Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Foxwoods

Another free bus trip, and when I got there, I had enough points for another free one.  That will be 6 trips on a total payment of $40, each with $15 in freeplay and a free buffet.
On Tuesdays there is a senior drawing, but I did not win.  I did manage to grab two hats at the senior giveaway.  Nice hats, although the theme is summer at Foxwoods so they are a bit out of season, probably left from some other promotion.

I could not play my freeplay on the roulette and I did not want to search out a video poker machine and play a dollar a spin as I thought I might do.  I played the little slot, two coins at a time, and won $10.  So that was fine, my first freeplay win in a long while.
Poker in the morning was not very good.  I lost and was down almost $100, then came back up by about 2:30 and was down just $25. 
I had not eaten much for breakfast, so I was hungry enough to grab a meal just before the senior drawing.   Great selection for my diet:  mussels,  a soup of onions, greens and squash, and a spinach salad with malt vinegar and green Tabasco.  I did push the diet to top the salad with a bit of crumbled blue cheese.  The tea was great, well steeped.  I have to remember to bring my own green teabag next time.

I remember catching Broadway on the turn, raising, and being reraised by a guy with aces.  I won a good pot that time.  I remember raising pocket kings with my aces and again having the guy cap the bet preflop.  The Aces held up and that was a good pot.  Twice I won with AA, once with KK that went to trips.  I remember stealing a pot right after I had won with AA and KK, thinking correctly that the table would give me respect.  I lost a hand with trip 6's when a 9 gave the guy trip 9's on the river. I won a pot with nothing buy outs on the turn by betting my possibilities.  It was a good day.  The bus ride was just fine.  I really had a good day and like coming home a winner for a change.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Foxwoods

I went up for my fourth trip to Foxwoods since June.  It was free.  When I got there, I had promo points coming again that boosted up my total so I could get a voucher and my next trip will also be free.  That will be 5 trips for $40 total, each with $15 freeplay and a free buffet.

No profit on the freeplay for the third time in a row.

I just missed getting some Foxwoods plastic mugs there were giving to seniors.  I did get free coffee and went off the diet for a free bran muffin (one small one)

Poker went downhill again and I never got back up.  Down $97 for the day.  Good games.  I switched tables.  No luck.  My best hand was one I stole after a long time of tight play.  A good pot too, but three after me folded when I bet my A-10 nothing.
I lost three times to trips, twice with draws on the river.
I drew once a runner-runner club flush and beat a fellow with good cards.

Players were fine.  Just as I left for supper, the more aggressive folks were coming in.  4PM is a good time to plan the meal.  No lines and escape from either supper shorted tables or new and unknown players.

The bus was more crowded and everyone tried to save the seat next to them with some luggage.  I went to the far back and sat in the farthest seat.  It was fine for me, but the guy there already felt a bit crunched.  So on the way back I talked to the driver and he sat me right up front by myself.  There was a lot of complaining about seats too this trip.  I had a fine ride back, but no movie.  Some were mad at the driver, but he was great for me. 

I read an old book I've had forever. 
Freezing Down by Anders Bodelsen.  It held great promise, but disappointed me.  A fine idea that was basically poorly developed and concluded.  I better liked my filler book, American Literary Anecdotes.

I did not have much time to think about the trip.  On the way back, I saw a fine sunset, but the scenery was not as great as it usually is.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Seneca Niagara


As part of a week trip to Buffalo and surroundings to see old school chums, other relatives and friends (20 in total) I played some poker at Seneca Niagara. It was a slow period and I found the casino much different than I had found it on my last trip a few years ago. Then there were times when they spread two 3/6 limit games. Now we were lucky to see one. In fact, I could only expect that action on the weekend, and actually only encountered it on Friday night. I love that game because it has a 5/10 kill if a pot reaches $60. Unlike the kills in Vegas where I might win two small hands in a row and redistribute my entire profit on the kill button, here I am protected by the kill being tripped by $60 in the pot (rake included) Playing a bit higher than 2/4 means that the terrible way NY rakes the pots is offset. Here the house takes most of the rake after the flop, so that small pots with tight players might see the house take in 33% of the pot on a 2/4 table. The rake is the same on 3/6 or 5/10 so the action overcomes the bad practice and brings the rake down closer to a consistent 10%. I was on an ideal table, one with a maniac raising on nothing. However, I did not get the cards that would make me rich. The maniac caught over and over on the river, usually against other players, but a couple times against me. Eventually, he could not sustain what was just bold luck and he lost it all but again it did not go in my direction. Still, I loved the game. Players on both 3/6 and 2/4 were mixed with some newbies overplaying nothing and perhaps half a table of good, solid players. No one was over aggressive except the one maniac. It was an ideal game. 2/4 was good but I could not keep my money. My nephew Chris came with me on Saturday night and we played for a long while at the same table. I was up over a hundred when the table went to 5. I lost it all back. Interestingly the dealer stopped raking small pots, so it kept me there playing. But when I was down to $6 profit, I called it a night.

We went next to play video poker.  There is one full pay 8/5 bonus in the casino, but I did not find that one.  We played 7/5 Bonus that offers 98.01% payback.  Not great, but certainly better than any of the slots and better than the 8/5 JOB.  I usually refuse to play those low tables, but now that I am down to one Vegas trip this year, I am bending a bit just for the fun, and I always bend if my nephew plays with me.
We did not have any luck.

I was down $510 when I left.  On the way home I stopped at Turning Stone and picked up $82 on the 2/4 table.  I arrived about noon and was seated at the first table;  by midafternoon there were three tables and each contained some players who knew very little about the game and called less than second best hands.

I did not have any great cards.  Once at the second table I had A-Q unsuited and on the turn was faced with one opponent who bet.  He was not a great player, so I raised.  He called and called the river.  He held 10-10.  Other players on the table groaned a bit and looked at me.  I had raised with not much. 
"I just had a feeling," I said.  But I hope they knew I had played the person rather than the cards, so they would respect some push out bet in the future.

I left up $82 and pretty tired as I had less than 4 hours sleep and a quick nap in the parking lot along the Thruway.

So, it was not a winning trip.

I stayed again at the Swiss Cottage Inn along Niagara Falls blvd.  These are tiny motel rooms, but perfect for me: pool, TCM on the tele, free wifi, refrigerator, microwave.  All for $70 a night on average and over a weekend at the height of Niagara Fall tourist season.  Off season the room runs about $40 and is a real bargain.  I'd like to go again just to play poker.