For the baseball fans out there, here are the 2010 Baseball win totals from Harrah's casinos, which include Caesars Palace, Imperial Palace, Flamingo, Paris, Planet Hollywood, Harrah's, Ballys, Rio and Bill's Gamblin' Hall & Saloon.
Yankees 95.5
Red Sox 94.5
Phillies 92.5
Rays 89.5
Cardinals 88.5
Braves, Rockies, Angels, Dodgers, 85.5
Chisox, Twins, Mariners, Rangers 84.5
Cubs 83.5
D-Backs, Giants 82.5
Marlins 81.5
TIGERS, Brewers, Mets 80.5
A's, Reds 79.5
Indians, Orioles, Astros 74.5
Royals 73.5
Padres 72.5
Nationals, Blue Jays 71.5
Pirates 69.5
Very few of these bets are even money. For example if you want to bet the Tigers over 80.5 wins at -130 you have to pay $130 to win $100 or $65 to win 50. If you bet them under at -110, you pay $110 to win 100.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
More Poker at Ballys
Up and out early Friday morning to play poker with some of the tourists who roll into LV on the weekends.
By 9 a.m. I was at Paris buying a money line hoops parlay on Ohio State, Baylor and Duke. OSU killed that one. But my friend Terry scored $131 when his $25 3-team hockey parlay came through for him. Way to go T!!!
By 930 I was at Ballys, playing video poker and waiting for a seat at the live poker tables. Soon I got called to join a new game, which was fun and I got up early by winning a couple of $20-30 pots. I had bought in for $100 and had a goal of leaving if I could double it. After 3-4 hours I was up about $70 when things went dry. I had over an hour where I played only two hands and didn't win a pot.
I usually play until around 4-4:15 and then head home. But today at 4 I was actually down about $30 so I called Helen and told her I'd be home about 6:30, giving me extra time to rally back.
The difference maker came about 6, just as I was mentally ready to suffer a $30 loss.
I was dealt 4-4 and raised the $2 blind to $7, getting a couple of callers. I'd been getting several small pocket pairs (2s, 5s, 7s twice and 8s) throughout the day never once managed to get trips. So I was really pleased to see a flop of A-8-4. I checked the trips and one guy bet $15. I assumed he had an ace. The only other played folded and I raised it to $30. My lone foe, a local who I've played against 3-4 times recently, went all it for his remaining $40 and I called.
The turn was a J of Diamonds. No help for me and probably little help for him.
The river was another 8, giving me a full house. My foe showed A-K and was visibly upset when I showed my 4-4. The pot put me up $29 in poker for the day. I had won $6 in video poker, but lost $20 on my hoops bet, so for the day my profit was $15. Not huge, but a real fun day and much better than losing.
Winning small is better than losing small...
Got home about 630 and made up some middle eastern food for dinner. Hummus, tabouli, pita bread, kalamata olives and lebne. Ice cream for dessert. While I was playing on the Strip, Helen was on the phone with Anna and her friend Gail.
She also emailed her brother Norm who has scored us 6 Dodgers tickets for when we visit them on April 17. Six seats along the third base line for our first visit to Dodger Stadium. I can almost taste those Dodger Dogs now...mustard only, please!
And so our adventure continues...
By 9 a.m. I was at Paris buying a money line hoops parlay on Ohio State, Baylor and Duke. OSU killed that one. But my friend Terry scored $131 when his $25 3-team hockey parlay came through for him. Way to go T!!!
By 930 I was at Ballys, playing video poker and waiting for a seat at the live poker tables. Soon I got called to join a new game, which was fun and I got up early by winning a couple of $20-30 pots. I had bought in for $100 and had a goal of leaving if I could double it. After 3-4 hours I was up about $70 when things went dry. I had over an hour where I played only two hands and didn't win a pot.
I usually play until around 4-4:15 and then head home. But today at 4 I was actually down about $30 so I called Helen and told her I'd be home about 6:30, giving me extra time to rally back.
The difference maker came about 6, just as I was mentally ready to suffer a $30 loss.
