Assani's Poker Thread (3 Viewers)

[Assani Fisher]

Vegas Day #3: August 29, 2007

Two very strange things are happening to my body and I have no clue if its just the excitement of being here or what....After driving here on only 2 hours rest I fully expected to just crash for like 14 hours the first night. Nope not at all- I woke up after only 6 hours of sleep. And every night after that I've been waking up after 7-8 hours....very strange since I usually have no problems sleeping 8-10 hours per night, especially when I'm keeping myself busy all day and running around. Second is my appetite...I go through the entire day now and barely even get hungry. Really really weird. Not sure whats causing all of this, but I don't really mind it....gives me more time to play and keeps me from getting fat.

We're still experiencing computer problems. We have one computer working at the base of the router(which for some reason the people in the vacation house keep in the master bedroom, which is Robert's). So for now I can only play when Robert isn't using it.

And for the first time since I got here, I really don't have any chores today. That means an early noon time start at the poker, and I figure that I'll continue my tour through the larger rooms by going to Ceasar's today. I found that my review of Caesar's was very similar to other people's that I've read:

Positives:

Friendly staff

$500 buy in at $1/3 and uncapped at $2/5 and higher

Spacious

Decent tournament structure(30 minute blind levels, 2000 chips, start at 25/50 blinds) for a relatively small buy in($65)

Negative:

Parking was a bit hard and long walk(although maybe I just didn't fully know my way around yet)

Room really does have a "convention center" feel to it and that coupled with it being totally removed from the casino floor can make ist seem really boring

Pretty big tourney rake($50+15)

Rather tough $1/3 game but of course with a sample size of only a few hours this is pretty meaningless

Bad news is that I had my first losing cash game session today. I was pretty card dead and lost a few decent pots on bluffs or semit bluffs that just didn't work out. Got frustrated and decided to enter the 3:00 $65 tourney which was capped at 50 players. They had computer problems right before it started which caused a slight delay, but I will say that the cashiers and staff handled it very well imo.

I doubled up early on, and I felt pretty bad about it. The chips there were sticky. Woman in EP clearly meant to limp for 100 but accidentally put in 350 before immediately taking it back. Dealer ruled that it had to be counted as a bet since she didn't say anything and she didn't argue. I look down to find AA in the SB. I raise to 850. Flop comes K high and long story short I stack her as she pays me off with her pair of kings. I definitely didn't do anything ethically wrong and she definitely didn't have to lose any more than 350 with her KT, but I still felt bad about it.

I ended up finishing in 6th when I pushed with TJ in LP and got called by KJ preflop. Tournament paid 6 spots(7 actually since I convinced everyone to do a bubble boy fund). Nice to get in the money, but it was pretty insignificant for 3+ hours of work, especially when you subtract the $10 for the bubble boy and $5 tip. Oh well.

Robert went out for the night, so I got his computer and logged some sessions of PLO8 and NLHE on Full Tilt. It was just a laptop though, so I didn't play a ton of tables(I'm used to my 2 24in monitors setup). Had slight winning sessions in each game, but even those combined with the tourney didn't get me back to even. I really wanted to keep playing until I got to even just to have a consecutive winning days streak going, but I got too tired around 4:30AM.

Hand of the Day

Villian seems slightly LAG. No huge reads on him though. Definitely could be a good player, although I think he has a bit too much gamble in him for playing such low stakes where you're usually up against calling stations. I had only played one previous hand against him, which I don't really think comes into play much but I'll describe it here anyway: Someone straddled for $6 UTG and there were 3 limpers before me, one of which is the villian in the hand. I get K6 of spades and decide to pop it to $30 to hope to take it down there. Everyone folds except for villian. Flop comes T93 rainbow(with one spade). He checks, I bet $45, he calls. Turn is a rag of spades giving me a flush draw. We both check. River is a queen(non-spade). He bets $70, I act like I have a decision for 20 seconds before folding. He shows a flopped set of 9s and laments about how he thought he played the hand poorly and should've won more.

Anyway, later on he straddles. A limper before me, I call with JQ, a limper on the button, blinds call. He raises to $30 which I really felt strongly that it was a move. I have position on him so I call. Button and SB call as well, which I don't really like to see.

Flop comes JT2 rainbow. SB checks, he bets $50, I call, button folds, SB folds. I did contemplate a raise here, but I didn't like having two people behind me. Also I thought that flat calling with two people left to act shows a lot of strength(I recall Sklansky discussing this in NLHE T&P in the chapter on absolute vs relative position ). River is a rag of diamonds, putting two diamonds on the board. I have about $250 left and he has me covered. He pushes. Your move.

What I did

I ended up folding. He showed A5 of diamonds for a semi bluff.

What I think I should've done

My friend Robert still owes me $3000 which he is paying back daily. I don't mind him owing me, but its upsetting because thats causing me to have a shortage of liquid cash. And in this situation I didn't have enough cash on me to rebuy into this game if I got stacked, and you don't need to tell me how -EV it is to having that aspect influence your decisions at the table. Thats not to say that I would've called if I had more cash on me, but it was a slight factor.

As for the hand I was getting about 2-1 on my money there. I think its a pretty tough decision. He could've easily had AA or KK and been scared of the straight and flush draw on the turn. I had only played with him for 2 hours at this point, so my reads weren't nearly as accurate as you all probably think while reading this. I guess I'm fine with folding here and waiitng for a better spot.

I could see the argument for a raise on the flop. I think that if I raised to $125 it would've won the pot. I don't know. Tell me what you think.

Daily Results

3 hours of $1/3 NLHE at Caesar's: -$173

3.5 hours of $65 NLHE MTT at Caesar's: +$45

3 hours of $.5/1 PLO8 at Full Tilt(3 tables): +$68

1 hour of $.5/1 NLHE at Full Tilt(3 tables): +$19

Total: -$41

 

[Daywalker]

Played the 1/3 NL at Caesar's about three weeks ago and it was whiffle ball compared to a SoCal casino. Rarely saw a reraise before the flop. Very tight and passive. Won decent money but didn't kill it. But I wasn't running hot either. Played a ton of pots because no one would raise preflop. On 3 out of 4 sessions I was able to take over the table.

Nice man. Thats funny because I've heard just the opposite about SoCal(and Commerce in particular). I've never been though, so I have no opinion. I actually went to Caesar's on Day 3, but I'm not sure if I have it in me tonight to write another blog....we'll see.You and anyone else...I'd love to hear more of your experiences at different Vegas cardrooms.

My impression of Commerce is that their is a lot of fish but also a lot of solid players. Reraising draws, isolating, slowplaying and check-raising with weak kickers. The betting seems to be a bit heavier. On a 1/3 game an initial raise preflop of $18 is not unusual at Commerce. Because of the heavier betting I can't play as many hands at Commerce. At Caesar's the raising was not as extreme and I could play a lot of more of my hands. Especially in the blinds. At Caesar's I could play a lot more of my draws due to the weak betting whereas at Commerce I'm just waiting for big cards preflop. At Caesar's you can play small ball and dominate with position. I think the fish at Commerce have such a bad reputation because the betting is heavier and the calls seem crazier. But at Caesar's I felt like I was the best player at the table whereas at Commerce their is 3-4 guys at each table playing the same game I am. But maybe my skill level and paitence is not high enough to exploit the fish at Commerce more. I'm just a newb who understands pot odds and takes pride in trying to call out the bets as I watch WPT and High Stakes on tv.

 

[Gatorman]

Assani,

I would park at the Venitian for a while. There are always fish there. I love that place in terms of getting paid off, and with the convention center there there are always people in a hurry to make a move or two before they have to go back, which enables really stupid play.

Haven't played at the WYnn yet, but I agree that the 3 dollar chips are the suck.

 

[whataboutj]

Great thread!! Looking forward to more updates

I am headed to Vegas next weekend for opening NFL weekend

I am staying at The Mirage - I have walked through the poker room but have not played there yet. How is it?

Thanks

J

 

[TwinTurbo]

Great thread!! Looking forward to more updatesI am headed to Vegas next weekend for opening NFL weekend I am staying at The Mirage - I have walked through the poker room but have not played there yet. How is it?ThanksJ

I have found the Mirage to be a tougher room the few times that I have played there. I preferred Caesars. I also like the smaller rooms at Harrah's and the Monte Carlo. Very loose, very poor players. But it's been a while since I played there.

 

[Assani Fisher]

Assani,I would park at the Venitian for a while. There are always fish there. I love that place in terms of getting paid off, and with the convention center there there are always people in a hurry to make a move or two before they have to go back, which enables really stupid play.Haven't played at the WYnn yet, but I agree that the 3 dollar chips are the suck.

Well I definitely want to give all the major rooms a shot before settling in on one, but I definitely did like the Venetian a lot so I may end up settling on your advice.

Great thread!! Looking forward to more updatesI am headed to Vegas next weekend for opening NFL weekend I am staying at The Mirage - I have walked through the poker room but have not played there yet. How is it?ThanksJ

Thanks. I havn't played at the Mirage yet and didn't stop there when I was in Vegas last summer. But I'll be sure to post about it when I do. Will have updates for Days 4, 5, and 6 tomorrow which include the MGM and Bellagio.

