JJ BANKS’ Blog

     I took a break from poker on Wednesday. I especially didn’t feel great about how I went on “tilt” at The Luxor the other night and donked off $150. So Wednesday was basically just a day for drinking, hanging out around Vegas and acting like someone on vacation. Ironically, I did play some $2/5 NL Hold’em at The Bellagio where the bad players are few and far between and I won like $10 after a few hours, but since I didn’t approach the game like I normally do I’m not counting the win towards my losses so far.

     I got back to serious poker playing on Thursday when I sat down at a $1/2 NL Hold’em table at the MGM Grand. “And eventhough I never won with my AK the MGM Grand was the beginning of a good day!” I didn’t really get involved in any big hands, I just picked up a pot here and there and after three hours I was up $130. However, The MGM Grand has that gay “LA” rule of not being able to buy in for more than $200 at a $1/2 table, so there never was much money on the table for the taking. Realizing I would have to run extremely well to make a windfall at this table, I got up and left for brighter and greener opportunities.

     For some reason I kept finding myself at The Mandalay Bay poker room during my trip. Maybe it was because the poker room at the hotel I was staying at, The Luxor, was kind of chitty, but MB is where I went next. Now, I define myself as a tight player so you know its a pretty big deal when I say that the table I sat down at was one of the “tightest” tables I’ve ever played on. Phil Ivey once said that you should never go into a poker game with a strategy, instead you just need to react and adjust to the players you’re playing with. Normally, I’m the tight player in a game full of “loose splash the pot with chips” kind of players, so being a tight aggressive player is the way I apporach those situations. Here however I had to make a 180 to my normal playing style. Here I got to play like a Gus Hansen or a Tom Dwan and I was the “loose bet/raise every hand” player because I knew the players at the table we’re only going to continue or playback with basically nothing short of the nuts.

     But don’t get the idea that I’m exploiting the playing style that I normally institute. Like I said I’m a tight player, but I’m a tight “aggressive” player and there’s a difference between a tight “aggressive” player and a tight “passive” player which would take another blog in itself for me to explain. Just let me sum up that the tight passive approach is perhaps the worst way you can play No-Limit Texas Hold’em and after 5 hours of playing with these lambs I was up $371.

                                                                                                   The Venetian Poker Room - Las Vegas, NV

     Friday was my final full day so I spent it at my favorite poker room in Las Vegas; The Venetian. And although the layout of The Venetian poker room reminded me of my homebase at The Borgata the result of this session was back to the typical Vegas luck I had been having for the week: 8 hours of playing = -$178. 

     So after five full days in Las Vegas I only had one shining moment so I guess when you look at it like that it’s actually kind of amazing I only finished down -$702. I’ve been told that this series of blogs have sounded kind of depressing to the readers and while it is fun and exciting to be in Las Vegas…let’s face it things in life are always a lot more fun when you win! Everyone feels smarter and better when they win and self-dout and insecurity can creep in when you lose. But when you play poker, really play poker, the day-to-day ups and downs shouldn’t bother you. All you should be concerned with is if you’re playing the best you can which means are you constantly making the right decisions? I honestly feel I played good the whole trip except for that one late night donkey buy-in at The Luxor for $150. To me that was the only time I was playing on “tilt”.

     While I was playing at The Venetian some old local player said the following: “Can you imagine playing this everyday? I can’t. I hate this. I play 4 times a week and I don’t know why? My first thought was “well you’re just a degenerate gambler” but the more I thougt about it the more I realized that there are no short-cuts in life or in poker and you really need to learn to enjoy the journey. Maybe now wasn’t my time for WSOP glory. Is the kid that won event #34 and $500,000 a better poker player than me? I don’t know, I’ve never played against him but then again I shouldn’t be concerned either way about it, because in order for me to really start to enjoy the journey I can only focus on myself and my game. Will there ever be a World Series of Poker Final Table in my future? I don’t know. I’ll just have to keep playing and find out.  

                                                                                                                      The Final Table

AND JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT THE TRIP WAS OVER…..!!!!

                                                                                                               Wizard World 2009

     So what do you do when you come home hungover from your trip to Las Vegas? Most people might say spend the day in bed watching porn, but not me, instead I grabbed whatever leftover cash I had and headed over to the Philadelphia Convention Center for Wizard World 2009.

