Vegas Gambling Stories

A couple weekends ago I was watching Swingers with my friend Jun. We started the movie at about 2:30 am Monday morning and were on our way to Vegas by 3. We stayed in Vegas until 7 pm and then headed back to LA. Three gambling stories from the trip are worth mentioning.

First, I was playing Let It Ride at Excalibur. For those of you that don't know, here is how the game works. The object is to get a pair of 10s or better. You make 3 equal bets and then are dealt 3 cards. After these cards you have the option of withdrawing one bet or letting it ride. Then the dealer turns over a communal card. You can then withdraw the 2nd bet if you want. After this, the dealer turns over a third communal card. You have to bet your 3rd bet. So I get to Excalibur and have to wait about 20 minutes before a seat opens up. During this time, the house is killing everyone at the table. As I sit down I say, "Maybe I can change the luck at this table." I get dealt first. Three dueces. I place my cards under my last bet indicating I am not withdrawing any bets. Long story short, everyone at the table lost but me. I guess one person can't change the luck for a whole table.

The last two stories take place at the poker table in Luxor. Within 10 minutes of sitting down, Jun doubles up to about $100 with a set of kings. A couple of hands later, I am all in for a pot of around $160 against two other players. I have top set of jacks. Another person has a set of 8s and the third has a pocket over pair. Queens. I am about 80% favorite to win this hand. If I do, we are done playing since we are both up a lot. It'll be time to spend that money. Turn is a heart. River is a heart. Queens hit runner runner flush to take me out. Ouch man.

The last story takes place in 2 parts. The first part happens not long after I got bad beat. Jun is in a hand and I have already folded. He turns to me and says, "Billy I have my favorite hand." Then he shows the table at the end of the hand that it was jack-ten. Skip ahead a few hours. Jun has a monster hand. He is heads up against a guy who is weak with a small pocket pair. Jun is talking, trying to keep the guy in the hand. He accidently slips and says, "It's my favorite hand." The guy remembers from like three hours ago that Jun said his favorite hand was jack-ten. Two cards and $20 dollars later, Jun wins the hand with pocket queens. A little misinformation and a few hours earned an extra $20 from a guy who was about to fold. It's too bad Jun didn't do this on purpose. He just changed his favorite hand during that time.