Sitting in flight 1C of the first big tournament of the WSOP, the Colossus on Saturday morning, my time at table White 136 got off to a good start. The table next to us started the action off right.
Almost immediately after the call of "Shuffle up and deal!" the dealer next to us called "Three all in!" Moments later there was a soul screeching "Nooooooooooooooooo!" and a white-haired lady first stood up, looking dazedly at the table. Then she sat down in her chair and flopped head and shoulders down on the felt in abject disbelief.
Story is a raise and two calls preflop action. The flop came T8x. Check, check, All-in, Call, Call.
The raiser pre-and-post flop showed the pocket rockets. Another showed 88 for a set, and the last, the white haired lady, showed TT for top set.
The turn was an A.
Set over set over set with a two-outer on the turn. What a way to start, and end, the Colossus. But then the WSOP is a place where dreams are made.
And dreams are crushed.
As for me the table I was at had no big names at it. The two best players were to my right so I was in really good shape. My table was a "destination" table so we weren't forced to move and instead received a steady stream of replacements as people were knocked out.
In fact I felt I was playing well despite not getting really good cards. I won several pots simply by aggresive betting even when I hadn't made anything. I managed to fold KK when a pre-flop caller started betting aggresively when an Ace spiked on the flop. I knocked out a short stack when their A8 failed to improve against my JJ.
I new guy with what looked to be about 10k chips sat down in the empty seat. Ten minutes from the second break I was four hours in, nearing the end of level 6 and feeling happy with my play and my 16k stack.
I was in the SB and UTG did a minimum raise to 400. He had done this a lot, playing a lot of weak hands. The New Guy bumped it to 800. It folded around to me and I saw unsuited AK.
There was no doubt in my mind that I was very good on UTG, and probably good on New Guy. They both seemed to have about 10k in their stacks so I liked this position. Thinking my hand through I felt my best play was to try to isolate vs UTG. He often called with thin holdings. The real question was New Guy. He had raised actively in the few hands he had been in, not much of a smaple size, but it just seemed like he was the young aggressive type to three-bet with a middle pair or AQ. It was a good spot to double or triple up, and even if things went against me I'd have chips to keep going.
I pushed all in and started doing Jedi mind tricks to get UTG to call.
Then I saw how comfortable New Guy looked and I wasn't near as happy.
UTG agonized and finally folded, then as New Guy stated he called I suddenly realized he had more pink $500 chips than I'd thought. A bunch more. He didn't have only 10K, he had enough to completely gut my stack and maybe knock me out. Even before I saw his cards, my stomach started doing flip-flops.
And, of course, he showed AA.
If I had realized that either UTG or Young Guy had more than 10k I would have approached the hand much differently. With a raise, re-raise with equivalent stacks and me out of position I probably would have called. I would have had a chance to get away from much more damage. But I misread the stack size, and put my tournament life on the line against a reraiser I didn't know much about when I was out of position.
A long row of blanks came on the board. Then the dealer made a mashup of counting New Guy's chips but after an eternity I was covered by about 500 and just like that I crashed out of the tournament.
One silly mistake and four hours of good work was wiped away.
Which is why I prefer cash games.
Monday, June 1, 2015
Saturday, May 30, 2015
I have the golden ticket to the Colossus
Seat 9 table 136 in the Pavilion Room. A good draw I think since I should not have to move as much
Friday, May 29, 2015
Shuffle up and Deal - And the Bellagio Conservancy is Aquarium Delight!
Shuffle up and deal! The WSOP at the Rio is off with event #1 (Casino Employees). Las Vegas itself is getting flooded with rich poker players, pro poker players real and imagined (in their own minds) and others who just want to scratch the big poker tournaments off their bucket lists. My first foray will be Saturday when I will be one of tens of thousands playing the Colossus tourney. The first half of the field kicks off Friday morning.
Along with the tournaments, the cash games around town get soooooo good. My normal games are 1/2 or 1/3NL with occasional forays into 2/5NL. Come WSOP time I stay in 2/5NL pretty consistently and sometimes foray into 5/10NL if the game looks good and my bankroll allows.
Poker Action - The Orleans
My wife wanted to see a movie at the Orleans, so while she watched her film I spent a couple of hours at the Orleans Poker Room, The Orleans I believe has the largest off strip poker room, and is quite busy, especially with Limit Hold'em and especially Omaha. I love playing Omaha, and I love the tournament structures, but I have had terrible luck at the Orleans.
This session didn't change anything. I caught few cards. I had few situations to make plays in position. Three times when I did wake up to hands I ran into AA each time. Yeah - bad mojo the whole way. I was happy just to get out of there having only lost $200.
The Summer Conservancy at the Bellagio
One of my favorite free spots in Vegas is the Conservancy at the Bellagio. This is a large area just off the main hotel lobby where the staff does major decorations depending on the time of the seasons and year. This week they broke out their Summer, and I loved it as it basically made it like you were inside an aquarium, complete with seahorses, jellyfish, bottom-of-the-briny-deep-treasure and a smirked sea tortoise. See the pictures:
Poker Action - Bellagio
Bobby's Room was closed but the rest of the room was rocking as serious and pro poker players were hitting town for the WSOP. I grabbed a seat at a 2/5NL game and fun began almost immediately. There were two larger stacks in seat 2 and 3 in the $2000 range. Everybody else ranged from about the max buy in of $500 to $200. In one of my first hands I raised to $25 from the button with Ad9d with Seat 1 ($500) and Seat 4 ($200) calling. The flop comes T high with two diamonds. Seat 1 bets about $40 and after Seat 3 mucks I re raise to $100 and Seat 1 calls. A blank on the Turn is followed by a check from Seat 1. I bet $180 and Seat 1 goes all in.
