Cliff notes: Edmond goes to Fresno for the big tournament. Busts out on 1st hand of Day 2. Donates buy-ins in the NL games. Vows to return.

Getting there

Last weekend, I packed up the voice recorder and headed north to play the 3rd Annual Ace of Diamonds tournament at the Club One Casino in Fresno, CA. The Ace of Diamonds is an annual event with a $400 (+$50 fee) buy-in that’s pretty much the biggest tournament in Central California.

The tournament had a Saturday noon start time and I had some business in Fresno on Friday, so I drove up the day before and spent the night at a local hotel. Saturday morning I got up, worked out, grabbed a bite to eat and headed over to the casino. I have to say it was a refreshing change from Southern California where you have to plan each tournament day with an eye to avoiding traffic. In, Fresno, you can pretty much get on the freeway 15 minutes before the start time and go. Ten minutes later, you’re holding a seat assignment. Nice.

Club One is a 49-table card club casino located in downtown Fresno at the corner of Van Ness and Tulare, directly across from the Fresno County courthouse. The card-room, the largest in Central California, is accessible from both the 99 freeway and the 41 freeways, two major Central California thoroughfares. You can find your way to Club One via Google or MapQuest, of course, but absent those aids you can pretty much use the following directions from anywhere:

When you see the tall buildings—that’s Fresno—take the closest exit. Head toward the buiildings. When you see one with neon signs that say Club One Casino, stop. You'll be at the arrow in the satellite image below...





As I drove into town, it looked to me that downtown Fresno seems to be in the early stages of urban revitalization. There are new bank and government buildings interspersed with older buildings that sit gutted and dormant. The Fresno Grizzlies (AAA) play in a beautiful ballpark right in downtown and the Convention Center (host to Fresno State men’s basketball, the Fresno Falcons and cultural mainstays like Riverdance and WWF Fully Loaded) is nearby. It’s obvious that the city is re-investing in its roots, but the neighborhood is still, as they say, “in transition.” On every block you still see vestiges of urban decline—old theaters converted into churches, thrift shops, pawnshops and bail bonds vendors. Whatever…I’m a poker player. If you asked me, there’s something to be said for having sports, liquidity, adjudication and salvation all within a couple of blocks of the card room.


The Cashino

The casino itself is located in a former bank building attached to 200-room hotel undergoing extensive remodeling as a future Holiday Inn. I think the hotel will add more after-hours activity downtown when it reopens, but for now, it’s just a mish-mash of trucks, dumpsters and scaffolding adjacent to the club. You can see the casino here (the hotel is the 7-story building to the right...





And the entrance...




What’s this? No valet? This was a rude shock for an LA softie like me, but I reminded myself that in towns where parking is cheap and plentiful, valet parking is anomaly. I put my ego back in its satin case, navigated my way through the hotel construction, found a spot in the underground garage and took the elevator to the casino floor.


On the inside

As you enter the casino from the elevators, the horse racing lounge...





and bar/restaurant...





are to your immediate right as you walk up a slight ramp past the gift shop onto the casino floor.

Club One’s casino area is one large room with areas designated for higher stakes tables, the cash games, the blackjack/3-card poker area and the tournament section. As you enter the casino area, the high stakes area is to the right in a semi-enclosed, raised area...





and most of the cash games are spread in the surrounding area. The tournament area is to the left rear of the floor. The sign-up board and cage are to the back of the floor...





There's a main brush area to the right (out of the 2nd photo), the cage is to the left of the vault door (legacy of the old bank) and the tournament and NL area is to the back left. Blackjack, three card poker and pai gow are to the left (out of the photo). The floor's bigger than it looks in the photos, for sure.


The tournament

I headed over to the sign-up desk to pay my entry fee and pick up a seating assignment. As I mentioned,the Ace of Diamonds is the largest annual tournament in the area, and it draws primarily from the Fresno area (pop. 480,000 give or take) and the surrounding counties. Last year, there were 281 entrants. This year, the turnout was a bit lower, say 230 or so, but the floor staff I talked to pointed out that last year they advertised on local TV and guaranteed the prize pool at $100,000. This year, they went with word of mouth and fliers in the casino.

In any event, the sign-up went smoothly and the staff and other players seemed pleased with the turnout. If anything, players were excited to play a “big” event and more than one voiced interest in having more of the larger buy-in tournaments. Club One offers tournaments twice daily but those events are smaller buy-ins (<$100) so local residents need to travel to Southern California if they want to play larger events. I think quarterly $450 buy-in events might be a bit much for the local poker economy to digest but a few $300 buy-in events could find some traction.

Side note: at the end of day 1, one of the staffers mentioned that eleven people who won seats didn’t show. No-shows may be common at large LA and Vegas tournaments, but $450 isn’t a throwaway for the Fresno poker demographic. I’m convinced at least a couple will show up on a subsequent Saturday looking for a seat card and feel pretty stupid when they realize they provided an overlay for the rest of the field.


The field

Anyway, the field was somewhat more sedate than the typical So Cal tournament field. I saw the usual tattooed, team-attired players—note to self, this is Raider and 49-er country—but there were fewer Asians or guys in Tilt/Stars gear. For the most part, it was a mix of regulars and aspirants from the surrounding areas, and lots of players and staffers obviously knew each other. A few photos will give you a sense of the competition...








There’s always one, right?




The 2006 defending champ…




The structure

The structure was pretty aggressive so I knew I had to be active, but I hadn’t played a tournament since my CSPC run so I defaulted to a strategy based on the advice my Dad give me as I left for school each day—“Try not to do anything stupid today, ok?” It’s not a bad advice for either a 4th grader or poker player, if you think about it.

On a side note, I later spoke with the tournament staff and they conceded the structure was steep but pointed out that tournament structures have to be submitted to the state for approval. I’m pretty sure the 4th Annual event will have a more playable structure and I’m convinced they’ll see an even bigger field if they do. The casino recently added 8 minutes to their daily tournament levels (now 20 minutes per level) and they’ve seen a nice up-tick in entrants. It seems players want to see a few more hands before they need to start shoving stacks. Go figure.


Cards in the air

The tournament started a little late, maybe 12:20p or so, as the staff was setting up the last tables and giving stragglers a chance to get to their seats. No one complained about the delayed start time and by 12:30, the tournament was moving along.

With my Dad’s advice haunting me, I trying to get a sense of how my table was playing. First few hands…

Folded A6 in middle position. Two club flop mocked me. Whatever.

Next hand, folded T7…7 on flop, 7 on turn. No problem, it was early and I was just looking for a rhythm.

It was soon clear that my table was playing tight. A half a dozen hands in with stacks still 10,000 (+ or – 100) around the table, the cut-off raised to 200 and the big blind called.

Low card flop, two spades. Check. Check. Hmm.

Turn 7. Check. Check.

River Q.

Big blind bet out 200. Cut-off called and showed KK < big blind’s A9 nut flush. This was definitely not the Southern California “chip up now or go home” mentality. Uh, ya'll know you’re allowed to bet those hands on the flop and turn if you’d like, right?

I can’t complain about being card dead; in fact, I got hands all day…I didn’t get AA or AK but picked up AQo like it was on sale, JJ, QQ, lots of playable hands. Actually, I think I got MORE than my share of quality hands, but my default mode is straightforward fold or raise and with everyone playing uber-tight I probably needed to work my bet sizes a little. As it was, I didn’t make any monsters to speak of or run into any lesser hands willing to pay me off.

For example, with the blinds at 50/100, I was sitting with 10,700. Four limpers to me on the dealer button with AQo. I raised to 600 and got one caller. Pot was 1800-ish.

Flop came A24, two hearts. I bet 1200 and he folded before my chips made it to the pot.

Another level in, at 100/200, there was one limper to me in middle position with AQo again. I made it 800 to go and he called. 1900 pot.

Flop came A96 with two diamonds. The limper led out for 1500. Dude…uh, no…that’s not gonna work for me. I re-raised to 3000 and he folded. Ok, maybe I need to back off a little and let guys find a hand.


Service!

Around the first break, I was getting a little hungry and called for service. When LakeofFire did a review of Club One, he touted the Vietnamese cube steak, and one of the servers mentioned it was the most popular item on the Asian menu. I like to think I’ve got a worldly palate, but I wasn’t wild about it. Then again, my frame of reference with Vietnamese food is pretty limited.

I had better luck later with the Club One burger. It’s a good burger (and cheap!) and my only complaint was that my server forgot to bring ketchup and mustard with it so I had to ask the Asian hottie next to me to borrow hers. Come to think of it, maybe the server was doing me a favor. In any event, the food here is fine—not as good as Ocean’s or the Bike but competitive with the Commerce and the Hustler.

On the second to last hand before the break after round 3, I was sitting with a little over 11,000 and picked up QQ in the BB. An UTG player, raised to 800. Folded to me, I re-raised to 3000 total, maybe too much, but he’s UTG and I’m in the blinds…let’s see where we are. He showed AQs and folded. Ok, I know where I am—I suck at poker. I headed into the break with about 12,500 chips.


Mixing poker and politics

On the break, I spent a little time chatting with Mike Dages, city council member/poker player. Councilman Dages is a regular at the club and sponsors a charity tournament that has a good turnout. His wife was also playing in the tournament and I was a little envious. When someone asks me “Where’s your wife today?” I get to respond, “In the spa, wrecking my bankroll with a seaweed scrub, shiatsu massage and pedicure.” He gets to respond, “Last I checked, table 3, seat 7…but she was sitting short so who knows? Check the 3/5 game.” In any event, he’s a nice guy and running for mayor in 2008. Hey, if Larry Craig can keep his Senate seat, a poker player can be mayor, right?

Note: Councilman Dages’ wife final tabled the event and took home $7500 in a 10-way chop. And my wife's toes look fantastic.


No action, no traction

After the break, I spent time just trying to pick up blinds. The structure was such that no one ever really built a commanding chip stack relative to the blinds. And without antes at later stages, I felt like I needed to keep active throughout. No matter what I did, though, I was stuck at 11-13k.

With the blinds at 200/400, I raised with A9o from middle position. God help me, I hate A9—a wretched, piece of crap hand with which I’ve managed to donate throughout my poker career. Thankfully, everyone folded.

Another orbit and I had 88 in middle position and raised to 1200. One caller from the blinds. Jack high flop. He checked to me. I bet 2500 and took the pot.

The blinds then bumped to 300/500 and I was sitting with 13500. Pretty much everyone at the table was stuck in the 5-15k range, maybe one guy with 20k.

Folded to me in the cut-off with A5, I made it 2000 to go. Dealer button called, small blind folded.

Flop 988. I continued for 3000. Dealer button showed AJo and folded and small blind commented that he’d folded JJ from the blinds. What, are you serious? Have you seen the structure, sir?


Keep your enemies close

My table was pretty collegial with lots of chatting and showing. The guy next to me mentioned he’d been sponsored by his local card room to play some WSOP events and had moneyed in a few. We end up talking a bit and I reminded him I needed him to do something stupid to chip me up. We both laughed, but it was obvious to me that if he played back at me he’d have a real hand.

Sure enough at 300/500, a girl limped UTG and my “friend” raised to 1600. I picked up JJ and re-raised to 3500. The table collapsed back to him and he insta-shoved. Uh, no thanks. I mucked and he showed AA. Yeah, no kidding. I kicked myself because I knew he’d been playing tight and I ruined any set value I had, but I was happy to have avoided stacking off on some 239 flop.

The last hand before they broke our table, I had 13000 chips and KK in the small blind. Three limpers to me, I made it 2500 to go and got one caller. 6300 pot.

Flop was TT9. I led out for 4000. Guy showed AJs and folded. What’s with all the showing here? And quit playing so tight…shove pre-flop!


Same chips, different table

They reseated me at a new table and the blinds increased to 500/1000. Figure I’ve got 17000+ now.

An orbit in, I’m in the big blind with QJo with a limper from the button. Small blind called and I checked my option.

Q43 rainbow flop

Small blind led out for 2000. I usually re-raise here, but I called hoping to keep a weak Q in the hand. Dealer button folded.

Turn 2. Ok, maybe the smooth call wasn’t my best idea.

SB checked and I bet 3000. He labored and called. Ok, maybe it was a good idea.

River was the 4. Check. Check. Queens were good and now I’m sitting a little better with 21k or so.

At this point, there were 12 tables left with another 8 minutes in the level. We were playing to 7-8 tables today (maybe 6p or so) which was a nice change from the usual mid-afternoon to 2a grind that’s common down south. I’d like to think this is just small-town sensibility, but the reality is the club probably wants to get some cash games running and still have a good crowd tomorrow. Whatever…I can’t begrudge guys for making a living. I went back to stealing.

With the blinds still at 500/1000, it was folded to me on the dealer button with JTo. I made it 3500 to go and took the blinds. I was now sitting with 23,000, an above average stack…of 23 BBs. Ridiculous.

Next hand, I was in the cut-off with QQ. A player someone identified as a good, local player raised to 3500 from UTG. I thought about just re-raising but figured with a shove maybe I could get TT or JJ to call. I moved in and he tanked for a bit and folded. He later pulled me aside and told me he folded 99. Excellent, Edmond. Another blown opportunity. Nice work.


Hand of the day

A couple of orbits later, I was sitting in the BB with 23,500 in total 93o. Three limpers to me and I checked. Flop came 973, two clubs. Ok, here we go. I led out for 3000 into the 4500 pot and an EP limper min-raised me to 6000. Ok, I like it. Next limper promptly shoved. Ugh. I really wanted to chip up here but with how tight table had been playing, it really looked like one of those guys had a set. I resisted the urge to tear the Copags in half and folded. The min-raiser thought for a good two minutes before showing and folding A9; the winner showed a set of threes. Well, thanks for showing, pal, but it still sucked.

After that, I don’t remember much other than folding and shoving my way to 5:30 when we broke with 7 tables remaining. The blinds would start tomorrow at 1000/2000 and I had a anemic 15,000 stack. If you can imagine it, there were at least 15 players sitting shorter than me. Tomorrow was going to be carnage from the start. I stretched and sought solace in the cash games.


It's about giving back...

Following the tournament, I walked around and noticed about 15 cash games including the following:

Limit

1/2, 2/4, 3/6, 4/8, 6/12, 15/30

There were at least two 2/4s and 3/6s and three 6/12s running. The 4/8 had a list and didn’t get going until later as a double jackpot game, but the 15/30 ran all weekend.

