Lost Episode 18: Event #41, Seniors NL Holdem

Despite their good intentions, sometimes Harrah's really misses the boat on what might seem to most as pretty simple planning. There had been lots of complaining by the players about the players pavilion, a glorified tent in the back parking lot behind the Rio Convention Center. I understand that in 2007, this temporary structure was used for food service for the players, but in 2008, it was tournament space, holding about 65 tables. Of course, mid-June in Las Vegas means midday temperatures that approach 115 degrees Fahrenheit. My guess is the blacktop parking lot adds another 10-15 degrees alone, and when you add 650-some bodies all at once into a rather small space, no matter what sort of cooling may be in place, the ambient temperature in the room is certain to rise significantly. On this particular day, they were talking about record temperatures outside and I joined about 1/3rd of a record Seniors' field that exceeded 1800 players for a $1000 buy-in no-limit holdem bracelet event. How we avoided a medical disaster and outright collapse by any of the many 70+ year old men competing in this event was a surprise to me.

Before the event started, Oklahoma Johnny Hale paid a visit and gave a bit of a memoriam to some of the poker legends that had passed during the past year. He hosts the seniors world championship event near Tulsa every year, and we had a commemorative chip with his likeness on it that was given to the winner of the first pot. I heard that it could be used for a discounted buy-in at his event, but not sure if it really had any cash value. About midway through the first level, Amarillo Slim came into the pavilion and accepted a warm response from the players, took a few pictures, and then sat down to a stack of chips that had been waiting for him. I didn't get to deal to him, but after just a down or two I heard a warm applause from the players and spectators near his table and he walked out of the building. A short day for sure, but it occurred to me that he might have just pushed all his chips into the middle with a mediocre holding hoping to bust out just to get out of the tent.

We were apparently short dealers again on this day, as I dealt to the same table for six straight downs and then got another three before breaking out of the seniors event. Just before my last push, I recognized a face that joined my table in the one seat (just to the dealer's left). It was Dan Pawlo, a very good Houston tournament player that I have had the fortune of dealing to on several occasions. He joined the table as I was leaving, so technically I never dealt to him, but it was good to see him, and he was quite shocked to see me. I tried to keep an eye on his progress, but I was redirected to the late tournament. I also saw Bill O'Conner and Hertzel Zalewski, two top tournament players from Houston.

On most days, the WSOP has at least two events in progress. Sometimes new events start at both 12 noon and 5pm, during events which draw the biggest crowds, there is usually only the single noon event start, but there are late afternoon restarts for the 2nd or 3rd day of previous day events. I got moved into the start of the second event, which was a $1500 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo 8 or Better tournament. I've blogged previously about this game being one of the most challenging to deal. In cash games, where the blinds don't increase, it can be tough enough, but in a tournament, the math that the dealer must keep in his head changes every level. In the absence of limpers, a player can open the pot for any value between 2 times the big blind and 7 times the small blind. So, at the first level, with 25/50 blinds, the first person to enter the pot for a raise can make it anywhere from 100 to 175. In this particular game, however, a lot of players limp into pots during the early levels. Each limper raises that range by a unit, and the dealer must keep track of that. Most top players know the current value of the pot and bet an amount that is close to the limit, but in even denominations. However, less experienced players will often just say "I bet the pot", which means call and raise the value of the pot. A dealer gains a lot of credibility at the table if he can instantly provide that figure without having to add up the chips. Handling this math for the players is a skill that I take a lot of pride in. I recieved a compliment from one table that I pushed out of, a couple of the players remarked that I was the "best dealer all day", which boosted my confidence considerably.

Knowing the exact pot value also develops a sense of bet pricing that can be a good tool even during no-limit play. I know a couple of tricks that help with pot limit and think I have a fair handle on it, but I have to admit to hating the third level of most tournaments. When the blinds are $75/$150, the math is quite cumbersome. The first player can open for $300-$525, but each limper adds a rather odd $150 to the total and second/third raises can often result in tripling $525 and adding a few limpers and the blinds for very peculiar totals. I am always glad when we get those $25 green chips out of play and the bets are even increments of black $100 chips.

During this event, I recognized many faces. I dealt to Mike Sexton again and wondered if he would hold over all those bring-in forcing deuces I dealt him during the seven card stud event. Joe Hachem was particularly active on a couple of my tables. He became the eighth world champion that I have dealt to during this series (includes Doyle Brunson, Tom McEvoy, Berry Johnston, Brad Daugherty, Scotty Nguyen, Chris Ferguson and Greg Raymer). I also dealt to Kathy Liebert and Mel Judah during this event. Since there was a shortage of dealers and it was 'my Friday', I volunteered to work over and accumulated 13 downs in this event for a total of 22 on the day - my record for the series.

On one table that I pushed into, an elderly gentlemen in the 5 seat with an impressive stack was raising frequently and taking down small pots. Aaron Kanter was in the 2 seat with a modest stack and caught a bit of a heater. I dealt him A-A-2-3 double suited and A-A-2-4 double suited on back-to-back hands and on both occasions flopped him both the nut low and nut high. He pushed back at the frequent raiser and as can happen in pot-limit multi-way pots, we got a whole of chips in the middle for both of his consecutive scoops. The stunned senior tilted off and busted out on the very next hand. It was the most rapid turnaround in a non no-limit event that I would see during a single down for the entire series.