Hugo's Blogspotting: 7 December

Imper1um for Hire

One of the big things that happened in the last week in the poker world is the Sorel Mizzi (aka Imper1um) and Chris Vaughn (Bluff Journalist) account buying scandal. I don’t have much to say about it as personally I think online poker is still the Wild West. In other words, anything goes and don’t be surprised when you end up with empty pockets.

Always Bluff however have a definite point of view and seeing as these guys take their online poker seriously I’m going with them:

“There is a joke that goes something like this “you build bridges your whole life, you give to charity but you just suck one cock and you are a cocksucker forever”.  Such is the fate of Sorel Mizzi and Chris Vaughn who cheated and depending on who you ask and how you ask it neither one seems particularly remorseful about it.”

This is a very good point and goes all the way back to Doyle’s many statements in Super System about how a gambler’s reputation is of utmost importance.

As you can tell from the quote above Always Bluff are ticked off that the guilty parties in question do not seem particularly sorry about it either which is understandable. Of course there is another code somewhere that says the worst crime you can commit is getting caught.

“Oh, they are remorseful about getting caught for sure.  Remorseful about not answering questions honestly, that is also true.  But I am not hearing I am sorry at all.  In fact, it was Chris’s position at Bluff Magazine that allowed him to have access to Sorel in the first place.  I am not sure if Chris will be fired but I think he should be based on him using his relationships in an adverse way and causing harm to the poker public.”

R.I.P Chip

The other big news this week is the death of Chip Reese. He was only 56 years old and it’s quite incredible to think that other legendary players such as Amarillo Slim and Doyle Brunson have outlived what many considered to be “the best cash player ever”.

Barry Greenstein has an audio blog at pokerroad.com and he gives a touching tribute to his friend and fellow pro.

“Chip became the greatest player, I think if you polled his peers that’s where they’d put him…we all compete at poker and the people who are able to keep competing get our respect and Chip was number one”

Greenstein also makes the point that Reese’s death is,

“…a wake up call that we still need to focus on life”

In fact, much of Barry’s blog seems to be a meditation on how unhealthy the poker lifestyle is:

“I think people who do play poker and don’t eat well, and have the weird schedule have to realize you do have to take care of your body because if you don’t, this pursuit of money means absolutely nothing”

That’s very true – I’m reminded of Jack the Pump who came into the Vic when he was very ill because he didn’t want to miss the draw for winning a Harley Davidson motorcycle. A few days later he was dead. You’re nothing without your health.

There is also a touching tribute from Gus Hansen and quotes from Todd and Doyle Brunson at Wicked Chops here.

Patrik Antonius is another player who played and knew Chip Reese.

“I had the utmost respect for Chip. If there was one player that I could have sat behind and watched play, it would have been Chip.”

Now that is high praise, I doubt there are many other players that Antonius would say that about.

Antonius at the Bellagio

Staying with Antonius’ blog and keeping in mind Greenstein’s comments above, Patrik has been putting in some hours at the Bellagio:

“I surprised myself earlier in the week by playing a 26 hour session, but I topped that off with a 41 hour session. I barely made it back to Maya's house, I have never been that tired before in my life. I slept 18 hours and woke up wondering what day it was”

That’s what I call putting in the hours. I can only assume the game was blinding,

“…a $3k-6k mix of Chinese, Stud 8, PL 5 card draw, Triple Draw 2-7, PLO, and NL hold em. The NL and PLO had a cap. Johnny Chan, Gus Hansen, Doyle, and Jim were all in the game.”

“A few nights later I had my 46 hour session. People were in and out of the game, but David B and I were in the game the whole time. I finished a winner, but the wear and tear on the body was not worth it. Unless Bill Gates is passing out $25,000 chips I do not think I will ever play another 40 hour session.”

If you’re thinking of giving the big game a shot try and time it so that Antonius is getting near the 40 hour mark as you know he will be getting up and leaving.

What Comes Around, Goes Around (Or Thank God for Variance)

You may recall the Paper put up a post complaining about an old mate of his who had just taken up poker and had shown an almost precocious talent for the game, thus making the Paper feel rather inadequate.

Well, as we all know, poker has a magical way of bringing people back down to earth. All of a sudden the Student (as the Paper calls him) has gone from being the next super-pro to just another chump who is running bad:

“I went on tilt last week and lost $1,000…I have periods where I'm winning 8 out of 10 sessions, then a period where all my bluffs are called/re-raised, I continually miss the flop, I don't get position even if raising in the cut-off, and I can't win when I flop the nuts. I can't explain it.”

If there is one advantage the Paper has over his pal its experience. And what wisdom has the Paper gleaned from his many years on the felt?

“With experience, comes learning. With learning, comes understanding. With understanding, comes an awareness of ebb and flow. With an awareness of ebb and flow comes a tendency not to stir the hornet’s nest. With a tendency not to stir the hornet’s nest comes the occasional dinner voucher courtesy of Joe McCann”

Do I detect some gloating on the part of the Paper? It’s all very well being able to parse arcane and complicated poker strategy from the likes of Sklansky, but to hustle a dinner voucher from one of the senior members of the Vic staff takes serious skills brother.

Normal Service Resumed

How’s life for our pal Lucky Jim?

“I had no cash so passed a miserable weekend in my flat railing PLO games, Dombey & Son sitting accusingly unread on my bookshelf. How tranquil I am when when watching others play, how alert to their errors, and how far away the thought of my own tilting frenzied losses.”

Not so great I guess.

“On Monday I had lunch with a schoolfriend, who on hearing how much I'd lost asked "Why don't you just give up?"

Marvellous. It’s bad enough when we are losing, but when our friends who know nothing about the game, and therefore don’t understand the trials and tribulations a poker player goes through, decide to weigh in with their two cents it’s just downright annoying.

Tony G. Wins Moscow Millions

Tony G. has won the inaugural Moscow Millions and is fairly bullish about the victory. Mind you, he’s playing with players who are willing to put in half their chips and then fold:

“With four players left, I had 10-J and the button raised to 18k. His stack was 110k and mine was 600k. I called and the flop was 8-8-3. I checked. He bet 45k. I looked at him and could see that there was no hand at all. I took my time. Most players will give up here thinking this is a small stack and they must fold. I think that this is a great time to make a bluff. If he has no hand, there is no way he can call. So I moved all-in and he folded right away.”

Easy game eh? I’m sure Tony’s fearsome table presence and the possibility of one of his infamous rubdowns helped this poor schmuck to fold.

“Now this guy was crushed, the bike was coming out. I flipped over my hand. Everyone was stunned but I think all the good players make these plays. Two hands later he was seen pedaling on his trike down Prospekt Mira.”

Hugo 'Chimney Sweep' Martin

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