Nitty by Nature 8: Confirmed Busto TR (6/14-6/22)

All I saw was you beat someone at the FT!

Two cashes and one out on the stone bubble should do wonders for your poker self confidence. Congrats on the encouraging results!

Thanks. Playing with regs and people who really know this game definitely functioned as a poker lesson of sorts.

Over the course of the day I became more familiar with the rhythm of the game, the relative hand strengths, and some of the obligate bet spots.

That was part of the reason for playing. When I've previously dabbled in HORSE, it felt difficult to play well in so many different variants where I'm a novice. It is hard to learn several new games simultaneously. I especially found the split pot games confounding because the dynamics of the hands can be so complicated. Bricking those HORSE tournaments led me to believe that the best route to further my mixed game capabilities would be to play a tournament that was entirely one variant, such as stud or razz. That way I could focus on learning one new game at a time. I didn't pick triple draw for any particular reason other than that it fell in my schedule for this trip and summer by pure coincidence. However, it was always the game I picked when I played dealer's choice cash at RW, so maybe I had a latent inclination.

I'll say that by the time we got down to the last few spots, it was very clear that all the other surviving players had a much more nuanced understanding of the variant.

The humility comes from a sincere place of recognizing that I was fuzzy on all the marginal spots. It's relatively easy to get the black-and-white stuff right if you understand the basics of the game, but the fringes can be confounding. That's where the regs have the biggest edge. I tried to play a tight game and avoid those thin spots.

Watching the $10k and seeing the superhuman feel of world class players like Mercier and Glaser puts it into perspective too. They have an uncanny feel for all the nuances and find some incredibly thin spots that even a reg at the $600 level would miss. When you are the fish in the game, your best strategy is to play more polar and make sure your decisions are more linear, which is what I tried to do.

Nice run! Assume you will change your WSOP-plans now, and build it around the best mixed game tourneys instead? 😀

MINI TRIP DAY 4 (3/3/26)

I started the day with a hike down to the Wells Fargo branch on Howard Hughes to deposit my surplus cash. It's not a fun walk, but it's a good problem to have.

From there I hit my old friend Ellis Island for a quick breakfast.

I checked out of the room at Horseshoe. With a few hours to kill, I decided to take a stroll through the WSOP convention spaces.

The Horseshoe was hosting some type of obscure business conference while Paris is hosting the AASV, American Association of Swine Veterinarians. That seems strangely fitting. I'm not sure the general public differentiates between swine and degenerate poker players.

Jokes aside, it's a strange sensation to be in WSOP Land when the WSOP isn't happening. I have strong sense memories connected to these locations, accumulated across many tense tournament breaks sweating my stack size and hand histories. Being in this space evokes a Pavlovian poker response, but the real action will have to wait a few months.

After this quick pilgrimage to poker Mecca, I made my customary hike through the Bellagio, my favorite property in Vegas.

The conservatory is absolutely stunning right now.

I'm writing this from the comfort of the airport, where a two hour flight delay has given me ample time to conclude this leg of the TR.

MINI TRIP RECAP

It's funny; I was out here for a full week back in November and I got absolutely slaughtered in the games. I thought I played fine for the most part, but I absolutely could not cash anything or even make a bubble run. A shorter December stop yielded largely the same outcome. Altogether, I was on the coldest of cold streaks.

Then I come out for just three days and run deep in 3/3 bullets. That's the variance of poker. Needless to say, I'm happy with the reversal.

If you're a tournament player trying to ensure you see some positive results, a long stay in Vegas is preferable to a short one. From a pure enjoyment standpoint though, 3-5 days seems like the sweet spot where you can savor the best aspects of the place without being too worn down by the negatives. Although I always enjoy the long summer trips, the price gouge and overstimulation can become a grind.

From a poker standpoint, summer is the best time to be in Vegas. There's action popping off everywhere. From a weather and vibes standpoint, give me October or the very beginning of spring like this early March period. The weather is fantastic in these windows, offering abundant sunshine without the punitive heat. I had fun out here and was fortunate to pocket some extra money for the summer budget. The 2-7 event was the obvious highlight on the felt.

