Just got back home after a week visiting my in-laws in New Orleans. My wife is a kind, patient and understanding woman, who was very cool about letting me sneak out for some poker. Here's my trip report.
I played four different sessions, between 12/29 and 1/1. The first two were very flat - tables full of regs, with not a lot of action. Won $66 and $85, but nothing really remarkable happened. As someone mentioned earlier, regular doesn't necessarily mean good. There were a few good solid players, but most of them were weak-tight nits.
Played a couple hours on New Years Eve at a table that was completely different. There were at least 4 regulars who struck me as "semi-pro" type players. All were very aggressive, although one was overly aggro to the point of being victimized by the others. There were a couple of nits, but no tourists spewing chips. One of the regs was a really good guy (he was at table 1, seat 3 wearing a puffy pirate shirt) who gave me very good reads on the three other aggro players. I was stuck -$315, but ended up rallying hard to grind out a $65 profit. Curiously, my rally was timed almost perfectly with Texas A&M rallying to beat Duke. Enjoyed the game, but it was a bit of a grind.
Played again on the evening of the 1st - completely different experience. Table 18 in the back, where the action was lively. There was a steady stream of Alabama and Oklahoma fans in town for the Sugar Bowl, most of whom were not afraid to drop a few hundred very quickly. Actually saw one player drop $200 on his first hand, when his JJ lost to AK, then get up and leave.
When I sat down, the big stack was a 20-something guy with a camo jacket and hat pulled low over his eyes who had around $1,200. That was matched shortly thereafter by a self-described pro who seemed intent on attacking the big stack. The camo-kid ran his stack up to over $2,000 and seemed very willing to play big pots. I ended up in a pot with the two big stacks. I had KcJc in the BB and called a raise from the camo-kid. Flop came Ac5cX. I checked to the camo-kid, who bet $20. Pro and I called. Turn was a blank, so I checked again. Camo-kid leads our for $60 and is called by the pro. I was getting 6-1 on my call, but decided to shove for another $72 and got called by both of them. River is Kd - sigh. They both check the river and somehow my Kings are good!?!?! Didn't see that coming, but I tripled up to around $525.
I sat on that stack for a while, then got in another big pot with the same two big stacks. I rased to $8 UTG with AQo. Camo-kid raised to $20, pro calls and I call. Flop comes down Axx rainbow. I check, CK bets $45. Pro counts out a very large raise, thinks for a while and mucks. Not sure if I'm behind AK or facing a c-bet from a big pocket pair, I call the $45. Turn is a beautiful Queen. I check again and the camo-kid bets $400, which is enough to put me all-in. I snap call, hoping not to see a set. He turns over
Overall, I loved playing at Harrah's. The action can be really good, particularly if you play at the right times. The $1-2 NL game is the deepest I've every played. No shortage of action, but it is not a game for the feint of heart. If you prefer to grind out a small profit against nitty regs, play in the mornings or afternoons. The dealers were uniformly nice, although many were good-but-not-great. No major problems, but not the most professional bunch. Never had to wait more than a few minutes for a seat. My only complaint would be that the casino is smoky and the room is open to the casino floor - so even with no smoking in the room, the smoke is still there. I had a great time, won a good bit of money and can't wait to go back.