Sometimes the nights just blur into one long poker hand, nothing eventful or noisy happens, and I just blissfully deal my way through the shift. Not so tonight. I oft times have to figure that when I’m having an unusually difficult time with game control and problems with bad behavior in a game, it’s because the dealer I’m following did nothing to settle everyone down and get the damn thing moving. That’s exactly what I believe happened in a $15-30 H game in the first few hours of my night. Fuck was the key word in this game when I sat down. Cards were zinging back and forth, along with a few barbed and just plain blatant comments on someone’s play. I hate that!

It took a few minutes to get these kids to mind their manners and most of them were angry. Why? Unknown to me and I figure it’s their problem anyway. They could always go home if they’re having such a horrible time at the card table. Not all, but most of them were just – in general – grouchy and crabby and it was towards each other.

The 5s, after making numerous obnoxious statements to everyone in general and no one in particular, demanded that I get the cocktail waitress for him…even though it wasn’t phrased quite like that, his tone demanded. I called for cocktails. Within 30 seconds, he looked at me and snorted out the fact that he wanted a drink. I called for cocktails again and this time one of our servers came over and took the table’s order.

He went all-in and lost the hand. As I brought the cards out of the Shuffle Master, I asked if he’d like a hand. He arrogantly replied, “No. But I’m going to sit here and wait for my drink before I leave this…*a few seconds of silence*…wonderful place.”

The 1s informed me that the 5s couldn’t sit there if he wasn’t going play. Yup, it’s my first day on the job. And thank you kindly, Sir, for letting me know that. I ignored 1s and asked the 5s if he was finished playing. The 5s said he was done and sat there. I called the seat open. I can’t help but chuckle over this guy’s attitude and the fact that he was staying in that seat ’til hell froze over to get that drink. He really acted like he was angry with everyone at the table and they owed him something.

A few minutes later, Boba arrived with a new player and asked where the open seat was. I opened my hand towards the 5s. Still the guy looked like he couldn’t believe we were asking him to vacate the premises. He finally got up and loitered by the table for his drink, leaving after he got it. The game ran a little more smoothly after that and they settled in to play poker. I got pushed.

I hit ‘the hill’ (the name given, by dealers, to the raised section and high limit at Bellagio). Table 4 was four handed, Lee – 1s, Lenny Martin – 2s, Cyndy Violette – 7s, Joel – 8s, playing Razz and Deuce to 7, $75-150 limit. This game was pretty uneventful but funny with Joel making a lot of noise. I think he’s funny and that’s the key word here…what “I” think. You’d have to be there to appreciate it because telling it would never do justice to Joel and his loony conversations that he has with himself as the main audience.

At one point Cyndy asked Joel what he did. His reply, “I sleep. *pause* And I play poker.”

Joel gave Sam G. heat one night – for me – a few years ago, when they were playing heads-up and Sam got on my case for calling the low card (and that’s exactly what I’m supposed to do) but Sam was being sarcastic and mean that night…not when Joel finished with him though. So that’s another reason I appreciate Joel.

My next game was where the shit hit the fan, Table 5 – $400-800 Mixed. Jimmy G. – 1s, Kian – 2s, Yen – 4s, Shuen – 5s, Mike W. – 7s. I dealt Deuce to 7 about ten minutes into my down. Kian and Yen went to war before the draw, raising each other until Kian was all-in. That’s the key word in this hand – all-in.

On the first draw, Kian drew two and Yen drew one.

On the second draw, Kian drew two and Yen rapped ‘pat’.

Kian looked at his hand, pitched two and Yen sat there with his hands over his cards. I burned, and as I dealt Kian his two cards, he was asking Yen, “What do I have to beat?”

Yen picked up his hand and looked at it to show Kian, and exclaimed, “Oh shit!” and threw the 5 of Clubs face up on the table.

I asked, “You’re drawing one?” with disbelief in my voice.

Yen said, “Yes.”

Kian went ballistic. His stance was that the Burn was off and Yen couldn’t draw a card. Yen said he’d done nothing and he needed a card (he’d discovered he held a Flush). It got incredibly noisy, Kian was extremely verbal, and adamant that Yen could not draw once the Burn was off. Yen was holding his ground that he could draw as he’d done nothing (as in tapping the table or declaring).

Funny part of the whole thing was that Skip was standing right behind me with a Fill for my rack. He was the Brush for that section. I asked him for a decision, explaining what happened. Not to worry, Kian cut right into that conversation. Skip said he didn’t know the answer and would need Nate. Nate was standing a few feet away and I called him over.

The conversation from the players at my table went on and on. Amazingly no one even knew what had happened except Kian, Yen, and me – so much for player observation. One of the players asked why Kian and Yen didn’t just split the pot. Kian refused. He had Yen beat if Yen wasn’t allowed to draw.

Nate came over. I explained what happened again, in painstaking detail because Kian was hot under the collar and demanding over and over that Yen couldn’t draw because the Burn was down. Finally Nate decided he couldn’t make the decision either, he would have to get Jason, the shift supervisor.

While we waited for Jason, Joel (from the game I just left) called over and asked if we wanted him to make the decision. I would have laughed but this was not a laughing matter.

Jason arrived, by now the hand was in about the eighth or ninth minute. I explained what had happened. Yen reinforced his position that he’d done nothing – as in not tapped the table or said anything – and he should be allowed to draw. Kian continued to verbalize the fact that the Burn was off. After some deliberation and listening to everyone, Jason made the decision that Yen could draw and left the area. I gave Yen a card and he won the pot.

Kian went even more ballistic. He accused Yen of taking a shot and stated that he wanted Doug (Poker Room Manager) called. The conversation went round and round as the next hand started. Kian took a walk. The conversation turned to the fact that if Kian hadn’t asked Yen what Kian had to beat, Yen would never have noticed that he had a Flush and Kian would have won the pot without an argument.

Jason came back a few minutes later and quietly told Yen that he would run the security tape and if something showed up on the film, Jason would ask Yen to give the money back to Kian. Yen said, “Ok,” and once again told Jason he’d done nothing, like check or make a move to signify that he wasn’t drawing.

Kee-rist! There was so much going on that I dropped the deck on the Turn in Omaha 8 or Better with two players still in the hand. Fortunately for me, I always drop the deck intact, on top of the muck cards. Yen and Mike were the two players and they were all right with me just picking up the deck and dealing the last card.

Finally…I got pushed. According to reports I heard later, Jason saw something in the playback of the tape and did ask Yen to give the pot to Kian. Yen did.

My report: This hand is one of those freaky things that just NEVER happen. One of the key facts is that all the betting took place before the draw. Once Yen has stood pat on the second draw, since he’s not facing a bet or a raise, there’s no reason for me to believe that he’s going to draw on the third draw with Kian still drawing two cards. If Kian hadn’t asked what he had to beat, Yen would have held his hand until Kian completed his draw and turned over his cards. And Yen would have turned over a wheel in Clubs – much to his own surprise.

It all boils down to dealer error. I should have gone to Yen and made him rap pat or draw before delivering Kian’s cards. I just fell into the ‘assume’ role and coupled with Kian’s hasty query and the compounded craziness of the hand…well…ugh!

The rest of the night? A slice of pie and I was rolling down the highway for home by 3 a.m.