**** TJ's Summer 2025 Quest for Poker Glory ****

$41 feels toppy! It’s early in your trip, but do you feel like Vegas has got any more expensive since last year? My last trip was 2023 and it was noticeably more expensive than previous

I got called for the 5/5/rock game first, and I did sit in, even though in retrospect it was bigger than I wanted to play.

So there was a $10 straddle every hand, and even though it’s unenforceable, there’s an unspoken restraddle to $20 for whomever is left of the rock. So it was really a 5/5/10/20 game.

Max buyin was 3k, but the average stack was all healthily over 2k. I won the first hand I played, when I flopped a boat.

Split a bomb pot, then there was one interesting hand. A pot open to 75 over the straddle, I call from the blind with Ad6d55. Next to act repots it to 225, raiser and I call. It comes 9-5-4 two clubs, I have none, and I check, looking to commit stacks over any flop bet. Unfortunately, it checks through.

Turn is the Kc, putting three clubs out there. I check again, and a looser player bets 200, I call. River’s an offsuit Queen, so I didn’t get the board pair I was hoping for. I check, and she checks back and wins, with a turned set of kings. Oops.

I got the last of my stack in with KJT2ds, and both backdoor flush draws, against AAQ9, on J-T-3. A slight favorite, though close to flipping, and she rivered the ace.

So -2500 on the session. I don’t regret the choice. I want to be playing higher, on the weekend, when the games are best. That’s probably too high for me, though. Wish I coulda run better, but it is what it is.

$500 Salute to Warriors tomorrow. It’s a fantastic tournament, with a great structure. And if I bust, there’s no shortage of 1/2 PLO games at the WSOP.

Vegas on a (Strict and Penny Pinching) Budget seems very wrong on multiple levels.

Viva La Vegas TJ !!!

It’s all house money anyway

Basically one’s status is determined by how much one can make it rain anyway.

I think you have the right attitude.

What I do ahead of my WSOPs is I create a budget. When I am in Las Vegas this gives me a pretty good general idea of what spending decisions I should make, but I don't keep a tally of every purchase to see how I am doing versus budget to the penny. That seems like a real buzz kill.

But I have the general idea that say I want to have three expensive dinners, a couple of medium priced meals and the rest just regular type places. And I save money by making sandwiches for lunches that I bring along in my backpack.

I think you also have to allow for some cushion in your budget if possible to allow for the occasional audible. For example, last year I was having leg pains when I arrived for the WSOP. My budget called for me to walk from my hotel (Signature) to the Paris and vice versa every day, but once there it was obvious I couldn't handle the walk. So I cabbed it every day. With tip it was like a $10-$12 cab ride each way. So it cost me an extra $300. By leaving some cushion in the budget, no big deal. Getting stubborn about walking every day would have ruined my trip. Another example at this year's WSOP, it worked out that TonySoprano9 and I were able to have dinner on a day we both got bounced out of the same event around the same time. He suggested Mon Ami Gabi, which is a restaurant I love. I had planned to eat at the Horseshoe Food Court if I lasted a bit longer and made dinner break. Sharing a meal with a poker player I really respect from his trip reports was way more important to me than a strict adherence to budget.

A budget to me is a general guideline to try to be within the ballpark when all is said and done. It's not a 100% rigid excel spreadsheet that cannot be tweaked when a great experience or opportunity presents itself.

Good morning! It’s a new day in Vegas.

I walked to a brunch spot in the Arts District for breakfast today. Conveniently named simply 1228 Main. I’ll give you three guesses to find where it’s located.

Got the rolled French omelette, with breakfast potatoes that had a very tasty seasoning to it.

Plus OJ and coffee, it came to $29.

Now I’m over at Paris, registered for the Salute to Warriors. I know a bunch of trip reporters are playing this event today, I’m gonna try to say hi to everybody!

Got to say hi to brianr, then a case of mistaken identity when I tried to drop in on mrbaseball.

Ready for the Salute to Warriors, let’s do this!

Black - 210/9 here, if you want to pop over and say hello.

Yellow 251 here, no longer sporting the tye dye.

First break, on 72k from the 50k starting stack.

I scored the only knockout at my table, finishing off a pretty terrible shortstacked player, who clearly didn’t want to be here anymore.

The table’s mostly been playing small ball poker. The one notable exception is when I 4bet KK, and that took it down preflop.

Ready to settle in for a long day!

Second break, went on a nice little rush to be my table’s chip leader, at 240k.

Steadily chipped up in levels 4 and 5, won a nice 3bet pot with JJ. Then another hand, where I raised a cbet in late position with QcTc on a 4c-3c-3s flop. The small blind cold-flatted the bet and raise to him, PFR folded. He checked the 6d turn to me, I checked back. River was the Qs, he bets, I call, and win vs his 6c5c.

The big hand came in level 6. An 1800 open from EP, one call, then the only other big stack to my direct right makes it 5k, I flat on the button with 44. Then a late reg player makes it 17k from his 50k starting stack from BB. Well, that was unexpected. Other big stack calls, I come along.

Flop 6-5-3 two hearts. 4bettor checks, other big stack checks. I decide to bet one of my pretty new green 25k chips, telling myself I’m not folding vs the late reg, but I have a decision to make if the other ~125k stack wants to continue.

The late reg just calls the 25k, with 7k behind it, other big stack folds. He bets the rest of it dark, and I call it dark, right as the lovely 7 comes off on the turn. He’s drawing dead to a chop with AA, the other big stack says he somehow got away from QQ.

