The Ultimate Run Good: How 5-2os Scored in the Talking Stick High Hand Promotion
Thursday, July 31, 2025
Thursday, June 19, 2025
Las Vegas Trip Report June 8-13, 2025: I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends/Poker Sucks
Sunday, June 8, 2025
It was time for another trip to Sin City. I was unsure if I wanted to go just over a week after getting home from my trip to central Europe, but I wanted to play in the Golden Nugget tag team event with my friend NormInVegas. I made last-minute air and hotel reservations, and I was ready for some fun. The fun would have to wait, however, as my 12:47pm Frontier Airlines flight was ready to take off when the pilot announced that a leak was detected in the plane's air conditioning system. The flight was pretty warm as were taxiing for takeoff. Since it was already 104 degrees in Phoenix, we were immediately taken back to our gate and instructed to deplane. The other passengers and I waited ... and waited ... and waited. We finally were able to get back on the plane and take off on the short flight. We originally were supposed to land in Las Vegas at 2:02pm. As it was, my Las Vegas Lyft driver picked me up at 7:24pm. As one person noted, this was the first bad beat of the trip!
I stayed at my usual Las Vegas "home" -- the so-called Dirty Castle: Excalibur. I was quite surprised that my Resort Tower room was as nice as it was. Perhaps the furniture had been replaced by hand-me-downs from Aria or Bellagio?
After catching dinner, I decided to go to an old favorite and a close poker room, MGM. The table I was seated at was okay. The players seemed to be decent -- except for two. One was calling down with obviously inferior hands, and one guy was doing crap like being in a hand with Q-3os and betting big each time on a Queen-high flop. Noted. After winning some pots and building a little stack, I was in the big blind with A-7os. There was a raise to either $7 or $10, and I called to defend my blind. The flop was 7-2-5. I decided to check, then called a small raise. There were just three players in the hand: me, and the two other players I deemed to be bad. The turn was a great card: an Ace. I now bet and was called by the calling station. To my surprise and delight, the Q-3 guy made a big raise -- something I had seen him do before with a relatively light hand. There was little doubt what I was going to do. I jammed all in, thinking he'd fold. The calling station called and, much to my surprise, the Q-3 guy called. I thought that I would be scooping a huge pot ... until he tabled 4-3os! The river didn't deliver one of the four outs I had. I had been felted my first session. This was just the first of several disappointing sessions in the trip. It was time to play a few slots and call it a night.
Monday, June 9, 2025
After breakfast at the MGM buffet (covered under a resort credit I had with my reservation), I headed to try out the new poker room at Planet Hollywood. It is a different kind of room, with small alcove-like areas outside the main room. I counted 23 tables, but my count might be off a tad. I was not impressed by the two brush people, who seemed to be consumed with a small tournament that was going on. I was ignored for several minutes before finally getting on the wait list. Shortly after being seated, I was joined by poker friend Vegas_Degen (Larry), who I had not seen for some time. Larry divides most of his time between Las Vegas and the Philippines. The game was nothing out of the ordinary, but one play was significant in my mind. Larry was seated on my immediate left. In one hand he was on the button and raised. I don't remember my hand (it was good enough for a limp in the cutoff), so I called. The flop was 10-rag-10. I thought that it was a great flop to make a river steal. After a couple rounds of betting, I made a big raise on the river, expecting Larry to fold. Unfortunately, he insta-raised all in. I was forced to fold. He showed 10-10 for flopped quads! Great plan, oh lightning genius! Despite my crappy play, I was impressed by the new PH room and hope that it will stick around awhile. It is easy to find after taking the escalator near Cafe' Hollywood.
That evening, Larry and I played at the new room in Caesars Palace. It is very small and difficult to find. Luckily, I was seated at the front of the room, soon to be joined by Larry. There was a lot of walk-by traffic, so the room seemed really loud. I heard that a new room is hoped to be opened by December. That would be nice, as I found the current room very uncomfortable.
