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Trip Report A newbie getting his feet wet. Date: 06/29/06 Player: Kegs For Rooms: ,Luxor,Orleans, Summary: Our second trip to Vegas was the one where it clicked and we thought for the first time as we left the casino... we don't have to leave our money here. A new live players trip to Vegas including play at the Orleans, Luxor and Excal and $5 rebuys. Content: Our second trip to Vegas was the one where it clicked and we thought for the first time as we left the casino... we don't have to leave our money here. Oh, we've had plans before. All those late nights dealing blackjack to each other MIT style. Caesar's was only too happy to let me try out my new skill on our first trip, and they were rewarded handsomely too. It's better to play that game for fun now anyway. It seems as though even the old guard has turned to dice-control as the new card-counters oasis. And that's, as we would have it, is where our second trip begins. On our first trip into town my girlfriend and I took on the services of a dice coach. We started from nothing and learned how to bet and then how to set the dice and throw. It was fun, and it was great learning how to play on a real craps table without having to bet. However, we didn't play in a casino that trip, opting to go home and practice what we learned. This trip we started out with a tune up lesson and then hit a table that night, making a few hundred dollars which is all we would need to get us going in poker. Most of all, it was a great time. We never bet huge, we were just in it for the fun. Tired from our trip we turned in. We stayed at the Orleans, which was a nice place. A convention at Mandalay Bay demanded our attention during the day, but that second evening we went back to the Orleans and played Blackjack and Craps. The dealers were all friendly. We won a little more. I took a few fly-bys of the poker room, still feeling imtimidated. Our third morning there we played hookie from our seminar classes and walked up the the poker host at the Orleans. "We've never played in a poker room before and we have no idea what we're doing." I said plainly. She smiled and took it from there, first establishing the comp card accounts then explaining what games were playing and how the lists work. She waited until 2 seats were open at a 2/4 limit table and sat us there. The table was populated with very friendly locals - retired folks who were enjoying a friendly game. I think this has got to be the kindest way to be indoctrinated into Vegas poker. After a few hands we settled right in. The dealers were as friendly and talkative as the players. Stacking up that big pot of chips after my very first win felt pretty fantastic and after 3 hours of play I left the table $11 poorer but a lot wealthier in experience. After our afternoon classes at Mandalay we went over to the Luxor and hit the buffet, which was pretty tasty. We each bought in to the 2/4 game there for $40. I had heard that those tables were all low limit and loose and wanted to try them out. They did not disappoint. Although my girlfriend left the table with a reduced stack I tripled mine in 90 minutes by playing simple, solid TAG. This was the first time the opportunity to play poker against drunk folks presented itself, and it was mightly entertaining. It took a few hands to figure out that when someone disgustedly calls your raise on the turn by throwing his chips in, then has his chips in hand to do it again on the river he's not bluffing... he's actually disgusted and throwing money in the pot with the expecatation of losing. How flipping terriffic is that? I did try to buy the pot once with AK that missed, and I knew this cowboy on the other end of the table had some kind of pair. He bet and I reraised him. He must be a WPT watcher, because he decided to stare at me to see what I had. Well, that was the first time I got to experience that and it's not nearly as bothersome as I thought it might be. I pulled 10 chips off the top of my stack and split them into stacks of 5 then shuffled them. He elbowed the guy sitting next to him and pointed at the riffled chips and layed down. That was a great memory. There were a couple of guys at that table who played somewhat tighter, but even they would chase a draw too far and let everyone know that's just what they were doing. We left the Luxor happy with our experience and knowing we'll go back there again for more extended play on our next trip. We met up with some friends and enjoyed the rest of the evening out. On our 4th day we played hookie again and entered a $80 freezeout NL tourny at the Orleans. It wasn't all that different from playing online. I did get crippled about 30 minutes in. The small blind slow played AA and I, in the big blind, caught a pair of kings on the flop. Played that one for too much. Short stacked, I got raised and went all in with an open ended straight draw after the flop and my first tourny attempt ended after about 50 minutes. The players were pretty good. Far better than I had seen in the ring games so far. There was one young guy there who was noticably better than the rest. By the time I left he had a monster stack. I got on the 4/8 list and sat at a 2/4 table while my girlfriend played out her tourny entry. She lasted for another hour or so and did well, but didn't make the money. This 2/4 table was again friendly and this time had a mix of locals and vacationers. I was down $8 when I moved to the 4/8 which had a very different dynamic. There were 5 of us in positions 1 to 5 who were playing tight-aggressive. Position 6 was a retired local. Positions 7 to 10 were loose, and the guy in 9 was really loose aggressive with a huge buy in. There was a constant flow of chips to our side of the table. I did well there, making over $100 in somewhere between one and two hours. The 5 of us on our side didn't tangle too hard with one another. The other side of the table was only too happy to call a bet or a raise. One one had I went heads up with the guy in 3rd position. He raised me and I raised back. He said "You're that guy from the other table, right?" He had played the 2/4 before being moved over as