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Rama report.
Relationships are about compromise, particularly if you are a poker player, and your girlfriend is not. That's why me and Natalie spent two nights at a Muskoka resort, and one night (last night) at CasinoRama. We give, we take, we give, we take...
The hotel room was awesome. The bathroom was huge, and we had a view of the indoor pool. That would have been cool, except for the fact that a) apparently only kids go swimming in the CasinoRama pool, and b) if there WAS something worth staring at, I couldn't have been any more obvious. Anytime I opened the drapes to have a quick gander at the pool, two dozen pairs of eyes turned up to stare at the freak behind the glass, staring at them.
Anywho, enough about creepy pool watching.
I'm here to tell you that this is a great time to be an even somewhat competent poker player. I sat at the 20/40 with a guy who didn't know if a straight beat a flush, or vice-versa. More on that later. The night started with me playing 2/5, with Natalie. She's not really a big poker player, and I don't think she really wants to be. I'm cool with that, in my opinion our relationship already has one poker player too many, but that's just my take on the subject of poker-playing couples. Basically, I don't want us to be one. She's not really a 'gambler' though, so I don't think it'll happen anytime soon.
Faced with a night in the hotel room though, I managed to convince her to let me stake her in the 2/5 game. The deal was that I would give her $100. If she lost, it would be on me. If she won, she'd have to give me back the $100, but she could keep the profits. She was pretty nervous about sitting with the 2/5 pros, which I thought was cute. I can relate, though, as we all can... the first trip to a casino texas hold'em game is a harrowing experience.
The 2/5 list was three hours long. No kidding. There was immediate seating at the 10/20 and 20/40 games. I called the poker pit from our room and asked them to put me and Natalie on the 2/5 list, and they said they'd call us when our seats became available. We went for dinner, watched TV, and finally the call came. As luck would have it, both of our seats were open at the same time, and better still, at the same table. Better better still, at the same end of the same table.
We each bought a rack of whites and sat down. I watched, impressed, as Natalie told the dealer she'd rather wait than post, because the big blind was only three hands away. (I'd given her a very thorough briefing on 'casino poker rules' over dinner). I waited too. I was amazed at what I saw. Seven players to the flop, for one bet each. Huh? What? NOBODY raised??? Startling. Natalie informed me later that the whole night wasn't like that, but I was truly taken aback.
I was there when she played her first big pot. She limped in, along with the rest of Canada, except me. She and the big blind went to war on the flop, taking everyone else along for the ride. I belive the flop was Q62. Natalie slowed down on the turn and river, just calling the big blind's bets. At showdown, the big blind tabled Q2 for a flopped two pair. Natalie tabled Qh6h for two higher pair, and took it down. As she was stacking her chips, trying hard not to look as excited as I knew she was, I said "I don't remember telling you to play Q6". She just shrugged.
With her well on her way, I wanted out of there. I sat down at the 20/40, and discovered an alternate poker universe. There was a guy on my right who saw a flop of 2c 5c 4c. He called a bet or two on the flop. The turn was the 2h, and he very reluctantly folded, and started telling me how sad he was that he had to fold a three. I asked him if he had a big club to go with that three, or even a pair, and he said no, just the three. I told him that with three clubs on the flop, and with the paired board on the turn, he was likely drawing very thin, if not dead. First of all, some of his outs were dirty... basically, the Ac and the 6c. He then said "and a flush beats a straight, right?".
I was stunned. This guy was playing in the biggest game the casino was offering, and he just asked me that question. And, he wasn't kidding. I think I managed to answer without laughing or crying. He busted out and left shortly after.
Then there was the guy three or four seats to my right. When I sat down, he had about $1500 in front of him. For the first hour or two, his stack didn't move much, up $200, down $300, etc... He was getting very irritated, though, at the fact that he couldn't grasp when he could bet $20 and when he could bet $40. Everyone at the table, various dealers and players alike, explained it to him over and over again, to no avail. Inevitably, the question would come... wait for it... "how much can I bet?"
