From: ActionBob99@aol.com
Subject: [BARGE] ActionBob's BARGE Trip report


BARGE finally arrives and I leave work and am on my way to make a quick stop
and home then to the airport at 4:00 on Wednesday.  No problems with my US 
Air flight and I arrive in Vegas on time at about 10:30.  I am going to take 
a cab to Binions, but I know Lucky Rebuy (Tom Goodwin) had arrived an hour or 
so before me so figured I'd give him a call on his cell and see if he is 
still around the airport before I look for a taxi.  Good start to the long 
weekend as he is just finishing dinner at a sushi bar by the airport and he 
swings by the airport to pick me up and its off to Binions.

First thing I notice is Binions is pretty dead for a BARGE event.  Most 
tables are empty and even the CHORSE tournament does not seem to have the 
usual crowds and noise surrounding it.  We hang around for a while to say 
hello to fellow BARGErs and then over to Bellagio.  

I put my name on the 15-30 holdem lists and see a seat open in the 4-8 game 
and decide to take a seat.  Steve Carbonara and Eric Holtman (Jaeger) are 
both in the game and Lucky Rebuy decides to join us as well.  I do what I can 
to liven up the game (not that this game needed to be any more lively) and 
post a live straddle on Rebuy's blind at the first opportunity.  The betting
of course ends up capped and I look down to see my T2 offsuit.  Flop is 2-6-7 
with 2 clubs.  Rebuy bets out and of course I raise, one local is hanging 
around and Rebuy 3 bets it and I call as does the local.  Turn is an 8 and 
Rebuy bets out and I call.   A miracle nine comes out on the river, Rebuy 
checks, I bet, the local calls, and Rebuy shows and mucks his AcKc.  I table 
my T2 off and the local just shakes his head and mucks.  One other hand of 
note that helped put another local on tilt.  I straddle and the local young 
asian kid 3 bets, one other calls and I call.  Flop comes Q-x-x.  I check, 
the raiser bets, other guy folds and I call announcing "I'm not looking until 
the turn".  Turn is another rag and I check.  The local bets out,  I announce 
"Let me check my cards and see if I can check raise...."   I look down and lo 
and behold, I see AQ staring back at me so I announce "Yep, I sure can".   So 
I raise and he reluctantly calls and shakes his head after calling my river 
bet and I show my AQ.   So much fun putting locals on tilt.

End up eventually getting into a great 15-30 game later with one of the worst 
players I have ever seen and of course drop a rack+ playing until 10:00 AM on 
Thursday when I head back to Binions to get a couple hours of sleep before 
Thursday's Mirage tourney.

As usual, the Mirage buffet was great.  Good food and better company.  After
eating we head over to sign up for the tourney and still have a half hour to
kill so Jaeger, Steve C, Paul McMullin and myself play a bit of Pai Gow where 
I make a quick $120 to pay my tournament entry.   Never able to get much 
going in the tournament.  I took the rebuy early when the lady to my left 
took it on  the first hand and she proceeded to play 4 hands in a row after.
Figured I'd better have some chips in case I can get something against her.
But I just never was able to make any hands or accumulate any chips.  My 
stack was never over 3k.  Managed to survive down to 2 tables but busted out
18th.  Blinds were I think 300-600 and going up the next hand to 500-1000.  I 
am UTG with 33 and go all in for 1200.  Unfortunately get called in 2 places
behind me by AT and JJ and no help for me.  But BARGErs did rule this tourney 
as Bingo and Barry K made a deal for first and second.  WTG guys!

I head over to Bellagio to play some more 15-30.   The "worst player I have 
ever seen" is in the game again.  One hand of note from his play.    He 
limped in and someone raised, there are a few callers and he calls.  Flop was 
A-3-x.  He check calls the flop, turn and river.  The other guy shows his AK
of course expecting to win the pot but the total fish turns over his 33 and 
his flopped set.  Um, nice hand sir... where's the rest of the pot?   I managed 
to break about even in this game and decide to head back over to Binions.

