ES
MGM, MGM and ummm more MGM LONG
My friend and I got into town from Denver on the 9th of Nov and hopped the shuttle to the MGM Signature. Now first things first DON'T TAKE THE SHUTTLE! Normally we always grab a cab and are there in 5 minutes. This time we opted to give the shuttle a try and after paying our 6 bucks each we were carried around half of vegas for about 40 minutes while dropping off other passengers before heading to the Signature. A cab costs 10 bucks plus tip so next time we will stick with that.
A note on the Signature. It is top notch. No where else has the kind of service and accomidations with such a great location. We have stayed there the last 5 times we were in Vegas and will not stay anywhere else.
Normally we are just in Vegas to make some extra dough over a weekend and head home. We are there for poker and poker only. Well this time was different because my newly divorced friend was meeting a girl he had initially met online. I am a believer that Vegas and spouses/girlfriends cannot co exist and having her along proved it. I saw my friend for a total of 3 hours of poker, the rest of the time he was off doing whatever it is couples do in Vegas. I leave my wife at home so I could not tell you.
Ok on to the poker.... I almost exclusively play at the MGM and this trip was no exception. I did not play as much this trip as I was tired from working on our new home and just wanted to relax some while away from the wife and kid.
After arriving at the Signature I headed to the MGM poker room and was seated at the 1-2 fairly quickly. I never play my best on the first night because I am getting back into my game. I played for about 5 hours or so and was down 200 bucks. Most notable hand was me on button with JQ with unraised pot. Flop 6 J Q rainbow. BB bets out 25 (twice the size of pot) and it folds to me. I raise to 50, BB calls behind. Turn is a 9. BB bets out 50 and I go all in for 140 ish he calls with pocket 9s and I don't improve. Now this is a hand that if I was on my game I would have not made that move and saved alot of money but I did and that was my mistake. After playing I met my friend and his internet lady for dinner at rainforest cafe (using my MGM poker room comps)
After dinner I went back to the poker room and played for another 5 hours and left up 600 no real notable hands that I can remember. So my trip did not start out that great but the first night never does.
Next day I decided to relax at the roof top pool of the radisson where internet girl was staying. I played a few hours of poker that night at MGM and the table had no action so I decided to walk around get some food and go into the pit of hell that I like to call the excalibur.
The EX has the loosest tourist games I have ever played in and the game I sat in on was no different. It was INSANE. I watched all ins preflop for 200 with the callers calling down with KTo and A5 SUUUUUUITED! I just watched and ended up in a raised pot with AJ on button against one of the crazy SOBs. He was BB and flop comes AAQ. He immediatly pushes all in and I call, no way to put him on a hand because he didnt even know what he had most of the time (more to come on that). Anyway he shows QQ and I do not improve so first hand I play I lose my 200 buy in. A couple hands later the same guy now has close to 500 chips and he calls someones all in who has the nut straight on a board of A 2 4. He flops his cards over and says I have the straight too! Well check again buddy all you have is a pair of twos (2,5o) and he loses the whole 500 on that call!!!!!!! ARGGGGG!!!!!!!!! I could not take that game any longer and left down 300 in about 30 minutes.
Sunday I made it down to the MGM 1-2 at about 5pm and played well and got a good table I could run all over. I ended the night at 1 am for a profit of 1500. Over the last year that is my best table profit at 1-2 in that short of time. Closest I came before was 1100.
Monday the final day I hit the tables about 3 pm and played until 7:45. I was playing very pissed off at this guy I will call grotesquely fat guy or GFG. He was the perfect guy to donk off all his money to me but he was making insane calls and hitting. I got seated beside GFG and could not even get even get up close to the table because he was taking up my area and his. I asked to be moved to another side of the table when a seat opened up. I had been watching him donk off to others and could not wait for a hand with him. My mistake, first hand with him I bump it to 8 with A8c in middle position. GFG calls from the BB. Flop 7 K J with 2 clubs. GFG bets out 20 and I raise to 50. GFG calls. Turn is an A. GFG checks and I push in for remaining 130ish. GFG thinks and thinks and says the famous I have to call and turns over KT river is K and I lose my stack.
I really love those type of calls but this guy kept hitting and pissing me off LOL. So one of the last hands I played at the table in same positions I limp with 88 and he raises from the BB to 20. I call behind with one other british girl caller (BG). Flop comes J 2 7. GFG bets out 20, BG folds. I can smell his weakness and raise him all in for about 100 more. He insta calls with AK and yes you guessed it the turn is an A.
After that train wreck I left the table about 30 minutes later down 300.
I had some major bluffs and re bluffs that would take all day to explain and you would need to know the table so I will spare all of you the torture as this is long enough.
So all in all I was only up about 1300 for the trip which for the amount of poker I played was not to bad. Normally I play about 40-45 hours during a 4 day stay and this time I put in no more then 30. I always have a 2000 dollar goal but I was not to upset about not making it because of the time spent.
