Veges Follow Up
This is another email from Adam with a follow up on what happened to the guy in the poker tournament.

I just got the scoop from his brother Robb.  Robb and Ken can chime in and correct me if I am wrong on any of this.  I have also attached a photo of Dave at the tourney.  (I converted the pic from a fat bit-map to a more email-friendly JPG.) Looking at the photo, there is an interesting anecdote about the hat. It seems when you start playing poker, big-time, you need to come up with some kind of gesticulation or trick to throw people off from reading you.  The guy that I mentioned in my earlier report that claimed to have won $20,000 said that he never talks during a game *except* when he wants to throw people off.  He just quietly sits, playing, never saying *anything*.  When he picks his hand to make a move, whether he is bluffing or has the cards, he may say something like a swear word or a witty comment.  He thinks it rattles people.  Anyway, Dave's shtick is his hat.  He never takes it when he plays.  It just sits on his head -- except when he is trying *not* to be read.  Then he takes it off.  He doesn't whip it off or make a show of it.  He just takes it off.  He thinks that it works.  From the sound of it, I'm not so sure, but then again, I'm not a big-time poker player. David sat down at the 2nd round of World Series Poker Sunday at 11am. Both Robb and Ken were there to watch him; Laurie and I were on a plane home.  They got lucky in that his table was at the corner of the play area.  You see, the play area is a convention hall with poker tables stuffed everywhere.  Spectators are roped off and most tables are a good 20'-50' feet away from the closest spectator spot.  David was seated right next to a corner, so there were plenty of good viewing angles for everyone. So David starts with ~$16,000 in chips and play super cautiously.  He is whittled down to over $10,000 in blinds and antes when one of his opponents goes all-in pre-flop.  This opponent is doing worse than Dave and has ~$6,000 to his name.  Dave thinks a bit and goes all-in himself.  No one wanted to challenge Dave's $10,000 stack so it was just Dave vs. the small stack.  Dave flips up a pair of 10s.  The small stack flips over Ace, 7.  The flop hits a 10, 8, 8 so Dave flopped a full house and won the hand. So now he is sitting on something like $20,000 and the tourney organizers start condensing tables and Dave gets moved something like 2 times within a couple of hours.  Moving tables can give you a big disadvantage because you don't know the play styles of anyone you are sitting next to, but everyone else does.  Dave sits in tables next to a couple of poker big shots like Federer and a few others.  But not actually *at* their table. Anyway he gets pushed to his third table where he is sitting on $15,000 and everyone else has $60,000+.  Not a good position for him. A couple of hands later, two of the large chip stacks go head-to-head and the larger of the two loses.  So now one of the two opponents that used to have $60,000+ in chips now has $120,000 and the other ~$1,000. So Small stack starts going all-in every hand, bullying people into letting him have the blinds.  Small stack goes up to ~$5,000. Dave at this time is at around $10,000.  Pre-flop, Small stack goes all-in like he has been doing ever since he lost.  Dave thinks about it and wants to chase the remaining players off the hand, so he goes all-in as well.  Everyone folds out except the big stack, who pauses and then calls.  Dave shows a pair of 10s (again).  Small stack turns over Ace, 9.  Big stack turns over Jack, 10.  Dave winces at one of his 10s being gone, but still, he has the advantage.  Flop shows 3, 3, 8.  So now Dave is looking pretty.  Only an Ace or Jack beats him, and even if an Ace shows, he still wins versus Big stack so it would be basically a wash for him.  Turn comes and shows another 3.  So now Dave has a boat.  On the river the Jack shows. Dave loses to Big stack and finished something like 1000th in the tourney.  He says that he would do it all over again.  He was in the right spot and had the right cards.  It just didn't work out.  If he makes it again next year, I'm actually gonna go again but this time, watch him play. -Adam

Here is the picture. It kind of says it all.