I was dealt 4-4 and raised the $2 blind to $7, getting a couple of callers. I'd been getting several small pocket pairs (2s, 5s, 7s twice and 8s) throughout the day never once managed to get trips. So I was really pleased to see a flop of A-8-4. I checked the trips and one guy bet $15. I assumed he had an ace. The only other played folded and I raised it to $30. My lone foe, a local who I've played against 3-4 times recently, went all it for his remaining $40 and I called.
The turn was a J of Diamonds. No help for me and probably little help for him.
The river was another 8, giving me a full house. My foe showed A-K and was visibly upset when I showed my 4-4. The pot put me up $29 in poker for the day. I had won $6 in video poker, but lost $20 on my hoops bet, so for the day my profit was $15. Not huge, but a real fun day and much better than losing.
Winning small is better than losing small...
Got home about 630 and made up some middle eastern food for dinner. Hummus, tabouli, pita bread, kalamata olives and lebne. Ice cream for dessert. While I was playing on the Strip, Helen was on the phone with Anna and her friend Gail.
She also emailed her brother Norm who has scored us 6 Dodgers tickets for when we visit them on April 17. Six seats along the third base line for our first visit to Dodger Stadium. I can almost taste those Dodger Dogs now...mustard only, please!
And so our adventure continues...
Friday, March 26, 2010
Back to Ballys
Yesterday morning Helen and I were both looking forward to getting back into our Vegas routine - for her that meant reading, calling friends and family and generally relaxing at the apt. while I headed out to play poker and make a couple of sports investments.
About 8 a.m. I headed to the Suncoast to make a couple of hoops bets, both losers due to Syracuse losing to Butler. Then I stopped by the post office to mail an ebay package and buy some stamps. I got there right at 9 a.m. when they open and there was NO line at all. That's a first.
Then I headed to Ballys for some poker, arriving about 930. There was one 1-2 no limit game going and I put my name on the short wait list. After about 15 minutes I got called to the game and was seated in the 9 seat, two to the right of the dealer. It's not one of my favorite seats, since it's a L-O-O-N-G way from the flop making it difficult to easily read the cards some times.
Anyway, I bought in for $100 and was up and down early. I was catching some good cards, several pairs and A-K twice. One nice pot came my way when I had pocket 6s and the flop came 5-6-A. After the dust settled I raked in the chips, much to the chagrine of the guy in the 10 seat who had three 5s to my three 6s!
But the key hand of the day came about 1 o'clock when I looked down to see A-J of spades. The flop came J-J-4 of different suits. I checked and one guy bet $20. I hoped he had a A-K or a pair of Qs and was the only one to call his bet. The turn was a 7 of hearts - no apparent help. He suddenly went all in for $105 and I spent about a full minute trying to figure out what he might have. I hoped he had two pair and not 4-4. Finally I called...
The river card was a 10 of clubs - no apparent help. And my opponent showed his hand - J-Q of hearts. I showed him my A-J and sat back as the dealer shoved more than $250 in chips my way!!
Soon after that I racked up my chips and cashed in for $291. Subtract the $40 in hoops bets and my profit for the day was $251. I enjoyed a hefty chicken salad sandwich (comped with my club points) and drove home. Along the way I made a stop at the middle eastern market and picked up some hummus, tabouli, pita bread, lebne and olives. That was Helen's dinner, while I enjoyed some leftover alfredo pasta and chicken. Dessert was Butter pecan and chocolate fudge ice cream.
Tonight we'll be watching MSU and I may make an investment in the Spartans. So our adventure continues...
About 8 a.m. I headed to the Suncoast to make a couple of hoops bets, both losers due to Syracuse losing to Butler. Then I stopped by the post office to mail an ebay package and buy some stamps. I got there right at 9 a.m. when they open and there was NO line at all. That's a first.
Then I headed to Ballys for some poker, arriving about 930. There was one 1-2 no limit game going and I put my name on the short wait list. After about 15 minutes I got called to the game and was seated in the 9 seat, two to the right of the dealer. It's not one of my favorite seats, since it's a L-O-O-N-G way from the flop making it difficult to easily read the cards some times.
Anyway, I bought in for $100 and was up and down early. I was catching some good cards, several pairs and A-K twice. One nice pot came my way when I had pocket 6s and the flop came 5-6-A. After the dust settled I raked in the chips, much to the chagrine of the guy in the 10 seat who had three 5s to my three 6s!
