MuckPls and BigWhale vs Vegas (01/13-01/27)
01-18-2024
, 01:56 PM
For last night, I decided to head down(town) to a place where I have only one single losing session in my life: Golden Nugget. It's always fun arriving at Fremont Street and see all the sights and colors:
Immediately got seated into a $1-$2 game, and bought in for $400. I quickly noticed that one of the players at the table seemed to be a huge action player; often raising to $20 pre (10x) and generally blasting away in pots. In the first one I saw, he raised pre with 52s, flopped a flushdraw, and snap-called an all-in of $270 from a player with TP.
My first hand was when this guy straddled, and an OMC looking guy made it $25. I look down at TT, and decided to call. Could certainly 3-bet, but with being so new to the table and not knowing too much about the others I chose the more passive route. Straddle also calls. Flop comes A-Q-7, which is not quite what I was looking for. Thus I folded when the OMC bet out $65.
Then I find KK from UTG, which is a welcome sight. I make it $10, although in hindsight I should probably have raised higher in all hands pre, due to the willingness of the maniac to call anything. But that thought honestly didn't occur to me until right now when writing, which is not good enough. This table was perfect for increasing the raise size and get more money in pre with the best hand.
Either way, player to my left calls, a tight Asian player calls, and the maniac calls on the button. Floop comes 4-5-6 two clubs, and I am first to act. I decided to check, which is debatable. Often the best thing to do in these spots is just to bet, as very few players at this level are good enough to attack the board with range advantage.
It checks all the way to the maniac, who bets $20, and I think I missed a raise here. His range for betting will be very wide, and raising also forces out the other players - although they are likely not that strong since they checked after I did it. Instead I just call, and the other two call as well.
Still 4-ways to the turn, which comes another 5. Reasonable card, as it cuts down on combos of strong hands on the flop. I check, the other two checks, and maniac instantly slides out $80. I call, prepared to call down on most rivers, and the other two fold. River is however a 7, which is not a card I wanted to see. I check, and he checks back while tabeling K5o for trips. Sigh. That said, could not have gotten him off whatever I did at any point most likely. Still think that just betting flop, or check-raising it would have been a better play though.
Reload another $100 then, and soon find an opportunity to 3-bet the maniac. He raises to $20 as always, and I have AJdd in SB. I make it $75, and he folds, while stating that he must probably change his style now that 'this guy' is on to him. Spoiler: he did not change his style
Then I find J9dd from 4th position and raise to $10 (we are only 7-handed at this point). Tight Asian player calls on button, SB calls and BB (maniac) calls. Flop comes Q-7-2 with two diamonds, so I flop a flushdraw. It checks to me, and I decided to check it. This is definitely an unusual line for me, but I thought it could be a bit deceptive if a flush comes in, and there are also some cards on the turn which will give me an additional draw. It checks to the tight Asian who bets $20, and I am the only caller.
Turn is the 6d, and I decided to lead for $55 with my flush. I did not want this card to go check-check, and I had decided that I would lead if I made the flush. He thinks about it for a bit and calls. River is another 7, which is not ideal, but I obviously still have a very strong hand. I bet $125 to target a Queen, although in hindsight I think I should have gone a bit smaller for that purpose.
The Asian player goes in the tank, before showing all-in. I groan loudly, as I have only left myself with around $200 back and in that regard I am fairly priced in. However, I am 99% certain that this is the same Asian I played with at Golden Nugget in September last year, who was crazy tight and who I folded top set to on a 3-flush board (and obviously was correct). There is just no way this player finds the all-in here with a lower flush, especially against my fairly big sizing ($125 into $190). So I think that I am either up against the nut flush or a boat.
I make a pained fold, although it hurts my soul to once again having to give up a big pot on the river with a strong hand. Maybe I should make some more pot-odds call just in case there are some random spazz factors in play at times? Bart Hanson often says that he don't like to fold hands high up in range at this level due to all the random sh*t that he have seen. At the same time, this player was very tight all the way through the session, so I do think in this instance I made the correct laydown.
I add on another $200 and am well buried now, however I didn't have time to well on that too long. Maniac raises to $20, the OMC calls, and I just call in BB with A4cc (probably another spot to 3-bet). The flop comes A-4-Q two hearts, which is pretty decent. I check, Maniac bets $35, OMC folds, and I check-raise to $105. He asks how much I have behind, before eventually making the call.
Turn is another A, so we have a full house. I have around $260 behind and pot is around the same. Could jam, but I decided to only bet $50, simply to either keep him in or to get him to spazz out in case he thought the bet was fishy. He calls. River is a Q, and although there are some hands I am losing to, I think he would jam turn if he had AJ or AQ. So I move all-in, but sadly he folds quickly. Maybe he was on the heart draw, as I strongly doubt he would manage to fold the case Ace.
Very next hand I am SB, and Maniac obviously makes it $20. There is one call behind, I call in SB with 77, and BB also calls. Flop comes 8-8-7, which is pretty great. I check, BB checks, maniac actually checks, and it checks around.
Turn is a T, and I lead out for $25. Very small, but should have a near lock here and I want someone to draw to a straight for example. BB calls, and the other two fold out. River is a J, and I really hope that he has a 9 in his hand. I don't think he will fold it if so, given how he have seen that I have been blasting in some pots. So I bet no less than $205 (into $130), but he just instantly folds and says he was on a flush draw.
Have actually recovered most of the losses by now, only down about a $100 or so. We do however run into more trouble with big pairs, when I raise AA to $10 from 3rd position. Maniac calls in SB and a new woman to the table calls in BB. Flop is T-8-5 two hearts, and after two checks to me I bet $17.
Only the Maniac calls, and we go heads-up to Kh on turn. Flush came in, but I am not too worried about that yet. He checks, and I bet $40. He seems to think about it for a bit, before calling. I was ready to go for value on the river as well, only to see 9h land. 4 hearts out there, he checks, and I just flip over my hand for the check back as I have black cards. It's not good, as he has Q4 of hearts for the turned flush. I guess I got lucky then, as I would for sure have gone for value on a black 9 for example.
