The new year has not started off quite the way I planned. I have missed all the great tournaments that were on my schedule due to an injury on Jan 2. This injury has kept me pretty much a home body ever since.

No Beau Rivage. No Borgata. Nothing. I haven’t even felt like taking care of business. So I am behind in emails, blogs, articles, and poker news and that is just on the business side of poker. If I look at my to do list for my personal life, my head just swims!

I am healing and plan to play in the WSOP Circuit event at the Palm Beach Kennel Club in Feburary. I so want to be there…

I made the final table of the Borgata December Mini-Series yesterday.  This two day event $500+60 was a “one re-entry” tournament. This structure allowed for a person busting out in the first four levels to one more chance.  A re-entry structure differs from a re-buy event in that when busting, you leave your table and return to the cashier to buy in again.  This means you will get a new seating assignment, a new stack of chips, and pay the house another entry fee for a do- over.  In this case the re-entry fee was a fair $60.

One of the difficulties with traveling alone, especially for me as a married lady is the loneliness.  And this loneliness is never strong than when I run deep into a tournament. I keep my guy friends at arm’s length for several reasons: non-involved over lookers may interpret my actions incorrectly, the guy friends themselves may draw wrong conclusions, and to protect myself from unwanted advances.  Earlier in my poker travels, I tried to be one of the “guys”, but it only caused heartache and misunderstanding.  It is just to hard to separate the male-female thing when you are just hanging out in hotels and casinos—add any alcohol and the drama steps up! When a guy friend would ask me to dinner, I often missed the clues, and did not understand they were actually asking me out.  I made a lot of mistakes and hurt some feelings, so now I pretty much stay back as a loner by eating alone, no side trips, and no trips to the various bars!

This works pretty well until I find myself making a deep run and busting with an icky hand only to find myself really alone.  There really isn’t anyone there for me at that point except the only One who really matters: God.  But do I turn to Him in my hour of need?  No, I go seek solace in a beer (or three) only to feel even worse when I get back to my room.  I spend the next hours crying my eyes out, feeling so sorry for myself.  What a dumb ass I can be!  If only I had reached out to Him in my time of need, I would now feel rested and refreshed instead of bloated with a headache.  But God is good, He promises me that “weeping may stay for the night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5).  And I did wake up with joy in my heart this morning.  I am so very blessed and that 5th place finished didn’t hurt one bit!

How can I play in a million dollar prize pool without having to go to Vegas for the WSOP or hit the WPT trail?  How can a $30 buy-in get me over $300,000 for 1^st place in a land-based casino?  The Florida Poker Rooms have come up with an solution.  It’s called the Florida Million II.

This tournament  is split into two flights, with many day 1′s.  There are seven participating poker rooms in Florida: Palm Beach Kennel Club, Daytona Beach Kennel Club, Mardi Gras, Derby Lane, Orange Park Kennel Club, Pensacola Greyhound Park, and Naples-Ft Myers Greyhound Track. These rooms may hold lower buy-in satellite tournaments to gain entry into the Florida Million II $500+50 tournament.  Alternatively, you can buy-in directly for $500+50.

Each Day 1 is limited to a max of 150 players.  The tournament structure is identical at each of the seven locations.  Day 1 flights are played until 10% of the field remains.  Once 90% of the players have been eliminated, the remaining 10 % are guaranteed to be in the money.  Those advancing to the finals will have their identification verified and chips transferred to the host location.It’s similar to the November 9, as the players advancing have to wait to play out Day 2 and hopefully Day 3.  The finals will be held at the Palm Beach Kennel Club located in West Palm Beach on December 11,2010.

Most of us in Florida live with in driving distance of more than one poker room offering a Day 1, so if at first you do not succeed try and try again.  The Florida Million is not a freeze out! Re-entries to Day 1 is encouraged.  There are over 35 Day 1’s being offered state wide. Visit the Florida Million website at http://flmillion.com/for current prize pool information and further details.  Good Luck as you  find your way to the nearest poker room offering a Day 1.

The first Florida Million tournament  had 2,349 entrants with 235 making the money earlier this year.

