There’s rain in them thar clouds! They are heading in a steady ceiling across the mountains and the little sprinkles are forging out in front of the mass. Looks to be a gloom day, from the outside anyway, but inside I keep working on “happy-happy” since life ain’t all bad and there are a lot worse places to be than where I am.
Do I have to talk about poker? Nah-h-h! Do I want to talk about poker? Not really. But reading Glenda’s post about her early poker daze brought back some memories. I have written other descriptive tales about my first experiences with it but I also always thought I’d write that damn book (umnhhhhh!) and so far, I’m nowhere with it. My truck driving sis is the one that suggested that I learn to deal poker, that was when my relationship with my youngest son’s dad was on the rocks and we had just landed in Missoula Montana straight out of Honolulu Hawaii and there were no decent paying secretarial jobs since it was a college town and office help was a dime a dozen.
There are a lot of bars with food service through the US, in small towns, big towns, and in between, that fit the bill of the place I learned to deal poker in. Run down, shoddy, greasy, old and dirty, and a clientele to match so there’s not much unique about it and them other than a few people that make a difference because of your interaction with them and the way they are perceived.
My first experience with the Oxford was in 1967. I had been in San Diego with husband and child and we were splitting directions…for good. I flew into Missoula, taking my son with me, because my mom lived there at the time, she still had kids in school, and older kids coming back to the nest; I wasn’t the only one.
The only reason I walked into the Oxford was because my mom and one of my older brothers had been in a horrible argument and my dad, as was his usual, was nowhere around. He was usually on the move somewhere down the road in another sleeze hole but this time he happened to be in town and at the local sleeze hole…the Oxford. I felt that he should go home and help my mom so I went to find him.
I can remember walking in through the front door off of Higgins and having the drink sodden assortment of men of all ages, in all stages of dismal, dirty clothing look at me like I had intruded on hell still wearing angel wings. it really was a place that women didn’t frequent and I wandered past the bar, the ticker machine, the cigar/ice cream counter, the food counter, looking at the black hole doorway over by the cashier’s cage and steeling myself to have the nerve to walk through it, a gent asked me what I wanted. I told him I was looking for my dad, named him, the guy went through the door and my dad appeared after a few minutes. I told him what I wanted, and he said he’d be home in a few minutes. I left.
Honestly, when he showed at the house a bit later, he stayed for a very short time period and he left. I’m sure he was playing poker although it wasn’t legal in those days. But that was my first peep at the hole that would become my 2nd home after I moved several more times and put a few years and another coupla kids under my belt.
And those damn clouds do have rain in them.
And poker still does suck, just played a NLH $11 rebuy, lasted 9 minutes. I played one hand:
ocardracko went bust the hand before and just rebought, I had already made up my mind when I called the $20 blind with A-JD that I was going all-in with the hand if someone raised.
PokerStars Game #25531408386: Tournament #144057395, $10+$1 Hold’em No Limit – Level I (10/20) – 2009/03/02 16:07:55 ET
Table ‘144057395 45’ 9-max Seat #2 is the button
Seat 1: 0cardrack0 (1500 in chips)
Seat 2: kelly0584 (1470 in chips)
Seat 3: En007 (4270 in chips)
Seat 4: waloo13 (1160 in chips)
Seat 5: truelies AA (1630 in chips)
Seat 6: PokerWorks (1470 in chips)
Seat 7: yadio (6480 in chips)
Seat 8: paveli112 (1090 in chips)
Seat 9: mehmet deniz (3430 in chips)
En007: posts small blind 10
waloo13: posts big blind 20
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to PokerWorks [Jd Ad]
PokerWorks: calls 20
0cardrack0: raises 1480 to 1500 and is all-in
En007: calls 1490
PokerWorks: calls 1450 and is all-in
truelies AA said, “omg what a noob ocardrack”
*** FLOP *** [5h Qh Qc]
*** TURN *** [5h Qh Qc] [8d]
*** RIVER *** [5h Qh Qc 8d] [6d]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
En007: shows [7s 6s] (two pair, Queens and Sixes)
0cardrack0: shows [Kd Ts] (a pair of Queens)
En007 collected 60 from side pot
PokerWorks: shows [Jd Ad] (a pair of Queens)
En007 collected 4430 from main pot
0cardrack0 said, “ur a hooker”
I didn’t rebuy and hit the door. Poker is a cruel game, almost as cruel as all of the ones humans play when they profess to care about you.