Shamus in Vegas: Episode 4 -- I Just Want to See What You Have

Got over to the Gold Coast about quarter to two Thursday afternoon. There were two tables going, a full $2/$4 limit hold’em table and a half-full $1/$2 no-limit one. When I asked, I was told a list was forming for another LHE table, with two players already there and a couple more on the way. Was a little suspicious of the wishful-sounding talk of players “on the way” (who calls ahead for $2/$4 LHE?), but put my name on the list anyway and grabbed a copy of Poker Player Newspaper.

Some time passed, and eventually I was sitting at a table with the two other waiting players. A dealer came over and we mutually decided to go ahead and start playing a bit. To be honest, I was a little disappointed in myself for not just leaving, as I knew I didn’t want to be playing much three-handed LHE. But I talked myself into sticking around. There’d be no rake for pots under $10 and only a single big blind. And were those two people over there coming to join the game? Okay, whatever. Deal ’em up.

My two opponents were only buying in for $50, so I just took $60 (rather than $100, as I’d normally do). We drew for the button, and an African American fellow who looked about thirty sitting across the table (which was my left) got it. That meant the player to his left, a twenty-something dude with dirty blonde hair who would soon be ordering drinks almost as frequently as he played hands, put in the lone blind. First hand I was dealt and I raised. The button folded, and Captain-and-Coke called. A queen would flop, and I’d end up getting a couple of bets out of the Captain. Good start.

Players began filling the seats between us, and I’d win a few more pots, usually without showing down. Would get and after a couple of players limped I raised and we saw a flop five-handed. Flop came , checked to me and I bet, and two players stayed. The turn was the . Didn’t like that much, and liked it even less when the drinker led out. I called, and the other player folded. Captain-and-Coke started talking. “Who’s got the king-ten?” he asked. The river was the . He looked at me and asked his question again, then after lingering a little longer made the bet. I knew I was beat, but called anyway. “You two pair?” I asked. Yep. He turned over .

I was back to nearly even, but never would fall much below my starting stack. Had another hand in which I was dealt ace-jack in late position and raised, getting a couple of callers. The flop came J-7-4, and when I bet only the fellow in the big blind called. The turn was innocuous-looking deuce, and he check-called me again. The river was an eight, I believe. He checked, I bet again. He shrugged and said “I just want to see what you have” -- sort of what I had been thinking in that A-K hand just before. It is usually a good thing to hear someone else say that as they call you, I’d say. I quickly showed my jack and he mucked.

Eventually a lady would take the seat to my immediate right and start chattering to me and everyone else. She seemed mostly to be referring to the cards, but I noticed pretty quickly that her comments didn’t always seem to match up perfectly with what was actually going on. Her play didn’t make a lot of sense, either. She was doing a lot of calling to the river, then folding, then asking her neighbors what the board was afterwards.

Anyhow, I was dealt in the small blind and watched as pretty much everyone limped in, including the lady who had the button. With 13-to-1 odds or whatever it was, I gladly completed, the big blind checked, and the flop came . I bet my top pair and flush draw, and most everyone stuck around. The turn was the . I checked, and the rest of the table also checked to the lady who bet the four dollars. It was plain she had the jack, but the pot was also plainly big enough to stick around so I called, as did one other player. The river was the . I bet, the other player called, and she mumbled something before calling. I showed my trips, the other player mucked, and, indeed, she had the jack -- J-7, to be precise. I dragged a fairly big pot.

We “discussed” the hand a little bit afterwards. “I thought you had the nine,” she said. Then, “I knew you had the nine.” But what good would a nine have done me there? Finally I realized she had flopped a gutshot draw and needed the nine, and so somehow had fixated on that card right to the end, which never came. She may have even seen my when I turned over my hand and thought it was a nine, I’m not sure. I never was convinced she understood that I’d rivered her with that ten. Such is life at the low limit tables in the Gold Coast on a weekday afternoon, I guess.

I’d leave soon afterwards, a nice $45 up after just the hour of play. Thought then I’d surely have the chance to play again somewhere, but it ended up not working out.

