After understanding the food policy at the Ironhorse Casino, we started driving south on Hwy 161.
I try to avoid Interstates, whenever there is an alternative available. I also try to avoid as much commuter traffic as possible. Taking that approach opens the opportunity for little discoveries like the beautiful Spanaway Park, on the edge of Spanaway Lake.
Spanway Park is a beautiful forest of old growth Pines with cushions of pine needles and well cut paths leading down to a majestic lake. Spanway Lake reminded me of my favorite lake in Wisconsin, Lake Spencer in Waupaca.
Pokey and I enjoyed walking among the beautiful old trees until it began to get dark. We found a back road that skirted around Fort Lewis and eventually got on I5 for a few miles until we exited at the Super Wal-mart in Chellis, Washington. I needed to do a little grocery shopping, and read, and clean up the RV and those are good places to do it.
I hope to get a fairly early start tomorrow in order to make a noon tournament about an hour south of here in La Center where we are planning on spending the day.
(Later in the day)….
I got knocked out of the tournament with the best hand pre-flop. I feel like I did my best whenever that happens. I had pocket 8’s and got called all-in by KQ off-suit. Most players don’t realized how easily dominated that hand is. Not only does any pair dominate it, but most players will call or even call all in with AK when calling. Then ½ of the outs are no good for the KQ.
After the tournament I played 4/8 for a few hours and broke even.
Then I walked across the street and joined a 10/20 game. I had my first significant loss in that game. I am frustrated, not at myself, but at the 5 bad beats it took to beat me at that game in the space of 3 hours. I lost with AA, on the river to a guy who called me down with 4/5 and caught a 5 on the turn. I lost after flopping a straight, three of a kind, and a King high flush along Aces and Kings when I flopped top two pair.
Well, when I think back at my time in Washington. I will remember it fondly, except for this afternoon. I dropped $700, when I should have been up at least $300, if anyone of those bad beats had not occurred.
Oh, vey, dat’s poker, as dey sey!
Well, I am going to dump the crap out of my RV here at the rest stop before I leave the state. I am also working on “dumping” the “bad attitude” I am caring right now too. Too bad changing an attitude is not like dumping the RV. Just attach a hose and open a valve and you are empty and clean again…..
I got to remember and practice what Johnny Moss said years ago….” The next best thing to a day of playing poker and winning is a day of playing poker and losing.
I had my day.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
No free food for you
Policy is policy….
I left Muckleshoot Casino after winning the tournament this morning and headed over to The Iron Horse Casino to play a little 3/6 while I ate their free lunch.
It was not to be. I stopped in and there was a list of 4 waiting for a seat at the table.
Well, I thought I would just order the lunch while I waited. The last two times, I stopped in they asked me if I wanted my player’s food comp while I waited. They were quite friendly about it.
This time there was a Chinese Woman floor manager who was badly in need of customer service skills.
When I asked if I could eat while I waited she said “Only people with player club card can do”. Then I remembered when I stopped in here the first time they were so nice I signed up for the player club card because I thought I would be back.
So I said “no problem, here and handed her my club card. I went over sat down and started looking at a menu. She came back in a few minutes and said. “No free food until you play, you have only played here a few hours. Only customer, who have played many hours here can eat free food before they play.”
I said that is right I have only played here about 6 hours because I joined TWO DAYS ago. Then I made a mistake by attempting to use logic with her. “So when I get a seat how long will I have to play before I order free food?
She said. “No wait, you play, you can order right away”. Ok, I say let’s see if I got this straight. I want to play now. But, you can’t give me a seat now. You don’t have a seat for me.
I want to eat, but I can’t eat till I get a seat?
She then proceeds to say, “I explain policy to you so you understand. I said I don’t understand your policy. She said “I explain, you play a lot of hours on your card. you eat before you play. You not play a lot of hours you eat when you play. “Now I explain policy and you understand”.
I said are you the poker supervisor today? She said yes and proceeds to begin to explain the policy again. . I said I understand your policy now. I don’t like your policy. I don’t like your customer service policy. I don’t like your room anymore, I quit your club, here take my card, I don’t stay now that I understand your policy.
She continued to follow me to the door saying that is policy.
I went to the RV and ate lunch in peace.
I left Muckleshoot Casino after winning the tournament this morning and headed over to The Iron Horse Casino to play a little 3/6 while I ate their free lunch.
It was not to be. I stopped in and there was a list of 4 waiting for a seat at the table.
Well, I thought I would just order the lunch while I waited. The last two times, I stopped in they asked me if I wanted my player’s food comp while I waited. They were quite friendly about it.
This time there was a Chinese Woman floor manager who was badly in need of customer service skills.
When I asked if I could eat while I waited she said “Only people with player club card can do”. Then I remembered when I stopped in here the first time they were so nice I signed up for the player club card because I thought I would be back.
So I said “no problem, here and handed her my club card. I went over sat down and started looking at a menu. She came back in a few minutes and said. “No free food until you play, you have only played here a few hours. Only customer, who have played many hours here can eat free food before they play.”
I said that is right I have only played here about 6 hours because I joined TWO DAYS ago. Then I made a mistake by attempting to use logic with her. “So when I get a seat how long will I have to play before I order free food?
She said. “No wait, you play, you can order right away”. Ok, I say let’s see if I got this straight. I want to play now. But, you can’t give me a seat now. You don’t have a seat for me.
I want to eat, but I can’t eat till I get a seat?
She then proceeds to say, “I explain policy to you so you understand. I said I don’t understand your policy. She said “I explain, you play a lot of hours on your card. you eat before you play. You not play a lot of hours you eat when you play. “Now I explain policy and you understand”.
I said are you the poker supervisor today? She said yes and proceeds to begin to explain the policy again. . I said I understand your policy now. I don’t like your policy. I don’t like your customer service policy. I don’t like your room anymore, I quit your club, here take my card, I don’t stay now that I understand your policy.