 

[Assani Fisher]

Vegas Day #4: August 30, 2007

Day 4 was played entirely online. I've signed up under Robert for Full Tilt rakeback, and at the time I signed up he told me that he was going to sign a bunch of other people so that we'd get the highest percentage possible. Well he didn't do that at all, and I'm pretty much the only player under him that plays much at all. What that means is that I only get 20% back per month unless I can have an MGR of over $10,000/month in which case I'll get 25%(for those who don't know MGR is rake taken out of a pot divided by number of players at the time. So for example, lets say that theres a $20 pot. Full Tilt would rake their usual 5% up to $3 which would be $1 on this hand. And lets say that 8 people were dealt in to this hand. Well you'd divide that $1 by 8 to earn a MGR of 12.5 cents on that hand). If I can achieve this $10,000 MGR then I'll get $2500 per month in just rakeback....thats $30K/year which isn't bad at all. However, its going to be pretty tough to achieve $10K/month, and it'll be near impossible to do while playing low stakes and also playing live. I think that once I reach $2/4 PLO8 then I'll have a much more reasonable shot at it each month.

I'm sure that many of you out there don't play much PLO8, and I'd really suggest that you give it a try. Its definitely a different reqired skillset than NLHE, but I greatly prefer it. In fact if they offered it live I would probably rarely play NLHE. A few reasons I prefer it:

-The average player is worse at it.

While it may not seem like it at some tables you find, players in general have gotten a lot better at hold em over the past 10 years. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely still tons of fish. But with all of the information available now and the huge popularity of the game, many players have quickly become at least decent at hold em. Contrast that to PLO8, which doesn't really have a lot of available information on it. There are very few if any good books on it, its never on TV, and most importantly some correct plays are very counter intuitive.

-The variance is much lower

I use an 8 buy in system for PLO8 online. For example I now have around $2K on my FT account, so I have 10 buy ins for $1/2. Therefore I play as many tables of $1/2 as possible and maybe a few $.5/1 tables as well(usually I like to have 6 full tables running, as that gives me plenty of room to have no overlap on my monitors and also have an internet browser up to surf the web). When I get to $3200, I'll move up to $2/4. If at any point in that first session at $2/4 I get below $2800 then I'll move back down. I would never ever suggest this type of bankroll management with NLHE. Split pots are obviously a big reason why variance is lower. But also its due to the fact that you're rarely getting all in unless you're rather certain that you'll get at least 1/4 of the pot. The one big variance cause in PLO8 is a flopped set(sometimes with a low draw or other draws as well) against multiple draws....usually the money is getting all in on the flop here. On example of a counter intuitive play that I spoke of above: It can easily be correct to fold top set in certain situations even on flops that don't contain a possible(at the moment) flush or straight.

-Less guesswork and easier reads

I don't know if I'm going to do a good job of explaining what I mean here, but I'll try. Lets say you're playing $1/2 NLHE online and buy in for $200. Villian in the hand also has $200 and you have never played with him before. You get AA and raise, he calls. Flop comes all low cards with 2 to a suit and 2 to a straight. You continuation bet, he raises. I feel as if you pretty much have no clue where you stand right now. He could have such a large number of holdings that you almost have to just guess. Sure he has a certain range of hands, but it is very broad. Contrast that to PLO8 where it just seems much easier to me(I dunno though, maybe I just have more of the skillset for PLO8). Because you can't give draws when your hand is vulnerable in PLO8, players will define their hands much more often. Now I could see the argument for why this is a bad thing: It makes the game easier and is therefore less skillfull, and in the long run the more skilled player will win in NLHE by making optimal decisions. I dunno, I just prefer it the other way though.

Hand of the Day

Full Tilt Poker Game #3181812136: Table Mariner Cove - $1/$2 - Pot Limit Omaha H/L - 16:03:25 ET - 2007/08/30

Seat 1: IMcHunt ($211.50)

Seat 2: AK1146 ($80)

Seat 3: kqnd ($236.15)

Seat 4: heathh69 ($397)

Seat 5: kid_Eager ($357.50)

Seat 6: ivanwin ($154.65)

Seat 7: Dave Magnum ($210.65)

Seat 8: anna15 ($189.55)

Seat 9: Assani Fisher ($539.35)

heathh69 posts the small blind of $1

kid_Eager posts the big blind of $2

5 seconds left to act

AK1146 posts $2

The button is in seat #3

*** HOLE CARDS ***

Dealt to Assani Fisher [Jh Qs Kc Ah]

ivanwin folds

Dave Magnum folds

anna15 calls $2

Assani Fisher calls $2

IMcHunt folds

AK1146 checks

kqnd folds

heathh69 calls $1

kid_Eager checks

*** FLOP *** [2d Th As]

heathh69 checks

kid_Eager checks

anna15 bets $10

Assani Fisher calls $10

AK1146 folds

heathh69 folds

kid_Eager raises to $50

anna15 has 15 seconds left to act

anna15 has requested TIME

anna15 calls $40

What I did

Assani Fisher folds

*** TURN *** [2d Th As] [Jc]

kid_Eager bets $120

anna15 raises to $137.55, and is all in

kid_Eager calls $17.55

anna15 shows [7d 7s 2s 2c]

kid_Eager shows [Js Ad Td Ac]

*** RIVER *** [2d Th As Jc] [7h]

anna15 shows three of a kind, Sevens, for high

kid_Eager shows three of a kind, Aces, for high

kid_Eager wins the pot ($392.10) with three of a kind, Aces

anna15 is sitting out

No low hand qualified

*** SUMMARY ***

Total pot $395.10 | Rake $3

Board: [2d Th As Jc 7h]

Seat 1: IMcHunt didn't bet (folded)

Seat 2: AK1146 folded on the Flop

Seat 3: kqnd (button) didn't bet (folded)

Seat 4: heathh69 (small blind) folded on the Flop

Seat 5: kid_Eager (big blind) showed [Js Ad Td Ac] and won ($392.10) with HI: three of a kind, Aces

Seat 6: ivanwin didn't bet (folded)

Seat 7: Dave Magnum didn't bet (folded)

Seat 8: anna15 showed [7d 7s 2s 2c] and lost with HI: three of a kind, Sevens

Seat 9: Assani Fisher folded on the Flop

What I think I should've done

My line of thinking was that the only way I would possibly scoop this pot was to have a J,Q,K come on turn and then a 9,J,Q,K(not same as turn) come on the river. I had to think that there were 2 low cards out there somewhere. Therefore I didn't think it was worth the draw. I still think I made the right play, but because I didn't risk $40, I missed out on winning $550+. Also, anna took a long time to call on the flop, which did make me think it might be set over set(which of course means less chance that the board pairs and less chance someone has a low draw).

There are 45 unseen cards in the deck and 9 of them help me. So theres a 20% chance of hitting it on the turn, which means I'd have to be getting 4-1 or more on my implied odds. The immediate pot odds were about 3-1. But if a low comes out and I split the pot, then that cuts them in half, not to mention that he still has outs to take the high on the river. If we assume he has a set(which is a very reasonable assumption), then we could make that only 43 unseen cards, which would improve our odds slightly.

In the end, I think folding was the correct play, but its tough to not be results oriented here.

Daily Results

5 hours of $.5/1 and $1/2 PLO8 on Full Tilt: +$493

 

[Bogart]

 

[Assani Fisher]

Vegas Day #5: August 31, 2007

Had my first workout with the personal trainer today....kinda seems like a waste of time to me. Don't get me wrong...he seemed like a really nice guy and knew what he was talking about, but my workout would've been the exact same with or without him. Oh well, its free. He did measure my body fat, which I was curious about. I was at 22% which I was a little upset about. The categories are 2-5%(minimum needed to live), 6-14%(exceptional), 15-17%(athlete), 18-25%(acceptable), and 26%+(ugly fathead). The trainer said that he thought 17% was a reasonable short term goal. I'd be happy with that.

After that I played online for a while before heading to the MGM for a Friday night session. I had heard great things about the softness of the games at MGM, and on a Friday night I was expecting it to live up to that reputation. And I'm happy to say that it did not disappoint at all. First a review of the card room:

Positives

Ridiculously soft game

Fun atmosphere

Easy clock in and out system(clock in at table, just leave and you automatically clock out once someone else clocks in at your seat)

Negatives

Some might not like noisy atmosphere

parking sucks

long walk from parking

Overall I liked this place a lot. Most of the "negatives" I didn't really mind at all, but I included them just for accuracy's sake. For example, I really don't mind the walk one bit. I mean, its like 1/4 of a mile or so. You're gonna be sitting in a chair for the next few hours....whats the big deal? No wonder there are so many fatties at the table. And maybe its just because I'm young, but I think the "loud" atmosphere is great. Honestly after reading some people complain about it, I was expecting it to be so much worse. Basically it was just in the middle of the casino and had the same noise level and atmosphere as the rest of the casino....why exactly should poker be any different from all the other games?

In all seriousness, my table might have been the softest game I've ever played in during my almost 4 years as a pro. I know that people go on and on about the softness of some games at times, but this game really was that soft. Have you ever seen the clip where Jennifer Tilly checks her jacks full on the river? Do you remember that confused look on Phil Ivey's face afterwards? Well my face was sporting that expression for about 5 straight hours tonight. A sampling of some of the plays I saw:

-Board read QT652 rainbow. 3 players get it all in on the river for about $100(they all started the hand with about $200). Q7 won the hand. The other two players had JJ(didn't raise preflop) and A9.