Nothing seemed to be breaking right for me, and my stack was dwindling. I finally got a decent hand (A-Kos) and raised. I was called by one player who was relatively new to the table. The flop was Q-rag-rag -- all clubs. I had no clubs. I decided, perhaps recklessly, to jam my remaining stack, hoping to get my opponent to fold. He tanked, then called -- with J-J, one club. There were no clubs on the turn or river, and no Aces or Kings either. Bye bye chippies. This is one play I really thought a lot about afterward. A jam born of frustration? I dunno. All I knew was that I certainly wasn't feeling a great poker vibe this trip ... and I still had three full days to go!
Tuesday, June 10, 2025
I had tried to play at what has become my Las Vegas honey hole -- Bellagio -- the day before, but there were a ton of people playing there, and the desk seemed to be wallowing in confusion. I attempted to get seated and was told to speak to the guy at the podium in the sports book area, which had partially been converted to a poker area. I had played here before. Seating had been a bit tight, but I was involved in some fun games. However, I waited ... and waited for someone to speak with. Finally, a guy came out and told me that that area was full and that I should return to the desk. I was then put on the $1/3 list -- several places down from where I would have been if I had just been placed on the list when I first approached the desk. I waited a bit, then left very frustrated.
This day proved to again be frustrating. I got on the list and was quickly the second in line. The person above me had been called, and his name was flashing. I was right outside the room, waiting to hear my name. I finally saw my name flashing, and happily went to the desk. The woman there told me that my name had been called three times (huh?). I told her that I was right outside the room and immediately came when my name started flashing. She said the seat had already been filled, but she left me at the top of the list. Very disappointing experiences with a room that I had really been liking. They just seemed to be overwhelmed by the pure numbers of people. However, I was quickly seated and watched the player on my right flop a set ... flop a straight ... flop a set ... while I got nothing. NOTHING! I got frustrated and left.
I played a short session at Horseshoe before being picked up by poker friend NormInVegas. We headed to the Golden Nugget to play in its Grand Series tag team event.
Arizona donk and Norm
This tournament is mainly for fun, as it has a quick, donkathon structure. I played the first level and was dealt A-Jos right away. I raised and got two callers. The flop was J-5-6. The player on my right made a big bet. I contemplated raising, but just called. The third player came along. The turn was a rag, and he bet again. I was putting him on K-J. I called. The other player came along. The river was another rag. He bet, I called, the other player came along. He flipped over Q-J. I felt great until the third player flipped over 6-5os for the flopped two pair. Sheesh! I was actually quite active in the first level, getting hands like A-k, 9-9 and 4-4. I won a pot and chopped another to help get back chips I lost on my first hand. Norm played level two, I played three, and he played four. we were getting short stacked at the end of level four. I was getting ready to be in shove mode in level five when Norm pushed all in with two pair. Unfortunately, he lost to a straight (that sounded familiar!) and the dream was over.
We then decided to play some $1/2 at the Golden Nugget poker room. We were seated at the same table, which was great. There was some really unusual (fishy) play there. Norm took advantage when he had quads and found that another player just couldn't lay his hand down with three of a kind on the baord and Norm betting big. Nice play! I, unfortunately, was bleeding chips and was waiting for my chance. I got it when I was dealt Q-Q. There was a raise and I reraised. I got two callers. The flop was 1o high. The first player checked, and I shoved all in. The woman sitting across from me called. I felt good. The turn was a blank and the river was ... an Ace. I already felt wheat was coming. She flipped over A-10, and I was done playing poker for the day. I'm sure Norm heard a lot of whining at our dinner shortly thereafter.
Wednesday, June 11, 2025
I decided to play at the Venetian, where I had been having fun and some success on previous trips. I got on the wait list on Poker Atlas, and was surprised when I was listed as POI. I later discovered about the changes made there. I made the long walk down the Strip for exercise. When I got to the poker room, my timing was exquisite, as I had moved to third on the list behind two who had not yet checked in. I was seated immediately. I did not have the success with bomb pots I had on my most recent trip, but I was at least at a relatively fun table. I really had one guy's number, and he kept spewing chips to me and others. He was a decent player, but just ran into some bad luck.
