From: Monte Christensen Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2012 13:50:39 -0700 Subject: [BARGE] Barge Trip Report Barge Trip Report Get to LV on Tuesday night. Decide to stay a few days on the strip to = play some poker at the bellagio and maybe some BJ before heading = downtown for Barge madness. When I get to the IP (barge tradition to = stay at cheap hotel without wife) there is a huge line. I just check my = bags and head to mirage to play some BJ. The MGM has suggested in the = past I don't play 21 so I have to keep sessions to short and move a lot. = I play about 45m at $25-200 and win $900. I then walk through the = bellagio. I have often played in their $50 game here but tonight all 8 = tables of DD are $100 with nobody playing. I leave and go to Aria and = find the same thing of all DD tables being $100. I should have brought = more money as in past trips $50 tables were always available and that is = what the CBJN report said. =20 I head to the palace station. They have a DD where they deal 75-80% of = the cards. Not as good of rules but I only come to vegas 1-2x per yer = so I decide $10-200 is acceptable here. I had 2 beers at the airport = and 2 on the plane and 2-3 at the mirage. I get to the Palace station = around 1:00 am. I buy in for $500 and the pit boss comes to talk to me. = Most players are betting $10-15. I start with $50 bets and adjust. I = order 2-3 drinks and start playing. Buy 2:30 I have had 7-8 drinks and = I am up $1000 or so. There is a pit boss camped at my table now. I = could care less. Next round I bet $40 on the first hand and I get 20 = and dealer has an Ace. No insurance (of course). Later in the deck I = see 11 small cards come out on one round heads up and I adjust my bet = from $75->250. I order another shot and beer (I have 2 shots and 1.5 = beers in front of me). I get 16 and the dealer has an A so I take = insurance and she has it. I figure the end is near but what the hell. = My drinks come and I now have 5 on the table. The casino manager comes = over and says no more BJ. He also mentions that he had not seen someone = drink sooo much and still play a tough game. Been in vegas 6h and up = $2400 total, pretty buzzed/drunk, and 1 barring. I play until 6:00 am = at the TI and Mirage. When I get to the IP there is no line and they = ask me if I am checking out, I say no in. Totally forgot to get my bags = and just head to the room to crash. Pretty drunk by 6:00 when I go to = bed. Forgot to drink any water, bad idea. Wake up on Wednesday and go running. I broke the cardinal rule of not = drinking 8 glasses of water before bed. As I am jogging down LVB = towards the El Cortez I think I have some minor stomach convulsions. I = go into the stratosphere and drink 5-6 glasses of water. I then play = some BJ at the Bellagio before Steve W gets to town with John. I find = the $50 table at the high limit area is open. I love this room. They = have a private bartender. I am the only one playing so I play it cool = at $50-250. I order some fine wine from France. Of course I would be = ok with Charles Schwab. I sign a few markers (3 to be exact) and mostly = lose in here. You do have to be pretty mellow if you are a small bettor = (anything under $1k is small). They move all tables to $100 but let me = play. I leave and play some BJ at the Aria before I need to meet Steve = at the Bellagio poker room. We play some 4-8. We are drinking double = pineapple stoli drinks pretty fast. We all move to the 10-20 game and = notice we are the only players drinking. We play until about 2:00. = Steve goes to bed and John and I head to the mirage for some late night = BJ. The $25 game is empty so we sit down. Not sure if I can count = after 20 drinks but I give it a shot. Counting isn't the problem but = dealer 5 card 21s is. The count goes up and up and I am down $1000 in = one shuffle. We lose every hand. I decide that maybe I have had too = much to drink to play BJ correctly and head to bed around 4:00. Thursday after running we played at the Venetian 4-8 game. Saw bargers = playing 8-16 O/8 but friends want to play HE. Can=E2=80=99t get a 8/16 = game going. I leave early to play some BJ at the Mirage. Bellagio = again only had all $100 tables. After giving back most of my BJ = winnings we play 10/20 at the Bellagio. This is really a rock garden = game. Steve W finds out you can order 12y Macallan at the table and has = 3. I am on drink 15+ so I stick with mixed drinks. I think I play = until 3:30 or so and even play a few rounds of 3 handed. I moved up