Las Vegas Day 1
Eleanor and I left for Las Vegas on Friday the 3rd first thing in the morning and took the red eye back to arrive home Tuesday the 7th.
Our flight left at 6:45 am and Eleanor wanted us to be there first thing so we woke up at 3am and were out the door to be there 2 hours before. We had a connecting flight from Toronto to Chicago then to Vegas so we would arrive at 10:30am.
We decided to do the electronic check-in where it offered us the chance to upgrade to business class for only $150 more from Chicago to Vegas. We decided to go for it but it became “unavailable” once we selected it so that was out. (First plane bad beat of the day.)
The flight from Toronto to Chicago was uneventful and we arrived only a few minutes late. One woman was trying to push her way through Eleanor from the back of the plan when exiting and gave her a cold look when Eleanor wouldn’t let her though. (Serious people file one person at a time out of the plane like when you get on the plane, I don’t understand people’s obsession to be the first one on and off, if you have a tight connection please announce it otherwise relax and wait your turn.)
We had about 1 ½ lay over in Chicago and were waiting by the gate when they told us the flight from Chicago to Las Vegas (via American Airlines) was cancelled (Plane Bad Beat number 2) and that the help desk with the red phones (and nothing else) was available for us to help our selves. Of course the whole plane moved over to the phone and we were about 20th in the line.
Eleanor saw a 1-800 number and quickly left the line and found a phone bank and got on it while I stayed in the line with the other donkeys. After a few minute she waved me over and we had another flight from Chicago to Dallas, then Dallas to Las Vegas.
I was pissed but realized that normally I’d be at work so this was better then…work.
We got to Dallas with no problems and from there to Las Vegas which we arrive at 4:30 pm.
While in Dallas we saw another flight by American Airlines cancelled/delayed that was suppose to go to Belize City and heard the announcement that if the flight didn’t arrive in Belize before 6 pm that the connection to San Pedro would be missed and they would have to make their own way there or wait to the next day. (Plane bad beat 3, but not for us.)
I wondered about this because our Honeymoon was in San Pedro Belize and when we booked one of the options was through Dallas so this would have been our flight from 5 years ago and wondered how much that would have sucked.
I was disappointed with the late arrival in Vegas because we had plans to play the Omaha Hi/Lo tournament at 12pm at the Orleans and then hit the Pink Taco at the Hard Rock for happy hour .
We were staying at the Golden Nugget and checked in were in our room by 5:30, happy hour was from 4-7, Eleanor was unsure but I was determined to go and put as much as this day behind us with the “magical happy forgetting life’s problems juice” (Tequila), so we took a cab and were there by 6pm. The bartender comp'ed several of our drinks and they were promoting a new type of Tequila called Tezón which we got drinks for free as well (One lucky break for us). Several drinks later we donked around at the Pia Gow and Let it Ride tables where we both got a bad vibe and left to go back to the Nugget.
Back down town we splashed around at a few different games before we decided to play some poker. We saw different games at Binions and Eleanor wanted to play the 4-8 Limit Omaha Hi/Lo game. I suggested we not as we were both trashed. We went back to the Nugget and played 2-4 Limit poker. When we sat down and kept drinking. We talked to a few guys who where there for BARGE and had big name tags on (Grizz and John I think) and over all were really good guys. (It made them targets for my bluffs as I knew they could fold unlike most of the other table.)
We talked, drank and had a great time. No real hands stick out except that I seemed to make almost every draw I played, we left the game at 2am Las Vegas time (which means we were up for 27 hours) and crashed in the room recharging for the next day.
Our flight left at 6:45 am and Eleanor wanted us to be there first thing so we woke up at 3am and were out the door to be there 2 hours before. We had a connecting flight from Toronto to Chicago then to Vegas so we would arrive at 10:30am.
We decided to do the electronic check-in where it offered us the chance to upgrade to business class for only $150 more from Chicago to Vegas. We decided to go for it but it became “unavailable” once we selected it so that was out. (First plane bad beat of the day.)
The flight from Toronto to Chicago was uneventful and we arrived only a few minutes late. One woman was trying to push her way through Eleanor from the back of the plan when exiting and gave her a cold look when Eleanor wouldn’t let her though. (Serious people file one person at a time out of the plane like when you get on the plane, I don’t understand people’s obsession to be the first one on and off, if you have a tight connection please announce it otherwise relax and wait your turn.)