Looking ahead, I have a pit stop in a regional series planned for late March. I won't make daily posts for that one, but might provide a quick update when it's over.

Then I'm likely to go radio silent until summer.

Will these pearly gates open for us on day 8 of WSOP Main?

Not likely, but at minimum we will be one of the swine populating Paris this summer.

See you then.

Great report! Thanks for sharing, I too am already anxious for June

Monster Stack?

For future reference, I think there's a WF branch at the airport.

I think that's the Money Show. It was on my schedule to go, but unforeseen events caused me to tighten the belt a little.

Will these pearly gates open for us on day 8 of WSOP Main?

When you really want them to open for you is in August. They're going back to the November Nine format, except in August.

Remember that they have tons of Main sattys, so mentally prepare yourself in case of a decent bink. You might even make a monetary decision beforehand, as in "If I bink over $5k, I will play $1k in sattys for the Main" type of thing.

Nice TR, congrats. I'm very curious about this walk. It does look not fun, so why do it? You can just deposit when you get home, or keep the cash on hand. For me, if I had a need to deposit in Vegas, it would have to merit a taxi/Uber, or I would just fly back with the cash.

Great report and great results - well done and thank you

What are your thoughts on the horseshoe as a place to stay? How was your room and what about anything else about the property - food options, gym, pool etc?

I'd be happy to make that final table whenever.

I do have a Vegas trip booked for July, though I fully expect it to not happen. There is no harm in locking in the dates just in case.

Reminds me of a family friend I had growing up. His parents were Cal football fans. Every year they would make a hotel reservation for the Rose Bowl, hoping this would be the year when they'd finally get to make the trip. And every year, they'd have to cancel. Cal hasn't made the Rose Bowl since the 50s...

That is me with the Main Event. I suppose you never know though.

As for the Monster Stack, it's not in my trip window this year. Milly Maker is a reasonable approximation if I decide to take a shot at that again.

Actually, the walk isn't bad on a nice day like today. The traffic on Flamingo can be a little harrowing, but Howard Hughes is tranquil. I wouldn't do it in 110 degree heat. When it's nice outside and I have time to kill, I don't mind getting the exercise. That's especially true after several long days of sitting still for hours.

I've never had a bad experience taking cash through the airport, but would rather just deposit ASAP. I prefer not to carry large sums of money around for an extended time period.

Can't speak to the pool situation. Not even sure if it has one.

I've stayed there a few times over the years. It's fine. It's comparable to the Orleans in terms of food options and vibe, with more modest offerings than the glam properties like Aria, Bellagio, and Wynn. They have the food court with Nathan's Hot Dogs, Johnny Rockets, and Sbarro. They have a steakhouse that I've never tried. The Guy Fieri spot on the walkway between Horseshoe and Paris didn't wow me at all, but others have had better experiences. There are some fancier food options in Paris.

Objectively, Paris is the nicer of the two sister properties. Personally, I find Paris to be a bit louder and more frenetic, so it may depend on what you're looking for. Horseshoe has more of an old Vegas feel. If you want luxury, you can cross the bridge to Bellagio. They've also built up the bazaar area in front of the Horseshoe considerably. There's the giant country music restaurant tower now, and many smaller options. On this trip I noticed a sleek new taco place across from the lower level of Giordano's pizza. Haven't tried it yet. There's Wahlbergers and Dave's Hot Chicken nearby. A lot of people speak highly of the Mediterranean place on the corner before the bridge to Flamingo (Istanbul Mediterranean).

Rooms are fine at the Horseshoe. Nothing notable. They gave me a mini suite last night because it was all they had left, which was more spacious than the standard room, with some minor extra bells and whistles. The standard rooms are perfectly fine. Overall the property is solid, but won't wow in any way. It's convenient for WSOP and central to many other Vegas casinos, making it a fair choice for the price. I usually opt for Harrah's because it's closer to Venetian/Wynn/RW. For the WSOP, Horseshoe is ground zero.

That's okay, Arizona is the only team to never play in a Rose Bowl. And prob never will now that it's in the playoff thing.

Satellites make all things possible, especially now when some of them pay in cash. That means you can "stack" them. You don't have to win a $1k satty, you can win 2 $500's, or a combination of $125 and $1100, etc.

