Hustler $1,500 Today

I am in LA and have been playing at The Commerce for past few days and although I haven't started to run well yet, there is something great about this place for poker. They really provide a high level of customer service, are well organized and are quick to start new games, additionally they have gotten a new chef and the food is even better. I have been playing half pot limit Omaha and half no limit holdem with mixed results. There was a great no limit game yesterday which Kenny Tran was dominating as usual. Although I feel like The Commerce is kind of my house, clearly Kenny is the Prince of this place.

Today I'm heading over to the Hustler casino to play a $1,500 event. David the Dragon Pham has been playing in the same cash games as me the past few days and he is playing at the hustler today as well. I like playing with David; he is always a gentleman and interesting to talk with. He made two great calls with ace high to win big pots yesterday. It is interesting to watch how these players keep trying to bluff him on the river in situations that don't make sense. My mother asked me some time ago why players want to play in cash games with players that are pro's and are a big favorite to win. She said "what are they crazy?" I answered her with; well you are the psychotherapist what do you think? Growing up with a father that's a famous psychiatrist and mother that is a PhD psychotherapist can be described as challenging at times, however it does make you insightful about things. The average player loves to play against well known pro's and not only test their skills against the pro, but when they outplay them and win it really feeds the ego. Let's face it one reason we play poker is the competition, so who better to compete against than well known pro's. I will say one thing Kenny Tran does better than anyone in the world, is build a game with very wealthy players whom he can easily beat. What surprises me is that they all keep losing and coming back for more. I remember one instance of a home game that I played in once in a while a couple of years ago that Phil Ivey played in occasionally, where after he killed the game for a ton of money, the players bragged about how much money they lost to him. What surprised me is that they didn't seem to care a bit and couldn't wait to play against him again.

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