Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[tikay]

I think you'll be very lucky to find any PLO8 cash-games over there Tony, it's invariably spread as fixed-limit.

Mind you I'd say you have a fair chance of being the youngest at the table at the FLO8 from the games I've seen.

Now you mention it, yes, I recall now. And yup, I was the youngest, by a long way!

I played it - brierfly - @ Venetian last year, it was very odd. I asked for $1,000 in chips, (it was $4 - $8 I think, & I assumed $1,000 was a "short" pull-up) & the girl said "oooh no, $400 will be plenty", & she then gave me two whole trays of $1 chips & I'm thinking, "wtf?".

2 hours later I got the drift. Jeez, what a weird thing that is, everyone just calls evey street with anything!

I suppose to get a decent game, you'd have to play a lot bigger. There was just no "pressure" or buzz, very flat.

The regular Omaha games were enjoyable though, & played quite decent.

There was a "Big O" game in Venetian, too, ($5 $5 I think, Hi-Low) played quite big, but it was mainly populated by a bunch of regular locals who clearly farmed the tourists & chopped up their winnings afterwards, so I swerved it after a few days.

[tikay]

One of the best things about Whipsnade is the fabulous view over the North Downs from the far end of the park. I do hope you took some shots

Yes, an incredible view, Totternhoe Quarry, Dunstable Downs, the white horse, etc. Magnificent. I did take photos of the view, but I won't publish them, they were not up to my usual standard. Gotta have standards. 

Apparently, the Zoo was extensively bombed in WWII, but I can't think why that would be. Perhaps "stray" bombs aimed @ Vauxhall Luton car factory?

[Karabiner]

I think you'll be very lucky to find any PLO8 cash-games over there Tony, it's invariably spread as fixed-limit.

Mind you I'd say you have a fair chance of being the youngest at the table at the FLO8 from the games I've seen.

Now you mention it, yes, I recall now. And yup, I was the youngest, by a long way!

I played it - brierfly - @ Venetian last year, it was very odd. I asked for $1,000 in chips, (it was $4 - $8 I think, & I assumed $1,000 was a "short" pull-up) & the girl said "oooh no, $400 will be plenty", & she then gave me two whole trays of $1 chips & I'm thinking, "wtf?".

2 hours later I got the drift. Jeez, what a weird thing that is, everyone just calls evey street with anything!

I suppose to get a decent game, you'd have to play a lot bigger. There was just no "pressure" or buzz, very flat.

The regular Omaha games were enjoyable though, & played quite decent.

There was a "Big O" game in Venetian, too, ($5 $5 I think, Hi-Low) played quite big, but it was mainly populated by a bunch of regular locals who clearly farmed the tourists & chopped up their winnings afterwards, so I swerved it after a few days.

I seem to remember there was a very decent game of FLO8 at Bellagio which ran daily a few years ago.

I think it was $15/30 and it played totally differently to those $4/8 games.

[tikay]

I think you'll be very lucky to find any PLO8 cash-games over there Tony, it's invariably spread as fixed-limit.

Mind you I'd say you have a fair chance of being the youngest at the table at the FLO8 from the games I've seen.

Now you mention it, yes, I recall now. And yup, I was the youngest, by a long way!

I played it - brierfly - @ Venetian last year, it was very odd. I asked for $1,000 in chips, (it was $4 - $8 I think, & I assumed $1,000 was a "short" pull-up) & the girl said "oooh no, $400 will be plenty", & she then gave me two whole trays of $1 chips & I'm thinking, "wtf?".

2 hours later I got the drift. Jeez, what a weird thing that is, everyone just calls evey street with anything!

I suppose to get a decent game, you'd have to play a lot bigger. There was just no "pressure" or buzz, very flat.

The regular Omaha games were enjoyable though, & played quite decent.

There was a "Big O" game in Venetian, too, ($5 $5 I think, Hi-Low) played quite big, but it was mainly populated by a bunch of regular locals who clearly farmed the tourists & chopped up their winnings afterwards, so I swerved it after a few days.

I seem to remember there was a very decent game of FLO8 at Bellagio which ran daily a few years ago.

I think it was $15/30 and it played totally differently to those $4/8 games.

Thanks Ralph. I think that might play a little big for me. I usually take around $10k with me, one bad session in that game & & I'd be busto!

