So as part of my roadtrip over the past week, I went to Vegas for one night with Kohn and Gabe. We picked up Gabe from UCLA the morning after Reeck and Crystal's wedding (which actually was a LOT of fun), as Crystal's mom insisted that we stop at their brunch that morning and to bring Gabe with us even though he didn't come to the wedding.
We arrived in Vegas around 5:30pm that evening. I actually wanted to go to church since I hadn't yet that day, so I went to mass at the UNLV Catholic Newman Center as Gabe and Kohn got started.
Gabe started out at the MGM, where Kohn and I met him soon after. I sat with Gabe at his 1/2 NL table as Kohn went off to the craps tables. This session didn't go well for Gabe. Kohn lost as well. Things weren't really going my way either, until one hand late in the session where I had A8d in late position so I limped after some limpers. Flop came with 2 diamonds and it checked to me so I bet $10 and got one caller after me. Turn was the Ace of hearts, so good card but I don't want this pot to get out of control in case I'm behind, so I check-called as he bet $20. River was the beautiful King of diamonds, I pondered, then bet $50, which at the time I thought was an overbet (which I intended) but after recalculating right now it's a pure value-bet. whoops. A few drinks can really hinder your ability to count the pot. Anyways, I tried to look like I was nervous and didn't want a call... I'm not sure if that is what did it, but I then heard the beautiful words "all-in" and I had to double-check that I indeed did have the nuts. No straight-flush was possible, and I did in fact have the Ace and Eight of diamonds, so I made the call and just turned over my cards to save him the time and trouble.
After that, Gabe and I had been waiting on a list for a 2/4 Mix game, which we were told was just a rotation where the game was decided at the beginning of each new dealer. Sounded like a lot of fun. But we were 1 and 2 on the list for like a good two hours; NO ONE was getting up from this game. Drats.
But Kohn was ready to call it a night, as he had lost as much as he wanted to and did not want to interfere with our poker. As soon as I realized he was serious about leaving, I said "no way," screw poker, convinced him to stay up and we would continue to drink. We abandoned the MGM and headed back to Bally's to play some video poker and get free drinks while doing so.
Then Gabe kept talking about somewhere that had $1 beers so we headed off in search of this, since Kohn did not want to gamble anymore so we had to find an alternative way to get cheap drinks. We stopped at Bill's Gambling Hall where they had 99 cent Margheritas, but those turned out to be extremely small. So we moved on, next to O'Sheas that advertised "Beer Pong." We went in to investigate, and it turned out to be $20 to buy the two pitchers of beer to play. And these were some fairly small pitchers so it was kind of a rip-off. But we found 2 other guys who wanted to play, so we agreed to play with them and loser would pay. Gabe offers to put the money up front to buy the pitchers, so he goes up to the bar to get them. He of course gets carded (see early Borgata trip report heh), and... it turns out that Gabe had just gotten his California license. But since they don't print them out immediately (they send them in the mail within 10 days), all he had was a paper document to use in the meantime. The bartender would not accept this. Ridiculous... I think we could've called the cops to take care of this since that paper is a legal document. But we instead chose to just argue. Then I said I'd just buy it, but the bartender said "ok, but he (Gabe) can't play." WTFLOL. We talk to the manager too, who won't hear any of it. So we bounce.
Next stop is at Casino Royale, Kohn's favorite place to gamble, and this turns out to be the place with $1 beers! Hooray!! So we hang out there for a bit. This place also has this weird version of Blackjack called Blackjack Switch. Basically, you play two hands, and before you decide whether you are going to hit or stand, you have to decide if you want to switch your cards or not. So for example, if in one hand you have A6 and in the other hand you have 5J, you can switch them so that you have AJ and 56, two far superior hands than previously. But you can only switch the 2nd cards that you receive. Also, blackjack only plays 1:1 (instead of 3:2), and the dealer doesn't bust on 22; if dealer hits 22 then it is a push. Anyways, we played this game for a bit, Gabe won about $100 and I won like $150. w00t.
Finally we head back to Bill's for the cheap breakfast. Except Gabe ordered the steak dinner.
