Casino Niagara Trip Report - BigE and melikebeer
It was a pretty lame day at the tables but still a lot of fun for one of us!
Okay so I had a conference scheduled for yesterday, Monday August 21st at Fallsview Casino in Niagara and decided to head up to Casino Niagara on the Sunday with my buddy Jordo (melikebeer). Since he lives in Burlington I'd crash there Sunday night and shave 45 minutes off my trip Monday morning. We both play low-limit Hold'em on-line and after paying for the family vacation from my bankroll I'm in the rebuilding stages so I figured I'd just take $100 out of my on-line roll and I should be able to get a good 6-8 hour session at the $2/4 tables out of it.
We're also wing lovers so we planned to head down to Wacky Wings on Ferry St. around 1:00 ish, have lunch, hit the Casino and make it an early night as I'm going to this conference (that was actually important and worth while) with my boss I didn't want to show up hung over, red eyed, and exhausted from an all-nighter.
Everything starts out according to plan, I'm on the road at 11:30 looking to pick up Jordo in Burlington shortly after noon...no big delays on the drive just normal traffic and I think I hit Burlington around 12:15 dump my crap off, hop into Jordo's car and hit the QEW to Niagara, woohoo, we're on the way and we're looking forward to playing. We figure when we hit Wacky Wings we'll call ahead and book our spot in the queue for the $2/4 game. We run into some heavy traffic around St. Catherine's and don't get to Wacky Wings until around 1:45 ish I think? We find parking right out front and pay only to turn around and see a 'Closed' sign on Wacky Wings, DOH!!!!! WTF, who is closed at this time on a Sunday in a tourist town????????? We look at the door and see the hours posted as 'Sunday open 12:00pm' again, WTF!!!!!! I want wings dammit!!!!!!! so beside Wacky Wings is a tattoo joint and a hemp store, there's some dude sitting on the stairs of the hemp store so we ask him if Wacky Wings has been closed down or something, he says no, they just kinda open whenever they want, great! Since we paid for parking anyways we see this open style restaurant called Tequila and Tacos with Mexican music pouring out of it, looks cool enough so we eat there and it was surprisingly good...we both just had Tacos and a beer but they were delicious. We decide to hit the Casino for about 4-5 hours then revisit Wacky Wings for dinner. As we pay our bill I realize we didn't call the Casino, crap weasel!!!!! We call immediately only to find out there's 8 people ahead of us and it's a SLOW table, great...a couple hour wait looks like a given unless they fire up a second table.
Off we go for the 5 minute drive to Casino Niagara, it's like 10 blocks away, a half hour later we park for the Casino, yeah...traffic down Clifton Hill is brutal, just brutal....we slowly pass a Hummer parked on the right and see a parking ticket dude so I tell him to 'give the hummer guy two tickets, he can afford it'...the ticket dude smiles and says 'damn right man, I'll give him two!' Yeah, stick it to the rich! We find $10 parking on a little side street right close to the Casino and head in.....I have my cash in my pocket but left my wallet back at Jordo's place in Burlington just to be safe, if I lose my $100 I'm not dipping into my account for any more!
As we walk into the Casino I'm thinking 'I hope we've moved up in the queue!'. We head for the entrance, Jordo goes in and the security dude jumps in front of me and says 'How old are you buddy?' I stare blankly at him in disbelief thinking my god, I came all this way and I'm gonna be stopped outside by some pimply face security/bouncer punk because I was stupid and didn't bring my wallet...by the way I was born in 1967! I'm dumbfounded but I spit out that I'm 39 and I think the look on my face and the fact that someone underage is not going to say 39 convinces him to let me in, whew, am I glad....and I guess happy as he thought I was underage...it's always nice to know you don't look your age?
We're in!!!!!!! Sweet, the sounds of the slots quickly remind me how much fun I had with Wolffhound in Vegas, I'm home! One of the first things I see is 'The Wheel of Fortune!!!!' God I love that machine and it paid me off nicely in Vegas...but I told myself I'm only playing poker today, no slots! I escaped Vanna's call! Jordo and I make our way downstairs to the poker room and I must say I'm impressed. I do not have a lot of Casino experience but compared to the few Casinos I played at in Vegas it's a nice wide open room and not stuffy at all! We check in and the lady gives us a pager and says about an hour, not bad, I was prepared for about an hour or two. I ask Jordo what he wants to do and tell him I don't want to play slots but will cruise around if he wants to play or check things out...I just want to play cards! We're still debating what to do looking over the poker room when the pager goes off, WTF? It's been 5 minutes??? When I called I gave them Jordo's name first, although he's been in Casino's I don't think he's played poker in one yet and I want him to get the first seat but he wants to give me the first seat? I know that feeling you get before the first time you play in a Casino, I felt it in Vegas....so I agree, how long can it be if you're right behind me on the list anyways right? I get $100 in chips and take my seat.