Although I played fine and caught cards, I probably made at least two significant mistakes with this session. I really shouldn’t have started. And I shouldn’t have stopped, either. Was definitely sitting in a good spot, although that only means so much in the $2/$4 game, for sure, where you have to make hands ’cos there’s always going to be someone who just wants to see what you have.

Vera and I would motor over to the Hard Rock for dinner. Had another couple of full days ahead of us, most of which I’ve already recounted. Do want to add one last post, though, on being back in Vegas -- and writing about poker. Again.

Shamus in Vegas: Episode 3 -- Food for Thought

“Poor Vera. Dinner with five poker bloggers?”

So said the Poker Grump to me as we arranged our outing at the Grand Luxe Café at the Venetian. Would be the two of us, Cardgrrl, F-Train, BWoP, and Vera Valmore. Vera isn’t a poker player, but as I’ve documented here before has a lot of patience with those of us who like to tell poker stories. Of course, thinking back to the Wednesday Poker Discussion Group, I later joked with Vera about how she might not have liked a “hand of the day” that lasted two hours.

Vera knew the Grump, F-Train, and BWoP from last summer, and we were both looking forward to meeting Cardgrrl. Dinner was a lot of fun and really there wasn’t as much poker talk as one might have expected. Vera was quizzed a bit about the World Cup. Cardgrrl talked about her adventures in DC and her “year of risky business.” BWoP shared some about her non-pokery work. Poker Grump also told us a bit of his former life in the “straight world.” And F-Train filled us in on his upcoming trip to San Remo and Monte Carlo.

F-Train also told us about a recent incident where some kids had thrown rocks at he and BWoP’s house, breaking a window. That led to a funny discussion of children. You know, children? Those little people who look like us but aren’t as strong and don’t seem to be quite as smart?

Some of the details of F-Train’s story reminded me of one my earliest memories in which I got caught throwing rocks at passing cars. Hey, I was a little person. Not too bright. And unduly influenced by a neighbor girl named Eva. (Insert obvious scriptural allusion here.) In an uncanny prefiguring of F-Train’s account of what happened when he confronted the rock-throwing kids, I recalled how one driver had stopped to confront me and Eva. When he got out of his vehicle -- “$5,000!” I remember him yelling, which gives you an idea how long ago we’re talking -- Eva had suddenly vanished, scampering back to her house and leaving me to face the big person’s wrath. I suppose Adam was in a slightly tougher spot back in the garden, but little Shamus’ predicament was not to be envied, lemme tell ya.

We called it a night by about 10 p.m. Both Poker Grump and BWoP had books for me (thanks!), and since the meals were so oversized we also had take out to carry, too. So we took several bundles, as well as the memory of a fun time, back to the hotel.

On Thursday, Vera went back over to the show while I met Al Schoonmaker and Jim Brier for lunch over at the Palms buffet. I’ve already related some about our meeting, so I won’t repeat too much here. It was Dr. Al who had recommended the Wednesday Poker Discussion Group to me before (he regularly attends those meetings), and so we talked a bit about that and its history. We also talked some about the differences between limit and no-limit hold’em, as both Schoonmaker and Brier were essentially limit players up until recently. Most of you are probably familiar with Dr. Al’s books on poker psychology. Brier, too, is a poker author, and once co-wrote with Bob Ciaffone a well-regarded strategy text called Middle Limit Hold’em Poker (2002). In fact, Brier has been credited by several for the whole idea of emphasizing hand samples in poker strategy texts, such as one finds in his book with Ciaffone, the Harrington on Hold’em books, and many other publications.

The three of us also discussed the prospects for computers or “poker bots” to become advanced enough to compete in no-limit hold’em. Brier and I were of the opinion it would be a long time, if ever, for that to come to pass, but Schoonmaker seemed to think a bit more of the possibility. After an hour-and-a-half, we parted in the Palms parking lot, and that’s when I decided to head over to the Gold Coast to see if I could again squeeze in another short session. I did manage to find a game, and so will talk about that tomorrow.