She continued to follow me to the door saying that is policy.
I went to the RV and ate lunch in peace.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Won a tournament!
I woke up in time to just make it to the morning $60 buy-in No-Limit tournament at Muckleshoot Casino. There were about 40 players and the tournament started at 10:30 A.M.
I won it.
I had almost all the chips, though I did agree to a chop within a chop.
They normally only pay 4 places in this tournament. When there were 6 people, we agreed to give everybody $200 out of the price pool, regardless of what position they went out in. Then first place would pay an additional $300 and 2nd place would pay $100.
I did play well. I avoided playing suited K10, in two different situations I used to do without thinking much about it. In either case I would have been knocked out of the tournament had I played that hand.
There is one noteworthy hand that caused me to win the tournament. We were down to 5 players and the blinds were 1K & 2K.
I had about 12K and was the 2nd lowest chip count. I was in seat 1 on the small blind.
Seat 7 raised it to 4k of his 8k in chips. Seat 8 raised it to 6K which to me, based on his previous play was an obvious attempt to steal it with a non-premium hand or he would have gone all-in.
I thought about it for quite awhile and believed he was on a King high to do that.
I went all-in for my 12K with my A5 suited. The big blind right behind me, started to call by throwing in a handful of 1k chips across the line. He then froze up with fear and said I thought the bet was only 6K not 12K and pulled his chips back out of the pot.
The tournament director was actually dealing to give a dealer a break at the time. I glanced at him and he looked back at me. Technically, if a player objects, to that breach of the rules, that player is forced to put in his chips and call the bet.
I held my mouth shut. The tournament dealer continued to look at me and I said nothing.
He then proceed on with dealing the hand. He cannot call the foul. He can only enforce it when another player points it out. I did not want him in, and I was not about to force him into playing.
The hand was played out. An Ace came on the flop. I won it with a single pair of Aces with my weak little 5 kicker. The big blind, the player, who had retracted his bet was in anguish. He had an A10 and he believed I must have had a bigger kicker then him to play it that strong.
The tournament director told him and I the real play of the day was when I didn’t say anything and let him retract his chips.
He said a lot of players immediately react to something like that and say he has to put his chips in. My nice guy image, deceived the player, and offered a reasonable reason for my not objecting to him, removing his chips, out of the pot, after he had thrown them in.
I then was able to use my big stack to bully the table and knock two others out, which gave me the mammoth chip lead.
I was willing to split the pot, and possibly make a $100 less then I might have, because I am a nice guy. However the real reason I agreed to chop at the end is, because I know anything can happen in a poker game regardless of how many chips you are ahead.
I won it.
I had almost all the chips, though I did agree to a chop within a chop.
They normally only pay 4 places in this tournament. When there were 6 people, we agreed to give everybody $200 out of the price pool, regardless of what position they went out in. Then first place would pay an additional $300 and 2nd place would pay $100.
I did play well. I avoided playing suited K10, in two different situations I used to do without thinking much about it. In either case I would have been knocked out of the tournament had I played that hand.
There is one noteworthy hand that caused me to win the tournament. We were down to 5 players and the blinds were 1K & 2K.
I had about 12K and was the 2nd lowest chip count. I was in seat 1 on the small blind.
Seat 7 raised it to 4k of his 8k in chips. Seat 8 raised it to 6K which to me, based on his previous play was an obvious attempt to steal it with a non-premium hand or he would have gone all-in.
I thought about it for quite awhile and believed he was on a King high to do that.
I went all-in for my 12K with my A5 suited. The big blind right behind me, started to call by throwing in a handful of 1k chips across the line. He then froze up with fear and said I thought the bet was only 6K not 12K and pulled his chips back out of the pot.
The tournament director was actually dealing to give a dealer a break at the time. I glanced at him and he looked back at me. Technically, if a player objects, to that breach of the rules, that player is forced to put in his chips and call the bet.
I held my mouth shut. The tournament dealer continued to look at me and I said nothing.
He then proceed on with dealing the hand. He cannot call the foul. He can only enforce it when another player points it out. I did not want him in, and I was not about to force him into playing.
The hand was played out. An Ace came on the flop. I won it with a single pair of Aces with my weak little 5 kicker. The big blind, the player, who had retracted his bet was in anguish. He had an A10 and he believed I must have had a bigger kicker then him to play it that strong.
The tournament director told him and I the real play of the day was when I didn’t say anything and let him retract his chips.
He said a lot of players immediately react to something like that and say he has to put his chips in. My nice guy image, deceived the player, and offered a reasonable reason for my not objecting to him, removing his chips, out of the pot, after he had thrown them in.
I then was able to use my big stack to bully the table and knock two others out, which gave me the mammoth chip lead.
I was willing to split the pot, and possibly make a $100 less then I might have, because I am a nice guy. However the real reason I agreed to chop at the end is, because I know anything can happen in a poker game regardless of how many chips you are ahead.
Back to Auburn again....
This afternoon in Renton, Washington, Pokey the Dog and I walked around in the city park. A couple of guys playing basketball let me borrow one of their basketballs. I shot some free throws. The shooting and the bouncing of the basketball freaked Pokey out a little and he stayed on the outside of the court.
I went into Diamond Lil’s Casino in Renton which had a number of nice games. They played 4/8, 8/16 &12/24 limit which I had never seen before. I asked about the tournament and was told it started at 6:30 p.m. I should have asked what kind of tournament it was?
I bought in for the $65 and then walked Pokey the ½ hour before it started.
The first hand I raised to $200 and was laughed at. It was a limit tournament. The limits at that time were $25. (That was all you could bet)
I never play limit tournaments. I don’t think there is much skill involved, you just have to get luck and have the best cards. Also they take a long time to complete. I didn’t last very long in the tournament and was soon looking for a live game.
