Countdown to Bart's Pokerfest-Vegas - see below for updates
Here's what's up:
We're going to be in Las Vegas for Bart's 50th birthday on Friday,
September 12th.
That's probably not a severe shock to many of you.
We have free airfare (thanks, SW Airlines) and "The Shoe"
says they can get us rooms for $40. (Sold Out)
...
That's a damn cheap weekend full of all
the excitement
that Las Vegas and big-time Poker can
offer.
Saturday, at Noon, we will gather at the place where they play
the World Series
of Poker
for a private game, stakes are $50 buy in for the first tourney,
$100 for the second.
The game is Texas Hold 'em.
If you want in, but you're not sure about the rules, watch The
Travel Channel Wednesdays to see the very best
in high stakes Texas Hold 'em. We're in the same room where
they play the World Series of Poker.
As a big poker fan, just sitting at The Poker Room at The Shoe
playing like the big boys
is like being a baseball fan and getting to run the bases at
Yankee Stadium.
We're going to do that this Saturday. This is a day
that I'll remember on my deathbed.
...
This is the Cadillac of all poker games, and I'll give you a few reasons why:
You know exactly how much
you can lose up-front.
It's not possible to lose more than this
amount.
The Entry Fee is $50 or $100, plus The Shoe gets
$10$15
from each of us.
(Cheap to play 4-6 hours in the Mecca of all poker
rooms.)
Since this doesn't happen very often, we are playing
two tournaments.
I, as host, will play both tournaments (almost everyone
is)
...
You can try to "stab the king"
at any time.
Unlike every other game or sport, you can declare
"all
in" any time you want.
Any time you think your hand will beat the others,
you call out "all in."
That freezes the action, and every player still
in gets the chance to stay in or fold and continue to play.
...
One of the players, one
of us, will leave will all the money.
There's no "How did you
do at your poker game?"
You either win all the money or you lose your entry
fee.
So, for the first game, you'll either lose $50 or
you win $500
The game can end suddenly
at any time.
Theoretically, if all ten of us think we can beat
the other nine after we're dealt our first two cards,
the entire tournament could last less than three
minutes, but odds are that's not going to happen.
...
We will be playing real
rules in a real casino.
The dealer knows all the rules, so we won't have
any problems or arguments.
For your $50 entry fee (plus
ten
fifteen for the house) you'll get $500 or $1000 in chips.
These are just markers to keep score to see who wins the
final pot. You can't cash them :)
There are more reasons, I'm too
excited to think of them all.
One thing, when the tournament is over - we're
in Vegas, baby!
Friday night we have a private thing planned, but I'll be at both
tournaments Saturday
and somehow I think we could end up at some bad-ass tequila bar
after the game.
Hey, I know - the winner buys the first round of tequila afterwards?
Obviously, being a casino, drinks will be available, and darn the luck, they allow smoking.
"Not Chess, Mr Spock - poker!"
2002 World Series of Poker winner Ron Varkonyi
Moneymaker
Wins $2.5 Million at the World Series of Poker
This new guy, some accountant from Tennessee, won it
all.
This happened in June, but it wasn't on TV until August.
Excerpt:
In his first "live" poker tournament,
Moneymaker
beat a handful of former World Series of Poker champs.
The tournament began Monday with a record-breaking
839 players. A surge in online gambling and a rise
in the game's popularity drew dozens of
unknowns and a 33 percent increase in attendance over 2002.
Players and experts said Moneymaker's win
will revolutionize poker, solidifying the merger of the Internet
and big-name casinos and boosting the game's
popularity. "This is the sonic boom of poker," said Nolan Dalla,
media director for the World Series of
Poker. "This means anyone in their home can become a poker player."
He
wore his cap 'normal' until they
dealt
the very last hand at Binions.
It was a damn exciting finish.
Sometimes he bet crazy, yet he still won.
This kid beat the best poker players from around the world.
He got in on $40, and just kept winning.
Updates
To be honest (always watch your wallet when someone says that)
this is
more about getting together and having a good time than it is
winning.
People who aren't that good at poker will be there, so I drew
up a list.
You old pros know what-beats-what, but here's a refresher and
some advice.
Best hand ever is a Royal Flush.
That's A-K-Q-J-10 of the SAME suit. (all suits count the
same)
Next is his little brother, straight flush.
That's any five cards in a row, such as 3-4-5-6-7 of the same
suit.
