MuckPls and everyone else vs Vegas (10/4 to 10/20)

Couple more hits. Wish it was all profit but at least we are going in the right direction!

👍

(assuming) I hope you enjoyed the Spring Mountain Ranch home tour...they've done a great job of preserving that ranch house.

We never went inside, we were in the surrounding area of the ranch taking photos of various wildlife. Saw the ranch from the outside tho, was pretty cool.

boom - big hits!

For yesterday evening's session, I took an Uber over to Venetian to play. On the way there we passed by the grandstands at Bellagio - things are getting ready for the F1 race next month:

In hinsight I realized that it's probably faster to take an Uber to Palazzo instead of Venetian, but it's hardly a long walk to the poker room regardless. On the way there, you pass the walkaway to The Sphere. Have to check that one out sometime:

This famous sign is also just next to the poker room:

I got immediately seated in a game that didn't seem all that action packed, and I started losing a few small pots right off the bat. In one I raised A9hh to $15 over a limp from UTG, and get two callers in the field (limper folds). We see T-5-2 flop without any hearts, and I decided to just check-fold this one. Now in hindsight I think I can actually start a bet, as the board is very dry and shouldn't hit the callers too much either. I can also plow through on high cards, and putting Tx in a difficult spot. But I generally like to have a backdoor, so that there are more options along the way.

Then there is a limp for $3, before a super-OMC (very passive) suddenly wakes up and make it $7 (great sizing). I have A9o in BB, and I honestly think this could just be a fold versus his range. I was not disciplined enough to fold though, and throw in the extra $4. The limper also calls, and we go 3-ways to Q-3-9 rainbow.

I check, the limper checks, and the OMC bets out $15. With actually having a pair it felt too weak to give this one up, so I call once to see what he does on the turn. The limper folds, and the turn-card is a T. I check, the OMC bets $20 and I just fold.

Then I raise AJo from UTG to $12, only to see EP1 call and EP2 make a small 3-bet to $32. It folds back to me, and I don't think defending AJo from out of position would be smart here. So I chose to just let it go, and the caller also folds. The 3-bettor had not been overly active so far, so I didn't consider turning my hand into a bluff with a 4-bet.

I do however win some back in a limped pot, where I check K5o from BB three ways. Flop comes K-5-4 two diamonds, and I lead out for $7 after SB checks. An older Asian woman calls, and SB folds. 9 on the turn seems safe, so I bet $17 this time and she once again calls.

River comes another 4, and although I doubt she has much 4x in her range I decided to check it over to her. Although she might not be the player type with such moves in her arsenal, I felt it was more value in letting her bluff missed diamonds or 67. She does however just shake her head a bit and check back. My hand is obviously good.

My table then breaks as we started getting very short handed, and us remaining players are instead redistributed to other tables with open seating. I continue losing small pots at the new table, such as when I raise AQo (red cards to $12). I get two callers in the field, and we see the flop of K-9-4 two clubs. I am OOP versus both callers, and I am not sure which turn-cards I can comfortably bet. So I decided to just check-fold this one, and have to add on another $100 to my stack.

Then the only other good player at the table makes it $11 from mid pos. I am in BB and look down at KK. Obviously going to 3-bet this one, so we make it $40. He thinks for a while, but ends up folding. Too bad.

More hands against the same villain, and this is an interesting one. I raise 88 to $12 from button, and the decent player is the only caller in BB (one player behind me was sitting out). Flop is a dream with 8-2-3 two diamonds. He checks, and I bet $12. My thinking was that I don't want to go too big here as he probably knows this board is slightly better for him. Had the opponent been a drooler, I could obviously go higher. Anyway, he calls.

Turn is another 2, so we have a full house. He surprisingly leads for $35, and I go into the tank. My first thought was to just call and hopefully let him hit a flush or try a bluff on river. However, our stacks are around $300 to start the hand and if I just call it will be hard to get everything in on river. At least that was my reasoning in game, but thinking about it now I could maybe just call. Pot will be $119 by the river, and if he bets for $60 or something I can jam without it being a gross overbet.