Then I find AKo UTG only two hands later, and go to make it $10. I do however accidentally drop a third $5 chip out there from my hand, which makes it a raise to $15. Guy to my left just lost big pot vs Maniac, and moves all-in for $23. Tight Asian calls, Maniac calls, and since I made it $15 (and not my usual $10), I am sadly not allowed to reopen the betting.
Flop comes J-T-9 two spades, and I have Ks. I check, Asian checks, and Maniac bets $25. Definitely worth it to see another card, so I call and Asian folds. Turn is a red 6, and goes check check. River is the 7s, and he goes to bet $200. I obviously fold, and he shows A8ss for a rivered flush. Would I have gotten him off with a 4-bet to isolate pre, if I didn't make the sizing mistake? I honestly dont think so.
Very next hand there is a limp for $2, the Maniac makes it $25 and I find KK in BB. Beautiful sight, and I size significantly up to $105. Limper folds, and Maniac calls. Flop is 3-4-6 rainbow, and I bet $90. He folds quickly. Don't think I could have gone anwhere there though, if he wanted to play for more.
Then I make a stupid mistake, where there are two limps to me, and I call as well with K8cc. Asian on the button makes it $15, and after the other two call, I feel somewhat obliged to throw it in there as well. So we go 4-ways to T-4-6 two clubs, and Asian bets out $25 after everyone checks to him. I call, and we see a 7 on turn. I now have two draws, and my plan was to play this one hard if he bets again, as we were plenty deep. He does however check back.
River is a K, and I think about it for a second and check it over to him. Might not be a great card against his range, as there is no way he stops betting with QQ/JJ on turn I think. He bets $30, and for that small of a prize I have to call although I don't love it. And sure enough, he shows TT for top set on flop. I guess it's a good thing he didn't bet turn, since I was ready to play my K high and big draw fast. But I should just fold this junk pre, or raise it up in position against the limpers.
A bit later I raise 88 to $10 from EP, Maniac calls SB and woman calls BB. Flop comes A-4-2 two hearts, and after they check I take a stab for $15. Maniac obviously calls, while woman fold. Turn is another 4, and goes check-check. I am mostly trying to get to showdown now that I couldn't win it on the flop, but I know he will likely bet 99% of the time on the river.
He does that for $25, however the river is 8h. So the flush comes in, but I make an etremely hidden full house. I raise it up to $115, but sadly he just folds after thinking about it for 10 seconds. Too bad he does not have a flush there, as I think I could have gotten even more then (he was that kind of player).
Then it's time for a poorly played hand, which starts standard enough with me raising 99 to $10 from UTG. Maniac calls on button, and the OMC in BB calls. Flop is 3-4-5, which is coordinated but reasonable enough. It checks to me, and I bet $15. Maniac snap-calls while OMC tank-calls with what seemed like real uncertainty.
Turn comes a 2, and after OMC checks to me I decided to bet again. I can rep the Ace, pluss maybe still get value from 6x. I make it $40, but this was way too optimistic and I open myself up for trouble. Maniac delivers trouble, although only with a minraise to $80. It's a silly sizing, but he could easily have an Ace, and even if not - what cards are really good for me on the river? Even a 9 wouldn't help much against what he is representing. So I make the fold to avoid compounding the mistake.
Then I go into card-dead mode, while a new player has joined the table. This guy in his 50s turned out to be a maniac of sorts as well, and did not seem afraid to gamble + raised some weird huge amounts at times. He also 3-bet once with 63o and took it down.
With this in mind, it folds to me on the button. AJo seems good, so I raise to $10. This new maniac immediately raises to $25, and BB (a new younger guy) cold-calls the $25. This sets it up for me to use this hand as a 4-bet bluff, given the money from the 'dead' cold-caller. While I do think he is somewhat strong, he would have 4-bet his very best hands. And the guy in SB could have a lot of random junk given his playing style.
I raise it up to $115, only to see SB almost immediately match the bet. BB then starts thinking and muttering out loud, and clearly is uncomfortable with his decision. Finally he decided to move all-in for $205 or so. Bit of a crazy spot, but SB has around $250 back and I dont think he is insanely strong. So in lack of better options, I move all-in to force him out and hopefully have a flip against BB.
It works as SB folds (he said after I had him dominated), and the board runs out A-7-4-K-8. The Big Blind immediately said 'oh, you got me' when he saw the flop, so I assume he had something like 99 or TT. Strange hand overall, very rare that I would find myself in a spot where I put in 100 bb pre with AJo. But it seemed ok for this situation.
That hand actually took me back in profit, and although I played for a bit longer the game got very short (as lots of players busted), and eventually broke. I could have gone on the list for another table, but decided to just take the $144 profit after 2 hours and 45 minutes. Pretty crazy session, as is often the case at Golden Nugget. Looking at the hand histories I am not entirely happy with how I played, and I always find it a bit difficult to adjust to having a crazy player at the table.
Afterwards I just wandered around Fremont Street for a little bit, but quickly got tired and found an Uber to go back to NYNY. Here is some cool artwork next to the elevator:
I am taking some NyQuil for the flu-symptoms I have, and it sure knocked me out good last night. Slept from 11pm to 9am; getting 10 hours in a row is very unheard of for me in Vegas. But the sun is shining and it's time to start the day. So let's get out there and see what we can find. Hopefully can win some more money as the week progresses, so that my hourly is not as bad as a certain person being discussed a lot in the Poker Vlogger thread
Cash Games:
Hours played: 18h 30 min
Won/lost: +$293 USD
Hourly rate: +$15.8 USD
Tournaments:
Won/lost: -$200 USD (1 played)
Immediately got seated into a $1-$2 game, and bought in for $400. I quickly noticed that one of the players at the table seemed to be a huge action player; often raising to $20 pre (10x) and generally blasting away in pots. In the first one I saw, he raised pre with 52s, flopped a flushdraw, and snap-called an all-in of $270 from a player with TP.
