Some background info:
I'm 23 and currently majoring in business and plan on attending school in Florida within a year. This is my sixth time visiting Las Vegas and I have been playing poker since grade 10. I played sports my entire life and one day I stumbled into this fun game and became hooked immediately. Many hours were invested in improving my game basically by trial and error playing live and online. And finally, I am from Vancouver and mostly play 1/2 NL and Midstakes MTT.

Goals:
Win a few tournaments
Profit in cash games and tournaments where the trip is paid for
Take a shot at 2/5 NL

Non poker activities:
Zipline in the Bootleg Canyon
Watch KA Cirque du Soleil
Jump off the Stratosphere
Work out in the gym every other day
Indulge in 24 hour buffet passes
Check out the premium outlet
Get a massage or two from AquaMassage on the strip (it feels amazing)

Tentative tourney schedule:
Sun 6/16 - 8 PM Harrahs $80 Bounty
Wed 6/19 - 2PM Bellagio $125
Thur 6/20 - 7PM Aria $150 (possibly)
Fri or Sat 6/21 6/22 - 3 PM Rio $235
Tue 6/25 - 3PM Rio $235
Thur 6/27 - 8PM Harrahs $80 Bounty (possibly)

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TerryYan

Blog: http://www.terryyan.com

Day 1: Variance

Ordered the Sage Fried Chicken Benedict at Hash house. They serve large portions for all meals which is good if you want to get your money's worth.

Went to play 1/2 at Harrah's around 7:15 for 45 minutes before the tourney. There were only a few hands of note. The table was pretty good with many players calling raises and some 3 bets on flops with flush draws and middle pairs.

#1: A guy from EP limped and its folded to me in the CO. I raised to 10 with T7o which probably should have been folded PF. Older player in BB calls. Flop J36r. I cbet 15 into 22. He calls. Turn is an 8. Checked back the turn to realize any equity I had in the hand with a gutshot. He shoves a blank river and I fold.

#2: I opened utg +2 with 56s to $7. Old guy in HJ calls as well as Button. Flop 4s7c8c. I cbet 15 into 23. Old guy raises to 40. I reraise allin. He had about 70-80 behind to call. He tank folds. I think he could have 9x or 67.

#3: I'm in the bb with AA. Utg +1 opens to 7 and I 3bet to 25. Flop QJ7. I cbet 35 into 55. Turn is an 8 which completed T9. I Jam 95 into 120. He tank calls and gets there with a Q on river. Lost to AQ. Got stacked for about $216.

The tournament: It turns out this was not a bounty tournament as I initially thought. It was a regular $60 + $20 rake tourney which is really high. The table was action heavy with 6 of the first 10 hands with all ins and showdowns with AA and KK.

#1: Blinds: 50-100 AQdd in HJ. Loose Villian opens to 300 from UTG +1 and gets 2 callers (tight passive players) I 3bet to 1100. HJ flats. 2 callers fold. Pot (2900) Flop: AJ7 He checks. I cbet 1250. Calls. Turn 9. He checks. I double barrel 2200. He raises me all in for 2800 more. I snap call. He shows KK. I think he did that because my flop and turn bets seemed weak or because I didn't have much behind. River is blank.

#2: 79cc 50-100 I have about 8000. 3 limpers and I limp as well. flop QJ4. Two guys that acted first checked and I decide to steal the pot IP. The two guys called. I didn't think they had a Q or even a J by their body language. Turn was a blank. I bet 400 into 850. They both folded.

#3: ATo 100-200 in BB. UTG +2 limps. 2 other limpers and I raise to 1100. Original limper calls. I didn't really think about what he had. Maybe a small to medium PP or low broadway cards. Flop Qc3d2c I cbet 1500 into 2600. He calls. Turn was a 2s. Not really a good barreling card for me if he had a Q but yet I still cbet 2700.He calls with about 6 k behind and I have about 8 k behind. River a third club. I thought about Jamming but decided against it. He later told me he had a Q and was going to call.

#4: AK 14bb vs QQ. UTG +2 opens to 3x and I 3bet jam and miss.

I definitely need to be more patient in some spots and will try and regroup tomorrow. -$280

My other post had an error with the images but here is the view of the strip from Vdara.

https://twitter.com/TerryYan/status/...354304/photo/1

Monday June 17

Went Ziplining at the bootleg canyon in boulder city about 21 miles off the strip. It was an awesome experience and I would highly recommend everyone to try it. The top speed is about 60 mph.

http://instagram.com/p/arriOrjlnE

After ziplining we got some groceries and then hit the gym. There's not many gym machines at Vdara so patience is important. Then we went to dinner at the cheesecake factory and while waiting we went into Nike and saw Erik Seidel. He was looking at those bracelets that tracks how many calories you burn and how many miles you travel.

Anyways, on to the poker now. I didn't get to play poker until 1 am the next day and bought in for 200 at the 1/3 game at Bellagio. The table was tight in the first 45 minutes.

Hand #1:

Hero: AcJd in HJ. Effective stack is about 195. I open to 10 and get three calls from the CO, Button and mp. Pot was about 43. As9c6c. I cbet 26 and the button thinks for 20 seconds and raises to 60. Folds to me and I tank. His range of hands is 99,66,AK,AQ,KK,QQ, clubs, and air. Villian is older asian guy. I had the Ac and while getting 4-1 I felt I was not getting the proper odds against that range and if I hit a club on the turn, I might have to call off a jam. I folded and an hour later he told me outflopped me.

#2

Hero: JdTh. Effective stacks are 100 and 8 handed. Guy in mp+1 limps. I raise to 15 on the button and blinds fold. He calls. Flop: TsTd7h. He checks and I cbet 15. He calls. Turn was a 3s and he leads 30 with 45 behind. I put in a $100 bill as a raise but I didn't announce raise so it was just a call and I learned a lesson there. River was a 7s and he checks and I bet $20 trying to get a crying call. He folds and shows me a 9 and says he had 99.

