Poker Palooza!

Sorry Folks, but the Fourth of July has been canceled. I don't mean that American has canceled the holiday, I just had to cancel my Fourth of July cookout. But I have a very good excuse. I received an offer I could not refuse to have a booth at the Poker Palooza (Gaming Lifestyle Expo, renamed and rebranded.) I will be in booth 722 which is right across from the Crown Casino booth. The fun begins Thurs. July 2 at 11 AM and continues at the Rio through Sun. the fifth. If you are going to check out or play in the main event, you will be herded through the Palooza. I hope you will make time to check it out and come on by booth 722 and visit a spell.
On another poker subject, I will not be playing in the main event this year. I didn't win a seat and this has been a financially difficult year for many, myself included. I have had several offers to buy a "piece of me" but have passed them up for several reasons. One is my confidence level. Please read on; my personal confidence is just fine, it's my confidence level in the "new breed" of poker player. I could write a book on how the texure of a no-limit game has changed since '02. The game itself hasn't changed, but my oh my, how the players and what they do during the play of a hand has changed! I am a good player, but my biggest concern are the Internet kids and the new breed of players and how they attack the game. When a player raises with a Q-8 under the gun, how do you put that player on that hand? When I read an article about a winning kid who brags about three-betting with any two cards, well, it's like walking through a mine field with no idea where the explosives are. So many of these "Hot Shots" have won literally hundreds of thousands of dollars playing on line and the $10,000 buy-in is treated like it is $10. There lack of respect for money is difficult for me to overcome. It's one thing to see this crazy play in smaller buy-in tourneys but I'm just not going to face it in a $10,000 buy-in event for the luckiest player during that time to end up the winner. I call it the "Killer Bee" syndrome. If one or two Killers are after you, you have a chance for survival but if a whole herd of thousands are after you - forget about it, you're a goner!
On the brighter side, my 2009 World Series play has not come to an end. I will be on Team Simpletrak for the Dream Team event July 12 and (hopefully) 13 for the finals. My teammates are Michelle "Sassy" Richey and John Robertson.
For those of you who wanted to invest in my poker ability, maybe next year and thank you very much for the offer!

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

The Good: I've been saving this one for just the right time. The time is now. When I took part in the High Heels Poker Academy in Las Vegas, among the students was Hilary Greene-Pae. It became obvious that she was the least experienced player - about the third grade. I spent some extra time with her because she needed it and because I was curious as to why she would be taking up poker in her midlife. (There is always a good story when I ask this question and hers was one of the best.) She had lost her Mom six months ago and she explained that her Dad was really lost after more than half a century with the love of his life. Hillary tried to bring him out of his funk, but to no avail. One day she asked him why he didn't play poker anymore. He had gone to a CA poker club several times a week for many years. He just wasn't in the mood, he explained. Hillary suggested that she take him and stay with him. And so it began. She sat behind him while he played and playing poker seemed to bring a bit of a smile to his face which had been so sad for so long. The more she watched, the more sure she was that she could do this. So she began a study so that she could go and play poker with her Dad rather than just sweat him. He was so pleased that he gave her the seminar as a gift and told her, "Thank you for carrying out this family tradition." They now have a regular date, three times a week for dinner, poker, and fun. Her father is 93-years-young.

The Bad: I played in the Seven-stud High-Low Split in the Grand Series at the Golden Nugget the other day. I so enjoy any limit game, especially any form of stud. In came a staggering stranger who asked what's going on and decided to join the competition. During the first round, we had to teach him the game - he had never played the game and he had never played in a tournament! - and then over the next eight and a half hours, he drank at least 11 screwdrivers and only after seven hours of play did he put his ante up without a reminder or someone else doing it for him. Wouldn't you know, he couldn't miss a hand, for hours - whatever he played, he hit. When this happens I always remember what my Mama used to say, "Trees don't grow to the sky ... just wait." He missed many hands when he left the table for 15 and 20 minutes at a time and always returned with a fresh screwdriver. During those few precious breaks from him, the game ran smoothly, but back he would come. This resulted in one of the worse tournaments I have ever played. It is amazing how much one player can screw up a game. PLEASE, folks who come to Vegas to drink and have fun, do so, but stay out of poker competition where players are serious about their game and some are trying to make a living. Come on to Lost Wages and have a blast - at the crap table or in front of a slot machine (where I believe his jaunts took him for free screwdrivers. ) After his ninth or tenth one (I lost track) I really thought he would fall out of his chair and we'd be done with him, but it was not to be. It appeared he was drinking himself sober. This tree finally stopped growing and got chopped down by ME at 8:30 PM. I did not go on to win, but felt a winner just by ridding our table from this stud high-low disaster.

