Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

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15,000 starting chips.

20 minute levels.

Blinds started at 50-100.

No loitering then.

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140 seated at the start.

Still a huge queue to buy in.

No idea how many Alternates, but must be plenty.

Re-entries have to go in the Alternates queue, but with reg fee at 25% ($120 + $30), hopefully not necessary.

10 minutes in, Alternate #1 has already been called, so one poor soul has perished already.

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Just seen Mel Judah in the queue to buy-in. Mel in a $150, times are tough.

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My small blind, I have.....

And we see this flop...

 

Nut nut then, plus improvers.

No point giving free cards, bet, 2 callers.

Turn......  

Bet again, 2 callers.

River pairs the deuce.

Bet small, both fold.

First SCOOPIO of the trip.

Very fun.

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2 levels complete.

Only played 3 hands, 2 of them lovely high only affairs, both of which whiffed, and the one I was gifted in the blinds.

17,200 from 15,000 starting.

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Unopened pot, I raise from the button with.....

 

Both blinds call, and the dealer obliges by fanning out the 2-4-5 coconuts.

Checked to me, bet half pot, nobody wants to come out to play.

SCOOPIO # 2, though both small and both somewhat fortuitous. Be nice to actually win a hand rather than being gifted them.

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With blinds at the rather odd 200-300 I got squeezed pre-flop in a 6 way pot with a lovely 2 way affair.

Ugly 2-6-6 flop and I can't continue. First setback of the session.

15,800.

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Ray Brown is on an adjacent table and just came across to say hi.

Ray used to be a very tidy Stud player - probably still is - and back in the day I believe he won the European Stud Championship over in Germany, Austria or somewhere similar.

I knew him very well from our days at G Luton, where he was most convivial table company.

He told me he took down an event here a couple of days ago. Love to see the old boys getting the cake, and Orleans really is a room largely populated by geriatrics.

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4-4-5-9 in my Big, 5 limpers, it comes 2-4-6 cc.

Don't feel I can bet here but it somehow gets checked all round every street and we get half.

Chap to my left is warm, friendly and chatty, he's from Rochester, "upstate New York" and I comment to him that I can never play that hand unless I'm in the Big.

Fella to my right, new to the table, appears to have a loudspeaker attached to his larynx, people must be able to hear him at the other end of the room, so I instantly take against him. Now he leads with "don't speak for me pal, I'd play that hand all day and twice on Sunday".

For some reason that annoys me and it momentarily kicks off, but then he quickly apologises and we kiss and make up. Tosser.

I've decided to put my baseball cap on to look more aggressive and intimidating. Forward facing at present, but might just rotate it. A man of my age wearing a baseball cap back to front would be quite the sight.

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Approaching first break at end of level 6 blinds are already an intimidating 400-800. Yikes, less than 20 Bigs already. Pretty quick, this.

209 entries now, and they are calling "Alternates 75 & 76".

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Won 3 pots back to back just before the break to zoom up to 27,000, which is just the job.

The third was particularly satisfying, high only flop and I whiffed it completely but it looked like they were all on the low, so I bet out and they all let go.

Blinds go 500-1,000 upon resumption.

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231 entries now, including 85 Alternates.

Think Late Reg is closed but there are still a bunch of hopeful Alternates trying to get in. They will start with 15 Bigs.

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Manage to get the lot in with Nut/2nd but we chop.

Ooohhh.

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Looks like 239 entries, of whom 160 remain. This has gone real quick.

All the shorties are spinning for a double up now, so need to enter pots with care.

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4 limpers to my button and I have A-3-K-K.

Pot.

2 callers, it comes Q-Q-7.

Both check, and.a half pot bet does the job.

36,000.

Enjoying this.