Hi all, I am in Vegas to play some poker this week and as I did two years ago I will attempt to write a TR that shares my experiences, thoughts and the poker I play.

I am mid 40's from the UK and a recreational player. I intend to play the $1,500 on the 20th and some Rio deepstacks and V DSE that fit with what I want to do.

I have been to Vegas over 10 times but this is only my 2nd trip during the series. I am solo on the trip as taking my partner would not be fair on either of us, but we were here two weeks ago for a weeks holiday so I figure I am good for this trip.

I have enough air miles on Virgin to be able to get a premium economy flight only having to pay the taxes and am staying at TI as it is opposite the V and I got a decent deal. I have not stayed there before and so hope the room is clean, comfortable and has a decent shower.

My flight leaves Gatwick at 11.25 and so I head off from home at 7.30am knowing that this is going to be a long day.



I check in smoothly and breeze through security and passport control. I grab a bottle of water and some new ear buds for my iPad as I have managed to bend the jack on my current ones and I am all set. My flight is on time and boards smoothly. I checked my seat online the day before and moved it from the one next to the toilet to the one by the bulkhead separating premium from upper. I settle in, sort my stuff out and find myself next to two blondes from the north east. I discover that they are going over to party for 4 nights and they ask me to take a couple of pics of them on their camera.

I don't think it is appropriate for me to ask them if I can take a pic for you lot and so sorry, no pic of them. As we prepare to land they ask me what I am doing and seem genuinely interested when I say I am over for a week to solely play poker. The one next to me is a poor flyer and she clutches onto her friends hand as we land.

I get through customs and grab my bag and head out to the cab line, which is empty. The driver is a bit pissy when I insist that we don't go via the tunnel and the trip to TI cost me $16, he points out that I have only saved myself a couple of bucks but as he put up some resistance to me not letting him long haul me I decide to not tip him. Tight, maybe, but in my mind he deserves it.

The check in line is fairly long and so I stand in it watching an episode of The Wire on the iPad, I have only discovered the show and am on season 3 now.

I get to my room, unpack, shower and change and then head straight over to the V for some 1-2 NL.

I get a seat straight away and buy in for $300. I prefer to play cash at the V as I find it to be the best room.

I start off well when I win a decent sized pot when my AQ is better than the AJ of the other guy. I get three streets of value after my raise to 6 pre and win about $75. I pick up another $75 when I call with Q10 otb and flop the nut straight, I call the lead from the BB and then check the blank turn as he does. I then lead out the river and get called again for another $75 pot. So far so good, $150 up in about 30 minutes.

A couple of orbits later I get AA in the CO and UTG with only $15 in his stack goes AI, the HJ calls with $130 behind and I make it $27 to go. HJ calls and we see a flop of 352, he leads out for $45 and I shove. He calls and turns over 108, the turn and river brick and I am up $326 for the session.

I decide that I will play the 7pm deepstack event and buy in for $200 in the Palazzo.

I lose a small pot early when J3o calls my pre flop re-raise with AK and then calls my cbet OTF with no pair no draw and spikes a J OTR.

I get knocked out pretty early in this one when I get AA OTB. MP opens to 275, the HJ calls and I make it 750. They both call and the flop is KQ6. They both check and I bet 1400. MP calls and HJ folds. I do wonder if he has KQ at this point. The turn is a 5 and he checks again, I think about checking back but would decide I need to bet and make it 2100, he shoves and I am pot committed so I call. He flips Q5 for a turned two pair and it is GG me! Nice call pre of my re-raise and nice call OTF, oh well.

I head back to the cash tables and sit at a 1-2 table with $300 again. I pick up QQ immediatley and win about an $80 pot getting two streets of value before the other guy folds OTR.

A few hands later I pick up JJ and again win a decent sized pot that makes me up $175 for the session.

The table is good with a couple of fun Aussies who are there to gamble and a lady on my right who is a bit drunk. She says she is 73, so no pic there either!

Not much happened for a while and I was starting to get tired, it was around 10pm and I have now been up for alomst 24 hours and feeling it. My stack is at about $435 when a new player joins the table and doubles on the first hand when his A8 for a flopped 2 pair is better than one of the Aussies A10.

I then get 35 OTB and limp along with 5 others, lol liveaments. The flop is 363 and I bet 12 when it is checked to me. My image at the table is LAG, the lady on my right is telling them all how agressive I am so I feel I can make this look like a steal. I get two callers. The turn is a Q and UTG checks, the new guy, who tells us he is an economics professor bets 20 and I make it 50, UTG folds and the prof calls. The river is a 4 and the prof checks, I make it 50 and he insta shoves. He has me coverted courtesy of the double he got on the first hand.

I tank and think about it, talking about what I think he has. I know it is not QQ as he limped pre and I don't see him doing that. 66 and 44 could be played like that but I expect 44 to fold before we get to the river. I have a 3 so the chance of him having one is reduced. You know this is where I fall down alot, I struggle to find the fold button sometimes.

I call and he flips 34 for the rivered boat and felts me. I am tired and so deciced to head back to to TI for some sleep.

