Poker protégé Alina "Catgirl" Salnikova cast a spell over the PartyPoker Women's World Open. In this extract from her diary, she outlines her experiences at her first major televised tournament.
As part of my upbringing in Eastern Europe, I played many variations of draw and stud poker, so it wasn't much of a leap to
learn hold'em. Up until now, my major results have included beating 290-odd people to the bubble of the Paddy Power Poker
World Strip Poker Championship.
My next major triumph came when I beat approximately 211 players to come in second at the Loose Cannon and VC Players Lounge members freeroll in London, but my real game is cash. Luckily, I have had the opportunity to play in a fair few deep-stack cash games, such as the £5,000 sit-down at Les Ambassadeurs.
In August of this year I got a call from my agent, informing me that I was to get my first sponsored tournament game, which was to be recorded for broadcast on
Channel 5. The PartyPoker.com
Women's World Open was a 36-player six-seat shootout. The buy-in was $3,000, with the eventual winner taking home $50,000.
Among the lineup were three very sexy Americans - Liz Lieu, Jennifer Tilly, and Shannon Elizabeth.
With no delay, I got my mother in Latvia to send me the red catsuit I once wore as a gymnast, complete with Swarovski sparkling gems. My ambition is to eventually play a televised event with Tony G and wear a see-through catsuit. Let's see what that does for his table talk.
Preparation is All
Shopping done, I was straight off to play some warm-up events. First was a game in a six-seater shootout format, the same as the PartyPoker event. The six-seat format is meant to be fast and furious, requiring strong power plays, and, naturally, card value decreases to a degree. This game was at the Loose Cannon, and Tony G obliged by joining the game and offering me a few of his tips, which would normally be a very costly experience.
The next day it was the Gutshot for a £50 deep-stack freezeout. I pride my performance on losing only with the best hand, and hopefully limiting my mistakes to a minimum. The Gutshot has some excellent players, but you must be able to recognise those of a level good enough to pass when you decide to make your move. That evening, a donkey called my every bluff.
After that was a quick cash and tournament session at the Victoria Casino, punctuated by a multitude of heads-up games with friends and six-seater games on the Net.
Wednesday night is my regular card night. I play a moderately high-stakes hold'em/Omaha game in Chester Square, Belgravia. The players are mainly Russian, with a weekly invasion of invited European guests who are playing more for social status than winning. I am in the game to win, and managed to convince the boys in their Versace suits that a £1,000 shootout would be fun. I came second.
With two days to go, I spent some time studying the opposition, watching them on
You Tube or wherever else I could find them. My agent seemed to know all of their stories and games. The only person he really did not want me to experience was someone he referred to as a legend - Lucy Rokach.
Additional instructions were given to me: "Absolutely no sex, and meet me at 1 p.m. tomorrow for your therapy." Luckily, the therapy turned out to be a trip to a hypnotherapist, for relaxation and aggression training. It felt good, too.
Let's Party
The day of the tournament arrived and I was taken to the studio. First, makeup, then I went into the huge hangar-like studio to take some pictures for
Card Player. On my return to the Green Room, I was treated to a round of applause, not realising that everyone assembled had been watching me pose live on a huge TV screen.
Finally, we were ready for the PartyPoker
Women's World Open, and I changed into my play outfit. "Mad" Marty Wilson was great, and really made us all relax.
The game started. On my left was tournament favourite Katherine Hartree, Xuyen "Bad Girl" Pham, journalist Shelly Rubenstein, a hyperaggressive actress Kara Scott, and Marina from the Gutshot.
Phil Hellmuth once told me that everything was about patience and playing the players, not the cards. Whatever their reputations, I had to classify the player types as quickly as I could at the table, and this I did. Rhythm, observation, and aggression, I followed them precisely. Eastern Europeans don't have a problem with a poker face; we say what we mean and show little emotion. However, on this day, I was in total shock at the nature of some of the play, and this may well have shown on my sullen face.
It seemed as if only Kara Scott was playing her A-game. The other players, instead of playing fast, aggressive poker, seemed to be as tight as rocks. Kara pulled me into a hand. I was in the small blind with K-Q offsuit and called Kara's small raise from the cutoff. It was an error, I should have reraised or passed, but I was thinking if a king comes, I'm drinking champagne. However, the flop comes blank, I check, Kara bets, and that's that.
My game started to move after receiving A-A in the cutoff. I made a small raise, knowing that "Bad Girl" Pham would call with any two cards. I checked the flop, she bet, I raised, and she passed, but it was less about the healthy amount of chips I gained and more about the boost to my confidence. I limped only a few times, against the advice of my coach, who previously had reminded me of Joe Hachem's quote: "If it is good enough to call, it's good enough to raise."
Endgame
With the blind levels at $3,000-$6,000, I called with J-10 offsuit in late position, in an unraised pot with the overaggressive actress and the aggressive journalist. The flop came 10-10-4 rainbow. Scott bet $12,000, I flat-called, Rubenstein raised, Kara passed, and I called.
The flop was a blank. I checked, Shelly put the rest of her chips in with 10-9, and I called to take down a pot that made me second in chips. I was really enjoying the game now, and knew that my play was as good as, if not better than, all at the table.
Then, trouble hit. I was in the small blind with $150,000 to my name and a pair of kings in my hand. I flat-called Katherine Hartree's big blind. She was holding 7-5 and around $130,000 in chips. After plenty of TV drama build-up time, the flop came Q-6-4. I trap-checked, Hartree bet, and I raised. She stuck it all in and I was all but crippled when the straight came on the river. Did I push my luck by not raising with kings against the big blind. I don't think so. I want all the money in against an eight-card draw and would take it all day long; otherwise, I shouldn't be in the game.
I fought my way back, until I got a magical pair of nines. I went all in and got called by Marina with A-Q, who put me out in fourth place in my shootout.
Naturally, the TV people grab you for an interview when you feel like death. "Are you used to playing with women? Was the game any different?"
I answered with a smile, "No, I never play with women," wishing to scream.
The experience will be the first of many, I'm sure. I like to be a mystical "witch of poker," casting a spell over the opposition with my childlike exterior, then eating them up as a black widow spider would her lover.
September will see me playing cash around the
World Series of Poker Europe event. I believe that if you trust in yourself, everything in life is achievable. I am passionate about life, and poker mimics life, so they say.
