The Longest Day

No news is good news. Almost two hours into day 1C of the 2007 WSOP and I don't know how Snake5970 is faring. I probably won't know until the first break. We talked early this AM and he was trying to take the day as normal as possible. In fact he was laying out at the Gold Coast pool. I of course was nagging at him to get out of the sun because it can tire you out!! He did take yesterday off and had a great time just taking in the action from the bleachers at the ESPN feature table where Joe Hachem was holding court. Although I had read about the hands on PokerNews before we chatted. Snake was able to recite the hands verbatim back to me. I got two or three phone calls live from the RIO yesterday and that was almost as cool as being there. Today is not so cool.

Snake also was rooting for a Brit gal he had met at the cash game tables who just happened to be seated with Jane Gold. Jamie was sweating his mom in her first WSOP. Now I heard the play by play directly from Snake of a major hand that Jane Gold called down to the river. Reading it on PokerNews isn't the same as being there. My immediate reaction when I heard that she had stayed in on a hand with TT on a K high board and had called a re-raise was Ultimate Calling Station. She rivered her set against AK. Another example of being tied to a pocket pair and being rewarded for Donkey play. I suppose being tied to TPTK also isnt such a great move but in this case it was until the two-outer hit.

Now the Brit gal whose name Snake failed to get is another story... She qualified by accident. Yes sirree folks, while you and I are trying are dangest to win blogger bracelet races and satellite in, this lady signed up for the wrong tourney on PokerRoom.com and won a double (maybe triple) shootout that got her into another tourney for the actual seat which she then won. She had never played live before either until she played a ring game table at Caesar's on Friday.

So last nite I am early chip leader of AcesCracked but Pokerstars screws me up the bum. Down to four-way, I come over the top of Shams raise all-in with QQ and he shows AQ (which is the worst hand in poker for me) and of course Sham spikes an ace and stacks me. Then all in next hand with my crumbs with ATs and I get called by 53d and of course a 3 hits from the big stack and I go out. I don't know why I even bother. Why is it when you need to spike an ace with two over cards to a mid pair you never do, and if you have the pocket pair the over card always hits?

I cashed third in two sngs but didn't win enough to cover my buy ins for yesterday. This AM I was going to do errands early and then play and wait for Snakes 2 PM EDT phone call. Instead I played a sng and bubbled and then did a $10 deep stack PLO8 tourney which LJ was also in. I built up a stack. Then I laid down a hand I had $3k invested in and would have busted out on when two other people in the hand re-raised all in. So I go short for a bit and build my chip stack back up to the point where I was in the money with 30 left and 18 paying and I'm bouncing between 7th and 12th. NO CIGAR... I go out in two hands. While trying to bust a short stack holding A22x and a low board of 33x, I wind up being reraised by an aggressive player who I did have outchipped , I make the call only to get counterfeited on the river God dang it. I then bust out next on the next hand in 28th. Now I admit I was a little rusty at Omaha8 and I wasn't getting great down cards or flops but to get that close and have a nice stack and blow the wad just sucks.

So I told Snake that it didn't matter about my results today. I would be his beyotch and take every river beat and suck out and hit to my online bankroll so that the poker gods will smile brightly on him with GOOD Cardma today. And he said... Don't say that I want you to play your best today and have a good day. But, I just can't play. I'm trying not to exhibit OCD behavior by running to PokerNews every 3 minutes (5 is okay). I've done dishes, folded laundry and marinated my steak. Earlier I chatted with LJ and Kat and will probably chat with Kat again later. I haven't heard from Carmen and I know Dr Pauly has Snakes real name and seat number but in the sea of humanity and pros he didn't know if he would be able to cover him. Oh and while I'm at it Fuel55 you need to update your blog for when your playing!!! And Hoy thank goodness your back from Vacation and Ill have something else to read soon!!

Snake Updates:

Break 1- Down to about 17k- He laid down Jacks on a board of AKx. Preflop laydown of AQ to a raise and reraise. He raised with TT got one caller. Board JJx.. blank on turn blank on river. He fired each street only to have AA flipped up. He lost the most on that hand. (Similarly I laid down TT to a rag board which I had fired out on only to get re-raised on the flop during the Ladies WSOP and ultimately busted out with TT vs QQ). No pros at his table but Steve Dannenmann and Chau Giang are close by.

Break II- Down to 11k. Pep talk Time. We wont talk about the misplayed AK hand. I think I hit the nail on the head when I said your over thinking and he agreed. At this time last year he had tripled up and he was comparing last year to this year. I told him to get out there and grind.


Level 3. Phone rings (about 9:15) and my heart immediately goes into my throat... Im expecting my dad to call to firm up plans for our day trip to Connecticut to visit my sister for the day either Tuesday or Thursday. I look at the phone and its not dad and its not Snake its Carmen. She's standing on the rail behind Snake describing him to me as she wasnt sure if he was still in his original seat. She gives me his chip count and watches him drag a pot. We hang up so she can introduce herself. About 4 minutes later the phone rings and its Snake and I know something bad has happened. Carmen got there just to watch him busto... With the blinds at 200/400. He raised to 1600 and got a caller from the dude he had just won the pot off of. Snake had the Beyotches (QQ) and the board came down Jxx....with two diamonds. The other guy checked I believe and Snake fired a bullet. The dude put him on a draw and moved in. I knew right there the dude had JJ. Snake made the call and his QQ was not goot. He took the walk of shame out of the Amazon room with Men the Master close behind. (Men was scooping up souveniors while we were on the phone outside the Amazon room).

So the third time was not the charm, but I think I put it all in perspective for him when I said: In the grand scheme of things, its just another tourney and there will be a hundred more tomorrow and the next day. And he qualifed for $33 on his first attempt.