A little burn out, and a couple nights out.

"The true measure of a man, is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good"


Sorry, I haven’t updated this in a while. Vegas has been kicking my ass the last few days. I have learned an important lesson about burning myself out. I have been spending my time playing single table sit n go’s at the Rio. They are sattelites to the WSOP events. It is a winner take all format, but the final 2 or 3 people usually come to some sort of deal so no one leaves empty handed. Somehow I’ve played 5 of these in a row, and haven’t won one even though I’ve finished in the top 3, 4 times. It’s really been sick. I haven’t won a coin flip deep in a while. Also, I took the sickest beat I can remember. With 4 people left in a $500 sit n go ($5k first prize), I was chip leader and the blinds were 400 and 800, I had around 5500 in chips. The button pushed all in for 3,000, or another 2,200 to me. I made the call with Q T of spades, which is a pretty ballsy call. Sure enough I was right and he flips 34 of clubs. The flop comes KQ2, and the guy gets out of his chair and steps away from the table. He has exactly 0 clean outs. The turn was the Ace, and before I know it the river 5 hits giving him the ol’ runner runner straight. I ended up busting with AQ, when the same guy shoved all in on the button and the Small blind called. They had QQ and JJ, they Ace hit on the flop and I thought I was in the clear, but sure enough the case Q peels and I am eliminated empty handed.

I have lost about $2,500 in the last 3 days. It isn’t terrible, and is just the result of running bad, which happens to everyone from time to time. I am still up a decent amount on the trip. I decided to take today off and just recharge my batteries for a tough week of grinding.
A recap of some of the carousing we have been doing. My cousin Will was in town to visit this weekend, and anyone who’s met him know that leads to some rowdiness. His first night here Will, Dave, Jared and myself went out. Dave and Jared got a huge kick out of Will. They couldn’t believe the way he walks right up to girls and just starts talking or dancing. They are the nicest 2 dudes in the world, but I don’t think they get out quite as much as the GP people. They are like kids in a candy store looking at all the girls dolled up and everything else.

Anyway, the night started out at my favorite bar in Vegas, the piano bar in NY NY. Unfortunately, it was a Tuesday night so it was a bit of an older crowd. We caught a cab over to the Ghost bar. You can get in for free with Palms room keys, but obviously we didn’t have any. We went to the check in desk and Will reached over the desk and stole 3 room keys when the lady’s head was turned. Thank God for his cat like speed and reflexes. Anyways, this had Dave and Jared rolling (That’s negro speak for laughing.) It saved us $120, and let us buy the Grey Goose instead of the house vodka. We were a bit under dressed having not planned on going there and stayed about an hour. We spent the next few hours walking the strip and playing some $5 blackjack and craps. Of course, I could bet $5 a hand for about 15 minutes before betting whatever I had in front of me on one hand. I ended up winning $115 in tables games. Ship it! Our next stop was Carnival Court, which is an outdoor bar at Harrah’s with no cover. I quickly learned a lesson on paying cover. While it may suck, you get what you pay for. This place was called Carnival Court for a reason, it was full of freaks and geeks. Anyways, we do what I usually do in a situation like this involving alcohol, made assholes out of ourselves. Will and I were twirling anyone who would take a turn on the dance floor. Then Jared bet me I wouldn’t dance with some 300 pound 50 year old beast of a woman who at this bar alone, dancing in a corner with no one. So I spent the next 15 minutes, bumpin and grinding with her. She was missing like half of her teeth. It was sort of gross. Anyways, by the time we left Carnival Court we were all a little tipsy. Of course on our way out, we bumped into the limo that offers to take you to any strip club for free. How could 4 drunken fools pass up such an offer.

We arrived at the Rhino around 4 am, it’s pretty much the greatest gentleman’s club on earth. Before I went out, I took the vast majority of my money out of my pockets, just in case a situation such as this was to arise. As a disclaimer, I normally have a strong dislike for strip clubs. I think it is gross, the women are usually hideous, and I’d like to think I don’t need to pay to see boobies. But this isn’t a strip club, it’s the Spearmint Rhino. I’ll do my best to describe the scene for anyone who has never been there. The place is stocked full of over 100 beautiful ladies. They have all makes and models. There are young girls, old girls, tall girls, short girls, black, white, asian, big ol’ take fitties, small natural perky taters, it’s basically covers every color in the spectrum. This isn’t the minor leagues, it’s like having a roster full of Lebron’s, Kobe’s, and Duncan’s. There are usually 2 or 3 girls dancing and the rest of the girls are walking around trying to sell their services. A half hour with one of these girls costs $200. They aren’t prostitutes, and don’t do anything but dance with you, but like I said they are good at their job. I was committed not to spend a single dollar on the girls, it is clearly a waste of money. Somehow my cousin Will got a strippers number (and even met up with her for a drink on another occasion) without giving her a dime. We left around 6:30 a.m., when we walked out it was bright as day. I had $300 less in my pockets :-( .

A brief run down of Saturday night on the town. We got wasted. We went to the Toby Keith bar at Harrah’s and were breakin it down on the dance floor. This night made me realize that everyone is in Vegas to have a good time. I was breaking it down with a wide variety of ladies. From Cougars, to the 21 year old birthday girl, it was a lot of fun. Somehow Will got kicked out for being drunk. I asked the guy what’s up with kicking him out and he said “Come on man, look at him, don’t BS with me, you can see how drunk he is,” I gave Will a good, hard once over, he honestly looked fine to me, which made me aware just how drunk I must be. I figured the bouncer was right, so to save face, I just smiled, nodded and said “Ya, you’re right.” We ended up going to some piano bar at Harrah’s. Some older ladies I was chatting it up with introduced me to their niece who had just turned 21. They were all from Arizona. I ran some drunken game, and outtalked some Marine who was trying to pick her up. I wasn’t really interested in brining her home or anything, just more the thrill of knowing I had her hooked. In the meantime Will, David, and I (Jared took off) hopped on stage and requested The Piano Man (the same song I request every time I am drunk). Obviously we belted every word. I was spent, I am pretty sure the dude on the piano was actually making fun of us over his microphone to the entire bar. It was time to go. One of the aunt got my number for her niece, and we stumbled out of that place. I think we hit one more bar before we came back, but I honestly don’t really remember.

Randome Thoughts

As a poker player, Vegas will kick the shit out of you if you aren’t careful. The first day I was here and came to play cards, I was fresh and mentally sharp. The problem is live poker is slow and boring, and as a player you need to stay mentally tough to stay sharp and not play too many hands. Also, the place burns you out, walking through the casino enough times will drive anyone crazy. Also, there is a shitload of temptations. Staying away from the sports book, the table games, and the strip club which are more than happy to destroy your bankroll quickly.

Right now is Monday morning and I feel refreshed. My goal is to make $5,000 this week. I know I can do it, I just need to put in the hours and play well.

I need to get to the pool more often, I’ve been here for 2 weeks and have been to the pool once. A little variety is good for the soul.