Confessions of a 2-4 Junkie
The trip was a solo trip 5/11-5/15. On a somewhat limited budget I stick to limit poker which I realize is like a kick in the balls to most people. I enjoy playing cards, drinking a beer, and BS-ing with folks at the table. A bad beat doesn't stack me and it feels good to be one of the best players at the table....even if it is 2-4 (aka Donkey Bingo).
5/11 Drop the bags and I'm off to try and catch up due to lost time with flight delays. I head over to the IP poker room and am disappointed to find one 2-4 table running and only short-handed. Undaunted I sit down, win $12, and drink two beers before the table breaks in only 20 minutes. Have a great chat with the dealers and a NL player who starts up a heads-up 1-2NL game as I'm leaving. Come back an hour later to find that it morphed to a full 2-5NL table. Interesting but above my bankroll and skill level.
I ramble about and find other rooms not running a 2-4 game. Sigh. Decide to check out Treasure Island and get into a 2-4 game after a solid hour plus wait. Play for four hours and end up down but with a half dozen beers to show for it. Never saw a wheel spin and couldn't catch a flop to save my life.
Back to Imperial Palace where I sit in yet another 2-4 poker game. This time I cannot buy a hand. It's one of the worst runs of cards I've ever seen. Oh well...I'd lose money faster elsewhere in the casino. A bunch of beers later I head up to the room about 12:30am.
First day 9 hours of poker and down more than I'd like.
5/12
Noon-ish decide need to scratch my poker fix. I skipped the running of the nits in the morning. Sit down in the Imperial Palace again and discover they have Blue Moon on tap. Really? Why have I been wasting my time with bottled beer?!?! When I first sat down there was a "gentleman" at the table wearing a bandana, aviator sunglasses, parachute pants, and a ROK vegas thong over the pants. Dude was wastedddddddddd. He would wander off for 30 minutes at a time and then try and bet with his NY-NY chips when he cam back. He eventually wandered off and didn't come back.
We later have a guy join the table that never figured out that this was a limit table. Routinely bet $12 all the while saying how Borgata in AC was so much better than Vegas. Everyone at the table (dealer included) tried to convince him that he could walk 500 feet and find a NL game at either Harrahs or the Flamingo. Sit for 4.5 hours and cash out up $2. Not bad for a bunch of beer.
Wandered over to Harrah's and find they are spreading a 2-4 game. Find a juicy table (even for 2-4) and am quickly up $60. Shoulda walked but I was well lubricated by this point. The table is a lot of fun. Had a guy sit for over and hour. Catches a hand, pulls down his sunglasses, and bets $16. Dealer hands him back $12. Guy takes off his glasses and screams, "This is a limit table?" I look at him and ask how he didn't realize it for an hour. About 10:30pm I realize I hadn't eaten since the buffet. Order a club sandwich in the poker room and pay with RCs again. End up playing till 1:30 am for my longest single stretch of the trip...nine hours. If my math is right that's 13.5 for the day and probably double that number in beers.
5/13 Hit the IP at 11:30am. Play at the table until 6pm and cash out up $4...big time! We kept watching a gentleman fall asleep at the NL table. Table broke because he kept going down. We were trying to get side action on if he would fall out of the chair, get escorted out, or hang in there.
Cab downtown because I normally catch cards there. Binion's room has a large wait for poker so I stroll over to the GN. Sit at a 2-4 table and hit the nut flush on the first hand with a nice early profit.
Meet a kid at my end of the table that is a discharged veteran from Afghanistan. He moved here with no real plans but is playing poker to try and pay the bills. I'm afraid this is a bad idea- 2-4 poker is almost impossible to beat well enough to pay bills. He decides he wants to follow me to Binion's. The 2-4 list is still deep so I sit at the 3-6 table as does he (after getting more $ from the room). This table is markedly different. The dealers know the names of 3/4 of the folks here. I catch some cards and they hold up (Jacks NEVER hold up!). Shortly I'm up $60 and shoulda walked. The one fish at the table was one sweet lady who kept re-buying. I found pocket kings on the button and bet it the whole way. She never raised me so I felt like it was mine...and lo and behold she had a set of 4s. Coulda been worse if she raised because I was calling. The guy that followed me over from the nugget dropped $60 in about 30 minutes and decided to enter another tourney...I hope that situation ends up better than I think it will. I end up still cashing with a profit and feel good that I could end up at by far the hardest table I've ever sat down at.
I love Binion's new room. It looks great, chairs were wonderful, and drink service was spectacular.
Search Harrahs, IP, Flamingo, Osheas, Bills, and Ballys....slap full. Finally get a seat at IP and go cold, cold, cold. End up down big for the evening. Bed about 3am.
