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I got to the World Series of Poker twelve days late this year. I was good with that. Why did I miss those twelve days? Cuz I was on a roll. For about three years I had stuff piling up in my office. It was fairly ridiculous. The roll I was on was getting the office squared away.

The last 100 times I have been on "a roll" were all poker related. A 36-hour session of poker never starts that way. What happens is you start getting on a roll, and then there is no choice. You finish the roll.

So when I got into the "office squaring away things," there was nothing I could do. Except see where it went. It was such a frenzy. I had no idea that I could get so into something – stay so ubber focused and so productive for so long.

Ten days later I was the most organized I have ever been since probably the first week of my freshman year of college. It was surreal. (If there were a before-and-after photo, you might not believe it. A 10 by 20-foot room with about 6 inches to 2 feet of stuff all over the floor and desk – with a few paths to navigate to and fro - transformed into something that looks like the office of a military drill sergeant.)

A very satisfying feeling indeed.

But now it was time for the WSOP. I loaded up the car (gotta have your own wheels at the Series) and would meet Jennifer the next day at the airport. I left the house at 11pm so that I would be able to bomb my way up there. The drive is 282 miles door-to-door, and this year I broke all my previous records. Two hours and thirty minutes. Seems impossible. But I did it. That is an average speed of 112 miles per hour. I recall my top speed for the trip was 165. This was for only a short bit as driving conditions have to be optimal for me to feel comfortable with this speed.

I have made this drive many times in my life and am constantly amazed that I never have met a cop. I would think it is nearly impossible to make this trip so many times, speeding every time and never getting pulled over. Maybe it is true. Maybe cops only pull people over if they are under 25 years old. I did all this without any radar devices.Only a keen sense of "If I were a cop, where would I hide?" and "From the tail lights and shape of that vehicle, are we talking civilian or cop?"  Two very strong skills I have – I am probably in the top 2% of all drivers for these skills.

I arrived in Vegas and it felt good. I checked into the place Jennifer and I rented, went shopping (there are only two Whole Foods in the entire town!), got Jennifer and me signed up for our first event, then picked her up at the airport. All seamless.

I was wondering how everything could be going so smoothly. Maybe the snake traps and mishaps were all ahead. Or maybe and more likely is this: that all I have really done up to this point was get organized, speed to Vegas ticket free, and go shopping. Why shouldn't that be seamless? LOL. I guess I am so used to the entropy around me that when small things work smoothly I am happily amazed.

So after a few events passed without cashing, I needed a fix. I needed to win something – quell the beast within so to speak. I had to win or I would lose my mind. Off to the cash games I go. And win I did. Thank God for the cash games. They are the best thing ever. By the way, how do people play all these tourneys without playing some cash games in between? That will always be a mystery to me.

When you are in a tournament, a fish is around only 'til he goes bust.Whereas in a cash game fish often reload multiple times. I love the fish reload. It is my poker fuel.

I like side bets – you might already know this about me. When Jeff Lisandro offered me the following bet I could not resist. I win 5k or lose 12.5k. If Chan, Doyle, or Hellmuth win an 11th bracelet, I am out 12.5k. Otherwise I win 5k. About eight events had passed; the bet felt good to me so I booked it. Of course a few days later Hellmuth gets his 11th bracelet and I am stuck 12.5k. Gross.

Then the $5,000 No Limit Event #22 gets underway. This was a blast. I was in the zone, had booked a few cash wins, and my sleep schedule was aligned correctly. It really got fun when Jennifer and I both got to Day 2. First place for this one would be 700k or so.

Wow. That is a boatload of dough. They had 640 entrants.

The gross part of the story was that I felt like I was struggling for the entire day. Ever have those days? Well in a cash game I don't worry if I am short stacked because I will just reload. But in tournament poker the only way to reload is to win pots. I picked my spots and kept myself alive.

Day 2 was a mixed blessing. I had chips, but not many. Well, hardly any at all in fact. There were 85 people on Day 2 and I was number 84.
Luckily I had enough chips to get fold equity on the blinds if the pot were not yet opened. I won my first two all-ins (no flop – just folds), which was HUGE. From there I was able to be a bit pickier and rolled my way into some chips. People were dropping like flies, and before I knew it both Jennifer and I were in the money.

Getting into the money was nice. I finally could play position and a few more speculative hands. Things went nicely for quite a bit.
Reaching an average chip stack position for the first time in two days with forty people remaining. It was the first time I had chips in two days and it felt good.

Throughout the tournament I noticed fat stacks making bonehead plays and I promised myself that if I ever got chips that I would honor them by not digging any stupid holes. Shorthanded – 5 and 6 players at two tables – I picked up A-Q and reraised James Mackey all in. He held on with his pocket sixes - won that hand and then went on to win the full 700k. Only 21 years old and a 700k uptick. Kind of unreal.

I loved the way I played. I picked up 30k and had a shot at the fat money. My girl and I both cashed in the same tourney and we had a lot of fun. The next day I signed up for another tourney and cashed again.I am in full swing here at the Series and today I am off to the 5k Heads-up (new event) tournament. It looks like they will have about 256 players. Very cool. I am a heads-up junky, so I am full out stoked.

There really is nothing better than a month in Vegas during the World Series of Poker. It is just the nuts. Next year I won't be missing the first ten days – that's for sure.

Chill 'til later. Phil.