While this part of the trip doesn't really fit chronologically in the post order, it fills in a bit of a back story. The last post talked about our dinner at Cut. Now I'd like to tell you about how we paid for that dinner and how the excitement continued after dinner.
A few hours before dinner, we had decided to hang out around some of the casinos and play a bit to kill some time. I wasn't having the best of luck, but I wasn't getting my butt kicked either. I was really only playing Pai Gow, 3 Card Poker and Let it Ride. I watched Kaitlyn play Roulette and slots quite a bit too. I have a rule with Pai Gow. If I lose 2 hands in a row, I get up from the table. Pai Gow is a very easy game to just sit for 10 hours and not lose much. On the other hand, it's also easy to sit for 10 minutes and lose $100. It's a game of pushes and losses, and an occasional win that you have to pay commission on. So when I lose 2 in a row, I call it quits for a while, otherwise you'll lose it all.
We had decided to stop by Harrah's and play there for a bit. I lost my 2 in a row at Pai Gow. In fact, I had only played 3 hands total. Push, loss, loss. It was horrible. So I watched Kaitlyn play let it ride for a bit and then I found an open 3 Card poker table for $5. I don't usually like playing at tables that have a lot of people, because the way they deal the cards can mess up other players hands depending on where you sit. Even though it's a $5 table, it can end up costing $15 per hand because you play the ante and the 'play' bet, and you can also play the optional 3 card bonus bet for another $5 (which I was). So pretty much $10 a hand if I decide to fold, $15 if I play.
Anyway, I was hitting a couple pairs and I think I hit 2 pairs once on the 5 card hand. I wasn't up much, maybe $40 or so. I had been playing for about 15 or 20 minutes. I looked down at my next hand and saw a 3 of hearts. I immediately began to write this hand off as a loss, because in order to really win you need to have jacks or better. Next card was a 4 of hearts. OOoooo, now this could be interesting. Last card. Sometimes I like to look a little slower. Adds to the excitement. So I slowly peek at the final card. It's red. My hope starts to grow a little. I peek a little more, and I can immediately see that it's a 5. So I at least have a straight which pays 6:1 on the ante bet and even money on the 3 card bonus hand.
The only thing that I don't know yet is if it's a heart or a diamond. I slide the card a little more, and a smile immediately appears on my face. The dealer looks at me like I'm a goon. It's a heart! I've got a straight flush. in my 3 card hand. HOLLLLLAAA!!!!! That's 40:1 on my ante bet and 5:1 on the 3 card bonus. $230 total on the one hand. Since Kaitlyn happens to be at the table next to me still playing Let it Ride, she hears the commotion and looks over and I let her know. The gals that were playing with her finish their hand and come over and sit with me. I play one more hand and it's crap and so I tip the dealer and get up and leave the table. Thank you very much, I'm gonna enjoy a nice dinner tonight on you.
And that's how Harrah's paid for our lovely dinner at one of the best steak houses in Las Vegas, and allowed me to try Waygu beef for the first time.
After dinner, we went for a walk. A few weeks ago, I had found a stuffed plush of the Bumble from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Well after doing some research, I found out that it was part of a set. So now, I had been trying to find a Yukon Cornelius one and found out that they were only available at CVS. And there are none in Washington...or even in the Pacific Northwest. Well, there is on in Vegas, so now we were walking to see if they had one. They did not, so that walk kinda sucked. But we figured that it was too early to head to bed and since it was our last night we still wanted to play.
We headed to the Margaritaville Casino next to Flamingo. We had gone there the day before and the dealers were really fun and the atmosphere was great. Kaitlyn decided to try out Roulette and so I went to the Let it Ride table next to hers. It was empty and was $5. Let it Ride is a game that you put down 3 bets and you get 3 cards and the dealer gets 2 face down cards. The object is to make the best 5 card hand. You get to look at your cards and decide if you want to pull back one of your bets. Then the dealer turns over a card and you get to decide again if you want to pull back the second. If you do, you tuck the cards and the dealer turns over the last card. It's kinda confusing, especially to try and write about it.
This game can cost you up to $21 per hand at a $5 table. The 3 $5 bets mentioned above. A $5 3 card bonus bet and a $1 bonus bet (for 5 all 5 cards).
I had been doing pretty good, winging a few hands. I was probably up about $50. I had got a few decent hands that outweighed the bad ones. And then I got a great one. I got dealt 3 of a kind. In all the times that I have been playing this game, this was the first time that I have ever got a 3 of a kind. I let that ride so I was playing all 3 hands and was guaranteed a win. I don't remember what she turned over, but the dealer was excited and we were hoping she had a pair or perhaps the 4th card to give me a four of a kind. In the end, it didn't improve on the 5 card hand. So on my $1 bet it paid me $4. Yah yah, it's not a whole lot. But on each of my 3 $5 bets, it paid 3:1. $15 each on those. The big money was on the 3 card bonus bet. 30:1. $150. Not quite as good as the 3 card poker hand, but I'll take it.
We continued on and I had a vibe and the dealer kept saying that another big hand was coming. I was on such a run, it seemed like every hand I had at least a pair. I can't remember how many times we almost hit a big hand. I'd have 2 pair and we'd be one off on a full house. And then it happened again. Another 3 of a kind. This was only about 10 hands later. It didn't take long before the guys upstairs sent in a new dealer. She said thanks, I had probably gave her $40 or so in tips. I wasn't sure if she was coming back or not. I played 1 hand with the new dealer and then got up and left. I was up $450 from just that table. I watched Kaitlyn play roulette for a little while longer and was keeping an eye on that table to see if my dealer came back. They had removed her from the table completely, because when the next dealer change came it was a different person. Oh well, I'll take my winnings home then.
We kept playing for a little while longer getting some more $1 Jameson on the rocks. Eventually we called it a night. We had to leave for the airport at 11:30 the next day, so there wouldn't be any time to play in the morning.
All in all, it was a fun trip. I hadn't been this lucky in a while, so it was nice to hit some big hands. But, I think the best part was still the Michael Jackson show. I'm so glad that we decided to go. That's all for my trip report.
No comments:
Post a Comment