#3

Hero: Ac7c on the button. Villian UTG +2 is the same guy in the previous hand. Effective stack was about $55. He opens to $8 and I 3bet to 25 thinking his range of hands was wide and his open was smaller than his standard sizing. He calls. Flop: 7d3h4d He checks and I put him all in and he calls with a smaller 7. Turn and river was a Jc and Ks

#4

Hero: 6c6d in BB. Utg+1 limps. Guy from previous hand in mp raises to 10 with 120 behind and I call. Now the guy utg+1 squeezees to 25 with 110 behind. MP calls and I call. Pot ($90) Flop AcAh9c Utg checks and mp bets $22. I thought about taking it away from utg when he checked but I didn't know what to think of mp's range. I decided to fold and then utg+1 raises to 50 and I was confused now as I thought AA is the only hand that can make sense here with the possibility of AK. MP snap folds and later, he claimed to have quads...

I only played 2 hours and left $+75.

There was one more hand of note from the previous night that I forgot. A guy opens to 12 in the CO. I had KdQs. The flop came J83 all spades. I x and he checks back. I think he has AK,AQ, and maybe a middle pair. Turn 6c and I lead 20 into 30. He instant calls and I think he has a big ace with a spade. River was a 9h and I bet 40 into 70 with a lot of hands in my range here. I could have Jx, a flopped flush, a set, and air. He folds.

Day 3:

Woke up around 10 Am and went straight to the North Premium Outlet until 4 PM. There's a lot of good shops to check out. After that we went to the Bacchanal Buffet in Caesar's Palace and got the 24 Buffet Pass for $81.06. I hear this is the #1 rated buffet in Las Vegas and its definitely my top three.

After dinner we watched the end of regulation and overtime of the NBA Finals. It was a pretty good game. The Ka Cirque Du Soleil show at MGM started at 9:30 and although it started slow in the first 15 minutes, it started to pick up and I would give it 4/5.

And now some poker - I got seated at 11:45 PM at MGM and played 1/2 with 200 until 3:30 AM. I added on once for $100. The first 30 minutes was the peak of my stack and it went downhill from there. The players there were rocks or competent which wasn't an ideal game selection. There were a lot of hands were I opened and cbet once or twice where the other player had it so my stack kept flucuating around 200 for most of the night.

#1: AdQh in SB. Effective stack is about 200. MP opens to 12. I flat. Flop: AsQd6d I x/call a cbet of 15. Turn Ah I x/c a cbet of 21. River blank. I led for 75 and was perceived to be bluffing. He tank folded.

#2: KhKd in Button. 2 limpers and guy in MP+1 raises to 23. I 3bet to 75 and everyone but him folds. I don't have much of a read on villian as I have played with him for only 30 minutes. Pot ($150) Flop Ah2h4h He checks and I check back thinking I'm way ahead or way behind and I don't want to get x/raised with the Kh. Turn was 4d He checks and I check back again. The river was the 4s He checks again and now I think he has QQ, KK, AA, AK, AQ, AJ. I thought his most likely hand was QQ and I made a 1/3 pot think value bet and he responds my jamming about 300 more. I tank folded and he shows a J. In my experience if someone is bluffing you, they show both cards. He said good fold later on and I don't think most players at 1/2 will bluff like that. I should have just checked back the river.

#3: AdKc in BB. MP opens to 12 with about 76 behind and I put him all in and he calls with 88 and I miss.

#4: AsKh on button. Same guy from previous hand opens to 17 with 70 behind and I jam again and this time he folds and tells me he had AQ.

#5: QsJs in mp. I open and get 3bet by the guy on my immediate left with the deepest stack to 21. I call. Flop KhKcTs. I check and he cbets 25 and I call. Pot($95) Turn was a 8s and now I have a straight flush draw and an OESD. I check and he bets 45. I should have folded the turn since the board is paired and this was the first time he 3bet when I was at the table. His range is KK,TT,AK,AT. I called the turn and now the pot was $185 and I had $55 behind. River was a Qh and had a pair that didn't really help much. I x/folded. I gotta learn to not chase my draws.

#6: KK on button. Utg opens to 8. Girl utg+1 calls and there were 2 more callers and I squeezed to 45. Only the girl calls. Flop: Th6s3c She had about 55 left and I jammed and was shown AA and I lost. She was a gorgeous Korean girl from LA and I would later change seats to sit beside her and asked her and her friend sitting behind her (turns out it was her sister) to dinner the next night but they were leaving tomorrow.

#7: AA utg. The reason I limped (but its really a bad play to limp raise utg because they always have it) was there was a guy from singapore who was a maniac. He would raise almost every hand pf and put you to the test every hand. I saw him 4bet IP with 88 with a deepstack against the other deepstack at the table. My thought process at the time was to hope the maniac raises but instead he limps and its checked through 5 handed. Flop 4s2s2h The guy to my left led out 10 with 25 behind out of turn and I sigh jammed him knowing I was usually beat. He shows Jd2h and that was the end of my session.

-$221. For the rest of this trip, I will avoid playing if I feel tired at all and should probably not try and get distracted with girls while playing.

Day 4 - Poker & Buffets

After playing tired the previous night and going to sleep around 5 AM, I woke up at 10 Am and went to Paris for the 2nd meal of the buffet pass. The highlight of the buffet would be the crepes that are made in front of you. They have eight solid choices.

I decided to play at Bally's and got seated at 2 PM and played for 2H 45M. The table was pretty good and most of my winnings came from one guy who kept hitting the second best hand.

Hand #1: JhTd in MP +1. A lady in EP limps and I raise to 15. CO calls with AT and the lady calls as well. Flop: ThJs7c I cbet 30 into 45. CO folds and lady calls. Turn Ad completing a straight. I put her all in with a pot size bet of $105 and she calls with either J7 or T7. She said she had two pair. River is a blank and I win.

#2: Th9s MP calls the straddle and I call on the button. Flop: TdTcJh The BB bets 10 into 20. I decide to just call. Turn is a 5d He bets about 25 into the pot with about 60 behind and I jam. He tank calls with a J I assume and the river is a blank.

#3: AcKh UTG opens to 7 and I 3bet it to 21 in the CO and get called by UTG and MP. Flop comes 4c6h8s I decide to cbet 35 into 65 and get called by UTG. Turn T He checks and I check back. River T He checks and I decided to overjam the river. There is 135 in the pot and I bet around 165. He folds.

#4: 7h7c I open utg+1 to 7 and get called by four players. I pretty much knew I needed to hit a set to win this hand. Flop Kh7d2h I cbet 20 into 30 and get called. He has Kx,a FD or a middle pair. Turn was a 4c and I put him all in for 60 and he folds.

