W S O P Academy Weekend Report

[nutzbuster 7]

Las Vegas. Just Sirius.Ahhh, Sin City. Home of gambling pros and skanky ho’s. Respite for the newly wed and the nearly dead. A magnet for Bellagio lake seagulls and porn peddling illegals. This place has it all baby, like it or not, all you can eat.Well, I got a belly full last weekend, thanks to a re-dic white boy can’t rap rap and a contest from the beyond generous folks at the Hardcore Poker show (Sirius Radio channel 186) and the WSOP Poker Academy. (coughcoughAdvancedCampcoughcough).Most already know the story. The contest and many who sent in “why they sucked at poker” essays, and I wrote a rap, that won, esse~. So I was off to Sin City to meet the hosts of the show and experience 5 days of some of the best that Las Vegas has to offer.Wednesday evening. (Apologies in advance for my Swiss cheese like memory).I wanted to get there a day early to play some and see a few poker buddies. And getting to Vegas from Phoenix is so money because the flight is so short. You barely have time to finish your drink before they are ripping it from your fist and telling you to get your tray table up. Collecting your luggage and grabbing a cab from the airport to the hotel sometimes takes longer that the flight itself. Awesomeness.I check in at the Mirage and head down to meet Steve7 and Sam at the Cali pizza kitchen for a great little meal. Steve was in town to mine the fertile cash games surrounding the WPT events and Sam flew all the way from England to just …ummm…because he felt like it? Sam is obviously not afraid to travel clear across the globe for a good time. And he is the A-typical English gentleman. Just a cool cat, very polite and proper, and a pretty damn good poker player. I will also prop bet anyone who meets and spends time with him at the Series this summer to not come away saying “cheers” at least once a day.After the meal we all head over to Bellagio, which is hosting the WPT event. The place is packed with the typical gaggle of pokers who’s who’s. It doesn’t take long before we have lost Steve to the game in Bobby’s room, so Sam and I decide to go big too. We get on the list, and 30 minutes later we too are sitting down ready to destroy nose bleed stakes style at 2-5. Yeah, that’s right beeatches. First hand…and I mean everyone had not even at down yet. I get Kings. Raise, reraise, bingo bango, hello Aces and I am stacked. Fasted stackage ever. Sam can verify just how shitty I can run. I mean, I always use words like epic, etc., so tell ‘em Sam! Tell ‘em man!!! I think that $200 of my $400 buy in lasted 10 seconds, literally. Thank God the Aces dude only had only bought in for $200. So I rebuy and we settle in for a fun little session that lasts a few hours, I think I actually made $75 or so. Really fishy table too, full of some of the worst players I’ve ever seen at Bellagio. Just horrible. Sam got the best of ‘em and also ran some nice plays and moves. Good times for sure.Thursday. Things get Sirius I check out of the Mirage and hoof it about 14 feet down the Strip to Caesars for the official start of my contest winning weekend. Hop out of the cab, and make my way thru their extravagant lobby, pony up to the counter where a nice lady tells me she has no clue who I am. LOL! I did not make the reservations obviously and have no idea who did, so I stammer for an explanation that comes out rapid fire and all disjointed and she’s getting this blank look on her face like,…sure dude….you won a contest, uh huh…oh, all rooms are comped?…mmmhmm….SECURITY! After a brief moment of panic, handcuffs and phone calls, all is well and I am soon on my way up to the room. Sam has once again joined me and we are having a good laugh about it all. The room is one of the remodeled ones at Caesars. It’s fairly large and nicely decorated, has that modern Manhattan chic martini lounge plasma feel to it. Balla.Sam has seen most of the North strip so it’s time to head south. We walk down to Bellagio, check out the fountains (always cool imo) and keep going. NYNY for pizza slices (yum), Excaliber for poker…well, to see the room anyway. Their solution for a poker room? Hastily shove dozens of slot machines out of the way in 4 directions and set up some tables. Games looked weak and boring. Onward!We blow right through the ‘still not quite sure what the heck it wants to be’ Luxor and into the Mandalay Bay shopping hallway thingy. We find the Burger Bar place and decide to have some imports. This place has fairly large selection of really good beers, both on draught and bottles. Sam chooses a Fosters I believe? I order a Shiners and with a quick cheers life is pretty good. But there is war to be waged. MGM is calling.We get there and they start a new 1-2 NL game. Why $1-$2? Well, Sam is not really keen on the idea but agrees it might be fun, and my thinking is that since we have just walked 387 thousand