Why Las Vegas Has The Softest
No Limit Cash Games …

Living in Las Vegas playing poker full-time I can say is a truly unique experience. A little background on myself; I am a 23 year old who has just made a permanent move to Las Vegas to play mid-stakes no limit cash games. In the summer of 2004, I graduated with a degree in Human Factors Sciences from the University of Illinois Urbana/Champaign. Upon graduation I worked for both the US Department of Homeland Security, as well as in the insurance industry. I have also labored with the route of law school but am currently not attending any schools.

The stakes I have played in the past have been limited to 2/5NL cash games (both $500 maximum buy in and uncapped buy in) and just recently as my bankroll has increased I have been taking occasional shots at 5/10NL games. After positive results as a weekend and a recreational player in Los Angeles and the Midwest over the past 2 years, and absolutely crushing the games during my monthly trips to Vegas, I figured it was time to take the plunge and see I could beat these games for large profits on a regular basis.

My first week has been nothing less than stellar. I have a done a great job of scouting local games, being picky with game selection, pushing my big hands for value, and most importantly playing big pots with the weaker players of the table. I would like to give my overall first impressions on why these games are extremely beatable and more so than the no limit games in Los Angeles.

First of all, Las Vegas is the self-proclaimed entertainment capital of the world and most of its revenue is the direct result of tourism. When people travel to Vegas, they usually create a budget. Friends from all over the country have met up with me in Vegas and the first thing they tell me is "OK, I have two grand to spend for the weekend; I'm prepared to lose it all." Now this is one of the prime reasons why these games are so profitable. For the recreational home-game player traveling to Vegas, the budget they have set for themselves is already lost. They will play looser and faster and tend to not care about the money they lose. They have conditioned themselves mentally that this money is not coming home with them, so be it going to nightclubs, playing various table games (blackjack, craps, etc�) or poker, their mind set is that they are there to have fun and not to turn a profit at the tables.

In addition to tourists setting budgets for themselves, there is a large contingency of the "Well, I'm here so I'll give it a shot" attitude. In Los Angeles, the average player travels to a casino (i.e. Commerce Casino) to play poker. They know what they're going there for, they know they are trying to turn a profit; the money is usually not mentally lost in the case of a regular player. In Las Vegas, a person might stumble upon a poker room, a room such as the Mirage or the MGM Grand where the walk-by traffic is exceptionally high (unlike rooms like Caesar's Palace or the Wynn which are tucked away in the corner and are somewhat distant from the main casino). They've seen the World Series of Poker on ESPN and think; I can do that, so they sit down in no limit and give it a try. You can tell who these players are as they have no dexterity with chip stacks, are usually older professional types, between 35 and 55 years old, and are very nervous, but very nice. They're drinking, striking up conversations; they're there to have fun, and not to win money.

Furthermore, one more reason these games are so profitable is the high level of table passivity. Most of the games I've played in Los Angeles are very aggressive, pre and post-flop. From 2/5NL up to 5/10NL games I've played here in Las Vegas, an early position raise is usually called in several places and most noticeably there is no 3-betting (bet/raise/re-raise) action. I usually can determine the table aggression by the number of 3-bets that occur. If it's frequent, you can classify the table as aggressive, if they are few and far between, then you have stumbled upon the perfect table, loose and passive. On several occasions this week I have seen players in position check/calling down the nut-flush (on a non-paired board) as well as checking/calling down 3 of a kind and straights.

As I play this summer I will hopefully see more of these trends which make these games so profitable. After my first week of playing every day, I do see I have made a wise decision to play these games full time as the earning potential is larger than one would expect. So if you're ever in the Las Vegas area, and have a solid understanding of no limit cash games, play some poker. Just stay out of my pots!

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