Vegas December 2015

Day One - Aria, Venetian

Last Updated: 2015-12-06 12:42:16

I think for the first time ever I was disappointed in Chipotle. Didn't want to pay dinner prices for "brunch" at a buffet, so we decided to do something a little cheaper and faster. There's a new Chipotle in Planet Hollywood that I haven't tried yet and we can't have that hanging over my head, can we? Nick and I head over there, I order my burrito, move down the line...and they're out of mild salsa! WHAT?!? No way! Amazing how much a difference it can make taking one ingredient out of your meal. It wasn't awful...but it wasn't nearly as good either...

Not a great start to the trip on the poker front. Nick and I both bought into the 1:00 at Aria. Nick only lasted a little over an hour busting out with A-K on an A-K-x board and ran into pocket kings. Ouch!

I lasted 3 hours (6 rounds). They had a good crowd too, about 150 players I think.

On the first hand out of the gate I look down at A-K off in the small blind. UTG+1 raises, 3-4 callers, I see no reason to reraise and have to play out of position with what will likely be 3-4 callers anyway on the first hand of the tournament so I just call.

Flop K-3-J with two clubs. Simple plan. I check and if the original raiser continuation-bets and everyone folds I'm check-raising, otherwise I'll call any reasonable bet.

He bets, two or three callers, I just call. Again, what else can I do? Yes I have top pair, but a draw heavy board, can't put anyone on anything, and if a lot of chips end up going in at this point top pair/top kicker is never good...

Turn a club. I check, check from original raiser, next guy makes a sizeable bet, I'm out as is everyone else.

From that point on it was pretty ugly. One pocket pair per hour, no other hand bigger than A-J. Very little that was playable.

After folding almost everything for about 40 mins action folds to me two off the button and I raise out with A-10. Flop comes 10-8-5 two diamonds. I c-bet, guy next to me and BB who was still in hand call.

Turn is a 4h, which completes a straight and makes a second flush draw. Check around. River is the Qh.

I check, guy next to me bets out 2/3 of the pot. I'm probably calling with my bluff catcher, but the BB calls. No chance A-10 good here, right? Well I was right the bettor was on a bluff (busted straight and flush draw), other guy had 10-9. Argh! But I made a good decision...

The first pocket pair I picked up was 33, blinds 100/200. Someone makes it 500. I call, short stack goes over for about 2K (the 10-9 guy from the previous hand). He was a very loose player so I seriously think I might call...but then there is another caller ahead of me and then another shove over the top for 5000+. Can't call, right? I'm out. Flop was 10-10-3 of course.

Good decisions, right?

Into break at 9K from a 10K start.

Just before the 2 hr mark I get pocket fives under the gun. I've been trying to follow the Jonathan Little mantra of any pair from any position, but there are two many possible 3-betters behind me so I fold. Flop came 3-4-5 of course....

Good decisions, right? As the hand played out I probably wouldn't have made a lot on the hand anyway.

About 3 minutes before the second break, the three hour mark, I get my third pair of the tournament - pocket threes again on the button. I really want to get all in because I'm down to 10BB. Raise and an all-in ahead of me, I have to fold, I was destroyed by JJ vs TT so that time it really was a good decision.

As the clock was ticking down to the second break I was at 5500 with blinds at 300/600. One limper ahead of me, I shove with 10-8 suited...limper would have folded but the SB who was also short but just covering me woke up with A-Js, he called, no luck, out. At least I got the two live cards I was hoping for.

3 pairs in 3 hrs. Argh.

No 7:00 at Aria due to a special satellite they're running but Venetian has a 7pm with a 9K guarantee with a reasonable buyin so that became the new plan for the evening.

Turns out it's a bounty tournament so the 9K guarantee is really the total including the bounties. So it's really a $150 tournament plus a $50 prize you put up on your own head.

So the tournament starts and the guy to my left, who I'm going to be betting into, tells the table that there's a good chance he'll be rebuying. He proceeds to play literally every hand and gives away his entire stack. He goes and buys in again, comes back to the table a few positions away from me but still I'm going to be out of position against him most of the time. And he continued to play literally every hand. Not 80% of hands...not 95% of hands...EVERY HAND.

What a nightmare scenario.

Clearly he's good at this strategy. And it never ceases to amaze me that in spite of the fact that poker has gotten to the point it has as far as the level of play of the average player that people still have utterly no clue how to deal with such a player. I can't tell you how many times the woman betting into him after his, ahem, seat change would bet out flops, check turns, call his bet and then fold to a river bet. He ran over her all night.

It's quite simple. You decide after every flop if you're playing the hand to the end. Once you see a flop, you fold your air, you fold anything you're not willing to play for three streets, and you either lead every street or you check-call every street, or some combination of the two.

Instead this woman would incessantly bet flops, incessantly check-call turns and incessantly fold rivers. You cannot do that over and over against such a player. And he showed her bluffs repeatedly! In spite of the fact that the guy was playing 100% of hands and showing bluffs she would call turns and fold rivers...unreal...