miles and have just consumed a large 8% alcohol adult beverage, I get the distinct feeling that playing any higher under these circumstances and I’d probably lose a thousand bucks.So we sit down, and I promptly lose a thousand bucks. No I’m not kidding. At $1-$2. Right Sam? TELL ‘EM AGAIN SAM! HOW BAD DO I RUN SAM!!!It was a massacre. The players were so bad and we (I) failed to change my play, which I don’t think would have mattered anyway. This was a perfect clinic on how bad players running good can destroy you. I should have won a grand in that game, but every play and great hand turned to dog shit by the river. When I bluffed they had it…when I was good they called anyway and made the one outers, etc. Sam ran incredibly well, and then didn’t. And it is just SOOO easy to keep reaching in for $200 more, $200 more. It’s only 2 pieces of paper, right man?! gg 1-K.Towards the end of this fiasco I am texted by one of the hosts of the Hardcore Poker show, Rob Pizzo, who has just gotten in and is playing a small tourney down the Strip. He says he is out and is coming over to the MGM so we can finally meet and have dinner etc. He makes it over and we all play for a bit, Rob on a different table, and after a bit we finally decide to call it quits. I say g’bye to Sam, and Rob and I are off to get some din din.We head over to the Firefly, just off the Strip on Paradise, for tapa’s. Fuh-reeeking great food in a very casual, neighborhood like setting. Nothing stuffy at all, very laid back. And yummy stuff. Shrimp, Steak and mushrooms, etc. It was all really good. Tapas are like sharing a bunch of appetizers, which is so cool since often times no one can decide on one thing anyway. Rob is really good peeps too. Totally cool and we got along great right away, talked about life, home, radio, the poker academy etc. After dinner we are beat but decide to head over to the Venetian anyway. Enter swiss chees memory moment here. I honestly do not remember how long we played but I think I ran pretty good? Bwahhahahaha shit..I have no clue. I am pretty sure the night ended at some point though, 2 AM-ish???Friday – Academy Day one.I was soooooo glad I was staying at Caesars because it is where the academy was being held, i.e. all I had to so was pour myself out of bed, slide down an elevator shaft, and literally right into the rooms. Which is great because I am exhausted.Day one would consist of a light b-fast, Paul Wasicka, Andy Bloch, lunch, hand demos, Annie Duke, and some Q-n-A. Then a tourney for a M.E. seat at 7 PM. So technically this day could run from 8 AM till 2 AM the next morning. WTF?!!!I wander down and meet Rob and now finally Chris Tessaro, the other host. Super cool dude with a killer dome. We chat a bit, get registered, etc. and it’s clear we are all a little tired, but excited about what this academy holds in store for us. Rob and Chris would have to leave half way through however to cover Jennifer Harmans tournament at the Venetian. Paul spoke first and was pretty straight forward with nothing I would consider earth shattering tips. Most of it was fairly standard intermediate/advanced poker strategy to be honest. Trust me, anyone who’s been playing a while probably knows this stuff already. So k though, never hurts to review things and I’m sure there were folks who were there that had never heard this stuff before. It’s all good info, just a bit of a repeat for me. Paul is a very smart guy and a cool dude though, super nice.After a short break it’s Andy Blochs turn to speak, and it’s suddenly back to college time! There is no question that this guy destroyed blackjack. His mind is a mini super computer. He talks a bit, again about some things I have heard before, so I sort of dismiss it, and then he begins to discuss some pretty technical umm …what’s the word….stuff, about hand rankings and such. It starts to all get a little too technical for me and I honestly zone it out for a bit.Later we are given a sheet of Andy’s hand rankings with percentages, and frequencies of times he will play certain hands in certain position, out of position, when antes and in, or not, how often certain hand ranges will hold up against random hands in certain situations ZOMG MY HEAD JUST ASPLODED! I respect Andy about as much as anyone, and again, another super cool guy to talk too. But wow. I’d need a week to fully get what he was selling in just that one hour. The guy is a genius.Hand Rankings FTW! I dare you to memorize them, lolAt lunch we all headed into a buffet room, wedding style (ya know, little round tables to be shared with your new best friends) and the food was pretty good. Soon the pros wander in from photo shooting and they mingle and sit amongst us chatting it up, etc. this was really cool. Paul sat at my table and he had a leg brace on. Turns out he is a skier and crashed up a A-basin and tore the good ‘ol ACL. We talk a lot about skiing