Either way, I decided to raise this one up, simply because I thought he would not release a flush draw and if he has 2x he will not fold regardless. Also worth noting that the 2 on the flop was not a diamond, so a hand like.. Q2 of diamonds or similar could be possible for him. I raise it up to $90, and he goes into the tank for a long time before eventually folding. Although I didn't want to look at him while he was thinking, it seemed like he considered all of his options here.

I am however a bit uncertain if this is a spot for an unusual slow play. I ran the hand by the Crush Live Poker forum, and two people there thought that a raise was in order, while a third (who plays quite high stakes) said I could just call. I am just so used to fast playing in these spots, so actually slow playing is not something that comes natural to me. But maybe it should be used on occasion, at least against someone who seemed like a decent player and are able to assign me a range and read board textures.

I fold for a while, before getting involved against the same player again. He straddles for $6 from UTG, and one player calls the $6. I have JJ in cutoff and raise it up to $30. It folds to the straddle who starts thinking, before announcing a 3-bet to $106.

Against someone else, I think this would be a difficult situation, but here I didn't take too long with it. With the straddle we are only around 50 bb deep (slightly more as I started hand with $330), and if there is anyone at the table who is capable of attempting a resteal here from the straddle it has to be this guy. I obviously don't know if that move is in his toolbox, but if there is ever some fold-eq here and he just have like an A4/A5 type of hand then it would be a huge win to get a fold.

In other words, I jam it all-in. He does not snap-call, but only took 3-4 seconds before saying "ok, I call". I have no idea what to expect, but we see the board run out Q-T-8-7-A. That's gotta be bad news, as I cannot think of a single hand that I beat here. And sure enough, he had AK offsuit and rivered the Ace to win the huge pot. Sigh.

It's obviously borderline to get in JJ pre in Vegas cash games, but I think this was a rather unique spot where it might be ok. Due to the straddle we are not as deep as one might think, and this was also a player who knew how to 3-bet on occasion. We had some recent history as well, so he might have been thinking I was being a bit too aggressive. Or he might just not care about that. Who knows.

I reload for another $300, and I am now in the game for $700. I did win a few small pots to recover some though, can run through three of them real quick.

In the first one we have a limp from UTG and I raise up KQo (black cards) to $15 from EP1. Table was not overly aggressive, so this seems fine. The player from above calls in position, and the limper also calls. We see Q-T-6 two spades, and after UTG checks I bet $20. Should have gone higher as a lot of stuff can call, but in my defense I have Ks in my hand and wasn't super concerned about a flush. Both fold.

Then there is a limped pot and I check J3o in BB. We go 4-ways to J-9-9, which checks around. Although leading with TP in limped pots can be good, I didn't think this was a great spot as the only hand I can get value from is T8. Turn is a Q, and once again it checks around.

River comes another Q, and after SB checks I have a very easy value bet here. Board is double paired, so I will likely get looked up by Ace high. I wish I had gone bigger than I did though, pot is $12 and I only went $7. I think I can go $15-$20 here and still get the same calls as it looks a bit bluffy. But it worked out exactly how I expected; one guy called with Ace high and I was good.

Then UTG limps again, and I make it $15 right behind him with 78ss. He is the only caller, and we go heads-up to K-Q-T two spades. After he checks, I bet small for $10 and he folds. I will obviously go hard on this board if he continues due to range advantage, and I even have actual equity which is nice.

I also want to mention that at Venetian they do PLO (!) Double Board Bomb Pots every dealer change if there are enough players who wants to participate (think 50% or more). I joined in on most of them for $6, and was nowhere near connecting good enough to win any. So you can bleed a bit on those, but there is also a lot of value in them. I saw one guy misread the board, thinking he had a full house using only the Ace from his hand. He did however get super lucky that the opponent was only playing the other board, so his Ace high won on the top.

I played for 4 hours and 15 minutes, losing $325 USD. Feels a bit frustrating, but at the same time I was clearly winning in the game overall. It's just the JJ vs AK hand that cost me a really good and profitable session.

