FARGO 2015 - Trip Report - Jhiym

Here is my not so short Trip Report. :)

Thursday:

I picked up Kevin shortly after 9am, and we were off to Connecticut. We did have an eye out for the Jersey Devil as we made our way across NJ due to recent sightings in the area. The closest we came was a pigeon that Kev spotted as we neared NY. We took the Northern route that Mike and I have taken in previous trips, up the NJ Turnpike and across the Tappan Zee Bridge. From there we took 95 the rest of the way. Traffic was minimal the whole way. To get the competitive juices flowing we played a bit of name that tune on the way up. I beat Kevin on the 80s channel and he crushed me on the 70s station. He did have the advantage of being older than me. :)

Arrived safely, got checked in and had some time to grab a quick bite at the food court before the Heads-Up event, which started at 5pm this year. I played ok, but record wise went 0-6. Five losses and then skipped the 6 match and gave Meredith the win for match 6 without playing as we were both eliminated from contention and the fact that I had been in a casino for a few hours and had yet to play a slot machine or video poker.

So then it was off to play slots and video poker and lots of walking after driving all day and needing to complete my daily 10000 steps. The casino was mostly a huge smoking area with only small sections that were non-smoking. Lots of fun slots at the Mohegan Sun, including the Flintstones, Jetsons, Willy Wonka, and all the normal selection.

Walking around, I ended up in the sports bar section where the Mets were in the Bottom of the 9th trying to close out the series against the Dodgers, being near NY the place was packed and buzzing so I decided to sit at a video poker machine and take in the last 3 outs to see if the Mets could advance. I thought it was a 3 handed super multiplier game but when I looked closer it was some crazy multiplier poker game, oh well it'll do. It was a 30 coin max bet so I played the 10 cent bet amount at $3 a hand.

It was triple Double Poker where certain quads win as much as a royal flush A few hands in, I draw an Ace and 4 crap cards and keep the Ace. I hit redraw and was given 3 more aces and a 4. Yes! 4 aces with a 2, 3 or 4 pay 4000 just like a Royal Flush! Wait there was a random 4 times multiplier as well. 16000!!!! Though it was dimes, but still 1,600 bucks. They had to come pay me in cash and I had them deduct taxes then so I didn't have to worry about it which came to $400 so I ended up with 1,200. The Mets also won while waiting for the cashier. Went on to bed after that.

Friday:

Off to the Buffet for Breakfast where I met up with Kev and then off to Register for the Pairs event. We went into Pairs with a just have fun with it approach. Kev Played Limit O8 and I played Limit Hold'em. We were playing well, steadily increasing our stack the first few hours. Kevin would win a few hands and grow the stack, I would keep it about the same for the first few rounds. If he did lose a few, I would seem to grow our stack. Kevin drew some really tough opponents in O8. We rolled right along until we were almost to the final table. Then a few tough hands and we were short stacked.

Finally!!!! Familiar territory for me. We milked our stack and doubled up a few times to where we had enough chips to choose our spot. Eventually we were at the final table and down to 7 were we all agreed to do a save for 7th as only 1-6 paid. I folded a few hands I probably should have played as the lady to our left was down to where she had to play as she had about a blind left. Her and her partner were eliminated and we were in the money for real!

We made it back to Omaha, and Kev was going to try and make the move as we had more outs and Hi/Lo options in Omaha. Alas we busted out but did really well and cashed. Katie Baxter and her partner were down to the felt early on but battled back to eventually win the pairs tournament. Great job Katie!

Kev and I found an Irish Pub to have some dinner, then it was off to play some more slots. I hit some free spins every once in a while but no more jackpots. Back to my room in time for Jimmy Fallon.

Saturday:

Breakfast Buffet with Kev and the whole Fargo gang. Then off to register for the NLH event.

Started off pretty well. Was sitting next to Lenny G. so it was a fun and chatty table. I won a few hands early and was building my stack. Started with 10k. after a few levels I was up to about 15k.

On the drive up, I share my favorite Full tilt Poker Parady on youtube with Kev where this guy who doesn't have a clue thinks through a hand when a guy goes all-in and tosses his chips. "Am I bluffing, I think I might be bluffing? Some Jacks have Mustaches. I think I bought a sandwich on the River. A king is probably a Jacks boss in real life". Just a few classic thoughts he had. So the whole tournament I am checking Jacks for Mustaches, etc.

Then it happens. I look down to see I have been dealt Kings. Klutchmans' girl, Chris, leads out with a bet. I raise and she calls. I have position on her. The flop is three low cards, rainbow, no straight connectors. She bets, I raise, she calls. Flop is another random card but is a club so now two clubs are on board. She checks, I bet, committing about 6k of my chips. She sits back and thinks for a good 3 minutes and reluctantly calls. At this point I have to assume she does not have Aces and is probably on a flush draw. River card comes, Q of clubs!!! Now there are 3 clubs on the board and a Queen could also have given her trips. She instantly goes all-in and looks relieved that she made her hand.