But the key hand of the day came about 1 o'clock when I looked down to see A-J of spades. The flop came J-J-4 of different suits. I checked and one guy bet $20. I hoped he had a A-K or a pair of Qs and was the only one to call his bet. The turn was a 7 of hearts - no apparent help. He suddenly went all in for $105 and I spent about a full minute trying to figure out what he might have. I hoped he had two pair and not 4-4. Finally I called...
The river card was a 10 of clubs - no apparent help. And my opponent showed his hand - J-Q of hearts. I showed him my A-J and sat back as the dealer shoved more than $250 in chips my way!!
Soon after that I racked up my chips and cashed in for $291. Subtract the $40 in hoops bets and my profit for the day was $251. I enjoyed a hefty chicken salad sandwich (comped with my club points) and drove home. Along the way I made a stop at the middle eastern market and picked up some hummus, tabouli, pita bread, lebne and olives. That was Helen's dinner, while I enjoyed some leftover alfredo pasta and chicken. Dessert was Butter pecan and chocolate fudge ice cream.
Tonight we'll be watching MSU and I may make an investment in the Spartans. So our adventure continues...
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Back to Bloggin'
Helen and I arrived back in LV yesterday about 2:30 p.m. after 9.5 hours of driving.
Dad's funeral service went smoothly and after a couple of days of visiting with friends and family, we headed west on Monday morning about 7 a.m. The first day we drove south into Illinois where we had a tire mishap that slowed us for an hour. We were about 40 miles north of Springfield when a message appeared on the speedometer "Check Right Rear Tire Pressure."
I pulled over and checked the tire, which looked OK but I did see a 1/2 inch chunk of metal in the treads. We limped about 7 miles into the nearest town - Lincoln -and found a repair shop where the owners Kevin and his Dad Ivan pulled out the metal - a 3-inch chunk - and plugged the hole. They said we were lucky that the metal didnt damage the tire's steel belt. Could have had a blowout or at least need a new tire, they said. A $30 payment and we were back on the road.
We spent the first night in Lebanon, Mo. where dinner was a couple of Quizno's subs. Then we were on the road Tuesday about 630 a.m. and drove all day through Mo., OK, Texas until we reached Moriarty, NM, about a half hour east of Albuerqueque. Dinner was a couple of chicken quesadillas delivered to our room by a local restaurant.
Yesterday's drive from NM to LV was uneventful and we were glad to be back in the apartment. I had 10 days of mail and emails to catch up on, along with paying some bills. I mustered the energy to make dinner - bowtie pasta al fredo with ice cream for dessert. A hot shower, a few rerun episodes of "The Office" and we called it a night.
Today I need to hit the post office (never fun here in LV) and hope to play a little poker and maybe make a hoops bet on the NCAA tourney. I have real concerns about MSU's chances without Lucas. Northern Iowa is a tough little squad that I've been keeping an eye on all season. Don't be surprised if the Spartans come up short tomorrow.
And so our adventure continues...
Dad's funeral service went smoothly and after a couple of days of visiting with friends and family, we headed west on Monday morning about 7 a.m. The first day we drove south into Illinois where we had a tire mishap that slowed us for an hour. We were about 40 miles north of Springfield when a message appeared on the speedometer "Check Right Rear Tire Pressure."
I pulled over and checked the tire, which looked OK but I did see a 1/2 inch chunk of metal in the treads. We limped about 7 miles into the nearest town - Lincoln -and found a repair shop where the owners Kevin and his Dad Ivan pulled out the metal - a 3-inch chunk - and plugged the hole. They said we were lucky that the metal didnt damage the tire's steel belt. Could have had a blowout or at least need a new tire, they said. A $30 payment and we were back on the road.
We spent the first night in Lebanon, Mo. where dinner was a couple of Quizno's subs. Then we were on the road Tuesday about 630 a.m. and drove all day through Mo., OK, Texas until we reached Moriarty, NM, about a half hour east of Albuerqueque. Dinner was a couple of chicken quesadillas delivered to our room by a local restaurant.
