Scandis in Vegas - a post-covid solo TR (01/02-01-15)
01-11-2022
, 01:42 PM
Glad to hear that someone appreciate the details, although the thought process is occasionally worse than a 5-year old planning a business model
01-11-2022
, 01:45 PM
Yep, it's nice with those small details. Although I never visited Vegas before 2011 - and really didn't know too much about it history until the last few years, I think it's cool when reference/homage is made to the old times.
01-11-2022
, 06:40 PM
Double Jameson flowing. It's 5 o clock somewhere!
Fun little HH: old lady who has had the sickest sun run sits with around 700, I cover. She is in the straddle for $6. Gets called by almost entire table and I raise $65 with KK. She and another player calls. Flop 659r. I lead out 120, she makes it 300, other player with only 100 behind calls allin and I jam. She calls, turn and river are both bricks and she has 56o. $1300+ pot her way at 1/3.
Time to get blackout drunk as I literally cannot anymore
Fun little HH: old lady who has had the sickest sun run sits with around 700, I cover. She is in the straddle for $6. Gets called by almost entire table and I raise $65 with KK. She and another player calls. Flop 659r. I lead out 120, she makes it 300, other player with only 100 behind calls allin and I jam. She calls, turn and river are both bricks and she has 56o. $1300+ pot her way at 1/3.
Time to get blackout drunk as I literally cannot anymore
01-11-2022
, 09:16 PM
Brutal hand for MuckPls there 
Time for the first update of the day from me, which has been a somewhat lazy day so far. Woke up around 8:40am, and basically did nothing much until going over to the Bellagio, as I had booked a shave in the spa there. It's located right next to this beautiful little garden:
Always fun checking out the conservatory, and after the shave I went back to Aria to play. Rumor had it (well, it was a confirmed fact) that Brad Owen was in the house (along with Johnnie Vibes) to play in a meetup-game + some kind of promo for a Stairway To Millions-tournament.
After waiting for 20 min or so I got a seat in a new $1-$3 game, which delivered action right from the start. Very first hand UTG raises to $15 (7-handed), and my first impression is that he looks like a solid grinder. Folds all the way to me and I call with K8hh. Seems too good to fold even against an UTG-raise. Flop comes T-9-9 rainbow with one heart, and a plan is formulating. I check, he downbets to $10, and I make it $35. I can have all the nines, and he really can't. I obviously plan to continue barrelling on any equity-card (heart, 6, 7, J) and maybe on low blanks as well. Anyway, he calls the raise.
Turn comes Ah, which is one of those equity-cards. I bet $60, as I would obviously continue on an Ace if had a nine. He once again calls. River comes with an 8, which is obviously not in hearts as I hold that one. I make a pair, and I guess I could have played QJ this way, but unlikely. So I just decided to give up - I am not sure if I can trust him to fold something like AK (if he called raise with it), pocket Aces are obviously in his range, and QJ could be too. He moves all-in and I have to fold.
In hindsight think both my flop-raise and turn-bet are too small - need to focus a bit more on sizing in upcoming sessions.
I add on another $100 and then get involved again just 3-4 hands later. There was a husband/wife couple at the table, both fairly young, and the woman definitely rather attractive. More about her later. Anyway, husband raises to $15 from 2nd position, and I make it $45 with AKhh. Everyone behind folds, and he calls.
A-K-8 with two clubs is a decent flop. He checks, and I downbet to $25. Very small obviously, but I do cover the board very hard. He calls, and we see a 6 on the turn. Doesn't change anything, and this time I size up to $90 (into $144). He calls again. River is another blank, with a 4 that does not fill the flush. He checks, I move all-in for my remaining $140 or something, and he snap-calls with AJo. He probably thought I was full of it, after I ran that big bluff first hand.
Up a decent amount then, but started losing many small pots after that. I once raised AJhh to $12, got a call from a sticky black player, and an older gentleman on the button made it $39. Seems like a strong hand, but my hand is too good to fold so I call, and we go 3-ways to K-K-4 with one heart. He bets $25 after it checks to him, and although it was somewhat tempting to peel I am OOP and have a player behind, so I fold.
The above mentioned attractive women clearly had no clue about poker, and was in there almost every hand. She soon found herself down to her last $30 USD, and moved all-in pre-flop from UTG. I called with KQo in 4th position - by this time I had seen enough of her to know she was completely clueless and don't need to have much here. The above mentioned black player also calls, and we go 3-ways to T-7-3 with a club draw. I don't have a club, and can't do much apart from check-fold when the black player bets into the sidepot. He then proceeds to show 23hh, which beat the woman's QJo. Bit annoying that he got in there with such a crap hand, but at least it tells me something about his range if he's willing to call $30 with 23 suited.
