Tiny Dancers: 2005 WSOP Event #37, $1000 No-Limit Hold ‘Em with Rebuys

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Home stretch

Having flown home to Seattle to get more money while ESPN took a couple weeks off, I returned to Sin City on July 3 for the home stretch of this year’s World Series.  When I returned to the Rio I noticed that Harrah’s had rented the next ballroom over to a group of several thousand little girls having a dance competition. In addition to the perversity of bringing little girls to a casino in Las Vegas with or without a poker tournament in the next room, the tiny-dancers convention caused a major logistical problem, cutting off access to one of the two main men’s rooms we had been using. It would be tough going during the first break.

 

While the eight-year-old division was having their finals in the Jon-Benet Ramsey pavilion, 894 degenerate gamblers entered the $1000 NLHE rebuy event. We started late because Harrah’s wanted everybody to have casino chips to do the rebuys rather than cash so there was a long line at the cage, where all the governmental paperwork involved in cash transactions could be taken care of in one place. I drew table 45, seat four and rebought immediately. Gary Beck had seat two and Derek Laforte had seat three. I bled down to 1575 at the first break and got back from the men’s room just in time for the deal. Then I chased and hit a flush draw versus seat one to bring be up to 2400 at the end of the rebuy period. I bought a double add-on to bring me to 4400. I was up to 5250 when they broke the table.

 

My new assignment was table 141, seat two. Gary Beck came with me to seat six and Paul Testud had seat eight. I kept losing small pots and dwindled quickly to 1875. Then I doubled with Ace-King suited versus Ace-Queen and I was back up to 4250. I dribbled back to 2400 and with the blinds at 100/200 with a 25 ante I raised in third position with pocket Tens. The big blind moved in and I called. He showed pocket Queens and they held up so I was down to 800. Then an under-the-gun player who had just lost with Queens versus Kings raised and it folded to me on the big blind. I was getting exactly two-to-one so I figured under the circumstances I could call with Queen-Jack. He showed pocket Nines but they held up and I was out of the contest 368^th.