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Vegas trip report - low stakes grinder takes a shot, hangs w/the pros (long, w/pics) Vegas trip report - low stakes grinder takes a shot, hangs w/the pros (long, w/pics)

06-27-2008 , 11:05 AM
First, by way of introduction: My name is Adam. I’m a Christian, graduated from Michigan State in Dec. ’06 and still am not sure what I’m doing with my life. I’ve been into poker seriously for nearly two years now; I’m currently a low stakes (NL 100) grinder on World Poker Exchange. I worked as Andrew Robl's (good2cu) personal assistant at the end of last year and had a related BBV thread that people seemed to like. I wrote up this trip report so that people who don’t have the chance (yet) to do what I did can get a firsthand account of what it’s like. It was written daily or better to be an accurate portrayal of recent events. Hopefully it’s an interesting read. At times I am introspective, excited, self-loathing, wordy, or critical, but above all brutally honest.

Me. This was taken near the beginning of the trip. I have been told I look like Chewbacca and Javier Bardem (less so on the latter since my haircut), but I could almost be mistaken for handsome if you had mildly poor eyesight.

This report is very long, as it covers 12 days in good depth. Therefore I will post in more readable segments – this is the first. If most of the feedback is negative I will stop posting; otherwise you’ll get the whole thing. Enjoy.

Friday, 6/13/08
After months of anticipation, the day has finally come – my friend Jason Lademan and I are heading to Vegas to play in a World Series of Poker event.

Jason. 2 out of 3 Two Plus Twoers agree that he is more hittable than me.
This has been a dream of mine since the first time I saw the WSOP on TV, probably back in ’03 when Chris Moneymaker’s success blew up Texas Hold ‘Em. I manage to shake off my pre-trip jitters, and a last-minute fight with my girlfriend Lauren, and Jason and I are dropped off at the airport with plenty of time to spare. The direct flight from Flint, Michigan to Las Vegas, Nevada takes off on time at 11:07 P.M. Jason and I were randomly assigned two aisle seats next to each other for this ~4 hour flight, which is good in theory because we have been putting off practicing our blackjack card counting (which we intend to use to dominate Vegas, as so many before us have tried). In practice, though, the people next to me – a couple named Joanna and Ben, very outgoing, funny, thirsty for alcohol, and requiring many bathroom trips – ended up getting most of my attention, and Jason managed to sprawl out over 3 seats in front of him and sleep since the plane was only about half full. While he counted sheep, my exhaustion and boredom by the end of the flight mounted painfully, and because I was in front of an exit row I couldn’t so much as recline my seat a bit. In the end, though, with help from Ben’s portable DVD player (Dodgeball was the film of choice), I made it through alive.
At around 1 A.M. local time, we arrive in Vegas. I call Andrew Robl – a high stakes pro and my former boss who, in addition to staking me for the WSOP event, is generously putting us up at his place for the first 2 nights – because Jason’s fancy new phone is dead, and see if he’s coming to pick us up. Nope, he’s too baller for that, so ship the $30 cab ride. First, though, while collecting our luggage, Jason tries to sucker me into a prop bet about whose bag will come out first. I decline, knowing that my bag is larger and heavier and probably ended up on the bottom of the pile, but offer to take his side of the action if he thinks it’s an even bet. Apparently betting that my bag comes out first is not “fun” enough for him, but I think he just saw the clarity of my reasoning. Next time I’ll keep it to myself – there will be plenty more prop bets on this 12-day trip. We are driven to Sky Las Vegas, a fancy building on the Strip where Robl resides, and after being impressed with the level of security and having Andrew come back upstairs from the gym, we are greeted and let in. He gives me the tour (Jason has visited once before) – “Quite a step up from the house in East Lansing,” I understatedly observe, as everything about this place is, for lack of a better word, balla – and tells us a very entertaining story about a billionaire Iranian businessman who he stayed up all night recently to play high stakes poker with. After a while I’m too tired to go on talking, so I take over the guest room (Mr. Sleeps on a Plane can have the couch tonight) and pass out, visions of a bracelet dancing in my head.

The view from Robl’s 31st floor apartment in Sky Las Vegas at night. Most impressive.

Saturday, 6/14/08
A combination of nerves and jet lag has me waking up at 7 A.M. and unable to get back to sleep – that’s gonna make this tourney a bit more challenging. At some point I need to make some event arrangements with Two Plus Two (2p2, the poker community I call home), but I didn’t get the wireless password from Andrew. Jason and I did some serious walking to find some breakfast and get closer to the Rio, while arguing over whether my forgetting to put on sunscreen was a critical error or an unforced error. I settled for a cheap, gross McDonald’s breakfast, while he held out for a Subway in a food court that opened at 10:00. I later learned that this sub basically lasted him the whole day – I can’t imagine such a thing. I convinced Jason to walk even further to save money on a cab and try to get a shuttle from Harrah’s to the Rio. He relented, but the line was too long and we missed the shuttle and took a cab anyway. Upon arrival, we marveled at the sights and signed up for the tournament – me a bit before Jason because he had to get a Total Rewards card. Over 2,700 people signed up for this event. I was at Table 22, Seat 5 in the Brasilia room (not nearly as impressive as the Amazon room you’d see on TV), and Jason had the same seat at Table 42. We wished each other luck and got seated… game on.

The Amazon Room, where the World Series of Poker is played. This is the sight that awaits all the tourists who come to take a shot: A sea of bodies, hats, and sunglasses, with one goal in mind – poker glory.
WORLD SERIES OF POKER EVENT #27, $1,500 No-Limit Hold ‘Em
In the first key hand for me, I was dealt AA on the button. I’d already stolen the blinds a few times and it looked like my table wasn’t anything special. It was folded to me with the blinds at 25/50 (Round 1, starting stacks of 3,000) and I raised to 200. Both blinds called. The flop was J 8 3 rainbow and the small blind led out for 250. The big blind called, and I raised to 700. They both called, which had me scratching my head on such a dry board. The turn was a 7 that completed the rainbow and they both checked; I checked as well. The river brought a K. The small blind checked and the big blind led out for 600 chips. This was a tough spot for me; the pot was pretty big, but I didn’t think my one pair was good against two players. I put him on JK with that river card and decided to make a tight laydown. The small blind did me a favor and called, and I got to see that the SB had 33 for a flopped set and the BB had the other AA! The big blind didn’t last very long, because he played his short stack very poorly. I was down to about 2,300 chips after this hand.
I spent a lot of the tournament in that gray area between having to push (10-15 BB) and spending a lot on raises. The guy to my left was pretty good, and he stopped me from winning a lot of pots that I wanted to take down without confrontation. The blinds got big quickly (since I wasn’t able to accumulate chips early) and I had my back against the wall. I made one bad play where I stabbed on the river at a 6-way pot, but other than that (which didn’t cost me much) I was very happy with my play. I limp-pushed 99 at one point and picked up some chips to survive, and overpushed AJo against a cutoff raise and took that pot as well. Eric, the good player to my left, busted with 44 < AQ in the last hand before the first break. I went to the break (after two one-hour levels completed) with 2,200 chips or so, blinds about to be 100/200. I met up with Jason at the break to see that he had been doing better than me and was up to about 5,400. We had a $50 last-longer bet that I was in danger of losing (though it would be the only money invested by me in the game), as well as a $9 bet about who got to NINE THOUSAAAAND first (search YouTube for the Dragon Ball Z clip and thank me later). I looked around and saw a few poker celebs, including Jennifer Tilly and Phil Laak, Sammy Farha (at the Heads-Up event in the same room), Men “The Master” Nguyen, and Gavin Griffin. I also greeted Vanessa Selbst, a 2p2er who won a bracelet recently, and she was friendly but I was just one of the many supporting her on the forums. One of the people at my table had his friend Scott Seiver come by, who won Event #21 yesterday for $740k. This cracked me up because he was wearing a ratty, ripped t-shirt and looked kind of slovenly – but the shiny gold bracelet looked pretty nice.

