Hi Gang:
Hedy and I enjoyed a fun-filled and productive stay in AC this past weekend
which was highlighted by my first-time participation in the ATLarge poker
get-together at the Taj Mahal. We checked into Showboat Thursday, hoping to take
advantage of Harrah's 3X cashback offer for the month of March but we quickly
realized that HET was doing its usual bait-and-switch routine when we got
little, if any, bonus credits for our VP play. The first day we put through
just over 2,300 base credits and earned a meager 260 bonus credits! And I
believe we only got those because we played some DB and DDB after switching over
from 9/6 JOB.
The good news was that I hit aces for $800 playing $1 DB and Hedy hit 3's
with a kicker and 2's with a kicker on 50-cent DDB for another $400 each. We
wound up the first day ahead $800 and I was gearing up for my initial venture
into the ATLarge waters the next day in the $120 buy-in HOE tourney, which was
a limit event that featured three games ... Hold Em, hi-lo Omaha and hi-lo
seven-card stud. The game changed every 20 minutes and the betting limits went
up after each level.
I wound up at the same table with Llew and Siona of the AC list and we had a
nice time, although I was in a bit deep playing games (Omaha and hi-lo-stud)
with which I wasn't very familiar. I held my own for awhile but finally
busted out in 60th place after about four hours of play. I really looked at it as
a warm-up for the $120 buy-in No Limit Hold Em tournament the next day and,
as things turned out, it was a perfect prep.
Friday, we had an early breakfast and got in our VP play before the Boat's
House of Blues got crowded, noisy and smoky. We lost back a couple of hundred
of our profit and then I settled into the Hold Em tourney next door at the
Taj.
There were 137 starters and we all began with $3,000 in chips. The prize
list showed that 18 would hit the money. I had a pretty good run of cards early
and my stack just kept getting bigger and bigger as more and more players got
knocked out. Finally, when we were down to about 30 players I thought I had a
good shot at getting to the final table. That outlook got even more
optimistic when I assumed the chip lead with 14 players remaining. When we finally
got down to the final 10, I had the third biggest stack, but whereas my cards
had been consistently good throughout the tourney, they suddenly went ice
cold. Luckily, I had a big enough stack to survive the ever-increasing blinds as
a couple of players got knocked out. Then, I got pocket 10's and knocked out
Player No. 5, and followed that with a knockout of Player No. 4 when my aces
beat his kings.
So, we were down to three and I was guaranteed $1,370 in prize money.
With the stacks fairly even (I actually had the smallest ... $95,000), we
agreed on an arrangement that would guarantee third place $2,400 and then play
continued to decide the winner and the remainder of the prize money. At that
point, I got a little reckless, lost a third of my remaining chips with an
ill-advised fold and then got busted out with pocket deuces.
I was a little disappointed with the way I played at the very end, but I
couldn't be happier about my finish and my first time reaching the final table
in a tournament that started with over 100 players. I felt even better when I
was told the field featured several pros and included "multiple WSOP bracelet
winners." Oh, and the $2,400 wasn't too tough to take either!!
On the VP front, Hedy and I picked up a couple of hundred Saturday morning
before we set sail for home, so we showed a small profit at VP while earning
close to 5,000 base credits and whatever the 3x cashback turns out to be.
We're on the road again tomorrow, flying to New Orleans Harrah's (weather
permitting ... it's snowing in New York as I write this) for a shopping spree
weekend that includes airfare reimbursement and cash. Then, we fly to Las Vegas
March 17 for the finals of the VP Millionaire Maker tournament at Paris.
Video poker, of course, will be our main thrust but I'm SURE I'll find some
time to play a little Hold Em, too.
Regards,
CoachVee (Tom V) & Hedy
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