#5: JhJc Utg opens to 15 and MP calls as well as the HJ. I'm on the button and decide to just call since utg was a tighter player. Flop 9c2h6s. I think I can lead this flop because if it gets checked around and an overcard comes I pretty much have to fold to any resistance. Turn. Kd and now HJ bets about 35 in to 60 and everyone folds.

#6: JdJs I open on utg to 7 and mp calls. Flop: 8h6s6d I cbet to 10 and he calls. Turn 8c Theres not too many 6x and 8x in a tight players range and I cbet 20 and get min raised to 40. This raise does not really accomplish much unless they have A8 or possibly a bigger pair. I called but I could make a case for raising as he can't have QQ+ since he didn't 3bet me PF. River is a Ah. I check and he checks back AdKh and I'm surprised I was min raised on a double turned board as well as not value betting the river.

I left around 5 up $272 and took the shuttle to the Rio for the buffet. It was a quick ride and met up with a friend who we split up with after eating at Paris and also met up with a high school friend who was living in Vegas.
There is no line around 5:30 Pm.

Afterwards, we all played the cash games at the WSOP and once again I played too many hands this session and made one bad fold. I bought in for 200 in the 1/3 NL game.

Hand #1: QhQd I open utg to 10 and get 4 callers. Flop 9d9h8d and cbet 35 with 110 behind and most likely getting it in. Everyone folds.

Hand #2: QdQh utg limps and co limps and I raise to 20 on the button and they both call. Flop Jh7d2h I cbet 35 into 60 with about 130 and get called by utg and to my surprise the CO goes all in. I just felt like I was up against a set and didn't even consider him doing this with a J. I invested 29% of my stack on this flop and with the utg just calling I know I'm ahead of his range. I tank folded and utg calls with KJ, while the CO shows AJ.

Hand #3: KhQd I open to 15 after utg limps in utg+1 and mp calls. Everyone else folds. Flop TsQs9s I cbet 25 into 40. He calls. Turn 6c I jammed about pot size and he folds saying he had AJ with a spade.

Hand #4: Villian is same person from previous hand. Hero: QhTc in mp and open to 10. Villian calls from HJ. Flop 4d2h2c I cbet 13 into 20 and he calls. Turn Ah and I continued betting 30 and he calls. He might have called the flop thinking A high is good or had a small pair. River is a 3c and I can see him staring at me without looking at him and if they have the goods they won't bother looking at you to impede your action. I should have continued my story and put a river bet because there are some hands that I can rep like a boat, or a straight with an A. I decided to give up and he shows 94 which explains the turn call. This session lasted 3.25 hours and left -$93.

I gotta make some adjustments for tomorrow. #1 would be to stop calling large raises with suited connectors after i already invested a few dollars in the pot.

Ballys: 2 hours 45 mins +$272
WSOP: 3 hours 15 mins -$93

Day Total: +157 over 6 hours
Cash Game Trip Total: 12 hours 15 mins -$167
Tourney Total: 1.5 hours -$80

Day 5 - Mostly Poker

Woke up at 10 Am and went to the Fashion mall to check out the shops. After that I decided to take a seat at Harrah's for 3 hours. Bought in for 200 at 1/2.

Hand #1: QhQd on button. EP raises to 12 and I 3bet to 40. BB Jams for 95 total. EP folds and I call. Board is 8c4h2sjhkd and he shows AJ.

Hand #2: AK I open utg to 7 and utg+1 calls. MP 3bets to 25. Folds to me and I put them both all in. MP started with about 89 total and utg+1 started with 130 total. UTG+1 tanks fold JJ and MP calls with KK. I miss but the river was a J and the lady who folded was clearly upset.

Hand #3: 6h6s I open utg+1 to 7 and get 3 callers. Flop QhJs5h I usually give up on these boards but I cbet 15 and got called by the BB. Turn was a Kd We both checked. Pot is about 58. River Tc and he checks and I bet 30 but I should have bet more like 45-50 because its such a polarized bet, I either have it or I don't. He tanks forever and calls with a set of Jacks.

I left the session -$14 mainly due to my spewyness where I try and outplay people too much when you really just need to play ABC Poker. I open with decent hands and cbet about 80% of the time, its just that they have been hitting much of the time.

I left at 6 Pm and went to Aria to sign up for the 7 PM $150 tournament. There were a total of 194 entrants and first place was around $7100. What I noticed playing in these tournaments is that people won't 4bet you PF with big pocket pairs and just let you do the work for them. I saw it 3 times at my table. I only played two significant hands but I did get a retweet from Aria's Poker room.

Hand #1: Hero JcJh in MP +1 with about 10K. blinds 100/200. Utg min raises to 400 and mp 3bets to 1050. I call and utg calls. Flop. 8c6c2h He cbets 1500 into 3000. I call. Utg folds. Turn 5c He checks and I check back. River was a Tc and he bets 3000 into 6000 and I tank fold. I thought he had AA,KK and QQ with a club. He tells me he had AcQc.

Hand #2: Hero has AK with about about 50 BB at 100/200 25. MP raises to 505 and he has me covered. I 3bet to 1300. Folds to him and he calls. Flop AQJ He checks and I check back for pot control. The turn came a 4 and he leads for 2000 into a 3100 pot and I call. The river was a blank and now he fires 3000 and I call pretty quickly but in hindsight I don't beat. His range is AA,AQ,AJ,KT,QQ,JJ. He wouldn't lead twice with anything worse. And thats how I lost 2/3 of my stack and would have gone broke if the hand was played differently by either of us. He had AA.

Hand #3: KJ with 6 bb left in mp. I jammed and got called by A9o and miss.

I lasted 2.5 hours but it was a fun experience. I will definitely be back sometime before I leave next Friday.

I decided to enter the cash game afterwards. There was one tight but decent player and one guy who was donating money in my first 2 hours. I was up and down until I became more disciplined and reduced the number of moves I made. Played the 1/3 Game and bought in for 200 and had to addon $50.

Hand #1: Qs5s on button after a few limpers. I raised to 20 just to take it down and got called by HJ. Flop Ts9h5d He checks and I should check back here so I don't get x/raised. I cbet 25 and he x/r to 75 and I'm forced to fold. I hadn't seen him bluff yet and he tells me had 88 which surprised me to say the least.

