Last Minute Dash to the 702 - TR 11/3 - 11/7
For those of you who know me on here, I'm a guy who usually books a trip 6 months in advance and plans everything down to the minute and dollar. already been to Vegas three times in 2024 and I have another trip booked for late January. my MGM Gold tier expired and I don't have any great offers. I'm super busy at home and the cold season is approaching. so why the heck did I just book another getaway one week in advance and how did I get away with it?
the wife just went on a 3 week trip overseas leaving me to take care of our two boys and dog. that was exhausting, but successful. she and daughter have been slowly getting over jetlag so I've continued to pull a big load (not really comparable to what she usually does but responsible enough). frankly, her trip was to get even with me. but I've been teasing and joking about having a getaway and 'oh look at this cheap flight' which she shoots down but then last week she yielded. caught me off guard. I had already concluded that I had enough other crap to do and I could save up my bankroll for January. but hey why not
I really have a poker itch and my friend who runs a home game has been inviting me for a few weeks. so I tell myself, we'll see how Tuesday night goes. if I come out on top I'll book the trip. as it turns out the "night" did not go well and I dropped $360 in one hour before leaving with my tail between my legs. so my decision is made.
then for some reason I check hotels, make some reservations and buy a fight ticket. don't have any good reason to other than I wanna play pai gow, I wanna get out of North Dakota, and "I'm a man, I'm 40!"
I'm losing count but I think this is my 12th trip to Vegas, 10th solo. was last there with the whole family for the steamy Fourth of July. all I wanna do is play poker and pai gow; I have no other plans or expectations. the NAPT will be going that week up at RW so maybe I'll venture up there and try out for The Big Game audition tourney.
unlike typical trips with lots of bouncing around, I have all four nights booked at Park MGM. didn't seem to be better prices anywhere. Mandalay Bay was only a little bit higher but I called to check and their poker room is back to the regular schedule of closed Tuesdays, and that was the deciding kill factor.
not renting a car, not expecting any shows or shopping. only expenses expect to be food and Uber. if gaming goes good early maybe I'll splurge. if gaming goes super bad I'll have my work computer with me to keep me safely busy and saving PTO.
wife reminded me I'll miss voting day so I better look into early voting. then maybe I can watch the election night carnage from a poker room TV.
will only buy into 1 tourney max, rest of time expects to be poker cash games at Mandalay Bay, Aria, Bellagio, Wynn, and maybe Resorts World. and pai gow at Park.
you can expect some hand histories and some stories from the table. hopefully plenty of chip porn scooping my way and food pics when I am able to eat. I think I'm more consistent writing my TRs than most of you are reading them. hopefully you enjoy it
OK, I'm always in for a Langdon TR. Will also be interested how the degens react to the election outcome.
Look forward to reading and good luck!
IN.
Play good, run even better!
In. Can't wait to follow along. Run well!
GL subbed
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GL GL GL
NAPT is happening at Resorts World now. Not sure if they run cash games in the NAPT venue, but it's quite a circus up there. Something to see.
FYI looks like NAPT might just be in the normal RW poker room this year. The pictures from yesterday are just in the normal poker room and not the convention space, so maybe swing by there first to see if that's the venue this year. Last year the tournaments were held upstairs in a different area.
FYI looks like NAPT might just be in the normal RW poker room this year. The pictures from yesterday are just in the normal poker room and not the convention space, so maybe swing by there first to see if that's the venue this year. Last year the tournaments were held upstairs in a different area.
I mean, RW does have the most comfortable poker room in Vegas so I guess that's not a bad thing
let's go
I'm IN!
Had some thoughts about heading to Vegas end of December but gonna see about a late June / early July trip maybe. So I'll be living vicariously through this thread for now.
