Poker Tales from VegasSheep

Mandalay Bay's "Romper Room"

2006-09-13T09:34:00.000-07:00

As the astute reader can surmise from my previous blog: "I truly believe that Mandalay Bay has carried this Poker Room Rules thing to the extreme." At some point in time a poker room manager must treat it's patrons as adults rather than blathering little children who must be led by their hand every step of the way. Don't get me wrong, some (in fact, I would say most) rules are necessary for a smoothly run poker room. By clearly stating what kinds of play and conduct will be or not be tolerated, a room can greatly enhance the enjoyment of the game for the casual, non-professional player. However, Mandalay Bay appears to have tried to set rules for every move or form of conduct found at a poker table. They have not been able to grasp the concept that: "While rules and codes of conduct are necessary for a smoothly run game, the over extension of these rules can reverse the desired effect for which these rules were designed to accomplish." A vast amount of rules can burden, even intimidate an average player, making his play less enjoyable instead of more.

The following two rules, which are unique to the Mandalay Bay Poker Room, illustrates this point. The first is a rule that I have previously discussed, concerns how they handle the blinds in their "half kill" game. A half kill game is when a player wins 2 hands in a row and the limits are increased by 50% for the next hand. In a $4 - $8 limit hold-em game the limits go up to $6 - $12, with the winning player having to post a blind 50% higher than the normal big blind regardless of his/her position. In every other poker room in town, the player posting the biggest blind is given the option to be the last to act before the flop. But NOT at Mandalay Bay, there the person posting the most money before the flop must act in turn. When I asked the poker room manager why Mandalay Bay was the only room in town to have such a rule, the "Romper Room" mentality raised it's ugly head. I was told that : "It is less confusing." Intuitively this rule makes no sense. If a person is forced to post 50% more than the big blind before he/she even sees their cards, they should at least be given the opportunity to be the last to act before the flop. What I failed to do was after receiving the above answer to my initial question, I should have followed-up with: "Less confusing to who? The player or dealer?"

The other rule which I just recently observed and is the reason for this blog, concerns "straddling". It is similar to the previous rule in that it also involves the posting of the biggest blind before the flop. A "straddle" is a blind posted by the player immediately next to the big blind, and is usually double the big blind, or the amount of the first limit bet plus the big blind. By straddling, the player is given the option of being the last person to act. The reasons for a straddle are numerous and wide ranging, but basically a person straddles to loosen up a tight game and/or to "show-off."

This past weekend, while doing "research" for a request made be one of my legion of fan, I found myself in a $2 - $4 limit hold-em game at Mandalay Bay. The game had only one blind for $2, the amount of the first 2 limit bets. About an hour into the game I decided to straddle (I'll leave it up to the reader to determine my motive) and post $4 before the cards were dealt. After the hand was dealt, a player positioned about half way around the table decided to teach me a lesson and raised my straddle.*

*WRITER'S NOTE: At this point in time, I am going to introduce yet another new feature to "Poker Tales from VegasSheep" called: "You make the call."

How much do you think the player raised? Remember, you are in a $2 - $4 LIMIT game. If you had said $2 for a total bet of $6, you would be WRONG! Not in the "Romper Room" mentality of Mandalay Bay. Although the player did try to raise $2, he was strongly reprimanded by the dealer and later by the floorman (which I eventually called over for a "final" ruling) that he had to raise $4, double my total post. After the initial shock of the ruling, I naturally reraised just to see how far they would carry forward this lunacy. To my disappointment, they would not let me make it a total bet of $16, instead I could only raise $4 for a total bet of $12. After the flop, I was the first to act and immediately bet $4. I'm sure some of you already know what is coming next. That's right, I was informed that I was in a $2 - $4 limit game, and the most I could bet was $2 after the flop.

If anyone can explain the logic behind this policy, please email me. I'm at a loss to figure what their rationale is for such an idiotic rule. Are they afraid that players might get confused if they could not raise the same amount as the blind, even thou it was a straddle and not technically a blind. My only consolation to this rule is that I am not the only one who doesn't know why this rule exists. I asked the floorman the rationale for his ruling and all he could say was: It's the rule."

So, Congratulations Mandalay Bay! You are the latest recipient of "What the @#$%& Were You Thinking Award", rules category. So, although rules are important in running an efficient poker room, you must have enough faith in your patrons to treat them as adults with sufficient gray matter to make logical decisions. Afterall the last time I looked, a person had to be at least 21 to gamble in a casino.

Back to Mandalay

2006-09-10T20:21:00.000-07:00

Pursuant to a request made by one of my legion of fan: I, VegasSheep recently returned to play hold-em at the Mandalay Bay poker room. Since my last review, they have increased the number of tables in the room from 8 to 9. The room is naturally not as spacious, but the tables are still nicely spaced. As a player you do not get that cramp close-in feeling as you do in many other rooms.* Poker rooms in casinos which have tried to cash-in on the current poker boom by jamming additional tables into already existing space designed for a finite number of tables.

* WRITER'S NOTE: You may wish to reread this opening paragraph because it contains the most positive comment you will read about this room.

Like most of the major properties on the strip, the Mandalay poker room will spread almost any game for any limit with enough player interest. Ranging from $2 - $4 limit hold-em on up. The rake for their "live" games is 10% up to a maximum of $4 per pot. An additional $1 is taken out for their High Hand promotion which pays an added bonus to a player who gets a high hand of 4 of a kind or better using both of their hole cards. An interesting side note (at least I think it's interesting) to their rake is that Mandalay Bay is one of the very few casinos in town that still uses quarters in their low limit games. I guess they want to squeeze out as much rake as possible by not having to wait for the pot size to increase in $10 increments. Why not be able to rake $3.50 out of a $35 pot instead of only a miserable $3.00, which would be the case if the lowest denomination at the table were $1 chips.

In addition to "live" games, Mandalay Bay also spreads daily weekday hold-em tournaments. There morning 10:00 am tournament (Mon. thru Fri.) has an entry fee of $30, and there evening 6:00 pm tournament (Mon. thru Thurs.) has an entry fee of $60. Both tournaments are limited to 30 entrants and are freeze outs, meaning no rebuys, add-ons, or alternates are allowed. In the $30 tournament, $23 goes to the prize pool or roughly 77% of the entry fee. The remaining $7 (23%) is divided between the "house" and dealers. In the $60 tournament, $50 goes to the prize pool or roughly 83% of the entry fee. At the 10:00 am tournament the entrant receives $300 in tournament chips. The first hour is limit hold-em followed by no-limit for the remaining time. At the 6:00 pm tournament the entrant receives $500 in tournament chips and its no-limit from the start.

Small tournaments like the ones described above, are considered by most casinos as "feeders" to their "live" games. "Feeders" are low entry fee tournaments established to attract players to the room who would not normally play there in hopes of luring them into a "live" game once they get knocked out of the tournament. As described above; the house rake in a "live" game is 10% up to a maximum of $4 per pot.

Given their structure, it is rare that a tournament at Mandalay Bay lasts more than 2, 2 and 1/2 hours at most. And given the small amount of entrants allowed for a tournament in such a large property, unless a player is prepared to be in line when registration opens (3 hours before the start of the tournament) there is a good chance that he will not get into the tournament. So Mandalay Bay not only uses their tournaments as a "feeder" to their "live" games after the tournament, but also for games before the tournament. After registering unless a player decides to leave the property, or perhaps enjoy a $20 bacon and egg breakfast in their coffee shop, there is not much else to do between registration and the start of the tournament.

Another unique characteristic of the Mandalay Bay poker room is the amount of rules they have regarding player's behavior and acts of play. As I stated in my previous blog concerning how players act at the tables in the Orleans poker room, having strict rules on players conduct is not necessarily a bad thing. But Mandalay Bay carries this concept to the extreme. As I described in my blog last year when I first reviewed Mandalay Bay's poker room: "Mandalay Bay is the only poker room in town where a player needs Cliff notes to get through all the rules of the room." Well this statement is even more accurate today. Instead of easing up on the rules as more and more players become familiar with proper poker room conduct, Mandalay Bay has decided to implement more and stricter rules concerning player behavior and acts of play.**

** WRITER'S NOTE: My next blog will discuss two poker room rules that are unique to Mandalay Bay.

Finally to all of my faithful fan who thought I might have forgotten the "Mint Factor." Although Mandalay Bay has changed the packaging (new uniforms) the overall ambiance of the room has remained unchanged and still receives only a 3 Star rating. There is only so much fancy packaging a casino can do, but in order to get an excellent rating in the "Mint Factor" a room still needs a good pair of "ambiances" under that packaging. Afterall, this is a very serious and precise rating system and we cannot be swayed in our duty by mere packaging.

The Orleans

2006-09-07T08:37:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder what a Las Vegas poker room use to be like before the Poker Boom? You know; "Poker B.C." (Before Computer). Well for those of you wanting to find out; head west from the strip, to the Orleans poker room. Recently I had the pleasure (?) of revisiting the room. My immediate impression was: "nothin has friggin changed since I use to play there on a semi-regular bases a few years back." Although physically the room has moved to a different part of the casino and has increased to 35 tables, the atmosphere of the room remains the same. While other poker rooms have (re)opened and/or tried to reinvent themselves in hopes of luring the "new generation" of poker player ( you know that "all-in" player from T.V.), the Orleans poker room seems to be quite content in staying in it's own little "time warp."

Basically the room will spread almost any game from $2 - $4 limit hold-em on up. The rake is 10% up to a maximum of $3 per pot with an additional $1 taken out for their "Bad Beat" jackpots. The different jackpots are divided into three separate categories; hold-em, omaha, and 7 card stud. The amount of each jackpot depends upon the amount of games spread and how often it is hit in a particular category.

However, what the Orleans is most noteworthy for is its daily tournaments. These tournaments are held twice a day, 12 noon and 7:00 pm. They consist of 3 limit hold-em, 3 omaha hi-lo, and 8 no-limit hold-em tournaments per week. They range from $40 buy-ins to a $125 buy-in no-limit tournament on Saturday night. Most allow rebuys and an add-on for the first hour. There are roughly 100 entrants per tournament.

Although the room itself has that old Vegas poker room atmosphere, the one uplifting feature is it's Mint Factor. I give the room a 3 and 1/2 star rating in this all-important category. During my recent visit there, I observed more than one pair of ambiances that gave rise to this high rating.

But what truly gives meaning to: "that old Vegas poker room atmosphere" are the players and dealers in the room. While the majority of dealers in the room seem competent, they also seem to be burnt-out. The main reason for this phenomena is the lack of support from floor room supervisors in dealing with the players, who in my opinion are the worse in Vegas. Although there are obvious exceptions, the Orleans poker room has to have the highest percentage of obnoxious players in town. They include, but are not limited to: the old-time player who believes he knows more than any of these young (under the age of Medicare) upstart punks, the bitter player who can't afford the bigger games in the fancy casinos because of constant bad luck, and the just down right obnoxious S.O.B. who even thou he has been kicked out of 2 or 3 other casino poker rooms, the Orleans is still one of the few remaining poker rooms who will allow him to play. Which brings us back to my original premise: it seems that the Orleans puts up with more rude, obscene, and general B.S. from it's players than any other casino in town. They do this in a number of ways, but most notably by not backing up their dealers when it comes to disciplining a truly obnoxious player at the table. I have seen behavior from one player to another that would not be tolerated at any other poker room in town. This includes abusive language directed not only to another player but to a dealer that is not merely overlooked, but condoned by floor personnel. It as if the inmates are running the asylum.

So if you want to experience that "old-time" feeling when most poker players were considered to be on the lower rung of casino gamblers, than the Orleans is definitely the place to go. In fact, if you are reading this blog in town or are planning to be in Vegas within the near future, this would be the perfect time to visit. Starting Sep. 8th the Orleans Arena will be hosting the Lipizzaner Stallions. Not only can you see the "horse's asses" playing in the poker room, but you can compare them to the real thing in the Arena.

T.I. Anyone?

2006-08-31T11:00:00.000-07:00

You gotta love this town. The latest casino property to try to reinvent itself in the hopes of capturing a larger share of the tourist population, is the casino formerly known as Treasure Island. Adjacent to the Mirage, it was originally built by Wynn as a sister property that would specifically cater to the "family". It was built during the time when Vegas tried to become a "family destination" where the whole family could come and be entertained. Mercifully, the powers to be eventually realized that this was a terrible idea for a number of reasons (most notably that gaming revenue did not increase)and has slowly gone back to being an "adult playground." With the possible exception of one or two casinos (most notably, Circus Circus and Ex Caliber) the only family relationships now being encouraged in this town are of the "uncle, niece" type.

So with that in mind, a couple years back Treasure Island changed it's name to T.I. in hopes of luring more of that hip, what's happening, fun loving customer with lots of disposable income to their property. Their "marketers" thought that TI is a lot cooler name than Treasure Island. From in front of their casino; out went the Caribbean Pirate Theme show, and in came the "Sirens of the Caribbean." Basically the same show with less pirates, but more scantly clad wenches.

About 4 months ago TI continued with this trend by reopening a poker room on its property, which was previously closed by Treasure Island in the 90's. Their new poker room is located off the main hallway from their parking garage to the main casino floor. An added bonus to this location is that within the relatively short walking distance from the garage to the poker room is a Starbucks, Krispy Kremes and a Ben and Jerrys.

The poker room has 8 tables comfortably spaced in a moderately furnished room. The one major drawback I have with the physical properties of the room is in the lighting. I thought the overall lighting of the room was less than desirable with some areas worse than others. It perpetuates a gloomy atmosphere, and as any frequent poker player knows: "You don't need any outside forces to help make you feel gloomy when your losing."

The overall performance of the dealers and floor personnel is about average for a "strip property." However, as far as the "Mint Factor" goes" I'm afraid I can only give a 2 and 1/2 star rating to the TI poker room. A little below the strip property average of 3 stars. Thou to be fair, this low rating is based on a very limited sample. If through additional observations of other sets of ambiances a change in factor is warranted, please be assured that my legion of fan will be so notified.

The TI poker room basically spreads hold-em at 3 different limits in their "live" games. A $2 - $4 limit, a $4 - $8 limit, and a $1 - $3 blind no-limit game. In all of these games there is a 10% rake up to a maximum of $4.

Suprisingly given the small number of tables in the room, the TI spreads 3 daily tournaments. They are all no-limit hold-em tournaments with a $60 buy-in, at 4am, 11am, and 7pm. They will also spread $50 buy-in, One Table Sit and Go's at any time there are 10 people wanting to play. Discussion of these tournaments will be the subject of a future blog.

In the meantime, if you want to play poker at a property wanting to be on the cutting edge, go to the TI. If you just want to play at an older strip property, pretend its still Treasure Island. Or if you want to be really adventurous, bawdy even, or just down right obscene and chauvinistic add a TS to the current name, and pretend your playing there.

The Wynn ... A Gentler Time

2006-08-27T12:54:00.000-07:00

It has been brought to my attention that my recent blogs have been somewhat on the negative side. Especially in my recent reviews of some poker rooms around town. Please let me assure all of my faithful fan that these criticisms were not part of some "master plan." I prefer to think of these reviews as just a recent string of bad luck I've had in picking rooms to review.

I believe the best way for me to reassure all of my faithful fan that these recent reviews were just a fluke in timing is to update last year's review of the Wynn poker room. As those faithful readers of this blog know: the Wynn poker room is the only room in town that has earned the coveted 4 and 1/2 star rating in the "Mint Factor." In a rating system based on 0 to 4 stars, a 4 and 1/2 star rating is an extraordinary accomplishment. To earn such a prestigious mark a poker room must not only display a great deal of ambiance, but package it in a tasteful and classy manner. Based upon my recent visits, the room (cocktail waitresses) have continued to maintain these "robust" standards. Their determination and dedication to these goals is truly awe inspiring. Let me put it to you this way: a 4 star rating signifies that you immediately want to have a meaningful and soul searching conversation with your cocktail server in hopes of marriage; at the Wynn with their 4 and 1/2 star rating, even if happily married with a wonderful family you are seriously tempted to drop the wife and kids for this opportunity.

The room is ideally located off to the side of the main corridor leading from the parking garage to the main casino. It is far enough away so a player is not subject to the constant noise and commotion usually found on a main casino floor. The poker room itself is richly decorated and when not overflowing with customers is quite comfortable. That is the one negative I found with the room: because of its popularity it is not uncommon to find a huge waiting list to get into almost any game they may spread in their 27 table room. Limits for their games range from $4 - $8 limit on up. They are a victim of their success. The only fault I can find with the room is that at times it can get overcrowded because of the number of people who want to play there.

On the whole, both the floor people and dealers are above average. I find them mostly to be friendly, courteous, and skillful in handling the game. The rake for their games is 10% up to a maximum of $4 per pot. No additional rake is taken for any special promotions. The max $4 pot rake is about average for Vegas.

The one sad note I found from my last visit to the Wynn poker room was that my favorite shift room manager had left their employ. Remember what I said about friendly, courteous, and skillful? She is all that and more. Her name is Kathleen and I heard she left the Wynn to take a job at the Oceanside Casino in California. If its true, the players in Oceanside are getting one class act.

Outplayed by a Vulcan

2006-08-24T10:09:00.000-07:00

So you think you might get nervous if you found yourself at the same poker table with Daniel Negreanu, or Phil Hellmuth, or Howard Lederer, or any other top poker professional. Based upon my recent experience; I'm here to tell you that anyone of these players is pale in comparison to what I faced the other night. As I hinted in my previous blog, over this past weekend I played hold-em at the Las Vegas Hilton. Although I was not fortunate enough to play against a Klingon, I did play against a couple of Starfleet officers and a Vulcan. (Since the Vulcan was not in uniform, I can only assume he was not in Starfleet.)

Within the first 30 minutes or so, I had a pretty good read on the Starfleet officers. Not because of my excellent skill at reading an opponent, but more because of their lack of skill at the poker table. This fact, coupled with they both being humanoid, made reading their play a simple task.

However, my real challenge came in trying to read the Vulcan. First of all, I had nothing to compare against. Admittedly my interaction with Vulcans is limited, but at the risk of being politically incorrect, they all look alike to me. They all have pointy eyebrows, pointy ears, and bangs. Not to mention that none of them ever show any emotion. They all have that same sour puss expression on their face. I have my own theory as to why they always look that way: "If you could only have sex once every seven years, you too would have that same expression." (Thank goodness, I still have 5 more years before my expression permanently changes)

For about the first 2 hours, I was doing OK, although I hadn't been dealt any "big hands", I was still able to increase my chip total by $200. Which isn't bad in a $3 - $6 limit game. During this period, I never played heads-up with the Vulcan, and most of my winnings were at the expense of the two Starfleet officers.

Then "The Hand" was dealt. I was the big blind with pocket Queens. Starfleet Officer #1 (SF1), who was on the button (Dealer) raised before the flop, I smooth called. There was 6 way action including the Vulcan, who was in middle position. The flop came Kh, Qc, 3h. I checked, knowing that SF1 would bet, which he did. I raised, 3 other players called, and the turn came the 6s. I again checked, SF1 bet, I raised, SF1 reraised, and I capped. The river came 6h, I bet, SF1 raised, I reraised, then out of nowhere, the Vulcan capped. A sickening feeling came over my stomach. After observing Mr. Spock for 2 hours I knew he was to good of a player to just have a flush, I couldn't believe that after the flop he would call a double bet with just pocket 6's, so I put him on pocket Kings. Sure enough, while I flopped a set (3) Queens, Vulcan flopped a set of Kings. During the entire hand, the only time the Vulcan initiated any action was to make the final raise. He let me and SF1 make the pot for him. I thought I was slow playing the hand and setting the trap, while all the time I was the one being played and out trapped.

Now I don't want to sound petty or mean spirited, but I thought the United States Congress was suppose to take care of this illegal alien problem.

"To Boldly Go Where .... "

2006-08-19T09:44:00.000-07:00

It never ceases to amaze me on how many important "life lessons" can be learned or simply reinforced by playing the game of poker. Take me for example. If you have read my 2 previous blogs, I bet you would lay at least 4 to 1 that the last place I would play poker this weekend is the Las Vegas Hilton poker room. Well if you had made that bet, I think you are about ready to lose.

You might ask: "After trashing the room why would Mr. VegasSheep go back there again? Believe me after my last visit to the room, I swore to myself: "Self, you will never go back to the Las Vegas Hilton poker room until they not only remodel, but also show a concerted effort to improve the running operation of the room." Little did I know that almost immediately after posting my last blog, I learned of a very important event (life shattering, almost) that was occurring this weekend (8-17 to 8-20) at the Hilton that would drastically change my opinion.

For those not aware: the Las Vegas Hilton is not only home to the most disappointing poker room in Vegas and Barry Manilow, but is also home to "Star Trek: The Experience." A place were two people in love can get their wedding vows renewed, or even get married by a minister dressed in full Starfleet attire, while standing on an "authentic replica" (their description, not mine) of the bridge on the starship, U.S.S. Enterprise. Prices for this privilege range from $350 to $550 for a simple Vulcan Vow Renewal, to a mere $3,000 for an Admiral's Wedding. Included in this deluxe package: you get an actual wedding performed by a minister dressed in a Starfleet uniform, intergalactic floral arrangements and music, and your choice of between 4 additional Starfleet officers, 4 Klingons, or 4 Ferengis to be in attendance at your wedding. You can also invite up to 45 of your closest friends to join you on this joyous occasion. (It is limited to only 45 additional guests because that is the maximum amount of people allowed on the bridge at one time)

It is no wonder then, that a Star Trek Convention is currently being held at the Las Vegas Hilton. They are expecting up to 15,000 trekkies to attend. You would assume (at least I do) that out of all these visitors, a fair amount of Vulcans, Klingons, Borgs, Cardassians, Romulans, and Ferengis* would be in attendance. Given all of these out-of-town guests, you would think some of them would be looking for a place just to sit and relax after their long flight. And what better way to relax then over a nice friendly game of Texas hold-em. And where is the nearest poker room to the convention? Right in the hotel where the convention is being held; the Las Vegas Hilton poker room.

I ask my legion of fan out there: How can I, Mr VegasSheep, an avid fan of the game of poker, pass up the opportunity to match my skills at the poker table against an alien life form. (Believe me, there is more truth to this than you think. If you have ever seen how some trekkies dress up for this convention, you would swear some are from another planet.) So if I'm fortunate enough, I may play against a Starfleet officer or 2, possibly a Vulcan or Ferengi, and if I'm really lucky, a Klingon. (Is it just me, or does anyone else think that a female Klingon warrior is hot?)

For the chance to go heads up against a Klingon, I am probably going to break my vow and go play hold-em at the Hilton this weekend. It's funny how fate has away to change one's preconceived course in life.

EPILOGUE: Continuing with my philosophical ending, I did some additional soul searching while proof reading this blog. It struck me that with the exception of checking for correct spelling, I really didn't have to do any research for the listing of the different Star Trek life forms* that I rattled off in the 4th paragraph. This kinda scares me. So with that in mind, I'm gonna take a break for a week or so from writing so I can: "Get a life."

The Hilton - Part Deux

2006-08-17T08:41:00.000-07:00

As discussed in the previous blog: the Las Vegas Hilton poker room basically spreads two games, a $1 - $2 blind no-limit hold-em game and a $3 - $6 limit hold-em game. During my recent session there, both games were being spread. No more than 5 tables were in use at one time. At it's peak, 3 no-limit and 2 limit games were being played. Like most poker rooms, in the low-limit $3 - $6 game mostly $1 chips were being used. In the $1 - $2 blind no-limit game, mostly $5 chips were being used. There are numerous reasons why most poker rooms encourage this practice ranging from the practical to the psychological.*

*WRITER'S NOTE: For the novice player, in a future blog(s) the reasoning and rationale behind some poker room's practices and rules may be discussed. But for the time being; just take Uncle VegasSheep's word on it.

The reason for even mentioning this above practice is to set the framework for what I witnessed the other night. I was playing in one of the two $3 - $6 limit hold-em games. Less than an hour into the session, I started noticing a different colored chip being introduced into the game. Although technically the new chip may have been the same color as the original, their shades were so far apart that they might has well have been two different colors. When I first noticed these new chips entering the game I asked the dealer what denomination they were. I was told by the dealer and subsequently by the floorman (who was showing the new player with a full rack of these different color chips to his seat) that they were $1 chips. That the reason they looked so different was because they ran out of their special poker room $1 chips, and they had to use the $1 chips from casino table games (blackjack, craps, etc.).

So in about a half hour after their introduction, some players had $1 chip stacks of one color or the other, while others (the truly adventurous types) had the different color chips of the same denomination all mixed together. Looking over this colorful array, it made me kinda homesick and sentimental for my younger days when I use to play poker at the kitchen table with different color buttons.

By now, you may be wondering why I'm even writing about such a minor annoyance. In fact some of you may even be thinking: "Mr. VegasSheep why are you wasting your apparent 'God Given' blog writing talent on such a trivial matter?" When they ran out of $1 poker chips, they only had 2 games going that predominately use that denomination. (Two Games!!!) Come on Hilton, were not talking rocket science here, how much planning and foresight would it have taken to figure you may have needed a few more chips for your room?

Coupled with the previously discussed outlay of the room, this experience reinforces my assumption that very little planning or foresight went into the development of this poker room. Given the popularity boom of poker, it seems they just threw something together to satisfy the inquiries of potential guests / customers to the question: "Can I play that 'all-in' game at your casino?"

Although I get that same impression of some other poker rooms around town, what singles out the Las Vegas Hilton poker room is their history of having a first class poker room. What is so disappointing about the Hilton is that it squandered the opportunity to carry on this rich tradition by taking the easy way out. It appears that they just threw something together so that they could say to potential customers: "Yea, we got a place for that 'all-in' game."

The Hilton

2006-08-15T08:07:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure who, if anyone, coined the phrase: "You can't go home anymore." But if someone did, they could have easily had in mind the Las Vegas Hilton poker room. This room is just the latest example of a major casino in town who once had a poker room, closed it in the 90's when poker became unfashionable, then reopened a new room during the current popularity boom.

Before I give a review of this new room, I should describe the original Las Vegas poker room. When I first started playing poker in Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Hilton poker room was "THE" poker room in Vegas. At that time Mr. VegasSheep was a tourist, a novice if you will. You could say I was VegasLamb. (You really could say that, if for no other reason but to humor me ... it was there, I couldn't resist) It was the Venetian poker room of it's day. It reeked of posh and class.

With these memories solidly implanted in my mind, last Saturday night I played for the first time at the newly reopened poker room at the Las Vegas Hilton. To say the experience was a disappointment would be an understatement. The only similarity the new room has to the original is it's location in the casino. While the original room had 30 plus tables, the new room has 9 tables poorly positioned in an area that looks better suited for storage than gaming.

After playing, observing the other games, and my discussion with the floorman, the vast majority of games spread are $1 -$2 blinds no-limit hold-em and $3 - $6 limit hold-em. The dealers on average, are what you have come to expect in a new room, below the norm. Unfortunately this norm seems to become lower after every new room I visit. The rake for both of these games is stiff: 10% of the pot up to a maximum of $4, plus an additional $1 for their High Hand Jackpot, for a total of $5 from every pot of $40 or more.

