Two Plus Two Newer Archives - Xylocains Vegas experience. Tl;dr, pics, LC, CN & other abbreviations

Soundtrack -- The big Lebowsky --

So it all started with a call from San Diego asking if I could make it to Las Vegas Sat 20th and I was like ... eh, uh, work'n'such ... dunno ... must find cure for cancer ... I mean ...wtf, I'm like already there.

The plan was to drive instead of flying because flying is sooo standard and I drive a machine with almost 1 horse power per 4 pounds. Besides I figure just seeing the desert was well worth 8 hours alone in a car. So I left a note on my desk saying 'in Vegas, doing degenerate stuff ... back Tuesday' and well, left.

The drive to Vegas was largely uneventful, at least before I hit the desert and the mescaline started kicking in. Acutally it wasn't mescaline that was bothering me, it was the funny orange light on my gas-meter. It was funny because there are no [censored] gasstations for like 160 miles. I had been driving around 90 with a few trips up to 120 mph but to save gas I now had to sneak up behind a huge truck use the cruise control and switch off the cooler (I'm not joking, it was that bad). So running on fumes I pulled into some outback place that wasnt even on my GPS (thinly veiled brag, I know) where I was charged a whopping 4.2/gallon. [censored] but better than the alternative.

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A quickstop in the desert

Heh, finally arriving in Las Vegas I drove up to Excalibur (sorry there will be no more baller details) and checked in. The San Diego boys showed up later and were in a wonderfully whiny and bitchy moode respectively since they were hungover like lol-cats. When I came back from a stroll on the strip they had both collapsed outside our room and could hardly find time to breathe in between complaining.

Well, I'm like lets go get a beer! What do I get back?? uh, eh, lets rest for a while. I'm like; - no bleeping way, but I suggest a compromise involving the hotel spa. Turned out to be a great idea, with a sauna (haven't seen one of those since Feb) a steam room and a jacuzzi.

From spa to hotel room getting ready ... from hotel room to ... well I'm sure, but it started at a bar, with a Corona. I can then distinctly recall bringing in the 2nd round which was long island ... after the long island there was a cocktail (some made up stuff (rasberry, ruby-red grape, vodka, random liquor and champagne (ghey))) by a bartender that was apparently on coke, but the drink was good. From here on the details are blurry but I'm pretty sure the chronology is about right -- From the cocktail bar (this was at THE hotel btw) we moved on to the X-club (???), where beers ensued.

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Me, taking pictures of myself with my cellphone at the club

From the X to the 'other' club at THE hotel where the target was a soda black (JD & club soda). From there on to some bar where the bartenders danced on the bar counter (maybe MGM?) and we gave up on studio 54 because the queue was too long. I dont really have a lot more details but I did wake up with a headache so I must have had a good time.

The brunch buffet at MGM then buffered the worst consequences of yesterday's adventures. From a food standpoint it was a bit disappointing but that could be because I find americans use too much grease and sugar and then cook the stuff for too long. The roast beef and fruit buffet was good tho.

After food we had no plan ... I hadn't really given up the idea to gambool so I suggested we pop over to Bellagio to check it out. None of my friends plays cards and arn't big into gambling of any kind for that matter, in addition, one of them have the annoying habit of wanting to do everything except what is suggested and all of a sudden he wanted to go to The Stratosphere. I am obv kicking myself at this point for not suggesting going to the Stratosphere so he would have suggested Bellagio, but I say that they go and have fun and we'll meet up later. To my surprise it turns out that my 2nd friend wants to play poker too. I know he has beaten me at some point when we played a NL donkament for like 2 USD at my old department in Stockholm and probably thinks he is like the cats pyamas. I figure that he is completely clueless in LHE, and I hint to him that he might not do as well but he still wants to try (he never played a real hand of poker) so I agree to take him with me.

We reach the Bellagio card room and I'm obviously overwhelmed since its my first time in a card room. I really thought it would be bigger but I do enjoy the experience. Several of what looks like relatively big games are going. I don't see anyone that looks like Boz (I saw his note in the NC thread, but I figure he is long gone since its around 3 pm). We walk up to the front desk and tell them I have never been in a card room but I would like to sit in on the 2-4 game. Turns out that they only spread 4-8 which is about 6 times to big for my roll but I'm playing out of my pocket anyway so [censored] bank roll management. After some confusion we get seated. I try to buy in for 200, more confusion ensues so I end up with 100 and being used to never have less than 30 BB in front of me I feel totally naked. My friend buys in for 40 ( I sort of wanted to tell him ... but I know he is going to lose it so I figure its better to lose 40 than 100 ... )

Ok after the initial fuss (the table isn't going since it was only 5 handed when we sat in), I explain to the dealer that I have no idea how this works and then things gets going.

