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!
