My brain quit functioning about four hours ago. My body feels like a freight train ran over it, the last rail flipped up and tossed me in front of the freight train and it derailed on top of me. In other words, my butt is dragging. Typical to the Christmas/New Years holidays – we were swamped. People kept milling through the door long into the night and along about 2:30 a.m., one game broke down. It was noise, deal, people, deal, confusion, deal – damn it – deal, on and on into the eternity of a never ending poker game.

Mercifully I found the time clock and the escape hatch at 3:00 a.m. – only to run into a harsh wind, coming straight out of the North Pole, that is colder than a well digger’s ass. I had to make a stop at a store and after arriving at home, safely tucked inside, I remembered I’d left something in the truck. That wouldn’t be such a serious problem if the truck was in its normal place in the garage…concrete acid staining and design has forced me to park street side. So there I was, after a grueling day at the office, in the dark at 4:30 a.m., trudging out into the windblown neighborhood, freezing my tush off, to get what I’d forgotten almost an hour earlier. Jesus! Did I ever mention how much I hate the wind…especially when it’s cold outside? It’s a childhood thing and goes back to living in Wyoming, Kansas, and a few other states where the wind rips through you with icy fingers. I hate the wind.

On the poker side of life, the night evolved into one long poker game. Nothing catastrophic or mind breaking happened, just lots of action and jamming in all the games. I missed all the high limit games except one, $100-$200 Holdem and Sam G. was playing in it. The game is played with $25 chips and it played like a $4-8 game. Sam was, of course, his own entertainment and hero. It was a must move game and he stated something like this, “I’m next to move and I hate to go since you-all are playing like you’ve never played before.”

He ended up being moved by the Brush Person because he was walking when his seat opened in the main game.

A couple of my friends are back in town and they chortle over every morsel of ‘the Sam G. tales’. They feed on his insanity and the way he always finds a way to get into a game. It is pretty incredible. One of them stated that for being a broke railbird, Sam plays in the highest limits in town. Amen. That he does.

While I was dealing a $10-20 blind NLH game the night before, Sam walked up and started finessing the 9s. Sam Syrup held every word together as he continued to talk – the 9s handed Sam a stack of $100 bills that were behind the 9s’s chips and Sam left for a few minutes. He returned with the bills, handed them back to the 9s, and displayed a stack of $1,000 chips with the statement, “I found something better.”

There are those that laugh at the mere mention of Sam G. – there are those that are in awe of all the ability wasted on trying to hustle a buy-in. Me? I’ve managed to get past wondering about any of it. Watching his personality tends to make me appreciate that side of the poker world. In all worlds, we must have all the facets to make the whole picture. Sam is one of the facets.

Who knows how or where or what? Who cares? Sometimes there just aren’t any answers – just questions. I leave it at that.

It’s beyond raining. There are attempts to build an Arc in Vegas. The animals are lining up two by two and the poker players are playing the final tournament round to see who gets to take their family and friends on the newly built Arc. Ok…ok…I’m drinking wine and imagining the downfall of the city of sin. But it is raining like hell and has been since sometime yesterday. The streets are filled with rivers and walking anywhere is totally out of the question…driving should be for some of these fools but they persist.

On a special interest note (probably only to me), when we have 25 additional tournament tables in the pit, I usually draw to deal in the middle of the room – meaning I’m never dealing tournament, I’m dealing high limit in almost every game because it’s spread throughout the room. But since we have no tournament, I draw Table 27, 28, 29, or 30, which guarantees I’m dealing high limit anyway. I got no win. Cardz is at work again…damn it!

I started on 29. One game of $4-8 holdem, the next game $8-16 holdem then off to Wonderland. Wonderland? Wondering why in the hell I’m there.

But before I leave the $8-16 game behind…I was ready to throw up for the 2s. He flopped a set of 10’s – made a full house – a King on the River gave his opponent a bigger full house, multiple raises went in here…sure the Kings had the best hand to begin with but it’s painful. Then he had the big over pair and his opponent caught a 10 on the River to make a set…ouch! He took it well and I got involved in table conversation…slap my mouth.

