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

Haha it wasn’t even me who wrote that, it was BigWhale. But sure I am the racist!

Sorry.. I'm just a waiter.

I've given up on treating adults as if they're toddlers. You guys are on your own here. I still don't understand why you can't just stay out of his TRs if you don't like them. I would love to hear about your pai gow wins and losses. It's not racist. No rule against posting PMs, it's just not a very cool thing to do. I was brought here by post reports asking me to get rid of the guy ****ing up Muck's TR (not by muck or big whale, just by readers).

Well, this has gone off the rails. The complaints are asinine. TR is great.

I enjoy the poker, Vegas, and food content, and pics.

Randall, if you don’t like it, you don’t have to post here. It isn’t hard NOT to share your thread wrecking verbal diarrhea in other people’s threads.

I hope this doesn’t discourage Muck and Whale from posting more stuff I enjoy, while I’m in between Vegas trips.

I hope it does, but apparently everyone likes stereotypes and posting private messages.

And let's be honest... Muck is way too much of an egomaniac to not post TRs in the future.

I wouldn’t have posted if you just stopped with your stupid irrelevant bs. You sound like a butthurt 12 year old, my kids act more mature than you do.

I don’t gain anything at all from posting TRs, I do it for pure entertainment purposes. Last TR I was very close to quitting after you came in and did the exact same thing. Not this time, I’m sorry. There is zero reason for me to continue.

I mean who in their right mind brings up tipping out of all things? Seriously man what is your problem?

It's a descriptor that helps the reader picture what's going on. Just like including descriptions of age, sex, gender, or attire.

Can someone ban this mentally ill clown?

Earlier today I went into the Venetian to play a session, but wait a minute, something is wrong... where is the poker room?!? These are just slot machines:

Just kidding, I obviously know it has moved 😀 Seems like we are on the right track at least:

I really love what they have done with the new room; tons of tables, good chairs, it's well lit up and bright, and everything feels new and fresh. Also a big plus for the soda self-serve station making a comeback, and especially for having a private bathroom area for the poker room only.

I quickly got a seat in a $1/$3 game, and bought in for $300 (that's the max). In my very first hand dealt there is a limp for $3, a player raises to $13, and I find no less than KK on the button. I 3-bet to $40, but sadly just get two quick folds. I also win another small pot later from BB.

Then I find AKhh and raise it up to $12 from early-ish position. I get 3 callers, and we go 4-ways to Q-5-8 one heart. Maybe I should have bet here given some backdoors and two overs, but being OOP and having 3 opponents was not ideal. I check, and it checks around. Turn comes a 9 of diamonds, and I just fold to a bet of $15 and a call. Feels like a close decision on flop, but as we can see I would not have gotten a good turn-card to continue betting on.

Then a few hands later I have K9cc UTG. I actually looked this up yesterday after having folded such a hand from UTG, and according to a chart this can be a partial open from UTG. So let's go for it. I make it $12, and get a call in the field + both blinds call. Flop comes 2-6-2 and I actually decided to bet $25 here. I have all the overpairs, I can put pressure on medium pairs if overcards lands, and the blinds shouldn't have completed with 2x. Field-caller (an older Asian woman) calls, and BB (white guy with similar hairstyle as me) calls.

Enough with racial profiling though, let us rather see the turn. It comes Ac, which I think is a great card. No one should have called with A high in this spot, I pick up a 4-flush, and I could have hit this Ace. I don't think I need to bet very big either to get folds here, so I put out $55 (into $126). The woman calls on the button after a long hesitation, but then BB jams all-in (!). Although he overcalled flop, I did not see that coming at all.

This hand is very similar to the one me and MuckPls played at Aria yesterday, where I am betting with a mediocre draw but suddenly get jammed on. I ask for a count, and it's around $220 more to call. To be fair, he was covering me slightly. Again I am getting ok-ish potodds, but I am drawing to a naked flush and I could be dead if he has something like 66 or A2. So I fold, and the woman hesitates for a bit and folds A7o face-up. Very absurd call by her on the flop, especially as she still had no idea what the blinds would do. So that is certainly interesting to note.

Very next hand there are two limps for $3, and this woman makes it $6 (!) from 3rd pos. Button calls, I complete $3 more with ATo, and both limpers call. 5-ways to A-4-8 two clubs. It checks to her, and she bets out $25 - very close to pot ($30). I got a bad feeling already here, but I couldn't restist seeing the turn and if I could spike a Ten. So I call, and the rest fold out.

Turn comes a 9, and after I check she once again bet $25. The good old 'same bet'. Weird spot for sure, but she keeps betting and I didn't really think too hard about potentially raising here. So I call to see what she does on the river. It comes another 4, and after I check she bets - you guessed it - $25 again. Sigh. I know I am being taken to value town here, but it's $25 into $155 and I can't fold for that prize. I just have to hope she has no clue what she are doing, and bets something like KK (?) or A7 or whatever it might be.

