Greetings LVL, it's been a while. March Madness is still over 6 weeks away, but my excitement is beginning to percolate.

Cliffs for TLDR crowd: too soon to start a March TR?; possible Atlantic City degen TR; this year's crew

Previous TR's:
Middle Aged March Madness 2016
Tournament Gods Descend on Vegas - October 2015
March Madness 2015 meets Grumpy Old Men

Yes, this will be another lame March Madness TR. You might ask, what kind of moron starts a TR thread 6 weeks before his trip? Fair question. I just returned from a long weekend in Atlantic City. Created a poll, if thread readers vote yes, I will post this weekend's TR as a preamble to the Vegas trip.

It looks as though this year's Vegas crew will be all new. We'll be there for the first weekend again. Your stalwarts, McLovin and me, will of course anchor the team, but free agency has decimated the squad and we make way for new additions. PLOMonster, who occasionally threatens to join us, will not be attending. He'll come out for the WSOP for at least a month and needs to pick his Vegas spots, vis a vis his girlfriend. JerseyJay has begged off, preferring to ski. What a tool. FootLong has major expenses upcoming in 2017 as he prepares to move back to the Jersey Shore after a six year sojourn in San Francisco. Also, his 'Cuse Orange have already shown that they will not be replicating their magical run in 2016. Bronco will be watching the Dance from his couch. The Ghost's whereabouts are unknown.

New crew? BaconMan, one of the charter members of the Jersey MM crew, claims that Vegas is still on the table, but McLovin has set the line on that occurring at 8%. BeerMan has just begged off, apparently spring training in St. Lucie is a bigger lure. The Drain feigns interest but I see him trolling on social media for beach companions in Mexico come March. That means that it's unlikely much of the 2017 crew will be joining me in the poker rooms. Sigh. CricketDog, BigSky and SurferDude are all new characters, with only CricketDog having any kind of interest in poker. Bios to come in future posts. ABC (Always Be Closing) has been making noise about joining us for years. In November, he claimed he was 90% on joining us this year, as he wanted to see Death Cab For Cutie in concert that weekend at the Cosmo. I immediately made a bet with him - he buys tickets to the show; if he comes to Vegas, I will pay for the tickets and join him. If he doesn't come, I get the tickets, and will probably give them to the first group of middle aged women I see. Actually, if anyone's got tickets to the Dana Carvery/Jon Lovitz show that same weekend, I'll trade you. Pretty sure I'll be winning the bet with ABC as he still hasn't mentioned the trip to his wife. They have a one year old and she works full time. Yeah, chances of ABC appearing in the TR are low. Of course, there's always the chance of last minute additions and the Ghost is known to surface when least expected.

Alright LVL, vote on the poll and let me know if I should post the AC TR while it's still fresh in my head. Otherwise, see you all in March!

Post the AC TR Pixelpusher


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Pixel stories rule! Looking forward to the tales.

Ill be in Vegas 3/16-20 for a paintball tournament....havent been since '98

looking to get in some sessions when not playing the tourney....maybe we will run into each other

gonna start my own thread as it gets closer

If you don't post an Apocalypse Now sytle TR you are a 2p2 criminal. Good luck in the tourney, looking forward to the thread.

OK, at least 10 LVL readers are interested so first AC installment coming up.

I'm in these have been some great trips in the past. Crush PLO and the books. I need a crew with crazy nicknames.

Cliffs: no Vegas content yet; AC instead

Thursday, January 26th

My bankroll is thin. I need to build a bit to have enough cash on hand to enjoy Vegas in March in the style to which I'm accustomed. I have the same problem every year. In December, I take all of the year's poker profits and spend it on the family. Vacation, technology for the house, whatever. This forces me to rebuild from nothing starting January 1st every year, when I gift myself 1k from the life roll and begin anew. It's been a decent January so far, but not so much that I have what I need. Online in NJ has been going well, a coupe of firsts and seconds in the nightly WSOP 5k have the online roll at just under 3k. But most of that needs to stay online so I can move up to playing the 10k regularly. The cash roll is worse. Two good live sessions at a club in the city took me from 0 to just under 2k, but still not close to having the 5k minimum that I like to bring for the March Madness trip.

The Borgata Winter Open is in full swing. On Wednesday night, Bravo shows 54 cash games running and the online reports show that the tourney fields are large. I check hotel rates and am horrified to see that the prices are astronomical. Borgata gives me no love anymore and Harrah's, where I can usually get rooms for a nominal fee, if not comped, are $300/night. WTF? I call McLovin, comp whore extroardinaire, to see if he can do better. Not surprisingly, he is interested in at least a day trip to Sin City Lite and says he'll look into rooms.

I shuffle some projects at work and clear my schedule so I can leave early on Thursday for a long weekend. Mrs. Pixel gives me the green light, she appreciates the end of year benefits of the pokerz and also knows that I need to build as quickly as possible. Thursday morning, McLovin calls. Hotel rooms are scarce and expensive due to the state wrestling championships being held on the Boardwalk this weekend, but he games the system and has me comped at the Golden Nugget for three nights. My hero. Dinner's on me tonight. He says he probably won't stay overnight but books himself a comped room at Bally's jut in case he goes on a roll. He'll either take the last bus home tonight or an early one tomorrow.

I have a WhatsApp chat with JerseyJay and PLOMonster on which we sweat one another whenever we have poker action going on.

Pixel: Heading down to AC tonight, u guys want tourney sweats?
PLOMonster: Yes. I’ll be down there Friday or Sat. Playing PokerStars $250 PLO High Roller right now.
Pixel: GOGOGO
JerseyJay: Yes plz poker deprived in North Carolina


Sailing away from Manhattan. This guy's day is over, mine is just beginning.

I rush through the day's work and take an early ferry, trying to get on the road just after the evening rush. Home, kiss the wife, throw a bag together, jet over to McLovin's, and we are barreling down the Garden State Parkway by 7 PM.

