first trip to B&M- Harrahs New Orleans

[michelle227]

I meant to post this last weekend when I got home but I got wrapped up with some other stuff and never got around to digging out my results sheet. This was the first time I had played live in a casino environment.

The trip was an ordered exile from the office (posterchild for workaholics) and I was able to get a decent airfare to New Orleans along with a decent room rate ($59 at the Whitney), so I figured on two nights in NOLA.

Flew out on a Thursday...walked over to Harrahs early evening and was able to get into a $1/2 NLHE table almost right away. Bought in for $200 which was the cap. Dealer prompted for a percentage of the time-rake, and I think I had to cough up $2. I don't recall many of the hands, but I recall being taken somewhat by surprise by the pre-flop raises by people who were typically holding nothing but air. $200 in the pot pre-flop was not an uncommon occurrence. I also noticed what seemed to be a majority of local people in there either after work or on the payday cash. I busted out after roughly an hour and then pissed away another C-note playing blackjack.

I got back to the room and set the alarm for early Friday AM...I wanted to see how much of a difference there was between the evening and morning play. Getting in around 8AM, I found a couple of tables going and bought in for $100. I lasted roughly an hour but busted out when two pair got taken out by trip 2's. I thought about buying back in, but I decided instead to go wander the galleries in the Quarter and see if there was any art to add to the collection on this trip.

I returned to Harrah's late-afternoon and bought in for another hundred...I had some decent hands and built it up to a little over $500 within the hour. I could have been even further ahead but folded two pair in the face of a raise of about $150. I was holding 5-7 and had paired them on the flop, but when the turn brought a 10 (and the raise in question), my concern was the J-9 that would complete a straight (well within the range of the raiser). I folded and he showed me the A-10 in his hand...oh well, live and learn. I wound up leaving roughly a half-hour later with $533 in hand and up for the trip.

Saturday morning, I again went early and fared relatively well...well enough in fact to cause me to extend the stay by a day. Overconfidence got me to blow more cash than I should have- the plane change was about $70 and the room was an extra $67 with tax. My thought was that on the up sessions, I had covered the trip to that point and all I needed to cover was another $150 and I was then making money on the trip.

Things did not go as well as I would have liked, although for the period between Thursday and Sunday, I only finished down $177 plus cab fare to the airport.

The most memorable hand was one in which I had A-Q suited in early position. I was in the hand at either $12 or 15 pre-flop with the hand being the first one I had been dealt after sitting down. Flop came out with two clubs and a Q, so I knew I had top pair and top kicker in addition to the flush draw. There were no straight draws in play. Not knowing the tendencies of the others at the table, I went with a smallish bet of $10 and it folded four times before an all-in by one of the all-nighter locals. His all-in was for about $350, and he was promptly called by his buddy who raised with all-in by his own push. Two more folds and it came to me...and I went ahead and pushed. Turn came out with a 10 of something other than clubs and the river was the club to complete the flush. 2nd all-in was also working on flush draw, so he got the side pot. I basically tripled up on my $100 buy-in.

I saw quads twice but only saw pocket aces on one hand...the hand happened to be one where someone wanted to straddle, which was the one thing that tended to set me off. After some bitching about straddles, I tossed $20 out hoping that my tirade would have seemed like a tilt bet. No takers and all I collected were the blinds and the straddle bet.

Generally speaking, I liked the dealers and floor staff at Harrah's. On the occasion I had an issue at the table, the floor was able to move me almost immediately. I can see where people make good bank out there on the weekends, but I can also see where picking tables wisely is key because some of those locals got wild in a hurry...

All in all, it was a good experience...enough so that I almost booked the cheap airfare a few days later to Reno (SWA was running $70 from Austin). I see where the concept of look for fun over profit comes into play for the first trip to a B&M location...

[AKQJ10]

Good trip report.

[ QUOTE ]
I don't recall many of the hands, but I recall being taken somewhat by surprise by the pre-flop raises by people who were typically holding nothing but air. $200 in the pot pre-flop was not an uncommon occurrence.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is probably a common reaction for experienced online NLHE players playing B&M for the first time. Not only does live $1-2 not play like online $1-2; it plays looser and stupider than online 10c-25c.

Glad you had fun. B&M poker is highly addictive. Online will never seem as fun again, right?

[cybin]

Agreed - great TR. Coincidentally, Harrah's NO was my first live experience as well, but feeling green about myself at the time I only played 3/6. I had 2 sessions (was there for biz) but I remember I left up a bit, maybe $150 or so.

Glad you had fun....AKQJ10 is right - live is much much better than online.