Macau Trip Report

1st Post:

Upgraded to Business Class. Leaving in 90 minutes from Chicago. Not looking forward to this flight.


2nd Post:

Flight was good. Not much to see since it was dark out when we landed. Maga satellite starts at Noon (in 12 hours) and I am going to play in that. Quick structure to it. 20 min levels 3k to start and 25/50.


3rd Post:

I'll blog in a bit but.... 89 runners, 9 seats 10 gets cash .... out in 27th. Still up on the trip though.


4th Post:

I am playing in the $2500 event.

Just got back from the welcome party. Free drinks, dozens of dancing asians in next to nothing. I will have pics hopefully before I get back. Other than that pretty boring.

hahahahaha

I will blog days one and two in the morning. I need my rest now.


5th Post:

Day One – Wednesday Not too much to report from day one. I got into Macau around 8:00pm local time. I met a guy and his wife that were on the same flight from Chicago. I told them about the upgrade to Business Class. They bought my ferry ticket to Macau which was pretty nice. I took a look around the casino before I called it a night. They have a ton of Bacarat tables, one Caribbean Stud table and one craps table. I don’t remember seeing any Blackjack tables. They do have one Lightning Poker table which is similar to the Poker Pro tables. More about that on Day 2.

Day 2 – Thursday The first thing I played was the mega satellite at Noon. There were 89 runners for 9 seats and 10th got some cash. I won the first pot on the table so I can say that I won the first pot in tournament poker history in China. You started with 3000 in chips and the levels were 20 minutes. Pretty short for mega satellite standards IMO. I never really got above 6000 the while way. I was very short with 4 tables to go and the blinds at 500/1000 and shoves with Q,10. I ended up sucking out on K,Q with a straight to stay alive. When the blinds went to 1000/1500 I was in deep trouble. I ended up shoving dark for 3500 and was called by the BB. I was actually in a coin flip with 7,5 vs A,4. I flopped a 5 but the turn brought and ace and I was sent to the rail in 27th place.

In the second mega that started at 4:00 I made an effort to gamble it up a little more because in that structure you really need to accumulate chips early and be able to steal at the 100/200 level or so. Like the first mega I chipped down to around 1300. I had 700 in on a bluff and won the pot. I got up to around 4000 when I had 5s6s at the 100/200 level. I limp and someone goes all in for 1100. There was one call and I decided to call figuring this would get checked down. The board ran out 10,7,5,10,4 and my 5 ended up being good. Now I had some chips to work with. I raised quite a few hands after that and the one key hand I raised to 1100 at the 150/300 level with QcJc and got one caller from the blinds which left him with 900. The flop comes out KsJd2c. He checks, I put him all-in and he calls with 9,9!!! WTF is this guy thinking? The turn is the 10c. This leave him with 3 Q’s and one 9 ( I have clubs covered). He hits a Q on the end to win the pot. He couldn’t have played that hand any worse on every single street. He should have shoved pre-flop. Since he didn’t he has to dump on the flop when 2 overs come. Terrible.

After that hand I pretty much dumped off the rest of my chips and ended up busting in around 50th out of 100. I played a $100 SNG after that and was the bubble bitch in 4th.

In the morning I was watching 3 people play the Lightning Poker table. It was 20/40 NL (about 3/6 NL USD). The max buy-in was $4000. After watching a bit I decided to buy in for $2500. A couple of people had been playing for around 12 hours or so. The game was good. I ended up leaving the game with $11,600 in about an 75 minutes. That win gave me a profit on the day. When this city gets live poker it is going to be absolutely insane. Mid-level pros might want to come over here to live for a few months. The tournament starts in a couple hours. Hopefully I see the same donks like Mr. 9,9 at my first table. Should be fun.


6th Post:

I was just busted in Level 5. My high point was around 13,000 in level 1. I lost large pot at the end of level 2 to drop to 9400.

Level 3 was a rollercoaster. Fell to 3500, up to 12,000 and down to 6000 at the end of level 4. I ran into sets a total of 4 times today when I held at least top pair. Kinda suprising that I lasted that long I guess. I had a pocket pair about 12 times or so (no higher than 10,10) and did not flop a set. Not much I can do about that. I could have saved $ in some pots but I still would probably end up bust the way the hands set-up. I'll post more detail (or maybe not) when I can think things through a little more.


7th Post:

After the party the night before I slept really well. I fell asleep around 12:00 and woke uparound 8:30. I went ot the buffet and just watched some TV before the tournament started at noon.

I get to my table and Chris, the guy I met on the plance from Chicago, is at my opening table. Also at the table was a guy Chris met the day before from New Zeland. The guy from NZ (he was called Kiwi) had a buddy at the table as well. Nice table draw! We started with 10k in chips and the levels were 60 minutes long. In the first level I played a number of pots and was able to chip up to 12,000.

There was one big hand at the table where there was a flopped flush vs a set. The flush held-up and we had an alternate sit in place of him. Once I got up to 12k I folded almost every hand in the second level. I played the last hand of the level when I raised it up with 8c5c and got one caller from the blinds (Chris). The flop comes 10,5,2 rainbow. He checks and I cbet and he calls. The turn is another 10. I bet out and get called again. I just know he has a PP 6,6-9,9. The river is a 3 and it gets checked. He shows 9,9. Damn it. I am down to 9400 at the first break.

In the 3rd and 4th levels I was a *beep* yoyo. One of my sets vs an overpair to the board doubled up a short stack and left me with $3500. I ended up getting a double up shortly after that. I had K,Q and raised. I was re-raised and I called. The flop come K high and I called when someone put me all-in. He had A,J. I was able to work my stack up to 12k again when I ran into another set. I had around 3600 when i played my last hand. I had 9d8d. I called a raise to 900 (150/300/25 blinds) Flop comes Q,8,5. I lead for 900 and get called. I shoved on a 7 turn. He called with 8,8 and I was done. *beep* sets. Out in level 5.

I played 3 $100 SNG's and got nothing to show for it. I played some blackjack after the SNG's shut down for the night $200 (US$25) per hand and I bought in for $1000. I ended up leaving with $2k. Woo hoo! Probably going to play the $500 tournament along with some more SNG's Saturday.


8th Post:

Trip Summary:
2 Mega Satellites - (600)
7 $100 SNG's - (700) - Ick
3 $200 SNG's - 600
75 mins on 3/6 NL - 1250 - Woo Hoo
Blackjack - 300
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Total Profit - $850