grandgnu
01-07-2005, 09:42 AM
TWO DAYS BEFORE TRIP Weather reports indicate a snowstorm with anywhere from 2-4 or 5-8 inches expected. Ick, this can't be good.
DAY PRIOR TO TRIP: I'm out grocery shopping with Jenn when we encounter "Them"!!!!!
Her: 350lbs? Dirty black felt-type coat with hairs and schmutz all over it.
Him: 400+ lbs. Her son, wearing a goofy, multi-colored hat. Looks to be in his 30's, but still living at home with mommy, probably because she buys him food to support his girth.
Both: Ugh, everywhere we go, their stench stalks us. I'm talking cigarettes and ass (although Jenn corrected me, it should be ass and cigarettes, ass being the more dominant of the scents) We try to change up what aisles we go through, but to no avail. They dog us at every step. Even during checkout, we wind up one lane over, arrrrggghhh! Now, normally when we see someone REALLY disgusting we'll toss out "WLBO radio on your UF dial!" (wide load body odor on your ugly [censored] dial). But that didn't apply, why offend all the real WLBO people, I don't believe in being rude. *smirk*
So, my "luck" factor seems to be diminished here, but I'm still determined to make the trip to Foxwoods. I finished 30th out of 250 players last week, just making the money. This time I'm shooting for top 10 (ok, top 5 really, that's where you make more than a grand)
BEDTIME BEFORE TRIP: My original plans were to have my friend Michelle follow me up. I wanted to leave around 5:45am. But with the weather reports holding strong to a good amount of snowfall AND a mixture of rain, freezing rain, sleet, hail, tsunamis, etc. I take my buddy Cory up on his 4-wheel drive truck. This means I'll be getting up at 3am to be ready and at his house for 4:30 am so we can head up. I recommend Michelle get a room and head to Foxwoods from work (she's out at midnight). She gets a good deal (80 bucks for the room!) and makes a good decision, avoiding the icky roads.
WAKING UP: Well, I try to go to bed around 8pm. It's now 9pm and I'm still up. Then try to go to bed again, it's now 10pm, still up. Arrrrgghhh! My girlfriend switched sides of the bed on me, AND she's got my pillow! This is not working out! I get up, hop on my computer and start killing mofo's in the Desert Combat mod of Battlefield: 1942. Whenever I'm getting beat, I blame a bad connection and lag (couldn't possibly be my opponents skills, right?)
WAKING UP......LATE: So, I eventually get to bed. My alarm should wake me for 3am. Right? Hello? Um, nope. My girlfriend wakes me up, at 4:45am. Dammit! So I call up Cory. He's still home, but can't wait for me to shower and get to his house. He says he'll meet me there. I hop in the shower and I'm out of the house by 5am.
DRIVING UP: Alright, looks like my "luck" factor has really crapped the bed this week. The traffic on Rt 2 isn't so bad, and the roads are bearable. Same with Rt 190, Rt 290 and Rt 395 (remember, I'm driving a hundred miles on this little adventure) I tell myself over and over that I'm an idiot for driving in these conditions to play in a $100 buy-in tourney, but I MUST play, I have been planning this. I wind up traveling anywhere from 10-20 mph below the speed limit, which keeps me safe. I hit some snags of traffic here and there, and wind up having a 1 and 1/2 hour trip take 2 and 1/2 hours.
ARRIVAL: YES! I'm here, glorious Foxwoods, with it's shiny tower and beautiful design work. My home away from home (if only I lived closer). I get into the poker room, and don't find the huge line of players I'm expecting. Sure, I know most people won't be an idiot like me and travel far for this tourney, but there's only like four guys! And then I hear it on the overhead speakers............."there will be no tourney today due to the weather". Did she just say no tourney today?
I HAVE to check and make sure I heard this right. So I find a woman sitting at a desk on the poker room floor and ask "did she just say no tourney today?" and the response is "yes, she said that three times". This woman will be doomed to hear the same question and give the same response for the next several hours. It looks like Foxwoods declared a snow day for itself (serious here, they really did) and this means that a lot of their dealers, floor people, etc. don't have to show up. There's that "luck" factor I was telling you about.
I call up Jenn to let her know I arrived safe, but that the tourney is cancelled. She tells me to get home before noon, when it'll be really bad out. I laugh and tell her no way. I didn't drive 2 and 1/2 hours so I could turn around and leave! I really have to get her off that crack pipe!