Now playing High Stakes No Limit Hold'em

Early Saturday morning I called Tina Tellone, a close friend of mine, to see about her joining me in Daytona Beach Kennel Club for a day of poker action.  Tina arrived 45 minutes late and on her 4^th hand found herself on the button with pocket kings.  Five women limped in to the hand with her and the blinds to go, she announced, “this is NOT a button raise I just happen to be sitting where it is located.”  With a raise of $600 everyone called including the blinds.  The flop came with an Ace, as if there would be any doubt.  The small blind let out with $600 and everyone folded to Tina you could see the steam shooting out of her ears and she called the bet.  Later I asked why and she said, “I had to see what Ace was so valuable on a 50/100 blind level with a pre-flop raise of $600“.  They checked it down from the flop and the woman turned over Ace/Eight off-suit.

After the hand I hear from the table where she was, “just so you know my chips have GPS tracking in them and I will be getting them back”.  Sure enough Tina did just that. The very next level got them all back and then some!  She did it by limping in with pocket 8’s and spiking a set on the flop! The poker gods were smiling as she boated against the woman’s nut flush at the river.  Tina doubled up through the very woman who cracked her Kings.

Way to go, Tina!

She was definitely on her game correctly calling hole cards hand after hand, she was unstoppable.  Accurately assessing the final table Tina offered the woman expected to make it to heads up a chop.  No thanks! Final table action lasted 45 minutes and it was Tina vs. the reluctant chopper. This woman wasn’t willing to concede the trophy or title even though Tina had the chip advantage.  Tina laughingly said, “That’s fine, I’ll win it outright” and it only took 14 hands.

I am reminded of a similar reluctant chopper story from my background.  It was the 2008 WSOP Ladies circuit event at Harrah’s New Orleans.  First place was $16,700 with $9,185 for second.  After clearing most of the final table I ended heads up.  I offered my opponent very generous even money deal with me retaining the title and the gold WSOP Circuit pendant necklace. She declined even though I had 85% of the chips. I won the tournament two hands later.

Tina was on Cloud 9 with her win and decided pickup some extra funds from the cash game.  I think she was more excited about winning the trophy than the cash.  Trophies are tangible reminders allowing  us bragging rights and reminiscent feelings of triumph.  Congratulations, Tina!  Love you!

1. When and how did you get started playing poker?

I was having some significant health problems in late 2005 and was not able to get out much. I was basically on bed rest for about six months. So my husband bought a laptop to help me pass the long days. In early 2006 after I got bored with hacking around on the internet, I found my way to the free games on Full Tilt Poker. The rest is history, so to speak. As my health improved, my first outings were to play live poker.

2. What would you consider to be the defining moment in your poker career thus far? The defining moment in my poker career was when I finally learned the hand rankings. I remember being in a live tournament trying to decide if a full house beat a straight or not. It’s humbling to admit I played video poker for years without knowing what comprised a flush. Who knows how much money I gave away by not recognizing the need to save cards of the same suit? 3. With 4 children how do you effectively balance poker and life? Since all of our children have graduated high school and moved out of the house balancing life with the kids really isn’t much of an issue anymore.

6. If you were asked to give a room full of young poker hopefuls one piece of advice what would it be? Know yourself and act on that knowledge to protect your game and bankroll. Identify anything that adversely affects your game and take steps to minimize its effects. It is a great sign of maturity to know and act on physical, mental, and emotional limits. If you are feeling angry, don’t play. If you are sick, don’t play. Listen to yourself and take care of your body.

7. How did you feel the day you won the New Orleans Bayou Poker Challenge? There were 269 entrants in this WSOP ladies event called the “Cajun Queen Classic”. In addition to the prize money and circuit title; I got my first piece of poker jewelry! The day started happily as I chatted it up with my table mates.I really enjoy the social side of the ladies events.Many of the less seasoned ladies will tell you how and why they played a particular way, if you have been friendly and ask. I struggled the first half of the day with no good spots or significant luck to build a stack. I headed to dinner break feeling somewhat defeated and short on chips. My friend Jack gives me a pep talk of a lifetime over dinner.I returned from dinner refreshed with a sense of determination. I doubled up on my first hand after dinner when I flopped a set of eights against an aggressive lady, who overplayed her top pair, good kicker.From there I literally did not lose a hand I selected to play.I was catching cards like I never had before in my short poker career. Talk about being a LuckBox! I knocked players out so fast that I did not have time to get my chips stacked between hands. It was so surreal.

