Vegas trip report

Just got back from Vegas where I played $2/$4, $3/$6, and $4/$8 limit as well as a tiny bit of $1/$2 NL.

I intended to warm up with a little $2/$4 or $3/$6 at Bally's (since I was staying at Paris) but the waitlist was so long, I gave up and ended up going to Aladdin. This was quite enjoyable. They have high hand jackpots and what seem like hourly SNG's. The downside is the rake, which caps at $4 not $3 (the "Strip" rake) PLUS the $1 jackpot drop. If you add in a $1 toke, you are losing $6 for every pot you win.

When I got there, the lowest limit offered was $3/$6 and it played like $0.50/$1 at PartyPoker... 6-8 handed to every flop, kings and queens getting cracked left and right by lucky suckout specialists. Later they also opened a $2/$4 table. Can't imagine how fishy that must have been. There was one lucky fuck who kept catching cards and everyone was complaining loudly about it, but I just sat there folding until I caught a couple good hands and happily relieved the guy of about $50. Net: +$25 in 3.5 hours.

The next night, I went to MGM Grand at about 11 p.m. and got immediate seating in another $3/$6 game. They also had one table each of $4/$8, $5/$10, two tables of $2/$4, and they were advertising a shorthanded $10/$20 game where they offered no rake for the first half hour. On the other side of the room were about 5-6 tables of NL. As with the Aladdin, there were 6-8 people to every flop and one lucky shithead (some blonde fatty with DDDD tits) was catching all the cards. The more everyone tried to attack her, the more they lost to her. I took a seat on her left and waited and waited and waited for cards. She had about $200 when I sat down and about $600 when she finally left. Talk about "stacked"! I had my KK cracked badly (not by her) but eventually caught it again on her very last hand. She raised pre-flop from the button and I 3bet my big blind, which had no effect on the 4-5 calling stations already in the pot. Board came JJ68K and I scooped a gigantic one, ending the session +$70 after about 3 hours.

Next up, Monte Carlo, where I had booked a room for only $49 a night through the poker room. Only had to play 5 hours a day to qualify. I started on Wednesday morning at 3 a.m. while there were 4 tables running -- two $2/$4 limit's, one $4/$8 limit, and one $1/$2 NL. I sat in on the $2/$4 and immediately hit some hot hands but lost a bunch when my AA (UTG) was cracked by... 96o(BB) which filled a boat. BTW there was only one $2 blind in this game and no small blind. But the rake was capped at $3 plus the $1 high hand jackpot drop. They rake in 25-cent increments so it's not so bad. One guy sat down and got quad queens within 5 minutes, winning a $360 jackpot. He actually put it into play, making my mouth salivate (he wasn't all that good), but the game went shorthanded around 4 a.m. and eventually died at 5:45, by which time I was literally the last player remaining in the room. Net: -$50.

I played at Monte again that evening, this time trying the $4/$8 for the first time. They have this weird-ass structure that I strongly recommend against playing. The blinds are half-sized ($1/$2 instead of $2/$4) yet if you raise pre-flop, the bet goes to $6, and a re-raise makes it $10. BTW, betting in Vegas caps at 4 raises not 3 -- yikes. The half-blind structure encourages more players to enter the pot for cheap, but it also makes it extremely hard to count the pot on the flop. E.g., if there are 6 players in for $2, on the flop you are getting only 3:1 pot odds not 6:1. But if there's a raise pre-flop, and 6 players, the pot odds go to 9:1! It's totally wacked. What's worse, the game is played with a 1/2 kill so every once in a while it turns into a $6/$12 game with $1/$2 blinds and a $3 kill blind. Raising pre flop makes it $9 to go. How fucked up is that?

Once again, there was one bad player winning all the pots and everyone was on serious tilt trying to take her down. In two hours, I managed to play only 3 hands before our table broke and was combined with another. At the new $4/$8 table, we had a mix of good players and total newbies who had no idea how to play. Predictably, the newbies were catching all kinds of gutshots and 2-outers against the tight players. I raped this old lady's ace high flush with a boat but on the very next hand, she caught a set on the river with 88 against my TP that I had been raising like there was no tomorrow. Later I got my top two pair (AJ) crushed by QTs (despite my 4-betting preflop against a live straddler) when he caught a straight on the turn and capped it for $40... ouch. The very next hand, I got AK and raised again, getting no respect from 7 cold callers, and lost that hand. Up until those two hands, I was only down like 8 BB but I walked away from the table -$120 or so.