It's hard to say because I haven't been there in several months, but they had the small refrigerator in every room. That's crucial for me in the summer. Mine was always full of Walmart waters, but you can also stock up at the CVS next to the parking garage.

I'm going to disagree on the food, it's flippin terrible. The "food court", such as it is, is way the hell down at the far end of the basement, has limited choices, and often closed by the time I get done playing. Their best casual places closed. Paris is a lot better. They have a 24 hour casual place that's pretty good, and you can order for carryout. They have a quick pizza by the slice place that's usually open till 11-ish. Plus, PHo is basically across a street from Paris, where a wide variety of eats are available, like Earl of Sammich, as well as a bunch of places in the Miracle Mile.

The schlep to Paris is rough on my back, which gets wrecked by the time I walk around Vegas for a couple days, but not so bad if you're reasonably healthy.

Not OP, but have stayed at Horseshoe 5-6 times at least. Rooms are almost always clean and they are very spacious. You get an empty mini-fridge in every room, which is nice.

Gym is pretty decent and I believe it's 24/7 now. It's unmanned, and you just scan yourself in with your room key.

Pool is decent but often closed. I heard something about it only being open during the weekends last summer, and it closed very early for the season. That said, I think they might be doing some refurbishing on it. On the website it just says "Closed for the season", but for what it's worth - guests at Horseshoe are allowed to use the pool at Paris as well.

Not a food person, but I have heard others say the options are a bit lackluster. But with the location mid-strip you are obviously close to many other fine dining establishments.

thanks for this and also others for their comments. Am booked for wsop but need to reassure myself that it's a nice enough property for my vacation. (also booked at Vdaara and Aria right now). I do like sitting by the pool for an hour ish each day when over there so that's important to me and the fact that I could go to Paris instead is good info

I must say that the high prices at MGM properties I'm seeing this year are making it easier to compromise and choose a Caesars property and if I do...I'm not sure PH or Paris or Harrahs or Linq are enough different/better to justify both additional $$ and sacrifice the convenience for wsop days

If you plan on playing a fair bit of WSOP-events, I would say go for it. Perfect to stay on site, and you will have a pool available for you (I agree this is an important factor in the summer). I have never been disappointed with a Horseshoe-stay.

didn't know you were coming to Vegas recently due to the title but I enjoyed reading your report. congrats on the tourney success.

One of the Paris towers (Bordeaux?) is literally right down a hall from WSOP. I stayed at harrahs last year and Paris this fall. Paris room was much nicer. Harrahs AC was not great and had an issue with outlets not working to charge my phone/tablet. I’m seeing much better rates at Caesar’s than MGM.

I don’t need fancy room but clean, quiet, comfortable temps and basic functions are key for me. I’m paying less for Paris than harrahs last year. That’s a win- longer walk to Venetian- Wynn but can always uber in heat of the day.

It's time for an update from the glamorous world of the regional circuit.

REGIONAL SERIES DAY ONE (3/21/26)

I drive out to Chinook Winds on the Oregon coast to play the first three days of their poker tournament series, which will be running March 21st-29th. The purpose of this trip is twofold. It's an opportunity to get more reps playing NLHE and mixed games (there's a HORSE event on the schedule). It's also potentially a chance to grow the summer bankroll. A big score here will expand our Las Vegas options.

As far as tournament venues go, you could do a lot worse than Chinook Winds. The casino sits right on the ocean.

Can we find some buried treasure at the sea or will we be shipwrecked?

The first event on the schedule is a multi-day $300 NLHE. The maiden voyage ends in disaster after I get crippled giving a free turn card with top two on a coordinated board against what I incorrectly assumed was a stealing range based on table dynamics. I elect to launch a second ship from the docks immediately, re-entering right away for another $300. The second voyage proves more pleasant. Though my new table is a pirate galley of formidable regs from the local rooms, I run relatively pure and am eventually sitting on 80k from 22k starting at the dinner break (you get 20k chips and then an extra 2k for a trivial dealer appreciation fee). We hit some choppy waters after dinner before encountering a pivotal spot.