-Pot was rather small before river(maybe something like $50 in it at the most). Board read 24578. I had the 6 and had caught the straight on the river. EP checks, MP bets $25, I raise to $100, EP folds, MP calls with 35.

I could go on but theres no point. It was just horrible. And the funny thing was that one fish would bust out and leave, and I would curse my luck for not getting a part of him before he left, and then the guy who replaced him would be just as bad.

Interesting dilemna I came across tonight....There was a lady and her husband there tonight, and they both were clearly beginners. The lady moreso than the husband though. Throughout the night we were helping her with simple stuff like posting her blind and such. As fate would have it, she won $1000+ while I was there....pretty damn sick actually. She was very friendly. She also never tipped the dealer once. Now my question is this: Would you say something to her? I mean, I was pretty certain that she wasn't doing it out of spite but that she just didn't know better. She was tipping the cocktail waitresses. I tried to make my tips obvious, but she never seemed to notice.

If she was there alone, I probably would've said something in a real nice way to her. However, her husband was there and he would tip occassionally(but not every pot he won, which in iteself is pretty bad). The fact that he was there and that he clearly knew about tipping the dealers kinda made me feel as if it wasn't my place to say anything. So....would you have spoken up?

I don't think I have a Hand of the Day today. There simply weren't any interesting ones. Nearly every pot I was in was completely standard, and everyone else was too dumb to use a hand I wasn't in as the Hand of the Day.

Daily Results

5 hours of $1/2 PLO8 on Full Tilt(5 tables): +$25

3 hours of $1/2 PLO8 on Poker Stars(1 table): -$22

2 hours of $55 NLHE MTT on PokerStars: -$55

5.5 hours of $1/2 NLHE at MGM: +$257

Total: +$205

 

[Assani Fisher]

August Totals

5 days(4 winning, 1 losing)

44 hours played

+$1051

 

[tommyGunZ]

Sucks that your personal trainer was a dude.

Nice hit at MGM - I love that spot despite the long walk you mention. It may not seem that bad to a local who is driving to and from, but when you're actually staying there and are partying it sucks having a 20 minute walk back and forth to the rooms.

Getting used to seeing hot tail everywhere yet?

 

[Buddy Lembeck]

August Totals

5 days(4 winning, 1 losing)

44 hours played

+$1051

$24/hour to play poker is a pretty sweet job.

 

[djcolts]

The MGM is my favorite place to play in Vegas.

 

[KGB]

Great thread!! Looking forward to more updatesI am headed to Vegas next weekend for opening NFL weekend I am staying at The Mirage - I have walked through the poker room but have not played there yet. How is it?ThanksJ

i will be next door at TI and in the mirage sportsbooks sun morning.

 

[Assani Fisher]

Vegas Day #6: September 1, 2007

My friend Eddie, who I had met on footballguys, is in town. He wanted to play some $2/5, and I'm never one to turn down an excuse to play higher. I had two rules: I'd buy in for $500 and not reload at any time(we were playing at Bellagio anyway so I couldn't buy in any bigger) and this would be an exception and I'd go back down to $1/2 and $1/3 afterwards until I got my bankroll up.

Eddie, from everything I've heard, is a solid player who has been beating the mid/low NL games online and is interested in becoming pro. He said he had a bunch of questions for me, but considering my questionable decision making in the past, I'm not so sure if I'm the best guy to be asking. Anyway, after playing online during the afternoon, we met up at Bellagio that night. The Bellagio and the Amazon room at the Rio were my two main places to play last summer when I was here during the WSOP, so I was familiar with the room....

Positives

Lowest game is $2/5, which causes it to be a pretty soft $2/5 game

Dealers seemed pretty good(now that I mention this, I realize that I havn't said much about the dealers at other rooms, but I have yet to have any complaint with any dealer)

Above average looking cocktail waitresses

Bobby's room is nearby if you care about seeing the well known pros from time to time

Negatives

I had heard bad things about the floor in the past. When I got to the front podium the guy informed me that he was taking names for the limit list and to wait for the other guy to get back to get my name on the NL list. I sat there and waited about 2 minutes while the one guy stood there doing absolutely nothing.

Lists still taken on paper

Really cramped....expect to have people bump your chair constantly as they walk by.

No comp cards and comps are very hard to come by

Overall I'm not reallly a fan of the Bellagio at all, but the soft $2/5 game will probably have me coming back there when I get to $2/5 for good and the high stakes games will probably have me coming there once I get to that level since you don't have a ton of options for $10/25 and up on a regular basis.

Eddie was up $1500 when I got there, but he lost a big pot right away. He then got it back though when his KK outdrew AA. I kinda hovered around even for a while. I thought our table seemed tight. I was making a few moves after there were multiple limpers with hands like suited one gappers and such.

However, I made a mistake which I think I've made in the past before and I need to improve upon: As I said our table seemed rather passive and tight to me. And I took advantage of that from time to time. But the mistake I think that I make is that I apply my characterization of the table to every player. What happened is that I tried to bluff the two worst players at the table on separate hands, and they of course called, and I found myself down to about $200. This is definitely something I should work on.

Luckily though the cards came my way after that. I won about $60 or so with AA and then won a big pot with TT: There were multiple limpers and I raised to $35, which I had done quite a few times. Apparently they were tired of it, as I got 3 callers. Flop came 229 with 2 diamonds, and it was checked to me....pretty safe flop. I went all in, overbetting the pot. I got called by a shortstack who had a smaller pocket pair.

Pretty much smooth sailing after that....won a few pots, didn't really lose any big ones, and they all were pretty standard plays. There was one semi-interesting situation: 2 limpers to me and I have KK, I make a standard raise, guy to my immediate right calls out of turn, shortstack EP limper goes all in(big enough to re-open the betting). Guy asks if he has to keep his money($35 I think) in the pot since he wouldn't want to call if he knew she re-raised. Dealer said that it was up to me. I was nice and let him take it back. Thoughts?

Hand of the Day

I wasn't in this hand, but I found it interesting. I'll give it to you from the perspective of one player....

You have AKos in MP. Tight and solid UTG player makes it $15 to go. UTG has shown down good hands every time hes had to show and has not been out of line at all. He is a rather clean cut older gentleman. You flat call. Some other people call as well, but they are unimportant to the hand. Both you and UTG have stakcs of about $700-800.

Flop comes KKJ with two hearts. UTG checks. For some reason you check as well(remember it wasn't me playing this hand, so don't critisize here). Its checked around.

Turn is an ace giving you kings full of aces. UTG checks, you bet $50, everyone folds, UTG calls.

River is a blank. UTG goes all in for at least $500, probably more(don't remember exact chip counts). Your move.

What he did

He insta-called. UTG showed AA and took the pot.

What I would've done

I think this is a very standard fold. I said this to people later on when we were discussing it, and virtually nobody believed me that I would've folded it. I just don't see him playing anything other than AA or AK that way, and I think AA is a lot more likely because:

1. UTG seemed like a good player, and with the straight and flush draws on the flop you absolutely have to bet out when its a multi-way pot.

2. Since you have AK, there is exactly two ways to have AK and one way to have AA, so AK isn't that much more mathematically likely as it usually is.

Theres virtually no chance he is bluffing here imo, and with a weak full house like JJ I think hes betting a much smaller amount and evaluating based upon what you do.

Basically you're calling $500 hoping to split the $200 or so that is in the pot(so you'd get $100).

I'd think it over for a while for sure, but I really don't see how I would've called there. I later told Eddie about the hand(he went to grab something to eat with his girlfriend), and he was also pretty shocked that I would've laid it down. I dunno...am I wrong in thinking that this really isn't that hard of a laydown???

Daily Results

2.5 hours of $1/2 PLO8 on Full Tilt(6 tables): +$23

5.5 hours of $2/5 NLHE at Bellagio: +$309

 

[Assani Fisher]

Sucks that your personal trainer was a dude.

Nice hit at MGM - I love that spot despite the long walk you mention. It may not seem that bad to a local who is driving to and from, but when you're actually staying there and are partying it sucks having a 20 minute walk back and forth to the rooms.

Getting used to seeing hot tail everywhere yet?

 

[Parmcat]

Hey Assani,

I met Eddie when I was there in June, and wish I would have had a bit more time with him and the other guys, at least to sit and play....

Very good people!!!!!!

I will be in Vegas the last week of October (28-31) Would be cool to have a beer with ya (if the trainer will allow it) I am mainly a limit player, but still would love the chance to meet and say hi...and maybe you could donk around a 5/10 limit game for an hr or so..LOL

Parm

Edit to add....anybody else going to be in Vegas over that part of Oct?

 

[babehound37]

Vegas Day #6: September 1, 2007

My friend Eddie, who I had met on footballguys, is in town. He wanted to play some $2/5, and I'm never one to turn down an excuse to play higher. I had two rules: I'd buy in for $500 and not reload at any time(we were playing at Bellagio anyway so I couldn't buy in any bigger) and this would be an exception and I'd go back down to $1/2 and $1/3 afterwards until I got my bankroll up.

Eddie, from everything I've heard, is a solid player who has been beating the mid/low NL games online and is interested in becoming pro. He said he had a bunch of questions for me, but considering my questionable decision making in the past, I'm not so sure if I'm the best guy to be asking. Anyway, after playing online during the afternoon, we met up at Bellagio that night. The Bellagio and the Amazon room at the Rio were my two main places to play last summer when I was here during the WSOP, so I was familiar with the room....

