skalie.org Skalie – AKA – Jon Kalmar’s poker blog

Sunday 10^th July

This is what its all been building up to. The $10,000 main event. The biggest poker tourney of the year. Many people expected a massive drop in numbers this year due to the recent internet sites having legal issues. I expected a drop but not by as much as many predicted. I hear there was well over 6000 entries this year, if so that is amazing.

We start with 30,000 chips and it’s a two hour clock. I pretty much fail to win a single pot in level 1 finishing with around 26k.

Level 2 goes the same way. I cannot catch a card while all around are hitting theirs and finish with around 19k. Very frustrating!

Level 3 and things don’t start well. I flop 2 pairs only to lose to runner runner flush. A little tilty now, I then get AQ. A guy raises to 900 (blinds 150/300) from early position. I call and the flop is AK5. He bets 1600 I call. The turn is a 7, he bets 3000 again I call. The river is a 2 and he now bets 6000. I call and he announces AK, sigh!

In the BB and down to my last 5500 and someone raises to 800, 3 people call and I look down and see AK. Easy push! The original raiser folds but the next guy announces all in too. The others fold and he turns over pocket nines. Coin flips are not a strong part of my game and no help on the board and that’s it for another year.

All in all I have spent around $30,000 in tournaments and cashed diddly (god knows in what else).  I gotta start running well in them sooner or later. Luckily the cash games have helped significantly and I am currently just $8000 down on the trip. At least I have the next week to try and claw that back.

(I fully expect that $8000 to increase tonight when I get well and truly lashed up)

Sunday 3^rd July

Having a ciggy on the balcony Nick comments on the cloudy sky. Not something you often see in Vegas. I then realised Kila was on the flight over. She’s obviously bringing it over with her.

A thunderstorm hit that afternoon. It seems to rain so different than anywhere else in the world here. Almost directly above you there are beautiful bright blue skies visible between a break in the clouds yet absolutely lashing it down over your head.

After picking her up from the airport we join John Magill at the MGM for a meal in our favourite Chinese restaurant, Pearl. And our favourite dish is the crispy duck. Ok, I do feel a little guilty when they bring the thing out to shred next to your table. Mainly because the poor feller still has his head attached and he kinda stares are you with a face that says “whhhyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!”

But one little pancake later and you know exactly why. He was delicious!

A few drinks at the bar and John was having an early night. We decided to try the Tuscany for a little craps before having a relatively early one too.

Monday 4^th July

Went to the flicks to watch Transformers 3. Ok, yes I know it’s a kids film. And no, the plot is not the greatest. However the effects were good, especially in 3D. And sometimes it’s good to watch a film which doesn’t require much thinking. The biggest let down with the film is the fact Megan fox has been replaced. I wouldn’t describe the new girl as ropey in the least, but she just aint Meg.

Today was American Independence day. The day when they celebrate freedom from the tyranny of the British Empire. BASTARDS! J What did we ever do to them, no need to rub it year on year. So they got lucky in one fight. Try to be gracious please. Besides we’d have kicked their ass if the French, Mel Gibson and  everybody else had just minded there own business.

Mind you good excuse for some fireworks. Kila and I have been in Vegas during Independence day celebrations for the last 5 years. We have yet to see a display. This year we were determined to see some and we did. At the Hilton. Well, the fireworks were at the Hilton, we were two miles away thinking, oooo they look nice.

We headed over to the Bellagio to meet up with Marty Smyth, his good wife Karen. He was having diner with some friends who were over in Vegas getting married. It’s amazing how many people do that. Now a few months ago, during grand national weekend there were a few joke tips going around via text messages.

“Creosote, its good over fences.” And “V-Neck, it’s a nice jumper”.

Marty’s friend actually had 5 quid each way on them both. Hey! He is from Ireland.

After the race he called Marty to ask if they were none runners because he didn’t hear either of them mentioned. To save his embarrassment Marty agreed to go to the bookies and collect a refund. Now for me this was even more stupid. Where could you get a better wedding present for 20 quid. Just frame the slips and hand it them after the ceremony to hang on the living room wall.

Tuesday 5^th of July

For a change we thought we would have a drink at the Rio, mainly to reminisce over many a night spent at hookers Shutters bar. Now the Rio is not known for its amazing service but we did actually find a great bar man who drinks were considerably stronger than them at the Bellagio, not to mention more frequent. We were joined by Jeff Burke, John Conroy and his son Alex who had been playing the $1500 but to no avail. Despite the extra people the barman was happy to continue  comping the extra drinks, again not something you would ever get at the Bellagio. We then all chipped in for a craps syndicate. This is where the famous Rio customer service came back to its own. With one table locked us a private the other two were $100 min bet. Meaning we didn’t have enough to play. Instead we elected for blackjack but John was off form and polished the money off reasonably quickly.

After the others left Kila, John M and myself played some 3 card poker and after waiting an hour and still unable to get a drink I politely told them to stick this shithole of a casino up their arse and we returned to the MGM.  Normal service was now fully restored.

After our success a few days ago I made the sweeping statement “I am the Best Craps player in the world.” John replied with “And I am the best Black Jack player in the world”. Neither of us really meant it but prove us totally wrong neither of us have had a winning session since. And tonight “Trevor” the God of Casino games (Zeus’s little known younger brother), gave us an extra thrashing just put us back in our place.

