LAS VEGAS–So as hinted at before, I can’t seem to leave Las Vegas. Something about this place … would like to think it’s the phalanx of hotties around every corner — none of whom seem to have rings on their fingers — but it might just be the 24-hour nature of this city. At any hour of the day night I can find a cheeseburger, a double cappuccino, a bowling alley, and/or a poker game. Really, what else do you need?

(I just really miss my bitch. And sadly she can’t read Pokerati to know how much I do.)

Anyhow, one of the things that had me thinkin’ was indeed the poker. Perhaps a bit to my surprise, I’ve done really well out here at the tables. Like cards have been a source of revenue, not a drain. Kinda new to me. Now don’t get me wrong, I have no delusions about becoming a pro. But the notion of generating a quantifiable chunk of extra income by playing Texas Hold’em has had me taking my poker play relatively seriously while out here … and thus, at the encouragement of TBR and Donkey Bomber, I decided to put $4,000 at risk to conduct a controlled not-so-scientific poker experiment in an attempt to shed some light on how I might hack it as a $2/$5 player and begin calculating a conceivable hourly wage. Though TBR tells me not to be too results-oriented, here are the results:

Session 1: Red Rock
8 hours
+$367
Feels like a loss, because I was up $1,100 and shoulda been able to get away at plus $900 and then $600.

Session 2: Palms
2.5 hours
-$1,000
Got my ass handed to me by both the deck and other players.

Session 3: Venetian
5 hours
+$1,700
Feels good to run good. Tom’s analysis seems right, that my game peaks between 4 and 5 hours in.

Session 4: Red Rock
12 hours
-$1,000
Most grueling session ever. Started off losing a $1,300 pot to a 3-outer on the river, climbed back, fought against collusion, and in the end got taken off my game by a punk little Stuey Ungar wannabe.

Total: +$67

Hourly Rate: $2.44