From: "John A. D. Cervanyk" Subject: Trip Report: BARGE XI, Part I, The Strip **WARNINGS** I've discovered that you can't please everybody when it comes to the amount of detail in trip reports. Mine come with a lot of little details that help me relive my trips. If you like to read trip reports that are short summaries, skip this one. I don't gamble much other than poker. I'll try to keep my poker notes pretty general but occasionally I'll ramble off on a lot of poker details. The excuse for this trip is BARGE XI. BARGE is the Big August Rec Gambling Excursion. The "rec gambling" refers to the rec.gambling news groups. It's mostly rec.gambling.poker (RGP) these days. I'll mention many names, mostly RGP regulars but a few that AVLV may know. Wednesday, August 1 Don't you hate trip reports that start with horrendous airport delay stories? Even though I've written a couple, so do I. Therefore we drove, and the delay story comes at the end. The drive goes smooth and we stop for breakfast in Mesquite around 8:30 am. I see something about 99¢ specials and pull into the Oasis. We find the buffet first and it is two for one. We both eat for $5.65 plus tips. It was your average breakfast buffet, and the omelets were great. Afterwards Donna and I split some machine action. She drops a twenty in a slot and I double one at video poker. I try to buy a couple of chips at the cage but they tell me it's against gaming regulations and I have to get them from a table. As I approach a craps table the dealers spring to life, grab a dish of dice and call "new shooter". I wave off the dice and explain I only want a couple of chips. They're friendly and helpful and pick out a couple of new, clean chips for me. I should have played off a twenty at the empty table just for the learning experience, but I just took the chips and headed off to finish the trip to Las Vegas. It's almost 11:00 when we get to the Flamingo. What looks like a long line moves quickly and right in front of me is a group of eight or so. In just a few minutes I'm being checked in. But nothing is available right now. The clerk assigns me a room and tells me to check back in an hour or so. Then as I am a step away she tells me she does have a handicapped room. Donna couldn't sleep during the drive and she just wants to lie down. I take the room and we head off to 12155. To get to room 12155 you have to go past the time share booth to the elevators, up to the 12th floor, all the way down the hall, around the corner, and half way down the next hall. The room didn't have a tub but a shower you could roll a wheelchair into. Donna truly is exhausted and falls asleep shortly after the bags arrive. I watch a half hour of the local news, turn off the T.V. and lie down for an hour. I can't take it anymore. I didn't drive 760 miles to toss and turn in a hotel room bed. I grab $100, leave a note for Donna, and take a leisurely stroll to the poker room. Fourth on a slow moving list for hold 'em. I find the 50 play video poker machine that I had so much fun on last year. $10 keeps me entertained for 45 minutes or so and I head back to the poker room. Now I'm third but the brush tells me the other two are call-ins and I'm up next. It takes another 5 minutes and I'm in the game. I suck. I played bad poker and lost to bad players. Donna comes down while I'm spewing chips and goes off to spew a few dollars in slot land. She comes back to witness the last couple of hands that finish my rack. Time for a break, let's go out on the strip. It's only about 100°F and the walk feels good. Last year it was 10-15°F hotter. The Aladdin is new since last year so we check the place out. We window shop the Desert Passage, grab a quick bite in the food court, stroll through the casino, and pick up a couple of chips. A couple of hours here and it's time for the pool party at the Flamingo. We didn't gamble at all at the Aladdin but on the way through the Flamingo Donna stopped and put a twenty into a dollar machine, on the seventh pull we hit triple bars for $80. That was the only slot win we had this trip. The big lagoon pool is closed up, turns out the pool party is up above in the small pool. The misters are running but not much is evaporating and everything is just getting wet. The music was OK and for free the price was right. It wasn't a bad way to sit back and relax for a while. Back at the room we've got three options; A) Change and go for a walk up the strip, B) Change and use our free buffet for a late dinner, or C) Stay in the