Imalin

Had a good day yesterday. Woke early and after breakfast I dragged “L” on a power walk down the strip. We used the many stairs to increase pulse and the crossways around mgm, tropicana, Excalibur and n-y was excellent with a lot of stairs. In the end “L’ opted out and took the escalators – but maybe that was because people looked at us as if we were crazy?

At noon I played at Venetian. 12000 in chips and 30 min levels. BB starts at 100 so a bit faster structure than Aria. Despite that I do like Venetian better. The players are more skilled so it is easier to play.  I lost 4000 in chips early. I kept getting open ended and flush draws but just could not hit! When a guy said: ” the ones that draw for straights and flushes arrive on planes but leave on busses” I had to admit to being guilty as charged! A bit later I repaired my stack with a set of fours.

When you play in Vegas you get so many stories. The guy next to me showed me his tattoos. His 20-year old son died in a racecar crash a year ago and now he had filled his body with photos of his son. A sad story but amazing tatoos! When we were down to four tables I was placed at a table were the tabletalk was fierce. At one point it almost went into a fight when a guy asked a coloured man about the “pussy” word that was involved in the recent shooting. The dealer tried to smooth things, and me being the only lady, asked them to !Ind their manners. They shaped up, but the laughter at the table was a bit forced for a while. Shortly after I busted when I tried to make a move in BB. A man raised 3BB. He raised a lot so when I looked at K10 suited I went all in. He called and showed 77.

Dinner at Carmines. Best pasta in town!

Today we started with brunch at hotel. “L” was not keen on another powerwalk so he went to play cash. I did a nice walk. 20 degree’s and sunny. Country music in every corner. Life is good.

In an hour I will try Venetian tourney again.

Decided to use yesterday to get the timezones adjusted. I managed to do my list of shopping, there are some stuff I always get when I’m here.

I skipped tournament and continued my second task, to document what casino gives best value for money if you want cheap drinks. (Timing how long you have to wait to order and rating the comparison drink.)

After yesterday I kind of regret choosing Strawberry Daiquiri as the designated drink.  I wanted to make it a bit challenging but little did I know how bad (awful really) a strawberry daquiry can be? I will complete testing before giving my consolidated rating but already now.. Vodka???? In a strawberry daquiry? There is a first for everything!

I feel timezone adjusted so today I do breakfast at 8am, gym or walking and aim for the noon tournament at Venetian.

After breakfast at the newly reopened Denny’s I had to speedwalk to get to the tournament in time. At least that is what one of the ticket salesmen said to me as I rushed by him on the bridge between pH and Aria. In my mind I was just on average pace. Vegas is crowdy this week and with 19 degrees and sunny weather, tourists insist on blocking the way with their slow strolls.

Tournament had 158 entrants. 125 buyin, 10 000 in starting stack and 30 minutes levels. I recognised a few locals at the table but there was also some tourists. I had seat 1 and I hate that! Specially bad when the dealer is a big guy covering not only seat 10, but also seat 8 and 9! In the end I gave up trying to see, and just leaned back and waited for my turn. Then I asked the dealer what action was before me. Lucky for me seats 8 to 10 did not play many hands!

In seat 6 was “Mr know it all”. He told us all how bad we played our hands and how incorrect our bettings were! Hurray for the guy that limped with his KK from small blind. Only “Mr know it all” left to act in BB. He goes all in with 99. Kings hold and when “Mr know it all” explains why he did correct and opponent wrong… His opponent that had been silent for two hours said: “If I see bad players I am happy to have them at my table. I would be stupid trying to teach them how to improve.”

I kept to average stack until 4 tables left. My raise with AK got called. An A on the flop. I bet – he reraises. But not big enough for me to fold. Turn pairs the 10 that was on the table. I bet and he calls and that told me he had a 10. So I folded after the river. He showed 9 10. So my reading is at least spot on. The rest of the tournament was trying to survive. Finally I busted when my AK lost against JJ. Place 28 is OK.

Today I woke to late for noon tournament. Was in bed 6am – what can I say, In Vegas all clocks are off.

7 756 steps to Vegas from my home door. Not to bad! Admittadly there was three airplaines and a cab involved aswell.

