Just back from a long weekend in Vegas with the wife, her college buddies, and their husbands. Won’t bore you with a lot of the non-poker details, but with only one other poker player among the eight of us, I did not get much time on the tables. That said, I played two very short 1-2 NL sessions on Friday and Saturday and the 12p $150 buy-in tournament on Sunday, all at the Venetian, which, far and away, is the best poker room on the strip, bar none.

Friday

After checking in at the Venetian ($20 trick worked, as always) and before dinner at the Foundation Room (great service and terrific view, by the way), I was immediately seated for a quick 1.5 hour session at the Venetian, around 5p on Friday. Room was busy with both cash and tournament tables. I sat at a 1-2 NL table with the typical mix of tourists and locals. Two hands of note:

Hand #1: In EP, I have KJo and min raise to $7. Two callers, including the button, both blinds fold. Flop comes all rags, so I CB $15 and the button calls. Turn brings a K, so I bet $30 and button calls. I worry that my top pair with a decent kicker is beat, but river brings a J and I value bet my with another $30. Button calls, I show my rivered top two pair, and he mucks.

Hand #2: In the SB, I have AKo and raise a limped pot to $12, and get a single caller from EP, who hasn’t been in many pots. Flop misses me, I CB $25 and he calls. Turn misses again, and we check-check. River misses again, and we check-check. He shows a small pocket pair, and I groan at my horrible play as I muck. I probably should have taken another shot on either turn, river, or both, but I have trouble taking those shots with only ace-high. Interested in any thoughts…

After a few more hands, it’s time to head out for dinner, so I stand up, ahead $80.

Saturday

A quick 1-2 NL morning session before heading out with the group to walk Hoover Dam (yawn) and hike Red Rock Canyon (very cool). I played only about an hour. Only two hands of note. The first was almost an exact replay of my big slick hand on Friday (except he paired the raggedy board) … I guess I need to grow a pair and fire at those pots with ace-high. Given that I knew I was only playing a short time, I made a big mistake and started playing a bunch of marginal hands, and end up bailing on most of them, so within the first 45 minutes, I’m down $70. Such a great player, I am. That said, one hand near the end of the session gets me back to practically even:

In the BB, I have AQs and call a $12 raise from a player in MP who has been in a number of pots (including my big slick hand). We’re heads up and the flop comes J68 with two diamonds. I bet out $25 to see where I’m at, and he calls. Turn brings Jd, I bet $35 and he calls. River brings a 9, so in addition to the paired board and flush possibility, there’s also a straight possible, although I seriously doubt he has 7-10. That said, I’m still only AQ-high with a scary board, but feel like I’ve represented strength the whole way through, so I bet out $75 to look like a big value bet. He thinks hard and mucks. I table the bluff and can tell he had me beat. A few hands later, I stand up, only down about $10.

Sunday

The one other poker player in our group is strictly a tournament player, so we both decide to jump into the 12p $150 buy-in at Venetian, my first large field tourney in Vegas. We buy in at 11:30a and, at that time, I have a HUGE headache (also known as a hangover), so I head up to my room for a quick power nap. I’m back down by 12:20, so only missed a couple of orbits and feeling much better. Right after I sit, we wrap the first level, so no more buy-ins. 106 runners w/a $13.7K’ish prize pool.

Played very tight through the first three levels, w/only one significant hand, right before the first break. I have 55 and limp from EP; two other callers, then BB bumps it up to 3xBB. I call, as does one other player. Flop brings K5X rainbow. BB, who is our table’s chip leader, bets out, I minimum raise him, and he puts me all-in. I call, he shows AK and does not improve his TPTK.
I made a mistake early in the 4th round that kept me honest (so to speak) for the rest of the tourney. I have AQ-suited in EP and raise 3xBB. LP and Button (shorter stack) call. Flop brings KKX all red. Checks all around. Turn is a blank. I push a pot-sized bet hoping no one has a K, get one fold but button calls. I don’t believe him, so when the river is a blank, I bet half of his remaining stack, and he goes all-in. Ugh. I suck at this game. I muck, he shows the K, and I’ve lost most of my double up from the earlier set.

