So did you put some money in the machine and try to hit a royal for realz?

Nah. Just walked by and saw it. Thought I wrote a note but forgot.

July 12 resumes. CLIFFS: Slot hit, quads over FH, action table, 77 sucks, rising-falling-rising chip sack, more sushi

That margarita must have been inspiring because things picked up.

While walking back to the poker room, I walked by a slot machine and just... Had a feeling. So I threw in a c-note, and after a couple spins hit a $92 win:



The 2-5 game also picked up when I returned and I started collecting chips. However, I made some stupid huge river shoves with the nuts that kept me from extracting value. I got too greedy.



But I eventually took a big hit and lost half my stack in the following hand.

V is a 40ish rec player who seems competent and hasn't gotten too much out of line, but H and V have been battling, so both players have extra motivation to get the other. H is the same as V, except viewed as much more aggressive, but has also shown down big hands at nearly every showdown. Eff stacks ~600. (Numbers approximate - this is from memory)

Two limps in EP and mp
H raises 35 in HJ with QdQs
V calls on button. Others fold.

Flop 2d4x5d
H bets 75, V calls
Turn 2d4x5d6
H bets 150, V calls
River 2d4x5d6x3x
H shoves, v calls with 77

Go ahead and flame my spew. My read on V was nervousness/weakness throughout, and I put him on 99-JJ, AQ-AK. It sucked to give away that many chips, but we had a fun time and joked about it.



After that, I needed another margarita. This time I went with the Organica.





Now I had to start building a stack again. Here's one hand that helped:

V is a 40ish Russian sounding player sitting to H's left, who is upset at H for being so aggressive, and has lost nearly every hand we've played without showdown, so he thinks all H does is bluff.

Eff stacks ~700
H raises 20 in hj. V and 2 others call.
Flop 3c5c2x
2 checks to H. H bets 65. V calls and others fold.
Turn 3c5c2x5x. H bets 120. V calls.
River 7x. H bets 200 and V calls

I'll admit I got super lucky here. I shouldn't have taken this line since V was going to call down regardless. I had zero FE. Lesson learned.

Because the table was so good, I decided against leaving to go have a sit down dinner at Carnevino. Instead I ran over to BarMasa and had them pack up a couple sushi rolls to go, so that I could enjoy them at the table.



First up was Lobster Tempura (that I forgot to photo), followed by spicy tuna.





After eating, I went card dead for a while, eventually started chipping up, but also used the time to come up with a couple different chip stack architectures.







Shortly thereafter we decided to call it a night and packed up.

I ended in for 1100 out for nearly 2500.

thanks for including this in the TR. I've also wondered if it was just me...being there days after the ME for 2014 - i had a very similar observation.

What were the hands?

lol. Yeah that would help. My apologies.

H had 2c4c.

V snap called and mucked in disgust saying he was going to call down anything because he knew I was bluffing. Pretty sure he had overpair, but idk.

Same question, still doesn't add up, maybe I read wrong. Did you hit the straight, flush or trips on turn, river, or did he have over cards not pair and called you down.

Also 2 4 suited is the nuts.

My apologies. I thoroughly and utterly butchered that HH.

I can remember falling asleep as I was trying I type out that TR report at 3 in the morning. Clearly I need to stick with more pics and fewer words.

Ignore it all and know this - OTF I had an oesd & baby flush draw, OTT i gained a pair. BUT - I completely ignored the obvious fact that any competent player would have recognized - I had zero FE, as this guy had made it obvious that he was ready to take a stand against me.

And on the river I hit my straight. He mucked.

If he had an over pair, you lose. Did he muck a winner?

Sorry Leo. I jacked up the HH from being deliriously tired while writing it. I hit a straight on the river and he mucked.

It's even better if you had HH right but were deliriously tired, said "I have a straight", villain mucked and you didn't show and accidentally won with counterfeited 2 pair.

Lol. that would have been pretty crazy.

July 13th, Part 1 Cliffs: FH over FH, Quads over Aces, Chasing a Draw.

I start out at 1-3 for about 10 minutes before switching tables to 2-5, up 50.

