BigWhale & brother (feat. MuckPls) does Vegas - 2025 edition (21st-31st March)

Apologies in advance for the nit-pick, but either the flop or the river was NOT a 3. DUCY?

Nonetheless, really enjoying your TR, hand histories, & related analysis. You play more hands in a three-hour session than I play in an eight-hour session, so it's nice to get inside the head of someone who plays a wider, more aggressive range than I do.

Your hand history detail is greatly appreciated. The amount of time you take to write up so many hands must be very significant. Thank you.

4x multiplier would be really nice.

Funny how quickly things can happen on the -EV machines. First we play a little bit of 25c UX DDB, and win a little bit, mostly thanks to getting a dealt straight with two 10x already

and some other small stuff. So, up to around $560 from starting $400. House money means it's time to gamble a bit so we do 50c Double Super Times Pay DDB:

So $500 and change on that hand means we're at almost $1000.

Let's take it to the Buffalo Gold street!

Fairly quickly we hit three coins for the bonus, and it keeps on retriggering early on so I get a feeling that this could be something. After 58 spin and 14 heads we end up with a jackpot of:

$2265, as well as the almost $900 left in the machine. I did not dare to gamble this further. 😀 All within the scope of 30 minutes.

After having almost bubbled the $200 Aria Tournament earlier in the day (bad beat story not incoming), this was a nice alternative to still get that big hit.

After a somewhat lazy start to the day, I started looking at Bravo & Poker Atlas to find a game. It's a busy Saturday with many long lists, so in lack of better options I ended up at Horseshoe as the list looked manageable. And within 5 minutes I got a seat in a $1/$3 game and bought in for the usual $300.

The table looked very OMC-ish with a few exceptions, and there was not many big pots in the beginning. That said, I won most of the ones I played early on. First one is when there is a limp from a young Asian, SB completes, and I make it $17 from BB with ATo. Only the limper call, and we go heads-up to Q-J-4 two diamonds. With me holding Ad this is a welcome sight, so I bet out $15 and get a quick fold.

A while later I raise KTcc from UTG to $12, and get calls from EP1 and BB. We see the Q-5-T flop with two spades (and no clubs). BB checks, and I decided to check this one as I am up against two players. EP1 also checks, and the turn is the 9d, putting two flush draws out there. It checks to me again, and I bet $15 thinking I can get calls from open ended draws and all the flush draws. It seems like no one has a Queen, so my hand should be the best one. To my surprise, both opponents end up calling.

River is a K, so I make two pair but we have 4 to a straight out there. BB checks, and I took a little bit of time with this one. I don't think anyone has KQ, and really only the OMC behind me can have a straight. I ended up bettings $25, going for thin value against QT, T9 or a flushdraw that rivered TP with the King. But this might be too optimistic, and I should probably have just checked it. But as it was, both fold fairly quickly so I was likely best anyway.

I win another small one with QTss, before I play a bit of a weird hand. It folds to Button, a hefty guy around 50 maybe who has been very tight. He raises to $10, and I call from BB with red 77. The flop comes 8-8-5 and after I check he bets $15. I call.

Turn comes a 4, so I have a gutshot now as well. I check, and he bets out $40. Fairly big sizing, even though the board should be much better for me. I ended up making a very tight fold here, but in hindsight I am not sure if that was the right play. The guy only had around $100 back, but it's still plenty to where I can call and then just lead for a non all-in sizing on the river if I make a straight (or a full house). And surely he won't be able to fold a big overpair if I keep my sizing in check. That said, I am likely only drawing to 6 outs.

The same guy opens again a few hands later to $10, and I chose to just call on the button with AQo. We go heads-up to T-9-8 two clubs (I have red cards) and he checks. I bet $15, and he calls after thinking for a few seconds. Turn is a 2 that does not change anything, and after he checks I now bet $35. I am doing this to get him off a possible AK, as well as maybe small pairs (if he raises these pre). That does the trick, as he folds after thinking for 15 seconds.

Then the same guy limps, and I raise black KQo to $15 in cutoff. He calls, and we see A-7-2 two diamonds. He checks, and I should probably bet here but I just checked back. In game I thought he might be getting tired of me and was not liable to fold, but that's probably flawed thinking on my part.

Either way, turn is a Q and I decided to check it back again. River comes a random 2, and I have to bet now after he checks to target hands like QT and QJ or some disbelieving pair like 88 or something. I make it $17, but he just folds fairly quickly.

