I've had Primrose several times, it's a solid joint. Got the steak and eggs, I forget the sauce but it was different and delicious.

Love the TR!

Saturday night with the Vegas Golden Knights. Wow! Brilliant in every way and the very kind local next to me explained the bits that weren’t obvious to me.

And they won 3-2 after being 2 down in the first period.


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What event?

$800 deep stack on Thursday 40,000 chips, 30 min levels.


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Hey Chris, interesting thread, please, keep updating!
can you please give more details about the cash game sessions?
Where do you play in London? I've been playing more at the Hippodrome recently (1-2)
Looking forward to hearing from the comparison LDN-LV!!

My aim for this trip was to take on the challenge of 2-5 and I’m really pleased to say that I have succeeded.

In the last couple of days I’ve played mainly the 2-5 at Bellagio and it has been very profitable.

My best session started around midday on Sunday. It was a good table with a couple of regs; a couple of action players; and a man who appeared to be drunk and nearly asleep!

There were a few interesting hands. I raised to 15 with 77 and got 2 callers. On a seven high flop I bet out $20 and only the drunk called. The turn brought a queen which completed a flush draw but I really didn’t put the drunk man on a flush. I Decided to check-raise and when he bet $80 I raised him to $200. He called pretty quickly and the river brought a second Queen giving me the full house. I shoved for my remaining $200+ and he snap-called tabling QJ for a set which obviously lost to my FH.

I had QQ twice in very similar circumstances. Early position raised to 20, there was one caller before I re-raised to $80, getting one caller and one fold. Each time the flop had an ace on it, (AK on one occasion) but amazingly I managed to take down both pots.

I had another big hand against the drunk man when I raised pre- with AK and he called. The flop came AK5 rainbow and I c-bet. He called and after another blank on the turn I fired again. I think this was an error as I was never going to get 3 streets of value on that flop, even from him. Given his aggression I really should have checked to allow him to barrel with an ace and I may well have got his remaining stack. He folded showing an Ace.



But as the red wall above shows I had a really great session. In fact it was my best ever live cash session and my first ever over $1,000 profit: in for $500 out for $1740.

I think that I now qualify as a decent 2-5 player, at least in Vegas!


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Home now in London and I wanted to share with you my secrets to beating jetlag.

1. In the taxi to the airport change your watch to destination time. For me, it was 2pm Vegas time so 10pm London time.

2. Have a good meal and a beer at the airport.




Mine was a wonderful margarita pizza from Wolfgang Puck. At least 9 out of 10. Accompanied by a decent Hawaiian beer.

3. On the plane work to the time your watch says. For me it’s not 4pm, it’s midnight and I should be asleep.

4. Take a sleeping pill, put on your eye mask, and tell the person next to you that you don’t want any food. This of course is no punishment, the food on the plane will be awful and you just had a really good meal.

5. Be gently woken by the kind person next to you asking if you want breakfast. Your watch shows you it’s 8:15 am and you’ve had well over seven hours sleep.

6. Home by midday and because you’ve had a good night’s sleep you can continue to your normal bedtime.

You’re welcome.


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Thnx Chris, well done and nice TR!

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Glad you had a successful trip. Thanks for the report.

For my final scheduled post on this TR I wanted to discuss the differences between Poker in Vegas and Poker in London as requested by several posters.

Casino properties.

Casinos in London are far far smaller, limited by both regulation and Real Estate prices. The focus is on the regular gambler and the weekend party-goers. You’ll find roulette and blackjack taking up much of the space; other table games favoured by the Chinese communities depending on Casino location; far fewer slot machines; and a poker room at the back or upstairs.

The quality of the poker-rooms have increased in recent years. Aspers casino in East London next to the Olympic site is the largest casino in the UK (still not large by Vegas standards) and has a good large pokerroom with plenty of tables. The Hippodrome in Leicester Square has the charm of being a converted old large theatre, with lots of levels for gaming and eating. Post Covid they moved the pokerroom to a dedicated series of adjoining rooms on the third floor which are a great place to play poker.

The dealers and Poker managers are very competent and friendly and are on a par with Vegas. The food available at the table is edible but never great. Free coffee and soft drinks are available but all alcohol must be paid for, so very different to the Vegas “cocktails” on this score.

The players.

You’ll find a very different set of opponents in a London poker room. Vegas has its local regulars who will be playing several times a week, supplemented by a wide range of tourists. The quality of these players ranges from world beating to truly awful; but they are in town primarily to gamble and have a good time.

London casinos have a much smaller pool of players. While a few will be regulars, most will visit the casino two or three times a month, possibly after work or at the weekend.

London is a big tourist destination (obviously), but it isn’t renowned as a gambling centre. Therefore, visitors from across the UK and overseas only tend to visit the casino if they are already quite good poker players. So overall the quality of play is higher in London.

The games.

You’ll find games being spread in London casinos from around midday through to the early morning. They get busy in the evenings and have a different feeling at the weekends. Following a specific pokerroom on Twitter is the best way of getting Bravo-style updates. In other major UK cities you’ll probably find one casino in the city centre, but these will probably only spread Poker from around 6pm or even 9pm

The standard game is £1-2, often 1-1 outside London. The larger poker rooms usually get a 2-5 game going by mid evening and perhaps also a PLO game. However, PLO is dealer’s choice as to the number of cards dealt, with most players opting for five or six, so do factor this in if you’ve only ever played 4-card PLO.