At this point I know I am beaten. However I do have the draw to the nut flush. Plus at this point I am in for $310, $190 remaining to call for a possible $1000+ pot so at 5-1 odds I am stuck. I call. The river pops a diamond. I show my nut flush. Seat 1 shows his TT for flopped set and goes freaking nuts.
I am an idiot, a donkey, how can I call that raise with just a draw. Don't go away because he is going to get my entire stack and every dollar I have in the ATM.
I nod and agree with him, which makes him dig even deeper into his wallet to rebuy.
Life is soooooooo good.
He eventually rebuys twice more, once leaving for about half an hour, a twenty dollar bill left at his seat to hold it, while he tracks down more money somewhere. He mocks me a couple of times when I reluctantly fold on the river when I knew I was beat.
"That King of Diamonds isn't so good now, is it?"
(I actually had a pair of Aces but it was clear from the action a single pair was dead).
Meanwhile he continues to spew chips. There are four others at the table who I generally stay out of the way unless I have a good hand. They are low-level pros or solid regulars. But there is a rotating cast of 3-4 weak players including my Seat 1 Spewer and I leave four hours later with four racks of red chips.
As I rack up to leave Seat 1 comes up and apologizes for his earlier action. He normally doesn't do that sort of thing.
"It didn't bother me guy," I say. "We're good."
And as I cash my chips I am very good. How I love the cash games around WSOP time!
Along with the tournaments, the cash games around town get soooooo good. My normal games are 1/2 or 1/3NL with occasional forays into 2/5NL. Come WSOP time I stay in 2/5NL pretty consistently and sometimes foray into 5/10NL if the game looks good and my bankroll allows.
Poker Action - The Orleans
My wife wanted to see a movie at the Orleans, so while she watched her film I spent a couple of hours at the Orleans Poker Room, The Orleans I believe has the largest off strip poker room, and is quite busy, especially with Limit Hold'em and especially Omaha. I love playing Omaha, and I love the tournament structures, but I have had terrible luck at the Orleans.
This session didn't change anything. I caught few cards. I had few situations to make plays in position. Three times when I did wake up to hands I ran into AA each time. Yeah - bad mojo the whole way. I was happy just to get out of there having only lost $200.
The Summer Conservancy at the Bellagio
One of my favorite free spots in Vegas is the Conservancy at the Bellagio. This is a large area just off the main hotel lobby where the staff does major decorations depending on the time of the seasons and year. This week they broke out their Summer, and I loved it as it basically made it like you were inside an aquarium, complete with seahorses, jellyfish, bottom-of-the-briny-deep-treasure and a smirked sea tortoise. See the pictures:
Poker Action - Bellagio
Bobby's Room was closed but the rest of the room was rocking as serious and pro poker players were hitting town for the WSOP. I grabbed a seat at a 2/5NL game and fun began almost immediately. There were two larger stacks in seat 2 and 3 in the $2000 range. Everybody else ranged from about the max buy in of $500 to $200. In one of my first hands I raised to $25 from the button with Ad9d with Seat 1 ($500) and Seat 4 ($200) calling. The flop comes T high with two diamonds. Seat 1 bets about $40 and after Seat 3 mucks I re raise to $100 and Seat 1 calls. A blank on the Turn is followed by a check from Seat 1. I bet $180 and Seat 1 goes all in.
At this point I know I am beaten. However I do have the draw to the nut flush. Plus at this point I am in for $310, $190 remaining to call for a possible $1000+ pot so at 5-1 odds I am stuck. I call. The river pops a diamond. I show my nut flush. Seat 1 shows his TT for flopped set and goes freaking nuts.
I am an idiot, a donkey, how can I call that raise with just a draw. Don't go away because he is going to get my entire stack and every dollar I have in the ATM.
I nod and agree with him, which makes him dig even deeper into his wallet to rebuy.
Life is soooooooo good.
He eventually rebuys twice more, once leaving for about half an hour, a twenty dollar bill left at his seat to hold it, while he tracks down more money somewhere. He mocks me a couple of times when I reluctantly fold on the river when I knew I was beat.
"That King of Diamonds isn't so good now, is it?"
(I actually had a pair of Aces but it was clear from the action a single pair was dead).
Meanwhile he continues to spew chips. There are four others at the table who I generally stay out of the way unless I have a good hand. They are low-level pros or solid regulars. But there is a rotating cast of 3-4 weak players including my Seat 1 Spewer and I leave four hours later with four racks of red chips.
As I rack up to leave Seat 1 comes up and apologizes for his earlier action. He normally doesn't do that sort of thing.
"It didn't bother me guy," I say. "We're good."
And as I cash my chips I am very good. How I love the cash games around WSOP time!
Monday, May 25, 2015
Playing Against a WSOP Bracelet Winner
Memorial Day is fun in Las Vegas. We are hours away from the start of the 2015 World Series of Poker and the big names are starting to come out of the woodwork. I sat for a few hours at the Bellagio Poker Room playing 1/3NL.
The Big Game was going on in Bobby's Room. I don't know everybody who was playing at the table but I did recognize Doyle Brunson, still taking his place with the high rollers at the fresh young age of 82.
Then while I was squeezing cards and stacking chips I suddenly realized that non other than Barry Johnston was sitting at our table.
Barry is a dignified man who won the 1986 WSOP Main Event as well as a total of five WSOP Gold Bracelets.
Oh, and he is a member of the Poker Hall of Fame.
He bet, I called. Flop came blanks. He bet, I called, hoping against hope. Blank Turn came, he bet and I folded so fast I might have sprained my wrist. It is tough when you have to play 1/3NL against WSOP champions, but that is Vegas sometimes.
After about 20 hands he got up and went to a table with bigger stakes.
Yeah, it's that time of the year.
As for me it was a wierd session. When I first sat down there was one tourist from France in the 4 seat with about $1300 in chips in front of him. The rest of the table had less than $300 and most were buying in for only $100. In fact I had the second biggest stack with my $300 buyin.
