The WPT Invitational - Part 2
It's an overwhelming sight to walk into a tournament like this for the first time. Especially when given unfettered access. The break was still on, so people were getting in their mingling while a majority of the crowd was still here (read: Not eliminated). Right in the front of the lobby, Chris Ferguson chatted with a couple fans while Phil Ivey stood alone sipping a drink in his traditional "I kinda look like a thug but you know I'm not" pose. Lots of suits walked around, and business cards were the currency of exchange. Wil and I stood in the middle of this and I began to wonder if jumping into this mess would be the best plan.
I finally did when Phil Gordon walked by, and I had to take the opportunity, as I actually had an excuse to say hello.
"Hey, Phil, how's it going? I've been meaning to say hello, I play in Grotenstein's home game."
"Oh, hey, I hear that game's soft!" He chuckles good-naturedly and we shift talk to the cruise. I figure my goal is to talk to pros about their status on if they're going (or going to WSOP Circuit instead), and whether they're Star Wars fans or not. (Gotta do some work for Pink Five while I'm here!) Since I don't wish to repeat myself over and over in this report, assume most of the people I talk to got a Pink Five card at one point or another. I tell Phil he has to join the home game at one point, and he agrees with a sly grin before we depart ways.
Already, this day ranks very high in my overall poker career.
As the break is wrapping up, Daniel Negreanu walks by, his stride giving off the vibe that he needs to get somewhere. But I can't pass it up. I just can't.
"Daniel!" He's 3 feet away from me, and stops and starts to automatically shake hands. "I'm on your message board," I add, and he starts to laugh.
"Oh yeah? What's your username?"
"PokerGeek."
"Oh, I know that name!"
Glee eminates from my soul. Theoretically, he could be full of crap, but my BS detector is coming up empty. I thank him for being so cool as to read the message board, and he apologizes that he doesn't more, due to his schedule, at which point I remind him that we should all have such problems. After about 15 seconds he's off and running again, and I'm left standing alone in the moving crowd, the grin of ten politicians stapled to my face.
The break is ending, and people are making their way back to the tables. We re-enter the tourney hall and Wil points out where his table is. I flinch at how far away it is from the ropes. It's literally shoved back in the corner on the left side.... Table #1.
Wil heads over while I start to really take a tally of everyone in view. Skeet Ulrich brushes by me, looking extremely... well, high. Jennifer Tilly is standing over her table like she's holding court. Mark Seif is laughing extremely loud about something in the back. Danny Masterson sits at a table with about 5 poker pros and looks like he's trying to find an excuse to get away. Vince Van Patten is playing and cannot stop grinning. I think he had it surgicially installed after Season One ended and his contract got extended.
After some people watching I make the effort to get as close to Wil's table as possible, but I'm too far away to be able to really tell who's there. Then my buddy Andy, who works for the WPT, strolls by with a camera, but doesn't spot me. I whimsically call his cell phone and watch as he looks at the number for a few seconds and grudgingly decides to answer.
"Yo, turn around," I ask. He does, and I wave, and the look on his face says it all, and he repeats the sentiment when he gets close enough to talk.
"How the hell are you here?" he says with a laugh. I show him the badge and explain I'm here to support Wil, and ask him for help for getting closer to the table. He leads me through a crowd and behind a curtain, and soon I'm standing not two feet away from Wil as he folds for the next 30 minutes.
The table lineup:
Seat 1: Wil
Seat 2: Adrien, the drummer from No Doubt
Seat 3: Unknown guy (who I'm standing right behind)
Seat 4: Tom Everett Scott
Seat 5: Mena Suvari
Seat 6: Unknown Poker player/pro
Seat 7: Gus Hansen
Seat 8: Actor who I recognize but can't name
Seat 9: Unknown player
Wil's stack looks healthy. Gus has 2 racks in front of him full of what looks to be cash chips, not tournament chips. It's obviously there for intimidation factor. Mena and Tom are chatting with Wil a lot, mostly about writing and blogs. Meanwhile, the standard play so far is that any good raise pre-flop can take the pot.
After about 20 minutes or so, Kathy Griffen walks over, just knocked out. Wil asks how she lost.
"I lost to a guy with a mullet!"
Wil laughs and offers his witty comeback, "What was his kicker?"
Gus is talking a lot more than i'm used to, and it's fun to listen.