Positives

Lowest game is $2/5, which causes it to be a pretty soft $2/5 game

Dealers seemed pretty good(now that I mention this, I realize that I havn't said much about the dealers at other rooms, but I have yet to have any complaint with any dealer)

Above average looking cocktail waitresses

Bobby's room is nearby if you care about seeing the well known pros from time to time

Negatives

I had heard bad things about the floor in the past. When I got to the front podium the guy informed me that he was taking names for the limit list and to wait for the other guy to get back to get my name on the NL list. I sat there and waited about 2 minutes while the one guy stood there doing absolutely nothing.

Lists still taken on paper

Really cramped....expect to have people bump your chair constantly as they walk by.

No comp cards and comps are very hard to come by

Overall I'm not reallly a fan of the Bellagio at all, but the soft $2/5 game will probably have me coming back there when I get to $2/5 for good and the high stakes games will probably have me coming there once I get to that level since you don't have a ton of options for $10/25 and up on a regular basis.

Eddie was up $1500 when I got there, but he lost a big pot right away. He then got it back though when his KK outdrew AA. I kinda hovered around even for a while. I thought our table seemed tight. I was making a few moves after there were multiple limpers with hands like suited one gappers and such.

However, I made a mistake which I think I've made in the past before and I need to improve upon: As I said our table seemed rather passive and tight to me. And I took advantage of that from time to time. But the mistake I think that I make is that I apply my characterization of the table to every player. What happened is that I tried to bluff the two worst players at the table on separate hands, and they of course called, and I found myself down to about $200. This is definitely something I should work on.

Luckily though the cards came my way after that. I won about $60 or so with AA and then won a big pot with TT: There were multiple limpers and I raised to $35, which I had done quite a few times. Apparently they were tired of it, as I got 3 callers. Flop came 229 with 2 diamonds, and it was checked to me....pretty safe flop. I went all in, overbetting the pot. I got called by a shortstack who had a smaller pocket pair.

Pretty much smooth sailing after that....won a few pots, didn't really lose any big ones, and they all were pretty standard plays. There was one semi-interesting situation: 2 limpers to me and I have KK, I make a standard raise, guy to my immediate right calls out of turn, shortstack EP limper goes all in(big enough to re-open the betting). Guy asks if he has to keep his money($35 I think) in the pot since he wouldn't want to call if he knew she re-raised. Dealer said that it was up to me. I was nice and let him take it back. Thoughts?

Hand of the Day

I wasn't in this hand, but I found it interesting. I'll give it to you from the perspective of one player....

You have AKos in MP. Tight and solid UTG player makes it $15 to go. UTG has shown down good hands every time hes had to show and has not been out of line at all. He is a rather clean cut older gentleman. You flat call. Some other people call as well, but they are unimportant to the hand. Both you and UTG have stakcs of about $700-800.

Flop comes KKJ with two hearts. UTG checks. For some reason you check as well(remember it wasn't me playing this hand, so don't critisize here). Its checked around.

Turn is an ace giving you kings full of aces. UTG checks, you bet $50, everyone folds, UTG calls.

River is a blank. UTG goes all in for at least $500, probably more(don't remember exact chip counts). Your move.

What he did

He insta-called. UTG showed AA and took the pot.

What I would've done

I think this is a very standard fold. I said this to people later on when we were discussing it, and virtually nobody believed me that I would've folded it. I just don't see him playing anything other than AA or AK that way, and I think AA is a lot more likely because:

1. UTG seemed like a good player, and with the straight and flush draws on the flop you absolutely have to bet out when its a multi-way pot.

2. Since you have AK, there is exactly two ways to have AK and one way to have AA, so AK isn't that much more mathematically likely as it usually is.

Theres virtually no chance he is bluffing here imo, and with a weak full house like JJ I think hes betting a much smaller amount and evaluating based upon what you do.

Basically you're calling $500 hoping to split the $200 or so that is in the pot(so you'd get $100).

I'd think it over for a while for sure, but I really don't see how I would've called there. I later told Eddie about the hand(he went to grab something to eat with his girlfriend), and he was also pretty shocked that I would've laid it down. I dunno...am I wrong in thinking that this really isn't that hard of a laydown???

Daily Results

2.5 hours of $1/2 PLO8 on Full Tilt(6 tables): +$23

5.5 hours of $2/5 NLHE at Bellagio: +$309

It's a hard laydown for me. I probably would have called. That is why you are the pro and I am not.

 

[Assani Fisher]

Hey Assani,I met Eddie when I was there in June, and wish I would have had a bit more time with him and the other guys, at least to sit and play....Very good people!!!!!!I will be in Vegas the last week of October (28-31) Would be cool to have a beer with ya (if the trainer will allow it) I am mainly a limit player, but still would love the chance to meet and say hi...and maybe you could donk around a 5/10 limit game for an hr or so..LOLParmEdit to add....anybody else going to be in Vegas over that part of Oct?

Definitely man....just PM me to remind me a few days before you come and we'll make plans.

 

[Assani Fisher]

Vegas Day #7: September 2, 2007

I played online both in the morning and before I went to bed. In between I met up with Chris(Gamblor on footballguys) for some $1/2 action. I have a bunch of interesting hands and since I've already posted my room review of the MGM, lets get right to them....

Hand of the Day #1

I had played about 10 hands at the table, winning one $100+ pot one my 2nd hand when I had JJ and my oppoent called me down with a lower pair on a ragged board. Opponent had yet to play a hand of any significance while I was there. His stack was about $250 and I had him covered.

I have KK UTG+1. He raises to $15 UTG, I reraise to $50, folded around to him. He acts very quickly and goes all in. These reads are of course not perfectly accurate in any way, but my read was that his quick acting was not done as an act for me to see but was his true reaction to the situation. Your move.

What I did

I showed my KK and folded. He showed QQ.

What I think I should've done

First off, I hate that I showed here. I have a tremendous ego and I always want the table to "recognize my greatness" when I make plays that none of them are capable of. I need to put this aside though and start acting like a pro.

Regarding the actual hand, it was about $200 for me to call into a $268 pot, so basically if I felt as if I was 50% to be ahead then I need to be calling.

He just acted so quickly and confidently though. I guess AA, KK, QQ, and AK are all definitely possibilities(KK obviously being a longshot), and I guess even JJ is remote if hes really bad. But man....he showed a lot of strength with his UTG raise, and I showed an enormous amount of strength by seeing that and then coming over the top in EP. And then he acted so quickly and confidently. I dunno....call me a nit, but I'm fine with my play here.

Ironic too because just yesterday with Eddie at the Bellagio we were talking about folding KK preflop. This now makes the 5th time I've done it, 3 of which were correct and 2 of which were incorrect(I either convinced them to show or there were multiple people in the pot and they ended up showing later everytime, which is how I know).

Hand of the Day #2

This hand happened about 10 hands after the KK one. This is one of the weirdest and perhaps worst played hands I've played since I got into Vegas, yet it turned out fine....

Opponent hasn't shown much yet, but hes shortstacked with just a little over $100 which makes me think hes a fish(hard for me to imagine a good player not playing with a full $200 in $1/2 NLHE at the MGM). I obviously have him covered.

I limp with A6 of clubs in EP. LP raises to $12. There might have been some other limpers(I don't remember), but they all folded preflop. I called figuring that my postflop skills were good enough to make up for the weak holding and being OOP(perhaps a mistake though I understand). Also the fact that he was shortstacked made me feel confident that I could push him out of a hand in which he missed the flop.

Flop comes 247 with 2 spades. I'm thinking that I'm pretty much check/folding at this point. I check, and he only bets $10....wtf is that?? I think this pot is mine for the taking. But at the same time hes so shortstacked that I don't want to put in a big raise and be pot committed to his shove. So I decide that the best course of action is to make a small raise and see how he reacts. If he pushes, then I'm clearly folding. If he flat calls, then I look to steal it on the turn. I really didn't think he was advanced enough to be flat calling that flop hoping that I'd continue to bet into his made hand(and even if he was, it probably wasn't' the best spot for that move with the flush draw out there). So I raised $15 more to $25. He made the call. I was all set to take the pot on the turn when the ace of spades(completing the flush draw and giving me top pair/poor kicker) came out. He has about $70 behind him. Your move.

What I did

I checked, he bet $40, I check raised for his last $30, he folded.

What I think I should've done

First off, as much as I wish I wouldn't have shown the KK hand, I really wish that I would've shown the 6c and mucked the ace here. A double check raise into a scary board and then showing a card that doesn't match anything at all....I think that'd definitely change my image a bit at the table after the KK hand. But the opponent seemed like a nice guy, and I guess it was a good thing to not show him up.

Robert thinks I misplayed this hand pretty much every step of the way and just got lucky. I don't know if I feel as if it was that bad, but I definitely could've been beaten when we got the money in(and drawing dead too).

Overall I just don't think risks like this are necessary at this low level, and I wish I would've just folded preflop after his $12 raise.

Hand of the Day #3

I get KK in LP. All stacks in this hand are pretty big but insigniciant as don't get nearly close to all the money in the pot. There are quite a few limpers, and I raise to $17. I get two callers. I still don't know a whole lot about either of them yet.

