Belterra - Heartland Poker Tour 3

Things are heating up here at Belterra.  The tournaments down the way at Hollywood Casino are winding down and the players are migrating here for our $1,650 buy-in Main Event.  To encourage play and increase the field size without having to add tables and dealers, there are three "flights" of Day 1 players.  The first flight was Friday evening.  Day "1B" is being played Saturday morning and "1C" Saturday evening.

I spent a few hours yesterday with Greg Raymer seated at my right. We were locked in for a while as the tournament poker room filled up.  It was nice to see all 20 of our tournament tables in action, a first for this trip.  Greg was a delight to have at the table.  He has embraced the role of "Poker Ambassador" since his victory at the 2004 World Series of Poker.  Not only is he an excellent player but he has a colorful past which he shares in stories at the poker table.  At the time Greg won the WSOP he was a patent attorney playing poker as a hobby.  He also spent a little of his youth trying to be a stand-up comedian and was a radio disc jockey during his college days.  He also tours the country teaching poker strategy and running "How to Play" seminars.  Greg finished the night fourth in chips of the 84 that kicked off Day 1A.  25 players survived and will join the survivors of Days 1B and 1C on Sunday when the full field is assembled to play down to the final table.

In the meantime, I think I need to take a nap and prepare myself to deal Day 1C at 6 PM which will finish at about 2:30 Sunday morning.