LAS VEGAS – Last night I avoided the Rio (in fear of being accused of hooking) and joined some friends for the $200 NL Hold\’em tournament at the Venetian. Arriving on time I was disappointed to learn I would be alternate 25ish. Deciding to wait until the end of level two, my name was quickly called and I soon found myself seated in the ten-seat (perfect, since I forgot my glasses in the midst of changing handbags).
The Lowdown…It was card dead with a big stack going all-in every hand so NO MOVES were allowed. I did managed to flop an ace against this guy who passed over a few chips but I was still stuck with an infamous alternate short stack. After a table move, things proved to be better when I made the decision to move in with the next decent hand, oops I looked down at aces and tripled up. Long, boring story short…I proudly took home 20th with money going to the top 18 places. I nursed my growling stomach with a warm slice of pizza and went home. Although a couple of women cashed…my friends were disappointed there was no sign of Brandi Hawbaker nor Vinnie Vinh.
BTW – The noon tournament with 700 players started a shouting match about a 40-person chop. They argued for an hour until they convinced the chip leaders to make a bad decision (first place was 100k) finally settling on a 30-way chop. Roughly 8k went to the field with the top five taking 11k-ish.
It was good times, fun poker but a late night in Vegas.