YES!

The return of the day by day account of StrayBullet's Vegas extravaganza!

Good to see! This report really made my night! Mrs. Lederer in a 1/3NL game Wow. I thought she was exclusively a 2/4LHE player. That is good to hear.

I talked to Yappy a few times throughout his tourney. Happy he took the chop with Dominic.

Also, of course, glad the staff came through, as always, and even remembered you (that has GOT to be Danette, as she has an amazing AVP member memory).

I am really looking forward to the 9AM mixed game tomorrow, and glad to read that you are going to make an effort to come down before the Venetian $540.

I haven't been in TI since sunday night/monday mroning, and am having SEVERE withdrawls! At least I know that I will be spening the majority of the next two days in my home away from home.

See you tomorrow, and thanks again for contributing your day by day report!

glad u made it over there without too many bumps. looking forward to reading your posts.

12 days and counting!

continued....TI Tourney/George Carlin

***Warning*** Poker stupidity contained herein, continue at your own risk!

There's a reason why Dave's winning these things like he is and above all else, it's aggression and skill....however, couple that with an abundance of overplaying Ax, I've watched poker on tv players and you have a recipe for making $$$. Sadly enough, I DO NOT have the skills Dave posses, just see my sig Tired as I was though, I did observe well but my mind just wasn't where it needed to be to take full advantage. I'd flown into town sporting an '07 WSOP tee and didn't realize the image it'd create. Even so, 1-2 players and I exchanged knowing glances regarding the general play at the table. Tshirt aside, the better players pegged me right off the bat, I need to work on acting fishier

During the 10 hands dealt at 25/50 (no knock on the dealers, it's just a simple by-product of 20min rounds) I play my 1st hand. EP player bets to 300 and when I find AKo it's time to raise. I've already pegged him as a bad player and know he'll call, so I'm looking to get heads up with my raise to 900. I get a call out of the blinds as well as the original bettor. 3 of us see the flop, 9J9 rainbow. I decide not to chase my whiff when the original bettor leads out...did I really just donk off 1000 chips?

50/100 and we find an ep bettor lead out for 400 he gets 2 callers before I peek at my cards from the bb. I spy KK and have to raise, but how much? I quickly deduce that any raise is more than 1/2 my stack, so I just stick it all in and hope for a single caller with their Ax It's tv stall time and it feels like it takes forever for the folding action to come full circle, but it eventually does. I rake in a nice pot, sneak a last peek at the cowboys before I muck 'em...back up to even.

100/200 and I still think it's at 50/100 (1st of my stupid moves) so when I bet out to 300 from ep with AKo it's ruled that I have to min-raise, opening a potential flood gate of callers. That's ok though, I know TPTK in this game is GOLDEN! I get 2 callers, one from a VERY loose, not good loose, player 2 to my left. 3 of us see AQx, rainbow and I check behind KNOWING she'll bet out if she holds the weak ace I hope she has, since that's been her modus operandi to date. As expected, she leads out for 800, other caller folds and I check-raise to 2k total. She asks for the count and makes the call. The turn brings another Q and I know for sure I'm in the lead now. I push in my remaining stack of about 1500. She asks for a count again before making the call and tabling ATo. We split the pot when an unlikely Q falls yet again and all I can do is smile and say nice hand. I'm a bit taken aback when a player congratulates her on a nice turn call....I just smile and order another water

Still 100/200 (2nd stupid move) and I find AKo yet again after an ep limper. I bet to 600 and when it's folded around to him, he nearly insta-pushes his short-stack, 1200 more or so I believe. I make the easy call and flip my cards over. But I said I made another STUPID mistake, right? What I didn't realize, is that the bb had actually called my original bet to 600 and he still had cards in his hand, while mine were tabled. My hand is live so let's not go there The bb thinks for a bit and has noticed the same thing about the earlier limper as I have, so he pushes. I still think it's a dumb move on his part 'cause he doesn't have enough to push me off the hand. After pulling in the chips, it's only an extra 600 to call, which I obviously have to do and when the dust settles I get no help. Limper actually had a hand this time QQ, and the bb who drug the side pot had 44. We get ready to head into break and we'll be coming back to me utg at 200/400 with only 5bb.

200/400, I open push A9x from utg and pick up the blinds. I push 7s and 8s from lp and pick up the blinds each time. I ended up busting when I called a mp raise from the bb with K9s. I was dominated, up against A9s. I could've let the blinds pass then start pushing again from lp, right Dave Anyway, TI is a GREAT room with an awesome staff!!! Thanks to Danette for recognizing me and taking a shine to my Beatles murse She even offered a button for it, which I dearly want to take her up on, thanks!

Caught the George Carlin show last nite at the Orleans last nite, and had an absolute blast! You'd better like political/relgious IRREVERENCE but if you do, you're in for a GREAT time! The chairs were a little tight and got even tighter when I was seated next to someone that would send Captain Ahab on another lifetime journey Nice enough people but if since they were on the isle, wouldn't you put the skinnier person next to me? Who knows, maybe it was the tie-die And man are there some RUDE people out there!!! I was AMAZED at the talking that went on during the show! Do people not know how to whisper any more? And just to note, if you're going to disect political or religious jokes, maybe you're not at the right show

Last but not least....if you're driving a blue Ford escort with custom plates reading, "PCKT AA" I know where you live

Day 2, 9/22:

Saturday started out like any other day....any other day that smacks you upside the head at the CRACK OF DAWN! I'm on a typical vegas-poker diet. You know the one where you play so much and go past "normal meal" times then end up not eating at all. Since I don't like eating late at nite, I'd skipped a meal on Friday which ended up leading to a pounding headache promptly at 6:30am Saturday morning. Resolved not to get any more sleep, I dashed out to one of my favorite breakfast places, Blueberry Hill. These things are all over town, nothing really special about 'em 'cept good food at good prices. For what would end up being the 1st of two times I was "mistaken" for a local. I guess not many tourists make it out to North Decatur at 7am for grub Snag a counter seat and people watch, you won't be disappointed! After some biscuits&gravy, it's back to home base to get ready for the day. By 10am, I was on my way to TI so say hello to the gang in the 9am mixed-game.

When I got to TI, the game was going strong with LVM, Yappy, Mrs Lederer and J20. It was nice to watch the game and talk shop with fellow cards fiends Try as he might, Mike kept trying to get me to join the game, "we'll teach ya" he pleaded....but my standard response was, "I don't even know how to spell Badugi." Besides, I was playing in the Venetian Deep-stack and needed to get going. Off I hoofed over the walkway and down into one the best poker rooms around! I got registered then went up to the little Italian Cafe for a drink and pastry and some more people watching before heading down for what I'd hope to be a marathon poker session....final table visions danced in my head!

We got kicked-off just after noon with surprisingly low number of entrants, at least to me. A paltry 4 tables had been enrolled for a total of 36 entrants. 5 would be paid with 1st-3rd locking up 80% of the $17,460 prize pool. 10k chips, 40 minute blinds and just about the best structure I’ve seen keeps me coming back to this tourney time and time again! I’d vowed to myself to be observant, be more aggressive, think through hands better and just play plain ‘ole good poker. And if I can break my own arm I have to say, I played some of the best poker I’ve EVER played in my short poker playing life! In quick order I was able to peg players, take advantage of my image and lighten the mood with some harmless frivolity.

I was stuck in the 10-seat, one of my least favorite and had already identified trouble sitting 2 to my left. He was a VERY serious player who didn’t crack a smile the entire time. And since we all know that chip flow clockwise, I’d need a plan. This guy was playing poker and playing it well. Using position, open raising with “ATC” and making calls so he could take pots away if you showed weakness. He could also make lay downs and that would fit nicely within my plan and my eventual tight image! It’s always good to keep your eyes and ears open as you never know what you’ll pick up. Things like who are friends at the table, how they just played the last hand they’re rehashing, as well as who the local “pros” are . It’s simply AMAZING what you can pick up! Had I not been observant I woulda been racking my brain all day to figure out why the player seated on my right looked familiar. But since I was able to glance at his registration card, it was easy to come up with an answer. It was none other that John Strzemp. Now of course, he’s not a Doyle or Daniel but I’d recognized him from “tv poker” and knew he knew his game. All it meant was I had another piece of the puzzle. Turns out he’s a pretty damn tight player and that’s saying a lot coming from someone like me. He’s also a very grumpy person, thankfully he didn’t last too long, going out on a “bad beat” and not taking it well to boot!

