Las Vegas happiness

So I haven't played much online except for a few heads up cash games where I always seem to get involved in enormous pots, but either way end up $100 each time I play. Don't ever complain about small profits. I also haven't played much online because I had my first official Las Vegas visitor, avid comment poster, Mike Z.

Here is the summary of the game of poker Mike and I played. We started off playing usually the NL game with a 500 max and trying extremely hard to win. Usually, we make good moves and win a little bit of money. Then we tend to have a few cocktails and deciding that we really need to see every single flop, and if we ever sit at the same table, the dealer tries as hard as possible to cooler us. So, I want to run through some of the exciting hands.

Some character of a Rush Hour 3 shoved for 10 BB into Mike Z. AA at the Orleans $105 tournament to show A9 and jam Mike Z. out of that tournament. Everyone knows that A9 can make three of a kind and frushes. Yes, I said frushes.

I played the H.O.S.E. event at the Wynn for 1k even though I really don't enjoy buying into big events when I'm not destroying online poker. At the same time, I really enjoy HORSE/HOSE events online because I feel I have a very good understanding of every game and have had success in HORSE tourneys online along with my 16th?? or so finish in the Stud Hi/Lo WCOOP. Anyway, it wasn't meant to be for me. I can honestly say that I did make a few mistakes here a few times made a couple bad river calls in Hold Em. Limit Hold em is not a very strong game of mine, but I think I usually have a good mentality in these tournaments. I just always want to be the aggressor, and it's something that can give you action in other games as well.

Anyway, I had a very interesting hand come up with a player that always seems to have my number when we play. That player is gank AKA Brett Jungblutt. I'm fully aware he is no slouch certainly in the game of Omaha Hi/Lo. The hand that really set me back though was a Stud Hi hand.

99 Q
XX 5

I completed to 150 and he called.

99 Q J
XX 5 4

I bet he called. At this point, I was trying to narrow down his hands to a possible hand like a 3 flush that decided to peal another one off or maybe just a 5 5 or maybe even 4 5 6 or something like that and it just picked up a pair.

99 Q J 9
XX 5 4 2

I bet 300 he calls.

99 QJ9 X
XX 5 4 2 2.

At this point he leads out into me and I'm almost positive I'm ahead, but he only has 2.5 bets left I think, so I believe I raised and we put the rest in.

He turned over a 5 in the seventh card giving him 5's full of deuces and I failed to boat up.

After that I think I played poorly because I just don't know how to play short stacked limit hold em. Stud Hi/Lo was extremely cold as well.

I tried to get my last 900 chips in when I completed with an A showing and I really didn't even look at my hole cards at that point but I got two callers so I decided to look.

KK A
XX 5
XX 2

KK A Q
XX 5 9
XX 2 10

Really just an absolutely perfect 4th street. I bet 150 and both still called.

KK A Q A
XX 5 9 A
XX 2 10 J

I bet 300 and the A 5 9 showing put the rest in there which wasn't much.

He flipped over 5 5 A 9 7 to put me in great shape to scoop outright, but he went 2, 6 I think to get half the pot.

It was still a great experience to play a different game and I enjoyed a different dynamic.



So, I usually never gamble in Las Vegas, but when friends come in town, it's really time to put that rule aside and throw a few hundreds out there for the entertainment.

I was at the hottest craps table in the world at MGM with Scott Storch look a like and two hot women shooters. Women shooters are simply the nuts and we'll get back to that in just a bit. Anyway, we were hitting everything and I believe I left up about 800 units. Take some of that to the roulette wheel where thanks to some super coolers that would simply not get on our team in roulette I gave back about 300 units. If you are at the roulette wheel and everyone in on a number, you have to get on board. You must focus all karmic energy on that one number in order to beat the house. It's that simple.

We also went to a comedy show at Tropicana earlier that night for $20 bucks and a show that was certainly worth the value. Earlier we played 1/2 NL at Tropicana where I have evidence of the dealer cooling us off.

Some guy moves UTG for $29 I think. I call with K2 of clubs because why not. Mike Z. calls and two other players call. So with approximately $150 in the pot, flop comes KQ7 with two spades. I immediately push a stack in and Mike Z. immediately calls and shows K5 of spades, uh oh.

The initial pusher flips over the A5 without the A of spades. Turn is a card that ensures Mike and I split the pot if a spade doesn't come, river is A of hearts sending the main pot to the $29 utg raiser.

We ended up at Planet Hollywood in a 1/2 NL game with strizzaddles and $25 blind bets. I picked off a bluff with Q 10 on a 10 7 2 5 J board when AK pushed hard and that gave me a little money. I'm really not trying to play these things as serious as possible, but rather as an experiment for different styles of play and to have some fun.

That night ended as a fun one and the next day was fun as we played 1-4 spread limit Stud because the Mirage would just not call our names to get into the no limit game. After losing around 50 units, I decided to hit the craps table one more time. Earlier in the night, we hit the $5 craps at O'Sheas for a little bit of fun and a little bit of winning. So we start at the Mirage and there is a high roller on the table betting close to about 2k on various places on the board per round. After a few rolls around and being up a little bit of money, the high roller comes up when two young attractive girls walk by the table. He calls the two girls over to the table and asks the one cute blonde girl to the table to say "honey please roll these dice for me." She looks a little tentative, but of course, obliges to the man's request. She immediately rolls a 7 on the opening roll and the high roller gives her 100. Then she does it again, another 100. At this point, Mike is just freaking out and I'm trying not to explode in laughter as the jealous friend is looking at her with the most jealously calm stare. Then she rolls a number and hits the point for another 200. At this point, we are now just about freaking out. He puts up 50 on the 11 or 12 and she rolls a 12!! Another 100. Then she puts up a 5 on the point and the place was just ready to erupt because he had about 1200 on 5 and said "Honey, if you hit that five, you will get five hundred." After probably 10 rolls, she finally hits the 5 and everyone is cheering and going for high fives. He flips her a nice purple chips and now she has a stack of around 1400. Then the table got cold as ice and he certainly gave a lot back as did I. We decided to go play blackjack with this guy and these two girls and suddenly ran into the most ruthless dealer I've ever met. This lady was not only making a horrible argument for Penn St. football vs. Ohio State, at one point we all had decent hands to when she flipped up something like 13, ran out a 2 and a 6 and said something like "YEAH right there." I've never heard a dealer do that, but I gave back about 400 units to really just kind of break even on gambling for the weekend. Either way, I'm still scared of this dealer and her ruthless interrogations at the table. She kept asking me if it was my first time to Vegas and when she found out I lived here, she wanted to know what I do. I never gave her the pleasure, but she destroyed what could have been a positive gambling trip.


Now I have all the gamble out of me and am certainly ready to get back to a normal schedule, but it was great to have a great time and a visitor and whoever comes out, you are in for just as much fun as it all sounds.

I'll take Jay's question about American Idol. Jay basically asked if David Archuleta was unstoppable. David is the youngest guy on the show and while I'm crossing the line admitting I've actually watched every episode this season as the first time I've ever done that with this show, I don't think this kid is stoppable. He is the best, and the class of girls is completely weak. I think Jason Castro, the guy with the dreads is second best or more like something I would probably listen to. I don't really like what these shows produce in the end most of the time because I don't listen to that music, but I think this season has promise. Obviously, in a voting game though Jay, anything can happen, but expect him to be in the top 4 for sure.


That's all for now, it's been a good time being away from playing so many tournaments online and my new article is up on Pocketfives.