It's too easy to take a lot of money & blow the lot, & I don't much like the pain of coming home if I lose too much, the 10 hour flight home must seem like an eternity if you've done a lot of money. Don't like pain, me.

[tikay]

I've been running ourtageously well in the Luton DC game recently, one losing session in the last 9.

Wednesday was no exception, I hit everything again, it was embarrassing.

Unusually, though, I managed to leave the game at my "highest" point, whereas normally, if I'm well ahead, I dribble off some of the profit.

I had told the table when I first arrived that I was leaving when the 10.30pm Table Charge came, & I had to get to bed, lots going off in the day job, so I did.

I had sat with £200, pulled up another £100 when I lost half of the £200, then gone on a hot run, & peaked (& left) with £1,302 in front of me, for a £1,002 profit. I felt a little bad about it, hit & run & all that, it's daft to think that really, but I did.

The game takes a strange course. Initially, when the table opens, everyone sits with £200, & gamble for stacks, me included. Then, mid-session, it settles down, though the stacks are much bigger by then. Finally, in the last half-hour, everyone wants to get the lot in blind, & gamble. I really don't like that last half hour. I know its fun, & fashionable, to have that fun gamble, but it just makes no sense to me.  If I can nick £300 or £400 in an evening, I get a feel-good vibe for a day or two, which I enjoy. If I do the lot, playing daft, in the last half-hour mad gambling phase, it annoys me for days. Each to their own I suppose. It's not just the profit or loss, it's the before & after vibes which make poker such an endearing game to me. It's all in the mind. Or pocket.

PS - Run good at its best.

I get heads up v a solid player in Super Stud for his entire stack on Wednesday. Am pretty convinced he has two pairs, A-A under, & 6-6-7 showing. I have 2-3-4-5-7, for a made 7 low.  If he houses, no sweat, I have half locked up.

My next two cards? 6, & A, for a 7 card straight (wheel & 7 high straight). Scoop!

I'm sure it will change soon enough, & I'll experience the other side of Lady Variance. 

[tikay]

My best attempt at a Harris Hawk (I think). Pretty naff photo, but such an amazing bird.

Click to see full-size image.

[tikay]

A vulture flees the no-food zone.

Click to see full-size image.

[tikay]

A beautiful owl doing as the sign said.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

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[RED-DOG]

Wooo!  (Or even twit twoo!)

Great sequence.

[tikay]

I think these are Macaws. Apparently, whole flocks of them congragate in parts of South America. What a sight that must be.

Click to see full-size image.

[tikay]

Wooo!  (Or even twit twoo!)

Great sequence.

They seem to have a huge wingspan relative to body size, but their "secret" to successful hunting is that the wings make no wind noise at all, & so they fly perfectly silently, & their prey never hears them coming. Something to do with the type of wing feathers they have, I think. Evolution is such an incredible thing. 

[tikay]

I "saw" this photo, just a shame I could not quite take it as well as I saw it!

Click to see full-size image.

[Skippy]

I think you'll be very lucky to find any PLO8 cash-games over there Tony, it's invariably spread as fixed-limit.

Mind you I'd say you have a fair chance of being the youngest at the table at the FLO8 from the games I've seen.

Now you mention it, yes, I recall now. And yup, I was the youngest, by a long way!

I played it - brierfly - @ Venetian last year, it was very odd. I asked for $1,000 in chips, (it was $4 - $8 I think, & I assumed $1,000 was a "short" pull-up) & the girl said "oooh no, $400 will be plenty", & she then gave me two whole trays of $1 chips & I'm thinking, "wtf?".

2 hours later I got the drift. Jeez, what a weird thing that is, everyone just calls evey street with anything!

I suppose to get a decent game, you'd have to play a lot bigger. There was just no "pressure" or buzz, very flat.

The regular Omaha games were enjoyable though, & played quite decent.

There was a "Big O" game in Venetian, too, ($5 $5 I think, Hi-Low) played quite big, but it was mainly populated by a bunch of regular locals who clearly farmed the tourists & chopped up their winnings afterwards, so I swerved it after a few days.

$4/$8 limit are the smallest poker games spread in the US live I think. 1st thing to know about limit is that the $4/$8 refer to the small bet and the big bet- so the blinds in that game are $2/$4. 20 big bets is a reasonable sit down. Good players can earn around 1 big bet per hour. $15/$30 is about the size of a £2/£4 NLH game, so you might be able to knock in $10k, but it's not like that's no way enough money.

