FOXWOODS

I met Linda Johnson and Jan Fisher at the Las Vegas airport on Friday afternoon to catch a flight to Providence, Rhode Island. We are enroute to a WPT Boot Camp that is being held at the Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut. As we exit the airport in Providence we are greeted with a brisk fall breeze but are soon warmed by the comforts of a stretch limousine that has been awaiting our arrival.

The forty minute drive from the airport to the casino is spectacular. Foxwoods is kind of tough to get to as it sits in the middle of a forest on an Indian reservation in the small town of Ledyard, Connecticut. The journey is filled with such beauty as the fall turns the trees, it simultaneously turns the trip from an inconvenience to a joy. The winding roads through the forest are full of vibrant fall colors and foliage that is breathtaking. Before you know it we turn the corner and there towering above all the trees in the distance is the Grand Pequot Towers where I will spend the next few days teaching, learning and playing poker.

I think I've found my groove here as I love teaching and meeting all the new people who are embarking on the journey of becoming a better poker player. I find it Interesting to find that the sixty member class is filled with middle aged men and women who want to learn and elevate their poker game. Many of them play in various home games around the country and sometimes for big stakes. The process of what people on the east coast have to go through just to enjoy a game of cards is perplexing. The poker games in New York in which many of them play are illegal underground games that at times can be dangerous. Players either have to drive for hours to a legal casino or play close to home but take the risk that their game can be raided, robbed or set up if they don't know everyone. As I heard some of the stories I thought of the movie "Rounders" and got the image of KJB's place which the writer of that movie told me was based on an actual underground place in New York that inspired the movie.

On Saturday we all settled in for the two day weekend of lectures, labs, games and presentations that were designed to get across the principles, concepts and application of advanced poker skills in a relatively short period of time. Linda Johnson started us off and took the lead for the panel of instructors that included; Jan Fisher, John D'Agostino, Rick Fuller, Jan Fisher, Nick Brancato and myself.

In the evening we all relaxed, drank and talked more poker of course. Like kids we come up with silly games to play, compete online and laugh till we drop. Nick and I decide on three different events to play as part of our inaugural Boot Camp Olympics. They included; Pitching coins, pitching cards into a hat and af form of Roshshambo, called "The hunter, the bear and the ninja."  He won that event and I took the other two to add a crisp $20 bill to the bankroll.   Afterwards I watched my first episode of South Park on his computer and found myself laugh, offended, disgusted, amazed and just plain stunned. The episode I watched is about one of the main characters who fakes having Tourette's so he can say anything he wants and shout vulgar obscenities in school and get away with it as everyone instead of being offended, offers their sympathies. 

On Sunday we did an interesting exercise in which all the students played a competition of 30 hands on a computer that tallied their net result. It was programmed so that everyone got dealt the same hands but based on their actions the computers corresponding action in the hand would change even though it was also dealt the same hands. The winner got a trip to the Bahamas for our camp there in December. After the class completed the exercise the panel of pros played the same simulation on a big screen in front of them and talked about what actions we would take and why. Of course our playing styles vary greatly and we often got into debate amongst ourselves of what the best action was. The students loved it as the pros debated and argued over the proper play based on our varying styles.

This week begins the poker events at Ceasar's Palace and I've been invited to play on a team for the upcoming Poker Bowl which looks quite exciting. That kicks off on Saturday and I'll fill you in on how that team event is going to work in my next update. Till then, may you learn from the beats in your life and in poker, in fashioning your game and yourself for greatness.

Good flops and Happy Days,

Kenna