to = a 20-40 game that was even more rocky. I never played the 40/80 game = this trip but the other games were very marginal. Friday we head down to the 4Q and checkin. I do my usual I suck at = tournaments and end up about mid pack in the TOC. All I remember was = drinking 5-6 beers before I go. That afternoon I played a ruling 4/8 = horse game. The bet that Dave F made about the stack of chips had me = laughing so hard I couldn=E2=80=99t take it. The part about his being = jewish and the line was 5s was really funny. I paid Dave my $2 for the = over and was the funniest time ever for $2. I think I donked off 2 = racks playing 4/8 horse. A bunch of us went to the brewery at Main = Street for dinner. North Shore Mike paid off some of my aresenal/man U = bets with dinner/drinks. Beer is really good here. Tom Hummel is a = master home brewer I hear and even he liked it. I had 3 I think to = bring my total to 15 or so for the day. After dinner I head back to the = shoe and play 6/12 HO. Bingo, Mav, and some others are here. I am = really drunk by now so I decide to only have 5 doubles before I head to = bed. Mav is in best behavior and we sit next to each other and have an = enjoyable time. One funny hand I flop the nut flush on O8 against Bingo = and some all ins. The pot is huge and I have 2nd nut low draw also. = Board pairs a 7 on the river. Bingo who has been calling the whole way = fires 12 into the pot. I ask him if he will show me one card for $1. = He agrees and I turn over a 7. I assumed he had a set but this was = enough to fold a $250 pot so I save the $11 call. Bingo shows the other = 7. We all laugh. Mav then runs super hot against me and wins something = like 7 hands in a row with =E2=80=9Ccommerce outs=E2=80=9D as he puts = it. Some hands had 2 outs others had 15+. Mav was cool about it and I = drop $200 in the game. Saturday I again play OK until the blinds move up. I have to wear my = German jersey for paying off a Euro 2012 soccer bet with Bingo. What an = ugly $100 uniform but I couldn=E2=80=99t lose to a nicer guy. I give = him the jersey that night to take home and wish him bad beats when he = wears it. I decide AQ is good enough for a raise of about 40% of my = stack. Ice goes all in and he has AK and I go home now. I truly play = AQ like a limit player who has been drinking in tourneys. I win last = longer bets against Steve and John so that is cool. Steve and I go to = Texas Station to play some poker and me some BJ. The game is 2-6 spread = with a 1/2 kill. Later it becomes NL with over buttons though nobody = has more than $150 on the table. First time I have every played limit = with NL over buttons. I get bored and go play some BJ. I sit down and = start losing at the $10-150 range. The pit boss is like in my lap. I = go down about $400 in 5m and then hit a card rush. Parlay a $25 bet = into $150 when a split and double wins. I hear = =E2=80=9Cshuffle=E2=80=9D from the boss to the dealer at about 1d left = when they normally deal to 1/2 deck. Next round I bet $10 on the top. = When count gets to =E2=80=932 I just sit out the rest of the deck and = order another drink. I wonder if they have my picture or they just = sweat more than me jogging in LV. After 1h or so we leave and I am up = $900. When we get back downtown Steve and I go to the El Cortez to play = BJ. I decide I will sit at their SD and bet $10 on the top and either = $5 on the next round or $100-125. The new dealer looks really nervous = the first time I slam $125 in 5 chips on the felt. Some rounds I just = sit out on bad counts. The pit boss is watching but nothing happens. I = make about 6 large bets expecting the tap at anytime. I at least get a = few more beers. We leave for the banquet and I am even and Steve wins = $100 or so. Banquet was great and Un=E2=80=99s song was the nuts. I am = now officially an ADB and lose $40 on the last longer bets. Go = figure!!! Drinkers against Math Experts!! We play 4/8 horse. I go on = a major rush and scoop many Omaha hands including one with quads that = Steve has AA. I also sucked out on QB when playing my double gutter = pretty fast. I end up around $350 for the game at around 2:30 I really = need to sleep for the 7:50 flight to Seattle. =20 Played poker at Diamond Lils this week. Game is definitely +EV but the = players, fun atmosphere, environment is 10x worse than barge. I book a = small win and think I would be better served playing 4/8 at Barge. = Thanks to everyone for making barge great as ever! Can=E2=80=99t wait = until January for Embargo. =20 Monte