Whenever a sweeping statement is made it will immediately be proved wrong. I always remember a friend of mine once said “No such thing as an ugly goth chick”. Just at that moment one walked into the kebab shop and boy she was fugly. I have lived in Chorley for 20 years, this was the first time I’d even seen a goth chick in town.

So can I just say for the record………….

I am the worst Craps, Pai Gow, Blackjack, dominos and poker player in the world!

Weds 6^th July

Due to the spanking I took at the tables and the heavy drinking we had a day off. Besides we were moving out of the condo tomorrow and didn’t have any intention of doing that with a hangover. Instead we went for a meal at the Texas de Brazil, a Brazilian restaurant a few miles past Mandalay bay. Truly a meat lovers dream. If you want to go It consists of a salad bar (but don’t go daft) and about 10 waiters running round with big steal skewers with all manor of meat on them ready to slice a healthy chunk onto your plate. From Fillet steak to chicken or pork.

Making my mouth water thinking about it.

 

 

Thursday 7^th July

Today we had to pack everything up and move to the MGM. Well I say “we” I mean “Kila”.

John Magill was leaving tomorrow so a very bad influence was leaving the picture. Fortunately Kev landed today to fill the void. We met him and Leona for a quick hello in their room and while Kila joined them for dinner I decided to play the $2080 satellite at the Rio for the main event. I have already paid in but after the damage of the last few days I needed to recoup some money and I could sell the seat to someone else should I win it.

With over 150 players there were 29 seats up for grabs and $4900 for 30^th place. Things were plodding along nicely and first hand after the break I won a very juicy hand with QQ when the small blind pushed all in against me.

Up to about 22,000 chips and me sat in the BB a clown on the button raises to 1500. He had grabbed a much bigger pile of chips to put pressure on the short stack in the small blind. He must have changed his mind when he realised I was not going to be as easy to push around. SB folds and I look down at 83 of clubs. Sensing weakness I raise it to 4000. He thinks for a while then calls, doh! The flop came 883 yipppeeeeee. I wipe the drool from my chin and say “check”. He doesn’t take the bait and checks too. The turn is a 6 and I now bet 4000 hoping he will make a move thinking I have AK or AQ. He considers it but just calls. The river is a ten. This time I bet out about 6500 and finally he pushes, I call and he turns over 97 for a straight. UNLUCKY!!!!!!

From there I was never in danger. And when it came to the bubble I had folded some pretty big hands like TT and AK. There was no point taking a chance with a seat locked up.

Friday 8^th July

I had intended to play another satellite this afternoon but instead decided to give it a miss. Went for diner about 6.30 and Kila and Myself were joined by Kev, Leona and their friends. Also turning up out of the blue was Nigel Blower. Formally of Ladbrokes he was currently working in San Francisco for a US gaming site. He had just flown in for the weekend. Boy does that guy land on his feet. If he played poker seriously he’d have won about 18 bracelets by now.

The restaurant was a Tapas Bar called Fire Fly. Away from the strip it’s quite a small place but always busy. And after sampling the food it’s no wonder why.

After another great meal we jumped in a cab and headed to New York New York and the Irish bar. Joined by Scoaff and his wife, Scott Grey, Padraig, Mad Marty and Katherine. After the women left to find a “Quieter bar” it made the drinks order considerable easier.

“Ten pints of Guinness my man, and when they run low get us ten more” Padraig really knows what he’s doing in these places.

Saturday 9^th July

Today I nipped to the Rio to see how all the guys were getting on. Before returning back to my room for a movie. “Dylan Dogg”. Two hours of my life I won’t ever get back.

A meal with Kev, Leona, Nigel, Kirsty (also formally of Ladbrokes), Kila and myself. Afterward I left them all drinking and I had an early night, all in preparation for the main event tomorrow.

Vegas 2011 part 16

Thursday 30^th of June

Cash at the Venetian Today and simply another extremely frustrating day. I am just not hitting my fair share of draws, however everyone else is making up for it by hitting theirs against me. $4000 loss is not great at all.

Friday 1^st of July (Wow what happened to this year, it’s flown by)

Ladbrokes were generously picking up the bill this evening while I take out some of the players. Due to the fact some were flying back that evening we met early in New York New York and ate at the steak house. As like almost everywhere in Vegas is was delicious and what better way to round off the night but a pint or ten in the Irish bar.

At about 2 or 3 am Part 2 of the mission was complete and only thing left to do was the craps syndicate. With a $400 investment from Sudsy, Claypole, Yobenike and myself we left for the MGM. Things did not start well and we were forced to chip in another 300 a piece. Step up Claypole! Down to our last few hundred he hit a warm streak and spins us back up to about $3k, very nice. The following throwers are not as good but didn’t cost us much before it was my turn. I am feeling on fire. After a few warm exercises I get my range and BANG! Point after point, we are finally getting somewhere. However with around 8k in front of us disaster. One of the dice leaves the table. I now ponder whether to keep the dice or pick new ones. Decisions like this are never easy, it’s like a choice of execution method. Chair, injection or firing squad. I keep the dice but take off all my bets and advise the whole table to do the same which they do. This is a new tactic of mine, it’s only for 1 throw but it has saved us before. Whooooosh! SEVEN.