Probably the biggest disappointment is in the "Mint Factor." Although the "Mint Factor" wasn't even around at that time, and taking into account that my judgment may be a little clouded with nostalgia, the original Las Vegas Hilton poker room would have easily received a solid 4 Star rating. Unfortunately for this new room, my vision wasn't clouded anywhere near enough to give the room any more than a pitiful 1 and 1/2 Star rating in this all-important area.

To my astute fan: I am sure by now you can sense that I was less than impressed by the Las Vegas Hilton's new poker room. In my next blog, I will discuss an observation I made during my visit that will sum up my feelings about this room. *

*WRITER'S NOTE: I have now introduced yet another new feature to Poker Tales from VegasSheep, the cliffhanger!

Not So Fast

2006-08-12T13:35:00.000-07:00

At 3:40 a.m. (Vegas time) this past Friday morning, The Championship Event at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) came mercifully to an end. This 14 day marathon ended when the last remaining player had all the chips from the 8,773 entrants to the tournament. Once again, the last player standing in what was once the most prestigious event in poker, is an unknown player. His name is Jamie Gold, a former Hollywood producer / agent / manager / porn star / who the heck knows, guy who lives in California.

Perhaps one or two of you out there noticed I didn't use the word "winner" when describing Mr. Gold's most recent achievement. Call me diligent, call me overly cautious, perhaps even cynical but I, Mr. VegasSheep, am not willing to declare an official winner to the Championship Event until the results of the urine test on Mr. Gold is released to the public. When athletes like Floyd Landis in the Tour de France, Barry Bonds in baseball, Pamela Anderson in Baywatch are constantly being accused of using steroids and other performance enhancing drugs (in Ms. Anderson's case, it may have been more like ... ahhh ... Performance enhancing appliances) to gain an unfair advantage over their opponents, I will wait until officials of the WSOP release their findings.

Even though as previously mentioned I think Harrah's has turned this once prestigious event into a circus, I cannot believe that even they could be so cavalier in judgment and attitude to jeopardize the integrity of this proud sport by not instituting the proper safeguards.

And make no mistake about it, hold-em is definitely a sport. No less than the ultimate sports authority, ESPN has so christened it. Why else would they have devoted so much time and effort in taping the event so they can show it adnauseam over the next several months/years on their "sports network."

Years in the Making

2006-08-10T12:02:00.000-07:00

In the mid 90's, when Coast Casinos still thought they had a chance to challenge Station Casinos for a large share of the "locals" market, they opened a new casino in Summerlin called Suncoast. Almost immediately speculation arose that a poker room would soon go into this property. By the turn of the millennium, the speculation turned into full blown rumors that the establishment of the poker room was imminent. A mere 6 or 7 years later, these rumors turned to reality when Suncoast opened a poker room at the beginning of this month. In fact when I went to check-out the new Suncoast poker room earlier this week, I was told that they were still in the process of planning their "Grand Opening Celebration."

The room itself is situated in the back of the casino near the sportsbook and movie theater entrance. It has 12 tables nicely spaced throughout the room. Trying to compare it's decor to the Venetian's, the last poker room I reviewed, would be like comparing a Hyundai to a Rolls Royce. Both poker rooms are similar in that both have poker tables and chairs. As I have previously stated the Venetian's decor is posh, while the best I can say about the Suncoast's decor is that although Spartan it looks clean. Admittedly my playing time at the Suncoast has been limited, but the best I can give their poker room is a temporary 2 Star "Mint Rating." Mainly because I have only played their for a short period of time during one shift, and it would be unfair to give the whole room a permanent "Mint Rating" based on just one handler. (If nothing else: Mr. VegasSheep tries to be fair and balanced when it comes to the "Mint Factor")

However I did sit through 3 different dealers while I was there, and to say they were less than satisfactory would be charitable. I understand that a new poker room primarily targeting the low-limit local market player is not going to attract the better dealers in town. But I hope that for their sake, their new dealers learn quickly. If not the Red Rock Casino poker room which is located nearby, will be getting an influx of players at their expense.

Where the Suncoast Casino does excel is in the rake. They only rake $1 for every $10 in the pot, up to a maximum of $3. And since at this time no promotions are running, no additional rakes are taken out for them. This compares favorably to Red Rock, where they take out up to $4 for the rake plus an additional $1 for their promotions, for a maximum of $5 per pot.

During my brief visit at Suncoast, the floorman told me that they basically spread $2-$4 and $4-$8 limit hold-em, plus what has quickly become the mandatory no-limit hold-em game, and they try to spread a $1 to $5 7-card stud game. At this time, they do not have any tournaments scheduled. In addition, he gave me the standard pitch that they would spread almost any game at any limit if there was enough player interest.

While I was there the only player interest was for a $2-$4 limit hold-em game, the BINGO of hold-em games. Given that name because every time I play it, there seems to be at least 3 or 4 players at the table who will not only play any 2 cards before the flop, but if they have any draw at all they will see the turn and river. Then after all the cards are dealt, they will match up their 2 hole cards with the board to see what their best hand is, and if they have anything resembling a poker hand their calling. The only thing missing, is that they don't actually yell BINGO when they hit a pair.

In conclusion, maybe Suncoast shouldn't have been so hasty in setting up their new poker room. Maybe they should have waited another 6 or 7 years to work out all the kinks first.

A Trappin We Will Go

2006-08-08T09:38:00.000-07:00

Today's post was inspired by a recent hand I had the pleasure of observing. It revolves around the artful technique of "trapping." For those not familiar with this term: it is a technique used by a player who believes he has the best hand, but instead of betting or raising, he simply checks or calls in hopes of inducing another player to bet. Hopefully, this other player will continue to bet your winning hand until after the river card is dealt, when at that time you make the final raise. In effect you have trapped the player into believing he or she had the best hand, thus maximizing your winnings. You notice the optimum phrase in this explanation is: "having the best hand." Unless you have the "nuts" (the very best hand possible given the 5 cards on board), the technique has it's amount of risk.

I believe the following hand best illustrates this technique and it's inherit risk. The hand was dealt in a $2-$5 blinds no-limit hold-em game. The game was pretty tight, meaning that there was not much action. I will withhold any further comment until the end. In this hand the "trapper" was in 3rd position, the 1st to act after the blinds. He called the big blind and all the other players dropped, including the small blind. This left in the pot just the Trapper and the Big Blind. The flop came: Jh, 4c, 3d. The Big Blind checked, and the Trapper bet $200 (roughly half his chips). The Big Blind pushed all-in, easily covering Trapper's bet and remaining chips. Trapper reluctantly pushed in his remaining chips, while all the time muttering that he was "pot committed" and he just couldn't lay down such a great starting hand and showed his pocket Kings. Sure enough big blind had J, 4, and nothing came on the turn or river that would affect either hand. The Big Blind's two pairs, Jacks and 4s, had beaten Trapper's one pair of kings.

Where do I begin to explain how "Trapper" messed-up this hand. Although it can be argued that Trapper called the 1st bet in hopes of re-raising a subsequent raiser, by not making even a token raise of say $10, he left himself open for what eventually happened. Big Blind was able to "limp-in", meaning he did not have to take any further action since his original post covered the opening bet. As anyone who plays this game knows, any 2 cards in the hand can be a perfect match for a specific flop. By not raising even a small amount, big blind was not forced to make a decision. He could see the flop for free, meaning he did not have to put more than the already required amount of chips in the pot.

However, by far his biggest mistake and what makes him an automatic finalist in the "What the @#$%&^ were You Thinking" award (players category) is his next action. After the flop he bet $200! He risked $200 to win $11 (small and big blinds plus his original call, minus $1 rake). What was he thinking? There could only be a downside with that size of bet. Even if the big blind had a Jack, would he invest $200, when he only had $5 invested in the pot? I wouldn't, and I don't think many other players would. That is unless the Big Blind was a novice, or had a lot of disposable tourist money, or was possibly related to Trapper. By observing Big Blind, I don't think he fell into any of these categories.

When the Big Blind not only called his bet, but check raised him all-in, bells and whistles should have gone off in Trapper's head. He should have known that he just got trapped. Big Blind had to have at least 2 pairs or possibly even a set (3 of a kind) for that type of bet, making Trapper a big underdog. While the prudent and rational decision may have been to cut one's loss and fold, why should we expect that now from Trapper? Instead we watched him throw his remaining chips into the pot, while being serenaded by his muttering and whining of how unlucky he was that his pocket kings lost to jack, 4 off-suit.

The moral of this story is: "Be careful what you wish for, because you might get it." Like the non-threatening flop which appeared in the above-mentioned hand. Even if you don't play a hand as badly as Trapper, cards have a funny way at the most inopportune time of not following the percentages. This coupled, with opposing players not having the hands you put them on (expect) makes trapping a risky endeavor. The poker "Gods" have a whimsical sense of humor, and don't always follow the script you would like. So if you are going to trap, be careful of the inherit risk. As shown above: the trapper can quickly become the trapee.

The Venetian Poker Room

2006-08-05T10:49:00.000-07:00

No need for my typical clever and snappy title, the mere fact that the word "Venetian" appears in it, should be sufficient incentive to read this blog. Anyone who is familiar with Vegas knows that The Venetian is one classy joint. When you enter, the place even smells of money and class. I am sure in no small part due to the fact that they infuse the air through the ventilation system with their own special fragrance.

It is no wonder then that the Venetian showed that same degree for detail when it designed it's new poker room. After almost a 10 years absence, the Venetian earlier this year became yet another casino to reopen it's poker room. They came back to the poker world with a vengeance. I don't think anyone who has been to their new room can argue that if it is not the classiest, it is certainly one of the classiest poker rooms in Vegas. They have 39 tables comfortably spread over more than 10,000 square feet. To say the room is posh, is to say that I hope I'm spelling and using the word correctly. Anyway, it's one heck of a comfy and yet classy room.

They will spread almost any game but by far the most popular game, as it is in all poker rooms in Vegas, is Texas Hold-em. Most of their hold-em games are the no-limit variety with blinds starting at $1-$2, and going on up. Their limit games start at $3-$6, then $6-$12, and so on. The rake structure is different from what the normal 10% up to a maximum of $3 or $4, that you see around town. At the Venetian they rake $1 for $10 in the pot, 1 for 20, 1 for 50, and then 1 for 90. Meaning for a pot anywhere from $21 to $49, the house rake averages about 6%, and for a pot from $51 to $89 the average is less than 5%. In addition this month they are introducing a Bad Beat Jackpot promotion that will last through December. Unlike similar promotions in other casinos, this jackpot is 100% casino funded. Meaning that no additional rake is taken for this promotion. A rarity in this town. Almost every other poker room that has a Bad Beat or Best Hand promotion takes an additional $1 from the pot to fund them.

The Venetian also runs 2 no-limit tournaments daily. In addition, on the 11th through 13th of this month, they are going to hold a $500,000 Freeroll Tournament. This and their other tournaments will be discussed in a future blog.

Because of it's location, directly in the middle of the "Strip" and there not being an easy backdoor route to get there (at least one that I have found), driving to the Venetian can be a challenge. Coupled with the horrendous parking conditions, I have not played at the Venetian as often as I would have liked. However when I have played there, I have found the vast majority of floor people and dealers to be above average in competence and politeness. The complete opposite of Jelly from my previous blog.

There is however, one area that I must report the Venetian falls sadly short in expectations. That is in the "Mint Factor." (For a detailed explanation of the Mint Factor see my 3-06-05 blog) To remain honest to my faithful fan, it pains me to report that I can only give the Venetian Poker Room 3 stars in this very important category. Although admittedly a 3 star rating in almost any other poker room in town would be very good, we are talking the Venetian here!!! Their original poker room was the birth place of the Mint Factor! In fact the new poker room is almost in the same location as the original room. You could say it is sitting on halo ground. Therefore, you would and should expect nothing less than a 4 star rating. It appears that during Venetian's absence in the poker world, the prime "mint" location has moved just north to the Wynn. It seems that Steve Wynn has used his draft choices wisely and has acquired some superior mint handlers. This coupled with his excellent farm system, makes the Wynn the current leader in the "Mint Factor." Far abreast of any challenger.

In conclusion: Although if falls a little flat in the "Mint Factor", on the whole the Venetian Poker Room reeks with class.

Just Call Him Jelly

2006-08-03T09:17:00.000-07:00

Continuing with the previous theme I've decided to hand out yet another "Worse of" award. Basically because I find it not only therapeutic, but fun. This award goes to who I consider the worse dealer in Vegas.

First, I should lay down my criteria for such a prestigious award. A dealer must not only have the proper card mechanic skills to be considered good, he or she must be part teacher, part diplomat, part sociologist, part traffic cop, and part animal trainer. A good dealer not only has to be able to deal accurately, he or she must use the above mentioned skills to subtly control the tempo of the game and the players in it. Therefore, making the game more enjoyable for all concerned. With the possible exception of mechanics, the recipient of my "Worse Dealer" award fails miserably in all these categories. Plus what makes him truly stand-out from other "bad" dealers and a worthy recipient of this award is his attitude. He makes Attila the Hun seem like a social director on a cruise ship.

Not only has the dramatic increase in poker rooms made it difficult to find competent floormen ( as discussed in the previous blog), it has also put a strain on finding dealers with adequate poker room experience. So it is not uncommon to run across dealer(s) in any poker room that may be a little under the curve of what the experienced card room player may judge as acceptable. But in the vast majority of these cases, players (at least those that are as considerate, kind, and nonjudgemental as yours truly) are willing to cut them some slack. However, this is impossible with our "award winner."

Those familiar with my previous blog (dated 7-18-06) know that the recipient of this prestigious award deals in the Tuscanny Poker Room. To protect the innocent, let's just call him Jelly.*

*WRITER'S NOTE: So you know I read and think about the comments I receive, especially about naming names: Since the Tuscanny poker room is relatively small and only the first name of a dealer is on their name tag, I do not want to cast an aspersion on any other dealer who may be named Kelly.

I can not tell you how many times, not only I but other experienced players, have had to correct Jelly in the middle of, or at the end of a hand. Besides making numerous errors in controlling the game, I have seen him on several occasions (sometimes in the same session) make the cardinal mistake of "pushing the pot" to the wrong player. Declaring a player with the worse hand, the winner of the pot! Don't get me wrong, we all can make mistakes. Even I, on a rare occasion have been known to do it. What makes Jelly so special is the amount of times he does it, and his reaction to you questioning his decision.

I don't know if the reason behind his attitude is that:
1.) He is not accustomed to someone questioning his decision because the Tuscanny mainly caters to the inexperienced, novice player who may feel intimidated.
2.) His ability to deal fast, which gives him the feeling of superiority.
3.) Or just a general lack of interest in what he is doing.

Maybe it is a combination of all these reasons, or others, that make Jelly react like he does. Instead of actually considering what you are saying, he immediately lashes out at anyone who questions or heaven forbid criticizes one of his decisions, as if it was a personal attack.

Therefore, it is this type of attitude coupled with his general overall ineptness that makes Jelly the proud recipient of: "The Worse Dealer in Vegas Award" !

Traveling to Another Dimension

2006-08-01T06:20:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of the upcoming award season, "Poker Tales from VegasSheep" is introducing yet another new feature to its already award winning, all inclusive reporting of the poker scene here in Vegas. We, the staff (meaning me) are periodically going to be handing out awards for the: "Best of" and/or "Worse of" experiences, people, or other interesting things found lurking in the poker rooms around Vegas.

My first award is going to fall in the "Worse of" category. Tentatively title the: "What the @#$%& Were You Thinking" award goes to the poker room manager at Red Rock casino. It deals with a "stated" policy of that room. Not to be confused with what might be consider a random bad decision by floor personnel, this is an administrative policy implemented by the people who run the room stating how a certain situation should always be handled.

In order to win this award, Red Rock had to beat out some tough competition. Notably the Mandalay Bay Poker Room, a perennial power-house in this category with its always amusing 1/2 kill policy. (For those not familiar with this term and Mandalay's unique interpretation, it will be explained in a future blog)

Red Rock wins the award based on its unbelievable "Must Move" policy. "Must Move" is a concept commonly used in many poker rooms around Vegas. Simply stated it is a policy that when a new table opens up with limits already being played at another table(s), players from this new table must move to the pre-existing game if openings arise at that table. The reasoning behind this policy is quite simple: Don't penalize players who have been playing in your room for a long period of time at a certain limit with a short game (playing with less than the optimal number of players). It is a rational policy and I have absolutely no problem with those rooms that have adapted it. There are generally some common rules that most poker rooms follow when adopting this policy:
1.) A table is designated a "Must Move" table for a finite length of time (usually one hour)
2.) Before moving a player, the floorman will ask if anyone wishes to volunteer to move to the other table. Usually in the order of where they are on the list.
3.) Even before invoking the "Must Move" rule, if there still is a waiting list for a particular game, new players will be taken from that list first.

To say Red Rock has taken these basic practices to a whole new level is to put it mildly. They have taken them to a whole new dimension! To illustrate my point, let me tell my faithful fan what happened to your humble servant just recently.

I was playing in a 4-8 hold-em game at Red Rock during swing shift, last Saturday night (generally one of the busiest times for a poker room). I was on the waiting list for the 6-12 hold-em game. I bought in for $100 and was up $20 after playing for about 1/2 hour, when they started up a new "must move" 6-12 hold-em game. As I have previously stated, I have no problem with the must move concept(in fact, I support it)so I immediately went to the new game starting up. I bought in for the $120 I had from the previous game. After playing for almost 2 hours, I was tapped on the shoulder by the floorman and told that I must move to the original game. I told the floorman that I had been playing for almost 2 hours at this table. He informed me that it was card room policy that once a table was designated a "Must Move" game, it kept that designation for the entire night. My only reply to this was: "Really?" Then before he could even answer, two other players at my table offered to move to the other game, His reply was that he could not deviate from the list, and since my name was next I had to move or be dealt out. My snappy reply was: "What?" Then, the coup de grace happened: I looked over at the podium and saw on the waiting list 14 players (that's right, 14! I counted them twice) waiting to get into a 6-12 hold-em game. I politely informed the floorman of what I just saw and his reply was (you guessed it): "It was card room policy that the next person on the "Must Move" list must move regardless on who or how many wanted to play in that game."

It was obvious that I was dealing with a floorman who was the male clone of a "Stepford Wife", so I complimented him on keeping a straight face while he spewed his dribble and asked for some empty racks so I could cash out. The only thing that softened the effects of this incredibly dumb rule was that I was cashing out $796 in chips.

I know that with the influx of new poker rooms sprouting up almost daily in Vegas, good floorman are at a premium. But come on Red Rock, at least put someone in charge who has at least heard of the term "common sense." The clones you have working there now have no clue.

Reporting from the Big Top

2006-07-29T16:21:00.000-07:00

Up until now I have been reluctant to write about the World Series of Poker (WSOP), which has been at the Rio since June 25th, because of some issues I have with the recent running of the event. A major issue was just recently highlighted when the $10,000 No-Limit Hold-em Championship Tournament started this past Friday, and which will run through August 10th. As of this writing, this 14 day event already has over 8,600 entrants and is expected to peak out at over 9,000 before registration ends on Monday, the last of the 4 sessions in the preliminary rounds. Although the tournament can only hold a maximum of 2,000 players at one time, thanks to the introduction of alternate players: when players get knocked out anytime within the 1st 2 hours of each preliminary session, they can be replaced by new players in groups of 10. Therefore, effectively increasing the total number of entrants to the Championship Event.

The reason I mention this fact is to give you some needed background info. As you can tell by the number of entrants, the Championship event was not limited to a select number of players. Basically if a player had $10,000 for the entry fee, he was in. So you can imagine my surprise and indignation when the WSOP denied the entry of a player, even though an internet poker site had guaranteed his entry fee, simply because of who he was. I thought that as a country we had progressed far enough along, so that bigotry and bias would no longer ever be a determining factor. Sadly, I was mistaken and Mikey (the player in question) was denied entry simply because he was a monkey. And not your average monkey, but a chimpanzee type monkey. Don't the WSOP officials realize that:
1.) Before Jane, Tarzan's "significant other" was a chimp.
2.) In his most memorable movies, former President Ronald Reagan's co-star was a chimp.
3.) And most importantly, the first U.S. astronaut was a chimp!

These are but just a few of the memorable accomplishments that Mikey's forefathers have had to our society, and still the WSOP official(s) denied his entry to the Championship event. They allowed baboons, like professional poker players Mike Matusow and Phil Hellmuth into the event. And who amongst us, who play on a regular basis, haven't seen their fair number of fish and jackasses at the poker table? In fact, just the other day I played at the table with a couple of Canadians. So if they allow other forms of wildlife and outdoor creatures at the poker table, why not Mikey?

*******************************************

The above cynical and hopefully humorous opening paragraphs were used to help illustrate what I believe is a serious problem now facing the World Series of Poker Tournament. Ever since Harrah's took over the operation from Binion's roughly 2 years ago, the once proud and prestigious WSOP tournament has turned into a circus. The above story of Mikey, an event that occurred earlier this week when Pokershare.net actually tried to enter a monkey into the WSOP Championship to gain some publicity for it's site, is just the latest in a long chain of events of people and company's trying to cash-in on the poker craze. And as long as Harrah's can find a way to get a cut of the action, almost anything goes. That is, almost anything, since they did refuse Mikey as an entry. Although I think it was more because Harrah's couldn't find a way to get a piece of the action and that the Humane Society and the Jane Goodall Institute were both condemning the idea, then any grandiose notion by Harrah's that it might "cheapen" the event.

To fully appreciate what I am saying all a visitor has to do is walk down the corridors leading to the convention hall where the WSOP is being held. You will be bombarder with rooms on both sides of the corridor(s), from elaborate kiosks to simple card tables, selling everything from condoms to condominiums. You can buy your "official" WSOP visor, hat, bra, and almost any other type of apparel that can carry an official WSOP label.

But what is even worse than this carnival barker atmosphere that permeates this event is the caliber of play that you are seeing in these "World Champion" events. It has come to the point that anyone with enough money for an entry fee can enter a championship tournament. Call me old-fashion, even a prude, but I do believe that if a person is going to play in a championship event he must have played against "real" people at least once before entering. In order for the $10,000 No-Limit Hold-em Championship at the WSOP to have any prestige, I believe some minimum requirements must be set for the entrants.

If the novice player with a lot of cash wants to participate at the WSOP, let him play in some of the "live" action games. I am sure he or she can find more than enough people willing to play them.

In the meantime, I can only hope that Harrah's will change the direction it is taking the WSOP, and treat it as the prestigious event it was originally set up as, instead of the Barnum and Bailey Show that they have turned it into.

"Sucking Out"

2006-07-27T09:45:00.000-07:00

Continuing with the theme of Bad Beats, today's topic is going to deal with the responses heard from players administrating the aforementioned bad beats.

First, I should review what a bad beat is. Despite what I have previously written, a bad beat does not necessarily start with: "There I was with pocket aces." A bad beat can be administered to any player holding cards that on the average make him much more likely to win a particular pot than his opponent's hand. My general rule of thumb is that a player has be at least a 2 to 1 favorite to win the hand, to qualify as a "Bad Beat" story. That is, unless it happens to you. Then any hand that you were even a slight favor and then lose, qualifies as a horrendous bad beat. The higher your percentage of winning a pot, the bigger the bad beat. Meaning the fewer "outs" (the card or combination of cards) a player must have appear on the board to beat your hand, the bigger the bad beat. The ultimate bad beat is when your opponent has just one card in the entire deck that can beat your hand, turn up on the "river." (final card)

The actual act of beating a superior hand is called: "sucking out," a highly technical and sophisticated term developed throughout the years to describe this act. Given the very nature of the game, every hold-em player has been on both sides of this "story," and will continue to be. Either as the "sucker" or "suckee".

As my faithful fan knows, my favorite response to being the victim of a "bad beat" is simply saying: "Good hand sir, good hand." Although admittedly, the bigger the "suck out" the more difficult it is for me to utter those words. Due in no small part to the increasing amount of difficulty in just trying to talk through tighter and tighter clenched teeth.

The real challenge and the main lesson of this blog is: "What is the proper response when you are the one 'sucking out'?" Obviously, the best response is just not saying anything, and possibly throwing in a "sheepish look" for good measure. But that doesn't happen in the real world. (dahhhh ... If it did, I wouldn't be writing this article)

Over my years, I have heard numerous reasons why a player held such and such cards and "sucked out" on someone with far better hole cards. Usually, the more worse the hand, the more lame the explanation. The following remarks (in no particular order) are some of the explanations I've heard:
1.) These are my favorite cards ( normally never fully explained why)
2.) This was my Aunt Millies favorite hand. She would have been 91 this year.
(once again never fully explaining why, or for that matter: how aunt Millie died)
3.) I had to play, I was getting pot odds. (a legitimate reason, but unfortunately often over used by players who have no idea of the concept, but have heard it and it sounded 'cool')
4.) I couldn't win with good cards. (need I say more?)
5.) I had position. (usually accompanied be reason no.3 with the same comments applying)
6.) And as my faithful fan knows, my favorite: "They were suited." (it doesn't matter to this player what the 2 cards are, as long as they both have the same color and shape)

These reasons are just a sampling of the explanations heard from players "sucking out." But what is quickly becoming one of my favorite explanations is a takeoff of the "Aunt Millie" explanation. It goes something like this: "These are the hole cards that Joey Botchagulloop had when he won the 1932 World Hold-em and Pillsbury cook-off Championship in Reno." What makes this explanation so intriguing is that with the exception of possibly 1 or 2 specific hands, almost nobody knows or let alone remembers, who won or what the winning hand was in any one of the many "championship tournaments currently being held world wide.* So a player can insert any name player, year, and championship event to any 2 cards and feel pretty safe that he won't be called on it. By using this explanation, it gives him the added bonus of not only appearing to be a savvy player but a real student of the game.

*WRITER'S NOTE: If you do know the name, year, and winning hand of the championship events world wide, please take the following helpful advice from your Uncle VegasSheep: "Get A Life!!!"

In conclusion: if you are fortunate enough to "suck out" and administer a really bad beat on someone my best advice is to simply say nothing and try to look as sympathetic and sincere to that person as possible. Only when you become proficient at this reaction will you be ready to try the "sheepish look" that yours truly has become a master of.

A Journey into the Internet

2006-07-25T12:05:00.000-07:00

This blog is dedicated to poker on the internet. I know this is a departure from my normal discussions, but I believe my recent experiences in this venue merits this departure. Normally, as stated in the purpose for this blog, I discuss my experiences in the different poker rooms in and around Vegas, and my interaction with the people who work and/or play in them.

Recently with visions of becoming the next Chris Moneymaker or Greg Raymer (the 2003 & 2004 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Champions) dancing through my head, I signed up and played in 3 different WSOP satellite tournaments in 2 different internet sites. One in Bodog Poker and the other two in PokerStars. When I normally play on the internet I limit myself to playing in low limit games. Admittedly not the savviest person when it comes to matters of the internet, intuitively I believe that there is just to great a risk for collusion to wager any large amounts of money. Call me old-fashion, but I much prefer looking a guy straight in the eye when he tries to cheat me instead of a computer monitor, even if it is a LCD.