So I call and she shows down A4o for a full house. In the moment I felt incredibly stupid with this call, but after observing her play for another hour I felt much better about it. She was clicking buttons a lot, and sometimes showing up with completely illogical bluffs after betting. So I might be forced to call down in this spot, although in hindsight I think there are arguments for just folding the flop. She is showing a lot of strength there with both her sizing, and by betting into 4 opponents.

I am now in for $400, and sadly continue to lose pots. In one hand there was a raise to $10 from early, woman calls, and I complete BB with J8ss. Flop comes A-Q-T two diamonds, no spade, so I am about ready to give this one up. It does however check around.

Turn comes 7h so there are two flushdraws out there now. I do however pick up a double gutshot; any K or 9 will give me a straight. I check, pre-flop raiser now bets $20 and I call after the woman folds. River is anothe heart, a Ten. I could maybe have tried to represent the flush here, but in my defense I think the raiser could be on a backdoor flush draw since he started a bet when the second heart came on turn. So I just give up, and lose to A9 of clubs.

Then we try our luck with K9cc again, making it $12 from hijack. Cutoff calls, and woman calls in BB. Flop comes 5-7-7 no clubs, and after BB checks I just check it as well. I would have started a bet if there was one club on the board (working on two backdoor draws), but as played I checked. It checks around, and another 5 comes on the turn. Woman bet out, and I fold.

I then proceed to go very card-dead for 30-40 minutes, while watching the old woman play almost every hand and being all over the place in regards to sizings and what cards she shows up with. But I resolved myself to not get impatent and try to find a good spot against her.

Instead I do get impatent and try a stupid bluff. It folds to me in hijacks, and I raise up K4dd to $12. Probably too wide, but I finally got folds to me and something that looked remotely playable. I get a call from the woman in SB, and we see an interesting flop. J-Q-9 two diamonds. She checks, I only bet $10 and she calls. The reason I bet so small is because I think this board hits her a lot, and if she raises I want to be able to call. She does however only call the bet.

Turn comes an 8, and she now leads for $10. There is however no point for me in trying to play my draw fast; any raise here just lets her play perfect is she has a Ten for the straight. So I just try to get there cheaply, and call. River comes an Ace and she quickly checks.

I ended up betting $45 here, as I didn't think she would check a straight and I could have it as played. But I think this is a stupid bet, both because I didn't make it big enough (pot is $67) to really put pressure on hands like two pair, and also because she was not the folding type. She calls fairly quickly with 9To for the nuts. Sigh. I should have just given up on the river I think, although I have no issues with how I played it up to then. Except that I can fold pre.

Chipstack is not looking good, therefore we are looking at the poker room instead. But I am now in for $600, which doesn't feel too great.

I did however find some interesting hands after this. After folding for a while again, I suddenly pick up AA in the Big Blind. There are 3 limps to me (not from the woman, who sadly had left with a huge stack), and I raise it up to $18. I actually get two callers, as both BTN and SB comes along.

The dealer spreads out J-9-5 two clubs, and after SB checks I bet $35 (into $57). Button folds, but SB calls. He checks dark on 7c turn, and I actually decided to check this one back. I think this was a mistake though even with Ac in my hand, because there aren't a ton of blanks on the river. And I can still get a ton of value from hands like JT, QJ, 9T etc. So I should have thought this one more through.

River is another J, and he quickly goes to bet out $65. I do think there is a good chance he has a Jack, and although I am underrepped I just didn't quite see what he would bet that I can beat. He would certainly just check all hands that does not contain a Jack. At the same time, he cannot have the nut flush, but I can have it....

As of such, we have this unique situation where I actually decided to turn the Aces into a bluff! I jam for around $240, and luckily fade the snap-call. He goes into the tank for at least a minute, muttering to himself, but finally decides on a fold. Whew. I have no idea if this is a good play or not, or if I should just call the river bet. But if I actually got him off a Jack, which is not impossible, then it's obviously a huge success. Let me know in the comments below, as YouTubers say.

I then raise 78dd to $12 from 2nd position, and get calls from button and BB (same guy as last hand). We see 8-6-2 two hearts, which is reasonable although I have no backdoor flush. I bet $20, and only BB calls. Turn comes Qh, and after he checks I just check it back. Not many hands I can get value from, and I want to see what he does on the river. It comes a black A, and he quickly checks again. I think for a bit, but ultimately I am happy about getting to showdown. So I just turn over my hand, and it's good.

Then we see a limp for $3 from a bald guy (I approve), and I have K8hh in cutoff. I would have raised if folded to me, which means I also raise it over a limp. I make it $15, and he calls. The flop comes A-Q-2, and I already know that bet-bet-bet is going to be my line here. His limp-call range will not be able to stand much heat, unless A2 or 22.

I start off very small with a bet of $10, he calls. Turn comes a K, and he checks again. Now I can actually bet for value against Qx, so I make it $25. He thinks for a while, and calls again. River is a 6, and he checks. This one felt very close to me, but I just didn't want to check back and lose to a weak Ace. So I throw out $100 to hopefully get folds from those. He thinks for quite some time, but ends up folding. It makes me think he probably had an Ace, because I can't see him thinking that long with just a Queen.