I took the Monorail from Harrah's back 'home' to MGM Grand. Vegas always looks lovely at night:

This trip is very confusing though. I have loved every minute of it, and all I could think about when I was playing at the stylish new Venetian poker room yesterday is that I wish I wasn't going home soon. It's impossible to ever get tired of Vegas, no matter how many times I visit. It's truly amazing.

But I am now in negative profit on cash games, which is like WTF to me. I think I am playing super good for the most part, although obviously with some mistakes here and there + maybe I can ramp up the aggression a bit in some spots. But it's a shock to me that I am not crushing the games. Am I delusional? Maybe, but I am very happy with how mentally focused I have been in most hands and how some of the decision points come much more naturally to me than just 2-3 years ago.

Today is my last full day in Vegas, and it's suddenly sort-of cold and windy. In other words, a perfect day to sit inside and grind a lot of hours! I have to, because the total number below is just terrible. Even though I enjoy the balance of doing other stuff as well, I still should be able to make around 40 hours on a trip of this length.

On that note... let's go out and enjoy. It's a Friday, there is a lot of people in town (many for 'When We Were Young' music festival), so the games should be good and lively!

Cash Games:

Hours played: 26h 45 min
Won/lost: -$59 USD
Hourly rate: -$2.2 USD

Tournaments:

Won/lost: -$200 (2 tourneys)

Yee haw.

Stats for 1/3 so far:

Gambling is a completely mess. I’m still down but not much, I’ll have to calculate everything when I get home (in two days [emoji24]) because I bought and sold a ton of cash to friends.

That was our guide btw not me [emoji23]

Whale, one critique of your HHs. On the A3hh hand at SouthPoint, you forgot to mention you also made the nut low. 😉

Despite the tough outcomes, I appreciate your putting such effort into recording your histories and thought processes.

All geared up. Did you bring that stuff from home expecting hikes like that?

edit: oops

The swings at this point are pretty insane even for me [emoji23]

Famous last words, quick update incoming as time is of the essence in Vegas.

This morning I went over to Aria to play. The weather today was a bit cold and grey in the morning, and I definitely felt the temperature change on the walk over. That said, it was actually quite nice and refreshing to get some cool air.

Eventually made my way to Aria and after 15 minutes of waiting I got a seat in a game. For what it's worth, MuckPls was also at the table but we had basically no interesting pots together.

I will try to make it brief and only run through the biggest hands. Early on I pick up JJ and raise to $20 over two limpers. A sticky guy calls on the button, an Asian player in SB calls, and one of the limpers also call. So 4-ways to K-6-5 two clubs. Borderline with this many players, but I chose to bet $30 to get value from flush draws, and pairs below my Jacks. Sticky guy calls, and Asian calls.

Turn is another K, which I think is a good card. It checks to me, and I go for value once more with a bet of $80 - with plans to shut down on river and hopefully get to showdown depending on the card that comes. The sticky guy goes into the tank and seems a bit unsure before calling, and then the Asian starts hemming and hawing, and I even heard a deep sigh. You guys obviously knows follows after a deep sigh from a poker player. The words of "all-in". He jams for over $500, covering me who only bought in for $300. I have to fold then given that elaborate act, and the button also folds.

Add on another hundred then, and continue playing. I lose one small pot, before I make a play I am not happy with. I raise up 98ss from 3rd pos to $15, and get three callers. I chose to size up a bit on my raises early in this game, as players were calling a lot.

Flop comes K-Q-T one spade, and after thinking about I decided to check. The plan was to potentially check-raise given my range advantage, but I wanted to see what happened before concluding. Two more checks, before the button bets out $25. Somewhat weak sizing, and he is in position so he might just be taking a stab with any pair. I check-raise to $80 to put pressure on a hand like QJ or KJ, although in hindsight might be difficult to get them to fold. Either way, plan works out terrible as opponent (a bit OMC-ish) moves all-in. So I probably just ran into KQ or AJ or similar.

I add on another $100 again, and just two hands later find the welcome sight of KK from UTG. I raise to $15, hoping to get action as I likely have a losing image in this game. It folds to the Asian player in SB, who was sitting next to his girlfriend. They both seemed kinda sticky pre, but more conservative post-flop. He 3-bets to $45, and although I have mostly seen him show up with the goods his playing style feels a bit random to me. So we are not going anywhere. I 4-bet to $125, he jams and I quickly call.

