GolfPro’s Post TR - Did the King(s) Save the Day - Part 3!

Shoot more dice, clearly!

In this installment:

Getting lucky at the @Shoe
Close and deep run @Orleans

Getting Lucky at the Shoe!

After the dream run checked the Cash Games at Bellagio and the wait list was still long. Ventured back into 1/3 cash game at the Shoe. This was a dream table. I was in for $200. The action has been pretty heavy. Seat 8 was a Chinese guy (CG), Seat 9 was an Aggressive American (AA). These two people have been driving the action.

We wake up with 2d4d in a three-way pot. Me, CG and AA.

We didn't have to look further on an all-diamond flop.

CG Cbets, I 2x his bet. Calls.

Turn was a blank (by that I mean non diamond). He checks, I ship the rest hoping he has only one diamond (the one that matters). He immediately says, "lets gamble!" (he does have only one diamond that matters!).

River was a blank and we double up and some.

In a few hands, CG takes out AA. A new Older Brit Gentleman (OBG) sits down in 9 w 300. We get involved immediately.

I open with AKos and hit an A on the flop. OBG is the only caller. I check he bets 45, I ship AI and cover his remaining $240. OBG doesn't even hesitate to say "Y Not!" (OBGYN). Shows AQ and the board runs clean. Started with 200, cashed out 750 in a quick one hour.

After the elimination in DDS didn't feel like firing another tournament this Friday. But, after this sudden windfall, the itch and hope to run deeper in a tournament was unstoppable. So, off we go to 7PM 200BI Orleans event. Enroute, we had one question for the magic sphere - "Can we run pure? Can we win the flips today?"

Close and deep run @Orleans

The Orleans evening event is 20-minute levels and accumulated 200+ entries.

We were in the middle seat. Seat 3 is a Middle Aged American (MAA), we were in 5, Seat 6 was another brother from hometown (ABHT), Seat 8 was guy from Vietnam or Philippines (GFVP). Took a few pots with aggressive betting from GHVP and ABHT by hitting the boards.

GFVP was gunning for out pots. We open AJos (3100) and ABHT and GFVP both call.
F: AA8 we all check
T: 6, I check, ABHT goes AI and GFVP folds. I was hoping they hit an 8 or a 6 and I was correct.
R: Blank

Hero: AJos ABHT: K6os. We take the brother out!

During the showdown in the next few hands, I realized that GFVP is slow playing his monster hands. Shows A's and Q's in a limped pot. Hmmm interesting! Hope it doesn't come back to bite his arse hoping to trap me in the pots.

A situation develops immediately. "O Magic Sphere! Are you listening?"

We open 6's to 3500, we get two callers GFVP and MAA.

F:Q86 w 2 diamonds. I check, GFVP doesn't waste any time in going AI. We snap. GFVP shows 7d10d for a **** load of outs.

The sphere nor the dealer seems to have heard me. The dealer puts not one but two diamonds on turn and river. In addition, the dealer forgets to pair the board. We take a hit, I guess that is why you build your stack, so, you can handle these kinds of hits.

We immediately get the lost chips from GFVP when our 10hQh beats his KJos on a J high two heart board when we get there.

In the due course we double up MAA, when our 8c9c doesn't improve on a 9 high flop with a flush redraw. MAA's A's beat our 9's.

We had a chance to get some of the chips when MAA opens with 10's and we call with AQos. Shorty goes AI and reopens the pot. MAA goes AI and we fold our AQos begrudgingly.

Hero: AQos Shorty: AKos MAA: 10's
F: Q high, T: A.

We would have taken out both Shorty and MAA at the same time. Would this fold hurt us in the future? Only the magic sphere could answer that!

After a few levels after registration closes, we ended up with 200+ entries, 57 remain, 24 paid (24th - $432, 1st - 7760). We might have a chance at one more cash on our hands.

Open KJos and let it go as we missed the board, and a flush becomes a possibility.

MAA in EP shoves and we wake up with Q's to see this:

We are down to 21K. Can we hold our end game flips please!

We peek under the gun at 3/6K/6K blinds and see an A and shove. Didn't see the second card. Two callers, the lady with the big stack and one shorty (Middle Eastern Guy - MEG). Who can be shorter than 21K you might wonder, the MEG lost all his chips to the lady in hand.

Hero: AX Lady: A9os and MEG: JhQh. Time to reveal our second card, hope it's a good one, yes, it is a Q.

The short answer to the question "Can we hold our end game flips please?" is NO!

F: 9 high T: A and no magical two outters to the rescue.

Magic Sphere! Next time let me know before, so I can spend more time in the cash games.

That is the end of the trip report folks. Thanks for your kind words and following me along.

Sounds like the deck was your enemy in all the big spots this trip. Happens to all of us from time to time.

Hope you enjoyed the trip regardless. I appreciated the reports from the front lines.

Dealer's fault, obv.

Sorry, I've been away from this thread for awhile. Nice to see the shout-out when I came back! Very glad that Odell Beckham Jr. is treating you well!!!! 😀

Final Thoughts

Every year make this pilgrimage hoping to see my name on the top in one of the big events. As previous years, make a deep run in a couple of them and whittle down due to one bad flip at the right time. Rinse and repeat.

I have played in the following rooms:

Cash (1/3)
Aria, Shoe, Resorts World, Wynn and MGM

Tournaments
WSOP, Nugget, Aria, Orleans and MGM

Deep Runs
2 (min cash at Nugget and a decent one at Resorts)

Food Outings
Wazuzu, Geylang Clay Pot, Greek Place in Resorts, Randy's Donuts, Duck Donuts, Mediterranean Place in front of Shoe

Stay and Ride
As I didn't give any business to MGM last year had zero offers, so I opted for AirBNB this trip. It was located in between Spring Moutain and Flamingo.

Depending on where I was playing opted to take the bus on Spring Mountain or Flamingo. The ride was 15 mins and used to drop in front of Shoe or Wynn.

For $20 for three days, I felt this was the best option. I realized instead of taking the Deuce from the strip to Downtown, CX was a better and a faster option.

General Thoughts
I feel unless you make a deep run, the travel, stay and food expenses do eat away your gambling budget. Hopefully in one of these trips will reach the podium to make all of this effort worth the wait.

Cash games at the shoe (not WSOP) were profitable most of the time. The game and table selection might help increase the profits. The Wynn and Resorts World games were always good. I played at Aria for one session, so, not a great sample to comment. I love playing in the poker room, but, when they break the tables and move you to the temporary area gives you a feeling like you are playing the tournament.

It was a totally different vibe to play tournaments at Resorts or Nugget to WSOP. Resorts World felt very relaxed compared to other locations.

Occasional splurging in Blackjack, Bubble Craps, Craps, Pit Games and Video Poker: Not a big spender on these, but they did cover my loses and paid for lunch and dinners on the trip. The best one was throwing $10 on horn bet on the Deuce and hitting it. It paid for all small and the horn bet. That was the best 20/30 mins in the crap less craps game.

In the end it was an enjoyable trip. The turtle is definitely looking forward to the next one.

Good Luck to all my fellow TR participants, hope one or all of them finish in the big money like PardoG.

Fingers crossed for a nice finish in one of the big events in the near future!!!