Marcel Luske in the Poker Kitchen at the break. That guy wouldn’t lean forward long enough for me to get a good shot. Don’t worry, I’ve got better ones.
The break ended and I headed back to the table, ready to exercise the pushbotting knowledge I’ve gained from recent online tourneys. I’m very confident in my ability to play correctly from the short stack, but luck is a big factor. I found this out when, about 5 hands in, my mid-position push with AKo ran into KK, held by the same player who beat my aces with his set of threes earlier. I didn’t improve and I was out in the third round. GG me. At least I can say I played correctly.
After informing Jason of my bust-out and talking out the key hands that led to my demise (then apologetically repeating the process by phone with Andrew), I decide to head over to the Gold Coast next door to blow off some steam at the craps tables. My previous experiences with craps have not been profitable in general, but I still find the game to be addictive and fun. I play for a while, and then head to the buffet because my stomach is getting very angry at me. I stuff myself for $15, not the best food but a bargain here in Vegas. Then it’s back to craps, as Jason is still going strong according to occasional phone updates. I take care not to risk too much, and after a few hours I’ve relaxed with some friendly faces while waiting for Jason to bust out or finish for the day, and also won a bit of money. Finally he busts after being blinded a few too many times but playing fine as I mostly did – it just goes to show you that you really need to catch cards early to make it in these big tournaments. Like I’m some kind of expert. Jason has to make about 5 phone calls to find his way next door, which everyone finds amusing, and when he arrives I’m able to pay him his prop bet winnings off the table. We take a cab (no more shuttle attempts for him) back to Circus Circus (which is next to Andrew’s condo) and take a stab at blackjack. Our card counting is questionable, but we run pretty good and both leave winners. Jason has told me that he wants us to try one of every table game during our trip, but he’s not really as much of a natural gambler as me so I wonder whether that will actually happen.
When we get back to Robl’s place, he decides that we’re going out for sushi. Even though I’m stuffed from the buffet, this isn’t a trip I can pass up. I don’t get out much, really. He drives us to Ra Sushi, which has discordant club music and flashing lights, inducing a chuckle from me. Meeting us there is Alan “TheUsher” Sass, an online pro and friend of Robl’s I’d heard of before, and his girlfriend Christina.

Alan Sass and Christina.
I’m psyched to meet Sass and he seems like a nice guy, but we don’t quite seem to click and I quickly find myself feeling kind of awkward and everything sounds wrong when I say it. We order way too much food, including some tasteless abomination called a Yellow Monkey Roll, but manage to down much of it. Andrew tells amusing stories during dinner, as he always does.

Robl tells a funny story while Jason waits for the punchline. This dinner was a blast.


There is just an obscene amount of food on the table, especially considering I already ate dinner before this. It was delicious despite being painful.
I find myself smiling wide because, despite my social insecurities in this setting, I am having a great time just hanging out with these people who are pretty much cooler than me. It’s something I guess I subconsciously wanted since my grade school days. After all, as I told them, “I pretty much grew up on a farm.” Jason and I, the busto guys at the table, are laughing it up and enjoying a very different (for us) atmosphere. I manage to work into the conversation a suggestion that I’d like the chance to give another WSOP event a shot if I can get a stake – Andrew says probably not, but he’ll think about it, giving me some hope. He’s been really generous with us (especially me) and I certainly don’t want him to think I’m anything but grateful. Andrew and Alan flip using the serial number of a bill to see who pays for the meal (these high stakes guys are always trying to come up with something new), and Andrew gets slowrolled by Christina who apparently doesn’t know what “fourth number from the left” means – more laughter. We bid farewell to the couple and take the remaining food back to la Casa de Robl. Before bed, Jason and I show Andrew some funny videos on YouTube and play some online poker, now that we have the wireless password. Tomorrow evening we relocate to the Marriott, but Andrew says he’ll still hang out with us when we’re not staying at his place. At some point, if he decides not to stake me in another event (which I’ll try not to act too disappointed about, as emotional blackmail is teh suck), I might try a one-table satellite that I can afford in order to keep the dream alive. For now, though, Saturday and my first-ever WSOP event are in the books. Will I ever play in another one? Stay tuned…
Vegas trip report - low stakes grinder takes a shot, hangs w/the pros (long, w/pics) Quote
06-27-2008 , 11:54 AM
very nice TR

your normal stakes?

pics of gf requested
Vegas trip report - low stakes grinder takes a shot, hangs w/the pros (long, w/pics) Quote
06-27-2008 , 12:01 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Warteen
I’m currently a low stakes (NL 100) grinder on World Poker Exchange.

.

And nice TR
Vegas trip report - low stakes grinder takes a shot, hangs w/the pros (long, w/pics) Quote
06-27-2008 , 12:02 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by whipsaw
very nice TR

your normal stakes?

pics of gf requested
Currently playing 0.50/1.00 NL on WPX. Have moved up as high as 600 NL after some sports betting scores, but got beat down. Just changed my game as a result of this trip (mentioned later in report) and am on the way back up hopefully.

Girlfriend is vegetarian and 's animals. I her, will never give up seafood though.

Recent pic of Lauren, with her cat Johnny.
Vegas trip report - low stakes grinder takes a shot, hangs w/the pros (long, w/pics) Quote
06-27-2008 , 12:09 PM
very nice, solid read, keep em coming
Vegas trip report - low stakes grinder takes a shot, hangs w/the pros (long, w/pics) Quote
06-27-2008 , 12:10 PM
again, nice TR and sorry I missed the intro on stakes

nice GF (dogs > cats imo but w/e)

live the dream, i don't play but rarely anymore due to work but hope to be playing at least 1 2009 WSOP event.
Vegas trip report - low stakes grinder takes a shot, hangs w/the pros (long, w/pics) Quote
06-27-2008 , 12:21 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by whipsaw
again, nice TR and sorry I missed the intro on stakes

nice GF (dogs > cats imo but w/e)
Thanks. Agree with you on dogs, but she has a career and can't effectively take care of one yet. If we get married someday, there will be dogs. As it is, we volunteer at the humane society and walk 'em to get our dog time in.
Vegas trip report - low stakes grinder takes a shot, hangs w/the pros (long, w/pics) Quote
06-27-2008 , 12:29 PM
nice tr. can't see pic of gf though
Vegas trip report - low stakes grinder takes a shot, hangs w/the pros (long, w/pics) Quote
06-27-2008 , 12:36 PM
post them gogogogogo
Vegas trip report - low stakes grinder takes a shot, hangs w/the pros (long, w/pics) Quote
06-27-2008 , 12:55 PM
Initial reactions were mostly positive, so here's part two for those who need something to do at work.

