$5000 NLHE 6-max / ranting and raving
A little of this; a little of that:
The Invisible Clock and the Invisible Player
I've been greatly annoyed by the fact that it's been often extremely difficult to view the clock in some tournaments. In the $2k limit, everyone at the table looked around completely unable to find a clock for our tournament. I looked around our 40-table quadrant and found precisely one floorman, many many rows down. It would be a gamble to try to track down this floorman, ask him where our clock is, all in time for the next hand (especially in limit hold'em). When the floorman came over to our table I pestered him about the clock. He said, "it's over on that TV." "Which TV?" "The one down there; you can't see it from here."
This is just one of many minor annoyances. Another annoyance is the so-called Diamond/Seven Star registration line for the WSOP. There is a special cage with up to four windows open which is made available for Diamond and Seven Star members of Harrah's. The line is frequently quite short and reasonable compared to the absolutely ludicrous regular registration line. Even still, I am perpetually tilted by being at the front of the line (i.e. next up, on deck) for like 10 minutes as suit after suit cuts in line in front of me.
These is the kind of treatment I expect for paying $180 to enter a $1820 event.
Vindication, baby!
One good/amusing thing that happened yeseterday. One of the dealers, whom I will not name but rather describe as Peggy Bundy's badly-aged older sister, told a player at the table he was not allowed to text message on his phone even though he was out of a hand. The player protests and says the correct rule is that if he is on the phone during the hand, the hand will be dead. The dealer insists that the rule is that the player must stand up and walk away from the table to use the phone at all. As someone who frequently this series has received and sent texts, I intervene and state that while it is possible this is the rule, if it is, it has not been enforced with any consistency whatsoever and so we should leave this poor fellow alone. The dealer insists she is right but mercifully resumes her job of pitching cards and not picking nits. As if on cue, I get a text asking where I am located in the room. I text back a response and Peggy's older sis snaps at me and says, "are you testing me?"
I reply no, I am not testing you, I just want to get this message out to my friend. "If you wish to call a floorman on me, by all means go ahead, but I'm not sure what punishment he will enact on me. It's not like I have a hand he can kill." The dealer starts looking over her shoulder dramatically to find a floorman. She says, "oh, I will find a floorman. And if I don't like what his answer is, I will find the tournament director himself." At this point one of the players beseeches, "can we please just play poker?"
The hand deals out, I finish texting and inform her as such. A while later, a player is eliminated and so a floorman drops by to pick up the seat card. Dealer says to floorman, "will you please inform him the rule is that he cannot text message while he is at the table?" Floorman, who answers in a tone that indicates he is sick of this particular dealer's shit, replies: "That is not the rule. He can be on the phone all he wants if he is not in the hand." Dealer continues to insist but is promptly cut off by the floorman, who reiterates: "That is not the rule. You are not aware of the correct rule."
I reply, "thaaaaank you" to the floorman in my smarmiest asshole voice possible.
The aquarium taps back
This is my favourite story of the last week. A few levels in, there is a player all-in either before the flop or on the flop. On the river, the board is 2-2-7-T-2 with three spades. There are two players on the side; the side pot has maybe two big bets in it, maybe less. The first player on the side, who is the sort who is constantly criticizing people about their play, checks. The second player on the side, a Brit, says "bet". The first player mis-heard "check" and turns over 55. The Brit now says, "nonono, I said 'bet!'". The first player is insistent he heard "check", but the dealer, and at least two other players besides myself also clearly heard the Brit say "bet". The floor is called over, but (correctly) no penalty is issued to the first player for exposing his hand; he now has the option to call or fold (or raise, I suppose). He picks up his 55 and mucks them.
Now the payoff: The Brit now shows As3s for a flush and the all-in player mucks! First guy goes absolutely ballistic. "You bet a flush with trips on board!?!? What an fucking terrible play! I can't believe you bet a flush there! I can't believe this idiot!" He storms off halfway across the room to tell a friend the story. He comes back and rants on and on for another 20 minutes about the hand.
A little while later he is eliminated. The Brit is still there, with a decent stack. Another player at the table comments to him, "boy, you really set him off." They continue to analyze and discuss the hand. I just smirk and tell him, "I don't really care who did what and why; I'm just sooo happy you made that bet." He then says, "I don't even know what he's so upset about; he saved a bet."
