Apologies for the month-long delay in getting this report up. This trip took place from Wednesday, Feb 17th to Tuesday, Feb 23rd. I planned on playing the Venetian $340 deep stack event on Thursday the 18th and past that I was just going to do as much of the strip as I could take. I was definitely looking forward to the NAPT main event on Saturday as it would allow me to spend a bit of time railing the big names. This report is probably too long, but I did try to keep it down to either hand breakdowns or stories about someone reasonably well known.

Wednesday started off on a solid note. The Venetian was packed and they had set up dozens of tables out in front of the poker room. I got into a 1/2 game and loaded for $100 since my limited experience at the Venetian is that it is a tougher room on average. I wasn't expecting first 1/2 game I sat in to be a dream come true. It was a complete loose-passive limp-fest with several stations and only one or two players that I felt that I needed to be cautious of. The biggest spot at the table was a lady two to my left who was playing roughly 97% of her hands and overbetting the pot whenever it was checked to her. She also had a habit of over-raising weak-looking bets, and from what I could see, "weak-looking" was anything less than $20. She'd been successful and inducing folds using brute force so I was looking for an opportunity to catch her. The opportunity came when I picked up TT UTG. I started the hand with about $95 and when made it $10 to go, she made it $20. It folded to me and I flatted, knowing that I could check-raise all-in on most flops and be in good shape, given how many hands she was playing. The flop came 322r, which looked pretty good to me. I checked and, as expected, she fired $50 into the $43 dollar pot. I put the rest of my stack in and she hesitated, which was also a good sign. She eventually called the rest off and the turn was an 8, followed by an A on the river. I didn't love the ace but I tabled my hand and she nodded and mucked. That was satisfying enough, but the next hand was even better. I was in the BB and had about five limpers when I looked down at 78s. I checked and happily watched the flop roll off 69Tr. I led out for $7, figuring that she'd raise my "weak" bet because that's what she does and because she was probably a little upset about doubling me up. Sure enough, she shipped for $75 and I snapped, tabling my hand. The turn was a T and the river was an ace. Again she nodded and mucked, leaving the table. The rest of the session was uneventful and I cashed out up $235. Nice start to the trip.

I got a bite and played a short second session at the V. I then watched my $100 buyin get reduced to $70 before the QTd happened. I limped the button after some limpers and watched the flop come Jd 9d 4s. It checks to me and I bet $10 into $12. I get check-raised to $25 by a guy who was new to the table and I waste no time geting my ~$70 in the center. I shipped it in, not thinking that I had any fold equity, since clearly I did not, but because I figured I was a favorite to take it down when the river was out. He called, the turn was an A, and the river was a K, giving me the nuts and a double up. Nothing else of note happened and I left $54 up on the session. I saw some sights and crashed early, exhausted from the time change (-3 hours) and because I wanted to be fresh for the tournament the next day.

Thursday I got to the V and bought in early, giving me time to hit the Grand Luxe. I found the breakfast sandwich to be elite and recommend it to anyone who has the chance. The tournament started at noon and early on was a severe limpfest. I saw little to work with and so mainly just watched. There was a table captain who was involved in at least 50% of the pots and made a lot of moves post-flop. I'm sorry to say that I let him take me off of a hand by threatening my stack. We were at 100/200/25 and, with about 10k or so, I opened A9h for 550 from the CO. The BTN, who was kinda loose, flatted and the captain flatted from the BB. The flop came K96r and it checked around. The turn was the 3h, giving me a flush draw, and the BB checked again. I bet 1000 into ~1800, feeling like I might be able to get a little value out of this hand. The BTN folded, and the BB check-raised me to 3200. When he did that I realized that I probably shouldn't have bet, since I had no plan if someone raised. I called, not believing him, and the turn was the 8d. He put me all-in for roughly 6,000 and I wasn't able to call, afraid of being wrong. If I had not bet the turn then the river would have been an easy call, assuming he even bet. I'm not sure if betting the turn was the big mistake or if not snapping him off on the river was the problem, but I hated that hand. Short-stacked now, I felt like my tournament was soon going to end. I 3-bet shoved over some late-position raises with stuff like 77 and AQ and I worked my stack back up to 9,000. During this time, the captain, who took me off my A9h, punted his 30k stack and was replaced a new big-stack who played a lot of hands too. This new guy raised to 1100 at 200/400/25 and got two callers. I woke up with QQ in the SB and shipped it for my 9k, happy if I got action and content with being at around 12k - 13k if I didn't. The big stack called, the others folded, and he tabled 44. Thankfully, the QQ held and I fould myself semi-healthy with something in the neighborhood of 20k in my stack. The next hand of note at my table saw me, at 400/800/75, flopping a T for top pair out of the SB with T9o (T62, I believe). There was a flush draw and I was OOP against three opponents in a limped pot, so I bet about 2200 into ~3800. I got two callers, one of whom (based on the way he acted) I suspected was floating me and the other I figured for the draw. The T paired on the turn, not completing the draw. This left me needing to decide if I should try to check-raise the guy I thought was floating me or if I should charge the guy who I thought was drawing. I decided to guarantee myself value on this hand and bet 7000 into ~10,500. The suspected floater eyed me for a good 30 seconds, I suppose trying to decide if I'd fold to a raise. Fortunately for him he folded. The BTN called and the river was an offsuit Q. I checked, knowing that he'd never call another bet but thinking he might try to win the pot if I "showed weakness". He immediately checked behind and my T was good. I suspected I wasn't going to get any more on that hand but checking seemed superior even though I didn't think he'd bluff very often.