Flop comes JQQ rainbow. First to act leads out for $10, other guy calls. Clearly the $10 looks strange...it could be begging for a raise or it could be begging to keep the pot small. Theres an obvious straight draw out there, which I have to be concerned about.

I see two courses of action here: Raise to around $40 or flat call. Raising will immediately define my hand. Flat calling will not give me much information about them, but it will also disguise my hand and it will let me continue to use position to my advantage in the hand. I elected to flat call.

The turn was a total rag. She again bet $10 and the other call again called. I really think I should've raised here, but for whatever reason I just called again.

River was a 9 giving KT the straight. She bet $15, he again just called. At this point I put them both on jacks. Your move.

What I did

I raised to $60. She called quickly. He said "I think I'm beat, but I'll call." She didn't show(almost certain she had a jack). He had Q2(very very strangely played on all street imo) and took the pot.

What I think I should've done

Lets start off with the river. Is there any way you put either of them on a queen at this point?? I still don't see how I could've. She was obviously calling down with her pair of jacks, so I don't mind the raise there. At that point, I just have to think that there would've been more action at some point in the hand if I were beat, no? I think I like the river raise.

Obviously I don't want to be giving the straight draw that cheap of draws earlier on, so I do find fault with the play on previous streets...although its a bit ironic that my "bad" play probably saved me money there.

Hand of the Day #4

AK of hearts in MP/LP. A limper or two ahead of me, I raise to $15, everyone folds except for one of the limpers. No real reads on him yet, we both are deep stacked enough that our stack sizes never mattered during the hand.

Flop comes 24T with 2 hearts. He checks, I bet $20, he calls.

Turn is a queen non-heart. He bets out $50. I call.

River is a king non-heart. He checks. Your move.

What I did

I checked. I could've followed the letter of the law and waited for him to show, but when I think I have the best hand I usually just turn them up. I did and he mucked.

What I think I should've done

This is a tough spot here. I really don't think hes calling me much with bad hands. At the same time though, the flush draw did miss and he'd probably give me $50 more with a queen. But then again, man it would suck to get check raised there.

Looking back, I wish I would've put out a small bet of at least $25. If anything, it would've let me win the pot without having to show anything down.

Hand of the Day #5

Two opponents in this hand: One is a lady who bought in shortstacked but has worked it up to around to around $250 now. Other guy is relatively new but has won a hand or two and also has around $250. I have them both covered. No major reads on either player yet.

The guy limps in EP, I raise to $13 with AQos, she calls on the button, everyone else folds to him and he calls.

Flop comes A23 with 2 diamonds. He checks, I bet $25, they both call.

Turn comes 6 non-diamond. He checks, I bet $65, they both call.

River is 7 non-diamond. He checks. They both have about $140 left. Your move.

What I did

I pushed. They both folded.

What I think I should've done

The reason that I pushed is because I thought it through and determined that I would call if I checked and she shoved, so I thought it'd be better to just shove myself and not let her check down a weaker ace. I guess AK was a slight possibility for her, but I really don't see how she could play it that passively with those draws out there. I felt fairly confident that I was ahead in the hand since they never raised to protect against the draws throughout the hand. If either of them caught two pair on the river, then God bless them. And with a hand like AJ I think they have to call that having come so far.

Overall I could see the argument for a slightly smaller bet, but I think my play was fine.

Daily Results

5 hours of $1/2 PLO8 on Full Tilt(6 tables): +$227

2.5 hours of $1/2 NLHE at MGM: +$385

Total: +$612

 

[Assani Fisher]

Vegas Day #8: September 3, 2007

Today is my birthday, so no live play scheduled for tonight. Instead I had just planned to log a few hours online and call it a day. But I ended up getting stuck early, and I'm big on having winning days. So I played 2 or 3 hours more than I had hoped for in order to get back to even. I had a discussion about Robert regarding this. He, at first, was very much against the concept of "chasing your losses." But I explained it to him like this:

Any pro should strive to play as many hours as possible while playing their "A" game. Motivation is clearly an issue at times, as there are definitely times in which you just don't feel like playing. Moreover, often you will force yourself to play anyway at these times and you won't bring your best game as a result. Therefore, I like to use any motivation possible to play a lot of hours at the top of my game. And I was indeed playing well.

Anyway, I eeked out a slight win. This blog will be pretty short, but I'll throw a hand in here....

Hand of the Day

Full Tilt Poker Game #3462603254: Table Coleman - $1/$2 - No Limit Omaha H/L - 19:50:21 ET - 2007/09/03

Seat 1: yy1988 ($293.45)

Seat 2: Assani Fisher ($200)

Seat 3: GeeBee ($73)

Seat 4: ozimaverik ($209.35)

Seat 5: cuonriver ($211.75)

Seat 6: Dorsal Fin ($193.55)

Seat 7: Scoop187 ($112)

Seat 8: gypsymystyc ($196.65)

Seat 9: Dave Magnum ($207.15)

yy1988 posts the small blind of $1

Assani Fisher posts the big blind of $2

The button is in seat #9

*** HOLE CARDS ***

Dealt to Assani Fisher [5d 6s 5s Th]

GeeBee folds

ozimaverik folds

cuonriver calls $2

Dorsal Fin folds

Scoop187 folds

gypsymystyc calls $2

Dave Magnum folds

yy1988 calls $1

Assani Fisher checks

*** FLOP *** [5c 8h Ts]

yy1988 checks

Assani Fisher has 15 seconds left to act

Assani Fisher bets $11

cuonriver calls $11

gypsymystyc calls $11

yy1988 folds

*** TURN *** [5c 8h Ts] [Kd]

Assani Fisher has 15 seconds left to act

Assani Fisher bets $50

cuonriver has 15 seconds left to act

cuonriver raises to $198.75, and is all in

gypsymystyc folds

Assani Fisher has 15 seconds left to act

Assani Fisher has requested TIME

What I did

Assani Fisher calls $137, and is all in

cuonriver shows [Qs Ah Jh 2h]

Assani Fisher shows [5d 6s 5s Th]

Uncalled bet of $11.75 returned to cuonriver

*** RIVER *** [5c 8h Ts Kd] [2c]

cuonriver shows a pair of Twos, for high

Assani Fisher shows three of a kind, Fives, for high

Assani Fisher wins the pot ($412) with three of a kind, Fives

No low hand qualified

*** SUMMARY ***

Total pot $415 | Rake $3

Board: [5c 8h Ts Kd 2c]

Seat 1: yy1988 (small blind) folded on the Flop

Seat 2: Assani Fisher (big blind) showed [5d 6s 5s Th] and won ($412) with HI: three of a kind, Fives

Seat 3: GeeBee didn't bet (folded)

Seat 4: ozimaverik didn't bet (folded)

Seat 5: cuonriver showed [Qs Ah Jh 2h] and lost with HI: a pair of Twos

Seat 6: Dorsal Fin didn't bet (folded)

Seat 7: Scoop187 didn't bet (folded)

Seat 8: gypsymystyc folded on the Turn

Seat 9: Dave Magnum (button) didn't bet (folded)

What I think I should've done

I feel as if this is a really tough spot. Obviously bottom set is a troubling hand and should not be played like its the nuts. With that said, the ten in my hand obviously made me feel a bit better about where I as at. And the flat call on the flop makes me discount a set of 8s a bit, although I could see why my slight overbet of the pot would cause him to just flat call. But a hand like A2KK is a possibility(although he probably would raise preflop there).

I can really see the arguments for either side here. I'm getting over 2-1 on my money. But the fact that I have no low, flush, or straight draws really hurt my equity. Still not sure how I feel.

Daily Results

6.5 hours of $1/2 PLO8 on Full Tilt(8 tables): +$19

 

[Your Mother]

What do poker pros in your situation (ie. just starting out) do about health insurance? Just curious.

 

[Captain Quinoa]

What do poker pros in your situation (ie. just starting out) do about health insurance? Just curious.

wear a rubber

 

[Parmcat]

Happy Birthday Assani!!!!

Hope you hit the Spearment Rhino or something better tonight!

 

[Steeler]

What I think I should've done

I feel as if this is a really tough spot. Obviously bottom set is a troubling hand and should not be played like its the nuts. With that said, the ten in my hand obviously made me feel a bit better about where I as at. And the flat call on the flop makes me discount a set of 8s a bit, although I could see why my slight overbet of the pot would cause him to just flat call. But a hand like A2KK is a possibility(although he probably would raise preflop there).

I can really see the arguments for either side here. I'm getting over 2-1 on my money. But the fact that I have no low, flush, or straight draws really hurt my equity. Still not sure how I feel.

I play PLO8 occassionally (at much lower stakes) and I agree that it's really tough to call in that spot since you have no low and you aren't drawing to a bigger hand for hi. What kind of hand did you put him on? Did you have some kind of read on him?

BTW, Happy Birthday.

 

[fasteddie_21]

Great meeting Assani. I'll post some thoughts etc. later when I get home tonight

 

[Johnny Ryall]

So who was this guy on the 10pm WSOP show last night stealing Assani's shtick?? He called himself "The Ice Man" and would talk about how it's getting cold and that he's going to freeze everyone out. I was waiting for him to yell out "Icy Pots!"

By the way, I played a couple of tournaments at TI in May. They weren't bad, but with the structure you had to make a move pretty quick (2000 in starting chips, 25/50 starting blinds that went up every 20 minutes). It was $60 to play ($50 went in the prize pool) with a $5 1000 chip add-on at the 1st break. These probably aren't very interesting to someone making a living doing this, but for a low-roller like myself it was fun.

