The skies have dried up and so have my eyes. Time to settle into a few scenes from the Poker World.
Imagine my shock and complete delight while dealing the $2,000-4,000 Mixed game last week when I caught the tail end of a conversation between David G. and Eli. David told Eli, “She always has a good attitude and she runs the game.”
I’m such a silly kid, I could have gotten emotional over it. It’s tough to hear anything complimentary from them. I loved it! I didn’t know anyone in that limit ever noticed the dealer unless you made a mistake in game play or said something that one of them took in the wrong manner.
*****
I am aware of how people always manage to bend the rules to achieve their purpose but I thought this one was quite unique – even I hadn’t thought of it.
$2-5 NLH – $200 buy-in. Can’t rebuy for $200 unless you are $99 or under – can add any amount to your stack to make it $200 if you are $100 or above.
Max was in the 1s – KJ-H. Flopped a Flush – the board paired on the Turn with a Queen – the 6s went all-in with a Check Raise for around $120 over Max’s initial bet. Max had him covered but not by a lot.
The 6s showed Q-3 offsuit for a full house and won the pot, excitedly exclaiming, “I’ve been sitting here for three hours and that’s the first pot I’ve won.” Actually he’d just transferred in from another game so he must have been sitting in another one for the last three hours.
Max can be brutally sarcastic at times and as I counted down his chips, he retorted, “I’m real fucking happy for you, SIR!” *outburst of laughter from dealer and players*
Max had $43 left in front of him. He started counting out cash, tossed out a $100 and told me to give him$55 in chips. I sold him the $100 in $5 chips as I couldn’t break the $100 and no Chip Runners were within earshot and he put the other $45 into his pocket.
I dealt the next hand. Immediately he peeled off two $100 bills and threw them out to replenish his arsenal. He just skated around the rule of re-buys without breaking the rule. He now had maximum ammo and was ready to go to war. Smooth!
*****
There’s a lot to be said for dealer control…the person I was following on Friday had NONE! When I pushed into the previous NLH game with Max in the 1s – as she pushed out – she turned to me and stated, “Have fun! Half these players are retarded.”
First let me state that I hate dealer comments other than game related reports. I don’t want to hear anything else, just move out so I can move in. And I didn’t have any problem or game delays in the game with Max.
When I hit the next game – $4-8 Holdem, it was a mass mayhem kind of thing. Yup – same dealer. Mike – 10s, is Egyptian and he was discussing wars with the 6s, (a candidly friendly gent that was missing his right arm), in the Middle East. The 6s held center stage and the game slowed around his looking at his cards and his conversation.
The right half of the table were throwing rebates to each other when one of them would win a pot. The left half of the table appeared to be there in body but not in mind. The game was filled with noisy chatter and complete disruption.
I put a stop to the rebates – hey…it’s the house rule. They couldn’t figure out why none of the other dealers had said anything to them. I explained that a lot of our dealers were new and they might not know the rule and a lot of them were afraid to cost themselves a $1 toke by saying anything. They accepted the rule without a problem and most of them decided it was because the dealers were afraid of losing a buck by enforcing a rule. ’nuff said there.
The 5s was walking and I had given the second absent button to the stack of chips. At a quarter after the hour, I called for a pick up. The right half of the table jumped in, telling me the 5s was the 6s’s son and he would be right back.
Leslie appeared with a pick up envelope. They told her, include the 6s in this, that the player would be right back and he was the 6s’s son. She said ok and walked. The 6s dialed a number on his cell a few minutes later, listened, said something, hung up, and stated that his son wasn’t coming back. He reached over and slid three stacks of chips from the 5s into his own chip stacks.
I said, “You can’t take his chips.” What I should have done was called for a decision.
They were all chatter boxing, “It’s ok.” – “That’s his son.”
The 6s assured me that it was his son and it was ok. I told him I would be in trouble if the player came back and complained. He gave me the greatest smile and said it was ok, it was his son.
SHIT! About three minutes later the player appeared. He’s a regular in our room, Egyptian, not a problem player but definitely not the 6s’s son. He was a little distressed that he’d lost his seat. We already had a player for the seat that had gone to get their own chips. And the worst of it is, if the 6s had just left everything alone, the Regular would have had time to come back. Ugh!
The 6s stood behind the 5s and visited – they knew each other and there appeared to be no problem over the money, just the loss of the seat.
The right hand side of the table kept ranting over the fact that the Regular should still get the seat because the new player hadn’t taken a hand. Leslie told them she’d already given the seat away and walked. They chewed at it like a dog pack on the chase. I finally slapped the table to get their attention and told them to drop it, it was history. They did.
I got pushed within about two hands and went to find Kamell. I explained what had happened and he walked back to the table with me. Kamell spoke with the Regular and everything was OK but I screwed up. I went with the flow and allowed the 6s to take control of someone else’s chips. I knew better and I let the dog pack run me right into a corner. So…in control…up a tree with nowhere to go. I got lucky this time.