3-7-J-8-J is the board, and I obviously lose to Pocket Aces. Fun stuff. Admittedly a cooler and probably not much to do with as I only started the hand with around $320 or so, but still very frustrating.

I reload another $300, now in the game for $900. I do however manage to crawl back for a while, I find TT from EP1, and raise it up to $15. The sticky player mentioned above, who looked a bit like a misreg (miserable reg), 3-bets to $45 from SB and it folds back to me. He only started the hand with $200, and this guy has been all over the place so far - raising a ton pre and calling a lot. I think he can be light here, especially given my image and that he probably thinks I am tilting a bit. So I put out $150 or so, and he folds quickly.

Then I win and lose a few small ones, before the misreg limps for $3, the Asian makes it $10, his girlfriend call, button call, and I have A5dd in SB. Way too good to not squeeze here, so I make it $65. Original raiser folds out, but his GF (who started the hand with a nice pair, if you guys know what I mean) calls.

Heads-up to T-T-6 two clubs one diamond, and I downbet to $50. She thinks about it and calls. Turn is the 5c so the flush comes in, but I make a pair. I actually thought I had the best hand now, and considered betting, but didn't want to bet $80 or something and have her jam. So I checked to see what she did, and she checked behind quickly.

River comes an A, and I throw out a tiny bet of $20. Both to get value if she has some kind of pair, but also to prevent her from betting bigger if she ran into an Ace and I checked it over to her. The bet works well, as she calls and my hand is good.

I then get TT against the misreg again, after there is a straddle to $6, he calls, and I make it $30 in cutoff. He is the only caller, and we see the beauty of A-T-8 two diamonds. I only bet $20 here, not too sure about this one. Should probably have gone bigger, but I didn't want to scare him off. He calls. Turn is a black 4, and after he checks I make it $55. He thinks about it for a few seconds, before folding and immediately leaving the table.

I win some more small pots and manage to build the stack up to around $585, but then it started to go downhill. I lost AJ versus KQo versus a tiny short stack all-in (only $29 USD). I flopped two pair with A3o in BB on a three flush board and had to call a raise from an old woman to see if I could hit my full house. I paid off too much with an open ender against a fishy player, and I also ran a stupid small bluff in a BB pot where I had missed a gutshot (I lead out on turn).

In addition, I was feeling a bit fatigued and struggled to keep track of pot size. The table had gotten quite passive as well, with the Asian couple also leaving and a lot of the hands were limped pots.

I did however pick up a bluff in a weird hand where I complete $2 more from SB with J8o and we go 5-ways to J-9-7 two hearts. I lead out for $7 (too small) and get two callers. Turn is a K and I decided to check it as QT comes in. It checks to button, a player from India who bets $20. I call to see what he does on the river, and the third player also calls.

River is some random card (4 which does not fill the flush. I check, the caller checks, and the Indian now bets out $50. His line looks strong, but something felt off to me. There are a fair bit of flush draws he could have missed, and apart from QT I just don't see what he is taking for value that he didn't wanted to raise on the flop. Although I obviously know that most people in the games here like to slow play.

As I was tanking I could clearly see that the third player had given up on the hand and was ready to fold. So I slide in a skeptical call, and thankfully the opponent is not keen to turn over his cards. I am just about to flick up my hand, when he says "good call" and shows A7o. That was a weird bluff, but I am happy I managed to sniff it out - although I will probably lose there a fair bit of the time.

I lose one or two more small pots, before deciding I am not playing my best and need a reset. So I cash out after 3 hours and 15 minutes, down $381 USD. Not ideal at all, and although I got massively coolered for most of it I still think I lost too much money on some other stupid stuff. Especially the 98s check-raise, but also in some other smaller pots where I should have shown more discipline. So overall I left Aria feeling a bit sliced up:

I was really hungry, so decided to stop for some quick food on this new location (sorry for bad picture, a homeless guy was laying where I wanted to stand to take the picture, and I didn't want to go near him):

I also found time for a quick trip to the gym, but now it's time to head out and find a game. The terrible results are below:

Cash Games:

Hours played: 30h 00 min
Won/lost: -$440 USD
Hourly rate: -$14.7 USD

Tournaments:

Won/lost: -$200 (2 tourneys)

When in Rome...

