Weekend in AC Trip Report, Borg/Showboat (LONG)

[illmatic]

In the area for a couple days, drove into AC for Fri and Sat night gamboling. Haven't been to AC for a long time, not since the Borgata got their new room and that's been several years. Decided to play the Borgata on Friday night, arrived at the hotel, took a shower, headed over around 9pm. Waitlist not too bad, like 3 people, only 10 minutes and I was playing 1/2 NL.

Table was pretty tight, decent players, no real donators. I spewed a few chips donking around, raising suited connectors in position, firing at pots. Looks like no one folds any piece of the flop here, so had to change up a little bit and really pick up at least some type of hand to fire with. After about an hour of spinning my wheels, I change tables.

Sit down with $200 at the next table, post and immediately get dealt 3 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 5 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] in the cutoff. One to my right raises to $7, I call and so do three others. Flop makes me look twice, A [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] 2 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 4 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]. I like!

Everyone in front checks to the raiser to my right who bets $20. I think for a second, call hoping to get another player in but no luck. Next card is a 9. Original raiser bets $30, I figure him now for AK. I raise $50 more. Raiser calls quick... hmmm.

River pairs the board, original raiser now checks with what I feel is genuine timidity. I contemplate the boat for a second then decide to try for a trip to valuetown and swing out $75. He calls after a bit, MHIG (he had A9 for two pair on the turn). Whew, nice start -- I like this table.

The guy to my left had about $1200 in red on a $300 max buy in table, even after nearly doubling me up. I talk to him for a bit, apparently he got his stack flopping the nuts and having people donate to him. He was a decent player but was unable to lay down any significant hand (most people have this leak). I was pretty sure he was going to dump back some chips, but was getting cold decked so decided to change tables. A few hours later, I saw him back down around $300 so I wonder what happened. Maybe I should have stayed there.

I sit for about an hour, not really much happens and then table change again. New table has a couple donators, like to float and are tied to pots with third pair, so I just overbet my top pairs and value bet, manage to chip up to around $700.

Me and another player, a thin African American guy with aviator glasses are tangling, I showed him a bluff or two and took a nice pot with A10 against his Q10 on a 10 10 XXX board. I'm around $800 now, nice way up from my originally buy in of $200.

Then this hand... late position KK. Call, call, call, black guy raises to $15, I reraise to isolate to $40, knowing he'll call because he wants to battle me. Fold fold fold, the guy thinks a microsecond and then pops it to $105 straight. Ooops. He has another $250 behind. Well I guess it could be queens. But it's probably aces. What are my choices here? All in?... no. Fold. Uh, no. So I guess I call.

Flop: K [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] 3 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 7 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]. Guy immediately goes all in before the flop even hits. Well hell, I call!

Turn, Q [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]
River, A [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

My heart sinks and my nemesis turns over AA for the rivered two outer. Well, I got my money in as a big favorite, what else can you do. I leave an hour later around 7am and go to the hotel to crash. Profit for today, a sweeeeet $30.

Friday Tally:
Low: -$150
High: +$600
End: +$30

One word about the waitresses at Borgata: Wow.

Saturday:

Decide to play Showboat today after advice from people at two plus two. I like this room, very comfortable chairs, nice tables, bad players.

Showboat is a lot different from Borgata, the level of players as stated many times before has a lot more people who are just gamboling. A couple guys I saw going back and forth between the roulette table or blackjack table and the poker games. People are ready to go down with top pair mediocre kicker. There are some decent players as always though.

I buy in for my standard two bills and play a couple hands, really not doing much. I flop some decent hands, making value bets on every street and getting run down by ugly two pairs or runner runner straight. Not much I could do, I up the bets but nothing drives the enemy out and they keep running me down. Suddenly I'm in the game for $500 with $200 on the table, decide to make a table change.

I was at this table the rest of the night, 9pm to like 5am so I got to know the players very well. To my left was a TAG type player, decent player. Then there was a few seat which had rotating donators, people who would buy in short and donk off a few chips. One or two rock types, never in without a top 10% hand, and then a tight girl, a couple, both of whom were tight, the guy was a mega-rock, and then a few other OK players.

In comparison to the Borg, I very definitely felt I was the best player at the table here. At the Borg there was usually one or two other good, tricky players at the table.

Anyway, early on the tight girl raises to $15, the good player to my left calls. Flop is K high. Tight girl bets $50 straight, now the whole table knows she has AA or AK. TAG raises all in, turns over top and bottom pair. Turn pairs the board, counterfeiting TAG's hand and tight girl sucks out for a $550 pot.

TAG leaves, saying to me "you better get some of my chips back". Believe me, I know if I sit long enough, I'll flop a hand against her overpair and double through.

It takes a while, I chip up a bit just playing ABC poker, now have about $450, and this:

K [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] Q [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] late position. Raisy daisy $7 after five limpers for a little pot builder. On this table $12 routinely got 3-4 callers preflop. Tight girl in EP calls along with several others.

