Mimi, Jason, and Co. were in Vegas for the weekend and staying at the Venetian. The plan was to meet up at Tao because they were getting a table. However, steve and I are dumb-nuts and didn’t bring any dress shoes to Vegas. So we went to Ross and bought matching dress shoes for $30, it was cute. I think they’re called Nunn Bush, I know, wtf right? But anyway, we flipped a coin, loser pays for the shoes, I got lucky and won. We couldn’t find a taxi on our way out, so we ended up just walking in 110 degree heat!
Once we got back to Stratosphere, it was rest and sleep til we go out later. We got ready and headed to out hot spot, Sahara! One dollar blackjack, wooo. I wasn’t looking forward to paying $15 for a beer at Tao, so I wanted to have a few drinks at Sahara, We stayed there (Sahara) til 11ish, lost $20, drank some vodka-red bulls. Scott N and Steve T were going to wait in line, so Steve and I were going to play some slots to get a couple drinks for the time we had to wait in line. But it was too busy on the casino floor, so I just decided to buy some drinks at the bar (knowing that it would still be cheaper than inside Tao), so I bought 2 vodka-red bulls (me and steve) and a Blue moon for something like $40. And we went to wait in line with Scott and steve. We were in line for about 8 minutes, then some bouncer club guy says you can’t have drinks in line. I told him ok, I’ll finish this real quick, and he says I would have to step out of line if I wanted to do that. So I just said “fcuk you, I dare you do kick me out of line.” Ok, so I really said, fine, and took one last sip and handed over about $30 in alcohol, fcukkkkkkkk meeeee! This hurt so bad, especially because I’m a nit!
So we get in, and eventually meet up with Mimi and Co. at Tao Beach. I’ve been to Tao before, but not Tao Beach. I was impressed. But anyway, I finally met Jason’s twin brother Jessie. He was a little drunk and said he wanted to jump in the pool before tonight is over. I’ve heard people say things like this before and didn’t think anything of it. Until about 20 minutes later, he leans over the pool, again I think, this guy is all talk, but he leans over more and dives into the pool (which is in the middle of tao Beach). I couldn’t believe this guy actually jumped in. it was hilarious. I can’t really remember what time we left (not because I was too drunk, but I’m writing this about a week after that night), but we walked to Casino Royale where Steve was feeling a little “groggy”. We ended up heading back to the Stratosphere around 4 AM, and the taxi driver took one look at Steve and said “if your buddy throws up, I am going to charge you $100 to clean it up”. However, Steve was clutch, and it was fine. I had a great time. The end of a weekend full of visitors! Steve scott mimi Jason gordy dale and chance.
The last week all feels like one long day. Our sleep schedule is so off right now it’s crazy. Eat lunch around 2 or 3, eat dinner anywhere from 10 PM to 1AM. Ugh. But anyway, am I tired of Vegas yet? No. I want to stay another month. I am loving every day here. There is always something new we haven’t done yet. I don’t want to go back to Tracy. I know what is waiting there for me. It’s the real life, and parents that want me to get a job. I wish poker didn’t have such a bad connotation. Maybe I can’t make enough money to play full time, but what if I can? Ugh, I want to stay 22 and in Vegas forever, just kidding, not forever. The thing is, I really do want to get a job someday, but what is the rush? I’ll write more about poker and jobs if people want to hear about it, but that is all I have been thinking about lately. I think I just want to stay a “college student.” It’s weird now, when people ask where are you from? And then follow with what do you do there? It was fun saying that I was a college student from Santa Barbara. But now, just graduated in June? Grosss
I want to say thank you to everyone who has texted me over the past month. It was really cool to see that people are interested in how I was doing in Vegas. I know my updates are very lame most of the time, but thank you for the support.
I’ll finish blogging about the days after the club later. We are coming back on Wednesday, and am sad just thinking about it. oh, and who else is excited for jersey shore season 2?! best show ever, I saw the trailer and wow, looks like great television.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
short
here's that link kyle
http://www.pocketfives.com/f7/sng-multitable-sng-mtt-bankroll-management-chart-guide-378221/
and to everyone, i uploaded pictures on facebook if you hate reading about poker (mimi)
http://www.pocketfives.com/f7/sng-multitable-sng-mtt-bankroll-management-chart-guide-378221/
and to everyone, i uploaded pictures on facebook if you hate reading about poker (mimi)
Sunday, July 18, 2010
16
7/16/10
I was planning to spend time with Uncle Gordy, aunty Dale, and Chance today. We went to the Titanic Artificant musem at the Luxor. We got there a bit early (opened at 10), but I enjoyed it. It had some real interesting stories and artifacts. After, we walked to New York New York and I played in the arcade with Chance while Gordy and Dale gambled a bit. After, we went to Circus Circus to do most of the same. It was pretty sick, Chance beat me at two of the only carnival games I played at CC. I think I saw someone who had “fcuk my life” written the biggest on her forehead, she (probably in her 40s) was working the ticket counter at the Circus Circus arcades.
I got back to the hotel around 4ish, and relaxed until we met up with Steve T and Scott N at Sahara. We played $1 blackjack for hours and I booked a $30 loss, oh well, those red bull vodkas were well worth it. We ate at our Chinese restaurant, Ocha, around 3am and walked around the beautiful stratosphere until finally going to sleep around 4:30, long night, but fun.
Does anyone actually understand how penny slots work? It just seems like people love to press buttons and hear the noises the machine makes. And if it says they win, then they are happy. But man, multipliers? Lines? Progressives? Moonstackers? What exactly is going on? Whenever I see someone playing penny slots and start to win, they’re friend says “what happened?” and most of the time, the answer is “ I don’t know”. but whatever, keep burning money by playing penny slots
I was planning to spend time with Uncle Gordy, aunty Dale, and Chance today. We went to the Titanic Artificant musem at the Luxor. We got there a bit early (opened at 10), but I enjoyed it. It had some real interesting stories and artifacts. After, we walked to New York New York and I played in the arcade with Chance while Gordy and Dale gambled a bit. After, we went to Circus Circus to do most of the same. It was pretty sick, Chance beat me at two of the only carnival games I played at CC. I think I saw someone who had “fcuk my life” written the biggest on her forehead, she (probably in her 40s) was working the ticket counter at the Circus Circus arcades.
I got back to the hotel around 4ish, and relaxed until we met up with Steve T and Scott N at Sahara. We played $1 blackjack for hours and I booked a $30 loss, oh well, those red bull vodkas were well worth it. We ate at our Chinese restaurant, Ocha, around 3am and walked around the beautiful stratosphere until finally going to sleep around 4:30, long night, but fun.
Does anyone actually understand how penny slots work? It just seems like people love to press buttons and hear the noises the machine makes. And if it says they win, then they are happy. But man, multipliers? Lines? Progressives? Moonstackers? What exactly is going on? Whenever I see someone playing penny slots and start to win, they’re friend says “what happened?” and most of the time, the answer is “ I don’t know”. but whatever, keep burning money by playing penny slots
14 and 15th
7-14-10
Today, I went to subway (again) and got picked up by Greg and Co. We headed to the Venetian to buy Blue Man Group Tickets for that night at 10PM. But before that, we headed out to Summer League for my 3rd time.
I saw Brook and Robin Lopez sitting courtside and was pretty excited. Brook WAS one of my favorite players because I used to watch Stanford basketball, I like Centers, and he was on my fantasy basketball team this year. But wow, I went up to them, and asked for a quick picture with them. They didn’t even turn to look at me, they just stared at their phones, and Robin said “Nah”. They continued to mumble something (Kyle thinks they said that they will sign something instead), but wow, they are complete ass-wads. I am definitely no longer a fan, but I’m a fantasy sports whore, and will probably draft him again if I have to.
We also saw Al Harrington sitting courtside. I was going to ask for a picture, but he was talking to lots of people at the time. No problem though, he seemed to be really happy. He was all smiles, joking with people, and just looked like he was genuinely having a good time. Chris Webber was doing the NBATV announcing for the 2nd game I believe, cool to see him. We also saw Derrick Rose sitting courtside wearing a Dodger hat. And yes, he does look every bit as dumb as he does on television (“think you got what it take?”).
John Wall was signing! The first day I saw him, he did not sign anything for any fans. But today, he was signing for fans for a long time. To the point where there were no fans waiting to get things signed. I had him sign two 8x10s for me. But my greedy tendencies kicked in and I wish I had about 8 more pictures to get signed. We also saw Wesley Johnson (4th overall pick) in street clothes. He was extremely nice and signed my 8x10 and took a picture with me. There was this fat geeky kid who had a shit-ton of 8x10s of all the players, and Wesley signed about 7 of them in a row for him. So yeah, rooting for Wesley Johnson this year.
We were sitting by the entrance to the locker rooms today, and every so often a player would come out, and throw his jersey or shoes at some little kids. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to get any. Oh, and after the 3rd quarter, we were asked to participate in the entertainment by playing this “jersey switch “ game on the court. All 4 of us participated, and we beat the other team of 4 people, and we each won $10 giftcards to the NBA store. cool
After summer league, we ate in the food court at Venetian and saw the Blue Man Group at 10PM. I really like the show. It was very entertaining and very interactive. It was definitely worth the $50 or so it cost. (student discount)
7/15/10
Today, we had lunch at Serendipity 3 at Caesar’s Palace. I had the NY hot dog, and it was pretty awesome. We again headed to NBA summer league for my 4th day. The day was a lot less action-filled than yesterday because there were no real huge names walking around. However, Chris Webber was back. Russell Westbrook and Brandon Jennings showed up for John Wall’s game. I got a picture with Russell Westbrook, but I didn’t approach Brandon Jennings. Portland was the last game, and I got Elliot Williams’s (1st round draft pick) autograph.
John Wall was very unimpressive, I knew he had a bad game but was very surprised to see that he shot 4-19 or something like that. He had a very ugly 21 points. But damn, Jeremy lin stole the show. He had the whole crowd rooting for him. He had a breakaway dunk which got the crowd going. He almost had an And 1 which was called an offensive foul, and the crowd starting boo’ing louder than I’ve heard in all 4 days. He even defended John Wall pretty well. One time they were isolated on the wing, and Jeremy defended him very well and forced John to throw up an ugly jumpshot, barely touching the rim. I was very disappointed in John Wall’s body language. It seemed very clear that as soon as he didn’t have a “good” game, that he sort of gave up and wasn’t trying as hard. He seemed embarrassed that Jeremy Lin was attracting the attention of the fans.
After summer league, we went to the M Casino for their buffett. Supposedly, they won an award for the best buffett in Las vegas. We started to wait in line and it seemed pretty long. I proposed to Nick that we make a bet regarding what time we will be seated. We set the rules and they were: As soon as the cashier touches our credit card, is ‘the time’. The bet was only $5, and we played rock-paper-scissor, loser sets the line, the winner picks over or under (before or after). I lost, and debated for a good 5 minutes, It was 8 O’clock I think, and I decided to set the line 8:47. All I was hoping for was that he didn’t insta-choose the before or after. I at least wanted to make a decent line, and make him think about it. Fortunately, for me, he did have to think about it, but eventually picked the before. (side note, Greg and Kyle chose 8:43 and 8:45, so I was happy about that). But unfortunately, the line started to move pretty quickly. So obviously, I wanted a buy out, there was a zero percent chance that I would win. But then, Nick offered this proposition: I could buy 5 minutes for every dollar, up to 20 minutes. I debated, but took his offer. At this point, the new time was 8:27 and I still had the over, I could lose $9 or win $1. Long story short, we get served at 8:28. Lame story
Dinner was pretty good, with all you can drink beer and wine. After dinner, we all decided to play some “johnny lodden thinks”. It’s basically me betting with person A on what person B thinks of something. For our first bet, Nick and Kyle bet on what I thought the capacity of the buffet was. I looked around and did a little calculation, and set my number at 266 I think. Nick took 300-ish and kyle took 500-ish, so Nick shipped the $5. However, the actual capacity was 1,062 I think.
One of the more memorable bets was “how many sexual partners has Kobe Bryant had?” We had Nick set the number, and Kyle and I bet on it, wager-ing style. Nick set his number and told Greg. But, Nick being Nick (unpredictable), we concluded that it could be 2 (wife and girl he raped) to 400 and nowhere in between. I think I took the over, but his number was low (less than 10).
For our last bet, we decided on my favorite bet of all time, the ‘how many days,months,years would you give up off the end of your life to spend a week with you dream girl?’. I don’t want to use names just in case this person doesn’t want their answer to be public. So we decided to ask Nick. . I took the under on 3 and a half years, Kyle took the over. His answer? 12 years. Lost that bet, got swept in my own game.
Bet $30 on the under, angels vs. Seatle, lost that one
Today, I went to subway (again) and got picked up by Greg and Co. We headed to the Venetian to buy Blue Man Group Tickets for that night at 10PM. But before that, we headed out to Summer League for my 3rd time.
I saw Brook and Robin Lopez sitting courtside and was pretty excited. Brook WAS one of my favorite players because I used to watch Stanford basketball, I like Centers, and he was on my fantasy basketball team this year. But wow, I went up to them, and asked for a quick picture with them. They didn’t even turn to look at me, they just stared at their phones, and Robin said “Nah”. They continued to mumble something (Kyle thinks they said that they will sign something instead), but wow, they are complete ass-wads. I am definitely no longer a fan, but I’m a fantasy sports whore, and will probably draft him again if I have to.
We also saw Al Harrington sitting courtside. I was going to ask for a picture, but he was talking to lots of people at the time. No problem though, he seemed to be really happy. He was all smiles, joking with people, and just looked like he was genuinely having a good time. Chris Webber was doing the NBATV announcing for the 2nd game I believe, cool to see him. We also saw Derrick Rose sitting courtside wearing a Dodger hat. And yes, he does look every bit as dumb as he does on television (“think you got what it take?”).
