Home again, home again... · 2:21pm Jun 19th, 2016
Got in late last night, jetlagged but I think ready to return. Las Vegas is fun, but a bit surreal.
I made one last effort at playing yesterday before it was time to return the rental car and get to the airport. After winning $50 on a craps table, I went to the Venetian and sat down with $200 at a $2/$5 no-limit cash game. This was my final play, and win or lose would ensure that I would leave with at least $1500.
After half an hour, I'd won one hand and was sitting on $250. Most people buy into that game, by the way, for $500, but I prefer wagering the minimum allowed stake of $200 and seeing how high I can build it. It's a strategy that works well for me, allowing me the least risk if I do lose, and significant wins if I don't.
A new hand was dealt to the full table, and there was a raise to $20 ahead of me in the small blind. Action comes to me, and I looked down at... pocket 2s. I generally call single raises with low pairs, trying to hit a 'set', or make three of a kind. That's only a 1 in 7.5 chance you'll hit one on the flop. That's the only way they're ever good in multiway pots, but they're also VERY hard to spot by other players. It's very hard to put someone on a set, so they often pay well. I call the bet, and two others do as well. putting $80 in the pot.
My heart leaps when I hit one here, as the flop comes Q-8-2, two diamonds. I'm first to act, so I check, certain someone else will bet for me and looking to trap their chips with a big reraise. I'm not disappointed as a guy a couple seats to my left does so, leading out for $55, presumably betting a pair of queens. Two callers, and then it comes around to me again. There are now $230 in chips in the pot, and that's good enough for me. With the diamonds out, I need to deny flush draws, so it's time to take down the pot. I announce "all-in!", to several groans. My bet amounts to a raise to $200. Three fold, the final players calls, and he indeed has... a flush draw, showing A-10 of diamonds. I don't mind that call--I'm a nearly 3 to 1 favorite on that hand; to win, he has to hit a flush (needs another diamond to fall in the final two cards) without me hitting a full house (which would happen if the board 'pairs', meaning there's a pair in the five upcards--three of a kind + a pair = full house).
Odds are well in my favor, and if I win as I should, I shoot all the way up to $600 and put a punctuation mark on my stay. But he gets not one, but two diamonds for good measure, and the board doesn't pair. I lose to his flush, and that's that. No regrets on the hand; I'll play it that way every time, and make a killing on it for the most part. Play that hand a hundred times, I'll win nearly 3/4 of them and take home a ton of cash. But not this time. So, that was the end of my play, and I simply walked around for the next hour or two until it was time to go to the airport, a $1500 profit in my pocket. I'll be changing that to money orders tomorrow and sending it to my bank to deposit.
It's kind of funny that my cash game play was the opposite of my tournament play. I mean, I had good first and last tournaments but lost all the ones in between, while in my cash game play, the first and last sessions were losers but everything in between went well. Nevertheless, overall, a very good time and session. Could have been so much more if I just won that last hand of the last tournament, walking away with many thousands, but my time will come there. I know I can win those now, and will eventually.
And now... back home. Need to readjust my internal clock, take care of some chores, and make ready to go back to work in a couple days. Back to reality, in other words. And of course, back to writing as well...
Well, feel free to relax a bit.
Yay, monies!