So now I am pretty sure she caught a club flush. Why tank that long on the turn unless you are struggling with deciding to continue on to try and spike your hand. But then my mind starts drifting back to the youtube video and thinking about Jacks and Mustaches and Kings being Jacks boss in real life. Do I risk most of my chips and call thinking I am behind, or fold and still have 8k in chips which is pretty good this early in the tournament to play on with?

So I decide to fold to play on with 8K in chips rather than risk most of my stack. I say Fold and show the kings I am folding.

She then says, you caught me and flips over Jacks. Damn! Kings are Jacks Boss in real Life! She thinks I was calling and she lost, but I say, no you Jacks are good because I folded prior to showing my hand. Good hand.

I play for a few more hours but never really recover from that hand and eventually bust out around 30th or so.

Off to play slots and video poker. Nothing is really winning at all today so I do a lot of walking. Me and Kev get some pizza and Pepe's and then meet up later for the banquet. After we are done eating, Kev decides it's time for him to head down to try and see Mickey Dolenz, so I go with him and skip the speaker. As he tries to get a seat in the Wolf Den, I find a slot machine next to the Wolf Den that has a good view of the stage. He was good and after he plays the Monkey songs I know, I decide to move on to try other slots.

The Fargo group has a Craps table reserved for them at 11pm so I decide to go give it a try, never played craps before. The Beckers, Uncle Al, Tick, Klutchman and other are all there. Feels kind of weird to have all these poker players playing craps, some of us trying to figure it out. Tracy helps me with my bets and we are off. Everyone is having fun and we are all winning. I get my turn to throw the dice. First throw, one of the dice fly off the table and hits Rick Becker in the chest. After that I settle down and get into a rhythm. Not real sure what is happening but each time I throw the dice, everyone cheers and they give us all more chips so we keep going. Tick is yelling to me each throw saying come on throw a Haaad 8! In the most elaborated Boston accident possible. The Craps lady says to me that if he is bothering me, she can have him removed. What? No, we are all having fun and know each other, he's not a problem at all in fact is making it more fun. I go on to roll the dice for about 20 minutes before finally hitting a seven and ending my turn. Everyone claps and onto the next roller. Rick Becker had a nice long roll a little while later, then Uncle Al got the dice and just got into a zone and was crushing it. I ended up $3 a ahead. Uncle Al was almost a grand ahead. He had a better betting strategy than I did. None the less it was a blast!

Sunday:

Slept in and decide to skip a big breakfast and just grab a donut and soda and go register for HOSE. I drew a fun table, Tracy Becker, Uncle Al, Sassy, Kenny Shei, Regis and Pete Segals Mom, Marsha. Marsha keeps the table lively but is playing real slow so we are getting about half the hands per level as every other table. But it's fun and a chatty table. I play a lot of hands but none seem to work out and I get eliminated soon after the first break.

I decide to go to the buffet and get a decent lunch having only had a donut till then. I get at text from Kev soon after saying he was also out, so I finish up lunch and we are off to Foxwoods so Kev can experience that too.

We get Kev a dreamcard from Foxwoods and I notice they are having a slots tournament. It seems I have an invitation for the slots tournament so I give it a go. The buildup is neat and it feels like you are playing a carnival game in Ocean City only with slot machines. Lots of excitement and rapid button pressing but alas I came in the middle of the pack and no-one from our group scored high enough to win anything.

We then head to the poker room where Kev settles into a cash game and I am off to play slots. Foxwoods has done a lot of remodeling since the last time I was there and lost a lot of its Native American charm, all glass and metal store fronts now. A lot of the slots sections were now boarded up and it was smoky. I find a sports bar and decide to watch the Broncos game and enjoy a nice cold Ginger Ale.

The Broncos are struggling against Cleveland. Some old guy sits the next table over as the 4th quarter is winding down. The game goes to overtime and Denver has the ball. Manning throws an interception at midfield giving Cleveland the ball. No!!!! Come on Defense, do something here. Wait, what is this? Old guy next to me has called the waitress over and then asks her to turn the channel because the Packers are about to start, and she does. Are you F'ing kidding me!!! He's a high roller so it's his TV apparently. So I go off all pissed and try to find a score update on my cell phone to see how the game ended. I hope you choke on your ice cube, you old bastard!!

So I ended up walking the whole Foxwoods complex and Kev texts me to tell me he is ready to get some dinner. I head back to the Poker room he cashes out and we head back to the Mohegan Sun. We get dinner at Bobby's Burger Palace at about 8pm. Then it's off for one last bit of slots and video poker. No more luck there so I head to my room and watch the Patriots and Colts game.

Monday:

Kev does his traditional end to a trip by playing one spin of Roulette, placing a bet for his friends and coworkers. But no-one had 12. So we gather our luggage and check out of our rooms and hit the road.

Fun trip, fun poker, Craps and a jackpot win. I came home a few hundred ahead thanks to the video poker the first night and we cashed in Pairs. It was still good to get home and see the cat and give Tessa her stuffed animal fox souvenir from Foxwoods.