I’m on a run with readers of this page.  Mark H. was in town and I finally dealt to him.  He played the $2-$5 Blind NLH game and it was non-stop chuckle and noise from all the boys at the table.  Mark went all-in and won the pot.  He threw me a toke and said, “That’s not for the pot, Linda, that’s for bringing them off smooth and slow.” 

We both laughed.  It’s always great to see him at the table.

Justin and Ramsey were in town.  They made the trip with (I think it was) five or six other guys and they were all interconnecting at the tables, drinking a lot, and having more than their share of fun.  Ramsey promised me a trip report but time will tell on that one.  He also promised to go hiking with me one early a.m. but as luck would have it, his hand kept feeding him alcohol and he couldn’t make it.  We made another hiking date for the next time he’s in town…it’s better that way, the heat is unbearable in Vegas right now and even early a.m., it’s on the scale of Hell’s Fires magnified by five zillion as far as this night owl’s concerned.

Steve from Milwaukee sent me an email a week ago and said he’d be in town, sure enough, I welcomed a new player into a $4-$8 game and he introduced himself.  It was fun. 

I hit a $15-$30 Holdem game late in the night.  The 1s was friendly and a little chatty, the game was pretty decent, and the 4s asked if I was ‘the Linda’.  His name is Jeff…another Tango reader.  By the time I left the down, the 1s introduced himself, Louie from Boston, and he had one of my cards so he could visit this page. 

Tyler was in the room, we met about a year ago from his reading Tango, and he was finishing his play at the $2-$5 NLH game as I was finishing work.  We got a chance to visit and since he was heading out the door and needed a cab to get back to the ‘Shoe’, I gave him a ride.  We got to really visit for a change, instead of his just passing by a game I’m dealing and saying, “Hi.” 

It’s always fun to meet people that know me through my writing.  Obviously they understand a little more about me than the ‘Dealer Shirt’ point of view because they read my strange mental wanderings…so far, none of them have mentioned the fact that I should be committed.  Whew!

*****

Tonight, I dealt to the guy from Table 30, $2-$5 NLH on yesterday’s post…the guy that had the gorgeous girlfriend and he made all the noise. 

When I walked up to Table 11, he was in the 3s, with his girl behind him, and they both looked up and gave me the extremely friendly, “Hello, Linda!” 

We chuckled, while I dealt, about the game the night before.  I finally asked his name because he was so busy chatting and being the star of the show that it was hard to get his attention.  Palo.  He ended up being moved the Main Game during my down and the game quieted right down after he left. 

During this down, I ran into one of those classic happenings that just aren’t normal.  A new player sat down in the 1s.  He posted the Big Blind.  He’d given $200 to the Chip runner and we were waiting for his chips to be delivered as he got involved in the next four hands.  For some reason, this time of night on swing shift, we have one Cashier and the line is a mile long with player’s cashing out and buying chips and Chrip Runners doing Fills and Player’s Chips.   

After the first hand, the 1s owed the 9s $5.  Second hand, the 1s owed the 8s $2.  The third hand, the 1s owed the 10s $20.   Then the real corker rolled in…the 1s ended up all-in with the 6s.  GOD!  Palo was still at the table and gave the 1s two stacks when we realized the 1s was never going to get his chips in time to save me from the dreaded ‘math blues’.  Everyone got paid what was owed, the rest went into the middle and to make it all very easy, just as the Chip Runner arrived with the chips, the 1s won the pot. 

You’re right, $27 subtracted from $200 is pretty easy to figure, but what if the 1s lost that hand?  Then threw out two more $100 bills and I had to keep track of all of it along with the fact that my table bank had nothing left in it as I was waiting for a fill also…add the fact that the 1s might just be a steamer and jam up the next hand…and on and on and on!  Damn it!  I love poker and all its little twists and turns. 

If you have any NLH skills, you’re really missing the boat if you’re not playing the $2-$5 Blind game at Bellagio.  You have to see it to believe it!