Before signing off today, though, I have to mention how sad it was to hear yesterday of Justin Shronk’s passing. I met Shronk last summer at the World Series of Poker, and like everyone else found him a funny, friendly, smart dude whose presence added significantly to the poker reporting scene. Others knew him a lot better than I did, so I’ll let you find their thoughts about Shronk on other sites and blogs.

I was at the Bellagio last Saturday as the WPT World Championship was getting started, and I swear I thought I saw Shronk, although I must’ve been mistaken. I have a feeling a lot of people are going to experience similar moments at tour stops over the next few months -- thinking he’s there when he isn’t. ’Cause, well, Shronk belongs there. And it’ll be hard to accept that he won’t be. So my very best to those who were closest to him, especially those over at PokerRoad, where the traveling is going to be a bit tougher for a while.

However, as these stories of my meals in Vegas with poker writers attest, this here “poker community” is a great group with which to be involved. So I know that everyone is going to be there for each other, just like Shronk was always there for them.

Shamus in Vegas: Episode 2 -- What’s Your Plan?

Touched down at McCarran Airport around 10 a.m. Vegas time on Wednesday. Check-in wasn’t until the afternoon, so Vera and I grabbed a quick lunch and I dropped her off at the Thomas & Mack before motoring the rental car over to Binion’s Horshoe. Got there about 12:15 p.m. Figuring I had the time, I decided to try to play a spell there at “the place that made poker famous.” Plan was to sit in on a $2/$4 limit hold’em game for a bit until the 2:00 p.m. meeting of the Wednesday Poker Discussion Group. If a seat were available, that is.

Wandered over to the poker room and saw one table going -- the final table of the daily tourney -- and nothing else. Heck, I thought. Where is everybody? A desert in the desert. I kept wandering and soon found the new poker room with the tables of beige-colored felt. There were about four tables going, including a couple of LHE ones. A seat was open, and before long I was in it.

Live Poker, Binion’s Horseshoe

On my fourth hand I was dealt two black queens in the cutoff. Two players limped, I raised, and both blinds called, meaning five of us saw the flop of . It checked to a player in middle position who hesitated, then checked. Has that nine, I thought. Checked to me, I bet, and all but one stayed for the turn -- the . The MP player bet this time, and despite my having decided he’d made trips I went ahead and called, as did one other player. The river was the , and when he unhesitatingly bet again I did what limit hold’em players generally shouldn’t do -- I folded on the river. The other player called, and the MP player turned over . So it goes.

The dealer said something in my direction about that king being “just a notch” too high as he gathered the cards, which I took as a correct read of my hand. I don’t think I had given anything away when still in the hand, really, with my actions, though perhaps when folding I showed the king’s influence on my decision. I said nothing.

That hand was followed by several orbits of trash hands, most of which I readily folded. It was a full table, with lots of limpers and callers and not much reason to try to win hands without cards. Saw a couple of flops with suited connectors, but they weren’t connecting.

The Poker Grump arrived and I was starting to think about leaving, having gradually dribbled down a good $35 or so. That’s when I picked up in late position. A few limped, I called, and the button called behind me. Flop came . Checked to me, I bet, the button called, and two other short-stacked players, each of whom had only bought in for $20, called as well. The turn was the , giving me sixes full of tens. Checked to me and I bet again, the button called, and the two others both put in their last chips. The river was the . I bet, and the button thought a moment and called.

I showed my sixes, and he turned over . The side pot was mine. How about the main pot? Both short stacks mucked, so that was mine as well. I dragged the chips, flipping the dealer the only tip I’d leave the entire session, and soon left just seven dollars down. Woulda made more on that one had the short stackers had more behind, but I was glad to win anyhow.

Was joking with the Grump afterwards how silly it was to think how winning that one pot so greatly affected my mood about the entire session, but he agreed that being “results oriented,” while not advisable, is hard to avoid. If we are human, that is.

Was also talking to Grump about how in these lowest-limit games players often tend to play as though they are competing against the house, not other players. Not much regard for hand selection, really -- as if one is playing blackjack, and is basically forced to play whatever cards one is dealt. Then the focus is mainly on connecting with the board (like getting as close to 21 as one can), then showing down in hopes of winning.