Sunday, 6/15/08
I get up at 8:45 A.M. local time, starting to adjust. Got a better sleep on the couch last night than on the bed before. Jason and I watch some funny videos and pics, then he wants to head out. I clean up and oblige. We hit the food court and make ourselves sick with burritos and burgers. We think about the disgusting Yellow Monkey roll left over from last night and make a pinball prop bet – loser has to eat the first of three pieces. Jason thinks he has 6 machines to choose from… too bad only 2 of them are functional. I win and he recoils in horror at what faces him later. We go across the streets to Slots-A-Fun, a connector to Circus Circus where they have $3 blackjack and we can exercise some card counting. The place smells like old bread, but we make some small amount of money. Jason wants to play poker next, and though I am reluctant, I head with him to the Wynn (supposedly the softest poker room on the Strip). I don’t feel well right off the bat, and wander off instead of sitting at a table immediately like he does. After a bathroom stop, I make the huge mistake of playing some $15 craps. I roll a seven about every other hand consistently, which is about the worst thing that can possibly happen if you are playing the pass line, and am down $200 in a matter of minutes. That’ll teach me not to play outside my bankroll. Hopefully it teaches me not to roll so many sevens. Dejected (there’s your first clue that this wouldn’t go well), I head back to the poker room and put down $270 at a 1-3 NL table. Again, outside my bankroll, and I have a poor history live. The stack lasts only a couple hours… I attempt a bad bluff with a missed flush draw and get called by trips, I misplay my few big hands, and I finally bust when my flush draw doesn’t catch. I part ways with Jason, who appears to be thriving, and wander down the Strip. I call my dad for Father’s Day, and my mom berates me for losing the $1,500 Robl gave me. Parents sure know the right thing to say at the right time. I hang up and make it to O’Shea’s, looking to play some $5 craps and blow off steam the way I did yesterday. I continue to run bad today and think about how much I hate gambling (only when I’m losing obv), but only lose about $50 – see how much less awful it is when I don’t play stupid? I leave when things appear not to be getting better. I go and play the same game at the Imperial Palace, but with entirely different results quickly. People are running hot with the dice and I tag along for the ride, patiently waiting my turn to shoot but reaping the benefits of their good fortune. I move to a freshly open table and hit 5 unique points in a row, which is ridiculously good (had I made the Fire Bet, it would have paid 250 to 1 – as it was, I just made a lot on normal bets). I’ve been working on so-called controlled dice throws, and I don’t know if there’s anything to that at all, but it’s good to find a rhythm at any rate. I finish there up the $200 I lost earlier, and feeling better, even though I’m still down on the day because of my lousy poker experience. I decide that live cash games are just not my thing at all, and call Jason. He’s about ready to finish, so I make my way back to the Wynn and then (after leaving a message with my lovely Lauren) call Robl to see if he wants to join us for dinner. He informs me that his friend Alec Torelli is in the semi-final of the WSOP Heads-Up $10k Championship (against 2p2er Vanessa Selbst), and if he makes the final table Robl will want to go over to the Rio and sweat him and we can join. I’m excited about the idea for sure and tell him as much. I make it to Jason in the poker room and take a call from Lauren, which lifts my spirits. I tell Jason about Andrew’s plan as we head out looking for dinner. Robl calls and tells me that Alec won and the final table against Kenny Tran (a live pro who gained some notoriety in last year’s Main Event) starts in an hour. No time for dinner; we take a cab to Robl’s place forthwith. We meet with Nick and Julia, a couple he is friends with, and he drives us to the Rio – but not before Jason beats me in a round of liar’s poker and so we each have to eat one piece of the disgusting sushi. Ylahhh. I throw on my flashy Bruce Lee club shirt to draw the most attention once we get there.
In the Amazon Room of the Rio, where ESPN has its TV table setup, we take seats in the front row as friends of Alec. Jason and I are introduced to him – he looks like Sacha Baron Cohen’s “Ali G” character in his current get-up – and Jonas (RiverBoatKing on 2p2 and another friend of Robl’s), who joins us on the rail. The first match (it’s a best-of-three) commences and the energy level is somewhat low without a big pot happening. Torelli gains an early chip lead through a big bet where Tran is mulling a call and Torelli pantomimes a fishing pole… it’s a completely hilarious break to the relatively serious atmosphere – the announcer keeps trying to get us up and active for this online broadcast, but I guess the booze needs to be flowing for these guys to be lively. Some of the online pros I know about come by to sweat Torelli, including Tom “durrrr” Dwan, David “Raptor” Benefield, Cole “cts” South, and Vanessa Selbst. I introduce myself to most of them and they politely ignore me.


Jason, Robl, and me on the rail during Torelli’s match. I love my Bruce Lee club shirt.


Torelli vs. Tran at the final table of the WSOP $10k Heads-Up Championship. Off to the left is tournament director Robbie Thompson, who did a great job.


Some of Torelli’s rail. Top middle is Tom “durrrr” Dwan.
As the pots go on, Tran starts to steamroll Torelli with what I perceive to be a very loose-aggressive style, and Torelli is card-dead and has no defense. I see a few spots where I feel like he is misplaying, but as Andrew points out to me, he is one of the top ten heads-up players in the world – in other words, who am I to question any of these high stakes guys? He’s right… but eh, I can still defend my points when I’m up against someone who knows more; it’s part of being stubborn. A little over two hours in, Torelli 3-bets preflop for about a quarter of his stack, and Tran calls. The flop comes 8 4 7 and Torelli moves in; Tran snap-calls. Torelli flips AJ and Tran has… A4o. Tran’s bottom pair holds up and wins the first match, leaving even me marveling at how bad it was to call that 3bet preflop as we head to the Poker Kitchen for dinner. I order two chicken sandwiches and some fries (which turns out to be too much food, a recurring theme for this trip) using the $10 Rio voucher I have from the WSOP event yesterday. One of Robl’s friends brags about the drugs he has done lately and mocks the casual fanboy as we see live pro Marcel Luske at the next table: “Look guys, it’s Marcel Luske! He’s famous! I wonder if I should go ask for his autograph?” I think about how I actually am excited to see Luske there, and decide I’m not wild about all of Robl’s friends, even my fellow Two Plus Twoers. I tell as much to Jason after Robl and the others head back – I’m a self-admitted fanboy of a *lot* of these people, including the online pros mentioned, and love the idea of meeting or hanging with them. But, my admiration only goes so far as their humility. If they actually think they’re the best, that turns me off, because they’re not. So they’re good at a game and have a lot of money, you know? I don’t believe that’s the point of life. I like the idea of fame and fortune, maybe even a bit more than the next guy, but at the same time I would never want it to change the things I like about myself and I can’t stomach someone who’s as full of themselves as some of these folks seem to be. I muse these thoughts with Jason as we finish dinner. I see Andrew Black (of the ’05 ME final table) on the way out and proudly tell Jason that I think it’s neat to see him there. Instead of going right back to the corner of the Amazon Room, we decide that one of us should play in a WSOP satellite for $175 in an attempt to gain entry to tomorrow’s event. I don’t want both of us to play at the same table, so we flip a coin and Jason wins. He buys in and I go back to the heads-up match after wishing him luck. On the way there I pass Barry Greenstein at a razz final table and I snap a picture. When I get back, Match 2 is well underway and Alec has a small chip lead. At the break he tells us he feels confident he’ll win. Meanwhile, Robl has made a handful of prop bets and is getting absolutely killed. Back to the action – Torelli goes card dead once again and we see a repeat of the first match as Tran rolls over him, as I had predicted would happen to Nick unless Alec started getting more aggressive on the turn. He is unable (or unwilling) to adjust his game, and finds himself short-stacked once again. Finally in a raised pot with Tran in position, the flop comes Q x x with 2 clubs. Alec checks, Tran bets, Alec raises (which I think is excellent, as Tran has air here a lot), Tran 3-bets (wow, probably not air then), and Alec 4-bets all-in. Tran tanks for an absurdly long time before calling and flipping A8 of clubs (what the hell, what took so long) against Alec’s QT. Alec is in the lead and the turn bricks, but the river brings the jack of clubs and gives Tran the match and the bracelet. A disappointing finish for him and his supporters, to be sure, but the second place prize money will cheer him up a bit. I head back to the satellite room to find Jason busting out in 5th of his sit ‘n go, but he tells me that the tournaments are the softest thing ever and he’ll gladly stake me in some tomorrow. Most excellent. We rendezvous with Andrew, say farewell to Alec and the boys, and head back to Sky. On the way back we joke about the potential godhood of Patrik Antonius and how it’s standard for guys to be willing to go to bed with him. I write up my report of the day (whoa, meta-writing here). Robl goes to bed and Jason and I pack up our stuff to move over to the Marriott at 1 A.M. Tomorrow sounds like it has potential.
We take a cab to the Marriott around the corner and it turns out to be the wrong one. We take another cab to the right one, the Grand Chateau, which is several times nicer and also much closer to everything. Our room is pretty incredible.

