Played more tournaments than I can count, mostly at Fitzgerald's (we stayed there this year--good rooms, clean sheets and towels, and we got a corner view towards the Strip...we may very well be back there next year). the tourneys at the Fitz are good for the low buy in, but the stacks get short quickly, and it's harder to actually play poker. You get into push mode rather quickly, so if you're gonna shove, have a little something, because you will get called by a player holding 5 high or even 10 high, just because they have the stack to do it.
Anyway, had 3 tourney cashes at the Fitz, and played one other tourney at the Orleans. Really nice structure for the opening 4 rounds, but when the blinds jump from 300-600/25 (or 50 I forget) ante, to 400-800/75 to 700-1500/100, it gets fairly crazy. I sat in a field of 105, and busted out in 20th, when my Q-10 flopped 2 pair on a Q-10-K board. We got it all in after the flop, I got called by A-K. Ace on the turn. Ack.
That wasn't the worst beat I took, and I doled out some others. Worst one was 4 handed, I stick it in, short stacked with Kd-7d for a total of 7K. Get called by 3-3...he had 6500. Hit the 7 on the flop, player on the button announces he folded A-3 preflop. Yeah, one 3 left in the stub, and it showed up on the turn. Ack.
Did spike a 2 outer to make a full house against 10-10 and 6-6 (I had 8-8, the board paired jacks and I was dead to an 8....weeeeee!) Bad beats and good scoops aside, the tourneys were a blast.
The guys you see in the picture above are Grant and Lenn. Grant is still dealing at the Fitz, Lenn on a part time basis. Both are playing poker as their primary income, and Grant did well at the series. He had a final table finish in the Casino Employee's event, and missed the money in the Main Event by less than 100 players. The duo was playing a 1-2 game at the Fitz when I snapped the pic. I ended up sitting down and playing for a bit (the game broke about 5:30 a.m. lol), but we had a great time with poker's new table game, "What does Johnny Lodden think?" Lodden is a European pro, and the game is simple. Players determine a question, and they hold a chinese auction to set the line. For example, the question to Lodden (this one came up with Grant and Lenn), might be "What is the population of Hawaii?" The real answer is immaterial, it only matters what Lodden thinks is the correct answer. Player A says "650,000 and over." Player B counters with "800,000 and over" until they arrive at the number. Lodden gives his answer, which determines the winner of the over/under bet. I made Lenn about $40 dollars against Grant (no, I wasn't in on it, since Lenn never paid off!), but it was a riot. In the pic below, Grant and Lenn are there along with Mountain Man Kevin, and room manager Jimmy. Great staff, great times. Got to see Alan and Mike (the other room managers), along with some other familiar dealers Jennifer and Mindy.
In all, we had a great week. Our group did their thing playing tourneys and cash games, Mrs. Chipstack played her Keno while trying to remove all the cherry flavored vodka from the place one glass at a time (she failed miserably I might add, because they kept bringing in reinforcements!). Had the chance to catch up with 2 old friends, my buddy Mike from Chicago--last time I saw him was my 1st wedding in Chicago, and Trish, a gal I worked with in Texas at my first job in the business. That made the vacation that much better.
I should also point out I had some success in pit games, having a couple nice winning sessions at roulette, but also hitting a big hand in both Pai Gow (a straight flush that paid $250), and the pit version of Texas Hold 'Em. Was dealt AQ suited for a payoff of 20-1 on my bonus bet (turning $5 into $100), then making a full house on that hand, beating the dealer which doubled every other bet I had on the table. I walked from that hand up $200 for that session. In terms of real poker, I ended up $200 to the good in the side games as well. Basically, the picture above was a tough one to take. Saying goodbye to Sin City is never easy, but it's already less than a year before we head back!
Back to league reality this weekend, tourney number 2 in Season 5. To say I am ready would be a mild understatement!
Good luck and good cards,
~M
