The Joker in Vegas

[Joker161]

We wander back to Harrah's passing through as many casinos as possible to avoid the heat. I realised that I have yet to play cash poker on this trip, so I get my name on the wait list for 1/2 while Matt goes for a swim. There was talk of seeing a show tonight, but there were no tickets for the one we wanted. So instead we might go and eat somewhere half-decent. So I'm sitting in the Harrah's poker room reflecting on yesterday. I think I definitely over-played the KK hand. I probably should have checked the flop, although that board could have been very scary for him too. Once he called my flop bet, I should definitely checked the turn. I got excited about the set and just automatically bet. But seeing a free card and making a decision on the river would have saved me a lot of chips. I just didn't take the flush seriously enough because I had the king of spades. I started the hand with 125k and I should have ended it still with more than 80k if I had been sensible. Frustrating. And the last hand, where I didn't push the flop...that's just embarrassing.

[Joker161]

On the cash table now. The usual massive raises. Someone just called a raise with 85 and hit a T55 boards. Hmm. I get AA UTG. I make it $8, which is standard (perhaps light on this table?), and get three callers. Flop is 862. One of those three must be ahead. So I check, waiting for the bet with the plan to put in a pretty hefty re-raise to see where I am. First caller bets $15, the second caller calls and the third goes all in for $60. I have to fold. He gets a caller, and the all in has a flush draw and the caller has top pair. The board does not improve either hand and I would have won. I remember in the old days of Imperial Palace where they had a $100 bonus for "aces cracked". I would definitely have bet out if that was still going. Nothing for nearly an hour, then I get A6 in the BB and amazingly no one has raised. Flop is A96. Nice. I bet the pot and get two callers. Turn is a seven. I bet the pot again and get one caller. River is an eight. Nasty board. Check, check. He has 97 for a worse two pair. Back level.

[Joker161]

I got chatting to the bloke next to me after that and so didn't type anything up. He's made Day 3 of the ME and made Day 5 last year. He was done playing cash and said "I'm not hitting much today." The very next had he hits a straight with T7 on the river, and then a bit later he hits a straight flush! They have bonuses for big hands at Harrah's so he won an extra $250. Earlier someone else hit quads and won $100. In terms of my cards, I got KK and won a bit then got KK again and lost more. I had AQ a few times with mixed results. Just before I cashed in to go and eat, the woman two to my left called EP and there was a raise, then she re-raised. He called. Of course she had aces. So THAT'S how you play aces on a mad 1/2 table!

[Joker161]

We ate at a nice Italian in the Venetian, and then wandered over to the poker room to see how the $1100 event was going towards the end of Day 2. They were down to nine and the bloke who knocked me out was still in it. Also, a bloke who went out very early on our table was there. He must have re-entered. We watched for ten minutes and saw the bloke who knocked me out get some awful luck. Some other bloke gets it all in with him with K7. Our man has QQ on a jack high board. New man hits a runner runner straight. The very next hand he is in the BB and someone raises from the CO. He pushes with A8. The raiser has K9 and calls. King on the flop. One of the chip leaders to nothing in two hands. The $22k should help, but there was $230k up top. We then went to Treasure Island for some blackjack. Not a good session. $100 down. Home by 1am.

[Joker161]

Monday 8th July

Woke up at about 5.30am. Struggled to get back to sleep, and got the tennis on the TV by 7am. Last-16 day at Wimbledon so lots to watch. The highlight was probably watching Konta hold on. When she was bouncing the ball before her serve and the ball hit her toes and rolled off, I thought she was going to choke for sure. Breakfast, more tennis, then my final tournament at the Venetian. It's called "monster stack" which means 30k in chips. With 30-minute level and dealer machines, there should be a decent amount of play. Fingers crossed.

[Joker161]

Level 1. I play no hands apart from the free ones. I call one raise from a loose guy but it gets re-raised. We have one bloke on the table and he's already down to 12k. He's playing nearly every hand and seemed to find it very difficult to fold. Does he not realise he has to last over 10 hours? Level 2. I try a couple of speculative raises so they don't think I'm a total nit. Both get 3-bet. I call with 66 and see a 875 flop. I call a flop bet and fold the turn. We have another nutter at the table. He and another player got involved in a big pot on a very scary board. He shows A9 and had hit the nine on the river and she mucked. Very odd. He also raises 900 or 1000 at 100/200 blinds. He's now raising nearly every hand. He's to my immediate right and as I typed this he put in a big raise, 900, and I have QQ so make it 3000 and he actually folds! At the end on the level, the bloke with 12k raises. The new nutter (NN) re-raises, 12k goes all in and NN snaps. 12k has JT and NN has AQ. JT on the flop, king on the turn. Mad.

[Joker161]

Level 3. MM has just told me he busted out of Day 3 of the ME an hour ago and so is taking it out on us. He had QJ on a QQ3 flop and someone else ended up having AQ. Ouch. So he might be raising pretty light, methinks. Wait for a good hand and 3-bet seems to be a good idea. We shall see. I need a hand first. A loose bloke raises UTG and I make it 2500 from MP with 99. The SB counts out loads of chips but folds and UTG folds. "Would you call if I jam?" Lively table. They've just moved NN! He's called Scotter, by the way. He showed me his ID to prove it. Next hand loose bloke (LB) raises, there's a call so I make a gambley call from the SB with T7s. The BB calls too. Flop is Q98. I check, check, check, bet. I raise and they all fold. Still only just above starting stack. Level 4. Folded everything bar one UTG raise to steal, which gets through. I get to the break with exactly what I started with.

