Tales From The Road
Date: Mon, Jan 28, 2008
Hopefully you'll find this hand as ridiculous as I did and can laugh along at the "regulars" who play the Harrah's New Orleans $1/2NL game. Because these regulars had to be the worst players I've ever seen in a live casino environment.
I finished down for the trip. Natch.
****
I had seen my target sit down. He was horrible. The whole table knew it, except of course for this one poor bastard who tried to run a bluff on him. On a board of A272, the target check-called a $230 all-in bet with A6o. On the turn, the pot was just over $100 and this horrible player had limp-called pre-flop and then check-called both the flop and turn. His hand was good amazingly enough and all I heard was the poor kid who tried to force him off his hand mutter "How can he call that?"
I didn't know the answer to that question, but that was all the behavior I'd need to see to get him to double me up.
****
Our target was under the gun, and raised to $12. Before it got to me there were two more callers and I found pocket 7's in the cut-off. It's an easy call, so I made it and four of us saw a flop of K75 rainbow. I figured I was good.
Target-boy then fired out about $40 and the two intermediary pre-flop callers folded. Based on the previous data I had, I just pushed all-in immediately. I knew he'd call with just about anything.
Here's where it gets funny.
As I pushed my $200 into the pot, the target honest to goodness said, "Thank you! Thank you! I CALL!!!!"
At first I was crushed, I had to be up against a set of Kings. I flipped up my set of 7's and he triumphantly slammed down his AK having just about no idea how far behind he really was. I was in pretty good shape.
The dealer peeled off the turn and it paired the 5 on the board. I became leery.
Here's where it got even MORE funny.
The guy to my right stood up and said, "You have a full house now. You CAN'T LOSE!"
As soon as he said that, I knew I was dead.
The river came, and I died a little inside. Set over set would have been less painful I think.
Relative Worth
Date: Tue, Jan 22, 2008
2006_BadBlood: "The Big Game at Gucci Rick's is still pretty tense for me to play in. I'm probably considered overly tight, but I still manage to get my solid hands paid off. This home game is definitely a step up for me and I look forward to the challenge. I consider this game a requisite stepping stone to advancing my game to the next level."
2007_BadBlood: "Great night last night at Gucci Rick's. Posted an expected win worth a couple of buy-ins. Can't wait to take my game to the underground circuit on Wednesday and then again on Saturday. Hopefully there's not much going on at home this week so I can play all three nights. This is the year I make my mark on the local scene."
2008_BadBlood: "Funs times at Gucci Rick's. Posted a winning session, but more importantly, it was a good time. Lots of laughs around the table, interspersed with some good poker made the night really enjoyable for me. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and I should see them again next week. Winning was fun, but to be honest, I just caught some good cards at the right time. No need to let it go to my head. I made one bad call, but nobody's perfect."
More Disjointed Poker Thoughts From BadBlood
Date: Mon, Jan 21, 2008
Lately, I've been unable to come up with much poker related material to write about, as if you couldn't already tell based on the frequency and content of the posts below. A year ago, I was playing far more than I am now. There were more stories to tell, more people to profile and more places in which to play than there are at the moment. To be fair, that's not entirely true. Much of the decline in my live play is a self-imposed restriction based on my assessment of what's best for my current life situation.
With all that said however, I look back on last year and I'm not 100% confident that I was happy where things were going.
There is a certain life style associated with a poker player. There are long hours. There is some drinking. There are the mood-altering financial swings in either direction. And each takes its toll. When you play two or three nights a week, it's not hard to fancy yourself a player. When you run good, you're one of the best. When you run bad, it's because of the luck. No matter how I ran though, far too much of my mental capacity was focused on playing poker.
I'm glad last year happened though. It taught me more about who I was than anything else ever has.
There was a time in 2006 when my game and my confidence in my game were at their peaks. I was winning regularly locally and I was winning at a decent pace online. It was a rare confluence of events. Externally, there weren't many distractions. Work life was going well, family life was too. I had devoted much of my time and intellectual capacity to bettering myself as a player and it was paying off. But that zone I was in was short-lived. There are simply too many distractions in day to day life to maintain that zen-like state. You have to dull yourself to life's stimulii in order to maintain the laser-like focus required to be your best at poker. At least I had to.