Arrived last night around 7 PM. In Chicago immigration took my passport and sent me away to a room with rows of people just sittning and waiting?! When it comes to boarder police I tend to be careful so I just sat down at my designated chair and waited. Looking around the room…. Hm, possibly 100 persons. Noted to my relief that I was the only white person there! Easy to see I was selected to make up for boarder control statistics!  And true enough after a while I got my passport back without further questions.

Arriving at Mirage the lady at the reception was impressed over the low rate I got on my room. . And a few hours later the drinklady in the casino welcomed me back and asked if I just arrived since she had not seen me for a while. Like coming home!

Today I play at Aria at 13. But first shower and coffee!

The other morning we were watching an insperational service on TV. The pastor said that of you just believe rain will come. Well I played tournaments every second day. Only to meet dry lands. Yesterday we had a break from poker. And found some rain.

Heading south on the strip to see what it looks like this days we reached Tropicana. What a desert place! Drink ladies were a rare species! While waiting (in agony!) we played goldfish slots. Zoinks! The little fish started to give me bonuses! When the fish finally took a rest I was 312 dollars richer!:-) It made somewhat up for the bad drinkservice and poor excuse for a strawberrydaquire.

We continued to Venetian. Hoping for better drinks. And what do you know?! A katapult apeared on one of the reels to a lord of the rings machine.  The big stone hit an ugly bird?! That showed to be the jackpot More than 400 dollars to me! Yay! When it rains it rains!

Managed to get a bug if some sort. Need to take it a bit easy. Nevertheless I play the 1pm at Aria everyday. Due to ongoing WSOP they have expanded the tournament area. It has been more than 200 players per day. Yesterday I got close to the money busting out as 25. I had a few great hands in the early blinds and despite my bug it was funny sitting behind a lot of chips.
Players are mostly good. But yesterday there where quit a disturbance when a man claimed the call from hos opponent was invalid as hos opponent talked to another player. Silly of course. Not only because all he said was “what is going on?” But because he had a set on a harmless board.
Later on I came across the player with the bad temper again. I could agree hos opponent made a bad call. And that he hit hos 2 outer was amazing. But this things happen in poker. Making a scene is not changing anything. (Admittadly a bit fun to watch though ).

Watched the soccergame from the pokerroom. Most cheered for Germany! And the goal scored a big applause!

Still no internet at the hotell – but a note saying Motorola guy is coming. Could be a threat for all I know?!

Due to bad internet it’s not easy to keep up the blog posting! To be honest I think I will not stay at Harrahs again. Sure, location is good and it is cheap – but if not for my earplugs I would not have any sleep at all. Internet is a joke and housekeeping missed to clean the room despite us being out all day.

Well, possibly I’m just turning to be an old grumpy lady!

At Aria lobby now. Free wifi for all! Now this is hos it should be! Aiming to play the 1pm tourney. The day before yesterday i busted out on a bad beat. My AK lost against AQ It’s a thin line between chip lead and the door!

Maybe there are better ways to be rich? Met Joe at cosmopolitan. A highroller player in the car business. He almost hit a jackpot and said if he hit it he would share with me. Unfortunately hos wife arrived!

Joe suggested to visit Gordon Ramsay Burger. Showed to be a good advice. Really tasty! If you are into burgers that is the place to go. Just be aware you  might never be able to eat at McDonald again!

Ah..and hos many goals can germany score in soccer? …a brazzillion.

And guess what – I’m now up a tier in m-life! Not Sure hos – but pearl card looks nice!

Arrived Sunday evening after what felt like a long never ending flight. Never travelled with Air Canada before. “L” that is here with me laughed when I thought the last leg of the trip was operated by Air Canada rough (the correct name is rouge). But after a few hours on their seats he had to  agree. Rough is for sure a bettet name! The transit in Toronto was clever though. Easier than Chicago as we did not have to collect our luggage. Just point it out on a picture.

Harrahs gave us a free upgrade. That ment Mardi gras tower, TV in the bathroom and .. Yay! A coffee maker!

The window is towards carnival courtyard. The music is loud. Yesterday we did an “if you can’t beat them join them”. We outaged the crowd by 20 years but nobody seemed to care. Dancing to 4 am can be so fun! With free shots poured directly into your mouth… It was really crazy!