The room was small (8 tables) and a little dark. The staff was friendly, though. There were always a few tables of cash games going on, but I didn't play in those so I can't give a report on them.

 

[Gamblor]

Ill add my little poker room summary from my last few days in Vegas for those interested.

I played all $1/$2 NL (mgm, flamingo, ballys) or $1/$3 (excalibur) NL from Sat night to Tuesday afternoon. I played all times of day (morning, afternoon, evening, late night) and honestly I found all 4 rooms to be pretty ripe. I by no means consider myself a fantastic player, more of a decent player who makes stupid moves at times, but it was like someone else said in this thread - I didn't feel like it was gambling. I played position primarily and was patient and eventually was paid off. My best session was when I met Assani at MGM as I ended up leaving up $550. I went back to MGM in the afternoon the next day and they had 3 $1/$2 tables going with 5-6 players on each and no waiting list. I asked the manger about combining them or putting me on a list for when one filled up as I wasn't interested in playing short handed. He wouldn't do either so I went over to Excalibur and they had two full tables going. I know a lot of people here keep saying this casino or that casino is the best to make money at these stakes - but I really believe almost all these casinos are the same in terms of the players. Only difference is the atmosphere and scenery and I think MGM is tops for that. I would say on average there were 3-4 people at each table I played at that I would avoid at almost all costs getting involved with - but that still left 5-6 others giving chips away. If I found myself at a table with too many good players I just asked for a table change.

Also, for those going down small buy in tourneys seem to be a good opportunity as well. Ive only played in two tourneys in Vegas - a $65 with about 80 people at the Rio and a $65 with 32 people at the flamingo and in both I chopped top prize. And as can be attested from my record at the FBG tourneys, I'm not a great tourney player either.

 

[bostonfred]

Happy birthday Assani.

 

[JMon348]

Happy Birthday, really enjoy living the vegas life through you.

 

[Assani Fisher]

What do poker pros in your situation (ie. just starting out) do about health insurance? Just curious.

For 2 years I had none. Last XMas I asked for it and my parents bought me some cheap plan. I suppose it could become my annual XMas present from them. I'm fairly fit but I also play a lot of sports in which I could get hurt in, so I think I definitely need it.Not sure what most people do. I'd advise them to get it though.

 

[Assani Fisher]

What I think I should've done

I feel as if this is a really tough spot. Obviously bottom set is a troubling hand and should not be played like its the nuts. With that said, the ten in my hand obviously made me feel a bit better about where I as at. And the flat call on the flop makes me discount a set of 8s a bit, although I could see why my slight overbet of the pot would cause him to just flat call. But a hand like A2KK is a possibility(although he probably would raise preflop there).

I can really see the arguments for either side here. I'm getting over 2-1 on my money. But the fact that I have no low, flush, or straight draws really hurt my equity. Still not sure how I feel.

I play PLO8 occassionally (at much lower stakes) and I agree that it's really tough to call in that spot since you have no low and you aren't drawing to a bigger hand for hi. What kind of hand did you put him on? Did you have some kind of read on him?

BTW, Happy Birthday.

No real read on him. I thought he probably had the nut low and turned 2 pair, but that was just a guess. I posted it on 2p2 if you want to read their thoughts: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat...=0#Post11965567

 

[Assani Fisher]

So who was this guy on the 10pm WSOP show last night stealing Assani's shtick?? He called himself "The Ice Man" and would talk about how it's getting cold and that he's going to freeze everyone out. I was waiting for him to yell out "Icy Pots!" By the way, I played a couple of tournaments at TI in May. They weren't bad, but with the structure you had to make a move pretty quick (2000 in starting chips, 25/50 starting blinds that went up every 20 minutes). It was $60 to play ($50 went in the prize pool) with a $5 1000 chip add-on at the 1st break. These probably aren't very interesting to someone making a living doing this, but for a low-roller like myself it was fun.The room was small (8 tables) and a little dark. The staff was friendly, though. There were always a few tables of cash games going on, but I didn't play in those so I can't give a report on them.

I havn't been watching much TV at all, so I missed that. Rest assured their is only one true "icy pots" in poker.

 

[Assani Fisher]

Ill add my little poker room summary from my last few days in Vegas for those interested.I played all $1/$2 NL (mgm, flamingo, ballys) or $1/$3 (excalibur) NL from Sat night to Tuesday afternoon. I played all times of day (morning, afternoon, evening, late night) and honestly I found all 4 rooms to be pretty ripe. I by no means consider myself a fantastic player, more of a decent player who makes stupid moves at times, but it was like someone else said in this thread - I didn't feel like it was gambling. I played position primarily and was patient and eventually was paid off. My best session was when I met Assani at MGM as I ended up leaving up $550. I went back to MGM in the afternoon the next day and they had 3 $1/$2 tables going with 5-6 players on each and no waiting list. I asked the manger about combining them or putting me on a list for when one filled up as I wasn't interested in playing short handed. He wouldn't do either so I went over to Excalibur and they had two full tables going. I know a lot of people here keep saying this casino or that casino is the best to make money at these stakes - but I really believe almost all these casinos are the same in terms of the players. Only difference is the atmosphere and scenery and I think MGM is tops for that. I would say on average there were 3-4 people at each table I played at that I would avoid at almost all costs getting involved with - but that still left 5-6 others giving chips away. If I found myself at a table with too many good players I just asked for a table change.Also, for those going down small buy in tourneys seem to be a good opportunity as well. Ive only played in two tourneys in Vegas - a $65 with about 80 people at the Rio and a $65 with 32 people at the flamingo and in both I chopped top prize. And as can be attested from my record at the FBG tourneys, I'm not a great tourney player either.

FWIW I can't remember seeing you make a single mistake during our session together. Was nice meeting you.

 

[pgreenfan]

Anything new?

 

[Your Mother]

Anything new?

The strippers must've got him. :whoosh:

 

[Buckychudd]

Anything new?

The strippers must've got him.

Mob, buried in the desert somewhere.

 

[Assani Fisher]

So it turns out that keeping a daily blog was far too tough of a task for me. I'll definitely continue updating though. I'm just winding down my day(Sep 13) right now with a little 4 tabling, so I'll give a nice long writeup of these past days now...

Sep 4, 2007

Had a nice winning afternoon session of $1/2 PLO8 and decided to check out Treasure Island at night. It would be the first "small" room I visited. I had heard great things about it on allvegaspoker.com. I'm sad to say that I was pretty disappointed though....

I got there just as a nightly tourney was starting and every cash game in the house except a $2/4 limit game dried up as a result. My $1/2 game got down to heads up between me and another guy. He took down the only big pot we played when I had AK, the flop came AJx, and he had AJ. After about a half hour of playing heads up he left. I was in a pretty bad mood. Probably just should've left then and there, but I decided to hop on the monorail over to the Mirage.

I'll give TI an "incomplete" regarding my review. Heres the Mirage:

Positives:

Big room

Friendly staff

bathrooms right by room

Negatives:

No comp cards

$200 max buy in at $1/2

For whatever reason, I just really lacked patience tonight. On my very first hand of the night I got bet off my straight draw on the turn(it was a toss up decision for me to fold or call) and it ended up hitting on the river. I was definitely tilting somewhat, but at least my tilt isn't as bad as many people's. My tilt pretty much makes me try to steal pots against opponents that I know I shouldn't be trying to run over. Thats basically what happened early in the session here. One example:

I get 89 of spades in EP and limp. Three other limpers and LP makes it $13. Everyone called raises in this game, so I felt confident that if I called they would also call which would give me implied odds. LP only had about $100, everyone else had $200 or more.

Flop comes Kxx with 2 spades. Checked around to LP who bets $15. I raise to $60. Folded back to him, he calls with KK, and his hand holds up.

Eventually I start drinking a lot and I get in a much better mood and start playing better. But luck wasn't on my side tonight. I got a shorter stack all in twice: Once when I had TPTK against his flopped flush draw and once when I had KK against 88 preflop. Both times I lost and I left a pretty big loser.

Sep 4, 2007 Results

4.5 hours of $1/2 PLO8 on Full Tilt(7 tables): +$548

1 hour of $1/3 NLHE at TI: -$162

3.5 hours of $1/2 NLHE at Mirage: -$409

Total: -$23

Sep 5, 2007

I felt as if this was a really big day for me. I had just had a tough night and I wasn't in a very good state of mind. Luckily I ran very well today.

To start things off I got $800 from Robert for my August Full Tilt rakeback. That boosted my online bankroll up to being able to play $2/4. I don't remember anything specific about the day other than it going very well...

Sep 5, 2007 Results

August Rakeback: +$800

4.5 hours of $2/4 PLO8 on Full Tilt(4 tables): +$922

Total: +$1722

Sep 6, 2007

Steve(Gatorman on footballguys) told me that he was going to be playing at the Venetian, so I met up with him there. I didn't get a chance to hang out with him too much as he left for dinner, but I hung up a bunch with Tody(Rudy on FBGs) and Fullback Fro(forget his real name cause I just called him "Fro"). I was going to go workout after playing, but Fro convinced me to have a few beers at the table, which turned into a few shots of tequilla at the table, which turned into smoking weed in their room which ended with Assani crashing on their hotel room couch. Fun night though, highlighted by Fro showing off his crazy beat box skills at the poker table. Also proud to say that to the best of my knowledge I avoided risking any money on the pit games even though I was not sober at all and they all were. Fun night...even won a little bit too.