My 2006 poker year was an illusory veil of success that hid what was and what should have been truly important to me. I am not really a poker player. I am a husband and a father who really enjoys playing poker. There is actually quite a difference between the two. I suppose I have 2007 to thank for helping me realize that.
Some of you G-Vegas folks may have at one point met DealerTim. If you didn't know, he has his own blog. He's currently out there in Las Vegas chronicling his efforts to make it in that city, and to be honest, I find his story fascinating. For one thing, he's a surprisingly talented writer. And as I've told many people who'd listen, if I weren't married, if I didn't have any children, I have a hunch that I would have given the thought of moving out there with him much consideration. If I were living a solitary life, I think I would have the capacity to do well more consistently even out in the Mecca. But I'm not. So I can't.
My ego will always tell me that I have (or at least had) some of the characteristics required to be a talented poker player. But there are too many missing ingredients for me to be at my absolute best 100% of the time. The diminishing returns of my quest for excellence are too great. The cost is too high. Even now, typing this, I think to myself that I will always play, that I've put too much stock in myself as a player to ever quit. And all that is true. But I can't let success blind me and I can't let failure cripple me like I used to. I have to keep the game in its place.
And that is my goal for 2008.
Zero Poker Content Post With Parent Brag Pics
Date: Wed, Jan 16, 2008
Years ago when we were in dire need of babysitting, we were fortunate enough to find a dedicated high school student who pegged the meter on the responsibility scale. She was by far the best babysitter we've ever had.
As your kids age, so too does your babysitter. We kept in contact as she went to college and finally graduated. We became friends and went to her wedding last year. On some occasions, she'd bring her boyfriend/fiance/husband to the house to help watch the kids. He's a great guy too and our kids love both of them.
Why did I like her choice in husband? Because he likes my type of music, that's why. Both of them came back to babysit for us once again last month, even though they're pretty much grown adults now. After we got home he asked me if I wanted to go to a concert with him in January down in Atlanta.
It was a band I'd never seen but always wanted to. So, tonight that's where I'll be. If the metal gods treat me right, they'll perform their cover of Holy Diver.
"Look out!"
****
In the meantime, here are two pics from my parent's recent visit. My son has never received instruction on his golf swing, he's just a natural. Check the form and follow through!
THE Glenlivet
Date: Fri, Jan 11, 2008
It wasn't a special day by any means, especially if one were to ascribe meaning to particular days on the calendar.
But today I had a chance to sit back and relax on my front porch, sharing a scotch with my dad, just the two of us and the Carolina sun.
Scratch that. It was a special day.
(Thanks to everyone who made recommendations)
Riddance
Date: Tue, Jan 8, 2008
Let there be no doubt that this poker blogger is thrilled with the 2007 poker year being over. Wow did it suck. Or more appropriately, wow, did I suck. I had a losing year both online and more disappointingly live as well. There is a certain level of pride in being able to say "I am a winning poker player." At least there is for me. I'm still not sure if that's good or bad, but it's true.
Last year's losses were roughly 2/3rd's of my 2005 winnings, which isn't horrible considering all things. But still, it's no fun looking at a spreadsheet full of red numbers with parenthesis around them.
I'm the type of person that doesn't like to forever dwell on the negative, so I'd be foolish to stress over 2007's results. However, I'd be even more foolish if I didn't find something to learn from the experience. I will always believe this:
The true measure of a poker player is how he/she handles losing.
Winning is easy sometimes. Few people look back on wins and say, "I played terribly." The extra cash in your pocket dulls the internal questioning inherent in every player who wants to get better. Get better? I just won. Screw being introspective.
2007 provided ample opportunity for me to look at poker through a different lens.
I think the most important thing I learned in 2007 was just how much variance there truly is in poker. I can remember about four pots this year, all-in pre-flop, where had I won, 2007's results would be in the black. Four pots. Out of probably thousands of live hands. I can also remember focusing too heavily on losing those pots and their impact on my bottom line.
I recall forcing things.
I recall calling off too much money when I knew I was beat.
I recall worrying too much about factors surrounding the game rather than playing the game itself.