The table then comes to the realization the Brit didn't even know he was betting a flush into trips on board.
"Oh, he had a full house!" says the Brit.
Table roars in laughter.
perhaps you had to be there. It was good though.
$5000 6-handed NLHE
No more amusing stories, just another lame tournament blog entry.
This tournament got 728 players! How awesome is that? That's 88 more players than entered the 10-handed $5000 NLHE! So much for the idea that players don't like to play shorthanded. This tournament is so much better than the 10-handed tournaments. The casino staff may not like them because in theory they use more tables and dealers, but in practice I'm not sure this is the case. Players bust extremely quickly in 6-handed tournaments. The play is very loose and aggressive. By dinner we had eliminated over 500 players. It's actually possible (though someone would have to do the modelling to be sure) that this tournament actually uses less dealer/table-hours than the full-table tournaments.
Before the announcement of the field size I was certain this would be a fairly tough field. Gavin Griffin, upon seeing myself, Gabe Thaler, Greg Mueller and Antonio Esfandiari at the same table, came over to comment on how brutal it was. Antonio on my left tortured me on a number of hands before I finally busted him, and when the announcement of 728 players was made I considered myself fairly unfortunate to have drawn this starting table.
I was up to 90k at the last break, 15 off the money when I played this hand. 1000/2000/300 ante. Folded around to me in the SB. I have Qh2h and raise to 6k. Sam Grizzle, who had also been getting the best of me most of the day, calls. The flop comes 5s-2d-2s. I bet 7k and Sam calls. The turn is the 7s. What is your play? I chose to check, and Sam bets 9k. Now what? I chose to call. River is the Th. I check, Sam bets 16k. I call and he shows 9s3s to win.
The next hand I pick up AK, BB picks up JJ, we get it in, I fail to improve, thus assuring me a second-consecutive bubblish finish.
Today I'm skipping the NL and playing the 5:00 PM 2-7 triple draw. I played a lot of the 30/60 2-7 TD on Stars when it first came out, but this (to the best of my recollection) will be the first time I've ever played triple draw in a casino!
The Invisible Clock and the Invisible Player
I've been greatly annoyed by the fact that it's been often extremely difficult to view the clock in some tournaments. In the $2k limit, everyone at the table looked around completely unable to find a clock for our tournament. I looked around our 40-table quadrant and found precisely one floorman, many many rows down. It would be a gamble to try to track down this floorman, ask him where our clock is, all in time for the next hand (especially in limit hold'em). When the floorman came over to our table I pestered him about the clock. He said, "it's over on that TV." "Which TV?" "The one down there; you can't see it from here."
This is just one of many minor annoyances. Another annoyance is the so-called Diamond/Seven Star registration line for the WSOP. There is a special cage with up to four windows open which is made available for Diamond and Seven Star members of Harrah's. The line is frequently quite short and reasonable compared to the absolutely ludicrous regular registration line. Even still, I am perpetually tilted by being at the front of the line (i.e. next up, on deck) for like 10 minutes as suit after suit cuts in line in front of me.
These is the kind of treatment I expect for paying $180 to enter a $1820 event.
Vindication, baby!
One good/amusing thing that happened yeseterday. One of the dealers, whom I will not name but rather describe as Peggy Bundy's badly-aged older sister, told a player at the table he was not allowed to text message on his phone even though he was out of a hand. The player protests and says the correct rule is that if he is on the phone during the hand, the hand will be dead. The dealer insists that the rule is that the player must stand up and walk away from the table to use the phone at all. As someone who frequently this series has received and sent texts, I intervene and state that while it is possible this is the rule, if it is, it has not been enforced with any consistency whatsoever and so we should leave this poor fellow alone. The dealer insists she is right but mercifully resumes her job of pitching cards and not picking nits. As if on cue, I get a text asking where I am located in the room. I text back a response and Peggy's older sis snaps at me and says, "are you testing me?"
I reply no, I am not testing you, I just want to get this message out to my friend. "If you wish to call a floorman on me, by all means go ahead, but I'm not sure what punishment he will enact on me. It's not like I have a hand he can kill." The dealer starts looking over her shoulder dramatically to find a floorman. She says, "oh, I will find a floorman. And if I don't like what his answer is, I will find the tournament director himself." At this point one of the players beseeches, "can we please just play poker?"
