MuckPls & Whale - a March Madness TR part III

Too lazy to look for the button, checking out tomorrow and moving to the Nomad for the last 1 week +.

For the session, we are 3 hours in and for the first time in a week I haven’t had to rebuy first hour. Sounds like a win, almost!

I am not entirely sure how long I’ll play, if I will complete the hours today or just take it easy and call it early afternoon and take a break. I also need to find somewhere to eat today, running out of ideas [emoji846]

LOL. I thought it would be obvious what to look for once he knew he could be turned off 😉

I tried every button there is in the room without any luck, but it’s fine I have it covered with the trash can since yesterday. It’s fine I’ll survive.

Really enjoying the TR, great work guys!!

+1 You guys are giving great TR and it still has alot of trip to go. This is really giving me the itch and can't wait for my next trip.

I was just pointing out that the tram which is closer than Aria is more than 5 min. I even specifically said don't use it.

Also note what BigWhale said just today (paraphrasing), 'don't feel like a long walk so going to MGM Grand today'.

BTW, Google Maps times it at 18 min (but not the fastest route).

10 min might be possible. Never timed it but I would guess closer to 12 for quick walkers and definitely much farther than MGM Grand. 5 min not possible short of running (and likely getting stopped by security)

Obv couldn’t squeeze out two winning days if my life depended on it. Just 7 hours of pure rot, lose AK to 79o that calls a 3bet then AK vs JJ for piles to finish down $700.

This means if I qualify tomorrow and min cash it cost me $800. Fun stuff!

Good job! Drunk and tilted usually doesn't work 😀 You are having a very deserved wonderful trip so far.

After a lazy start to the day with some Video Poker and a visit to the gym (I guess that't not lazy), I eventually made my way over to the casino in the front. In the background we can see the progress of the Hard Rock guitar tower.

In other words, I am doing exactly what I wrote is not a good idea in a previous TR; I joined a cash game at Caesars Palace around 10 in the morning.

I will try to make this somewhat brief as there were a lot of hands to go through. The game was in general very tight and I was up a few dollars when I find KK on the button after two limps. I only made it $17, simply to get action as the players had not seemed very call-happy so far. This time however, we see BB and both the limpers call.

4-ways to 9-8-5 two diamonds then, and I am already thinking this is a likely bet/fold situation against such a straight forward field. We don't get that far however, as EP1 bets out for $42. Had this been any kind of semi-active player I would have considered raising or even jamming, but alarm bells went off in my head when this very tight Asian male in his 50s bet out that strong into the pre-flop raiser. I ended up only calling, and the other two folded out.

Turn looks good as it's another 5, and I am now ahead of a hand like 98s. But opponent is not done betting and puts out $117 with around $110 behind. This felt very close to me, as theoretically I should probably never fold my hand. But although he is only really repping 88 and 99 this feels very strong to me. I couldn't really justify folding though, simply because there exists a world where it goes check-check on the river and I beat a weirdly played JJ or something. So I decided to just call and play some 'Fifth Street Chicken' as Bart Hanson calls it.

(edit, if I think he ever can have QQ or JJ I could obviously just jam the turn myself)

River comes Td so the flush comes in, although I found that mostly irrelevant. I don't think this player was leading a draw very often (he would just check-call those), but it does create another hand I am losing to in TT. He instantly jams for whatever he has left, and although I am getting insane pot odds I eventually decided on a fold face up. Opponent is kind enough to show 88 for a flopped set and turned full house.

Very strange hand, where I actually am happy that I managed to save the last $110 on the river. This is an extremely player dependent & table dynamic spot, as although I hadn't been there more than 30 minutes I could tell by the way this table was playing that these guys would not put their entire stack at risk without a monster.

I reload for $200 and continued losing hands. In one hand I raised JTo on the button to $10 when folded to me (too lazy to announce $12), and I get called by another OMC in SB. The flop comes T-8-6 two clubs, and after he checks I bet $10 again. He calls, and then checks the A turn. I decided to bet again for value, as I still thought flush draws and hands like T9 would call again despite the presence of the Ace. So I bet $21 and he calls once more.

River comes with a Q, and after he checks I quickly check back. He wins the hand with QJo, which I guess is reasonable (double gutshot on turn), but it's an annoying river card when I actually managed to get two streets of value before that.

Then another OMC limps for $3 and I have 65cc behind him. Against only one limp I am going to open my normal range, so I make it $15 to go. A new young-ish Asian player in BB calls, and the OMC also follows suit. We see 5-3-3 one club on the flop, which is reasonable. They both check to me and I throw out $15 again for some protection (can probably go a bit higher). To my surprise they both call.