The 4s was a woman that went to Aruba for the Ultimate Bet Tournament. We talked it up. This was nothing like the game I dealt there last night with Mark in the 4s. BTW – I looked for him tonight. Sure…you’re thinking it was because of that hard, smooth body right? Wrong! I wanted to tell him that being a professional wrestler, he should blow the crowd away by being articulate and using the English language to express himself rather than falling into the ‘I’m a muscle bound freak and can’t talk unless I can swear’ but he was nowhere to be found. Instead of being a trend setter, he could be ‘a trend’.

I had to leave this friendly little $8-16 behind and hit the $2,000-4,000 mixed game on table 1. It ended up being pretty damn funny. Ralph P. – 1s, Renee – 2s, Minh – 3s, Jeff L. – 4s, Phil I. – 7s, Eli E. – 8s.

Eli can be pretty comical at times, horrid at other times, but lately he’s pretty funny. He likes to involve me in the table conversation. Whether I like it or not, I’m in.

Last week he was playing a $1,000-2,000 in the 1s and Ralph P. was drinking a beer with a straw in it. The conversation started with Eli inviting Ralph to drink. Ralph said he drank more than Eli. Eli made a comment about the straw in the beer and finished with, “I bet Linda knows why he’s drinking it through a straw.”

I said, “Because it puts more air into the drink.”

Amir was in the game, a Dr., and he was telling Eli the same thing as I was making my statment. After I got pushed out of the game, I turned to Eli and said, “The fastest way to get drunk – Gator Aid and vodka.”

He thought that was wonderful news. Don’t ask me why because I don’t think he ever takes anything with alcohol in it but it adds to my image that ‘Linda knows’.

Tonight he was carrying on about a lot of things. One was dealers that can’t handle the high limit players and their attitudes. He told me that I take it very well, “When I’m upset and I throw the cards on you…”

I dryly said, “Yeah, I think you’re a jerk.”

Jeff got involved. They did a dissertation about dealers that shouldn’t be in the that job, they just aren’t ‘feet’ for it (Eli’s version meant fit).

Eli lost a hand and exclaimed, “That’s why I hate this dealer!”

I roared. He started laughing too. (He’s the one that pulled my hair one time when I was dealing because he’d heard one of the dealers wore a wig. If that’s not another post in the Diary Past, it should be).

Eli took off on what would happen when Wynn opens and how he felt the majority of the high limit would stay at Bellagio because of Bobby Baldwin. He asked me if a lot of dealers were leaving. I said, “Yes! But I’m staying here so I can deal to you for the rest of your life.”

He thought that was damn funny too. I don’t. If it weren’t for him and Renee, I would make nothing for dealing that half hour. Renee is the best, always tips, never mean or nasty in a win or loss. The high limit kids could learn a lot from him.

I told Eli I remembered how much fun he used to be at The Mirage. He said he still was but it was easier than because he played $150-$300. Amazing how high limit has jumped through all of these levels in such a short time span.

*****

A duck just swam past the window! I’d better get another glass of wine.

I hit the shower about 5:30 and headed for the capital of Nevada…yes it is Bellagio! Don’t let anyone tell you any different. The room was busy. It’s expected this time of year. Approximately 1.5M people hit town between Christmas and New Years. They have to go somewhere, I figure they all head for the Capital. Continue reading Combinations of life →

This really isn’t funny – but yet…

The night before Christmas Eve. $4,000-8,000 mixed limit games with one little single draw Deuce to 7, no limit with a $100,000 cap and $1,000 ante from each player, $1,000-$2,000 Blind. That’s a mouthful ain’t it?

The game was four handed, Lyle B. – 1s, Chau – 2s, Doyle – 4s, Phil – 7s. They were playing single draw Deuce when I sat down. The first thing that happened was Phil turned over three face cards and Lyle and Doyle threw him two or three $5,000 chips. Proposition bets. There were so many big chips flying around (sniff…none of them flew to me…sniff) and everyone, except Chau (he wasn’t in the proposition thing), was turning over their hole cards without calling a bet or raise, that it was hard to figure out if the hand was over or if I was supposed to be giving change somewhere.

