From: Monte Christensen
Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:44:01 -0800
Subject: [BARGE] Embargo 2012 Trip report

2nd year of Embargo and the 2nd year that I attend.

I arrive at the Imperial Palace on Wednesday night around 8:30.  Now
people talk about what a dump this place is, and compared to the
Venetian I am sure it is, but compared to Binnions, 4Q, or the old Plaza
it could be an upgrade.  You do have to walk very far to the back tower.
 

I checkin and head over to the Bellagio.  I have been working on a rule
for 2012 of no more than 4 pints of beer when playing games of 10-20 and
above.  If I play 4-8 then it is like no limit for drinks.    I get
seated pretty quickly in a 4-8 game and then move to the 20-40 game
after about 45m later.  Nothing that memorable at the 20-40 game though
I had 6 beers in the 3h that I was there.  I did have AA and KK both
hold up.  One orbit I had K10 off in the SB.  It is folded around to me
(1st time chop option in this game) and I say that I don't chop.
 Local tight rock goes on tilt about how drunk tourists only chop some
of the time.  I have decided the best way to keep improving my short
handed game is to never chop so last 6m no chopping for me in any game. 
I raise and the local folds while continuing to complain for 5m. I leave
the game up about $700 when I am called for the 40-80 game.  I play here
from about 11:30-5:15am.  I stick to my rule of no more beers and I then
win about 2 hands in that time.  Many nut draws that just don't
hit.  I leave when the game breaks down $2500 in this game.  Maybe if I
would have kept drinking I could have rocked the game??

I wake up on Thursday and go running.  The IP is a horrible place to
start running from around 11:00.  You have to wade through an army of
people to get away from the strip to run.  I jog down to the horseshoe
and it is still in business but damn near nobody there at 12 on a
Thursday.  I play some 8/16 O8 (never got name called for 15/30 though
would like to play) and then move to 4/8 when John Lloyd arrives.  We
play some 4/8 and I decide it must be beer time.  I had around 5 beers
before the O8 tourney starts.  I really don't remember much.  I
do remember the hand QB posted about but I think I was the BB and called
his raise with 3356 with a lot of chips left.  I did hit perfect to win
a big pot.  I also flopped a nut/nut draw with some str8 wraps against
Dan Goldman and got there with the flush card though he also had a very
big hand.  I don't play many tourneys (maybe 10 a year) but
Barge tourneys are fun even though in 17y of playing I have never won
one and only cashed in 3 which is a horrible record.  I keep getting
either good cards or lucky river cards and keep drinking.  When we get
down to the final table I notice I am the only one drinking and I have
been drinking for 6h or so.  I end up heads up with Nick.  We play back
and forth a few pots and then I flop a set against him and no low comes
and low and behold the drunkest person to win a barge tourney since
Gavin (pretty sure of this).  I am guessing 20 beers is about accurate. 
It is around 3:00.  Very nice small trophy for this small tourney.  I
think about going to Bellagio but think better about it.  I play some
video poker at IP but can't even finish 20% of a bud light I
order.  I end up going to bed around 3:45.  Poor Steve Watanabe is woken
up by a very loud drunk yelling about winning his 1st Barge tourney.  

Wake up on Friday and realize that the 8 glasses of water I drank was
not enough.  I drink about 6 more in 1m and head back to bed.  Around 11
I make my jog back down to the shoe and see about the same 5 people as
yesterday.  It almost seems like I am sweating out beer as I run
downtime.  I played some 4/8 poker in the afternoon and then play the
mixed game.  This was a fun tourney until Peter calls 7stud/8.  Peter
won 3 hands in a row 2 against me all of which I had 2 pair and a low
draw only to get nothing.  That about did it for me and the idea of a
repeat quickly was drowned away in a NewCastle.  Steve and I head to the
Bellagio to play some 10/20.  We play in a fairly tight game with mostly
local rocks and one woman playing almost every hand.  Steve flopped a
str8 with 108o and got some good action.  Mostly a bore game for me. 
Steve heads to be around 1 and I stay until 3:30 to play.   Was going to
move to 20 or 40 games but before my name is called the game is 4
handed.  I say I will play with any number.  We play for 90m with 3 or 4
players.  Basically the 2 locals and me were raising and the woman was
calling almost every pot.  She doesn't seem to be able to beat
anyone but me but on the river her 2 pair is usually good.  She beat AA
and JJ heads up.  I end up down $180 in this game.  I again broke my
beer rule but only had about 10 in this game and head to bed around
4:00.

Saturday I went running but I am back 15m late for the tourney.  I
don't see too many hands to play with and have to fold often
after the flops.  I make a dinner last longer bet with Steve for
anywhere (he mentios TAO which is ~100/person).  Steve and I have both
never have many chips.  Of course we start drinking early on today. 
After 2h of play I have about 5 BBs left when steve raises my BB.  I
have 7s2s and call.  Bottom flop is 772.  Steve calls my check raise all
in.  He has JJ and has lots of way to win as one board has 1010 on it. 
The turn card is a J so no waiting for Steve and he busts me and gets
dinner.  Steve bust soon after and we head to the noodle place.  I doubt
TAO would let people dressed like us in.  We then head over to the
Bellagio.  We have a barge tradition of playing last night drunken games
somewhere.  In recent years it has been at GN.  Tonight we decide on
Bellagio 4/8.  We play about 1h of 1/2 NLhe before we both move to 4/8. 
We start ordering double vodka drinks.  Pretty soon one entire end of
the table is drinking and straddling.  One of the players is a 20/40
player who knew Barry T and said he would play 4/8 and drink with us
(Big bearded guy names Shannon who claims to be a backed player in 20
and 40 games here).  One nice women suggests we try double vodka
pineapple drinks and we agree.  These are pretty good and we start
ordering 5-6 at a time for that end of the table.  The game is wild. 
6/10 are straddling and many are raising the straddle without looking. 
I am up almost $400 in the first few hours.  One round the waitress just
brings drinks and leaves them on a small table.  The nice
Women's husband comes over.  I guess he is a regular in the 5/10
game but decides to play some 4/8.  Steve and I stumble over to the
racebook and lost a bet after looking at the horses warming up.  Steve
mentions what a degenerate I am for having a racehorse friend on
facebook.  I tell him I bet $500 on him to win the derby at 24-1 and if
he wins he will be my friend.  John also joined the game and the pots
are crazy.  We saw a pot where AA, AA, KK, JJ played on a board of
Q,9,2,9,3 and the Aces chop a huge pot.  We also saw a royal flush beat
another flush.  I play until about 1 and have had enough vodka to have
to use the bathroom a few times.  At some point we notice the Bellagio
is just not serving this table.  We are very loud and I guess this
subtle message was a little too loud.  John and I leave around 1.  We
see the young and hip crowd in front of the night club.  We are heading
back over to the IP.  I laughed and drank so much my stomach hurts.  I
get to bed around 1:15 and set my 5:00 am wakeup call.  The bellagio and
Venetian are such nice places to play I wonder how I will get by playing
at Diamond lils this week?  I ended up winning only $55 at the 4/8 game
as I was cold the last 90m and the pots are big.

Overall Embargo was a blast.  Great to see old friends and play some
tourneys.  Thanks to the organizers as usual.  Can't wait until
Barge.  

Monte