I started at a 4/8 game waiting for a 8/16 seat to open up. It did, and the table was filled with pretty good players. I was able to get up only about $40 in the first hour. Then a new table started and I moved over to it hoping to find a “softer” game. I did and was able to double my $200 buy-in over the next hour.
I decided to start driving back further south toward Muckelshoot Casino in Auburn because this Casino had no parking lot. I was parked in a grocery store lot that had just closed and it was a pretty dark lot.
When I drove back into Auburn, I remembered where a couple of Internet access points were. I drove to one of them upload my latest blog. I also spent a little time reading other Poker Blogs and checking my email.
I stopped in the Iron Horse Casino I had visited here in Auburn last week and was able to double up my money on a 3/6 game. I got some nice cards and made some big pots with two sets against top two pair. They also have free food comps, so I had a salad and sandwich on them.
I am going to drive the two miles to Muckleshoot Casino and spend the night in their parking lot. Tomorrow, I may start driving further south.
I will check to see if their No-Limit game is going tonight. I kind of doubt it because of it being Tuesday night.
Only a couple of days left in Washington.
Good night from Muckelshoot Casino.
I went into Diamond Lil’s Casino in Renton which had a number of nice games. They played 4/8, 8/16 &12/24 limit which I had never seen before. I asked about the tournament and was told it started at 6:30 p.m. I should have asked what kind of tournament it was?
I bought in for the $65 and then walked Pokey the ½ hour before it started.
The first hand I raised to $200 and was laughed at. It was a limit tournament. The limits at that time were $25. (That was all you could bet)
I never play limit tournaments. I don’t think there is much skill involved, you just have to get luck and have the best cards. Also they take a long time to complete. I didn’t last very long in the tournament and was soon looking for a live game.
I started at a 4/8 game waiting for a 8/16 seat to open up. It did, and the table was filled with pretty good players. I was able to get up only about $40 in the first hour. Then a new table started and I moved over to it hoping to find a “softer” game. I did and was able to double my $200 buy-in over the next hour.
I decided to start driving back further south toward Muckelshoot Casino in Auburn because this Casino had no parking lot. I was parked in a grocery store lot that had just closed and it was a pretty dark lot.
When I drove back into Auburn, I remembered where a couple of Internet access points were. I drove to one of them upload my latest blog. I also spent a little time reading other Poker Blogs and checking my email.
I stopped in the Iron Horse Casino I had visited here in Auburn last week and was able to double up my money on a 3/6 game. I got some nice cards and made some big pots with two sets against top two pair. They also have free food comps, so I had a salad and sandwich on them.
I am going to drive the two miles to Muckleshoot Casino and spend the night in their parking lot. Tomorrow, I may start driving further south.
I will check to see if their No-Limit game is going tonight. I kind of doubt it because of it being Tuesday night.
Only a couple of days left in Washington.
Good night from Muckelshoot Casino.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Renton Casinos...
Well, I woke up in the parking lot of the Drift on Inn and Hollywood Casino in North Shore, Washington at 11:00. It was just in time to make Pokey the dog and me breakfast and get inside for the 11:30 morning tournament. Who needs to shower and change clothes when you are an old guy and a dog traveling in an RV. It would be different if Caren were with us, but brushing my teeth and hair is enough for this morning. (I will refrain from trying to turn this into a joke about the “hair of the dog”.)
Who do I want to impress anyway? (I know who will be there, 40 other old guys, who have the time to play a poker tournament at 11:30 in the morning on a work day. Beside they wouldn’t be impressed if I came in a Tuxedo. In fact, it would make the jokes that much worse.)
I made the final table and went out in third place for $220. I only got all-in lucky once. Early in the tournament I went raised all-in with an Ace-King diamonds and got called by a pair of Kings. The flop had an Ace and he was upset, but as I candidly admitted when he said he had the best hand pre-flop “You got to get lucky, to win one of these things.”
I was the chip leader when were at three and the other two were playing super cautious. We also had made an agreement to split the pool $220 for 2nd & 3 and $270 for 1st so I played a little more aggressive at this point thinking I could dominate. I would have if it wasn’t for two hands getting outdrawn. The first one I went all in with KK against 99 and a third 9 flopped. He won that one.
The very same guy I went all in with 99 two hands later and he turned over AQ. A third 9 flopped giving me almost a lock. However, anything can happen in a poker draw and it did. The other two in the flop were J,7. The turn was K, and the river a 10 for him to hit a runner-runner-gut-shot straight. It was a very low probability, but as I say about probabilities in poker draws, after the fact it is a 100% probability and no amount of skill can beat a lucky draw.
I felt very good about my tournament play and it took two low probability outdraws to get me out of the tournament.
So we headed south through Seattle to a South East Suburb of Renton. I am planning on playing here tonight and finding a place to stay the night here.
Pokey and I stopped at the main public park for some serious walking time and dog playing time. He has been such a great companion on the trip and has done so well in the RV with me.
I just flipped on the hot water heater. I may take a little nap, make dinner, and take a shower before I go to Diamond Lil’s or Freddie’s Club. I have a program on the computer even when I am not on-line that let’s me look up any address in the U.S. and get directions to it. It has served me well in finding my way to small casinos I see advertised in Poker Magazines.
Who do I want to impress anyway? (I know who will be there, 40 other old guys, who have the time to play a poker tournament at 11:30 in the morning on a work day. Beside they wouldn’t be impressed if I came in a Tuxedo. In fact, it would make the jokes that much worse.)
I made the final table and went out in third place for $220. I only got all-in lucky once. Early in the tournament I went raised all-in with an Ace-King diamonds and got called by a pair of Kings. The flop had an Ace and he was upset, but as I candidly admitted when he said he had the best hand pre-flop “You got to get lucky, to win one of these things.”
