The Secret Diary of a Betway Poker Pro
06/29/10
Hitting the Tables in Vegas with the Betway Poker King
The Betway Las Vegas poker experience finally started yesterday, when I discovered that the company baseball cap could be a great conversation starter. It made the German guy mentioned in Twitter very keen to relate his bad beat story… it was refreshing to speak to a fellow European who’d been sponsored to play poker.
I invited him to play in the tournament at Harrah’s, an inexpensive, fun game in a no-thrills casino. The term “no thrills” is very relative in Vegas. The casino still has people wandering around offering massages and free drinks; but it doesn’t have in-game trimming of nasal hair or post bust-out eyebrow grooming.
It is surprisingly how quickly those things can seem essential.
Anyway, my friend declined, claiming it was vital that he spend thirty minutes in a sensory deprivation tank. I was off on my own; he was off to Omaha.
Easing in to the Action
I was the only European in the tournament and I should have been the first sent home. The buy in, at $60, was a mere 0.6% of the WSOP, although it also offered one $40 rebuy/add-on before the first break… and paid a whopping $10 bounty on all players.
Thirty minutes had gone and so had my rebuy chip. The standard had been low; most hands had gone to a showdown. I reached for my money clip after going all in on the turn card, holding two pair Ksp, Tc, on a board of Kc-8c-2c-Td. The silent guy to my left had been slow playing Ac, 3c. Ten minutes later I was all in again, this time on the river – and guilty of too much aggression.
Three players saw the flop. I had limped from late position with Qc9c. The board cards were a rainbow of 9-8-7. Seat four bet half the pot. I went all in. The guy behind me snap called, as did the bettor.
I stood up. I had to. It was clear that I was beaten.
The guy behind me flipped over 5h-6h and the bettor had JTos.
Whoops.
The turn card was a ten.
The river was a J.
Somehow I had won.
It was shamefaced.
Nice Guys Finish Last Right?
The guy to my left had been knocked out and I had trebled up. The bettor couldn’t believe it; nor could I. The dealer passed me two $5 chips so I decided to shout out, “Seat four – I’ll split my bounty with you.” I tossed him a chip. It felt like the right thing to do, especially in the city that produced CSI.
It received a good reaction from the table and at the break, seat four shook my hand.
After that piece of probability defying poker, it was relatively easy to use my stack and bully my way to the final table, not least as there had only been 28 entrants. I was in 6th position . The money would go to the top four.
Ten minutes after the formation of the final table, I was 6th of 6, with 5 big blinds. The first two had folded so I went all in with Kd9d. The big blind deliberated and eventually decided to call with AA.
Out
I should have waited: the players were not attacking the blinds. The game was so friendly that it took me five minutes to leave the table due to an extended period of hand-shaking.
I wasn’t the only player to notice that the table was generous.
Ten minutes later, a sharp eyed guy from Chicago, who was 4th of four, suggested a deal: 2nd, 3rd and 4th would take $250; the guy in 1st, who had a massive chip lead, should take $500.
Everyone agreed.
The big stack didn’t want to destroy the table’s vibe by fighting for the first prize of $730.
Split bounties and equitable deals?
Who said Vegas was ruthless?
PS
Don’t forget to read all my Vegas tweets to keep up with the latest giveaways, deals and free stuff.
“The Boss”
