I am THE James

Yes, you read that title right.  I am trying to win my way into the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event.  No, I have not seen the light and converted to NL Holdem as my personal savior.  Instead, I am playing the step tournaments on UltimateBet.  Yes, Ultimatebet.

All of you that know me are probably doing a collective eyebrow raise.  “James is playing NL Holdem?  James is trying to win his way into the Main Event?”  For those of you that don’t follow poker, UltimateBet has a series of Step tournaments that one can enter to win their way into the Main Event.  They start as cheap as a dime.  Now I see most of you doing a collective, “oh, THAT’S why he is doing it.”  Exactly.

What I have decided to do is take 1/5 of my UB bankroll, which is $100, and try and win my way into the Main Event.  I started yesterday by directly buying into a Step 1 tourney for .10 and a Step 2 for .30.  The top two advance.  I finished in the top two in both and got a Step 2 and a Step 3 ticket.   Later in the night, I bought into two Step 1’s and 1 Step 2.  Those didn’t produce much fruit, but I got my entry back.  (That happens if you finished 3rd or 4th.)

Today, I decided I was going to try and win me a few step 2 tickets.   At that point, I have setup a rough idea of how I want to proceed.  Here is my plan:

Win several Step 2 tickets and then try and play the Step 2 events.   Win as many Step 3 tickets from the Step 2’s and then move on to Step 3.  Rinse, lather, repeat.

I have decided that I want to have at least 6 tickets at any one level before I try and take a full shot to move on.  Why 6?  I will explain.  Today, I started with two Step 2 tickets.  I played 5 Step 1 games through the evening.  I finished in the top two in 4 out of 5.  (The fifth I had AA vs KK and QQ with a King on the river.  GG me.)  After winning, I had 6 tickets.   That seems like a fair amount to start taking a shot with, so I will proceed.  Chances are I will have to go back and win a few more step 1’s or even buy into some step 2’s directly to win my way to 3, but I will try and keep the 6 ticket rule.

Here are a few rules that I have setup for myself during my challenge:

1.  I cannot buy-in directly into any Step above Step 2.  Yes, Step 3 and Step 4 are uber cheap, but I want to give myself maximum opportunity.  With $20, I can take 100 shots at going up the Steps.  (Assuming I start all Step 1’s)  If I can’t make a decent showing in 100 tries, then I shouldn’t be playing in the Main Event anyway.

2.  Play a maximum of two tables at a time.  Yes, this can get a little boring for some of you, but this will allow me to concentrate the best.

3.  Do not play a Step tournament above a Step 2 unless I am fully committed to playing.  (One would argue I should be committed all the time, but c’mon, who is really THAT committed for a dime.)

4.  Don’t tilt when you take a super incredible bad beat at the lower step levels.  The lower steps are donkeyville, governed by Mayor McDonk.

5.  Don’t play after 4 a.m.   (No matter how awake I feel, playing after 4 a.m. usually results in break even at best results in my poker sit-n-go’s.  This includes my Stud 8 or Better.)

While I don’t normally like UB as a whole, I couldn’t pass up on playing these Steps.  If nothing else, this gives me a way to play a lot of NL sit-n-go’s cheaply.  With the exception of 1, I have at least made my money back in each one, so this is allowing a lot of play, even if it is at low limits.

I will try and keep track of my progress on this site.

Also, while you are at it, you can also check out www.thewsopblog.com.  I write for that blog as well and will probably mention my results there as well.

Progress so far:

Step 2:  6 tickets

Step 3: 1 ticket

Total Amount Spent:  $1.20

Step ticket Value: $2.80

Good luck at the tables.

First, I realize that I have not updated this blog since November. I just haven’t taken the time to do so. So, with that being said, I thought I would take some time and give you an update on my trip out west and my life in general.

Overall, my trip out west turned out well. The first day was a little shaky due to my plane getting grounded due to engine problems. However, after arriving to Vegas 8 hours late, I got to my hotel. The rooms at the 4 Queens were much nicer than I expected for the amount I paid. Nice pillow top beds and big plasma TV’s. Room service was also reasonably prices. Other than Subway, I mostly ate room service. (Subway ended up being higher than room service was on some occasions. Go figure.)

The Grand convention area inside of the Golden Nugget was a nice place to hold an event. I enjoyed my time at the Nugget. I wound up finishing 9th in one H.O.R.S.E. event and finished 5th in the Mixed Event. Unfortunately, the 5th place finish did not garner me any money due to only 21 players registering for the event. The event paid 3 spots. The H.O.R.S.E. event paid 9. While it appeared I just squeaked in the money, that was far from the case. Two players were much shorter than I was when we got to the money, but as things turned out, the short stacks kept doubling and I stayed card dead. I could have made the final table if I folded the last hand I played, but thats how it goes.