Hand #2: Jd7d in sb. The fish opened to 12 which he did almost every hand and I decided to call. Flop QcTs4h I x and he cbets 12 which just felt weak so I instantly raised to 35 and he slowly calls. Turn Ad which actually helps his range more than me because I would 3bet him with AQ or AT OOP. I bet 50 and he folded.

Hand #3: Ac5d in the bb. Utg +1 opens to 12 and 4 people called and so did I. Flop Ah8c4s and its gets checked around. Turn:2heart: I led out for 30 and utg+1 calls. River was a blank and i bet 50 and he folds.

Hand #4: 9sTs in bb. Utg limps followed by two other limpers. I make it 20 and utg calls. (He hadn't played a single hand in the 30 minutes he was there) Everyone else folds. Flop KhKdJc I cbet 30 and he calls. Turn was a 8d and I decided to give up. He bets and I fold. He told me he had a J.

Hand #5: Ks2s in HJ. MP opens to 7. I 3bet to 22 and he calls. he is the same guy from hand #1. Flop 2d8d9s He checks and this time I checked back incase I got reraised again. Turn Kc He checks again and I bet 35 into 50 and he calls. River Kd and I bet $100 and he tanks fold and says he had KT because he thought I had a flush but I thought he had the flush.

I played for 3.25 hours and left +$114 and my friend came in 17th in the tournament and we exchanged 10% action so I made about $25 from that. On the day I was -$25.

Its 12:20 Local time now and I'm going to play in the 3 PM Rio Deepstack. Wish me luck.

Day 6 - Friday - Decent Tourney Run

Woke up at 1030 am and went to the gym. After that I took a taxi to Rio and signed up for the 3PM Daily Deepstack. I came in around 245th place after 6 hours 15 mins of play and there were approx 1185 players which paid 144 people. I played well after the first hour but I just couldn't get much going when blinds were shallow.

#1 A8 J9626 This was a limped pot and got checked around to me and i took a stab on turn and the river and got caught.

#2 KT 973A8 I opened and made a cbet bet on the flop and turn and gave up on the river.

#3 A3 Q354 I raised a limper from mp and got called by the bb and limper and checked back the flop and gave up on the turn.

I was down to my last 7000 until this hand happened.

#4 AhAd There were three limpers at 100/200 and I made it 1100 on the button. One guy calls from ep. Flop Ac6c8d Pot was around 3000 and I cbet 550 which should have been at least 1/4 pot size bet. Turn 9s I bet 1300 and the river was Tc. I bet my last 2500 and he folded. This was a weird way to play the hand. I tend to bet way less than normal when I have a nutted hand. Bet sizing should have been bigger on flop so turn could have been close to a pot size jam.

#5 Jc8c I opened on the CO to 400 at 100/200 and got called by the button and bb. Flop was 8h3d3c I cbet about 600 Turn: 3s I Cbet 1500 and they fold.

Neil Channing came to my table in the 10 seat and I only saw him play two hands before he busted.

#6 KdQh I started the hand with 26.5 bb in the bb. there was a limp by utg +1, mp +1, co and button and I jammed at 200/400 which was for 10k and got called by mp+1 who had Ad6d and less chips than me. I think this play is +ev if you think they don't have much. Flop was 9dTd7s I got the Kh on the turn and the river was a 6s. I doubled up to 57 bb.

#7 Ah4c HJ has been opening a lot and he made it 1300 at 300/600 and I made it 3000 on the button with 21 behind. He usually makes it more than 2.2x when he has something playable and when he asked how much I had behind I felt like I was ahead of his range. Flop came 7h8h5c and it went x/x. The turn was a 7c and again it went x/x. I don't think I delay cbet here because I don't rep much unless I was pot controlling a big pair on the flop. The river was an A and I bet 5100 which is probably too much. If he turned his hand into a bluff here I would be in a tough spot but I don't think I could fold the way the hand was played. He folds.

#8 UTG AhQd at 300/600 I open to 1400 and get called by utg+1 and sb. Flop AcKc6d The sb leads for 2200 and I just call incase I get 3bet if I raise. Effective stack is about 40bb. UTG+1 folds. Turn 6c He checks the turn and I bet 4500 and he snap folds.

#9 KdQd UTG+1 jams 9200 at 600/1200. He didn't raise many hands and I was in the HJ and I rejammed about 20 bb (24k ish) Everyone folds and he shows 9c9s Board JsJdTc6cAs and I get there.

#10 Kh9d CO opens to 2500 at 600/1200. Effective stack is 33000. I defend. Flop KcJh9s I x/c 2600. Turn 7c x/x River 8s I decided not to make a thin value bet here because I'm rarely getting called by worse. He checks and mucks.

#11 AcKc in HJ Hand is against same person as last hand. Villian opens to 2500 with 63k behind and I just call with 43k at 800/1600. I think 3betting getting it in is the best play here but I just flat and the sb and bb comes along. Flop 8s6s3s and he cbets 2/5 pot and everyone folds. That was a very passive approach that I don't agree with.

#12 AhJc in HJ I open to 3200 and CO calls. Flop Jd8h3s I cbet 4000 and the turn is Tc I was going for a check jam for some reason and he checks back. However, hes not calling off the jam without AJ+ so that was another flawed plan. River Qc and it goes x/x and he mucks.

#13 I got moved to another table and 15 minutes in this hand comes up. Blinds are 1000/2000. I have JJ in MP. Utg opens to 4500 and I have 40000 and 3bet jam and everyone folds.

#14 77 on button. HJ jams for 30k which is 10bb now. I have 40k. Villian is older guy. I tank fold thinking his range of hands either has me crushed or im flipping.

#15 AQ I was down to my last 8 bb at 2000/4000 utg+1. UTG raises to 17k and I thought it might be AK because he 4x'd it last time when he had AK but I couldn't find a fold and called. Flop included a K and I busted.

My friend who I had exchanged action with stone bubbled the tourney with KK vs AA and that sucked. My other friend came in 114 for approx $385 which was nice to see someone cash. Overall, it was a great experience and I will play in one again.

Afterwards I went to the Run It Once Lounge and met Jason Koon and James Hudson. All elite members get free massages, food, drinks and tshirts which was awesome. We played some Open Face and Pineapple poker which was pretty fun. I learned the Pineapple game from Donna Houle (who owns Pink Ladies Poker Tour) and her friends.