When you can’t win on UX or regular poker:

Muck and Friends. I’m sitting in the airport leaving after 5 days and I’ve never experienced more brutal gambling results. Keep hammering away-get the $$$ I’ve left for you. Best of luck. Thanks for keeping your TR going 👍

We just trippled up at the V's 10k GTD with 2 bounties in the bag - Let's continue like this in order to not have to go to crapshoot pits and sleep in tunnels.

Cuba Libre for continued rungood!

Very sad to say that the group is splitting up today/tomorrow. The four of us are going 4 different places.

BigWhale: flying home tonight at 8pm

Sicariu: we are going to the airport together tomorrow afternoon, he’s picking up a rental car and driving to LA

PLO friend: he’s a ****ing degen and is staying TWO MORE MONTHS!

Me: flight to Amsterdam leaves 4 pm tomorrow.

It’s been an absolutely crazy swingy stupid trip with tons of fun, degen stuff and almost 100 hours of poker (will try to get as close to 100 as I can today).

I am also pretty sad. I love Vegas and won’t be back for two full years. It is what it is, will have a very busy year next year with travelling. So next trip is May 2026!

Hopefully will post a couple more updates before tomorrow.

Absolutely unreal to land it on the one spot that counts!!!! Leon [emoji1665]

Sweet hit!

Good morning from Las Vegas, the last one for me on this trip. Flight to London leaves tonight at 8:20pm.

Yesterday evening i first went to Bellagio and jumped into a $1/$3 game. The plan was to stay there for a long time, alternatively hop into $2/$5 if I felt like it.

I got immediate seating into a $1/$3 game, which just had a really bad atmosphere and was not very profitable. One grinder-looking guy was clearly getting annoyed with a semi-fun player, and constantly tried to get some backhanded comments in to the latter. It sounded like the recreational guy had been talking non-stop before I got to the table and was probably a bit annoying like that, but he didn't see too bad when I was there. Both these two guys were playing somewhat tight, but there were two younger players to my left who seemed ok and knew to to raise and 3-bet a bit.

Played one interesting big hand here when I raise up JThh from UTG to $12, before a 21 year old kid two to my left 3-bets to $30. Fairly small sizing and I am definitely calling that one. But then the fun-player cold-calls in the Small Blind, and this sets up perfect for a squeeze. Maaaybe not the best hand to do it with given how playable it is (might be better if I have something like AJo or A9s), but we raise it up to $105 regardless.

To my surprise both players quickly call, although the latter says he's making a bad call. I am just praying for a good flop, and we get one in J-T-9 rainbow. The fun-player jams in front, and I obviously follow suit for my remaining $200. The original 3-bettor folds what he claims was AQ.

Turn comes with an 8, which I think is a terrible card versus the callers range, and river is a 7. So the board runs out a straight, which shockingly turned out to be good news for me. He had 99 for flopped bottom set. So I actually got lucky, although I obviously wasn't drawing dead. I still don't mind the squeeze though, as it sets up perfectly for it and I have a very strong range from UTG. Only thing is stack sizes makes it a bit akward.

I also win two more small pots and have managed to run the stack up a bit at least. That said, even after an hour I have started to check Bravo and PokerAtlas, considering somewhere else to play:

I do however lose a couple of small pots, none all two interesting but can run through them quick. First one is when I raise AJo to $12 from EP1 (8-handed as one guy was sitting out), and get calls from BTN and SB. Flop comes T-9-5, and after SB checks I think I make a mistake and check. I should rather bet, and continue on all cards wrapping around the top two cards. Button (the semi-fun player) bets $15, SB folds and I chose to call. Turn is a 2, I check, he bets $25 and I fold. This just shows how difficult it becomes when you give up the lead and are out of position.

