So I just got back from from three fun days in Vegas(Jan 12-15). This trip report will probably end up being really long. But I'll do my best to keep it entertaining. So I planned this trip a couple months ago and went solo, mainly to play poker. I stayed at the Imperial Palace for $15 a night. I was bringing $300 cash with me. The plan was to win some money early and not have to take more money out of an ATM. I could take another $300-$400 out, but if that happened I'd end up playing with scared money and it would not be good.

So I arrived Tuesday without a hitch, got checked into the Imperial Palace. I was given the option of a king bed with a view, but it would be in the front of hotel, and I remember reading on here it gets really loud. I thought to myself, it can't be that loud, and I'd be up late every night anyway. Well no joke it is loud as heck. Granted I didn't go to bed earlier than 5am all 3 days, but that music starts up at 11am or noon the next day. Very loud, but I turned the AC on high and it wasn't too bad. But anyways I was all settled into my room by 5pm and headed down to the IP poker room. All they had going was $1/2 NL and they had 1 seat open, so I buy in for $100. Now lately leading up to this trip I had not been running too good. Bad cards mixed with bad play, and my confidence has fallen. And I think confidence is very important to being successful in poker. Anyways I won a couple pots early, and was up to about $160. But for some reason I just didn't feel comfortable. I don't really know why. So shortly after going up I gave back a decent amount of my chips. A couple times I had the 2nd highest pair on the flop and I called bets to the river. I knew the other player had top pair(or better) but I couldn't let my hand go. So after doing this a couple times I was down to $60. I look down at AJ, so I limp in. The big blind raises to $10. I call. Rainbow flop, BB raises to $20. I have no idea why I thought I was good, or why I should raise. But I raised BB's $20 to all in, about $30 more for her to call. Well she instant calls and flips over her aces. I was done. 1 hour into my poker trip, and I am down $100. I already had $40 on a sports game. Things were not looking good.

Next up I decided I would do the $80 bounty tourney Planet Hollywood at 7pm. I knew this was a risk. If I didn't cash I would for sure have to pull money out of the ATM. I was pissed off for screwing up $1/2 at IP. I basically moped down to PH to sign up for the tourney. I felt like total crap. Getting owned at a $1/2 table, I should do better. But anyways I signed up for the tourney, and wait for it to get started. I had to cash, and cash for a decent amount in this tourney. I had no other option!

The tourney had either 36 or 38 runners. And once the tourney started we found out it wasn't in fact a bounty tournament, they had cancelled that. But a lot of people thought it was. And I ended up knocking out 4 people, would of been good for $100. Anyways the people at my table were terrible. Half of them showed up to the tournament already drunk. A couple didn't know how the blinds work, etc. I knew this tourney was going to do me good, unless I got really unlucky. I won a few decent size pots early, and cruised to the top 12 or 13. Top 6 got paid. So we were down to 2 tables. Once we got to 9, we would combine tables. I had about the chip average. I got lucky only one hand this tournament, and it came at a great time. The blinds were 500/1000, top 11. I am BB and look down at J 6 of clubs. Pretty bad hand, I would never play it. Basically this whole blind level everyone played super tight, someone would move all in and pick up the blinds. Well this hand proved no different, middle position moves all in for 6000. I had 13,000 in chips. So if I call I am down to 7,000 with blinds going up real soon. I really shouldn't call, but I can't let people just punish my blinds. So I called. He had pocket 10's. Missed the flop, but turned a jack and he was gone. Win a few more pots along the way and easily cruise to top 3. First paid $700, 2nd $400, 3rd $340. I have been in this situation in tournaments many times, and I always chop. And after each time I do I promise myself I will never do it again and play it out. But like an idiot I offer a chop. Chip leader had about 70,000 in chips and me and the other person about 20,000 each. First of course won't chop. And me and the other lady decide we can chop 2nd and 3rd place money and chip leader can take first. I can't believe I did that. I was just so happy to take the money. So I ended up with $380, $40 more than 3rd place. Literally 5 minutes after we were done I felt really dumb for doing it. Because even if chip leader knocks out the lady anything can happen. Or if I knock her out he only has like 2 big blinds more in chips than me. Oh well. I cashed, made the money I needed to. But it could have been more.

After that I headed to the Flamingo for some $2/4. I ended up having about 20 or so vodka cranberries. So I was very gone, and the loud annoying drunk at the table. Normally I am very quiet at the table, but I was drinking. I mean it was 2/4, most were drinking having a great time. Anyways the whole theme of my drunken rambling was I was going to get quads. I have never had quads(or better) in a casino in my short poker playing career. I played at Flamingo from 11pm to 5am, no quads. Looks like I'll never get quads, or will I... I ended up down like $20. But considering towards the end I couldn't even see the flop, and I was calling bets blind all the way to the river(and then looking at my cards), not too bad.