“Mrs. Pixel good with you disappearing for the weekend?”
“Yeah. She knows I need to pad the roll for Vegas. Gonna play the $500 survivor tomorrow and the 100k on Saturday, cash games when I can.”
“Hey, BigSky went on 2p2 and said I should read your trip report from our last Vegas trip, so I did.”
“Dude, I wrote that almost a year ago and told you about it then.”
“I finally got around to it.”
“And?”
“Surprisingly accurate.”

We roll into the Atlantic City marina an hour later. The town gets a lot of hate on this board, especially from those who have to fly to get to casinos. “Why would I fly to that sh&thole when I can go to Vegas?” being the most popular refrain. All I can say to that is “You’re not from Jersey.” Atlantic City is like your cousin you simultaneously love and are embarrassed by (surely there’s a German word for this). You know the one; you call him and invite him out for the night and he shows up wearing white patent leather shoes and too much hair product. You roll your eyes, but if anyone talks smack about him, you’ll defend him because he’s blood and you love him. From a more practical standpoint, there’s the Borgata, one of the best places for poker in the US, and they’re currently running the Winter Open. There are literally thousands of poker players throwing their money around. Add this moron to the list.

I wait outside while he checks me into the Nugget, then we head to the Boardwalk and do the same thing while he checks into Bally’s. It’s not yet 9 PM so we head over to Dock’s for the best oysters in town. I haven’t eaten since breakfast and I want everything. We go nuts on the oysters. To the casual observer we likely looked like a couple of middle aged bears gearing up for a night of kinky debauchery.

Pixel: Pre gamble meal, waaaaay over ordered. Just me and McLovin: 4 Cape May Salt oysters, 4 Blue Points, 2 Fried oysters, 4 massive Oysters Rockefeller, 6 clams casino, huge stuffed crab entree, Maine clam chowder. And onion rings. May fall asleep before I get near a poker room.
PLOMonster: Holy shellfish overdose Batman.
PLOMonster: Gack. Just stepped in it in PLO high roller. QQ88 < AAxx, got it in on T42r flop. He seemed really spewy to me. BAD READ.
Pixel: HAHAHAH he just gave u the donkey tag now he will call down light against u.
JerseyJay: Hate bad reads as much as I hate oysters

McLovin and I head to the Nugget so I can drop my gear in the room before we decide on a plan for the night. The room is surprisingly nice, better than the last room I had at the Borgata. But the bathroom, dear lord. I’ve never seen one this small in any casino. Lucky it’s just me, Mrs. Pixel would be appalled. I sit on the bed for a moment and realize I’m exhausted. Woke up early to get a head start on the workday and my distended belly is not helping. McLovin says the cure for exhaustion is the adrenaline of gambling, and we head downstairs.

I like the Nugget. I’ve never stayed here before and in fact haven’t gambled here either. Before Fertitta purchased the property, it was the Trump Marina. It was easily the worst casino in Atlantic City, unless you were 83 years old and slowly pushing your oxygen tank down the aisles of slots. The Nugget looks nothing like that mausoleum, and has its own distinct style. I wouldn’t exactly call it classy, but it lacks the frenetic, coked-out buzz of the Borgata and the shuffle-footed tourists on the boardwalk. The hotel itself is very small compared to the rest of the AC casinos, and most of the crowd feels local, people out on the town for the night looking to drink, and dance, and maybe win a little before heading home tired and happy. McLovin loves it. He likes running into people with whom he may have some tangential connection; “You worked at the Rusty Scupper? I dated a girl who got robbed in the bathroom there!”


McLovin joins me outside for some Sour Diesel and architectural photos

We find the bar so I can have a cigarette and he tries to convince me to play craps with him. I demur and counter with blackjack. There’s a table right next to us with two open seats and the players already seated are giving off good vibes. It’s fun while it lasts, but I dust off $300 and don’t really want to do any more gambling. McLovin half heartedly attempts to get me to roll dice but I want to go check out the poker room so he continues at blackjack while I wander off.

The poker room is small, and pretty empty. There are a couple of tables finishing off a small donkament, one 2/4 LHE table and one 1/2 NLH. Ugh. I hate 1/2, it’s so boring fighting for $39 pots, I usually either crush or spew while avoiding being that douchey “I usually play higher” guy. I’m tired and want to get a decent night’s sleep. If I had a smoking room, I’d go up there and just watch a movie or something but I’m not quite ready to go to bed so I sit.

PLOMonster: AA>KK again. EP open, I have AAT2s in MP and pot it, he flats. 992r flop. He donks, I call off he has KKxx I hold.
Pixel: Yes gogogogo. Just spewed off 3 bills at bj. Golden Nugget poker room dead, 1 short 1/2 NLH filled with OMCs. Sigh.
PLOMonster: Q: Is 3 bills $300 or 3 buyins of $300 each? What is OMC? Why are you at Golden Nugget?
Pixel: $300; Old Man Coffee; staying here comped
PLOMonster: OK staying there, but why play there. 1/2 for reals?
PLOMonster: Limp QQxx flop set, river top boat on straight board, get paid by KKxx, back to #1 in chips and money bubble just popped.
Pixel: GOGOGO. Was up early, won’t make it past 1, no point going to Borg for 1 hr session

The 1/2 table fills, I am up a token amount, when McLovin rolls in and says he wants to play. There’s one open seat two to my left. McLovin is a king gambler, prone to 36 hour craps sessions, but he is a terrible poker player. I tell him his chips will be sweeter than anyone else’s at the table, and he starts telling the player between us that I have never beaten him. As an example, he cites a 3 table home game tournament we played in together 5 years ago where he limped kings and then beat me when I got it in preflop against him with JJ. Yes, champ, you own me. He’s already pretty drunk when he orders a white russian and we get a real Casino Royale moment when 5 of the players at the table, one after another, decide that they want one too. I join in the fun, and order the only drink I’ll have all weekend.

