Profitable Vegas trip April 2011 (very long)

Reports & Blogs by assenede about MGM Grand Posted
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Day 1
Checked in monday 9 pm after 17hour trip. Unpack. Shower and off to the mgm.
Bridge between trop and mgm o/s. Went around via ramp to excal-nyny-mgm. Stopped at nathans for a hotdog.
Got my mgm players card exchanged for a mlife card. Hit the 1/2 nl tables at mgm at 11pm. Started up a new table. Good action. Worked my way up to 350 from a 200 buy in until my preflop aces in the c/o were called for 12 by the button by a decent regular sitting on 300. I cbet 20 on a two suited QJT flop to get minraised. Turn was a 9 completing both the flush and straight draw, of which i had none. Check check on the turn. Bet 20 on a river blank, to get raised to 50. Fold... V flashed QJ for 2 pair. A new player bought in on the 7 seat. Big tattoo guy. LAG. Worked his stack up to 600. Constantly raising whenever I entered a pot eating away at my stack. Had about 150 left when I had a dip (reached the
24h awake mark) and made an all in bluff on a q high board with second pair after a river check and three hearts on the board. The tight v tanked and called with two pair. Chips please for another 200.
Changed tables to avoid the LAG aggro behind me.
Got onto a tight passive table full of short stacks where i
hung in until it was shorthanded and another table split up to bring in fresh players and more doe.
Three notable hands caused my 170 to turn into 750. Shortly after that i cashed out 728.
Day one : 728-400 = + 328

Day 2:
My first high hand occurred on day 2 on graveyard. Decided to try out the luxor, but the game died down at 3 am. I racked up 86+ once the game got 5handed and went next door to the excal. Still 3 tables going at 3:15. Bought in for 200 in what turned out to be an easy table. A lot of donk betting and a drunk at the table. 4 hours later i cashed out +285. I caught myself misplaying 2 hands. Which cost me about a 150 extra profit. One of them was laying down sixes on a 457 rainbow flop with the big stack in mp overbetting the flop after 4 players called a pot bet (one short stack had pushed all in). I called him otb for a side pot but should have bet his check on the turn when a queen appeared. Instead I checked it down to the river (10) and he showed a7 for a pair with two overcards to his pair on the board and scooped up about 100.
The high hand at the excal (quad fours- three of them on the board) only meant a 160 pot including the 40 bucks won by the wheel spin. (only one hole card required for high hands @excalibur)
Racked up at 7:30 when the morning crew (3 rocks over 65) sat down and bust the drunk irish guy.

Luxor session 286-200 =+86
Excal session 485-200 =+285
Total day 2= 285+86=371
Trip total= +699

Day three
An all mgm day.
Signed up for the 7pm tournament (20 runners) and played my tightest game in the early stages. Only played 4 hands in 4 levels of which two were aces and two were ak's. Never lost a hand and came to the final table with a top three stack. Once the blinds and antes were getting worth it and with an ubernit image, i started stealing a couple. When down to 7 i doubled up a short stack after the flop putting him all in on a rag board with my TT and lost to a turned ace A8. With an M of less than 4 i asked for a six way chop which was turned down by the chip leader.
An orbit and level later i doubled up otb with A9s vs KQoff and this time everyone agreed on a 5way chop for 252 each. With a 33k stack on 3000/6000/500 i gladly obliged.
I got paid out in chips and looked for a juicy easy 1/2 table.
Not enough fish at the running tables, so i waited out for about 45 min and put myself on the list for a new table to start up. Definitely a good decision. The table filled up with 1 good lag, 3 donkeys, 2 rocks, and a couple of decent players.
Started out tight but definitely played my A game and varied like hell. My stack built to 550 until i ran into a boat with the nut flush on the river. Had to pay the 150 value bet with already 300 in the pot and was back to 250. Pulled off a nice win with my 6T otb $12 raise flopping 6TQ and stacking a decent player (called the clock on him) with AQ after a 9 on the turn and a deuce on the river.
Got sucked into another boat but ended up cashing out 800 after becoming the table bully.
Note: LAG play is so much fun when it works and your opponents start nitting up.
Day three stats:
Mgm: 800- 85 = +715
Trip : +1414

Day 4
Harder to make money. Two buyins at the excalibur.
Moved to the luxor. Moved to another table down 200 after playing too loose against a rock table.
New buyin and a rollercoaster of three high hands, eight boats, and dozens of suckouts at the table with fluctuating stacks. Variance evened out during the last two hours to allow my better hands to hold up and check out a little up (488), thanks to a high hand 5555. ($100) + 230 pot
Excalibur: 458 - 400 = +58
Luxor: 488- 400 = +88
Trip: +1560

