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ARTICLE: CAESARS CIRCUIT 10K FINAL DAYS 1&2

DAY 1

There were 209 starters, not a bad turnout considering it wasn't a televised event. It was a pretty tough field, but I liked my first table draw. I also liked the fact that they started 9-handed. Caesars did a nice job with this tournament. The room, which is a dedicated tournament room located behind the regular poker room, is spacious and comfortable. They gave $10 food comps with each tournament entry, and there was tableside food service. I had a talk with Robert Daly, who is in charge of the WSOP this year, about the 9 vs 10- handed situation. He told me he is a player, understands the issue, and is going argue on the side of playing 9-handed when possible during the WSOP. He also cautioned me that the final say wasn't his, residing higher up the corporate ladder. Stay tuned.

I was in the seven-seat, John Gale in the three, 'Syracuse' Chris Tsiprailidis in the five, and John Juanda on my left in the eight. The rest of the players were unknown to me. Juanda got busted fairly quickly and was replaced by Tuan Le. I'd been picking up chips here and there, and had about 12k when I got involved with Tuan. With the blinds 100-200, I made it 600 from the button with 7c6d. Tuan made it 1600 from the SB. He had about 6500 more. I called. The flop came 8s-5c-3s. He bet 1800 into a 3400 pot. I considered moving in on him, but decided to just call and see what he did on the turn. The turn was an offsuit ace and he checked. I didn't think I could represent an ace since I had not raised pre-flop, and I had a feeling it might have hit him and he was waiting for me to make a move. I decided to take the free card, which was the 9h. He bet 3000 and I put him all in for the rest of his stack, busting him.

I raised on the button with 55 and called an all in re-raise by a short stack in the BB, who had AQ. I lost my first race of the event and was below 20k. But, I liked my table and didn't want it to break. I heard the floormen behind me trying to figure out in what order to break the tables. This was one of my complaints last year at the WSOP. There should be a set breaking order for the tables, and it should be posted for all players to see. For one thing, having this knowledge can help shape a player's game plan. For example, if I'm at a great table that's not going to break for a while, I'm going to be less willing to risk getting broke for the opportunity to double up than if I knew I would be going to a tougher table soon. But the major reason this should be done is to eliminate any chance of accusations of impropriety on the part of the floorman making the table-breaking decisions. If I'm an unscrupulous floorman and a friend or cohort is at a tough table, or is about to take the big blind, having the option of breaking that table or another presents an opportunity for favoritism. Posting the breaking order solves this issue.

Still at the 100-200 level, I was on the button with 66 and called a raise to 600 by John Gale, who'd amassed a nice stack. The flop came A-5-2. The BB, who'd also called the raise, checked, as did John. I took a shot at it, betting 1300. The BB folded, but John called. I didn't like it and was pretty much done with the hand. The turn came a seven. He checked again, and I checked behind him. The turn came a six! Now he bet 3000. I raised and he folded, having let me get there. This is an example of the advantage of position. Had he acted behind me on the turn, he'd have likely bet me off the pot.

I had worked up to about 24,000, back to where I was before I lost the race. I limped, after a few other limpers, from the button with Kh7h. The flop came Kc-3d-4d. It was checked around to me and I bet 500. The SB, a foreign player who had taken the seat to my left and had been playing pretty tight, raised 500. I was pretty sure he had me beat at that point, but the raise was small and I had position, so I called. The turn was the Td. He checked and I bet 1500. I knew he had to be worried that I