Doyle and Phil seemed to have a little exchange that belonged only to them (heard they’d been playing for over 24 hours) – they took turns bantering at the other about being ‘the luckiest player…’

In general it was like watching a chip war and no one was going to win. They threw more money across the table in ‘Prop’ bets than I could make in four years. The dealer in front of me, a good, solid, no mistake making dealer, made zip/zero/nothing out of the game. For handling all of those massive amounts of money and doing it well, he got paid minimum wage by the house. Around $3.00 for his time in the box.

I seldom find myself feeling disgruntled over tipping but this leaves me with a giant black spot in my head for the player that always thinks they should have the best of it – comps, great dealers, etc., when they can’t give up anything on behalf of the person that works for tips…especially at Christmas.

I got really lucky, I made $20. From the talk around the room, it’s been more the zip/zero thing for everyone. Maybe I’m just blessed… don’t think I don’t appreciate it, I do.

*****

I hit the $10-$20 blind NLH game to find an old friend from Montana in the 4s. We dealt and played poker together another lifetime ago. He said hello, so did I, he went into a thing about how his girl was in the box and things were looking up. Yup! It worked exactly like that. NOT!

The first hand I dealt him was A-A. He raised it, got called by Q-9 spades. The Flop was 9-little-little. He bet the Flop, got called, Bet $800 on the Turn and got raised – it put him all-in for about $700 more, and a cute little 9 slipped off on the River.

It was pretty much a gagger although he never flinched or made any comments. I wanted to throw up for him. He didn’t clam up or go ‘all stoney’ on me which was really great on his part. He bad played another hand about fifteen minutes later and that cost him a chunk. When I got pushed, I looked at him and said, “Just like old times!”

I was below his game, waiting for the dealer to finish the hand in my next table and got to visit with him for a minute. He’s coming for Christmas dinner – hell, that’s today!

I have to run. I have a date with a little sweetie that’s eight months old…his mom and dad are coming too. I’m the chief cooker, taxi woman, and grandma of the year so I’d better get a few hours sleep before the whirlwind begins. Merry Christmas!

The $2-5 blind NLH games are a riot. The first one I dealt almost turned into a war with me and a couple of players before I dealt the first hand. One of them had zip/zero chips in front of him and $145 for his re-buy was on the table. I told him he had to buy $200. He argued that he’d been playing. I said it still was a $200 buy-in. He then queried the table because obviously I didn’t know what I was talking about. It went on a for a few more minutes as I got a fill. He did pull out $200 and the Chip Runner raced off to get his chips but he still argued with me, a friend of his took his side, that he could/should then go all-in for $199 and hold back $1 so he could buy short. I told him he couldn’t do that. They argued that he could. I got lippy, “Ok. This is my first day and you guys obviously know more about it than I do. But if you try to do that, I will call for a decision.”

Funny part of it was that the woman in the 1s believed it was my first day…even telling me so about 20 minutes later. I don’t think it was because of my dealing skills – she just couldn’t imagine anyone saying that if it wasn’t true. Too funny.

The friend of the guy that wanted a short buy-in, we managed to solve our differences within a few minutes and I found out that he’s a dealer also.

The 9s was jamming everything, Asian, have dealt to him before and he can be pretty hard sounding. In this hardness, it’s his cover, he is having prankish fun and he’s really not mean although he does reach a limit when he’s losing and will snort and bark. He did end up barking at me and I called the Floorman. He went broke in the hand and left only to appear in the $10-20 blind NLH a little bit later. Before he left us, he was heads-up, facing an all-in bet which would bust him. He thought about it for a minute or longer and ended up turning one of his cards face up to get a reaction from his opponent. No reaction. He called the bet and went bust.

Another player in the 4s pointed out that he thought the hand was dead when a card was shown, he added that it was in most rooms he played in – including The Mirage. I stated that to my knowledge, as long as the play was heads-up, cards could be shown but I would get a decision. I did. The decision was that it was legal in heads-up play.

There was a helluva lot going on in this game. Lots of noise, action, reaction, and I was thankful to get pushed into a sedate little $30-60 Holdem game.

*****

My next game was $15-30 Holdem. The 3s had obviously never lost a hand in his poker playing career until I sat down in the box. About the third hand I dealt, he went heads-up with the 1s and lost. She tipped me and he snorted, “Did I tip you?”

