Here is a poker trip report by rugmuncher at www.allvegaspoker.com In it is a great story about Daniel Negraenu and Phil Hellmuth at the NAPT event at the Venetian.
Venetian DSE and the NAPT
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Doyle's Supersystem
I saw this listing on Amazon. The supersystem is the book that really introduced me to poker strategy.
Monday, March 22, 2010
crAAKKer
His blob is called crAAKKer. His handle at www.allvegaspoker.com is Grange95 but no matter what you call him, he's a good poker player. In his blog he examines a hand where he uses Tc8c to win a huge pot. It is a great study on the thought processes and considerations in play when you are using hand like suited connectors and one-gappers.
Check it out at:
crAAKKer
Check it out at:
crAAKKer
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Playing Live Right Now
For those interested, I'm playing live right now on PokerStars - I'll be playing lots of tables but I will be mostly at the NL .25-.5 table Ellicott IV - my PS name is lloydevans.
Expat Britons lose pensions appeal | Money | guardian.co.uk
Expats - people who live overseas from their home country, may be looking at some problems, at least if you are British and counting on pension monies to keep you solvent. A recent EU court case says it is legal for the British government to not pay pensions to retired citizens living overseas.
A lot of people go overseas because it is much cheaper to live, and you can often make a slim pension check go farther. Even I, who work overseas, depend in part on a partial pension the US Veteran's Administration pays me. While this is not a problem for US citizens now, I hate to think that politicians in Washington might hit on a (to them) brilliant idea of helping pay for the mounting deficits by taking away from a mostly powerless and voiceless constituency.
You can read details about the British case by clicking the link below:
Expat Britons lose pensions appeal |
Money |
guardian.co.uk
A lot of people go overseas because it is much cheaper to live, and you can often make a slim pension check go farther. Even I, who work overseas, depend in part on a partial pension the US Veteran's Administration pays me. While this is not a problem for US citizens now, I hate to think that politicians in Washington might hit on a (to them) brilliant idea of helping pay for the mounting deficits by taking away from a mostly powerless and voiceless constituency.
You can read details about the British case by clicking the link below:
Expat Britons lose pensions appeal |
Money |
guardian.co.uk
Boy Wins Half a Million on Online Poker - The Headlines - Onlinecasinoreports.com
Ooops, now here is a problem about playing poker when you are under-aged:
Boy Wins Half a Million on Online Poker - The Headlines - Onlinecasinoreports.com
Boy Wins Half a Million on Online Poker - The Headlines - Onlinecasinoreports.com
3rd suspect in Berlin poker heist arrested - Yahoo! Finance
Looks like the infamous heisters - the gang of four criminals who robbed the cash cage at the European Poker Tour Berlin event, are finding success not so good. According to this news posting, all four have been identified, three have been arrested, and the fourth is on the run. See the details by clicking the link below.
3rd suspect in Berlin poker heist arrested - Yahoo! Finance
3rd suspect in Berlin poker heist arrested - Yahoo! Finance
Friday, March 19, 2010
Scary Woman #2
I woke up early for my idiotically early flight, then headed to the Harrahs coffee shop for breakfast. I was seated directly next to a pair of late 20s women who had obviously just come to the breakfast end of an all night session in the casino. One dear child was chattering on a little monologue that went something like this:
“Well, like, it really doesn’t, like’ it’s not that kind of thing. Like, really, like he’s nice, but, like, I’m not, like sure I want to get, like, involved, with like, another guy, like right now. Like Tom, you know Tom, right? Like, he was great, like I met him, like when he was living with Lisa, like, but he was, like finished, like they lived, like, together, like but there wasn’t like, anything, like, there, anymore. I, like hooked up with him, like three or four times, like, when he was still living with her. Like, well, like we had sex, and like it was, like a really good thing, like, but it wasn’t like, vulgar or anything, like, because they were only, like living together, and I wasn’t like some, like brainless babe, like I was 21….”
Vegas can leave you with sometimes with some lasting memories. I fear the memory of that monologue will stay with me like the feeling of a root canal for far too long.
In the end I was of, a couple thousand richer and my luggage well stocked with items to keep us all going in Ecuador. My wife and I will probably come together at the start of July for another stay, although sadly the poker will probably take a back seat next time. But I’m sure Seymour will still find some way to make the adventures memorable.
“Well, like, it really doesn’t, like’ it’s not that kind of thing. Like, really, like he’s nice, but, like, I’m not, like sure I want to get, like, involved, with like, another guy, like right now. Like Tom, you know Tom, right? Like, he was great, like I met him, like when he was living with Lisa, like, but he was, like finished, like they lived, like, together, like but there wasn’t like, anything, like, there, anymore. I, like hooked up with him, like three or four times, like, when he was still living with her. Like, well, like we had sex, and like it was, like a really good thing, like, but it wasn’t like, vulgar or anything, like, because they were only, like living together, and I wasn’t like some, like brainless babe, like I was 21….”
Vegas can leave you with sometimes with some lasting memories. I fear the memory of that monologue will stay with me like the feeling of a root canal for far too long.
In the end I was of, a couple thousand richer and my luggage well stocked with items to keep us all going in Ecuador. My wife and I will probably come together at the start of July for another stay, although sadly the poker will probably take a back seat next time. But I’m sure Seymour will still find some way to make the adventures memorable.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
AllVegasPoker.com • View topic - AKs vs. all in reraise from straddle.
Over at the AllVegasPoker.com forums we've been having an interesting discussion on Short Stack and Small Ball strategies. There are some fantastic posts there, lots of different strategies, with the problem being discussed not having any one correct answer. Click the link below to check it out.
Love it when I play idiots
Just a quick note. I'm sitting in a food court playing on Poker Stars ($0.50/$1). Raise in MP w/ QQ. Called by SB. Flop is 4JQ two hearts. SB goes AI, I happily call. The turn gives me Quads!
SB has ...
63 off.
Well, if you are going to donate, might as well against Quads!
SB has ...
63 off.
Well, if you are going to donate, might as well against Quads!
Best poker rooms in Las Vegas - by Richard Lloyd Evans - Helium
Here is a link to an article I wrote on Helium.com - a review of the top Las Vegas Poker Rooms. Enjoy!
What to do with a lot of 100 bills?
With evening far advanced I decided to creep out of my room and give the Harrahs poker room one more chance. Bad idea. Seymour’s mojo was gone, I continued to play like an idiot and saw my stack flow away. I finally cashed out what chips remained and decided to get ready for my trip home.
Problem: I was carrying a largish stack of 100s from my winnings and I had to get rid of them. One of the great things about living in Ecuador is it uses the American dollar as its currency, so I didn’t have to worry about exchange, but it is impossible to find places that will take a $100. In fact, even $20 can be hard to use. $1 and $5 is best. So what to do? I decide to give the bill breaker machines down in the Harrahs lobby a try. Mistake. Fat gringo trying to break 100s takes forever, especially when you have almost $3000 of them. Plus the cash in$1s and $5s and $10s and $20s became an inconvenient brick. I felt like I needed two security guards to escort me to my room. Heh, heh.
Problem: I was carrying a largish stack of 100s from my winnings and I had to get rid of them. One of the great things about living in Ecuador is it uses the American dollar as its currency, so I didn’t have to worry about exchange, but it is impossible to find places that will take a $100. In fact, even $20 can be hard to use. $1 and $5 is best. So what to do? I decide to give the bill breaker machines down in the Harrahs lobby a try. Mistake. Fat gringo trying to break 100s takes forever, especially when you have almost $3000 of them. Plus the cash in$1s and $5s and $10s and $20s became an inconvenient brick. I felt like I needed two security guards to escort me to my room. Heh, heh.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Scary Lady Number One
My final full day in Las Vegas started with transferring from Excalibur to Harrahs. I had depleted my comps for the MGM properties and had some at Harrahs to use, plus I always like to split my stays and play between the two systems to keep my future options open.
Seymour is out again and we started by heading downstairs to the Harrahs poker room. This was a big difference from our nighttime adventures of Report #3 as this was a complete rock garden. Didn’t get many cards but when we did our opening raises won only the blinds. Three hours later we were down $60 and decided to try new pastures.
Next stop was the Venetian and our negative mojo there continued. The worst part was that I simply played horrible. Played too loose, stayed in with draws when the odds didn’t make sense. Made a couple of ill-timed plays at pots. No real hands stick out; I was just playing like a clueless tourist. I cashed out after two hours down about $200.
Scary Woman
Middle-aged fat guy alone in Vegas is apt to get attention, sometimes from the weird and desperate. For dinner I went to the Buffet at Harrah’s and use up some comps. As I was waiting in line to be seated a middle-aged woman standing next to me started chatting with me and mentioned it was her birthday. At that point the seater came up and asked if we were “two?” To my astonishment the woman said yes. Seeing my surprise she asked if I didn’t mind sitting with her, so I sheepishly said of course not.
Big mistake.
Dinner conversation arranged around how she is trying to get back to Ohio because she had been working at Walmart but was now only part time and her utilities were cutoff and she was going to be evicted in a couple of days and she didn’t know how she would pay for the babysitter for her kid because she was out having her birthday dinner all alone.