The last hand was against the same guy who had the 44 when I had QQ. He raised to 2400 at 500/1000/100 and it folded to me in the BB. With a stack of about 35,000, I looked down at two red aces. Since I'd been pretty tight and had not 3-bet a single time (with the exception of the queens), I knew that I'd likely lose my action if I reraised him. So, I just called, planning on check-raising most flops when he c-bet with nothing. At least then I'd get another bet out of him. The flop came KT6r and we both checked. The turn was a 5c, putting two clubs on the board. I bet 5k and he called quickly. The river was an 8c and I checked. Without much hesitation he put me all-in. I felt lost then, taking about a minute to decide what to do and not really able to put him on a hand that made sense. Ultimately I decided that my line looked weak and that if he had my hand beat that he'd most likely bet less. So, I called. He tabled 99 and I doubled to over 75,000, leaving me feeling very healthy. My table broke soon after and I was moved to a new table where I was the biggest stack by at least 25k. Over the next three levels I tried to use my superior stack to pick up chips but I got 3-bet several times. Not knowing much about the players at this table I was forced to fold to these raises. After three levels it was dinner break time and this table broke as well. I had 72,000 and was frustrated with my lack of progress. I was also frustrated at my lack of hands, as AA and QQ were the only really premium holdings I'd had all day.

I hit the Grand Luxe again to unwind and thought about how things had been going, hoping that my new table would give me some chances to recover. It ended up being much worse, as I had several big stacks on my left who were very active. At the start of the 1000/2000/300 level I had 72,000 and that was my high point at this table. I was incredibly card-dead and, with the loose big stacks on my left I felt like I was forced to wait for cards. They never came and over the next two hours I was anted down to about 38,000. At the end of the 2000/4000/500 level it was folded to me in the SB and I shipped my 38,000 in the dark after pretending to look. The BB called, tabled KQo, and I tabled 75o. He flopped top 2 and I was out 9 short of the money. Perhaps I could have folded into the money but it took another hour or so before the bubble broke so I don't believe so. I also questioned how few hands I played at that last table, but the attempts I did make to get active were met with large 3-bets that I had to fold to, so I felt like there was little I could do. Anyway, after over 11 hours I went broke with no payout and was more than a little disappointed. Nonetheless, it was a solid tournament with a good structure and I very much want to do another one in the future.

My Thursday was capped off by my third hand in a 4/8 game I sat in at the Venetian after my bustout. On this hand I flopped the nut flush in a 3-way, 3-bet pot. Par for the course, the board paired on the turn and one of my opponents had top set for the nut full house. I left a little while after that down $55 and frustrated with poker.

Friday was a $50 loss at 3/6 at Aria (nice room, though) and a 1/2 session at Bellagio. There was a drunk English spewtard who was donating stacks to the table and I was able to pick up some of it, fortunately. The hand that made me decide that I needed to take a dinner break was when the drunk raised from UTG to $10. The CO, who was reasonably tight, called and it was to me on the BTN with QQ and a $385 stack. I meant to make it $45 but I misclicked and made it $60. The SB thought I was making a move on the drunk and 4-bet me to $150 with $200 behind. It folded to me and I hated the spot I was in, knowing I very well could be good but also knowing that I could easily be crushed. This guy hadn't been crazy and hadn't 4-bet once yet. I ended up folding and he mucked, insisting I'd made a good laydown. After I cashed out I went back to the table and asked him again and he admitted that it was a total move, thinking that I was just going after the drunk. *sigh*