Sep 6, 2007 Results

6.5 hours of $2/4 PLO8 on Full Tilt(4 tables): +$56

3 hours of $1/2 NLHE at Venetian: +$28

Total: +$84

September 7, 2007

Found a $75 bonus offer in my email inbox from the kind folks over at Full Tilt today, and things just got better and better. Won so much that I eventually moved up to $3/6 by the end of the day.

Sep 7, 2007 Results

Full Tilt Bonus Offer: +$75

7 hours of $2/4 PLO8 on Full Tilt(5 tables): +$1353

Hand of the Day(s)

Full Tilt Poker Game #3463690656: Table Coleman - $1/$2 - No Limit Omaha H/L - 21:37:01 ET - 2007/09/04

Seat 1: yy1988 ($261.75)

Seat 2: Assani Fisher ($386.95)

Seat 3: Anvemada ($168.45)

Seat 4: TwoWetLips ($198)

Seat 5: KatmanWalkin ($149.75)

Seat 6: USTBond ($81.65)

Seat 7: Scoop187 ($118.75)

Seat 8: unnamed13 ($200)

Seat 9: cuonriver ($74)

cuonriver posts the small blind of $1

yy1988 posts the big blind of $2

The button is in seat #7

*** HOLE CARDS ***

Dealt to Assani Fisher [Ac 7d Jc 2d]

Assani Fisher calls $2

Anvemada folds

TwoWetLips folds

KatmanWalkin folds

USTBond calls $2

Scoop187 folds

cuonriver calls $1

yy1988 checks

*** FLOP *** [4s 7h Kd]

cuonriver checks

yy1988 checks

Assani Fisher bets $8

USTBond raises to $16

cuonriver folds

yy1988 folds

Assani Fisher calls $8

*** TURN *** [4s 7h Kd] [Qh]

Assani Fisher checks

USTBond has 15 seconds left to act

USTBond bets $20

Assani Fisher calls $20

*** RIVER *** [4s 7h Kd Qh] [Js]

Assani Fisher checks

USTBond bets $43.65, and is all in

Assani Fisher has 15 seconds left to act

What I did

Assani Fisher calls $43.65

*** SHOW DOWN ***

USTBond shows [6h 2h 5h Kc] a pair of Kings, for high

Assani Fisher shows [Ac 7d Jc 2d] two pair, Jacks and Sevens, for high

Assani Fisher wins the pot ($164.30) with two pair, Jacks and Sevens

USTBond is sitting out

No low hand qualified

*** SUMMARY ***

Total pot $167.30 | Rake $3

Board: [4s 7h Kd Qh Js]

Seat 1: yy1988 (big blind) folded on the Flop

Seat 2: Assani Fisher showed [Ac 7d Jc 2d] and won ($164.30) with HI: two pair, Jacks and Sevens

Seat 3: Anvemada didn't bet (folded)

Seat 4: TwoWetLips didn't bet (folded)

Seat 5: KatmanWalkin didn't bet (folded)

Seat 6: USTBond showed [6h 2h 5h Kc] and lost with HI: a pair of Kings

Seat 7: Scoop187 (button) didn't bet (folded)

Seat 8: unnamed13 is sitting out

Seat 9: cuonriver (small blind) folded on the Flop

What I think I should've done

The flop bet is a play I make only some of the time to build the pot. Other times I'll just check and see what occurs. Obviously priced in to his raise and turn bet. River is a tough decision. With the straight now out there, why would he continue to bet two pair or trips? Wouldn't he figure that I had missed my low and would just fold? I had no prior reads on him, but it just seemed fishy and I was getting good pot odds on a call. I think it was the right play against most opponents.

 

[JMon348]

Sep 6, 2007

Steve(Gatorman on footballguys) told me that he was going to be playing at the Venetian, so I met up with him there. I didn't get a chance to hang out with him too much as he left for dinner, but I hung up a bunch with Tody(Rudy on FBGs) and Fullback Fro(forget his real name cause I just called him "Fro"). I was going to go workout after playing, but Fro convinced me to have a few beers at the table, which turned into a few shots of tequilla at the table, which turned into smoking weed in their room which ended with Assani crashing on their hotel room couch. Fun night though, highlighted by Fro showing off his crazy beat box skills at the poker table. Also proud to say that to the best of my knowledge I avoided risking any money on the pit games even though I was not sober at all and they all were. Fun night...even won a little bit too.

that cant be good for a professional poker player.....or can it? ive played when on vicodin before and did pretty well.

 

[Alias]

fro =

 

[Alias]

You seem to do a lot better online then live. Almost to the point where I would recommend playing online from Monday thru Thursday and then hit the juicy live games Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

 

[fasteddie_21]

Vegas Day #6: September 1, 2007

My friend Eddie, who I had met on footballguys, is in town. He wanted to play some $2/5, and I'm never one to turn down an excuse to play higher. I had two rules: I'd buy in for $500 and not reload at any time(we were playing at Bellagio anyway so I couldn't buy in any bigger) and this would be an exception and I'd go back down to $1/2 and $1/3 afterwards until I got my bankroll up.

Eddie, from everything I've heard, is a solid player who has been beating the mid/low NL games online and is interested in becoming pro. He said he had a bunch of questions for me, but considering my questionable decision making in the past, I'm not so sure if I'm the best guy to be asking...

Eddie was up $1500 when I got there, but he lost a big pot right away. He then got it back though when his KK outdrew AA.

Keep forgetting to update with the trip report (sorry bostonfred, no uber-indepth reviews of restaurants etc this time like the WSOP thread ).

GF and I got into Vegas around 1pm Saturday, Sept. 1, and the Flamingo had a limo waiting for us (comped room etc) and they upgraded us, but our room wasn't ready yet, so we headed over to the Bellagio for my first ever time playing there.

The floor's are rude/indifferent and just "ugh" in general. Had to wait almost 1.5 hours to get a seat. I finally got one and noticed how the majority of the table did not have a full stack ($500 for the 2/5 game). I bided my time and just took guys to valuetown every chance I got. No real big hands to be honest and after about 3-4 hours, had my stack up to about $1300. Just simply playing tight, picking my spots and value betting them til their eyes bled.

Assani showed up around 8 or 830pm or so and when he did, I was involved in a pretty sick hand. It was folded to an asian guy in the hijack and he opens for $30 (fairly standard). It's folded to me in the BB and I look down to two black Aces. He had about $450 before the hand and I'm not one to slowplay here. I pop it up to $95 and he takes about 2 seconds to call. Flop comes down J T 2 rainbow. I'm not thrilled with the flop, but I want to give him rope here. So I check planning on keeping the pot small if I can if he hit a set and letting him bet QQ or KK here. He'd only been here about an orbit and seemed pretty aggro, so I don't mind letting him have the lead. He takes about 20 seconds and checks behind. River brings the Ah. At this point, we're looking to get it all in, where if he slow played JJ or TT, he's drawing essentially dead and if he has KQ, I have outs still. So I think for a few seconds and bet $150. He mulls it over for about 45 seconds (which, while sitting there is an eternity) and says, "ok, let's get it in". Ok, sir, lets. "You have KQ?" "Yes, I do"..."Pair the board then." Alas, wasn't to be.

He said he knew that if he bet the flop, we were getting it in there, so it was a moot point. C'est la vie. I'm not mucking top set when exactly one hand has me and I crush his range. Moving on...

About 10 mins later, I find KK in the CO and I open to $20. The SB repops it to $50 (he has about another $220 left after that) and he and I had been playing back at one another quite a bit, so I 4-bet him to $150 and he moves all in. I call and he tables his AA and asks, "You have Kings?" No sir, I have 42o and was making a move on you...

Flop comes KQ2 and we're back to where we started before the set of aces hand, about $1800 or so. About this time, Amanda comes back around and says she's hungry so we go grab some pretty good Asian cuisine at "Noodles" (Sweet and Spicy noodles were tasty).

At that point, I was running on about 2 hours sleep and was beyond tired, but, and by no means is this anything than me being stubborn, felt obligated to go sit w/ Assani and play a little more, since he did come out to the "B" to meet up and play some.

Bah, bad idea. Tired Eddie = Aggrotard/Dumb/Foolish/Reckless Eddie. And I knew better, so I pretty much played like total ### and in 3 hours had pissed away a BI. I then called uncle and bid goodnight to Assani and we cab'd it back to the Flamingo and called it a night.

Sunday was "date" day and no poker for me which was good punishment after pissing away a good session by playing tired afterwards. Instead of a $1300 win, I booked an $800 and was irritated at myself.

For those that saw my poll a couple of weeks prior to the trip, I had told Amanda that there was no way in hell I'd ever take her to see Justin Timberlake. But, by an overwhelming vote, you guys said to do it. The brownie points would be worth it. So I looked online and found some pretty killer seats for $500 and was going to surprise her the night of the show.

So we sleep in Sunday and get a move on about 2pm and do some sightseeing and about 5pm she mentions she's getting hungry and since we both wanted to check out "The Burger Bar" and the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay (where the JT concert was), I suggested heading there. We grab a pretty damn tasty burger and I ask her what she wants to do after we eat...she suggests the Shark Reef and I say, "Sure, we can, but if you'd prefer, we can always go check out the concert if you want" as I pull out the tickets.