At this point I asked where the nearest bathroom was. She pointed it out and asked “Are you coming back?” I say of course. I got up and walked out of the Buffett and hid in my room for two hours.
Seymour is out again and we started by heading downstairs to the Harrahs poker room. This was a big difference from our nighttime adventures of Report #3 as this was a complete rock garden. Didn’t get many cards but when we did our opening raises won only the blinds. Three hours later we were down $60 and decided to try new pastures.
Next stop was the Venetian and our negative mojo there continued. The worst part was that I simply played horrible. Played too loose, stayed in with draws when the odds didn’t make sense. Made a couple of ill-timed plays at pots. No real hands stick out; I was just playing like a clueless tourist. I cashed out after two hours down about $200.
Scary Woman
Middle-aged fat guy alone in Vegas is apt to get attention, sometimes from the weird and desperate. For dinner I went to the Buffet at Harrah’s and use up some comps. As I was waiting in line to be seated a middle-aged woman standing next to me started chatting with me and mentioned it was her birthday. At that point the seater came up and asked if we were “two?” To my astonishment the woman said yes. Seeing my surprise she asked if I didn’t mind sitting with her, so I sheepishly said of course not.
Big mistake.
Dinner conversation arranged around how she is trying to get back to Ohio because she had been working at Walmart but was now only part time and her utilities were cutoff and she was going to be evicted in a couple of days and she didn’t know how she would pay for the babysitter for her kid because she was out having her birthday dinner all alone.
At this point I asked where the nearest bathroom was. She pointed it out and asked “Are you coming back?” I say of course. I got up and walked out of the Buffett and hid in my room for two hours.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
A Lot of Shopping and Two Hands of Poker
Seymour mostly takes a day off on Monday. Every time either my wife or I end up in The States we come with an extended shopping list for things we just can’t get in Ecuador. I hit Walmart and several stores. The good news is I am able to stay away from putting it on my credit cards, since I have such a nice load of poker winnings to use.
Funny moment when I pull up to the front of Excalibur and ask a bell person to help me with the Walmart bags. All the people waiting at taxis are staring at me like I am crazy. I know they are thinking “Who on God’s green Earth goes to Las Vegas to shop at Walmart?” Me! Of course, the Las Vegas Convention Authority has its statistics that the number one reason people come to Las Vegas is because of the…. Shopping! Can’t see that but shopping does rate high in my book, even if it is Walmart.
Had a late lunch at Outback Steakhouse, and then started wandering the strip. I decided to hop into Aria and do a quickie at the poker room. Bad idea, as Seymour was resting at the room, so it was only donkey me against the poker gods.
Aria is a beautiful room with wonderfully comfortable chairs. It is similar to Venetian in many ways. I checked at the podium and they were just starting a new table, although it took about 30 minutes to start the table. Looks like they are still working out the kinks a bit. They also went over a long list of rules, some of which were not great for Seymour, so it was good he wasn’t there. Game finally got started and second hand I looked down at 79off and made a donkey limp from MP. Cutoff raised to $10, two callers including myself. Flop is T68. BINGO! Check, I check expecting PFR to Cbet. He Best $25. Other player folds and I repop to $50. PFR thinks then moves AI. I insta-call. Turn is another Ten and my stomach lurches. My opponent rolls over TT for turned quads and my $300 buy-in is toast.
I almost rebuy, but I think again. I can feel myself going tilty, and I had only wanted a quick hit-and-run since I had other things to do, so I make a solid decision and leave, the only poker of the day, a one hand massacre.
I had a meeting shortly after that then spent some time wandering about the strip. Feeling pokered-out and tired I went back to my room and worked on unbagging and packing my new purchases.
Funny moment when I pull up to the front of Excalibur and ask a bell person to help me with the Walmart bags. All the people waiting at taxis are staring at me like I am crazy. I know they are thinking “Who on God’s green Earth goes to Las Vegas to shop at Walmart?” Me! Of course, the Las Vegas Convention Authority has its statistics that the number one reason people come to Las Vegas is because of the…. Shopping! Can’t see that but shopping does rate high in my book, even if it is Walmart.
Had a late lunch at Outback Steakhouse, and then started wandering the strip. I decided to hop into Aria and do a quickie at the poker room. Bad idea, as Seymour was resting at the room, so it was only donkey me against the poker gods.
Aria is a beautiful room with wonderfully comfortable chairs. It is similar to Venetian in many ways. I checked at the podium and they were just starting a new table, although it took about 30 minutes to start the table. Looks like they are still working out the kinks a bit. They also went over a long list of rules, some of which were not great for Seymour, so it was good he wasn’t there. Game finally got started and second hand I looked down at 79off and made a donkey limp from MP. Cutoff raised to $10, two callers including myself. Flop is T68. BINGO! Check, I check expecting PFR to Cbet. He Best $25. Other player folds and I repop to $50. PFR thinks then moves AI. I insta-call. Turn is another Ten and my stomach lurches. My opponent rolls over TT for turned quads and my $300 buy-in is toast.
I almost rebuy, but I think again. I can feel myself going tilty, and I had only wanted a quick hit-and-run since I had other things to do, so I make a solid decision and leave, the only poker of the day, a one hand massacre.
I had a meeting shortly after that then spent some time wandering about the strip. Feeling pokered-out and tired I went back to my room and worked on unbagging and packing my new purchases.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Seymour Attacks Harrahs
After my Sunday afternoon victory at Mirage I did some mental coin flips and decided to head to Harrah’s for a short session. Two reasons for this: I will be staying at Harrah’s for the last night of my stay and I wanted to check out the room with the new management, as well as all of my play so far had been at MGM properties and I always like to spread out my play.
At 9pm I sat down at a dream 1-2NL table, mostly loose-weak tourists and locals with one Young Drunk Guy (YDG) as table captain. One advisement, Seymour has been getting lots of threats to be kidnapped, barbequed and Haitian Voodoo Hexed so he decided he needed to go incognito until some of the danger subsides, so he went in as Bobby the Booby Bird. As soon as I introduced Seymour/Bobby, YDG yelled to the room “There’s a guy here with good looking Boobies!” My king of table, right from the start. YDG was to my right, perfect situation. He was borderline maniac, making lots of post-flop raise to take down pots with weak holdings.
One thing about this session, I very, very rarely use a straddle of any kind. However Harrah’s allows a button straddle which gives the button even more control in position. Plus with the drunken carnage about me I wanted as much play as possible, so I quickly started straddling every chance I could get, UTG and button.
Within 30 minutes the hand of the night happened:
YDG straddles and I look down at Ad8d so I call just to see what happens. Four callers and YDG raises to $20, I call and one guy in MP calls. Flop is K83 rainbow. YDG bets $40. From what I’d seen before, I doubted YDG had a big hand. The best I could see was either the 3 or 8, or possibly a small PP. This looked like a good time for Seymour/Bobby to get into it, so after discussing the situation in broad terms with “Bobby” we went AI. MP insta-mucked, while YDG went into theatrics.
YDG couldn’t believe I went AI with a hand and I must be on a cold-stone bluff. I replied that I didn’t make these decisions, only “Bobby” did such things. Lengthy discussion went on about “Bobby’s” poker face. YDG had stood up and was almost dancing in agitation. He finally reached down and flipped over his cards to show…
36 offsuit…bottom pair bad kicker.
To guage my reaction, he asked me if I could beat that. I said I couldn’t comment. Only “Da Bird” could comment and he wasn’t talking. “Bobby” then did offer to show top card if YDG paid $10. After some yammering he did, and the A was revealed. YDG was quasi cheered by this, saying that he thought he had five outs, even if we had the K. After several minutes of this, YDG asked the table to call the clock on him, because he couldn’t make a decision. No one at the table would call the clock, because they were having too much fun watching the spectacle of a drunk guy playing against “Da Bird”.
YDG finally called the clock on himself, and as time wound down he folded.
After that, “Da Bird” ruled the table, while YDG watched his stack slip away. The final indignity came when his 75off made 2pr on the river but lost to my KT turned 2 pr. YDG slunk away and the table lost some of its fun. Seymour and I cashed out shortly after and went back to the hotel room for some well-deserved sleep.
At 9pm I sat down at a dream 1-2NL table, mostly loose-weak tourists and locals with one Young Drunk Guy (YDG) as table captain. One advisement, Seymour has been getting lots of threats to be kidnapped, barbequed and Haitian Voodoo Hexed so he decided he needed to go incognito until some of the danger subsides, so he went in as Bobby the Booby Bird. As soon as I introduced Seymour/Bobby, YDG yelled to the room “There’s a guy here with good looking Boobies!” My king of table, right from the start. YDG was to my right, perfect situation. He was borderline maniac, making lots of post-flop raise to take down pots with weak holdings.
One thing about this session, I very, very rarely use a straddle of any kind. However Harrah’s allows a button straddle which gives the button even more control in position. Plus with the drunken carnage about me I wanted as much play as possible, so I quickly started straddling every chance I could get, UTG and button.
