Sha-zam! Poker to the ‘nth’! The Poker Pit is incredible. While those that play a certain limit or game may think there isn’t much going on, it’s totally crazy. Remember that all of those $4-8 Holdem players are the single celled beginning of an $80-160 player in the future. What they are doing now, they won’t be doing in the future and that – mainly – is explaining their reasoning through the play of a hand…”I had to give you ?? but I knew that if I raised, you’d put me on ??, and if you raised back then I’d…”
It just goes on and on and on…explanation poker and poker school all wrapped into one little session – table to table – hour after hour.
It’s nothing to see this type of hand develop: Flop Q-8-4, Turn a 7, River a Jack and one person shows K-3 Offsuit, another player wins the pot with 9-8 Offsuit, and another player just throws their hand away without showing.
In one of these games tonight, eight players called three bets pre-flop. As the last player called the last $4, he asked, “Anyone else want to get in this hand?”
I declared, “Yes! I’m going to deal myself two cards and call.” *laughter*
You can’t ask for better action anywhere in the world. I hear stories of action in L.A. – that may be true – but over all we have it all…any limit…any game.
*****
The room remodel goes on. The eternal questions about Wynn go on. My thought? Who cares? We are the World Poker Tour. We kicked it off. We have the WPT Championship Event. We host all the games, tournaments, and have some of the best dealers in the world with all the ‘name brand players’ in the world. Everyone eventually comes to Bellagio. Go ahead and try other games and other places but you’ll always come back to us.
*****
Last week I hit the $10-20 NLH game late in the night. Something had happened earlier. The Brush and the Supervisor were over talking to several players twice within about a half an hour -an hour before I got there. As I waited to push into the game, they were back again…somehow vaguely filtering through the fog in my head, I heard something pertaining to the fact that Lee – 5s, had over paid the 3-s in a hand that happened sometime before. Hello Cameras! The 3s repaid Lee and left the game.
I sat down…collected Time…the game went on. Lee had been drinking. I think he’s disarmingly cute, can be quite pensive when he’s losing, entertaining when he’s had a bit to drink and has chips in front of him – definitely the latter on this occasion.
Toward the end of my down, Lee and the 6s were involved in a hand – about $240 in the pot – and Lee suggested they chop it. I firmly stated, “No split pots.”
Lee bet around $60 and told me just to push the pot to him. The other player folded. I pushed the pot. Lee started splitting it up. As he pushed half of it to the 6s, I said, “You guys can’t chop pots and I’m going to rat you out!”
Hey…how could I say it or put it anymore bluntly than that?
Lee just nodded like he knew it was coming and still gave half the pot to the 6s. I called for a decision. Carmen appeared. I related the circumstances. She asked me who the two players were, I told her the 5 and 6s. She informed them it was a serious infraction and they would be dealt out if it happened again. It was sort of hysterical the way Lee just bobbed his head in acknowledgement and never flinched or blushed.
About two hands later, along about fifth street, Lee slammed out and counted out five stacks of chips – three stacks had five chips in them and two had four chips in them. He reached back and grabbed two more chips and added them to the short stacks. I tossed the two chips back to him and he said, “Five hundred!”
I said, “You didn’t say anything and you can’t reach back for more chips.”
He still had the same demeanor he had with Carmen…he knew what was going on and he really wasn’t trying to take a shot but it’s sure funny to watch the boys play in the Sandbox sometimes.
I got pushed a few hands later and he exclaimed, “Thank you, Linda!”
I couldn’t help but chuckle as I replied, “You’re welcome, Lee!”
*****
The more sobering side of life – my young friend, Jason. He leaves for San Diego this a.m. He will spend 10 weeks there undergoing rehabilitation to learn how to care for himself. I went to see him Sunday night at UMC. He’s such a beautiful child. He visited with me in a very raspy voice as he held my hand and talked to me about his return and how we would get together…he’s right, we will.
I met his mother, Jan, and spent some time visiting with her as she walked out to the parking lot with me. She’s undergoing her own stress level – chemotherapy! Jason is her baby. Life is hard!
A few million times in my life I’ve thanked God that I’m healthy and able to take care of my life and those I cherish. Today I had a conversation with my younest son, Darian. I told him that I really had won the lottery – I was born a millionaire. There’s no question that great genetics and health are the best part of life.