Disconnected From Las Vegas

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Because I only seriously started playing poker (after unseriously playing five-card draw thirty years ago and not knowing what I was doing–I mean even more so than now–the first couple of years I was playing No Limit Hold’em), I didn’t cut my teeth on online poker. I had accounts on a few sites by Black Friday, but nothing serious and nothing big; I think if my Full Tilt remission ever shows up, it’ll be under $20.

But on one of my trips to Vegas last fall, I did put a small amount in the WSOP.com account I’d opened last summer, though because it was just after they got the site up and running, there wasn’t much going on, and I didn’t get a chance to play any of it, then I didn’t get back into Nevada until today. I was looking forward to it in par because now there was a lot more traffic, and because a former Portland player had great success in the WSOP satellites, winning two $1,500 seats and a $3,000 entry in the first half of the series, on total expenses of less than $200.

I got into one this evening (after busting both the Wynn $30K guarantee and the $235 Rio Deepstack) and could see I was seated to the right of the afore-mentioned player for a coupleof hands while he felted a player and was moved to another table opening up. Then the guy who rebought went all-in with [8x tx] on a [tx 4x 3x] flop against my [ad td] and caught two pair on the river, so the parameters of my evening were set. I busted out of that tournament after two rebuys and an addon in something like 75th place out of 91.

An hour-long wait in the line for my Dollar rental car (I’m not linking to them) made the two-hour flight wedged into a middle seat seem almost like heaven. It also meant that I drove straight from the airport to the Wynn for the noon game, getting there not too long before the line of alternates started up. The I had to zoom over to the Rio (where I let my kings get cracked by [6s 9s]), after I busted the Wynn just as reentries were ending. So I was hungry and even though there was another satellite (with just a $5 buyin/rebuy/addon) starting up in half an hour, I figured I could pop out, grab some food, and get back in time for the start. Managed to get myself lost a couple of times getting to the Von’s for some Diet Coke, ran into the divided eight-lane roads near the airport (where else would a cheap HoJo be?) combined with unfamiliarity with this section of Vegas at night, and ended up getting back and buying in not too long before the break.

I was doing well, although that was relative, because atthis buyin level, only one seat was going to first place, and second was getting $165. Blinds were climbing, I was UTG1, we were about to go on another break, and…the motel wifi died.

I calmly went about trying to re-establish my connection. After all, I had 5 minutes on the break, it was probably just a transitory problem. The WSOP.com application seemed to be hung up and would close on its own. Okay. I couldn’t get connected to the HoJo wifi.Okay. I have a new iPhone 5s, I set up the personal hotspot and got connected. WSOP.com says I’m out of state and I need to turn LTE off on my phone. Okay. I turn LTE off and now the hotspot isn’t so hot. HoJo wifi still down. By the time I manage to see my screen again (but I can’t play it, because WSOP.com still thinks I’m outside Nevada because of the LTE) I’m UTG with less than 1BB. I finish 18th of 90.

So, it’s back to the live action for me. Planet Hollywood in the morning, I think.