Whale does Vegas - 2025 birthday-ish edition (23rd Nov - 2nd Dec)

Looks like a big sparkly dick.

That's a shame. Half the appeal of staying at Bellagio is the possibility of showing it off to chicks.

You should send this hand in to Bart.

Best of luck, on AND off the felt, for your Vegas trip!!

After taking the scenic tour to Venetian (read: walking) I entered their $300 Monster Stack 1-day tournament. 30k starting chips, 30 minute blinds. Although calling it a monster stack is definitely false advertising; we 'only' start 150 bb deep and the blinds are not super slow with every imaginable level. Most similar tournaments that I play in Malta have a bit more play,

No detailed summary, but I built up my stack from 30k to 37k the first 2-3 levels. In one hand I even flopped trips with K7o from SB (limped pot), after leading the 7-7-3 two spade flop, and the turn came the last 7. The river was a K just for overkill, but I actually got 3 streets of value on this hand versus the UTG-limper although I couldn't bet too big.

After that good start I did however trickle down towards starting stack before finding an annoying spot. An active OMC at my table was raising a lot pre, and I had seen that he had some speculative holdings (bad off-suit Ax etc.). So when he raised to 1200 on 300-600-600, I decided to 3-bet T9cc to 3500 from hijack. Then a German OMC on the button thinks for a bit before min-clicking it up to 7000 (not technically a min-click, but close enough).

The original raiser folded and although I know he has Aces here 99/100 times (maybe KK one time) I couldn't resist trying to crack it. So I called the 3500 more, but J-4-3 no clubs was not what I had in mind. He bet, and I folded while telling him that Aces are good. He agreed, and flipped up his AA for everyone to see.

After the break I am down to 19300 chips at 400-800-800, and we see an OMC from the UK raise to 2500. A middle-aged woman, who was new to the table, called, and I am in SB looking down at JJ. With the overlay of one caller, this has to be a jam all day, so that is what I do. The OMC does however rejam when it gets to him, and I realize I am probably toast. He flips up KK and I am contemplating a very early exit.

Q-9-5-8-J

Phew, that is a nice river (a Ten would also have given me the victory). I accept the lucky gift and suddenly have over 40k in my stack:

Sadly though I went completely card-dead again after this hand, and although I had a great table with lots of older limp-happy players I was not able to take advantage of it. Maybe I should have tried a bit harder than what I did, but it's not easy when you constantly look down at 64o, 92o, K4o etc.

Finally at 600-1200-1200 I peek down at KQcc in hijack and raise it up to 2500. The older UK guy calls in SB, and we go heads-up to T-6-2 one club. Seems like a good board to start a bet on, so after he checks I bet 3500. He calls, and the turn is an Ace. He checks, and I think for a bit and decide to check back. The idea here is that I want to rep the Ace, but I want to wait until he has checked river and of such told me that he did not hit it.

River comes a harmless 5 and he now leads for 3000 into 15k. It seems blatant obvious that he has just a Ten here, and my first instinct is that I can raise it to 15k and get folds all day most likely. I casually count my stack however while thinking (without making it too obvious) and note that if I bet 15k and get called I will only have 12k behind. However, that would still be enough to make a comeback with, so I don't know why I talked myself out of this raise. Instead I just folded, but I must take these spots to build a stack when opponent so clearly tells me with his sizing what he has. Not good enough.

After that hand I just got blinded down again while blinds increased and couldn't get much to play with (had QQ one time, but everyone just folded).

Which brings us to the last hand. A new player to the table raises to 3200 (min-raise), and coincidentally I know this player very well as we used to be colleagues in Malta for 5-6 years, and we also played a lot of soccer together back in the day. He is a Portuguese pro, but we have hardly ever played poker together before.

It folds to me in BB and I have 32ss with around 16k behind. I know you can defend much wider HU when you are getting short stacked in tournaments, but this wide? I don't know. Maybe I should have just let it go, but I chose to call with the reasoning that it will be easy to get stacks in if I flop any kind of equity.

I do not, as the flop comes 9-8-4. I check and he actually just checks it back. That gives me an opening on the 8s turn, so I throw out 2500 with actual equity hoping to just take it down. Might be a mistake though, because he probably shouldn't fold Ace high on this paired board even though I have a range advantage here. And indeed he calls.

The river comes a 7, which I thought was a really good card for me. I can have all combos of JT or even started a bet with 56 on the turn, which now gets there. Furthermore, I can easily bet 9x for value against his range, and I can obviously also have trip eights.

So although I hate putting my tournament life on the line with a bluff, and although it sucks that I block the spade draw, I chose to go for it. All-in for around 12500. He immediately goes into the tank, and stays there for around 30 seconds before mumbling something (I didn't catch what) and putting in the chips. I flip up my hand, and he tables A7o for the winner.

I might be a bit unlucky in that he rivered a pair, because I don't think he calls otherwise. But I am probably making too loose of a call pre-flop, and I am likely taking an unncessary chance when I have a whole round to find better spots to put my stack in. But that's the thing about getting called when bluffing; it's hard to separate from the result.

After the tournament I went to buy some clothes and eventually made my way back to the Bellagio. Time flies way too fast in Vegas, but I will head out now and find a cash games. It's Thanksgiving, and there was a ton of people outside, so hopefully there should be good games as well. I will update stats in my next post.

Yesterday evening I went over to Caesars Palace to play a session, as it looked like they didn't have a long waitlist. And indeed I got seated immediately upon arriving, and bought in for the ususal $300 (that's the max).

It was a very interesting session with a lot of fun spots, so this might be a long one. We start off stuck right off the bat though, when I find KQo from UTG and raise to $12 (7-handed for this one). I get no less than 3 callers (two in the field plus BB) and the dealer puts out Q-6-4 two diamonds. Pretty good, and after BB checks to me I make it $20. In hindsight I think this is a bit too small, but we are 4-way after all so multi-way theory probably says to size down. But I think $30-$35 still gets called by QJ/QT and flush draws.

I get one call for $20 behind me, before a middle aged Asian raises to $125 (!) with about the same behind. Weird spot, but this is my very first hand and I know nothing about the table. And opponent is raising big despite seeing a bet and a call in front of him, which looks very strong to me. I also hold Kd in my hand which reduces the chances of this ever being a flush draw.