No limit

1/1 20-40 min-max buy-in
2/2 40-100 min-max
3/5 100-300 min-max and
5/10 1000-no max that runs on Tue, Thu and weekends

Omaha

3/6 with a kill (Saturdays only)


The Fresno City Council recently amended the city ordinance to allow Club One to spread no limit cash games on a trial basis. Per the amendment, the Club can run three games mid-week and five games on the weekend.

The 1/1 NL game didn’t get down while I was there, but it looked like the 2/2 ran continuously. I can’t vouch for the entire overnight shift but was definitely running at 11a and 2a. The 5/10 game ran about 8+ hours and looked like it played pretty deep—I saw several guys sitting with $3000+. For reference, the Commerce caps the 5/10 NL game at $400 and the Bike 5/10 plays with 500-no max. If you’re a 5/10 player in the area, it’s worth a look.

The local Indian casinos have been running NL games for a while, but it was obvious that the NL game was new to many of the lower stakes players. That said, I managed to dust off several buy-ins in the 2/2 NL with the following gems…

KK v J7s. All-in on the JJ8 flop.

KK v AJs v 88. All-in multi-way pre-flop. JxxxJ board.

KK in position v A8. J8x flop. Raise, re-raise, call pre-flop. He bet out, I raised, he called. A on the turn. He led out and I folded. He showed A8, obv.

QQ v JJ on 8922J board.

Etc. ad nauseum.

I took a break for dinner at a local restaurant but finished the day in fine form, heading into Day 2 of the tournament with a little over 3x BBs and down five buy-ins in low stakes cash games. Just another weekend of EdmondDantes poker.


Thanks for playing, sir.

Day 2 started like Day 1—I got up, worked out, ate, then made the 10-minute drive to the casino. We started Day 2 with 7 tables, but as I mentioned, almost everyone was in rough shape from the start. The blinds started at 2000/4000 and even the chip leader had only 90,000 chips or so. The average stack was 30,000 so I figured it to be a push-fest from the start.

On the very first hand, it was folded to me on the cut-off with QT. I shoved my pathetic 15,000 and got two callers…AJ and 66. Ok, not horrible…I'm 30% or so to triple up.

Flop was an encouraging…

274

Nice! Now I was actually a favorite to triple up with 15 outs twice. Of course, I whiffed them all—turn 3x, river 5x and the 66 took it with a straight. Well, at least I got up and worked out. Good luck, fellas.

The rest of the field thinned pretty quickly and by 3:30 or so they were seating the final table. No sooner had the final table seated, when they showed their good sense and announced a 10-way chop for $7500 with the winner taking the $5000 white gold bracelet. The way the prize pool was structured the winner could have taken home about $25k or so, but everybody seemed pretty happy with the outcome.


The Winnah and his hardware...




Side note: I thought the dealers and floor-staff were professional and friendly and acted like they actually enjoy working there. It was a nice change from the cynics or B-teamers you sometimes find pitching cards in the So Cal or Vegas tournaments. In the entire tournament, I only saw one misdeal, an exposed card that the dealer retrieved and dealt through without any disruption whatsoever. Contrast that with this year’s WSOP where I saw misdeals a couple of times an hour, each of which would stall the play for a good minute or so.

In addition, the tournament tables are a mix of some synthetic felt and some regular felt, but they accommodate 10 players comfortably and are well-maintained. There are no automatic shufflers (auto-shufflers on the cash game tables, though) but again, the dealers were as good as I’ve seen in tournaments resulting in hands per hour higher than those I’ve seen elsewhere. All the chairs are in good shape, albeit fixed leg. And if you’re not comfortable in your chair, just ask. At one point after a table change, I asked for one of the taller chairs and the staff was quick to oblige.


Back on the horse

My Day 2 cash game play was a mixed bag. Highlights of the day included:

(1) Laying down AQo on A347Q board when my opponent showed strength the whole way and shoved the river. He showed A3o. Oh, nice Edmond, way to go. This is LIVE poker, remember?

(2) Flopping sets with 44 and 99, both times against KK and getting it all-in. Ok, that's more like it.

Other than that, it was my usual "raise in position, bet my good hands, fold when I’m beat" strategy that seems to be pretty effective at low stakes NL. I managed to finish the weekend down about $1000 between the tournament and Day 1 cash game carnage, but I thought the games were beatable for an observant, aggressive player.

Overall, I think Club One is a solid choice if you’re looking for action in the Central California area. You can read the review I posted but I could sum it up…plenty of action, excellent dealers, good food. If they fix the structure, I’d play the 4th Annual Ace of Diamonds, for sure. I’m not taking that 10-man chop at the end, though!

Edmond


For reference...

Club One Casino
1033 Van Ness Avenue
Fresno, CA 93721
(559) 497-3000

Club One Casino website

Grab a sandwich, fellas. It’s a long one.

Strange utterances and horrible pronouncements

In the Inferno, the first part of The Divine Comedy, the Roman poet Virgil guides Dante on a tour of Hell, moving past each of nine concentric circles of the damned toward the center of the Earth where Satan lies bound in ice. The inhabitants of each circle are progressively more heinous and their punishments are tailored to their crimes on Earth. It's an entertaining read (translated, of course) and offers surprising parallels to my recent run through the California State Poker Championships (CSPC) at the Commerce Casino.

I hadn’t played a live tournament since the World Series and decided it was time to take a run at a score. The CSPC culminates in a two-day event with a buy-in ($2590) and field that’s just painful enough to make winning it worth the effort. Past champions include Ferguson, Pham, Laak and even Ben Affleck (this is the event he won a couple years back before J-Lo made him kick his poker habit). My own poker skills suggest that writing an Academy Award winning screenplay or getting a PhD in computer science might be easier ways to break into this group, but I’d been off the felt just long enough to once again believe I could be a contender in a live event.

The last few tournaments I’ve played have been stinkers—several hours of awkward thrashing and hacking to stay above average only to be sent to the rail holding a heavy favorite. At best, I feel like I’m in the 5th Circle of Hell alternatively watching the wrathful fighting just above the surface of the Styx or struggling, with the other sullen and slothful, just beneath. Most times though, I feel like I’m stuck in the Vestibule, that nasty holding pen just beyond the gates inscribed “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.” It’s in this spiritual grey area that those souls not quite worthy of heaven but not bad enough for Hell mill about. The wafflers, the ne’er-do-wells, those who never really took a stand in life find themselves here, tormented by hornets and wasps. It’s certainly nothing to look forward to and a great argument for taking action in life and its conflicts. It’s the punishment of the uncommitted, if you will, and not a bad metaphor for my typical tournament experience.

Of course, while I suffer my usual tournament fate, there’s always some cheery soul, breezing along with a monstrous pyramid of chips like Dante himself led safely through wretchedness by Virgil. In my poker career, I've been that carefree guy once—in the satellite I won to enter my first WSOP Main Event. In that sat, I was within a breath of the felt and then suddenly went on a tear that included flopping quads vs a boat, a boat vs trips and at least one three outer. Forty-five minutes later, I had the chip lead by some stupid amount with hours left to play. I can't remember the numbers exactly, but my stack size was so absurd that the tournament director confided to me that I could safely go have a nice dinner and just come back later to pick up my entry ticket. Instead, I stuck around to savor the feeling and, like sex for the first time, it left me convinced that the next time I was in a similar spot, I'd do even more with my stack whether I needed to or not.

The challenge is, of course, building the big stack without the gift of fortune. In the WSOP sat, it was all luck smiling on me, and I understand the math of this game enough to know that hope is not a winning game plan. With that and the “Abandon all hope” quote in mind, I therefore resolved to be more aggressive and take more chances to accumulate chips in this tournament, forsaking survival for the active creation of a stack that would make even LakeofFire blush. Of course, everyone thinks they're a bad-ass right up until the point that they actually NEED to be a bad-ass, so I was looking forward to seeing if I could actually prove myself worthy of my new mindset.

From the dark wood into the depths…

Like Dante’s own journey, the first day of the event started on a dreary note. It rained hard in LA on Friday night and continued off and on through Saturday. I woke up early, uploaded some photos that Landlord79 sent from his recent Biloxi tour—Hard Rock, Beau Rivage and Boomtown—and hit the gym for a nice workout. I like to get a good workout in before a long day of sloth but made a mental note to leave extra early. People in LA get The Fear when it rains—even the most minor drizzle creates all sorts of freeway havoc. As it turned out, though, the weather seemed to have scared them inside. I drove down to the Commerce (maybe 30 minutes from my house) without a hitch and arrived just in time to see Jamie Gold pull up in a new Toyota Prius. Hmmm. He’s shorter than I expected and Earth-friendly.

The tournament started in 20 minutes and I headed up to the second floor tournament area to pick up a new player card (required for entry) and sign up. Commerce holds its tournaments in a 2nd floor ballroom that houses the low stakes NL and limit games. For major tournaments, there's a room divider that's easily retracted creating a larger ballroom capable of handling 60+ tables. The room is self-sufficient with a cashier and snack bar which serves alcohol. There are only a few small flat screen TVs scattered about, but during major tournaments, the tournament clock is projected on a large screen easily visible from any seat in the room. You can get a sense of the room below…








Limbo

This year 362 wretches, including James Woods, Men Nguyen, Amir Vahedi, Kenna James, Cam Hua, John Phan et al., braved the rain to show up for the event. Most of these lost souls have little hope of redemption but are here in Limbo anyway making up a total prize pool of $877,850. Actually, the first Circle of Hell as Dante describes it (aka Limbo) isn’t all that bad; it’s where the pagans are corralled and their punishment is simply that they’ll never see God. Not good, of course, but not as bad as being immersed in a lake of boiling pitch with the corrupt politicians or being steeped in human excrement with the false flatterers. Fortunately, the majority had already secured their spot in Limbo prior to my arrival—the line was short and within five minutes I had my seating ticket and food voucher.

As with most Commerce tournaments, it started on time and without a hitch. For the biggest card room in the world, holding a forty table tournament is roughly comparable to Bond18 making a sandwich—a minor distraction from profitable ring games but critical to keep the machine moving forward.

We started with 5000 chips with the blinds at 25/50 and 60 minute levels. It’s not the deepest start obviously but, for the money, not a bad value. If you’re so inclined you can see the structure here…

The Structure

I didn't think to check early on but most of the tournament was played 9-handed or less. I’m guessing we were 9-handed throughout because I don’t remember ever feeling crowded at the table. In any event, it was a comfortable set up, and at 2p, we were off.

A nice start courtesy of a fraudulent soul

A few hands into the tournament, there was a limper to me in MP with 87. The new, cavalier me figured he’d experiment a little and limped, too. The DB came along and one of the blinds raised to 250. This may be a $2590 buy-in tournament, but it's also the Commerce low stakes NL room where building a pot out of position is sacrosanct, so we all called. There’s 1250 in the pot going to the flop.

A nice T46 flop gave me a double gutter with a flush draw. One of the blinds bet out for 500 and there was one other caller to me. I’m usually raising here but decided to just call, hit the turn and win a big pot instead of just blowing a misguided soul off a smaller one. Hey, Cleopatra and Helen of Troy are in the 2nd Circle with the rest of the lustful; I’ll take my chances. 2750 in the pot headed to the turn.

The turn was the lovely 5 giving me the nut straight. It's checked to me, and I bet 1300 with EP limper coming along. The river was Q something and the EP player…shoved? Uh, ok…I called and he mucked a missed diamond draw. Sir, the 8th Circle of Hell is for the fraudulent and thieves, and I believe they're waiting for you there. The rest of you wretches, meet your early chip leader.

Gluttonous and greedy

At this point, I picked up some nice hands but failed to make much progress. The 3rd Circle houses the gluttonous and the 4th the greedy, but I didn’t care. Like Bush after the 2004 elections, I felt I had a mandate and, however misguided, I intended to act upon it.

AQo. I raised pre-flop with two callers behind. I whiffed the flop but bet out anyway only to be renounced by two callers. The turn blanked and I check-folded in shame like a corrupt politician.

AKo. I raised pre-flop with three callers. Whiffed the flop and check-folded again. Bah! The uncommitted are damned, remember?

AK…with T exposed pre-flop. Like the sorcerers and false prophets in the 9th Circle, I can only see behind me, not the future, so with my royal flush draw ruined, I was satisfied to just raise and take the blinds.

On the last hand of the level, UTG raised to 150. I was on the DB with yet another stupid connector, 75, and called. The small blind re-raised to 750 and we both shamed the low stakes NL room and folded.

At this point, we were an hour in, I'd played about 15 of the 30 or so dealt hands and anyone at the table who hadn’t pegged me for some ridiculous LAG-tard had to be brain-dead.

Sighs and lamentations

The wonderful rush of quality hands deserted me and I treaded water until the last hand before the 10-minute break after Level 2 (50/100). Two limpers to me on the DB with 88, I raised to 400. The small blind completed and the others called to build a 1600 pot.

The flop = J87 with two spades. The small blind led out for 800 and leery of the draw nasty board , I bumped it to 2400. Despite my hyperactive first level, I failed to convince him I was full of crap and he folded. Whatever. It’s better than him hitting his four-outer straight on the turn, I guess. I now had a little over 12,000 chips and was the big stack at the table.

As an aside, one of things that's cool about playing a poker tournament in LA is that besides the usual raft of degenerates, you meet some interesting dudes. At my table directly to my left was Martin Shafer, Head of Castle Rock Entertainment and a regular high stakes player. CastleRock's credits include When Harry Met Sally, A Few Good Men, The Shawshank Redemption, Best in Show and Seinfeld. We had a fun chat about the early years of Seinfeld and the most recent season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Unfortunately, his luck with TV and film picks was a little better than with his poker. He was out shortly before level 4.

Level 3 was uneventful but Level 4 (100/200) got spirited when two big stacks directly to my right decided to mix it up. Big stack limped in UTG and it folded around to 2nd big stack in the big blind to his direct right. BB raised to 800 and the big stack called.

Flop was KJ8. Check, check. Turn was a 9 at which point it turned into a silly min-raise fest. It all got in with the bigger big stack’s slow-played eights demolished by a turned set of nines. Slow player (SP) promptly hit a couple of good hands in a row and was back in contention and I tried to figure out where I stand at the table.

To my right, I had two loose players. SP to my direct right would call down with 3rd pair with Harpies shrieking in his face and the guy to his right was the big stack (courtesy of the set of 9s) at the table.