Sweeeeeeet, it's poker time! I stack my chips and look over the table. I'm two hands away from the BB so I just watch and get a quick feel of the personalities there. Immediately to my left is a quiet Asian lady who keeps looking around the room like someone is out to get her and could be there any minute, she has about $60 in front of her. Going clockwise around the table next is an old deaf guy...well I think maybe deaf in one ear, if you're on his right he can't hear you and ignores you, if you're on his left he responds, he's got about $100. Next is an older Asian guy with about $40, and old white dude with about $40, then two young friends one with about $30, the other over $100. Then another old white dude with maybe $20, the dealer, then the two guys to my right. One an American who likes to talk a lot is immediately to my right the other a Canadian a little older then me both nice guys.
Two hands is not much time to get a good read on the 'feel' of the table but being the lowest limit I figure it'll be really loose and passive so I plan to play tight and aggressive, which really is how I always try to play limit anyways? Ok the BB is on me and I watch the table, call, call, call, call, young guy moves his hand towards the muck then calls?, call, call, call...great everyone called god I love low-limit Hold'em. I have 83o and I fold to a flop bet. Next hand I'm in the SB with 35o, only 6 to the flop but I fold pre-flop...the Asian lady to my left has acted out of turn on both hands? Third hand in on the button I pick up AQo with 3 limpers ahead of me I reach to grab chips and the Asian lady calls...I say 'could I please act first?' and she replies, oh sorry I didn't see you? Huh? didn't see me? I'm 6' 230lbs and almost sitting ON YOU????? I raise, it's been the first pre-flop raise I've seen...yes only 3 hands in but a trend that will carry on through the session. SB and BB call. The flop is 47Q rainbow, sweet it's checked to me, another trend, and I bet. 3 callers, the turn is a T checked to me, I bet and everyone folds..weird we almost always saw the river after that but my first pot, I'm happy! I go almost a full orbit when I get a very clear thought.......I AM WAY BETTER THEN EVERYONE OF THESE PLAYERS! These players are just plain bad, aside from myself and the American to my right nobody ever raised pre-flop, ever! People would call all the way down with nothing or they would call pre-flop with AA, KK, QQ, AK and if anyone raised then they thought they had the nuts. This should be easy money! My read on the table now clockwise around the table....Asian lady, acts out of turn, calls with anything re-raises with the nuts, old deaf guy, calling station, will re-raise if he thinks he's good but has no idea what the nuts are. Old Asian dude, clueless calling station. Old white guy, seems solid pre-flop but will chase, mucked a lot on the river. Young Indian dude, horrible calling station, young Indian dudes friend, not so horrible calling station but will over play hands betting low pair and chasing with crap. Old dude beside the dealer, the 'Donator' I called him, he needs medical attention because he is just bleeding chips constantly. The American beside leans over at one point and says 'if that dude is in a hand don't fold anything ever regardless because chances are you're good', thanks buddy way ahead of you! My Canadian friend, seems solid but a little passive and called too many river bets with second best hand, just to keep people honest? Sweet! That leaves my American friend to my right and he was a decent player, the only other player to raise pre-flop and it was perfect that he was on my right!
Okay, back to the cards, EP I pick up QQ and raise pre-flop, 7 of us see a flop, I say to the dealer 'you must say that a lot' he says 'what', I say 'Seven to the flop' and he chuckles and says 'well, it is 2/4'. 'HeeHaw' I say! The flop is 9QK two spades, I got my trips but am a little worried with 6 others in that both the flush and str8 draws are out there but it's checked to me? Bet, a few callers, turn is red but a T, yikes...well I'm prepared for the suckouts today, this board is scary now but again it's checked to me...hmmm I think 'check' but then I think f-that I told myself to play more aggressive...bet!!!! I get 2 callers....they only called, no re-raise...I'm still worried because these guys are so bad one has to have a straight now calling my pre-flop raise? I mean I saw one dude simply call, never bet with AK on a board AK72J the guy betting had 79o??????? The river brings another T and I fill up, saweet! Checked to me I bet and 1 guy calls and I scoop a nice pot! Off to a good start! Then two hands pass me by that perhaps I could have made money on but I can't be too upset, one hand is playable perhaps without a pre-flop raise the other was just a case where the flop would have hit me hard, it was a trash hand. I get 56o on the button and I was thinking of playing it for $2 but Mr. America raises in front of me and I dump. The flop was 466, he had cowboys and my trip 6's would have won a nice pot. The very next hand I have 58o and fold and the flop came down 467 but I'm not playing that crap!