I am up around $80 and now just cruising along, but that would not last. The young Asian mentioned earlier makes it $12 pre, and he was the only other one really doing much raising pre. Button calls, and I complete from BB with 55.

The flop comes J-3-6 and checks around, which tells me that it's unlikely for someone to have top pair. With that in mind I should maybe lead on the turn J, but I did end up checking. The Asian now bets $15, button folds, and I chose to peel once and see what he does.

River comes a 7, and I check it over to him hoping to get to showdown. He does however bet $20, which felt a bit weird to me. In game I thought he was maybe trying to go thin with something like 88-TT, but truthfully I don't know if the guy is even good enough to do that.

I should probably have folded, but instead I started thinking. The 45 straight comes in on the river, and I can have many such combos from BB. Especially since I am holding 55, making it almost impossible for him to have that hand as well. And since I don't think he has a Jack, this play should work a ton.

I check-raise to $105, only to hear him snap-anncounce all-in. Sigh. Nothing to do then but fold, and he proudly shows 77 for a rivered full house. This is one I wish I had back, simply because I think I overestimated the opponent and thought he was capable of value betting thinly. But after observing him even more for the next hour or so, I strongly doubt he was that type of player.

Down a bit now then, but we just have to try and win it back. I start doing that by raising 54ss to $11 from Button, and only the BB calls. The flop comes Q-6-4 two clubs (no spades), and he checks. I throw out $10 for some protection, but he calls. Turn comes Th, and I decided to just check this one back.

River is however a 5 giving me two pair. He checks, and now it's time to capitalize on my likely bad image now after the big bluff. I make it $35, and the OMC goes into the tank for a long time, looks like he wants to call, but sadly eventually folds.

A while later we find TT from UTG and make it $12 as always. The OMC in EP1 call, and SB also calls. The flop comes 5-5-4 which seems very safe as I doubt any of them are playing 4x. After SB checks I bet $19, the OMC calls right behind me, but SB folds out.

Turn is another 4, which I don't think changes anything. So I go for a bet of $45 to target lower pairs than mine, and opponent calls again after thinking for a bit.

River is yet another 4, so I make a full house. And I am fairly certain that opponent has a full house as well. Will I sometimes lose against something like a passively played JJ? Yes, but there are way more 66-99 in his range that we need to get value from. I make it $92 (could maybe have gone even bigger), and opponent only thinks for 5 seconds before flicking in the one-chip call. I confidently turn over my hand, and he sighs and show 88 for a lesser full house.

As a sidenote, the SB in the previous hand was an Eastern European man in his 40s, and this guy must be one of the most miserable players I have ever come across. He had headphones in so he didn't talk much, but he was very tight, very slow in acting at times, and also had a bit of an attitude. First he was slow in posting his BB and ended up folding out of turn without realizing. He then threw a fit at the dealer wanting to get his cards back, but they were mixed in with the other two folded hands already so it was not possible. He then slams down five $5 chips to pay for the BB, before leaving the table in a huff.

When he returned two minutes later, he tried to come in on the button only to get told this was not possible. He immediately goes 'call the floor!', and they were quickly on scene and told him that the dealer was correct. He then said something about the rules being different in all other casinos, before angrily racking up his chips and leaving. Very strange behavior overall, and I cannot imagine coming to Vegas to play poker and then be such a miserable a-hole about it.

Anyway, back to poker. There was one more interesting hand, where it folds to me on the button and I make it $12 with 88. The OMC from the last hand calls, and we go heads-up to K-7-6. He checks, and I decided to check back for variety and pot control. Turn is an obvious 8, and he now leads for $15. I raise to $50 (misclick, meant to grab $55) and he calls.

River comes a 9, which is not the best card. He checks, and I think for a bit. I sort of want to go for value, but I think he either has a King that he's not going to call a bet with, or a straight. That said, I could obviously have thrown out something silly like $10 or similar. But as it was I just checked back, and my hand is obviously good.

I ended up leaving the game after 2 hours and 52 minutes, as it was not super exciting. The result was +$181 USD, which I was certainly happy about after running that bluff with 55 and being down a bit earlier

Thankfully I am not in the red, as seen below.

Cash Games:

Hours played: 29h 08 min
Won/lost: + $812 USD
Hourly rate: +$28.00 USD

Tournaments:

Won/lost: +$429 USD (2 played)

There was also time to fly a bit higher up in stakes..