To my left, there was a calling station maybe three seats away and apparently, he’s anxious to see me progress to the next level with his chips. I raised an unopened pot with 9s to 750; he called. Flop came 8 high and I continued with 1300. He showed KJ and folded. Two hands later, I raised with AJo to 750. Same guy called. I continued with 1300 and took the pot. Sir, please report to the 7th Circle with the other prodigals who squandered their possessions.

What makes you think I’m coveting your jacket?

We're four hours in now, about halfway through the field with 20 tables still active—call it 180 players left. There were about 1.8 million chips in play and I was stuck around 12k-ish, a little over average courtesy of expert plays like the following.

Limped to me in the small blind with A9o, I completed and saw a JT8 flop. I check-called the flop and led out at the turn to take the pot. In retrospect, there’s nothing special about the hand other than how poorly I played it out of position, but like confession, it makes me feel better for having admitted and taken responsibility for it.

Looking around the table, there was a kid across from me in a Party Poker jacket. Not just any Party Poker jacket, mind you. He was sporting the tan faux suede one from the old days when it was the nicest item in the Party Poker store. He completed his look by putting on his Oakleys every time he was in a hand so I could tell he meant business.

To his right and across from me was a woman who I've seen in LA tournaments and remember blowing the old, nitty me off a pair of queens early in the LA Poker Classic. In her bust-out hand here, she raised UTG and PartyPoker jacket guy (PPJG) called and I called in position with 77. She bet out for 1200 on an 8 high flop. In turn, he raised to another 2700 and I ducked out of the hand. Back to her, she thought for a bit and moved all-in for another couple thousand. He snap-called with JJ. Her 89 didn’t improve and headed off to the 7th Circle to lament with the other suicides.

We broke for dinner with 20 minutes left at Level 5. I was still holding 12k, about average, and got encouragement from Adanthar, nath, LakeofFire, lakong and PianoMan. The general consensus was that I’ll need to get busy after dinner but not do anything stupid. Nice to know that, to a man, my poker colleagues felt the need to remind me not to be a lazy fool.

I stare death in the face

We returned from dinner with 17 tables left, 9 players per table. We were still at Level 5 with 100/200/25 ante. I was UTG+1 the gun with TT and raised to 1000, PartyPoker jacket guy (SB) and big stack (BB) both called.

The flop brought 987 and PartyPoker jacket guy led out for 300 (WTF?) into a 3000 pot. BB called, obviously. I was a suspicious of that laughable bet but made it 3000 straight. Back to you, sir. Are you virtuous or a hypocrite? While he was thinking, I was trying to sort out what I'd do if he shoved. I was mostly worried about a set, obv. I didn't figure he had an over pair given his PF play or the high end of a straight with me holding two of the Ts. I figured I had 30% equity in this pot, but I had 7-8k left behind. If he shoved, it would be a close call and I could be way behind. As it was, he folded QQ face up. Uh, what?

At this point, the big stack went on a rant about how I had AK and he'd have never laid down there…blah, blah, blah. I was tempted to point out to him that heretics in the 6th Circle are trapped in flaming tombs and the fraudulent advisers in 8th Circle are encased in individual flames so either way he wouldn’t be needing that stupid hoodie he was wearing much longer. But PPJG was convinced his read was good. "The only hand I'd want to see there was JJ. He's got a lot of outs if he had TT or the big flush draw, and I'm smoked if he's got kings." I'll give him credit. Despite his donkish flop bet, PartyPoker jacket guy thought it out.

That said, I'll never understand why guys recap their thought process openly at the table. From that little exchange, I pegged the big stack as a dope who'd think anybody was "making a move." and the PartyPoker jacket guy as a thoughtful player. Had they both kept quiet, I'd be none the wiser about either.

Confronting the heretic

A few hands later, it was limped to me on the dealer button with 88. I raised to 800 and was joined by two callers including the non-believer with the big stack.

Flop was T87.

Big stack bet 1000 and when I raised to 3000, he blurted out "I can't beat AKo." And shows 53. He then went through some expert analysis about how he should've re-raised me.

"Yeah, I don't know what I'd have done if you'd re-raised me." I said and let him stew on that. I'm not sure which circle of Hell is reserved for donuts, but just hang out in the 8th Circle with the other sowers of discord. We’ll let you know.

The heretic and I mix it up a little later, 30 minutes into level 6. There were 15 tables remaining with an average stack of 15,000. I was sitting with 17,500 chips and Q6 in SB. I taunted the Furies and completed.

The flop was KJT.

I checked and the all-knowing big stack bet 2000. I contemplated check-raising but opted to call since I wasn’t sure how I want to play the turn if he called a raise.

Turn was 4

Check. Check. Oooo…thanks.

4

Ok, then…I bet out 2000 with my flush, and the big stack was apoplectic. "I'm folding the winning hand! I can't believe I'm folding the winning hand!" I grinned and said, "You folded a made hand just ‘cause I repped the flush? Dude, you were getting 3 to 1 or something..." and stacked the chips. “That’s all right. You and I will meet again.” He countered. Oooooo, so foreboding…

On the last hand before the break, I was UTG with AK and raised. An Asian guy in LP called and we saw an awesome...

AK9 flop.

I bet 2500 with my top two. He called.

Turn was a 3. I bet 5000. He called.

River was another 3. I bet another 5000 and he folded his missed royal flush draw and we're on to Level 7 with me sitting with about 30k. What’s that? Nice hand, you say? Thanks…please note that false flatterers are in Circle 8.

Back from the abyss

Over the course of the next hour and a half I managed to evaporate 11 or 12k chips via general stupidity and had 19,000 chips as we headed into Level 8 (300/600 with 75 ante). We were playing eight people per table, so there was 1500 in the pot to start the hand.

Kenna James was now at my table with a slightly less than average stack. We also had a massive chip leader present who was on one of those heaters that’s just nauseating to watch. He flopped quads and got paid. Turned a boat and got paid. If he was in the hand, he hit it…and got paid. So fun to watch and live vicariously when you’re fighting to stay average. Ah, well, Dante dealt with envy in the Purgatorio. Perhaps another day.

Wielding my own stack like a three legged stool in a bar fight, I worked back up to 24,000 chips, but then promptly gave it back when I opened from the cut-off with QT and one of the blinds pushed on me. Couple thousand to call, whatever. He showed K3 and doubled through.

An orbit later I raised from DB with 33 and SB pushed on me for another couple thousand. He showed AK and the remaining seven aces and five kings in the deck found their way to the board. Anyone else here need chips while I’m at it?

I re-surveyed my situation. To my direct right, one guy who's been playing tight. I had him covered. Two and three spots to the right are two big chip stacks, maybe 40k and 50k. Two shorties to my direct left so I have to be careful about raising indiscriminately. I finally sorted it all out and was promptly moved to another table where now I was the short stack. Lovely.

I sat down and two to my left was some Middle Eastern guy with shiny gold rim sunglasses. My first hand in, I raised his blind with KTo. He defended against my obvious move and led out at the T high flop. Sir, this one’s for the violent ones over in the 7th Circle. I moved ALL IN for the first time of the day. He looked at me as if I’d stolen his pinkie ring and folded. Let that be a lesson to those who would defend their blind against me. I’ll flop TPGK and shove with conviction.

A few hands later I was UTG with 88 and raised. There was one caller behind, a younger, confident player who looked fully capable of floating some grey-haired pretender with a voice recorder.

The flop was 99x, two diamonds and I bet 4000. He called.

Turn was a blank. I bet 6000. He called. Eww. Sixes? Sevens? A9?

River was an ace.

Nath's recent post flashed through my mind, but I check anyway, and because he hadn't read said post, the player checked behind. 88 goot and I was healthy again with about 34k chips.

More confrontations with the damned

With the blinds going to 400/800/100 ante, we colored up the little ones. I had 35k chips with an average stack at 25k and 60 people left and set off on a little bit of a heater.

Some would be seducer raised my blind from the button. I re-raised with my beefy pair of 5s and took his chips. In the DB with QQ, I raised again and again took the pot. Next hand, AK in the CO. Guy in front limped, I raised for the third time in a row and again took the pot down. Can’t you guys see I’m just messing with you? Gimme some action! I was now sitting with over 40k chips.

We broke at level 10 (500/1000/200). It was quarter of one in the morning, we were playing down to 27 or 2a and with 52 players left, it looked like 2a. Side note: at 1a and there’s a ton of people playing baby NL upstairs at the Commerce. 8-10 tables fighting over $10 pots. Nice.

Back from the break, I raised with KJo from the CO and folded to re-raise from a guy who's been playing tight.

PartyPoker jacket guy was still in and re-seated to my right. He looked like the chip leader.

I picked up some chips when a short stack pushed from UTG and I called with JJ from the blind. He turned over K5o and the jacks held.

I had a nervous moment with TT in the DB when a woman with 60k two seats to my right raised to 4k. I re-raised another 10k. She stared at me for about two minutes and folded AQo face up.

The very next hand, I was in the CO with AK. Big stack to my direct right raised from the hijack to 3500. I re-raised another 10k. He folded. At this point, my table thinks I’m a bad-ass for playing sheriff to the two big stacks at the table.

It was quarter of 2 now and I made a mental note to not do something stupid from here out. We’re 42 players left and I was tired. I’d just as soon get some sleep before mixing it up any further.

I was moved to a table with Amir Vahedi. When I sat, Amir's in the middle of a one orbit timeout for language and was still whining his case from the other side of the velvet rope. What adult does that? Get some dignity, sir.

At 10 minutes of 2a, the level changed and the blinds increased to 600/1200/200. I folded my way to the finish, bagged up 42,800 chips and headed home pretty much in the middle of the pack going into day 2. I got home around 2:40a still would up from the day. I got a bite to eat, answered some emails and finally crashed around 3:30a.

Day 2

My wife and cats were annoyingly active by 8a so I got up, bummed around for a bit and rattled off 40 minutes of laps in the pool to get the blood flowing and feel good about sitting for another day. I pulled on a black t-shirt with Russian wording on it that I've convinced myself is from some seedy Moscow strip club. Next time I see him, Adanthar will probably point out to me that Alexi's construction business spelled "plumbing" wrong on their promo shirts, but for now I feel like an edgy bad-ass.

It was quarter of 2p when I got back to the Commerce. I looked at the day 2 seating draw and discovered I was 20th of 40 players with 42,800. At my table, I started the day with one of the chip leaders to my direct right and Vahedi to my far left. Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am, stuck in the middle…

We started with 5 tables, eight to a table, and I made my way to the bubble staying pretty much even, raising when folded to me and 3-betting out of my blind at opportune moments. I managed to pick up some ok hands to work with—A5o, 99, whatever—so I held my own against a pretty active table.

The bubble

At 28 players, the two big stacks at my table (both to my right) got it all in with KK v AA. One player raised from the CO, the other re-raised from the BB. The big stack moved in and the other stack insta-called with AA. Cue much howling and celebration by the short stacks until they realized that KK player had AA slightly covered and both players were still alive after the hand. Sit down, fellas, and act like men.

As it turns out, the KK player kept his cool, tripled up and made the money easily. And in a divine twist of fate, the Bubble Boy was the heretic/sower of discord who'd been the big stack at my table and repeatedly miscalled my hand the prior day. The 8th Circle’s a nasty, nasty place, sir. Let that be a lesson to ya!

Where’s Virgil when you need him?

After the bubble broke, I moved to a new table with 50k+ versus the 64k average where I engaged in the first of several end game gaffes. With the blinds increased to 1000/2000/300 ante, there was an UTG raiser to 7000. With one caller to me on the DB with 67, I called. 19k pot, why not? Well, maybe because I’m not deep enough to make the implied odds work or outplay the other guys on the flop, but hey, we’re all just trying to learn, right? As the dealer burned, I mentally prepared to push with any pair and a draw. Of course, the flop was 833 two diamonds. 26k pot. UTG bet out 11k. I have 43k+ behind. I folded and wondered if they were still serving lunch back in Limbo with the other non-committals.

[As an aside, I posted this hand on 2+2 and the general consensus was fold pre-flop and jam flop as played. Oops.]

The next orbit brought the first limped pot in a while. It was limped to me on DB with A4. Not willing to spoil the moment or build a pot with a baby ace, I limped, too. When everyone checked the A on the flop, I bet 7500 and took the pot.

Down to 24 players, I had K8o in the BB. The CO, an Asian player I recognized from another tournament, raised my BB to 6500 for the second time in a row. I re-raised this obvious steal attempt another 16k and he folded without incident. 8th Circle for you, sir, perhaps? That’s right…with the other fraudulent ones.

I was still sitting relatively short with 50k and we were playing 5-handed while the TD sorted out the next table move. It was folded to me on DB with QJo so I raised to 10k just to blow the blinds out. Yikes…the small blind came over the top for 18k total. Gross, but I called getting a 3 or 4 to 1. He showed KK but a QJ on the flop sent him to the rail. Wow, so that’s what it feels like to suck-out late. Ok, then.

In which I’m labeled a Thief

I was now sitting with 80k chips with 23 players and raised to 8k from the CO with 55. The big blind, some guy named Dallas (“As in Texas.”…uh, right…I think I got that) re-raised another 10k and showed J9o. He said he raised dark because I've been raising his button EVERY TIME. The new me must be the new me, because that’s the first time anyone’s ever accused me of that. Somewhere LakeofFire was beaming with pride.

We were down to last two tables (18 people left) still at 1500/3000/500. I was using my 58k to steal blinds but making no headway to the field. There was a flurry of carnage when the panderers and seducers at the other table took on Eric Crisp, the big stack and eventual tournament winner, who celebrated each confrontation like Terrell Owens of old. This looks like his first real win and I’m sure he played well, but if I could have any wish in the poker world, it would be that people learn to win gracefully. I mean is it too much to ask to see a little more Tom Brady and a little less Chaz Michael Michaels on the felt?

The 9th Circle is not for the timid

In any event, we’re down to 15 players. Dante’s 9th Circle of Hell is reserved for traitors—not your basic two-face scum, but those who’ve committed crimes against their kin and God. I can’t say I’m overly religious but I am loyal and there’s no way the ultimate spot for me would include the likes of Judas, Cassius et tu, Brutus? That said, the following hand extended my betrayal of self-commitment and set off a nauseating hand sequence.

I was UTG with 44 with Can Kim Hua two seats my right. He was a big stack and raised any limped or unopened pot. I was sitting with 50k—just enough to wait for a better spot—and knowing a limp would draw a beefy raise and a raise could well result in a sickening raise, re-raise, fold sequence, I folded.