and stuff, but we are constantly interrupted by poker questions. Are you serious? After lunch we did hand demos, where we all sat in another room at poker tables with one pro at each table dealing out cards in a pseudo tournament setting. This was pretty cool as some of the pros really got into what to do and what not to do, etc. I got Paul, Andy and an internet guy named Mike this time around. All good stuff, but again….no mind blowing revelations. Great review info though, very helpful.The afternoon speaking session starts with an Annie Duke post flop lecture, boot camp style! This chick is militant and uber focused in her teaching approach. Me thinks she missed her calling as a drill sergeant. She was yelling, berating, picking on, etc. I can appreciate her passion for the game, and she is obviously a very smart lady. But homigawd…lay off the coffee girlfriend! At one point she got into it with a guy and then kept picking on him, and then we all stopped raising out hands, les we become the next victim and that just made her madder. It was intense. She is intense. Her message was somewhat complicated intermediate/advanced level plays. She got off track a bit at times arguing with some folks, it was actually pretty funny. It was also nice that they gave us handouts of each lecture, power point style, so we can go back and review stuff. Annie is actually an extremely smart cookie and a very nice person. But just like Andy’s info, it would take me more time to fully appreciate and get what she was teaching. Mi AmigoAfter wards, there is a short QnA that I blow off and head up to the room to take a quick nap before dinner and the tourney. BAD IDEA. I wake up late and groggy, miss dinner (it was on our own btw) and I have about 10 minutes to get downstairs to the Caesars poker tournament room. I sit down with my sight blurry and just not in the zone at all. I am still half asleep. The very first hand I get dealt A-J spades in the CO. MP 2 raised to 300. I re pop to 900. He calls. Flop is J-8-4 rb. He cb’s and I decide to slow down and just smooth. Turn is a 10. He checks….I check hoping he stabs at it on the river. I know he missed. River is a 3. Perfect, safe card. He makes the slightest hesitation, almost checks, but tosses out a 1K chip. WTF! J-8-4-10-3. I instacall and he shows pocket fuking 3’s. Wow….gg me. I was the first one out of a group of 150. Good times! I head back to the room and clean up for the rest of the night and then head back downstairs to play some 1-3 cash. The cash games looked real good and I was feeling much better and am ready to play. Then Rob notices I am no longer there in the tourney and text’s me. I simply reply…”Drinking…FUK!”. I end up easily winning a few hundred in that cash game and wait for Rob to either win the seat or bust out. Chris has been in the biz for a good while now and seems to know everyone. The guy has many friends, and many are in the right places. So he has it all set up for us to spend what is left of the night at PURE, the night club right next to the poker room. When I busted out a few hours earlier I had to walk out into the large sports book area to get to my room, and if I had to guess I’d say there were10,000 people there all waiting to get into that night club. Carmen Electra was in there and there was a big boxing match this weekend, so Vegas was just busting at the seams. But there will be no line for us my friends. V.I.P. babeee.Rob finally busts, I cash out, and we head on out to the sports book bar and start sampling some brewskis. We eventually make it over just in front of PURE and chill for Chris who is moving and shaking elsewhere in town. Finally he shows up and we are whisked inside the club, with a monster bouncer leading the way, ice breaker en route to the North Pole style. They clear an area directly infront of the Pussycat Dolls stage, pull up 4 huge chairs, a table, vodka, mixers, etc, the guy tells us anything we need let him know, a waitress come right behind and tells us the same thing, everyone is the place is looking like “who the hell is that?” LOLOLOL! Eat it. The entire building is writhing, pumping, the music is loud and pounding, the company great, we are all laughing, the Vodka fresh and chilled….and then…..zomg…the vodka. Uh oh. “We got a dead man here…DEAD MAN WALKIN’!”