MGM National Harbor is a relatively new casino that opened in the past year. When it first opened its doors in December, it was a packed house and it was nearly impossible to get in. Months later, MGM National Harbor is still a frequent destination for poker players. The nice casino and poker room attract a large number of people, and I was no different.
My Experience.
I sat down at a $1/$3 no limit table, which are the lowest stakes available for anyone looking to play some poker. The minimum buy-in for the game is $100 and the maximum is $500.
I bought into this particular game for exactly $260. The table I sat down at had a full ring of nine players involved.
My general strategy was to play tightly and aggressively, which seems to work against a table that loves to limp. I folded a ton of fringe holdings, including KJ offsuit, K10 offsuit, and even AJ offsuit against an extremely tight player. I didn't get to play very much poker, but when I did, I tended to win more than I lost. Let's take a look at a few of the bigger hands.
Hand History.
The first big hand of my poker session came when I opened AQ of diamonds for $12 under the gun.
Action folded all the way around to the player in the big blind, who called. The flop was the Ace of clubs, and the three and eight of diamonds. This is the best flop I could have asked for and there was no way I was folding at any point in this hand. Instead of checking, the player who was the big blind leads into me for $20. I have a very strong holding, and raise to $50, not wanting to price him out. This player thinks for a while, and then calls.
The turn is the two of spades, a complete blank. This time, he checks, and I bet $40. He thinks for a few minutes, then jams all in for $120. I have top pair and a diamond draw, so I snap call. He shows me AJ offsuit, and doesn't hit his one outer on the river.
I win my first big pot here.
Later on, I get pocket fours, again under the gun. This time, I just limp for $3, looking to mine for a set. A player to the left of me calls, and the next player raises to $18. He gets four callers, and the pot odds are way too good for me to fold. I'm looking to spike a set here in a six player pot.
The flop brings the 8 of spades, and four and two of hearts. Pretty great flop for pocket fours. I check and it checks around to the last player in the pot, who bets $15. With hearts out there, I'm not particularly interested in letting a card run off the board that cheaply. I raise to $60, and everyone except the initial better folds. The turn brings the ace of clubs, a card that would be perfect for me if this player were drawing to the nut flush draw.
This player has about $100 left, and with about $200 in the pot, I decide to push all in. He thinks for a bit, but couldn't have had an ace as he folded. I'd like to get more value out of sets like this, but with draws out there I just feel a need to make it expensive.
Those two hands helped me double my stack and I left the game with $518, about double what I had started with. Hopefully my next trip to MGM National Harbor will be just as successful.