In the final interesting hand, we raise up AJo from UTG to $12. MP calls, a guy with a convention badge, and BB calls. Flop comes J-4-3 two hearts, and I bet $25 for value. Convention calls, and other guy folds. Turn is a Q, and I bet $35. I am still targeting worse Jacks and underpairs, and explotatively size down on the turn to get calls from there. He obliges, and put the chips in.

River is a K, and I think I have run out of value now. Especially since he won't call any bets if he has like 99 or similar. So I check, only to see him immediately move in for $80. I groan, as I didn't expect that, but I quickly switch over to constructive thinking. Some quick bullets points:

- Two draws missed, both flush and straightdraws (56).
- I think he would have just jammed the turn if he turned two pair with QJ.
- So I am really only losing to KJ as played, unless he mega-slowplayed a set.
- Also, he moved in very quickly on a card that changed the dynamic of the board (new top pair).

All of this leads to a call. I didn't love it, but he has a convention badge on him and it was something with the tempo of his all-in that seemed suspicous to me. I flick in a chip, and hear the greatest three words in poker: 'You got it'. He shows A7hh for a missed flush draw. Nice.

Suddenly we are practically unstuck, and after winning two more small pots (not that interesting) I am suddenly in a small profit. I decided to just take it, as the game had become quite tight for the most part. It felt really good getting back from a big deficit, although I am not too happy about some of the earlier hands. Especially the AT and the K4s are hands I could have done differently. In total, I played for 3 hours and 15 minutes.

Not entirely sure where I will play tonight, but I will figure it out shortly. In the meantime, I hope everyone can just get along in the thread, and that MuckPls is not quitting on us.

Hours played: 9h 00min
Won/lost: -$263 USD
Hourly rate: -$29.2 USD

lol, really trying to turn his crank aren't you? heh....

In any case you and MuckPls create some of the best trip reports around so please keep them going for those of us who love to virtually visit Vegas...

From a Canuck who really doesn't get the idiocy presented by others.. We are much more tolerant up here, we just don't have anything to compete with Vegas.

Awesome comeback Whale. Love the descriptions of the hands and the players -- as an actual poker player, they are very helpful and appreciated, plus fun to read.

MuckPls, please, please keep posting. I love your TRs. Just ignore (literally -- use the button) the haters (even if they are wrong, crazy, and deserve to be called out). Don't let them win -- it would be a big loss for the rest of us.

I mean....MAWG is enough of a 'thing' to have it's own name in hand histories in strat threads.

I am 100% agreed on this.

Randall is an awesome poster in LVL and I read all his posts. But just somehow gets furious with Muck's TRs for reasons I don't understand

Randall, I would also be interested in your gambling TRs

And why does that matter? Does race, gender, or age describe how someone plays?

Does someone in a tux or wearing a Rolex matter?

When you have no other reads, population tendencies are all you have and so yes, I think they all can have an impact. If you don't think a 22yo Euro male plays differently than a 65yo Asian woman then I don't know what to tell you.

and yes, tux and rolex are definitely indicators. Tux = before or after a function, not settling in for a long session and so probably playing too loose. Also more likely to be rec player and if it's late at night, could well be inebriated

and I have found an expensive watch to be a very reliable indicator of a whaley fish without much patience who overplays hands. It's almost the most reliable tell I have

Online, not so much. Live, of course it matters.

Yeah it’s mental that he thinks all that info doesn’t matter. If I play vs an Asian player I automatically assume he’s a crazy fish who loves to gamble and will slow roll the **** out of me.

Hey I'm offended now. I've got a Rolex and I literally wondered if someone was going to read me for "whaley fish" when I played PLO during my last TR 😀

Although, I suppose at this stage I probably AM a fish...

Remind me to slowroll the F out of you Muck if we ever play together 😀

Haha, sounds good! Although I’d be happier to tilt through some UX with you!

in my normal game, I'd say 80% of the regs are young Asian guys and most are good/very good TAGs. way better than whitey.

slow rolling (along with ridiculous hollywoods) is very definitely a thing amongst the older (50+) Chinese guys and I'm all for it!

at this stage, Rolexes are probably at the very bottom end of the range I'm referencing. (and i don't mean this as any kind of sleight to Rolexes because I don't own a watch and probably couldn't afford one). But I think Rolexes, while very expensive luxury items are owned by enough normal wealthy/good salary jobbed people who make good, sober decisions. But if you see someone with a Richard Mille or a Patek Phillippe or an Audemars Piguet or w/e....I just don't see many of them making good decisions at 2/5 and 5/10

Agreed, this is a solid read.

Here's one- which is a more solid tell? The watch tell, or the "disgusting fat middle-aged 2/10 dude with an obv 9/10 20 something on his arm "watching" him play"?