I played three hours of cash game at Aria from 130 am to 430 am and I'll post it later. I gotta head out now.

Day 7 - Saturday - Up & Down

Played cash at Aria after the Rio tournament and played from 1:30 am until 4:30 am.

Hand #1 JhJd in HJ 8 handed. There is a straddle and mp calls and mp+1 calls. I raise to 25. CO calls. KdTc6h I check for pot control planning to call. It gets checked back. 5h I delay cbet 35 and he calls quickly. The river is a Th and I check and he bets 20. The pot was about 125 before that bet and I fold. I think this was one of the worst folds I have ever made. I need to be right one in every six times to break even. He had AcQh

Hand #2 8c9d on the button. MP opens to 6 and I call. BB makes it 15 and MP calls and I call. 5c6hks MP bets 15. and I call as well as bb. 5d checked around. Qh and its checked to me and I bet 55 into 90 trying to take it down but I got caught and was shown T5 and KJ.

Hand #3 AdTd in bb. Button opens to 12. SB calls. I call.
Effective stack is 232. Ac2d3d and I check and he cbets 32 and I jam for 210 trying to rep just a FD but he had a set of 2's and turn and river is Qh Js

-$400 3 hours

The next morning I decided I was going to stop bluffing completely for today's session.

Woke up around 12 and went to Earl of Sandwich at Planet Hollywood. There was over 50 people in line and I had to wait over 30 minutes but it was worth it. I walked around the miracle mile shops after eating, before sitting down to play at PH.

3:30-6 PM

#1 3c3d I limped utg. I start with 185. This was a family pot. ($16) Flop comes 3s2d5s A coordinated board that completes many hands. SB leads for 15. BB calls. I make it 55 and sb folds and now the bb goes all in for 125 total. It was pretty obvious he had a straight now and I called off. I'm about a 2-1 dog and was getting 3-1 to call off and got there when the board came running 9's.

#2 AsKs I open to 7 . 3 callers. Flop JcTc6h I check planning to call. MP bets 15 and everyone folds, while I call. Turn 6d It goes x/x. River was a Qs and I bet 45 into 55. He raises to 100. I went all in for 300 total which covers him and he tank calls with either KJ or KT.

I could only stay there for 2.5 hours for +$446.

Later in the night I played at Monte Carlo because the waiting list at Bellagio and Aria was 20-30 deep. There was only 2 tables opened. It took a while for the action to pick up. I only played for 2.5 hours as I had to check out in the morning and change hotels.

#1 Kh9s I limped on the co and loose button raises to 12. SB calls and I call. kc9c7h I check and raise his cbet of 25 to 70 with 115 behind. He calls. Js I jam for the rest. He calls. 4h He shows Jc7c

#2: KhJc I open to 7 utg +1 8 handed. 3 callers. Flop is 5c7dJh I cbet 17 and get raised to 51 by loose mp. It gets fold around to me and I call. Turn Ks It goes x/x and the river is Ad and I checked once again. Value betting there is the best play against any other type of player. He shows 57 for two pair.

I was up $165 for this session.

So Far:
Harrahs: -$80 Tourney -$214 Cash
Bellagio: +$75
MGM: -$221
Ballys: +272
WSOP: -$235 Tourney -$93 Cash
Aria: -$115 Tourney -$400 Cash
PH: +$446
Monte Carlo: +$165
Total: -$400 after 34 Hours

I noticed that I made a lot of writing errors when I went over all of my posts.
Whether it was the cards or position that should have been something else. I will proofread a little more from now on.

Day 8 Sunday June 23

Woke up at 8 Am and went to the gym before checking out of Vdara at 10:30. My friends woke up and left at 7:30 Am and now I was on my own until Friday.

I took a taxi and went to Harrah's to drop off my bags and headed to the Venetian and at first glance, the Venetian is one of the nicest rooms I have ever been in. During the session, I found that checking back the flop against recreational players when you hit top pair or have an overpair will cause them not to believe you on later streets.

I played there for 3.5 hours before going back to Harrah's and checking in.

Hand #1: AcKc in sb. everyone limps to the button and he makes it 15. I have a total of 160 and 3bet to 55 and he jams and I call. He has AA and the board is KQJ53.

#2: KhKd in bb. Everyone limps and I make it 20. Button calls. 7s4s6c I checked planning to call. Qs I bet 20 and he calls and the river is a 6s and it goes x/x. I probably shouldn't have checked back the flop on this kind of board.

#3: 9dTc on button. Its limped three ways. Qh9d5h I bet 4 and MP and CO call. Ts CO bets 10 now and I just call along with MP. The river 3s and CO bets 20 and I call and now MP makes it 50. He's rarely bluffing here and I could only put him on a straight. The CO probably has just a Q or possibly turned two pair and hes calls. I Folded on the river getting 160-30. 5.3-1. MP shows KJ for nut straight.

#4: KcTc in HJ. UTG limps and I make it 7. Only the sb calls. JsTc7s I checked back the flop but its ok to cbet here if you don't ever expect to get x/raised and it keeps our range uncapped. Turn Th Now I make a delay cbet of 10 and get called. The pot is around 37. River 7d and I make a pot size bet of 35 and get called. I think he had 99 or 88 because he said I hope you don't have a J.

#5 AdAc UTG and I make it 7. and MP and MP+1 calls. Flop Jd2c6c I cbet 15 and they both call. 9s I cbet again for 40 into 69 and MP calls and now MP+1 raises to 105. I thought about it for 15 seconds and jammed for 125 more. MP folds and MP+1 calls with I presume J9. River is a 2 and he says he got counterfeited.

I was in for $450 and left with 611.
+$161 http://instagram.com/p/a6u19BDlvD

So I checked in at Harrah's and there was a long line. Once I reached the front desk, I tried the $20 trick and got an upgraded room. After that, I went to dinner at Panda Express and headed over to the Mirage and played for 5 hours.

Mirage:
One hand of note at my first table was against a french player who made a move against me. He works for a french poker magazine company iirc and he interviews people. I thought he was a fish at first because he never played a hand for 60-90 minutes until this one.