We finally get back to our room at 5am, which was a complete shock to all of us that it was so late.
The next morning we wake up and nurse our hangovers, and head to the Venetian where Gabe and I go to buy tickets to the Blue Man Group, which I really wanted to see since Nick Kittle is in it right now; I know him from Michigan where he was a percussion performance major and in the Marching Band for a year. So we buy them, and then meet up with Nick for lunch/brunch at Peppermill which is a nice little place on the north end of the strip. Kohn unfortunately can't make it to the show since his flight is at 8pm and the show starts at 7pm. But Gabe and I go, and it's an awesome show. Definitely worth seeing. Then we take off after that and head back to LA.
btw it's such a good feeling to drive in Las Vegas. So much better than cab rides. Especially since I now have such a bitter taste in my mouth about Las Vegas cab drivers (see previous post). And it's like, every time I would drive somewhere, I'd just feel like I'm saving $10 or whatever the cab ride would have cost.
Oh also. Today I was driving in rural Oregon (on my way back north after a fun week in LA, San Diego, and Berkeley), and I saw a bunch of signs for a casino. I debated stopping at it... and as I was driving by, I actually missed it. So I was about to keep going, but then I decided that I really wanted to see it, just out of curiousity. So I turned around and went to it. It was... pretty small. But not shady at all, even though it was completely in the middle of nowhere and totally surrounded by woods in all directions. I guess it was sort of close to Crater Lake, but that's about it. Anyways, basically all they had was a bunch of slot machines and a few blackjack tables, with minimum bet of $5. I sat at one for a little bit, and left down $10. oh well.
Anyways this road trip is coming to an end but it's been an awesome one. I think I could see myself living someday in any of the places that I visited. Well, not Hood River. But LA, Vegas, San Diego, Berkeley/Bay area... yeah, I think so. If Seattle doesn't work out for the long run.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
3-handed at Parkers 8/16 game
Somehow, last night, Mike and I ended up playing 3-handed in an 8/16 game at Parkers with one other random dude.
Not exactly the game sitution that I'd like to be in. But basically, we were on the list for 8/16, we got called, and as we were making our way to the table, the game completely broke. There was just one guy left who wanted to play, and suggested that we play 3-handed. I didn't really want to, but Mike did, and the other guy kept saying that more people will come if we keep the game going. So we did.
Anyways, I wound up winning a little bit (like $40) in about an hour. Mike dropped about $200.
Our game ended when the other guy got called for his 12/24 seat. Then Mike suggested that we play heads up. I wasn't sure if he was kidding or not, but I said HELL NO. haha. That kid is crazy sometimes.
Then we got our free comped food (we both ordered fried chicken wings) and left.
Also, I made a bet with Bill (one of Mike's old housemates) last night that he wouldn't get mugged in the next 12 months. He recently moved to First Hill, which is kind of a hit-or-miss neighborhood, in that some parts of it are nice and some are quite shady. But I don't think he will actually get mugged, he's a pretty big white guy, and I'd think that thieves would have better targets than him. So we made a $50 bet last night, if he doesn't get mugged in the next year then I win $50, and if he does get mugged, then I pay him $50. So he has a little insurance for if he does get mugged, heh.
Less than one week until Vegas!!
Not exactly the game sitution that I'd like to be in. But basically, we were on the list for 8/16, we got called, and as we were making our way to the table, the game completely broke. There was just one guy left who wanted to play, and suggested that we play 3-handed. I didn't really want to, but Mike did, and the other guy kept saying that more people will come if we keep the game going. So we did.
Anyways, I wound up winning a little bit (like $40) in about an hour. Mike dropped about $200.
Our game ended when the other guy got called for his 12/24 seat. Then Mike suggested that we play heads up. I wasn't sure if he was kidding or not, but I said HELL NO. haha. That kid is crazy sometimes.
Then we got our free comped food (we both ordered fried chicken wings) and left.
