It's been a few days since I detailed my poker action, so it's time to catch up.
On Monday, the 21st, I had my most profitable day of the winter at Bally's. I got there about 10 a.m. and in three hours built a huge pile of chips. I got off to a great start, getting up over $150 early with some nice hands. The biggest pot I won - about $450, came when I looked down and found a measly pair of threes. Five of us put in $2 each to see the flop, which was A-4-3, all different suits, but giving me three of a kind.
I bet $15 and two guys folded, but one of the others raised it to $40 and the other guy called. I also called. The turn card was a King. I checked (thinking that when if either of the others raised, I would go All In with my $200 or so) and the original raiser went all in for $120. The other guy went all in for his last $112. I felt pretty confident that my three 3s were good. I put the original raiser on A-K and the other on Ace-something.
The other guys showed their cards and, as I expected, the original raiser had A-K for two pair. The other guy A-J and my threes took down the pile of chips. I didn't want to give this back, so I played very tight after that, but still took down a couple of pots. I eventually walked with a profit of $840 - my best day of the winter.
On Tuesday and Wednesday I played at Red Rock, trying to log enough hours to qualify for a big tourney set for April 16 and 17. Top prize is $40,000 and they pay the top 200 finishers $200 each. Heck, everyone who qualifies by playing 30 hours by the end of March will receive $75.
So I've been playing there when I can and have about 15 hours so far.
Tuesday was a very pleasant day and in about two hours, I won $70 with no big hands or big pots. Just a steady day against good solid players. Scott and Lisa and the kids arrived Tuesday
afternoon and we met up with them for dinner at the Planet Hollywood buffet. It was great to see them and they'll be here for a week.
Helen spent the night with Scott's family at the Marriott hotel, so I was up early Wednesday morning and over at the Red Rock. The poker didn't go so well, I got down early and rallied back to post a loss of only $23. But one of the highlights came in the casino's daily tournament. Former Dodgers pitcher Orel Hershiser (and his wife) played in the tourney. Apparently he lives nearby and is a common sight at the Red Rock poker room. Anyway, he finished second at the table right next to mine. Another guy who deals at Ballys was also in the tourney and he finished fifth. Too bad they only paid the top four places! So, Jason played for four hours and just missed cashing, aaaaargh.
While I was playing on Wednesday, Helen spent the day shopping and sightseeing with Scott and his family. They had a great time, enjoying lunch at Planet Hollywood at Caesar's Palace, seeing the Bellagio fountains, the Mirage volcano and much more. Glad they were able to soak up some of Vegas' iconic sights.
And today our adventure continues...
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Valentine's Day Adventure and More
On Valentine's Day Helen and I made another attempt to locate some of the wild ponies and burros near the Red Rock Canyon Natural Area.
We headed out in the early afternoon in search of the animals, some 10-15 miles west of our apartment. The area is beautiful and the road climbs steadily in altitude as we meander up into the mountains. The temp dropped steadily from 62, 59, 54 as we climbed. But after about an hour of driving, we didn't see any wild animals at all.
So we headed down to the Strip to have an early dinner and ended up at BB King's BBQ place at the Mirage. I had eaten breakfast there once last year, but Helen had never been there so she really was excited to check it out. We had a great meal - Helen had a pulled pork dinner with baked beans and slaw, while I opted for a big combo platter of BBQ chicken and ribs along with beans and slaw. Both meals also came with a tasty cornbread muffin and we had beverages. The bill came to $59 including tip. Good Eatin' and we're already talking about going back there.
We also exchanged Valentine's cards and I bought us a bag of Ghiradelli chocolate squares that we've been munching on for the past couple of days.
Yesterday I headed to MGM to play poker, while Helen did laundry and talked with friends on the phone. My poker went OK, but had great potential that didn't pan out.
After about two hours of playing, I looked down at two Red Aces. It's pretty uncommon to get Aces - a 1-220 longshot. Anyway, I bet 5 guys put in their $2 blinds, but when I raised to $6 they all folded. A big hand, but no big pot.