well. I said "Yep" and he replied "Yeah, you do this for a living." and laid down. That felt like a pretty great compliment, especially coming from someone with a huge stack. Early that evening after our business seminars we went to the Excalibur. An elderly Japanese gentleman recommended we try there at that mornings 2/4 table. He said they had a wheel they spin if you get anything over Aces-full beat and you win 100 to 500 dollars. Well, he was exaggerating a touch. It looks like you win, most often, maybe in the $30 vicinity but you can get up to $300 with some lucky spinning. We arrived and got on the list for 2/4. They called my name and I walked up to the host. She was busy flirting. When she got done she looked at me and her face sourered. She pointed "Get your chips there then sit there." then turned and walked away. Thanks! Sitting in with $60, I took a bad beat right off the bat. To top it off, he wasn't even paying attention. For the little time he was sitting at the table, breathing through his mouth and throwing his chips into the air to splash on the table to make a bet in a way almost completely unlike James Bond, he was just annoying. There might be some bias because he caught 2 pair on the river to beat my pocket Kings right off the bat, but he barely played. Instead he spent the time on his cell phone, jumping back in for a hand every so often and calling everything to the river and donking off MY chips. Eventually, he went busto and left. 3 guys at the table were tight aggressive players and were talking about their experiences dealing and where to find games in the cities they live in. Everyone else was just a bad poker player, in a depressing room... well it's not a room. It's more of an "area." Our first dealer was not in a good mood. Our second dealer was injured with a bad back. Our third dealer sat down and made a mark on the table in a semi-circle around her with a chip "All bets and cards go inside the line." She wouldn't reach for them. We only got drink service once, and it took about 20 minutes to receive it. I don't think we'll be going back. We were done and I was putting my chips in the racks, up a good amount, and actually standing out of my seat and she dealt me in. I look down and see JJ. I think, well, if I raise everyone will know I sat back down because I have a hand so I raised expecting to pick up the blinds and like 5 people call. Ok! Flop comes KJ3. Woot! I don't even pretend to slow play raise again and get called by 2 guys who call everything. 2 rags fall on the turn and river. The pot is big. It's down to me and the loosest player on the table and we cap the betting on the river. He turns over KK. I thought, man, if I didn't know better I'd say I was set up. Well, I don't know better. But I don't really think I was set up anyway. I left an $11 loser. From there we went to the Bellagio. We walked by the poker room, but saw nothing but stacks of chips moving around in quantities that would necessitate a slug of Maalox before entering, and I had none. So, we went back home to the Orleans. The night didn't get any better, as the night Orleans crowd is a different bunch than the morning folks. My girlfriend and I sat at different 2/4 tables. At mine, a guy sits down shortly after I do. He looks and talks a little like Ron Jeremy, but it isn't him. Still, you can now imagine the scene. He's talking on the cell phone with his girlfriend while he's playing. Just so we wouldn't miss anything, he's telling the table what she saying. Whatever. That stuff can only bother a person so much. But, well, every thought that bounced around the limited gray matter in his cranium came out his mouth. This is only so annoying as well, until you consider that his hole cards have to bounce around in there too. He starts saying them out loud as he gets them. Or he plays blind and raises every bet that comes his way, announcing that's what he'll do till the river. He single handedly made the table unplayable, at least for me. Other people were complaining. So, I'm dealt AK and limp because I don't know what he's going to do and don't want to play there - I was only sticking around to see how long they would let him do this. He announces K2 and the flop is AK2. Hey, if I can beat K2 he doesn't want to be in that pot with me, right? My pot ruined, I rack my chips and get out of there. My girlfriend had an annoying table as well. One guy called the turn then folded every hand. That's not annoying just kinda weird. Another guy called through the river every hand.... EVERY had. Again, kinda weird, nice to have at your table really. There was another guy there..... big huge tough guy. He was playing with his chips like a little kid. Trying to do tricks. Trying to throw a chip down so it would spin back to him and sending them bounding around the table. He'd rebuy for a few dollars. Five dollars. Ten or twenty after taking a hit too. He wanted all his stacks to remain the same height. Obviously, a five dollar rebuy is the thing to do. Also, between losing in the tourny and hitting the $2 table, I was on tilt and donked off $400 on a craps table. So after the poker debacle and visibly annoyed, we go to a pit boss and ask for some money off dinner. I was hoping for 10 bucks, but he talked to his boss and comes back with a $50 comp to the Prime Rib Loft, which covered the meal and drinks. It was a great meal too. Made the evening a lot easier to take, and we felt our business was really appreciated. So, to recap... the Orleans morning and mid day was a great place to play for the first time. I loved it there. In the evening... well, I'll have to give it another try. I have no doubt at all that if I would have called the floor over they would have stopped the jerk, but I didn't want to make that scene. We'll be staying at the Orleans again on our next trip. Luxor... loved the play. Friendly people at my end of the table. Loose and drunk... gotta love it. Will go back. Excalibur... I will step foot in there again because, hey, Vegas is always changing and it will eventually be another property. Bellagio... I ran away like a scared little girl. |
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