John Wall was signing! The first day I saw him, he did not sign anything for any fans. But today, he was signing for fans for a long time. To the point where there were no fans waiting to get things signed. I had him sign two 8x10s for me. But my greedy tendencies kicked in and I wish I had about 8 more pictures to get signed. We also saw Wesley Johnson (4th overall pick) in street clothes. He was extremely nice and signed my 8x10 and took a picture with me. There was this fat geeky kid who had a shit-ton of 8x10s of all the players, and Wesley signed about 7 of them in a row for him. So yeah, rooting for Wesley Johnson this year.
We were sitting by the entrance to the locker rooms today, and every so often a player would come out, and throw his jersey or shoes at some little kids. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to get any. Oh, and after the 3rd quarter, we were asked to participate in the entertainment by playing this “jersey switch “ game on the court. All 4 of us participated, and we beat the other team of 4 people, and we each won $10 giftcards to the NBA store. cool
After summer league, we ate in the food court at Venetian and saw the Blue Man Group at 10PM. I really like the show. It was very entertaining and very interactive. It was definitely worth the $50 or so it cost. (student discount)
7/15/10
Today, we had lunch at Serendipity 3 at Caesar’s Palace. I had the NY hot dog, and it was pretty awesome. We again headed to NBA summer league for my 4th day. The day was a lot less action-filled than yesterday because there were no real huge names walking around. However, Chris Webber was back. Russell Westbrook and Brandon Jennings showed up for John Wall’s game. I got a picture with Russell Westbrook, but I didn’t approach Brandon Jennings. Portland was the last game, and I got Elliot Williams’s (1st round draft pick) autograph.
John Wall was very unimpressive, I knew he had a bad game but was very surprised to see that he shot 4-19 or something like that. He had a very ugly 21 points. But damn, Jeremy lin stole the show. He had the whole crowd rooting for him. He had a breakaway dunk which got the crowd going. He almost had an And 1 which was called an offensive foul, and the crowd starting boo’ing louder than I’ve heard in all 4 days. He even defended John Wall pretty well. One time they were isolated on the wing, and Jeremy defended him very well and forced John to throw up an ugly jumpshot, barely touching the rim. I was very disappointed in John Wall’s body language. It seemed very clear that as soon as he didn’t have a “good” game, that he sort of gave up and wasn’t trying as hard. He seemed embarrassed that Jeremy Lin was attracting the attention of the fans.
After summer league, we went to the M Casino for their buffett. Supposedly, they won an award for the best buffett in Las vegas. We started to wait in line and it seemed pretty long. I proposed to Nick that we make a bet regarding what time we will be seated. We set the rules and they were: As soon as the cashier touches our credit card, is ‘the time’. The bet was only $5, and we played rock-paper-scissor, loser sets the line, the winner picks over or under (before or after). I lost, and debated for a good 5 minutes, It was 8 O’clock I think, and I decided to set the line 8:47. All I was hoping for was that he didn’t insta-choose the before or after. I at least wanted to make a decent line, and make him think about it. Fortunately, for me, he did have to think about it, but eventually picked the before. (side note, Greg and Kyle chose 8:43 and 8:45, so I was happy about that). But unfortunately, the line started to move pretty quickly. So obviously, I wanted a buy out, there was a zero percent chance that I would win. But then, Nick offered this proposition: I could buy 5 minutes for every dollar, up to 20 minutes. I debated, but took his offer. At this point, the new time was 8:27 and I still had the over, I could lose $9 or win $1. Long story short, we get served at 8:28. Lame story
Dinner was pretty good, with all you can drink beer and wine. After dinner, we all decided to play some “johnny lodden thinks”. It’s basically me betting with person A on what person B thinks of something. For our first bet, Nick and Kyle bet on what I thought the capacity of the buffet was. I looked around and did a little calculation, and set my number at 266 I think. Nick took 300-ish and kyle took 500-ish, so Nick shipped the $5. However, the actual capacity was 1,062 I think.
One of the more memorable bets was “how many sexual partners has Kobe Bryant had?” We had Nick set the number, and Kyle and I bet on it, wager-ing style. Nick set his number and told Greg. But, Nick being Nick (unpredictable), we concluded that it could be 2 (wife and girl he raped) to 400 and nowhere in between. I think I took the over, but his number was low (less than 10).
For our last bet, we decided on my favorite bet of all time, the ‘how many days,months,years would you give up off the end of your life to spend a week with you dream girl?’. I don’t want to use names just in case this person doesn’t want their answer to be public. So we decided to ask Nick. . I took the under on 3 and a half years, Kyle took the over. His answer? 12 years. Lost that bet, got swept in my own game.
Bet $30 on the under, angels vs. Seatle, lost that one
july 13
PokerStars Game #46731806051: Tournament #291420939, $30.00+$1.50 USD Hold'em No Limit - Match Round I, Level I (10/20) - 2010/07/13 18:17:03 ET
Table '291420939 1' 2-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: iNViZiGO (1630 in chips)
Seat 2: @enana@78 (1370 in chips)
@enana@78: posts small blind 10
iNViZiGO: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to iNViZiGO [Qc 8c]
@enana@78: calls 10
iNViZiGO: checks
*** FLOP *** [7s 4s 3s]
iNViZiGO: checks
@enana@78: checks
*** TURN *** [7s 4s 3s] [9d]
iNViZiGO: checks
@enana@78: checks
*** RIVER *** [7s 4s 3s 9d] [8h]
iNViZiGO: bets 20
@enana@78: raises 20 to 40
iNViZiGO: calls 20
*** SHOW DOWN ***
@enana@78: shows [As 8s] (a flush, Ace high)
iNViZiGO: mucks hand
@enana@78 collected 120 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 120 | Rake 0
Board [7s 4s 3s 9d 8h]
Seat 1: iNViZiGO (big blind) mucked [Qc 8c]
Seat 2: @enana@78 (button) (small blind) showed [As 8s] and won (120) with a flush, Ace high
Anohther example of how NOT to get value from your big hands, he flops the nuts and checks back the flop and turn, and only min-raises the river. You’re cute enana
PokerStars Game #46740706699: Tournament #291479364, $30.00+$1.50 USD Hold'em No Limit - Match Round I, Level I (10/20) - 2010/07/13 22:17:04 ET
Table '291479364 1' 2-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: crnagora10 (1570 in chips)
Seat 2: iNViZiGO (1430 in chips)
crnagora10: posts small blind 10
iNViZiGO: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to iNViZiGO [8s 8h]
crnagora10: raises 20 to 40
iNViZiGO: raises 80 to 120
crnagora10: calls 80
*** FLOP *** [6c 4s Th]
iNViZiGO: checks
crnagora10: bets 100
iNViZiGO: calls 100
*** TURN *** [6c 4s Th] [2h]
iNViZiGO: checks
crnagora10: checks
*** RIVER *** [6c 4s Th 2h] [9h]
iNViZiGO: checks
crnagora10: bets 220
iNViZiGO: calls 220
*** SHOW DOWN ***
crnagora10: shows [Ad 9c] (a pair of Nines)
iNViZiGO: mucks hand
crnagora10 collected 880 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 880 | Rake 0
Board [6c 4s Th 2h 9h]
Seat 1: crnagora10 (button) (small blind) showed [Ad 9c] and won (880) with a pair of Nines
Seat 2: iNViZiGO (big blind) mucked [8s 8h]
This guy completely owned me. I’m not sure if he meant to bet for value or a bluff, but either way, I was impressed by his bet. I thought he would bet a 10 on the turn, so I didn’t put him on a 10. And I didn’t think he would value bet a pair of nines, but he owned, nothing else I could say I guess.
PokerStars Game #46747963288: Tournament #291525836, $30.00+$1.50 USD Hold'em No Limit - Match Round I, Level II (15/30) - 2010/07/14 3:57:42 ET
Table '291525836 1' 2-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: LilliK2 (1625 in chips)
Seat 2: iNViZiGO (1375 in chips)
iNViZiGO: posts small blind 15
LilliK2: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to iNViZiGO [6h 9s]
iNViZiGO: calls 15
LilliK2: checks
*** FLOP *** [6c 6s 3s]
LilliK2: checks
iNViZiGO: bets 30
LilliK2: raises 30 to 60
iNViZiGO: raises 120 to 180
LilliK2: raises 120 to 300
iNViZiGO: calls 120
*** TURN *** [6c 6s 3s] [Td]
LilliK2: bets 180
iNViZiGO: calls 180
*** RIVER *** [6c 6s 3s Td] [Kd]
LilliK2: bets 360
iNViZiGO: calls 360
*** SHOW DOWN ***
LilliK2: shows [7d 2s] (a pair of Sixes)
iNViZiGO: shows [6h 9s] (three of a kind, Sixes)
iNViZiGO collected 1740 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1740 | Rake 0
Board [6c 6s 3s Td Kd]
Seat 1: LilliK2 (big blind) showed [7d 2s] and lost with a pair of Sixes
Seat 2: iNViZiGO (button) (small blind) showed [6h 9s] and won (1740) with three of a kind, Sixes
I was very close to 5-betting the flop, and maybe I should have to get value from his hands with just a 3 in it. But I wanted to let him continue to bluff if he is indeed bluffing. But, my normal line there is to 5-bet the flop.
7/13/10
I bought internet ($11.99) today because live poker sucks lol. I played pretty much all day starting at noon, and was pretty breakeven for most of the day, but hit a little card rush toward the end of the day and booked about a $250 win. That helped a little after the disaster at Venetian.
Greg, Greg’s brother Kyle, and Greg’s friend Nick got into town around 3 and they picked me up for dinner around 6ish. We had this pho place near the rio. It was very solid, and even more delicious because I won credit card roulette, I think Nick and Kyle lost. After dinner, we stopped by the RIO to check out the WSOP main event. It was near the money bubble, so the room was extremely packed. We finally got a view of the action, and I saw my biggest man-crush I’ve ever had, Mr. Patrik Antonius (google him). He was looking studly as always. He was in a hand, and the ESPN cameras came over to film it, and I stood right behind him, so maybe I’ll be on TV.
Greg made an uh-oh at dinner. As we were preparing for credit card roulette, we decided to use driver’s licenses instead of actual credit cards. But Greggy left his ID at home, ouch. But, it was probably a good idea because it saved him from potential gambling losses. But ouch. I also bet on the All star game. I put $20 on the American league, and cringed as they blew a couple chances to put some runs on the board. Blah blah
Table '291420939 1' 2-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: iNViZiGO (1630 in chips)
Seat 2: @enana@78 (1370 in chips)
@enana@78: posts small blind 10
iNViZiGO: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to iNViZiGO [Qc 8c]
@enana@78: calls 10
iNViZiGO: checks
*** FLOP *** [7s 4s 3s]
iNViZiGO: checks
@enana@78: checks
*** TURN *** [7s 4s 3s] [9d]
iNViZiGO: checks
@enana@78: checks
*** RIVER *** [7s 4s 3s 9d] [8h]
iNViZiGO: bets 20
@enana@78: raises 20 to 40
iNViZiGO: calls 20
*** SHOW DOWN ***
@enana@78: shows [As 8s] (a flush, Ace high)
iNViZiGO: mucks hand
@enana@78 collected 120 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 120 | Rake 0
Board [7s 4s 3s 9d 8h]
Seat 1: iNViZiGO (big blind) mucked [Qc 8c]
Seat 2: @enana@78 (button) (small blind) showed [As 8s] and won (120) with a flush, Ace high
Anohther example of how NOT to get value from your big hands, he flops the nuts and checks back the flop and turn, and only min-raises the river. You’re cute enana
PokerStars Game #46740706699: Tournament #291479364, $30.00+$1.50 USD Hold'em No Limit - Match Round I, Level I (10/20) - 2010/07/13 22:17:04 ET
Table '291479364 1' 2-max Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: crnagora10 (1570 in chips)
Seat 2: iNViZiGO (1430 in chips)
crnagora10: posts small blind 10
iNViZiGO: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to iNViZiGO [8s 8h]
crnagora10: raises 20 to 40
iNViZiGO: raises 80 to 120
crnagora10: calls 80
*** FLOP *** [6c 4s Th]
iNViZiGO: checks
crnagora10: bets 100
iNViZiGO: calls 100
*** TURN *** [6c 4s Th] [2h]
iNViZiGO: checks
crnagora10: checks
*** RIVER *** [6c 4s Th 2h] [9h]
iNViZiGO: checks
crnagora10: bets 220
iNViZiGO: calls 220
*** SHOW DOWN ***
crnagora10: shows [Ad 9c] (a pair of Nines)
iNViZiGO: mucks hand
crnagora10 collected 880 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 880 | Rake 0
Board [6c 4s Th 2h 9h]
Seat 1: crnagora10 (button) (small blind) showed [Ad 9c] and won (880) with a pair of Nines
Seat 2: iNViZiGO (big blind) mucked [8s 8h]
This guy completely owned me. I’m not sure if he meant to bet for value or a bluff, but either way, I was impressed by his bet. I thought he would bet a 10 on the turn, so I didn’t put him on a 10. And I didn’t think he would value bet a pair of nines, but he owned, nothing else I could say I guess.
PokerStars Game #46747963288: Tournament #291525836, $30.00+$1.50 USD Hold'em No Limit - Match Round I, Level II (15/30) - 2010/07/14 3:57:42 ET
Table '291525836 1' 2-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: LilliK2 (1625 in chips)
Seat 2: iNViZiGO (1375 in chips)
iNViZiGO: posts small blind 15
LilliK2: posts big blind 30
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to iNViZiGO [6h 9s]
iNViZiGO: calls 15
LilliK2: checks
*** FLOP *** [6c 6s 3s]
LilliK2: checks
iNViZiGO: bets 30
LilliK2: raises 30 to 60
iNViZiGO: raises 120 to 180
LilliK2: raises 120 to 300
iNViZiGO: calls 120
*** TURN *** [6c 6s 3s] [Td]
LilliK2: bets 180
iNViZiGO: calls 180
*** RIVER *** [6c 6s 3s Td] [Kd]
LilliK2: bets 360
iNViZiGO: calls 360
*** SHOW DOWN ***
LilliK2: shows [7d 2s] (a pair of Sixes)
iNViZiGO: shows [6h 9s] (three of a kind, Sixes)
iNViZiGO collected 1740 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 1740 | Rake 0
Board [6c 6s 3s Td Kd]
Seat 1: LilliK2 (big blind) showed [7d 2s] and lost with a pair of Sixes
Seat 2: iNViZiGO (button) (small blind) showed [6h 9s] and won (1740) with three of a kind, Sixes
I was very close to 5-betting the flop, and maybe I should have to get value from his hands with just a 3 in it. But I wanted to let him continue to bluff if he is indeed bluffing. But, my normal line there is to 5-bet the flop.
