Omaha 8 in Vegas

Ah, I feel better today! I'm one of those people who immediately gets angry and vents, and then it's all over. My Dad is like that, too, and I used to think he had MPD or something. He would be ranting and raving one minute, then asking us if we wanted Dunkin' Donuts the next.

Unfortunately I had to get rid of a few people, but I suppose that is to be expected. They didn't want to unsubscribe themselves, but they wanted to waste my time arguing about how I STILL wasn't posting in the manner THEY insisted I post. Because the Internet has gotten so polluted with losers, it's fortunate that almost every chat, mail or journal software has an "ignore" feature today. In the olden days (LOL) it was almost impossible to ignore someone. We literally had to change our nicknames/e-mail addresses, etc.

Another odd thing I find about my ranting is that certain people tend to come out of the woodwork when I'm angry, and no other time. People who don't normally IM me, e-mail me or comment on the journal will say something like, "Oh, awesome! Go get 'em! I love it when you're this mad!" No, they aren't "yes" men or suck-ups, either. Like I said, they only have something to say when I go off the hook. It's like they are addicted to the heat. Maybe they are frustrated at their jobs, their home situation, something. They love it when I completely fly off the handle. Not sure if that is a good thing or not, lol.

So today I'm going to talk about the state of live O8 in Vegas, and review the rooms that I like, and the rooms I don't like. This is a purely subjective thing. For instance, I might walk into a room in Vegas which has three O8 tables going, full out, lots of monkeys swinging around the chandeliers and make lots o' money. Tomorrow, you might walk into that very room, find it deserted, with no O8 to be found. So I can only review what I know, personally.

Cardrooms change all the time, every day. Nothing is static in the casino and/or poker world.

1) Wynn--this is the best room for O8, IMO. Usually one table of 10/20 half kill will get started around noon. The daytime players tend to be too tight and semi-passive, even shorthanded. Just one fish can make the game. A second, must-move game gets started later in the day on busy days and weekends. Usually both are good, which is more than I can say for most must-move games. Wynn has no BBJD, so you are saving yourself a dollar plus every hand you are dealt in (the table collectively). The cocktail waitresses are always in a good mood, and have outstanding outfits on. They are a pleasure to look at, whether you are female or male. The service is fast and usually fantastic. Make sure to get a card, you will be paid $1.50 for every hour you play 10/20 ($2.00 for anything higher, I believe), and don't despair if you don't have enough on your card to get a comp. The poker room is very liberal about giving you a little credit, so that you can enjoy the buffet, french bakery, or tableside service, which is almost always served with a smile, regardless of how small your tip is (I'm a cheapskate and only tip a dollar).

Wynn is pretty much the only poker room which doesn't treat it's players like scumbag degenerates. We are human, and we are real "customers" to them, in general. Even the Omaha players, lol. Floorpeople will smile in return and wave or greet us by name if we extend the first courtesies.

If you aren't playing at Wynn when you are in Vegas, you are missing the best O8 room in town.

2) Bellagio--Sometimes this is the best O8 action in town, other times it is the worst. It tends to lean towards worst except during big festivals, some weekends, late evenings or if you play it in a mixed rotation. The floorpeople can be so foo-foo, so elitist, so bribed, so bitter, so rude that it will put you on tilt before you even sit in the game. The locals will further degrade your session if you sit at the wrong time.

But when it's good? Oh, boy, is it good! You will be playing 20/40 half kill. The monkeys are swinging when it is capped pre-flop most hands. You can just sit, sit, sit, then rake in the chips. They won't slow down, or even consider that you have a lock. Just sit patiently and wait for them to pay you off.

You might want to bring an mp3 player if you are going to attempt this nutfest of a game. The whole vibe of Bellagio could screw up a person's mentality for years.

3) Orleans--I hate Orleans, and recently they have had some kind of sewer problem, which makes most of the poker room smell like someone just took a huge dump, which isn't that much worse than the way it smelled before. It is one of the few poker rooms I wish would go back to smoking, to hide the horrible smell of some of the locals.

It is also a weird place for O8. During the day, there are a ton of regulars. Oddly enough, I tend to make more off of those players than the wild monkey dealers who frequent the night shift. The rocks of daytime are hilarious. I have never heard some of the crazy chat anywhere else but Orleans. For instance, one thing that I have found in almost every Orleans game is some kind of table coach who tells everyone the odds. But the odds are the most screwed up odds I've ever heard. For instance, we are in a 1/2 blind NLHE game. I raise it to $10 before any limpers. Someone behind me who has still to act says something like, "Well, I was going to fold, but now you've given me odds to call. I'm getting 13:1 here."

They never calculate HOW MUCH they have to put in the pot. They just count the pot, then say "13:1." I think to them the "one" means "one player," haha!

The math at Orleans is always like that when I play. There is always one guy who tells everyone the crazy odds he just made up.

At night, I find games with me and ten white shirts. The white shirts seem to know each other and have all just gotten together after dealing their respective shifts. They play like dealers and tend to cap on many betting rounds. Although they are dealers, they still have to look at their cards at least five times per hand, but at least they act fast. The number of hands dealt in this type of game, for how multi-way every pot is, and how many chips fly into every pot, is amazing. If you are looking for action and speed, head out to Orleans past 10pm.

The drinks are terrible, cocktail service is terrible, dealers are terrible, the whole place is disgusting, but I still go there sometimes. It is definitely profitable O8, with tons of tables, tons of games, lots of action, and horrible, horrible players.

4) Stations Casinos--Stations can be the greatest place to play, or the worst, on any given day. Heck, any given hour. It tends to lean most likely to worst. They are the redneck-riviera cardrooms, and mostly reflect as such via the clientele and the staff in the cardroom. The better properties have chosen to leave "station" off of their name altogether, and who can blame them?

Call any given Stations property to find out if they have O8 running. Sometimes it will just be Omaha high, other times they have quite a few O8 tables. It's hit & miss, so CALL FIRST.

Most of the time, you will find rocks during the day, and grouchy dealers, abusive patrons, drunks and degenerates at night. The games can be absolutely wonderful at night, with dealers playing an entire O8 hand blind, capping every round. You can sit and be blinded down for hours, and then be a significant winner for the night after one pot.

If you are looking for an abusive cardroom, hunt out some of the Station properties. Boulder and Palace come to mind first, followed by Texas, Fiesta and Sunset. You can experience both dealer abuse and abuse towards other players. You will get to see fistfights and huge threats, given enough play in any one property.

Be careful at Texas or Fiesta (West). My Stepdad was a security guard at Texas for six years and was shot at many times. That is gang territory, and in the lot behind the parking area, gang members take pot shots at patrons and staff. His security truck was riddled with bullet holes. Just park in the garage and you will be more safe. Nothing is guaranteed, though. You might get robbed, beat up or have a million dollar bullet wound in your butt if you test your luck long enough.

Felicia :)