[I’ll detail some of the more interesting hands in the next post for those actually interested]

By the 1st break, we were down to 3 tables and I’d been able to chip to around 18k. Not too bad considering I hadn’t seen a pocket pair better than 7s and no AK connecting post-flop. Levels 5&6 killed me! Combined with the escalating blinds and trying to take a pot off a loon cutting his relatively new chops (during level 1, this guy flopped quad queens holding pockets then not an orbit later turned a straight flush and got paid off on both), I was promptly smacked back down to around 11k. We went into our 2nd break with 2 tables left. Our table stayed in tact with new players rotating in, good for observation. But beware, as every time a new player is added, the table dynamics change! As mentioned, it’s always nice to be friendly as you can really reap some benefits, some better for poker than others. I was completely floored when a local (who thought I was local - I need to work on my image) actually started soft-playing me. I’m not condoning the action, and would certainly never do it myself but I’m going to take advantage of all that’s offered me….

Thanks to some real “lucky” hands (2 to be precise); by the end of level 3, I’d chipped up to 45k, enough to be a table leader at this point! We headed into level 10, 1k/2k/300 with 6 players at our table and 5 at the other. One more bust and we form up the final. Not that it means a DAMN thing as we all know where the money’s at With 9 players left, the hand that would end my night came up. 3 of us got it all-n pre-flop and when the dust settled, I’d experienced my 1st bad-beat of the day. A crushing blow for sure but nothing I could do about it ‘cept say, “nice hand, good luck y’all” then stroll out of the casino as there’s no reason for the 7th place finisher to stick around. That was a "$6,000 hand," and had it held up; I would’ve held 1/3rd the chips in play and been a “near lock to go deep! As it stood, all I could do was haul my depressed arse over to TI, hoping to find commiserating souls to share my story of “bad luck.”

Thankfully I found several, including LVM and my friend Cindy. I shared my “bad beat” and they took it in as gracefully as any player who’s heard it all before possibly can I needed to eat and clear my head. Cindy was nice enough to “lend me some comp dollars” and off to the coffee shop I headed. After a nice meal, allowing enough time for digestion of the meal and the tournament, I headed back to the poker room. Cindy was in the tournament and I’d decided to hang around to wait for a friend of ours that was also in town. Time quickly passed and before I knew it 10pm was rolling around. I knew I shouldn’t play and more cards, since after 7&1/2 hours of play at the Venetian, my poker playing mind was mush. We can all see where this is heading, right?

Not only did I play more cards, I got talked into joining the mixed-game You’re an EVIL, EVIL person LVM Mike would teach us newbies the ropes as we started up a 2/4 mixer and off it went! We had a great time with several AVPers (Mrs Lederer, Motorcycle John, OtherDave and a lurker) as well as those looking for more than just another Hold ‘Em game. I only bought in for $100 and ended up having a GREAT time. When 1am rolled around, it was time to call it quits. I was up and down all session, getting back to “even” a couple of times. When I cashed out, I was down $30 for my lesson. Not too bad for NEVER having played the games in rotation prior to sitting down.

All in all, it was a great day and I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat. And since I don’t leave for another 7 days, I’m sure I’ll have a chance to repeat

@StrayBullet

is there another J20 on the forum??? I'm not in vegas just yet....

Ooops

I looked abck through a few posts to find a screen name....apparently I picked out the wrong one

@StrayBullet

you go ahead and keep mentioning me. maybe it will convince me that i'm there!

Venetian Tourney Hands:

I have so many titles for this post:

I Sure Got My Moneys Worth, One Bad-Beat Deserves Another, That was a $6,000 Dollar Hand, FARK YOU, How Could You Make That Play?, I Played the Best Poker of My Life and all I got was a $10 Comp?!, and the list goes on and on and on….

L1-3, 25/50, 50/100, 100/200:

It didn’t take long to get a fix on the players at the table and I was determined to play the best I could! I’d already noted the player in this hand as someone who was going to be a thorn in my side, and since he had position on me, my accumulating job wasn’t going to be easy! I open-raise to T125 from late position with pocket 7s. Villain min-raised from the bb and I called. The board was rainbow rags and he leads out for T600. I min-raise him back and take it down. During the next orbit, against the same opponent I call his early position raise from the bb with pocket 6s. I flop the miracle 6 for sneaky set and since there’s one face included on the flop, I may stand to rake a nice pot. Normally I’d lead out here to build a pot, but since I’ve pegged this player, I’m going to let him do the betting, and he obliges. I check-call his flop and turn bets but we both slow down on the river. I did this mainly to get to see his cards which were napkins, he had complete air and as suspected, I take down another nice pot. I get AKo more than my fair share but continuation bets take ‘em down each and every time, image established. Going into the first break after 2 hours of play, I’m sitting on nearly 18k chips and we’re down to 3 tables from our original 4!

L4-6, 100/200/25, 200/400/25, 300/600/50:

Taking note that I need to use my established image, I make a raise from utg with complete trash, getting no callers. This little devilish trick emboldens my action and I take down a few pots by open raising and targeting a couple of players’ blinds. Even playing as I did, I was still aware that I had a tight image, at least to those who were paying attention to the table and not just the cards in their hands. The next hand I play was a pure attempt at picking up a pot as I hadn’t played a hand in a bit. Turns out it was against my nemesis from earlier. I open-raise pocket 3s from early position and of course he calls from his bb. Flop comes down TT8, 2 suited. He checks and I bet about half the pot. He thinks it over like EPSN is filming the final table but finally mucks his hand, face up. As the dealer is pushing me the pot, I decide to reciprocate and table my 3s, shooting him a glance…I can play cards too Homer Maybe not the best play on my part and I realize what it could mean to those paying attention, but I’ll take it and use it the best I can! 200/400 and 300/600 are my downfall. I’m not able to make many moves due to the table dynamics changing as players are moved in to balance things out. Most of the chuck lost though comes against a player who early on had flopped quads then an orbit later turned a straight flush. I got a laugh when I broke out the line asking, “If you wipe off when you pull it out, can I borrow it?” In the hand, I tried to take the pot away from him when the board delivered not only an ace but a king as well. He’d limped with QQ and called all the way. I’d seen him make lay-downs but I knew he had a greater propensity for calling….shoulda known better! We’re down to 2 tables and I’m down to about 11k chips.

L7-9, 400/800/75, 600/1200/100, 800/1600/200:

Our table now contains new players, with about 3 from the original. I’m joking it up with the 2 new players (Mike and Ben) on my right, who both have decent stacks. Mike’s been asking players periodically where they’re from, just creating small talk and picking up information as any good local pro would do. After I bit I say, “Man, you’ve asked everyone else where they’re from, I fell a little left out.”:D When he tells me he didn’t ask ‘cause he thought I was a local, I realize I either need to work on that image or cultivate it…not really sure which, but I’m still interestingly surprised by the observation. With as short as I am at this point, I know I’m in trouble unless I can chip up, which takes place tout suite. At 400/800 Mike starts contemplating a bet. I normally wait to look at my cards until the action is on me, but for some reason (maybe length of time) I peek early and spy pocket kings. I hold my cards like I’m going to muck, awaiting his action. He finally bets out for 2k chips. I’m in early position so any raise it going to tie me to the pot, and I don’t mind taking it down right here, so all-in it is Table folds around to one of the new players who takes no time at all in pushing in his all his chips…I know I’m crushed! Mike folds and you can guess what I’m up against, pocket aces, mike had folded AKo. I’m drawing to a lone out, save some miracle straight. But low and behold the flop delivers and I’m back in good shape. New player is EXTREMELY pissed!

My next hand comes against the player who’d flopped quads early and who I tried to represent an ace in an earlier hand. He’d made lay-downs as mentioned but he’d be more likely to call if he had a piece or draw. I was able to pick up on his betting patterns early on; I’m starting to really believe in these more than physical tells. If you can marry up the betting patterns with the hands they show down, that’s some really POWERFUL knowledge! Onto the hand….At 600/1200, the villain min-raises from early position and it’s folded around to me in the bb. I have 67o and decide to make the call. It’s going to be VERY easy to get away from if I miss. If I hit the board, I’m likely to get paid off and if he misses, there’s a good chance I can take it down with air, at least that’s the plan. Flop comes down 48T, 2-suited. From his earlier patterns I know he’s limped with big pairs, min-raised with big aces and made a normal raise with all other hands he wanted to play. So on this hand, I put him squarely on a big ace, which missed the board entirely. Heads-up, I’m not going to put much stock in a flush draw, although the possibility exists. I decide to check my double gut-shot draw, knowing he’ll most likely bet out, but I have enough chips behind for plenty of folding equity when I put the plan to check-raise into action. He leads out for T4k and I promptly push all-in for about T16k more. We’re essentially even so there’s no way in the world he can make the call unless I’ve TOTALLY misread the situation. To my complete and utter shock, he makes the call without taking any time at all, guess I fouled up! I turn over my cards over and wait for the atrocity that will surely spell my demise. He tables AcJc and I’m in absolute total shock; as is the rest of the table when the most beautiful card in the world floats down from the deck on the turn. It’s the 5 of diamonds, completing my straight draw and making me a lock in the hand. I’m now sitting on top of nearly 45k in chips and in a great position to make a deep run!

