Barry
05-29-2003, 09:39 PM
I’ve just returned home from Vegas after an 8 day trip that was both a lot of fun and profitable, that is if you ignore the cost of the trip.
I got up Monday morning (May 19th) with a great amount of excitement at 4:30 AM to get ready for my 6:50 AM flight. I had arranged to get picked up at 5:15, but at 5:30 got a call from the person giving me a ride who had overslept and wouldn’t be at my house until just before 6 AM. Not a great start to the day. Since it’s about a ½ hour ride to the airport from my house it would be cutting it too close to risk it, so I decided to drive to the airport myself. Of course that meant having to pay the $24 a day parking charge at Logan airport (Boston). The traffic was light and Angel Fish and I made it to the airport on time. Whew! The flights, first to Dallas and then on to Vegas were on time and uneventful we arrived at McCarran on time around 1 PM. After waiting around for what seemed like an eternity for our bags, we collected them and headed out to a cab line that reminded me of the lines getting on the rides in Orlando.
We arrived at the Bellagio a little after 2 to check in. We were told that our room wasn’t ready and we should check back after 4. Having nothing else to do, naturally we wondered over to the poker room to check it out. We met Ralph, the floorman for the 4/8 and 8/16 games and put ourselves on the longish lists, Angel Fish for the 4/8 and me on the 4/8 and 8/16 games. After a wait of about 45 minutes they started up a new 4/8 game and both Angel Fish and I were called for it. Right after we had drawn for the button, Ralph called my name for the 8/16, so we wished each other good luck and I went over to table 30 (right by the entrance) to play in my very first hand in Vegas. I don’t remember anything too exciting, except next time I looked at my watch it was about 6, so I left the table for a while to check in and get something to eat. I wound up playing until 3 or 4 in the morning and was stuck a little over $200. The style of play was quite a bit different in Vegas than what I have grown to get used to online and at the CT casinos. It is quite a bit more aggressive preflop and on the flop than I am used to. There is also a lot more trapping that goes on there to. I walked right into a number of raises and checkraises on the river after my opponent checked the turn. Ouch. On the positive side Angel Fish was up $150
The next day we picked up Angel Fish’s mom who also came out and was going to be staying with friends that lived in Vegas. These were the same friends that I had met last year, that had gotten me interested in learning to play Hold ’em in the first place. So in a way this was my first anniversary for “serious” poker. The husband is a regular at the 15/30 game at the Bellagio. After visiting for a while, at 6 PM we left “the girls” and headed over to the Bellagio.
He got into the 15/30 and I got into a wild 8/16 game on table 15. There were a couple of maniacs at the table that were constantly raising and reraising every street. I did my best to stick to high quality hands and to stay out of the fray. There are few hands that illustrate the point. The 3 actors were Maniac (M) in the BB, buddy of manic (BOM) in the SB and a retired fellow that looked and sounded remarkably like Colonel Sanders (CS), was in MP, just to my left. Although he was a nice enough guy, he played agonizingly slow out of a rack, getting 1 chip at a time and never said “call” or “raise” There were a few limpers including CS; BOM completes and M raises. Everybody calls. Flop comes J76, with 2 of one suit. BOM checks, M bets, CS raises, BOM cold calls, M reraises, CS 4 bets and M caps. Everyone else has folded but BOM that has coldcalled everything. Turn is a blank. M bets, all call. River is another J and the flush draw doesn’t make it. M bets, CS, says “Let’s do a little raisin’” and raises. BOM folds and M reraises. They go about 6 raises before CS, who is nearly down to the felt finally calls. M turns over J7o and CS throws down his J6o for just a little smaller Jacks full. A few hands later CS picked up his remaining handful of chips and left muttering.
Later I was in EP/MP with AQ /forums/images/icons/club.gif. M raises UTG, I 3-bet, all fold to BOM who coldcalls. M 4 bets and we both call. Flop comes K high with 2 /forums/images/icons/diamond.gif's. M bets, looking at my hand and having no K or any diamonds, I curse the poker gods and fold. BOM calls. Turn and river are the same; blank, M bets, BOM calls. M turns over 86 diamonds for no pair; BOM turns over AJ and says “I didn’t believe you” and wins the pot. Now I’m the one muttering.
In the wee hours, I was down another $250 when the game got shorthanded. I was a little worried because I don’t play shorthanded very much and nearly left, but I figured that I would try it for a while. It was a good thing as I caught some cards and got back to even. Feeling OK, I continued to play when the game filled back up at 10. I went upstairs, showered, put on clean clothes and went back to the table. The rest of the morning and afternoon, I was up a little, down a little. Angel Fish came down early afternoon and went back to the 4/8 game. Around 7 PM, Angel Fish and I got up, ate at the buffet and of course, I headed back to my seat at table 15 that I had now occupied for a little more than 24 hours.