Turn comes a 6, so we improve further although one straight comes in. But 74 seems unlikely, so when they check to me I bet small for $26. But in hindsight I think this bet is too optimistic, as I am really only targeting 5x or hands like 44. Maybe I should have checked back and evaluated, and I indeed get punished for my decision. BB puts out a check-raise to $100, and when it gets back to the OMC he goes all-in for the $85 or so that he had left.

I wasn't entirely sure if I believed the young kid, but with the OMC also getting in there I decided on a tight fold. It felt a bit wrong, but I am obviously still behind bigger pocket pairs and BB can have 74s or 3x when defending.

River comes with another 6, which would have given me a full house, and BB shows a pure bluff with K2o. The OMC wins the hand with 54o, so I was massively ahead of both and would have won a big pot if I had stayed in. But I think this is a huge outlier situation, and that I normally should be crushed there. No idea what the kid was thinking with K2o, he said something about 'that's my range' after the hand, so I guess he just saw the board and decided to bluff if he got a chance.

Then I actually win a hand when there is a limp from UTG and I follow suit with J9dd on the button. I obviously should have raised, but I had a poor image in the game. SB then makes it $9, which is a laughable sizing and gets called by the BB, the UTG-limper and myself.

Q-T-8 is an above average flop, and SB bets out $15. The other two folds, and I am obviously going to fastplay. I make it $55, and the opponent pretty much snap-calls. I am feeling great about the situation, as this is another OMC and he probably have a big pocket pair.

I had some good cards in mind on the turn, but a J was not one of them. Not only does it make AK a higher straight (it's in his range), but it's also going to be way harder for me to get value now. He checks, and I actually decided to check it back to see his reaction on the river.

It lands a 4 and he thinks for a bit but checks. I have to try to sneak out some value then, so I bet $51 only to see opponent think for about 15 seconds before folding. He later indicated the turn was very bad for him, so most likely I got a terrible runout and could possibly have stacked him if the turn was a low brick.

I lose some back in small pots + blinds, before finally finding AK after two limps ahead. I make it $18 from the cutoff, and both the limpers end up calling. A-Q-4 rainbow seems like a good flop though, so when they both check to me I bet $20. In game I was thinking I can't make it too big to make them stick around, but looking at it now I obviously realize that an Ace is not going to fold regardless. So I could easily have made it $35 or something at least. The first limper calls, while the second fold out.

Turn comes 3d which puts a backdoor diamond draw out there. He checks again, and I make it $60 this time to keep getting value from worse Aces. He hems and haws for a long time, and I can tell he has a close decision. In the end he ends up folding and claimed an Ace, so that is a bit sad.

The game was not amazing however, and I decided to just take the loss of $209 USD after playing for 2 hours. Basically all of the losses came in the KK-hand which I played fairly passively post, but I still think it was a fine decision versus opponent (who obviously cashed out 10 minutes after. that pot ...).

I went out in the sun and I grabbed some food at In & Out before heading over to Venetian where 'MuckPls' was already playing.

I got immediate seating into a game that didn't seem all that exciting. I was down ever so slightly in the beginning after raising ATo to $17 over two limpers, only to see the Asian behind me call as well as the two limpers. The flop 8-8-7 was not one that excited me a ton, and although I would have bet my overpairs here I chose to check this one with it came to me. The Asian behind me immediately grabs $30 and bets. Everyone folds, and he is kind enough to show 99.

The very next hand there is another limp and I make it $15 with KQcc from hijack. SB calls and the limper calls, but they both check-fold to my $25 bet on K-8-2 two diamonds.

Then we get an absurd hand which starts with two limpers, before a new OMC to my immediate right makes it $15. I have KK right behind him and 3-bets to $50. It folds back to him, and he asks the dealer how much it is before quickly folding AKhh face-up....

A while later there is a raise to $6 from early pos (he often used this sizing), the OMC in SB calls and I make a speculative call in BB with T5o. The flop comes 3-4-6 all spades, and I have Ts. So we have two draws here, although they are not anything to be super excited about. SB checks, I check, and the raiser bets out $6 again. The OMC folds, and I make the call.

Turn comes an 8 and after I check he quickly checks back. I brick the river, however it's another 6. The properties of my hand are bad for bluffing, but I think I can easily have 6x here from BB and he doesn't seem very strong when he checks back the turn after all. So I went for a small bluff with a bet of $20, and thankfully he folded immediately.

A few hands later we find KThh from 2nd position and raise to $12, and only the player in 4th position calls. The flop is above average with 5-3-2 two hearts, and I start off with a bet of $15. He calls, and we get another good card with a black T on the turn. Now I can bet for value, and I don't think I have to make it too big as there are very few bad river cards for me. I throw out $25, but opponent sadly folds.