Which brings us to the reason for this blog: I was eliminated in the above 3 satellites with the exact same hand, pocket aces! *** First of all I don't know what the odds are for me getting pocket aces in 3 successive tournaments, but then getting knocked out of the tournament each time I got them, the odds have to be astronomical. And if not astronomical, at least pretty darn high.

*** WRITER"S NOTE: Although admittedly not in the opening sentence of a conversation, the words "pocket aces" were used in the opening sentence of a new paragraph, so those of you who thought of getting a tissue, give yourself a passing grade. Those that actually got a tissue or towel have earned extra credit and go to the head of the class. And those few who actually got a Kleenex: Congratulations!!! You are now sufficiently compassionate and sensitive enough to play hold-em in a "live" game. Finally for those that didn't even think of getting a tissue, please reread my blog dated 7-16-06 titled, "The Poker Player Lament."

In the first satellite, I was heads-up with a player who put me all-in, holding J,10 ... Naturally, an 8,9, and Q showed up on the board. The 2nd time, my pocket aces lost to pocket queens ... Naturally a queen came on the flop. But the 3rd and final time was the most entertaining. Again, I was heads-up with a player who raised me all-in with pocket 6's. What made this hand so entertaining was how the cards came down: the flop was A, 3, 4, the turn a 5, and the river (you guessed it) a 2. My set of Aces after the flop, which turned into a 5 high straight, lost to a 6 high straight. What made this beat even harder to take was that I wasn't even given enough time after composing myself to the initial shock to type in: "Good hand sir, good hand."

Like I said previously, I don't know what the odds are for me losing with the same hand in 3 successive satellites, but the odds go up even further considering that each time my opponent had enough chips to cover my all-in move. And given the caliber of play of at least 2 out of 3 of the aforementioned opponents, it is even more amazing that they were still in the tournament, let alone had sufficient chips to cover.

I don't know if collusion was involved with any of these "Bad Beats." And even if it was, whether or not it mattered. The mere fact that these "Bad Beats" happened over the internet left me with an uneasy feeling. At least in a poker room I can give the dealer a dirty look when I lose with pocket aces. It doesn't change the outcome, but what the heck, it makes me feel better.

Arriving at a New Station

2006-07-22T16:35:00.000-07:00

During my sabbatical, Station Casinos unveiled its latest creation; Red Rock located on the far west side of the valley. It takes its place next to Green Valley Ranch, located on the east side, as one of the two premier properties of the Station Casino empire. What I mean by empire is that Station, is by far the largest corporation operating in the Las Vegas valley which targets and caters primarily to "locals" and operates well over 10 different properties. None of these properties are located directly on the "Strip", but are dispersed throughout the community, mostly in the outlying areas. Along with the already mentioned Red Rock and Green Valley Ranch properties, Station also includes: Texas, Boulder, Santa Fe, Sunset, Palace, the Fiesta casinos, and a half dozen or so lesser known properties.

What makes Red Rock unique is that it joins Green Valley Ranch, as the only 2 casinos in the Station chain that not only caters to "locals" but actively pursues the young and upper mobile tourist. Heck, they don't even call Red Rock a "Station" casino like they do with their other major properties ( i.e. Palace Station, Boulder Station, Sunset Station, Texas Station, Santa Fe Station), it is a Casino/Resort/Spa. "Now ain't that special."

But what Red Rock does have in common with other Station casinos is a poker room. (To Station Casinos credit, in the mid 90's while other properties were closing down their poker rooms, Station continued to operate theirs.) In fact the new Red Rock poker room is the main topic of this blog. I have played in this venue on numerous occasions and unlike other Station poker rooms I have not seen one oxygen tank.

To begin with, in the all important "Mint Factor" I give the Red Rock poker room 3 and 1/2 stars. That ties it for second among all of the rooms so far reviewed. Unlike your typical local Station casino, (such as the previously reviewed Palace Station which received a generous 2 star rating), Red Rock has seemed to go out of its way to obtain some really good and tempting "mints." Not only are they attractively packaged, but they even appear to have some substance.

The physical properties of the room are also above what you might expect in a Station poker room. It has 20 tables evenly spaced in a well lit and ventilated room. Plasma screen TV's are nicely spaced around the room for sporting events, with 2 special screens over the main podium listing all the games in action or waiting to go into action, whether there is a waiting list for a particular game, and where you would be on that list if interested in that game. (This feature is becoming more common in the higher tech poker rooms around Vegas) As far as the physical layout goes, the only criticism I have is the lack of space around the podium. When near capacity, there is just not enough room around the podium to deal with players checking in, asking questions, and/or cashing in or buying chips. All done at this single podium.

There are no daily tournaments at Red Rock. All action is live. They will spread anywhere from a $2-$4 limit games on up. I have been told by room management that they will spread almost any poker game at any limit if there is enough player interest. The dealers on the whole are above average in competence.

As far as the rake goes in the games I played in (mid level) there was a 10% rake up to a maximum $4. They also take out an additional $1 per pot for their Jumbo Bad Beat Jackpot. Unlike other Bad Beat jackpots around town, this one is not limited to an individual room, but is tied into the poker rooms of other Station casinos and usually averages a total payout of around $150,000 when hit. However, in order to reach such high payouts the losing hands must be very high. Making the hitting a bad beat jackpot about as likely as hearing Paris Hilton say something intelligent.

Finally, another added bonus to this poker room is it's location. Red Rock Casino is located in the far west side of the valley with a great view of the Red Rock mountains, where it is reported the lost tribe, the Fugowwee (fug-how-we) Indians use to live. And to this day, if you drive a little past the Red Rock Casino, turn off your engine and listen in the cool breeze of a summer night, you can still hear tourists yelling: "Where the Fugowwee?"

Damn You .... TV !!!

2006-07-20T10:10:00.000-07:00

First it was Baseball's World Series, then the Super Bowl, and now the last bastion of untampered corporate creed; the premier event of poker, the Word Series of Poker (WSOP) has been violated. First TV mandated that all weekday games of Baseball's World Series had to be played at night to gain a larger viewership so that they could charge more for advertisement. No longer can the average fan sit in the stands to watch America's favorite pastime, on a bright and sunny afternoon in his shirt sleeves, as God intended. Instead he is forced to watch the game in the middle of the night, in near subartic conditions, bundled in a parka and mittens, in order to be able to watch the game live. For football fans, TV has mandated that during the Super Bowl, the natural ebb and flow of the game must be constantly interrupted for commercials selling beer and soft drinks so that the networks can make more money. Now in poker, TV has mandated that one of the premier events of the WSOP had to change it's format so: "it better translates to the TV audience" (their words, not mine).

*WRITER'S NOTE: At this time it should be pointed out, as most of you already know, that TV along with the internet are the main reasons why poker, especially hold-em, has experienced such phenomenal growth over the past few years. However, in the fine tradition of FOX cable news: why let a little thing like mere facts interfere with a good "outrage."

Before I continue with my ranting and raving, perhaps I should inform my faithful fan what the heck I'm ranting and raving about. Currently, the RIO is once again hosting the WSOP. The event opened June 25th and will continue through the start of the World Championship no-limit hold-em tournament beginning on July 28th and ending on August 10th. By all estimates, the amount of entrants for this event will rival the population of Nebraska. Prior to this event, almost daily lesser tournaments lasting 1 to 3 days are being held. On July, 12th the most anticipated one of these events began. It was a scheduled 3 day, $50,000 (that's right, $50,000) entry fee H.O.R.S.E. tournament.

For those not familiar with H.O.R.S.E., it is a combination of five different poker games: Hold-em, Omaha, Razz, Seven card stud, and seven card stud high-low split/Eight or better for low. Alot of the top players lobbied for this event because they felt it would showcase their skills across a variety of poker games. The format was established that the games would rotate every 40 minutes, with the blinds going up every 3 hours. This format was followed right up to the final table. Once the final table of 9 players was established, the format changed strickly to hold-em. This is when and where the contoversy arose It seems that hold-em translates "better" to a TV audience, and ESPN which will televise the event on a later date, insisted that hold-em be the only game at the final table.

Undoubtedly due to the combination of high entry fee (I don't think any of the internet poker sites were running satellites for this tournament) and the amount of skill necessary to successfully play all 5 games, a very strong field of 143 top players participated in this event. So for 2 long and crueling days these players labored to play the game of H.O.R.S.E. just so the final 9 could play a one table no-limit hold-em tournament.

Notwithstanding my humorous (at least I hope you thought it was humorous) opening paragraphs, it is a shame that such a potentially great tournament had to end the way it did. The final table which included such top pros as Ivey, Coultier, Tomko, Brunson, and eventual winner, Chip Reese played for a total of 12 hours with only no-limit hold-em being played. All because ESPN thought it would look better on TV. It would have bee nice if they would have continued to play H.O.R.S.E. so that we as fans could have seen who was the all around best poker player (at least for this tournament). Afterall wasn't that the reason why this particular tournament was established?

A Tale of Two Rooms

2006-07-18T13:21:00.000-07:00

With all due respect to Charles Dickens, this blog is going to discuss not one, but two different poker rooms here in Vegas. One is located in the Tuscanny Hotel and the other in Hooters.

Both of these poker rooms:
1.) Were established within the past year.
2.) Are located just east of the "Strip." The Tuscanny on the south side of Flamingo, and Hooters on the south side of Tropicana.
3.)Are relatively small rooms. No, make that ARE small rooms. The Tuscanny has 5 tables, Hooters 3. That's a total of only 8 tables between the 2 of them. Hence, one of the main reasons why they are sharing the same blog.
4.) Deal almost strickly hold-em. However early, the Tuscanny tried to spread a low-limit HORSE game, but it never caught on. (For those of you not familiar with the game of HORSE, it will be explained in a future blog.)

Basically that's where the similarities end. Probably one of the biggest differences between the 2 rooms is in the all important "Mint Factor." The Tuscanny only rates a charitable 1 and 1/2 stars in the Mint Factor, while Hooters gets a firm ..... errrr .... solid 3 star rating. *

*WRITER'S NOTE: Come on guys, with a name like Hooters, would you expect anything less.

While Hooters does not spread any tournaments (with a total of only 3 tables, holding any kind of tournamst would be difficult), the Tuscanny holds daily no-limit tournaments at 10am and 7pm. Both tournaments are similar in structure. For a $22 buy-in, a player receives $1,000 in tournament chips, of which $17 goes into the prize pool. For the first 45 minutes, if your chip total is $1,000 or less you can buy for $10 an additional $1,000 in tournament chips. At the end of 45 minutes a player can get an add-on of $1,000 in chips for $10 regardless of chip count. All the money received from these rebuys and add-ons go directly into the prize pool. On the surface this tournament, because of the large amount of rebuys and add-ons seems to have good value. However, for my personal tastes it is not one of my favorite tournaments. With blinds starting at $25-$50 and doubling up every 15 minutes, 1,000 in chips does not go very far. Another problem with the tournament is the overall caliber of the dealers at the Tuscanny.

While both the Tuscanny and Hooters poker rooms have opened in the past year, I feel that the overall performance of the dealers at Hooters is much better then that at the Tuscanny. In fact the Tuscanny holds my own personal award for not only employing, but showcasing, the worse poker dealer in Vegas. Hopefully, in the not to distant future I may even devote an entire blog to this dealer.

For live action the best room out of the 2 is definitely Hooters. Normally at it's 3 tables, it will spread no-limit games with $1-$2 or $2-$5 blinds. While the Tuscanny caters more to the mature and local player, Hooters seems to attract more of the young and fun-loving tourist type. You know the type of player who seems to lack common sense and card savy, but who compensates for these minor shortcomings with an overabundance of money and testosterone. Although as of this date I have only played in this room twice and both times rather badly, (In fact to be perfectly honest, probably my poorest 2 playing performances all year) I would not hesitate to play there again. The action is that good, or I may have a hidden masochistic streak, or I just can't avoid good "mints." But that is for another discussion.

The Poker Player Lament

2006-07-16T05:53:00.000-07:00

Todays subject matter is targeted towards the beginning and/or novice player. Consider this blog, Uncle VegasSheeps attempt to explain a social nuance of the game. Although admittedly it is just one of many social graces a hold-em player must learn to be respected and loved at the poker table, it is never the less an important one.

Todays lesson revolves around 2 simple words: "pocket aces". Being dealt 2 aces is without a doubt the best starting hold-em hand. The odds before the flop of actually winning the hand with these aces vary depending upon how many players are involved in the pot. Naturally the fewer the players, the better your odds. The less of the chance a player may "suck-out*" on you.

*NOTE #1 A quaint phrase often heard around the poker table meaning that a certain player was fortunate enough to draw just the right amount of card(s) to beat a superior starting hand .

Hopefully this little disertation will give the novice player enough background information to fully appreciate this following bit of advice: "Whenever you hear a 'Seasoned' hold-em player use the above-mentioned 2 words, 'Pocket Aces' in a beginning sentence, immediately reach for some tissue.**

**NOTE #2 I have found that a simple Kleenex is the best tissue. It is soft and gentle, but strong enough to wipe away the tears.

In time you will learn that when thes 2 words are used in an opening sentence (i.e. I was in late position with ..... or I was in the big blind with ..... or my personal favorite, there I was in late position, the pot had already been raised and I had ..... , etc.) 9 out of 10 times you are in store for a bad beat story. The considerate hold-em player will not interrupt this story, but instead simply node and possibly wipe away a tear (this is where the tissue comes into play) as the dejected seasoned hold-em player spins his tale of woe. This is where you as the novice hold-em player can play a key role: you can patiently listen as if it was the first time you have ever heard of anyone losing with pocket aces, and then vain outrage that your "friend" could possibly lose such a hand. This in no way can change the result of the hand, or even help your "friend" avoid bad beats in the future, the only hope is that your actions can in some small way console your "friend" in his time of need.

After all, isn't that what life is all about.

Palms Revisited

2006-07-14T13:43:00.000-07:00

Although I have written blogs about the Palms poker room on 2 previous occasions, it has just recently started running a daily no-limit tournament Monday through Friday at 10am. I will discuss later in this blog the particulars of this tournament and why it was important to revisit this room before discussing other rooms not yet reviewed. But first, let me reassure my faithful fan that the Palms poker room is not in jeopardy of losing its 3 and 1/2 stars "Mint Factor" rating. In fact, it is possible that upon further review and observation it may move up to a 4 star rating! Only The Wynn poker room has a higher rating. For those not familiar with this complicated and precise rating system developed by your humble servant, please refer to my previous blog titled: "The Mint Factor" posted March 6, 2005 for a complete description.

WRITER'S NOTE: WARNING!!!
For those expecting my typical warm, sharp, insightful, and all around heart-warming humor, you may be disappointed with the rest of this blog. Therefore I will not be hurt if you choose not to continue. However, for those wanting to gain important knowledge on the Las Vegas poker scene, of how to gain maximum return on your poker investment, and/or just want to increase your pleasure at the poker table, this remaining blog is for you.
**** Darn this is good ... I should have gone into advertising ****

During my sabbatical, the Palms poker room made what at this date looks like a very wise move and hired Michael Vento as manager of poker operations. Mike has many years of experience in the "poker industry" and has initiated a number of promotions to lure the average player to the room. Besides the already established High Hand promotion, the Palms poker room has added Aces Cracked, in which if a player gets pocket "aces" beaten he/she gets a $55 buy-in to the daily tournament. He has also initiated "Splash the Pot." In this promotion every 2 hours, the poker room will randomly draw a table and splash its pot with $50 prior to the start of the next hand.

But what I find as the most attractive new feature is the daily no-limit hold-em poker tournament. As I previously stated: the tournament is held daily Monday through Friday at 10am. The buy-in is $55 (no-rebuys) and will get you $1,500 in tournament chips. The blinds start out at $25 and $25 with rounds going up every 20 minutes. The tournament is limited to 40 players plus alternates for the first hour. Of the $55 buy-in, initially only $40 goes into the prize pool. But what makes this tournament so attractive is that the Poker Room will add $150 to the prize pool for every 10 entries to a maximum of $600. Meaning that if there are exactly 40 entries into the tournament, the whole $55 buy-in goes to the prize pool.

Naturally, if there are alternates only $40 of their $55 goes to the prize pool.
So far, the 2 times I've played in the tournament there was 10 and then 12 alternatives. Meaning that roughly 94% of the total entry fee went to the prize pool. An unheard of percentage for any daily hold-em tournament held here in Vegas.

The only drawback is: how long will these promotions and tournaments last? I am not sure if they are permanent or are only running through the "summer." In either case, my advice to the tournament player is: get over to the Palms as soon as possible.

Sabbatical ... Shammatical

2006-07-12T09:41:00.000-07:00

Hi my legion of fan.

Call it what you may: A sabbitical, an unexcused absence, a short pause to reflect, whatever. All I know, its been a friggin long time since my last blog. During this period, I would like to say I used the time constructively to fine tune my keen sense of observation and to further study the sublties of the fine game of hold-em. I would like to say that, but any of you out there who know me, or who have read my previous blogs know I would just be blowin smoke. (for those of you keeping score .... at least I haven't forgotten how to use a colorful metaphor)

I figured what better time to return to my blog then during the World Series of Poker (WSOP) currently being held at the RIO. My last blog was posted a year ago during this same event. What can I say? Just call me; a sentimental softy.

During this one year break: more poker rooms have opened and/or reopened in Vegas, more tourists in record numbers are flocking to these rooms, and the overall popularity of the game just keeps growing. For whatever reason, the internet, TV, a combination of both, or some mystical force, it seems that first-timers and novices are making a pilgrimage (for the lack of a better expression) to these rooms. And while visiting these rooms, most of them feel obligated to make a donation to the hold-em Gods. Usually these donations are made in the form of playing any 2 cards dealt to them. Please do not take this last comment as derogatory: far be it from me to criticize someones believe, religous or not.

Well thats all for now. I promise or warn (depending on your perspective) more blogs will follow. Hopefully on a semi-regular basis of 2 or 3 a week. (at least until my next sabbatical). Like my previous blogs, I hope to discuss in an irreverant and hopefully humorous way the wonderful world of hold-em from my "Vegas" perspective. (granted... maybe slightly askew from the norm)

"Shuffle-up and Deal"

2005-06-28T12:49:00.000-07:00

Almost directly across from the Rio sits Britney Spears' home away frome home, the Palms Hotel/Casino. Unless you just happened to run across this blog for the first time, and have no clue as to what is happening in the world of poker: the World Series of Poker is currently being held at the Rio. During roughly this same time period, from the beginning of June to mid July, the Palms decided to run their "Palms No Limit Hold-em Summer Series". Hoping to cash-in on the popularity of the WSOP, the Palms has been spreading a variety of games, including Satellite, Sit & Go, and regularly scheduled tournaments. They have daily no-limit tournaments starting at 12 noon, 3 pm, 7 pm, and 10 pm. The entry fees for these daily tournaments range from $125 to $550, culminating in the $1,060 entry fee final 3 day event. All of these above mentioned regularly scheduled poker tournaments are of the no limit hold-em variety .... hence the name: the "Palms No Limit Hold-em Summer Series." ..... duhhh

Speaking of "duhhh" I must admit when I first heard of the Palms plan, I thought it was a great idea. With its close proximity to the WSOP venue and the number of players that such an event attracts, the Palms tournament would be successful on just the overflow alone. Well so much for my marketing genius, while the action at the Rio continues to exceed almost everyone's expectations, the action at the Palms is almost nonexistent in comparison.

There is nothing more heartbreaking for a true connoisseur of the game, then to see a flock of dealers just mulling around a poker room. The room is so empty, they couldn't even pretend to find a table to roost on. During my 4 visits there, the most players I ever saw in the room only filled about a fourth of it. I've played in a couple of the afternoon tournaments. The good news is that both times I got to the final table: the bad news is that there were less than 40 players in each tournament.*

*WRITER'S NOTE: As any true poker player knows this second fact will soon be conveniently forgotten and replaced by: "there were at least a couple hundred players ..... ".

These final table appearances not only makes me a net winner for this tournament, but afforded me the opportunity (no matter how minuscule) to experience the joy of "celebrity" status. You see, the tournament director at the Palms is none other than Robert W. Thompson. For those of you not as knowledgable as yours truly: Mr. Robert W. Thompson is the guy on "Celebrity Poker Showdown" (that poker show on cable .. I think it's televised on Bravo) who tells the dealers to "shuffle up and deal", and also keeps tabs on the betting of the clueless celebrities.

The first time I made it to the final table, he came over and actually said: "shuffle up and deal". Talk about an exciting poker moment! That ranks right up there with the first time I ordered a cup of coffee at the poker table. For Mr Thompson's sake, I hope that as tournament director he is only responsible for supervising the games, and that he had no direct input on the scheduling of the tournament. Otherwise, based on my observations of the poor turn out, his new "catch" phrase will soon change from "shuffle up and deal" to "shuffle off and find a new job".

Its the World Series of Poker, People!!!

2005-06-20T09:32:00.000-07:00

It took all the willpower I could muster not to yell: "What part of 'World Series of Poker' don't you understand?" to an opponent in a recent excursion into what is fast becoming the surrealistic world of the WSOP. My most recent journey began innocently enough when I sat down in a $125 buy-in, one table satellite, no-limit hold-em tournament over this past weekend. Once again, it became painfully obvious that the "clueless train" had just went by and dropped off a number of passengers at my table.

In a little over a half hour into the game, the number of players had already went from 10 to 5, when "the Hand" was dealt. The blinds were $200 - $400, and I was on the button (the most favorable position). The player first-to-act was short stacked and went all-in for $700. The next player folded as I looked at my cards and found a pair of Aces. (I know, I know, what your thinking: "Don't all?" 'bad beat' stories start with pocket Aces?" ... well most do, and this one did) Knowing that there was already $1,300 in the pot I decided to raise another $500, making the total bet $1,200. I figured this second raise would be sufficient for me to go heads-up with the all-in player. Silly me ..... the small blind, who had only $200 in the pot, immediately went into the "deep thought" mode. First he asked the dealer to break down my chips, even though I had announced my raise of $500. He then adjusted his cap and sun glasses, started counting and stacking his chips (I guess he couldn't figure out what $2,500 minus $1,200 was in his head), and then went into the "long stare." After what seemed like sufficient time to boil a 3-minute egg, he called. The flop came J-9-6 with one diamond (Hint). He checked, and I bet my remaining $1,200. Again small blind went into his little show, but for even a longer amount of time, before making the call. I laid down my pocket Aces, and small blind laid down his 9-3 of diamonds. Need I say more, the turn came a King, and the river a 3. My pocket Aces lost to two pairs, 9s and 3s. While he was raking in the pot, small blind started pontificating on his play. Not only did he use the common, standard excuse heard in $2-$4 limit games; "they were suited", but the more sophisticated and exotic reasons such as: "I was trying to knock-out the all-in player", "I was getting pot odds", and my personal favorite, "I was pot committed". It is obvious this guy watched alot of T.V. Not only did he have the dress and mannerisms down, but he also knew alot of dat der hold-em "lingo". Unfortunately, he didn't know squat about the game.

You may be thinking: "Why Mr VegasSheep are you devoting so much time and energy on just another bad beat story?" Well, this just didn't happen in a low-limit game you can find almost anywhere, this happened at the World Series of Poker! Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the term "World Series" mean anything any more? Growing up as an avid baseball fan, I have always associated the words "world series" with the best. (That's why the Chicago Cubs haven't been to one in my lifetime) In fact, I know I'm not the only one that thinks this way, or else why would ESPN be covering this event so throughly. It seems at times that ESPN will shoot enough film footage of this event to rival the amount shot during the last World War.

You would think at such a prestigious event, the level of play would rise to the occasion. Sadly, this is not the case. I wish I could say that what I just described was an isolated occurrence, but I have heard from more and more people that "bad play" is more of a norm than a fluke. In fact, if you want to be cheaply entertained just sit and park yourself outside the convention hall at the Rio. You can spend hours eavesdropping on entertaining "bad beat" stories as players pass by, and if you are really lucky, some of them will actually be talking to another person.

Running The Gauntlet

2005-06-17T12:03:00.000-07:00

One of the first things that struck me about the World Series of Poker (WSOP) currently being played at the Rio was the number of booths, tables, and/or rooms that aligned both sides of the corridor leading to the convention hall where the tournament is being held. You can buy almost everything from twinkees to real estate in these venues.

Situated directly in the middle of the main pedestrian walkway leading to the convention hall is the ESPN Player Profile booth, which consists of a number of folding tables wrapped around a couple of people handing out questionnaires. Although I did not attend the WSOP during the first week, I have heard from a number of reliable sources (friends) that this was one of the most popular venues outside of the tournament hall during the first few days. It seems that there were literally hundreds of people more than willing to divulge their poker experiences, in hopes of getting 10 to 15 seconds of fame on ESPN. I did happen to pick up one of the ESPN Player Profile questionnaires during my last visit. The questionnaire is divided into 4 sections: Personal Information, Contact Information, World Series of Poker History, and (my personal favorite) General Poker History. This section contains such in depth and soul searching questions as: "Where did you learn to play?" and, "What is your favorite poker memory?" Judging from what I have observed in this tournament, a large response to these questions would be: "here" and, "don't you need to play in some 'live' games before you can pick out a 'favorite'?"

Besides the ESPN venue, there are also a number of booths promoting online poker sites, poker magazines, and a wide variety of merchandise. In addition, there are also booths for you to get the "offical WSOP" chair massage, and an "offical WSOP" photograph. In a separate room you can buy assorted sundries and "offical WSOP" merchandise (i.e. key chains, mouse pads, visors, etc.) and clothing. You can buy almost any type of clothing that can fit the "Offical WSOP" logo on it. Besides the normal assortment of hats and shirts that you might expect to find, you can also buy "offical WSOP" underwear, lingerie, panties, and even bras. Kinda takes the statement: "holding a big pair" to a whole new level.

Speaking of holding a big pair, one of the more interesting booths is the one promoting the new magazine, TopPair. In fact while the supply lasts, you can get free of charge their first issue, June 2005. I am sure it will soon become a collector's item. I guess the best way to describe the magazine is to say that it is a cross between "Card Player" and "Jugs." Although I have not yet had time to read any of the articles, if they are half as good as the photographs, they should be quite informative and uplifting.

Finally as far as the food goes, if you are going to eat in a venue outside of the tournament hall, I would definitely eat only the packaged foods. Although the prices are high, at least the food looks eatable. Correct me if I'm wrong, but hamburgers aren't suppose to have a gray tinge to them, are they?

World Series of Poker

2005-06-14T16:50:00.000-07:00

Last night, I finally broke down and checked out the World Series of Poker Tournament being held here in town at the Rio. The tournament started June 2nd and continues through July 15th, with the final 2 days being held at Binions. From all accounts, this mega event is literally drawing thousands of people from around the world. While I was there, a number of top professionals were playing in different games throughout the venue. There are roughly 200 tables dispersed in a convention hall roughly the size of a football field. During most of the day you can find 3 different types of game being played. A major tournament which varies daily in the type of game and amount of buy-in (ranging from $1,000 to $5,000) that usually starts at 12 noon; satellite tournaments which depending upon the type (ranging from 1 table to multiple tables and from $50 to $1,000 buy-ins), can be found almost around the clock; and "live" action games ranging from $4-$8 limit on up.