My first hand was when this guy straddled, and an OMC looking guy made it $25. I look down at TT, and decided to call. Could certainly 3-bet, but with being so new to the table and not knowing too much about the others I chose the more passive route. Straddle also calls. Flop comes A-Q-7, which is not quite what I was looking for. Thus I folded when the OMC bet out $65.
Then I find KK from UTG, which is a welcome sight. I make it $10, although in hindsight I should probably have raised higher in all hands pre, due to the willingness of the maniac to call anything. But that thought honestly didn't occur to me until right now when writing, which is not good enough. This table was perfect for increasing the raise size and get more money in pre with the best hand.
Either way, player to my left calls, a tight Asian player calls, and the maniac calls on the button. Floop comes 4-5-6 two clubs, and I am first to act. I decided to check, which is debatable. Often the best thing to do in these spots is just to bet, as very few players at this level are good enough to attack the board with range advantage.
It checks all the way to the maniac, who bets $20, and I think I missed a raise here. His range for betting will be very wide, and raising also forces out the other players - although they are likely not that strong since they checked after I did it. Instead I just call, and the other two call as well.
Still 4-ways to the turn, which comes another 5. Reasonable card, as it cuts down on combos of strong hands on the flop. I check, the other two checks, and maniac instantly slides out $80. I call, prepared to call down on most rivers, and the other two fold. River is however a 7, which is not a card I wanted to see. I check, and he checks back while tabeling K5o for trips. Sigh. That said, could not have gotten him off whatever I did at any point most likely. Still think that just betting flop, or check-raising it would have been a better play though.
Reload another $100 then, and soon find an opportunity to 3-bet the maniac. He raises to $20 as always, and I have AJdd in SB. I make it $75, and he folds, while stating that he must probably change his style now that 'this guy' is on to him. Spoiler: he did not change his style
Then I find J9dd from 4th position and raise to $10 (we are only 7-handed at this point). Tight Asian player calls on button, SB calls and BB (maniac) calls. Flop comes Q-7-2 with two diamonds, so I flop a flushdraw. It checks to me, and I decided to check it. This is definitely an unusual line for me, but I thought it could be a bit deceptive if a flush comes in, and there are also some cards on the turn which will give me an additional draw. It checks to the tight Asian who bets $20, and I am the only caller.
Turn is the 6d, and I decided to lead for $55 with my flush. I did not want this card to go check-check, and I had decided that I would lead if I made the flush. He thinks about it for a bit and calls. River is another 7, which is not ideal, but I obviously still have a very strong hand. I bet $125 to target a Queen, although in hindsight I think I should have gone a bit smaller for that purpose.
The Asian player goes in the tank, before showing all-in. I groan loudly, as I have only left myself with around $200 back and in that regard I am fairly priced in. However, I am 99% certain that this is the same Asian I played with at Golden Nugget in September last year, who was crazy tight and who I folded top set to on a 3-flush board (and obviously was correct). There is just no way this player finds the all-in here with a lower flush, especially against my fairly big sizing ($125 into $190). So I think that I am either up against the nut flush or a boat.
I make a pained fold, although it hurts my soul to once again having to give up a big pot on the river with a strong hand. Maybe I should make some more pot-odds call just in case there are some random spazz factors in play at times? Bart Hanson often says that he don't like to fold hands high up in range at this level due to all the random sh*t that he have seen. At the same time, this player was very tight all the way through the session, so I do think in this instance I made the correct laydown.
I add on another $200 and am well buried now, however I didn't have time to well on that too long. Maniac raises to $20, the OMC calls, and I just call in BB with A4cc (probably another spot to 3-bet). The flop comes A-4-Q two hearts, which is pretty decent. I check, Maniac bets $35, OMC folds, and I check-raise to $105. He asks how much I have behind, before eventually making the call.
Turn is another A, so we have a full house. I have around $260 behind and pot is around the same. Could jam, but I decided to only bet $50, simply to either keep him in or to get him to spazz out in case he thought the bet was fishy. He calls. River is a Q, and although there are some hands I am losing to, I think he would jam turn if he had AJ or AQ. So I move all-in, but sadly he folds quickly. Maybe he was on the heart draw, as I strongly doubt he would manage to fold the case Ace.
Very next hand I am SB, and Maniac obviously makes it $20. There is one call behind, I call in SB with 77, and BB also calls. Flop comes 8-8-7, which is pretty great. I check, BB checks, maniac actually checks, and it checks around.
Turn is a T, and I lead out for $25. Very small, but should have a near lock here and I want someone to draw to a straight for example. BB calls, and the other two fold out. River is a J, and I really hope that he has a 9 in his hand. I don't think he will fold it if so, given how he have seen that I have been blasting in some pots. So I bet no less than $205 (into $130), but he just instantly folds and says he was on a flush draw.
Have actually recovered most of the losses by now, only down about a $100 or so. We do however run into more trouble with big pairs, when I raise AA to $10 from 3rd position. Maniac calls in SB and a new woman to the table calls in BB. Flop is T-8-5 two hearts, and after two checks to me I bet $17.
Only the Maniac calls, and we go heads-up to Kh on turn. Flush came in, but I am not too worried about that yet. He checks, and I bet $40. He seems to think about it for a bit, before calling. I was ready to go for value on the river as well, only to see 9h land. 4 hearts out there, he checks, and I just flip over my hand for the check back as I have black cards. It's not good, as he has Q4 of hearts for the turned flush. I guess I got lucky then, as I would for sure have gone for value on a black 9 for example.
Then I find AKo UTG only two hands later, and go to make it $10. I do however accidentally drop a third $5 chip out there from my hand, which makes it a raise to $15. Guy to my left just lost big pot vs Maniac, and moves all-in for $23. Tight Asian calls, Maniac calls, and since I made it $15 (and not my usual $10), I am sadly not allowed to reopen the betting.
Flop comes J-T-9 two spades, and I have Ks. I check, Asian checks, and Maniac bets $25. Definitely worth it to see another card, so I call and Asian folds. Turn is a red 6, and goes check check. River is the 7s, and he goes to bet $200. I obviously fold, and he shows A8ss for a rivered flush. Would I have gotten him off with a 4-bet to isolate pre, if I didn't make the sizing mistake? I honestly dont think so.