7/13/10
I bought internet ($11.99) today because live poker sucks lol. I played pretty much all day starting at noon, and was pretty breakeven for most of the day, but hit a little card rush toward the end of the day and booked about a $250 win. That helped a little after the disaster at Venetian.
Greg, Greg’s brother Kyle, and Greg’s friend Nick got into town around 3 and they picked me up for dinner around 6ish. We had this pho place near the rio. It was very solid, and even more delicious because I won credit card roulette, I think Nick and Kyle lost. After dinner, we stopped by the RIO to check out the WSOP main event. It was near the money bubble, so the room was extremely packed. We finally got a view of the action, and I saw my biggest man-crush I’ve ever had, Mr. Patrik Antonius (google him). He was looking studly as always. He was in a hand, and the ESPN cameras came over to film it, and I stood right behind him, so maybe I’ll be on TV.
Greg made an uh-oh at dinner. As we were preparing for credit card roulette, we decided to use driver’s licenses instead of actual credit cards. But Greggy left his ID at home, ouch. But, it was probably a good idea because it saved him from potential gambling losses. But ouch. I also bet on the All star game. I put $20 on the American league, and cringed as they blew a couple chances to put some runs on the board. Blah blah
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
12th
7-12-10
Today, we planned to attend our 2nd day of NBA’s summer league at UNLV. The first game we saw was Lakers at the Knicks. Steve and I wanted to make a few bets on the games to make it more interesting. We played rock-paper-scissors, loser sets the line, winner picks the side. I lost, and make the Lakers 6.5 point favorites, Steve laughs and insta-chooses Knicks and says they will win straight up. Of course, he’s right and it wasn’t even close.
The second game was more interesting, Kings at Pistons. The Kings were stacked with Omri, Cousins, Donte Green, and Hasaan Whiteside. I lost rock paper scissor, and made the Kings 11.5 point favorites, Steven paused shortly and picks the Kings. The Kings dominated this game and won by about 20-something. All of the Kings players looked really solid. The Maloof brothers sat right in front of us. And there was this old guy we saw the first day that seemed to know everybody. We saw him again today, and he sat to my right and asked me to save his seat once. I finally got to see his nametag, and he turned out to be Maloof Sr. Still trying to hate on Greg Monroe, and he was extremely unimpressive again today. Also, he turned down autograph requests for the 2nd time this trip, so he’s an ass-wad.
The next game was Mavericks vs. the Bucks. No real big names here, unless you count Jeremy Lin. He played extremely well today and I can only hope the best for him. Fortunately (for me), we didn’t bet on this game.
The last game was easily the most-hyped game we’ve seen so far. The Wizards were playing the Clippers, our first look at John Wall. The gym was packed and John Wall didn’t disappoint the fans. During warmups, he was playing up to the crowd with crazy looking dunks. He led the Wizards to a pretty healthy lead and they never looked back. Steve set the line for his (Wall’s) point total at 16, and I took the over. At halftime, he had 15 and I was looking like a lock. In the 3rd quarter, he didn’t score in the first 6 or so minutes (10 minute quarters), so I was getting little scared that they would pull him out. He finally scored a layup and got fouled to put his point total at 18 to give me my first win. He was taken out of the game shortly after that, so Steve set a very good line.
My impressions of John Wall is that he is the real deal. Before today, I never really thought he was worth the hype. I’ve seen him play at Kentucky and thought he was good, but I never thought he was dominant or anything. But tonight, he could get any shot he wanted, whenever he wanted. And more importantly, he got his shooters wide open looks whenever he was in the game. He had lots of swagger, that’s for sure. He was dancing, flexing his muscles after his and 1’s, and smiling after every good play or good pass. He’s definitely very cocky, which I guess any great player needs.
There was a big Clipper fan (literally) in the crowd who was very vocal. He yelled things like “over-rated”. But, during the 1st quarter, John Wall took a pretty hard hit and was slow to get up. The Clipper fan shouted “Welcome to the NBA John Wall, over-rated!”. As John Wall stepped up to take his 2 free throw shots, he made the first one, and looked back at the big Clipper fan and stared at him for a good 2 seconds. The crowd loved it. However, why would he acknowledge the heckler? No matter what happened after that, the heckler already won. The clipper fan got into his head, even though it obviously didn’t affect him, I thought that it was pretty immature, and I doubt he’ll ever react to a heckler again.
Autograph-wise. I got 2 autographs from Hasaan Whiteside of the Kings. He played very well today, he probably had like 4 or 5 nice blocks. I got a picture with Jrue Holliday, Rudy Gay, Hasheem thabeet, and Al Fariq-Aminu? of the Clippers (top 10 pick). Glen Davis was watching today, but I didn’t get a picture with him.
It’s real interesting how much the NBA is like a fraternity. Every tall and/or rich guy seemed to have some affiliation with an NBA team. We sat right behind reporter, David Aldridge. And I swear, every 15 minutes, a tall and/or rich-looking guy would tap him on the shoulder, and David would say “Hey brother, How’s it going blah blah blah.”
Today, we planned to attend our 2nd day of NBA’s summer league at UNLV. The first game we saw was Lakers at the Knicks. Steve and I wanted to make a few bets on the games to make it more interesting. We played rock-paper-scissors, loser sets the line, winner picks the side. I lost, and make the Lakers 6.5 point favorites, Steve laughs and insta-chooses Knicks and says they will win straight up. Of course, he’s right and it wasn’t even close.
The second game was more interesting, Kings at Pistons. The Kings were stacked with Omri, Cousins, Donte Green, and Hasaan Whiteside. I lost rock paper scissor, and made the Kings 11.5 point favorites, Steven paused shortly and picks the Kings. The Kings dominated this game and won by about 20-something. All of the Kings players looked really solid. The Maloof brothers sat right in front of us. And there was this old guy we saw the first day that seemed to know everybody. We saw him again today, and he sat to my right and asked me to save his seat once. I finally got to see his nametag, and he turned out to be Maloof Sr. Still trying to hate on Greg Monroe, and he was extremely unimpressive again today. Also, he turned down autograph requests for the 2nd time this trip, so he’s an ass-wad.
The next game was Mavericks vs. the Bucks. No real big names here, unless you count Jeremy Lin. He played extremely well today and I can only hope the best for him. Fortunately (for me), we didn’t bet on this game.
The last game was easily the most-hyped game we’ve seen so far. The Wizards were playing the Clippers, our first look at John Wall. The gym was packed and John Wall didn’t disappoint the fans. During warmups, he was playing up to the crowd with crazy looking dunks. He led the Wizards to a pretty healthy lead and they never looked back. Steve set the line for his (Wall’s) point total at 16, and I took the over. At halftime, he had 15 and I was looking like a lock. In the 3rd quarter, he didn’t score in the first 6 or so minutes (10 minute quarters), so I was getting little scared that they would pull him out. He finally scored a layup and got fouled to put his point total at 18 to give me my first win. He was taken out of the game shortly after that, so Steve set a very good line.
My impressions of John Wall is that he is the real deal. Before today, I never really thought he was worth the hype. I’ve seen him play at Kentucky and thought he was good, but I never thought he was dominant or anything. But tonight, he could get any shot he wanted, whenever he wanted. And more importantly, he got his shooters wide open looks whenever he was in the game. He had lots of swagger, that’s for sure. He was dancing, flexing his muscles after his and 1’s, and smiling after every good play or good pass. He’s definitely very cocky, which I guess any great player needs.
There was a big Clipper fan (literally) in the crowd who was very vocal. He yelled things like “over-rated”. But, during the 1st quarter, John Wall took a pretty hard hit and was slow to get up. The Clipper fan shouted “Welcome to the NBA John Wall, over-rated!”. As John Wall stepped up to take his 2 free throw shots, he made the first one, and looked back at the big Clipper fan and stared at him for a good 2 seconds. The crowd loved it. However, why would he acknowledge the heckler? No matter what happened after that, the heckler already won. The clipper fan got into his head, even though it obviously didn’t affect him, I thought that it was pretty immature, and I doubt he’ll ever react to a heckler again.
Autograph-wise. I got 2 autographs from Hasaan Whiteside of the Kings. He played very well today, he probably had like 4 or 5 nice blocks. I got a picture with Jrue Holliday, Rudy Gay, Hasheem thabeet, and Al Fariq-Aminu? of the Clippers (top 10 pick). Glen Davis was watching today, but I didn’t get a picture with him.
It’s real interesting how much the NBA is like a fraternity. Every tall and/or rich guy seemed to have some affiliation with an NBA team. We sat right behind reporter, David Aldridge. And I swear, every 15 minutes, a tall and/or rich-looking guy would tap him on the shoulder, and David would say “Hey brother, How’s it going blah blah blah.”
10th and 11th
7-10-10
Today Steve and I hung out with Corinne and Kendyl on the Strip. We met them at Caesars’s and played blackjack at Bally’s for about an hour. I was down about $40 but then managed to book a $2 win, Corinne made a $100 and was “stoked”. We decided to try another place because everyone was either up or even. So we played blackjack at the next $5 table we saw, at shitty O’sheas. Corinne and Kendyl both lost there, but I managed to break even again. I’m noticing a trend, I like to play blackjack, but I always get stuck right off the bat, and then when I get back even, it feels like a “win”, and then I call it quits.
But after that, we all take the monorail back to the Hilton to see their hotel room. I was very impressed with it, the hotel and everything looked pretty old, but the rooms were very nice. We end up going to eat at Trevi in the Forum Shops at Caesar’s which was a decent Italian restaurant. After, Kendyl really wanted to see Kathy Griffin’s stand up at Caesar’s. She was pretty entertaining, but not Russell Peters-status.
After, Steve and I walked to Bally’s to try their poker room out. I wasn’t impressed, it was extremely loud the whole time we were there, and the players we’re all pretty nitty. But fortunately, I hit quad queens and won a “high hand” jackpot worth an additional $100, so that was nice.
In my other big hand, there were 2 limpers (one was an old guy in a “WSOP” hat), I have JJ and raise up to $15, both limpers call. And the flop is KJ6, no flush draw. I bet like $10 I think, pretty small bet, but there’s not that many scary turn cards. The old WSOP-fart just calls, and the turn is a 2. I bet $30 because I need to make some money. True to form, he min raises (WHICH IS NEVER A BLUFF, if I had aces, I would throw up all over the table, and fold), so I pause, and shove, he of course calls, and shows his pocket twos and I scoop the pot. There’s nothing I like more than stacking an old guy in a WSOP hat.
We played til 2:30 in order to catch the monorail, and I book a $220 win. For the 2nd time in 3 days, we had Chinese food and I lost credit card roulette, so Steve’s pad thai? was my treat. I didn’t really know this happened in the summer, but it started to rain around 3:30 when we were walking back to the Stratosphere. Weird.
So at Bally’s, to be completely honest, the cocktail waitresses were the worst that I have seen so far. This one cocktail waitress was extremely rude to our table every time she asked for drinks, and she was not attractive, so she didn’t have any reason to be rude. But there was this one cocktail waitress, who was probably pushing 60 years old. If I had to set an honest line, I would say 57.5 years old, it was just gross because of what she was wearing. Just ugh.
7-11-10
Went to the gym today, and then went to the sportsbook to watch the Soccer final between Spain the the Netherlands. Vamos Espana! Bodog gave me a free $10 bet before the World Cup started, and I bet it on Spain to win $37.50.
Steve had one of the best ideas I’ve heard in a long time. When we were playing blackjack at Bally’s, if you were a dealt a blackjack, they give you “party beads”. However, after we had our beads on, we played poker, and at the poker tables, we looked like noobs. We just look like random tourists who had fun at the blackjack tables, and then wanted to try out some poker. I think this idea is brilliant. And today, once I sat down at the Venetian, this guy makes a comment and says “look at those beads, must be having a good vacation?” I said “yeah, just having fun”. Maybe I’m over thinking this, but it is always better for people at the poker tables to think I’m just there having fun, instead of thinking that I’m there to make some monies (which is of course, is the truth)
But yeah, today was rough. I bet on the Dodgers, run line (-1.5), at +155, $30 to win $46.5. The dodgers killed the Cubs, so that was nice. But the fun stopped there. I bought in for $240 at the Venetian, and stayed even for about an hour, and then I limp on the button after a couple limpers with 96. The flop is K78, rainbow. Young guy bets 10, I call, another caller, and I call as well. Turn is a beautiful 10, giving me a straight. Young guy bets $15, I raise $40 MORE. Young guy calls. I have about $100 left and the pot is about $140. River is a King (not a very good card for me), he checks, I shove my last $100. He actually sighs, checks his cards, and calls, and tables K10 for a rivered full house. Normally, I would get mad at this guy for somewhat “slowrolling” me, but I think he honestly was scared to put the money in and honestly didn’t know he had the nuts. He was a pretty nice guy, so I just said “nice hand” and then I went to go eat dinner. I think there is an argument for betting a little less on the river, than folding to a raise (bet/fold). For example, I could have bet about $60 and just folded to a raise (and save that extra $40), but I think he’s just as likely to have 3 kings, than a full house. And with weaker players, if he has KQ (just 3 queens), and I bet $60, he might shove thinking he has the best hand, and then now what do I do? So, I like my shove there, I could be wrong though.
I came back after dinner, untilted, and ready to play. However, about an hour into the session, I raise under the gun to $10 with red kings, Canadian Asian player raises to $40, button calls, I shove all in, Asian player folds, the guy on the button (had about $120) calls me. He tabled AA, and I said fcuk me. He was actually a nice guy too, so I didn’t get upset or anything. So, yeah, lost $363 in both sessions. But to be honest, I’m happy about how I played. I don’t want to worry about things that are out of my control (the cards). Oh well, I get to see John Wall tomorrow, so I’m pretty excited about that.
