Article
Evelyn Ng
tagged: Magazine Articles
Every tournament experience I have is different. Moving around the world, traveling from venue to venue, no two experiences are identical. Sometimes, everything seems to fall into place just right and you excel. Some tournaments are completely uneventful. And then there are the times you'd like to forget. That's exactly what happened in Atlantic City, New Jersey, when I competed at the Borgata Poker Open.
I like to go into a tournament happy, relaxed and feeling confident. The later in the day a tournament begins, the better as far as I'm concerned. The Borgata Poker Open had an unusually early starting time of 11am, which was 8am to me, as I was coming from California. I'd guess that most pros prefer a later start time because we're all somewhat vampiric by nature. Ideally, I want to get to the hotel or location early enough so that I'm comfortable and well situated.
Proper sleep and a decent meal all play a part in being mentally healthy and ready for the intensity that's part of any tournament. Remember, we're not just playing for a few hours. If you're on your game, you'll be playing for several long days in a row. So all of those external factors can prove to be pivotal in your eventual performance.
In the case of the Borgata Poker Open, things couldn't have gotten off to a worse start. I made a reservation telling the hotel I was probably going to come in late that day. My plane was delayed three seemingly endless hours before we embarked on a horrendous flight coming to the east coast. The cab ride from the airport took for ever, like an hour or an hour-and- a-half. Overall, it was a grueling trip. When I finally showed up at the Borgata, they had given my room away. They sold my room even though I had a reservation (ever seen that Seinfeld episode?).
I was exhausted: I wanted to just go to bed and rest up for the tournament the next day. Instead, I had to deal with the messed up reservation. Their solution was to give me a room at a different hotel. I had to gather my things together, go to another location, and the day went on even longer. So instead of being properly rested for the event, I woke up on Day One in the completely wrong frame of mind.
The tournament had started off on such a bad note that it affected my play and the decisions that I made at the table. To demonstrate what I mean, I'll discuss the situation I found myself in playing heads-up against Paul Darden. I had an average-sized chip stack midway through Day One when I looked down and saw pocket Kings. Obviously, this is the second-best hand a player can have, so I wanted to play them strongly. Before it was my turn to act, Paul Darden made a sizable raise. In this position, you're excited to enter into a pre-flop battle with a pair of Cowboys. But you also must be aware that your opponent could have pocket Aces. I made what I felt was the proper move: I re-raised him. Paul reacted by moving all-in, and he had me covered.
I know Paul knows my style and gives me a proper amount of respect. He most likely senses I'm not messing around in this situation. So when he acted the way he did, a warning light went off. I have to figure he's got Aces – or maybe Kings. Of course, there's a marginal chance he's got Queens or something I can beat. Even so, at this point in the tournament, I can certainly let this hand go and lay it down.
But as I sat in my chair, I was not a happy camper. I wanted to be somewhere else so badly at that moment in time, I didn't care. So I put my tournament life on the line and called him. Sure enough, he turned over Aces. Ouch! The board was ultimately no help to me. Within seconds, I was knocked out. I might have subconsciously known that Paul had Aces, but I just didn't care because I wanted to leave so badly. Like I said, external factors can prove to be pivotal.
Once that debacle was over, I couldn't wait to get out of there. My first stop was to travel to New York. The city isn't very far away, only a couple of hours (much of the clientele at the Borgata is from the Big Apple). I had a great time in New York, as I always do, and it helped cheer me up. Then I rented a car and drove to Montreal. I'd never seen the city and always wanted to.
Finally, I went to my original home town, Toronto. Although the weather wasn't that nice, it was wonderful being there. I got to see a lot of my friends and my family. And unlike New Jersey, everything seemed to go right while I was there. I even went to a nightclub one night and my favorite DJ in the world (Miguel Migs) was playing. It was just the kind of fun I needed to have after a rough tournament.
Then I was on my way home. Well, I guess I should point out that it's actually my new home. The last few years, I've been living in Vegas. But just a few months ago, I moved into an apartment in Santa Monica, a suburb of Los Angeles. I live literally right across from the Pacific Ocean. It's absolutely amazing and a huge lifestyle change. For a girl like me, this is completely new (unless you count Lake Ontario in Toronto, which we would go to maybe once a year growing up).
Even though I live so near to the ocean, I'm still not used to being a beach girl. I love smelling the ocean air, and the view, but I think becoming truly "beachy" is something of a learning process. I'm confident I'll get there. And I'm also confident there are far better tournament experiences on the horizon.
**NG FACT**
Ng appeared as a character in the videogame Stacked with Daniel Negreau.
