Vehn
05-11-2003, 10:08 PM
Hmm OK lets see. This was my first time there so this will be newbie-ish.
The woman and I get into town Wednesday afternoon and get to our room at the Tropicana. Mistake - helluva long walk to the Bellagio & especially the Mirage from south strip, at least for me since uhm I smoke and I don't exercise /forums/images/icons/wink.gif. No poker that day.
Thursday we make our way to the Bellagio in the afternoon and I get away for a bit. First off I was basically unimpressed by the Bellagio poker room. Its small, its dirty, its crowded (I'm used to 9 handed tables), I hate how dealers don't carry their own trays and need to make change from them, I hate how racks are allowed on the table, I hate how players can get the button twice in a row & and avoid paying a blind, I hate how money plays, I hate how dealers put tips in their shirt pocket (wtf?), I hate how twenty-f---ing-one chips fit into a row in a rack. Now that that's out of the way.. I get into a $15/$30 game eventually after I figure out I need to ask the people with the clipboards for it - and there's two of them and there's apparently no way of knowing what the status is of the lists and games going without asking them. Like I said, wasn't real impressed here. Anyways I play for a bit and swim around even for a while in a very tight game before this hand comes up. There's an MP limper and an LP raise, and I call in the SB for 4 chips with Ac4c. BB calls. Flop is A 4 3 rainbow, I bet and only LP calls. Turn is another A, I check, LP bets, I raise, she 3-bets, I 4-bet and she calls me down with AK. I leave after an hour and a half and +$350. We go off to do some stuff etc and I get away again around 9:30 and get back into a $15 that's a little better but still not a good game. There's a loose aggressive a few seats down from me that I get to isolate a few times - he got fed up with it eventually and open limped in MP and I raised on the button with TT. Blinds folded and he limp reraised, and I made it 4 bets /forums/images/icons/wink.gif and he check-folded on a ten high flop. Me and pocket tens had a good trip as you'll see later. Anyways I won a nice pot with AA a bit later and was up a bit when I saw Dewey Tomko walking around and I introduced myself to him and he chatted with me for a minute before taking off. I left around midnight after 3 hours of play and up another $350.
Friday I get a voicemail to meet the resident pokernerds at the Mirage at 7:30. I get there around 4 and get into a $10/$20 game. The Mirage poker room (area really, its in the open) is a lot nicer in my opinion but had the same odd rules that I don't really like. Anyways Tommy Angelo and the pokerbabe are both in my game and I burn away $100 quickly doing dumb stuff after I meet them. They start a new $20/$40 and Clarkmeister and Majorkong show up and I talk to them etc while playing. I ask the babe where I stand on the "LG" scale and I'm told I "have nice hair". Hmm... I lose a few more hands and am stuck a bit when seat 5 open raises in EP and I 3-bet from the BB with AK. Flop is ace high and I chop it up with his AK. Next orbit, the same player open raises in EP again and I 3-bet from the SB with TT. This time he 4-bets and I call. Flop is T-9-x. I check, he bets, I raise, and he calls. Turn is a J, I bet and he calls. River is a 7 putting backdoor diamonds on board. I bet, he raises, I 3-bet, he 4-bets all in and turns over.. AdKh. Oops. That puts me exactly even and I rack up. We all (other than the babe) buy some chips and head over to Dynasty's apartment for a home game after picking up beverages. Howard Burroughs and his wife also come along for a bit. We start playing dealers choice $3/$6 for limit games and $1-$1 for PL and play a few different games before eventually just playing PL hold'em with blinds that escalated to $2/$3. I have Tommy on my left, Dynasty across from me, and Clarkmeister to my right (majorkong gave up after a couple hours). I work up a fairly big stack for a while along with Tommy while Dynasty and CM were stuck. Eventually though I got more and more drunk and made some very dumb mistakes. #1, of course, was sitting to Tommy's right. #2 was paying off the ultratight Dynasty in a total misread and him doubling through me while he was shortstacked. #3 was not wanting to put my stack at risk. #4 was, well, drinking /forums/images/icons/tongue.gif But I had a great time and did learn a lot about PL, which I'm not very familiar with. Tommy's advice at the end was "when I have the button its not your turn to play" and he was of course very right. Anyways I eventually stumbled home -$40 in the home game after being up $200 /forums/images/icons/frown.gif Tommy was the big winner, I think Dynasty ended up near even (I'm pretty sure he was there but he may have been replaced by a little machine you put two cards into and it instantly spits them back out, not sure), CM down a bit and Majorkong (*cough*wuss*cough*) down also.
Saturday I get the chance to play a bit more at the Mirage $20/$40. I am up a bit when this hand comes up: UTG makes some sort of motion that I don't catch, 2UTG (fish) limps, and I raise with TT. But wait - UTG still has cards and hasn't acted. He limps in, fish limps also, I go ahead and raise, a blind calls, and UTG limp reraises. Duh. Anyways 4 to the flop for 3 bets. Flop is Q T x, thank god. UTG bets, fish calls, I raise, blind folds, UTG 3-bets, fish calls, I call. Turn is a blank, UTG thinks for some time and bets, fish calls, I raise and both call. River is an 8 and UTG check/calls/mucks and I take down a $700+ pot /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif I leave after 3 hours and +$565.
Play was on average tougher than I was used to but that was to be expected. On the "they play different here" note: $15/$30 hold'em at the bellagio - button open limps, SB raises, and there is no flop. $10/$20 7CS at the mirage that I was in for 15 minutes - low card brings it in for $3, a 7 limps, I complete to $10 with (A A) 9, and there is no 4th street. OK that's long enough for now - I left Sunday morning here after uhm a profit of $1225 for the trip in about 9 hours of play, ship it.