Then I raise J9cc to $11 from button after it has folded to me, and SB 3-bets to $30. Very small sizing, so I think this is an easy call in position. We see a K-Q-2 one club flop, and he bets out huge for $55. Although a gutshot and a backdoor flush and position, I don't think I can continue versus that sizing. Had he bet $25-$30 I would certainly have considered a float.

AKo from UTG is the next victim for losing pots. I raise to $12 from EP1, and get 3 callers. Flop is 3-4-5 two diamonds, and I have no diamond in my hand. This makes it a check for me, and after a bet and a call behind I just exit the hand.

I also exit the game after 2 hours, as it was just miserable and not very profitable. Could maybe have asked for a table change and seen if it was better there, but I decided on a change of scenery instead. The end result was -$15 USD, which is whatever.

I crossed the bridge and headed into Horseshoe, with the view of potentially trying out their $2/$3 game. I got on the list for both games, and first got a seat in $1/$3 after five minutes of waiting.

I win a few small pots early and are up maybe $20 bucks, when there are 5 limps to me in BB. I have A5hh, and we have to raise this one. I make it $21, and the UTG-limper is the only caller. Flop comes Q-9-5 one heart. Interesting one, as it hits his limp-call range a bit but I have a pair and a backdoor flush. So I bet $20 to get some value versus flush draws and hands like JT and KT.

He does however put in a raise to $95, with about $50 behind. I took some time with it, because the only logical set is 99 and that would be awfully passive pre to just limp in. And if he limped Aces, he would for sure go for the limp-reraise pre. The guy was not an OMC either, so I just thought his range would be a sh*t ton of draws. I toyed with the idea both of jamming + calling to get it in on a blank, but how many blanks are there? Not many. So I end up folding, although it's an interesting spot that I do not think is an easy fold.

I do however win it back on an interesting hand where it limps around and I complete SB with J7o (fold pre?). BB checks, and we have a 5-way limped pot with an 7-2-8 flop. It checks around, and a 3d comes on turn, putting out a flush draw there. I bet out $10 for value and protection, and get two callers.

River is a red A, but not a diamond. I decided to check this one, as there could be some Ax of diamonds out there, but I wasn't neccessarily checking to give up. BB checks, and then the limper (who was very fishy) bets out for $20. He could obviously have an Ace, but it could also just be a desperation bluff. I call, BB folds, and we are good against the mighty K3o. Very fishy play, as he can just take that hand to showdown.

-----

Then I get called for $2/$3, and although the game I am in doesn't seem terrible I still thought it was worth a shot. I had been scoping out the room quickly before I got seated, and although I saw some headphone wearing people at the $2/$3 tables I also saw some OMCs. I move over with this stack + I added on another $100. The max buy-in is $500, but most people were not sitting super deep. At least not this early in the evening.

I win my first hand when I raise AKdd to $12 from UTG (seemed to be the standard open size), and get called by BTN and SB. Flop comes A-T-4 all hearts. SB checks, I bet small for $20 and they both fold.

Then I fold for a while before finding 33 from UTG. Not always an open, but I had not seen a lot of 3-betting so far so I chose to bump it up to $12. I get calls from EP1 and Button, the latter being a long haired guy with a t-shirt for the famous (?) Australian duo 'The Veronicas'. He had also been by far the most active player at the table so far.

Q-J-4 two hearts is the flop, and I didn't quite like this board OOP versus two opponents. So I just check it, and it checks around. Turn is however a T, and I am thinking I can easily have AK here. So I start out with a small bet of $15 to see how they react. First caller fold, but the button calls.

River comes a 9, which I at first thought it was a bad card. However, then I think about how he checked back the flop - which he would never in a million years do with a hand like KQ, KJ, KT. He could potentially have a straight to the 8, but even that hand will not like this runout as I can have a K. Would I check Kx hands on flop? Sometimes I probably would out of position versus two players, like a KJ suited maybe.

I have to make it look like I am really targeting a worse straight, so I make it $71 (into $70). Maybe $95 or something would be better, but I still think it's a reasonable size. He goes into the tank and doesn't seem to like it, but flicks in the call. I snap-table my hand like it's the nuts (as I always do), and he shows up with K2dd. Ok, dude.