Given the size of the venue and number of players, I found the tournament to be run surprisingly well. An elaborate and extensive amount of scaffolding is used to provide individual direct lighting for every table in the room. Due to its sheer size, the noise level in the room is higher than I would like, but given the amount of players I don't know how this could have been avoided. The only real problem I see with the room is its lack of proper restroom facilities. As I have previously stated, the tournament is being held in a "convention hall" and I don't think that the original planners took into account that within a 15 minute tournament break a thousand or so people would all be rushing to the "john" at the same time.

But, what I found most fascinating about the World Series is not the facility itself, but the caliber of players it is attracting. You notice I used the word "players" not "spectators." Besides a wide array of the top professionals and all around good players that you would expect to see at the premier poker tournament, I saw and played against a number of novice players who had little or no casino poker room experience. I played in one $125 one table satellite tournament where it quickly became apparent that 5 out of the 10 players had no clue as to what they were doing. Naturally, I was the 4th to get knocked out, which wasn't that bad, considering 2 out of the 3 players knocked out before me were in the group of "better" players at the table. What is so frustrating in the type of satellite I was playing in was the low amount of starting chips. With only $1,000 in tournament chips, the blinds starting at $25-$25, and going up every 15 minutes you must be prepared to make a move relatively early. All the time being aware that the novice you are playing against just can't wait to push in all his chips in that "all-in" game. The best you can hope for is when you make that move, you have the best hand and that it holds up.

Come to think of it, I really should not be surprised at the number of novice or relatively new players participating in the World Series of Poker. What other sporting event (hey, it's being televised for later viewing on ESPN .... that must make it a sport) in the world can an amateur and novice player participate in the premier Championship event of that sport. All he needs is a basic understanding of the game and enough money for the buy-in (or a good internet connection).

That's all for now, but I will continue to write about the World Series in future blogs.

Striking The Mother Load

2005-06-11T10:38:00.000-07:00

After being open for roughly a month now, I have finally visited and played in the latest "state of the art" poker room to open in Vegas. That being none other than Daniel Negreanu's home-away-from-home, the poker room at the Wynn Resort. From what I hear, Mr Negreanu has signed some sort of contract with the Wynn Resort to be an "unofficial host" in their poker room.

Over the past month I have heard numerous comments about the room, ranging from "so-so" to fantastic. I found the room to be surprisingly good, and definitely rank it as one of the top poker rooms in Vegas. The reason I say "surprisingly", is that I went in there believing the room could not possibly live up to all the prehype publicity. Well from what I observed, the room had more hits than misses. Before getting into the most important part of this review, let me comment on some general observations:
1.) The overall quality and effectiveness of the dealers and floor personnel was above average. What the floor personnel lacked in the "down home friendliness" department, they more than made up for in the polite, cool, and efficient manner in which they ran the room. Besides, after a very short period of time that "down home thingy" starts wearing alittle thin.
2.) Although cramp in a few areas, in general the 27 tables are nicely spaced throughout the room.
3.) Like most rooms in Vegas, they mostly spread hold-em (although while I was there they did have an Omaha game) anywhere from $4-$8 limit on up. They will spread almost any game that has enough player interest. I played in a $1-$2 blinds no-limit game. Minimum buy-in was $100, with no limit on the maximum.
4.) An added bonus of the room for us locals, is the location of the room. As you enter the casino from the parking garage located on the north side of the building, the poker room is about 30 feet to your left. WARNING: don't turn right or you will end up in the Ferrari dealership, and feel really depressed because you can't afford the $250,000 price tag for the low entry level ride. (Ride means automobile for you "not-with-it" type of people.)
5.) The rake is 10% up to a maximum $4, and is taken out in $1 increments for every $10 in the pot.

Now for the important part of this review, and that is the Mint Factor rating. As devoted "conasewers" (emphasis on the "sewer") of this blog know: the Mint Factor is a sliding scale rating system developed by yours truly to measure the overall ambiance of the room. By ambiance, we are basically talking cocktail servers. The ratings can go from 1 star (what is my grandmother doing here serving cocktails?) to 4 stars (I want to marry you). Well, after one session and observing 5 or 6 different cocktail attendants, I give the Wynn poker room my highest Mint Factor rating to date: 4 1/2 stars. That's right, a 1/2 star over the maximum; meaning that even if you are married and have a family, your tempted to leave your wife and kids for these cocktail servers. They blend just the right amount of fabric (or lack there of) and silicone to make you want to immediately start up a meaningful and soul searching conversation. They know how to appear tempting and alluring without crossing over to trampy and slutty. Not that there is anything wrong with trampy and slutty, but I think I'll save that discussion for a later date.

As an after thought, I don't know why I should have been so surprised at what I found at the Wynn: it is just a stone throw away from the Venetian, which was the birth place of the Mint Factor. How hard could it have been to move the mint factory from the Venetian to the Wynn?

The Phil Hellmuth Syndrome

2005-06-09T14:53:00.000-07:00

A disturbing trend that I have touched upon in previous blogs, is becoming more and more prevalent in poker rooms throughout Las Vegas. For lack of a better name, I refer to this disturbing phenomena as the Phil Hellmuth Syndrome. For those of you not familiar with Mr. Hellmuth: he is considered by most to be one of the top professional hold-em players in the game today. Although he may be a master of the game, his social graces at the table makes Attila the Hun seem like a honor graduate from a Charm School. I like to refer to Phil Hellmuth as the Bobby Knight of poker. It is bad enough to criticize the play of another player at the table, but Mr. Hellmuth takes the art of criticism to a whole new level. In his form, Mr Hellmuth not only criticizes his opponents, but also degrades and ridicules their actions at every perceivable opportunity. Perhaps it can be argued that his verbal assaults are calculated to throw off the play of his opponents by putting them on "tilt", but I just can't buy this theory. In my lifetime, I have seen enough temper tantrums by 2 and 3 year olds to recognize the "true" thing.

Unfortunately for those of us who play casino room poker on a semi-regular basis, Mr Hellmuth's behavior is becoming more and more prevalent at the tables. It's bad enough to see this type of behavior from professionals (at least Phil Hellmuth has a number of world series bracelets), but when you see it in low-limit games from novice or relatively new players, it becomes almost revolting.

There are a number of possible reasons for this alarming trend. Some possible explanations, in no particular order are:
1.) New players see this type of behavior on T.V. from top professionals and feel it's the best way to win (I know ... I know ... it's the old blame it on T.V. excuse)
2.) The old "show-off" excuse. Some players feel the best way to show what a superior player they are is to ridicule the play of others.
3.) To purposely try to get under the skin of an opposing player, therefore throwing him off his game and making it easier for them to win.
4.) Finally, what I consider the most likely explanation for most bad behavior from new players: "The Clueless Excuse." They do not have enough knowledge and/or experience to realize just how bad their behavior is.

I'm sure some of you can come up with more and possibly even better explanations to bad behavior at the poker table, but at least you get my point. What once was an annoying by-product of casino poker (mostly centered around the Orleans poker room), has become an epidemic spreading throughout the town and at every limit.

Some casinos, like Mandalay Bay have a zero tolerance for bad behavior and have no qualms in kicking out severe offenders. Then there are other casinos, like The Orleans where a player has to almost take a swing at another player before they are asked to leave.

The bottom line is that players willing to gamble at casino poker should not have to be subject to verbal abuse. The casinos should be aware of this and clearly state what is considered acceptable behavior at the tables, and back-up their personnel in enforcing these rules. In addition, players should police their own actions. Don't think that by sitting at a poker table you have left what you would normally consider good behavior behind. Even if a player makes what you consider a "bone-head" play, you should not be overly critical of your opponent. If you feel that you must comment, take a page out of your uncle, Mr VegasSheep's playbook and simply say: "Nice hand sir, nice hand." Not only is it the "polite" thing to do, but if he is playing bad enough to warrant a comment, you want him to remain clueless and continue to play. If he plays long enough, the odds are in your favor that you will end up with a good session.

Finally, for any of you new or novice players out there, if you want to emulate a top hold-em player don't make it Phil Hellmuth. There are many other top professionals who would make far superior role models, like Daniel Negreanu, or Phil Ivey, and for you ladies (or cross-dressers) Annie Duke, or Jennifer Harman, to name just a few.

Playing In Monte Carlo

2005-06-04T12:37:00.000-07:00

You gotta love this town. Where else in the world can you gamble in so many different and exotic locations? Within a couple miles radius you can visit and gamble in: the Monte Carlo, Italy (the Venetian and Bellagio), France (Paris and Riviera), South Sea Islands (Mandalay Bay), North Africa (Barbary Coast and Sahara), Egypt (the Luxor), and Brazil (the Rio). That's not even mentioning the casinos in town which have themes taken from other locations in this country. (i.e. New York-NY, Orleans, and the half dozen or so casinos scattered around town with dat der western cowboy, comfy, down-home feel.) I know I'm not the first to mention this, but I'm waiting for some rich entrepreneur with vision to open a casino in this town called "The Berlin." Within a couple of years he can invade the other casinos and take control of the "Strip."

Enough of this rambling (although you must admit: much of the information mentioned in the above paragraph was quite insightful), the main reason for this article is to comment on yet another poker room here in Vegas. This room is located in the Monte Carlo, and unlike many of the other rooms that I have previous mentioned, this one has been around for a relatively long period of time. Compared to the mega poker rooms sprouting up around town, the Monte Carlo Poker Room has remained relatively unchanged since it opened. It is located near their sports book in a separate, enclosed area. The room itself consists of 9 tables. Although the tables are alittle too closely positioned for my tastes , the overall atmosphere of the room is good.

Basically they spread 3 different levels of hold-em. A $2-$4 and $4-$8 limit game, and the quickly becoming mandatory no-limit game. By mandatory, I mean what has been previously stated on numerous occasions: new players to casino poker room gambling want (no, make that "demand") to play in that "all-in" game thay have seen on T.V. and have practiced on the internet. In order not to drive away potential customers from their room and more importantly from their casino, almost every poker room on the strip is now spreading no-limit hold-em game in one form or another. At the Monte Carlo, their no-limit game has $1-$2 blinds with a maximum buy-in of $200. The rake on all of their games is 10% up to a maximum $4, with an additional $1 going to their high hand promotion. Although the rake may seem high, I have found that it is quickly becoming the standard amount for the major tourist properties located on the strip.

Now, for the most important part of this revue: the ranking of this poker room based on the "Mint Factor." Although I wish I could give it a higher ranking because of the overall coziness and quaint charm of the room, in good faith and my high personal standards of integrity: I can only give the Monte Carlo Poker Room 2 and 1/2 stars. The main reason for this only slightly above average ranking is the overall lack of effort on the part of the beverage attendants. Let us just say that although they seemed to have the necessary equipment for a higher ranking, they failed to use their ample resources to their full advantage. What could have been an uplifting and almost life altering experience, fell flat and almost anticlimatic. All because of what I perceive as a genuine lack of effort on their part. As that great philospher once said (I think his name was Sir Hugh of Hefner), what good is the equipment, if you don't use it.

"Mano E Mano"

2005-06-01T11:57:00.000-07:00

As previously stated, my intention this past Memorial Day weekend was to spend a fair amount of time at the poker tables. Although I did not spend as much time playing hold-em as I would have liked, I did play a sufficient length of time to obtain enough material for a number of future blogs. During this extended weekend I played in a number of different venues that were all packed with eager tourists just waiting to play in that "all-in" game that they see on T.V. During the time I played, almost every table in every casino poker room was filled, and there were long waiting lists of potential players.

I was fortunate enough to have a profitable weekend. This fact is more the result of the caliber (or lack there of) of my opponent's play, rather than any high level of expertise on my part. In fact, I would say my overall level of play was considerably lower than my norm. Every player at one time or another misreads the relative strength of hands or the intentions of his opponent, but this past weekend I seemed to have done it at an alarming higher rate. But despite what I consider my poor level of play, I was still able to show a profit. Maybe in the short run it is better to be lucky than good.

I'll give you a perfect example: Saturday night I was playing in a $1-$2 blinds no-limit game at the MGM. The maximum buy-in is $200. I had been playing for a couple of hours and was basically holding my own, maybe up a few dollars. I was sitting in the no. 8 seat and almost directly across from me, in the no.2 seat, was a kid in his early 20's who obviously watched alot of T.V. He had on the hat with the visor and dark sun glasses covering his eyes, he knew how to pause for dramatic effect almost everytime it was his turn to act, and most importantly he knew how to stack his chips in neat little piles while "eyeing" his opponent before he called or raised. He also had one distinguishing physical characteristic, a nose ring. Besides the numerous other piercings he had, the nose one really caught my attention. For the longest time, I wasn't sure if that thing dangling between his nostrils was a ring or a booger. I was assured by a friend sitting next to me that it was indeed a nose ring.*

*HELPFUL HINT .... although I might not be a fashion or grooming expert: if your gonna wear a nose ring, make sure it is made out of something shiny and bright, like a diamond. This guys ring was small and made out of something black and green (later I found out probably onyx and jade), and from where I sat it did look like a booger. Call me old-fashion, but I can't imagine that wearing something that looks like a booger makes you look cool.

Anyway, me and booger nose (BN for short) were playing across from each other for about 2 hours. In case you haven't picked up on it yet, he was really starting to get on my nerves. He was one of those players who knew everything, and wasn't afraid to let everyone know it. During this period BN and I got involved in 3 hands where we were heads-up, mano e mano. In each of these hands, after the flop he made a sizeable raise after my initial bet to take down the pot. On 2 occasions he showed his cards so that I could see he was bluffing. (I can only assume the reason he didn't show them the other time was he really had a hand on that occasion.) BN was really getting off on showing me what a superior player he was.

Then, "the hand" was dealt. Like all good hold-em stories, mine starts with: "I was on the button with the A-K of hearts." A couple of players tried to "limp-in", before it became my turn to act. I raised, making the total bet $15. Only BN called. The flop came J-8-3, different suits. BN checked and I bet $30. BN immediately went into his little show: he paused to think, he looked at me, he stacked his chips, and then repeated the same motions another 2 or 3 times before raising $30. At this point, I probably gave more weight to my emotions than I should have. Based upon observing BN, I thought my A-K might still be the best hand, I knew I couldn't just call his raise. I either had to throw away the hand and cut my loses if I thought the pot odds were too small to warrant a continuation of action: or raise BN back and try to end the hand right then. I chose the latter course of action, and pushed "all-in." My "friend" sitting next to me correctly pointed out that my "all-in" move equated to a $163 re-raise. (It's nice to have "friends")

BN thought again, then said call and immediately showed his A-J. I immediately thought "oh sh!t," and laid down my A-K. The turn came a 9, leaving me only 3 outs on the river. The river came a K. I thought BN was going to inhale his nose ring.

The moral of this story is that if BN hadn't tried to "show me up" by exposing his bluff hands, the hand would have never gone down as it did. Logic would have outweighed emotion. Then again, maybe he was a better player than I have been giving him credit for. He got me to risk all my chips on a hand where he had the big advantage. If it was not for luck, devine intervention, or whatever you want to call it, that turned up that King on the river, this story would have had a very different ending. Who the heck am I kidding ..... this story would have never been told.

Rumors Are A Flyin

2005-05-27T14:48:00.000-07:00

The first thing I should do is apologize to my legion of fan for the amount of time that has elapsed since my previous post. My only excuse is: "sh!t happens", and lately it seems I've been steppin in alot of it. In the future I will try to update my blog at least 2 to 3 times a week.*

*WRITER'S NOTE: Hopefully this statement will be more truthful than the 2 most often broken Polish promises: "The check is in your mouth", and "I promise not to come in the mail".

I am planning this weekend to play alot of no-limit hold-em. With it being Memorial Day Weekend, the poker rooms around town should be overflowing with tourists just dying to play in that "all-in" game they see on T.V. I only hope that I get the opportunity to share with these novice players their thrill in playing this exciting game. (Hopefully this thrill will be in direct correlation to the amount of money they lose .... errr .... invest, and that they experience a tremendous thrill.)

Within the last few months my game of choice has quickly become no-limit hold-em. Most of the strip hotels are spreading no-limit games with a maximium buy-in of $200 to $500. This has become the game that I am most comfortable in, and the one that seems most popular with tourists. Can you say: "A match made in Heaven" boys and girls? Perhaps in a future blog, I will explain my reasons why this format has become my favorite.

In the meantime, the most frequently heard rumors spreading around town are that the Stratosphere is the latest casino to re-open a poker room. After an absence of several years, the Stratosphere is on the verge of opening a 24 table poker room.
The other rumor involves "The World Series of Poker" which is getting ready to start at the Rio next month. The final event: the $10,000 entry fee World Series of Poker Championship Event will be limited to only 6,600 players. That's right, 6,600 players! (for any who are math challenged that comes out to a prize pool of: 6,600 x $10,000 or 66 million dollars minus the "house cut") I remember just 3 or 4 years back, when the mention of possibly 500 players being in the Championship event would have made you eligible for free psychiatric counseling because you were obviously delusional. The other part of the rumor surrounding this event is that Harrah's has already hired 350 "first-time" dealers to staff the month long tournament. If this particular rumor is true: that amount of 1st-time dealers coupled with the amount of card piranhas that major tournaments attract should make for some "interesting conversations."

Who knows? If I eavesdrop very carefully, I may be able to pick-up 1 or 2 philosphical discussions. If nothing else, it should provide interesting material for some future blogs.

"I Can't Win With Good Cards"

2005-05-17T11:04:00.000-07:00

As my faithful legion of fan knows: my biggest pet peeve in hold-em is when a player catches his "miracle" card on the river and still is afraid to bet. This lack of action is usually accompanied with the following statement: "I was afraid to bet because I thought you had a better hand." (whether it be a full house, flush, or straight, you name it.) What makes this statement most frustrating is the cards needed for the aforementioned full house, flush, or straight were already on the board before the river card, and Mr. Unconscious called all bets, while thinking he could still be beaten even if he caught the best possible card. The only redeeming factor to this ridiculous statement is that it is not heard that often at the table. A player does not only have to be unconscious, but also clueless. A rare combination, even in a low limit game.

Although not as maddening, I am starting to hear the following statement more and more often lately: "I can't (couldn't) win with good cards, so I thought I would play these." This statement is usually uttered from a player who is raking in a large pot with his 9-5 off suit. Not that I begrudge the player for winning the pot (that is, unless it's against me), but rather for the idiotic statement accompanying it. Even I, Mr VegasSheep, who on the rare occasion has found it necessary to comment on his own action when he plays less than premium cards, can come up with better excuses. Such as: "I was in the blind", "I was on the button", "I limped in because of all the action",or (my personal favorite)"they are my 2 favorite cards".

No matter how logical or illogical these excuses may be, they are far superior than: "I can't (couldn't) win with .............". By making this statement, a player is admitting that he can't win playing his best game, but rather that he has to resort to playing like a (dare I say) clueless amateur to win. It's like saying: "I couldn't commit suicide by overdosing on drugs, so I tried this gun instead." No... no.. that's not exactly right, it's more like: "I couldn't commit suicide by a drug overdose, so instead I tried shooting myself in the head", but missed and shot a terrorist getting ready to blowup a school bus full of children. (Who says Mr VegasSheep can't keep his blogs topical?) Although the odds of this second occurence happening are astronomical, if a player continues to play only "bad cards" his chances of winning in the long run become almost as astronomical.

So in conclusion: if you win a pot with less than premium cards be proud of your astute play, and if you find it necessary to comment, please feel free to use one of the "acceptable" excuses. But never, never, insult yourself and say: "I can't (couldn't) win with good cards, so I thought I would play these".

Playing at the Trop

2005-05-14T11:47:00.000-07:00

One of the latest casinos to suddenly remember the joy and pleasure of running a poker room in Vegas is the Tropicana Hotel/Casino. It is just the latest in a long string of Vegas casinos to realize just how important it is to provide their guests (i.e. customers) a place for them to experience the thrill of playing that "all-in" game. After several years of absence, the Tropicana has reopened their poker room. Earlier this week I had the opportunity to visit and actually play in their room. I was on my way to play in a no-limit game at the MGM when I decided to drop in and check out the "game" at the Trop.*

*WRITER'S NOTE: The following is just another little helpful hint from your pal, Mr. VegasSheep ..... If you are driving and want to play at the MGM poker room, the shortest distance from the MGM poker room to your car is to valet park at the Tropicana. From there it is just a short stroll over the pedestrian walkway to the MGM, which can be entered into directly from the walkway. The MGM poker room is located directly across from this entrance way.

For you observant readers out there: you noticed I used the word "opportunity" as opposed to "pleasure" when describing my visit to the Tropicana poker room. The room consists of just 6 tables. They only spread hold-em,and then only at 3 different levels: a $1-$3 limit, a $2-$6 limit, and a $100 max buy-in no-limit game. The rake in all games is 10%, up to a maximum of $4 per hand. I don't want to say the dealers were bad, but it became quite apparent that a major reason for only spreading hold-em, was to avoid confusing the dealers if they had to deal more than 2 cards to a player. As bad as the dealers were, the shift manager was even worse. I don't know what her job was before landing this one, but I can almost guarantee you that it in no way involved being in or even around a casino poker room. She was completely clueless on how to run a room. While I was there, I immediatey sat down in a no-limit game with 8 players, including myself. While I was playing, a couple of other people started watching the game. Less than 30 minutes later, 3 buddies came in asking to play in that "all-in" game. Instead of offering 2 of them seats in an already established game, or perhaps even asking the existing players to make the current game an 11 handed game, she asked the 2 onlookers if they would like to play 5 handed in a new no-limit game. They accepted and in less than 30 minutes our 8 handed game was down to 5, and their 5 handed game was down to 4. I could not take it any longer, so I politely and calmly asked the shift manager if perhaps they could combine the 2 tables into one. She said that she would " ask" the other table to join us. Only one person took up her offer (noticed I used the word "offer" as opposed to "command"), so we continued to play 6-handed and 3-handed. A few minutes later another potential player entered the room and she immediately sat him at the 3-handed table. Her reasoning was that she was trying to even up the number of players in both games. Need I say more?

As bad as the personnel was, the room itself was worse. The room is located in a remote little corner of the casino. The only good thing you can say about the miserable lighting is that it gives the room that dingy feeling, which probably covers up how depressing the room would be if you could see it in broad daylight.

As far as you true connoisseurs of this blog go: on the Mint Factor, I give the Tropicana poker room a generous 1 star. Although 2 out of 3 cocktail attendants I encountered had potential, the hideous outfits they were wearing made it almost impossible to tell how intelligent they were. Their uniforms looked like they were made out of fabric from curtains my grandmother had. In fact, the third cocktail attendant looked like my grandmother. Come to think of it: using the term "mint factor" and the word "grandmother" in the same paragraph takes this conversation to a whole new level I don't want to enter. So let us just say that as far as the Mint Factor goes, the Tropicana is definitely "star challenged".

In conclusion: I have seen better run and classier poker rooms in Melrose Park (a suburb of Chicago who had the reputation of running illegal poker rooms ... errrrr .... or so I heard) than the poker room at the Tropicana

Rushing Along

2005-05-08T11:10:00.000-07:00

For those of you thinking: "Why isn't Mr VegasSheep posting as many blogs as he use to?" Well, I'm happy to report the main reason for this drop in productivity is my preoccupation in actually playing the game as opposed to writing about it. It seems that your hero (otherwise known as "me") has been kinda of on a "rush" lately. I've had winning sessions approximately the last 6 times I've played. Who the heck am I kidding ... I've had exactly 6 winning sessions in a row. I am definitely on a rush.

For those of you not familiar with the term: "on a rush", here comes yet another installment of "Mr. VegasSheep's Handy Dandy Guide to Poker Room Terminology". Being "on a rush" refers to when a player wins a proportionally higher amount of hands than he normally does on average. The frequency of these wins, the size of the pots won, and the duration of this phenomenon, determines how good the "rush" is. Basically there are two types of rushes. One that occurs during a session when over a certain length of time a player "gets hit over the head with the deck of cards." Meaning that during a finite period of time, you seem only to be dealt premium (those 2 cards that almost all hold-em books say are good starting hands) or soon to be premium cards. Such as: after the flop, turn, and river these premium and semi-premium cards turn into winners, and you take down the pot. However, what makes a rush really a rush, is when you start hitting the marginal hands. When in some point during the hand as the "dog" (you have less than a 50% chance to win), you hit the "miracle card" and win the pot.

The other type of rush which occurs less frequently, involves winning a slightly to moderate amount of hands above your average over an extended length of time. Although this type of rush does not have the dramatic effect as the previous type, the amount of winnings are almost always higher. This is the rush I am experiencing. I am currently on a 6 session winning streak.

To paraphrase one of our great modern day philosphers, Sir Yogi Berra: 90% of this game is 50% mental. No other comment could be more insightful when referring to the game of hold-em. I have found that as the streak continues, my confidence level rises. For no other reason than my winning, I feel I'm currently playing my best poker. This may all be a false sense of confidence, but as long as I continue to win, I'll continue to stay on the ride. I know eventually this "rush" will end I will start suffering loses, and again blame my "bad luck" for the defeats. But hopefully, as long as I can remember this current rush, I will know that my "luck" can again turn around, and I can once again experience the thrill of another rush.

Who knows? By being so bold as to talk about my current streak, I may be jinxing my next session. In that way, I may be able to test out this theory in the not to distant future.*

*WRITER'S NOTE: Superstition and it's place in poker hold-em may be the topic of a future blog.

He was a Straddlin Machine

2005-05-04T13:10:00.000-07:00

For any of you out there not familiar with the word: "straddle" as it relates to casino hold-em poker, consider this blog just another installment of "Mr VegasSheeps' Handy Dandy Guide to Poker Room Terminology". For the majority (at least I hope so) of you familiar with the word, stick around. You may find interesting how this word relates to a recent game I was in.

A "straddle" is a blind raise that the player immediately next to the big blind makes prior to looking at his cards. It must be made before the cards are dealt and is usually double the big blind. For example in a game with $2-$4 blinds, a player straddling must put in $8 before looking at his cards. By doing so, the player straddling will be the last person to act before the flop. When the action comes back to him, he will be given the option to again raise the blinds. The basic reasons for making a straddle are:
1.)To loosen up a tight game and promote more action. (This may have been a legitimate reason prior to the hold-em boom, but now given the amount of novices to the game this reason has become superfluous.)
2.)To give the false impression that you are a "loose" player.
3.)An unhealthy disrespect for money, and
4.)To "show-off" and by so doing having the added bonus of pissing-off any "tight" players at the table.

In fact, your humble writer has been known to on occasion straddle a hand or two. (I'll leave it up to the reader to determine my reason(s).) In general, most straddles are found in low-limit games and usually late at night or early morning, when the full effects of an over-indulgence of "liquid" refreshments can be found.