A wild ride began as I was getting big cards and getting smacked the bad way. My pocket pair QQ lost to an All In 55 when he hit a set on the flop. Thank God he only had about $80. A couple of hands later my KK ran into AA - again, short stack limited the damage. In just a bit I was down about - $150 and considering rebuying.
But then AA held up for a decent pot. Then my own 55 struck set gold and I raked a good sized pot. Then my evil side kicked in and I raised on the button with 72 - off suit of course. The flop was 228 and I dragged another good pot from two others playing - K high?????? Uff da!
The games then began.
In the end I had to go pick a friend up, otherwise I would have stayed longer. Five hours and up about $450, I'll take that.
Wednesday is the start of the WSOP. I can't wait!
The Big Game was going on in Bobby's Room. I don't know everybody who was playing at the table but I did recognize Doyle Brunson, still taking his place with the high rollers at the fresh young age of 82.
Then while I was squeezing cards and stacking chips I suddenly realized that non other than Barry Johnston was sitting at our table.
Barry is a dignified man who won the 1986 WSOP Main Event as well as a total of five WSOP Gold Bracelets.
Oh, and he is a member of the Poker Hall of Fame.
He bet, I called. Flop came blanks. He bet, I called, hoping against hope. Blank Turn came, he bet and I folded so fast I might have sprained my wrist. It is tough when you have to play 1/3NL against WSOP champions, but that is Vegas sometimes.
After about 20 hands he got up and went to a table with bigger stakes.
Yeah, it's that time of the year.
As for me it was a wierd session. When I first sat down there was one tourist from France in the 4 seat with about $1300 in chips in front of him. The rest of the table had less than $300 and most were buying in for only $100. In fact I had the second biggest stack with my $300 buyin.
A wild ride began as I was getting big cards and getting smacked the bad way. My pocket pair QQ lost to an All In 55 when he hit a set on the flop. Thank God he only had about $80. A couple of hands later my KK ran into AA - again, short stack limited the damage. In just a bit I was down about - $150 and considering rebuying.
But then AA held up for a decent pot. Then my own 55 struck set gold and I raked a good sized pot. Then my evil side kicked in and I raised on the button with 72 - off suit of course. The flop was 228 and I dragged another good pot from two others playing - K high?????? Uff da!
The games then began.
In the end I had to go pick a friend up, otherwise I would have stayed longer. Five hours and up about $450, I'll take that.
Wednesday is the start of the WSOP. I can't wait!
Sunday, May 24, 2015
Even Elvis Can't Stay in Vegas
www.lasvegasadvisor.com is reporting that Elvis is permanently leaving the Westgate.
The show 'Elvis Experience' opened on April 23 at the Westgate and now the report is the last show will be May 27 while tickets for the accompanying 'Elvis the Exhibition' has no tickets available for purchase after 30 May. This after the Riviera closed its doors for the final time.
With all of the Elvis impersonators as well as all the chapels where you can get married by Elvis in this town, this show should have been a natural.
In fact yesterday evening while walking around Harrahs I saw two Elvis impersonators walking along Las Vegas Boulevard.
Old Las Vegas is going away...
The show 'Elvis Experience' opened on April 23 at the Westgate and now the report is the last show will be May 27 while tickets for the accompanying 'Elvis the Exhibition' has no tickets available for purchase after 30 May. This after the Riviera closed its doors for the final time.
With all of the Elvis impersonators as well as all the chapels where you can get married by Elvis in this town, this show should have been a natural.
In fact yesterday evening while walking around Harrahs I saw two Elvis impersonators walking along Las Vegas Boulevard.
Old Las Vegas is going away...
Memorial Crowds Flood Vegas
It is Memorial Day weekend and Vegas is gloriously flooded with tourists.
Traffic along The Strip is a case of pure torture. The sidewalks are moving masses of people doing their best to walk out in front of cars.
The mobs when the Bellagio Fountains and the Mirage Volcano erupt are screaming and well inebriated with no concept of allowing anything to pass by.
And the poker tables are full.
Last night (Saturday) I sat at poker nirvana. Four young guys (YG) who said they were from USC had brought their home game to the Mirage. All four were splashing huge bets. When they lost, which was often, one of their members would pop out a huge wad of $100 and restake his cleaned-out buddy. I love kids with silver spoons.
They also didn't tip normally. For those not in the know, Vegas dealers work mostly for tips. It is customary for the winner of the pot to push $1 or more to the dealer as gratitude to their winnings. I'll occassionally tip as high as $10 if I've stacked a monster pot. But while YGs didn't during their wins they sure they made up for it when it came for the dealer to change out. Their member in the 9 Seat would push a bunch of chips to the dealer. These were sizable piles of chips, one time it was about 40 chips, all mixed whites and reds. My rough guess was about a $120 tip to be shared by the dealers, and that was just the biggest tip.
The dealers were very happy with these guys.
Makes me almost want to become a dealer.
Almost.
Okay, not really but I was definitely glad for the dealers. Good for thse dealers too, because these well lubricated YGs were a handful, making wild requests, acting out of turn, getting into conversations and ignoring action in front of them. They were nice drunks, but their exuberance were like puppies with new toys.
It even rubbed off on me. For some reason I couldn't get my bets right. I was constantly tossing out undersized calls or making raises that were under the minimum raise for the time. The dealers were patiently getting my attention that they needed another red chip, or...
I ended up going to the old standby of calling my action just to make sure it was clear what I really wanted to do. It just sucks getting old.
The game also had a couple TAG locals in the mix so it was a very good and predictable table. It would have been better if I had caught better cards because when people are willing to call big pot raises with nothing but K high you have to have something. I snagged two big pots where my 2-pairs managed to avoid a bunch of straight and flush draws.What with the big raises and re-rases from YGs there were no small pots to be had.
In the end the YGs headed out for a date at Hakkasan and the table died a sudden death. It was a good solid win for me and I was happy.