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Key & Random hands from memory

Hand 1

2nd hand at the table, I am dealt AJo in the SB 3 players limp I complete.

Flop: A84 2-flush. I check, 2 checks and a guy with a red face and flakes of dead skin on his nose from a bad sun burn bets. I raise resulting in two folds and Villan calling.
Turn. 4 no flush. I bet and at this point the adrenalin is pumping so bad that my hands tremble like leafs (to some peoples amusement I think) .... he calls.
River. J no flush. I bet, flake nose raises and I call. I'm shown A4o and MHING. NH sir -- rebuy another 100 plz!

My only comfort is that the guy turns out to be loose and passive and he is going broke despite winning my mobnies within an hour and a half.

Hand 2

I raise KQo pf in MP and the blinds call.
Flop: xx8 no resonable draw. I bet SB folds and BB calls. BB is a LPA. He is a quiet guy that looks exactly like Phil Gordon and appears to be a regular that goes under the name Frank.
Turn is a brick, I bet he calls
River: A. Frank donks. Im pretty sure he had a small PP or a piece of the flop. His donk may be A8 (when he later showed down river donks he always had 2 pair or better). At this point I really think he is bluffing me tho because I have been totally weak tight and I have not won a pot since I sat down 45 minutes ago. (I raised several times pf only to be raped by the flop and basically I must have a very weak image post flop), but Im not calling K-high so I muck quickly and get on with it.

I now also realize that my table selection is out the window. I feel a bit like the tourists in Rounders -- "You guys know each other??!!??" At least 5 of the players are obv regulars. Some of them seems to be friends and all of them appear to have played together before. Most notable is some ridiculously ugly and obese Vietnamese woman with a terrible accent (ni han) that is sitting behind a mountain of chips after running red hot on her draws and doing a lot of big street bluffing.
Frank plays sort of OK, but is basically hitting and showing down a lot of strong hands. The rest aren't clueless but they don't play well pre flop and bluff and call more than they valuebet post. If this had been PS 0.5/1.0 I would have been like roflcopterlolcruzial!!!1111elevelsn111!! but I do feel, because most of them don't spew tells and I'm sure I do, that I have a lot to learn especially about player reading and bluffing live. I clearly play more timid than online, no steals and such, but I feel good about my decisions and when I'm in a hand I seem to disregard from the game being x8 times what I'm used to so I'm happy with that.

Now you might wonder about my friend ... what happened to him did they roast him alive? Well, 2nd orbit he donks the flop and bets turn, unsure if he bets river or if he calls but he flips over QQ FTW. gOOt for him. 2 orbits later he has called off his initial buyin and rebuys in for another 40 which lasts for another 3 orbits and his PhD mind then concludes that LHE is not for him and he gives up. I think he enjoyed the experience, but he is a bit annoyed he got so pwned. On his way out he apparently meets James Woods for celeb sight seeing #1.

hand 3

K5s in the BB 2 limpers I check.
Flop T53 none of my suit check to LPA Vietnamese woman who bets. Online I think I would have popped her because I'm sure she is FOS, but my game plan is to cut a bit into the high variance stuff a bit so I let it go.

hand 4

AJ in the SB
3 limpers I complete BB checks.
Flop: J54 2 hearts. I check, check, a guy that seems to be an easy going younger dude with a baseball hat bets. He doesn't play very well and he isn't very agressive. Ultra passive dude then calls and I raise. Baseball hat folds and passive calls.
Turn bricks, I bet he calls.
River A .... and WTF lema sabachtani!!!! of hearts. I turn into a big weak-tight blob probably tilting from my first AJ- top two pair experience ... so I apologize to myself, the kittens and poker and checks. Obv he checks behind and MHIG. I win my first pot live and I'm about an hour in.