Also raised AJo once, and it got 3-bet and 4-bet behind me, and also lost a small one with 77 to K9 against the woman (board was Q-9-5-Q-K. I folded to her river bet.
Not any huge losses any of these hands, but the profit from the early hand was quickly vanishing. As long as the clueless woman was here however (she rebought), I though there was a good chance a nice spot would come up.
And it did, although it started with a limped pot, where I just complete QTo from SB. It comes A-J-3 rainbow with one heart (I do not have one), and I check. Black guy bets $10 from UTG, woman calls $10 and I make a light peel with the gutshot. I assume she had something, and also that she would never in a million years be able to release for example an Ace if I hits.
Obvious turn is a King, so I make the nuts. I check, black guy checks, woman bets $10, and I make it $45. Maybe risky to raise here and scare her off, but she didn't really have a fold-button at all. First player folds, and she calls with around $100 behind.
River is a 4 of hearts, so a backdoor flush comes in. Not that I think it matters a ton - still putting her squarely on an Ace at this point. Out of the corner of my eye I notice she has practically her hands on her stack already, which means she has no intention of folding. I move all-in, and she snapcalls. I table my hand, and she tables... Q2 off-suit for Queen high. Apparently she thought she had a straight, however her husband had to explain to her after the hand that she actually did not. So yeah, that is the level of play we are talking about here.
Sadly she left the game after this, while her husband continued playing. I did build my stack a little bit up after this one as well, although not too interesting spots. I did however play one small hand against the black guy that I really like.
It folds to me on the button and I make it $11 with J7dd. Maybe a bit loose given cards are somewhat far in connectivity. SB calls, and BB folds. Flop comes K-8-6 with two diamonds, and after he checks I bet $10. He calls. Turn is a Th so now I have both a straight and a flush-draw. So I use the standard Crush Live Poker-tactic and bet full pot ($45) to promote max fold-equity (and build up if I hit). The plan is then obviously to give up river if I miss, as he must be strong if he can call a pot sized bet. Should probably even have overbet here ($55-$60).
After playing for 2.5 hours I cash out with a profit of $226 USD, which I certainly cannot complain about.
And obviously while Brad Owen was in the house I had to stop by his $2-$5 table to say hello and tell him I love his videos etc. He was a nice guy - probably very used to these interactions by now, and also obliged with my request for a picture. And although I am reluctant to show my face in these Trip Reports, I guess we can make an exception. So below is me & Brad:
This update is already way too long, and time flies fast in Vegas (was at the gym after playing). So it's time to get out and start playing some more cards, obviously from a random location I have never played at before.
Hours played: 25h 15 min
Won/lost: + $791 USD
Hourly rate: + $31.33 USD
Ending post with a better picture than the selfie above; here are some cool artwork here at Park MGM:
Time for the first update of the day from me, which has been a somewhat lazy day so far. Woke up around 8:40am, and basically did nothing much until going over to the Bellagio, as I had booked a shave in the spa there. It's located right next to this beautiful little garden:
Always fun checking out the conservatory, and after the shave I went back to Aria to play. Rumor had it (well, it was a confirmed fact) that Brad Owen was in the house (along with Johnnie Vibes) to play in a meetup-game + some kind of promo for a Stairway To Millions-tournament.
After waiting for 20 min or so I got a seat in a new $1-$3 game, which delivered action right from the start. Very first hand UTG raises to $15 (7-handed), and my first impression is that he looks like a solid grinder. Folds all the way to me and I call with K8hh. Seems too good to fold even against an UTG-raise. Flop comes T-9-9 rainbow with one heart, and a plan is formulating. I check, he downbets to $10, and I make it $35. I can have all the nines, and he really can't. I obviously plan to continue barrelling on any equity-card (heart, 6, 7, J) and maybe on low blanks as well. Anyway, he calls the raise.
Turn comes Ah, which is one of those equity-cards. I bet $60, as I would obviously continue on an Ace if had a nine. He once again calls. River comes with an 8, which is obviously not in hearts as I hold that one. I make a pair, and I guess I could have played QJ this way, but unlikely. So I just decided to give up - I am not sure if I can trust him to fold something like AK (if he called raise with it), pocket Aces are obviously in his range, and QJ could be too. He moves all-in and I have to fold.
In hindsight think both my flop-raise and turn-bet are too small - need to focus a bit more on sizing in upcoming sessions.
I add on another $100 and then get involved again just 3-4 hands later. There was a husband/wife couple at the table, both fairly young, and the woman definitely rather attractive. More about her later. Anyway, husband raises to $15 from 2nd position, and I make it $45 with AKhh. Everyone behind folds, and he calls.
