ajizzle
04-12-2004, 02:22 PM
So I was in Vegas with my fraternity for out biannual "Formal" this last weekend (Easter weekend), and got some time away from all of those activities to play some poker.
We got in to town at about 8:00pm Friday night, and my date and another's date took us out to dinner. The two of us decided the Bellagio's Buffet would be the best idea, and our dates dished out $75 each for dinner. It was quite an experience eatin there though, and I would suggest it to anyone stayin in town. Lunch is a little more affordable at >$20 a plate.
They were going back to their rooms to change, and prepare for a long night of drinking at the 50th floor of the Rio (which the father of one of our Brothers got for us. He is a highrollin CEO who is a regualar in Vegas. They comped it to him, or somethin like that). I decided to stay at the Bellagio, and get some poker in. At about 10:00pm, I put my self on the wait lists for 8-16, 4-8, and 2-4 NL ($200min/max). Both lists were longer than Schindler's and I waited and waited. Luckily, they Bellagio's 5-star poker classic was running, and it was Day 1 of the $2500 Pot-Limit tourney in the tournament room. I was on the rail, standing next to Phil Gordon and Andy Bloch. I guess they busted out early. When I first started watching, they were at three tables, and there were still some big names left. TJ, Amir, Brian Haveson, Jim Meehan, Toto, and some guy who looked famous, but I couldn't quite remember who it was. Anyways, they got down to two tables, which is what payed, and they took a break. I walked around to the other end, and saw Humberto Brenes and Paul Darden deep in a Super Satellite for the $25,000 tourney only two weeks away. I also saw David Oppenheim playing what looked to be $600-$1200 Heads-up, but later realized that he was also in the middle of a satellite, just a different one. Gus Hansen was also in the mix, and I saw Mel Judah walking around the room. At about 12:30, I decided that I wasn't gonna be seated any time soon, so I decided to cab it to the Rio, and hang with my date.
When I got there, a few of the brothers wanted to go to the Mirage to some low-limit action, so I joined them. Got sat at the 10/20 right away, but we were short handed and 60% of the hands were either chopped of raised and folded PF. Not exactly the type of game I was expecting, so I asked for a move to the 6-12. Sat down there, and there was a nice range of players at my table. Two asian guys were creating all the action. I saw them limp-cap with suited connecters several times. They found more value in representing a strong hand than just folding what looked to be huge dog. Anyways, the deck decided to spite me from there. A combination of several factors, the most important being my cards, led me to play very few hands during this session. My friends had sat down and busted before I even picked up a legit hand. In 6 hours there, I raked in two pots, one of which I bought with nothing on the flop, and the other which I took down on the turn with top pair, and walked out -$150. I didn't play any hands wrong, but that stems from the logical line that I didn't play many hands at all. No real hands to talk about that were that interesting.
I walked out to the sun rising at 6:45, and decided to head over to the Bellagio. I was kind of upset over my success at the Mirage, and thought the waits may be a little shorter at this hour in the morning. Got sat at the 2/4 NL game immediately, and walked by Johnny Chan as I entered the card room. I got seated in seat 9, at a ten man table, and couldn't even see the players in seats 1, 2, or 3. That was unfortunate, given the fact that I make most of my reads on the physical actions and reactions of others. ANyways, the deck did the same thing to me. Here are a selection of hands from the first hour, before I got a good read on anyone at the table.
Hand 1: I am in the BB with 44. A few limpers, LP raises min, SB comes along, I figure to be getting more than the right odds and call. A total of 6 to the flop. Flop doesn't help me, I check and fold when PF raiser leads out.
Hand 2: The very next hand, and my second hand at the table. 99 in SB. EP raises to $15. A BUNCH of callers to me. I usually don't call here, given it is about 8% of my stack, but given the possibility that I triple up if I hit, I figure to be giving right odds. Possibly a little steaming from being cold-decked. Flop comes rag rag T. PF raiser goes all-in for over $200 and everone folds.
Hand 3: About 40 minutes in, I get TT on the button. EP raiser makes it $10. Three callers. I decide to limp and play the flop accordingly. This brings my stack down to about $160. SB moves all-in for $400. [censored]. He is the big stack by about $100. No one calls to me. I take a good look at him, but he is looking away and sippin on his Iced Tea. I was only gonna call if he was giving off a HUGE bluff tell, and i got the exact opposite, so I folded TT face up.