Later on I got my first A’s of the trip. I was in MP and open raised, only the BB calls. Flop is Q9 rag. BB checks, I bet, BB raises, I 3 bet, BB calls, turn is a rag, BB checks, I bet, BB calls. River is another rag, BB checks, I bet, BB checkraises, I call. BB turns over 99 for a flopped set. 2 orbits later I’m in the same position and get A’s again. A few limpers, I raise, and the same BB calls, remaining limpers call. Flop is rags with a 2, checked to me, I bet BB calls, all fold. Turn is another rag, I bet BB checkraises, stunned, I call. BB bets, I call. BB turns over 22 for another flopped set. So what are the chances of me getting AA in 20 hands, the same BB getting a pocket pair and flopping a set? It was about 10 PM when I figured that I had enough fun for the last 28 hours and I went up to get some sleep down another $200.
I slept for about 12 hours, and went back to the poker room Thursday AM completely refreshed and went back to the 8/16, wondering if I was good enough to play in Vegas. Thank god, this turned out to be a juicy game with several major fish in the game. I had my A game going and was up $450 in just about 4 hours. 1 hand in particular illustrated the game. I pick up QJ /forums/images/icons/heart.gif in LP. Fish in EP limps, a few limpers, I limp, a few more limpers. About 7 to the flop. Flop is JT rag, fish bets, folded to me, I raise, all fold, but fish. Turn is a rag, fish checks I bet as I say to the fellow next to me “I’ve got him outkicked”, fish calls. River is another J, same action, check, bet, call. I announce my J’s with a Q kicker and fish shows his T8o and mucks. I guess that I had him outkicked alright!
The previous day, Poker Babe and I had exchanged PM’s and she told me that she was going to be at the Mirage. While I was reluctant to leave such a good game, I just had to meet the Babe, so I headed over to the Mirage. I got there, got on the 10/20 list and looked around for the Babe. I finally found someone sitting at a 20/40 game that fit her description; happy, big stack of chips, short brown hair with bangs. After staring at her for a while getting up the courage to ask her if she was the babe (I really am shy), I asked one of the staff if that was her. She said yes and a few minutes later the staff member went over to her and pointed me out to her. She got up and we visited for a few minutes. She introduced me to Poker Lover who was also in town and playing in a good game. Then I got called for a seat at a different 10/20 table. As good as Poker Lover’s game was, was as bad as my table was. A preflop raise from almost any position usually wound up winning only the blinds. KK, AK, AQs, never saw a flop. Way too many times, the blinds were chopped. I was talking to the Babe about it, and she told me to look on the bright side, I was learning to adjust my game to different conditions. Later on my table broke and I got moved to a better game and wound up another $300 for that session. There were no real memorable hands to talk about.
Friday, I played again at the Bellagio and wound up about $250. Just before I went out to dinner, 1 fun hand came up. I was dealt J7 /forums/images/icons/club.gif in the small blind and completed. Only UTG and UTG+1 were factors in the hand.
Flop comes 69T all /forums/images/icons/club.gif . Yippe! I flop a flush with a gutshot SF draw. I bet, UTG and UTG+1 call. Turn is Q /forums/images/icons/club.gif , now my SF draw is open ended. I bet, UTG raises, UTG +1 3 bets, I call, UTG 4 bets, UTG+1 and I call. I know, I know, I’m supposed to fold here because UTG has the A /forums/images/icons/club.gif and I have only 2 outs, but I just can’t bring myself to lay down a SF draw. River is K /forums/images/icons/club.gif !!! I hit my 2 outer. As soon as it hits the table, UTG screams “Shoot!” well not exactly “Shoot!” I bet out and am called by both players. I show my J /forums/images/icons/club.gif , UTG shows his A3 /forums/images/icons/club.gif and mucks with feeling. UTG+1 mucks. I asked UTG+1 if he had the 8 /forums/images/icons/club.gif and he told me no and he picked up his flush on the turn. So while my play wasn’t great, he 3 bet the turn with only a 5 /forums/images/icons/club.gif or lower. Up $250, I got up and I went out to dinner at the Foundation Room at the Mandalay Bay with some friends that came in for the weekend. The view of the entire strip from the balcony in the club there is fabulous. Try to check it out if you’ve got the time.
On Saturday, I started out at the Bellagio again, but it was a real rock garden. As I was sitting down, I looked around and saw a bunch of locals that I had played with before. I said that “This looks like a tough game.” One of the locals said “Yeah, now that you have sat down.” I took that as a compliment. After no real action for an hour I decided to head over to the Mirage when Tyler Durden gave me a call. He was coming to play at the Bellagio, but I told him the game was bad. We met in the lobby and took a cab over to the Mirage. We both got onto the same 6/12 table, which was what Tyler wanted to play, and while I was waiting to get into the 10/20 game. As was becoming a habit, I only got to play a few hands before I was called into the 10/20 game. Tyler and I wished each other good luck and I headed off.
