“Really? Jacks?” I asked the old Asian guy in seat 9. He simply looks at me. It’s $76 for me to call his all-in. I easily have him covered with my $430 @ Bally’s. His bet made my pair of Tens look pretty small. My $12 UTG pre-flop raise had gotten us heads-up. I led for $20 on a 9d, 6h, 3s flop and he came over the top and moved in. I deduced that he either had an Overpair or flopped a Set. I didn’t see myself beating anything that he’d move in with.
I folded. In amiable fashion, he flips his J,J and smiles at me as the dealer pushes the Pot to him.

I’ve been running so bad going in this trip to Vegas. For me, one of my worst downslides I’d ever incurred. Since the beginning of the year, it had been a few bad decisions and a boatload of bad luck. I hoped this hand wasn’t a precursor for the rest of my Vegas trip.

We were in town to celebrate my wife’s 40th birthday. I knew I’d be able to get in a little poker. Fortunately, I was able to get in nearly 19 hours. For more on my sessions, guys who lite their money on fire, and other ramblings, please read on. Additionally, I added a few comments on restaurants and hotels that we visited during our trip. They are at the end to not interfere with the poker action.

Back to my $1/$2 Bally’s session on Thursday:
Shortly after the hand with the Asian guy, an average player raised to $15 from early position. There are two callers. I called from the Button with J,Tos. We go to the flop 4 handed. Flop is a perfect J,T,6 rainbow. Average player leads for $40. Two players fold. I flat call. My read is that he has an Overpair and will likely bet the Turn too. With position, I have a lot of options. The dealer turns a 9. The average player leads for $60. WTF? Why didn’t he slow down? The 9 should be a scare card for him? Maybe he has K,Q? Again, I flat call with my read that I’m ahead. The River is a harmless 2. The Average player goes all-in for his remaining $116. I tank. Replay the hand a myriad of times in my head. I just can’t put him on K,Q. I make the call and he shows QQ. I scoop a nice Pot.
I build up further by winning a nice Pot when a player tried to bluff me off a Pot on a three flush board.

I build my stack up to $630. Then the wheels come off. I get involved in a large Pot and table uber Nit is leading into me with small bets. I call him down with Ace high hoping to get lucky. It doesn’t happen and I end up folding to a $45 River bet into a $300+ Pot. I give back over $100.
I lose another hand calling down and opponent who I thought was floating and hoping to take it away from me on the River. Unfortunately, he held two pair that dwarfed my Top pair, good kicker.

I look at my phone and realize that I need to meet my wife for dinner. I bolt from Bally’s up $94 after four hours. I’m disappointed in the end result especially being up over $330 at one point.

The next day, my wife is scheduled for the Spa at Noon. This gave me time for another poker session while she was there. I walked down to Aria to play $1/$3.

My $1/$3 Session @ Aria
The tables are just getting going. My table is tough. It’s clear the majority are regulars that normally play higher. It’s still beatable, but opportunities are fewer as these players make fewer mistakes and move aggressively on Pots.
I get down nearly $130 gradually by calling small raises and failing to connect. Things finally change when I’m dealt the strongest hand in poker 2c,4c (hat tip, Poker Grump). I flop a 6 high straight with a straight, flush draw. I get paid on every street and I’m back to even.
For the next three hours, I hover between being up $60 to down $60. It is quite literally the slowest, most boring session, I have ever played. The table gets slightly easier as a few players move to tables as the bigger games get open. After four hours, I head back to Caesar’s to clean up, change and head to SW for dinner with my wife. I lost $17 on my session.

After dinner, my wife is tired and simply wants to go back to the room to relax. She insists that I should go play poker. Yes. She’s an awesome wife. After taking a cab and walking her back to our Caesar’s room, I opt to go play a session at Mirage.

My $1/$2 session at Mirage:
After a short wait, I’m seated at a $1/$2 table and buy in for $300. The table is reasonably soft with a median stack of $250. It doesn’t take me long to get involved. My cards are considerably better than the Aria session.
I limp with 6,6 UTG +1. A good player two spots behind me raises to $15. Four players call and I do as well. The flop is 3d, 6d, Kc. BINGO! I check to the initial raiser knowing that he will make a continuation bet. Sure enough. He fires $50 into the Pot. Two spots over a poor player min raises to $100. It folds back to me. The poor player is clearly on a flush draw. After betting the $100 he has about $175 remaining. After some thought, I shove for $300 plus. The good player tanks. After much consideration, he folds. The poor player calls his remaining stack. He shows 9d, 5d. WTF? His draw might not even be live? Luckily for him, his flush draw is live. However, the Board bricks out and I’m shipped better than a double up.
I continue to gradually build my stack.
A new player an older gentleman in his late 50s arrives and he bought in for the max of $300. He raises to $12 to from the BB. I limp and call with 8s,7s. There is one other caller. The flop comes J,9,5 rainbow. The BB leads for $20. I call with my double bellybuster. My sense is the BB is very strong. Additionally, my feel is he won’t see the double belly buster and could hand me his whole stack if it hits.
The Turn is an A. The BB bets $50 and I quickly call. The River is a wonderful T. The BB checks. I declare “all-in”. The BB responds, “I have to call” and shows AA. The dealer ships me another huge Pot.

I continue to chip up though good play, good reads and stealing when I can. After 3 hours, I’m up over $900. I give a bit back as a tangle with the good player at the table. I quickly earn it back from a new player to poker. He plainly announces this is the first time he’s played poker in a casino. He’s a very nice guy that looks like he’s 12 years old. He is very nervous and has a lot of trouble valuing his hand.
I get involved with him whenever I can….it doesn’t matter my cards. I finally decide to call it a night and cash out up $940.