On my last day, I returned to Bally's and played their $4/$8, which has a normal structure ($2/$4 blinds, no kill). Without all the confusion of bizarre pot counting and killing, I was able to play my normal "A" game and kicked some serious fish ass. Once again, we had one lucky shit catching all kinds of bizarre hands with 52o and 75s. But he paid me off big time whenever I hit TPGK and he chased his gutshots the river. I finally hit a couple huge sets after missing them all week, and they paid off big time. Also nailed a flush with 63s in the BB (unraised), hahaha. Net: +$190 in about 3 hours.

I was feeling good and finally in the black, so I figured I'd give the $1/$2 NL game at Bally's a shot. After waiting for 1/2 hour, I got a seat in perfect position to the left of 3 extremely aggressive players who were routinely raising $10-20 pre flop. Somehow whenever I got good cards, they would muck or limp, so I got to play them cheap or become the aggressor. But yet again, there was one lucky bitch who was catching all sorts of sets and premium hands, and she kept making it expensive to play. I bluffed her out of one pot with absolutely nothing (QJs UTG) when an ace fell on the turn. I also won with AQ when I flopped a Q. And I bet out my 44 into weakness in LP despite all overcards, got one caller to the turn, bet heavy but got called again, and actually won the free showdown vs. his busted flush draw! Other than those three hands, I don't think I won any pots. I only played for 2 hours and then I had to go to the airport. I was happy not to lose my whole stack to those aggressive guys. Net: +$10.

Well, that turned out to be about 10x longer than I intended. Really the only thing I wanted to tell you all was to avoid the bizarre games at Monte Carlo, as the blinds and kill structure are just too confusing and will mess you up if you're used to straight $0.50/$1 or $1/$2 games where the small blind is exactly half the big blind which is exactly one small bet. I'm sure there are ways to adjust your strategy to maximize your advantage in these games but why bother when there are straight $4/$8 games available that are easily beatable using SSH techniques?

Oh yeah, the other thing I wanted to convey is that the $4/$8 games in Vegas play exactly like $0.50/$1 limit at Party! All you need is the roll, everything else is child's play!! I really thought I might be up against some tougher competition but seriously, every pot was 6-8 handed and all kinds of crap hands were shown down. My $1/$2 limit home game is 3x tougher... SERIOUSLY.

ChezJ

Glad you had an enjoyable time in Vegas. I'm only a year away before I can make my venture there. I do have one advice about avoiding the fish in small stakes limit games. The limits just above the casino's minimum is usually a fairly better table to play at because there are still fish but they don't start cold calling with insane crap that catches most of the time. Pots are not contested by the whole table. Camping for cards actually works. at a local casino, we have 4/8, 5/10, 10/20 and 20/40 limit games... the 4/8 and 5/10 are two completely different beasts compared to the difference in price. I highly recommend you move up one level next time you go.

Oh, by the way, how did you get your room at a discount? That would help me in the future, thanks.

Agreed. They call with anything. I saw a table once capped pre-flop with one guy holding AA and one guy holding KK. Winner? Guy folding 4-8 o/s when he hit two pair.

But luckily, his luck was short lived

I played at Monte again that evening, this time trying the $4/$8 for the first time. They have this weird-ass structure that I strongly recommend against playing. The blinds are half-sized ($1/$2 instead of $2/$4) yet if you raise pre-flop, the bet goes to $6, and a re-raise makes it $10

This sounds like spread limit. Usually offered as the lowest limit in the poker room. Biloxi Grand deal this game at the majority of tables.

just to make it clear, the 4/8 at monte was the second lowest limit (and it was fixed not spread limit), and at bally's it was the 3rd lowest. made no difference whatsoever in terms of fishiness. next time i go to vegas, i am starting at 5/10. no question.

regarding the poker room rates, all you have to do is call the poker room and book through them instead of the hotel reservation line. at some casinos you have to be "rated" beforehand (have an established record of playing 5 hours a day) but at monte you don't. they just give you a time card when you get there and you have to punch in and out like you're at work. oddly enough, it is a handwritten card not computerized, and when i checked out at the front desk, they didn't even look at it. so i question how anyone at checkout even knew if i played the proper number of hours... <shrug> what i do know is that when i called to ask for an extension of my checkout time, they said "you have VIP status so that will be no problem." cool.

ChezJ

Sorry, I was unclear. I wasn't saying you were playing spread limit, just that it sounds like spread limit. Those games are full of fish trying to see a $2 flop.