Saturday, June 10, 2006
Home again
My life has taken another wild shift as I have left the fast-paced inconsistent life of Las Vegas, Nevada, and traded it in for a leisurely dependable life at home In Highland Park, IL. Let me start by summarizing my time in Las Vegas.
1. I had an amazing time. I lived unbounded by any schedule and entertained myself with anything at a whim. I lived a new surprise and adventure every day.
2. I learned a lot. Between meeting people of all ages and backgrounds and getting to know them, I was able to expand my understanding of people. I also lived in a new place, with new people, and very little familiarity and survived.
3. I made some money. Overall on the trip my poker earnings eclipsed $2000. This is despite what I consider to be below average luck. It is definitely hard to grasp how lucky I was, especially from such a small sample, but I believe with average luck I would have made more. I kept my total expenditure including entertainment, food, travel, rent, and all else slightly over $850. Financially I would consider this trip a success.
4. I can’t wait to go back. I am thinking a couple of times this school year and a similar trip after I graduate.
5. People who live in Vegas (and many people who travel there) are not normal. The amount of crazy characters I met, including my roommates, dealers, poker players, and travelers is off the charts.
Let me start with my roommate Stevie Vegas. When Cachaulo and I first arrived Stevie met us at the door in his Hawaiian shirt and tapered sweat pants. The next morning he wore this strange white bathrobe with a black belt around the house. He looked like the karate kid in his late 30’s. When Cachaulo and I asked him about what he does for a living he mentioned that he is a celebrity poker pro. Now, if he had said that he plays poker for a living, I could probably let the rest of this stuff go, but he said celebrity, and that is why he is a little (read: a lot) delusional. If he were recognizable by one one-thousandth of one percent of Americans maybe I could don him celebrity status. The fact is that the dealers at the places he most frequents don’t even know who he is. The only three games that he played while Cachaulo and I were in town was 2-4 limit at Palace Stations (a mathematically near impossible game to profit at), free-roll tourneys online (The best players in the world could average at best $3 an hour doing these), and the $62 tournament at the Sahara (a very low stakes tournament that I would guess is also near unbeatable due to the large percentage taken by the house). At the very least, Stevie made us laugh.
On other roommate, Josie, was very nice but also crazy spastic, over-energetic, and a bit of a flake. She is a professional everything (entertainer) but her true skill is definitely dancing. She has worked for all of the clubs in Vegas and was accepted to dance for Cirque Sole or however you spell it. She once worked as a stripper and she is pretty excited about everything. She was supposed to hook me up with a hair-modeling gig, but as I had expected it didn’t pan out. Did I mention that she is a little flaky.
If Josie was flaky, our other roommate Maria was insane. The experience with her that best describes my roommate Maria was driving her to Mandalay Bay so she could meet a nice guy at the bar. She explains to me her very personal details about her upcoming lawsuit. Basically, a guy who said that she could go shopping on his credit card because she spent $3,000 is suing her. When we asked her what she does for a living she said that she is a gambler. So, for a living, she is gradually losing money to the house in the casinos. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that that feeling she gets when she puts $25 on red 17 is the feeling that built this city out of a desert.
