The PokerListings Daily 3-Bet is a comfy pair of sweatpants, an endless supply of bubble tea and 48 hours stacking plaques at the afternoon poker news big game.
Got a tip for a future 3-Bet? Drop a note in the comments and we'll gladly take a look.
Today in the 3-Bet we find a solid case for the defense of early Survivor cast-off Garrett Adelstein, a truly inspiring piece or work from former pro Shane Schleger and the big game in Macau getting out of control over the weekend.
1) Adelstein Worst Survivor of All Time?
Before the haters even get a chance to sound off: We know. Poker player Garrett Adelstein was the second person voted off of Survivor: Cagayan and went home with an immunity idol sitting idly at camp.
We also know the only thing that matters in Survivor is staying in the game; long-term "variance" and +EV decisions don't matter and the only "correct" way is the Phil Hellmuth way - survive at all costs.
But while the Reality TV and poker masses have been quick to castigate Adelstein for his decision-making - particularly his "open forum" mess, with some even calling him the WOAT - we're not so quick to dismiss him.
In fact, we'll go so far to say he crushed episode one. Get voted weakest by a smart and dangerous player, find the hidden immunity idol, turn the tides against said leader and oust him in the first vote?
Dominating. Pull his physically overmatched tribe into a huge lead in the next immunity challenge before seeing it wasted by J'Tia's complete unraveling? Basically getting one-outed.
So while Adelstein admits to some mistakes - helped by the mental and physical toll of starvation/dehydration - we still say he was an intriguing player. Possibly great, even, if he'd been given a better set of circumstances.
A potential future Survivor All Star? We'd give him another shot, for sure.
2) Shaniac: "I Expect to Smoke a Lot Less Crack in 2014"
We've been following former poker pro Shane Schleger's new Dope Stories podcast through the first five episodes so weren't as taken aback by his new article on Slate.com as some were.
But still ... wow. What an inspiring piece of writing (and thinking).
Titled "Fifteen Years Smoking Crack," Schleger opens up about his casual-to-frequent crack use over the years in a truly pragmatic, heartfelt and eye-opening manner.
We won't paraphrase here, or even excerpt, as it should be read on its own and in its entirety. But we will say it's very interesting to think of it in the context of his years playing poker and what/how it affected his life/results.
We loved watching him as a poker pro and following his always sharp and pointed Twitter feed, but we find it most inspiring Schleger's taken his life beyond poker to truly important realms.
Read the original piece on Slate and Schleger's follow-up post on his own blog.
3) Tom Hall on Macau: $800k Bluffs with "Much Amusement"
We knew the usual Macau cash games were big. But $12.5k/$25k USD big? That's really, really, big.
Off-and-on Macau visitor/reporter Tom Hall dropped by the big game at Poker King Starworld last week and had a "holy shit" moment, as you can see by the pic he Tweeted below.
The smallest stack at the table was around $1m, Hall said, with giant stacks everywhere - so much so there was hardly any room to play and they ran out of chips.
At least one pot between a "local and a pro" hit $5.1m USD and was chopped with AT!
From a follow-up pic we know Tom "durrrr" Dwan was at least one of the participants and the bulk of the table was made up of the Macau businessman expected to land in full force for this summer's $1m Big One for One Drop.
We can only imagine, with all that Green Friday money back in the mix, just how crazy things might get.
