Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? Does Anybody Really Care?

With all the talk about how fast play at the 2016 November Nine table was compared to the previous year, I took a look at how many hands were played in each level of 2014, 2015, and 2016 and put together a chart for comparison. Take a look at the article and see how they compare.

The State of Portland Poker

With everything else going on last week (including a devastating blow to the Mutantmobile when a tree limb fell on the convertible roof), my plans to head out to the Pendleton Fall Round Up for the High Roller satellite on Wednesday fell through like—well—like a tree limb through the roof of a convertible. There was a fair amount of chip porn on Facebook. Word was the High Roller got 88 entries (with PokerMutant pal Steve Myers doing quite well), that Kerry Moynahan chopped the Friday event, and both Liz Brandenburg and Joe Brandenburg cashed in the Main.

As for me, I finally got a chance to play in the Saturday noon $10K at Portland Meadows. Didn’t cash, blew some money playing Big O afterward, and went home to make some money online in a Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Turbo. Prague is getting less and less likely.

Portland Poker Facebook

There’s been a NW Poker Facebook group for a while now, and a newer Portland Poker Facebook group now exists. Not sure what differentiation there will be in the future, but one more thing to check out when you’re looking for info.

The Two-Hour Challenge

I’m waiting for either Final Table  or Portland Meadows to take up the mantle of seven-day-a-week poker tournament every two hours. Maybe the shootouts that are running at both places keep enough action going that other tournaments aren’t needed, but I miss those days.

Deal of the Week: Live at the Bike

The World Series of Poker Circuit makes its last stop of the year in Los Angeles at the Bicycle Casino from 1 December to 20 December. In addition to the requisite 12 Circuit events, there will be plenty of side action at The Bike, including the conclusion of the $3M SoCal Poker Championship (too late, all of the entrants have been determined) and a $240 buyin $500K guarantee event to wrap up  the series, beginning on 13 December.

There’s a little confusion about the events on the first day, with the first side event (#13) either being a $240 buyin $75K guarantee (according to the PDF schedule) or a $350  buyin Survivor tournament with a $3K payout for 10% of the field (according to the web schedule). I think it’s likely to be the Survivor, since they’ve done up structures  for that.

The Bike’s bringing their Quantum buy-in thing to the WSOPC, with the $250K guarantee $365 Ring event on the first weekend allowing direct buyin to Day 2 for $2,200, which gets you a stack of more than 65BB. You’ll be able to buy into Day 2 of the Main Event, as well, although you don’t pay any more and you don’t get any more chips.

There are only a couple of non-Hold’em events on the schedule, an Omaha 8 Ring event on 6 December and a mixed Pot Limit Stud 8 and Big O (non-Ring) tournament the next day.

This Week in Portland Poker

Nothing special coming up this week as of press time, although there’s an interesting thread on the NW Poker  Facebook group sparked by a post about specials at the Last Frontier Casino Poker Room  in La Center. Liz Brandenburg had this response to a proposal to ban posts about Last Frontier from the thread (for any part they might have had in working to shut down Portland poker rooms).

Only a Day Away

• The big event of the Venetian Deepstack Extravaganza is this weekend, a $1,600 buyin, $400K guarantee. Monday and Tuesday is a $75K with a $400 buyin, and the series comes to an end on Thanksgiving (next Thursday!)
• The Commerce Casino’s LA Poker Open wraps up this weekend, with a $1,650 buyin $100K Main Event.
• The HPT Kansas City  $1,650 Main Event has three entry days starting tomorrow, with the final day filmed for TV on Monday.
• Sunday, at Muckleshoot Casino in Auburn, there’s a $170 Big Bounty tournament at noon.
• The WPT/Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic gets going the day after Thanksgiving, with five low buyin events, including a $560 on the first Sunday, and a Shot Clock tournament Tuesday, 29 November.
• Deepstacks Poker Tour’s season is coming to an end with its Championship series at the Grey Eagle Casino in Calgary, with the first actual event on Saturday after Thanksgiving. Pairing with Run It Up, they’re offering a C$550 buyin C$100K guarantee with two entry days at the beginning of the series.
• Tulalip Casino north of Seattle has a Last Sunday of the Month $75K guarantee tournament with an $820 buyin at 11am 27 November. Muckleshoot has a game the same day at noon, with a $150 buyin (8K in chips) and a $100 addon (10K in chips, with 2K if you buy them both at the same time; how’s that for incentive?)
• There will be a little bit of a slowdown in the number of tournaments over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, but don’t worry! The Poker Mutant will be here to keep you updated. Unless he’s in Prague.

Remember to keep an eye on the #PNWPokerCal Twitter hashtag and the PNW Poker Calendar for upcoming events!