As part of the continuing birthday celebrations, my friend Edward entered me into my first EVER poker tournament! It was especially exciting for me because it was also the first time ever that I've played no-limit poker! Both times I played poker in Vegas were at the $2-$4 limit table.
First off, I LOVED it!!! There were 110 entrants. I went all in on the very first hand, chasing a flush and lost. There was one rebuy allowed, which I promptly took advantage of and then managed to stay in until about halfway through, which for my first tournament ever, I think is pretty good! Edward ended up placing 13th in the tournament and won some money.
During the tournament, I sat next to "Hollywood" Tony Kayden and he was giving me tips and answering my questions. At one point, he said he was going to quit giving me tips because otherwise I'd have all his chips! It was awesome. I loved the betting! It's SO much better than the limit poker. I'm sold on the no-limit and can't wait to play again.
It's funny, I feel like I've been training for poker by playing strategy games for the last couple years. When I'm playing, it feels just like a game, just with real money instead of the fakey paper stuff! Travis lent me "Super System" so I can read about theory and what not. I think with a little practice, I could be pretty good at it. I'm willing to at least try!
Showing posts with label gambling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gambling. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
Vegas Trip
I'm back from Vegas and TIRED! After getting off to a slow start on Saturday, we finally hit the road and had a relatively uneventful ride out to Vegas. We made the ritual stop at In-n-Out in Barstow.
We checked into the Las Vegas Hilton and Stephen at the front desk gave me a free upgrade because it was my birthday! And then after being in the room for a bit, there was a knock at the door and it was room service! Stephen also sent up a gift basket for my birthday! He is definitely getting a "thank you" note from me! I was thrilled!
For dinner, we went out to Mon Ami Gabi and got a table out on the patio. It was fabulous! The weather was perfect and the people watching was really fun. The best part? We had a front row view of the Bellagio water show every 15 minutes!
Water Show at the Bellagio
Steph & Chris
Jon & Shane
Travis & Ron
Dinner itself was pretty good. After dinner, we went over to the Bellagio to check out the new set-up in the atrium. It's gorgeous inside, as usual! Check out this snail!!!
And the pretty umbrella flowers in the atrium area!
Shane & Steph in the Bellagio atrium
After that, we sadly, did no gambling and went back to the hotel to play Race for the Galaxy so we could get to bed early and do some serious gambling on Sunday. Oh my, we are dorks! I tried to get them to play for $1 per point, but no one seemed that interested!
On Sunday, we had breakfast/lunch at Blueberry Hill and then headed over to the Pinball Hall of Fame and I got my fill of Addam's Family & Fish Tales! Then we finally got to the gambling!
We headed over to the MGM Grand because that is our poker room of choice. Travis and I played from about 3 PM - 9 PM. I think by the time we left, I was down about $75 and Travis was down about half that. We went out to the Burger Bar, dropped of the non-gambling folk back at the hotel then headed back to the MGM Grand for more poker! We got there around 11:30 PM and stayed until 4:30 AM. By that time, Matt, our new private pilot friend had gone to bed and all the fun people left, so we took off too. I tried to talk Travis into hitting Casino Royale for some craps, but he wasn't havin' any of that.
I woke up on Monday morning because Travis' phone alarm went off at 8 AM. I contemplated getting up to go play more poker before breakfast, but sadly the Las Vegas Hilton doesn't have a poker room. So I just went back to sleep... as Chris said, "Thank God Travis needs to back to LA tonight for class, otherwise we'd never get out of here..."
Overall, we all had a great time and I got lots of poker in. Unfortunately, no craps, but that will have to wait til I go with my friend Gary who loves craps and poker! Trip is being scheduled for June as I write this! I also found out that if you have a player's card at the MGM and play an average of 4 hours per day, the pit boss will call the front desk to have them knock up to $40 off your room night. The catch is that you have to book the room through the MGM website or by phone and you can't already be getting some special deal they have. It would've worked out great for us if we had known that because the rooms were listed at $140 per night so it would've only been $100 per night! Next time, I'm definitely doing that.