I know it is a bad call but in my head at the table I cannot make myself fold, he is never shipping there without a boat. I need to learn that.

So - 1st cash session up $326, tournament down $200, 2nd cash session down $300, overall day 1 down $174.

Note to self, find the fold button.

Day 2 sees me at the Rio for the 2pm deepstack.

Good read. Keep 'em coming.

Excellent start to the thread, and moar pics, please..

that's about when I get up on the little tables... anything over a double up and I am usually otd or on to another table.

nice start to your TR, keep the pictures coming.

Was going to stop reading here.

nice post, gl

Day 2... part 1

I never seem to sleep that well when I am in Vegas and have arrived with a bit of a cold, so I have brought some night nurse with me to help me sleep. I take some and get a good nights sleep.

The room at TI is decent, the bed is comfortable and the room is clean, well maintained and modern.



I head over to the Rio at 12 and register for the 2pm deepstack, I then grab something to eat at the All American Bar & Grill while I watch the football. I have the cobb salad with BBQ chicken and it is good but not stunning, definitely not the Grand Luxe.

The tournament starts and I do ok in the first two levels, no major hands just picking up pots with leads and c bets. As an example I three bet 89 after the open by a weak older lady. The BB comes along and I win it with a c bet of half the pot on a Q high board after they both check.

At the first break I have 18k, 3k up from the starting stack. At 400/ 800 @50 I get AA and knock out a short stack to add 7k to my stack. I then win a pot with 55, I shove over the weak older ladys open and pick up another 3K.

Despite being called a deepstack this has a fast structure and has many blind levels removed. The last hand before the next break I get AQo OTB and I make it 1,900 at 4/8, the bb makes it 3,500 to go and I insta shove. He tank folds, saying he can beat AK, he shows 77.

When we come back from break our table breaks and I get moved into the black section. About 8 hands into my new table I get 55 UTG+1 and raise to 2,900 at 6/12 @200. The CO makes it 6,900 and I fold.

The next hand I get AA and make it 2,900 again. The CO shoves for 11K and the BB overshoves for 14K. I instacall. CO has KK and BB has 77. The flop comes 689r, the turn is a brick but the river is a K. Instead of looking down at 55K I am back down to 18K.

Five minutes before the next break I get QQ OTB, the CO shoves for 10k and I over shove and hold against his K4o so get back to 29k.

Today there are 1,571 runners in this event giving a first of around $56K, not bad for $235.

When we return from break I wil have 17bb and so am in shove/ fold mode. First hand back I get 10 10 UTG+1 and I make it 3,900 at 8/16 @200. The BTN flats and then shoves the flop of 964r. I call and my hand holds up against his Q9o. I am now at 49k, 30bbs.

My next hand is an orbit or so later and i get AA in the CO, I shove my 38K over and open of 4,800 at 1/2 @300. I hold against 88 despite the flop coming down 567r, but the turn and river brick so I get up to the heady heights of 78k.

The next hand I am OTB stacking chips when I get AKo. The villain from the previous hand is AI for 1k, I make it 4,500 and the BB shoves for 14k total. I call but cannot hit anything to beat his JJ that improves to a set OTR. so I am back to 65K with 420 left, 171 get paid.

I have 22bb at 1500/2000 @500 and it folds to me in the SB, I look down to find A9 and shove over the BB who I cover. He flips 66, calls and I brick the board to double him up.

A new guy is moved to our table and he takes a large pot from the table chip lead with KK. The table chip lead has been leaking chips over the past two levels.

I then get AK utg+1 and I shove over a limper. He tank folds, flashing me the A. I get to the next break with 44k. The next level is 4/6,000 @500.

I will need a couple of doubles, but I feel I have a good sense of push fold poker.

Day 2 contd...

As the bubble approaches I am looking for any opportunity to get my stack in first as I need to double, but it seems that every hand someone opens before me and once they do I have no FE.

I finally pick up 67 in MP and shove my massive 5bb stack of 35k. I get called by the SB who flips up AQo. I hit a 7 on the flop and he bricks the turn and river to get me to a whopping 10bbs.

One hand later i get JJ utg and shove for 69k. The bb tanks for a while and calls with AQo so we are off to the races. At this point we are 25 from the money. The dealer spreads the flop and there is a nice looking J in the window. My set doubles my up to 145K.

Blinda are now 4k/8k with a 400 ante and I get 10 10 UTG+2. I have a 16bb stack so I open shove and get called by the button who has AQo. I lose this flip as he hits a Q OTF and I ship him about 40% of my stack.

We are now within 10 of the money but there are a flurry of bust outs and we are on to hand for hand. The structure of this tournament is such that at this stage it is just a shove fest, it is more turbo than deepstack, but how else do you get through 1,600 people in one day! At one stage as we neared the bubble I was the big stack at my table, with 18bb.

We only play two hands during hand for hand and the bubble bursts. I have my first cash of the trip. The bubble bursts at 9.55pm, amazingly close to the 10pm that the weak lady on my first table predicted.

