Sunday, January 15th
Flew out at about 8pm. There were some logistical issues that the airline decided they couldn't solve until on the plane that delayed the departure (they sold too many tickets....apparently waiting until people are seated on the plane seemed like a good time to solve it). Finally we were off a bit late. Making the flight much more palatable was the TV on the back of the seat in front of me, where I was able to watch satellite TV for free.
After checking in at the Venetian, I immediately went down to the poker room for some 1/2 action. I ran A7 into AT into 77 on an AT87 board, but got away with losing the minimum. My KK found an ace high flop and resistance as well. I ended the session down $125 after 4 hours, and it felt like it could have been a lot more.
Monday, January 16th
Setup day for the booth, in the morning I was able to get some play in. I started at about 830am, opening up a new game. What an amazing bunch of nits. I did get the fortune of running AA into another players KK. Unfortunately, he was the only short stack at the table, with only about $100 in front of him. I pissed away some money late, and ended up $37 ahead for the 1 hour.
After a trip to In N Out burger for some lunch, I had some more time to play, so I sat down in the 2/5 game. Most of the 2/5 games I play have a max buy-in of $500, but at the V the max buy in is $1K. This game was one of the more aggressive I have played in, with a lot of 3 betting, and players were making large bets, far larger than I am used to in the 2/5 games around Detroit. Typically bets were 3/4 pot to exceeding the pot. I had to fold AK post flop after being 3 bet when OOP against a guy who looked a little nitty. Probably should have just mucked pre-flop. I basically allowed myself to get run over to the tune of a $240 loss in an hour.
After booth setup, we headed to Smith and Wollensky's for dinner. I had heard great things, and ordered the filet with a full lobster. The lobster was good, but the filet was slightly overcooked, and was suprisingly devoid of flavor. I actually used the steak sauce that was on the table, which was not desired. I would give the meal a 4 out of a 10, considering the cost.
After dinner I headed over to MGM with Ben to play some 1/2. The difference in caliber of player was remarkable. I don't remember any remarkable hands, but I totally ran over the table, turning a profit of $490 in a little over 3 hours. Some of my tweets from the session "The game is much easier when flopping sets! Gonna be tough to make big money at this table, but humming along right now." and "Killing it at MGM. Maybe it's the booze, maybe it's the run good mojo I've got going on, but this group is easy.".
Tuesday, January 17th
After a busy day at the show, we headed over to the Rio to catch the Seafood buffet for dinner. I went there with a plan, and that plan was to eat as many crab legs and gelato as possible, and to not allow any filler (prime rib, potatoes, etc...) into my system. I succeeded in my goal, making probably 6 trips in an hour. I also added some of their small lobster and sashimi in as well. Overall a great meal.
After dinner, went over to the 1/3 game at the Rio. The game was kind of nitty, and not very fun. I managed to turn it into a $200 loss with the following hand, among others. I raise PF to 12 with KK. See the flop heads up with a squirrelly young passive guy. Flop comes AdKx9d. He checks, I bet 17 and he calls. Turn is 7x. He checks, I bet 35 and he calls (slightly on the small side, I know). River is 8x. He leads out for 40 of his stack of 82. I don't really see too many JT's in his range here, so I shove for his last 42, and he calls, turning over JdTd.....yup, I guess that's the one JT that may have called two streets.
After leaving that boring game, I decided to play some 2/5 at the Venetian. I was intent on not getting run over this time around, which would prove to be my detriment. My 2nd hand I opened UTG+1 to 20 with QQ. UTG+2 called, and then UTG+3 re-raised to 80. Folds to me and I consider my options. Since it was my 2nd hand, I have no reads, except for UTG+2 looks likely to fold. The 3better was about 45-50 years old, quiet, and Asian. I decided to take the aggressive approach and 4bet to 190, and he called in position. If not done before the flop, I probably should be done with the hand at this point. I was actually kind of hoping for an Ace high flop, since I felt that KK was a huge part of his range. Instead, the flop came 632, and I shoved (he had 280 left and I covered), and he called with KK, and I missed on the turn and river.
Where was my patience??? Folding QQ absent any reads in this spot while OOP is kind of elementary, but I was so intent on not getting run over out of frustration that I let that get the better of me and pissed away almost $500.
Wednesday, January 18th
After another busy day at the show, we headed over to Paris to eat at Mon Ami Gabi, a very underrated French steakhouse. I had a delicious Filet o-Poivre, and the server even gave us all a free dessert after my boss had jokingly said that we had terrible service the last time we were there (not true to my recollection). For dessert I had the Creme Brulee, which along with the entree was delicious.
After eating, I decided to stop by the game at the Flamingo. I didn't have much cash on me, so bought in short for $160. As expected, the game was a bit of a nit fest, mixed in with bad players. The highlight of the time was when I made quad 2's in a pot of $14 to get a high hand bonus of $50. After about an hour or two, I cashed out ahead $100. Following that, we headed to the Mirage. Ben's flight was leaving at 6am, so he decided to not bother sleeping. Even though I had to be at the booth at 7:45am, I stayed up with him. At the Mirage, I started immediately getting hit by the deck.
The first big hand, I opened with 88 to 10, and got 2 callers. The flop came KJ8, and an aggressive fish check called my flop bet. The turn was another 8, and the fish led into me for about 1/2 of the pot. The river was inconsequential, and the fish shoved, which obviously I snapped and showed my quads. He "claimed" that I needed the 4th 8, which I don't buy for a second. That hand also got me my 2nd high hand bonus for the night, this one for $75. As they took my ID to process my bonus, the very next hand I called a raise in the BB with KcQc, and saw a flop of JcTc9x, flopping the nuts with a draw to a straight/royal flush. I actually played it passively, letting the fish bet the flop and turn, and I also checked the river, but unfortunately he checked behind. After that the fish rebought and moved immediately to my left.
A little while later I was rolling, up to about 900 in my stack (from my 300 buy-in). A few minutes before, a young pro who had been playing at TI earlier in the night sat directly to my right. He seemed to be a pro, as when he bought in he wrote it down in a planner, and had a rolodex full of players cards, and he also seemed to be grinding a $600 weekly bonus at the TI. On to the hand. Pro (stack of 280) opens UTG to 7, I 3bet to 22 with 99. Fish (stack of 225) cold calls immediately after me, which I dislike since his range is pretty wide, and I know it will invite the pro in with a wider range than he would normally play against me. The flop is 962 with 2 hearts. Pro checks, I elect to check as this seems like a very good spot to slowplay, and I also think there is almost a 50/50 chance the fish bets after I check. Unfortunately though, he checks. The turn is an offsuit 3, pro checks, I bet 35, fish immediately calls, and the pro immediately raises to 105. At this point there is only one hand that beats me, the 54, but I believe he has a lot more hands than just 54 possible. I think 66, 33, or 22 may play it the same exact way. I elect to shove, the fish folds and pro quickly calls, telling me he has the nuts. The river misses and I lose a monster pot.
Had I bet the flop for $35, if the fish called, I'd say there was a reasonable chance that the pro would have peeled with his gutshot as well, so I am trying not to be too upset with the result. But it was painful to have a great chance at being up $900+, but instead being up about $300. I managed to chip up for a few more minutes, and eventually walked away up about $375 at the Mirage, and nearly $500 for the night.
Next up: Thursday and Friday's action and some introspection