I ended up folding, and the other two eventually get it in with 44 vs 66. They both flopped trips on me, and I guess it's a good thing that the opponent raised. Otherwise I would likely have continued to bet on turn, as I believe it was a fairly harmless card.

A bit later we find QQ from UTG and raise it up to $12. Button calls, before BB makes it $55 with around $135 behind. This is also a middle-aged Asian player that I don't know much about, but after scoping out his stack and seeing that it's less than $200 I think it's fine to just go with my hand. So I jam all-in, button folds out, and BB immediately shows some frustration and does not call immediately. He does however eventually put in the chips, and we get a safe runout in 9-6-4-3-3. I show my Queens and opponent mucks. No idea what he could have had here, but I am guessing maybe a lower pair like TT or similar?

I then fold for a long time before there is a limp from a rather fishy older overweight gentleman from UTG. It folds all the way to me and I just check my options with 97o. So the flop obviously comes 8-6-5 two spades, and I have the nuts. I lead out for $5 and opponent calls quickly. Turn is the 4s which means there is a flush out, but anyone with a 7 now have a worse straight than me.

I see no reason to stop betting so I make it $15. He then min-clicks it back to $30, but to me this feels very much like a straight and not a flush. Unless he had the nut-flush he wouldn't make this little raise, as he would be too afraid to get outdrawn by a higher flush. I look over at his stack and see that he has a bit over $200 left, so I decided to 4-bet the turn up to $80. This way I am ensuring that a 7 will call, and also that I have enough room to fold if he immediately jams all-in. Because if he does so against this action, he has to have a flush unless he is the world's biggest fish.

He immediately sighs and does not seem comfortable with the situation. And after around 20-30 seconds he fold, saying he is giving me a lot of respect. In conversation after the hand he also pretty much confirmed he did have a 7, and if he is telling the truth it's disappointing that I didn't get at least the turn-call from him.

I get pretty card-dead for a while before eventually getting involved against a player who seemed decent (but didn't stay super long). He raises to $12 from 3rd position and I defend from BB with KcTd. The flop comes T-5-5 with two clubs and after I check it over to him he bets $15. Don't see any other action but call here, so that is what I do.

Turn is an Ace, which I did not want to see. I check, but he just thinks for a bit before checking back. River comes a Q, so the board got worse and worse for me. I check again, praying that it goes to showdown. No such luck though, as he bets out $35.

There is no way I can call, but I seriously considered a -raise- here. It might be a bit thin as I am only repping KJ suited, as it seems unlikely that I would have played a 5 this way (by checking river in front). But I do have Kc in my hand and KJcc is a very liable hand that I could have from BB. And check-raising river on an Ace high board will look super strong for opponent. Ultimately I chickened out and folded, but I think that was an interesting spot that I maybe could have taken.

I also flopped a set of fours a bit later as the pre-flop raiser but sadly got no action from my opponent on the flop. The very next hand I find 99 from EP1 and as always make it $12. The hefty guy to my left calls, and the guy who played decent also call. So we go 3-way to K-6-4 two diamonds. Seems like a very close spot for me, but being out of position against both I decided to check this time around. The plan is obviously to check-call, unless it goes bet-call, or if they start raising etc.

The hefty guy bets $20, the third player folds out and I call as planned. Turn is the glorious 9h and I didn't even have time to check before opponent grabs his entire stack (close to $150) and jam it in there. I didn't say anything about his out-of-turn action, but I obviously snapped the all-in. He shows AK suited (lol, no 3-bet pre), so I got very lucky here to win a massive pot. To his credit, the opponent took it fairly well.

I have a big stack then and was going to take a picture of it, but just an orbit later I find AKo from UTG and raise to $12. Button calls, before BB (a new Asian) makes it $65 with $62 behind. It's obviously very strong that he is doing this from BB, but this guy just lost a medium sized pot to the overweight guy. As of such I thought there was a slight chance that he could be tilting a bit, and he only starts the hand with $127 USD. So I 4-bet to $137, button folds and the Asian snap-calls.

Q-6-4-K-3 is the runout which looks decent, but isn't really a spot where I can expect to have the winning hand very often. And I did not this time either, as opponent obviously have AA. But ultimately this is just a massive cooler given his stack. For what it's worth, I think I saw opponent play 1 or 2 hands in the coming hours, so his 3-betting range there might only be AA and KK. But I could not know that at the time, and I probably still wouldn't have folded since he was fairly short.

Continued to lose a couple of small ones, such as when there a straddle for $6 and the decent guy makes it $12 from early. A common them is that I have missed a bit too many 3-bets this trip, and I did so here as well as I only called in BB with KQo. Straddle also calls. But realistically, that silly pot sweetner of $12 is seldom a good raise and I could have made it $40 here.

As played, it came A-K-2 on the flop and after I checked and straddle checked, the raiser bets $15. There are two clubs out there and I have Kc in my hand, so against someone who might be table to recognice texture I have to call here. So I throw in the $15, and straddle also calls.

Turn comes 9d and after two checks the raiser once again bets, this time $35. With a player behind me I probably have to fold here, so that is what I do. They went to showdown eventually and the raiser had 99 fwiw (turned set). So if we are being results oriented I would win it on the flop if i 3-bet. A lesson I will try to take with me for today.

A while later we have a limp from UTG and a limp from EP1 and I have 56dd in EP2. Close spot, and I would for sure raise against a single limper. But against two I chose to overlimp, like Bart Hanson sometimes advocates - as long as you are at a table where not many people are likely to attack 'dead' money. And this was definitely such a table.

5-way limped pot then, and we get Q-7-4 with one diamond. Not too shabby. After two checks EP1 bets $10 and I call with plans to maybe raise on some good turns even if I don't hit. Both blinds also call, and we get Kd on the turn. Surprisingly SB leads for $12, BB calls and EP1 also calls. This looks like very silly sizings to me, and maybe someone trying to buy themselves a cheap river. We cannot have that, especially since I need to drive out potential better flush draws.

