NOTE: This is the first of a series of articles about my attempt
to play a 24-hour session of poker on April 22-23, 2006. Look for more
articles this weekend and next week to find out how the experience went.
About a month ago, I was covering the grand opening of the Foxwoods
World Poker Tour branded poker room. After my colleague Ryan McLane and
I attended the ceremonies, we decided to take the opportunity to sit
down and play a few hands in the new room.
Yeah, the tables were nice, and the automatic shufflers embedded in the
tables gave players a modest increase in the number of hands we could
play per hour. But one player at my table peaked my interest more than
the new digs.
This early 20-something guy sat down with heavy eyelids and a healthy
scruff. When a cocktail waitress came by during his second hand, he
ordered a coffee AND a cappuccino. And whenever he wasn't involved in a
hand, he held his face in his hands, keeping his head from drooping the
same way I did during Mr. Kingston's slide shows in ninth grade social
studies class. Every 15 minutes or so, one of his friends stopped by to
see if he was okay.
It was obvious that this guy was at the tail end of a marathon session,
and while he appeared to be a solid player, he failed to adjust his
strategy to our table and his short attention span led to a number of
mistakes.
I've heard stories about professional and amateur players alike playing
long sessions lasting more than a day. The concept fascinated me, but
I'd never seen the results first hand. I started to think about playing
a marathon session just so I could gain a better understanding of the
inherent challenges involved.
The rational part of me said it was a stupid thing to do. The macho,
test-the-physical-limits-of-your-body part of me thought it was awesome.
(You know, the part of me that still thinks running 100 miles and
drinking 100 pints of beer in a week doesn't have to be mutually
exclusive.) Most importantly, the journalistic part of me saw an
opportunity.
One day later, I sent a feeler e-mail to all my friends who play poker
asking if they were interested in helping me put together a 24-hour
poker game. The response was overwhelming. Some guys were interested in
joining me in the marathon venture, while others just wanted to be there
to play a supporting role. The end result is that I have a rotating cast
of 15 people who are going to play in various shifts to keep a poker
game going for 24 hours starting at noon on Saturday, April 22.
One friend is driving more than six hours from my hometown early
Saturday morning. Another, an assistant lacrosse coach, will be driving
two and a half hours from Maine as soon as his game is over on Saturday
afternoon. Two regulars in my weekly game are even joining me for the
full 24 hours.
I'm not sure what I'll learn from this experience. The rational part of
me is already questioning whether being overtired for a full week after
the game is really worth getting the material for a few stories. But the
test-the-physical-limits-of-your-body part of me is relishing the
challenge.
I'm looking forward to playing on Saturday afternoon while watching the
Blue Jays host the Red Sox. It will be fun to relive the college
all-nighter, to watch day slip into night, and then be surprised how
soon the sun is once again peeking over the horizon. I can't wait for
the players in the 8 a.m. shift to arrive on Sunday with our Dunkin'
Donuts order in hand. But I'm willing to bet that after 24 hours of
poker, what I will look forward to most is my head hitting my pillow.
In his previous life, Aaron Todd was a sports journalist by day and a poker player by night. He can now be found covering the poker beat for Casino City and making horrendously unsuccessful bluffs in his home game. Write to Aaron at aarontodd@casinocity.com.
