He’s back. I knew he would be. He can’t walk away from it now. He has to find out why it torments his thoughts, why he hasn’t beaten the game, why it’s an intangible puzzle that keeps spinning through his mind…
Andy’s in the room and in the game. I made it a point to go directly to his table, #3, and say “Hi,” when I came in for work tonight. He was playing Chip R. and I really like Chip’s table presence and attitude also, so I said hello to both of them. Andy was courteous, as always, he stood up when I walked up to the table and visited with me for a moment. I appreciate Chip here also because he didn’t act like I was invading territory that I shouldn’t be in.

I left them to find out where I was going in the line-up and after checking my start for the night, they were just a few hours ahead…if they played that long.

My first game was $1-$5 7 Card Stud…hard to believe that in a few hours I’d be dealing $20,000-$40,000 Holdem, right?

The game on Table 1 was $20-$20 Pot Limit Holdem. These boys had left the art of poker far behind and drifted into the art of conversation. I laughed during the down because of quirky comments that were made but the game was not what I’d term a rammer or a jammer. It needed a fuel injection and that just was not going to happen. I got pushed.

The game on Table 2 was $800-$1,600 Mixed. David G. – 1s, Gus H. – 2s. Chau G. – 3s, Ralph P. – 4s, Jennifer – 5s, Daniel N. – 6s, Shaun S. – 7s, Doyle B. – 8s. When I sat down, the conversation rampaged around cookies…yes, cookies. David and Doyle were interested in a particular kind of cookie carried in the gift shop…they had sent several people over to buy it for them and no one found it.

The action went on around the discussion of cookies. They were gambling. Or rather the person raising wasn’t gambling, they person calling them was…or was it the other way around?

After they got their cookies, Chau asked Doyle for some and Doyle threw the whole bag to Chau…it ‘splatted’ onto the table and a cookie crumb explosion occurred! Cookie crumbs everywhere in front of Chau. As Chau picked up the bag and munched, I called Carmen for a Brush…someone said we needed a vacuum instead of a brush. True!

I moved right into Table 3, Andy and Chip. A whole new table presence for Andy…no ear plugs and ear covers, sitting where he’s facing his opponent. He’s wearing sunglasses…not all bad. He still waits when it’s his turn to act…stops completely and waits for a moment/few seconds before he does anything. Personal opinion? I think this is very good. He’s not making any rash moves. It could really play in his favor at some point if he jumps and stumbles his bet in haste…now his opponent would think he has the ‘world’s fair.’

He PLAYED the game. He raised, bet, held his ground. One hand he obviously felt that he’d gotten a ‘beat’ on and he never behaved badly with it, although Chip took a 6-4 offsuit and carved out a straight on the River. Over all, he was aggressive and moved the game, rather than sitting there like a stump, hoping that he’d draw a card.

He was tired and quit about $100,000 up for the night. Not a big win in that limit, but he wanted to start his first day winner and he’s an early riser. He’s supposed to meet Chau tomorrow around 9 a.m.