room and get some sleep. We lie down and try to decide and soon C wins by default. It's been a long day and it's real easy to stay in bed. Thursday, August 2 Today is the first BARGE tournament, at Binion's, at noon. But on our first full day in Las Vegas and we're up too darn early, real early, up with the sun early. We could use a few things from a grocery store, so we head east on Flamingo and around Maryland Parkway there's an Albertson's. (bit by bit I'm learning this town) We pick up what we need and one of the front end displays features Gatorade. Remembering ADB Bingo's post, I grab a quart of lemon-lime for him. It's still early and we use our Flamingo buffet tickets for breakfast. It would have been $19. The buffet was a notch above the Oasis, but not three times worth. I love the omelet station and had a couple. Instead of killing time at the Flamingo we get the car and go downtown. The directions from Monroe, and Chuck's tip about which lane to be in were perfect. I use the valet at Binion's, walk through, and out onto Fremont Street to find a bingo game for Donna. We're directed to the Plaza and soon find the bingo hall. They play differently than she is used to but after 10 minutes with an understanding clerk she is set. Some games on a machine, some on paper, bonus games, and who know what else. I don't get it but I can't complain, this trip is being funded by a bingo jackpot Donna hit early this year. I go back to Binion's to start this year's BARGE. Into the poker room and the first person I see is Kevin Un, grinning from ear to ear. BARGE has started. We only met last year but it was like seeing a long lost friend. We talk for a while and a parade of BARGErs stream by. This is great. This part of BARGE is a lot more fun this year. I met and said hello to dozens of people. I even shook hands with a guy who flamed me pretty hard in a private e-mail. Some I met last year, others I only knew by their nick, and still others I didn't know at all. All of them are great people. Name badge and chips are next. More friends. Randy is at the table and we have a good talk. timmer and I talk about poker in Mesquite, Dave is also from Colorado, and Scottro and I congratulated each other on last years NLHE. (where was Tom?) Great job on the chips, BCC. Patrick, I love the coins. Free hats and t-shirts, ding. Met Roy Cooke (famous pocker author) and talked with him like any other BARGEr. Then off to find Bingo. I hand him the Gatorade and he gives me a chip. He says I'm the fifth person to bring him some. By the end of the day he was giving it away to strangers. It's time for the History Of Poker tournament, 5 card draw and lowball (both with joker). Last year I had ADB fich, Don Perry, and Chuck Weinstock telling stories. This year, the table is full of laughs. The guy on my left is cracking off great one liners and I'm thinking "I like this guy's sense of humor." I check his name tag and it's Steve BIA Nissman. Also at the table is Roy Cooke, Paul Phillips, Tom McEvoy, and ADB Bingo. My shinning moment at the table came before everyone is even seated. Crunch walks by and says "Nothing but fish at this table" and he tosses nine plastic fish on our table. We each get one and Roy says "Who has the biggest fish?" Without saying a word, I whip out my pocket tape measure and pull out about ten inches and place it by my fish. Nissman sees it and cracks up, Roy looks up and he starts laughing. Roy is going through his chips pretty fast and the kidding and ribbing between Roy, Paul, and Tom was priceless. Tom even added an additional book as a bounty on Roy. There's also a lot of poker talk going on. Often hands are discussed and it is interesting to hear the different views. I wish I had some poker hands to write about but I didn't get any. I won a couple of small pots, missed a draw or two, and mostly folded and paid the blinds. The table breaks and I get moved to a new table, short stacked. I bust out when I draw one, all in, to a 7, make an 8, and I'm beat twice, Sean had a 6 (then checked it) and Russ made a 7. Donna checked in during the tournament and went back for another session of bingo. I get in a $4-8 Omaha high game. It's a juicy game and I stay and play too long in it. Donna is finally able to pry me off the table and I cash out +$120. We take the car back to the Flamingo and get to the Mirage only an hour late. Many people have already eaten and left, some are still eating and visiting, and others show up after we did. While filling a plate