I was a bit disappointed when I looked at my VERY NEXT HAND and found TWO BLACK ACES. Aces back-to-back!! Here's my chance to make up for the last hand, I thought.
Again, five guys paid $2 for their blinds and this time, instead of raising, I just called.
The flop came K-Q-6 and I hoped someone hit a king. So I bet $5 and EVERYONE FOLDED again!! AAAAARGH!!!!!
That was the highlight of my poker session, which saw me take home a profit of $22. Better a small win than a small loss...
On the way home, I stopped at the Middle East Market for fresh pita bread, hummus and Kalamata Olives. We'll have that for dinner tonight. Last night's dinner was scrambled eggs with onions and red peppers. With some of those chocolate squares for dessert.
This morning Helen plans to go to her Bible Study group, while I get some bills paid. Maybe this afternoon I'll head to Red Rock for some hoops bets or blackjack. And so our adventure continues...
We headed out in the early afternoon in search of the animals, some 10-15 miles west of our apartment. The area is beautiful and the road climbs steadily in altitude as we meander up into the mountains. The temp dropped steadily from 62, 59, 54 as we climbed. But after about an hour of driving, we didn't see any wild animals at all.
So we headed down to the Strip to have an early dinner and ended up at BB King's BBQ place at the Mirage. I had eaten breakfast there once last year, but Helen had never been there so she really was excited to check it out. We had a great meal - Helen had a pulled pork dinner with baked beans and slaw, while I opted for a big combo platter of BBQ chicken and ribs along with beans and slaw. Both meals also came with a tasty cornbread muffin and we had beverages. The bill came to $59 including tip. Good Eatin' and we're already talking about going back there.
We also exchanged Valentine's cards and I bought us a bag of Ghiradelli chocolate squares that we've been munching on for the past couple of days.
Yesterday I headed to MGM to play poker, while Helen did laundry and talked with friends on the phone. My poker went OK, but had great potential that didn't pan out.
After about two hours of playing, I looked down at two Red Aces. It's pretty uncommon to get Aces - a 1-220 longshot. Anyway, I bet 5 guys put in their $2 blinds, but when I raised to $6 they all folded. A big hand, but no big pot.
I was a bit disappointed when I looked at my VERY NEXT HAND and found TWO BLACK ACES. Aces back-to-back!! Here's my chance to make up for the last hand, I thought.
Again, five guys paid $2 for their blinds and this time, instead of raising, I just called.
The flop came K-Q-6 and I hoped someone hit a king. So I bet $5 and EVERYONE FOLDED again!! AAAAARGH!!!!!
That was the highlight of my poker session, which saw me take home a profit of $22. Better a small win than a small loss...
On the way home, I stopped at the Middle East Market for fresh pita bread, hummus and Kalamata Olives. We'll have that for dinner tonight. Last night's dinner was scrambled eggs with onions and red peppers. With some of those chocolate squares for dessert.
This morning Helen plans to go to her Bible Study group, while I get some bills paid. Maybe this afternoon I'll head to Red Rock for some hoops bets or blackjack. And so our adventure continues...
Friday, February 11, 2011
Poker & Celebrities, sort of
On Thursday I wanted to try a new poker venue - the Monte Carlo.
I hadn't played there since last year and wanted to check it out. So I drove down to the Strip, arriving about 10 or so. The poker action was dead with only a $2-4 limit game going on. I left my name and the mgr. said the no limit games usually start by 11 so I killed time playing video blackjack and buying a hockey parlay for my friend Terry.
About 1045 I was back again checking at the poker room...still no game. So I went over to McDonalds and had a quarter pounder. About 1130 I was back at the poker room - still no game, but they took my cell number and promised to call when the game began. I played a little more video blackjack - winning $20 - before deciding to cross the street to the MGM's poker room.
I got a seat right away and played for about an hour when I got my best hand. My three aces beat a woman's three kings to win a $100 pot. That was the highlight.