I hope they are back Sunday evening.
Traffic along The Strip is a case of pure torture. The sidewalks are moving masses of people doing their best to walk out in front of cars.
The mobs when the Bellagio Fountains and the Mirage Volcano erupt are screaming and well inebriated with no concept of allowing anything to pass by.
And the poker tables are full.
Last night (Saturday) I sat at poker nirvana. Four young guys (YG) who said they were from USC had brought their home game to the Mirage. All four were splashing huge bets. When they lost, which was often, one of their members would pop out a huge wad of $100 and restake his cleaned-out buddy. I love kids with silver spoons.
They also didn't tip normally. For those not in the know, Vegas dealers work mostly for tips. It is customary for the winner of the pot to push $1 or more to the dealer as gratitude to their winnings. I'll occassionally tip as high as $10 if I've stacked a monster pot. But while YGs didn't during their wins they sure they made up for it when it came for the dealer to change out. Their member in the 9 Seat would push a bunch of chips to the dealer. These were sizable piles of chips, one time it was about 40 chips, all mixed whites and reds. My rough guess was about a $120 tip to be shared by the dealers, and that was just the biggest tip.
The dealers were very happy with these guys.
Makes me almost want to become a dealer.
Almost.
Okay, not really but I was definitely glad for the dealers. Good for thse dealers too, because these well lubricated YGs were a handful, making wild requests, acting out of turn, getting into conversations and ignoring action in front of them. They were nice drunks, but their exuberance were like puppies with new toys.
It even rubbed off on me. For some reason I couldn't get my bets right. I was constantly tossing out undersized calls or making raises that were under the minimum raise for the time. The dealers were patiently getting my attention that they needed another red chip, or...
I ended up going to the old standby of calling my action just to make sure it was clear what I really wanted to do. It just sucks getting old.
The game also had a couple TAG locals in the mix so it was a very good and predictable table. It would have been better if I had caught better cards because when people are willing to call big pot raises with nothing but K high you have to have something. I snagged two big pots where my 2-pairs managed to avoid a bunch of straight and flush draws.What with the big raises and re-rases from YGs there were no small pots to be had.
In the end the YGs headed out for a date at Hakkasan and the table died a sudden death. It was a good solid win for me and I was happy.
I hope they are back Sunday evening.
Saturday, May 23, 2015
Countdown to the WSOP - The Colossus?
Less than a week until the WSOP 2015 kicks off at the Rio on May 27. I am incredibly tempted to break my cherry and actually dip my toe in the tourney this year.
In past years I have been too happy just taking advantage of the incredibly juicy side games. One year I had an incredibly profitable time playing the Single Table Qualifiers for the Venetian's Deep Stack Extravaganza. I'd play, win a seat, then sell the seat. Play, win, sell. Wash, rinse, repeat.
Most of the pros - real or self-delusioned - are playing the tournaments, meaning most of the games at places like the Bellagio and Wynn and Venetian are a couple steps easier than normal, and more profitable.
For me there is just too much variance in tournies when compared to the reliability of cash games. Fighting through several hours of play, pressured by ever increasing betting levels, subject to the crazy variables of desperate short stacks, doesn't normally fit well with my natural poker game.
And yet the WSOP is the World Series of Poker. Moneymaker, Brunson, Negreanu, Hellmuth and all the other icons of big time poker and its history. Yeah, I toil in the minor leagues of poker, but you always have dreams.
And for me there are a couple of interesting new tournies to consider. The first is Event #5 - The Colossus. With only a $565 buy-in the risk is low. The WSOP people are really thumping it up, hoping for a record turnout. Can they parley a lower buy-in event on the first weekend to make for a bigger tourney than the 2006 Main Event (8,773 entrants) which stands at the apex of poker popularity. WSOP is hoping for 10,000 or more. It could be fun.
Should I play? Right now I am leaning to at least give The Colossus a try, depending on how I am doing in the side games before it.
In past years I have been too happy just taking advantage of the incredibly juicy side games. One year I had an incredibly profitable time playing the Single Table Qualifiers for the Venetian's Deep Stack Extravaganza. I'd play, win a seat, then sell the seat. Play, win, sell. Wash, rinse, repeat.
Most of the pros - real or self-delusioned - are playing the tournaments, meaning most of the games at places like the Bellagio and Wynn and Venetian are a couple steps easier than normal, and more profitable.
For me there is just too much variance in tournies when compared to the reliability of cash games. Fighting through several hours of play, pressured by ever increasing betting levels, subject to the crazy variables of desperate short stacks, doesn't normally fit well with my natural poker game.
And yet the WSOP is the World Series of Poker. Moneymaker, Brunson, Negreanu, Hellmuth and all the other icons of big time poker and its history. Yeah, I toil in the minor leagues of poker, but you always have dreams.
And for me there are a couple of interesting new tournies to consider. The first is Event #5 - The Colossus. With only a $565 buy-in the risk is low. The WSOP people are really thumping it up, hoping for a record turnout. Can they parley a lower buy-in event on the first weekend to make for a bigger tourney than the 2006 Main Event (8,773 entrants) which stands at the apex of poker popularity. WSOP is hoping for 10,000 or more. It could be fun.
Should I play? Right now I am leaning to at least give The Colossus a try, depending on how I am doing in the side games before it.
A Smaller Mirage Poker Room Re-opens
With reports running that the Mirage Poker Room had officially re-opened on Friday morning I went by in the evening to check to see. I came away with some mixed feelings.
The old Mirage Poker Room had been getting a little threadbare, and it has definitely been given a once over. Everything is all new. It also now only has 12 poker tables and takes up less than half the space it used to. In fact, although everything is comfortable it certainly has a cramped feel to it.
The chairs seem a bit weird to me. They have broad backs and they move well. You'd think they would be comfortable. I was having a twitchy back this evening, though and these seats didn't help that.