A-K-8 with two clubs is a decent flop. He checks, and I downbet to $25. Very small obviously, but I do cover the board very hard. He calls, and we see a 6 on the turn. Doesn't change anything, and this time I size up to $90 (into $144). He calls again. River is another blank, with a 4 that does not fill the flush. He checks, I move all-in for my remaining $140 or something, and he snap-calls with AJo. He probably thought I was full of it, after I ran that big bluff first hand.
Up a decent amount then, but started losing many small pots after that. I once raised AJhh to $12, got a call from a sticky black player, and an older gentleman on the button made it $39. Seems like a strong hand, but my hand is too good to fold so I call, and we go 3-ways to K-K-4 with one heart. He bets $25 after it checks to him, and although it was somewhat tempting to peel I am OOP and have a player behind, so I fold.
The above mentioned attractive women clearly had no clue about poker, and was in there almost every hand. She soon found herself down to her last $30 USD, and moved all-in pre-flop from UTG. I called with KQo in 4th position - by this time I had seen enough of her to know she was completely clueless and don't need to have much here. The above mentioned black player also calls, and we go 3-ways to T-7-3 with a club draw. I don't have a club, and can't do much apart from check-fold when the black player bets into the sidepot. He then proceeds to show 23hh, which beat the woman's QJo. Bit annoying that he got in there with such a crap hand, but at least it tells me something about his range if he's willing to call $30 with 23 suited.
Also raised AJo once, and it got 3-bet and 4-bet behind me, and also lost a small one with 77 to K9 against the woman (board was Q-9-5-Q-K. I folded to her river bet.
Not any huge losses any of these hands, but the profit from the early hand was quickly vanishing. As long as the clueless woman was here however (she rebought), I though there was a good chance a nice spot would come up.
And it did, although it started with a limped pot, where I just complete QTo from SB. It comes A-J-3 rainbow with one heart (I do not have one), and I check. Black guy bets $10 from UTG, woman calls $10 and I make a light peel with the gutshot. I assume she had something, and also that she would never in a million years be able to release for example an Ace if I hits.
Obvious turn is a King, so I make the nuts. I check, black guy checks, woman bets $10, and I make it $45. Maybe risky to raise here and scare her off, but she didn't really have a fold-button at all. First player folds, and she calls with around $100 behind.
River is a 4 of hearts, so a backdoor flush comes in. Not that I think it matters a ton - still putting her squarely on an Ace at this point. Out of the corner of my eye I notice she has practically her hands on her stack already, which means she has no intention of folding. I move all-in, and she snapcalls. I table my hand, and she tables... Q2 off-suit for Queen high. Apparently she thought she had a straight, however her husband had to explain to her after the hand that she actually did not. So yeah, that is the level of play we are talking about here.
Sadly she left the game after this, while her husband continued playing. I did build my stack a little bit up after this one as well, although not too interesting spots. I did however play one small hand against the black guy that I really like.
It folds to me on the button and I make it $11 with J7dd. Maybe a bit loose given cards are somewhat far in connectivity. SB calls, and BB folds. Flop comes K-8-6 with two diamonds, and after he checks I bet $10. He calls. Turn is a Th so now I have both a straight and a flush-draw. So I use the standard Crush Live Poker-tactic and bet full pot ($45) to promote max fold-equity (and build up if I hit). The plan is then obviously to give up river if I miss, as he must be strong if he can call a pot sized bet. Should probably even have overbet here ($55-$60).
After playing for 2.5 hours I cash out with a profit of $226 USD, which I certainly cannot complain about.
And obviously while Brad Owen was in the house I had to stop by his $2-$5 table to say hello and tell him I love his videos etc. He was a nice guy - probably very used to these interactions by now, and also obliged with my request for a picture. And although I am reluctant to show my face in these Trip Reports, I guess we can make an exception. So below is me & Brad:
This update is already way too long, and time flies fast in Vegas (was at the gym after playing). So it's time to get out and start playing some more cards, obviously from a random location I have never played at before.
Hours played: 25h 15 min
Won/lost: + $791 USD
Hourly rate: + $31.33 USD
Ending post with a better picture than the selfie above; here are some cool artwork here at Park MGM:
01-12-2022
, 12:29 AM
I swear these poker stories from the past week is like a Tarantino movie. Even I can hardly believe it. Grab some dinner and walk back to Aria for a 1/3 game. Guy in an electric wheelchair removes one of the seats and movies in with his wheelchair in seat 5. Except the electric thing malfunctions, keeps going forward and we are three people (seat 1, me in seat 8 and dealer) holding the table back so it doesn't flip.
I obviously end of losing 80% of my stack to the guy with one leg when he decides to call a 4bet preflop with the good old K7o vs my AsKs. He is not wrong however as the board runs out K7347 and he gets 3 streets of value.
Take my last $90 to VP and get rewarded with yet another non-premium quad. Ah well money back.