I hit Bally's next to see about this room that people say is always juicy. I proceed to lose my first buyin of $120 when I have K7 on a flop of A77 and run into A7. I reload and get it back when I raise in EP with KK and get called by a donkey on the BTN who likes to overplay top pair. The flop comes J-high and very dry so I bet 1/2 pot hoping that he has a J. He ships for $115 on top and I know that I have to call him, given his tendencies. He tables KJ and I stack him, getting me to $10 over even. At this point he was the last fish at the table and he didn't reload so I take a walk to MGM Grand to see if I can find another good table. I do, and I start another 1/2 session with $200. Immediately I watch this asian girl on my right playing too many hands and she loses most of her stack on one hand, leaving her with $15. She loads for another $100 and is on the BTN for the next hand, with me in the SB. There are 3 or 4 limpers and she quickly makes it $15. I have JJ and am pretty sure that she's steaming after losing the big pot last hand, so I make it $60, prepared to play for stacks with her. Everyone folds to her and she just calls the $60, leaving her with $55. The flop comes KT9r and I put her all-in, which perhaps I didn't have to do but I figured she might call as weak as AQ or AT or something. She snap calls and tables T9s, which held up. *sigh* I load for another $100 and go broke in a huge 6-way pot when I flop the nut flush draw and get it in but sadly miss everything. -$300 for MGM.

Saturday I played the Aria noon tournament and, though the structure was decent early, it soon sped up and felt like a turbo with the size of the blind jumps. The stack I built early was soon in shove or fold mode and I ran 33 into KK and went broke. The highlight of Saurday was going to the Venetian for day 1 the NAPT. The tournament staff was allowing spectators to walk among the tables as long as they didn't bother the players. So, I kept my distance from the tables and watched a who's who of poker pros play. Negreanu, Hellmuth, Scotty Nguyen, Vanessa Russo, Greenstein, Raymer, and many more were in action. On the last hand before the first break I was there for I watched Negreanu take a decent-sized pot from Josh Arieh by making broadway against Josh's set of aces. Daniel was then kind enough to sign his three books that I brought with me and do a photo op. He was very cool and pretty friendly with everyone. I hung out during the break and was fortunate to run into Barry, who signed Ace on the River for me. When the tournament resumed I went back to being a railbird and settled in to watch Hellmuth play. They had just moved to 300/600/50 and Phil had about 29,000. An EP player opened for 1600 and Phil 3-bet from the CO to 4500. The guy called and the flop came 456r. It went check/check and the turn was a 7. The guy led into Phil for 6000 and Phil insta-called. The river was a K and it went check/check again. The guy tabled 99 and Phil mucked. Kathy Liebert, who was at the table, proceeded to give Phil a lot of hell for not being able to win that showdown, since virtually every hand in a reasonable 3-betting range could beat 99 on that board. Some more banter ensued and a few hands passed when Phil raised from EP to 1600. The guy who had the 99 proceeded to 3-bet him to 4500. Phil called and they saw a flop of T42 with two spades. Phil checked and the guy bet about 5000. Phil then sat up straight, looked over to Negreanu (who was a couple of tables away and facing the other way) and called out for him to come over. Sadly, Daniel had his headphones on and was unable to hear Phil. Knowing that it would be a great moment if Daniel was there, I went over to Daniel and tapped him on the shoulder. He lifted his headphones:

Daniel: "What's up?"
Me: "Hellmuth is calling for you."
Daniel: "Why? What does he want?"
Me: "I don't know, but it looks like he's about to go broke. I just thought you should know that he's asking for you."

He then got up and went over to Phil's table to see what the deal was. The exchange went something like this:

Daniel: "What's going on man? Is this another Phil Hellmuth moment?"
Phil: "You know Daniel, back in the day..."
Daniel: "Back in the day, huh?"
Phil: "Yeah, back in the day, when they had the aces and I had this hand, I could get away from it. But I can't do that anymore, so I'm all in."

At this point, Phil's opponent excitely shot out of his seat and asked "Is he all in?!?" Phil was indeed all in and his opponent snap-called and tabled his aces. Phil shrugged and tabled his queens and failed to improve. He didn't blow up or have any of the standard Phil moments, probably because his opponent had aces and when someone stacks you with aces, calling them a donkey is hard to justify. Anyway, even though he'd just been stacked and busted out of a $5k event, he was good enough to take a photo with me, which I think says volumes about how good a guy he really is.