Within 30 minutes the hand of the night happened:
YDG straddles and I look down at Ad8d so I call just to see what happens. Four callers and YDG raises to $20, I call and one guy in MP calls. Flop is K83 rainbow. YDG bets $40. From what I’d seen before, I doubted YDG had a big hand. The best I could see was either the 3 or 8, or possibly a small PP. This looked like a good time for Seymour/Bobby to get into it, so after discussing the situation in broad terms with “Bobby” we went AI. MP insta-mucked, while YDG went into theatrics.
YDG couldn’t believe I went AI with a hand and I must be on a cold-stone bluff. I replied that I didn’t make these decisions, only “Bobby” did such things. Lengthy discussion went on about “Bobby’s” poker face. YDG had stood up and was almost dancing in agitation. He finally reached down and flipped over his cards to show…
36 offsuit…bottom pair bad kicker.
To guage my reaction, he asked me if I could beat that. I said I couldn’t comment. Only “Da Bird” could comment and he wasn’t talking. “Bobby” then did offer to show top card if YDG paid $10. After some yammering he did, and the A was revealed. YDG was quasi cheered by this, saying that he thought he had five outs, even if we had the K. After several minutes of this, YDG asked the table to call the clock on him, because he couldn’t make a decision. No one at the table would call the clock, because they were having too much fun watching the spectacle of a drunk guy playing against “Da Bird”.
YDG finally called the clock on himself, and as time wound down he folded.
After that, “Da Bird” ruled the table, while YDG watched his stack slip away. The final indignity came when his 75off made 2pr on the river but lost to my KT turned 2 pr. YDG slunk away and the table lost some of its fun. Seymour and I cashed out shortly after and went back to the hotel room for some well-deserved sleep.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
A Walk Down memory Lane - Playing Poker with Mike Caro
Several years ago I spent a wonderful few hours playing against Mike Caro, the self-described "Mad Genius of Poker". The new Casino Morongo had just opened up - the paint still smelled fresh and the poker chips had hardly been handled. To celebrate their new digs, the casino hosted one of those invitational for TV only poker tournaments which have become so popular, but at the time was a new thing. The actual games themselves where done in a private room, but a lot of the players, like Scotty Nguyen and Mike Caro, would drop down and visit the poker room.
Mostly the casino ran a 1/2 NL game (before NL became so exclusively the poker game of choice) as well as 2-5, but most of the games were limit. When Caro came in management opened a new $5-10 game. I'd done well, was up over $1k at the 2-5 game I was sitting at, and decided to take a shot at the higher stakes with the famous poker personality.
Boy, did I get an education.
Basically Caro was sitting next to someone, and he was talking the guy through some hands, explaining his thinking processes. Caro was one of the first one to tutor "students". In this case everybody who was listening was getting advanced-level theory of poker, simply for the price of a table buy-in.
About 30-minutes in, I decided to take a shot. I ran a bluff against Caro on the turn after he had raised preflop. It was an innocuous board, and I doubted he had hit anything. After my aggressive raise Caro started analyzing the hand, the play of the flop, and the fact that my turn bet "seemed odd." He said "He has either flopped a monster hand or he has nothing and is making a play at me with a naked bluff. Since I don't know, my hand is strong enough to play." He called. Check-check after another innocuous river card and he showed an over pair for a nice pot.
I learned several very important lessons that day.
1) That was the first time I had really seen an advanced player really think through a hand before making a decision. Not just think in a disorganized way, but to replay in their mind all the different actions and aspects of a hand in an organized, logical, systemic manner, before making a decision for their action.
2) It was really the first time that it came home the difference between playing Your Cards versus playing the Other Person's Cards. I'd heard it, especially from reading Doyle Brunson's Super System, and did i to some extent in my own way, but the first time I had seen it in action by an advanced player.
3) I needed to learn more from this guy, Mike Caro.
I thought I'd bring this up because after I had lost my buy in, I spent a lot more time reading theorists like Sklansky, Hilger and Caro, which elevated my game. Learning about the game has helped me. I still regularly peruse book stores and amazon.com for new things to read to make me better. After my session with Mike Caro, when I lost money but gained a wealth of knowledge, I bought one of his books. I ran across it this morning while surfing Amazon, so I thought I'd link it for those interested. It is a great book, dated in some ways, but a true classic.
Mostly the casino ran a 1/2 NL game (before NL became so exclusively the poker game of choice) as well as 2-5, but most of the games were limit. When Caro came in management opened a new $5-10 game. I'd done well, was up over $1k at the 2-5 game I was sitting at, and decided to take a shot at the higher stakes with the famous poker personality.
Boy, did I get an education.
Basically Caro was sitting next to someone, and he was talking the guy through some hands, explaining his thinking processes. Caro was one of the first one to tutor "students". In this case everybody who was listening was getting advanced-level theory of poker, simply for the price of a table buy-in.
About 30-minutes in, I decided to take a shot. I ran a bluff against Caro on the turn after he had raised preflop. It was an innocuous board, and I doubted he had hit anything. After my aggressive raise Caro started analyzing the hand, the play of the flop, and the fact that my turn bet "seemed odd." He said "He has either flopped a monster hand or he has nothing and is making a play at me with a naked bluff. Since I don't know, my hand is strong enough to play." He called. Check-check after another innocuous river card and he showed an over pair for a nice pot.
I learned several very important lessons that day.
1) That was the first time I had really seen an advanced player really think through a hand before making a decision. Not just think in a disorganized way, but to replay in their mind all the different actions and aspects of a hand in an organized, logical, systemic manner, before making a decision for their action.
2) It was really the first time that it came home the difference between playing Your Cards versus playing the Other Person's Cards. I'd heard it, especially from reading Doyle Brunson's Super System, and did i to some extent in my own way, but the first time I had seen it in action by an advanced player.
3) I needed to learn more from this guy, Mike Caro.
I thought I'd bring this up because after I had lost my buy in, I spent a lot more time reading theorists like Sklansky, Hilger and Caro, which elevated my game. Learning about the game has helped me. I still regularly peruse book stores and amazon.com for new things to read to make me better. After my session with Mike Caro, when I lost money but gained a wealth of knowledge, I bought one of his books. I ran across it this morning while surfing Amazon, so I thought I'd link it for those interested. It is a great book, dated in some ways, but a true classic.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Fun Times at the Mirage
Sunday was at the Mirage and was a blast. First off, I stopped for breakfast at CarnegieDeli. I had the Western Omelet. Poor choice, it was big enough but didn’t have a lot of flavor. I think I would have done better with almost anything else on the menu.
Afterwards I landed a seat at a new 2-5NL table and sat down for a nice session, watching games on TV and dragging the occasional pot. Card-wise it was a funny session. At the start the action was hot and crazy. I made all of my money on one hand. I called a $7 in the BB with five callers with 75 hearts. Flop was Q64 rainbow. Guy who liked to overplay TPTK bet $25 and button and myself both called. Turn was an 8 completing the rainbow, giving me the nut straight. I check, and it is checked around. River was a J. I lead out and bet $150 trying to make it look like a steal. Original better tanked before finally making the call, while button insta-called. Original raiser had AQ for TPTK, button mucked but said he had 2pr. I was up about $850 just like that.
After that, though, the action pretty much dried up. While I enjoyed the game, my stack slowly dwindled until Seymour and I had given back over $300 of our winnings. Still, we cashed out near a $600 profit. Not bad for a Sunday.
Afterwards I grabbed a comp ticket and had a nice meal at Cravings, the Buffet at Mirage. The facility was excellent and the food was on a par with Planet Hollywood, although the everyday prices would have been higher at Mirage. Still, comped is comped and I was happy.
Afterwards I landed a seat at a new 2-5NL table and sat down for a nice session, watching games on TV and dragging the occasional pot. Card-wise it was a funny session. At the start the action was hot and crazy. I made all of my money on one hand. I called a $7 in the BB with five callers with 75 hearts. Flop was Q64 rainbow. Guy who liked to overplay TPTK bet $25 and button and myself both called. Turn was an 8 completing the rainbow, giving me the nut straight. I check, and it is checked around. River was a J. I lead out and bet $150 trying to make it look like a steal. Original better tanked before finally making the call, while button insta-called. Original raiser had AQ for TPTK, button mucked but said he had 2pr. I was up about $850 just like that.
After that, though, the action pretty much dried up. While I enjoyed the game, my stack slowly dwindled until Seymour and I had given back over $300 of our winnings. Still, we cashed out near a $600 profit. Not bad for a Sunday.
Afterwards I grabbed a comp ticket and had a nice meal at Cravings, the Buffet at Mirage. The facility was excellent and the food was on a par with Planet Hollywood, although the everyday prices would have been higher at Mirage. Still, comped is comped and I was happy.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Chip Assault on Mandalay Bay
Saturday and I am stoked with dreams of sweet, drunken Mandalay Bay poker players throwing chips at me and Seymour. We start the day with a comped buffet at MGM. Buffet is okay, much better than Mandalay Bay’s at least from my visits this week. The thing that gets me are the lines. Half of the tables seemed to be vacant but I still had to stand around for 20 minutes until I could have a hostess escort me to my place.
