Poker-Palooza

Early Sunday morning, I will be loading up the car, and heading south to Las Vegas for the 2012 WSOP.

Last year, I went down for ten days, and it was too long. So this year, I'm only driving down for a week, then driving home for a week, and then driving down again for a week. This means I will be spending four consecutive Sundays driving across Nevada. If that sounds a little messed up, then you may be right. This may end up being a really bad idea.

Another difference from last year is that I won't be staying at a casino. I know it's sacrilegious to go to Sin City, and not stay at a casino, but I'm treating this like a business trip. I'm staying at hotels that have a kitchenette in the rooms. The rooms are not cheaper than those at a casino, but I can make some of my meals in the room, which will be much cheaper than casino food. I'll be staying at a different one each week, so I can compare them. Once again, this may end up being a bad idea, but we will see.

My itinerary will basically be the same as last year. I will be playing in two $1500 WSOP events (one each week), along with a few $200 tourneys, various daily donkaments, and the occasional cash game.

For the first week, the plan on Sunday is to get settled in at the hotel, make a meal, and head to the place that everyone wants to visit, the Imperial Palace. Every Sunday night, they have a $3/$6 Mixed game with at least 12 different games, including some bizzaro ones I've never heard of before. Y'all know I love some variety, and this is the place to get it.

On Monday, I'll be heading downtown to the Golden Nugget for a $240 HORSE tournament at noon. If you're into mixed game tournaments, then you should check out the Golden Nugget. During their tournament series, they have two tournaments at noon, a NLHE and something else. They have a great variety of games, including a Badugi tournament at the end of June.

On Tuesday, I'll be going to that other place that everyone is visiting, the Rio. I'm gonna park myself in the satellite room, and grind the Single Table Satellites all day. I'm playing in two $1500 WSOP events, so I'll be working on winning my way into those.

On Wednesday, I'll be playing in WSOP Event #27 $1500 HORSE at noon. Naturally, I'll be doing a Live Blog for both WSOP events, so tune-in.

Thursday will be Day 2 of the HORSE tourney. Friday will be the Final Table, and Saturday will by my Bracelet Ceremony. Sometime on Sunday, I will start the journey home.

If I have any free time, there are some other larger tournaments that I may play during my two weeks. Here's a list of them, and I'll likely be playing the bold ones.

6/11 12n Golden Nugget $240 HORSE
6/13 12n WSOP #27 $1500 HORSE
6/15 12n Golden Nugget $240 8-Game
6/25 12n Golden Nugget $240 HORSE
6/25 4p Caesars $350 Heads-Up
6/27 12n WSOP #49 $1500 Ante Only NLHE
6/28 12n Golden Nugget $240 PLO/PLH
6/28 4p Caesars $240 Ante Only NLHE
6/29 12n Golden Nugget $240 Badugi
I'll also play a couple of the $230 Daily Deepstacks at the WSOP.

Also, just like last year, I'll be doing the Daily Donkament Run. I updated my list, and it has 30 donkaments from 9am - 11pm in the $50 - $100 range. Some are on my list because they are they are the best of their time slot, and some are the only ones in that slot. If you're interested in playing some of these, here are the best.

[Casino Time (Buy-In ~ Chips ~ Payout % ~ Patience Factor)]
Caesars 10p ($85 ~ 7500 ~ 76.5% ~ 6.34)
Hard Rock 12n 8p ($60 ~ 10k ~ 73.3% ~ 6.22)
Harrah's 8pm ($80 ~ 8000 ~ 75% ~ 7.20) 
MGM 11a 7p ($80 ~ 6000 ~ 75% ~ 5.85)
Orleans 11a 7p ($75 ~ 7500 ~ 73.3% ~ 7.56)
Red Rock 10a ($105 ~ 7000 ~ 81% ~ 7.94)
Stratosphere 11a 7p 11p ($65 ~ 8500 ~ 75.3% ~ 7.82)

Last year, there was a couple of my former home game buddies in Vegas when I was out there, but most of them went out on a different weekend. This year, there are even more players coming from Cleveland, and most of them will be out next weekend. Someone made reservations for 20 of us at a steakhouse at the Palazzo for Saturday night. I haven't seen most of them since my last home game, so it should be a blast.