I left to meet my friend Mitch at the Horseshoe bar. He had been playing in the WSOP Seniors $5K entry and had been doing quite well. We decided to eat at Ole Red in front of Horseshoe. On the way there, I discovered that I had left my phone at the bar in Horseshoe. Stoopid! Mitch took this picture of me after we returned to the bar, finding my phone just where I had left it.
We ate at Ole Red's, which was quite an experience. It seemed like the security here was heavier that Donald Trump's! We ate on the second level. It was loud. Really LOUD! The chicken tenders salad I had was really pretty good, but Mitch paid a ridiculous price for beer.Thursday, May 08, 2025
Jetting Up ... Or Is It Jetting Down?
Friday, March 07, 2025
Return to Las Vegas March 9-14, 2024 and a Weighty Decision
Friday, February 07, 2025
My Personal Life, Part I: The Gift
How many times in life do we wish for a second chance? How many times do we actually get that chance? If we do, how do things work out? I have gotten a lot more insight into these questions the past two months. I am happy to report positive results.
The background: My wife and I have three children. The middle child is our son, Rick. In the summer of 2013, Rick began taking classes at the University of Illinois and wanted to live on/near campus. Amazingly, just before the fall semester began, we were able to find him a decent apartment very close to the building where he would take most of his computer science classes. That same summer, our oldest daughter also moved out after she completed her Associate in Arts degree. Life was never the same after they moved out, as we went from a family of five to a family of three.
There is certainly an adjustment phase. Since both were still living in town, we still saw/heard from them occasionally, especially if the subject was free use of our laundry or a home cooked meal, not to mention the occasional need for some cashola. Initially, I remember both feelings of sadness at their leaving and also happiness at seeing them start to transition into responsible adults. We still had a daughter living at home and did not become empty nesters until I retired and we were selling our house just over four years ago.
Rick, who was in the Math/Computer Science program at the University of Illinois, had a bright future ahead of him. He decided to take a job in Seattle -- 2,000 miles away! Fortunately, since he was living in a major city and we were within driving distance to the Chicago airports, we knew visiting could always be done by tweaking our work/vacation schedules.
I retired from my job in July 2020. Our youngest daughter moved out in October, knowing that the sale of our house and our move to the Phoenix area was imminent. When she did, we were without children living in our house for the first time since 1992 -- the first time in 28 years! There were certainly feelings of sadness and emptiness, but also an excitement at realizing that hey -- this is how we started 32 years ago! We sold our house in Illinois in December and moved to Arizona just before Christmas of 2020. Our son was now 1,400 miles away and our daughters were 1,700 miles away.
The move to Arizona has been great for us. My wife's best friend lives out here, and I have family in the area. However, more and more, we felt the pangs that many advancing age parents feel: we miss our kids. They don't understand how much visits, phone calls and texts mean to us. Fortunately, between our visiting them and their visiting us, we've still been able to see each other sporadically. And although it is great living by ourselves and only having ourselves and our pets (two dogs and a cat) to take care of on a daily basis, there has been a degree of quietness and loneliness that we have adapted to.
Recently, we had a change, as our son ran into some bad times. He broke up with his long-time girlfriend who moved to Seattle with him, and was laid off from his sweet computer engineering job due to company cost cutting measures. He was in a downward spiral. After going through his severance pay and savings, he had no money for rent. We had been offering to let him take a nice break away by vising us, but declined. Finally, my wife convinced him to move in with us for three months to try to effect change in his life. So, at the end of last November, my wife flew to Seattle, helped my son pack and move some things into storage, and drove back home with him. He has now been at our house for about two months.
How has it been? Well, there were obviously some adjustments that had to be made by all three of us. Shopping and sleeping routines, among other things, had to be modified. Suddenly the downsized house for two retirees now had to make room for a third person. No more walking around the house in varying degrees of nakedness!
