Whale does Vegas - 2025 birthday-ish edition (23rd Nov - 2nd Dec)

Thanks again for the TR and the interesting hand histories. Always love to see your thought process, hoping to implement some more in my game.

Nice session!

Finally getting on track with the updates, here is the session from yesterday evening:

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Yesterday evening I decided on a whim to head out to South Point (!) to play in their $2/$3 game with a $600 cap. I saw that they had 4 tables going, and figured there could be some value to be had against the weird local OMCs that play there. After a relatively quick Uber-ride we arrived, and noticed they had decorated a lot of trees around the casino for Christmas:

I immediately got seated into a game that looked very good at first glance, with a lot of older people who are probably all regs there. Only one guy was younger than me at the table, and this late 30s guy (ouch, I just dated myself) turned out to be hyper aggressive - although it wasn't super visible at first.

I got a ton of playable hands immediately, the first one of note when there are two limps for $3 and an old Asian man probably close to 80 years of age raise to $13 in hijack. I have A7ss on the button and call, and one of the limpers also come along. We see A-J-6 two diamonds, and the raiser bets $15 when checked to him. I call and the third player also calls. The turn is a Q and the raiser is not done betting. He makes it $25, and with a player behind me and a poor kicker I obviously fold now.

Then we find AA on the button a round later and make it $20 over two limps. BB calls, while the limpers fold out. The flop comes 8-7-5 two clubs which at first glance looks scary, but is a clear bet under these circumstances. The caller is another OMC, and he will never find the check-raises with hands like 98 of clubs, 67, 56 or similar to put all my overpairs in a touch spot. So I can easily bet here (I bet $25) and probably comfortably fold (!) if he raises. It did not come to that however, as opponent folded.

(this is a standard Bart Hanson-technique, to stab these boards at low stakes because opponents are not finding the right raises and will instead just call).

The next hand an OMC raises to $6 (!) from UTG and get one caller before I look down at 55 in cutoff. I call as well, and we go 5-ways to 8-5-2 rainbow. That's nice, although they all check to me. I bet $20 and get called by BB. The turn is a Q, and he checks again. I bet $45 and he unfortunately folded quickly.

I lost a little bit back with 55 a few hands later (K-Q-2 flop against 4 callers), before we have a limp for $3 and a raise to $15 from the active guy. I find AKo in SB and make it $65. He thinks for a very long time but eventually decides on a fold.

But after an ok start I started running into some trouble. It stars when there is when there are three limps to me and I raise 88 from Small Blind to $20 (maybe $25 is better). The 80-year-old Asian in cutoff calls and we see a decent looking 5-6-7 flop. I bet small for $15 since this board normally don't hit me, but also because I want to be able to call a raise if it should come in.

He calls and we see a J on the turn. I decided to check but I think it's a mistake (ref what I said above about scary boards). Either way, opponent bets $36 and I think this is a very easy call. So that is what I do, and we see another 7 on the river. Not an ideal card, so I check it over to him and he eventually manages to slide out $70. I go into the tank for a bit, because it feels a bit off to me that he would bet a hand like A7 or similar on turn. He should for protection, but I don't expect him to know that.

On the other hand, my smalls sizing on the flop might have induced a light float by a hand like.. AJ or something? And holding 88 here is not great as it strongly reduces missed open-enders if he would ever bet that on turn. I had this feeling in my head that the hand didn't make sense, but I got a bad river and my combo is not great for calling down with. So I ended up folding and I guess we'll never know.

The very next hand the same Asian raises to $12 and I have AJdd on the button. Could 3-bet but I still have labeled this guy as likely very straight forward even though he have raised a few times. So I just call in position and SB also calls. A-5-5 one diamond and two spades is reasonable, and they both check to me. I bet $20 for some value, only to see Small Blind move in for $105.

I was going to call this jam, simply because there could be some flush draws in his range, but then the old Asian suddenly calls the $105 (!). I didn't expect that at all, and eventually ended up making a tight fold since I would get to see the hands anyway.

