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?
Also, you probably have, but check out Horseshoe. That is my go to, they are usually the least expensive CET and if a bit more they are located the center of everything.
Also, you probably have, but check out Horseshoe. That is my go to, they are usually the least expensive CET and if a bit more they are located the center of everything.
hi ammodog. I am no longer a low budget visitor and I have no interest in staying at any of the CET places. usually stay at MGM properties (especially last year when I had Gold), and I am excited to stay at South Point and Treasure Island this time. thanks for following and I hope my TR is entertaining for you, especially once I'm boots on the ground.
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.
That's reason enough to try it every once in awhile! Especially if an ace flops. :-)
We are talking about 1/3 where most of the players are very bad. A donk lead at 1/3 is almost always the nuts and a OMG I HAVE THE NUTS I MUST BET!
well maybe that's a reason to try. if I can donk and induce a fold when they have a strong hand and I have a middling hand, that's a success.
the real goal of poker is, since you get a great hand such a small percentage of the time and connect even less, to win when you aren't supposed to
We are talking about 1/3 where most of the players are very bad. A donk lead at 1/3 is almost always the nuts and a OMG I HAVE THE NUTS I MUST BET!
Most of the donks I have seen in Vegas have been fairly weak hands, and should probably be raised more often than what I have done personally at least.
I like the idea of donking some flops and/or especially turns, but it feels like a hard thing to balance. Not that we need to worry too much about balance against the average Las Vegas competition obviously.
We've made it to getaway day! thanks everyone for the engagement so far.
had some family stuff at church to tend to so couldn't leave as early as hoped, but at least made sure to check into my flight a day ahead this time. and as I say nearly every time, airport door at 10:45, through security and boarding and in my seat at 10:57. Bismarck Airport is the best.
the passenger across the aisle from me is a coworker, used to have an office next to mine before relocating to SD. haven't seen him in over a year and then we find ourselves in the same row.
flight landed early. after exiting the plane I realized I didn't grab my luggage above the seat. that would have been a disaster. other than that, smooth sailing.
here we are
got my car and made it to South Point a little before check-in time. every table in the poker room is full. feels like Bellagio in July. I got on the list for 1/2 (43), 2/3 (33) and 3/5 (13).
not many people leaving so decided to get some food to pass the time. SP buffet or Steak n Shake... SnS won.
wasn't the best burger I've ever had but it was good. filled me up, couldn't finish the fries. happy hour is advertised as M-F but when I got my check the milkshake was half price. first run-good of the trip.
took about 75 minutes but I finally got a seat at 1/2. here's hoping the Bills/Chiefs game goes 49-47
Gogogogogo!
Go Langdon!
I was thinking about a roundabout trip to my hometown in N WI this summer (never been to the prairie provinces.
Looking at my atlas to see if there's something worth visiting in your land, I noticed a town called Langdon in ND. Coincidence?
Shame you won't be there long enough to bumhunt El Diesel!
Session 1: South Point
1/2
it was a very passive promo-hunting table. quite a bit of movement the first half hour but after that we had the same nine people for about 2.5 hours. at 40 years old I'm certainly not young but everyone else was at least 15 years older. later on when we finally got a few changes it raised the average age. got a bunch of playable hands early and any sign of modest aggression brought folds around. after I showed a steady diet of bets and raises I started getting called, but top pair continued to be good for me.
- limps and open to me on the button with 77 and I call with a couple others
favorable flop: 722. he bets $20 and my only play is call
turn is also favorable, another 7. checks.
river is 4 the third diamond. he bets $25, I raise, he mutters "you have a 7" and folds. actually sir I have two for top quads. I announce high hand and get an extra $100!
- limp on button with J8cc
flop is pretty good, T92cc. check in the dark, around to me and I bet $10. SB check raises to $27. I call.
heads up to turn, brick, he bets $37, I call
I watch the other guy and wait before looking. he bets like $40. river doesn't complete but I pair my jack for top pair. I call and flip over, and he slams down his cards.
I've been here for an hour at a pretty nitty table and I have $650 in front of me and 3 green chips in my pocket
I give some back when pair of kings loses to set of fours, later my Q3ss flopped flush draw and doesn't get there, AcQs, ace on flop, I lose to river spade flush.
- 76cc, I limp and limps around.
river is T93cc. I check, there's a bet, and I'm wondering if this is my chance to check raise and win. however, if I can spike the 8c then I win $1000 for a second high hand. I call with others.
turn is the wrong 8.
river is a Qc, which improves my hand from straight to flush, but no straight flush. still good enough to call a bet and I win.