My first loss....so far so good when this happens. I'm in MP with ATo with 6 to the flop of TQQ no pre-flop raising. Checked to me and I bet, 3 callers, I have no read..yuck, check-call mode enabled! The turn is a low card putting two flush cards out and the young dude in EP bets. He could be on anything, my first thoughts were something like JK or a flush draw, maybe a T but hopefully not a Q, I call. He bets the river and I call and he flips over Q6o and my only thought was you dumb ass, thanks for saving me a few bucks. Minimal lose is ok. I'm ok with how I played it seeing so many hands called down to the river where A high or third pair is good. Very next hand I pick up 77 and decide to just call to see a flop. 8 player to the flop, good god! The flop is okay all low cards rainbow, something like 259. I bet and am raised by the deaf calling station who has yet to ever raise anything I think? I fold and he gets called down to the river and shows AA, good lord but I'm happy to only lose $4 on that hand.
I sat down around 3 and it's now after 4, Jordo has been waiting to play for an hour when the old calling station to the right of the dealer finally busts..some even older lady hobbles up the the seat at which point I tell the dealer, 'no way, my buddy is next in line, I've been playing for over an hour and he was right after me on the list?' He calls the pit boss over and they proceed to explain that she was a call ahead and that when I got my seat she wasn't in the Casino yet but she was ahead of us in the queue and Jordo is next...ok, that's stupid but I understand..but then some old Asian dude takes her seat before she sits down and I say wtf is that then? Well I guess he was ahead of her? Grrr, poor Jordo, we only planned to play until 7:00pm or so and it's after 4:00?
I watch a few hands go by, lose a few chips calling and folding when I miss completely, I have no intention of bluffing in this game. I pick up 99 in MP and raise pre-flop. I get 6 callers and the flop is 49Q sweet, but two spades are showing. Checked to me of course and I bet, I think I only got 3 callers and the turn is a beautiful 9 for quads! Checked to me again and I pause before I bet because the damn Asian lady is always acting out of turn, sure enough she calls and the dealer says it's on him, I smile and say raise she says again 'sorry I didn't see you' to which I said 'honey I've been here well over an hour, I ain't moving, I act before you, get used to it!', She goes to take her chips and the dealer says sorry those stay in, $4 to call and she throws another $4 in looking pissed off. The river was a K I think, the Asian lady acted in turn this time and folded to my bet. I was hoping the 1 caller had enough of the board to re-raise but I should have known they wouldn't..there was soooo little raising or re-raising but still, it was a sweat pot. I think at that point I was up over $50. Time for a drink! I bought a $7 Guinness but it was good and the waitress was very hot! I have to mention a hand that was rare because of all the action and thank god I wasn't involved in this train wreck....7 or 8 player to the flop and the flop comes down 777 and this was one hand where there was actually a lot of betting, turn was an A, the river a 6 I don't know how much was in the pot but the deaf old dude bought in for another $50 during the hand to keep raising with AXo and the Asian lady flips Q7o for quads and a huge pot...Q7o, yuck!