You can imagine my surprise then, when last night I got involved in a $2-$4 blind no-limit game at Mandalay Bay with a player who did not pass up one opportunity to straddle a hand. He was a straddlin machine! This was particularly unusual because as I said, this was a no-limit game. Considering that he would almost always call, you would figure by about the 3rd or 4th time that his straddle was raised by anywhere from $20 to $50 on average, he would figure that this tactic could become quite expensive. However, this made for a couple of interesting hands. He played 2-5 off-suit particularly well in this position, and dragged down 2 huge pots with that card combination. (Thank goodness I was not involved in either one of those hands.) Unfortunately for him, he did not get this combination a sufficient amount of time to prevent him from losing a sizeable amount of money for this type of game. At Mandalay Bay a player must buy-in for $200 (no more, no less) in their $2-$4 blind no-limit game. At anytime his stack goes below $200, he can rebuy up to that amount. However, once a player loses all his chips, he must rebuy for $200. I lost count on how many times our "straddlin machine" friend bought in. For a time it seemed he was buying in at least once a round, if not more. At one point in the game, I had about $600 in chips in front of me and I was short stacked at the table. This was in a game where the most amount of bought-in chips that you could have in front of you was $200.

I ended up having a pretty good session, and thanks to "strandlin machine" a number of other players had just as good, if not better session. I've played in a number of games with players who we called "calling machines", but this guy took the phrase to a whole new level. He was more like a human "ATM machine".

Perhaps It's Time to Reflect

2005-05-01T12:50:00.000-07:00

No matter how hard I try, I just can't escape it. Once again one of my biggest pet peeves (if not the biggest) recently raised its ugly head in a 6-12 hold-em game. There I was, peacefully playing in a game, when "IT" struck. The hand that I have discussed in a previous blog. The hand that makes the hair on my neck stick out. The hand that literally leaves me speechless, and for those of you who know Mr. VegasSheep that is saying alot.

The hand started out peaceful enough. I was on the button with pocket Jacks. There were 2 callers after the blinds when it came my turn. I raised and got 2 callers, the big blind and one other player. The flop came J(c), 10(c), 4(h). I flopped the top set, but I was obviously quite aware of the possible drawing hands that one or both of my opponents might hold. When they both checked, I bet the $6. The turn came the 3(c). Again they both checked, and I bet $12. The big blind dropped, and then dumbdiddy, dumb, dumb (as you should know by now ... DDD for short) went into deep thought.*

*WRITER'S NOTE: I know what your thinking: "Mr VegasSheep how can you possibly use the words 'dumbdiddy, dumb, dumb' and 'deep thought' when describing the actions of one player in a single hand. Well, by the expression on his face I knew he was concentrating on something. I assumed it was on the hand and not something he had for lunch.

After awhile, DDD made the call. The river came the 8(s). Again DDD checked, and that's when I paused to contemplate my next action. The scenarios I was contemplating were the following: the top set I flopped was still the best hand and I should bet, or DDD was slow playing either a flush that he caught on the turn or possibly even a straight holding a Q-9, which he would have caught on the river. In either one these latter scenarios, he was trapping me, hoping that I would bet, so he could check raise me, therefore maximizing his return. From observing my opponent, I correctly assumed that he did not have sufficient gray matter to comprehend the complex theory of check raising, so I bet. Again DDD thought for a moment, then hesitantly called. By DDD simply calling I started to congratulate myself on once again making an excellent read and immediately showed my pocket Jacks for 3 of a kind. Just as quickly DDD laid down his 9(d) and 7(d)for a straight while now uttering those infamous words: "I couldn't bet (raise) because I thought you might of had a flush".

For those of you familiar with my previous blogs you know that by making this statement DDD was guilty of committing my biggest pet peeve. How in the @#$%& can a player chase you all the way down to the river on a draw, then catch the miracle card (the best card he could possibly catch), and still be afraid to bet because he doesn't think he has the best hand? If someone out there can give me a rational explanation, I will be eternally grateful.

In the meantime I will continue to take my antiacids and continue to practice saying: "good hand sir, good hand", while seriously considering no longer playing limit hold-em. Instead I'll just concentrate on playing no-limit. At least in no-limit I can move all-in when I think I have the best hand and my opponent is on a draw, and not worry about what he does after he makes that "miracle" card on the river.

"Cashin In"

2005-04-28T21:31:00.000-07:00

As they say in all dem award shows: "the envelope please". The winner of the first annual (or it could be semi-annual or even monthly, depending how often I run across it) Mr. VegasSheep "Gonna Milk It For ALL It's Worth" award goes to the Bellagio Hotel/Casino. I knew it would be only a matter of time before someone or something would find a new twist on how to cash-in on the current Texas Hold-em phenomenon. Well it seems that the prize in Vegas goes to the Bellagio, the first casino here to offer its customers a table version of Texas Hold-em. It is played on a table similar to a blackjack table where the players wager against the dealer instead of each other. The game is currently in a 90 day trial period and is being spread only on one table. However, I am sure that if they can get enough action and a return close to those generated by other "sucker" (errrrr.... I mean "imaginative") card games like Caribbean Stud or 3 Card Poker, it will quickly expand and be around for awhile. The only delay would be in getting final approval by Nevada gaming regulators. (Which would be about as difficult as a Bush proposal getting approval by Fox Cable News commentators.)

Although I have yet to actually play the game, my reports are that the hands themselves are dealt out the same way as in a "regular" poker room card game. However before the hand is dealt, players must make a blind ante and can make one of several other betting options, such as the "value" of their hole cards. Once the hole cards are dealt, the player can fold or raise their blind ante. Based on specific guidelines, the dealer must either fold and pay off the blind ante or call. If the hand is called, the flop, river, and turn is dealt and the best hand between the dealer and player wins. Pretty easy money... don't you think?*

*WRITER'S NOTE: If you answered anywhere near a yes to this trick question, I'm sure operators at the Bellagio are eagerly awaiting your call to reserve you a seat at the table. Due to the severe water shortage currently being felt here in Vegas, the Bellagio is always looking for creative ways to pay off their ever increasing water bills due to the constant water usage as a result of their daily fountain shows and performances of "O".

Hopefully within the next week or so while I patiently wait for the crowds to die down at the Wynn so I can check out that poker room (my personal invite to the grand openining must have gotten lost in the mail); I will go try my luck at the "World Poker Tour All-In Hold'em" table at the Bellagio.

Oh Canada ...

2005-04-25T09:06:00.000-07:00

As my legion of fan knows: a reoccurring theme in my blogs is the growing popularity of Texas hold-em, largely due to the games increased exposure on television and easy access on the internet. The dramatic rise in popularity of Texas hold-em is not limited to within the U.S. border, but can be found world wide. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the poker rooms of Vegas. In ever increasing numbers, more and more foreign players can be found at the tables. Since hold-em has developed a universal language of its own, the language barrier that may be a problem in other games is less of one in hold-em. Speaking for myself: with the exception of Greek, I have very few problems communicating. However, unfortunately all foriegn languages sound Greek to me.

Within the past few months I have played hold-em with players from almost every continent except Antarctica. The vast majority of these players have been friendly and courteous, with a few glaring exceptions. However for you true blue God-fearing Americans out there, rest assured we still vastly outnumber dem foreigners when it comes to "jerks at the tables".

But by far, on the whole the most friendly and courteous players I have found are from Canada. I don't know if it's the water up there or the lack of sunlight from being that close to the artic circle, but the vast majority of players from Canada are just down right friendly. Recently I was playing in a $1-$2 blind no-limit game at the MGM. Three of the players at the table were visiting from Canada, two were buddies from Ottawa and the other was from a small town in the Northern provinces (aren't they all?) , Beaver Lake, Moose Falls, something like that. All I can remember is the place had a furry woodland creature in its name. They were all pretty decent novice players, and we quickly started a dialogue between hands. They wanted to know some "good" spots around town and I wanted a "good" recipe for beaver souffle. As we were playing, I got pretty lucky on a couple of hands and outdrew one of them on back to back hands that we were both involved in. On both occasions he took the beats in stride, and seemed to genuinely compliment me on my good fortune on one hand. During the entire session I don't think I heard one of them ever criticize the play of another person. Either they were all gentlemen or their faces were permanently frozen in the smile position from living to near the artic circle over an extended period of time. In any event it was a pleasure to play with them, and I almost felt guilty for winning as much as I did.*

*WRITER'S NOTE: You notice the operative word in that last sentence was "almost".

In conclusion: a hold-em player could do alot worse than playing with a table full of Canadians. From my experience, the majority of players from Canada are both friendly and courteous.

One final note: to my friends in Canada... white socks and sandals does not make for a favorable fashion statement.

Poised?

2005-04-22T11:32:00.000-07:00

In a never ending attempt to make "Poker Tales from VegasSheep" your one-stop internet location for all your Vegas poker information needs, I have decided to introduce yet another feature to my blog. Consider this feature just another attempt at reaching my goal of becoming known as the "Walmart" of Vegas poker information. (I'm not implying that this is a reachable goal or even necessarily a good one; just that it is my goal)

Since I have been writing this blog for almost a full 4 months, I feel I am more than qualified to review and critique the works of my fellow journalists and authors. This review concerns the featured article in the April 27th issue of Card Player magazine. Actually it is not so much an article as an excerpt of a book by Kaplan and Reagan titled "Aces and Kings" which hits the bookstores next month. The Card Player excerpt deals strictly with Stu Ungar. For those of you new to the game: Stu Unger was considered by most to be one of the best (if not the best) Texas Hold-em player of all time. As good a hold-em player as he was, he was considered even a better gin player. In fact many believe his ability to dominate high stakes gin playing so throughly is what drove him to start playing poker seriously. He could not find anyone who would play him heads-up in gin.

Given this background it was with surprise that I began reading the article in Card Player magazine which started with the bold face opening line of: "Stu Ungar, poker's brightest podigy, took aggression to new heights, set a World Series record, and seemed to be poised for greatness." I don't know if one of the authors, Kaplan or Reagan, or an editor from Card Player wrote this introductory sentence, but I really think they should re-exam their use of the word "poised" in describing Stu Unger and hold-em. My handy dandy Webster Dictionary (Yes my legion of fan, I do own a dictionary despite what you may think given my numerous spelling and grammatical errors.... by the way, I attribute all of these errors to typos) defines poised as: to put into readiness. Exactly what part of Stu Unger's game wasn't already there. Before his death in 1998 he had already won The World Series of Poker Championship 3 times, had won millions, and was the most feared player around. At the top of his form he dominated the game of hold-em like nobody ever had, and will ever do again. As I previousy stated before: almost everyone familiar with the history of the game considers Stu Unger one of the best, if not the best, to play the game.

To say Stu Unger was "poised" for greatness in hold-em is like saying that Pamela Anderson is "poised" for a boob job. I got news for you guys/gals at Card Player, both of these feats have long ago been accomplished.

Too High of Expectations?

2005-04-19T12:34:00.000-07:00

I am sorry to report that once again I, Mr VegasSheep, am guilty of breaking one of my Cardinal* rules. That rule being: never, never make a critical comment on an opposing players hand or play while seated at the table.

*WRITER'S NOTE: I hope my avid reader and fan noticed my clever use of the word Cardinal during the time of the Pope Draft currently being held in Vatican City. If nothing else, you gotta admit I try to keep my blogs timely. My greatest thanks is that the Chicago Bears coaching staff was not involved with this draft, or else there would have been a good chance that the next Pope would have been a parish priest from Boston.

The site of my current indiscretion was in a low-limit game at the Gold Coast. I was in the 2 seat and the target of my ire was in the 6 seat, easily within direct eyesight of one another. From the moment I sat down it became immediately apparent that he had appointed himself: "Table Captain." Usually I have no problem with table captains, but because of the paricular circumstances surrounding this game he was really starting to get on my nerves. During the hour that I played before "the incident", he was running a constant commentary on the game telling anyone who would listen how every hand should have been played. This commentary coupled with back to back dealers who had no clue on how to control a game, made for a game that was becoming more and more tense.

Right about this time, the hand that is the subject of this blog was dealt. Table Captain (TC for short) was on the button, dealer. I folded before the flop, and TC raised before the flop. The flop came: Jack (S), 9(D), 3(H) . There was a bet and TC raised. The turn came the 6(S), again there was a bet and again TC raised. The river came the 2(S). At this point TC was heads up with a novice player who happened to be a pretty nice guy ( he was a tourist from one of dem Red states in the midwest, like Iowa, Idaho, or Montana). The novice player again bet, and this is when TC went into his little "show." He immediately called: "Time", and started stacking his chips in front of him. I guess he wanted to see what 16 one dollar chips looked like against 8 one dollar chips. After a long pause he announces raise and pushes in his 18 chips.
Nice novice guy says "call" and pushes in 8 more chips. TC immediately asks: "What do you got?" Nice novice guy lays down his J-9 and says: " two pair, jacks and 9s." TC looks at his hand for awhile and then slowly rolls over the 5(S) and then the Ace(S). He had the stone-cold nuts.
He could not be beat.

If TC had stopped right there, I probably would not have said anything. Don't get me wrong; I still would have noticed what a bush thing he had done, but I would have stayed true to one of my "Cardinal rules." Then TC started belittling the novice player on how bad he played the hand and that he should have realized that there were 3 spades on the board, and how expertly he had played the hand, yada, yada, yada. I just couldn't take it any longer, so I politely and calmly looked TC in the eye and said, "What a 'chicken-shit' thing to do, slow-rolling a player after making a miracle turn and river." TC immediately turned on me and yelled: "What business is it of yours? You were not even in the hand."

What could I say? Mr Table Captain was right. I broke one of my Cardinal rules, and commented on another players hand while at the table. I immediately try to apologize: I told TC that I was sorry, that I should not have said anything, and my only excuse is that I always go into one of these low-limit games with the expectations that everyone at the table would have some common courtesy, and not act like a complete jerk. Obviously, once again, I have set my standards too high. Somehow this apology did not work. He just became more belligerent to me as the game went on. I was so crushed by this that if I was not winning most of his money, I would have immediately left.

ONE FINAL NOTE: Now that Cardinal Ratzinger from Germany was first choice in the Pope draft, are the Swiss Guards going to have to learn how to goose step? WARNING: if you laughed or even chuckled at this last comment you may wish to back away from your computer before the lightening strikes.

That "All-In" Game

2005-04-17T12:11:00.000-07:00

For those of you who may be somewhat new to the wonderful and exciting world of poker room hold-em, consider this blog the next installment in Mr VegasSheep's "Handy Dandy Guide to Poker Room Terminology." For you experienced players stick around; you may find this blog both amusing and informative.

Unless you are completely new to the game and don't own a television, I'm sure you know what a "tell" is in poker room terminology. As described in-nauseaum by every commentator of every televised hold-em game: a tell is an involuntary motion (either physical or verbal) made by a player that gives another player a clue as to the relative strength of that person's hand. A "tell" can take the shape and form of many different types of action: anywhere from the differences in breathing patterns or eye movements to the ever subtle muttering of the words: "Oh shit."

Although a person can be told on how not to give a "tell" on ones self, or what to look for in reading another player; only through experience can a player learn how to conceal his or her own tells, and then read the tells of others.* This is a never-ending process, and I believe the good and/or potentially good players are constantly trying to improve this part of their game.

*Writer's Note: If you play strictly on the internet, this may be difficult.

I can bore you about "tells" (and I may in some future blog) that I have picked up on or have done, that have either won or cost me money, but everyone of these stories were the results of my interpetation of the facts at that particular moment. It was strictly a subjective call I made at the moment.

What I'm about to share with you on this blog is a fool-proof tell that will definitely help you in any poker room game situation. Through the years I have developed friendships with shift managers in many different poker rooms throughout Vegas. A number of them have recently told me about a curious new phenomenon (at least, new to me) that they are seeing more and more. It seems that when potential players approach the counter/podium to inquire about playing in a game they ask: "You got any openings in that "all-in" game?" Now, I might not be a rocket scientist but intuitively that's the type of player I want at my table. I figure if he or she doesn't even know what the game is called, I feel it's only my duty as a card carrying member of the Greater Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce to help teach them the game of no-limit Texas hold-em.

So my advice to any of you who might be hanging around a poker room counter and hear these magical words: "that all-in game" consider it a tell and do your best to get seated at that same table with the person uttering them.

Yet Another Rebirth

2005-04-15T15:25:00.000-07:00

Like the mythical Phoenix rising from the ashes, yet another casino has reopened a poker room. * The latest casino to realize what an important role poker rooms have in attracting visitors to their property is the MGM Hotel/Casino. After an absence of around 6 or 7 years, the MGM has opened a new poker room as of March 28th.

*WRITER'S NOTE: this obscure yet poignant analogy can be directly attributed to my rental of the recently released DVD, "Flight of the Phoenix." (Probably the only good thing to come out of this dumb movie.) If you want to see a vastly superior version, try to rent the original with Jimmy Stewart.

Although I can give the room only 2 and a half stars in the "Mint Factor", it's overall comfort level is one of the best in Vegas. In fact, I would go as far as saying it is currently the classiest poker room in Vegas. (this may change if the rumors of the opening or remodeling of existing poker rooms in other high-end properties come true). In the meantime, the MGM poker room offers many high-end amenities that other poker rooms lack. From it's overall spaciousness to it's plasma screen monitors, the room has taken into account the needs of it's potential customers. The poker room itself has two levels. On the main level there are 23 tables spread out in a half semi-circle, where they will spread almost any game requested which has enough player interest. The 2 times I have played there I have seen games spread from a $2-$4 limit to a $2-$5 blind no-limit. The rake for these games is 10% up to a max. of $4. On the upper level, they spread there high-limit games. Although they currently have only one table in this private area, they have room to expand comfortably to 5 tables. Also, throughout the room they have plasma monitors which keeps an updated list of players who are interested in a particular game and where they stand on the waiting list.

Another important factor in the evaluation of a poker room is the overall "quality" of it's dealers and shift managers. Based upon my 2 sessions there, I have found it to be very good. Which may seem surprising to some given the fact that it is a new room, but I easily recognized a number of dealers and managers who had come from other properties. So although it may be a "new" room, a large portion of it's personnel is experienced.

As much as I like the overall atmosphere of the room, it does have some major drawbacks. The first is the "Mint Factor" which I previously alluded to. Let us just say that the cocktail attendants and their uniforms are definitely "mint challenged". The other major problem is accessibility. If you are going to try and drive to the MGM poker room and park on their property (either at the valet or self-parking) my advise to you is: "Don't". In all seriousness: it is a shorter walking distance to the MGM poker room if you valet your car at the Tropicana or New York, New York casinos and take the pedestrian walkways to the MGM than actually parking at a MGM facility.

In a future blog I will discuss my experiences of actually playing in a couple of different games at the MGM poker room.

I'm Baaack

2005-04-12T15:10:00.001-07:00

The first thing I ought to do is apologize to my legend of fan for the delay between posts. At the closing of my previous post I stated that I would be taking a break for about a week. Well that was at the end of March and here we are almost in the middle of April. For those of you who I may have disappointed with my tardiness and lack of timing, I can only offer you the gentle and soothing words of that great philospher who first uttered that famous comforting phrase: "live with it". Being the consummate host, I spent most of my leisure time trying to provide my out-of-town relatives and friends the best "Las Vegas Experience" possible. To that end we did alot of "touristy stuff", which included visiting a number of different casinos. During these visits, I just happened to wander into a couple of different poker rooms which I have yet to mention in my blog. In future blogs I will endeavor to share with my legion, my experiences and opinions of these rooms.

In this blog, I will just mention my visit to the Bellagio Poker Room. And when I say visit, that is exactly what I mean, a visit. I did not actually play in a game there, but instead observed along with a couple hundred other people, the action going on in the room. I should state before going any further that the Bellagio poker room has never been one of my favorite rooms. Although on the whole the dealers in the room are considered by almost everyone to be some of the finest in Vegas and the "action" in most of their games is above average, the room itself leaves something to be desired. It was never a spacious room and when I use to play there I always felt like I was playing in a zoo. I had the feeling I was being watched, and that at anytime one of the "animals" (that's a regular) at the table would turn on you if it hadn't been fed (pushed a pot) in a while. A "tense atmosphere" predominated the room. I never felt comfortable playing in the room. Since I do not play poker for a living, but for the enjoyment of the game (don't get me wrong ... I want to win money as much as the other guy does), I would rather play in a room that I can feel "comfortable in". This game is frustrating enough to play when you are in a comfortable room, let alone in an uncomfortable one.

Currently the Bellagio poker room is in the middle of a vast remodeling project (getting ready to compete with Wynn's poker room opening at the end of this month), and the "room" is no longer in the room, but in a cordoned-off section of the pit area. In fact some of the tables are set directly next to the major access way to the "O" Showroom (the Cirque du Soleil show). Unfortunately for me, the change of scenery did not change my opinion of the room. I still got the feeling the players were playing in a zoo. But instead of being protected by bars (the room itself), they were left to fend for themselves with only a thin strand of rope protecting them from the unruly masses. So if you really want to visit the Bellagio poker room ( at least for the time being) please bring along some popcorn or a bag of peanuts. I'm sure the "tamer" players would enjoy them.

Call March Madness, Raise Rockabilly Weekend

2005-03-26T13:04:00.000-08:00

Besides being the 2nd weekend of "March Madness", "Rockabilly" has also hit town this weekend. For those of you not familiar with the phenomena of "Rockabilly" don't feel bad. Up until a few days ago, neither was I. At the beginning of this week I started noticing some strange looking characters walking around the casinos and playing in the card rooms. What made these characters stand out from the average amount of strange characters you find in your normal Vegas card room was they seemed to be dress all with a certain "theme" in mind. It was like there was a rift in the "time millenium", and a bunch of these people jumped out. They took the 50's style of dress and behavior and kicked it up a notch. Not only were the guys wearing jeans and t-shirts with cigarettes rolled up their sleeves, but the gals (errrrr ... at least I think most of them were gals) were wearing tight jeans or poodle skirts with tight or low-cut sweaters. Their hairdos were every color and shape imaginable, and the majority of them were not unfamiliar to body piercing or tattoos. It seems there is such a thing in Vegas called: Rockabilly Weekend, where people from around the world come here to celebrate the 1950's. Everything from that decade's music and dress to its celebrities and cars. The majority of the festivities center around two of the Coast casinos, the Gold Coast and the Orleans, who seem to partially sponsor some af the activities.

So if you want to experience the thrill of playing poker at a high testesterone (courtesy of March Madness), and wacky (courtesy of Rockabilly) table, the Gold Coast or Orleans poker rooms are the place to go this weekend.

To give you a couple of examples of what I'm referring to, both of these following incidents occurred this week at the Gold Coast poker room. Early this week, before I really knew the full extent of Rockabilly Weekend, I was playing in a small tournament. It is a freeze-out tournament with no rebuys, but they do allow alternates within the first hour. About a half hour into the tournament, the player on my right was knocked out. He was immediately replaced by a guy who had to be in his 60's. When I looked over to him I just happened to notice that he had dyed his hair almost every color of the rainbow. Just to name a few of the major colors, there was blotches of blue, green, red, and orange running through his hair. Coupled with the facts of being curious and inquisitive, and also being the type of person who thrives on obtaining additional knowledge, I leaned over to the new player and politely and respectively asked him: "If there were any other survivors to the Easter Egg Painting Plant explosion besides himself." After order was restored, he calmly informed me that there was not. Soon after, Easter Egg Head also got knocked out.

Last night, I played in a 4-8 game during the Duke, Michigan State basketball game. Not only were there 4 guys in the hold-em game more interested in the basketball game, but we had 3 other players more interested in the 50's then the events currently happening. To say the game was slow and seemed to drag on would be an understatement. Between the constant chatter about basketball and the screaming and shouting about anything to do with the 50's (One Rockabilly guy spent at least 5 minutes explaining why he played 9-8 off suit all the way down to the river when the flop came Qd-Qc- Jc. The reason was that back in the 50's, Oldsmobile had a car model called the 98, and it was a "cool" car.), the dealer was lucky to deal 10 hands in one set. After being down early, I observed how they play (which wasn't that difficult), stayed patient, and wounded up having a profitable session.

If you can stand the constant chatter, the slow play, the weird tattoos, body piercings, and coloring, March Maddness coupled with Rockabilly is a very good time to play poker.

One final thought: I probably will not post another blog for about a week. Out-of-town family and friends will be coming in next week, so I will be playing tour guide. However, during this period you part-time readers may wish to scroll back and read some of my previous blogs. Who knows, I may give a test when I return. In the meantime, despite the nasty rumors, they did not find the "body", have a Happy Easter!

This Game Never Fails to Amaze Me

2005-03-23T12:44:00.000-08:00

Yesterday while waiting for a friend to finish playing in a hold-em tournament at the Gold Coast, I decided to play in a "live" game. The only game that they had spread was a 2-4 limit game with a half kill. By far my least favorite game, but as they say, "since it was the only game in town", and I had to wait for my friend and he had a pretty big stack in front of him, and I was kinda intrigued by the half kill aspect in such a low-limit game; I decided to play. Besides, I figured the game might supply me with some interesting stories to tell in a future blog. The table consisted mostly of the type of player you would normally expect to find in such a low-limit game: the inexperience and "clueless" player. I reasoned that at the very least, I would get a couple of good "bad beat" stories from this line-up. Little did I expect that I would be at the "other end" of these stories.

The session started out like it normally does for me in this type of game: I try not to change my style of play because of the low-limit format and only play solid hands. The results were what I expected, in about 90 minutes I played only three hands: pocket kings, pocket 10's, and A-Q suited, and lost with all three. The next set of blinds was approaching, when my friend tapped me on the shoulder. He informed me that the tournament was over ( he won it by the way) and that if I wanted to play some more he would wait. I informed him: "gee thanks, but no thanks I'm gonna leave right after this next hand." It was a kill pot, I looked at my hand and decided to try to "limp in" for $3. The pot was immediately raised and then re-raised when the action came back to me. I looked at my hole cards once again, and decided, what the heck, why not make a really big pot and I also raised making it a total of $12 before the flop. There was only 7-way action.

After the final call and before the flop, I ran through my mind the possible list of excuses I could use if I actually had to show this hand. Such as: "they were suited", "it was my last hand", "the pot was too big", or my personal favorite, "I couldn't win with good cards". So feeling pretty confident with my list of excuses already made up I eagerly awaited the flop with my 2-3 of hearts. The flop came: 10s-3s- 2c. After a check I was the next to act and bet $3 and was raised. Figuring I had the best hand, I re-raised and hoped that another spade did not appear on the board. The turn came the 3d. Again I bet out, and this time was hoping for another spade to appear on the board. There was still 4-way action when the river came the Ac. Again I bet, was called in 2 places, and laid down my full house. The pair of Jacks and A-K of spades just looked at each other in stunned silence. Neither one of them had the common decency to say: "Nice hand sir, nice hand."

After my friend stopped chortling in the backgound, I informed him that I would play my button and then leave. Even though I was in the blind for the next 2 hands, I did not play either hand because of multiple raises before the flop. Finally when I became the button, I once again got "premium cards"; the 2-5 of hearts. Needless to say I raised before the flop. To make a long story short, I made a bet every chance I got and rivered the flush. As I was raking up my chips I could hear a player saying to another : "this guy plays 2 hands in 2 hours, then plays 2-3 and 2-5 of hearts, wins both, then leaves."