Having said that, I think my reasoning is very good here. The only Kx hand he can have is a bullsh*t hand like this which didn't connect with the flop at all. And I would certainly play AK like this, bet small on turn to keep hands in + go for max value verus a lower straight on the river.

Then I raise Q8cc from cutoff after it has folded to me, and an OMC in BB is the only caller. J-T-2 one club, two hearts. He checks, and I think this is good enough to bet. I make it $15, and he calls. Turn is Kh, and he checks again. After thinking a bit I check it back. I am open ended now, but the flush came in after all.

River comes a black 7, and he checks again. His line doesn't seem super strong, and I have Q high, so let's bet to try and get a fold from a Ten. That type of hand cannot have liked the King on the turn, and I don't need to make it very big to accomplish a fold from Tx. So I throw out $35, only to see him check-raise to $75. I cannot do anything but fold, and he obviously had the nut flush with A9hh. That said, I still think what I was trying to do on the river is a good idea and a good sizing for it.

I add on another $100, and go back to folding for a while. Then the active band t-shirt guy opens to $12 in cutoff, and I have 97dd in SB. Seems good for an occasional 3-bet, so I make it $45. He thinks for a bit before calling. Flop comes K-Q-2 one diamond, and theory wise I should probably go big here. I had that thought in my hand, but instead chickened out with a more normal sizing of $40. He calls.

Turn is the 5d, so we now have some actual equity with our flush draw. I don't think he ever have KK or QQ here, so unless he has exactly KQ or 22, I can put a sh*t ton of pressure on him here. Hands like KJ, AQ, JT, or maybe a disbelieving JJ/TT/99 (since I have been caught bluffing twice) will have to fold out here. And we have 9 high but some outs if called, so we jam for $250 into $170.

He snap-calls and we see another 2 on the river. That can't be good, and he shows up with QQ. Ooooook. That's really not a hand he should have very often at all in this spot, but even against that one I do have some outs at least. They did not come for me, but again - how can this be a bad play? I am getting folds from soooo many hands that have me beat right now, and I am not drawing dead.

It's risky for sure, but it feels super unlucky to run into the absolute top of his range with a hand he should 4-bet most of the time. At least against someone who he had seen can be a bit active and we both are in late positions. Obviously one of the big motivations for making the play on my part, is simply because I don't think he ever shows up with KK or QQ here.

I add on for $300 more and then play a semi-interesting hand from BB. There is a limp for $3 from an annoying guy that had just sat down to my left, before EP1 makes it $15. I have J8cc in BB, which seems too good to fold. I call, and the limper obviously also comes along.

K-5-2 two clubs comes on the board, which is decent although I have no overcards. I check, limper checks, and the raiser bets out $15. I call (seems standard), but then the limper check-raises to $45. The opener goes into the tank before deciding on a call, and I obviously also call.

Turn is an 8, so we have a pair and a flush draw. I check, and the aggressor continues for $65. The original raiser then jams on him, and although I took some time with it (could I just gamble for a big pot?), it didn't seem too attractive. If one of them has a set I am quite dead, so hitting a Jack or another 8 might not be of much help. I fold, they get it in, and they both only had KQo. Seems a bit over-played from both, but they chop up my money at least. I would not have hit the river.

I add on yet another $100, and are now in for $900 in total. Then an OMC limps for $3, and I raise up to $15 with A8dd from mid-pos. SB (the other OMC) calls, and the limper calls. Q-8-3 two clubs on the board (no diamonds), and after SB checks the OMC-limper bets out $15. Seems fishy and it's likely to be a draw, and my first thought is to raise. However, I think I have no credibility and I still don't know what SB will do. So I end up just calling, and thankfully SB folds out.

Turn comes a 9, and the OMC bets out $20. Feels a bit 'same-bet' ish, but I don't think I necessarily need to raise here. So I call once more, and the river comes yet another 9 which does not fill the flush. He once again bets out, this time for $35. However, we have to keep in mind that the opponent is an OMC. Sure, that means a tight range. But that also means that he is never in a million years good enough to value bet a Jack here after getting called twice. Maaaaaybe AJo, but that's about it.