#1 I'm in MP+1 and I make it 7 with AdAc. Effective stack is 350. Mp calls and flop is 9h7d6h. I cbet 15 and he calls. Turn Kd and I cbet 30. He raises to 75. Why would he raise a K on the turn when that hits my range more often? I have invested about 1/7 of my stack and the cbet sizing on the turn is pretty strong. A set was a very strong possibility and I sigh folded and got shown 4h3h.
We analyzed this hand right after for 15 good minutes. It was a good play.

#2. UTG straddled for 20 and this was the fourth time he did it. I made it 45 on the button with Ks4s and this time he wakes up with JJ and jams 150-160. Thinking back to the hand now, I was getting close to 3-1 to call off and I'm about a 2-1 dog vs any pair between 55 and QQ. So if I thought I had one over I could call and test my luck with variance. I snap folded.

I changed tables after 3 hours and played only one hand of note against someone who kept donating.

#1 He straddles for 12 and saw him look at his hand and threw it down in disgust. Effective stack is me at 165. I raise to 35 in the CO with 7d5c. He calls. Flop 5h8cJs I x back because I hit a pair and I'm known for pot controlling during this trip. Turn was a 6c and he bets 25. I just call. River was a T. and it goes x/x and he shows T4o... If I bet the flop, hes not the person that will continue with nothing so that was mistake #1. #2 He bet only 25 into a 75$ pot on the turn which is pretty weak and I could have raised.

I left after 5 hours down -$100

I went to Harrah's and got seated at 1230 Am and only played for 1 hour 45 minutes before going to sleep. Only played two hands of note and that was hitting a flush on the river for a $60 pot. The second hand was where I got cooler'ed by a nice middle aged lady from North Dakota with AK vs 88. A8TK6 board and that was it.

Down -$99 at Harrah's.

Harrahs: -$80 Tourney -$313 Cash
Bellagio: +$75
MGM: -$221
Ballys: +272
WSOP: -$235 Tourney -$93 Cash
Aria: -$115 Tourney -$286 Cash
PH: +$446
Monte Carlo: +$165
Venetian: +$161
Mirage: -$100
Total: -$324 after 44.5 Hours

My three favorite rooms so far is Aria, Bellagio and Venetian.

Day 9 - Monday June 24

Woke up at 12 Pm and went to the Venetian at 2:30 and played for 3 hours 15 minutes. There were only three interesting hands.

#1. AA in MP+1. I open to 7 and CO, SB and BB calls. 6c7cQd I cbet 20. 5d I cbet 40 and he goes all in for 100 more. I call off and he shows 8c9c

#2 AdKs on button. I open to 7 and bb calls. Flop QdTh5s. Cbet 10. He calls. Turn As It goes x/x. River Ts He bets 15 and I raise to 40 and he tank calls with a Q I think.

#3 AcQc in sb. Old guy on the CO opens to 7 and I 3bet to 21 and he calls. 5h6sKd I cbet 25 and he calls. Turn Qd I check and he goes all in for 82 and I snap call. River is a 2h He shows 43 for a straight. If I jam the turn maybe he doesn't call.
If I'm going to call off, I might as well do the jamming.

-$276

I left around 6:15 to head over to Aria for the 7 PM tourney. I got a foot long hot dog inside Casino Royale for $2.15. That's a pretty good deal.
I registered at 7:05 and was on the standby list until 7:45 and a new table had started. I only played one hand of note until the first dinner break.

#1 Ad6h in the CO. Blinds are 100/200 and MP opens to 450 and I 3bet to 1050. The bet just felt weak and he calls. Flop QsJc5c I cbet 1100 and he folds.

#2 7d7c on CO. MP raises to 1800 and 200/400 and MP+1 calls as well as HJ. I started with 23bb (9200) and felt this was a good time to jam. MP snap calls and has me well covered and everyone else folds. She shows AcKd and its a race. The board is all low cards and I double up.

#3 KsKc Utg limps. MP raises to 1600 at 200/400 and I raise to 5000 in HJ with 16000 behind. Everyone looked at each other's stack the entire tournament so I decided to give the impression they had fold equity against vs. The 3bet should be closer to 4200-4500 though. Everyone folded and now I was tied 2nd in chips at the table until this next hand...

#4 Started with 42 bb at 300/600 50 (25K) I open in mp to 1200 with 7s8s and button calls with the same stack. As4s2c I cbet 1500 and and he raises to 4000. I call. Turn Ks I x and he bets 4000 and I jam for 16 k more to protect against a river spade. He snap calls and turns over JsTs and I bust. I think pf its ok to open. On the flop, perhaps I can x/c as well as on the turn and reevaluate the river but as played the turn jam was awkward and turned my hand face up as a flush or maybe top pair with a big spade. I lasted 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Feeling dejected, I went to Bellagio to play 1/3 and the two of the first 3 hands I saw, I made some nice hands.

#1 Button limps for 3. I make it 15 with Qs9s in the sb. BB calls. Button folds. Flop is QcJd9h I cbet 20 and he jams for a total of 80. I snap call and turn and river are low cards and he shows a J. I win.

#2 JhJd on button. Mp+1 opens to 8 and I just call because I don't know how to plays yet and I don't want to get 4 bet if I 3bet. 8h
6h4d He cbets 8 and I call. Turn 2s He cbets 15 and I call. 9c He checks and I decide to x back which is never good. He shows 45 and I could have repped a missed FD on the river.

#3 As7s in bb. Utg+1 opens to 20 and utg+2 and button calls as well as me. Flop Ac9sTc. Utg+1 now bets 125 into 80 and that confused me as it gets folded to me. The only hand that I beat is KK or QQ and I don't think anyone would ever do that unless their a major fish. I tank folded and an hour later he tells me had TT. He wanted someone to call with an Ace and it was a nice bet. I respond with, Nice hand and said that he looked a bit like Matt Kemp.

I left +$22 I played for 2 hours 15 minutes and gave back some of my stack.

I'm going to hit the gym then head over to the Rio and listen to Phil Galfond's Q+A Session at 7PM at the Run it Once Lounge.

Harrahs: -$80 Tourney -$313 Cash
Bellagio: +$97
MGM: -$221
Ballys: +272
WSOP: -$235 Tourney -$93 Cash
Aria: -$235 Tourney -$286 Cash
PH: +$446
Monte Carlo: +$165
Venetian: -$65
Mirage: -$100

Total: -$696 after 52.25 Hours

Day 10 Tuesday June 25

Woke up at 10:30 and went to the gym at Harrah's. Then I took the 1:30 PM shuttle to Rio and played 3 hours 30 minutes at Rio's Room.