Jason in our incredibly nice hotel room at the Marriott Grand Chateau.


One of the bedrooms also had a Jacuzzi. I don’t think either of us ever used it, though.
I can’t get on the internet right away because of a filtering software bug on my laptop, but I’m pretty tired so I’ll have to worry about it tomorrow. Jason says the first order of business then will be to go shopping for some food to stock the fridge with. Okay, time for bed.

Last edited by Warteen; 06-27-2008 at 01:01 PM.
Vegas trip report - low stakes grinder takes a shot, hangs w/the pros (long, w/pics) Quote
06-27-2008 , 01:19 PM
How long are you going to wait to post the next day?
Vegas trip report - low stakes grinder takes a shot, hangs w/the pros (long, w/pics) Quote
06-27-2008 , 01:32 PM
Nice TR, Adam. I like how you express some ambivalence about hanging with the young, high-stakes players. Good times on the one hand, but that the egos get to be a little much on the other, which can be expected when big success and $$$ come so soon in life.

Obv there will be cliques, and there will be those who don't feel you "deserve" to hang with them since you haven't had that same success. Interesting stuff.
Vegas trip report - low stakes grinder takes a shot, hangs w/the pros (long, w/pics) Quote
06-27-2008 , 01:42 PM
good read
Vegas trip report - low stakes grinder takes a shot, hangs w/the pros (long, w/pics) Quote
06-27-2008 , 02:11 PM
great read, post the rest....
Vegas trip report - low stakes grinder takes a shot, hangs w/the pros (long, w/pics) Quote
06-27-2008 , 02:18 PM
TR could use some paragraphs please. Interesting report.
Vegas trip report - low stakes grinder takes a shot, hangs w/the pros (long, w/pics) Quote
06-27-2008 , 06:08 PM
Good reports. Two points:

A. Use paragraphs.
B. Careful about switching between past tense and present tense. I have the same problem.
Vegas trip report - low stakes grinder takes a shot, hangs w/the pros (long, w/pics) Quote
06-27-2008 , 07:16 PM
I especially like the pictures you're putting in, even though they're kinda blurred

Btw, why aren't you posting more pictures bond? I guess you have lots of interesting stuff to show us!
Vegas trip report - low stakes grinder takes a shot, hangs w/the pros (long, w/pics) Quote
06-27-2008 , 10:29 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bond18
Good reports. Two points:

A. Use paragraphs.
B. Careful about switching between past tense and present tense. I have the same problem.
A. Working on fixing this for future segments. Just more line breaks though.
B. I tried to keep in present tense as much as possible. I caught myself several times, guess I still missed a few.

Thanks for reading.
Vegas trip report - low stakes grinder takes a shot, hangs w/the pros (long, w/pics) Quote
06-27-2008 , 10:29 PM
Monday, 6/16/08
I get up at around 9 A.M. and, once again, can’t get back to sleep. I worry that the shortage of sleep might haunt me, but there’s not much I can do about it now. The first order of business is for Jason and me to go shopping for some food to keep in the room. We go to Walgreen’s and pick up some sandwich stuff and breakfast foods for about $50. Jason is supposed to cook breakfast when we get back, but he seems uncertain and so I step in, even though I cook like never. The eggs turn out very well (some things you don’t forget, I guess) and we’re full and happy as we head in the direction of the Rio, to which we’re a lot closer now.

We see a sign for a free $2 million slot pull at Planet Hollywood, and Jason wants to check it out so we enter. All we have to do is sign up for a player’s card there, and we figure why not? Jason wins a deck of cards on his pull, I come up blank. But, the more interesting thing is that we each received a $25 match play coupon for the tables and a $5 match play for a sports bet. I’m ready to throw the latter away, but Jason wants to put a small bet down on the NBA Finals game tomorrow, so we do. My first and last sports bet for a long time, I should think. It’s hard not to enjoy making a rare +EV bet (because of the bonus money they’re offering). We go to the roulette table and put $25 down on black, which is effectively $50 thanks to the bonus. 26 Black comes up and hey, free $50. Time to peace out. We also have an entry to a free slot tournament from signing up, and we play but don’t win anything – Jason amusingly scores 4,996 when 5k was necessary for a dinky prize (and 12k for $1,000). Still, we feel pretty good about ourselves from the free money.

We head to Paris next to look for a shuttle to the Rio. It doesn’t arrive for 20 more minutes, so we go in and learn the basics of Pai Gow Poker (all we can do is watch, since the place is a bit too rich for either of us). Then it’s on to the WSOP satellites.

Jason generously buys 2/3rds of me in a series of $175 satellites (winner take all, but they’re often chopped), so I put up $60 for each game I play – an affordable chance to play in the event tomorrow, considering. Let the games begin.

GAME #1: I play well and grab the chiplead early – the other players are really bad except for maybe one guy. I’m very friendly with the table, but once we get down to 4 players and I refuse to chop per Jason’s instructions, they don’t like me so much anymore. It gets worse when I eliminate Erv, the old man in Seat 1, with K9 against his JJ, and then take out Stevie to my right to make it heads up. The guy I’m playing against is unfortunately the solid one; his name is Sunny (which is funny because his disposition is very serious) and he owns a gas station in town with his family. I am ashamed to say that I played heads up really horribly in this one – the correct play would have been to push every button given our stack sizes, and instead of doing that I folded once with K3s and I minraise-folded with T3o (which is the worst play ever). Finally I shove with J3o; he calls me with Q9o and wins. I have to quit with nothing, beating myself up over my critical blunder.

