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July poker tourneys on Strip--my experience

Discussion in 'The Poker Room' started by KKB, Aug 12, 2017.

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  1. KKB

    KKB VIP Whale

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    Tourney Texas Hold Em is my game of choice; have played for about 15 years. We have hit Vegas 2-4x/yr for the last 25 years (married their 23 years ago), plus occasionally at nearby Council Bluffs Horseshoe which has a great poker room, though sometimes tourney structure leaves something to be desired. But when you are the only poker room in the area, you can do that...

    After 2 days in Vegas (BFF I finally got to play Monday (3)—1 final table, no cashes. Tuesday (2) during the day—no final tables, no cashes. UGH. I was ready to GO HOME. Plus I was feeling off all day Tuesday (not sure why), so took a nap & felt much better & had a better attitude. Well, it worked. I played Ballys 8PM $100 & chopped 2nd-3rd-4th for $650 each.

    Weds I played 3, final table at all 3, 4 ways chop for 1 for $500 each.

    Thurs I played 3, got 3rd for $250 in one & 1st for $500 in another.


    Mirage is my fav place to play & I did decent—played 5, final table 3x, cashed 1st & 3rd

    Ballys has restructured & I really like their $100 tourney. Played 3, cashed 2 (chops)

    PH --I used to love, the play is a bit different BUT I did make final table 2/3 so I may need to consider this tourney more.

    Harrahs --I usually like pretty well—had a bad beat early in 1 & a WEIRD 9AM Fri tourney.

    TI—we were at PH 5 nights & Mirage 1 so only played 1 here though I like it. It was 10PM, I like their daytime tourneys better.


    Some weird poker experiences:

    --Tried to chop at 3 & 2 during 2PM Thurs. bounty at Mirage. Guy from Fort Worth said, nope, don’t get here much, just wanna play. I ended up first—this decision cost him $100.

    --Guy at TI would NOT make change for dealer or a player. He won a few hands early & dealer would toss him a chip to make change. Guy would shove stacks forward to make the dealer make the change. I tossed him a chip once & he said, nope, the dealer can make change. I said, hey, just trying to speed the game up & help the dealer….WEIRD.

    --Friday 9AM Harrahs. Only 7 players. Young guy to my right is playing loose & fast—no worries, doesn’t bother me. He tries to intimidate me with comments when we are in a hand but I think he determines early he is not easily getting my $. UNFORTUNATELY he was on FIRE & others were betting into him…he took out 5 players, I took out 1. It got down to he & I but he had about 40K chips & I have about 10K…blinds are $400/800. I needed a hot streak to beat this guy…I was doing OK, but with only 2 of us & blinds at that level, he sucked out on me. This is a $70 tourney with a $500 guarantee. Pit boss invited me to rebuy—HUH? First I don’t even have 10 BB ($7500 chips) & this guy on fire? No, thanks. House trying to cover their loss—no way.


    So I came home UP—AGAIN! Both trips this year tourneys brought me home up. Longer trips seem to be better for riding the win/loss wave in tourneys. A few VP wins never hurt either.
     
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  2. La$Vega$

    La$Vega$ Fun until cops show up, then we play Hide n' Seek!

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    Nice...Real nice!
     
  3. Rotty

    Rotty Low-Roller

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    why was it odd he wouldn't chop? I never do
     
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  4. spicole

    spicole No shirt, no shoes... NO DICE!

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    I agree with this, and the sentiment from the guy at TI (EDIT: I meant to say the guy from the Mirage!). I would certainly chop in the right situation, but I completely understand if someone does not want to do it.

    +++++++++++

    Thanks for the great write-up! Sounds like it was a great trip!
     
    Last edited: Aug 13, 2017
  5. 93 Octane

    93 Octane Chief Bottle Washer

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    25 years and 30+ trips to Vegas and have only played poker at Mirage once, nice room just never seem to be in the mood when cruising through
     
  6. KKB

    KKB VIP Whale

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    I play around 12 tourneys each trip--virtually ALWAYS chop.
    Why? Because at a certain point in a tournament the blinds are SO high that you could go from chip leader to crippled in one swoop.
    Also, it is astounding how many times those who refuse a chop are the next out.
    (Last year a guy said he never pays bubble; he was nicely stacked...and THEN a couple hands later...he bubble out. Karma)
    The only time I do not offer/agree to a chop is if I have SO many more chips than others--like 10 fold. Even knowing you are a much better player is not as relevant at high blind levels. Luck (the cards that come out) play a MUCH bigger factor.

