Snattys unfeasibly long and banal Vegas posts

[Claw75]

had a very vivid dream whilst I was napping this afternoon.  I was in vegas and I won $1.3milliion.  Was a bit annoyed when I woke up to realise I was still skint - the feeling in the dream that all my money worries were over was so real   Hopefully it was a vision of how much you're going to win when you're out there

[Snatiramas]

Planning is going well. The passport is up to date. I have found my ITIN number. This little puppy is crucial if you don’t want the casino to withhold tax on any win over $5k, and let’s be honest we never want the tax man to get hold of any money as it is a bugger to get it back. The flight is booked and so is the Venetian. I could stay at the Palms which is Pokerstars venue of choice or take the bag of sand and sort out my own accommodation.

A bit of research and a pm to the chompster soon put me straight and as I intend to play mainly in the Venetian I was soon sorted. The Venetian is quite something, on top of which it is opposite the Mirage and the world famous, though not as good as New Yorks, Carnegie Deli. Sandwiches with half a cow in them are much the order of the day. I have also been scouring the poker schedules. The first time I came to Vegas I really didn’t have enough cash to play the tournies I wanted to. It was the main event some sit and gos and that was it.....well not this time. The programme looks something like this but it is subject to change

Thursday        02/07/2009   140   Venetian 120+20      7pm
Friday        03/07/2009   369   Caesers 330 + 39      12pm
Saturday        04/07/2009   1060   Satellite         8pm
Sunday        05/07/2009   360   Bellagio 330+30      2pm
Monday        06/07/2009   170   Venetian 150+20      12pm
Tuesday        07/07/2009   200   Downtown      
Wednesday     08/07/2009   170   Venetian 150+20      12pm
Thursday        09/07/2009   369   Caesers 330 + 39      12pm

For a start will I really want to play the first night or just crash. Last time I just crashed but then I had suffered quite an interesting journey. For those who maybe never saw the story from three years ago it went like this. As I was at the gate my glasses frame pinged open and the lens fell out. There followed quite an interesting ten  minute interlude where the entire flight including somebody who looked remarkably like Lucy Rokach scoured the mottle effect floor for a tiny two millimetre screw. Alas it was not found and I spent the entire ten hour flight wearing sunglasses. Got a bad headache. Arrived in Vegas and dumped my stuff at the Treasure Island and went in search of an opticians. Luckily the TI is right next to the Fashion Show Mall and I was soon sorted but that was my day done. A quick bite to eat and I had an early night.

This raises another point. I have been asked by a number of people who I am going with. Well unfortunately Anne Marie can’t get the time off work and Ads and Rachie are in school so I will be on my own. For one who is regarded as so gregarious I do strangely like being on my own. It takes away the pressure of having to take anybody elses feelings into consideration. On this trip that may well be a bonus.

Now it was suggested to me at Luton that it was obvious when I was bluffing on Wednesday. This may well be true, I thought the clucking like a chicken had gone completely unnoticed but apparently one or two of the more observant members of the table had picked up on it. So it was back to the library and to James A McKenna’s book “Beyond Tells”. He writes some interesting stuff but one passage  that I highlighted four  years ago sprang off the page at me again. Probably because I had highlighted it. Funny how that system works, anyway the sentence read as follows

Folding when there are few or no
Outs and
Counting odds of making hands. Above all
Using your brains, social skills, and common
Sense to play, call, raise or fold.

So only short of three of those then. Brains, social skills and common sense.

For those members of the “Bunch of Fives” staking group Saturday night is the night for fighting. Bloody hell quoting Reg now had better go to bed..........next post Monday after I have finished my RFU level 1 coaching course.

[Steve Swift]

Thanks for a very interesting thread, and gl in Vegas

[AlexMartin]

Thanks for a very interesting thread, and gl in Vegas

+1

[The_nun]

Always enjoy your posts Snatty, also like to say a big TY for thinking of Reece during your special time. XXXX Your wife is a lucky woman.

[Snatiramas]

Everyone can remember those life changing moments that periodically happen. You know what I mean. Twenty first birthday. Turning forty. Buying your first pair of varifocal glasses. Ladies and gentlemen it is official my eyes are betraying my age. I realised it when the only way I could read a book was to have it a long way from my body or take my glasses off. So I went off to the local opticians and had an eye test. It was pointed out to me that six years is rather a long time between tests and it confirmed that I needed variview lenses. So I am sitting here typing this in my new glasses. Now I was warned that they take a little bit of getting used to. Not bloody kidding. Any typos are purely down to this and not to the fact that we were out partying at a good friends Barmitzvah party for most of the night.

Something else took place that showed me that my body was not what it once was. The final day of my level one rugby football union training course. Can I tell you I really enjoyed this course. It made me think about the game I love to a different level. The things that you look at as a coach are very different to those that you look at as a spectator or even as a player. So watching the Lions on Saturday afternoon, and knowing that my coaching session was on the scrum half pass, meant that Harry Ellis came under the Snatty scrutiny. He is an international player playing at the most rarefied level and I am the lowest of the low rugby coach. Well let me tell you his pop pass out of his left hand is a thing of truly ugly proportion. His speed of pass is not good enough and he needs to make his decisions must faster. Wow it feels good to get that off my chest.

