Running Good On Empty

APAT - Vegas Vengeance: Monday, 14th November 2011

Perhaps the Irish Nachos and Irish Coffee wasn’t such a good idea. I don’t usually eat of lot of dairy products and the lactose may have had an unfortunate effect on my digestive system. That meant another disturbed night.

Either that or my system is trying to fight something off...I was sneezing a little this morning and I had the feeling that a cold might be coming so I dosed myself up with some left over drugs I got the last time I was here.

So, feeling rather...erm...empty, I wallowed for a while and I didn’t make it out of the hotel room until after 2pm. I couldn’t face eating so I just went straight to the poker room.

I got seated almost straight away for a change and bought in for my usual $200. On looking back, I realise that I was playing a little tighter than I was yesterday. A defensive mechanism perhaps but it worked.

I stayed out of silly hands (as you should) and save some money by easy folds when I might have called ‘for value’ yesterday. I didn’t get involved in a couple of hands where I made the ultimate nuts on the turn and several other players had a piece or were going for lows that didn’t get there.

I’d limited myself to soft drinks and water after the nights intestinal difficulties and it did seem to have done the trick. I still wasn’t hungry though.

By 5.30pm, I was up around $200 (which is a nice feeling) when Andy Duncan tapped me on the shoulder and told me that he and Deb were thinking of driving over to the Stratosphere for their 7pm tournament.

I decided that locking up the win would be a sensible thing so I elected to join them.

We drove over (spotting one of my back-up venues for Friday on the way) in time for the start and the action was simply crazy...at least  on my table. It’s the usual madness that happens when there is an add-on and re-buy phase. I didn’t fare two well and busted out around half-way but not until I’d taken out Andy blind-on-blind when he ran into my KK.

I was crippled by the same KK against my AJs even though the guy did the whole ‘Oh, I’ll have to make stand’ Hollywood bit. I’d already committed enough so that I was going to see it through and despite having 12 outs on the flop I managed to miss them all.

I went all-in blind on the next hand and, as it turned out, with the best hand 22 vs. AQs vs. QJs...but the board ran out hearts to give the same villain as before a flush.

Deb lasted until 15th or so and we decided to come back to the Orleans for some food. We had a nice meal in TGIs and I downed a couple of Stellas but by the end I was feeling rather tired and decided to call it a night rather than play a little more cash.

I bid the Duncans goodnight and made my happy way back to my room for a nice rest.

All was well and the drinking bear hasn’t put in an appearance yet...but there is a rumour that he’ll be getting to town on Thursday. I’m alerting the TSA and ICE.

Paulie Hits Vegas, Vegas Hits Back

APAT - Vegas Vengeance: Sunday, 13th November 2011

Not the greatest night’s sleep I’ve ever had, perhaps it was the jet-lag or that ‘not my own bed’ thing, but sleep came in fits and starts so I didn’t feel rested at all. Nevertheless, I left the room at the crack of 11am and headed down for breakfast.

As it was Sunday there was a queue at the place I was planning on going to so rather than waiting I hit the buffet where the was no waiting time. Standard buffet fare, nothing worth going into detail about and I wandered into the poker room about noon. I got myself on the list but still had to wait over an hour before getting seated.

As it turns out I wish I hadn’t bothered. I’ve seen some crap play before and combine that with a severe case of card deadness and I just wasn’t getting it done.

I’d play a hand, flop the world and miss, or get suck-out on at the end or, and here’s a real ball buster, I flop a full house on a 655 board with a nut low draw, that’s A265 for the uninitiated, there is a bet in front of me, cool he has a 5, I raise and some lady calls and so does the first guy.

Turn is a K and I lead, and she raises, EP gets out of the way, I just raise and we end up capping it.

River is a J and I check call the river and she rolls over KK79. WTF? You call a bet and re-raise with a gutshot and no low and hit a fricking 2 outer?

That was the hand that put me on tilt....but I wasn’t going to play like that so I just took my lumps and cashed out down $160.

Sigh.

I had to do something to relieve the stress, so I thought drinking might help...it always has in the past. So, I decided to kill two birds with one stone and do a little scouting for Friday and sauntered over to McMullan's, getting there around 5.30...just in time to take advantage of the end of happy hour.

I ordered a Stella and took a look at their menu. I was pointed at the happy hour menu by the barman where items were half off. I’d been itching to try their Irish Nachos since I heard about them...basically it’s a plate of home made crisps (not tortilla chips like normal) covered in melted cheese and other yummy goodness.

For $4 (half of $8) for a small portion it seemed like a marriage made in heaven. Then it arrived....

Oh Feck...it was a mountain...and this was a small portion....I’d hate to see the large one. Nevertheless I gave it my best effort but it defied all attempts and I think I managed about half of it before admitting defeat.

In the meantime the live music was starting up. Their regular guy is John Windsor and he’s a born showman with a great line in patter and music. It seems that Sunday night is when he brings a few friends in to play as well and there was a nice mix of music on offer.

