After the conclusion of the "Become a Poker Pro" tournament, everyone (the finalists, guests, poker journalists and PokerRoom.com executives) briefly went back to their rooms to freshen up before reconvening at "A Touch of Class" Champagne Bar for a toast to poker's newest professional, Jim Davenport. Not surprisingly, Jim was all smiles and was clearly "fired up" (that was his saying) for the year ahead. For whatever reason, he kept thanking me, as if I played some sort of crucial role in the outcome of tournament when all I really did was offer some sensible advice and encouraging words to a friend. Typical Jim never gave himself enough credit.
During the toast, Glenn Cadematori (the PokerRoom.com spokesperson) said a few words about the BaPP tournament, PokerRoom.com's first-ever sponsored professional and Team PokerRoom.com as a whole before presenting all of the BaPP finalists with a parting gift - a PokerRoom.com chip set. The chips were the same 10 gram ceramic chips (manufactured by CHIPCO) that were used during the BaPP Final Table, and the set altogether retailed for more than $400, making it a truly awesome (and valuable) keepsake. To this day, I use this particular chip set when I host home cash games or smaller SNG tournaments (6-max or less).
As for the rest of the night, well... let's just say that the whole group of BaPP finalists, guests and PokerRoom.com executives were one helluva fun group to party with. Given that the cruise ship was scheduled to dock back in Miami, FL at 8am sharp the next morning, I think everyone made sure that their last night aboard the "Majesty of the Seas" was a memorable one. In mine and Brandon's case, it was well past 4am when we finally stumbled back to our room.
Overall, the "Become a Poker Pro" tournament/cruise was a great success - all thanks to the hard-working folks at PokerRoom.com who made it all possible. I cannot emphasize how much PokerRoom went out of their way to make the BaPP finalists feel like professional poker players. I am truly grateful for the experience and the opportunity and wish PokerRoom still existed today so that poker players all over the world would know what it's like to play on a world class poker site - one that actually cares about its players and doesn't steal from them. In the wake of the Full Tilt Poker "ponzi scheme," - or whatever they're calling it - I can proudly say that PokerRoom.com was my "home" poker site.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
The "Become a Poker Pro" Final Table (Part 3)
I didn't eat much during the dinner break. To be honest, I don't even remember what was served. All I was really hungry for was the $250,000 endorsement package. I made it deep enough into the tournament that I could taste it, and when the tournament resumed in Level 7 (500a/3k/6k blinds), I was eager to make a move.
With HustlerPoke off my back, I watched as he fell victim to his own aggression in Level 8 (1000a/4k/8k blinds) - in a blind vs. blind confrontation with BillyBluff13. To make a long story short, HustlerPoke (AJ) and Billy (AT) got their chips in the middle pre-flop, with HustlerPoke at risk. HustlerPoke had him dominated, but Billy spiked a Ten to eliminate him in 4th place. Similar to MarvinGarden's elimination, I genuinely felt bad for HustlerPoke. I was happy to get to know Dustin, but at the same time, from a poker perspective, I was really glad that he got knocked out. Not only was HustlerPoke a tremendous poker player, his elimination meant I was an inch closer to winning the endorsement package. Even a 2nd place finish would award me PokerRoom's consolation prize of a trip and entry into the 2006 WSOP Main Event. All I had to do was outlast one more player.
*cue Data's obligatory bubble announcement*
Of course, that task would be easier said than done. With 3 players remaining, I was the clear short stack with 75k while JDTrojan3 and BillyBluff13 both had around 300k apiece. Short-stacked since Level 4, I desperately wanted to show what I could do with more chips. One double up was all I needed to stay ahead of the blinds and have enough chips to potentially make a few moves. Until then, however, my plays were limited to "All-In" or "Fold."
With a scheduled 15 minute break approaching, we didn't see many Flops after 3-handed play began. The pressure and tension was so high at that point that I think Billy, Jim and I were hesitant to do much of anything - at least, initially. As such, we passed our blinds around, giving each other walks until time ran out in Level 8 and it was time for the break. As we stood up from the table, JDTrojan3 and I shared a brief "whoa, this is big" look with each other before stepping away to meet up with our respective guests. Brandon had been quiet, yet supportive of me all tournament and seemed to believe that I still had a chance to win despite being the short stack. Jim was also fortunate to have Kim in his corner. At the time, she was a freelance writer for People magazine and turned down a gig covering the Oscars to support him on the "Become a Poker Pro" cruise. Oddly enough, People assigned Kim to cover the World Poker Tour Celebrity Invitational tournament a year later (in 2007), and she is now the anchor of the WPT. It's weird, because every time I see on her on TV, I'm reminded of the "Become a Poker Pro" tournament. Anyway...
I was still hovering around 75k when we returned to the table for Level 9 (1000a/6k/12k blinds). Given my stack and the significant jump in blinds, this was it. I couldn't sit back and wait for a hand any longer. Any face card, suited connector, or obvious pushing hand and my chips were going in the middle. Needless to say, I was thrilled to pick up 77 in one of my BBs. JDTrojan3 had raised to 35k from the Button and I pushed All-In for a little over 35k more, hoping for a race. When Jim called and turned over JJ, my heart sank. Our goal from the beginning was to be the last 2 players standing, to play each other heads up for the endorsement package. We both wanted that, and now Jim was the one that had me on the brink of elimination (to no fault of his own, as BillyBluff13 had been sitting back trying to coast into the "money"). It was a bittersweet moment, to be sure - especially for me since I was a 4-1 dog in the hand. With all eyes in the room focused on the table, the Flop presented itself with 3 hearts. Fortunately, I had the 7h in my hand, but Jim held the Jh to deny me any chance of a suck-out. But wait... a fourth heart on the Turn improved us both to a flush... and gave me an open-ended straight flush draw for a nice little sweat on the River. I had 2 outs - the 8h and 3h. Man what a beat that would be if either one of them peeled off! I shot a smile to Jim, who looked like he was about to vomit, especially when the River fell... ... a blank. His Jacks held, and I was eliminated from the "Become a Poker Pro" tournament in 3rd place.