Lucky escape but now its time to pass the dice. We won’t let sudsy throw, that would just be crazy! I am still felling like a was on form, the fact we took the bets off was a sign. I offer $10 to every player to pass the dice back to me. Because I was throwing so well and just saved them money they were all happy to oblige. It was quite simply a moment of genius. BOOM! We were cleaning up. And after a monster roll we cashed in $16k, $4000 a piece. Get In! I AM THE GREATEST CRAPS PLAYER ON THE PLANET.  (Citation required)

Sudsy and Claypole called it a night while myself and Yobenike continued to play. After a while $2k of my $4k was gone. Doh! I am going to smash in a good nights profit again. He says he will fix everything on the blackjack. Seems like a very reasonable plan. I mean we are drunk, this is Vegas, what could possible go wrong. No one ever loses on Blackjack do they?

Well not this time at least. He was on fire and spun it up to $23k Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! I made him cash in and suggested we jump into a cab to the Rio and pay in the Main event. It’s not how I expected to get my seat but I will take it. Finally things are starting to turn. After paying in an a few drinks in the Rio we lost the last 3k of the profits and decided to call it a day at 10 AM. I always like to be in bed before 11 whenever possible.

Saturday 2^nd of July

First thing first down to the GYM. Ten miles on the treadmill, 20 miles on the bike and 20 lenghths of the pool before I start. Over to the Bellagio and I put my name down for the $200/400 NL and sit in with $50k. While waiting for my seat I play a little craps to pass the time. A short while after I am up a very nice chunk and they call me to my seat. Sat to my left is Phil Ivey and Doyle Brunson to my right. Patrick Antonius is also sat down along with Tom Dwan and Tom Cruise.

I am smashing the game, making some amazing calls with bottom pair and successfully bluffing at will. All of a sudden there is a huge commotion and people start running everywhere.

BANG! BANG! BANG! What the……………………….

I look around to see what’s happening.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Everything becomes a blurr.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

“Kal! Are you getting up to watch the boxing mate!” Shouts nick through the bedroom door.

“What time is it?”
“About 2 pm”

“BOLLOX TO THAT” I politely reply.

Vegas 2011 Part 15

Tuesday 28th June

Today was to be my last Ladbrokes Sponsored event at the WSOP 2011, the $1500 NL. I sat patiently but had wiffled down to about 3300 from 4500 when I find AA. I raise from the cut off and am delighted to see the button re-raise. I am even more delighted to see the SB shove and things only got better when the BB shoved over the top of him. “CALL”

The button had passed and I was up again AT and QQ. Thankfully there was no help for my opponents and my stack was now comfortably over 10k. I later pick up pocket kings and re-raise a player who had bet UTG. The flop come AT3. He checks as do I. The turn pairs the Ace. I consider a bet but figure I may as well see what he does on the river and could maybe extract some extra value. The river is a 6 and he instantly pushes all in for around 6k. It looks like he has me on a big pair and he has indeed hit the ace. I have only invested around 1k so it was an easy pass.

After running into aces my self with top pair of kings I had dropped down to just below 7k. In my BB it is folded around and the small blind pushes for about 3100. I look down at A7 knowing the guys range is very wide I make the call. Obviously I am happy to see him turn over J5 off suit, but when the flop came Q J 5 my joy was short lived.

After moving to a new table I had shoved my last 3k in from the button with 56 of clubs. The SB called with AQ and with the board showing KKT5 I was looking good for a double up. Until another 10 hit the river that is giving me the rest of the day off. Sigh!

Nick and I were pondering over what to do for food and after a drive around decided on PING PONG PANG a restaurant at the Gold Coast casino which my surprise you to hear sells Chinese food.

During the meal Nick had managed to spill an entire glass of coke into his lap. An unfortunate problem to say the least. Whilst walking out a security guard nearly stopped him thinking he had had a little boys accident but realising he wasn’t inebriated he just left us be. Maybe the embarrassment of incontinence was enough without being further hassled.  I did say to him he should have used the toilet before we left.

More than once.

In fact, when ever someone was close enough to hear. What are friends for.

Nick dashed home to change and I headed to the Venetian Cash tables. I have to say I ran well and played well, for once. Having bought in for 1k I double up almost immediately with 88 vs AK in a battle of the blinds.

Not long after I saw a flop in a four way pot with 62 of hearts in the SB. The flop was 663. Sweet! I check as does everyone else. The turn is a 4 and I bet out 60 only for the guy in the BB to raise to 160. I dwell for about 5 seconds before passing. I am certain he has either the straight or bigger trips and show the 6. His unwillingness to discuss his holding led both my self and others at the table to conclude that it was indeed a correct pass. From there I went from strength to strength. Winning a 5k pot with a set of 8’s v a set of 7’s.

The only significant badbeat I can remember was after calling a raise with AT and seeing a flop of T93 all spades. I was holding the Ace of spades. I check raise my opponent and he calls. The turn is an 8 of clubs. I am not too worried about a straight here, I assume he would need at least one spade to call the raise on that flop and in all likelihood would just push, he only had about $700 left. I bet out 300 and this time he does push. The river is a blank and he turns over 89 of diamonds for a winning two pair, nice catch! In the end though, I finished the night $4850 ahead. Nice!

Wednesday 29^th of June

Back in my favourite cash game and things didn’t start anywhere near as well as yesterday. In fact they didn’t start at all. Every big hand I got either didn’t get paid or ran into something bigger. Losing $2500 and only 2hours played I realised things were not going to go my way and decided not to push it. I went back to my apartment and watched TV for a while.