Turn comes another 5 and the river comes a 3, and the OMC in SB wins the hand with A9o (!) as the Asian only had KTo with K of spades? Like wtf is that? If I had know that spazz level I would obviously have called in the 88-hand above and also not folded here. It's clear he is just clicking buttons and has no idea what is going on. I would have only ended up chopping against A9 with this runout of course, but maybe I am too trusting and think that people have it more than they actually do.

I raise a couple of more hands (KJ and 77) without connecting and both times getting a lot of callers. It dawned on me later in the session that I could have probably upped my raise sizes a bit, but I didn't get too many spots to do so in practice.

I fold for a bit while observing the active player raise almost ever hand, and another mid-30s guy had also joined the table from a broken game with a big stack. These two had been going at it a bit with some big pots already. So when the active guy makes it $15 and the new guy calls $15, I don't give them too much credit. I find ATss in cutoff and make it $65, only to see an OMC in SB go into the box before cold-calling (!). The original raiser also calls, while the new guy folds out.

The flop comes Q-T-4 two clubs, no spades and they both check to me. I chose to bet $55 here, which I am not too pleased about. The cold-call range will probably never fold to this bet, and indeed he does call. The original raiser folds out, so me and the OMC see the 3c on turn. Flush comes in, and after he checks I just have to try and get to showdown if possible. I check back.

River comes with a J which ensures that AK gets there as well. He loads up a bet of $140 and I bemoan my luck for a little bit before folding. I do think I could have won this hand if the OMC hadn't woken up with a big pair (my guess is JJ), but it's probably a mistake to bet the flop.

Not fun to see a dwindelig stack, so here is the South Point poker room instead:

I had to reload a bit, but eventually find a good spot to get some money back. It folds to a new OMC on the button who makes it $13, and the new guy in SB makes it $45. I look down at AK offsuit (red cards), and I am only playing around $340 or something at this point (think I have reloaded twice). My first thought was to move in, although that looks a lot like AK. I settled on 150, but I am committing like 40% of my stack so it looks strong no matter what I do. Either way, both of them instafolded.

I also win a tiny one with TT, before the hand of the day comes up. I find 55 from UTG and make it $12 (should have gone higher) and get no less than 4 callers. It might not be super evident from above, but I have had to check-fold flop at least 3-4 times so far, so I immediately decided that if I flop a set I am most likely going to check it this time as well.

T-7-5 two clubs qualifies as a set, and with this many players in the hand I am going with the above plan. BB checks, I check, one more player checks, before the active guy makes it $35. The new active guy calls the $35 and it's on me. I pretend to think for a while before raising to $155 with about $260 or something behind. The first guy who bet goes into the tank before eventually folding, but the new guy (who seemed a bit miserable) starts making some frustrated gestures before finally calling.

I don't think he was acting, and we get a very clean river with the Queen of spades. He checks, and I jam all-in. He doesn't snap-fold but mutters something to himself and eventually asks for a count. At one point it looked like he was going to call, but instead he just folded after thinking about it for a minute or so. Too bad, I would have liked the call there - even if I might had to fade some cards at the end.

Despite this pot I was still not even in the game but now I was down less than $100. I did lose a little back though when I find 99 from early pos and make it $15 (increased sizing finally), only to once again get 4 callers. The flop comes T-7-8 which two spades, which is certainly decent. But being this multiway I decided to check it, and it actually checks around.

Turn comes another T and an OMC in BB leads for $30. He is fairly likely to have a ten but I still have outs for a straight and hitting a 9 would likely also be a good thing. So I call, only to see two more calls behind me as well. The river comes a red 6, it checks around, and the OMC wins with JTo for trips.

I had as always stacked my chips wrong here, this is suposed to be $600 exactly (one too many of each red):

The above amount is also what I cashed out for after 3 hours and 15 minutes, down $100 USD exactly. Certainly not a big loss, and it could have been a winner if I had gotten a call on that 55-hand. But maybe I did some mistakes before then to get stuck this much, although I don't think there were any grave errors. I just had to give up a lot of pots in the beginning after investing a little bit, and that costs.