Sure, it sucked to see my chance at becoming a sponsored poker professional go down the drain, but I honestly wasn't that upset. Jim and I had become great friends since the 2005 WSOP and I was genuinely happy for him. Better my chips go to my friend in his quest to win the biggest freeroll prize in online poker history than the other guy. Anyway, I had all the confidence in the world that he could take BillyBluff13 heads up. He had the chip lead (401k vs. 287k) and momentum on his side, and when he asked me what I thought about checking a monster in heads-up play, I told him he should go for it. He ended up taking my advice after only a few hands.
With AQh, JDTrojan3 checked his BB and checked again on the Ad Js 7c Flop, slow-playing his top pair. BillyBluff13 walked right into the trap and moved All-In, only to find his Q7d (bottom pair) was behind. When the Ac fell on the Turn, BillyBluff13 was drawing dead and Jim "JDTrojan3" Davenport became PokerRoom.com's first-ever sponsored professional!
 |
| From Left: HustlerPoke, rufebert and JDTrojan3 |
Seat 1 - Dustin "HustlerPoke" Goff - 120,000
Seat 3 - Ryan "rufebert" Rufe - 102,000
Seat 4 - Jim "JDtrojan3" Davenport - 184,000
Seat 10 - Bill "BillyBluff13" Pero - 282,000
Since BillyBluff13 had 41% of the chips in play, I expected him to play "big stack poker," you know, raise a lot, especially when he had the Button (during which I would be BB). More often than not, however, he'd just fold, which allowed HusterPoke to raise my BB instead from the SB. He did this often - at least 3 or 4 times in a row - and since the blinds were eating away at my stack, I needed to make a stand. Sure enough, the next time it was folded to HustlerPoke in the SB, he bumped it again to 24k. I looked down at K9o, shot him a glare, and confidently announced "All-In." HustlerPoke hadn't been forced into many tough decisions in the tournament and it seemed he was seriously considering calling. I, on the other hand, buried my head into my arms on the poker table in front of me - not because I was trying to hide any potential tells, but because I was literally sea sick from the cruise ship rocking back and forth. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, HustlerPoke said "I called, man. Whaddya got?" I about shit myself, not wanting to turn over my K9, but a smirk and a laugh from HusterPoke made it evident that he, in fact, folded.With HustlerPoke off my back, I watched as he fell victim to his own aggression in Level 8 (1000a/4k/8k blinds) - in a blind vs. blind confrontation with BillyBluff13. To make a long story short, HustlerPoke (AJ) and Billy (AT) got their chips in the middle pre-flop, with HustlerPoke at risk. HustlerPoke had him dominated, but Billy spiked a Ten to eliminate him in 4th place. Similar to MarvinGarden's elimination, I genuinely felt bad for HustlerPoke. I was happy to get to know Dustin, but at the same time, from a poker perspective, I was really glad that he got knocked out. Not only was HustlerPoke a tremendous poker player, his elimination meant I was an inch closer to winning the endorsement package. Even a 2nd place finish would award me PokerRoom's consolation prize of a trip and entry into the 2006 WSOP Main Event. All I had to do was outlast one more player.
*cue Data's obligatory bubble announcement*
Of course, that task would be easier said than done. With 3 players remaining, I was the clear short stack with 75k while JDTrojan3 and BillyBluff13 both had around 300k apiece. Short-stacked since Level 4, I desperately wanted to show what I could do with more chips. One double up was all I needed to stay ahead of the blinds and have enough chips to potentially make a few moves. Until then, however, my plays were limited to "All-In" or "Fold."
With a scheduled 15 minute break approaching, we didn't see many Flops after 3-handed play began. The pressure and tension was so high at that point that I think Billy, Jim and I were hesitant to do much of anything - at least, initially. As such, we passed our blinds around, giving each other walks until time ran out in Level 8 and it was time for the break. As we stood up from the table, JDTrojan3 and I shared a brief "whoa, this is big" look with each other before stepping away to meet up with our respective guests. Brandon had been quiet, yet supportive of me all tournament and seemed to believe that I still had a chance to win despite being the short stack. Jim was also fortunate to have Kim in his corner. At the time, she was a freelance writer for People magazine and turned down a gig covering the Oscars to support him on the "Become a Poker Pro" cruise. Oddly enough, People assigned Kim to cover the World Poker Tour Celebrity Invitational tournament a year later (in 2007), and she is now the anchor of the WPT. It's weird, because every time I see on her on TV, I'm reminded of the "Become a Poker Pro" tournament. Anyway...
