It’s the opening event of the Bellagio Cup: $540 for 10,000 chips and 40 minute levels with hand-shuffling (i.e. a bit of a turbo compared to most Vegas structures these days). Whereas the Bellagio Daily tourneys are held in the famously crowded, cramped, noisy and star-studded poker room, the Cup moves over to the more relaxed ambiance of the Fontana Lounge.

I’ve never ran good in this room and often busted my tourneys here in the first few levels. Based on my experience with pocket rockets so far this trip, I was kinda ambivalent to seeing them for my first hand. I popped a mid-position limper up to 225 at 25/50, the BB called and so did the limper. Flop 764dd and I meet no resistance to my 625 bet and take it down. Phew!

It’s a fun table. There’s an attractive, friendly girl in a vest in Seat 3 who’s bantering a lot with a Costa Rica-based Pokerstars “Poker Expert” employee in Seat 6. We all get involved in a lot of friendly conversation and jokes. Double-bracelet winner Greg Mueller drops by and chats with the girl and her male-friend on the rail for a while.

Later in Level 1 there are a few limpers and I limp in with 22 in LP. It checks to me on an AT2cc flop and I bet 175 into the 250 pot. The attractive girl calls and I think either she is chasing the flush or has a fairly weak Ace (she limped in EP). Turn is an offsuit 9 and I bet 375. She calls again and the river is a fairly safe offsuit 8. I bet 900 and she pays me off with A6.

I lose some chips when I call JJ in position, call a flop c-bet, then check-down on a 78QQ5 board versus KK, then lose a little more calling a couple of speculative hands in position before my next big hand arrives:

My Stack ~8.5k, Seat 1 ~10k, Blinds 100/200, I hold KK in the CO.

I open for 600 and both SB and BB call to see a QQ5 rainbow flop. It checks to me and I check behind for pot control. Only an Ace can change things much on the turn, so giving a free card doesn’t seem bad here and I want to avoid C/R by someone either having or representing a Queen. Turn J bringing two clubs on-board and SB bets out 1k into the 1800 pot. Of course he takes this line with Qx here, but he can also just be bluffing, betting a Jack or a flush draw. BB folds and I call. There’s an argument for raising here “to find out where I’m at”, but that’s not generally a play that I like to make and I prefer to get to river with as small a pot as possible and make my decisions a little easier. River blanks and he quickly bets 2k into 3.8k pot. I feel strongly that he’s taking me to value town with Qx, but I just can’t find a fold here versus an unknown random player who might take this same line with Jx or a bluff. So I pay-off AQ and I’m down to ~5k.

Last hand before the break, I bet AKo UTG, get called by the button and check-fold an 865dd flop – I just didn’t feel that I had enough chips left to afford an obvious and risky c-bet into such a draw-heavy board.

Back after the break, I fold my BB then find myself in my usual situation at the Bellagio:

My Stack ~4k, Seat 5 ~8k, Blinds 100/200/25, I hold AA in SB.

Seat 5 opens to 600 from the CO. He is an aggressive player who has been caught bluffing and seems quite spewy, so I’m sure he can be opening light and that he’ll c-bet any flop. As such, I play for max value by smooth-calling, BB folds:

Pot 1650
Flop KdThXo

He bets 800, I raise to 1800, he jams, I insta-call and he shows me Kh9h:

Turn Qh

River Jh

Oh, he only made a straight flush! Nice hand! Good Game!

On the bright side, I’ve now got some time to relax before I play the Main Event on Friday. I’m taking the day off tomorrow and my friend just got me an invite to a party at Hugh Hefner’s Playboy suite in The Palms tonight. Should be more fun than the poker!

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