The same week I cashed at the Nugget, I finished 4th in a H.O.R.S.E. event at Green Valley Ranch. Again, I had enough chips to make the top three but the guy in 4th place went on an amazing run of cards. I can’t complain too much. I played well, made the final table, and cashed.

After Vegas, I went to Los Angeles for a few days. I decided to play in two events at the Bike. The first was an Omaha 8 or Better event. That event I never could get anything going and went out on back to back hands when my kings full ran into aces full and then my flopped set of kings was outdrawn by a Royal Flush. I was all in on the flop in the Royal Flush hand. Hey, if I am going to lose, thats the way to lose. The next day, I played in an Omaha 8 weekly tourney at Hawaain Gardens and finished 12th in that one. Unfortunately it paid 10. That tournament had an insane structure where with 20 players left, the chip leader of the tournament had only 10 big bets. The big stack at my table had 4. I had 2 big bets and I had 4,500 chips.

The Limit Holdem tournament at the Bike was the last event I played in L.A. This event had its ups and downs, but I went on a big of a run about mid way of the event to build a nice stack. I was able to make the money in the event and eventually finish 12th place. If I would have won one more pot late in the event, I would have made the final table as we made the final table about 10 minutes after I busted. It was cool though. I played well in the event and got my 15th pro cash. I don’t know what it is about Vegas and Los Angeles that makes me perform so well, but I seem to step up my game out there.

My goal for the trip poker wise was to cash twice with 1 final table at the Nugget and to cash once in L.A. I wound up making 1 cash and 1 final table in Vegas. Of course, I ended up playing 3 fewer events than I had planned. I played 3 events as opposed to 6 events. The cash at Green Valley I don’t count since it does not count towards lifetime stats. Since I played fewer events in Vegas, I consider myself as hitting my goal. The L.A. trip, I met my goal.

After leaving L.A., I drove out to Reno to check it out. Reno is basically a smaller version of Vegas. It was ok, but I only played in one casino out there. I played at the Peppermill, where I played a couple hours at $3-$6 Omaha 8. It was a decent game, but after a couple of hours, I was bored. The Limit Holdem table had 15 names on it, so I left. The next day, I decided to head out to Virginia City, NV.

First, I stopped at the Fandango Casino in Carson City, NV. I had to pass a couple of hours before I could check into my hotel, so I decided to play in the Noon No Limit tourney. $35 with rebuys to the final table. I get into the room to play and the guy running the event is familiar. I ask him how I might know him and he tells me he used to run the tournaments at the Bike. RUBEN!!!! I then remember him and reminded him about how I was the guy that wanted to play stud satellites all the time. He then remembered me. We both asked each other, “What are you doing out here.” I told Ruben about my reasons, and I found out from him that he was retired and just took the job at the Fandango cause the area was so laid back. He was right. This was a 3 table poker room and we didn’t fill the tables. As far as the tournament, I was one of the chip leaders until a hand with 11 players left where a guy went all in against me with middle pair against my top pair. He got lucky and paired his kicker and I was crippled. I then managed a double up just shy of the final table. I did not rebuy since I didn’t want to waste any more money on a tourney that will pay only three spots. My final hand, I get 9-2 in the big blind and see a free flop. I flop top pair and push. Unfortunately, my opponent held Q-9 and busted me. This is the same guy that got lucky against me earlier. Anywho, while I wasn’t happy with how things turned out, I couldn’t complain too much. Just before the tournament, I hit two four of a kinds on a video poker machine. It paid for my buy-in to the event and then some.

After the game, I go on to Virginia City. If you want to experience how things used to be, go to Virginia City. When they say you are stepping back in time, they mean it. You will not find ANY franchises anywhere in this town. The gas station is probably 50 years old. It was a lot of fun to stay in this town. I played a lot at the local saloons. They had some video poker machines with great odds and some that still paid coins. I only had one losing day in Va City playing video poker and I won overall for the trip there. One day, I literally went around to every Saloon that was open and hit for a minimum of 30 bucks at each one. The Saloon owners were not happy with me that day. I also took some old western style pics while I was there. One of them is above.

After Virginia City, I went back to Vegas and spent a few more days before coming back home. I didn’t play anymore poker on the trip and mostly just played Video Poker. Anywho, the trip was a blast overall and I just mostly hit the highlights.