Steve decided to play downstairs at the Strat and texted me saying it was the softest table that he has ever played. I told him I wasn’t really in the mood but he convinced me by saying we would split our action 50%. However, I suck at poker, and to make a long story short, I lost, but Steve won, so I ended up losing about $70ish in that late night session. Blah blah, it was a good spot though.
Today Steve and I hung out with Corinne and Kendyl on the Strip. We met them at Caesars’s and played blackjack at Bally’s for about an hour. I was down about $40 but then managed to book a $2 win, Corinne made a $100 and was “stoked”. We decided to try another place because everyone was either up or even. So we played blackjack at the next $5 table we saw, at shitty O’sheas. Corinne and Kendyl both lost there, but I managed to break even again. I’m noticing a trend, I like to play blackjack, but I always get stuck right off the bat, and then when I get back even, it feels like a “win”, and then I call it quits.
But after that, we all take the monorail back to the Hilton to see their hotel room. I was very impressed with it, the hotel and everything looked pretty old, but the rooms were very nice. We end up going to eat at Trevi in the Forum Shops at Caesar’s which was a decent Italian restaurant. After, Kendyl really wanted to see Kathy Griffin’s stand up at Caesar’s. She was pretty entertaining, but not Russell Peters-status.
After, Steve and I walked to Bally’s to try their poker room out. I wasn’t impressed, it was extremely loud the whole time we were there, and the players we’re all pretty nitty. But fortunately, I hit quad queens and won a “high hand” jackpot worth an additional $100, so that was nice.
In my other big hand, there were 2 limpers (one was an old guy in a “WSOP” hat), I have JJ and raise up to $15, both limpers call. And the flop is KJ6, no flush draw. I bet like $10 I think, pretty small bet, but there’s not that many scary turn cards. The old WSOP-fart just calls, and the turn is a 2. I bet $30 because I need to make some money. True to form, he min raises (WHICH IS NEVER A BLUFF, if I had aces, I would throw up all over the table, and fold), so I pause, and shove, he of course calls, and shows his pocket twos and I scoop the pot. There’s nothing I like more than stacking an old guy in a WSOP hat.
We played til 2:30 in order to catch the monorail, and I book a $220 win. For the 2nd time in 3 days, we had Chinese food and I lost credit card roulette, so Steve’s pad thai? was my treat. I didn’t really know this happened in the summer, but it started to rain around 3:30 when we were walking back to the Stratosphere. Weird.
So at Bally’s, to be completely honest, the cocktail waitresses were the worst that I have seen so far. This one cocktail waitress was extremely rude to our table every time she asked for drinks, and she was not attractive, so she didn’t have any reason to be rude. But there was this one cocktail waitress, who was probably pushing 60 years old. If I had to set an honest line, I would say 57.5 years old, it was just gross because of what she was wearing. Just ugh.
7-11-10
Went to the gym today, and then went to the sportsbook to watch the Soccer final between Spain the the Netherlands. Vamos Espana! Bodog gave me a free $10 bet before the World Cup started, and I bet it on Spain to win $37.50.
Steve had one of the best ideas I’ve heard in a long time. When we were playing blackjack at Bally’s, if you were a dealt a blackjack, they give you “party beads”. However, after we had our beads on, we played poker, and at the poker tables, we looked like noobs. We just look like random tourists who had fun at the blackjack tables, and then wanted to try out some poker. I think this idea is brilliant. And today, once I sat down at the Venetian, this guy makes a comment and says “look at those beads, must be having a good vacation?” I said “yeah, just having fun”. Maybe I’m over thinking this, but it is always better for people at the poker tables to think I’m just there having fun, instead of thinking that I’m there to make some monies (which is of course, is the truth)
But yeah, today was rough. I bet on the Dodgers, run line (-1.5), at +155, $30 to win $46.5. The dodgers killed the Cubs, so that was nice. But the fun stopped there. I bought in for $240 at the Venetian, and stayed even for about an hour, and then I limp on the button after a couple limpers with 96. The flop is K78, rainbow. Young guy bets 10, I call, another caller, and I call as well. Turn is a beautiful 10, giving me a straight. Young guy bets $15, I raise $40 MORE. Young guy calls. I have about $100 left and the pot is about $140. River is a King (not a very good card for me), he checks, I shove my last $100. He actually sighs, checks his cards, and calls, and tables K10 for a rivered full house. Normally, I would get mad at this guy for somewhat “slowrolling” me, but I think he honestly was scared to put the money in and honestly didn’t know he had the nuts. He was a pretty nice guy, so I just said “nice hand” and then I went to go eat dinner. I think there is an argument for betting a little less on the river, than folding to a raise (bet/fold). For example, I could have bet about $60 and just folded to a raise (and save that extra $40), but I think he’s just as likely to have 3 kings, than a full house. And with weaker players, if he has KQ (just 3 queens), and I bet $60, he might shove thinking he has the best hand, and then now what do I do? So, I like my shove there, I could be wrong though.
I came back after dinner, untilted, and ready to play. However, about an hour into the session, I raise under the gun to $10 with red kings, Canadian Asian player raises to $40, button calls, I shove all in, Asian player folds, the guy on the button (had about $120) calls me. He tabled AA, and I said fcuk me. He was actually a nice guy too, so I didn’t get upset or anything. So, yeah, lost $363 in both sessions. But to be honest, I’m happy about how I played. I don’t want to worry about things that are out of my control (the cards). Oh well, I get to see John Wall tomorrow, so I’m pretty excited about that.
Steve decided to play downstairs at the Strat and texted me saying it was the softest table that he has ever played. I told him I wasn’t really in the mood but he convinced me by saying we would split our action 50%. However, I suck at poker, and to make a long story short, I lost, but Steve won, so I ended up losing about $70ish in that late night session. Blah blah, it was a good spot though.
july 8th and 9th
7/8/10
Played on Stars and Lost $32 lol in poker, ran pretty bad, oh well. Before my internet was set to expire, I youtubed all 10 parts of Good Burger, such a good movie, it’s so underrated. Didn’t do too much today beside bet on San Diego, I bet $40 to win $24ish and they won 6-1 I believe. Steve and I went to the pool for about an hour, and then we prepared for the Lebron show. I’m a compete whore for big-hyped sporting events and whatnot, so I was pretty damn excited for this one. I don’t want to go in detail about it, but wow, I wasn’t surprised (about his “decision”), but for some reason, I was shocked to actually see him leave Cleveland.
Corinne arrived in town around 4ish and she and her friends ate somewhere on the strip. As they were walking around at Caesar’s, they saw Shaq walking around. Supposedly he turned down an autograph request from a little girl, but I’m assuming who he would be ambushed if he did start to sign. Steve and I played video roulette with a full-proof system (just kidding, but seriously), martingaling? I think is what it’s called. We bet quarters, and won $25 before we planned to head out to the Sahara, the strip’s only $1 blackjack. It was really fun, you can play $1 blackjack for hours, and that’s exactly what we did. I lost $30 but I think steve won about $40. I felt so bad for the dealers. It’s not very exciting (or lucrative) to deal to a full table and only see $10 split between 5 or 6 players. When someone dropped a red chip ($5), that would be considered a big bet. Poor Yemme (our dealer from Ethiopia), she had “fcuk my life” written all over her face.
Vegas mind fcuks people. I weighed myself at the gym today, and I lost a few pounds already. My mom has been telling me “don’t forget to eat”. But that’s exactly what has been happening. Yesterday, I woke up and didn’t eat til about 4 after we went to the pool. And at Planet Hollywood, I started to play poker around 4 or 4:30 and I planned to eat dinner in a couple hours. However, my game was “juicy” and before I knew it, it was 11:30 and I still had not eaten.
Bodog listed their bets for rookie of the year for the NBA. It’s embarrassing, but they don’t even list the Warriors 1st round pick, Ekpe Udoh. How sad, they have odds for Cole Aldrich, Xavier Henry, and even Jordan Crawford.
7-9-10
Bet $20 on Toronto at +130 or something against Boston. So I check the score in the 4th inning, and it’s only 13-0, Boston leads. I think a cool feature for an online sportsbook would be the “buy out”. I’m sure there is some dollar amount that the spotsbook would agree to let the bettor “buy out” of the bet.
Today, I woke up around 10ish and went to the gym for some much needed exercise. Today was the 1st day of the NBA’s summer league, so we headed over to UNLV before the 1st game started.
The first game was against the Mavericks and Nuggets. When I was walking into the court, I saw Mark Cuban and I’m 95% sure he was with his brother. He walked straight to George Karl who was sitting courtside. We were lucky enough to sit one row behind them for the entire day. Ty Lawson and Coby Karl lead the Nuggets and Rodrigue boubieaeius? Lead the Mavericks. Omar Samhan (St. Mary’s, CA) and Jeremy Lin (Chinese Bay area player that went to Harvard) were also playing. We got autographs and pictures with Jeremy Lin and Dominic Jones (1st round pick by the Mavs I think)
The second game was between the Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets. Before the game started, we saw Patrick Patterson (Kentucky, 1st round pick) leaning against the wall and got a picture and autograph with him. Taylor Griffin played pretty well with the Suns. Nothing too exciting about this game, or at least I don’t remember. Well actually, there was this old man and his grandson watching the game with us. And he had asked to see my program and made some small talk with me. But for the next 3 hours, all of these players, agent-looking guys, and announcers talked to him like they were real good friends. So Steven and I thought maybe he was an owner or something.
The 3rd game was the Pistons against the Lakers. The lakers blew a big lead in this one to lose by 3 or 4. Jerry Buss was sitting right in front of us, so I got a picture with him. He was sitting in a folding chair, and he was leaning forward, so you could kind of see his tighty whities, and a little bit of his old disgusting butt crack. So of course I took a picture of it. Gerald Green (scrub) was playing for the Lakers and the Pistons had a pretty good young team including Jerebko, Summers, Austin Daye, and Greg Monroe. I’m hoping that Greg Monroe is a huge bust because the Warriors could have picked him.
The 4th game was the Warriors against the Hornets. The Hornets had a pretty solid team including Darren Collison and Marcus Thorntonn. Ekpe Udoh was obviously hurt and didn’t suit up, but Brandon Wright and Reggie Williams lead the Warriors to a comeback win. It was cool to see Steph Curry in real life. I was surprised to see so many Warrior fans there. We saw the Warriors GM, Don Nelson, and recently traded Anthony Randolph (also hoping he ends up being a bust).
Throughout the day, there were lots of random players walking around. It was very exciting to just look around and spot different players. We got a picture with Rodney Stuckey, Aaron Afflalo, Paul Milsap, and Kevin McHale. We asked Anthony Randolph for a picture, but that weirdo said no, but he said he’ll sign something.
After getting back to the Stratosphere, I was playing with some complete donks and was quickly up a good amount, then I lost a $300 pot and didn’t feel like playing any more but I booked a $100 win.
Played on Stars and Lost $32 lol in poker, ran pretty bad, oh well. Before my internet was set to expire, I youtubed all 10 parts of Good Burger, such a good movie, it’s so underrated. Didn’t do too much today beside bet on San Diego, I bet $40 to win $24ish and they won 6-1 I believe. Steve and I went to the pool for about an hour, and then we prepared for the Lebron show. I’m a compete whore for big-hyped sporting events and whatnot, so I was pretty damn excited for this one. I don’t want to go in detail about it, but wow, I wasn’t surprised (about his “decision”), but for some reason, I was shocked to actually see him leave Cleveland.
Corinne arrived in town around 4ish and she and her friends ate somewhere on the strip. As they were walking around at Caesar’s, they saw Shaq walking around. Supposedly he turned down an autograph request from a little girl, but I’m assuming who he would be ambushed if he did start to sign. Steve and I played video roulette with a full-proof system (just kidding, but seriously), martingaling? I think is what it’s called. We bet quarters, and won $25 before we planned to head out to the Sahara, the strip’s only $1 blackjack. It was really fun, you can play $1 blackjack for hours, and that’s exactly what we did. I lost $30 but I think steve won about $40. I felt so bad for the dealers. It’s not very exciting (or lucrative) to deal to a full table and only see $10 split between 5 or 6 players. When someone dropped a red chip ($5), that would be considered a big bet. Poor Yemme (our dealer from Ethiopia), she had “fcuk my life” written all over her face.
Vegas mind fcuks people. I weighed myself at the gym today, and I lost a few pounds already. My mom has been telling me “don’t forget to eat”. But that’s exactly what has been happening. Yesterday, I woke up and didn’t eat til about 4 after we went to the pool. And at Planet Hollywood, I started to play poker around 4 or 4:30 and I planned to eat dinner in a couple hours. However, my game was “juicy” and before I knew it, it was 11:30 and I still had not eaten.
Bodog listed their bets for rookie of the year for the NBA. It’s embarrassing, but they don’t even list the Warriors 1st round pick, Ekpe Udoh. How sad, they have odds for Cole Aldrich, Xavier Henry, and even Jordan Crawford.
7-9-10
Bet $20 on Toronto at +130 or something against Boston. So I check the score in the 4th inning, and it’s only 13-0, Boston leads. I think a cool feature for an online sportsbook would be the “buy out”. I’m sure there is some dollar amount that the spotsbook would agree to let the bettor “buy out” of the bet.
Today, I woke up around 10ish and went to the gym for some much needed exercise. Today was the 1st day of the NBA’s summer league, so we headed over to UNLV before the 1st game started.