with peel and eat shrimp, I run into fich. He asks how breakfast in Mesquite was. Finally meet North Shore Mike, it was great to talk with him in person. More chats with more friends. After dinner we check out the poker room but decide to return to the Flamingo. We both get into a $1-4-8-8 hold 'em and promptly lose a bunch. One guy is making terrible plays with any two cards and stacking chips up to his chin. There's a young man a couple of seats to my left that turns out to be a BARGEr. He told me his name but... Donna and I know we can beat this game so we both buy second racks and lose most of them. Then it turns completely around. The guy jams his flush draw all the way and my set holds up. Donna flops top two and it stands up. Soon we're only down $200, then $100, but it's getting late and we move to Binion's tomorrow. We'll quit when the blind comes around. But on my UTG hand I get K-K and take a nice pot. Donna says maybe we should stay a little bit longer. A few more rounds and we've done it, back to even. After being down to around $50, we cash out at $411, +$11. It's only 3 am plenty of time for sleep before the noon tournament. Oh wait, the TOC is a 10:00 am start and we have to change hotels. Oh well, who sleeps during BARGE any way? -- Take care, John A. D. Cervanyk --- jadc@qwest.net The Colorado Fish From: "John A. D. Cervanyk" Subject: Trip Report: BARGE XI, Part II, Downtown Friday, August 3 I answered the 8 am wake up call and rolled out of bed by 8:30. A quick shower, pack, check out on the T.V., bags, car and we get to Binion's at 9:53. I decide that to save time we can leave the bags in the car and use the upper valet. I get to the poker room plenty early, get my seat assignment, then go and check in. For some reason the credit card is declined. No problem, just a bit of frustration. I was quoted $45/night for the weekend but they only charged us $30. We paid in cash and I go to the tournament. Today's tournament is the Tournament Of Champions style, rounds of limit hold 'em, stud, and Omaha/8. Since I don't play much stud or O/8 my strategy is to tighten up in those rounds and try not to do anything stupid. I win some chips and I lose some chips. I fold a lot and make enough in hold 'em to keep me going. In Stud I start with (5-A)5 and fourth street brings an A for aces up. I bet till the river and check when I don't fill up. Chuck Weinstock bets his flush and I call. Then in O/8 I steal a multiway pot. I flop nut low but nothing else. The turn counterfeits my nut low but gives me the nut flush draw, with second low. The perfect river hits the flush and gives me nut low again. Instead of a quarter, I scoop. These are the chips got me to the money. Meanwhile, Donna isn't having too good a time. She plays Omaha high and losses a rack. Then she needs some things and gets her suitcase from the car. But when she tries to get to the room there is some kind of alarm going off and the elevators aren't running. She ends up toting her case around for more than an hour. Finally she gets to the room and freshens up. She comes back just as I make the money and watches the rest. At two tables the antes and blinds took their toll. I survive a couple of all ins and inch up the pay ladder. They decide to form the final table at ten. We get to eleven. The blinds are at 5K-10K with a 1K ante. I'm UTG with 12K. K-J. It's now for 11K or next hand, all in for the big blind. I go now. Folded around to the big blind, Connie. I think I like this. Connie wants to put all her chips in. I know I hate this. She only needs to put in 1K to cover my raise, and turns over K-K. No miracles and I bubble the final table in 11th. I reach into my pocket for my bounty chip and I don't have it, Doh! It's still in my bag in the car. As they form the final table I get my $140, toss $10 in the toke box, and Donna tells me I have my buy in for team C-HORSE. The Calcutta has already started so we beat it over to the Nugget before all the food is gone. Nothing to worry about, plenty of food all night. We get there after eight or nine pairs have been auctioned off. We eat and visit with people. I get a set of dice from QB, and a couple of $2 Cokes. I run into North Shore Mike and turn over most of my TOC winnings for the C-HORSE. He had temporary tattoos and a hat that say "I Am Canadian" for our Team Canada. I guess for tonight I am an honorary Canadian Fish. In team C-HORSE each member plays one game, I'm the Crazy Pineapple and then there is Hold 'em, Omaha/8, Razz, Stud, and