For the next two hours, I didn't play a single hand. Made some great folds PF, and got a very good read on one of the players. This guy always either limped or raised to $10 when he had a drawing hand, or small PP, but when he hand something real, he jacked it up to $24. One hand, he did this in MP, folded to me in the BB and I have AQd. I hymn and haw, show it to the guy next to me, who whispers all-in into my ear, and I fold it. He stands up and tables AKs and rakes in the blinds. THe whole table pretty much knows that I am playing very tight, and would allow my stack to go down to zero without playing one hand. The blinds were pretty big compared to the stack sizes, so I could manuever a little bit, but I was down to $65, didn't want to reload, and would have to go all-in on any serious sized pot. I make a move on this one guy who thinks he has a grip on me when he is in the BB. We have been chatting the whole time, and he was stealing a bunch of pots, but always folding when facing some aggression. I jacked it up to $15 in MP with Q7o, folded to him (as expected, the whole table thinks I have AA here), and he calls. Flop comes T 6 5, and he checks to me. Haha. I know that he knows what I have, and I know EXACTLY what he has. I guess it was just the way he reacted to my raise, which screamed out he held a monster. Anyways, I checked behind, he pushed on the turn, and I folded. He courteously tabled KK.
Now I was down to my last $50, and beating myself up for sitting down at a NL game in LV at 7 am. It was about 10:30 now, and I had to get back to the Stardust to check out by 12:00 (we were moving to the Venetian for Saturday night), so it was time to make a move.
I pick up KTs in the SB and complete before the button can even get his chips in. A MONSTER compared to what I had been seeing. 4 to the flop, unraised.
K J J, two clubs. I bet out $20, leaving me with $30. No callers. THis is the first pot I won at this table.
The same revolution around the table, I pick up QJo in MP. No limpers to me, and I jack it up to $15. This is only the second pot I have raised, and this table is giving me enough respect for this to be the correct play in this situation.
Flop is T Q K rainbow.
BTW, only BB called my raise. He checks to me, I bet out $20, and he calls. Turn is another Q. He checks again, and I move in for my last $35. He thinks for a while, and lays down TJo. Damn.
Now I have just over $100 in my stack, but am still in the mindset that I will get back to even or go broke. A few hands later, I limped from CO with Q7s behind two limpers. one of the limpers is the guy who jacks it up to $24 whenever he has a hand.
Flop comes Q 9 7. 9 of my suit. Q and 7 are both hearts. Guy who I have a read on leads out $20. I take a long look at him, and decide that this is the time to make a move. He could have a wide range of hands, from AQo, to a straight and/or flush draw, so this is the time to make a move. I raise him $79 and he calls immediately.
He flips over JTo. I am horrified that he would make this call, because I made my move for the precise reason that this draw wouldn't call me. Anyways, my two pair hold up, and I now have $210. I leave when the BB comes along, and get to my room at 11:00 am.
I was so tired from my all-nighter that I fell to sleep The next night when I was out. I missed out on more poker, but my one all-night session was quite a time.
Until next time, keep it real
Ajizzle
We got in to town at about 8:00pm Friday night, and my date and another's date took us out to dinner. The two of us decided the Bellagio's Buffet would be the best idea, and our dates dished out $75 each for dinner. It was quite an experience eatin there though, and I would suggest it to anyone stayin in town. Lunch is a little more affordable at >$20 a plate.
They were going back to their rooms to change, and prepare for a long night of drinking at the 50th floor of the Rio (which the father of one of our Brothers got for us. He is a highrollin CEO who is a regualar in Vegas. They comped it to him, or somethin like that). I decided to stay at the Bellagio, and get some poker in. At about 10:00pm, I put my self on the wait lists for 8-16, 4-8, and 2-4 NL ($200min/max). Both lists were longer than Schindler's and I waited and waited. Luckily, they Bellagio's 5-star poker classic was running, and it was Day 1 of the $2500 Pot-Limit tourney in the tournament room. I was on the rail, standing next to Phil Gordon and Andy Bloch. I guess they busted out early. When I first started watching, they were at three tables, and there were still some big names left. TJ, Amir, Brian Haveson, Jim Meehan, Toto, and some guy who looked famous, but I couldn't quite remember who it was. Anyways, they got down to two tables, which is what payed, and they took a break. I walked around to the other end, and saw Humberto Brenes and Paul Darden deep in a Super Satellite for the $25,000 tourney only two weeks away. I also saw David Oppenheim playing what looked to be $600-$1200 Heads-up, but later realized that he was also in the middle of a satellite, just a different one. Gus Hansen was also in the mix, and I saw Mel Judah walking around the room. At about 12:30, I decided that I wasn't gonna be seated any time soon, so I decided to cab it to the Rio, and hang with my date.
When I got there, a few of the brothers wanted to go to the Mirage to some low-limit action, so I joined them. Got sat at the 10/20 right away, but we were short handed and 60% of the hands were either chopped of raised and folded PF. Not exactly the type of game I was expecting, so I asked for a move to the 6-12. Sat down there, and there was a nice range of players at my table. Two asian guys were creating all the action. I saw them limp-cap with suited connecters several times. They found more value in representing a strong hand than just folding what looked to be huge dog. Anyways, the deck decided to spite me from there. A combination of several factors, the most important being my cards, led me to play very few hands during this session. My friends had sat down and busted before I even picked up a legit hand. In 6 hours there, I raked in two pots, one of which I bought with nothing on the flop, and the other which I took down on the turn with top pair, and walked out -$150. I didn't play any hands wrong, but that stems from the logical line that I didn't play many hands at all. No real hands to talk about that were that interesting.
