Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun

THE SCORES

It was a losing trip. Only once was I ahead. Once more I came within eleven dollars of being even and then slumped back again. Overall I lost $414 at poker and $85 at slots and VP which I played just for fun and because it was my birthday.
I played 34 hours of poker so lost $14 an hour. This trip I could not recoup that in food and drink either. I drank about $60 in free drinks. Only one day did I eat for free (another $16) The loss drops my lifetime score to $4275 which is near my record low. Since May I have lost $1600. So I hope the score turns around soon. I don't want this hobby to actually cost me any money.

I played 34 hours of poker. So I lost about $15 an hour. Since most of my losses were just grinding, I can see why I do better when I play single blind games, especially that Laughlin game where the blind is only a third of what my first round bet will be when I have good cards. That difference alone accounts for a good bit of the losses. Also two blinds, especially in that small blind in the 2-4 games do tempt me to play "small blind specials."

I do think I played a bit too loose in the beginning. By the end I was as tight as a rock, hardly playing anything more than my blinds.

POKER ROOMS

I loved the new Mohegan Sun room. The chairs were comfortable and the room bright and cheerful. It feels much different than the basement decor of Foxwoods. I liked that they dealt 3-6 and it seemed easy enough to move from table to table. I would move if I was ahead or thought the table was too tight or loose or simply because I had been playing tight too long to get callers when I bet. I am working on leaving most tables whenever I am up over $100 or the money seems to be draining even if I can't figure out where it is going.

One session of 4-8 was a real killer. It was one of those game where one guy bets crazy and wins over and over. He walked about up about $800 after betting and raising anything and everything, winning hands with just a pair on the river. Mostly he won because other people had poor hands. However, when he did have good cards he might check raise for added value. Without that one session I would not be down much. It cost me over $300.

Dealers were friendly. Some were very beautiful. One pretty Asian girl named Kelly's face took my attention off the game for half an hour. She was beautiful to watch and it made it easier to be patient.

Some of the floor were very good. Todd especially was aggressive about solving any issue. Cheerfully he helped people with any discomfort. One fellow seemed dysfunctional. Once there was a table spill and he came when called and did not seem able to see the spill or act to clean it up. I wanted to say,

"See that red stuff covering this fellow's chips and money and a good part of the table? Well, that is the spill." but I just waited.

At Foxwoods such a spill would cause the table to be shut down.

Many of the workers are new. I cashed in chips four times and three times they got the amount wrong. I'd be very careful to know exactly how much you have when you go up.

the 1-2 no limit had a $300 max so I only stayed a few minutes and never went back. I liked it that they had a $3-$6 game with $3 chips. That is my favorite game. I like the low dollar small blind and the larger pots. However, it did attract better players so I often moved back to the 2-4 where looser folks would pay me off.

I liked the feel of the silver snake skin styled padding around the table, but there were no places for drinks. They had a few plastic cup holders, but never very many. That is always frustrating. The chairs were very comfortable.

Both Mohegan and Foxwoods have swiping now at the table and keep track of people when they leave the table. This reduces the comps a bit, but it keeps players from leaving as often and I like that. In neither place did I experience very long waits until tables filled.

Because they are new, the dealers did not know the finer rules of the game and often made mistakes around issues like when someone could enter the game and how much they needed to post.

Still, I think that if I drive again, I will go to Mohegan rather than Foxwoods. The 4-8 at Foxwoods is just a bit too high stakes for hours of play and there are two blinds.

Mohegan bathrooms were much closer than Foxwoods although both places have good access.
Foxwoods had more established regulars. Mohegan draws in players better because it is close to the rest of the casino and people see it and decided to try a bit of poker.

However, most players could play well. There were very few maniacs. Even few Greg like aggressive bettors.

THE GAME

I did not have very many memorable hands. At one table I held pocket 6's which went to a full house on the river. Another player who was also named Dewey held a 3-8 and he caught 3's full on the river. He reraised me and I raised again to take a nice pot.

I folded pocket aces twice and pocket kings twice.

I made one fellow so mad he left the table because I raised my 8-9 on the button with everyone in and flopped a straight. He put me on high cards and paid me well based on my raise. I love that play. I told him, "I just felt lucky" but actually I find that it is a good play if everyone is in and there are no preflop reraisers especially after I have played a while and I am seen a tight. Rarely does the raise no get called for the one extra dollar all around, and when it catches, it pays. Often if I have a draw after the flop, I get a free card because folks with good cards are waiting for me to bet before they raise. If after four cards I have not caught my straight or flush I can usually throw the hand away having spent just $2 more for it. If I catch on the river, good players will bet their two pair in to my hand and be surprised when I raise and beat them. That is was happened to the fellow who got mad. Poker players often get mad when you don't play inside the box that they almost think of as rules of the game.

My worst fold was 5-3 on the river with 5-5-3 flopping. It would not have paid me much. I did not see too many of my folded rags develop into winners. In the 4-8 game I got rivered many times but players who should have been out of the hands. That cost me a good bit of my losses.

I don't think I played poorly too often. Most of the poor plays were simply one bet mistakes. For example, in the last game I had Q-10 for 2 pair against an opponent who had shown strength in first position before the flop. The river paired the board. He checked and I bet. He called with A-6 two pair. Had I better noted his position, I would have checked.

In the aggressive 4-8 game I might be in too long simply because the aggressors sometimes bluffed and the pot odds were very high. I bluffed four times, betting on the river with nothing after missing good draws. I won three of those and never showed. Twice the other fellow talked about what he had, and had me beat. Perhaps I need to bet out more often when I know I am beat but the other fellow seems weak.

My worst folded hand was an A-8 when betters looked strong on a flopped ace but no one had one.A guy bet into me and there were three behind me, so I folded. They all called and showed at the end. Most had kings.

Except for losing money, it was a fine trip.

More trip report narration and some great photos of places I ate in Groton where I stayed are posted on the Pokerbluegill board.