hit tv reality show “Survivor” and that Mike Matusow (pronounced SO - not SOW - W is silent) interrupted him a LOT!

Mike Binger– Mike stressed getting sleep/exercise and eatting right. He feels this will help you have a clear mind. Basically, do whatever it is that helps you clear your mind!

Nick Binger – Mike’s brother, Nick, stressed table awareness. We’ve all been in situations where we made a stupid move because we were not paying attention to the table. (Ask Bob about turning up his pocket A’s last night!

Nick Brancato – Nick feels the biggest tells you can get on your opponents is their betting patterns. This is especially true with the players that have a consistent style/system of betting.

 

At this point, the Pros were asked:

What advice would you give a player that you backed by purchasing

their $10K seat in a major tournament?

Chad Brown – His advice was to only play REAL hands for days 1 and 2 and perhaps even 3 of the tournament. Raise, not call – Pick your battles – The key is survival.

Lee Childs – Lee suggests you keep an open mind, and remember the basics. He dubs himself as a “regular guy” with a passion for poker to someone who has cashed in. He feels he can most closely relate to the attendees.

TJ Cloutier – (All right before I begin with TJ’s advice, I will admit, TJ is one of my favorite’s here!) He indicated survival is crucial. Surviving more levels equals more of a chance to win. Don’t bluff idiots. Keep your eye on the prize. Be mentally sharp. He also stated he would not want the player he backed to make probe bets – he feels that is a “waste” of chips. Obviously that is much different from what other pros say. It just goes to show there is no right or wrong way to play poker – even the pros who are teaching the same camp cannot agree on the same style!

Bill Chen– Observe your opponents tells in their preflop decisions. Always raise 2.5 to 3 times and don’t overload yourself so much with trying to gather opponent information that you lose your own focus.

John D’Agostino – Do what makes you comfortable – play YOUR style within the flow of the game.

Shannon Elizabeth – Observe opponents habits off-table. What do they normally do and what do they do when they are nervous – i.e. does a woman always play with her necklace or is that just a nervous habit? Observation of how they act off-table can give you a lot of information at the table.

Clonie Gowen– I’ll fess up, I really was not a Clonie fan after meeting her here last year. With that being said, she is really different this year. She now has a wonderful aura about her and she is so open. Her advice to the question posed, was the actual situation when Chris Fergurson backed her in a tournament in which she ended up against Umberto Cianfanelli. She admitted to feeling VERY intimidated by him and Chris wouldn’t give her any advice. After finally cornering him, Chris said “just keeping doing what you’re doing”. She felt this statement from Chris was key because he didn’t break her confidence! She said you need to put egos aside and play stack strategy. You need to find a way to get your mind into the game even if your neck hurts, or you have a headache or you just suffered a bad beat. Learn to let things go, as quickly as you can. Clonie also feels you create your own luck.

John Freiberg – John’s advice was to not let chip stacks intimidate you. Focus on your own stack. Play your table as if it were a single table tournament.

Kristy Gazes – Kristy’s advice included having fun, keep the chips moving, take your time, don’t be intimidated, don’t think or speak negatively, and to stay in the flow of the moment.

Kenna James - Kenna has a great aura about him. His advice inlcuded playing with no fear. If you sense something, don’t be afraid to act on it. Prepare a game plan before getting to the table and be willing to lie it on the line.

Chip Jett – Chip is very down to earth and a “nice guy”. His advice is to avoid early confrontations. People will do silly and/or stupid things at the end of the day – take advantage of that and try to be the last one to do something stupid!

Karina Jett – Karina’s first piece of advice, was something I can directly relate to. She needs more sleep than the average person and it was crucial to come to the table well rested. Stay positive and eat right the day before. She advised the women to take advantage of their table image and to always put the other person in the decision making position. She advises against taking a long time to think. Go with instinct. If you think long, you think wrong. Avoid tunnel vision, always consider your opponent’s hands and luck favors the prepared – Be Prepared!

Tom McEvoy – Don’t EVER give up! Even if you are the short stack early you still have time to come back. The quote I liked the best was his and it is: “Bets saved are just as important as bets played”. Don’t go broke with two kings, be willing to lay them down and don’t put in more than 5% of your chip stack, preflop.

