Vegas Trip Report (long, mostly poker)

[DocMartin]

Trip made with my wife, our two boys (5 and 4) and mother-in-law. This is the first 3 days.

We get to Vegas and head to the MGM where we are staying for 3 days before moving on to the Mirage for 3 days and then New York New York for our last 4 days. Our rooms are comped for the trip since my wife and her mom dominate the slot machines. I get down to the MGM poker room packed to the brim with drunken fools at 12am on a Saturday night/Sunday morning. I have played nothing but 6max online so I remind myself that I don't need to raise every 4 hands and that people sometimes actually have hands when I play against them. I meet a few interesting people that are fairly decent at the game and find out they were/are living in Japan teaching and are in Vegas for a MahJong tournament. I ordered a beer at 12:30 but then it magically turns to 2am thanks to daylight savings time and I have already been there over an hour and still I have no beer.

The waitress who took my order comes up to me and says "you have to listen to this story, you're going to laugh". I really doubted it because I didn't see a Sam Adams on her tray but what can you do but smile and say "ok" since I am sensing some embarrassment. She leans down and says "look at my leg" pointing at a wet streak all the way up her nylons which makes it look like she peed herself. She tells me that while getting my delicious Sam Adams (which her story is making me crave even more) it fell off the tray and landed straight on the bottom of the bottle and proceeded to explode straight up her skirt soaking her. "That's never happened to me before, I'm so wet down there right now". I stifle a million comments, give her the polite shaking of the head while smiling in condolence for her trauma and really hope she comes back quick with another beer.
I get no cards, miss a bunch of draws and have to keep topping off to $200, $50 at a time. A couple of interesting hands. Clueless guy (CG1) raises small and gets called in a couple of places. Flop A[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]Q[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]J[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], CG1 bets and CG2 raises small which gets a quick call from CG1 as they go heads up. Turn is a blank, check, half pot bet, call and the river brings the K[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]. CG1 bets small, CG2 raises small and CG1 calls saying "well I guess we chop, I have a Ten". CG1 turns over the T[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] and CG2 turns over his AJ. "Um, you have a royal flush" I tell him and he looks again and finally it sinks in. Why can't I get a hand?

A bluff I liked. Player is a bit loose preflop but decent after the flop although he is too cautious as I have seen him fold a few strong hands to idiots thinking he was beat. He raises to $12 UTG and it folds around to me with 7[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]4[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] in the small blind but hope to take it down at some point. I have been playing tight and he has already mentioned that he respects my play. Flop comes 8[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]8[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]9[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], I check, and he fires out $25 so I call knowing I am way ahead. Turn is the T[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] which has to scare the crap out of him so I check and he fires out a $35 bet into the $75 pot. I casually raise to $100 (I started the hand with around $200 and he has me covered) and he starts the "ugh, I know I am beat but I don't want to lay this down" routine. "If I fold will you show"? "For you, ya" I reply. He folds his Aces (no spade) face up and I show him my monster, "I was on a draw". This puts him on a bit of tilt and he calls me down with a weak Ace a couple of hands later.

Young Asian guy (YAG) with a $600 stack gets seated between us and goes on a heater. His first hand YAG raises to $10 with KJo, flops the nuts and gets in all in on the flop vs two pair and a flush draw. He now has $1K. Very next hand YAG raises to $12 and gets 3bet by a $400 stack to $30. He calls and the flop comes K high. He checks and calls a bet of $50. Turn is a K and YAG bets out $75 which gets quickly called. River is an Ace which completes a flush. YAG bets $100 and the guy asks "you got the flush"?, YAG replies "nope, I definitely do not have a flush". Guy pushes all-in, gets called, and he flips over AA for top boat, while YAG tables his quad kings.

I played till about 10am and left down -$200. +8 Sam Adams, 4 Grand Marnier, and 3 Baileys.

Sunday I head down to the MGM poker room around 11pm have a few drinks play some cards and run into the same crew of Japan living Yanks at the MahJong tournament... It sounds ridiculous, I am probably making that up. I start off playing tight, running poorly, topping off a few times and wondering why poker can't be easier. Anyway, poker gets easier and I finally go on a heater in the wee hours and bang out 4 big hands in a row. It starts when I get AA on the button after it is folded around to me. I toss a $10 raise expecting to make nothing on the rockets but immediately get raised to $25 by the big blind, whoa... what have we here? I quickly toss in about $75 and BB goes all in with QQ and does not improve. While I am stacking chips, guy to my right (who raises a lot) raises to $12 and I call with K[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]Q[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] in the cut-off along with a limper who calls. Flop comes K[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]J[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]3[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], raiser checks to me and I fire in $40 only to be checkraised all in for an additional $120 by the limper. This guy has already pushed me off a hand twice and shown a flush draw so his set up works perfectly and I call him. He shows KJ but I spike a Q on the river. The next hand (while I am still stacking chips) I call a $12 raise with Q[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]J[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] from the guy who raises a lot. Flop comes 853 with two hearts. He bets $25 which I just call. Turn brings an A and he bets $35 but he doesnt seem too sure of himself and I call again. River brings the K[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] and he checks so I fire in $60 and he calls and mucks when I show the flush. So while I am STILL stacking chips from the first 3 pots I call a $12 raise with JTs from a different guy on my right. Flop comes T high, I call a $25 bet and he check/folds the turn when I fire in $45. I stay a little while longer and rack up +$350 +6 Sam Adams, 2 Grand Marnier. (+$150, 13 SA, 6 GM, 3 B for those of you keeping track at home)

