LV Trip Part Deux, the NL cash game portion (really long again)

[sdplayerb]

Thanks to those that endured the first portion, especially since no interesting hands really took place.

Some more player sightings I forgot. While playing in the crappy 4-8 limit game I saw Enfandiari and Phil Laak there. After I was done I watched Laak playing the $10-20 NL game, where it appeared there was no max buyin.
No he wasn't wearing his hood.
One interesting hand...decent amount of money in preflop, three handed. Dealer deals the flop..A bet, a call, then the dealer deals the turn. One player says I haven't acted yet. Cripes, there is like $600+ in the pot. Laak quickly tells the dealer what needs to be done (player says what he wants to do, deal the river as the turn, which had been Ad, then shuffle and deal the river after turn action).
I could tell Laak is a very bright guy. I believe his antics are an act. Oh, the river was the Ad, amazing the dealt the exact same card.
He was fun to watch..played almost every hand while shorthanded.

So, I get back to the Venetian from the Orleans as I have a new group of friends coming in and I am switching rooms due to that. When travelling I have trouble sleeping and eating, which definitely hurts my poker. But I was able to take a nap and get down some food so I am finally feeling good and start to walk to the Bellagio.
On my walk I recap how bad my cards have been and how few good starting hands I've had and what has happened:

AA- crack by KQ
QQ- A flopped, lost $8
JJ- I cracked AA
AQ- twice. crippled in the Mirage tourney, lost 25% of my stack in the Orleans tourney

But I had done ok with AJ.
So few good hands, and they've all turned bad except when I was behind. So it isn't just the internet.

I figure I've played close to 300 hands and still no AK, semi-amazing.

I get to the Bellagio and get my seat right away in the $2-4 NL game. A couple of younger locals and some tourists. Looks like a good game.

2nd or 3rd hand, what do I get? AK. There is an early limper, I make it $20 he calls, and I already know he is loose.
JJ9 flop, he checks. I bet $30..he raises to $60 or $70, i throw it away..He says for only me to hear that he has AJ.
Great, AK finally and I am down $50.

I get AK two more times and win $30 or so pots. Every raise preflop is called by 1 or two people. It is only 50x the BB, so a lot of times people aren't getting implied odds.

Finally I get AA again, with a limper I make it $20, get a call. K high flop. He has been KQ a few times. I bet $30..he folds (he had nothing).

Nothing much happens for awhile, I am around $135 and check my cards early for some reason and see AA. UTG makes it $10 (same guy from last hand) UTG+1 calls (he calls a lot for implied odds), I make it $40. I hope UTG has KK and RR, no, but they both call.
973 suited flop, they both check, I pushin my last $95 into a pot over $120. They both think a really long time, the second guy says you have AA or AK (which is ridiculous as I'd do the same with KK or QQ), he shows a 7 for only me to see and throws it away. I have no idea why he was in there with 87 or 76, but thanks for the money. I am slightly ahead now.

Then this gorgeous latin women puts a chair behind the chair next to me..I thought she was going to play, then an older gentleman takes the seat. It was clear quickly he didn't know what he was doing. And was playing most hands for whatever it was and then folding.
He shortly thereafter makes it $15, gets a caller from the KQ guy, the other guy in my AA hand pushes in for $130 total. The raiser pushes in, which was about the same amount and the KQ calls also. What? The guy who pushed all in says he needs to get lucky, he was making a move. They haven't shown there hands yet, the flop is ATx. They turn them over, initial raiser has A6s??? KQ guy has KQ, the allin raiser has QJ. Cripes.
K on the turn, QJ hits his gutshot to win a $400 pot.
A6 rebuys, shortly thereafter stacks off with AA.
I am kind of glad he is to my left as I wouldn't be able to pay attention looking at the woman with him. No rings, not his wife..I thought a hooker.

I found out later he is a rich doctor from Mexico..and she likely isn't a hooker.
Later while walking around I see at the $10-20NL table Laak is playing as is David Williams (#2 at the wsop, and on the cover of card player)..and I think what a tough table.
The Doctor is at that table. Jeez, he must be getting slaughtered and not know who these guys are.
I also see Phil Ivey there, Barry Greenstein.
I go out to the tourney area, they are down to 2 tables, I see TJ Cloutier, who is looking is good health, and Stan Goldstein (lost headsup to Ben Affleck).
TJ wins it the next day.

Now back to the action (i will cut off this installment after tonite's action, this is too long).

The way the game works there is there are 2 tables and it is must move. Since I got into the game right away, my name wasn't on the list, so I didn't move for a long time, which was great. Was talking to a player from England for awhile, that I thought was good. We agreed HE is not a game meant to be played limit. Oh, he wasn't good. He'd raise to to $30 from early position with 99 then lose all his chips. He reraised and early raiser with JTs, and called an allin (was getting 2.5-1 i think, but the RR was terrible).
His line of the night was (I had to leave England. It is too close to France.)

