2021 is turning out to be a Cracker Jack year, especially compared to that piece of flaming garbage 2020, when it comes to the poker!
I've already played in my garage four times, click here to read reports on our get togethers, and I'm eagerly looking forward to my return to the actual felt in a casino - hopefully sooner rather than later!
Thank the Poker gods, the plexiglass finally came down in Los Angeles a couple weeks ago and masks are no longer required. Of course it had been down for almost a month in Vegas, with nary a mask in sight as well.
I haven't been to any SoCal card rooms yet, but hopefully I can squeeze in a weekend tournament soon. My itch to play cash is tempered by the ridiculous rake in Los Angeles, so I'll probably hold off on that.
Also, I final tabled the second of two Moose tournaments I've been to in the last few weeks. I cashed in sixth for a couple hundred bucks, which was disappointing, but it was still fantastic to be back and splashing around with these delightful folks.
My exit was a bit of a punt, with a 22 big blind stack in the small blind I jammed with A10 after the button opened 2.5x after a middle position player had limped in. The limper folded, the button snapped with JJ and that was that. Against an active player I have no problem with my line here - but against a guy who hadn't played a hand since the final table started 45 minutes prior, this was a call, followed likely by a check/fold on the flop unless I smashed 2 pair or better.
You'll notice the masks - we wore them until we got down to 3 tables (LA County said at the time masks were still required for groups of 25 or more). We also posed for our final table pic with them, but thankfully for 3 table play down to my exit we didn't have to wear them.
It wasn't that big a deal, a bigger deal to me was the tables didn't have felt, for sanitary reasons I guess, but it made picking up cards tough! Hopefully they will get rid of this feature soon. Guys, even the CDC has said, Covid through surface contact isn't a thing!
And so two big poker trips loom -
The first will be at the end of July, I'm headed to the Peppermill in Reno for a couple of days. The focus will be on cash, probably 1/3 but perhaps 2/5. I don't doubt I will play their noon tournaments, but I'm not counting on those to pay for the trip. I would love it if I could swing it via' the live games.
I'm also bringing along a small chip set to play with friends from grade school in a cabin in Lake Tahoe that weekend. Looking forward to some truly social poker with them.
Coming back from Reno/Tahoe, I see the next few months as a build up to the World Series of Poker, which is coming back gang-busters at the Rio, starting at the end of September and going through November.
I have already booked my flight and my room for the last week of October.
My plan is to play the 1K Seniors bracelet event - this is the first year I'm eligible, so I'm pretty pumped to play in a big field where I won't be in the lower half of skill-sets. I don't expect the field to be terribly soft (as it would've been if I'd turned 50 a decade ago) but I'm also not expecting too many tables of doom out there.
I will indeed bring two bullets, as there are two starting days - but my plan is to judge carefully and cautiously on the first day just how soft my table and the rest of the room is. If it's glaringly obvious to me that the players all around are weak, then I will have the second 1K in the chamber and ready to go for day 2 if I bust.
So that's the BIG tournament I plan to play - but there's a few others that I'm excited to try.
On the day I arrive I plan to late register for event #50 which is a $600 mixed event of NLH and PLO. I imagine I will be dead money, but it should be a lot of fun.
Next day, Wednesday, is the big one - 1K Seniors - planning to do an evening Deep Stack if I bust.
If I make it to day 2 I will have Thursday off. There likely won't be an afternoon Deep Stack as the Pavilion likely will be overflowing. I will have to look elsewhere for poker - the Orleans is likely to be the best choice with lower buy-ins and different options. Of course if I bust on Wednesday AND if I judge the field to be soft enough, I will fire bullet number 2.
On paper the Seniors event is 5 days - I won't be shocked if it goes to 6. Thankfully I plan to be in Vegas all of those days, so hopefully I'll run deep!
Alternate plans if I bust the event are to play in the Colossus, which also has two starting days of Friday and Saturday. If I bust those I likely will be tired and done with tournament poker and likely head back early if I can.
UNLESS - I can manage to wrangle a friend or two to join me for the Sunday 1K Tag-Team Event! This is one that I've longed to play for years, and I have a good feeling in 2021 that there will be more than one of my poker compatriots along for the ride this time around. Hopefully they will join up with me so we can make a deep run in this amaze-balls event!
I have to say, win or lose, run deep or bust early - I'm SUPER excited for the WSOP and can't wait for October!
In the meantime leading up to the big week I'm going to try to be a good boy and do equal amounts of work playing (in my garage and 45 minutes south in the LA card rooms) and studying. I really want to be in a good place when I'm forking over a good chunk of my bankroll for a shot at a deep run and serious cash - and I think I will be.
If there's one thing I've learned about this game, playing poker is NOT like riding a bicycle - at all. It's a game that is forever changing and evolving and if you haven't been working on your game, you stand to be left behind when you show up at a tournament with real players.
WSOP is COMING!! CAN'T WAIT!!!