Yesterday's drive from NM to LV was uneventful and we were glad to be back in the apartment. I had 10 days of mail and emails to catch up on, along with paying some bills. I mustered the energy to make dinner - bowtie pasta al fredo with ice cream for dessert. A hot shower, a few rerun episodes of "The Office" and we called it a night.
Today I need to hit the post office (never fun here in LV) and hope to play a little poker and maybe make a hoops bet on the NCAA tourney. I have real concerns about MSU's chances without Lucas. Northern Iowa is a tough little squad that I've been keeping an eye on all season. Don't be surprised if the Spartans come up short tomorrow.
And so our adventure continues...
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Poker at Ballys
On Thursday it was time to get back to the poker tables at Ballys, one of my favorite places to play because they offer decent comps ($1 for each hour played) and the low quality of the players.
I have about $50 in comps racked up at Bally's good for several free lunches in the future.
Poker tables at Ballys usually have 1 or 2 players who are VERY new at the game of live poker, often not understanding the blinds or how to physically place their bets. If you can spot the weak players, it's not too hard to take advantage of them when the situation arises. Anyway, I arrived at Bally's around 9 a.m. and after about 20 minutes got seated at a game that was just getting started.
Usually when I play, I like to have $200-300 with me. I buy in for $100 and like to have another 100 or so in reserve in case I need to rebuy. But after hosting Katie and having a recent run of losses, my poker budget was down to about $170. So I was determined to play conservatively, waiting for premium starting hands and being somewhat cautious in my play, though not timid.
Early on my strategy worked perfectly. I took down several pots with three 9s, a straight and two pair. But due to my conservative play, the pots were relatively small - $20-30 each max. But still after 7 hours of play, I had almost doubled my buy-in with a stack of about $100. It was just before 4 p.m. when I decided to leave and picked up a rack to carry my chips to the cashier.
But first I decided to play one final hand. I looked down and saw Q-9 of clubs. I usually like to play such suited cards if one of them is Q or higher, hoping to hit a nice flush. Besides when no one raised, it only cost me $2 to see the flop, which came J-10-8 with two diamonds.
I had flopped a Queen-high straight and was hoping to cash in big, especially when one guy bet $20 and was called by one other player. Everyone else folded and when it was my turn I slowly thought about it and raised to $60, hoping that one guy would call and the other would fold. But even if both folded, I would still be happy to take down the pot that was already over $50.
One guy did fold, but the other - a 300-pound loudmouth type with about $400 in his stack - grunted "All In." That was a PLEASANT surprise to me, since I had the VERY BEST hand anyone could have at this point. There's no better feeling than having an opponent go all in when you have The Nuts...I quickly called and shoved all my stack into the pot.
Loudmouth showed A-K of diamonds. He had gone all in with A-high, a straight draw (he needed one of 3 remaining Queens for a higher straight) and a diamond flush draw and he looked sick when I showed my Q-high straight. There was about $500 in the pot and I was anticipating winning it if I could avoid another diamond hitting the board.
The turn was a 4 of Spades.
The river was 2 OF DIAMONDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I felt physically nauseous as the dealer shoved the huge stack of chips toward Loudmouth. "Nice hand" I mumbled as I rose from the table and walked away stunned. Fiscally, I had lost my $100 buy-in, plus the $100 I had ground out over 7 hours of quality play. But losing that huge pot on the river was VERY depressing. I had gotten in all my money with the best possible hand on the flop, yet walked away a loser...
Why did I have to play that last hand, I thought over and over. Why didn't I leave up $100?
I spent about 10 minutes waiting before driving home. I wanted to be able to focus on the crazy Vegas traffic and not dwell on my crushing loss, but it was not easy. When I got home I explained it all to Helen and she advises me to get right back to the tables.
She's been laying low for a few days, recovering from our hectic schedule during Katie's visit. Somehow Helen strained her left rib-shoulder area and it's been painful for her. As a result, she's happy to log some quiet couch time while I run errands or play poker.
But on Friday, I was still gun shy and had a non-gambling day. I went to Wal-Mart and picked up some prescriptions for both of us. Made us turkey sandwiches for lunch, paid some bills online and relaxed watching TV the rest of the day. Dinner was leftover chili that was really tasty.
Maybe today I'll try poker again as our adventure continues...