Very next hand there is a limp for $2, the Maniac makes it $25 and I find KK in BB. Beautiful sight, and I size significantly up to $105. Limper folds, and Maniac calls. Flop is 3-4-6 rainbow, and I bet $90. He folds quickly. Don't think I could have gone anwhere there though, if he wanted to play for more.
Then I make a stupid mistake, where there are two limps to me, and I call as well with K8cc. Asian on the button makes it $15, and after the other two call, I feel somewhat obliged to throw it in there as well. So we go 4-ways to T-4-6 two clubs, and Asian bets out $25 after everyone checks to him. I call, and we see a 7 on turn. I now have two draws, and my plan was to play this one hard if he bets again, as we were plenty deep. He does however check back.
River is a K, and I think about it for a second and check it over to him. Might not be a great card against his range, as there is no way he stops betting with QQ/JJ on turn I think. He bets $30, and for that small of a prize I have to call although I don't love it. And sure enough, he shows TT for top set on flop. I guess it's a good thing he didn't bet turn, since I was ready to play my K high and big draw fast. But I should just fold this junk pre, or raise it up in position against the limpers.
A bit later I raise 88 to $10 from EP, Maniac calls SB and woman calls BB. Flop comes A-4-2 two hearts, and after they check I take a stab for $15. Maniac obviously calls, while woman fold. Turn is another 4, and goes check-check. I am mostly trying to get to showdown now that I couldn't win it on the flop, but I know he will likely bet 99% of the time on the river.
He does that for $25, however the river is 8h. So the flush comes in, but I make an etremely hidden full house. I raise it up to $115, but sadly he just folds after thinking about it for 10 seconds. Too bad he does not have a flush there, as I think I could have gotten even more then (he was that kind of player).
Then it's time for a poorly played hand, which starts standard enough with me raising 99 to $10 from UTG. Maniac calls on button, and the OMC in BB calls. Flop is 3-4-5, which is coordinated but reasonable enough. It checks to me, and I bet $15. Maniac snap-calls while OMC tank-calls with what seemed like real uncertainty.
Turn comes a 2, and after OMC checks to me I decided to bet again. I can rep the Ace, pluss maybe still get value from 6x. I make it $40, but this was way too optimistic and I open myself up for trouble. Maniac delivers trouble, although only with a minraise to $80. It's a silly sizing, but he could easily have an Ace, and even if not - what cards are really good for me on the river? Even a 9 wouldn't help much against what he is representing. So I make the fold to avoid compounding the mistake.
Then I go into card-dead mode, while a new player has joined the table. This guy in his 50s turned out to be a maniac of sorts as well, and did not seem afraid to gamble + raised some weird huge amounts at times. He also 3-bet once with 63o and took it down.
With this in mind, it folds to me on the button. AJo seems good, so I raise to $10. This new maniac immediately raises to $25, and BB (a new younger guy) cold-calls the $25. This sets it up for me to use this hand as a 4-bet bluff, given the money from the 'dead' cold-caller. While I do think he is somewhat strong, he would have 4-bet his very best hands. And the guy in SB could have a lot of random junk given his playing style.
I raise it up to $115, only to see SB almost immediately match the bet. BB then starts thinking and muttering out loud, and clearly is uncomfortable with his decision. Finally he decided to move all-in for $205 or so. Bit of a crazy spot, but SB has around $250 back and I dont think he is insanely strong. So in lack of better options, I move all-in to force him out and hopefully have a flip against BB.
It works as SB folds (he said after I had him dominated), and the board runs out A-7-4-K-8. The Big Blind immediately said 'oh, you got me' when he saw the flop, so I assume he had something like 99 or TT. Strange hand overall, very rare that I would find myself in a spot where I put in 100 bb pre with AJo. But it seemed ok for this situation.
That hand actually took me back in profit, and although I played for a bit longer the game got very short (as lots of players busted), and eventually broke. I could have gone on the list for another table, but decided to just take the $144 profit after 2 hours and 45 minutes. Pretty crazy session, as is often the case at Golden Nugget. Looking at the hand histories I am not entirely happy with how I played, and I always find it a bit difficult to adjust to having a crazy player at the table.
Afterwards I just wandered around Fremont Street for a little bit, but quickly got tired and found an Uber to go back to NYNY. Here is some cool artwork next to the elevator:
I am taking some NyQuil for the flu-symptoms I have, and it sure knocked me out good last night. Slept from 11pm to 9am; getting 10 hours in a row is very unheard of for me in Vegas. But the sun is shining and it's time to start the day. So let's get out there and see what we can find. Hopefully can win some more money as the week progresses, so that my hourly is not as bad as a certain person being discussed a lot in the Poker Vlogger thread
Cash Games:
Hours played: 18h 30 min
Won/lost: +$293 USD
Hourly rate: +$15.8 USD
Tournaments:
Won/lost: -$200 USD (1 played)
Last edited by BigWhale; 01-18-2024 at 02:04 PM.
01-18-2024
, 02:12 PM
01-18-2024
, 03:40 PM
Some random pics from today.
After a super early morning meeting I went over to the Mandalay Bay shark reef/aquarium for a private guided tour before it opened and holy **** it was absolutely amazing. There were only three of us + the two guides and they showed us everything while it was empty and we ended the tour with a half hour stingray feed, where you get to feed the rays from your hand. It was worth every penny ($65 total), highly recommend if you are in Vegas.
Then met up with BigWhale at Aria, put 200 into a VP machine and was rewarded with:
The run good continues!
After a super early morning meeting I went over to the Mandalay Bay shark reef/aquarium for a private guided tour before it opened and holy **** it was absolutely amazing. There were only three of us + the two guides and they showed us everything while it was empty and we ended the tour with a half hour stingray feed, where you get to feed the rays from your hand. It was worth every penny ($65 total), highly recommend if you are in Vegas.
Then met up with BigWhale at Aria, put 200 into a VP machine and was rewarded with:
The run good continues!
