I spent the last two nights playing on shift…dealing about an hour each night before taking the player’s side/seat at the table. Truthfully I’m in shock at how bad some of the new dealers are. While I understand that they come in from other places and some of them may just deal tournaments, it’s almost scary to have them in charge of the game. If they have any dealing experience at all, some things are just common sense…like if a guy moves over two seats and a player that posted both Blinds now leaves, the guy that just moved CAN’T HAVE the Button! We do have a Dead Button Rule at Bellagio for hell’s sake. That’s pretty standard in most houses that run big tournaments. There’s a lot more but I don’t have the time or the energy to sound off about it right now.

During my playing sessions, one thing has become totally magnified in my thoughts…the new player…God bless their little chip throwing hearts…never put you on anything. Not because they are trying to, they aren’t thinking of anything but their hand and the possibility they might make a pair.

I got the usual set of Aces cracked off on the River by a gutter, gutter straight, and flopped a ‘Big Duke’ three other times and got them all beat by a gutshot straight on the River. Not whining. Just making a note to myself that these people have the imagination it takes to make these hands and we definitely want them there trying to make these hands.

One hand that really sticks out in my thoughts is when I had just played the Button in the 2s and moved to the 8s. I was sitting next to Tom, long time 7 Card Stud/Holdem player from the Mirage days. Tom popped it up with K-K. I folded and watched the ‘imagination theory’ unfold.

The 2s was a young kid and had posted to take a hand. He held Q-J off-suit. The Flop was K-7-5 rainbow. Not to worry, an Ace on the Turn and a 10 on the River gave him the pot…and he was fading a bet every step of the way. A few of the other new players tried to give me the ‘you left that seat’ raspberry. Damn right I did. If I hadn’t, I would have NEVER made that straight…but why explain it to them.

Yup! I left a winning seat alright. Unfortunately I would never have played the seat as well as he did because he has a much better imagination than I do.

*****
A $4,000-$8,000 game bloomed in the middle of the low limit section. It was huge for all the ‘tv’ fans. It started with Chau, Sammy F., and Phil I. Later it filled up with Eli E., Barry G., Johnny Chan, Ted F. Doyle was in and out and may have played in it too but since I was playing instead of dealing I didn’t pay much attention. It was google and gawk for everyone around them and on the rail.