I recall worrying too much about my table image, my reputation as a player, rather than the proper play at the proper time.
Hopefully, as we all continue play and continue to show enthusiasm for the game, we'll continue learning. Even if it's not learning more about the game, it can be learning more about ourselves. The money I lost in 2007 won't go completely to waste as long as I remember the lessons the poker gods were trying to teach me.
Hopefully I took good notes.
Luck and Scotch and a Joke
Date: Wed, Jan 2, 2008
We'll go with the Scotch first. My parents are coming up next week to celebrate the holidays after the fact with our family and my dad likes him a good bottle of scotch. He's a fan of Dewar's, but after a conversation with my sister, she mentioned he would like Johnny Walker's. I've never seen him drink that and was assuming that Dewar's is a better brand. But what do I know? So for the scotch drinkers out there, can you recommend a decent brand? I'm thinking in the $35-50/bottle price range.
****
Now, off to the luck. Yesterday's tournament had its share of lucky moments for me. I won two races, both to eliminate the UpForPoker crew. The first was ye-olde classic QQ vs AK race, all-in pre-flop between me and G-Rob. Sadly he flopped his set on a QJx board. The K on the turn was a bit meaningless, and yes, when the 10 hit the river, I did feel a bit bad. I had G-Rob outchipped by a 4x factor so I re-raised his initial raise to isolate him and get him all-in. The strategy worked and I got a little lucky.
The second race I won was when Otis had to open push for T1700 with the blinds at 250/500. I was the big blind, found pocket 2's and called. I won the race against his JTs.
Now, winning races isn't that big of a deal, we all know that you have to win them in tournaments to do well. Had I lost either, I would still have had plenty of chips in each occasion, but obviously extra chips and eliminating those two guys is fortuitous.
The luckiest hand for me was when we were 4-handed. The blinds were 1000/2000 and I had about T12,000. I was the button and shoveled with Q3o. Falstaff woke up with pocket 8's and made the easy call. "I have an over," I said. "Just one?" he replied. The flop came 737 and I had a small breath of life. The turn boated me up with another 3 and I dodged the two remaining 8's on the river to stay alive. That was lucky.
The last bit of luck was when we were 3-handed. I limped from the SB with 64 of hearts and Falstaff checked his option. The flop came K73, with two hearts. I led, he pushed, and I called. He had middle pair with 74 and I had 12-outs twice. I hit a 5 on the turn to take it down and effectively eliminate Falstaff in 3rd.
I avoided getting unlucky all day, which is nice when you're hosting a tournament at your own house.
****
And lastly, a joke. This joke is FAR better told by Teddy Ballgame, and I'll most likely fail to do it justice. But here goes anyway.
Young Johnny late one night wanders into his parents room when he stumbles upon his dad and mom going at it. His dad has his mom bent over the bed and is really, as Teddy would say, pouring it to her. Dad gives young Johnny a wink and a smile and continues on.
After his dad is finished up, he goes looking for Johnny to check in on him. When he opens up the door to Johnny's bedroom, he sees Johnny giving it to Grandma, bending her over a chair and really pouring it to her.
The dad yells "Johnny, what the hell are you doing?"
Johnny replies, "Oh sure, it's only a problem when it's your mother, huh?"
4th Annual New Year's Day Results
Date: Tue, Jan 1, 2008
23. Phil Levin
22. SpecialK
21. Mrs_Blood
20. ChapelHillInc.
19. Lusky
18. Wolverine
17. G-Rob
16. Big Pirate
15. Tresa
14. Random101
13. TeamScottSmith
12. Otis
11. Rich Lavalla
10. Shep
9. Stan McKinney
8. TheCurt
7. TripJax
6. The Rankster
5. Jeff Newman
4. Jim
3. Falstaff
2. TheMark
1.. BadBlood (not a typo)
Misplayed On All Streets
Date: Mon, Dec 31, 2007
To close up the Vegas trip reports, I thought I'd go over the most unusual hand of the trip for your, my faithful reader's, enjoyment. My opinion of my own play here is suspect at best, but the hand was interesting to me on a certain level mainly because of how non-standard everyone's play was. Even my own.
