My trip is going well thus far. We got into town on Wednesday around 5:00 PM. After dinner, I went to the Bellagio and played in the $8/$16 Hold’em game. The game was soft, but I was card dead for a while. Fortunately, I got on a rush and finished with an $80 profit in just a few hours. I played at the Bellagio again on Thursday. The game was $15/$30 and not too much tougher than the $8/$16. There were several old Asian people gambling it up. The difference between bad players in low-limit games and bad players in mid-limit games is that the mid-limit players are more aggressive. They’re a little tougher to play against, but they will pay you off well if you hit a big hand. In my experience, there’s a world of difference between $15/$30 and $30/$60 though. Players in the $30/$60 games seem like maniacs, and many of them are, but they are very aggressive and play fairly well after the flop. My guess is that a very good player could make more playing $15/$30 and experience fewer swings. Anyway, the Bellagio has had some good games. I hope they’ll stay that way.

I decided to play $3/$6 Hold’em at Caesar’s Palace after midnight. I had won $650 at the Bellagio earlier that day and wanted to protect my win. I’m sure I would make more money in the long run playing $15/$30; but since I’m on vacation, I want to stay relaxed and not be stressed out by the short-term luck factor. Plus, it had been a while since I had played in a game full of really bad players. I got off to a very bad start, losing more than half of my $100 buy-in. I won a few big pots toward the end of my session, however.

The guy two to my left was straddling every time he was under the gun; he pissed way a lot of money in the process. On one hand I was in the small blind with AQs. The guy straddled and got a bunch of callers. I decided to just call. When it got back around to him, he three-bet and everyone called (I probably should have made it four bets, but I pussed out). I flopped a boat, Queens full of Aces, and won a big pot from an unlucky lady holding QJ. I finished that session a $95 winner. Not too bad.

I would be playing more poker, but I’ve got lots of other things to do with my Dad and step-family. I’ll still be playing at the Bellagio today and probably tonight as well. I’ve also got all day tomorrow. Expect a follow-up post soon.

-Matt

Categories: Trip Reports
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