I obviously end of losing 80% of my stack to the guy with one leg when he decides to call a 4bet preflop with the good old K7o vs my AsKs. He is not wrong however as the board runs out K7347 and he gets 3 streets of value.
Take my last $90 to VP and get rewarded with yet another non-premium quad. Ah well money back.
01-12-2022
, 02:41 PM
Yeah, my bad. He folded quickly on the turn. Nothing special, I just like the play since I was actually following up on a concept I have learned.
---------------------------------
In other news, let's write about yesterday evening. Was way too tired to write - and honestly a bit dejected - to write about it last night. But both good and bad play has to be documented for the future, and I also think I ran somewhat bad with my spots. But maybe I am just fooling myself.
I promised a brand new location and that is what we get - I took a taxi all the way out to the South Point Hotel & Casino. Didn't take too many pictures while there unfortunately, but it was easy to locate my destination:
I would have considered jumping into the $2-$3 game with $600 cap, but as it was they had seating immediately for the 1$-$2 game and only a interest list for the former. So I went and played $1-$2 for no less than 5 hours, which is a lot for me. Before getting into hands, this poker room has some rather interesting rules:
1) They play 9-handed, not 8-handed.
2) It's not allowed to chop the blinds.
Latter is obviously super interesting, apparently The Orleans are doing the same now. I thought such a rule wouldn't go well with local OMCs (as both these casinos have a fair amount of), but the room had a ton of games going.
Basically I got dealt a lot of good hands early in the session, and not all of these went too well. Won my first hand with AK on an A-T-3-K board with two spades, but that was only a $30 pot or something.
Only 2-3 hands later an Asian player makes it $7 pre from MP, an OMC calls from button, and I again find AKo, this time in BB. I make it $40 to go, and only the Asian calls. Flop comes J-T-2 with two diamonds, I don't have a diamond for what it's worth. Seems like a good spot to go small, this could hit a lot of his calling range but I don't mind seeing a turn cheaply. I bet $25 into $88, however he makes it $100 straight almost immediately. Without a diamond and OOP I cannot really continue, so I quickly fold. He proudly shows A9o for a stone cold bluff.
This is something Bart Hanson talks about in his training material - that if you bet small, it might increase the bluffing frequency from players who otherwise don't have such a frequency. That said, I noticed later this player was a bit spewy so it might not apply here.
Shortly after this I find AQo (red cards) and raise to $10 from fairly early. I get 3 callers, and flop comes A-2-5 with two clubs. Checks to me, and I bet $15 - once again a sizing mistake on my part, as I have been downbetting too much this trip. I should make it $25 at least, because any lesser Ace is gonna call regardless. Anyway, two players call.
Turn comes a K that does not fill the flush, and I still think I can go for value after SB checks to me. So I make it $50 (pot is around $85), player behind folds, but then the OMC in the Small Blind makes it $145. This can never ever be a bluff, but most likely a slow played set or even AK. It's painful having to do so, but I chose to fold after thinking it through for a little bit. This type of player is simply not gonna over-value a worse Ace when I have raised pre, bet into 3 people and are now betting again on turn.
More trouble, as I once again find AQo, this time in the cutoff. There is a button straddle to $5, an OWC (woman) calls directly to my right, and I raise to $20 from cutoff (again too small, sigh). Straddle calls, and woman folds. Flop comes A-J-3 with one spade, and I make it $15. The straddler directly to my left was a very talkative and friendly Asian guy (aged 25-45) who liked to make jokes. He was actually quite funny to play with, although I think he took his schtick slightly too far at times. Anyway, he says that he likes the downbet and calls.
Turn is another 3, and he could have some from the straddle I guess, but not too many. So I bet again for value, this time $35. He asks if his 73 suited is any good, and calls. River is a 6 that fills a backdoor flush. I basically put no stock into his comment on turn, and still think I can go for value. I do however only make it $50, as I want a call from a weak Ace but also leave some room for folding in case he should raise the river. Despite his persona he didn't seem like a guy who made huge bluffs.
He says that he doesn't like the flush getting there, and says he can only call with his 73s. And that is exactly what he had. Interesting call pre I guess, and maybe river should be a check-evaluate for me? (I don't really think so). That said, that is what I get for my sizing mistakes - might not have made a difference, but I should make it $25 pre.
I then won a medium pot with JJ, but board ran out somewhat icky (TP on flop pairing), so couldn't make the pot too huge. Then I once again get in trouble versus the talkative player to my left. There are two limps to me, I make it $16 with AKo from Small Blind, he calls from BB and one of the limpers call (UTG I believe).
Flop comes A-J-J rainbow and I decided to check this one. Debatable maybe, but that is what I did. It checks around. Turn is another J, so I improve to a full house. That said, so does obviously anyone else who has an Ace. I make it $15, although in hindsight not exactly sure why. Can really only get called for a chop unless someone get sticky with an underpair. And it could obviously also happen that someone raises to $30, which is what the Asian player does. A min-raise non the less. That said, I checked flop, so I thought it was a decent chance he would do this with an Ace. So I call.