Mike Matasow – Mike advises that table image is EVERYTHING! Know exactly who is at your table and know how you have to play that table. Try your hardest and try to never play a coin flip - try to find a better spot to make a move.

Vanessa Rousso - Vanessa is the instructor of the Game Theory Camp that WPT offers. Bob wants to attend this one day clinic and just listening to “Lady Maverick” makes it abundantly clear that it would definitely be worth any poker player’s time and money to enroll in this camp! She has her Economic Degree from Duke University and is currently enrolled in law school. She defines poker as a game with incomplete information and the more information you can gather the more it will increase your edge. Even before the game starts, arrive at the table early and observe your opponents as they arrive. They may think you are distracted getting settled, when you are really observing them! Simple questions that will help you obtain information include what they do for a living? How is it they came to play in this tournament? Are they wearing poker apparel? Did they win their seat? Are they a sponsored player? Vanessa said there are two categories in which to put players – the systemic player (accountants, teachers, well coiffed folks, detail oriented - i.e. ME) and out of the box players (entrepreneurs, doctors, laid back folks - i.e. BOB). She also went on to say that if a systemic player ALWAYS plays systemically and doesn’t learn to alter their game, they almost will never win. Vanessa advises there are three main qualities to poker players. In one of the qualities you have to be a “genius”, in the second you have to be “solid” in the third you are most likely “weak”. The three qualities she refers to are “strategic thinking ability”; “executing ability” (regardless of how hard it might be, have to be able to make the big lay downs just as comfortably as making the big calls. The third is not people reading and/or psychology (as Bob and I anticipated) it is “money management ability”. Keeping your bankroll into account and knowing how to play within your limits, not above them.

Perhaps by sharing this will encourage you in some small way!

Donna

Now, back to Bob:

 

After the pros spoke, we had lunch, then we did the live learning labs. When I go to WPT Boot camps, the live learning labs are always my favorite part. What it involves is you get a table of people with a pro dealing. The pro deals the cards, and you play the hand as you would in a tournament. They give you scenarios (beginning of a tournament, mid-stage of a tournemant, end of a tournament, etc) and after the hand plays out, everybody turns up their cards and they give constructive analysis of how the hand played out. They point out your mistakes, where things should have been played differently, or whatever comments they have. Discussion is definitely encouraged, so it is quite a bit of fun. The other thing that makes this part interesting is that there is really no right or wrong way to play poker. Every professional plays differently (look at Gus Hansen and Howard Lederer for example), so the opinions are all over the place. Each pro deals for about 30 minutes, then they switch tables. This way, you get the opinions of several pros. Today, I had Shannon Elizabeth, John-Robert Bellande, and Chip Jett.

During the session, Shannon Elizabeth told us that Annie Duke was her personal trainer. Chip Jett was just downright cool. He complimented me on my play.

When the live learning labs were over, there was a cocktail party & dinner by the pool. Cash games were also going on. I played 2/5 NL and won a few hundred.

Here is a brief overview of the schedule for the rest of the week:

Tuesday:

Labs + single table tournament in the evening.

If you win your single table tournament, you win 3 nights at Cable Beach Resort + entry into a $50,000 freeroll (this is like the one Donna and I came to in September). Of course, there will be cash games going on as well.

Wednesday:

Main tournament starts and goes all day

Thursday:

Main tournment continues.

Bust out tournament starts after lunch.

Both tournaments play to the final table.

Friday

Both final tables play to completion.

The neat thing is that the tournments will be “broadcast” on WorldPokerTour.com on the live blog updates. Hopefully you guys will be able to follow me on the live blog updates on Friday at the final table

Alright, that is it for today. Tune back in tomorrow for more info!

I am not a morning person, but I woke bright and early to go Scuba Diving. The bus was supposed to pick me up in front of the hotel at 8:00 AM. It was right on time (actually, it was early), and off to the dive shop we went. I was nervous because Donna was not able to make this dive due to a cold. I was not nervous to dive, I was just worried that I would keep a more experienced diver from doing what they wanted to do.