Fed and happy, I was now ready to go so I sat at a 1-2NL game at the MGM. This was a bad way to start the day. Very beatable table, including an array of inebriated cash machines still debauching from the night before as well as a couple just doing a hit and go before heading to catch their flights. However the river was a cruel destination for me. Three times I got it in good by the turn with my opponents facing either two or four outs, with the river spiking whatever my opponent needed to ravage my stack. I ended down well over $400.
This didn’t bode well for me, since I have been running either completely good and winning every session during the day, or completely bad and losing every session. About noon I gave up on the MGM and headed to Mandalay Bay, hoping I could turn it around.
The Poker Room at Mandalay Bay was already buzzing when I got there and I was seated immediately. Low and behold, but on the far side of the table was the Villain of the epic pot between himself and Seymour the night before. V recognized Seymour and immediately and started warning the table about “Swan Man.” Great table. No real hands to discuss, but V was still wonderfully readable and I was able to outplay him postflop. Seymour and I steadily built our stack up to about $500 until Villain took his stack and left.
I took a short break and grabbed a Rueben from Cantor’s deli to keep the fire burning. About that time a brush came around looking for interest in a 2-4NLHE game. 2-4NL? Sure, why not. I switched over and boy, what did I get into? It played like a deep 2-5NL (max 600 buy-in) since this was rock-em sock-em holdem. Every pot was raised and often reraised. Players were going AI with 2nd pair and big pots were being taken down by Q high. What can I say? As long as your blood pressure could take it there were chips to be had. I took a big pot when one player went AI with nothing but air after I had flopped top set, then gave a bunch back when another player went runner-runner flush off my KK. I tripled up when I turned a well-concealed straight with my 64. I won another big pot when a player who had been at my 1-2 game joined us to my right, and couldn’t get away from an unimproved AK to my 2pr.
More damage could have been done, but I was getting tired and even more goofy than usual. When I turned over my cards, thinking I’d lost with a poorer kicker, only to realize I had won with a flush I didn’t even know was possible, I knew it was time to cash in. Seymour was more than satisfied, as the crowd had contributed more than $1300 to the bankroll, thank you very much.
Seymour and I walked back to the Excalibur, stopping at Nathan’s in Luxor for a Philly cheese steak.
Fed and happy, I was now ready to go so I sat at a 1-2NL game at the MGM. This was a bad way to start the day. Very beatable table, including an array of inebriated cash machines still debauching from the night before as well as a couple just doing a hit and go before heading to catch their flights. However the river was a cruel destination for me. Three times I got it in good by the turn with my opponents facing either two or four outs, with the river spiking whatever my opponent needed to ravage my stack. I ended down well over $400.
This didn’t bode well for me, since I have been running either completely good and winning every session during the day, or completely bad and losing every session. About noon I gave up on the MGM and headed to Mandalay Bay, hoping I could turn it around.
The Poker Room at Mandalay Bay was already buzzing when I got there and I was seated immediately. Low and behold, but on the far side of the table was the Villain of the epic pot between himself and Seymour the night before. V recognized Seymour and immediately and started warning the table about “Swan Man.” Great table. No real hands to discuss, but V was still wonderfully readable and I was able to outplay him postflop. Seymour and I steadily built our stack up to about $500 until Villain took his stack and left.
I took a short break and grabbed a Rueben from Cantor’s deli to keep the fire burning. About that time a brush came around looking for interest in a 2-4NLHE game. 2-4NL? Sure, why not. I switched over and boy, what did I get into? It played like a deep 2-5NL (max 600 buy-in) since this was rock-em sock-em holdem. Every pot was raised and often reraised. Players were going AI with 2nd pair and big pots were being taken down by Q high. What can I say? As long as your blood pressure could take it there were chips to be had. I took a big pot when one player went AI with nothing but air after I had flopped top set, then gave a bunch back when another player went runner-runner flush off my KK. I tripled up when I turned a well-concealed straight with my 64. I won another big pot when a player who had been at my 1-2 game joined us to my right, and couldn’t get away from an unimproved AK to my 2pr.
More damage could have been done, but I was getting tired and even more goofy than usual. When I turned over my cards, thinking I’d lost with a poorer kicker, only to realize I had won with a flush I didn’t even know was possible, I knew it was time to cash in. Seymour was more than satisfied, as the crowd had contributed more than $1300 to the bankroll, thank you very much.
Seymour and I walked back to the Excalibur, stopping at Nathan’s in Luxor for a Philly cheese steak.
Disappointment at Luxor, and a Wild Table at MGM
I walked down the walkway from Mandalay Bay towards Luxor, planning to have something at the Burger Bar, but there was a long wait so I ended up having dinner at the Pyramid Café at Luxor. Had a Burgundy Blue Burger with Onion Rings, very tasty – much better than the Sherwood at Excalibur. However, I have to say I’m not impressed with the redo of the Luxor. Inside it is now just another modernistic casino like you can see in a hundred locations around the world. I know that the old design needed upgrading and some fixes, but I think this is a case of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Pity, I'm watching all the resorts with character steadily being replaced by soulless, modern examples of corporate, avant garde free-think.
After my meal I then headed back to my room at the Excalibur to relax a bit more, answer some emails and phone messages and pick up a Fedex package I’d been waiting for.
Then it was off for a return engagement at the MGM, which was in its most glorious of Friday night forms. I was sat within minutes, and landed in a table with a great mix of steady locals along with a strong assortment of drunken tourists, two of which had trouble counting their chips out.
Raises and re-raises flew and it soon became apparent that I’d have to simply wait to catch a hand. The next few hours were a grind; as I’d win one moderate size pot, then go several circuits without getting a sniff of a pot, while watching my stack slowly melt. In fact, looking back, I am quite proud of myself for this session. I can often get frustrated during times like these, and start getting too loose and force things, generally to my ruin. This night, though, I did a good job of avoiding dangerous situations and husbanding my chips. Finally, four hours in I caught a nice rush, no great cards but decent flops that saw other players overplaying. Example is twice I looked down to see A3 suited in the blinds when 4-5 players called a $7 raise, so I called to see. Each time the flop was kind and other players’ overplayed under pairs or TPMK to give me some juicy pots. I ended up over $400. By 2am I was done and happy to head to my room.
After my meal I then headed back to my room at the Excalibur to relax a bit more, answer some emails and phone messages and pick up a Fedex package I’d been waiting for.
Then it was off for a return engagement at the MGM, which was in its most glorious of Friday night forms. I was sat within minutes, and landed in a table with a great mix of steady locals along with a strong assortment of drunken tourists, two of which had trouble counting their chips out.
Raises and re-raises flew and it soon became apparent that I’d have to simply wait to catch a hand. The next few hours were a grind; as I’d win one moderate size pot, then go several circuits without getting a sniff of a pot, while watching my stack slowly melt. In fact, looking back, I am quite proud of myself for this session. I can often get frustrated during times like these, and start getting too loose and force things, generally to my ruin. This night, though, I did a good job of avoiding dangerous situations and husbanding my chips. Finally, four hours in I caught a nice rush, no great cards but decent flops that saw other players overplaying. Example is twice I looked down to see A3 suited in the blinds when 4-5 players called a $7 raise, so I called to see. Each time the flop was kind and other players’ overplayed under pairs or TPMK to give me some juicy pots. I ended up over $400. By 2am I was done and happy to head to my room.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Seymour Goes on the War Path
Got up a bit before 10am and decided for a return engagement at Mandalay Bay. By the time I arrived lunch was being served at the MB buffet and I decided to give it a try. Big mistake. It is attractive and comfortable, but the food just wasn’t there. It was at the start of lunch and all of the food was already cold.
Still, I was full and Seymour the Seagull and I headed to the poker room and were seated immediately. Wow, great table, mostly loose weak with a couple over aggressive types post flops. My number one target was getting hit in the face by the deck, but was slowing down. He had a distinct betting tell and I was waiting to take advantage of it. He also stated to a friend that he was going to be more careful with his cards because he didn’t want to blow his winnings if his luck turns bad.
I can’t remember the exact cards, but the essentials follow: I am sitting at about $250 and he has everyone well covered. He is in early position and raises to $7, which signals he does not have a premium hand, but something like two face cards or maybe AT/A9. I call from MP with KQoff, less for the cards but more for the hope for outplaying him post flop. Five see the Flop of AKx with one heart and two spades. He bets $20, a solid indication he has TP. I call, and everybody else folds. The Turn is a heart, putting two flush draws on the board. He immediately bets out about $80. I am now 100% sure he has only TPMK and is scared of the draws on board. I get into my schtick with “Da Bird”, basically arguing over what should be done, call or raise. After a bit of this I go AI, figuring he’ll fold.