For example, in the two sessions I ended up playing last week, I saw players limp in with A-A no less than three times. These same players limped in with all other hands, too. Why not just pull a lever over on the slots? So the only way to go, really, is to practice some hand selection, make hands, and value bet at every opportunity.

As I was saying last week, I don’t really view these $2/$4 tables as a place either to (1) learn a lot of poker strategy, or (2) make much cabbage. But I do get something, I think, out of simply playing more live hands -- which can’t hurt down the road, regardless of what I end up doing poker-wise.

The Wednesday Poker Discussion Group, Binion’s Coffee Shop

The Poker Grump and I went over to the coffee shop around two o’clock, but there were only a couple of others there for the WPDG. We hung out and talked with them and some of the other friendly folks who gradually trickled in. Eventually about 25 people turned up, gathered around three or four tables. Ages ranged from 20s to 60s. Just two women showed, I believe. A couple of discussion leaders took positions at one wall, positioning menus so as to create a place to display cards from a giant-sized deck. Finally by about three o’clock the meeting began.

There were some preliminaries. New people introduced themselves. I described myself as an amateur who was really more of a poker writer than a player, and mentioned my having helped cover the WSOP last summer. There was some talk of the various promotions and freerolls available around town, with several recommendations made. Then we got to the main focus of the meeting -- the hand discussions.

I think the plan might have been to discuss multiple hands played by group members, but as it turned out we spent the entire meeting (at least another hour-and-a-half) talking about a single hand that came from a $2/$5 no-limit hold’em game ($1,500 cap) over at the Wynn. The hand occurred around six in the morning, and involved a group member and a couple of loose players who had been drinking.

I won’t get into all of the specifics other than to say our hero found himself sitting with in the big blind. One heavy drinker and loose player raised from UTG, another drinker flat-called from late position, and our hero decided to call, thereby closing the preflop betting, and see a flop. The flop ended up coming eight-high, putting the hero into another tricky spot. Even before that, however, the group debated for at least ten minutes the preflop decision to call.

“What’s your plan?” asked one group member. Not everyone cared much for calling an under-the-gun raise with this hand, although compelling arguments were presented for sticking around as well. And, of course, that eight-high flop encouraged a great deal more debate.

I leaned over to the Poker Grump midway through the discussion to joke that it didn’t seem fair to the lone drunk player who ended up heads-up against our hero that he was now competing with 25 minds all trained against him. Of course, given all of the different lines that ended up being entertained, the hero was probably better off only having had his own second thoughts to complicate matters.

The discussion was quite illuminating, though, in the way it revealed the many different approaches and styles that guide poker players’ thinking. I can imagine the group being extremely helpful to a serious player looking for feedback and advice. It was entertaining, too, with lots of very funny, self-effacing humor coming from all sides throughout the meeting. Everyone was very friendly, the vibe was conducive to dialogue and new ideas, and a good (and informative) time was had by all.

I’d definitely recommend the WPDG to any poker players with a free Wednesday afternoon in Vegas. There’s also a Monday meeting at the Stake Out Bar & Grill over on Maryland Parkway from 7-9 p.m. that focuses on no-limit hold’em. Newcomers are welcome.

Next up, dinner at the Grand Lux Café over at the Venetian with a bunch of other pokery scribblers.

Shamus in Vegas: Episode 1 -- Prelude

Back home. Landed late Sunday afternoon. Safe, sound. Didn’t want to give those three hours back, but so it goes.

Vera and I had fun Saturday hanging out at the Bellagio in the morning and afternoon. The World Poker Tour World Championship got underway there at noon. That’s the big $25,000 buy-in event that usually brings out all the big names and familiar faces.