It's post-blogger tourney time at the Venetian and I'm sitting at a 1/2NL table into the game for $300. I have a bit over $200 still in front when I'm dealt pocket Queens under the gun. So far, so good; it's an easy standard raise to $12. I got one caller in middle position and then the button, a bit to my dismay, re-raised.
Re-raises at Vegas 1/2 games are rare. They are very much indicative of two hands: AA and KK. But most times, the raise is a significant one where in you can really tell the strength of the re-raiser's hand. In this case, though, the button made it only $25. This is what I term mistake #1. Of course, I'm going to call and so will the middle position player.
Three to the flop: T44. I checked, at this point, almost ready to give up my hand to be honest. But let's see how the action went. The middle position player led the flop for $15 into a $78 pot. That's rather ridiculous in my opinion and shall be referred to as mistake #2. This is only a mistake however if he's not holding a 4. But this guy was a confirmed moron from watching his previous play, so I felt confident that he had perhaps a ten at best.
Now, here's where the complexion of the hand changed for me. The button raised. But it was a min-raise to $30. If I'm holding KK there in that spot, it's a horrible raise. You had two people call your pre-flop re-raise, so someone is conceivably holding Ace-X. You can't min-raise there, at least I don't think so.
I decided that I couldn't fold just yet, so I called. The middle position player called as well. I immediately took him off having a four. The turn was a nine and the action went once again, check-check.
The button then decided he's had enough, and moved all-in for $124. The pot was $168 at this point. I looked at the guy (because, hey, live tells rule) and asked him, "How big?" meaning how big was his pocket pair.
The dealer admonished me saying, "Sir, there's still a player left to act, you can't talk about the hand in play."
I responded with, "Yeah, but he's folding anyway." I was, of course right, but I did lean on the rules a bit with my table talk. But I got the answer I was looking for. THE tell. It's a tell I've seen just often enough and a tell that's been just reliable enough for me to make the decision to call.
Granted, I've played my hand horribly, never at any point announcing its strength. But my initial pre-flop range for the button really only included AA and KK, and then three things when added up together made me call.
1. His min-raise on the flop lead out from the guy in middle position. I took the button off KK right there.
2. The tell. It really is that reliable. It's one I'm almost going to keep to the grave because it's so good and has earned me so much money in a live environment.
3. The reality of the situation was that I was at a 1/2NL table in Vegas. Are you laying down QQ on a T449 board?
As predicted, after I called, the player in middle position folded. A harmless looking 2 hit the river. I had called my opponent, but he wasn't very eager to show his hand. I said to him, "Pocket Queens," in a meek, questioning way. He winced at the sight of them and tabled his hand. I had won.
Very unusually played hand on my part. One may even say poorly played. But it was one of my better "aggressive*" calls made on that Saturday to win back my blogger tournament entry fee and get my mood in a better place.
Anyone care to guess my opponents hand?
* 2+2 joke
The Alpha and The Omega
Date: Thu, Dec 27, 2007
Over a year and a half ago, The Procedure was born.
One of the goals of this past Vegas trip was to replicate it. Pauly wrote about his participation and now I must do the same. Part of me feels that it may be time to retire The Procedure; what better way to do so than to do it one last time in Vegas?
****
The plan was simple. We'd use the blogger tournament on Saturday as the final piece of the puzzle. The tourney began at 3pm, and in theory, that would provide ample time to complete the Procedure if we started around noon. As of late Friday night, the question remained, who would participate?
In G-Vegas, there have been many to say, "Hey, I'm in for The Procedure, let me know the next time you plan on doing it." Inevitably, when I do let them know, there's some excuse given as to why they can't make it or my calls are simply not returned.
Of course, there's always one exception.
Many of you know this exception simply as "The Mark." He's the only G-Vegas veteran to complete a Procedure with me. It would be a given that he'd join me in Vegas.
****
It was 11:15 AM as I exited Tower One at Excalibur. I grabbed a danish and some horrible coffee from the stand by the elevators and sat down in front of a slot machine to eat in private. I was tired, having stayed up until 4am playing shove-on-any-draw poker with people happy to put in their stacks with top-pair, 9 kicker. If I couldn't catch any luck at the card tables that day, I told myself I'd make up for it the next.
