Vegas Cash for Lightning36!

A nice cash for highly regarded Shark player "Lighter'

Guest Blog for lightning36

A tournament that is called by many the “best in Las Vegas” is the Caesars Palace noon tournament. Why is this tournament so highly regarded?

Entry fee for the tourney is only $80, which gets you 1,500 chips. You are allowed one re-buy at $50 for 3,000 chips. The re-buy can be purchased at any time through the first two forty-minute rounds. Rounds are 40 minutes long, and the blinds start out slow --$50 and $25, then $100 and $50. The slowly increasing blinds make for some excellent tournament play. No worries of having to go all in with the first decent hand.

Having recently cashed in some Shark events, I was feeling confident heading into my trip to Las Vegas. I decided to play in the Caesars nooner on Tuesday, September 5. What a tournament it was.

Some people buy the re-buy right at the start. I decided to wait this time, leaving myself an option to go all in in the opening rounds but still be in the tourney if I lost the hand.

My table had only one maniac who kept raising almost every hand. The rest of the table consisted of a mix of weak and seasoned players. I felt like I would be able to do okay with my group.

Early on, a flop gave me a nut flush draw. Hoping for the chance to double up early, I chased the flush but got no help on the turn or river. Getting little else pre-flop, I contributed blinds and saw my stack go down too low to chase anyone out of a hand, so I re-bought earlier than I planned. At the first break, I had lost my entire starting 1,500 and had to depend on the 3,000 chips from the re-buy.

After losing more chips with promising hands but no help on the flops, I found myself the lowest stack at my table. I decided to turn extremely aggressive and take my chances. That’s the Shark way, right? No limping in for anyone if I had a hand.

Key hand: My first chance came when I got pocket 6's in early position. I went all in waited for a call. One player who was new to the table and appeared cocky decided to call with J-10 hearts. No one else called, and the guy got no help on the flop, turn, or river. I doubled up and put the guy on tilt. I grabbed the rest of his chips several hands later when I had a high pocket pair and he went all in with junk.

I then had a torrid streak of cards come my way. I knocked out one short stack when his J-J all in ran into my Cowboys. I had many other good hands and worked myself into a decent position.

It took a long time for the field to get down to 20, but soon we were there. Most at my table had relatively small stacks compared to the leaders at the other table. We thought that most of us wouldn't make it. The final table paid nine.

Key hand: I was staying in virtually no hands and got A-Q spades. I raised and got re-raised. I went all in and left the other player a tough choice. He had pocket nines, but was unwilling to call me since I had been playing so few hands and we were close to the bubble. If he called, one of us was out or down to almost nothing.

Key hand: I was in the big blind and had K-rag. Four people were in the hand. The flop was K-rag-rag. The small blind checked to me, and I checked, figuring that the small stack in late position might try to buy the pot. There is a check after me, and the small stack went all in. I called. He had A-rag and was in big trouble. The turn: A! I got no help on the river and was afraid that I would be a bubble boy.

The poker gods, however, are sometimes merciful. I got pocket 10's and went all in. I got no callers this close to the final table and built my stack back up. A few hands later, I again got pocket 10's and got no callers to my all in. I was alive!

The other table had some huge hands, and several folks from that table went to the rail. My table ended up having five of the final nine. We took a short break before the final table began. I called my wife to generate some good karma. I also told her that I hoped I wouldn’t speak to her again for some time – meaning that I was going to go deeper than my current 8th of 9 standing.

First out at the final table was a guy who made a terrific call early in the game. I am not sure what he was trying to do, but I guess that he was trying to buy the blinds by going all in with a dangerous flop -- flush and straight possibilities, all high cards. Unfortunately, one of the chip leaders had the near nuts and called, sending the guy to the rail in 9th place.

A hand for the ages: I was in the big blind and was dealt A-10 diamonds. The chip leader made a huge raise and was called by the shortest stack, who was now all in. There was not much difference between 7th and 8th place money and I only had a few more rounds of blinds, so I decided to go all in and pray for some diamonds. The other players turned over their cards. The chip leader had A-8 clubs, and the short stack had A-K red/black. The flop came with all black cards, and I figured that I was out or would have virtually nothing left. But wait - two of the flop cards were a Queen and a Jack. The turn: a King! I slammed my fist on the table edging and yelled "straight!" The river was of no consequence, so I knocked out one player and almost tripled up!

We got down to five players, and two had short stacks. I was hoping that they both would go out so that I could talk about a chop with the other two big stacks. One short stack, however, repeatedly got good hands and caught cards. He built up his stack, and soon there were four of us left. I proposed a chop, and the other players agreed to look at a proportional payout based on chip count, which I knew would be a good deal for me.

While the proposed payouts were figured out, the dealer started us back up. A few hands later, I got a monster with A-J and hit an Ace on the flop. The Caesars manager then came back with the chip count. However, I couldn't persuade all the others to go with the new chip count. One guy said "old chip count or we play it out." Why we even played while the count was being taken made no sense to me, but since the original chip count guaranteed me just short of 2nd place money, I agreed. The blinds were very large, and the luck of the cards was now too much of a factor.

End result: A cash of $1,365. Not bad for an afternoon of poker.

Funny note: One player complimented me on my excellent play while short stacked. My reply: "I am used to playing short stacked!"

So ... if this Shark player can score in Las Vegas, you can too. Good luck at the tables!

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Good Report John. Titan Hat and Shark Tee are in the mail! GREAT CASH!

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Your urgent action is needed! On September 12th the Poker Players Alliance with the support of leading poker blogs and forums, #####, ##### and others are organizing a "Phone March" on Capitol Hill. From 9:00 AM Eastern Time, until 5:30 PM Eastern Time on Tuesday, September 12th, we are asking all PPA members and anyone interested in defending poker to call this toll free number, 800-289-1136 and be patched through to one of your two U.S. Senators in Washington D.C. When you call the 800 number you will hear a recording from fellow PPA member Greg "Fossilman" Raymer and then you will be prompted to enter your five digit zip code so you can be directed, free of charge, to your Senator's office.

Note: The 800 number will only be active between 9:00 AM EST and 5:30 PM EST on Tuesday September 12.

Key points you should make:

* I am voter in your state.
* I strongly oppose any legislation that would prohibit online poker, and urge the Senator to vote against such legislation.
* Poker is a skill game enjoyed by 70 Million Americans.
* The Senator should seek to regulate online poker much like the government regulates other forms of gaming, like lotteries.
* Prohibitions don't work. Any legislation that tries to ban online poker will only drive those players underground.
* Again, I urge the Senator to oppose any attempts to prohibit me from playing the great American game of poker on the Internet.

The threat to poker is real. Please forward this information to everyone you know who cares about poker and an American's freedom to use the Internet. We need everyone possible to make their voice heard on September 12th!