Stud/8. During the auction, fich is helping keep track of the bids. At one point he goes into a r00ling imitation of Phil Hellmuth. "He bid what? How could he bid $260?" He knocks his chair over and stomps around. It was dead on and I was rolling on the floor. Good job fich. I had a few picks I thought I could get for cheap, but the bidding on all of them proved again what a lousy handicapper I am. When I come up for bids, Donna tells me lots of people said they were going to bid on me. I open at $50 and Bwanna wins at $70. Doesn't sound like a lot of people were bidding. I buy half myself back this year. The Calcutta ends and back to Binion's. We finally get all our stuff from the car and have a few moments in the room before the C-HORSE. Donna wants to play some more Omaha and asks me for some advise. You can put everything I know about Omaha in a thimble, but I try to give her a few pointers. I head off for the team C-HORSE and Donna ends up in an Omaha/8 game. Michael "q" Wiesenberg isn't feeling well but he replaced himself with an excellent razz player. We have a brief team meeting that ends with us in a circle, putting our hands on top of each others, and shouting "beaver!" Not much happens during the first round. On the first break I meet up with Bruce Kramer to trade a few chips we had talked about many months before BARGE. On our way to an empty table, we pass Don Perry who had closed his eyes for a minute in an aisle. A security guard was waking him up and telling him he couldn't sleep there. Bruce gives the guard an earful just as Tom McEvoy comes over. Tom tells the guard, in no uncertain terms, to leave Don alone. Nick joins us and the three of us trade our chips. Now one of my highlights of this trip. I meet tiger. Somehow we missed each other last year. We only talked for a few minutes but I felt like I was talking to another old friend. tiger was smiling and laughing the entire time. At one point he asks me if I like scotch. I replied "Not anymore." I didn't explain then, but I've been sober 19 years 10½ months. tiger, I should have explained, I hope I didn't come off as rude. All of the fireworks for my leg in the C-HORSE come in the next round. I have Q-Q-x, there's a fold, the player on my right raises. I decide I want it heads up and make it three bets. It's folded around to Paul Phillips, in the big blind, he makes it four bets, the guy on my right and I call. The flop comes A-T-2. Paul bets out, fold, I tell myself I'm beat and call. The turn is a T. Paul checks and I happily take the free card. The river is a Q for a board of A-T-2-T-Q with three diamonds. Paul checks and folds to my bet. Someone asks if it was the broadway or the flush. I can't resist showing the boat. Paul goes on a mini tilt and walks away muttering about my fishy play. It turns out Paul had A-K-2. He flopped aces up, but the turn counterfeited him and gave him no kicker (hence the free river). A few hands later is the hand that cost Team Canada the trophy. I have As-Qo-2s and raise, some action and Buzz reraises, all fold and I make it four bets. The flop is Qd-Jd-xc. I toss the 2 and bet, Buzz calls. Turn is another xc, same betting. The river is a cruel xc. I check call and Buzz shows me Ac-4c. He hit runner runner clubs and runner runner low (of course with me only high, the low didn't matter). Oh, the "ifs" on this hand. If a non club low comes on the river we chop and Team Canada wins the event by 10 chips or so. If I throw away top pair top kicker and keep A-2, again we split. If a non club high rivers, I scoop and we win by a good margin. Oh well, live by the suck out, die by the suck out. The other two rounds I stay out of trouble and finish up about 30 chips. This event was, by far, the most fun I had at BARGE. The off legs were more fun than the ones playing. Talking to others who were off, sweating your teammates, hearing Bingo hit a royal on a quarter VP for $1,000, and I run into Connie, still wearing her jacket from her third place finish in the TOC, and give her my bounty chip for busting me. Meanwhile Donna is having a blast in the O/8 game she's in. During my last break she comes up to me and says "Babe, can you come help me carry my chips?" DING! She's got $527. Way to go Donna! My teammates carried the day and made up for my fishiness. North Shore Mike took a large pot with A-A vs K-K, our new Razz player steadily added to the stack, Pete Stephenson played solid O/8, and Brian Alspach and John Harkness did more than their share