And there were several recognizable folks there in the Fontana Room for Day 1a, including Andy Bloch, Erik Seidel, Hoyt Corkins, Mike Sexton, Shane Schleger, Jon “PearlJammer” Turner, Vivek Rajkumar, Joe Sebok, Amnon Filippi, David Chiu, David Williams, Mike Matusow, David “Chino” Rheem, Michael DiMichele, Daniel Alaei, David Grey, Nenad Medic, Isaac Haxton, Doug Lee, John Phan, and Scott Montgomery. Those are just the ones I spotted immediately among what looked like around 150 players or so seated during the first level. Looks like after the second Day 1 they ended up with 337 entrants overall.

We took off in the middle of the afternoon, although I’d come back to the Bellagio later for some interviewing. Meanwhile, Vera had her own stargazing to do over at the Thomas & Mack Center, where she met and got photographed with one of the night’s featured competitors, Steffen Peters. I made it back over to the T&M before the World Cup Dressage Final got underway at seven.

We had seats up in the second level, but were able to move down to a more choice location in the first level just before the initial ride of the night. Was a good time, with the crowd (and Vera) being especially pleased when the American Peters and his horse Ravel won the World Cup with a huge score of 84.95.

Flight home was a little bumpy during one short stretch, but easy enough overall. I finished The Road (2006) by Cormac McCarthy, a book that came highly recommended to me. I appreciated what McCarthy was up to, though to be honest I never did connect very well with the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Also finished Jim Thompson’s short pulp novel The Criminal (1953), which I liked much better.

Gonna revisit the trip in a few posts this week, I think. In the following manner:

Episode 2 -- What’s Your Plan?

Want to say a few things about my brief session at Binion’s and the Wednesday Poker Discussion Group that followed. The Poker Grump, there with me at the WPDG, has already written some about that meeting here.

Episode 3 -- Food for Thought

On two meals I ate with writers: dinner with some poker bloggers (F-Train, BWoP, Cardgrrl, Poker Grump) on Wednesday night & lunch with a couple of poker authors (Al Schoonmaker and Jim Brier) on Thursday.

Episode 4 -- I Just Want to See What You Have

Here I’ll focus on the only other session I played at the Gold Coast on Thursday. A few interesting hands in there, I think.

Episode 5 -- Finding Yr Calling

Will wrap up with a word or three about my visit to the Center for Gaming Research at UNLV, shooting the breeze Friday afternoon with Pokerati Dan, and Saturday at the Bellagio and the World Cup.

Was a lot of fun, but glad to be back. Stay tuned.

I Would Need GPS to Find Memory Lane

Had a good visit on Friday over at UNLV with David Schwartz, Director of the Center for Gaming Research. Perused the collections for a bit, as well. Want to research a project related to gambling, Vegas, poker? The CGR is the place to go.

Made it over to the Wynn a little later in the afternoon where I met with Pokerati Dan Michalski for a couple of hours. Kind of a comical situation, caused by my absent-mindedness. I forgot to carry my cell phone to our meeting, meaning I was “off the grid” for a while. A bit worrisome, as I was supposed to be getting a call from Vera regarding our dinner plans.

When I finally got up with Dan (who, of course, had been calling me repeatedly to try to switch our meeting place), he let me use his phone to call Vera. That’s when I realized I couldn’t remember Vera’s phone number, which I never dial because it is programmed into my cell. No problem. I’ll just call someone who knows Vera’s number. I thought of a few possibilities, but realized I couldn’t recall their numbers either. Finally I found a number way back in a dusty corner of my ever-withering brainstuff and all was well.

Dan and I hoofed it over to the Encore Lobby Bar and Café where we ordered some light fare. Had fun talking blogs and the poker media, the upcoming WSOP, and the meaning of life while hounding the wait staff to bring us more than three pieces of pita bread at a time for the hummus. We walked back over to the Wynn where I left Dan at the poker room where he was going to try to join a no-limit game.

In the evening Vera and I ended up over at Caesars Palace having dinner with some friends at Wolfgang Puck’s Spago, followed by some high-priced gelato and some gawking at the tropical fish in that big 50,000-gallon Atlantis aquarium.

Today it is off to the Bellagio where Day 1a of the World Poker Tour World Championship kicks off. Vera and I will be hanging out there this morning and afternoon, then tonight it is the big dressage finale of the Fédération Équestre Internationale World Cup.