The woman and I get into town Wednesday afternoon and get to our room at the Tropicana. Mistake - helluva long walk to the Bellagio & especially the Mirage from south strip, at least for me since uhm I smoke and I don't exercise /forums/images/icons/wink.gif. No poker that day.
Thursday we make our way to the Bellagio in the afternoon and I get away for a bit. First off I was basically unimpressed by the Bellagio poker room. Its small, its dirty, its crowded (I'm used to 9 handed tables), I hate how dealers don't carry their own trays and need to make change from them, I hate how racks are allowed on the table, I hate how players can get the button twice in a row & and avoid paying a blind, I hate how money plays, I hate how dealers put tips in their shirt pocket (wtf?), I hate how twenty-f---ing-one chips fit into a row in a rack. Now that that's out of the way.. I get into a $15/$30 game eventually after I figure out I need to ask the people with the clipboards for it - and there's two of them and there's apparently no way of knowing what the status is of the lists and games going without asking them. Like I said, wasn't real impressed here. Anyways I play for a bit and swim around even for a while in a very tight game before this hand comes up. There's an MP limper and an LP raise, and I call in the SB for 4 chips with Ac4c. BB calls. Flop is A 4 3 rainbow, I bet and only LP calls. Turn is another A, I check, LP bets, I raise, she 3-bets, I 4-bet and she calls me down with AK. I leave after an hour and a half and +$350. We go off to do some stuff etc and I get away again around 9:30 and get back into a $15 that's a little better but still not a good game. There's a loose aggressive a few seats down from me that I get to isolate a few times - he got fed up with it eventually and open limped in MP and I raised on the button with TT. Blinds folded and he limp reraised, and I made it 4 bets /forums/images/icons/wink.gif and he check-folded on a ten high flop. Me and pocket tens had a good trip as you'll see later. Anyways I won a nice pot with AA a bit later and was up a bit when I saw Dewey Tomko walking around and I introduced myself to him and he chatted with me for a minute before taking off. I left around midnight after 3 hours of play and up another $350.
Friday I get a voicemail to meet the resident pokernerds at the Mirage at 7:30. I get there around 4 and get into a $10/$20 game. The Mirage poker room (area really, its in the open) is a lot nicer in my opinion but had the same odd rules that I don't really like. Anyways Tommy Angelo and the pokerbabe are both in my game and I burn away $100 quickly doing dumb stuff after I meet them. They start a new $20/$40 and Clarkmeister and Majorkong show up and I talk to them etc while playing. I ask the babe where I stand on the "LG" scale and I'm told I "have nice hair". Hmm... I lose a few more hands and am stuck a bit when seat 5 open raises in EP and I 3-bet from the BB with AK. Flop is ace high and I chop it up with his AK. Next orbit, the same player open raises in EP again and I 3-bet from the SB with TT. This time he 4-bets and I call. Flop is T-9-x. I check, he bets, I raise, and he calls. Turn is a J, I bet and he calls. River is a 7 putting backdoor diamonds on board. I bet, he raises, I 3-bet, he 4-bets all in and turns over.. AdKh. Oops. That puts me exactly even and I rack up. We all (other than the babe) buy some chips and head over to Dynasty's apartment for a home game after picking up beverages. Howard Burroughs and his wife also come along for a bit. We start playing dealers choice $3/$6 for limit games and $1-$1 for PL and play a few different games before eventually just playing PL hold'em with blinds that escalated to $2/$3. I have Tommy on my left, Dynasty across from me, and Clarkmeister to my right (majorkong gave up after a couple hours). I work up a fairly big stack for a while along with Tommy while Dynasty and CM were stuck. Eventually though I got more and more drunk and made some very dumb mistakes. #1, of course, was sitting to Tommy's right. #2 was paying off the ultratight Dynasty in a total misread and him doubling through me while he was shortstacked. #3 was not wanting to put my stack at risk. #4 was, well, drinking /forums/images/icons/tongue.gif But I had a great time and did learn a lot about PL, which I'm not very familiar with. Tommy's advice at the end was "when I have the button its not your turn to play" and he was of course very right. Anyways I eventually stumbled home -$40 in the home game after being up $200 /forums/images/icons/frown.gif Tommy was the big winner, I think Dynasty ended up near even (I'm pretty sure he was there but he may have been replaced by a little machine you put two cards into and it instantly spits them back out, not sure), CM down a bit and Majorkong (*cough*wuss*cough*) down also.
Saturday I get the chance to play a bit more at the Mirage $20/$40. I am up a bit when this hand comes up: UTG makes some sort of motion that I don't catch, 2UTG (fish) limps, and I raise with TT. But wait - UTG still has cards and hasn't acted. He limps in, fish limps also, I go ahead and raise, a blind calls, and UTG limp reraises. Duh. Anyways 4 to the flop for 3 bets. Flop is Q T x, thank god. UTG bets, fish calls, I raise, blind folds, UTG 3-bets, fish calls, I call. Turn is a blank, UTG thinks for some time and bets, fish calls, I raise and both call. River is an 8 and UTG check/calls/mucks and I take down a $700+ pot /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif I leave after 3 hours and +$565.
Play was on average tougher than I was used to but that was to be expected. On the "they play different here" note: $15/$30 hold'em at the bellagio - button open limps, SB raises, and there is no flop. $10/$20 7CS at the mirage that I was in for 15 minutes - low card brings it in for $3, a 7 limps, I complete to $10 with (A A) 9, and there is no 4th street. OK that's long enough for now - I left Sunday morning here after uhm a profit of $1225 for the trip in about 9 hours of play, ship it.