[Joker161]

Level 5. I raise in MP with 43s, again so they don't think I'm a total nit. The blinds call. Flop is K88. It's checked round three times and a queen on the river wins it for the BB. LB raises and I call in the BB with A9s. Flop is J95. Check, bet, call. I bet the turn and he folds. There's a raise and two callers and I call in the SB with AJs. I miss the flop and fold to the flop bet. Level 6. More folding, the I get QQ and I'm first in. I raise and the SB, who is new to the table, calls. Flop is J54. Check, bet, call. Turn is an eight. Check, bet, he goes all in and I'm covered. I have to fold. Perhaps I should have checked the turn, but there are two hearts and I don't really want to give him a free card. A couple of hands later I raise T9. Same bloke calls, then the button re-raises. Poor decision. I'm down to 18k.

[Joker161]

Level 7. I get AK, but this time there's a raise before me and a call. So I re-raise and they both call. I sense trouble. Flop is QJ5. Check, check, I go all in with my last 11k. The initial raiser calls me. He has AJ. Calling my re-raise with AJ when I've played no hands?? Turn a nine, river a ten. Best hand won. . The very next hand I get AK again. There's a raise ahead of me again (if only that had happened with the queens). I raise and he folds. I'm up to 43k. LB raises and I call in the BB with 86. Flop is QT7. Check, check. Turn is a five. Interesting. I bet and he raises. Hmm. I fold. Level 8. I think they are missing some levels compared with the $1,100 event. We have gone from 400/800 to 600/1200 and I'm sure there was 500/1000 the other day. Anyway, I get TT and raise. Only the BB calls. Flop has a ten on it, but sadly he checks then folds to by flop bet. I haven't raised for a while so decide to have a go with 33. Two callers. Flop is KJJ. Thanks. I fold to a bet. I call a raise when there are three other callers with KJ. No luck. Then, in the last hand before the break there's a raise and a call and I decide to try a squeeze with A7s. They both call. Hmm. Flop is low and has two of my suit, so I push and they both fold pretty quickly. I'm on 49k.

[Joker161]

Level 9. We are at 1k/1.5k/1.5k. LB has gone out (quelle surprise) and someone has arrived at the table in his place. He is UTG for his first hand and raises. I re-raise with AA (at last!) and he calls. He's low on chips, so I'm planning on putting him all in on most flops. The flop is Q99. He goes all in anyway and I call. He has KJ. Why is he even in the hand? Sweat is over straight away with an ace on the turn. 83k. Next, a slightly embarrassing hand. It's folded to me on the button and I raise to steal with Q5s. I totally miss that the SB has got so short. I've made it 4k and he's all in for 11,500. So I have to call and he has KK. I hit my flush on the turn. He was a nice guy too. I then win a small pot limping with 55. Two others in the hand. We all stick 2k in on the J43 flop. We check the three on the turn and then there's a five on the river. Nice, although they both fold to my bet. 103k.

[Joker161]

Level 10. I haven't raised for a while so raise with JT UTG. My immediate left calls the rest fold. Flop is AQ7. I bet and he folds JJ face up. Says he was going to push pre but I was raising UTG. I raise to 5k with AT. On the button is a bloke whose been showing all sorts of rubbish. He raises to 12.5k. I decide to make it 30k. He thinks for a bit and folds. 126k. A very short stack (11k) goes all in. I'm in the SB and decide to give him a spin with A9. The BB only has 22k and goes all in. I have to call for another 11k, but I'm not loving it. But I'm up against JT and KJ. There's an ace on the flop and I swerve a flush draw. Shame it's not a bounty! Over 150k.

[Joker161]

I get moved half way through Level 11 and then take a bit of a hit. UTG raises, I call with AQ and the BB calls. Flop is J97. We check it round. Turn is an eight. The BB bets, UTG calls and and I decide to raise given that they don't know me and it's a scary board. BB folds but UTG goes all in. It's another 20k and I'm getting 4-1, but I can't do it. Clearly I'm going to have to hit. Down to 105k. At the end of Level 12 I raise with A9s (it's been a while) and only the BB calls. The flop is K98. He checks, I bet and he goes all in. Fold. Down to 70k. Blinds about to go 1k/2k/2k. This table move has not been good for me. I need a hand.

[Joker161]

Level 13. I get moved tables again and everyone has a massive stack. I go through the blinds, then try a steal with T8. I get re-raised, obviously. It's push time now I'm down to 50k. I'm in the BB and about to push a late raise but the SB gets there before me. The next hand I get AT and another serial raiser raises so I decide to push. He has JJ, of course. I'm out. I keep saying to myself that you must be first-in with these situations but then I always get tempted to go over the top of a loose player's raise. I think there are about 160 left out of 724 runners. They will pay 81. That was a very frustrating last hour. 150k was well above average at the time of the table move, then nothing went right. Annoyed.

[Joker161]

It's now about 7.30pm and time for some food. Matt is Downtown, so I have some noodles at the place next to the Poker Room and a glass of wine. The plan was to meet up, but I got a sudden wave of extreme tiredness, to the point where I'm nodding off at the table. I go to the bar next door thinking a Negroni will wake me up, but it's no good. I wander back to Harrah's and back to the room. I bet I'll be awake at 3 in the morning.

[Joker161]

Tuesday 9th July

Up at 5.30am, but manage to drift off to sleep again, sort of. Then curtains open at 8am to watch Konta go 4-1 up playing really well, then her forehand goes to pot and she never recovers. She's never going to do it, is she. Hasn't got the head for it. The other woman had never been in a Grand Slam semi, and yet all she had to do was keep the ball in play. Disappointing. Breakfast at 9am, pack and checked out by 10.30am.