2-5 table - at first - looked like it would be dead. First two orbits were preflop raise and all fold. No action. Then we saw 4 all-ins/calls in the following orbit, with my hand being the first:

V is 30ish. Have zero reads on him. Has $400. V likely views H as rec player (I'm only one drinking at the table this morning - don't judge) and has V covered.

H raises 20 in CO with KcQs off suit. V calls in BB.

Flop K-10-6 rainbow. V checks, H bets 20, V calls. Turn K-10-6-Q with two hearts. V bets 30. H raises 90. V calls. River K-10-6-Q-Q. V leads 100, H shoves, V calls and table 66, H scoops with bigger FH. Suck outs take skill, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise ;-)



Another hand...

V is 35ish, prob a rec player. Saw him shove AIPF with AK off suit in a previous hand with 150bb, and seems like a TAG type. Eff stacks 950.

EP raises 15, two calls, H raises 65 otb with AcKd. SB calls, others fold.

Flop 5d5x3x rainbow. V checks. H bets 80. V calls. Turn 5d5x3xKd. V checks, H checks (setting up V to bluff river). River 5d5x3xKdAd. V bets 150, and H calls. V turns over JJ.

Obviously I should have raised river, but I thought I had a read on V of strength (more likely a case of the MUBS).

Also lost a few standard pots, and dodged losing a few very big pots. Table saw some monster all-ins, and I was itching for action. The guy to my left was felting people left and right, being dealt Aces and getting it in and winning 3 times. We start joking about how often he is dealt Aces, and then we had to stop our conversation to play this hand against one another:

V is 30ish guy who's in LV for the summer. I've only seen him take down monster pots with big hands, but he's no nit. Clearly competent. Eff stacks 1350.

H raises LP 20 with 99. V raises 60. I say "don't tell me you have Aces AGAIN?" And he laughs. H calls. Right before the flop is dealt I say, "I have a bad feeling about this hand!"

Flop 9c9x7x. Get OUTTA HERE!

H checks. V bets 120. H calls

Turn 9c9x7x10c. H makes a move like he's going to bet, but pulls back (I was going to represent betting flush draw but feared pushing him off, and looked stupid in the process). V checks.

River 9c9x7x10c10x. H bets 250, V snaps and shows AA, and says, "so that's how it feels to be on the losing end."



Sorry for all the HH, but this has been a fun day. Check this out (it is prob not exact since I forgot to write at the moment, but you'll get the drift - don't be a hater because of my lack of historical accuracy - just live in the moment).

V is a reg/pro (I think?) in his 30s and has history with H. We battled last time I was in town. He's a very solid player who usually gets the best of me without having to go to showdown - I consider him my toughest competition at the table but don't shy away from getting into big pots with him. Don't know if he remembers, but V has seen me play hyper-aggressive and also trappy, and has seen me cbet AND check flops that hit me. V recently value owned me with a river bet when he hit his obvious flush draw and I couldn't fold my hand.

EP raises 15. V calls, LP calls, H in SB raises 75 with AQhh. V is only caller.

Flop 10-9-4 with one heart. H checks, V checks. 10-9-4-9 with two hearts (SWEET EQUITY...pray he didn't boat up - but he usually bets big when he has a hand). H bets 160. V calls. River sweet baby Jesus was a heart (I don't even remember the card now).

There's little chance he put me on a flush draw, and might place me on AK. I want to bet enough where I can fold to a raise, but sized to look like value where only a better hand will raise. I lead for 250 and V snap calls and mucks. Ship it!!

I then headed to Bardot to grab a nice dinner and will post that update later. In for 1000, out for 2500ish.

Great TR. Love the food porn and chip porn!

No idea they had noodles at BurGR, lol. We're the BarMasa rolls with it?

Thanks. It's been fun watching your TR as well.

The rolls were great, though it was my first time to try and eat sushi while playing poker and I have to admit it was a bit difficult to maneuver chopsticks and not mess everything up, especially since the lobster rolls were so big.

[Good] Sushi is best enjoyed when you can take time to enjoy it, not when you're rushing to shove a fat roll in your mouth so you can take a peak at your cards and not hold up the action.