In spite of these minor issues, the experience has so far been overwhelmingly positive. My wife has always expressed how much she loved it when our kids were real little. Personally, I like things more with having adult children. I know that we both have felt lonely without our children around. After over 11 years without our son living with us and over four years since we became empty nesters, we once again have a child in the house. To me, it is more like a second chance to experience family in a way we never thought we'd see again. And as much as my son is struggling to work through his difficulties (he did find a great 30+ hours/week job at a landscaping company a few minutes walk from our house), it has been a joy to have him here -- really, a gift, to be able to get back, if only for a short time, that feeling of having your own kids back in the house. He's trying to find a computer engineering job where he can work from home, or some type of hybrid job that would be based in Seattle. He is through 2/3 of the time we initially agreed upon, due to review at the end of the three month period. He desperately wants to moved back to Seattle, but the professional job situation is crucial. He might move back to Seattle and move in with a friend until he finds a job, but we are hoping that he will stay with us until he has that job. We have no idea what the future will bring right now. However, I am determined to enjoy this gift while we have it. We have already gone to two Phoenix Suns games and will likely go to a Seattle Mariners cactus league game or two. I might take my son with me for a short stay in Las Vegas so that he can experience the city that I love. The conversations we have are amazing. Talk about generational differences!
This issue is one that has been dominating my life for the past couple of months. In my next post -- My Personal Life, Part II -- I will write about two other major life changes that 2025 has brought. It seems that things are rarely dull in Arizona retired life!
Thanks for reading.
Monday, January 20, 2025
Hello, Yeah, It's Been Awhile. Not Much, How 'Bout You?
I was quiet surprised to see that my last post had been 2 1/2 months ago. What have I been doing since my last report of Oct 27?
Oct 29: Jeff Lynn's ELO concert.
Nov 3: A really bad day. I went to see the Chicago Bears embarrass themselves vs the Arizona Cardinals. I got a great last-minute ticket and loved the atmosphere for the game, which almost appeared to be a home game for da Bears. A great crowd of fans was disappointed and angry at what they witnessed ... and paid for tickets, parking, travel, etc.
Nov 14: Bachelor week began as my wife flew back to Illinois to help her sister, who was experiencing severe medical issues.
Nov 23: High school football state semi-finals as my nephew's team (he is head coach) goes for back-to-back state championships.
Nov 24: Wife flies out to Seattle to help our son pack up and move to Arizona to stay with us for three months or maybe a little longer.
Nov 28: Thanksgiving with my AZ family.
Nov 30: Nephew's team comes from behind with 1:14 to play to win the state title again by 1 point.
Dec 2: Wife returns with our son. We had been empty nesters for over four years, and our son had not lived with us for about 8 years.
Dec 19: Went to Indiana Pacers at Phoenix Suns NBA game.
Things seemed to be cruising pretty well until sometime in mid-December, I came down with a cold, had it almost go away, and then return with a vengeance. This kept up for several weeks into January. The cold seems to have finally run its course.
Jan 11: Burton Cummings concert.
I had two trips to Las Vegas (December and January) that I canceled due to this nagging cold. I haven't been to Las Vegas since September -- the longest stretch since I moved to Arizona, I think. I hope to head back to Las Vegas early in February.
I traveled a lot in four months (July - October) that included Las Vegas, Wisconsin/Illinois, Napa CA, Las Vegas again, Greece, and Texas/Oklahoma/Kansas. I dunno -- maybe I wore down my resistance with the trips?
Anyway, I am feeling better and did a lot of thinking in December about my life and where I am. I have decided to make a couple of fundamental changes in my life for 2025 (I guess you could call them New Year resolutions) and already have both in process. I'll speak more about them later as the new year unfolds.
Thanks for reading!
Friday, November 08, 2024
Of TBC, Dallas Poker Clubs, Oklahoma Poker, and family visits: My Road Trip of Oct 23-27, 2024