Thankfully I was not one of those knuckleheads. I tighten up, wait for good cards, let him pay me off. I didn't win any monster pots off him, mainly because he didn't take long to figure out his ploy wouldn't work against me. But I did get him to pay me off once.

He was up and down like a yo-yo, but at several points he got paid mightly for his big hands. He was very good at playing the stategy he played and few at the table could deal with it.

But enough about that guy. Lets talk about me.

Well, real quick, Nick busted out nut flush vs quads. According to Nick he got one-outed on the river. But piecing together the story I think what really happened was all in pre, two overs vs pair, flop set for pair, turn nut flush for Nick, quads on river. But that really meant the guy must have had 10 outs, not one...so frustrating I'm sure, but not the worst beat ever and he was slightly behind when the chips went in. Doesn't matter what order the cards come in, you still get to see all 5...ok finally back to ME... :-)

Overall I do OK picking up some pots here an there. Caught a couple of flushes, one against the maniac and one I messed up a little.

I did pick up some pairs for a change, and some decent ones. Unfortunately the one time I got aces I had a tight player raise into me in early position. I *had* to reraise so I wouldn't have 4-5 callers including mr 100%. It was literally the first hand he folded preflop and it was hours into the tournament.

I get a little frisky, hadn't played a hand in a while and it folds to me under the gun plus 3 with J-9 of clubs. I decide to take a shot at stealing a pot...which means probably stealing by betting pre, on the flop and on the turn into the maniac...he's the only caller, so off to a good start.

Flop comes A-rag-rag with two clubs. Perfect spot for a continuation bet semi-bluff. He calls. Like I said, I know going in it's a three-bullet steal but I have equity!

Turn is a 3 of clubs. Nice!! I check, he loves to bet turns when he's checked to but he doesn't bite. Dang.

River pairs the ace. Obviously can't put him on an ace since his range is 100% of hands, but maybe he has some pair. I make a sizeable river bet, he calls, I show my flush, he folds. Good for me! But then the other flush...

This is why I try to get in warmups playing live, which I didn't do nearly enough this time.

So I have A-J with the A spades. 3-4 handed into the flop, which comes K-Q-rag all spades. I have a nut flush draw with a gutshot straight draw. It checks to me, I check, next guy bets probably 500-700. Folds around, I call.

Turn is another K. I check, he bets about 1300. I think about it for a while and decide I have too strong a draw to fold so I pick up 2 1K chips and place them on the table. Dealer says "raise".

What???

Crap...I grabbed three chips not two.

In hindsight this would have been a helluva bluff had I meant to do it. It looked sooooo strong. I was playing so tight to that point, it was so believable. He goes into the tank for a while and calls.

River is the 9s giving me the nut flush but with a paired board. I only have 6K and the pot is roughly 6K so whether I hit or not I was probably pot committed...so I go all in. He thinks for a long while and folds.

Someone says "show the straight flush!". I muck, other guy says he had a straight flush blocker so he did lay down a pretty good flush. He was sure I had caught a boat, he later told me he had trip kings and called the turn hoping to hit a better boat. Whew!!!

Once the re-entry period ended the maniac, as I expected, quickly changed his game and reduced his preflop range to about 30% of hands. I could never play that style, but I do have a lot of respect for someone who can play it as well as he does. And he had a sizeable stack at that point.

The total ended up being 66 players paying 7.

When we got down to 25 or so I was sitting under 20K with blinds probably 600/1200. I get all in on a flip, my AK suited vs 88. I hit, I'm up around 40K.

As we work our way down to 16 players my stack dwindles to around 30K. An early position shortish-stack goes all in, I look down at pocket Kings and go over the top all in.

He has QT of clubs.

Flop wasn't all that scary, but the turn card is a King that gave me a set of Kings but gave him both a straight draw and a flush draw and almost all of his outs were clean (i.e. it would have been hard for him to hit a straight or flush that also would have given me a full house, which is bad for me...). Club flush on the river and I'm crippled. I'm down around 3 big blinds.

I got all-in twice after that. First time just KQ offsuit and it held up against 10-7 ( guy had came to the table as part of a table break, also played almost every hand, people that came with him were whining about how lucky he had been getting, apparently LOVES to play 9-6), so I more than double to 14K but with 800/1600 blinds. Then I got all in shoving w/A-2 vs 7-5 (same very loose/passive player) and he turns a gutshot and rivers a 5 (a 10-outer at that point...).

I bust out 11th place, four from the money. No question I would have made the money had my Kings held up, I would have had more than enough chips.

When I left Mr Maniac had by that time collected enough bounties that he was only down one buyin but with a big stack and only 3 from the money so I would be shocked if he didn't turn a profit on the night. Good for him...

Oh well. A great run in an incredibly difficult situation. I'm as happy as I can be busting out so close to, but not in, the money.

So Sunday it will be back to Aria for the 1:00 and if necessary the 7:00. I probably won't see much of the Patriots/Eagles game. My luck the Iggles will pull off a miracle but I'm just not going to have time to sit and watch. Maybe I'll catch the second half.