In other words, I raise it up to $95 here. Granted I am only repping stuff like 77 and 44, but I don't think it matter too much against the opponents in this hand. SB goes into the tank, before evntually calling with around $110 back. The other two folds out, although BB seems very unhappy about having to do so.

I am praying for a good river as I don't think I can run any kind of bluff here if I miss. And a good river we get with the 9d. Opponent now jams in front (!) for $112, and although I would have preferred to see a check and get to jam myself I cannot see folding here. I am getting a great price (pot is like $375 after his jam), and if he has a better flush then so be it. So I call within 5 seconds, and he doesn't seem that eager to show his cards. So I just flip up my flush, and he sighs and show K4o for two pair.

That was a fun one to drag in and I am up almost $500 now. I did not take the money and run like a chicken immediately though (maybe I should have), and we do have some more interesting spots.

The guy who was BB in above hand (and said he folded nut flush draw on turn to my raise!) raises to $12 from early pos. The guy was from New Orleans and talked a big game when set down (asked about matching the stack etc.), but had not been particuarly aggressive. I have 9Tss on the button and chose to call, but I think this is yet another spot for a 3-bet. The hefty guy behind me also calls from SB, and we go 3-way to 9-8-2 rainbow. Not too shabby overall.

SB checks and the raiser bets $12 again. Small sizizng and maybe I should have pounced on it as my hand needs some protection as well. But as played I just called, and SB also calls behind me. Turn comes with a harmless 3 and they both check to me. I have to bet for some value & protection here, so I throw out $45 (into $75). SB folds, but the raiser call.

River comes another 8 which should be a blank, but after he checks I just check back and take my showdown. I got decent value on turn, but with a rather mediocre kicker on my 9 this is probably not a 3-street hand. The guy immediately says 'damn' and flips up J8o for rivered trips. So much for being tight I guess, and yet another example of where I should have 3-bet preflop.

One more hand against this guy when I find 66 from UTG and raise to (surprise) $12 again. He is the only caller from SB and the dealer provides us with A-K-7 as our first three community cards. I immediately know what my line will be here, as although this guy seems slightly sticky he never has the strongest hands here and getting him off a weaker Ax should be possible by the river.

After he checks I start off with a small bet of $12, and he calls. Turn comes a harmless 4, and after he checks I now increase to $40. If he calls the pot will around $130 and I had plans to maybe bet around $150 on river.

Sadly I didn't get the chance, as he raises to $125 and I have to fold. He claimed A4o for turned two pair shortly after, so I am a bit unlucky with him paring his kicker there. His holding is exactly the type of hand I can get to fold on the river (he showed an Ace too FWIW).

One more hand where a new OMC to the table raises to $10 over a limp from the hefty guy. SB call and I follow suit in BB with 55. The limper is also in, so we go 4-ways to 5-T-4 two hearts. Always nice flopping a set, but not as nice that it checks around. Turn comes a 6, and I bet out $25 (into $40) after SB checks. Hefty guy calls, and the rest fold out.

When he calls next to act I am pretty sure he has picked up a straight draw here, so I am praying for a clean river and then maybe check it over to him. But instead we get an 8, ensuring that any 7 have a straight. I check, opponent bets $50 and I fold my set almost immediately.

Too tight? Maybe, but I had played with this guy for 3 hours and he is never in a million years finding a value bet here with something I beat. He never bets two pair, he never bets KT or similar, and he can't really have any bluffs. So I felt very comfortable with this fold, although it's exploitable. But even limping in from UTG I think this guy have many sevens in his range.

I was getting a bit tired so I took the win of $336 USD after 3 hours and 30 minutes. Nice results, but geez, it should have been a $700 profit. I was up almost $500, but then I got outdrawn when I had T9s, then I got a bad turn-card for my big bluff with 66, and then my set went up into flames.

Regardless, I am happy with how I played although I clearly see now that I can ramp up my 3-betting a bit. I am sometimes a bit hesitant to do it against certain player types, but I still think I need to push myself more into uncomfortable spots.

It's also very uncomfortable how fast time flies in Vegas and how much time it takes to update this thread. So I need to get out there and get after it, and I will as always start with a quick trip to the gym. It's Friday and the start of Thanksgiving weekend so it should hopefully be a good one (and it was super crowded yesterday as well).

Cash Games:

Hours played: 17h 15min
Won/Lost: + $328 USD
Hourly rate: -$19.0 USD

Tournaments:

Won/Lost: - $450 USD (2 played)

Nice session and great, detailed write up.

Do you take notes during your play?

Yes I take short notes to juggle my memory. Would be completely lost otherwise 😀

Earlier today I played at Aria, which became a somewhat frustrating session where I think I can mostly only blame myself for the result. There are as always a lot of hands to go through so let's get to it. And sorry for lack of interesting non-stack pictures in this update.

After waiting for 2 minutes I got a seat into a $1/$3 game that just started, and I bought in for $400 (not the max). Table looked decent enough, especially in the form of two UK players who didn't seem very accustomed to playing in a casino (sadly they didn't stay long). They are also involved in the first hand of note when I raise 88 to $12 from UTG, and only these two call from the blinds.

The flop comes Q-9-3 two hearts, and the both check to me. Could maybe take a small stab here, but I decided to check it back with no heart in my hand. Turn comes a 7 and after SB checks, the BB now bets out for $20. In the few hands I had seen, these guys semed like they were clicking buttons a bit, so I chose to call once to see what he would do on the river. His friend folds out.

4h lands on the river, which is not ideal as the flush gets there. Opponent checks, and although he might have a Queen or a Nine I think he will be pretty sticky. Plus, I am not sure I need to turn my hand into a bluff. So I just check back, and beat his ATo high.

The player to my right then raises to $6 from UTG and he only has around $100 in his stack. With JJ in EP1 I am fine to play for it all, so I 3-bet to 25. A young semi-aggressive Asian to my right cold-calls (!) the 3-bet while the raiser folds out. So we go heads-up to K-Q-3 with two clubs. This board is less bad than it looks, because he would for sure have 4-bet with QQ and KK I think, and I don't really see him flatting KQ very often (unless suited). So I throw out $25 and get a fairly quick fold.

