Ok guys. I feel compelled to tell all about my time at Beau since we O8 players get so little info. I specialize in O8 from 5-10 limit (which is the closest game to me unfortunately) to 30-60 limit, and 1-3 pot and 2-5 pot O8. I think out of 25 of my past sessions I have lost money in 3. I regularly cash out $1k per week out of Ignition poker in O8. I have been crushing for a while. Problem is availability as you all know. Had a really rough week dealing with kids so I booked a flight to Biloxi to see if it was a good game. Boy I am glad I did. I rarely can say infatically that I am the best player at the table, but I clearly was. I even had to significantly loosen my range playing there and was rewarded for it. There is only so much you can win with at 10-20, but in 2 days I booked 2k profit (minus 400 for airfare and hotel stay and meals and taxi). So 1.6k. I feel like it can be replicated easily. I played wed and thursday, but I heard it was looser on weekends. They were quite loose with garbage hands. People were 4 betting the kill just because. And 2 of the $500 scoopers that i hit were because of that. I also prefer the 10 player dynamic (i did not think I would). More hands per round and longer blinds give tight players a big edge. Mostly regulars at the table. Let me know any questions you may have. I think in 2 weeks I will do the 20-40 at bellagio (however I have been told by many that there are teams there) or I may got back to the Beau.

Thank you for the report CUSO. Tough to find good o8 games in the country nowadays. Was wondering if anyone else could confirm collusion at 20/40 at Bellagio. Possibly going to Vegas in a couple weeks and was thinking of playing.

I do not have first-hand knowledge of collusion, put on three separate occasions people have mentioned it to me when I never even brought it up. I think I'm going to go and play in that game in two weeks, but the problem is it seems like they don't have a deep pool of players, the game doesn't seem to last very long, so I'm going to have to figure out if this is what I'm really going to do. I would love to sit at a 2040 game for an entire weekend, but this game only seems to last about six or seven hours, and there are never any people on the wait list. Does anybody here have any first-hand information on this game?

I have only played in the Bellagio 20/40 O8 game twice for very short periods of time, but I have played at tables right next to that table very often, and I highly doubt there is much collusion. The game is mostly regulars, and I have played with most of them a bit in holdem or stud 8 games. I have never heard anyone even mention collusion in the game.

well, if there was collusion I'd doubt they would talk about it

I wouldn't doubt that there is probably a little low level softplaying and maybe some signaling of key cards, but nothing like worm and Mike McD

Yeah, obviously not by them, but I mean it seems like I might have heard someone else say "I'll never play in that game again with the fishy stuff going on".

I've played the Bellagio 20-40 game twice, the latest being Mother's Day weekend this year (see my poor attempts at sneaking pictures during the game below). I'm a winning player in the Ohio games and usually at Orleans in Vegas but lost both times at Bellagio. That being said, I didn't notice anything fishy and don't think there was collusion (although I wasn't paying attention to there possibly being any). I just think there are a few tough reg players with a new fish or two there at any given time.

As has been discussed in other threads (although it may have been in a different sub-forum, possibly Live Casino Poker) a lot of people in live LO8 games are friendlier and check down some hands vs their reg friends (the thread was about LO8 at Orleans). I think some people mistake this softer (than NLHE) play as signs of collusion, but I think it's common in split pot games where you know the guy you've played with for 20 years has the low and you have the high so no need to bet. I never felt that I was being squeezed out of a hand only for them to check it down afterwards or anything. I also regularly check the backs of cards for any noticeable irregularities. That being said, I could be naive to wrongdoings at the poker table. Hopefully not, though.

David Sklansky and James Woods


Dnegs came by for a chat but not to play

I played in that 20/40 TOE game with Woods and Sklansky in May!

I might not remember you exactly (or at all if you left before I came in) but where were you sitting if you don't mind me asking? I was the Justin Bieber-ish looking guy (based on hairstyle and young looking) in Seat 8.

That may have been a different day, I heard it went two days. When I played Sklansky was to the left of Woods and I was to his right, until later I took Sklansky's seat when he left. Dnegs did not visit while I was there.

Does TOE stand for Triple Draw/O8/Stud8? When usually that game run?

Ah, ok. I played Saturday the 13th from 5-10 pm according to my notes. It was just a 20-40 LO8 game when I was in it. All but one, maybe two, of the players had fairly tight starting hand ranges it seemed to me so there wasn't a lot of dead money. Tougher than other 6-12 or 8-16 games that I've played.

Yes, that's what I meant. It is no kind of regular game though, unfortunately. I think James Woods and one of his friends (an older poker pro, can't remember name) came in, wanted to play, and started HU or 3 handed, then it eventually filled up. When I played it was a very good game though. Woods was playing very loose and I guess it loosened up others as well.

That game in biloxi is some of the best o8 youll find. If you went on a random weeknight it doesn't hold a candle to the game during the tournament series(see: million dollar heater in January).

It's swingy af though. I've won 2k like you and i've also lost 2k.

I played back in August and lost AAAKK to KKKK for an absurd pot, probably 1200+ after we capped every street with 2 other people chasing low draws.

Very next hand i get 2 outered on river so i called it a trip and ended up stuck big.

But yes, great game.

Congrats CUSO! Ty for the info! curious, what do you cash 1k/wk on Ignition playing? Tournys/sngs or cash?

Just wanted to jump into this old thread and alleviate any fears about the Bellagio 20/40 game.

Most of the players in this game are local, so I can see how tourists are uncomfortable when everyone seems to know each other and occasionally soft play/check down when heads up and mistake the friendliness for something more nefarious.

But I've played here (and w the same players at Venetian previously) since 2010 for 1k+ hours and have never witnessed a situation where I even suspected collusion.

These days there is growing interest in mix games which compete for the same players so game doesn't go as consistently as it used to.

The main issue for tourists is that the game usually starts late morning (freq around 11am) and players starting leaving around 5. Oftentimes game is shorthanded by 6 and breaks by 7. (There may not always be a game but there is always a list. If you let the floor know you're willing to start the game shorthanded, that's sometimes all it takes to get the game going.)

If you're visiting and can't play during the day, your best bet is to get there as early as you can and be willing to play short. If game survives til 8 or 9, it usually starts filling up again and often turns into a really great game that can go all night.

I'm happy to answer any questions about this or the mix game.


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If you *really* want to play 20/40-50/100 Omaha8 or mix on your next trip to Vegas, send me a PM w your name, number and travel plans and I'd be happy to help start the game/recruit players if I'm in town.

(Warning: I only log in once every couple months so advance notice highly recommended)


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