The above session is why I find this game so fascinating, frustrating, and humorous all at the same time. When you think you might be coming close to understanding the fundamentals of this game, all of a sudden blind luck bites you in the butt and blows all your theories to hell.

Finally, the one good thing I provided for the other players was all the "bad beat" stories that they can tell their friends when they go back home and describe their experiences of playing Texas Hold-em in Vegas.

Let's Hear it for the Bucknell Bison!

2005-03-20T12:53:00.000-08:00

This weekend is the first weekend of March Madness, the NCAA Basketball Tournament, which has made Vegas the Mecca for college hoop betting. In Vegas, March Madness has the largest amount of betting for any annual sporting event. The town is filled with avid basketball fans just dying to place a bet on as many games as they can. The sportbooks are filled to capacity of fans trying to watch as many games as possible at the same time. A large portion of the over flow of these fans seem to migrate to the casino poker rooms. Many of these poker rooms are situated very close to sportbooks, and every room has numerous strategically placed monitors televising all the games. What better way for an avid hoop fan to watch his game while playing in a nice friendly game of poker. And thank goodness for us regulars, many fans think exactly that way. (Hopefully for the majority of these fans: their knowledge of basketball far outweighs their knowledge of poker .... or they are in for a pretty expensive weekend.)

Over the weekend I was involved in a 4-8 hold-em game with a half kill while the Kansas Jayhawks were playing the Bucknell Bison.

***For those not familiar with the term "half kill": it is used to describe a game where the limits go up after a player wins two hands in succession. In this game the limits went from 4-8 to 6-12 after a player won two hands in a row***

In this particular session I was having one of those nights when the ''poker Gods" completely deserted me. I could not find 2 cards to remotely go in with before the flop. And forget about trying to limp in or make a move, because there was at least always one raise before the flop with 6 to 7 callers (with me being the notable exception). Lucky the game on the monitor was the above-mentioned Bucknell game and about 4 or 5 players at the table had all bet on Bucknell. So there was alot of hooting and hollering going on, which kept me awake as I constantly threw away my hands. In fact, I don't think I saw one flop within the first hour.

Then "The Hand" came. I was sitting in early position with A-10 of hearts. This was the best starting hand I had seen all night and it was on a half kill pot. I immediately raised to $12 when it became my turn. My raise was immediately re-raised by another player, and sensing what a "tight" player I was only 4 other players called the double raise. Meaning their was 6-way action before the flop. The flop came: Ac-10c-3d. The big blind came out betting, I made it $12, and 3 others called the double bet, while keeping an eye on the game. (I think Bucknell was making a move at the time). I immediately thought: "Boy, what a great bet I made, I cut down the field from 6 to 5. The turn came the 9c, and Bucknell took the lead. I still bet the $12, was immediately raised to $24, with 2 more callers. I called the raise from the Bucknell fan who was hoopin and hollerin the loudest, while thinking all the time: "I hope @#$% Bucknell loses. The river came the Ad. I rivered the "nuts". I immediately yelled: "GO BUCKNELL!!!" Being the first to act, I bet the $12, was raised, and then I re-raised, with 4-way action all the way to the end. Bucknell won the game and I won the pot of over $500. The 3 guys I beat all congratulated me for winning the pot, while congratulating each other on how much they won by Bucknell upsetting Kansas. I just love college hoops.

Have They No Shame

2005-03-17T14:02:00.000-08:00

The third of five World Series of Poker Circuit Tournaments is currently being held here in Vegas at the Rio through March, 22nd. The $10,000 entry fee Championship Event will start March 20th. In the meantime smaller entry fee tournaments are being held daily. In addition to these smaller tournaments, satellite and super satellite tournaments are also being held.

During this past week I have tried my luck (errrr... make that tested my considerable amount of skill) on two $120 one table satellite tournaments. I finished 3rd in both; in the 1st game my K-J lost to Q-9, and in the 2nd game my A-Q lost to pocket 3's. In both instances the remaining two players split the prize pool. I don't wish to sound bitter, but a lesser man might think it was a conspiracy, instead of the "healthy" persecution complex that I have developed and nurtured.

As far as I can see, most of the satellites and tournaments at the Rio are currently being held in cordoned off public areas. Which is not necessarily a bad thing. However, the one really "tacky" thing the Rio is doing occurs just outside one of these cordoned off areas. Besides having set up a couple of portable kiosks selling everything from "official WSOP" sun visors to "official WSOP" t-shirts and key chains, they have set up a separate blackjack pit. While I was there all the dealers in this pit wore bikinis. (Come to think of it, maybe that's the reason I didn't finish any higher in the satellites..... I was distracted by their ample signs of intelligence.) Thank goodness, they were all female dealers. After being knocked out of one of the satellites, I went over to the pit area and asked the pit boss if the rumors that I had been hearing were true, I asked him what was the payout for blackjack in this pit area. Without batting an eye he said: "even money". That's right ... even money ... while in other parts of the same casino you could get 3 to 2 odds for that same blackjack. As you regular readers of this blog know: I am not bashful in praising the merits of an excellent "mint factor" in judging the overall quality of a casino. But when it comes to reducing your payout by 50%, that establishment better show me more than a couple of lousy mints. Have they no shame!!!

One final point; when I asked the pit boss why the payout for blackjack was lower in this pit area than the others situated throughout the casino, his response was: "it was easier to calculate". I kid you not, that was his actual reply. All I could do after that was shake my head and leave. However, on my home I forgot to ask him one important follow-up question: "when he said 'easier', did he mean for the player or dealer?"

Howdy Partner

2005-03-14T13:41:00.000-08:00

While discussing NASCAR weekend in my last post, it brought back the memory of a hold-em hand that occurred playing in a game during a "special event" week here in Vegas. It was during the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) held every year in December. During that time Vegas is swimming in a ocean of cowboy boots and cowboy hats. The casinos go all-out trying to lure these guests into their respective properties. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me that if this year some of the casinos put hitching posts in front of their establishments.

During the last NFR, I became involved in a rather humorous hand with one of dem cowboy visitors. He had on a cowboy hat, cowboy vest, cowboy pants, and cowboy boots. (I think the casino made him take off his cowboy spurs .... something to do with tearing up the carpet.) I think he thought he would be a natural for the game since it was called Texas Hold-em. Actually, from the conversation we had before "the hand" he seemed like a pretty nice guy. I found out that despite the hat, he was not from Texas but from one of dem states where the cows outnumber people by about 10 to 1, like Montana or Wyoming. I also quickly found out he not only had no clue on how to play Texas hold-em, but his general knowledge of poker was dismal.

After about a half hour of play, where "Da Cowboy Hat" (DCH for short) showed-off his general lack of knowledge for the game; the "hand" was dealt. At the table were 8 novice/inexperienced players, myself, and a player who I had played with on numerous other occasions and who was very solid. I was in late position with pocket Jacks. The betting went: bet, fold, raise from the solid player, followed by 2 more folds. I was next to act, I thought for a second, decided my best course of action was to raise, limit the field, hope that nothing higher than a Jack appeared on the flop, and that I had the best hand before the flop. When Solid Player re-raised, my last hope became a "floating hope". In the meantime, while this was all happening, DCH was merrily calling away. The flop came 2, 3, 5, different suits. DCH was the first to act. He paused for awhile with a really perplexed look on his face, like a little boy who just realized that he lost his mommy and didn't know what to do. He finally looks at the dealer and says: "Can I ask a question?" I look at solid player, he looks at me, and we both say in unison, before DCH could ask the question, like we have been practicing it for years: " Yes, an Ace can go both ways". With that, DCH merrily bets away, Solid Player folded, and I folded my pocket Jacks. (later I found out that Solid Player made an even tougher fold, with pocket Kings) DCH showed his Ace, 4 off-suit as he was raking in the pot and said" "in some of the games I play in, Ace can only go high." Again I look at Solid Player, and he looks at me, but this time I lead in the chorus of: "Nice hand sir, nice hand."

Vroom ... Vroom

2005-03-12T10:50:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year out here in Vegas ... NASCAR Weekend!!! It never fails to amaze me just how many mobile homes and trailer parks there are in America. Although they are predicting up to an additional 120,000 visitors this weekend for the festivities, the hotel/casino's are not expecting a proportionally higher amount of business from these visitors. I guess nothing says '"home sweet home" more than a six-wheeler. A good indication of the casino's low expectations, are the show acts that they have booked for this weekend. For example: none of the big-ticket country names are here, like when the National Finals Rodeo is in town. The general consences is that NASCAR weekend does not generate enough of the clientele necessary to support big-ticket acts.

One of these days someone is going to have to explain to me: what is the fasination of watching guys making left turns while driving fast? Heck in this town you can see guys driving fast almost every day and not only do they turn left, but also right, and if your really lucky, even in reverse!

What does all this rambling have to do with poker? Hell if I can remember. Oh yea ..... what it means is that the poker games around town are not that affected by NASCAR Weekend. The next big spike in poker room activity is expected in a week or so when "March Madness" begins. Until then, I think I'll rest up and get ready for the onslaught.

No-Limit at the Palms

2005-03-10T13:48:00.000-08:00

In a previous blog I discussed my recent experience playing in a 4-8 limit hold-em game at the Palms. In this blog I will discuss playing in their no-limit game. The buy- in for this game ranges from a minimum $100 to a maximum $500, with blinds of 2 and 5 dollars.

Although I have played in it only twice, I have observed the Palms no-limit game(s) on a number of other occasions. Even though I'm a slight net winner from the two times I've played, in my opinion, it is one of the toughest games in town. Both times that I have played and on the numerous other occasions that I have observed the game, the same 5 to 7 regular "core" players were at the table(s). Remember in the blog immediately preceding this one, when I quoted the line from the movie Rounders: "If you look around the table and see no fish, your it."? Well if you sit in this game, the first thing you should do is ask the cocktail attendant for a bowl of water so you can feel more comfortable. With the maximum buy-in of $500 ( the maximum being what I believe you should always buy-in for when playing no-limit, the reasons for which will be discussed in a future blog), if you should experience a couple of "bad beats", you could be down $1,000 in no time. And with this kind of line-up, it would be pretty difficult to recoup that type of loss. I don't know about you, but when we get into 4 figures, we're talking "serious money".

For this reason, I believe for any novice or inexperience player to no-limit hold-em, the low-limit entry fee no-limit tournament is the way to go. As has been discussed in previous blogs, this type of tournament can be found almost daily in many different casinos throughout Vegas. If however, you want to experience the "thrill" of playing "live" in a no-limit hold-em poker game, there are a number of casinos around town that can offer a "better" game. Such as, the no-limit games at the Aladdin, Mandalay Bay, or even the Excalibur, to name just a few.

If money is no option and you want the opportunity to play with a "star" like they show on television, then head for the Bellagio. There for the privilege of losing, you at least get the opportunity to play with a "poker star" or at least a "Grade A" actor in a real high stake game.

Fishing .... Such A Wonderful Pastime

2005-03-08T12:48:00.001-08:00

I know what some of you are thinking: "Mr VegasSheep I thought your blog was devoted to poker, what the heck are you doin talkin about fishin?" Well, for those of you out there not familiar with my blogs or good English, I will tell you: "Fishing", or more precisely "Fish" refers to a certain type of player found at a poker table. This blog is devoted to explaining and exposing this type of player. Consider this Blog: Installment No. 2 of VegasSheep's Handy Dandy Guide to Poker Room Terminology.

Probably the best line ( errrr .... make that, the only good line) in the movie Rounders is uttered by Matt Damon while commenting on players in a high stakes hold-em game: " If you look around the table and see no fish, your it". Where once upon a time you would be lucky to find 2 or 3 fish at a table, nowadays (especially in the low-limit games .... 4-8 or lower) having 2 or 3 fish at the table is the norm not the exception. In fact, thanks to T.V. and the internet, it is not uncommon to find a whole "school of fish" (6 to 8 players) in a low-limit game.

A "Fish" is an inexperienced (sometimes novice or just down-right awful) player who is sitting at your table. He or she may take the form of many different types of players, but the one thing they all have in common is their "deep pockets." They are willing to (and the majority of time do) take losses of high amounts of money relative to the game they are in. It is not uncommon to see a fish lose hundreds of dollars in a relatively low-limit hold-em game of 4-8.

As previously stated: "a fish can come in all shapes and sizes." The following are examples of some types of fish you may find swimming at your table".
The "Minnow": the main characteristic of this fish is the immediate sense you get that this player is definitely out of its element. You know it is only a matter of time before it goes belly-up and is devoured.
The "Small-Mouth Bass": similiar to the minnow, but not as pitiful. It normally stays relatively quiet, but is very, very skiddish in the "pocker pond." It plays afraid and often gives the impression of a deer caught in front of your headlights.
And finally, the "Large-Mouth Bass" (better known in poker circles as "the Large-Mouth Ass ... L-M A, for short) Although, not confined to just the novice player, the L-M A is a great sporting fish and gives the avid fisherman a great deal of pleasure when reeling-in. The main characteristic of this species is its constant chattering. It can give you all the "brilliant" reasons why he made such a move, and why because of bad luck, the @#$%^ moron who called him, beat him. The really trophy size L-M A will give you a nonstop commentary on how every hand was played.

These are just a few examples of "fish" found at the poker table. The only way the novice player is going to prevent becoming a fish is to set a limit on the amount of money he or she is willing to risk. Then, while at the table, observe the play and actions of other players. There is only so much you can learn from reading or watching T.V. Experience is the only way to work your way up the food chain.

The Mint Factor

2005-03-06T10:32:00.000-08:00

Although previously used before in a blog (The Aladdin .... Mint Factor: 3 Stars) it seems that some of you, for whatever reason, are still not familiar with the concept.

To be simply put: The Mint Factor is an index I use in measuring the overall "atmosphere" of the poker room I'm reviewing. You could say: "the rooms ambiance." (That is unless you are still pissed-off at the French, in which case stick with "atmosphere.") It is based on a sliding scale of 0 to 4 stars. With 0 being the worse and 4 being the best. The scale was developed by me, and is based on my many years of playing experience in casino poker rooms. Although the formula used in developing this complex and precise rating system is in constant flux, the cocktail waitress (or to be politically correct: the cocktail attendant) and her uniform weigh heavily in the formula.

To better understand this concept, it might help in reciting a brief history on how The Mint Factor (better known as "DaFactor") came into existence. DaFactor was originally developed when the Venetian Hotel/Casino first opened. At that time, the Venetian had a poker room. The room itself was first class, and the "servers" were very conscientious and intelligent.

***WRITER'S NOTE: For a complete and precise definition of intelligence as used in this blog, please refer to the explanation of frontal lobes in a previous blog on "Etiquette". ***

Being the class joint the Venetian was and still is, there were 2 types of servers. One was your typical cocktail attendant who came to the table and offered you free drinks. The other type was a throw-back to the old fashioned "cigarette girl". She offered you everything from cigarettes and candy to battery powered novelties. Well, the first time I ever played at the Venetian, this very, very, and I mean very, all around "intelligent" cigarette girl came to my table. One look at her ample signs of intelligence, I immediately fell in love, and was desperate to start up a conversation so that she might share with me some of her "pearls of wisdom". However; since I no longer smoke, I was on a diet, and I never was any good with battery powered devices, the only thing I could think to say was: "Do you have any mints?" A few weeks later, the same cigarette girl came to my table, and once again I was reduced to saying my soon to become standard opening line: "Do you have any mints?" A friend who eavesdropped on both of these sensitive and caring conversations was quick to point out the redundancy of my remarks. So from that humble beginning, The Mint Factor was born.

Through the years, the Mint Factor has developed and evolved into a very useful measuring tool. It has become a very complex formula which takes into account the many different and subtle nuances that comprise the "mint" in the Mint Factor. An example of these nuances are:
The "Pepper"mint: a physical response that immediately "spices up" your senses.
The "Spear"mint: an emotional response that makes you think of "true love." Like Cupid shooting an arrow into your heart. WARNING: Be very careful on how you show this response to your buddies .... they may think you are "gay".
And finally, the "Cream" da mint: the .... ahhhhh .... how you say .... the ..... ahhhh .... let's just say, the ultimate in physical response.

Hopefully, this brief explanation will help you better understand my future reviews.

Playing at the Palms

2005-03-04T11:50:00.000-08:00

They say: "absence makes the heart grow fonder". We shall see how true this proverb is, since it has been one week from my last post. I have already heard from my legion of fan asking me to return, but what I'm most interested in is how many others will welcome me back by letting me know how much they missed me.

Todays blog is a review of the poker room at the Palms casino. Well actually that's a misnomer, I should have stated a review of the poker rooms at the Palms casino. Although many poker rooms in Vegas have a certain section of their room cordoned off for high-limit games, the Palms is the only casino I know of that has 2 permanent separate rooms: one for it's low-limit games, and the other for it's no-limit and high-limit games. The low-limit room has 6 tables, the high-limit 4 tables. Each with it's own check-in counter. Comfort wise, this is a vast improvement over the condition of the room when it first opened. At that time, there were 9 or 10 tables crammed into the same room where they now only have 6. In addition, there are rumors spreading that the poker room(s) will be expanding in conjuction with the completion of the new tower currently being built.

Sticking with the "comfort theme," let me just say that the clientele that frequents the Palms poker room is 180 degrees different than that at the Palace Station (a previous review). While Palace Station caters to the "swinging" AARP crowd, the Palms mostly caters to the MTV generation. In fact, I think if you are over 40, possibly even 30, you are eligible to park in the handicapped zones at the Palms. For my faithful readers: I definitely give this place 3 & 1/2 stars on the "mint factor."

As far as the actual games: this review will concentrate on my experience in a recent 4-8 limit hold-em game (a later review will discuss the no-limit games ). The rake is 10% up to a maximum of $3, with an additional $1 rake for their high hand promotion. The dealers on the whole were competent. In the game I most recently played in, I was sitting at a table with 4 or 5 guys, all visiting from Chicago and who were all on an alcohol, testosterone high. Normally a very volatile combination, but if handled just right, can be very rewarding. During this particular session, my "handling techniques" were at a premium. The game was wild, with raises coming from everywhere with every possible reason. Such as: "I have a possible straight draw, I flopped a pair, (or my personal favorite) these are my 2 favorite cards." I was fortunate enough to be patient (which I have a tendancy not to do in games like this) and have a few solid hands hold up, which made for a very rewarding session.

In conclusion: if you are looking for a "rammin-jammin" type of game with the "beautiful people" the Palms 4-8 game is your place to go. Although one final warning: make sure you have a high tolerance for testosterone.

"It Had One of Dem Picture Cards"

2005-02-25T13:19:00.000-08:00

A question frequently asked by my legion of fan is: "Mr VegasSheep (my legion is very respectful) what is the funniest moment you ever had at the poker table?" To pick the funniest moment would be pretty difficult, but the following true story has to be in the top 10.

A little while ago I was playing in a 4-8 hold-em game at Mandalay Bay. I was sitting in the no.9 seat and almost directly across from me was a little gray haired old lady in the no.5 seat. She looked like she just came out of a Norman Rockwell painting titled "Home for the Holidays with the Grandparents".

The hand started normally enough with me in late position and already 5 callers before the action came to me. I looked at my cards and had an A-J. I just called, and there was 6-way action before the flop. The flop came J-7-3, different suits. I thought: "Oh Goody" and bet $4 when the others checked. 3 players called so there was still 4-way action. The turn came an Ace, and I thought: "Oh, goody, goody," and bet the $8 when it was my turn. Only grandma called, and I was already thinking on how I was going to spend my winnings from this pot. (Perhaps on a down payment for a Mandalay Bay hamburger.) The river came a 10, and I immediately looked at grandma. I swear to you what I'm about to tell you is the absolute truth! There she was with her right hand just over the table counting, that's right counting! You could see her mouthing the numbers while she pressed her fingers against the table; "7-8-9-10-J." Being the astute, card savvy, player I am, I immediately picked up the "tell" and knew I was in a world of hurt. In my mind I immediately cancelled that Mandalay Bay burger. After She finished her counting, she immediately said "Oh" and then asked the dealer how much she could bet. When the dealer told her that this was a limit game and the most she could bet is $8 she seemed disappointed, but threw the chips into the pot. By this time, almost everyone at the table was laughing, including myself, but even though I knew I was beat, I threw in the $8 to call. Sure enough, she had the 8-9 for the straight. As she was raking in the pot she looked at me and said: "those picture cards sometimes get me confused." At that point, I did lose it and all I could say to her through the howls of laughter was: "Good hand mam, good hand".

"Reading" A Player

2005-02-24T12:21:00.000-08:00

Recently a friend and I were discussing our experiences at the poker table, specifically our adventures in low-limit hold-em games. Based upon the ever increasing number of new players, playing in a low-limit games (4-8 or lower) has become a true adventure and is definitely not for the weak of heart. My friend's recent experience in playing in such a low-limit hold-em game gave me reason to pause and reflect on a growing trend of behavior found predominately in these low-limit games. My conclusion was: "he was darn right!"

That growing trend centers around the concept of "reading other players." This concept is often heard from commentators discussing hands played on T.V. It often goes something like this: "so-an-so definitely has a 'read' on what's-his-face." Usually the successful "reading" of another player means that you have correctly figured out the reasons behind a particular action the other player has taken; whether he is bluffing or he really does have an excellant hand (possibly even the nuts.)

As I previously stated: my friend became involved in this particular hand in a 4-8 game at the Golden Nugget. He was in the big blind. There was your typical 7-way action before the flop with no raises, so he was able to limp in. The flop came A-9-3, all clubs. Everyone checked, and the turn came the 4 of diamonds. Again everyone checked and the river came the 7 of clubs. That made 4 clubs on board. The betting went: check, check, check, an announcement of "Oh, what the hell, I bet $8," fold, fold, fold, "I raise to $16" this coming from the small blind, who checked and raised, usually indicating a pretty strong hand. My friend, who had the Jack of clubs, correctly surmised that neither one of these players were bluffing and since he only had $4 invested in the pot and he could be beaten if either of them had the K or Q of clubs, he folded. The original bettor immediately called. The check raiser laid down his hand which included the 10 of clubs, the other player laid down his cards showing 2 pairs (9s and 7s), and stating he had to bet and call because he had 2 pair.

What is really scarey about this hand is that my friend correctly surmised that neither one of these players were bluffing (they both thought they had "great hands,") and he lost. They both were suffering from what I like to call: "tunnel vision." All they could see is what they had, and not any other possibilities. He was convinced, and so am I, that the only hands they could see on board were theirs. My friend made the mistake of telling the guy next to him: "good raise, you knocked me out with the winner." The guy looked at him as if he had 2 heads and said: "you folded a flush?" Right then and there, he knew it would be fruitless to try and explain his actions to someone so clueless.

The moral to this story is: "What good is it to correctly "read" another player's hand when not only is he reading another book, but it is in a different language."

Gossip: Such an Ugly Word

2005-02-22T13:30:00.000-08:00

You know, far be it from me to spread idle gossip; I perfer to consider what I'm about to do as sharing vital information with my readers of what is about to happen in Vegas. After all, when I started out on this mission one of the goals I set for myself was to keep my readers well-informed .... errrr .... well I might not have used those exact words in my introduction blog, but that's what I was thinking .... honest.

It has come to my attention from a friend of a friend who is in the "business," who actually showed me a business card of ..... you get the idea ... I hate to bore you with the tedious and cumbersome methods we "serious" journalists use in tracking down our stories; instead, let us just say that what I'm about to tell you: "came from a very reliable source." Sometime this year, in the soon to be opened Wynn Resort, the Ultimate Poker Hold-em Tournament will be held. It will be limited to 20 players, each paying an entry fee of one million dollars. (that's right $1,000,000 in cash) It has been reported to me that 19 of the 20 spots have already been taken.

As of this date, that is all the information I have. Which naturally only brings up more questions, such as:
1.) Why limit it to only 20 players?
2.) What will the payout be? Will it be winner take-all or will 19 out of 20 share in the prize pool?
3.) How much contol will the Wynn Resort have in running the tournament? Or are they just supplying the venue?

Rest assured, as soon as answers to these and possibly other questions are obtained, I will share these rumors .... errrrr ... I mean facts, with my readers. In the meantime I want my readers to know that: " I, VegasSheep, in keeping with the high standards and practices of American Journalism feel it is more important to be the first to report a story (even if later it is proven false) than to wait and be burdened down with cumbersome facts and confirmations."

Now .... For the Other Shoe

2005-02-21T07:49:00.000-08:00

Remember in my previous blog I stated that currently in Vegas you can see and experience at least 2, 3, possibly even more really "bone head" plays during almost every session of playing poker, (especially in low-limit games.) Well this discussion is going to center around the second "bone-head" ("B-H" for short) play I was involved in during that same tournament. For those of you not paying attention: as the result of the first "B-H" play, I effectively doubled-up my chips. As the result of this second "B-H" play .... well .... ahhhh .... let us just say .... it did not meet with the same desired result as the first one. In fact, we could say: "it knocked me out of the @#$% tournament."

About an hour after "B-H" play no. 1, I had made it to the final table with exactly $1,800 in chips. Out of the final 10 players, 2 players had the majority of chips evenly split between them. Seven of us had roughly between $1,500 and $2,500, and one player was short stacked with less chips then the big blind ante. We were at the $200-$400 blind no-limit level. I was fortunate enough that my seat position was directly behind the 2 chip leaders. By this time, Ms Clueless from my previous post was long gone.

At the very first hand of the final table, I was in late position. The player in the third position made the minimum raise of $400 to a total of $800 bet. All the other players including the 2 chip leaders folded when it came my turn to act. There was only one player (the button) behind me. I looked at my cards and had A-Q. I had been playing with the original raiser at the previous table, and felt I had a pretty good read on how he played. I correctly assumed my A-Q was the better hand before the flop, so I went "over-the-top" and pushed all-in with my $1,800 in chips. The button (a player who I hadn't played against) almost beat me into the pot with his stack of chips. Naturally, he had me covered with $2,000 in chips. The blinds and the original raiser both folded. That left me all-in and heads-up with Mr. "Rocks for Brains" ( R-B for short). Since there was no more betting, I rolled over my cards and showed my A-Q. To my surprise and delight R-B showed his A-2 of diamonds. Need I say more. The Poker Gods, in their infinite wisdom, immediately laid down a deuce on the flop. Naturally, nothing else of consequence appeared on the board and R-B won the pot with a pair of 2's.

What makes this hand even harder to comprehend than his calling with an A-2, is the speed and ease that R-B had in making the call. He did not even take into consideration the fact that the pot had been raised not once, but twice before it was his turn to act. Did he not think that he might not have the best hand before the flop, when he effectively risked all his chips with an A-2? And please, please, I beg you, don't dare say: "but they were suited."

So as R-B was raking in the chips (confident in his own little poker hold-em world that he had just made one heck of a play) I was reduced to a blithering idiot as I left the table muttering: "nice hand sir, nice hand."

Forgive Them .... For They Know Not What They Do

2005-02-19T11:12:00.000-08:00

You know, I hate to sound like a "know-it-all," but the general level of play at the poker table (especially in the low-limit games) has gone down hill so dramatically over the past year or so it has actually become scarey. Where once in the past you would occasionally see a really bone head play: now, not only is it an every day occurrence, but you can see them occurring 2,3, even more times every session. I'm not talking questionable plays where you can discuss the pros and cons of a particular move, I'm talking major league dumb moves. Although I have never considered myself more than an average good journeyman player, some of these novices make me look like the second comimg of Stu Unger (three-time World Poker Champion.)