I was still hovering around 75k when we returned to the table for Level 9 (1000a/6k/12k blinds). Given my stack and the significant jump in blinds, this was it. I couldn't sit back and wait for a hand any longer. Any face card, suited connector, or obvious pushing hand and my chips were going in the middle. Needless to say, I was thrilled to pick up 77 in one of my BBs. JDTrojan3 had raised to 35k from the Button and I pushed All-In for a little over 35k more, hoping for a race. When Jim called and turned over JJ, my heart sank. Our goal from the beginning was to be the last 2 players standing, to play each other heads up for the endorsement package. We both wanted that, and now Jim was the one that had me on the brink of elimination (to no fault of his own, as BillyBluff13 had been sitting back trying to coast into the "money"). It was a bittersweet moment, to be sure - especially for me since I was a 4-1 dog in the hand. With all eyes in the room focused on the table, the Flop presented itself with 3 hearts. Fortunately, I had the 7h in my hand, but Jim held the Jh to deny me any chance of a suck-out. But wait... a fourth heart on the Turn improved us both to a flush... and gave me an open-ended straight flush draw for a nice little sweat on the River. I had 2 outs - the 8h and 3h. Man what a beat that would be if either one of them peeled off! I shot a smile to Jim, who looked like he was about to vomit, especially when the River fell... ... a blank. His Jacks held, and I was eliminated from the "Become a Poker Pro" tournament in 3rd place.
Sure, it sucked to see my chance at becoming a sponsored poker professional go down the drain, but I honestly wasn't that upset. Jim and I had become great friends since the 2005 WSOP and I was genuinely happy for him. Better my chips go to my friend in his quest to win the biggest freeroll prize in online poker history than the other guy. Anyway, I had all the confidence in the world that he could take BillyBluff13 heads up. He had the chip lead (401k vs. 287k) and momentum on his side, and when he asked me what I thought about checking a monster in heads-up play, I told him he should go for it. He ended up taking my advice after only a few hands.
With AQh, JDTrojan3 checked his BB and checked again on the Ad Js 7c Flop, slow-playing his top pair. BillyBluff13 walked right into the trap and moved All-In, only to find his Q7d (bottom pair) was behind. When the Ac fell on the Turn, BillyBluff13 was drawing dead and Jim "JDTrojan3" Davenport became PokerRoom.com's first-ever sponsored professional!
 |
| Pictured from Left: mdjohnny, rufebert, mav98911, Glenn Cadematori (PokerRoom.com spokesperson), JDTrojan3, BillyBluff13, KMO28, MarvinGarden, HustlerPoke, arttu5, Dragon2 |
The tournament ended at 9:20pm, and after congratulations and a check presentation, everyone gathered in a different area of the ship for a long night of partying. Stay tuned for details and my closing thoughts on the "Become a Poker Pro" cruise/tournament in my next blog.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
The "Become a Poker Pro" Final Table (Part 2)
Before I get into how the "Become a Poker Pro" Final Table went down, you should know that I didn't keep notes on the tournament because all the finalists were supposed to receive a DVD of the footage after it had been edited. Per PokerRoom, we would receive this DVD about 2 weeks after the cruise. 5.5 years later, I'm still waiting for my copy. Don't get me wrong, I'm not waiting by the mailbox or anything. In fact, I'm 99.9% sure I'll never see the DVD, but it sure would be a nice keepsake to have. The footage that WAS released on PokerRoom's web site was poorly edited, which could have been the reason the DVD was never produced. Regardless, that footage is no longer available on PokerRoom's web site because PokerRoom no longer exists (bwin closed the site in April 2009). My last hope for trying to obtain the footage is via a former PokerRoom employee who I am friends with on Facebook. Last I heard from him (at the end of July), he dug up some BaPP files on an old hard drive and was going to send them to me digitally. I haven't heard from him since. If he ever does get back to me, I'll be sure to share the footage with you via this blog.
Now onto the tournament...
To give you a quick recap, 69 Team PokerRoom.com members played the online portion of the "Become a Poker Pro" tournament back in September 2005. The Final Table of 10 then finished the tournament offline on a Royal Carribean International cruise ship in March 2006 where the winner walked away with a full year's endorsement package worth $250,000. I entered the BaPP Final Table 3rd in chips with 86,400 and the tournament resumed with 45 minutes levels, starting at 100a/400/800 blinds.
Hand 1 of the Final Table could not have been more dramatic. To make a long story short, MarvinGarden - who was widely considered the odds-on favorite to win the BaPP tournament - was eliminated when his pocket Aces could not improve against the flopped set of Tens of chip leader BillyBluff13. Man down! Here, everyone (myself included) was expecting MarvinGarden to be a force at the BaPP Final Table, yet his run ended up lasting a mere two minutes. Given the circumstances, I felt for MarvinGarden, albeit briefly. He was a really nice guy and a fellow member of The Bustouts (an exclusive poker group I was affiliated with on PokerRoom), but at the same time, he was a tremendous poker player and I was happy to see him go.
Amidst the shock of MarvinGarden's elimination, there was still poker to be played, and on Hand 2, I found AKo on the Button. I put out a raise and got a caller in mav98911, who had thick mustache, a Jersey accent and was the oldest player at the table. While the details of the hand are sketchy to me, I do know I flopped a pair of Kings and forced mav98911 to fold. Similarly, I raised 2 out of the next 3 hands and took down a very sizable pot against arttu5. I can't remember if I had JJ or QQ (it was one of the 2), but I raised pre-flop, Arttu re-raised, and I 4-bet him, which was enough to get him to fold (he told me later that he folded QQ). Most importantly, none of these pots that I won went to showdown, which helped me establish the LAG image that I sought to portray early on at the Final Table.
