Wasted Away Again on Superbowl Sunday

Now that the greatly disappointing January is over and life was getting back to somewhat normal status, my lifelong best friend, Kentucky Rock ("KR") and I take our third annual trek to Las Vegas for Super Bowl weekend. We gather early Saturday morning at the Nashvegas International Terminal and head to the gate with the other cattle to take the non-stop Southwest 7:00 am flight to Sin City. We have been very happy the past two years with our fun at the Super Bowl parties. In year one, we had a very big time at the Mandalay Bay party. Fireworks, food and huge screens in their arena. Nice. In year two, we went to the Palms party, and did not have quite as good a time, except I did meet Pete Rose (in LV of all places) while KR was getting a big screen view of Janet Jackson's boob. Sigh, two interesting tidbits from last year.

This year, we land in LV at 10:00 am and head straight to Caesar's to check in. Not a bad deal for the trip and is really in a great location. But this is Vegas, and we hit the Bellagio before noon. I get on the list for 2-5 No Limit and KR gets on the 4-8 Limit List. Both are longer than my...., well lets just say that the lists are long. I decide to sit down in the 10-20 NL while the fish bowl at the 2-5 clears out. I sit down with $1,200 at a newly opened table. The average stack is around $2,000, so I feel good about my stack size. I work it up to $1,500, when this hand comes up.

UTG limps, folded to CO who makes it $60 (he has been decently active), I make a slightly weak call on the button with KJs. Both blinds call as does the UTG limper. The flop comes J83 with one to my suit. checked to me and I make a 2/3 pot bet of $240. UTG calls. Turn is the 6 of my suit. UTG checks, I think for a few moments and then bet $440, a little less than half the pot, fully prepared to follow him in if he shoves. I have $760 left behind. He calls, which confused me greatly. The River is an offsuit Ace. He looks at it and then bets $500. I go into the tank. What would you do? I really do not think that card could have helped him. I actually put him on 9-10 without a flush draw. I finally call. He taps the table and mucks his hand. Soon after that I take my $1500 win and go to the 2-5, have some fun and unfortunately lose a big pot at the end of the session to lose $400 in the fish tank.

$330 Golden Nugget NLHE.

I had decided that I was going to play in this event before we left on the trip. I had hoped that KR would join me in the tournament, but the 4-8 was too juicy for him and he declined. I rebought and made it to 10th place, paid 9. Sigh. No significant hands, but I was happy to grind out the finish with what could be said was the worst cards possible. Negative $660. Still up for the trip and with my views on the $2-5 at the Bellagio for the Super Sunday day of cards.

Super Bowl Sunday (This one's for you Gyndok)

KR has a tradition on this trip of sleeping in late, while I can't sleep past 7:30 am in Las Vegas regardless of the late night before. I get up and go over to the Bellagio and get a seat relatively quickly in the must move table of $2-5 NL. I lose the first $200 buy in within the first orbit on a busted flush draw semi bluff. I rebuy and build it up to $800 with solid play getting paid off after my bluff got exposed. I get moved to the main table where the following hands comes up after I get my stack up to $1200:

I was in the 10 seat on the button. The only stack close was in the seven seat with $880 (I counted pre flop), lets call him the Manhattan Beach Maniac (“MBM”). Unfortunately for MBM, he was already doing shots of tequila when I sat down at 9:30 am (don’t you just love those guys on vacation in Vegas). MBM makes his standard open raise to $20. Now when I say standard, I mean MBM opened every hand pre flop with that bet. I guess it was the number of chips that were comfortable in his hand. I look down at the 5-6 of clubs, just the type of hand to play against this guy, and I call. The Big Blind calls as well.

FLOP: Q76 rainbow. Interesting.

BB Checks, MBM bets $50, again his standard bet on any flop. I call, BB folds. I am planning on making some kind of move on the turn depending on the card.

Turn: 8 completes the rainbow. Board now reads Q876.

MBM bets $50 again. Now I make it $200 with an interesting card for my hand and a perfect bluff card. MBM thinks, then calls. Okay, not great but nonetheless, regardless of the river, if he checks I am moving all in. I cannot put him on a Q, I thought maybe A-9.

River: Q, Board now reads QQ876. Okay, that could not have helped him.

MBM checks, I go all in. MBM thinks for a nanosecond and says “I call.” With that quick a call, I tap the table and say I can’t beat a call as I announce two pair and show my 5-6. He looks at it and says “your shit is slightly better than my shit” and shows 22. I take all $880 from him with him holding 22. I could not believe it, and the entire table shrieked “Oh my God!”

I look at him in wonder and only say one thing: “You called?” The dealer looks up to the podium as the drunk is staggering to the bathroom and says: “Put me on the play list right now!” MBM comes back and drunkenly builds his stack back up to $1,000 (after 5-6 rebuys), with no help from me. He goes to the main cage to cash $30,000 in Mandalay Bay chips to make his Super Bowl Wager of $20,000 on the Patriots (yes he had a bad day). When MBM had been gone long enough doing this transaction to get his second “No Player Button” I look at the dealer and say: “I do not care how long he is gone, and whatever blinds I have to post for him, DO NOT PICK HIM UP!” The entire table echoed my thoughts. Unfortunately, MBM never makes it back by the time I leave to go watch the game. Oh well, all good things must end.

One other hand of interest at this table. The player in the one seat was a nice kid, but super aggressive. He had reraised my preflop raise three times, and this hand came up a couple of orbits after the MBM gift. I have KQs in mid position and open for 20, he makes it a 50 with about 600 behind. Folds to BB, who calls, as do I.

FLOP: QQ4 rainbow.

Now sometimes it is right to slow play a monster flop like this, but this kid is ripe to be picked off, so after the BB checks I bet $90 (about half the pot), he raises to $200. BB folds. I immediately go all in. he goes into the tank for over a minute, says "you can't have a queen," calls and turns over A4. See sometimes aggressiveness early in a hand pays off. A 4 on the turn breaths some life into him, but the river was not the miracle 4 and I take down a very nice pot.

I leave the table with $2850, a very nice and unexpected large win. It will be needed later in the day, I promise.

Super Bowl

KR and I go to Marguaritaville to watch the game as we are not high rollers and all the big parties have since been shut down in Vegas thanks to the NFL. We have a blast and make our standard bets among ourselves to save that juice. Our bar tab and dinner tab is not insigificant, and I get relatively bored with the game at half time. Its off to the Mirage for the $220 w/rebuys NLHE. I am warning all now, the rest of the post is not pretty.

$220 Mirage Rebuy Event.

I leave KR at the restaurant and sprint to the Mirage Poker Room for the event. I sign up and find out that it is only two tables. I get to the tables after a couple of hands have been dealt. I rebuy immediately, a bad sign of things to come. I open up my "I am the best in the world" persona and proceed to build a massive stack and lose a massive stack and rebuy a few times in the interim. KR shows up and goes to the book to watch the rest of the game. The guys at the table were great fun, except for some punk Gynocologist from Houston who finds a way to remind guys about my rebuying habit. I do not remember any hands in the rebuy period, but I do have 9 rebuy receipts at home that shows I really do know how to give away chips sometimes. For more information on this timeframe, contact Gyndok, he unfortunately remembers it vividly.

Within the first orbit after the rebuy period is over, I pick up QQ in the SB. A solid player opens in mid position for a normal raise, the button calls, I go all in, a shorter stack in the BB calls instantly. The initial raiser thinks for 10 seconds looks at me and says, "your hand does not bother me, but I don't think I have the BB beat." He calls with A7o. Button folds. BB has 10s. Of course an Ace comes on the turn and knocks us both out. Sigh. What a bad way to spend my newly found MBM gift. Anyway, Gyndok goes on to finish second and says he enjoyed the extraordinarily large prize pool, which I am still waiting for my commission.

After the tournament, KR and I decide to play some 8-16 limit together. The above description of my alcohol-induced bad playing continued and I ended the day down $300 total. Stupid, but yet believable.

Monday, Poker Day

Okay, now that the wildness of Super Bowl Sunday has worked itself out of my system along with the alcohol, I head back to the Bellagio to continue play in the 2-5 NL. I play it all day, until 10:00 pm without any noteworthy hands, and cash out $50 down for the day. Thank goodness for the Ipod from Mrs. Grip for Christmas, it made the day go smoothly.

Tuesday, Poker Day II

Southwest has decided to treat us card players to a treat with a late non-stop leaving at 5:00 PM. Now, we can't waste such a treat and head back to the Bellagio for some more card craziness. The most interesting part of this day is that the casino staff was breaking down the room to begin its construction of the new room (which is impressive). There were only 15 tables or so going and one hand of interest. I am into the game for $600 and have $285 in front of me. KR comes over to remind me that it is time to leave. I play around to UTG and then in my last hand of the trip:

AA! I raise to 20, folds around to an aggresive guy in the CO. He makes it a $100 with $150 or so behind. Folds to me and I make it $200, and he stacks off. I call, he has AKs and is way behind. My hand holds up and I stand up down only $60 for the day.

Hit the airport and head back to Nashvegas, with the thoughts that I would not be back to Vegas in 2005. That does not hold out to be true, not even close.

The next post will describe the months of on line tournaments from February 2005 - May 2005. Some good, some bad and some downright ugly. After that post, my WSOP experience with other tidbits from June, all good.