It was a pretty good game, but I wasn’t getting too many hands to play. One older fellow, who was wearing a wide brimmed straw hat and sitting just to my right, was doing a good job taking over the table. He would raise frequently, many times winning the blinds and many times getting others to fold postflop. A few times when called, he would hold up his hand so I could see it (JTo, QJo) before he mucked. I started to look for opportunities to 3 bet him. I picked up TT in EP. He raised and I 3 bet. Was I able to get him heads up? Of course not, there were 7 callers. Boy am I in trouble now! The flop came all rags with 2 /forums/images/icons/diamond.gif's. Checked to me, I bet, everybody calls! Turn is another offsuit rag, checked to me, I bet all but 1 calls. River is another rag, but putting a couple of possible straights on the board. I must be beat now. We check it around. Amazingly, my hand holds up! A few were on flush draws, 1 stayed in with overcards and a gutshot straight draw Talk about getting lucky. I was dead to any overcard or another /forums/images/icons/diamond.gif .
Later there was 1 fellow that appeared to be drinking heavily and he was gambling it up a bit, but appeared to be holding his own. It was his last day in town and he had a 7:15 flight. Around 5 PM we suggested that he leave or he would miss his flight. He got up with about a rack and a half of reds, gave the dealer about $30 bucks and tossed another $30 on the table to be added to the next pot. We wished him well and he took off. 2 hours later, the floor guy comes back with the very same fellow, who by now has missed his plane. The floor asked us if we remembered him. We said yes, and he told us that the fellow had told him that he must not have gotten his cash because he was missing several hundred $. Later we saw the guy standing around the cashier. The floor guy told us later that the cameras showed that the guy got his money put it in his wallet and left. We started wondering whether the guy really dropped his money somewhere on the way to the airport or was just trying to put a scam on the casino. I guess we’ll never know.
Another table broke and joined up with ours as we were 6 handed or so, sometime in the wee hours. 1 horrible player went on a hot streak and won a quick $800 capped off by winning a huge pot with 8’s full of 3’s when he had 83o. Thinking that he was a great player, he went off to conquer the 20/40 game with his 2 and a half racks of red. The table filled up with a number of tough players. I was slowly losing ground to them, when another interesting hand came up. Tough player in MP open raises, I’m the only caller with A5 /forums/images/icons/spade.gif in the BB. The flop comes A5 rag, I check, MP bets, I checkraise, MP 3 bets, I call. Turn is another rag, I check, he bets, I checkraise again. MP is now really angry, getting checkraised twice. River is a Q. Fearing AQ, I check as does he. I show my A’s up and he flings his cards into the muck. I know that he’s now gunning for me and I try to avoid him for the rest of the night.
1 player, who wasn’t very good, told us his bad beat story when he got busted out of the WSOP. Another fellow raised and he pushed all in with black A’s. The other player called and showed his red A’s. The river brought the 4th /forums/images/icons/heart.gif giving his opponent a flush and he was history.
Later, I get my third pair of A’s and raise UTG. Only the BB calls. Flop is QJ rag, check bet, call. Turn is another rag, same action. River is a 2, check, bet, checkraise! Whoops, I call and BB shows 22 for the rivered set. My A’s go down in flames for the third time in a row, twice to 22.
During this session a very cute Asian girl came and sat down, telling us that she was just learning to play. After playing the part of a newbie calling station, and all of us anticipating her losing all of her chips, she finally showed down a winning hand. Soon thereafter she started playing fewer hands and playing them pretty well. This girl sucked us in and she left after a few hours up a few hundred. What a great acting job! The fellow that left to play 20/40 came back with only ½ of a rack left complaining about his bad luck. He proceeded to play very LAG, including raising on the river with nothing. He lost the rest of his chips plus another $230 that he pulled out of his wallet. I was so sorry that he didn’t stay with us the whole time. I leave so late that it’s early, down $350. Oh well.
On Sunday, I took it easy and only played a few hours with nothing much happening, except that I met major kong. He was playing 15/30 and we visited with each other for a while. In the meantime I checked my PM and got one from AceHigh. He had left town so we had missed each other. It turns out that he had played with Angel Fish at the 4/8 during the week. So we saw each other when I came over to visit her between hands but we never were introduced. Oh well.
I went out to dinner at Aqua with our friends and had I nice meal and many jokes were told. After dinner we went to “Light” the club at the Bellagio right next to the Poker room. It was loud, I was tired and Angel Fish and I only stayed for a little while. As we were leaving, we stopped by the poker room. The wait was long; there was no sign of Tyler Durden or major kong, so we decided to head up to our room.
Monday was our last full day in Vegas. Our friends took us to the Palm restaurant at Caesar’s and we watched the Atlantis show in the palace shops. After that it was back to the Bellagio for our last day (and night) of poker in Vegas.