01-18-2024
, 11:43 PM
Had a pretty terrible session at Aria where I got two outered twice for a 1k loss and then blew off some steam at UX which resulted in another 1.5k loss. Not ideal but it’s whatever, variance. Time to take a break until tomorrow/early morning and battle with renewed energy.
Until then some chip porn before it all went away:
On a side note, almost all of my tables at Aria plays significantly larger now that the cap has increased to $500. Had several sessions where average stacks were $1500+. Game plays bigger than the Bellagio 2/5 but with more fish.
Btw does anyone know what is happening around Aria? Hundreds of people dressed up and running around in like alien costumes and stuff like that.
Until then some chip porn before it all went away:
On a side note, almost all of my tables at Aria plays significantly larger now that the cap has increased to $500. Had several sessions where average stacks were $1500+. Game plays bigger than the Bellagio 2/5 but with more fish.
Btw does anyone know what is happening around Aria? Hundreds of people dressed up and running around in like alien costumes and stuff like that.
01-19-2024
, 12:22 PM
When I finally made it outside yesterday, I met up with MuckPls and we eventually went over to Fashion Show Mall. Our ways seperated there, and when I left I actually decided on the short walk over to Resorts World. There were no game yet, but a fair number of players on the list, so I assumed a game would have started by the time I got there. Here we see three hotels in one:
After a short walk, I made it inside and was greeted with a mini-version of The Sphere:
Eventually made my way over to the poker room, but sadly no game ever got going. We were 4 players at one point, but one didn't want to play 4-handed, and it didn't look like any of the remaining ones on list (mostly call-ins) would arrive any time soon. So I just gave that adventure up, as it was late enough in the day already.
I took an Uber over to Bellagio, as Bravo showed no list there. It was a short list when I arrived, but within 15 minutes I was seated and played an extremely frustrating 4 hour session. Lots of small pots, and I don't have many pictures - because who want to see a picture of a dwindelig chip stack? But I will try to run through some of the hands at least.
It actually started great, as I was BB my very first hand. 4 limps to me, and I check my option with a red A5o (would obviously have raised suited). Flop comes A-7-2 rainbow and checks around. Another 2 lands on the turn, also putting two clubs out there. I now bet $7, and only an OMC-looking guy with a veteran's cap calls.
River comes a red 4, and I decided to check it over to him. I didn't see too many hands to get value from (maybe a 7), but since he checked back flop I thought a flush draw was a big part of his range. So although unlikely, given stereotyping about his age, I thought I would give him a chance to bluff missed clubs.
He almost instantly grabs his entire stack (around $60), and puts it all-in. I was a bit surprised by this, but then realized that he should hardly ever limp any 2x, and he would likely not value bet for that size. Furthermore, the 5 in my hand blocks a potential straight with 35. So I call within 15 seconds, and he says 'good call' and shows T9cc. Poker is fun when you have a plan, and it works out.
Then an Asian woman limps UTG and I make it $15 from second position with KQo (we were playing a bit short handed). OMC calls on the button and she calls. Flop comes K-T-2, and after BB checks I bet $20. OMC folds but the woman calls.
Turn is another T, and she checks again. She could definitely have hit that card, but I still want value versus lower Kx + open enders. So I bet $40, only to see her raise to $100. I fold almost instantly, as this have to be Tx or 22 - no way she is making a bluff when I have raised from early and bet twice on a K high board.
Back to even then, and then made possibly a bad call against another female player. There is a cascade of limpers, I complete A9o from SB (should probably raise big here and try to take it down or get HU), and BB checks. Flop comes A-2-5 two spades, and I should lead here but check. It checks around.
Turn is the 3 of spades, and I check again although I have 9s in my hand. It checks to an older woman, who bets $15. Fairly big, but I decided to call once to see what she does on river. And in worst case, I assume my flush-outs are good. River comes Ts, so I do make a flush. I check, and she bets $20. I certainly didn't like it, but getting an ok prize and I thought she might be afraid to bet any non-nut flush here. So the bet could be polarizing.
I toss in the call, and she shows AJo with the J of spades. So I was behind on both fronts, and I am very surprised she actually found the bet there. She obviously should, but I just didn't expect her to know that.
Then I find 66 from UTG and raises to $12. Same woman calls + the OMC from first hand. Flop comes K-8-2 two diamonds, and I decide to bet $21 here. Obviously have very few clear outs going forward, but I hoped the board + these player types could get it through. I did not, as they both called.
Turn comes with a 7, and I have to give up now that I am called in two spots. It checks around. River is a Q, I check again, the woman bets $20 and the OMC raises to $60. She actually called him with A8o for 2nd pair, and he once again had a busted flush draw (57dd). Heads-up I would have considered another barrel on turn, but with 2 callers one of them could easily have a King and not release it.
I then win a weird one against a fairly active player, when I raise 67hh to $12 from EP1 (6-handed for this hand). He calls from BB and we see J-7-4 spread out. He checks, I bet $10 for some protection, and he check-raises to $25. It seemed a bit fishy to me, so I made the call in position with some good turn possibilities.
Turn is an A, and he checks. I actually decided to bet $30 here, applying something that Brad Owen have talked about in his vlogs - better to take control of the pot than to cap your range with a check-back. He does check-call. River is a T, and after he checks I just check it back. I halfway expect to lose, but he says 'you're good 'and shortly after says he was open ended.
Then I find TT from UTG and make it $12 as always. EP1 and EP2 calls, and we go 3-ways to T-9-7 rainbow. Interesting. I actually decided on a check-raise here, as this board should be better for the callers and it's very easy for someone else to have something - despite me having top set. EP1 also checks, but EP2 (30-ish guy) bets out $15. I check-raise to $50 and he calls.
Turn comes a 5, which doesn't fill anything that wasn't already there. He has around $150 left, and with the pot being around $120 I just decided to jam. I figured he would have something fairly good to call the check-raise, but at the same time I didn't want to make it cheap for him to draw to a straight. He did however fold quickly, so maybe all he had was an open-ender.