The hand deals out, I finish texting and inform her as such. A while later, a player is eliminated and so a floorman drops by to pick up the seat card. Dealer says to floorman, "will you please inform him the rule is that he cannot text message while he is at the table?" Floorman, who answers in a tone that indicates he is sick of this particular dealer's shit, replies: "That is not the rule. He can be on the phone all he wants if he is not in the hand." Dealer continues to insist but is promptly cut off by the floorman, who reiterates: "That is not the rule. You are not aware of the correct rule."
I reply, "thaaaaank you" to the floorman in my smarmiest asshole voice possible.
The aquarium taps back
This is my favourite story of the last week. A few levels in, there is a player all-in either before the flop or on the flop. On the river, the board is 2-2-7-T-2 with three spades. There are two players on the side; the side pot has maybe two big bets in it, maybe less. The first player on the side, who is the sort who is constantly criticizing people about their play, checks. The second player on the side, a Brit, says "bet". The first player mis-heard "check" and turns over 55. The Brit now says, "nonono, I said 'bet!'". The first player is insistent he heard "check", but the dealer, and at least two other players besides myself also clearly heard the Brit say "bet". The floor is called over, but (correctly) no penalty is issued to the first player for exposing his hand; he now has the option to call or fold (or raise, I suppose). He picks up his 55 and mucks them.
Now the payoff: The Brit now shows As3s for a flush and the all-in player mucks! First guy goes absolutely ballistic. "You bet a flush with trips on board!?!? What an fucking terrible play! I can't believe you bet a flush there! I can't believe this idiot!" He storms off halfway across the room to tell a friend the story. He comes back and rants on and on for another 20 minutes about the hand.
A little while later he is eliminated. The Brit is still there, with a decent stack. Another player at the table comments to him, "boy, you really set him off." They continue to analyze and discuss the hand. I just smirk and tell him, "I don't really care who did what and why; I'm just sooo happy you made that bet." He then says, "I don't even know what he's so upset about; he saved a bet."
The table then comes to the realization the Brit didn't even know he was betting a flush into trips on board.
"Oh, he had a full house!" says the Brit.
Table roars in laughter.
perhaps you had to be there. It was good though.
$5000 6-handed NLHE
No more amusing stories, just another lame tournament blog entry.
This tournament got 728 players! How awesome is that? That's 88 more players than entered the 10-handed $5000 NLHE! So much for the idea that players don't like to play shorthanded. This tournament is so much better than the 10-handed tournaments. The casino staff may not like them because in theory they use more tables and dealers, but in practice I'm not sure this is the case. Players bust extremely quickly in 6-handed tournaments. The play is very loose and aggressive. By dinner we had eliminated over 500 players. It's actually possible (though someone would have to do the modelling to be sure) that this tournament actually uses less dealer/table-hours than the full-table tournaments.
Before the announcement of the field size I was certain this would be a fairly tough field. Gavin Griffin, upon seeing myself, Gabe Thaler, Greg Mueller and Antonio Esfandiari at the same table, came over to comment on how brutal it was. Antonio on my left tortured me on a number of hands before I finally busted him, and when the announcement of 728 players was made I considered myself fairly unfortunate to have drawn this starting table.
I was up to 90k at the last break, 15 off the money when I played this hand. 1000/2000/300 ante. Folded around to me in the SB. I have Qh2h and raise to 6k. Sam Grizzle, who had also been getting the best of me most of the day, calls. The flop comes 5s-2d-2s. I bet 7k and Sam calls. The turn is the 7s. What is your play? I chose to check, and Sam bets 9k. Now what? I chose to call. River is the Th. I check, Sam bets 16k. I call and he shows 9s3s to win.
The next hand I pick up AK, BB picks up JJ, we get it in, I fail to improve, thus assuring me a second-consecutive bubblish finish.
Today I'm skipping the NL and playing the 5:00 PM 2-7 triple draw. I played a lot of the 30/60 2-7 TD on Stars when it first came out, but this (to the best of my recollection) will be the first time I've ever played triple draw in a casino!