PHL 4 Trip report - Going to the Philly circus.... (1 Viewer)

[Thomacetti]

Yes, another trip report from yours truly.....

This time, destination Philly....for a 5-day degen trip to PHL 4
3rd time already, after a forced error last year.

I'm leaving tomorrow early (in a few hours) with a train ride to the airport at 6h15 AM
First flight to Chicago ORD with a relaxing 2 hour layover and then on to Philly.

In: 3rd of September
Out: 7th of September (back home on the 8th)

Only thing I did was book flight and check passport & ESTA.... so it's going to be a short night so I can the whole way.

Some snapshots of previous PHL meet-up's (limited to 20)

Great company

Awsome chips

Winners gonna win...

Eurodonkey

Victory high

5 star food & deverages

Fantastic accomodations

The cigar/420/Bourbon/multi-drug table (with a view)

Dan explaining I have the SECOND nuts when I'm many 2+ drugs deep....fvck circus

 

[Thomacetti]

En route…next stop Brussels Airport

 

[RocAFella1]

I’m so excited I’m already in PA!

 

[TheChipVault]

View attachment 1559659

En route…next stop Brussels Airport

See you soon my friend!

 

[Okku]

Safe travels, I look forward to reading this thread and seeing what you all get up to!

 

[Thomacetti]

Bird is pulling away as we speak, see you on the flipside…

 

[krafticus]

Safe travels buddy. See you tomorrow.

 

[Irish]

Safe travels Thomas!

 

[Kam]

You selling action for this trip?

*applies to NLHE played before 10pm when on <=3 drugs and/or stimulants, not those psycho ‘no I have the nuts’ circus games

 

[Thomacetti]

Ready for boarding…everything is running smooth.
PHL in 2 hours.

And damn, Chicago always has rain when I’m passing…

 

[Thomacetti]

You selling action for this trip?

*applies to NLHE played before 10pm when on <=3 drugs and/or stimulants, not those psycho ‘no I have the nuts’ circus games

I will give you 10% of my ME for free, for a little sweat

 

[Kam]

I will give you 10% of my ME for free, for a little sweat

Boom, sold. Will Venmo you 10%.

You get a $20 bounty for each of the following if you achieve in the ME:

1. Bust @horseshoez
2. Bust @BootySnatcher
3. Bust @MatB

 

[BootySnatcher]

Boom, sold. Will Venmo you 10%.

You get a $20 bounty for each of the following if you achieve in the ME:

1. Bust @horseshoez
2. Bust @BootySnatcher
3. Bust @MatB

What has happened? I think I'm going to have to kill Kam.....

 

[Thomacetti]

Good morning PCF

A smooth travel to PHL, even touched ground early. A sign of good things to come.

Since I passed TSA in ORD, I could just walk out and BFAM @CraigT78 was already waiting for a curb pickup.

The drive to Collegeville was a quick one, traffic was ok and we had some time to catch up regarding life and family.

Even tho it is my 3rd visit to PHL, I’m always amazed by the awesome setup.

After unpacking and some sweet 420 (thanks brother @Ben8257) I hit the sack after being 48h awake.

PHL starts tomorrow

 

[Tommy]

 

[TheOffalo]

BFAM @CraigT78

Had to double check my acronyms. Thought it was a misspelled “BAMF” at first.

 

[Thomacetti]

After a good night rest and some breakfast…guest arriving and first table started

Meanwhile I’m studying circus

 

[Thomacetti]

Sorry rail....things go fast during meet-ups and I wasn't able to update during PHL since I prefer to use spare time to help out with cleaning, disposing of garbage and filling fridge and diswasher

None the less....a post trip report is the least I could do.

Thursday started early, the degens started to trickle in and like stated above...the first table started before 1 PM.
Together with the members, the food & alcohol followed.

Dan and Amanda provide all guests with the best food you can find for miles (besides all the snacks on hand) but still many 'sponsor' by bringing local, (even home made) delicacies and beverages. @Irish dipped oreo's and the NY cookies from Levain (I forgot the screenname of the NY member that brought them) were a BIG hit. And for a while, Dan had the best stash of IPA's in the whole of Philly (420 too @Ben8257 )

Once we got the hugs and kisses out of the way, time to bring out the chips.

I had a reputation to defend....

Couple insomnia thoughts for anyone who is coming to their first meetup at PHL:

• @Thomacetti is probably high

I'm sure there are plenty of other nuances of my meetup (and meetups in general), but these are some good tips coming into the event. Look forward to having you over!

Dan

So once we were in battle mode....I proceeded to torch a few BI's and many funny cigarets during my circus runs.
I did well in PLO based games but (re)draws, burned hand cards & high/low stuff is still hard to wrap my head around.
ChatGTP gave me some solid advice:

TL;DR – To Crush Your Skilled Friends:​

1. Throw in confusing variants to disrupt them
2. Don't be a math genius
3. If you always play tight, they’ll start folding when you bet. If you always bluff, they’ll call.