GAME #2: Again I get an early chip stack. C-bets work very well in these soft satellites. There’s a hand where I get KTo and flop an open-ender against a button call. I bet, he minraises for more than half his stack, I shove and he *folds*. As I said, the play is awful. An Asian guy two seats to my left, though, is on fire – he knocks out the two players to his left with a straight and a set, then takes out another and has a massive chiplead. I get a hand against this guy where I have TT in the big blind against his UTG+1 raise. The flop comes 8 high and I decide to check-raise; he insta-shoves over the top. I tank and fold, leaving myself with the starting stack again. I fail to catch another hand until I have to push with (once again) J3o – the Asian calls me with KQo, as does the big blind with K8o for his stack. I flop a jack and get excited to triple up and survive, but of course the river is a queen; the chip leader is running too good for it not to be. I’m out with the same hand twice.

GAME #3: I run over the table and build up my lead again. I’m really happy with the way I’ve been playing these early; I’m just having a hard time closing, which means I probably should be accepting chops. We get down to three-handed with two old guys (one extremely so) after my KK beats the last young guy’s AQo. The guy to my left gets the chip lead, but just barely, as the blinds are 200/400 and I’m sitting with 4200 chips in the small blind to the Button’s 2600. Jason comes over to watch, having busted from his table. I get KQo and re-push the button shove, who flips AKo for the topmost of his range. It’s only a matter of time from here, even though I get a few chips back thanks to incorrect folds from them. Jason says my move was atrocious and I feel bad because I thought it was standard.

Jason and I go and get dinner at the All-American Grille at this point. I buy as a way of saying thanks for staking me. It’s expensive and not all that good, but at least it fills me up. A waiter named Maximo from Mexico shows us some interesting physics-related magic tricks. Neither Jason nor I have won or chopped in any of our satellites so far, which is discouraging, but they are still definitely +EV despite our negative variance (and I’m learning from my bad mistakes). We head back to the Satellite Room in the convention center to continue taking our shots.

GAME #4: Things start off well once again, but I lose a flip with TT against Stevie from Game 1’s AQo to ruin my chip lead. This table has a few more solid players than the other ones, including a couple 2p2 lurkers to my left and right. Later I run a standard K8o button push into a snapcall from the SB with queens and I can’t suck out this time. Out in fifth.
I am getting tired and frustrated and need to clear my head (it’s about 9 P.M. by now and my efforts have been fruitless), so I head over to the Gold Coast next door to throw some dice again and blow off steam. I win about $40 there and, more importantly, relax a bit and have fun without thinking so much. I walk back over, still feeling groggy, and take one more seat.

GAME #5: Before much else has happened, I 3-bet in late position with ATo against a crazy guy (James Worth) to my right who is minraising any two. I get a caller in the blinds, which makes me a bit nervous, but I feel better on the T 8 x flop. He checks and I bet small as though I am trying to buy the pot without committing much; he checkraises as I’d hoped and I snapcall. He flips 77 and I feel pretty smart, even though I’m exhausted. Later on I’m on the button against 2 limpers. I have a 2:1 chiplead over everyone left in the hand and they’re all short, so I decide to shove with K8o. Unfortunately, the solid, quiet player UTG had limped with KK and I lose half my chips to him. With the blinds escalating, I suck out with Q4 against A4 to survive, and then find myself flipping with J9 against Mr. Limp-Snapcall’s 44. A nine on the flop makes me cheer, but it’s cut short as I realize he’s cheering too – the flop also contained a four and I was too tired to notice. I’m out in fifth again.

I saw more pros today, including Joe Hachem, Jamie Gold, and Chris Ferguson, so that was pretty neat (and I’m okay with that).


Jamie Gold, wearing his trademark WSOP expression.


Chris Ferguson at his 7 Card Stud final table. He came in second to Sebastian Wutenberg.

While I was in the early stage of my final tournament for the day, Jason was at the next table playing a $325, which he chopped evenly two ways, so he ends up even on the day, even after the five stakes he lost on me. I’m happy for him, but bummed for myself. I decide that tomorrow I’ll try four more of these tourneys but for less of myself ($50) – Jason has said that he’ll continue to back me up to 1-2 grand since I’m +EV in these things – and if the situation comes up, I will probably take fair chops since my closing sucks.

At this point I join Jason and Robl (and his friends) in sweating Phil Galfond during the final two of Event #28, the $5k Pot-Limit Omaha with Rebuys. I haven’t met Phil before, but I know he’s a good friend of Andrew’s. We meet and I wish him luck, then join the rail with a lot of the other high stakes 2p2ers, meeting the few that I haven’t met yet, including Peter “Apathy” Jetten, who is a really nice guy, and Cole “cts” South.

Phil Galfond at his final table. He is shorter than you would think, but every bit as good at poker as you’ve heard. He’s also a nice guy.

The match is long and I try to follow the action with Jason, but he doesn’t feel as confident as my addled mind in being able to comment on the advanced game of Phil and his opponent Adam Hourani. This rail is more lively than the previous night’s – my favorite moment comes when the computer people put up the graphic stating that Hourani has moved all-in 6 times. We laugh at that, yelling that it’s a useless stat, and they respond by showing Galfond and writing that he has moved all-in 0 times, making us erupt with glee. After a sick river call with ATxx on a TxxQQ board, Galfond finally puts Hourani away with a suckout and wins his first bracelet and $800k. I’m behind him in all the pictures. Jason has to go back with Robl to pick up the laptop he forgot, but it’s 2:30 A.M. and I am tired to the point of falling down, so I decide my day ends here and catch a cab back to the hotel. I wanted to write up my report and send PMs to the 2p2ers – it looks like Wednesday dinner and a show (Penn & Teller) at the Rio is the plan – but it will have to wait for the morning.

Last edited by Warteen; 06-27-2008 at 10:31 PM. Reason: Paragraphs obv
Vegas trip report - low stakes grinder takes a shot, hangs w/the pros (long, w/pics) Quote
06-27-2008 , 11:17 PM
good stuff
Vegas trip report - low stakes grinder takes a shot, hangs w/the pros (long, w/pics) Quote
06-28-2008 , 12:53 AM
One more for tonight, thanks for the positive feedback. More to come tomorrow.

Tuesday, 6/17/08
I get up at 9:45 and spend a groggy hour or so writing yesterday’s trip report. I clean up and make breakfast, then it’s over to the Rio for Jason to play in his WSOP event, and for me to take a shot at some more satellites – hopefully with better results than yesterday. I have the money for 4 or 5 more tournaments at most if I can’t make something happen.


Jason counts up his piles of money in our hotel room. He would not leave Vegas with the same amount.

If I manage to get as deep as I did a couple times yesterday, I’ll take a chop, because I really want to be able keep playing. Jason goes to the Amazon Room (blue area) to take his seat, and I find out that the satellites aren’t running just yet because they’re using the room for extra tournament space. So once again I head over to the Gold Coast, because I am a low stakes craps degen. I play for about two hours and make $50 after being down, thanks to a great roll where I hold the dice for about 20 minutes. I like shooting much more than betting on someone else’s shots, so I tend to switch tables a lot if they fill up. I head back to the Rio at 2:30ish and hop into my first $175 of the day.