Tonight was Neil Channing’s barbecue night. For the last few years Neil has staying in a large house somewhere out in the suburbs with his stable of players. And wow! Watta house this one was. A huge thing with swimming pool, tennis court , fountains and fridge. It was amazing. The fridge its self was the size of a small hotel suite.

Many people at the place were discussing the recent closure of Full Tilt poker and what it will mean for the future and will some people ever see their money. I am not being funny but I have no sympathy for any idiots who have left money on that site with the recent incidents that have plagued the news. People I do feel sorry for are the sponsored pro’s and members of the famous Hendon Mob. Ross, Ram and Barney were in attendance and I have to say kudos to them, they seemed to be taking the news far better than I would be in their situation. Not only being sponsored by full tilt but have a huge amount invested in the success of the site in relation to shares and affiliate deals. I like all the members of the Mob and wish them nothing but success if their future endeavours. It’s terrible to see a company and individuals suffer because of the complete mismanagement of an organisation they’re relying on.

The whole Full Tilt situation sucks, and the more and more stories I hear relating to it the more I hope the people involved pay for what are quite obviously the mismanagement of other peoples money to line their own pockets. People say they are giving the players what they want. I don’t think anyone was condoning them to commit grand fraud on such a huge scale. Stick to sites you can trust!

Vegas 2011 Part 14

Like any good Hotels which miss out floor 13 I will missing out Part 13 of my blog. I’m not superstitious but, hey! Why take a chance.

(The Rio has a floor 13, I know I have stopped on it and had the worse trip to Vegas ever. I did say good Hotels!)

Monday 27^th June

Vegas is far more than just casinos nowadays. They have found far more ways to relieve the unsuspecting visitor of they’re hard earned cash. The clever people of Vegas realised that when visiting , all common sense and self preservation instincts the average person possesses simply vanish the moment they hit town. People come here to simply to reduce their net worth in some form or another.

Everyone one know the phrase;

“What goes in Vegas, stays in Vegas!”

What you don’t know is they are talking about the money, everything else can piss off back to where it came from.

This is why the place is crammed with fancy restaurants, massive night clubs and glitzy shows. They can charge way, way over the odds for all of these things. Cos when people come to Vegas they have lost all concept of Money from the second they arrive until the second they leave. Where else can you go out and receive a four figure bill for drinks or food and think “well, that’s not too bad”. The realisation of what you have done becomes even more clear when the credit card bill falls through the door in a few weeks time. This memory sticks with you for a long time after. That is of course until you plan your next trip.

( I know people with 5 figure bills for drinks alone, and it wasn’t a 1 at the front of it I can tell ya!)

Another thing Vegas has to offer is the immense array of designer cloths and jewellery stores. Some are mega stores. Tiffany’s for instance, has opened a multi story shop which would compete in square footage with a small town Tesco.  If diamonds are so rare how the hell do you fill something this size full of the damn things.

When people are in Vegas they want to spend money. And when hubby is gambling wifey want to spend hubbys money. If he’s winning, cool! It’s like a freebie. If he’s losing well it’s easily justified, because if he can lose that much gambling wifey can spend the same on cloths and shiney things.

Sales are rare in Vegas, your average shopper doesn’t want cheap things. Cheap things put them off. If a store was to run adverts saying “50% Mark up on all items” I suspect the queue would be out the door. (And the blackjack tables crammed)

A friend of mine’s wife, who’s name I won’t mention, once went to a sale in Vegas and spent literally thousands on jewellery and designer hang bags. She rationalized the spending by stating the more she spent the more she saved Kev.

It’s not its not to say Vegas is overly expensive, in fact I would say compared to Oxford street I suspect it is quite reasonable. That’s because we live in Britian. Compare Vegas to the rest of the states and it is pricey. And the nearer to the strip the shop is the more expense it is.

Today I needed to do some shopping. Not only do I need more jeans but also new glasses. I should have known how bad I was going to run yesterday when my glasses fell apart in my hand while cleaning them before sitting in the cash game. I have a few options. One is the “Fashion Show Mall”. Situated right on the middle of the strip opposite the Wynn, you just know it will not be the cheapest of places. I don’t thinks so. As I have a car I drive out to the Premium outlet stores. I find the Levi shop and hunt around for an optician. Nothing! If I needed sun glasses I had about 20 stores to choose from, prescription lenses no chance. I asked someone for help and they told me where there was one. “The Fashion Show Mall”. OBVIOUSLY!

I park in the underground car park in the red section and head upstairs to find it. The place is about the size of Leeds and after asking direction I discover I could not have parked further away. After a brief 20 minutes walk I find the place and hand over my broken pair so they can copy the lenses. As you would suspect there are no NHS style specs here. $450 later he tells me my glasses would be ready in an hour.

I have to get Karl and Nicks dinner on after their tough day on the golf course so head back to the condo. I will make someone a nice wife one day.

 On my way out the opticians spot a set of stairs that say “green parking”.  Obviously I can avoid a long walk when I return in an hour or two for my new specs.

When I return I enter the car park from the opposite end of the Mall. I figure as I walked the full length of the place surely the green section must be “Just there”. After 10 minutes driving around (underground I might add) I finally see something I recognise. “Red Parking”. Bollox looks like I’m walking again.

