No family at the table

After leaving the Caro seminar, I was able to quickly find a seat at a 2-5 NL game in the Rio. The early going was slow, but I was able to win a big pot and double up (don't even remember the hand, I take notes real good...) and then won a big pot with A-7 in the BB. New, aggressive player raises to $15. I take off the flop and it comes J-7-7. I check raise his flop bet of $30 to $70, representing a jack and then bet $100 on the turn, which was an 8, and he goes all in for all of my stack.

Now, I was in a bit of a conundrum. Does he think I have a jack or a seven? Because if he thinks I've got a seven I'm in a world of hurt. I decided since I bet like I had a jack I had to call and he asks, "Did that ace-jack shrivel up?" When I turned over my hand he looked sick. (Johnny's rule of hold'em #63 -- if the other player appears as if he wants to worship the porcelain throne when you turn up your hand, your chances of winning the pot are looking pretty good!)

Meanwhile, the man to my right busted a player at the other end of the table and the guy came over to ask, "You about ready to leave?"

"You busted your buddy?" I asked the man to my right with a laugh.

"My son, actually," he replied.

"I guess I'll be buying dinner tonight. I've been buying dinner all week," he said with a laugh.

I cashed +$655 in that game and left in high spirits to take on a $225 satellite.

I got heads up with another guy and we agreed to save a 500 chip each and play for the rest. After a protracted heads up battle I suggested we just chop the whole thing, but he said he wanted to play for the experience. It ended the next hand as I went all in with 66 and he called with AT and he flopped his ace. I hate $1,120 swings (two 500 chips and $120) on coin flips, but that's poker.

I caught a seminar from Barry Tannenbaum in the Poker Stars suite before I left Wednesday, but I'll save that for later. Time for a free buffet at the Golden Nugget and the 8 p.m. tournament downstairs in the Binion's poker room.