Get to Binions and join a lively 4-8 game with Bingo, Deadhead, Dan G, and a
few other BARGErs and locals.  Of course I must straddle at every 
opportunity.  One hand of note.  I straddle, Bingo actually looks at his 
cards and calls, Deadhead reraises blind and I call as does Bingo.  The flop
comes with some ragged cards, so of course I bet blind, Bingo just calls as 
does Deadhead who has also not looked yet.  Now comes some real third level 
thinking.  I still have not looked and bet out a ragged board.   Bingo calls
 
and Deadhead raises (he still hasn't looked at his cards as well).  Now I 
think, Bingo surely would have raised me at some point if he had any piece of 
this, so I decide to 3 bet the hand blind knowing Bingo will surely fold.  He 
does so its basically blind hand against blind hand with lots of dead money 
in the pot.  I warned him of the danger of actually looking at your cards.  
The powers of third level thinking!!   All I remember is we ended up checking 
the river down, Deadhead showed his hand first and he had a pair.  I turned 
over KJ to match the J that came on the river and scoop the pot.  Before I 
leave the game Deadhead and I make an "anti last longer bet" for the Stud 
shootout on Saturday.  Finally a bet in which I may be a favorite!

Its now about 4:00 AM and I join the 15-30 game that is going with about 6 
players including Bruce Hayek (Space Cadet).  Now this is a very lively game, 
so despite the many Coronas I have consumed, I try my best to get my head 
back into real playing mode.  Eventually we all decide to convert the game to 
20-40.  Bruce wins a couple of big pots and picks up, I have been getting 
slammed the whole time and at one point am stuck about 1600.  I pick up a few 
pots as we are playing now 4 handed with one local who was pretty bad, one 
bad tourist, and one absolutely horrendous player who had run good early but
had lost back two thousand or so over the last few hours.  Its now 8:30 and 
the horrible player talks about how he has to leave in a few minutes to catch 
a 10:30 flight....  No, this cant be happening.  I'm still stuck 2 racks and he 
is gonna leave while he still has 2k in front of him.  So I start some 
r00ling table talk about how much fun this game is that maybe he might want 
to change his flight.  It certainly cant hurt to try :-).   So he actually is 
going along with the idea now planted in his head.  He asks if I think he can 
call the airline and change it.  Within seconds of him asking the question, 
my cell phone and the local's are out of our pockets and onto the table.  The 
other tourist obliges and goes to get the phone book from the front desk.   
So the guy actually calls Delta and gets the ticket rep on the phone.  I'm 
thinking this cant really be happening.  When the agent mentions they can put 
him on standby (meanwhile the guy is pausing every few seconds in his 
conversation to announce "I raise"), he asks "What are the odds of me getting 
on the flight if I am on standy?".  The agent says "Odds?  I'm not sure what
you mean sir".  So he replies "Odds, you know like 3-1, 6-5... you know.. 
ODDS!"  The table bursts out laughing.  The guy actually ends up changing his 
flight to an evening flight so he can stay in the game.  I  go on a nice rush 
over the next couple hours and am actually up 500 after being stuck so as 
much as I hate to, I pick up so I can head up for the Stud shootout already 
in progress.  The fish still has a few stacks in front of him, but not much.
  
I do manage to round up Jaeger and Goldie to go play in the game hoping it 
wont break before I bust out of the tourney.  Jaeger asks me to compare this
guy to the "worst player I have ever seen" from the night before.  I told him 
"he makes that guy look like David Sklansky".  So of course Jaeger runs down
to join the game.

As for the stud shootout, I make it to the break and during this 10 minutes 
manage to get to my room and shower and change.  The table notices I look 
quite different and tell them I ran to my room to shower and change without 
even missing a hand.  Sabyl of course says only a man could to that.  I 
manage to bust out shortly after as I raise the bring in with split aces with 
a Q.  George Wattman calls me with an ace showing (he had A8 in the hole).  I 
make a pair of 5's on board by 6th street but George catches and 8 to match 
is hole card and knock me out the tournament.  At least I manage to win my 
$10 anti last longer bet as Deadhead is still alive.

I head back down to the 20-40 game and saddenz, the fish has busted.  Play 
for about 30 minutes then Goldie and I decide to head over to the Bellagio.
 
Games are really not that great today, but have a good time in the 15-30 with 
several BARGErs and some good conversation with Cissy one of the local pros.
  