10. I like to leave this open to you, is there anything you would like to say to those reading today? I am developing a relationship with Poker Pros Network. While we are in the early stages of development, I feel comfortable inviting you to check out my poker room on The Poker Pros Network. Just click on this link and choose “RUN” and Install. This will load your connection to the Jena Delk players lobby and my private offerings and games. Come Play with Me! Private games and educational opportunities are being developed. Please visit my website at www.jenadelk.com to keep up to date on my current happenings

After getting knocked out of the WSOP $1,000 tournament, I sat down to play cash for about an hour.  There were no $2/5 seats available when I first arrived so I passed time at the $ 1/3 game.  When my name was up on the wait list, I was moved to an active $2/5 game with deep stacks.  I bought in for the table maximum of $500.   Two hands before the one I am going to tell you about, I mentioned to the table that I was waiting on a ride from my roommate and would be leaving after I received a text saying he was on the way.

An early position player opens for $15 which is reraised to $45 by MP+1 (middle position) to $45.  The cut off flats as do I from the button with the Ac Kc.  The original raiser folds.  The flop is 9 high with two spades.  On the flop, both of the other villains check, so I bet $85.  The MP+1 folds and the CO (cut-off) calls after asking how much I am playing.  The turn is a 10 of hearts.  CO checks again.  I bet $150 and the CO calls.  The river is a beautiful club.  Again the CO checks, so I go all in for $190.  The CO thinks for a bit and says, “I know you got aces, but I call”.  When I turn up the nut flush, this guy throws his cards nearly hitting the dealer,  “You don’t know how lucky you got, Miss!”  He grabs his remaining money and starts to walk away without playing the last bet.  The dealer calls for him to come back.  He steams as the dealer collects another $190 from this guy. I tip the dealer generously and smile.

On the flop I am actually ahead here.  My turn bet, gives me odds to stay in the hand.  So glad I got “lucky”.  As I am stacking my chips, my roommate texts me that he is on the way, I tell everyone that I am going to take one more hand. I fold a junk hand and cash out a nice $450 profit.

My day 2 of Event 54 wrapped up just after the bubble was broken.  I started the day with average chips at a comfortable table.  I never really had any hands for the first hour, so my image was really tight.  I got a pair of queens under the gun and opened the pot. The blinds were 500/1000/100. It was folded around to an active big blind who called.  Long story short, a king came on the flop.  The big blind led out with a $1k chip.  I called.  The turn brought another king, and the big blind led with another $1k and I called thinking with the second king on the board that it was unlikely he had a king.  The river is a brick and the blind bets $6k.  I spend a good deal of time evaluating the way the hand went down and what the big blind had been showing down.  I made the wrong decision and called.  The blind shows the king eight right away, so i mucked my hand without showing.

Now I am short stacked with about 8k remaining in my stack.  We are about a hundred away from the money, so I move into survival mode.  I am able to shove all in a few times that are not called.  I get AK with less than ten away from the money when I look down to see AK.  I shove my stack again and am called by jacks.  I am saved when a full house appears on the board for a chop.  The bubble breaks soon thereafter.  I went out 346/3.844 to earn $1,868.

Oh, by the way: Check out Short-Stacked Shamus‘s blog Hard Boiled Poker fame who mentioned little ole me. Thanks Shamus!

I have begun preparation to play Day 2 in Event 54 at the WSOP. This is the last It take quite a bit of time and effort to get this body ready to the rigors of tournament play.  I slept until I woke up today for a total of 13 hours of sleep. I sure was exhausted after playing day 1a.

Yesterday was long for me. I got up at 4:15 am to leave the house at 4:45 Then rode for an hour to get to the Orlando airport. The next nearly 10 hours were spent dealing with planes and airports.

Arriving Las Vegas just after 11 am, my roomies picked me up and carried me to the Rio. I was packing two dozen Dunkin’ Donuts (roomies did an errand for me on the way to pick me up-thanks guys) These donuts were for my friends in Media Row.

