Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 13:56:24 +0100 From: Chris S Subject: [BARGE] Ploink's 2010 BARGE Trip Report x-posted to BARGE list Haven't done a trip report in years, but this one was worthy for a few reasons (not the least of which was missing out last year). * Good beat trip: Managed a last minute miles upgrade to Upper Class from Gatwick to Vegas. Being able to lie flat is awesome, got at least 5 hours sleep. Being able to drink a nice single-malt on the way was an extra bonus. * Spent the first couple days with my parents, including playing some 4-8 Limit at Bellagio and Venetian with my Father. * I'm going to hell for check-raising my father (among other reasons for going to hell). I did also announce it to the whole table. Is that wrong? I did buy him dinner afterward. * Played some 20-4-8-8 Mix at the V Sunday with Lauria, Neverwhinge, BWoP, Jeanne, Terrence, Schmengie and others. Much fun was had. It was a great game; I lost only 2 racks. I meet Carol (BWoP) for first time. Much trash talking ensues, especially when I get many many 2nd best hands against her in Razz. Apparently I am now her Nemesis. * Officially arrived at BARGE Tuesday. Proceeded to get mega-drunk on rum punches. Had delightful cocktail waitress who spent the rest of the week saying "Oh, it's YOU" every time I placed my first order of the day. I miss her already. I'm serious. Apologies to anyone I annoyed with my drunken banter. Except sabyl. She deserves it for knocking me out of so many tournaments. :) Made final two tables of Badugi tourney before busting, which surprised me more than anyone but did allow me to chop the ADB LL. Professional sweating from Neverwhinge and ADB Iceman helped. * Play some 1-2 Binglaha in which I win a small amount but is mostly notable for me unintentionally slow-rolling Bob Lauria. Next time it will be intentional of course. This was after the 20-4-8-8 game in which during a hold'em round I called his flop bet with 6 high and made a runner-runner straight to drag a decent pot. * Tried to get my two daily swipes from the slot promo, but card wouldn't work. Was given $20 food comp in compensation, which I later sold for $15. This was a great promo which saw me getting $35 in match play chips and $35 in free slot play throughout the trip. * Drunken late-night run to McDs for a couple Sausage Muffins sans egg with Neverwhinge. * First BARGE where everyone seemed to be greeting each other with "How are you? You are looking well. Everything OK? How did xyz procedure go?" Yeah, we are getting old(er). * Wednesday got lucky in BJ and beat Bree on final hand of first table where I needed dealer to either have a 7 down or bust. Dealer 7. This tourney was hilarious for many reasons including something like 7 consecutive decisions the floor had to make which (imo) went counter to logic each time. Equally amusing that BJ paid 2-1 AND we weren't allowed to take insurance. * Get unlucky at final table when I have chance to win on final hand but need dealer to bust (which she doesn't) AND Leslie gets a BJ on final handle to squeak by me into 2nd. End up 3rd for first plaque of the trip and purple chip. * Lowball I get a ton of fantastic draws which mostly don't get there. Bust out somewhere in the middle. * Fich makes suggestion to go to Union Plaza for tapas. Union Plaza? Tapas? Seriously? Because it's Fich, I know it can't suck and we go, dragging Neverwhinge along. Fucking fantastic meal, highly recommended. Place is called Firefly, which reminds me of one of my favourite songs by David & David "A Rock for the Forgotten" which is about a dive bar in Hollywood I used to go to 20 years ago called.... the Firefly. * Go play some Binglaha in which I r00l table for ~$550 profit, drinking more rum punch (this after the pitcher of Sangria I shared with Neverwhinge during dinner). * Thursday wake up far too early to play CHORSE. Neverwhinge brings me a couple sausage mcmuffins, which massively helps. Have 50% cross-book with Team DLW which makes things interesting when they bust on one table during last round but Micon makes tons of hands and DILLIGAF scoops up a couple Razz pots. I OTOH keep starting with a 3 card 6 and bricking. We count up and pay off the cross book (which I now realize we overpaid by double after looking at standings). Ah well, went to some of my favourite people. I did pay off Tina with blue chips. Was that wrong? * Go to sushi with Neverwhinge and Jester. Take the over, which wins for the first time and pays 9-5. Fantastic meal, great company, as usual. * Start play in 6-game with Carol on my right. We proceed to get drunk and make our table very very noisy. We get waitress from hell who will not allow us to have more than one drink. This forces Carol to down a half-glass of wine and she gets VERY drunk and VERY loud. She donks off many chips to me in Chowaha when my 3rd pair that I made on the river winds up being good. She then orders food and sobers up. Boo! * Wind up luckboxing to final table and manage to come in 2nd, losing to a very deserving Mark T. Because we both had purples, they had to pass down to 5th place. This