I was the chip leader when were at three and the other two were playing super cautious. We also had made an agreement to split the pool $220 for 2nd & 3 and $270 for 1st so I played a little more aggressive at this point thinking I could dominate. I would have if it wasn’t for two hands getting outdrawn. The first one I went all in with KK against 99 and a third 9 flopped. He won that one.
The very same guy I went all in with 99 two hands later and he turned over AQ. A third 9 flopped giving me almost a lock. However, anything can happen in a poker draw and it did. The other two in the flop were J,7. The turn was K, and the river a 10 for him to hit a runner-runner-gut-shot straight. It was a very low probability, but as I say about probabilities in poker draws, after the fact it is a 100% probability and no amount of skill can beat a lucky draw.
I felt very good about my tournament play and it took two low probability outdraws to get me out of the tournament.
So we headed south through Seattle to a South East Suburb of Renton. I am planning on playing here tonight and finding a place to stay the night here.
Pokey and I stopped at the main public park for some serious walking time and dog playing time. He has been such a great companion on the trip and has done so well in the RV with me.
I just flipped on the hot water heater. I may take a little nap, make dinner, and take a shower before I go to Diamond Lil’s or Freddie’s Club. I have a program on the computer even when I am not on-line that let’s me look up any address in the U.S. and get directions to it. It has served me well in finding my way to small casinos I see advertised in Poker Magazines.
One day, seven Casinos
Well, I finally had a losing session. It wasn’t bad though. I lost $100 playing 4/8 at the Drift On Inn after 3 hours of play there tonight.
Today, has been a marathon of Casinos for me.
I woke up this morning and left the Tulalip Indian Casino and drove into Everett, Washington and stopped first at the New Grove Casino.
They have my vote for the friendliest casino I have ever been in. After you give your name, each of the dealers calls you by name. Even the dealers, who have just come on shift, after you have been there awhile, call you by your name. The regular players each call you by your name. The level of respect was truly remarkable.
I played 3/6 Omaha until a seat in the 4/8 Hold-em game opened up. I moved tables about $20 up. I then played another two hours and left this casino up $12.
I drove a little farther south on Hwy 99 and came to an Iron Horse casino. There was a tournament starting in a half hour, so I went out to the RV and made dinner for pokey and me.
There were 24 people in the tournament and I finished in 5th place. It paid me $25 which was the amount of the buy-in. So I broke even for the tournament.
I drove just a little further down Hwy 99 and stopped in at the Royal Casino. All they had was one table of 3/6. When I told the board man “I think I will drive a little more”, he said, “that’s a good idea”, looking over at the guys at the table. I am not sure what exactly that meant, but I thanked him and started out the door. I noticed they had a lot of decks of cards stacked over in the corner and I requested some for the patients at Caren’s hospital program. They were very gracious and gave me an entire case of used decks of cards for her.
Another 10 miles down the road I stopped in at the Silver Dollar Casino. They did not have any poker going at the time so I went down the block to the Red Dragon Casino. As you may guess, it appeared to have Asian ownership and a lot of Asian customers. I played 4/8 for a few hours and was served a free Chinese dinner of General Tso Chicken over broccoli. It was very delicious.
I left there up 2 dollars, plus a free meal, and drove down the road and saw the Drift-on Inn. I had stopped there on the way north and had a very nice time.
This time I decided to park right by the casino entrance so I could spend the night in what I believe to be a safe, well-lit area. The last time I was here I parked on the perimeter of the parking lot and the area did not feel that safe to me.
So the net count today is 7 casinos visited and about a net $80 loss. I sure got in a lot of hands of poker for that $80 and if I hadn’t made a dumb mistake on one of the last hands I played, I would have broken even.
I had a 5,6 and the flop came 776. I bet out and 4 people called. I assumed one of them must have the 7. The turn was an 8 and I checked. Three people bet. I decided to call because the pot odds were good and I had an open ended straight draw. I probably should have raised, but I went passive on this hand, which is usually not a good thing to do.
Then the river came a Q and I checked and two people called. They were both good players. I thought one of them surely has a 7. The first caller threw his hand in face down for a fold after getting called. The second one turned up an A9. All he had was an Ace High. I would have won with my pair of 6’s he bluffed both me and the other guy who threw his hand face down out of the pot. It was a good play and maybe, if I had not played all day, I would have called and won, like I should have because of the amount of money in the pot.
Oh, well, that really is the only mistake I can think of that I made today, and it didn’t cost me too much, so I am not going to be too hard on myself for that one. I am going to just try not to do it again.
Well, tomorrow is another day. Hopefully, it will be clear, because I am hoping to do a little sightseeing in the east suburbs of Seattle.
Today, has been a marathon of Casinos for me.
I woke up this morning and left the Tulalip Indian Casino and drove into Everett, Washington and stopped first at the New Grove Casino.
They have my vote for the friendliest casino I have ever been in. After you give your name, each of the dealers calls you by name. Even the dealers, who have just come on shift, after you have been there awhile, call you by your name. The regular players each call you by your name. The level of respect was truly remarkable.
I played 3/6 Omaha until a seat in the 4/8 Hold-em game opened up. I moved tables about $20 up. I then played another two hours and left this casino up $12.
I drove a little farther south on Hwy 99 and came to an Iron Horse casino. There was a tournament starting in a half hour, so I went out to the RV and made dinner for pokey and me.
There were 24 people in the tournament and I finished in 5th place. It paid me $25 which was the amount of the buy-in. So I broke even for the tournament.
I drove just a little further down Hwy 99 and stopped in at the Royal Casino. All they had was one table of 3/6. When I told the board man “I think I will drive a little more”, he said, “that’s a good idea”, looking over at the guys at the table. I am not sure what exactly that meant, but I thanked him and started out the door. I noticed they had a lot of decks of cards stacked over in the corner and I requested some for the patients at Caren’s hospital program. They were very gracious and gave me an entire case of used decks of cards for her.
