Trip Report
by Rob "Suddenly" Catlett
(Editor's note: The Author had planned a rather lengthy and literate trip report, going so far as to use a laptop and take notes. However, due to that lousy bastard's unfortunate physical condition and his typical redneck technical savvy, the notes are useless and The Author is forced back to his traditional style of just talking right out of his ass.)
We got to ATLARGE a little early this year. Monday morning to be exact, trying to avoid the frozen wave of doom that swept the earth. I don't get to play live much at all outside of ARG events so I do try to push it where possible, and this time I may have pushed it too far trying to spend a solid week in the Taj... Everything was spiffy the first few days, beat up on the 5-10 and 3-6 games, managed to cash in one of the Taj tournaments. I like the structure of the Taj's tourneys... no rebuys, and the antes kick in at the third level (100-200 w/ 25 ante). Many of the players seem to be ignorant of pot odds and are fond of limping way too late in the tournament. At one point I from the button raise 3 limpers all in for my last T6800. I don't remember the structure, just that it folded back to me and I doubled through on the hand even though nobody called me...
On Thursday other ATLARGERS begin to appear. Some wander into my 5-10 game, others I just see. For some awful reason at about 11PM or so a bunch of us decide we want to play 2-4 Omaha. The Taj relents and gives us a table, but then in typical Taj fashion tell us it must be a must move game for the main 2-4 O8 game. This of course, defeats the purpose and makes no sense seeing that it would really be a "must leave" game as nobody with any sense would willingly go to the main 2-4 O8 game for the same reason that people don't willingly go to prison...
So someone, I think me, suggests a half HE half O8 game to avoid the must move, and the Taj people agree. So we have a little rocking 2-4 game where I show off my advanced skill at hitting two outers on the turn and overtipping dealers. Unfortunately I'm starting to feel notsohot, and this is where the whole trip starts to come apart....
Ironically, the list for the above game got long enough where a second non-ATLARGE two-way 2-4 game got started, and wound up breaking the main 2-4 O8 game...
So Friday morning I'm really feeling like crap. I vaguely remember the HOE, the only concrete memory I have is busting out in the omaha round with something along the lines of AA35 with a suited ace that got beat both ways. I was short stacked and got about half of my chips in pre-flop and when the flop didn't brick me I felt committed. What I do remember is turning over my hand, and when Goldie (who had the high) started clapping the thought passed through my head that he was acting rather oddly... I guess I was dazed enough to sorta forget about the bustout applause thing... but I soon remembered where I was and what was going on and waived to the applauding throng...
Then I went to take a nap.
After an hour or so I felt duty bound to try a little more poker, see how it goes. I decide to try a little 3-6 as I am a bit fuzzy. Crappy game, table that time (or at least the floor) forgot, short handed and so forth. I want to leave but the banquet is in less than an hour so suck it up... I torture myself for a while over this, then get up. While walking to the banquet I begin to now REALLY feel like poopie. So I abort and return to my room. Maybe a 14 hour nap would be just the thing before the no-limit.
At least that is the plan. I maybe sleep two hours total that night. My throat is driving me nuts, I have some sort of world record for a tongue ulcer (from the cough drops) in that I can see it in the mirror across the room without using my glasses, and best of all the Taj beds and pillows seem to have been designed with the "Cell of Little Ease" as a model. If my tossing and turning could have been harnessed I could have provided a small village with electrical power for the next decade...
I was on autopilot for the no-limit. I remember turning a nut straight and then folding on the river when the board paired. I remember a weird hand where I flopped top pair, bet out, was told it was not my turn yet, apologized, and then when the other player bet I folded. I also remember being moved to table1 seat 10, a seat only accessible by hovercraft, and getting to it just in time for break so I could leave and try to get back to it again only to bust out on a 77 vs. AK race five hands past the break so I could force my way out again.... I'm a wreck from lack of sleep, and the first thing that goes for me is my emotional control, so the above just seems like the Worst Thing That Can Happen To Anyone Ever. Totally irrational, but I'm feeling easily put out at this point. This is when I realize that I feel like acting the same way most of the people (not ATLARGERS of course) tend to act at the Taj. Being a Good Country Boy I tend to spectate the kind of urban rudeness here with some level of amusement. Unfortunately, I'm feeling myself slipping into what I mock. Ye gads.. I maintain for the most part though...
