Session No. 20 Bellagio and Mirage (6/26)

Bellagio 8/16: TP = +$415 TSP = 6 Hrs 30 Min BB/Hr: 3.99BB/Hr
Mirage 6/12: TP = +$44 TSP = 1 Hr 30 Min BB/Hr: 2.44BB/Hr

After lunch with Todd on Tuesday, I decided to step up to the 8/16 game over at the Bellagio. My first impression of the game was that it was a 4/8 game, except everyone had at least 300 in front of them (I bought in for 400). My first couple playable hands at the table were winners, as I raised pre-flop twice with AQ. The first hand the flop came Q-High and I got paid off, the other I completely whiffed the flop, but took the pot down with a c-bet.

My first really big hand was two black Aces UTG. I raised from UTG and all fold to the dealer button who was this older Asian woman with extremely red hair. The BB followed along and we were three-handed to a flop that came K-High with 2 clubs. I bet and they both called. The turn was a blank, I bet, red-haired lady called, and the BB folded. The river was a red King. Pretty much the most terrible card in the deck for me (besides a club). I checked, hoping to draw out a bluff from a couple clubs or call down someone who had top pair and now has trips. Sure enough the older woman bets and I call. She has K3 of diamonds and takes down the pot...ahhhh I felt like I was back at Cache Creek again. After this hand I knew I'd have a good session.

The next hand I'll talk about was after about an hour and a half at the table. The villain was a guy I played with at the Mirage 6/12 the night before. He was a bit of a donk, and I had watched him get cute pre-flop an orbit before this raising with 76 suited. It folded to the villain in the Hijack who raised, the cutoff folded, and I looked down at 98 of spades. I opted to call and attempt to out-play the villain after the flop. The small-blind and big blind both called and we were four-handed going to the flop.

The flop came out 9:c:8:h:6:c:

Boom. It gets checked to the villain in the hijack who bet out, I raised, the small-blind cold-called two cold, the big blind folded, Villain three-bet, I cap, small blind called two more bets, and the villain says, "so that's where you're at" and called. Wow...lot of action here. At this point I wasn't entirely sure where the Hijack was in the hand, as that three-bet made me think he had a big pair, AK of clubs, or maybe even the same hand as me. At this point I was almost positive the small-blind had some sort of club draw as well, so maybe they had each other's outs.

Thankfully the turn and river blank out but I still got paid off by both players. The small-blind had 77 and the Hijack had 97 of diamonds. That was a really good flop for him as he flopped top pair and an OESD...too bad we didn't get a 9 on the turn and then a 7 on the river haha...

Almost directly after this hand I was dealt AQ of spades in MP. The Villain from the previous hand was now UTG and open-limped. I raised and was called by the cutoff, an adorable but loud-mouth Thai dealer from the Orleans, and the button, the old red-haired Asian lady. The BB also came along for the ride and the UTG villain called completing the action.

The flop was: A:c:9:d:8:s:

Checked to me, I bet, cute girl called, old lady called, BB folded and UTG called. The turn was a Q:d:. Things were looking good...checked to me, I bet, both women called, and the UTG player called again. I remember thinking "deuce, ace or queen" as a lot of other cards left to come would make a straight...

The river was the two of diamonds. Boom...I got my deuce that I asked for...except UTG led out. Wtf? I flashed a glare at him and said "this is disgusting if you have the flush." The other two players called and UTG flipped over T8 of diamonds. :PUKE: Ugggggh........what a huge pot that could have been...

I remember saying "that's terrible" but all he could say was "I love my suited connectors...err semi connected suiteds..." Yeah shut the fuck up asshole. Keep playing those from UTG and see what happens. In retrospect I guess I don't mind his catch all that much. He was getting a billion to one on the flop to take another card off and then he was getting a good price for his flush draw on the turn, but still, that was just ugly for someone in my spot.

Another thing that semi-pissed me off was that the Thai girl had AJ (could have raised the flop) and the older Asian woman had Q9 (could have raised the turn) and simply got this guy out of the hand for me. That's how a lot of these players are though at this level. They're only raising with the nuts, or close to it, and they're calling down with cards that could be possible winners...

The rest of the session was cool, I hit some good hands and ended up coming up $415 in my first ever 8/16 session. 4BB/Hr at this level is really good and I was extremely pleased with how my session went. After I cashed out I met up with Todd for dinner and then we played the Mirage 6/12 for about an hour and a half before the game broke. At this point my trip had been paid for and now the rest of the trip could be focused on making some profit off of Vegas...I couldn't wait to get back to the 8/16 game the next day.