Of course, Hua raised and a couple of players joined him in the pot. I don’t remember anything from the rest of the hand except the giant 4 in the middle of it and the massive number of chips that found their way to the pot thereafter. I considered bludgeoning myself to death on the felt and joining the suicides in the 7th Circle but shook it off and regrouped.

Three hands later, I was on the DB with 44 again. There was a raise in front and then a re-raise. I folded, obv, and the original raiser called. Again I don’t remember much from the flop except yet another humungous 4 in the middle of it and a ton of gut-wrenching action.

No salvation for the patient

So now I’m headed into the break with 40k, demoralized, with the blinds going to 2000/4000/1000 ante when we return. I got a breath of air, when first hand back after the break, I picked up KK. Halleluiah…there’s a raise in front of me to 12k. I considered re-raising to 30k but figured leaving 10k behind pretty much turns my hand over pre-flop. I shoved for my 40k hoping to get action from a hand like 99 or AQ but was instead rewarded with a penitent fold. Ugh.

I added to my stack until right before dinner shoving with AJ and KQ from mid-late position but then gave it back when I raised with A7o and folded to a shove. The last hand before dinner sealed my fate.

I was UTG with AQo and about 42k. As soon as I saw my cards, I thought “Shove.” but I saw a conservative player with 100k in chips to my direct left reaching for chips. I’m not the connoisseur of live tells that Landlord79 is, but I’ve watched my cats wrestle each other enough to know that when one of them starts shaking with his hind legs in a crouch, there’s gonna be action. I opted to play it safe and raised to 14k—a raise that had been getting it done, but, in retrospect, was the worst of the available alternatives. My stalker behind labored and finally called. Hmm, that feels like AJ-AQ or a middle pair. Everyone else folded and I glued my eyes to him on the flop.

Ugh. He didn’t seem at all disappointed with the T84 flop.

In the absence of a read or holding the A or Q there, I shove the flop, but my instincts screamed “Check!” He bet, of course, and flashed a set of Ts when I folded. I congratulated myself for pulling myself out of the fiend’s mouth but it was little consolation—my swimming skills are suspect in my heated pool and now I was immersed in the burning lake and sinking fast.

I was in 13th place and thinking how apropos that finish would be when a player to my left with a 2x average stack raised and 4-bet with T8, his “favorite hand.” 3-better showed TT and T8 player was done. I never understood the favorite hands thing, especially when faced with a big re-raise. It’s sort of like wearing your favorite suit to a firing squad and expecting a happy ending. Well, no…I don’t think he was offering a massage, sir.

Back to the surface

In any event, we were playing 6-handed now and I was in horrible shape when we broke for dinner. As soon as we came back, I knew I had to find any spot to get it in. The problem was, we were short-handed and there was action on both my blinds. 62o, 84s…the usual. Finally, I was in the DB with 20k or so with KT. When the hijack raised (a big stack raising light…T9, A6 and the like), I shrugged and shoved. One caller behind (ugh) and they checked down a J9x flop. “Q!” I’m thinking but the poker gods did not see me worthy of salvation and my prayer went unanswered. JJ > KQo > KTo and I was out in 12th. Good game, sir, here's $10,535 for your 18 hours work.

Results of the CA State Poker Championships

Like Dante’s work, the end was pretty anti-climatic. One minute I was staring at the final Circle, and the next minute I was back on Earth. I cashed out the $10,535 in chips and drove home happy with my 1st day play but aware that I mangled a couple of critical spots on the 2nd day that cost me a spot at the final table. That said, I survived the Inferno and consider myself in a better position to find my way toward part 3 of the epic (Paradise, for those of you digging for the Cliff Notes). Unfortunately, in the three part classic, there’s a stop in Purgatory to deal with before Paradise can be enjoyed. Whatever, Purgatory’s where those whose vices include extravagance and sins of the flesh hang out. At least I’ll know my way around those parts.

Still digging,

Edmond

P.S. For reference...

Defying even the most aggressively managed expectations, I made it into day 2 of the California State Poker Championships with an average stack. 362 runners started the day; we're down to 40 players with the money at 27.

Play resumes tomorrow at 2p PST with blinds at 600/1200 and a 200 ante. I'm sitting with 42,800 (average is 45,000 or so). Remaining players include James Woods and Amir Vahedi; notables eliminated today include Jamie Gold, Men Nguyen, Kenna James, etc.

I've been hovering around an average stack since my early chip lead (15 minutes in a guy shoved into my flopped straight). I can't say I've been card dead--I flopped straights and sets, had AK a number of times and AA-99 repeatedly. Apparently, I've been unable to convince my opponents I'm full of crap so the vast majority of my hands have gone raise, nail flop, bet out, win modest pot. Whatever, it's better than the alternative.

I'll write something witty and poignant to convey the hurt and shame of my flame-out later tomorrow night, but for now I'm into day 2 with enough chips to see a flop.

Edmond

Last Thurs night around 9p, I headed down to the Commerce Casino to update my LA card room comparison chart and check out the low stakes NL games there. Some of you might not be familiar with the World’s Largest Poker Casino (ok, world’s largest LIVE poker casino) so here’s a quick tour.

The Commerce Casino/Crowne Plaza hotel complex is located directly off the 5 Freeway about 7-8 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. The 5 Freeway is a major LA thoroughfare and traffic can be brutal midday, but at 9 pm, it’s a breeze. You can’t miss the casino from the highway—both the casino and the attached hotel are well-lit with excellent signage.



In the satellite image below, you can see the Commerce’s proximity to the freeway and massive parking lot. The hotel part of the complex is the curved building on the left of the property; the main casino comprises the rectangular portion. If you look carefully in the upper right of the parking lot, you can see a N/S tennis court that was built well before the hotel was built. Senior management at the Commerce took their tennis seriously in their younger years!




"Past the chariot..."

As you can see, there’s plenty of free parking on the property, but since I’m lazy I opted to valet (about $2 not including tip). As you enter from the valet, you’re confronted with two oversized statues. I never really understood the Roman/Egyptian theme, but they look great and definitely give the sense of Las Vegas grandeur.




The high stakes room

Directly behind the statues is the high stakes room where all the big games ($10/20+ NL, $20/40 limit, etc.) run. There’s a large multi-screen monitor in a corner of the room, but for now, all the waitlists are managed by hand. I think Commerce is probably moving toward an automated system at some point. The low stakes NL waiting list is automated and there are a number of new flat screen monitors located strategically throughout the other areas of the casino. But for now, it’s white boards and markers in the high stakes and main room.




The main room

Continuing the tour, from the high stakes room, you go through a California games room (blackjack variants, pai gow, etc.) to the main room of the casino where all the middle stakes games are spread. It’s a huge open room with several food court type restaurants around the perimeter. Like the high stakes room, waitlists are kept by hand but there’s a sign up board at all four sides of the room (yes, it’s that big) and there’s floor staff manning the boards and directing players to seats. As a result, there’s rarely a problem finding or getting into the game you’re looking for.






I did a quick walk around to see what kind of action was running. Check this out for a Thursday night…

7 tables of 1/2 $40
7 tables of 2/3 $100
9 tables of 3/5 $200
8 tables of 5/10 $400
6 tables of $10/20 $600-no max
3 tables of $20/40 $2000-no max
1 table of $100/200 $30k-no max (note: Commerce usually has $50/$100 NL with a $5k minimum)

That’s over 40 tables of NL! By comparison, the Bellagio has 40 tables IN TOTAL. Of course, the Commerce spreads all sorts of other games—limit, stud, a MONSTER mixed game ($300/$600 usually and sometimes $400/$800) and a few Omaha games. There are over 240 tables in the casino and I’m guessing about 160 or so are dedicated to poker. They also run daily tournaments and recently began running $40 sit n gos using Lightning Poker electronic tables. More on those later.


”Excuse me, which way to the mini-ballers?”

Checking my bankroll, I realized I was a little light for the $100/$200 NL and made a mental note to put 60-100 dimes in my backpack for my next trip. I’m rolled for $5/10 but, in a rare show of discipline, resisted the urge to grab four stacks of $5 chips and find a seat. Instead, I stuck to the task at hand, namely checking out the low stakes NL action.

Commerce spreads its low stakes NL in its tournament room, located on the 2nd floor in the tournament & banquet area. The room is directly above the high stakes area and is accessible by a wide staircase, which spirals above the aforementioned statues. I’m pretty sure this staircase is the steepest staircase on Earth not associated with a Mayan ruin or pharaoh’s tomb. There’s probably room here to continue the metaphor with some reference to bloody sacrifice, but I’m not a virgin and don’t even know one, so let’s leave it that it’s a climb to get to the room.

I think the 2nd floor location cuts down on the number of low stakes NL and limit tables Commerce spreads. Both Hawaiian Gardens and Ocean’s 11 had more small NL games running, but they were right off the main floor in both casinos and tough to miss. Then again, those guys didn’t have nearly as many of the larger games that Commerce has. Whatever...this place is huge and there's plenty of action for anyone.

The room itself is what you’d expect of a hotel ballroom, high ceilings and chandeliers, with the inclusion of 30 or so tables and a snack bar. To the far right of the room is the cashier and brush area, and there are two Lightning electronic poker tables against the far wall. In the low stakes NL room (seen below courtesy of my lousy cell phone camera), waitlists are kept via an electronic system. There are several other monitors not in use; presumably, these are used for tournaments. The staff does a nice job keeping the lists moving, although I did have to wait about 20 minutes (4th on the list) to get seated in $40 NL.




”I had pot odds!

As with other rooms in the area, small stakes NL at the Commerce tends to be more social than competitive. That’s not to say the players don’t take it seriously—they do. It’s just that the tension, personality clashes and other drama you sometimes experience at higher limits is pretty much non-existent at these levels. Players tend to shrug off bad beats and etiquette faux pas and move on without lingering resentment.

Despite the good intentions of some players, the play tends to range from awkward to poor. Most players have an understanding of what beats what but the insight typically stops there. Of course, players make vocal references to position, draws and odds but more often than not that thinking, as expressed, is WAY off base. That’s not to say that the players aren’t experienced—it’s obvious that many play A LOT. But the references to odds and, specifically pot odds, are often well off the mark and the resulting decisions and stacks reflect it. In short, for a player with solid fundamentals, there’s plenty of equity sloshing around in these games.

It’s interesting how quickly you can assess the table just by listening and watching. Players at this level have no qualms about thinking out loud and recapping their thought process or what they folded after the hand is completed. Of course, in a game of limited information, it’s always best to keep your thinking to yourself for at least two reasons. First, you should avoid giving anyone any edge on how you might play, and second, as Lincoln once said “Better to keep you mouth shut and be thought a fool, than to open it and remove all doubt.” In any event, just by watching a few hands and listening to the color commentary, you can get a quick sense of who’s got an idea of what they’re doing.

"Pot odds" is the default rationale for any action in these games whether it’s calling pre-flop or on the flop. Surprisingly, everyone seems to nod in agreement when it happens. I’m not a tank tapper, but I’ll be honest, I’ll throw an “O rly?’ glance around when someone attempts to validate a bonehead play with “I had pot odds!” I honestly think that the typical low stakes NL player really has no idea what his/her odds are in various situations.


My table

My table was pretty standard for So Cal baby NL—mostly younger guys (mid-20s), one or two guys in their 30s and a couple of Asian women…and me, a grey-haired exec—clean shaven, no tats, no surfer brand t-shirt—standing out like Angelina Jolie at a refugee camp.

To my immediate left was a former dealer turned tattoo technician, a skill he proudly noted he learned in prison using a tattoo gun made from a Walkman, guitar string and pencil. He was a nice enough guy, but you have to wonder about someone who discusses his prison stint with a total stranger within 15 minutes or so of introduction. In the off chance I ever end up in prison and get out, I can pretty much guarantee that I’m going out of my way to keep the topic OUT of random conversations. My tablemates will just have to speculate on how I learned to make moonshine and tie a nifty corn row, thank you very much.

In any event, I’m in seat 1, he’s on my left and very active, calling pretty much any raise and limping into any pot. To his left, is a disinterested Asian kid wearing headphones and reading a magazine. To his left is a guy who looked like Ferris Bueller after a few more days off. Seat 5 was an older Asian man. To his left, an older Asian woman, no relation. Seat 7 was younger guy with tats and sideways baseball hat who stood up every time and was visibly excited each time he made a monster hand.

Landlord79 wrote some thoughts on his favorite live tells here...Landlord79's forum post. Here’s mine. When your opponent stands up, insta-calls flop and turn bets each time (as in the instant his opponent said “I bet…” he shouts “Call!” whether it’s his turn to act or not), shoves the river and then shows down monsters each time—two flopped sets and a flopped straight…that’s a good tell to note.

Like all of Commerce's tables, the tables in the low stakes room all have auto-shufflers which keeps play moving. On the other hand, the game is social so there’s more chit-chat, commentary, cell phone play, etc. than in the higher stakes games. To their credit, the dealers and chip runners keep the games moving; I counted 29 hands in the first hour and 31 in the second and, over the two hour period, only saw two hands surrendered without a flop. That’s pretty much standard for what I’ve seen elsewhere in similar games (Hollywood Park: 33 hands/hr; Ocean’s 34; HG 32; etc.). I also noticed that almost all the hands make it to the river. Unlike that larger games where a stiff turn bet will often end the hand, hands here go the whole way. Figure 2-3 hands an hour to NOT make it to the river.


Finally, some hands

I only stayed for a couple of hours but here are some hands that are indicative of the quality of play. I tend to play a TAG style which is markedly different than the prevailing table style—I’d routinely be one of the only players not in the hand. These guys, though, don’t drive all the way from Pomona to FOLD, so you see some real gems.


Hand 1

Older Asian woman in EP raises to $15 pre-flop. Note: the blinds in this game are $1/$2. Tattoo guy next to me, the small blind, states “You’re not going to steal my button.” and calls. She’s at least five seats from him and stealing here never, but he’s defending.

Flop…225 rainbow. Check. Check.
8 on turn. Asian woman checks but pulls a stack of chips from her rack. Tat Guy bets $15 and Asian woman calls instantly.
T on the river. Check. Check.
TG's T8o > Asian woman’s AQs.

Ok, let’s recap…7.5x raise pre-flop. No continuation bet by Asian woman but she’s insta-calling a half pot bet on the turn with A high. And then TG checks his two pair when checked to. Nifty stuff.