But about 2 p.m. or so I got a call from the Monte Carlo poker room that my seat was available. Sorry, I'm already playing. Soon after I heard a booming deep voice and immediately recognized it as Brad Garrett - Robert Barone in "Everybody Loves Raymond." He was playing at the next table behind me and stood up away from his table to make a phone call. He was about 5 feet away from me talking about setting up a meeting. Apparently he lives in LA, but comes to Vegas 2 or 3 times a month where he runs a comedy club at the Tropicana. And he likes poker, playing in a lot of celeb tournies, etc.
So at my table, just two seats to my left, was a 30-ish looking woman who said she was from Calgary Canada. She was chatting with the guy between us and said she was a HUGE Red Wings fan. I asked her how does a woman from Calgary become a Wings Fan?
"Chris Osgood is my brother-in-law," she says.
Lots of lies get told at poker tables, so I was skeptical until Melody whipped out her phone and showed me pics of Ozzie and his little girl eating cereal out of the Stanley Cup. Also a great pic of Melody kissing Lord Stanley's Cup. Very cool. So we talked about the Wings - she's liked Ciccarelli, Shanny and, of course, Stevie Y. Outside of Ozzie, none of the current Wings light her fire, she said. I told her I like Darren Helm, Datysuk and Lidstrom...
As for the poker, I lost $25 and another $20 on a hoops parlay (UConn killed that).
Today I wrote an article for the TC Business News about a robotics club that is working on building driverless trucks for the military. We're heading to Wal-Mart for a bit of shopping and I need to buy a hoops ticket for Terry who likes over the total for the Miami-Pistons game.
And so our adventure continues...
I hadn't played there since last year and wanted to check it out. So I drove down to the Strip, arriving about 10 or so. The poker action was dead with only a $2-4 limit game going on. I left my name and the mgr. said the no limit games usually start by 11 so I killed time playing video blackjack and buying a hockey parlay for my friend Terry.
About 1045 I was back again checking at the poker room...still no game. So I went over to McDonalds and had a quarter pounder. About 1130 I was back at the poker room - still no game, but they took my cell number and promised to call when the game began. I played a little more video blackjack - winning $20 - before deciding to cross the street to the MGM's poker room.
I got a seat right away and played for about an hour when I got my best hand. My three aces beat a woman's three kings to win a $100 pot. That was the highlight.
But about 2 p.m. or so I got a call from the Monte Carlo poker room that my seat was available. Sorry, I'm already playing. Soon after I heard a booming deep voice and immediately recognized it as Brad Garrett - Robert Barone in "Everybody Loves Raymond." He was playing at the next table behind me and stood up away from his table to make a phone call. He was about 5 feet away from me talking about setting up a meeting. Apparently he lives in LA, but comes to Vegas 2 or 3 times a month where he runs a comedy club at the Tropicana. And he likes poker, playing in a lot of celeb tournies, etc.
So at my table, just two seats to my left, was a 30-ish looking woman who said she was from Calgary Canada. She was chatting with the guy between us and said she was a HUGE Red Wings fan. I asked her how does a woman from Calgary become a Wings Fan?
"Chris Osgood is my brother-in-law," she says.
Lots of lies get told at poker tables, so I was skeptical until Melody whipped out her phone and showed me pics of Ozzie and his little girl eating cereal out of the Stanley Cup. Also a great pic of Melody kissing Lord Stanley's Cup. Very cool. So we talked about the Wings - she's liked Ciccarelli, Shanny and, of course, Stevie Y. Outside of Ozzie, none of the current Wings light her fire, she said. I told her I like Darren Helm, Datysuk and Lidstrom...
As for the poker, I lost $25 and another $20 on a hoops parlay (UConn killed that).
Today I wrote an article for the TC Business News about a robotics club that is working on building driverless trucks for the military. We're heading to Wal-Mart for a bit of shopping and I need to buy a hoops ticket for Terry who likes over the total for the Miami-Pistons game.
And so our adventure continues...
Monday, February 7, 2011
Super Bowl Poker
Super Bowl Sunday began with services at the Lakes Lutheran Church.
