Vegas June 2021

Days 3-5 Food, liquor, back to Orleans

Last Updated: 2021-06-15 10:30:09

Another tournament, another...

Saturday and Sunday were days off from poker, from here on out I expect to play poker all but one or two days.

Saturday we did pretty much nothing. Starbucks, pool, sandwiches at Eataly for lunch, poker streaming (me) and reading (Joann), Ri Ra Irish Pub for dinner, more streaming, bed.

Eataly is pretty cool, it's basically all the shops on an Italian city street in one place. A gelato stand, a sandwich stand, some counter service restaurants, a sit down restaurant, a little market, etc. Apparently there is at least one other Eataly in New York City. We've both been wanting to try the sandwich stand because it really is just like something you'd see in every city in Italy we went to in 2019 except Milan. Aside from the cost difference (you can get a decent sandwich in Italy for 2-3 euros, good luck paying that much on the strip in Vegas) we were not disappointed.

Last time we ate at Ri Ra we both did flights of Irish Whiskies because, well, it's an Irish pub. This time we branched out, Joann went with a flight of ryes (we'll be stopping at Total Wine back home for two of the three, the third one is a $140 bottle that was good but not that good we don't think).

I went with a flight of Campbeltown scotches. We're now debating whether Campbeltown stays on our 2023 Scotland Distillery Tour as they were all a hair peaty. Not Isle of Islay iodine peaty, but still I'm easily more of a sherry cask guy than a peat guy. That said, they weren't bad and we do want to see the whole country so...

And, yes, wherever we go we're hitting the distilleries dammit :-)

Sunday was bourbon hunting day. Not a successful day. Oh, yeah, I saw bottles I badly wanted in stores. But...

Starbucks, pool, sandwiches from the patisserie and off hunting we went.

Second stop, I walk in and there's a display case that we later learned was "the owners collection". Bottle of E.H. Taylor Amaranth that sells for $1800-2800 online. The entire Weller collection, which I crave. And a Blanton's collection. But apparently intended for show, not for sale. They were selling Weller Antique 107 for $250 and Weller Full Proof (one of two Weller's I particularly want) for a mere $600. That's like 10 times MSRP for the full proof. I was not a buyer.

Next shop we went to also had the Weller full proof for $700 and a Weller CYPB for $1000. That has an MSRP of $40. But good luck finding it...

We tried some other places but no luck. The trip wasn't a total bust, I did spend a pile of money at Total Wine on one bottle I've been having trouble finding and a couple of bottles I didn't buy last time we were here because they were cheaper in Colorado ... but sold out a week later when I actually drove down to TW Centennial. Grr. And Glenn was holding a couple of bottles of yet another Weller for me he picked up for me in San Fran for just a little over MSRP (long story) so we stopped at their place and picked them up on the way back to the hotel.

I did try one more store along the way to the hotel and it was basically a small convenience store with a couple of shelves of whiskies and a glass case. First time I ever saw E.H. Taylor out on a shelf for anyone to grab, but alas the one version I'm well stocked in (and cheaper at Lee's). So I was amused I saw the bottles out on a shelf, never have before, but still came up empty. Oh well.

Dinner at Julian Serrano's Lago at Bellagio with Heather and Glenn. When we looked at the menu we thought it was awful cheap for Bellagio, but we found out why. Small plates! Italian tapas style! You're probably eating at least two entrees on top of some appetizers. The waitress said something about how you could share stuff, but I don't get how you plan to share what's effectively a half-order to begin with. Joann and I planned to share the bruschetta but it was one piece of bread each (tho piled quite high with tomato!).

It was very good, the bill did end up being about what you'd expect for four people to eat dinner at Bellagio. We would eat there again.

Walked through the conservatory, went and watched the fountains a couple of times, said our goodbyes, up to the room where I cracked open the one cheap bottle of whisky I picked up at Total Wine (1.75L Buffalo Trace) and watched a little more streaming until I started to pass out.

Nice relaxing weekend! But now it's time to get back into the poker grind starting with a little No-Limit Hold'Em at Orleans.

Starbucks, pool, shower, panini's for takeout at the Aria Patisserie again (so easy when you order from your room and pick up on the way to the car!) and off to Orleans Monday for a late but not too late register.

Card dead. The first hour I played I had exactly one ace (not a good one), offsuit broadway cards twice, not one time suited connectors, not one pair, middle-to-low suited one gappers twice (8-6 of clubs and I think 5-7 of diamonds). As I was noting that bit of information I picked up 10-9 of spades, raised out, won blinds.