Yes! I have played some poker too. Venetian is running deepstack and Aria is hosting wpt. So my first real tournament has to wait until tomorrow. I played a 75 dollars tournament at Planet Hollywood. I did not get any cards and got busted when I tried to steal the blinds. Turbo structure is not my thing . After a mix of Bloody Mary, gin tonic and beer it was time to play some cash. The table at Harrahs was a mix of people. Being a bit tipsy I knew I had to play ultratight. I would have settled for conversation and beer at the cost of the blinds but poker gods decided I deserved better. Somehow young lads think they can buy me out of a pot. They can’t. The guys at the table that paid attention said it was amazing that someone would pay me off as it was obvious I always had a hand when I played.

The guy next to me was from Greece. He was fun to talk to and as always I feel a bit flattered when someone 15 years younger flirts a bit. (Of course I informed him that “L” was sitting at the next table!)

On my other side sat a guy that still is in the wsop. His story was a bit sad as his wife passed a few months ago leaving him some money and a wish that he should play wsop. It was fun to hear his impression and I wish him luck!

They closed the room early to change the carpet on the tables. I checked out 216 dollars richer.

So far today soccer on TV. Go Germany! A slight hangover so think no dancing tonight.  Will charge my batteries for tomorrow instead!

It’s all about the cards! Tournament – many hours in…. I get a full house and was only happy when opponent overbet all in. But?! There was exactly one card left in the deck that could save him. A perfect 8 to give him quads. Well what can I say? I did not see that one coming!

Anyway last day in Vegas. Just to eat it and move on with the day

The Friday thrill is in town and number of people, as well as number of consumed drinks, increased. I had two GTs at Cosmopolitan. I got 25 dollars of free slot play there on the plane and finally I remembered the voucher. To my own suprise i managed to play the 25 comps play around and could (aftet two GTs that is) take them out in real money.

I ended the evening at Harrahs poker room again. I am not a cash game player as I don’t want to “gamble”. It does not make sense to me to risk a lot of dollars on draws. I like however to study others. An asian guy that I met the other day told me not to be offended but he did not want to sit at my table. He is one of thoose local grinders that sit for hours and hours and build stacks. My chips are just to hard to come by

The tables at Harrahs do not have a lot of drunk players or “by passing tourists.” Instead most people know eachother and the dealers. That is a good thing for me! The game is a 2 dollar (well yesterday it was 4 dollar) a flop game. Button straddle was frequent but who cares when nobody defended the straddle? It was just building the pot – excellent for me as my handselection is the way it is regardless of 2 dollars or 4 dollars! Even in UTG it was just to limp in and hope for a good hit. Cause after the flop game went crazy! People bet on their mid pairs and figured two pairs being a monster. When I only called my full house (I had 22 and flop came A4A – all checks, turn is 2 – a guy bets – I call – river comes with a 6 – the guy bets and I call) they all wondered why I was not betting – eh? A4 and A6 is to me obvious hands that someone might have!

But I made up for my tight profile when I got good hands a few times in a row. All limp and me in BB has AA. I raise 12 dollars and all fold. Next round all limp and I raise 12 dollars with KK and all fold. Round after lady bets another lady re-raises and I re-rasie with AA (again!). Suddenly I was seen as the agressive Swede! Was a bit funny for a few hands later I got another AA (yep, never had that kind of cards before!) I bet 12 dollars – and got 5(!) callers. Urgh! Thought my aces were so dead in the water. Anyway I placed 50 dollars in the pot after the flop and to my suprise they all folded!

When I was about to leave the tabe shifted profile. Now the regulars were gone and drunk young guys were there. A pity my good cards were not as frequent But table talk was fun – and that is the reason I’m there anyway! Their geographical knowledge was so non existing! Around 3 AM I felt I just had to go and sleep. The dealers told me to come back soon – the nice thing with a small poker room! (I qualified for the freeroll but then I am on my way home )

Cashgame ended 160 dollars plus – which is amazing

Time to leave the room and move for the airport. Got a mail that my upgradewish came through – yaay!

Easier to leave knowing I’m back in less than 3 months!

