I was staying at the Trop and decided to initially play some poker there, it turns out it was the only place I played during my time in Vegas. I tried to get a seat at Excalibur and MGM grand but it was packed out (Friday after Thanksgiving) and I was running short of time.

Session 1 (2/4 limit) 23/11 - After a couple of days of shopping and visiting Shark reefs I put my foot down and told the girlfriend I was playing poker (half the reason I was in Vegas). I bought in for $100 and sat down. This session was by far the most successful. We were all tourists (the table talk gave that away) and most of the players were clueless or calling stations. My most successful hand was I was on the button and had Ac Jc and 8 players limped in (for $2) I raised to $4 and all 8 players called, I was a little stunned but I suppose for only $2 your going to get that. The flop comes 3c 8c 4c, I raise and all but 3 call. Turn is 10c and I thought this would scare everyone away, oh no! Its checked to me and I make it $4 the cute girl across from me goes all in for her remaining $3 the drunk guy to my right calls. River is Kc and the drunk checks I make it another $4 and he mumbles "let's see if you have the Ace" and calls I show him the Ace - Jack and take the pot for around $60. I was up around $200 in about 2 hours play, I played mostly tight aggressive but as it came to the final hour I decided to play a little loose, especially after seeing pair 3's win four handed. I played a little too loose and didn't really catch much in the final hour, I left the table $95 up.

Session 2 (2/4 limit) 24/11 - I decided to head back down to the Tropicana for a couple hours before I was due to see Second City comedy at the Flamingo (highly recommend). Again the players at the table were fairly poor with the exception of one young girl who was either the luckiest I have ever seen or she was a true hustler. The table was half filled with some guys that had driven from California, looking for some fun. Unfortunately one of them loved the sound of his own voice and was distracting the dealers who aren't brilliant when they are concentrating, as well as mocking most of the players at the table. I played mostly good starting hands and was up about $40 in the first hour. The highlight of the first hour was I made a Jack high straight on the turn only for a 7 to appear on the river for a split pot. I was getting pretty frustrated with this "lucky" girl throughout the session. She was playing limit whilst her boyfriend was at the NL table and she couldn't play (she was constantly asking if she could bet or raise) and was lifting her cards up off the table to view them, etc like a real newbie. She was hitting the river every hand she played and I do mean every hand. After her first half dozen out draws (around 3 of those against me) I decided to stay away from any pot she played after the flop for fear of getting beaten. She must have had $300 in chips in front of her when I left. I finished my session dead even which could have been worse. I don't think I would have stayed any longer if I could the Cali dudes and the "lucky" girl had worn my patience thin.

Session 3 (1/2 NL) 25/11 - I didn't want to play NL at all because I didn't have the bankroll for it but I had a couple of hours to myself so I sat down at the only table running at the Trop, it was a short handed 1/2 NL game. I asked the manager what the maximum was and he said $40 I thought that was a bit odd but took 40 dollars worth of chips and took a seat. Turns out it was 40 dollar minimum so I am sat down at a 6 handed game with about 5% of the chips in play. I folded my first hand (pocket 7's) which was the smartest decision of the session as the guy to my left had pocket 9's and won the pot. The whole table was bluffers, they were winning showdowns with absolutely nothing. I played one hand for about $8, AQ unsuited but nothing hit on the flop and I folded to a big raise. I mucked most of my cards for about 30 mins as my short stack got down to about 25 dollars, I knew I needed more chips if I was going to make some back so I took out another fifty and slapped it on the table. Next hand comes I have pocket 4's and I had seen for nearly an hour that everyone was bluffing like hell or winning with bad hands so its $12 to me after a raise and a call. I decide to make a stand and raise it to $30. Both players still in call and I knew I was going to push all in after the flop regardless (playing a little reckless, I know) but the flop comes 6 8 3 rainbow. So I push all in for around my remaining $40. One guy folds and the other thinks about it for a while (I knew I had the best hand) and calls! Grrr...he only has a 9 and a 5 for a straight draw, he must have figured I had an overpair before he called (ok I didn't but I was playing tight) so he was putting around half his chips on the line as well with a straight draw. Of course everyone can guess what came on the turn a lovely 7 and I was done for. See why I hate playing NL?
After being in shock a little I slowly removed myself from the table and decided to run round and see if I could find a table at the MGM or Excalibur. MGM 2/4 limit list was about 6 deep and Excalibur was 2 deep, I put my name down but in the 45 minutes I was there I never got called up. I decided to cut my losses and head back to my hotel room to get ready for the evening.

Session 4 (2/4 limit) 26/11 - I knew this was probably going to be my last session and by this time the night manager seemed to know my name (British Stewart as he called me) so I got another $100 and they sat me down. This table was full of older tourists, a fairly tight table with not a lot happening. I managed to grind out about $50 in the first couple of hours with little action. Then I managed to hit a full house fours full of eights for a nice pot. Again that was the highlight of the night and I played until around 3am from 10pm without catching much or winning any real huge pots. I was getting really tired (and slightly drunk) towards the end and I started playing a little more loosely to see if I could hit something big before I quit for the night. It didn't work and I ended up cashing out only $6 up. lol

All in all I about broke even in the Poker (although lost a couple hundred on the slots). The tropicana is an ok place to play when there are a few tables running but I never saw it at maximum occupancy. At most I saw 3 tables running which is a shame. I suppose with MGM's poker room about 100 yards away it just doesn't attract people. I would definately recommend it to first time players as the staff are friendly and no one seemed to care about acting out of turn, etc. If you have prior experience in a poker room you may find it a little too easy going for your liking, the dealers aren't the best and some of the players were very slow to act. If I had have had more time or played at quieter times I probably would have been at the MGM myself, still there is always next year!