Category Archives: Dear Diary

Dear Diary

Merry Christmas! 2001

I spent Christmas Eve and Christmas night with my friends…yes, poker players gathered around me as I dealt game after game. The casino was packed, over 500 people stood in the buffet line; the poker room was busier on Christmas Eve than it was on Christmas night but still busy.

Reminiscing brought back the first year the Mirage was open…November 17, 1989; on Christmas Eve we still had 31 tables going at 6 a.m.; 25 of us on swing shift worked overtime. See…I told you poker players have no home.

I dealt to Johnny Chan on Christmas Night…please hold the ooohs and aaahhhs. All of the youngsters that have watched Rounders think that he’s the best of the best; I do not agree. The best of the best don’t steam or think the dealer did something to cause them to lose a hand; they just play it out because they know in the long run they will take home the bacon. Chip Reese has my vote here, no whining, no crying – just get the ‘Mother’ on.

Mike Matusow was in the game with Johnny Chan, it was four handed, $400-$800 7 Card Stud 8 or Better and Omaha 8 or Better. Mike is quite a story. He used to deal at Sam’s Town. He’s noisy, mouthy, egotistical, and those are his good points but he’s not mean or malicious…Johnny is. Mike paid Johnny off in a few hands and made comments about himself, “I’m an empty chair…I’m the worst player in the world.”

On a day that Mike is winning…when he’s dragging chips, “Thanks you guys for coming in today and giving me your money…It’s great; knowing that whenever I need money, I just come in and you guys are here for me!…You all play so bad that you can’t possibly win, that’s why I’m here.”

I’ve often wondered who talks the most, Mike Matusow or Sam Grizzle. Biggest difference is that Mike plays his own money or is staked by someone, Sam just hangs on the rail always waiting for a sucker to put him in the game. Sam talks a great game, but can he actually play it? If he’s so great, why is he always looking for a stake horse?

Sam was sitting at the table during this game…not as a player but a rail bird. He tried finessing Johnny, “As a matter of fact, Johnny, you’re the 1st player that ever saw my potential as a player.”

It didn’t work, Johnny never handed him money to get into a game.

Dear Diary

December 13-14, 2001

On the 13th and 14th, I played poker during most of my shift…my wrist still isn’t/wasn’t as happy as it could be and a very good friend of mine was in town that I’d met in Montana years ago…Tom Lind…he lives in AZ now. Also my friend, Jim AKA The Monkey, from Colorado was here.

On the 13th, Jim and I played in a $4-$8 game after he’d left the $30-$60 game. It was hysterically fun and zany as usual. He makes playing poker fun. We had our ‘hand ranking’ cards in front of us because one guy in the game didn’t know what beat what and I brought the cards to the table for all three of us.

At one point, Jim, me, and the New Player were all in a hand that had been raised, raised, raised pre-flop…on the River, Jim said, “Sir, I’m playing line five!”

Everyone cracked up as Jim pointed to his Hand Ranking Card. Line five is a flush. Of course I threw my hand away but the New Player called. Sure enough, Jim had a flush.

The New Player said, “I’ll admit that I don’t know shit about the game.” He was laughing as he said it.

With a straight face, Jim said, “Sir, if there’s any question, I’ll testify to the fact that you don’t know shit about the game.”

Everyone busted up…including the New Player. We took some beats, we put some beats on each other, and we laughed – we laughed more than we did anything else. This is the way poker should be.

On the 14th, I sat next to my friend, Tom, while my friend Jim was getting his brains beat out in a $30-$60 game. Jim stopped over for a visit a few times and when we left the room for the night, Jim was still there, strapped to the table with leg irons and a grim look on his face. Not a pretty sight for a guy that’s usually a laugh a minute. I haven’t heard from him yet this week so I’m hoping that he’s still alive and hasn’t called the Card Fairy to assist in poker suicide.

During this session of play, I got A-A beat by Q-10 off-suit. Aces are running 26-4 for me. The same guy beat A-A, three times in five hands. He was running pretty darn good.

A young beauty named Chris got in the game with her boyfriend. She was in the 6s and has my vote for winning the WSOP. She was as calm as a cucumber while she was raising the pants off of people and played A-K like it was A-A.

One hand I had Q-Q and raised pre-flop, it was raised and reraised with seven callers. The flop was Q-6-3 with a 6 on the turn…Chris and I ended up heads up and she raised me at least six times on the turn when the 6 hit. I was still sure I had the best of it so I never slowed down. I never saw her hand but at the end of it, she laughed and said, “That was a lot of fun!”

Sure, you’re thinking she was sarcastic…not even. She never blushed, shook or acted distraught, win or lose the hand, her demeanor was the same. We exchanged names and email addresses.

Dear Diary

Fern Canyon at Red Rock

Hiking with my friend, Jack, found me taking a fall while we were bouldering in Fern Canyon at Red Rock Canyon. Guess I thought I was Sly Stallone doing a Cliff Hanger trick. It hurt like hell…very lucky I didn’t break my wrist. It’s still painful and I definitely know it’s there when I try some movements and strength moves with the hand and wrist. Time will heal all. 🙂

Dear Diary

Ted Forrest spot checks the cash

I dealt the $3,000-$6,000 to Doyle Brunson, Ted Forrest, Eli Elezra. H-y-s-t-e-r-i-c-a-l! Doyle had a brick of $100 bills that were rubber banded into $5,000 bundles and then bundled together…he also had three sets of two brown envelopes that were taped together which held cash but were unopened. Carmen Bates (High limit brush) came to the table on an errand and Doyle threw all of it at her and asked her to ‘put it on account’. That would mean a trip to the main cage and all of it would have to be counted down. Continue reading Ted Forrest spot checks the cash →

Dear Diary

“Do you need to see my id?”