PLOMonster sends a flurry of tournament hands ending with:
PLOMonster: Busto. Open AKQJcc one call. Flop 987cc. I bet he shoves I call and brick. Finished 7th for $990. Not bad.
Pixel: Nice work, starting to get the hang of this tournament thing, eh?
JerseyJay: Nice, jelly

McLovin and I immediately get into it against one another. I am on the button with 63 in a 7 way limped pot. We see a flop, and he leads for $10 on a J52 board. It folds to me and I make it $30. He calls. The turn is another jack and he donks into me for $10 and I make it $70 and start talking to him. “Dude you know you don’t want this to happen, and you know that I want your chips more than anyone else’s at the table.” The rest of the table is enjoying it. “This guy’s your friend? Some friend Hahaha” etc. McLovin is enjoying being part of the banter, he likes a lively talkative group. He calls. The river is an ace and he finally checks. I bet $125 and say “McLovin, you know you have to fold, don’t let me do this to you, you were so awesome to get me the comped room. Just fold and I’ll show you my hand so you’ll feel better.” He’s having a good time, finally folds and I show the table my rags before theatrically raking in the chips. Hilarity ensues. He’s laughing, having a good time and playing terribly. He leads in most pots in which he’s involved or raises in nonsensical spots, getting called almost every time and being shown hands that crush his. He’s also getting drunker as he orders white russian after white russian. He decides he's going to stay the night in his room at Bally's and play the Survivor with me tomorrow to prove he can outplay me. He offers a $100 last longer bet, which I immediately book. The white russians aren’t really doing the trick and complains to the waitress that she’s bringing him “glasses of milk with a drop of vodka in them.” Finally, he and I are involved in a pot again, where I have a flush and he leads every street. He leaves to take a bathroom break. The guy on my left, who has been loving him, gets annoyed as the table gets super nitty and McLovin still hasn’t returned after 20 minutes. “I guess he’s coming back” he says, “he left his chips on the table and his phone on his seat.” I know that means nothing and the fact that he’s not back means he’s likely lost in the pits. I take a bathroom break myself and bring his phone with me. Sure enough, I find him at the craps table, completely oblivious to the fact that he’s phoneless and still has chips in the poker room. When I get back to the poker table, the game is breaking and the staff wants to close the room. I color out with a $520 profit, much of it from McLovin, and jet back to the craps table. I laugh at him because he’s outraged that the floor staff in the Nugget, who have never seen me before in their lives, won’t let me pick up his chips. “Play for me!” he demands as he weaves away from the table to get his stack out of the poker room. I look down and the roller, who’s already established the point as 8, is preparing to roll. I get McLovin’s odds bet down just before the shooter hits the point. I’m adding McLovin’s profit to his chips on the rail when he returns. “You’re gonna roll with me, right? You can’t be thinking of going to bed.” But it’s 4 AM, hours beyond my expiration date. “FOOL!” he bellows as I head to the main cage to cash out. After a smoke in the bar, I head up to bed and dream of shipping the 100k.

Next: Friday January 27th. McLovin is mangled; Borgata Survivor; the Cockroach Man

Nice TR to AC so far PixelPusher! We want more...


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haha done....but to just clear what a PB tourney is like...its probably not what you are thinking

playnxl.com

https://youtu.be/x6wnVADdvgM

OK so less this:


and more this:


Don't forget to include photos of nut shots.

Lmao!!

You got it

Great AC report btw. (There is an AC event for the pintwars in June)

Enjoying the report. Remember that a guy did a whole TR about Macau, so AC should be fine, even better if you get to Vegas soon.

Thanks guys.


Ha. To be fair, the only nickname in the TRs that match real life is McLovin. I created the rest to make it easier to remember who's who (as opposed to Bill, Bob, Dave etc) and to protect everyone's secret identities.

What qualifies as soon?

Pixel, we kind of played a little phone-text tag last year and never ended up in the same spot. Would be cool to meet up this year. My group will be out there for opening weekend Wednesday night to Sunday morning. Cheers, and good luck!

Friday, January 27th.

I rise after 6 1/2 hours of sleep. I wish i could get a full 8, but unfortunately, I need to be available by 10:30 AM in case my staff needs me for anything. I head downstairs for a smoke in the bar and text McLovin. Unlikely he's awake yet, though he may still be gambling at Bally's.

Pixel: Alive?
McLovin: BJ Nugget.

Oh Lord. I finish my smoke and head for the blackjack pit. There he is, folded into a chair. He's sitting on 17 when the dealer busts. "That's too many!" he croaks "I got a calculator right here!" He looks up at me with glazed eyes and a frightening caricature of a grin. "I'm going to play that survivor with you today, $100 dollar last longer bet?" "Uh, yeah dude, we already booked that. I'm going to shower, you want to wrap this up and grab breakfast? You really ought to get some sleep if you're gonna make it past level 1." He agrees and I head back upstairs. From my window, the Borgata glistens gold in the distance.


I'm coming baby

When I return downstairs, McLovin is nowhere to be found. He answers his phone immediately, a good sign. He's back at Bally's, says he's going to catch some sleep. Capital idea.

I have a pleasant meal in the Nugget diner, and have a lot of time to kill before the survivor. Unfortunately, Bravo shows no PLO running over at the Borgata yet so I decide to while away the time in the Nugget poker room. It's a boring session, made better by my occasional trips outdoors to smoke weed. I've got Sour Diesel and Purple Kush with me but decide the Kush, a strong indica, would be a bad idea if I want to make it through into the wee hours of the survivor tourney. The weed robs me of my ambition and instead of getting over to the Borgata for good PLO action prior to 4 PM, I end up wasting most of the afternoon at the Nugget.

McLovin: At Borgata
Pixel: In cab. You register yet? How bad is the line?
McLovin: No. No. Not playing that. I will find you. Break at Amphora?
Pixel: Probably a wise decision. Not heading home?
Radio silence.