.. but that update will have to wait until tomorrow.

[emoji106][emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]

Sent from my SM-A025V using Tapatalk

Yesterday I was starting to feel a bit better from the illness that I have been feeling the last couple of days. So much in fact, that after playing at Horseshoe I finally made a visit here:

The MGM Grand gym is not huge, but has a decent amount of equipment and it was not very crowded later in the day. So although I was only there for 40 minutes it was a nice energy booster before moving up in stakes.

And even though I would have liked to say "no, not tonight" when the cashier asked me "five hundred?", I am not quite as baller as Mike McDermott. So instead of three stacks of high society I just went here for some $2/$5:

Observant readers will recognize the Bellagio lobby, and from there I made my way to the poker room. They had immediate seating in $2/$5, so I joined a table with a lot of Asians players, one Indian, and one slightly annoying US grinder who was waiting for $5/$10. Eventually a cute woman in her late 30s also joined, although she eventually got stacked by one of the Asians and left.

It did not seem like the easiest table at first glance, and there was also a lot of straddles to $10. I had a very quiet start as I wasn't dealt a ton of premiums. I won the blinds (and straddle) twice after raising KJo to $30 and getting folds. I also lost a bit on double board Hold'em bomb pots every dealer change ($11). The table initially wanted to do $15, but I told them I would only do $10 and reminded them how it's important to be acccomodating to the fish 😀

First interesting spot is when I have TT UTG and raise to $20. Only a young Japanese player calls in SB, and we see A-T-9 two clubs. Pretty nice to unblock TP with a set and there are a lot of draws here. I bet $25 after opponent checks, but sadly he folds fairly quickly.

Ryan DePaulo would have liked this chip decoration:

Then the same Asian raises to $15 from hijack and I have 77 in SB. Seems like a spot for a rare SB-flat, although I briefly considered 3-betting. BB also calls, and we go 3-ways to K-J-Q. Not quite what I had in mind so I just fold when a bet comes in.

The annoying guy then straddles to $10, the cute woman calls $10 and I have T9cc on the button. Seems good enough for a raise, so I make it $45 and get the folds.

I then pick up 88 in hijack and make it $15, only to see cutoff, SB and BB call. The flop comes 9-7-5, so I flop second pair and a gutshot. SB decides to lead for $20, BB calls, and I chose to overcall. I don't think I can raise this board even if I double block the nuts, as opponents seem aware and likely wouldn't think I raise 86s very often. Cutoff folds.

I bink the 6 on the turn for the straight, and both opponents check to me. I decided to check it back, simply because that is what I would do with a lot of my continue range - for example if I had an overpair. But maybe I should not care about that and just bet, although both opponents in this hand seem aware.

River is however another 6, so the board is now paired. SB checks, but BB leads out $30. He could definitely have hands like 67 or similar, so I cannot raise here. I throw in the call, SB folds, and I win against K6o that peeled with a gutshot on flop and made trips on river.

Then we find the pretty KJss in third pos after a straddle, so I make it $30 to go. The very tight/aggressive Asian in seat (I was seat 9) does however 3-bet to $100. Don't think I can call OOP here and 4-bet would likely be a bad idea. So I just fold after thinking for a bit.

A new guy then joins the table; a typical 30-something white grinder guy. My first spot with him is when the woman limps for $5 from early pos (as she was known to do), and he makes it $25 from the button. I have the beautiful AKhh in SB, which calls for a 3-bet. I make it $90, and both opponents fold instantly.

A bit later this guy raises to $20 from cutoff and I have AQo on the button. Could call, could raise. I chose the latter and made it $55. It's a bit small but being in position I think it's fine. He calls quickly, in a way that makes me realize he did not consider a 4-bet. The flop comes J-T-5 and he checks. Not the most perfect one against his calling range, but we have a gutshot and two overcards. I bet $45 and he calls.

Turn is a 7 and he now comes out leading for $125. It's very annoying, but I don't think I can do much about it on this board. There are many ways for him to have a strong hand, and my overcards might not be good. So I think I have better hands to defend with here. I fold.

More big cards, this time AKo I raise to $15 and get three callers, including the woman in BB. We see T-4-4, which is harmless enough to where I would have started a bet. I don't get the chance however, as the woman leads for $45. She has done this other times in the session, and it's always been TP or better. Nothing to do then but fold.

