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Since I was not in the main tournament, Donna and I were able to relax in the morning. We actually worked for a bit. I sat on the balcony and worked. I think I could get used to this. We then went to get lunch, then I went to the bust-out tournament.

We started with T10,000 chips and the blinds were 30 minutes long. They planned to play until the final table was reached. We got started and there was a guy from Finland who really did not want to be there. On the first hand, UTG raised to T150, and he promptly went all-in. UTG was kind of mad and was harassing him. She folded.

On the second hand, he again went all in (without looking at his hand) and got one caller. The caller showed QQ and he turned over 62s (spades). When the river brought the third spade, the QQ was out. On the third hand, he again went all in without looking at his hand. Again, he had one caller and again he busted the opponent. Three hands, and now he had T30,000 chips.

A few hands later, I had KQs in early position and raised to T150. Again he goes all-in and as I call, I say, “I will be your third victim”. The KQ held up and I doubled up to T20,000. This guy took a hit from another player before I tangled with him again. I had pocket 55 and limped. He went all-in without looking at his cards. I called, and he flipped over 97o. I was scared when the flop came T82. The turn and the river did not help him and I busted him. I now had T27,000 chips.

After that, I was kind of quiet. John-Robert Bellande was two seats to my right. I was up and down until this hand came:

I was in a MP and it was folded to me. I had:

I raised 4x BB and everybody folded except the big blind, who calls. The flop comes:

I lead out with a pot-sized bet, which the BB calls.

The turn is:

Again, I lead out with a large bet after the BB checks. He calls, but only has 1850 left. The river is:

He immediately goes all-in. I know he hit his ten, but I cannot fold for 1850 (there is over T10,000 in the pot). Sure enough, he shows JTo for trips.

A few hands later, I get:

I raise to T4500. Seat 10 pushes all-in and I call. He shows:

When seat 1 says, “I folded an Ace”, I am feeling pretty good. When the flop comes:

I am not feeling too well. I cannot get the case king and I take another bad beat. I am now down to T800. What a rough couple of hands. I go all-in blind the next hand and I am eliminated in 43rd place out of 162.

After I was eliminated from the tournament, I played 5/10 NL. I got a wicked rush of cards and won a couple grand in about 90 minutes. That helped make up for the bad tournament cards.

Donna and I have a free day tomorrow. Nothing is going on until the afternoon. Both final tables start at 2pm. Now, I guess I must look forward to the World Series of Poker Circuit Event next week in Atlantic City. Check back tomorrow evening for the final update from the Bahamas!

I woke up around 8:30 this morning and went to breakfast.  Donna had decided that she was going to go to the Straw Market and do some Christmas shopping while I was playing the tournament.  I decided that I wanted to take notes while at the table, I went to the business center and bought some paper.  Donna left and I got settled into my seat and started to get into the zone.  (I’m really not trying to avoid watching him play, Bob and I discussed it and we think he wouldn’t be as distracted if I wasn’t there — so, I just HAD to go shopping!  :)  )

Blinds went up pretty slowly, and the levels lasted 60 minutes.  We each started with T20,000 chips.  This is my kind of tournament.  It is a typical WPT main-event structure:  Deep Stack and Long levels.  This allows skill to shine.

Once we started, I recognized three people.  One was a guy named Gary who I have played against in previous boot camps.  The second was a gal named Tracy.  Tracy actually won her way in into this event by winning the $50,000 freeroll that Donna and I came to play in during September.  The last person was, of course, Vanessa Rousso.  After the cards got in the air, I studied my opponents intently.

After about an hour, I had a good take on the whole table. 

Seat 1 (Tracy) and Seat 2 (an older woman):  Both bad players.  We had to constantly remind them that it was their turn and what they had to put in for blinds (how annoying). 

Seat 3:  A guy that lives in a town in Pennsylvania near where I grew up.  He was extremely tight and very weak.  He had a whole horde of facial tells.  You could tell what he had by what his face said.

Seat 4:  Vanessa Rousso - who is obviously a great player

Seat 5:  Gary - who I have  played against at other boot camps

Seat 6:  Tuan Phan - a guy who I played against in the SNG the previous night.  He was a fairly tight player, and somewhat weak.  He would raise standard amounts and follow through with continuation bets.  I pushed him early on and he would fold his continuation bets he he did not connect.

