What a difference a couple of weeks make

ITEM ONE: POKER

As my last post documented, two weeks ago I was in Las Vegas and out of four poker tournaments played, I made the final table in none of them. This past week, I made it out to my favorite local Indian casino, and played in poker tournaments on Wednesday and Friday nights. Amazingly, I made the final table both times. Wednesday night I finished 7th, and Friday night I finished 6th. Wednesday night's tournament was fairly small (43 players), while Friday night's was considerably bigger (100 players). So, what in the world happened, did I suddenly become a better poker player in the span of approximately a week and a half?

Hardly. As I stated in my last post, success in no limit tournaments is very much dependent upon luck and good play. Skill will give you the ability to make the final table, but only the addition of luck can guarantee that you get there.

To illustrate, let me talk about Friday night's tournament, since my performance that night has to rank among my best of all time. Never once during the entire tournament did I get a high pocket pair, not even one time. No aces, kings, queens, or jacks, not even once. I got pocket tens three different times, Big Slick (AK) twice, and AQ once, which just happened to be the hand that I was eliminated with. I found myself bluffing confidently a couple of times, forcing my opponent(s) to fold, and I got lucky three times.

The first lucky hand was after the first break. Til then, I had been getting killed. A couple of brutal bad beats forced me to re-buy, and I also took the add-on at the first break. I was getting nowhere fast. I looked down at pocket tens in late position, and I went all-in. Only one person called, and he showed AK, the dreaded Big Slick. The flop contained a beautiful ten, giving me a set (three of a kind). Turns out I need all three of them, as the turn contained an Ace, and the river was a King. How's that for some good luck for a change? Later, I got AK for the first time, and I re-raised one person at the table. The flop was K-Q-4. The other guy went all in, I called. He turned over AQ. Oops, wrong time for that one, pal. My AK held up, and I knocked him out.

Much later, we were down to about two full tables and it wasn't looking good for yours truly. I was being blinded out and I only had enough for one last blind. I looked down at KQ, which is a trap hand and can lose very easily to AK or AQ. I normally try to avoid the trap hands, but there wasn't much choice left. I had to make a move, or risk being blinded out for good. I went all in, there was one caller. He turned over A5. And, glory be, there on that beautiful flop, was a nice fat King. The King held up, and I had knocked another guy out.

Then, I went on a rush. I had pocket tens the next hand. Four guys had limped in, and the last hand had suddenly given me a decent stack. I went all in, and they all folded. The next hand I had AK suited, and there were two limpers in front of me. I went all in again, and they both folded again. Suddenly, in the space of three pots, I was the chip leader at my table, and it looked very good indeed to make it to the final table.

Much later, at the final table, there were seven of us left. I was one of the two small stacks, although at that point in the tournament, 30,000 chips is a small stack, which is basically what I had. I was under the gun, which means I was first to act after the blinds. I was looking for the best opportunity to get my chips in. I looked down at J8, not a good hand, but it had possibilities, and I really didn't have many other options. I went all in. Only the big blind (the other small stack at the table) called. He had pocket deuces. And I sucked out. I ended up with a straight. I didn't last much longer. The other small stack was knocked out next, when his pocket aces got cracked. And I was the next to go, when my AQ suited never connected with anything and lost to pocket eights.

I finished in sixth place, out of a hundred people. Pretty darn good, in my opinion, especially considering the crap cards I got for most of the tournament. A nice tonic after the bitter disappointment of Vegas.



ITEM TWO: BASEBALL

Several posts ago, I was highly critical of the Mets after they had fired Willie Randolph and seemed to be floundering. Then, a funny thing happened. The atmosphere and mood of the team changed under Jerry Manuel. Carlos Delgado suddenly remembered how to hit, Jose Reyes started being a table-setter again, and the Mets went on a nine game winning streak right before the All Star Break. They are currently in first place, a game ahead of Philadelphia, and playing much better.

And the Diamondbacks? After a red-hot April, they sucked in May, June and the first part of July. They were still in first place at the All Star Break, but they had a sub-.500 record. As of this morning, they are still clinging to first place after sweeping the Giants on the road over the weekend. The Dodgers are holding fast, just a game behind, having also swept a weekend series (against Washington). The D'backs are playing much better, and they got some much-needed bullpen help, getting John Rauch in a trade with Washington. Still, the Dodgers are not going away, and it won't be easy holding them off.

Wow, both my teams in first place in their divisions in late July, both by only a single game. The pennant race in both divisions should be outstanding, and I'm looking forward to it. Let's go, Mets!! Let's go, D'backs!! I want to see you guys playing each other in the NLCS this year!!