Day 12
Never in my life have I had “poker player friends”. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had friends who play poker. Hell I learned the game with 5 of my best friends. But never have I made friends who thought about the game analytically. That all changed about a week ago. Playing in the 2/5 at Venetian I met a Dutch fellow named Kai. He introduced me to his travelling partner Otto and together we met two German students Lukas and Sebastian. We started playing in the same games, sharing meals together, and going out for drinks at night. It was refreshing to meet 4 other University students who were also balancing their studies with their poker games. We had Sebastian and Casey (my friend from home) playing 1/2, Otto and Lukas playing 2/5, and Kai and myself venturing into the 5/10. We were like a clan of poker players, always surveying the room to check on each other’s chip stack, and finding someone to replay virtually every interesting spot with.
I can honestly attribute a good portion of my post-Christmas success to these guys. Their presence forced pressure upon myself to play as close to perfect poker as I could. They weren’t concerned with how many chips I had, they were interested in how I obtained those chips. Here’s a perfect example.
On day 12 I was sitting in the 5/10 at Bellagio with Lukas and Otto.
I was around even when I raised 1 limper in the CO to 50 with 36ss. The BTN called and everyone else folded. Flop came 2
5
Q
. I led for 100 and got called. Turn came the 10
and this time the guy check called 220. We check checked a J river and he scooped in the pot with QK. I made sure to show my bluff face up.
An hour later I opened in MP with AQ and was met with a raise to 120 by the same player. I decided to call, hoping my reputation would get me paid off if I hit the flop hard. Flop came Q
6
6
. We checked the flop. Turn came the 7
and I bet 200. Player took little time in calling me. I was fairly certain he had two Jacks. River brought the 2
and I led for 370. He’s thinking. I’m screaming. CALL ME. PLEASE ****ING CALL ME. In my head of course. Eventually, he gives the “Okay I’ll pay you speech” and calls. My AQ is good.
I was proud of the way I used my reputation to get me paid. Otto and Lukas were not convinced. On the way to IN n Out we spent the whole time discussing whether the play was profitable or not pre flop. They agreed that he was going to probably pay me off on dream flops, but convinced me that his range absolutely crushes mine and out of position it’s a losing strategy. Any other friends of mine would’ve been impressed with the huge pot I won, these guys were disappointed. I’ve learned that being critical, even in winning situations, is a huge key to improving my game.
Up a few hundred, I returned from dinner to find an interesting spot with 10 10. It seems like every interesting hand I have had this trip has been with 10 10 or AQ. Weird. Anyways, I opened UTG to 40 and a small stack raised to 160 with about 160 back. Crazy loose Asian in BB cold calls 160. We’re about 1000 deep. I call and see a flop of 89J. Asian leads for 240. I shove in for my final 850 on a semi-bluff. Original raiser calls and the Asian thinks and folds KJ face up. Turn A and the original raiser flips up AK. Come onnnnnnn. Luckily the river brought the 10 and I scooped up a good sized pot.
I ended the session up a buy-in. After subtracting the loss I suffered from taking 50% of Lukas’ action in the game, I had a profit of 700 for the day. I'm not concerned with his loss, however, as I would stake him again in a second. He’s definitely a winning investment at 5/10, he just ran relatively cold.
After the session we made our way to the Stratosphere. When I was 11 years old I came to Vegas for the first time. My Uncle took me up to the stratosphere to go on the Giant drop rollercoaster. We waited 2 hours in line. That’s 2 hours to look down on the Vegas skyline. 2 hours to realize that your 1500 feet above ground. 2 hours to think about all the things that could go wrong with the ride. I basically spent 2 hours ****ting my pants. By the time I made it to the front of the line I said **** this and watched as my Uncle went on the ride.
10 years later and finally I have a chance to redeem myself. 8 of us make it to the top of the building and all of a sudden those old fears come back to me. We get in our seats and Sebastian can tell I’m not doing well. “Matt I’ve seen you all-in for 2500 dollar pots this trip, why the hell are you soo nervous.” I don’t reply. I want to get the **** off this stupid rollercoaster. This is not how I’m supposed to die. Eventually the ride starts and shoots us up into the Vegas sky. I’m alive. A couple more times we go up and down. The rush is incredible. Never again will I be nervous at a poker table. Not after that ride.
We go on one more ride that hangs off the building, before heading back to our hotel rooms. I can sleep well tonight. Not because I won a grand at the poker table. Not because I’m sober. Because I conquered the stratosphere.
I'm now up 3200 for the trip and poised for a big day...