After five hands, I was rolling - already up over 100k. As such, I decided to catch my breath and slow down a bit. Little did I know that I'd spend the next 3 hours (through Level 4) folding junk hand after junk hand. The only playable hands I saw during this time period were 77 and AJs, both of which I lost. Admittedly, I played the AJs hand terribly and out of position against HustlerPoke, who was a player I did NOT want to see accumulate chips. Fortunately, arttu5 (9th place) and mav98911 (8th place) were eliminated during these levels, along with Dragon2 (7th place) after his AA was cracked by the club flush of - you guessed it - BillyBluff13. The way Billy was running, it seemed like he was destined to win the tournament as he was sitting on well over 250k. I, on the other hand, was down to 48k and reeling.
Unfortunately, things continued to head south for me in Level 5 (400a/1.5k/3k blinds). On the Button with 53s, I tried stealing the BB of the tightest player at the table, KMO28. He hadn't made any noise in the tournament and it was a good spot to try to add some much-needed chips (6900 to be exact) to my stack. To my surprise, however, KMO28 pushed All-In over the top of my raise and I was forced to muck my hand. A short time later, KMO28 busted out in 6th place, and I became the short stack.
With 5 players remaining in the tournament, it was only a matter of time before my good friend JDTrojan3 and I played a pot against each other - albeit an un-raised one between our blinds. With 9h 8x, I checked a 3 heart Flop and JDTrojan3 checked behind. A 4th heart came on the Turn and I led out for 6000, which JDTrojan3 called. The River was a blank and I checked, hoping JD would be "friendly" and check behind. He didn't, and I folded to his 12000 chip bet, knowing I could pick a better spot to commit my chips (I'd find out later that Jim held the Kh, for a higher flush). Certainly, my little showdown with JDTrojan3 captivated the attention of the poker journalists and PokerRoom staff, who had been craving the "Friend vs. Friend" storyline all tournament.
My next hand of significance was against BillyBluff13, the chip leader by far at that point. With AJo, I raised from the cutoff and Billy called from the BB. We both checked on a K35 rainbow Flop. The Turn paired my Jack, which looked golden to me for about a second until Billy unexpectedly announced "All-In." I didn't want to fold, but Billy looked really comfortable - easily the most comfortable he had looked all tournament. Here, he was a hard nosed bully-looking type from Boston who was now smiling and laughing it up with his guests that were railing him nearby. I was confused. If Billy had a hand, wouldn't he just check to try and lure the short-stack - who was the pre-flop aggressor, no less - into betting? To me, that would've been a more sensible play, because even if I had him beat, the loss would have barely made a dent in his stack. Then again, Billy didn't seem like the most sensible player. I'm not trying to knock the guy or anything, but he played the cards, nothing more. Math, odds, his opponents - nothing else factored into his decisions, and here he was, putting me All-In. Eventually, I folded, though I was reluctant to toss my cards into the muck.
Still in Level 5 (400a/1.5k/3k blinds), I was down to just 17k when the action folded around to me in the SB. J6o didn't look sexy to me at all, but I had to accumulate chips somehow. "All-In," I announced, hoping JDTrojan3 would fold in the BB. Jim didn't seem thrilled with his cards either, but made the call anyway. His 37o wasn't even a huge dog, and actually became the favorite when a trey appeared on the Flop. Fortunately for me, a lovely Jack came on the Turn and I doubled up to 36k.
Whew!
A few hands later, BillyBluff13 had the Button and raised to 7500. I was in the BB and called with QJo. Flop, QJX. I checked, slowplaying my top 2 Pair, and Billy checked behind. The Turn was a blank and I checked again, hoping Billy would take a stab at the pot. He did, and bet 7500. From prior hands, I knew that Billy was unlikely to fold to a small raise, especially a min-raise, so I threw out 15k total. He called. The River brought another blank, and with only 12k left in my stack, I committed the rest of my chips. After some thought, Billy said "I don't see how I can fold this" before pushing his calling chips forward. "If you got a pair, you got me," BillyBluff13 continued before I rolled over my 2 pair and dragged the 72k pot. Ace high? Really? Sure, he was getting 5-to-1 on the call, but why give life back to a short stack at such a critical point in the tournament? In any case, I was happy to feel like a contender again.
Level 6 (2k/4k, 500 ante) was the last level before the 1 hour dinner break, during which I managed to stay afloat and even chip up a bit. Also during this level, JDTrojan3 tangled with mdjohnny and called his All-In bet preflop (99 vs. Johnny's AQ). A Queen on the Flop spelled trouble for my good friend, but a 9 on the Turn ultimately sent mdjohnny packing as the 5th place finisher. When the 9 hit, Jim literally described the feeling as if "a jolt went through his body." It was a huge hand that ended up being the talk of the dinner break. With 4 players left in the tournament, the chip counts at the dinner break were as follows:
Now onto the tournament...
To give you a quick recap, 69 Team PokerRoom.com members played the online portion of the "Become a Poker Pro" tournament back in September 2005. The Final Table of 10 then finished the tournament offline on a Royal Carribean International cruise ship in March 2006 where the winner walked away with a full year's endorsement package worth $250,000. I entered the BaPP Final Table 3rd in chips with 86,400 and the tournament resumed with 45 minutes levels, starting at 100a/400/800 blinds.