in the stud and stud/8 legs. I was the weakest link. At the end we counted up and knew we were close. We had 1714 and knew the 3%ers were also over 1700. I went behind the count table and watched all the counts. No other team was over 1700. I watched our count and John went to split up our $857. The 3%ers counted out at 1762 for $881. We lost by 48 chips or $24. After the 3%ers got paid, Paul put a full rack in the toke box. Donna got my chips from Mike as I hung around the count table. $137 each with $35 toke. I stayed for the presentation of the trophy. The 3%ers got the trophy but were announced at $781 not $881. Then they announced second place, but it wasn't us. What? They announced a few more places and all the numbers were different. I went up and looked at the sheet with the numbers on it and all of them had been changed. I asked why and was only told that the new numbers were the official count. A few minutes later I heard the tournament director tell Fold 'em they only came up $6 off, close enough. I don't know what happened, but the numbers announced and later posted on RGP were just plain wrong. It was a shame to have such a fun day end on that sour note. Oh well it's after 2:30 am and tomorrow is the big no limit tournament. Time to get some sleep. Saturday, August 4 On the day we were to leave on our trip, I still hadn't gotten chips from two of our local casinos to trade with, so I made the 2½ hour round trip to pick them up. The trading session is today at 9:00 am. I oversleep and miss it. Way to go John. That was just an omen of things to come today. I run downstairs and get my seat assignment for the NLHE. Donna heads off to slot land to try her luck again. Then I remember I still haven't met Martin, my Calcutta partner from last year. I go back to look at the seat list and Martin is checking it. Only a year late but I finally meet Martin, even though he is also from Colorado. It's a pretty tough table; Chui Tran, Beth, Rick (RLM), Linda Johnson, (tiltboy) Josh, someone (sorry), Nolan Dalla, Ed Hill, and Don Perry. Linda was wearing her bracelet, cool. Don shows the true BARGE spirit by tipping every dealer $20 as they come into the box. You should have seen their reactions. Beth is oversleeping but shows up soon. Ed, Nolan, Don, and someone have an interesting discussion about going all in early in the WSOP. Josh and I talk about the nick on his name tag, death to all flying things. Razzo comes by and mentions to Linda that I remind him of famous player (I don't recall the name) and Linda agrees. I'll have to remember to e-mail Razzo for the name and a picture. In an early round I make a standard raise with A-8s. The flop comes with an A, I bet and Don calls. The turn makes a flush, I check and Don bets 100. I convince myself he has a worse A and call. The river is a blank, I check and Don bets 100 again. I call and Don indeed has a worse A, A-4s but he has the nut flush. Well done. If Don had bet any more on either card I would have dropped. Ed and RLM get into an confrontation. All the chips go in on the flop. RLM busts Ed, A-A vs J-J. I'm bleeding chips away and can only win small pots. I raise to 300 with 7-7 and Chui comes over the top but doesn't put me all in, around half my stack. I figure he wants me to call and he must have a big pair, I fold. It's still early and I'm short stacked. We lose Don and Linda and they break our table. As I get to my new table I'm pretty much resigned to be busted soon but I'm determined to hang on the best I can. The only one I knew was Walter A Rulah. Andy gives me a couple of chocolate fish. Soon I go all in with 7-7. I flop a set and survive. A few hands later I make the standard raise with T-T and get two callers. The flop brings two over cards. I can't go out like this and fold. I lose all the chips I won on my all in. A few hands later Andy busts out and gives the guy who breaks him lots of plastic fish and a small plastic fishing rod. On my next big blind I have 50 chips left after I post. The guy who broke Andy raises and I call without looking. I've got K-Q he has Q-T. The river brings him a straight. Just as I finish shaking his hand and giving him my bounty chip, a huge cheer erupts from the back of the room, Quick has busted out. I lose my Quick bet by 20 seconds or so. Last year I won the bet and wrote "Quick Bet" on the five Quick paid me with and saved it all year. I paid him back with the same bill. Quick put the timing into perspective by telling me someone had to be the