Hey I might have been at your table in the Excalibur. I was playin there from 1 o clock on during the day on saturday till about 4 in the morning. Your story sounds kinda familiar but im not sure. A guy came and played some hands similar to yours and things just didnt go his way. Maybe it was you
I was stayin there with 4 other friends from Ireland. That was my last day in Vegas and i had wanted to go see the Bellagio and other things that night but the game was so juicey i couldnt leave. I agree its a feckin nutty place to play poker. My god it took me over 6 hours to get back to even but I left up about 1,200 in the end so was glad i stayed. I was playin the 1/3 NL game. I must say i like how americans like playin so deep. Back home here in Ireland that would be rare to play that deep. I had a wild day that day drinkin chit loads but you can make bucket loads (at low limits obv) there.
I know it must have been frustrating leavin 500 down but had you won either of those of hand or more luckily had a hand vs some of the terrible players you would have been flyin for the day
If it was you i think you might have put in a few bluffs (where you repopped on the river when an A hit bringin all draws on board and the guy called with K5 for 2nd pair no kicker) theres no way a half decent player would have called you but if you were there long enough you would have realised its very rare a bluff gets through hence value bet hard all day long
Anyway later
Bp
Hey man maybe you were there, were 3 tables going of 1-3 when I got there and I was just walking by to check it out and got in on the game. I only left down 300 at that table but seeing that guy donk off my chips on a misread against another player was just sick. I come out about once a month and much prefer the games at the MGM because it is easier to play against moderatly decent players then total jack holes that are just there to throw money around. I am there to make money not just sling it around for fun. I have had those big nights at the EX where I get the great hands against the donkey who pays me off but the risk at those tables seems to be more then the reward sometimes. I prefer to just stay away from that place. Next time I will not even walk into that casino:) Hope you had a good time, glad to here you left the table up. Did you just play at the EX?
Hey
Yeh i know what you mean, ya need to be able to enjoy your time playing too and seein some bat-mad insane poker can send ya on life tilt
I mainly played in the EX but I played some low buy in tourneys. 5 of us went to play in Binions mainly to check it out as always wanted to go there. It seems to be stuck in the 1970's or something but it was cool to check it out. Just as we walked in I remembered my bro and uncle had told me to bet on roulette numbers 8 32 and 23 so i stuck $10 on each and red and red 32 (or 23) came up
quick $360! Then 5 of us played in the 40 seater tourney. My first table involved muscle stretching by folding non stop for an hour. My mate got off to a nice start and got his stack up from the 4k starting stack to about 7k by the 1st break. Iwas down to about 2,200 and my hopes werent great. Pretty soon after the break with blinds are 150/300 i pushed 2,000+ with QQ and luckily got called by 10 10 and my hand held
I got moved table though (where another friend was) and things started to pick up. I took a stab at a pot on the turn with 85s on a QQJK board after it was checked twice by 4 only for my friend to check raise and show QJ after i folded. This set me up nicely for the very next hand where with blinds 200/400 I got KK in the SB and after 3 limpers i made it 1900, got one caller, flop came Q33 with2 hearts. I was willin to gamble and give the free card in the hope of gettin my somewhat small stack in the the middle so i checked and so did she. Turn was an 8 and i pushed for prob 3 or 4k hopin to look like missed AK etc. I was called pretty quickly by 6 6 and my hand held.
Make long story short got moved table with a decent stack and was blessed to pick up AA while another biggish stack had KK and *another* good stack decided to go with AKs and i won a huge pot. 3 out of the 5 of us made the Final table but unfortunatley 1 of my mates bubbled in 6th when he open pushed with a gutshot and got called by TPGK
When we were 3 handed i slagin my mate (we had a last longer bet) and i said "Here take your best shot and knock me out" as i pushed K8offsuit with 7 big blinds in a SB vs BB battle. He said "Ummm...i most certainly will" as he called with AA LOL GG
It was alota fun though
Also played some in Planet Hollywood, played 1 tourney but got knowhere so played quick cash session which BTW was a very soft game. Alotta deepstacks again but in the 40 odd hands i played i think there was 1 raise preflop but i was exhausted after long day so didnt hang around for much longer.
We also played some in one or 2 other casinos but i cant remember the name. One morning was very funny. As is the norm in Vegas we woke up at an ungodly hour of 3 am and all got up to go for dinner and pints (as one does right!!) and ended up playin a 7:00 am tourney somewhere. Only 1 other person turned up so there was 6 of us in total. It was great fun though but I hope we didnt wreck the dealers head talkin such nonsense. There was 1 canadian man stuck in the middle of 5 half drunked irish ramblers but every time he was all in with 1 of us we were all rooting for him to win. It was funny but he was unlucky to run into my 2 5 offsuit when he did
I ended up down about $30's when I came 2nd but had rebought twice for 60 a pop.
We went to the Vinitian and wanted to sign up for the $180 freezeout but we were sickened to hear our friend couldnt play because he had no photographic ID with him (it was back in the hotel) which he needed to join the PLayers Club. I thought it was reasonable but my friends joked how we could shoot guns in vegas without ID but couldnt play poker!
I was kinda gutted cause there was a great turnout for that tourney and nice half hour blinds but my mates a twit so i blame it on him
We're already plannin our trip back and i for one cant wait. Just wish it was sooner rather than later
Anyway sorry for hijackin , just started rambling
Take her easy man