Vegas TR Day One: Mirage 4/8 and Pastrami

So after a bumpy flight into McCarran (even after some Dramamine I almost yacked), Fender and I landed safe and sound into Vegas and made our way to Harrahs to drop bags and see what everyone was doing. After talking to Shabba, we decided to meet up in the Venetian food court for a bite to eat and wait for everyone else to get in. First we met up with Albinokid, who actually reminds me a lot of Doyle (stature, voice, overall sexiness), except with a bit more punk-style (green and yellow shoes, band t-shirt). Cool guy, reminded me a lot of my younger brother plus the cool british accent.

After eating, Shifty, Rambler, Rambler's IRL friend Dennis, Trey and Trey's wife met up with us and the eight of decided to go play some mini-bet at Mirage. The game was great, as it was us and two tourists that were constantly rotating in and out, probably based on shock and absolute monkey tilt.

Shifty was about what I pictured, and to my delight, I didn't get punched by him at any point during the trip. He had a $100 freeroll to anyone who punched me in the face, thankfully no one took him up on the offer. He was good at setting up things to do but was still laidback and cool enough to go along with whatever people wanted. Rambler was much taller than I expected...probably 6'1 or so. He was a good kid and seemed to have a lot of fun, he's much better without a computer in front of him. Rambler's IRL friend Dennis looked a lot like Turtle from Entourage, he clicked really well with all of us despite not e-knowing anyone but Rambler prior to the trip...talk about a handicap. Trey told me he would be along with his wife and to look for a guy wearing an Andre Johnson jersey and a beard, I was expecting someone old like Deuce. Thankfully Trey turned out to be a younger guy with a wife much cuter wife than he deserved ala tttthomas :lol: :wink:

Okay had to get that out of the way, onto the game. We played with a couple rules. First off, throwing the hammer got you $5 a piece, and the second was you had to show one card if your hand didn't go to showdown. Usually I just told people what my hands were, like saying "well do you want to see top pair or my kicker?" or "which king do you want to see?"

I ran like a god early on, picking up Aces a couple times and winning, and then this hand comes up. So we had been straddling some of the time, and since I was on a tear, someone said "do a double straddle" which I of course obliged. So I have a dead straddle in the two seat (i.e. I can't raise if it's only called back to me) and watch Shifty make it $16 from the four seat. Awesome. Called in one spot behind him, I think the original straddler in the one seat (I think this was Shabba) called, and I look down at Red Kings and cap (cap is 5 bets). Weeeeeeeeeee I hold and take in a big pot, Shifty's a tad bit tilted I double straddle and get Kings :P

My only time on the trip getting 7-2 while playing the 7-2 game comes up during this session. I raise somewhere from MP, my IRL friend Fender 3-bets directly behind me from the three seat, and it gets called in two spots, I only call.

Flop is QT6 rainbow

We all check to Fender, called by a random and I call while showing my hand to Shabba. I'm setting up a turn CR bluff...

The turn obliges with a 6, and now I think I can bluff Fender off a good chunk of his hands on this QT66 board. The random and I check to him, he bets, the random folds and I raise with my seven-high. Fender snap 3-bets and I puke a little in my mouth, then actually start thinking about 4-betting. He knows we're all screwing around having fun, and maybe he thinks my CR is just a play...maybe he's got QJ or some shit. I decide not to follow through with the 4-bet plan and I hem and haw over folding, after I muck he shows one card which was a ten of spades or some shit. Obv full-house tens full, no way he has any other hand. He told me later that day he had Tens full (ldo). Sweet, my one chance to throw the hammer and I run into a boat :(

After a good chunk of time people start breaking away from the game (can't handle the mini-bet heat obv), and I decide to go with Deuce across the street to Harrahs to book my room. This mini-venture turned out to suck ass, and Fender owes me one for not making him go across the street with us. First the line to register was insanely long with only two people working the desk, then some jackass closed our safe before checking out, so we had to wait while a security lady opened the safe for us. I think me and Deuce were talking shit about the Shabba fitness challenge or w/e, because as soon as she came in she started hitting on Deuce and telling him "oh you look good" or something. Deuce runs good with olllllld women apparently.

I can't remember much after that, we probably ate at the deli at some point (edit: we did, I had pastrami, it was awesome obv) and I think I dropped $400 after running like ass at 10/20. Great, I crush 4/8 but won one pot in two and a half hours at short-handed 10/20.

Tune in next time for Thursday's shenanigans which include 15/30 at Bellagio, eating at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill, and a trip to the Rio where I would sweat Shifty and Humberto Brenes.