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Server Time: 8/30/2008 9:08:20 AM PACIFIC |
 Vegas Trip Report, hokie95, 14. Dec 2003 14:57 | ||
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| Ok, me and the missus just got off the plane from Vegas (thankfully making it home despite Pittsburgh's blanket of snow). Here are my overall thoughts on the places where I played. I have some specific and detailed hands I will talk about in other posts. Mandalay Bay -- We stayed there, so within 30 minutes of checking in I was at a table, playing 4-8 with 1/2 kill. I was surprised to find a 1 and 2 blind structure in a 4-8 game. Not that I was complaining. This was a pretty enjoyable game, in a beautiful environment -- for those who get into that sort of thing. I was up a little bit early and then got aces cracked twice in three hands. (I kept thinking "if this was online, someone would say it's rigged!!) First time was a set of 4s I never saw coming -- he just called all the way to the river. Second time was to a full house made with two random cards, I think it was 8J made when the board paired the 8's on the end. Oh well. Unfortunately, the second hand was a kill pot, so it cost me dearly. I fought back and left down a little, like $30 or so. All in all, a nice place. The game was the toughest of the 3 places I played. Circus Circus -- We were walking the strip and made it to Circus Circus (a place I generally hate, btw) and we went in to get a snack and saw the poker room. So I sat 3-6 for a little while. After about 1.5 hours of really bad cards, I made a seat change and looked down to find KJd. Flop came down Q-T-9 rainbow and I was in business. When the rainbow was completed on the turn I was a happy camper and took down a nice pot. Later, a drunk idiot (to appear in later posts, I assure you!) gave me 2 free cards to make the nut flush and then proceeded to reraise my reraise on the river when we were heads up! Thanks drunk guy! All in all, it's a fairly standard room, and the dealers were generally ok, nothing spectacular in either direction. Excalibur -- Now for where we spent the bulk of our time. We? Yes. We. I got my wife to sit at a 2-6 spread limit table on Friday. Hoo boy. We have created a monster that cannot be fed. And I ain't complaining! She loved it! ("I don't think I can play blackjack anymore. It's just luck!") The Excalibur prides itself on a friendly atmosphere (and except for Evelynne the surly dealer, they succeed.) Brief sidenote on Evelynne -- she always takes the blind away from the person right at the beginning of the hand. Without those two chips in front of that person, raises and calls get very confusing. In fact, one very experienced player wanted to make it 4 to go, didn't see his blind was gone and threw out 4 chips, making it a total of 6 to go, but he said "make it 4." So everyone who called threw in 2 more. Then Evelynne snapped at them that they were short. No one else I saw did this, and I think it's a bad idea. ADAM -- YOUR THOUGHTS ON EVELYNNE'S DEALING? Anyhoo -- Melissa sat 2 seats to my left for her first time. I had been pounding into her head that, as a rookie, she needed to stay to "top 10" type hands. Not necessarily folding 6s from the button, but not playing Q8o UTG either. She promised me she would. She lied. Early on, she went to showdown with a hand UTG and sheepishly turned up A5o, a loser. (Thank god. A win there could have set her back 2 years!!) A couple hands later, I looked at her and just said "A5o UTG, huh?" She smiled (again, sheepishly) and said "I know." And she learned from there on out. Anyway, I won't continue to bore with details here. Here's the best part of Excalibur. You get aces cracked? Spin the wheel!! If your pocket aces lose, you spin a wheel which allows you to win up to $600 right now, with a minimum of $40 (A December special -- they usually have $20 to $300 as a max). So, you play backwards poker trying to get aces cracked. I won $240 off the wheel by playing them really slow. Profit on those hands was about $140. (I lost about $35/hand calling bets to get them cracked.) [And yes, I got aces cracked 4 out of 6 times during the trip. The stats geeks rejoice!] Bottom line: for beginning players (including me, but especially my wife) Excalibur is the place to be. Everyone was very friendly, especially the dealers (exception noted above.) Floorman Steve, if you're reading this, I promised you I'd say nice things here. Well, there they were. And, Steve, say hi to Kent, Bubbles and Dewayne. Good and friendly dealers, all, from Dave (in the VT hat) and Melissa. -Dave p.s. -- if you go to Excalibur, and a dealer promises to give you a quarter if you can make your chip stand on end, don't do it. It's a trick. But damn funny when someone else falls for it. ("Make that chip stand on end and I'll give you a quarter for it.") | ||
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| Re: Vegas Trip Report, kennycatkiller, 14. Dec 2003 22:40 | ||
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| you are undoubtedly talking about Robert (Bubbles)! He is one friendly and competent dealer, knows everyone, and will remember you when you go back. kennycatkiller | ||
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| Re: Vegas Trip Report, hokie95, 15. Dec 2003 04:59 | ||
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| Yup, it was Bubbles. (I didn't know his real name.) I liked him because his arms are about 19 feet long so he could reach the cards and chips easily, plus he's hilarious. | ||
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| Re: Vegas Trip Report, FeliciaLee, 15. Dec 2003 12:06 | ||
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| --Bubbles said he used to be a pro basketball player. --Bubbles' second marriage was to a white woman. They had a daughter who is now married to Steve McQueen's son. Just some interesting stuff that he's told me over time. I don't play spread limit anymore, but I do miss Bubbles! Felicia :) My Poker Journal: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FeliciaLee | ||
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| Re: Vegas Trip Report, kennycatkiller, 16. Dec 2003 18:12 | ||
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| should have seen him (bubbles) back in the hey-day of the Afro hair--awesome! | ||
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| Re: Vegas Trip Report, blisterfoot, 14. Dec 2003 23:20 | ||
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| They always have that wheel you spin when AA gets cracked? That's crazy! In loose low-limit games where 5 people see most flops, I'd think you could just check and call and get AA cracked most of the time! | ||