OK... At this point I'm having No Fun. I appreciate the work done on the whole deal by Goldie and others, and I do wish I could enjoy myself, but I'm a mess. I've been looking forward to this for months and I'm here and I just want someone to shoot me, or at least teleport my sick ass back home. Back to the concrete slab mattress and maybe another 2 hour hot shower.
That night I hang out a little in the suite... try to keep a moderate distance in case I'm spreading the SARS virus... hate the idea of just camping out other than the tournaments... hang until about midnight, get some sleep for the Stud tournament...
I get up in time for stud. My first ever live high only stud tourney, as I didn't register for it last year. I've had some good results in internet stud tournaments, but I usually just play Stud8, and the big game back home in my youth was 7stud hi/lo no qualifier. I just never really grasped regular stud for some reason. Seems like every time I play it I keep getting great hi/lo hands...
Second hand in I get dealt rolled up fives. Nice. I make quads on 4th street. I can dig it. Thing is we are playing 15-30 with a stack of 3K so I'm not going to win it here... I think it would be nice to get this a little later. Unfortunately I catch 2s on 5th and 6th so even though I think my opponent has trip queens he slows down and I win a nice pot rather than a really absurdly large one...
From there I muddle on until there are about 5 tables left. I have about 2400, and am waiting for a chance at a noble death so I can sit in the pink chip game for a few minutes at least. Then I make concealed trips on 4th street and manage to almost triple up, and then win the next pot I think on a scary board and a bluff. So I'm doing alright when the table breaks until I get into my saga with Golfman. He has many chips and is playing very aggressive, seemingly completing the bring-in 70% of the time. When there are I think still 3 tables we play a series of crucial hands.
In the first, he brings it in and I complete with an ace showing, and a suited QJ under. He calls. He catches small on 4th and I catch a 9. I bet he calls. On 5th street I pair the nine and he pairs a small card. I bet he again calls. On 6th I catch an ace, pairing the door card. He has 3 to a wheel showing. I bet out and he goes into the tank. I think he has a low draw or two pair and is contemplating dumping it. I have maybe 3 bets left and he is pretty deep. He remarks that he can't believe he is laying this down as he made his draw and shows a 6 high straight and folds.
After a rather serious limit increase we went at it again. He brought in with a five showing for the full bet (I think... he had maybe raised a bring in), and I raised with an exposed 9 and a suited QJ under with larcenous intent. He called. We both catch 9's on 4th street, and I bet to represent the trips. He calls, which concerned me a bit. I was ready to fold up the tent on 5th street until I catch the case 9. I bet with my exposed trips, and he isn't folding yet. He's just tortured, and says something about it being a close call and now I know he started with rolled up 5s. He calls me down and my trips hold.
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Llew interjects:
O.K, it's late and I spent the whole day giving trumpet and drum lessons to 9-12 year-olds, so maybe I am missing something. How does he call down your exposed trip 9's with rolled up 5's that didn't fill up?
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Rob "Suddenly" Catlett replies:
I was probably all in. The limits were a bit insane. He called me on 5th and 6th and then either I had no chips or I assume I check there on the river with the exposed trips anyway...
I can't really remember which, but there was a showdown... I'm somewhat sure I was all in though...
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The final chapter came with nine left in the tournament, and he again raised someone's bring in only for me to find rolled up queens. I reraised him all in and soon the final table was underway...
The final table was quite mad. The limits for most of it were 6K/12K, heavy stuff with only 190K on the table. Then they were 10K/20K. I think I only played one hand without a monster when I completed with an A up only to be reraised by a queen. For some reason I decided a checkraise bluff on 4th street was the correct play, and to my shock I took down the pot.
Other than that from what I recall I busted four of the eight remaining players in my march to the title. As I recall these were the hands I started with:
(JJ)J
(KK)2
(AA)K
(77)7
...given the limits we were pretty much playing no-limit stud anyway...
So, I won the ATLARGE stud tournament. I didn't believe it then and I'm not sure I believe it now. I'd have given it to be able to at least breathe without having a knife stuck in my lung, but we all have our little problems in life I guess...
Thus ended my ATLARGE. I made it back home where the recovery continues. What did I learn?
- Being sick at the Taj sucks.
- Seriously.
- If the structure is fast enough not really knowing the particular game in a poker tournament is not much of a liability.
- You can be rolled up 3 times in an hour and not get arrested.
--- Suddenly (Rob Catlett)