I have about $50 in comps racked up at Bally's good for several free lunches in the future.
Poker tables at Ballys usually have 1 or 2 players who are VERY new at the game of live poker, often not understanding the blinds or how to physically place their bets. If you can spot the weak players, it's not too hard to take advantage of them when the situation arises. Anyway, I arrived at Bally's around 9 a.m. and after about 20 minutes got seated at a game that was just getting started.
Usually when I play, I like to have $200-300 with me. I buy in for $100 and like to have another 100 or so in reserve in case I need to rebuy. But after hosting Katie and having a recent run of losses, my poker budget was down to about $170. So I was determined to play conservatively, waiting for premium starting hands and being somewhat cautious in my play, though not timid.
Early on my strategy worked perfectly. I took down several pots with three 9s, a straight and two pair. But due to my conservative play, the pots were relatively small - $20-30 each max. But still after 7 hours of play, I had almost doubled my buy-in with a stack of about $100. It was just before 4 p.m. when I decided to leave and picked up a rack to carry my chips to the cashier.
But first I decided to play one final hand. I looked down and saw Q-9 of clubs. I usually like to play such suited cards if one of them is Q or higher, hoping to hit a nice flush. Besides when no one raised, it only cost me $2 to see the flop, which came J-10-8 with two diamonds.
I had flopped a Queen-high straight and was hoping to cash in big, especially when one guy bet $20 and was called by one other player. Everyone else folded and when it was my turn I slowly thought about it and raised to $60, hoping that one guy would call and the other would fold. But even if both folded, I would still be happy to take down the pot that was already over $50.
One guy did fold, but the other - a 300-pound loudmouth type with about $400 in his stack - grunted "All In." That was a PLEASANT surprise to me, since I had the VERY BEST hand anyone could have at this point. There's no better feeling than having an opponent go all in when you have The Nuts...I quickly called and shoved all my stack into the pot.
Loudmouth showed A-K of diamonds. He had gone all in with A-high, a straight draw (he needed one of 3 remaining Queens for a higher straight) and a diamond flush draw and he looked sick when I showed my Q-high straight. There was about $500 in the pot and I was anticipating winning it if I could avoid another diamond hitting the board.
The turn was a 4 of Spades.
The river was 2 OF DIAMONDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I felt physically nauseous as the dealer shoved the huge stack of chips toward Loudmouth. "Nice hand" I mumbled as I rose from the table and walked away stunned. Fiscally, I had lost my $100 buy-in, plus the $100 I had ground out over 7 hours of quality play. But losing that huge pot on the river was VERY depressing. I had gotten in all my money with the best possible hand on the flop, yet walked away a loser...
Why did I have to play that last hand, I thought over and over. Why didn't I leave up $100?
I spent about 10 minutes waiting before driving home. I wanted to be able to focus on the crazy Vegas traffic and not dwell on my crushing loss, but it was not easy. When I got home I explained it all to Helen and she advises me to get right back to the tables.
She's been laying low for a few days, recovering from our hectic schedule during Katie's visit. Somehow Helen strained her left rib-shoulder area and it's been painful for her. As a result, she's happy to log some quiet couch time while I run errands or play poker.
But on Friday, I was still gun shy and had a non-gambling day. I went to Wal-Mart and picked up some prescriptions for both of us. Made us turkey sandwiches for lunch, paid some bills online and relaxed watching TV the rest of the day. Dinner was leftover chili that was really tasty.
Maybe today I'll try poker again as our adventure continues...
Thursday, March 4, 2010
A Busy Week
This has been one of the busiest weeks of the winter., highlighted by Katie's departure on Tuesday.
She had a 6 a.m. flight out of McCarran and was advised to arrive at the airport at 4:30, so I was up at 3 to get her moving. Katie said her goodbyes to Helen and we were off to the airport by about 4. Everything went smoothly for her and I stood at the security checkpoint watching to make sure she got through that hurdle safely. One last wave from her and I headed home, a bit sad to see her leave us.
Her visit was really fun, though I got the sense that she was really ready to go home. Twelve days was a few too long for her and she was overwhelmed by the noise and sensory bombardment that can be The Strip. It's just not her favorite thing, though she did really enjoy some of the other aspects of LV, such as Red Rock and the balmy weather.