5/14- Up 10-ish. Sit down for a marathon day at IP. Play from 11:20 to 7pm. Another healthy in room poker meal with a club sandwich (unfortunately can't pay with RCs in IP poker room). Take a break to check out action in other rooms.
End up back at the Imperial Palace. End up in a huge pot (for 2-4) where my top two pair (and one off from the royal flush) ended up third to broadway and a flopped boat. Yikes! I knew I was behind and didn't bet/call the river...but I had to look for that queen of diamonds. Table breaks and I move to one with several drunk loud guys. There is action all over this table with frequent capped pre-flop hands. One guy eventually gets tossed and ends up going on a profanity laced tirade against the floor the likes of which I have never seen. Threw the remainder of his chips at the dealer (that was a good tip) and left.
The situation centered around a lady with a hearing aid who complained about how loud things were. While I agree the guys could have been quieter the Imperial Palace poker room is LOUD. Go to a poker room with walls if noise is going to bother you.
The table takes a dark vibe to it. Hearing aid lady has another hissy about a hand she wasn't involved in. 86'ed guy's friend starts mocking her and bitching to the floor. I catch a hand to put me down only $20 for the night and leave before it gets worse about 2am.
5/15- Leaving day. Sigh. Check out and screw around more with slots. Sit at the IP poker room around 10:30am. My first table is insane with routine capped pre-flop betting with one guy doing it blind. Find pocket Jacks that I hope I can turn into a massive pot but it was not to be. This was the only time I played the aces/kings cracked promo. This was NOT the action I expected...I imagined 40 old folks folding around. There were 4 or 5 tables running and by 11:15 it was down to 2 relatively short tables.
Change tables down $50 and go on a mini-heater. Catch aces for the second time all trip and am shortly up $20. Play until 12:45. Bid adieu to my favorite dealers and head to Burger Palace for one last comped burger.
By my beer addled calculations that's around 51 hours of poker over 4.5 days. I'd hate to know how many beers were consumed. I didn't leave with a profit but came home with money in the wallet, a smile on my face, and a need for a long nap.
Great TR! I fully appreciate the fun and beer-to-bankroll ratio that low stakes limit offers. I thought I was good at getting my money's worth, but it normally takes me a week to do what you've managed in 4 days! I take my hat off to you sir!
I've not played the IP for a couple of years - do you know if they run a 2-4 limit game anything like 24/7? The Blue Moon in tap would certainly be an attraction.
nice TR, I was in Vegas May 9-13 trying to play as much 2-4 as possible. I played at the IP 3 mornings for the A's and K's cracked. Next time check out MGM they had multiple 2-4 tables going the 2 times I played there
Nice tr but seriously why?
This is the sort of stuff I really like about this site/vegas. People just roll in and decide they are going to play micro stakes limit for an obscene amount of hours per day. It's simply awesome.
@blueh2o1
It's what I call Drunk'n Poke with No Foldem Holdem. Ahh, back in the days....now I'd do it with 4/8 LH over at the V, because of the top shelf liquor and the super hot waitresses and with 4/8 you might even beat the rake and come out on top when you hit those insane 1 or 2 outers to collect +$100 pots.
Now just what do you think you're doing Packbacker, you must know that playing what you enjoy like that and posting about it will never get you any juice or build your status on discussion boards, which is very important for... er, I know that is supposed to be good for sumpin' but I can't quite seem to remember what at the moment...
Just like you, when I played mornings at IP for most of a week in February I didn't find those IP morning crack-promo sessions anything like that stereotype either; a couple of mornings included certifiable lagtardfest tables and none were even remotely tight. Seemed like any other small limit game to me, there was nothing wrong or different going on with those games that I saw, and glad you also had a good time with it.
EDIT: Typed wrong screen name.
@blueh2o1
Can't speak for backpacker, but I can for myself.
Playing poker = like
Drinking beer = like
Having fun with players who don't take the game too seriously = like
Winning a stack of cash = like
Winning a little cash = like
Breaking even = like
Losing a little cash = OK
Losing a stack of cash = don't like at all.
For me, 2-4 with a high hand jackpot is a no-brainer!
Forgot to mention the celebrity sightings- LVM and SPP on leg one of their EA Monday night.
axb- At a minimum IP had 2-4 running 8am-3am all but one day I was there. I never lasted past 3am this time around but the game did.
loftypines- Played MGM majority of my last trip. Meant to get there this time around but Blue Moon on tap...well I stayed put.
blue- Combination of factors for the 2-4 trip. My gambling bankroll is limited. With a set bankroll per day I had two choices long sessions of limit or rolling the dice on no limit (cash or tourney). If I went bust-o I'd be solo in Vegas with no gambling cash until the next day. Easy call for me and I simply enjoy playing cards. I know that it is not a way to make money (outside of some freakish jackpot) and that the best starting hand rarely wins and has little push power. It's just a fun, relaxing way to spend the time. I also was trying to maximize on Grange's drinking EV theorem.
