I'll begin with a little background. I've been playing poker for only about six months now. My first live experience came for about an hour at a local casino, but I went to Vegas for a weekend last September that really got me into the game. I played strictly 2-4 limit on that trip, had a great time, and made a little money. Since then, I've been doing a lot of reading and studying on the game to try and improve, but I know there is a really long way to go. For one thing, I play far too conservatively and am not very skillful at reading people. To me, $200 is a fairly large amount, and when I have to call an all-in bet for that, I'd better have a very good hand. I know this is to my detriment, so I'm working to improve.

On to the trip. I arrived in Vegas on Friday at around 8:00 am. I was staying at MGM and made that my homebase. For one, I like the poker room there and definitely wanted to get hooked up at the poker room rate. Incidentally, for those wondering, I made the reservations using a members-only promotion code I found on fatwallet.com, so I wasn't sure if I would qualify for the room rate as well, but the poker room manager made a call to the front desk and took the $40 off for Friday and Saturday nights. Since Sunday was only $79, he couldn't do anything.

Anyway, I headed right to the poker room at MGM upon arrival. I'd hoped to play mostly 4-8 limit on this trip, but MGM didn't have a game going, so I thought I'd warm up with a little 3-6. Pretty much played by the book (Small Stakes Hold'em by Sklansky and Malmuth) and finished up around $60 after a few hours. Based on the glowing reviews hear, I wanted to play at the Venetian, so I took the monorail down in mid-afternoon. They had no 4-8 game going, so I walked over to the Wynn. It's pretty much as people have described -- very busy and cramped. They had one 4-8 table going, and two on the waiting list ahead of me. About an hour and a half later, my name was finally called and I sat down.

I've never had such a poor run of cards in my life. When I did get a hand worth playing, the action ahead of me told me I was beat. Once, I had pocket queens and raised. Had three or four callers. Flop came 8-5-5. I bet, was raised, and called. I checked/called it down knowing full well he had the five. Sure enough, he turns over 3-5 to win the pot. The rest of the time, I just slowly bled off chips with hands that never hit the flop. Since I was getting bored, I began playing hands I knew I shouldn't (Ace-rag, J/9os, etc.) I lost my $200 buy-in in and left. All in all, the Wynn is a nice looking room and the players at the 4-8 game were very beatable, but I didn't care for it too much. Seemed too snobby to me.

After grabbing some lunch at the mall, I walked by the TI poker room, but they only had a couple of tables going. I left and headed back to MGM around 5:00. I played some more 3-6 for a while, finishing up around $40, and then decided to try some no-limit for the first time. I bought in for $150 and sat down. I knew I'd play a disciplined game of 1-2, since there was a lot more at stake. My strategy was to see flops cheaply and wait for a good hand to play aggressively. Most players at the table had between $100 and $300 in chips, except for the guy directly across from me, who had about $700 or so.

About an hour or two into the game, two guys sat down that didn't speak much English and clearly didn't know what they were doing. At one point, the dealer said "it's four to you" to one of them. He nodded and put in four red chips instead of blue chips. It was really kind of humorous.

Nothing much was happening until I was dealt A-Ks in late position with about $130 in chips in front of me. About six people limped around to me and I raised to $15. Five of them called, which I was not happy to see. The flop came Q-rag-rag. I bet out about $50 into about a $75 pot and was called by two people. The turn came a Jack and I knew I was beat. Regardless, I felt like I was committed to continuing, so I pushed all in for my last $65 or so. The guy with the big chip stack reluctantly called. We didn't turn over our cards, but I told the guy next to me I had nothing. The river was the miracle 10, giving me the Broadway straight and a very nice pot. It's funny, but if I would've busted out there, I probably wouldn't have played any more no-limit. That hand really stressed me out.

As I'm stacking the mound of chips the dealer pushed my way, I look down and do a double-take as I see AcAs. I raise to $15 and get two callers-- both of the guys who don't speak much English. The flop comes 9-rag-rag, all clubs. I bet the size of the pot and one of the guys calls. The turn is a non-club rag and I put the guy all-in for his last $45 or so. He calls and turns over pocket 9s for the set. The club comes on the river giving me the nut flush, and I rake another nice pot. I cash out an hour or so later for $587 . Despite knowing how lucky I was with those two hands, I couldn't help feeling good.