No sign of my buddy Cory, so I call up the operator and get Michelles room. She tells me she didn't get to bed until 4am, but that she had heard that the tourney was being cancelled when she arrived (thanks for the phone call Michelle!) *smirk* She says she's getting some free bingo entry and she'll be checking that out, and then stop by the poker room and see if she can find me. I never see her in the poker room, guess she enjoys playing the granny games.
OLD PEOPLE GAMES: Of course, I'm one to talk. At the ripe old age of 27, I'm the youngest player at my $1-$5 seven-card stud table. Yes, I know, it's low limits, so sue me! At least I'm not wallowing in $1-$3 limits, right? When I initially arrived there was only one name on the "list of interest" for 7-stud at these stakes. Everyone and their brother was playing 7-card stud for dummies.......oh, I mean Texas Hold 'Em. So anyway, I put my name on the lists of interest for $1-5 seven-stud, $2-4 Omaha hi/lo and $5-10 Omaha Hi/Lo. The 7-stud filled up first and I don't think they ever got an Omaha game going while I was there.
THE PLAYERS: While there were a few people that traveled through our table, there were a number of players that remained constant throughout. Here are the characters:
Grumpy Old Man #3: Where are grumpy old man #1 and #2 you ask? I'm sure they were there, somewhere.....just not at my table. This guy reminded me of the skinny guy from the movie Grumpy Old Men, one of the main characters. He just didn't seem too friendly, or keen to be sitting next to me, one of the "young guns". He was in the middle seat, which I think is great, you can see all the hands and keep track of the cards that are out. But he prefers a seat on the corner of the table.
Dirty Old Man #679: This guy sat to my immediate left, and would tell dirty jokes (or just plain cheesy ones) to the guy to his left, throughout the day. One of his jokes: "Yeah, so these poker chips I heard were made by Monks............................can you believe that? Monks!" Other guy: "Monks, what kind of Monks?" Him: "Chipmunks!" *cue laughter*
Guy-To-His-Left-Man: This guy was friendly and having a good time. One of the younger players at the table (40's). He had actually taken over the seat from another older player who had been complaining about his bad run of cards (this new guy wound up catching numerous hands and doubled up his starting chips)
The Super: The only black guy we had at the table. I was originally going to call him "Bill Cosby" for this story, but didn't want to be seen as racist. We had a few asians come through the game from time to time, but they didn't play as tricky as I expected. It was those ornery old white guys that were trouble. But anyway, back to "The Super". That's short for "superintendant". I figure this guy probably handled that position for some building. Anyway, he was SUPER loose and agressive. He'd try to be in a lot of hands, raising it up with crap showing on the board for his hand. Whenever I had a hand he'd pay me off BIGS TIME! He did catch a full house here and there.......against other players. But for the most part his play was terrible as were his calls. It was like he was chasing a runner-runner-runner-runner a lot of times.
Mrs. ATM: This lady (in her early 40's) should have had an ATM machine grafted to her skin. She'd lose, and go to the ATM, and lose, and go to the ATM. She kept coming back for more punishment. Now, in her defense, she did get unlucky and drawn out on. One monster hand she was dealt trip Kings from the start, and lost to a player who caught a flush. She complained about her bad luck, said she liked being the table bully and pushing others around, not vice versa, and eventually moved to a 7-stud table over from us.
Lady Luck: Alright, not really. She didn't win a lot of hands. But my last hand of the day (2pm I planned as my return time) she turned her trip 10's (two on board, one in the hole) into a full boat on the river, against my made flush.
RESULTS: I plunked 200 bucks down at the cashiers cage for my chips. Most players at the $1-$5 table like to start with $100, but you know me, big spender. I'm surprised they don't comp everything for me! So anyway, at no point during my play was I down more than $15-$20 of my original starting stack. And even then, it only happened about two times. I was usually up $40-$60. At one point I was up $85-$90, and had I won that last hand against Lady Luck, I would have left with more than $100 profit. As it was, I left with $60 more than I started with. Certainly better than a loss, although not worth driving through all that crap and spending all that time.
Nevertheless, I have a 7-stud game on Saturday at my house, and needed to get some practice in (playing too much NL Hold 'Em will really dumb down your attention skills for games like stud)
AJ
DAY PRIOR TO TRIP: I'm out grocery shopping with Jenn when we encounter "Them"!!!!!
Her: 350lbs? Dirty black felt-type coat with hairs and schmutz all over it.