Day 5
My first losing day.
Started at the brand new tropicana room. Met an AVPer.
Only first day and no publicity, so only decent locals playing real tight. Pretty card dead and checked out early down 142.
Looked for a better table and better cards at the mgm around 2am. Even worse. Completely and utterly card dead for five hours. Got blinded out twice. Bought in three times. All decent hands either got busted or didn't get action. My red queen reraise ran into kings, that took it down after a triple pot sized bet.
My aces got cracked by a flopped q6. My rivered straight with 45 spades got monsterwhacked by 45clubs for a straight flush.
You gotta have at least one of those days, i guess. It 'd better not be every day.
Tropicana: 58-200=-142
Mgm: -500
Trip : + 918

Day 6
Started at the tropicana where i bought in short for 100 and worked it up to 229 when moving to the mgm for more action.
One of the few bad calls i made, with aj on a 44j board with three players in a sizable pot cost me 150, downsizing my stack to 34, which i eventually lost on a push with 88 preflop vs ak. I felt ok on the blank flop, but the king turned and i had to reload. Played well after that but lost my entire stack when my preflop allin black aces got cracked by red nines flushing the river. Suckout and done for the day.
Tropicana: 229-100=+129
Mgm: -400
Day 6: -271
Trip : +647

Day 7
An all day tropicana with an afternoon/evening and a night session, interrupted only by a 45 minute dinner break. Bought in 4 times total, but no notable hands and twice a positive cashout, for a daily total of +328.
Trip: +975

Day 8
Again tropicana only. Cashed out positive in my first session, but busted out when i raised 15 preflop, and got stacked by calling a shove with kk in the hole against a donkey on a q85 flop, running into a flopped set of fives.
Down 45 for the day.
Went for a nice steak at the wolfgang puck in the mgm. Good steak but i was no fan of the blue cheese/bordelaise combination.
Trip: +930

Day 9
Showtime... Went to see Zen Magic @ the PH in the afternoon, and had a short but positive evening session at the excalibur, cashing out+174
Trip: +1104

Day 10
Final day.
A short afternoon session at the tropicana got me another +264.
I decided to end the poker play for the trip and treat myself to a nice dinner at the camelot steakhouse in the excalibur. I relished the lobster bisque and greatly enjoyed the filet mignon with red wine.
Total trip : +1374$

My target for the trip was +1000, leaving me with happy feelings and a bankroll that paid for the whole trip, including air fares, hotel, shows, food and expenses.

I just got a free 10-day holiday.... Yahoo !

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Comments

  1. wow thats alot of volume :smile:. hard to beat a fun trip being fully paid for by doing what you would be doin anyways .

  2. Thanks for the TR. Nice job!

    I noticed your details for each day got shorter and shorter as the trip went on! Ten days in Vegas was exhausting!

  3. Thanks for the TR. Nice job!

    I noticed your details for each day got shorter and shorter as the trip went on! Ten days in Vegas was exhausting!

  4. Glad to see you didn't forget to eat one of the nights.

    Seriously, nice playing.

  5. @RightNow

    Well noticed.
    I wrote the TR for my first three days on the day itself. The following days I just reviewed my notes, and summarized at the end of the trip.
    One thing is problematic : how to get enough sleep. I only averaged hours of bedtime per 24hrs. I recuperated a couple of hours at the poolside, but that was barely enough.
    It just doesn't work to go to sleep after sessions of 8hr+

    How do you guys cope to rest the mind after playing poker ?
    Seems my brain keeps on playing and reviewing hands in my dreams for hours after a long session.

    I also noticed I mentioned three notable hands on the first day w/o including them.
    Just reviewing my notes:
    hand number one : I had 88 on a 679 rainbow flop and I shoved when a five hit on the turn, only to get called by two players who had both hit a set. River is a blank and I scoop.
    hand number two : I held A7clubs on a three club turn. Four players including myself were all in on the river that put a second 5 on the board. Short stack showed fives for quads but I picked up a sizable sidepot for 180$
    hand number three : I 3bet 40 OTB holding black nines into three players who bet and called a preflop 10 bet. Two called the 4 bet. flop came all red 9 7 2. UTG (short) shoved with a flopped set of deuces. MP folds and I have an easy call with top set. No one outer for UTG and I scoop a nice pot again.