At 600/1200 blinds, EP player limps. Sitting on approximately 45k, we have AQo on the BTN. With extra dead money in the pot and nobody else showing aggression, I make it 3.5k. A competent, active player in the BB makes it 14k. EP folds and we have a weird decision. While AQo is not the nuts, raising from the BTN in a limped pot very much looks like a squeeze. If BB perceives our raise as a squeeze then suddenly AQo is beginning to look like one of the best hands we show up with here. I've been bullied out of a few pots already tonight and probably have a weak image. For all of these reasons, I elect to empty the cannon with the four bet jam. We fade the snap call. BB tanks for a while before making a crying fold, caught with his hand on the rum flask.

From there we sail towards the money bubble on a modest, yet seaworthy chip stack. We encounter a few stormy situations along the way. At 3k/5k blind levels, I have 60k when it folds to me on the BTN with ATo. While a case can be made for a nitty approach at this stage of the tournament, we have a great hand and are not playing for the min-cash, so we jam. Huge stack in the SB quickly calls. Uh-oh. BB folds. I expect bad news, but we are up against a dominated A8o. We fade the bad beat and hold for a crucial double. On the stone bubble, I am in the BB with AJo and 55k in my stack. Different active big stack opens from the BTN to 17k. Perhaps there's an argument for simply folding when pay jumps are flat and we can literally fold into the money, but if you're playing to win then I think you need to take this spot. I shove the AJ. Luckily the BTN folds.

Hand-for-hand play continues for a full orbit or two. Many shorties survive. Many AK vs. AK situations frustrate the players hoping for an elimination.

You need to be careful at this stage of the tournament, but people play so cagey and scared on these bubbles that it can also become open season for rampant piracy. The big stacks loot some of the easy plunder. We also find a few steal spots and grow the treasure chest back to 100k. A player finally busts and we find the first bag of 2026.

Yo-ho-ho, a pirate's life for me.

It's nearly 11PM by the time we finish bagging up. I have earned a celebration dinner, but the lines for the in-house food kiosks are long and moving at a glacial pace. The restaurants in the immediate vicinity of the casino are closed. I cross the street to Safeway and acquire this feast.

How many Michelin stars is this worth? Will it ward off scurvy?

REGIONAL SERIES DAY TWO (3/22/26)

Bagging up for a big day two is one of the best feelings in tournament poker. The dream of the monster score is alive and well. Maybe this will be my time to get lucky and run ultra deep.

90 players will return to chase the $32k up top. It's a very top-heavy payout structure. We'll need to make the final table to net a serious payday. With that in mind, we are in full run it up mode with little regard for mere survival. I'll be coming back in the bottom third of the field, sitting on approximately 16BBs. I'm likely to be all-in at some point in the first hour. I'm not a favorite to last very long today, but 1-2 doubles is all it will take to change the equation.

On the very first hand of the day, a player torches 200k chips by spazzing on the J84 flop with AJo against QQ. The BB works its way around to us. A UTG micro stack jams for slightly less than 3BB. It folds around. This is an automatic call with any two cards when we're laid such an amazing price by the pot, so I call blind. Unfortunately we squeeze 73o while UTG has 66. He doubles up.

We look down at a lot of queen-rag hands for the first two orbits. We are on just 9BBs when it folds to us in the CO with KdTd. This is a unanimous chart-approved jam. Most of the time we won't get called. When we do get called, we have pretty good equity against a lot of the calling hands.

KJo is not one of those hands. A monster stack (the beneficiary of the aforementioned AJ spew) calls us from the SB with KJ. The board brings no salvation and we are forced to unceremoniously walk the plank within the first half hour of the restart. This was not the reward I sought.

Even after making one small ladder up, we receive a paltry payout of 1.5x buy-ins, meaning we are in the underwhelming situation of cashing the tournament, yet losing money.

I'm a winner. I'm a loser. I'm a winner and a loser.

I enjoy these large field multi-day events and the flirtations with massive scores, but the huge fields that generate these gaudy payouts also make it statistically unlikely to reach the final few spots where most of that money is concentrated. Today our treasure map only led us to fool's gold.