I watched a little more of the tournament action and headed to Bally's to play a little. Sadly, I didn't find any good tables this time as they were all pretty tight and each one had at least one huge stack at it. The one that I played at was pretty tight and I had little to work with in the way of cards. I took down a few pots and left 2 hours later up $25 after no notable hands. I then went to Bellagio, hoping for a better situation and didn't find it there either. I did play one interesting hand, though. In the 1/2 game I sat in at Bellagio, there was an old nit on my left who had about $450 in front of him. He was limping a fair amount but only raising the really strong stuff. An action player who was in pretty much every hand raised to $8 from middle position. I was in the CO with JJ and should absolutely have 3-bet him. For some reason, which I like to think is a sixth sense, I didn't. I just called, which is a good thing, since the old nit on my left 3-bet to $25 from the BTN. It folds to the action player who calls. I only have $210 or so and I can't call off $25 if I know that I need a set to win (which I definitely did), so I folded. The flop came A66 and the action player checked. The old nit then checked. The turn was a J and I found myself wondering whether that card would have won me the pot or cost me my stack, had I chosen to call preflop. Action player check-called a $30 bet and check-called $50 on a blank river. The nit tabled AA and I could only smile inwardly, having been fortunate to avoid a complete disaster. I grinded out a small $40 profit from that table and left for the night.

By Sunday I found myself wearing out and not as hungry to play as I had been on previous days. I did a short session of 1/2 at the Venetian where I had AA against KK, bottom set, and a few overpairs. I left up $115 and played some craps, which I was really enjoying. Though I realize that the player can't beat craps, the house edge is pretty small if you bet the pass line and take several times odds on your bet. It's a good time, and I found it to be a good way to relax. Over the course of the trip I was able to take $200 - $300 away from the craps tables, which helped to cancel out the losses from the tournaments I didn't cash in and the MGM session where I got brutalized.

I did make it to the Sunday night mixed game at IP, though, and it was pretty entertaining. I was told that LVM didn't attend the game any more so I made an effort to represent for him by buying in for $330 and building a nice pyramid. The table was mostly pretty passive and fit-or-fold, with the exception of one bearded gentleman who was pretty aggressive and was frequently involved in hands and putting pressure on the table. He had to step out for a few hours in the middle of the game and I found that my results dramatically improved while he was gone. Apparently without that player at the table (who had position on me, BTW) I was better able control the action. I played through a full rotation (which took about 3 hours) and ended up taking off after that, up $45.

On Monday I tried a 1/2 table over at the Venetian around noon and found a serious rock garden. Raises were to $15 and even set over set confrontations didn't involve people getting all in, despite having effective stacks of less than 100 BB's. It didn't take me long to see that this wasn't the dream table for me so I racked up and took off. I decided that I was ready to take on the party side of Vegas since I had to leave the next morning and a hangover wouldn't be a problem. I got a discount ticket to Mystere over at TI, a few shots, and a giant margarita. I headed over to the Bellagio to see what was happening in the poker room, figuring that I'd have time to sit for a little bit before dinner if a seat was open. Alas, there was no action that I was looking for (1/2 or 4/8) and I was about to leave when I noticed that there were two games going up in the elevated high-limit area. I went up to the podium and asked if it would be an issue if I went up there to observe for a bit and was told that this would be ok as long as I didn't bother the players. I railed the 10/20 NL and 25/50 NL games for a bit when I noticed Brad Garrett sitting in the 2 seat of the 10/20 game. I settled in behind him to watch a hand or two. There was a straddle to $40 and a raise UTG to $150, followed by a 3-bet to about $400. It folded to the straddle who flatted (out of position, and for about 25% of his stack...questionable at best) and the initial raiser thought for a bit and flatted as well. The flop came QT4r and the straddler shipped it for $1600 after a bit of thought. The initial raiser then went deep into the tank and took several minutes. At this point Brad was looking impatient so I leaned in and tapped him on the shoulder:

Me: "Brad, I don't play these stakes. Do all the hands take this long?"
Brad: "Are you kidding? My first MARRIAGE didn't take this long! This is insane!"
Me: "So how is this table treating you?"
Brad: *gestures to his rather short stack of less than $1000* "Not well, I'm just up here to learn."

I wish him good luck, tell him I'm a fan, shake his hand, and go get some dinner. (To finish off the hand I was describing above, the guy who initially raised the straddle and was deep in the tank came out of it and shipped his stack in the center as well, barely covering the guy who made it $400 preflop. The preflop 3-bettor snap-called and tabled KK. The initial raiser shrugged and also tabled KK. The straddler, who made that odd-looking call preflop, tabled...89o, for a gutshot to the ass-end of the straight. He missed and the other two chopped up his $2000.) The dinner buffet at Bellagio and the Cirque show at TI were both exceptional and I capped the night off with a sundae from the Ghiradelli store by Carnival Court.

I flew home and got back to reality $350 poorer, which I was ok with, since I took my share of beats where I feel I played reasonably well. It was a good trip and I'm sure I'll take another one this year for another one of the DSE events, either in the summer or November. If you made it this far, hope the report it wasn't too dull.