Then I raise ATo to $15 from cutoff, and both SB and BB folds. Both were somewhat annoying grinder types, although the SB seemed a bit more splashy. The flop comes 3-4-5 two clubs, and they check to me. With me having no club here, I chose to just check it back.

2c lands on the turn so we have a wheel. SB now leads for $30, BB folds and I call. It's not an ideal spot as he can easily have a 6 or a flush, and my hand is likely face up. So if he is good, he can put a ton of pressure on me on the river. But I have to call once and see.

Interestingly enough it comes a 6, which means there is a straight on the board now. He bets $45, and although it feels a bit value-ish I don't think I can fold - even if I am only calling for a chop. I call, and he flips up a weirdly played AQo for a chop. I don't think he had a club, and we also note that he did not 3-bet it pre.

There was a somewhat splashy Asian guy in seat 5 who very often raised pre, and although he didn't seem like a pro he also seemed like he was not afraid of the stakes. He raises to $15 from MP and the young Japanese calls in cutoff. I have TT in SB, which is definitely a 3-bet considering the stuff these guys were playing. I make it $80, and get two quick folds.

We then play a super interesting double board bomb pot, where I am dealt QJo. We are only 5-handed for this one, and the boards come out:

Top: Q-T-6
Bottom: A-9-T

So we have top pair on one board and an open ender on the bottom one. That has to be pretty good. A new Asian player to the game bets out $30, and I think my hand is good enough to raise here. I make it $105 and he calls fairly quickly.

Top: J
Bottom: 2

We make top two pair on the top board, but still only have the open ender on the bottom. He checks, and he only has around $200 left. So let's move him all-in and hope he folds, and at worst I will likely get half. He calls quickly.

Top: K
Bottom: 8

So I make my straight on the bottom and still have two pair on the top. Opponent does however flip up AJo which means he made a straight on the top and had TP on the bottom. So we both had one board, however it feels to me that I was a bit unlucky to not scoop here. At the same time, if I did not hit the river on the bottom board I would have been almost busto. So it goes both ways I guess.

Two more interesting hands; first one is when there is a limp from the new Asian for $5, the grinder on button follows suit, and I have QJdd in SB. I messed up the sizing here as I only made it $25, should be $30 or $35. Either way, BB calls, and both limpers call.

The dealer spreads out J-T-4 two clubs, no diamonds. I chose to check here, simply because I am OOP and if I get raised I don't think I can continue. It checks to the Asian limper who bets $60. Fairly big bet, but he seems a bit splashy and I cannot fold after checking the flop. So I call, only to see BB also call behind me.

I was hoping for no club on the turn, but instead we got Ac. I check, BB check, and the Asian now throws out $200. Another big bet, and I cannot do much with a player behind me. So I have to fold, even if it feels a bit annoying doing so.

We do however get this player back in another hand a bit later, when I raise AQo to $15 from early pos and he is the only caller in SB. The flop comes A-K-3, and after he checks I make a small bet of $10 to entice him to stick around. He calls.

Turn is another 3 and he checks. I don't think he has a three, but I do note that we are now chopping against any other Ace (AA33K). With devious plans in mind I increase to $40, and he calls again.

River is a random 7 and he checks again. So unless he has exactly A7, this is 100% a freeroll bet. I would have heard from 3x by now and he never have AK. I can however have AK or even a full house with KK or similar. So we move all-in for $250 or something into $135 and he thinks for a bit but end up folding. I don't know if he actually had an Ace, but if I got him off a chop it was definitely a nice play.

As I am a wuzz that cannot play long sessions I just cashed out shortly after with an acceptable loss of $91 USD after a little bit over 3 hours. I'll take it, considering I didn't have too many amazing spots and it was a bigger game. It was not super tough, but definitely a bit more active and random than most $1/$3 games. So it's a good learning experience for sure.

Cash Games:

Hours played: 32h 15 min
Won/lost: + $821 USD
Hourly rate: +$25.39 USD

Tournaments:

Won/lost: +$429 USD (2 played)

Two quick observations:

1) I manually calculated my profit/loss in the post yesterday, and it seems I made a mistake. Poker Bankroll Tracker says that I am up $821 USD in total, and I obviously trust that one more than my mediocre math skills.

2) Today is the last full day in Vegas as we both go home tomorrow evening. A bit sad, but such is life. And I will be back in just a few months for WSOP 😀

Thanks for all the write ups Whale. 2/5 again for the next session?