We checked into the Las Vegas Hilton and Stephen at the front desk gave me a free upgrade because it was my birthday! And then after being in the room for a bit, there was a knock at the door and it was room service! Stephen also sent up a gift basket for my birthday! He is definitely getting a "thank you" note from me! I was thrilled!
For dinner, we went out to Mon Ami Gabi and got a table out on the patio. It was fabulous! The weather was perfect and the people watching was really fun. The best part? We had a front row view of the Bellagio water show every 15 minutes!
Water Show at the Bellagio
Steph & Chris
Jon & Shane
Travis & RonDinner itself was pretty good. After dinner, we went over to the Bellagio to check out the new set-up in the atrium. It's gorgeous inside, as usual! Check out this snail!!!
And the pretty umbrella flowers in the atrium area!
Shane & Steph in the Bellagio atriumAfter that, we sadly, did no gambling and went back to the hotel to play Race for the Galaxy so we could get to bed early and do some serious gambling on Sunday. Oh my, we are dorks! I tried to get them to play for $1 per point, but no one seemed that interested!
On Sunday, we had breakfast/lunch at Blueberry Hill and then headed over to the Pinball Hall of Fame and I got my fill of Addam's Family & Fish Tales! Then we finally got to the gambling!
We headed over to the MGM Grand because that is our poker room of choice. Travis and I played from about 3 PM - 9 PM. I think by the time we left, I was down about $75 and Travis was down about half that. We went out to the Burger Bar, dropped of the non-gambling folk back at the hotel then headed back to the MGM Grand for more poker! We got there around 11:30 PM and stayed until 4:30 AM. By that time, Matt, our new private pilot friend had gone to bed and all the fun people left, so we took off too. I tried to talk Travis into hitting Casino Royale for some craps, but he wasn't havin' any of that.
I woke up on Monday morning because Travis' phone alarm went off at 8 AM. I contemplated getting up to go play more poker before breakfast, but sadly the Las Vegas Hilton doesn't have a poker room. So I just went back to sleep... as Chris said, "Thank God Travis needs to back to LA tonight for class, otherwise we'd never get out of here..."
Overall, we all had a great time and I got lots of poker in. Unfortunately, no craps, but that will have to wait til I go with my friend Gary who loves craps and poker! Trip is being scheduled for June as I write this! I also found out that if you have a player's card at the MGM and play an average of 4 hours per day, the pit boss will call the front desk to have them knock up to $40 off your room night. The catch is that you have to book the room through the MGM website or by phone and you can't already be getting some special deal they have. It would've worked out great for us if we had known that because the rooms were listed at $140 per night so it would've only been $100 per night! Next time, I'm definitely doing that.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Football Pool: Only Two More Weeks!
My friend Ron invited me to join a football pool last year and I ended up doing pretty well, placing second and securing 200 credits, which combined with winning 1st or 2nd place several times put me up a total of 270 credits. The entrance fee each year has been 60.
There are two more weeks left in this season and as it stands, I'm currently in first place out of 31 people. I've already won back 50 of my 60 credits and if I can hang onto first place for the next two weeks, I could be the lucky recipient of 400 credits! That would be awesome! Second place wins 200 credits, but I'm hoping I'll be able to hang onto the lead. I'm ahead by about 26 points right now, but if I tank and someone does really well, I could easy fall down to 2nd or 3rd. But I'm remaining positive that I will be able to push forward and pick the right ones.
If I do win, I will most likely use that money to pay for my (potential) birthday Vegas trip!
There are two more weeks left in this season and as it stands, I'm currently in first place out of 31 people. I've already won back 50 of my 60 credits and if I can hang onto first place for the next two weeks, I could be the lucky recipient of 400 credits! That would be awesome! Second place wins 200 credits, but I'm hoping I'll be able to hang onto the lead. I'm ahead by about 26 points right now, but if I tank and someone does really well, I could easy fall down to 2nd or 3rd. But I'm remaining positive that I will be able to push forward and pick the right ones.
