Poker/gambling in Vegas

So I've been through all the threads with Vegas tips i.e. where to eat, what to see, where to stay -- Me and my buddies, on the stereotypical bachelor party, are staying at Mandalay Bay -- but what I'm looking for is some gambling advice.

I've always done OK at poker. I feel it's a game where at least if I'm going to lose, I'm going to have a little more control over it than I am in blackjack or craps or anything else.

That said, I'm a journalist. Not a high roller. What kind of games can I expect to play? Are there any no-limit hold 'em games I'll be able to get in, or, with a back roll of a couple hundy, will I be immediately short stacked? Or, without the guts to ante up with the hard core guys will I be stuck in low-limit 3-6 games (and such)?

Any of you guys play low-limit ($50 and under) tourneys there? Any tips or thoughts? Recommendations? I'll be directing a bunch of guys on budgets and a poker tournament doesn't seem a bad way for a few of them to kill an afternoon.

 

When I was there several casinos offered daily low buy-in ($20-30-40 range) tournaments. The pay out for even winning wasn't huge, but it gives you a chance to play and you know how much you are going to lose. I can't stand playing 2-4 or 3-6 in casinos because there are drunks there that call everything to the river no matter what. In order to play against people who are there to actually play and not turn it into a slot machine by just seeing what happens, you have to go up in limits which can get pretty expensive really quick.

With those tournaments, you have to get there early and get on the list because they filled up fast.

 

Like Shoeless Joe said, there are plenty of cheap tourneys to play in the $20-50 range. I can't imagine you'd have trouble finding a 1-2 table, either.

You don't need a huge bankroll to win at craps. Try that.

 

Clock any 1-4 or 2-4 carefully from the rail before you sit down. Too many are populated by old farts who will give you NO action while waiting for the nuts . . . accellerated Time-Wasting 101, with no
bennies. Look for tables of loose drunks, and dive in.

 

I can handle playing with the rocks. If they perk up and you don't have the nuts, get out of the hand. I can't, however, handle the drunk that keeps calling raises with 8,6 off suit or some bullshit and rivering the set of kings you flopped.

 

There are tons of low-limit buy-in tournaments. Check here to get an idea ... http://www.allvegaspoker.com/tournaments.php

During the day, you shouldn't have a problem finding 3/6 limit and 1/2 NL cash games. At night, the frat boys who wear sunglasses and iPods show up at the low-limit tables. And the grinders take their money.

 

Sure you can . .. because so long as you're sufficiently capitalized, he's going to pay you for living, long-term.

 

I've always enjoyed limit games in Vegas. Play it right and you can treat the game like an ATM. Just takes patience.

 

Play the tournaments. You limit what you can lose, and if you are any good and/or lucky at all, you get a few hours of enjoyment out of it even if you don't cash.

 

Only problem is, you've spent hours sitting at a table with frat boys in sunglasses and ipods.

I'd rather play blackjack where you can at least interact and have some fun with the others and the dealer.

I'm just not patient enough to play hold-em and sit across from some guy who looks like the unibomber in sunglasses and a hoodie.

 

Yeah, but you get to take their money. And then laugh at them with the regulars when they leave.

 

Exactly - in the low buy in games there is a bunch of rock sitting around who won't play unless there start with something good. They pray on the weekenders who show up wanting to play and think they are sitting around with a bunch of their buddies on a Friday night.

If you do play in one of those games patience and the right attitude is the key. I like the low buy in poker games as a relaxing change of pace from Black Jack.

If you are playing 7 card you better have something good in the first 3 cards or get out of Dodge. The rocks will where you out.