After busting so quickly, I had a few options. I could take a quick break and try my luck in the next event, a 12PM single day $300 NLHE tournament with 30 minute levels. It would've been reasonable to play that. It was on my original schedule. I don't generally take days off during poker trips because the opportunities to fire volume are so scarce, but I slept horribly on both Friday and Saturday nights. I felt that I would have trouble sustaining my A-game deep into the night. For that reason I elected to make it a short poker day, surrender early, and conserve energy for Monday's $300 HORSE, another opportunity to expand into mixed games at a friendly price point.

REGIONAL SERIES DAY THREE (3/23)

While I still enjoy NLHE and consider it my best game by far, I want to keep learning all the games. When I planned this trip, I was most excited about the chance to get more reps in the mixed streets. I've been looking forward to this HORSE event. Will we run like Secretariat or Zippy Chippy (famously winless in 100 races)?

The answer is somewhere in the middle. I win a big hand after boating up with KQQ in stud against rolled up nines, who makes an inferior boat. I dump some back to the same player chasing half the pot with AhKdKs9d on a rag board in O8. Woops. I knew it was a tricky spot, but I thought I had a good chance at half. Top set on the river is no good. He shows me a wheel. We'll be seeing a lot of wheels today. If you've never played Stud 8 or O8, know that the wheel is always lurking.

We once again take the uncomfortable high side with KJJ in Stud 8. This time we make another boat to scoop against a combo wheel/low draw, taking us back around 1.5x starting just in time for the dinner break. 31 players will return from dinner while 40 have been forever lost at sea. 9 survivors will ultimately be paid, with $5k to the winner. $5k can buy a lot of summer poker fun. I won't complain about winning $5k, but we have a lot of work to do.

I crush a sandwich, take a stroll around the property, and admire the tranquil view before heading back to the felt.

Shortly after dinner we lose some with a 6542A low to a 5432A wheel in a weird limped pot BB vs. SB (A on the flop). 65 low should be good for half most of the time, especially with the 2 blocker to the wheel in my hand (I had 62xx), but not this time (he had 32xx). Like I said, the wheel is always lurking. Beware the wheel.

Still in O8, we find AdQhTd3s in MP and open. BB calls. Flop is As6s4h. BB checks. We bet. BB calls. Turn is the Tc. BB leads (?). We're happy to get the rest of our chips in with top two and a low draw. He has the rather unlikely TTxx. Sheeeit. The river brings another 6. We have no low and no full house, so it's off to Davy Jones' Locker for us. We are eliminated approximately 20 spots off the money.

I think I played a decent session today. There were some mistakes and probably some missed bets, but I definitely didn't punt my stack either. I gave myself a fighting chance. The pots get huge in these limit tournaments in the deep levels, and I simply couldn't find a winner after dinner.

Overall, I felt more comfortable in Stud Hi and Razz than the split pot games. I enjoyed Stud and Razz. I won some nice pots in those games. Meanwhile I felt like something of a fish in O8. It must be my worst game in the mix for now. Ironically, I was very quiet in the Hold 'Em rounds, as I was dealt a steady stream of rags in two card.

REGIONAL SERIES SUMMARY

Chinook Winds runs good events that attract an eclectic cast of characters. If you're in the PNW region, consider playing one of their series some time. I had fun and got some valuable experience. I added another meager cash to my Hendon Mob page and made a day 2 cameo. There were some positives, but the trip was still a net loser. Rather than adding numbers to the summer poker bankroll, we subtract a small sum. The loss won't affect the June trip much, but what it means is that we probably can't add any extra voyages between now and then. I had been eyeing Wynn Signature Series in April for another potential treasure hunt. Instead we're likely to keep the boat in the harbor for the next three months, appearing only in local ports. Assuming nothing noteworthy happens between now and June, this will be my final big update until summer is upon us.

For now we lick our wounds and wait for the summer schedules to drop from Wynn, Venetian, Aria, Orleans, Nugget, and MGM.

Great report. Thanks. I used to live in Oregon -- what a beautiful state. If only I had been a poker player then!

