Sat Feb 23-Wed Feb 27
Solo trip to Las Vegas. Lodging at Main Street Station for $29 a night, including Sat! (thanks to a tip I found on openvegas.com) SWA RT Austin to Las Vegas: $258. Dollar rental car Sat-Wed through the Southwest site: $85. My requirement for a solo LV trip is to get air and lodging for 50).

I had read poker reports online about early Sunday morning being a good time to find a 3/6 limit game at GN with drunk players who have been up all night, so I decided to check it out. Sure enough, that’s exactly what I found, including one good-natured talkative fellow with bloodshot eyes who was a very active player. As it turned out, it was a kill game, meaning if a player wins 2 hands in a row, the game becomes 6/12. Wouldn’t you know it, about my 3rd hand at the table I picked up pocket aces on a 6/12 hand. I raised to 12 and got a couple of sleepy callers (including you know who). I bet out most of the way, but checked on the river when I was concerned I might be check-raised by a better hand, but I managed to win the hand and a pretty nice pot. A few hands later I had AK, and won another hand after catching a K on the flop. Within 20-30 minutes I was up $58, so it was time to go. I like to play hit and run when I have the opportunity. Several small profits add up to a big profit, which offsets the inevitable losses.

Next stop, Imperial Palace. IP has a promotion from 8-11AM every morning where cracked K’s gets you $50 and cracked A’s gets you $100. This is in addition to their high hand bonuses, which are much like they are in other poker rooms. I soon discovered this promotion attracts a very colorful bunch of retired locals, along with my fellow tourists who keep up with poker room promotions. It was a lot of fun, and a generally nice group of folks. Playing A’s or K’s passively trying to intentionally lose the hand adds an interesting twist to the game. I managed to get A’s beaten by a guy who won the hand with 4Q’s, I got a $100 stack of red chips, and he won the pot plus another $40 for the high hand. It was a good thing I won the $100, because I got a string of weak or second-best hands that caused me to go through $120 in a 2/4 limit game. So I ended up with only a net loss of $20.

I drove down to the MGM parking garage intending to eat, play poker, and spend the rest of the day on the south strip. Once I got there I was really hungry, so I stopped at Wolfgang Puck’s and had a sandwich, along with a pomegranate mojito (couldn’t resist – I love mojitos). The sandwich was good and the drink was great, but now I was sleepy. I decided to take a mid-day break and head back to my MSS room for a siesta. I don’t think I actually slept, but it was good to shut my eyes and rest for an hour or so.

Once I felt energetic again, I headed down the freeway to the Russell Rd exit and the Mandalay Bay parking garage. Sat down at a 3/6 game with a group of aggressive players on my left and a series of weak hands. That situation can be good if you can hit a couple of winners and just allow them to do your betting for you and then check raise their butts, but I never got an opportunity, so I finally gave up and left, down another $90.

Stopped in at the Luxor Pyramid Café and had some pizza. Pretty interesting what they’ve done to the Luxor interior. I guess it’s what the MGM Grand would have looked like back in the days of the pharaohs(?). I do want to have dinner at the Cathouse with my wife on our next trip together though. Looks interesting, and I think she’d like it. ;-)

Continued on through to Excalibur. Weak hands continued at a 2/4 table, and I went down another $60. This is not going well.

In this situation (a string of losses), I have to constantly talk to myself. Am I playing as well as I can? Am I making good decisions? Am I on tilt? Where do I stand, and if things continue the same way, how much do I stand to lose on this trip? Can I have a good time anyway? Or does poker just suck?

Answers: I have made good poker decisions. I don’t feel like I have misplayed hands, maybe 1 or 2 , but no more than that. I have not lost even half of my daily loss limit. And I know from experience that winning streaks often come out of nowhere and can make up for losses very quickly. I decided I’m here to play. If I win, that’s great. If I lose, it’s OK, I’m not losing more than I would spend if I were skiing instead, and it’s not going to have any serious financial impact on me and my wife. So just keep playing the best you can. Play good cards. Play smart. The wins will come. And most importantly, have a good time. That’s what you’re here for. Play poker for fun, don’t play it for the money!

Headed back downtown, stopping in at the MSS brewpub to fortify myself with a nice glass of the red ale and watched a few minutes of the Oscars.

Back to GN and got seated at a 2/4 game. Finally started getting some hands and won a few small pots. Friendly elderly gentleman in quite bad physical condition (from Florida) on my left caught a diamond straight flush A2345 for a high hand jackpot of $1189. When he realized what he had won, he was motionless with his mouth gaping open for a solid minute. I was afraid he was going to snuff it right there next to me (not a bad way to go though, if I had my choice). He finally said, ”I’m back to even for the trip. I can’t believe it.” OMG! Everybody at the table was happy for him, and he was surrounded by his family, which was very touching I thought. Anyway, I left up $13 (for a change). At this point, I’ll take a few even very small profits – they add up. I didn’t know it then, but this was the very beginning of my comeback.

