Tuesday: CJ wakes me up with a text message wanting to know when MVP is getting into town as he said he would pick him up. I don't know that info so I make plans to meet up with CJ later and decide to go out and do my picture taking for the trip. I walked around so much that I got a blister the size of Rhode Island on my right heel and ended up wearing 3 socks on that foot the rest of the trip. My cameras battery door broke before I got to take any pics inside Caesars Palace or of any BTP'ers. (but I will post some pics anyway at a later date. Briachek had a camera too so I did manage to get most everyone in a group photo that he's going to email me. I'll post it when I get it. Kennyg was late of course so he isn't in the group photo but I did get to take one with him later.) Anyway, back to tuesday. after finally meeting up with CJ later in the day we head off to the Venetian to see the poker room and play a bit til MVP calls. Shoulda known that as soon as we get to the top of the list he called and I never did get to play there which is really too bad since it's one of the nicer poker rooms that I saw in my stay on the strip.

We pick MVP up and get him his room and then we head over to Caesars palace and play for an hour or two. During this time I get Aces and win a decent pot and my hands are shaking something horrible. MVP tells me to start drinking so I order a Long Island Iced Tea. I finish the first one but I'm still shakin a little bit so I order another one. When it gets there, MVP immediately say "5 bux if you chug that." I reply indignantly "No way! I want $10!" So anyway, I make a quick $10 from MVP and my shakes are pretty much under control for the rest of the night. The he and I leave with CJ to go to the Sahara to play a tourney.

Musta been about 60 - 70 people in it and it cost $42 + $20 addon for 4500 starting chips total. We all 3 last past the first break. CJ is the first of us to bust out and he finishes prolly in about 35-40th position or so if I can estimate. MVP busts shortly there after in about 30th. At this point I am extremely shortstacked and MVP wants to go to the Wynn and play since CJ left after he busted cuz he had to get up early and go to work the next day. So now MVP is behind me continually chanting like a broken recording "just go all in blind, I want to get out of here." So after about 2 hands of holding out for a halfway decent hand to push with, I finally do just put my last bit of chips out there blind. Of course the dealer is dealing me 72 off suit while I am telling everyone at the table to call me so that if I get lucky and win, I will have a nice little stack to work with. So I look down and see the 72 off and immediately figure it's over. Oh well, it was fun even if it was shorter than I had hoped for. The dude to my left calls, and so does a dude in LP. I start saying SEVENS!!!! and MVP is yelling DUECES!!!!!! I flop a 7 and the river is a duece for a nice suckout triple up against KK and AK!!! LMFAO!!!!! SUCKERS!!!!!!

Well, now I have a little bit to work with and MVP is too bored to stand around for more than another hand or 2 so I did it again and won again but I forget what I won it with this time. Now I have enough to play a little bit of poker with and MVP goes off to find the Pai Gow tables until I bust out.

Anyway, to make a long story short, I make it down to the final 2 tables. My final hand goes down like this. I have about 17000 chips. The blinds are high enough that my M is borderline pushbot time again. Dude in EP raises preflop to 6000, it folds to me in the CO, I look down and find JJ lookin back at me. I go all in. Folds around to the original raiser and he calls. Turns out he has exactly the same amount of chips that I do so if I win I'm looking good for making the final table. He flips over KT of clubs. Flop is rags and I'm feelin' good! Turn is a rag. YES!!!!, River, wait for it, you already know what coming don't you? Yep, he rivers a K and I'm out in 15th. Oh well, GG me. C ya Sahara, you dirty old slut of a card room. I go find MVP before he can go broke on Pai Gow and we head off to the Wynn to play 1/3 NL.

The Wynn has a beautiful card room. But the 1/3 NL game is weird cuz the $3 chips make your bets odd amounts that you kinda have to think about for awhile before making them. Lots of folks just start saying , "I bet this much" and then slap down a stack of chips. Then the dealer has to count them out and tell you what the bet is when it gets to you. Basically a big pain in the balls.

MVP and I get seated at different tables. And MVP starts in with the drinkin! LMAO! he makes a nice little chunk off some super lag moron at his table and then comes and sits to my left on my table when the seat opened up. He immediately makes his presence known to everybody by calling the older man to my right who is wearing a cowboy hat "Doyle" and the fully bearded dude to his own left "Bin Laden". It's pretty hilarious and I swear to god nobody but MVP could ever get away with the things he says at the tables. Then he starts buying shots of Jaeger for the table. This of course is good cuz the table loosens up tremendously. Unfortunately I lose twice with pocket Tens against shortstacks that were just big enough to hurt me when added together. I left there down about $128 or so. I think MVP was actually up at this point. Back to Caesars.