After a while I notice the young Indian dude is all-in on his blind and he loses, he basically call-folded his stack away, unfortunately I didn't get many of his chips. He and his friend get up to leave and by this time it's 5:30, sweet Jordo is definitely getting into the game now, maybe I can get him to stay until 8:00 or 9:00? I was shocked at this point when the old lady was back with some young black dude I'll call 'Dodger' as he had a huge flat peaked Dodgers hat perched on this black head wrap he was wearing along with all his bling and such? I was livid and stormed up to the booth again screaming why isn't my friend getting a seat?! The lady reminds me these people were call-ins ahead of him...bullshit I say! Anyways, Asian lady requests a seat change so I get old European lady beside me and Dodger took the seat across the table with what looked like a few hundred in front of him? Maybe as much $300 for a $2/4 game yikes I thought there was a buy-in limit? I quickly found out why he needed that much. He called every hand, I mean every hand to the river and then mucked, I never saw him scoop a pot. Unfortunately for me this is where I went card dead I just got nothing to play and if I limped with something like 9J the flop would miss me completely and I'd fold. The old European lady was hilarious, I could barely understand her and she'd put her hand out and tap the table as if to check then pull it back and fire chips in? I said to the the dealer 'come one, she clearly checked?' and I must admit for the most part the dealers were very good, no mistakes and they did instruct players how to act correctly. He did say something to her but she still did it a few times. I'm still up $30 and now it's 6:00. I've been playing for 3:00 hours, Jordo is nowhere to be seen....I hope the slots are being kind to him? I decide that one more lap, finish my drink ( I switched to water after the $7 beer), and I'll just leave if he doesn't get a seat. Well at that point a seat opens up and guess what.....old Euro ladies husband sits down two to my right....Now I completely go off with a few nasty words and again walk up to the booth with smoke coming out my ears only to find out Jordo is next in line, ok it's late but perhaps he can get an hour in if a seat opens up, I'll go through the blinds once more. The BB is 3 to my right so Euro dude is BB next hand but he posts anyways, the dealer mentions he's BB next hand but he says I came to play, cool! Two hands later another seat opens up and Euro dude asks to move, the dealer says you're in the SB and will have to post again, he says whatever and moves and posts $2, so he posted $2 when he sat down, $2 in the BB, moved out of the SB and posted $2 more, what a tool! So down sits a young Hispanic dude two to my right who looked very nervous and was dressed like the dudes on Pimp my Ride! WTF???? Where's Jordo...I stomp my way back to the booth I think completely engulfed in flames of fury only to find out Jordo scratched his name off the list? I can't blame him, who the fuck wants to sit around for over 3 hours waiting for a seat but I'm very disappointed he did not get to experience playing cards in a Casino. I'm in the BB and decide to leave after this lap. Pimp decides to post to get in the game, it comes around to him and he grabs his $2 and says fold....the dealer chuckles and says the $2 stays on the table son.....hehehe the young dude followed suit like that of Dodger, he pretty much called and folded. I never hit anything else and finished up $30. When I left I think dodger had about $100 in front of him..I swear he dropped a good $100-$200 easy?
Jordo did not have a great day and I feel sorry for him, at least we now know how long the waits are and next time will plan better to be there longer...and next time he sits down first!!!
I thought the game in Vegas was pretty soft but I must say that in Niagara at that $2/4 table - I played against the worst players I have ever seen and although I'm happy to come out up $30 I really expected to be up a lot more then that but aside from those few good hands early I really did not get good cards at all and although the dealers were good they were a bit slow so up $30 after 3 hours I guess is better then being down anything and in the eternal words of Wolffhound, up is up and it was a great time regardless! I was also happy to see that when I did fold almost always I would have not improved or won the hand anyways so I'm happy with how I played.
I can't wait to to again!
Okay so I had a conference scheduled for yesterday, Monday August 21st at Fallsview Casino in Niagara and decided to head up to Casino Niagara on the Sunday with my buddy Jordo (melikebeer). Since he lives in Burlington I'd crash there Sunday night and shave 45 minutes off my trip Monday morning. We both play low-limit Hold'em on-line and after paying for the family vacation from my bankroll I'm in the rebuilding stages so I figured I'd just take $100 out of my on-line roll and I should be able to get a good 6-8 hour session at the $2/4 tables out of it.
We're also wing lovers so we planned to head down to Wacky Wings on Ferry St. around 1:00 ish, have lunch, hit the Casino and make it an early night as I'm going to this conference (that was actually important and worth while) with my boss I didn't want to show up hung over, red eyed, and exhausted from an all-nighter.
Everything starts out according to plan, I'm on the road at 11:30 looking to pick up Jordo in Burlington shortly after noon...no big delays on the drive just normal traffic and I think I hit Burlington around 12:15 dump my crap off, hop into Jordo's car and hit the QEW to Niagara, woohoo, we're on the way and we're looking forward to playing. We figure when we hit Wacky Wings we'll call ahead and book our spot in the queue for the $2/4 game. We run into some heavy traffic around St. Catherine's and don't get to Wacky Wings until around 1:45 ish I think? We find parking right out front and pay only to turn around and see a 'Closed' sign on Wacky Wings, DOH!!!!! WTF, who is closed at this time on a Sunday in a tourist town????????? We look at the door and see the hours posted as 'Sunday open 12:00pm' again, WTF!!!!!! I want wings dammit!!!!!!! so beside Wacky Wings is a tattoo joint and a hemp store, there's some dude sitting on the stairs of the hemp store so we ask him if Wacky Wings has been closed down or something, he says no, they just kinda open whenever they want, great! Since we paid for parking anyways we see this open style restaurant called Tequila and Tacos with Mexican music pouring out of it, looks cool enough so we eat there and it was surprisingly good...we both just had Tacos and a beer but they were delicious. We decide to hit the Casino for about 4-5 hours then revisit Wacky Wings for dinner. As we pay our bill I realize we didn't call the Casino, crap weasel!!!!! We call immediately only to find out there's 8 people ahead of us and it's a SLOW table, great...a couple hour wait looks like a given unless they fire up a second table.