I didn’t even look up or acknowledge this idiot question. I would have liked to have said, “You should! I could put your money to a lot better use than you are.”

He won a few pots and then towards the end of my down, he lost another one. “You are the kiss of death!”

I pushed the pot and as I pulled the deck together and shuffled, I gave him direct eye contact. He looked away. I wanted to fall out of my chair laughing but I kept a straight face. After all, you players that know what’s going on really need people like him in the game.

*****

Previous post – the ‘blonde’ – name is Carmel. I get a charge out of her and the havoc she seems to create in the games. It’s not as if she sets out consciously trying to create it yet there it is, the big Havoc Whirlwind, spinning around her when she steps into the poker room. Perhaps the whirlwind is a manifestion from her subconscious and only appears in the poker room or at the table, but from the way she carries herself and acts, I would guess it jump starts as soon as WAKE UP hits her senses.

I was in my third $2-5 blind NLH game and she was in the first one I dealt. A seat opened in my game and she was supposed to move into it (must move game).

The twist? A good looking black guy, (he was the one that was offered $50 to bust her last night – see previous post), was in my game. She didn’t want to play with him at her table. She went to the Floor Person.

The guy in our game told us why. She had tried to call Security on him on the previous night. She called him an asshole, he called her a bitch.

She thought he should be removed because of that…the ‘b-e-itch thang’. Of course calling someone an asshole is always ok. The Floor Person must have told them both to drop it because Security never made the scene.

The Floor Person, on this night, did let her slide until a seat opened in the other main game so she wouldn’t be forced to play in the same game with him – that’s not unusual if someone is really in conflict with another player.

After I moved to my next game, I could hear them laughing and joking in the game behind me, “I want security…”

I’m sure she could hear them because she has moved to the table in front of them and most of the spin had to be for her benefit.

There’ll be another episode. That little Havoc Whirlwind isn’t about to lay down and whisper the last, soft sigh of a spent breeze.

All the company finally went back where it came from and my home away from home has settled down. It’s back to normal. In other words…Tournament Time is over! Everyone seems to be in tournament mode. Not just the players, but every casino in the world offers them. I wonder how long the pockets of the players can handle all the money that goes into tournaments and never returns to live play. Color me stupid here but how can all those millions in satellites, tournament buy-ins, etc., just keep being pushed into one big pot and split up between 20 or 30 players and still leave any gristle for the daily grinders? Sure they’re exciting if you win but how many can you afford to slam money into without taking a beating on your daily expenses and bankroll? Ok…’nuff said on that subject.

One $4,000-8,000 Mixed game on table 1 with all the usual suspects and a few other high limit games on ‘top’ but luckily for me, it wasn’t in my line-up. I started in the part of the room that’s just grin and giggle, no frills, no chills, and away I went. Lots of ‘friendlies’. No glares, no cards flying at my fingers, no one knew the house rule better than me, no one said a harsh word…wow! Love it!

*****
I dealt four $2-5 blind NLH games tonight. In the second game, a discussion started about a young, blonde woman that played and talked the action through every hand. One of the players told me I would know her if I saw her. I couldn’t put a face on any particular blonde that I’d dealt to in NLH. Sure enough, in the fourth one I dealt, she was in my game. The person that had started the conversation earlier, looked over from the table next to me and motioned that ‘this was the one’. I didn’t know her. But I definitely won’t forget her.

She wasn’t a ‘hottie’, by Vegas standards, but she definitely had her own arrogant charm. She also had some kind of war going on with most of the table because (in her absence) I was told if the 9s busted her, a player from the game behind us would give him an additional $50 and I would get 10% of that. I said I’d just deal and leave that alone.

She had a special war going on with the 4s. I’ve dealt to him before but he’s not a regular. He appears to fancy himself as being a great player and in control of the action at all times. They ended up heads-up in one hand. Truthfully I can’t remember how the action went because it was just another poker hand to me…the end of it was what set it apart. I believe he bet $25 and she raised him a $100 or so. He thought about it for quite some time, never looking at her, just staring at the board and then down the table. He finally folded with something like, “You think you’re some kind of Ivy Leaguer.”

She calmly replied, “I think you can blow me.”