We had about 1 ½ lay over in Chicago and were waiting by the gate when they told us the flight from Chicago to Las Vegas (via American Airlines) was cancelled (Plane Bad Beat number 2) and that the help desk with the red phones (and nothing else) was available for us to help our selves. Of course the whole plane moved over to the phone and we were about 20th in the line.
Eleanor saw a 1-800 number and quickly left the line and found a phone bank and got on it while I stayed in the line with the other donkeys. After a few minute she waved me over and we had another flight from Chicago to Dallas, then Dallas to Las Vegas.
I was pissed but realized that normally I’d be at work so this was better then…work.
We got to Dallas with no problems and from there to Las Vegas which we arrive at 4:30 pm.
While in Dallas we saw another flight by American Airlines cancelled/delayed that was suppose to go to Belize City and heard the announcement that if the flight didn’t arrive in Belize before 6 pm that the connection to San Pedro would be missed and they would have to make their own way there or wait to the next day. (Plane bad beat 3, but not for us.)
I wondered about this because our Honeymoon was in San Pedro Belize and when we booked one of the options was through Dallas so this would have been our flight from 5 years ago and wondered how much that would have sucked.
I was disappointed with the late arrival in Vegas because we had plans to play the Omaha Hi/Lo tournament at 12pm at the Orleans and then hit the Pink Taco at the Hard Rock for happy hour .
We were staying at the Golden Nugget and checked in were in our room by 5:30, happy hour was from 4-7, Eleanor was unsure but I was determined to go and put as much as this day behind us with the “magical happy forgetting life’s problems juice” (Tequila), so we took a cab and were there by 6pm. The bartender comp'ed several of our drinks and they were promoting a new type of Tequila called Tezón which we got drinks for free as well (One lucky break for us). Several drinks later we donked around at the Pia Gow and Let it Ride tables where we both got a bad vibe and left to go back to the Nugget.
Back down town we splashed around at a few different games before we decided to play some poker. We saw different games at Binions and Eleanor wanted to play the 4-8 Limit Omaha Hi/Lo game. I suggested we not as we were both trashed. We went back to the Nugget and played 2-4 Limit poker. When we sat down and kept drinking. We talked to a few guys who where there for BARGE and had big name tags on (Grizz and John I think) and over all were really good guys. (It made them targets for my bluffs as I knew they could fold unlike most of the other table.)
We talked, drank and had a great time. No real hands stick out except that I seemed to make almost every draw I played, we left the game at 2am Las Vegas time (which means we were up for 27 hours) and crashed in the room recharging for the next day.
Comments
We each order coffee and an omelette. Mine was a Jalapeño, cheese and bacon. Eleanor had a spinach, cheese and ham. While waiting for our food we see John from last night and wave hello. He is surprised to see us as we were drinking pretty heavily.
While waiting Eleanor plays a few games of Keno. (Man keno is totally rigged.)
Our omelettes arrive but Eleanor’s is under done and she has to send it back while I eat mine. I realize that even though we have Jalapeños back home the west coast ones are much hotter, but it was still good.
I finish mine while Eleanor’s arrives. We both finish our meal which is less then $25.
We go to a few of the different casinos and play the different games. Eleanor decides she wants to go to Binion’s and play the 10 am tourney for $50 so we both sign up. This was typical pushfest and I get busted out before the break. We saw Gavin Smith, Chris Ferguson, Bill Chen and Rafe Furst. They were all in Binion's for BARGE.
Eleanor made it deep in the tourney and moneyed before being busted out.
We headed back to the Nugget to catch the 3 pm tournament. It is $65 for 2000 chips plus a $40 re-buy/add-on for an extra 3000 chips. (I took the re-buy right away.) I played solid tight poker but lost about 1500 when I ran up against quad Jacks with A-Q on a board of A-J-10-rag-J. The guy pushed all-in on the river when the second jack hit, I figured him for at least one jack maybe jack-10 by the end and folded.
Blinds were 100-200 when one player (the guy that had quads) UTG limped, player mid-pushed all-in for 2000. I looked and down and see pocket Kings, so I push my 3500. Every one folds back to the limper where he starts to think. At this point I hope the first pusher has A-K and the limper has another Ace because that would mean there are only two Aces left in the deck. The limper calls and turns over A-3, the pusher shows A-K and I show my Kings. My hand holds up and I more then double up.
