The Bike, Jay, and The Wynn

A couple of days ago I was invited to a game at the Bike in Bell Garden, CA. It was a 20/40 no limit holdem which has begun to run almost every day. I haven't played at the Bike in some time and enjoyed the day. The game was a good mix of players and the action decent. Then it was back to Rancho Mirage for a little while before returning to Las Vegas which is what I'm doing right now. I am on the fence about going to Manila for the APT event. I would leave Sunday and most likely miss the first two WSOP events. On the upside it is bound to be a good event with a soft field and Matt Savage running things. I will have the opportunity to play a little golf with Matt Savage and finally have a rematch from his hustle at Bay 101.

As I sit here again on Southwest, I am reflecting on the weekend's play. My friend Jay Berger was at the Commerce as well and he spent a fair amount of time sweating my hands while I played in cash games. I ran relatively bad, but managed to almost break even for the weekend. The worst hand came towards the end when I had KK and raised pre flop and wound up heads up with a fairly good player, who flops a straight flush. The good news is with the flush on board I felt a disturbance in the force and pretty much lost the minimum. Jay said he learned a lot and I guess I will unleash him at the WSOP and see how he does. He has played in a few WSOP events before, but has not yet cashed. I guess I will see how good a teacher I am by his progress. I will be giving you some updates from time to time and let you share in his progress as well.

His major issues starting out were betting patterns, both his own and following others, physical reads, and again both reading others and the ones he gives off, and knowing where he is in a hand. On the plus side he has decent instincts and is tight. I find it is much easier to open up the game of a tight player than tighten up the game of a loose player.

I have been playing lately at The Wynn in the evenings. It is really a great room, the staff is excellent, and although I would like to see some bigger games, I think it will pick up as the WSOP approaches.

For more information on Roy Winston, you can visit his website: www.oraclepoker.net or send him an email: [email protected]