Of all of the poker players the ones worth mentioning are Jacob, Justin, Molly, Dotty and Tony. Tony and I played together at the Wynn then jokingly talked about playing the graveyard (2 AM) tourney at the Aladdin. We didn’t go but the next day we were at the same table again and we again joked about going, but we decided it would be a lark and we went. Tony is easily twice the size of me and also has pretty much the biggest car in the world. I thought that if he wanted to kidnap me he could so I was a little scared. Everything turned out all right and he busted out of the tourney early and I made it all the way to the bubble where I busted. Dotty is a dealer at the Sahara who plays at the Wynn. In a way, she is like any other poker dealer, she is good, but if she were any better she wouldn’t be dealing. She makes a mix of good plays and bad plays but she always asks my advice. After I give her advice she explains why her way is better. I don’t mind if she thinks that way, that is why I make money. Molly is a local who plays with me a lot at the Wynn. She plays a loose aggressive style that is not very feminine, but I think it is only a matter of time before her poker fun is done. She always buys in short and I think that is because she can’t afford to play in those games. Justin is the most egotistical player on the planet. All of the dealers hate him, but I find him quite amusing. The real question is whether or not he really thinks as highly of himself as he says he does. His game is to play really tight and get other people so happy to bust him that they will go after him with lesser hands. He constantly describes himself as a “great great great great great player”. The other players at the table are “soft chocolate”. He rates the other players at the table on a scale from 1 to 10, mostly 2’s. He will tell you that for as long as you play you will never play against anyone as good as him. And he describes himself as the best player in the universe. All the while he is playing at the relatively low stakes 1-3 game. Jacob was probably the most interesting player I played with during my stay. I lost the biggest pot of my life to him, and won one of the largest pots of my life off of him, both worth over a grand. The first, I lost with pocket aces to a two outer (5% chance). The other I won with pocket tens when I flopped four of a kind. In the end I must have made well over $500 from him. He is from Madison, WI and I told him I was going to be there later this summer and he offered to take me out to dinner. I have his number; I am still debating whether to give this nut job a call.
Now, it is onto the rest of the summer, which for me is basically doing very little but making the most out of my time. I think it is important to set some goals as to what I should do with my time. I would like to buy a laptop and start playing a lot of online poker. I would like to also start a fitness regiment much like last summer to improve my fitness and use my time effectively. My third goal is to play a lot more guitar and also to write lyrics and music. If I spend approximately one hour a day playing guitar, one hour a day exercising, and five hours a day playing poker online I will still have plenty of time to relax and enjoy the summer. I have not come up with a schedule yet but by this time next week hopefully I will. Ideally by this time next week I will have established firm goals for each of the three categories of self improvement.
1. I had an amazing time. I lived unbounded by any schedule and entertained myself with anything at a whim. I lived a new surprise and adventure every day.
2. I learned a lot. Between meeting people of all ages and backgrounds and getting to know them, I was able to expand my understanding of people. I also lived in a new place, with new people, and very little familiarity and survived.
3. I made some money. Overall on the trip my poker earnings eclipsed $2000. This is despite what I consider to be below average luck. It is definitely hard to grasp how lucky I was, especially from such a small sample, but I believe with average luck I would have made more. I kept my total expenditure including entertainment, food, travel, rent, and all else slightly over $850. Financially I would consider this trip a success.
4. I can’t wait to go back. I am thinking a couple of times this school year and a similar trip after I graduate.
5. People who live in Vegas (and many people who travel there) are not normal. The amount of crazy characters I met, including my roommates, dealers, poker players, and travelers is off the charts.
Let me start with my roommate Stevie Vegas. When Cachaulo and I first arrived Stevie met us at the door in his Hawaiian shirt and tapered sweat pants. The next morning he wore this strange white bathrobe with a black belt around the house. He looked like the karate kid in his late 30’s. When Cachaulo and I asked him about what he does for a living he mentioned that he is a celebrity poker pro. Now, if he had said that he plays poker for a living, I could probably let the rest of this stuff go, but he said celebrity, and that is why he is a little (read: a lot) delusional. If he were recognizable by one one-thousandth of one percent of Americans maybe I could don him celebrity status. The fact is that the dealers at the places he most frequents don’t even know who he is. The only three games that he played while Cachaulo and I were in town was 2-4 limit at Palace Stations (a mathematically near impossible game to profit at), free-roll tourneys online (The best players in the world could average at best $3 an hour doing these), and the $62 tournament at the Sahara (a very low stakes tournament that I would guess is also near unbeatable due to the large percentage taken by the house). At the very least, Stevie made us laugh.
On other roommate, Josie, was very nice but also crazy spastic, over-energetic, and a bit of a flake. She is a professional everything (entertainer) but her true skill is definitely dancing. She has worked for all of the clubs in Vegas and was accepted to dance for Cirque Sole or however you spell it. She once worked as a stripper and she is pretty excited about everything. She was supposed to hook me up with a hair-modeling gig, but as I had expected it didn’t pan out. Did I mention that she is a little flaky.