#1 AcKc on button. HJ makes it 10 with 60 behind and CO calls. I make it 40 and he rejams for 70 and has 99 and I miss.

#2 KdQh Utg goes all in for 32. I call from the HJ and sb jams for 200 and tells me she has it before I make my decision.

#3 KdQd Utg limps. I make it 15 utg+1 and HJ and CO as well as UTG. Flop 8d2d2c I cbet 35 into 60 and get a call from the HJ. Turn 3d and I jam for 119. He folds and he implied that he had a flush.

#4 6h4d in bb limped pot 6 ways. Flop 6c4c7h sb leads for 8 and I make it 23. He calls. Turn 6s I bet 30. He calls. River Tc and he checks and I make it 100 and he tank calls with a Q high flush.

#5 Ad8c CO opens to 12 and I make it 35 from the BB and he snap calls. AhJh5d I decided to x back and so does he. Turn Kd and it goes x/x. River Kh and he bets 55 and I fold. He had AK.

#6 AhAd in MP. I open to 15 and the blinds call. Flop 6c7c3h and I cbet 25. They both call. Turn Qc and the bb goes all in for 8 and I make it 40. SB folds and river is a 9c. BB shows As3c

#7. KJ in CO and theres 4 limpers in the pot and I make it 25. The button who hasn't played a hand raises to 75 and I got caught for the third time.

#7 AhKh on button. MP raises to 10 and MP+1 calls. I make it 40 and now MP jams for 320.MP+1 calls because he only had 50-60 to start with. I just don't see anything I can beat here. It's usually AA or KK. I tank fold and MP shows QQ and MP+1 has 69. Flop 6d9h2s5h3h.

Only made $2 this session. I decided not to 3bet light in cash games anymore because its not very profitable.

I left to head over to the Run It Once Lounge as Phil was having a Q&A session which was streamed live on quad jacks. I saw Kristy Arnett interview Phil before the Q&A. It was about 2 hours long and Jason Koon, Jason Senti, Sam Grafton, Craig McCorkell, and James Hudson was there.

https://twitter.com/TerryYan/status/...504641/photo/1

Once it was 9:30 I went to the Rio buffet with a friend and headed back to the hotel afterwards to watch a Run It Once Video before sleeping. I'm probably going to try the 3 PM deepstack today.

Day 11 Wednesday June 26

Woke up at went to the gym for 45 minutes. Headed over to the Rio at 1:30. I signed up for the 3 PM Deepstack and checked out the One Drop Tourney.

Hand #1 2c2d in mp+1 25/50. Utg+1 opens to 150. I call as well as three others. Flop 2h4c5c Utg+1 cbets 450 into 750. I raise to 1500. Turn 8c He checks and folds to my bet of 2400.

#2 QhQd in utg+1. Utg minraises to 400 and hasn't played many hands in the first 2+ levels. I 3 bet to 1000. Utg+2 calls. Utg calls. 9h4h3c I cbet 1600 Utg calls. Turn 8d I bet 2600. River 5c Now he jams 8500 and I have him covered by 1500. I tank fold in this gross spot because I'm not sure if he is capable of doing this with TT or JJ. I would do the same thing in his spot with KK or AA. During the break he tells me had TT and said he wouldn't bluff anyone else at the table. I heard that too many times this trip.

#3 JhJc in SB. MP+1 opens to 1025 at 150/300 and I flat. I put him on a big Ace. I have 13k and am covered. Flop Js6d4h I x and he checks back. 8d I lead for 1300 and he calls. River is an As and I jam 10k into 5000 and he tank calls with AQ.

#4 Kh9d in SB. MP opens to 1200 at 300/600 75 and is a fairly competent french player. I 3bet to 3000 and he calls. Flop Tc6s5s and I cbet 3500 and he folds.

#5 TT with 17 bb on button at 6/12 200. MP +1 opens to 2700 and I jam 20k and he folds.

#6 First hand after the second break and I have AK in the bb. HJ jams 10k and SB calls with another 10 k behind. I jam and sb calls. HJ has KJ and SB has AQ. Board is 4 low cards and river was the dreaded Q and I'm down to 1.5 bb.

#7 Next hand it gets folded to me in the sb and I blind jam and the bb blind calls. I flip up Js3s and he has Jd5d and flops trip 5s.

Came in 500/1197 after 4 hours 15 mins. -$235

http://instagram.com/p/bDFSvMDlnJ/

I went back to Harrah's and played about 3 hours.

#1 AQ in HJ. I flat an open from EP because we have only played for 15 minutes and don't know his tendencies yet. T32 and he cbets 12 and I call. Turn is another T and he checks and I bet 30 into 48 and he folds.

#2 Ah2h utg+1 I decide to limp and MP raises to 7 and I call. AcQc7h I x/c 10. 6c it goes x/x river 8h and I bet 20 and he calls and mucks.

#3 JsTs on button. I make it 10. Blinds call. 8d5h5s. I cbet 15 and the both call. 6h I cbet 35 and the bb jams for 26 more. I have to fold and should have checked back the turn.

#4 Utg limps. I have AdTd in the sb and make it 15. Utg has been calling with nothing on every street including K high on a flop. Flop 5h8h8d and I cbet 20 and he calls. 6d and I cbet 35 with no intentions of folding and he mucks.

#5 I open to 7 UTG with JsTs and UTG +2 calls and MP calls. Flop Ts7h6d I cbet 12. UTG+2 calls. I Cbet 25 on a 8h. River was a 6 and I check and he jams for 79. I got bluffed again and he shows KJ.

#6 Utg opens to 11 and I 3bet with KK on the button to 37 and he jams for 52 total and shows AA. He flops a set and I turn a set of K's and that was it.

-$205 after 3 hours.

Harrahs: -$80 Tourney -$518 Cash
Bellagio: +$97
MGM: -$221
Ballys: +272
WSOP: -$470 Tourney -$93 Cash
Aria: -$235 Tourney -$286 Cash
PH: +$446
Monte Carlo: +$165
Venetian: -$65
Mirage: -$100
Rio: +$2

Total: -$1086 after 63 Hours. I got 30 hours to make up ground.

