The Poker Chronicles, Entry 7
Friday, May 6th.
PAULIE AT THE BAT....
Foxwoods-
Call it good luck. Call it great luck. Call it what you like, there was a sound beating Friday night. In truth it was Saturday morning around 2:30 AM, and I was there.
I had gotten to the casino, after dinner and watching some of the sox game, around 10:30 pm. I was delighted as I exited the elevator and made my way past the Hardrock Cafe' and through the casino floor. The place was packed buzzing with fortunes made and lost. I knew it was going to be a long time before I got a seat so I brought with me a copy of 'All In' magazine. This particular edition had a story about movie stars in poker. Ben Affleck, Toby Maguire, Laura Prepon ( that seventy show) and James woods to be specific, seem to have risen to the top of the Hollywood poker world and the article is rather lengthy, which should be just enough to entertain me untill my seat is ready. I remember the sense of gleeful pride and arrogance I had as I snaked my way through all the 2-4 and 4-8 limit tables to get to the 'big boys' area. The higher limit and no limit tables are towards the back of the room and have their own sign in desk with its own board. (The 20 ft jumbo tron that has a list of names and games available.)
I know it was not even a week since leaving the 'kiddie pool' as its commonly called in the room, but I still felt I was a lil bit better than those youngin's sitting there taking in 40 dollars pots. *I* was part time pro now... *I* was ... playing the lowest no limit game offered.. "HA!" I laughed to myself.. How could I be so damn cocky, when I haven’t won a damn thing! Its not like I was playing with the real players at the 5-5 with $1,000 dollar buy-ins. I may not be in the kiddie pool, but Im still in the shallow end of the pool with my winnie the poo flotation device strapped to my waist! I quickly reminded myself that it was going to be allot of work to achieve my goal, and currently the last two weeks I have had a run of cold cards. I wasn’t catching a hand but every 50 deals or so. I was lucky to have not pissed through my playing roll for I had gotten really lucky when it counted. I cleared the bad thoughts out of my head and signed in at the desk. The list ahead of me seemed pretty long, I was 8th. I stood in front of the screen looking up to see how fast the list was moving. After 3 minutes of starring a name came off the list.. perhaps it would go quickly..I remember thinking. I got out the magazine and headed to sit in the sports book area ( it had seats and food and is adjacent to the room). I hadn’t even gotten half way through the poker room when I heard a list of names read off and I was surprised I was one of them...! 4 minutes! 4 minutes on a Friday night... I lucked out on the wait. I sat down and took out my 100, got my chips and posted to get right in. 8-3 off suit. Yuck. Will the cold cards continue? When will I get a hand? I fold after a raise and kiss my first two bucks good bye. Over the next two hours I continue this trend of folding or calling a 5 dollar bet and then folding after not catching any semblance of a hand on the flop. People may ask, ' why didn’t you walk away if you aren’t catching the cards? '. Because I know that poker is not measured by the short time wins or losses, rather, its a long drawn out process of ups and downs, its knowing what to do with the cards you have is the key to the puzzle. Anyways. At the table now sits at least two other semi pro ( if not pro) players that I have seen in the room before. A loose aggressive guy pretending how he doesn’t know how to play ( which only a few others fell for). And a super drunk guy, who is indeed super drunk and not acting. The two pros rarely enter pots and when they do I am sure to get out. We all seem to be waiting for a hand when either of the two suckers bet out a crazy amount, in which they do often. I am delt 9-9. and the drunk guy to my right two seats removed, bets out 40 bucks, a typical bet. Not having played a hand in a while, I called the 40. I thought for sure that the unwritten rule or respect would be given to me all the way around and I would be heads up with super drunk guy. The two pros nod to me approvingly and fold their cards. The guy across from me calls! I give him a look like What the fuck pal? He says " sorry man, I really do have a hand..." really only loud enough for our half of the table to hear. So it is to me, Super drunk guy and the caller. The flop comes down 9-7-6 with two spades. Super drunk guy checks, I have a set of 9's, but I check. The caller bets out another 40 bucks. Super drunk guy calls. I think really long and hard about my three 9's but fold. Losing my 40 bucks. The Caller made his Ace high flush on the turn and took allot of money from super drunk guy. whose never ending flow of 100's seem to fuel the table. Having taken a super hit I was down to 25 bucks. I put another 50 on the table and got more chips, Doubling up with 25 bucks would have been almost worthless. I Played a few hands and actually go a few hands up. I would play position and make raises with mediocre hands, and too my delight, I picked up the blinds a few times. I had worked my way up to 300 bucks. I had met my limit, and was not going to drop below that. The only way I was playing is if I had a bonified hand. I was On the button (last to act) and everyone had limped into the pot, so again playing position and an 'ok' hand ( 5-5 ) I made it 10 bucks to go. Everyone folded except one guy. I planned in my head, if I didn’t get a set on the flop and if this guy bets out, I would fold. The flop came down. 5- 10- 5. " HOLY SHIT! " I screamed inside. I kept my facial expression the same and waited for the other player to act. He bet out for 30 bucks. I thought " ok. He has a 10, maybe if he’s lucky he’s got two 10's in the hole. Let's try and make him think I’m trying to take the pot by over betting.." I looked down at my cards again subtly try to cock my head a little, to the left making it look as involuntary as possible. " I’m all In." I said slowly pushing my stacks neatly into the middle. " Call! " he replied quickly. It had Worked!! He slapped down his Pair of 10's to make his Full house 10's full of 5's. The Table let out a groan, assumingly for me, as this hand as it stood now, was nearly unbeatable. I gently turned over the two 5's, to make four of a kind. The player's face dropped. The Table erupted in a shock. " Sorry man." I said Genuinely. " He exasperatedly said " That’s poker.. " and shook his head slowly. I know he wasn’t mad. It was a good beat. The dealer knocked the table and continued the deal. I had already begun to organize in my head how I would tell this story on Monday here. The amount of money was substantial it was the biggest pot I have ever been in, $650 bucks. "Who cares about cold cards now, I have chips to bully people around with! " I thought. The Dealer put out the fourth card..