L10, 1k/2k/300:

11 players left and 5 get paid, ALL the money is in first and second, nothing new! My buddy Mike makes a raise to 12k in early position and when I start thinking he starts talking. He tells me that he’s got a big hand, just lay it down, on and on…You’ll have to trust me here but based on what’s happened previously, he’s not lying. But he also doesn’t have aces or kings. I’m not sure he’d do it with jacks but it’s possible. I put him on a big ace (because of his talk and bet size) and since I have pocket queens, I’m in a real mess. Months ago, I wouldn’t have even thought about the hand, just push all-in, I have queens, right?! But here, and now, it’s a different ball game. I could push all-in but I have a gut feeling he’ll call and I don’t’ see any need to flip for chips at this point. I could fold, but that seems weak, although raising or folding are most often the best courses of action. I decide on the flat-call, looking to take it down on a “safe flop” or mucking if an ace or king drops. Right in the window, my hopes are dashed and I when he bets out, I muck the queens face up. He does the only thing he knows how at this point, and flashes me the ace of spades…well played or donked up?

When a player busts on the other table, we’re down to 10 and we form up the final table. I land in the bb and have to let go with action ahead of me. From the sb, I steal the bb when it’s open-folded to me, thankfully I’d had a read on the gentleman on my left and knew he was tighter than a frogs arse We lose a player and with 9 left, the money spots are even closer, although I’m not at all concerned with 5th place as it’s little more than double the entry fee. A few hands pass and from utg, I look down to find pocket kings. I make a bet to T5k, the table standard at this point. It’s folded to the button, who pushes in the last of stack, about T20k or so. I’ll be more than happy to make this call heads-up and am just waiting for the blinds to fold out. But much to my surprise, the bb goes into the tank. Well, that’s one good thing, he doesn’t have aces. He’s also new to me and the pusher, we haven’t played with him all tournament. He and I have about the same stack and he’s really taking his time. As long as it takes, I’m pretty sure he’s going to make what I would consider the right move, folding. If he has a big ace, how can he stake the tourney on that? If he has queens, he knows he has to be flipping and why do it when you’re in such good shape? Even if he thinks I’m going to fold, why? He finally makes his decision, he pushes.

I sure as hell am not folding in this spot, but I’m open to hear any competing thoughts! The original all-in DOES NOT have aces, of course there’s no real way I can know, but it just doesn’t smell right, even with his stack. It’s possible, but I just don’t see it. I don’t see how I can fold here but like I said, I’m open to thoughts! I make what I think is the correct call. I’m up against AKo and QQ, in that order. If my hand holds, I’m sitting on 1/3rd of the chips in play, easily covering my opponents. But it’s all for naught when a queen falls right in the window and I’m drawing to a single out that never materializes. I’m summarily bounced in spot 7 and all I have to show for it is a $10 comp to Lux….

You have to get lucky along the way to win these things, no matter HOW GOOD you are. And I realize I got very lucky twice to keep my arse in the game. I guess this was just his time to get lucky. See ya on the felt!

Nice trip report. Would love to play in the Venetian deepstack tourny some day, but until then I enjoy reading about it! Looking forward to reading more, if more is to come. Good luck.

Thanks y'all, appreciate the replies!

I ended up taking 4th place in the AVP tourney tonite, for net profit of $73. Can't complain as it was a very well run tournament and it was great to meet the fellow AVPers in town as well as the locals, including Doug, the owner of AVP. I wish I coulda done better, but that's variance for ya!

ILikeCheese ended up taking it down with OD making a come back from the walking dead to take 2nd, well done! Even if you do call off with chit like AKo against a "tighter than a frogs' arse" player

Terrence, don't recall the screen name, who wouldn't chop and wouldn't make a save for 5th, came in 3rd, nicely done Sir!

All in all it was a great time! I can't recall any hands per se as I was slamming down Rum Runners all nite with Mrs Lederer, what the hell, it was a $70 tourney

It was nice to meet ya straybullet. It is always nice to play with people that are having a good time. You certainly seemed to be having a great time. Good luck on the rest of your trip and keep posting these great reports.

Thanks Mike!!! Last night was a blast! I usually try and loosen up any table I'm at with my frivolity but last nite was an extra-special occasion. I'm sure I was over the top for more than a couple of attendees....but F'them

Day 3, 9/23:

Sunday was pretty light with the whip cream on the Irish coffee being the AVP Tourney at TI

I ended up finally getting some decent sleep before venturing out for various items I needed for the work week. Remind me to NEVER step foot again in ANY wal-mart EVER AGAIN....'nuff said

Next was lunch and back to Pop's I went for yet another philly steak...very nice people and another good opportunity for people watching. The weather is absolutely fantastic!

I just basically killed time before heading down to TI for the tourney. I got there around 6 or so, registered, then headed over to Canters Deli for a quick bite. What a buzz killer that was....nice enough service but SLOW AS HELL

I headed back to TI to meet some fellow AVPers and photos, not too sure I wanna see how they turned out, but what the hell, it was a good time. It seemed our table was having more fun than the other 2, as evidenced by getting a round of yager (?sp) bombs during level 1...

Like I mentioned previously, I wasn’t there to take the tournament as seriously as others, but we all had our reasons for attending. Nonetheless, I do recall some hands played

Early on I played a hand against Joel1968 from my bb, I’d called his raise with 98o. I’d paired my 9 on a safe, rainbow rags board. I check called all the way down, putting him on a big ace or paint, my first pot. We then had a hand, which was sequentially min-raised around the board, until it was discovered there was a 4 bet cap, and since no distinction was made between games, it was applied correctly here. The next had I played was pocket aces and was hoping for another round of mini-pops after my min-raise but was only greeted with 2 callers. I checked behind a semi-coordinated board looking to get in a check-raise which is exactly what happened, I showed, then scooped. I don’t recall the level but I think the next big hand I played was when I open-pushed my “compared to the blinds” short stack 54s. I got insta-called by OD with AKo. He’d chipped up very early on to over 20k, cards were slapping him silly, either connecting with the board or drawing out on the end. At any rate, we exchanged words from across the table, jokingly of course, but in the end, it was my paired 5 that scooped up the chips .

I think by now, we’d formed up the final table, but with only 4 players getting paid out of the 61% returned prize pool, cash was a long ways off. Even after doubling through earlier, the blinds were stack eaters and when I spied a lone king from mid-position, I decided to push. When I got overcalls by not one, but 2 other players, I knew I was in trouble and I could only hope my other card was a good one. It was, I held AKo and was up against QQ and some other hand I don’t recall. I spike a king, turned a queen and was sitting in decent position to make a money run. Players were dropping fast and before I knew it, we were down to the final 4. OD was making an AMAZING come back, eventually taking down 2nd place, what a work of art that was to watch! I was the short stack of the remaining 4 and had just donked off another 10k when I open raised from utg. OD pushed and I had to muck my rags. With 175k chips in play, I held roughly 26k or so and since blinds were at 2k/4k, I needed chips, and needed them BADLY!

I posted the bb and ILikeCheese (Mike) completed from the sb. I took a peak at my cards and in all honesty, it didn’t matter what I had, I pushed. I did this because any “normal” raise woulda been more than half my stack and good tourney strategy says to put ‘em all-in, if you’re going to raise. Now I coulda played the hand differently but I didn’t think Mike was trying to get tricky with a made hand, so adding the additional 20% to my stack was well worth it. Mike says something along the lines of, “I don’t know why but I’m going to call…” I certainly didn’t like it but I knew I wasn’t in bad shape, most likely 60-40 dog, meh. I’m still not sure if I like the call from Mike’s standpoint, but he felt the raise was too much and he was better than average considering we were 4 handed. If I recall correctly, he held K9o and I had something like T7s. I don’t know if he hit his card or not, but I do know I didn’t get any help, so it’s moot. I went out in 4th for a net profit of $73. No hard feelings of course, but I would’ve liked it much better if he could’ve found a fold. I said it last nite though, nice call and way to take it down I think Chris was calling the hand, and by the time the river had fell, he said I looked liked I wanted to stab someone. I guess I need to work on that

Thanks again to LVM for putting it all together, Doug for supplying us all with AVP.com in the first place, the ENTIRE TI staff and all those who could make it out….what a blast!

Stray, your hand reminds me of two things. First it sounds more like an on-line hand with you having KK, then button has AK, then BB has QQ. Wow. Basically the other 2 players have a 3 outer and 2 outer (straight really unlikely here). Geez, bad luck for you.

Second it might just be the Venetian poker gods. One tourney I played it was down to 4 players and guy to my left had A-10 and filled up aces full to take out a player. Next hand I have AQ in SB 3 handed. This guy had AA in BB and I think he filled up again. Guess the guy was an ace magnet.

Sounds like you are in a groove so hope to here you takin one down yet this week.

