LV Report 4-4-06 (3 of 12)
Habits are hard to be broken and I woke up after about six
hours of sleep and simply could not bring myself to get back to
sleep. At one point, you just resign to the inevitable and begin
the day. In the distance you sirens, which you expect to hear when
you're in any large metropolitan city. However, living in the
mountains, it's going to take me awhile to get used to the many
noises at night, so my subconscious can tune them out.
The gods of gaming either subscribe to the laws of averages,
or they have a wicked sense of humor because they must have decided
that three straight days of winning just can't be good for business
and set out to make sure I didn't get a big head.
Every possible thing that went right the first two days went
wrong today. I lost at video poker, not catching even ONE four-of-a-
kind in over two thousand hands. I lost at penny video games when
even at one point during a bonus round, the screen froze (the
attendant fixed the machine, but I lost my bonus round). I lost at
the slot tournament. I lost at live poker in two different hotels.
It was simply a losing day all around. Fortunately, the two winning
days made the fall a little less painful.
Chasing royals can be an expensive proposition, and
foolhardy for most. The double, double bonus progressive was high
enough for me to take a shot at it while I waited for my final slot
tournament session. I began noticing that I was playing backwards
(when I played the connecting small cards for straights and flushes,
the high cards would come up, and when I played the high cards for
royals and pairs, the small cards would come up). It became almost
comical. I would be dealt Ah, 5d, 5c, Ks, 10s. The correct
strategy is to play the 5s. I'd do that and the draw would be Ad,
As, and Kd.
I began to predict the cards I'd draw simply based on being the
opposite of the cards I held. Must players know just what I'm
talking aboutit was simply "one of those days."
I played my final slot tournament session and again scored
just over 3000 points. That makes a total of 9750 points for the
three sessions. Everyone was to return at 2:00 PM to find out who
made the top 50, which would be in the money. I had three hours
till then, so I walked over to the Golden Nugget to see if they had
a 2/4 game of live poker going. It turns out they did. I bought in
for my usual rack ($100).
I'm by no means an expert poker player, but I am
knowledgeable and have been playing for almost three years. I
rarely chase cards and always play position. I would be what many
refer to as a conservative player. Well, without boring anyone into
the blow-by-blow accounts, I couldn't win a hand. I couldn't get a
hand. I had my trips beat by flushes, my two pairs beat by trips,
and my flushes beat by boats. Again, it was just one of those
things. I lost my entire $100.00 stake. I then bought in for
another rack. Fortunately, things began to turn (as they should),
and I won back almost $40 when it was time to leave.
When I got back to the Plaza where everyone was standing
around waiting to hear the points needed, I stood on the second
floor looking down over the balcony (this slot tournament was held
in what used to be the Las Vegas Club Sportsbook (for those who are
familiar with this place). "In fiftieth place, Mr. Whoever, with
11, 330 points
" I went to the elevator and headed back to my
room.
As I had noted before, I like to catch up on my reading and
movies while I'm in Las Vegas, so I headed down to Neonopolis to see
a flick. The only one showing that I wouldn't have to wait two
hours to see was ICE AGE THE MELTDOWN. I wasn't all that keen on
seeing this one, but why not? I bought a pretzel and soda and
watched what I thought it was an entertaining movie, though not a
particularly funny one. I did really enjoy the amazing detail of
the artwork. I'm convinced that solving our energy crises should be
delegated to the research departments of the movie studios. These
people do amazing things and the creativity to accomplish anything.
I remember when Neonopolis was being built and how everyone
downtown was anxious for it to finish expecting it to lure thousands
more downtown. What a bust! There are only five stores open in it,
and the food court is down to just one, lone pizza outlet. If it
weren't for the movie theaters (which are also mostly empty), the
place would already be boarded up. They need to hire Steve Wynn to
come and do something with the joint.
After the movie, I enjoyed a bowl of tortilla soup at the
new Mickey Finns located across the street. I really like
downtown. I think it carries an entirely different "vibe" than the
Strip or the local areas. I really hope they figure out how to turn
it around. Though I see thousands at night watching the Freemont
Experience, too many places are still going in and out of business.
I thought I'd give my poker chops one more effort before
calling it a day. I went to the Plaza where they also have a 2/4
table. Again, I bought in for a rack and played conservatively.
This game was a poker player's nightmare. I lost with slick three
times, K/K once even after flopping a set to a straight, and then
back-to-back huge pots to some yahoo that caught a flush on the
river both times. Even everyone at the table was amazed at my
string of bad luck. It got to a point that I was hoping the dealer
wouldn't give me good cards so I would have an excuse to fold. I
lost the entire rack.
In the years I've played poker, I've never had back-to-back
losing sessions. My style of play simply doesn't warrant it.
However, like any other game, you have to deal the swings. I take
comfort in the fact that I did not lose ONE hand because I was
chasing cards. Every single hand I stayed in, I was ahead after the
flop. It was just a day that I was constantly being outdrawn.
These things have a way of evening out, and I expect to do fine next
time. I played well; I made no mistakes. It simply wasn't my day.
More tomorrow