Oh, somewhere in this favoured land the sun is shining bright,
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light;
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout,
But there is no joy in Montville-mighty Paulie has struck out.
The fourth card placed down was indeed the fourth ten. My opponent now had 4 10's. And I was drawing dead. I had gone from being 500 dollars up in profit to now hoping that I would get home with out running out of gas! The table erupted once again, never had any of us seen such a hand. My mouth left a gaped, my opponents expression mirrored mine. I sat motionless. all of my chips now being stacked by a journeyman carpenter from Coventry, CT. I slowly nodded. and stood up stuck my hand out and we shook. " A damn fine hand man... damn fine. " I said my good nights to the table and walked through the tables signed out, and started the slow walk to my car. From the penthouse to the Outhouse...
Though I have lost many times in the past, and losing doesn’t exactly make a great tale, I still think this particular story will amaze even those who cant understand what I write. ;) (much luvs G).
I will be back up on the horse this Tuesday night. Ill be playing in the smitte home game, where I hope to get back on track and start my winning streak fresh.
(Special Thanks to Ernest Lawrence Thayer as I butchered the last passage of his Poem ;) )
PAULIE AT THE BAT....
Foxwoods-
Call it good luck. Call it great luck. Call it what you like, there was a sound beating Friday night. In truth it was Saturday morning around 2:30 AM, and I was there.
I had gotten to the casino, after dinner and watching some of the sox game, around 10:30 pm. I was delighted as I exited the elevator and made my way past the Hardrock Cafe' and through the casino floor. The place was packed buzzing with fortunes made and lost. I knew it was going to be a long time before I got a seat so I brought with me a copy of 'All In' magazine. This particular edition had a story about movie stars in poker. Ben Affleck, Toby Maguire, Laura Prepon ( that seventy show) and James woods to be specific, seem to have risen to the top of the Hollywood poker world and the article is rather lengthy, which should be just enough to entertain me untill my seat is ready. I remember the sense of gleeful pride and arrogance I had as I snaked my way through all the 2-4 and 4-8 limit tables to get to the 'big boys' area. The higher limit and no limit tables are towards the back of the room and have their own sign in desk with its own board. (The 20 ft jumbo tron that has a list of names and games available.)