Now on to the new year. The theme for this year for myself will be health and music. On the 5th, I started working out with a personal trainer to help me lose weight. I have let my way get and stay out of control for much too long and I plan to take back the control. My goal is to get under 300 lbs eventually. I started at an insane weight of 425.6 pounds. My initial goal is to get under 400. So far, I am doing well as I am down to 417 as of today. That’s 8.6 pounds thus far. I am both dieting and exercising with the assistance of my personal trainer Tara. I truly feel that with the plan I am on, I will succeed this time. I will keep updates on this blog and let you know my progress.

The other part of this year’s theme is music. I have officially started taking piano lessons at the Mendez Academy of Music in Lynchburg, Va. Erin gave me some lessons at one point and I will now take them to another level and try to learn the piano properly. I have always wanted to play but thought it would be too difficult. Erin proved me wrong and so now I want to learn how to play.

I will continue with my poker writing. I have to fund my changes of course. As far as my poker playing, I don’t know when I will be playing in another event. I think focusing on my health will be my biggest concern. If I don’t have my health, poker becomes irrelevant. The next trip I will take will probably be the World Series of Poker in June. When I go, I will probably only go a couple of weeks as I will be working 4-H camp this year.

Anyway, I have a lot of busy and interesting times ahead of me. Keep reading as I will keep you updated about my journey.

I’m currently sitting here watching a guy on PokerStars play in a couple of tourneys and giving advice along the way in a certain game.  Mostly on Stud 8 and some on Stud.   He has done pretty well and is at the final table of one tourney right now with the chip lead.  Should be interesting to see if he wins.  In the time I typed this sentence he just became second in chips.  It is interesting watching people play mixed games that are weak in a couple.  Fortunately he was bright enough to seek help.  Anywho, not much else going on.

They are down to three.   He has a decent chance to win.  I guess we will see what happens.

During the main event of the World Series of Poker, I mentioned to one of my field reporters that Barbara Enright is in his section and he should follow her. He replied that he knew and jokingly said, “Who cares about Barbara Enright?” Well lets see, just a majority of the poker world and the Poker Hall of Fame. That’s all. Enright just took down her third title of the year on sunday when she won the Ladies Event at Legends of Poker. So far this year, Enright has three wins, 6 final tables, and a cash at this past World Series of Poker. Maybe it me, but that sounds like someone worth following.

Great job Barbara, keep up the great work. Let’s see a deep run in the LOP Main Event!

We really had some fun with names this past World Series of Porno, I mean World Series of Poker.  For your amusement, I am going to dramatize a hand between some players.

Zelong Dong Comes Up Short

Zelong Dong limped in from early position.  Strong Wang then raised from middle position.  Woody Deck sat upright directly after the raise and then made the call.  Dong called as well.   On a flop of A-5-6, Zelong Dong checked and Strong Wang splattered some chips in the amount of 2,000.  Woody Deck made the call.  Zelong Dong called.   The turn fell the 4 of clubs and Zelong Dong checked to Strong Wang, who again bet out in the amount of 4,000.  Deck folded and Dong called.  The river fell the 2 of diamonds and Zelong Dong checked out Strong Wang for a moment before checking.  Wang bet out 12,000 and Dong decided to look him up.  Zelong Dong showed A-5 for two pair, while Wang showed A-3 for the wheel.  Strong Wang yanked in the pot.

As hard as it may be for some of you to believe, I have actually been obsessed in the last couple of days playing NL Holdem. Those of you whose jaws just hit the floor, you can pick them up now. I have been playing a lot of HEADS-UP NL Holdem in the last couple of days. I actually do enjoy this version of NL. The main reason is that a lot of people just don’t know how to play heads-up properly. I love the players that try to be uber aggressive with me. I just sit back, pick up a decent hand or wait for them to lure me in when they get their monsters. If my garbage hits when they have a monster, I tend to break them. The players that aren’t uber-aggressive, I tend to play a modified version of smallball with. I had one player last night that played the game as if it were Limit Holdem. Yum Yum. There were only about 5 times total that I have been all-in or pushed someone all-in and was called with the worst hand pre-flop. Two of the times, I sucked out.

The same frustrations that I experience with a ring game of NL Holdem are still there, but it isn’t as magnified. Also, I am playing Sit-N-Go’s and not cash games, so that helps. That reminds me of a talk I had with a friend of mine Mickey last night. He expressed that when he is running bad, the game affects his overall mood. I tend to sympathise with him. One thing that I mentioned to him was the fact that I tend to get frustrated more in cash games as opposed to Sit-N-Go’s. In SNG’s, once I pay the money, I consider it gone forever unless I cash. In a cash game, I see the actual money going up or down depending on how I am running. I am not like some people where the money doesn’t mean anything to me at all, so there is I guess the added psychological pressure. True, this is all in my head, but at least I admit it.

