Day 18, the day we see a perfect 10
This morning we are all doing different things. Ropski is sleeping in bed, Ouwkes is sleeping on the couch, Roald is, I dunno, walking the Strip or something, Fedor is playing the freeroll tournament in Bally’s because he qualified after 30 hours of play and I want to relax in the sun.
It’s Memorial Day weekend and the pool is super crowded. Lots of families and this also automatically means a lot of kids. So not used to that the last 2 weeks…
It’s late in the afternoon, Ropski and Ouwkes are still sleeping, so Roald and I decide to join Fedor at Bally’s. Unfortunately, he didn’t ship a ticket for the Main Event during this year’s WSOP, so the next thing on the agenda is to figure out what to eat. We all have comps on our Total Reward cards, so it’s time to make use of those. We make a reservation at P.F. Changs in the Planet and while we wait, we sit down at the bar and see Cleveland win from Boston in game 7.
some people have bad eyesight
The tempura vegetables and Calamari starters are decent and the main course is also ok. No Ping Pang Pong, but when your meal is almost free you can’t complain.
Time for some cocktails (come to think of it, we went to a lot of places where they served these nectars of the Gods). We grab a cab to the Delano and go up to the Skyfall Lounge. Too bad the balcony is closed because of the wind, but we still manage to get a good seat at the window.
A view of Vegas at night, I will never get bored with that. A couple of people next to us are discussing game 7 and it’s clear they are Lebron fans. They ask us who we favor and of course we also root for Cleveland!! The girl walks over and hugs us all after this correct response. Roald strikes up a conversation with one of them, but I see him struggling a bit. After 10 minutes he comes back and explains the guy was from Australia, but he was so drunk he could barely understand a word that was coming out of his mouth.
I need to take a piss and I enter the coolest restroom I have even been at.
A view of Vegas at night, but now while I am taking a piss. My life is complete. I tell Fedor and Roald to check it out. They also checked the toilet stalls:
After the Delano it’s only a short walk to the Mandalay. Fedor is seated at one of the tables, but Roald and I are on the waiting list. Soon enough a new table opens up.
The action is the same as it was last week. A lot of bad players with a lot of action. I get all my money in with KK vs JJ, but the J on the turn is not helping me. Villain scrapes in the pot like it’s business as usual. 10 minutes later he gets stacked when his KK lose against 22 with a 2 on the river. Suddenly, life is unfair in his opinion. I want to say something, but I keep my mouth shut.
I can’t get any traction and while the action is really good, I decide to stop. I notice I get too restless sometimes when the table is this good, but I can’t participate. I am forcing too much.
I win back my money at the HighCardFlush game, but I also feel that I am not done with poker today. Fedor is in a great game which involves a drunken Ruski with deep pockets and Roald also wants to stay, so I leave them and go over to the Bellagio.
What can I tell you, I am in the zone at this table. I call with a small pair against a bluff. Not once, but at least 3 times. I fold when I know I am beat, I bluff when I feel weakness and it all works out.
One guy (Jeff) is a huge Knights fan and has a countdown app on his phone to game 1 in the Finals. Every 10 minutes he announces how many hours are left. He asks if I am also a Knight fan. I tell him I am from Holland so I don’t know anything about basketball.
He knows I am joking and we start to banter a bit. Sometimes I randomly ask if anyone knows at what time the Knights game is and every time he is happy to tell me. He talks about Memorial Day, being a gay old day... well, not gay gay, but, you know… I reply: “so not really gay, let’s call it Curious then”.
The more he drinks, the more he reveals what his hand is. E.g. he asks for a TTJ flop. Flop is completely wrong for him but he shows his hand anyway, TJ.
A few hands later he asks for an A23 flop. Flop is K49. I say to him: “hey, at least you hit a pair”. I bet and he smirks and folds the obvious 45.
I am in the middle of a conversation with him about the legalization of weed and I am telling my made-up story again that we now have to switch to selling cocaine when Ropski shows up on the rail.
I tell Jeff: “if you don’t believe me, ask him.”. Jeff turns around and asks what the deal is. Ropski immediately knows what is going on and without skipping a beat he confirms my story and asks if he is interested in buying. Oh, and not a few grams, we are here for bigger fish!
And now for the most interesting hand of the night.
I have A8 and call a $15 raise from the most active player. Flop is ‘favorable’, A85. He bets $45 and I announce a raise and toss in a $100-chip. It turns out I saw it wrong, because his bet was $55. Since I announced the raise I put in the extra $10 for the min-raise. He now starts to talk a bit and arguing if this according to the rules (so he is obvious not too happy with my raise). Because of this, the dealer is not really paying attention and she makes the big mistake by showing the turn card, which is another A…….
Now, we have a very interesting situation going on because he hasn’t called my raise yet. You can imagine I am not happy with this situation but all I can do is stay silent.
The Floor comes over. The ruling is that we can continue, but that the turn card must be ignored. So basically, what would have been the River will now be the Turn. If we are still in the hand and a River is needed, then the turned Ace will be placed back in the deck, there will be a shuffle and a new River card will be dealt.
Villain starts talking to me and asks if I was happy with that A. I tell him to just fold and get this over with so we can play the next hand. He calls anyway.
Turn is a K and I am really disgusted by this card. He checks and I check. So, we need a new River card, the A is placed back in the deck and after the shuffle the River is a 4. He thinks for a while and shoves for a bit more than $400.
I sigh and make the call. He shows AJ, so I scoop this pot.
unfortunately not a picture of a pyramid, but still over 1k
And what happened to Jeff? Ropski stacks him in a brutal way. Jeff has already announced that he has the best starting hand in poker, but Ropski doesn’t know that he doesn’t lie. When the flop is 456 Jeff goes AI for his last 50 bucks. Ropski calls and when the turn and river are J and a 7 he thinks he is good, but Ropski had a feel of the deck and tables 89 for the straight.
In the meantime, our WhatsApp group chat pours over with updates from Fedor and his encounters with the Russian guy. Ouwkes also shows a sign of life when he posts a picture of him and Roald at the Peppermill for a 4AM "snack".
meanwhile, at the Mandalay...
The table is dead and I win over $1000 again. We are still not done with poker, so we head over to Caesars. When we exit the Bellagio, we realize it’s quicker via the shops, so we head back in.
And then we see her. The perfect 10. Right in front of us. Both Ropski and I are in awe. Words cannot describe her and I am not even going to try.
We float to Caesars and are pulled back into reality when we are seated at a table with a woman who is angry at the staff for not bringing her her chips in time.
I quickly lose $200 with KQ where I go AI against a loose player on a K53 flop. Turn is Q, river is 4 and brings the 4th spade. He shows KT with the T of spades.
Now I am done with poker for today. It’s 5.30AM and I am tired. Time for some well-deserved sleep.