So I’m standing in the long registration line with two boxes which start feeling very heavy. These donuts cause lots of stares and comments. Finally I am registered and head to media row to find @AlCantHang. He is no where to be found so I head to my seat and put the boxes under my chair.

I ask each media person passing by my table if they knew where he was. No luck so I leave early for the first break to find my friend. When he is still unfindable (is that a word?) I leave the donuts on Nolan Dalla’s perch with a note and my business card.

Back to the tournament; I triple up my 3,000 starting in the first two levels. I am flopping full houses and trips. I feel unstoppable. Then you know what happens, the cards go south and the drought lasts until 40 minutes before the end of play. It’s 400/800/75 and I have 3200. I shove a bunch and get lucky a few times.

Then the hand comes: pocket aces. The UTG player opens to 1050 and it’s folded to me on the button. I reraise to 3500. The small blind grabs a stack of 500 chips and reraises me. The UTG shoves for a bit more and I pause. The small blind has me covered. I shove and he calls. My aces hold and I am thrilled. The UTG player had pocket tens and the small blind had AKo.

When the day finished I bagged 23,275 for day 2. This is a nice average stack. Play resumes Saturday at 2:30pm.

I am disappointed with the WSOP and how they have financially segregated the tournaments between the Pavilion and Amazon rooms. A lot of players come to the WSOP to check out the guys they have been watching on TV and railing online. When you arrive, they point you in to the first Pavilion room which is basically where the noobs are grinding donkaments. There are very few pros in that section.

I realize that they need all the space they can get but seems they are purposely only running higher buy in events in the Amazon room. I have a friend here who has been playing cash and $200-$1000 tourneys for over a week here. He said ‘Gee, I thought there would be more pros here in the Amazon room’. He is a smart guy, but he was unaware that he’d been playing in the Pavilion and that there was even a second room. It’s not that obvious to a newbie. I then talked to a few other guys who didn’t know there were other events going on in the Amazon hall. I just think it would be good to put a big event in the Pavilion from time to time too. The $10k HU event yesterday could of easily fit. To top it all off, there is a guard and thug standing by the entry to the Amazon hall as if to say ‘thou shalt not pass!’

How about they throw up a sign that says “Come see how sick Durr is! Rail Phil Ivey. See how many times Scotty will say BABY. Come visit the Amazon room behind the main poker Pavilion!’

Maybe the ‘pros’ have expressed interested in not having a lot of rail birds? Just curious. Last year it was wonderful to have everyone mixing it up with the pros in one location.

I was going to make a blog post about this but then I remembered that I have no blog

Thoughts?

-written by Geoffrey Preston Lay

There has been much debate about Ladies only events in poker. I understand there can be strong feelings for both sides of the debate. You hear many of the same arguments over and over.

Here’s one you may not have considered:

Ladies only events bring women into the casino. These gals enjoy playing poker. Before and after each event you see a substantial increase of women playing cash. Give them what they are looking for—a good time at the table. They will open their wallets for you. So quit complaining the ladies events are sexist, and enjoy the benefit$. Don’t spoil the fun by crashing the events.

Ladies events are positive EV for poker in general.  They bring BEGINNERS (aka fish) to the game.  These are the players you want to join you at the tables.  For some ladies, the ladies event is the only way they will venture into the casino to play poker, because it feels safe to them.  I am begging you guys to leave them alone.

Internet young guns, stop sulking in your hoodie and smile at that gal sitting next to you. She is probably intimidated and could use a friend. Help her to feel comfortable.  Let her know how things work in the game, if she seems unsure. Always acknowledge someone who speaks to you.  You spend way too many hours in your cocoon anyway. 

Men who have wives, who don’t understand all the hours at the tables, should bring their lady along for a weekend of spa, shopping, and poker. Have her bring along a couple of friends. She will be so busy have fun that there will be no time to nag you. Hopefully she will find the experience so much fun that she will pick up the game. Once she is playing regularly her daily nagging allowance will be sharply decreased. There is one drawback; she may become a better player than you!!

Tournament Directors: Please add a male only event to occur at the same time as the Ladies Events.