River is whatever (3), and I check it over to him. Obviously no value in betting. He slides out $100, and I groan. This looks so much like a Jack, as it seems unlikely he takes this sizing with an Ace. And while I am tanking he quickly turns over one of his cards, before putting it back down (assume that is allowed). The card he flashed was an Ace, and the second card has to be a Jack, right? But can we ever fold here? I just don't have it in me - as he could also make this bet to get me off a chop. And then show the ace to try to confuse me into thinking the other card is a Jack. So I call, and he obviously have the AJ that I knew he had. Just a gross spot, that I probably can't do much about, but that is bound to cost a lot.
Down a bunch now, although recover a bit. First my AJcc gets lucky all-in versus a short stack woman who had KK, then I raise JJ to $15 from cutoff over two limps. Only one player calls, and we see J-7-2 with two diamonds. I bet half pot ($15), and he jams for around $90. Obviously snap-call, board runs out 5-T with no flush, and he mucks.
Stack highlight of the day, was in for $600 here:
That wouldn't last obviously. The Asian player makes it $7 from UTG, gets one caller, before I find another AKo from BB. With the dead caller this is a mandatory 3-bet, even versus UTG. I make it $45, and he goes nowhere as expected. The third player folds. Pot is already fairly bit, and we see Q-4-3 with who hearts. I do have the Ace of hearts. I bet $35, and he calls - this time more quietly. Turn comes with a 2, so we add a straight draw at least even though I would have preferred the heart.
I chose to go for the double barrel here, as this player was a bit sticky but I thought he would respect a second bet from me if he was holding on with a medium pair. I bet $95 (into $168 I think), and he thinks a bit before calling. River comes a T, and I decided to give up. I seldom go for 3-barrel bluffs without any good reason to do so (more about that later), so that is something for you Vegas-regs to exploit if you meet me at the table Anyway, he checks back and shows 77 for the winner.
I then took out a short stack when I flopped J-7-8 with 9To from small blind in a limped pot. Was not a gigantic pot, and obviously very easy to play, but I did win around $90 or so from it I believe.
Then another spot versus the Asian player - I raise KQcc to $15 over two limps from BTN, he calls SB, and rest folds. Flop comes Q-6-7, however before the flop he says 'I only called your raise with JJ this time'. At this point there might be some truth to it, as he had made similar comments in the past that turned out to be correct. So when I see the Q on the flop that is good news, and I bet $15. Obviously want JJ to stick around. Turn is then obviously a J, and puts a third heart out there. He leads for $25, so he is clearly sticking to his story. That said, cannot go nowhere so I call.
River comes Kh and he checks. I river two pair, but should I ever turn my hand into a bluff here? In game I sadly didn't consider it, although it occurred to me shortly after that I should probably do so. As it was, I check and announce two pair, and he obviously tables JJ. Just couldn't catch any break against this player, even though he sometimes told me his cards.
Then we get a limped pot, and I complete K7o for $1 more from SB (completely open to the idea of this being a fold as hand is very unplayable). 5 players see the K-4-6 flop with two diamonds. I do have 7d for what it's worth, and the other two low cards are diamonds. So we are working on something here. I lead for $6, only to get raised to $16 from a random Asian player, and a gigantic OMC cold-calls the $16. Not in love with the situation, but I do call for $10 more.
The dealer slaps another K on the table, this time in spades. In my mind this card makes no difference at all for my hand, so I check. Asian bets $11 (wtf sizing), and OMC min-clicks it to $22 (lol). I do something I hardly would ever do, which is to cold-call. Yes, I am very likely behind to a King with better kicker here, but I do think it's worth to draw for the full house and then just blast $150 or something on the river if I hit it. Asian player also calls.
Sadly it was not to be, as river came an 8 of diamonds, which fills the flush. Cannot really bluff this card as the Asian player could have the flush. It goes check-check-check, and OMC obviously wins with KQ. I probably created my own problems in calling from SB here, but man it would have been nice to hit a FH on river and see him lose his mind.
The talkative Asian player eventually left, but not before showing me his Hendon Mob which showed a ton of tournaments played at South Point, and earnings of no less than $222k (!). I can hardly say I agree with how he played certain spots, but he was clearly confusing players (including me), and I could see his style + talk being very successful in tournaments for sure.
I stayed for quite a while longer, while continuing to lose small pot after small pot. That said, I probably gave away too much money at times, although to be fair opponents sometimes makes it hard to fold. Like, one hand I raised Q9ss from CO to $10, OWC called on the button, and BB made it $30. It's such a laughable sizing and hard to fold to. But constantly losing $20-$30 USD quickly takes it's hit on the stack.
