So I just came back from our week-long vacation. It was supposed to be 50% hanging out with Billy's friends and 50% playing casino poker, but when I got there, it turned to 85% poker and the latter 15 for other things because I just basically lived at the casino playing poker. I played everyday for at least 8 hours and at most 14 hours. By the end of my trip, I was known by all the players and the staff and the casino felt like a second home of sorts.
Anyway, for the sake of table image, I decided to introduce myself as an online pro. It's to let people respect my play before I even played a hand; to get them to lay down when I need them to and to get action when I need action as well. The coolest part of the trip is that everyone was pretty convinced that I was a 26 year old online poker pro from New York because I had the game and the game analysis to back it up. Oh and I won a good lot too heh. Here's my day to day breakdown.
Sunday
Game: $10-20 limit holdem/omaha (1 round limit, 1 round omaha); $200 min buy-in ( I bought in for $400)
Story: Billy and I got to the casino around 10. I quickly found out that they do more of a limit game in the casino. And also, the New Zealand World Championships was just last week so the table was filled with poker pros who still hasn't flown out yet. Anyway, because I made the trip already, I figured I might as well play anyway, limit and no limit is pretty much the same hold-em anyway right? WRONG, I got crushed heh. Limit is very different, especially when you're against experienced players. For one, you can't push them out of a hand. So if you make your top pair, it's not a sure win. I have no idea how many times I got runner-runnered which turned out to be part of the game.
What was cool: First, the hottest and coolest Floor manager ever: Mariana. She had the glasses and the business suit and the quirky sense of humor that just makes me melt heh. Then I also met Michael, an Israeli poker pro who travels the tournament circuits. Because he had nothing else to do, we basically played in the same tables every night till they closed. I also knew I could pass as a pro when he sought my advice on hands and vice-versa. It was cool to have a buddy who knows poker inside and out, especially limit poker.
Not cool: Well, I got crushed so that wasn't fun.
Results: Lost $50. Which I was thrilled about because seriously, I have no idea how to play the game.
Monday
Game: $1-2 no limit holdem; $50 buy-in min/max
Story: This was a unique game. You can only buy in for 50 bucks and no more, no less. It's really to create more players who just want to try it out. But for me, it was no limit holdem so this time, my israeli friend was asking for my advice because this is more my game than his.
Not cool: With what would be my week long trend, I would crush the table the first few hours, get bored the next few hours and then end up donking off a lot of my chips so that I'd finish the night just above even.
Results: Won $20. Which sucked cause I killed the table but a winning night is a winning night.
Tuesday
Game: $1-2 no limit; $50 buy-in min/max
Story: There was supposed to be a weekly tourney, but because they just had the major tournament last week, not a lot of people showed up, so it ended up a no limit cash game. And here's the cool part: On my table, sitting two spots to my left, is poker pro who finished third in the main event . He had the aura of a successful tourney player and let everyone on the table know about it . Needless to say, I had to go after him.
What was cool: After frequently raising and showing premium hands after everyone folded, I developed a tight table image. So, to keep things mixing, I raised with 27 offsuit. The pro called the raise. Flop was A23. He checked, I bet out and he folded, showing 55. I showed him my 27 offsuit. I bluffed a World Series of Poker bracelet winner with 27 off suit. That is soooo my "Bluffing Johnny Chan in Rounders" story.
Results: A little better this time. Won $100. But not too big because I donked it again in the end.
Wednesday
Game: $1-2 no limit holdem
Story: At this point, I was really comfortable with the casino, the staff and the players. I would be singing a lot, talking to everyone about hands and flirting with the women dealers and Mariana.
What was cool: I would execute what would be my greatest set-up yet. At one point in the game, I got dealt consecutive AK and AQ hands and I would get nothing on the flop. I'd check it and another would bet and I'd fold showing AK or AQ. Even when I didnt have AQ or AK, if no ace came on the board, I'd say I threw away AQ. At one point, everyone was bully-betting me already if no A came. So I waited and got my AA. No ace came on the board, I checked it, a person bully bet me, I reraised him all-in and trapped him with my bullets. That trap was set-up hours before which was really cool.
Results: Won $200. Still not big enough because no limit is my game but again, a win is a win.
Thursday
Game: $4-8 limit holdem/omaha ($50 min) and a $10-20 limit holdem/omaha ($200 min)
Story: There wasn't a no limit game available. I was aiming to try and get good with the limit game anyway so I sat at the 4-8 table. Everyone I knew was at the 10-20 table and was goading me to play with them. I bought in for 200 and was down by a bit, so in the final hour, I switched to the 10-20 table to everyone's delight (they liked my singing heh). Predictably, they all grinded me down until the the very last hand which would turn out to be the hand that plucked my limit holdem cherry.
What was cool: At the last hand of omaha, I got dealt AA45 single suited. Since it was the last hand, everyone jammed it preflop. The flop gave me two more clubs and I was drawing to the nut flush. By this point, I was committed. So I called every bet and they were still jamming it. Thankfully, the board didn't pair and I got my club at the river. I won the biggest pot of the day. A $600 pot (24,000 pesos) on one hand on a 10-20 limit is pretty good heh.
Results: Won $600 and already starting to get a good rep among the pros.
Another cool part: The game ended early because of Good Friday, but it wasn't enough to satisfy the poker players. So I, Micheal (the israeli limit pro), Owen (an irish doctor) and Andrew ( a serious casino gambler), went to the bar across the street and continued playing. We ended up drawing a crowd and it felt all world series but in a bar heh. As predicted, the irish guy got all the hands, maybe because we were in a bar, his home court. So he won our mini-tourney and took home $100.
Friday
Story: The casino was closed. But the pros who were waiting for sunday flights had nothing to do. So we met up outside the casino and went out. This was where I was exposed to the poker lifestyle. The guys were basically throwing around money because let's face it, when you play 10-20, 20 dollars doesn't seem a lot because it's just one bet.
What was cool: What happened that night will always stay with me. It was my one night to live the poker pro lifestyle. Let's just say it involved a looooot of alcohol, buying strangers a lot of free drinks and a girl named Sky. Other than that, my lips are sealed.
Saturday
Game: $10-20 limit holdem/omaha; $200 min buy-in
Story: By this time, I was brimming with confidence. Limit games are patience games so I tried to keep it simple. I waited for hands that gave the nuts and played them. Hands that didnt have that, I threw away. It turned out, the strategy worked. I was up for most of the night and didn't fluctuate.
Results: Won $400.
Final Tally
It was a memorable week. It was kind of sad when I was leaving the casino because I spent so much time there and met so many interesting people that it was hard to let go of the lifestyle. But by then, Michael had already left for the next tournament in Australia so it was easier for me to leave. I flirted one last time with Mariana who turned out to be in a relationship with another dealer who was so goofy I couldnt help but laugh about. It's like one of those relationships where a hot chick ends up with a goofy guy. Oh well, good for them.
Financially, I won a lot on the trip but I spent so much which I tend to do on vacations, so I just ended up paying the trip off which was my goal anyway. What I really liked is that if I decide to one day, I can live the poker pro life because I have the game to back it up. I probably won't because theres so many other things I want to, but its good to have options.
And so, that was my week where I lived a totally different life and became a totally different person. It was cool and enjoyable and definitely a memorable experience I will never forget, but for now, it's good to be me again and back at home (my New Zealand home, that is).
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