I woke up the next day(at 3pm) feeling like shit. Hung over, hungry, felt like I had no sleep. But I was going to see Penn and Teller later that night at the Rio. So I decided to play $2/4 limit at IP for a couple hours before heading to the Rio. 2nd hand sitting down I look down at KK. Under most circumstances I'd be happy. But lets be real, my Kings are getting cracked. And then I see the flop, I cannot believe my eyes...... K K A. No flipping way, did I just flop quad kings. This can't be real, I literally double check my hole cards 5 times. Don't get much action in the pot, but I got $75 for getting quads. I was pretty excited. It was great because the whole night before all I kept talking about was getting quads. And I've finally done it!!! Probably be another year before I get them again, or will it....

Anyways after playing IP for an hour I decide to head over to the Rio. I know there is a shuttle somewhere, but it looked close enough so I decide to walk it. Holy moly it is a lot further than it looks. Well I get there, get my ticket at the box office and head to the seafood buffet. $38, but very worth it. After I eat I have 2 hours to kill, so I head over to the Rio poker room. Literally the worst poker experience ever. Everything is full so they start a 4 handed $1/3 NL table. No one is friendly. The dealer was the rudest I've ever had. And I lost my $100 buyin within 30 minutes. I will never play that poker room again, just not fun at all. Thankfully I then win $150 on a wheel of fortune slot. Great show, and then I decide to walk back to the strip.

Play slots at Monte Carlo, NYNY, and stop by the Excalibur. They have seat open at $1/2 NL. So I sit down to what is a boring table. 4 guys have their wives or GF's sitting behind them. First hand I look down at AJ off(not this again!). And some short stack goes all info $40. I figure I can bust him but want it just heads up between me and him, so I re-raise all in, everyone folds. He flips over pocket queens. I only needed the ace but i flopped A J. So I was up $40. And I wasn't feeling too good, so after the blinds pass a couple times I cashed out.

I then head over to Osheas to play the $1-5 spread limit game. Buy in for $40, play a few hours before losing it. I go to sleep and wake up the next day at noon. I decide I'm going to play at Osheas again. It gets bad reviews on here, but it is the funnest poker I have ever played. Lots of people have a great time. And truthfully it plays more like a NL game than 2/4 limit. And I mean that in the sense that there seems to be less chasing. Like middle pair won most pots, way less straights and flushes like you would typically see in a 2/4 game. And more bluffing in this game too. This is my new favorite place to play.

Anyways I buyin at about 1pm for $40. Quickly go down to about $10, so I get another $40 in chips. There were 3 older ladies playing there who were owning me, don't ask me how. But very nice, they even had bags of candy, they would add a couple pieces to each pot. And this went on for about an hour until the floor said they couldn't do that. I mean seriously? Guess if they cant take a rake off it, it cant go.... But after about 3 hours of playing I really began to get good reads on everyone at the table. Not in the sense that I could see any tells. But I knew how everyone played, which hands they played, who bluffed, who didn't, etc etc. And I started winning back my chips. A couple really bad players would sit down from time to time, who would check call all bets with middle or bottom pair all the way to the river. As long as you had top pair(or better) you were good. Easy money. After about 4 hours of playing I look down at KK. I knew for sure, after my quads yesterday, law of averages, they're getting cracked. But the flop changed my mind, I flopped a set. A K 5 flop. Very good flop for me, there was a flush draw so I bet $5. 2 callers. NICE!(Unless the flush hits!). And then the turn shocked the hell out of me. Another K! No way! Impossible! Quad kings twice in a 24 hour period. This isn't possible!!!! Not much action, but I win $50 high hand for it. I've gone nearly 2 years of casino poker play with no quads, and now I do it twice within a single day. That along with about 2-3 more hours of solid play nets me a $100 profit.

I then meet up with a couple friends for a few hours and then head back to Osheas. I play there from 11pm to 6am. More fun, down a slight amount. But I was actually down more than $120 at one point, but I grinded it out and nearly got it all back. If I wasn't tired as hell I easily could of made $30+ the next hour. Lots of drunks, people who cant play poker. Lots of fun.

I did decent at poker, did blow a few hundred on slots. I better get some damn comps from Harrahs!!! I had planned to play a lot more and at different places, but obviously that didn't happen. Depending on any comps I can get I might head back towards the end of Feb. And I do want to hit up Fremont street. I liked the Flamingo poker room a lot actually. Rio and Excalibur I hated. Planet Hollywood was strange, like they want to be this nice flashy casino. But no autoshufflers, strange. I won't play there again, but I enjoyed the tourney.

I don't get it though. My $1/2 NL game has gone to hell. My limit game is decent. Yet I always do great at tourneys. Doesn't make much sense to me. I had a decent time, hopefully I didn't bore too many of you.