Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Borgata wrap-up

They got to the final table last night after trying a billion times to figure a chop. It started when there was 18 left. The staff at the Borg gave them options. That is, the only option available to them. If you want to discuss a chop, you have to leave the tables. Take it away from the tables.

But not too many were keen on leaving their stacks when the antes and blinds were going to be posted. This is not a Borgata rule. This is a gaming commission rule, that states that casinos are not allowed to have anything to do with deals made by players. And, that the game cannot be put on hold for said discussions. In other words, the clock must run.

It really gets ridiculous with some friends of some of the players giving their input and regular spectators spouting off their two cents with no real interest. The staff does their best to quel anthing like that, but some people are just ignorant assholes. You should have heard some of the comments.

With 18 left there were some monster stacks around and a ton of poker to be played so I dont know why they would even consider a chop at that point. You were talking about 18-13 getting $1392 and 12-10 getting $2782. The chop at 18 was somewhere around 10k per. With the big stacks being able to dominate the little stacks, why would anyone want to give away that much equity?

Anyway they couldn't get together to decide on how to cho at 18 considering who would have to sign for first (60k prize), and they continued play.

When they got to the final table, mayhem ensued. I think it was about the fact that they had been playing for so long, and the fact that everyone was pretty much spent and just didnt want to play anymore. Alvin Delgado is a guy who I have seen cash multiple times at Borg events.

Alvin is a very cool dude, and a lover of life. Hes also no fool, and when they got to the final table he held one brown chip and one grey chip. (thats 30k). The blinds were 5k ante, 15k/30k.

He was all about discussing a chop. I dont understand how no one understood how little chips he had. But they went out of the casino floor and discussed the chop. Ultimately they came to a deal.

The winners are listed here. At least this is where they signed for. I can't say enough about the Borg staff. They are a bunch of some of the best professionals in the game. Its why I like playing there and will continue to do so. They offer a great structure and a really great room to play in. The players they attract range from the kids who play with their dicks, to the passive guys who just want to sit down and toss some chips around, to the guys who are in there everyday feeding on the incompetent and unlucky.

Tournies today are getting a little skewed. 4 years ago I can remember playing in tournies and never getting chop offers until we were down to at least 4 and on some occasions maybe 5. Today it seems most are willing to chop these huge pools at around 18 or even more. Time will tell if it gets back to normal and if players will really be able to calculate maximum equity to decide when a chop will be worthwile. Just doesnt seem to be the case anymore.

I could post more here about my thoughts of who got what and where they signed, but I just dont want to embarrass any one player. Some of you would get a chukcle, and others would probably put pen to paper and be able to figure out how much equity they actually lost.

Truly, looking at the the chip stacks and who got paid what, I believe Alvin was the biggest winner, despite having shared the least amount of the chop Ithink his equity was probably the highest of any one player who took cash. I believe the most anyone player got was $39k and the least was $14k. Go figure.

I'm heading off to vacation in a day or two. Not sure if we will leave tomorrow or thursday, or possibly friday. Depends on different things. I'll be sure to post while I'm gone though and will be heading back to cover the main event at the Borg starting on the 22cnd. That is a 5k event and the field should be ripe.

3 comments:

Jordan said...

Hey Rig. I made a 9-way chop at a $100 Showboat tournament, which is something I never thought I would do. I don't know about the Borg's blind structure, but in my case, it just didn't feel like there was much game to be played. I had a chance to chop for 14x my buy-in. After 5+ hrs., that's damn tempting. All I wanted to do was take a shower. I can only imagine the pressure to chop if it's been a multi-day event and you can secure 10k+ in profit.

Riggstad said...

ya thats a pretty easy decision there Jordan... the issue with these larger tournaments is the chipstacks, the amount of play you have left, and the amount that you will have to sign for, which is considerable in these higher buy in tournies...

I just cant get over how a guy who is forced in next hand, and assuming he loses wins 2200, gets a walk, and a chop for 14k...

makes no sense to me.

Shrike said...

Agreed. Chops are ghey but clearly that shorty got himself a steal of a bargain. Very +EV chop for him.

Clearly many players just don't have the knowledge to negotiate a proper chop, and that's their problem to fix.