Stray,

On your last hand I was actually going to raise. I thought for a minute and decided to call and see a flop. I had shown weakness by just completing from the small blind, and knew from reading your posts you have the ability to exploit weakness. Heads up I figured most likely my K9 was good. Unless you held a better K I would not be too much of an underdog. It was really just a gut call. 9 times out of 10 I fold that hand. That is why I said what I said. I usually play a little too tight and have a tendency to go against my gut. But the big raise after my weak play got me thinking your range of holdings was any two cards and I had a strong feeling I had the best hand.

It was just a little bit of the donkey in me letting out a big heeehaaaaw.

Hey Cheese

Thanks for the dialogue, from that nite and in the post, I really appreciate it!

The more I think about the hand, with a clear head, both free of alcohol and avarice, the more I think it was just plain standard on both our parts. I’d been somewhat afraid of people picking up tendencies from posting, but it was only a $70 tourney so why worry too much Hearing your thought process makes the call that much easier in my mind.

I can’t fault you at all for the call, especially since we were 4-handed. You did a great job, congrats again!

Day4, 9/24:

Monday ended up being a light day, as will the next two most likely since I actually have to do some work this trip

Got some “sleep,” did some laundry and packed up so I could check out the corporate apartment and into the hotel. I did this because I hate being too far away from where I have to conduct classes, no need to add stress where it’s not needed

But I’m getting ahead of myself, before all that I’d decided to head over to Planet Hollywood to check out the filming of CSI. Photoc had passed along that they’d be filming and they might need extras, you just needed to show up by 8am The alarm went off, I hit snooze….the alarm went off, I hit snooze….the alarm went off, I hit the snooze, you get the idea! I finally drug my arse outta bed, got cleaned up, and headed on down to check out the potential action. I figured a few people would show up just to watch what was going on and a few more would be there hoping to be an extra. And that’s where my mindset was, I was hoping to fill a seat at one of the tables, mugging it up for my 15 seconds (love ya Andy). Nearing 8am, they still didn’t have any of the lighting, cameras, etc setup so I knew it’d be a long day. I was directed to where the extras where staging as they’d moved the location, so off I went. When I got up to the Extras Lounge, I was greeted with a sea of “pretty people” and just as easily and quickly as I’ve been able to size up tables lately, I KNEW I was outta my league. These people looked like this did this for a living and/or looking for their big break. I guess I could’ve slept in later, oh well.

After a quick stop at ‘Bucks for a mocha frap, I headed back downstairs to retrieve my car from valet. It wasn’t too busy but I was VERY impressed when the captain called me by name as I approached the stand. I wasn’t there long, but I was still impressed! I didn’t stay long at all so it’s probably not really a fair assessment, but I got an odd vibe from the casino itself. Maybe because it was early morning or the relative absence of players, the layout or the color scheme, but for some reason it just felt odd to me. I’ll have to visit again and give it a more fair shake, but for now it stands. Since I was on that side of town anyway, I decided to stop by our corporate office and see if my co-worker needed any help in setting up the classes this week. Thankfully he didn’t need anything from me, so I was free again until Tuesday It was still early but I decided if I could check into the hotel already and get that knocked outta the way. They weren’t busy at all, and I was able to check into my king-room early in the morning. A drive back to the northwest end of town to get my stuff, check out then drive back down to the Henderson area gobbled up the rest of the morning and early afternoon. After a quick bite, I got settled into the hotel, checked emails and returned phone calls, then caught a nap before deciding what to do with myself for the evening.

My friend Cindy called and suggested either the MGM at 6pm or Caesars at 7pm for a tourney. We ended up at MGM but with a less than stellar turnout, we’d decided on a cash game, thank you Tommy . I got on the list and it didn’t take long to get seated. Seems there were some table changes going on at the same time that lengthened my wait somewhat, but nothing too bad. Those table changes had opened up seats on the table I drew, hmmmmm. In no short order I clearly understood why. Let’s call him Colorado Lag, this guy was literally playing EVERY hand with an odd pre-flop fold mixed in every orbit or three I’d noted one other player that would be trouble and since both of these players were on my immediate left, this wasn’t going to be easy by any stretch of the imagination! Cash games are not my forte, not that I don’t understand the differences from tourneys but I just don’t get to play cash games nearly as often and I’ve played tourneys for so much longer. Do you know how to spell d-i-s-a-s-t-e-r? Now it’s hard to get into too much trouble with a $200 cap and being UNWILLING to dig in for buy-in after buy-in after buy-in, but I detest $200 lessons although not nearly as much as I dislike $29 mixed-game lessons! Onto the memorable hands…

I didn’t feel like playing 6s from early position so into the muck they went and of course the set making 6 was right in the window of the delivered flop, oh well. I did decide to play my pocket aces from late position, raising after a couple of limpers. All that did was encourage several callers, The flop came down Qxx, 2 clubs. Thankfully an early position player pushed all-in for his remaining $58. Folded to me and before I could act on my clearly visible capped cards, the sb proceeded to call. When we finally straightened out that mess, I decided not to play multi-way and over-pushed hoping to get heads up, it was successful. Villain tabled Q5o for top pair, what the f’kicker and I flipped over my red aces. Turn produced his 2-pair 5 and I was off to a rollicking start, until the board pairing 7 appeared on the river, making me a nice pot to start off the session. During the next orbit, I misplayed pocket kings about as bas as one possibly can. I don’t know what the hell was running through my head but I decided the best way to play ‘em was to flat-call the $10 raise from Colorado Lag as several others had done, leading to 6 of us seeing the flop I guess I’d decided to play for set value only, giving up control of the hand. The flop was a 2-suited, non connecting board with a lone jack, damn sure looked pretty safe even if I was playing for set value only. The table damn near checked around to me but just prior to being able to donk it up, the player on my immediate right led out into the $60 pot for $15. At this point, I figured anyone who already had a set would have HAD to lead out and the lone $15 bet just didn’t say “set” to me. So what do I do, of course I raise it up, making it $60 to go. The player on my immediate left, proceeds to push-in without missing a beat. The table folds around to the $15 bettor who also pushes. I guess I could’ve just mucked but I wanted to see how much more it was to call. $36 was the determination and to complete the utter donkification of the hand, I called. They flip their cards immediately and I hold onto mine. I’m facing a set of 7s and the flush draw. I get no help but the flush materializes on the river and my kings go flying into the muck. So much for being up early, now I’m down to $140 or so. I decide to move seats to get position on Colorado Lag and the sunglass wearing big stack. I wave off comments about the move saying I don’t like having the room to my back, yeah, that should through them off, you psycho fool

I had a plan for Colorado Lag but never got the chance to set the twigs and spring the trap (thanks Vince). I couldn’t ever really catch the cards to do it and a bluff would cost me my stack as he was calling down! I did call a few times in position with his straddles, taking down pots once or twice. The first time he commented about me having paired the boarded queen to which I responded, “I needed the queen when I was in seat 2, don’t need it any longer.” With the table dynamics being what they were I should have left long before I did. The good thing about cash games is you can wait for the nuts, but it doesn’t mean you’ll get paid off with the nuts and sometimes, you’ll simply get your nuts stomped on!

After treading shark-infested waters for longer than the downed sailors of the Indianapolis, I finally decided as others did, to call the straddle from Colorado Lag. At least I had 78s, the button and a plan. Just about regardless of the board, I’d decided to run a bluff. How could I not use my “tighter than Scrooge McDuck” image to take down a pot with napkins?! Turns out the flop transformed my complete bluff into a semi-bluff, when A56 came floating down to the felt. Colorado Lag led out for $15 and was flat-called by a player in seat 5. She’d been playing only high cards and as observed, I knew she was tight as well. Even if she had hit the ace, with plan in full effect, I was sure to be able to wrestle the pot into my stack. I raised to $60 and the table, including Colorado Lag, quickly folded back around to her. After some fumbling and not realizing exactly how much it was to call after she started calling, the dealer straightened it all out, forcing the extra $45 into the pot. Even with her call, I had outs and still thought I could take the pot down considering how she called the flop. When another 5 fell on the turn and she checked to me, there was only one way for me to win and that was to take it down without getting to the river. I put my last $70 or so putting her to the test. She hemmed and hawed, finally deciding on, “well, I guess I have to call now…” We held onto our cards awaiting the river. I didn’t get my nut wining straight card but I did pair my eight. The dealer asked for a winner and I tossed my 78s, face up onto the felt. And she studied the board…damn, am I going to take this down with a lone eight? Nope, she finally figures it out, tabling A6o for 2-pair. I doubt it was a purposely executed “slow-roll” but it damn sure did nothing to stem my absolute infuriatingly, mind-numbing anger. I got up from the table, leaving for good as I should’ve done long ago! I still think it was a great plan that just wasn’t timed well against an opponent playing nothing but their hand only.

I made the stroll of the walking dead over to my friend Cindy for some poker commiseration before heading out into the night, letting the steam roll off like sheets of rain. I decided to drown my sorrows with a Fat Tire and a pie from Metro Pizza, yummy! Tales of a cash game moran, you just gotta love it!

