The Spring Break Poker Classic and Fluctuation

A report by David Sasseman

Biloxi, Mississippi 2009- The tournament was held at the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino (A MGM property). It had about the same amount of players as last year, 200 players for the USD 300 and USD 500 buy ins on the weekends and 150 players during the week. There were twenty-two tournament events spread out over eighteen days and culminating in the USD 2,500 Championship. I kept to the cash games which had a waiting list of up to 40 players. The whole casino was crowed day and night. Big cash games from 9 PM to 1 AM. The economy looks good from this view point.

The weather was beautiful. I watched off-shore boats racers go by, just 50 feet away, doing 180 MPH (290 KPH). They were flying, literally.

The 72 degrees (25 degrees C) got me into the hot whirlpool. It felt good after some "relaxing" sessions of poker. Actually I am good at relaxing, winning or losing, and I had a ruff start, breaking even in my first six days of play!

The setting is the Beau poker room and it is so comfortable- USD 700 chairs. I was going to move up to USD 2/USD 5 no limit Texas hold'em but I chickened out. Loosing USD 400 the first half day and then only making USD 26 the second day... Well, I stayed playing USD 1/USD 2. After my second day three people came up to me and said they saw me take some bad beats!! You know you are on a low ebb when others tell you they are sorry. But, I pulled it out of the fire making good money the last 2 and 1/2 days- almost the full USD 1,400. This is a good example of FLUCTUATION or variation; as, the fluctuations of the sea or the ebb and flow of the poker table.