TR- Snippet- The Gambling

This was the worst trip of my life for gambling.
It is making me totally reevaluate my poker play.
I lost almost everywhere I played, even at the old El Cortez.
And yet I thought for the most part I played as well as I knew.

I did win at a game of tourist calling stations at Excalibur. If I could find these games, I could win; it was 2-4; I also seemed comfortable at the 4-8 at Venetian. I think the 8-16 with only a $2 rake draws the regulars and locals and better players so the 4-8 was similar to what I am used to at Foxwoods in the afternoon.
I just don't have the bankroll for no limit. I was comfortable playing my first day at MGM but my $100 dwindled and I replenished a bit at a time until my buy in was over $400. Then I got most of that back. Finally, in two hands I lost it again. That kind of loss each day of a 16 day trip is just too much for me to bear, so I did not play NL again. No use playing with scared money.

Both the small spread games I love, O'Shea's and El Cortez, took me down as well. I was ahead, but over time it was eroded. O'Shea's now has two blinds, so waiting for premium hands is not as easy.

I was really stupid one day and got caught trying to break even at Megabucks and dropped $240. That is really out of character for me.

The VP never really connected. Some days I broke even, but all week on 10/7 I never hit aces, twos, threes, or fours let alone a royal. I had a great afternoon chasing a progressive in nickels at the Orleans. One royal had risen to over $500. But I lost $200 on that 9/7 DB triple play.

My matchplays did not win me much. $25 at the Westin on blackjack gave me a nine to the dealer 3 so I doubled down and lost. I hit at craps at the Sahara with another $25 Matchplay, so that broke me even. Most of the small matchplays I lost. No net gain of more than $5.

All in all in 16 days I dropped $2766. More than any other trip. This meant that even with all the room and food deals and free air the trip cost me $216 a day plus tips of a few dollars a day, which is what any other vacation would cost, but it has depleted my entire gambling budget and precludes me going to Vegas any time soon.

The real question is whether I want to go. Perhaps these poker games are just too hard to bother going all that way. I won at the Imperial Palace on a string of good cards, but listening to the talk of the players, all regulars and the talk of one dealer who was playing, made me pick up my winnings and claim exhaustion. Other than me there was one tourist fish. And this is a 2-4 at Imperial Palace. Where have all the tourists gone? One theory is that so many folks are unemployed in Vegas that those who can play good poker do that for a living, or as much of a living as they can manage.

So I am confused by all of it. I was way overtired as well and could not seem to often get rested enough to quit gambling and indulge shows. When I consistently wake up in Vegas at 4 AM there is not much to do. And most of my afternoon naps were more stare time.

Well, my first day home I took $216 off our little small stakes poker game. Vegas does tighten up my play. However, this seems to argue that I should just stay home and play more home games.

The Bucket, a discussion board pal I met in Vegas, argues that gambling is cyclical and it will come around again. He is a baccarat player, and for that random game, he is right as he would be for craps as well. But losses over 16 days in live poker mean that I am doing something very wrong.