Also lost hands like A2cc on 3-8-6 two clubs versus the old woman; she only called my raise with AA, went all-in over my c-bet and it was only like $35 more so I had an easy call (bricked out). Also defended BB one with with J9o to a BTN-raise, got J high flop and called flop and turn before river went check-check. He had AJ.
I did get through one bluff against the AJ player though, where he raised to $10 pre from 2nd position and I only called in cutoff with AQo. Could consider 3-betting, but landed on a call here as I was off-suit and he raised from early. Anyway, 3 players see the flop which comes 8-9-2 with two spades. Raiser bets $20 and I decide to float here in position with backdoor nut flush draw and backdoor straight. I thought I could put a **** ton of pressure on him on a spade turn. We do get a spade turn, the 3s. He checks, and I bet $40. Not a huge sizing, but I am setting up a river jam for whatever much we have left. He thinks a bit and calls. River is a T of clubs, and he checks again. With me having a Q, I am less worried about him having QJ, and I don't think he plays QJ like this anyway. So I jam for $160 or something (basically pot). He folds fairly quickly.
When the smoke cleared I finally left the game after 5 hours, down an ugly amount of $554 USD. Should definitely have left earlier as I got very tired towards the end and probably became slightly sloppy in a few hands. Although I don't think I deteriorated completely, I still struggle with playing my best and taking the right decisions when I get stuck so much. And that is super annoying and something I have to improve. That said, I do think I got many shitty situations last night, and it would have been hard to not lose given the spots I got put into.
Oh well, new day and new opportunities. Still 3 full days left to make better decisions. Not entirely sure what the plan is today, probably heading to the gym now to get a good mental start to the day, then likely heading to Venetian with 'MuckPls' and play there for a while. I also eventually want to head Downtown, maybe tonight or maybe I do it tomorrow instead. Let's see.
Not as pretty stats are below:
Hours played: 30h 15 min
Won/lost: + $237 USD
Hourly rate: + $7.83 USD
---------------------------------
In other news, let's write about yesterday evening. Was way too tired to write - and honestly a bit dejected - to write about it last night. But both good and bad play has to be documented for the future, and I also think I ran somewhat bad with my spots. But maybe I am just fooling myself.
I promised a brand new location and that is what we get - I took a taxi all the way out to the South Point Hotel & Casino. Didn't take too many pictures while there unfortunately, but it was easy to locate my destination:
I would have considered jumping into the $2-$3 game with $600 cap, but as it was they had seating immediately for the 1$-$2 game and only a interest list for the former. So I went and played $1-$2 for no less than 5 hours, which is a lot for me. Before getting into hands, this poker room has some rather interesting rules:
1) They play 9-handed, not 8-handed.
2) It's not allowed to chop the blinds.
Latter is obviously super interesting, apparently The Orleans are doing the same now. I thought such a rule wouldn't go well with local OMCs (as both these casinos have a fair amount of), but the room had a ton of games going.
Basically I got dealt a lot of good hands early in the session, and not all of these went too well. Won my first hand with AK on an A-T-3-K board with two spades, but that was only a $30 pot or something.
Only 2-3 hands later an Asian player makes it $7 pre from MP, an OMC calls from button, and I again find AKo, this time in BB. I make it $40 to go, and only the Asian calls. Flop comes J-T-2 with two diamonds, I don't have a diamond for what it's worth. Seems like a good spot to go small, this could hit a lot of his calling range but I don't mind seeing a turn cheaply. I bet $25 into $88, however he makes it $100 straight almost immediately. Without a diamond and OOP I cannot really continue, so I quickly fold. He proudly shows A9o for a stone cold bluff.
This is something Bart Hanson talks about in his training material - that if you bet small, it might increase the bluffing frequency from players who otherwise don't have such a frequency. That said, I noticed later this player was a bit spewy so it might not apply here.
Shortly after this I find AQo (red cards) and raise to $10 from fairly early. I get 3 callers, and flop comes A-2-5 with two clubs. Checks to me, and I bet $15 - once again a sizing mistake on my part, as I have been downbetting too much this trip. I should make it $25 at least, because any lesser Ace is gonna call regardless. Anyway, two players call.
Turn comes a K that does not fill the flush, and I still think I can go for value after SB checks to me. So I make it $50 (pot is around $85), player behind folds, but then the OMC in the Small Blind makes it $145. This can never ever be a bluff, but most likely a slow played set or even AK. It's painful having to do so, but I chose to fold after thinking it through for a little bit. This type of player is simply not gonna over-value a worse Ace when I have raised pre, bet into 3 people and are now betting again on turn.