We get seated in a 1/2 NL game with a newly wed woman between us. Right off the bat I ask her if she is offended easily. She laughs and says no. She may have wanted to wait awhile before she answered. I'm not sure how many drinks in it started or how many jaeger shots MVP had bought for the table, but he turns to her and asks her if he can buy her sweater/jacket for $100. I say "You just want her to take it off so you can look at her boobs", she laughs and declines to sell her clothing. MVP then makes sort of excuse about liking to pick off the little pilly things and throwing them at people so he then starts doing it while she's wearing it. Now, I don't remember exactly how we found out she was a newly wed, but she told us that her new husband was playing in a tourney so MVP asks what his name is. She says Travis and that was all MVP needed. He starts literally yelling out "TRAVIS!, TRAVIS! You wifes losing all your money Travis!" Was kinda funny actually but I don't think she thought it was all the hilarious. Once Travis busted out of the tourney, he got seated at our table but at the other end. He's lookin at MVP kinda pissed like and tells him he doesnt appreciate it so MVP apologizes and they both kiss and make up. That of course did NOT stop MVP from doing anything and everything he had already been doing like fawing over the newly wed wife. He also conitinues to offer the $100 for her sweater.

Now I get to tell about one of MVP's bad moments. Don't worry, I tell about my own later on during the week so it aint like I'm picking on him. Even if I was it's ok cuz he picks on me all the time.

As good as MVP is as a live player, and he is good, I've seen it. He was so drunk at this point that his eyes were as red as an albino rat. Then this happens. It's a limped pot I think but if it wasn't then the negative $ results are even worse. MVP is in MP and for some reason bets $45 into a $3 pot (I'm positive it wasnt anywhere near $45) on a board that had 2 hearts on it. He gets a caller. The turn is a heart. Thinks about and tosses out 2 $100 chips and says $125. LP thinks about it and pushes. MVP thinks about for a long while and finally mucks. The dude shows his nut flush that he had chased and hit. MVP then motions me to go with him over to the cashier area. I asked him if he had just folded Aces or Kings and he says, "dude, I had absolutely nothing" and he looks sick. So whatever he had won at the Wynn was gone in addition to the Sahara tourney entry and first Caesars palace session.

At this point it was about 3:30 a.m. and it was obvious he needed to be done for the day so I made sure he got back to his room and then I called it a night. So far, 2 days, 2 BTP'ers down money. I think CJ was down as well, but I wasn't at his tables so I can't say for sure. Lets just say it wasn't a great start for BTP. BTW, Nobody and I mean NOBODY can drink as much as MVP and still be halfway cognizant of how to play poker. It was actually kinda weirdly impressive until the huge bluff loss.

Hope this gets more interesting...

Maybe a $700 lapdance thrown in???

And on that hand, someone in EP raised and the A9 guy called... I came over hte top for $45... Not to justify it, but pretty sure that's right...

WEDNESDAY:

MVP wakes me with a text message to my phone around 1 p.m., I call him to find out whats what for the day and he says he has to go looking for apartments for the impending January move. So I get in touch with CJ and he takes me to the "Wednesday afternoon poker discussion group" meeting at Binions downtown. Was fairly interesting I guess but the highlight of it for me was getting to see the wall of fame in the poker room. Definitely a lot of history there. When we got done there we went to the Las Vegas Gamblers Book Shop (at least I think that was the name of it) and I bought a book called "The Poker Tournament Formula" by Arnold Snyder. Haven't read very much of it yet but from what I HAVE read and from what CJ tells me, it's pretty good.

After that it was back to Caesars to play 1/2 NL until MVP could meet us. Once he got there MVP and I decided to play in a $60 +$10 addon tourney that had about 40 people in it. CJ didnt play in the tourney and left after awhile since he had to work the next day.

This time, I make it to the first break but I'm down to 1325 chips with an M of about 2-3. MVP busted either just before the break or shortly after it cuz he was there behind me again when I go allin the first or second hand and lose but still have about 400 chips left, then I started pushing every hand and either winning or having it folded to me until I am back to having an average stack. Then I got a good hand and pushed when the chip leader just in front of me raised. She called and doubled me up and I was able to make it to the final table. I lost a big hand to the chip leader at the final table and then managed to hang around until it was just 6 left. Then I got AQs and busted the last 2 short stacks left in one hand and we were down to 4. 4th place went out on a bad beat with AA to the chip leaders AKs when AKs hit 4 flush cards, lol. Then we're down to 3 left I get ATs and see a flop. I hit 2 pair and a flush draw, CL bets, I push and he calls. He of course had flopped a straight and I didn't improve even though I had a bunch of outs. So I'm out and feeling on top (or maybe 2 steps down from the top) of the world. I JUST MADE MONEY IN A VEGAS TOURNEY!!! WOOT!!!!!