I then go straight to the Venetian to try and cover the costs of my impromptu spending spree. I lost aces to 77 (no all in, I managed to lose the minimum) and twice I make a queen high flush but losing to a king high flush. (Only 3 to a suit on the board, we both flopped one, and I managed to lose the maximum). The only decent pot I recall was flopping a set of sevens but didn’t really get paid off. Despite this I finished $425 in profit. Mainly due to a guy who may win my favourite player of the year award. He played every hand. I mean every hand. If there was a 3 bet, no problem he called. He beat me in one pot where he called a 8x bet in the SB with 93 off suit. However he could not lose, and every time he made a hand he got paid off and was around 5 or 6k up. I managed to get the seat on his left. The drool was probably visibly dribbling down my chip. I pay my next half hour fee and go for a quick ciggy ready for a very late night. To my dismay he was racking his chips up when I returned and leaving with his profits. As did everyone else funny enough. SIGH!

Saturday 25^th of June

Nick had made day two of the $10k Omaha event but got knocked out when he ran pocket aces into someone else pocket aces, it was to be the end of another disappointing event. Afterwards he and Karl cheered themselves up shopping for more golf equipment. (Women do shoes and cloths, men do golf and games consoles and Skalie does beer and craps)

 They joined me for some grub at the condo and then we headed over to a pool hall on Sahara Road. Quite a scary part of town I have to admit. If you have ever seen “TheWire” it was kinda like the neighbourhood Avon Barksdale and Stringer Bell live in.

I played Nick at 9ball for 10 bucks a frame. Now this is a man who might not be running too well at poker at the moment but he more than made up for it at pool. The guy must be the luckiest pool player alive. After I rush to a 4-1 lead he then flukes the 9 ball and follows it up with back to back 9 balls potted off the break to take a sick 5-4 lead. However after he extended the lead to 15-11 I pull out some world class play to win 8 frames on the trot to go 19-15 ahead. Knowing his luck was changing he then reverted to every stroke in the book to put me off. Racking balls before I had potted the 9ball, standing in line of my shots, trying to get in my head with mind play and dropping his cue when I took my shot. It was deplorable. After this he bemoaned his luck constantly until it changed back heavily in his favour. Victor Meldrew the second!  In the end we finished 24-24. I did give him a good trouncing on the basket ball game before we left though.

We headed down to the strip for more drinks and after a few in Harrah’s Piano bar we went to the Carnival Bar next door. This place has been a little disappointing this year, instead of a live Band blasting out classics they have moved to a more Rave/dodgy 90’s house/Rap type thing. Playing songs like the fresh prince of Bel-Air and other stuff so cheesey I have had to suppress the memories.

Two guys were valiantly trying to impress a couple of girls with exceptionally impressive body popping and break dancing moves, but before they could close the deal a guy slips in between them as smooth as you like wearing what could only be described as a costume from the “It’s a Knock Out” TV show from the 70’s. It looked like a huge rubbery Jelly suit. After closer inspection we realised it was in fact his actual body and the custom made comedy trousers were actually his normal attire. Me and Nick fell about laughing. Get in there that man!

(I did ask one of the gangster rap/break dancing guys what it was like to get blown out for fatty but he wasn’t seeing the funny side and refused to comment.  We decided to move on shortly after)

Sunday 26^th of June

Went to the Venetian for my usual cash game, starting with $2000. It was possibly the fishiest table I have seen since I got here. A combination of old time rocks and passive fish who have to see every flop. Including a few superstars from previous sessions.

 I was optimistic when hitting a set and a straight in the first few hands. Disappointingly though I only won $35 and $45 respectively. I was picking up some juicy starting hands and like AQ TT ect but falling to connect with anything. That along with the myriad of draws I kept flopping and missing I was over $1500 down so had pull up another $2000.

One of the AQ’s lost to a mighty 92 after I had made it 80 to go preflop. And another was when a flop came down Ace high two hearts, both the other players involved making a flush on the turn.

One guy had straddled to 20 bucks and the player next to him thought he was re-straddling to $40. However this bet is not live in this game and so was just a blind min raise, meaning he won’t get the option to raise any limpers. Armed with this knowledge I call for 40 with QT. As does the Button, both blinds and the real straddler. The flop is a fantastic KJ9 and I think my evening is about to change for the good. After it is checked to me I figure someone must have some of that flop so bet out $100. The button and the small blind both call. The turn is a 6 and the small blind bets out 200. I know he has something here. He’s an old boy and his moves are pretty straight forward. I figure him for 2 pair. I raise him to $480 the button passes and he calls.  To my dismay the river is another 9 and he bets $500 into me. I reluctantly call and he flips over J9 for the full house, wonderful. Had the river done anything but pair the board I was betting $900 and I am certain he would have paid me off. I decide to pick up the $1000 I have left in front of me and call it an early night $3000 down and hope for better things tomorrow.

Thursday 23^rd June

Back to the Venetian for the cash games today and sat down on the must move table with just $1000 bucks. The first hand I play I call a raise on the button with 57 of clubs. The flop comes down 8 9 K with two clubs. Happy days! A flush draw and straight draw, I should be fav. The bb bets out 120 and the original raiser just calls. I raise it to $300 and the bb folds with the other guy calling. He checks the turn which was the 10 of spades and I push my last $660 into the pot expecting him to fold.

“CALL

The river is a blank and he flips over aces taking my first $1000 bucks. Great start!

Two hands later I again flop and flush and straight draw, only to miss again. Well to be fair I am only about a  60%+ favourite to win these hands and have hit once already this trip, maybe I am being greedy to expect to hit another.

