free=good
03-02-2005, 02:46 PM
My first trip report, so constructive feedback appreciated.
A little background, first. I played poker through high school and college, but never real seriously. The poker craze hits and I'm drawn in like all the others. I suck for a while, but think I'm close to being dominant because I'm up 15-20 bucks on Ultimate .25/.50. I start reading books, lurking here, going to casinos and basically getting my ass handed to me. After 15 minutes I still didn't know who the sucker was.
Last year it started to come together a little bit. Got Poker Tracker and started working at it. Started seeing some results both online and in casinos to where I was a break even player. Then it finally happened. All the stuff I read in books and on this forum started to make sense. I now know WHY you don't usually play K,Jo UTG but you might play it from the button, etc. I play 2/4 Party, 2 tables (old, old computer or I'd play more - my next poker investment is a better computer) and am at about 3.5BB/100 over my last 50K ( I realize this is a slow month for many of you).
OK, the wife and I head to Shreveport for a couple of days break from the kids. We check in at Sam's Town (free room) on Sunday and I head over to Hollywood to see what the wait is like. 40 or so in front of me for 4/8 (Bankroll limitations) so I clean up, eat, come back and sit down at 5:00pm.
First, the room itself, for those who haven't been, really isn't so much a room as it is an area that they have pushed the slot machines out of and crammed 10 tables into. Literally 5 feet away from the tables is the buzzing and ringing of slots and video poker. The only benefit is that they must have gone to ticket payout because it wasn't as loud as when people got paid in coins. The smoke was unbelievable. Its been almost 36 hours since I left and I'm still coughing and wheezing from it. I've brushed my teeth 4 times and I can still taste it. The felts were raggedy and needed to be replaced on EVERY table I saw. Very crappy "room". The dealers were either very very good or very very bad. The good news is that they are currently building a room that will be opened in the next few weeks that should be a lot better and bigger.
I sit with the typical assortment of mullet wearing characters and one really good player to my immediate left. I see no cards for the first 3 or 4 hours and am down 120 or so. The play was exceptionally bad, with 5 or 6 to almost every flop. Super easy and predictable players in almost every seat. Any suiteds, Ax, any connectors for these people. My favorites were the dozen or so "cap pulled down, sunglass wearers" who bought in for $40 bucks, promptly lost and left. There was even one guy who pulled his hood down over his head - it was great.
I only had one set for the first 5 or 6 hours(6s) but the flop was all diamonds and a guy who played any 2 suiteds jumped out of his seat when he saw it. I called it down to make sure, and he did indeed have 7d,2d. I took a dinner break and then finally got a few cards. Nothing real exciting, but I grinded my way back and finished up 150 at 6am. 13 hours, though, and I never saw Aces, Kings or Queens. I figured if I was up after that, I'd be just fine the next day.
After not seeing aces, kings or queens for 13 hours the first day, my first hand of the day I looked down to see 2 beautiful black aces. I was UTG+1 and raised, CO reraises, BB reraises. Woohoo. Flop is rainbow 2,6,J and its capped again. I'm a little concerned about Jacks until the others start calling down on the turn. My hand holds up and the first pot of the day is +130 or so. Next hand is AQs for me and the flop QQ3 followed by a turn A and I drag another one. 2 hands later, another AQ that hits, a KQ winner right after that and I'm up about 250 10 minutes in. It would have been even more had I not had KQ 2 pair beaten by quad 5s. I finished up 350 after about 10 hours, for a 2 day win of 500.
A few memorable hands:
UTG (super lag) raises, folded to CO (good player)who raises, UTG calls. Flop is A,9,5 rainbow, they cap it. turn is a rag and UTG check,calls a bet by CO. River is 2 and they cap it (huh?) CO, as expected turns over AA. UTG turns over 3,4o and drags it. I later saw UTG playing the 10/20 game, lamenting his terrible misfortune in that game.
About 5 seconds after the guy to my left says something about being sick and tired of seeing a six every time he looked down, I saw 6,7s on the button and limped along with 5 others. The flop is 666. I tell the guy "I bet you wish you hadn't folded it this time" and everyone has a chuckle, assuming I don't have it I guess, because they stuck around after it checked through on the flop and called a bunch of raises with it.