Wrap up of the end of the month…I know I should have been posting but a million and one things seemed to get in the way.

I dealt a $4-$8 holdem game; sit down in the game, the departing dealer states, “I’ve asked for a setup and it’s supposed to be on its way.”

The player in the 2 seat is a youngster that appears to be about 22-23, he pipes up with, “Is he asking about my ID?”

I’m still trying to speak with the departing dealer, pull the deck together, shuffle, count the rack, and the 2 seat has asked me a question…

The 2 seat becomes more adamant with, “Do you need to see my id?”

I pride myself on being slightly crazy and unorthodox so I go with the moment and reply to the 2 seat, “Yes! Let me see your ID.”

He produces it, laying it on the table. Theatrically, I pull it out into the center of the table, look at it…all the players are focused on what I’m doing; the departing dealer is waiting to push into the game in front of us; everything stops for one short moment in time. I call the 2 seat by name and say, “Nice to have you in the game.” As I push his ID back to him.

Shuffle up and deal. The conversation takes a turn with the right side of the table, all men; they comment on how I want to see his ID so I can find out his name, address, etc., and hustle him. An older gentleman on my right made the comment that I’m only interested in younger men. Hysterical!!!! Don’t think I haven’t dated younger men. I have. I just wouldn’tpick up a dateat the poker table.

I find it to be very funny that the whole table has no idea what has just happened. One of the players, Sonny, I really enjoy him as a personality at the table and we always exchange ‘hellos’, asked me what happened there…after I got pushed out of the game. After explaining it to him, he’s enjoyed the whole scene as much as I have. Sometimes when I sit down in the box and Sonny’s in the game, he asks, “Do you want to see my ID?”

On the other side of the coin, everything isn’t always fun. The players that think you have ‘something to do with it’ as a dealer are still out there. There little, tiny, Neanderthal Brains are showing sparks of activity as they express themselves with card throwing and vulgarity at the dealer…come on you pigs, you know who you are. After all…how could it be your fault? You’re supposed to win every time you enter into a hand and everyone else is supposed to lay down and die…not before they give you all of their chips, of course.

*****

Dealing to Notaris…he’s shoveling french fries and a burger into his mouth. One of the fries falls out of his hand about mouth level and lands in a fold of shirt; chest level. After the fry sits there through 4 hands, I finally reach across the table, tap his hand, and point at his shirt. He never missed a beat, kept shoveling, betting his hand and pulled the fry from his shirt and ate it too. What a country.

Dear Diary

The game!

This is not the normal poker post. It’s one of self reflection, life, job responsibilities, family, age, overview. I have been involved in the poker industry for a very long time…most of my adult life. Pretty? Not sure how to evaluate that. I’ve had my share of ‘bad beats’, yet along with those, I’ve been included in and privy to glimpses into the lives of others.

Everyone really wants to win. It’s not just about the $$$ amount. Sometimes it’s just about being someone, being somewhere and being recognized, being able to deal with yourself and liking what you see at the end of the day.

The game of poker is the game of life. We make mistakes, we win, we lose, we come back another day and try to conquer our demons and vanquish all that stand before us so we can be the ‘king of the hill’. While we make this trip, we must surpass many obstacles…most of those obstacles are within ourselves. If we learn nothing from the past, we can never progress to the future. If we live only for the moment, we can never better ourselves. If we see the overview, the big picture, then we truly begin to understand what it’s all about.

It is possible to take someone’s money at the table, laugh, keep them entertained, feel good about ourselves, and come back tomorrow to do the same thing. What about the times when everything we do is wrong…our timing is off; we know it yet we can’t correct it? What if we really aren’t mean or malicious…we just came to play the game? What if we know how to play…we just can’t win? What if winning is the difference between a hot shower and bed or sleeping in the car/street? What if poker has taken control of our being and we sacrifice our family, security, selves just to play the game?

All those factors are what constitutes a game of poker. Some of us take a seat because we are lonely and know no one will voluntarily spend time with us. Some of us play because we believe we are the best qualified to take the money. Some of us play because we feel we deserve to be punished and losing is part of the game. Some of us play because we know the law of averages, the $$ amount, our bankroll, our ability to overcome all of it, is really what the game is all about.

Then we come to the most painful part of all of it…what is important? A poker win? Bluffing your opponent? Leaving with a win? Steaming? Control…as in demanding and overbearing to the dealer, cocktails, the brush, etc.? Losing? Winning? Putting everyone in their place? Holding up the game and play because you’re the most important person at the table?

Very seldom that anyone ever really gets into the game…the game of poker and the game of life. On 9/11/01, parents picked up their babies and moved to the back of the plane…preparing to die. Where were we? The next time you think you got a bad beat, think about that one. My heart aches with the thought.