While I was waiting to get in the game I saw both Mason and David in the room. As I’m shy and they didn’t look particularly approachable, I passed on the opportunity to meet them. Maybe next time I’ll get up the nerve. At the table were a few good players including Tyler Durden and a very aggressive local kid named Chris. I had played with him the other night at the Mirage. When he’s in a hand, you know that a lot of money is going into the pot. He loves suited connectors, often raising with them and he’s always jamming his draws. I can’t remember all the details, but Tyler got involved in 1 hand with him when Tyler flopped a set of 4’s and Chris flopped top 2 (Q’s and J’s). Many bets went in on the flop. The river brought another Q (or was it a J?) After 3 bets on the river, Tyler called with his smaller full house and lost.. In another hand, I limped in EP/MP with T9 /forums/images/icons/heart.gif ; the Chris raised from the SB. We were about 5 or 6 handed to the flop of Q87 all /forums/images/icons/heart.gif , giving me my 2nd straight flush draw of the week. I bet, Chris raised, we had 2 cold callers, I 3 bet, he 4 bet and I capped, with 2 still along for the ride to the turn. Turn was another Q, Chris checked, I bet, he checkraised, I called and still 1 other in the hand. I don’t remember the river, but it was not another heart or another Q. Chris checked and before thinking long enough, so did I. He showed trip Q’s; I don’t remember his kicker. Cold caller mucks and my hand is good. Whew, nice big pot! During that game I was dealt KT 3 times in a row, winning all 3. The first with a flush, beating Tyler, the 2nd with broadway and the last with a pair of T’s. A while later our game broke and Tyler, the kid and I went to another 8/16 game that major kong was also in. It looked like a pretty tough game with lots of pretty solid players. Tyler sat 2 to my right, a lady that had dealt at the WSOP was to my immediate right and major kong was to my immediate left. There were 2 hands of note here.
In the 1st I had JT /forums/images/icons/spade.gif and limped along with several others in LP. Flop was 97 rag rainbow someone bet, lady dealer and I call, . Turn is an 8, putting 2 /forums/images/icons/club.gif on the board. Checked to me. Deciding that I would try a play that I had been the victim of a few times, I checked too. River paired the 9 making 3 /forums/images/icons/club.gif . Hmm, not exactly what I was looking for. Anyway, it’s checked to the lady dealer, who bets, looking at the board, I decided that she doesn’t have a flush, nor a full house and I raise as I had planned. She calls, I show my straight, she mucks and starts muttering.
A little while later, I pick up black Q’s UTG+1. Lady dealer limps, I raise, CO 3 bets, button (a new player that had just sat down) cold calls, lady dealer 4 bets we all call. Flop is 96, something else, lady dealer, bets, I raise, CO calls, button 3 bets, we all call. Turn is another 6, button bets, lady dealer and I call, CO folds. River is a T. As button gets ready to bet I grab my chips and hold them “menacingly” over the table daring the button to bet. He does, lady dealer thinks for a while, then mucks. I call. Button turns over T7 for a rivered 2 pair. He 3 bet the flop with nothing but a gutshot. My Q’s are good. Lady dealer gets up saying that she mucked the best hand then goes for a walk. She had A’s. CO said that he had J’s.
The rest of the night all of us played pretty tight. It was like a 2+2 forum. After nearly every hand, the ones in it would discuss what each of us had and why we played the way we did. We started talking about 2+2 and Chris told us that he lurked on the forum. After we told him who we were we talked about the other posters and who we respected, and who we didn’t. Around 6AM deciding, that we needed to get back to the room to pack and get ready for our 10:30 AM flight Angel Fish and I picked up, said our goodbyes. As we were cashing in, me up $410, Angel Fish told me that she saw Howard Lederer, Jennifer Harmon and Doyle Brunson, Jr. in the room earlier. Wondering why she didn’t tell me earlier, we headed up to the room. We slept for about 45 minutes, got ready, checked out and headed off to the airport our first Vegas poker trip now over.
There were a few other memorable hands, one when a fellow rivered a 3 to make quads. After about 5 raises on the river with 2 K’s on the board and being down to the felt said to his opponent, if you have quad K’s you win. Of course, that was exactly what he had. Then my K’s went down in flames when the river brought an A and lost to 2 opponents that stayed to the river, 1 with AK, the other with A8. Win a 2 outer, lose a 2 outer. I got A’s 5 times and lost with them 4 times, the last when the flop and turn both brought K’s
I learned a great deal while I was there. The players are definitely better, more aggressive and trap much more than what I am used to at Foxwoods. I also learned that I should quit when I’m tired and not try to get even. My decisions start to get worse and my stack suffers. The best approach is to get some sleep and go back to the table refreshed. I enjoyed meeting all of the 2+2’ers, even though I missed meeting Dynasty and Clarkmeister. Angel Fish and I are looking forward to our return trip in June and putting our new tricks to use at Foxwoods in a few weeks!
