Las Vegas - Poker

(I didn’t make it past this table in 2022)

World Series of Poker (WSOP)

Most people are decent at poker now.   

At the WSOP - everyone is pretty good and also generally serious – very few people if any are drinking alcohol.  The tournaments have a bit more of a lottery feel than the cash games but the payouts could be huge and hey – it’s fun to be a part of the WSOP event that people come from all over the world to play.

There were a lot of people here for the 2022 WSOP events.  It is logistically impressive how the tournament accommodates and manages this big an event.  I mean one of the kickoff tournaments ($500 Homecoming NLH event) had over 20,000 people sign up!  That’s like way over 2x the Main Event.  Sure, part of it is that $500 is a lot easier to swallow than $10K for an entry fee but a lot of players also re-buy in a few times when they bust out.

I am always amazed that they can get this many dealers for the WSOP.  The number of people playing is always fluid as people can enter at the last minute and there are re-buys.  It’s not like the other cash games and tournaments happening around Vegas shut down to accommodate the WSOP – if anything those places are even busier since there are so many more poker players in town. 

I recall last year that we had some WSOP dealers who were dealing literally for the first time so it is a challenge for them but still impressive that they can pull it off.

WSOP - Last Year (2021)

Last year’s result - minimum cash - $960

I only enter the small events because money still means something to me

My starting table at last year’s event. This guy kept on telling people that he had a TV show on HGTV. Whatever man.

I played last year in an event for the first time and made the minimum cash in the $600 NLH Deep Stack event.  I had wanted to play the year before for the first time but apparently there was a pandemic or something going on. Barry Greenstein actually knocked me out of my first WSOP experience (if you don’t play poker this is meaningless to you).  He had pocket aces to my K9 as I shoved when short stacked.  I actually hit 2 pair but it got counterfeited when the board paired 7’s. 

I didn’t know I was sitting next to a pro for a quite a while because he was wearing a mask.  I realized it was him when he pulled his mask down to take a sip of water and I was like “Dude! WTF - I’m playing against you!” He was like “Shhh - I’m just another old man - don’t tell anyone.”  You had to be vaccinated to play last year but masks were optional.  I think some people liked the whole mask thing for the same reason as sunglasses.  There were no vaccination requirements this year to play.

Poker tournaments are a young man’s game as it took about 12 hours of playing just to get to the minimum cash at that event.

WSOP - This Year (2022)

This year’s entry ticket for the $600 Deepstack No Limit Hold’em (NLH) Event

Main room at Paris - it was impossible to get the whole room in an iPhone picture - place is just huge.

Main room at Bally’s - again - can’t even come close to fitting the whole room in a picture

This year they have moved from the Rio to Bally’s (soon to be Horseshoe) and the Paris casinos.  They used the main convention halls at both places plus side rooms.  The main hall in Paris also had a section for cash games. 

I was in Bally’s for the same event as last year - $600 NLH Deep Stack.  Did not go as far – only lasted 4 hours and did not cash.  I was all ready for a marathon day with my snack bars and supply bag but didn’t need any of that stuff.  At least I didn’t waste an entire day to not cash.  I played ok but not great and it didn’t help that the guy to my immediate left was pretty good and fairly aggressive. You’d rather have that guy on your right but that literally is the luck of the draw.

One thing about tournament poker is that you do have to get a little lucky.  I mean it’s not all luck and I think some people are elite and can make do with a little less luck but due to the ramping nature of the blind levels, you can’t sustain a run of bad luck like you can a cash game since you can’t buy back in (only in some games in a limited fashion) and can’t be super patient even if that is what the game dictates.

Oh well – it’s still fun and I think I will make this an annual ritual.  Gives me a reason for a Vegas trip (not that I really need one – I like Vegas).

Bally’s was also a bit uncomfortable this year as the AC was not working correctly in the main hall.  Yes, I know there are a ton of people and yes, it was 110 degrees outside but you would expect that Vegas can deal with this.  Typically, it is a bit too cold in the poker room and most people like me were ready with a sweatshirt and long pants.  Some lady at the table had to drop money on a WSOP t-shirt during a break as all she had was a sweater and she couldn’t stand the heat.

Cash Games

There is just nowhere else in the world like Las Vegas for poker.  There is just so much action concentrated in a small area.  The cash games are really the way to generate a cash positive outcome if that is what you are into.   

Like I said earlier, most people are decent at the tables now. You are more likely to run into someone acting clueless than someone who is truly clueless. Most people know to open up their range of starting hands in certain positions and to mix it up a bit. You will run into a few noobs now and then at cash games but not many.  If anything, the bad player is probably the over aggressive finance bro that you are trying to bust at the right time. 

My personal problem is that I just don’t play enough poker during the year. I don’t have a home game and don’t go to local card rooms and don’t play internet poker. So, I guess I hardly play at all during the year except in Vegas.  I didn’t play well when I first got into town and got better as I kept playing and started to get my comfort and my discipline back.  Unfortunately, by the time I was finally playing well, I ran into some horrific all-in river beats – the ones where the guy is counting out the chips he owes you on the turn card and takes it back on the river card when he hits one of his handful of outs. 

Having a few of those happen just put me in a not great state of mind so I decided to call it a day on this trip for poker after that session.  If I can’t play with confidence, I’m not going to play.  The correct play is to keep playing as the odds over the long haul favor you if you are playing well and correctly but I had enough gut punches.  Will just come back some other time as I felt the poker gods were trying to tell me something this trip.   

I played cash games at the Venetian, Caesars, Wynn, and at Resorts World.  I didn’t even know that Resorts World had a poker room until a dealer at Caesars told me.  I think it’s attractive to folks because it’s new.  Will see if the action holds up.  Norman Chad was playing a mixed game at Resorts World that night I was there (again – if you don’t follow poker – this is meaningless to you). 

This was also my first time playing at the Wynn.  It might have been the best poker room in terms of action.  Players with money wanting to move it around.  This was my impression in my limited experience playing there but also an Uber driver told me this last year also if you feel the need to double the sample size here.  It was also the place where I was finally playing well and took the gut punch river losses.  This is definitely a place that I will be going back to for poker. 

The Venetian room is pretty nice and the locals all know the bonuses.  Some guy told me never to fold pocket 6’s that night because of some huge 4 of a kind bonus payout.  Generally friendly games with hit or miss type action depending on the table.  It is a place I feel comfortable playing. 

The Wynn, Venetian and Aria also each had their own tournaments going on during the WSOP.  It amazes me the amount of poker action that Vegas can support. 

Caesars moved their poker room into the center of the casino by the sports book.  It’s an ok size and you can generally get in.  I tried playing at the Aria as that is a favorite spot of mine but the wait was just insane so I left and played at Caesars.  Good games can be found here with a good mix of players. 

Annoying Green Chips

So, some poker rooms use the $2 green chips.  These are really annoying because the $25 chips are also green – just a different shade.  When you are looking across the table – it’s not the easiest thing to distinguish and you can make an order of magnitude error either in betting or sizing up chip stack.

I guess they are convenient for the casinos for some reason – maybe it’s easier for the dealer for the pot rakes or whatever – but please get rid of the $2 green chips!