Then it was off to the Strip where I played poker at the Mirage, which was hosting a special Super Bowl promotion. They were giving out bonuses for every score or turnover in the game. For example, for a TD they would randomly pick a number from 1 to 10 corresponding to the 10 seats at the table and whoever was in that seat would get cash, from $25 to $100. I was in seat #2 and snagged $25 when the Pack tacked on their last FG. One guy - in the 9 seat - had his number called 4 times and collected over $200 in bonuses.
Thinking back, I think there were 12 bonuses collected and every seat at our table except #5 and #1 got some cash. The Mirage has to be happy with the promotion, since the poker room was jammed from about an hour before the game until it was over. That's about 4 hours of hectic poker action.
Despite the bonus, I still dropped $55 playing poker for about 8 hours.
I got about half of that back when my lone SB bet - $30 on over 44.5 - connected. After studying a lot of prop bets, I decided to keep it simple and it paid off. My good friend Nick also had a winning ticket on the over and congratulations to my buddy Gary, who bet the Pack to win the SB about 3 weeks ago and got them at 4-1 odds.
The only thing missing was traditional SB food. Love me some chicken wings and stuff. But our table was a pretty friendly bunch and when two of the guys went for takeout pizzas at California Pizza Kitchen, they shared a slice with me and a couple of others. It was a really fun day and one I'll long remember, despite the cash lost.
And today our adventure will continue...
Then it was off to the Strip where I played poker at the Mirage, which was hosting a special Super Bowl promotion. They were giving out bonuses for every score or turnover in the game. For example, for a TD they would randomly pick a number from 1 to 10 corresponding to the 10 seats at the table and whoever was in that seat would get cash, from $25 to $100. I was in seat #2 and snagged $25 when the Pack tacked on their last FG. One guy - in the 9 seat - had his number called 4 times and collected over $200 in bonuses.
Thinking back, I think there were 12 bonuses collected and every seat at our table except #5 and #1 got some cash. The Mirage has to be happy with the promotion, since the poker room was jammed from about an hour before the game until it was over. That's about 4 hours of hectic poker action.
Despite the bonus, I still dropped $55 playing poker for about 8 hours.
I got about half of that back when my lone SB bet - $30 on over 44.5 - connected. After studying a lot of prop bets, I decided to keep it simple and it paid off. My good friend Nick also had a winning ticket on the over and congratulations to my buddy Gary, who bet the Pack to win the SB about 3 weeks ago and got them at 4-1 odds.
The only thing missing was traditional SB food. Love me some chicken wings and stuff. But our table was a pretty friendly bunch and when two of the guys went for takeout pizzas at California Pizza Kitchen, they shared a slice with me and a couple of others. It was a really fun day and one I'll long remember, despite the cash lost.
And today our adventure will continue...
Friday, February 4, 2011
Friday update
Yesterday morning finished up an article I wrote for the Ticker web site. It's about the expansion plans for the Grand Traverse Health Dept.'s dental clinic.
I got it done, then headed down to the Imperial Palace to play some poker. I parked at Bill's then made the walk down to the IP where there was a game with four other players underway. I sat right down, bought in for $100 and played tight for the first 30 minutes or so. Then I lost a couple of hands and had a stack of about $60 in front of me when I looked down at A-J of diamonds. I called the $2 blind and saw a flop of Q-8-2 ALL DIAMONDS.
I had flopped the Nut Flush and waited patiently as one of the other players bet $10. Two of us called the $10. The turn was Ace of clubs. I hoped that gave someone a pair of aces. One of the other guys bet his last $30, the other guy folded and I called. The river was no help, maybe a 3 of clubs or something. I showed my flush and the other guy mucked his hand as the dealer shoved the pot my way.
I won another nice pot when my K-Q of Hearts resulted in two pair - kings and queens. Shortly after that hand I left - up $102 - and walked to Ballys where I had a comped turkey, swiss and bacon sandwich. Then I headed home.