More trouble, as I once again find AQo, this time in the cutoff. There is a button straddle to $5, an OWC (woman) calls directly to my right, and I raise to $20 from cutoff (again too small, sigh). Straddle calls, and woman folds. Flop comes A-J-3 with one spade, and I make it $15. The straddler directly to my left was a very talkative and friendly Asian guy (aged 25-45) who liked to make jokes. He was actually quite funny to play with, although I think he took his schtick slightly too far at times. Anyway, he says that he likes the downbet and calls.
Turn is another 3, and he could have some from the straddle I guess, but not too many. So I bet again for value, this time $35. He asks if his 73 suited is any good, and calls. River is a 6 that fills a backdoor flush. I basically put no stock into his comment on turn, and still think I can go for value. I do however only make it $50, as I want a call from a weak Ace but also leave some room for folding in case he should raise the river. Despite his persona he didn't seem like a guy who made huge bluffs.
He says that he doesn't like the flush getting there, and says he can only call with his 73s. And that is exactly what he had. Interesting call pre I guess, and maybe river should be a check-evaluate for me? (I don't really think so). That said, that is what I get for my sizing mistakes - might not have made a difference, but I should make it $25 pre.
I then won a medium pot with JJ, but board ran out somewhat icky (TP on flop pairing), so couldn't make the pot too huge. Then I once again get in trouble versus the talkative player to my left. There are two limps to me, I make it $16 with AKo from Small Blind, he calls from BB and one of the limpers call (UTG I believe).
Flop comes A-J-J rainbow and I decided to check this one. Debatable maybe, but that is what I did. It checks around. Turn is another J, so I improve to a full house. That said, so does obviously anyone else who has an Ace. I make it $15, although in hindsight not exactly sure why. Can really only get called for a chop unless someone get sticky with an underpair. And it could obviously also happen that someone raises to $30, which is what the Asian player does. A min-raise non the less. That said, I checked flop, so I thought it was a decent chance he would do this with an Ace. So I call.
River is whatever (3), and I check it over to him. Obviously no value in betting. He slides out $100, and I groan. This looks so much like a Jack, as it seems unlikely he takes this sizing with an Ace. And while I am tanking he quickly turns over one of his cards, before putting it back down (assume that is allowed). The card he flashed was an Ace, and the second card has to be a Jack, right? But can we ever fold here? I just don't have it in me - as he could also make this bet to get me off a chop. And then show the ace to try to confuse me into thinking the other card is a Jack. So I call, and he obviously have the AJ that I knew he had. Just a gross spot, that I probably can't do much about, but that is bound to cost a lot.
Down a bunch now, although recover a bit. First my AJcc gets lucky all-in versus a short stack woman who had KK, then I raise JJ to $15 from cutoff over two limps. Only one player calls, and we see J-7-2 with two diamonds. I bet half pot ($15), and he jams for around $90. Obviously snap-call, board runs out 5-T with no flush, and he mucks.
Stack highlight of the day, was in for $600 here:
That wouldn't last obviously. The Asian player makes it $7 from UTG, gets one caller, before I find another AKo from BB. With the dead caller this is a mandatory 3-bet, even versus UTG. I make it $45, and he goes nowhere as expected. The third player folds. Pot is already fairly bit, and we see Q-4-3 with who hearts. I do have the Ace of hearts. I bet $35, and he calls - this time more quietly. Turn comes with a 2, so we add a straight draw at least even though I would have preferred the heart.
I chose to go for the double barrel here, as this player was a bit sticky but I thought he would respect a second bet from me if he was holding on with a medium pair. I bet $95 (into $168 I think), and he thinks a bit before calling. River comes a T, and I decided to give up. I seldom go for 3-barrel bluffs without any good reason to do so (more about that later), so that is something for you Vegas-regs to exploit if you meet me at the table
Anyway, he checks back and shows 77 for the winner.I then took out a short stack when I flopped J-7-8 with 9To from small blind in a limped pot. Was not a gigantic pot, and obviously very easy to play, but I did win around $90 or so from it I believe.
Then another spot versus the Asian player - I raise KQcc to $15 over two limps from BTN, he calls SB, and rest folds. Flop comes Q-6-7, however before the flop he says 'I only called your raise with JJ this time'. At this point there might be some truth to it, as he had made similar comments in the past that turned out to be correct. So when I see the Q on the flop that is good news, and I bet $15. Obviously want JJ to stick around. Turn is then obviously a J, and puts a third heart out there. He leads for $25, so he is clearly sticking to his story. That said, cannot go nowhere so I call.
River comes Kh and he checks. I river two pair, but should I ever turn my hand into a bluff here? In game I sadly didn't consider it, although it occurred to me shortly after that I should probably do so. As it was, I check and announce two pair, and he obviously tables JJ. Just couldn't catch any break against this player, even though he sometimes told me his cards.