Hand 1 of the Final Table could not have been more dramatic. To make a long story short, MarvinGarden - who was widely considered the odds-on favorite to win the BaPP tournament - was eliminated when his pocket Aces could not improve against the flopped set of Tens of chip leader BillyBluff13. Man down! Here, everyone (myself included) was expecting MarvinGarden to be a force at the BaPP Final Table, yet his run ended up lasting a mere two minutes. Given the circumstances, I felt for MarvinGarden, albeit briefly. He was a really nice guy and a fellow member of The Bustouts (an exclusive poker group I was affiliated with on PokerRoom), but at the same time, he was a tremendous poker player and I was happy to see him go.
Amidst the shock of MarvinGarden's elimination, there was still poker to be played, and on Hand 2, I found AKo on the Button. I put out a raise and got a caller in mav98911, who had thick mustache, a Jersey accent and was the oldest player at the table. While the details of the hand are sketchy to me, I do know I flopped a pair of Kings and forced mav98911 to fold. Similarly, I raised 2 out of the next 3 hands and took down a very sizable pot against arttu5. I can't remember if I had JJ or QQ (it was one of the 2), but I raised pre-flop, Arttu re-raised, and I 4-bet him, which was enough to get him to fold (he told me later that he folded QQ). Most importantly, none of these pots that I won went to showdown, which helped me establish the LAG image that I sought to portray early on at the Final Table.
After five hands, I was rolling - already up over 100k. As such, I decided to catch my breath and slow down a bit. Little did I know that I'd spend the next 3 hours (through Level 4) folding junk hand after junk hand. The only playable hands I saw during this time period were 77 and AJs, both of which I lost. Admittedly, I played the AJs hand terribly and out of position against HustlerPoke, who was a player I did NOT want to see accumulate chips. Fortunately, arttu5 (9th place) and mav98911 (8th place) were eliminated during these levels, along with Dragon2 (7th place) after his AA was cracked by the club flush of - you guessed it - BillyBluff13. The way Billy was running, it seemed like he was destined to win the tournament as he was sitting on well over 250k. I, on the other hand, was down to 48k and reeling.
Unfortunately, things continued to head south for me in Level 5 (400a/1.5k/3k blinds). On the Button with 53s, I tried stealing the BB of the tightest player at the table, KMO28. He hadn't made any noise in the tournament and it was a good spot to try to add some much-needed chips (6900 to be exact) to my stack. To my surprise, however, KMO28 pushed All-In over the top of my raise and I was forced to muck my hand. A short time later, KMO28 busted out in 6th place, and I became the short stack.
With 5 players remaining in the tournament, it was only a matter of time before my good friend JDTrojan3 and I played a pot against each other - albeit an un-raised one between our blinds. With 9h 8x, I checked a 3 heart Flop and JDTrojan3 checked behind. A 4th heart came on the Turn and I led out for 6000, which JDTrojan3 called. The River was a blank and I checked, hoping JD would be "friendly" and check behind. He didn't, and I folded to his 12000 chip bet, knowing I could pick a better spot to commit my chips (I'd find out later that Jim held the Kh, for a higher flush). Certainly, my little showdown with JDTrojan3 captivated the attention of the poker journalists and PokerRoom staff, who had been craving the "Friend vs. Friend" storyline all tournament.
My next hand of significance was against BillyBluff13, the chip leader by far at that point. With AJo, I raised from the cutoff and Billy called from the BB. We both checked on a K35 rainbow Flop. The Turn paired my Jack, which looked golden to me for about a second until Billy unexpectedly announced "All-In." I didn't want to fold, but Billy looked really comfortable - easily the most comfortable he had looked all tournament. Here, he was a hard nosed bully-looking type from Boston who was now smiling and laughing it up with his guests that were railing him nearby. I was confused. If Billy had a hand, wouldn't he just check to try and lure the short-stack - who was the pre-flop aggressor, no less - into betting? To me, that would've been a more sensible play, because even if I had him beat, the loss would have barely made a dent in his stack. Then again, Billy didn't seem like the most sensible player. I'm not trying to knock the guy or anything, but he played the cards, nothing more. Math, odds, his opponents - nothing else factored into his decisions, and here he was, putting me All-In. Eventually, I folded, though I was reluctant to toss my cards into the muck.
 |
| rufebert vs. BillyBluff13 (pictured left). Also pictured is JDTrojan3. |
Whew!
A few hands later, BillyBluff13 had the Button and raised to 7500. I was in the BB and called with QJo. Flop, QJX. I checked, slowplaying my top 2 Pair, and Billy checked behind. The Turn was a blank and I checked again, hoping Billy would take a stab at the pot. He did, and bet 7500. From prior hands, I knew that Billy was unlikely to fold to a small raise, especially a min-raise, so I threw out 15k total. He called. The River brought another blank, and with only 12k left in my stack, I committed the rest of my chips. After some thought, Billy said "I don't see how I can fold this" before pushing his calling chips forward. "If you got a pair, you got me," BillyBluff13 continued before I rolled over my 2 pair and dragged the 72k pot. Ace high? Really? Sure, he was getting 5-to-1 on the call, but why give life back to a short stack at such a critical point in the tournament? In any case, I was happy to feel like a contender again.
