So what did you do at camp?

This will be part of a commentary of my trip last December to that sin city, Las Vegas, Nevada and my participation in the Annie Duke/Howard Lederer poker camp.

The morning drive from LA was uneventful and aside from two quick stops, I got to the Palms and had time to walk around and see the wonderful holiday decorations. Okay, there were no campfires and no one went hiking outside of cruising the Vegas strip and despite a full schedule, there was time for fun and also a lot of poker. To be specific no-limit hold'em.

After getting settled in my room, the camp was having a welcoming reception and then we would play some sit and go tournaments (single table). After some very uninspired appetizers, Howard and Annie greeted us and introduced the other professionals who would be with us during the weekend.

Finally, we played some poker. One of the highlights of this event is that the professional players sit down at these sit and go tournaments and not only play but take time to explain their actions and critique your play. My first game was with Huck Seed, 1996 WSOP Main Event champion. He sat on my immediate left. He immediately recognized a tell of mine and corrected it on the spot.

But it was my next game with Amir Vahedi, who some may recognize from his appearance on the 2003 World Series of Poker telecasts on ESPN, in which I began to really grasp what they were trying to instruct us and also what is behind those sunglasses and large chip stacks you see on TV. Always present with his unlit cigar, Amir could not have been nicer and more willing to talk poker with us. He often would take several minutes after each hand to explain his play or to examine ours. Ultimately, without having any idea of what I was doing, I ended up going heads-up with him as one of the final two at the table. He won, but it was great to get some confidence as we headed into the first full day of poker. More later....