If I do win, I will most likely use that money to pay for my (potential) birthday Vegas trip!
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Football pool has started
We're entering week 3 of NFL football and I just got an email notification letting me know that I came in second place for week #1. So I have some credits coming my way... not exactly sure how many but I'll soon find out! I tied for second last week, but got bumped to third based on the tiebreaker. I can't claim any credit for that. I actually forgot to put in my picks and it defaulted to all the favorites...
The season is off to a good start! Coming in 2nd and 3rd out of 31 people isn't too shabby. Now I just have to remember to put my picks in while I'm in Europe...
The season is off to a good start! Coming in 2nd and 3rd out of 31 people isn't too shabby. Now I just have to remember to put my picks in while I'm in Europe...
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
My new gambling love... poker!
I went to Vegas last weekend for my birthday and the first night there, Travis asked if I want to hit the poker room. I've never played poker for any money ever and pretty much have just seen some World Series of Poker episodes on ESPN, so I have an idea of how it works. And of course, I know the order of ranking on the hands. It was getting close to 1 AM and we hadn't gambled at all yet, so I said, "Sure, I'll give it a shot."
We stayed at the MGM and their poker room is actually not a room, but a barricaded area. It was pretty cool. We put our names on the waiting list for the $2/$4 limit table and while we were waiting, Travis filled me in on the procedure of the table. After about 10 minutes, we both had seats at two different tables.
I started with $100 just to test the waters. According to Travis, I bet loosely because I almost always put in my $2 to see what the flop was even if I had crappy cards. Then, I'd even go ahead and put more money in to chase a card on the 4th or 5th one. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. I'm sure there's lots of room for improvement in my betting strategy.
Travis would come over periodically and see how things were going. Around 3 AM, he said, "Just let me know when you're ready to go, we can leave anytime you want." I furrowed my brow and thought, "Does Travis really not know me?" He walked away and I told the guy next to me, "That's like a drug addict telling another, I'll stop using drugs when you do!" Around 5:30 AM, my eyes were getting pretty tired, so I told Travis I was ready to go back up to the room.
The verdict? I had $97. Not too bad. At one point around 4 AM (?), I had almost all my chips in a big pot that I won (whew!) and came back to almost even money. So, overall, not bad at all, considering it was my first time playing ever.
We played a bit at the Flamingo on Sunday and while I think I was betting a bit better, I didn't get that great of cards. So, I think I lost about $40. The thing I didn't like about the Flamingo was that we were seated at the same table. I prefer being at two separate tables. However, the Flamingo had this jackpot board, so you could win $$ if you hit certain hands, mostly 4 of a kinds and straight flushes.
I'm totally ready to hit Vegas again and try my hand at more poker. I have several friends who are into poker though, so I'm sure I'll get lots of advice from all of them. I'm sure I'm doing everything wrong, but whatever. I had fun.
We stayed at the MGM and their poker room is actually not a room, but a barricaded area. It was pretty cool. We put our names on the waiting list for the $2/$4 limit table and while we were waiting, Travis filled me in on the procedure of the table. After about 10 minutes, we both had seats at two different tables.
I started with $100 just to test the waters. According to Travis, I bet loosely because I almost always put in my $2 to see what the flop was even if I had crappy cards. Then, I'd even go ahead and put more money in to chase a card on the 4th or 5th one. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. I'm sure there's lots of room for improvement in my betting strategy.
Travis would come over periodically and see how things were going. Around 3 AM, he said, "Just let me know when you're ready to go, we can leave anytime you want." I furrowed my brow and thought, "Does Travis really not know me?" He walked away and I told the guy next to me, "That's like a drug addict telling another, I'll stop using drugs when you do!" Around 5:30 AM, my eyes were getting pretty tired, so I told Travis I was ready to go back up to the room.
The verdict? I had $97. Not too bad. At one point around 4 AM (?), I had almost all my chips in a big pot that I won (whew!) and came back to almost even money. So, overall, not bad at all, considering it was my first time playing ever.