may be a first. Carol also makes final table and donks off more chips to me in Chowaha. Thanks! I don't bust her and so don't get her bounty. So rigged. Chopped ADB LL with Nolan 70-30 when I have massive chips and he doesn't. * Missed smoker and craps-crawl by making final table. Ah well. * Friday comes, Neverwhinge brings me a couple sausage mcmuffins (seeing a pattern here?) * Play TOC and am forced to play far too many Stud hands. Good beat when I ask Perry to bring me a Krispy Kreme when he goes on a run at the break and he does! Bust out and start drinking straight Grey Gooses with Bob and Katie. Bob and I find we have some common ground and I give Bob standing invite to visit IOM. That goes for Katie too. Whee! I do have extra bedrooms available. * Head to Calcutta where I get invited into Bob's syndicate. I pay $100 and go off to multi-table Chinese. I get bored when I'm first one to set in *both* games and deal in *both* games. Have some drink and some food. Get Neverwhinge to join our syndicate, which winds up being a good thing when the syndicate buys his action back and he goes on to finish 2nd (the syndicate managed to have at least 25% of each of the top 4 finishers). * Come back down to sweat TOC final where Neverwhinge squeaks into money and DILLIGAF makes final table. Get wristband from Jester and head back upstairs for Karaoke. * Things get hazy and at somepoint I wind up drinking half a glass of Jager. Biiiiig mistake. I do a few songs including a fairly sober Piano Man, a not-so-sober "Ploink and Friends" version of If I Had $1,000,000 and a fairly drunk acapella version of the first bit of A Little Help From My Friends (which I got a lot of help singing). Nolan blows the doors off with an amazing version of Stairway to Heaven. There is video evidence of me joining in on Like A Virgin but I don't remember it. I think the video was doctored. Jester and Un do some fantastic original songs. Video please! * Afterward I sit down to a 1-1 Singlaha game and don't recall too much poker after that. * Wake up late for main event. Bust on a supremely donk play when I raise pre with QQ in the cutoff to 125 in level 2 and get 4 callers. Flop 236 dd, checked to me and I bet 400. Button minraises (actually attempts to make it 700 and is forced to make it 800). BB jams and for some reason I call thinking I might be good. Button also calls and I am up against 22 and 45s. 22 wins when the river pairs. Thankfully go upstairs and go back to sleep for one of the best and most needed naps ever, missing the group and ADB photos. Whoever busted me, please make yourself known, I have a pretty cool bustout gift that I will mail to you (couldn't find it in my still-inebriated state when I woke up late). * Go to banquet and share out the 1L bottle of Laphroaig quarter cask I had picked up from the Whisky shop at Gatwick airport. Looked to be pretty popular as many people came back for seconds. * Special note: at some point during BARGE, TT mentions a place called the Freakin' Frog which is apparently owned and/or run by a teacher from UNLV's spirits program. Apparently they host scotch tastings at their Whisky Attic upstairs. Depending on getting more details, I am more than willing to organize an outing here next year, probably on Wednesday night. From a review on Yelp: "But once you get in the door . . . wow. Wow. Almost 1,800 bottles lines the walls offering different whiskeys to sample (drinks are served in dram, or tasting, sizes). The variety runs from Georgia Moon Corn Whiskey (read: almost moonshine) to Springbank (ringing in at $400 a taste). Almost no one knows about what's hiding in the Attic, but for a whiskey lover, it's a welcome surprise." * Banquet meal was mediocre IMO. Can't eat salad or tomato or cheesecake. Chicken was massively dry and overcooked. Ate some potatos and asparagus. Enjoyed Barry's chat and was able to ask him some questions afterward. Nick is a fantastic and very funny MC. * Went up to my room to drop some stuff off and wound up getting a bad beat when it turned out that even though I was 20th on the list I would have gotten a seat in the Binglaha game. Finally get into the game a couple hours later but it wasn't that good. We change to double flop Binglaha sometime later and I whiff a bunch of hands, only dragging one pot of any signficance when I make a great call down on Bart with nut low flush on a paired board (high-only roll) which was good. Couldn't have been drinking very much as I was actually able to think my way through the entire hand to realize I had to be good. Lose 4 buyins and call it a night. * Another win on the flight home when I get a front row Premium Economy seat (which means uber leg room) and get 6 hours sleep. Somehow still get massively jet lagged which takes 2 days to get over. * It was fantastic seeing all my old friends and making some great new ones including Bob, Katie, Carol, TT, Meredith, Micon and others. I promise never to miss BARGE again if I can help it (I think this was my 13th or 14th). Special thanks to my "posse" at Karaoke. I love you guys. Apologies to any who I missed out mentioning.