Two Plus Two Newer Archives - Live Feed Trip Report -- Casino Arizona Part 1 of ? [With Cliff Notes]

Live Trip Report Casino Arizona November 14 to November 19. This includes a time line of events. I hope you enjoy it. Cliff Notes on the bottom.

Stats:
Number of days for this trip (including travel days): 6
Hours of poker played so far: 10
Number of 2+2ers met/seen: 0
Number of poker rooms played in: 1

I finished exam FM, and decided to reward myself by taking a trip to Casino Arizona where the action is (hopefully).

November 14: Fly in from SF at around 10:00 PM. Get my car at Advantage Rent-A-Car, which is $14 more than the quoted price from Expedia. They said “Expedia taxes and fees are only estimates”. I don’t argue. Bad beat #1.

I drive to the hotel to freshen up. The “hotel” Is actually Intown Suites, which has attractive prices for a weekly rate, even though I’m only staying for 5 nights. I get in around 11:00PM and find their office is closed. One little snag: their office hours is 11:00AM to 7:00PM Monday to Saturday! Their courtesy officer said I can’t check-in, and I’d have to check in at another hotel. Since I didn’t use a credit card to reserve the room, I can’t get one (note: the online registration never requested a credit card). Well, I was never intended to sleep right away, but I’m going to have to play poker for longer than expected...much longer. Bad beat #2.

November 15:

Midnight: I enter CA and look at the high limit lists. Limit: One $20/$40 and one $60/$120 going. I get on the list for the $20/$40.

I look at the list for $5-$150 and $10-$150 spread. There are open seats for both. I look at the $5-$150 spread and there’s an open seat in what looks to be a friendly game. I look at the $10-$150 spread and it appears to be 6-handed, which several short stacks. It looks like it could break at any moment, so I took a seat back at the $5-$150 spread to start. I can only buy in for $350, so I do.

There are a few hands where I get a set vs. ovepair, and overpair vs. top pair and stack people, but they’re boring and I’m going to skip them. Point is, I have a decent stack to work with now.

Hand #1:

UTG raises to $20 called by 3 spots, and I decide to make a loose, loose gamble with A[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]J[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] in the SB. Flop comes A[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]Q[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]3[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]. Check to UTG+1 who bets $25. Folds to me in SB, and I elect to take the conservative route and just call. (a) I hope I can potentially get any other flush draw to follow and (b) I’m hoping gutshots will continue. If I can hit my [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] at the same time as the gutshot, I’m due for a good pay day. And I don’t want to awake a sleeping dragon if he has a monster. But others fold as well. Turn comes a K[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]. Check to UTG+1 who now bets $100. I sense extreme strength now. I can’t tell if he has something like KQ, which would give me tons more outs, than AQ, AK. So I know I have 12 outs with spades and a gutshot, but I’m not priced in exactly if he has two pair with an A, but I feel the implied odds are there for the spade, so I call getting about 2.5:1 on the pot against my 34:12 draw (2.83:1). River 8[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] and it goes check-check and there’s a small glimmer of hope that I can win until he shows me AQ. I probably get paid on my spades at least.

Hand #2:

UTG straddles making it $10 to go. It folds to me in the BB, and I find AJo. I elect to play it tricky and just call in case straddle makes a raise (which he has been known to do). He doesn’t raise his option and away we go: J44r. I bet $15, and he just calls. Turn comes 9. I check for pot control, and he checks behind. River J. I bet $55 and he calls and flashes a 4.

Hand #3:

Game turns 3-handed very temporarily. Loose-passive button with only like $130 behind open-limps. I find A[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]K[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] in SB and raise to $30. BB thinks and thinks and folds. Button calls. Flop comes. J[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]9[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]8[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]. I measure out a stack to put button all-in and put it out there. Button folds 33 face up.

Hand #4:

I limp on button after a limper with T[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]8[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. SB completes, BB checks. Flop comes J[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]T[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]T[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] Yea me!. Check to me, and I bet $15. Tricky slowplaying SB calls, all others fold. Turn: 5[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] He checks, and I check for pot control. River 7[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] and he leads for $30. I hem and haw for about 10 seconds and fold. He turns up T[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]5[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img].

