Five Days in Vegas - It's Gonna be Hot
Flew in last night, landed about 10pm, no wait in the cab line, checked in a TI, strip view room and in for level three of the 10pm tourney. There was no 1-3 game and tables in the tourney. Got some play in but get pushing with dominate aces which managed to chop or get very lucky enough times to keep me in the game. At the 500-1000 level I my A-9 shove was called by 2-2 from a big stack. Only paired the board once and I am out. I like this tourney a lot, as I feel like you get enough play to maneuver a little and the field usually has enough bad player that you can find some chips.
Since there was no 1-3 I decide to sit in the mixed game. Introduced myself to Mark and asked lots of question (I was the newbie in the white tee shirt)). The players there were very friendly and all it takes is a little bit of card sense and a good attitude to have a fun time. I forgot the name of the game in 2-7 triple draw and thought I might be good with and Ace in my hand, but I also successfully bluffed two rivers and managed to chase successfully a couple of time. Swings were down about 80, up about 45. We were shorthanded most of the time from 12:30 to 3:00 (6am east coast time). When we got to double flop omaha there were too many card to keep track of. Cashed out up a dollar.
Day One: -65 tourney, +1 mixed game
Now at the Venetian. Typical early morning game Short handed, no money on the table. Managed to double up when I flopped trips against aggressive top pair good kicker bettor, but have been bleeding chips since. Will likely play the 3pm deepstack at the Rio. I will try to do a daily report from my morning session each day of the trip.
Good luck at Venetian today! Looking forward to following along to see how your time in Las Vegas goes
Thanks John. Quick update. Cashed out down 10 at the V and am playing the 3pm Deepstack at the WSOP. At the first break I feel good about my play. Mixed it up and got hurt on some small pots early, but key double up before the break. I limp with QQ with intention of reraising the aggro Eastern European to my left. He raises to 700 and (bb at 300) and two callers. I reraise to 2600 and we are head up on the flop. J 7 8 flop and go all in. He calls and I fade and up and down straight draw. I'm at 28000 with a pretty easy to read table. Hopefully I will stay focused report back at the next break.
Good luck in the daily!
Here's another update from hiot (but not so sunny today) Las Vegas. Morninh cash session at Bellagio was not very successful. I bought in for 200 but wasn't patient enough at a very aggro table to wait to catch cards. Lost my buy in and felt I could beat the table. Got up to PH by 10 am and signed up for their deepstack. With forty five minutes to kill I foolishly decide to play cash and eqaully foolish doubled up to salvage some of my earlier loses.
At the deepstack I was out by shortly after the second break. Ended up playing too many hands against the big stack, getting good starting cards and missing flops), includiing the my last hand . Call a raise in position with QJ, bet hefty into a Q high rainbow flop (called by big stack), and push when the 5 on the board pairs on the turn. Big stack call (eventualy) and of course rolls over a 5. I could have jjammed the flop I suppose.
Out pretty early I decided to hit the TI 65$ 2pm. Play fine util just before 2nd break at a fun table (always is at these tourneys). Raise from EP with a mdium stack with KQ. One caller and then a shove from a slightly shorter stack who I correctly read as shovingg with a small pair. I call for almost all my chips (good), get cal from the other pllayer stiill in who has me covered by a little. We check it down. I brick, he hits the J in his AJ. I have a few chips left and am out just after the break. I don't think the couple thousand I had would have got AJ to fold. He was a good player and may have well won it after that triple up.
I was exhausted figure I close my eye befoe an evening tourney or cash session. laid doown at 6pm, woke up at 6am, and felt like a million bucks. I hate missing playing time in Vegas but I love being ale to do that.
Woke up fresh as a daisy and had a very successful cash session at the Venetian. Key hand was a double up when I flopped top pair and a flush draw with my qj after calling aa preflop raise out of position. I lead out the flop and call and all in shove from the origginal raiser. I river two pair and he doesn't show. He probably had overs, I probably got lucky, but I cashed out up 370 on a 100 dollar buy in.
Aria afternoon tourney I played well. Won small pots early with some good aggressive play in position. Built stack to 21,000 but then went card dead. Right before the second break I called an all in with a small pair from a short stack (I had her covered slightly). I knew I need to win the race. She paired the 10 in her 8-10 on the flop and made trips on the turn. I am out 86th in whar I thought was a very tough field of 200+ II didn't see an obvious bad player in my couple hours at the table.
Played cash at PH up 130 and at Mirage down 100. Also rolled some bones late night at TI with some guys from Iceland. Green and black chips flying (them) on midnights and craps bets, and pressing hardways. Meanwhile I played my odds bets and 6s and 8s and netted 25 on my 100 buy in.
Tourney - 235, Cash + 300
Struggling in the mornin game at the V. Need to find an easier game somewhere, but the TVs are so good for watching soccer its tough.
