Bob T.
10-05-2004, 04:42 PM
I was in Las Vegas this weekend for a family reunion, and while my wife was testing out her blackjack 'TEE-ory', I played some low limit holdem downtown.
Other than home games, it was the first time I played live in several months. Here are some of the things that I missed by playing online instead of live.
- 30 Hands per hour.
- Arguments about:
- where the button should be, it only took about 6 opinions, a floor supervisor, a dealer (sort of) and 5 minutes to sort it out, and even then everyone didn't agree.
- what a players options were after a partial all-in bet. What made this one special, is that everyone involved in the pot and the dealer were all in agreement, it was a player not involved that thought that he knew better than everyone else.
- whether or not an angle-player had made a bet. He checked with chips in his hand, held horizontally, so the bottom chip touched the table, and as he removed his hand, he dropped one chip on the table. His opponent called the bet instantly. The bettor claimed he didn't make a bet, and the caller claimed he did. This required vigorous profane arguments by both players as well as at least two others. Finally, the floor declared that it wasn't a bet, and the two players showed down. It turns out that the player who 'didn't bet' won the showdown, so if he had let his bet stand, he would have won one more big bet. On a positive side, I did learn one new insult during this discussion. 'You wouldn't be so full of S$$$, if your head wasn't so far up my ass'.
- whether or not a players hand was still live, after he left the table for a cigarette, while another player considered his bet. In a No limit game, Player A makes a big bet, player B, takes his time considering the call, and A says, 'don't hurry, I'll get a cigarette'. Eventually, B calls, as well as two other players. Player A's hand is unprotected on the table in front of his chips. He takes another drag, as the dealer delivers the turn card, B checks, C bets, D folds, and the dealer kills A's hand as he is sitting back down. He wants his cards back, and a long argument ensues. It is finally ruled that his hand is dead, but before he returns the cards, he rips them in half, and he is excluded for I imagine 24 hours. As he is racking up, he tries to give the floor three red chips for the cards, but the floor declines. They have a long discussion afterward but he still has to leave.
- I also enjoyed sitting next to one dealer, whose breath smelled like one of the participants of the national finals rodeo. I think that participant's name was 'El Diablo'.
- Finally, I miss slowrolling. One hand, it gets capped preflop, on the flop, and the turn, an Ace falls on the river, and early position bets out, followed by two calls. After a long pause, EP pushes his hand forward about 1 inch, face down. MP shows his pocket kings, and LP shows A8s( yes it was a great game). The dealer gathers the pot, and begans pushing it to the LP player, at which point the EP player, grabs his cards, slams ATs face up on the table, and yells 'SHIP IT!'
The ensuing argument, name calling, threats, and offers, are never really matched online, where you don't have the opportunity to be sitting between the participants of a potential fight.
Not only this, but somehow I managed to lose about $400 not counting my donations to testing the TEE-ory. When I got home, I logged onto UB, found two juicy 10-20 games, and in about 50 minutes won just short of $800, and felt like all was right with the world again.
Good luck,
play well,
Bob T.
Other than home games, it was the first time I played live in several months. Here are some of the things that I missed by playing online instead of live.
- 30 Hands per hour.
- Arguments about:
- where the button should be, it only took about 6 opinions, a floor supervisor, a dealer (sort of) and 5 minutes to sort it out, and even then everyone didn't agree.
- what a players options were after a partial all-in bet. What made this one special, is that everyone involved in the pot and the dealer were all in agreement, it was a player not involved that thought that he knew better than everyone else.
- whether or not an angle-player had made a bet. He checked with chips in his hand, held horizontally, so the bottom chip touched the table, and as he removed his hand, he dropped one chip on the table. His opponent called the bet instantly. The bettor claimed he didn't make a bet, and the caller claimed he did. This required vigorous profane arguments by both players as well as at least two others. Finally, the floor declared that it wasn't a bet, and the two players showed down. It turns out that the player who 'didn't bet' won the showdown, so if he had let his bet stand, he would have won one more big bet. On a positive side, I did learn one new insult during this discussion. 'You wouldn't be so full of S$$$, if your head wasn't so far up my ass'.
- whether or not a players hand was still live, after he left the table for a cigarette, while another player considered his bet. In a No limit game, Player A makes a big bet, player B, takes his time considering the call, and A says, 'don't hurry, I'll get a cigarette'. Eventually, B calls, as well as two other players. Player A's hand is unprotected on the table in front of his chips. He takes another drag, as the dealer delivers the turn card, B checks, C bets, D folds, and the dealer kills A's hand as he is sitting back down. He wants his cards back, and a long argument ensues. It is finally ruled that his hand is dead, but before he returns the cards, he rips them in half, and he is excluded for I imagine 24 hours. As he is racking up, he tries to give the floor three red chips for the cards, but the floor declines. They have a long discussion afterward but he still has to leave.
- I also enjoyed sitting next to one dealer, whose breath smelled like one of the participants of the national finals rodeo. I think that participant's name was 'El Diablo'.
- Finally, I miss slowrolling. One hand, it gets capped preflop, on the flop, and the turn, an Ace falls on the river, and early position bets out, followed by two calls. After a long pause, EP pushes his hand forward about 1 inch, face down. MP shows his pocket kings, and LP shows A8s( yes it was a great game). The dealer gathers the pot, and begans pushing it to the LP player, at which point the EP player, grabs his cards, slams ATs face up on the table, and yells 'SHIP IT!'
The ensuing argument, name calling, threats, and offers, are never really matched online, where you don't have the opportunity to be sitting between the participants of a potential fight.
Not only this, but somehow I managed to lose about $400 not counting my donations to testing the TEE-ory. When I got home, I logged onto UB, found two juicy 10-20 games, and in about 50 minutes won just short of $800, and felt like all was right with the world again.
Good luck,
play well,
Bob T.