Good morning from a windy Las Vegas, where both me and 'Enhanced' will be flying home tonight. Hopefully the wind has decreased a bit before that time.

Yesterday it was time to do something that I always ensure that I find time for each trip; a session at Golden Nugget. Downtown is always an interesting place to visit.

The plan was obviously to win an amount similar to this one:

After heading into Golden Nugget we both got seating within 5 minutes at different table, but sadly I got a table that was for the most part very tight and tame. I started reasonably well though, when there is a limp for $2, a raise to $10 and I defend BB with K3hh. The limper also calls, and we see the A-J-2 flop one heart. Not really all that exciting for me besides two backdoors, but it checks around.

Turn is the 2h, so I now have a flush draw. I considered leading but checked, and once again it checked around. River comes Th so we back into a flush. With flop and turn checking around I doubt anyone has an Ace, but maybe a hand like KQ is possible from the raiser. I decided to go big or go home, and went with a pot sized bet of $30. And that worked out, as the limper calls and show A5o with the Ace of hearts.

Decent start, but then we get the most interesting spot of the session. An OMC limps for $2, and I find QJcc in cutoff right behind him. I make it $12, another OMC-ish guy on the button calls and the limper folds out. So we go heads-up to Q-9-4 two spades, and I make a sizing mistake and only bet $10 here. This should be way bigger, as I can get calls from JT, all spade draw, 9T, J9, 98, basically all suited hands with a nine in them that has some kind of backdoor in addition to the pair. He calls quickly.

Turn comes another Q and I bet $21. Another sizing mistake on my part, although to be fair it's a bit harder for some of the above hands to continue now. He again calls fairly quickly, albeit not instantly.

River is a T, and this one felt close to me. I wanted to check and give him a chance to bluff missed spades, but he doesn't look like the bluffing type at all. So although I didn't find a ton of hands to target, I was hoping he was being stubborn with A9 or something, or had JT and paired up on the river. So I make a small bet of $35 (into $91) to hopefully get a call, but instead he raises to $100.

This felt super strong to me, as I have bet the whole way and he is still raising on the river (a very underbluffed spot). I am getting insane pot odds however, as it's only $65 more into $220 or so. I probably only need to be good around 20% of the time here, but the problem is that there is not a single bluff here. There is no way he has a Queen with a worse kicker and waits until the river to raise it, and that would have to be Q8s or similar. All the better Qx either have a full house or have a better kicker than me (like KQ). It's way more likely that he flopped a set, or that I let him get there too cheaply with TT.

I had Bart Hanson in my ear saying that he doesn't like to fold strong hands at this level when he is getting a good price, simply because he has seen way too much sh*t throughout the years. But I still made the fold, and he did not show. So I guess we'll never know.

After this I win a few small spots, hardly worth discussing. I raised 66 and KTo pre, got one caller and a decent flop, and bet and took it down.

Then there are a bunch of limps to me and I have a red KQo in BB. I raise it up to $17, but surprisingly get two callers. The flop comes 9-T-3 all spades, and although I have a gutshot and two overs this is not an ideal bord. I ended up checking it, and the first limper put out a bet of $35. Second limper calls, and I cannot do much then I think. So I just folded. Maybe I could have started a bet regardless, as it's an easy fold if a raise comes in and I can continue betting on all broadway cards on the turn (that are not spades).

A bit later I find AJo from 3rd pos and make it $10, get one caller, before BB suddenly makes it $50. This was the only other guy who was doing a bit of raising pre-flop, but I hadn't seen him 3-bet before and in general raises from the Big Blind are always strong. So I chose to believe him for now, and folded. I briefly considered 4-betting to $130 or something, but I didn't really have too much reason to suspect he was out of line here.

Then there are two limps to me and I make it $15 with 87ss from the hijack. Small Blind makes the call, and one limper also calls. We see A-5-3 with one spade, which I think is an awesome board to bet. I can rep the ace, and we have a ton of good turn cards wrapping around that 4 that will give me further equity (plus all spades). So I make it $20 after they both check, and get two quick folds.

Instead of an uninteresting stack picture, let us break up this text by showing a picture of the world's largest Golden Nugget:

Back to poker. There is a limp for $2, and then a new player to the game makes it $10 from the cutoff. I defend in BB with QTcc, and the limper also calls. T-8-4 two spades seems decent, and the flop checks around. So when the turn comes another 8, I lead out for $20 and get the folds.