The event center is glorious, over a hundred tables of tournament poker, thousands of junkies, pros and recs alike, vying for the prizes. I register and find my table. 20k to start, 30 minute levels until end of registration, then 40 minute levels. I Look down at my first hand: AA

Pixel: First hand of Survivor, dealt AA in MP, raise, all fold.
PLOMonster: Lolz. I will be down there soon.
Pixel: I'm up in event center. Kill the cash games. Should be 5/10 and 10/25 PLO running by time you get here.

Borgata runs the 100k every six weeks or so. The last time I final tabled it, I was a short stack for 6 full hours before chipping up just before the final table. I rode that short stack like a cockroach navigating the apocalypse. Monster and Jay, who were sweating me in the chat, took to the Cockroach Man persona. Not the most flattering moniker, but if the shoe fits...

PLOMonster: Just got here Pixel. GLGL
Pixel: U2. Taking a quick mental health/nicotine break. Only hand of note, gave up 6k in a hand where I flopped TP and FD, turned OESD. Check folded river when I bricked. Villain showed me top two. Level 3, sitting on 13k, 75/150.
JerseyJay: Nice play
Pixel: Survivors are not about trying to build a stack for final table wars. Just gotta survive. I can play in cockroach mode all night if I have to.
JerseyJay: You are the Cockroach Man.

PLOMonster: 5/10 looks nitty and reg infested. Playing 2/5 right now.
Pixel:

PLOMonster: Just won 3 way all in with KKxx on K53r turn 8 river 5
JerseyJay: Yesssssssss
Pixel: Monster gonna monster. Sitting on 5k yet?
PLOMonster: Lol it's 2/5 so not yet
Pixel: End of Level 4. 1st break. Coming back to 50bb

I head downstairs for a smoke and since I haven't heard from McLovin, wander over to the craps pit just to see. Sure enough, he's still going, his gear spread under the table like a vagrant.

"Your wife's gonna kill you. You checked out of Bally's?" He has. He pulls a huge wad of Benjamins from his pocket and shows them to me. His voice is hoarse and he is barely able to communicate, but he continues to roll. I head back up to the event center.

Pixelpusher: Just found McLovin in the pits at Borgata, all his stuff crammed under the table hobo style. Clearly up a lot, no interest in sleeping or going home. Wonder at what point the lizard part of his brain just overrides everything and he passes out on the floor.
JerseyJay: Hahahaha

Things are getting dicey in the survivor. I've lost small pot after small pot until my stack is ground down to 15bb. Finally I look down at AK and shove only to be called by KK.

Pixelpusher: Just doubled AK>KK. Cockroach survives nuclear winter.
JerseyJay: Ha


During Level 8, things start turning around. I win a bunch of small pots and build my stack to over 50k, better than 60bb. A new player takes a seat, an attractive woman at least 10 years my senior.

Pixel: There's a super attractive GILF at my table. I mean she must be right around 60 but I want some.
PLOMonster: GILF is not a thing you sicko

Pixel: Turnabout fair play. Just lost AK<AQ. Lost 20k, back down to 32k. Pffft.
PLOMonster: Hang in there you can do this Cockaroach Man!!!

Finally the second break hits and I head out of the casino for a weed boost and some actual fresh air. It's cold and invigorating outside. I feel refreshed, but it's only 8:30.

We return to Level 9, 500/1k blinds. Registration is over and the levels are now 40 minutes long. 35 make the money and there are still nearly 300 players left. It's gonna be a loooong night. Hopefully.

I've developed a dynamic with the player two to my left. I've been playing my button a lot and he ALWAYS defends his big blind. I have 31bb. It folds to me on the button and I raise to 2500 with 88. The small blind folds and BB raises to 5k. I shove and he tank folds. Up to 37k.

Level 10, 600/1200. I get a little full of myself and run a nonsensical bluff. It doesn't work and I drop down to 32k. In the next hand the hijack raises to 3200 and I call in the cutoff with AJo. The SB calls and we see a lovely JJ3r flop. They both check. Me too. Turn 4. The SB leads for 3500 and the hijack flats. I raise to 10k and they both fold. The SB is muttering about me. I'm up to 48k.

Pixel: Folds to me on the button, I open 98o to 3200. BB calls. Flop K94x. He checks, I bet 3500. He raises to 10k. I shove and he snap folds. 63k.
PLOMonster: Nice job sicko
JerseyJay: Jeez. Why shove?
Pixel: Table dynamic. I've been giving it to the guy and got him on tilt, he's gonna make a big mistake against me soon.
JerseyJay: Wow, I love it. Take the mistake, don't make the mistake.

I'm engaged in this chat exchange while taking a smoke break in the middle of a level. When I come back, I've missed the opportunity to exploit the tilt that I created. While I was away, he spazz shoved into someone with a big hand. Can't say that I would have been the one to bust him but by stepping away, I deprived myself of the opportunity to be in that position. Stupid nicotine jones.

I sit back down during Level 10 and pick up KJ in MP. I open to 3700 and get called by the small blind. The flop is JJ5r and we both check. The turn is Ax. He checks and I bet 3500. He raises to 9k and I flat. River 7x. He shoves. I call and he shows 55, FML. Down to 27k, less than 20bb. Back into cockroach mode.

Pixel: JJ holds against 99. 56k
PLOMonster: Gogogogogo

Level 12, 1k/2k

Pixel: Got owned for two streets. 42k, 21bb. Where the PLO updates?
PLOMonster: Been really card dead. Haven't played a big pot since KK hand. Leaked off $350 raising and folding or calling and folding. Getting some dinner now.

I'm still sitting below 20bb when I shove 44 on the button and get called by AK in the small blind. I hold and double to 72k, 36bb. At the end of Level 12, we get another break. It's around 11 PM and the early birds are heading toward the club. I'm always amazed at how women dress for a night in the club. Who needs pornography?

