xOneCoolHandx
Legend
Bronze Level
I was in Vegas a couple of weeks ago and even though I was there on business, I managed to get in a significant amount of live poker time. After not playing live in a couple of years, I came away with a lot of observations. Live poker has changed a lot over the last couple of years. The players are even worse than before. LOL. IDK if it is because they have gotten spoiled by the wild variance of online poker or that there are too many poker vloggers and streams out there showing players playing wildly.
I started off the trip by playing a $75 buyin at Ballys. There were 63 entrants so it was not a huge tournament, but my flight had gotten in late and it had a 11 pm start time and I really wanted to play. I made the final table as the 3rd biggest stack and we went to break while they sat up the final table. Being 3rd in chips is kind of misleading because even though I was 3rd in chips I only had about 20 BBs. The tournament had a very fast blind structure, so there weren't really any deep stacks. The very first hand of the final table, I open from UTG with T9s and get called by the HJ (who was the chip leader). The flop comes Q94 rainbow. I cbet my usual 1/3 pot since this flop was better for my range than my opponents range. He immediately asked how much I had behind then hesitated and shoved all in. I had seen him do this before with a marginal hand when we had been tablemates at the beginning of the tournament. I felt like he was weak and I made the call. He had AKo but turned a K. I don't tell this story because it's a bad beat story. I tell it because that was what I saw a lot of during my playing time.
I also saw a lot of limping and limp-calling with both big hands and junky hands at the cash tables. I played $1/3 and $2/5 at both Ballys and Bellagio. In fact, I had a guy named Cory (don't remember his last name) sit down by me at $1/3. This guy was a pro and his buddy (also a pro) and him were obviously partying hard (he seemed to be on coke...and not the cola kind and he was negotiating with a guy at the table behind us to buy a blunt) and they had a bet about being able to make money at a $1/3 table. Cory was telling us about his 5 wsop Circuit Rings and how he almost final tabled the Millionaire Maker. He played very aggressive and basically was trying to outplay the table with his aggression. Since he was on my left, I tried to trap him when it folded to me in the SB with KQs and I limped. He did raise me but I just called. Flop came K75 with two hearts. I checked to let him hang himself, he bet, I called. The turn came an offsuit 2. I checked, he bet again. I called. The river came an offsuit 9. I checked and he made a small bet. I really though about springing the trap but something smelled funny. He had been using big bets when he showed bluffs and small bets when he was strong. I still made the call and he had 72. I was a little steamed but that's poker. I did end up getting into two hands with him later and stacking him. He actually stopped even getting involved in pots if I had called or raised. (Humble brag). But there were some other really funky plays. 3 people limped and it got to me on the button. I had AKs and I made a raise to $16. Everyone folds but one. Flop comes K66. It gets checked to me and I make a bet of $30 into the $42 pot and get called. The turn comes T. I am a little concerned about what my opponent could have limp-called and then called a flop bet with. There really should not be many sixes in his range besides 76s, 56s, 66 and A6s, but, I had been seeing a lot of janky hands making calls like that all day. So, I check behind. River comes another T and he leads into me for $35. I have seen these kinds of blocker bets and it usually means that the opponent has a medium strength hand like top pair and he doesn't want to see a lot of money go into the pot OR the player has a monster and makes the small bet to look like he doesn't want a lot of money to go into the pot hoping that I WILL raise him. This same player had shown a big bluff about a half hour before when he was in a pot with Cory. So, I couldn't completely rule it out either. So, I make the call and he has J6s. UGH. I am having ACR flashbacks.
My new "friend" Cory announces he is leaving for the Bellagio to play in what he describes as a juicy $2/5 game. My buddy and I decide to follow him over but I end up at a different table than Cory at first. I should have just started at Bellagio. Three hands into the game, I am in the BB with a straddle. HJ raises to $30 and I 3 bet with 77 to $100. It fold back around and HJ calls. I check dark and the flop comes 77Q!!! HJ bets small and I call. I check dark again and an ace comes. I could physically tell that he had an ace (not telling how...maybe in a future post about live tells). He bet the pot. There were two diamonds and two hearts on board and I wanted him to think I was just drawing so I Hollywood-ed a bit and "reluctantly" made the call. I don't even remember the last card because as soon as it hit, I gulped and said ALL-IN and covered my mouth with my hands while staring down the HJ to give off all the reverse tells that I could. IT WORKED. That was the highlight of my trip.
There are lots of other stories to tell. Some good, some bad, some of missed chances, like I was going to play in a $300 Bounty tournament at the Venetian but I was too tired after playing until 4 am most nights and spending 6 or 7 hours of the day working. But, in closing, I will say that live poker is alive and well and loose and splashy. There is still a lot of money to be made there.