I headed over to Binion’s to play just a little more before bed and sat at another 2/4 table. Binion’s always seems to have fairly weak tourists and grumpy retired locals in their limit games, and this one was no exception. I stole a few small pots that nobody else seemed to want, finally quitting +$4 and headed for bed at MSS.

Day 2 profit/loss: -$95 (Total days 1 & 2: -$249)

Day 3, Monday, Feb 25:
I decided to start Monday off right to boost my attitude. I headed for the Venetian parking garage and ate breakfast at Bouchon in the Venezia tower. Fanciest bowl of oatmeal I ever had, with carmelized apples and currants. I also treated myself to waffles with candied walnuts and bananas. Yum! What a beautiful place! So peaceful in the morning. After that, I was ready for the IP Breakfast Club again.

One 2/4 table was full, so several of us had to wait until 9AM for them to start a 2nd 2/4 table. Lady next to me from Ann Arbor got A’s cracked twice in a half hour, so she was sitting there with 2 nice stacks of red chips. Unfortunately, it wasn’t contagious, and I didn’t get any cracked K’s or A’s that morning, but held my own with just enough decent hands to came out only $14 down.

Afterwards, I took a break from poker and headed up the street to Casino Royale and their legendary $3 craps table. Bought in for $60. First shooter had a nice roll, so I’m up right away. Second shooter had a decent roll, and I’m up to just over $100 total. Third shooter sevens out quickly, so I left with a nice quick $36 profit.

Headed across the street to Caesar’s to see Bobby Flay again for lunch. I combined 2 appetizers: the Gala Apple Salad, and the Smoked Chicken Quesadilla. Both were absolutely fantastic. The creative combination of strong flavors at Mesa Grill makes my mouth very happy indeed.

I had just over an hour to kill before the 2PM poker tournament at TI, so I used that time to go check out the new Palazzo casino. Impressive. Stopped by Starbucks at Fashion Show Mall for a mocha, and headed on to the TI poker room.

I started off the tournament with a few nice hands, including Q’s, so I started out pretty active – somewhat unusual for me. Won a little, lost a little, staying close to my starting chip amount (3500). In the third round, the blinds were 100/200, and I had QJ in late position. Several calls, but no raises, so I called to see the flop. Flop was J99. Nobody seemed to have a 9, so I bet 600, just under the size of the pot, to see if someone had AJ or KJ or was slow playing a 9, and to knock out anybody wanting to stick around for free. One caller, a lady whom I had seen earlier making weak bets that were out of proportion to the size of the pot. Did she have AJ? KJ? A weak 9? Hmmm… Turn was an 8. She checked. I bet 1000, because I thought I probably had the best hand and it would convince her to fold. She thought a minute and called. Oh crap. Turn was an A. She checked again. I went ahead and checked too with no idea of what she had at that point, and knowing I had already twice tried to get her to fold and she had not. I only had just under $1000 left. She had A8, hitting her A on the river for the higher 2 pair. I think my mistake was in overestimating her ability to understand that she did not have the pot odds (Pot odds? Huh?) to draw out on a bet that large. Realizing that, I should have gone all in with my 2000 on the turn.

Oh well, so now I’m crippled. I caught a few hands and fought my way back to my starting chip amount. Now we’re down to 2 tables with about half of the original players left. However, the blinds were up to 200/400 and about to go up to 300/600, so I had to double up soon. Can’t remember the exact hand I went out on, but from what I recall it was a typical race between 2 high cards (AQ? AK?) and a lower pair and I was gone. Bye. I felt my only misstep in the tournament was not going all-in on the turn on the earlier hand.

Moved the car to the NYNY garage and walked over to the MGM poker room. Got into a good 3/6 game and had a nice run of cards. That’s more like it. When the run had played out I was up $50. Gotta go.

Time for dinner. Sat at the bar at Emeril’s and ordered the salmon with his special Worcestershire sauce. Yummy. Let’s see, breakfast at Bouchon, lunch at Mesa Grill, and dinner at Emeril’s. Now that’s the way to eat on vacation!