The first game was against the Mavericks and Nuggets. When I was walking into the court, I saw Mark Cuban and I’m 95% sure he was with his brother. He walked straight to George Karl who was sitting courtside. We were lucky enough to sit one row behind them for the entire day. Ty Lawson and Coby Karl lead the Nuggets and Rodrigue boubieaeius? Lead the Mavericks. Omar Samhan (St. Mary’s, CA) and Jeremy Lin (Chinese Bay area player that went to Harvard) were also playing. We got autographs and pictures with Jeremy Lin and Dominic Jones (1st round pick by the Mavs I think)
The second game was between the Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets. Before the game started, we saw Patrick Patterson (Kentucky, 1st round pick) leaning against the wall and got a picture and autograph with him. Taylor Griffin played pretty well with the Suns. Nothing too exciting about this game, or at least I don’t remember. Well actually, there was this old man and his grandson watching the game with us. And he had asked to see my program and made some small talk with me. But for the next 3 hours, all of these players, agent-looking guys, and announcers talked to him like they were real good friends. So Steven and I thought maybe he was an owner or something.
The 3rd game was the Pistons against the Lakers. The lakers blew a big lead in this one to lose by 3 or 4. Jerry Buss was sitting right in front of us, so I got a picture with him. He was sitting in a folding chair, and he was leaning forward, so you could kind of see his tighty whities, and a little bit of his old disgusting butt crack. So of course I took a picture of it. Gerald Green (scrub) was playing for the Lakers and the Pistons had a pretty good young team including Jerebko, Summers, Austin Daye, and Greg Monroe. I’m hoping that Greg Monroe is a huge bust because the Warriors could have picked him.
The 4th game was the Warriors against the Hornets. The Hornets had a pretty solid team including Darren Collison and Marcus Thorntonn. Ekpe Udoh was obviously hurt and didn’t suit up, but Brandon Wright and Reggie Williams lead the Warriors to a comeback win. It was cool to see Steph Curry in real life. I was surprised to see so many Warrior fans there. We saw the Warriors GM, Don Nelson, and recently traded Anthony Randolph (also hoping he ends up being a bust).
Throughout the day, there were lots of random players walking around. It was very exciting to just look around and spot different players. We got a picture with Rodney Stuckey, Aaron Afflalo, Paul Milsap, and Kevin McHale. We asked Anthony Randolph for a picture, but that weirdo said no, but he said he’ll sign something.
After getting back to the Stratosphere, I was playing with some complete donks and was quickly up a good amount, then I lost a $300 pot and didn’t feel like playing any more but I booked a $100 win.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
SPoc is my hero
Today, lots of sports bets because I was staying at the Strat and was going to be able to watch the games.
1) I bet $50 on the Giants at -126 to win $39.68 and the Giants owned this game.
2) bet $30 on the Chicago white Sox at -120 to win $25 and they won 5-2.
3) I also bet $30 on the Astros at -129 to win $23.26 and they won 6-3. So sweeping in sports betting is always fun.
Steven Pocoroba is my hero! I was playing online in the room and I told Steve to go play down the 4 o’clock tourney downstairs in the poker room. The buy in is $60 and I told Steve that I would buy half of his action if I can get half of his profits. Long story short, he comes back to the hotel room and tells me he shipped it, my profits for his WIN was $119. He is my hero!
So, I played more online today, so no gym or pool. But I need to hit both hard tomorrow. We both decide to play the tournament that starts at 9PM with the same buy-in. I get knocked out when I have KK and it runs into AK and an ACE on the flop, bang bang, I’m out. But Steve (a Stratosphere tournament specialist) makes it to the final table. He got a little card dead but finished 5th for $68, so I got a $34 refund. My degeneracy kicked back in when I saw Steve playing video roulette and I start betting with him on red/black. I won $5 and bang, there’s my footlong tomorrow!
The tournament was so soft, there wasn’t one single decent player in the 3 table tournament. There was one guy who won a pot, then threw a “100 chip” to the dealer as if it was a tip, and the dealer laughed and since the tournament chips have no cash value. It was really cute, but a good example of how little these guys knew about tournament poker.
PokerStars was a little nicer to me today, making about $210ish.
Since we don’t have any bottled water in the hotel, I decided to be cheap, and buy a big cup of McDonald’s soda, and just refill it every time I get thirsty. I also have one for Subway. I think I have eaten 7 feet of Subway Sandwiches so far, just a fun fact, I’m setting the line at 27.5 feet of Subway sandwiches for my entire trip.
I finally got a safe deposit box for the cash that I have been keeping in my room. As of yesterday, all my cash was in an old calculator box I found at home. I’ve been keeping the box under my boxers and socks. I feel better now that my money is safe. However, If I lose the key, they are going to charge me $100 to open the box. Fcuk me, I better not lose this damn key.
PokerStars Game #46491740496: Tournament #289726182, $30.00+$1.50 USD Hold'em No Limit - Match Round I, Level III (25/50) - 2010/07/08 3:41:30 ET
Table '289726182 1' 2-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: jseflooring (1765 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 2: iNViZiGO (1235 in chips)
iNViZiGO: posts small blind 25
jseflooring: posts big blind 50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to iNViZiGO [7c 5c]
jseflooring has returned
iNViZiGO: raises 50 to 100
jseflooring: calls 50
*** FLOP *** [6h 6d 3c]
jseflooring: bets 50
iNViZiGO: calls 50
*** TURN *** [6h 6d 3c] [7s]
jseflooring: bets 200
iNViZiGO: calls 200
*** RIVER *** [6h 6d 3c 7s] [4h]
jseflooring: bets 550
iNViZiGO: raises 335 to 885 and is all-in
jseflooring: calls 335
*** SHOW DOWN ***
iNViZiGO: shows [7c 5c] (a straight, Three to Seven)
jseflooring: shows [Kd Ah] (a pair of Sixes)
iNViZiGO collected 2470 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2470 | Rake 0
Board [6h 6d 3c 7s 4h]
Seat 1: jseflooring (big blind) showed [Kd Ah] and lost with a pair of Sixes
Seat 2: iNViZiGO (button) (small blind) showed [7c 5c] and won (2470) with a straight, Three to Seven
nice read sir
1) I bet $50 on the Giants at -126 to win $39.68 and the Giants owned this game.
2) bet $30 on the Chicago white Sox at -120 to win $25 and they won 5-2.
3) I also bet $30 on the Astros at -129 to win $23.26 and they won 6-3. So sweeping in sports betting is always fun.
Steven Pocoroba is my hero! I was playing online in the room and I told Steve to go play down the 4 o’clock tourney downstairs in the poker room. The buy in is $60 and I told Steve that I would buy half of his action if I can get half of his profits. Long story short, he comes back to the hotel room and tells me he shipped it, my profits for his WIN was $119. He is my hero!
So, I played more online today, so no gym or pool. But I need to hit both hard tomorrow. We both decide to play the tournament that starts at 9PM with the same buy-in. I get knocked out when I have KK and it runs into AK and an ACE on the flop, bang bang, I’m out. But Steve (a Stratosphere tournament specialist) makes it to the final table. He got a little card dead but finished 5th for $68, so I got a $34 refund. My degeneracy kicked back in when I saw Steve playing video roulette and I start betting with him on red/black. I won $5 and bang, there’s my footlong tomorrow!
The tournament was so soft, there wasn’t one single decent player in the 3 table tournament. There was one guy who won a pot, then threw a “100 chip” to the dealer as if it was a tip, and the dealer laughed and since the tournament chips have no cash value. It was really cute, but a good example of how little these guys knew about tournament poker.
PokerStars was a little nicer to me today, making about $210ish.
Since we don’t have any bottled water in the hotel, I decided to be cheap, and buy a big cup of McDonald’s soda, and just refill it every time I get thirsty. I also have one for Subway. I think I have eaten 7 feet of Subway Sandwiches so far, just a fun fact, I’m setting the line at 27.5 feet of Subway sandwiches for my entire trip.
I finally got a safe deposit box for the cash that I have been keeping in my room. As of yesterday, all my cash was in an old calculator box I found at home. I’ve been keeping the box under my boxers and socks. I feel better now that my money is safe. However, If I lose the key, they are going to charge me $100 to open the box. Fcuk me, I better not lose this damn key.
PokerStars Game #46491740496: Tournament #289726182, $30.00+$1.50 USD Hold'em No Limit - Match Round I, Level III (25/50) - 2010/07/08 3:41:30 ET
Table '289726182 1' 2-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: jseflooring (1765 in chips) is sitting out
Seat 2: iNViZiGO (1235 in chips)
iNViZiGO: posts small blind 25
jseflooring: posts big blind 50
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to iNViZiGO [7c 5c]
jseflooring has returned
iNViZiGO: raises 50 to 100
jseflooring: calls 50
*** FLOP *** [6h 6d 3c]
jseflooring: bets 50
iNViZiGO: calls 50
*** TURN *** [6h 6d 3c] [7s]
jseflooring: bets 200
iNViZiGO: calls 200
*** RIVER *** [6h 6d 3c 7s] [4h]
jseflooring: bets 550
iNViZiGO: raises 335 to 885 and is all-in
jseflooring: calls 335
*** SHOW DOWN ***
iNViZiGO: shows [7c 5c] (a straight, Three to Seven)
jseflooring: shows [Kd Ah] (a pair of Sixes)
iNViZiGO collected 2470 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2470 | Rake 0
Board [6h 6d 3c 7s 4h]
Seat 1: jseflooring (big blind) showed [Kd Ah] and lost with a pair of Sixes
Seat 2: iNViZiGO (button) (small blind) showed [7c 5c] and won (2470) with a straight, Three to Seven
nice read sir
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
July 6th
Bet on TB and boston under 9 runs, for 40 at -110. And I will probably have internet woo. Shipped the bet with rays win over red sox 3-1. Today, was all internet day. I paid $11.99 for 24 hours of internet and it was worth every penny. The internet was very very solid.
Steve and I decided to bet on WNBA tonight because it was going to be on ESPN, we took Phoenix -4 versus the Sparks. Phoenix opened a 20-point lead in the first quarter or something, but the lead was cut down to 8 late in the 4th, so it was a pretty good sweat. We shipped the $9, wooo.
We ordered Dominos which was pretty damn good for $7.5. Playing online felt good after a long week of playing live, I quickly went up about $240 ish. But then after dinner, I ran like cat piss and donated all that money and then some, blah, it was brutal. Lost $77 on the day online, but won $35 on the Boston game. What can you do?
Corinne is coming this Thursday and I think I’ll gamble it up for the first time this weekend. It should be fun, they are staying at the Hilton.
i'm so out of date on my iphone. i'm not sure why, but i'm just not in to the whole add-the-new-app-every-single-day mode. I can't remember the last app that I downloaded. And also, this may sound crazy, but i haven't gotten the update on my phone from last summer (I think?). I can't even text while holding the phone sideways.
-Ekpe Udoh is hurt and won't play in summer league, sad day.
Steve and I decided to bet on WNBA tonight because it was going to be on ESPN, we took Phoenix -4 versus the Sparks. Phoenix opened a 20-point lead in the first quarter or something, but the lead was cut down to 8 late in the 4th, so it was a pretty good sweat. We shipped the $9, wooo.
We ordered Dominos which was pretty damn good for $7.5. Playing online felt good after a long week of playing live, I quickly went up about $240 ish. But then after dinner, I ran like cat piss and donated all that money and then some, blah, it was brutal. Lost $77 on the day online, but won $35 on the Boston game. What can you do?
Corinne is coming this Thursday and I think I’ll gamble it up for the first time this weekend. It should be fun, they are staying at the Hilton.
i'm so out of date on my iphone. i'm not sure why, but i'm just not in to the whole add-the-new-app-every-single-day mode. I can't remember the last app that I downloaded. And also, this may sound crazy, but i haven't gotten the update on my phone from last summer (I think?). I can't even text while holding the phone sideways.
-Ekpe Udoh is hurt and won't play in summer league, sad day.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
4th of July and 5th
4th of july
Pool, subway, and I think roaming the strip.
Bet on giants / rockies under 8 runs. $30, one time, giants win 4-3! Come on…ouch giants lost, but won the bet.
I’ve heard everyone say that the Stratosphere is run-down and a piece of shit. But, I don’t think it’s that bad at all. I mean, it’s no Venetian or anything, but we are hardly at the hotel anyway. So far, we haven’t spent that much time at all in our hotel room. It’s either in the pool, gym, or heading out to another casino/ poker room.
We took a cab to Treasure island to walk around to some smaller casinos and just kind of roam for the night. Our ultimate plan was to end up at Caesar’s Palace and and play pokersss. We ate at a Japanese/Chinese/Korean food place at Imperial Palace. The food was decent to good, but when we got the check, they had already added 18% gratuity. Wtf, adding an 18% tip to a party of two is shady. Also, when it comes to sign for the check, there is obviously another line for gratuity. I’ll bet 25% of people do not see that gratuity Is already added and also give another 15% tip. This made me pretty upset, and my stealing-tendencies came back to me. However, there was nothing worth stealing, so I just took about 20 of their shitty mints.
We end up making it to Caesar’s. The game is $1-3 blinds, $500 max with a $5 max rake. I prefer $1-2 but I’ve also heard good things about the Caesar’s poker room. I met a cool guy from Canada who is here for a week playing poker. He gave me some good poker room reviews and we talked poker for the entire time I was there. But anyway, I doubled up with AA versus an Asian guy with KQ on a K-high flop, so that was nice. However, about an hour later, I lost my biggest pot of the trip to a 3 outer. I had AK and my dumbass opponent had AQ on an Ace-high flop, we get it all in, and the river is a mother fcuking queen, fcuk me. $600+ pot goes to the guy in seat 1. Blah blah blah, I still have about $190 left of my $200 buy in. I was pretty upset, and decided to walk around the casino for about 20 minutes. I came back, untilted, and pick up black Kings. 3 limpers in front of me, I raise to $20 and this dumbass lol girl calls. Flop is AK3 with 2 clubs, she checks, I bet $25, she min-raises to $50. I was about to raise because I didn’t want a club to come and kill the action. But I figured I’ll take a chance and hope for a non club. I just call, and it’s a beautiful red 6, she pushes all in, and I snap-call. She tables A5 and is drawing dead, lol u. So I quit shortly after a $193 winner, $793 winner sounds sooooo much better, oh well.
We end somewhat early tonight, and walk allllll the way back to Stratosphere, probably 3 or 4 miles. We stopped at CVS to buy some random stuff we needed. I found a watch that I really want, and it’s somewhat cheap, $145.
