Ante Up for Africa

This was the third year that the World Series of Poker hosted the Ante Up for Africa (AUFA) charity tournament, but it was the first year that I participated. In truth, I wasn’t planning to attend, but PokerStars gave away two AUFA seats in a freeroll for its main-event qualifiers, and I was lucky enough to win one of them. And now that I’ve played in it once, I’m wondering why I hadn’t considered playing in it before! I’m already looking forward to doing it again next year.

First of all, the star power was tremendous. I’m not an A-list poker celebrity. On a good day, I’m probably on the B or C list. On other days, I might be the Kathy Griffin of the poker world. But on this day, I was surrounded by some of the top names in sports and entertainment: Mike Tyson, Charles Barkley, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Sarah Silverman, Montel Williams, and, of course, Don Cheadle, who helped orchestrate the tournament from the beginning. Due to space considerations, I have left out a lot of big names, but you get the idea.

Having qualified through PokerStars, I was able to hang out in the PokerStars lounge, which was directly across from the Red Carpet, where the celebrities were being greeted by the media. That in itself was an experience! Many of the Team PokerStars pros were signed up to play, so inside the lounge, there was an impressive combination of young pros and past WSOP champions. Then, I stepped outside the lounge, and was in the midst of a couple of hundred reporters and cameramen. There I was, being photographed along with everyone else. It all had a Hollywood feel to it. Even at the peak of the poker boom, you would have been hard-pressed to find any poker event that received the kind of coverage that this one got.

Besides the “real-world” celebs, dozens of big poker names turned out, as well. I think that poker players as a whole are still sometimes disparaged to a degree, so it’s heartening when so many turn out for a $5,000 charity event. They might be ruthless at the tables, but for the most part, their hearts are in the right place. And, I won’t lie, there might have been some more selfish considerations. For example, this was the first year that ESPN agreed to televise the event, and I don’t think anyone was opposed to the idea of getting a little on-air time.

I’m not going to pretend that I get to hang with the rich and famous every day, but on this day, I was able to spend some time with them, and chat with them a little, all while doing what I love to do most. That’s pretty tough to beat!

Early on in the tournament, I had Don Cheadle directly to my left. Short-stacked, I moved all in with the K 9 from late position, and he beat me into the pot! I looked at him and said, “I think I like your hand,” but luckily he happened to have the J 10 and I survived. Later, I got moved to the TV table, and got to sit across from Nelly. My friends wanted me to beat him out of a pot and then sing, “It’s getting hot in here … so give me all your chips,” but I never got the chance, as Phil Gordon knocked him out with Q-Q vs. 9-9. I was sorry to see him go, but I honestly don’t think anyone really wanted to hear me sing. Earlier, we had to listen to Phil Hellmuth’s version of Nelly over the mic, and that was bad enough.

I can say that every one of the celebrities I saw was extremely gracious and fan-friendly. There were hundreds of spectators gathered outside the ropes surrounding the tournament tables, and the celebrities were continually going over to shake hands and sign autographs. Even when they were eliminated, and it was well within their right to just leave the room and go home, they stuck around for a while and made sure that the fans were not disappointed. I was very impressed by the celebrities’ accessibility.

As far as the play went, the tournament structure obviously had to be fast. There was no way that they could make it a two-day event and force some of the celebrities to stick around until the next day. So, the levels were 20 minutes long, ensuring that even with the 2 p.m. starting time, the tournament would conclude that night.

I played for almost six hours. We started with 10,000 in chips. I never saw a pocket pair higher than 9-9, never got a non-pair hand better than A-9 suited, and never had more than 40,000 in chips. Yet, somehow I made the money! It was one of those strange tournament experiences in which I was able to do just enough to keep hanging around, yet never had the opportunity to accumulate chips. My best and maybe only chance at going deeper was my final hand. Johnny “World” Hennigan moved all in from the button, and I called all in with a short stack from the small blind with A-7. He had 8-7, but an 8 flopped, and that knocked me out in 12th place. If I had won that hand, I would have had 75,000 in chips with the button, and a final-table appearance would have been well within reach. But, I definitely had my share of luck to make it that far, so I had no complaints at all.

As I said before, I have every intention of playing again next year, and if it’s within your means, I hope you’re there, too. The charities — ENOUGH and The International Rescue Committee — are tremendously worthwhile, and it’s just a very enjoyable time for everyone involved. Take it from a longtime pro, it’s one of the few no-lose situations that you’ll find in the poker world.

Matt Lessinger is the author of The Book of Bluffs: How to Bluff and Win at Poker, available everywhere. You can find other articles of his at www.CardPlayer.com.