Start of Level 13. 300/1.2/2.4k. 359 runner, 35 get paid, 110 left. I have 30bb. Monster starts sending PLO hands, he's finally mixing it up again. I pick up a big hand and win a flip, QQ>AK. 118k, 49bb. The grind continues. Level 14 starts and I have 44bb. Level 15 gets underway and we are down to 65. It's taken us nearly 9 hours to pare away 300 players. How long will it take to lose the last 30 so we can end this thing?

Monster keeps me entertained by sending hands. His stack is up and down. He's at 2.6k then loses $900 in boat versus boat violence. We reach the 4th break at 1:15 AM. There are 61 left. When we return to Level 16, I bust a short stack KK>AK and build to 208K. It would be the last time I wield a big stack.

By 2:30 AM, we are getting closer to the bubble.

Pixel: 7 from the money, I have a decent stack, going downstairs for a smoke break so I dont do anything stupid like play a hand lol. Still playing 2/5? Bored as f%$k, it's just a fold fest up here now.
PLOMonster: Yeah game not bad but I am going to pick up. In for $500 out for $2300.

3 AM rolls by, then 4 AM. I go downstairs at the break with the dozen or so other smokers. We look like extras from the Walking Dead. When we go back upstairs, we are 4 from the bubble and it is excruciating. Players are agitating for a chop, screaming at each other from table to table. I have been ground down to a short stack. I'm sitting on 5bb. As always happens, no one can agree on an equitable chop and the players who want to chop are yelling at those who refuse. Play grinds to a near halt with short stacks stalling interminably, hoping other short stacks bust first. The floor staff finally takes control and removes dealers from the box, replacing them with supervisors. Even though we are 4 from the bubble, they begin hand for hand play and put a stop to the douchey shenanigans.

5 AM rolls by. I shove once in an orbit and again in the next just to keep my head barely above water. At 5:30 we are one from the bubble and I am one of the shortest stacks in the room. I look at the player across from me. The big blind is 20k and he has 7k. I only have 30k. 4 hands from now, when I am the big blind, he and I will both be all in. The end is near. And then it happens. A roar erupts from the next table and just like that, at 6 AM, 14 hours after play began, it's over. It takes about 20 minutes for us all to get our paperwork and file downstairs to get paid. Wan smiles on exhausted faces.


My 1.5bb was worth the same as the big stack's 120bb. Cockroach Man survives!

I pocket my brick and head for the taxi stand. As I walk past the craps pit I find MCLOVIN STILL STANDING AT THE SAME CRAPS TABLE. He no longer looks human, what the hell is wrong with you? I ask him. He, surprisingly, can communicate. When I show him the brick I've just won, he says "Good for you, you won almost as much as me." Then he turns back to the table to scream "GO SHOOTER! 8 THE HARD WAY!!!" I'm going back to the Nugget to sleep, I tell him, hope you find your way home. I leave him behind as he high fives the players around him.

Back at the Nugget, my stomach finally rebels and lets me know that it's not cool that I haven't eaten all day. I can barely stand but force myself to sit down in the diner and have some sausage and eggs. I manage to get down about half of the plate beffore I shuffle upstairs. I gaze through the window at the Borgata in the predawn light but don't make it 5 minutes til sunrise before my face and pillow collide.


Borgata in the distance, just before sunrise

Next: poor judgement; semi nude club rats, the Drain and the 5k

For sure, the more the merrier. Will be there the same time as you, if you still have my digits give me a shout or PM me on here.

Excellent writing, thanks for taking the time.

Adding to my bucket list: roll dice with McLovin - what a hero.

Glad to see another top notch tr by pixel. I'm already looking forward to your Vegas tr. I won't be there until the sweet 16 week/end, and will be planning to do another as well.

Thanks. McLovin wants to roll with people who want to roll with him. Pro tip: order him a white russian and do not play the Don't Pass line.

People will be able to read my TR followed by yours. Hopefully someone on here who will be in Vegas for championship weekend will also write a TR so everyone who isn't lucky enough to be there can live vicariously through 2p2. Good luck!


Work is cramping my style, will try to post the last AC installment tonight.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FVUEK6MubcY

Loved the write ups on AC trip, very well done and entertaining. Looking forward to next part. Go cockroach go!

Hey Pixel, you going to get to town early enough to catch the Wynn $250k 3/9-3/12?

If not, hope to see you guys stop by again. Tell McLovin the 25-25 has been running every weekend!

Saturday, January 28th

My plan upon heading to Atlantic City was to play the Survivor and the 100k. After playing past 6 AM and collapsing around 7:30, I should have slept into the afternoon and made a day of it at the PLO tables. But did I? No. Because apparently I'm a moron. I set my alarm for 11:30, determined to stick to the plan and play the 100k. I've had success in the 100k series and spent the night dreaming of shipping it an showing up at home with 10 more bricks in my pocket.

So I wake after 4 hours of sleep, exhausted. The apparition staring back at me from the mirror while I brush my teeth should be a warning sign. The 100k started at 11 AM, so I shower, grab a double shot of espresso from the Starbucks at the Nugget and get in a cab.

Pixel: 4 hours of sleep, dark rings under my eyes. Absolutely spent. Totally -EV but going back to Borg to play 100k.
JerseyJay: I like it
PLOMonster: Woke up at the ungodly hour of 10:30 AM. Trying to get PLO game started.

I call McLovin. No answer. I text him.
Pixel: You alive? Pls tell me u went home
Radio silence.

I'm yawning while at the registration desk. "Long night?" asks the woman taking my entry fee. I smile and grab my seat assignment.

Pixel: Just seated. 15 minutes left in Level 4. 25/100/200. 25k gogogo
PLOMonster: GLGL knock em dead
Pixel: Super aggressive, skilled player to my immediate left already sitting on 120k. FML
Pixel: 1st break, raise/fold one hand. 23.5k

The warning signs are everywhere. In one hand, I try to raise, not realizing that there's been a raise in front of me. In another, I expose my hand, not noticing a third player in a hand in which I thought I was heads up. In another I pick up KK, get no action and the dealer has to remind me to return my cards.