I don’t get many more interesting hands and slowly grow my stack up to about 13K. Eleanor got busted out some where before the second break. After the break we were down to 12. Top 6 paid. Blinds were 1000-2000 and I had 15k. I paid my blinds and we lost a player at my table. At the table over they lost a player and we were down to 10 for the final table.
Once at the final table we lose another right away and we are down to 9. Blinds now moved to 2000-4000 and I have 12k. One player UTG limps, a second player limps. I have feeling they are both weak and I look down and see Ks-Qs and decide to push.
The BB thinks for a long time and pushes his self for 13k. Both limpers fold. I show my Ks-Qs, the BB shows pock 9’s. The flop comes Js-10h-3s, giving me a crazy draw; unfortunately I miss them all and get busted out in 8th. At least it wasn’t on the bubble.
After the tournament we play a few different games at a few different casinos. We eat at Lilly’s in the Nugget but ordered too much food and only had about ½ of it.
After that we decided to go back and donk around at the 2-4 game. As soon as we sat down I pick up Ad-8d early position and like a typical donkey I decide to limp with it. (Hey it’s suited.) By this time I see they have a hand jackpot which is quads and any straight flush.
Flop comes Kd-Jd-X., I decide to check and go for the check/raise here for the free card to the river. One player late bets out, a few people call, I put the raise in and every one calls that too.
Turn is a blank. I check and the original bettor bets out. (That’s not supposed to happen.) I call along with one other player.
River is a diamond so I make my flush. I start cutting out chips when I see the bettor getting ready to bet, I decide to check. He bets, the other player folds, I then raise. The bettor then re-raises.
Hmmm….that isn’t suppose to happen, I double check my cards (yup I have the nut flush) then the board (no straight flush out there.) and then re-re-raise. Well it gets raised again back to me, the 5th bet. Not sure if I can keep going I say “raise” where the dealer tells me it has been capped.
I show the nuts and scoop a large pot. The bettor looks pissed and mucks.
Eleanor asks why couldn’t I have kept raising because we were heads up. I told her that the woman was calling behind and she folded on the river, Eleanor then points out the woman I’m referring to is actually a man (and not even a womanly looking man ouch.)
After that I started playing all pocket pairs and anything suited connected up to 3 gapers trying to hit a jackpot. The jackpot need to use both cards in your hand (cards like 8-4 suited playable, 2-5 suited, playable, K-8 all playable) and I was hitting them, no jackpots but hitting my hands.
Around midnight we quit for the night and I was up about $100. Not too bad for playing donkey poker trying to hit a jackpot.
Thanks for the reports. Looking forward to the rest. Uhh the c/r for the free card is supposed to be used in position, not OOP, so maybe that is why it didn't work so well?
No use it when out of position.
You have a large draw and you check thinking you might get a free card to the turn.
A player late then bets, several people called in between you and the bettor, when it gets to you then you raise. Unless the bettor has a monster like top set, he will call the raise and most of the other players who called the first bet will call the raise as well.
When the turn comes you check (unless you make your draw then you bet), the original bettor is afraid from the check/raise earlier and he checks along with most of the others in the hand.
Then you get the river, now if you made it here you bet. The original bettor doesn't believe you were drawing based on the check/raise earlier and tends to call thinking his hand maybe good at which point you show the nuts.
Or if you missed and bet because you checked/raise earlier the players may fold thinking you have a big hand and they can't win. (Of course this is table read dependant.)
After that we went and played some Bonus Let it Ride. Bonus Let it Ride is a combination of Let it Ride and 3 card poker. You place your bonus bet and get your 3 cards, you win the bonus bet if you have a pair or higher. Then you use the cards in normal Let it Ride fashion, so good starting hands for Let it Ride (3 card flushes or straights) will get you paid even if they don’t win in the Ride part.
While playing for it bit I get dealt three 10’s which paid 30 to 1 for the bonus, my hand didn’t improve for the let it ride part and I got 3 to 1. I was betting $5 so I made over $150 on that hand.
After playing for a while we left and went back to play the 11 am Nugget tournament, I was basically free rolling my Let It Ride win into the tournament.
At my table was a crazy manic, and he was hitting cards. He would make 5 to 10 times the BB raises with hand like 6-7 only to get called and hit two pair to bust over pairs.