Cash Games:

Hours played: 32h 45min
Won/Lost: + $1415 USD
Hourly rate: +$43.2 USD

Tournaments:

Won/Lost: - $450 USD (2 played)

Today is the last full day in Vegas for this trip, and its been an interesting one for sure. On one had it has felt very long, but on the other hand it feels like the days have just flown by. But there's not much to do with that, and this feeling is going to come no matter how long I stay.

I woke up around 9 and made my way to the gym for a quick workout, before eventually heading out to play. I decided to head over to Aria, and saw this fun guy on the way there:

After arriving at Aria I couldn't resist a few pokes at a Buffalo Slot Machine, and I turned my $200 into $450 with the help of a decent bonus round. Then I jumped into a $1/$3 game that had just started, and this became a very frustrating session if we can even call it that.

I was down a little in the beginning after having to raise and give up a few small pots, but then found KK on the button after 3 limps and raised it up to $20. The respect was not quite there as SB and two of the limpers called, so we go 4-ways to 7-3-4 two clubs. It checks to the second limper, and he have been playing very straight forward post flop so far. He leads for $20, and this is likely a mediocre hand trying to buy a cheap turn or 'see where he is at'. Not on my watch though, I make it $85 and everyone folds. The guy who bet thought for a bit before showing a 7 and folding.

So we are pretty much break even now, but then it starts going downhill. It starts with the straight forward mid-30s guy limping, and I raise T8ss to $15 in cutoff. Seems fine against a single limper, as I would have opened with a fold to me. Button calls, BB calls and the limper calls. So we are players to the A-K-Q flop with one spade. Although severely multi-way, I think I can bet this board as I have all the strong hands, so I start out with a bet of $25 after it checks to me (maybe too small). Button is the only caller.

Turn is the 5s so we now have both a straight and a flush draw. The button has around $140 back it looks like, and although I had seen this guy could be a bit sticky I also thought that he likely only has one pair and can't stand a jam here. I also hold a T in my hand which reduces the chances of him having JT ever so slightly. So let's go for it. I jam all-in, and he snapcalls with the obvious JTo. Sigh. No improvement for me on the river and i am suddenly down $200 (the jam on the turn was for $146 effective).

It felt a bit frustrating as although I don't hate my line, I probably should have given more credence to how this guy simply does not like to fold. Earlier in the session he got raised on something like 8-5-2 after leading the flop into PFR, and then he 4-bet jam with AQo (!) and lost to Kings. So maybe this guy is the wrong one to try and get off Ax on the above board. And obviously he can have AQ, AJ or QJ and those he will simply not fold.

I then fold for a bit before we see a raise to $15 from UTG from a thinking player, a call from EP, and then the straight forward guy now 3-bets to $50. It folds to me in BB and I look down at AKdd. I have reloaded but only for another $100, so my stack is just over $300 ($306 to be exact). Bit of an icky spot already, but UTG is active enough and the 3-bet from the straight forward guy might not always be Aces. And with my stack and having the suited variety of Ace King, I see no choice but to jam all-in here and hope for the best.

I announce all-in, and UTG almost immediately says 'call' before the 3-bettor also jams all-in. UTG calls it off, and shows QQ. I am happy with the flip there, but then I look to my right and see that the straight forward guy indeed is so straight forward that he obviously has... Aces.

It's a massive pot for over $900 for me and the other two have even more. I stand up hoping for a miracle, but there was no such thing. There was a Queen on the flop and I am halfway out the door by the time the turn hit (it was not a T or a J). All I can hear is the guy with QQ celebrating loudly while I frustratingly walk away after 1 hour and 30 minutes down $500 USD.

Could I have reloaded and continued playing? For sure, but the game was not completely amazing and I felt very frustrated and just wanted to get away from there. I don't think any of the two hands above are directly bad, but I might be pushing it a bit too much in the first one. With AK suited I probably have no choice given the stack sizes etc., although I hated the fact that the 3-bettor in previous hands had seem reluctant to put in value bets with strong holdings. So the fact that he 3-bets is a big cause for concern.

So instead of a nice and profitable trip, we suddenly have these bulls*it results:

Cash Games:

Hours played: 34h 15min
Won/Lost: + $915 USD
Hourly rate: +$26.7 USD

Tournaments:

Won/Lost: - $450 USD (2 played)

So it goes. The plays seem fundamentally sound, unless you really think the sticky guy in the first hand can't fold something decent.