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| Re: Vegas Trip Report -- an answer and a story, hokie95, 15. Dec 2003 05:09 | ||
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| on 14. Dec 2003 23:20 blisterfoot wrote: > They always have that wheel you spin when AA gets cracked? That's crazy! In loose > low-limit games where 5 people see most flops, I'd think you could just check and > call and get AA cracked most of the time! You did the whole time I was there. Maybe I was just playing at the right time of day or something. And, that is a great lead-in to my first specific hand story, which I have decided is my favorite: I am in MP and am dealt QTd. I limp in along with about 4 others (and Melissa from the cutoff) to make it 5 way action. Flop comes Ad-X-5d. I check, Melissa bets $4, called around. Turn is a blank. Melissa bets out again, $6 this time. Called around. Turn is the 9d completing my flush. I bet $6, folded to Melissa who calls. I turn over my Q-Td for the second nuts and Melissa starts laughing hysterically. I cracked her aces! She spins the wheel, I collect the pot. The whole table started cheering, as she had been saying she wanted to spin the wheel, but her only previous aces had held up despite her best efforts to let everyone in for the ride. We added her $60 to my pot win for a great hand "for the family" as Bubbles called it when he found out. Good times!! | ||
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| Re: Vegas Trip Report, FeliciaLee, 15. Dec 2003 12:07 | ||
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| I believe there has to be more than $30 in the pot. The money comes out of the bb jackpot drop, which is why the bb jackpots are always so low. Felicia :) My Poker Journal: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FeliciaLee on 14. Dec 2003 23:20 blisterfoot wrote: > They always have that wheel you spin when AA gets cracked? That's crazy! In loose > low-limit games where 5 people see most flops, I'd think you could just check and > call and get AA cracked most of the time! | ||
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| Re: Vegas Trip Report, SpaceAce, 15. Dec 2003 00:07 | ||
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| > p.s. -- if you go to Excalibur, and a dealer promises to give you a quarter if > you can make your chip stand on end, don't do it. It's a trick. But damn funny > when someone else falls for it. ("Make that chip stand on end and I'll give you > a quarter for it.") Isn't Robert great? He's my favorite dealer. He's always friendly and he makes the time fly by. I always ask about him when I come in to play. Also, Evelynne is a touch on the surly side but the longer you play there the more you get used to her demeanor. SpaceAce | ||
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| Re: Vegas Trip Report, ADAM THE EXPERT, 15. Dec 2003 10:50 | ||
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| Ok, hokie95 here is your answer. In some casinos (usually as required by state law) the casino MUST take the blinds prior to the deal, so that they can make their "drop". California is a big stickler for taking the collection before the hand is even dealt. (note: "collection" "drop" are the same. they differ from "rake" as the amount does not chance. "rake" means a percentage of the pot, almost always (these days) only up to a certain point, whereupon the "rake" is capped) Some places in California, have adopted the "cute" custom of having a button that says "big blind" to remind the player in the big blind, that her(his) blind has already been taken for collection Adam the Expert likes this tool. But, you are talking Vegas!!!!! All blinds should be left in position, until the action is completed before the flop. Not only that, but they should be repositioned by the dealer, to be directly in front of the player to whom they belong, if the player wasn't careful, and their blind got put off to one side. Same thing for the dealer button. It should Always, Always be DIRECTLY in front of the person who is the "button" NEVER off to one side, even by a couple inches. Many dealers, who haven't mastered the technique of dealing a card over the button, like to have the button off to one side. This can creat confusion, as to who has the button!!!! (They do this on online sites, too, and ADAM THE EXPERT HATE this!!!! Who's the DAMN button!!! Also, if a person calls a bet, by placing their chips right next to the person acting before them, the dealer should IMMEDIATELY reposition the bet, so a person who has not yet acted, is not confused that the two bets are actually a raise, and folds a hand that they would have called for one bet. Many Many LAZY BUTT Dealers out their, who think that all they have to do to make $50,000 is flick the cards at people, and don't have to "waste" any body movements that THEY don't think are necessary/. Hokie, as far as the "surleyness" is concerned, that takes care of itself. This dealer will not make the money that she would have, had she been friendly. And NOOOOOOOOOO Adam the Expert has NO compassion for someone who's "having a bad day" HELLO, HELLO!! you are being PAID to be friendly. If you can't be, call in sick. You are there to represent your casino, and the good will of poker in general. If you are feeling sick, broke up with your spouse, or for any other reason cannot be friendly to the customers, you don't belong in the box. Chances are, you just caught this dealer on a bad day. If you continue to play at this casino, and the surleyness persists, contact the "dealer coordinator" or "lead dealer" and complain. Adam the Expert has zero tolerance for anything less than a 100% top professional. Keep the surleyness at home. ed note: people who didn't know that Adam the Expert is a lifemaster dealer, are soooooo SURPRISED when they see him in the "box" No chatter, no rude comments "You're like a different person" They wish I was there, all the time. Adam | ||
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| Re: Vegas Trip Report, SmallFeesh, 26. Dec 2003 02:04 | ||
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| i've been playing poker in vegas for awile now.... and i have never seen any casino that takes the blinds before the action has completed around to the BB... but i have never played at the excalibur... and as far as i know from what i have heard that wheel thing for the aces is all year round... | ||
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