- I open AQss, get raised, call.
flop is KJss5. I am again one card away from $1000.
7x on the turn, brick on the river. he makes some kind of comment oh no under his mask so it sounds like he has something and feigning weakness. I check and he flips over 99 to scoop. I feel like an idiot as one more bet would have won the hand.
a guy orders a shot of liquor, drains it immediately and then washes it down with a prolonged swig of his beer. wondering if either his dog died or his wife left him.
- I straddle (!) UTG, two calls, I see AJss and raise and guy to my left who I've been battling with consistently, calls.
flop KJTx. I cbet he calls
turn checks, another J on the river. I check and it works. he slides $75, I snap and show, he mucks flashing a T. he chuckles "you reeled me in."
- I open with KQcc, there is a sizeable raise by Asian OMC in a blind. only I call.
flop is AT4sdh. he pauses and checks. at this point I know he has a pair, and he isn't checking if he has an ace. I make a big bet, and he predictably folds. felt pretty good about that one.
hit a rut, started punting and a couple new old guys came in and they called everything. dropped to around my starting stack. once the football game ended they did random seat ($250) every 20 minutes. the guy two seats away won the first one.
the game got pretty boring. was playing with a bunch of calling stations and I wasn't getting anything. at this point I am for sure promo-hunting, looking for my second high hand. so I decided to change things up and go to where it all started for me with limit holdem at SP. I took my $54 profit and traded my reds for a whole bunch of brown.
4/8 LHE
not a lot to say. actually a younger crowd and more active. win a few, lose a few... guy next to me hit quads but no more high hand for me or random bonus. no pocket pairs bigger than a 6, and no sets. worst hand was A3 two pair and he went runner runner 5-high flush. another hand KTs two pair went runner runner four-to-a-flush to vex me again. my last hand got 44 with one last hope to hit quads but missed out.
racked up down $113, which put me -$59 for the day, unfortunately missing my goal after a promising start. but 10 hours with chips at the end isn't the worst. at least I put myself in position to hit a double high hand.
by the way, South Point's red chips are so old, grimy and warn down I could fit like 7 extra in a rack. and their browns are about the ugliest chips in Vegas. but SP still has charm.
I can't believe how packed SP is. All promo-hunting locals?
the promos are all pretty ridiculous though. they have high hand all the time, and second personal daily HH is $1000. they have another one going where if you flop a set of aces or better you get paid. during the football games it was random seat draw after every score, and after the game it was $250 random seat draw every 20 minutes.
don't know for sure what the rake was but for all that it is worth hunting for a while
I agree! Is the room full of locals or are there other tourists?
the promos are all pretty ridiculous though. they have high hand all the time, and second personal daily HH is $1000. they have another one going where if you flop a set of aces or better you get paid. during the football games it was random seat draw after every score, and after the game it was $250 random seat draw every 20 minutes.
don't know for sure what the rake was but for all that it is worth hunting for a while
They must've lost a lot of money on the PHI/WAS game with that promo
SP room is pretty nice, as I remember. lots of space, tables, chairs, etc.
woke up early/on time and worked from the room. took a break to get some donuts, courtesy of BOGO from SP coupon book. been a while since I had Krispy Kreme, holy smokes they are sweet. I still have never had a better donut than from Bearscat Bakery in Bismarck. maybe eventually I'll get a cronut and change my mind, but for now that's another perk for Bismarck.
drove up to Venetian, wow getting to the parking garage via Flamingo/Local is a traffic nightmare. from there I wanted to get lunch before the tourney. I am not very familiar with navigating around Venetian and then through the Forum Shops so felt like it took 3 hours to get there. from SP to CF it was probably about 50 minutes. did take advantage of the surprisingly effective online Forum Shops map and directions tool.
spicy cashew chicken at Cheesecake Factory.
can't believe this is the lunch portion
server did say this is leaving the menu soon, for those interested persons. I don't think I'll need it again anytime soon anyway
can't help but think about my dog as I know she's staring out the window waiting for me
couldn't finish the cheesecake. what has happened to me
phone is struggling in this room for some reason. my pictures are not loading
after wandering aimlessly around the entire Venetian property I gave up, went back to the casino and looked for signs for the poker room. sat down right as break was starting. let's go!
considering this is prolly the biggest tourney of the day on the Strip, for 2 hours into it it's a pretty small turnout. 62 players