Flop: J [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] T [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 4 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]

Interesting.. checks to me, I toss out $20. Tight girl in EP pops it to $60 straight. Hmmm.. fold fold fold to me. I think a bit. JJ? QQ? KK? AA? No... she would have reraised preflop. I decide on AJ or KJ. Make a sort of loose call but she has me covered and I have $400 left. Call. Turn is A [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img].

Finally, karma comes back to me for the AA vs KK hand at the Borg. She tosses $50 in the pot with confidence. I put on my acting shoes, my that's a lot of money should I fold hmmm. Think about raising here, but figure she will call my all-in and I can get paid on the river anyway because it seems like she likes her hand. So in case she boats up, I'll save some money. River is a blank, she bets $50. I think a bit and then decide $100 more is the right value bet. She thinks a long while and then calls. I say "I have the nuts", show my hand, and she turns over AJ and mucks it.

Now the run starts. I'm getting dealt cards, and really zoning, reading people real well but also getting hit in the head with the deck. In the next 3 hours, I got big pairs probably 10 times, with at least 5 pairs of aces. Got a couple nice pots, my AA vs KK, etc, another interesting hand against a girl who played any suited and bet flush draws like they were made hands. Any time the board had two of a suit and she was in the pot betting, I had a good idea what she had.

This was an accurate read, but it cost me money on a hand where I had J [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] T [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] in position. Flop is Q [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 9 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 3 [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]. I bet $20 into the $35 pot in position, get check raised by the female player to $50. Hmmm... check raise, I don't think it's a flush draw, must be a made hand. I call for the implied odds. Turn is 8 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] She checks to me, I bet $50, she calls. River is 4 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]. [censored].. she checks. I sense timidty, but she is so flush happy I check after. MHIG, not sure what she had, maybe two pair or a set. Guess I missed a bet there... who bets there?

My run continues, now I'm getting too much respect at the table, I bet $15 everyone folds and I show aces again.

Another hand I bet my KK $30 into $50 on a T high flop and a TAG to my right thinks a bit and folds, saying "you've been running good, I'm going to fold these". He shows JJ????? Wow. He was a good player, but was always seeing monsters. I had to keep this in mind when playing him, because he would look very weak with relatively big hands, just that he was still always scared with them.

Two hands later, I get ANOTHER pair of aces. Raise to 15 early position, two others call, I think for a second and make it $65. One guy folds, another guy folds, both after thinking for a while. I laugh and the guy to my right says "KK this time?" I give him a look and flash my aces and he says "I folded AK, that's how scared I am of you". The guy I stacked with AA vs his KK said "I folded my QQ that time". I'm actually not sure he was lying.

OK time to change gears, I start raising any semi-decent hand (or suited junk) in position, overbetting pots and just playing a little bully poker.

Now I'm up to over $1000, into the game for $500. TAG to my right calls it a night, a drunk guy sits down and tosses a thousand dollar chip and a hundred dollar chip on the table, and $290 in cash. The dealer changes the $290 and then I mention this is a 1-2 table. Dealer says yes, it's a $300 max buy in. She makes him take back the $1100 in chips. He shrugs and says OK. I'm in relatively late position here, look down and guess what... A [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] A [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img].

Drunk rich guy tosses in a $25 chip, looks like he wanted to raise, but the dealer says "that's a call". I raise it to $20, figuring to isolate. Only he calls.

Flop... A [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] 3 [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] 8 [img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]. Remind me to buy a lottery ticket today.

He tosses in a $25 chip. I think and say "I'll see another card" and call.

Turn 6 [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], drunk rich guy bets $25 with confidence. I don't know what he has here, maybe AK and figure he would back that, hell he has a thousand dollar chip in his pocket and raise it $100 more while throwing off "call me with your drunk ass" vibes, hoping to induce an aggression all-in. And he does go all in. Well I call!

River blank.. I turn over top set, he turns over 66 for the turned underset.

Thanks! Guy gets up and leaves after his single hand. Maybe I should have fought for him to buy in with the full $1390. Oh well, I figure it has to be downhill from there and rack out $1301.

Day 2 Tally:
Low: -$300
High: +$801
End: +$801

Hope you enjoyed this somewhat, thanks for reading!

later,
illmatic

[magicratx]

Good read makes me look forward to next year when i can get out to Vegas and play some live poker.

Thanks for posting

[Dima2000123]

Hi, Jamie.

[illmatic]

Who's Jamie? (not me, seriously)

later,
illmatic

[CCx]

[ QUOTE ]
not since the Borgata got their new room and that's been several years

[/ QUOTE ]

<nitpick>New poker room opened summer of '06.</nitpick>

Great trip report, enjoyed reading it.

[Dima2000123]

[ QUOTE ]
Who's Jamie? (not me, seriously)

later,
illmatic

[/ QUOTE ]
I was just implying, tongue in cheek, that you have the card catching abilities of a certain 2006 WSOP ME winner.

[Grasshopp3r]

Nice trip report, especially as you analyze your hands and the action.