Rudi
04-29-2005, 08:41 PM
Last Saturday I posted a message about the best places to go play low-limit or small stakes hold ‘em. I received very good tips and information and where to start since I was going to be in Vegas this week.
Well, I just returned and I must say I would have had a great time just walking up and down the Strip and taking in the vibe of Las Vegas. But taking in the pulse of Sin City was saved for next time. Based on the suggestions received, I headed right for the casino every evening.
My first night saw me going to the Excalibur. The poker room isn’t anything to write home about. If memory serves me correctly, the place had about 10 tables. I wait about 20 minutes and get a seat. The button is to my right and I just want to sit down and relax to get a feel for the table (and the walk was long so my feet were sore), but the dealer insists that I post $1. I protest that I want to wait for the BB, but the dealer is insistent so I put the $1 down. Little did I know there isn’t a SB, just a BB of $1 because the game is $1-$3 spread. As the fates would have it, I’m dealt AA. 8 people call and I raise it up to $2 since I’m still in SB-BB mode, not having ever played a $1-$3 spread game before. Everybody calls. The flop is rather harmless and I bet out another $1. A few people shrug and say “gotta call for $1”. Finally, the guy on my left says I can bet $1 to $3 on every street. What? D’oh! I fault the dealer for not explaining the spread game betting sequence to me. The turn brings a K and with my new found knowledge, I make it $3. People start dropping then. The river brings a rag and doesn’t complete a flush or straight. I had two callers for my $3 bet on the river. I show the Rockets and everybody groans at the “new guy” taking down a nice pot on the first hand. /images/graemlins/smirk.gif I played for about 2 hours and ended up $18.
Poker Room: 5. Drink service is slow and Excalibur gets docked 2 points because the dealer didn’t take the time to explain to me that I was in a spread game.
Players: 8. The kind of table 2+2’ers dream about – passive, calling stations. The people at my table called down with anything and only raised AA-JJ. One guy did raise AK, but he might have been drunk and did it by mistake. I saw AJ unraised in late position.
On the second evening I went over to the Aladdin. Normally there is a 2/4 table, but there weren’t enough players, so they had a 3/6 table. I wasn’t interested in that limit and neither was my bankroll. Instead I sat down at a 1/2 NL table ($40 buy-in). I’m nervous as heck since I’ve never played NL. First off, the table was short-handed at 5 players until they decided to break down the three and combine the players into two tables. Good move. I win a small pot with a King-high flush. I did see a “live” all-in race for the first time: AKo versus JJ. JJ holds up. I see A3 full-house lose to A10 full-house on the river. Ouch. I played an hour at Aladdin and walked away up $17.
Poker Room: 8. I liked the Arabian Nights ambiance. Comfortable too. The room is clean and has about 15-20 tables. Dealers were friendly and the room manager was conscious of having short-handed tables and would shift players to keep the tables full. At 6PM and being an early weekday, the poker room is slow.
Players: 5. I’m not a NL player, but I’d say the table had a mix of good to average to poor players.
I dodged the mass of humanity and headed over to Harrahs after finishing at the Aladdin. The poker room looked very small and is enclosed behind glass windows and glass door. I saw 10-14 tables with games of 3/6, 4/8 and NL. Claustrophobic. Again they didn’t offer any limits I wanted to play so I headed out.
Poker Room: 3. See above.
To finish the second night in Vegas, I dashed down the Strip to Bally’s. Ah, here is a poker room filled with great tables. 2/4 and 4/8 are the games of choice at Bally’s. I walk right into a room filled with about 15 tables and I’m seated at a 2/4 game. Immediately I recognize I’m the only one who might have even opened up a poker book. The table is tourists who get their strategies from the WPT and ESPN’s WSOP. I win my first pot when I spike two-pair with A6o (BB hand for me). I win a larger pot with KK. When people aren’t wandering around, going to the restroom or chasing waitresses, there are 8 to 9 people to the flop (usually unraised). The players at my table chase everything and cold-call raises. I saw one guy call a bet on the river with his busted straight even though he had nothing. Several people called my bets while saying “I have to keep you honest.” I wish I had started playing here first because after an hour I needed to get back. I finished up $41.
Poker Room: 8. 15 tables. There is a bar right next to tables, I think this assists in the looseness of the game. Dealers were very friendly. After the rake, the pot contains quarters – meh.