I got up Monday morning (May 19th) with a great amount of excitement at 4:30 AM to get ready for my 6:50 AM flight. I had arranged to get picked up at 5:15, but at 5:30 got a call from the person giving me a ride who had overslept and wouldn’t be at my house until just before 6 AM. Not a great start to the day. Since it’s about a ½ hour ride to the airport from my house it would be cutting it too close to risk it, so I decided to drive to the airport myself. Of course that meant having to pay the $24 a day parking charge at Logan airport (Boston). The traffic was light and Angel Fish and I made it to the airport on time. Whew! The flights, first to Dallas and then on to Vegas were on time and uneventful we arrived at McCarran on time around 1 PM. After waiting around for what seemed like an eternity for our bags, we collected them and headed out to a cab line that reminded me of the lines getting on the rides in Orlando.
We arrived at the Bellagio a little after 2 to check in. We were told that our room wasn’t ready and we should check back after 4. Having nothing else to do, naturally we wondered over to the poker room to check it out. We met Ralph, the floorman for the 4/8 and 8/16 games and put ourselves on the longish lists, Angel Fish for the 4/8 and me on the 4/8 and 8/16 games. After a wait of about 45 minutes they started up a new 4/8 game and both Angel Fish and I were called for it. Right after we had drawn for the button, Ralph called my name for the 8/16, so we wished each other good luck and I went over to table 30 (right by the entrance) to play in my very first hand in Vegas. I don’t remember anything too exciting, except next time I looked at my watch it was about 6, so I left the table for a while to check in and get something to eat. I wound up playing until 3 or 4 in the morning and was stuck a little over $200. The style of play was quite a bit different in Vegas than what I have grown to get used to online and at the CT casinos. It is quite a bit more aggressive preflop and on the flop than I am used to. There is also a lot more trapping that goes on there to. I walked right into a number of raises and checkraises on the river after my opponent checked the turn. Ouch. On the positive side Angel Fish was up $150
The next day we picked up Angel Fish’s mom who also came out and was going to be staying with friends that lived in Vegas. These were the same friends that I had met last year, that had gotten me interested in learning to play Hold ’em in the first place. So in a way this was my first anniversary for “serious” poker. The husband is a regular at the 15/30 game at the Bellagio. After visiting for a while, at 6 PM we left “the girls” and headed over to the Bellagio.
He got into the 15/30 and I got into a wild 8/16 game on table 15. There were a couple of maniacs at the table that were constantly raising and reraising every street. I did my best to stick to high quality hands and to stay out of the fray. There are few hands that illustrate the point. The 3 actors were Maniac (M) in the BB, buddy of manic (BOM) in the SB and a retired fellow that looked and sounded remarkably like Colonel Sanders (CS), was in MP, just to my left. Although he was a nice enough guy, he played agonizingly slow out of a rack, getting 1 chip at a time and never said “call” or “raise” There were a few limpers including CS; BOM completes and M raises. Everybody calls. Flop comes J76, with 2 of one suit. BOM checks, M bets, CS raises, BOM cold calls, M reraises, CS 4 bets and M caps. Everyone else has folded but BOM that has coldcalled everything. Turn is a blank. M bets, all call. River is another J and the flush draw doesn’t make it. M bets, CS, says “Let’s do a little raisin’” and raises. BOM folds and M reraises. They go about 6 raises before CS, who is nearly down to the felt finally calls. M turns over J7o and CS throws down his J6o for just a little smaller Jacks full. A few hands later CS picked up his remaining handful of chips and left muttering.
Later I was in EP/MP with AQ /forums/images/icons/club.gif. M raises UTG, I 3-bet, all fold to BOM who coldcalls. M 4 bets and we both call. Flop comes K high with 2 /forums/images/icons/diamond.gif's. M bets, looking at my hand and having no K or any diamonds, I curse the poker gods and fold. BOM calls. Turn and river are the same; blank, M bets, BOM calls. M turns over 86 diamonds for no pair; BOM turns over AJ and says “I didn’t believe you” and wins the pot. Now I’m the one muttering.
In the wee hours, I was down another $250 when the game got shorthanded. I was a little worried because I don’t play shorthanded very much and nearly left, but I figured that I would try it for a while. It was a good thing as I caught some cards and got back to even. Feeling OK, I continued to play when the game filled back up at 10. I went upstairs, showered, put on clean clothes and went back to the table. The rest of the morning and afternoon, I was up a little, down a little. Angel Fish came down early afternoon and went back to the 4/8 game. Around 7 PM, Angel Fish and I got up, ate at the buffet and of course, I headed back to my seat at table 15 that I had now occupied for a little more than 24 hours.