    I do have a head scratcher chop story from the Horseshoe a couple weeks ago that my husband was involved in. They are down to 5 in a tourney paying 4 & he is chip leader. He flops a nut flush, another lady flops 2 pair & she shoves; he calls...AND...she turns a boat. He is crippled. About 25K chips with 4K/8K blinds. 5th guy went out 2 hands later & they walk out of the poker room to give him $20 each (IA laws say we cannot pay the bubble IN the poker room). DH heads to the bathroom & 1 guy mentions a 4 way chop (the other 3 are fairly even stacked, all around 10BB) . He is slightly chip leader, horrible player & a truck driver--says he needs to get on the road. The older lady who crippled DH agrees. 3rd guy is a solid player BUT has been cold at final. He drags his feet a minute, but with his cold streak & the blind levels he realizes it IS the right move. He also knows DH is on the button & will sit tight. SO 4th was paying $250...they chopped for $680 each.
     
  7. KKB

    KKB VIP Whale

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    I have played hundreds (++) of tournaments, mostly in Vegas. I have NEVER seen this before, thus why it was so odd.

    As far as "the right situation"--I seem to make final table in at least half of the tournaments I play, cashing 1/2-2/3 of those. And MOST of the time we chop. But as you saw from my 4 cashes, it was a spread--4th (super short stacked; 4th was great), 1st (would have chopped at 2 or 3), 1-4 way chop & one where we negotiated with the guy who had about double the rest of our stacks--he probably had 10BB & we each probably had 5BB. We did get him to realize how he could get crippled quickly & easily. He wasn't a very good player but he was running fairly good so he insisted on a cut more for his stack size; and the other 3 of us split the rest of the prize pool. Of the 3, one guy was a local who played poker for a living. He knew the 3rd guy was bad, but he understood the odds & knew the chop was wise. (although he started to backpedal about giving the chip leader another $100 more...I reminded him that was really a difference of $25 if divided, so was it really worth it? When he realized he could easily go out 4th for much less, he agreed)
     
    Last edited: Aug 13, 2017
  8. 93 Octane

    93 Octane Chief Bottle Washer

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    Ive chopped the final table before, all nine of us. Paid roughly 8-9x the buy-in and everyone was happy as most were playing the next tourney and wanted a bite to eat beforehand. This was a $330 in Tunica. I do understand people wanting to play it through as you can have a huge score if it's a big tourney however I usually agree to chop with 4-5 to go unless I have 3x the chips of second place
     
  9. MiamiDave

    MiamiDave You Can't Handle the Truth

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    I only chop if I feel like the other players are at my skill level or I'm getting a great chop when I'm under 15BBs. I don't care if I bust in 5th place money for $1,000 instead of chopping and getting $2800. If I have 30-40BBs I'm using my skill advantage (if I feel confident that I have one) and playing the math that I'll end up with more than $2800 in the long run against the same set of opponents.

    If I feel like the remaining players are equal or that someone's better, then I'll happily take a $2800 even chop if the stacks are all within 20-25% of each other. I'll also consider a chip chop if the players are all pretty skilled as well.

    To the OP: be careful with those low buy-in tournaments. Some of them have tremendous rakes in the 25+% range. Even with a big skill advantage versus mediocre and worse players, it can be difficult to overcome that. It pays in the long run to be particular about which events you play in. Try to find $100-150 tournaments with a 17% or less house rake if possible and consider playing in some $200-350 tournaments if it's affordable when they have sub-15% rakes.
     
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  10. spicole

    spicole No shirt, no shoes... NO DICE!

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    I think I made a mistake... I meant to reference the guy at the Mirage who would not chop. I can see the point if someone wants to chop, or never wants to chop.

    The guy at TI who wouldn't make change? I agree that was weird!
     
  11. booker

    booker VIP Whale

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    My small cash lucky story: Perhaps 10 years ago I'm playing in a Harrah's tournament and doing well … until I get two good hands back-to-back in the BB and SB only to get beat. I'm down to a single chip and on the bubble. Crap.

    Next hand UTG shoves, UTG+1 shoves, and the chip leader to my right calls. Damn. I keep my one chip and say, "Guess who I'm rooting for." He won and I didn't bubble.
     
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