Off we go for the 5 minute drive to Casino Niagara, it's like 10 blocks away, a half hour later we park for the Casino, yeah...traffic down Clifton Hill is brutal, just brutal....we slowly pass a Hummer parked on the right and see a parking ticket dude so I tell him to 'give the hummer guy two tickets, he can afford it'...the ticket dude smiles and says 'damn right man, I'll give him two!' Yeah, stick it to the rich! We find $10 parking on a little side street right close to the Casino and head in.....I have my cash in my pocket but left my wallet back at Jordo's place in Burlington just to be safe, if I lose my $100 I'm not dipping into my account for any more!
As we walk into the Casino I'm thinking 'I hope we've moved up in the queue!'. We head for the entrance, Jordo goes in and the security dude jumps in front of me and says 'How old are you buddy?' I stare blankly at him in disbelief thinking my god, I came all this way and I'm gonna be stopped outside by some pimply face security/bouncer punk because I was stupid and didn't bring my wallet...by the way I was born in 1967! I'm dumbfounded but I spit out that I'm 39 and I think the look on my face and the fact that someone underage is not going to say 39 convinces him to let me in, whew, am I glad....and I guess happy as he thought I was underage...it's always nice to know you don't look your age?
We're in!!!!!!! Sweet, the sounds of the slots quickly remind me how much fun I had with Wolffhound in Vegas, I'm home! One of the first things I see is 'The Wheel of Fortune!!!!' God I love that machine and it paid me off nicely in Vegas...but I told myself I'm only playing poker today, no slots! I escaped Vanna's call! Jordo and I make our way downstairs to the poker room and I must say I'm impressed. I do not have a lot of Casino experience but compared to the few Casinos I played at in Vegas it's a nice wide open room and not stuffy at all! We check in and the lady gives us a pager and says about an hour, not bad, I was prepared for about an hour or two. I ask Jordo what he wants to do and tell him I don't want to play slots but will cruise around if he wants to play or check things out...I just want to play cards! We're still debating what to do looking over the poker room when the pager goes off, WTF? It's been 5 minutes??? When I called I gave them Jordo's name first, although he's been in Casino's I don't think he's played poker in one yet and I want him to get the first seat but he wants to give me the first seat? I know that feeling you get before the first time you play in a Casino, I felt it in Vegas....so I agree, how long can it be if you're right behind me on the list anyways right? I get $100 in chips and take my seat.
Sweeeeeeet, it's poker time! I stack my chips and look over the table. I'm two hands away from the BB so I just watch and get a quick feel of the personalities there. Immediately to my left is a quiet Asian lady who keeps looking around the room like someone is out to get her and could be there any minute, she has about $60 in front of her. Going clockwise around the table next is an old deaf guy...well I think maybe deaf in one ear, if you're on his right he can't hear you and ignores you, if you're on his left he responds, he's got about $100. Next is an older Asian guy with about $40, and old white dude with about $40, then two young friends one with about $30, the other over $100. Then another old white dude with maybe $20, the dealer, then the two guys to my right. One an American who likes to talk a lot is immediately to my right the other a Canadian a little older then me both nice guys.