By 8.30 however, I was feeling tired again but I didn’t want to call it a night just yet so I resorted to a simple solution...Irish Coffee. All the alcohol plus caffeine goodness.

A couple of those seemed to do the trick but in the end it was always a losing proposition and by 10pm the spirit was willing but the flesh was not.

I walked the couple of hundred yards back to the Orleans and called it a night. I hope tomorrow goes better.

“It’s Better To Travel Well, Than Arrive”

APAT - Vegas Vengeance: Saturday, 12th November 2011

With all due respect to the Buddha, it’s obvious he’d never been to Vegas. Getting there is a grind and once you’re there it’s like coming home...well, at least it is for me. I’d overnighted at the Crowne Plaza at Gatwick and received a nice, complimentary, upgrade to a Club room.

I supped down a few Fosters and a decent sandwich before getting a decent night’s sleep.

I shuttled to the airport around 9.30 and barely had time to scarf down a Wetherspoon’s breakfast and a pint before the flight was boarding. It seemed that the seat I had switched my booking to hadn’t made it through their system but it was fine, I was still in Premium Economy but upstairs rather than down.

The in flight entertainment system was the older model but it didn’t really bother me...I’d seen most of their offerings anyway, plus I had my Kindle. I can’t say that the hours sped by but I did manage to doze for, maybe, a hour and just contented myself with polishing off two or three books.

The flight was a little bumpy with light turbulence on more than a couple of occasions but otherwise it was uneventful and we landed bang on time.

Passport control and customs was a breeze and I caught a cab with no hassle. The driver seemed keen to take the tunnel to the Orleans even though it’s the long way but I insisted on using the surface streets rather than the freeway. The driver was so keen that he offered to knock off $10 from the fare if we went his way so he could get back. This seemed like a deal and I upped his tip and the whole cab ride cost me just under what I would have expected anyway. I’ll call that my first win.

Check-in at the Orleans was a breeze and I was into my rather large room in no time. I unpacked, abluted and got the IT rig set up.

I had a minor problem with the US sim I had bought as my phone didn’t seem to want to recognise it...until I realised I’d put it in upside-down!

After fixing this schoolboy error I as still having problems but a quick glance showed me that the phone hadn’t auto-selected the APN and after referring to the information I’d got from the people who sold me the sim I had this set up and I was off and rocking....almost.

I tried to access the APAT site on my phone only to find that a net-nanny was set and after calling T-Mobile Customer Service found it couldn't;t be removed without a US Social Security Number (to validate my age). Apparently the only way I can get this taken off is to visit a physical store. I’m not sure I’ll bother as I have access to all my social media sites and apps and I don’t really see any overwhelming need to access APAT while on the mover on this trip.

Once I’d gotten all those issues resolved I was feeling somewhat peckish...and in need of a large drink...so I headed out and down to TGI Fridays.

No, it’s not like the UK versions...at least not much. I ensconced myself at the bar and settled on a pint of Stella rather than the somewhat weaker US offerings.

The first disappeared rather quickly and the second was consumed while I tucked into a very decent 10oz steak. One more did the trick and it was time to pay off the $40 bill (including tip) and get stuck into some poker.

I had to wait a while before a seat opened up at the 4-8 Omaha Hi/lo tables but eventually I settled in and bought in for a couple of hundred.

Nothing eventful to report, my stack bounced around a little...getting down to just under $100 after couple of sick river suckouts but overall the play was pretty easy to read.

Regardless, I wasn’t making huge inroads but just grinding away. Around 11.30 pm and a mere $50 up I’d been up for going on 24 hours and was starting to feeling it.

That would do...I’d covered ‘lunch’, the rake, tips and such...time to call it a night.

There Is No ‘I’ In Team…or ‘Us’ Either.

APAT Luton: Saturday, 22nd October 2011.

As defending APAT Forum Team champions, the London Poker Meetup were keen to repeat if we could. I’d even packed the trophy from last time just in case so we could do the ‘two trophies’ thing if we managed it.

I’d organised the team well in advance and, even if I say it myself, we were fielding a stronger team that last year even after losing Scouse.

About 11o’clock, I headed down to Jenny’s Restaurant just a couple of hundred yards from the casino for breakfast. A Full English breakfast and a cup of tea for around £5 suits me down to the ground. Tighty had PM’d me earlier in the week asking me to bring my dongle with me having left his in Coventry so I arrived at the casino about noon…of course, I had to be there early to do the ‘captain’ thing anyway so it wasn’t much of an hardship.

As it turns out the G in Coventry had sent Tighty’s dongle to him but it wasn’t working too well and the wi-fi in the card-room as there but pitiful. I mean top marks for having wi-fi but if it doesn’t work…FAIL!

Anyway, I sorted Tighty out and we talked for a while about the remainder of Season 5 before I left him to it and headed off to the bar to collect my lads. I collected the buy-ins and took care of the administration bits and pieces while supping a couple of beers.

