LONG - AC Trip Report - AKA Hotel Bonus Whoring w/2+2ers

[Luv2DriveTT]

Wow... what a weekend. I don't know where to start, if I leave anything out please fill in the blanks.

1) Mike Gallow doesn't really exist. He doesn't play poker anymore, and if you see a guy that looks like him wearing a Jets hat and has a pyramid chip protector, it’s not him. I know this for a fact, because he told me so. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

2) I arrived late. An imposter who looks like MG rounds up CCX, Avid, and Max Power. As I'm waiting on the 6/12 list (almost 4 F*cking hours, and I arrived at 12:30 dam it!).

3) Dr Publo and I spot each other, he introduces me to Scrub & Tash, all three are on their way to Bunkfest 2005 in NYC. NEXT TIME…. we spew. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

4) Max Power and I are hanging hard like two old friends. MP is mad cool, so I decide to sweat him as plays 20/40. I cannot wait until I have the bank for this game; the players are even worse, looser than the players at the 4/8 and 6/12 games! (See notes about the Tropicana games below for a lesson on Aggression). Best hand I saw was when Fonzie got out-Fonz'ed by Max Power. Jonathan owned him with a Frush, because the old fool didn't know how to protect his hand. If the "Fonz" had bet properly, Max would have folded, avoiding the dreaded river.

5) CCX and MG’s doppelganger are at the same 6/12 table. CCX has serious beer breath (must have been the multiple bottles he went through during the day). MG screams louder than anyone else when the Jet’s score. CCX is a LAG, and is tearing up the table and is up around 40 BB. Mike is looking at the paint peel off the walls, and is not as lucky.

6) I FINALLY sit down at a 6/12 table, next to theirs. RogerZBT shows up with his pal and is on the 2/4 waiting list – it should be called a waste of time list, cause by this time is 120 deep, and will remain that way until the next morning. Important note: The Borg only spread two 2/4, two 3/6, and the 6/12 tables. Its almost all NL tables in the big room, with some Stud spread as well. The high limit rooms are rocking, but there are far fewer players and almost no waiting list. I am at a table with a guy who has successfully put me on tilt in the past and is a friend of MG’s doppelganger. Luckily he didn’t perform a repeat performance on me. (hurrah!)

7) Tiger…. The infamous Tiger…. Sits between CCX and MG. Tiger has worlds with an old donator, who tells Tiger he might be old, but will still take him outside. Tiger calls over the floor to lodge a complaint, when floor leaves Tiger stars calling the guy Scum. This was too much for CCX to take, so he jumped ship to my table. Within 20 mins Tiger was persona non grata when the floor asked him to leave (hurrah!!!!! A win for the little man!).

8) Max OWNED the 20/40 table.

9) MG & CCX had another 2+2’er at their table, I’m introduced to JAR who just happens to be Evan sized (are all short people good at poker perhaps?). Max Power and I stick him in the back seat of my car (which should be labeled for infants and toddlers only, because it’s so small) and head off to the Trump Marina. We get lost looking for the party, which was a story onto itself.

10) We make total fools of ourselves by wearing nametags at the Empire party. But they worked!!!! We sit at a table which just happened to be filled with brown trout. Drew on Tilt, Moondogg, Jar, Slogger, Max Power, and myself were all together. There were a good 5 or 6 more guys, but I forgot who they were (sorry guys, help us out here!). Death Valley comes over to our table and says “Are you TT?” and then walks away before I put two and two together. Besides getting great schwag and a $150 bonus, the party sucked. Free dinner was good, cocktail weenies rox! We all agreed that life must suck being a Playboy Bunny, they are dumber than rocks. Whoever decided that they should speak should be shot.

11) Why is it that almost all the 2+2’ers we met this weekend are programmers, network techs, or security experts? Is SLASHDOT the new poker proving grounds? We were literally a geekfest, and we were dam proud of it too! Since I left my tinfoil hat at home, the “My Name Is” tags were a strong 2nd best. I make everyone wear them. I’m such a geek!

12) Being the table captain that I am (what else is new), I decided to get all of us in a photo with the Playboy Bunnies. The girls held a sign that said “We miss you Mason & David”. That owned! (we are told the photo will be on the Empire Website, I’ll provide a link when I get it)

13) Max and I perform a checklist

a. Bonus Whore a hotel for $150 – CHECK
b. Get great schwag – CHECK
c. Meet fellow 2+2 geeks – CHECK
d. Tell marketing director of Empire Poker his magazine blows – CHECK
e. Put arms around bunnies – DOUBLE D – CHECK!
f. Make fools of ourselves – CHECK RAISE!

That was easy… so we abandon JAR with Drew on Tilt since there is no way in hell they are going to get a table at the Borg, to run back before we get taken off the dinner list. While waiting for the list I meet Homer (great to meet you, next time I won’t run back to my table, sorry about that!)

14) I suck out like a good little fish. I suck out g00t. CCX moved to my table. He proceeds to finish up around even, and calls it a night right when we get trouted by Tripdad – who is sitting next to us. Nice guy, but no more sex for you. 3 wasn’t good enough, you had to shoot for four? Are you insane???? Good meeting you mate!

15) New LAGs sit down, and I proceed to make back the 12 BB that I had lost so far off of them. The table respects me FAR too much, and insta-folds every time I get in a hand. I gotta work on that, I don’t want to scare anyone off! I finish up +2BB around 3 AM. I say goodnight to Avid, his stack is very impressive, but the guy with the LAG pile of red next to him is out of control. I hope some of that pile jumped into yours Avid!

16) I stayed at the Quality Inn in Absecon. I let my dry cleaning in the room when I checked out (doh!).

