Wednesday, June 01, 2005

As bloggers start flying out of their respective hometowns for Vegas, I can't help but get butterflies in my tummy. Good butterflies, of course! It sure is a bit daunting though to hop a plane and head out to Vegas to meet a bunch of people who are essentially strangers to me. Just the "going to Vegas alone" bit freaks me out more than a little. Last year, I remember reading Maudie's blog about how she was nervous to do the same thing. It was that courage, and the trip reports that followed, that inspired me to start this here blog of my own. That Maudie girl is one of my poker blogging heroes! Here's hoping my adventure has a happy ending as well.

After reading the various Vegas agendas out on the web, I'm so mad that I didn't book my trip for Thursday instead of Friday (though Thursday night I'll be kicking off my summer with my first of 5 planned Dave Matthews Band shows with Randy). I really want to go to Thursday night's sushi soiree (even though I don't eat things that swim or swam or live with things that swim). I'm sure Felicia is a most excellent hostess, and I'd like to meet her. Hopefully at some point Friday or Saturday I will.

I don't know that I have an agenda really - besides the WPBT events, that is. Since I'm travelling solo, my agenda will largely depend on:

1. Who I meet on Friday and Saturday
2. Who, after meeting me, is willing to be seen in public with me

I don't know - I may be spending Sunday and Monday playing poker all by myself in a corner somewhere! That might be my greatest fear - though I can easily kill entire days playing poker, so it's not the worst fate I could imagine. Here's as much of an agenda as I've got:

5:30pm Friday - Arrive in Vegas. Get my bags.

6:00pm Friday - Find a cab to take me to the Plaza. I've never hailed a cab by myself before. I walked to and from school in downtown Chicago 14 blocks from the train in all sorts of nasty weather for fear of hailing a cab by myself. At least at the airport they all kinda line up for ya....

6:30pm Friday - Check into the Plaza. I'll probably be too chicken to try bribing the desk clerk with a 20-fin for a room upgrade. Just call me wussy. It's just me, anyway - no need to get fancy.

6:35pm Friday - Freshen up. Check out the internet connection. Unpack. Avoid puking from sheer excitement and nervousness.

7:00pm - 9:45pm - I don't know!!! Call somebody? Hope somebody calls me? Head to Excaliber to await the Storming of the Castle?

10:00pm Friday - Storm the Castle! Meet some bloggers. Yay!

Saturday:
9:30am - Head to Aladdin for the WPBT tourney.

10:05am - Commiserate with whoever went out first right before me.

10:05am - 5:00pm - ???? Honestly, hoping to play at least a couple hours in the tourney! Other than that, no plans. Hang with bloggers?

5:00pm - AlCan'tHang's afterparty at LaSalsa Cantina

Sunday - ??? No agenda. Play poker! Hopefully with some bloggers! Maybe some craps :)

Monday - ??? Ditto. I'll probably head to the airport around 5pm for my 7:40pm flight back to Chitown.

Those are my plans!! What little of them I actually have, anyway.

You've all got the Spreadsheet of Monstrosity from CJ - feel free to call me, or I'll see ya at the Castle!

In other news.... I managed to squeak my way from $20 to $55 on Full Tilt today. Cashed in a couple $5 SnG's (though no first place finishes - one third, two second), and won a few bucks playing short-stacked at the $25NL ring tables. I am reminded again what an absolute slave to luck and variance we are when playing with scared money on a tight bankroll. Seriously - this morning when I sat down to the one $5 SnG and $10 on the ring game, that was literally almost my entire "bankroll." I don't think I really felt comfortable sitting down to play until I hit the point where a sit-n-go and a ring game max buy in were no more than 1/6 or less of my bankroll. That way, a bad session isn't disastrous; it's merely disappointing.

My goal, though, is to rebuild this $50 into my actual bankroll without having to redeposit. I'm still living off that initial $100 I put in way back in March. When I cashed out my Vegas money, I left myself with $200, which isn't a whole lot, and variance bit me in the ass. That's OK though, because luck was VERY good to me over that stretch between March and now, and paid for my Vegas trip, so I'm not complaining in the least. If I come back from Vegas with any money left, it'll go right back into my online bankroll, since that's where it came from.

Ahhh well. Off I go. Anticipation is eating me alive!!!

5 Comments:

  1. Human Head said...
    Go read DonkeyPuncher's latest post, a good bit of advice about taxi's at the airport.

    Oh man, not long now...see you there!
    Easycure said...
    I hope to put in a long poker session overnight Sunday night....I'm leaving Monday morning. Not gonna be many bloggers left on Monday, judging by The Spreadsheet.
    Unknown said...
    I just hope to have enough money left for a Krispy Kreme by Sunday.
    Felicia :) said...
    I'd say people who come alone probably have a lot more balls than people who depend on a posse to keep them comfortable in Vegas.

    Sure sign of a winning poker player.

    Watch in any big poker room, the ones who come in with their backs straight, head held high, look as if they belong, and then end up telling someone it's their first time at that particular cardroom. You gotta know they absolutely can play poker.
    Anonymous said...
    You will have a great time, no doubt about it. Don't worry about taxi at the airport - they put you in a taxi line.. looking forward to meeting you!

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