Today's poker column reveals where to play poker in Las Vegas, and challenges you to another card school Q&A....
FIRST TRIP TO LAS VEGAS? An increasing number of new online players are rewarding their first year of playing with a holiday in Las Vegas (see Las Vegas Poker Diary. ) If you’ve never been to Betting Babylon before it can be difficult to know which hotels to choose. The choice of casinos is probably the largest in the world but a lot of them are only just now beginning to make suitable facilities available for the massive new popularity of poker. Most of you will have heard of the Bellagio and it’s a great place but it is very much the home of high rolling professionals with only thirty tables available. My first choice would be the home of poker “Binion’s” with it’s impressive seventy poker rooms catering to all income brackets. Binion’s is downtown and it’s certainly not as glamorous as the MGM Grand but this is where it all started and it’s worth the trip just to see the famous Binion’s Wall of Fame. See Wynn-ing Poker In Las Vegas.
DON’T BE A SHOW-OFF! It’s almost always a mistake to show your hole cards after you’ve bluffed a win. Why let your opponents know if you stole the pot or won it with a premium hand? It’s knowledge they can store for another game and you can live without letting them have that kind of intel for free.
CARD SCHOOL QUESTION Here’s a chance to test how well your game is developing. It’s a $15-$30 game and you are the big blind with King of hearts and Queen of diamonds in the hole. The first player limps and the next raises. You and the limper both call. At the flop it’s seven of diamonds Queen of clubs and Ace of spades, landing you a pair of Queens. The situation is checked to the raiser, who bets. Your decision is to call along with the limper. Up comes the turn with a ten of spades offering the chance of a gut-shot draw. All the players check. Last card at the river is two of diamonds. You bet, the limper raises and everyone else folds to the limper’s raise. What’s your next move? The Card School answer is below. Figure out your own answer before checking our advice.
CARD SCHOOL ANSWER With everyone checking the turn it made your pair of Queens look reasonable, so you bet the river. However, the early limper is probably a wolf in sheep’s clothing. As the two of diamonds at the river amounted to nothing why is the limper raising like a mad man on such a no-hope last card? Most likely he checked the turn expecting the pre-flop raiser to bet. The odds are on the limper having at least Aces and maybe even a straight. The answer to the card school question is you fold at the river and don’t waste anymore money.
