36 Hours In Vegas

The traditional 24 hour day doesn't really exist as a formal measure of measuring time in Vegas, especially for a poker player. Barring a tournament that you want to play, there are no formal constraints on your time. I would say you go to sleep when you're tired, but it's more like you sleep when you can't stay awake any longer or the game breaks.

My previous "day" started around 3:40 PM (on a Thursday by normal standards) and ended at 3:35 AM (Saturday morning by normal standards). I got out of bed with the intention of cashing a Full Tilt check and paying a bill before the normal businesses closed at 5, but alas I spent too long talking poker to Lusky so I missed that.

After walking the dog, eating, and showering I put in about 1500 hands online; I had plenty of energy to play longer, but I was feeling restless and decided to go out to play live. My friend Josh was at the Wynn putting in hours for their $2,500 giveaway promotion, but I really wanted to do the new Hard Rock room again so I went there.

Unfortunately, I promptly lost all of the cash I had on me ($580), mostly with AK, but the rest with a flush under flush. Fun times. I was broke and hungry by dawn so I sent a text to Josh to see about breakfast. He told me to come to the Wynn and we'd do the Wynn breakfast buffet.

I got there before the buffet opened, so I borrowed $800 from Josh and sat at the only $1/$3 table running. The first hand I play I both river a straight and get rivered by a higher gutshot draw, and of course value own myself. Overall though, I basically broke even for an hour while we waited. Josh was was on the receiving end of a stock pitch (lol), complete with flow charts and stuff, from a broke Wynn gambler during that time. Fun times!

The breakfast buffet was out of this world good. I mainly devoured their smoked salmon, but they had just about anything you have heard of as a breakfast food, and probably a lot of stuff you haven't.


First big hand back at the tables I flop QUADS on a 997 flop and cooler a guy who was unfortunate enough to have pocket sevens, and after that I win another $200 over multiple pots from a guy playing about 70% of his hands, and playing them badly. I broke him in one hand where I raised enough with KdQs to put a limper/fish all in, and he called off half his stack with 8s6s. The fish called as well, and the flop came down AsKsTs, and the 70 VPIP guy shoves his last chips into me. Hmm.. I'm getting 3-1 with a royal flush draw and second pair, I guess I call. He was quite pissed and wondered how I could call his shove with just a flush draw. Alrighty then, good game!

Josh has a tough life as a Wynn (mostly) grinder by the way. All the staff know him and seem to love him. He has his own box(!!!!!!!). With as many hours as he puts in he gets great comped food. He was only up $400 for the "day" when I saw him at dawn, but by the time he finished at 10pm, he was up $4kish at 2/5. Not a bad 24 hour session.


The highlight in terms of excitement of the session was Micheal Phelps showing up to play some $1/$3. He kept his head covered with his hood almost the whole time so I couldn't get a good picture without being a jerk.


By 2pm I was falling asleep in between hands, and even though the game was good I decided to pack it only down $80 live. I paid Josh back and headed home. Lusky and I watched a few hours of the 2008 WSOP and watched my friend StoneTemplPilot own WCGrider in a 3 table 200nl HU grudge match. GG STP.


Around dusk I convinced Lusky to go to RoadRunner Cowboy around the corner. I can't believe I haven't tried this place before. It's almost good enough that it'd fit in well in Austin. They have two bowling lanes, two pool tables, video poker, and... SHINER Bock on draft. How can you go wrong there?

Heidi met us at RoadRunner and we all went to Half Shell to get some food. I didn't have my camera, but this place was really good, just as good as Shuck's, but in a different way. We had a dozen raw oysters (with horshradish and tabasco of course), shrimp and blue crab nachos, clam strips, and grilled scallops. An amazing amount of food, and cheap!

After we got back home I was ready to play, but way too tired, so I hit the sack at 3:35 and realized it'd been quite a 36 hour "awake period."

I've created a new blog at stevenlawrence.blogspot.com. Check it out!

Welcome to Frustration, TX: Population 2

I played the 50/50 on FullTilt today simultaneously with the 14k.  I was in short-stack mode for quite a while after the bubble in the 50/50, but managed to double up with JJ > TT, and then made a really aggressive move with AQ to take down another huge pot in the very next hand.  It took me a second to realize, but I had gone from near last to tenth in two hands.  I stole some blinds, won a few flops, and I was chip leader. (!)

Then I went card and spot dead (i.e., no cards compounded with no good looking spots to bluff).  After getting backed down twice by a maniac (I think he went out on last two tables with K7, paired 7's for middle pair v an overpair) with a big enough stack to hurt me I decided to go stealthy for a while.  He was on my left, and seemed content to push in any time I make my standard preflop raise, so... whattya gonna do.  Anyway, I pick up QQ and make my standard raise.  Shorter stack in Big Blind calls, and the flop comes T high with two spades.  I bet 2/3 pot, and the shorter stack pushes, I'm almost never folding here against a random player.  Anyway, he obviously had the monster Jack high flush draw and hit his spade on river.  So now I'm down to 11th, but still in good shape.

Nothing exciting happens in the meantime really. I switch from stealing blinds to restealing against the Jack High flush guy and his new found monster stack. He folds every time he raised my blind and I pushed.  Although, he did make some scarrrrrrry threats:

McNallyville raises to 12,500

Virge raises to 69,267, and is all in

McNallyville has 15 seconds left to act

McNallyville: one of these times virge

McNallyville folds

ColdE (Observer): yeah but not this time  <-- love this guy

So, on final table bubble I'm playing pretty darn tight still because the chip leader has moved one seat over on my left and is a restealin machine (mbn to have table covered).  I pick up AcKc in early position, and I knew I wasn't folding. I raise my standard amount, and the Jack High guy in the big blind pushes... let's just say I ain't folding.  I snap call and he shows Ad3d.  Flops fine, turns fine, no 3, no straight or flush draws for Jack High boy. And then, obviously, the river is a 3.  GG me, ighn, final table bubbling is fun!

Anyway, nice 1,200% ROI for the turny, and obviously up on the day, but it's frustrating to lose those two pots when 1) you get you're money in pretty darn good, and 2) you know the damage you could have done at a final table with the stack you would have had by dodging the suckout in either one of those pots.

Oh, the other resident of Frustration, TX tonight? My poor mouse. First time in a couple of months that I slammed my mouse after a suckout.  Fortunately, it survived.

Now, on to take down the $4,000 pot limit holdem and/or $7,500 no limit holdem.  

Midnight Madness

GG, NH FTP

Oooops.

FTF Table Average

Higher than all of the .25/.50 full ring tables!!! Slim is GREAT for action.

AmSlim22 Takes one down!!

FTFer Takes One Down

GG Tokn. And way to flop Heads Up!!!