The following was about five minutes of pure theater. My opponent was quizzing me about whether I had gone AI on a draw or with nothing. I said that I wasn’t playing the cards, Seymour was. So he asked if “the duck” was going AI on a pure bluff. I asked but Seymour said no. He asked if “the chicken” would show one card. Seymour said no, and didn’t like being called a chicken since he was a seagull, after all. After humming and hawing for a while, counting out chips and trying to get my reaction, he looked to be about ready to fold, but finally pushed in and I was set to rebuy when a Qh hit the river. He showed AT for top pair and almost had a heart attack when I showed a rivered 2pr.
For the next few hours I dominated the table. Various threats were made to cook and eat Seymour, and every newcomer to the table was warned about “Da Bird.” I worked my stack up to about $900 (+$600). After that the makeup of the table changed radically, including my target leaving. I gave back some chips and decided it was time to go. After seven hours I left up $488.
Still, I was full and Seymour the Seagull and I headed to the poker room and were seated immediately. Wow, great table, mostly loose weak with a couple over aggressive types post flops. My number one target was getting hit in the face by the deck, but was slowing down. He had a distinct betting tell and I was waiting to take advantage of it. He also stated to a friend that he was going to be more careful with his cards because he didn’t want to blow his winnings if his luck turns bad.
I can’t remember the exact cards, but the essentials follow: I am sitting at about $250 and he has everyone well covered. He is in early position and raises to $7, which signals he does not have a premium hand, but something like two face cards or maybe AT/A9. I call from MP with KQoff, less for the cards but more for the hope for outplaying him post flop. Five see the Flop of AKx with one heart and two spades. He bets $20, a solid indication he has TP. I call, and everybody else folds. The Turn is a heart, putting two flush draws on the board. He immediately bets out about $80. I am now 100% sure he has only TPMK and is scared of the draws on board. I get into my schtick with “Da Bird”, basically arguing over what should be done, call or raise. After a bit of this I go AI, figuring he’ll fold.
The following was about five minutes of pure theater. My opponent was quizzing me about whether I had gone AI on a draw or with nothing. I said that I wasn’t playing the cards, Seymour was. So he asked if “the duck” was going AI on a pure bluff. I asked but Seymour said no. He asked if “the chicken” would show one card. Seymour said no, and didn’t like being called a chicken since he was a seagull, after all. After humming and hawing for a while, counting out chips and trying to get my reaction, he looked to be about ready to fold, but finally pushed in and I was set to rebuy when a Qh hit the river. He showed AT for top pair and almost had a heart attack when I showed a rivered 2pr.
For the next few hours I dominated the table. Various threats were made to cook and eat Seymour, and every newcomer to the table was warned about “Da Bird.” I worked my stack up to about $900 (+$600). After that the makeup of the table changed radically, including my target leaving. I gave back some chips and decided it was time to go. After seven hours I left up $488.
Descent into Hell
Over at Allvegaspoker.com JayCool has a blog story about a time he spent in a nightmare Vegas trip.
Check it out here. It is a great read.
Check it out here. It is a great read.
The Table From Hell
Meant to be a light day of poker while I spend some time with friends and doing some shopping. Morning began with breakfast at the Sherwood Café. Had the omelet, okay but nothing special. I stuck my nose in at the Excalibur Poker Room. They had their morning tourney going with a couple limit games on the side. I put my name in on a 1-2 NL interest list. After about 20 minutes I gave up and headed over to the Venetian.
First, I absolutely love the Venetian. I consider it the top poker room in Las Vegas and always make a point to spend at least a few sessions there. I was sat immediately in a table they were opening.
Label this THE TABLE FROM HELL. Most of the players were a bunch of old time Vegas nits who did more gossiping and angle shooting than a church quilting group. That I could handle, except there were two foreign tourists at the table, I believe Israeli because they mostly spoke Hebrew and only a pidgin smattering of English. The problem was when the Hebrew next to me threw his hand away he started talking to his friend at the other end of the table in Hebrew, which of course is a violation of the “English Only Rule” and the Hissy Nitty (HN) to my immediate left got hissy at the repeated problems. The floor was called three times, and the Hebrew to my right finally figured out what was required, but he sat grumpily not talking at all. Problem fixed, except HN kept harping about it forever – which caused Hebrew to tell HN to “Don’t Talk to Me!” which meant HN had to continue harping about “Of course I can talk as long as it is in English.”
Generally tables like this are profitable, but the nits sitting here would make it a long process and I would probably either shoot someone, HN or myself, before I got far enough along to do any good. Finally I couldn’t take it any longer and asked for a table change and almost immediately was whisked away to another table.
And as bad as the first table was the new table was POKER HEAVEN. A whole table of tourist poker players who all thought they were better players than they were, all over betting and going AI with hands like 2ndPrMK against a scary board. Chips were flying and I couldn’t wait to cash, except I played some of the stupidest poker of my life. There was little doubt I was by far the best player at the table, but I fell into the zone Mike Caro calls “Fancy Play Syndrome.” I was throwing off check raises on scary boards and being called by people with 3rd Pair bad kicker. I’d raise big with KK and be called by five people and see aggression on a flop of 379 one-suited (not mine) then after I fold I find the winning hand was a different suit 89. I started playing too loose trying to get lucky and ended up not lucky. I cashed out down $350.
After that I met up with some friends and we found the lounge at the Excalibur where they were having karaoke, good times and some of the singers were awesome. Some were not, of course.
We finished up about 10pm so I went to the Excalibur Poker Room for another session. No hands stood out by again I was playing too loose, calling thin draws and basically being a donkey. I ended down $200 by 1am when I called it a night.
First, I absolutely love the Venetian. I consider it the top poker room in Las Vegas and always make a point to spend at least a few sessions there. I was sat immediately in a table they were opening.
Label this THE TABLE FROM HELL. Most of the players were a bunch of old time Vegas nits who did more gossiping and angle shooting than a church quilting group. That I could handle, except there were two foreign tourists at the table, I believe Israeli because they mostly spoke Hebrew and only a pidgin smattering of English. The problem was when the Hebrew next to me threw his hand away he started talking to his friend at the other end of the table in Hebrew, which of course is a violation of the “English Only Rule” and the Hissy Nitty (HN) to my immediate left got hissy at the repeated problems. The floor was called three times, and the Hebrew to my right finally figured out what was required, but he sat grumpily not talking at all. Problem fixed, except HN kept harping about it forever – which caused Hebrew to tell HN to “Don’t Talk to Me!” which meant HN had to continue harping about “Of course I can talk as long as it is in English.”
Generally tables like this are profitable, but the nits sitting here would make it a long process and I would probably either shoot someone, HN or myself, before I got far enough along to do any good. Finally I couldn’t take it any longer and asked for a table change and almost immediately was whisked away to another table.
And as bad as the first table was the new table was POKER HEAVEN. A whole table of tourist poker players who all thought they were better players than they were, all over betting and going AI with hands like 2ndPrMK against a scary board. Chips were flying and I couldn’t wait to cash, except I played some of the stupidest poker of my life. There was little doubt I was by far the best player at the table, but I fell into the zone Mike Caro calls “Fancy Play Syndrome.” I was throwing off check raises on scary boards and being called by people with 3rd Pair bad kicker. I’d raise big with KK and be called by five people and see aggression on a flop of 379 one-suited (not mine) then after I fold I find the winning hand was a different suit 89. I started playing too loose trying to get lucky and ended up not lucky. I cashed out down $350.
After that I met up with some friends and we found the lounge at the Excalibur where they were having karaoke, good times and some of the singers were awesome. Some were not, of course.
We finished up about 10pm so I went to the Excalibur Poker Room for another session. No hands stood out by again I was playing too loose, calling thin draws and basically being a donkey. I ended down $200 by 1am when I called it a night.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Bad Bad Bad Bad Day at the Tables
Meant to be a light day of poker while I spend some time with friends and doing some shopping. Morning began with breakfast at the Sherwood Café. Had the omelet, okay but nothing special. I stuck my nose in at the Excalibur Poker Room. They had their morning tourney going with a couple limit games on the side. I put my name in on a 1-2 NL interest list. After about 20 minutes I gave up and headed over to the Venetian.
First, I absolutely love the Venetian. I consider it the top poker room in Las Vegas and always make a point to spend at least a few sessions there. I was sat immediately in a table they were opening.
Label this THE TABLE FROM HELL. Most of the players were a bunch of old time Vegas nits who did more gossiping and angle shooting than a church quilting group. That I could handle, except there were two foreign tourists at the table, I believe Israeli because they mostly spoke Hebrew and only a pidgin smattering of English. The problem was when the Hebrew next to me threw his hand away he started talking to his friend at the other end of the table in Hebrew, which of course is a violation of the “English Only Rule” and the Hissy Nitty (HN) to my immediate left got hissy at the repeated problems. The floor was called three times, and the Hebrew to my right finally figured out what was required, but he sat grumpily not talking at all. Problem fixed, except HN kept harping about it forever – which caused Hebrew to tell HN to “Don’t Talk to Me!” which meant HN had to continue harping about “Of course I can talk as long as it is in English.”