Then I got card-dead for a bit before seeing an open to $12 from UTG and a call from cutoff. I have red KQo on the button, and decided to 3-bet to $50. The opener had been active enough and I have position. He calls quickly, but in a way that made me think he didn't really consider 4-betting. The caller folds out.

Heads-up then to 9-K-K. All right, that's decent. He checks and I go for a small-ish sizing of $35 (into $119), only to see him raise to $100. He has around $120 back and although he could have Ace King I assume he would at least consider 4-betting it. And it's not like I am going to be able to fold here anyway, so I decided to just call in case he is on some kind of weird bluff. A bit risky given his stack-to-pot ratio, but you never know.

Turn is a harmless 7 and after thinking for 20-30 seconds opponent jams all-in. I call immediately, and river is a 2. He hesitates and asks 'you have a King?' and I just flip over my hand then instead of forcing him to show. He mucks and reloads. So it seems I got the maximum there by being patient and not pulling the trigger on the flop.

Then I go card-dead for a long time, with the only exception being KK which I raise to $55 over a raise to $10 and call. Both sadly folded quickly.

I take a quick break to grab some food from Poshburger, and upon returning to the table I see a limp from a new female player and a raise to $15 from a middle-aged Asian who had been tight so far. I call next to act with 99 and the woman also calls. The flop is amazing with A-9-2 two clubs, but sadly they both check to me. I throw out $25, and I am met with two quick folds.

Then I make what I think is a mistake the very next hand, where the Asian now limps for $3 and I find QQ behind him. I raise it up to $15 and get calls from a sticky guy in SB, BB, and the limper. The flop is a harmless 7-5-2 and after it checks to me I bet $35. Both blinds fold but the limper calls. Turn is a 9 and he checks again. I bet $60 and he calls again.

River comes a T and he checks after thinking for a few seconds. It really felt like he had a pocket pair here, but what can I really get value from except 88 and JJ? And both of these are hands I would expect him to raise pre, at least the latter one. And if he just called on the flop with top pair he's unlikely to feel happy about this runout when two overcards have materialized.

I announce a very nitty check-back and my hand is obviously good versus 78dd. But this was stupid. Yes, I am partly right in my analyzis in that he doesn't have a ton of worse hands that can call. But I should regardless try with a bet of $80 or something, and this guy will never in a million years be able to find a bluff over that sizing. So that is one I would have liked to have back.

I am up almost $500 now ($480 at the high point) and feeling good about that despite the above hand. But then things went a bit downhill.

One small pot first, where there are two limps to me and I make it $20 in SB with A8dd. The aggro Asian in BB calls and another Asian (new to the table) calls as well. The flop comes K-5-3 one diamond, and I am first to act. There are some decent turncards here and I can rep the King, so I bet out $25. BB has other plans however and raises me to $55. The limp-caller folds out, and it's back on me.

I was tempted to continue as we are plenty deep, but I am OOP and even hitting a good turn card might be tricky to play. I could potentially 4-bet the flop as well and only continue on equity-cards, but I might be overvaluing how many bluffs he has in this 3-way spot. I ended up folding.

I had planned to leave and take my nice profit, but decided to play one more round. Great idea there. It starts with a straddle to $6 from the young Asian, the sticky guy calls, woman calls, and I have 99 in BB. I raise it up to $33, and the sticky guy is the only caller.

A-4-4 seems decent as I don't think he should have much Ax here. And some of his lower pocket pairs might call once if I keep my sizing in check. So I bet $30 and he calls fairly quickly. Turn is a 7, and I possibly made a mistake here by betting again ($55). This is however too optimistic, as the lower pocket pairs that I was targeting will just fold out now. So in essence I am probably only getting called by an Ace. And he does indeed call.

River is an 8 and I have to put on the brakes now. I check, and he slides out $75. I sigh as I realize I probably messed up this one, and that I have to fold. This guy had been very straight forward when betting on the river, and he would never be bluffing for that sizing I think. So I fold, and he proudly flicks up AKcc for TP in addition to 4-flush on turn. It's just absurd that he has that hand in his range given how it was played, but regardless I think I can check and evaluate on the turn instead of what I did.

The very next hand I am SB and there are two limps to me. I throw in the extra $2 with Q8o (should be a clear fold pre) and BB checks. Q-8-4 two hearts is an above average flop though, and it checks to the new-ish Asian player in MP who bets out for $10. I displayed a bit of frustration with the 99-hand, so this sets up nicely for me to raise big as he might think I am on tilt. I make it $65 and he thinks for a bit but end up calling.

Turn is 9h, which is not ideal as the flush comes in. But I still think I have to keep betting, especeially since hands like QT and QJ (which he could limp from MP) now picks up straight draws (maybe with a flush draw too). I make it $80 and opponent thinks for a few seconds before again calling.

River is a black 2 which doesn't change anything, and I honestly thought I could bet again for value. There has to be some frequency of him playing 44 and flushes stronger than this, although I might be overvaluing just how willing he would be to call down with a single Queen. But in game that is what I thought his most likely holding was, and I also hold Qh in my hand which blocks hands like TP and 4-flush on flop.

So yeah, I bet out $130, he calls quickly and after I table my hand he shows 44 for a set. Lol wtf. Why he is only calling my raise on the flop when he has the mortal nuts (I would always raise 88 and QQ pre) and there are so many draws out there? I guess we will never know, but as played I think it's very hard to put him on 44 there.

Having said that, this hand illustrates a problem I often have: I think that players are wider than what they turn out to be. In reality, most of them are useless nits (I am also a useless nit, ref QQ hand above) who doesn't put in big amounts unless they have a monster. And I keep assigning them wider ranges and get punished for it. I could probably check river here and he would probably just check back being afraid of a flush.

So in the span of two hands we go from being up $400 to only being up $50 or so. That was very tough to handle mentally, especially because I couldn't help but feel that I gave away too much in both hands. I think I can save both the $55 on the turn in the 99-hand, and save the $130 on river in the Q8-hand.

Only a few hands later the middle aged woman limps in, and I have nothing less than black Aces in MP. I raise to $15, hoping something crazy will happen behind me. No such luck however, but the sticky guy calls from SB and the woman call.