The next morning my wife wanted to do some shopping so I headed to Casa Fuente for a cigar and a few mojitos. (Some of the best mojitos in Vegas) My wife has an appointment to make and it gives me an opportunity for another session. I walk down to Planet Hollywood to check out the action.

My $1/$2 session at Planet Hollywood
I’ve not had a good experience at Planet Hollywood. Each time I visit, there is very little money on the table. This time was different while a majority of the tables were short stacked; I was sat at a table that was very deep! The average stack was likely close to three hundred with a couple of small stacks mixed in. As soon as I sit down, I’m reminded of another thing I hate. “Race track” style poker tables. They are simply inconvenient for players to use, especially for me as I like to shuffle my chips when I play.

>>>>
Whenever I play, I tend to notice guys who simply “lite their money on fire”. They throw it away in indefensible ways: hopeless bluffs, bad raises, stupid calls, etc. While I understand there are times when you either look like a genius or an idiot (calling three streets with Ace high based on a read, for example.), it never ceases to amaze me how guys find ways to lite their money on fire and throw it away. In the next two sessions, there were two guys that did exactly that.
>>>>>

After being at the table for less than twenty minutes, I had won small Pot when calling a pre-flop raise and leading the ragged flop with nothing. I did not show my cards. My opponent, a factory worker type, folded and seemed to take offense and be upset at me. Five minutes later this hand comes up, I have KK in middle position. UTG raises to $12. It folds to me and I raise to $40. The factory worker guy calls from the Button and the initial raiser calls from UTG. Flop is 3,4,5 rainbow. UTG checks. I bet $100. Button moves all-in for $325 (he has me covered by exactly $1). UTG folds. I think for a bit and make the call. “You flop a Set?” I ask. He says nothing but refuses to show his cards. I hold my cards too.
As the dealer spreads the Turn, and River. The factory worker reveals A,T for Ace high. WTF? I show my Kings and the dealer pushes me better than a double up. The factory worker is livid. “That’s the first time you’ve had a hand since you been here.” he states loudly. “I’ve only been here for twenty minutes,” I retort with a smile. I LOVE guys that lite their money on fire!

A short time later I make a nice move after Turning a straight on a kid. He had an ego that indicated he thought he was the best player at the table. I flat his flop bet. The Turn completes my straight. Check, Check. I check-raise the River and he pays me off.

I plan to meet my wife for another nice dinner so I leave P- Ho after an hour and half, up $410.

After another nice dinner with my wife, I head out for my last session of the trip. I elect to go to Treasure Island.

My $1/$3 session at Treasure Island
After a short wait, I finally get in for my final session. I buy in for $300 and gradually lose $140 or so by calling pre-flop and completely missing the flop. Shortly thereafter a CrAsian guy sits down with his wife sweating him. This guy hates money…….using a flamethrower to lite it on fire. Every hand he makes it $20 or $30 to go. I am the first to limp and isolate all-in with A,Q. He calls with K,2. I double up. This pattern repeats itself. It’s like a shark feeding frenzy with the best hand constantly trying to isolate. The CrAsian will call ANY amount pre-flop. Unfortunately, I don’t have the cards to isolate. Most of the money goes to the two guys sitting right behind him. The CrAsian dumps $1500 in 1.5 hours. He then gets in a fight with the dealer about matching up chips. The entire table is horrified. We don’t want to tap the tank. The CrAsian leaves after losing his remaining money. His seat is filled by another player. A short time later he returns and is seated at the other table. He proceeds to dump another $1000 at this table.

I win a nice Pot with a flopped top set of Aces in the SB. I check-raise the flop and the hand is over. This was the only time I was dealt Aces the entire trip. A short time later I call a pre-flop raise with 2,2. We see the 2s,2d,7d flop three way. BINGO! Pre-flop raiser bets $60. I smooth call, hoping that he puts me on a flush draw. The turn is 9d. Check, Check. The River is 7h. I bet $200 hoping my opponent will see it as a bluff. He calls with KK. I get to spin the wheel and earn another $30.

Shortly after, I book my gain of $380 and head back to Caesar’s.

For the trip, I made $1807. I felt like I played the best, most consistent poker that I’ve ever played. Additionally, I realize that I experienced very little negative variance especially in large Pots so my results are a little better than one could expect over the long term.

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Hotels and Restaurants

Caesar’s
We upgraded to the Junior Suite for a nominal fee. My wife loved the His and Her bathrooms and the large Jacuzzi tub. The room was nice and I’d definitely stay again. However, the property is starting to show its age.

Cosmopolitan & The Henry
My wife and I walked through the new Cosmopolitan hotel. It’s beautiful and definitely worth a visit if you make it to the Strip. We had lunch at The Henry on the north side of the hotel. The food was very average and very pricey. That said, the hotel is well worth the visit.

SW Steakhouse (Wynn)
My wife and I love to go to 5 Diamond restaurants. SW is not on the 5 Diamond list, but it deserves to be. If you want a great meal with excellent service, I highly recommend SW. My only complaint is that I ordered my steak with Bleu Cheese and the amount that arrived on it was enormous. I actually had to scrape it off to keep it from overpowering my perfectly cooked steak.

Joe’s Seafood, Steaks, & Snow Crab (Forum Shops @ Caesar’s)
Great food, excellent value, and very consistent. My wife loves King crab and Joe’s didn’t disappoint.

Questions, Comments, and Thoughts are always welcome!