Later on I got my first A’s of the trip. I was in MP and open raised, only the BB calls. Flop is Q9 rag. BB checks, I bet, BB raises, I 3 bet, BB calls, turn is a rag, BB checks, I bet, BB calls. River is another rag, BB checks, I bet, BB checkraises, I call. BB turns over 99 for a flopped set. 2 orbits later I’m in the same position and get A’s again. A few limpers, I raise, and the same BB calls, remaining limpers call. Flop is rags with a 2, checked to me, I bet BB calls, all fold. Turn is another rag, I bet BB checkraises, stunned, I call. BB bets, I call. BB turns over 22 for another flopped set. So what are the chances of me getting AA in 20 hands, the same BB getting a pocket pair and flopping a set? It was about 10 PM when I figured that I had enough fun for the last 28 hours and I went up to get some sleep down another $200.
I slept for about 12 hours, and went back to the poker room Thursday AM completely refreshed and went back to the 8/16, wondering if I was good enough to play in Vegas. Thank god, this turned out to be a juicy game with several major fish in the game. I had my A game going and was up $450 in just about 4 hours. 1 hand in particular illustrated the game. I pick up QJ /forums/images/icons/heart.gif in LP. Fish in EP limps, a few limpers, I limp, a few more limpers. About 7 to the flop. Flop is JT rag, fish bets, folded to me, I raise, all fold, but fish. Turn is a rag, fish checks I bet as I say to the fellow next to me “I’ve got him outkicked”, fish calls. River is another J, same action, check, bet, call. I announce my J’s with a Q kicker and fish shows his T8o and mucks. I guess that I had him outkicked alright!
The previous day, Poker Babe and I had exchanged PM’s and she told me that she was going to be at the Mirage. While I was reluctant to leave such a good game, I just had to meet the Babe, so I headed over to the Mirage. I got there, got on the 10/20 list and looked around for the Babe. I finally found someone sitting at a 20/40 game that fit her description; happy, big stack of chips, short brown hair with bangs. After staring at her for a while getting up the courage to ask her if she was the babe (I really am shy), I asked one of the staff if that was her. She said yes and a few minutes later the staff member went over to her and pointed me out to her. She got up and we visited for a few minutes. She introduced me to Poker Lover who was also in town and playing in a good game. Then I got called for a seat at a different 10/20 table. As good as Poker Lover’s game was, was as bad as my table was. A preflop raise from almost any position usually wound up winning only the blinds. KK, AK, AQs, never saw a flop. Way too many times, the blinds were chopped. I was talking to the Babe about it, and she told me to look on the bright side, I was learning to adjust my game to different conditions. Later on my table broke and I got moved to a better game and wound up another $300 for that session. There were no real memorable hands to talk about.
Friday, I played again at the Bellagio and wound up about $250. Just before I went out to dinner, 1 fun hand came up. I was dealt J7 /forums/images/icons/club.gif in the small blind and completed. Only UTG and UTG+1 were factors in the hand.
Flop comes 69T all /forums/images/icons/club.gif . Yippe! I flop a flush with a gutshot SF draw. I bet, UTG and UTG+1 call. Turn is Q /forums/images/icons/club.gif , now my SF draw is open ended. I bet, UTG raises, UTG +1 3 bets, I call, UTG 4 bets, UTG+1 and I call. I know, I know, I’m supposed to fold here because UTG has the A /forums/images/icons/club.gif and I have only 2 outs, but I just can’t bring myself to lay down a SF draw. River is K /forums/images/icons/club.gif !!! I hit my 2 outer. As soon as it hits the table, UTG screams “Shoot!” well not exactly “Shoot!” I bet out and am called by both players. I show my J /forums/images/icons/club.gif , UTG shows his A3 /forums/images/icons/club.gif and mucks with feeling. UTG+1 mucks. I asked UTG+1 if he had the 8 /forums/images/icons/club.gif and he told me no and he picked up his flush on the turn. So while my play wasn’t great, he 3 bet the turn with only a 5 /forums/images/icons/club.gif or lower. Up $250, I got up and I went out to dinner at the Foundation Room at the Mandalay Bay with some friends that came in for the weekend. The view of the entire strip from the balcony in the club there is fabulous. Try to check it out if you’ve got the time.
On Saturday, I started out at the Bellagio again, but it was a real rock garden. As I was sitting down, I looked around and saw a bunch of locals that I had played with before. I said that “This looks like a tough game.” One of the locals said “Yeah, now that you have sat down.” I took that as a compliment. After no real action for an hour I decided to head over to the Mirage when Tyler Durden gave me a call. He was coming to play at the Bellagio, but I told him the game was bad. We met in the lobby and took a cab over to the Mirage. We both got onto the same 6/12 table, which was what Tyler wanted to play, and while I was waiting to get into the 10/20 game. As was becoming a habit, I only got to play a few hands before I was called into the 10/20 game. Tyler and I wished each other good luck and I headed off.