If Josie was flaky, our other roommate Maria was insane. The experience with her that best describes my roommate Maria was driving her to Mandalay Bay so she could meet a nice guy at the bar. She explains to me her very personal details about her upcoming lawsuit. Basically, a guy who said that she could go shopping on his credit card because she spent $3,000 is suing her. When we asked her what she does for a living she said that she is a gambler. So, for a living, she is gradually losing money to the house in the casinos. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that that feeling she gets when she puts $25 on red 17 is the feeling that built this city out of a desert.
Of all of the poker players the ones worth mentioning are Jacob, Justin, Molly, Dotty and Tony. Tony and I played together at the Wynn then jokingly talked about playing the graveyard (2 AM) tourney at the Aladdin. We didn’t go but the next day we were at the same table again and we again joked about going, but we decided it would be a lark and we went. Tony is easily twice the size of me and also has pretty much the biggest car in the world. I thought that if he wanted to kidnap me he could so I was a little scared. Everything turned out all right and he busted out of the tourney early and I made it all the way to the bubble where I busted. Dotty is a dealer at the Sahara who plays at the Wynn. In a way, she is like any other poker dealer, she is good, but if she were any better she wouldn’t be dealing. She makes a mix of good plays and bad plays but she always asks my advice. After I give her advice she explains why her way is better. I don’t mind if she thinks that way, that is why I make money. Molly is a local who plays with me a lot at the Wynn. She plays a loose aggressive style that is not very feminine, but I think it is only a matter of time before her poker fun is done. She always buys in short and I think that is because she can’t afford to play in those games. Justin is the most egotistical player on the planet. All of the dealers hate him, but I find him quite amusing. The real question is whether or not he really thinks as highly of himself as he says he does. His game is to play really tight and get other people so happy to bust him that they will go after him with lesser hands. He constantly describes himself as a “great great great great great player”. The other players at the table are “soft chocolate”. He rates the other players at the table on a scale from 1 to 10, mostly 2’s. He will tell you that for as long as you play you will never play against anyone as good as him. And he describes himself as the best player in the universe. All the while he is playing at the relatively low stakes 1-3 game. Jacob was probably the most interesting player I played with during my stay. I lost the biggest pot of my life to him, and won one of the largest pots of my life off of him, both worth over a grand. The first, I lost with pocket aces to a two outer (5% chance). The other I won with pocket tens when I flopped four of a kind. In the end I must have made well over $500 from him. He is from Madison, WI and I told him I was going to be there later this summer and he offered to take me out to dinner. I have his number; I am still debating whether to give this nut job a call.
Now, it is onto the rest of the summer, which for me is basically doing very little but making the most out of my time. I think it is important to set some goals as to what I should do with my time. I would like to buy a laptop and start playing a lot of online poker. I would like to also start a fitness regiment much like last summer to improve my fitness and use my time effectively. My third goal is to play a lot more guitar and also to write lyrics and music. If I spend approximately one hour a day playing guitar, one hour a day exercising, and five hours a day playing poker online I will still have plenty of time to relax and enjoy the summer. I have not come up with a schedule yet but by this time next week hopefully I will. Ideally by this time next week I will have established firm goals for each of the three categories of self improvement.
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Vegas: Part 2
I guess it goes in Poker that sometimes you win and sometimes you lose, and well, I have been hitting a string of pretty bad beats. I keep on putting my money in with the best hand and losing, I have been sucked out on for about 1500 in pots in the last three or four days. Two days ago was the first time that I have ever been affected by a bad beat and definitely got me pretty somber. My aces got cracked by kings, which for those that don’t play poker is like betting someone $250 that when you role a dice it won’t be a six, and then it is a six. I’ve lost more money in a situation where odds were more in my favor before, but because of the timing I was really bummed.