GAME #6: I pull the “induce a checkpush” move (from Game 5) again early, this time with A6 on an 8 6 x flop with two diamonds. My opponent has diamonds and overs, but he misses and I chip up early. Not a lot else significant happens and the blinds get huge as usual. I play perfectly and am happy with that, but you really have to catch cards down the stretch to close these things out. I make the standard push with A8 and unfortunately the big blind has A9 and I’m out.

After the game I call Lauren and chat with her for a bit, then do the same with my mom, since they both called me during the tourney. I grab some sushi and pizza at the Poker Kitchen, quite a combo. Really should have sprung for a drink.

GAME #7: I draw the guy who busted me in the last tourney, Federico the mango exporter from Acapulco – he’s not especially good, but we’ve been very friendly. Most of the rest of the table is quiet, but people loosen up as others start to bust. I’m really putting on the charm, as that’s kind of my thing at the table I guess. And I’m naturally that way – I find everything funny and I love to entertain people, or at least myself if they refuse to be outgoing. The game is almost a replay of the last one – I chip up early, this time with a boat, and during pushtown I get beat. At least I get a flip this time: 22 vs. A9 that’s good on the flop, but a 9 on the turn seals my fate.

I lament my inability to win a flip to save my tournament life. Jason has busted out of his tournament now, which sucks. Can we get a deep run one time, dealer? I’m going to try one more tournament tonight and then probably just go back to the hotel; I’m getting tired of all this losing.

GAME #8: I discover pretty quickly that I pretty much used all my remaining energy on that last table; I’m lethargic and can’t concentrate now. Early on I decide to muck TT against an UTG raise, which may have been a mistake but didn’t cost me any chips. Later I decline a push of A7o in the hijack (which is correct but I wasn’t sure at the time). Finally, with 800 chips and 50/100 blinds, I openpush the small blind with KQo. Woo hoo, ship the big bli… oh, he has aces. Of course. I’m down to almost nothing and go out with KJo (almost tripled up until a river straight for one opponent) a few hands later. That’ll happen sometimes. To make matters worse, I had made a $30 last-longer bet with this fish (whom I’d seen bust first in Game #2) and lost that as well due to this bad luck.

I can’t play any more tournaments in this state, so I save the last two for tomorrow afternoon – I’ve made the plans with 2p2 to meet up for dinner at the $38 seafood buffet tomorrow night and then the Penn & Teller show (looking forward to meeting some non-famous members of the community), so I can go to that afterwards. I’m really bummed that I’ve gone 0 for 8 (when I was happy with my play in 7 of those) and have only 2 more chances to get into another WSOP event. I certainly wouldn’t stake me at this point if I were Robl and liked money.

I just miss the shuttle back to Paris, which makes me feel worse. It’s back over to the Gold Coast one more time for craps, because that’s what I do when I’m bored in Vegas. First I manage to get completely disoriented and dizzy – I run bad at choosing directions today, too. Craps doesn’t end as well this time and I go down $100 before leaving, so I’m down on that on the day in addition to the $50 per of my own money that I lost in those satellites (and the money put aside for tomorrow’s). My bankroll for the trip is hurting hardcore, but at the very least I have food and a really nice place to stay for the rest of the week. I stop at Planet Hollywood to pick up sports bet winnings for me and Jason (the Celtics destroyed by over 30, as predicted by only us in Vegas), then head back to the hotel to wind down.

Jason makes it back shortly thereafter, following his successful cash game run at the Rio poker room, and suggests we go check out the pool on the roof since it closes at 11:00. I am tired, but agree since he is enthusiastic. We head up to the 38th floor and admire the view of Las Vegas since kids have crowded the pool and old people have crowded the hot tub. When we turn around less than ten minutes later, they are all gone. (I have my theories about the possibility of them being ghosts.) We hop into the now-vacant pool, but Jason doesn’t stay long as it’s too cold for him. I stay to do a few laps in the pool, but first I notice a rather attractive girl in a bikini joining Jason in the hot tub, which I find pretty funny. Good choice moving over there, stud.

I eventually join them (and the other guy there) to warm up, and an older couple also comes in – the girls’ parents. LOL. What happens from here is best described by Jason in his 2p2 mini-trip report: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...d.php?t=229247 Basically, I end up talking with the girl as I enjoy the atmosphere, and Jason talks with her mom. It isn’t really my fault, though – I even try to get her to go with him to the Penn & Teller show, but he doesn’t seem interested. He looks happy and engaged in his conversation. I only find out after we leave that he was just frustrated as all hell and hid it very well ‘cause he’s kind of timid. He asks me later why I didn’t ask the girl to the show myself, but I love my jealous girlfriend obv – don’t want to give some strange girl the wrong idea. That’s gotta be his move.

We come back downstairs and watch TV until I can go on no longer. Tomorrow may be my last shot at the WSOP – but if I ever come back, I’ll certainly be playing in these satellites despite my results. I’ve got to be at least 20% to win any given one, as I’m getting into 5th or better consistently and have just failed to catch cards. I’d better pray extra hard tonight, or else give up the dream. Maybe both.
Vegas trip report - low stakes grinder takes a shot, hangs w/the pros (long, w/pics) Quote
06-28-2008 , 06:33 AM
def a good read. thx for sharing. i'll read all of them.
Vegas trip report - low stakes grinder takes a shot, hangs w/the pros (long, w/pics) Quote
06-28-2008 , 11:35 AM
Wednesday, 6/18/08
I start my day by going online. The plans for tonight are all set and it looks like we should get 8-10 people from 2p2. I eat breakfast (just cereal today) and plan not to eat again until 7:00, when I will make the people at the seafood buffet think their $38 price point woefully low. I check the online poker tables and they look softer than usual, so I decide to play for a while. I go down 2 stacks early to a calling station who is running super hot, but I manage to finish a little bit ahead by getting paid on some big hands. Thank goodness for rakeback as well; that makes it a good session. Jason and I take the shuttle to the Rio to give these damn satellites another shot.

GAME #9: I’m at Table #20, which is in a very cold corner of the room, so though I’m energetic and friendly, I’m shivering uncontrollably for the whole thing. I feel well in command of the table and am in good shape down the stretch. In an early hand I get TPTK with AQo and win a sizeable pot when a woman raise-folds for nearly all of her stack on the flop. I shove the small blind with ATo and the big blind calls with A6o, then spikes a six on the flop. Come on, dealer. Luckily a higher 2 pair comes on the board and we split, but that’s a lost chance to make up a very useful chip lead. Later, once we’re all shortish, the small blind, a solid internet player from Oregon, ships it in against my big blind after UTG limps. I have AKs and I have to get it in of course. He has 88 and once again I lose a flip when I need to win one. I’m crippled and all-in blind against a UTG push in the next hand. His AJo flops a jack and my 92o is dead.

I continue to play perfectly and run bad. Ain’t that just the way of things. I’m confident I can continue to play this way, so I join the next tournament, possibly my last chance, immediately.