A-K-4 two diamonds on the flop, which is almost too favorable. But the woman now leads into me for $30 with around $100 or so behind. Fairly big sizing and I think she has the remaining Ace here given how she has played so far. But I don't want to scare her away, so I just call and take my chance that the sticky guy is not on a flush draw. He folds quickly.

Turn comes a random 6 and she immediately jams all-in. I snap-call and show her the bad news, and she sighs and shows AKhh (!). She obviously played it insanely bad preflop, but it's a massive cooler that she was not getting away from no matter what she did. I can only accept the good fortune that I was on the right side of it.

She left the table and I did the same 3-4 hands later as I was still a bit frustrated from the earlier hands, but happy that I got this massive cooler to win some back at least. The result was plus $225 after 3 hours and 15 minutes. Not good enough. Nowhere near good enough. But I guess it was still a win, if nothing else.

After that I had other plans (ref post from two days ago). Thus I have not played any more poker tonight as I am a bit too tired now to go down and start a session. Maybe I should have, but it's all right - poker will always be there for future trips as well. And I will obviously try to play as much as I can tomorrow and Sunday.

The Strip was crazy tonight btw with 'Black Friday' going on and it being Thanksgiving weekend. Here is a random picture showing completely jam-packed traffic:

Cash Games:

Hours played: 20h 30min
Won/Lost: + $553 USD
Hourly rate: -$27.3 USD

Tournaments:

Won/Lost: - $450 USD (2 played)

Many a winning session has been derailed by the just one more round mantra lol.

I learned the hard way. When you start thinking about calling it a day it’s better to just rack up straight away. The one more round, one more dealer, play until my BB, almost always ends up costing you money. No logical reason for it, just always seems to work out that way for some reason.

Good point, and probably a good plan as soon as that thought creeps in.

-----

Now at this grimey location to own some OMCs etc:

Also had a scenic drive here with a look at some cool buildings, which I am sure everyone here can agree with 😀

That's fixable by vowing to fold everything. I haven't folded aces in that situation, but I have folded AQ.

Does Aria have free Fiji waters?

Hey, AK is just a drawing hand.

Where is that? Guessing from the northbound traffic, somewhere downtown?

Why stay then?

On the way to Golden Nugget yes, update coming tonight.

To finish off hours for a promo, or for appearance's sake after winning a pot, etc.

No Vegas-trip is complete without at least one trip Downtown! I took an Uber down to Golden Nugget, and after waiting for around 20 minutes a new $1/$2 game started up that didn't exactly look tough. I bought in for $400, which is usually more than enough in these games.

After folding a few hands I find KQss in 3rd pos and make it $10, and the middle aged guy to my left makes the call. The blinds fold out, and the dealer spreads a pretty awesome 7-2-4 all spades flop. I have flopped the second nuts, and start out with a small bet of $10 again. Opponent surprises me by raising to $25, which is interesting. He started the hand with around $275 and I rather want to get more money in now before the board gets scary (in case he has flopped a set or something). So I 4-bet the flop to $80 and he thinks for a bit before calling.

Turn comes a harmless 9d and he has around $180 back in a pot that is now $183. I don't want to split my stack into two bets, and it seems clear he likes his hand. So I jam all-in. He's not going to fold if he has a set, and if he only has the nut flush draw it's not a disaster if that hand folds either. He tanks for 30-40 seconds but eventually slides in the chips. I just flip up my hand to show where I am at, and he does the same and show AsKd. So I only need to fade a spade on the river, and I do when it comes a red Q. Nice!

Great start, but after this hand it became apparent that game was super tight and hardly anything happened. Many of the hands were chopped between the blinds, and I also went very card-dead and didn't have the type of hands where I could try to liven up the game a bit. The exception being when there was a raise to $10 and a call from a new player, before I found JJ on the button. I make it $50 and both opponents fold quickly.

I also lost a tiny one when there is a couple of limps and I check 73dd from BB. The flop comes 7-5-5 one diamond and it checks around. Turn is 2d so I add a flush draw in addition to TP. Small Blind now leads out for $11 (into $10) and I see no reason to raise here since he canhave almost all 5x. So I call and the rest fold out. River comes a 4 and he bets $11 again. The same bet, and maybe I should have pounced on this to try and get him off a better seven. I instead ended up making the call even though I realized I would probably lose often, and I did so against his K7o.

After an hour and a half I took a break and headed out to find some quick food before continuing the session:

Upon my return I win a few small pots, most interesting one when I raise JTo to $10 from MP and a new player calls in hijack. I flop it with A-K-Q two clubs and decided to bet $17 into $21. I got a quick fold, but this is a flop where I have to bet big (I could even have gone $25-$30). A straight unblocks all good hands on this board and he's gonna fold hands like 77 or similar to any bet sizing anyway. So it's mandatory that we target their big-card hands here with a large sizing.

A new OMC had joined the table to my right and he was short stacking a bit. He suddenly wakes from his slumber and raises to $5 from EP1. With A4ss right behind him I am happy to call (no need to 3-bet this geezer who likely has a big hand), and we end up going hedas-up to Q-9-2 two spades. He checks, and I bet $10 to hopefully get him off AK or something.

He instead check-raises to $30 and it's back on me. He has around $70 behind and I considered just jamming, but settled on a call. I reasoned that if I get a complete blank and he jams I should probably just fold, but any A, 3, 4 or 5 should be calls.

Turn is one of them with Ah. He jams and I call quickly since I now beat a hand like KK. The river also helps me, as it comes 6s. I have the nut flush, and it turns out I needed it as opponent had AQ! Phew, I didn't realize I was in that bad shape.

Nice pot to drag in, and it would get even better when we find black KK in 2nd position. I raise to $10 and actually get two callers in an Asian on the button and a new young-ish guy in SB. We see Q-6-3 two clubs, which I think is a good board to bet slightly bigger on. So I throw out $20 after BB checks, and they both actually end up calling.

Turn is a K so we turn top set. That's nice, but it might be a scare card for my opponents unless they have KQ (very few combos obviously). So I settled on a bet of $55 into $92, although I am obviously giving flush draws a decent price. The Asian tank-calls, and then the young guy almost snap-calls when it gets to him.

