To Las Vegas Nov. 30 - Dec. 6
It’s a little early, but I’m excited for this trip. It’s been too long.
My husband is attending the MJBizCon conference (
) for his business, and of course I’m going to tag along! I’m looking forward to any samples he gets😉
We leave Nov. 30 and fly home Dec. 6 – conference is Dec. 4-6, so he’ll miss the last day. We are staying at our Hilton Grand behind Flamingo – Elara was booked, but we really like the Flamingo HG, and it was so few points it’s amazing.
We have reservations Sunday evening for Bazaar Mar, but now I’m considering The Orleans $40K guarantee NLHE tourney that day. Seems like a pretty good structure, prize, etc. Any advice? Is it worth it. If so, we might change reservations to Monday or Tuesday.
Will post shoes and roll as we get a little closer. Until then, I’ll share some “home” poker stories.
Played in one of the two local 1/2 NLHE games Friday night. This game has a dealer’s choice $5 bomb pot every round followed by two hands of PLO. I usually play w/o my husband, but he joined me this time. I always ask for my seat ahead of time, and someone else had snagged my seat 5. Annoying, but no big deal. I asked for seats 6 and 7 instead.
For background, my husband and I are definitely winners in this game. My husband has played only a few times, but he is very aggressive and a good player. He has won every time he’s been there, but these guys are terrible players. They buy in for $50 to $100 (then rebuy), limp/call almost every hand, and limp/raise or raise only with QQ+ (usually only w/ KK or AA – and then they limp/shove), but they rarely raise – I mean almost never. They call bets w/ any piece, chase draws for the wrong price, etc. Really bad. There is only one decent (and that’s stretching it) player. And they have zero idea how to play PLO, let alone PLO bomb pots.
When we arrived, they had us in seats 4 and 6 with nobody in seat 7. It turns out one of the players didn’t want us sitting together. I was pretty upset, but let it go.
Funny thing is, if these players aren’t related (at least half of them are on any given night), they grew up together and/or they work together. They are good ole boys, and this is a small town. My husband and I are the only ones not born in the area.
There is collusion among these players every game. These guys will check it down, check the nuts on the river, tell the other guy what they have, etc. I wouldn’t be surprised if they shared profits at the end of the night. However, they are so bad it’s worth playing. Plus, they feed us and there aren’t many other options – and it’s only eight minutes’ drive.
My husband and I never collude. We never check it down and we sure as hell never check the nuts on the river. Plus, at least one of us always shows our hand, even if we don’t get to showdown, because I never want someone to think we are colluding/cheating. So to have this guy want to separate us was tilting. I desperately wanted his measly $100 stack. My husband got a little of it, but then the guy lost his last $60 KK
Halfway through the night seat 5 left, so we got to sit together. I won $150 and my husband won $500, so it felt good 😉 I didn’t push it Saturday night, but If I ask, I know they will never separate us again.
don't take it personally Java but I don't like people sitting next to their significant others either. tbh I prefer them not to be on the same table, but definitely not next to each other.
I totally understand your point about all the different kind of relationships at those games and all the opportunities they can bring for collusion as well, but splitting up couples is just one less thing to worry about
+1
Played in the better game (Thurs/Sat) last night. Husband and I sat together -- nobody cares except the one guy. He showed up but didn't play -- supposedly not because of us, but who knows? I can't remember many hands. I really need to focus to do that. Plus, I might have had a little too much sake I, again, won a whopping $50. My husband was in for $600, but left up $400. I've never seen anyone run so well. He hit every straight draw, two pair, etc., and they just kept paying him off.
No
Basically my 2c (take it for what it's worth) is that if you want to play in this (better) game to just put up with "the nonsense" --- despite it being a huge hypocrisy. The name of the game is money and I get that it takes away a bit of your "fun", but don't take anything personally as they are basically all lambs headed to the poker slaughter.
Also posting to subscribe in epic bread.
I've followed along your TRs for a few years now and really enjoy them! I also learned a decent amount about PLO so I'll be able to actually know what's going on in your HHs!
Play Well and Run (Even) Better!
The “checking the nuts in position on the river” rule is not enforced the same across Vegas casinos. Some adhere to suggested TDA rules and some do not, I remember specifically playing an Orleans tourney where the rule is not enforced, you are allowed to check the nuts in position.
My online game has a promo that gives $15 (it's a .50/1 game) for a straight flush but you have to get to showdown. They expect you to check the nuts on the river! Drives me crazy.
Thanks, All-inMclovin. I hope to give you guys a few good reads.
Good news for me is all week I thought Sunday was the 30th, but it's Saturday!!! I'm so excited. I get to enjoy my favorite holiday with family, relax for a day of vacation, and then fly to Vegas. Doesn't get much better 😉
I'm in town the same time you are. Let's run good!
Fantastic. I play mainly PLO at Aria, but might head to Wynn/Venetian if they have PLO games going and want to play at Resorts World at least once. I'm the middle-aged woman always with a champagne or wine (Bailey's and coffee in the a.m.) trying to have a good time 😉
5'7", blue/green eyes, light brown shoulder length hair, thin to medium build. Seriously, say hello!
Only beat so far is that I'm going to have to do some work while in Vegas, but that's OK. I like my job 😉
Our flight leaves at 8:30 in the morning, so we have to get up about 6:00 a.m. and out the door at 7:00 a.m. the puppies are at Grandma's house so they are happy, we hope.
Couldn't take a roll picture because we didn't make it to the bank today. Lol. Too many chores with a farm and cold weather coming. Will have to pay extra. I swapped out the cheetah boots for a pair of black boots, not that you guys care.
Cannot wait. Hope I can sleep.
