Laughlin Trip Summary

[cl_tc]

So I'm sure the first question is, "Why Laughlin?" My friend was going for a class for his insurance license so I tagged along. Pretty much all that I knew about Laughlin poker was found from various posts by "FeliciaLee" so many thanks to her for all her added insight. I was looking for you Felicia, so we could talk about some brown trout... [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

We checked out the daily tournament at Colorado Belle. It was a 20+2 buy in for T100, plus an extra 3 for an extra T100, for the dealers. We overlooked the fact that it was limit, instead of no-limit. Oops! Nothing particularly memorable in the tournament. I limped with a few hands and then had to fold. When the blinds were at 25 and 50, I had T100 left, picked up A7 and went all in. The BB called w/ Qx and out drew me, and I finished at around 22 (out of 31 who started). Oh well, no biggie. We took a look at the daily tournament structures at Riverside and River palms as well. Theirs were both cheaper, at 12+3, but had similar "shootout" styles with small chip stacks.

We took a look at the Friday night tournament at Riverside and River Palms, and the one at RP seemed more attractive. 100+15 for T5000, plus an extra 5 for an extra T3000, for the dealers. This one was actually no-limit, so we didn't make that mistake again! The tournament structure was pretty good, I thought, with blinds starting at only 25/50. 34 players started the event. Nothing too exciting to report from here either, unfortunately. Play was pretty straight forward. Lots of regulars, who played relatively tight and weak/passive. I won a hand w/ AA vs AQ early on to get up to around T10000. When the blinds got to 200/400 I tried stealing the blinds w/ a hand from the cutoff but neglected to see the SB only had T1600 total so she just went in w/ A3. I had raised to T1000 so I had to call, and her hand stood up. Lost another 3000 in a semi-bluff when I had the nut flush draw on the flop and was called, all in, by a set. I got down to about T2400 with blinds at 300/600 and got 77 in the SB. One player limped in and I went all in and he called w/ A8d and got an 8 and I was out, at around 24.

Started playing a 2-6 spread game there right after. My first attempt at spread so I played pretty tightly, and plus they were starting a list for a NL game, so I was basically waiting around for that. Won a tiny bit there and took a seat at the NL game about an hour later.

The NL game was 1/2 blinds w/ a 100-300 buy in. For the most part, they all seemed pretty straight forward. Anywhere from tight to semi-loose, but all seemed pretty weak/passive. I won ~130 (his stack) from one of the looser people at the table. Table was so passive that I would raise w/ any 2 cards, in position, when the right 1 or 2 passive players limped in ahead of me, and once they checked to me, my flop bet would force them to fold. It was a good deal. Ended up doing a little better than doubling my 300 there.

Went to River Palms again Saturday night and the NL game wasn't going on, unfortunately. It was late and I wasn't in the mood to drive around from casino to casino, so I just played the 2-6 spread game there. The game struggled to stay afloat, getting down as low as 5 people sometimes, and only about 6-7 for a majority of the time. This table was super passive post flop too. Again, it got to the point to where if 2-3 people limped pre-flop I'd limp with anything in the cutoff or button and bet the full 6 on the flop when they checked to me, stealing a few pots here and there with this strategy. I don't know if it's a sound strategy but it worked for me. To give you an idea of how passive a couple of the players were, I had KK and raised to the max 8 pre-flop and got one caller, I bet 6 each round and he called down and showed 88, w/ an 8 on the flop. He never once raised one, not even on the 8 high flop when he had the nuts. Another example was a lady who limped in and then check and called from then on after flopping a set of 2's that become a full house on the river. I had never seen passive play like that before...

My results were solid, so I certainly can't complain about that. I just wish more of a variety of games and players were available. It's nice to not have to worry about your game being stopped because of a lack of players. One thing Laughlin does seem to have, though, is friendlier dealers and players.

[dogmeat]

The games can be very nice on Friday evenings and Saturday afternoon - but I had trouble finding those good games on Saturday night. Recently the Flamingo offered me rooms for $8, and I passed on the deal. This last week or so I got a new mailing from them - 3 nights for Free, plus $25 in slot credit. Boy, are they easy.