I'm lovin' reading this trip report, especially now that I can put a face to the name! It was GREAT meeting you Mark. I had a really good time...just wish it could have lasted longer and I could have gotten to talk /meet more of the AVP'ers at the tourney.
Hope to meet up with you soon...until then.... keep writing...I'm reading!!!

LOL

Thanks Michelle, appreciate the nod and it was great meeting you too. I had a great time at the tourney and would do it all over in a heartbeat! I just fear that it'll be 8 more years before I get out to Vegas again, at least on a trip that's paid for by work. But I guess I shouldn't complain since I've been out here 4 times already

Day5/6/7, 9/25-27:

Pretty boring couple of days as I actually had to finally do some work

I had to observe a new Instructor over the course of 4 classes, and then provide feedback at the end of the day. Even with light work days, I knew I wasn’t in the right frame of mind, so I don’t and didn’t play. On Tuesday nite after chowing down, I headed over to Caesars to talk with fellow AVP’r EightOuts (Chris). He was sitting in the $1/3 ($500) and took a quick break so we could talk about some hands played. Seems he had a British Maniac at his table but the hands discussed were pretty standard, just tough to adjust and not be run down. I’m looking forward to talking more, and will keep an eye out for the pm!

Wednesday was even more mundane. We did however snag a free lunch out of the regional training director so that was a plus, saved my per diem for later debauchery We ate that nite at Red Robin, good food and good service! And they had GREAT drinks, you can read that as “stiff!” Apparently they didn’t mark off that I had been delivered the drink ordered and soon enough another was delivered. I had to actually turn it down as I had to teach on Thursday and drive back to the hotel. They were amazed that I turned the drink down, seems pretty standard to me!

Thursday, I had some real work to do, teaching a class in the morning. Conducted a good session and was prepared to review the class with the observing Instructor that afternoon but he was in a car accident the night before and needed to attend to other things. I had already checked out of the hotel so I grabbed some lunch at Grimaldi’s on south Eastern, YUMMY!!! Leftovers came with as I headed back to the Northwest side of town to check back into the corporate apartment for the remainder of the trip. It’s AMAZING how much traffic exists at 2:30 in the afternoon And what the HELL is with the Nevada “agriculture” plate. Seems like a huge oxymoron to me

Still haven’t decided what I want to do tonite. I know I have plenty of options for tourneys, but I don’t know what the turnouts will be like. I have also wanted to check out “Love” at the Mirage, so who knows. Till tomorrow, wish me luck!

Day7, Thursday continued:

Damn, all I can taste is fruit juice from whatever umbrella’d concoction I was throwing down my gullet last nite (hey Mrs Lederer ) and cigar smoke Not that indecisiveness is necessarily bad but it does lead to doing things on the cuff and that’s exactly what happened!

I’ve kinda had in the back of my head that I’d like to take in the show, “Love” and I went into ticket hunting mode. Of course the only seat available last nite was an obstructed view for the 10pm show, not really my idea of fun and since poker was firmly on the schedule for Friday and Saturday, that was now a wash. I finally decided to just head down to the strip and meander from there. I parked at TI and made my way to the Fashion Mall to check out the half-price ticket outlet. Couldn’t really find anything that tickled my fancy, ‘cept for the Fab4 show at PH, but since it was already 5:35pm, there was no way I’d make the show. What to do with myself now? What the hell, I’ll wander down the strip and see what kind of action I can find.

With no real destination in mind, I started my strip casino crawl I also popped my head into Bellagio and Caesars before heading back into TI to finally play some cards

When I finally landed at home base, I was warmly greeted by Troy, who hasn’t seen me in months, but instantly recognized me and even recalled my name. Now you may ask why that even makes it into a trip report, but it’s significant to me! This year, I’ve played several times at the Venetian and while it’s only been for tournaments, it’s been several $550 deep-stack events, including a $1060 event during the World Series. I don’t mention this to brag but by comparison, it’s much less than what I’ve dropped at TI. Now I know the rooms are drastically different in size and number of players, I’d expect to be treated as I’ve been at TI. I’ve talked to Anthony and Andrew several times at Venetian during my tournament play, even discussing AVP but when I greeted Anthony last nite, I was met with a look of, “who the hell are you and why are you bothering me?” Everyone’s opinion is valid but when faced with the comment along the lines of AVP and 2+2 being “worthless” that was the cue to take my leave, “take care.” I’m still shaking my head about it this morning. I also let Troy know last nite, how much I appreciate the way the players are treated in their poker room, it goes a LONG way! And since it’s a customer service business, at some get it Pretty sad in my opinion but I guess when you have the business that Venetian and Bellagio does, you can “afford” to not give a damn! THANKS AGAIN Troy!!!!

The 7pm was still in full force with no cash game going as yet when I finally settled in around 8:30pm. But in the meantime I chatted it up with OD and ILikeCheese . We didn’t have to wait long, a game got underway shortly with about 6-7 players and a splash pot to kick things off. Limped around by everyone until the bb had to go and ruin it all by raising, and of course we all came along for the ride. It was a king-high board, non-flushing and non-connected. The bb lead out for about a pot sized bet and it’s folded to me in late position. The bet just didn’t smell right to me, so I pushed. I’d only bought in for $145, the chips I’d won from placing 4th in the AVP tourney, so it wasn’t a massive over-raise. The bb just about insta-call and we hold our cards till the rest of the board is dealt. When it settled, I immediately turned over my KTo for top-pair, no kicker, he tabled his cards, leading me to think I was beat. When I saw that all he had was AJo, the pot was pushed my way and it was time to find out what the splash would add. It was another $25, I threw a $5 in for Issac and I went into card dead lockdown Once again, I’m not an adept cash game player, so I’d decided to jump into the 10pm tourney, cashing out $300 from my original $145 buy-in, I’m happy! Thanks for stacking my chips Troy

I drew seat 10, and went to work. I was chatting up my side of the table, generally having fun. And of course, the rum runners kept flowing, with an addition or two from Kahunaville On the very next hand, I have AQ in the now short-stacked sb and it’s an auto-call against the late position bettor. I have him dominated as he tables KJo, but when he spikes his jack on the flop, I’m drawing thin. I don’t get there, so it’s, “nice hand, good luck y’all” and I’m homeward bound. It seems like that phrase is too engrained into my poker language lately. I need to be hearing that more, and speaking it less!

Well, you’re as caught up as I am. Today it’s Caesars for the noon tourney then a possible trip downtown to play at Binions later this evening. Should be interesting considering the Bike convention is in town

Hey Mark.. if you head downtown(if you already haven't done so) Introduce yourself to my brother {Ethan}...he's the Poker Room manager on midnights at Binions. He's a big bald guy...can't miss him. He's almost as nice as me!
Still enjoying reading your trip report........wishing I was still there!

Was there last nite but not long enough to make it to midnight. Details are below . I may be back tonite as it's the last, I leave tomorrow. Glad you're enjoying the read! It's a bit of therapy for me

@Pleasingal

Day8, 9/28:

Is anyone getting sick of this yet?

Thursday’s marathon session of rum runners hit me harder than I’d thought and Friday morning came crashing down on me like a ton of bricks. At 6:30am a most obnoxious headache pulled me from bed, begging to be handled. A swig of coke and a packet of BC Powder did the trick, and I was back down for another couple of hours. I won’t bore you with the leftover breakfast of pizza from Grimaldi’s and a half-eaten cannoli

I got myself woken up, semi-fed, showered, and then headed down to Caesars. About 11:20am the noon tourney had only 16 players registered. I’m sure that’d change but I held off to see the turnout. I went over to the Cypress Street Café for a little something to add to me Italian breakfast! Orange juice was probably a poor choice considering all the citric acid contained in my nemesis drinks from the prior evening but I just wasn’t in the mood for coffee, add a bagel and a couch, I was golden.

I got back to the room a few minutes prior to the noon kick-off and with 6 tables filling up, I ponied up the $330, said hello to Adam (again, someone who recognizes me after months of absence!) and settled into my seat. A quick evaluation of the table and I knew it was going to be rough waters. It seemed like everyone knew each other, the dealers, etc. All they were talking about was how they did in the Series, the WPT, who won what last nite, and on and on…I do like this tournament, same 10k chips and 40 minutes levels as the Venetian but a slightly worse structure. There’s a jump from L2 to L3, from 50/100 to 100/200/25. The cost of a round jumps from 150 to 550 and they seated 10 players per table where they used to be 9-handed. I was also VERY unimpressed by most of the dealers. This hadn’t been an issue/concern in the past but this time around, it was pretty sub-standard. Not to bash wholesale, as we did get a dealer during L3 that blew me away, even other dealers dropped by to watch the pitch and learn!