Later on Tuesday, I headed to Bally's to play poker and had a great session. I won $82 at the table and coupled with a $55 hoops parlay ticket, my profit for the day was $137. Helen and I celebrated with a dinner of Middle Eastern food - hummus, tabouli, kalamata olives, lebne and pita bread. Desserts were slabs of Cheesecake Factory chocolate cheesecake. Rich and goooood.
Also Tuesday, for the first time in months, I listed an item on ebay. All around the Strip, there were magazines featuring Danica Patrick on the cover in connection with last Saturday's NASCAR race in LV. I saw that someone had listed a mag on ebay and that the bid was up to $31...sooooo. I grabbed about 20 of these mags and listed one for an opening bid of $4.99. We'll see how well I do...
Yesterday, while Helen was at her Bible Study Class, I headed to the Suncoast to cash my hoops parlay ticket (been hitting these pretty steadily in recent days). While there I played some video blackjack and won $7 and bought a $15 moneyline parlay ticket on Florida State, BYU and Texas
A&M. They all won for us last night and today I'll be cashing $36 for a $21 profit. So yesterday's profit was $28.
I also hit the local grocery store yesterday and whipped up a batch of chili for dinner. Opted for ground turkey instead of ground beef and it was pretty tasty. Plenty left for another meal.
Katie called last night to let us know her flights went smoothly. She had a real grind on Tuesday, arriving home at 3:30 or so TC time. Then she headed off to her NMC classes from 5 to 10 p.m. and collapsed in bed shortly after arriving home. What a long day for her! She's in the process of getting a new cell phone and service, so we're looking forward to talking to her on it. Her reception in Interlochen has been poor and hopefully this will improve.
Today may be another poker playing day as our LV adventure continues...
She had a 6 a.m. flight out of McCarran and was advised to arrive at the airport at 4:30, so I was up at 3 to get her moving. Katie said her goodbyes to Helen and we were off to the airport by about 4. Everything went smoothly for her and I stood at the security checkpoint watching to make sure she got through that hurdle safely. One last wave from her and I headed home, a bit sad to see her leave us.
Her visit was really fun, though I got the sense that she was really ready to go home. Twelve days was a few too long for her and she was overwhelmed by the noise and sensory bombardment that can be The Strip. It's just not her favorite thing, though she did really enjoy some of the other aspects of LV, such as Red Rock and the balmy weather.
Later on Tuesday, I headed to Bally's to play poker and had a great session. I won $82 at the table and coupled with a $55 hoops parlay ticket, my profit for the day was $137. Helen and I celebrated with a dinner of Middle Eastern food - hummus, tabouli, kalamata olives, lebne and pita bread. Desserts were slabs of Cheesecake Factory chocolate cheesecake. Rich and goooood.
Also Tuesday, for the first time in months, I listed an item on ebay. All around the Strip, there were magazines featuring Danica Patrick on the cover in connection with last Saturday's NASCAR race in LV. I saw that someone had listed a mag on ebay and that the bid was up to $31...sooooo. I grabbed about 20 of these mags and listed one for an opening bid of $4.99. We'll see how well I do...
Yesterday, while Helen was at her Bible Study Class, I headed to the Suncoast to cash my hoops parlay ticket (been hitting these pretty steadily in recent days). While there I played some video blackjack and won $7 and bought a $15 moneyline parlay ticket on Florida State, BYU and Texas
A&M. They all won for us last night and today I'll be cashing $36 for a $21 profit. So yesterday's profit was $28.
I also hit the local grocery store yesterday and whipped up a batch of chili for dinner. Opted for ground turkey instead of ground beef and it was pretty tasty. Plenty left for another meal.
Katie called last night to let us know her flights went smoothly. She had a real grind on Tuesday, arriving home at 3:30 or so TC time. Then she headed off to her NMC classes from 5 to 10 p.m. and collapsed in bed shortly after arriving home. What a long day for her! She's in the process of getting a new cell phone and service, so we're looking forward to talking to her on it. Her reception in Interlochen has been poor and hopefully this will improve.
Today may be another poker playing day as our LV adventure continues...
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