Finally, Wil raises UTG and it's folded around to the actor in the 9s, who calls his raise. The flop comes out KJx. Actor checks, and Wil quickly pushes all-in. Either the actor's been a calling station and Wil's got KJ or JJ, or Wil has absolutely nothing. Actor folds and Wil takes a decent pot. I give him a thumbs up and he smiles.
Greg Raymer walks over and it's obvious he's done for the day. Wil catches his eye and they talk for a bit, and Greg mentions that he's read Wil's blog, and Wil's face lights up. Tom Everett Scott is obviously a knowledgeable player, and he joins in on the fun. Wil turns to him with a smile. "Greg Raymer reads my blog!"
Greg is still standing only 5 feet away. "Not to talk like you're not here or anything," Wil apologizes.
"Oh no, no problem." Greg comes off as a sweet guy and I'm enjoying being a fly on the wall.
Wil's table gets broken up and he draws Table 10, Seat 2. I start to try and find table 2 when both Wil and I realize at the same time where he's about to sit.
They should have just called it Murderer's Row.
Seat 1 - Unknown
Seat 2 - Wil
Seat 3 - Amir Vahedi
Seat 4 - Actor
Seat 5 - Martin de Knijff
Seat 6 - Player Relations manager of Commerce
Seat 7 - Eric Seidel
Seat 8 - TJ Cloutier
Seat 9 - David Williams
I offer a Bender-esque "You're boned" before he sits down... not exactly the most encouraging statement, but Wil's face shows he was thinking it before I said it. Amir's got a towering stack and is now controlling Wil's future. Wil folds for 10 hands before raising in middle positon. Amir quickly reraises for half his stack.
My instinct is that Amir is bullying. He chomps on his cigar while Wil thinks it over. If Wil has anything, he'll push. The problem is, Wil's stack isn't big enough that Amir will fold unless he's got absolutely nothing.
Wil's taking awhile to think. I think he's on a small pair, or something like AJ. I try to send some mojo his way, telling him to push.
After a beat, he does. Amir calls pretty quickly, and Wil shows Pocket 5's.
I pray for overcards, but Amir shows 10's. The board teases will with a flop of 746 and a great straight draw, but it doesn't come.
Wil gets up, shaking Amir's hand and not looking upset at all. "If I'm gonna go out, that's the way to do it." I agree and we go get some post-elimination chicken wings.
"What did you have when you pushed with the king-high board?"
"AQ. Board totally missed me."
"Oh. Nice play."
"Thanks. Chicken wing?"
"Don't mind if i do."
(To be continued.... Part 3!)
-PokerGeek
I finally did when Phil Gordon walked by, and I had to take the opportunity, as I actually had an excuse to say hello.
"Hey, Phil, how's it going? I've been meaning to say hello, I play in Grotenstein's home game."
"Oh, hey, I hear that game's soft!" He chuckles good-naturedly and we shift talk to the cruise. I figure my goal is to talk to pros about their status on if they're going (or going to WSOP Circuit instead), and whether they're Star Wars fans or not. (Gotta do some work for Pink Five while I'm here!) Since I don't wish to repeat myself over and over in this report, assume most of the people I talk to got a Pink Five card at one point or another. I tell Phil he has to join the home game at one point, and he agrees with a sly grin before we depart ways.
Already, this day ranks very high in my overall poker career.
As the break is wrapping up, Daniel Negreanu walks by, his stride giving off the vibe that he needs to get somewhere. But I can't pass it up. I just can't.
"Daniel!" He's 3 feet away from me, and stops and starts to automatically shake hands. "I'm on your message board," I add, and he starts to laugh.
"Oh yeah? What's your username?"
"PokerGeek."
"Oh, I know that name!"
Glee eminates from my soul. Theoretically, he could be full of crap, but my BS detector is coming up empty. I thank him for being so cool as to read the message board, and he apologizes that he doesn't more, due to his schedule, at which point I remind him that we should all have such problems. After about 15 seconds he's off and running again, and I'm left standing alone in the moving crowd, the grin of ten politicians stapled to my face.
The break is ending, and people are making their way back to the tables. We re-enter the tourney hall and Wil points out where his table is. I flinch at how far away it is from the ropes. It's literally shoved back in the corner on the left side.... Table #1.
Wil heads over while I start to really take a tally of everyone in view. Skeet Ulrich brushes by me, looking extremely... well, high. Jennifer Tilly is standing over her table like she's holding court. Mark Seif is laughing extremely loud about something in the back. Danny Masterson sits at a table with about 5 poker pros and looks like he's trying to find an excuse to get away. Vince Van Patten is playing and cannot stop grinning. I think he had it surgicially installed after Season One ended and his contract got extended.