Another 10 miles down the road I stopped in at the Silver Dollar Casino. They did not have any poker going at the time so I went down the block to the Red Dragon Casino. As you may guess, it appeared to have Asian ownership and a lot of Asian customers. I played 4/8 for a few hours and was served a free Chinese dinner of General Tso Chicken over broccoli. It was very delicious.
I left there up 2 dollars, plus a free meal, and drove down the road and saw the Drift-on Inn. I had stopped there on the way north and had a very nice time.
This time I decided to park right by the casino entrance so I could spend the night in what I believe to be a safe, well-lit area. The last time I was here I parked on the perimeter of the parking lot and the area did not feel that safe to me.
So the net count today is 7 casinos visited and about a net $80 loss. I sure got in a lot of hands of poker for that $80 and if I hadn’t made a dumb mistake on one of the last hands I played, I would have broken even.
I had a 5,6 and the flop came 776. I bet out and 4 people called. I assumed one of them must have the 7. The turn was an 8 and I checked. Three people bet. I decided to call because the pot odds were good and I had an open ended straight draw. I probably should have raised, but I went passive on this hand, which is usually not a good thing to do.
Then the river came a Q and I checked and two people called. They were both good players. I thought one of them surely has a 7. The first caller threw his hand in face down for a fold after getting called. The second one turned up an A9. All he had was an Ace High. I would have won with my pair of 6’s he bluffed both me and the other guy who threw his hand face down out of the pot. It was a good play and maybe, if I had not played all day, I would have called and won, like I should have because of the amount of money in the pot.
Oh, well, that really is the only mistake I can think of that I made today, and it didn’t cost me too much, so I am not going to be too hard on myself for that one. I am going to just try not to do it again.
Well, tomorrow is another day. Hopefully, it will be clear, because I am hoping to do a little sightseeing in the east suburbs of Seattle.
Monday, October 09, 2006
Tuda-loo Tudalip!
I am going to miss this place. So far the nicest poker room and the nicest RV parking lot I have enjoyed on this trip has been here at Tulalip in Marysville, Washington
I am planning on leaving tomorrow, but I have not had a losing session here at all. I wonder how long it could go on?
I just came back from another later session in the evening on 3/5 No Limit. I bought in for $200 and cashed out $800 about 2 hours later. I am playing at the right times. I have been lucky hitting cards, getting out early, and taking advantage of my position. It has been a very profitable time here at Tulalip, but I do need to start moving on. Beside, the Casino closes at 6 A.M. and I have heard the games will not be that juicy until closer to next weekend. So I am trying to play smart as well as play at the right times.
It is a very cold night tonight with a full moon out. There is frost on the windows. I think it is ice on the outside of the front window shield.
Tomorrow I will stop by Marysville to upload these last couple of blogs and then will check out Everett and a couple of little casinos I saw there on the way. I am hoping to find a rest stop with a RV dump so I can start this next leg of the trip with empty holding tanks and a full load of fresh water.
Good night for now from the great Northwest. Let’s see how I do with some weekday limit games at smaller clubs. Maybe, I will get to play one of those blackjack tournaments again.
I am planning on leaving tomorrow, but I have not had a losing session here at all. I wonder how long it could go on?
I just came back from another later session in the evening on 3/5 No Limit. I bought in for $200 and cashed out $800 about 2 hours later. I am playing at the right times. I have been lucky hitting cards, getting out early, and taking advantage of my position. It has been a very profitable time here at Tulalip, but I do need to start moving on. Beside, the Casino closes at 6 A.M. and I have heard the games will not be that juicy until closer to next weekend. So I am trying to play smart as well as play at the right times.
It is a very cold night tonight with a full moon out. There is frost on the windows. I think it is ice on the outside of the front window shield.
Tomorrow I will stop by Marysville to upload these last couple of blogs and then will check out Everett and a couple of little casinos I saw there on the way. I am hoping to find a rest stop with a RV dump so I can start this next leg of the trip with empty holding tanks and a full load of fresh water.
Good night for now from the great Northwest. Let’s see how I do with some weekday limit games at smaller clubs. Maybe, I will get to play one of those blackjack tournaments again.
How not to celebrate a birthday.....
The one thing about Poker is no matter how many times you have played it. No matter how many years you may have played, you will probably see something new every day you play.
Today I did. I just participated in the hand of the century. It is hard to imagine I will ever see anything quite so unlikely or so emotionally satisfying.
I sat down at a 3/5 No Limit game at Tulalip Casino. There was an Asian woman who was celebrating her 39th birthday by drinking all day. She was loud, she was obnoxious, she was drunk, and she would go all in with no hand or any hand. I also suspect she was maniac-depressive on a maniac episode.
She would lose a thousand. Then she would re-buy and go all in on a 5 and a 7 for $500.
Of course the KK would call her and she would catch a 5 and a 7 for two pair to get a thousand back.
I was getting a headache from her noise and I didn’t wish to play poker like this so I moved to the bigger game that was just opening up. She moved there.
She continued that pattern and I won a couple of smaller pots. However, I wasn’t willing to move in $500 pre-flop, so I couldn’t play much and folded respectable hands when she would do that.
Now comes the hand of the century.
I looked down at pocket tens on the button. A bet for $25 was made, then it was called by three people. I decided since I had been playing so tight this would be a good time to try to steal the $100 out there so I raised it to $125. The person to my left, who had about as many chips as I had, re-raised it to $325.
The yelling birthday girl goes all in for $450. The seat to my right goes all in for $450.
I was praying he wouldn’t bet, so it would be an easy decision for me to fold. It is now $325 more to me, but I had won about $700 so far and the odds were acceptable, so I decided to gamble by calling.
The flop came 5,5,Q The guy with chips looks at me and checks. I check back. The turn comes another 5. I have a full house with 10’s, but I don’t think that is going to be good enough to win this hand. He checks and I check.