Actually a small profit now, but that would not last. I lost a small one raising with 66 from EP1 to $12, and only the Small Blind called. He check-called a bet of $10 on A-2-2, and we both checked Q turn and 7 river. He won with 88.
Then there is a raise to $10 from early, a call from mid-position, and I defend BB with K6hh. Flop comes K-K-J, which is decent. I check, the raiser checks, and the caller (an OMC) bets $11. I decided to not fast-play here, but just call. My kicker is not the best, and a raise here will probably make it hard even for a Jack to continue. To my surprise the preflop-raiser also calls.
Turn comes a T, and PFR now leads out for $25. The OMC folds, and I call. This line stinks a bit like AQ or some kind of slow played monster, but I couldn't fold quite yet. River is a 5, so I don't boat up and have to check it over to him. He quickly bets $50, and I have another of these spots. One part of me wanted to call due to potodds and having trips, but when playing the hand back in my head it just looks sooo much like he has AQ here. Or even a slow played Jacks full. So I end up folding without showing, and he is kind enough to show me AQ. Obviously I win the pot with a raise on the flop, could maybe have made a small one to $30 or something.
Then there are three limps to me, although I sadly missed one of these and thought it was only 2. I am in cutoff and raise up AQo to $17. Button calls, SB calls, BB calls, and all 3 limpers call. So we go no less than 7-way to the flop, which already has $119 USD in it.
K-Q-9 two spades (I have none) is the board, and after the blinds check a limper leads out $65. Another player calls the bet with only around $25 behind, and I just don't think I can continue here with this many players, a coordinated board and only second pair. So I fold the best hand - they only had J8ss and A2ss, and the former win when he rivers a Jack.
It's a big pot over $200 USD, and a small part of me wonders if I should be more sticky in these spots - especially since leads tend to be fairly weak ranges. But at the same time, I think it would be burning money against most, even if it turned out I would have won here.
I have probably added on another $100 by now, and I raise T9ss from 3rd position to $12 a while later. I get 3 callers, and the flop comes A-K-4 two hearts. It checks to me, and I probably make a mistake by betting $17 here. My thinking was go to bet-bet-bet on this board, however I think it's too optimistic 4-ways with no backdoor, and with a flushdraw out there. It's just way too unlikely I will get the clean runout I need for this to work.
I get two callers, and turn is the 8 of hearts. Cannot continue bluffing then, so I just check and give up. Definitely could have saved those $17, especially when we are this multi-way to the flop. I can consider starting a bet if there is a spade out there, just so that I have something to work with to the turn.
Then the mid-30s guy raises to $10, button calls, and I defend BB with KTo. Trouble hand for sure, but he made it cheap and we were playing very shorthanded now (5-handed). Flop comes J-T-9, and after I check the raiser bets $15. Button folds, and I call.
Turn comes a 5, and after I check he bets $30. I was tempted to use the K in my hand to represent KQ and raise here, but I didn't think I would have much credibility due to my losing image at the table. So I decided to call instead, and dare him to be again on the river. I also do not have to fear that my out for a straight (Q) is a dirty one against AK - I strongly doubt he would play Ace King like this if he just missed and was facing this board.
River is an Ace, not what I was hoping for. I check, he bets $100 and I fold quickly. Probably added on another hundred after this hand as well.
Downward trend continues. I raise AK pre, get 4 callers, and J-T-4 board with two diamonds. Since we are very multiway and I have no diamond, I chose not to bet here and just give up (checked through, and turn was another diamond). I then had KK a bit later, but was only able to win a tiny pot.
Then I raise AQhh to $18 from BB after 3 players have limped in. First limper calls, and we are heads-up to K-8-4 no hearts. Still a good texture though, so I bet $20. He calls.
Turn is a 2, and I decided on one more barrel to hopefully get him off anything below a King. I bet $50, but he calls very quickly. River is another K, and although that makes it less likely he has one I still have to give up here. I check, he bets $100 and I fold.
And this is pretty much how the session went. I made a lot of raises pre, mostly with good hands, but just couldn't connect with anything and often got many callers. I raised 88 over a limp and got 4 callers, I raised 66 (again) pre and got 3 callers, never even close to connecting. Just too many players, no good boards, and the times I tried to step out of line a bit I was never successful. Stack mostly looked like this, even after adding on several times:
As I am still not feeling 100%, I got very exhausted after a while and couldn't quite see how I would win back the losses. The game was ok at times, and I am sure that I could have gotten paid some eventually if I actually managed to connect a bit more. But I just didn't have the energy to play any longer, just getting out of the chair and start walking was exhausting enough in itself. All the losses in small pots and constantly having to add on lead to a negative result of -$341.
It's easy to feel a bit dejected when things are not going your way, especially also since I am sick and not able to put in the volume I want to. It's also easy to start doubting your game, wondering if my strategies are not working anymore, or if there is something I am not applying correctly. I mean, there obviously are a lot of mistakes, but I cannot see that I have made any gigantic ones dollar-wise.
Looking at the hands I played, most seem reasonable enough and I usually have some kind of idea why I am betting or not. And obviously lol sample size, as I don't have that many hours so far. It feels like I am not connecting all the well or getting paid off in spots, but I do think randomness is mostly to blame for that. Because the players have not gotten significantly better; I still see so many absurd mistakes and bullsh*t hands at showdown etc. But so far the punts are not really coming my way.
It's a new day, and this is the view outside of my room. Truth be told, I am pretty exhausted even after a lot of sleep. But I will take some more medicine and see if I can find the energy to head out somewhere and play.
The trip has so far certainly not been what I dreamed about, as I am sick, I am losing in poker, I am getting crushed on VP (not degening it away, but have hardly had one single winning session there), and for the first time ever I am actually struggling with my bankroll and getting a hold of more USD. So it's safe to say that unless things turn around, I likely won't be able to take any $2/$5 shots. But hopefully I can recover a bit (in all ways), and get a good ending to the trip before going home on Tuesday evening.
Sad results below, now in minus.