It didn't work but live by the sword, die by the sword...so I kept on building my stack, to punt it away in some exotic (to me) circus variant by holding on to the second nuts....but all with a big smile (except one time, I needed a break/smoke).

They even renamed a game especially for me...how sweet.

@Pokerdweebz , the game that you called last night that chased @Thomacetti away is aptly called "Stick it in your Bum Bum".

Picture of the nit table

Outside....degen rainbow

This was my home game pitch for the weekend...the outside table

I discovered a great coach in Roman @onerand , who explained me circus games like I really understood them.
Thanks buddy, I didn't lose a single BI on the games you tought me.

Some awsome chip sets saw the felt

Coach Roman showing how it's done....

Birthday boy Ben popped my popcorn cherry in a $700 scooped pot....but all love for my bro.
You will always find Jim @TheChipVault where the action is....

Since there was still a long weekend ahead, I went to bed after restocking the fridge, loading the dishwasher and cleaning the trash cans.
A few gummies and I was gone in no time, needed a good night sleep to play the mini Ryders cup....

 

[Thomacetti]

Due to some very sad new that reached us before the meet-up, Friday started with settling a score.

A PHL course closing mini-Ryder cup had to be organized.... 4 brave souls battled out 18 holes on the putt putt greens.

@Cliff
@JMC9389
@BootySnatcher
@Thomacetti

Truth must be told, Joe was the star of the match...leaving us in a wake of dust.
Side note, a +100 mg breakfast chaser of gummies is not the way, Rufus plays putt putt like he plays cards (incl. the bitchin')....and blue balls suck.

Matt's breakfast is epic tho

Standard ball positions...

At this hole all European players went out of bounce....PHL putt putt is RIGGED

We ended with a round of ice cream/milkshake/rootbeer before we headed back to Sin City Collegeville.
Thanks again fellas, I had soooooo much fun.

By the time we got back, the tables were already swinging, time to find a seat and start the circus hemorrhaging...

Luckily I had a mental note....avoid tables with certain players, some on that list:

Friday evening was also Eagles vs Cowboys, @Nuhockey worked out a squares-game (Cliff scooped most of it), @FordPickup92 Brie ran a PowerBall pool....Texas & Missouri scooped.

Thanks for the side gamble.

Again, so many awsome chip sets & players to choose from

But in the end no time for cash since a circus tourney took shape quickly..... a cheap way to learn circus.
We started before dinner
I busted mid-way, the games in rotation were fair....had a lot of fun and was able to rack more circus hours at good tables.

Circus tourney

Final table

Roman took it down....
And gave one hell of a speech....in true denzel washington style.

The donkey backdrop is always a hit....

BFAM @CraigT78 explaining how to play circus preflop

Annie checking if she can't catch a hanger....no bottom dealing in this establishment.

While things are dying down and first signs of fatigue are kicking in....a mandatory round (trash, restock and load in dishes) before I hit the bed at 2 AM.
Tomorrow is Main Event day....

 

[JMC9389]

Brother, that's really the name of the game. No joke.

 

[Thomacetti]

Saturday (last day).... a NLHE Main Event in a +9h structure, yes please.

Wearing my best outfit....

And....

Prepping the Thomas train with a plethora of gummies and funny cigarets

Before we could start, a moment of silence for the fallen banana

Accusations were made....

All I know is that at 2am he was asking me where the bananas were, and I pointed to the top of the fridge.

But @MatB took the Fifth....investigation is still ongoing.

Meanwhile, ME prep in full effect....thanks to our TD @krafticus

The competiton....

The chips are AWSOME, thanks Jim Juicy @TheChipVault

Before we dive in....let's adress those munchies

The Big Boy Degens ran a last longer for the ME, I was first pick for BFAM @CraigT78.....and the hyena's couldn't stop laughing

MatB illustrating my changes for the ME

Cards in the air....

My first table (L2R) Rick, Joe, Pat, Brian, Liz, Devin, @joseywales

Sick cooler for @jbutler early in the tourney

Railbirds gonna rail @Kam

Big stack update?

Is @Thomacetti still in it?

Flipaments during the break....

Final table

3 left (Cliff, Patt & me), stacks are close.

Heads-up with Cliff for the ME title (GG @Highli99)

Railbirds still going strong

LET’S GO @Thomacetti

VIA (Victory in America)

Meanwhile at the BB table

We ended with a bang....happy I took down a meet-up ME, I don't get that much opportunities.
Disappointed that some debby downers immediately started lobbying for drug testing for next PHL ME.....

I have only one thing to say next year....

After railing the the BB table, most tables broke around 2:30 AM....a last round of garbage, dishes & clean-up and time to hit the bed.
BFAM is picking me up at 10 AM, a long trip back to Belgium tomorrow.

 

[Badabing44]

crazy when i saw the sign and realised i live in the same town lmfao