We played a bit at the Flamingo on Sunday and while I think I was betting a bit better, I didn't get that great of cards. So, I think I lost about $40. The thing I didn't like about the Flamingo was that we were seated at the same table. I prefer being at two separate tables. However, the Flamingo had this jackpot board, so you could win $$ if you hit certain hands, mostly 4 of a kinds and straight flushes.
I'm totally ready to hit Vegas again and try my hand at more poker. I have several friends who are into poker though, so I'm sure I'll get lots of advice from all of them. I'm sure I'm doing everything wrong, but whatever. I had fun.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Vegas Recap
You know the cliche... what happens in Vegas... blah blah blah.
Here's the important stuff:
After looking at the craps website, I can't wait to go to Vegas again! I'm definitely more Vegas-compatible with some friends, so I'm only going to invite the people that will bring the good karma/gambling mojo! Next time I go, I'll be coming home with millions!!
Here's the important stuff:
- I left Vegas up $50, but left Nevada down $70 (mental note: don't make those last minute stops on your way out of the state!)
- I had a friend show up to surprise me (and I was quite happy to see him), so we had one more hanging with us all weekend, which was a lot of fun! Spontaneity is great!!
- I watched part of an Ultimate (Frisbee) tournament and it looks like FUN, so I've already emailed the woman in charge of the women's LA league to see when they're having clinics for beginners.
After looking at the craps website, I can't wait to go to Vegas again! I'm definitely more Vegas-compatible with some friends, so I'm only going to invite the people that will bring the good karma/gambling mojo! Next time I go, I'll be coming home with millions!!
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Football pool update
Although I haven't received the "official" word from the person running the pool, it appears that I have finished second overall for the season and should be the lucky winner of 200, um, credits! :-)
Yea! I think this is the best I've done in a pool before. I think I like picking straight up winners better than worrying about the spread.
Yea! I think this is the best I've done in a pool before. I think I like picking straight up winners better than worrying about the spread.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Football pool update
At the beginning of the football season, I joined a football pool. I had some good luck (or should I say skill?) in the beginning and then hit a slump towards the middle. However, I'm on a roll the last few weeks! I have come in first place for the last three weeks in a row! So I think I've come in first place four times this season and second place twice.
There are only two more weeks left in the season and I'm currently tied for second place in the season-long record competition. If I can clinch second place, I think I could win 200 credits. First place would get me 300 credits. I have a chance, but only if I ace my picks and the first place person just tanks. We'll see what happens!!
There are only two more weeks left in the season and I'm currently tied for second place in the season-long record competition. If I can clinch second place, I think I could win 200 credits. First place would get me 300 credits. I have a chance, but only if I ace my picks and the first place person just tanks. We'll see what happens!!
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Rock, Paper, Scissors Showdown
When I saw L's post about Hollywood Team Trivia, I thought it sounded fun! Plus, I'm always up for anything that has a gambling angle to it! The winning team was going to take home half of the door. Considering it was $9 per person to get in, half the door could be a sizeable amount depending on how many people showed up.
So, L assembled a team that consisted of L, Erin, Ron, Dr.P and myself and we headed on down to Safari Sam's. I let them all know in advance that I probably would be absolutely useless considering that I don't really know all that much trivia, especially not Hollywood trivia.
The quiz was split into three rounds, 20 questions each. Erin knew probably half the answers all by herself, while Dr.P, L and Ron answered some questions too. I think I knew only a couple questions that no one else really knew. So at least I was useful!
They gathered all our sheets and then tallied up the scores. They then announced a tie of 37 right out of 60 questions between our team (Power to the Meeple) and another team. So we did a 5 question tie breaker. Result? We both answered two questions correctly.
So they asked for a representative from each team to come up and challenge the bar owner to some thumb wrestling. Why not each other? I don't know. All I know is that I suck at thumb wrestling, but my team had faith and sent me up anyway. My heart was pounding when I got up on stage. I went first and I lost. The bar owner's hands were bigger and stronger than mine. Then the other guy thumb wrestled the bar owner and he lost too.