Yesterday tournament was a bit boring. There was no one to talk to (I had seat 1 and the guy next to me did not speak english.. or so he claimed ) A female dealer came to the table and she started to toss cards all over the place with a rather hostile energy. A lady at the table looked at her and said: “Are you in a bad mood today?”. Well! That question was not welcome. The dealer got furious telling the lady of that she “recented such personal questions”… I tend to agree! It was obvious the dealing lady was not in a the best of moods I would not have dared to even miss posting an ante!

I learnet a new rule… that when you call someone it’s obvious that you have the right to see their cards – but that if the one you called muck their cards floor has to be called as the cards will be back into play again if you demand to see them.

I played all decent hand I got but hit absolutely nothing. I guess we all have been there! When you have diamonds flop goes black if you have low cards flop comes high and so on…. As the structure is slow there is plenty of time to wait but after a few hours I was down to 4000 with 400 in blind level.

I was in mid position and looked down at 10 J of hearts. I had already tried a number of steals with 3 or 4 times BB raises (that was what brought me down to 4 times BB in the first place…) so I decided to just call. I hoped that the other players would see a call from a small stack indicating a strong hand – that I would get maximum numbers of callers and then (almost) whatever came on the flop I would just go all in.

I was happy to see 5 callers building to “my pot”. Flop came 8, 9 and 4 with two hearts. Perfect! I could not have asked for a better flop! I went all in.

Button called and all other folded. Button showed 10-10. Not too bad? As I had a 10 he could hardly improve and now I had also any J as an out…. but none of my outs appeared and that was it

Playing my tournaments at Aria Harrahs is not the right palace to stay! It’s crowded in town and quit hot outside. I still walk but they should really consider making a walk line for fast walkers? The people here is not the thinnest and the pavement is frequently just blocked!

In the evening I returned to Harrahs for a bit of cash game and a beer. My “old” friends from the night before was not there instead the crowd was more the MGM kind of players. Young guys playing quit agressive. I sat next to a russian guy that was serious about his plays. He had built quit a large stack and I noted he was possibly the best player at the table.  A few hours later he told me that a guy with a hat on was the tightest player at the table That made me smile – I think for the first time in history someone is considered tighter than me!

A raise was most of the time 12 dollars. (2 dollar BB). I stuck to my raises of 6 to 8 dollars on all “decent hands”. I did not get any reraises but a lot of callers. And is that not the thing? When I have suited connectors or a pocket I want a big pot. Winning the blinds seem just silly? When I was 50 dollars down I looked at 10 10 in small blind. A guy raised to 12 dollars, only me and BB left. Well? Reraise or call? I settled with a call. BB also called. Flop came with a 10. I checked. BB bet 10, the original bettor called and I decided to raise. Slowplay get’s punished so many times… I put in 30 dollars and BB (russian) folded. The original bettor called and turn put a small pair on the table. So now I had a nice full house. I checked it hoping that it would show a bit of weakness. Original bettor checked as well. On the river I had to bet. I placed 65 dollars in the pot. Figuring an all in would look a bit scary The guy did not think long before he called. Not sure what he had but a pity he was not strong enough to reraise me all in!

Later on I made a call that made the full table say “good call”. A man overbet the river with 65 dollars. I had two pair and had just flat called it all the way. The thing is that the man had previously traded one of his five dollar chips for one of the russians five dollar chips. Same value but this chip had a long legged woman on the flip side. A few hands before the man had tossed that chip in the pot with his bet… and then he showed the nut hand. But this time the man removed the “special” chip before making his bet. To me the call was not to hard. A top pair I would have folded but not a two pair as the guy did not want to risk his special chip!

I left at 1 AM with 200 dollars more in my pocket. Then the table had transformed to the tightest table in the universe. Mostly asian guys everybody limping into every pot… very strange game. As soon as there was an A on the flop I bet and all folded. Apparently they figured I only play aces (and I seem to get them a lot!)

Ar McDonalds there was a huge line.. but a burger right before bed time is worth the wait! (From a fast food access standpoint Harrahs is greatly placed. Panda (where I so don’t eat anymore), McDonalds, Chipotle, Subway, Pizza slices – it is all dangerously close!