July 5th,
Bet on Cleveland under 10.5 runs. Lost that bet, and the $40 I bet on it.
So, as most people know, I’m addicted to watches. Steven and I were walking by Caesar’s Palace (I think) and there is a billboard with a Boccia watch and it’s price of $145. I instantly fell in love and I looked it up online that night. So, I went to the Fashion Show mall today around 3PM to look/buy it. I’m usually a nit when it comes to buying things, but if I actually WANT it, I just insta-buy it. I find the store, and they are sold out, fcuk me. However, there is another store on the strip that sells the same watch, at the Planet Hollywood shops. So, Steven plays poker at the Venetian and I make the trek over to PH to buy the watch. Its dumbass-hot outside, and I’m stupid enough to bring my backpack full of crap, and finally get there probably 25 minutes later. I try it on and blah blah blah, I buy it. I’m too tired to walk back to the Venetian, and I just play some pokersss at PH. I heard last year that a couple of the poker room managers were fired because of fraudulent activities. But anyway, it actually turned out to be the JUCIEST game I’ve ever been in on this trip to far. It was unbelievable, people would raise to $15 and $20 preflop, and there would be 4 to 5 callers almost every hand, it was sick. Long story short, I can’t catch a damn hand, and end up losing $237 for the session. It was painful to see so much money change hands and have no control over it. But, I had no control over the cards I was being dealt, and decided to leave once the old fish to my right decided to call it a night. I guess you can’t win every session. It turns out, the watch was more expensive that I thought lol.
One of things I'm learning to do in live poker is to look at the player to my left. A lot of times, the player that acts behind you will telegraph their action. For example, they will hold their hand and get ready to fold when the action comes to them. Or, they will hold "raising" chips in order to raise as soon as the action comes to them. So, if I am in the cut off, and I see the button ready to fold, it might as well be my button.
Another thing I want to improve on is my composure. I really respect the poker player that takes a horrible bad beat and just say "nh" and get onto the next hand without getting emotional. I would say i'm pretty non-emotional when it comes to poker. However, when I lost that $600 pot, i said 'fuck', i didn't yell it or anything, but I think the whole table was able to hear it. I've seen much worse behavior, but I think I've played enough poker to not act like the recreational player.
Pool, subway, and I think roaming the strip.
Bet on giants / rockies under 8 runs. $30, one time, giants win 4-3! Come on…ouch giants lost, but won the bet.
I’ve heard everyone say that the Stratosphere is run-down and a piece of shit. But, I don’t think it’s that bad at all. I mean, it’s no Venetian or anything, but we are hardly at the hotel anyway. So far, we haven’t spent that much time at all in our hotel room. It’s either in the pool, gym, or heading out to another casino/ poker room.
We took a cab to Treasure island to walk around to some smaller casinos and just kind of roam for the night. Our ultimate plan was to end up at Caesar’s Palace and and play pokersss. We ate at a Japanese/Chinese/Korean food place at Imperial Palace. The food was decent to good, but when we got the check, they had already added 18% gratuity. Wtf, adding an 18% tip to a party of two is shady. Also, when it comes to sign for the check, there is obviously another line for gratuity. I’ll bet 25% of people do not see that gratuity Is already added and also give another 15% tip. This made me pretty upset, and my stealing-tendencies came back to me. However, there was nothing worth stealing, so I just took about 20 of their shitty mints.
We end up making it to Caesar’s. The game is $1-3 blinds, $500 max with a $5 max rake. I prefer $1-2 but I’ve also heard good things about the Caesar’s poker room. I met a cool guy from Canada who is here for a week playing poker. He gave me some good poker room reviews and we talked poker for the entire time I was there. But anyway, I doubled up with AA versus an Asian guy with KQ on a K-high flop, so that was nice. However, about an hour later, I lost my biggest pot of the trip to a 3 outer. I had AK and my dumbass opponent had AQ on an Ace-high flop, we get it all in, and the river is a mother fcuking queen, fcuk me. $600+ pot goes to the guy in seat 1. Blah blah blah, I still have about $190 left of my $200 buy in. I was pretty upset, and decided to walk around the casino for about 20 minutes. I came back, untilted, and pick up black Kings. 3 limpers in front of me, I raise to $20 and this dumbass lol girl calls. Flop is AK3 with 2 clubs, she checks, I bet $25, she min-raises to $50. I was about to raise because I didn’t want a club to come and kill the action. But I figured I’ll take a chance and hope for a non club. I just call, and it’s a beautiful red 6, she pushes all in, and I snap-call. She tables A5 and is drawing dead, lol u. So I quit shortly after a $193 winner, $793 winner sounds sooooo much better, oh well.
We end somewhat early tonight, and walk allllll the way back to Stratosphere, probably 3 or 4 miles. We stopped at CVS to buy some random stuff we needed. I found a watch that I really want, and it’s somewhat cheap, $145.
July 5th,
Bet on Cleveland under 10.5 runs. Lost that bet, and the $40 I bet on it.
So, as most people know, I’m addicted to watches. Steven and I were walking by Caesar’s Palace (I think) and there is a billboard with a Boccia watch and it’s price of $145. I instantly fell in love and I looked it up online that night. So, I went to the Fashion Show mall today around 3PM to look/buy it. I’m usually a nit when it comes to buying things, but if I actually WANT it, I just insta-buy it. I find the store, and they are sold out, fcuk me. However, there is another store on the strip that sells the same watch, at the Planet Hollywood shops. So, Steven plays poker at the Venetian and I make the trek over to PH to buy the watch. Its dumbass-hot outside, and I’m stupid enough to bring my backpack full of crap, and finally get there probably 25 minutes later. I try it on and blah blah blah, I buy it. I’m too tired to walk back to the Venetian, and I just play some pokersss at PH. I heard last year that a couple of the poker room managers were fired because of fraudulent activities. But anyway, it actually turned out to be the JUCIEST game I’ve ever been in on this trip to far. It was unbelievable, people would raise to $15 and $20 preflop, and there would be 4 to 5 callers almost every hand, it was sick. Long story short, I can’t catch a damn hand, and end up losing $237 for the session. It was painful to see so much money change hands and have no control over it. But, I had no control over the cards I was being dealt, and decided to leave once the old fish to my right decided to call it a night. I guess you can’t win every session. It turns out, the watch was more expensive that I thought lol.
One of things I'm learning to do in live poker is to look at the player to my left. A lot of times, the player that acts behind you will telegraph their action. For example, they will hold their hand and get ready to fold when the action comes to them. Or, they will hold "raising" chips in order to raise as soon as the action comes to them. So, if I am in the cut off, and I see the button ready to fold, it might as well be my button.
Another thing I want to improve on is my composure. I really respect the poker player that takes a horrible bad beat and just say "nh" and get onto the next hand without getting emotional. I would say i'm pretty non-emotional when it comes to poker. However, when I lost that $600 pot, i said 'fuck', i didn't yell it or anything, but I think the whole table was able to hear it. I've seen much worse behavior, but I think I've played enough poker to not act like the recreational player.
Days 3 and 4
July 2nd.
I checked out the pool around 11 and it was pretty nice. It has a party feel to it, good music, bar, and bikini blackjack. I just laid out at the pool for probably 45 minutes and headed back to the room. Steven was feeling very very “tired” from drinking the previous night, so I got him some McDonald’s and headed over to the Venetian. I’ve only heard good things about the Venetian and was excited to try it out.
Side note, I’m going to pregame.com/freepremiumpick and betting $40 each day on the free bet just for a sweat. Today’s bet was on the Angels at -158 against the Royals. I saw it at -160 at the Venetian so I took the Angels $40 to win $25. Angels were up 1-0 going into the 9th, then the Royals scored 1 in the top of the 9th and 1 in the top of the 10th, fcuk me right!
I got my seat and loved how the poker room looked. It was huge, it’s $1-2 blinds ($4 max rake), $300 max, automatic card shufflers, and it was 10-handed. I’m not going to post all my hands anymore because I don’t think they are that interesting but here is an interesting one.
I have KK in the cut off, the guy two to my right makes it $15 to go. Again, I’m a bitch, and just call, one more call behind me. The flop is AA6, guy INSTANTLY bets $30, I hesitate and call. Turn is a 7, he INSTANTLY bets $100 (I have like $70 more), I pause for like a minute. He seemed like a decent player who was getting frustrated, he made some very rude comments to the old lady at our table. But anyway, I didn’t want to shove, because he would fold his bluffs and insta call with any Ace. So, I just call, and before the river is dealt, he says “all in”. River is an Ace, and one of the best cards in the deck for me, I call, and he says “I have 7 high, what do you have?”. Beautiful words to hear. Ty sir. This guy lost his $600 stack in probably 15 minutes, it was pretty funny. I won $213 in that session.
I took a break to watch the Giants lose again in the Sportsbook, I came back to play around 9 and went on a heater, there were no real interesting hands, just coolers, and I won another $408. I’m starting to get comfortable playing live. In my last session, I was 3 betting more hands and just getting a better feel for player tendencies. Live players are so funny. Here is rule number 1 that is true 95% of the time, old players are nits, and they never bluff. It’s funny, but whenever they raise, they HAVE it. It’s never a bluff. On this one hand, I open QQ in early position. This old nit calls, flop is A62, I check he checks, turn is a J, I bet $13, he says raise and puts in $26 for a minraise, I look at him, and laugh out loud and fold, and he shrugs his shoulders as if to say he might not have anything, lol u.
I think it’s hilarious when a 35-45 year old guy has sunglasses on, headphones in, and a PokerStars hat and shirt on. Lol Are you serious? You’re cool dude. They take like a minute on every damn decision and try and use “poker talk” to impress other players. I just sit there and smile, they are just big nits. I just want to call them out one time “Oh you play on Poker Stars? What is your VIP status? You’re a silver status, oh that’s cute, GOLD STATUS SIR! Wanna play a husng? Let’s go, up to $100, regular speed, let’s go sirrr”
Old people are funny, 2 semi-old guys were having a REAL conversation about how much they lose with Aces. One guy said “You woudn’t believe it, but I’ve lost so much money with Aces” and the other guys says something like “Yeah, me too, last night at Caesars….” It’s hilarious, I usually just nod, and say “yeah, it sucks.”
July 3rd
Went to the pool again around 11, then hit the gym with Steve. Today, we’re going to the MGM because there is a big UFC fight with Brock lesnar so there should be lots of people there.
Today, I bet $40 (at even) on the angels and royals under 9 runs. Clutch, so even on the trip in sports bets.
We had Subway again, 3rd footlong in 4 days. We went to the Rio because the 25K 6-max event was down to the final table, the 10k pLO event was down to 33 and durrrr was the chip leader, and the Ante-up for Africa charity tournament was set to start at 2 PM.
We get there, and go straight to the charity tournament. Brad Garrett and had a microphone and was commenting on everything around the tournament. We saw Jerome Bettis, Don Cheadle, some big name poker pros, Montel, Shannon Elizabeth, and Matt Damon. I was pretty close to getting his autograph, he signed for about 8 people, but was unable to get to the front. But it was definitely cool seeing him in person.
We walked to the Amazon room and started to watch the 10K plo tourney. Phil Hellmuth was sitting right next to durrrr. It was sooooooo cool to see them both. Phil Hellmuth is a giant, he’s probably 6 7’ and 270. And it was really cool to see durrr up close. After about 15 minutes, I was directly on the rail watching the two of them play. It was awesome to see them interact and talk during the hands. Phil had a mini-mini-blow up, but nothing serious. I was ready to stand there for the next 12 hours if I could, but unfortunately, the table broke up and they both switched tables. Probably the 2nd coolest poker moment of my life.
We headed over to the MGM for the poker because of the big UFC fight there. We put our name on the list and went to check out the sportsbook, Steve bet $135 to win 100 on Lesnar. I asked why, and steve said “because he’s a beast, a beastttt!” Good decision, he shipped the $100. I really liked the poker room, the 1-2 game was 10 handed, had nice tables, and more importantly, had more tv’s in the room (unlike the Venetian, the tv’s were much closer).
I built my stack up to about $350 from my $200 buy in. But this one hand pissed me off so badly, I don’t want to go into detail, but I had planned to bet this guy’s last $50 or so on the river, but I bitched-out and checked, and he had top pair, no kicker versus my top pair good kicker. Even though I won the pot, I couldn’t shop shaking my head and telling myself I’m a little girl. Then, about an hour later, I decided to bluff off about $100 in a hand I don’t recall all the details. This tilted me so hard, especially because it was against some old dude in a “world series of poker” hat and wearing headphones, lol. Gay
I walked around the casino for about 45 minutes after that because I was so tilted, I didn’t really care to play anymore because of how mad I was, so I eventually quit the game a $21 dollar winner lol. However, I did have 2 blue moons. And I did meet 2 cool guys there, one from Hayward and the other was a financial planner from Canada.
At MGM, they have this “beginner’s table” where the blinds are $.5-$1 with a max buyin of $50. It’s such a cool table for people uncomfortable playing any higher. And, it’s an even better when a guy and his girlfriend come to the poker room. The girlfriend can have some fun playing in the beginner’s table. But anyway, after my tilt with the old guy, I decided to play the beginner’s table with steve just for fun. But, I ran extremely hot for the next 4 hours lol. I think we played until 4 AM. I won about $170 there. It was a lot of fun, we also met this Korean (I thought she was Vietnamese, Steve hustled $1 out of me) girl named Stella from CA. She was pretty drunk, but really fun and semi-decent at poker. All in all, a very fun night, and I was pretty happy to make that bluff-money back and then some.
So far, even on sports betting, and up 984 on poker.
I checked out the pool around 11 and it was pretty nice. It has a party feel to it, good music, bar, and bikini blackjack. I just laid out at the pool for probably 45 minutes and headed back to the room. Steven was feeling very very “tired” from drinking the previous night, so I got him some McDonald’s and headed over to the Venetian. I’ve only heard good things about the Venetian and was excited to try it out.
