TILTED in Vegas!!!!!

by foxypham on 07/17/07

Location: Lansdale, PA

WARNING: This blog contains negative content they may damage your positive demeanor so please read at your own risk!

I am back home now after spending 10 long days in Las Vegas. Let me first tell you guys the biggest piece of news since the last blog. Matthias on his ride back to Alabama was in a car accident somewhere in Texas. I have recieved all this info secondhand as Matthias lost his cellphone in the accident. All I know is that his wagon ended up underneath a tractor trailer and he suffered a concussion and other injuries. It seems he will make a full recovery, but had to spend several days in a ICU. The likely cause of the accident is that he fell asleep at the wheel. I will post more details as I get them, but even I am in the dark about the incident. Obviously, this makes me feel guilty as a driving partner would make a significant difference in long distance driving. Looking back on the situation, the only reason to ride back to Alabama with Matthias would just to be a driving partner. We were making no more recreational stops (lack of time) and I would of just flown home to Phila. after arrving in Alabama. Hopefully he makes a full recovery and we all wish him well!

All I did was play poker in Las Vegas and it did not go well at all. I attempted to satellite into the ME a second time and only lasted into the 4th level. I played 2-5NL cash and was down $2527 in 64 hrs. of play. The reasons for this poor performance including running bad, bluffing way too much, cold calling PF raises w/ any 2 cards, tough games, lack of regular poker playing before arriving in Vegas, and stress from the roadtrip. It seemed I could not do anything right and I made all the wrong moves in crucial situations. I do not want to get into all the details, but my first session at the Wynn set the tone for the trip. I was playing in a tough 2-5NL game with an uncapped buy-in. I bought in for $500 when these two hands came up. The first hand my KK ran into AA on a AKQ board and we got AI on the flop. This is just a cooler that happens to everyone. I reloaded back to $500 and the very NEXT hand get dealt 66 in the SB. A middle position player who has over 2K behind him opens for $15, the button calls as do I. The flop comes 652 w/ a flush draw and I check to the PF raiser, He fires about a pot-sized bet of $40 and then I make a $150 check-raise trying to represent a flush draw. My opponent thinks I'm tilting from the hand before and pushes me AI where I instant-call w/ my top set. He shows 99 and the turn comes a 9 to ship him the pot. What a sick two hand sequence? Right there I should of realized this wasn't going to be my trip and found a flight home immediately. Instead I stayed for another week to get pounded in 2-5NL rentlessly. If I played my usual solid ABC poker, I should only be down around 1K in cash for the trip. It was inevitable that I was going to lose in Vegas, but I could of taken a much smaller loss for the trip. A couple other nights, I played like a maniac and bluffed too many pots. In low stakes NL cash games, I believe that ABC poker is the most profitable way to play and I went against my own advice. Poker is all about maximizing your wins when you are running good and minimizing your losses when not running so hot. I am OK with my loss in Vegas as I have been running well this year and on the road trip had 5 straight winning sessions in very short periods of time. One last note on Vegas was that the cash games I played in were the tougest ones I've ever encountered. Everyone says the best action during the WSOP is at the beginning, because by the time the ME rolls around a lot of the fish have gone home. I will not make this mistake again and come much earlier in the WSOP for the side action in upcoming years. This year I had no choice as the roadtrip was planned already and the ME was the only time we could go through Vegas.

As for my future, this is up in the air. I need to move somewhere where I can get a lot more live action in. I am contemplating moving to the LA area, Las Vegas, or Atlantic City. I am leaning towards Atlantic City due to lower costs, familiarity of the area, and having people I could live with. If I moved to the LA area or Las Vegas, I would know nobody there and the cost of living is higher in those areas especially LA. I will look into the situation more closely and let you guys know what I decide upon. I want to give poker 100% of my effort to see where it takes me. Right now, I do not think I am a much greater player than everyone else out there. I feel I can be successful due to my BR management. I require a very simple lifestyle and do not spend much money. For example, I bought my first pair of sunglasses ever 5 weeks ago and I had the same pair of sneakers from when I was 16 to 23. I am getting into minimalism which is having as few possessions as possible and trying to follow that infamous quote from Fight Club "The things you own end owning you". I do not drink, smoke, rarely play in the pit (on the roadtrip I only played in the pit once in Deadwood and it was $3/hand Blackjack), and HATE strippers. Strippers are really fake and its obvious there after your money, in the real world women are more discreet about their intentions! This discipline will keep me away from the traps I hear about all the time with other poker players.

PS
If anyone has any advice/tips on my future plans, I am open-minded and will listen!

1 Comment