I held A /images/graemlins/diamond.gifA /images/graemlins/club.gif from the button and 3 more called my raise. Flop of A /images/graemlins/heart.gif,5 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif,10 /images/graemlins/heart.gif. UTG bets, 2 calls, I decide to just call. Turn is 7 /images/graemlins/spade.gif, UTG bets, 1 call, I raise, just UTG calls., River is 5 /images/graemlins/heart.gif, /images/graemlins/cool.gif. He makes his flush, bets out and we cap it. The 2 people sitting next to me are talking about the hand and I hear them whispering about how much trouble I'm in because the UTG at the other must have aces and my flush is about to get creamed.
A few funny comments heard:
An absolutely atrocious player is whining about his bad luck and how he can't bluff any of the bad players at a 4/8 table, and he really prefers that game called "all-in" where he can do some good. Another player reminds him that they do infact have a 2/5 NL game, but bad player says that those stakes are too low, he prefers 400/800 blinds for his no limit action. This just after he pulls another crumpled up 50 from his pocket (he lost at least 500 while I was there). Priceless.
The same guy was complaining to another bad player about how bad they're luck had been. The second guy says, "I know, you and I are playing every hand, just like we're supposed to, and we can't catch a break. That guy (me) hardly ever plays a hand and look how lucky he gets."
A very fun, quick, profitable trip. I even had a really good player come up to me after he finished playing. We hadn't said a word to each other, but knew just to stay out of each others way. He stuck his hand out and told me how much he enjoyed watching me play and said that I was a fantastic player. Maybe the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me, a very humbling and proud moment for me.
A few other notes:
I spoke with one of the dealers and the Horseshoe's poker room will be open March 22nd and it will be non-smoking. She said she understands that it will be very nice and that they will have a great staff. I asked if Hollywood was losing anybody, she said yeas, I said I hoped it wasn't the good dealers (she was one of them) and she just smiled. Later I talked to her and she told me that just about all the good dealers were going to the shoe and that the manager over there was top notch as well.
I saw something I'd never heard of. There was a discrepancy after one of the hands, two people claimed to have the winner, and the dealer grabbed one of them and threw the cards in the muck. There was quite a ruckus because several players saw the true winner end up in the muck. The dealer called the floor who told her to set the pot aside while he called surveillance with the details - seat numbers involved, alleged cards, etc. He comes back to the table and awards the pot to its rightful owner. Has anyone ever seen this? I've always just seen the floor ask for the story and make a decision.
Don't eat at Smokey Joes in Sam's Town. Absolutely terrible food and worse service.
Hope it wasn't too boring.
A little background, first. I played poker through high school and college, but never real seriously. The poker craze hits and I'm drawn in like all the others. I suck for a while, but think I'm close to being dominant because I'm up 15-20 bucks on Ultimate .25/.50. I start reading books, lurking here, going to casinos and basically getting my ass handed to me. After 15 minutes I still didn't know who the sucker was.
Last year it started to come together a little bit. Got Poker Tracker and started working at it. Started seeing some results both online and in casinos to where I was a break even player. Then it finally happened. All the stuff I read in books and on this forum started to make sense. I now know WHY you don't usually play K,Jo UTG but you might play it from the button, etc. I play 2/4 Party, 2 tables (old, old computer or I'd play more - my next poker investment is a better computer) and am at about 3.5BB/100 over my last 50K ( I realize this is a slow month for many of you).
OK, the wife and I head to Shreveport for a couple of days break from the kids. We check in at Sam's Town (free room) on Sunday and I head over to Hollywood to see what the wait is like. 40 or so in front of me for 4/8 (Bankroll limitations) so I clean up, eat, come back and sit down at 5:00pm.
First, the room itself, for those who haven't been, really isn't so much a room as it is an area that they have pushed the slot machines out of and crammed 10 tables into. Literally 5 feet away from the tables is the buzzing and ringing of slots and video poker. The only benefit is that they must have gone to ticket payout because it wasn't as loud as when people got paid in coins. The smoke was unbelievable. Its been almost 36 hours since I left and I'm still coughing and wheezing from it. I've brushed my teeth 4 times and I can still taste it. The felts were raggedy and needed to be replaced on EVERY table I saw. Very crappy "room". The dealers were either very very good or very very bad. The good news is that they are currently building a room that will be opened in the next few weeks that should be a lot better and bigger.
I sit with the typical assortment of mullet wearing characters and one really good player to my immediate left. I see no cards for the first 3 or 4 hours and am down 120 or so. The play was exceptionally bad, with 5 or 6 to almost every flop. Super easy and predictable players in almost every seat. Any suiteds, Ax, any connectors for these people. My favorites were the dozen or so "cap pulled down, sunglass wearers" who bought in for $40 bucks, promptly lost and left. There was even one guy who pulled his hood down over his head - it was great.