I watched a hand early-on and was just blown away by what had ensued. The table had already pegged the limp monkey/calling station and that created action! A few players see the raised pre-flop action and go to a flop of K9x, 2 clubs. After some betting, it gets heads-up. On a blank turn, they both check. The river produces the 9c, completing all sorts of hands, many of which I was churning through, tying to put them on their hands based on the action. For as early as it was, the pot was massive, but ended with the one player “mucking” after the other had tabled his rivered nut-flush. The other player was pretty disgusted as he threw his cards into the middle, attempting to show ‘em, with one landing face up and the other face down, it had cart-wheeled the table. The pot is being pushed to the flush when the “mucker” says to show the other card, and when it was turned over, it matched other king he’d tabled. It just happened to be the nut-boat He’ damn near mucked his hand, not being able to read it correctly. Minor fireworks occurred, we got a ruling and the flush guy handled it EXTREMELY well…what a farked up hand!

For some reason, I’ve never really done well at Caesars. I saw more 8-gappers that I ever care to see again in my card playing lifetime, but I know that’s not reasonable. K5, J2, Q4 and coupled with multiples of 92 and 94, etc. it just wasn’t in the cards for me. And as I mentioned, it was a tough table. I made a play from the bb with KQs and coupled with my “image” I thought the continuation bet would take it down without resistance…no such luck! I got a called, checked the turn and gave up the non-connected hand. I was resigned to sit back and watch as others caught all the cards that balanced out my crap. I’d decided to raise on the next orbit from utg with whatever I held, and I did just that. At 100/200/25, I made the table standard to 750 and when the last person folded, I showed my napkins, 85o. Maybe out of ego, frustration, etc but I had to let ‘em know I was catching crap cards but I could still play. Probably not the smartest thing in the world to do, but I felt a little better raking in some chips, instead of constantly whittling down me stack

I caught KK a few hands later, again from early position but got no action. With blinds now at 200/400/50, I would’ve loved a caller but I’ll take the chips. On the next orbit, I find AcKs and after a touch player who’d been catching rivers well limped in from utg, I made a standard raise to 2k. It was folded around to the bb, who made the call. The limper announced he had odds, and made the call as well. The board was produced and all I could do was stare in horror when I saw 9dTdQh. The bb pushed all-in, an over-bet in my mind that just didn’t mesh. The limper folded and it was on me. I’d started the hand with about 8k in chips, so my initial raise, I was left with a pot sized bet. The bet from the bb laid me odds of 2-1. This was the last hand of the level, with blinds going to 300/600/75 and I’d have to pay ‘em first when we got back. I know I’ve used the phrase before but the bb’s bet just didn’t seem right. I know it’s a scary board but he doesn’t seem to be protecting a made hand, he seems to be betting on a semi-bluff and if that’s the case, I’m still a dog, but I’m getting the right odds. I just don’t think he’s connected with the board. After some thinking, and I did take my time, I made the call which the bb didn’t like. He tabled 7d8d for the open-ended straight flush draw and I tabled my “winning right now” hand. Pokerstove later told me I was a 60/40 dog but like I’d said, I already knew when I was at when I made the call. The turn was red, but a heart and all I had to do was fade the river and I’d be back in fighting shape. The jack fell on the river completing both our straights, but mine was higher! Had it not been the jack of diamonds completing his straight flush, I would’ve been set for a haul. Oh well, I just need variance to catch up with my knowledge and ability…

What took me 20 minutes in the morning, took nearly 90 minutes in the afternoon. Man, this town is LOCKED up starting at 2:30pm till about 7 or so I made a pit-stop at Pop’s for a late lunch, then back to the apartment to make plans for the evening. I decided to play in the Binions 8pm tourney for $150 with a one-time $50 rebuy. I’d arrived downtown, dropping the car off at Binions valet around 6:15pm, plenty of time to gawk and walk. BikeFest 2007 was in FULL swing and it was GREAT!!! Unleashed boobs were flying everywhere, it was a spectacle that can only be seen on Freemont! Also packing the area were cops of all degrees, from swat-type camos, horseback, K9s, and uniformed patrols at nearly every casino entrance. I took in the sights and sounds and unlike on the strip, I avoided eye contact and didn’t bump anyone when they “walked like they drove.”

I made a stop at the 4Qs to pick up a stick that Milton had suggested, the Mike Ditka double corona. Not a bad smoke at all. I checked out the emptiness they call the Necropolis and wandered around checking out the old neon signs that were part of the “museum.” They have nice plaques detailing the information but I wish they were numbered or something so you get a point of reference as to where you were at in the crawl. I had even strolled all the way down to East Freemont, which is probably not a good idea for most, but with the added police presence, it was ok, for a bit. Hey Minton, that hand-rolled shop is down there and they have some AWESOME smokes, even producing house sticks for Arnold and Sly! I also found another shop next to the Harley store called Bad Habits. ANY cigar smoker HAS TO make this shop a stopping point! Luis and Andy are great and all it takes is a little talk to find out what kind of specials they have

I made my way back to Binions in time to find out that we’d have 3 whole tables for the 8pm tourney, which I found strange considering all the additional people in town, ah well. Once again, I found myself sitting in a home game dealt at a casino with me being the lone interloper. No one at our table had re-bought at the start, instead, holding their cards if they busted. This happened to 2 players right off the bat, tripling up the played on immediate left on 2 separate hands. With the table dynamics being what they were, as tired as I was and taking into account the obnoxious of the table captain (who I’ve played against before there) I’d decided to play it like a freezeout and see where it led. Captain was one the players stacked early, making his rebuy. I limped behind several other limpers in late position with pocket tens and when Captain pushed, I knew I was flipping but I decided to gamble and called his push. He held AJo and caught the flop, whereas I didn’t get any help and was down to about 1100 chips. At 50/100, I made a flipping choice again against a blind pusher with QJs and his non improved ace didn’t need any help to bounce me. As I got up to leave, I was “helpfully” informed I still had my rebuy card to which I replied, “I know, thanks….good luck y’all.” Probably just about my WORST outing ever in a LONG time but considering the factors I listed, I didn’t regret either move I made or my leaving without the rebuy….besides, that $50 was had been converted into 2 wonderful sticks of island goodness!!!

Then is was back to the smoke shop, lit up the Ditka and took a seat on the couch. “The Transporter” was playing on a very sharp screen over the counter and since Luis had invited me to stay, I took him up on the offer. If you smoke, make this a stop!!! I watched the last 45 minutes of the flick, talked it up with wandering bikers then bid my adieu. I made the quick trip back up north 95 to home base but was STRAVING by this point. I HATE eating late at nite, but the neon sign of In-N-Out beckoned me and like a bug drawn to the zapper I was in line before I knew it! Full stomach and no alcohol should lead to a decent sleep, see y’all on the backside of Saturday!

@StrayBullet

YAY I served a purpose!!!

I was really surprised at how a cigar that is named after mike ditka is actually pretty decent...I just don't think good cigar when i hear ditka. Also the band is a replica of the 85 super bowl ring, which is one of the most interesting bands in my collection.

I'll have to check the hand rolled place out on the next trip!!!

Great post stray, really makes me want to hop on a flight and head to sin city...if only I had an unlimited supply of cash...if only

Thanks and thanks

And be SURE to check out the other shop I mentioned, SERIOUSLY! Especially if you like the un-importable types

Getting ready to head back out...I need to remember to stay on the strip once on the strip, F'this traffic!

Day9, 9/29:

F’variance, F’the poker gods, F’karma….f’em all Now don’t get me wrong here, I ALWAYS have fun when I visit Vegas, it’d just be nice to run down the odds and little more than the bitch has been crushing me I believe I’m playing good poker, making the right decisions, staying focused, etc but I just need ‘em to fall my way. I’m always open to discussion on the hands, and would love to hear thoughts, good or bad.

I indeed got some much needed good sleep and kicked off the day as any other would to prepare to greet the poker playing world. I parked the rental at my preferred home-base location the TI parking garage, then leisurely strolled over to the Venetian. I stopped by the registration desk inquiring about the number of entrants. I got a very nice “political-esque” reply from Andrew He said, “we expect anywhere from 40-60 players today.” I thanked him and decided to come back closer to the start to survey the action; it was about 11:20am at that point. It’s not like I wasn’t going to play, as there weren’t too many other options at that point. I did my “normal” routine and head up to Tintoretto, the little Italian Bakery for a quick bite/drink and a sidewalk seat to spy on the gawkers parade. I grabbed a ham and cheese croissant and an iced-coffee, then settled in for my morning eyeful. I got back down to the poker room just a few minutes before noon, finding nearly 38 players spread over 5 tables. I coughed up the $550 for the 2nd time within the week and drew seat 10, ohhhhhhh my favorite.

Not only am I running horrible, but I seem to be getting stuck with good loose-aggressive players on my left the whole week, and today was no different. But this time, I had the joy of being sandwiched, with another on my direct right, just damn! I’d decided to play “faster” as I didn’t want to limp into the money or even worse (like last week) work for 7 1/2 hours only to get a $10 comp for my efforts! I stand by my decisions; I was just trying to adjust for looser players around me and my own aggression factor. It wasn’t too difficult to assess the rest of the table, so all I needed were the cards to fall my way to marry up with my executable plan. It’s 10k chips and 40 minute levels with a GREAT structure. I order up a Fiji water and settle in for some cards, my last playing day in town.