Next is four-of-a-kind, meaning four 8's will beat four 6's and everything below this sentence.
Next, and this is tricky, the full house.
That's three of a kind PLUS a pair.
Remember, if you stay to the end, you'll have seven cards from
which
to pick your best five to make your poker hand.
Also on a full house, the top trio wins.
If you have K-K-K-Q-Q, that loses to A-A-A-2-2.
Next is a flush, any five of the same suit, A, 10, 7, 3 and 2
of spades, for instance,
with the top card breaking the ties.
Next is a straight, five in a row, such as 8-9-10-J-Q, of any suit.
Next is three of a kind, which is a great hand towards the end,
but not early in the tourney. (more on that in a
second)
Next is two pair, your top pair brakes the tie. If we each have
a pair of Aces,
the other pair breaks the tie. If the second pair ties, that
fifth card is the tie breaker.
Next is a pair, followed by high card.
Advice Sidebar:
When the game starts, there are TEN hands to beat.
Even if you have a pretty good hand, say 3 of a kind, you gotta
beat nine people behind you.
Conventional wisdom says start out conservative, because
straights and flushes are cheap
if nine other people are at the table.
Also, and this is very important - the (up to) five cards in the
middle can be used by all.
If the "community" cards are 10-J-Q-K, you might have six straights
at the table.
Also, don't get too excited if you have that 9, because somebody
will have that Ace.
BUT...
If it gets down to 2-3 people, suddenly a pair of Jacks is hot
stuff.
Each time a guy drops out, the hands get cheaper.
At this point, an Ace high or small pair can win a pot.
In other words, early on you play NOT to lose,
but if you survive long enough you play to win
You bet BIG when you have the goods (or when you're bluffing).
The reason I point this out, is sometimes inexperienced players
will go "all in,"
on the first hand and lose with a K and a Q.
He's out of the tournament and only got to play one bad hand.
Since we're starting at noon, you don't want to be out at 12:15
Also, in real life it takes a better hand to win than on TV.
On TV, the "experts" will go all in with a K-Q, but in real life,
there are at least a couple of pairs just waiting to kick your
butt.
When it gets down to the last 2-3 people, the "blinds" increase,
which means coasting time is over.
Early on, blinds are minimal. (Blinds are forced bets,
like an ante.)
Two people put in the blinds, which means more action.
If I already have $20 in chips in the pot with a half-decent
hand,
I'm more likely to play that hand instead of playing safe and
folding quickly.
We'll each start with $500
in chips, blinds start at $20.
With three people left, one might have $3,000 in chips,
another guy might have $1500 and the last guy $500.
But towards the end of the game, the blinds increase to maybe
$100-200.
This is good - those go to the winner of the pot - not the house.
If you only have $500 and it's your turn to pay the $200 blind,
you're more likely to go for it all since attrition will kill
you, anyway.
...and that's just tourney number one!
When it's over, perhaps the winner might treat us to a drink.
Whenever we're ready, we'll start the main event, which is for
double
the stakes.
We'll each have $1000
in chips and we'll all be wiser (and drunker) than we were.
I can't wait - I think it's going to rock.
Me? I'm assuming up-front that I'm going to lose.
Might not look too good for me to sponsor a poker tourney and
then win it.
See you soon, and remember - start out slowly.
Don't bet all your chips early unless you can't possibly lose.
Saturday, Sept 13 College Football on TV
I wonder what the lines will be for these games?
You can bet on any game, but these will be on TV.
North Carolina State at Ohio State 9 a.m. PST on ABC
Arkansas at Texas 9 a.m. PST on ABC
Notre Dame at Michigan 12:30 p.m. PST on ABC
Penn State at Nebraska 5:00 p.m. PST on ABC
Georgia Tech at Florida State 5:00 p.m. PST on ABC
Illinois at UCLA Rose Bowl
4:00 p.m. PST on ABC
Damn, Arkansas vs Texas?
I'll take Arkansas and the points.
Tally the Weather Vixen and Tommy Mack are going to meet us at
The Shoe
for a pre-poker breakfast at 11 AM, an hour before the
first tourney starts.
I, for one, will need some breakfast, and it'll be a good way
to meet each other.
I've met Tommy, but not Tally.
I've met Larry and Deb, but not Chicago Jim.
I've met the Seattle Shyster and Jim from Frisco, but not Rich
from LA.
I've met John and Dave in Vegas, but not Mick the Voice.
Let's meet up at Binion's 24 hour cafe for an "eye opener."
