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All In
Posted: Tuesday, April 20, 2004
By David Savona
My big trip to Atlantic City didn't quite go as planned. I thought my entry in the Cigar Aficionado Texas Hold'em tournament would be my ticket to the big time, but sad to say I'm a little lighter in the wallet.
This was our first Atlantic City Big Smoke, and it was held in the city's best hotel, the plush Borgata. To get things started in style, we threw a $500-a-head Hold 'Em tournament. The top prize was $25,000 and bragging rights from here to Vegas. I sat down at my table, pulled my baseball hat down low and put on the mirrored shades. After mucking my first hand, I pulled an H. Upmann Magnum 46 from my cigar case and lit up.
Did I mention this was a cigar-friendly tournament?
The man who was nearly pressed against my left shoulder coughed, but no one was going to protest the smoking here and get away with it. I looked around the room as I puffed. One hundred other Moneymaker wannabes were holding their chips, hoping for the best. (For anyone who isn't addicted to cable TV poker, Chris Moneymaker is the online novice who won the most recent World Series of Poker.)
Cigar Aficionado's Dave Savona and Wine Spectator's James Molesworth leave early from the Texas Hold'em tournament.
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I play poker on occasion, typically with a group of friends in my cigar-friendly basement. (More than one person has quite accurately noted that it's more of an excuse to drink beer, tell jokes and smoke two or three cigars than it is serious gambling, but don't hold that against me.) I've also played on the Internet. This was different. Things moved quickly, and I didn't seem to have as much room as I would like. And the cards weren't kind.
Everyone started with $2,000 in tournament chips (which couldn't be redeemed; the only way to make money on this deal was to finish in the top five.) My stack grew smaller as nothing seemed to flop in my favor. Pocket fours in the hole didn't get me anywhere, not with a flop full of face cards and heavy bets from the table that suggested someone had a high pair, or better. Nothing pretty came my way, not until the blinds were up to $200 and I looked at an ace and a jack, unsuited. I called the $200.
Everyone folded, save for a guy at the other end of the table who was short-stacked after putting up the big blind. He threw in his last chip, for $500.
I was already in for $200, and I liked ace-jack with only one other player. I called. We flipped over our cards.
He had ace-queen. Aich.
The flop turned up another ace, but I was looking for a jack. I wouldn't get one. He won, both of us with a pair of aces, but his queen kicker edged my jack.
That was about it for me. The same guy outdrew me on the next hand, and I was done for the day. I stood up, joining some friends who had fallen earlier, and gave an inspirational cigar to another who was still playing. Then I grabbed a beer to take the edge off the loss.
Next year, I'll wear thicker shades. That'll do it.
Office photos by Miguel Nunez
Poker tournament photo by Lauren Fleishman
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