FWIW, my room at the edgewater the last time I stayed there was fine (like a 1980's room in Reno or small strip club in Vegas - and I felt like Wilt Chamberlain (I'm 6'2) and the ceiling in the hall way is about 6'6.........LOL

Dogmeat [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]

[FeliciaLee]

We were in Phoenix Thursday-Saturday.

Yeah, the morning tourneys in Laughlin are just a joke. They keep the seniors happy, though.

The Friday freeze-out was something that hadn't been tried (successfully) in Laughlin until Dan came out from MS. I encouraged him to try it, with the poker boom going so strong, and it has been a hit. The $500 added doesn't hurt, either, lol.

Yes, the players are generally very loose and passive. At the Riverside they tend to be a little more aggressive.

I'm glad you had a good time. Maybe next time we'll meet up.

Felicia [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[cl_tc]

While playing on Saturday a player noted that there is collusion at the Riverside. Is he just seeing something that's not there because he had some bad sessions?

Or maybe there some stuff that goes on that could raise suspicion, like players and dealers being too friendly, or some regulars soft playing each other?

[FeliciaLee]

The Riverside has a bit of a, um, reputation. Things are better. Gaming Commission finally came down on them very, very hard, and from what I've heard they are squeezing even further for more changes.

Cheating teams used to be out of control. It was so bad at the RS at one time that the teams would pick up, go to the cage (the old poker room used to have a cage), cash out, and divvy up their take right in front of everyone. No fear whatsoever.

The first time I ever played at the RS, a guy was playing Stud in the eight seat, next to the dealer. When he saw his hand was beat, he just held it. The dealer tried to get him to either muck or show a better hand, and he reared back and punched the dealer in the jaw. The CRM and a floorman came over and said, "Sir, you're not allowed to punch our dealers. Now go cool off, get some air, play some craps," and escorted him out of the room. No security, no police, he didn't even get banned from the property. LOL, that's the RS.

My mom used to always tell me, "When a scumbag gets kicked out of every cardroom in Vegas, they always go down to Laughlin because they know they'll never get kicked out of the RS."

I didn't play there for many months, for obvious reasons. One time I sat next to a guy who suddenly claimed he had a knife and was going to "cut" someone. Management refused to do anything, they just laughed and said he was a "character."

So I waited it out, and sure enough, eventually they got busted.

Things are much better there now. Collusion, however, wouldn't surprise me a bit!

Felicia [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[ QUOTE ]
While playing on Saturday a player noted that there is collusion at the Riverside. Is he just seeing something that's not there because he had some bad sessions?

Or maybe there some stuff that goes on that could raise suspicion, like players and dealers being too friendly, or some regulars soft playing each other?

[/ QUOTE ]

[DOMIT]

Glad you had a good time in our cardroom [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

For those that don't know, I'm Glenn, Felicia's hubby.. and I have been dealing at the Palms for a couple months now. So keep my picture in mind, I still look the same (and the hair is pulled back into a pony tail--one night that I closed, I actually took it out of the pony tail and one of the other dealers says, "I didn't know you had long hair", LMAO [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] ) If you see me, be sure to say "hi" [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

We tell everyone we have the best structures for tournaments on the river, I'm glad you agree. And yes, the passive play is normal. I love proping the NL games [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[cl_tc]

One of the dealers mentioned to me that, when they play at the River Palms, they are not allowed to check raise. Is this the case when you prop too? That would be a horrible thing to take away...

[DOMIT]

[ QUOTE ]
One of the dealers mentioned to me that, when they play at the River Palms, they are not allowed to check raise. Is this the case when you prop too? That would be a horrible thing to take away...

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, that's standard for poker dealers if they play at their own house.. the ol' "don't bite the hand that feeds". Online props are never dealers.. in B&M's, once I put on my bow tie and name tag and sit in the box, I don't want to have someone remembering my face and thinking, "that so-and-so check-raised me on the turn when he turned a bigger full-house.. I flopped it! See if he gets a toke from me!"

Plus, some feel it's bad etiquette to check-raise...

BTW, that hand above did take place, but I remembered (it was my first day -grin-) just before I said "raise", and just called, lol! I lead on the turn, and he raised me twice I think, so I still got good value [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]