Pixel: Level 6. 50/200/400. Active player raises to 1100. LAG in BTN calls. I pop to 5k from SB w AsQs and take it down. Back to starting stack.
Pixel: Hey Monster how long you sticking around? Looks like my dinner break will be around 6:30.
PLOMonster: Here til midnight, make a res somewhere I will join you.

Exhaustion is starting to get the better of me. I haven't smoked any weed, worried that it will exacerbate the problem. I'm not playing well.

Pixel: You guys will like this hand. Villain is crazy monkey who has raised 7 consecutive hands. Saw him 4 bet pre and show down K7o. He raises to 2k pre, SB calls, I call in bb w As5h. Flop Th7h5c. I check, monkey leads for 3900. SB calls, I SHIP. Monkey re-ships. SB tank folds and monkey shows Ah2h. I hold LOLOL. 62k
PLOMonster: I love it!!! Gogogogogo
JerseyJay:


That stupid play, born of exhaustion, would give me a decent stack but would be emblematic of my play in the tournament.

Pixel: End of re-entry period. Coming back to just over 60bb
PLOMonster: You got a decent stack going
JerseyJay: Can't kill the cockroach

If only that were true. The next level would be my last.

Pixel: Dinner res at 6:30 Monster. Hope I'm still alive in the tournament then. Tired, not sharp. What you playing Monster?
PLOMonster: 2/5 PLO. Very sleepy too.

Pixel: AQ<77, down to 39k
Pixel: TT<KK 2 bb left
PLOMonster: Gack
Pixel: Shove my last 2300 w AQ, get 2 callers. Flop AK3, Turn J, one of them had QT, down to the cash games of maybe a nap.

Four bills down the drain. I wish I could say I got unlcuky in big spots, but the truth is I simply played like a man shuffling cards with mittens on. So it turns out all those doctors telling us to get a good night's sleep know something they're not telling us. Oh, wait.

I wander down into the casino in a haze, have a smoke and head to the poker room to see how PLOMonster is doing. He's sitting at 2/5 PLO and motions to a seat at this table. Based on how I've spent the afternoon playing, I decide that discretion is the better part of valor. We've got 2 hours to kill before our dinner reservation but I don't want to sit anywhere with more than a few bills and I won't play cash games short stacked. I put my name on the 1/2 PLO list and sit at 2/5 NLH with $300 and essentially split my time folding and smoking in the race book. The book is packed. Everyone is waiting for the Pegasus to go off around 6 PM. Last month, McLovin had tried to talk me into spending this weekend inn Florida for a poker/horse racing combo. Gulfstream is hosting this crazy race - each of 12 entrants ponies up $1 million to create a prize pool of $12 million. It's the first race of its kind and sure to attract the best horses in the world. Arrogate and California Chrome are monsters and around Christmastime McLovin was already studying the angles to find a way to bet against Arrogate, who is sure to go off as a huge favorite.

I call McLovin and he finally answers. I've clearly woken him up but he manages to croak out "I'm home" and I laugh at him and hang up.

My PLO seat finally comes up with enough tiime left for a short session.

Pixel: Just doubled first PLO hand. EP makes it $10, I make it $35 from MP with KcQsQcTs. He's my only caller. Flop AhKd9c. He checks, I pot, he calls. Turn Js. He checks, I shove, he calls. He flips KKxx, I showh him Broadway, I hold. Next hand I boat against short stack. +400 first two hands.
PLOMonster: Sweet
JerseyJay: Nicely done
PLOMonster: Just doubled, best board ever. AhKh9s8s I open from CO, 2 callers. Flop 7h6h5s. I pot, SB calls. Turn 4s. I pot, SB ships, I call. River Ks, I scoop.
Pixel: Yesssss. Stacks at this table surprisingly short considering it's the only 1/2 PLO game and it's been running all afternoon. Guess winners have been locking in profit and picking up? Just as I will come dinner time.

I play in lockdown mode until it's time to pick up and cash out +$380. I walk into the race book for a smoke and realize that the Pegasus is about to go off. California Chrome has one of the worst races of his life and finishes out of the money. Arrogate shows the world why he deserves the lion's share of that $12 million. I'm glad I didn't place any bets on the race.

I head for Izakaya, the Borgata's sushi/robatayaki joint and get seated. PLOMonster is just waiting for the dealer change so he can leave his stack on the table for an hour without worrying that it be picked up. I order tea, text McLovin and am surprised that he immediately responds.

Pixel: So California Chrome sure looked good.
McLovin: I shoulda had that trifecta
Pixel: You were so mangled when I saw u this morning I'm amazed you're not still sleeping.
McLovin: Not sleeping thru Pegasus

PLOMonster shows and we have a decent meal. Izakaya's not the best sushi but their small cooked plates are good and the conversation is lively. Surprisingly, we talk very little poker. Monster is a smart guy and rarely boring. We cover politics, the American id and vapid women. After dinner, we part ways. I am too tired to sit in games that have any meaning, so he heads back to the poker room and I stumble into a cab bound for the Nugget.

Pixel: How you get home?
McLovin: Drank cofffee for hours this morning then paid another guy from my craps table $150 to drive me home
Pixel: Glad they didn't find your body on the side of the GSP. I got 4 hours of sleep then woke up to play 100k. Huge mistake, not sharp and busted early. Earned buyin back at PLO so all good.
McLovin: Epic run for me. Borgata gave me $260 in cash comps, I think my previous top comp tally was $45. And I'm now a legend in certain baccarat circles.
Pixel: Ha. Thx again for hooking up Nugget room. Ordered lobster thermindor and Cristal for lunch on your tab. You're a champ.
McLovin: Nothing but the best for the Poker Douche (I had that trademarked for u)

I'm back in the Nugget just after 8 PM. I vacillate between sitting in the poker room and just going to sleep. Better judgement does not win out. There's a $75 donkament running, and I last a whopping 20 minutes. I head upstairs and decide I will play the WSOP 5k. It will cost a whopping $27.50 for a double entry and the add-on and if I fall asleep in the middle of it, who cares? Unfortunately, the wifi is not working in my room. I grab my iPad and head down to the casino and fire up the tourney.