Players: 10! Loose, passive, calling stations. Tourist players. Thanks to whomever recommended Ballys!! /images/graemlins/cool.gif
On night three, I find myself over at the MGM Grand. The poker room is very nice, electronic screens show your position on the waiting list. 2/4, 4/8, 2/5NL and bigger limits are offered. I get a quick seat and sense this is an anti-Bally’s table. People are discussing pot-odds, pushing pot-equity, etc. Uh-oh. My suspicion is confirmed when there are only 2 to 3 people on each flop. Bleh. I get AJo on the button, raise, hit a J on the flop, bet the flop, bet the turn heads-up and win uncontested. I bailed after about 20 minutes when 2 people left the table and we were down to 4 players. I did some shopping and watched the people huddle around and take pictures of the two lions behind the glass. I walk away up $7.
Poker Room: 8. 20+ tables. Clean. Auto-shuffle tables.
Players: 4. Too tight. Again, it might be the 6PM, early day of the week thing. I likely ran into local players.
After the tight tables of MGM, I venture over to Monte Carlo. The poker room is nestled away towards the back of the casino. I count 8 tables and have to wait 20 minutes to get a seat at a 2/4 game. What is this, déjà vu all over again? A tight table again. Nobody raises. I saw a lady win with AQ and QQ, neither of which she raised. She was easy to read since she only bet the nuts, but will call down with her big pocket pairs. I saw another fellow at a different table check instead of bet his nut full-house on the river. On the plus side, the Monte Carlo only has a $2BB, there isn’t a SB. There is also 4/8 and a big time Stud game (seemed to be more popular than the hold ‘em tables). I bail after an hour of not getting any cards and down $8.
Poker Room: 3. Only 8 tables and jammed against the railings and walls. No room to stretch. Auto-shuffle tables.
Players: 3. Passive, yet way, way too tight.
Well, I’m bummed with the poor tables for that evening so I head over to the Bellagio. Wow! What a sweet joint! The poker room is the real deal with 30+ tables. Plenty of limits for everybody, except me. /images/graemlins/laugh.gif 4/8, 8/16, 15/30, 2/5 NL.
The next evening I didn’t play any poker, but had a very nice dinner and played blackjack for the first time. It was a very fun evening, even though my blackjack investment went poof. I had an open day the next morning, so I go over to the Wynn for the grand opening. Wynn is much like the Bellagio in their limit games: 4/8, 8/16, 15/30, 30/60, 1/2 NL ($100 buy-in). The place was packed and so are the computer screen waiting lists, so I didn’t get a table. The poker room was very nice, but it’s towards the back of the casino and it’ll be easy to get stampeded by gawking tourists.
I stroll down the Strip to the Mirage and find 3/6, 4/8 games in a poker room that has 10-12 tables. Meh. I find the same limits over at the Rio. Meh. The Palms is promising with 2/4 games filled with tourists, but I run out of time and have evening commitments.
Finally, I have the evening commitments finished and I can play 2/4 at the Orleans. I say beforehand that I am going to play 3 hours or if I go down $40 (my usual stop loss). The tables are beautiful, filled with loose, passive, tourists. Even better, there are drunks and dazed people who have already been playing for hours. But the poker gods do not smile upon me. These people were practically begging to give me their money, but I couldn’t get any cards! I go up $17 after raising pocket 10’s, hit a 10 on the flop and beat Mr. Two-Pair. I win another small pot with 34 suited. I watch Bud Lite girl go through 5 bottles in less than an hour and $80 in chips before stumbling off, promising to return, which she never did. These people call with any painted card, call down with bottom pair, or top pair, no kicker. I watched one fellow re-buy for $20 and turn it into $120 (thanks to Bud Lite girl). He went on a nice rush, capped by getting quad 8's. Mr. Two-Pair re-buys for $100 and promptly wins 6 pots with two-pair. I guess being cold-decked does have its advantage and I was able to stay out of the way. I had AKo twice and missed the flop badly both times. 22 and 55 didn’t turn a set and Broadway cards on the flop made for quick folds. I did get K10o in early position, but folded. Bummer since the flop was KQ10, with the guy on my right winning with Q10. Meh. Table table starts to get tight because Mr. Two-Pair and Mr. Quad 8's start seeing their chips go over to some 4/8 players coming to the table to recoup losses and they begin folding. I finished the 3 hours down $6. All in all, it was a very frustrating night sitting there just waiting to get anything but 10-2, 7-2, J-5 (five times) and other gabage. But I was pleased that I didn’t start playing marginal hands to get into the action and stuck to what I’ve learned on the 2+2 board.
I think the textures of the games switch on Thursdays. An influx of weekend tourists and vacationers eager to play poker definitely changes the dynamics of the tables compared to earlier in the week. Also, playing at 6PM on early weekdays isn’t likely to find many tourists at the poker tables compared to restaurants and shows.
