Don’t think the railbirds only hang out in casino poker rooms. They are everywhere. I got tagged by one in cyberspace a few days ago. He didn’t catch me through the chat function in a poker game I was in – he caught me through AIM. It was a cold call. I will admit I was slightly startled by the intrusion as he wasn’t on my buddy list and I had no idea what/who was in progress when he popped in. It went like this:

Session Start (lrgeenen:pokergod05): Thu Oct 13 16:24:44 2005
[16:24] pokergod05: hi
[16:25] lrgeenen: hi.
[16:25] lrgeenen: who?
[16:25] pokergod05: Hi, I am only 16, but have won almost 2k playing poker live w/ buddies…….So i’m looking around for a small time backer to stake me some cash over at pokerstars…….I was in fact staked once on stars 25$ and was able to get it up to 200$ however after i paid my backer 75$ I became VERY stupid as far as bankroll management and emotional management(both things that were strong factors in my success before losing it all).

Anyways, my mind is right again and I’m ready to play and win for whoever is willing to back me. I will payback 150% and will be able to send it back within 2-3 weeks(pending how much u send)
[16:27] lrgeenen: $0 – that’s what I would send.
[16:27] lrgeenen: But I wish you luck.
Session Close (pokergod05): Thu Oct 13 16:27:45 2005

Session Start (lrgeenen:pokergod05): Thu Oct 13 16:27:54 2005
[16:27] pokergod05: ok thank you.
Session Close (pokergod05): Thu Oct 13 16:28:06 2005

Session Start (lrgeenen:pokergod05): Thu Oct 13 16:28:14 2005
[16:28] pokergod05: I know you dont know me or anything, but mind if i ask why you wont give me a shot bro?
[16:28] lrgeenen: I work and deal in live poker. There are always people asking to be staked. If I want to put someone in a game, it’s myself.
[16:29] pokergod05: so u wont help me out and send like 5$ to start up playing online(it takes 2 seconds, “requests” then “transfer money”)
[16:30] lrgeenen: OMG! I can’t believe you can’t take no for an answer. But the answer still is “NO”.
[16:31] pokergod05: ok
[16:31] pokergod05: u know any1 who might be interested?
[16:31] lrgeenen: nope, not right off hand.
[16:32] pokergod05: ok
[16:32] pokergod05: well if u run into some1, can u im me?
[16:37] lrgeenen: sure
[16:37] pokergod05: thanks dawg

There you have it, my friends. If any of you want to contribute to a supposedly underage person that has already learned the fine art of begging, please jump.

But on to poker in the real world: While dealing a four handed (two walkers) $80-160 H, Must Move game, one of the strangest incidences I’ve ever experienced with Barry S. happened. Barry walked up to the table and asked what we were playing, question answered, he enthusiastically stated, “I want to play!”

He sat right down, took the blind, the brush person went for his chips, Roger E., on Barry’s right handed Barry a stack to play on until his chips arrived, the bet was raised, and Barry called. Barry and the 2s were heads-up. The Flop: 7-7-5. I honestly can’t remember what the action was on the Flop or the Turn that brought an 8.

A King popped off on the River, Barry bet, the 2s raised, Barry called, and Barry’s chips arrived at the same time.

The 2s turned up 5-5 with something like, “I can’t beat a bigger full house.”

Barry looked like someone let the air out of him. He shuffled his cards for half a second, jumped up and started putting his chips in a rack as he stated something to the effect that he wasn’t playing with assholes.

The 2s said, “If I said something wrong, I’m sorry.”

Barry kept stacking and continued to look at the table and the chips he was racking up.

The 2s asked, “Would you tell me what I did?”

Barry left.

The 2s specifically asked me if he’d done anything wrong. I told him, “No.”

Roger said, “Maybe it’s because I said, ‘Welcome to the game!'”

What just happened there? I’m still surprised by the whole thing. Barry’s been around the tables a long, long time. Maybe he just got knocked out of the tournament or something else was going on in his life before he joined the table.

One of the “walkers” returned and the game went on. Jim M. was playing on Table 4 and I overheard him say, “None of you noticed. I’ve been quiet for 63 minutes.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. Usually the only time he’s quiet is when he’s got a bet with someone or he’s threatened by the floor that he has to be quiet or leave the game. He came by my game, stopped to chitty-chat with the players in general, “What are you playing here?” and a few other queries.

I said, “Hey Jim, I heard you were quiet for 63 minutes,” and I started laughing.

He waited until I pushed the pot, then leaned across the table – yes, he’s tall and lean – and did a mock smooch on my face…damn, his stubbly growth is scratchy, and then acted like he snatched some chips out of the pot I pushed. He held up his hand, claiming to have snagged two chips and no one even knew it. Funny guy!

My work week was over…E/O on Thursday and Friday after dealing a few hours each night, Saturday’s Pan Game – at my house – played poker so Dave could deal to us, and tomorrow will find me back at Bellagio. C U there!