Bellagio: Then and Now

Toopskees · #1 03-18-2007, 10:12 PM

Just back from 5 days there (in Monday 3/12, out Friday 3/16). We last stayed there about a year ago. Noticed some changes since then, and wondered if this was just my imagination running away with me:

Then: Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Ella Fitzgerald playing on the sound system
Now: Oldies and soft rock from the 60s, 70s and 80s (a la Phil Collins, Steve Winwood, etc)

Then: 30 people on the waiting lists for 4/8 and 8/16, with waits of 2 hours or more being the norm
Now: Immediate seating and (frequently) shorthanded tables

Then: Loose and aggressive games with some tough locals but mostly knowledgable players
Now: Totally passive donkfests. I saw 2 incidents that I could not believe and wanted to pass on. They both occurred during the same 4/8 session. This guy sits down to my immediate right. The button gets moved in front of me. He looks at it and asks me, "What is the significance of that thing?" Needless to say, he didn't last long. About an hour later, an Asian guy sits to my left. For the first few hands, he actually looked like a good player. But then this hand came up, and I nearly peed my pants. He and I were involved in a big pot. I had flopped a set of queens on a board of AQ862. When he kept raising and reraising, I had thought I had run into a set of aces. But at the showdown, he flipped over K3 offsuit. The dealer pushed me the pot, and he complained very loudly that he should have won. His reasoning was that a QKA23 made a straight! He even told the dealer, "Look. I have 12, 13, ace, 2, 3!"

HOWMANY · #2 03-18-2007, 10:22 PM

[ QUOTE ]
But at the showdown, he flipped over K3 offsuit. The dealer pushed me the pot, and he complained very loudly that he should have won. His reasoning was that a QKA23 made a straight! He even told the dealer, "Look. I have 12, 13, ace, 2, 3!"

[/ QUOTE ]

This is just incredible, I can't believe nobody else enjoyed this as much as I did.

Dynasty · #3 03-18-2007, 10:27 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I had flopped a set of queens on a board of AQ862. When he kept raising and reraising, I had thought I had run into a set of aces. But at the showdown, he flipped over K3 offsuit. The dealer pushed me the pot, and he complained very loudly that he should have won. His reasoning was that a QKA23 made a straight! He even told the dealer, "Look. I have 12, 13, ace, 2, 3!"

[/ QUOTE ]

In some variations of poker, that is indeed a straight.

Cactus Jack · #4 03-18-2007, 10:40 PM

Straight into a wall?

Frond · #5 03-18-2007, 10:45 PM

Goo dpost. Enjoyable. Intersting that you said that a year ago really full room with lots of wait time but better players. One would think the opposite; with more players out that they would be worse overall.

pig4bill · #6 03-19-2007, 12:13 AM

I've noticed shorter lists but haven't seen any donkfests, but I haven't played limit there since last fall.

Xanthro · #7 03-19-2007, 01:11 PM

[ QUOTE ]
His reasoning was that a QKA23 made a straight! He even told the dealer, "Look. I have 12, 13, ace, 2, 3!"

[/ QUOTE ]

That's a straight in some poker variations, it's as if the cards are circular. I've seen it more in home games where Asians are the majority.

It doesn't really mean he was a poor player, but made the mistake of assuming local rules he was used to applied at that table.

That could be a standard straight where he normally plays, also AKQJT still beats the 12AKQ from what I've seen.

Toopskees · #8 03-19-2007, 02:20 PM

I didn't know about that variation. Thank you for the info, and I retract my assessment of him accordingly!

mo42nyy · #9 03-19-2007, 02:27 PM

hes still a donk for not knowing the rules of the game he is in

Xanthro · #10 03-19-2007, 03:04 PM

[ QUOTE ]
hes still a donk for not knowing the rules of the game he is in

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, he should know the local rules, but many people stay at the Bellagio based on its old reputation, and they are there to see Las Vegas and gamble, not really to play poker.

I've run into people at Bellagio (I'm not all that skilled and play lower limits myself) that didn't know what hands beat what, they are there to just say they played poker in Las Vegas.

Let's say I went to a some country and played and they treated 4 of a kind as two pair, and I'd never seen such a thing before. Sure, I should be aware of local rules, but unless I read something about the hand ranking, I'd not be aware of this change.

In the Asian guys defense, even if he read hand rankings, they might not explain the difference in straights from what he is used to.

Besides, haven't you ever done something donkish in Poker? I know I have.