The Ugly: I am the UGLY of this story. It is so ugly, it is funny. I taught a short seminar at a local bar on Saturday morning. One subject we got on was the strength or lack thereof of Ace-Queen. We talked about how deceiving this hand can be. It can look so pretty, almost as pretty as Big Slick, but it can kick you in the face. There is no reason ever to go broke on ace-queen. TJ Cloutier told me years ago that the hand more players get busted out of tournaments on is Ace-Queen and Ace-King. I have remembered that and saved myself more time than I can count. "You can't win a tournament in the first few rounds," I have preached, "but you sure as hell can lose it!"
Today, I went to Binion's to get back to no-limit in their Third Annual Binion's Classic series. I sat down full of confidence. In the second level I picked up Ace-Queen in late position and raised it after several limpers came limping in. The fellow in the small blind moved in on me. Because I knew this man and had a gut feeling he was making a move on me, like an idiot, I called! Why oh why don't I listen to myself? I knew that he would more than likely have two live cards. But NO! He had two aces! Lesson learned: listen to myself, read my own books, and my poker will be much better. I don't know a lot about Zen but I do know that it is about looking forward and leaving the past in the past - to move on, onward and upward and of course, to learn from our mistakes. After I stopped beating my head against the wall ... I laughed!

I May Not Win the Race ...

... But I will look good in the pack. I always wear a hat when in poker competition. Most folks think it is my "signature" look. Okay, I'll go with that. Many know that they can skim over a crowd of poker players, find a feminine, good looking hat, and I will be under it. The way it actually happened brings my vanity into play. It was a few decades ago, when I first arrived in Las Vegas to live, rather than to visit; I would get all dolled up to go out and play poker. I would primp, get the makeup perfect, and fix the hair all pretty, step outside and the desert wind would completely destroy the hairdo. So I took to wearing a cute hat and not worrying about how the hair looked. That is where it all began. This year I changed my look. Most of my hats are in the cowboy type style, but with poker decor. I decided to make a change at the 2009 World Series of Poker. This happened because I got in on an "After Derby Day" hat sale that I could not resist. I bought some high-class, big brimmed, prance around-and-be-seen hats. However, in the poker world, they simply did not fit - that is until my dear friend, Doralee "Lady Pink" Rae got hold of them and Pokerized them. My two new poker hats were the talk of the poker arena. I felt like a movie star as the photographers could not get enough. A public thank you to Lady Pink. Her talent at "fancying up" stuff is amazing. She took a six-pack of Milwaukee Light (sans the beer) and made a pocketbook so fancy that the Queen would have been proud to use it. I tried something crafty like that one time and glued my fingers together. It sure is nice to have crafty friends!

Don't Take My Word for It!

In case I haven't mentioned lately, I have some good books available to you. Please check out my website for details: www.susieisaacs.com. But don't take my word for it; see an email I received yesterday:

Dear Susie:

I’m sure you don’t remember me because you meet hundreds of people a month, but I was knocked out of the limit tournament in Pendleton by one of the pros and my prize was a copy of your book, “Queens Can Beat Kings”. You were nice enough to autograph it for me.

Recently, I had been having a pretty crappy time at the poker tables and took a couple of weeks off. During that time I read your book and it must have really energized me or something. Beginning last Thursday, I have simply been on fire in local tournaments. We do not play for big money around here, but my profit (after deducting buy-ins and dealer tips) is $1277 in the last six days.