But after a quiet & reasonable start, things unraveled. It starts with a Bomb Pot where I am dealt A2cc63dd, and I end up flopping the nut flush draw on top and a weak top pair with backdoor flush draw on the bottom. There is a bet for $25, one call and I also call.

This is perhaps where my inexperience in these hands shows; I end up playing them very straight forward. In game I was thinking there could be some merit to raising here, as although I don't have much I have draw to the nuts on one board and maybe I could get something better to fold on the bottom. Maybe it's not the best spot after all, but I still think it's an important point - it doesn't hurt to drive some Bomb Pot hands a bit harder, especially if you can force out draws that are likely to be better than yours.

Either way, turn on the top is an Ace, so I now have top pair along with nutflush-draw. The bottom is also an Ace, so I turn trips there although the other two cards out are K and J. The guy who bets the flop fire out for $100, second player call, and I feel obliged to call here as I am getting great odds and there is a chance I could maybe scoop both boards with some good rivers.

No good rivers though as I brick everything, the hand checks down, and the other two chop up my money. I reload for $100 more.

The very next hand the player from UTG, who mostly have limped in so far, make it $15. I am in MP and look down at AKhh. Seems like a 3-bet, so we make it $60 to go. It folds back to him, and after thinking for 20 seconds he announces 'all-in'. I start the hand with around $290, and although I didn't love it I might have seemed slightly on tilt after the Bomb Pot hand + this guy is not an 80-year old OMC. So I make the call fairly quickly, only to see him flick over pocket Aces.

T-T-4-K-7

Sigh. I reload for another $300 and continue losing. We get an interesting spot when UTG raises to $6 again, two players call, and I have KQdd on the button. Definitely a spot to 3-bet, but I chose just to call. My hand is so playable, I am on the button, and I would hate to get 4-bet and having to fold.

The Asian player in SB now looks interested and eventually puts of chips for a raise to $51. Everyone folds over to me, and I actually decided to make the call. I am getting around 2:1 and I am in position, and although I am doing bad against the strongest hand in his range I still thought the hand was too playable to fold when I am closing the action.

No luck on the flop however, as it comes T-7-7 all black cards. He loads up an bet and I just fold immediately before getting a count. Soon after we have to reload for another $100 as well.

More losing, when there are four limps and I find KQo in BB. I make it $22, and the new player from UTG (to my left) is the only caller. The flop comes 9-2-2, and I am already formulating a plan on how to play it. I start with a bet of $20 and he calls.

Turn comes a 4, and I think a double barrel here will get folds from all Ace high hands that was sticky on this harmless flop. And I don't think I need to make it super big either to get these to fold, so I throw out $45.

Unfortunately he calls once again and the river comes a J. Could I put his medium pairs in a world of hurt here by betting pot or something? Definitely, but the Jack is always a bad card to get credit on (too bad I didn't have QJ) and I chose to just give up. He quickly checks back and wins the hand with 77.

I actually did win a hand shortly after though when there is a straddle for $6 from UTG and the guy who had Aces against me calls the $6. I have QJhh on the button and make it $30. The straddle folds, while the limper calls. Flop comes A-J-6 one heart, and this felt like a close one. I decided to check it back as I didn't see too many worse hands that would call.

Turn comes a K, and he checks again. I ended up betting $20 here and taking it down - not really getting value from many worse hands, but it's obviously fine to not let a hand like 55 or something get a free river.

The guy who had been making it $6 pre then makes it $15 from UTG and a new player at the table (who seemed new to live poker) calls in cutoff. I have AKo in SB and around $240 in my stack. Although I took note of the bigger sizing than normal from UTG, I still think this is a mandatory 3-bet. So I make it $75, and after thinking for a bit the original raiser folds.

I am certain I will win the hand then, but instead the original caller back-raises to $215. It's obviously a very strong move, but it's very hard to put him on a monster hand here when he only called the original raise. I assume this is a ton of coin flips, and being stuck a ton I am obviously willing to take one. I jam for not much more, and he calls and shows me KK. Sigh...

Q-J-J-7-4 is the runout and I am felted, and just leave the game down $800 USD. Frustrating result for sure, and I am down over $1k now for two sessions. Not a great feeling, but ultimately I am feeling a bit like the deck wanted to felt me today. My KK got cracked at Caesars, and at Venetian I ran AK into AA and KK. And I don't think anyone can fault me too much for putting in the money with these AK-hands, although the first one is the most interesting one I guess.

I almost wanted to jump into the water here and drown my sorrows, but instead I just went back to NYNY to chill for a bit.

