Now I totally get it that Paul Pierce owns the world at the moment and has every right to gloat.  And also there are so many celebrity types at the Bellagio and around Vegas that this would warrant no consideration.  Except that when you are walking with no shirt on early in the morning it has a "look at me" factor.  Now I am sure Paul is still celebrating and he will get a pass from me but for a lot of people that is exactly the type of stuff that makes them think that athletes do not deserve the adulation they deserve.  I do not think I have ever seen anyone walking with no shirt on in a casino before, so when it is someone that is well known it certainly stands out.

There is an air of pithiness around the WSOP that really takes away from the fun you are supposed to be having.  I suppose you can argue that poker has always been like that and you see a few old timers that are grumpy and mumbling to themselves and wonder if that is what a lot of poker players are going to end up like in the future.  By its nature poker, and especially tournament poker, can be a bit negative whether it is taking a bad beat or just running card dead for a while it wears on you.  I doubt that I have the need and want to be exceptional at poker mostly because of the fact that I would have to operate around so much negativity.  I am speaking mainly of live poker.  With online poker I just close chat.  I ran across a couple of young guys that seem excited to be here I just wonder how long that lasts with a collective toll of bad beats, bad beat stories and the ups and downs that wear on you.

It sucks getting close to a final table and whiffing.  I came in 49th in the $1500 NL, I was going to play the $1500 today but I do not feel up to it, so I am likely going to just relax by the pool side, meet up with friends and have an overall chill day.  It is tough playing live poker only once or twice a year, while the skills are there, I am sure I missed a few spots and I know I was awkward with the chips occasionally.  At one point I made a minimum raise because I did not adjust to the blind levels, when someone went all in for 96k I folded my 88 but the result might have been different if I had made a standard raise.  Overall though I think I have a lot of good elements to do well in tournaments and I am fairly confident going into the main event.  I play on the 3rd.

Today I will be live blogging the $1500 tournament at the WSOP on twitter at www.twitter.com/beaniepoker.  I have 46,500, average is about 35k.

So first let me say that I was the guy that knocked out the bubble guy with 6c7c.  He had about 20k and I had about 40k.  He raised 5k into the BB that was openly saying that was openly saying he would fold with Aces.  Figuring that he heard that and needed to chip up I put him on a steal and hit a straight on him.  Do not ever believe the updates, they either write what they are told or reconstruct the action but common sense would tell you that I did not call with 6c7c, which is how pokernews wrote it up. 

OK, so to the Layne Flack part.  I was at the Bellagio and was cashing some chips when I see a friend (Greg Pierson) in the high limit section.  After I get my money from the cage I tell my dad "let me just stop by and say hi for a sec".  Greg is having a few drinks with Layne Flack and both seem to be having quite a good time, it looked like Layne was playing 100-200 Limit Holdem and Greg was just sweating him.  As I was leaving I acknowledge Layne by giving him a little head nod like "hey, how is it going".  Layne looks me dead in the eye and says "fuck you", I smile at him and just walk away.  I hear Greg say, do you even know who he is and Layne goes "yeah I know who the fuck he is", kind of loud like.  My dad is dumbfounded and says, "man that unabomber guy is a real dick".  I then explain to him that he is thinking of Phil Laak, and then also have to explain who Layne Flack is.

Socially I have had a few interactions with Layne, nothing that super stands out, so here is what I have nailed it down to:

[ ] Laynes mom bought a Royal Blue Peanut from me when it was 6k and now it is 2k.
[ ] After Layne won Aruba he played a lot of 25-50 on UB.  I was playing a lot at that time and did quite well.  My buddy list consisted of three people that I would always play, Layne was one of three.
[ ] Once in chat, he was sober at the time, he got upset at me about something silly and I told him he has lost his sense of humor now that he is no longer drinking.
[x] Layne was 8 o’clock drunk.

It did not really bother me but it has been a while since someone has said "fuck you" to me so it was a bit shocking.  Equally as shocking was it happening in front of my dad.

I haven’t blogged in a while and I am sure it isn’t hard to guess why that is…. I CANT WIN!!!! Or at least that is the way it feels right now.  The real reason is probably because I have been playing in games too big and have refused to move down in limits…  It seems like in the old days I used to never get punished for making a bad bankroll decision, but now, if I play too high or take a “shot” at a big game then I always end up going off for a big number.  I am going to try to get back on the grind and regain my interest in poker again.  Just try to grind out 500-1000 a day for a while.  I can do that by playing 2/4 PLO everyday for about 3 hours.. so it isn’t too much to ask.  It is just hard for me to do that because of how competitive I am…. I see these big games going with bad players and I KNOW I CAN BEAT THEM but that isn’t the point.  I am really starting to realize that I care more about the money now than I do about being great.  Which is fine but that means I really just need to grind out a living for a few more years and give up on the idea of being a multi-gallizonaire… at least for a while.  The good news is that in PLO it usually doesn’t take me much time to get back on my feet.  I had alot of stressful things going on in my life while I was out in Vegas, family and friend type stuff, and I know I should have been tougher but it really did effect my poker. 