Monday I run bad at communication and cards. Sandra tells me they are bringing the kids to the Circus. I of course assume Circus Circus and figure a walk wouldn't hurt me. I stroll down and while I am walking I start to wonder if they meant th

[DocMartin]

sorry.. guess I went over a limit. Here's the rest of this part.

Monday I run bad at communication and cards. Wife tells me they are bringing the kids to the Circus. I of course assume Circus Circus and figure a walk wouldn't hurt me. I stroll down and while I am walking I start to wonder if they meant the midway at the Excalibur. I am pot committed by this time however and finish the jaunt to Circus Circus and fail to find them at either the midway or the adventure dome. I cab back to the MGM and they stroll in minutes later and confirm my suspicion. I can tell you however that the walk from MGM to Bellagio is 15minutes, MGM to TI is 30minutes, and MGM to Circus Circus is 50minutes (important information to make it feel as though my walk was not in vain). I hit the poker room late that night and continue my streak of getting no cards for the first couple of hours I am there. First big hand I get involved with I limp in with T[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]9[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] after a couple of limpers and the flop comes 9[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]T[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]Q[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]. It's checked to me, I bet $15 and get check/raised to $35. He only has $70 left so I put him on a Q or a draw and push. I always put them on a draw. My push gives him pause but my tight image doesn't scare off J8. Wife comes down to join me and I don't think she ran any better than me. Next big hand, I limp A4s and the flop comes A46. I bet $12 and get checkraised to $35. Guy is solid so I just call. Turn is a J, he fires out $40, I raise to $80 and then fold to his push after which he shows me 66 for the flopped set. At some point the topic of conversation got to chips/fake chips etc and the dealer told us a great story which I will keep short. Working girl takes a $1K tourney chip from a poker player for her services one night and then can't cash it in the next day at the cage. Amusing speculation: how funny would it be if she gave him change? I am guessing she didn't get the authorities involved. I continue to run poorly and finish off with this gem. I raise to $11 with K[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]Q[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] and call a reraise from a bad bad player to $35 after another call. Flop comes KQ7, I check, he pushes, other guy folds and I happily call and flip over my hand. He chooses not to flip over his hand until he spikes a set on the turn with TT. It's 6am and that's about all I can take so I leave -$300, +6 Sam Adams and +1 Grand Marnier. (Trip total: -$150, +19SA, +8GM, +3B).

Cliff notes: Played 1/2NL at MGM, drank a bit, walked a bit, ran bad a bit.

[ChrisConstantine]

[ QUOTE ]
Cliff notes: Played 1/2NL at MGM, drank a bit, walked a bit, ran bad a bit.

[/ QUOTE ]

thanks for the trip report; next time put cliff notes at top

oh, and dude?, she explained all that to you because Vegas tradition is to offer her a $50 tip to drink the Sam Adams off her

[pig4bill]

I predict a sudden increase in entries in the crappy Aladdin and Bally's tournaments.

[findingneema]

That's a lot of Sam Adams. It's good that the MGM restroom is next to the poker room.

[Banditgberg]

Nice TR.

Sam Adam Light?

[DocMartin]

I haven't tried Sam Adams light yet. I think it's light enough. The drinking increases mid-trip along with more bad poker. I'll put the next installment up this afternoon.

[DocMartin]

We move the family to the Mirage where we have 3 nights comped and head to Harrah's and go to the buffet. I take them very seriously and I have a simple solid strategy when it comes to buffets. Sprite/7up and sometimes coffee to drink and then I make my way to the trough. I grab a plate and start at one end (usually the end with the big slices of meat carved before your eyes) and grab every meat product in the line until the plate is full. Once that is finished I start where I left off and continue to pile on meat until the plate is full (This round typically features many shrimp, and seafood). Round 3 is multipurpose. I finish off the meat selections (often the chinese and sushi selections), go back for seconds of the things I feel the need to visit again (a slab of prime rib or more shrimp) and toss on a little salad or fruit as a token for a balanced meal. Round 4 is reserved for desert with cheesecakes, anything chocolate, and a healthy dose of ice cream to finish it all off.