Now I’m feeling good. Went over to Monte Carlo, where I’ve always felt comfortable in their poker room. Decided to try ½ NL again. Several locals at the table – nobody too scary. Strongest player was just to my right, a good situation. Won a few bucks, lost a few more bucks. My key hand came soon enough. I caught 7’s in the small blind. Several callers, no raisers, so I called to see the flop. Perfect. KJ7. I bet $10 to build a pot without scaring away all potential callers, setting up my turn bet. 2 callers, including the guy on my right, so now the pot is just under $40. Turn was a small card, and I went all in with about $55. 1 caller, the guy on my right, winning me a nice pot of around $150. Left MC not long afterward with a profit of $35.

Back downtown to GN. Got into a 2/4 limit game on a table where the lady on my left had apparently had had a good run, since she had about $300 in $1 chips in front of her. She left before long, and apparently I picked up her luck, because soon I was raking in pots. Several folks were getting frustrated and leaving, and before long the table was down to 4 players, so we broke up. I was happy to leave at that point up $57.

Not finished yet. I went over to Binion’s. I swear the place is like a retirement village for poker players. There are these really old guys in there who gripe and moan about every little thing. One guy sat down at the table in position to be big blind for the next hand ($2) and started complaining and carrying on about being forced to come in on the big blind. I couldn’t believe how the staff put up with the rudeness and pettiness of some of these guys. They always worked to accommodate them. I guess as long as they can keep those guys playing there, Binion’s can keep taking their money in the rake on each hand and everyone’s relatively happy. Can‘t tell by their faces though.

Again, I started catching cards. In addition, I was noticing that my limit chops were improving too. I was using small bets on the flop to get information, sweeten the pots for my wins, or save big bets later on when my draws didn’t hit. (Small Stakes Hold ‘Em by Ed Miller, David Sklansky, and Mason Malmuth). I was carefully choosing hands to play, and playing the promising ones aggressively. It was paying off. After buying in for $60 (thinking I’d just play a half hour or so, then go to bed), I cashed out with an $82 profit over an hour later.

Day 3 profit/loss: +$246 (back to even for the trip – yesss!!!)

Day 4, Tuesday, Feb 26:
Returned to the IP Breakfast Club featuring the same cast of characters. Early on I caught K’s and played passively, knowing I was going to win money one way or the other. Turned out I ended up with a K on the river for a full house, so I went ahead and bet (last opponent folded), since there wasn’t any way I could lose the hand. Soon afterward, I got K’s cracked twice in a half hour, so I managed to leave at 11AM with a nice $61 profit rather than a $39 loss.

As many times as I’ve walked past, I had never been to the Las Vegas Margaritaville, so I stopped in there for lunch. Neat place. Prices weren’t as outrageous as I thought they might be. Had a California Chicken Sandwich and a Last Mango in Paris (boat drink). Both were pretty darn good.

Returned to MSS for a mid-day rest. Now, I mostly just play slots here and there with a player’s card to let a casino’s computer know that I’ve been there and spent some money in their place, and only in places I am likely to stay in the future. So I brought $39 from the change jar on my dresser for just this purpose, which I exempt from my normal profit/loss accounting. I started playing a Hot Hot Penny machine at MSS and ran $5 up to $38.55 (due to 12 bonus spins), printed the ticket and stuck it in my wallet for the next morning before leaving for the airport. Good day so far.

About 2PM after resting an hour I headed back to the strip and parked at the Flamingo parking garage. I like parking there due to relative ease of access to mid-strip.

Got into a 2/4 limit game at Flamingo to try to take advantage of their $50 cracked aces promotion Tues-Wed before 4PM. Didn’t get aces, but I had a good time playing. As usual at Flamingo, the 2/4 table was a mixture of passive tourists, most of whom were not particularly good at limit poker. By this point, I was really into a groove of low limit touristy poker strategy. (Some consider that an oxymoron – I don’t.)

Here’s an example:
I noticed a player 2 to my left getting verbally frustrated because he was repeatedly getting beaten on the river – very typical low limit situation. But he was trying to play limit with a no-limit mindset – a common problem. It doesn’t work. Limit is different and requires different tactics to maximize chips won and minimize chips lost. So I get AQ and I’m first to act. I raise to $4. Mr Frustrated calls, along with a couple others, so now it’s the start of a decent 2/4 pot. Flop comes 10 high. I bet $2 to get information about who has a hand, sweeten the pot in case my hand improves, and possibly encourage some folds (which you can’t count on in limit, but it works often enough to justify doing it – depending on the table). Mr Frustrated raises, others fold, I call another $2. I figure he likely has a 10, but the possibility that my hand may improve is worth another $2 to me. Turn is another small card. I check, he bets, I call – pot is big enough that it’s worth seeing the river for $4. River is a K. I bet. I took advantage of his frustration to try to make him think he’d been rivered again – for $4, it was my only chance to win that pot. It worked. The guy threw down his cards, mucking them, and let out “S of a B!” I raked in the chips, turned over my AQ, and said as calmly as I could, “If you had just called $4 you would have won the hand.” He left the table muttering bad things about low limit poker (and probably my ancestry).

