The 2005 World Series of Poker.I won a trip to the 2005 World Series of Poker on Pokerstars. I won a $3 super satellite to play in a $30 rebuy. I beat 247 players in the $30 rebuy with a total investment of $66. It was amazing to win that tournament. I beat a guy name Dan Dean from Lawrenceville in the heads up match. We tried to chop the prize, but the tournament director would not allow it. So, I won, and got to go to go to Las Vegas and stay at the Mirage for 9 days. My winning hand in the satellite was pocket 6s. On the final hand, the other guy moved in with pocket 9s and I called with pocket 6s and hit a 6 on the flop. So it was lady luck that sent me to Vegas.I took Airtran Flight 777 on Wednesday July 6, 2005 from Atlanta to Las Vegas. On the way out, a kid from New England was sitting next to me reading Dan Harrington's Poker book. I found out he also qualified for the World Series on Poker Stars. He was a young professional player. When we arrived in Vegas, we split a cab. He was staying at Treasure Island, and they dropped me off at the Mirage first.Upon arrival, I checked into my room at the very end of a long long hall on the 9th floor. I had a view looking out over the Mirage Pool and Caesar's Palace. I could see Bally's and the Imperial Palace from my window. It was very hot in Las Vegas.After checking into my room, I unpacked and rested. Then I took a cab over to the Rio to check in with Poker Stars. They told me a goody bag would be left at my room. I then went down to the registration area and got my seat assignment for the main event. I learned I did not play until Saturday.I saw Matthew Hilger and chatted with him about his poker website and his hopes for the World Series as well.After that, I returned to the Mirage and ate dinner at the Mirage buffet.I played a little poker that day to start warming up.The next day, I went over to the Rio to watch some of the action at the World Series. There were 5600 players, and they were starting about 200 tables a day. I have never heard so many poker chips riffling. It sounded like the chirping of insects in a jungle. There was a problem with a bathroom shortage at the Rio also.I took the time to look around at the Rio. It was a nice facility, but inconveniently located. After that, I went back to the Mirage and checked out the pool, which was fabulous. It was an enormous pool. One side looked towards the Mirage and the other side toward Caesars Palace. I floated and swam. I also enjoyed the hot tub. It was a very hot day.I played a good bit of poker at the Mirage Poker room, mostly losing.I also went over to Caesar's palace and played some blackjack. I won a few dollars.After that, I read my poker books and generally relaxed. On Thursday, I just hung out at the pool, read poker books, and played some cheap poker.On Friday, I went to the spa and got the "tandem massage" from two women. This was a truly wonderful and relaxing experience. I studied my poker books, went over and looked at the World Series, and generally tried to relax. I bought a giant pair of sunglasses to wear.On Saturday, I got up early, got dressed and showered, and caught the shuttle bus from the Mirage to the Rio. It was filled with my fellow poker hopefuls.It was extremely exciting when they let us go to our seats. I think I was at table 162, seat 7.At around 11, the widow of Stu Ungar announced "Shuffle up and deal." My heart was racing.My first hand was pocket 10's. The blinds were 10/20. I put in a 300 raise and everyone folded to me. The dealer announced, "we have our chip leader." I felt proud to have one my very first hand in the World Series.At my table were seated 10 excellent poker tables. About 4 were from Poker Stars, like me. One was from party poker, and I think the others were professional players.In the first 2 hours, I had quite the run of cards. I picked up AA under the gun, and limped in, hoping to get re-raised. I was annoyed when I got 3 callers and no raisers. I was thrilled when an ace hit the flop. The flop was Ace Jack and a rag with two clubs and one diamond. I checked the flop, and the two players behind me both checked. A diamond came on the turn. I decided to go ahead and bet 1000 with my 3 aces. I was surprised to get two callers. There were two clubs and two diamonds, so i thought i might be against flush draws. A final diamond hit the river, and i checked it. The guy behind me checked, then the third guy made a 2k bet. I figured with pocket Aces I'd call it. The guy behind me agonized and then called as well. It turned out my aces were good. The other guy had pocket jacks and the one behind me had pocket 6s. So I won my best pot.I picked up a few other pocket pairs. I got Aces again and raised 300. The pro behind me, Mike "the machine" Machina re-raised to 800. I responded to that by going all in. He agonized for a while before folding.I got other good cards, but got little action. At the first break, I was at around $14,000 in chips and feeling happy.The next hands did not go well for me as my cards dried up. I played very few hands and my chips began to dwindle.My table was a collection of very tight and very aggressive players, so you had to tread warily.Late in the day, I was down to 4000 chips with pocket 8s. I called and Mike Machina called behind me. The flop came with a Jack, 7, 3. I checked the flop and Mike bet 1500. I looked at my dwindling chips and considered the amount in the pot. I moved all in. Machina got very agitated and called me with an Ace 3. My 8s held up and I doubled back up to 8000.I stayed alive until about 10 p.m. My stack was at 8000 still, but a lot of the players at my table had busted out. The guys replacing them were sitting down with stacks of 30 thousand to 50 thousand in chips. I knew if I didn't get my stack doubled up soon, i would not be competitive.I picked up an Ace King offsuit in middle position. The guy in front of me with a giant stack raised to 1000. I re-raised all in. The table folded and the original guy called me. He turned over pocket Aces and my tournament was history.I left the World Series at about 11 p.m. feeling sad at the end of the day. On the plus side, I outlasted most of the players at my table. Mike Machina was still surviving. I heard he got 101st overall.
I learned that Matthew Hilger had knocked out Doyle Brunson.Minnesota Jim Meehan was at the next table and we heard his crazy chatter as something entertaining.I took a cab back to the Mirage and hit the sack.My trip to Las Vegas then turned into a much needed vacation. I floated in the pool at the Mirage, I went to see the Fab Four show and the "X" show at the Aladdin, I went dancing at the Aladdin show room and at the Mandelay Bay, I walked the entire four miles of the strip, I got another massage, I played the "Star Wars" slot machine and enjoyed that. I went and looked at the new Wynn resort and the art collection there. I played blackjack at the Legends pit at the Imperial Palace and won $100 off Shania Twain in five minutes. I finished 8th in a poker tournament at the Imperial Palace. On Thursday, I went down to Binion's and played poker downstairs while they were having the finals of the World Series upstairs. I enjoyed that. I got knocked out of the tournament with AK against AQ. The guy hit a queen on the river to beat me. I had my picture made with a Showgirl. I learned to play "Blackjack Switch" at the Casino Royale.After coming back, I played in a charity poker tournament for Angels of Atlanta that had about 50 players. I got 1st place and a $500 gift certificate after just hanging around with low chips for most of the game. I won the final hand with pocket kings.All in all I had a nice vacation and sharpened my poker skills. I got to spend a lot of time seeing Las Vegas. It was a bit lonely without a companion, but it gave me a chance to get away from the grind and rest. I was ready to go home on Friday, July 15th.