During yesterdays training there was a contact session. How to teach young players to tackle, ruck, maul, lineout and scuimmage. There is an understandable fear amongst parents about rugby being a violent and dangerous game. If coached well it is the most unbelievable team game in existence. Well physically as I sit here not able to see I am also not able to move due to the stiffness in my body. Let me tell you this though, the body may be failing but the mind is still electric. I loved thinking about the various skills needed for coaching.

So a thinking book is needed for today. These two quotes are to be found in “Zen and the Art of Poker” by Larry W Phillips.

“The way of the wise man is to act and not compete”
“If you have the idea of superiority and are proud of your ability, this is a disaster”.

It is important after last Wednesday that I get my level head back on through the up and coming few weeks and concentrate on playing my best poker at each of the individual moments that occur in each of the tournaments.
Luton tonight............ post on Wednesday will be all about “the beast”.

A question for you all. What is the expectation of tipping in a cardroom for both tournies and cash game? I have never quite mastered this one.

[RED-DOG]

ul&b;dr   




















(It's not really, and I did)

[Snatiramas]

ul&b;dr   


(It's not really, and I did)

Now in some societies this means something...........just not sure what

[RED-DOG]

ul&b;dr   


(It's not really, and I did)

Now in some societies this means something...........just not sure what

Soz Snat. I thought u wuz down with us kidz.

[Simon Galloway]

What is the expectation of tipping in a cardroom for both tournies and cash game? I have never quite mastered this one.

Some poeple will just follow local custom, culture and expectation.  Some will do what feels right for them personally. 

For me, I like to know that the tip is going to the person(s) I want to reward and not to those that I don't.  Assuming this is all tied in with Luton G, their policy is a double-edged sword for the cardroom staff.  On the one hand, regs that would really like to tip don't because of the share-out policy, but it is the same policy that sees cardroom staff better off because of a share out from the main pit.

Vegas is always a good baseline to compare against on all things poker related.  In one tourny I left a generous tip because the staff were excellent, the TD sorted my ITIN paperwork out and the event was a pleaure to play.  Another time, I left nothing* and explained to the TD why that was the case - 2 dealers (one incident involving me, one not) had reasonable grounds for instant dismissal and made the event thoroughly unenjoyable for several.  Conversely, in another tourny 1 dealer got a really rough ride but was superb in attitude and application, I left a standard tip for the room and the following day in a cash game I took the opportunity to single him out for a reward.  It got a bit of a funny look as it was about half the pot, but when I said, "well done yesterday" it got a wry smile and a sincere appreciation. 

*over and above what they have already scalped from the prize pool of course..

[Snatiramas]

Cars are always such an emotive issue. Society has a tendency to measure people by what they drive. Drive something flashy and you are obviously successful. Drive a beat up W reg Ford Mondeo with bust up bits all over the place and you are obviously down on your luck. I took the decision a little while ago not to buy a new car or get myself tied into a deal. I haven’t decided what I want to do life wise yet  and why spend money on a car.

Having said that, I need wheels so that I can get around as our bus service operates once a day. So I decided that I would take the three months  down payment on a contract and buy something  that would need to last more than three months but would then show a profit. I have found the perfect car. Three owners. 110,000 miles on the clock. The fuel cap cover has to be opened and closed through the boot. The passenger window has to be eased back in to place when closing. Various bumps, scratches and dents.  People let me in to the traffic with a mixture of fear and compassion but they let me in almost immeadiately. It has twelve months MOT. Road tax to November. It creaks and yaws but the safety aspects of the car all work okay and have been checked by somebody I trust. It has no outstanding debt and has not been involved in a major accident.

Well we are three weeks in and I think it may be touch and go.  This is the part of the idea that I love. Motoring has become so safe. The cars break down less. I get in “the beast”, named by the kids, and I can never be totally certain that I will get to where I am intending. That element of risk is similar to sitting down at the table, we know where we are intending to go but just can’t be sure whether the wheels will fall off or not. So it was, on Monday night, when with ten left my kings walk into aces. My head right now is in a good place and so much of the game revolves around where your head is at a given moment in time................. Today’s thought comes from David Apostolico’s book “Tournament Poker  and the Art of War”.

 “SUN-TZU SAID:
To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself”
In short you play the cards to protect your stack; you play your opponent to achieve victory.

It is, needless to say, a very aggressive book but it does merit as a thought provoking tome.
So Vegas update. The dollars are bought at a stonkingly good rate of 1.62 and no commission. This means that it has cost me no money whatsoever for two currency exchanges. One from my stars account into sterling and one back into dollars. This is an occurrence so rare that I think I will play tonight with the commission saved.....

[Jon MW]

I don't think I've ever paid commission for currency exchanges

Don't they just make there money these days with the level they set the exchange rates at?

[Claw75]

I don't think I've ever paid commission for currency exchanges

Don't they just make there money these days with the level they set the exchange rates at?

yeah, i think commission is a thing of the past

[Snatiramas]

I don't think I've ever paid commission for currency exchanges

Don't they just make there money these days with the level they set the exchange rates at?

yeah, i think commission is a thing of the past

Indeed they do......but try and get 1.62

[TightEnd]

did you manage to sort out the currency swap as I suggested Phil?