Side note, I’m going to pregame.com/freepremiumpick and betting $40 each day on the free bet just for a sweat. Today’s bet was on the Angels at -158 against the Royals. I saw it at -160 at the Venetian so I took the Angels $40 to win $25. Angels were up 1-0 going into the 9th, then the Royals scored 1 in the top of the 9th and 1 in the top of the 10th, fcuk me right!
I got my seat and loved how the poker room looked. It was huge, it’s $1-2 blinds ($4 max rake), $300 max, automatic card shufflers, and it was 10-handed. I’m not going to post all my hands anymore because I don’t think they are that interesting but here is an interesting one.
I have KK in the cut off, the guy two to my right makes it $15 to go. Again, I’m a bitch, and just call, one more call behind me. The flop is AA6, guy INSTANTLY bets $30, I hesitate and call. Turn is a 7, he INSTANTLY bets $100 (I have like $70 more), I pause for like a minute. He seemed like a decent player who was getting frustrated, he made some very rude comments to the old lady at our table. But anyway, I didn’t want to shove, because he would fold his bluffs and insta call with any Ace. So, I just call, and before the river is dealt, he says “all in”. River is an Ace, and one of the best cards in the deck for me, I call, and he says “I have 7 high, what do you have?”. Beautiful words to hear. Ty sir. This guy lost his $600 stack in probably 15 minutes, it was pretty funny. I won $213 in that session.
I took a break to watch the Giants lose again in the Sportsbook, I came back to play around 9 and went on a heater, there were no real interesting hands, just coolers, and I won another $408. I’m starting to get comfortable playing live. In my last session, I was 3 betting more hands and just getting a better feel for player tendencies. Live players are so funny. Here is rule number 1 that is true 95% of the time, old players are nits, and they never bluff. It’s funny, but whenever they raise, they HAVE it. It’s never a bluff. On this one hand, I open QQ in early position. This old nit calls, flop is A62, I check he checks, turn is a J, I bet $13, he says raise and puts in $26 for a minraise, I look at him, and laugh out loud and fold, and he shrugs his shoulders as if to say he might not have anything, lol u.
I think it’s hilarious when a 35-45 year old guy has sunglasses on, headphones in, and a PokerStars hat and shirt on. Lol Are you serious? You’re cool dude. They take like a minute on every damn decision and try and use “poker talk” to impress other players. I just sit there and smile, they are just big nits. I just want to call them out one time “Oh you play on Poker Stars? What is your VIP status? You’re a silver status, oh that’s cute, GOLD STATUS SIR! Wanna play a husng? Let’s go, up to $100, regular speed, let’s go sirrr”
Old people are funny, 2 semi-old guys were having a REAL conversation about how much they lose with Aces. One guy said “You woudn’t believe it, but I’ve lost so much money with Aces” and the other guys says something like “Yeah, me too, last night at Caesars….” It’s hilarious, I usually just nod, and say “yeah, it sucks.”
July 3rd
Went to the pool again around 11, then hit the gym with Steve. Today, we’re going to the MGM because there is a big UFC fight with Brock lesnar so there should be lots of people there.
Today, I bet $40 (at even) on the angels and royals under 9 runs. Clutch, so even on the trip in sports bets.
We had Subway again, 3rd footlong in 4 days. We went to the Rio because the 25K 6-max event was down to the final table, the 10k pLO event was down to 33 and durrrr was the chip leader, and the Ante-up for Africa charity tournament was set to start at 2 PM.
We get there, and go straight to the charity tournament. Brad Garrett and had a microphone and was commenting on everything around the tournament. We saw Jerome Bettis, Don Cheadle, some big name poker pros, Montel, Shannon Elizabeth, and Matt Damon. I was pretty close to getting his autograph, he signed for about 8 people, but was unable to get to the front. But it was definitely cool seeing him in person.
We walked to the Amazon room and started to watch the 10K plo tourney. Phil Hellmuth was sitting right next to durrrr. It was sooooooo cool to see them both. Phil Hellmuth is a giant, he’s probably 6 7’ and 270. And it was really cool to see durrr up close. After about 15 minutes, I was directly on the rail watching the two of them play. It was awesome to see them interact and talk during the hands. Phil had a mini-mini-blow up, but nothing serious. I was ready to stand there for the next 12 hours if I could, but unfortunately, the table broke up and they both switched tables. Probably the 2nd coolest poker moment of my life.
We headed over to the MGM for the poker because of the big UFC fight there. We put our name on the list and went to check out the sportsbook, Steve bet $135 to win 100 on Lesnar. I asked why, and steve said “because he’s a beast, a beastttt!” Good decision, he shipped the $100. I really liked the poker room, the 1-2 game was 10 handed, had nice tables, and more importantly, had more tv’s in the room (unlike the Venetian, the tv’s were much closer).
I built my stack up to about $350 from my $200 buy in. But this one hand pissed me off so badly, I don’t want to go into detail, but I had planned to bet this guy’s last $50 or so on the river, but I bitched-out and checked, and he had top pair, no kicker versus my top pair good kicker. Even though I won the pot, I couldn’t shop shaking my head and telling myself I’m a little girl. Then, about an hour later, I decided to bluff off about $100 in a hand I don’t recall all the details. This tilted me so hard, especially because it was against some old dude in a “world series of poker” hat and wearing headphones, lol. Gay
I walked around the casino for about 45 minutes after that because I was so tilted, I didn’t really care to play anymore because of how mad I was, so I eventually quit the game a $21 dollar winner lol. However, I did have 2 blue moons. And I did meet 2 cool guys there, one from Hayward and the other was a financial planner from Canada.
At MGM, they have this “beginner’s table” where the blinds are $.5-$1 with a max buyin of $50. It’s such a cool table for people uncomfortable playing any higher. And, it’s an even better when a guy and his girlfriend come to the poker room. The girlfriend can have some fun playing in the beginner’s table. But anyway, after my tilt with the old guy, I decided to play the beginner’s table with steve just for fun. But, I ran extremely hot for the next 4 hours lol. I think we played until 4 AM. I won about $170 there. It was a lot of fun, we also met this Korean (I thought she was Vietnamese, Steve hustled $1 out of me) girl named Stella from CA. She was pretty drunk, but really fun and semi-decent at poker. All in all, a very fun night, and I was pretty happy to make that bluff-money back and then some.
So far, even on sports betting, and up 984 on poker.
June 30th and July 1st in vegas
June 30th
Our stupid fcuking flight (superbad Reference) out of San Jose was about an hour late. We had to fly to Salt Lake City, switch flights, then head to Vegas. Our layover was 30 minutes, so I was thinking we would miss our next flight, however, for some reason, we were only 15 minutes late or so. So we rush to our next gate and make it there with 2 minutes to spare, so far, running good.
Some key dates so far are July 3rd and July 1st. July 3rd is a big UFC fight at the MGM Grand with Brock Lesnar. Therefore, I really want to be there all day on the 3rd because the amount of people there is going to be way above average. Also, today (June 30th), one of the most anticipated WSOP events takes place. It’s a $25,000 buy in six-handed NL Hold’em event. I’ve never been to the RIO, so I’m pretty excited to see all the chaos. The tournament should be stacked with big-name pros, so I’ll probably get really star-struck.
I literally packed like I was visiting Minnesota (I think it’s cold there) or something. I have 3 pairs of jeans and probably 4 sweatshirts. I seriously get so damn cold in poker rooms. I literally start to shiver sometimes because it’s so cold, and because I’m a little nervous/excited at the very beginning.
So, we get to Vegas safely, and check into the Stratosphere and everything.
Steve was tired so he took a nap in the room. I wasn’t so tired, and decided to check out the casino. First of all, the sportsbook is so ghetto. All the lines are written on a whiteboard (in very nice hand writing however). I checked out the poker room and decided to start this Vegas trip off.
My starting hands were great. I played for about an hour, and was dealt 88 88 1010 jj kk kk aa. However, they didn’t exactly ship any money.
I raised 1010 to $10 from early position and I got one caller from the small blind. He had just mentioned that he was going to switch tables and that this was his last hand. The flop came down Axx, and he shoved his last $50 or so in, I paused then folded. He said he had AK, I believed him.
I get KK, there is a limp in front of me, I raise to $12, I get 3 callers including the limper. The flop came down Axx, the small blind bets out 10, limper folds, I fold, button calls. They end up showing down and one guy has A5 and the other guy has Aq. Blah
I get JJ, and raise to $10 straight in early position, I get one caller right behind and one in the small blind. Flop comes like 762 all spades (I have black jacks), I bet $16 into $32 I think. They both fold, finally I win.
I get AA, guy limps in front of me, I make it $10, he is the only caller. Flop is JJ7, I bet $12. He pauses, calls, then sighs when he turns to look at the televisions. I kind of smile because I think he’s doing the old 50-year-old-guy-act-weak routine. Turn is 8, no flush, he checks I check. River is 7 and he instantly bets $30. I pause and pause, but I just assume he is an old nit who does not bluff and I eventually fold. It was a close spot, but I just felt the sigh made him seem very strong. Oh well.
So I am in the big blind with j2 off, it folds to the small blind, and he makes it $4 to go, I don’t want to look like a giant nit, so I call. Flop is 955, He quickly bets $10, I don’t think he has anything, so I raise to $25, he instant shoves his stack of $100 in, I pause then fold, and tell him ‘nh’.
A few hands later, I pick up black Kings under the gun, I make it $10, I get a caller on the button, and the j2 guy makes it $30 to go, I pause, and shove my $120 stack or so in and I get one fold, then the j2 guy insta calls. We don’t say what we have. But he picks up his cards and shows the other side of the table like he has aces. So I say to him “you got kings?” and he ignores me. The Board runs out 666xx, and he shows 99, I show KK, and say “suck it”. No, not really. But I end up winning $44 for the session, and quickly quit lol.
The table was full of old nits. It was crazy, no aggression unless they had a strong hand. Lots of limpers. So, all in all, the competition doesn’t seem too strong.
I walk around after this, and find a Subway about 5 minutes away, sweet! I also see a REDBox outside of it, so If I ever get bored, I’ll just rent a movie and watch it on my laptop.
I played later that night and lost $84, so -40 on the first day. oops
July 1st.
We went to the gym at around 11 and stayed there for probably 45 minutes, it’s def nothing special, but at least it will keep us active for the next month. After this, we had Subway (my 2nd in 2 days so far) and took a taxi to the RIO. I’ve wanted to come to the rio during the wsop for the past 5 years or so. I was super excited. I walked around for about 30 minutes and was more star-struck as I have ever been (except when I saw Lebron). I saw probably 50 big-name pros that I recognized. The most notable were Gavin smith ( I congratulated him on his WSOP bracelet), Jeff Madsen (ucsb gaucho), Durrrr, Maria Ho (uggs), Kara Scott (looks much better in real life), Phil OMGCLayaiken Galfond, Leo Margets (the best looking female poker player), Greg Raymer, Ivey, Negreanu, and every other big name pro you can think of EXCEPT my fanboy crush, Mr. Antonius. There was also day 1 of the 10k plo tournament where all the big name pros come out, I probably recognized 3 or 4 players from every single table, it was cool to see CTS (another crush of mine), David Benyamine, the Grinder, Seidel, Barry Greenstein, Brandon Cantu, Teddy the Iceman lol, Chino Rheem.
Funny stories: It was currently day 2 of the $25,000 6-max event, probably one of the strongest fields in all of the WSOP events this year. I was on the rail, and I could see Phil Ivey’s name on one of the chip bags. So, I waited there right behind the bag. 5 minutes before play was about to start, he walked up and I am in complete star-struck mode, so I whip out my camera and take a picture of him, bang, flash! He looks up at me and says, “man, no flash, it’s too early, hurting my eyes man”
Holy shit, Phil Ivey just talked to me, and I pissed him off. I looked down, and said Sorry Phil. And he quickly sat down, I almost wanted to cry and just say “sorry Phil, I’m really sorry”. So that didn’t go so well. Lol but I watched him for the next hour or so. My impressions were that he is a great guy. On tv, they always show him being stoic and not very talkative at the tables, but he was exactly the opposite. He was talking to the players on his right and left, making them laugh and whatnot. But, let’s be real, Ivey doesn’t even have to be funny for him to make people laugh, he’s fcuking Phil Ivey. I mean, if he said “damn, it’s hot outside”. I’d be like, “haha, you’re right Phil, it is fcuking hot”
Anyway, before the tournament started, I was at the secondary TV table, I asked the dealer who was at this table, he said John Juanda and Erick Lindgren. Cool. So I walk around for a bit and see Juanda looking for his seat, so in complete stalker mode, I walk toward the rail to where he was at, and yelled “john” about 5 times before he looked at me, I told him he was at the TV table, and he said thanks. He really does have buy-eyes at all times, it’s kind of creepy.
And lastly, probably the coolest poker experience of my life. It was about 2 AM, and Daniel Negreanu was at the tv table where there are seats and camera coverage (for ESPN3). I sat down in the first row to watch, there were probably 100 people watching, but lots of empty seats. Then, Jennifer Harman (Daniel’s friend and high-stakes regular) walks in and sits 2 seats next to me. Cool. But then, they were playing hand-for-hand because they were 1 off the money bubble. So there were lots of mini breaks, and on those breaks, Daniel would come sit next to Jen (so he was 1 seat away from me) and talk about whatever. It was so surreal. And let me just say, Daniel is exactly how it is portrayed on tv shows. I kind of thought that he acted and talked the way he did because of the tv cameras. But, he was so genuine and funny. He was talking about the blind structuers being bad, he was talking about his prop bets with Doyle, and he was talking about how good p90x really is. He was really entertaining to listen to. After every hand, he would come to Jen and talk about what he just had and his thoughts about the other 5 players. I couldn’t believe it, it was definitely a very memorable experience. I’m back on the Daniel bandwagon, I used to not like him at all, but am a very big fan now.
Then, in an all-in hand, jenn and I walked up to the table and watched the hand be dealt out. When we went back to our seats, she was sitting in my seat. I looked for my backpack and yes, it was my seat. I said “I think that’s my seat” and she replied “Oh, that’s how tired I am, sorry about that”. Cool! I’m a loser. She is so tiny, probably 4 11’.