Woke up Saturday, grabbed some breakfast, and went down to TI. Just three tables going plus the tournament, but they had an open seat in the 1-3 NL game, so I sat down and bought in for $200. The stacks weren't too high -- no one had more than about $500 I believe, so I didn't feel like I had too big of a disadvantage. Nothing much came up until I was dealt Q-7os in the small blind. I called the $2. The flop came Q-rag-rag. This was exactly the type of situation I didn't want to find myself in -- top pair with a weak kicker against a large field. Nevertheless, it was checked around to me and I bet $10. The big blind and one other player called. Turn came another Queen. I bet out $30, the BB went all-in, and the other guy folded. He had me covered, and I pretty much knew what I was up against. It was just a question of who had the better kicker. I sweated it out and finally called. He had Q9 to break me.

I bought back in for another $200 and made most of my money back in a very similar situation. I had J8os and called in late position in an un-raised pot. Flop came 4-8-8. I bet $15, and the guy across the table raised to $100. Again, I knew what I was up against. I figured if he flopped the boat, he would've slowplayed, so I figured he had an 8 with a marginal kicker. I hemmed and hawed and finally went all-in. He called and turned over 89s and I raked the pot. I was getting really hungry, so I cashed out a little later with about $340 in chips. I lost $60 during the session, but I really like playing at TI. Great dealers there and a nice vibe.

Using my food comps from a previous trip combined with this trip, I enjoyed the TI dinner buffet for $1.08. I personally think this buffet is excellent, though I haven't really tried any others besides the MGM and Excalibur buffets -- both of which are quite mediocre. Full and satisfied, I headed back to the MGM.

I bought into a 1-2 game for $200. Good mix of tourists and a couple of locals. I sat next to a really nice local player and we chatted most of the night. Several of the players were really good and had mountains of chips in front of them. They didn't seem to play many hands at all. One guy was super aggressive, and had won several small pots in a row uncontested with big bets. He wasn't really a very good player though, and he was down to around $110 when this hand occurred:

I had A9s and the flop came A-rag-rag. I bet $20 and the aggressive player called. Turn came another rag, but the board was straightening. I bet out again and he went all-in for another $70 or so. It was an easier call for me since he didn't have that much left and I was already up around $100 for the session. Again, we didn't turn over our cards. The dealer dealt the river, and I pointed at the other player to reveal his cards since I'd called him. He did, and I thought the dealer said straight. I lifted my cards to look at them before throwing them in the muck. The local player next to me saw my cards, told me the other guy didn't have a straight and I threw away the winning hand. I honestly don't know what happened, but I was sure I heard someone say straight. I was an idiot and certainly felt like one, but the local was really cool about it. He told me discreetly so no one else at the table knew. He also said that everyone's done it at one time or another and not to beat yourself up over it. I thought that was cool of him, but throwing away a $200+ pot was tough to swallow.

Luckily, I still made around $300 from the session. One memorable hand was when I had QQ and my raise was called by one player. He had taken a brutal all-in beat a few hands before when his KK ran into AA. He had around $100 in front of him when he called my raise. Flop came T-J-Q. I overbet the pot because there were a lot of cards I didn't want to see on the turn. He promptly went all in and I figured he had big slick. Instead, he turns over JJ for the second best set. He stood up and said "I guess it's not my day." I genuinely felt bad for him after that. I cashed out at around midnight up about $300, though it would've been another $200 or so if it weren't for my stupidity.

At this point, I was tired. I hadn't gotten much sleep the day before and am not much of a night owl to begin with. I walked through the room to the back where the limit games were and saw a 4-8 table with an open seat. I decided to sit down for a little while. First hand in (before I was able to come in), the betting was capped before the flop by about six players. By the time the hand was finished, there was hardly any room on the table for the cards since so many chips were in the middle. A guy won with a rivered wheel straight with his 3-5os. At this point, I knew I needed to stick around for a while. It was the juiciest table I'd ever played at, and I finished the three-hour session up about $300 playing ABC poker. I finally crashed about 3:30 after a very profitable day.

