A Piker's Progress

Piker, Def, from Merriam-Webster OnLine
\ˈpī-kər\ , noun
Etymology:
pike, to play cautiously, of unknown origin
1: one who gambles or speculates with small amounts of money
2: one who does things in a small way

A Piker. Thats me. A small stakes player, who has been going to Las Vegas for 30 years. My trip report will not be full of thrilling $500 no-limit hands, or $1200 tales of hooking a school of fish. Remember, I'm a piker.
I am new to live poker, only having played in LV for my last 3 trips. At first, a few low buy-in tourneys and on my trip in Aug 08, I played 2/4 LHE for the first time, and won about $35 at Luxor and $125 at MGM.
I was looking forward to playing live again, seeing as I read "Winning Low Limit Hold'em" by Lee Jones, and I was sure that I would improve my game since August.
First night at MGM. I bought in for $100, and promptly forgot everything I had read and practiced. I was the passive calling station I was supposed to be taking advantage of. In addition "Drunk Girl" was drawing out on seemingly every hand, professing her love for the dealer, be they men or women, and proclaiming her love of poker as well. At one point, the 60 year old (I guess) women next to me leans over and says "If a man was playing and carrying on like that, he would have been punched out a long time ago." Maybe so. 3 hours and later and $75 dollars poorer, I met up with my wife for cocktails and video poker.
Day 2: Okay. Lesson learned. Time to visit LVP's home base, TI. I arrive, say hello to Dannete and Taz and wait for a 2/4 LHE game to form. After 90 minutes, I agree to play 4 handed with one other tourist and 2 TI room regulars. What was I thinking? I must have smelt of tuna as I contributed all of my chips to the 2 regulars. Room was nice, I was served cocktails as I waited for the game to start, but I should have waited for the regulars to go and the other tourists to arrive. Another lesson learned, play the right room for my game.
Day 2, Part 2. 2/4 LHE at Excalibur. Ahh, I'm not the fishiest player anymore. Played 3-4 hours, opened and raised hands when in correct position, I was not the calling station, had a great time and won $35. I'm happy, I'm a piker, remember?
Day 3. I return to Excalibur . A few of the same players from yesterday. I play the correct hands, have some success and miss a few draws. Excalibur has a bonus wheel that you get to spin if your aces are cracked or you play quads, minimum $20 win, not sure of the max, In the span of 90 minutes, 1 player had his aces cracked and earned a spin of the bonus wheel, and hit $35 dollars, and another had his aces loose, spun for $35 and then had quads for another spin, $300! My aces held however for about a $35 pot. I was up about $50, with my $80 buy in and would quit if I hit $160. My set lost to a suck-out straight, and then I stuck around on a hand that I knew I shouldn't have. Uh,oh. What happened next was very un-cool and prompted my exit. A women sat down to my left. The guy to my right says that she is a good player and that that is her husband across the table. when she starts playing, a friend of hers pulls a chair up, crowds me and they start chatting, but not speaking English. I thought that that was not allowed, but I don't say anything because husband is strong silent type. When the player starts showing her hole cards to her friend, I figured it was time to split, up about $25. I feel if I was comfortable, I could have stayed and won some more as I had a few of the players pegged.
Anyway, the MGM poker room has a great vibe and is a lot of fun with smooth management, energetic dealers and more than enough cocktail service. Luxor is a little less energy, and older crowd, good cocktail service and friendly management. Wish I could have played more at TI. Next time for sure.
Non poker notes: We stayed at Bally's because we received an offer for $37 a night. Upon check in, tried the $20 trick by asking if there was something nice in the North Tower. We got a huge room on the 24th floor with a nice view.
We usually go to the Tropicana Comedy Stop for a show. With he coupon available in any LV guide book, 2 tickets were $29.95, including a drink each. Headliner Todd Paul was outrageously funny and the 3 other comics made it a great show. Anyone else catch him?