When I got there I could tell their Bravo system wasn't working well, or the staff still hadn't figured out how to use it. Dealers could scan you in table side so you could get credit for your play comps, but brushes were continuously calling over the PA system asking what tables had open seats. The Bravo display by the podium also showed only one table was playing 1/2NL but there was actually 2-3 tables playing that game.
I chatted with some of the staff and they mentioned that on Thursday it was basically an empty room, and that all the tables and systems had been flung together in a single 24-hour period. That explains why there were glitches getting worked out.
Poker-wise it was a glorious mix of creaky septuagenarians, Asian kamikazes and middle aged golf buddies going all in on Top Pair Medium Kicker. In other words it was 1/2NL grinder heaven.
Earlier I had gone a couple hours at a nitty table at the Venetian. It had been a frustrating session, with me trying to bully people who didn't know they can fold, and thus I walked away from that earlier session down $150 before I could do more damage to my bankroll.
But the golf buddies at Mirage were a great tonic. One went all in with AT on a ten high board and got snapped off by my pocket Kings. The other had Aces and lost a big pot to my 2-pair. Both mega-tilted and started spewing chips right and left. No hands really come to mind, but they did a lot of over betting on thin draws and paid the price.
I ended up $1050, for a net win for the day of $900. I have been spending most of my time lately at the Venetian, mostly because the rake is so good right now. But the games keep getting tighter and nittier and I think I need to move on. This weekend there are a couple of good conferences in town, so I think I'll be hitting some of the other rooms before the WSOP kicks off next week.
It has been a super week for me and I hope I can keep it going this weekend. Bet well all.
The old Mirage Poker Room had been getting a little threadbare, and it has definitely been given a once over. Everything is all new. It also now only has 12 poker tables and takes up less than half the space it used to. In fact, although everything is comfortable it certainly has a cramped feel to it.
The chairs seem a bit weird to me. They have broad backs and they move well. You'd think they would be comfortable. I was having a twitchy back this evening, though and these seats didn't help that.
When I got there I could tell their Bravo system wasn't working well, or the staff still hadn't figured out how to use it. Dealers could scan you in table side so you could get credit for your play comps, but brushes were continuously calling over the PA system asking what tables had open seats. The Bravo display by the podium also showed only one table was playing 1/2NL but there was actually 2-3 tables playing that game.
I chatted with some of the staff and they mentioned that on Thursday it was basically an empty room, and that all the tables and systems had been flung together in a single 24-hour period. That explains why there were glitches getting worked out.
Poker-wise it was a glorious mix of creaky septuagenarians, Asian kamikazes and middle aged golf buddies going all in on Top Pair Medium Kicker. In other words it was 1/2NL grinder heaven.
Earlier I had gone a couple hours at a nitty table at the Venetian. It had been a frustrating session, with me trying to bully people who didn't know they can fold, and thus I walked away from that earlier session down $150 before I could do more damage to my bankroll.
But the golf buddies at Mirage were a great tonic. One went all in with AT on a ten high board and got snapped off by my pocket Kings. The other had Aces and lost a big pot to my 2-pair. Both mega-tilted and started spewing chips right and left. No hands really come to mind, but they did a lot of over betting on thin draws and paid the price.
I ended up $1050, for a net win for the day of $900. I have been spending most of my time lately at the Venetian, mostly because the rake is so good right now. But the games keep getting tighter and nittier and I think I need to move on. This weekend there are a couple of good conferences in town, so I think I'll be hitting some of the other rooms before the WSOP kicks off next week.
It has been a super week for me and I hope I can keep it going this weekend. Bet well all.
Friday, May 22, 2015
Las Vegas Poker Rooms Opening and Closing
Reports are on the net at Poker Atlas and 2+2 Forums that the Mirage Poker Room has reopened this morning. It had been temporarily closed for some remodeling. I'll run over there as soon as I can to see how things are going.
In other news I've seen some unconfirmed reports that the Caesar's Palace Poker Room will also be closing for a few weeks, and possibly moving. When I get more details I will pass them on.
In other news I've seen some unconfirmed reports that the Caesar's Palace Poker Room will also be closing for a few weeks, and possibly moving. When I get more details I will pass them on.
THE SUPER AWESOME BELLAGIO CASH
Wow, just wow. I don't get too up or down on what my results are when I play poker, but cashing three racks of chips will make everybody feel good.
In my last post at the Venetian I talked about how I was fortunate to be a solid winner during a 1-2NL game when I literally did not make a single hand. It was boring, hard work, but I'll take a small win anytime.
Wednesday I decided to take a break from the Venetian and headed over to the Bellagio to play some of their 1-3NL. I am soooooo glad I did.
I suppose I should mention that at one time I really hated the Bellagio poker room. Hate, true loathing. This was in the 2002-2004 time range when the staff was snooty and the low limit players were stacked like sardines on incredibly crowded tables. Since then the Bellagio has upgraded their room, took out some tables so now they are comfortably spaced. The staff is much better, although drink service can still be glacially slow. It is just a much better place.
It also has a lot more monied and aggressive players than the Venetian tends to have, and the Bellagio tends to have some more knowledgeable players even at the low limits than those that go elsewhere.
Boy I landed in it. At a 1/3NL table with a $100-$300 buy in I had one guy to my right sitting on a stack of $800(BSR). To my left was another guy with around $700 (BSL). Across the table was an Asian guy. At first glance he didn't seem to have much, until I realized one of his stacks were all green ($25) chips and he had several black ($100) chips.
The cards started flying and the chips did too. Where at the Venetian the average opening raise tended to be about $8-$10, Here at the Bellagio this table was opening with $17-$25.
I buckled up for a wild ride. It was a good thing, because while the day before the poker Gods refused to help me, now they were throwing the deck at me.