I walked out to the sun rising at 6:45, and decided to head over to the Bellagio. I was kind of upset over my success at the Mirage, and thought the waits may be a little shorter at this hour in the morning. Got sat at the 2/4 NL game immediately, and walked by Johnny Chan as I entered the card room. I got seated in seat 9, at a ten man table, and couldn't even see the players in seats 1, 2, or 3. That was unfortunate, given the fact that I make most of my reads on the physical actions and reactions of others. ANyways, the deck did the same thing to me. Here are a selection of hands from the first hour, before I got a good read on anyone at the table.
Hand 1: I am in the BB with 44. A few limpers, LP raises min, SB comes along, I figure to be getting more than the right odds and call. A total of 6 to the flop. Flop doesn't help me, I check and fold when PF raiser leads out.
Hand 2: The very next hand, and my second hand at the table. 99 in SB. EP raises to $15. A BUNCH of callers to me. I usually don't call here, given it is about 8% of my stack, but given the possibility that I triple up if I hit, I figure to be giving right odds. Possibly a little steaming from being cold-decked. Flop comes rag rag T. PF raiser goes all-in for over $200 and everone folds.
Hand 3: About 40 minutes in, I get TT on the button. EP raiser makes it $10. Three callers. I decide to limp and play the flop accordingly. This brings my stack down to about $160. SB moves all-in for $400. [censored]. He is the big stack by about $100. No one calls to me. I take a good look at him, but he is looking away and sippin on his Iced Tea. I was only gonna call if he was giving off a HUGE bluff tell, and i got the exact opposite, so I folded TT face up.
For the next two hours, I didn't play a single hand. Made some great folds PF, and got a very good read on one of the players. This guy always either limped or raised to $10 when he had a drawing hand, or small PP, but when he hand something real, he jacked it up to $24. One hand, he did this in MP, folded to me in the BB and I have AQd. I hymn and haw, show it to the guy next to me, who whispers all-in into my ear, and I fold it. He stands up and tables AKs and rakes in the blinds. THe whole table pretty much knows that I am playing very tight, and would allow my stack to go down to zero without playing one hand. The blinds were pretty big compared to the stack sizes, so I could manuever a little bit, but I was down to $65, didn't want to reload, and would have to go all-in on any serious sized pot. I make a move on this one guy who thinks he has a grip on me when he is in the BB. We have been chatting the whole time, and he was stealing a bunch of pots, but always folding when facing some aggression. I jacked it up to $15 in MP with Q7o, folded to him (as expected, the whole table thinks I have AA here), and he calls. Flop comes T 6 5, and he checks to me. Haha. I know that he knows what I have, and I know EXACTLY what he has. I guess it was just the way he reacted to my raise, which screamed out he held a monster. Anyways, I checked behind, he pushed on the turn, and I folded. He courteously tabled KK.
Now I was down to my last $50, and beating myself up for sitting down at a NL game in LV at 7 am. It was about 10:30 now, and I had to get back to the Stardust to check out by 12:00 (we were moving to the Venetian for Saturday night), so it was time to make a move.
I pick up KTs in the SB and complete before the button can even get his chips in. A MONSTER compared to what I had been seeing. 4 to the flop, unraised.
K J J, two clubs. I bet out $20, leaving me with $30. No callers. THis is the first pot I won at this table.
The same revolution around the table, I pick up QJo in MP. No limpers to me, and I jack it up to $15. This is only the second pot I have raised, and this table is giving me enough respect for this to be the correct play in this situation.
Flop is T Q K rainbow.
BTW, only BB called my raise. He checks to me, I bet out $20, and he calls. Turn is another Q. He checks again, and I move in for my last $35. He thinks for a while, and lays down TJo. Damn.
Now I have just over $100 in my stack, but am still in the mindset that I will get back to even or go broke. A few hands later, I limped from CO with Q7s behind two limpers. one of the limpers is the guy who jacks it up to $24 whenever he has a hand.
Flop comes Q 9 7. 9 of my suit. Q and 7 are both hearts. Guy who I have a read on leads out $20. I take a long look at him, and decide that this is the time to make a move. He could have a wide range of hands, from AQo, to a straight and/or flush draw, so this is the time to make a move. I raise him $79 and he calls immediately.
He flips over JTo. I am horrified that he would make this call, because I made my move for the precise reason that this draw wouldn't call me. Anyways, my two pair hold up, and I now have $210. I leave when the BB comes along, and get to my room at 11:00 am.
I was so tired from my all-nighter that I fell to sleep The next night when I was out. I missed out on more poker, but my one all-night session was quite a time.
Until next time, keep it real
Ajizzle