Then we get a limped pot, and I complete K7o for $1 more from SB (completely open to the idea of this being a fold as hand is very unplayable). 5 players see the K-4-6 flop with two diamonds. I do have 7d for what it's worth, and the other two low cards are diamonds. So we are working on something here. I lead for $6, only to get raised to $16 from a random Asian player, and a gigantic OMC cold-calls the $16. Not in love with the situation, but I do call for $10 more.
The dealer slaps another K on the table, this time in spades. In my mind this card makes no difference at all for my hand, so I check. Asian bets $11 (wtf sizing), and OMC min-clicks it to $22 (lol). I do something I hardly would ever do, which is to cold-call. Yes, I am very likely behind to a King with better kicker here, but I do think it's worth to draw for the full house and then just blast $150 or something on the river if I hit it. Asian player also calls.
Sadly it was not to be, as river came an 8 of diamonds, which fills the flush. Cannot really bluff this card as the Asian player could have the flush. It goes check-check-check, and OMC obviously wins with KQ. I probably created my own problems in calling from SB here, but man it would have been nice to hit a FH on river and see him lose his mind.
The talkative Asian player eventually left, but not before showing me his Hendon Mob which showed a ton of tournaments played at South Point, and earnings of no less than $222k (!). I can hardly say I agree with how he played certain spots, but he was clearly confusing players (including me), and I could see his style + talk being very successful in tournaments for sure.
I stayed for quite a while longer, while continuing to lose small pot after small pot. That said, I probably gave away too much money at times, although to be fair opponents sometimes makes it hard to fold. Like, one hand I raised Q9ss from CO to $10, OWC called on the button, and BB made it $30. It's such a laughable sizing and hard to fold to. But constantly losing $20-$30 USD quickly takes it's hit on the stack.
Also lost hands like A2cc on 3-8-6 two clubs versus the old woman; she only called my raise with AA, went all-in over my c-bet and it was only like $35 more so I had an easy call (bricked out). Also defended BB one with with J9o to a BTN-raise, got J high flop and called flop and turn before river went check-check. He had AJ.
I did get through one bluff against the AJ player though, where he raised to $10 pre from 2nd position and I only called in cutoff with AQo. Could consider 3-betting, but landed on a call here as I was off-suit and he raised from early. Anyway, 3 players see the flop which comes 8-9-2 with two spades. Raiser bets $20 and I decide to float here in position with backdoor nut flush draw and backdoor straight. I thought I could put a **** ton of pressure on him on a spade turn. We do get a spade turn, the 3s. He checks, and I bet $40. Not a huge sizing, but I am setting up a river jam for whatever much we have left. He thinks a bit and calls. River is a T of clubs, and he checks again. With me having a Q, I am less worried about him having QJ, and I don't think he plays QJ like this anyway. So I jam for $160 or something (basically pot). He folds fairly quickly.
When the smoke cleared I finally left the game after 5 hours, down an ugly amount of $554 USD. Should definitely have left earlier as I got very tired towards the end and probably became slightly sloppy in a few hands. Although I don't think I deteriorated completely, I still struggle with playing my best and taking the right decisions when I get stuck so much. And that is super annoying and something I have to improve. That said, I do think I got many shitty situations last night, and it would have been hard to not lose given the spots I got put into.
Oh well, new day and new opportunities. Still 3 full days left to make better decisions. Not entirely sure what the plan is today, probably heading to the gym now to get a good mental start to the day, then likely heading to Venetian with 'MuckPls' and play there for a while. I also eventually want to head Downtown, maybe tonight or maybe I do it tomorrow instead. Let's see.
Not as pretty stats are below:
Hours played: 30h 15 min
Won/lost: + $237 USD
Hourly rate: + $7.83 USD
Last edited by BigWhale; 01-12-2022 at 02:51 PM.
01-12-2022
, 04:22 PM
Thanks everyone for the comments, I appreciate it. That being said, despite the annoying bad luck I have in everything, it is expected and I am perfectly fine with losing 10k this trip. It would have obviously been great to finish the trip in the green, or even break even, but it is what it is.
That being said, woke up early and hit up Primrose for breakfast. Love that place and the staff are really friendly, we talked a bunch about Vegas in general and how much everything has changed for the worse.
Walked over to Cesars Palace after getting some shopping done and the weather is really really great. Got a bunch of comps to use at both Venetian and Cesars so plan will be lunch here and dinner at Venetian. Hopefully won't stuck again.
Touristy pics and the poker so far:
That being said, woke up early and hit up Primrose for breakfast. Love that place and the staff are really friendly, we talked a bunch about Vegas in general and how much everything has changed for the worse.
Walked over to Cesars Palace after getting some shopping done and the weather is really really great. Got a bunch of comps to use at both Venetian and Cesars so plan will be lunch here and dinner at Venetian. Hopefully won't stuck again.
Touristy pics and the poker so far:
