Amateur Poker Association & Tour
Poker Forum => General Discussion => Member Blogs => Topic started by: Mikeyboy9361 on January 10, 2011, 20:26:47 PM
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Right don"t worry guys this isn"t going to be another blog you"re going to have to follow for ever, but I thought I would recount some of my Vegas high lights, as most of us like to read anything we can about Sin City and its affects on our APAT community.
So last Monday after an incredibly crazy day at work, I returned home to pack and head down to Heathrow and meet up with some of the guys who were to accompany me to Vegas. Two hours later I am still in Barnoldswick, and my head is spinning as I frantically search for my Passport!
Now I am usually a really organised kind of fella, so I was in a real quandry, where the hell was it! I really thought I was going to have to pull out of the trip, causing major embarrassment and heart ache for yours truly. Anyway suffice to say I did finally find it,in the attic in my suit carrier, how it got there is a mystery to me still.
So goodbyes to wife and sons, and 4 hours later I am at the Radisson Heathrow. Too late for a convivial meal, but not for a few beers!
Samsung Electronics were the kind sponsors of this trip, with the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) being the reason for our voyage. This is one of the biggest shows in the World and gives people like myself a sneak preview into what the Manufacturers are bringing into the UK in the coming year.So we had to be away at the crack of dawn, for our flight to LA, yep LA, what a nightmare the flight isn't direct, but at least we were in Premium Economy! Flight was fine, food not great, but the worst thing was a two hour queue at immigration,what a shambles and then a further 2 hours wait for our final jump to Vegas.
At Mc Carran we were met by a stretch Hummer to take us to the Bellagio, a fabulous hotel with a great reputation, and we weren't to be disappointed.
Now after being ensconced in our rooms, the plan was a meal and a few beers before bed. FFS I'm in Vegas, I can eat and drink any where!
So I ditched the meal and headed to Treasure Island, where they run a $50 tournament that's starts at 10pm.
Well maybe sitting down and playing a tournament after being up for 27 hours isn't a great plan, but I was in Vegas and desperate to play.
TBH I wasn't over impressed with the TI card room, it was pretty small, and felt like it was added as an after thought, but it didn't matter because I wasn't there that long!
I cannot remember a single hand from this tournament, I think my head was totally fried, so it wasn't really a surprise that I crashed out after about a couple of hours, but at least I had got my Vegas poker adventure off to a start.
The walk back to the Bellagio gave me the opportunity to view the Neon extravaganza that is Vegas at night, and on my arrival at my destination resulted in major neck ache!
Day two was an acclimatisation day, so where was I going to play?
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a great read Mike, looking forward to the next bit ;D
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a great read Mike, looking forward to the next bit ;D
+1
can you skip to the bit about the hookers please ;D
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a great read Mike, looking forward to the next bit ;D
+1
can you skip to the bit about the hookers please ;D
haha -1, let"s just do the poker. Anyway Mike is far too much of a gentleman to indulge in such things ;D
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Flying from Heathrow? With BA? Shoulda asked for the £400 upgrade to Club one-way. Worth it imo.
Sounds good though, looking forward to part 2!
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In response to the last two posts, he is far too tight to pay for either... :D
...but I AM looking forward to reading the next installment !
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...On the plus side I was able to watch the sun rise on the snow capped mountains outside Las Vegas, bloody gorgeous! I could have course have had a view of the strip, but that was 20 bucks a night more!
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I could never understand why anybody would prefer a strip view rather than a mountain view, almost every daybreak and sunrise I tried to capture how good they looked when I was there - never really succeeded though :(
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FFS $40 breakfast :o :o
I hope it was on expenses ;)
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worth paying for a good brekkie - you get a load of complete slop and junk for budget food in Vegas
mountain view FTW
good stuff mike - keep it coming
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The funny thing about Vegas is that the sun rises when you go to bed ???
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So my buddy Jason was doing okay as well, on about average stack. His claim to fame was that last time he was in Vegas, he came 3rd to Jamie Gold at a tournament in Caesers. He eventually went in about 50th place, a decent run for his money. I was paying for my card rush though, and was card dead for a while, until my table was broken up, and I got landed next to the Chip leader a big Russian guy.
He was playing every pot, and seemed to be calling down every hand, all I had to do was bide my time. Unfortunately time was running out as people were beginning to hit the rail at an alarming rate, but I kept winning the odd pot to keep me afloat. We were then amazingly joined by a Woman from Yorkshire, not only was she from Yorkshire, but she was from Haworth ( of Brontes, and Haworth Bantam fame), a village about 15 miles from where I live, what are the chances?
As we got down to four tables I was moved again, and was basically in shove or fold mode, when the SB who had been raising my BB for the last few orbits, merely called, with attention waning I thought he had raised again and mucked my hand face up. At which point I was quite happy to give him the pot, but the dealer called over the TD who said the hand was still live, and allowed me to check, the flop was dealt and neither a 3 or 7 landed, therefore I checked the BB bet and took the pot. The TD then informed me I would have to take a one orbit penalty, WTF ! This meant that I would lose 9 antes as well as my BB again. But unfortunately I don't know the intricacies well enough to know if I was being badly done to or not, so just took the beat.
By the time I got back I was in a perilous state, but some how managed to pick my spots and hang on until the final two tables. The top 13 were getting paid, and so I made it my aim to cash in only my second Vegas tournament. This wasn't easy as I was totally card dead, but the guy to my right was deep stacked and by palling on with him, got him to give me a couple of walks in the BB !
I was then dealt AK, two hands in a row, and pushed for about 5BBs and didn't get a caller either time, one from the Button who had A9, FFS!
So any way that got me live again, and ended up pushing with A10, and being called by the CL who had AQ. Darn, thought I was out the door, but was saved by the board pairing twice.
The Bubble was so funny, I was the short stack and felt like a rabbit in the gun sights, players were up and down, spectators were reporting back to their mates on the other table, but when it burst, I was still in...yee ha.
I even managed to ladder up to 11th and win $290, so after 7 hours play I had won $140, but I was chuffed to bits, I had just cashed at the Venetian!
A few celebratory beers were definitely in order back at the Ballagio, which then changed to some amazingly strong G & Ts! The group then decided it was food time and Samsung kindly treated us to a meal in the Jasmine Restaurant. This is a very nice Chinese, but the Maitre D certainly saw us coming, and recommended that he would select a choice of dishes that would suit our group. $2000 lighter we walked out!! Thank goodness for the generosity of Samsung.
I was about midnight now, and the thought struck me, how about a bit of cash! But for once my brain over rode my Poker obsession, and forced me to wend my way to the 24th floor for a bit od shut eye, before the show tomorrow.
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The TD then informed me I would have to take a one orbit penalty, WTF ! This meant that I would lose 9 antes as well as my BB again. But unfortunately I don't know the intricacies well enough to know if I was being badly done to or not, so just took the beat.
Standard penalty for a mistake at the venetian I"m afraid (I got a similar penalty in TI but it was for colourful language).
Good reading, very good
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I have always found the Venetian to be very fair on rulings and pretty consistent. Only thing I found strange was that they don"t allow speech play. This is also the area I found the dealers to be a tad inconsistent.
Well done on cashing Mike. How much was up top?
How many were in your group for the $2000 meal?
Look forward to next part.
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4K for the winner.
12 at the meal.
But when down to two tables, another guy accidentally exposed his cards when he thought his opponent was all in, and he didn"t get penalised. All the guys on my table thought my penalty was harsh though.
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Sounds like a great trip ... dying to get back to Vegas and play more face to face poker ...
Also could do with a real Chinese feast ... we were out in Wood Green tonight for £11 a head ...
L
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The temperature in the morning in Vegas was only 2 or 3 degrees but with clear blue skies and no damp, meant that I was just wearing a shirt,
I know that anything goes in Vegas but how did you not get arrested for that?
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The temperature in the morning in Vegas was only 2 or 3 degrees but with clear blue skies and no damp, meant that I was just wearing a shirt,
I know that anything goes in Vegas but how did you not get arrested for that?
Depends on how long the shirt is. Anyway LV Metro PD were probably busy elsewhere shooting unarmed civilians for making "furtive movements".
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Can we have a bit less about the sunrises, breakfasts and porn stars, and a bit more about the poker please ? Okay... maybe just a little bit about the porn stars ;D
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Can we have a bit less about the sunrises, breakfasts and porn stars, and a bit more about the poker please ? Okay... maybe just a little bit about the porn stars ;D
Remember this was a business trip! And fitting in the Poker was a bonus! :)
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Remember this was a poker trip! The fact it was paid for by Samsung was a bonus! :)
FYP :D
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The TD then informed me I would have to take a one orbit penalty, WTF ! This meant that I would lose 9 antes as well as my BB again. But unfortunately I don't know the intricacies well enough to know if I was being badly done to or not, so just took the beat.
Standard penalty for a mistake at the venetian I"m afraid (I got a similar penalty in TI but it was for colourful language).
Good reading, very good
Ridiculous penalty for an honest mistake.
Also, are you not allowed to open fold? You don"t have to check...
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Great write up Mike. Can"t believe you played J3 :o
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Part of my report from January.
He was playing every pot, and seemed to be calling down every hand, all I had to do was bide my time. Unfortunately time was running out as people were beginning to hit the rail at an alarming rate, but I kept winning the odd pot to keep me afloat. We were then amazingly joined by a Woman from Yorkshire, not only was she from Yorkshire, but she was from Haworth ( of Brontes, and Haworth Bantam fame), a village about 15 miles from where I live, what are the chances?
She only turns up on Telly playing in the Manchester UKIPT!
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Part of my report from January.
He was playing every pot, and seemed to be calling down every hand, all I had to do was bide my time. Unfortunately time was running out as people were beginning to hit the rail at an alarming rate, but I kept winning the odd pot to keep me afloat. We were then amazingly joined by a Woman from Yorkshire, not only was she from Yorkshire, but she was from Haworth ( of Brontes, and Haworth Bantam fame), a village about 15 miles from where I live, what are the chances?
She only turns up on Telly playing in the Manchester UKIPT!
Mike, if you are talking about Michelle she is also in the APAT Leeds team.
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No it isn"t Michelle, I can"t remember her name now! I think it was Suzannah or something like that! And it might have been DTD and not Manchester! Talk about vague ;)