Whats the best game plan for a poker trip to Las Vegas?

[CashinCam]

I will be accompanying my mother to her NCAA Personal Training Conference in March. I'm 21 and I've been playing poker for 2 years now. I've been successful playing low limit $1/$2 NLH and $6/$12 Omaha Hi/Lo at the local casinos in Tulsa, OK. If all goes well I should be able to invest approximately 1/3 of my poker bankroll ($2,000) for poker ventures while in Las Vegas. I know most of the members of this forum are more knowledgable than I about the ins-and-outs poker in Vegas. So my question is: If you were bringing just $2,000 to Vegas strictly for poker; where would you start? What casinos and limits are best for my bankroll and what tournaments will give me the most play for my money? I'm interested in the UPC but I've just started researching. Any ideas and/or strategies would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot and good luck!

[TurdFerguson]

allvegaspoker.com has info on each individual cardroom in Vegas, both on the Strip and downtown. The lowest NL game you'll find is $1/$2 NL, and that's spread at a lot of cardrooms on the strip. Where are you staying?

Tournament-wise, check the website for info on individual cardrooms. IIRC, the Caesar's daily tourneys have nice long levels and give you good amounts of play for your $$$.

Just my $.02.

TF

[CashinCam]

I think the conference is at the Flamingo so I'm assuming we'd stay there but I don't know for sure. We talked about Bellagio but if we get a discount at the Flamingo we'll likely go there. Thanks for the website.

[bav]

If you're at Flamingo you're across the street from Caesars and their daily noon tournament for $80 with a single $50 rebuy. Best value for the money.

Caesars is also fine for cash games with $500 capped NL1/2 and uncapped buyin NL2/5, plus 3/6 and often 6/12 limit games. Everything a $2000 Vegas-trip bankroll could ask for.

If you want other venues to play, Flamingo is close to a ton. Visit Bellagio and sit in a 4/8 or 8/16 or NL2/5 $500 cap game if the list is short. Bally's, Paris, Flamingo, IP, Harrah's all have standard low-limit rooms with $200 or $300 buyin NL1/2 and baby limit games. Paris has tourneys every 2 hours but the structure ain't too swift unless you like crap shoots. Venetian is walkable and has all these games, plus a nice 8pm 6-day-a-week $180 tournament that typically gets about 3 tables and has a decent structure.

You really can't go very wrong. Unless maybe you decide to sit with your entire $2000 bankroll at a NL5/10 game at Caesars on the first day of your trip.

[mxp2004]

I took up poker about three years ago, too, and for each of the last two years, I have taken a poker vacation to Vegas. FWIW, here is how I plan my trip.

First, I figure out if there are any tournaments that I want to play. I do that because those events require the most time and, obviously enough, run on fixed schedules. So I just plan around them.

Pretty much all of the cardrooms in Vegas run tournaments, but it is worthwhile to look into the structure before selecting one. Many of the low buy-in tournies have low starting stacks and blazing fast blinds. Since I don't enjoy those all-in fests, I have looked for other games. The Caesars tourny mentioned is a good one for the price, and if you feel like splurging a little, the Wynn has a great tournament for $300+30 on certain days with 45 minute levels. You can play some real poker in that one.

As for cash games, Vegas has a lot to offer to suit whatever your objective is. On my first trip, I wanted to visit the more famous rooms on the Strip. Two years ago, that included the Bellagio, the Mirage, and the Wynn (which, although it was new then, was also the place where Daniel Negreanu was playing exclusively at the time; one night, I saw Negreanu and Barry Greenstein playing heads-up Stud with a few hundred thousand dollars in front of them). The Bellagio and Wynn spread limit games as low as $4-$8, while the Mirage starts at $3-$6. For NL, the Bellagio starts at $2/$5, the Wynn at $1/$3, and the Mirage at $1/$2.

One cool thing about playing at the Bellagio is checking out the high stakes cash game in the "Bobby Baldwin Room," a glass enclosed high stakes area at the back of the room. I've been there on nights when all of the following were seated around that table: Negreanu, Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Jennifer Harman, David Benyamine, Gus Hansen, Chip Reese, and Eli Elezra. They were all incredibly friendly as they occasionally came and left the room, stopping to talk with fans or to take pictures.

In addition to the above rooms, I think that the Venetian has become a must-see room in Vegas these days, too. The room itself is beautiful, and the staff is very accommodating to players.

If you're into the history of the game, a cab ride up to Binion's might be in order. As you know, Binions hosted the WSOP until the fields overwhelmed this small casino in the Downtown area of Vegas. Both the casino and the area where Binion's is located are VERY different than the Stip and no where nearly as glamorous, but you can still go here to see the World Champions gallery and to play in some low-stakes cash games and tournies with decent structures.

Finally, for low-stakes and softer cash games, the Luxor and Excalibur are often mentioned. You can find $2-$4 limit games at both of these casinos. Also, the MGM Grand opened a poker room with a $1/$2 NL that I found to be pretty soft, too. All of those casinos are located at the southern end of the Strip, and so if you want to sample them, you can hit them all in the same walk.

On my first trip, I had a great time checking out all these rooms and playing an incredible amount of poker. I remember leaving for the airport on my final day right from the poker room at the Mirage. I had played so many hours of poker that, when I settled into my seat on the plane and opened a book, I noticed that my fingertips had actually turned light green from the felt! I hope you enjoy your first visit as much as I enjoyed mine.

[thepokeratlas]

You can see a map of Vegas with all of the poker rooms pin-pointed on The Poker Atlas with general info and up-to-date tournament schedules.

Good Luck.

http://www.thepokeratlas.com/state-c...ada/las-vegas/

[steamboatin]

Its Vegas Baby, go pick out the stuff you believe will be the most fun and go for it!

You can always grind at your local B&M.