So, he was pretty new as well, and in the $20/$40. Just like on the teevee. In one particular half hour that was simultaneously fascinating and horrifying, he lost his entire stack. He played baaaaaaaaaad, calling a river bet with AhKh on a board that had 4 spades and no ace or king on it, etc... $1500, one half hour. As he got up to leave, he said "thanks for the lesson, boys. I'm going to play blackjack".
Add to this not one, but TWO players who would play any two cards for any amount of money. One of them coldcalled a preflop three-bet with 9d2d. My hand to God.
I managed to eek out of the game ahead $850, which is usually a score I'm more than happy with. Last night, though, I just felt OK about it, because there was so much dead money at the table to be had. I got my fair share, but a couple of guys had overflowing castles of chips stacked in front of them, complete with drawbridges and moats. Impressive.
I got up from the table throughout the session to check on Natalie. I stood quietly behind her as I watched her play a hand. The board was something like 5 2 J 9 rainbow by the turn, and it was checked to her in late position. She bet, and got one caller. The river was an ace, she bet, and the guy called. She flipped over AQ, and took it down. I said "I don't remember telling you to bet ace-high on the turn". Again, she shrugged. She ended up $60 or $70 to the good, so I got my $100 back, and she got the rest.
Overall, a great CasinoRama experience. I haven't played a B&M cash game in quite a while, and as I said earlier in the post, this is a great time to be an even somewhat competent poker player. Thank you Chris Moneymaker.
The hotel room was awesome. The bathroom was huge, and we had a view of the indoor pool. That would have been cool, except for the fact that a) apparently only kids go swimming in the CasinoRama pool, and b) if there WAS something worth staring at, I couldn't have been any more obvious. Anytime I opened the drapes to have a quick gander at the pool, two dozen pairs of eyes turned up to stare at the freak behind the glass, staring at them.
Anywho, enough about creepy pool watching.
I'm here to tell you that this is a great time to be an even somewhat competent poker player. I sat at the 20/40 with a guy who didn't know if a straight beat a flush, or vice-versa. More on that later. The night started with me playing 2/5, with Natalie. She's not really a big poker player, and I don't think she really wants to be. I'm cool with that, in my opinion our relationship already has one poker player too many, but that's just my take on the subject of poker-playing couples. Basically, I don't want us to be one. She's not really a 'gambler' though, so I don't think it'll happen anytime soon.
Faced with a night in the hotel room though, I managed to convince her to let me stake her in the 2/5 game. The deal was that I would give her $100. If she lost, it would be on me. If she won, she'd have to give me back the $100, but she could keep the profits. She was pretty nervous about sitting with the 2/5 pros, which I thought was cute. I can relate, though, as we all can... the first trip to a casino texas hold'em game is a harrowing experience.
The 2/5 list was three hours long. No kidding. There was immediate seating at the 10/20 and 20/40 games. I called the poker pit from our room and asked them to put me and Natalie on the 2/5 list, and they said they'd call us when our seats became available. We went for dinner, watched TV, and finally the call came. As luck would have it, both of our seats were open at the same time, and better still, at the same table. Better better still, at the same end of the same table.
We each bought a rack of whites and sat down. I watched, impressed, as Natalie told the dealer she'd rather wait than post, because the big blind was only three hands away. (I'd given her a very thorough briefing on 'casino poker rules' over dinner). I waited too. I was amazed at what I saw. Seven players to the flop, for one bet each. Huh? What? NOBODY raised??? Startling. Natalie informed me later that the whole night wasn't like that, but I was truly taken aback.
I was there when she played her first big pot. She limped in, along with the rest of Canada, except me. She and the big blind went to war on the flop, taking everyone else along for the ride. I belive the flop was Q62. Natalie slowed down on the turn and river, just calling the big blind's bets. At showdown, the big blind tabled Q2 for a flopped two pair. Natalie tabled Qh6h for two higher pair, and took it down. As she was stacking her chips, trying hard not to look as excited as I knew she was, I said "I don't remember telling you to play Q6". She just shrugged.
