Zorak's TOC Trip Report

Phew, what a week! As I said after my Peppermill win, if I knew I'd be writing this trip report, I might have kept better notes. I'm sure I'm leaving things out and getting details wrong but it's long enough as it is so, I'm just going with it. I'm sure I'll tack on more later as it bubbles to the surface of my memory.

Patti recently asked me if my feet had hit the ground yet. Here I am on Friday and I'm still oscillating between my "normal" life and "Oh my God, I can't believe I won the TOC!" As WenMax told me in e-mail, this high could last the entire year.

First things first.

Thanks to Mike Sexton, Chuck Humphrey, TOCPoker, Inc., and the dealers, floor people, and staff of the Orleans for putting on a great show. This was a fantastic experience and even if I'd busted on the first day (which almost happened) I would still be saying that (well, ok, maybe not if I failed to make the dinner break).

Thanks to Bill, JP, Steve, and Scott for sharing their thoughts and advice over the last couple years in general, and especially during the breaks as the TOC progressed.

Thanks to all the RGPers out there who were watching and cheering me on, in person or virtually. I am going to lame out here and not try to name them all because I know I'm going to forget someone if I do. But you know who you are and it truly was helpful to have that kind of support. At first I thought it was amusing that people were applauding every blind steal, but especially when I got short-stacked in the heads-up part, it was heart-warming to hear cheers and clapping every time I clawed back another chunk of his stack, to know that people were pulling for me. That was a big factor in my not just pitching it in and giving up.

I have tried to respond personally to everyone who sent me e-mail. If I forgot you, it means it's lost in my inbox somewhere, but I have read and appreciate every single one and hope you'll forgive me for overlooking you if I did neglect to reply.