Note: Most all events were recorded with beer goggles on!
I haven’t been to Vegas in January in quite a while. I arrive on Wednesday afternoon and decide to spend the evening playing in whatever games they have at the Venetian. I start out playing in a 8-16 game and then move to a 20-40 game. The weekday LHE games in Vegas are much tighter than the games I am use to in Washington and California. They had a short list for 40-80 so I put my name on that list. The game started with only 5 players and the 20-40 game was breaking down so they moved it back to just having one 20-40 game. I played in this game until around 5:45 am when it was down to 5 players. I have gotten better in playing at short handed games and now don’t mind 3-4 players if the rake is low. I think the book
http://www.amazon.com/Winning-Tough-Hold-Games-Short-Handed/dp/1880685388
is a great guide in improving your play in these games. The 50-100 game that I play in some times is often short handed so this book has helped. I end up +$1240 in this game and head back to the Riveria to get some sleep. One typical LV hand from that night:
me: AsQs
I 3 bet pre-flop from the button. 5 players call. The flop is AcAh4c. I get check raised on the flop and 3 bet it. 4 callers. Turn is 5h. I again get check raised and other players fold. River is QH and the player bets and I raise to win the pot. He tells me I am a drunk stupid tourist and what did I think he had. I never asked to see but he claimed AK which seems likely. He said I only had 3 outs (of course I had 3 more on the turn and 6 more on the river for a chop). I do what I typically do and just say “I got real lucky”. His response was that fucking idiot tourists always get lucky. Now that is over the line but no big deal I just say it is a low limit game and I play bad. He tells me this is a very serious money game and I think now who is really the idiot. He busts out about 1h later down $700.
I am really tired and a little hung over on Thursday. I am meeting Steve Watanabe at the 4 queens in the afternoon so I head back to the Venetian and play some 8-16 Omaha/8. Not a great game but OK and I lose $165.
I meet Steve and put my stuff in the room. We head over to the shoe and play some 4-8 mixed game. I win about $45 here though I have no idea how but I did start drinking a beer each time the waitress came by. I play in the mixed games that night and sort of just lose my chips slowly. Bree Goldman is at the table and calls for Mystery. I somehow completely get the idea of rows/columns mixed up and think that I have the Nut high/Nut low hand only to find out that I have basically nothing and put very many chips in the pot. I really thought I was right but the dealer, Bree, and all other players explain I was wrong. I later realize that Bree invented this game and actually plays 1x per month at the shoe. Oh well I go home now. I think I managed 6-7 more beers during the tourney and play until 11:00 or so. I play some crappy BJ at the 4 Queens for another hour before I head to the room.
On Friday I get up and go jogging. Nothing like a 6-7 mile run to clean out all of the beer from the the previous 2 days. I meet up with Steve and John Loyd and we head to the venetian. We get into a 4-8 game that is pretty good. I meet a guy from NZ that seems to like soccer and beer more than me. We talk a lot about who is going to win the UEFA cup this year and the 2012 EURO cup (I pick Manchester United and Netherlands) he thinks I am a drunk America (man what a read he has). We sit at the same table for about 7h until it is time to head back to the shoe. I really like the venetian poker room as they have excellent food and great bar service. I think I finish off 8-10 newcastles in here. At the Chowha tournament I lose a big pot with AA when I flopped an A but a flush gets there on the turn. Doug Lemaire is also at my table and I use to play a home game at his house in Seattle. The only game Doug ever called was Chowha and he had to teach me how to read the board over and over one year so at least I know what I have and what the nuts are. I am close to all in and my J5 beats a much better hand that Doug has when the river is a 5 and I bust my old teacher. I end up playing 2-4 at the GN with Steve until around 4:00 am. I have another 3-4 beers at the horseshoe and 4-5 long island iced teas at the GN. I am really drunk by 4:00 when I head to the room. On the way I put $100 in a 1c slot machine and play as fast as I can for the max. Steve takes a photo and posts on facebook and also one of me playing roulette. I am buying gifts the next day for the family and I see a t-shirt that says what happens in vegas stays on facebook and I immediately think of last night. I head to bed very tired. When I get back to work on Monday everyone knows that not only did I go to Vegas but I was up until 4:00 am drunk and then playing the slots.
I get up and run again on Saturday morning. Feel energized though the last 2m I am starting to feel the effects of being 40+ and acting like my first vegas trips 20y ago or my first Barge in 1994. I am mostly card dead in the tourney until it gets down to 24 players or so after the break. I win pots with AK vs 10-9 on a steal pre-flop and also 33 vs KQ on a board that ended up with 15+ outs. Dan Goldman is moved to my table with a large pile of chips. He raised the first 2 out of 4 hands. I look down and find Ah6s in my BB. Dan is near the button and raises to 1100. I call and the flop comes:
KhQH10H. I have about 5500 in chips. I bet 1200 as the pot and Dan thinks for about 2s and puts in a stack larger than what I have. Now being a 20 year limit player I just realize I played this hand poorly. I wish I would have either bet all-in forcing Dan into a read as I do have the Ah so I could have the nuts, check raise All-in for the same reason, or check-fold. I was looking at the pot size (2700 pre-flop + my 1200 bet+5300 bet) and with 9 outs to the nuts and 4 outs to a str8 that will likely get only 1/2 I think I have to call. I think my A overcard is of very little value. I put my outs at around 11 though if he has KK, QQ, or 1010, they are not quite as high. With 2 cards to come though calling 4300 in chips is mandatory. Of course nothing comes, Dan has AA, and I am out of yet another ARG tournament without cashing. In 2 tournaments this trip I was outplayed by a Goldman and outwitted by a Goldman who invented a game I can’t read. They are both great sports of course and I just play bad. Maybe I should challenge them to a beer drinking contest that I could win at?
I play a little 1-2 NLHE with Steve at the GN before I need to head home and win a $290 pot with AA holding up. I have to take my son to ski lessons on Sunday so I catch the late flight. I get to the airport and find out it is delayed by 1h so I could have had a few more beers and lost back my $300 stack. oh well. I see a Facebook photo of Steve and Kevin Un playing drunken 2-4 and wish I was there to drink/lose with them. What a couple of rulers.
Thanks again to the organizers. This was a fun smallish sort of event. Thanks to Rodney for 3 great pictures I took home (all of which have a beer in front of me ‐ go figure) and everyone that I had a chance to talk with.
Steve is actually turning 50 this week. I have been playing poker with him since I graduated from college in 1991 and we have been coming to Barge since 1995. I am flying down to San Jose this coming Thur->Sunday. We are having dinner at Garden City and playing poker on Friday night if anyone wants to join us let me know or if you are there you can stop by to say happy B-day. I told Steve I would buy him a $50 dinner and up to $50 in drinks.
Monte