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Stuart Levine put on his smartest jacket and anted up to sit down with stars of screen and poker for the WPT Celebrity Invitational at the LAPC.
As a 12-year writer and editor at the entertainment trade paper Daily Variety, I’ve had my share of interviewing A-list actors, top directors and high-ranking members of the showbiz community. But much more thrilling to me last month than chatting with Steven Spielberg or Tom Hanks was a chance to share the green felt with the poker pros I’ve been watching on TV for the past six or seven years.
As an amateur who thoroughly enjoys our monthly home-game tournament, playing with the likes of Howard "The Professor" Lederer, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson and Mike "The Mouth" Matasow is an absolute thrill and gives me a chance to test my skills among the best of the best.
GOING ONE BETTER
Playing for the second year in a row in the WPT Celebrity Invitational at the Commerce Casino, at least this time around I knew what to expect. Last year, out of approximately 500 players, I finished in the neighborhood of 160th. I had a decent but slightly below average chip stack as the first night was about to end, and I decided to make a big move with the hopes that winning a huge pot would propel me into Day 2. It didn’t work out as planned. I went all-in on a semi-bluff and was knocked out just before 1am as Saturday play was coming to a close. This year, I figured even if I got short stacked, I wouldn’t be so aggressive at the end of the first day and figured I’d take my chances Sunday. Hell, a chip and a chair, right?
Well, I never quite got that far, but let me backtrack a bit. Arriving for the cocktail party before the first hands were dealt, I hung out with a Variety colleague and watched the celebs and pros mingle. While there were plenty of TV personalities in attendance, including TV actors Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), Ian Gomez (Cougartown), Eric Dane (Grey’s Anatomy), Hank Azaria (The Simpsons) and Teri Hatcher (Desperate Housewives), my eyes lit up watching Mike Matusow busy handing out Deepstacks University decals, and pros Todd Brunson and Carlos Mortensen making the rounds.
MADSEN COUNTY
Arriving at my table, there were no noticeable celebrities sitting down but I recognized two pros right away, and I knew I’d be in for a tough sledding. Sitting directly to my left was Jeff Madsen, who has earned $165,000-plus on the WPT tour and was the 2006 WSOP Player of the Year.
In Seat 7 was Prahlad Friedman who won the WPT Legends of Poker tournament at LA’s Bicycle Casino and also made a deep run in the 2006 WSOP Main Event — finishing 20th out of 8,700 players — and between the two of them, I figured they might easily have their way with the other amateurs at the table.
Madsen, for the record, was dressed in his trademark hoodie, the official uniform of the circuit pro, and wasn’t too talkative. I introduced myself but he clearly wasn’t into too much chit-chat. When I asked how he did at last year’s WSOP, he gave me nothing more than a succinct, "Bad."
TWITTER WATCH
With starting chip stacks at $10,000 and blinds at $50-$100, Madsen was clearly not spending too much mental energy on each of his early hands. He clearly was more interested texting and sending out Twitter updates than trying to get a read of his opposing players. Did you check to see if he posted any Twitter updates that night?
Friedman, on the other hand, was quite chatty, and seemed interested in trying to start up a conversation with the attractive blonde three seats to his right. She didn’t engage him too much, as she clearly was trying to concentrate on the action.
Sitting directly to Friedman’s right was a bearded and shaggy-looking D-list actor who never mentioned his name and mumbled when Friedman asked about his career. He was desperately serious about his poker, though, as he wore impenetrable sunglasses and headphones blocking out the room’s constant hum of chips.
THE AGGRESSION GAME
The one element of play I remembered from last year, which is completely different from my home games, is that when playing with the pros, having a big blind called all the way around the table rarely occurs. Someone will usually always raise, and it can be a substantial amount.
My first hand of the night was A-J off-suit with the blinds at 50/100. It immediately got bumped to $450 and, although I didn’t want to be down right away, I didn’t want to miss an opportunity either. I called but then completely missed the flop and folded.
Now, following the fold, I’m a bit gun shy and fold a Q-J off-suit after another pre-flop raise, but a couple of hands later, everyone except one player has folded to the big blind. Holding Q-10, I raise to $300. The initial caller folds and the big blind calls. I don’t hit the flop but bet out for $500, representing a strong hand. The big blind folds and I’ve won my first pot of the night, seeing my chip stack bounce back to about $9,500.
There’s practically no banter at the table and Friedman, seeing he’s not getting any traction with the blonde, starts up conversations with the players at the table behind him. He’s not winning any substantial pots but seems content in just trying to get through the first few hours unscathed.
Meanwhile, back at the game, I’m dealt A-Q off-suit and raise the big blind to $400. Again, I miss the flop and fold to Madsen’s $1,000 post-flop bet. He takes it down, so beginning a huge run. He goes on to the win the next four hands, and the last one will be my downfall.
A VARIETY OF POOR HANDS
Just before the blinds move up to 75/150, my hole cards are A-8 off-suit, a hand I like to play in my home games. The flop is 8-8-J rainbow, and I’m staring at trips and, most likely, the best hand. With an already healthy pot, I begin the betting and start it at $1,000, which I’m thinking will force most players to fold, except maybe one, possibly two.
Bad read. Four players call, including Madsen, and now I’m thinking I’m either going to enjoy a monster pot or this could be the beginning of the end for me. A 10 comes on the turn, and while there’s now a possibility of a straight on the board, I still feel I have the best hand and test the waters with a $3,000 bet. I’m figuring that most likely everyone will fold.
Wrong again. Everyone calls and now I’m concerned. A second jack arrives on the river and I’m thinking I’m about to lose to a better full house. I check to Madsen, who wagers $4,000. I’m thinking he may be trying to bluff me as he’s accumulated a large chip stick and he could be trying to bully an amateur. The player on his immediate left deliberates for about three minutes but finally calls and then another player folds, bringing the action to me. I’m pretty sure I’m going to get beat, but if I fold, I’m down to about $3,500 in my chip stack and would likely find it difficult to make a sustained run to be competitive the rest of the night. If I pull a miracle and take the pot, I’m set for a while.
I make the call and Jeff turns over a jack, giving him the better full house, while the other remaining player is clearly aggravated, showing pocket 10s, seeing his full house barely beaten by Madsen’s miracle jack on the river.
JOINING THE D-LIST
Over the next 20 minutes, I whittle away the rest of my chip stack and quietly slink away from the table. I fared much worse than I did a year ago but experience clearly doesn’t always equal better performance.
So, lesson learned. I’m not ready to give up my career as a journalist for a life on the World Poker Tour. While the money can be phenomenal, there are too many good players out there gunning for you, and even with the perfect play, the poker gods can be just plain nasty. That doesn’t mean, however, I’m not already thinking about the 2011 Invitational. Negreanu, Hellmuth, Hansen…watch out, I’ll be gunning for you. |