Then MVP and I go eat an overpriced sandwich at the Augustus Cafe and then we went to Ballys. The site of my lowest Vegas moment.

We get seated in a 1/2 NL game and we're doing ok. I don't really remember if MVP was up or down for the session but then this happened and whether or not he was up no longer mattered to me.

It's 4:00 a.m., I'm really really tired and maybe a little bit drunk but not bad. I text MVP that I'm done and am going home. I figure I'll sit the rest of the round and then leave when the blinds get to me. At this point I am up about $25-$40. A good friend would have immediately texted me to just quit then and not play another hand. (ok, ok, it's not his fault, I just had to spread the blame a little ) Anyway, I get A7h and limp and get to see a flop. It comes 743. SB checks to me and I bet $30, he then CR's me to $60 and I call. Turn is a 9h giving me the flush draw. He bets $50, I call. River is a non heart 4, he bets like $75 or so and for some dumbass reason I practically insta-push the rest of what was left of my $340 stack. He insta-calls and says I have a boat and flips over 77. I reply as calmly as I could over the growing bile in my throat that I'm beat and I muck my lowly 2 pair w/TK without showing. I don't remember exactly why, but for some reason I had put him squarely on a hand like AK or AQ early in the hand and never once thought about it being anything else (I think thats from being so tired at the time) so when it got to the river I guess I figured my huge overbet push would somehow magically make him fold the pot to me. Funny thing is, (well, not so funny actually with that big a loss) is that as soon as I said "I'm allin", I wished I hadn't. Even before he said "call" a split second later. Was kinda like one of those slow motion moments from a bad dream.

Not that it needs to be pointed out but I called it a night at that point and MVP (believe it or not) even actually tried to help me feel better about my loss even though it was obvious we both knew I had just given away $340 for no reason other than tired stupidity.

So between my tourney winnings and my big stupid loss, I finished the day down about -$100 or so. I also have a new personal rule against playing when extremely tired.

Keep reading cuz the stories from tomorrow get much better. Trust me. (Think big boobs and 3somes.) Also, The rest of the guys show up on thursday.

You totally fucked up the HH...

You had ...

Flop was 743 2 hearts.... Check, you bet $15, he CRes to $45... You call...

Turn ... He leads $50 you call...

River ... He leads $50, you raise allin... he instacalls... flips over 77...

I know for a fact that I had and folded face down. If your recollection of the rest of the HH is better than mine and it may be because I was so tired, then I guess I had a flush and didn't realise it. Doesn't change the outcome though, his boat still beats me. And I still feel horrible. thanks.

I can already see I am going to have to post the 3 some and the $700 stripper story.

Ok, I'm on lunch so I'll get a start on the thursday vegas tales and I'll finish it up tonight.

Thursday:

After a very late night on wednesday. I slept until about 11 a.m. when I get a text message from briachek saying he's in town with his friend (I think it's pnutbutr here on BTP) and kennyg and his friend Brian. So I go to caesars and eat while I'm waiting for them to meetup with me. MVP is still doing some apartment stuff so he will be in later.

When they finally get to Caesars Palace, the 4 of them and myself get on a 1/2 NL table with 4 folks who we don't know. There was no collusion going on but it was kinda funny that we were all making money (except kennyg, does this guy even play NL? ) briachek and I made a little bit but his friend and kennyg's friend each made a few hundred apiece. Then bobby calls and says he's in town so we cash out and the 6 of us (CJ had made it there by then as well) made our way over to the Hilton to find bobby. Of course by the time we got there, he was nowhere to be found and his bartender friend told us he had left about 30 minutes ago. DAMN!

So kennyg and brian decide to have a few drinks at the Hilton and then head back to TI to get some sleep. The rest of us decide to go back to Caesars Palace. We caught up with MVP and we were all about to leave for Ballys to go donk up some 2/4 Limit when I hear some SHOUT my name out. I turn around and there's this wild eyed dude in a loud Hawaiin shirt lookin right at me. Bobby? LOL, yep. He came lookin for us about the same time we went lookin for him I guess. Bobby, you need to get a cell phone or a pager dude.

Ok, lunch over, finish when I get home. The story is just about to get really good.