Cash games

I really need to start thinking about bet sizing in these cash games. I tend to think if I have a pair and there are 2 flush cards on the board I need to either:

a) bet an amount large enough to discourage chasers on the flop

b) check the flop and bet an amount large enough to discourage chasers on the turn.

Looking at 2+2 some people go the other way, saying you want people to chase the flush draw so you should bet a smaller amount to encourage action. In fact lets say you are in position and facing a raise on the flop. The choices seem to be:

a) flat call the raise allowing the chaser to chase his flush - he might shove the turn even if he misses

b) put a small enough raise in on the flop that he calls, but that it leaves you the correct implied odds on the turn to chase your full house even if he hits his flush

Of course this goes against most advice in the books which is to try to win the pot now but the flip side is you win much smaller pots. If you encourage the chasers you can win much larger pots.

I need to think about this a lot more.

Vegas trip

I posted this trip report on the Las Vegas lifestyle forums of 2+2 and am copying it to my blog.

Trip Report - Oct 5th - Oct 8th 2010

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Vegas trip report - October 5th - October 8th 2010

Cliff notes
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- played 8 poker rooms over 3 days
- played 4 tournaments, won or chopped 3 of them
- lost money playing cash games and Craps
- strong opinions

Long Version
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About me
Im a 40 year old English guy living in Southern California and play poker most days of the week. I made my money in computers so am somewhat semi-retired. I play in SoCal casinos and cardrooms and a little online. Mostly low stakes stuff - I don’t like losing too much!! I visit Vegas about 8-10 times a year and have done since 1996. I’ve stayed in most hotels on the strip and played most poker rooms - both tournaments and low stakes cash games. Ive also travelled the world playing poker tournaments for fun. I sometimes have strong opinions.

Trip
My Dad is visiting from England so I’m taking him to Vegas for 3 days. Normally I stay in Venetian because they comp me a 4 night room either free or $30 a night but right now they do not have any rooms available for me so I had to find somewhere else. If I have to pay I will normally go cheap - stay mid-strip in Imperial Palace or Flamingo/Harrahs or stay on the MGM/NYNY/Trop/Excalibur corner. The Trop used to be cheap but over the last 5 years it has got dirtier and dirtier so using Expedia.com and looking at the email offers I ended up in Excalibur for $30 a night.

The Excalibur hotel - clean and cheap and good location BUT....crappy shower and no WIFI - only wired internet. Fortunately you can get WIFI from a third party which is what I did. The rooms are bearable and the beds ok but nothing like the Venetian (my fav hotel in Vegas by far).

Re poker, I wanted to see how the Excalibur poker room was now the electronic tables were gone. I looked on allvegaspoker and 2+2 for any info but there was not much available. Also Sep/Oct is quiet season for Las Vegas poker so I wanted to get current info on what tournaments were getting decent turnout as I fancied playing some tournaments. Again no info available so I will fill in the gaps for anyone else in this trip report.

Day 1

Right, we left OC at 11.30am and got there at 4pm, I was at the poker room to take a look at 4.30pm. They had 2 games running with 1 table of each - a $1/$2 NL game and a $2-$6 spread limit game. They were also just about the start a tournament at 5pm.

Now most cheap tournies in Vegas are terrible structures - the levels are 15 mins and the blinds effectively double (300-600, 500-1000, 1000-200 etc) so you have to play really fast. These tournies are somewhat luckfests so I prefer slow structured tournies and there are only 5 in town (Sahara and Orleans have cheap slow structured tournies, Venetian, Ceasors and now Aria have more expensive tournies. Cheap is less than $100, more expensive is between $100 and $200). So generally I stay away from the luckfest tournies but I had just arrived, and it was just starting, and anyhow my Dad needed to look around the hotel to get orientated...

So I paid the $60 signed up with 20 other players and we played for 2 hours until we agreed a chop for $205 each after tips. They told me 20ish players is what they get for most tournies.

With $145 profit in my pocket I treated my Dad to the buffet. In fact I wanted to buy him a all day 24 hour pass but MGM have different rules. Whereas a Harrahs pass is 24 hours from the time you first eat (so you can eat 8pm dinner, 9am breakfast, 1pm lunch and 7pm dinner for 1 price) the MGM pass goes from 7am to 10.30pm (hence called all-day). No big deal I guess - just make sure you dont think its a 24 hour pass like I did. Anyhow the Excalibur buffet was $45 and pretty bland food selection but good enough.

