Kicking off 2025 in the 702: TR 1/26 - 1/30
I've usually taken 1-2 trips to Vegas per year since 2018. this will be my 5th trip within the last 12 months. holy smokes, what a year!
almost always make a January or February getaway for something to look to during the most depressing time of the year when the North Dakota weather is dreadful.
booked my flight and hotel rooms way back in August, and like I have for the past several years, booked almost exclusively MGM. however, pair of recent developments ticked me off. first, MGM raised resort fees. paying extra more for nothing is kind of a turnoff. maybe rates from booking time would have grandfathered in but whatever. second thing is while I got a decent rate for Sunday, myvegas free room comp was not available for Monday night. so I said f-it and booked 2 nights at South Point. wow, feels amazing. haven't stayed there for several years but SP has been my favorite resort since I stayed there my first trip.
will probably pay about $60 more total for two nights than at Park MGM but I am still relieved. for this former penny-pinching bargain-hunting low-roller, not booking the lowest room deal available is some kind of personal achievement. feels like I've been a prisoner of MGM with no good offers to show for it. a third thing is Park MGM room wifi is unusable and I plan to work Monday and Tuesday mornings. that was probably the deciding factor.
that being said, it's just two nights and the other two nights will be my initiation at the dirty castle. so I'm not completely divorcing MGM and will be staying some time on Strip but you can tell I'm thrilled to finally be back at SP.
as it's only like 25 hours a week a few times a year and I'm playing recreationally, I will totally be results oriented. pot odds mean nothing when you're beat. if my bluff doesn't work it was a mistake. if my pocket queens get beat heads up by pocket 8s, well that's just a bad beat. here's hoping the end results are favorable and I win more than I lose, no matter how well or "correctly" I play.
only plan is to play poker and pai gow, and save a little PTO by working some mornings. have played almost exclusively 1/2-3 but I'm now in a position where I can look for 2/5, although the goal is to play and have fun and not risk financial ruin. no specific events, no shows, no tourist attractions. if I'm running bad maybe I'll sneak into "O" or catch a movie at SP on cheap Tuesday. Golden Knights have a game in town, so I might try getting a ticket day-of. but in general, there isn't anything Vegas I'm dying to do or try other than pai gow and poker.
loved Wynn buffet in November and want to go back, so that will be my big meal and I'll play a session in that nice room. have some food comps available at Mandalay Bay so I'll play there during first couple days and eat where I can use it. staying at South Point means I should play a daily tourney (have 2-3 nice finishes there previously) along with cash, and I like their dining options. will have a car and therefore will be mobile if there's something else to try (Cheesecake Factory needs to continue as a trip tradition and still have McMullan's and cronuts on my to-do list). don't think I'll get around to Venetian or Aria but may visit Bellagio for a game.
flight is a few weeks away but at least we are in the right month. haven't been many Vegas TRs on here for a while. had a pre-trip warm up recently that was interesting to share in a follow up post.
I've been doing this a while, you know what to expect, what do you guys want to see in a Langdon TR?
GL with the work situation Langdon. Negotiate harder. Tell them $10K isn't enough to move to Tulsa, but $15K might do it.
Lots of big choices, good luck with all that!
I say swing for the fences, go for the big promotion to Dallas. I know that’s a big life move for your family, but it sounds like you’ve got the inside track with your connection to your boss’s boss.
so I am working dealing another tournament today in the middle of North Dakota and it is a bloody blizzard coming home. like, cannot see the road, that bad. fortunately I'm not the one driving.
tomorrow is gonna be -12F.
I hate this place.
Langdon in two years:
It's 103 degrees and 87% humidity. I hate this place.
Good luck with the jobs/promotions!
L, you got a lot going on.
GL, things usually work out like they are supposed to (says the ol' fart drooling on his keyboard).
Sunday South Point
Monday Venetian
Wednesday Wynn
what should I do on Tuesday?
If cash prob Aria/Bellagio.
If tourneys then look at Orleans?
I'm following along, always nice to lurk in the Langdon TRs!
what's a place to eat dinner at Bellagio that is under under $70 and can use poker comps?
I'll ask this in the dining thread too...
Langdon, what was your opinion of Excalibur? I too look to penny pinch on rooms when I go to Vegas by myself, and I've stayed there there twice within the past year.
The place is obviously dated and the casino floor isn't very appealing imo, but I was pleasantly surprised with the cleanliness of the rooms I stayed in. I searched the rooms top to bottom when I arrived and found nothing to complain about. All the bedding and towels were changed daily, including towels that were unused. A clean bed and shower is about all I could ask for at that price point.
Through the MGM card there have pretty much the same offer for the Luxor as with Excalibur. I haven't stayed at Luxor yet but I'm going to give it a try one of my trips this year. Have you stayed at Luxor before? Just trying to get opinions on decent cheap places to stay from other people that cheap out on hotel rooms. Lol
Langdon, what was your opinion of Excalibur? I too look to penny pinch on rooms when I go to Vegas by myself, and I've stayed there there twice within the past year.