The river comes the 4th five, putting quad 5’s on the board with a queen kicker. Any Ace or King is going to win the pot and I am looking at tens.
He checks, I check and the four of us turn over our cards. The guy to my right has 88, I have 10,10, the guy to my left has JJ, and the screamer has QQ, who proceeds to scream at the top of her lungs “I won, I won.” Not once, not twice, but more times then I could count. This was not your ordinary screaming either. This was glass shattering, hands over their ears by the persons on either side of her, and potential serious ear damage screaming. “I won, I won, I won….” finally someone got her attention and told her this $1700 pot she was screaming, that she thought she had won, was a 4 way split. She did not win it.
Everybody who played won, because the best hand was the board quad 5’s with a queen kicker. It didn’t matter that she had 3 queens. We all shared the board Queen, and no one had a King or an Ace that would have been higher then the board.
Now her screaming of ecstasy turned into shrieks of cursing. The guy next to her, told her to shut up, and they got into a yelling match. Then the floor person came over to try to quiet her down and she walked out of the room, while yelling at the dealer, the floor person, and the player to her right in a rapid, maniac, shrieking manner.
As we stacked our $450 of chips each, that we had put in the pot, the smiles were ear to ear. Even the people who were not in the hand, and the 20 or so people who had gathered around the table to watch the spectacle were laughing and talking about that hand.
The river 5 was the only card in the deck that could have produced that four-way split.
She had the best hand from Pre-Flop thru the turn, and only the highest mathematically improbability possible in poker could have had this result.
Only the emotion, the drama, the probabilities, and the psychology of poker could have produced a experience like this. It could not have been scripted any better.
Today I did. I just participated in the hand of the century. It is hard to imagine I will ever see anything quite so unlikely or so emotionally satisfying.
I sat down at a 3/5 No Limit game at Tulalip Casino. There was an Asian woman who was celebrating her 39th birthday by drinking all day. She was loud, she was obnoxious, she was drunk, and she would go all in with no hand or any hand. I also suspect she was maniac-depressive on a maniac episode.
She would lose a thousand. Then she would re-buy and go all in on a 5 and a 7 for $500.
Of course the KK would call her and she would catch a 5 and a 7 for two pair to get a thousand back.
I was getting a headache from her noise and I didn’t wish to play poker like this so I moved to the bigger game that was just opening up. She moved there.
She continued that pattern and I won a couple of smaller pots. However, I wasn’t willing to move in $500 pre-flop, so I couldn’t play much and folded respectable hands when she would do that.
Now comes the hand of the century.
I looked down at pocket tens on the button. A bet for $25 was made, then it was called by three people. I decided since I had been playing so tight this would be a good time to try to steal the $100 out there so I raised it to $125. The person to my left, who had about as many chips as I had, re-raised it to $325.
The yelling birthday girl goes all in for $450. The seat to my right goes all in for $450.
I was praying he wouldn’t bet, so it would be an easy decision for me to fold. It is now $325 more to me, but I had won about $700 so far and the odds were acceptable, so I decided to gamble by calling.
The flop came 5,5,Q The guy with chips looks at me and checks. I check back. The turn comes another 5. I have a full house with 10’s, but I don’t think that is going to be good enough to win this hand. He checks and I check.
The river comes the 4th five, putting quad 5’s on the board with a queen kicker. Any Ace or King is going to win the pot and I am looking at tens.
He checks, I check and the four of us turn over our cards. The guy to my right has 88, I have 10,10, the guy to my left has JJ, and the screamer has QQ, who proceeds to scream at the top of her lungs “I won, I won.” Not once, not twice, but more times then I could count. This was not your ordinary screaming either. This was glass shattering, hands over their ears by the persons on either side of her, and potential serious ear damage screaming. “I won, I won, I won….” finally someone got her attention and told her this $1700 pot she was screaming, that she thought she had won, was a 4 way split. She did not win it.
Everybody who played won, because the best hand was the board quad 5’s with a queen kicker. It didn’t matter that she had 3 queens. We all shared the board Queen, and no one had a King or an Ace that would have been higher then the board.
Now her screaming of ecstasy turned into shrieks of cursing. The guy next to her, told her to shut up, and they got into a yelling match. Then the floor person came over to try to quiet her down and she walked out of the room, while yelling at the dealer, the floor person, and the player to her right in a rapid, maniac, shrieking manner.
As we stacked our $450 of chips each, that we had put in the pot, the smiles were ear to ear. Even the people who were not in the hand, and the 20 or so people who had gathered around the table to watch the spectacle were laughing and talking about that hand.
The river 5 was the only card in the deck that could have produced that four-way split.
She had the best hand from Pre-Flop thru the turn, and only the highest mathematically improbability possible in poker could have had this result.
Only the emotion, the drama, the probabilities, and the psychology of poker could have produced a experience like this. It could not have been scripted any better.
Tulalip Tournament Today!
Well, I just finished a nap in the RV this afternoon. I am going in to play for the evening in just a few minutes, but I thought I would tell you about my tournament this afternoon.
The tournament was a $50 buy-in and started at Noon. They paid bounties of $10, if you knocked someone else out. Everybody got a green token and you put that in with your all-in money. The person who knocked you out would receive the green token. You were paid $10 for every green token you possessed, when you reached the final table, or were knocked out yourself. (Assuming you had more then one green token at that time.)
There were 170 beginning players. I was steadily accumulating a chip stack. I was the big blind for $200 when a player two seats to my right threw in $800. I thought he was all in, because he had just gone all in for 400 and had won just the blinds the previous hand. It turns out he still had $200 hidden under his hand.
In a tournament you turn over your hand faceup, when you are in against one other person and all their money is in. It is considered bad form to slow roll, especially when you think you have the best hand. So, I promptly turned over my Ace, Queen hearts which I believed was the best hand at that point based on his previous play.