The English guys friend has a $100 bill on the table and asks me if it plays. I say yes, i saw $100 on other tables, and you are under $200. But ask the dealer. She says yes. It also says on the wall, only $100 bills play.
So what happens. He gets in a big pot, he is allin except the $100 and puts it in. The guy says money doesn't play. A huge arguement erupts since the dealer says it does. First floorperson says it does...seconds says no it doesn't. We say look at the wall. She says that doesn't count for this table. This is the table right next to the sign!! (i am feeling bad since i told him it plays, but did say ask the dealer).
The other guy says he'd never call that last $100. It isn't allowed to play. The guy with the bill wins, so it didn't hurt him. It may have helped since the other guy may not have been in otherwise anyway. But it was a debacle.


So I am still around my buyin and at the new table. A player gets moved over with Bicycle Club clothes on. I recognize him from LA as a very loose Asian action player, and tell the English player so. It also turns out the KQ is Israeli (I am jewish), so we talked some. He lives in LV, and is an average player, I am much better..lol
So I get QQ..my first hand in a longtime. I've realized I don't think I've shown a hand at the river all night. maybe once. (makes you think)
There is a raise to $10 or $12, I make it $30 with my QQ. The Asian player calls.
T32r flop. I bet $50, he pushes in for another $75. And stands up and says send me home. I say that is usually a tell you have a big hand (but i've seen him stand before). I am going to call, but need to think it out first (i am playing well when i do this).
I say you don't have TT, T3, T2, 32..I just don't see 33 or 22. I call.
He turns over 55 praying I have AK.
I make about $150 on the pot. Waited about 3 hours and finally take a huge one, on a mistake from another player.
Win another $40 or so..leave 3:30am up $196.
Very happy.

Next installment (if you've read this far)..I wear my UT shirt when I go back to the Bellagio, and it almost starts a war.

I think Bellagio is my favorite casino to play at. The mix of players is perfect to how I play NL. And I like playing 40-60x the BB. Since I play tourneys I don't have as much experience at 100x. And at 40-60x I can make sure not to give implied odds with my raises, which I like a lot.
But at times they seem pretty disorganized there. I wish they had a computerized board up like they do at Sycuan in San Diego.
But I love playing against the tourists and the LV locals who think they are great and can outplay you post flop, when they aren't and can't.

[Acesover8s]

SD,

Good trip report, some random comments:

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But I love playing against the tourists and the LV locals who think they are great and can outplay you post flop, when they aren't and can't.

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In my experience this is vegas poker in a nutshell. I've played probably 75% limit poker while in vegas from 10-20 to 30-60 and 25% no limit from 1-2 to 5-10, and in every single game the auto-turn check-raise is in full effect. At the midlimit games around here you can safely fold a strong hand to this maneuver but in vegas I'm 3-betting my top pair here most of the time.

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Some more player sightings I forgot. While playing in the crappy 4-8 limit game I saw Enfandiari and Phil Laak there.

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I was disappointed in your last trip report when you mentioned a Tomer Benvenisti sighting. I played with him at the golden nugget and didn't think "Oh look, its celebrated poker player Tomer Benvewhatever", I thought "Dear god, how are we going to squeeze 10 players at the table if that guy is sitting down".

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I think Bellagio is my favorite casino to play at. The mix of players is perfect to how I play NL. And I like playing 40-60x the BB. Since I play tourneys I don't have as much experience at 100x. And at 40-60x I can make sure not to give implied odds with my raises, which I like a lot.

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I think this is a safe attitude, a little too safe for a player of your caliber. I've recently begun playing in a game with a few 250-500x stacks and covering the table, and I've found its forced me to think through my decisions on all streets more, instead of thinking what will happen if I raise, I think, what will happen on the turn if this guy calls my preflop reraise and I check the flop.

I think you could expect more profit with larger stacks, but maybe thats me talking because I'm quite poor at tournaments.

Did you check out any of the other NL games in vegas?

[sdplayerb]

Thanks dude.

Trust me, i wasn't impressed seeing Tomer. He was just the first guy from tv i saw when at the bellagio.
The weird thing was I kept seeing Karaguellyan playing like $200 satellites. He won a WPT event.
Oh, i think i've only read about him making one decent cash since.

I've really hardly ever played with 100x the BB with multiple other people in the same boat. I have no idea what I am supposed to raise with to protect my hand.
I don't doubt i could become ok at it. Just don't see myself getting the chance to practice it a lot, so I have no idea how i can get good at it.

Those were the only two places I played live NL. I heard the Palms is drying up a little. Sounds like everybody knew that was where the fish were..but still supposed to be ok.

[Ilovephysics]

Lot of people in town for the WPT at the Bellagio. Wish I would have played more there and the Mirage from the sounds of people saying how fishy the 3-6 stuff was at Mirage. Maybe it is me, I just don't like the people looking over the bushes... I found I could just play much more comfortably at places like the Flamingo, be up, and never be bothered.. plus, George Wallace was there. heh. That was the running joke all week at our tables...