The raiser in the previous hand then loses a huge pot where he has AQ of hearts, and get it in on the turn versus another guy with 76 of hearts. There are two hearts on the flop, but a 7 on the turn holds up for the guy with the lesser flush draw. You can see the steam coming out of the ears of the guy who lost with AQ suited (and to be fair, I would have been very frustrated about losing such a good spot as well).

So when he raises the next hand to $15, I am not really a beliver. I am in BB and find ATo. Although I could 3-bet here, I just thought he would fold out a lot and that it was better to call and just be super sticky on many runouts.

It's easy to get sticky when you flop top pair though. A-Q-2 with two hearts (I have none), and after I check he bets $20. I call, and we see an 8 on the turn. There are now two flush draws out there, as two diamonds have materialized as well. I check, he bets $30 and once again I call.

River comes 5d so the backdoor flush comes in, but with me holding Td I at least have some blockers to it. I still think it's best to just let him blast off, so I check. He does however check back quickly and tables A4o, which is no good. I wonder if he might have bet all three streets with a bluff, but as played it obviously makes sense for him to just check back river here.

A while later there is a limp for $2, this guy makes it $10 and I find JJ in Small Blind. I 3-bet to $47, but sadly the guy just comments that I have been playing tight and folds 88 face-up. Lol nits. I don't think I have been playing tight obviously, but I think his definition might be a bit different than mine. It's true that I don't try to see as many flops as most others at the table, but I am almost always being aggressive pre when I do play a hand.

After this I won one small pot and lost one small one, in between folding and waiting for some interesting spots. But even though the game got slightly more active, it was still very tight 95% of the time, and I just didn't have a ton of good hands this session (oh, the injustice!)

'Enhanced' cashed out a good profit at his table and wanted to head over to The Orleans to play the $150 BigO tournament. So I figured why not join him, and see if I could find a decent cash game there. I cashed out from Golden Nugget after 3 hours and 23 minutes, with a small profit of $45 USD. I'll take it.

After grabbing some food, 'Enhanced' joined the tournament while I got seated in a $1/$3 game that had a couple of young players and some big stacks. So I bought in for $400 (there is a $500 max here) and started playing.

I won a small pot with raising 56ss to $20 over a $6 straddle and was up twenty bucks, when an interesting one comes around. It folds to me on the button and I have QTdd. I raise to $11, mostly because I only had one $1 chip and was too lazy to announce a size. The young guy to my left 3-bets to $35 from SB, and although I haven't been at the table for long I have seen that he likes to play pots. So I call in position.

The flop comes A-5-3 two diamonds, and he blasts it for $60 into $74. I have no overs and just a naked flush draw, but we both have a lot of money behind (he covers me), and being in position I don't think I can fold here. So I call, and we see an interesting Jc on the turn. He checks to me, and I have a decision. I wanted to overbet to promote fold-equity, but with the pot being over $200 that would basically commit my whole stack. So I settled on $125, which I think is the worst of all three options.

He ends up folding after thinking for a while, but I think a better thing to do here is either to just check behind (realize equity) or bet $300 or something. As it was now, I left myself with enough behind to where I could fold if he jams, and that is not good - because then I don't get to realize anything.

Good start though, but it wouldn't last. The young guy makes it $12 from UTG, a player in the field call, and I defend BB with KJo. The flop comes Q-T-3 and ends up checking around. This tells me that top pair is unlikely to be out there, so when another Q lands on the turn I lead for $19. I can have a ton of suited Qx here defending from BB after all.

To my surprise they both call, and we see an 8 on the river. J9 comes in, but with me holding a Jack it's obviously less likely. Maybe I should check and give up when I get called in two spots, but I still didn't think any of them had much and that I could get this through if I made a reasonably big sizing. So I bet $60 (like I would with a Queen), only to see PFR now raise to $160. His line doesn't really make sense at all unless he slow played something, or made eights full on the river. But I have King high and cannot do much about it, so I have to fold.

Then I raise 9Tdd to $12 in cutoff after it folds to me, and the same two players call (button and BB). We see K-8-2 with the 8 of diamonds. I think this is a good board to start a bet on as K-low-low is generally good for the raiser and I have many interesting turn cards. I bet $15, but once again these sticky f**kers call.

Turn is an Ace, and maybe I should have just continued to bet here as I can have all the strong hands. But in game I decided to use the Ace as a scare card on the river instead. BB checks, I check, and button checks behind (first part of the plan complete, he is unlikey to have an Ace).