The latest of my almost sad (if it wasn't so funny) but true tales occurred a couple of days ago in a hold-em tournament at the Gold Coast. It is a small entry fee tournament, whose format is: the 1st hour limit, then no-limit thereafter, with the blinds going up every 20 minutes. Once again I was to the immediate left of a novice player. She not only couldn't find 2 cards in her hand she didn't like, but once the flop came down she would almost always have the perfect match. Needless to say, that despite her play she had managed to accumulate a pretty healthy amount of chips.

We were at the 50-100 blind limit with time quickly running out, and the blinds soon going up to 100-200. I had exactly $725 in tournament chips, and was in 3rd position. I looked at my hole cards and had pocket 3's. I figured it was useless to just call, I had to raise or fold. I chosed the former, and raised to $200. Everyone dropped except for the big blind who called the $100 raise. The flop came 9-8-3. I thought to myself: "now that's a fair flop for my hand." Ms. Clueless checked, and I sensing a chance to trap and thus possibly maximizing my return, also checked. The turn came another 9 and Ms. Clueless bet $200. I paused for dramatic effect, then raised with my full house $200 for a total bet of $400. To my delight Ms. C immediately called, I quickly had visions of doubling up. But not so fast, the poker Gods still had one more card to play: the turn came another 9. My almost sure winner of 3's full of 9's, suddenly became 9's full of @#$% 3's. Ms. C immediately bet $200. With only $125 left, and the blinds going up to 100-200 the next hand, it was a no-brainer, I was pot committed. I tossed in my remaining $125, turned over my pocket 3's, while giving the dealer "the LOOK." You know, that look that signifies to the dealer: it was all his fault that you are going down in flames. That somehow he willed that 3rd 9 to appear on the board. However, to my surprise, no make that shock, Ms. C says: "you win," while laying down her pocket 2's.

Some of you might think that she made a good play. True enough, the only way she could have won that pot was to bet. But she had to realize that with only $125 left in tournament chips, I was pot committed. There was no-way I was going to throw away that hand unless I was on a stone-cold bluff, in which case her pocket 2's would have held up, and she did not have to bet.

Although I have told you in the past that one of my Cardinal rules at the table is never comment another person's play, the urge to speak was to great. However, I was in a perplexing situation: I couldn't give my standard reply; "Good hand sir, good hand" because she wasn't a sir and I won the pot. Also, I couldn't give my alternate response of: Nice frontal lobes mam, nice lobes, because there wasn't. So, knowing the dealer and he knowing that I write a blog, I politely asked the dealer Steven if he spelled his first name with a "v" or "ph." At that point he "lost it" and it took him another full hand before he completely regained his composure.

Dealers, Toking, & Promotions

2005-02-18T07:02:00.000-08:00

In the last few blogs I have at one time or another mentioned the 3 topics in the title of this blog. Each of them in their on way help to contribute to the rich and rewarding experience of casino poker. (I know what you're thinking .... even I think I'm laying it on too thick .... my only excuse is I just saw our mayor, Oscar on T.V. and this warm fuzzy feeling came over me with regards to this town.)

About a month ago, I was directly involved in a hand that encompasses all three topics. I was playing in a 4-8 hold-em game at Mandalay Bay. My favorite dealer in that poker room was "in the box" (dealing). In fact, she is my favorite dealer in this town, and is the main reason why I play at Mandalay Bay as often as I do.

Like all good hold-em stories, mine starts with: "here I was in early position with pocket Aces."

Writer's Note: There is much debate over when or if a player should raise before the flop with a high pocket pair. My opinion is that the way the game is evolving with more and more novice players participating, it is almost always in your best interest to raise when you think you have the best hand. In most cases you will get at least 1 or 2 players who will call and try to chase you down. Your best move then is to make their chase as expensive as possible so in the (hopeful)event that they fail, you are rewarded with a larger pot. Of course this logic doesn't always work (remember if you are favored to win a pot lets say 60% of the time, 40% of the time you're gonna be drawn out on.) In which case you can always fall back on my favorite saying: "good hand sir, good hand."

So, in this particular case I raised the $2 big blind to $6 with my pocket Aces. I immediately got 2 callers, in addition to the big blind calling. Making the pot total $25 including the $1 from the small blind. The flop came A-A-5. BINGO!!! In all my years of playing hold-em, I think this was the first time I ever flopped a bonus high hand. I have had a few other high hands in my career, but they were almost always caught on the turn or river. (I have never gotten one of the 2 large payouts of a "Bad Beat" jackpot.) *Now my next move was questioned by some, but given the makeup of the game I thought it was the right move, and still do.* After the big blind checked, I bet $4 and the other 3 players dropped. But since there was already over $20 in the pot before I made that bet, I won the High Hand Bonus.

The 4 Aces bonus at that time was $296. Since that win met all the requirements that I stated in my previos blog for a large toke, I gave my favorite dealer the highest percentagePtoke I have ever given. After she pushed me the pot, I immediately stacked up all the chips in the pot and pushed them back to her. Meaning that she initially received a $22 toke ($25-$3 house rake.) Plus an additional $21, when I received the high hand bonus amount. So for that one hand dealt she received a total of $43, over 13% of my total winnings for that hand. I guess the planets and moon were aligned just right for her that day. Oh... and for me too.

Toking.... A Dealer's Best Friend

2005-02-16T12:32:00.000-08:00

In my last blog, I ended by stating: "the clincher of the story was that 'Our Hero' only toked the dealer $2. What better lead in can I have for the subject of this blog. Consider this posting just another installment of "VegasSheeps Guide to Poker Room Etiquette." I will endeavor to address the touchy issue of "toking the dealer."

First: for those readers whose only experience with hold-em is what they see on T.V. or on the internet, toking is a "tip" you give the dealer after winning a pot. In low-limit games, the tokes average from 50 cents to a couple of bucks, depending upon the size of the pot and player. There is no mandatory amount, or rule for even toking the dealer. I have seen tokes in a low-limit game range from nothing at all to 10's of dollars. The amount of toke is strictly at the discretion of the player.

Second: A poker dealer is different to other dealers (such as blackjack or craps) in that their tokes usually go directly to them and do not have to be pooled with other dealers. Whereas in craps or blackjack, dealer tokes are pooled together and then divided equally amongst all the dealers on that shift. So in a hold-em game any toke you give a dealer goes directly to that person. This policy can be a "double-edge sword" to the player. In one respect if you wish to reward what you consider an exceptionally good dealer with a bigger toke than you normally give, you know that it will all go directly to that dealer. However, it can also hurt the game if a dealer is more concerned about not antagonizing (that's pissing-off in poker room terminology) a player thus possibly jeopardizing his toke, than "running" the game properly. You would be surprised how many dealers I see who let rule infractions slide when it's against a potentially good toker.

However generally speaking, I have found that most good dealers remain good dealers regardless of who is toking, and bad dealers unfortunately just remain bad.

My personal approach to toking follows 4 general guidelines: the size of the pot; the dealer's overall approach to the game (the better I perceive his/her handling of the game, the better the toke;) the personality of the dealer (let's face it, the more I like you, the bigger the toke;) and finally how well I'm doing in the game (if I'm on a roll and winning like crazy, that dealer is going to get a big toke regardless of the other 3 factors.) Generally in a low-limit game, with a few exceptions I toke in the 50 cents to 2 dollar range. Call me a softy, but I can count on my hand the number of times I purposely stiffed a dealer. And then only when he or she did something really bad to piss me off.

Like I said, these are only general guidlines and then only for hands that involve winning only the pot, and not some special promotion (which will be explained on a later date) The more a person plays in a game, the more comfortable he or she becomes with the concept of toking. In the meantime, most dealers welcome a few "regulars" to the game so the new players to casino poker (you know the ones with lots of disposable income) quickly become familiar with the concept of "toking."

"Too Many Clovers"

2005-02-15T12:14:00.000-08:00

Normally any hand I discuss in this blog I have first hand knowledge of, meaning I was actually a participant of the hand or was there in person to see it. The hand I'm going to discuss now; I was neither. I am usually very cautious when discussing a hand I don't have first hand knowledge of because like most urban legends (Vegas kind) they usually start with: "I know a guy, who knows a guy, who's ex-brother-in-law, actually knew someone who worked in the casino where the alleged incident occurred." Like the one that goes: "they had to call security to break up a fight where the husband was pounding on the wife because she didn't have the maximum amount of coins in the slot machine when the "Megabucks" jackpot hit.

Writer's Note: Although I do NOT condone violence in any form, (especially between husband and wife) if the story is true I don't think mandatory sterlization of the offending party is to harsh of a punishment. Anyone dumb enough to play a Megabucks slot machine without depositing enough money to get paid off the full amount, doesn't deserve the right to breed and therefore possibly damaging the future gene pool.

However, this particular hand was verified by 3 different sources: one was the dealer who actually dealt "the hand," the second was from a player who was at the table when "the hand" was played, and the third was also a dealer who was working the floor and came running when the whole table burst-out laughing. "The Hand" occurred over Super Bowl weekend in a 4-8 hold-em game. It was your typical holiday tourist low-limit game, where you had 5 or 6 players who's only experience with the game is what they had seen on T.V. or played on the internet. In addition, the game was in a high-end resort where most of the players had lots of disposable income. It was not uncommon to see 6 or 7 players in the pot before the flop, even if there were 1 or 2 raises.

"The Hand" started out like most of them did in this game, with a raise and 7 people in before the flop. "Our Hero" was in late position, and all through the hand he would be the last to act. The flop came: Q-7-3, all clubs. There was 4-way action, including a raise and re-raise after the flop. "Our Hero" just called the whole time. The turn came the K of Diamonds. Once again there was a bet and 2 raises, and again "Our Hero" only called. The river came the 4 of clubs. With 4 clubs on the board, everyone checked including "Our Hero" who was the last to act. When it came time to lay down the hands, the guy in first position thought he had won with his pair of 10's, with the ten of clubs giving him a flush. As the dealer was getting ready to almost push him the pot, "Our Hero" laid down his 5-6 of clubs face-up on the table while saying: "I knew there was too many clovers on board."

What makes this hand really scary and funny (to everyone with the possible exception, of the smuck with the 10 of clubs) is that by all accounts, he was dead serious. He did not even see his straight flush, and if he hadn't turn over his cards and the dealer call his hand he would have lost the pot. (In most casinos in Vegas, especially in low-limit games, the cards read .... meaning if you turn them over in front of you anyone can read your hand.) In this particular case, not only did he win a pot of around $150, the hand occurred at Mandalay Bay and he also won a High Hand jackpot of $500.

This hand is just an example of what you are hearing more and more around Las Vegas these days. Most of the stories are pretty funny, unless they happen while you are involved in the pot. The clincher to this story is that even though it was the dealers quick action that made "Our Hero" the winner, and that he was subtly reminded by a number of players at the table "not to forget the dealer." He only toked her $2 for the entire hand, including both the pot and bonus.

Limp Right In

2005-02-13T10:38:00.000-08:00

Based upon the request(s) from the deluge of responses from my previous post (hey... in my little delusional blog world, more than 1 comment constitutes a "deluge"), I have decided to focus this blog on defining some of the most oftenly used terms uttered over a casino poker room table. Who knows, if this feature is met with an overwhelming positive response it may be the cornerstone of a future book entitled: "VegasSheep's Handy Dandy Guide to Poker Room Terminology." Can anyone else sense a slot opening up on the New York Times Best Seller list for such a book? (You know being delusional ain't half bad.)

The following (in no particular order) are a few of the most often heard phrases:

Limping In (limpin' in): Despite what some might think, this term is not used in a negative way to describe a player's physical trait as he approaches his seat at the poker table. It is used to describe a player who calls an opening bet (usually the amount of the big blind) with a marginal or sometimes even worse hand to see a flop in hopes of getting lucky and catching that "miracle flop." A miracle flop meaning catching 3 cards that fit perfectly with your 2 hole cards. Such as holding 7-6, and the flop coming 8-5-4. You will normally see this move in a pot with an above average amount of players in at the minimum bet, or more typically in a no-limit game where for the cost of a big blind a player can see the flop, catch that miracle, and hopefully get paid off handsomely.

String Bet: Although this phrase may be define slightly different in some casinos, the reason for not allowing this move is universal. A player should not gain an unfair advantage over another by faking a bet or raise by sound or motion. Considerate it the equivalent of the illegal balk in major league baseball. In my opinion, this is the unintentinal move most frequently made by first time casino poker room players. In some ways, this action does not surprise me. If a first time player watches almost any movie about poker, he or she will see a string bet performed and not called. The few times I have seen parts of the ESPN series "Tilt" the main character, "The Matador" has been guilty of such a move. In fact in one scene I saw our hero move in a stack of chips while saying "I call," then reach back to his chips and push out another stack while saying: "and raise (x) amount of dollars." While this move may be fine for a T.V. drama, I guarantee you that in 99.9% of the casinos in Las Vegas it would be called a string bet and not be allowed. In this case "The Matador" was guilty of 2 infractions. First, by saying "I call" all further announcements are considered mute. Meaning that once a player announces his intentions verbally at the table, he cannot change or modify them later. So, if he had wanted to raise at that particular time he should have just said "raise," not "call" and then "raise" Because once he said "call" he was locked in to that play. The second infraction he was guilty of was the handling of his chips. Once he pushed in a stack of chips and released them, he was committed to that amount. (or in the case of a bet made before his motion, the amount of the original bet if his stack was slightly over or under that bet) He could not later reach back to his chips and move in another stack for a raise.

These are but just two of the many different phrases heard at or around a casino poker table. At a later date I promise to define other commonly heard phrases, such as "the nuts," "ship it," and the always colorful and popular "you @#$% moron."

A Tale of Two Hands

2005-02-11T12:13:00.000-08:00

This blog will concern my recent experience in playing in a 2-5 blind no-limit game at the Aladdin. While I was checking out the room in preparation of writing a review, I started watching the 2-5 no-limit game. After observing the game for a short while it became apparent that the game included 2 possibly 3 novice players with deep pockets. As I mentioned in the previous blog, just the type of no-limit game I felt the most comfortable in. There was one seat open, and I immediately bought in for the maximum buy-in amount: $300.

During my session at the table, there were only 2 hands that I was involved in that had a considerable amount of money in the pot. Both of them involved me misreading the other players cards. That is, putting my opponent on a weaker hand than he really had. What makes this significant is not only was I in the big blind for both of these pots, but that a player of my experience and expertise could possibly misread 2 hands so badly in the same session.

(Writer's Note: Another added bonus I have quickly found out in writing your on blog is that: you can have these occasional delusions of grandeur and not be any worse for it)

The first hand came early in the session. The hand was dealt, and a player in middle position made a raise of $15 to a total of $20. There were 2 additional callers when the action came to me. I then looked at my cards, and called the additional $15 with A-J suited. The flop came J-8-3, all different suites. I checked, and the original raiser bet $25. The other players dropped, and then it was my turn to act. I saw by his stack that he had about $70 in chips left. I thought for a second and figured by his bet that my Jacks with an Ace kicker was the best hand. So I raised $50, hoping to end the game right then and there before I might be drawn out on. He immediately pushed in his entire stack, and my equally immediate reaction was: "oh Sh*t" I knew then and there that I got trapped. I already had $95 invested in the pot, so for an extra $20 I called in hopes of getting lucky. I didn't .... He had Queens .... I lost $115.

The second hand (with a much happier ending) came about 45 minutes later. I had played a few hands since that previous hand, stole a few blinds, and had a little over $200 in chips. Again, I was the big blind, and a couple of players including the button called for $5. Small blind raised to a total of $25. I looked at my hole cards and had A-K. I correctly surmised that the other 2 players were just trying to limp in and would fold regardless of the action I took. So liking the position I would be in with only myself and the small blind in the pot, I called. Sure enough, the other 2 players folded. The flop came 9-7-3, different suites. Small blind thought for awhile, and then pushed in a stack of chips into the pot. Then he returned to his original stack and pushed his remaining larger amount of chips into the pot. While all the time not saying a word. I waited patiently for the dealer to act before responding. When the dealer started breaking down the other players chips to let me know how much it would cost to act (even though he obviously had me out chipped), I immediately spoke. I told the dealer in as calm and pleasant voice as I could: "Don't you think that last move may have been a string bet?" Immediately 3 other players at the table also verified my assertion of his obvious string bet.

***What really irritates me about this occurence is not that the other players didn't say anything sooner (in fact, I believe that they did absolutely the right thing of not speaking before the challenge, since they were not directly involved in the pot) , but the @#$% dealer's action, or lack there of. It is up to the dealer to contol the game, and that means be at least familiar with all the rules. He is the one that should have immediately called the string bet, not another player. Not only would the game run smoother, but it would also prevent possible hard feelings (justified or not) amongst the players.***

So after settling the dispute over the string bet, it was determined that it would cost me $100 to call the bet. With only $25 invested in the pot which up until his bet was only $60, I would not normally call such a relatively large bet on just a draw, regardless of how good my hole cards were. But having watch this player for almost an hour, I really thought that my A-K was the best hand. So I called. The turn came an Ace. He checked, and I pushed in my remaining $75 in chips with one motion. He yelled that by I not announcing an all-in bet before I made the motion, that I too was guilty of a string bet. All I could do was shake my head and say that it was not, and let the other people at the table explain the situation to him. All the time the @#$% dealer was in his own little private "la la land" and didn't say a word. He eventually called, and the river came a 4. I won the pot with Aces, as he turned up his pocket Queens.

A short time after that hand, the player who made the string bet left the table with his remaining chips, muttering on how some smart-ass local stole his money. The game gradually went downhill after that and I too, soon left. What is really sad about this story ( errrr.... not the part about me having a $200+ winning session) is that there really wasn't any need for there to be any hard feelings if only the dealer had done his job.

"Live" at the Aladdin

2005-02-10T13:21:00.000-08:00

In addition to playing in their morning tournament, I have also played in "live" games at the Aladdin. Although their stated policy is to spread not only hold-em, but Omaha and 7 card stud, the few times I was there they only had hold-em games. They will spread almost any limit of hold-em game with enough player interest. Starting as low as 2-4. They will also spread 2 types of no-limit hold-em game. One is with a $1 and $2 blind, with a minimum $40 to maximum $100 buy-in. The minimum $40 buy-in for a no-limit game is the smallest I have seen here in Vegas. The other no-limit hold-em game is with a $2 and $5 blind, with a minimum $100 to maximum $300 buy-in.

In all of these games mentioned, the house rake is 10% up to a maximum of $4. In addition to this rake, the house will also take out up to an additional $1 per pot for their High Hand Jackpot. Making the total rake for most pots $5, a pretty hefty sum even for upscale Vegas hotel standards. (@#$%, and all this time I thought the coffee and donuts were free)

A couple of interesting points regarding how the Aladdin runs their High Hand Jackpots. While most casinos put a cap on how high a jackpot for a particular hand can grow, except for Royal Flush jackpots which are almost always unlimited and continue to grow until hit. The Aladdin poker room caps all it's jackpots (including Royals) at $699. Which incidently is the maximum amount of money a poker room can give out to a player without filing a Federal Income Tax form.

The other peculiar thing that I have found only the Aladdin doing with regards to their High Hand Jackpots is that all games spread, regardless of their limits, is eligible for the High Hand Jackpot. Meaning that even in their no-limit hold-em games, an extra $1 per pot is taken out of almost every pot.

That is a pretty stiff rake to beat for most games. And normally I would never recommend a room with this type of rake. but what makes this room more attractive than other rooms with similar (such as the Rio) or even better rakes is the makeup of the game. First: the room itself is top notch. Second; the personal (dealers and floormen) in the room are above average. And finally: the make-up of players in the game (at least in the games I played in) has just about the right amount of mix of good to bad players. When I play in a no-limit game I perfer to sit at a table with no more than 2 or 3 ..... ahhhh..... let us say, "novice players" Anymore than that, the game becomes more like a crap shoot. You can't make a "move" on anyone, and all you can hope for is that when you do get a good hand, it will hold up. It also helps that if those 2 or 3 "novice players" have lots of disposable income. Which was the case when I played at the Aladdin.

The Aladdin .... Mint Factor: 3 Stars

2005-02-09T10:16:00.000-08:00

Before I start my review of yet another poker room opening in Las Vegas, I should explain what is meant by the "Mint Factor." The Mint Factor is another feature I will use in measuring the overall "atmosphere" of a poker room. It is based on a sliding scale of 0 to 4 stars. With 0 being the worse and 4 being the best. This scale was developed by me, and is based on my many years of playing experience in casino poker rooms. Although to complicated and precise to explain in this blog, I will endeavor to try and give a full explanation of the formula used in determining the rating in a future blog. Let us just say for the time being that the cocktail waitress and her uniform weigh heavily in the formula.

As I did with my review of the poker room at Mandalay Bay, my review of the new poker room at the Aladdin will be divided into 2 separate blogs. This blog will concentrate on the tournaments and room, while the next on the "live" action. The poker room at the Aladdin opened a few months ago and is situated in a separate area, which was once reserved for "high limit" games and slots. It consists of 12 tables that are comfortably spaced. There is plenty of room for seating and you do not get that "cramped in feeling" as you might in way to many other casino rooms. Also while I was there, they had a separate area set up with free coffee and donuts/rolls. (An added bonus for any former policemen reading this blog). This was especially appreciated, since the room is located almost directly across from the casino coffee shop where you can go and get a bowl of cereal for $6.95 (a far cry from the $1.99 bacon and egg special offered at the Cannery Casino)

The Aladdin offers 2 daily tournaments from Monday through Thursday. One at 10 am, the other at 1 pm. I recently played in the 10 am tournament. It is a no-limit, freeze-out (meaning no add-ons or rebuys) hold-em tournament. Effectively for an entry fee of $30 (of which $20 goes to the prize pool, $5 to the house, and $5 to the dealers) a player receives $1,500 in tournament chips. The blinds start at $25-50. The tournament I played in had 103 entrants, consisting of 90 original players at 9 tables and 13 alternates. Although only 67% of the entry fee goes to the prize pool, the overall above-average skill of the dealers and the comfort of the room itself, makes for an above-average tournament experience. Especially for those players who play tournaments on an occassional basis for the enjoyment of the game. For those players who primarially play tournaments to make money, this tournament would not be for you. Although come to think of it, if your primary purpose of playing tournaments is to make money: why would you even bother with this small entry fee tournament to begin with?

Although I have yet to play in the 1 pm tournament, I have heard it is similar in structure to the 10 am tournament. With the notable exceptions that: the original buy-in is for $40, with one rebuy of $1,000 in tournament chips for $20.

In my next blog I will concentrate on the "live" games at the Aladdin, and my experience in playing in one of them.

The Power of the Press ... errr ... make that Blog

2005-02-08T13:39:00.000-08:00

Over the past weekend I have become aware of a couple of interesting developements. It seems that 2 casinos have recently changed policies concerning their poker rooms. What makes these changes of particular interest (especially to my avid readers) is that both of theses changes occurred literally only days after the prior policies were criticized in my blog.

The first, although minor, occurred at the Gold Coast. They have increased the seating for their morning tournament from 2 tables to 3 tables (sometimes 4, depending upon the amount of dealers they have scheduled). While still allowing alternates to be seated within the first hour. This change occurred only days after I criticized them for having only 2 tables for their morning tournament.

The second change, of even more importance, is the change of policy at Palace Station. Their poker room going back to as far as I can remember, has always allowed smoking. As of February 1st of this year, the whole room has gone non-smoking. This change coming literally y days after I strongly criticized their policy of having 1 or 2 tables of non-smoking players. While still allowing smoking at the rest of their tables, in a room that is notorious for its poor air circulation.

To some these changes may seem only coincidental. But, even though I'm basically a shy modest individual who hates "blowing his own horn" I would be remissed in my duties by not pointing out that both of these changes occurred only after I wrote about them in my blog. I like to think that in some small way my reputation for "fair and balance" reporting had a hand in making these changes. Eat your heart out Bill O'Reilly. I like to see one of your commentaries cause this quick of a reaction.

Super Bowl Break's Over

2005-02-07T07:57:00.000-08:00

As you are aware, I haven't written a blog in a few days. Spent a little extra time playing poker and enjoying some of the special festivities found in this town during Super Bowl weekend. It is probably one of the busiest times of year in Vegas. The hotels on the strip are booked from 95 to 100% capacity. The poker rooms are usually filled to capacity the entire weekend. You would be surprised how many Moneymaker/Raymer (the 03 and 04 WSOP Champions) "wannabes" there are out there. It makes for a very interesting time to be playing "live." For "regular" players, you wait for weekends like this. Because of the proportionally higher amounts of beginning and/or novice players involved in the average game, the opportunity to win is proportionally higher. The downside of this equation is that you will probably need a proportionally higher amount of antiacids to get through a session. But if a good solid player can stay patient and play long enough (to weather the natural swings), the odds should be in your favor. Heck, if I can win during this period: my theory must be true.

WRITER'S NOTE: The astute reader may have noticed I used the phrase, "Super Bowl Weekend." You would be surprised of how many casinos in town would not dare be as bold. It seems that the heads of the NFL have determined that the prime showcase for professional football and Las Vegas should not be "mentioned" in the same breath. It appears that they have the foolish impression that people actually bet on their games. Imagine that. At least that is the reason they give for no longer allowing Vegas casinos to promote the event the way it has done in the past. Now, through their "copywrite" provisions the NFL has put tight restrictions on how casinos can market the game. Including, how they can advertise it, how they can televise it, even the size of the screen they can use to show it. So under the threat of major lawsuits, casinos are being very careful on how they promote "The Final Game." They can't even use the name: Super Bowl. So after making your bet, you might as well play poker.

Etiquette: Not Just Another Fancy French Word

2005-02-03T13:55:00.000-08:00

This blog was inspired by a recent incident. It made me aware just how important proper etiquette is in making a poker game an enjoyable experience. (Although if you get "hit by the deck" and are winning tons of money ...... @#$% etiquette) But if you are not, I would like to share with you some helpful hints of what not to do at the poker table. These hints were compiled by me from my many years of watching other players conduct (usually after they did something that I was guilty of doing myself) and seeing what @#$% jerks they were. I will discuss them individually as the time arises. They will not be in any particular order.

Writer's Note: Who knows, if this feature catches on I may collect all of them and write a book on the subject. Then go on EBAY and sell them. Make lots of money. Become rich and marry one of the Palm twins....( hey, I can dream can't I)

Anyway, the incident I referred to happened to me just recently. After waiting awhile for a game, I was seated in a low level hold-em game. Immediately to my right was sitting a young sweet looking thing. (The only woman at the table) Instantly, I knew that she was the most intelligent person at the table. This observation came from my many years of "reading" players at the poker table. Also, it didn't hurt that she had a great pair of frontal lobes, and as we all know: large frontal lobes are a sure sign of superior intelligence. (by making the men at the table act like @#$% morons) It also didn't hurt that she wasn't a bit shy in showing off her pair of amble "signs of intelligence." It also became quickly obvious from her play that she was not only a first time casino poker room player, but she was new to the game.

