Calistri's Corner

I normally take the Southwest Airlines non-stop from Austin to Vegas, which means my normal traveling companions are cowboys and gamblers.  Flights on Southwest were booked this week, resulting in my America Airlines one hopper through Dallas.  I didn’t expect much of a difference; Vegas bound travelers are probably all the same….not. Read the rest of this entry »

Apparently when the going gets tough, the tough get goofy.  At least that was true in the 2007 WSOP ME.  Players that had been staid and serene throughout the preliminaries were uncharacteristically…well silly…when they struck up the music for the big dance. Read the rest of this entry »

This week, everything amuses me.  I’m amused when I hit a royal in stud during a .25/.50 HORSE session on Full Tilt, get callers all the way, and still only drag a $7.15 pot.  I’m equally amused when my A-J-xxx flush loses to an A-Q-xxx flush.  I’m amused when I can end a two hour session up a buck or two.  But most of all I’m amused that my amusement has built my meager $52 starting bankroll to a little north of a $100 in less than a week of infrequent play. Read the rest of this entry »

So three days after setting my plan to play PLO8 for the next month I realized, that was never gonna happen.  If wanting to put a gun to your head 20 minutes into every session was a sign of tilt, I was there.  No patience.  No joy.  And no payback.  I’ve been a little ADD since returning from the WSOP and this wasn’t the game for me right now.  And then it hit me: HORSE. Read the rest of this entry »

If you know anything about me, you know I’m frugal.  I like quality, but always at a good price.  And of all the possible prices, ”free” really works for me.  I thought about that this morning, as I reached for my blue and white striped Party Poker polo shirt.  Read the rest of this entry »

For seven weeks in Vegas, I woke up to a perfect azure sky that looked like it would crack in two as the blazing sun rose into it.  I can stand the heat; I’m from Texas after all.  It was the weather’s fragile sameness that was slowly driving me insane.  Read the rest of this entry »

I have a lot of pictures from the 2007 WSOP.  I probably have dozens of pictures of every pro and most of the celebs that played.  I do not have a picture of Tobey Maguire.  Why?  Because he doesn’t like his picture taken in the field.  Read the rest of this entry »

The WSOP has a cycle much like a washing machine.  At the start of the series, players pile into the preliminary events like dirty clothes into the tub, hoping to come out cleansed, with a bracelet or a replenished bankroll.  The preliminary events churn through the players, lifting some to the top and leaving many to swirl around the bottom in dead money limbo.  Read the rest of this entry »

It’s not that the pros aren’t happy to play the WSOP, but it’s a long, risk ladden, haul.  They play long days.  They play many events that can quickly eat into even a healthy bankroll.  And while this is a job they love, it is still work.  So it’s a rare and treasured moment when I can gaze across the vast expanse of the Amazon room and see a truly happy person. Read the rest of this entry »

I hate this part of the WSOP.  Although I miss home like nobody’s business, in some ways, I wish the preliminary events would go on forever.  For five weeks I have strolled through the Rio; being able to count on seeing my poker friends and acquaintences.  It’s been my temporary neighborhood.  And now, one by one, my neighbors are moving out.  Read the rest of this entry »