 George Wattman, Tom Hummel (Aardvark) and myself then head over the Orleans
where we meet Barry K, Randy Collack, Len G, and Scott Burrington to get our
names down for the Friday night tournament.  We all add our names to the list 
(although you can sign up early, they wont take payment until later) and head 
over for the all you can eat sushi buffet at Makino.  The quality is actually 
quite good for a buffet and the price of $30 per person we paid including 
drinks, tax and tip was certainly quite reasonable.  We head back to the 
Orleans and I decide I really wont have the concentration level needed for 
the tourney as I have only slept 2 or 3 hours since Wednesday and decide to 
take a cab back to Binions.

I plan on getting some sleep, but as I walk by the poker room, they are 
announcing open seating for the 10-20 HORSE game.  How can I pass this up.  I 
really suck at anything other than Holdem and haven't slept for 2 days but 
what the heck.  I scoop a monster pot at Stud-8 when I start with A-2-2 and 
end up scooping with deuces full after Jaeger had been jamming with Aces and
a low draw the whole time.  Win another nice pot at Holdem when I call Dave 
Tahajian's raise with J3 s00ted and make the idiot end of a straght.  Damn, 
poker sure is fun when you are drunk.   Of course I give it back in Omaha 
when I proudly table my A-2-3-x (well at least that's what I thought I had) 
on the river and proclaim A2 for my low on the board of 3-4-6-Q-K.  Everyone
says "Hey Bob... you have A-3-4-K... you don't even have a low".Oops.  I'd 
better actually stop drinking and get some sleep now which I finally do and 
sleep until the holdem tourney on Saturday morning.

Nothing really significant in the holdem tourney.  I do locate Deadhead and 
we have a rematch on our anti-last longer bet.  End up busting around 90th 
when its folded to me  I go all in on the button with 22 for 850 (blinds are
75-150).  Ploink calls from the BB with J7 sooted and flops a 7.  IGHN.   At
least I'm 2-0 in my tourney side bets.

Hang around the tournament area for a while until I decide about 2:00 to head 
back to the Bellagio with Tony Goldstein (Karma) and George W.  We never make 
it there when as we are leaving Binions, I see they are starting up a new 
20-40 holdem game.  The woman who the night before bought into a 10-20 game 
for ten thousand (all red chips) is now bringing her remaining 8 racks to the 
20-40 game.  I take the seat to her immediate left and am certainly glad we 
stayed here.    I never make it to the banquet as I just could not get myself 
to leave the game.  Karma and Aardvark apparently both felt the same as they
stayed as well, although I think Aardvark did run over to quickly eat at the
Banquet and get back to his seat before they picked him up.  This woman was 
absolutely horrible.  She puts a horrendous beat on Bingo when he has AA and
of course comes in for a raise.  Flop is Q-T-3.  Bingo bets and of course she 
calls.  Turn is a 5.  Bingo bets and the woman calls.  Now the river is an 
Ace and Bingo bets out again.  Now the woman raises.  He thinks for a minute
and re-raises, she just calls and Bingo assuming he as won since she just 
called turns over his set of Aces.  She says "Oh no...set no good...
=80=A6I have 
wheel" and turns over her 24 offsuit.  Bingo was talking to himself for an 
hour.  Later Russell R comes over from the pot limit game and nicely asks the 
woman "We do have a pot limit game over there if you are interested and you 
want to join us"   She politely says no and she is having a good time here.
 
I walk over and  tell Russell and the pot limit players, "If you want to get
her into the pot limit game you will have to go through ActionBob to get 
her".  The whole table laughs.

I stay in the game all night, and several times the woman moves. Each time I
also move to the seat on her left.  Karma laughs the third time I do this as
it took me a few seconds before I tell the dealer I want to move my seat.  He 
says "Gee Rob, it took you a whole 8 seconds that time to move :-)"   The 
game finally breaks at about 5 AM Sunday as the woman went down to the felt 
from her 8 racks and actually pulled some more bills out of her pocket.  I 
cashed up several racks to make a nice profit for the trip.

I slept a few hours then headed home after Barry K is kind enough to give me
a ride to the airport.  Once again another great BARGE.  Many thanks to Chuck 
and Peter for organizing this great event and I look forwarded to seeing 
everyone again next year or hopefully sooner for those of you who will be at
ATLARGE in the spring.

-ActionBob