Hand 2

Multi-way limped pot. 99x4 flop.

Checked around.
J on the turn. Tat Guy (again the small blind) min bets. Formerly disinterested Asian kid in headphones (the big blind) is suddenly interested and calls. Everybody else folds.

J on river. Min bet. Call.
97o = 92o. Split pot.


Hand 3, in which Edmond dips into the Luckbox

Limped to me on the button with AJ. I raise to $8 and everyone folds around to Asian woman, who calls. The pot ≈ $20.

Flop is Qxx with one heart. AW checks to me and I bet $15 with my A high backdoor straight and backdoor flush draw. She labors, commenting “You so tight! I know you have big pair!” Well, yes, ma’am…thank you…please fold, though. No such luck. She calls.

6 on the turn. She checks to me again. I figure she didn’t like her hand much on the flop so I move in for my last $20 with 9 good outs, maybe more. No laboring now, she insta-calls. WTF, you turn a set, lady?

I’m resigned to calling for the chip runner when the lovely 2 spins off giving me the nut flush. Asian woman triumphantly tables QTo and says “I have queen! If you have three queens you win!” I have no idea what she’s talking about, but show my flush and stack my chips.

At this point, the conversation somehow segues to Tat Guy commenting that 69o is his favorite hand, and when the other woman at the table gives him a disgusted look like he’s a prepubescent teen, he insists that his birthday was June 9th. She’s skeptical and because I’m one to stir things up a bit, I suggest he could confirm it with his driver’s license. "Uh, I don't have one." No, of course you don’t.


Hand 4

As I mentioned in my Ocean’s 11 and Hawaiian Gardens reviews of low stakes games, when players get short, the games play similar to the early stage of a re-buy tournament. For example, a few hands later, AW raised in early position to $10 or so. Short stack in the blind shoves for $20 and change. Folded back to AW, she calls without hesitation. Shover shows A4o; AW shows QJo. A high, all goot.


Hand 5

A few hands later Tat Guy pushes a T high flop for $200 (into a $30 pot) with two players still to act. One caller but Tat Boy’s QT held.


Hand 6, the hand of the night

Ferris limps UTG. Asian man to his left raises to $10. One caller to Tat Guy in the small blind, who again announces “You’re not stealing my blind.” and re-raises to $20. Ferris now re-raises $40, leaving $10 behind. Asian man concludes “I have pot odds.” and calls. Folded back to Tat Guy who now shoves putting Ferris in for his last tenner. Ferris instantly calls, of course, and turns over AA.

There is perhaps no more transparent play in poker than the EP limp and subsequent re-raise. That is, at all levels, almost always AA, KK or AK…with AA, by far, the most prevalent. Yet by for some reason, both Asian guy and Tat Boy concluded that they needed to play in the face of that action.

AA > Tat Guy’s 99 > Asian Guy’s K9s for $250 or so.

AG mucked his K9s and had no obligation to show, but without prompting by any player, the dealer retrieved the cards and opened them for the table, a pretty gross mistake. The Asian guy complained a little but no one else at the table seemed at all fazed by it. In a higher stakes game, guys would’ve been calling for the floor and howling like someone killed their dog.

At this point, Asian Guy stated that “I can’t win at these levels.” and vacated his seat. He’s played about 5-6 hands in similar fashion and reloaded twice. What’s amazing is that no one said anything about his K9s play and when a new player went to take the seat, two players warned him (seriously) that that was the “bad beat” seat.


Hand 7, in which Edmond again dips into the Luckbox

Limped to me, I have T9 on DB and call.

KJ7 flop. $4 bet by some EP player. One other caller to me; I call with my double gutter.

8x on turn. EP better checks and other player bets $4 again. $20 pot at this point with all indications suggesting that my opponents are chasing flushes. I raise another $20 and get one caller.

2 on river and min-better pushes for his last $12. Gross. I’m convinced he hit his flush given his play to the river but call the $12 in what had turned into a $60 pot.

Instead, he shows AJ and looks startled that he didn't scoop the pot. 2PTK no good on that board, sir.

Despite the play, it’s common to see guys sitting relatively deep in a short period of time. I had $100 or so. Tat Guy, despite every effort to stack off with marginal hands, had $160 to my left. Ferris had $240 or so and at least two others were sitting 2x buy-ins.


Hand 8

There is a pre-flop raise to $10 or so with two callers.

786 rainbow flop and three players, including a new older guy sitting in the “bad beat” seat, get all-in for a $300 pot. Q turn, J river. Let’s see the hands, fellas.

TT > 55 > K9 with the old guy showing the K9.

As he packs up to leave, a couple of people at the table again comment on the “bad beat” seat and how “old guys always get it in with draws.” Ouch.


Lightning Poker tables

Toward the end of my session, the floor initiated a new sit-n-go on one of the two Lightning Poker tables Commerce recently installed. These are 10-seat electronic tables which can be use for cash games or single table tournaments. At present, Commerce runs $40 sit n gos ($34 for the prize poll and $6 for the house) and starts the tournament whenever 10 people sign up. Note: on the board, it’s referenced as a $40 mixed game. You can see one in action below.




Players seemed to like the tables, commenting that the play was “fast” and “sit n gos are fun”. Players start with 500 chips and 10/20 initial blinds and level times increase every 10 minutes. Top spots pay in the tournament 60%/40% and the tournaments run about 40-45 minutes. Basically, you’re playing to heads up, chopping for 80% and playing for the balance.

I didn’t play it, but I’m guessing that a player with a good understanding of sit n go fundamentals could beat the game fairly regularly. Imagine Party $5 + $1 sit n gos paying to two spots with worse players.

You can read the Commerce’s press release or some more info on the tables here.

Commerce press release on Lightning Poker tables


Beating the game

Despite the rake ($3 + 50c jackpot fee), I believe the low stakes NL is a beatable game for a fundamentally sound player. Any time guys are putting capital at risk without thinking and, when they do think, do so OUT LOUD despite a known premium on information, it’s a beatable game. I finished the night up $40 ($20/hour or 20BB over 65 hands or so) without ever being really challenged.

The real challenge, of course, is to maintain discipline and play the opposite style of the table. In general, these games range from very loose passive to moderately loose aggressive without any moderation for hand value. I believe a player that adopts a tight, aggressive style—raising premium hands in position and betting those hands HARD can be a winner in the game.

Of course, it’s very seductive when 6-7 people limp or limp/min-raise/call to get sucked into limping with your 97o. The problem is, of course, that you rarely hit the flop hard enough to have real confidence from the flop and you can end up chasing draws and burning up chips.


Back again for more

On Saturday night, I headed back down to the casino with a friend to get a quick look at the $2/3 100 max buy-in game. This game is spread in the main room and, on Sat night, there were about 10 tables running. I was seated within 15 minutes.

Hands per hour tend to be a little higher in this game as players have a better handle on the game and fewer hands make it to the river. Figure about 35+ hands/hour with maybe 3-4 not seeing a flop and 5 or so not making it to the river.

The players at my table for this bigger game were somewhat more knowledgeable with 1-2 solid players, 3-4 ok players and the balance sort of mediocre. I was the swing man of the group, alternating between solid and mediocre throughout the session.

I finished the two hour session even despite stacking off early with AK on an A high flop versus a turned set of jacks by a short stack and then 4-betting AK into a pair of kings (oops!). I recovered nicely in the second hour getting paid on the last two hands before our table broke with AA v 66 on a low flop and then a set of 6s v TP2K.

There was definitely better play at this table—no ridiculous overbets (other than my 4-bet referenced above), players betting their good hands, more thoughtful reads of the flop. But there was still flashes of dead money including the following:

3-bet all-in and call for $60+ on AQx flop. Players showed 77 and KQo. What?

4-bet all-in and call by the nut flush for $60+ into a $150 pot on a 22588 board. Winner showed an 8, obv.

River re-raise all-in with K9s on AT936 board with three clubs. Winner called $100 with A3o without the slightest hesitation.


”Ok, who ordered the banana splits?”

Tom Wolfe, the author, once described a dinner with Hunter S. Thompson in which the gonzo journalist pulled a marine air horn from a bag and set it off stunning a crowded restaurant. Wolfe recounted another dinner where Thompson ordered two banana splits and two banana daiquiris for his entree. After polishing them off, Thompson called for the waitress and looped his finger in the air. “Do it again.” He downed another round to the disbelief of Wolfe’s wife-to-be and ended the evening, as he did many others, ejected from the premises in a drunken stupor.

When you were at dinner with the doctor, it was an event and, there was really no explanation other than “Well, what do you expect? It's Hunter.” So it is with low stakes NL in Southern California. You’ll repeatedly see behavior and plays that are at best, unusual and, at worst, worthy of open criticism and calls for the floor at higher stakes. But in low stakes NL, even the most egregious poker or social gaffe merits at best a resigned shrug and call for more chips. If you can handle the odd and often deviant behavior, there’s always entertainment and value!


Afterword

1) For those of you who are curious, apparently all you need to rig a homemade tattoo gun is a pencil, a guitar string and old Walkman. I was skeptical of Tat Guy's claim, but a quick search of YouTube shows that he wasn’t kidding. The assembler uses an electric toothbrush in the following video but you get the idea.

<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/faHab5KFCXg"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/faHab5KFCXg" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>

2) Tom Wolfe’s excellent piece on Hunter S. Thompson can be found here.

After my visit to Ocean's 11 Casino, I headed back north toward LA and worked my way over to Hawaiian Gardens Casino for a brief look at their set-up. HG is located about 35 miles southeast of Santa Monica, about a mile off the 605 freeway in the city of, well, Hawaiian Gardens. The casino (actually, two Sprung structures www.sprung.com*) is spartan by LA cardroom standards. In its current state, there are two main structures, one for California games (blackjack variants, pai gow, etc.), one for poker action and a smaller structure sandwiched between. You can get an idea of the setup from a satellite image of the facility below...




Overview

The casino has about 190 tables in total, of which approximately 140 are oriented to poker games. The two main rooms are wide open rooms (from above, pai gow, blackjack, etc. in the tent on the left and poker in the one on the right) filled with tables with admin areas (brush, cage, etc.) along the perimeter. Imagine an airplane hanger with a Hawaiian theme that happens to have 140 poker tables and you get a sense of the poker room. Although Spartan and very active, HG is surprisingly comfortable with well-maintained equipment, flat screens everywhere and first-rate customer service.

The main poker room is partitioned into the general area and a VIP or higher stakes area with 15/30 limit and above and $300 NL and above. Note to the hungry: food is free in the VIP section. The smaller stakes limit, $100 NL, Omaha and stud action fill the remainder of the room and are scattered liberally around. You can check it out in a lousy camera phone photo below.

The main room




The smaller, middle "tent" used to house the Lahiana restaurant (among other things) but to accommodate HG’s growth over the last few years, management opted to replace the restaurant tables with baby NL games. HG was the originator in So Cal of the fixed buy-in NL game and, as with Ocean’s, they’ve seen tremendous demand for them. You can imagine the management meeting. “Well, the restaurant tables are busy twice a day with an average ticket of $8. If we took them out, we’d have room for about 30 NL tables generating about $100+ per hour an average of 18 hours per day.” It was probably an easy decision.


Low Stakes NL…Hawaiian G-style

As I mentioned above, the small stakes NL games are held in the room which used to house the Lahaina restaurant. There were roughly 30 tables in the room of which 16 were in operation on Thu night at around 8p. The majority, 11-12 were 1/1 blinds, $20 min-max buy-in tables; another 6 or so were 1/2 blinds, $40 min-max tables.

I wanted to try these tables, checked with the brush person and was immediately seated at a $20 table. The clientele at these tables seemed to be mostly social players with fewer of the older limit players I’d see at Ocean’s. The demographics pretty much mirrored the surrounding area—Hawaiian Gardens is an Asian community; Oceanside comprises more of an older, retiree market. Of course, given the So Cal locations, both have a strong complement of Hispanic patrons.

In the baby NL room, the tables themselves are quite close together and have an unusual nylon “felt”. I’m not a big fan of the faux felt—it makes me feel like there should be drains in the floor so they can just hose the whole room down at the end of the night. It wasn’t grungy by any sense, but it was definitely barebones and set up to accommodate lots of turnover with several staff persons focused on filling open seat and chip runners with $20 stacks of chips to facilitate the frequent reloads.

Although it’s a $20 min-max buy-in, it’s not uncommon to see players sitting relatively deep with 5-6 buy-ins. And as you might expect, you can see some very interesting hands at these levels with varying stacks and skills. Within moments of my arrival at the table, there were 5 limpers (including the two big stacks at the table, both sitting with $1000+) to me with some junk hand in the BB. The flop came 5T5 rainbow, and I folded to the small blind’s $6 lead. Both of the large stacks called. The turn was a blank completely the rainbow. The small blind again bet out, this time for $12. Call. Call. “Ok, someone’s lying.” I thought. The river bricked and the small blind shoved. When the first big stack called, the small blind announced, “Well, I think I’m beat. You must have a five.” I thought, “You led all three streets, OOP, on a non-draw board without a five? Bless your heart.” Oddly enough, the other big stack insta-called as well. Both big stacks showed T5o for flopped boats. The small blind tabled QTo and was promptly reloaded by one of the roving chip runners.

I ordered a Jack Daniels on the rocks to keep my head from exploding and settled in for some more of this dark comedy. Within another orbit or so, there were 5 limpers to me in the BB with 89. The flop was 8J6 rainbow, checked around. The small blind led out at the 8 turn and, with trips, I shoved for my all $18 or so of my stack. It folded back to the small blind, he called and showed J2c. Top pair, no kicker—I’ll take it.

A few hands later there was a min-raise with two callers to me in LP with TT. I raised to $10 and got one caller. Checked to me, I shoved the J high flop and the caller abandoned his hand.


Maelstrom!

One of the problems with multi-way pots with lots of limp calling is that you sometimes get sucked into being a calling station. A few hands later I played one of those hands and I still feel the shame of it. An UTG min-raiser made it $2 (Is there a book or something that advocates min-raising? If not, why on Earth do guys do so much of it live?) and there were four calls behind to me on the button with 33. In a limped pot, I sometimes re-pop this and take down a nice pot with a continuation bet, but that min-raise UTG had me beat and I knew it. I called for set value, and when the flop fell 245 rainbow, I started to hear a vague sucking noise.