I just wanted you to know that I really enjoyed meeting you in Pendleton however briefly and that your book has been (obviously) a great gift to me. I was already well acquainted with patience and position, and I certainly practice enough. I just re-read “The Art of War” and that is also helping me with the psychology. However, I really think that perseverance is the most important “P” at least for me. Anyway, THANK YOU for writing a great book and I hope you have terrific good luck in your poker endeavors also!

Lynne “7 Dewey” Forest

The Kid, the Skateboard, and the Deal

On Wed., June 10, I went to the Golden Nugget to play the $230 HORSE event. For those of you who are not poker savvy, HORSE stands for Hold'em (limit), Omaha (high-low), Razz, Stud, and Eight or Better. If you're not familiar with the games that make up HORSE, my book 1000 Best Poker Strategies and Secrets can teach them all to you. One reason I love the multiple games is that they are limit so you can't go bust in the first few minutes but the most important reason I love such games is that they are "old fashioned" so to speak. These games have been around for eons, unlike the most popular game of no-limit hold'em. The "kids" have learned to play poker on the Internet and the game they have learned is no-limit. They love that game because that is what they watch on TV. I have actually met folks who think that the definition of poker is no-limit. So, in a mixed game, the field is usually made up of "seasoned players."
Back to the tournament at hand. The turn out was good for this event, a little over 120 players. There was ONE young gun. When I say young, I'm not kidding. I don't think he was shaving yet and he came in with his mode of transportation under his arm - a skateboard! It was a big sucker. Looked like a small surfboard with wheels. He was cocky and proud. He had been studying HORSE and this was his first live tournament. I'll give him this credit, he played rather well, especially Razz. The kid has potential. He happened to be at my table from the beginning and he was pleasant enough, in the mist of his elders. I'd say the average age in this tournament was 50ish. I believe his goal was to show the old folks that a young man could win this event. On the dinner break, the kid laughed and asked if anyone wanted to ride his skateboard down the parking garage ramp. He had no takers as none of the "adults" wanted to risk broken bones or death.
We started play at noon and hit the money around 10 PM. As is the norm, the first eight players got paid a small about starting at $280 and gradually increasing until the final table when the money took larger jumps. I was the last woman standing from 13 players. (Love that). We got to the final table around 11 PM. The Skateboard Kid was still with us. It was a fun and happy table for a few minutes. Larry, the chip leader was buying rounds of drinks for the table. The drink of the night was "Sex on the Beach." I kid you not. I don't know what is in it but it is quite tasty. One guy said, I can't wait to get home (back East) and tell my friends that I had Sex on the Beach with Susie Isaacs. He was our elder at 76 years-old.
We played another fifteen minutes or so. I didn't mention a deal as Larry had such a tremendous chip lead, however when we were at 7-ways, Larry suggested that we each lock up $2,000 and play for the rest which put about $4000 on top, changing first place from $7,080 to $6,000. Since the next payout was $780, we all thought that was a generous offer ... except for the child. "I want the final table experience," he explained, aggravating the hell out of the rest of us. And so we played on. I beat the kid in a huge Omaha hand, scooping the pot and leaving him with the shortest stack at the table. I was delighted, the cocky kid needed a spanking.
Now I realize that there are many pros who will not make a deal of any kind. These pros are wealthy and most of what they are playing for is recognition and fame. They make tremendous amounts of money on their poker sites and/or their endorsements. While an average player is trying to make a living and during this economy, a few thousand dollars locked up could mean their house note! The kid had no respect for money or the requests of his tablemate's offer. At this point, with the kid very low on chips, much to my surprise, Larry offered the kid the same deal! Again, the kid was negative as his plans were to make a comeback and beat us all. Larry (in his 60's) stood up and gave a polite but firm sermon to the boy. He said something like this, "You are young and inexperienced. You have admitted that this is your first poker tournament. You know nothing about the business of poker. You have no respect for money. You know that everyone of us are tired and you may think that you can outlast us because of your age, but you now have negative energy coming at you from every person in this room. I will not make you this offer again." Needless to say, the Skateboard Kid was the next one eliminated. He collected $780 (rather than the $2000 offered him twice) and left the room dragging his giant skateboard. The next deal Larry offered was $4000 each if we each then gave him $200 on top. Done deal and I have another nice cash for this tournament season!

