TimM
09-07-2004, 05:37 PM
Took Friday off from work, and got the ferry out of Orient Point to New London on Friday afternoon, and checked in to the Super 8 in Groton as suggested here by morgant. The accomodations were pretty basic, but with all taxes it came to just under $300, and that was probably about the best I could expect for three nights on a holiday weekend (I had tried Priceline and Expedia and with their fees and cancellation policies it did not pay to use them). Getting to and from Foxwoods from the Super 8 was pretty simple using the back roads. I used the new Rainmaker garage, which was never very full as long as you drive up a couple of levels.
On Friday I arrived around 3PM and got on the 10/20 waiting list. I was only 4-5 names down but it took about an hour to get seated. This was my longest wait since I arrived before noon on each of the other days. At this time, they are re-opening tables that broke overnight, so long lists go down quickly, and many of the players are on multiple lists. I played for 8 hours on each day except Monday, when I had to leave after 5 hours to catch the return ferry.
The games I played had many locals, who all knew each other by name. They varied in skill but I think most would have been beatable if I had been dealt anything to work with. I basically finished about 40BB ($800), with 29 hours of play, and most of that was from one afternoon where I was dealt a lot of big starting hands which I raised pre-flop, and either did not flop, or flopped a draw which missed. I probably pushed the draws and overcards a little too hard, and there was always someone willing to take the heat all the way to the end with a small pair or some other nonsense. They even did this the few times I hit my hand, so I know that if I was making my hands at the expected rate, I would have done very well.
I was a bit surprized at how long a cold streak of cards can last in a live game, and it felt so boring when several times I was dealt almost no playable hands for many hours. I clocked one dealer at about 33 hands per hour, which would mean I got about 950 hands over entire trip. I never like taking a loss and then having a lot of time to think about it and question my play, etc., so on Monday night when I got home, I played 3 tables of 5/10 for 4 hours, got in about 800 hands, and recouped about $500. /images/graemlins/grin.gif
For now, with the cost and inconveniece of live play, online will always be my main game, and live games will just be for fun and a change of pace. I thought about dropping down a couple of limits and just having fun multiway action every hand, but the lists for the yellow chip games and even the 5/10 were always so long. Also I like a challenge, and I had planned on trying the 20/40 if I did well on the first couple of days (I had about $1500 for playing and $500 for spending/backup/emergency, and was just about even after the first two days, so it was not to be).
Anyway I will keep trying these trips whenever I can get time off from work, without much in the way of expectations. One thing live play allows is a lot of time to think about the hands you've played while you are folding all of the crap hands, and I am more willing to push up in limits in live than online, so I do think it helps in getting better.
On Friday I arrived around 3PM and got on the 10/20 waiting list. I was only 4-5 names down but it took about an hour to get seated. This was my longest wait since I arrived before noon on each of the other days. At this time, they are re-opening tables that broke overnight, so long lists go down quickly, and many of the players are on multiple lists. I played for 8 hours on each day except Monday, when I had to leave after 5 hours to catch the return ferry.
The games I played had many locals, who all knew each other by name. They varied in skill but I think most would have been beatable if I had been dealt anything to work with. I basically finished about 40BB ($800), with 29 hours of play, and most of that was from one afternoon where I was dealt a lot of big starting hands which I raised pre-flop, and either did not flop, or flopped a draw which missed. I probably pushed the draws and overcards a little too hard, and there was always someone willing to take the heat all the way to the end with a small pair or some other nonsense. They even did this the few times I hit my hand, so I know that if I was making my hands at the expected rate, I would have done very well.
I was a bit surprized at how long a cold streak of cards can last in a live game, and it felt so boring when several times I was dealt almost no playable hands for many hours. I clocked one dealer at about 33 hands per hour, which would mean I got about 950 hands over entire trip. I never like taking a loss and then having a lot of time to think about it and question my play, etc., so on Monday night when I got home, I played 3 tables of 5/10 for 4 hours, got in about 800 hands, and recouped about $500. /images/graemlins/grin.gif
For now, with the cost and inconveniece of live play, online will always be my main game, and live games will just be for fun and a change of pace. I thought about dropping down a couple of limits and just having fun multiway action every hand, but the lists for the yellow chip games and even the 5/10 were always so long. Also I like a challenge, and I had planned on trying the 20/40 if I did well on the first couple of days (I had about $1500 for playing and $500 for spending/backup/emergency, and was just about even after the first two days, so it was not to be).
Anyway I will keep trying these trips whenever I can get time off from work, without much in the way of expectations. One thing live play allows is a lot of time to think about the hands you've played while you are folding all of the crap hands, and I am more willing to push up in limits in live than online, so I do think it helps in getting better.