(Sorry these are out of order. I had typed this post WSOP Deepstack, but it didn't seem tto upload)
I tried to bring myself to write some more updates from yesterday's WSOP deepstack, but it didn't seem to work out. Bottom line is I cashed 60th in field of over 1000 (my first tourney of that size for sure). I must say I took a lot of inspiration from looking up at the rotating list of bracelet event cashes and seeing Scott Davies' name up there next to some pretty impressive dollars. Brought a smile to my face everytime. I thought I was out for sure down to about 10,000 in chips just after the second break, but induced an all in call on the turn in where I flopped a flush draw and turned second pair. The villian felt he had already invested too much in a pot on which he had a low straight draw. My huge advantage was that I played at the same table the entire tourney until a couple of hands before I busted. I exploited my very tight image to get players to lay down a number of times in situation in which we were on the verge of racing for all our chips. I never really felt like I got my money in bad and had some good luck, in particular pushing all in with A 10 in late position against a similar small stack who called with small pockets from the small blind. I flopped broadway and nut flush draws and made my flush on the turn (had it all the way ;-)). After the bubble burst I went on a mini run with pocket pairs shoving and and getting folds and calls with good results to get past a min cash. After the 4th(?) break, my table finally broke and I found myself once again short stacked. I shoved with almost no fold equity against two callers who checked down a board with paired kings. With that (lack of) action I was hoping I might squeak one more out but my pocket 88 lost to pocket 99. Overall a great expereince. Thanks to those who advised this as stop on my LV poker tour this summer.
Of course poker degen that I am I headed to the mirage for some late night 1-2 at which I ran my 100 buy in up to 229 in about two hours. I pretty much ran over the table - which is not like me, but I kept getting good cards and playing them for max value - also not like me. After three Fireball whiskeys I cashed out and headed off to bed.
Tourney +299 Cash +129
Today's agenda includes some cash this am at Bellagio or Aria and the PH series tourney - and hopefully another deep run.
Time to finish the story from the comfort of my home in Boston . . .
When we last left our hero he had 1 cash and two busts in 200 odd dollar buy in deepstack daily tourneys at various Vegas venues and some reasonable success in cash games. Thurs am soccer viewing at the Venetian brought an exact even money exchange at the window (bought in for 100, added 100, cashed out for 200). I headed to Aria after the game and decide to invest in a long cash session where I was down early (dumped 200 in the first hour), up a little in the middle (460 on the table with 60 of it belonging to other folks at one point) and down at then end - net down 90. Invested in the 7pm daily at Aria which was jammed due to the huge supply of poker players who had busted out of the WSOP Monster Stack Event. Same result as the prior two days. Out after a couple of hours pushing in a reasonable spot (although M was probably too low) and losing on a flip. Headed over to PH and lost 200 in about 20 minutes. Game was crazy and I just couldn't keep up. Couldn't avoid the siren song of the pits on my way back to TI. Played blackjack at three different casinos (Paris, Flamingo, and Ceasars) on my way to bed. Only lost 60 in total which is kind of a win.
Last day in Vegas means no tourney for me. I settled in for my typical boring morning at the Ventian and things didn't go that way. 3 hour session where I flopped big and got action on limped pot after limped pot. Turned 100 in 565 and left at 10:30 to shower and pack up. Spent the afternoon at the Wynn where I lost 400 over the course of 5 hours or so. Raised a straddle from early position with QQ on my first hand. C-bet and got called by heads-up from the straddler on an AKx flop and checked it down for a 70 dollar win. After that it went bad. For some reason I tried to play trappy instead of aggressive (or as I like to think of it desperate) from a short stack. I hit flops, checked looking for the perfect spot to raise (which of course never came) and kept getting run down by big stacks who were willing to invest in catching up. Something about that room that makes me think there is nothing I can do to bet someone off a pot. That's a self-fulfilling prophecy if ever there was one, or perhaps Just some bad play on my part.
Finished up with dinner table side at the Mirage. Bought in for 100. Lost all in when I hit the perfect two pair flop against a naked A who called my shove and paired the board on the river. Bought in for another 100 and cashed out 265 with very solid play. Had a couple of scotches to prepare for the red-eye home.
Much like my golf game I felt like a played really well at times, but didn't score particularly well. As I have said in other places on this board I realize I don't take this game seriously enough to get really good at it and so I have to take accept the ups and downs and enjoy my time at the table - which I thoroughly did on this trip.
I left Vegas happy and more confident in my capacity to play well in general. My sessions at home at Foxwoods and Mohegan have been abysmal lately. In Vegas I never feel rushed, even when I am there with wife and have less time and the tables and play better as result I suspect. Not much better in a poker player's world than to go to the best place in the world to play and come home feeling good about yourself and your game.
Thanks for reading