last to lose the bet. Donna is no where to be found so I jump into a $4-8 Omaha high game. It's a r00ling game and the deck is running me over. Pots are big and I'm getting more than my share. At some point Bwanna joins the game. To prove I'm still just a fish; I flopped a set of nines with a flop of A-9-5. It's checked to me, I bet, and a whole bunch call. The turn is a 5, again it's checked to me, I bet, a few call, and the lady to my right raises. I take a time. From previous play I decide if she had A-A she would have raised preflop, and if she had Presto! she would have bet the flop. So I reraise, fold to her and she makes it four bets, Doh! I'm beat and I know it, but being the Colorado Fish I call. The river is my one out, the case 9. She slams her fist on the table and checks. I bet and she calls as she shows her A-A. My 9-9 takes a nice pot that I was extremely lucky to have won. You'd think I'd learn from this but nooooo. Donna comes by now and then. She gets some money and goes souvenir shopping. Then she tries to get me to go eat, but there is no way I'm leaving this game. She eats by herself. I'm nearing $400 and I get a goal of $500 in my empty head. I get up to $499. Do you think I'd quit? No. I start losing chips. Donna keeps trying to get me off the table. I keep losing. Donna even says she'd like to go to the Bellagio to watch the fountains. This is one of my favorite things to do in Las Vegas but I still refuse to get up. I'm sure I can start winning again and start playing crap hands and chasing bad draws. At one point I flop two pair and the nut flush draw. The turn brings the flush but all I'm looking for is the full house. Someone bets and I just call. The river is a blank and it's checked around. The bettor from the turn has a small flush and I surprise myself by turning over the nuts. You'd think that would get me up but no, I've got to keep playing. Finally, when I'm down to $200 and Donna is so mad at me she won't even talk to me, I get up. St00pid John, St00pid John, St00pid John. I hadn't eaten all day but I wouldn't quit. I hadn't seen one fountain show this trip but I wouldn't leave. I'd been playing cards since I woke up but I wouldn't stop. I had won enough to go home with what we came with but I kept playing. So with a $100 win, instead of $400, I cash out. Donna still won't talk to me and I can't blame her. It's only 9:00 pm but I'm totally drained. We go upstairs and go to bed. And for the second year I miss the chowaha. St00pid John. Sunday, August 5 I'm up by 4:00 am. Donna gets up a little bit later. By 5:00 we're packed and go to check out. Nolan, Beth and a few others are still playing cards. I still feel pretty st00pid. Check out is smooth and there are no extra charges. We get the car from the valet and we're on our way home by 5:30. Just inside of Utah there is a car playing "leap frog" with me. He passes me but after a while he slows and I go by him. Then he passes me again, slows and I pass him. After four or five times I decide to end it and really put some distance between us. I push it up to 85 mph and fly by him. Just as I'm about to change back to the right lane, a car in the opposite direction flashes his lights several times. I slow down to 75 and the leap frog car goes by again. A half mile or so down the road there is a patrol car on an overpass. A bit farther down is another patrol car in the median and a third that has pulled a car over. Whew, thanks for the warning kind stranger. All goes well for most of the trip. I'm averaging 72 mph and will make it home in less than 10½ hours. Then as we approach the Eisenhower Tunnel traffic slows and backs up. Then a complete stop. Stop and go for more than 2 hours. No accident, no construction, just heavy traffic. Later I hear it was record traffic for the tunnel. No holiday, no skiing, no reason, just a record number of cars going through the tunnel. Later I learn Mike McBride and Kelly got stuck in the same traffic jam. Oh well, it took us 12½ hours instead of 10½. The highway brings us a bit past our house so we have to drive a mile or so west to finish the drive. We start the trip home by driving into the rising sun, and finish by driving into the setting sun. Despite my terrible Saturday and the delay on the drive home, we had a great time. BARGErs are the best. I'm sorry to all those whose names I forgot and those I didn't mention. I hope everyone had as good a time as we did. -- Take care, John A. D. Cervanyk --- jadc@qwest.net The Colorado Fish