For the rest of the evening I just chilled in the room for a bit, then went out to play some VP & slots (got slaughtered) and also had a 15 minute massage (felt lovely!).

Then I headed over to MGM Grand, as I wanted to max late-reg their evening tournament. It's a complete crap shoot with inefficient floor, slow players and 15 minutes blinds, but you do get 75k if you max late reg after level 8 and you come back to 1k-2k-2k. The level of play was attrocious but I was extremely card-dead and could not find a spot. I made the final table in this 17 man field (some feat), but got eliminated 8th after my A3o from cutoff (had 8 bb) ran into Aces in SB.

This concludes a very 'fun' day where we are down like $1200 on poker and a few hundred more on other things. There are obviously many days to turn it around still, and I genuinely think that the deck just didn't favor me today rather than me making terrible decisions. But I am in serious danger of becoming 'cash broke' if this continues, as it's a bit cumbersome for me to get hold of a lot of USD at once. And that is a bit of an annoying feeling. I can live with the poker results, but the logistics around it concerns me slightly.

Oh well, hopefully things will be better tomorrow. Obviously laughable hours numbers below, but I didn't feel like continuing to play at Venetian after being down $800 there.

Cash Games:

Hours played: 8h 30min
Won/Lost: -$544 USD
Hourly rate: -$64.0 USD

Tournaments:

Won/Lost: -$200 USD (1 played)

I have no idea. To be honest, the trip where I stayed at NYNY was almost 25 years ago. I flew in from Silicon Valley and rode in taxis. I knew I would hate it if I had driven.

There I am, 9 hours into the day's session, and in the game for $900, feeling despondent I ever heard of this Venetian promo. The day started well enough, with me getting some nice starting hands, and actually hitting some flops. I'm up well over $200 in the first hour and feeling fine. Then it turns around and I start sliding downhill. It takes me hours to win another pot. I started the day needing 15 more hours by the end of Friday, and I need to watch the Arizona game tomorrow night. Which I discover was tonight, and I missed it. I feel like such a moron.

Then I get JJ in middle position, and raise a $6 straddle call to $25. Seems like a lot to me, but not to the player that called, OR to the other player that called. We end up in a 3-way all-in that I instigated on a flop with low-medium cards. I couldn't imagine what they had, but the board ended up having straight or worse written all over it. But I somehow won, and just like that I go from being down $900 to down $200. Yes, that's still down, but I'm used to losing $200 at 1/3. I always lose $200 at 1/3. So it feels like a moral victory. I end up with 10+ hours today and need a little over 4 more to qualify for the not-free freeroll.

Maybe I'll actually go do something fun tomorrow night instead of leather-arsing the Venetian poker room.

Request to add Pig4bill as a honorary member of the TR haha.

God, yesterday was a blur. Was so close to claw myself out of the hole only to lose 4-5 hands in row, get back to even and repeat. In the end I did torch 1k but it took like 4-5 hours.

After that fun I went to get some food, 10/10 on this rice bowl it was super good:

And then went straight to bed.

Today we are changing hotels back to Nomad and then I’ll come back to grind out the remainder of the promo hours.

Sorry about that, but I don't have enough stuff to fill my own thread, so I poached yours. It is kind of weird how the 2p2 curse managed to hit us all on the same day.

At least you know you can get it back.

P.S. Don't forget to eat your Venetian comps. I think we get 60 bucks worth? The way they have their comps is much better than CET - they seem to be honored just about everywhere in the hotel.

Oh I use them all the time, my lunch is tableside every single session.

Way ahead of me, as usual.

Completely random derail from bad beats and gambling:

Those of you who have been reading for a while know that I’m a huge fan of dogs. I’ve had two, one of them died recently and over the past years I’ve tried to convince my wife unsuccessfully (luckily probably) to get a Belgian malionois.

Anyway, saw them around Venetian / Palazzo the past couple of days and today finally talked to the security guys and asked them for a photo, so ****ing cool:

They are absolute beasts and obviously need 6-8 hours of hardcore exercise and training so getting one is probably a 5-10 year plan once my kids fly out.

My nephew owns one of those and we love that dog

You might remember this from one of my TRs in 2025. Get stuffed enough by the Wynn and they let you pose with the dogs.

Moved over to Nomad for the last 8 nights. Time flies in Vegas…

Now back to the V and see if we can squeeze in a 5 hour session without going broke.

Glad you're back to where the 3:2 blackjack is! I love the ParkMGM HL room.

Here we go, 4 hours needed and only have 2 bullets. One time??

Taking tomorrow off most likely, it’s been a rough week so need to catch up on everything and just chill. Then the tournament on Sunday at 10 am.

This freeroll qualifier is going amazing! First place of the entire tourney is $2200.