GL Langdon and may your food be delicious!
getaway day. shoes and bankroll pic
don't want to say can't afford it but this is a lot for me and I really hope I come back with some or all of this or there could be problems. only 1 pair shoes + sandals this time. have probably brought these sandals on every Vegas trip since 2018. the soles are completely worn down but I really like them. never want to use sandals without magnetic clips ever again. wife bought them and I've requested a replacement but she says the company is out of business. haven't found an alternative.
as today will be a long day I got to bed early, but the time change caught me a little off guard and I woke up real early anyway unable to sleep anymore. decided to log in and get a head start on work to alleviate some pressure during the week for hours and PTO usage. hopefully can take a long nap later to make up for Vegas-level sleep expected this week.
been flip-flopping on what to do tonight. flight gets in around 10:30pm. I could just take it easy and play some Pai Gow at Park. don't really want to play poker at Aria the first night, but I could go down to Mandalay Bay. I plan on playing there Monday all day so that could get me a little headstart on accruing some comps for food.
speaking of food: I really have no idea what to do for breakfast this week. staying at Park. no car. I'm sure Primrose is nice but it's more than I want to pay for breakfast. I could walk over to Ocean One at Miracle Mile for a cheap breakfast, or take a long walk past Virgin to Tropical Smoothie I like. any suggestions on a reasonable breakfast at or close to Park or Aria that isn't Starbucks and wouldn't be $30?
Tuesday will head to Resorts World to check out the NAPT, and I will play one of the lower buy-in tournaments. I watch all the Pokerstars EPT streams and hope I can meet some people from that. hope is to ignore election day carnage as much as possible and wake up to a normal Wednesday.
Wednesday plan is poker at Aria, Bellagio, Wynn or Venetian. Golden Knights have a game out of town, so depending on how things are going poker-wise I could enjoy the game somewhere.
am checked in for my flight. back in May the app wasn't working and when I got to the airport they said "you are not checked in and too late so you cannot board" so I am pleased to have that resolved this time around. won't take any chances and will arrive 46 minutes early this time.
if any 2+2ers are in town and want to meet up for a game or for a meal somewhere, let me know.
any suggestions on a reasonable breakfast at or close to Park or Aria that isn't Starbucks and wouldn't be $30?
IIRC, Egghead in Aria would have been around $20 for a breakfast sandwich + orange juice but I never actually bought one as it's room charge or credit card only (I just had those pesky American dollars on me) 
IIRC, Egghead in Aria would have been around $20 for a breakfast sandwich + orange juice but I never actually bought one as it's room charge or credit card only (I just had those pesky American dollars on me)
for a $20 egg sandwich and a juice, I could go to Excal buffet and fill up for $30.
maybe will just do that (like I usually do)
Yeah, I'll often get a snack bar to take the edge off, then go for a late-breakfast/early-lunch buffet, which holds til evening.
other than a personal getaway that I do not deserve, there is no legitimate reason for this trip. I'm running away to play. because I can. do I feel guilty? maybe.
on the plane now. got to the airport nice and early. nobody in the security line so I went right through. the Bismarck airport is a breeze.
a few interesting developments in my home life. I applied for the Tulsa Remote program, and my wife and I were both accepted, which means we would be paid $20,000 to move to Tulsa OK. surprise: I don't like living in North Dakota and this seems like a pretty good opportunity to relocate. two thirds of my kids will be bumping up to a new school anyway so next summer seems like the perfect time to move if there ever was one.
then again, I just learned last week that the operations manager at my office is retiring in April. that is a position that I've had my eye on for a while and I have a legitimately good shot at it. that would be a decent pay raise and a better work experience. additionally, I just got a new leadership assignment in my church so maybe God wants me to stay. I know my kids do.
one of my wife's best friends lives in OK but that is our only connection to the state. I know the schools in Bismarck are good and the schools in Tulsa suck, and Bismarck is cozy. so I'm not 100% on moving. but there are more opportunities, obviously better weather and a better music and arts scene in Tulsa (which is important to me) and it would likely be better in the long run. the program offers a free trip to Tulsa to check it out so in Jan or Feb when the weather sucks in Bismarck I will have a better chance to convince the family (and myself).
other than a personal getaway that I do not deserve, there is no legitimate reason for this trip. I'm running away to play. because I can. do I feel guilty? maybe.
on the plane now. got to the airport nice and early. nobody in the security line so I went right through. the Bismarck airport is a breeze.
a few interesting developments in my home life. I applied for the Tulsa Remote program, and my wife and I were both accepted, which means we would be paid $20,000 to move to Tulsa OK. surprise: I d
Any trip to Vegas is a legitimate reason.