My Stud-8 game has been running really well lately. I’ve only had 2 losing session, and 0 losing days so far. I probably need to work on my Stud 8 tournament game some. It is still hard for me to find the patience to sit for a long tournament online. In a future blog, I will go over my Stud 8 cash at Binion’s during my Vegas trip.

I don’t really feel like talking about much else right now, so have a good one folks.

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A lot of interesting and strange things happened at the WSOP this summer.  Some good and some bad.  Below are some things I discovered:

Harrahs truly does try and accommodate all players.  We had deaf players, legally blind players, players in wheelchairs, players with no arms, and even a quadriplegic.  (With that being said, the media is TOO SENSITIVE in trying not to offend handicapped players.)

Mike Matusow is just as insane off the camera as on.  (Proven by him coming up to me and randomly ranting about his chip stack during a break.  Why did he come and rant to me personally?  I made eye contact I guess.  I don’t know.)

David Singer complains a lot….

John Phan would get a ticket in Oklahoma for playing too slow.

People take $10,000 whims….

Blogs do indeed take on people’s personalities.  (I wrote some blog entries during one event and for two days people came up and TOLD me that I wrote that.  Didn’t ask me.  They told me.  And most didn’t even know my name.)

The phrase “One time” is probably the most overused phrase in history.

Followed by “bad beat.”

Followed directly by “ship it.”

Playing connect four is so much fun, but YOU play alone, cause you’re a virgin.

People have a hard time grasping the concept as to why a decent poker player would rather do something other than play poker.  (You have no idea how many times I was asked why I didn’t play.)

Younger players need to learn more about the history of poker beyond Doyle Brunson, Stu Unger, and Johnny Chan.

Jean-Robert Bellande may appear to be a jerk but he does have an honorable side.  In the Limit Shootout, he was heads up and his opponent did not return on time from break.  He refused to take his seat and let the dealer pass the blinds around until his opponent arrived.

“If you don’t lose a hand heads up, you will eventually win a tournament.”  – Words of wisdom from Tom Schneider referring to Daniel Negranu’s bracelet win.

This past Monday, I returned from my stint at the World Series of Poker as a blogger for PokerNews.com. It was a fantastic experience, one which I hope to get the chance to do again sometime. Playing in the World Series is a lot different from reporting the World Series. I actually enjoyed the later more this time. One reason is that I didn’t have the stress associated with playing. The last two years, I was burnt out by the time the World Series was over. This year, I could have continued on past the time my contract expired. I was glad to be done though. By the time 4-H Camp time arrived, I was sort of regretting my decision. I ended up figuring out later on that was just due to my missing camp. I talked with several people about camp, and things went well. Step will be taken to where I can attend next year. There is a small hole in me that is noticeably missing due to not attending camp. At the same time, we must make sacrifices in our lives at time to make our overall life better, or at least put ourselves in said position. (more…)

I covered Event #29, which was a $3,000 NL Holdem event. As most of you know, I hate NL Holdem, but I will play it and I will cover it because thats where the money is at. Tuesday night was the final table of the $3k NL event. John Phan and David Singer were two of the pro’s at the table. (more…)

I am writing from Event #29, the $3,000 NL Event.  Since I have last posted, we finished event #22, the $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. event.  Jens Voertmann won the event, but it was a fantastic final table with Marcel Luske, Steve Zolotow, Hoyt Corkins, and Jennifer Harman.  Out of those four, only Marcel had any real shot to win as he finished 3rd.  He was up and down a long time but finally his loose style caught up to him.  I am glad that Voertmann won out of the two left, especially after one hand late.  Doug Ganger and Voertmann were playing a hand of Omaha Hi-Lo where Ganger slowrolled Voertmann.  After that hand, it was as if Voertmann said, “Ok, we play now.”  He just flattened Ganger after that point.

Today, I am covering the $3,000 NL event.  Some big names, but a lot of the top tier names are over in the $10,000 Limit Event.  I would much rather be there, but I guess I have to do time in the NL jail.  Actually, it’s not too bad to cover.  Its actually simple.  I think thats the point.  Its so simple a game that after a while, everything is routine.

After this event, in three days I cover the $10,000 Omaha 8 or Better World Championship.  That should be a lot of fun.  The only down side to all this is that I am beginning to miss some of my friends, which was to be expected.

Unless I make a last minute change, I probably wont play in a WSOP event this year.  I am planning on playing the Stud 8 or Better event down at Binion’s on the 24th, but right now anything else will depend on my schedule and how I feel.  I may hang around and play over at the Orleans open next month, but I haven’t decided.

Anyway, I will try and write again before the end of the 3k event, but this event isn’t all that exciting.