Hey Rexaments. Hope the New Year has kicked off with a bang for you all. I decided to start mine off with live play in the AC card rooms. I was there for 6 nights and just got back yesterday. The initial incentive to go down was because the bad beat jackpots at two of my favorite cardrooms were off the wall. Neither have been hit yet as of yesterday, with Harrah's sitting @ $330,000 and Caesar's @ $500,000. They have never been that high and I figured there would be lots of sick action at both poker rooms and trying to hit a bad beat worth $9428942984 wouldn't be a bad way to spend some time either. I got comped rooms my entire trip between Bally's and Harrah's, even though the rooms at Ballys are outdated by 30 years. I'm pretty sure they still use dial-up internet, no remote for the tv, and you have to plug in and turn on the mini fridge yourself. (Which I of course found out the hard way when I put in a warm root beer and tried to enjoy it 10 hours later, only to find it was warmer =\ )

As it turned out, I didn't get to play a single hand of poker @ Caesars, because every time I tried, the list was ridiculous. The first night, the $1/2 NL game list was 130 players deep and the $2/5 nl list was 56 players deep, and the pattern continued. So I spent the majority of my time playing at Harrah's, which is my favorite poker room. It has a very personal feel to it, away from the annoying slot machines and table game banter. Simple but classy decor, with low-set ceilings and a very pleasant staff. The dealers are great and I just can't speak highly enough about it. Playing in a comfortable environment with limited distractions is important, and it is easy for me to find my 'zone of focus' when playing there. 

I mainly played $2/$5 no limit during the week, and would move down to $1/2 when the fish would get busted and only the rocks remained. I am really picky about game selection when I play live, because it is easy to get seated at a table and just accept that this is where you have to play, even though it might be a hard table, or tight table etc. I am constantly getting table changes until I feel that I am at a good game and in a good seat. 

I ran a few sweet, well-timed bluffs, and those always feel really good =).  I frequently get asked if I can bluff successfully at tables or do most players rarely give me credit. I will say that it is a mixture of everything. Certain players think I am not capable of bluffing, and I must always have the nuts when I bet. Other players think I can never be holding a hand, and insist on paying me off. I think the latter is more common though. This is something I tune into very carefully at a table. I spend the first 20 minutes getting a read on all the players. I categorize them in my mind and carefully watch their betting patterns...their choice of conversations, their ticks, their faces when they are waiting for the flop, turn and river. The best way I do this without it getting all confused is to spend time watching one player at a time for an entire lap. You would be surprised at how much you can learn if you just follow one player for one whole lap. I watch to see how many hands he plays...how many times he opens for a raise...how often he calls a raise in/out of position, whether he completes the small blind...how his chips are stacked..which hand he bets with...what is he drinking...where his attention...is it at the tables, the TVs, the waitresses or the company he brought with him...etc.