I know it was not even a week since leaving the 'kiddie pool' as its commonly called in the room, but I still felt I was a lil bit better than those youngin's sitting there taking in 40 dollars pots. *I* was part time pro now... *I* was ... playing the lowest no limit game offered.. "HA!" I laughed to myself.. How could I be so damn cocky, when I haven’t won a damn thing! Its not like I was playing with the real players at the 5-5 with $1,000 dollar buy-ins. I may not be in the kiddie pool, but Im still in the shallow end of the pool with my winnie the poo flotation device strapped to my waist! I quickly reminded myself that it was going to be allot of work to achieve my goal, and currently the last two weeks I have had a run of cold cards. I wasn’t catching a hand but every 50 deals or so. I was lucky to have not pissed through my playing roll for I had gotten really lucky when it counted. I cleared the bad thoughts out of my head and signed in at the desk. The list ahead of me seemed pretty long, I was 8th. I stood in front of the screen looking up to see how fast the list was moving. After 3 minutes of starring a name came off the list.. perhaps it would go quickly..I remember thinking. I got out the magazine and headed to sit in the sports book area ( it had seats and food and is adjacent to the room). I hadn’t even gotten half way through the poker room when I heard a list of names read off and I was surprised I was one of them...! 4 minutes! 4 minutes on a Friday night... I lucked out on the wait. I sat down and took out my 100, got my chips and posted to get right in. 8-3 off suit. Yuck. Will the cold cards continue? When will I get a hand? I fold after a raise and kiss my first two bucks good bye. Over the next two hours I continue this trend of folding or calling a 5 dollar bet and then folding after not catching any semblance of a hand on the flop. People may ask, ' why didn’t you walk away if you aren’t catching the cards? '. Because I know that poker is not measured by the short time wins or losses, rather, its a long drawn out process of ups and downs, its knowing what to do with the cards you have is the key to the puzzle. Anyways. At the table now sits at least two other semi pro ( if not pro) players that I have seen in the room before. A loose aggressive guy pretending how he doesn’t know how to play ( which only a few others fell for). And a super drunk guy, who is indeed super drunk and not acting. The two pros rarely enter pots and when they do I am sure to get out. We all seem to be waiting for a hand when either of the two suckers bet out a crazy amount, in which they do often. I am delt 9-9. and the drunk guy to my right two seats removed, bets out 40 bucks, a typical bet. Not having played a hand in a while, I called the 40. I thought for sure that the unwritten rule or respect would be given to me all the way around and I would be heads up with super drunk guy. The two pros nod to me approvingly and fold their cards. The guy across from me calls! I give him a look like What the fuck pal? He says " sorry man, I really do have a hand..." really only loud enough for our half of the table to hear. So it is to me, Super drunk guy and the caller. The flop comes down 9-7-6 with two spades. Super drunk guy checks, I have a set of 9's, but I check. The caller bets out another 40 bucks. Super drunk guy calls. I think really long and hard about my three 9's but fold. Losing my 40 bucks. The Caller made his Ace high flush on the turn and took allot of money from super drunk guy. whose never ending flow of 100's seem to fuel the table. Having taken a super hit I was down to 25 bucks. I put another 50 on the table and got more chips, Doubling up with 25 bucks would have been almost worthless. I Played a few hands and actually go a few hands up. I would play position and make raises with mediocre hands, and too my delight, I picked up the blinds a few times. I had worked my way up to 300 bucks. I had met my limit, and was not going to drop below that. The only way I was playing is if I had a bonified hand. I was On the button (last to act) and everyone had limped into the pot, so again playing position and an 'ok' hand ( 5-5 ) I made it 10 bucks to go. Everyone folded except one guy. I planned in my head, if I didn’t get a set on the flop and if this guy bets out, I would fold. The flop came down. 5- 10- 5. " HOLY SHIT! " I screamed inside. I kept my facial expression the same and waited for the other player to act. He bet out for 30 bucks. I thought " ok. He has a 10, maybe if he’s lucky he’s got two 10's in the hole. Let's try and make him think I’m trying to take the pot by over betting.." I looked down at my cards again subtly try to cock my head a little, to the left making it look as involuntary as possible. " I’m all In." I said slowly pushing my stacks neatly into the middle. " Call! " he replied quickly. It had Worked!! He slapped down his Pair of 10's to make his Full house 10's full of 5's. The Table let out a groan, assumingly for me, as this hand as it stood now, was nearly unbeatable. I gently turned over the two 5's, to make four of a kind. The player's face dropped. The Table erupted in a shock. " Sorry man." I said Genuinely. " He exasperatedly said " That’s poker.. " and shook his head slowly. I know he wasn’t mad. It was a good beat. The dealer knocked the table and continued the deal. I had already begun to organize in my head how I would tell this story on Monday here. The amount of money was substantial it was the biggest pot I have ever been in, $650 bucks. "Who cares about cold cards now, I have chips to bully people around with! " I thought. The Dealer put out the fourth card..
Oh, somewhere in this favoured land the sun is shining bright,
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light;
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout,
But there is no joy in Montville-mighty Paulie has struck out.
The fourth card placed down was indeed the fourth ten. My opponent now had 4 10's. And I was drawing dead. I had gone from being 500 dollars up in profit to now hoping that I would get home with out running out of gas! The table erupted once again, never had any of us seen such a hand. My mouth left a gaped, my opponents expression mirrored mine. I sat motionless. all of my chips now being stacked by a journeyman carpenter from Coventry, CT. I slowly nodded. and stood up stuck my hand out and we shook. " A damn fine hand man... damn fine. " I said my good nights to the table and walked through the tables signed out, and started the slow walk to my car. From the penthouse to the Outhouse...
Though I have lost many times in the past, and losing doesn’t exactly make a great tale, I still think this particular story will amaze even those who cant understand what I write. ;) (much luvs G).
I will be back up on the horse this Tuesday night. Ill be playing in the smitte home game, where I hope to get back on track and start my winning streak fresh.
(Special Thanks to Ernest Lawrence Thayer as I butchered the last passage of his Poem ;) )