Cash Games:
Hours played: 22h 30 min
Won/lost: -$48 USD
Hourly rate: -$2.1 USD
Tournaments:
Won/lost: -$200 USD (1 played)
After a short walk, I made it inside and was greeted with a mini-version of The Sphere:
Eventually made my way over to the poker room, but sadly no game ever got going. We were 4 players at one point, but one didn't want to play 4-handed, and it didn't look like any of the remaining ones on list (mostly call-ins) would arrive any time soon. So I just gave that adventure up, as it was late enough in the day already.
I took an Uber over to Bellagio, as Bravo showed no list there. It was a short list when I arrived, but within 15 minutes I was seated and played an extremely frustrating 4 hour session. Lots of small pots, and I don't have many pictures - because who want to see a picture of a dwindelig chip stack? But I will try to run through some of the hands at least.
It actually started great, as I was BB my very first hand. 4 limps to me, and I check my option with a red A5o (would obviously have raised suited). Flop comes A-7-2 rainbow and checks around. Another 2 lands on the turn, also putting two clubs out there. I now bet $7, and only an OMC-looking guy with a veteran's cap calls.
River comes a red 4, and I decided to check it over to him. I didn't see too many hands to get value from (maybe a 7), but since he checked back flop I thought a flush draw was a big part of his range. So although unlikely, given stereotyping about his age, I thought I would give him a chance to bluff missed clubs.
He almost instantly grabs his entire stack (around $60), and puts it all-in. I was a bit surprised by this, but then realized that he should hardly ever limp any 2x, and he would likely not value bet for that size. Furthermore, the 5 in my hand blocks a potential straight with 35. So I call within 15 seconds, and he says 'good call' and shows T9cc. Poker is fun when you have a plan, and it works out.
Then an Asian woman limps UTG and I make it $15 from second position with KQo (we were playing a bit short handed). OMC calls on the button and she calls. Flop comes K-T-2, and after BB checks I bet $20. OMC folds but the woman calls.
Turn is another T, and she checks again. She could definitely have hit that card, but I still want value versus lower Kx + open enders. So I bet $40, only to see her raise to $100. I fold almost instantly, as this have to be Tx or 22 - no way she is making a bluff when I have raised from early and bet twice on a K high board.
Back to even then, and then made possibly a bad call against another female player. There is a cascade of limpers, I complete A9o from SB (should probably raise big here and try to take it down or get HU), and BB checks. Flop comes A-2-5 two spades, and I should lead here but check. It checks around.
Turn is the 3 of spades, and I check again although I have 9s in my hand. It checks to an older woman, who bets $15. Fairly big, but I decided to call once to see what she does on river. And in worst case, I assume my flush-outs are good. River comes Ts, so I do make a flush. I check, and she bets $20. I certainly didn't like it, but getting an ok prize and I thought she might be afraid to bet any non-nut flush here. So the bet could be polarizing.
I toss in the call, and she shows AJo with the J of spades. So I was behind on both fronts, and I am very surprised she actually found the bet there. She obviously should, but I just didn't expect her to know that.
Then I find 66 from UTG and raises to $12. Same woman calls + the OMC from first hand. Flop comes K-8-2 two diamonds, and I decide to bet $21 here. Obviously have very few clear outs going forward, but I hoped the board + these player types could get it through. I did not, as they both called.
Turn comes with a 7, and I have to give up now that I am called in two spots. It checks around. River is a Q, I check again, the woman bets $20 and the OMC raises to $60. She actually called him with A8o for 2nd pair, and he once again had a busted flush draw (57dd). Heads-up I would have considered another barrel on turn, but with 2 callers one of them could easily have a King and not release it.
I then win a weird one against a fairly active player, when I raise 67hh to $12 from EP1 (6-handed for this hand). He calls from BB and we see J-7-4 spread out. He checks, I bet $10 for some protection, and he check-raises to $25. It seemed a bit fishy to me, so I made the call in position with some good turn possibilities.
Turn is an A, and he checks. I actually decided to bet $30 here, applying something that Brad Owen have talked about in his vlogs - better to take control of the pot than to cap your range with a check-back. He does check-call. River is a T, and after he checks I just check it back. I halfway expect to lose, but he says 'you're good 'and shortly after says he was open ended.
Then I find TT from UTG and make it $12 as always. EP1 and EP2 calls, and we go 3-ways to T-9-7 rainbow. Interesting. I actually decided on a check-raise here, as this board should be better for the callers and it's very easy for someone else to have something - despite me having top set. EP1 also checks, but EP2 (30-ish guy) bets out $15. I check-raise to $50 and he calls.
Turn comes a 5, which doesn't fill anything that wasn't already there. He has around $150 left, and with the pot being around $120 I just decided to jam. I figured he would have something fairly good to call the check-raise, but at the same time I didn't want to make it cheap for him to draw to a straight. He did however fold quickly, so maybe all he had was an open-ender.
Actually a small profit now, but that would not last. I lost a small one raising with 66 from EP1 to $12, and only the Small Blind called. He check-called a bet of $10 on A-2-2, and we both checked Q turn and 7 river. He won with 88.
Then there is a raise to $10 from early, a call from mid-position, and I defend BB with K6hh. Flop comes K-K-J, which is decent. I check, the raiser checks, and the caller (an OMC) bets $11. I decided to not fast-play here, but just call. My kicker is not the best, and a raise here will probably make it hard even for a Jack to continue. To my surprise the preflop-raiser also calls.
Turn comes a T, and PFR now leads out for $25. The OMC folds, and I call. This line stinks a bit like AQ or some kind of slow played monster, but I couldn't fold quite yet. River is a 5, so I don't boat up and have to check it over to him. He quickly bets $50, and I have another of these spots. One part of me wanted to call due to potodds and having trips, but when playing the hand back in my head it just looks sooo much like he has AQ here. Or even a slow played Jacks full. So I end up folding without showing, and he is kind enough to show me AQ. Obviously I win the pot with a raise on the flop, could maybe have made a small one to $30 or something.