Called an under-the-gun raise in the small blind with A-K instead of re-raising. Figured I looked like the tightest person on the planet, might try and get lucky and trap with it instead of trying to play the hand out of position for a 3-bet pot against a loose-ish player. Well I missed and then got stubborn. In my defense it was someone who would fire on a couple of streets with air, and had the flop come ace high instead of 10 high (he had A-10 and turned trips) my plan would have surely worked to perfection. Instead I'm down to 11,000 chips from my 20,000 starting stack.

Next hand AK again now on the button. I raise preflop, I think it was big blind that called me. Flop comes K-9-K.

Gin!

He checks, I check hoping to induce action on the turn. Turn is a queen. He checks, I lead out, he goes all in, I snap call.

He rolls over J-T for a straight. ARGH! I'm a 77-23 dog.

"Pair the board, dealer!" I say. The dealer did not oblige. Ace on the river, not pairing the board but still giving me a full house. Ship it!

23,500 at the first break.

I get moved in a table balance, about half an hour later I raise out with Q-J from the cutoff and the big blind calls. Flop comes K-9-X. He checks, I check. Turn is a blank, he leads out for 2000 (blinds 400/800/800 at that point). I decide that he could just as easily be betting a 9 or stealing as betting a king and that a 10, J or Q might all give me the best hand so I call.

River a ten. He leads out for 2000 again, I make it 5500, he calls and looks in disgust at my straight.

Hey sometimes you get lucky...

Finally two and a half hours since I sat down to play I pick up my first pocket pair of the day. 10-10. I raise, one caller, flop comes 8-K-8 and they lead into me. Ugh. Fold.

Pick up aces, get nothing but blinds. Of course...

Then I get rivered after raising on the button I think with 6-6 and getting two callers. One caller leads out for 2000 on a 5-3-3 flop, only I call. Check around on a Q turn, I seriously thought about betting out but didn't pull the trigger. He leads out for 2500 on a 7 on the river. I call, he rolls over A-7 suited. Had two overs and a flush draw and caught a better pair on the river. "That was not how I expected to lose that pot" I said :-) I should have bet the turn ... oh well ...

Blinds now up to 600/1200/1200, under the gun I look down at pocket rockets! I make it 3k, monster stack calls, guy with a little less than me shoves. I go all-in as well, monster stack has to call. Monster stack has 10-10, shorter stack has A-J suited. He does gain a couple of outs with a Jack on the flop and several more with a second spade on the turn, but I fade them all and aces hold up for a triple-up for me.

70K at the second break!

With that registration closes and we are 226 players, 90 left, paying 30 places. 60 from the money.

Blinds now 800/1600/1600. I drop two rounds of blinds and make two preflop raises that don't work out in a stretch of mostly being card dead and I drop to 62k when we are down to 72 players, 54k being average so still in good shape.

But ... I double up a short stack raising on the button with K-Q off only to run into A-K going all in with a stack size I can't fold to.

I'm annoyed with myself for not being stack aware at this point. To be clear, it wouldn't have changed anything. If I knew the big blinds stack size I still would have raised and called his shove. But I never stop being frustrated and annoyed at people who don't pay attention to stack sizes and then end up tanking on some short stack shove because they didn't plan ahead and now think they have something to think about.

In that situation you don't have anything to think about because inevitably it's an easy mathematical call ... but "that guy" probably doesn't know the math either and agonizes over what should be an easy decision. Know who the short stacks are, you are not folding to a 5-7 big blind or less all-in 100% of the time you raise out no matter how shitty your cards are that you raised with trying to steal. Ever. You got caught, get over it, make the call.

So make no mistake, as I said it wouldn't have changed anything, but it I can still be annoyed with myself for not being aware as I should have been. And, no, I didn't tank, I snap called and lost.

Sometimes you don't get lucky. Sometimes you do the right thing and still lose. That's poker...

Now I'm down to 47,500, below average and 33 from the money.

Blinds 1000/2000/2000 and I call a 6500 raise preflop with 10-10. Flop comes 3-J-6 all clubs, he leads out for 10k, I go all-in for my remaining 40k and he folds. Playing off my tight image...

24 from the money, I lose some chips chasing a flush draw (he gave me the right odds with small bets!) and then lose another chunk on a preflop raise that didn't work out and I'm back down to 55k.

Try to steal blinds from the button with a small ace, get one caller who leads into me on a 7-8-9 flop, have to give up. 19 from the money but I'm hurting now.