Generally tables like this are profitable, but the nits sitting here would make it a long process and I would probably either shoot someone, HN or myself, before I got far enough along to do any good. Finally I couldn’t take it any longer and asked for a table change and almost immediately was whisked away to another table.
And as bad as the first table was the new table was POKER HEAVEN. A whole table of tourist poker players who all thought they were better players than they were, all over betting and going AI with hands like 2ndPrMK against a scary board. Chips were flying and I couldn’t wait to cash, except I played some of the stupidest poker of my life. There was little doubt I was by far the best player at the table, but I fell into the zone Mike Caro calls “Fancy Play Syndrome.” I was throwing off check raises on scary boards and being called by people with 3rd Pair bad kicker. I’d raise big with KK and be called by five people and see aggression on a flop of 379 one-suited (not mine) then after I fold I find the winning hand was a different suit 89. I started playing too loose trying to get lucky and ended up not lucky. I cashed out down $350.
After that I met up with some friends and we found the lounge at the Excalibur where they were having karaoke, good times and some of the singers were awesome. Some were not, of course.
We finished up about 10pm so I went to the Excalibur Poker Room for another session. No hands stood out by again I was playing too loose, calling thin draws and basically being a donkey. I ended down $200 by 1am when I called it a night.
First, I absolutely love the Venetian. I consider it the top poker room in Las Vegas and always make a point to spend at least a few sessions there. I was sat immediately in a table they were opening.
Label this THE TABLE FROM HELL. Most of the players were a bunch of old time Vegas nits who did more gossiping and angle shooting than a church quilting group. That I could handle, except there were two foreign tourists at the table, I believe Israeli because they mostly spoke Hebrew and only a pidgin smattering of English. The problem was when the Hebrew next to me threw his hand away he started talking to his friend at the other end of the table in Hebrew, which of course is a violation of the “English Only Rule” and the Hissy Nitty (HN) to my immediate left got hissy at the repeated problems. The floor was called three times, and the Hebrew to my right finally figured out what was required, but he sat grumpily not talking at all. Problem fixed, except HN kept harping about it forever – which caused Hebrew to tell HN to “Don’t Talk to Me!” which meant HN had to continue harping about “Of course I can talk as long as it is in English.”
Generally tables like this are profitable, but the nits sitting here would make it a long process and I would probably either shoot someone, HN or myself, before I got far enough along to do any good. Finally I couldn’t take it any longer and asked for a table change and almost immediately was whisked away to another table.
And as bad as the first table was the new table was POKER HEAVEN. A whole table of tourist poker players who all thought they were better players than they were, all over betting and going AI with hands like 2ndPrMK against a scary board. Chips were flying and I couldn’t wait to cash, except I played some of the stupidest poker of my life. There was little doubt I was by far the best player at the table, but I fell into the zone Mike Caro calls “Fancy Play Syndrome.” I was throwing off check raises on scary boards and being called by people with 3rd Pair bad kicker. I’d raise big with KK and be called by five people and see aggression on a flop of 379 one-suited (not mine) then after I fold I find the winning hand was a different suit 89. I started playing too loose trying to get lucky and ended up not lucky. I cashed out down $350.
After that I met up with some friends and we found the lounge at the Excalibur where they were having karaoke, good times and some of the singers were awesome. Some were not, of course.
We finished up about 10pm so I went to the Excalibur Poker Room for another session. No hands stood out by again I was playing too loose, calling thin draws and basically being a donkey. I ended down $200 by 1am when I called it a night.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Four Rooms - Four Profit
After awhile I went down, originally thinking that I would go to the Mirage and check it out. Before I had gotten half way across the casino I heard an announcement for open seating at 1-2 HE at the Excal Poker Room and thought, “Why not?”
I sat down and the game was better than the night before, with a good mix of a couple of locals and several tourists, including the old man who had snapped off my big bluff the night before. No real hands to tell. I built my stack steadily using position and aggression post flop. After three hours I doubled up again, and again pulled a LVMichael and cashed out (+$208). The games are great but by this time I am really getting to not like the seats at the Excalibur Poker Room. Also, sad to say, I realized I had left Seymore back in my room. I hope he forgives me!
Hoped the tram to Mandalay Bay. This is a first time for this poker room for me. Overall it is a nice place, quasi separated from the casino and sports book, with comfortable chairs. The comp and tracking system is straight from the 1990s, as others have noted on the posts. However, the games were wonderful. I sat next to Tim “The Thrashing Machine” Hague, a UFC fighter staying at the MB. He is from Edmonton, Canada, and generally trains in the morning and plays poker at local casinos in the afternoons. He was a solid player, and I was happy he was on my right. There was another tricky player the other side of the table, but the rest of the players were loose-weak. Again, I mostly made my money with playing small pot poker and being aggressive after the flop. One hand that was off was when I made a hero call to a $25 river bet when I only held 3rd pair, but I couldn’t put the kid on anything after he had check-called through most of the hand. He showed a missed straight draw and I took down a tidy pot. Otherwise, about 6:45 I realized I was getting hungry, mostly because I did the Las Vegas thing and lost track of time, forgetting to eat lunch. I cashed out mostly doubled again (+$204)
I headed back to my room at the Excalibur to recheck emails and change clothes. Then I was off to Caesar’s Shops to have dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. Since I was alone I sat at the bar, having a couple of dark ales and the Jambalaya Pasta. Whoooo! So good!
Then it was over to the Mirage Poker Room for some more 1-2 NL. To tell you the truth, I probably shouldn’t have played, because I was getting tired and goofy. I can’t even say much about the table or players, since it was all a big blur. I do remember that I had been whittled down from my original buy-in of $300 down to about $150 when I won an awesome 3-way pot when my AA made a set on the turn to beat one lady with 75 2-pair and a man missed his straight and flush draws. I know I cashed out for a $98 profit about 11:30.
I was really pleased for the day. Four poker rooms and four profitable outcomes.
I sat down and the game was better than the night before, with a good mix of a couple of locals and several tourists, including the old man who had snapped off my big bluff the night before. No real hands to tell. I built my stack steadily using position and aggression post flop. After three hours I doubled up again, and again pulled a LVMichael and cashed out (+$208). The games are great but by this time I am really getting to not like the seats at the Excalibur Poker Room. Also, sad to say, I realized I had left Seymore back in my room. I hope he forgives me!
Hoped the tram to Mandalay Bay. This is a first time for this poker room for me. Overall it is a nice place, quasi separated from the casino and sports book, with comfortable chairs. The comp and tracking system is straight from the 1990s, as others have noted on the posts. However, the games were wonderful. I sat next to Tim “The Thrashing Machine” Hague, a UFC fighter staying at the MB. He is from Edmonton, Canada, and generally trains in the morning and plays poker at local casinos in the afternoons. He was a solid player, and I was happy he was on my right. There was another tricky player the other side of the table, but the rest of the players were loose-weak. Again, I mostly made my money with playing small pot poker and being aggressive after the flop. One hand that was off was when I made a hero call to a $25 river bet when I only held 3rd pair, but I couldn’t put the kid on anything after he had check-called through most of the hand. He showed a missed straight draw and I took down a tidy pot. Otherwise, about 6:45 I realized I was getting hungry, mostly because I did the Las Vegas thing and lost track of time, forgetting to eat lunch. I cashed out mostly doubled again (+$204)
I headed back to my room at the Excalibur to recheck emails and change clothes. Then I was off to Caesar’s Shops to have dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. Since I was alone I sat at the bar, having a couple of dark ales and the Jambalaya Pasta. Whoooo! So good!
Then it was over to the Mirage Poker Room for some more 1-2 NL. To tell you the truth, I probably shouldn’t have played, because I was getting tired and goofy. I can’t even say much about the table or players, since it was all a big blur. I do remember that I had been whittled down from my original buy-in of $300 down to about $150 when I won an awesome 3-way pot when my AA made a set on the turn to beat one lady with 75 2-pair and a man missed his straight and flush draws. I know I cashed out for a $98 profit about 11:30.
I was really pleased for the day. Four poker rooms and four profitable outcomes.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Why You Shouldn't Drink While You Play
Poker Grump has one of the best Las Vegas poker blogs you can read. he has a dandy of a story to share:
Why You Shouldn't Drink While You Play
Why You Shouldn't Drink While You Play
Double up at MGM Grand
I got up about 7:30, still in a bad mood from the results from the day before at the Excal and the MGM. Still I pride myself in not letting bad things get to me so I still plan to get my head right and hit the felt again. First of all, though, there is some business to do, some packages to ship back east. I hit breakfast at the Planet Hollywood Spice Market Buffet and as always it puts me in a better mood. Decent food at a reasonable price. It ended being $17 with taxes and tip.
I walked to the MGM, they had two 1-2 NL tables running, looking like a lot of tired tourists and I was feeling better already. I sat down in about 10 minutes and found a weak table – lots of limping – big bets were either monsters or air bluffs on the river with busted draws. No real good players but one young guy was quickly my target. He liked to raise strong with bigger cards like AQ of AJ. If he misses he gets tied to his Ace and bets strong and will keep betting all the way to the river. I felted him twice when he had A high and I had 2pr or better. After awhile several of the table left, and a couple of Vegas regulars I recognized sat down. I knew the character of the table was going to change so I decided to pull a LV Michael and cash out after having doubled up (+$220).