Came down to the poker room on Sunday afternoon and joined a new 1-2 game that was just starting. Bought in for the $200 max. This table had fewer tourists and some locals who knew each other, so I knew it would be a grind. I lost about half of my stack in one hand when I raised $15 with QQ and got two callers. Flop came 9-rag-rag. One player bet $20, the other player folded, and I raised to $60. The other player thought for about 10 seconds and announced he was all-in. He had me covered, and it was around $120 to call. I thought long and hard and finally decided to fold. I threw the cards face up in the muck and one player's eyes widened and he shook his head, clearly shocked that I'd fold such a hand. I think the other guy probably had a flush draw, but the words "Never go broke with one pair" from Phil Gordon's Little Green Book kept popping into my head while I considered my move. It was probably a mistake for a relatively small amount of money, but to me, $120 isn't chicken feed. I ended up busting an hour or so later when my set of jacks ran into the nut flush.

I decided to sit down at the 4-8 table. It was a mix of locals, tourists who were decent players, and some loose tourists. The first hand I saw was 88. I called and the flop came 4-8-8. I couldn't believe my eyes. Unfortunately, I didn't get much action. A few hands later, one of the loose tourists turned his cards up before someone had acted, and the guy sitting next to me yelled at him saying "what are you doing? He's still in the hand." The player said he didn't see it and the other guy told him to pay attention. From that point on, they were jawing back and forth every other hand, criticizing each others' play. When it was finally starting to calm down, the guy who went off the first time turned up his cards early, and they started yelling at each other again. It would've almost been humorous if we weren't all getting so tired of it. Luckily, one of them left a little while later. This was a testy table all around. One Asian guy busted out and walked away. The dealer asked if he was leaving and he angrily yelled that he'd let the dealer know if he was leaving. Later, I was involved in a hand with the friend of one of the guys who was jawing. I had A-10 and the flop came K-K-10. I bet, he raised, I called. The turn was a 10. I bet again, he raised again, and I smiled and said "hmm... I wonder what I'm up against here." Pretty much everyone at the table laughed, but the other guy got all mad and yelled "fold your hand then." When others asked why he was getting so upset, he said "if he's going to patronize me, I'm going to talk ****." I guess he felt like I was making fun of him or something. Anyway, I was up about $140 when both of those guys left. Then, the locals started to show up, and my money started to disappear. I ended up cashing out only ahead about $30.

My poker trip was capped on Sunday evening by playing more 4-8. This table was pretty much all locals, with one loose Asian tourist, and one very good tourist that I'd played with the night before. I wasn't getting any hands to play with and the dealer started to notice. She said something about how she was sorry I wasn't getting any hands. About three hands later, I look down at QQ. I raise and get two callers. Flop comes A-Q-Q. I had flopped quads for the second time in one day. By the turn, it was heads up, and this one guy bet and said I joking said I should get out. I should've just called because he probably would've bet on the river too, but he folded when I raised. I flipped up my hand and we had a good laugh talking about how his plan had backfired.

After this, I took some brutal beats in this game. On one hand, I had AK on a flop of 10-J-Q rainbow. I stupidly decided to just call the flop bet hoping that the four or five other players would call or raise behind me. On the turn, I bet out and was called by two or three players. I bet on the river and was raised. The loose Asian player caught his runner-runner flush. In another hand, I had KK, and a couple of players called my raise. The flop came 6-6-6. I bet out, the same Asian player just called, so I knew he didn't have the 6. Turn came a Queen, I bet, he raised, I re-raised, he called. River came another Queen. I bet again, and this time he surprisingly just called. He turned over Q-10 and his Queens full beat my 6s full. That was tough. I was almost embarrassed to cash in my measly $24 in chips, but I had to get up early the next day.

All in all, after paying for food, monorail, and tipping, I finished the trip about $250 ahead, so it was a successful trip. I was up around $600 at one point, and it would've been close to $800 if it weren't for my mistake, but I learned some valuable lessons and gained some valuable experience from this trip. I'll be back at the end of July to try my luck again.