Level 6 (2k/4k, 500 ante) was the last level before the 1 hour dinner break, during which I managed to stay afloat and even chip up a bit. Also during this level, JDTrojan3 tangled with mdjohnny and called his All-In bet preflop (99 vs. Johnny's AQ). A Queen on the Flop spelled trouble for my good friend, but a 9 on the Turn ultimately sent mdjohnny packing as the 5th place finisher. When the 9 hit, Jim literally described the feeling as if "a jolt went through his body." It was a huge hand that ended up being the talk of the dinner break. With 4 players left in the tournament, the chip counts at the dinner break were as follows:
Seat 1 - Dustin "HustlerPoke" Goff - 120,000
Seat 3 - Ryan "rufebert" Rufe - 102,000
Seat 4 - Jim "JDtrojan3" Davenport - 184,000
Seat 10 - Bill "BillyBluff13" Pero - 282,000
To be continued...
Saturday, September 10, 2011
The "Become a Poker Pro" Final Table (Part 1)
Day 3 of the "Become a Poker Pro" cruise began when the "Majesty of the Seas" docked at Nassau, Bahamas at 8am on Sunday, March 5th, 2006. My usual sluggish self didn't crawl out of bed until after 10am and my desire to join Brandon in exploring the island - most notably, The Atlantis Resort - was modest, at best. The "Become a Poker Pro" Final Table was scheduled to begin promptly at 12:30pm and I wanted to make sure I was mentally prepared for the tournament. So while Brandon wandered around Nassau, I hung back on the ship and cleared my head. I showered, got dressed, and grabbed a bite to eat at the Windjammer Cafe - all while going over my game plan for the Final Table. Given that the biggest freeroll prize in online poker history was at stake, I figured the other finalists would be playing pretty tight - at least in the early levels. My goal was to take advantage of this - play a lot of pots and play them aggressively to establish a LAG image. That way, I'd get paid off in the mid-late levels when the blinds increased and I did pick up a hand. With 86,400 in chips, I had plenty of ammo and entered the Final Table with the 3rd largest stack - behind only Jack "Dragon2" Arnold (95,800) and Bill "BillyBluff13" Pero (103,700). Everyone was relatively close in chips, however, and we'd be resuming the tournament at 400/800 blinds with a 100 ante.
"Become a Poker Pro" Final Table Seating & Chip Stacks
Seat 1 - Dustin "HustlerPoke" Goff - 76,900
Seat 2 - Jack "Dragon2" Arnold - 95,800
Seat 3 - Ryan "rufebert" Rufe - 86,400
Seat 4 - Jim "JDtrojan3" Davenport - 82,600
Seat 5 - Arttu "arttu5" Poikolainen - 64,900
Seat 6 - Kyle "KMO28" Morse - 60,700
Seat 7 - John "mdjohnny" Wachter - 46,800
Seat 8 - Chris "MarvinGarden" Birchby - 41,600
Seat 9 - Robert "mav98911" Zack - 28,600
Seat 10 - Bill "BillyBluff13" Pero - 103,700
To say this was a STACKED Final Table would be an understatement. MarvinGarden was widely recognized as one of the best online tournament players and was a ranked player on Pocketfives.com. Arttu5 won the first-ever "Grand Tournament" on PokerRoom and took home $73,000 in that game alone. Obviously, he was no stranger to high stakes tournaments (technically, the BaPP was a freeroll, but 1st prize made the tournament about as high stakes as you could get). Dragon2 was featured on ESPN's 2004 WSOP coverage when they documented his 9-to-1 favorite with one card to come bust out. Still, he was a feared online professional who often played 8 tables at a time on his 4 computer monitors. Among the other finalists, HustlerPoke always seemed to have my number when we played against each other on PokerRoom and JDTrojan3 was a great friend of mine from the '05 WSOP. The remaining players (KMO28, mav98911, BillyBluff13, and mdjohnny) weren't as renown to me as the others, but that certainly didn't mean I'd be taking them lightly.
At 12pm, Brandon returned to the boat and we made our way to the tournament room, my nerves eating me alive along the way. Finally, the magnitude of the "Become a Poker Pro" tournament had hit me, and even more so when I entered the room and saw the poker table we'd be playing on:
It was like the ESPN Feature Table, complete with hole cameras and an illuminated racetrack. The chips we'd be using were pretty slick too. They were custom 10 gram ceramics manufactured by Chipco. Nice feel, light, and thick enough to allow for easy shuffling. Truly, the folks at PokerRoom couldn't have done a better job on the production. I was highly impressed.
Before long, the rest of the "Become a Poker Pro" finalists arrived. Jim and I met up for a little pre-tournament chat and wished each other luck before everyone took their seats. Nerves and tension filled the room, but now that I was at the table, I was surprisingly calm. There I was, sitting with nine elite poker players who had incredible track records, and I felt like I belonged - like I could win the tournament and become a sponsored poker professional. I was focused and ready to put my game plan into action, and soon after the obligatory shuffle up and deal was announced, the cards were in the air!
To be continued...
Before long, the rest of the "Become a Poker Pro" finalists arrived. Jim and I met up for a little pre-tournament chat and wished each other luck before everyone took their seats. Nerves and tension filled the room, but now that I was at the table, I was surprisingly calm. There I was, sitting with nine elite poker players who had incredible track records, and I felt like I belonged - like I could win the tournament and become a sponsored poker professional. I was focused and ready to put my game plan into action, and soon after the obligatory shuffle up and deal was announced, the cards were in the air!
To be continued...