While we are playing Joe Cada is on the stage playing the FT of a $1,500 event, he gets 2nd.

Once the bubble bursts players bust at a super fast rate and we go from 171 to 125 in 20 minutes.

I pick up AKo in the CO and knock out the SB adding 40K to my stack. Most of the table is playing shove/ fold and I find 99 UTG+2 and shove. I get called by the A10o of the CO and he hits the 10 OTF. I have him covered just and am left with only 22k. The blinds have reached 6k/12k ante 1k.

The BB gets to me and I have 3k left after posting. I don't even look when I call the 2 people who have gone all in. I have Q3o and am up against K8o and A7o.

I hit a Q OTR to more than triple up. I then get AKo and shove again, getting called by AQo. I hold and I am back at 130k, but with the blinds now 8k/16k, 2k ante I still have way less than 10bb.

No hands or decent spots for two orbits gets me back down to 90k when I get QQ in MP and shove. The bb dwells but eventually sigh calls with A7o and hits an A OTF and I am out in 102 for $477. 3 more spots would have seen me ladder to $525 but it is nice to get a cash under my belt.



On a side note I railed some PLO whilst on the breaks and watched Vanessa Selbst playing what I think was 50/100.

I was $174 down from day 1.
Day 2 saw a buy in of $235, cash of $477, $242 profit.
So I am up a massive $68 for the trip!

Day 3 sees me have lunch with Freddy Deeb and base my tournament choice on a TV screen.

Nice report on the tournament. Thanks for writing.

+$68? WOOOOOOT. Keep up the good play man... should be a profitable trip.

nice. Pics of highest PLO/NLHE cash games running at rio pls?

I fly back to the UK today so will not be updating until Monday night.

Sorry no pics of the PLO going on, I always feel a bit too fanboyish taking things like that!

Things coming up, I play two WSOP events, play with a main event winner and a 2+2 legend and have a 16 hour cash session.

Thanks for reading.

Cheers Gilmore nice read.

Very relevant to me as I fly to Vegas tomorrow for 2 weeks from London, Virgin premium economy as well, also staying at T.I for my first 4 nights, thought perfect location for all the various tournaments on at the moment.

I've also been to Vegas probably 12/13 times but never during the series so a first for me, hope to play 4/5 events.

Looking forward to the rest of trip report

Finish the story bro, I fly out on Thurs for 2 weeks and need some excitement!

Day 3

Today sees England play Ukraine in Euro 2012 and I want to watch the game, which gives me a bit of a dilema. I also want to play the $600 V DSE event today, but the tournament area in the Palazzo does not have any screens showing any sports. So I head back over to the Rio for 11.45 to grab something to eat and watch the game before playing the $235 deepstack again.

I go back to the All American Bar & Grill, grab a booth opposite the bar and within good view of a TV to watch the game. I order wings, a salad and a diet coke and settle in to watch England play.

As the game starts Freddy Deeb walks in and sits at the bar. I say good morning to him and ask him how the series is going for him. He says so so and says he is going to play the 8 game that day at 5pm. He asks me how it is going for me and where I am from, we chat for a bit and he goes back to the bar and orders some food and a drink. While he is at the bar a middle age blonde sitting down the bar comes up to him and says hello. I get a ring side seat as Freddy turns the charm on and engages her in conversation. She is from Florida and is giggling like a school girl as Freddy smoothly chats to her. I am impressed that he makes the hand shake last at least four minutes but eventually she has to leave, smiling widely as she does so. I am chuckling to myself having seen Freddy make nice with her. He looks over and winks at me.

As the game gets going my wings arrive and they are good, Freddy comes over and we talk about the game and the food. He then scoots off to have a smoke. When he gets back someone else has sat in the seat he was in and has been served by the lady behind the bar. I dont think Freddy is over happy about this but he is cool about it and just moves his drink a bit further down the bar. The guy gives him the slightly confused look, the one you get when you think you know someone but cannot place them. He then asks Freddy if he went to xxx school in xxx town. Freddy says no, and the guy says, I am sure I know you from my home town. Freddy just says, heh it happens to me all the time, I must just have one of those faces. I dont think the guy ever figures out that he knows him from poker on TV.

My main arrives and Freddy comes over again, we are talking about the match and the football in general. The guy who arrived after Freddy gets his food first and Freddy is a bit pissed about this. The lady behind the bar seems way more interested in talking to her co workers than sorting customers. Freddy then tells me he ordered the salmon and says, I bet have to send this back. How much do you want to bet? I ponder this for a short while and reply, Freddy, I think we bet at different stakes. He laughs and then we talk about ordering fish in a burger place.

Freddy's food turns up and he does not have to send it back, missed opportunity! He finishes up, comes over and we chat for about five minutes about the game again and he wishes me luck and leaves.

I found him to be a nice guy, funny and easy going and he never got phased by the people who stopped to say hello and was overall a decent chap.

I leave after England win 1-0 and advance into the quarters, facing Italy on Sunday. That will be a tight game and I would expect it to go to penalties.

I reg for the $235 and take my seat at just before 2pm. Two cashes in a row tooo much to expect?