I almost spit. The 7s couldn’t stop laughing. When the table started to twitter, I said, “Come on kids. Let’s just play poker.”

They did.

I sailed out the door to the escape hatch a few hours later without hitting a snag on a hidden coral reef. Sweet! There’s no place like home.

Another year has escaped. I planned on doing so much more in that small time frame of my life. Isn’t that the way it is? We are always behind, always trying to catch up, always striving to gain more than we have, and want more than we gain…it’s a treadmill. We may not be in a cage but we are still on a treadmill.

I do, however, stop to listen to people around me, look at the sun and moon, yearn for the fresh night air and cool breezes of the desert, cherish the times I leave the electric city behind and head for the pure, spiritual release of the wilderness, love quite easily, find humor in almost all situations (if I didn’t, some of them are so sad I couldn’t bear them), always try to find the bright spot in a gloomy picture, and pray for peace on Earth and good will to all of us – during the entire year – why save it for the holidays?

I believe every day of our life should be a holiday. If we see something that a friend would enjoy, get/give it to them right now, tomorrow may never get there and they may not be around when you decide it’s the right time.

My list of “do’s” for the year:

• Tell important people in your life that you love them.
• Appreciate what you have.
• Sprinkle kindness and affection on everyone you come in contact with, even if you have a hard time accepting them as they are. Perhaps you need to look at the world through their eyes before you judge why they behave the way they do.
• Build a better you – we can all use a little work in restructuring our lives and thoughts. That doesn’t only apply to the mind, it applies to exercise. Exercise knocks the wrinkles out of your brain and helps you relax with what’s going on around you.
• Give up the past and use it only as a guideline, try not to revisit it too often other than a gentle nudge to know you’re moving in the right direction.
• Enjoy the pain of learning – it helps you REALLY appreciate life when it’s good.
• Forgive. The first person you need to learn to forgive is you – that opens the doorway to everything else.
• Step outside yourself and take a look. If you don’t understand you, how could you possibly understand someone else.
• Always question. Keep an open mind and never quit searching for answers.
• Never look at a failed endeavor as defeat, use it as a stepping stone to progression.
• Last and most important – jump off the treadmill.

The end of another year, the beginning of another time – may we all enjoy every moment of it!

Damn it! I forgot how great a glass of wine tastes. Last night I had the urge, tonight I bought the bottle. Umnhhh…y-u-m-m…y-u-m! Thank you, God, for those luscious little grapes and little grape stompers…yes, there’s a village of little grape stompers that live under the Earth. They have magic feet. This wine wasn’t created by any of mankind’s machines in sterile kitchens. It was created during a full moon for a special child of the Earth that would really appreciate it. And I am.

It’s Christmas time again. I’d rather spend all of my days out exploring the world around the edges of Las Vegas right now than thinking about the overbearing, obnoxious symbol that Christmas has become. Which is exactly what I’m going to do on Sunday. I have a hike planned at Sloan Canyon AKA Petroglyph City. There are over 1,300 petroglyphs in a small section of canyon about 12 miles out of Vegas. You have to see it to truly appreciate it – been there – done that – going back again…and again…and again.

On another note – Neil Diamond, Hot August Night, I finally figured out who the ‘tree people’ were. He’s singing his heart out to me right now – a Bose system really is incredible, not to take anything away from Neil, so is he – but the ‘tree people’ had bothered me for quite some time, as in years. I wasn’t a hippie, I’m not a ‘harley girl’. I was straighter, older, and more disciplined before I hit 40 (just the reverse of most people) and a lot of it just slipped right on by. I snagged it tonight. One more of life’s questions has been answered…hey, it might be the wine.

*****
On the poker front. I had to edit the last post about Sam. Marty sent me an email and I told him to chill out and have a glass of wine. Just kidding. Anyway, it’s an edit.

*****

I stopped in the poker/pit area at work tonight as the final seven battled down to the final six. It was packed with spectators, staff, security, etc. I didn’t stop to look at the tournament table, I went to check on my friends, the photographer and bloggers from the WPBT. They work Bellagio’s tournaments and spend hours putting everything together. The photos of the WPBT can be seen here.