Went back to my room at the Excal to get caught up on some email and chill for a bit. Part of this is my attempt to balance out two conflicting goals. Number one is I want to keep fresh at the tables so I don’t go cuckoo by next week. The second is I do want to build up my “stamina” so I am ready to play some longer sessions this weekend. I am expecting the action to be pretty special on Friday (it’s a Friday in Vegas) Saturday at Mandalay Bay and Sunday at Mirage.
I walked to the MGM, they had two 1-2 NL tables running, looking like a lot of tired tourists and I was feeling better already. I sat down in about 10 minutes and found a weak table – lots of limping – big bets were either monsters or air bluffs on the river with busted draws. No real good players but one young guy was quickly my target. He liked to raise strong with bigger cards like AQ of AJ. If he misses he gets tied to his Ace and bets strong and will keep betting all the way to the river. I felted him twice when he had A high and I had 2pr or better. After awhile several of the table left, and a couple of Vegas regulars I recognized sat down. I knew the character of the table was going to change so I decided to pull a LV Michael and cash out after having doubled up (+$220).
Went back to my room at the Excal to get caught up on some email and chill for a bit. Part of this is my attempt to balance out two conflicting goals. Number one is I want to keep fresh at the tables so I don’t go cuckoo by next week. The second is I do want to build up my “stamina” so I am ready to play some longer sessions this weekend. I am expecting the action to be pretty special on Friday (it’s a Friday in Vegas) Saturday at Mandalay Bay and Sunday at Mirage.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Shameless Plug
Shameless plug - this is the travel guide to Las Vegas that I co-wrote and was published in 2008.
Las Vegas Poker!
I spent the morning finishing up business and packing before heading to LAX for my US Air hop. Everything went pretty smooth, except the Vegas shuttle driver. Of course, since I was in the property closest to the airport I was the last to drop off. Go figure. Next time I’ll just taxi. Anyway, I checked into the Excalibur on a great rate, partially comped in one of the remodeled, wide-screen rooms.
After taking some time to get settled in, Seymour and I headed downstairs to the Excalibur Poker Room. As written elsewhere on this site, this is simply an area in the middle of the casino, although this one did have a hip wall with glass above to separate out the worst of the noise and smoke. Two 1-2NL games going and I get immediately into a game. This Tuesday evening there are no tourists, just a bunch of local regular players, many of whom I remember from past LV trips. They are not especially good, but no one is incredibly bad either, with only one player, two seats to my right, that I would consider dangerous. The trouble is, I get lots of drawing hands that never get anywhere. I have never had a run of so many suited connectors and one-gappers that I can remember. Nothing gets there, and my buy-in melts slowly away. I reload to keep enough bullets but the drain continues. Finally, I blow a big pot when I bluff with air against an old man holding TPTK on a very scary board. The bleeding continues and I begin to get frustrated. After three hours I cash out over $300 down. Even with the regulars, it is an extremely beatable game, I think. I just didn’t get the cards or situations to get it done.
I grab a bite at Baja Fresh on the casino floor of the Excal– two fish tacos – not great, but make me feel a little better. It is still fairly early, so I decide to move my game over to the MGM. They were just opening a 2-5NL game so I happily buy-in for $500. Most buy in for about $300, although one Young Asian Guy (YAG) sits down two seats to my right with about $600. Second hand there are two callers and I look down at AhKh. I raise to $20 (I know, a little low) and get three callers. Flop is J35 all hearts. BINGO! YAG bets AI ($600 into a $$60 pot). With the nuts, I call with him having me covered, hoping he doesn’t have a set. Turn is another heart, so my A high flush still seems the best. Another 5 hits. Sure enough, he shows 35offsuit. And I am down $500 on two hands. Immediately I am on tilt and make the good decision to go for a long walk.
I wander to Aria and check out City Center. It is impressive and expensive on some level, but on another level it reminds me of the “futuristic” cities I used to see on the cheap SciFi movies of the 1960s and 1970s. It just doesn’t seem to have a soul to me, like NYNY or Venetian or Bellagio or even the Wynn does. We shall see. I peaked into the poker room.
Ended back in my room about 1am, still grumpy from the poker results for the day. Still, I am well up overall for the trip. In part II, I’ll have to see if I can forget the bad and work on the positives. Tomorrow I plan to hit the MGM again, with possibilities of more time at Excalibur, before doing more poker at Venetian and maybe Mirage.
After taking some time to get settled in, Seymour and I headed downstairs to the Excalibur Poker Room. As written elsewhere on this site, this is simply an area in the middle of the casino, although this one did have a hip wall with glass above to separate out the worst of the noise and smoke. Two 1-2NL games going and I get immediately into a game. This Tuesday evening there are no tourists, just a bunch of local regular players, many of whom I remember from past LV trips. They are not especially good, but no one is incredibly bad either, with only one player, two seats to my right, that I would consider dangerous. The trouble is, I get lots of drawing hands that never get anywhere. I have never had a run of so many suited connectors and one-gappers that I can remember. Nothing gets there, and my buy-in melts slowly away. I reload to keep enough bullets but the drain continues. Finally, I blow a big pot when I bluff with air against an old man holding TPTK on a very scary board. The bleeding continues and I begin to get frustrated. After three hours I cash out over $300 down. Even with the regulars, it is an extremely beatable game, I think. I just didn’t get the cards or situations to get it done.
I grab a bite at Baja Fresh on the casino floor of the Excal– two fish tacos – not great, but make me feel a little better. It is still fairly early, so I decide to move my game over to the MGM. They were just opening a 2-5NL game so I happily buy-in for $500. Most buy in for about $300, although one Young Asian Guy (YAG) sits down two seats to my right with about $600. Second hand there are two callers and I look down at AhKh. I raise to $20 (I know, a little low) and get three callers. Flop is J35 all hearts. BINGO! YAG bets AI ($600 into a $$60 pot). With the nuts, I call with him having me covered, hoping he doesn’t have a set. Turn is another heart, so my A high flush still seems the best. Another 5 hits. Sure enough, he shows 35offsuit. And I am down $500 on two hands. Immediately I am on tilt and make the good decision to go for a long walk.
I wander to Aria and check out City Center. It is impressive and expensive on some level, but on another level it reminds me of the “futuristic” cities I used to see on the cheap SciFi movies of the 1960s and 1970s. It just doesn’t seem to have a soul to me, like NYNY or Venetian or Bellagio or even the Wynn does. We shall see. I peaked into the poker room.
Ended back in my room about 1am, still grumpy from the poker results for the day. Still, I am well up overall for the trip. In part II, I’ll have to see if I can forget the bad and work on the positives. Tomorrow I plan to hit the MGM again, with possibilities of more time at Excalibur, before doing more poker at Venetian and maybe Mirage.
Second Day at Hawaiian Gardens
My original plan was to play at Commerce, but the games had been so juicy at Hawaiian Gardens I decided for a return engagement.
If anything else, my table was even better than the day before. Actually, the players were a little better, but they were incredibly predictable. I had wonderful reads on everyone there. I just needed some cards. Unfortunately, my first 90 minutes I ran card dead, and my $100 buy-in dwindled. I had a couple drawing hands that fizzled. I tried making a couple of plays at some pots and had to release my hands when I encountered resistance. Finally, with about $50 left in my stack I landed JJ on a 9-high flop. The player to my left reraised AI on my Cbet and I was pretty much pot-committed. I ruefully called and saw my first buyin go away to the man who flopped a set of dueces. I reached for another buy-in and hoped my luck changed.
And it sure did. I really didn’t get great cards, per se, but the rest of the table would overplay anything they had, betting big with TPTK against a highly coordinated flop. In the next several hours I made killer pots when someone slow played big PPs preflop, only to go AI after I’d made a set or other bigger hand. Twice someone with a baby flush went AI when I made the nut flush, etc. All the while I am having my conversations with Seymour the Seagull and some players are (half) joking about kidnapping the bird, or putting a Haitian Voodoo hex on it. Good times.
After four hours I cash out, the longest I could sit in the chairs at Hawaiian Gardens, up a nice $1018. The facilities at HG weren’t the best. It also has the California cardroom tendency for low-buyins which make for some serious short stack tables. However, if you have a kitchen sink knowledge of position and pot odds there is lots of money to be made there. Play good TAG poker and value bet and the money is there.
If anything else, my table was even better than the day before. Actually, the players were a little better, but they were incredibly predictable. I had wonderful reads on everyone there. I just needed some cards. Unfortunately, my first 90 minutes I ran card dead, and my $100 buy-in dwindled. I had a couple drawing hands that fizzled. I tried making a couple of plays at some pots and had to release my hands when I encountered resistance. Finally, with about $50 left in my stack I landed JJ on a 9-high flop. The player to my left reraised AI on my Cbet and I was pretty much pot-committed. I ruefully called and saw my first buyin go away to the man who flopped a set of dueces. I reached for another buy-in and hoped my luck changed.