Later that day we meet Wife's Dad and Bro (Dean) and check them into three nights we have comped at Harrah's. Dean is interested in playing poker even though his experience is limited to using play money online. We head down to the Harrah's poker room but there are only a few tables going and it is pretty quiet in there. We decide to check out the Imperial Palace next door but get distracted by the Karaoke which Dean decides to participate in until he finds out there is a 45minute wait and you actually have to pay for it. We head down to the poker room and they are just starting a table so Wife, Dean and I all get to sit and we buy in for $100. Only one guy bought for $200 so I figured correctly that he was the only player at the table. Sandra got stacked when her slowplayed QQ flopped a set and $200 guy got there on the river with JT so that was enough for her.

There was a lot of limping, not much aggression and a friendly group which was a great game for Dean to get his feet wet in. One of his early hands included a 53s on the button and the flop came 246 rainbow. Dean bet $35 into the $8 pot. After a quick lecture about bet sizing he took my advice a bit too literally and small betted everyone to death. He just kept betting small and got called by everyone with anything. One time after a small raise his $10 and $15 bets got called on a QT high board all the way to the river and when the cards were flipped over no one could beat his 77. Fairly early on I had a big hand where a limped A9s hit two pair on the turn and I tripled up vs a lower two pair and a limped AK.

There was much drinking and this was to become a theme. I started with some Sam Adams for some hoppy goodness, some vodka paralyzers and we had half the table doing shots with us in multiples. The game broke around 2am but we weren't ready to pack it in so we walked over to Bally's. We got in on the same table right away and continued the shenanigans. We got the drinks and shots rolling and at one point we had 7 ppl doing them with us. Now I'm not one to table coach but I am more than happy to badger a tight grumpy Nit regular that won't drink with us when I am having fun at a table which sets the stage for this hand. There are a couple of limpers and I limp with Q9 in the small blind. Flop comes Q95 and I toss $10 into the pot and get called by the nit to my right. Turn brings a 3 so I throw in $30 and get raised to $80 by the nit. He has about 80 left after that so I put him all in and he happily calls and tables KK. River brings no help for him so I started laughing and commenting about his solid strategy of limping KK and going broke with it. "Play your freakin hand dude!". If it was a nice drunk donater I would have happily consoled him about his unfortunate luck and compliment the tricky slowplay of his monster. We played a lot of poker, lost track of time, and the next thing I know I have an $800 stack and Dean is racking up a $900 stack and says he is a little wiped and that we are getting sloppy (my stack was at almost $1K not too long ago). Well that is probably because it is after 8pm and we had been playing for 22 hours straight. We grab a food comp and head over a little Cafe next door at Paris for a big bacon cheeseburger that really hit the spot. We made it groggily back to our rooms and I slept for 12hours. +$650, +12 Sam Adams, + 6 shots, + 3 Caesars (dinner), +2 Paralyzers (breakfast). (Trip total: +$500, +31Sam Adams, 8Grand Marnier, 6shots, 3Baileys, 3Caesars, 2Paralyzers).

Thursday night. Didn't plan on getting to deep into it but ended up playing again. Planned on meeting Andy (friend from my hockey team and another poker player) at the Mirage when he came in. I started about 9pm in a 2/5 game while waiting for a 1/2 game to open up. Once I got to the 1/2 I play awhile and get into a couple of hands. I limp with K9s in mp after a couple of limpers and the flop comes 67T with one of my suit. No one else looks interested so I fire $10 at it and get raised to $20 by the by an aggressive girl on my left. I had already seen her do this with bottom pair twice so I called figuring I had as many as 10 outs. K comes on the turn, I check and she goes all in for her last $60 so I call and suck out when a T comes on the river and her K6 is counterfeited. Other hand of note was when I stacked a guy after I pushed when checkraised on a J53 board when I had QQ against a guy who wont lay down top pair. Mirage +$200, +4 Sam Adams.

[DocMartin]

Around midnight I decide to leave with Dean since the two aggro guys on my left started getting involved with big bets in a lot of pots. We went over to Harrah's to meet with some people we played with the night before. We played for a little while but had to leave since the only waitress in the room looked about 65yrs old and was overwhelmed and entirely too slow with the drinks. We hopped over to the IP again and were able to get our drink on. The first table I was at had a couple drunk comedians who were trying to "night train" everyone but mostly each other. Not sure but I think it meant "suck out on". I moved to a different table with brotha Dean and was happy to find out 7 of the 10 people were willing to do shots. It would have been 8 but the guy on my right had already been cut off before I sat down. Unfortunately he busted shortly after when he decided to push JJ into a pre-flop raiser who called with QQ. My first big semi donk move came here. I had a tight image and decided to use it. I raise 76s early and got called. Flop was 582. I bet, got minraised and figured a push would get me the pot. He instacalled and I made my straight. Unfortunately he made quad 8's. Not sure how I donked off more chips but I ended the session around 9am down about -$200. +8 SA, and 3 shots. (+$500, +43 Sam Adams, 9shots,8 Grand Marniers,3Baileys, 3Caesars, 2Paralyzers)

[redfisher]

It's probably not wise to try to use your tight image when you're doing shots at the poker table.