It’s the day before the Main Event. I’ve been in Vegas five days and am feeling great. I’ve even been to the gym a couple of times although there is something galling about coughing up $25 for 45 minutes of self torture.

I’ve been warming up in the $10/20 no limit cash games but these have done me few favours. The game profile is constantly changing; sometimes slow and tight when packed with ‘old style’ pros and sometimes fast and loose when the tourists come in or a few $25/50 players stop by while waiting for a seat. As ever, I’ve been winning a lot of small pots but losing the big confrontations. I lost three $5k+ pots. My AA lost to a 5-outer on the river (he set me in with QJ on a Q high board), my KK vs AKs was all in pre-flop and he made a house and my up and down straight flush draw lost to the flopped set that made a house on the turn. Rough translation: B****KS!Nevertheless, I’m only a couple of $k down so it feels like a win.

I did manage to make the final table in the 150 runner $500 warm up event on Thursday. For a $500 comp it was a hell of a line-up at the Final! The Coach was also there, Annette Obrestad, Toto Leonidas and some well known locals. I was hoping to pocket the $21k first prize (or at least split it with Keith) but my TT ran into Annette’s AA in the big blind. $800 felt a bit thin. Keith fared little better, claiming 7th spot for $1,100. Still…wet faces and slapped fish n’all’that.

It seems the turnout for the Main Event will be disappointing. In 2007 Carlos Mortensen overcame a field of 639 for nearly $4m! (That year this chap:

got to the final table. Anyone know who he is?).

This year the spread betting line (the number of entries that people were betting over or under) was around 230 - disappointingly low. But during the week something happened to change the picture. The Volcanic eruption at Eyjafjallajökull had grounded all air traffic over the Atlantic. Europeans who might be travelling over to play, or Yanks travelling back from Europe, wouldn’t make it. I managed to get a couple of side bets with the $10/20 players that there would be fewer than 230 entries. Not enough to dent the Main Event entry fee but enough to claw back some of my cash game losses!

On the eve of the tournament I hooked up with The Coach, our Guest Dave Colclough and world famous Hendon Mobster Joe Beevers for an evening of gambling. Joe taught us how to play Pai Gow, a simplified version of Chinese Poker. Swiftly on to the craps table, the cocaine of the casino. I love craps but I have a strict rule of only playing in Vegas. The poker world is littered with stories of great players who’ve won millions at poker and “done the lot” on the craps tables. I have no intention of adding my name to this list!

I’m thrilled that DC has agreed to play for us in the WPT final, the biggest buy-in tournament of the year. A mere glance at his record tells you why he is one of the most respected players in the game. He is that rare breed of player who has cracked both tournament and cash poker, remaining at the top of the ladder by adapting his game to a changing poker world. However a “superbowl” result has so far eluded him. Could this be the one?

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