Also, I made a bet with Bill (one of Mike's old housemates) last night that he wouldn't get mugged in the next 12 months. He recently moved to First Hill, which is kind of a hit-or-miss neighborhood, in that some parts of it are nice and some are quite shady. But I don't think he will actually get mugged, he's a pretty big white guy, and I'd think that thieves would have better targets than him. So we made a $50 bet last night, if he doesn't get mugged in the next year then I win $50, and if he does get mugged, then I pay him $50. So he has a little insurance for if he does get mugged, heh.
Less than one week until Vegas!!
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Unplanned trip
On Sunday, I was trying to return from Detroit to Seattle, on standby. Unfortunately, all flights out of Detroit were overbooked, even into Monday. Things were looking pretty grim. Furthermore, there were no direct flights; I would have to connect somewhere else to get to Seattle. But it looked like as long as I could get out of Detroit, my second flight would be fine.
Well Sunday went by as I did not get on any flight... until 11:45pm, somehow I got on a flight to Las Vegas!
I passed out for the entire flight. I had been drinking somewhat steadily for my last 4 hours in Detroit.
I landed at McCarran around 1:30am. The next flight out of Vegas to Seattle was at 9:30am. So, after wandering around the airport for a little bit, I started to ask myself the obvious question: Should I head to the strip? The answer was of course a YES!!
So I did. Of course, I did not have much cash with me, and could not pull that much out of the ATM either. So I wasn't even sure what I was going to play. Eventually I decided I would just keep it simple and play 4/8 at the Bellagio.
Quick side-note: On my cab ride from the airport, the driver took me through the tunnel onto I-15. This is the long way, and costs almost twice as much. I wasn't very pleased about this, and it hadn't actually happened to me before so I didn't really think about telling him not to beforehand (the first I had ever heard about it was when it happened to Emily sometime last year). More details about that can be found here: 2+2 thread
Anyways, I actually went first to Bally's to check my bags. Not that I couldn't have done that at the Bellagio, but Bally's is more familiar to me so you just go with what you know, you know? Also I had planned on ending the night/morning with a breakfast at the Barbary Coast (now called Bill's Gambling Hall or something?) as we had done on other trips, since they have a really cheap breakfast special from midnight to 7am, so that made Bally's a reasonable place to leave my stuff.
I eventually got to a 4/8 table at the Bellagio around 2:30am. The room was still pretty lively, I'd guess about 20 full tables of action. Pretty impressive for a random Sunday night.
The game was pretty good. Lots of pre-flop limping, lots of cold-calling, lots of junk showdowns. And I had a complete maniac directly to my right. He was raising pre-flop with hands such as Q3c, 65o, T2o, etc etc, even 3-betting with such hands. So I had good position on him. Unfortunately, on my best hand of the night, I hit two pair with ATo, only to lose to his set of 8s. And of course I gave him a LOT of action since I didn't figure him to have anything. Anyways, I dropped $200 in this game, but not before getting a coffee and two double Glenlivets neat. That would've cost me about $30 at a bar, so that softens the blow a little :)
There was one really talkative girl at my table. She kept telling the old man next to her how beautiful his daughter was, and then later when his wife came over, how beautiful she was as well. And she kept trying to talk to the guy next to me, who wouldn't respond to her at all. After he wouldn't talk to her, she kept calling him "quiet" and "unfriendly," and then to really get in his face, she stuck out her hand to him and said "My name is Heather, what's yours?" He still completely ignored her. She talked to me a bit too, told me how she wanted an Asian daughter because they are so pretty. Started flirting with me, asked if I was a California boy, I told her I was from Seattle, she asked if she could crash with me if she came up there, I jokingly said yeah! Then she was like "ok give me your number" and whipped out her phone to save it. At that point I waved my hands and was like "nah." Fortunately she didn't seem to take too much offense. She wasn't too bad looking but she was a bit older, and actually was getting quite annoying. And I wasn't about to shout my phone number across the table regardless. Anyways, after about an hour, the guy who wouldn't respond to her at all jumps up and yells "YES!!" sticks out his hand to her and says "Hi, my name is Andy. I just won a $25,000 bet for not talking to you until 4:45."
weird.