Then we fly home tomorrow. Here’s hopin’ I remember to pack my cell phone.

Good Eats and Comfortable Seats

Another fun one yesterday, marked by good eats and comfortable seats. With regard to the latter, I’m referring to the seats you find at both kinds of tables -- the ones where you chow down and the ones where you play cards.

After some breakfast at the hotel and a quick shopping excursion with Vera, she went back for more dressage at the World Cup and I took off to meet Al Schoonmaker and Jim Brier for lunch. We met up over at the Palms where Dr. Al treated Jim and me to the buffet. Had a blast.

Most poker people are probably aware of Dr. Al thanks to his four books concentrating on various psychological issues in poker: The Psychology of Poker, Your Worst Poker Enemy, Your Best Poker Friend, and Poker Winners Are Different. Jim Brier is perhaps less immediately familiar to most, although a few years back he co-authored a well-regarded book with Bob Ciaffone called Middle Limit Hold’em Poker. He also contributed significantly enough to a book by British poker author Byron Jacobs called How Good is Your Limit Hold’em? to be listed on the cover as a collaborator, too. Both especially nice guys. And smart, too.

We discussed a number of different topics during our hour-and-a-half together, including the history of the Wednesday Poker Discussion Group (which dates back to 1999) and its Monday no-limit hold’em-focused offshoot, limit versus no-limit hold’em, risk aversion (and how all three of us had it), the many treasures awaiting bonus and promotion-hunters in Vegas, artificial intelligence and the future prospects for “poker bots,” and the upcoming World Series of Poker.

Dr. Al was nice enough to give me a copy of the one of his four books I didn’t own, and we parted making plans to keep in touch, perhaps at more meetings this summer when in all likelihood I’ll be back in Vegas covering the WSOP.

I thought I would try to squeeze in a short session, though since I played at the Palms several times last summer I wanted to sit down somewhere new. So I hopped in the rental and motored across Flamingo Rd. to the Gold Coast to see if perhaps they had anything at all going on. I’d tried once last summer to play there, but all they had happening then was one full table of old-timers, none of whom seemed ready to budge for another decade or so. Didn’t look much better yesterday, although there were some folks lingering to try to get a second table going, and thanks to some extra effort from the staff we ended up making one happen.

We started three-handed -- fairly absurd, really, although with only a one-dollar rake if the pot reached $10 and just a single blind, it could’ve been a lot worse. And, as it turned out, we only had to play a few hands of that before the table started filling. By the time I left we’d been eight- or nine-handed for a good while. I did pretty well, actually, leaving exactly $45 up for an hour of “work.”

There were a couple of characters in there worth sharing. There was the drinker. Four Captain ’n Cokes during our hour together, and more coming. “I’m not here for a long time, I’m here for a good time,” he said. And random-comment lady. “The coffee isn’t that bad, is it?” she once asked, with no coffee anywhere in sight. And a couple of semi-interesting hands, too. Will talk about ’em next week.

I suppose it might seem silly to some to read about my squeezing in an hour of $2/$4 limit hold’em rather than pursue more potentially lucrative opportunities during my short while here. Fact is, I get so little chance to play live I just don’t feel a special desire to test myself unnecessarily. One nice effect of putting in some hands like this at the lowest limits is that I do feel much, much more confident just dealing with the mechanics of live play than I did even a year ago.

Yeah, I know. Confidence ain’t gonna help but so much at the lowest limits like this. Hell, even skill is only gonna be of marginal benefit at a lot of these tables, where eight-handed flops means you gotta showdown winners or lose, end of story. But I tend to think what I’m doing now is gonna help me down the road, should I venture into higher stakes, tourneys, etc. As we were talking about a lunch a little bit, stepping out of one’s comfort zone ain’t a simple matter.

Came on back to the hotel to decompress a bit before going out for dinner. Later on, Vera and I ventured over to the Hard Rock for a loud dinner at the Pink Taco. The shrimp tacos were quite scrumptious, in fact. And soporific. We wandered around the casino in a daze for a bit afterwards. Looked in on the poker room, where two no-limit tables were filled with players while sixteen more collected dust in the distance. Got back to our hotel and crashed, sleeping soundly despite the planes roaring overhead from nearby McCarran.