*****

One of the hands I dealt during the tournament:

T.J. Cloutier, playing a Super Satellite, Limit Holdem. He’s the BB. One off the Button raises. T.J. calls – heads up. Everyone folded to the raiser so T.J. knew it would be heads up.

The Flop was something like Jack – 6 – 2. All unrelated.

T.J. checked, raiser bet, T.J. check raised, raiser called.

Turn a 7. T.J. bet, raiser called.

River a 4. T.J. bet, raiser called.

T.J. turned over 7-4 offsuit. Raiser showed A-A.

If you want lessons from T.J. – he charges $1,000 a day.

Ke-rhist!!!! Where’s the wine.

*****
Anyone that is a member of the Clan/forum, is eligible for a January Clan Poker Tournament to be held at the Plaza. NLH – buy in $100. The 10th at 6 p.m. Visit this page, send Tanya a PM if you’re going to attend. We need a head count…in advance. Jon (clan founder) has put $100 bounty on himself. I say we bust his ass.

C U there!

Isn’t it great when you meet people, become friends, and they put up with you? They even go out of their way to make you happy…thanks Wayne. My latest hiking adventure can be found here. Once you arrive at the page, please click on “Lake Mead”, then “narrows hike with water in the wash 12/12/04”. This hike was quite unique in the respect that it’s the first time I’ve found water running in the wash. AND we saw a huge scorpion. I knew there were scorpions in the poker room but this is the first time I’ve found one in the desert.

*****

I finally dealt real poker games, the ones with ordinary people playing liveable limits instead of all those fantasy movie star games that are higher than the moon and only played by the rich and famous or the rich and pros or the not rich think they’re pros. Almost seven hours of bliss, nothing higher than $30-60 even though the room was busy as hell, I missed all the big budget, mortgage your house, you’d better win a tournament to play them type of games. That was Monday night.

Tuesday night I dealt three tables of the tournament and then got out to play. Got a seat in a new $4-8 game, won the 2nd and 3rd hand – huge pots – visited with the player next to me, Will from an earlier post, and got picked up and sent back into the line-up. That was a simple night too…no high limit games.

Last night I bounced around a little. Dealt a few hours, played for an hour, got ready to deal again and found out I didn’t have to so I bounced back into the player’s seat.

While I was dealing a $4-8 game, Sam (he was in the game the night that Lupe called me all those strange names and she had to leave) and his friend Marty were at my table. Marty was in the 10s and full of questions. He and Sam told me the dealer before me had exposed the Ace of Spades. It would have been Marty’s card. They both said the dealer asked Marty if he wanted to keep it, even though the table had seen it. Marty said the dealer seemed to be amazed that Marty wanted a replacement card for the Ace.

I’d have to believe the dealer was jiving them. But then I’ve seen so many dealers do so many different STUPID things that it’s entirely possible.

The boys in this game were pretty funny. Sam flopped/or turned a 10 high flush. He also had a pair of 10’s with a 10 on the board. The last card brought another flush card and after the bet was called on the River, Sam told his opponent, “A pair of 10’s,” and turned over the Flush.

***Begin edit. I just got an email from Marty explicitly explaining Sam’s happy go lucky, always have a good time, boisterous and joking, even if he’s losing, attitude at the poker table and in life in general. This post about Sam was never meant to show him as a grouch or a jerk.

Perhaps he turned over the flush AS he called his hand as, “A pair of tens.”

It would have been awfully close…the statement and the act, there was no long drawn out pause.

Everyone was laughing and kibitzing, EXCEPT the opponent that immediately took a walk. The ‘boys’ were ribbing Sam about needling the player with the statement.

Marty…so did you!

Shit happens at the table. In general, everyone was having fun. If I had been the opponent, I would have taken it as a needle but it’s not the end of life as we know it on this planet so I would have continued to play the damn game for hell’s sake.

***End Edit.

His opponent immediately took a walk and Sam got the Raspberry for needling his opponent by telling him he had a pair of 10’s instead of a flush. Sam tried to explain that he thought the last flush card beat him but the ‘boys’ weren’t going for it. Neither was I but I was the dealer so it didn’t matter.

Marty was wondering if he would make it…not in the poker game…into the Diary. Yup!