Try another button raise with an ace, small blind goes over the top all in, fold. Argh.

Shove with 66, pick up blinds.

15 from the money. Dinner break coming soon.

Blinds now at 1500/3000/3000. I go over the top of a 7k raise with A-J suited, he folds, I'm back up to 55k.

Blinds 2000/4000/4000, I go all-in with 77 and pick up blinds.

Overall I'm happy with Orleans, but they're not super diligent about keeping the number of players remaining up to date on the tournament clock close to the money. I like to give Joann a countdown! :-)

8 or 9 from the money I'm just trying to hang on...

Table breaks, not mine but now I know we're 6 from the money. I'm messaging Joann that I'm hurting and in all-in mode with just a few minutes left to dinner break ... and then ...

Big blind to my right gets taken out in a hand. Next hand I'm big blind, no small blind.

Folds around to the button who makes it 11000 to go I think. I look down at A-9 offsuit an if I fold I'm going to be down to 12 big blinds and this is a guy who was in the habit of stealing blinds. A-9 is good enough, I go all in. He calls and rolls over 88. A flip!

Ace on the river. Double up to over 100k!

Next hand barely gets going before the break starts. I'm small blind now, the cutoff goes all-in for a little less than my stack and when action gets to me I snap shove over the top with Q-Q. He has 9-10 suited. I flop a Q, he turns a flush draw ... but queens hold up on the river and in two hands I go from about 15 bigs to 192,000 and well above average heading into the dinner break with just three players from the money!!!

Average stack is only 137K so I'm easily a top 10 stack at this point with 33 left.

Joann and I have a drink and a big-ass pretzel at a pub in Orleans. They taunted me with a bottle of Weller 12 year at the bar, but I wasn't paying 40 for a glass. 30 maybe, but I can get it for like 25 at the Schoolhouse in Arvada so I can wait until I get home...

After the break I give some back between blinds and a preflop raise that didn't work out for me. But then I river a gutshot straight flush and get paid some for my trouble. Now I'm up to 210K!

While the straight flush hand was going on apparently they proposed to take $300 from (I assume) first place to pay the bubble since we're down to 31. There was an announcement "raise your hand if you don't want to pay the bubble" and before I could get an answer to how the bubble was being paid they declared it a done deal. I'm sorry, you have to actually get consent before you're going to change the payouts from everybody in the tournament, you don't expect people in a hand at that point to be participating in that decision.

But, whatever, I probably would have gone along anyway...

And with that, I am in the money and have cashed in 100% of the tournaments I've played in so far on this trip. Not a bad way to get back into playing live again!

After that was was just card dead the rest of the night, but there was one hand that almost gave me a shot at a final table.

Got moved in a table breakup to a new table and it took me all of 5 hands to realize there was a bully at the new table. After an orbit or two, blinds now a whopping 4000/8000/8000 and I make it 20k to go with 99.

Folds to bully who asks to see my chip stack then goes all-in. I'm ready to snap call this guy...

But two positions later a guy agonizes and finally calls. I cannot call in this spot with just 99 so I fold. Bully has just 22, other guy rolls over A-J suited. If he folds I call, but he catches a jack and busts the bully. I would have been monster stack if he folded. Oh well.

And that was pretty much it. Totally card dead after that. I got away with an all-in or two, eventually I go over the top of a raise and a call with 66. Someone yet to act goes over the top, original raise folds and caller folds 66 face up and says "I'm folding a set here". I said "no you're not" and roll over my 66. I'm up against A-J, J on the flop, I have no outs, done.

I gotta say that was a terrible call he made that busted me out, but what are you going to do. Raise, call, shove in front of you and you're calling off 2/3 to 3/4 of your stack with A-J off? The guy calling the bully in a similar spot is a little less questionable but only a little. In a vacuum if he knows I'm folding 100% of the time it's a great call against the bully, but I raised out and I didn't play a lot of hands. He was not thinking about me at all, which was a mistake on his part, he was only thinking about the bully and being tired of him. In his mind there weren't three people in the pot it was him against the bully and he wanted to take out the bully.

Oh well.

16th out of 226. Again just one more money place from tripling my buyin, but I'll take it!!!

Pizza and beer at NYNY to celebrate, no gelato because one is almost out of what they're serving for the day and the other is closed but a celebratory bourbon on National Bourbon Day (or so I hear) in the room.

Tuesday we will be back at the Orleans again FINALLY for some Pot-Limit Omaha 8/b action! I should be doing a daily BLOG for at least the next 3-4 days unless something comes up to make me take a day off.