Fell free to leave comments. I will be going back Feb 25 for another week if anyone wants to plan a trip out there.
I started off the trip by playing a $75 buyin at Ballys. There were 63 entrants so it was not a huge tournament, but my flight had gotten in late and it had a 11 pm start time and I really wanted to play. I made the final table as the 3rd biggest stack and we went to break while they sat up the final table. Being 3rd in chips is kind of misleading because even though I was 3rd in chips I only had about 20 BBs. The tournament had a very fast blind structure, so there weren't really any deep stacks. The very first hand of the final table, I open from UTG with T9s and get called by the HJ (who was the chip leader). The flop comes Q94 rainbow. I cbet my usual 1/3 pot since this flop was better for my range than my opponents range. He immediately asked how much I had behind then hesitated and shoved all in. I had seen him do this before with a marginal hand when we had been tablemates at the beginning of the tournament. I felt like he was weak and I made the call. He had AKo but turned a K. I don't tell this story because it's a bad beat story. I tell it because that was what I saw a lot of during my playing time.
I also saw a lot of limping and limp-calling with both big hands and junky hands at the cash tables. I played $1/3 and $2/5 at both Ballys and Bellagio. In fact, I had a guy named Cory (don't remember his last name) sit down by me at $1/3. This guy was a pro and his buddy (also a pro) and him were obviously partying hard (he seemed to be on coke...and not the cola kind and he was negotiating with a guy at the table behind us to buy a blunt) and they had a bet about being able to make money at a $1/3 table. Cory was telling us about his 5 wsop Circuit Rings and how he almost final tabled the Millionaire Maker. He played very aggressive and basically was trying to outplay the table with his aggression. Since he was on my left, I tried to trap him when it folded to me in the SB with KQs and I limped. He did raise me but I just called. Flop came K75 with two hearts. I checked to let him hang himself, he bet, I called. The turn came an offsuit 2. I checked, he bet again. I called. The river came an offsuit 9. I checked and he made a small bet. I really though about springing the trap but something smelled funny. He had been using big bets when he showed bluffs and small bets when he was strong. I still made the call and he had 72. I was a little steamed but that's poker. I did end up getting into two hands with him later and stacking him. He actually stopped even getting involved in pots if I had called or raised. (Humble brag). But there were some other really funky plays. 3 people limped and it got to me on the button. I had AKs and I made a raise to $16. Everyone folds but one. Flop comes K66. It gets checked to me and I make a bet of $30 into the $42 pot and get called. The turn comes T. I am a little concerned about what my opponent could have limp-called and then called a flop bet with. There really should not be many sixes in his range besides 76s, 56s, 66 and A6s, but, I had been seeing a lot of janky hands making calls like that all day. So, I check behind. River comes another T and he leads into me for $35. I have seen these kinds of blocker bets and it usually means that the opponent has a medium strength hand like top pair and he doesn't want to see a lot of money go into the pot OR the player has a monster and makes the small bet to look like he doesn't want a lot of money to go into the pot hoping that I WILL raise him. This same player had shown a big bluff about a half hour before when he was in a pot with Cory. So, I couldn't completely rule it out either. So, I make the call and he has J6s. UGH. I am having ACR flashbacks.
My new "friend" Cory announces he is leaving for the Bellagio to play in what he describes as a juicy $2/5 game. My buddy and I decide to follow him over but I end up at a different table than Cory at first. I should have just started at Bellagio. Three hands into the game, I am in the BB with a straddle. HJ raises to $30 and I 3 bet with 77 to $100. It fold back around and HJ calls. I check dark and the flop comes 77Q!!! HJ bets small and I call. I check dark again and an ace comes. I could physically tell that he had an ace (not telling how...maybe in a future post about live tells). He bet the pot. There were two diamonds and two hearts on board and I wanted him to think I was just drawing so I Hollywood-ed a bit and "reluctantly" made the call. I don't even remember the last card because as soon as it hit, I gulped and said ALL-IN and covered my mouth with my hands while staring down the HJ to give off all the reverse tells that I could. IT WORKED. That was the highlight of my trip.
There are lots of other stories to tell. Some good, some bad, some of missed chances, like I was going to play in a $300 Bounty tournament at the Venetian but I was too tired after playing until 4 am most nights and spending 6 or 7 hours of the day working. But, in closing, I will say that live poker is alive and well and loose and splashy. There is still a lot of money to be made there.
Fell free to leave comments. I will be going back Feb 25 for another week if anyone wants to plan a trip out there.