Then there are three limps to me, although I sadly missed one of these and thought it was only 2. I am in cutoff and raise up AQo to $17. Button calls, SB calls, BB calls, and all 3 limpers call. So we go no less than 7-way to the flop, which already has $119 USD in it.
K-Q-9 two spades (I have none) is the board, and after the blinds check a limper leads out $65. Another player calls the bet with only around $25 behind, and I just don't think I can continue here with this many players, a coordinated board and only second pair. So I fold the best hand - they only had J8ss and A2ss, and the former win when he rivers a Jack.
It's a big pot over $200 USD, and a small part of me wonders if I should be more sticky in these spots - especially since leads tend to be fairly weak ranges. But at the same time, I think it would be burning money against most, even if it turned out I would have won here.
I have probably added on another $100 by now, and I raise T9ss from 3rd position to $12 a while later. I get 3 callers, and the flop comes A-K-4 two hearts. It checks to me, and I probably make a mistake by betting $17 here. My thinking was go to bet-bet-bet on this board, however I think it's too optimistic 4-ways with no backdoor, and with a flushdraw out there. It's just way too unlikely I will get the clean runout I need for this to work.
I get two callers, and turn is the 8 of hearts. Cannot continue bluffing then, so I just check and give up. Definitely could have saved those $17, especially when we are this multi-way to the flop. I can consider starting a bet if there is a spade out there, just so that I have something to work with to the turn.
Then the mid-30s guy raises to $10, button calls, and I defend BB with KTo. Trouble hand for sure, but he made it cheap and we were playing very shorthanded now (5-handed). Flop comes J-T-9, and after I check the raiser bets $15. Button folds, and I call.
Turn comes a 5, and after I check he bets $30. I was tempted to use the K in my hand to represent KQ and raise here, but I didn't think I would have much credibility due to my losing image at the table. So I decided to call instead, and dare him to be again on the river. I also do not have to fear that my out for a straight (Q) is a dirty one against AK - I strongly doubt he would play Ace King like this if he just missed and was facing this board.
River is an Ace, not what I was hoping for. I check, he bets $100 and I fold quickly. Probably added on another hundred after this hand as well.
Downward trend continues. I raise AK pre, get 4 callers, and J-T-4 board with two diamonds. Since we are very multiway and I have no diamond, I chose not to bet here and just give up (checked through, and turn was another diamond). I then had KK a bit later, but was only able to win a tiny pot.
Then I raise AQhh to $18 from BB after 3 players have limped in. First limper calls, and we are heads-up to K-8-4 no hearts. Still a good texture though, so I bet $20. He calls.
Turn is a 2, and I decided on one more barrel to hopefully get him off anything below a King. I bet $50, but he calls very quickly. River is another K, and although that makes it less likely he has one I still have to give up here. I check, he bets $100 and I fold.
And this is pretty much how the session went. I made a lot of raises pre, mostly with good hands, but just couldn't connect with anything and often got many callers. I raised 88 over a limp and got 4 callers, I raised 66 (again) pre and got 3 callers, never even close to connecting. Just too many players, no good boards, and the times I tried to step out of line a bit I was never successful. Stack mostly looked like this, even after adding on several times:
As I am still not feeling 100%, I got very exhausted after a while and couldn't quite see how I would win back the losses. The game was ok at times, and I am sure that I could have gotten paid some eventually if I actually managed to connect a bit more. But I just didn't have the energy to play any longer, just getting out of the chair and start walking was exhausting enough in itself. All the losses in small pots and constantly having to add on lead to a negative result of -$341.
It's easy to feel a bit dejected when things are not going your way, especially also since I am sick and not able to put in the volume I want to. It's also easy to start doubting your game, wondering if my strategies are not working anymore, or if there is something I am not applying correctly. I mean, there obviously are a lot of mistakes, but I cannot see that I have made any gigantic ones dollar-wise.
Looking at the hands I played, most seem reasonable enough and I usually have some kind of idea why I am betting or not. And obviously lol sample size, as I don't have that many hours so far. It feels like I am not connecting all the well or getting paid off in spots, but I do think randomness is mostly to blame for that. Because the players have not gotten significantly better; I still see so many absurd mistakes and bullsh*t hands at showdown etc. But so far the punts are not really coming my way.
It's a new day, and this is the view outside of my room. Truth be told, I am pretty exhausted even after a lot of sleep. But I will take some more medicine and see if I can find the energy to head out somewhere and play.
The trip has so far certainly not been what I dreamed about, as I am sick, I am losing in poker, I am getting crushed on VP (not degening it away, but have hardly had one single winning session there), and for the first time ever I am actually struggling with my bankroll and getting a hold of more USD. So it's safe to say that unless things turn around, I likely won't be able to take any $2/$5 shots. But hopefully I can recover a bit (in all ways), and get a good ending to the trip before going home on Tuesday evening.
Sad results below, now in minus.
Cash Games:
Hours played: 22h 30 min
Won/lost: -$48 USD
Hourly rate: -$2.1 USD
Tournaments:
Won/lost: -$200 USD (1 played)
Last edited by BigWhale; 01-19-2024 at 12:28 PM.
01-19-2024
, 12:37 PM
01-19-2024
, 01:03 PM
I’ll leave the HHs to BigWhale and will just share a pic of probably the best breakfast steak I have ever had in my life, at Salt&Ivy:
On another topic: I currently have 9 days left of the trip (including today and the day of departure) and my Mlife status sadly resets at 1st of February. However if you play 150 hours at Aria you will get upgraded to Gold which means no resort fees. I currently have 50 hours and will need to play on average 11 hours a day for the full duration I am here. Challenge accepted! Will be interesting to see if I actually manage to pull it off.
On another topic: I currently have 9 days left of the trip (including today and the day of departure) and my Mlife status sadly resets at 1st of February. However if you play 150 hours at Aria you will get upgraded to Gold which means no resort fees. I currently have 50 hours and will need to play on average 11 hours a day for the full duration I am here. Challenge accepted! Will be interesting to see if I actually manage to pull it off.
01-19-2024
, 02:31 PM
Now at Venetian, and gonna put in a session there. So if anyone wants free money...
