Vegas 2011 - Dec 15th - Day 8

Sessions: 3
Net Result: +$321

Claire flew in today, and I moved from PH to Mirage.

Checking into the Mirage, I couldn't help but think of The Griswolds. If you recall, Clark and his family stayed at The Mirage in "Vegas Vacation," a movie that I've seen literally dozens of times. I guess Claire was thinking the same thing because before she arrived, she joked that we would get complicated directions to the room elevators just like in the movie. ;)

(You know what would go great here, an embedded YouTube video of that scene from Vegas Vacation. But, alas, I could not find one. )

Here's a video of the room.

My first session today was really a session I played before going to bed, but as always, if the session starts after midnight, I count it towards the next day's sessions.

Session 14: Planet Hollywood $1/$2 NL HE (1h 45m)
Buyin: $380
Cashout: $428
Result: +$48

Fuck this game. It was volatile, aggressive, and big stacked.

The tone was set early when I saw a guy go all-in for like $750 on a board of 5d 6h Kd 3s, and get snapped called by a $600 stack. The guy that went all-in flipped over AA. The snap caller (who had raised $220 on the turn prior to calling the all-in) flipped over 74o. The guy with Aces almost threw up.

The Aces guy had made it $35 to go pre-flop and $100 on the flop. So he wasn't expecting a straight. I mean, I could have put the other guy on a set, but with that $35 pre-flop bet, two-pair or a straight seemed unlikely. The pocket aces guy still played that way too strongly, but yeah, pretty sick.

I also saw pocket Aces lose 4 times at this table, including one of mine. All of them were raised pre-flop. No slow playing.

My AA came immediately after another guy's AA had lost. The guy that just lost with them was on tilt and had the button.

I made it $15 to go under the gun. He was the only one that called. It totally seemed like a tilt call.

The flop was JJ5. I lead out for $25. He called. Turn was a 7. I checked. He bet $25. I called. River was an 8. I checked. He bet $25. I made a crying call. The guy flips over JTo.

Ugh.

On the very next hand, I picked up AQ. Great! I mean, people were playing total shit. It was very likely that if I raised and got called that I'd be going in winning. I led out for $12. I knew people would think I was on tilt so I expected some callers.

I immediately got raised to $35.

This guy was a non-believer. Fuck it. I re-raised All-In for just over $120. I'll be honest... I expected a fold. Instead, I got snap called. Ooops.

He says to me, "I just have Ace King." Ugh. C'mon!

No queen or 1 card flush or miracle straight for me. I busted.

I rebought for $200. I shouldn't have, but I did. I should have found an easier, softer table. I *should* have, but I didn't.

Instead, I played for a while and bled down to about $45. I called a raise from the giant stacked button guy with 97s and pushed whatever I had left when it came a 9 high flop and a gut shot. I sucked out with two pair on the turn. The guy had AA. I'm telling you, AA was unlucky at that table.

I played erratically, but eventually I got to about $50 in profit and called it a game. I was very grateful for any kind of win by this point. I wasn't exactly playing my best, and I knew it.

Time for bed.

Session 15: Mirage $1/$2 NL HE (2h 45m)
Buyin: $200
Cashout: $280
Result: +$80

Later that afternoon...

Just chillin' waiting for Claire to show up. Nothing too interesting.

I did notice the face-masked dude from last year's Mirage sessions (pic here.) This time he wore a red surgical mask. Really weird. I never got up the nerve to ask him why he wore a surgical mask to a poker game. He didn't wear gloves. And the chips are the dirtiest, most nastiest things at the table, so I can't imagine it was for a medical/cleanliness reason. I can only assume it's for "anti-reading" purposes. Maybe he has a horrible lip quiver that gives away his hand. I might never know.

I will say that if you're at The Mirage, ask the cocktail waitress for an Orange Julius. They're fabulous!

Session 16: Mirage $1/$2 NL HE (4h 30m)
Buyin: $200
Cashout: $393
Result: +$193

The Mirage, at least during this trip, has had the calmest, most timid games I've played. If you raised $6, everyone, including the blinds would fold. I would raise or re-raise and steal so many pots. Easy. Peasy.

Honestly, no pots were even that memorable. I was just patient and played aggressively when I was in a hand. Pretty text book poker here.

By the end of this session, I'd erased more than half of my $600 loss from the previous day. Things were looking up again.