Seat 7:  A guy names Donovan. Donovan liked to make big bets.  Once Vanessa Rousso bet T600 and he came over the top for T10,600 (what the heck?).  He made massive overbets and raises several times.

Seat 8:  A guy who was tight-weak.  He would fold to pressure.

Seat 9:  A very nice lady who was pretty solid.

Seat 10:  Me!

Overall, the table was fairly solid (besides seat 1 and 2) and it was moderately tough - but leaning on the weak side.  Seat 3 was funny.  He was a stickler for details.  Several times, he tried to enforce proper ettiquitte.  He was on tilt from the beginning because seat 1 and seat 2 were not up to speed.  It was funny.  At one point, he walked away and Vanessa asked the table if it was just her or whether anybody else thought he was in a bad mood.  We all laughed and said that we was on tilt for no reason (he had not played a hand).

During level 2, with blinds of 50/100, this hand played out:

From a early position I had:

 

and I popped it to 300.  Seat 6 re-raised to $900, which I called.  The flop came:

  

I wanted to test him.  I figured that if I checked, he would lead out with a continuation bet.  I checked, and just like planned, he led out for $800.  I raised to $2400, and he folded.  This was valuable information.  I now know that he will continuation-bet and then fold if he misses.

At first break (end of level 2) I had T21,475.  There were 209 of the original 214 players left.  Ironically, the first person out was John-Robert Bellande - a pro.  He was out after 20 minutes.

I was moved from my table during level 3.  This kind of stunk because I had a great read on my table, plus I thought I could beat it.  I had to start over with my reads.  My new table was more aggressive and had more good players.  I got tangled up in two hands during level 3.  The first one was like this:

Blinds:  400/800 + 75 ante.

UTG:  Raises to 2400.

I peek down at:

 

Wow!  This was nice.  I thought about what I should do.  Since I was in UTG + 1, I needed to raise.  I do not want anybody else coming into the pot.  I want to be heads-up, but at the same time, I want UTG to call a raise.  Instead of raising 3x to 7500, I decide to raise 2.5x to 6,000.  Everybody folds back to UTG who declares all-in!  VERY COOL!  I insta-call and show my Aces proudly.  He laughs and shows:

 

When 4 suited cards did not show up on the board, we split the pot.  Ugh!

The next hand went like this:

Everybody folds to the big blind who raises to 2400.  Small blind folds.  I am in the big-blind and peer down at:

 

This hand is kind of weak AND I am out of position, but I have 800 in the big blind.  The button is on the short stack with 9500 (I have about 18,000).  I decide to call.  The flop comes:

  

This was a pretty good flop for me.  If the Big blind wants to make a continuation bet, I will come over the top and  take the pot away.  The only thing that he could beat me with here is QQ, KK, or AA.  If he hit the Jack, then I should split at worst.  I check and he bets another 2500.  I reraise all-in. He things for a second and calls and shows:

 

The turn and river are:

 

Giving him the flush.  I swear under my breath and tell him nice hand.  I lost about T10,000 on that hand and I am now crippled and have only about T7000.  I clawed my way back to about T12,000 before I was moved to yet another table.  On my first hand in middle position, I get:

 

Blinds were 400/800, so I pop it to 2400.  It is folded to an online qualifer from Sweeden who raised to T25,000.  Huh?  A 25,000 bet into a 3000 pot.  That really makes sense.  I fold and ask him that the heck he was thinking.  He said he was suspicious of my bet because it was so large.  I told him that my raise was 3x the BB.  What an idiot.  I really was having a hard time recovering from the bad beat on the AJ earlier.

From here on, I was so card cold.  I finished this level (400/800) and the next one (600/1200) with no cards.  Remember that the levels are 60 minutes long, so that is a long time to post blinds and antes with nothing.  I am whittled down  to 7050 when I get:

 

This really is not a hand that I want to go all in with, especially under the gun.  However, I was going to be in the blind next hand, so I needed to move.  It is weak, but above-average, so I push all in.  I am called by a guy who had AK and the AK held up.  I was out in 109th place. 

I was definitely disappointed in my finish, but I did the best I could with the cards I had.  Now, I am looking forward to the “Bust Out” tournament tomorrow.  That one starts at 2:45pm.  Donna and I are going to go take advantage of the free morning and we are going to go Parasailing!

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!