[Sandman2369]

Ok, so part I entailed my first few hours in Vegas and a profit of a couple hundred dollars. Part II will cover the next two outings, and not so much success.

Day 2 found me inquiring about the SNG at the Luxor. I really did not have that “I want to play poker” attitude going that day, and I should have listened to my inner self. However, I sat down to play. It was a $53 SNG in which 70% of the $50 went to the prize money, and $3 increased your stack from $800 to $1,200. The rounds were 15 minutes, the blinds started at $25 - $50, and they doubled every 15 minutes. The typical SNG lasts just over an hour. Compare all this to my home games in which everyone starts with $6,000 in chips, and the rounds are 20 minutes. I tend to play pretty tight, but I knew I would have to make a move early if I wanted to survive. However, I never got the chance. First I could not catch a single playable hand. (My definition of playable and your definition of playable are probably different, but the majority of what I saw was not much better than 72 off suit. When I would see a face card and want to make a move, I had someone raising 5 times the big blind before me, and I would fold away. When the action was checked or folded around to me, and I decided to play my trash, would normally pick up the blinds uncontested. However, the blinds were moving to fast. Before I knew it, I was down to 10 BBs. Then 6 and I had to move all in. Picked up a few more blinds, and finally got called by the chip leader. His Qs held up against my Krags, and the tourney was over for me. I can honestly say, this is probably the first time I was upset leaving a table. Not because I lost, but because I could not play. Tourney started at noon, and it was 5 in the afternoon before I was civil to my wife and friends. (Subtract $53 from my previous winnings, and I am still up $180)

The next two days found my buddy and I playing limit. My goal each day was to make $100 and head over to no limit with my profits. Didn’t happen. The first day was a dream come true. We had a steady flow of people that have played a little poker, but think that a pair is a good hand. However, I was never able to take advantage of it. Since these fish will call you to the river and are too ignorant to fold, you have to make sure you have the goods right. When would I have the best hand? Going up against the one or two people that knew what they were doing, and they would check call me at best or just fold on any raise I made. Still funny to think back to some of the comments we heard:

·But I had a pair
·Oh, does that beat me
·I don’t have anything, I just wanted to see what you had

FYI, this was at the Harrahs and while the wait staff was not the best to look at, they were by far the friendliest and fastest.

Stay tuned for Part III