The original raiser then bet $3 into the $12+ pot, leaving himself $8 behind. Everyone called to me and I considered shoving but thought all I’d accomplish was getting heads up with a short stack (the original raiser) who had me beat. I called the $3. The turn brought an eight (no flush draw) at which point the UTG raiser shoved and the vague sucking sound turned into a full on ship rattling maelstrom. Call, call, call, call. $8 to me into a $50+ pot in with two of the callers and myself sitting with chips behind. It occurred to me that a made straight (67) was a definite possibility and at a higher level I’d likely fold. But here, in the low stakes NL abyss, ANY HOLDINGS are possible and the thought of an A rolling off and a horribly played ATo taking this pot forced me to call the 8 bucks.

As it was, a second eight rolled off on the river and the hellish whirlpool stopped. Check check check check check. TT > 45 > A4 > 33 > 23 for a $60 pot at $20 min-max NL. God help us.

A few hands later I saw another fine play by one of the large stacks at the table. Six limpers to the BB (the big stack at the table with $120ish) who made it $10 to go. There was a call behind here, and then a shove for another $15 (?). What is the call then shove in MP—88…AQ? In any event, the table folded back to the BB. She called and big stack behind her called for a $75+ pot. Flop came 549. The original raise then bet $10 into the $75 pot, but the other stack was obviously not going anywhere with that bet. Call. Checked it down from there. AKo < A2 < 77.


Bigger and better things

At this point, I’d seen enough carnage, racked up (ok, so I picked up my $18 in chips) and went out to put my name on the list for the $500 NL game, played here with 5/10 blinds. Within a few minutes I was seated at what looked to be a pretty good table, lots of limp/calling, a strip-club obsessed “money manager” (henceforth, “Suit”) sitting with about a grand and just enough table passivity to be interesting.

Within minutes of sitting, I witnessed the following hand. Suit min-raises UTG to $20. Middle position player sitting $500 deep raises to $75. DB calls in position, and Suit folds. Flop 992. MP raiser fires $125 bet. DB calls. Turn is a blank. Check. Guy behind pushed for $240. Original raiser labors and calls with 88. 88 < TT. Suit shakes his head and shouts “I had A9!”.

A few hands later there are six limpers to me (and yes, I’m still at the 5/10 table) on the DB with AQo. I bump it to $50 and get two callers. Checked to me, I bet $100 at the A high flop. One player folds, the other one shoves for another $50 or so. Turn, river…blank, blank. AQo > POS.

I didn’t have too many more hands to report. Called in position with JTs, multi-way pot. Whiffed the flop. Folded to action in front of me. Later, I'm in middle position with AA and raised two limpers to $40. Everyone folded. Whatever.

The laugh-out-loud hand of the session was the following. Limped all around, six players (including me in the BB with 86) to the flop. KK5. Checked all the way around. Turn is a K. I check. Suit (to my left in the BB) pushed $20 into the $60 pot. Called all around except for me. River is the case K, at which point, three players jump up out of their chairs. Only two players show—JJ and QJ. Q takes the pot and the JJ player throws his hand to the felt shouting “JJ never wins for me!” Gee, I can’t imagine why.

The action was good enough that I came back down on Saturday night to check it out again. I poked my head in the low stakes NL room and it was PACKED. All 30 or so tables and some overflow tables running. The atmosphere was again pretty raucous—it’s more like a party than a poker room. I spent a little time watching and it’s obviously more of a social event than hard-core playing. I guess it has to be. At the $20 min-max tables, there’s only $180 on the table to start with and HG is pulling maybe $75/hour out of that economy.

In any event, I sat in a $300 NL table (3/5 blinds) that was much tighter than the one I’d played the Thursday before. Players were much more cautious—still limping, but fewer to the flop. I promptly blew off a buy-in in the following hand.

I’m in middle position with AJ. UTG limps to me, I bump it to $20. DB and UTG both called. I totally whiff the flop T76 but when UTG checked to me, I fired $35 at the pot. DB called and UTG folded. Turn was another T and I checked. DB checked behind. River was A which I checked hoping to get him to stab at it. He did that and then some, shoving for $200 and standing up. WTF? My immediate thought was that I didn’t have much in the pot so I should abandon the hand, but I couldn’t make sense of the bet. A big pocket pair re-raises PF or on the flop. A set, straight or T bets < pot here usually. He didn’t look particularly comfortable, showed way too much strength and over bet shoved the pot at the river. Sure looked like a busted flush draw to me. I called and it wasn’t, of course. He showed AQo but whatever. More than 50% of the time, that’s a busted draw. I’m more ticked off that I didn’t fire a second bullet at the turn.

In retrospect, that hand opened the table up considerably. The guy I doubled up promptly (next hand, in fact) donked off 80% of his stack to another player’s AA. As for me, I ended up getting action on AA, QQ (2x) and took down a nice pot with a straight flush draw shove into a multi-way pot. I’m pretty sure the table labeled me as a loose player, but I really only played quality hands (and not many hands overall) all night. I ended the session off a $100 and happy with my play.

A note on the service. The dealers and floor staff were, as at Ocean’s, noticeably friendlier than those at the Bike or Commerce. None of the thinly veiled contempt for players that you’ll often experience from dealers in the bigger LA rooms. Considering HG’s size and activity level, that’s impressive. As for table service, the $300+ NL games are played in the VIP section. Food’s free and quite good. I didn’t ordered food but several players had hamburgers and fruit plates that looked very good. As with all LA rooms, drinks are not free, but the cocktail service was responsive.

Overall, I think Hawaiian Gardens Casino is a nice alternative to the Commerce or the Bike. There’s bigger action at both those rooms, but plenty of action for mid-stakes players at HG. There’s plenty of parking, easy access from the 605 freeway, minimal wait times, decent food for $300+ players and guys that are willing to call off $200 with a pair of aces, jack kicker. What more could you want?

Still digging,

Edmond


Footnote

*Sprung structures are typically used for semi-permanent facilities that needed quick construction—military installations and Indian gaming facilities, for example. Hawaiian Gardens was one of the last (if not the last) California card room to be licensed prior to the moratorium on card room licenses and started up with five poker tables set up in trailers in December of 1997. It used the sprung structures thereafter add capacity cheaply and quickly. For a thorough account of the history and breadth of gaming in California, see Gambling in the Golden State – 1998 Forward by Charlene Wear Simmons, Ph. D, May 2006.

Gambling in the Golden State 1998 Forward - pages 1-92
Gambling in the Golden State 1998 Forward - pages 93-176

Recently, I’ve been compiling a comparison chart of LA card rooms for my own reference and as a simple way to respond to the frequent "I'm going to LA. Where should I play?" post that surfaces every couple of days in popular poker forums. You can see the most recent version of that chart here…

LA Card room comparisons

As much time as I’ve spent in local card rooms, I've never played the low stakes NL games and I was curious about reports that they've replaced the smaller limit games in many places. Last week, I took a mid-week trip down to Ocean's 11 and Hawaiian Gardens to update my info on those rooms and see how they’re spreading baby NL.

Ocean's 11

My first stop was Ocean's 11 Casino, a 45-table room in Oceanside, CA, 95 miles south of Santa Monica and 40 miles north of San Diego. The card room is located directly off the 5 freeway; it's visible from the highway and easy to access. That said, I drove right by it like a bonehead and had to circle back.

As you enter the casino, there's a small bar/restaurant (9 tables, 3 flat screen TVs) to the left and, to the right, the blackjack and pai gow room. In addition to poker, California card rooms are allowed to play a variety of games that aren't played against the house; of those, pai gow poker and tiles, variants of blackjack, three card poker and Caribbean stud are the most popular. These games aren’t my gig, but they do get a ton of play throughout the state.

A ramp leads from the front entrance down into the main poker room in which most of the larger buy-in poker games are spread. To the right, there's a separate room for the small stakes NL games and tournament. I managed to take a couple of photos of the rooms which you can see below.

Down the ramp into the main room




The main poker room




In the main room, Ocean’s spreads $3/6 limit hold’em and up and $2/3 NL and up; check the chart above for larger stakes games and the min-max buy-ins. There’s a sign-up area to the back left of the room and a cage to the back right. The sign-up list is automated and projected on the left hand wall—it’s easy to see from all points of the room. Players can call ahead to get on the list for $8/16 and up limit and $5/5 and up NL.


Wait list




Cage area (right hand side)




I usually travel solo to card rooms—I like to keep my vices to myself—but today I had a friend/older card room owner with me. He wanted to check out the action in the $6/12 game, but I was here to collect info on low stakes NL. So I left him with a gin martini (3:30p on a Thursday; I love the old guys!) and headed into the low stakes abyss.


Low stakes NL aka Baby NL

The low stakes room (also known as the tournament room) at Ocean’s has about 18 of the card room's forty-five total tables. On this particular day (Thu, 3:30p), nine of those tables were operating (six $1/2 NL and three $2/2 NL tables). The room has its own brush area with sign-up lists projected on the wall from any seat in the room.


Low stakes/Tournament room




Brush area




Wait list




Ocean’s spreads two types of low stake NL games, a 1/1 blind, 20/40 min-max buy-in game and a 2/2 blind, 40/100 min-max game. Both have effectively replaced the 1/2 and 2/4 limit games that used to be common in small rooms like this one. Of course, Ocean’s still maintains an interest list for $2/4 limit, but while I was there, no one summoned the courage to get out it. Note: on the following Saturday night, there was one 2/4 limit game going, with another 4-5 names of interest.

After a few minutes on each list, they called my name for a new 1/1 NL game. Ready to be a factor, I sat down deep with a full $40 and settled in for a few orbits. The players are an interesting mix of former limit players—older players who tend to call too much pre-flop, bet in methodical patterns and make minimum raises and younger, TV-bred players, with oversized raises and aggressive betting patterns.

Humorous note: there was a guy sitting to my right in his Fed Ex uniform at 4p. “I’m just playing a couple of hands and then I have to get back.” He was still sitting there an hour later.

As you might expect from the stakes and the players, the game alternates in style between something resembling multi-way limit play and 3-bet action you’d see in the early stages of a re-buy tournament. It is not uncommon to have a couple of “limp limp limp raise call call call flop check check check check turn check check check bet” hands and then a couple of “raise 3-bet stare down call flop shove stare-down call” by 20-somethings in hoodies, iPods and sunglasses.

Sunglasses are an odd accessory in this game. First of all, the stakes are low enough where no one really gives of confidence tells. Second, I’m not sure these lower stakes players have any good sense of how to read another player’s confidence anyway. It’s far more common to see a player overplay a marginal hand like ATo or QJs than exhibit some telling facial tick and I’d encourage beginning players to focus on bringing discipline not Oakleys to the table.

Overall, it seemed to be much more social than some of the larger stakes NL of southern California and a game in which beginning players could be very comfortable working on their table skills and demeanor. At each table I played, several players knew each other, and while not soft-playing, treated confrontations casually. In addition, while Ocean’s takes a healthy rake from each pot ($4 total from a 1/1 game and $5 total from the 2/2 game), no one seemed to mind. Ocean’s only takes its vig when the pot exceeds $7 and reduces the rake short-handed, but most pots easily exceeded the minimum. Overall, it’s a social game, first and foremost, and despite the rake, one in which someone playing ABC aggressive poker could beat for a modest gain.

A few hands

I didn’t play many hands, but as in ANY live game, there were some notable hands every few moments. Here are a few that stood out. After a few multi-way limped pots, one of the younger players raised UTG to 8. In the live version of the betting tells (discussed by Adanthar here Hand reading 101: Betting and timing tells online), this is usually something like JJ-AA. It folded around to a late position short stack, who pushed. UTG over-bet KK > short stack A5o push. A few hands later, one of the young players raised a multi-way limped pot from the blinds. He bet all three streets with three to a flush, a J and an A on board and was called down by player with pocket 4s. “You’re going to run over the table.” the pocket 4s holder announced. Awesome stuff.

Like I said, I didn’t play many hands in the session; I was really just trying to make some mental notes. That said, I did manage to find a couple of hands. Once, I had AKo in the blind and 4-5 players limped to me 4-5. I bumped it to 5 and four players stayed to see the KxT two diamond flop. I led out for $15 intending to shove/call any re-raise. As it was, only one caller stayed to see the turn, a 9. I thought about the possible straight but didn’t want to allow another free card, so I counted out my remaining stack, $20 and shoved it in. Other player promptly folded. A few hands later, I picked up QQ UTG and raised to $4 with two callers from the blinds. They both checked the ragged flop and folded to my $10 continuation.

In another hand, it was limped around to me with AQo on the cut-off. I raised to $5 and SIX callers opted to see the flop for a $35 pot. Remember, players only sit down with $20-$40 in this game, so this is a nice pot relative to what’s on the table. One of the blinds led out with a $4 bet at the A9x flop. Uh, what? It folded to me and I moved a stack of twenty $1 chips out. Back to him, he showed A3o and folded.

After about an hour of stack erosion (bleeding off a few chips set-mining, whiffing a flop with AKo multi-way, etc.), I decided to head back toward Los Angeles. I racked up my $70 or so and headed over to the main room to pull my friend away from the table. He was halfway through a rack of chips and his third Sapphire martini and grudgingly gave up his seat in “the juiciest game he’s seen in a while."

Conclusions

Some general thoughts on the small NL games. Some players seem to know what they’re doing but overall, the play is comparable to a 10c/25c or below game online with players routinely overvaluing hands like QJs, ATo, AJ, etc. I saw a couple of guys move in on EP raises for roughly 20 BBs with those hands. Call me a nit, but I don’t like to play those hands to an EP raise, even in this game. But many players, in fact, do and do so way too aggressively. It’s a game where a novice playing fundamental poker could likely stay ahead of the field, even with the beefy rake.

As for the service at Ocean’s, the floor staff and dealers were very friendly and efficient. There was none of the sour “I hate my job and these degenerates” attitude that you often encounter in So Cal rooms. Cocktail service was very prompt and the food deserves special mention. My experience with tableside food service at other local rooms ranges from mediocre (Hustler) to very nice (the Bike) with the Commerce somewhere in between. Ocean’s food service was well-beyond my expectations for even a much larger room. The turkey club was first-rate, with quality and presentation comparable to a lunch entrée at a nice restaurant. Another player ordered a fruit plate and another, a hamburger. All looked appetizing and were exceptionally cheap. Honestly, I’d look forward to eating there, something I wouldn’t say about any other room in the LA area.

