That’s what I hear in a variety of forms from people that I cross paths with. And the answer is, “A zillion things. Quadmillions of things are happening every second,” or “Life. Life is going on.” There really are too many things to list in any one person’s life, and mine seems to cross with a lot of people. How could I possibly relate everything that happens in the scope of even a few hours, let alone the last few weeks or a month? I can’t. I occasionally direct people here, telling them they can always catch up with me if they read here, otherwise I don’t have the time to sit and tell all to a bunch of different people. And right now, I have some background to fill in, this isn’t even all the high spots because some of it isn’t to be publicly aired, but it’s what the majority of readers here will relate to so here it is…rolled into a nice little package…presented by none other than me.

I spent my week signing the E/O-Play list at work. But that’s not a news flash. I’ve quit trying to talk myself into taking a night through Dealer Land. Of the four nights I worked, I had to sit in the box for only an hour on each night, Thursday night it was split into two different sets. Monday and Tuesday nights were spent in $8-16 Holdem and the games are too good to believe. The first night I won a little over $200, starting off getting beat in three hands by one or two cards outs on the last card. I thought it was going to be a disaster but I knuckled down and played through it. Tuesday night was not a disaster but it turned out being hard on my pocket book. I lost around $130 and could never put anything together in five hours of playing, although the game was great.

Wednesday I played $4-8 and that game was beyond belief. Within two hours I was over $230 winner and off the clock…Monday and Tuesday I was on the clock for over five hours – that in itself is amazing. I’ve been running about five hours a week on clock time. Marie came in and played with me that night. There were new faces everywhere in the lower limits and I love it. As far as higher limit, there may have been new faces there too but since I wasn’t in it, I really didn’t pay attention to it.

Thursday night was a little bit of a horse of a different color, I was in a game by 6:15 p.m. when I hit the room. Marie came in shortly after that. When I first got my seat, the 2s was open, I set my chips down, the 4s barked, “I want that seat!”

I said ok. The 4s deals somewhere in town. She’s horribly abrasive with her comments and questions. They never come off as being gentle or friendly, they are in the form of commanding interrogation and just playing poker with her makes me very tired. She and her guy were stuffing down a batch of greasy fries that were in a container on a chair that was pulled up to make do as a side table. When she moved, they moved the chair also and put it directly into the walk way where no one could pass. He stood hovering, still cramming down fries and she did the same. I did suggest that they might want to move the chair to the other side of her so people would have access through the narrow opening – that was no longer an opening as it was damned up with the chair and his body. They took it like I asked for a loan out of their community bankroll. NO. They would move it if it bothered someone. Hey…ok!

I shut up and unracked my chips. Marie came in and got her seat, the 1s was open. I asked the dealer for the 2s if it opened because Marie and like to try and visit while we beat each other up at the poker table.

About 15 minutes into play, the 2s – out of nowhere – barked, “Are you on the clock?”

It was so unexpected my head snapped up, “No…but what difference does it make?”

She retorted, “I just wondered.”

I quietly asked, “Why would you even bring it up to everyone else?”

She JUST WONDERED.

She was up for a table change, got one, and when she left, she warned the 3s to “…be careful. You hear what I’m telling you? Just be careful.” Umnhhh…sounds ominous as hell. The 3s was up for a transfer too and soon left us. Good. The game was a rocker. The 5s was filled with a super bundle of energy named Chad. We had a great time visiting and ribbing each other. His friend Justin was in the 10s and occasionally he joined in the show. Chad and I had a mutual friend that passed back around four years ago. He was amazed that I knew Larry. I was amazed at his connection with Larry. I like this kid a lot.

I moved to the 2s when it opened, played a few hands, looked at my watch and went to check to see if I had to deal. I did. I would be out to play at 8 p.m. As it turned out, the table I was dealing was a break and that would put me back out to play in half an hour.

Enter a $2-5 NLH game that I still can’t believe that much action happened that fast. It wasn’t my dealing, it was just the game. I knew two of the people in the game, the rest were all strangers. The buy-in is now $200-500 and it’s incredible to watch six people call $25 pre-flop, and then $15 pre-flop on the next hand…and on and on and on. It’s a NLH player’s dream. One hand that left me reeling with awe was five way action and I believe it was raised to $30 pre-flop by the Button. The Flop was 10-4-4. The 1s checked, check, check, the 6s bet $20, the Button raised it to $60,the 1s raised to $120, fold, fold, the 6s hemmed and hawed (he’s one that I knew and I knew he had a big hand or he wouldn’t even be contemplating or putting on the show), he finally decided to go all-in. The Button folded, the 1s auto-called. The 1s turned over 7-4 off suit. The 6s turned over 10-10. End of Story. The 1s left us and approximately $250 of his chips to the 5s when he called all-in. That was the way that game went.

