Bubbles and Anna Kournikova
I hate bubbles and I hate Anna Kournikova!!
You may ask what do the two have to do with one another?
And why do I hate them?
Well, first of all I need to explain that I am not talking about Bubbles the monkey owned by the freak has-been singer currently living in Dubai.
I am also not talking about soap bubbles, or any such spheres.
"Bubble" in this case refers to the finishing position in a poker tournament. If the tournament pays money to the top 10 finishers then he or she finishing 11th is "on the bubble", also referred to as "bubble boy" or "bubble girl".
It's a painful position to be in. You have played for many hours and you end up with nothing to show for it, while the others remaining at the table get paid for virtually the same level of effort.
The weekend before last I went to Vegas and played in three tournaments. All of them No-Limit Hold-em, and in 2 out of 3 I was at the final table without making any money!!! In the third I was 2 places away from the final table.
So that explains why I hate bubbles, but what about Anna Kournikova? I don't know the woman personally, and I will watch tennis only if you tie me to a chair and force my eyes open "clockwork orange" style. So I could literally bump in to her in the supermarket (interesting thought: do you think she shops at Raley's?) and not recognize her. So I don't hate her at all.
What I hate is the Ace-King hand in hold-em poker. The hand is known as "big slick", but lately has become better known under the nickname Anna Kournikova. The obvious reason for that is that the initials match, but a more popular reason to call A-K Anna Kournikova is that like Anna, Ace-King looks pretty, but seldom wins!!
This weekend's bubble finishes all have one thing in common: Anna Kournikova.
First came the Sunday morning 10:00 am tournament at Binion's Casino in downtown Las Vegas. For those of you not familiar with Binions, this place is holy ground for poker players. It is where every year the "super bowl" equivalent of the poker world called The World Series Of Poker is held. Over the years Sam Binion has welcomed all of the greatest name in poker in this place. This is to the poker world what Wembley Stadium used to be to English football players (yes, soccer for you Americans).
Just walking into the poker room one can feel the history.
But back to Anna: I was bounced out of the tourney in 12th place, holding AK. The flop was A-K-10, so holding top 2 pair I was pretty confident. Then I found out the hard way that the other guy held 10-10 in his hand. Ouch!
At a tournament at Bally's I made the final table. Actually, I was eliminated in 5th place. But Bally's only pays the top 4, so I made no money there. And yes, I was eliminated while holding AK. Short stacked I went all-in. The big blind called me with 10-6 off-suit and got a pair of sixes in the end.
Finally, the tournament at the Golden Nugget. BTW for those of you contemplating playing that tournament - Don't!
It's very badly organized. I was bounced out at 9th place. Another final table, but again no money as GN pays only the top 5. I won't bother you with the details, but of course I had AK again when I was eliminated.
All in all though, this was a very useful trip. Playing 3 tourneys in such a short time span I learned a lot about my tournament play. I figured out a few things that I can do better. I won't be any more specific because I don't want to give it away, but I think I will be a better tournament player after this weekend.
For that I thank Anna Kournikova.