Pokerpadre and Sempai Joann - Shark Veterans first live Tourney

From time to time I will re-post my favorite rants or posts. Here is my favorite post so far! Enjoy my friends, Guy and Joanne as they show some Shark aggression. Can you imagine the look on these poor peoples (mostly serious newbs) faces as Jo did her now patented check raise with half her stack!! ha! "scuse me dealer, I have to go to da baffroom". Dealer: "Ahh sir, the lady with the stack that has the whole room covered just put the action on you, you must act before changing yer shorts"! ha!

These are the thoughts I had as I read this vivid story. I like to crack up. Man, I laughed hard on this one.

How bout the shirts? Ah...ummmm....ahhh..Newb to Guy "what exactly is an "onlineshark"? Well we play about 20 tourneys a month "every month" against large fields and really great players like Born and best freeroll and low buyin player in the world Gary812. Our guru "Shark" tells us to crush players and have no mercy while you smack talk them and put down close family members and make them feel inadequate. Joanne and I enjoy stomping unskilled players until they have no desire to play Poker again. We don't like to play fields that are less than 500 but this is for charity, correct! ha! I crack myself up!

I laughed so hard I almost popped a vein:

Enjoy!

A little background on this Guest post from my good friend and Shark Vet Guy "pokerpadre". Padre and his bride (Sempai JoAnn) have been on our Tour since almost the start (1 year). They are very popular and are strong players. They had no trouble adopting my "fold or raise" aggressive style that I have preached in too many of my emails. As a matter a fact.....JoAnn comes over the top everytime I bet. hmmmm...I just realized that. BORN!

Guy is in beard (second from left, JoAnn is sportin the black Shark tee 2 players to Guys left).

But more important, they have supported me (ask to help often), gave me ideas and just are great people. I don't do many man hugs but Guy is getting one (Shark Convention, Spring) and JoAnn is getting several when I meet my virtual pals. Both Guy and Jo have qualified for our "Global Invitation" next month! $1000 (min.) Invite Freeroll with only about 200 players whom have qualified in the last 6 months. i'd be surprised if one or both didn't make a nice cash.

Both Sharkees were sporting their lucky and striking Shark logo tee as they tear thru this live Tourney (their first live play). I think handling the chips was the hardest part for both! ha! They know what to do when it's their action! Another Shark Tee and Fish Tank hat for the Guest post. Thx buddeee...

Okay, on to the great story

On a very quiet Wednesday afternoon I was reading the local free newspaper looking for anything going on that would fit our budget. Suddenly the word POKER caught my eye! Poker? Here in Columbia SC?? No way! Yes way! A tiny two inch by one inch noticeannouncing a charity poker tournament to benefit theJuvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

They're having it the day after tomorrow! Seating is limited! Entry is $50 each!! Payday is NEXT week, and for both of us (myself and Sempai JoAnn) to play would cost $100. Bummer! Well, we missed this one, but I'll call to see when/if there will be another in the area. Nope, this is it for now. IF the event is a success they MIGHT try again NEXT YEAR!!! "Oh, by the way, the newspaper was in error. The admission is only $25 per person, but the seating is limited and filling up fast!" Wow $25??! Hmmm. maybe we should skip pizza Friday night? Hey, it's POKER!!.

Within a half hour of the phone conversation I was standing in the office filling out two registrationf orms and handing over $50 and contemplating a week of macaroni and cheese dinners. Finally, registered for our first live poker tournament. A fast drive home to give JoAnn the good news and HER question is "Where's lunch?". Oops, guess it's PB & J today. After the sandwiches I started e-mailing people who I thought might be interested and also logged into a couple of sites looking for SC players to let them know there was a local live tourney. Now to find out how well 1 1/2 years of online play has prepared us for live play.

Friday, Aug 19th, 2005, 7:00 PM, and here we are just an hour early for the fun to start. We sign in, find a seat (seating will be by lottery when we start), and watch the pandemonium. Guess what? They've never organized a poker tournament before;1000 chips? 2000? 5000?; 8 people per table? 9? 10?;15 minute levels, 20? 30? End result 10 players pertable (no elbow room) and 15 minute levels and 1000 chips to start, no add-ons; 10 minute break every hour.

Tables were eventually adjusted to seat 62players. Half the volunteers didn't even know how to play poker. I wish I could say the same about the players, lol. Out of the 62 people entered there were some questionable players, but there were also who had been playing online for a while and some who have been to B& M casinos before, an interesting blend of characters.