The 3s was fairly obnoxious in his attitude and play. He called everyone, “Shirley.” When I was ready to leave the game, he told me I did a fine job or something to that effect, as he called me, “Shirley”. I said “Thank you! And my name’s not Shirley.”

Someone informed me that, to the 3s, everyone was Shirley. I looked at the 3s and said, “I’m not. My name is Linda.”

The 3s called me Shirley again. I was on my way to the 5s, to pick up $100 bills and bring him back chips, when I heard the report that I was still Shirley. I told him I’d answer to Bitch, but definitely not Shirley. He made some comment to the player on his right and they both laughed, probably inferring that I was a bitch. No problem. I hate people that try to lump all of us into a generic mold and remove our individuality. He probably started doing it when he cheated ona wife named Shirley and he had to have an excuse withhis new girlfriend – and she fell for it. Or possibly he started doing it at the poker table to try and rile a male opponent. Whatever the case, it’s tacky and shows disrespect to everyone around him.

I jumped back into my seat in the $4-8 game. I managed to get $60 winner at one point. But I couldn’t hang on to it. The 6 and 8s played every hand. The Flop could have come from the moon and never got close to their hand but they played any way. Yes, it’s great for the game. No, it wasn’t great for me. The 6s beat me in every hand I played with her, always catching to send my chips in her direction. Her chip stacks went from $20-30 up to $200 or higher and then back down and then back up.

The 8s was pretty close to the same kind of action. I raised it in one hand with A-Q. He was my only caller. He called me with K-7 off. The Flop brought Q-2-2. He called every bet I made, and even checked the River when I checked. But he won the hand. Four diamonds were on the board and he had the 7 of diamonds. Kee-rist!

Then my name was paged. I had to deal again. I opened a $100-200 LIMIT (key word here is limit) must move on Table 4. Players were scrambling over locking up seats, a chip runner was brining some of them chips and coloring up other’s chips. We drew for the Button – it ended up in the 2s. I knew very few of these players. I’ve dealt to the 5s on occasion but unless he plays other shifts or has been playing here in the last four months that I’ve basically been out of the dealer’s box, he’s not a regular. He was the BB. We started seven handed in a nine handed game.

Everyone folded to the Button. He had a stack and a half of blacks and several Flags ($5,000 chips) in front of him. He pushed out three blacks. I pushed one back and told him he could make it $200. I even made sure I looked back at the game plaque so I wasn’t making a mistake. He said he thought we were playing NL. I told him we were playing $100-200 Limit. The BB called the raised. Heads-up, the Flop was K-Q-J. The BB either checked or bet, hell if I can remember that small point. As it turned out, the Button raised every chance he got and the BB kept raising back until there were nine bets on the table and the Button asked if they could just go all-in. I replied that if they both agreed, yes, otherwise they would only be allowed to raise $100 at a time until the Turn.

The BB insta-called that challenge and counted out what he had left. Nine bets at $900 in front of him and $1,800 more. The 2s pushed out his blacks, counting down to $1,700 and then pulled them back and pushed out one of the Flags and triumphantly turned over K-K. ‘0-0’ H-E-L-L-O! I would have bet everything in my pockets that they had the same hand, like as in ‘rainbow’. The BB turned over A-10. Exactly what I expected him to have.

The BB started begging/praying/chanting, “Deuce…deuce…deuce…put upa deuce.”

His hand held. We called for a color change to change up the Flag and before the chip runner came over, the Button pulled a $100 bill out of his pocket, added it to the $1,700 in black chips, picked up his Flags and hit the road. That was the first hand out of the chute. WOW!

The exclamations and noise at the table was wild. The BB said, “I was praying for a deuce.”

As I dealt the next hand, I replied, “I heard you.”

He acted like I did it, and replied, “Thank you!”

I exclaimed, “No…no. I didn’t have anything to do with it. I mean my ears heard you.”

Yes, he tipped me. I dealt two more hands and then was back out to play. I still can’t figure the guy going all-in with top set and never stopping to think he could be beat with that many reraises coming at him. But what the hell do I know?

*post-poned*