From what I read, limit players think in racks, so they might say "I won 2 racks from this guy last night", or "I was down 3 racks yesterday".

[tikay]

I think you'll be very lucky to find any PLO8 cash-games over there Tony, it's invariably spread as fixed-limit.

Mind you I'd say you have a fair chance of being the youngest at the table at the FLO8 from the games I've seen.

Now you mention it, yes, I recall now. And yup, I was the youngest, by a long way!

I played it - brierfly - @ Venetian last year, it was very odd. I asked for $1,000 in chips, (it was $4 - $8 I think, & I assumed $1,000 was a "short" pull-up) & the girl said "oooh no, $400 will be plenty", & she then gave me two whole trays of $1 chips & I'm thinking, "wtf?".

2 hours later I got the drift. Jeez, what a weird thing that is, everyone just calls evey street with anything!

I suppose to get a decent game, you'd have to play a lot bigger. There was just no "pressure" or buzz, very flat.

The regular Omaha games were enjoyable though, & played quite decent.

There was a "Big O" game in Venetian, too, ($5 $5 I think, Hi-Low) played quite big, but it was mainly populated by a bunch of regular locals who clearly farmed the tourists & chopped up their winnings afterwards, so I swerved it after a few days.

$4/$8 limit are the smallest poker games spread in the US live I think. 1st thing to know about limit is that the $4/$8 refer to the small bet and the big bet- so the blinds in that game are $2/$4. 20 big bets is a reasonable sit down. Good players can earn around 1 big bet per hour. $15/$30 is about the size of a £2/£4 NLH game, so you might be able to knock in $10k, but it's not like that's no way enough money.

From what I read, limit players think in racks, so they might say "I won 2 racks from this guy last night", or "I was down 3 racks yesterday".

Fair comment, thanks.

I have to say, I played my "own way", and made a small profit in the only two sessiions I played. I did not play many hands, just concentrated on position, & potential scoops. Nobody seemed to notice that I was playing very selectively, & everyone just continued calling, though one local old-timer seemed to win every pot he played, & I was wary of him.

I guess sitting at $15 -$30 is not quite as scary as it sounds at first. I would 100% never sit at a regular $15 $30 Omaha cash game, that would be way too big for me I think, but FL 8 or better, maybe not, so thanks for the steer.

With Omaha especially, I always assume the whole lot will have to go in at some stage, so from that aspect, I need to play in a way I feel financially comfy with. I've played better - MUCH better - in the Luton DC game since I quit playing "scared". We all sit with £200 to begin, but I always have another £800 in chips in my pocket, with another £1,000 behind in cash, just in case. I seem to play much better that way, & I'm not scared to get it all-in when the need arises.  Oddly, I find making "big" folds easier too, though I'm not sure why.

I twice folded huge hands on Wednesday correctly, including a 6 low in Super Stud, when I became convinced that Oppo (Jim McShane) had the wheel. He did, on both occasions.

[tikay]

I did make one play on Wednesday which has troubled me ever since. "Troubled" being "curious" really, more than bothered.

It was 5 card O, & I covered everybody, the total pot would have been just north of £2,000.

I held 7-8-9-J-K, on a flop of 6-10-2 rainbow.  So "K high", but a monster draw.

I bet the flop, it went raise, call. This was the spot & point at which I really needed to get brave, but I thought I'd peel & see what went off on the turn. (Mistake?)

I was pretty sure one of them had a set.

The turn was a sort of semi-blank - the   , which never changed anything, EXCEPT, I had no diamonds, & now I was facing TWO players, one of whom could easily hold two "incidental" dangler diamonds.

I bottled the bet, because of the diamonds mainly, I think, & it then went "pot", "pot".

Almost all of my stack to call now, & I know the original potter was not passing, so a £2k pot was on its way.

I almost never dwell or tank, but I gave it a good 2 minutes. My mind seemed to be thinking more about dumping off all the profit I had sewn up, rather than the additional money I could win. Anyway, I folded, using the excuse that I did not like the diamonds.

Irrespective of the river card, (which I'll spare you, as it is not relevant) I'm pretty sure it was a bad fold.