So I think we can discount him value betting something better, unless he limp-called AA or something. But to me, this seems more likely to be a missed flush draw, unless he bet out a gutshot and ran into JT on the turn. I do end up making a fairly quick call, and it turns out I was right. He was on a flush draw... with A9cc. So that is why he manged to bet the river. But it seems clear I would have just lost more if I had raised him at any point in the hand.

No stack-pictures, but here is Horseshoe at night:

It's looking a bit dark for me as well, and it would get worse. I raise up KQcc to $12 from early pos, and a decent Asian grinder calls on the button. A-T-3 two clubs is a decent flop, and I start out with a bet of $15 - with plans to overbet the turn unless something changes. He calls somewhat quickly.

Turn is however Ac, so I make my flush, I have a royal flush draw, and the opponent is likely to have trip Aces. I thought about check-raising turn, but figured that would probably make it easier for him to fold. So I settled on a bet of $45 instead (into $58), could probably have gone even bigger as well. He calls.

So the obvious river is a red T, making my flush less worthless than certain politicians when the teleprompter malfuncions. I check, he bets $65, I show my hand face-up and bemoans my luck, and he has a qualifying high hand with AQo for a full house. It felt very frustrating to finally connect well in this game, only to have the river card come and wash away all my dreams of a big pot. I could have jammed the river on a red 7 or something, and there is no way he is getting away from trip Aces.

Feeling dejected I don't even bother reloading any more, but just hang around with a semi-short stack for a bit longer. However, the game eventually becomes short handed, the annoying guy to my left went to complain to the floor about something, and I just couldn't take it any longer. The game was clearly breaking anyway, so I took my remaining $180 and left, down $720 USD at Horseshoe after 3.5 hours.

I could go on a bit of a tangent about this annoying guy to my left as well, who wanted to talk strategy with me, and then started calling me "silent guy" after I sort-of brushed him off with strategy talk and pointed out that there are better things to talk about at a poker table. I didn't bother calling him out on it afterwards, but I think that was rather rude - both his endless need for talking strategy about the hand where I had J8cc (I did not tell him my cards), and especially how he was nagging on me for not talking when there was 5 stone-faced guys to my right who hadn't said a word for 3 hours.

I'm gonna get ready now and check out of the hotel, and despite a frustrating end to the trip I have really enjoyed my stay here at MGM Grand. I will summarize more about that from the airport later (note to self; don't forget the laptop at the airport), or when I get home to Malta. Will I play any more poker today? Honestly not sure, but there are still a lot of hours left, so maybe.

Results are obviously crap, and I am not used to that feeling. But with a few exceptions, I think I have gotten a bit unlucky in some of the bigger pots. And at least MuckPls shouldn't be able to argue that I am playing tight anymore 😀

Cash Games:

Hours played: 35h 30 min
Won/lost: -$1180 USD
Hourly rate: -$33.2 USD

Tournaments:

Won/lost: -$200 (2 tourneys)

Put $40 into UX to convert free play and win $2000 in 10 minutes:

Same last day save as always.

Nice hits, Muck!

Sorry for the runbad, Whale.

Whale, I think your thought process might actually be a little too advanced for these 1/3 games and $100 tournaments. I am not meaning that as an insult, but only just to say that a lot of opponents in 1/3 are barely thinking at all. I've done OK in these games just playing very ABC and being extremely selective with complex plays. At risk of invoking the old "I need to move up to stakes where they respect my raises" trope, I do think there's some merit to the idea that complex plays have less value against button clickers.

I'm sure you are still +EV in these games and just running bad, but it's a thought I had. You are probably giving these opponents a little more credit than they deserve.

Thanks for sharing the HHs and TR.

Penultimate session at Aria. Locked up 90% of the cash so only leaving myself with a 1k bullet until my flight leaves. Would be awesome to profit a bit more obviously.

Currently down $2000 after all is said and done. Not great but also not too bad considering how much I was down almost a week ago the most ($11 000 total). For me that’s a win already.

Also closing in on 100 hours this trip:

Let's G.I.I. at the Horseshoe's 1k GTD in order to be put up on the champions wall together with Dnegs & co. [emoji23]

Cuba Libre as per usual.