Turning Stone Trip Report

So I met the limo at exit 12 of the Northway Park and Ride as the rest of the crew was motoring down from Glens Falls. Lest you think we always pimp a ride like this I'll confess that the limo is owned by a friend of Lex and Chris our driver was going to be gaming too. $60 round-trip leave the driving to Chris with beverages on board/tunes and movies (Road Trip on the return ride).

A 6 person $5 turbo sng on the way up with Snake5970 (Ray) sitting out. We Lose John I think first to Lex's dad Keith chasing (nothing new there) and sucking out a flush on the river. A few hands later I raise with AQ get two callers Keith being one. the flop is KXX check check check (me in position so I take the free card knowing Keith is a calling station). Turn comes and A... I'm looking good and push all in. Karen or Zoe bows out. Keith goes into the tank and I say.. Chase your flush Keith. I'm pretty sure he has either hit the K and is looking to get paid (or was looking to check raise/call the flop if I or Zoe had fired) or he could have a weaker ace. Nope he calls behind with KJ and of course sucks out on me when a Jack hits the river. I take over the deal after I bust out. Zoe wound up busting Keith for a winner take all.

We get to T-Rock and breakfast first at the buffet. I'm not really a big breakfast eater and compared to Caesars brunch with Randy from Aces Cracked on my first full day in Vegas and the Rio WSOP day breakfast with LJ this pales in comparison. Of course the company is good. We head to the poker room it is empty.. HMMM not like Caesars not like MGM not like the Amazon Room not even like the Orleans poker room. We are talking one table going of $1/$2 and two dudes playing $1000 max $5/$5 NL heads up. A few folks put their names on the cash game tables (Ray, Keith, Lex, John and Karen). Karen and Zoe go to play some casino games. Lex goes to play Blackjack with Dad. Chris our driver goes to play WAR and buy pull-tabs. I shoot the shit with Ray for a bit then head over to the NL heads up game which John is watching while he waits. The older out of shape fat guy busts the younger stud in the track-suit. He gestures to me that even though he has $4700 on the table he is still STUCK and invites me to sit down with him. I laugh and roll my eyes and say... I'm a cash game donkey, stakes to rich for my blood. He pays me a nice compliment which makes my day and disappears.

Lex has donked off $100+ in five minutes of BJ..... $15 table minimum took about 10 minutes he said.. The dealer was just running hot. He sits at $1/$2. His dad sits at $2/$4 no limit. Ray finally sits and says come sweat me. So I pull up a seat on the wall and pop in the IPOD and open up the FTP strategy guide to read more Andy Bloch. Did I mention its autographed by Michael Craig. I won it in that FTP special tourney they had the one I finished 13th in.

Somewhere during the AM TILT sets in. Numerous reasons. #1 being I cant find my regular glasses. I had my nice new COACH prescription sunglasses at the ready and my contacts in the bag. But I couldn't find my regular day to day glasses with the $400 lenses. Dammit. Just my freaking luck, Cash in the MATH and now risk having to invest in new glasses not just lenses which will set me back at least $600. Can't I ever catch a break. I mean I cash in the Mookie or some tourney for a nice score and next day leak under the sink sets me back $200. I swear the gods are trying to tell me that I will never get ahead..........Somewhere over the course of this day I start crossing myself and saying Hail Mary's. I'm not even a practicing Catholic anymore!!

Finally its time to register for the tourney. I have my pokerroom card which everyone must buy each day you playfor $2. I have to get a Diamond Card. I get the Diamond card and register for the tourney. A nice lady who winds up at my table signs up for the tourney after deliberating for a bit and after I advise her to take the $5 add on for an additional $500 chips and explain to her why she wants to do it... She winds up busting out on the second hand of the tourney when her two pair lose to a turned straight.

The poker room starts to fill up. I check back on Ray's progress and he is down a buy-in. Running bad seems to be the order of the day all around so far. Lex mentions no one can lay down Ace anything. Now as the poker room is filling I notice that the room is filled with tons of boys in the age range of 18-24. Now, Turning Stone is no booze so under 21's can play. Some of these lads don't even look 18. I mention to Ray that they look younger all the time.