Surprisingly much action here, and I am hoping for a non-club river. But we instead get 2c and the young guy quickly jams for $66. It sucks that he probably have made a flush, but it's $66 into $250-something and I have Kc in my hand. So I don't see folding here, and I also see to my left that the Asian player seems ready to fold (I debated for a few seconds). So I call, and opponent says the best words in poker ('you're good').

I also picked up one or two small pots more before calling it quits after 3 hours of play. I won a massive $553 USD, which is insane given how passive the game played. But I ran well and I thought I had good thought process throughout the session, even though I got a headache towards the end.

(which thankfully disappeared when I got back to Bellagio)

Speaking of Bellagio, I have also played a session there this evening. But details from that one will have to wait until tomorrow most likely.

Cash Games:

Hours played: 23h 30min
Won/Lost: + $1106 USD
Hourly rate: +$47.1 USD

Tournaments:

Won/Lost: - $450 USD (2 played)

Geez, 23.5 hours played. I haven't played that much in the last 2 years combined, not including WSOP.

Posting some very solid results so far, keep it going!

Sorry guys, the WiFi in my hotel room is extremely unstable for some reason, and I was not able to connect and post this morning. Played at Bellagio yesterday.

In the meantime we can look at this fun VP draw earlier today:

12 chances for a $1k royal. Result:

Meh, just hitting one would have been great. But not much to do with that.

Now at Venetian for a session. Will post proper updates when I can.

I will reluctantly agree with TonySoprano and others about not playing after starting to think about picking up. I say reluctantly because ideally, we should only leave when the game is bad, or we are tired/hungry/tilted/otherwise not fit to play. We should also ideally not care too much about the current winning or losing amount. But we are not ideal all the time, so when considerations like locking up a win or getting back to even start to creep in, we should cut it short to avoid disaster.

I managed to get on the wifi now, so here is the update from yesterday evening's session at the Bellagio:

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After getting back to my hotel room after the session at Nuigget, I eventually managed to get rid of my headache and went out to play. As I was feeling slightly fatigued, I did however settle on just a regular $1/$3 session here at Bellagio - although I had originally thought that Saturday evening could be a good time to play $2/5.

At first I lost a few small pots, such as when I raised KJo from MP to $12 and only a young Asian female (who didn't stay long) calls from the Small Blind. We go heads-up to A-3-3 rainbow, and my plan is to bet small now and bigger on turn to get her off pocket pairs and KQ. I start with a small bet of $10, only to see her raise to $40. That foils my plan, so I just fold.

Then I raise KQo to $12 and get one caller from SB, before the weird older Asian male in BB makes it $40. He has semmed a bit splashy so far but I think his range is very strong from BB here as he is the type of guy who would defend his blind very liberally. So for him to 3-bet I am probably crushed, and I fold. For what it's worth, Small Blind called the 3-bet with 64cc (!) and made a Straight Flush (!).

Next spot is a very interesting one, and it starts with the older Asian raising to $6 from UTG. He has been caught in a bluff earlier and seems a bit splashy, and most people have noticed that. A young-ish guy around 30 then 3-bets to $20 but he only starts the hand around $140 deep. He has probably observed the same as me, so when I find JJ on the button I decide to 4-bet it to $55. I will obviously reluctantly call if the young guy jams.

Small Blind, who is an OMC who recently joined the table starts thinking and looking frustrated with the situation. Eventually he slides out $55 for the rare 4-bet cold-call. The other two actually fold out quickly (young guy later said he had KT suited), so we go heads-up to the 8-7-3 flop with him having $143 back. He checks, and I quickly come to a conclusion to jam all-in. The pot is already around $140 as it is, and his range is probably heavily weighted towards QQ-99 and some AK or maybe AQ suited. I don't mind the latter two folding and since I beat nines and tens we just go for glory versus those two combos.

Opponent snapcall and I am thinking that sh*t, I must have ran into Queens here. But no, he has 77 for middle set. Turn comes a 3 and river is a Q and I have to send a lot of my stack over to him. A bit of a frustrating pot to lose as he should never be so weak as 77 there. But I obviously don't mind him playing that poorly, and I could probably have stacked him on the 6-3-2 flop for example.

I reload for another $200 before finding an interesting one versus the fishy Asian. There is a limp for $3 ahead of me and I announce 'Tilt-raise' and make it $15 with TT (this is the very next hand). Asian calls from BB and the limper actually folds out. The flop comes J-7-4 with two diamonds and after he checks I actually decided to check it back. Probably best to bet here, but I didn't want to get check-raised out of the hand.

Instead we see a free turn, which comes a K. He leads out for $30 into $25, which felt a bit weird to me. Leads on an overcard that favors the preflop-raiser is not really a thing, and why would he bet that much if he has a good hand? So I call once to see what he does on the river.

The river comes with a 9 which fills QT, but with me holding TT that is much less of a concern. He now bets $50 and although the sizing is a bit more value-ish this time something still felt off for me. There are obviously many combos of hands like KQ and KJ that he could have, but he has already been caught bluffing before and my read on the turn was that this seems fishy. After some time in the tank I told him that 'I don't know what I beat, but I don't see how I can fold' before sliding in the chips. He immediately taps the table and says 'you're good' and I just flip over my hand to a couple of 'wow, nice call' and similar comments from the table.

We have more pots against this player, the first one when there are 3 limps (including him) and I find AQhh from the Small Blind. I raise it up to $20 and he is the only caller. We do however get a flop of 8-7-4 two clubs and no hearts, and this one is so bad that I didn't even feel like starting a bet. So I just check and then fold to his $25 bet.

Then I find ATo from 2nd position and raise to $12, which would normally be a bit light but we are only 6-handed for this hand (some walkers). To no-ones surprise the Asian calls in SB and we are once again heads-up to T-4-2 rainbow. Top pair top kicker against this guy is a good thing, and after he checks I bet $15. He calls.

Turn comes another 2 and he now leads into me for $45. This doesn't make a ton of sense to me, as although he is obviously liable to have some 2x here I don't think he would lead them very often. I briefly debated raising but settled on a call, since I am in position and can easily put in a bet on the river if he checks. The river comes a 5 and although he plays spewy I strongly doubt he has 63 suited or similar for a straight.