After "breakfast," I felt that the most appropriate place to begin the Vegas Procedure was the Sherwood Forest Bar. I moseyed on up, slapped a $100 bill into the video poker machine and began phase one: Drinking.
I can't say that the vodka was Grey Goose, but I can say that the martini's were dirty. All four of them. I called TheMark to let him know I got started a bit early. He didn't answer and I had to leave a message, fearing that I'd be Proceduring Solo. Really, I should have known better.
****
I texted Pauly that I was knee deep in 2's wild video poker and martini's. He had only a 3-word reply, "On my way."
Apparently, Grubby was going to meet us after he completed his Craps Tournament at Bally's. The man does have priorities.
One of my personal quirks with respect to The Procedure is the fact that I simply cannot progress to Step 2 without being sufficiently inebriated. When Pauly arrived, I kept drinking as we shot the shit for a while, getting more and more lubricated. Finally, after noticing he wasn't having any alcohol delivered to his blood stream, I asked him, "Hey, do you need a drink?"
"Dude...." he began, "I'm already high."
****
Grubby had rented a car and because he is a former full-time resident of Las Vegas, knew the quickest route to Step 2. There was some debate as to where we should go, because one of the rules of The Procedure is that Step 2 requires attendance during "The Afternoon Shift."
Grubby had heard conflicting reports of what was best during the noon time frame. Pauly recommended the Rhino, Grubby a place called Seamless. We agreed that we'd try Seamless first and leave the Rhino as backup.
We drove up, had valet take the car, walked in, took a piss, and then walked right out. It was that bad. All IT geeks know that having proper backup is of critical importance. So is it true with Step 2 of The Procedure.
Off to the Rhino.
****
Having driven to the Rhino, we were able to bypass the $30 cover charge. The free pass may have also had something to do with the fact that nobody was in there, except for us three total degenerates. We made our way to a table and a waitress took our drink order. Almost immediately, three employees went in for the kill.
There are poker bad beats, and there are strip club bad beats. Of the three that had made their way over, the worst looking of the three chose me. Pauly had some classic busty blonde on his lap, while Grubby partnered with a short, curvy Latin dancer. Me? A girl with a lisp named Ruby. Awesome.
Strip club small talk is always entertaining to me. I take on the role of hot air balloon pilot. I'm relatively confident that my story is well enough fabricated to make even the smartest stripper believe my tall tales. When I'm with a friend, I tell them that we're in town for a conference and he's a materials expert. Yeah, that's right. I got game.
****
Because there were simply no other choices, I had to partake in a 3-song experience with Ruby, the Cindy Brady speak-alike. It really wasn't half bad. I did however get interrupted by the vibration of my cell phone during song number 2. I politely excused myself to take the call. On the surface, this sounds like a really silly thing to do while receiving a dance. But I knew who the caller would be.
"Yo! Where are you guys???? I'm walking into the VIP area right now!!!!"
The unmistakable voice of TheMark echoed throughout the Rhino VIP area. Normally, one needs a companion to get through the door separating the bar area from the dance area. Not Mark. He climbed the stairs to the higher level and gazed around, finally seeing me, Pauly and Grubby.
"I'll meet you back out at the bar," I replied. Dancus interruptus.
****
After the four of us had our wallets lightened ever so slightly, we drove to the Venetian for the blogger tournament and Step 3 of The Procedure, the Poker. My blogger tournament experience was all too memorable and all too short. I had aces once on the button, I raised and won the blinds.
The second hand that I played, was a blind defense to a cut-off raise from John "Shecky" Caldwell. I had J8h and when I called the raise, Shecky stared at me to measure my reaction to the flop cards. I knew what he was doing, so rather than give him any information, I stared directly back and checked without looking.
He looked and then made a continuation bet of standard size. When I finally looked at the flop, I saw J82 rainbow. At this point, I was quite confident I was way ahead, so I raised his bet by 3x. He stared back at me, probing my soul with Hellmuthian accuracy. Something in the way I looked back at him made him feel that I was simply making a play on a flop that could have easily missed him. He re-raised. I pushed. He called.
He flipped over JTc. There was one club on the board, until the turn and river made three.
