Circle the city

LAS VEGAS -- Just got back in from an ambitious outing.

Got up after about 5 hours of sleep and decided to go to Freedom Park near downtown Las Vegas. Ran about a mile and a half there then played 19 holes of frisbee golf.

The park is off of Eastern, so I remembered Eastern leads up to Boulder Highway in a way. Eastern connects to Fremont Street, which becomes Boulder Highway. So I went up that way and stopped at Eastside Cannery.

There were only two limit tables going on at the time (right about lunch time) so I tried to just buy $1 chips at the cashier but they didn't have any and they directed me to the table games.

So I sat down at $4 minimum roulette and played the Gnome method. I won chips right off the bat by betting on red, but of course I didn't stop there. I played $4 more and lost there, then bet $8 and lost there and $16, lost again and then $32, which represented most of my chips.

But then it landed on red and I cashed out a slight winner (2 bets). I pocketed the new $1 chips for my collection and then drove back across town to MGM Grand, which was full of people.

Banana Republic (6-1) booked a win with AA vs AQ that aggressively 3-bet me in UTG+1at a NL$1/2 table there. So I'll take it.

I'm back at the 'Coast to regroup - I haven't eaten in about 24 hours, unusual for me but I feel fine and likely will eat soon. I would have at Eastside but the line was so long and then settled in at the MGM to play instead of eat. I'm glad I finally had a chance to shower.

At the Palms

LAS VEGAS -- Since the Palms is right across the street from the Gold Coast, I walked over to see what kind of poker room action was going on, especially because I usually don't get over to these casinos during other trips.

They have NL$1/3 ($500 max) and NL$2/5 ($1000 max). I settled in to a NL$1/3 game and lost a couple pots before these hands happened:

Hand 1: Q8s, small blind. Multiway, flop is 8, 2 hearts. I check-raise a shortstack that had to rebuy after committing his chips with JJ, 4's full of J's and lost to QQ Qs full of 4s.

He bets it out $7, I check-raise to $21, he calls. Turn is a blank, I bet out $40, he calls. River comes a blank, he only has about $40 left and I go "How much do you have?" and he folds.

Love it when people don't know they are committed.

Hand 2: Cat on button with JQs, raises to $12 when folded around. SB 3-bets to $36. I float him since we both have more than $500 on the table. Flop is xJK. He checks, I bet out $40. The dude, who reminds me of Tromley on the HBO miniseries Generation Kill, thinks about it and then asks me if I'll show if I fold. I shrug and say "Mebbe."

He folds and out of kindness I spread out the cards and say, "Pick one." He picks the one on the left, which is a J.

So the rest of the time he's thinking I hit my set and this 40-year-old guy wearing Full Tilt hat and shirt says I had KJ. The Tromley look-alike said he had QQ.

I play it up by saying the other card was a deuce and later that I thought I had 22. lol.

I left for Bally's and Bill's Gambling Hall later on, prolly my latest Saturday night in Vegas in memory. The graveyard supervisor at Bally's twice did not come up to seat me so I left both times.

Bill's poker room is just two tables near the Strip entrance. So I did not play there.

Hard Rock Casino's Poker Lounge

LAS VEGAS -- Decided to go right from the airport to the new Poker Lounge at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino here.

It's interesting and definitely new, but the vibe left me unimpressed.

As other people have noted previously, it's really a poker room instead of a lounge. There is a bar and some places to sit right at the front of the lounge, but once you're inside it's pretty much all business.

It's black in tone and the dealers all seem upscale. The players are pretty young and the play is mainly terrible, but it all didn't really hit me.

I sat at a NL$1/2, $300 max table and played for an hour. The so-called "Hard Rock Straddle" should really just be called a button straddle -- there's nothing really significant about it to where the casino should get credit.

Basically it's like a regular straddle but on the button. Unlike a Mississippi straddle (also on the button), with a button straddle the action starts UTG and then works its way around to the blinds, skipping the button, which acts last.

A Mississippi straddle forces the blinds to act first preflop and then the button has the last say.

My main thought about this room is that yes, it'll be added to the rotation and it does seem like it has its share of young toasters willing to donate, but it can't match the traffic (and fishiness) that say the MGM Grand has on a Saturday. About half to three-quarters of the Poker Lounge's tables were full and I think especially on opening weekend there should be every effort to fill every table.