I also managed to collect 13 $1 poker chips from several of the casinos, including a brand new one from the Wynn. /images/graemlins/grin.gif
It was a great trip and look forward to returning again.
Well, I just returned and I must say I would have had a great time just walking up and down the Strip and taking in the vibe of Las Vegas. But taking in the pulse of Sin City was saved for next time. Based on the suggestions received, I headed right for the casino every evening.
My first night saw me going to the Excalibur. The poker room isn’t anything to write home about. If memory serves me correctly, the place had about 10 tables. I wait about 20 minutes and get a seat. The button is to my right and I just want to sit down and relax to get a feel for the table (and the walk was long so my feet were sore), but the dealer insists that I post $1. I protest that I want to wait for the BB, but the dealer is insistent so I put the $1 down. Little did I know there isn’t a SB, just a BB of $1 because the game is $1-$3 spread. As the fates would have it, I’m dealt AA. 8 people call and I raise it up to $2 since I’m still in SB-BB mode, not having ever played a $1-$3 spread game before. Everybody calls. The flop is rather harmless and I bet out another $1. A few people shrug and say “gotta call for $1”. Finally, the guy on my left says I can bet $1 to $3 on every street. What? D’oh! I fault the dealer for not explaining the spread game betting sequence to me. The turn brings a K and with my new found knowledge, I make it $3. People start dropping then. The river brings a rag and doesn’t complete a flush or straight. I had two callers for my $3 bet on the river. I show the Rockets and everybody groans at the “new guy” taking down a nice pot on the first hand. /images/graemlins/smirk.gif I played for about 2 hours and ended up $18.
Poker Room: 5. Drink service is slow and Excalibur gets docked 2 points because the dealer didn’t take the time to explain to me that I was in a spread game.
Players: 8. The kind of table 2+2’ers dream about – passive, calling stations. The people at my table called down with anything and only raised AA-JJ. One guy did raise AK, but he might have been drunk and did it by mistake. I saw AJ unraised in late position.
On the second evening I went over to the Aladdin. Normally there is a 2/4 table, but there weren’t enough players, so they had a 3/6 table. I wasn’t interested in that limit and neither was my bankroll. Instead I sat down at a 1/2 NL table ($40 buy-in). I’m nervous as heck since I’ve never played NL. First off, the table was short-handed at 5 players until they decided to break down the three and combine the players into two tables. Good move. I win a small pot with a King-high flush. I did see a “live” all-in race for the first time: AKo versus JJ. JJ holds up. I see A3 full-house lose to A10 full-house on the river. Ouch. I played an hour at Aladdin and walked away up $17.
Poker Room: 8. I liked the Arabian Nights ambiance. Comfortable too. The room is clean and has about 15-20 tables. Dealers were friendly and the room manager was conscious of having short-handed tables and would shift players to keep the tables full. At 6PM and being an early weekday, the poker room is slow.
Players: 5. I’m not a NL player, but I’d say the table had a mix of good to average to poor players.
I dodged the mass of humanity and headed over to Harrahs after finishing at the Aladdin. The poker room looked very small and is enclosed behind glass windows and glass door. I saw 10-14 tables with games of 3/6, 4/8 and NL. Claustrophobic. Again they didn’t offer any limits I wanted to play so I headed out.
Poker Room: 3. See above.
To finish the second night in Vegas, I dashed down the Strip to Bally’s. Ah, here is a poker room filled with great tables. 2/4 and 4/8 are the games of choice at Bally’s. I walk right into a room filled with about 15 tables and I’m seated at a 2/4 game. Immediately I recognize I’m the only one who might have even opened up a poker book. The table is tourists who get their strategies from the WPT and ESPN’s WSOP. I win my first pot when I spike two-pair with A6o (BB hand for me). I win a larger pot with KK. When people aren’t wandering around, going to the restroom or chasing waitresses, there are 8 to 9 people to the flop (usually unraised). The players at my table chase everything and cold-call raises. I saw one guy call a bet on the river with his busted straight even though he had nothing. Several people called my bets while saying “I have to keep you honest.” I wish I had started playing here first because after an hour I needed to get back. I finished up $41.
Poker Room: 8. 15 tables. There is a bar right next to tables, I think this assists in the looseness of the game. Dealers were very friendly. After the rake, the pot contains quarters – meh.