...
Through the MGM card there have pretty much the same offer for the Luxor as with Excalibur. I haven't stayed at Luxor yet but I'm going to give it a try one of my trips this year. Have you stayed at Luxor before? Just trying to get opinions on decent cheap places to stay from other people that cheap out on hotel rooms. Lol
was planning on staying at Excal for the first time but changed my plans. haven't seen the rooms but the rest of the resort smells like a dumpster so I have mostly avoided it. I don't mind Luxor at all and have stayed there often. the Tower Rooms are pretty nice, Pyramid Rooms not so much. Diablo's Cantina is a nice restaurant and Slice of Vegas on the walkway to Mandalay Bay is the cheapest pizza on the Strip and still pretty good. Luxor is home to several great shows like Blue Man Group and Carrot Top.
was planning on staying at Excal for the first time but changed my plans. haven't seen the rooms but the rest of the resort smells like a dumpster so I have mostly avoided it. I don't mind Luxor at all and have stayed there often. the Tower Rooms are pretty nice, Pyramid Rooms not so much. Diablo's Cantina is a nice restaurant and Slice of Vegas on the walkway to Mandalay Bay is the cheapest pizza on the Strip and still pretty good. Luxor is home to several great shows like Blue Man Group and Ca
Thanks for the heads up. I'm going out next week and am already booked at Excal, but I'm definitely going to try Luxor on my next trip in the spring.
Five more sleeps til Vegas. yesterday woke up to -20F with feels like temps of -47F so I'm ready to get out of here. I hate January.
I understand it's seasonably cold in Vegas these days (was cold last February too) so I won't wear shorts. but I will not complain.
shoes and bankroll
actually got some new Sketchers recently. sneakers are in case a visit to the fitness center is in order. no plans to hike. believe the bankroll is the biggest to date. this was all cash-on-hand; didn't even need to make a withdrawal. whatever I come back with goes to the family bank account, not into a future trip roll. this is kinda the last hurrah for a while.
plans are pretty well formulated. here's a preview:
Last week during the Sunday football games, due to their many promos, South Point had the busiest room in Vegas with 27 games running according to the bravo app. I expect it to be similar this weekend. since I will be staying there Sunday night it only makes sense to start my trip at the South Point poker room. planning to stick to a more disciplined schedule instead of playing super late the first night; bedtime 11:15.
Monday the plan is work-work in the morning, then get a nice lunch before late-regging the Venetian $400 deepstack. hopefully that takes me all day. not a big fan of playing tournaments but I should do 1 per trip and this looks like the best one, and I've never tried at Venetian before. would I fire a second bullet if I bust early? unlikely; more likely to stick around there and try cash. have another curfew at South Point (11:45pm), barring a deep run. I would happily be late for that if Im still in. maybe I can match my $6600 prize from last February.
Tuesday morning is again working. after that the afternoon is completely open and likely dependent on the results so far. if I'm bombing, then might have to settle on a SP hot dog and see a movie on discount Tuesday for a few hours. the Golden Knights have a home game so I could buy a ticket and sneak in. another option is Awakening show at Wynn. otherwise, I'll probably play more poker at Bellagio. no scheduled bedtime.
win-at-Wynn-day Wednesday follows. play cash, eat at the buffet, then more cash games. with a 6am flight departure Thursday I kinda have a hard out at 10:15pm but I'm planning on a full day of play before that.
some dining decisions are still undecided, including my trip's first meal (traditional Jack in the Box? Lolo's? SP buffet? Steak n' Shake?) and Tuesday (Texas de Brazil?).
not a long trip so this one is very structured like a traditional Langdon getaway. the only thing I can't do anywhere other than Vegas is pai gow so I want to play that whenever I can too.
following are goals to check off a few strategic moves and play some long sessions.
- donk lead a flop. this is something I have never done. if I'm first to act in a raised pot I have always checked in the dark. I've been thinking of when this donk could be applied and maybe even effective. will try and report back
- check raise bluff to win and check raise to get called and win
- make a $200 bet or raise. other than a shove don't think this nit ever has
- add-on when shortstacked and get back to profit once
- if I get shortstacked and do not intend to add-on, rack up and play pai gow or something instead of punt off a hundred
- pass the late-reg break at Venetian with a playable stack (above starting). but would rather try and bust right before than come back from the break with scraps. be patient and smart. I don't expect to win or run deep but I want to at least get my money's worth and last a while.
- play at least two 6+ hour sessions
- at least one reasonable session of 2/5
- end +$ in cash for two different days
- work-work 8.5 hours. I'm running low on PTO and this is a completely unnecessary trip so I have to be a little responsible.
- don't get sick
- finish +$500 in poker is the goal but as long as I lose less than $600 the trip is a success.
if anyone will be there and wants to meet to say hi or dine or whatever I will probably be up for it
Enjoy!