Two hands is not much time to get a good read on the 'feel' of the table but being the lowest limit I figure it'll be really loose and passive so I plan to play tight and aggressive, which really is how I always try to play limit anyways? Ok the BB is on me and I watch the table, call, call, call, call, young guy moves his hand towards the muck then calls?, call, call, call...great everyone called god I love low-limit Hold'em. I have 83o and I fold to a flop bet. Next hand I'm in the SB with 35o, only 6 to the flop but I fold pre-flop...the Asian lady to my left has acted out of turn on both hands? Third hand in on the button I pick up AQo with 3 limpers ahead of me I reach to grab chips and the Asian lady calls...I say 'could I please act first?' and she replies, oh sorry I didn't see you? Huh? didn't see me? I'm 6' 230lbs and almost sitting ON YOU????? I raise, it's been the first pre-flop raise I've seen...yes only 3 hands in but a trend that will carry on through the session. SB and BB call. The flop is 47Q rainbow, sweet it's checked to me, another trend, and I bet. 3 callers, the turn is a T checked to me, I bet and everyone folds..weird we almost always saw the river after that but my first pot, I'm happy! I go almost a full orbit when I get a very clear thought.......I AM WAY BETTER THEN EVERYONE OF THESE PLAYERS! These players are just plain bad, aside from myself and the American to my right nobody ever raised pre-flop, ever! People would call all the way down with nothing or they would call pre-flop with AA, KK, QQ, AK and if anyone raised then they thought they had the nuts. This should be easy money! My read on the table now clockwise around the table....Asian lady, acts out of turn, calls with anything re-raises with the nuts, old deaf guy, calling station, will re-raise if he thinks he's good but has no idea what the nuts are. Old Asian dude, clueless calling station. Old white guy, seems solid pre-flop but will chase, mucked a lot on the river. Young Indian dude, horrible calling station, young Indian dudes friend, not so horrible calling station but will over play hands betting low pair and chasing with crap. Old dude beside the dealer, the 'Donator' I called him, he needs medical attention because he is just bleeding chips constantly. The American beside leans over at one point and says 'if that dude is in a hand don't fold anything ever regardless because chances are you're good', thanks buddy way ahead of you! My Canadian friend, seems solid but a little passive and called too many river bets with second best hand, just to keep people honest? Sweet! That leaves my American friend to my right and he was a decent player, the only other player to raise pre-flop and it was perfect that he was on my right!
Okay, back to the cards, EP I pick up QQ and raise pre-flop, 7 of us see a flop, I say to the dealer 'you must say that a lot' he says 'what', I say 'Seven to the flop' and he chuckles and says 'well, it is 2/4'. 'HeeHaw' I say! The flop is 9QK two spades, I got my trips but am a little worried with 6 others in that both the flush and str8 draws are out there but it's checked to me? Bet, a few callers, turn is red but a T, yikes...well I'm prepared for the suckouts today, this board is scary now but again it's checked to me...hmmm I think 'check' but then I think f-that I told myself to play more aggressive...bet!!!! I get 2 callers....they only called, no re-raise...I'm still worried because these guys are so bad one has to have a straight now calling my pre-flop raise? I mean I saw one dude simply call, never bet with AK on a board AK72J the guy betting had 79o??????? The river brings another T and I fill up, saweet! Checked to me I bet and 1 guy calls and I scoop a nice pot! Off to a good start! Then two hands pass me by that perhaps I could have made money on but I can't be too upset, one hand is playable perhaps without a pre-flop raise the other was just a case where the flop would have hit me hard, it was a trash hand. I get 56o on the button and I was thinking of playing it for $2 but Mr. America raises in front of me and I dump. The flop was 466, he had cowboys and my trip 6's would have won a nice pot. The very next hand I have 58o and fold and the flop came down 467 but I'm not playing that crap!
My first loss....so far so good when this happens. I'm in MP with ATo with 6 to the flop of TQQ no pre-flop raising. Checked to me and I bet, 3 callers, I have no read..yuck, check-call mode enabled! The turn is a low card putting two flush cards out and the young dude in EP bets. He could be on anything, my first thoughts were something like JK or a flush draw, maybe a T but hopefully not a Q, I call. He bets the river and I call and he flips over Q6o and my only thought was you dumb ass, thanks for saving me a few bucks. Minimal lose is ok. I'm ok with how I played it seeing so many hands called down to the river where A high or third pair is good. Very next hand I pick up 77 and decide to just call to see a flop. 8 player to the flop, good god! The flop is okay all low cards rainbow, something like 259. I bet and am raised by the deaf calling station who has yet to ever raise anything I think? I fold and he gets called down to the river and shows AA, good lord but I'm happy to only lose $4 on that hand.
I sat down around 3 and it's now after 4, Jordo has been waiting to play for an hour when the old calling station to the right of the dealer finally busts..some even older lady hobbles up the the seat at which point I tell the dealer, 'no way, my buddy is next in line, I've been playing for over an hour and he was right after me on the list?' He calls the pit boss over and they proceed to explain that she was a call ahead and that when I got my seat she wasn't in the Casino yet but she was ahead of us in the queue and Jordo is next...ok, that's stupid but I understand..but then some old Asian dude takes her seat before she sits down and I say wtf is that then? Well I guess he was ahead of her? Grrr, poor Jordo, we only planned to play until 7:00pm or so and it's after 4:00?