. I have had too much. It is too late. There is no going back. How the hell am I going to rise form this chair and try to make it across the room let alone to my room! The floor won’t stop spinning and I am trying to walk. I would hear about this later, lol. My oh my. Somehow I make it to may room but I am up most of the night driving the bus, talking to Ralph, making deposits, etc. It is not a pretty scene….and I have to be at the academy in 2 hours. Sure. Be right there. I’m never drinking again…mmmm...hella sexySaturday – Academy Day 2I somehow wake up around 9-ish and much to my surprise still have a head. This is a good sign I think and stumble into the shower. My stomach however will never be the same. I am sick as a dog in that regard, and rightly so I suppose. I would not feel right again the rest of the trip.I get down to the Academy just as Phil Gordon is finishing up the first lecture, which bums me out. Rob tells me he actually thought this was really good stuff. I totally believe him and think that Phil actually is one of the better teachers out there. The good news???...I didn’t miss Joe Navarro! Howard Lederer is the next speaker, and while not bad, his talk dealt mostly with life poker skills kinda stuff, ala Aces on the River, mixed in with some Zen philosophy. Howard is a super smart guy for sure, but I was on life support so it all came across hazy. He seems like a very cool, laid back dude and had good advice for those who have never heard it before.We break for lunch and this time no pros at the table but another great meal. Too bad I was so sick I could barely eat any of it. We met some really cool people at this event, but based on the way many of them played during the live hand analysis part of it, many were actually really bad players. The good part was the pros had no problem pointing out the mistakes. And there were plenty of them. I got the feeling that a good part of the group was just there to get a chance to hang with some pros and maybe had less intention of getting better or playing pro themselves some day. It’s all good though, everyone seemed to be enjoying the academy.Navarro is God.This was by far the most interesting lecture of the Academy for me. Joe Navarro is an amazing speaker and a very smart guy. His slide show presentation and descriptions of human behaviors were incredible. There was plenty to like about the Academy, but this was the icing on the cake for sure. We all loved it. Buy his book!Also during the day I got to play media camera guy and shot Rob and Chris interviewing Phil Gordan and Scott Ian from Anthrax fame. I spoke to both as well. Scott is a really laid back , great guy, Very nice. He has been playing poker about 2 years now and is getting very good. He’s also getting personal instruction from a few pros. Must be nice! Phil has always been cool to me so I can’t really say anything bad about the guy.The day ends with another Q n A and it is over. Obviously I left out a ton but this report is way to long anyway. To sum it up I had a fantastic time. I ended up realizing I actually know quite a bit already, keep in mind I rarely implement that knowledge, lol. There is no one right way to play every hand. And I also found a few times that what one person would lecture about to do, another one would say NOT to do that, etc. There were some contradictions.But this is like anything. There is no one perfect way to do something and you in the end have to find your own way. So this Academy was another piece in the gigantic puzzle that is my poker journey. It was all good and I was/am very thankful and grateful to have been given the opportunity to experience it. But there’s more!The last tournament was at 8 PM. Rob, Chris and I had a last longer bet. This time I would not keep so much of the new info front and center, and instead just play my usual game. 150 started, and before I knew it we was down to 28. Turning point was an all in shorty, the crazy Canuck shoves too, I wake up on the button with Jacks and have them both covered 3 times over, so I insta. Q-K, vs K-10 vs Jacks. A Queen hits and the Canuck has a lot of chips now and I am nursing along at about an M of 12 or so. I make some plays, but never get any cards.I eventually get moved to Andy Blochs table. He is a super nice guy, we are BSing about golf (he just started to play) and what not and he is also lamenting that he has to play the WPT the next morning and he wished he was out already. He trys and trys to get his money in, but just ends up going on a sick heater that takes him from 9K to over 100K in a matter of minutes. Just insane. I am knocked out finally around midnight, completely card dead. But I am much happier knowing I played much better this time around. I got about as far as I could with almost no mistakes. A nice end to a great 2 days with the pros. My thanks once again to Brandon and everyone associated with the WSOP Academy for this very cool gift. Great people, all of you!Rob had busted earlier, and was just exhausted and had retreated to my room for a nap. He comes down and I am in the café getting a bite to eat finally (my first meal all day really...I am finally feeling better). We shoot the shit and chow a bit and then head over to the Venetian to meet Chris and a friend.Mary J. Blige and Jay Z in the house yo!Once again Chris gets a sick hook up and we are on our way into the private M J B and J Z party at Tao. OMG. Crowded does not begin to explain how packed this place