I don't know what theory says about donking, but I can tell you that I have encountered it a lot at the tables the last few years. It tends to give me problems because my initial instinct is that it's coming from a place of weakness/fear, but that's not necessarily the case. Often times it can be an extremely strong made hand that is afraid of bad turn cards. Example would be trips on straight/flush board or a low flush that doesn't want to see another of its suit. If I can stereotype, typical donk betters tend to be a bit more novice and may not actually understand why they might not want to instantly bomb the pot just because they won't love 20% of the turn cards. The "I have a huge hand, I need to bet" instinct seizes them, as does the excessive fear of the nightmare turn card.
I've gone bust a couple times attacking donk bets that I perceived as weak, which were in fact very nutted. I've almost come full circle to interpret donk bets as potentially very strong depending on the opponent and texture. On a dry texture like 843 it may just be something like 55 or 4x attacking the opener's AK/AQ/KQ, but on a monochrome or paired board, they may actually be donking with near-nuts. This is especially true if they are a more ABC beginner type of player.
If we are trying to find good spots to donk-bluff then we may want to target flops that are very bad for the opener's range (i.e. 654, 228, 864), particularly if there is some sort of scare factor that may explain why we aren't slow-playing (3 to a flush, 3 to a straight). You'd want to target weaker opponents who aren't going to float you with high cards and try to take it away on future streets. Against wizards, you probably need to have some double barrels as bluffs.
If we are donking for value then we want to do so when we have strong hands against what's likely to be a strong opponent range where they will either call or raise.
Baja Miguel's in South Point is pretty good. They'll do a chimichanga if you want.
Looks like a solid itinerary
Enjoy!
I don't know what theory says about donking, but I can tell you that I have encountered it a lot at the tables the last few years. It tends to give me problems because my initial instinct is that it's coming from a place of weakness/fear, but that's not necessarily the case. Often times it can be an extremely strong made hand that is afraid of bad turn cards. Example would be trips on straight/flush board or a low flush that doesn't want to see another of its suit. If I can stereotype, typ
Theory for cash game says to never ever under any circumstances donk first to act. It’s either cbet flop as pre-flop aggressor or check-raise check-call flop out of position.
The biggest problem with donk betting is losing information - not knowing what the preflop aggressor is doing. The second biggest problem is that you can’t exploit high frequency c-bets from aggressors.
All in all, 99.9% of the time I see players absolutely crush the board and randomly lead out and I just laugh and snap fold a very strong hand that I would have otherwise continued with.
I love donking on "scary" boards to pre-flop raisers who are nits when I have nothing. Flop: 456, donk away -- they fold their JJ+ so fast it's printing money 😉 You might have to continue on turn occasionally, but that just means you win more!
You can also donk to control the pot when you have a good draw, etc. Of course, it has to be against the right players. Seriously, I do it all the time, but I know my player pool.
what's a place to eat dinner at Bellagio that is under under $70 and can use poker comps?
I'll ask this in the dining thread too...
You can use your poker comp at the buffet. The buffet is not at all up to the standard you would expect at Bellagio, but I think it's under $50. I think your comp also lets you go into the faster line. Otherwise, I'd say go to Noodles (not the best, but I assume it's better than most of what you can get in ND). You should also be able to use your comp at Snacks, right outside the poker room, if you just want a burger or something. Remember, you need to have the poker room manager print your comp (over to the left of the cage). You can't just bring your MLife card to the restaurant.
I usually use my comp for a breakfast at Sadelle's. You get to cut the line for sure there with your comp slip.
Theory for cash game says to never ever under any circumstances donk first to act. It’s either cbet flop as pre-flop aggressor or check-raise check-call flop out of position.
I'm not exactly up to date on NLH theory because I play primarily LHE, but I am fairly certain this is not true. Pretty sure a solver has a lead range, especially in wide range situations (i.e. button vs. blind). Less so in like UTG vs. blind. Checking 100% OOP is an exploit against players who c-bet too much. If your opponents are checking back at an appropriate frequency or too much, you need to start leading. Now, I can't comment on the pool tendencies in low stakes NL, but I wouldn't be surprised if checking 100% of flops is still a good exploit in practice, at least on most boards.
Yeah, we have a guy who makes ridiculous 6x preflop bets with midpairs, because a) he doesn't want to lose a pot with a "good" hand, and b) he doesn't know how to play them.
Call & smash any board with overcards. Works great, but you have to be against the right player, of course.
You can use your poker comp at the buffet. The buffet is not at all up to the standard you would expect at Bellagio, but I think it's under $50. I think your comp also lets you go into the faster line. Otherwise, I'd say go to Noodles (not the best, but I assume it's better than most of what you can get in ND). You should also be able to use your comp at Snacks, right outside the poker room, if you just want a burger or something. Remember, you need to have the poker room manager print your comp
I'm aware of the buffet and ate there last year, it is more than $50, closer to $60. don't think it is open for dinner though, which is my question.
I am also aware of the MGM poker comps process (done multiple times at MB) but thanks for the reminder
Langdon, Get’r done!!! I also am low on the budget. I have some trip reports if you search my user name. It is fun to see what can be done at lower budget ! Following, I have not done a trip report for some time. Think I will on my March Madness trip!