I watch a few hands go by, lose a few chips calling and folding when I miss completely, I have no intention of bluffing in this game. I pick up 99 in MP and raise pre-flop. I get 6 callers and the flop is 49Q sweet, but two spades are showing. Checked to me of course and I bet, I think I only got 3 callers and the turn is a beautiful 9 for quads! Checked to me again and I pause before I bet because the damn Asian lady is always acting out of turn, sure enough she calls and the dealer says it's on him, I smile and say raise she says again 'sorry I didn't see you' to which I said 'honey I've been here well over an hour, I ain't moving, I act before you, get used to it!', She goes to take her chips and the dealer says sorry those stay in, $4 to call and she throws another $4 in looking pissed off. The river was a K I think, the Asian lady acted in turn this time and folded to my bet. I was hoping the 1 caller had enough of the board to re-raise but I should have known they wouldn't..there was soooo little raising or re-raising but still, it was a sweat pot. I think at that point I was up over $50. Time for a drink! I bought a $7 Guinness but it was good and the waitress was very hot! I have to mention a hand that was rare because of all the action and thank god I wasn't involved in this train wreck....7 or 8 player to the flop and the flop comes down 777 and this was one hand where there was actually a lot of betting, turn was an A, the river a 6 I don't know how much was in the pot but the deaf old dude bought in for another $50 during the hand to keep raising with AXo and the Asian lady flips Q7o for quads and a huge pot...Q7o, yuck!
After a while I notice the young Indian dude is all-in on his blind and he loses, he basically call-folded his stack away, unfortunately I didn't get many of his chips. He and his friend get up to leave and by this time it's 5:30, sweet Jordo is definitely getting into the game now, maybe I can get him to stay until 8:00 or 9:00? I was shocked at this point when the old lady was back with some young black dude I'll call 'Dodger' as he had a huge flat peaked Dodgers hat perched on this black head wrap he was wearing along with all his bling and such? I was livid and stormed up to the booth again screaming why isn't my friend getting a seat?! The lady reminds me these people were call-ins ahead of him...bullshit I say! Anyways, Asian lady requests a seat change so I get old European lady beside me and Dodger took the seat across the table with what looked like a few hundred in front of him? Maybe as much $300 for a $2/4 game yikes I thought there was a buy-in limit? I quickly found out why he needed that much. He called every hand, I mean every hand to the river and then mucked, I never saw him scoop a pot. Unfortunately for me this is where I went card dead I just got nothing to play and if I limped with something like 9J the flop would miss me completely and I'd fold. The old European lady was hilarious, I could barely understand her and she'd put her hand out and tap the table as if to check then pull it back and fire chips in? I said to the the dealer 'come one, she clearly checked?' and I must admit for the most part the dealers were very good, no mistakes and they did instruct players how to act correctly. He did say something to her but she still did it a few times. I'm still up $30 and now it's 6:00. I've been playing for 3:00 hours, Jordo is nowhere to be seen....I hope the slots are being kind to him? I decide that one more lap, finish my drink ( I switched to water after the $7 beer), and I'll just leave if he doesn't get a seat. Well at that point a seat opens up and guess what.....old Euro ladies husband sits down two to my right....Now I completely go off with a few nasty words and again walk up to the booth with smoke coming out my ears only to find out Jordo is next in line, ok it's late but perhaps he can get an hour in if a seat opens up, I'll go through the blinds once more. The BB is 3 to my right so Euro dude is BB next hand but he posts anyways, the dealer mentions he's BB next hand but he says I came to play, cool! Two hands later another seat opens up and Euro dude asks to move, the dealer says you're in the SB and will have to post again, he says whatever and moves and posts $2, so he posted $2 when he sat down, $2 in the BB, moved out of the SB and posted $2 more, what a tool! So down sits a young Hispanic dude two to my right who looked very nervous and was dressed like the dudes on Pimp my Ride! WTF???? Where's Jordo...I stomp my way back to the booth I think completely engulfed in flames of fury only to find out Jordo scratched his name off the list? I can't blame him, who the fuck wants to sit around for over 3 hours waiting for a seat but I'm very disappointed he did not get to experience playing cards in a Casino. I'm in the BB and decide to leave after this lap. Pimp decides to post to get in the game, it comes around to him and he grabs his $2 and says fold....the dealer chuckles and says the $2 stays on the table son.....hehehe the young dude followed suit like that of Dodger, he pretty much called and folded. I never hit anything else and finished up $30. When I left I think dodger had about $100 in front of him..I swear he dropped a good $100-$200 easy?
Jordo did not have a great day and I feel sorry for him, at least we now know how long the waits are and next time will plan better to be there longer...and next time he sits down first!!!