I catch pocket queens early on and open-raise to 125 with blinds at 25/50. I get2 callers and we see a flop that is king-high with 2 hearts. It’s checked to me and I make a standard continuation bet and get called from the bb. Turn blanks with the same action ensuing. A heart hits the river, completing the flush draw and he immediately leads out. I elect not to call, he wasn’t making a move on me, I was beat and not going to pay him off…down 700 right off the bat. I then play QJs from the button by raising a gaggle of limpers. I thin the field down to 3 of us seeing the set of cards hitting the felt. The board is pretty inconsequential as when it’s checked to me, I make a standard continuation bet. Now it’s down to me and the LAG on my immediate right, quiet-bearded-old-guy, (GBOC). The turn is dealt and he immediately leads out and I have to fold, once again bleeding chips on my way to game adjustment! Lost another 800 or so during that hand, so now I’m down to T8500 I then play pocket 3s from the sb for a raise hoping to snag a stack-breaking set. I check-call a modest flop bet looking for the turn to bail me out but all it does is succeed in drawing more chips away from my stack and into others. Let’s play a game, can you say, “down to 8,000 chips in under 40 minutes?” what a goober! I still really don’t mind the plays, especially considering how deep we are but it’d be nice to scoop a damn pot! We drive right on through into L2, 50/100 and I’ve watched the LAG two to my left, young-grinder-splasher-“kid” (YGSK) nearly triple up when opponents just can’t stop paying off holding 2nd or more times than not, worse than 2nd best hands! GBOC has also been on a tear, topping it off with, getting paid when he turned quads, holding A5o.

I play ATo from the bb, calling a raise from GBOC when the table folded to him in the sb. We saw a flop that connected my ace with little concern of anything else. He leads out and I flat-call. He checks the blank turn and this time he checks and I bet; he makes the call. The river action takes the same course and once again, it’s not me taking in the chips as he’s holding AKo allowing me to feed him all the way. In hindsight, checking behind on the river would’ve been the most prudent as he was adept at calling very thin. That hand really took its toll, cutting my original starting stack of 10k chips damn near in half! When GBOC open-bets again from late position, I raise from the button with pocket 4s. The table folds around, as does the villain. WOW, I can get pushed chips, HOLY CRAP Batdude!!! I find a turtle shell to crawl into for the rest of level 2 and most of L3, 100/200.

When I play the next hand blinds are still at 100/200 and I have 5,700 chips. I open-bet to T600 from early position with pocket kings and it’s folded around to a player that’s just been recently seated at our player busting table, so no real reads. When the action gets to the villain, he raises, making it a total of T2k to go. It’s an additional T1400 for me to call which would leave me with a pot sized bet behind for the flop. There’d be T4,300 when we saw the flop and I’d have T3,700 left, he had me covered. So, I could flat-call and hope for a non-ace flop, leaving some SERIOUS work to be done. Or I could push all-in with no folding equity at all hoping I’m good ‘till show-down. What would you do, call or push? Folding is out of question here. If you decide on flat-calling the raise, how do you play a flop of Qxx, rainbow? Quick now, all eyes are on you

I’d rather not punk-out and play kings for a flat-call and hope to see a non-ace board. I mean, I can’t always be up against monsters under the bed, right? I push, he calls, and yup….you see it every tournament, at least once. It was his pocket aces against my kings. I didn’t get any help and shocked as I am, I can’t believe I’ve busted without even making to the first break, good gawd y’all?!?!?! One more deciding factor, it was in fact the last hand of the level and when coming back the cost of an orbit would’ve been T550, and had I called, then folded the flop, I’d been left with about 6 rounds to double up, more than likely going into 200/400/50 short-stacked. Anyway, comments are welcome of course!

If you’ve Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (and if you haven’t, why ) then you know how I felt. The hero in the movie gets staked in a high-stakes cash game with money that can’t be lost. Turns out the game is “fixed” and when he eventually loses the entire roll, the room and more accurately the world, swirls by. Shocked and stunned, it’s all I can do to keep my cool and pack up to take the stroll of shame. I skulk out of the Venetian for what will most likely be my last time on this trip, dejected and left wondering if it’s really in the cards for me to be playing cards. Damn it sucks to lose! So I start off my trip with a deep run in the same tourney eventually getting my pocket kings getting cracked by pocket queens after 7 1/2 hours of play instead of tripling me up and making a nice run to a $6k score and finish it all up with the overrated and hum drum, kings versus aces after a scant 120 minutes into the match.

Day9, 9/29: continued:

But it’s only one-thirty in the afternoon and it’s my last day in Vegas. I still need to mentally recover from the cooler, so there’s no need to find a game right away. I decide to head back to the apartment for a bit, getting ready to depart for tomorrow and to form up a game-plan. Note to self: once on the strip, STAY ON THE STRIP! 15N was STACKED so I decided to hop off at Sahara and hunt down the “Welcome to Paradise” sign that LVM had mentioned in the Vegas trivia thread. I’m not going to spoil the fun, but it’s not in the exact location mentioned, you’ll have to find it for yourself . Once found, I took Sahara back to Decatur and it too was ass-packed with cars galore! I don’t what’s up with the traffic but damned if it didn’t take over 90 minutes to get back By this time, I needed food again, and the traffic was hurting my brain, so I made a top into Pop’s that made the traffic look like light-speed! I’d already decided to play the 7pm Big Kahuna at TI for $125, you get 5k in chips and 30 minute levels with a good structure (no antes) so at least that decision was out of the way.

After chowing down, doing laundry, emptying trash, packing up and relaxing a bit, I took another steam-cleansing shower and headed back to TI. Thankfully, the trip back was MUCH easier than the trip leaving. I still got there pretty early so I decided to register, then went wandering. First walking over to the Fashion Mall, then meandering outside the Wynn, through all the lush greenery, all the while pulling on a Fuente Gran Reserve . Along the way, I spied people talking to “Bill” and surprisingly, nothing much else to note. I got back in time so make a score at ‘Bucks and grab my seat, #3 this time around. We wound up with 3 full tables and some alternates waiting in the wings. It’s top heavy, but there’s nothing wrong with that, 50% went to first I’d ended up chatting up a nice lady from LA (who plays at HG, Commerce and Hustler) while waiting on the couch, she ended up at my table in seat #8. At 7pm, we’re underway and once again, I get a good sense of the table and in no time at all, it’s easy to spot that I’ve got a LAG once again, seated directly on my left! Early on he busts 2 players and garners chips galore calling down with flush and straight draws that miraculously materialize on the river or suited 8-gappers that flop 2-pair against pocket aces

During 25/50, I’m able to chip up fairly well, taking down pots post flop being aggressive against a targeted opponent. One time, check-calling the flop looking to take it down with a leading bet on a blank turn, which is what happened (I held 99) and the other time taking it down with two napkins . Nearing the end of the level, I catch pocket aces in early position and make a bet of T150. It’s folded around to the lady I’d talked to earlier (Linda from LA) who raises to T450 total from the sb. The bb also calls and it’s back to me. I guess there’s case that could be made for flat-calling here, but I’d like to hear it I raise an additional T1000, making it T1450 total. Linda calls, the bb folds and we finally get to a flop, there’s now a pot of T3350. Heads-up, the flop comes down KQx, rainbow and she leads out for T1800 without missing a beat. Action’s on you what’s your line? What do you do? I think flat-calling is out of the question, so it’s either push or fold? What would she have raised with from the blinds after my initial bet? What could she have to call my 1000 chip re-raise out of position and action behind her? I didn’t make an instant decision; I really did take my time. So, what would you do? What does she have?

