An email received from Michael Byers – great story about the NL games at Bellagio. Enjoy!
*BEGIN EMAIL*
Linda,
I have been an avid lurker of your blog for well over a year. I am a veteran hold ’em player that you dealt to on my past trips to LV, including the 2003 super bowl weekend in the 15-30 HE game. I went back this past weekend and was hoping to have you deal to me in the new no limit hold em games at the Bellagio, as you had described the 2-5 NL as such a joke of a game on weekends. However, alas, the buddy I went with only played during your off hours except this past Monday evening. I did very well in the 2-5 game and in my one hour session in the 10-20 NL game. It was exactly as you described, very bad players wanting to play what they play on TV.
I know that you hear about and see just about any and all types of weird hands, but I just want to share one hand with you that you might find interesting. The following hand took place on Super Bowl Sunday right about 11:00 am (David the day shift dealer was dealing and will remember it).
Hand:
$2-$5 No Limit $200 buy-in
I was in the 10 seat on the button. I had built up my $200 up to around $1,200 with good play and strategic bluffs (two all day). The only stack close was in the seven seat with $880 (I counted pre flop), lets call him the Manhattan Beach Maniac (“MBM”). Unfortunately for MBM, he was already doing shots of tequila when I sat down at 9:30 am (don’t you just love those guys on vacation in Vegas). MBM makes his standard open raise to $20. Now when I say standard, I mean MBM opened every hand pre flop with that bet. I guess it was the number of chips that were comfortable in his hand. I look down at the 5-6 of clubs, just the type of hand to play against this guy, and I call. The Big Blind calls as well.
FLOP: Q76 rainbow. Interesting.
BB Checks, MBM bets $50, again his standard bet on any flop. I call, BB folds. I am planning on making some kind of move on the turn depending on the card.
Turn: 8 completes the rainbow. Board now reads Q876.
MBM bets $50 again. Now I make it $200 with an interesting card for my hand and a perfect bluff card. MBM thinks, then calls. Okay, not great for him because regardless of the river, if he checks I am moving all in. I cannot put him on a Q, I thought maybe A-9.
River: Q, Board now reads QQ876. Okay, that could not have helped him.
MBM checks, I go all in. MBM thinks for a nanosecond and says “I call.” With that quick a call, I tap the table and say I can’t beat a call as I announce two pair and show my 5-6. He looks at it and says “your shit is slightly better than my shit” and shows 22. I take all $880 from him with him holding 22. I could not believe it, and the entire table shrieked “Oh my God!”
I look at him in wonder and only say one thing: “You called?” David looks up to the podium as the drunk is staggering to the bathroom and says: “Put me on the play list right now!”
MBM comes back and drunkenly builds his stack back up to $1,000 (after 5-6 rebuys), with no help from me. He goes to the main cage to cash $30,000 in Mandalay Bay chips to make his Super Bowl Wager of $20,000 on the Patriots (yes he had a bad day). When MBM had been gone long enough doing this transaction to get his second “No Player Button” I look at the dealer and say: “I do not care how long he is gone, and what blinds I have to post for him, DO NOT PICK HIM UP!” The entire table echoed my thoughts. Unfortunately, MBM never makes it back by the time I leave to go watch the game. Oh well, all good things must end.
End of hand.
Linda, I really look forward to meeting you again and hope you enjoyed the story above. I appreciate the information in your blog concerning the WPT game. I really enjoy reading your stories and life experiences. It really appears that you have had some really interesting life experiences. Keep it up.
It was a hoot, and very profitable for my four day trip (+$4,000). Have a great day and feel free to include this story in your Blog. Everyone I told it to since Sunday has had a great time thinking through how they would have played that hand.