     Wizard World is an expo of everything involving comics, toys and TV/movies. And maybe I was somewhat desensitized from a week full of winning and losing hundred dollar pots at poker that I was indifferent while paying $10 - $25 for some old comics I wanted to add to my collection. This convention did rock though. Most of the vendors were nice and willing to make deals and the comic selection well exceeded my expectations. Just imagine if I had won Event #34….I definitely would have purchased a copy of Amazing Fantasy #15.

But back to reality, here is what I picked up at Wizard World 2009:

The Nam #1 - 11, #16

X-Factor #24

Marvel Comics Presents: Weapon X #76, #77, #81

The Incredible Hulk #340

Wolverine #2, #3, #7 - 10

Wolverine (Mini-Series) #1 - 4 

The Punisher War Journal #6

The Uncanny X-Men #103 - 106, #108, #129 - 132, #139, #183, #229, #232 - 233

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     I’ve always considered myself a pretty optimistic person. I always try and see the best in people and whatever happens in life. With that said: “Las Vegas really doesn’t like me that much!”

     12:00pm - 4:00pm Wynn Casino

     I first walked into the Wynn Casino around 11:30am but it took me until about noon before I was seated at a poker table because I spent a half-hour wondering around one of the most fucking beautiful buildings I’ve ever been in. The Wynn without a doubt can give The Bellagio and The Venetian a run for its money with it comes to “who’s the highest of the high end in Vegas”. This was even more noticeable when I bought into a 1/3 No-Limit Hold’em game for $300 and was seated directly to the left of two stacks that both had about $2000 in front of them. Welcome to that lucky 5% you always hear about. So not only did these two players have huge stacks but they were willing to gamble, which meant that my humble pile of 300 in chips would be in danger with ever pot I entered. Now the smart decision would be to move to another table to find a softer game, but hey I’m in Vegas right?, and I left my Vagisil at home, so I decided to hang around. Patiently I waited to find the spot where I could get it all-in with the best of it against these big stack bullies but unfortunatley that moment never came and after 4 hours I was down -$155.

     5:00pm - 8:00pm Treasure Island Casino

     I continued to be patient and wait for good spots as I started playing at “TI” but my discipline didn’t pay off as The Poker Gods didn’t see me fit to get the best of a table full of drunks. My favorite hand of the session was when I called this dude’s “all-in” bet for $65 with KhQh and he turns over 9s3h…neither one of us improves until he nails a 3 on the river.

     Now I understand how you can’t just sit around all day and wait, you do have to get in there and mix it, and I did, but time after time again I would make a good hand while this jerk off shooting Patron would make a great hand. What’s crazy is that I deal with drunk players all the time in AC and usually I get the best of them but this hasn’t been the case so far in LV. I left the Treasure Island poker room down -$196.

     I’ll admit that I’m not big on “change”. I’m happy with the way things are for the most part. If something works then why try and reinvent the wheel? So when I walked into the Excalibur poker room I almost shitted my pants. WTF???? The Excalibur poker room is 100% computerized. No human dealers and no poker chips. The game is entirely played on this gay-ass looking table with video monitors in front of each player. I spent all of 30 seconds looking at this abortion to the game of poker and left before I smacked the poker room director in the face for being a douche.

     You see I love poker. I’ve been poker seriously since June of 2000. Back then I would play whenever I could. I remember my roomate and I playing heads-up against each other night after night and honestly in the beginning I lost…I lost a lot. But fast forward 9 years and not only do I have the bankroll and the documentation to prove that I’m a winning player but I also have the confidence in myself to know that I can hold my own with 90% of players I run into in the 1/2 - 2/5 No-Limit Hold’em range. Which makes it incredibly ironic that my biggest score so far while in Vegas came during a fluke at the roulette wheel. Basically, as I was leaving the Excalibur poker room in a huff I suddenly had an urge to put $10 down on 0 and 00 and wouldn’t you know it, the ball ended up cradling itself into 0 slot. $350 just like that!!! Even crazier is that I played 0 and 00 again for $10 and the ball landed on black 28, one away from the 0. And so without playing one hand of poker I left Excalibur up $320.

     10:00pm - 2:00am Mandalay Bay Casino

     So maybe that random piece of good luck at the Excalibur was all I needed to get the cards flowing for me again? Not so quite. For four hours I sat at the table and nothing really happened. I watch a douche from LA go from $600 to nothing. I watched a guy play 3 hands, once with AA, one with KK, and one with JJ and leave the table with over $700. And I sat and I sat as I looke at 63os and 83os over and over again. Mandalay Bay is a nice poker room eventhough they do have some crazy house rules but overall it’s not bad. However, another losing session and -$92 out of my bankroll.