It was a pretty good game, but I wasn’t getting too many hands to play. One older fellow, who was wearing a wide brimmed straw hat and sitting just to my right, was doing a good job taking over the table. He would raise frequently, many times winning the blinds and many times getting others to fold postflop. A few times when called, he would hold up his hand so I could see it (JTo, QJo) before he mucked. I started to look for opportunities to 3 bet him. I picked up TT in EP. He raised and I 3 bet. Was I able to get him heads up? Of course not, there were 7 callers. Boy am I in trouble now! The flop came all rags with 2 /forums/images/icons/diamond.gif's. Checked to me, I bet, everybody calls! Turn is another offsuit rag, checked to me, I bet all but 1 calls. River is another rag, but putting a couple of possible straights on the board. I must be beat now. We check it around. Amazingly, my hand holds up! A few were on flush draws, 1 stayed in with overcards and a gutshot straight draw Talk about getting lucky. I was dead to any overcard or another /forums/images/icons/diamond.gif .
Later there was 1 fellow that appeared to be drinking heavily and he was gambling it up a bit, but appeared to be holding his own. It was his last day in town and he had a 7:15 flight. Around 5 PM we suggested that he leave or he would miss his flight. He got up with about a rack and a half of reds, gave the dealer about $30 bucks and tossed another $30 on the table to be added to the next pot. We wished him well and he took off. 2 hours later, the floor guy comes back with the very same fellow, who by now has missed his plane. The floor asked us if we remembered him. We said yes, and he told us that the fellow had told him that he must not have gotten his cash because he was missing several hundred $. Later we saw the guy standing around the cashier. The floor guy told us later that the cameras showed that the guy got his money put it in his wallet and left. We started wondering whether the guy really dropped his money somewhere on the way to the airport or was just trying to put a scam on the casino. I guess we’ll never know.
Another table broke and joined up with ours as we were 6 handed or so, sometime in the wee hours. 1 horrible player went on a hot streak and won a quick $800 capped off by winning a huge pot with 8’s full of 3’s when he had 83o. Thinking that he was a great player, he went off to conquer the 20/40 game with his 2 and a half racks of red. The table filled up with a number of tough players. I was slowly losing ground to them, when another interesting hand came up. Tough player in MP open raises, I’m the only caller with A5 /forums/images/icons/spade.gif in the BB. The flop comes A5 rag, I check, MP bets, I checkraise, MP 3 bets, I call. Turn is another rag, I check, he bets, I checkraise again. MP is now really angry, getting checkraised twice. River is a Q. Fearing AQ, I check as does he. I show my A’s up and he flings his cards into the muck. I know that he’s now gunning for me and I try to avoid him for the rest of the night.
1 player, who wasn’t very good, told us his bad beat story when he got busted out of the WSOP. Another fellow raised and he pushed all in with black A’s. The other player called and showed his red A’s. The river brought the 4th /forums/images/icons/heart.gif giving his opponent a flush and he was history.
Later, I get my third pair of A’s and raise UTG. Only the BB calls. Flop is QJ rag, check bet, call. Turn is another rag, same action. River is a 2, check, bet, checkraise! Whoops, I call and BB shows 22 for the rivered set. My A’s go down in flames for the third time in a row, twice to 22.
During this session a very cute Asian girl came and sat down, telling us that she was just learning to play. After playing the part of a newbie calling station, and all of us anticipating her losing all of her chips, she finally showed down a winning hand. Soon thereafter she started playing fewer hands and playing them pretty well. This girl sucked us in and she left after a few hours up a few hundred. What a great acting job! The fellow that left to play 20/40 came back with only ½ of a rack left complaining about his bad luck. He proceeded to play very LAG, including raising on the river with nothing. He lost the rest of his chips plus another $230 that he pulled out of his wallet. I was so sorry that he didn’t stay with us the whole time. I leave so late that it’s early, down $350. Oh well.
On Sunday, I took it easy and only played a few hours with nothing much happening, except that I met major kong. He was playing 15/30 and we visited with each other for a while. In the meantime I checked my PM and got one from AceHigh. He had left town so we had missed each other. It turns out that he had played with Angel Fish at the 4/8 during the week. So we saw each other when I came over to visit her between hands but we never were introduced. Oh well.
I went out to dinner at Aqua with our friends and had I nice meal and many jokes were told. After dinner we went to “Light” the club at the Bellagio right next to the Poker room. It was loud, I was tired and Angel Fish and I only stayed for a little while. As we were leaving, we stopped by the poker room. The wait was long; there was no sign of Tyler Durden or major kong, so we decided to head up to our room.
Monday was our last full day in Vegas. Our friends took us to the Palm restaurant at Caesar’s and we watched the Atlantis show in the palace shops. After that it was back to the Bellagio for our last day (and night) of poker in Vegas.