I reload for $2000 this time in the hope of catching one of the players before they move, doh! Too late!

Despite this awful start I managed to pull it back over the next few hours and was actually ahead by around $1000 when I raise with 10 J of club from the button. The guy in the blind, who could quite possibly be the worst player I have ever seen on these levels re-raises to $160. Knowing he will stack off to me very lightly I make the call and the flop is Qc 10d 4c. He checks and I bet out $270. He calls. The turn is the 8 of diamonds and he instantly pushes $800 in the middle. The 8 now gives me a gutshot straight draw too but the guys body language told me I don’t need to hit anyway. I call and the river is the jack of diamonds and he flicks over the 47 of diamonds for a winning flush. Well played, moron!

I did manage to get most of the money back from him just by allowing him to bluff into me over and over again. Add this to a few more victims and I was $4000 up. Not bad considering the start I had.

About 4.30 my phone begins to ring and its Nick telling me he had won a satellite to the $10,000 omaha. This was probably the first bit of good fortune he’d had all trip (off the golf course at least). He wanted to celebrate and I cash in and meet him at a club.

It isn’t the first time I ever went on the lash at 5 o’clock, but it is the first time I did it at 5am. Only in Vegas!

Friday 24^th of June

We could only book a car for 28 days, something to do with the servicing. Being the conscientious poker players we are we did nothing about booking another one until our current car expired. The car was due back yesterday and a new one started today so I was expecting to pay for 1 day late charge. You’d think wunt ya!

They charged me for 2 days because I was 1 hour late. In addition to this there was daily extra driver fees, the tank of petrol they insisted I pay for, Insurance ($46 for 2 days jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez), customer facility charge (WTF is that), Airport access fee (excuse me), state tax, rental tax (what there is extra tax just because it’s a rental. What about mug tourist tax too?), uninsured motorist protect and supplemental liability insurance. In all it came to $609. I really do believe that when the mob left the casinos they moved into car rental. The margins are much bigger!

This put quite a dent in last nights winnings.

Having only just found out about the secret location of the Microgaming party I dashed over to the Palazzo to meet the Ladbrokes qualifiers. Along we Rugrat and Sudsy I met the polish winners of the dream team. I thought I would break the ice and introduce myself.

“Hi mate, I’m skalie”

“Hello”

“I am going for a drink with these guys next week if you would like to join us?”

“HELLO!!!!!!!!”

I repeated myself but he just looked blankly at his friend who then did the same to me. To be fair his English was much better than my polish, French, Spanish, Scandinavian or any other language.

(This is not the first time people have struggled to understand me in Vegas, strange really, especially when I don’t even have an accent!)

After everyone started to leave to enjoy the rest of their evening I decided to dash to the Rio and play the $550 super satellite. This didn’t go well. Nor did the cash game afterwards dropping another 2k on that. Serves me right for being disloyal to the Venetian.

I got a text from Julian earlier in the evening asking if we had a spare bed at the condo for Saturday night. I told him should have been more careful when playing Pai Gow. Turns out I had the wrong end of the stick. He was not able to get a room at the Wynn or in fact anywhere else in the whole of Vegas. A room at the flamingo was available for $900 but I have stopped there and too say that was a little over priced was an understatement. In fact I would expect a year there for that much, with breakfast.This was mainly  due to a giant convention on over the weekend and a “Rave” attended by some 250,000 revellers.

A “RAVE” are you serious, I never understood this nonsense in the 80’s, who brought them things back. In the desert heat, dancing off their face on acid and ecstasy they will be dropping like flies. I heard the under over bet for the number dead is 37. That is not a joke by the way, it’s what they expect.

Praz asked if I would be going?

“I would rather have my hair set on fire and put out with a sledgehammer………………………………………….again!”

****************WARNING WARNING WARNING***************************

The following is an in depth description of a hand I played. I posted it on www.krackedkings.com

For those of you not interested turn away now.

One hand stood out enough to discuss last night. I don’t like talking hands through but this one stuck in my mind.

It’s a 5/10 NL game and I am sat with over $5000 in front of me.  A player UTG raised to $50 one guy called and I call with Ah Jc and the BB made up the bet.

This is not a call I would usually make but I could see from the people sat behind me most were going to fold meaning I would have position. The original raiser always bets the pot on the flop and then usually gives up on the turn if he has nothing, making him very easy to play. The other caller was on tilt.
The flop is jh td 2h.
(In the forum I said it was the 6 of hearts not the 2, a mistake but in no way changed how the hand played out)
Raiser bets 150 (As expected) tilt guy folds, I call as does the bb.
The turn is the 7d
Initial raiser checked to me (Again as I expected) I bet 350.

The guy in the BB raises to 900 and the initial raiser folds. I really was not expecting this, I though he was drawing. I fold in a flash should the other guy have re-raised.

Now the 7 of diamonds looks like a complete blank to me. I cannot see it improving this guys hand unless he has 89.

What could he hold. Well I hold the Ace of hearts so the nut flush is not a possibility. Judging by the way the guy had played on the occasions I had sat with him QK, Q10 or Q9 of hearts would almost certainly re-raise the flop. Again any set the guy could have (JJJ unlikely when I am holding a jack) would have to raise the bet on the flop. There is a very strong change either the other guy or I have a nut flush draw and considering how deep we were it would be a terrible flat call. He  don’t know where the ace of hearts is. The only hand beating me therefore is 89. I think it is more likely he hold QK of diamonds or Q9 of diamonds. I make the call.