17) Since the Borg was passive, and the list for 6/12 was longer than an airplane flight to Vegas, I decided to go to the Trop. I’ll do a separate post about the Trop (especially its management’s decision to 86 the pink game, and their fantastic rules about seeing hands at the showdown that ALL casinos should implement), because I think it is VASTLY underrated, and has gotten a bad rep from players who are afraid of a little aggression. From what I have seen so far room is far more profitable at the low limits than the Borg.

18) I sit down at 4/8, win two pots back to back, put a player on tilt, and then leave the game to sit with JAR who is a bigger fish than me. He agrees with me that the table texture at the Trop is better, but he is running very badly. Same with Drew the night before, they showed up at the Trop after leaving the Empire party.

19) I’m up 1 stack of red when my 6/12 table is called about an hour later. I sit down at the 6/12 table and I win my first pot. That will be my LAST big pot win for the rest of the day. The table was amazing, but I was running bad. I missed every set, and my draws only completed once. It sucked [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] I finished down 22 BB before I had to run home 6 hours later.

On the TT scale I rate the Borgota as follows:

Post-flop Texture: Passive
Pre-flop Texture: Semi-loose. 3-5 players on average to the flop, it was like playing at Party. It was not as juicy my last two visits as when I first experienced at the Borg with 7+ players on every flop. I miss those days. The players are now much tighter.
Cold-call Texture: YUM. These players have never heard of the Gap theory.
3 Bet potential: Almost nill
4 Bet potential: It never happened. Not once. Not even pre-flop.
Chop potential: It only happened once the whole day.

All in all, the 6/12 game is good if you like passive games. If someone check-raises, they have at least 2 pair or greater, guaranteed. There is a lot of bluffing at the river, but little to none at other times in the game. Personally I find the texture too passive for me; I prefer a game with a LAG or two to pump up the pots with me. The 4/8 games in NYC are easier to turn a good profit IMHO, with greater challenge of course.

On the TT scale I rate the Tropicana as follows:

Post-flop Texture: semi-aggressive. A raise can mean anything. There are passive rocks, and hyper aggressive action fans at the same table, it makes for some huge pots!
Pre-flop Texture: Loose at times, tight at other times.
Cold-call Texture: YUM. These players have never heard of the Gap theory.
3 Bet potential: 2-3x per rotation
4 Bet potential: Only twice.
Chop potential: 2x times the whole session with a full table, a lot when we played 5-6 handed (which was often).

TT [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

[Mike Gallo]

Excellent report.

Next time we can spend more time together at the table.

CCX almost trounced Tiger. I tipped off the floor that he sat "illegaly". Most people( floor people and dealers included) do not care for Tiger. Even famous lurker Fred G Sanford does not like Tiger. [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

[Luv2DriveTT]

[ QUOTE ]
CCX almost trounced Tiger. I tipped off the floor that he sat "illegaly". Most people( floor people and dealers included) do not care for Tiger. Even famous lurker Fred G Sanford does not like Tiger. [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

Then I was right! CCX thought Tiger sat down normally, but his name wasn't before mine on the list, and I was next to be called. That dirty bastard.... his chair would have been mine, and then the 4 of us would have been at the same table (scary.... but fun none the less). Grr...

Opinions on the 6/12 table texture?

TT [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

[CCx]

[ QUOTE ]
Opinions on the 6/12 table texture?

[/ QUOTE ]

I know this was directed at MG, but I'll have to say the way I see it, it's very profitable!

[AAquadsAA]

yes it is profitable. i was also at that table.(the one next to tigers) i was sitting in the 4 seat next to a guy named james (i think)who started to spell out T...I... i said let me guess G... I figured most of you guys were 2+2ers i shoulda said hi.

[Luv2DriveTT]

No wonder why the whole room was so tight that evening.

TT [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

[CCx]

[ QUOTE ]
yes it is profitable. i was also at that table.(the one next to tigers) i was sitting in the 4 seat next to a guy named james (i think)who started to spell out T...I... i said let me guess G... I figured most of you guys were 2+2ers i shoulda said hi.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yea, you shoulda said hi, I enjoyed the three hands I was at your table for (since one of them was a good pot win) - speak up next time! Wait...4 seat, that wasn't you with the AA was it??

[Mike Gallo]

(scary.... but fun none the less).

Scary for who? Not my opponents. [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

I either folded or lost on the river. I made about 5 value bets that had no value in them.

Opinions on the 6/12 table texture?

You had a tough table your first go of it. James (Nike hat) plays very well.

Our table had some soft seats. I would call it a typical game.

[Luv2DriveTT]

[ QUOTE ]
(scary.... but fun none the less). You had a tough table your first go of it. James (Nike hat) plays very well.

Our table had some soft seats. I would call it a typical game.

[/ QUOTE ]

James just gets under my skin, nothing more. I have played with him at least 6-7 times now, but he is always to full of himself to remember me. I'm usually the only guy at the table he thinks twice about before pushing me around. But what gets under my skin about him is his attitude and voice. I must admit, he has put me on tilt once before, and I am always hesitant to sit next to him ever since. Funny, because they ALWAYS sit us down next to him, its as if I always sit to his right. In fact this past weekend I sat to his right TWICE!

Luckilly James was on his best behavior, on a scale of 1-5 he was only a 2 on the annoying scale.

I'd like to add a small note... I actually enjoy it when he puts others on tilt.. but I hate it when it affects me.

TT [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

[Mike Gallo]

(scary.... but fun none the less).

Scary for who? Not my opponents. [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

I either folded or lost on the river. I made about 5 value bets that had no value in them.

Opinions on the 6/12 table texture?

You had a tough table your first go of it. James (Nike hat) plays very well.

Our table had some soft seats. I would call it a typical game.