Badger at the Bellagio

I spent the bulk of last week in Vegas; we stayed at the Bellagio, which is definitely up there with the Wynn for my favorite casino.

I ended up playing between 3-6 hours for the 4 days we were there. I started off quite well, consistently winning (albeit modest amounts) at $1/$3 and $2/$5 no-limit tables, at the Bellagio and Madalay Bay.

I suffered a serious setback, however in a game at the Wynn. It was a good, tough table with a lot of all-in action--surprisingly strong for a $1/$3 table.

There was a (not famous) pro from L.A. at the far end of the table who won a nearly-$1,000 pot when he pushed the kid beside me all-in. The kid turned over KK. The pro had an open-ended straight: 8 outs, two times. And he'd pushed the kid all-in! Well you can guess what happened next: the pro rivered the straight, and the kid went ballistic, splashing his chips all over the table. The floor manager had to be called over, and it took a good 10 minutes until we were playing again.

Once we got going, it was my turn for a whole lotta' fun. I had about $180 and was in middle position. I looked down and saw pocket QQ--my nemisis--queens always seem to be a disaster for me! There was a straddle on, so it was $6 to call. But I wasn't going to call: I bet the pot, making it $20 to go. To my surprise, I had two callers in late position--including the pro.

The flop came 7,8,10--a rainbow. A straight was possible, but would be fairly unusual for someone to call a big raise with a 6,9 or a 9,J. That said, I wasn't going to sit around and let my two opponents draw out on me. The pot was now about $80, and I was first to act. I bet $60. The first opponent folded. So far, so good. The pro looks at me. "How much you got back there?" I tell him I have $100 remaining, figuring he is trying to intimidate me. But Badger will most certainly not be knocked off his overpair.

"I put you all-in," he declares.

I ponder his push: I had seen him make a semi-bluff all-in before. If he was drawing to the straight, I was a definitive favorite. Then I looked at the odds: I was having to put $100 into a $240 pot: nearly 2:7 odds.

I call. Since I am all-in, I turn over the queens. And he, you guessed, it turns over the nuts: 9,J!

That was the start of a mini-Vegas slump for me. I had a poor session later that evening, but then the next--and final--night I had a good, late $2/$5 session at the Bellagio, which put me back in black for the trip.

Overall, it was a great experience. I "graduated" to the $2/$5 game, which I find a lot more fun: the $1/$3's tend to have a couple players at each table who really don't know what they are doing--it doesn't feel great winning money from them. And there are so many small pots. But at a $2/$5, even the modest pots have my full attention!

Looking back, I am not certain whether to look at the experience as very cheap entertainment (with free drinks!)...or as sweat-shop wages (about $2/hour). I suppose I'll have to tell you next time I get back from Vegas!