For dinner I whipped up some submarine sandwiches - turkey, cheese and sliced avocado. We watched the NBC comedy shows and I crashed early, about 9:30 or so.
Today I went over to Red Rock in the morning and played some blackjack, losing $45. Then about noon I came home and made us turkey sandwiches for lunch.
Helen wanted to get her hair done, so about 1 or so I drove her to the hair salon and came home. While she was at the salon, I paid some bills and checked my emails. Then about 1.5 hours later, Helen called and I drove over to pick her up.
Tonight for dinner, I made sweet and sour chicken over rice. It was tasty and filling.
Tomorrow I hope to play some more poker on the Strip, which is filling up as folks rush into town for the Super Bowl. Hopefully there will be some sleep-deprived, alcohol-imbibing, yahoos that I can separate from their poker chips. As you can see, our adventure continues...
I got it done, then headed down to the Imperial Palace to play some poker. I parked at Bill's then made the walk down to the IP where there was a game with four other players underway. I sat right down, bought in for $100 and played tight for the first 30 minutes or so. Then I lost a couple of hands and had a stack of about $60 in front of me when I looked down at A-J of diamonds. I called the $2 blind and saw a flop of Q-8-2 ALL DIAMONDS.
I had flopped the Nut Flush and waited patiently as one of the other players bet $10. Two of us called the $10. The turn was Ace of clubs. I hoped that gave someone a pair of aces. One of the other guys bet his last $30, the other guy folded and I called. The river was no help, maybe a 3 of clubs or something. I showed my flush and the other guy mucked his hand as the dealer shoved the pot my way.
I won another nice pot when my K-Q of Hearts resulted in two pair - kings and queens. Shortly after that hand I left - up $102 - and walked to Ballys where I had a comped turkey, swiss and bacon sandwich. Then I headed home.
For dinner I whipped up some submarine sandwiches - turkey, cheese and sliced avocado. We watched the NBC comedy shows and I crashed early, about 9:30 or so.
Today I went over to Red Rock in the morning and played some blackjack, losing $45. Then about noon I came home and made us turkey sandwiches for lunch.
Helen wanted to get her hair done, so about 1 or so I drove her to the hair salon and came home. While she was at the salon, I paid some bills and checked my emails. Then about 1.5 hours later, Helen called and I drove over to pick her up.
Tonight for dinner, I made sweet and sour chicken over rice. It was tasty and filling.
Tomorrow I hope to play some more poker on the Strip, which is filling up as folks rush into town for the Super Bowl. Hopefully there will be some sleep-deprived, alcohol-imbibing, yahoos that I can separate from their poker chips. As you can see, our adventure continues...
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Hot Hand at Harrah's
On Monday I spent a few hours playing poker at the Imperial Palace.
It was one of the strangest sessions of the winter. I was seated in the #1 seat, right at the dealer's left and next to one of the biggest @#*&%$ jerks I've encountered at a poker table. He was a 20-something uber-dude who thought he was the greatest poker player since Phil Ivey. He constantly complained about his hands and how he should have won each hand.
The jerk claimed to have been playing for 17 hours straight, living on Red Bull and Vodka. He shouted loudly at other players, sparking near fights. Tensions were running higher than usual and twice the poker room mgr. came over and warned he and others about their language and behavior. Eventually this guy, who was from Bloomfield Hills, cashed out and the game settled down.
I took all the money from some Asian kid from Houston and that enabled me to walk with a slight profit of $26. That covered the cost of dinner - a $10 Papa John's pizza!!
Tuesday I drove down to the Strip, parked at Bill's Gambling Hall and walked down to Harrah's to play. It's been weeks since I played there and at 10 a.m. there was no $1-2 game going. But I was the fifth player to show up and a game got started. Within 30 minutes there were 10 of us at the table.
I had one big hand. Looking down at my cards I saw A-J of Hearts and raised the $2 blind to $7, getting 3 callers. The flop came Q-7-2- ALL HEARTS. I flopped the highest possible (or Nut) flush. I bet $10 and got only one caller. The turn was Ace of spades. I bet $20 and my lone opponent raised to $40. I just called, not wanting to scare him away. The river was a J of clubs.