     2:30am - 4:30am The Luxor Casino

     Frustrated and discouraged I should have just went to my room at The Luxor and gone to bed. But my stubborned dumb ass decided to buy-in one last time for the day and unwiesly I only bought in for $150. My rationale at that late hour was that since I had been running bad all day, if I lost now it would only be for $150. OK, this is perhaps the worst way ever to approach a poker session. And now as I write this I’m laughing at myself with no surprise as I eventually ended up losing all of my $150. Yes, I had a big hand where I had the nut flush draw, a straight draw and two over-cards, but the lesson is is that if you go in expecting to lose, then you’re only inviting the forces of losing to wreck havoc on your bankroll. So, I finished my last session down -$150. And that adds up to -$593 in poker losses for the day.

And for those keeping track at home, I’m down a total of -$1025 for the trip so far and I’ve got 3 days to win it back.

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                                                                                                                    The Luxor - Las Vegas, NV

     So here I am back in Sin City for another shot at poker glory. Unlike in ‘08 I’ve upgrade my accommodations (a little). I’m staying at The Luxor this year which is basically the casino that symbolizes everything that old school Vegas dudes hate. And the truth is is that the place does feel more like a section of EPCOT than a place for gambling, but then again this is what’s so great about Vegas and that anything goes. And who am I not to give this tourist trap designed as a casino a chance?

     Seriously how do you screw up a Cobb salad? Ok, so I didn’t get off to the best start with my stay at The Luxor. I mean c’mon look at this fucking disgrace of a Cobb salad! Since when is a Cobb salad something where you just throw whole pieces of bacon, chicken, egg, lettuce and avocado on a plate and call it a salad? I guess I usually wouldn’t be that pissed about this but this room service delight came to me with a Pepsi and a Sierra Mist for the price of $30, so fuck them! I’m going to criticize this so called salad that one of Jerry’s kids could do better with.

     Next, the fucking iron in the room didn’t work! I know I’m being totally West Coast by having to iron a shirt before going to play poker but hey this is Las Vegas and I don’t want to come off like some floozy. But anyways the iron didn’t work and I had to have house keeping bring me up a new one. At this point The Gold Coast from ‘08 isn’t looking too bad. And also at this point I’ve notice I’ve gone this whole blog about the 2009 World Series of Poker without evening talking about poker. So that’s leave Egypt for the moment.

     After catching a cab from The Luxor to The Rio it only took me about 30 minutes or so before I was at a table with 9 other people for a $175 Sit-and-Go Tournament for the WSOP Event #34. The basic notion of these tournaments is that if you beat out the other 9 people at your table then you’re only paying $175 to get into a $1500 WSOP event. The structure of these tournaments are always pretty fast and you need to catch cards to survive so I was actually pretty amazed that I made it down to the last 3 players while basically never having a real hand. However, I was the short stack and when it came time to push my AJ was no good against my opponent’s K5, where he actually ended up making a spade flush.

                                                                                                                    The 2009 World Series of Poker

     I slowly watched any dreams of poker stardom fade away as I took a cab back to The Luxor, where I hit a few bars that were as dead as Ronald Reagan. Now I know I’m bad mouthing The Luxor something fierce here but to tell you the truth the layout of the place isn’t that bad. However, it just seems that it can’t compete with the other big hitters in town. And eventhough I usually never play poker drunk, I did decide to buy into a $1-2 NL Hold’em game at The Luxor’s poker room.

     Now the fact that I had start drinking heavily after getting bounced from my WSOP Sit-N-Go failure had nothing to do with this session at The Luxor, where it seemed flopping two pair didn’t mean shit. Here are some hands for you:

I hold A2 - Flop comes A 2 8 - Turn 8 - end up folding on turn because I know now my two pair is no good now, which is confirmed when the villian shows AJ.

I hold A3 in the big blind - Flop comes A 3 Q - and of course I run up against a guy who limps from late position with AQ.

So before I knew it after two hours I’m down $257 and I’m thinking it’s time to call it a night. And while I’m walking towards the elevator to head to my room I see a 24-hour convenience store that I decide to pop into and to my delight I see that they sell 22 oz cans of Icehouse beer so I grab two of them and call it a night. Finally a +EV situation!