I start getting hungry and lose concentration a bit. I ask to be dealt out and I go get a tuna sandwich. I have play for an hour and 1/2 and I have run overall really bad, I'm the only one who raises pf and I wiff every time. I have had 5 strong draws (FD or OESD) which have all played the same way. Me betting the flop OOP with many callers, then c/c turn and c/f river. I raise KQ and A flops, when I raise AQ a king flops and the action makes it obv that I have no further busines in the pots. So basically despite the cooler in the second hand and being down I feel that I play reasonably well.

Back from the break

hand 5

66 I call UTG, the table is LP pre flop so I figure this is in order. I am immediately proven wrong by the bad fat dude to my left. He has been bullying me a bit in a way that I often encounter online when I'm running bad. Sucky LAG tries to bluff me, I get bluffed and fold (OBV because I run bad)... LAG gets called in 3 spots ... bluffs to the river and loses to some top pair no kicker. So while he is stacking off to the tune of 10 BB/100 thinking he is bluffing expertly ... I'm deprived of all my well deserved free cards. Heh. OK so anyway he raises ... and gets called in 4 spots.
Flop. QJ6 rainbow .... I'm like roflzomfg yeah bitch you wanna see weak tight I'll show you weak tight and checks. He bets gets called in 4 spots I'm like rofl-I-raise 4 calls.
Turn. 6: WTF it wasnt supposed to be like this ... I mean ... and bet -- 4 callers.
River. whatever-didnt-look, I bet (which felts fat-bluff-suck-face) and gets called in two more spots and I'm like I have two pair ... and slowroll for 2 minutes. Actually not, I flip the cards over as soon as the last call hits the pot and when I drag it I mumble 'weak tightie wins a pOOt' which gets me a couple of smiles from across the table.

hand 6

2 hands after the quands 73o in the SB.

Open limp by Asian dude who recently sat down. Folds to me in the SB and I'm like ... [censored] I have to do something creative before I go -- I have a trip report to think about -- so I raise blowing out the BB.
Flop: AQQ, expert flop. I bet, asian gentleman who is a bit tilted because he was almost deprived of river betting his FH last hand folds and when the pot is pushed i give back my cards face up. I don't think anyone noticed but the tight player to my right who gasps.

hand 7

I have decided to leave but makes one last orbit. and gets Q4s in the BB.
2-3 limpers dont remember calls and I check.
Flop. QQx I bet and get 1 caller.
Turn. J I bet and the dude behind gets all like woha more-mobnies faster and manages to string bet. I feel I'm behind but I don't fold trips so I c/c a blank river and he flips over J7 and pot is pushed to him. I'm like WTF for half a second before I realize the flop is JQx and I really feel its time to go [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]. This was btw the only hand other than the AJ hands I had a good pair during my full 3 h session.

hand 8

JJ LP
No reads, new guy raises in EP, there might have been a limper before him, but I 3-bet and he is seemingly very troubled by this. Same guy that had J7 cold calls the 3-bet (from the BB I think).
Flop. T8x two clubs. Vil donks and I raise, 1 cold call and Villan calls. It is now painfully clear that he really likes his hand but that he is sure that he is behind ... which in turn makes me very uncomfortable for obvious reasons.
Turn is a brick, he checks I bet and the calling station ... guess what, calls.
River Q no club, Villan check, I check and calling station looks at me and checks, phew.
Cards are flipped over and its JJ vs JJ vs ??? for the chop.

I fold until the BB hits me and I ask to be dealt out. I rack up and it turns out that the damage is not as bad as one would think as I am down only 5 BB (49 $) after maybe 3 hours play. Considering all the pfr I have done and didn't hit a single flop when I did. I have now had had 7 FD or OESD without hitting. 1. Heh ... 2. suck ... 3. run bad ... 4. hit quads ... 5. ???? 6. almost profit. I am pretty happy with this result and most of my play given my complete lack of experience in live play. I'm also sure I was up if I include the Sklansky dollars. Maybe next time ...

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The rest of the Sunday was uneventful. I met up with the crew at Hooters for a beer after that we went to the Palms to check it out, but we are all to exhausted to do any clubbing so we took a cab back to the strip. (actually we went to Circus Circus to see the spinning bar but I would never admit to that). On the way out from Palms we confirmed celeb sight seeing #2 when we pass none other than TJ Cloutier (I'm sure its him) at guess what ... the craps table [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]. Finally, after a 'grateful dead' at New York New York we went back home to Excalibur and crashed leaving me, nothing but an 8 hours drive home.

Cliff notes
I got cold carded.