River comes a random 6, and BB checks (second part of the plan complete, he doesn't have an Ace either). So now I have green light to bet, although I think I went a bit too small here. In my defense I wanted it to look value-ish, but $35 into $82 might not get enough folds. The young guy looks a bit pained but calls and says he doesn't think I have an Ace (improper table talk with a player behind, but whatever). BB folds, and after I confidently table Ten high he shows KTo for the winner.

Maybe I should have stayed in the game as I was very likely to get paid and it was ok action, but brother busted the tournament fairly quickly and I wasn't quite feeling it. So I made it a very short session, and we took an Uber back to MGM Grand instead.

After getting back I was feeling a bit too tired to join another game however, so we just relaxed with some -EV gambling (the Buffalos were not cooperating last night) before calling it a night. Should obviously have played more poker instead, but I do get tired in the evenings in Vegas and generally play my best earlier in the day.

Now I'm gonna get ready and check out of the hotel, and then find a game so that I can grind out a few more hours before leaving. Mediocre stats below. I will obviously post one more update from the airport before leaving.

Cash Games:

Hours played: 36h 37 min
Won/lost: + $815 USD
Hourly rate: +$22.19 USD

Tournaments:

Won/lost: +$429 USD (2 played)

Thanks for the detailed reports, guys. Great reads!

Sorry for the runbad, MuckPls. Been there and know how much is sucks :(

Thanks for the TR. I was on the road for much of it, but tried to keep up with the action.

Looking forward to the Whale Series of Poker.

Sure someone will correct me if I am wrong but that gold nugget isn’t the real one. I h@ve seen it in 4 different GN casinos. And I have only ever been in these 4 GNs.

The last day in Vegas. It's as always very bittersweet, and how many times have I not sat here at Harry Reid Airport (formerly McCarran) reflecting about life and Vegas and everything in between. But as I have said before, such is life - nothing great lasts forever.

After checking out of MGM Grand this morning (loved the new renovated rooms!), both me and brother headed over to a very familiar location this trip:

It was time for yet another poker session at Venetian, and after waiting for 3 minutes I got a seat in a new game. After not connecting in two bomb pots plus being a bit card dead, I was down slightly in the beginning. Then there are a ton of limps to me and I find AQo in BB. I raise it up to $23, and pick up two callers. The flop comes Q-7-7 two diamonds, and I think I have to size up a bit here. I make it $42, and both opponents fold quickly.

Then there are two limps for $3, however I failed to see the first one, so I just make it $15 with black 88 from cutoff. Both limpers end up calling, and we see the A-9-2 all diamond flop. Not ideal, and the second limper (a very active black guy) leads right into me for $20. Not much I can do with my exact holding though, so I just fold.

This player then limps in for $3, and I follow suit with 22. An OMC then makes a small raise to $12, which I obviously call (along with the first limper). The flop comes Q-6-4 and the OMC bets out $25 when it checks to him. The limper call, and I have to fold (2 on the turn fwiw).

Then I execute a nice play, after seeing two limps for me and finding AKo on the button. I raise it up to $20, and the small blind + the active black guy calls. The flop comes J-9-5 one spade, maybe I could have started a bet here but I decided to just check it through after the both checked to me.

Turn comes the 4s which puts two spades out there. I have As in my hand, so when SB bets $35 and the second player folds, I get devious ideas. I call, assuming that both my overcards are live but with plans to use a spade as a scare card if I can. And indeed the 6s lands on the river.

He bets $35 again, the good old 'same bet'. He has around $150 left, so we obviously ship in his face and announce all-in. He looks visibly upset, starts thinking a bit, asks if I have a flush, and eventually folds. Nice! Always good when a plan comes to fruition.

The very next hand there is a limp for $3 before I make it $15 in cutoff with KJo. The old woman in BB calls the raise, while the limper folds. We see K-8-5 all hearts, and after she checks I decided to check it. Not sure why, as I can easily bet here. She is so straight forward that she won't raise anything besides monsters anyway.

But as it was I checked, and the turn came a random 7. She checks, I bet $15 and she calls. River is another 7, but still no heart. She checks again, and I doubt she would do that with a seven. So I bet $32 for value, and she calls fairly quickly. I confidently flip up my hand, but she starts to turn over her own cards as soon as she sees it. She had me pipped with KQo. But it's regardless a good thing that I value own myself sometimes, otherwise I would not be betting enough.