was. There is no way in hell that party met any fire codes, lol. And talk about a fish outa water! I felt like one of the 4 white rice krispies that somehow accidentally got tossed into a box of cocoa krispies. Think Ghetto Fabulous on steroids. MJ was there, Jay Z was there, rumor had it Beyonce was there, I mean I have no clue about most of the hip hop scene, but if they were in Vegas that night they were at this party. It was off the proverbial hook. I made a great decision and just had water all night, but it was pretty cool being part of the thuggary parade. You’d have to have seen it to believe it. Diamond watches the size of hub caps, FTW!We had all we could take of getting tossed about and bumped so after about an hour we bailed down stairs to the Venetian poker room… again. We found a nice little 1-3 table and all sat down. Chris predicted that we would basically destroy it and sure enough, maybe a hour later that game broke. So many crazy hands, etc. Good times.I decide that I am beyond exhausted and we make our way out to the taxi line. O M G. every Hummer, Limo, Hummerlimo, Escalade, Escaladelimo, taxi, etc. It was a 12 lane wide parking lot. It would have taken a hour to get a cab so Rob and I hoof it across the street to the Mirage and get insta rides, say g-night and that was that.SundayI get up, check out and valet my bags at Caesars since I will not be flying out until midnight. I am craving a great breakfast in an awesome and calm setting.….the pool café at the Wynn. I love this place. Food is always great and the service usually too. I am not really sure if I will see the guys again, but suddenly get a text from Rob who says he’s across the street at Chris’s room at the Palazzo. Rob has never been to old downtown Vegas and they think it would be fun to kick it old school at Binions. In.We grab cab and head down into what I call the State Fair of Vegas, just a different crown down there. Not all bad mind you, just different. The place is historic Vegas for sure, with all the old signs and properties, but lets face it folks…it’s gotten a little seedy. I’ll leave it at that.We take some promotional shots for the radio show and what not and finally head into Binions to actually play there. Ahhh, Binions. Poker Mecca. The hall of fame. The dirtiest chips on the planet. I’ll bet if they did analysis they’d find puggy’s prints still on them.Chips Ahoy!Rob "you wanna" Pizzo "me" and Chris "parting is such sweet" Tessaro.The game was super soft and full of crusty regulars who had just busted out of the daily $75 tourney. I played the WSOP Academy hand (the new crablar), J-8, to perfection and won several pots, lol. The deck hated Rob most of the weekend for some reason, and that’s just not right. He deserves better dammit! Chris easily held his own and overall it was very cool to sit down and play at Binions. Oh almost forgot…I played video poker a few hours earlier and hit quad kings and quad aces in the span of five minutes for $250. Weeeeeeeeee! (insert swiss cheese here)So we are getting bored and the sun is on its way south, so we decide to give craps a try. I only know the basic plays in this game (pass line, 6 and 8) Chris knew a little more and Rob had never really played. So me Chris and happy Rob saddle up to the rail and plunk down some cash. It is funny because Chris kept on about Happy Rob…Sad Rob..Happy Rob…Sad Rob. It was really funny, and sorta true, I mean, We’d be up and we’d be happy, down and …ummm…not so much. One time we lost and it was like Robs last bit of cashola on that table, and Chris starts to walks away saying something like “I;m off to find happy Rob, he was here a minute ago”. We finally decide to leave downtown and Chris, again!, knows some folks at a steak and bourbon house down at the Silverton Casino south of the Strip. So we head down for what turns out to be one of the best steaks I’ve ever eaten. Everything about the meal was incredible. This is a very nice property too btw, for anyone who’s wondering. Just fantastic. So we finish up dinner, panic a bit while waiting for a cab as time is running out to catch our flights, we dance in the taxi line like Homo’s Trio’s and end up sharing the cab with another guy to insure we catch our flights on time. We drop Chris off, say goodbye for now, and Rob and I keep the cab, get to the Airport just in time, say adios to Rob and I get home at 3AM completely destroyed. All in all, arguably the best Vegas weekend ever. Rob, Chris, you guys rock. Thanks again so much for EVERYTHING and nothing but continued success to both of you. Thanks again to Brandon, and everyone at the WSOP Academy. This was an amazing 5 days of fun and fuzz and I look forward to seeing everyone again soon, hopefully at the Series! Peace out ya’ll!ScottHardcorePokerRadio recap:http://www.hardcoresportsradio.com/podcast...3&title=The Hardcore Poker Show - April 23 - Segment 1