He loads up a bet and puts out $145, which is pretty much pot sized. I call within 5 seconds as I had already made up my mind, and especially on such a non-threatning river it seems very trivial against this guy. He once again says 'you're good' and mucks. Nice!

The very next hand I find 66 from UTG and make it $12, and only the BB calls (new player from Israel). A-T-6 two spades is a nice one, and after he checks I make it $15. He calls, and then checks again on Ks turn. Not an ideal card but I still have to bet. I throw out $35 and he thinks for a bit before calling.

River comes a harmless red 5 and he checks again. I strongly doubt he has something super strong here, but hopefully he has some kind of Ace that he can't get rid of. So I settle of a sizing of $75 (into $125), but sadly he just folds after thinking about it for around 20 seconds.

Still some nice momentum there with back-to-back pots, and from being stuck almost $300 at one point we are now back in profit!

More profit follows when we find QQ from UTG and make it $12. The OMC who had 77 earlier calls in EP1 and we go heads-up to T-7-2 two hearts. I bet $15 and he calls. 5d lands on the turn and I went for a pot-sized bet of $55 here. We have already seen that this guy can be sticky, and when he calls the above board there are so many hands that can call turn as well (OESD, flush draws, Tx, 78 suited etc.). It did not work this time as he folded, but I do like this sizing against this player type.

Then we find AKo from EP1 and raise to $12. A new young-ish guy calls in third position and the rest fold. The flop comes T-6-2 two hearts, and with Kh in my hand I thought it was enough to start a bet. So I bet $15 as always and he calls. Turn comes an offsuit 5, not quite what I was looking for. I check and he just quickly checks it back. River comes a 4 and I see no reason to bet here, especially as it feels like I might win at showdown on occasion. He immediately checks back and wins the hand with ATo. Small pot to lose, but it's very funny to me that he didn't even seem to consider getting value on turn or river.

The same opponent is involved in the next hand where we are a straddle from the OMC from UTG, the above player calls, the two Israelians to my right calls and I have KQo (red cards) in BB. I bump it up to $35, and the new young-ish guy is the only caller. The flop A-Q-T is recasonable; he can have an Ace but it's unlikely to be a very strong one. I bet out for a small sizing of $25 to get calls from hands like QJ or JT, and he calls.

Turn comes a 3 and I check, mostly just hoping to get to showdown now. He quickly checks back, although as we learned in the previous hand this might still mean top pair. River is however a K, so I make two pair. In game this felt like a good spot for a blocker bet, which will get called by hands like A9 or similar. And if he raises he always have a straight and I have an easy fold. So I bet $20 into $138 (could have gone $30 maybe) and he pretty much snap-calls. My hand is obviously good. I am happy about my reasoning here, but maybe I missed a little bit of value on the river.

We then go a bit card-dead before finally finding AJcc after one of the Israelians have limped. I raise to $15, only to see BB (a new player around my age who said he lives in Vegas) make it $50. He is probably some kind of local reg and he hasn't played many hands yet, so this raise from BB is probably very strong. But we both are over $500 deep (he transferred from another table) and I have position and a suited hand. So I call.

The flop comes 9-7-2 with two clubs, which is not too shabby all things considered. He bets out $75 which is fairly big into $105-ish, and of such I did not consider raising. But we have so many good turns here (8, T, J, A, clubs) that this felt like a very easy continue. But I didn't want to raise and almost already commit our stacks when I had no idea if this player would be capable of folding a big overpair or not.

Turn is however disappointing as it comes 6s and he loads up a bet of $145. I fold quickly, maybe too quickly? We still have a lot of money left to play for, but I felt that chasing on a naked flush draw here didn't seem like a good idea against someone who cleary have KK or something. And after I folded he did indeed show the two Kings.

Not much happened after that, I missed a couple of flops with pocket pairs like 88 and 66 and didn't get many playable hands. The fishy Asian was still at the table but he had quieted down, and I started to get a bit tired. So I took my gigantic profit of $4 USD and cashed out after 2 hours and 30 minutes. I'll take it, considering I was down almost $300 early. But it was also a bit annoying having been up $175 or so earlier and having to give all of it back.

I should obviously have played longer and later into the night (as it was Saturday), but as often is with me I don't have the patience and stamina to push myself when it's getting 'late' (and late for me is usually around 10-11pm).

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Today I have played a session at the Venetian, but that update will have to wait for tonight. Below is the stats with the Bellagio-session included

Cash Games:

Hours played: 26h 00min
Won/Lost: + $1110 USD
Hourly rate: +$42.7 USD

Tournaments:

Won/Lost: - $450 USD (2 played)

That's why I love to play multi-hand. If you catch lightning in a bottle...

I watched a video where they had a method to hit Diamond pretty quick on a 10x multiplier day. I think they played 100 hands at a time with quarters.

Good morning from Las Vegas! Way behind on updates, but I will try to catch up now. Let's set the time back to yesterday morning-ish, and take it from there:

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As mentioned briefly in a previous update, I made my way over to this location:

Upon entering the stylish Venetian poker room I got immediate seating in a $1/$3 game, and I started winning right off the bat. First small pot of note is when I raise AJo (red cards) to $15 over a limp and BB is the only caller (limper folds). The flop comes K-8-3 two hearts, and with Jh in my hand I guess it's good enough to start a bet. I throw out $20 after opponent check, and he thinks about it for a bit before folding.

Then we have a limped pot where I have A5o in SB. Should be playable enough in this scenario at least, so I complete and BB checks. The flop comes 4-5-6 all clubs, and I hold Ac in my hand. It checks around and a red A lands on the turn. I lead for $10 and BB is the only caller. The river comes another 4 which should be safe. I bet $17 for value, opponent calls and my 2 pair is obviously good.

Then we have a raise to $10 and a call, and I follow suit in cutoff with 77. BB also calls, and we go 4-ways to a nice looking J-9-7 flop with two spades. It checks all the way to me, and I bet out $25 and only get called by the first limper (very fishy OMC). Turn comes a Q which doesn't really change a ton as a straight was already out there. So I continue betting for $55 and he once again check-calls.