With her well on her way, I wanted out of there. I sat down at the 20/40, and discovered an alternate poker universe. There was a guy on my right who saw a flop of 2c 5c 4c. He called a bet or two on the flop. The turn was the 2h, and he very reluctantly folded, and started telling me how sad he was that he had to fold a three. I asked him if he had a big club to go with that three, or even a pair, and he said no, just the three. I told him that with three clubs on the flop, and with the paired board on the turn, he was likely drawing very thin, if not dead. First of all, some of his outs were dirty... basically, the Ac and the 6c. He then said "and a flush beats a straight, right?".
I was stunned. This guy was playing in the biggest game the casino was offering, and he just asked me that question. And, he wasn't kidding. I think I managed to answer without laughing or crying. He busted out and left shortly after.
Then there was the guy three or four seats to my right. When I sat down, he had about $1500 in front of him. For the first hour or two, his stack didn't move much, up $200, down $300, etc... He was getting very irritated, though, at the fact that he couldn't grasp when he could bet $20 and when he could bet $40. Everyone at the table, various dealers and players alike, explained it to him over and over again, to no avail. Inevitably, the question would come... wait for it... "how much can I bet?"
So, he was pretty new as well, and in the $20/$40. Just like on the teevee. In one particular half hour that was simultaneously fascinating and horrifying, he lost his entire stack. He played baaaaaaaaaad, calling a river bet with AhKh on a board that had 4 spades and no ace or king on it, etc... $1500, one half hour. As he got up to leave, he said "thanks for the lesson, boys. I'm going to play blackjack".
Add to this not one, but TWO players who would play any two cards for any amount of money. One of them coldcalled a preflop three-bet with 9d2d. My hand to God.
I managed to eek out of the game ahead $850, which is usually a score I'm more than happy with. Last night, though, I just felt OK about it, because there was so much dead money at the table to be had. I got my fair share, but a couple of guys had overflowing castles of chips stacked in front of them, complete with drawbridges and moats. Impressive.
I got up from the table throughout the session to check on Natalie. I stood quietly behind her as I watched her play a hand. The board was something like 5 2 J 9 rainbow by the turn, and it was checked to her in late position. She bet, and got one caller. The river was an ace, she bet, and the guy called. She flipped over AQ, and took it down. I said "I don't remember telling you to bet ace-high on the turn". Again, she shrugged. She ended up $60 or $70 to the good, so I got my $100 back, and she got the rest.
Overall, a great CasinoRama experience. I haven't played a B&M cash game in quite a while, and as I said earlier in the post, this is a great time to be an even somewhat competent poker player. Thank you Chris Moneymaker.
Comments
And you said this why? Educating the table, not good for longterm EV.
It's my personal pet peeve.. In my last 3 trips to the casino, I've had to deal with people that want to flash their poker knowledge and talk outs..
I even had one guy try and convince me that raising preflop was for suckers.
I don't think it's an EV issue, it's just that most players find it obnoxious.
I mostly have it under control now.
Nice report aces... next report from Vegas baby!
The www.CanadianPoker.com site now features "Canuck 2005 WSOP Play-by-play" which is where you will find as many updates as I can manage from Vegas.
Drunk, stuck, and yapping. Fear the beaver, baby. Fear the beaver.
You should move up to $20-$40 right away. I've never heard a single account of a player playing a pre-flop hand like 92s for 3 bets cold in a $20-$40 game.
[cue screeching violins]
Ohhh... We may be missing out on some serious character development here.
I think you're used to a different world playing 15-30 and up. This kind of pre-flop action strikes me as very typical of Ontario B&M at limits 5-10 and below. Oh wait, you said this already:
Frankly, I prefer players who continuously ask, "How much do I owe?"
Anyway, that's all for now from this particular peanut gallery. Nice report all_aces!
ScottyZ
My 20-40 experiences have all resulted in a win of between $500-$1000 and I am talking over a period of 2 or 3 years before the explosion. I would expect no less then 4 people to ask the questions you describe above.
Good report!