So yeah, feeling great, running great so far. Let’s stay patient, and focused, and hope it continues.

More late reg’s coming in. They have hoodies, backpacks, and headphones. Time to ramp up my observations, and processing, while I’m mostly folding.

Good to say hey to you [emoji846][emoji846]

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You too!

On the third break, but made some major missteps, and a few plays I really wish I’d done differently.

On about 92k, coming back to 1k/2k.

The first hand I played that I hated, was opening JJ in early position, two calls. I continued for about 75% of pot on a T-4-2 rainbow flop. One caller in position.

Turn was an ace, I checked, and he bet a committing amount. I thought on it for a minute, inexplicably got it in, and he floated me on the flop with AQs and a backdoor flush draw.

A little later, it folds to the button, who’s a looser, aggro player. He opens to 3.5k, and I 3bet to 11k from BB with ATo.

He calls, it comes 8-5-4. I check the initiative, he bets 13k, and I… reverse-float two overs OOP?

Turn is great for me, a ten. I check again, looking to shove over a turn bet, but he checks back.

River is a 6, and now I just want to get to showdown. I check a 3rd time, and he correctly deduces that I am incapable of calling a shove here, which he does, for about 70k. Maybe he has a 7 somehow, maybe it’s an airball, or maybe he’s even bluffing with a better hand, idk. I folded, obviously. Hate hate hate everything about that hand, the plan kept changing from street to street.

The same guy got me good again for the last hand of the level. EP opens to 3.2k, that guy calls on the button, I go to 13.2k with AdKd. Original raiser folds, he calls. Flop Q-J-2, one diamond, and I come out with 15k. He calls. Turn is a black king, now I check, and he checks back. River is a harmless 6, I check again, intending to call anything. He bets 55k, I call fairly quickly, and he shows 66. I guess not so innocuous after all.

Unfortunate for me. I guess I could have kept barreling the turn, and maybe I should have, but I was worried about all the two pair combos on a Q-J-2-K board.

The break came at a good time, I definitely needed to take a walk after that hand.

Gonna remember what I’ve seen, learn from mistakes, and deploy effective counter strategies. Let’s play 3 good levels, then get some dinner.

Go get 'em! Im out

On dinner, with 74k.

One unfortunate hand got me pretty short. Folds to me on the button, and I open with QQ. Definitely near the top of my button raising range first in from the button. BB calls.

Flop is K-T-6, and since I have showdown value, I check back. BB leads out on the 5 turn. Considered raising, but I called. He bets again on the 2 river. He could definitely be valuebetting a king or more, but I played it this way to keep his range wide. I called, and he has KJo.

That got me into pushbot territory, and then I won a flip with 66 > AQs.

Mostly folded for the rest of the level.

Bad beat, my favorite dinner break place, the Italian spot across the street, Battista’s, is closed for remodeling. Guess that means I’m Nathan-ing it up in the Horseshoe food court tonight.

As promised, here’s what $43 of Nathan’s looks like:

Chili cheese dog, crispy chicken sandwich, and fries. I was pretty hungry.

Shoutout to brianr, who is coming back to a very healthy 380k stack after dinner!

Got to say hi to him, BigWhale, watbri, and Donk Dunc. With all this positive synergy of the trip reports, I’m CERTAIN something good will happen in Vegas for some of us!

We have some numbers on the tourney. Got 3937 entries, with 1371 players left. The bubble is at 591 players left, so still a fair while to go.

$187k up top 😮

As is usually the case, I predict it will get quite splashy after dinner. Gonna stay above the fray, and pick spots I feel good about.

Guitarist and Oscar in the money so far in monster

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That 380 stack didn’t last long sadly - although still above avg w just over 200k. You got this TJ!

I ate there on dinner break in a similar chip situation last year at the WSOP and went on to make the money. I hope it brings you the same run good.

I did get a Dr Pepper in solidarity, for rungood.

Swonging all over the place, around 160k for the moment.

Busted, in around 875th place. Top 591 get paid.

No second guessing, it was a completely standard flip. Open JJ, one call, then a 3bet. Get my 16bb in, up against AKs, and he hits the ace AND the king. What can you do.

There was one pretty interesting hand before that. New table, so not much in the way of reads. MP opens, I call KJo from the button, a blind comes along. Flop K-7-2, 2 hearts, I have the Kh. PFR continues for 22k, I flat, blind flats. Turn is an offsuit 8, blind checks, PFR barrels again, for 45k. I call, blind folds. River is the 6h, and he shoves. He has me covered, and I have about 140k left at this point.

Gross spot. I don’t like the idea of triple calling off my tournament life, so I fold. He proudly turns up Ah9d, a complete triple barrel empty-the-clip bluff, with the nut blocker.

I really wish I would have just raised the flop, in position. With the chips I was apparently gonna put in anyway on a blank turn.

Ah well. I played 12.5 hours today, counting breaks. When I think back on this tournament, I’ll remember that I ran a stack up early, then made some questionable decisions to lose that big advantage. I’ll want to think critically on those spots, and learn to improve upon them from there.

I did win a flip for my tournament life about 3 hours prior to my bust out hand. Couldn’t win that next flip again… and you simply have to win your flips to survive and advance deep into the money.

So it goes. A fun full day of poker on my vacation, even though the results were unsatisfying.

$400 PLO tourney at the Golden Nugget tomorrow. Onward and upward!