World Poker Tour Celebrity Invitational

For the last year I have been working very hard on focusing at the poker table. I do whatever it takes for me to get into the zone, even if it means trying not to socialize much. This all changed during the World Poker Tour's Celebrity Invitational at Commerce Casino. I sat down and realized I was playing with a few celebrities, instead of the typical players who show up for events. Therefore, I had to be sociable. I started out sitting next to Chris Masterson (Malcolm in the Middle), and ended up playing with Morris Chestnutt (Boyz N the Hood) and David Foley (News Radio). I was impressed with the way all three played. Chris and Morris played quite tight, while Dave played lots of hands.

I didn't really tangle with any of them except Foley. I had A-10 and the flop came 10-6-6. I figured that I should be a better player than an actor/comedian, so I decided to let him bluff off all of his chips. Sometimes in this situation I bet out just in case a higher card might come, but this time was different. We were two of the chip leaders, and I wanted all of his chips. After he had finally bluffed off $40,000 of his $70,000, on the river I flipped my two pair over. The funny thing is, two pair doesn't beat four of a kind anymore. Nice hand, Dave!

Other celebrities I saw at the tournament and actually knew were: Ben Affleck, Mimi Rogers, Norm MacDonald, Adam Carolla, Jennifer Tilly, Lavar Burton, Dr. Drew Pinsky, John Favreau, Ron Livingston, Jerry Buss, Gabe Kaplan, No Doubt's drummer Adrian Young, Richard Kind, and Robert Wuhl. All of the celebrities with whom I spoke said the tournament was the most fun they've had on a weekday in years. My favorite recollection of the event was hearing Mimi Rogers give a play-by-play of the entire tournament after she busted out. Now, I have done this before with hands I have played, but I swear that she did it for all of the hands she saw. I assume she will become a great poker player with that kind of recall.

When it was all said and done, Phil Laak, aka The Unabomber, won the event and became the newest WPT winner. I wish these celebrity events were held monthly. It was easily the most fun I have ever had playing poker. Most of the poker players were star-struck, but even funnier was the fact that the celebrities were star-struck by the poker players. They thought I was cool because Chip Jett talked to me.