The cash games were pretty juicy too, I managed to book a $214 win and was happy about it, but a few unfortunate hands cost me a bigger day.
Some notable hands:
There was a Mississippi straddle, I have AQ in the cut off, lots of limpers, I raise to $25, I get 3 other callers, flop is A78, I bet 45, and old guy to my right calls (he had exactly 45), and turn is x, and river is 8, I saw I have a good ace, he says he hit the 8. That woud’ve been a nice $190, but I was a little steamed, then I ate dinner.
I had QQ in the Small blind, Early position (he just re-bought) opened to 15, I smooth (I’m having trouble 3-betting JJ QQ KK, I don’t know why but I’m just afraid of cooler situations, but I need to grow some balls and 3-bet), anyway, flop comes j108, I check, he bets 30, I don’t really care for the flop, aa kk jj 1010 all beat me, I call. Turn is offsuit 3, I check, he bets 90. Fcuk me, but I briefly contemplate folding, but he could be tilted, he could have nothing, he could have a Jack. Instead of shoving all in, I just called. I just called because if he does have AA or KK, and the river is a scare card like a 9 or Q (completing a one card straight), I could shove, and he might fold. So either way, I was shoving any river card. So I call on the turn, the river is a 6. So I went with my original plan, and I shove about 90 more. He contemplates for about 2 minutes. I’m not sure what I want him to do, but I think he would have called already with KK or AA and definitely a set. He eventually calls, and I table my QQ, he mucks and walks off.
Another hand I have AQ Under the gun, I open to $10, and get 2 callers, one from an Asian guy on the button ( I hate hate HATE playing out of position), flop is q104, I bet 20, he calls (but then sighs pretty obviously), so that kind of scares me. The turn is a 3, I bet $42 and am ready to fold to a raise because of the “sigh” and the fact that old people never bluff. He calls, River is a 7, and what I should have done was bet/fold. Knowing that he will never bluff me, I missed value from weaker Queens. I had no balls and checked, he paused and checked, I showed, and he mucked. I missed some definite value there.
Next hand, I have AA in the big blind, 5 limpers, I make it $20 to go. Asian guy calls. Flop is rags, I pause for 10 seconds, and he just mucks, thank you sir.
To my right, there was this old guy, the same guy from the previous hands. But anyway, he was the nicest old guy I’ve met so far, he was very talkative and gracious even when he got unlucky in a few spots. But anyway, this Indian guy raises to 13, old guys calls, I call with KQ offsuit (no diamond), 2 more calls. Flop is 10jQ (with 2 diamonds), old guy bets 27, I just flat call because I don’t want to raise and see one of the other players have a set or a straight. But everyone folds. So it’s me and the old guy, turn is a 2 of diamonds, he has exactly a $100 left. He throws it out and says $30, I shove, he eventually folds, and shows KQ no diamond, I muck and say I had QJ.
Just a note on the Rio cash games, it was 10-handed, the raked a max of $5 (other rooms are $4) and did not have automatic shufflers. OH, and it was $1-3 blinds, $300 max.
Steve played til way late in the morning, and he won about $600-700.
Our stupid fcuking flight (superbad Reference) out of San Jose was about an hour late. We had to fly to Salt Lake City, switch flights, then head to Vegas. Our layover was 30 minutes, so I was thinking we would miss our next flight, however, for some reason, we were only 15 minutes late or so. So we rush to our next gate and make it there with 2 minutes to spare, so far, running good.
Some key dates so far are July 3rd and July 1st. July 3rd is a big UFC fight at the MGM Grand with Brock Lesnar. Therefore, I really want to be there all day on the 3rd because the amount of people there is going to be way above average. Also, today (June 30th), one of the most anticipated WSOP events takes place. It’s a $25,000 buy in six-handed NL Hold’em event. I’ve never been to the RIO, so I’m pretty excited to see all the chaos. The tournament should be stacked with big-name pros, so I’ll probably get really star-struck.
I literally packed like I was visiting Minnesota (I think it’s cold there) or something. I have 3 pairs of jeans and probably 4 sweatshirts. I seriously get so damn cold in poker rooms. I literally start to shiver sometimes because it’s so cold, and because I’m a little nervous/excited at the very beginning.
So, we get to Vegas safely, and check into the Stratosphere and everything.
Steve was tired so he took a nap in the room. I wasn’t so tired, and decided to check out the casino. First of all, the sportsbook is so ghetto. All the lines are written on a whiteboard (in very nice hand writing however). I checked out the poker room and decided to start this Vegas trip off.
My starting hands were great. I played for about an hour, and was dealt 88 88 1010 jj kk kk aa. However, they didn’t exactly ship any money.
I raised 1010 to $10 from early position and I got one caller from the small blind. He had just mentioned that he was going to switch tables and that this was his last hand. The flop came down Axx, and he shoved his last $50 or so in, I paused then folded. He said he had AK, I believed him.
I get KK, there is a limp in front of me, I raise to $12, I get 3 callers including the limper. The flop came down Axx, the small blind bets out 10, limper folds, I fold, button calls. They end up showing down and one guy has A5 and the other guy has Aq. Blah
I get JJ, and raise to $10 straight in early position, I get one caller right behind and one in the small blind. Flop comes like 762 all spades (I have black jacks), I bet $16 into $32 I think. They both fold, finally I win.
I get AA, guy limps in front of me, I make it $10, he is the only caller. Flop is JJ7, I bet $12. He pauses, calls, then sighs when he turns to look at the televisions. I kind of smile because I think he’s doing the old 50-year-old-guy-act-weak routine. Turn is 8, no flush, he checks I check. River is 7 and he instantly bets $30. I pause and pause, but I just assume he is an old nit who does not bluff and I eventually fold. It was a close spot, but I just felt the sigh made him seem very strong. Oh well.
So I am in the big blind with j2 off, it folds to the small blind, and he makes it $4 to go, I don’t want to look like a giant nit, so I call. Flop is 955, He quickly bets $10, I don’t think he has anything, so I raise to $25, he instant shoves his stack of $100 in, I pause then fold, and tell him ‘nh’.
A few hands later, I pick up black Kings under the gun, I make it $10, I get a caller on the button, and the j2 guy makes it $30 to go, I pause, and shove my $120 stack or so in and I get one fold, then the j2 guy insta calls. We don’t say what we have. But he picks up his cards and shows the other side of the table like he has aces. So I say to him “you got kings?” and he ignores me. The Board runs out 666xx, and he shows 99, I show KK, and say “suck it”. No, not really. But I end up winning $44 for the session, and quickly quit lol.
The table was full of old nits. It was crazy, no aggression unless they had a strong hand. Lots of limpers. So, all in all, the competition doesn’t seem too strong.
I walk around after this, and find a Subway about 5 minutes away, sweet! I also see a REDBox outside of it, so If I ever get bored, I’ll just rent a movie and watch it on my laptop.
I played later that night and lost $84, so -40 on the first day. oops
July 1st.
We went to the gym at around 11 and stayed there for probably 45 minutes, it’s def nothing special, but at least it will keep us active for the next month. After this, we had Subway (my 2nd in 2 days so far) and took a taxi to the RIO. I’ve wanted to come to the rio during the wsop for the past 5 years or so. I was super excited. I walked around for about 30 minutes and was more star-struck as I have ever been (except when I saw Lebron). I saw probably 50 big-name pros that I recognized. The most notable were Gavin smith ( I congratulated him on his WSOP bracelet), Jeff Madsen (ucsb gaucho), Durrrr, Maria Ho (uggs), Kara Scott (looks much better in real life), Phil OMGCLayaiken Galfond, Leo Margets (the best looking female poker player), Greg Raymer, Ivey, Negreanu, and every other big name pro you can think of EXCEPT my fanboy crush, Mr. Antonius. There was also day 1 of the 10k plo tournament where all the big name pros come out, I probably recognized 3 or 4 players from every single table, it was cool to see CTS (another crush of mine), David Benyamine, the Grinder, Seidel, Barry Greenstein, Brandon Cantu, Teddy the Iceman lol, Chino Rheem.
Funny stories: It was currently day 2 of the $25,000 6-max event, probably one of the strongest fields in all of the WSOP events this year. I was on the rail, and I could see Phil Ivey’s name on one of the chip bags. So, I waited there right behind the bag. 5 minutes before play was about to start, he walked up and I am in complete star-struck mode, so I whip out my camera and take a picture of him, bang, flash! He looks up at me and says, “man, no flash, it’s too early, hurting my eyes man”
Holy shit, Phil Ivey just talked to me, and I pissed him off. I looked down, and said Sorry Phil. And he quickly sat down, I almost wanted to cry and just say “sorry Phil, I’m really sorry”. So that didn’t go so well. Lol but I watched him for the next hour or so. My impressions were that he is a great guy. On tv, they always show him being stoic and not very talkative at the tables, but he was exactly the opposite. He was talking to the players on his right and left, making them laugh and whatnot. But, let’s be real, Ivey doesn’t even have to be funny for him to make people laugh, he’s fcuking Phil Ivey. I mean, if he said “damn, it’s hot outside”. I’d be like, “haha, you’re right Phil, it is fcuking hot”
Anyway, before the tournament started, I was at the secondary TV table, I asked the dealer who was at this table, he said John Juanda and Erick Lindgren. Cool. So I walk around for a bit and see Juanda looking for his seat, so in complete stalker mode, I walk toward the rail to where he was at, and yelled “john” about 5 times before he looked at me, I told him he was at the TV table, and he said thanks. He really does have buy-eyes at all times, it’s kind of creepy.
And lastly, probably the coolest poker experience of my life. It was about 2 AM, and Daniel Negreanu was at the tv table where there are seats and camera coverage (for ESPN3). I sat down in the first row to watch, there were probably 100 people watching, but lots of empty seats. Then, Jennifer Harman (Daniel’s friend and high-stakes regular) walks in and sits 2 seats next to me. Cool. But then, they were playing hand-for-hand because they were 1 off the money bubble. So there were lots of mini breaks, and on those breaks, Daniel would come sit next to Jen (so he was 1 seat away from me) and talk about whatever. It was so surreal. And let me just say, Daniel is exactly how it is portrayed on tv shows. I kind of thought that he acted and talked the way he did because of the tv cameras. But, he was so genuine and funny. He was talking about the blind structuers being bad, he was talking about his prop bets with Doyle, and he was talking about how good p90x really is. He was really entertaining to listen to. After every hand, he would come to Jen and talk about what he just had and his thoughts about the other 5 players. I couldn’t believe it, it was definitely a very memorable experience. I’m back on the Daniel bandwagon, I used to not like him at all, but am a very big fan now.
Then, in an all-in hand, jenn and I walked up to the table and watched the hand be dealt out. When we went back to our seats, she was sitting in my seat. I looked for my backpack and yes, it was my seat. I said “I think that’s my seat” and she replied “Oh, that’s how tired I am, sorry about that”. Cool! I’m a loser. She is so tiny, probably 4 11’.
The cash games were pretty juicy too, I managed to book a $214 win and was happy about it, but a few unfortunate hands cost me a bigger day.
Some notable hands:
There was a Mississippi straddle, I have AQ in the cut off, lots of limpers, I raise to $25, I get 3 other callers, flop is A78, I bet 45, and old guy to my right calls (he had exactly 45), and turn is x, and river is 8, I saw I have a good ace, he says he hit the 8. That woud’ve been a nice $190, but I was a little steamed, then I ate dinner.
I had QQ in the Small blind, Early position (he just re-bought) opened to 15, I smooth (I’m having trouble 3-betting JJ QQ KK, I don’t know why but I’m just afraid of cooler situations, but I need to grow some balls and 3-bet), anyway, flop comes j108, I check, he bets 30, I don’t really care for the flop, aa kk jj 1010 all beat me, I call. Turn is offsuit 3, I check, he bets 90. Fcuk me, but I briefly contemplate folding, but he could be tilted, he could have nothing, he could have a Jack. Instead of shoving all in, I just called. I just called because if he does have AA or KK, and the river is a scare card like a 9 or Q (completing a one card straight), I could shove, and he might fold. So either way, I was shoving any river card. So I call on the turn, the river is a 6. So I went with my original plan, and I shove about 90 more. He contemplates for about 2 minutes. I’m not sure what I want him to do, but I think he would have called already with KK or AA and definitely a set. He eventually calls, and I table my QQ, he mucks and walks off.
Another hand I have AQ Under the gun, I open to $10, and get 2 callers, one from an Asian guy on the button ( I hate hate HATE playing out of position), flop is q104, I bet 20, he calls (but then sighs pretty obviously), so that kind of scares me. The turn is a 3, I bet $42 and am ready to fold to a raise because of the “sigh” and the fact that old people never bluff. He calls, River is a 7, and what I should have done was bet/fold. Knowing that he will never bluff me, I missed value from weaker Queens. I had no balls and checked, he paused and checked, I showed, and he mucked. I missed some definite value there.
Next hand, I have AA in the big blind, 5 limpers, I make it $20 to go. Asian guy calls. Flop is rags, I pause for 10 seconds, and he just mucks, thank you sir.
To my right, there was this old guy, the same guy from the previous hands. But anyway, he was the nicest old guy I’ve met so far, he was very talkative and gracious even when he got unlucky in a few spots. But anyway, this Indian guy raises to 13, old guys calls, I call with KQ offsuit (no diamond), 2 more calls. Flop is 10jQ (with 2 diamonds), old guy bets 27, I just flat call because I don’t want to raise and see one of the other players have a set or a straight. But everyone folds. So it’s me and the old guy, turn is a 2 of diamonds, he has exactly a $100 left. He throws it out and says $30, I shove, he eventually folds, and shows KQ no diamond, I muck and say I had QJ.
Just a note on the Rio cash games, it was 10-handed, the raked a max of $5 (other rooms are $4) and did not have automatic shufflers. OH, and it was $1-3 blinds, $300 max.
Steve played til way late in the morning, and he won about $600-700.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)