Wynn Fall Classic $600

Following the advice of those in the know after a chat, coupled with the fact that I'm slightly tired, and that I've also left the giraffe at the house when leaving today, the updates may be a bit shorter and sweeter than they have been in the past. I'm pretty sure they have nothing whatsoever to do with my results, but let's see if we waffle less and focus more what happens. It certainly can't hurt to try,and see how it goes, despite all the love for my rapier-like witty prose.



Not sure how well that plan is going to go based on the length of my opening paragraph.

Rivered a straight, he rivered a flush. 15k to 13k. Pot control and all that.

VERY talkative first table. Generally good humoured but most of the chat is just Pez-dispenser snippets on what poker is all about, so I'm kind of focused and just in my shell, and the quiet guy at the table for a change.

Won the last hand before the break, back to 16k but still keeping it holstered for the time being.

Halfway into level 4 and I'm on 16k still. Everyone's nice enough and there've been no car-crashes. One guy's had aces 3 times and got action and won them all. Must be nice. No ones doing anything silly so it looks like dig in for a war of atricion at this stage. All good.



Just flopped quad jacks and won a decent pot. If only it were always this easy. Up to around 20k.



The screen says 198 entrants today, and I believe 167 yesterday for the first flight.

Don't worry, I'm not playing the drunken monkey with White Russians. My drink of choice is Baileys & milk (masculine huh?), where you'd feel sick and throw up way before you get intoxicated. Having said that I have used the fact it looks a lot stronger than it is to give off an image at the table and it often can get action one wouldn't normally get in normal circumstances. At this table it'd be wasted right now so it's just nuts and bolts.

We're now on break and my entire table has been moved from the poker room in the Wynn over to the main Encore tournament area. Brighter and airier and generally nicer, not that there is anything wrong with the Wynn room, I love it. I'm now on 24k with average around 24,600. Feeling fine.

My table just broke. Been moved onto a table literally crammed with unspeaking robotic internet droids all sporting headphones, multiple devices and no facial muscles that enable smiling. Quiet as the grave. I hate tables like this but when it's 9 vs 1 even I'm going to struggle. I know of course that adapting to situations is part of the territory, so I guess my iPod is my friend for the time being.

The droids have got me right back down to 20k at the 300/600/75 level. We're down to 99 players from the final days number if 207, and it's about one hour to the dinner break. We didn't need to fire the extra shell in this opening event, which means whatever happens on the rest of the trip, there's over $600 in the kitty to get refunded to the stakers. Feels like a win already.

Boom. Average is 34k and I'm up to around 37k after I flopped a low set and one pair went berserk on me. He was drawing semi-dead to runner runner when it all went in which is rare for me, but I'll take the chips, and keep on cruising.

The unthinkable has happened.

A couple of stoic droids busted, a couple of more animated replacements arrived, I couldn't keep a lid on the chat for ever, and now generally the whole table is jovial and having a good time. Go figure.Level 9 and I'm on 34k. 81 players left.

Dinner break til 8pm. Nothing to report. 30k. Off to Red 8 for some steamed sea bass with ginger & spring onion, and a Del-Boy cocktail. Back in a bit.

Back from dinner and a few early steals get me up to 35k again. Average is now at 51k but I'm not overly concerned. A lot of folk still play AJ off like quads so I'll sit tight.

Another table break. Now 59 players left.

Bit of aggression and now up to 40k. 55 left.

Down to 44 players now and the pace has slowed a bit. I'm doing OK on 60k.

If I had a drink in my mouth earlier I'd have spat it everywhere, which is most unlike me. I just lost it in fits of laughter. One guy at the table in the 7 seat said he couldn't hear what we were saying at our end of the table as he was partially deaf, at which point the player in the one seat said very loudly to him "IS THAT YOUR REAL HAIR?"

Maybe childish but it tickled me. I'm still laughing about it 30 minutes later.

Down to 36 players at the end of level 12.

Average 86k

Me 102k

My table just broke. Again.

Final level of the night now. I'm on 90k on a very aggressive talkative table. I know about half of them, and it's pretty frisky, but I'm doing ok. Average is now about 107k at 1200/2400/400 with 29 players left.

End of day. I bagged up 98,500. Restart tomorrow at noon in the main room. Far too tired to wax lyrical right now. I'm going home to sleep. A lot. Goodnight one and all.