Then we went to MGM to see the lions but they had cleared out for the day. So I stayed to play some fun poker while my Dad watched for a bit and then left me to it. I only played 2-4 limit for fun but lost 5 buyins before turning it round and grinding it out over the next 6 hours to an 8 buy-in cashout (in real money I made $120). It was a fun table - everyone is so friendly in a $2-$4 game and no-one loses too much.

I head back to Tropicana with $220 profit in my pocket and decide to play Craps on the way up to the room. Stupid me!! There went $100 so now Im up $120 for the day.

Day 2

In bed at 4.45am and up at 10.45am. Leave the room at midday and head to Aria for their 1pm tournie. Ive seen their poker room on my last trip but have not played there yet so want to play. I arrive at 12.30pm and they have 2 tables of $1-$3 NL and interest lists for 2-5NL and 4-8 limit. They never got a limit game going so it looks like a mostly NL place. Also note $1-$3 plays significantly higher than $1-$2. In Iveys room at the back there was a $200-$400 mixed game going with a $10k buyin. The Survivor guy (JRB) was playing but no other poker names that I recognized. I signed up for the tournament and so did 26 other players. I found out you can sign up any time up to 3.15pm. Nothing exciting happened. The tournament had 30 min levels starting at 25-50 and we had 8000 chips to start. The level increased slowly and antes came in early so I really liked the structure. We played to the final table and chopped 4 way for $650. The tournament started at 1pm and ended at 6..30pm.

I headed back to Excalibur and after a shower took my Dad out to the Round Table steakhouse. After all it had been a good day and they had a $30 deal which of course did not look anything like the photo. But with wine and extras it only cost $120 so I was still $500 in profit.

I walked my Dad through to Luxor to show him the pyramid stuff - or at least I told him to look around while I played poker for a while. They had 1 table of $1-$2 NL so I had to wait a while. I remembered some of the staff from a couple of years back - they seem like quite a tight team with a few in-jokes and banter going on. Anyhow I finally got seated after 30 mins or so and played for 30 mins grinding a small $40 profit before my Dad came back and was ready to go. Luxor run several tournies (10.30am, 12, 2pm, 4pm, 8.30p, 10pm, midnight, 1am), all cost around $60 and most are 1 table or maybe 2 table affairs with terrible structure. Also they have generous hi-hand payouts in the cash games - quad 7s paid $7500!! One bad thing - they moved the room away from the Sports book and parking structure - what a dumb move. I made a ton of money a few years back during the NCAA from college students getting drunk watching their team in the sports book and then sitting down in the adjacent poker room to play some poker.

We walked on to the Mandalay Bay - my Dad looked around a bit but got tired and wanted to leave - hes not really a gambler and was finding the casino stuff boring. So we said goodbye and I went and played in the poker room. They had 4 tables of $1-$2 NL going and I did not have a good night. I was a bit distracted that my Dad was not enjoying himself and also watched a local do a blatant string bet when I was drawing to a flush and have the dealer/floor let her get away with it. She was a pretty girl and the dealer was flirting a bit. She put in $40 then took her hand back to her chips then looking directly at me as I was getting my chips ready to call said “oh I meant to make it $75” - the dealer claimed he heard her say $75 before putting the bet out which was BS but the floor said if the dealer heard it then it was so. Anyhow I tilted a bit and ended up losing $300. Other than the blatant cheating between the dealers and the locals it is a nice room - quite upscale and comfy and with a good drink service.

On the way back to Excalibur I walked through Luxor still upset at the cheating dealer and decided to play Craps again - there went another $100. I got back to Excalibur about 3am and saw 2 cash tables still running in the poker room. I made a good move and decided not to play, instead I went straight to bed. I still banked $65 profit today and was up $180 on the trip.

Day 3 - Thursday

The big plan was to play the noon Venetian and if I busted that to play the 7pm Ceasars - both well structured tournaments and normally with decent turnouts. Unfortunately my wife kept me on the phone too long and the taxi driver was slow and I got there at 1.10pm and was told registration ended at 1pm. They had 135 players. So after a re-shuffle of my plans I decided I had 1.5 hours to walk to Aria and play that tournament again. I got there at 2.40pm and signed up and played to about 5pm when I busted out just outside the money. No problem - I can still play Ceasars at 7pm but what to do for next 2 hours. I decide to head next door to Monte Carlo to get some dinner and play some low-stakes cash to fill in the time.