Friday, September 2, 2011
The "Become a Poker Pro" Cruise (Day 2)
Day 2 of the "Become a Poker Pro" cruise started off a bit sluggish for Brandon and I. The ship arrived at Coco Cay, Bahamas at 8am and the BaPP finalists were free to do what they pleased on the island until the scheduled 11am PokerRoom.com Photo Session at Coconut Willie's beach area. After a late night of drinking and partying, Brandon and I didn't even wake up until 10:50 - so by the time we got changed, got off the boat, and stumbled onto the island all hungover, it was well past 11am.
Fortunately, Coco Cay was less than a mile wide and less than 200 yards long, which made Coconut Willie's beach area really easy to find. Upon my arrival, I was immediately summoned to have my picture taken by a professional photography crew. Again, I can't stress enough how much PokerRoom went out of their way to make the BaPP finalists feel like rockstars.
Afterward, all of the BaPP finalists gathered around a poker table that they had set up on the beach for a rousing game of Blind Man's Bluff:
This was an opportunity for the finalists to kick back and have some fun before things got serious at the BaPP Final Table. As a reminder, you can view these pictures in better quality, along with dozens of others that PokerRoom took by following this link. As added incentive, there is a sequence of photos where you see me getting tripped by Jack "Dragon2" Arnold. That bastard...
After the photo session, we ate a buffet style lunch at Blackbeard's Grill and at 5pm, we were back on board the "Majesty of the Seas" en route to Nassau, Bahamas, where we were to arrive at 8am the following morning. Back on the ship, we had some time to kill before the 7:30pm meeting regarding the rules and logistics of the BaPP Final Table, so myself, Brandon, Jim, Dustin "HustlerPoke" Goff, and Thomas Falkenstrom from PokerRoom played a few pick up games of basketball. We all worked up a pretty good sweat before the meeting, and to avoid running late once again, I had to throw my PokerRoom bathrobe on over my basketball clothes. Needless to say, my attire earned a few laughs, but the meeting reminded me that there was still a Final Table to be played. As such, the BaPP finalists got a brief rundown of the rules and afterward, the poker journalists got an opportunity to interview the players. I spoke to a few of them, but not for long since I had to shower and dress up for the formal dinner at 8:30. To be sure, the dinner was exquisite and my table mates and I capped off the night with some kind of chocolate-cherry shot around 10:30pm. Soon after, I returned to my room for some much-needed rest. I was spent after a day's worth of activities. Plus, I couldn't afford to spend the night drinking and partying like the night prior - not when I was about to play arguably the biggest poker tournament of my life.
To be continued...
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| Coco Cay, Bahamas |
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| PokerRoom Photo Session at Coconut Willie's beach area |
This was an opportunity for the finalists to kick back and have some fun before things got serious at the BaPP Final Table. As a reminder, you can view these pictures in better quality, along with dozens of others that PokerRoom took by following this link. As added incentive, there is a sequence of photos where you see me getting tripped by Jack "Dragon2" Arnold. That bastard...
After the photo session, we ate a buffet style lunch at Blackbeard's Grill and at 5pm, we were back on board the "Majesty of the Seas" en route to Nassau, Bahamas, where we were to arrive at 8am the following morning. Back on the ship, we had some time to kill before the 7:30pm meeting regarding the rules and logistics of the BaPP Final Table, so myself, Brandon, Jim, Dustin "HustlerPoke" Goff, and Thomas Falkenstrom from PokerRoom played a few pick up games of basketball. We all worked up a pretty good sweat before the meeting, and to avoid running late once again, I had to throw my PokerRoom bathrobe on over my basketball clothes. Needless to say, my attire earned a few laughs, but the meeting reminded me that there was still a Final Table to be played. As such, the BaPP finalists got a brief rundown of the rules and afterward, the poker journalists got an opportunity to interview the players. I spoke to a few of them, but not for long since I had to shower and dress up for the formal dinner at 8:30. To be sure, the dinner was exquisite and my table mates and I capped off the night with some kind of chocolate-cherry shot around 10:30pm. Soon after, I returned to my room for some much-needed rest. I was spent after a day's worth of activities. Plus, I couldn't afford to spend the night drinking and partying like the night prior - not when I was about to play arguably the biggest poker tournament of my life.
To be continued...
Thursday, September 1, 2011
The "Become a Poker Pro" Cruise (Day 1)
On March 2nd, 2006, I stayed at Brandon's house in Columbus since our flight to Ft. Lauderdale, FL was scheduled to depart the following morning. Airfare was cheaper out of Columbus than it was Cleveland, and while Brandon finished packing, I played a few tournaments to stay sharp for the "Become a Poker Pro" Final Table. Sadly, I didn't cash in the "Ace of Aces" tournament or the $300 SNG that I played, but I was too excited for the trip to be deterred by the near $600 loss.
The next morning, Brandon and I took a connecting flight back to Cleveland (oddly enough) before we eventually landed in Ft. Lauderdale, a little after 2pm. Upon our arrival, a limo driver was standing near baggage claim holding a bright green sign with my name on it, waiting to drive us from Ft. Lauderdale to the Port of Miami. Brandon and I took the 40 minute limo ride as an opportunity to sight-see and my first impression of Miami was that the city was a dump. And this was before LeBron took his talents to South Beach! Perhaps I'd think different if I returned to the city today, but back then it seemed like everything (buildings, roads, etc.) was under construction. Still, I loved the palm trees and when we arrived to the Port of Miami, the "Majesty of the Seas" cruise ship looked spectacular.