UPDATE

First of all, I want to thank all of you for the nice things you have said to me about this blog as we met here and there during the last week. Because of you, I want to write more. That is what you have requested. The next time we meet, you may be telling me I blog too much!

Sadly, I will not be crowned the 2009 WSOP Ladies World Champion, but I did make the money. I went out 84th for a payday of $2,280. Because I was on a freeroll, it was a nice payday. With this win, I also maintain my title of "Most Times in the Money" in the history of the ladies event.

Now, let's back up to Friday, June 5. As you regulars will recall, my first High Heels Poker Seminar took place at Turning Stone in central New York where we had five gals participate. This latest one was in Las Vegas and we had 20 attendees! It was so rewarding, a few days later, when several of the students approached me and told me that I had indeed, helped their game. The following is an excerpt from my friend Marlene Stein who decided to join us and see if she could pick up a few tips.

Dear Susie,
Thank you for the opportunity to attend the seminar.
I found you very informative. I won’t be squandering chips any more. I did that. I was guilty.
No more. I will not play a hand for a bit and take the time to evaluate the customers before
stepping into the bull ring. I will be the bull from now on. No more messing with Marlene lol.

FOX 5 News came by for a visit and interviews. All in all, I'd rate the HHPTA a roaring success and I look for it to grow and grow. I am looking forward to an audience of hundreds within the next year.

If you're in Las Vegas, the HHPT ladies event will take place at the Hard Rock Casino this Wed., June 10, at 7 PM. Join us!

Next up was the "Women in Poker Hall of Fame", To say it was a fabulous night, was to say the least. It was a sellout with standing room only. Over 350 attended. If you want to be a part of the history of women in poker next year, reserve your seat early. The room was grand, the dinner was gourmet and just excellent, the service was the best, Gyla's production of the evening was expert and a good time was had by all. One highlight was a proclamation from the Mayor of Las Vegas, making June 5, the official "Women in Poker" day.

Each inductee from last year introduced the new inductees. I introduced June Field. Most of the young folks of today had never heard of her, but let me assure you, she has made a tremendous impact in our poker world. The following is my introduction speech for June.

June Field – June and Phil … they have been together for a long time. Phil is June’s greatest supporter. Together they have kids, foster kids, step kids, and grandkids – oh, and cats.

June Field has many chapters in her book of life, but career-wise none has been more rewarding that being the founder of two poker publications, The Card Player magazine and Poker Digest.

Benny Binion is touted as being the Granddaddy of poker tournaments. I have an analogy to that. June Field is the Grandmama of poker publications. Let me back up a few years, make that decades, and tell you a few things about June that you probably don’t know.

She went to Rider College in Trenton, NJ. Where she majored in Bus. Ed and minored in journalism. Oh yes, she spent many hours at Princeton in the study of frat parties.

Anyone who knows June knows that she has always loved to dance. What you may not know is that June was a professional dancer … a go-go dancer. If you happen to be so young that you don’t know what a go-go dancer is let me assure you that go-go dancers kept their clothes on!

After she hung up her go-go boots, one of her first jobs, off the dance floor was working for Arnold Palmer. She first tipped her toe in the publication business in this job where she published a monthly newsletter for him.

Decades ago, when I lived in the South and believed “men are to lead, women to follow” June was making strides in the “man’s world”. She worked for the police dept and she was the fifth female blackjack dealer hired to deal on the strip. BTW, it was only after June meeting and getting to know her that I changed my mindset to “Women CAN lead, anyone can follow.”

June worked for the city of LV, receiving the “Outstanding Employee of the Year” award.