That beat hurt. It hurt bad. Prior to the tournament, I was half-way in the zone between wanting to do really well and simply playing for the chance to hang out with some bloggers I'd not seen prior to that day. The runner-runner bad beat put an end to both of those chances and I had to walk off some of my bitterness outside by the canals surrounding the casino.
****
I had completed The Procedure but was left somewhat unsatisfied.
There is no doubt that the best part was hanging with Pauly, Grubby, and eventually TheMark. Deep down I realized that I didn't need Steps 2 and 3 to have a good time with good people. Time will tell if that Vegas Procedure was the last one or just the last one until the next one.
Happy Holidays
Date: Tue, Dec 25, 2007
Finally, I can play Guitar Hero III with my kids. He's obviously mastered the Jeff Healy mode of playing. Hope everyone's holiday was as great as mine. If life continues to let me suck out every hand, how can I ever complain about poker?
Small Notice
Date: Tue, Dec 18, 2007
Several people have surprised me this year in asking, "Hey, you going to run a New Year's Day tournament this year?"
Since I've done so for the past three years, I feel obligated to continue.
So, the 4th annual BadBlood New Year's Day Tournament is officially on. Email to my mailing list will go out shortly.
The location will be my house, as always; and I'm thinking about a 2pm start time so that the massively hung over will have a shot at waking in time.
Last year's buy-in was $60, so we'll probably go with that again.
One last caveat: I have room for 3 tables. You MUST reply to my email to reserve a seat. If you've never received a poker-related email from me before, you're probably not on my list. If you wish to get on, drop me a line at my gmail address.
That is all. More trip reports forthcoming.
Four of Many
Date: Tue, Dec 18, 2007
Before continuing the trip report into Friday's escapades, I wanted to throw out a special thanks to the Poker Peaker. Thursday in Vegas would be the first time I'd get to meet a fellow metal head, poker blogger. We're few and far between. He let me borrow his USB thumb drive and I gave him a CD-R so that we could exchange some songs that we thought the other might enjoy. Otis put the songs on his laptop, and I've yet to retrieve them, but will do so shortly. Our tastes seem eerily similar so hopefully I had a chance to introduce him to something new and worthwhile.
Friday in Vegas would be my only losing day poker-wise. Unfortunately for me, the winning days were too small to make up for it. Nothing really memorable happened, and that was fine with me. The focus of that day for me was 100% on dinner. Otis made reservations at some place called Nobhill.
Fine dining experiences are rare for me. I'm a meat and potatoes more meat kind of guy. Food is mainly a method for protein ingestion and when I saw the menu I was pleased to see the words Filet and Angus. How could I go wrong?
For my appetizer, I had this:
Charcuterie Board
Select Meats, Grilled Sausages, Marinated Olives, North Beach Focaccia
When it was presented to me, it felt as if I had just stood on my chair and exclaimed, "Bring me your finest meats and cheeses!" Because they did. I shared some with BG who's somewhat of a food aficionado and knows how to translate the fancy-schmancy stuff on the menu into layman's terms.
For my main course, I had this:
Filet of Angus Beef 'Rossini'
Seared Foie Gras, Shallot-Potato Cakes, Pinot Noir Reduction
I had to ask what this Fo-ee Grass thing was. Apparently, it's some kind of goose liver. I figured what the hell, I'll eat it. I had learned from watching the show Manswers that the liver is the best organ to eat if you need to cannibalize a dead friend with whom you've been stranded on a desert island. It's the organ with the most stored nutrients. And because geese are pretty much exactly like humans, I figured I'd be downing some pretty damn good nutrients with my Filet. My cholesterol did temporarily sky rocket, but I figured I could compensate later with some oatmeal or something.
In all seriousness, this was the best meal I'd ever had in my life. If it wasn't such bad manners to lick the plate clean I probably would have. What made it even better was the company. Who would have thought that three years after meeting these fine folks at the Sherwood Forest bar that I'd be substituting an $18 glass of Pinot Noir for a round of Soco shots.
An honest, heartfelt thanks to BG, Iggy, Maudie, Derek, Pauly, Change, Al, Otis, Jeff and Marty for what was truly the best 3 hours of my trip.