Once Brandon and I checked in and boarded the ship, we found the interior to be just as nice, as evidenced by the lobby alone:
After we found our room and dropped off our luggage, the cruise line set sail for the Bahamas, promptly at 5pm. From the deck of the ship, we got a much better view of Miami. See the mansions located along the water?
Once at sea, it was time to get ready for the PokerRoom Welcome Meeting at the Paint Your Wagon Lounge. All the BaPP finalists, their guests, and the PokerRoom staff were in attendance and several poker journalists (from Casino City Times and High Roller Magazine - to name a few) were on hand to cover the tournament. At the Welcome Meeting, I met up with fellow finalist Jim "JDTrojan3" Davenport and his girlfriend, Kim Lansing, who I became friends with at the WSOP. Jim and I kept regular contact with each other after the WSOP and even more so after the online portion of the BaPP. We called each other numerous times in the months leading up to the cruise, and amidst our conversations, we set a goal to meet each other heads-up in the tournament. It was really great seeing him again in person.
I realize the picture above isn't of the best quality, and that's because I literally took a picture of the picture with my Blackberry, as PokerRoom doesn't allow you to save their images to your hard drive. Fortunately, you can view all three of the "Become a Poker Pro" albums (well over 100+ pictures total) in better quality by following this link.
Mingling with Jim the rest of the BaPP finalists at the PokerRoom Welcome Meeting was a lot of fun. I could tell right away that it was going to be a great group to get along and party with. After dinner, the fun continued when everyone (the BaPP finalists, their guests, PokerRoom staff, and journalists) gathered for a casual tournament. Brandon fared well in the tournament and even won a rare PokerRoom.com chip set for his efforts. I, on the other hand, was pretty buzzed and busted rather quickly.
After the tournament, everyone was free to do as they pleased, so Brandon and I hit up the casino and the On Your Toes Nightclub. To make a long story short, I lost $100 in about 3 minutes playing roulette and then proceeded to play "wingman" while Brandon tried to mack on a 19 year-old Brazilian chick. Admittedly, she wasn't bad looking, but her tag-along 15 year-old sister was butt-ugly and annoying to boot. Despite this, Brandon and I made the best of it and had a fucking blast.
Overall, Day 1 of the "Become a Poker Pro" cruise was a great success. Stay tuned for hangovers, Coco Cay, a photo shoot, basketball, and a formal dinner in Day 2.
To be continued...
The next morning, Brandon and I took a connecting flight back to Cleveland (oddly enough) before we eventually landed in Ft. Lauderdale, a little after 2pm. Upon our arrival, a limo driver was standing near baggage claim holding a bright green sign with my name on it, waiting to drive us from Ft. Lauderdale to the Port of Miami. Brandon and I took the 40 minute limo ride as an opportunity to sight-see and my first impression of Miami was that the city was a dump. And this was before LeBron took his talents to South Beach! Perhaps I'd think different if I returned to the city today, but back then it seemed like everything (buildings, roads, etc.) was under construction. Still, I loved the palm trees and when we arrived to the Port of Miami, the "Majesty of the Seas" cruise ship looked spectacular.
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| "Majesty of the Seas" cruise ship |
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| "Majesty of the Seas" lobby |
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| Miami, FL |
Once at sea, it was time to get ready for the PokerRoom Welcome Meeting at the Paint Your Wagon Lounge. All the BaPP finalists, their guests, and the PokerRoom staff were in attendance and several poker journalists (from Casino City Times and High Roller Magazine - to name a few) were on hand to cover the tournament. At the Welcome Meeting, I met up with fellow finalist Jim "JDTrojan3" Davenport and his girlfriend, Kim Lansing, who I became friends with at the WSOP. Jim and I kept regular contact with each other after the WSOP and even more so after the online portion of the BaPP. We called each other numerous times in the months leading up to the cruise, and amidst our conversations, we set a goal to meet each other heads-up in the tournament. It was really great seeing him again in person.
 | |
| Clockwise from left: Jim "JDTrojan3" Davenport, Kyle "KMO28" Morse (light blue shirt and hat), Ryan "rufebert" Rufe (white hat), Kimberly Lansing (Jim's girlfriend and current anchor of the WPT) and Brandon Lowiec (my guest, orange shirt) |
Mingling with Jim the rest of the BaPP finalists at the PokerRoom Welcome Meeting was a lot of fun. I could tell right away that it was going to be a great group to get along and party with. After dinner, the fun continued when everyone (the BaPP finalists, their guests, PokerRoom staff, and journalists) gathered for a casual tournament. Brandon fared well in the tournament and even won a rare PokerRoom.com chip set for his efforts. I, on the other hand, was pretty buzzed and busted rather quickly.
After the tournament, everyone was free to do as they pleased, so Brandon and I hit up the casino and the On Your Toes Nightclub. To make a long story short, I lost $100 in about 3 minutes playing roulette and then proceeded to play "wingman" while Brandon tried to mack on a 19 year-old Brazilian chick. Admittedly, she wasn't bad looking, but her tag-along 15 year-old sister was butt-ugly and annoying to boot. Despite this, Brandon and I made the best of it and had a fucking blast.
Overall, Day 1 of the "Become a Poker Pro" cruise was a great success. Stay tuned for hangovers, Coco Cay, a photo shoot, basketball, and a formal dinner in Day 2.
To be continued...
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