I could make a “Helmuthian” lay-down here and go back to work with about T4k in chips left heading into 50/100. There can’t be monsters under the bed every time, right? I mean it’s not like I’ve already busted from major tournaments with kings cracked by a set of queens, and a cooler of kings against aces. It’s not always going to be that harsh, right? So, you decide yet? I pushed, she called and my worst fears were realized, she held pocket kings and yet again, I went down in flames that would make a kamikaze fighter shed a tear of joy! I had her covered, barely and was left with approximately 800 chips. I doubled up against my earlier target when my top-pair, top-kicker held up against his open-ended straight and flush draws. I then busted when, against a new player, and facing the same situation as before, lost on the river completed his flush draw. BAM, and that was that. However, all the listed alternates had been seated and I could buy right back-in for another $125. With blinds at 75/150 and another T5k stack (33 blinds), that’s not a bad deal. I’d have to be seated back at my same table but with 2 seats open, I asked to be seated with position my tripled-up LAG friend, which was directly to the right of Linda. If they’d said no, it wouldn’t have been a big deal, I just wouldn’t have bought back in. They didn’t see anything wrong, so I peeled another buy-in off the now rubber-band crushed dwindling bankroll and settle back in acting as if I’d just been late for the start,

I take down a small pot or two then get involved with the aggressive player who’d already tripled up, then some. He’s a smart player and known by most of the staff, most likely a local. Anywho, he min-raises from early position and I flat-call with QJs on the button. We’re heads-up to the flop, that is all rags, 3-suited. He leads out for T600 and I make it T1200, looking to take it down right there, or he’ll give up control on the turn and I can steal it there. He’d been observant so it’s not like he thinks I’m playing poorly. After some thought, he finally makes the call. The turn pairs the board, making it 22xx, 3-suited. He checks, exactly as I suspected, and although that’s obviously not a card that would help me, there’s only one way to take the pot down, and that’s to follow through with the plan and bet. There’s T3225 in the middle and probably have about a pot sized bet left behind. I take control of the hand and bet out for T1900 (in hindsight, with half my stack, I should’ve pushed). He went into the tank for a long time. I was sure at times, that he was going to fold and at other times, I was just as sure he was going to call. Well, I guess I was wrong on all counts, because he pushed and it was back on me for a decision. I really feel I was beat at this point and don’t really know if my queen or jacks are really pure outs, and even if they are, I only have 6 cards that’ll help and only 1 pull to do it. I’ve got about 20% odds if he doesn’t already hold a deuce, but even so, with what I would be left with, it’s probably an auto-call. I wimp out and fold, trying to grind it back and he comments about not believing I can fold there…well, f’me, I felt I was beat there….narf!

I double up with AKo against a draw that never got there. Then after the break, at 100/200, I got it in with pocket 7s against AJs and when a jack spiked the turn, that was all she wrote. I just want to puke! So now it’s 8:30pm and I’ve been trounced from 2 good tournaments in the same day, the last day I can play cards. I’ve been beat down, chewed up then spit out, and I still want to play. I’m a sick human, but it’s got to fall my way at some point, right?!

Day9, 9/29, the ride is over:

OK, so it’s 8:30pm and I want a cigar, except I’d already smoked the only one I brought with me. I talked with Cindy, who was still in the tournament like a good player should be, and guided me towards a small piano bar between Paris and Bally’s where I could buy and smoke ‘em in a nice atmosphere. Sounded like a good plan, but I wanted Cubans to complete that picture and since I knew where to score ‘em, it was only a matter of getting down there. In hindsight, a cab would’ve done the trick a little better, but I pulled the car out of TI and took 15N to 95S, exiting down-town, preparing to use Binions valet. Off the ramp, through the light and right onto Ogden then a left into the valet area. I was asked if I was a hotel guest and of course I said yes adding, “I may not be long as I just have to check-in then head back to the strip for a tournament.” I took my ticket, exchanging it for a $5 and was on my way to the shop

I had to weave my way through the crowd, down to 4th street, next to the Harley Shop, but it was an interesting walk I later figured out why he was so jittery, as his glassy eyes, and slurred speech surely meant he was lit, and had I been his New Jersey arse woulda sucked the high right outta me I took all any sane man could stand, making small talk and responding to inane comments regarding nothing about nothing. I did strike up an interesting biker attending the festival when I noticed a pin on his jacket. I asked him how long he’d been in the Navy and it just took off from there, I spent 6 years in myself.

So, forced off my vantage to the real Vegas thanks to blow-your-high-jersey-boy, I decided to hoof it back towards the car and figure out what to do for the remainder of my waking time in town. I could stay downtown somewhere, grabbing something to eat and playing in the 2am Binions tourney. But that would really eat up the time. Other options would be to head to that piano bar and fire up another Cuban. Then I could find a game from there, maybe the $1/2 at Bally’s or the 2am at TI, etc. I opted for the Piano Bar and headed for the Caesars parking garage, BIG MISTAKE!!! I should’ve just parked at TI and walked, but I’d already put tons of miles of the peds already and didn’t feel like making another “long” round trip trek. I’d forgot about ir being Fight Night and it was just letting out, the Strip was a MADHOUSE! When I finally was able to park, the elevators were jammed, so down the stairs I went, then out into the cool evening for a nice stroll down the boulevard. Not a bad follow up to the action Freemont has to offer and a nice addition to evening capper. The fountains are firing, the roads are jammed, and there’s electricity in the air. Lite another stick and I’m on my way.

I make my way into the walled off section at the back of the bar into a secluded area with plush chairs and the heavy air of fine aromas! I splurge on a $4 Pepsi and cop a squat. The music is all request by bribe and they’re really pretty good, I’m having a great time just sitting watching from my windowed vantage as people transition from Bally’s to Paris and back again. Coupled with the scene inside the bar, the cigar and the company, how can this be beat? Oh yeah, I COULDA WON AT SOME POINT! When the stogie runs its’ course, a new plan is what I need. I’ve had good luck at the Bally’s room on previous trips and although it’s a loud “room” I like the play, so I decide on a $1/2NL to cap off my Vegas trip. It took a while to get seated, maybe like 20 minutes as many people were changing tables (5 games were running), and I was 4th on the list as it was. Around 12:45am or so, I get into the game with $200 behind, and immediately see why all the seat changes were going down. I’m surrounded by big-stacks and people who look like they’ve stalked the room! How the hell did I wind up a the only table full of people feeding off people like me while I’m trying to nibble my way to poker ramen noodles!

It’s quickly apparent that I’m in the wrong game, but it’s only $200, and I’ve already waited to play, so what the hell? Let’s have a good time and see if we can learn something along the way while handling cards for the last few minutes of your card playing time in town!

I quickly assessed that I was in for a ride, when stuff like Q2s is out flopping top pairs, in raised pots. All I can do is control the bleeding. I win a few hands and just take in the atmosphere as I order caffeine laden drinks again and again. It’s all I can do help abate the yawns and drooping bloodshot eyes. I end down $100 with nothing much really to speak of, except it’s apparent that I suck at poker and I have a LOT to learn I cash out my paltry lone bill and make my way back to Caesars to pick up the rental. It’s nearing 3am and the ride out of the garage is a much easier trip that earlier. I easily sail back to TI as the strip and settled down, there’s still plenty of life, but it’s changed, it’s subtle, but it’s there.

I wanted to stop back by the room and see who was still hanging around. Said my goodbyes to LVM and OD, what’s a trip it’s been! Like I said, it’s always a blast, it just hasn’t been profitable lately. Between this trip and the WSOP, I don’t need a rubber band any longer. It’s back to studying the game, to find and fix the leaks, or at the very least, make sure I’m working from a good base and really am making the right decisions! You always have to be open to honest assessment and to learn. I’ll be back and hopefully the better for it!

Great Reports man. Sorry to hear that the cards did not fall your way this trip. Had a good time meeting and chatting with you, and wish you the best of luck on future trips.

thnx for the great reports, might check out some of those cigar spots!

As for the V tourneys, I think getting knocked out in under 2 hours is never a bad thing, as long as you understand the cost of risking going broke.

Risking your stack early essentially means losing the chance to steal pots later, when there's way more dead money. Now, if your immed. chance to accumulate is high enough, then there's nothing wrong with playing optimally even if it means risking going broke.

Also seems like you get way too upset dropping T2000 early. If the you still have 25bb, it's no problem. Even if you let it drop to less bb's, it just makes things easier on you (raise, push, fold, open-push etc). I just got the sense that you panicked too quick. There are lot's of ways to get to the final table, you don't always have to cruise in as the chipleader...

Also as an aside, but since you don't seem like a big winner at cash games (but prob. a modest winning player), perhaps there's nothing wrong with playing patiently during your tourneys (6hr for nothing) realizing that your hourly expectation isn't that high (i.e. I could be making $40/hr right now at the tables!!!!! Arrrr-innnnn). Hope you run better next time, thnx for the reports!

Hey Mike! Glad you liked the read and it was good being on the felt with you, even if you decided to correctly "nut up" and go with you gut feeling to make a call against me

npk:

Thanks for the feedback and thoughts, much appreciated! And definitely try those shops, especially if you like Cubans!

As for the tourneys, the early drop of 2k chips was more descriptive writing than an actual "at the table" mindset. While I was aware of it, that fact was not a determining factor in my decision making. I had made a conscience effort before starting the tourney to adjust my game, as I'd been trying all week long. Trying to change up my playing style to some degree and it's not an easy shift. Couple that with playing over my bankroll and issues can arise But, all issues that I'd readily known prior to going in.

I'm getting better at truly working on identified leaks, instead of coasting....damn that Chuch of Bob I know in my situation, I'll "go broke" playing tournaments, so I have to add money making games to cover the cost of variance. I've played sngs in the past and had some success, but I think cash games are where I need to be and that's going to be a long curve.

Thanks again for the comments, like I said, I really apprecpriate the feedback.