The Monte Carlo chinese cafe has the best BBQ pork on the strip. I love chinese and have tried them all and it is THE BEST!! Even the poker room dealers agreed with me last time I was there. So I went to the cafe and found it had new management and they no longer served the BBQ pork. Unbelievable. Fortunately they had a decent honey chicken so at least I could eat something. Why do these hotels screw up and change the good stuff. I went to the poker room and signed up for $2-$4 limit poker (fun stakes) and again went on a losing streak for $60. I was about to leave for Ceasars but then Monte Carlo started their tournament and had 30 runners - this is a luckfest badly structured tournament but I was right there, would not have to get a taxi, had a good rapport with the drinks lady and the dealers and decided to invest $60. Besides if I busto early I might still be able to make Ceasars. This did not happen and I ended up chopping the tournament 2 ways for $350 after tips. This was good news as it kept me in the profit column. Now I was up $285 on the trip.

I headed back to Excalibur to the poker room to meet my Dad. I walked there via the NYNY which was full of beautiful women and drunk people. Its a great shame this great hotel does not have a poker room and I would surely spend more time there if it did.

Playing in the Excalibur they had 4 tables going. I turned my $200 buyin in the $1-$2 game to $495 when Dad came over and said hi. I was back to busto about 15 mins later. I lost with QQ v AA all in preflop, then set over set, then 2 overs and a flush draw v a pair of 4s which missed. That is how you lose $495 but fortunately it was my prior winnings so now I only had a little bit of profit on the trip. I walked around the casino with my Dad for a bit before heading to the cafe for their midnight special food deal. Turns out there is no midnight special except for the the fact that the cafe now shuts at midnight. As it was 3 mins to they let me in to order something but gave me plenty of attitude. When it came time to pay all the staff had left and I had to wait 15 mins for the 1 remaining person to surface. Grrrrr!!! I went back to the poker room and played the $2-$6 spread limit game where I managed to turn a $120 profit in a little over 2 hours. Then it was time for bed - driving home tomorrow so need some sleep. In bed about 3am - I called down and asked for a late checkout and they said I could pay $45 to stay to 4pm otherwise it was 11am. I asked for a complimentary extension til 12 and she said no, but then told me they secretly give 1 hours grace anyhow so effectively I have until midday to leave. Fair enough I guess. My trip profit so far is $180.

Day 4
Out of hotel at 12pm I tell my Dad Im going to take him to the best buffet in Vegas on the way home at the M casino. This did not disappoint. The hotel was busy, the buffet was amazingly good - about 100 different dishes all cooked to perfection and also a fantastic dessert section. After eating I needed to let the food settle so Dad would explore the hotel for an hour or so while I played some poker. What a nice poker room. Full of friendly locals. They have about 6 tables going of $1-$2 NL, $2-$4 limit and $$-$8 limit. I managed to win $10 at $2-$4 limit and lose $100 at $4-$8. I played ok but just did not hit the cards to win a big pot.

We left the M at 4.30pm and were home in OC by 8.15pm. My day 3 profit of $180 covered the hotel bill and the buffet with $30 left over but I lost $100 at the M so overall the trip cost me $70. That sucks!! I'm going to have to go back soon to get my money back.

Part 2

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I realize the above report make it sound like my Dads 3 days in Vegas sucked. Truth is I tried to get him to gamble a bit on the slots but he was not really interested. He also did not want to see a show even though I nagged him about it. As far as he was concerned this was one of my poker trips and he just wanted to come with and see a bit of Vegas without getting in the way. He enjoyed watching the people and seeing the hotels but is older and struggled a bit with the walking. He met a nice lady out there so it wasn't all bad. I think his Trip Report would be something like this:

Tues - drove to Vegas. Long drive. Checked into hotel and walked round casino for a hour or two while son played poker. Then had buffet and walked accross to MGM but lions were not there in the evening. Long day and I was tired so went to bed.

Weds - up early while son was sleeping. Went to breakfast and to MGM again to see the lions. Then went to Dicks bar and drank a few beers and chatted to bunch of people. Then sleep off the beers - met son in evening and celebrated his poker win with a steak and bottle of wine at the steakhouse. Walked round Luxor and Mandalay Bay but got tired so went back to hotel to sleep.

Thurs - up early while son was sleeping. Bought all day buffet ticket and had breakfast. Walked up strip all the way to Fashion mall looking at casinos, attractions and people then walked back again to Excalibur. Long walk! Had dinner at buffet using my all day pass. Then had a nap then met son in poker room. Had another go on slot machines but not much fun - dont like to gamble. Free beer was good though. I put in a dollar and played 1 line for 1c at a time and got 3 free beers. Spent some time in evening with son chatting about our day then to bed while he was going to get his midnight dinner.

Fri - up early while son was sleeping. Had breakfast and final look around, then met up to check out and drive to different buffet place for lunch. Nicest buffet yet, then met a lady and chatted with her for a hour or so while son played poker. Then drove home.