We are about six weeks into 2011. How are you coming along with your New Year’s resolutions? One of mine was to take more time for myself and to play more poker. With that in mind, I decided to spend a week at the Commerce during the L.A. Poker Classic (LAPC) recently. I cancelled all other plans and commitments for that week and booked a room at the Crown Plaza so I could be available to play night and day without ever having to drive. It really is cool to take an elevator home instead of having to drive somewhere after a long session of play!
I get to play a lot of poker throughout the year when I am hosting events on Card Player Cruises, teaching WPT Boot Camps, or hosting tournaments around the country, but often the game selection and limits are not quite what I would want them to be. Don’t get me wrong though; I enjoy playing any type of poker at any limit, but I don’t usually get the opportunity to play poker games of my choice except during the WSOP. My dream games are Omaha/8, HORSE, Razz, and Stud/8 at the $40-$80 limit up to $100-$200. Judging from past history, I knew these games would be available at Commerce during my visit.
One thing I really like about the LAPC schedule is that the tournaments are not all No Limit Hold’em. They have many events featuring my favorite games with buy-ins in the $335 to $1,065 range. As much as I would have liked to add a “Bronco Buster” Remington bronze statue to my trophy shelves, it was not meant to be.
The Commerce Casino should be complimented on many things. First of all, its staff printed an amazing in-depth, 30-plus page, glossy booklet that explained everything you could possibly want to know about the LAPC. It started with a welcome page from tournament director Matt Savage and contained information about the Commerce Casino, its eating establishments, the Player of the Series Award, the schedule of events, the structures for each event, the payout schedule, the WPT, nearby hotels and attractions, former LAPC champions, etc. Kudos for putting out such a detailed booklet. It’s the best I’ve ever seen in 30 years of being in the industry.
Another item of added value to the tournaments were the food vouchers issued with each entry. This year, there was a choice of many different venues for using the comps: the All-In Buffet, the Skyroom Snack Bar, the Ballroom Sandwich Board and Carvery, the Arena Sports Bar, and at the poker tables. They also gave away great t-shirts and hats with the slogan “54 Events in 44 Days.”
I saw some freaky things and heard some funny comments while playing at the tournament tables. During the Razz segment of the HORSE tournament, a player who had started with A-2-3 and caught a 4 on fourth street, followed it up with K-K-Q, and then commented in disgust, “Isn’t Razz the game that started the Civil War?”
In a contested four-way Seven-Card Stud hand, after it was checked on the river, no one could beat K-10 high… 28 cards and no one made a pair or had an ace! The funniest scene was when an opponent thought he was playing Seven-Card Stud (the game actually was Razz at the time) and called on the river with two pair, kings and nines. He was against a board of A-8-7-2, but the player with that holding who bet on every street had made three pair, so the king low won the pot.
Savage and his tournament staff did a great job running the tournaments. They listened to the players and added events including an Eight-Game Mix, PLO and PLO/8, bounty tournaments, 2-7 No Limit, double-stack tournaments, a Valentine’s Day tag team event, and a Seniors Championship with a $10,000 seat added. All together, they guaranteed $2,000,00 in various events, added seats worth $45,000, and added $25,000 to the Player of the Series Award. Well done Commerce!
I played an average of 14 hours a day while I was there and totally enjoyed it. The live games were so good that I passed up a few tournaments I had planned to enter. There are so many things I like about the live section including the great floor staff, the scrumptious free food in the top section, the lighting, and plenty of space to move between the tables. In fact, I think I’ll make another trip there before the LAPC concludes!