Once we arrived at the Stuart Cove dive shop, I bought a mesh dive bag, and rented a BCD and Regulator. They said the water temperature was still 79 degrees, but I got a wetsuit anyway. They fitted me with 12 pounds of weights, which I thought was light considering that I used 10 pounds in fresh water. After everybody got loaded on the correct boat we were off and breaking the waves to the first dive site. I got paired with a lady from Boston named Lisa. This was only her second dive, so I did not feel so bad. After a short boat ride, it was announced that the first dive of the morning was going to be “Sand Chute“.

We dropped anchor and all the certified divers jumped in. I had some trouble sinking, but once I got down, I was fine. Lisa and I sank to the bottom, which was about 45-50 feet under the boat. Once we all got our bearings, the dive master led us down the Chute. It was pretty cool. The passageway narrowed (like a Chute!!) and then opened up on a wall. The wall was way cool. It literally dropped straight down to 6000′. Talk about a thrill! Anyway, I ended up going down to about 85 feet. The coral that grew on the wall was neat. Somebody in the dive group saw a shark in the deeper waters, but I did not see it. After swimming around for a little bit, we all made our way back to the boat. The total time on this dive was 30 minutes.

We then boated to the second site, The James Bond Wrecks & Movie Set. This site had two wrecks that were used to film two James Bond movies (”Never Say Never Again”, and “Thunderball”). This dive was only 45 feet. The ship was pretty cool. It was 90 feet long and had a few neat holes in the hull where you could peer in. There was a lot of coral growth in the area as well. While diving there, we saw a small sea turtle on the bottom. He was pretty cool. This dive lasted 48 minutes.

After the dive, they carted us back to the hotel where Donna was patiently waiting for me to come back. I gave her all of the details. We both really hope that she is over her cold by the end of the week so she can dive before we leave. We had lunch, then checked in to the tournament. We got a bag of goodies (beach bag, suntan lotion, beach towel, hat, T-shirt, etc). There were a lot of pros walking around. Most notibly, I saw TJ Cloutier and Clonie Gowen. They were both at the Craps table rolling the dice.

At 6pm they opened up a VIP poker room that was only open to tournament attendees and their guests. I played 2/5 NL (the highest limit available) and ended up winning about $200. I was up $500 at one point, but I had 2 pretty big suckouts against me. Also, while playing, Shannon Elizabeth joined the table and played for quite awhile. She played pretty tight (apparently, she was getting no cards whatsoever). Anyway, it was fun playing against another Hollywood personality.

We got the schedule for the camp. I will write about it tomorrow. Until then, ciao!

Oh, and one more thing, if people play the tournament like they were playing cash games… it is going to be one fun tournament

Donna and I got a late start. There were way too many things to do. We had planned to leave Friday around 5pm and drive to Boston. The plan was to stay at a hotel so we would not have to get up at 4am and drive all morning to get to Logan. We finally got on the road around 8:30pm. The good part of this was that we missed all traffic. The drive to Boston was quick. We arrived at Comfort Inn around 10:45, got settled in the room, and off to sleep we went.

Our flight left Saturday morning at 10:10 am. We were able to get a direct flight from Boston to Nassau. This was a lot better than going from Albany to Miami, transferring airplanes, then going to Nassau from there.

Upon arrival, we took a special chartered shuttle for World Poker Tour people. We were the only ones on this run, so we had the entire van to ourselves. Check in was quick, but our room was not ready. We had to wait until 4pm and it was only 2pm. We played some 3 card poker for awhile and got our butts kicked. Around 3:30, we decided to see if the room was ready, and it was. Upstairs we went, and had the ocean-view room that we are accustomed to when we come down here.

We were both hungry, so we decided to go to the Fish Fry for dinner. On the way out, I signed up to go scuba diving in the morning. Donna had to pass on scuba diving because she is still not totally over her cold. We had a nice dinner at the Fish Fry - fresh lobster, shrimp, and snapper. The snapper was different. They threw the whole fish in the fryer and deep-fried it. I had to pick out a lot of bones, but it was good.

Back to the hotel we went, and Donna took a nap. I did not want to sleep quite yet because I would be up all night if I napped. So, I went to play some more blackjack / 3 card poker and again, got my butt kicked. I really wish they had not closed the poker room down here. I know the WPT will be having a private one for participants of the tournament, but they did not open that yet. UGH.

Off to bed I go. I need to be well-rested for my scuba dive trip.