I kicked myself in the gray matter, took disciplinary action against me, and decided I would work my full shifts this week, at least until Friday…then I want to allow myself the option of the E/O.

Something strange happens when I take a week or two of E/O’s or vacation or whatever it is that draws me away from sitting in the Box. Right now I’m trying to sort through it and figure out if it’s just me or if it’s something that happens in general. What the hell am I talking about? The players are all doing things they know they aren’t supposed to do and acting as if it’s a natural thing. I’m trying to figure out if they are like that all the time and it isn’t so irritating or noticeable because I’m dealing all the time and now I notice it because my butt hasn’t been glued to the chair or if they just got away with it with other dealers and got carried away with it – or what the hell!

Well here’s how it went – Monday night lasted three years and I only went through two games that were the normal kind of game I’ve grown accustomed to. Just the high spots otherwise this would take a week to read.

I started on Table 17. It was Omaha 8 or Better, Deuce to 7 Triple Draw, and 7 Stud 8 or Better. $200-400. This game is dealer brutal…no crumbs shaking loose to fall into the dealer’s pocket, just shuffle up and deal. It was eight handed when I sat down. The 4s talked continuously to the 1s about marriages, break-ups, girlfriends, kids, etc., and I had to ask for his ante every time in the Stud game. It was a pain in the…

A seat opened and Vinny jumped into it. I’ve had nothing but problems with him every time I’ve ever dealt to him…posts about him during our big tournaments. He flopped a set of Kings in Omaha 8 and lost on the River, then lost another hand and immediately he was glaring and staring at me.

I managed to make it to the last hand of my down when another seat opened. David L. sat down and some of the other players started complaining that the game was supposed to be seven handed, not eight. I called Nate to straighten it out.

While Nate was telling the players that it would be an eight handed game, David L. was asking me a question. Vinny leaped into my reply with, “There’s a dealer behind you, get out of here!”

I replied, “I was talking to him,” as I motioned at David, “I’ll listen to you next.”

Vinny was ready to explode. “Don’t talk to him, just leave.”

David and I both laughed. I exited the Dealer’s Box.

My next game was $80-160 H – it went fairly well. At the end of my down, Phil, the dealer pushing me, stood up out Table 17 with a comment to the dealer pushing him that went something like this, “You’ll deal for nothing here. They don’t care if you make any money.”

Problem was he was clearly heard at my table. As Phil walked around behind me, he had the ear of the 1s and his running babble was horrible and ran something like this. “I hope those fuckers choke to death on sawdust. It would serve them right. They don’t care if I make a living or not. Fuck them!” *continuing the rant*

In other words he didn’t make any money during that down. My question is and always has been, why would they want to tip you with an attitude like that? Not only that, a lot of players like to watch a dealer squirm, so why let them know you even thought about it?

I left the room on a break. Phew! *escape hatch*

My next two games were $10-20 NLH. The second one is the one that got me. Jimmy T. was in the 7s. He can be so brutally demanding and bossy at times and he likes to put a dealer in their place…as in the player’s the boss.

He was the SB and called $10 more – it was heads-up with him and the BB. After I put the Flop up, Jimmy asked the BB if he chopped. “Yes!”

I dropped the deck, pushed them back their $20 and told them that the next time they needed to make their chopping deal before the Flop was up. Jimmy got pushy and mouthy. I simply stated that there were no chopping deals in this game.

Jimmy pushed it. He said I should just push the pot to him and he would give the other guy back his money. It was already over, I was shuffling the deck, as I replied, “There are no rebates allowed in this game.”

Jimmy was about to bounce off of his chair with irritation. “Give me some chips,” he demanded from the guy next to him, just trying to prove the point that they could pass chips.

I almost laughed. Instead I said, “You should be upset with me if I don’t do my job, not when I’m doing it the way it’s supposed to be done.”

The sizzle stopped.

But I was never going to get out of there alive. Jimmy took a walk to smoke. His wife, (sweater), had been sitting behind him. He hadn’t missed a blind and was dealt in. His wife jumped in and looked at his hand. No one said anything because this is standard with them, since he plays almost everyday, it’s difficult to think this would be an unusual circumstance.

Amazingly – after she called $20 – Jimmy returned, she stood up and Jimmy sat down to take control of the hand. I said, “That won’t work. She has to play the hand.”

Jimmy stood up, waved at me like I was a flea he was dismissing, she sat down, and I put up the Flop.

Not one player at the table said a word which leads me to believe this has happened before and the dealer never stopped it. One played said he didn’t mind. DIDN’T MIND!!!! I must be losing my mind. What poker room in the world allows that?

It was the perfect trap for the 1s. He flopped two pair. Jimmy’s wife flopped a King High Straight with J-10. She checked, the 1s bet $250, she acted like she was thinking about it and Jimmy jumped on me, “If she loses this pot, it’s your fault.”

I replied, “It’s your fault for coming back.”

On the Turn the 1s went all-in for about $700, she auto called. She made a higher straight on the River. The 1s left the game, I pushed all the chips to Jimmy’s seat as he sat down and started stacking.

I was getting pushed.

Jimmy, “She’s getting your tip. She’s taking it with her!” as he stared at me, referring to his wife.

I pulled the deck together and retorted, “I don’t give a shit about the tip. I am going to do my job.”

He threw me a $5 toke. Go figure!

There’s more but I’m dragging…that’s what working those eight hour shifts does for me. More tomorrow.