"Look, there's Bill Hellmuth"
Jul. 7th, 2006 10:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
peterbirksThe above was a quote from one of the tourists (in the technical sense -- the guy had probably never held a card in anger) at this year's WSOP. I was of course reminded of the tourist at the Bellagio tournament last december, moaning that the press wouldn't let him see Doyle Brunson at the table. "But we're the ones who watch him on television!" he wailed, as if this conferred some rights of ownership.
So, poor Bill Hellmuth, just inches away from that 10th bracelet, rivered by a flush. The final hand is on Pokerwire. Cabanillas had 5-3 of diamonds, Hellmuth had 5h 4s, and the board is 6d 4d 3h and all the money went in (well, Hellmuth was quite badly outchipped, but that's by the by). Quickly now, who is favourite?
I'm not bad at these things, but I got this one wrong. I thought that Hellmuth would be something like 52/48. In fact it was the other way round.
Hellmuth hits trip fours on the turn, making him 3-to-1 favourit, and then Cabanillas hits the Jack of diamonds on the river to win it. Sweet.
As Phil said last year, "no-one remembers who came second".
"Hey, Bill, over here. Can I have your autograph, Bill?"
++++++++++++++
(Later):
I have come to the conclusion that at tournaments, I simply suck. Got rid of 1,250 points on UB for the PLO. 40 players, 5 paid ($20, $27.50, $40, $60, $100). Six left, for all of whom the money is clearly quite a significant part of their Ultimate Bet bankroll. I am second in chips. Half an hour later I am out in sixth. It doesn't seem to matter if I play aggressively or defensively, I get outplayed when it gets to these situations. Actually, I do better if I play defensively (because at least I get into the money and sometimes I go on to win it). But there were three short stacks, and each of them seemed to rebuild their stack effortlessly through all-ins that worked.
So, Two and a half hours wasted (well, I did do some writing at the same time), for a net return of zero. In fact, worse than zero, because mentally I am now on tilt, so I can't trust myself to sit down in a cash game. I suspect that using up the points to play in tournaments might not be a good idea. Once again, they do my head in. God knows what I would be like if it was for serious money (probably no worse, actually. It's the principle and the time that annoy me, not the money. That's two and a half hours of my life that I can't get back).
So, a simple question. Why do I hate tournaments when most people seem to like them? I don't really enjoy myself when I am playing them, and I certainly don't enjoy myself when I go from a big chip stack to busting out on the bubble. And the half an hour with eight players, then seven, then six, was just horrible. The hourly rate must on the whole be crap. So why, why, do you people put yourself through this hell voluntarily?
I mean, I really want to know. Presumably one factor must be that you don't suck at it, while I do :-)
PJ
So, poor Bill Hellmuth, just inches away from that 10th bracelet, rivered by a flush. The final hand is on Pokerwire. Cabanillas had 5-3 of diamonds, Hellmuth had 5h 4s, and the board is 6d 4d 3h and all the money went in (well, Hellmuth was quite badly outchipped, but that's by the by). Quickly now, who is favourite?
I'm not bad at these things, but I got this one wrong. I thought that Hellmuth would be something like 52/48. In fact it was the other way round.
Hellmuth hits trip fours on the turn, making him 3-to-1 favourit, and then Cabanillas hits the Jack of diamonds on the river to win it. Sweet.
As Phil said last year, "no-one remembers who came second".
"Hey, Bill, over here. Can I have your autograph, Bill?"
++++++++++++++
(Later):
I have come to the conclusion that at tournaments, I simply suck. Got rid of 1,250 points on UB for the PLO. 40 players, 5 paid ($20, $27.50, $40, $60, $100). Six left, for all of whom the money is clearly quite a significant part of their Ultimate Bet bankroll. I am second in chips. Half an hour later I am out in sixth. It doesn't seem to matter if I play aggressively or defensively, I get outplayed when it gets to these situations. Actually, I do better if I play defensively (because at least I get into the money and sometimes I go on to win it). But there were three short stacks, and each of them seemed to rebuild their stack effortlessly through all-ins that worked.
So, Two and a half hours wasted (well, I did do some writing at the same time), for a net return of zero. In fact, worse than zero, because mentally I am now on tilt, so I can't trust myself to sit down in a cash game. I suspect that using up the points to play in tournaments might not be a good idea. Once again, they do my head in. God knows what I would be like if it was for serious money (probably no worse, actually. It's the principle and the time that annoy me, not the money. That's two and a half hours of my life that I can't get back).
So, a simple question. Why do I hate tournaments when most people seem to like them? I don't really enjoy myself when I am playing them, and I certainly don't enjoy myself when I go from a big chip stack to busting out on the bubble. And the half an hour with eight players, then seven, then six, was just horrible. The hourly rate must on the whole be crap. So why, why, do you people put yourself through this hell voluntarily?
I mean, I really want to know. Presumably one factor must be that you don't suck at it, while I do :-)
PJ