Thursday June 27 and Friday June 28 - Day 12 + 13

This is the final post of the trip. I woke up on Thursday at 11 AM and went to the gym before heading over to Earl of Sandwich with a friend. Ordered the Hawaiian BBQ Sandwich again with a brownie and lemonade. After that, we headed over to the Bellagio where I played for three hours.

#1 As5s I limped UTG. UTG+1 and MP calls. The button raises to 6 and this was clearly weak and I raised it to 35. Limp raise utg is usually strong. Button calls and it comes 2s3s8h and I jam about 90 into 76 and he tank calls with AdQh. The turn is a Ts and river is 6s and I win.

#2 Ah7h UTG straddles for 6 and I call from MP. MP+1 and BB calls as well. Now the straddle jams for 41 total and I feel like I'm getting the right odds to call off and don't fear any backraise coming. I did not realize that he did not look at his cards before he jammed which would have made this a snap call. He shows Td2c and the board is KcJd8c2t4c and he wins.

#3 In BB with 66 Button opens to 10 and I call. 887. I x/c a cbet of 10 Turn is a T and it goes x/x. River is a 7 and I x and he bets 10. I thought he was weak and I turned my hand into a bluff by raising to 75 to get him off Ace high and he pretty much snap calls with JJ. Too much fancy play syndrome during this trip...

#4 AsKs in HJ. I raise 20 after a few limpers and Button calls. Flop Jc5s4s I cbet 30 and get raised to 100 and I shove 30 on top. She shows QdQc. I have two overs and a flush draw which makes me a 55% favorite. Turn and river bricks and I get stacked.

#5 Loose player whos been opening every other hand opens to 11 from MP and I 3bet from the CO with A8o to 35 and get a fold.

-$310 after 3 hours.

I decided to head over to the Aria for the 7PM and this was the most swingy tourney I have ever played in. There was no light 3betting.

#1 AcQc in CO at 25/50 and utg +2 opens to 300 and I call. T96r and he cbets 300 and I call. 3d and now he checks and I bet 1000 which is too much and he folds.

#2 JsTs at 200/400 in the HJ and I open to 800 with 6000 behind. The SB and BB call and the flop is QdJhTs and I cbet 1500 and sb jams and I call with me barely covering her. She shows 89 for a straight and I'm down to my last 5bb.

#3 A few hands later I'm utg with 5 bb at 200/400 and I jam with AdJd and the utg+2 tries to isolate by raising to 4200 but MP+1 4bet jams 25k with AcKd and the flop is 2h3c4c Turn is an Ah and the river is the miracle Js and now I'm back to 17 bb.

#4 AK I'm UTG and open jam 6 bb and SB wakes up with QQ. The board comes xxAKK and I double up to 14 BB.

#5 A few hand later I open jam 10-15 BB with AK and QQ and take it down. I could min raise with them but I decided to apply pressure.

#6 AdKh in HJ at 800/1600 200 and UTG has 10k and limps with 9s7s. I jam about 14K and he calls! Board is Q77Ax and I'm down to 4bb.

#7 KQ UTG min raises at 3200 and MP raises to 12K and I somehow fold KQ with 4bb left which sets up the next hand.

#8 EP min raises with AK and I'm in the bb and put in 2 more bb with A6o and it comes T65J7 and I survive.

#9 99 in CO. UTG limps for 1600 and MP calls as well as MP+1 and I jam 12 and MP+1 calls with 22. I Double up to 20 BB now.

#10 UTG jams 22k at 1000/2000 300 with 6h7h and MP tank jams 50-60 k with As9s and I wake up with KK in the BB and call. Board is T45A7 and I'm eliminated in 43rd out of 166 players.

I feel I could have gone all the way if that hand turned out differently.
This was my 5th and last tourney which accumulated a total of $1K but was very fun and competitive.

Went back to the hotel after this and went to sleep.

10AM Today

Woke up and packed everything up and checked out of Harrah's and headed to the Venetian.

#1 Qs9s There are 3 limpers and I raise to 15 in the BB and utg+1 calls. Flop is Qd8c2d and I put in her last 21 and she shows AK and I win.

#2 KdJd and I raise to 12 in sb after button limps. BB calls and the flop is Kd9hTh and I cbet 20 in to 36 an he raises to 50 and I call. Turn is Ad and I check and snap call his jam of 80 and I river a 3d for a flush.

#3 A7 EP opens to 7 and I call in MP along with CO and button. Flop K77 and I lead for 15 and MP+1 calls. Turn J and I bet 40 and MP+1 folds a K. Good fold.

I left after three hours up $267 and headed to the Bellagio to redeem the food vouchers and put in one more session before heading home.

#1 2d2c I open to 10 from UTG+2 9 Handed and SB and Button calls. Flop 9c8d5h and I cbet 17 but this is a board I should immediately give up on. SB calls and the turn is 6h and it goes x/x. River is a 3s and the old guy bets 40 into 75 which should already ring alarm bells. I just couldn't put him on 7x and mistakenly thought he was bluffing so I raised to 100 and he snap calls with 99.

#2 I announced to the table this was going to be my last hand before the hand started and I have QhQd UTG and open to 10. BB calls with 9sTs and the flop is QsKs9h and he leads for 10 and I raise to 35 and he calls. Turn 9d and he leads for 50 and I jam for 150 more and he snap calls. River was a K cand I win a nice pot. I felt bad for immediately leaving so I stuck around for another 8 minutes before I had to head to the airport.

I left after 1 hour and 45 mins up $28 which is remarkable after that river bluff I made.

Harrahs: -$80 Tourney -$518 Cash
Bellagio: -$185
MGM: -$221
Ballys: +272
WSOP: -$470 Tourney -$93 Cash
Aria: -$355 Tourney -$286 Cash
PH: +$446
Monte Carlo: +$165
Venetian: +$191
Mirage: -$100
Rio: +$2

-$1232 After 76 hours.

Highlights of the trip includes Ziplining, watching Cirque Du Soleil, buffet passes, meeting and hanging out with some pros, meeting awesome people from around the globe and of course the poker experience.

This has been an awesome trip experience overall despite losing and thanks for reading. I will make another one in the not so distant future.