June played kitchen table poker until Mother’s Day 1980. Phil had taken her to the old Landmark for dinner and they walked past the poker parlor. He handed her a $20 bill and suggested she give it a try. Unlike most women who are scared, nervous, and intimidated, even thinking about their first time .... in poker, that is! she jumped right in, played for two hours and was hooked. That Mother’s Day changed their life.

In the 80’s June continued to play poker and she began to write articles for the old Poker Player tabloid. (Hold up copy). Her tagline was and continued to be “God I love this Job!”

In 1982, she set a goal to win the ladies event of the WSOP. She took two months off from playing and studied the game. She met her goal and became the 1982 Ladies World Champion.

She eventually became the editor of Poker Player. At this time I also was writing for PP. I would see June at least every two weeks when I took my copy in, but I saw her more at the poker tables. We became acquaintances. She was the first world champion I had ever met and I was in awe. Eventually, we became friends.

In early 1988 PP went down, and it was missed. There was no Internet; this was a time of no poker news except word-of-mouth. Over the next 6 or 7 months, if I had one person, there were a dozen who came to me saying, I’m going to start a poker magazine, will you write for me? Everyone was talking but no one was doing. It all sounded the same, poker publication, bla, bla, bla. In July of 1988, I ran into June at a poker tournament at the Aladdin. She said, “I’ve been wanting to talk to you about a poker magazine.” I thought, “Yea, sure, bla, bla, bla.” She then produced a business card and asked to set up an appointment at her new offices at 1455 E Tropicana, Suite 450 to introduce me to her ideas for Card Player magazine. I immediately apologized to her in my head about the bla, bla, bla thought – this woman was moving and shaking. My Mama used to say, “There are talkers and there are doers in this world.” June Field is a doer!

I went to work for June immediately, Phil taught me how to sell, June edited the hell out of my articles and we were off and running. June and Phil had high hopes of our first issue having 24 pages, it had 42. (Hold Up Copy) We all were extremely proud of this newborn baby. But we didn’t have time to do much celebrating as we had another deadline coming at us – and so it went for five years. Trivia: in the beginning, June’s staff included all women, working and putting together a magazine whose readership was 95% male (I just make that up, but I bet I’m not that far off.) June is an admitted work-aholic. After five years of working practically 24-7 publishing CP, burnout set in and the Fields sold Card Player magazine to Linda Johnson and partners. They signed a five-year non-compete and five years later, to the day, rested and ready, June and Phil introduced Poker Digest to the world. (Hold Up Copy) In addition to giving birth to two successful poker publications, June was also the founder of Card Player Cruises and Classic Poker Cruises. She and Phil served as directors of the CA Card Club Assoc. for four years bringing the membership from 18 clubs to 52!

June has traveled the world, she reads intently. She presently is supposed to be retired. We’ll see.

As her book of life continues. We are honored to add this chapter, “June Field, 2009 Inductee into the WiPHoF.”

I am Busier than a One-armed Paper Hanger

As most of you know, this is my busiest time of the year. I gave up an hours worth of sleep, just so I could catch you up:
Fri: High Heels Poker Tour Seminar followed by the Women in Poker Hall of Fame 2009 Induction ceremony on Friday night. The thoughts of running home after the seminar, going back for rehearsal of the WiPHoF, then back home to get dolled up for the festivities, rapidly became impossible. I got a room at the Nugget and that took care of that. BTW: The rooms there are fabulous!
Sat: Super Satellite at the Nugget for the ladies. Top 10% of the field got a $1,340 package. I made it! So I went into the World Series of Poker ladies event on a freeroll (makes me a winner already!)
Sun: 2009 Ladies World Championship. 1,080 from around the world entered. I played for 12 hours and made it to the finals which begin in two hours. I am not yet in the money. We are at about 160 players and 116 will be paid. Send good positive energy and great gobs of luck!
I have a lot more to say about all of the above and details will be coming ... after life slows to a point that I can take a breath without a deadline. Stay tuned!