Final TR Report

I wanted to eat somewhere new, so I went to Bardot, a French restaurant at Aria.

I started out with a Pinot Blanc, and the King Crab crepe appetizer (it looked prettier before I broke the egg yolk)







Then I switched to a French red, Chateau de Pez, and had the ribeye, and added mushrooms.









While I was there, I logged onto my mlife account and saw I had reached gold status during this trip.

After finishing my meal, I had just over an hour to get to the airport and catch my flight.

I made a final stop in the Aria poker room to give some tips to the staff who had been extra friendly. These folks are the reason I keep coming back to that room rather than the B or others. One example... Fireda has to be the nicest person around and has always been on the spot and super helpful. And the floors have always been respectful and treated me like a customer, unlike other places that seem annoyed when you ask a stupid question (I'm a tourist, gimme a break!).

Then I hopped into a cab for the ride to the airport, where you realize "it's time to return to reality."



No real line at security:



So this wraps up the latest trip to LV for me. Looking back, my game improved considerably by making two important tweaks:

1. When you have a hand, make more money from it. This includes mostly betting larger PF & OTF when Vs are likely to call, and sizing value bets properly (I was betting WAY too much and lost out on about $2k in value this trip). Sounds ridiculously obvious, but this made my winning sessions MUCH bigger overall.

2. Fold more often, and believe people more often when they reraise me, in the absence of a read. Stop leveling myself into thinking it's an elaborate bluff. I tell myself this advice every time, but I practiced it this trip. There's nothing I hate more than winning a big pot, only to bleed off the winnings in ten smaller lost pots.

To sum up #1 & #2: Make more when you win, Lose less when you lose. Brilliant concept, right?

And lastly, a general observation and editorial note: Be nice. Good grief I can't understand why some regs/pros insulate themselves with headphones, stone faces when not in hands, and aren't more social. I would have played 5-10 and given plenty of action if it were just more fun, but the table was a freaking morgue every time I walked by and considered hopping in. The 2-5 games were a little better. I (and most rec players like me) will give WAY more action if we are having a good time.

So that wraps it up. Plenty of good food, poker, craps, spa time and other goodness that makes Vegas, Vegas. If you were one of the regs I played against, thanks for making it fun.

Goodbye LV. Not sure when I'll be back, but that day will come.

Excellent TR. My mouth was watering and my poker addiction was itching. Thanks for taking the time! Cannot wait to get to Vegas over Labor Day. Really miss the good food and Aria poker room.

I cant "like" or clap for this quote enough. When I go to Vegas yeah I want to play well but I'm also there to have a few (ok several) drinks, give the table a ton of action and enjoy the S out of my day. Now granted, I dont expect everyone to be drinking throughout the day - got it.

But the last two trips out I've scoped out the Bellagio 5-10 game b/c it would seem on the surface to be perfect for my bankroll / interest. However, everytime I've checked the table out, its been guys who look like they are bored to death of poker. Quick tram to the Aria finds the 2/5 games are so much fun, and tons of guys having a good time. I'm staying at the Bellagio in August and already know I'll be playing at Aria.

(And yes, maybe I'm generalizing so no one jump down my throat if you've played in a fun 5/10 game, just in my experience.)

Thanks again for taking the time - this was an awesome thread/TR.

Awesome trip report thanks for sharing. Really envy the way you ran on the last session you posted on.

Really enjoyed the food porn and appreciate the extra effort on showing wine lists etc. You're the guy I'm asking for food restaurant recs next time I'm in town.


I'll fault your white wine selection at Bardot should of went with one of the Loire wines over Alsace Pinot blanc. Sancerre is super good, Loire is my go to white generally Muscadet as I'm a nit.

Glad to hear it. Run good!

You're absolutely right. I've played in plenty of fun 5-10 games, but this summer they've seemed much more serious than normal.

Thanks!

I've certainly earned a rungood session, after having plenty of the opposite. But yes it felt good to be able to actually play my game. But there were also plenty of folds I didn't write about that allowed me to keep my stack.

I'll take your word for it on the wine selection. I don't know what I'm doing and just sample a few and hear the bartender's rec before making a selection. Maybe next time we'll hook up for a meal and you choose the wine.