[socalpoker_j 1]

Great trip report Scott. Sounds like a decent time. You should have got your sparkle on in the brownie pit at the clubs.

[20TN40 0]

Great trip report, Nutz!!! You and the Hardcore crew would make great Captains for the WPT tour group (hint hint)

[BellaireDrew 2]

Great trip report Scott. Sounds like a decent time.

[Vtlaxer09 4]

because im under the influence of "substances," that took me 45 mins to read.gg.

[BellaireDrew 2]

because im under the influence of "substances," that took me 45 mins to read.gg.

im not under the influence of anything and it still took me like 30 mins or so to read but ISAR

[cwik 0]

this is ridiculously like hella long.

[dlingdling 0]

I haven't even read it yet but I know the trip report rocks. Total jealousy. Very happy for you.

[AAsnake88 0]

4 hours of chinese and a 6 pack and I can't read that much tonight.I'm gonna sleep a bit and read it tomorrow, been looking forward to the TR.

[El Guapo 10]

Playing poker in Vegas is sooooooo 2007.

[bull62 0]

I check out of the Mirage and hoof it about 14 feet down the Strip to Caesars for the official start of my contest winning weekend. Hop out of the cab....

Well now this just makes no sense. Great TR though.

[Suited_Up 2]

I actually read the whole thing.Scott's TR's are always the best. Not as many pics as I would have thought though

[Balloon guy 158]

Too long

[Balloon guy 158]

By the way, which one is Chris, and which one is Rob?

[Mercury69 3]

A++++ Would read again!

[NoSup4U 0]

tl;read anyway.Nice report!Mark

[Vick12 0]

tl;read anyway.Nice report!Mark

[nutzbuster 7]

Great trip report Scott. Sounds like a decent time. You should have got your sparkle on in the brownie pit at the clubs.

lol....and I have no idea what you are talking about.

Great trip report, Nutz!!! You and the Hardcore crew would make great Captains for the WPT tour group (hint hint)

? not sure what the WPT tour group is, but if it involves a 6 figure income I am all ears.

[nutzbuster 7]

this is ridiculously like hella long.

Too long

tl;read anyway.Nice report!Mark

Hate to say I told ya so. Sick thing is I left about half of it out.

[PMJackson21 0]

I played the WSOP Academy hand (the new crablar), J-8, to perfection and won several pots, lol.

Very entertaining trip report, I appreciate anything that helps me waste time at work. I'd just like to point out though that I was rep'ing J8 back in 05':Patrick Jackson finishes 10th($20,000)Patrick Jackson pushes all-in and Freddy Deeb calls. Jackson has J8o and Deeb has A 8 . The flop brings Jackson a pair with K J 7 - but it also gives Deeb the flush draw. The turn is K . The river ins't a , but it is the ace, and Freddy catches the higher pair.

[nutzbuster 7]

Very entertaining trip report, I appreciate anything that helps me waste time at work. I'd just like to point out though that I was rep'ing J8 back in 05':Patrick Jackson finishes 10th($20,000)Patrick Jackson pushes all-in and Freddy Deeb calls. Jackson has J8o and Deeb has A 8 . The flop brings Jackson a pair with K J 7 - but it also gives Deeb the flush draw. The turn is K . The river ins't a , but it is the ace, and Freddy catches the higher pair.

[Oziumrules 0]

Sounds like you had a blast !! Im gonna take an English course at the local Comm College so I can win the essay contest next year. Hope you took notes on Navarro's lecture! I thought his book was great also.

[The Lobster 0]

<---- JealousVery cool Scott!

[20TN40 0]

lol....and I have no idea what you are talking about.? not sure what the WPT tour group is, but if it involves a 6 figure income I am all ears.

Aww hell. I've been trying to get a meet up going for the WPT FT this weekend and so far, it's a bust. I surrender......I'll just go in several poker rooms and scream "FCP" at the top of my lungs and see if anyone reacts.

[trussdude 0]

Excaliber for poker

I don't understand this statement.