Turning Stone... and I'm back home!

I'm definitely happy to be back home. It was fun, and different, but home is home. The worst part was the ride back. Don't get me wrong, it was a much better ride than Friday night. But before I get ahead of myself, I suppose I should start at the beginning.

After checking out of the hotel this morning I went to drop my bags in the car. It was drizzling out but at least it wasn't raining. I couldn't remember where I parked my car, so I started walking around a little. I was finally convinced that I was walking in the wrong direction, was about to turn around, when I saw it out of the corner of my eye. That almost sucked! When I got to my car I considered leaving right then to avoid the rain which I thought was coming, but I decided against it. I had gone to play in at least the 2 11am tournaments, so I figured that I really had to stay for it. It was probably around 8:45 when I got to the poker room and put my name down for a $1/$3 limit table. Kip was already down there playing so I talked to him for a little bit while waiting for a seat or another table to open. After about 30 minutes they called my name. After going to the table I found that it was the wrong limits. The desk apologized. False alarm. Figures!

I waiting around a little while longer and finally started considering playing in the $100/no-limit game that had seats available. I've only played no-limit on the Internet, so I was a little nervous about it. Since you can theoretically lose your entire stack in a single hand. Still, I consider no-limit my game, so I thought it was worth a try. Within an hour I was out, lost $100. Since I wanted to limit myself to losing no more than $100 a day at the tables, I decided not to buy back in. I will say that I felt good in that I didn't feel like I was out of my league. I had a few good hands that got beat. That's all it takes.

At this point I was a bit frustrated so I decided to take a walk. Kip was still sitting in at the $1/$3 limit table which, if you know Kip, is where he'd spend 16 hours a day if he could. Stupid me, while I was walking I decided to try the slot machines. After losing $50 in about 15 minutes I decided it was time to try the nickel slots. After losing about $10 in another 15 minutes, I decided I was done. It was almost 11 anyway, so I found Kip getting up from his table and we went to wait for the tournament to start.

The buy-in for today's tournament was a little more than yesterday. I think it was about $120. There ended up being around 85 or so participants and only the top 10, the final table, paid. Early on in the tournament Kip got up to check on me. I think he was surprised to see I had such a big stack. I was getting all the cards, it was great! It seemed like every hand I got into I won. Kip got knocked out at some point before the 1st break, and by the time the 1st break came around my stack had fallen back down to reality. My reality that is. Which unfortunately means that I was one of the shorter stacks at the table now.

The 1st break was at around 12:45 for 30 minutes. I went down and talked with Kip in the sandwich shop. He was eating lunch. I decided not to eat because I didn't want to risk having to get up from the table in the middle of the tournament. For some reason I forgot to take Advil with me, so I knew that I was going to be in some trouble later in the afternoon. Before I left to go back Kip wished me luck, and I told him I'd probably be knocked out in a few minutes. It was a few minutes late, but at around 1:25 the tournament continued.

About 90 minutes later I gave Kip another call. We were on another break while they got the final table set up. That's right, I made it to the final table!!! It was pretty crazy, seeing how nervous everyone got while playing. I was surprised at how calm I felt. The only time that I would start to lose it is if I looked at someone in the eyes. The way poker players tend to stare at their opponents to catch some glimpse of what they're hiding. I can't do it. It cracks me up! I tried it a few times, but I just started laughing so I decided it was better that I just focus on nothing.

It was a little disappointing to come so far and not win it, but I came in 3rd place. I think it was around $886 that I won. Enough to cover my expenses, and a little bit extra. I wonder if they take taxes out of it? If so, I take back the bit extra. It was definitely an amazing experience. Maybe just beginners luck, but I'll take it just the same. I left shortly after, with Kip back at the tables. He decided to move up to the $3/$6 limit tables, so I hope he's finding it both fun and profitable. He was also playing in the 7pm Satellite tonight for a seat in next weekends big tournament. I wish him well!

As for me, I stopped on the highway in New York to buy some overpriced Advil so I managed to avoid the worst of it. Now, I'm happy to be home again.

I'm a little wiped, so I'm off to get some sleep and enjoy tomorrow off. One of the things that chess tournaments and poker tournaments have in common, they both take a lot out of you.

I hope you've enjoyed my trip, I know I did.

Ed.