He got a warning from the dealer as he started to muck his hand shortly after it was dealt to him, but the dealer wasn’t finished dealing and when he threw his cards they hit the cards that were being dealt by the dealer. This caused some confusion and the dealer warned him to wait until they finished dealing before mucking.
He started saying it didn’t matter as he was mucking, oblivious to the fact that his action stopped the whole table while the dealer was trying to recover the cards that were dealt and the ones that were mucked.
I started telling him that it did matter as he now had delayed the game, his counter point was who cares since he mucked, which I replied no one does but take a few seconds to respect the other people at the table. This guy was a total jack ass and I figured he wouldn’t make it to the break even though he busted a player and had over 10K in chips and of course he didn’t.
I was pretty card dead and made the final two tables but busted out when I was short stacked and pushed my Qd-7d late to be called by pocket Jacks. A few straight cards and diamonds hit to give the Jacks a bit of a sweat but that was it.
After that we went to Aureole in the Mandalay Bay for dinner. We had reservations in the sawn court. We arrived early and walked around the Mandalay Bay checking out the stores and then walked over to the Luxor and check out some of the sites there. While walking to the Luxor we saw two guys flipping quarters against the wall. (I guess they couldn’t get enough action in the casino, or that is all the money they had left.)
They were doing some renovations in the Luxor and it smelled very chemically so we left and went back to the Mandalay Bay.
We played a few different games before our dinner. In Aureole we ordered the Tasting Menu and had a wine paired with each course. This has always been one of the greatest experiences and I would suggest that if you have the money to try this at least once.
After the meal we went back to the Nugget and played some more poker, we tried to keep some of buzz on (from the 8 glasses of wine from the meal) but the cocktail waitress was painfully slow and it wore off.
We were thinking about leaving at around midnight but then the game got really juicy (when two guys from Louisiana sat down and seemed pretty clueless), so we stayed for an extra 3 hours. Unfortunately the variance gods were against us and we both left with a small lost for the night at around 3 am.
When we got back to the room I turned on the TV and saw that a bunch of morning news programs were on, at that point I realized that it was morning back home and I really needed to get some sleep as we were only going to be there one more day.
I can only envision this working against the weakest possible opponents, who have nothing anyway.
http://www.toptexasholdem.com/texas-holdem-strategy-special.php
Well it does (usually when they have nothing but top pair no kicker or middle pair), as in your limit post there are a lot of weak limit players
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I still think what Moose is saying is right in that a "CR for free turn card play" is a bizarre one that isn't apt to succeed very often.
That being said, given that you have a billion people in between you should CR for value alone (although I'd often just lead out to accomplish the same thing).
In general free card plays aren't going to work all that well OOP because you don't have the option to take the free card, you need to depend on weak play from your opponents.
Well it is not really free card, but buying a card with a check/raise out of position by paying one extra bet on the flop instead of the double bet on the turn. Also doing this can disguise your hand as it becomes less obvious that you are drawing.
The cashier noticed the dates but let us use them any ways.
The buffet was ok, nothing great just ok.
After that we hung around the casino before grabbing a cab and hitting the Orleans for the 12pm Omaha Hi/Lo tournament.
The tournament was $40 for 500 chips, plus unlimited re-buys if you got below 500 for $20 and a 1000 chip add-on for $20. This is the same game we wanted to play Monday but didn’t because of the late arrival in Vegas. It was also a bounty tournament with the players collecting $5 with each knock out.
The Orleans is huge. It was much larger and nicer then I thought it would be. Lots of chain restaurants, (Subway, Chilli’s etc.) lots of different table games and a very large poker room.
I figured they had so many chain restaurants because it was a local’s casino and they want to keep the locals in the casino.
As we were signing up the guy in front of us was saying he want to play a NL tournament when the tournament director stated it was Omaha Hi/Lo. He then asked “since when” and the tournament director’s reply was “Forever.” He then left disappointed.
As he was leaving I was saying to him he should try it and give it a shot, but he ignored me and left.
I had a strategy for this game. Any time I was at 500 or less I would re-buy, I would play very loose during the re-buy period in a effort to build chips, and if I had less then 1000 coming to the break to try and dump as much as I could to get to 500 so I could take a re-buy and the add-on to get to 1000.
So when we started I took a re-buy right away.