Then there is a straddle to $6, the black guy calls the $6, and I have 55 behind him. Really should have raised here, but I just limp along as the straddle was not the type of guy to attack dead money. He does indeed check, and we see K-5-3 two clubs. They all check to me, and I throw out $15. In hindsight I could have gone even higher as Kx and flush draws will call any price, but with it being checked to me I assumed no one was too strong. And sadly they all ended up folding anyway.

I could obviously have checked this one and try to hit a five, which would have likely won me the high hand promotion at Venetian. But I can't really be too concerned with things like that when playing.

Then I find 66 from UTG and make it $12 to go. I get no less than three callers, but that is not an issue when the board comes 6-5-5. I flop a full house, and after BB checks to me I bet out $20. Obviously any pocket pair higher than mine is going to call here, along with hands like 78.

Only the black guy calls and we see another 5 on the river. He checks, and I decided to check back to give him some rope to bet on the river. In hindsight I should have however just continued to bet. The river comes a 3 and he throws out $30. I am still beating all hands besides 5x, so I raise it up to $104 hoping he has something to call with. But sadly he just folds quickly, so maybe I got the most I could out of him.

One more against the same player, when I raise 76cc to $15 over his limp, and he is the only caller. The flop comes K-Q-4 one club, which is a great board to start blasting off on against his limp range. I start with a bet of $20, but he just folds after a few seconds. I would strongly have considered betting all 3 streets here, unless his actions told me otherwise.

I lost one small pot towards the end when I raise AQhh over his limp, the two players rights behind me call and he obviously also calls. The dealer spreads out 2-3-6 one heart, and 4-way I thought this was maybe a bit too thin to start a bet on. So I just check and fold to a bet from the OMC behind me. Maybe a bit too tight, but I am very restrictive with betting 4 ways unless I have really good properties in my hand.

After 2 hours and 17 minutes I cashed out with a small profit of $91 USD and said goodbye to the Venetian for this time. Here are their new live stream studio:

After that I just had a 15 minute massage (felt great), had some food with brother, before eventually taking the Monorail back to MGM Grand.

Another trip is over, and as always it felt way too hectic and like I didn't have enough time. But it's always going to feel like that, and I have resigned myself with this fact. And although the results are not amazing, I had a steady profit and I like a lot of the hands that I have played this trip. If I had just been more disciplined about not stacking off with QQ and JJ it could easily have been a $1500 winner.

I also cashed both tournaments that I played, including the $250 WSOP-C which was a really cool (if bitter sweet) experience.

Final thoughts will have to come once I am back home in Malta. For now I just have to survive the long flights and this windy day in Vegas. As always, I bid all readers farewell with this picture:

Cash Games:

Hours played: 38h 52 min
Won/lost: + $906 USD
Hourly rate: +$23.22 USD

Tournaments:

Won/lost: +$429 USD (2 played)

Thanks for sharing. Enjoyed it. Safe journey home.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for all the detail Whale - glad you booked a small winner and hope you had fun!

Quick question…why do you feel you want to size it up on Q77 with AQ?

That feels like a spot you want lesser queens and smaller pairs and A high to call and you have an A so you’re bout really worried about a K

I’d bet smaller on the flop and then go heavy on the turn

Great report, thanks!

I really enjoy all the detailed hand histories.

Thanks for the great TR, Whale. Safe travels!

Did either of you make Diamond at Caesars?

As we discussed earlier in the thread, the 10x offer seemed to be a targeted offer only. So no Diamond. Would obviously have made it easily with a 10x. I only played in Caesars properties the 72 hours I was staying there - rest of the machine gambling was done at MGM properties.

But for me I think I played enough at Caesars that I should at least get some kind of decent offers, which I guess is nice to just have as an alternative to my MGM offers (in case there is a need to divide the stay up in to multiple hotels).

I wonder if distance factors into casinos' offers. For the same amount of play, would they give a better offer to someone farther away to try to entice them more? (Or maybe figure a lower % of the people far away will take them up, so the outlay is less overall?)

Doh, I forgot.

Yeah probably. Do you know roughly how many tier credits you picked up on the trip?

CET has done that for a long time. They can't change how many points you need for Diamond, but they can put in multipliers and things like that to make it easier to earn tier credits, targeted by location. Unfortunately for me, the only location that's closer to me than Vegas has nothing in it worth visiting.