Three of Many
Date: Mon, Dec 17, 2007
After I busted out of the Caesar's 3pm tourney, I found myself in a quick hole. My trip had just begun and already I was down close to $300. That was certainly not the way I envisioned things happening. I needed a quick pick me upper. Nothing does that better than a quick call home to the family.
I sat alone at an unoccupied table in the poker room and dialed home. It was near bed time on the East coast and simply hearing the voices of the mini's was enough to at least set things in motion for my recovery. Slightly buoyed, I rebought into a cash game.
I had raised earlier with 53s and won a hand on the turn when Otis folded to my bet. I showed the table my hand. Normally, I'm not much of an advertiser, but at this table, I figured what the hell. I wouldn't be there long.
Not much later, I found pocket Aces. This is the hand where my ad campaign would hopefully pay off. As I was under the gun, I came in for a normal raise. The whole limp-re-raising fad had wound its course for me. If the flop was scary, I just may have to lay them down if I got several callers. I only got one caller. Not so bad. But wait, the big blind was thinking.
Is there anything better in poker than to get re-raised when you're holding the nuts? Probably not. The big blind made it $45 from my $12 initial raise. I made it $140. The caller folded. Hopefully, in the back of the big blind's mind, was the memory of me showing my 53s. My raise was equivalent to half his remaining stack. I put him into a push or fold decision.
He pushed.
My chips beat his into the pot and he tabled AK. The flop was King high and I did a silent LOL to myself. Amazingly, however, my aces held.
By the time Otis and Marty were ready to head out to the IP for drunken tomfoolery, I had managed to erase my losses for the day and basically walk the strip on an even keel - financially and emotionally. A righting of the ship if you will.
****
I'm really not a Pai Gow guy. Otis is. We all know that. And because he's a good friend and a fun guy to hang out with, I try my best to be a Pai Gow guy. But each time I try, I realize that I'm just not. So after I dropped my requisite $100 at the damn game (is a pair too much to ask for?), I ventured into parts unknown. Well, perhaps not unknown, maybe just abandoned.
Rewind a decade.
When I used to live in Massachusetts, I was part of a group that made monthly visits to Foxwoods. And it was all to play blackjack. We had our basic hi-lo counting system and thought that we could at least churn a small profit if we played long enough. Looking back, I'm not sure how much of an edge we really had. Our bet sizes weren't spread highly enough to take advantage of a 10-soaked deck. Still we tried. And on some nights failed miserably.
On my last Foxwoods trip before I moved down South, I dropped about $600 playing blackjack. Back then, I had no idea what tilt was, but looking back I sure as hell was on it. So much so, that I took a $300 cash advance on a credit card and made my way to a roulette table, in what was to be my first ever solo rage.
At that point in time, I had only my 9-month old daughter's birthday to bet on. So I did. Heavily. Three's and thirty's for $5 and $10 a pop.
Within 15 minutes, I'd hit those numbers four times. It was probably only twenty spins, but I dominated. I took a $700 profit and left Foxwoods an overall winner on that trip for what I thought would be the last time. I would later travel back North for more visits to Foxwoods, but during that time, I never returned to a roulette table. How could I get so lucky once again?
Back to the present. I took $100 and Maudie to the IP roulette wheel. The Pai Gow players were all shouting Pai Gow and questioning the entirety of the remaining hotel gambling crowd if they were having any fun. I figured I'd buck the trend and revisit past glory.
****
To be fair, I had been drinking. I also told the table before I placed any bets that they'd be wise to just match my numbers. Initially, nobody listened. This time, I had an additional number to play. Even though my son was born the same month as my daughter, his birthday is the luckiest thirteen I'll ever come across.
I laid $5 on 3,13, and 30. The dealer spun the ball. I didn't even look.
Bang. 3. Ship it! $175 and still, nobody believes me.
Two spins later. 30. Ship it again. Finally, people began to follow my bets. At least just a little. Someone, however, did not until it was too late.
Every time I hit, I yelled "Roulette!" Sure, I was obnoxious. But who else do you know that's quadrupled up at a roulette table? That's right. No one.
My kids birthdays plus a small bouncing ball equals profit. It's simple math.
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