I only had one set for the first 5 or 6 hours(6s) but the flop was all diamonds and a guy who played any 2 suiteds jumped out of his seat when he saw it. I called it down to make sure, and he did indeed have 7d,2d. I took a dinner break and then finally got a few cards. Nothing real exciting, but I grinded my way back and finished up 150 at 6am. 13 hours, though, and I never saw Aces, Kings or Queens. I figured if I was up after that, I'd be just fine the next day.
After not seeing aces, kings or queens for 13 hours the first day, my first hand of the day I looked down to see 2 beautiful black aces. I was UTG+1 and raised, CO reraises, BB reraises. Woohoo. Flop is rainbow 2,6,J and its capped again. I'm a little concerned about Jacks until the others start calling down on the turn. My hand holds up and the first pot of the day is +130 or so. Next hand is AQs for me and the flop QQ3 followed by a turn A and I drag another one. 2 hands later, another AQ that hits, a KQ winner right after that and I'm up about 250 10 minutes in. It would have been even more had I not had KQ 2 pair beaten by quad 5s. I finished up 350 after about 10 hours, for a 2 day win of 500.
A few memorable hands:
UTG (super lag) raises, folded to CO (good player)who raises, UTG calls. Flop is A,9,5 rainbow, they cap it. turn is a rag and UTG check,calls a bet by CO. River is 2 and they cap it (huh?) CO, as expected turns over AA. UTG turns over 3,4o and drags it. I later saw UTG playing the 10/20 game, lamenting his terrible misfortune in that game.
About 5 seconds after the guy to my left says something about being sick and tired of seeing a six every time he looked down, I saw 6,7s on the button and limped along with 5 others. The flop is 666. I tell the guy "I bet you wish you hadn't folded it this time" and everyone has a chuckle, assuming I don't have it I guess, because they stuck around after it checked through on the flop and called a bunch of raises with it.
I held A /images/graemlins/diamond.gifA /images/graemlins/club.gif from the button and 3 more called my raise. Flop of A /images/graemlins/heart.gif,5 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif,10 /images/graemlins/heart.gif. UTG bets, 2 calls, I decide to just call. Turn is 7 /images/graemlins/spade.gif, UTG bets, 1 call, I raise, just UTG calls., River is 5 /images/graemlins/heart.gif, /images/graemlins/cool.gif. He makes his flush, bets out and we cap it. The 2 people sitting next to me are talking about the hand and I hear them whispering about how much trouble I'm in because the UTG at the other must have aces and my flush is about to get creamed.
A few funny comments heard:
An absolutely atrocious player is whining about his bad luck and how he can't bluff any of the bad players at a 4/8 table, and he really prefers that game called "all-in" where he can do some good. Another player reminds him that they do infact have a 2/5 NL game, but bad player says that those stakes are too low, he prefers 400/800 blinds for his no limit action. This just after he pulls another crumpled up 50 from his pocket (he lost at least 500 while I was there). Priceless.
The same guy was complaining to another bad player about how bad they're luck had been. The second guy says, "I know, you and I are playing every hand, just like we're supposed to, and we can't catch a break. That guy (me) hardly ever plays a hand and look how lucky he gets."
A very fun, quick, profitable trip. I even had a really good player come up to me after he finished playing. We hadn't said a word to each other, but knew just to stay out of each others way. He stuck his hand out and told me how much he enjoyed watching me play and said that I was a fantastic player. Maybe the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me, a very humbling and proud moment for me.
A few other notes:
I spoke with one of the dealers and the Horseshoe's poker room will be open March 22nd and it will be non-smoking. She said she understands that it will be very nice and that they will have a great staff. I asked if Hollywood was losing anybody, she said yeas, I said I hoped it wasn't the good dealers (she was one of them) and she just smiled. Later I talked to her and she told me that just about all the good dealers were going to the shoe and that the manager over there was top notch as well.
I saw something I'd never heard of. There was a discrepancy after one of the hands, two people claimed to have the winner, and the dealer grabbed one of them and threw the cards in the muck. There was quite a ruckus because several players saw the true winner end up in the muck. The dealer called the floor who told her to set the pot aside while he called surveillance with the details - seat numbers involved, alleged cards, etc. He comes back to the table and awards the pot to its rightful owner. Has anyone ever seen this? I've always just seen the floor ask for the story and make a decision.
Don't eat at Smokey Joes in Sam's Town. Absolutely terrible food and worse service.
Hope it wasn't too boring.