Anyway, as I tighten up, the deck hits me occasionally, and I am able to stay afloat as the blinds and antes increase. Still, by the 5th or 6th level, I’m getting blinded/anted down and am well below average stack, so I push from the button w AQo. An EP limper has me covered and calls with A2o … really?!? He hits a 2 on flop, and I stand up ready to hit the rail, but I go runner runner for a king high straight.
A couple more levels and I’m still at/below average stack, but get to the final three tables, where I get seated to the right of the tourney chip leader, who just felted another large stack and is sitting on something like T90,000 to my T25,000. I’m concerned but it ends up being the best thing for me because I play extremely tight from this moment on. I start bleeding chips, though, due to increasing blinds and antes.

In EP, I raise 3xBB w/AA. MP goes all-in and I call, barely covering him by a couple thousand and feeling confident that he fell into my trap. He tables 88 and my fear of an 8 on the flop is realized. My despair turns to joy as I hit an A on the turn, and practically double up.
Chip leader on my left continues to bully smaller stacks and we start losing more players. Suddenly, we’re down to the final two tables, and I start thinking I have a shot at the money.

When we get down to 14 (top 13 are paid), we all agree to pay the bubble $10 each, so he’d earn most of his buy-in back. Just as we do that, I am in the BB with our table’s small stack to my right in the SB. He limps in and I call with Q10o. Flop brings me an OESD (9 and J) and we check-check. Turn completes my straight with a K, and SB goes all-in. I call, and he shows K-rag, draws dead, and the bubble is burst. Several hands prior to this, bubble-boy was tilting due to a floor call that went against him. He said “call” from the BB before the SB acted, so the SB then pushed; BB was committed and lost most of his stack (lesson: stop using headphones if you can’t pay attention to the game). From then on, he kept pushing and doubled and tripled up before I felted him.
We play several orbits short-handed at both tables, and the blinds and antes start chipping away at my stack again. Finally, the other table busts out player number 11, so we move to the final table. At this point, I’m the 2nd short stack with probably about 40K and the chip average between 90K and 100K. I stay afloat by doubling up and taking down a couple of pots/antes by shoving from EP.

Right before the next break, short stack moves all-in from MP; I’m on the button with 10-10 and call. He tables AJ or AK, and of course, he hits the A on the flop, and I’m now the short stack.

I keep getting blinded/anted down, but my patience allows me to outlast a couple other players and we’re now down to 8 players. I am short and push with 10-10 after MP raises to put me all-in. He shows AK and doubles me up. This is the beginning of the Wife Factor because she has just come to the table and brings me a ton of luck. I then nearly double up again after pushing and taking down the pot pre-flop.
ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
Soon after, a couple of the shorter stacks fall, and we’re down to six players. I’m either 4th or 5th in chips.
Before we break again, I look down at JJ and raise from the button. SB goes all-in (he’s one of the short stacks). He tables AK, and of course, flops an A. Right call, I know, but I’m sick that I am now the short stack again.
We play for a few hands after the final break, and second chip leader proposes a chip-chop, and we all agree to take a look at the structure. As the short stack, I’m in 6th and per the tourney structure, normally would have received $740, but with the chip-chop, I would have just cleared $1000, so I’m happy. However, the 5th place guy is not happy and wants to keep playing, so we don’t chop.

The very next hand, I’m UTG w/JJ (again!) and go all-in. The 5th place guy has AK (again!) and calls. This time, AK does not improve, and I take half of his stack. On the very next hand, he acts out of turn and must commit all of his chips when the chip leader to his right has KK. He’s gone, and the final five then all agree to a chip-chop. I’m tied for the bottom stack with another guy, ironically the former chip leader who I was drafting off earlier in the tourney and earn $1490, a couple hundred more than the 4th place money if we didn’t chop. Nice payout after an eight-hour grind.
I leave tips for the dealers and the cashier, then off to dinner with the wife. Although we missed dinner at Rosemary’s with the rest of the group earlier in the evening, we were happy to spring for their breakfast the next morning at Omelet House (out in Summerlin, highly recommend it!).
Huge props to the management at the Venetian. They run a great tournament, while juggling multiple cash games and the start of the evening tournament; quickly calculated our chop proposals; and made all the right floor calls whenever called upon to make a ruling.

Anyway, a great Vegas weekend, and pretty efficient poker:
Cash game: +$70 (14 BB/hr)
Tourney: +$1340