Last night found me dealing a Satellite with Erik S. and Mike M. seated next to each other. Erik asked if I was the one with the website…yes. We had a little exchange back and forth on what did it cost me to run the site, did people, including management mind my writing about the game, Bellagio, and them. Erik is a very calm, easy to deal to player…no steaming there…it’s the first time he’s ever really spoken to me about anything away from the play of the game and I enjoyed the exchange.

Erik had a humorous smile on his face when he looked at Mike and told Mike I wrote about him.

I emphatically said, “I love Mike. He’s defended me against a few of the high limit ghouls that want to punish me just because I deal.”

Mike agreed that that’s one reason he hates to come in and play, the grim faces of the players and the fact that they attack the dealer when they’re losing. He said he’d rather play online. When Mike’s on a ‘down rush’, he says things like, “I’m just an empty chair.”

Meaning that he’s never a contender to win a pot. While in the sense that he’s losing isn’t funny, the fact that he views his position in that manner is.

No damn it!…this isn’t negative. A lot of things in life are so sad and ugly, you couldn’t stand the day in, day out, if you didn’t find some humor in the situation and laugh. Look at Red Skeleton, even though he injured himself falling down, show after show, people always laughed at his act. Ok, I’m past that now.

From Mike’s side of the story, he ‘used’ to be a poker player. I believe he still is and knows it…he’s just in his ‘blue funk’ mode.

Three more satellite downs and I was off to table 1 where they were playing $50-$100 Blind, Pot Limit Omaha. No sugar in this game…the only friendly face at the table was Ben R., always a pleasure to see him in any game I’m moving into. They were all arguing and hounding each other. Eskimo was walking when I sat down, Ming (comes to town upon occasion) was playing over another stack of chips…total noise and confusion…chips slamming into the pot, one player all-in heads up, both players had their chips out on the table, three players demanded, “Just deal, don’t worry about the change!”

Another player said, “Give him back his change!”

As I tapped the table and burned to put up 4th Street, I said, “Alright you guys, some of you want me to give him change, some of you want me to deal. Make up your minds.”

They clammed up but it was momentary. Sammy F. was sitting across from me in the 5s. He was the small blind and elected to call $50 more when it came around to him. He threw out a $500 chip and started reaching for his own change from the pot. I grabbed his hand and said, “I’ll make the change.”

He shrugged, looked at me as if I’d lost my mind, and asked, “What difference does it make?”

I countered with, “If nine of you are reaching into the pot, how will I ever know what’s going on in the game and what’s in the pot?”

He tolerates me…sometimes even smiles at me. Most of the dealers have a very hard time dealing to him because he has his little tizzes and sizzles over anything and everything. But if you just get past his explosions, he’s not that bad. He’s the post from last year in the Diary that Carmen found tape to put across his mouth because he had a bet with one of the players that he would be quiet and leave the dealers alone. The tape is used in the slots, it reads “Out of Order” and it’s hysterical when you associate it with him. He’s out of order most of the time but is definitely part of the tapestry of poker.

They were noisy, unbearable to deal to, arguing between themselves, and another little sizzle when Ming changed his play over position by moving to another seat that was allowing him to miss paying the blinds.

When I asked if he had to post, all of them went into the “NO” like I was a retard for asking…all except Sammy. He said, “You know the rule. Of course he has to post. Don’t even ask because then you make the person that objects look bad.”

Argh!!!!! Can’t win here. I told him that everyone said “No” so he left me live through that one without continuing the lecture.

Everything changes in these games, depending on who the starting line-up is. One day they don’t have to post, the next they do. A lot more on my menu for that night but it’s time to move on, time to think about sleep.