“Hello darkness, my old friend, I’ve come to talk to you again…” Simon and Garfunkel – this song keeps drifting back into my thoughts when I least expect it, pulling me away from the heat and noise of the world around me, and the harshness of dealing with ‘some’ people. I know it’s just me. I have a very difficult time being around people at times. Hah! You’re thinking that can’t be so. After all, I’m in the center of the poker universe and what could be better? It’s true, I am in the center of the poker universe, I live it, eat it, play it, deal it, talk it, breathe it, sleep it, think it, plan a lot of my life around it, write about it, and I could say I ‘shit it’ also but I don’t. I never get it out of my system. People get on my nerves though. Yet how can I have poker without people? Umnhhh! A quandary for sure. Perhaps that’s why the song keeps floating through, tickling my thoughts, pulling me away.

Before the song could help me escape from this situation, I was in it up to my eye teeth. A little background: I was in a rollicking $4-8H game, everyone was laughing, especially Joe in the 4s. I was in 2s, Bill was in the 1s, and everyone behaved like someone was forcing laughing gas right out of the overhead vents in a long, steady stream. It was a great game and a lot of fun.

Sharon Gilbert came in as our dealer. She can ruin a good game – although she’s a good dealer and does her job well – because of the way she responds to players and the fact that she continues to force a point home when it’s way over with and should be buried…besides somewhere in the player’s head. But in this particular case, she had them all roaring, and she played to the tune of the band. It was hysterical and I was laughing out loud along with everyone else. I thought Joe was going to fall out of his chair several times as he buried his face in the green felt and roared.

Our next dealer was Ken. Ken is quick to temper and I believe was a floor man somewhere else before he came to Bellagio to deal. I’ve no had problems with him before, but man, I do now.

I was on the Button. On the River, with four players in front of him that hadn’t acted, the 10s fired out an $8 bet. Ken pushed it back and told him it wasn’t his turn. The action started over with the SB – he elected to bet $8. Everyone folded to the 10s who now stated that he was going to raise. I was in the hand, and the River card made me two pair, and the most important part of the whole thing is that I honestly didn’t think the 10s could raise. I thought he was obligated to leave the $8 in the pot since he had acted out of turn. I said so. Ken argued that he could raise if he wanted. I said, “No he can’t. Action out of turn is the action.”

Ken leaned back in his chair and yelled for a decision. We waited longer than we should have to wait but Dave finally appeared. Ken explained the situation and Dave said the 10s could only call. He did. I did. I lost. Oh well.

I really didn’t notice that Ken’s right eye must have been twitching out of his head by now. I say his right eye because I was on his left in the 2s. I most certainly would have seen the left eye jerk thingey going on.

Kamell came by the game and motioned to me that I could clock out. I looked at a few more hands and then left my chips on the table and headed for the time clock. I spoke to Kamell about what had happened with the out of turn bet. After explaining it, Kamell told me that I was wrong, the 10s could raise. We did a little tête-à-tête as I argued with him – telling him that I’d had floor men make that exact decision over the years, just like Dave did, and just like I thought the rule was. (No, none of Bellagio’s dealers have a rule book or access to one).

Kamell and I went to the office, he pulled out the ‘new and revised rule book’ and sure enough, if the action changes to the player, they can do whatever they want, including fold.

Umnhhh! I’m assuming that if they caused action behind them, their action would have to stand as it originated but I didn’t get that far in to it. I told Kamell that I needed to apologize to Ken, and let him know I was wrong on my understanding of the rule. I clocked out and returned to my game. Except that Ken was in the next game by now.

I knew I would be long gone before he got a break. I walked up behind him, touched his back, and said, “I owe you an apology. I just went over the rule with Kamell and you are right.”

He was so loud, he could be heard three tables away, he looked straight ahead and exclaimed, “Action out of turn is the action unless the action changes.”

I admit to being rather startled by his outburst. I said, “I don’t need a lecture. I came to apologize.”

In the same tone and level of volume, he declared, “I don’t need a DEALER in the game telling me what to do.”

Now…a teensy bit of steam was coming out of my ears and my words were tipped with acid. “So…if I’m in a game, facing action, I’m not a player. I’m a dealer?”

He never slowed down, “I don’t need you to tell me what to do.”

As I moved away, I said, “Well, all I can say is I’m sorry.”

In truth, I’m sorry in more ways than one. Really sorry that he’s such an egotistical, arrogant buffoon, and sorry that I have to continued to work with him.

The following night, as I was back in a game, he was around my table three to four different times, speaking to people at the table next to me, and obviously knew I was there. He also obviously feels that I am now the enemy…oh wait…I can’t be because I’m not a player – I’m a damn dealer so that means…umnnn…what?

A few hours later, he came to deal my game. I took a walk. I absolutely refuse to look at him in the box for half an hour. And more so, if he pushed me a pot, I refuse to do what I would like to do and not toke him, but if I do that, I make myself look bad simply because I work there. It’s easier to take all the stress out of my life in that situation and just get up and mill around for a half hour. ’nuff said there.

“Hello darkness, my old friend,…”

*****

Ok kids – 600,000,000 jumpers needed on July 20th. Don’t take my word for it – take theirs!

*****