Hey kids~
Photos in new album!
I’m back after a few days in Vegas. Tina, Johnny and I were out there for Johnny’s 30th birthday. He managed to find a nice deal at the Stratosphere: 3 nights, limo to and from airport, and airfare direct from Milwaukee for $320 a person. We couldn’t turn it down.
I planned to spend a good deal of time checking out different poker rooms. I’ll get into that later. First, some non-poker highlights:
We met up with Johnny’s Uncle Mike and his pal Tim for lunch at the House of Blues. That was pretty tight. On Mike’s advice, we bet on Wisconsin, so Johnny and I each won $18 on that game, the only one we bet on. Woot! Saturday night, we met Mike for steaks at the Circus Circus steakhouse for a birthday dinner for Johnny. I would never go there without a recommendation, but it came highly praised by two locals, so we gave it a whirl and were not disappointed.
We went on a ride on top of the Stratosphere that hangs people off the edge called the X-Scream. It’s pretty far down, over 100 stories, so a bit unnerving. We also managed to spend a good deal of the afternoon on Thursday laying out in the sun like the slugs we aspire to be.
Friday night we had a Japanese steakhouse experience at Hamada in the Stratosphere. Neither of those two had been to one of these types of places, so it was entertaining. The food was pretty good too.
One of the nights, we went to go see Penn and Teller at the Rio. I’d never seen their live act, so I had fun. Penn juggled broken bottles, and Teller had some cool sleight of hand tricks too.
Sunday morning, all three of us went for a massage at the Stratosphere spa. I got Swedish, Johnny got deep-tissue, and Tina went for aromatherapy. All were pleased. Afterwards, we had a great buffet at Paris.
Other than that, we did a bit of cocktailing at several Irish bars, and a place in the Stardust. We wanted to get back to Red Square in the Mandalay, but just didn’t have time this trip. Next time.
Now for poker stories:
I played in two tournaments.
Thursday night, I played in the $230 buy-in $200 rebuy NL Hold-Em at the Mirage. There were around 15 tables of 10 with a first prize of approximately $8000. I made it to the final three tables, and this is how I got taken out:
I was in third position after the blinds, which were $200-400 I believe. The guy under the gun (who had been playing loosely in the 45 minutes that I played with him) raised to $800, which was the standard table raise. The next guy folds, and I peek at my cards. I have K♣ K♠. Basically, I looked at it as an all-in or fold situation. I had around $3000 in chips, somewhere around the medium stack on the table. The only hand that could call me is AA. I go all-in, and he quickly calls, flipping up A♣ A♦. Sigh. Needless to say, he won, and I sat down for some 6-12 hold-em. This is the first time (that I know of) that I sat down at a table where there was a team. A guy and a girl would keep raising the pot up if one was in it to try to trap a person. Luckily, they weren’t particularly good, and when one got up in a huff to leave, the other sheepishly followed. I managed to recoup half of my entry fee by playing at this table. Then Johnny called, and we all headed out.
The other tournament I entered was a $70 buy-in $40 rebuy tournament at Binion’s Horseshoe. I got taken out on the first table. Here’s how:
I was in the big blind, which was $150 at the time. I had approximately $1500 in chips. I have 7♠ 6♥. Two people call in addition to the small blind and me. The flop comes 6♠ 6♣ 3♦. Small blind checks, I check, next guy bets $300, next guy folds, small blind folds, I raise to $600. Bettor calls. I’m trying to figure out what the hell this guy has that he’s calling me. Would he raise with A-6? It seemed unlikely. Surely I had the nuts unless he had 3-3.
The turn card came out the 3♠. I have top full house, so I go all in for $900 or so. Other guy calls. I flip up my cards, and he has a surprised look on his face. He flips up A♠ 3♣. What the hell? I can’t imagine what he put me on, but this guy was going to lose. Then the unthinkable happened.
The river came….? Any guesses? Yeah. 3♥. This gave him quads, and sent me reeling to the back poker room. I sat down for some no-limit action.
The first hand after I bought in for $200:
I posted and was K♣ 10♣. Small blind raises to $10 pre flop, big blind calls, and I call.
The flop comes 10♦ 7♣ 3♦. The blinds check to me, so I bet $40 with top pair. Small blind folds, big blind says "all-in." I sat there for a while trying to figure out what he had. I know he could have had a pair of 10s 7s or 3s, but I didn't put him on that. I put him on AK figuring that my not re-raising pre flop was a sign that I didn't have a pair, so he was trying to buy the pot. With what I concluded to be 3-1 odds, I called for $150 more.
It turns out that I misread him. He had 9♦ 2♦… equally bad for him. So my call was essentially correct: he went all-in a 2-1 underdog with just a flush draw.
Well, you know what comes next. a diamond on the river. Welcome to the table. Better lucky than good.
The good part of the story is, after I bought back in, he got busted out by one guy, rebought for $500, then I busted him out. I then went on a rush and left Binion’s up $1200.
Overall, poker in Vegas is awesome. The tables are large and lively, the rooms are beautiful and non-smoking, there is a lot of action, and they allow electronics (iPods and cell phones) in most of the poker rooms. I don’t recommend playing at the Stardust, as all they have are a few 3-6 tables where people just want to play “no fold ‘em hold-em. The poker rooms at the Mandalay Bay and Bellagio are gorgeous; in the latter, I saw Gus Hansen tearing up the big fish tourists in the high stakes area. Most of the larger and nicer rooms are run really professionally. There is at least one MC with a microphone calling off names when spaces become available. The longest I waited to get on a table was five minutes. The rake is sometimes as little as $3, and there are so many options available, the most beautiful being no-limit tables. My trip after expenses netted me around $200. Not too bad considering all the fun we had.
I’d like to plan a trip on or around my birthday, which is January 15. If you’re interested in going, let me know as I want to book early to get the best deals on hotel and air.
Oh well, time to hit the books. * groan *