Hand #5:

UTG limps, HJ limps, CO limps and I limp with A[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]4[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] Flop comes A[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]K[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]4[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]. Check to HJ who bets $25, CO calls, I just call and UTG calls. Now at this point I really should be alert and be done with this hand with no improvement on the turn. I don’t care about the initial bettor, but what are the other two calling on? Turn comes 6[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] and check to HJ who bets $35, CO calls, and the price is just too sweet for me to fold, and I call ignoring my initial instincts. UTG also calls. Huh?? River completes the flush 7[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]. HJ leads again for $40, CO calls, I fold, UTG calls. Apparently HJ was betting his draw Q[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]9[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]. CO (who will play a part in my future as “super donkey”) shows Q[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]J[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]. UTG? A[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]A[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. Apparently they have this AA promotion I’m not aware of, in which if you have AA cracked and you showdown on river, you get $100. I had not adjusted to it yet. This comes into major play in a later hand.

Hand #6:

Super donkey limps with $130 or so behind. I raise to $25 with AKo, folds to super donkey and he pushes, and I call him. He wins the race with 33.

Hand #7:

Now comes the most interesting hand of the night. MP had just won a massive pot and is stacking chips. He limps, CO limps, SB completes, and I find A[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]K[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] in BB and raise to $35. MP thinks about it and he looks like he wants to throw the hand away, but I get the feeling he’s in a gambling mood and calls. CO calls, SB limp-re-raises to $150 more with only $60 or more behind. I contemplate isolating with a re-raise for a good minute and a half. Then the $100 AA promotion creeps into my head and is short-stacked enough to maybe try it. Finally I fold. Then it’s like the calm before the storm. MP re-raises $150 more. CO calls all-in with his short stack. SB calls all-in. The board fails to do anything significant. The hands? MP had AA (boy, was I way off on my read there). CO claimed KQs and SB had TT. MP wins another massive pot.

Hand #8:

Super donkey limps UTG, I pop it to $25 from button with K[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]Q[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. SB (MP from Hand #7) calls, Super donkey pushes all-in for $67, and the only real choice I have is to call or to isolate. I know I have him crushed. I just call, and SB thinks and thinks and just calls. Flop comes A[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]J[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]T[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]. SB bets $40, and I raise to $150 hoping he has AJ, AT, JT and can’t get away from it and doubles me up. He finally folds face up A[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]9[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]. I lose the main to 5[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]7[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]. Bad beat #3.

Hand #9:

I raise to $25 in early position with A[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]J[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]. Folds to super-donkey in SB and he pushes in $170 or so. I pick up a read after some banter with him, and fold after 8 or 9 seconds and he turns up KK.

Hand #10:

I miss a bunch of big draws and am down to $163. I find out about a late night “splash pot” promotion, where the casino picks a table and literally puts in $100 in the pot for everyone to go after (plus everyone at the table gets $20 in addition to that). So I obviously limp with 8[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]7[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] in early position, and everyone and their mother limps for pot odds (8 to the flop with $140 in pot). Flop comes T[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]9[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]5[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] SB bets $100, and I just call with $58 remaining. I have no fold equity, maybe I can get someone to make a bad call. Everyone folds. Turn K[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] SB bets $150, and I call $58 for odds, the river bricks SB shows KTo, and I lose my whole buy-in.

By now (10:00AM), I’m starting to nod off at the table, and have to leave soon for the 11:00 AM check-in. God, I need some sleep.

This game was definitely more aggressive pre-flop than other no-limit and spread limit games I’ve played. Good fun, if you can take the swings.

Cliff Notes: Playing at Casino Arizona and provided lots of hand histories.

Day #1: Lost my initial buy-in at $5-$150 spread.

Next up: New Jersey. Minnesota. Tunica. Any suggestions for the next trip?

Garland