My First World Series of Poker Event

The stars were aligned properly today, enabling me to play in my first WSOP event -- Event # 13 at the WSOP Circuit Event at the Horseshoe Hammond (IN). Would a circuit event be like the summer events in Las Vegas?

The day started off well. I got an extra hour of sleep due to the change of time, and the Mapquest directions were flawless. I got to the casino very early and got registered immediately. I then caught an early lunch and still had time for a little slot action to relax.

The tournament started on time with $6,000 starting chips and 25/50 blinds. Each level was supposed to be 40 minutes, but they announced that the levels would only be 30 minutes in order to complete the tournament during the allotted time. Huh?

The crowd was what you'd expect -- a lot of guys in their 20's, some "mature" gentlemen like myself, and only a smattering of women.

When the tourney started, my table was solid testosterone with an empty seat. Having watched the Tiffany Michelle show the past few weeks on ESPN's WSOP coverage, I almost joked, "Hey --where are the good looking babes?" Of course, you know what happened next. The empty seat was taken by a beautiful blonde -- thin tapered body, cute, huge chest, wearing a low-cut V-neck sweater. I was in seat six, and she was directly across from me in seat nine. I thought about offering to change seats with seat one - for a $1000 chip!

Early on I was dealt A-K and raised. One caller. The flop was A-A-rag. I raised and was called. Hmmm. The turn was a rag, and I raised again. Again a smooth call. The river was another rag, and I was concerned that my opponent might have called with a weak ace and hit a boat. I raised after the river and he called -- with 8-8! He stayed in all the way with my raising and two aces on the board? Nice pot for me.

Another good hand was when I was dealt K-9spades in late position. Everyone was calling for a big family pot, so I called. The flop: 9-9-K! There was a raise and a call, so I just called to set the trap. The turn was a blank with two checks and I didn't want to chase anyone out, so I checked. The river was a blank. There were two checks in front of me, so I placed a value bet. One guy folded (unsuccessful flush draw) and the other guy called with a King. If only the guy in early position had hit his flush, I would have cleaned up. Another nice pot for me anyway.

What followed was a card dead streak which lasted for about 90 minutes. I won one hand with pocket Tens, raising when an Ace came on the flop and scaring out my opponent, but that was about it. I speculated on a few hands, but nothing good hit. Guys started making huge raises, so I was forced to fold marginal hands. Antes kicked in and my stack was dwindling.

We were about to take the first break (after the fourth level), but our dealer dealt one more hand. I got a red King, then prayed that I would get ... yessssss, a second red King! The aggro guy in seat five raised to $1100 (blinds were $100/200), and I went all in for about $2750, figuring I'd get the blinds, antes, and his raise right before the break. Surprisingly, the guy in seat one called. We were heads up, K-K vs 8-8. I was surprised that he called off around 40% of his stack since all he was in for was the ante. I guess that he thought we were racing? Or did he see that after the break he would be down to 15-17 big blinds and he wanted to gamble?

You can guess what happened next. The flop contained a 4 and a 6, and I felt the screw job coming. The turn was a 7, and I swear that I knew the river would be a 5. Sure enough it was, and just like that, my tournament was over. I sat back in my chair, grabbed my head and yelled. I guess my drama queen daughter didn't get it all from her mom.

How depressing. I wasn't playing too badly, made it past a few donks at my table who exited very early, then lost when I should probably never have been called when I was an 80% favorite.

But ... what the heck. I did finally get some in-person poker, which I had been craving, and did play in a WSOP event, but still ... bahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

btw -- the Horseshoe Hammond poker room looked really nice. The tournament, however, was not played there due to the number of entrants. Everything the WSOP folks ran seemed to be professionally done. So yes ... I shall return!