There was no way he had a full house and now I just needed to decide how much I could bet to have him call. He had about $60 left, so I bet $40 and he didn't hesitate much when he said "ALL-In" shoving his chips into the pot. I quickly called and flopped my A-J flush. He showed his A-Q of diamonds. He had two pair and went to his wallet to rebuy as the dealer pushed the pot my way.
Largely because of that pot, I was able to post a profit of $130 for the day. I left the table about 1:30 and walked to Bally's - partly for exercise and partly to have a chicken salad sandwich (comped of course) for lunch.
Prior to hitting the snack bar, I went to Ballys poker room to pick up a magazine to read. One of the dealer's spotted me and shouted out "Al, sit down we've got a game starting." No thanks, I'm just getting some reading material to have lunch at Nosh. He asked me to stop by after lunch and I said maybe, knowing full well that I was heading home with my profit for the day...
While I was on the Strip, Helen was on the phone with grandson Michael, doing some sewing and just resting. I made us a dinner of Sante Fe chicken (thanks Weight watchers). It's pretty cool here in Vegas today with a low in the mid 20s and a high today in the mid 40s. But by the weekend it'll be back into the 60s. No matter what the temp, the sun seems to always shine.
And today our adventure continues...
It was one of the strangest sessions of the winter. I was seated in the #1 seat, right at the dealer's left and next to one of the biggest @#*&%$ jerks I've encountered at a poker table. He was a 20-something uber-dude who thought he was the greatest poker player since Phil Ivey. He constantly complained about his hands and how he should have won each hand.
The jerk claimed to have been playing for 17 hours straight, living on Red Bull and Vodka. He shouted loudly at other players, sparking near fights. Tensions were running higher than usual and twice the poker room mgr. came over and warned he and others about their language and behavior. Eventually this guy, who was from Bloomfield Hills, cashed out and the game settled down.
I took all the money from some Asian kid from Houston and that enabled me to walk with a slight profit of $26. That covered the cost of dinner - a $10 Papa John's pizza!!
Tuesday I drove down to the Strip, parked at Bill's Gambling Hall and walked down to Harrah's to play. It's been weeks since I played there and at 10 a.m. there was no $1-2 game going. But I was the fifth player to show up and a game got started. Within 30 minutes there were 10 of us at the table.
I had one big hand. Looking down at my cards I saw A-J of Hearts and raised the $2 blind to $7, getting 3 callers. The flop came Q-7-2- ALL HEARTS. I flopped the highest possible (or Nut) flush. I bet $10 and got only one caller. The turn was Ace of spades. I bet $20 and my lone opponent raised to $40. I just called, not wanting to scare him away. The river was a J of clubs.
There was no way he had a full house and now I just needed to decide how much I could bet to have him call. He had about $60 left, so I bet $40 and he didn't hesitate much when he said "ALL-In" shoving his chips into the pot. I quickly called and flopped my A-J flush. He showed his A-Q of diamonds. He had two pair and went to his wallet to rebuy as the dealer pushed the pot my way.
Largely because of that pot, I was able to post a profit of $130 for the day. I left the table about 1:30 and walked to Bally's - partly for exercise and partly to have a chicken salad sandwich (comped of course) for lunch.
Prior to hitting the snack bar, I went to Ballys poker room to pick up a magazine to read. One of the dealer's spotted me and shouted out "Al, sit down we've got a game starting." No thanks, I'm just getting some reading material to have lunch at Nosh. He asked me to stop by after lunch and I said maybe, knowing full well that I was heading home with my profit for the day...
While I was on the Strip, Helen was on the phone with grandson Michael, doing some sewing and just resting. I made us a dinner of Sante Fe chicken (thanks Weight watchers). It's pretty cool here in Vegas today with a low in the mid 20s and a high today in the mid 40s. But by the weekend it'll be back into the 60s. No matter what the temp, the sun seems to always shine.
And today our adventure continues...
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