Thursday night – last week – I dealt in THE Bobby Baldwin Room. It really is beautiful. Three wood framed, glass entry doors comprise the walls and wrap the room in privacy with a view. The center door is the main entrance into the room and the other two are sliding doors. The lighting is gently subtle and lends an air of mystery to the quiet surroundings…an oasis in the middle of the action – an oasis that is the center of the highest action in the world. Two poker tables and room for relaxed seating tend to give the room an air of more than just gaming. Pictures of a few of our players hang from the ceiling, about six inches away from the walls…commemorating what we are all about…poker.

But when I hit Table 1 – in that room, I was not relaxed and comfortably serene. The game was $2,000-4,000 Mixed. I missed dealing this game for almost a month…no, silly, I didn’t miss it…I mean I skated around it in the line-up every night. It was time for the Line-up Fairy to find my name somewhere in the hat and shoot me through the game. So be it!

1s – Todd. 2s – Jennifer. 3s- Eli. 4 and 5s – open. 6s – Minh. 7s – Chau. 8s – Johnny C.

Johnny had his chips down, walking, and hadn’t taken a hand yet. I dealt Deuce to 7 Triple Draw. The chips went back and forth – except for Minh, he never got involved in anything while I was dealing…although he did talk to me a few times and I nodded as he chattered.

Eli was a teensy bit ‘salty’ with me because he won the first hand I dealt and then proceeded to lose each one after that. He’s never mean to me but he does lose his patience at times and it was speeding away on the back of the last hand I dealt. He snipped cards down the table once. Made a comment like, “I know she’s going to deal me like that.”

I just shut up and deal. He gets over it.

I dropped the deck after the second draw in one hand in which it was Todd and Eli heads-up. Thank Heaven I always do the same thing the same way when I’m dealing…the deck is in a relaxed, retrievable stub with the cap card on top of it. They never even blinked when I picked the stub back up and told them I’d call the Floor if there was any question in their minds…unison, “Deal!

Johnny had taken his seat by now and was being dealt in. Another player sat down in the 5s and in the BB. I announced the game change to Omaha 8 or Better – twice. The new player posted and I had dealt the first round and started the second round of cards when Eli and Jennifer both jump started with something like, “He can’t be dealt in. This is a six handed game,” as they were both starting to push their cards in like it was a misdeal.

I said, “It’s Omaha 8 or Better.”

Chau said, “Leave the dealer alone.” *TKS, Chau.*

I finished the hand. Todd shut the door to the room and it felt strange to be isolated in a poker oasis in the middle of the poker world. Someone said it was like playing in a home game and Chau said it sure was, he played against the same players everyday. *laughter*

I didn’t laugh. I was too busy trying to concentrate on chips flying, cards, the game, and wishing it was 3 a.m. Just as I was finishing my down, Sammy F. waltzed through the door and started negotiations to change the game and add PLO and raise the stakes to $3,000-6,000. They were still arguing as I left the room.

As I left the table, Chau threw me a Greenbird. ***Double TKS, Chau***

My next game was PLH up ‘on the hill’ – it’s beautifully enclosed with glass panels and wood also. Lee S. and three other players – they were talking about Sammy F. Apparently he had just left that game and sort of blown it apart although he was pretty big loser in it according to them.

My last game was Mixed $300-600, four handed. I think this is funny…maybe not but it struck me as so. Yen lost a hand and pitched his cards too hard. One of them slid off on the floor almost under Ritchie’s foot. Ritchie picked it up and handed it to me. Our policy is to count the deck down when a card hits the floor.

I immediately started counting it. Lenny was in the 2s. His conversation went something like this, “You don’t have to count the deck down, Linda. The shuffle master does it.”

I kept counting.

More persistent, “Do you understand what I’m saying?”

I closed my eyes, nodded yes, and kept counting.

He kept it up, “You don’t have to count the deck.”

I was done by now, put the deck in the shuffle master and took out the other one, cut and dealt, with, “I haven’t heard that ruling yet.”

He replied, “You just did.”

I just chuckled. Whether or not he’s dead serious, he comes across that way.

I got pushed a few hands later. Eli, either taking a break from the $2,000-4,000 or cashed out and ready to go, was visiting with Lenny. When I walked by him, he was laughing, “And the way she deals me…” motioning towards me as he turned to walk off.

I demanded, “Get back here!”

He turned around and came right back. I asked, “Who the hell is playing those hands?”

We were both laughing as I escaped for the night.

Another day in paradise…