Calico Basin is calling…

I have a hike planned – again – with the same group I was going to go with last week, same time, same station. Only this time it isn’t raining. YIPPEE!!! But I did manage to deal one hour before I hit the time clock and got ready to enjoy a three-day weekend. One of the dealers, Larry, asked me if I would switch places with him in the line-up since I was on the E/O Play list and would probably be out at 8 p.m. I was starting on 29 – decent spot for an all night shift – he was starting on 4. I thought about it, looked at the tables I would be going in to, hemmed and hawed, and finally said yes. It was a favor to him, not to me. I didn’t expect any problems with the games I was going in to deal, but normally, there just isn’t any $$ in them for a dealer and if I was going to work for one hour, I might as well make the most of it. So the trade was on. Of course Larry had to clear it with the Supervisor. He did.

The game on Table 4 was $100-200 H, nine handed, and had a lot of jamming going on in, it was a must move by the way. There were two of these little animals in the top section. When I walked up to tap the dealer out, the gent in the 1s, a good sized gent somewhere around my age, leaned back and told me that he had a ‘bad hand’ and that’s why he had his chips in the rack. It was great that he let me know because the dealer leaving didn’t say a word and I would have had to put the ‘nag’ on him about no racks allowed on the table. As he was telling me, I rubbed his shoulder for a second and laughed with, “Hey, when I play, I have a lot of bad hands.”

He took it very well and was more than great during the game. Once when George started to act blustery with me, the 1s informed me loudly that NO ONE was going to give me a bad time while he was in the game. It was really chivalrous and cute. I always appreciate help from the player’s side of the table. George, however, really can’t give me a bad time when I deal. Years ago it was a different story. Now it’s like a joke. But just for fun, let me paint the picture of what dealing these games are like at times – and this is how this one came down.

Since I’ve not been dealing much, and I’m not going through the down and out, drug out, tired eyed dealer routine, I’m really in optimum dealing form. My mechanics are always as smooth as polished glass (and they should be after all of these years), my ability to handle myself is top of the line (and that’s what it’s really all about, is how I handle myself under pressure or stress), and my ability to deal with people would rival that of the airline stewardess that takes great drugs and is ready to tackle a hijacker if need be and yet calm and soothe a terrified child or adult, clean up their barf, bring that extra blanket, stop to pleasantly smile at the 9,000,000,000 guy that thinks he’s Casanova and wants to join the “mile high club with me” when he’s really a loser and has bad breath, and last but not least, listen to the tower and be talked down to landing in a cornfield if the pilot died unexpectedly. There you have it! I’m the Cadillac of dealers. *pats self on back*

So I enter the box, “Time pot!”, as I throw a white absent button to the 2s, and look at George in the 3s with, “George, please give me $8 from that stack of chips,” and motion to the 2s. George looks at me, after a few seconds, he complies. I deal the first hand, take Time, go to the next hand, the 7s takes a walk, and seconds after she leaves, the brush is there picking up her chips because she’s next on the list to move to the main game.

The 4s inquires about taking the 7s. The hand in progress is raised pre-flop and I ask the 4s to waita moment. As I put the Flop up, I look at the 4s and tell him he can move now with no penalty. The 5s barks at me that I should “…just deal this hand!”Without batting an eye or any emotion in my voice, I say, “I am dealing this hand. I’m waiting for you to act.”

Ruh-roh! He took it without a word and called the bet. The 4s moved over. The hand finished. And as I dealt the 4s in in the 7s, the 5s queried, “Doesn’t he have to post?”

I did my best ‘airline stewardess’ soft voiced reply as I explained to him that the 4s only moved over two live players, etc. And I had the next hand in progress as I explained.

Jump ahead 15 minutes. The 2s had returned and he and the 1s were involved in a lively conversation about where they were from, who they knew, what they did there, etc. The 1s was also involved in a hand with a lot of action going on. Just as he was facing a bet, and the action came to him, he said one word. There’s a lot of noise going on and I thought he said, “Raise!” He had already said he had a bad hand and it took him two trips to bring out the chips most of the time. He set out chips for the call and then reached back to his stack but did nothing else. I asked him if he had said raise.

George barked at me, “You need to pay attention to the game!”

The 2s shook his head and started laughing, “You’re doing a great job, Linda.” He had empathy written all over his face.

I looked at George, “I am paying attention to the game.”

George, “You aren’t supposed to be eavesdropping on the conversation.”

I replied, “If I thought he said raise, I should find out before I let the action pass him.”

Answer to the question? No, the 1s didn’t say raise.

The hand finished. I looked at George as I dealt the next hand and asked, “What is you don’t like about me, George?” In a way, I was just being a little piss ant. I’d done everything perfect in the game and sometimes I think I just have to needle the needler.

George got an embarrassed, red faced fluster going, “I do like…”

The moment was over. He wanted a seat change to a seat that opened a few minutes later, won a huge pot on the last hand I dealt (by sucking out of course), and threw me a $5 toke with, “It’s about time…I haven’t won a pot…”

I thanked him, thanked the table, and moved on to $300-600 Mixed. Derick ‘Tex’ Barch was in the 2s, alone on that end of the table, and a very bright spot for me. He’s promised me an interview for the main page of PokerWorks. He’s only nine months late with that promise and he even brought it up when I went in to deal. Ralph Perry, Jimmy Warren, Frank (I do not know him), and Rafael. They changed the game to $400-800 within a few hands and Tex took a walk. Damn it! But the game was easy to deal and I was out of the line-up, ready to start my three day weekend.

My Friday was spent touching bases with Gordon and Carole Long, Vivienne, and Marie during a late lunch at the Macaroni Grill, and Marie and I met again at The Palms about an hour later to play poker and see if we could give Wayne some action as a dealer. He never dealt to us but we did visit with him since he got out of the line-up and hung around for a bit.

I had a great day. Relaxed and easy, made some $$ at the poker table and headed for home late in the night. The hike is on and I need the time staring at the beauty of the desert…g’nite poker world.