I am out in wonderful Las Vegas. So far I played two tournaments and
have ran pretty card dead in both. I played one $1500 WSOP event at
the RIO and got knocked out on level 4 (four hours into the event). I
had QhQd and opened in early position for 4x the blinds. An older
gentleman smooth called on the button. Flop came out 4d9d2s. I bet out
three quarters of the pot and my opponent raised my all in. I started
the hand with 11k in chips. My opponent had 9k in chips. I called he
turned over AdKd turn Jh river As. I pick up 88 two hands later and
lost my lat 2 k in chips. For get talking about the tournaments.
On to the cash games. I have been trying to stay away from where the
pros have been playing and that has been working out nicely for me.
However, I really do like the $5/$10 game in the Rio tournament room.
The action is probably the best you can get in a $5/$10 game. Most of
the players opt to take advantage of the button straddle ($20 dollars
played on the button, and the action starts on the small bling). So the
game plays very big. I buy in for $1500 in this game and top up
whenever I get low in Chips. In terms of $2/$5 games I strongly
recommend that you stay away from rooms like the Belagio, Wynn, Caesars
or Venetian. Although I have a major edge playing in any $2/$5 game i
find that a lot of grinders play in these games. If you are looking to
play in a $2/$5 game I suggest that you find a room that non grinders
tend to go to. A few suggestions are the following. The Palms, MGM
Grand, Small Poker room at the Rio, and the Hard Rock.
I played at the Hard Rock on Trash Talk Tuesdays and the action was
just sick. Min buy-in was 300 and max was 3k. There was a mandatory 10
dollars Hard Rock straddle and the 2-7 game was always on. The game
played like a $5/$10 game and the skill level was quite low. A lot of
gambling and drinking was going on. If you are in Vegas on a Tuesday
then you must pay a visit to the Hard Rock. Oh and I ran into Alan
Boston playing while I was there. Boy did i want to play on his table.
If you need any advice about playing the WSOP or playing cash games
in Vegas give me a shout. And yes I do plan on playing satellites for
the main event (The best valued poker tournament in the world).
Cheers,
Errol
http://www.outstandingpoker.com