Mark | Caribbean Poker Classic 2008

This article is a part of the Caribbean Poker Classic 2008 series. Follow the link to read more about how I got to go on the trip in the first place.

As you may remember my friend Artur qualified online for the main tournament of the Caribbean Poker Classic 2008. The tournament had a 2500$ + 200$ buyin and a total of 114 players registered. Artur debated for some time whether to play the tournament or sell the seat to someone else and use the money to play in the 1000$ + 100$ tournamen and cover the roughly 700$ losses he had suffered so far on the trip. In the end he decided to play the main tournament…afterall chances like this don’t come around too often.

Here’s the prize distribution for the top 10 finishes:

1. 91200$
2. 47000$
3. 27600$
4. 20400$
5. 16600$
6. 13800$
7. 11100$
8. 8500$
9. 5500$
10. 4400$

Once again this prize pool distribution clearly demonstrates that you need to finish in the top 5 in tournaments to win big. Keep this in mind in your next tournament if you find yourself playing it safe around the bubble to finish in the money and perhaps only win back double your buyin. In order to win big, you need to take risks.

 

 Artur in the main tournament of the Caribbean Poker Classic 2008

I might as well start out by revealing that Artur did not cash out in the main tournament. After about 2 hours of play he was all in with AQ against a smaller stack on a Q108 flop. His opponent had AJ. River was an ugly K. 2 hours later Artur was knocked out with 77 against AQ all in preflop. The player with AQ went on to finish in second place, so at least he put the chips to good use:-).

Later on that evening we got slightly drunk and decided to play a 25$ SNG with the regular gang (Stef, Abby, Bruce (online manager of Littlewoods gaming and a few others who’s names I forgot)). The tournament floor managers also decided to join which was great fun. After Bruce was eliminated we decided to make it a rebuy SNG to get him back in the game (playing against Bruce was like stealing candy from a child…lol). Artur and I ended up taking first and second prize and split the money between us.

I was back with a 130$ bankroll!! 10 minutes later it was down to 105$ when I busted out of a SNG with A10 against AA…don’t play poker when you are drunk. 1 hour later I was broke again. Blackjack is apparently not my game. On a positive note Artur was on fire on the blackjack tables and combined with his previous cash table winnings he was almost back to break even for the trip.

 

Lining up for the speed climb competition

The following day we chilled on the ship; working out in the fitness centre and conquering the impressive climbing wall. Artur, Steffani and I made a 50$ bet on who could make it all the way to the top on the hardest route. Despite of my gruelling gym session earlier that day I pulled myself together and won the bet…sweet! I also won the following speed climb competition which basically completed my week:-)

 

 Artur in the casino after demonstrating his roulette skills…notice how happy he is!

Later that day we checked out the poker rooms. I decided the night before that I was done gambling with my own money on the trip, and since there were no 25$ SNG’s running I let Artur do the gambling. He decided to spend 100$ in total and gave me the rest of his money for safekeeping. He busted out of a 70$ SNG which left him with 30$ for the rest of the evening. Then something amazing happened.

He dragged me to the roulette tables trying to convince me that roulette is a skill game. Throughout the trip I had watched him lose on the roulette tables, so needless to say I wasn’t convinced that this attempt would be any different. He kissed the wooden cross he has hanging around his neck, made the sign of the cross then proceeded to place 30$ on number 24 and then pulled me away as if to leave the table. BANG! number 24 comes up paying 35:1. I stared at Artur in disbelief. His comment: “roulette is a skill game”.

Later that same evening we got really drunk and he repeated the feat with 25$ on number 24 while chatting up a dealer. Combined with blackjack winnings he ended up winning around 2500$ that evening bringing his grand total to +3000$ for the trip!! Simply amazing.

The Corvette Convertible team

Back in Miami the following day we had some breakfast with Bruce and some other people we met on the ship (Tony Cascarino, ex. pro soccer player and Michael Greco, English actor who played Beppe in Eastenders) then rented a Corvette Convertible (sweet ass car by the way) and cruised around the South Beach area. It was a great end to an even greater trip. I would definitely recommend all poker players reading this blog to try to qualify for the Caribbean Poker Classic 2009.

 

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Similar Posts:

• Caribbean Poker Classic 2008; securing a final table seat in the 400$ +40$ buyin tournament
• Caribbean Poker Classic 2008; success in the 400$ +40$ buyin tournament
• Caribbean Poker Classic 2008; cash game nightmare
• Caribbean Poker Classic 2008; First day of poker tournaments
• Caribbean Poker Classic 2008; preliminary itinerary

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