When we got started they fudged the lottery a bit and chose to put me and Sempai at the same table (I think so I could help her with her wheelchair), but after a few hands we were both moved to different tables, people were dropping like flies. I think by then they figured out that JoAnn certainly didn't need my help, she was kicking butt! We were put at adjacent tables, but my back was to her so I couldn't see too much of her action. I occasionally would check with the chip runners or Tournament Director to ask if she was ok and the usual reply was "Oh Yeah, she's doing fine." Meanwhile I ended up going all in and taking a huge pot (need to get their photo of that one) and started having trouble stacking chips fast enough to be ready for the next hand. A couple of times I missed a hand or two, because of no experience handling physical chips. Definitely a good problem to have, but made simpler when the Director broke out the purple 5000 chips to color me up.

While I was busy stacking chips, Sempai JoAnn got moved again. Now there was just my table and her table! A lot of the original players had left by now and the room had quieted down as the game intensified.That made it easier to concentrate on strategy and using my stack of chips to control the table. I'll tell you one thing, it sure is easier to trap fishwhen you have a huge stack and play ( or is thatprey?) patiently, crushing them when they try to make a move.

We were down to just four players left at my table and we were all watching Sempai's table waiting for their hand to end so we could merge and become The Final Table. Very quiet room. Looking at my chips and making room on the table for my cards, I was hoping they would be moving to my table. If I had to move to Sempai's table I would have to re-stack my chips over there and I was too keyed up with adrenaline to want to waste time not playing.

Time to move! Oh well, it's better than not having chips to stack at all. Table move also served as break time and photo opportunity (another of their pictures I need to get). A couple of people also used my camera to capture the moment, Sempai JoAnn andPokerPadre at their first live Final Table! Now I had to worry some because I'm up against someone who has watched me play for the last year an a half. And she has a stack of chips!! Danger Will Robinson, Danger,Danger!! LOL I start out tight/aggressive, trying to get a feel for the table dynamics without risking too much. Seems there is a very lucky player to my right, and JoAnn is two seats to my left. Tough combination.

Lucky Girl is getting a lot of help from dealer voicing what her actions are. If he says are you raising, she raises; are you folding, she folds. Also a lot of string betting for her. First few hands at beginning of the tournament, ok. MAYBE, but FINAL TABLE? Uh uh, I spoke up (not sure if it was politely), and voiced my displeasure. She was costing me chips. A lot! OK, no more string bets, no more coaching fromside lines, let's play poker! Well, well, what do we have here? PocketRockets!! 7 players at the table. A LOT of chips in the pot. I slow played my hand, letting the pot get bigger and setting the trap. The Flop: 3h 5c 9s,looking good, bet 2BB, four people still in. The Turn:8d, 2BB again, all three call. The River: As!!! Again, slow played 2BB, again all three opponents stay in. Sempai is low stack and puts last of her chips in, Other Guy calls, and Lucky Girl raises. I look at the chips, I look at the players ( especially Sempai andLucky Girl) and say " I guess that puts me all in."Other Guy folds and I smile (not realizing I just wiped out my wife, oops) and flip over my Aces. Most of the people were saying "Wow" while JoAnn was saying" I had that!! I had two pair! How could you do that to me?"

Again I was busy stacking chips, and didn't realize I hadn't even said "Good game" to my wife. She was NOT happy wheeling back away from the table. I missed a couple of hands again, doing my table house keeping, but started playing more aggressively. We were down to a short table of six and I wanted to press my advantage. Gradually the table thinned and it was myself, Other Guy, and Lucky girl. Then there were two! Me and Other Guy, time to go super aggressive.Pretty much raise ( or all in) or fold. We trade a few hands back and forth, more him than me, when I getQcKc and go all in, hoping to take the considerablepot and gain chip advantage again. Oh oh, he calls!As6d, I'm in trouble. Flop: 10d 5d 4s Turn: Jd River: Ad I MADE MY STRAIGHT!! OOPS!!!??? Other Guy takes me out with his FLUSH! ARRGGHHHH!

So close and then the sudden crash. 3 1/2 hours of intense fun. Great rush, great crash. Can't wait for the next time. Writing this brought back some of the rush that I felt that night and also reminds me, I CAN play poker. Great fun on the Shark tour this week.

If you have a good story, or just want to post to get a FREE shirt send me an email. If it gets posted you score a nice Shark Tee. It doesn't have to be Poker related, but that helps yer chances. Send a small pic of yer bad self also.