Las Vegas: Part One
A fresh start. Time to put everything behind us and start from scratch. This trip could put us back on track.
The thoughts ring through the mind of another poker player struggling for what seems like eternity. Hundreds upon hundreds of hours of what feels like consistent, constant losing. A change of pace, change of scenery and the greatest city in the world. No better place to forget about everything, let go of the past.
Starting off at the home base away from home base the game plan is to start slow. Hopping into the 2/5 at the beautiful Bellagio. Too excited to sleep before the 6 am Saturday east coast flight, the best that could be done was 3 hours on the flight over. No time to nap once you’re here.
It takes a few hours to get into an interesting hand, but it happens when then BTN opens to 20, and the SB calls. You look down at 7
7
and throw in three more reds.
The flop goes your way for the first time in what seems like 3 months. A
7
6
. SB checks, and you elect to check as well. The BTN should bet this flop a good amount, and he does, 25. The SB calls and it’s back to you. A good spot to raise, its time to bump it up to 110 with 575 behind. The BTN calls and the SB folds.
The turn is the 3
. This time you fire 225. The BTN calls again. It’s on the the river, the J
. The only play, jam 350 is left. Villain goes deep into the tank, and eventually makes the fold.
So the first session gets off to a good start, and after a break for dinner, you get into a good 5/T game at the Bellagio, No need to table select one of the 8 games in the room.
About even for the session after 2 hours of play, there’s a few people up from the table, and you look down at A
9
in the CO 6 handed. Raise to 30, and the BTN calls, as does the VIP SB. The flops don’t come much better than this one, A
9
6
.
The SB checks, we continue for 50, and both players call. The turn is the 4
. SB checks again, and you think about checking. Maybe, if you were playing your best you could have, but the spot feels too tight to not bet for value. You toss out a black and four oranges: 140. This time only the BTN calls.
The river comes the J
. This time, you check, to let him bluff it off with his missed big club, or maybe worse two pair. Surely a better hand would have raised at some point. But this day, just like the past 180 days, are not where positive thoughts thrive. Villain goes for value, 330. You confidently make the call, and are shown 7
5
. You book yet another loss, this time just under four figures, and another losing day. Come to think of it, you can’t really remember your last winning day.
Surely, this too shall pass.
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