In the first half hour I made a boat, two sets and a flush, taken chips from the Asian Guy and BSR and I had ballooned my stack to almost $700. I got a bit cocky then and pushed into some bad positions, giving back chips until I was down to around $500. I then won a couple small pots and was feeling better, when the hand of the night hit.
A squeaky green tourist (SGT) had about $250 raised $20 from MP. On the Button I looked at 86 offsuit (killer of champions) and called simply because of my position. BSL also called and I was actually worried about him. Here came the flop...
862 rainbow.
BSL checked and SGT bet $25. I called as did BSL, which worried me more. The Turn was a J, BSL checked and SGT bet $35. I raised to $70. BSL called and SGT went all in for about $110 more. I thought a quick minute. I was sure by this time that SGT had a big over pair, AA or KK. BSL was my problem because he could have a set and was happily letting us bet the pot up, but he could also be on some kind of straight draw or two pair.
RULE #3 When in doubt raise and let the other guy make the decision under pressure.
So I re-raised all in, which just about matched what BSL had at about the time. Yeah - sounds stupid, going all in with only 2-pair 8/6, but at that point my gut told me I was ahead and I didn't want BSL to get lucky.
BSL took a long time to decide and I was immediately happy. I was sure if he had a made hand like a set of Jacks he would have quickly called.
Eventually he called. The River was a Q, which worried me a moment. I showed my 86 for 2-pair. SGT showed the dreaded AA and BSL showed 82off (?????) for a smaller 2-pair. I stacked both and dragged about a $1300 pot. The rest of the players murmuring for a good half hour about a winner of that size of a pot with only 86 off.
One lady was mumbling about a later hand in play when she nodded to me...
"And who knows what this guy is playing..."
The sweet spot.
My run continued, the deck slapping me silly. When I hit $1600 I was getting hungry and a bit tired so I decided not to press any more. Not bad for a $300 buy in.
And by the way, I REALLY LOVE the Bellagio now.
In my last post at the Venetian I talked about how I was fortunate to be a solid winner during a 1-2NL game when I literally did not make a single hand. It was boring, hard work, but I'll take a small win anytime.
Wednesday I decided to take a break from the Venetian and headed over to the Bellagio to play some of their 1-3NL. I am soooooo glad I did.
I suppose I should mention that at one time I really hated the Bellagio poker room. Hate, true loathing. This was in the 2002-2004 time range when the staff was snooty and the low limit players were stacked like sardines on incredibly crowded tables. Since then the Bellagio has upgraded their room, took out some tables so now they are comfortably spaced. The staff is much better, although drink service can still be glacially slow. It is just a much better place.
It also has a lot more monied and aggressive players than the Venetian tends to have, and the Bellagio tends to have some more knowledgeable players even at the low limits than those that go elsewhere.
Boy I landed in it. At a 1/3NL table with a $100-$300 buy in I had one guy to my right sitting on a stack of $800(BSR). To my left was another guy with around $700 (BSL). Across the table was an Asian guy. At first glance he didn't seem to have much, until I realized one of his stacks were all green ($25) chips and he had several black ($100) chips.
The cards started flying and the chips did too. Where at the Venetian the average opening raise tended to be about $8-$10, Here at the Bellagio this table was opening with $17-$25.
I buckled up for a wild ride. It was a good thing, because while the day before the poker Gods refused to help me, now they were throwing the deck at me.
In the first half hour I made a boat, two sets and a flush, taken chips from the Asian Guy and BSR and I had ballooned my stack to almost $700. I got a bit cocky then and pushed into some bad positions, giving back chips until I was down to around $500. I then won a couple small pots and was feeling better, when the hand of the night hit.
A squeaky green tourist (SGT) had about $250 raised $20 from MP. On the Button I looked at 86 offsuit (killer of champions) and called simply because of my position. BSL also called and I was actually worried about him. Here came the flop...
862 rainbow.
BSL checked and SGT bet $25. I called as did BSL, which worried me more. The Turn was a J, BSL checked and SGT bet $35. I raised to $70. BSL called and SGT went all in for about $110 more. I thought a quick minute. I was sure by this time that SGT had a big over pair, AA or KK. BSL was my problem because he could have a set and was happily letting us bet the pot up, but he could also be on some kind of straight draw or two pair.
RULE #3 When in doubt raise and let the other guy make the decision under pressure.
So I re-raised all in, which just about matched what BSL had at about the time. Yeah - sounds stupid, going all in with only 2-pair 8/6, but at that point my gut told me I was ahead and I didn't want BSL to get lucky.
BSL took a long time to decide and I was immediately happy. I was sure if he had a made hand like a set of Jacks he would have quickly called.
Eventually he called. The River was a Q, which worried me a moment. I showed my 86 for 2-pair. SGT showed the dreaded AA and BSL showed 82off (?????) for a smaller 2-pair. I stacked both and dragged about a $1300 pot. The rest of the players murmuring for a good half hour about a winner of that size of a pot with only 86 off.
One lady was mumbling about a later hand in play when she nodded to me...
"And who knows what this guy is playing..."
The sweet spot.
My run continued, the deck slapping me silly. When I hit $1600 I was getting hungry and a bit tired so I decided not to press any more. Not bad for a $300 buy in.
And by the way, I REALLY LOVE the Bellagio now.
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Won $200 and Never Made a Hand
It was simple small pot, late position poker at a weak table. Almost every hand was opened for a small $6-$8 raise with extremely rare re-raises. Lots of pots were checked around until some weak bet on the river took a small pot.
So about every couple of orbits my late position action was:
Several limps, a small raise to $8, two callers including me holding something like 8d9d.
Dry board on the Flop. Raiser C-bets $10. I call and everybody else folds.
On the blank Turn the Raiser checks. I bet $30. Fold and stack.
Rinse and repeat.
I did get 99 one time. Missed a set but there was no action. I won one hand with 84off.