The dealer immediately said my hand was “dead” and pushed the pot to the other player.
I said “what are you doing? It is only him and me in the pot. He said that’s the rules. I appealed to the floor man who said “your hand is dead” and walked away. I couldn’t believe they had such a stupid rule. If you show your hand, even if one other person is in the pot with you before the dealer says turn over your hand, your hand is declared dead.
I am not convinced the regular hid two chips under his hand deliberately. It was a very unusual bet to bet $800 to try to steal the blind when you have $1,000 in chips.
I asked for the reason a rule like that was in place here? I have never heard of it anywhere else when you are heads up with someone. I was told in response that’s the rule.
I had to go take a walk to calm down. I was playing very well and I was upset and I knew I couldn’t play well this upset.
I came back a few minutes later, listened to music on the Ipod and decided the best thing to do was to get back on my game and play as well as I could. I have always had difficulty with rules, that make no sense, and especially with people, who simply say that’s the rules without being able to offer a explanation for why the rule is in place.
Later during the break the dealer admitted he hated the rule and had almost told me to turn my cards over, because he thought the other fellow was all-in also. He said if I had waited for him to tell me to turn them over things might have been different.
Later, when I got hold of the tournament director, he said the reason they have the rule is when a person goes all in and the other person who is thinking about calling shows his cards to him he may try to get a read off him. I said you mean like they do in all the WSOP and WPT tournaments? That is a regular part of poker. He sheepishly admitted well that’s how we do it here.
Then I said “in that kind of situation then can I just tell him what I have to try to get a read off him”? He said I won’t allow it. I said what if I lie and tell him something I don’t have? He said “I won’t allow it”. I thanked him and walked away thinking glad he wasn’t around a little earlier when I did just that.
I had pocket kings in the small blind. The blinds were $50-100 The first to act said I raise and he put in $200 Three people called. I said that’s not a raise. This is a raise...$1200. He thought about it for a moment or two and called. The flop came AA7. It couldn’t be worse for me. I checked and he bet out $1000. I thought about it for a long time. He didn’t go all in. Does he want a call? No, he could have checked or bet small if he did. He doesn’t totally look relaxed to me. I said time, and thought about it for a long time.
Finally I said “I haven’t gotten to a point where I can lay down pocket kings yet” as I slowly reached for chips. I thought I saw a slight flinch and I knew I had him. “I am all in”, I declared. He dejectedly said, “good call” and threw in his hand. The table was appreciative, and I heard one person say “now that’s good poker”. I felt good about my improvement in slowing down and reasoning out hands along with picking up information from others.
When I reached the final table I had 7 tokens to turn in. Whereas, I bought in for $50 and just cashed $70 and would make no less then $200 for at least 10th position I felt pretty good about the tournament, but still thought that odd rule was quite stupid.
I placed 2nd and took away $800 for this 4 hour tournament. It has been a while since I placed high in a tournament. It felt really good.
The tournament was a $50 buy-in and started at Noon. They paid bounties of $10, if you knocked someone else out. Everybody got a green token and you put that in with your all-in money. The person who knocked you out would receive the green token. You were paid $10 for every green token you possessed, when you reached the final table, or were knocked out yourself. (Assuming you had more then one green token at that time.)
There were 170 beginning players. I was steadily accumulating a chip stack. I was the big blind for $200 when a player two seats to my right threw in $800. I thought he was all in, because he had just gone all in for 400 and had won just the blinds the previous hand. It turns out he still had $200 hidden under his hand.
In a tournament you turn over your hand faceup, when you are in against one other person and all their money is in. It is considered bad form to slow roll, especially when you think you have the best hand. So, I promptly turned over my Ace, Queen hearts which I believed was the best hand at that point based on his previous play.
The dealer immediately said my hand was “dead” and pushed the pot to the other player.
I said “what are you doing? It is only him and me in the pot. He said that’s the rules. I appealed to the floor man who said “your hand is dead” and walked away. I couldn’t believe they had such a stupid rule. If you show your hand, even if one other person is in the pot with you before the dealer says turn over your hand, your hand is declared dead.
I am not convinced the regular hid two chips under his hand deliberately. It was a very unusual bet to bet $800 to try to steal the blind when you have $1,000 in chips.
I asked for the reason a rule like that was in place here? I have never heard of it anywhere else when you are heads up with someone. I was told in response that’s the rule.
I had to go take a walk to calm down. I was playing very well and I was upset and I knew I couldn’t play well this upset.
I came back a few minutes later, listened to music on the Ipod and decided the best thing to do was to get back on my game and play as well as I could. I have always had difficulty with rules, that make no sense, and especially with people, who simply say that’s the rules without being able to offer a explanation for why the rule is in place.
Later during the break the dealer admitted he hated the rule and had almost told me to turn my cards over, because he thought the other fellow was all-in also. He said if I had waited for him to tell me to turn them over things might have been different.
Later, when I got hold of the tournament director, he said the reason they have the rule is when a person goes all in and the other person who is thinking about calling shows his cards to him he may try to get a read off him. I said you mean like they do in all the WSOP and WPT tournaments? That is a regular part of poker. He sheepishly admitted well that’s how we do it here.
Then I said “in that kind of situation then can I just tell him what I have to try to get a read off him”? He said I won’t allow it. I said what if I lie and tell him something I don’t have? He said “I won’t allow it”. I thanked him and walked away thinking glad he wasn’t around a little earlier when I did just that.
I had pocket kings in the small blind. The blinds were $50-100 The first to act said I raise and he put in $200 Three people called. I said that’s not a raise. This is a raise...$1200. He thought about it for a moment or two and called. The flop came AA7. It couldn’t be worse for me. I checked and he bet out $1000. I thought about it for a long time. He didn’t go all in. Does he want a call? No, he could have checked or bet small if he did. He doesn’t totally look relaxed to me. I said time, and thought about it for a long time.