.
So, we have a pre-poker breakfast, two damn exciting poker tourneys and a tequilafest after.
Does it get any better than that?
Sold Out
My good friend Bob from Oklahoma grabbed a seat at each
table.
Bob is a long-time pillar of bartcop.com.
He drove to both Fests.
Said he didn't want to "break his streak."
This is really great news.
It means that every person at the table is a good friend.
I consider this a big victory because it means a 'Copper
will win the $500 and the $1000.
The only way this could get better is if Reef the Dog could make it for cocktails.
These two, big jackpots are going to Democrats.
We're fixing the contest up-front, like we were some kinda
B.F.E.E.
bastards,
but two Democrats are going to win jackpots on September 13th.
This is the strangest of all updates,
but you'll never guess who's going to drop by our table to say
"Hey"
My good friend of 30 years "Carl," who was in that Mexican jail with me.
I talked to Binions again today, Friday. The most exciting thing they
said was that we
would be getting the "special" table, the one under the "Wall of
Champions."
Binion's Horseshoe
Must be the sound of the cards being dealt and
the chips plinking,
but Binion's wins it's second live card game
category.
What did you expect from the home of the "World
Series of Poker?"
Deal 'em. -
from the Las Vegas Journal Review
For the $50 buy-in game, we'll each get $500 worth of can't-cash-em
chips.
For the $100 game, we'll each get $1000 in chips.
One of us is going to win $500, and one of us will win $1000.
ha ha
I can't wait for my first "All in!"
Woo Hoo!!
I wonder if we'll see any poker superstars?
What could be more fun than sipping Chinaco while looking
at pocket aces at Binions Poker Room?
Well, I can think of one or two things, and you can find them both
in Las Vegas!
ha ha
The excitement is building, and we're down to...
Here's who's
in:
$50 table scheduled for Noon, Saturday September 13th
1 Big Slick Bart
2 Larry by the Sea
3 Deb from LA
4 Frisco Jim
5 Lawyer from Seattle
6 Low-Chicago Jim
7 Vegas Dave
8 LA Rich
9 Vegas John
10 Bob from Oklahoma
Here's who's
in:
$100 table scheduled for 4 PM
1 Big Slick Bart
2 Larry by the sea
3 Deb's husband Roland
4 Frisco Jim
5 Lawyer from Seattle
6 Low-Chicago Jim
7 Vegas Dave
8 LA Rich
9 Mick the Voice
10 Bob from Oklahoma
Sold
Out
We are going to have a really good time in Vegas.
I talked to Binions again today.
They made a recommendation I liked.
They said it'll be better with more chips.
We can't be pushing a pitiful dozen chips when we call, "All
in!"
...but that will make the tourneys longer.
So we plan to start the first tourney on Saturday at Noon, and start
the second one at 4 PM.
If the Noon game tries to run long, we can increase the blinds for
faster action.
Woo Hoo!
Looks like a day of Chinaco and poker playing at the Mecca of all Poker Rooms.
Another thing I find fascinating, is that in this game, you win by lying
to everyone.
Say you're dealt two Aces, the best opening hand possible. If you say,
"I'm all in,"
you'll probably win nothing more than the blinds, the forced bets which
are very small.
What you have to do is lie and bluff and pretend you can't make up your
mind, and then
you place a small-to-medium bet to keep the others in the hand so you
can get their money.
Of course, if you're the last to declare, and there's already substantial
money in the pot,
at that point you scream "I'm all in," because
nothing can beat you. (at that point)
On the other hand, and you'll see this in every pro poker tourney on
TV, very often the
guys will have nothing, but they'll bet the house and make the
guy with a great hand get out.
You watch, tonight on The Travel Channel somebody will bet $50K on
nothing.
I like this feature because this will be a table full of friends, and
as long as everyone knows
the object is to make the other guy think you have something besides
what you have,
there won't be any hard feelings afterwards because after all, it's
only $50 or $100,
and the winner will be pressured to buy the first round of shots at
the end of the day.
I'm really looking forward to this trip, more than other trips to Vegas.
I'm big on avoiding trouble before it starts, so let me say I do not
want to be a part of any kind
of birthday cake, birthday songs or birthday presents (well, maybe
a shot o' Chinaco...)
I don't want anyone setting up a surprise anything 'cause I don't like
the spotlight.
Party in Vegas...ain't nothing like it.
*Must be 21 to
play in Bart's 