Michael Craig's Journal

Thanks for your patience. Starting today, I will be writing The Full Tilt Poker Blog by Michael Craig. At Full Tilt, they are still putting together the graphics, links, etc. The look will evolve and improve and it’s not impossible that there could be some technical glitch early on. These guys are also closing the deal on new payment processors - obviously a high priority to us all - so please check it out, but be patient if it’s not perfect from the start.

I tried to hit the ground running, starting with my first post, The Playboy of Full Tilt.

Thanks again to everybody who read my Journal, and thanks to Linda Geenen and everyone at Pokerworks.com for a wonderful opportunity and a wonderful time. For me, it was magical.

Stay lucky.

Michael Craig 2/3/07

I DON’T have an announcement for my new site. The people I’m negotiating with asked for another week - they, like nearly everybody else I know, are messed up by this NeTeller business. But I wanted to let you know (a) the timing is out of my control; (b) I promise to let you know as soon as I know where I’m going; (c) you can e-mail me if you haven’t already to get e-mail notification when I reset my Journal [mrchaotic@aol.com, make sure you put “MCJ Future” in the “subject” line]; and (d) I finished 11th out of 2,115 in Full Tilt’s $300,000 Guarantee tournament yesterday. The $4,200 just about pays for the amount I spent on buy-ins between cashes. I have some talent for tournament poker. Some. But I really should get a new deal for my Journal and get it running because I’m playing way too much poker online, if such a thing is possible. I also have a backlog of subjects I want to tell you about. Stay in touch, and I promise to do the same. M.

My apologies for not posting during the last week. It’s certainly been a busy time, and I haven’t lacked for material. I made 3 final tables on Full Tilt in two days, NeTeller’s founders got arrested, NeTeller pretty much shut down its U.S. business, I turned in my comments on the copy-edited manuscript for the FULL TILT book (including helping Chris Ferguson re-write two chapters from 19 times zones away), my possible book deal with Mike Matusow fell apart, and I told Pokerworks that I’m ending my association with the site.

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My buddy Raiden mentioned in a comment to the previous post the events he plans to play. I encourage all the members of this community to similarly comment. Here’s my thinking so far:

1. I entered the schedule on an Excel spreadsheet. It will cost $194,500 to play every event, not including re-buys.

2. I intend to play as many World Series events this year as I can afford. I feel I am becoming a very knowledgeable tournament player, am trying to learn all the games, am doing well online, and have a book on tournament poker coming out on June 1.

3. Of course, I can’t afford to spend $194,500 plus re-buys. But I don’t have to. I can subtract the Casino Employee, Ladies, and Seniors events, slashing my total cost of entries to a mere $192,000. Plus re-buys.

4. I have to sacrifice the HORSE Championship. Unless someone - or someoneS - wants a piece of me or I win a satellite, I’m going to have to pass. I’m down to $142,000. Whoo-hoo!

5. I can pretty painlessly axe the PLO Championship and the No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven and save $15,000 plus the rebuys in the Deuce. Those events are too close to the Main Event for my taste.

6. I have no interest in learning Triple-Draw or PLO Eight-or-Better so I can cut them out of my crowded schedule, saving another $2,500. That takes me down to $124,500.

7. In the interest in economizing, I can remove the following $5,000 buy-in events: PLO with rebuys, Pot Limit Hold ‘Em, Stud. That takes me down to $109,500.

8. I can get to nearly $100,000 if I make the decision right now that I won’t play the 6-handed events unless I am in the black, satellite in, or find investors.

9. Why don’t I cut out all the rebuy events? Andy Bloch told me last year that it was necessary to budget at least $5,000 for them. I’ll play the last hold ‘em re-buy event if I’m in the black. Otherwise, they are off the schedule. I’m under $100,000!

10. I love the idea of the mixed hold ‘em events, but I’ll skip the first one. It’s a $5,000 buy-in and is the very first event. I can stay home another day.

11. I’m going to sit-out Pot Limit Hold ‘Em. I already wrote out the $5,000 event. If I skip the $1,500 event and instead play another split event - Omaha EOB/Stud EOB, I can cut some Omaha EOB and Stud EOB’s out. In addition, playing the $2,500 split event gives me more starting chips and more play. And because it starts at 5 PM on June 3, I’m going to assume I won’t be able to play the $1,500 LHE event on June 4. $89,000 to play the WSOP.

12. The way it’s currently set, I’m playing 6/2, 6/3, 6/5, and 6/6. Especially because June 6 is Jo Anne’s birthday, I’ll go home after that. By skipping the next couple days and returning for the $2,500 NLHE on June 11, my WSOP bill is now just $76,500.

After that, it gets a lot murkier. How long I last, finishes in the money, and ruination of my marriage will determine how much more I play. Obviously, if I make a final table early that will fuel a relatively heavy schedule. If Jo Anne incapacitates me with a horse-whip, then I won’t, for example, be playing the $5,000 HORSE.

But I’m confident I can profit from playing a significant schedule, or least keep my losses under $50,000.

 

Yesterday, Harrah’s announced its schedule for the 2007 World Series of Poker. You can check out the specifics of the schedule here. But here is all you REALLY need to know:

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While I was playing a tournament on Full Tilt, a player who sometimes railbirds me (sometimes complaining about how I play, sometimes about my opponents) told me there was a web site with a video about my online play. He sent me the YouTube link, which, unfortunately, wasn’t porn. It was, however, very critical of a play I made at a Full Tilt final table six weeks ago. The guy was completely wrong, and I promised in my comment on YouTube to explain why, so here goes.

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As I write this, I am trying to do four things at once: play an online tournament on Full Tilt, review the copy-edited manuscript of my book, clean my office, and gather background for my potential next project. (I guess if you include writing in my Journal, that makes five.) I can’t say I’m not doing well with any of these projects, but I’m not doing MUCH.

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OK, so what’s that quote about?

A. Gerald Ford, upon taking the oath of office.

B. Saddam Hussein, swingin’.

C. Me, finally grabbing some cheese on Full Tilt.

D. All of the above.

I’d argue for D, but that’s just me.

 

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I just got back from a couple very interesting days in Las Vegas.  By interesting, I mean “strange.” I divided my time between redrafting chapters of the Full Tilt book with Chris Ferguson and working on a project with Mike Matusow that is slowly metamorphing into his autobiography. During an odd moment, I posed the Parker Query.

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Chris Ferguson and I are working on revising his chapters for the Full Tilt book. Yes, the deadline has passed; it’s a long story.

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