Met a nice lady from Canada on my left, and we had a nice chat (in low voices) about politics and the current presidential race. Let’s put it this way, we are both hoping for a change we can believe in. ☺

Cashed out -$9 and moved on down the street to PH. I was getting hungry again at this point, and I wanted to check out a new seafood place in the Miracle Mile Shops called Ocean One. Sat at the bar again. Young female bartender whose hair reminded me of a black and white cookie was much more interested in chatting with young male customers than in helping this old dude, but she finally came my way and took my order. The grouper dish I ordered was very nice, and the prices were reasonable, so I will return in the future.

Since I was just above even for the trip, I decided to try a little more ½ NL at PH. Fortunately, the karaoke/sing-along bar was not going at that point. I played about an hour with some semi-aggressive young guys. I was down to about $70 from my buy-in of $100 when I got A5 of spades on the button. Several callers, so I called to see the flop. Flop had 2 10s and 2 spades. Bets were small enough ($10-15) with enough callers that pot odds & implied odds justified staying in to try to hit the A-high flush. Turn was a K. Finally the river was down to heads up and the flush didn’t come, but another A did. I called with my last $20 on the chance that the other guy did not have a 10. The pot was too big – I had to - he might have just had a K which I would beat, or maybe an A causing a split pot. He did have the third 10 though, so I was gone.

I moved on to Bally’s to try one last shot at ½ NL. This was a weaker group of players than at PH and some were a little drunk, so I thought if I was careful and just waited, my opportunity would come to win a nice pot or 2 that would make up my loss at PH. I won a couple of small pots and got my stack up to $130-140. I was still hoping I could find a good situation against 1 or 2 of these not-so-hot players (some already on tilt after tough losses), but I just went card dead again and had to fold, fold, fold. By 9PM I was starting to get bored, and I was down to $87 (-$13). This was my last night, and I wanted to play a lot more hands. I became concerned that my fatigue and boredom might cause a regrettable mistake at a NL table, so I returned to Flamingo and a 2/4 limit table where I could have more fun playing more hands in a lower risk game.

Continued my limit poker groove. Caught a nice string of good hands over a 3 hour period. Good times. Finally about 1AM, I decided to call it a night while I was still conscious enough to drive back downtown. Last session netted me $72, which put me just a few bucks up for the day and for the trip. Woo-hoo! Coming out about even or a little ahead after 4 full days of poker is a winning trip for me. Got to bed back at MSS about 2.

Day 4 profit/loss: (+$11)

Last day, Wed, Feb 27:
Yet another night with 4 hours sleep. Carson Street Café for breakfast. Maybe I can get in another hour or so of poker. No limit games at GN – don’t want to play NL on my last morning. How about Binion’s? Nope. Plaza? Nope. OK, back to MSS. Top Gun machine just inside the front entrance looked interesting. Inserted my $38.55 ticket from the day before. Before I knew it, I had entered the danger zone and was shooting down enemy planes. After the mission was over, I had over $80. I didn’t realize war could be so profitable (unless you’re a defense contractor or oil company of course). Machine went cold, so then I was down to $75, so I headed back to my Hot Hot Penny machine from the day before. Penny was not so hot anymore, so I was down to $70. Here’s where I made mistake #1. I took my $70 to the craps table. Craps table was colder than Penny, so I took the $40 I had remaining to the blackjack table for mistake #2. Lesson learned: Don’t play craps or blackjack on your last morning just before heading to the airport, especially after averaging 4 hours sleep a night for 5 nights. Between making a couple of sleep-deprived bonehead plays combined with bad luck my chips magically disappeared. And if I didn’t already know that my doubling down with A9 (hey, it’s a 10!) against a dealer 8 was a bonehead play, I had an old guy next to me telling me what a dumb play it was. Thanks pal. I may be dumb and sleep-deprived, but at least I’m not rude and ugly. From now on I'll just have a little fun with the slots on my last morning. The bright side of that otherwise negative last Vegas experience was that at least the $70 I lost that morning in 15 minutes was the result of a simple $5 investment in a slot machine the day before. And it doesn’t even count, because it came out of my change jar, right? ;-)

Checked out and headed for the airport. Trip over. Looking forward to the next time, which will probably be next Thanksgiving-Christmas season when rates are low. I enjoy being in Las Vegas in the winter when it’s cool outside and the crowds are down.

Good times!