VEGAS MONDAY

I had some leftover pizza in the fridge which fueled me for a full day at the Venetian. Of all the places I have played, the Venetian is my favorite. It is too crowded at Bellagio and Wynn. I like Mirage, but also too crowded, althought they get big points for serving Anchor Steam. The Venetian card room is large, spacious, and full of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. They also have daily tournaments at noon and 8P.

I was avowed to bring my A-game to the noon tourney and I promised myself I would only play the good stuff. My goal was to either win the tournament or be proud of my exit. Too often I am duffing off my chips on ill-conceived plays. This time, I was going to play perfect poker and let the odds decide my fate. I was chipping up nicely, playing only hands with good risk/reward ratios. My day in total was decided by three pocket pairs:

I limped from early position with QQ, as I find little utility in raising from early position with any two cards early in a tournament. I have decided that I will not ever raise from under the gun during the first two levels of an event. It throws the whole risk/reward ratio out the window, because everybody and their brother knows what you have when you raise under the gun, so there is no reason to come in raising only to either steal the paltry blinds or let somebody in with a drawing hand that can bust you. So, AA, AK, QQ, JT, 87s, and 44 all get the same treatment henceforth from dudeseeg. I will limp to see what develops. Some of those hands will allow me to repop you if you get frisky on me, while some of them will enjoy the multiway action.

So, anyways, I limped with the ladies and saw a flop five-way which came KKJ. I had no way of knowing if I was good, so I checked the flop which checked around. I check/called the turn and a lovely lady fell on the river. My opponent checked to me, so I figured her for a jack, but just in case, I went all-in. She folded, but the pot was big already and I added it to my stack.

My next pocket pair was 77 under the gun, which I of course limped with, only to be raised. I called after another caller and we took a flop of 976. I checked and the preflop raiser put in a bet. The next guy raised a substantial amount and I came over the top of both of them by pushing all in. The preflop raiser, a good player, called the all-in even though he should have realized his hand was not leading. The other guy called and we all showed. I had 777; preflop raiser had KK; third guy had 666. It was looking very good for me, but the 58 felted to downgrade my triple up to a three-way chop. Very frustrating.

My final hand of the day: UTG calls the $100 big blind, UTG+1 calls as well and I am in third position with 88. I am happy to limp as the first one in with this hand, but I thought a big raise was in order here to either take down the dead money or at least get heads up. I bumped to $500 which was called only by UTG+1. The flop came KJ8 and he drawls, "I'm all-in, buddy." I insta-called and he showed AA. He had me covered and when the ace turned, I was done. So, I didn't get my wish to win but I did play my A-game, got my money in good a few times and just got very unlucky. At least it is an upgrade from donking out.

I have made several trips to the Venitian mens' room this week and although I often see an employee standing in the foyer wearing latex gloves, I have yet to see a mop in his hands. Under every urinal is a splattering of urine from impatient players who have neglected to wait for the shake. Meanwhile, I am breaking in some new underwear that I purchased the day before my drive and never got the chance to wash. I am hoping they will prove more absorptive in the future, but currently they greet my extra drops with Teflon-like resistance. No matter how much I shake, there is always a little treat for my left leg as I walk away. And believe me, I am shaking more than my fair share, even though more than three draws sideways glances from my urineighbors. So, when I look back on my Vegas '06 excursion, I will not have the mental picture of myself smiling behind a pile of cash as hoped, but I will see myself straddling a urine puddle, shaking my wank like a primate.

I played $1/3 NL while awaiting the 8P event. I put in six hours but managed only an $11 profit. By the time the event was nearing, I was exhausted and starving, so I decided to pack it in for the evening. I had managed to make $30 in food comp for the week which I cashed in on my way out of the Venetian. I went to the deli in the food court and got myself three sandwiches, a salad, and some assorted fruit and beverages to take with me back to the room. So, I've only one full day left in town, but I've finally managed to fill my fridge with edibles.