Sometimes it's just our turn to run into the nuts.

Looks like you've still had a profitable and fun trip despite the rough finish.

Don't forget to take pics so we can be judgemental.

Hope you got a root

Hope you didn't wake up in an ice-bath missing a kidney!

Good morning from Bellagio. It's 'go-home day' for me, although that is technically a lie as I won't be home until like Thursday morning (my time). Another Vegas-trip have almost come to an end, and I will summarize my thoughts about that later. But now I will just quickly recap a short session from last night:

I sat down in a Bellagio $1/$3 game around 930pm last night and figured I would play until I got tired. Very little happened the first 45 minutes as I was card-dead. So I was down maybe $10 bucks when I found A5ss from 2nd pos and I raised it to $12. A thinking young Asian calls on the button and BB also defends. K-3-2 one spade is not terrible, and after BB checks I make it $25 (fairly big sizing for me). The Asian thinks and calls while BB folds out.

Turn comes another 3 and not a spade, which is not amazing. I did however decide to bet once more for $50 just to see if I could get him off maybe some kind of light float, although they might not be as present since I didn't bet super small. If I had absolutely no equity like QJ I would probably just have checked and given up, but here I have the gutshot at least. He thinks for a while but calls again.

River comes with a 6 and I put on the brakes and check. He quickly checks back, and after I table my hand he shows KThh for the winner. Maybe the turn-bet is a bit light by me, but against some players that seem decent (or huge nits) I occasionally like to employ it.

Then we have a limp for $3 and a raise to $10 from a decent player, and I decided to call with A6cc. Could 3-bet but the limper was a fishy Asian and I wanted him in there. He calls and we see K-T-9 two clubs on the flop. Both check to me and I take a stab of $15, although it might be hard to get folds on a board like this. The limper calls, and then the original raiser check-raises to $65. I only have a pure flush draw, but in position with a draw to the nuts I think I should call. So that is what I do, and the fish folds out.

Turn comes a red 5 and he now checks it. I should have considered showing a lot of strength here by betting, but his raise on the flop froze me a bit and I just checked back trying to hit. I do not, as the river comes a red T. He checks, and maybe I could bet here as well. I could after all have hands like JT and QT suited, but in game I just thought I didn't rep much by checking back turn and just gave up. He won with JJ, which is an interesting check-raise on flop (it's not bad, as he gets more value from flush draws and hands like those I mentioned above).

I lose another small pot or two and I am now in the game for $500. Then we find two limps for $3, and same guy as above makes it $10 (weirdly small). Button calls, and I come along with A3dd in Small Blind. Could obviously 3-bet but it looks like the flop will go quite multi-way and I wanted to overflush someone. But I really should have 3-bet here, simply because the $10 over two limps is almost never a good hand.

Either way, we go 6-ways to 5-4-2 with two diamonds. Flopping a straight with a straight flush redraw is rather favorable, as someone would say. It checks all the way to the button who makes a huge bet of $50 into $60, I considered just calling, but I don't think many players will call such a big bet behind me and another diamond could kill the action. So I raise to $125, and opponent pretty much insta-jam when it gets back to him for not a ton more (he had maybe $200 to start).

I show him my hand he just says that he is dead and mucks his hand and leave. The original raiser later told me that he saw that opponent had K7dd (he held up his cards in that direction a bit). So he was going with a flush draw only. I'll take the good fortune, but this is another example of a hand that I could have played a bit different.

Almost back in profit and we have another fun hand when a young grindy Asian (always a ton of these at Bellagio it seems) raises to $10 from UTG, the other grindy Asian calls (the one with KT from earlier) and I complete from BB with 64cc. The flop comes J-8-9 two clubs, so I have a naked flush draw and not much more. After I check, the raiser thinks for 20 seconds before betting a small amount of $10. The second player folds, and I call.