River is another J, which is a great card as I now have a full house and opponent could have improved to trip Jacks. So after he checks I target one with a bet of $150 into $180 or so. He thinks about for a little bit but sadly ends up folding.

A few hands later there are two limps from early pos I have AA in SB. Always a pretty sight, so I raise it up to $20. The first limper calls, but check-folds to a $20 bet on the 6-5-5 flop. I show him the Aces for good mercy.

One hand that looks like Aces is A4 suited, and that is the one I have a bit later in the diamond variety. I raise to $12 from mid-pos and get no less than 3 callers behind. The flop comes A-Q-J two clubs and after BB checks I decide to also check for pot-control. It checks around.

Turn comes 6c and it once again checks to me. Not too worried about a flush, so I bet a small $15 to get some value from club draws and hands like KJ, QT etc. That said, I can probably go bigger and still get called. But as played, I bet $15 and get a call behind me in the field + from BB.

River comes a harmless 2d and after BB checks I throw out a block-bet of $5 USD. It's too small obviously (that's what she said), but I wanted a little bit of extra value from non-Ax hands. It works out as as well, as the first OMC shakes his head and calls, while the second fold out. A4 suited was obviously the best hand, but I could probably have gone $15-$20 and still gotten the same result.

I then lose a small one when I complete A7o from SB in a limped pot (should probably just fold pre), and we see the A-6-K rainbow flop. It checks to an OMC who throw out $10, and I think I have to peel once although this guy had been pretty straight forward. Turn comes a J, which is not an ideal card although he shouldn't have AJ too often. But he can obviously have all combos of QT etc.

Opponent now bets $15 after I check, and I decided to call once more while using the Bart Hanson-technique about 'Fifth Street Chicken'. And I indeed chickened out on the river, which comes a Q. Board has just gotten worse and worse for me, and after I check the opponent loads up a bet of around $60. I fold immediately.

A new middle aged guy with baseball cap then makes his first raise to $10 from EP after being passsive so far (a few limps). A fishy OMC calls right behind him, and I find KQcc in BB. I chose to just call, although there are obviously also argumentes for a 3-bet here. But not knowing anything about this player yet, I didn't want to get blown off my equity in case he 4-bets.

A-J-T is a decent flop but sadly it checks round. Turn comes a 2, and I lead out for $10. Small, but it doesn't seem like these guys are very strong. The preflop-raiser calls and the fishy OMC folds. River comes another 2, however there is practically no way for him to have a full house here when he has played it this passively. I still don't think he is super strong, so I just make it $25. After mulling it over for a bit he calls, only to get shown the bad news when I turn over my nut straight.

The very next hand I am in SB and there are again two limps to me. I have A6cc, and could probably raise here but just chose to complete. BB checks, and we see Q-J-9 two clubs on the flop. It checks around and a red 6 lands on the turn. I have a pair and nut flush draw and I am probably playing this one too passive as I checked again. The other three players follow suit.

I was not passive on the river however, which came 8c. So I make my flush but 4 to a straight also came in. So let us target one of those. I bet out $30 into $12 and get the call I wanted from an early position limper. For sure he had a straight there, and it's always fun betting 2.5x pot to make up for some value.

A few hands later we find AQo from UTG and raise to $12, only to be met with a call from EP1 (a local mid-30s guy) before the fishy OMC on the button makes it $30. Normally I think my hand is a fold (or occasional 4-bet), but this guy had lost a lot of pots lately and was down to around $180 after having had $6-$700 USD when I arrived. So I figured there could be some tilt-factor and made the call (briefly considered 4-betting).

EP1 also calls, and we see J-7-4 all diamonds on the flop. Not quite what I was looking for as I have black cards. It actually checks around, and Ts lands on the turn. I check, EP1 checks, and the OMC now come to life and bet $60. Even with a gutshot and two overs I don't think I can do much OOP here, so I fold.

I got a bit card-dead around this time, but eventually found 88 after three people have limped in already. I raise to $20, but the respect is not quite there as I get 3 callers. We see J-T-7 two spades on the flop, and I chose to check this one when it came to me with a view of check-calling. It does however check around.

Turn comes a 6 and BB now leads for $15. A tight OMC calls and I follow suit with my gutshot and some potential plans for the river. The river comes a red 3 and BB is not done betting. He throws out $20, and the OMC folds out. I don't see how I can ever call here and be good against these sizings, but at the same time they also feel a bit weak.

So let's go for the option of turning our third pair into a bluff! I double block the nuts in 98, and although I would never have played it this passively, I didn't think it mattered too much against this opponent. But it obviously makes it way less likely that we run into top of his range. So I raise to $130 and he folds without much thought at all (maybe 5 seconds). Pretty cool, and I couldn't restit the temptation to show the table the bluff.

I also managed to scoop a Bomb Pot where I had trips on top and two pair on bottom. A new player to the table bet the turn fairly small and also small on the river. I took a few seconds with it jsut to see if I could be scooped on both boards, but concluded that it was unlikely. And opponent probably haven't played many bomb pots before, because he showed up with something like AA82 for only a pair of Aces on each board. So that was a nice surprise (he bet $20 turn and $25 river).

One more hand of note where I open KQss to $15 over a limp, only to immediately realize there was actually two limps. So the raise is a bit small, and this brings in the local player behind me plus the two limpers. We see the A-Q-T flop, which got checked around. On the 6 turn an OMC bets out $15, and I am the only caller

River is an 8 and he does the classic move with another bet of $15. Same bet, but I didn't really consider raising. I can have a ton of strong hands here of course, and I don't think he is super strong with these sizings. But I ended up just making the call even if I wasn't 100% sure what I was beating. One hand I could beat however was JTo, which is just very weirdly played by him. He's sort-of blocking, but he can probably never get called by worse here - making the play pretty pointless.

After 3 hours and 30 minutes I cashed out with a chill profit of $405 USD. This felt like a very 'easy' session where I was up immediately and never had any huge swings. May all sessions be like that!

Here are a few pictures on the way back to Bellagio yesterday:

Cash Games:

Hours played: 29h 30min
Won/Lost: + $1515 USD
Hourly rate: +$51.4 USD

Tournaments:

Won/Lost: - $450 USD (2 played)