As for my Vegas trip… I played golf a few times, got to see alot of old friends, and proceeded to lose about 100k and to be honest, it couldn’t have been much worse.  I lose the 3 biggest pots of my life…. In one pot I was a HUGE FAVORITE.. having the guy draw to a gutshot 3 that wasn’t a spade.. and in the 100k pot i flopped top two and a gutshot and lost it 2 times to aces and the nut flush draw… there was a side pot and I only got 3/4ths of that because the kid made a straight both times….  The thing about it though is that I KNEW the game was too big and that there were alot softer spots around the casino.  It wasn’t that the big was tough, because it wasn’t… it is just we were playing 100 dollar straddle on the button and people were re-straddling 200 and 400 and sometimes 800 dollars…. that means we were just GAMBLING.. and with stack sizes around 5000.. that means there is almost NO PLAY….  I guess you live and learn though from the mistakes you make and I think I have finally learned from mine.  I am ready to live the good life from poker, not the easy life.. I am going to have to really get motivated again and constantly remind myself of what I want out of poker…..

-200k later I’m ready to grind

Wish me luck,

Matt

Well after a few interesting instant messages I figured out that the good majority of people did not know it was a joke.  “The Strip Club” is a restaurant in East Saint Paul, as in “New York strip club”.  There really is no nudity involved but if you live in the twin cities it is a great spot (though a bit loud).

Vicki and I went to R.E.M. last night.  I think all of these bands need to learn a bit more about their audiences.  Everyone there was over 30 and likely has kids.  So when R.E.M. strolls on stage at 9:45, well, that is not going to work.  We left at about 10:45 when it looked like they were going to be going for a while longer.  We still had not heard many songs we knew.  Which does sort of suck.  It was still fun and we enjoyed it.  I watched a documentary with Michael Stipe in it a while back and that was the big reason we got the tickets.  He just seemed a bit different than I would have imagined.

One of the jokes that came up between my wife and I was the concept of someone “Putting on a good show”.  Cirque Du Soliel is a good show.  These guys are singing, while their energy is great and the atmosphere is phenomenal with that much energy in a room, can we just retire “they put on a good show”? Or at least can we compare it to Cirque Du Soliel, that should be the bar for a show.

I have been playing a bit more poker getting ready for the WSOP.  I am doing well.  I am also using the Beta version of the hand history software I have been talking about for 2 years.  We are still working out a few kinds but having it usable is literally like the fulfillment of a dream.  There is no question that this software will be a welcome addition in the poker world.

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about this but it was buried amongst a bunch of other stuff.  So this time I am going to give it the proper amount of attention.  So a few weeks ago my wife says “you know that new all gals radio station, they have been raving about The Strip Club”, previous to this little tidbit I thought the shows were all about shopping and feminine protection.  Of course I had to play it cool, otherwise I would be blowing my golden opportunity.  So I said “go on”, meanwhile my heart was racing trying to figure out if she would be getting the lap dances or if I would.  She said it was new and on the East Side of Saint Paul, OK, whatever, when do we leave?

The first time we were there we could not get a table, so we sat at the bar and amazingly it was an OK time.  I did figure out though that I was being set up, both guys and gals work at “The Strip Club”.  Ok, whatever, a little emasculating but I am sort of a freak like that.  After a few drinks and a little conversation we decided to dive into the main course, which definitely exceeded my expectations.  THERE WERE SO MANY COUPLES OUR AGE IT WAS UNREAL! So we did not feel so out of place.  As we left both of us had a devilish grin and we knew we would be back soon.

Which brings me to last night, on the last occasion we went on a Friday and it was packed.  Last night was a Wednesday so there were less couples and we got a table easily.  Immediately a very attractive gal came over to see if she could serve us in any way.  I have to admit, even after the second time my adrenaline was rushing and I could tell that my wife was also a bit excited and freaked out at the same time.  It was time for some wine to get this party started (for her not me, but her relaxing helped).  Gradually things became a bit less awkward, there were less men this time too, which was a good thing from my standpoint.  After about 2 hours of people watching it was time to go home.  But we will certainly be back soon.  There is more to the story but unfortunately my time is short.  Maybe I will give another update tomorrow.

I have written about Nick in the past and I likely will write about him a lot more.  He runs cardschat.com which is likely the best run forum online.  The classic sniveling and arguments that typically make up a poker forum do not happen at CC.  Most online forums begin as a community but then as they become more popular negativity begins to take over as a disconnect happens between users.  CardsChat is a reflection of Nick, he is pretty low key and that is how his forums are.

Nick is also 19, he can not even get into a bar and in case you have not figured it out he has been running things since he was about 15.  I do not know about you guys but when I was 15 I was thinking about who I was going to take to the homecoming dance.

It is not uncommon in poker for young people to do well because the game requires a fresh mind.  Looking at the results from every major tournament you can see what I mean.  In the poker industry however young people have not historically done well.  Part of the reason is that there are a lot of negotiations that need to happen.  In Nick’s case though he has a thriving community that is loyal to his cause, card rooms see that and want to be a part of it.  Nick does not need to yell, he let’s his actions do the talking.

As you can obviously tell I am impressed.  Nick is a tireless worker and his blogs and poker strategy sections are some of the best on the internet.  Unlike a lot of things in this industry where people pay each other to recommend them, this is unsolicited.  Virtually everyone in my family and everyone I know has heard about Nick.  If you are looking for a great poker site that is refreshingly low key in a world of flash banners and stupid prop bets check out www.cardschat.com.