She squealed

So we head to the arena and damn, I got some ####### great tickets. 3 rows from the stage, dead center on the side. Good Charlotte opened and they were ok. Nothing to write home about. Then JT took the stage and I gotta hand it to the guy, Dude is GOOD!

Not only can he sing/dance/play piano/act etc, but he puts on a helluva show too. To everyone's surprise, about 1.5 hours into his show, he appeared onstage with Timbaland and they did a song together. Then he disappeared under the stage and the next 45 mins was just Timbaland and 2 DJ's spinning/playing/singing. Had a tribute to Aaliyah and such. It pretty much kicked ###.

Then I figured the show was nearly over when JT took the stage again, but he kept going for another 45 mins or so. DEFINITELY got my money's worth and to be honest, I'd go see him again. Dude is just a great performer. Pains me to admit though

The eye candy was pretty solid as well. Not fantastic, but solid. The night finished, um, well

At this point we fast forward to Monday, Labor Day.

Amanda woke up with a migraine (she has chronic ones...and bad, so we were hoping to make the trip w/o her getting one. So much for that...). I was gonna just chill with her at the room, but she insisted I head out and go play some since she just wanted to go back to sleep. Argue once, then say ok, right?

So I cab it over to the Venetian and take a look at the 5/10NL games they have going. It's uncapped there, so I expected some stupid sized stacks, but the big stack only had about $5k or so and the game looked super soft and the "Jesus Seat" (seat to the direct left of a drooler) was open. So I sit.

I buy in for a rack and we're off an running. The game plays w/ $10 chips, so a rack is $1k. I play pretty tight as I just sit and watch for a bit. I notice that a good many of the hands are limped preflop. I limp J9 clubs in the CO after 2 limpers and we see the flop 6 handed. I flop top 2 and bet it the whole way, raking in a $450 pot. Good start.

The only other 3 hands worth mentioning are where I flop bottom 2 vs a LAG-monkey tourist who is very much there to GAMBOOOOOL! I once again had limped in J9h and flop comes off AJ9 2 spades. We're 6 handed on the flop and BB checks. Tourist bets $30 and I pop it up to $120. It's folded to him and he calls. Turn is a brick and I bet $220 and he calls. River is another brick and he checks again. Now, I'd seen him make some serious hero calls so far as well as c/r the river once and something just worried me here. I had about $1600 when the hand began and he covered me (about $3k). I really didn't want to be c/r'd here as I'd puke. So I told him, "I really think I'm missing a ton of value here, but..." and I table my 2 pr. He shows His A8o and my hand is good. He smiled and told me good non-bet on the end as he damn sure was gonna c/r push me on the end. I read goot!

An orbit or so later, I continuation bet a whiffed AK and take down a pot. I'm sitting on about $2200 at this point.

Then this happened: UTG+1, who came across to me as a guy who plays this game some but is definitely one of the donator's in the game raises it up to $60. Tourist calls the $60 and I look down to find AA. I re-pop it to $220. It's folded around to UTG+1 who thinks for a bit and calls. Tourist mucks and we're heads up. I ask him how much he's playing behind as he only had about $80 in chips and some $100 bills. He counts and says @ $700. The flop comes a BEAUTIFUL 522 rainbow. He checks it to me and I make a somewhat weak bet of $220 again. He instantly says "All In". "Ok I call" and his shoulders slump. He tables QQ and I rake in an $1800ish pot.

About 10 mins later, a guy who had been felted earlier and told the dealer to hold his seat, came back. He was the type that had a story for EVERYTHING. I really thought the guy was FOS about being a pro this and that, by how he'd been playing etc. He was on my immediate left and then he sat back down and asked one of the pros at the table (who was the deep stack at the time) how much he was playing. He said about $6k and then the guy on my left whips out a stack of $100's that definitely measured in inches, not bills.

I'll be honest now...I've played 5/10 uncapped before, but I was starting to get a little uneasy. I was quickly one of the short stacks, with $3,000.

I decide to play til my blinds and book my win. The very next hand, I get dealt 77 in the SB. The two villains in the hand both have me covered with MP having UTG+1 covered as well.

UTG+1 ($4000) opens for $70 (fairly standard raise in this game) and MP ($5000) calls. Folded to me in the SB w/ 77. I call as well.

Flop: 552r

I check, UTG+1 CBets $160, MP thinks for a short while and calls. Action back to me and I think about either c/r'ing or mucking. I almost pull the trigger on c/r'ing, but think better of it, since I had been playing so tight, that if UTG+1 has a big overpair, then he's not going anywhere as the only two hands that make sense for me to be playing here are either 55 or 22 and both are highly unlikely.

So I muck. The turn comes and I throw up a little in my mouth. 7. UTG+1 bets $350 and MP makes it $800. UTG+1 tanks for a bit and calls. River is a 2 and it goes check, check and UTG+1 shows QQ for the winner. The hand would have played completely different had I been in it, I'm sure, but even though it was the right fold, I couldn't get it out of my head. So at that point, I decide to definitely call it a sess.

Nice little score there though for sure. I head back to the hotel and Amanda is feeling better. I tell her I'll take her to a nice dinner tonight so we head to Paris and the Steakhouse there. We have a seafood sampler and she has the lobster and I have the dry aged Angus Bone-In ribeye. Couple that with a bottle of wine and we're -$300. Well worth it though. Great service, wonderful food and a great time.

We then head downtown to check out Binion's and the Freemont Experience. Binion's is woefully underwhelming (even though I knew it would be, but still....) and so was the Freemont Experience.

I did play a couple of hours there and booked a small $235 win and then we cab'd it back to the strip and walked for a while and flew home. The end.

It was great meeting Assani and I wish I could have made a better showing

Can't wait to move out there....

/hijack

 

[fasteddie_21]

Holy #### that was long....

 

[David Dodds]

Jealous I'm not out there. Definitely want to get the house with Eddie, Keys, Alias, etc again this year during my offseason. I am thinking of actually staying for 2-3 weeks this next time.

Best of luck Assani at the tables.

Of all the places I played, I thought the MGM was super soft and Caesar's very beatable too. I actually liked the $3 chips at the Wynn and constantly raised odd levels to throw people off their games. Agreed that game played super tight (until I sat down). I came in for standard raises to $21 and would reraise $12 opens to $42. I generally ran over the table from position at the Wynn by playing small ball (after big preflop raises). Betting exactly 1/2 the pot as a continuation bet. That's the problem with tight players. They will call with a pair of eights (hoping to stack you) and then you can generally just steal these pots from them with nothing. and by playing small ball post-flop, it was easy to determine when they were very strong.

Caesar's and MGM played like text book poker. Bet great hands and great flops and get paid off. Simply not worth bluffing at these places from my experiences (besides continuation bets and attacking true weakness).

I know you still love the multi-tabling online (as do I), but am pretty sure LIVE is way less risky. There are people that you KNOW won't fold. That you can value bet every street and get paid off on. I like to just watch the first 3-4 orbits after I sit down. Don't play a hand unless I have a huge pocket pair or can call with a pair in position. And just observe where I expect to get my money. Mentally see who are the pros and who are the visitors. Keep track of the calling stations, etc. Constantly use leverage agianst the pros (raising, reraising, etc). and just value bet the amateurs to death. It's almost unfair how easy it is sometimes.

 

[Assani Fisher]

You seem to do a lot better online then live. Almost to the point where I would recommend playing online from Monday thru Thursday and then hit the juicy live games Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

I totally agree. I can make a lot more money online simply due to the number of hands I can get in. It does seem strange to me to not play live a lot since that was a major reason for moving here, but I have to be more concerned with money. While I will use live play to "keep things fresh and interesting" during some weekdays, I think I'll end up doing exactly what you suggest for the most part.

 

[Assani Fisher]

Holy #### that was long....

Nice TR...what is the "hijack seat" though in your AA vs KQ hand?

 

[Assani Fisher]

I know you still love the multi-tabling online (as do I), but am pretty sure LIVE is way less risky. There are people that you KNOW won't fold. That you can value bet every street and get paid off on. I like to just watch the first 3-4 orbits after I sit down. Don't play a hand unless I have a huge pocket pair or can call with a pair in position. And just observe where I expect to get my money. Mentally see who are the pros and who are the visitors. Keep track of the calling stations, etc. Constantly use leverage agianst the pros (raising, reraising, etc). and just value bet the amateurs to death. It's almost unfair how easy it is sometimes.

I do agree with you, especially regarding the risk. Right now, as I said above, I'm making better money with online. After a while I'll probably find the right mix of the two.When you speak about coming back out here, do you mean next summer or sometime maybe sooner?

 

[Assani Fisher]

Another note:

In October I will purely be playing online MTTs, as Robert and I are entering this challenge: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat...=0#Post12026442

 

[westyplz]

Another note:

In October I will purely be playing online MTTs, as Robert and I are entering this challenge: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat...=0#Post12026442

Wish I didn't have school I'd run this challenge.

 

[Assani Fisher]

Another note:

In October I will purely be playing online MTTs, as Robert and I are entering this challenge: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat...=0#Post12026442

Wish I didn't have school I'd run this challenge.

I doubt it. Approx. how many MTTs do you think you can average per day for an entire month?