In sum, I’d give Ocean's 11 Casino high marks as card room; if you’re in the San Diego/South Orange County area, you should check it out. If it were closer to my home, I’d make it my regular haunt. As for the low stakes NL, I think it’s a beatable game. There’s a heavy rake relative to pot size, but the play is uniformly weak and predictable. Solid, aggressive poker would easily prevail over the majority of opponents.

Still digging,

Edmond

Next up: LA Card rooms: Hawaiian Gardens

I had the good fortune to attend the Cirque du Soliel show LOVE at the Mirage this past weekend. The show is a interpretation of a number of the Beatles more interesting works interwoven with artistic and athletic performances of more than 60 live artists. The producers (including Sir George Martin) sampled 130 Beatles songs to create 27 new works that serve as the soundtrack for the performances, and the sets, dance and athletic feats are beyond belief. I was transfixed for the entire hour and forty minutes. Even if you're not a Beatles fan, it's a must see event.

I should warn you, though, if you're at all driven or creative, it's pretty humbling. First, you'll be reminded once again about the staggering body of work the Beatles put out, in their 20s, in a relatively short period of time (<10 years as a group). Second, you'll be in awe of the strength and talent of the Cirque performers and their ability to perform and transition with grace and without error. Finally, you'll be struck by the creative and organizational genius that this show requires. It's all I can do to get four friends to agree on a restaurant and then show up on time for the reservation.

If you're in town for the WSOP, get a ticket and go see it. You can see the trailer and buy tickets here. LOVE trailer and tickets.

Edmond

And the FEARFUL…and UNBELIEVING…and ALL LIARS…shall have their part in the lake of fire! And so it was at the Grand Sierra Pot of Gold tournament...

We were in Reno to gather info on poker rooms because we’re committed to providing quality info to the TwoRags community. Our last stop of the day, the Grand Sierra Casino & Resort (formerly the Reno Hilton), is located in the opposite end of town from the other casinos, on other side of the freeway. The Grand Sierra is a luxury hotel/casino/resort complex that seems like it's trying hard to shed its white trash roots but just can't bring itself to let go. The monument sign and website pitch the elegant rooms and spa and announce upcoming events like Harry Connick, Jr., dinner with the vintner from Duckhorn Vineyards and the American Ballet Theatre. But a look around the property—bowling alley, RV park, go-cart track, bungee jumping—confirms that this girl grew up watching Nascar. It's like the Pam Anderson of casinos—nicely renovated and elegant in formal wear but with tattoos and a social set that scream “I like rockers!”.



In any event, we were there to get info on the poker room so that’s where we headed. The room itself is located in a semi-enclosed area in the cavernous events center. It’s not the most intimate room, but its proximity to the events center is convenient for tournaments. Turns out, we showed up at about 5:45p about 15 minutes before the $200+$25 tournament was starting. To the staff's credit, they were very patient and gave us the info we wanted even while trying to organize the event. As we were wrapping up, it dawned on us that this was a great opportunity to get a better feel for the room from a player's perspective. We were both burned out from running around all day, but a live tournament in 15 minutes with no wives in tow? Are you kidding me?

The Grand Sierra requires all players to present a player card to register for a tournament, and for that, you need ID and money. Unfortunately, I left my wallet in the car so I sprinted out to the parking lot and then back across the casino to the players club desk. [Note: this property is BIG.] After a brief wait on line, I received my card which not only entitled me to register for the tournament but also opened me up to a "cavalcade of cash & prizes" just for swiping said card at the Everyday Prize Machine. I didn't see what prize I qualified for that day, but the couple in front of me was giddy with pride as they walked away with a fine coffee mug stand. This is obviously a promotion not to be taken lightly, but we were here to pull hard cash from the locals not add to our kitchen decor. Card in hand, I hit the cashier to register just under the wire. Total entrants: 82; total prize pool: about $16,000.

Assigned to the last table, I took my spot in the 4 seat. Rick was right behind me and sat across from me in the 9 seat. As soon as he settled in, he was dealt in under the gun. I thought for sure he'd fold here and get his bearings, but no, he fired out a raise. Two callers behind and I was thinking, "Uh oh. This is gonna suck when he's the first one out." Not good considering I staked him for the event. Flop was 965 two clubs, and Rick bet out. Guy to my right, an off-duty dealer, called and the other player folded. I repeat to myself, "Uh oh. This is gonna suck if he's the first one out." Turn was a club putting three clubs on board, and he fired again. Now off-duty dealer thought for a bit, announced he's got a middle pair and a draw (I'm not sure why guys do this on the turn ”Here, how 'bout I tell you my cards so your river play, should I choose to call, is much easier.”), counted out his chips…and then folded. Ok, pal, thanks for the recap. Rick flashed two queens (no club) and scooped the pot. I'm pissed he showed but relax a little now that my horse is out of the gate clean.

A note on the Grand Sierra’s Pot of Gold tournament series. If the rest of the events were run like this one, this is a nice series of events to play. The structure wasn’t bad for a tournament of this size, and the event was well-run with great dealers and floor staff. Again, there were 82 entrants for a prize pool of about $16,000 with $5,500 to the winner. Not bad for the 19th event of a two week series in Reno. There were a couple of familiar faces—Jerry Buss and two little cuties he hauled up from Los Angeles, a couple of guys I recognized from televised events. An inexpensive place to camp out for a couple of weeks, reasonable (<$1000) buy-ins for the whole series and a well-run room? That's worth putting on the calendar for next year.

Back to the action. The first few levels were uneventful with the exception of one hand. One guy raised in MP, Rick called from the blinds with TT. Flop came J high and Rick checked to the pre-flop raiser. Guy bet a little less than half the pot and Rick check-raised the pot. His opponent collapsed like a cheap soufflé.

A few hands later, I put on a rare show of good judgment and fold 83c under the gun. There’s a couple of callers to Rick in the BB. Flop was, of course, 883 and I cursed the poker gods for taunting me. Someone stabbed at the pot, and Rick called. Turn was a 9. Check. Check. River was a blank and Rick bet out half the pot. The other player was thinking and Rick, channeling Scotty Nguyen, said “you don’t want any part of that…you can’t call that" at which point I knew I was happy my 83 was in the muck. Sure enough, the other guy called and Rick tabled 98o for the turned boat.

A few hands later, our table broke and Rick and I were separated. I’ve recently begun to move toward a more active style in tournament play but was nonetheless getting ground down and facing blind pressure. With less than 8 blinds in late position and holding KJo, I shoved on an MP raiser only to be shown QQ. Ugh, I hate KJ! But then, with a J on flop and K on turn. I brush off the shame of showing down KJ and stack the chips. A few hands later, I was in middle position with JJ facing an early raise and moved in. It’s folded back around to the EP raise and he insta-called (uh oh!) and proudly showed KQo. Dude, wtf? The gods, so graceful a few hands earlier, now confirmed their disgust with my new style and presented a K on the river. I was short again.

I survived another orbit picking up the blinds when I moved in with 77. Still short, I finally picked up AA in the big blind (love that!) and stacked up when the cut-off shoved with some woeful piece of trash. I then kicked and scratched my way to the last two tables with powerhouses like KTs, QTs, 66. Meanwhile, Rick was coasting along with a 2-3x average stack at the other table, the bastard. He later told me he had one sketchy hand at 300/600 where 2nd position raised to 2400, MP called and Rick pushed for 6500 from the hijack and took down the pot. But other than that, he was having an easier time of staying ahead of the blinds.

Finally, down to 15 players, I picked up QQ and pushed on a min-raiser directly to my right. I was concerned because he'd been stupid tight for the last hour, mentioning to me a few hands he folded. But with the blinds at 400/800 with an ante and sitting with fewer than 4,000 chips, I couldn’t afford to drop the hand. Of course, he showed aces, and as is often the case when two women showed up your door at the same time, I was out of money and alone on the rail. Whatever, I still had a horse in the event and that horse had chips. Time to cheer him on.

At 14 players, play was excruciating (it seemed like every 3rd hand was folded to the blinds) and it was all I could do not to howl “Will somebody please RAISE!” Fortunately, the blinds did their work, narrowing the field to ten, and the staff seated the final table. Unfortunately, only 9 spots paid so more painful viewing followed. A short stack would raise, and medium stack would push. Shorty showed KJo, medium stack showed JJ…K on the river. Gross. Two hands later same thing. Shorty would show A4, medium stack would show A7…four on the flop. And so on, ad nauseum.

Things were a little nervy when Rick open-shoved with what he later told me was AQo; the big blind took FOREVER to fold. In retrospect, the blind obviously didn't have much, but then again I didn't know my horse was holding AQo. A few hands later, Rick again short in the big blind. With an EP raiser, he paused for a bit then moved in. EP called and showed AQo. Rick flipped up two black aces (nice Hollywooding, dude!). Hold…hold… hold….yes! The AQ whiffs the board and we’re in good shape again.

A few hands later they’re down to 8 players with two critically short stacks, one of whom was a pro I'd seen on TV but couldn't place. UTG limped and the two shorties were all-in (less than a blind) to Rick in the big blind with Q6h. Rick checked and the flop fell 977 with two hearts. Rick checked again, and the EP limper shoved. What was that? How about just checking it down, pal? It’s about another 15,000 to call in a 30,000 chip pot. I'm not one to chase a flush draw late; I probably need to put more gamble in my tournament game. But Rick said “I guess I call if I want to win.” and counted out chips. UTG flipped over KK and the shorties showed A3 and some other unmemorable hand. Turn was a trey and the river…the beautiful Ah. Nice! Side note: there was a lot of fun commentary by the pro who pointed out that if UTG had RAISED with his kings, both of them would still be in. But he didn’t and they weren’t and it was down to five.

A few hands later, four-handed with two shorties, there was talk of a chop, but that was quickly dismissed by the two big stacks. One of the short stacks went out soon after. Three-handed, there was a tense moment when Rick open-shoved with the remaining short stack and the big stack still to act. The short stack labored for a full three minutes before calling. I’m thinking he’ll show 44 or KTo. No, he tables AJs. WTF? That’s an insta-call for me in that situation and I'm conservative. As it turned out, his apprehension was deserved, Rick's ATo found a T on the turn. Bam! We're heads up, fellas!

One on one only lasted a few hands, maybe 10 minutes tops. On the final hand, Rick’s opponent completed the small blind and Rick checked. Flop was QKx rainbow. Rick bet half the pot. Opponent quickly called. Turn was another blank. Rick checked and his opponent moved in. I’m thinking “Uh, that's a fold.” but Rick looked into his opponent's soul and saw nothing but deceit. He said matter-of-factly “You don’t have a K.” and called with Q6s. I’m thinking “Uh, this is gonna be a long ride home.” Instead, his opponent turned over ATo, a gutter draw and overcard! River blanked and my horse had the title. Nice!

So now it’s 1 a.m. and Rick is basically catatonic. They take his photo, get his info and hand him 55 black chips. Rick comes to his senses enough to raise the tournament director for value, “Hey, do you have a hat I could have?”, and asked me if I thought he qualified for any of the “cavalcade of cash and prizes” mentioned above. I slapped him back to reality and herded him out to the car to split up the cash and roll back to Tahoe. By the time we got back to the Hyatt Lake Tahoe, room service had stopped serving (this ain't Vegas, baby!) but found the bar/lounge still serving food. That's the downside of winning tournaments—eating lousy bar food at 3a, but whatever. We'll take the win!

Edmond

I recently had some business in the Lake Tahoe area and had intended to bring my wife, but she had to bail out at the last minute. Naturally, I had a poker friend tag along to help me figure out a way to fill up the three days I wouldn't be working. We left LA on a Thursday, got into the Reno airport around 7p or so and drove the 30-40 miles to Lake Tahoe. If you've never been to the Reno/Tahoe area, it's a trip worth taking. Reno is a white trash town, but Lake Tahoe is stunning--pine trees, views of the lake, clear air--a big change from LA.

We rolled into the Hyatt Lake Tahoe around 9p. The Hyatt is a beautiful, rustic resort located directly on the shores of Lake Tahoe. The hotel/casino is not known for its poker, but it did have a room and there was a game, so we figured we'd have dinner and check it out.

After a nice steak at the Lone Eagle Grill, the Hyatt's main dining room overlooking the Lake, we wandered over to the poker room. I'm usually a NL player, but all they spread is 4/8 limit with 1/2 blinds and a 10/20 pineapple game with 5/5 blinds. Only the 4/8 was running so I bought a couple of hundred in chips and sat down.

Wow, talk about horrible play. The 1/2 blinds encourage lots of limpers--7 to the flop MINIMUM with me the only one who would even contemplate folding pre-flop. Ever the nit, I managed to blow off $100 or so playing crap like AA, KK and AKs. One guy considered himself a "semi-pro" from Santa Barbara who's "a supervisor for the City of SB but he makes his REAL money playing poker." This guy was classic, about 40 years old, sunglasses (at 4/8 limit...nice), struggling with trivial odds decisions. At one point, he over-called two players with four to a flush and straight on board and tabled two pair. Uh, I don't think that's gonna get it done.

Another woman insisted she put herself through grad school (Berkeley) playing poker in the 70s. She burned off $400 dollars (again, at 4/8 limit) in less than 2 hours. In one hand, she tabled a "straight" which was really four cards to a straight. She was insistent she had a straight (even though it didn't matter; another player had the nut flush) and only backed off when the dealer counted the four card straight for her TWICE. In another hand, she was struggling with a river raise on a KTTJ9 board with two diamonds and two hearts showing. She turned to me (to her right) and said “What do you think?” I’d been friendly and joking with her, so I said facetiously that her opponent probably had the "nut flush" again (even though it wasn't possible). At that point, the other player replied, "Yes. I have the nut flush." She then hemmed and hawed, said she didn't believe him, kept asking me what "nut flush" meant, etc. BTW, she had $6 left in her stack to call in a $60+ pot. She finally called and tabled a pair of pocket fives. Good Lord.

I finished the session down a hundred or so but I managed to pull a little of that back the following night when a drunken lawyer and a couple of his family members decided to give the game a whirl. Typical action, limp, limp, limp, limp, limp, raise, call, call, call, call, etc. Fortunately, I managed to turn a boat with pockets tens in one of these family pots so I ended the session up.

Two things stuck out from the session. First, the lawyer's wife thought he did an amazing Jack Nicholson impression and encouraged him to perform it for us. Love is indeed blind; the only similarity between him and Jack was the sunglasses and an odd fascination with the Lakers. Second, I'm not a limit player, but it struck me there was a ton a value in the game. Not only were people playing crap out of position, but they were repeatedly FOLDING post-flop when checking was an option. Thanks for the EV, guys! I'll give it a good home!