The river comes the 10 of hearts and he pushes for $3300. The river now means he defiantly does not have 89. On a paired and flushed board when it looks like an opponent is chasing a nut flush he cannot possibly push for value. He was way too good a play like that. (Some clowns do push here, the player mentioned earlier in the blog for instance.)
I stare at him hoping for a tell but he gave away nothing. Every inch of my body is telling me to call. I was now certain he had QK. However I pass. Why?

Well having had such a bad start to the evening I could fold and still be level on the night. Besides there was a lot of value on the table and with only $2000 more left in my pocket I would struggle to pull it back if I made a mistake and I was wrong. Add to the fact I had dropped 20k over the last few weeks in events and cash games it was crucial I kept my confidence up for the next few days, a big loss would definitely damage it.

He turned over a King of spades meaning he could not possibly have the winner and later told me he did indeed have QK and had he had known I was capable of breaking a hand down in such a way, he would not have made the move. And in fact was disappointed in himself on playing the hand poorly, he got away with it this time though.

Trust me, had he made this move a week or so early I would snap call. There is often more to decisions than just the cards.

Sunday 19^th of june

 

Julian Gardener and his lovely wife Kerry were in from Cheshire today so decided to join them for a drink over at the Wynn. Its one of my least favourite hotels but being a posh Cheshire couple they are unlikely to meet me at O’Shea’s.

I found them Playing Pai Gow with Ram Vaswani. Ram has been having a rough time of it in recently so it was good to see him back in Vegas trying to break the casino with high stakes Pai Gow.

Ram is not a prevalent face on the Poker circuit these days but on the few occasions I have met him he is an absolute gent.

(Ram is currently 5^th in the $10k horse event with 24 left, c’mon that man!)

Julian is normally quiet a sharp cookie on the gambling front, however he nearly lost this reputation when giving me a poke in the ribs and despite trying to cover his mouth with his hand he loudly said “PSSSSSSSSSST, should she have paid you then.” Despite the din I pretended not to hear him and just smiled at the dealer and collected my “Bonus” 100 bucks.

It was now time for Julian’s craps lesson.

Now there is a old saying at craps “Tidy Chicks, throw great dice!” So we let Kerry go first.

There is always an exception to the rule.

(To be honest, I haven’t seen a chick throw any winning dice all trip, maybe the phrase should be “Tidy chicks with low cut tops throw dice badly! But its fun to watch.”

My throw next, so we sent Kerry to play the slots and I managed to reverse the damage.

Now I’ve been looking for a suitable craps apprentice for some time now and Jules is the first man with the potential. He learnt quickly and was smashing the table. At which point Kerry came back and started asking silly questions. “CLEAR OFF OVER THERE YA BOK!” the whole table shouts, including the dealers. They were on tips!

Despite losing some back we finished about 2k up each. Oh and after Kerry had charged us “Shoes Tax” for ‘shooing’ her away.

 

Monday 20^th of June

 

It was the Omaha 5k at the Rio for most people but I elected for the $1600 event at the Venetian. I joined in level 3 and on the very first hand saw two people get it all in with AA vs QQ. Queen on the flop and it was a very quick event for someone. Two hands later and another all in coup, this time AA vs KK. Aces held up this time. The table broke soon after.

On my new table there was a guy obviously on tilt and desperately throwing in his chips hoping for a call. After a guy raises in early position I flat call with AK hoping said guy will raise behind. I wasn’t disappointed. I set him all in, he calls in a flash with 99. The board brings no helps for me and he wins a 30k pot. Ok, I’m disappointed now.

After a raise and 5 callers I push with pockets twos hoping the initial raiser (same guy) will isolate with AK or something giving me a juicy coin flip. He did indeed isolate, however his hand was KK not AK. Sigh! Still no help for Skalie.

Having only played for 2hours I played a little cash. Card dead and running bad I quit early and returned back to the condo and my sling box.

About 11pm nick calls and asks what I am up to and would I like a drink. I have to register for the $2.5k event at the Rio for the following day so pick him up in the car. I tell him I have no desire for a beer but I’m happy to drop him off wherever he wants too go.

Half hour later we have dropped car off and in a taxi to the Irish bar! He was very persuasive.

 

Tuesday 21^st of June

 

Having lasted less that two hours in the Venetian yesterday I was determined to beat it today. Easy peasy! Just an hour and a half, sigh!

Now close to 9k down for the trip I gotta start making money. After nipping hope for lunch I pop over to the Venetian for a cash game. Despite seeing very little all day I grind out a nice little $1700 profit. And I mean grind, so much so there are no memorable hands to even talk about.

 

Weds 22^nd of June

I have decided no more tourneys until I am back winning on the trip. I have spent close to $20k in various events from satellites to bracelet events. The cash has been kind on the most part and had that been all I did I would be in a very nice position right now.

After the first 2 hours of cash I don’t think I won a hand. I reloaded another $1500 and now had just over $2100 in front of me. Folded to me I raise to $40 in the cut off with AT of Diamonds. The button calls and the flop comes 9 high 2 diamonds. I lead out for $70 and get called. The turn is a lovely 10. I bet out $200 and again he flats calls. I feel sure he is chasing a flush too and I am delighted to see the queen of diamonds on the river. With around 1800 in front of me I wonder how I can get the lot in. The guy is a good player and would pounce on weakness I am sure. I bet out $250 in the hope of it looking like a blocker bet. He dwells before raising it to $690. Delicious! I dwell for a few seconds before pushing my $1600 into the middle. He thinks for an age before reluctantly calling with a king high flush. For a second I was worried he’d pass.