After some people watching I make the effort to get as close to Wil's table as possible, but I'm too far away to be able to really tell who's there. Then my buddy Andy, who works for the WPT, strolls by with a camera, but doesn't spot me. I whimsically call his cell phone and watch as he looks at the number for a few seconds and grudgingly decides to answer.
"Yo, turn around," I ask. He does, and I wave, and the look on his face says it all, and he repeats the sentiment when he gets close enough to talk.
"How the hell are you here?" he says with a laugh. I show him the badge and explain I'm here to support Wil, and ask him for help for getting closer to the table. He leads me through a crowd and behind a curtain, and soon I'm standing not two feet away from Wil as he folds for the next 30 minutes.
The table lineup:
Seat 1: Wil
Seat 2: Adrien, the drummer from No Doubt
Seat 3: Unknown guy (who I'm standing right behind)
Seat 4: Tom Everett Scott
Seat 5: Mena Suvari
Seat 6: Unknown Poker player/pro
Seat 7: Gus Hansen
Seat 8: Actor who I recognize but can't name
Seat 9: Unknown player
Wil's stack looks healthy. Gus has 2 racks in front of him full of what looks to be cash chips, not tournament chips. It's obviously there for intimidation factor. Mena and Tom are chatting with Wil a lot, mostly about writing and blogs. Meanwhile, the standard play so far is that any good raise pre-flop can take the pot.
After about 20 minutes or so, Kathy Griffen walks over, just knocked out. Wil asks how she lost.
"I lost to a guy with a mullet!"
Wil laughs and offers his witty comeback, "What was his kicker?"
Gus is talking a lot more than i'm used to, and it's fun to listen.
Finally, Wil raises UTG and it's folded around to the actor in the 9s, who calls his raise. The flop comes out KJx. Actor checks, and Wil quickly pushes all-in. Either the actor's been a calling station and Wil's got KJ or JJ, or Wil has absolutely nothing. Actor folds and Wil takes a decent pot. I give him a thumbs up and he smiles.
Greg Raymer walks over and it's obvious he's done for the day. Wil catches his eye and they talk for a bit, and Greg mentions that he's read Wil's blog, and Wil's face lights up. Tom Everett Scott is obviously a knowledgeable player, and he joins in on the fun. Wil turns to him with a smile. "Greg Raymer reads my blog!"
Greg is still standing only 5 feet away. "Not to talk like you're not here or anything," Wil apologizes.
"Oh no, no problem." Greg comes off as a sweet guy and I'm enjoying being a fly on the wall.
Wil's table gets broken up and he draws Table 10, Seat 2. I start to try and find table 2 when both Wil and I realize at the same time where he's about to sit.
They should have just called it Murderer's Row.
Seat 1 - Unknown
Seat 2 - Wil
Seat 3 - Amir Vahedi
Seat 4 - Actor
Seat 5 - Martin de Knijff
Seat 6 - Player Relations manager of Commerce
Seat 7 - Eric Seidel
Seat 8 - TJ Cloutier
Seat 9 - David Williams
I offer a Bender-esque "You're boned" before he sits down... not exactly the most encouraging statement, but Wil's face shows he was thinking it before I said it. Amir's got a towering stack and is now controlling Wil's future. Wil folds for 10 hands before raising in middle positon. Amir quickly reraises for half his stack.
My instinct is that Amir is bullying. He chomps on his cigar while Wil thinks it over. If Wil has anything, he'll push. The problem is, Wil's stack isn't big enough that Amir will fold unless he's got absolutely nothing.
Wil's taking awhile to think. I think he's on a small pair, or something like AJ. I try to send some mojo his way, telling him to push.
After a beat, he does. Amir calls pretty quickly, and Wil shows Pocket 5's.
I pray for overcards, but Amir shows 10's. The board teases will with a flop of 746 and a great straight draw, but it doesn't come.
Wil gets up, shaking Amir's hand and not looking upset at all. "If I'm gonna go out, that's the way to do it." I agree and we go get some post-elimination chicken wings.
"What did you have when you pushed with the king-high board?"
"AQ. Board totally missed me."
"Oh. Nice play."
"Thanks. Chicken wing?"
"Don't mind if i do."
(To be continued.... Part 3!)
-PokerGeek
posted by Chris Hanel at
5:51 PM