I'm pretty sure the crazy pineapple hi/lo split game was pretty juicy, too. It wasn't running on Thursday night, but Friday and Saturday, there was at least one table going. I'm told it's been a staple of the room for over 15 years and there's a few regulars in the game, but the action looked RIDICULOUS from where I sat. It's probably a game worth learning if you live in or visit this area frequently.

Couple of notes on the staff. Dan, the room manager, was very friendly and had an obvious command of the room. The dealers were efficient and fast, despite the lack of auto-shufflers, and every staff member endeavored to learn players' names. When I first sat down, I thought it was a room full of regular since everyone seemed to know everyone else, but within moments, the staff was addressing me by my name, too. It's a nice touch.

Overall, I had low expectations for the poker but was pleasantly surprised. And the hotel is fantastic! I didn't try the spa (I'll leave that aspect of the trip report to my wife next time) but the rooms, restaurants, service and setting were all really special. I highly recommend it to anyone visiting the Lake Tahoe area.

Edmond

Ok, I’m in town at the Mirage for Super Bowl weekend with a group of real degenerates. One of the guys is a $1k per hand blackjack player so we’re all comped—rooms, limos, meals, the works. We fly out Saturday (private jet, of course) and spend the early part of the afternoon screwing around, covering the casino’s overhead at the craps table. I’ve got a few hours to kill before dinner, so I head by the poker room and put my name on the $2/5 NL list. Unfortunately, there are 7-8 in front of me, and it doesn’t look like they’re inclined to put another table down so I leave and figure I’ll check back later.

A word about the room. The Mirage Poker Room is one of the best run rooms on the Strip. They’ve got 31 tables in a semi-enclosed, non-smoking room (and, yes, they will toss you out if you smoke). There’s an automated list, but most of the time, they manage the list manually. The tables and chairs are in great shape (new tables, nice felt, comfortable swivel chairs). There’s a decent selection of games, although at peak times you can wait 15-30 minutes for the game you want. They also run a daily tournament and ongoing sit n gos throughout the day. Overall, it’s one of my favorite places to play.

For anyone who hasn’t been out to Las Vegas for Super Bowl weekend, I’ve found that weekend to be highly lucrative. It’s one of the busiest weekends of the year, and there’s lots of players who have an idea how to play but tend to OVERplay hands. I hear people say that the Mirage competition is some of the toughest on the Strip, but I’ve always had nice luck there. Players are aggressive, but if you’re patient, someone will push on you light and you can build a nice stack.

As it turns out, my friends wanted to head over to the Hard Rock where another of our friends was staying, so I banged around over there. Is it just me or are the Hard Rock chips tough to read? Even worse, no poker room. I played craps for a while and then headed back to the Mirage for dinner. It was after midnight when I found my way back into the poker room. This time there was immediate seating in the $2/5 game, so I picked up $500 in chips and sat down.

When I get to my table, I'm seated in the big blind, so I post and start taking my chips from the rack. There’s a couple of limpers and then a raise to $30 by a 25-30 year-old two seats to my right who seems like he knows what he’s doing. Folded to me, I looked down and find A K. Although most people bemoan AK, I like it. You’re about 25 to 1 that no one has AA or KK when you hold it, and it’s easy to jettison if you don’t improve, so I re-raise to $100. The limpers fold, initial raiser calls. Flop comes A A 5. I’m still stacking chips, fumbling around, and I look at him. “A hundred.” I announce pushing a stack of reds toward the middle. Without hesitation, he moves in for an additional $300. I’m thinking “Ugh. Did he flop the boat?” but I call, of course, with the trip aces. Turn is a K. “Ok, that works.” River is a blank. I table my boat and he mucks. “Welcome to the table.” a guy says in disbelief. “You should leave now.” The other players nod in agreement, and I’m now fumbling with and stacking about $900 and change of chips.

Three hands later I’m in the cut off with 7 7. There’s an early raiser with one caller, my victim in hand #1 (henceforth, Vic1) has reloaded about $300 or so. I call for set value and am graced with a most beautiful A J 7 flop because I’m a clean living bastard. The initial raiser bets $50, Vic1 calls, I re-raise to $120. Fold. #1Vic calls. Turn is a blank and he checks to me. I bet $150 which puts him in, and he calls off his stack. River’s a blank and he says, “How’s your kicker?” to which I respond, “I don’t have an ace.” and show my set. He shakes his head in disbelief, mucks and gets up from the table to steam like a riverboat. At this point, I’ve played 4 hands and have about $1300 in front of me at a $500 max buy-in table. The other players at the table are visibly disgusted.

A few hands later, Vic1 has reloaded his coal-fired furnace, and a friend of mine wanders over from the casino and starts to watch from the rail. He’s an ok novice player but a little lit (we demolished some great wine at dinner). He rarely plays live and, I’m pretty sure has never played in a $2/5 NL game. Vic1 says to him, “Sit at the table.” inviting him in, and my friend, emboldened by too much Caymus, accepts the invite and takes the #8 seat.

My friend buys in for $200, posts and plays an uneventful orbit. Then, with a couple of limpers to him, he makes it $25 to go from the BB. Both limpers call. Flop is Q 6 x. My friend leads out for $50 and gets two callers. Uh, oh…flush draw. Turn is a third diamond. Yuck. My friend leads out again for $50 (dude, what do you have and since when did I teach you to min bet?), gets a caller but is then re-raised. Uh, oh...not good. The action’s back to my friend, and he’s only got $50 or so left so he shoves it in. River is a 6, pairing the board at which point I'm thinking/hoping he's got QQ underneath. One caller shows K 7; the other guy shows T 4. My friend turns over QQ to show queens full and take down $560 or so. Nice!

Then, maybe 5 or 6 hands later, he’s in middle position with, it turns out, AA. A guy in early position raises to $25. My friend reaches for chips and says, “I raise.” but only puts out $50 in chips. He reaches for more, but the dealer stops him from making the string bet (rookie mistake!). Action folds to Vic1 who cold calls the min raise and then back to EP raiser who calls. At this point, I’m pretty sure my friend has QQ+, maybe even AA.

The flop comes KQ2 rainbow, and it’s checked to my friend. He bets a hundred. Vic1 calls, and the original raiser folds. The flat call kind of bummed me out; I’m thinking Vic1 has a set of deuces or KQ for two pair. The turn’s a deuce and I celebrate a little knowing that a KQ hand has been counterfeited and trip deuces wouldn’t make sense here. But I’m still a little concerned about a set of Qs. River is a blank and my friend continues to hammer with a $200 bet. Vic1 calls. Now I’m fearing the worst, but my friend shows AA and Vic shows…WTF?...AKo. What was Vic1 thinking? He saw my friend re-raise an EP raiser, and then bet the flop, turn and river hard. If he’d thought about it, he’d realize that AT BEST he was playing for an AK split. As it was, my friend pretty much stacked him again.

So now we’re about 30-40 minutes into the session, and I’ve got $1300 in front of me, up from $500, and my friend has a little over a grand, up from $200. A new guy sits down directly across from me in the 9 seat, one to the left of my friend and buys in for about $300 and posts. It's limped to me in middle position with KK and I make it $30 straight. New guy calls, and the limper folds. Flop is bittersweet--K T x ; too many diamonds for my taste, but I fire out $50, feeling the flop out, and the new guy calls. Turn is the prettiest T I have ever seen. I look at it for a second and then say “One hundred.” and new guy re-raises to $200. I think for a second but realize he’s committed so I push. He calls instantly and when the river blanks, says “Nut flush.” turning over Ax of diamonds. I show my kings full. He looks like he wants to vomit and my stack now stands at $1600 or so.

After a couple more orbits, it’s 2a and they’re calling for two more players for a 10-person $175 sit n go. The Mirage sit n gos can be a crap shoot but the $175s go off with 2000 chips, 25/50 starting blinds and 20 minute levels so you have some time to maneuver. My friend and I decide to rack up and take a cut at it.

The first rounds are uneventful, although, in general, the play is HORRIBLE—no suited cards left behind, calling pushes with A9o, etc. My friend’s stack gets worked a little bit and with the blinds at $75/$150, he re-raises a button raise holding JJ. The button (aka the Big Stack) calls, shows 77, flops a set and my friend is headed back to the room. At this point, I’ve got maybe 1300 so I figure I’m not far behind. Instead, I grind like the nitty TAG I am for an hour until we’re down to three players and I’m the shortie at the table. We then go back and forth for over an hour and a half on the bubble (the Mirage sit n gos only pay 2 spots, 70% and 30% of the prize pool), re-raising each other’s blinds, seeing a flop maybe every 5 hands or so. At one point, the #2 stack gets all in with J T v A 9 but rivers a J. It’s a bad omen.

Anyway, we’re finally playing with blinds at 200/400 with a 50 ante, so it won’t be long now. I’m sitting with about 4000 on the DB, ready to raise with pretty much anything when I find AKo. That’s what I’m talking about, baby! I raise and am then re-raised all-in by #2 stack. Ok, let’s go! He turns over AJo. Perfect! Blank, blank, blank, blank…J. Ugh. I’m out in 3rd place as a 3:1 favorite at 5:30a with no money. Ah, the grossness that is poker. Love it. No, seriously.

The next day, I get up around 11a, eat, get in a quick workout and head over to the Mirage Super Bowl party. If you haven’t been to a Super Bowl party at a Vegas casino, I think it’s better than seeing it live--projection TVs and buffets everywhere, tons of girls handing out drinks. Corona? Thank you. Patron shot? Why not? And typically everyone has a bet on something, so every play generates a lot of very vocal interest. But this year, I’m so pissed the Patriots aren’t in I didn’t even bet.

Anyway, about midway through the 3rd quarter, I’m bored and decided to head back to the poker room. One of the girls who one of the guys had met said she wanted to learn to play and asked me if it was ok if she joined me. 5’7”, blonde, "enhanced"…no problem, happy to help a friend of a friend. When we get there, they’re just calling a new game, so I buy $300 in chips, give her $100 to mess around with.

For the most part, it was pretty uneventful loose, passive poker—nothing very threatening. I only had one real hand to report. I’m in late position with KK. UTG raiser makes it $6. Seat 6 makes it $25. I make it $50. UTG folds and MP calls. Flop comes Kxx (nice!) and it’s checked to me. I bet $40 and MP calls. Turns a blank and I bet $30, trying to keep him on the hook (he’s only got about $60 left). He calls. River is another blank. He checks to me and I bet $30. He calls and shows QQ. Well, yes, that is a fine hand sir, but I believe me set of kings is just a tad better. In any event, after a few more hands, I rack up and leave up about $100 or so (net of the $40 that the girl managed to donk off!).

Later, after the Super Bowl ended, I returned to the poker room and sat down in the #4 seat with the big stack at the table directly to my right. Again, I buy in for $500. This time, though, the deck’s not hitting me quite so hard—I’m still at $500 or so after a couple of orbits. The seat directly to my left opens up and my friend sits in. A couple of hands later, I have AA in early position and raise to $25. Two callers…ok, whatever…and the flop comes K Q x. I lead out for $60. MP calls and it’s back to an older guy to my right who’s been playing everything. He re-raises to $160. Ok, decision-time...raise or fold? Of course, since my ego and judgment can’t handle the thought of mucking AA, I raise $200 more. Call. Call. Ugh. Caller #1 turns over QJd, and oldguyplayingeverything re-raiser turns over KQo. I’m drawing dead to about four non-diamonds and voila!...diamond on the river. Re-buy $300, please.

The last hand of any note that I played was 99 in position. There was an early position $30 raise and the big stack to my right calls. I call in position and the flop comes 972 rainbow. Very, very nice. The EP raiser bets $50, the big stack calls and the action's on me. Some people advocate calling here and saving the re-raise for the river, but I’m thinking that 1) the EP raiser could have something like JJ or QQ and if an A or a K hits, my action is done and 2) the big stack has been calling with straight and flush draws. So I bump it another hundred or so. The EP raiser folds and the big stack calls. WTF? I'm thinking he's on a straight draw for sure. Turn is exactly the card I don’t want to see, a 6 and Big Stack checks to me. I bet a hundred. Big stack calls. Now I’m concerned and not wild about committing more chips to this pot. T on the river and we checked it down. He turns over AA (never saw that coming!). my set of 9s are good and I take down a nice pot. On the one hand, I was a little pissed that I missed a bet on the river. On the other hand, he’d been coming over the top of river bets and the last thing I wanted was to face an all-in betwith four to a straight on board. In any event, healthy again at $750+.

I wouldn’t have minded staying at that table indefinitely, but shortly after that hand, the big stack racked up and left the table. I played a few more hands and headed to dinner.

Note on the restaurants. The first night, we ate at Stack, the Mirage’s steak house, which I thought was mediocre at best. I much prefer Charley Parker’s in the Four Seasons, Del Frisco’s off the Strip or Prime in the Bellagio. The second night, though, we ate at Kokomo’s, the Mirage’s other steak and seafood restaurant and the NY steak was among the best I’ve ever had. Kind of funny story, one of the guys we were with loves expensive wine and had the restaurant roll out several bottles valued at over a grand each. Every one the steward opened was spoiled. Vinegar. The sommelier was mortified after the third bad bottle, but he managed to run off and find a good Opus One and save a little face. I think I’ve only sent back maybe 1 or 2 bottles of wine in my life and most of the time wouldn’t know if a wine had turned or not. That night, I think we waved off 4 or 5 and it was obvious they were bad. Smelled like old shoes and tasted like vinegar. Pretty amazing.

We finish up around 11 or so and my buddy and I headed back to the poker room for one last run at it. There’s a list for $2/5 again so we sign up for another $175 sit n go with a table of “learned from TV” players betting and moving with anything. The guy to my left is re-raising constantly and I know he’s re-raising light, but the hands I’m getting--Ax, QJ, 55--can’t handle the pressure. Finally, I’m down to about 1200 chips with the blinds at 75/150 and I move in with 99. Guy to my left Hollywoods and then calls. Everybody else folds. He shows KK. I don’t improve and I’m out. Not the most glorious end to the weekend, but it was certainly better than grinding it out until 5:30a and coming up empty.

Anyway, I highly recommend hitting the Mirage during any Super Bowl weekend. With a little patience and a few nice hands, you'll pay for your trip!

Edmond