Turn comes a T so there is 4 to a straight out now. I considered leading but he could still have many strong hands here so I checked it over to him. He gives me a free card by checking back, and we get Qc on the river. Awesome card as the board is now a straight and any K has a higher straight, and if he has AK he has the super straight. So I bet $105 into $51 to make it seem like I am trying to get him off a chop. He immediately looks pained and confused and thinks about it for a minute, before sadly eventually landing on a fold.

I also win another tiny pot with AJo before just deciding to book it. It's almost midnight and I am happy about being back in a small profit. The result was +$19 USD in exactly two hours. It felt a bit like I was giving away too much in the beginning, and also like I could have played a bit more aggressive in some spots. I have definitely not put in enough 3-bets this trip.

But that's probably it for poker, as I am tired. So I will probably just chill with some -EV wagering after checking out. It's been a long and very interesting Vegas-trip, but a summary will have to wait until later tonight at the airport or when I get home to Malta.

Cash Games:

Hours played: 36h 15min
Won/Lost: + $934 USD
Hourly rate: +$25.8 USD

Tournaments:

Won/Lost: - $450 USD (2 played)

Great report as always! Thanks for bringing us along. I am still very impressed on how well you remember and describe the action.

So sick of reading “strategy” posts about a player’s race.
Mods here would rather spend their days typing out paragraphs about the same trivial game rule infractions over and over, so they can be right, then decide to moderate discussion.

wait, who are you? is this your first comment in this forum?

Geez, not this bull again. I am just describing the opponents I am facing, which sometimes is good background info for what we can expect from them. After all, a young Asian with glasses and a nerdy look often plays different than a 60-year-old white guy who limps 70% of his hands.

I will however take self-critisism in that I could write 'white guy' more often, instead of assuming that everyone understands that the opponent is white (if not specified).

Here is the thing, and I might sound racist for it, but it’s something that some Americans don’t get. It’s not racist until YOU make it racist. Describing someone as white, black, Asian or anything in between is not a bad or in any way negative thing. If I’m not offended by someone describing me as white then an Asian shouldn’t be offended by the Asian name and the black person shouldn’t be offended by the black.

So yeah stop being offended by stuff on the internet a grow a pair.

You mean it's not this bad in other countries?

It's not just the internet, unfortunately.

BigWhale and MuckPls are correct. Giving a physical description of someone helps us picture the opponent. It's not racist, just as it's not sexist when you describe your opponent as a woman (or man).

Once I sat at a table with a guy wearing one of those sleep masks. This must be him.

I didnt read any of the post in question but a simple observation about this post. You sure do like telling everyone else how they must think, all the while admitting in your very first sentence that "I might sound racist". Wow.

I’m not telling people how they should think, but imagining stuff is just so stupid. Describing someone as a young Asian, please explain to me how that is in ANY way negative?

I'll break down your first sentence then your second.

1. "It's not racist until you make it racist"---Negating others thoughts by you stating the only way a statement can be racist is if the person hearing the statement declares it racist. This is 100% not true. I hear this all the time from racists. It's how they justify their racism. It's not ME, it's YOU. YOU"RE the one making my blatantly racist comment racist, it's not MY words.
"....is not bad or in any way a negative thing"----Telling people how they should think
"I'm not offended....an Asian shouldnt be offended"----Telling people how they should think

2. I'm sure you always describe a "white guy" as a "white guy" when describing them to "white people", right?

Yeah man you are right, I am racist with half my family being South American. You win the internet, congrats!

And yes if it’s a white poker player I describe him as a white guy.

I never said you were racist. Not once. I said I hear that statement from racists. I never said racists and only racists make that statement. Secondly, I wouldnt suggest using the old "I've got friends/family..." argument. That doesnt preclude a person from being a racist (just to be clear I am NOT calling you a racist).

I was more concentrated on the fact that you were telling people how they should think, although you deny doing that, even though I pointed out that you clearly were.

JFC As I've been saying for ~40 years, the truth cannot be pejorative.

If Whale says "guy was Asian," then we can deduce two things: male, and of Asian descent. That's it, and that's all.

Move on.

I've got one question. Why is describing someone's ethnic background pertinent to describing a poker hand? Why not just stick to seat assignments? I mean if I was doing a hand history it seems like it sure would get repetitive having to mention a Caucasians race every time I got in a hand with one.