GAME #10: An early successful c-bet puts me in good shape, but then nothing happens for a while as the blinds get bigger. I end up shoving into the big blind with 82o (my M is around 5 and I need to push any two here obviously) and he calls with AJo. The table laughs at me for pushing with garbage. LOL, bunch of fish, you’re all clearly so smart because I don’t win with a 32.57% chance. Never mind that he folds there about 80% of the time. Anyway, a couple hands later I get my last few chips in with A6o and get beat by an EP caller with 78o. MAN I should be winning these games.

I’m bummed and starving by now, but it’s still over an hour until the 2p2 dinner, so I pull my usual move and go to the Gold Coast to play craps. I lose so quickly – it’s really easy to manufacture bad luck when you’re feeling bad already. It passes the time expensively. I go back to the Rio and wait to meet some people.

I start to feel better when I meet some 2p2ers outside The Village Seafood Buffet and chat with them. I meet Mike (MikeyPatriot), Seth (__seth), and Josh (LB_001). I was expecting more people based on RSVPs, but I’ll take what I can get. They seem like really good guys, and we share stories and backgrounds. Josh is the highest stakes of the 5 of us (including Jason, who comes back from the Rio poker room); Mike is down at my level and Seth is in-between. We’re all from the Midwest, though, except that Mike just moved to Vegas 3 weeks ago. We continue talking until we’re let into the buffet, which is everything I hoped it would be to my hungry body. I gorge on their sushi (not much variety, but high quality considering), and the catch of the day and assorted fish are all delicious. Two stacked plates for me impress the guys.

Toward the end of the meal, Mike notices that his friend John (johnbeans) is eating at this place with the girl that he bailed on us for. We first talk about how it would be funny to mess with him, come up with ideas, and finally decide that it’s pretty much necessary that we actually do these things. First Jason walks by and greets John as if he actually knows him. Next, Seth does something similar but stops and shakes his hand. Finally, armed with knowledge about a party John attended last month where he got drunk and my improv background, I give the real performance: I make myself look a bit more slovenly (food in my teeth, chewing a dessert, and wearing a napkin as a bib which has the added bonus of covering up the 2p2 shirt that would give me away) and plop myself right down at the table with him and his date. I give him a story about how I remember him from the party, and what a coincidence it is seeing him here, how wasted he got throwing up everywhere, and oh yeah I lost my money at craps and maybe you could help me out. The girl looks very uncomfortable and the guys are cracking up at our table. I’m pretty sure John has figured out the game by now, but he can’t be positive and so he can’t really say anything, and I’m really going with it. At least his date doesn’t know what’s happening.

Mission accomplished – I head back to the table and we laugh uproariously at the punishment of violating the “bros before hoes” clause. After a moment Mike waves at John and we all give him a look to be sure he understands and it’s cool. We head to the Penn & Teller Theater feeling pretty elated after a good meal and a good practical joke on (for most of us) a stranger.


Upon arriving at the show, we realize that our seats are in very different parts of the auditorium and so we plan to meet afterwards. Jason and I head up to the center mezzanine – not great seats, but I can see the action fairly well. The show is absolutely amazing, particularly their take on sawing a woman in half and the way they explain how most of the tricks work. In addition to that and the impressively inexplicable “Magic Bullets” closer, they also have a video camera trick with a hilariously elaborate set-up. Teller is probably the ultimate master of sleight of hand. I definitely recommend this show to anybody, but make sure you get good seats.


Two Plus Two dinner attendees. From left: Seth (__seth), Josh (LB_001), Adam (Warteen), Mike (MikeyPatriot), Jason (JDLade). As you can see, at 6’4” I tower over everyone.

After the show Mike says he needs to catch a bus and I offer to teach craps to anyone who wants to learn. I figure it will be me, Seth, and Josh, but our group stays whole after all as we walk over to the Gold Coast. We run really bad at first, as always seems to happen in this game, but they stick with me and get to experience the fun of running good as well. I also finally have somebody to laugh with about this regular there who is best described as a “dough golem”. Everybody finishes up except me as the guys trickle out one by one. Generally we’ve had a great time, but it’s time to call it a night.

My bankroll for Vegas is only about 23% of where it started (Jason claims to be at only 18%, so at least I’m in good company), so I’m bummed about the quick losses, but on the other hand I’ve had a great time and we still have a week to go. It’s almost hard to believe, considering all it feels like I’ve experienced. I always lose when I gamble, though; I’ll be doing better when I go home to Lauren-I-Love. But I’d better get a job. You know, unless I backdoor my way into a WSOP event somehow and win it. Yeah, that’s likely… I point out to Jason that my trip report is already 12 pages long with a week to go. He jokes that I should write a book about the trip, then suddenly turns deadly serious about the idea – I do have a theme, after all: Low stakes grinder hangs with the high stakes pros and takes a shot. For now, it’s bedtime. Can’t lose money when I’m sleeping. I upload some pics and succumb to the darkness.
Vegas trip report - low stakes grinder takes a shot, hangs w/the pros (long, w/pics) Quote
06-28-2008 , 01:02 PM
One more for the afternoon crew. I'm heading out after this, will probably post one or two more tonight.

Thursday, 6/19/08
The lack of sleep finally catches up with me and I don’t wake up until after noon. I’m struck with a deep urge to win one of those satellites today. I play online for a while and lose a quarter of my bankroll thanks to bad play, bad luck, and bad bankroll management. Sigh, time to move down again. I get over it and peruse 2p2 for Sam Grizzle stories to share with Jason.

We hang out in the room until 3:00, and then we go catch a taxi to a nearby Bank of America where he can pull out some cash for the rest of the trip. We’re off the Strip now, in a more gritty area where you could probably get stabbed if you wanted to. Jason goes into the bank while I wait in the cab… and wait… and wait… and grab a sandwich and drink at the nearby Carl’s Jr… and then wait some more. I go in to see what’s the matter, and apparently they can’t find Jason’s account.

Jason gets held up at the Bank of America.

This might take a while longer, so we pay the cabbie and send him away, but it’s only another ten minutes or so until they can reach the Michigan branch and fix things up. We walk in the 112 degree heat to the nearby mall to get a cab to the Rio. The trip is uneventful, and we find ourselves taking a shot at satellites once again.

GAME #11: I’ve got a tough young player to my left, Michael, but the rest of the table is nothing special. Early on I have AQs on the button. UTG raises, 2 call, I call, then the big blind shoves it all in. The others fold, and I decide to call. I put down only my second significant suckout in 11 tournaments when I catch a straight to beat his KK – he’s less than pleased. Moments later I bust another player with AK v. AQ. My pushbotting from the big stack works wonders against these guys and I pick up the blinds frequently to stay healthy down the stretch as others are eliminated. We get down to 3-handed; blinds are 150/300 and I have around 2,800 chips in the small blind. The big blind covers me and the shortstacked button pushes. I look down at A8o; I go into the tank but eventually decide to fold here because I’m crushed by the big blind’s calling range and if I go out here I get nothing. The big blind calls with A2o and busts the button’s middle cards, so we’re down to two. I ask for a chop, and get a favorable deal – one of the $500 tourney buy-in chips and half the $120 in cash. I eagerly take it, and guess what? I’M NOT OH-FER ANYMORE!!! Today has finally turned things around.

Meanwhile, Jason is chopping the finals at his table as well, so we’re both winners. High fives all around. He wants dinner, but I decide we should play in another each first.

