You Da Bird! Part III

Saturday and I am stoked with dreams of sweet, drunken UFC fans throwing chips at me and Seymour. We start the day with a comped buffet at MGM. Buffet is okay, much better than Mandalay Bay’s at least from my visits this week. The thing that gets me are the lines. Half of the tables seemed to be vacant but I still had to stand around for 20 minutes until I could have a hostess escort me to my place.

Fed and happy, I was now ready to go so I sat at a 1-2NL game at the MGM. This was a bad way to start the day. Very beatable table, including an array of inebriated cash machines still debauching from the night before as well as a couple just doing a hit and go before heading to catch their flights. However the river was a cruel destination for me. Three times I got it in good by the turn with my opponents facing either two or four outs, with the river spiking whatever my opponent needed to ravage my stack. I ended down well over $400.

This didn’t bode well for me, since I have been running either completely good and winning every session during the day, or completely bad and losing every session. About noon I gave up on the MGM and headed to Mandalay Bay, hoping I could turn it around.

The Poker Room at Mandalay Bay was already buzzing when I got there and I was seated immediately. Low and behold, but on the far side of the table was the Villain of the epic pot between himself and Seymour the day before. V recognized Seymour and immediately and started warning the table about “Swan Man.” Good times ensued. No real hands to discuss, but Seymour and I steadily built our stack up to about $500 until Villain took his stack and left.

I took a short break and grabbed a Rueben from Cantor’s deli to keep the fire burning. About that time a brush came around looking for interest in a 2-4NLHE game. 2-4NL? Sure, why not. I switched over and boy, what did I get into? It played like a deep 2-5NL (max 600 buy-in) since this was rock-em sock-em holdem. Every pot was raised and often reraised. Players were going AI with 2nd pair and big pots were being taken down by Q high. What can I say, as long as your blood pressure could take it there were chips to be had. I took a big pot when one player went AI with nothing but air after I had flopped top set, then gave a bunch back when another player went runner-runner flush off my KK. I tripled up when I turned a well-concealed straight with my 64. I won another big pot when a player who had been at my 1-2 game joined us to my right, and couldn’t get away from an unimproved AK to my 2pr.

More damage could have been done, but I was getting tired and even more goofy than usual. When I turned over my cards, thinking I’d lost with a poorer kicker, only to realize I had won with a flush I didn’t even know was possible, I knew it was time to cash in. Seymour was more than satisfied, as the UFC crowd had contributed more than $1300 to the bankroll, thank you very much.

Seymour and I walked back to the Excalibur, stopping at Nathan’s in Luxor for a Philly cheese steak.

MGM -$452
Mandalay Bay +$1315

Total Day +$863
Total Trip +$2579

February 7 (Day 8)
Super Bowl Sunday was at the Mirage and was a blast. First off, I stopped for breakfast at CarnegieDeli. I had the Western Omelet. Poor choice, it was big enough but didn’t have a lot of flavor. I think I would have done better with almost anything else on the menu.

Afterwards I landed a seat at a new 2-5NL table and sat down for a nice session for the Super Bowl. Card-wise it was a funny session. Pre-Super Bowl the action was hot and Crazy. I made all of my money on one hand. I called a $7 in the BB with five callers with 75 hearts. Flop was Q64 rainbow. Guy who liked to overplay TPTK bet $25 and button and myself both called. Turn was an 8 completing the rainbow, giving me the nut straight. I check, and it is checked around. River was a J. I lead out and bet $150 trying to make it look like a steal. Original better tanked before finally making the call, while button insta-called. Original raiser had AQ for TPTK, button mucked but said he had 2pr. I was up about $850 just like that. When the Super Bowl started though, action pretty much dried up. Part of this is we spent most of the time playing 6-7 handed, part of this was attention to the game, the pizza handed out by the Mirage and the cash drawings after all the scores. While I enjoyed the game, my stack slowly dwindled until Seymour and I had given back over $300 of our winnings. Still, we cashed out near a $600 profit. Not bad for a Super Bowl.

One note, at one point I saw LV Michael at the desk, and later it was announced that he was making the draw for the first cash prize of the night. But twice I got up to wander around and introduce myself to him, but couldn’t find him. I did see when I checked my computer later in the night that he was tweeting from the Mirage Poker Room. I don’t know how I missed him and I am sorry for the missed chance.

Afterwards I grabbed a comp ticket and had a nice meal at Cravings, the Buffet at Mirage. The facility was excellent and the food was on a par with Planet Hollywood, although the everyday prices would have been higher at Mirage. Still, comped is comped and I was happy.

I did some mental coin flips and decided to head to Harrah’s for a short session. Two reasons for this: I will be staying at Harrah’s for the last night of my stay and I wanted to check out the room with the new management, as well as all of my play so far had been at MGM properties and I always like to spread out my play.

At 9pm I sat down at a dream 1-2NL table, mostly loose-weak tourists and locals with one Young Drunk Guy (YDG) as table captain. One advisement, Seymour has been getting lots of threats to be kidnapped, barbequed and Haitian Voodoo Hexed so he decided he needed to go incognito until some of the danger subsides, so he went in as Bobby the Booby Bird. As soon as I introduced Seymour/Bobby, YDG yelled to the room “There’s a guy here with good looking Boobies!” Good Times ensued. YDG was to my right, perfect situation. He was borderline maniac, making lots of post-flop raise to take down pots with weak holdings.

One thing about this session, I very, very rarely use a straddle of any kind. However Harrah’s allows a Mississippi (button) straddle which gives the button even more control in position. Plus with the drunken carnage about me I wanted as much play as possible, so I quickly started straddling every chance I could get, UTG and button.

Very quickly the hand of the night happened:
YDG straddles and I look down at Ad8d so I call just to see what happens. Four callers and YDG raises to $20, I call and one guy in MP calls. Flop is K93 rainbow. YDG bets $40. From what I’d seen before, I doubted YDG had a big hand. The best I could see was either the 3 or 9, or possibly a small PP. This looked like a good time for Seymour/Bobby to get into it, so after discussing the situation in broad terms with “Bobby” we went AI. MP insta-mucked, while YDG went into hysterics.

YDG couldn’t believe I went AI with a hand and I must be on a cold-stone bluff. I replied that I didn’t make these decisions, only “Bobby” did such things. Lengthy discussion went on about “Bobby’s” poker face. YDG had stood up and was almost dancing in agitation. He finally reached down and flipped over his cards to show…

36 offsuit…

To guage my reaction, he asked me if I could beat that. I said I couldn’t comment. Only “Da Bird” could comment and he wasn’t talking. “Bobby” then did offer to show top card if YDG paid $10. After some yammering he did, and the A was revealed. YDG was quasi cheered by this, saying that he thought he had five outs, even if we had the K. After several minutes of this, YDG asked the table to call the clock on him, because he couldn’t make a decision. No one at the table would call the clock, because they were having too much fun watching the spectacle of a drunk guy playing against “Da Bird”. YDG finally called the clock on himself, and as time wound down he folded.

After that, “Da Bird” ruled the table, while YDG watched his stack slip away. The final demise came when his 75off made 2pr on the river but lost to my KT turned 2 pr. YDG slunk away and the table lost some of its fun. Seymour and I cashed out shortly after and went back to the hotel room for some well-deserved sleep.

Mirage +$584
Harrah’s +286

Total Day +$870
Total Trip +$3449