Another trip to LV

January was again my first trip to Vegas in 07. This 3-night trip was average, as far as Vegas trips go, but Andrea and I did see a few shows. We saw LOVE by Cirque at the Mirage which was pretty good, but you have to be crazy about Beatles music. If you think the Beatles are just OK, this show isn't for you. There aren't many OMG moments, but it was nice.

We also saw the Crazy Horse burlesque show at MGM Grand, formerly known as La Femme. I can't believe it, but I actually fell asleep in a burlesque show. What I described to a friend at work confirmed that it is identical to the actual revue at the Crazy Horse in Paris. However, it just was a bit slow for me.....surprising!

The rest of Vegas was good. We had a fabulous meal with Steven and Joanie at Lawry's Steak house. If you get a chance to dine out in Vegas, Chicago, Dallas, or Beverly Hills, this restaurant is a must. I've been there only twice but it is prime rib that you can dream about with excellent service. The LV location is off-strip, but close to Flamingo on Howard Hughes blvd about a mile from the strip.

I didn't play any live poker, but did OK on the weekend except for a terrible night at video poker at NYNY (the bar at times square). We had fun playing while watching the dueling pianos.

I may not seem so excited about the trip since at one point in time, I had reservations to leave LV for Japan on the early morning of Andrea's b-day. That wouldn't have been fun, schlepping my laptop and a few suits to Yokohama for a 2-day meeting. Thankfully, the meeting has been postponed for another time.

Travel will be a huge bear for me this year. Before June, I have plans to be in Japan, Australia, Puerto Rico, Calgary, and Cancun (OK, that's a "vacation"). I may possibly be back in the UK and I was cut from a list of people to go to a conference in Spain that I was a bit upset about.

Nevertheless, the mileage got Andrea and I dual upgrades to first class for the ride home from LV. I'll have to parlay the miles into a trip to New England this summer/fall to play some golf and get back to Foxwoods/Mohegan Sun.

The Colour of Money

I've been meaning to post this one for a long time, but I'm terribly late. On my recent trip to England, for business, I was able to spend 2 hours in the local casino before my return home. In the UK, you have to be a member of a Casino and it takes 24hrs to process the application. Luckily, I had applied three years ago on my last visit.

This small Grosvenor casino (there are many) had a few roulette tables, four blackjack tables, some slots and a small bar. It was attached to a hotel near the tube, so it's pretty convenient. After walking around a bit, I decided that I'd play blackjack, as I wasn't in the mood for roulette or slots, and I was flying to Las Vegas in less than a week. There were 4 tables, 2 of £5, one of £10 and one of £25. Remember, the exchange rate is nearly 2:1, so a £25 table is a $50 per hand bet! Since the £5 were jamming, I decided to wait for a time at the £10 table. I waited for a while and there was one hole open (#2) but no seats....after standing for some time, I was able to play while standing behinAsian asian ladies (who weren't as bothered by me as I thought they'd be).

A few things stand out. One, you can't tip the dealer or play for the dealer. "The Grosvenor Casino feels that we are paid handsomely" they will say when you try to tip them. OK, whatever.

You can tip the waitresses. You don't get free drinks here. In fact, you get a pint of lager for £2.40. Instead of change, I give the lass a £5 chip. That's right, I paid $10 for a pint of lager and the privledge to lose money. Yikes.

Lastly, the dealer has no down card. That's right, no down card. Therefore, after all player hitting takes place, the dealer immediately takes a second card to his up card and then plays out the hand. I think that this action favors the house immensely by allowing low cards and high cards to come consecutively with the dealer's second card. The only way to truly bust (since there is no standard separation between the dealers second card and 3rd) is if the dealer's hole card is low and he hits two highs consecutively. I don't like it. therefore, I hit more aggressively than normal.

I took my stack of £5 red, and worked it up a bit. I ended up £150 (almost $300), which is nice at those limits (10-15 bets plus what I gave the waitresses). Crap thing is that I lost a percentage changing my £350 back to US currency! See pic.

A Hand From New Years Day (OK, eve)

After NYE, where Andrea and I went out to dinner, then met some friends for a quick midnight celebration at you-know-where, I played some poker well into the night. In fact, I played from 2:30 to 6:45 in the morning.....hey, I had the next day off!

At one point, I was playing 2-$100NL tables and 2-$200NL tables. I was down a bit for most of the session, but had some nice luck on the 200NL tables. I was a bit overly aggressive, but that late at night, you really don't get played back at much. If someone else is also agressive, you either stay away from them or change tables. I wasn't seeing much competition on this table when I ran into a nut-peddler. Take a look at his minraises....either weakness or they are thinking that they are trapping.

Now really, after we swap several minrasises on the turn, does he really think he can beat me with an overpair?

Again, the PFR with 1 limper may be a bit agressive with K8s, but also note that the limper is the guy with aces....NEVER limp with Aces unless you are perceived as tight, you can be assured of a raise behind and you take advantage of the raise behind. His reraise to $10 is a minraise for $4. At this point, how can I not call $4 into a $17 pot (4.25 to 1). If the flop doesn't hit me, I'm gone.

Then I hit top and bottom pair and turn the 2nd nut flush draw. How he may think I have AK here is crazy....even on the turn I have to be afraid of T9, but that isn't consistent with his PFR.

I suppose my check on the flop is weak, but I was looking to CR. How can he not lead here with AA with a rainbow flop and no str8 draw? It only led to his demise on the turn where he was down to pairing the board with a non-club or an Ace.

Big pot...net over $250.

I'm sure Andrea will read me as Farting Machine, who folded pre-flop. Not so!

Happy New Year!

FullTiltPoker Game #1512413448: Table Revere - $1/$2 - No Limit Hold'em - 7:43:21 ET - 2007/01/01

Seat 1: ralloyd ($93.80)
Seat 3: caztx ($392)
Seat 4: a69metsfan ($266.65)
Seat 5: Farting Machine ($205.15)
Seat 6: muth 99 ($76.05)
Seat 7: Narena ($193), is sitting out
Seat 8: chardy999 ($201.50)

chardy999 posts the small blind of $1
caztx posts the big blind of $2
The button is in seat #7

*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to caztx [8c Kc]

a69metsfan calls $2
Farting Machine folds
muth 99 folds
chardy999 folds
caztx raises to $6
a69metsfan raises to $10
caztx calls $4

*** FLOP *** [Kd 8h Jc]
caztx checks
a69metsfan checks

*** TURN *** [Kd 8h Jc] [7c]

caztx bets $16
a69metsfan raises to $32
caztx raises to $75
a69metsfan raises to $118
caztx raises to $161
a69metsfan raises to $204
caztx raises to $247
a69metsfan raises to $256.65, and is all in
caztx calls $9.65
a69metsfan shows [Ah Ac]
caztx shows [8c Kc]
*** RIVER *** [Kd 8h Jc 7c] [2s]
a69metsfan shows a pair of Aces
caztx shows two pair, Kings and Eights
caztx wins the pot ($531.30) with two pair, Kings and Eights
a69metsfan is sitting out
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $534.30 Rake $3
Board: [Kd 8h Jc 7c 2s]
Seat 3: caztx (big blind) showed [8c Kc] and won ($531.30) with two pair, Kings and Eights
Seat 4: a69metsfan showed [Ah Ac] and lost with a pair of Aces