During the 100k, I had also texted updates to my buddy, the Drain, with whom I play in a local monthly tourney in our area. We also play in all the same nightly tourneys on WSOP and sweat each other if we make deep runs. His online profile image depicts a happy toilet.

Pixel: Playing the WSOP 5k, about all I can handle right now. Gonna see if they will let me play in the poker room while I grind at cash table.
Drain: Playing 10k and 5k, see you soon

There’s a wait for a 1/2 seat. I ask the floor man if it’s OK for me to play online while playing at the table. He laughs and says he’s just happy to have people playing in his room, knock yourself out. I’m 5 deep on the waiting list, so I split time between the lounging area of the room and the bar, where I can smoke.

Pixel: Doubled as soon as I sat in 5k. I am BB with QJo. Guy limps, SB raises to 420, I call, limper calls. Flop Q32. SB leads for 800, I call, limper folds. Turn 8. He bets pot, I call. River pairs board and he snap shoves. I tank call, he shows K5o lol. He dusted 70bb. He did it again very next hand against someone else and rebought. Love this game.
Drain: Geez must be nice. You playing PLO or NLH cash?
Pixel: Neither yet. On list for the only 1/2 NLH table in the joint. Problem with Nugget is it’s a small hotel, most ppl just here for the night to party, not here for poker. Meanwhile at Borgata there’s an event center holding thousands of poker players and 75 cash games running. Whatevs, can’t play my best right now so might as well just zoom on autopilot until I can’t stay awake anymore
Drain: Lol should have just shut it down and went to bed…I know I know fecckkk that
Pixel: Besides got a 5k dream table if I get cards I could have 30k by break
Drain: And then punt it off by 11 PM
Pixel: Good I’ll b able to get some sleep. I either bust by 10:15 PM or shiiiiip
Drain: Lolol

My table really is a dream table. The 5k, due to its low buy-in, attracts terrible players every night. There’s good value to be had, but there’s really only good money for the top 2 spots. 1st pays at least $1350 every night, for a buy-in as low as $10.

Pixel: EP minraises, gets called 3 ways. I have AhKh in BB and shove, get called by Jd2d, he wins lol
Drain: Gross
Pixel: I had 80bb to start hand, he had 40bb. He CALLED with J2 plz to not be moved from this table
Drain: People sooooo bad in 5k. Just doubled in 10k BTW
Pixel: Wish I could rail, but on tablet
Drain: Back down to starting stack, SB shoved into my BB when I had TT. He as 77 and flops set. Back to starting stack SMH
Pixel: EP raises to 798, SB calls, I am BB w 99 and 26bb, I shove. EP calls off, shows 33. I flop boat, up to 17k before add on.
Drain: LOL I have 16k and have barely played a hand last hour.

The 9:55 break arrives and after doing the add on, I head over to the poker room to check on my seat. Still 3 ahead of me, FML. Back to the bar.

Pixel: Just did something stupid with jacks. Down to 8k.
Drain: Stil 20+bb. I have 31k in the 10k, 23k in the 5k.
Pixel: Aaaand right back up to 30k, 3 way all in w AA against KT and KQ lol
Drain: Wheeeeee

Back in the poker room, there’s only one person ahead of me on the list, so I sit on the sofa and play while waiting.

Drain: Busto 10k, AK<TT
Pixel: Still in 5k tho yeah?
Drain: Yea 40bb

My seat in the Nugget finally becomes available. It’s a mix of a few regs I’ve seen over the weekend and a bunch of newbies. The player to my left is fascinated by the fact that I am playing cash AND playing a tournament online. He’s super impressed with me, I must be some kind of pro, right? Yeah right kid, I’m a pro playing 1/2 NLH with you AND grinding a $10 online tournament. Have another beer. He’s actually a nice guy and I strike up conversation with him and his attractive girlfriend who’s sitting behind him, sweating him.

Drain: Down to 10, can’t win a flip.
Pixel: Spewing in this 1/2 game. Wish wifi worked in my room, I’d just play up there

And spew I would. I call out of position with stupid hands, check/fold left and right, generally play as badly as I can. But at least the 5k is going well.

Drain: Back to 20k. No more complaining from me 88>QQ lol

Things continue to go poorly at the cash game. I walk over to the bar for a smoke.

Pixel: Still grinding the 5k?
Drain: At your table stupid
Pixel: HAHAHAHAHA I’m f$cking half asleep
Drain: Been here for like 20 hands

In the 5k, UTG raises 3x and cutoff raises to 9x. I am in the BB with JJ and tank. Eventually I decide to flat. UTG shoves. CO tank folds. I tank call and he shows 55. He turns an OESD but I hold and double.

Drain: Sigh. U are one lucky SOB, how do you call off there?
Pixel: I feel OK about it now
Drain: LOL I didn’t until I saw 55. UTG opens, gets 3 bet, u flat he jams, u r lucky to be 50/50 in that spot. U run like god.
Pixel: HeeHaw. Didn’t like the call when I pressed the button but was ready to double or go to bed. Going outside for weed. If you see me time bank out, I fell asleep

I come back to the cash game and continue to play like an idiot. I make a terrible river bluff that gets picked off and reload. What a moron.

At the 10:55 break, my bowels inform me that I need to see a man about a horse and I hightail it up to my room.

Drain: Disconnected or asleep?
Pixel: Had to head upstairs to drop a deuce, no wifi

I spend the next two hours spewing off cash at the Nugget table. I’d post hands, but they would be depressing. The Drain and I continue to sail along until we reach the money bubble.

Pixel: So tired don’t expect to see any genius level play out of me. Will probably spew off for a mincash shortly

The Drain gets moved to another table when the bubble bursts. We are down to three tables.