While I was waiting to get in the game I saw both Mason and David in the room. As I’m shy and they didn’t look particularly approachable, I passed on the opportunity to meet them. Maybe next time I’ll get up the nerve. At the table were a few good players including Tyler Durden and a very aggressive local kid named Chris. I had played with him the other night at the Mirage. When he’s in a hand, you know that a lot of money is going into the pot. He loves suited connectors, often raising with them and he’s always jamming his draws. I can’t remember all the details, but Tyler got involved in 1 hand with him when Tyler flopped a set of 4’s and Chris flopped top 2 (Q’s and J’s). Many bets went in on the flop. The river brought another Q (or was it a J?) After 3 bets on the river, Tyler called with his smaller full house and lost.. In another hand, I limped in EP/MP with T9 /forums/images/icons/heart.gif ; the Chris raised from the SB. We were about 5 or 6 handed to the flop of Q87 all /forums/images/icons/heart.gif , giving me my 2nd straight flush draw of the week. I bet, Chris raised, we had 2 cold callers, I 3 bet, he 4 bet and I capped, with 2 still along for the ride to the turn. Turn was another Q, Chris checked, I bet, he checkraised, I called and still 1 other in the hand. I don’t remember the river, but it was not another heart or another Q. Chris checked and before thinking long enough, so did I. He showed trip Q’s; I don’t remember his kicker. Cold caller mucks and my hand is good. Whew, nice big pot! During that game I was dealt KT 3 times in a row, winning all 3. The first with a flush, beating Tyler, the 2nd with broadway and the last with a pair of T’s. A while later our game broke and Tyler, the kid and I went to another 8/16 game that major kong was also in. It looked like a pretty tough game with lots of pretty solid players. Tyler sat 2 to my right, a lady that had dealt at the WSOP was to my immediate right and major kong was to my immediate left. There were 2 hands of note here.
In the 1st I had JT /forums/images/icons/spade.gif and limped along with several others in LP. Flop was 97 rag rainbow someone bet, lady dealer and I call, . Turn is an 8, putting 2 /forums/images/icons/club.gif on the board. Checked to me. Deciding that I would try a play that I had been the victim of a few times, I checked too. River paired the 9 making 3 /forums/images/icons/club.gif . Hmm, not exactly what I was looking for. Anyway, it’s checked to the lady dealer, who bets, looking at the board, I decided that she doesn’t have a flush, nor a full house and I raise as I had planned. She calls, I show my straight, she mucks and starts muttering.
A little while later, I pick up black Q’s UTG+1. Lady dealer limps, I raise, CO 3 bets, button (a new player that had just sat down) cold calls, lady dealer 4 bets we all call. Flop is 96, something else, lady dealer, bets, I raise, CO calls, button 3 bets, we all call. Turn is another 6, button bets, lady dealer and I call, CO folds. River is a T. As button gets ready to bet I grab my chips and hold them “menacingly” over the table daring the button to bet. He does, lady dealer thinks for a while, then mucks. I call. Button turns over T7 for a rivered 2 pair. He 3 bet the flop with nothing but a gutshot. My Q’s are good. Lady dealer gets up saying that she mucked the best hand then goes for a walk. She had A’s. CO said that he had J’s.
The rest of the night all of us played pretty tight. It was like a 2+2 forum. After nearly every hand, the ones in it would discuss what each of us had and why we played the way we did. We started talking about 2+2 and Chris told us that he lurked on the forum. After we told him who we were we talked about the other posters and who we respected, and who we didn’t. Around 6AM deciding, that we needed to get back to the room to pack and get ready for our 10:30 AM flight Angel Fish and I picked up, said our goodbyes. As we were cashing in, me up $410, Angel Fish told me that she saw Howard Lederer, Jennifer Harmon and Doyle Brunson, Jr. in the room earlier. Wondering why she didn’t tell me earlier, we headed up to the room. We slept for about 45 minutes, got ready, checked out and headed off to the airport our first Vegas poker trip now over.
There were a few other memorable hands, one when a fellow rivered a 3 to make quads. After about 5 raises on the river with 2 K’s on the board and being down to the felt said to his opponent, if you have quad K’s you win. Of course, that was exactly what he had. Then my K’s went down in flames when the river brought an A and lost to 2 opponents that stayed to the river, 1 with AK, the other with A8. Win a 2 outer, lose a 2 outer. I got A’s 5 times and lost with them 4 times, the last when the flop and turn both brought K’s
I learned a great deal while I was there. The players are definitely better, more aggressive and trap much more than what I am used to at Foxwoods. I also learned that I should quit when I’m tired and not try to get even. My decisions start to get worse and my stack suffers. The best approach is to get some sleep and go back to the table refreshed. I enjoyed meeting all of the 2+2’ers, even though I missed meeting Dynasty and Clarkmeister. Angel Fish and I are looking forward to our return trip in June and putting our new tricks to use at Foxwoods in a few weeks!