And it sure did. I really didn’t get great cards, per se, but the rest of the table would overplay anything they had, betting big with TPTK against a highly coordinated flop. In the next several hours I made killer pots when someone slow played big PPs preflop, only to go AI after I’d made a set or other bigger hand. Twice someone with a baby flush went AI when I made the nut flush, etc. All the while I am having my conversations with Seymour the Seagull and some players are (half) joking about kidnapping the bird, or putting a Haitian Voodoo hex on it. Good times.
After four hours I cash out, the longest I could sit in the chairs at Hawaiian Gardens, up a nice $1018. The facilities at HG weren’t the best. It also has the California cardroom tendency for low-buyins which make for some serious short stack tables. However, if you have a kitchen sink knowledge of position and pot odds there is lots of money to be made there. Play good TAG poker and value bet and the money is there.
Calculating Poker Odds
If you really want to get good at poker, you have to know the odds. I recently came across this little book. If you want to improve your game, knowing how strong your draws are by knowing the odds are critical. This is a cool little book to help even the mathematically challenged.
Silly Texas Poker Hands
Here is an installment of Super Silly Hands from my first day of play at the SoCal Hawaiian Gardens Poker Room.
SSHand #1 – I have been card dead for an exteneded period when I decided to try a play. On the button with three limpers I bet $20 with Tc2c. Two callers ($62 in pot). Flop is Q52 with two spades. Check, check I bet $45 one caller. Turn is a K spades. Check. I ask my lone opponent how much he has left and he shows me only $6!!! That was smart on my part, no way to bluff now. I check. River is an offsuit A. check, check. I sheepishly rollover my T high to amazement from the table. The table was even more amazed when the other player rolled over a 64 for a missed gutshot straight draw and I take a big pot with only T-high.
SS Hand #2 – Very next hand 4 limpers when I look down at black Rockets in the cutoff. I raise to $20 and get 4 callers ($85 in pot). Flop is horrible, 89T with two hearts. Checked around to me. I bet $50 and there are three callers. I am now done with this hand. Turn is a K hearts, completing the flush. Check around and so I have some hope I might be still good, despite straight and flushes on board. River is a meaningless deuce. Check around again and my Aces win a showdown against a host of lower pairs and busted straight draws.
I played four hours until the travelling and lack-of-sleep started to take their toll, not to mention the uncomfortable chairs were getting beyond what I could stand. I cashed out for a tidy profit of $481, a good start to my two weeks of poker.
SSHand #1 – I have been card dead for an exteneded period when I decided to try a play. On the button with three limpers I bet $20 with Tc2c. Two callers ($62 in pot). Flop is Q52 with two spades. Check, check I bet $45 one caller. Turn is a K spades. Check. I ask my lone opponent how much he has left and he shows me only $6!!! That was smart on my part, no way to bluff now. I check. River is an offsuit A. check, check. I sheepishly rollover my T high to amazement from the table. The table was even more amazed when the other player rolled over a 64 for a missed gutshot straight draw and I take a big pot with only T-high.
SS Hand #2 – Very next hand 4 limpers when I look down at black Rockets in the cutoff. I raise to $20 and get 4 callers ($85 in pot). Flop is horrible, 89T with two hearts. Checked around to me. I bet $50 and there are three callers. I am now done with this hand. Turn is a K hearts, completing the flush. Check around and so I have some hope I might be still good, despite straight and flushes on board. River is a meaningless deuce. Check around again and my Aces win a showdown against a host of lower pairs and busted straight draws.
I played four hours until the travelling and lack-of-sleep started to take their toll, not to mention the uncomfortable chairs were getting beyond what I could stand. I cashed out for a tidy profit of $481, a good start to my two weeks of poker.
Los Angeles and Las Vegas Trip, Part One
I have been going to Las Vegas for almost ten years, although the last three years I have been limited to 1-2 visits a year for 1-2 weeks each since my wife and I are working on a cultural interchange project in Ecuador. We both work in schools. My school is out on vacation for two months, while my wife’s is still in session, so I am in Los Angeles and Las Vegas for two weeks for both some business and poker time by myself.
Leave at 00:20am Sunday morning and go through a marathon air trip from Guayaquil, Ecuador, through Atlanta and onto LAX on American. Both flights were crammed full so comfort was low, although somehow I did land at LAX 40 minutes early. Ended up at my hotel in Cypress and get settled in. My plan was to go to one of the LA cardrooms and play some low limit to get the rust off my live game. I felt surprisingly okay so hit the nearest poker room – the Hawaiian Gardens.
I’ve played in most of the SoCal poker rooms but this was the first time at HG. First thing, HG is pretty dumpy. It really is just a bunch of semi-permanent tents connected together. It has almost 100 tables for anything from NLHE to Omaha, Pai Gow, Pan, Blackjack and other games. It was also holding lots of promotions. It was having a Sunday giveaway of up to $7500. There was also a bad beat jackpot for Aces full of Tens beaten by Quads or better, that was at $100,000 for a special promotion. Action was busy. The table I sat at was a $100 buy-in with $2/$3 blinds. I had considered going to one of the bigger games, but since I was at the end of a marathon travel session, plus I was simply looking for some live action to warm up for Vegas, I settled for the lower level. It was an inspired decision, because the players in the $100 buy-in games were insanely bad. All of them were experienced playing NLHE, but there was only one who played even a remotely solid game. This was fortunate, because it took me about an hour to settle down into playing anything approaching solid myself. But even when I made a bad play, the other players made even worse plays.
Exemplars:
Hand #1 – I’d done nothing but fold for the first twenty minutes and was getting bored, looking for something to open with. I am in Cutoff with A9off with 3 limpers. I decide to just call and we see the flop 5 handed ($15 in pot). Flop is J73 rainbow, checked around to me and I bet $12 to see what happens, two callers ($60 in pot). Turn is a 9. Check-check I bet $40 with one caller ($140 in pot). Q on river and we both check. My 9s beat his pocket 6s for a nice start.
Hand #2 – I give back a chunk of my winnings when my flopped top set is beaten by a turned straight flush. I am actually quite thrilled because my opponent did not realize he had a straight flush, thought he had a baby flush and was afraid I might have a bigger flush. It could have been much worse, because with my top set I could have lost more.
Leave at 00:20am Sunday morning and go through a marathon air trip from Guayaquil, Ecuador, through Atlanta and onto LAX on American. Both flights were crammed full so comfort was low, although somehow I did land at LAX 40 minutes early. Ended up at my hotel in Cypress and get settled in. My plan was to go to one of the LA cardrooms and play some low limit to get the rust off my live game. I felt surprisingly okay so hit the nearest poker room – the Hawaiian Gardens.
I’ve played in most of the SoCal poker rooms but this was the first time at HG. First thing, HG is pretty dumpy. It really is just a bunch of semi-permanent tents connected together. It has almost 100 tables for anything from NLHE to Omaha, Pai Gow, Pan, Blackjack and other games. It was also holding lots of promotions. It was having a Sunday giveaway of up to $7500. There was also a bad beat jackpot for Aces full of Tens beaten by Quads or better, that was at $100,000 for a special promotion. Action was busy. The table I sat at was a $100 buy-in with $2/$3 blinds. I had considered going to one of the bigger games, but since I was at the end of a marathon travel session, plus I was simply looking for some live action to warm up for Vegas, I settled for the lower level. It was an inspired decision, because the players in the $100 buy-in games were insanely bad. All of them were experienced playing NLHE, but there was only one who played even a remotely solid game. This was fortunate, because it took me about an hour to settle down into playing anything approaching solid myself. But even when I made a bad play, the other players made even worse plays.
Exemplars:
Hand #1 – I’d done nothing but fold for the first twenty minutes and was getting bored, looking for something to open with. I am in Cutoff with A9off with 3 limpers. I decide to just call and we see the flop 5 handed ($15 in pot). Flop is J73 rainbow, checked around to me and I bet $12 to see what happens, two callers ($60 in pot). Turn is a 9. Check-check I bet $40 with one caller ($140 in pot). Q on river and we both check. My 9s beat his pocket 6s for a nice start.
Hand #2 – I give back a chunk of my winnings when my flopped top set is beaten by a turned straight flush. I am actually quite thrilled because my opponent did not realize he had a straight flush, thought he had a baby flush and was afraid I might have a bigger flush. It could have been much worse, because with my top set I could have lost more.
About Seymour
A word about the “You da Bird!” A year ago I bought a Tagua carving of a seagull. Tagua is also known as Vegetable Ivory, is a nut that grows on a tree located in the Ecuadorian and Peruvian regions of the Amazon Rain Forest. Native tribes pick the nut and make carvings, which resemble ivory. I use the seagull (AKA Seymore the Seagull) as a chip protector in live games. I’ve developed a schtick of talking to the bird, asking it for advice during hands, and when winning I congratulate it saying “You da Bird!” Good times, it livens the table up and the other players generally decide I’m completely crazy, all to the good.
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