So it went to the classic Rock, Paper, Scissors tie-breaker. Winner was the first to win 2 out of 3. Once I heard that, I was feeling pretty confident I could take the guy. I consider myself fairly good at RPS. We decided on the 1-2-3-show method and went to work. See the throw-by-throw details below!
Me:Him
1: P=P
2: S>P
3: R=R
4: P=P
5: S>P
With that, I won!!! The grand prize was.... $103.50. So we each got $20 and they graciously donated the remaining $3.50 to the Thanksgiving fund. So, I may be only able to answer a couple questions, but I kick ass at Rock, Paper, Scissors!!!
So, L assembled a team that consisted of L, Erin, Ron, Dr.P and myself and we headed on down to Safari Sam's. I let them all know in advance that I probably would be absolutely useless considering that I don't really know all that much trivia, especially not Hollywood trivia.
The quiz was split into three rounds, 20 questions each. Erin knew probably half the answers all by herself, while Dr.P, L and Ron answered some questions too. I think I knew only a couple questions that no one else really knew. So at least I was useful!
They gathered all our sheets and then tallied up the scores. They then announced a tie of 37 right out of 60 questions between our team (Power to the Meeple) and another team. So we did a 5 question tie breaker. Result? We both answered two questions correctly.
So they asked for a representative from each team to come up and challenge the bar owner to some thumb wrestling. Why not each other? I don't know. All I know is that I suck at thumb wrestling, but my team had faith and sent me up anyway. My heart was pounding when I got up on stage. I went first and I lost. The bar owner's hands were bigger and stronger than mine. Then the other guy thumb wrestled the bar owner and he lost too.
So it went to the classic Rock, Paper, Scissors tie-breaker. Winner was the first to win 2 out of 3. Once I heard that, I was feeling pretty confident I could take the guy. I consider myself fairly good at RPS. We decided on the 1-2-3-show method and went to work. See the throw-by-throw details below!
Me:Him
1: P=P
2: S>P
3: R=R
4: P=P
5: S>P
With that, I won!!! The grand prize was.... $103.50. So we each got $20 and they graciously donated the remaining $3.50 to the Thanksgiving fund. So, I may be only able to answer a couple questions, but I kick ass at Rock, Paper, Scissors!!!
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Football pool
I am in two football pools this season. I've decided that what I need in my life is more gambling! I would say I'm joking, but really I'm only semi-joking about that. On that note, I'm starting a pool for The Amazing Race, starting up this Sunday, if anyone's interested!
The first pool is a pick'em pool where you pick all the games and rank them with "confidence" points. So for every game you pick correctly, you get the corresponding point value you've given it (ranging from 2-16). You can only use each point value once.
The second one is a suicide pool. It's winner take all and you just pick the team that you're SURE is going to win that week. Once eliminated, you're out for the season. The prize on this one will be approximately 20,500 credits. I am partnered up with Ron on this one.
Results from week 1
I came in first place in my pick'em pool and won 25 credits. It came down to the tiebreaker and I had picked 27 while my rival picked 35. The final score of the SD vs. OAK game? 27-0!! Thank you San Diego!!
We picked NE for the suicide pool and LUCKILY, a safety at the end pulled that one through for us!
The first pool is a pick'em pool where you pick all the games and rank them with "confidence" points. So for every game you pick correctly, you get the corresponding point value you've given it (ranging from 2-16). You can only use each point value once.
The second one is a suicide pool. It's winner take all and you just pick the team that you're SURE is going to win that week. Once eliminated, you're out for the season. The prize on this one will be approximately 20,500 credits. I am partnered up with Ron on this one.
Results from week 1
I came in first place in my pick'em pool and won 25 credits. It came down to the tiebreaker and I had picked 27 while my rival picked 35. The final score of the SD vs. OAK game? 27-0!! Thank you San Diego!!
We picked NE for the suicide pool and LUCKILY, a safety at the end pulled that one through for us!
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