On one hand there was a raise/re-raise and I tossed my Ts9s. Would have made a flush vs the AA/KK war, but still. It is amazing, but I can't remember a single hand that I had to show. I either folded or dropped a chip on the cards for the tip as I slid them to the dealer. Really, not one show in about four hours.
So it was a nice and safe win. It was boring as hell, but I'll take boring/profitable anytime.
New Capital Hill Bill Threatens Nevada Online Gambling
An article in the Las Vegas Review Journal is warning that an anti-Internet gaming law working its way through Congress could pull the plug on Internet Gaming in Nevada.
Current Nevada State law allows gaming done within Nevada, and several casinos have set up poker sites, online casinos and extremely popular online sports betting. To avoid Federal laws involving "money laundering" locals merely need to stop by the money cage of the casino running the Internet site, make a deposit, then take their action to the online site. Reportedly online betting is now a $3billion industry.
The klinker, according to the report, is that the measure would prohibit the electronic transmission of gambling information across state lines. The kicker is that a large chunk of Nevada online gambling is through mobile phone apps, which are on networks and widely broadcast. Modern systems would have some "leakage of service into some border areas of, say California, Arizona and Utah.
Another even more basic question to me is the odds and betting information that Las Vegas sports bets get from their sources. Would such information the bookies use to make their lines also become illegal?
Updates will come as they are available.
Current Nevada State law allows gaming done within Nevada, and several casinos have set up poker sites, online casinos and extremely popular online sports betting. To avoid Federal laws involving "money laundering" locals merely need to stop by the money cage of the casino running the Internet site, make a deposit, then take their action to the online site. Reportedly online betting is now a $3billion industry.
The klinker, according to the report, is that the measure would prohibit the electronic transmission of gambling information across state lines. The kicker is that a large chunk of Nevada online gambling is through mobile phone apps, which are on networks and widely broadcast. Modern systems would have some "leakage of service into some border areas of, say California, Arizona and Utah.
Another even more basic question to me is the odds and betting information that Las Vegas sports bets get from their sources. Would such information the bookies use to make their lines also become illegal?
Updates will come as they are available.
Rake Reduction at the Venetian
Donkey Kong! Or the Art of Dumb Poker
It is a general but usually true rule in poker that big hands equals winning small pots or losing big ones. Good old Dolly (Doyle) Brunson in his seminal poker strategy book Super System mentioned this when talking about his penchant for playing suited connectors.
Exhibit A:
You look down and your heart does a flubba-dub as you look at AA. There is a small raise in front of you. You play like a champ and make a strong reraise. Everyone races to fold and you are disappointed to rake in a tiny pot.
Exhibit B:
You raise with those same, blessed Aces from middle position (MP) and get the Button (BN) and Big Blind (BB) to call. The flop is 862 three-suited and you lead out a strong bet. BN folds and BB smooth calls. The Turn J looks innocuous and after BB checks you make a strong bet again. But now BB reraises and you are confused. You call. The River is another seemingly harmless Q but BB goes all in for $100. You agonize forever then make a crying call. BB rolls over 86off for two pair and you watch most of your stack heading the other way.
Does this sound familiar?
A version/replay of Exhibit B came while I was playing 1-2NL at the Venetian recently. A young guy in MP had about $200 in front of him, while I had about $280. I didn't have any particular read on him yet. He raises to $8 after a couple of limpers. I look down at QQ and reraise to $25. It folds around to MP and he calls.
Oooops.
Three low cards come out on the Flop and he bets $20.
I could reraise, but he seems confident so I expect he has an overpair. While something like TT is possible so is KK or AA. I could let it go and wait for a better spot, but the $20 bet is less than half the pot making my staying around in the hand relatively cheap. I call.
The turn is a blessed Q giving me top set. He again bets $20. This is an awkward spot, pot and stackwise. He has $65 invested with $135 behind, roughly $130 in the pot. He is not quite pot tied but if I make a decent raise to say $70 then he would be. There are arguments for three different actions:
1) Smooth call and lower the boom on the river.
2) Make a small raise to take control but pot tie MP
3) Go all in now
I will almost never smooth call here. Since I don't know the guy I decide to go with the death of inches and reraised to $50. MP suddenly looked confused and fiddled with his chips for a bit before calling,
The river was a blank. MP checked and I bet him all in. He hymmed and hawwed awhile before making the crying call. He showed AA to my Set. He congratulated me and went off into the night.
What to Do
AA is powerful, but it is tricky. You have to defend them but also need to know when they are losers.
In this case preflop, he should have been salivating when someone reraised his own raise. He has an advantage against all hands except one (another holding of AA) and he should want to re-raise again to get as much into the hand as possible.
You can make a case of calling like this guy did, but it shouldn't be your first choice. For example I often smooth call AA if I am confident I should be able to outplay my opponent after the flop. But if you tend to get caught and lose big pots with AA, you want to close the hand out WHILE YOU STILL HAVE THE ADVANTAGE. Because...
Once the cards hit the board there are a few facts that are incredibly crucial to understand:
1) The average winning hand in Hold'em is 2-Pair.
2) The only reason people keep calling your raises is they think they can beat you.
3) Preflop AA is the dominant, superior hand over all other hands but post flop it is only top pair unless you have improved.
So with a dry flop make a solid bet and see what happens. If he bets $35 I am gone, although many other players might have overplayed their inferior over pair, which long term is good. A bet less than half the pot makes almost anykind of draw profitable to call, urging people to try to chase you down with some sort of smaller pair or straight draw.
LAW #1 - It is better to win a small pot than to lose a big pot.
When the turn hits MP made a weak bet and got reraised. Now was the raise simply because of his showing weakness, or was it that I have now made a hand? True, it still is a dry board, but even so there are lots of possibilities for sets or two-pairs at this point.
Then with my all in at the river, MP has to chance going broke with only a pair. Few people get rich, and lots of people go broke when going all in with only a pair in their hand.