So I take my seat with my sunglasses on (which one dude later tells me makes me look ominous after I stare him down). The #1 seat is the bust out seat, first the lady then another dude who gets moved to her seat. Then the 10 turns out to be another bad seat. John eventually gets moved to the #1 and isn't there long either. I find out later Lex busted early in the first levels with overplayed JJ. Chris and Keith out next then Karen and John from the #1 seat at my table. Zoe, Me and Ray are still in with me doing the best which isn't saying much. I went to the first break being up a little over the $4500 starting chips and here's why...

Limp Limp I look down to KK on the button. I pop it up to $600 ($75/$150 level). College boy in a Bucknell sweatshirt re pops in SB me $1200. Fold Fold from the limpers and BB. Now in the old days IG would shake in her shoes and assume shes beat with Aces maybe. Without hesitation I look at him and have this strange feeling he has the same hand. So I say... SO BE IT if you have them. I'm here to win not play girly poker ALL-IN..... Insta-call KK vs KK, we chop the blinds. I then know its going to be a long frustrating day and I'm already on Eyeglass TILT.

Ray has chipped up nicely and gets move to my immediate right when we get down to three tables (95 started the tourney). I look at him and advise him that If I push all in from the BB into his SB with ATC its a calculated move based on our chip stacks and point to the FTP book. I look at the complexion of our table. He is in the same age bracket as me although I have him by two years. there are mostly college buys at the table and a few old men. A dude gets moved to my left who I swear has Tourette's and the hairiest legs I've ever seen. He announces all his moves quite loudly: FOLD, RAISE. I CALL. His hand shakes badly when he pushes his chips across the oval line that cirles the poker table(no tell as to the strength of his hand there) I don't know whether I should be laughing or crying everytime he shouts I jump out of my seat just about. Ray and I concur later that there was something really wrong with the dude (no real social skills). I decide that maybe he as Asperger's syndrome or some such thing.

So my demise is on three hands. The hand I should have played I look down to 89s in the BB. Asian Kid from Middle position, who Ray recognizes from previous TRock trips, and who is a good player per Ray, raised to $3200 (as Trent S would say.. Magic Johnson). I like my hand, figure Asian Kid is strong... he gets an all in call from the button or Cutoff). I'm getting incredible odds now but if I call Im all in. I like the hand and figure Live cards. I decide to fold fearing dominating hands. Asian kid who has told me my Buddha Card capper is probably better luck for him then me (If only he knew) flips KK, other dude has overs but gets busted. I stare at the board in disbelief as I would have hit a str8. The Asian Kid sees my look and says you would have won the hand and I would have been pissed but understood your call had you called there. Later I push in with live cards from the button trying to knock out the old geezer who is holding Ax. He hits I dont.. Now im the small stack and all in on my sb and I cant even post the full sb blind and ante. Out IG goes to the old geezer again who is holding A4os lol..Finishing somewhere between 25th and 28th. Last woman standing.

Ray makes the final table and busts out in tenth on a hand he shouldnt have been in on but he was getting 4:1 calling the raise with the blinds and antes at what they were (and the raiser and one caller in the pot from his blind). Which leaves me to my next lament.

The structure at turning stone kind of sucks.. At the $1000/$2000 blind level the ante is $500!!! Im most tourneys at Caesar's, Foxwoods, Borgata, Taj its like $300 or so at that level. Here is the structure

$25/50, $50/$100, $75/$150, $100/$200/A$25, $200/$400/A$50, $300/$600/A$75, $400/$800/A$100, $600/$1200/A$200, $800/$1600/A$300...at the $1000/$2000, $1500/$3000 and $2000/$4000 levels the ante stays $500... I think you get the idea who crazy the ante levels are......

Anyway Chris our driver had the best day at WAR and pull tabs netting over $4000. Hes putting it towards a deposit on a new limo or car as he got some big client for the Saratoga Racing Season thats coming up. I found my glasses in their case on the seat of the limo which we returned to after Ray busted out. So eyeglass TILT was over. I'm still on I dont feel very attractive, Im ugly and fat and I feel old TILT ( tripped over my own feet walking up the stairs of my condo and twisted my back) right now and will have to get over that.

On the bright side.... My FULL TILT ROLL is looking plush and the BBT freeroll is tonite!!! I'm taking a few days off I think after tonite. Not because I'm not playing well, I had my third MATH Final table in a row and am 2/3 in cashes in that tough event.... Thanks LJ and girly chatters for the congrats and kudos....I just need to decompress for a bit.