Hello my name is DogFace and I am a serial booking changer. I really thought I had it all figured out back in December when I booked Horseshoe for a 6/14-6/22 summer window. These were the most convenient dates for me and really the only dates that were guaranteed to work. Surely this would be the year when I would stick to one booking and not constantly swap things around.

Wrong.

My work schedule changed due to unforeseeable circumstances, which shifted my WSOP window to earlier in the summer. I thought I was safe with a 6/6-6/14 booking. Then I decided to add a couple nights. Then I decided to shave those nights. Here's what I finally landed on:

I will be in Vegas from 6/6-6/14.

If a helpful mod could edit the TR title to reflect these new dates, that would be great.

True to serial booking changer form, I have an additional two nights booked for 6/14-6/16 if I want to stay longer. I don't think that will happen, but I wanted some extra runway to account for the sunniest of sun run possibilities. Let's call it 6/6-6/14 with a slim chance of an epilogue.

More to come soon.

A different kind of HORSE

While I won't be hitting the tables until June 6th, I'm already in action at the WSOP. I enjoy poker and fantasy sports, so naturally the intersection of those two things also appeals to me. I've participated in several WSOP fantasy contests in the past. Last year I contemplated buying an entry for the ODB fantasy before settling on the Poker.org freeroll instead. This year I decided to take the plunge. The entry fee is moderately uncomfortable for a budget player like myself, but the way I see it, you're paying the price of one tournament entry for a sweat that will (hopefully) last the duration of the WSOP.

Here's my team along with a brief rationale for each pick:

Liberto $70 - $70 is a bit more than I wanted to spend on him, but I'm sold on his skills and I expect him to play all the big mixed events.
Blom $69 - One of the few players who has a pulse in the high roller mixed events while also being live money in any huge NLHE/PLO tourney.
Pisarenko $19 - Another $10k mixed player with crossover skills in NLHE and PLO. Looks like a $30-40 player to me.
Milgrom $16 - Mixed player with a splashy, active style that should make him a big threat in the $1.5ks.
Zizka $12 - Basically trusting the Shaun Deeb seal of approval here. Zizka gives the squad a pulse in the high roller PLO and NLHE events.
Roberts $8 - To get a PPC and 25k HORSE player with crossover NLHE skills for $8 seemed like good value.
Madsen $4 - A floor raiser who always grinds the WSOP and cashes many events. Plays all variants, but also has some strong mega field NLHE runs recently.
Obara $1 - Seems to be an ascending star who will play high volume including some big events. You know Ren Lin is going to find some great $1 picks.
Tarbet - Of course I had to pick Tony, not just for the LVL crossover, but because I think he can make some deep runs!

We are stepping out on a small limb by plunking down 5 Benjamins on fantasy poker, but let's call it risk diversification. If my horses can't win me any money this summer, I hope they at least provide a sweat. I'll only have major regrets about playing this if it's the end of June and my squad is hopelessly far away from binking a cash. Ideally it will be something fun to track in the background across the next 6 weeks.

Some other players I considered:

Yuri $90 - Out of all the established mixed killers, he looked like the best bargain. Always impressed with his game.
Hoenig $58 - Seems like one of the rising mixed crushers. I believe in the player, but felt the price was maybe a little heavy.
Zerjav $57 - Really impressive CV and could be an $80 player next summer.
Wells $36 - Strong mixed player for a reasonable price.
Gluszko $35 - If Benny Glaser thinks you're good at poker, so do I. Benny picked him for his $25k team.
Winter $13 - One of the top high roller players. The issue with these guys is always the feast-or-famine nature of a small schedule.
Becker $6 - Monster in mega field NLHE. Big threat to hit field bonuses. Downside would be that he only plays NLHE.
Pupillo $2 - Could be this year's Jon Turner if the Negreanu factor allows him to fire a big schedule indiscriminately.
Koon $1 - Always a top contender in the high rollers. The issue is volume. He averages maybe 2 WSOP cashes per summer.
Sepiol $1 - Like Becker, also very good in large field NLHE tourneys.
Wang $1 - Excellent large field NLHE/PLO player.

The Poker.org freeroll is open until midnight tonight, so I'd advise putting some type of team together! It was a fun sweat for me last summer.