The buy-ins are always 200 big blinds maximum, so you can sit at a 1-2 game with between £100 and £400 ($130-$520)

As the current exchange rate is around $1 to £1.3, you may be thinking that the games sound to be similar to, say 1-3 and 2-5. That would be a big mistake!

The 1-2 games in London casinos are much tougher than the 2-5 Vegas games that I’ve seen, due to the size of the buy-ins and the quality of the players.

The 2–5 game in London is full of poker pros and let’s not forget there were two UK players in the final nine of the recent Main Event. I speak to many winning 1–2 players who I rate highly, who are too scared to take on the 2-5 game because of the quality they will face. The players I know in the London 2-5 game are playing 10-20 or 20-40 when they get to Vegas.

Tournaments are less frequent than in Vegas. For example, The Hippodrome only has a tournament one weekend a month but when they do run they are well structured and great value.

Come along!

If you are visiting London do call in for a game at the Hippodrome or Aspers. You will get a friendly reception and a decent game.

See you at the tables!


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Good report, nice results too!

Question: My understanding is that tipping is not done in Europe. How hard was it for you to adjust to having to tip? You don't seem like someone who would just stiff them all but I also wouldn't be shocked if you forgot a few times, haha!

Hi NYCNative, thanks for your kind comments. I haven’t ever played in continental Europe so I have no idea what they do over there. However, here in the UK we certainly do tip our dealers and the levels appear to be the same as US players were tipping, so there were no problems.

The main difference on tipping is in restaurants where we traditionally do 10% or 12.5% of the full bill whereas you seem to do 15% - 20% of the bill before tax. Actually, the tax issue on purchasing is more confusing for us Brits. In our shops, the price you see is the price you pay - it already includes our Value Added Tax - so we are always caught out if we believe we have the right money and then we are asked for more than the price on the goods.

nice tips on jetlag, and really cool trip report, nice results in the 2/5 and good luck in your games in London, was cool to see the comparison

I wonder why this thread seems to be a magnet for the spammers. Maybe having Vegas in the title? Maybe "London" since the other "Vegas" threads don't seem to be inundated.

Do agree with you on this Chris. I played a lot in London maybe 5-10 years ago mainly in the vic and international (formerly gutshot) then later aspers. I found the players generally ok. A bit limp call inclined but overall probably ok.

What you would find however in London is there are generally 2-4 good younger players there that can put you in tough spots.

I only found 1-2 of those per table in vegas but I rarely played above $1-2

Back again! Had such a good time in November that I’m on my way again. Currently sat at London Heathrow airport for the direct flight to Vegas.

I picked this week as I keep reading that Super Bowl weekend is a great time to be in Vegas. Let’s see!

I’m going to focus on 2/5 this time; probably won’t do a tournament unless I end up at the Orleans.

Also hired a car for one day to get to the West Rim of the Grand Canyon which I haven’t ever got to.


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You are hooked.... good choice.

Only one caveat, what really is the "West Rim" of the Grand Canyon ? That sounds odd.

They really try a hard sell online.

https://grandcanyonwest.com/story/ho...SAAEgKfK_D_BwE

The North Rim might be unavailable at this time of year, due to snow. However, the South Rim is open and highly recommended, about 300 mile drive each way.

I would recommend renting a really good car you've always wanted to road trip, doing the South Rim, extra driving not withstanding, and book an overnight stay inside the Park on the rim if possible. Other folks may differ, but to me the West Rim is like going to see London but never leaving the Heathrow Airport area.

I've got to agree with Gzesh here. The South Rim is the place to see. I'd even go as far as booking a couple nights. Bring some hiking shoes, and go a little ways down a trail or two to get an even better experience.

But, your schedule may not allow for the extra day. Maybe make it goal next time if not.

I agree with the above two. I believe there is a roadway inn at the entrance that is economical.

If I am seeing Grand Canyon, I wouldn't miss the sunset and sunrise. We packed a nice breakfast and coffee and settled at one of the lookouts - breakfast with a nice view!

Oh, almost forgot: Stay right!

Sounds nice, have fun and GL at the tables

Are you staying at Park MGM again, or somewhere else?

Isn't the West Rim how they refer to the rip-off see-thru walkway out over the edge?

Agree with the other recs. Finding a room inside the park may be impossible this late. Sunset from the South Rim is great; sunrise is better than that.

Probably need micro spikes and trekking poles this time of year.

what'd you think of watching the hockey game? any chance you'll watch em play again?

in the next few days the knights are going to be amazing because one of the best players in the league (jack eichel) is going to be coming off the ir and not only is he elite but he plays the position which is their biggest weakness right now in center

Thanks all for the welcome back and the advise about Grand Canyon. It looks as though I need to think again.

Staying at the Jockey Club this time with a lovely suite overlooking the Bellagio fountains. Photo to follow when I time it right. Really good value - same price as Flamingo for the week.