Drain: Wee just basically doubled with a gutter bluff
Pixel: Bluffing’s a thing in the 5k?
Drain: Flatted 8h6h out of BB. I flop gut check, he bets 3/4 pot, I jam he folds. Up to 110k
Pixel: Let’s goooooo

I get a huge hand at a critical moment...

Pixel: Boat and more than double
Drain: LOL let’s goo

…and then the Drain does as well.

Drain: BOOOOM
Pixel: What happen
Drain: Got AIPF with 99 against KK and I 4 flushed him
Pixel: LET’S GOOO
Drain: 365k

We reach the final table bubble after the 12:55 break.

Pixel: Final table b%$ches let’s go
Drain: Let’s goooo
Pixel: I’m mangled exhausted stoned going for grilled cheese and soup let’s finish this thing heads up

I have finally managed to spew off the rest of my chips at the 1/2 table. In for $500 and I lost it all, and purely from bad play. I suck.
I make my way to the diner and get seated right next to a table of 10 women who are winding down after a night in the club. Most of them are pretty attractive, at least physically, as they pick at their plates of cheese fries and screech at one another.

Pixel: Seated next to a table full of club rats with giant eyelashes and their tits all trussed out. Loved it at first until I endured 15 minutes of them jabbering now I want to stab them all in the eyeballs
Drain: LOL?? Back to back get it in large and noooo
Pixel: Stack size?
Drain: 312k, was chip leader at 570. Double two shorties

Finally the bubble bursts and we make the final table. The Drain is to my immediate left. Three more club rats wobble in to join the already loud table next to me and it immediately gets even louder.

Pixel: These b&$ches must shut up, there were like 8 of them when I got here now there’s a dozen and they’re screeching at each other like monkeys at the zoo.

Things improve. One of the new additions to the club rat table is very attractive and wearing a very tight mini dress. She lunges at a friend across the table and her dress literally pops up over her waist. She is wearing the tiniest of g-strings, and it hides absolutely nothing. Oh yes, there are the moon and the stars. She shows me all of it and even though her friends are trying to pull her dress down for her, she swats them away and shows me again.

Pixel: The one who keeps showing me her ass is changing my mind about being here.
Drain: LOL pic please
Pixel: I am def not gonna be that creepy old dude sneaking upskirt pics but believe me it is awesome
Drain: Lolol in no way are you “old”
Pixel: Listen if u are some young hot 23 yr old and look over at the 50 yr old dude leering at u u’d feel differently
Drain: LOL

My food arrives and I eat, and play, and continue to be entertained by these loud women. One of the girls at the table starts yelling about how sick she is of her double sided tape. She reaches into her dress and starts to tear it out. One of her breasts pops out, she sees me seeing this, and does not care. She rips the tape off, fixes her top and goes back to her cheese fries.

We lose a couple of players. We’re down to 7, then 6. The club rat table is finally breaking up. Their poor waiter is trying to put together 12 separate checks and one by one, they begin to filter away. Except for minidress girl. She gets up, spots me and decides to sit down next to me. This ought to fun.

“This is the greatest night of my life!!!”
“I’m happy for you. It’s still early.”
“No, no I’m serious. What are you doing?”
“I’m playing poker.”

She swats at the iPad, knocks it flat. As I’m righting it, one of her friends apologizes to me and tries to drag her away. She gets half way up, loses her balance and ends up in my lap. Her friend, who is at least somewhat sober, is mortified. She apologizes while she pulls minidress toward the exit.

Pixel: Dude these b$%ches be crazy
Drain: Kinda jealous. Whip out that 5k brick they’ll get really nutty
Pixel: Hahaha one of em just fell in my lap not kidding they are drunk as feck

The Drain knocks another player out.

Drain: BOOOOM LET”S GOOOO
Pixel: iPad at 24% let’s get this done quick
Drain: Winner buys dinner with wives
Pixel: Book it
Drain: Have to ship otherwise off
Pixel: Yep

I finish up in the diner and head over to the bar to sit and smoke and play. We get down to 3 handed play, the Drain and I and one very bad player that I’ve played with before.

Pixel: Mangled need sleep let’s knock this idiot out
Drain: Lol let’s go wake up almost done
Pixel: gonna have to switch to my phone soon iPad almost dead how I gonna press those tiny buttons on my phone.

3 way play lasts for longer than I thought it would. Finally, the Drain raises his button when I have AK in the BB. I shove, he calls and shows QQ. I bink and knock him out in 3rd place.

Pixel: Aaaargh sucks
Drain: Sigh shiiiip and knock this punk out and then buy me dinner

It was not to be. That monkey owned me heads up. Finally, he has a 2 million to 800k chip lead and starts shoving every hand. Eventually, I see a king and call off. He shows A7 and holds. FML

WSOP: Congratulations! You finished in 2nd place in the tournament. $800 has been deposited in your account.
Pixel: F$%K
Pixel: NO SOUP FOR U
Drain: You just cost me dinner!!!
Drain: LOL GG
Pixel: Now I can sleep thank f$%king Christ. GG was fun

One smoke and 5 minutes later I am upstairs and asleep. I wake just before checkout and get on the road. There’s a brick in my pocket and an extra $800 in my WSOP account. I’m going to borrow from George W. Bush and call it MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

Thanks Nit.

Hey Ryan. Won't be in town til the 15th. Looked at booking Wynn but value play was a suite at Ceasar's for less than Wynn/Encore's standard room. PLOMonster not coming so won't be bringing you any 25/25 players. Hope we can make it down there at some point, I'm sure McLovin will want to roll bones at the Wynn at some point. Just for giggles, can you PM me the minimum spend for a table in the Players Club for March Madness?

You need to time your visit to when Trooper's friends visit. They were playing at Bally's, traditional home to three 1/2 NL games. They had 3 PLO games running, everyone in town smells the PLO money when Trooper's crew visits. There were multiple 10k+ stacks on their table, supposedly a 1/2 game.

Another Pixel tr yesss.





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