*****At this time, I should state one of my Cardinal rules when playing poker in a casino: "Never, and I mean never, comment on another player's hand while at the table. For one thing it's just "bad manners." But more importantly if the player in question made such a bad play that it merits a comment , the last thing you want to do is tip him off. You hope that the @#$% moron keeps playing just like he is, because in the long run the odds should catch up to him. At least you hope so. That is why I have become so efficient at saying: "Nice hand sir, nice hand." Although admittedly (especially after a really bad beat) it is sometimes said through clenched teeth.*****

About 30 minutes into the game: the hand that brought on all this rambling occurred. Me and Frontal Lobes (FL for short) were in late position. Before the flop there was a raise, FL called and I immediately folded my J-5, even though they were suited (calm down, calm down.. I was only joking) In total there were 4 players still in before the flop. The flop comes 8S-8C-3H. The original raiser bet, and only FL called. They were heads up, and the turn comes a 3D. The original raiser bets again, and FL goes into panic mode. She leans over, flashes me her cards, and gives me that look ( like a deer caught in front of your headlights ) that is just begging the question: "What do I do now?" I see what she has (and also her cards), and it took all my will power not to say a thing. Finally she calls and the turn comes a 4. Again there is a bet, she thinks even longer this time, then calls. The other player shows his pocket Aces, and she rejectively lays down her pocket 2's face-up on the table. That's right, pocket 2's!!!! There was stunned silence at the table. She finally says: "I had to call, I had a pocket pair." At this point I broke my Cardinal rule, I politely told her: "I had a better chance of having a 3 way with the Palm Girl twins then she had in winning that hand with a simple call." The more I tried to explain the futility of her play, the more defensive and argumentative she became, while all the time saying "but I had a pocket pair" Blowing all chances I had of making her the next Mrs. VegasSheep.

Hopefully this experience will make me a stronger, better person by reinforcing my original believe that you should never, ever comment on another players hand while at the poker table. From now on when commenting on someone else's cards I will try only to say: "nice hand sir, nice hand" or in the case of FL: "nice frontal lobes mam, nice lobes."

Promotions

2005-02-02T14:20:00.000-08:00

Despite what a person may think who's only exposure to hold-em is what they see on television, the majority of "live" hold-em games spread in Las Vegas casinos are in the 2-4 to 10-20 betting range. With the exception of a couple of casinos who cater to the high limit player, the majority of poker rooms target this type of player. With this objective in mind, many casinos try to lure these players to their rooms with promotions promising the possibilty of a big payout from a small outlay. Typically a player can get into a game with an amount 10 times greater then the minimum bet. For as little as $20, a player can get into a 2-4 hold-em game. (Far from the televised $10,000 buy-in tournaments.)

While playing in a 2-4 game, the player has the possibilty of not only winning money in the game, but also getting a bonus for a particular hand or combination of hands. These bonuses can range from $20 to tens of thousands of dollars. The two most popular card room promotions in Vegas are "The Bad Beat" jackpot, and "The High Hand" bonus. Although different, both of these promotions have one thing in common: a player must use both of his or her hole cards to make the winning hand. (and also the losing hand when going for the bad beat jackpot.) The player must be holding a pair in order to qualify for 4 of a kind. If the board has three 8's, and you are holding the 4th 8, you will probably win the pot, but you would not qualify for a bonus under either type of promotion. In this particular case, you would need a pair of 8's in your hand while the other 2 were on board to qualify.

The easist promotion to explain is the "High Hand" bonus. Under this promotion a player will win a bonus by getting a high hand, usually 4 of a kind or better. (remember the player must use both of his hole cards in making the high hand). The bonus could range from $20 to thousands of dollars depending on how often that particular bonus hand hits. Typically there is a limit (usually $500) on how high the bonus can get for a partcular hand. The exception to this rule is a royal flush. Those are differentiated by suits, and will continue to increase until they are hit. One rule to be aware of with this type of promotion is that there has to be a minimum amount of money in the pot (usually $20) in order to qualify.

Under "The Bad Beat" jackpot promotion, a combination of 2 hands in a particular pot is needed to win the bonus. The winning hand, usually 4 of a kind or better, and a losing hand of Aces full of 10's (or some other combination, depending on the casino) or better. Because of the likelyhood of this event occuring, the jackpots for this type of promotion are almost always higher. It is not uncommon to see this type of jackpot being in the 10's of thousands of dollars. When the jackpot hits, the payout is usually: 40 to 50% for the losing hand, 20 to 25% for the winning hand, and the remainder is equally divided among the other players at the table. The Station casinos run a variation of this game that is tied into all of it's properties that have poker rooms. The jackpot for their promotion starts at a minimum $100,000 (of which the maximum losers share is $35,000) and when it hits, all players in a similar game at anyone of their poker rooms shares in the jackpot.

The casino loves these promotions because the larger their jackpot grows, the more customers it attracts. While all the while it is these very customers that pay for the promotion. As I have mentioned in previous posts, casinos set up a separate rake (usually up to a maximum of $1 per pot) to fund these promotions. That is why only players in "live" games with this rake are eligible for these types of promotions. With the possible exception of the chance that a jackpot may be hit when a casino initially sets up the promotion, the casino runs no risk of losing money. The upside for the casinos is it's more than likely increase of revenue due to the increased traffic.

In fact, a whole new subculture of poker player has developed because of these promotions. They are called: "jackpot chasers" They go from casino to casino chasing the largest jackpots in town. They are pretty easy to spot. You can usually find them mutterng to each other on how close they came at such and such a place to hitting the jackpot if that @#$% dealer had just turned over a particular card. Also their clothes are wrinkled as if they had slept in them, and they are usually unshaven. I won't even mention how the men look.

Mandalay Bay Revisted

2005-02-01T13:22:00.000-08:00

As I previously stated: this blog is going to comment on the "live" games at Mandalay Bay. The first thing you should know about the room is that the poker room manager runs a "tight ship." In fact it has often been said (almost exclusively by me) that: "it is the only poker room in Vegas where you need Cliff notes to get through all the rules." Don't get me wrong, this is not necessarily a bad thing. It makes for a more pleasant environment, especially for the novice player, by not allowing bad behavior or players trying to make "moves." For any novice player: a "move" as described in this context is when one player tries to gain information about another player's hand by let us say, less than "ethical" methods. Mostly by chip manipulation, such as the motioning of chips towards the pot in the form of a "string" bet. (Some of these techniques will be discussed in future blogs.) For that reason alone, the Mandalay Bay poker room is a great place to play for a person just starting out. You will find that the rules for poker in a casino may be quite different than in your typical "home" game. And although the rules may vary slightly by casino, at Mandalay Bay you can almost be certain that if there is a rule against some sort of behavior, you will find it there.

The basic games they spread are 4-8 hold-em and an increasingly popular no-limit hold-em game. They will spread on occasion a 6-12 hold-em game, or any other game with enough interest. The rake for the limit hold-em games is 10%, up to a maximum $3 with another $1 going to the "high hand" jackpots. (which will be discussed in the future since my fingers are already getting @#$% tired, and I still got a ways to go on this blog.) In the no limit game, the rake is 10% up to a maximum $4. There is no additional $1 taken for a high-hand jackpot, because there are none in the no-limit games. Instead, the whole $4 goes to the house.

Some points of interst regarding the 4-8 hold-em games: the blinds are only $1-2, and they are all with a half kill. Meaning that if a player wins 2 pots in a row, the game becomes 6-12, with the winning player automatically putting in a blind of $3, regardless of his position. An interesting variation (and not a good one in my opinion) that I have only found at Mandalay Bay is that the person with the $3 blind must act in order, he/she (trying hard to stay politically correct) does not get the option of acting last. The game remains 6-12 until the winning player loses a hand, then it drops back to 4-8.

As far as the no-limit game goes: the mandatory buy-in for that game is $200. No more, no less. A player may buy more chips only up to the level of his initial buy-in. Meaning the most chips a player can have on the table that he has bought, is $200. The thinking behind this rule is to prevent a person from buying alot of chips all at once, and then trying to "run over" the game.

In conclusion: primarially because of it's reputation as a high-end resort, which on the average attracts more tourists with what I like to call: "players with more disposable income." and it's reputation for "protecting" it's customers, the Mandalay Bay poker room is not a bad place to play "live" poker. You usually will be able to find 1 or 2 pretty good hold-em games there. In any event, it beats to heck there tournament games.

"Movin On Up"

2005-01-31T13:57:00.000-08:00

Up until this time with the exception of the Stardust, all my blogs about casino poker rooms have been located on properties off the "Strip." Well this blog (and probably the next few) will be devoted to the games and my experiences in a poker room located in one of the premium, high- end casino/resorts in Vegas, Mandalay Bay. The home of the chic resort, "The Hotel," the musical, "Mama Mia," the "House of Blues," and last but not least, the $90 hamburger. That's right, you heard me (or to be more technical: "you read me,") the $90 hamburger. You can buy this delicacy in a glorified hamburger joint in the shopping mall located between Mandalay Bay and the Luxor. Right down the street is a McDonald's were you can get a quarter pounder with cheese for under 3 bucks. One has sliced truffles, the other sliced pickles. I will leave it up to you to judge which is the better value.

Anyway getting back to Mandalay Bay's poker room, this blog will concentrate on the tournaments held there. Later blogs will concentrate on the policies and "live" games in the room. I feel uniquely qualified to comment on them since up until a few months ago I was a semi-regular there. At least playing 3 to 4 times a week in both tournaments and live. My reasons for stopping to play there, at least semi-regularily, will also be discussed in a future blog. ( you know, I'm starting to get pretty good at this ... just realized how many "teasers" for future blogs I've already dropped.)

All the tournaments at Mandalay Bay are Texas Hold-em Freeze-out (no rebuys or add-ons) tournaments. Meaning once you lose all your chips, your history, your out of there, in other words, you lose. The morning tournament is held Mon. through Fri. at 10 a.m. For a $30 buy-in you get $300 in tournament chips. The structure is similar to the Gold Coast tournament which was previously discussed: where for the first hour it is limit hold-em with the blinds starting at $5-10 and going up every 15 minutes. After the first hour it becomes no-limit, with the blinds continuing to go up every 15 minutes.

This tournament is not very good, or to be more technical: "it sucks." First of all: the tournament is limited to 30 players, and unlike other tournaments with player limits, they do not allow alternates. An alternate being a player who for the same buy-in can enter the tournament as a replacement if an original player is knocked out before a certain amount of time (usually the 1st break, or if there is no break, the 1st hour.) Because of the popularity of both the game and casino, the tournaments usually fill up very quickly. Sign-ups start for the morning tournament at 7 a.m. and it is not uncommon for them to be filled by 7:10. So if your thinking of playing in one, you better get down there early. In addition, of the $30 entry fee: $8 goes to the house and $2 to the dealers. Leaving $20 to the prize pool, which is only 67% of the entry fee. Compared to the over 80% at the Stardust (the other strip casino that was previously discussed in a blog.) Also, in the 10 a.m. tournament at the Stardust the amount of players is only limited by the number of dealers they have at hand. Usually they can accommodate anywhere from 60 to 70 players, and they do allow alternates.

Mandalay Bay's evening no limit texas hold-em freeze-out tournament held Mon. through Thurs. at 6 p.m. gives the player $500 in tournament chips for a $60 buy-in. Sign-ups for that tournament start at 3 p.m. and basically suffers the same problems as the morning tournament.

As previously stated, in my next blog I will discuss Mandalay Bay's "live" games. I'm starting to get a lttle hungry so I think I'll go get myself a hamburger. I will let you figure out where I will get it. (Helpful hint: hope it comes in a "Happy Meal")

"What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas"

2005-01-29T11:32:00.000-08:00

O.K. O.K. I've gone 3 whole blogs without divulging another one of my pet peeves at the poker table. Well this one is not so much a particular pet peeve, but more like a number of small irritants all stemming from one source. That source being T.V., more specifically, the almost daily televising of poker tournament events across the country.... make that the world. I know, I know, what you are thinking: "How can that blankity, blank, blank ( you notice I didn't use @#$%&, @#$%&, @#$%& to describe myself, because I know you readers wouldn't use that kind of language, only I do).... errrr where was I.... oh yea, how can I possibly be critical of T.V. when almost everyone agrees that T.V. and the internet are the 2 biggest factors for the boom in casino poker over the last couple of years.

Well it's not so much the televising of tournaments that bothers me, it's the @#$%& commentators of these events that tick me off. I'll give you an example: awhile back a commentator at one of these events made the brilliant comment: "the reason so and so is wearing those sun glasses is because he doesn't want the other players to read his eyes and possibly get a tell." Sure enough, the following week there they were, all wearing dem dark shaded sun glasses. Listen, fellow campers: to all you novice players just starting out playing casino poker, I would be alot more worried about nervous twitches and breathing changes than eye contact to give a "tell" In fact one of the funniest things I ever saw at a poker table was one day a novice player wearing sun glasses got into the game, and everytime the dealer turned over a card he had to lift his sun glasses up to his forehead to see the card(s).

An even bigger irritant, is television's constant showing of players separating their chips in neat little stacks while thinking before they fold, call, or raise. Listen people: "There are NO cameras in low to mid level tournaments or live games (errrr... well technically there is, but they won't be broadcasting nationwide) so you can separate your chips before it's your turn to act, and you don't have to put on that show. Besides, how much stacking is involved when you go from 4 to 8 chips?

I guess what it all comes down to is this: I, like most of my fellow "concerned Americans" wish that broadcasters would use better judgement when televising such events. Don't they realize that young, impressionable, first-time casino poker players may be watching. They are a resource that we must do all that is humanly possible to nuture. When they come to Vegas to play, they will have plenty of time to learn all these nasty habits first hand. Besides, what better way for them to spend there disbosable income? Remember: "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!!!"

Another Rebirth

2005-01-28T10:43:00.000-08:00

Another casino to rediscover the joys and other intangible pleasures (not to mention the demand by it's customers .... i.e. potential "revenue sources") for a poker room, is the Gold Coast. After a long absence, the Gold Coast is yet another casino on a growing list to re-opened a poker room. Although opened for a little over a month now, it still has not had it's "official grand opening" whatever that means. (this bit of information was supplied to me by a shift poker room manager ... so take it with a grain salt)

As of yesterday, I have played in the room twice. Both times only for a short period, while waiting to meet someone. The first time was to play in their daily 10 a.m. hold-em tournament. The entry fee is $20, of which $3 goes to the house and $2 to the dealers. The remaining $15 goes to the prize pool, which comes out to 75% of the entry fee. Not that great, but alot better than the 62.50% charged by it's neighbor, the Rio which is across the street. The format is also alittle different than the tournaments that I have previously mentioned. The first hour is "limit" hold-em, then there after it becomes "no-limit." For your $20 entry fee you get $800 in tournament chips. The blinds start at $25-50, and go up every 20 minutes.

Yesterday, I played in a "live" game. Although they say: they will spread any type of game, while I was there (early evening)they only had 2 tables going of $2-4 hold-em. I played in one of the games for about an hour and actually won $74. This came mostly from one hand, in which I had pocket Aces. What was even more surprising then having the pocket Aces was that this time I actually won with them, having 5 players calling me all the way down to the "river" (final card). I had capped (taken the last raise) the betting before the flop, and had 6 callers. I only "lost" one other player after that, while maximizing the betting after the flop and river. However, what doesn't surprise me is the amount of players I had in the hand. Given the "nature of the beast," the number of callers was average for such a low-limit game. You expect to find inexperienced players at such a level, and my expectations were not disappointed.

In conclusion: for novice players, just learning how to play hold-em in a casino either in tournaments or live, the Gold Coast is a good place to start. The limits are low, the rake is decent, and you will have plenty of company with players at your own level. For others: if you want to unwind and have a few laughs, (or possibly want material for your own blog), head for the Gold Coast.

A Nice "Little Tournament"

2005-01-26T13:46:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I played in the no-limit tournament at the Stardust. The tournament is a no-limit "freeze-out" tournament beginning at 10:00 a.m. Freeze-out meaning once you run out of chips, your history. There are no rebuys or add-ons. For all practical purposes the entry fee is $43 for $1,000 in tournament chips.

Some of the pluses of this tournament are: the dealers are above average in expertise as compared to dealers in other casinos with this type of tournament, and unlike the Cannery tournament (discussed in a previous blog) this tournament is located at the Stardust, which is directly on the "strip." However the biggest advantage is that out of the $43 entry fee only $5 goes to the casino and $3 goes to the dealers. Leaving $35 going directly to the prize pool, meaning a little over 80% of the entry fee goes directly to the players. A very good percentage for this type of tournament.

Probably the only negative thing I can say about this tournament is that it is played only 3 times a week, Mon., Tues., and Wed.

Don't Forget the Oxygen Tank

2005-01-24T13:05:00.000-08:00

I have quickly found out that one of the advantages (or possible disadvantages) of writing this blog is revisiting poker rooms that I haven't played in for awhile. Recently I did just that when I went and played at the Palace Station. The Palace's poker room has to be one of the oldest continuiosly run poker rooms in Vegas.

As soon as I went in, it was "deja vu all over again." With the exception of maybe a new coat of paint and possibly adding another table or two in the already crowded room, (which has become a disturbing trend here in Vegas) the place hadn't changed. However, they did make one or two tables non smoking. Which is a joke, given the fact that not only is the room the most closed-in poker room in Vegas but it also has terrible ventilation making air circulation an impossibilty. Giving the room that dank musty smell that I can only imagine was prevalent in the old fashion pool halls at the turn of the century.

Enough about the rooms ambiance, lets get down to the games themselves. The Palace Station poker room does not have any daily tournaments. They primarialy spread 2-4 and 4-8 hold-em games. The will however spread Omaha and 7 card stud ( including high/low) games, with the occasional higher limit game. The rake for the hold-em games is 5% up to a maximum $3.00 with another $1.00 going to their bad beat promotion which is tied into the other Station properties. (this promotion will be further explained in a future blog) The rake itself compares favorably to other casinos, and from the players point of view is one of the best in Vegas.

I played in a 4-8 hold-em game while I was there, and it had to be one of the most boring games I've played in for awhile. The table had so many rocks (slang for those players that only play the top premium hands and only bet when they have the best possible hand) I thought I was in a quarry. I was convinced that the only reason they were there was to wait for the bad beat promotion to hit. Also, at my table I was considered the young whipper snapper. Which didn't take much considering that anyone under mandatory retirement age was considered "young." What was really frightening was that I was sitting next to a player breathing with the help of an oxygen tank, and he was sitting next to a guy chain smoking Camels. I have been involve in games that could have developed (and sometimes did) into an explosive situation, but this was the first time that it could have literally done just that. Needless to say, my revisit to the Palace Station poker room was a short one.

"I was Afraid"

2005-01-22T11:56:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I posted a blog about a pet peeve of mine that I often experience at the poker table. At that time I told you that by doing so it might help me alleviate some of my inner hostility; therefore making me a better person and help improve my quality of life. Guess what? It ain't happenin. I'm still getting &$#@&-off at these &%$#@# morons (Please note: I spelled morons correctly this time..... errrr.... maybe it is helping me improve?)

Although it hasn't happened to the extent of the actual story I'm going to tell you, I hear this following statement at least once everytime I play: "I couldn't _______ (bet or raise...you can fill in the blank) because I was afraid of a Flush" or some other better hand. While the @#$% moron who said it is raking in the pot. What makes this person a @#$% moron is that immediately preceding this statement he has caught his "miracle card" on the river.

Let me give you a perfect example of what I mean: a couple of months ago I was dealt a pair of Jacks while on the button (not as good as Aces, but they will do for the purpose of this story). The flop came" J-7-3, all spades. Everyone checked, I bet the limit. Everyone folded, except 2 other players. The "turn" comes 2 of diamonds. Again everyone checks, I bet, they both called. The "river" comes the 8 of hearts. (no fair peeking, but you know whats coming). Again they check, and again I bet. Dumbity dumb dumb thinks... then calls. Sure enough he has a 9-10, with no spades. As he was raking in the pot, he mistakingly thought my look of utter disgust was actually a questioning look, so he utters these infamous words: "I couldn't bet because I thought you might have had a flush" It took all my will power to mutter these now famous words: "nice hand sir, nice hand."

What makes this statement my biggest pet peeve (at least for the time being)is that it is wrong at so many levels. First, his starting hand of 9-10 off suit is to be charitable, weak at best. Then to call all the way down the river with only an inside straight draw, with 3 spades on board and an over card, is simply a terrible play. Then, to make your "miracle draw" (a hand effectively with only 3 outs, because if the 8 of spades comes down you gotta figure one of the other 2 players has at least one spade in their hand .... errr ... or perhaps in his parallel universe, maybe not). Then to make your miracle draw with the best card you could possibly get, and still be afraid to bet it is beyond comprehension.

If someone can give me a reasonable explanation of his play, please comment. You will be saving me lots of money, in the purchase of antiacids alone.

Where God Lost His Shoes

2005-01-21T13:51:00.000-08:00

Just finished playing in the no limit hold-em tournament at the Cannery in Vegas ..... errrr ..... make that North Las Vegas. I went there specifically to check out the tournament. I have played in it before but I wanted to make sure the format hadn't changed. It hasn't.

It is a no-limit freeze out, hold-em tournament held daily at 10 a.m. For an entry fee of $25, a player gets $1,000 in tournament chips. $20 of that fee goes to the prize pool. The house gets $3, the dealers $2. Which means that 80% of the entry fee goes directly to the prize pool, as compared to the 62.50% share at the Rio, which I explained in a previous blog.

For those players just beginning or those who just want to have an inexpensive, fun time, this is a great tournament in my opinion. On the whole, the dealers are competent and friendly, and you can't beat the price and value. Besides, at the Cannery you can still get a great $1.99 breakfast in their coffee shop. Or it you really want to splurge you can get an additional 2 pancakes with your eggs and bacon or sausage for $2.22.

I quess the only drawback to this tournament, is the Cannery's location. As I explained in my opening statement,the Cannery is located in North Las Vegas, where "God lost his shoes." A statement we used when I was growing up in Chicago to express locations of places that were far and hard to reach. The Cannery is about 10 miles from the strip and unless you have a car or are willing to pay for a pretty expensive cab ride, you just can't get there from the strip.

(WRITERS NOTE: I bet you guys were thinking how I was going to tie in the title of this blog to it's contents ..... now, don't you feel ashamed for doubting me)

But They Were Suited

2005-01-19T14:36:00.000-08:00

I don't know what is worse to hear at a hold-em table. The question or the answer. Well, I was privileged enough to hear both the other day, and at my expense.

(WRITER'S NOTE: At this point I should explain that from time to time in this blog I will vent to the reader some of my pet peeves at the poker table. Hopefully by doing this it will in some small way help alleviate my inner hostility. Therefore making me a better person and improving the quality of my life. Also, it has the added bonus of not getting into a fight by calling the player in question a %&*#@ moran.)

Well like most bad beat stories, mine starts with: "there I was in middle position with pocket Aces." (I was in a 3-6 game at the Stardust waiting for friends to finish a tournament.... I was considerate and thoughtful enough to get kicked out early so that they wouldn't have to wait) Anyway, there I was: I raised when it came my turn and was immediately called by a player who I shall from now on call: dumbity dumb dumb (ddd.. for short). Ddd called $6 cold. I will not bore you with the details but let me just state that after the flop ddd and I were heads up, and I bet the max every chance I got. My Aces lost to ddd's Q-6. A Queen coming on both the turn and river. Ddds buddy told him: "nice call" And ddd proudly stated: "I had to, they were suited" I will leave it up to you mathematicians out there to figure out how big of a favorite I was in that hand.

I have been hearing this response more and more lately at the poker tables. What does the internet teach these players? That any 2 cards suited is a good starting hand? I think the odds of making a flush with 2 suited cards is 14 or 15 to 1. So I guess in a game with 14 people calling before the flop it was a good call. In this particular instance there were ony 4. Normally in a "live game" you love players like that, but unfortunately I knew my time was limited and all I could do was take my loss and say: "nice hand sir, nice hand"

Read the Small Print

2005-01-17T13:58:00.000-08:00

As I am sure that most of you are aware: largely due to the popularity of hold-em on television, casinos in Las Vegas have been opening or expanding their poker rooms. Long considered by many casinos to be a marginal money maker at best, the demand of customers for such facilities has driven many casinos to re-evaluate their policies regarding such rooms.

One of the latest to re-open a poker room is the Rio Hotel & Casino. Which due to Harrah's purchase of the name, the Rio will be hosting The World Series of Poker this year (all except the final 2 tables, which will still be at Binion's)

Before closing several years ago, I considered the Rio poker room to be one of the best in Las Vegas. Not only were most of the dealers competent, courteous, and knowledgable, but the room itself was what I considered "player friendly." It looked after it's customers by not allowing abusive language or actions, and a liberal "comp policy"

So you can imagine my surprise, after going to play in the new room last week. The rake for the "live " games ( I played in the 3-6 and 6-12 games, which were the only live games spread while I was there) was 10% up to a max of $4.00. Which I guess isn't that bad for Vegas, but there were no promotions and the comp policy was nonexistant. Not only that, but most of the dealers were incompetent. To be charitable: they were weak in the common knowledge of the rules in casino hold-em and they lacked the ability to control the game, which can only come from experience.

I also played one day in their no-limit hold-em tournament held daily at noon. For $30 you get $1,000 in tournament chips which they proudly state: " only $5 of your buy-in goes to the house." The remainder goes to the prize pool. They also strongly (and I mean "strongly") encourage the players to purchase an additional $500 in tournament chips for just $10. What they fail to mention, except in the fine print is that none ot this money goes to the prize pool. Many casinos have an additional add-on of anywhere from $2 to $5, which goes directly to the dealers . In the Rio's case, only $5 goes to the dealers and the other $5 goes to the house. So out of an entry fee of $40 only $25 to the prize pool, which comes out to only 62.50 %, the worse percentage I have ever seen in Vegas.

So, if you wish to play in a tournament at the Rio: beware of the small print.

Introduction

2005-01-13T11:14:00.000-08:00

Hi People(s)

I figure the first thing I should do is explain the reason why I have decided to write (and probably subject myself to ridicule and other forms of humiliation) this blog. I hope in some little way to help enlighten potential first time "live" casino players of the trials and pitfalls of playing poker against real people in a casino environment. I plan to do this in a somewhat "humorous" method so as to keep not only the potential first time player but also the occasional casino player interested and informed.

I will not only be discussing particular hands and player conduct, but will also review and critique policies of different poker rooms in Las Vegas.

Some things you should know about me: I have lived in Vegas for the last ten years and have played casino poker since the early "snatch and grab" games at the Stardust in the 70's. I basically play in the low-level 4-8 to 10-20 games. However lately, because of the advent of televised events, I have started to play in the no-limit games which have become more and more popular throughout Vegas . I limit myself to the $100 to $500 buy-in games. I also play in frequent limit and no-limit hold-em tournaments. Mostly in the $25 to $100 entry level.

Well that's all for now. I welcome any comments and possible suggestions you may have about this site.

Vegassheep