Local Rock- I about didn't post a TR but recently read an enjoyable one that was just 2-4 and decided to pass this along for like-minded low rolling limit guys. I conciously skipped the aces/kings promo all week long due to preconceived notions and then found more action on that one table than I had seen the rest of the trip. Couldn't hit a hand but seeing button straddles capped blind pre-flop was amusing if nothing else.
@axb001
Can't speak for backpacker, but I can for myself.
Playing poker = like
Drinking beer = like
Having fun with players who don't take the game too seriously = like
Winning a stack of cash = like
Winning a little cash = like
Breaking even = like
Losing a little cash = OK
Losing a stack of cash = don't like at all.
For me, 2-4 with a high hand jackpot is a no-brainer![/quote]
Substitute misc. girly fruity drinks for beer and you've got a +1
What a great trip report. It reminded me of all the things I like about Vegas and poker.
Great report. You sound like you had a blast, weren't at all dissapointed in the $$ outcome, and made it home without incident.
I've previously mentioned two friends of mine that I bring with me for a few days every time I come for one of my marathon poker trips. They are playing a lot of the same 2-4 games, drinking like it's free (cause it is), and losing a set amount per day. I just don't know how they can lose as much as they do. But they tell the same story as you. Drunken fun with strangers who occasionally become friends, if even for a short period of time. They typically stay as close to that outdoor bar at Harrahs as possible. So they play almost exclusively at the IP and Harrahs.
Not everyone plays poker with a large +EV. Some play for the pure fun of it. And those are the ones who truly enjoy the game, and never feel like they are at work when they sit down at a table. I applaud you sir.
@O_B_Careful
I actually think there's room for both approaches depending on your mood. I like to be serious at NL (though I'm still learning) and tournaments but then I'll turn around and goof off at 2/4 or 3/6 (including the mixed game) and have fun.
@Mrs. Lederer
I actually think there's room for both approaches depending on your mood. I like to be serious at NL (though I'm still learning) and tournaments but then I'll turn around and goof off at 2/4 or 3/6 (including the mixed game) and have fun.[/quote]
Agreed. Probably 90% of my poker in Vegas is serious NL, with little or no drinking (IMOP excepted, and even then nothing heavy). But, every once in a while, a drunken low limit game serves as my "table game" of choice to win or lose a little money while enjoying the free booze and trading some jokes. Also, some of the most laughter-filled and entertaining games I've played in or observed have been 2/4 LHE games. I remember watching a 2/4 LHE game at TI while I was at a 1/3 NL table of serious and seriously grumpy grinders. The whole 2/4 table was yucking it up. One lady kept asking people to raise their hand if they had a pocket pair or an ace preflop, or if they hit a pair or some other hand after the flop; it looked like the biggest laugh riot ever! None of them probably won or lost more than $100 or so, and the house definitely made money off them, but they had three hours of fun, some free drinks, and more fun than at a cold BJ or craps table.
The 3/6 mixed game at IP is also a blast because of the wacky games and general IP atmosphere.
Thanks for the trip report. My DH and I mostly play 2/4LHE. I'm trying to learn NL but still not confident yet. We do play in home tourneys and will probably try a few tourneys on our next trip. I'm tempted to try 4/8 LHE also but I like the low bankroll, playing for hours, free drinks, and having a good time. Sounds like you had a great time!! I hope we have as much fun in July!
Kellye
Excellent trip report. I started out playing 2/4 LHE when I first played poker in Vegas. I've now moved to 1/2 NL and Omaha Hi/Lo 4/8 limit but I understand why many enjoy the 2/4 LHE game. I agree with Grange that some of the most enjoyable/fun tables are the 2/4 LHE games. The experience he described at TI.....I've seen it at the Flamingo as well and other places as well. Low risk, fun people, free beer/booze, lots of laughs. I'd call that a fun Vegas experience. That is exactly the game I want to play with my daughter when I take her to Vegas for her 21st b-day. It is the game I want to get my wife started in on our next trip to Vegas. Thanks for sharing.
I agree with everyones sentiments here and would like to add that I ESPECIALLY like the 2-4 games late at night AFTER some higher stakes action during the day. I find it very relaxing and fun to play these games and drink in the property i am staying in. I also really tend to open up my game and have fun with the table talk. I may even post a blind for a disgruntled old local rock as I did recently in Atlantic City. That move even got him into the drunken spirit even though he was just sporting the coffee and had a bus to catch back to philly.