Before long the team competition got under way and I started grinding. I had drawn a pretty reasonable table although there did seem to be an awful lot of limping going on. In particular there was one lady who would limp-call everything in any position.

I got involved in one hand where I made a K-high straight on the turn and the river came and Ace and completed a possible flush…and she led out. I considered that I had to be chopping at best and made a reluctant fold. In retrospect, after seeing her make some truly horrendous calls and bluffs I think I was probably winning that one. I think of it as an ‘Omaha fold’…not exactly ‘monsters under the bed’ but she her play screamed a draw when in fact she probably had just a decent ace.

She did take a few chips off me (a mis-read on my part) when she flopped middle set against my top pair and I managed to donk off thinking she only had middle pair.

Down to a mere 2.5k by the first break I had some work to do. I came back from the break and managed to grind my way back to around 6k by getting aggressive on the still fairly passive table. Eventually, I got the bullets in LP and got doubled up quite nicely as, having been so aggressive previously, I wasn’t believed when I pushed.

This got me back on the average but my team wasn’t doing quite so well. We’d lost 2 or 3 by then and although you can win the team event with just a few players they do have to go deep.

More grinding followed and I trod water for quite a while. I doubled up again with AA which, even if I say it myself, I played rather well…I bet the right amount to induce the necessary turn call and hollywooded just enough that my river shove got me paid.

I sat on 35k – 40k for quite a while before starting to dwindle down in chips as the blinds and antes started to bite. Finally, on c.25k (or 22BB) an UTG raise, by Cath, of 6xBB screamed 99-JJ at me and looking down at AQs I decided that this was my moment. I thought I might get the shove through but even if it didn’t I wouldn’t be in appalling shape.

So, in they went and Cath didn’t really hesitate and called, rolling over TT just as I suspected. However, I bricked all 5 cards and went out somewhere around 70th. No points this time.

Looking around for my team I found that I was the 7th one out leaving only Wayne.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be and although Wayne did very well, he just bubbled the cash and our dream was over.

I hung around for a while but my heart wasn’t really into hanging around too much. I drank a few beer and chatted to all and sundry for a while but eventually I called it a night and returned to the hotel.

Vegas beckoned…and it would be AWESOME!

Redemption Is Mine!

APAT Luton: Friday, 21st October 2011.

Home turf! At the very least it’s probably the most accessible location for me on the APAT schedule until, hopefully, we get to Aspers in Stratford in Season Six. No Des, I’m not going to let that one go any time soon.

A mere hour’s drive around the M25 on a good day but as I was heading there on Friday night after work it was likely to take just a tad longer. As it was I bolted (fair enough, ambled) to the car at 5.30 from work and rocked up at the Days Hotel almost on the stroke of 7 o’clock. Only the usual road works and Friday night traffic to deal with…I’ll take it.

I’d opted to spend an extra £8 a night on an ‘Executive’ room for the two nights I would be there and there was a nice separate ‘work area’ which consisted of an office chair and what as basically a shelf with a couple of extra power points (one of which was broken) but I wasn’t unhappy with it. I probably won’t do it again but you never know.

After last year’s Luton event and the embarrassingly early exit from the APAT Luton Home Game I was eager to get some redemption this time. Oops…just realised I gave the game away with the title of this post.

Of course, last year led to drunken antics, a boozy haze and aching feet followed by a late night kebab…things could only improve.

I wandered the short distance to the Casino after getting settled into the hotel room arriving about 7.30 and met up with the APAT Luton contingent. Drinks were had, Lord I was parched, and we settled into a very nice comp with a decent chip stack and structure organised by the Luton mob. T7,500 and 30 minutes I think it was for £20. Very nice.

I like that Luton is enforcing a penalty for folding out of turn….I approve heartily of this …of course, I was the first to offend missing that Richard Baker hadn’t folded in front of me…DOH! Two hand penalty…I won’t be doing that again.

With everyone knowing one another it was a somewhat more friendly (and this noisier) game than would perhaps normally be the case. We finished up with 22 players (eventually) squeezed on to 2 tables.

I don’t remember any specific hands (I can’t imagine why) but I made it to the final table with a reasonable stack and by the time 2 am rolled around we were down to 4 and I’d cashed at the very least.

As it turned out I got heads up with Sharon Roberts, who I hadn’t met before, and, with all due respect to her, she seemed fairly straightforward. If she had it she bet. However, I could never get a hand against her to do anything with.

As I Sharon had me nearly 3:2 in chips I didn’t think it was my place to offer any sort of deal (plus I kind of wanted to win) but at around 3am, Sharon generously offered an even chop and since there was only £50 between 1st & 2nd I gratefully agreed for £155

After collecting my cash (hotel cost covered thank you very much) I was pretty much wiped out. It was 3.30 in the morning by this time and I’d been up for 22 hours and my eyes were burning like someone had peed in them.

I sauntered back to the hotel and crashed. No fuss, no muss….no bear.