GAME #12: I’m at a table with a bunch of old men. Early in the game with the blinds at 25/25 and my stack down to about 950 from the original 1000, I get QJo in the cutoff and call a raise to 75 from position. The button reraises and I have to fold when it comes back around to me. That should have been a fold in the first place. A few hands later I get AA and raise over an UTG limper to 125. I get 3 callers including UTG. The flop is 8 8 2 rainbow; I underbet 150. The guys with position on me fold and UTG calls. The turn is an offsuit T and I decide to check behind when he checks to me – for deception more than pot control. I’m not worried about any river cards. The river bricks (a 5 or something) and he bets 300 into me. I think about it and decide to push for my last 275 on top. He calls and flashes Q8s for flopped trips that beat my aces. Expert limp-call UTG sir. GG.

I go back over to check on Jason – his tournament is still in the middle stages and most players are still in. I go over to the Amazon Room to see if anything interesting is happen – sure enough, the $10k Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo event is running, and this has attracted all the big names. I stop for a while to watch a table where Doyle Brunson and Phil Hellmuth are sitting next to each other. Phil Ivey is at a nearby table, and I also see Jennifer Harman, Annie Duke, Mike Matusow, and plenty of others. Still no Daniel Negreanu sightings yet, though he was at Galfond’s final table before I got there.


Doyle Brunson and Phil Hellmuth are seated next to each other in the 10k PLO championship.


Hellmuth decides to get a massage to deal with the stress of being him.


Phil Ivey munches on some sushi to sustain him between $600k craps sessions.

Chris Ferguson is playing a final table in another event on the other side of the room, so there are crowds on the rail all over. I go back to check on Jason, and he’s still seven-handed, so I watch for a while. The guy to his right gives me a hard time about standing behind him, so I relocate and watch for a while.

It doesn’t take me long to decide that this guy is a real jerk – he yells at the dealer multiple times and talks aggressively to everyone at the table. Jason makes a really bad button fold with an M of ~2, which I’ll tell him about later, but then gets lucky and doubles through the jerk in a blind battle with K8s. A couple players bust quickly and they get down to 4-handed. Jason gets all-in with A7 of hearts against the big blind’s TT. The flop brings two hearts and I call out loud for a heart, but the ace on the turn will also do to all but bust that guy. Jason has a big stack now and plays it well. The jerk wants a “safety” – everyone gets their buy-in back regardless of results henceforth – but I stringently shake my head and mouth ‘no’ to Jason; there’s no way this guy will get any money if I have influence over it.

It’s about this time that he starts trying to look at Jason’s cards and I silently signal Jason to protect them better, so the jerk asks the dealer to make me leave. I go, but not so far that I can’t see the action. The jerk loses a big pot with JJ against the other good player’s A8o and I smile inwardly as he angrily hits the table. He’s down but not out, though, and doubles through Jason to get healthy again. Shortly thereafter, Jason pushes the button and the jerk calls – Jason’s 66 is busted by the jerk’s 88, unfortunately, and he leaves with nothing. I do my best to comfort him, saying that even though Jason lost the game, he walks away the bigger man because that guy just sucks at life.

Enough negativity, though – it’s time to get dinner, this time in the Miranda Sushi & Noodle Kitchen, and talk about some hands. The place has all-you-can-eat soup and noodles for $15, and it turns out to be very delicious and filling. Let me tell you, Asian chefs know their soups. We talk about hands that happened with both of us and what we’re going to do next, and make a quick video of me eating soup with two spoons (2 spoons 1 soup IMO). I decide to play in another tournament, while Jason wants to hit up the cash games. I start to have stomach problems for about the third time today (seafood buffet backlash, I suppose), and we also run into Josh from last night briefly.

GAME #13: Earlier at the bank, I collected a bunch of candy (with the gooey fruit center) and I’m down to my last piece, which I use as a chip protector this game. Before, I’d been using a quarter, and in previous days it was usually a neat metal skull ring I brought with me (which Jason is using now). I make the semi-serious joke that whoever busts me gets the candy… bounty tournament! This table appears to be a bit tougher than my previous ones in general (which I’ve noticed tends to happen as the day grows late). There’s a crazy young Asian guy across the table from me who at one point raises UTG and shows 64o when everyone folds. I double up early when I overshove a donkbet with A7o on a 9 9 7 flop and the guy to my right calls me with 55. I lose some ground a bit later when I make bad calls on 2 streets OOP with an open-ended straight draw and don’t catch, but I’m still strong in chips. After a few rounds of blinds without cards, I’m not. I shove Q5s on the button against the blinds, whom I both cover, and get called in 2 spots by KQ and K7. I don’t win, but I’ve still got chips. I pick up the blinds to bounce back quickly. Not long after, the Asian guy raises and I push 88 in the big blind. He incorrectly folds, giving me some good chips. Two hands later he is UTG and raises; I decide to overpush with AQs and he calls me with J8s. I am at risk but I hold up (one time!) and double up. On the very next hand I push the button with AJs, and he calls all-in with AKo, but I suck out with a jack on the flop, knocking him out and bringing us down to 4-handed with me as the chip leader. Quickly I push 74o in the small blind and get called by A9o, but river 2 pair to bust him. Next hand I push 89o into the big blind and get called by A2o but flop trips. Hahaha… see what happens when I run good? We’re heads up, me and another good player, but I have a 3 to 1 chip lead. He pushes and I call with KJo. He shows K7s and I’m in great shape to win it all, but of course a 7 has to flop and ruin my fun. At this point I have a 52/48 chip lead, and I set up a deal that is slightly in my favor (since he’s in the big blind next hand and we’re basically flipping a $1620 coin if we play this out). He agrees to the chop – I get one $500 chip and $370 in cash ($250 from his pocket), and he gets two chips. I’m way ahead on the day and quite thrilled.

Jason and I take the last shuttle back to the Strip at 1:00 A.M., do a little shopping to restock essentials, and come back to the room. He gets a bit paranoid about the deal/amounts we have and we try to do the math, but it’s not easy at 3:30 in the morning. Finally I communicate to him that it’s as simple as this: He owned 5/7ths of what I had at the beginning of the day, and he owns 5/7ths of what I have at the end of the day. I was hoping to hold onto all the money and use it to play tomorrow, but he wants to settle up now so he doesn’t have to think about it anymore. It’s the same thing (since he’s buying 5/7ths of me at an essentially unlimited rate, including to an event), but for some reason I get kind of bummed about giving up what seemed to be a good start toward getting an event buy-in. Arguing over it in this state would be counter-productive though, so I give him his portion of the money and head to bed. Tomorrow I plan to use today’s profits to play in 4 tournaments. It may end up being more or less, as it’s now 4:00 and the days have been starting later and later. Pretty soon my sleep schedule might start to resemble Robl’s – in bed at 7 A.M., up at 2:00 P.M., if he gets to bed at all.

Last edited by Warteen; 06-28-2008 at 01:10 PM.
Vegas trip report - low stakes grinder takes a shot, hangs w/the pros (long, w/pics) Quote
06-28-2008 , 04:14 PM
nh sir, good read

more pics of the ladies and less of the fellas

well done !
Vegas trip report - low stakes grinder takes a shot, hangs w/the pros (long, w/pics) Quote

      
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