I played very loose early and my stack went up and down. I lost a large pot near the break when a player hit both a straight and the nut low when I had trips and two pair. (I though he may have had only the low) and that caused me to re-buy as I was at 500.
Just before the break I played a hand very loosely when a player was all-in to get my stack to 500 when I won the low half and it put me over 1000.
The average age at my table was about 50 (that was because I was bringing it down to that average because it was mostly guys in their 60’s).
There were also two players at my table that had no idea how to play Omaha. The first guy went bust and didn’t re-buy.
The second guy was commenting on he had the Ace of hearts on a board of 3 hearts and if one more came he would have made the flush. (Hearing this made my mouth water.)
He later lost a large pot when the board was Ah-3h-5h-9h-Js, when he had only the King of hearts and the other guy in the hand had 2x-4x.
He kept saying he had a flush while every one else was saying no he didn’t, no one of course bother to explain it to him.
We had a dealer at our table that was dealing for the first time. He didn’t know how to divide the pots and we had to explain to him how to quarter a pot when one player was all-in, and had two callers. The all-in won the high main pot and lost the low. Of the two callers one had won the high and both split the low. So they had to quarter the low for the main pot and the side pot. (New dealer nightmare)
I got lucky on a few hands and doubled up before being moved to a new table.
At the new table I was in the BB with K-9-8-4 all off suit. One player went all-in for just under 2 times the BB and I smooth called with a few other players.
Flop came Q-Q-K and I checked, every one else checked as well.
Turn was a K, so now I had trips but with a 9 kicker I wasn’t so confident on the hand and checked to see what the other players in the hand would do. Everyone else checked behind as well.
Turn was a 3, now I was sure I had the best hand but figured there was no value in betting as only a hand that would beat me would call. (I was thinking really K-10.) The player beside me bet and every one else folded back to me. I thought for a while and called. He showed an Ace and said he figured he may have been good. (An Ace?!?! Dude this is Omaha….a pair of two’s beats you on the end.)
I showed my King and took down a large pot.
Next hand in the SB another player goes all-in for slightly more then the BB. I was in the SB with A-A-J-4 so I called, the BB called as well.
The flop comes A-10-9. I check, the BB bets out, every one folds (except the all-in player) back to me. I raise him and then he re-raises all-in which I call. He turns over 10-9-x-x and says “top two”.
I say “Top set” and show him my hand.
He says he needs a 10 or a 9 which the table says one is not good but he needs runner/runner.
The turn is a 10 giving us both full houses, river is a blank. With no low I take down a monster and knock two players out.
I got moved to another table and by that time we were down to about 15 players. A few more get knocked out and we are down to 11. Only top ten paid but we all decided to take some money from first and give it to 11th. Eleanor was happy with that deal as she was pretty short stacked.
11th got knocked out and we are on the final table where Eleanor is on my left and every one else is locals that play this game all the time. They all know each other.
At the final table one player is suggesting we chop it 10 ways, but there are some serious shorter stacks and others say no.
We knock a few other players out. I win a large pot when in the BB with 3-4-Q-J when the flop comes A-2-8 giving me the nut low.
The SB bet out, I called and a player late called.
Turn was a 10. The SB bet out again, I called as well as the late position player.
River was a 9 giving me the Nut/Nut both the Nut low with A-2-3-4-8 and the Nut high with 8-9-10-J-Q.
The SB bet again, I raised, the late position player folded after much thought and then the SB called. I showed the Nut/Nut and he mucked. Players asked what he had and he said trips.
We were down to 6 when Eleanor got knocked out.
I knocked out the 5th place players and we were at 4. At this point we decided to chop. I was the chip leader at that point but not by much.
We each got $640 plus there was a jacket for the winner, they said I should get it because I was the chip leader, I asked if any one wanted it and one player did so I told them to give it to him.
After the tips to the dealer and all the bounties I collected (I knocked out a lot of players) I left with $650 which was great. Second place would have paid 700 and first 1200 so we all got about second place money.
After that we went back to the nugget, used some of our comps on some food and drinks for dinner, played some more limit poker and then left to head back home. The flight left at midnight so we hit the airport at 10 pm and were on the plane at 11:30 pm. We slept most of the flight and arrived home at 7 am.
I thought about getting the jacket but decided to pass as one of the guys really wanted it.
I found that game to be really fun and was disappointed that I didn't get the chance to play it on Friday as well.