Last night was my debut on the WPT, dealing the Ultimate Bet Aruba event – see Aruba Reports in the Categories Menu. I had to work so I taped it. Well how else could I make a zillion copies and send it to all my family and bore them to death with what I do for a living? After all, the rest of my relatives all seem to live normalish kind of lives…but then again, what the hell is normal? I certainly have no idea.

I came home from work, after having a few glasses of wine with a friend…which by the way, was a great time in itself…and had a few more glasses of wine as I watched the tape. I even looked like I knew what I was doing in the video. Sweet!

Of course I was exhausted and finally dozed off during the last part of it but the good news is that I can watch it in length on days off, with more wine and friends. I believe it airs again on Saturday for any of you that might have missed it…of course you want to watch it, silly, I’m in it!

I had a little bit of fun about a week ago while dealing to a poker tyrant named Tom. He’s been around since my early Mirage days and he’s always got A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E! His main game is 7 card stud but he’s advanced to Holdem over the last few years. Same attitude.

If he’s low card in stud, for two to three hands, he starts glaring, staring, and fidgeting – mixed in with mumbles – and he flings his bring-in at the pot. If he loses a hand, God help the poor cards as he tries to loft them into the rack with more mumbling, kill looks at the dealer, and ATTITUDE.

One time at The Mirage, while I was sitting a deadspread, he was sitting there waiting for a game to start. He told me he used to be a dealer…well, hell, ain’t that always the way it is? He said he didn’t know why or how he could become so angry when he took a beat and he couldn’t control it.

I always wondered if he saw something on TV that he didn’t like, if he broke the TV set or if the food he was cooking stuck and burned in the pan, if he took a chainsaw to the stove. How do these people survive in day to day living without someone else ripping the tyrant’s head off for their insane actions.

From those days to the present, nothing has changed with him. He needs a valium every time he plays, his stress level and blood pressure must shoot sky high as soon as he smells a poker chip.

I dealt to him in a $30-$60 Holdem game and his attitude sucked. He took several walks, giving up free hands and then coming back to post the Blind. Then he moved into a $60-$120 Stud game that was about an hour ahead of me. He was in rare form when I got there. Glaring and staring with ‘ugly eyes’ growing out of his face.

He lost a hand and stomped off after flinging his cards at the rack. The player that won the pot said, “He always thinks someone else is supposed to lose.”

He came back, moved over two seats from the six to the four, and proceeded to lose another hand. He picked up all seven of his cards and lofted them into the rack while he mutter/mumbled and prepared to take another walk.

I got him before he got away. As he lofted the cards, I very loudly stated, “Thank you! It’s always such a pleasure to deal to you.”

That stopped him. He took the time to look at me, and I at him, as I finished with, “You are the biggest cry baby I’ve ever seen.”

He ran then. The rest of the players kept their hands down and looked at the green felt as I shuffled and dealt.

I was so happy! See how easy it is to make my day.