Punk Hand of the Day

LAS VEGAS -- Even in Vegas, it's hard to pass up juicy tables online. At this table, four of my five opponents are losing players, including one stuck $25,000 and another stuck $51,000

Full Tilt NL$2/4, cap 6-max

Free hand converter brought to you by CardRunners

Seat 1: kurokitty ($434.30) -
Seat 2: Player292292 ($246.20) -
Seat 3: DSK77 ($566.75) -
Seat 4: sinden ($110.50)
Seat 5: samshady80 ($292)
Seat 6: d722215s ($179.30)


PRE-FLOP:

Player292292 posts small blind $2
DSK77 posts BIG blind $4
Dealt To: kurokitty


FOLD sinden
RAISE samshady80 ($14)
FOLD d722215s
RAISE kurokitty ($48)
FOLD Player292292
FOLD DSK77
RAISE samshady80 ($120)
CALL kurokitty ($72)


FLOP:

Pot: $246
   



TURN:

Pot: $246
     



RIVER:

Pot: $246
      



SHOWDOWN:
samshady80:

kurokitty:


kurokitty collected $243 from main pot with a full house, Tens full of Fives

SUMMARY:
Total pot: $246 Rake: $3

Final Board:
     

Seat 1: kurokitty button showed [Td Ts] and won 243 with a full house, Tens full of Fives - Net Gain/Loss: ($123)
Seat 2: Player292292 small blind folded before the Flop - Net Gain/Loss: ($-2)
Seat 3: DSK77 big blind folded before the Flop - Net Gain/Loss: ($-4)
Seat 4: sinden didnt bet folded - Net Gain/Loss: ($0)
Seat 5: samshady80 showed [Kh As] and lost with two pair, Aces and Fives - Net Gain/Loss: ($-120)
  
Seat 6: d722215s didnt bet folded - Net Gain/Loss: ($0)


Free hand converter brought to you by CardRunners

About to fly

Greetings from the Crown Room Club. I have a few minutes before my plane is going to board so why not enjoy a Leinekugel Sunset Wheat gratis? It's a reason to fly Delta, as I've previously posted.

I knew it was being served on planes but not in the CRC. Mebbe will have to come here earlier next time.

Capping off a pretty good day -- went to lunch with a co-worker and his dad and sham to Harold's Barbecue, which was pretty awesome. I'm not much of a Brunswick stew eater but I really enjoyed it. Not too crowded and as Sham noticed, next time it would be cool to eat at the bar where you can watch them in full BBQ action. Sweet.

Later went to Redan to frolf. My throws (and rollers) are getting better and I'm loving the putter again. Nice to be out in the woods.

Parked at work (the deck was completely full, all 10 decks, of Clemson-Alabama fans' vehicles, but I managed to find a space. Took the train in, gave me some time to catch up on my frolf notes that I've been taking since I started.

And now I'm here. Ready for my Labor Day vaca.

Ready to deploy

My bags have been packed for a few days. I can't believe it has been nine months since I have been in Vegas.

I can't wait to go and play at all the new (or converted) poker rooms, watch games and wager here or there at the sportsbooks, tackle great food and buffets.

I'm bringing at least a handful of frisbee golf discs, because I see there are at least three parks that have frolf courses and I'd like to scout them out before Gnome, Sham and I return in December.

I can't wait. Too excited.

It does suck though that elsewhere in the country, people are very preoccupied with the real danger of Hurricane Gustav.

HOTD

So I move in position to a guy who's $7,500 stuck. He liked to just jam all-in on me and I thought I could let him try that one more time.

Full Tilt NL$2/4, 6-max


Free hand converter brought to you by CardRunners

Seat 1: blackhole888 ($94.25) -
Seat 2: kurokitty ($404)
Seat 3: jongreenway ($756) -
Seat 4: PeterTho ($226) -


PRE-FLOP:

PeterTho posts small blind $2
blackhole888 posts BIG blind $4
Dealt To: kurokitty


CALL kurokitty ($4)
FOLD jongreenway
FOLD PeterTho
RAISE blackhole888 ($94.25)
CALL kurokitty ($90.25)


FLOP:

Pot: $190.5
   



TURN:

Pot: $190.5
     



RIVER:

Pot: $190.5
      



SHOWDOWN:
blackhole888:

kurokitty:


kurokitty collected $188.5 from main pot with a pair of Kings

SUMMARY:
Total pot: $190 Rake: $2

Final Board:
     

Seat 1: blackhole888 big blind showed [Qs Tc] and lost with Ace Queen high - Net Gain/Loss: ($-94.25)
  
Seat 2: kurokitty showed [Kc Kd] and won 188.50 with a pair of Kings - Net Gain/Loss: ($94.25)
Seat 3: jongreenway button didnt bet folded - Net Gain/Loss: ($0)
Seat 4: PeterTho small blind folded before the Flop - Net Gain/Loss: ($-2)


Free hand converter brought to you by CardRunners