Players: 10! Loose, passive, calling stations. Tourist players. Thanks to whomever recommended Ballys!! /images/graemlins/cool.gif
On night three, I find myself over at the MGM Grand. The poker room is very nice, electronic screens show your position on the waiting list. 2/4, 4/8, 2/5NL and bigger limits are offered. I get a quick seat and sense this is an anti-Bally’s table. People are discussing pot-odds, pushing pot-equity, etc. Uh-oh. My suspicion is confirmed when there are only 2 to 3 people on each flop. Bleh. I get AJo on the button, raise, hit a J on the flop, bet the flop, bet the turn heads-up and win uncontested. I bailed after about 20 minutes when 2 people left the table and we were down to 4 players. I did some shopping and watched the people huddle around and take pictures of the two lions behind the glass. I walk away up $7.
Poker Room: 8. 20+ tables. Clean. Auto-shuffle tables.
Players: 4. Too tight. Again, it might be the 6PM, early day of the week thing. I likely ran into local players.
After the tight tables of MGM, I venture over to Monte Carlo. The poker room is nestled away towards the back of the casino. I count 8 tables and have to wait 20 minutes to get a seat at a 2/4 game. What is this, déjà vu all over again? A tight table again. Nobody raises. I saw a lady win with AQ and QQ, neither of which she raised. She was easy to read since she only bet the nuts, but will call down with her big pocket pairs. I saw another fellow at a different table check instead of bet his nut full-house on the river. On the plus side, the Monte Carlo only has a $2BB, there isn’t a SB. There is also 4/8 and a big time Stud game (seemed to be more popular than the hold ‘em tables). I bail after an hour of not getting any cards and down $8.
Poker Room: 3. Only 8 tables and jammed against the railings and walls. No room to stretch. Auto-shuffle tables.
Players: 3. Passive, yet way, way too tight.
Well, I’m bummed with the poor tables for that evening so I head over to the Bellagio. Wow! What a sweet joint! The poker room is the real deal with 30+ tables. Plenty of limits for everybody, except me. /images/graemlins/laugh.gif 4/8, 8/16, 15/30, 2/5 NL.
The next evening I didn’t play any poker, but had a very nice dinner and played blackjack for the first time. It was a very fun evening, even though my blackjack investment went poof. I had an open day the next morning, so I go over to the Wynn for the grand opening. Wynn is much like the Bellagio in their limit games: 4/8, 8/16, 15/30, 30/60, 1/2 NL ($100 buy-in). The place was packed and so are the computer screen waiting lists, so I didn’t get a table. The poker room was very nice, but it’s towards the back of the casino and it’ll be easy to get stampeded by gawking tourists.
I stroll down the Strip to the Mirage and find 3/6, 4/8 games in a poker room that has 10-12 tables. Meh. I find the same limits over at the Rio. Meh. The Palms is promising with 2/4 games filled with tourists, but I run out of time and have evening commitments.
Finally, I have the evening commitments finished and I can play 2/4 at the Orleans. I say beforehand that I am going to play 3 hours or if I go down $40 (my usual stop loss). The tables are beautiful, filled with loose, passive, tourists. Even better, there are drunks and dazed people who have already been playing for hours. But the poker gods do not smile upon me. These people were practically begging to give me their money, but I couldn’t get any cards! I go up $17 after raising pocket 10’s, hit a 10 on the flop and beat Mr. Two-Pair. I win another small pot with 34 suited. I watch Bud Lite girl go through 5 bottles in less than an hour and $80 in chips before stumbling off, promising to return, which she never did. These people call with any painted card, call down with bottom pair, or top pair, no kicker. I watched one fellow re-buy for $20 and turn it into $120 (thanks to Bud Lite girl). He went on a nice rush, capped by getting quad 8's. Mr. Two-Pair re-buys for $100 and promptly wins 6 pots with two-pair. I guess being cold-decked does have its advantage and I was able to stay out of the way. I had AKo twice and missed the flop badly both times. 22 and 55 didn’t turn a set and Broadway cards on the flop made for quick folds. I did get K10o in early position, but folded. Bummer since the flop was KQ10, with the guy on my right winning with Q10. Meh. Table table starts to get tight because Mr. Two-Pair and Mr. Quad 8's start seeing their chips go over to some 4/8 players coming to the table to recoup losses and they begin folding. I finished the 3 hours down $6. All in all, it was a very frustrating night sitting there just waiting to get anything but 10-2, 7-2, J-5 (five times) and other gabage. But I was pleased that I didn’t start playing marginal hands to get into the action and stuck to what I’ve learned on the 2+2 board.
I think the textures of the games switch on Thursdays. An influx of weekend tourists and vacationers eager to play poker definitely changes the dynamics of the tables compared to earlier in the week. Also, playing at 6PM on early weekdays isn’t likely to find many tourists at the poker tables compared to restaurants and shows.
I also managed to collect 13 $1 poker chips from several of the casinos, including a brand new one from the Wynn. /images/graemlins/grin.gif
It was a great trip and look forward to returning again.