Anyways, it was about 6am when I busted my stack. I headed over for breakfast, went back to Bally's to get my bags, and went back to the airport. I may have dropped $200 but I was playing in a good game where I most certainly had +EV, and I got there for free (well, minus $35 for cab rides there and back), so I can't complain.
Oh and I got on the 9:30am flight to Seattle with no problems, and was at work by 3pm.
Next trip to Vegas in 1 1/2 weeks!!
Well Sunday went by as I did not get on any flight... until 11:45pm, somehow I got on a flight to Las Vegas!
I passed out for the entire flight. I had been drinking somewhat steadily for my last 4 hours in Detroit.
I landed at McCarran around 1:30am. The next flight out of Vegas to Seattle was at 9:30am. So, after wandering around the airport for a little bit, I started to ask myself the obvious question: Should I head to the strip? The answer was of course a YES!!
So I did. Of course, I did not have much cash with me, and could not pull that much out of the ATM either. So I wasn't even sure what I was going to play. Eventually I decided I would just keep it simple and play 4/8 at the Bellagio.
Quick side-note: On my cab ride from the airport, the driver took me through the tunnel onto I-15. This is the long way, and costs almost twice as much. I wasn't very pleased about this, and it hadn't actually happened to me before so I didn't really think about telling him not to beforehand (the first I had ever heard about it was when it happened to Emily sometime last year). More details about that can be found here: 2+2 thread
Anyways, I actually went first to Bally's to check my bags. Not that I couldn't have done that at the Bellagio, but Bally's is more familiar to me so you just go with what you know, you know? Also I had planned on ending the night/morning with a breakfast at the Barbary Coast (now called Bill's Gambling Hall or something?) as we had done on other trips, since they have a really cheap breakfast special from midnight to 7am, so that made Bally's a reasonable place to leave my stuff.
I eventually got to a 4/8 table at the Bellagio around 2:30am. The room was still pretty lively, I'd guess about 20 full tables of action. Pretty impressive for a random Sunday night.
The game was pretty good. Lots of pre-flop limping, lots of cold-calling, lots of junk showdowns. And I had a complete maniac directly to my right. He was raising pre-flop with hands such as Q3c, 65o, T2o, etc etc, even 3-betting with such hands. So I had good position on him. Unfortunately, on my best hand of the night, I hit two pair with ATo, only to lose to his set of 8s. And of course I gave him a LOT of action since I didn't figure him to have anything. Anyways, I dropped $200 in this game, but not before getting a coffee and two double Glenlivets neat. That would've cost me about $30 at a bar, so that softens the blow a little :)
There was one really talkative girl at my table. She kept telling the old man next to her how beautiful his daughter was, and then later when his wife came over, how beautiful she was as well. And she kept trying to talk to the guy next to me, who wouldn't respond to her at all. After he wouldn't talk to her, she kept calling him "quiet" and "unfriendly," and then to really get in his face, she stuck out her hand to him and said "My name is Heather, what's yours?" He still completely ignored her. She talked to me a bit too, told me how she wanted an Asian daughter because they are so pretty. Started flirting with me, asked if I was a California boy, I told her I was from Seattle, she asked if she could crash with me if she came up there, I jokingly said yeah! Then she was like "ok give me your number" and whipped out her phone to save it. At that point I waved my hands and was like "nah." Fortunately she didn't seem to take too much offense. She wasn't too bad looking but she was a bit older, and actually was getting quite annoying. And I wasn't about to shout my phone number across the table regardless. Anyways, after about an hour, the guy who wouldn't respond to her at all jumps up and yells "YES!!" sticks out his hand to her and says "Hi, my name is Andy. I just won a $25,000 bet for not talking to you until 4:45."
weird.
Anyways, it was about 6am when I busted my stack. I headed over for breakfast, went back to Bally's to get my bags, and went back to the airport. I may have dropped $200 but I was playing in a good game where I most certainly had +EV, and I got there for free (well, minus $35 for cab rides there and back), so I can't complain.
Oh and I got on the 9:30am flight to Seattle with no problems, and was at work by 3pm.
Next trip to Vegas in 1 1/2 weeks!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)