First good beat: flight left 20 minutes early and arrived 45 minutes early. Allegiant for the win.
the plane was not full; there were a lot of empty seats, including directly behind me. searching for a button, I learned that while this is like the only opportunity I would ever get to lean back in my seat, they no longer have that capability.
I called ahead and when I got to Mandalay Bay there were two tables running and a seat opened up for me after about 3 minutes.
Session 1: Mandalay Bay 1/2
table looked like a bunch of competent recs like me. no super nits, no fish, no maniacs, no crushers. it was a comfortable, somewhat boring session, but that's okay by me for first night.
here are some HH
- I call an open in MP with T9dd and we go five to the flop.
flop is good, QJ4sch giving me an open ender. original opener bets $10, I call, button raises to $40, I call. heads up to turn.
river is a 7, check, he bets $60 and I fold. he shows AQ for top-top.
- I call a button open in BB with J5dd to go heads up.
flop K54hhs. I check to pre flop aggressor and he continues for $10 and I call right away.
turn 2d. he's holding his chips, I go ahead and bet $21, and he folds so get to tip the dealer for the first time this trip.
- A4hh in EP
flop 5h3h7d hello super straight flush draw.
BB bets I call.
turn is a 6x. he bets I call.
river is a Tx. damn. he checks for the first time. is this a chance to steal it back? I bet $40 and he announces all-in before my chips are even in.
crappy start. add $100.
few hands later, the guy from the last hand does a check jam on a 8528 turn, gets a call and his 85 is a boat better than 86 trips. he immediately racks up and leaves after like 25 minutes.
- 43ss cutoff I call an open.
Q52r giving me another open ender. utg raiser c-bets, I call.
turn K, he bets like $20, I call.
river is low but not the right low, a second deuce. he checks to me. I've already been trapped before. I chicken check and he lays down something crappy like 98 for nothing, but his 9-high plays.
what kind of bet do you throw out when you are playing the 22KQ5 board?
- on button I call an open with QTo.
flop J96 for another open ender. bet, I call, minraise, call call.
turn is Q, which is interesting. bet, call, I call.
river is an 8. I finally hit my straight. the "aggressive" player bets $20. I raise to $50. he says "hmm, looks like a straight. call. do you have the ten?"
yes I obviously have a ten and he slams down his cards, which has to be the worst anyone has ever played a set of jacks in the history of NLHE.
- couple hands later I open with QTo
flop is another J9X. I c-bet reasonablly big and take it dowm.
- next hand I open utg with ATo and BB calls.
flop is good TT3. check check
turn is an ace and I have a boat. I bet like $25 and he calls.
river Q third diamond. he check-called a small turn, what will he check-call? can I induce a raise? I bet $45, and after tanking a bit he calls! we aren't out of the hole but a couple small wins later put me right there.
the game slowed way down around 12:30. I ordered a hot cocoa and the drinks lady didn't come back for like 45 minutes. when she did, she gave me Bailey's and cream or whatever, I sent her back and eventually got my satisfying hot drink. got aces twice but no action either time. eventually I finished my drink and racked out for a small loss. but that's better than my last 6-7 sessions in ND
now like 1:40am realized I had a long walk, took about 25 minutes to my room.
time change plus daylight savings and it feels like 5:15am. am I a moron? guess that's Vegas.
- A4hh in EP
flop 5h3h7d hello super straight flush draw.
BB bets I call.
turn is a 6x. he bets I call.
river is a Tx. damn. he checks for the first time. is this a chance to steal it back? I bet $40 and he announces all-in before my chips are even in.
This one puzzled me, Langdon. You turned a straight, correct? Granted, BB can have 98 or 84 in an unraised pot, but does he lead these often enough on the flop? How much was the shove, who covers, and how much were his leads on flop & turn? This info would definitely factor into whether this is a call or a fold on the river.
Regardless, enjoying the TR. Best wishes!
Really important to play the good draws aggressively otherwise they’re unprofitable. If you’re not going to play them that way, you shouldn’t be calling in cut off or MP with 43ss or 109ss or whatever.
Bet if checked to, raise if there’s already a bet. Particularly on the flop. I will always double barrell a straight draw on the turn
Thanks for the hhs!
