It's In The Bag

This will be my 5th ever trip to Las Vegas. The first was an in-passing visit with the whole family, when I played relatively little poker as a result. The second was also a short visit, with Mat, in which we both played in a $2k WSOP event and then played some cash (mainly at The Rio).

Last year, I went for a week - taking in 2 WSOP tournaments plus 2 Venetian Deep-Stack events.

And in April this year, as you know, I made a short hop over and played both cash and a range of smaller tournaments.

Up until the April trip, I had always finished a loser. In fact, as I gained in experience, I lost more each time. This was not as ridiculous as it sounds: I played more hours each visit, and at higher stakes, so as a basically losing player it was likely that larger losses would be the result.

In those days, I was 100% a recreational player so all losses could be chalked up to entertainment anyway.

Nowadays, I do not consider myself a professional or indeed a winning player per se but I am less accepting of constant losses. So in April I had a clear agenda to come away in the black.

And so it was, with cash winnings offset somewhat by tournament entries that failed to lead to any results.

On this trip, I have to expect I will be a net loser. The main reason is that this will be a tournament-focussed trip. In tournaments, 90% of the entrants fail to cash. Even if I were confident that I was significantly better than the field, I should expect to lose a lot of entry fees.

So, returning as a winner will be an aim, but can't really be my #1 objective.

What I do aim to do, though, is record at least one cash finish in a Las Vegas tournament. This is a realistic but obviously non-trivial aim. Ideally that would be a WSOP cash. But, I will accept a Venetian or Caesar's result. So far, apart from a STT 2nd place at The Mirage, I do have a 100% failure record in Vegas tournaments.

I also have the memory of being so incredibly close in one event last time (painful to recollect - losing to Aces one hand then losing with Aces the next hand. Out on the bubble.)

So, I feel I have done the apprenticeship, and I am due a result. If I get near to the money I will 100% be playing to cash. I will leave optimal long-run ROI strategy for another time !






My secret weapon, something I have been missing in all previous attempts, is a tournament bag !

Purchased this very day in TK:MAXX, this handy-sized accessory (**) is going to give me that vital edge in being well organized in the tournament venue. There are just only so many things one can fit in one's pocket - wallet, phone, players' card, energy bar, bottle of water, roll of $100 bills, loose chips for all those tips, tournament entry card, book &c - without them all falling out.

** " ...the Madison is from the Eastpak Core Series, a seriously well designed collection of bags with a streamlined stealthy look combined with high end finishing and a host of great details ..."

If I win a lot of money, of course, I will need a bigger bag to fit it all in. That will be a high quality problem.