Poker Articles

WSOP

To start I was impressed with the Rio and how they had set the place up for the tourneys. The room is big enough to play in and also hold ever running sats. I was also intrigued by the few booths that were set up around the outside of the room, so much so that I envy those who will be there for the upcoming spectacle. I heard that on July 6th there will be a kind of “poker circus” full of booths hawking everything poker – should be fun!
A special room full of props to full tilt. They easily had the coolest place there. Sure, during the main event, I’m certain all the major sites will have rooms set up, but tilt was doing it every day. Between the nice spread of food, internet access, and no hassle giveaways they were the class act of the preliminary events. Snatching the last cheese Danish before Jesus got to it was a nice bonus also ;o)

Poop

I got a few smiles early with my fake dog poop card marker. Then a guy came late and sat next to me. In a british accent he asked “Are you going to leave that on the table?”
I wanted to mess with him a little so I said, “Let me guess… you’re from Wales?”
Well, he got all upset and called the floor. When he got there he had trouble keeping a straight face, but said, “As long as he doesn’t call it by its proper name it’s fine.”
As players came and went over the next six hours It was a nice icebreaker and we all had a good time and made quite a few jokes. One guy asked where the dog was, so I told him the dog died and this was all that was left to remember my dog “lucky” with. I told another guy that my baby daughter wanted me to have something of hers at the table.
After the second break we started breaking players right and left and a whole flock of new guys came and went. The best line I heard was the guy who asked, “Did you make that yourself?”

Food

I love to eat and vegas has good food in spades. For starters and I mean breakfast, do yourself a favor and go eat the buffet at the Bellagio. It’s not really that they have much different food there than any other buffet, it’s the quality of it. From the coffee to the caramel sauce and all the many dishes in between, it is so good you won’t want to leave.
If you want a break from the strip, a great place to go is Bahama Breeze. Head up Flamingo Road to Paradise Road and check this place out. The appetizers and drinks alone are worth the trip in this loud hangout full of mostly locals, but if you are really hungry, the main dishes are huge and very good. One note – don’t get the ribs. If you want ribs make the trip to Memphis Championship Barbeque. They don’t get much better.
If you want to splurge I highly recommend NobHill at the MGM, Commander’s Palace at the Desert Passage, and Le Cirque at the Bellagio.
Oh yeah, the seafood buffet at the rio doesn’t suck also  ;o)

My wife and poker

Our last night in vegas we got a sitter for the kids and went out for a nice meal. Afterwards we decided to gamble a little, but since I don’t play anything else besides poker she agreed to try it also. So we found the new poker room/area at the MGM and got out names on the 2/4 limit holdem list.
While we waited I sat in a 1/2 nlhe game and man was it soft. By the time we got seats I was already ahead a bit and hated to leave.
I had given her a quick tutorial and she sat with $100 of my money. Well, I figured she was kinda bored and wanted a little action because she started playing almost every hand. She was a prototypical calling station and although she won a few hands she gave it all back plus more by a lot of bad calls.
One hand in particular almost gave me a stroke. As usual she called before the flop and so did four other players. She was under the gun and checked the flop of A88 with two clubs. The only other woman at the table bet and she and one other player called. The turn brought a 3 of hearts and again she checked and called the woman’s bet. The river was the A of Spades and again she checks and calls so I figure her for an ace, that is, until she turns over her pocket 88. She had flopped quads and never raised. I told her if she had only raised on the river it would have been a great play.

Vegas life outside poker

My family and I really enjoyed a few of the attractions. Shark Reef at the Mandalay Bay is cool but expensive and on the short side. A better value is to combine it with the Imax and other attractions at the Luxor and walk across the Mall/Bridge that connects the two hotels.
Also fun and overpriced is the Star trek thingee at the Hilton. As far as the free stuff goes, the aminatronic show at Ceasar’s is cool and of course, if they are running, the dancing water show at the Bellagio is the best. We also loved the pool/lazy river at the MGM and the wave pool/lazy river combo at the Mandalay Bay looked great.