I thought the game in Vegas was pretty soft but I must say that in Niagara at that $2/4 table - I played against the worst players I have ever seen and although I'm happy to come out up $30 I really expected to be up a lot more then that but aside from those few good hands early I really did not get good cards at all and although the dealers were good they were a bit slow so up $30 after 3 hours I guess is better then being down anything and in the eternal words of Wolffhound, up is up and it was a great time regardless! I was also happy to see that when I did fold almost always I would have not improved or won the hand anyways so I'm happy with how I played.
I can't wait to to again!
Comments
My bankroll can only handle the $2/4 game right now as well, and with me growing up in the falls and my family still down there I go a lot.
My first few sessions I ended up losing a lot because I got sucked up in the bad play of others. Once I threw bluffing out the window and raised premium hands the chips started flowing.
I also love the characters at the table at these limits that are convinced they are superstars, or are about to be. I never claim to be the greatest but these guys tend to be the biggest donaters, it's great.
Guy to my right: "You should have folded on the turn to my reraise because I represented the nuts, and if I had hit my two outer on the river you would have been in big trouble"
Me: Good stuff.
Parking is easier if you don't go down clifton hill. Just drive past it and you will see signs for the casino at the next lights. There is a free parking lot there but it only has 100 spots or so. I'm told the parking garage attached is also free if you have a player's card but I've never bothered to see if it was true.
The Taco's and Tequila place is awesome! I always head over the border to grab wings myself, of course without your ID I wouldn't advise that.
Huh? They allowed him to buy more chips mid-hand? Is this allowed there, or a mistake?
I second Beanie's "huh?". You can't add more money to your stack in the middle of a hand.
It caught me by surprise too, he still had chips on the table and in mid hand gave the dealer a $50 that the dealer cashed and gave him chips for....not that it should matter if you have chips back? As I think about it now I should have said something, it would have saved the guy some money? I don't know why I didn't say anything, I guess because it was the biggest pot of my session and I was not in the hand? I was just a spectator. There were a few small mental lapses on the dealers but overall I still thought they were good......and come to think of it I remember another guy sitting with maybe $8-10 in chips and they were stacked on top of a $20 dollar bill, he cashed his bill for more chips after the deal but before the flop? I wonder...this is a stupid question but if you have your chips stacked on top of a bill can that bill be considered part of your stack and therefore 'in play' so to speak? The guy with the $50 definitely pulled the $50 out of his wallet mid hand but the guy with the $20 had it under his chips for a while?
Mark
yeah, I knew it would be a waste of time trying to bluff anyone off anything but I did waste some money by being the aggressor only to have them call me down and flip an over pair or two pair. Most would raise when they hit trips, a str8, a boat, or a flush but they'd just call you down with over pairs or two pair and you can bleed a lot of chips betting into a calling station with the second best hand
It was still an OK experience for me, despite the $140 of my online poker money donated to the friggen slots! hehe I have limited live poker experience with buddies, and NO poker experience at all in any casino, so I was more than a little nervous and quite happy to let BigE go first. Gave me some time to suck up the casino atmosphere, by which of course I mean develop a headache from the noise and blinky things!
BUT - I am looking forward to trying again, a little better planned & with more time available...and now with a bit more confidence too after watching a bit and hearing about E's experience.
The taco place was GREAT, the Wacky wings were not bad tasty-wise, but disappointing heat-wise. Seriously, if you have "Wings" in your bar name, then your suicide better be hotter than McDonald's BBQ sauce for f*** sakes!Â
Jordo
Amen!
We ordered 'Wacky Suicide' and they were kinda like ketchup with a splash of Frank's Red Hot (apparently every one of Wacky Wings 100+ sauces with any heat is just Frank's Red Hot, tasty but disappointing considering the price!).....very disapointing heat wise and presentation wise, they give you free blue cheese dip but you have to pay $1.25 for veggies? Come on people how much does it cost for 1/3 of a carrot and a piece of celery????
We then asked for a side order of their 'Wacky Stupid' sauce....supposed to be the hottest in the joint...laugh and sigh, I've had hotter wings from Pizza Pizza or Zehr's? Although they were slightly tangy with minimal bite they were so far away from hot I don't think I'll ever go back. The beer selection was most excellent tho, on tap they had Blue, Blue, warm Blue, and only slightly warm Blue.......barf!
The Taco place was way way better and their hot sauce for the taco's was fantastic!
Sure did...I only wish I had more time to take their money...and I'm glad they didn't get any of mine!
Yep, my bad.
I was thinking that everything on the other side of the Falls was Buiffalo, NY.