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I for one care about the Cheetah boots.
Our flight leaves at 8:30 in the morning, so we have to get up about 6:00 a.m. and out the door at 7:00 a.m. the puppies are at Grandma's house so they are happy, we hope.
Couldn't take a roll picture because we didn't make it to the bank today. Lol. Too many chores with a farm and cold weather coming. Will have to pay extra. I swapped out the cheetah boots for a pair of black boots, not that you guys care.
Cannot wait. Hope I can sleep.
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Java, best wishes for safe travels, juicy tables, all the run-good in the world, and awesome dining experiences.
Now I feel sorry for the cheetah boots. They are actually very comfy. I hope I don't regret it.
First flight we had to get off the plane because the flaps were not working. They started to work while we were still on the plane, but they still made us deplane and wait for maintenance to come sign us off. Good thing we had a long layover. Vegas, here we come.
Thanks for the good wishes!
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Good luck. Interested to hear how the PLO games are this time of year.
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4 cards >>> 2 cards !!!!
all those permutations!!!
Unlike leopards, I guess cheetahs do change their spots.
Go get 'em!
Kept the tables warm for you.
Go get them!!
Our second flight was also delayed, but we made it. Nice room. Used two for one at Pampas because we were starving. Thought we would eat at the Delta lounge, but the first delay ruined that.
Went to Ariia. Sat in 2/5 NLHE and won a little, then 1/2 PLO, and just hovered. Exhausted. Will be an early night.
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Not sure what's going on at Flamingo. New pool? If you don't know the old guy, you don't play PLO at the Aria 😉 Sorry for the double photo, though.
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Wow can’t believe Flamingo ripped out their pool. Hope it’s just to make it better.
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Not sure what's going on at Flamingo. New pool? If you don't know the old guy, you don't play PLO at the Aria 😉 Sorry for the double photo, though.
Yes, they are remodeling the 'Go Pool' completely, should be ready by next years pool season as far as I know.
Love the picture of The Sphere and the High Roller; where did you take that photo from?
Grunching to sub. Love a Java TR!
I don’t know the old guy, but I’m pretty sure he was at my table for a while when I was there over the summer.
Does he ride a scooter, and drink green tea?
I'm not sure if the old guy drinks green tea, but I think so. He's always got a young woman with him who is a writer. I think they're in a relationship, but she is like 30 years younger than he is. Good for him!
The High Roller and sphere picture was taken when we got off the elevator at our Hilton Grand. Unfortunately, we are on the other side. The picture of the pool is from our room.
The good news is we both had a winning night. I was up a whopping $75, but my husband was up $300. A good way to start.
Today we are going to wander and get some breakfast, then we are going to do a Hilton Grand owner session. We don't normally do those, but for an hour we get three free nights and 100,000 Hilton Honors points. Very worth it [emoji6]
After that we will head to the Aria for more poker and then Bazaar Mar at 5:30. Then more poker!
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It has been a while but I have played extensively with the old dude (virgil)
Breakfast at Ellis Island. My husband loves breakfast food. He says this is one of the best breakfasts he's had in a long time. He had a make your own omelette. It was fantastic. My eggs were really good, too. Now we're going to play a little blackjack.
The view photos are from our room. I thought the wallpaper leading to the Ellis Island bathroom was cool.
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Virgil! I think I've played with him every time I've been here.
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We were down about $150 in blackjack and then added $100 to come back and break even, including two drinks. Donked off $100 playing roulette. Nice walk to Elara. It's beautiful out.
The infrastructure for the FS1 is incredible. I can't imagine engineering all of this. Are they really just going to tear it all down?
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Headed to Aria after our timeshare update. Totally worth the 100,000 points and free nights 😉
Waited forever for a seat and finally got 1/3. Had a terrible guy to my left. A couple of hands against him:
Someone raises to $5 and there are a few callers, and I call from SB w/ Tc8c and BB calls. Flop (~25) 79J rainbow. I donk out $15 and BB calls, everyone else folds. Turn is a Q, which I don't love, but I bet $25 and he calls. River is a 7, which I really don't love, but I bet $25 again planning to bet/fold. He throws out a black chip, and I turn my hand over and he asks if I call. I say, "You didn't raise," and the table and dealer agree. He was steaming. Of course, he had 79.
I call a raise from BTN (~$420) w/ ATo, and he calls from SB (covers), as he always did. Call seemed OK the way this table was playing. The original raiser was like a book post flop.
Flop (~$45) AdTdKs. Checks to me and I bet $30 on this dynamic flop and SB calls. OR folds as I suspected he would. Turn (~$100) 2c, he checks and I bet $60 hoping he'll chase, and he does. River is another blank and he checks. I stupidly check behind and MHIG. Probably should have thrown out another bet.
I ($450) raise JJ to $15 from EP, V calls, one other caller. Flop (~$45) Kd2s6c, I check and he bets $25, one fold and I call. Turn is a blank and it goes check, check. River is a T (no flush), and I check and he bets $45 and I call. He asks if I have a K and turns over AT.
Was up a bit in NLHE, then moved to PLO, but only had about an hour to play. Not much to report, but was up ~$100 for the session.
Then to dinner, which was fantastic. We had the Kuen Pai Ti (fantastic, but small), fried whole baby squid (excellent), monkfish samm (just OK, unfortunately), and Rossejat (unbelievable -- we ordered another). Plus two bottles of wine, which were overpriced but went well with the food at fit both of our tastes. The somm was young but knew his stuff and was very well spoken. The server was excellent, too.
The weird thing was that everyone else around us seemed unhappy, but we were having a great time. Sorry about the pics -- I kind of forgot to take many. The Rossejat pic looks terrible, but it was so good.