Cachaulo and I decided to enter a tournament at Caesar’s Palace, I was ready to get up from the Cash game at that point anyway, and I was glad I did. I managed to outlast a field of 78 players and make it to the final table. Considering I had been busted on the bubble and bad beat out of the four other tourneys I entered, I was happy this one worked out. I pushed for the table to take a chop, and we each won $810 dollars. Cachaulo bought 50% of my action, so I made $405. It seems that whenever Cachaulo buys a piece of my action I make a lot of money. I have definitely made him over a grand.
I have decided that being a poker player, three to four weeks is the perfect amount of time to be in Vegas. You get a chance to make friends with the locals and a few out of towners, and despite having played over 150 hours of cards I am still not bored with it. Now that I have had a chance to play many of the poker rooms in Vegas I can say that the Wynn is easily the best. Just like everything else at the Wynn they just do things right. I am ready to move on and do some more things with my summer, but I certainly have not had my fill and cannot wait to come back.
Cachaulo and I took one day off from poker on Wednesday to do some things that a normal tourists would do in Vegas. We woke up late and drove to the Wynn for the buffet, awesome food, comp’ed by the casino. After lunch we went to sports book and made about 15 $10 bets each. We sat there and watched all of the horse races, the baseball games, and the NBA playoffs. Almost all of my tickets paid and I made $70 on sports. Last weekend I also bet $120 to win $50 on Matt Hughes to beat Royce Gracie at UFC 60. I was pretty sure it was a lock and I was right. Cachaulo, Alicia, and I went to a bar in Henderson that was packed full of fight fans to watch it on pay-per-view and the fight was awesome. Hughes won in the first round and my bet paid off. After the sports betting, Cachaulo and I popped on the blades and we saw all of the shows on the strip. First, the Mirage volcano, second, the Bellagio fountains, third, the Sirens of Treasure Island, and last the mud wrestling at the Frontier. I have also managed to see my one Vegas show, Penn & Teller. It was not as good as I had hoped but I was still pretty good.
I am off now to play the tourney at Caesar’s again. I leave here in two days and Cachaulo is already gone. I am excited for the final stretch.
Cachaulo and I decided to enter a tournament at Caesar’s Palace, I was ready to get up from the Cash game at that point anyway, and I was glad I did. I managed to outlast a field of 78 players and make it to the final table. Considering I had been busted on the bubble and bad beat out of the four other tourneys I entered, I was happy this one worked out. I pushed for the table to take a chop, and we each won $810 dollars. Cachaulo bought 50% of my action, so I made $405. It seems that whenever Cachaulo buys a piece of my action I make a lot of money. I have definitely made him over a grand.
I have decided that being a poker player, three to four weeks is the perfect amount of time to be in Vegas. You get a chance to make friends with the locals and a few out of towners, and despite having played over 150 hours of cards I am still not bored with it. Now that I have had a chance to play many of the poker rooms in Vegas I can say that the Wynn is easily the best. Just like everything else at the Wynn they just do things right. I am ready to move on and do some more things with my summer, but I certainly have not had my fill and cannot wait to come back.
Cachaulo and I took one day off from poker on Wednesday to do some things that a normal tourists would do in Vegas. We woke up late and drove to the Wynn for the buffet, awesome food, comp’ed by the casino. After lunch we went to sports book and made about 15 $10 bets each. We sat there and watched all of the horse races, the baseball games, and the NBA playoffs. Almost all of my tickets paid and I made $70 on sports. Last weekend I also bet $120 to win $50 on Matt Hughes to beat Royce Gracie at UFC 60. I was pretty sure it was a lock and I was right. Cachaulo, Alicia, and I went to a bar in Henderson that was packed full of fight fans to watch it on pay-per-view and the fight was awesome. Hughes won in the first round and my bet paid off. After the sports betting, Cachaulo and I popped on the blades and we saw all of the shows on the strip. First, the Mirage volcano, second, the Bellagio fountains, third, the Sirens of Treasure Island, and last the mud wrestling at the Frontier. I have also managed to see my one Vegas show, Penn & Teller. It was not as good as I had hoped but I was still pretty good.
I am off now to play the tourney at Caesar’s again. I leave here in two days and Cachaulo is already gone. I am excited for the final stretch.