I really believe that AA is the most poorly played hand in poker. Many start out too timid, allowing others to make hands and beat you. others go bulling through and firing big bets everywhere even when it should be clear they are beaten. The mighty pocket rockets are powerful, but they will not win 100% of the time.
Which is one of the reasons why I often play Donkey Kong poker. I'll play junk cards in position. If the betting or the flop is bad it is easy to throw away cheaply. If you hit your hand you can stack someone overplaying something like AA.
But Wait You Say
Hey Donkey! You didn't have junk cards. You had pocket Queens!
Yes, but the idea is the same. I was a clear underdog to begin, got to stay in the hand relatively cheaply, then when I made my hand I was able to stack the stronger opening hand. It played out with the same principles as if I'd played something like a pocket pair, suited connectors, or even true garbage like 86off.
I just have to understand that I will lose a lot of these hands, and need to fold often when it is cheap unless the situation is good. BTW this is one reason why Daniel Negreanu is so successful. He plays lots of junk hands cheaply in position, then outplays his competition after the flop by folding cheap from bad positions while winning big when he makes a hand.
In this case the game at the Venetian was kind, and I managed to walk away with about a $250 win in three hours time.
You look down and your heart does a flubba-dub as you look at AA. There is a small raise in front of you. You play like a champ and make a strong reraise. Everyone races to fold and you are disappointed to rake in a tiny pot.
Exhibit B:
You raise with those same, blessed Aces from middle position (MP) and get the Button (BN) and Big Blind (BB) to call. The flop is 862 three-suited and you lead out a strong bet. BN folds and BB smooth calls. The Turn J looks innocuous and after BB checks you make a strong bet again. But now BB reraises and you are confused. You call. The River is another seemingly harmless Q but BB goes all in for $100. You agonize forever then make a crying call. BB rolls over 86off for two pair and you watch most of your stack heading the other way.
Does this sound familiar?
A version/replay of Exhibit B came while I was playing 1-2NL at the Venetian recently. A young guy in MP had about $200 in front of him, while I had about $280. I didn't have any particular read on him yet. He raises to $8 after a couple of limpers. I look down at QQ and reraise to $25. It folds around to MP and he calls.
Oooops.
Three low cards come out on the Flop and he bets $20.
I could reraise, but he seems confident so I expect he has an overpair. While something like TT is possible so is KK or AA. I could let it go and wait for a better spot, but the $20 bet is less than half the pot making my staying around in the hand relatively cheap. I call.
The turn is a blessed Q giving me top set. He again bets $20. This is an awkward spot, pot and stackwise. He has $65 invested with $135 behind, roughly $130 in the pot. He is not quite pot tied but if I make a decent raise to say $70 then he would be. There are arguments for three different actions:
1) Smooth call and lower the boom on the river.
2) Make a small raise to take control but pot tie MP
3) Go all in now
I will almost never smooth call here. Since I don't know the guy I decide to go with the death of inches and reraised to $50. MP suddenly looked confused and fiddled with his chips for a bit before calling,
The river was a blank. MP checked and I bet him all in. He hymmed and hawwed awhile before making the crying call. He showed AA to my Set. He congratulated me and went off into the night.
What to Do
AA is powerful, but it is tricky. You have to defend them but also need to know when they are losers.
In this case preflop, he should have been salivating when someone reraised his own raise. He has an advantage against all hands except one (another holding of AA) and he should want to re-raise again to get as much into the hand as possible.
You can make a case of calling like this guy did, but it shouldn't be your first choice. For example I often smooth call AA if I am confident I should be able to outplay my opponent after the flop. But if you tend to get caught and lose big pots with AA, you want to close the hand out WHILE YOU STILL HAVE THE ADVANTAGE. Because...
Once the cards hit the board there are a few facts that are incredibly crucial to understand:
1) The average winning hand in Hold'em is 2-Pair.
2) The only reason people keep calling your raises is they think they can beat you.
3) Preflop AA is the dominant, superior hand over all other hands but post flop it is only top pair unless you have improved.
So with a dry flop make a solid bet and see what happens. If he bets $35 I am gone, although many other players might have overplayed their inferior over pair, which long term is good. A bet less than half the pot makes almost anykind of draw profitable to call, urging people to try to chase you down with some sort of smaller pair or straight draw.
LAW #1 - It is better to win a small pot than to lose a big pot.
When the turn hits MP made a weak bet and got reraised. Now was the raise simply because of his showing weakness, or was it that I have now made a hand? True, it still is a dry board, but even so there are lots of possibilities for sets or two-pairs at this point.
Then with my all in at the river, MP has to chance going broke with only a pair. Few people get rich, and lots of people go broke when going all in with only a pair in their hand.
I really believe that AA is the most poorly played hand in poker. Many start out too timid, allowing others to make hands and beat you. others go bulling through and firing big bets everywhere even when it should be clear they are beaten. The mighty pocket rockets are powerful, but they will not win 100% of the time.
Which is one of the reasons why I often play Donkey Kong poker. I'll play junk cards in position. If the betting or the flop is bad it is easy to throw away cheaply. If you hit your hand you can stack someone overplaying something like AA.
But Wait You Say
Hey Donkey! You didn't have junk cards. You had pocket Queens!
Yes, but the idea is the same. I was a clear underdog to begin, got to stay in the hand relatively cheaply, then when I made my hand I was able to stack the stronger opening hand. It played out with the same principles as if I'd played something like a pocket pair, suited connectors, or even true garbage like 86off.
I just have to understand that I will lose a lot of these hands, and need to fold often when it is cheap unless the situation is good. BTW this is one reason why Daniel Negreanu is so successful. He plays lots of junk hands cheaply in position, then outplays his competition after the flop by folding cheap from bad positions while winning big when he makes a hand.
In this case the game at the Venetian was kind, and I managed to walk away with about a $250 win in three hours time.
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