Like I say, I’ll have more to write about all of this next week. Today the plan is to visit with David Schwartz over at UNLV and check out the Special Collections at the Center for Gaming Research. Then will be getting together with Pokerati Dan later in the afternoon. Not sure what else is on the agenda as yet. Will probably post something tomorrow, too, so we’ll all find out.

Sleep is for Suckers

First day in Vegas was fairly packed. Vera and I landed at McCarran around 10 a.m. local time. Grabbed a bite and I dropped off Vera at the World Cup around noon. I then headed over to Binion’s and ended up sitting at a $2/$4 limit table for about an hour or so, killing time before the meeting of the Wednesday Poker Discussion Group that was scheduled to start around two o’clock.

The Poker Grump came over and was there to see me finally hit a nice hand to get back close to even. Then I racked ’em up and we headed over to the coffee shop for the meeting. Thing didn’t get going in earnest until about three-ish, by which time 25 or so folks had gathered. Was a very fun couple of hours, highlighted by a lengthy analysis of a single $2/$5 no-limit hold’em cash game hand played at the Wynn by one of the group.

Operated a little bit like a class, with discussion leaders and several gifted “students” piping up with their ideas along the way. Lots of insights and entertainment, too, and it seemed like there were several moments when folks delivered lines about the player’s approach that were simultaneously uproarious and perceptive: e.g., “You got him right where he wanted you.”

From there I got back together with Vera, then as planned we met up with the Poker Grump, Cardgrrl, BWoP, and F-Train over at the Grand Lux Cafe at the Venetian for dinner, where we had a good time sharing stories and marveling at the absurdly-large size of our dishes (“That Chicken Parmesan is bigger than yr head!”).

Didn’t get to sleep ’til midnight or so -- 3 a.m. my time -- and, of course, woke way too early this morning. Tired but wired, ready for more.

Today I am having lunch with a couple of poker authors, Alan Schoonmaker and Jim Brier, both of whom have published multiple poker books and many, many articles in Card Player and elsewhere. Brier’s articles and books are on the strategy side (mostly on limit hold’em, I believe), while Schoonmaker’s are more about the psychology of poker. Should be pretty interesting to be in the middle of those two today.

Might be meeting up with others today, too, but don’t know yet for sure. And could be playing again somewheres, if the timing is right. Will likely have dinner with Vera and some dressage people tonight, then tomorrow it is off to visit the collections at the Center for Gaming Research at UNLV.

Gotta sign off now. Am taking notes, natch, and plan to write up a more detailed trip report next week. Wish you were here.

Destination Vegas

Vegasward we go. Not much time to talk.

A quick trip, this, arriving later this morning and leaving Sunday afternoon. The 2009 Fédération Équestre Internationale World Cup Finals is happening. That’s dressage, folks. Comes to Vegas every odd-numbered year (is in Europe for the evens). As mentioned here before, Vera Valmore rides, and so she’ll be there watching most of the dressage events. Vera and I were there in ’07, as documented in these here “Shamus in Vegas” posts.

I’ll be at the big finale on Saturday, though will be occupied with several other activities before then.

Have various items on the agenda already. Gonna try to make the Wednesday Poker Discussion Group over at Binion’s with the Poker Grump. Plan on checking out the collections over at the Center for Gaming Research at UNLV later in the week. Might take a quick trip over to the Gamblers Book Shop, as I usually try to do whenever in LV. Have plans to be there at the Bellagio on Saturday as the World Poker Tour Championship kicks off, where I’ll be meeting up with various pokery people. Also looking forward to hanging out some with F-Train, BWoP, Cardgrrl, Pokerati Dan, and maybe B.J. Nemeth if I can track him down. There are probably others there, too, I should hope to find this week.

Oh, and I may well be playing a little poker here and there, too. We’ll see.

Anyhow, I expect to be all wired while there and so will report back soon. Talk to you again from the middle of the desert.