I dealt to Vinny again – first game of the night. $400-800 Mixed, O’Neil and Billy Baxter. Vinny was complaining – to the air – that he hadn’t won a pot and had the facially stressed look that made me feel my down with him was going to be HELL! It didn’t turn out that way. For the first time in my dealing career with him, he ended up winning. Good for him! I know I didn’t have anything to do with it but thankfully I didn’t have to listen to how I bad beat him when I deal to him…sure it’s my fault when he loses.

While this game was in progress Ralph Perry sat down to visit and the conversation went to the player that had collapsed the night before. To backtrack a bit, the player in the 1s that had been in conversation with him, was a Dr. Apparently when he collapsed, he was having a seizure and the good Dr. stuck a wad of $100 bills in his mouth to keep him from biting off his tongue or choking on it. A discussion pursued as to why $100’s. Vinny explained that it was the closest, safest thing to use…fingers could be bitten and damaged.

In truth, I would have never thought about stuffing $100 bills into someone’s mouth in that situation…poker is a whole different world.

No one, that I know of, has heard anything about the condition of the player after he was taken out of the room.

Moving on to $80-160, Walter, a longtime high limit player in Vegas and around the country, was in the 9s. Walter hasn’t addressed me personally in anything that wasn’t game related, (other than one time about eight months ago when he asked me if I braided my own hair), in 14 years of dealing to him. He’s never part of the conversation at any poker table, seldom says anything other than, “Raise!”

I finally got on his bad side…maybe I was there and didn’t know it but it became evident that he thought I did something to him personally.

It went like this: Button was in the 4s. Raises pre-flop. On the Turn, the 5s checked, Walter bet, the 3s called, the 5s check raised.

With a handful of chips, Walter had his arm out on the table – in the betting zone – and cut off four chips and started to drop four more. URCH! SCREECHING BRAKES! He grabbed all of his chips back and fiddled with them while his brain went into high gear.

I waited to see what he was going to do because sure as hell, as soon as I say something, I’m in hot water unless I know what the player’s move is going to be.

About 20 seconds later, repeat the same scenario with cutting off four chips and grabbing them back again…more thinking.

At this point, I said, “Walter, that’s a call.”

“W-H-A-T????” he gargled it out.

“That’s a call.”

*Disbelief*

“Wait a minute, what if I wanted to raise.”

I replied, “You cannot raise. It’s a call.”

Walter demanded, “Get a decision!”

Four players at the table made the statement, “She’s right! It’s a call.”

Walter was never giving in because I couldn’t possibly know what I was talking about even though half the table kept telling him it was the rule.

I’d already called for a decision and Nate arrived.

I explained the situation to Nate, Nate agreed that it was a call, Walter argued with him, the other players repeatedly said, “She’s right.”

Walter still argued, Nate tried to go through an explanation with Walter and the other players told Nate to just make the decision and walk away. He did.

Walter called the $160.

On the River, the 5s bet, Walter called, the 3s raised, the 5s called, and Walter threw his hand away while stating, “Linda, you just cost me money.”

Ludicrous. Then he mumbled to the air, “…they are all against me…they’re out to get me…”

I dealt. A few hands later Walter demanded a decision. I called Nate. Walter put Nate through the third degree on ‘the line’.

Time out! A definition is needed here for ‘the line’. We have new Table Covers on all of the tables, huge “Bellagio” across the center with a ‘WPT’ emblem on them…and a bright yellow line that runs around the table. A betting line? Yes and no! At this time, this line applies to NLH and Tournaments, and does not apply to regular play. Nope! I don’t have any idea why. And I don’t know how the average person coming in off of the street is supposed to know that. But that’s the way it is.

Walter’s questioning went something like this, “If I am cutting off chips, is it going to be the dealer’s discretion as to whether I’m betting or not? What about the line?”

Nate handled this exceptionally well. His reply was that at the time, the Line was used for NLH and Tournament play and when we moved back into the room, it might apply in all games (chips crossing the line would be taken as a bet or call) but until then the normal area that a player places their bet in is the zone that would decide if the player was making a bet or a call.

Walter snapped, “Well in case you don’t know it, you have one dealer in here that thinks the line is used for placing a bet.”

Nate’s reply was polite and noncommittal as he walked away. Walter took a short walk. The whole table was gaggling over the fact that Walter would think that cutting off chips wasn’t considered a call.

I was slightly in awe over the fact that Walter would think I singled him out and “I” cost him money.

Oh well…