Finally I said “I haven’t gotten to a point where I can lay down pocket kings yet” as I slowly reached for chips. I thought I saw a slight flinch and I knew I had him. “I am all in”, I declared. He dejectedly said, “good call” and threw in his hand. The table was appreciative, and I heard one person say “now that’s good poker”. I felt good about my improvement in slowing down and reasoning out hands along with picking up information from others.
When I reached the final table I had 7 tokens to turn in. Whereas, I bought in for $50 and just cashed $70 and would make no less then $200 for at least 10th position I felt pretty good about the tournament, but still thought that odd rule was quite stupid.
I placed 2nd and took away $800 for this 4 hour tournament. It has been a while since I placed high in a tournament. It felt really good.
The great thing about RV travel.....
I awoke to another day of cold rain falling on the RV roof. I stayed under the covers as long as I could, but there is a tournament later this morning so I can’t stay here all day. (grin)
For those of you who have just stated reading, or haven’t read this blog for awhile I am one week into a month long trip to prove to myself I can be a professional player.
(Caren my wife, Pokey the dog, and I left San Diego in the RV to drive to Chicago to attend my sister-in-laws funeral. Then we spent the next 2 weeks enjoying Caren’s vacation time from work, as we traveled across the country from Chicago to Portland via Yellowstone National Park.
Caren flew back to San Diego on 9/30 from Portland, which began a month long poker trip from Washington to San Diego for me and Pokey. So far I have lived in the RV one month today. I just finished one week on my own with daily calls to Caren. It took me a week to get from Portland to just north of Everett, Washington (a typical 3 hour drive)
I have played in about 10 casinos and I am up almost, what I hoped to earn on the trip. I still have a long way to go and many casinos to play in. But, it has been a great trip so far.)
Yesterday was spent walking, reading, and then driving 2 miles into town where I knew I could connect with a Wireless Internet connectionn to upload my blog entries and read email.
I played 3/5 No Limit last night at a table of very good players. A couple of them told me after we had played quite awhile this table was unusually tight tonight. I was up around $100 for 4 hours of play when another table seat came open. I moved over there and was able to double my profit from some weaker players. I did lose a $100 the first hand I played when I tried a naked bluff that got called. After that everything I played got called, because they thought I was a bad player. I didn’t plan on getting “caught in a bluff”, but it worked out well for me with the play I got afterward.
I am at the most northern place I will be on this trip. From this point I am going to turn south tomorrow and begin a very slow trek toward San Diego.
My plan at this point is to play a few more days in Washington, then take a few days through Oregon on the coast. There are a couple of small card rooms in Crescent City, & Eureka, California I want to play. After that, then down through the Redwoods and Wine Country to the San Francisco Bay Area.
My plans also include at some point renting a car from Fresno and leaving the RV at my daughter Carrie’s home and driving to San Diego for a weekend trip with her to visit Caren. Upon my return to Fresno, I will then turn over to Las Vegas near the final leg of my trip.
The great thing about RV travel is you can make general plans, and just have a vague idea of where you want to go and no reservations are required. Many people see the destination of a trip. The true RV mindset sees the trip as the destination as soon as you begin as the trip. Or has Budda once said “The road is the trip”. Or maybe that was “Bubba” at the trailer park I heard that one from. You know now that I think about it, it may have been a line from “Easy Rider”. (grin)
For those of you who have just stated reading, or haven’t read this blog for awhile I am one week into a month long trip to prove to myself I can be a professional player.
(Caren my wife, Pokey the dog, and I left San Diego in the RV to drive to Chicago to attend my sister-in-laws funeral. Then we spent the next 2 weeks enjoying Caren’s vacation time from work, as we traveled across the country from Chicago to Portland via Yellowstone National Park.
Caren flew back to San Diego on 9/30 from Portland, which began a month long poker trip from Washington to San Diego for me and Pokey. So far I have lived in the RV one month today. I just finished one week on my own with daily calls to Caren. It took me a week to get from Portland to just north of Everett, Washington (a typical 3 hour drive)
I have played in about 10 casinos and I am up almost, what I hoped to earn on the trip. I still have a long way to go and many casinos to play in. But, it has been a great trip so far.)
Yesterday was spent walking, reading, and then driving 2 miles into town where I knew I could connect with a Wireless Internet connectionn to upload my blog entries and read email.
I played 3/5 No Limit last night at a table of very good players. A couple of them told me after we had played quite awhile this table was unusually tight tonight. I was up around $100 for 4 hours of play when another table seat came open. I moved over there and was able to double my profit from some weaker players. I did lose a $100 the first hand I played when I tried a naked bluff that got called. After that everything I played got called, because they thought I was a bad player. I didn’t plan on getting “caught in a bluff”, but it worked out well for me with the play I got afterward.
I am at the most northern place I will be on this trip. From this point I am going to turn south tomorrow and begin a very slow trek toward San Diego.
My plan at this point is to play a few more days in Washington, then take a few days through Oregon on the coast. There are a couple of small card rooms in Crescent City, & Eureka, California I want to play. After that, then down through the Redwoods and Wine Country to the San Francisco Bay Area.
My plans also include at some point renting a car from Fresno and leaving the RV at my daughter Carrie’s home and driving to San Diego for a weekend trip with her to visit Caren. Upon my return to Fresno, I will then turn over to Las Vegas near the final leg of my trip.
The great thing about RV travel is you can make general plans, and just have a vague idea of where you want to go and no reservations are required. Many people see the destination of a trip. The true RV mindset sees the trip as the destination as soon as you begin as the trip. Or has Budda once said “The road is the trip”. Or maybe that was “Bubba” at the trailer park I heard that one from. You know now that I think about it, it may have been a line from “Easy Rider”. (grin)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