Later I raise to $40 with QT of hearts. The guy to my immediate left re-raises to $80. Very suspicious! The big blind reluctantly calls and I call the extra $40 bucks. Well he did make it cheap and now I have massive value. The flop is 679 with 2 hearts, giving me a gutshot and a flush draw with two over cards. I feel sure the guy has a big pair but the chap in the BB could easily have a set. The BB checks as do I and the other guy bets $200. My action will all depend on the BB. If he calls I flat call, if he folds I will set the other guy all in for his last $700. He folds and I move all in. DINK! King of hearts on the turn and its all over. Good to hit a few of these for a change.

MORAL: Don’t get too jiggy with hands you may struggle to past post flop.

Without losing many big pots I finished the day around $2400 to the good, and felt great to have two winning cash sessions back to back. Lets hope for a hatrick tonight!

Sorry for the delay in this guys. Obviously enthusiasm for these little stories is very dependant on how well I am running and it’s been a tough week. Not a disaster though, and roughly level for the trip thus far. Been taking it easy last few days and will be back with a vengeance next week. Here a quick update of what’s been happening. Sorry if it’s brief but really not had huge amounts to talk about.

Mon 13^th June

Headed over to the Venetian for the cash game. Not a good day and after several beats (a 2 outer on the river for a 3.5k pot) I recorded my worst cash result yet. I decided to call it a night early when Nick calls and tells me everyone is off to the Palms to watch a movie. The Hangover 2.

Gotta say it wouldn’t be my pick but decided to join them anyway. I jumped in the car and finally started to run well, every set of lights seemed to flick to green en-route. Turns out I wasn’t running that well after all. If I had been delayed I might have missed the film and spent the 2 hours doing something more fun, like cutting my toenails.

Tuesday 14^th June

I was awoken in the early hours by some serious banging. Thinking it was someone at the door I got up only to realise they were fixing the roof. It was relentless. So bad it turned Nick into a young Victor Meldrew, grumbling and moaning about a trolly banging up and down the walkway outside the condo.

Today gave the cash a miss and instead I played the $1090 event at the Venetian. After grinding it out for several hours I finally donked everything off. The blinds are 150/300 and I flat call a raise with 99 on the button. The flop is 8 3 4, two diamonds. The guys bets out 1200 and I re-raise to 3200 leaving myself about 10k. He calls and the turn is a 5, he immediately pushes all in. I foolishly call and he turns over A 2 for the straight. Mad with myself I call it a night.

Wednesday 15^th of June

Time for something completely different. I have a shot at the Omaha. Not a game I am very proficient at but it was only $560 and I fancied a change. After getting rivered by a two outer for a bigger full house I started hitting everything. And by the end of 1^st break I had close to 50,000. By the 4^th break I had 40,000 and out and hour after that. Not quite what I was hoping for. However, despite not making the money it’s the closest I have come this trip to cashing in a tourney and did enjoy myself. Long time since I can say that in a poker event.

Thurs 16^th of June

Jeff convinced me to go out on the razz and we headed over to the Mirage to meet the Liverpool crew. After a few drinks in the Revolution bar we headed to a club where we had got “passes” to get in for 20 bucks and drink all we wanted. Turns out everyone has these passes. I think they hand them out on the street corners. Considering it was $11 plus tip for a Jack Daniels and coke in all the other bars we decided to drink what we could before jumping in a Limo to New York New York and the Irish Bar. Finally some Guinness.

Everyone else was moving to the piano bar but as they were playing a few Pogues numbers at the time I said I would catch up with them in 10 minutes. Ten minutes turned into over an hour and the temptation of the black stuff was just too tasty to resist.

On my way home  thought I would nip into the Tuscany Casino, situated over the road from our condo for a little craps. With just a few bucks on me and didn’t expect to be there too long. I was wrong, I finally left breaking even around 7am but way ahead on the drinks front.

Friday 17^th of June

Due to the events of the previous day, very little happened. Except the odd bit of snoring and catching up on lots of TV.

I used to think the Sky + box was the greatest discovery since electricity, but it has been surpassed. THE SLING BOX!

For those of you who don’t have one, get one. You can watch all your Sky TV from anywhere in the world where you have an internet connection. Is possible the best 100 quid I have ever spent.

Saturday 18^th of June

Decided to take another day off from the poker and instead went for a round of golf. Nick and myself were joined by Michael Grecco. Due to negotiation breakdowns in handicaps I decided to sit out on the betting today. Nick and Michael played $25 for 1^st 9 holes. $25 on back 9 and $50 overall. With a $25 bonus for any birdies and $100 for any eagles. (lets be honest, these would not have been good bets for me anyway)

Nick hustling skills have really come on well this trip and was 4 up after the first nine. Michael however fought back strongly winning the first 3 holes in the back nine. Until Nick hit a birdie for a $25 bonus to stop the rot. After chipping in for eagle and $100 a hole or 2 later, Michael feared the worst. And after a little tantrum and a lot of swearing he only halved the back nine. Giving Nick a little $200 profit. The golf is definitely kinder than the poker is to him at present, let’s hope that turns soon.