Him: 400+ lbs. Her son, wearing a goofy, multi-colored hat. Looks to be in his 30's, but still living at home with mommy, probably because she buys him food to support his girth.
Both: Ugh, everywhere we go, their stench stalks us. I'm talking cigarettes and ass (although Jenn corrected me, it should be ass and cigarettes, ass being the more dominant of the scents) We try to change up what aisles we go through, but to no avail. They dog us at every step. Even during checkout, we wind up one lane over, arrrrggghhh! Now, normally when we see someone REALLY disgusting we'll toss out "WLBO radio on your UF dial!" (wide load body odor on your ugly [censored] dial). But that didn't apply, why offend all the real WLBO people, I don't believe in being rude. *smirk*
So, my "luck" factor seems to be diminished here, but I'm still determined to make the trip to Foxwoods. I finished 30th out of 250 players last week, just making the money. This time I'm shooting for top 10 (ok, top 5 really, that's where you make more than a grand)
BEDTIME BEFORE TRIP: My original plans were to have my friend Michelle follow me up. I wanted to leave around 5:45am. But with the weather reports holding strong to a good amount of snowfall AND a mixture of rain, freezing rain, sleet, hail, tsunamis, etc. I take my buddy Cory up on his 4-wheel drive truck. This means I'll be getting up at 3am to be ready and at his house for 4:30 am so we can head up. I recommend Michelle get a room and head to Foxwoods from work (she's out at midnight). She gets a good deal (80 bucks for the room!) and makes a good decision, avoiding the icky roads.
WAKING UP: Well, I try to go to bed around 8pm. It's now 9pm and I'm still up. Then try to go to bed again, it's now 10pm, still up. Arrrrgghhh! My girlfriend switched sides of the bed on me, AND she's got my pillow! This is not working out! I get up, hop on my computer and start killing mofo's in the Desert Combat mod of Battlefield: 1942. Whenever I'm getting beat, I blame a bad connection and lag (couldn't possibly be my opponents skills, right?)
WAKING UP......LATE: So, I eventually get to bed. My alarm should wake me for 3am. Right? Hello? Um, nope. My girlfriend wakes me up, at 4:45am. Dammit! So I call up Cory. He's still home, but can't wait for me to shower and get to his house. He says he'll meet me there. I hop in the shower and I'm out of the house by 5am.
DRIVING UP: Alright, looks like my "luck" factor has really crapped the bed this week. The traffic on Rt 2 isn't so bad, and the roads are bearable. Same with Rt 190, Rt 290 and Rt 395 (remember, I'm driving a hundred miles on this little adventure) I tell myself over and over that I'm an idiot for driving in these conditions to play in a $100 buy-in tourney, but I MUST play, I have been planning this. I wind up traveling anywhere from 10-20 mph below the speed limit, which keeps me safe. I hit some snags of traffic here and there, and wind up having a 1 and 1/2 hour trip take 2 and 1/2 hours.
ARRIVAL: YES! I'm here, glorious Foxwoods, with it's shiny tower and beautiful design work. My home away from home (if only I lived closer). I get into the poker room, and don't find the huge line of players I'm expecting. Sure, I know most people won't be an idiot like me and travel far for this tourney, but there's only like four guys! And then I hear it on the overhead speakers............."there will be no tourney today due to the weather". Did she just say no tourney today?
I HAVE to check and make sure I heard this right. So I find a woman sitting at a desk on the poker room floor and ask "did she just say no tourney today?" and the response is "yes, she said that three times". This woman will be doomed to hear the same question and give the same response for the next several hours. It looks like Foxwoods declared a snow day for itself (serious here, they really did) and this means that a lot of their dealers, floor people, etc. don't have to show up. There's that "luck" factor I was telling you about.
I call up Jenn to let her know I arrived safe, but that the tourney is cancelled. She tells me to get home before noon, when it'll be really bad out. I laugh and tell her no way. I didn't drive 2 and 1/2 hours so I could turn around and leave! I really have to get her off that crack pipe!
No sign of my buddy Cory, so I call up the operator and get Michelles room. She tells me she didn't get to bed until 4am, but that she had heard that the tourney was being cancelled when she arrived (thanks for the phone call Michelle!) *smirk* She says she's getting some free bingo entry and she'll be checking that out, and then stop by the poker room and see if she can find me. I never see her in the poker room, guess she enjoys playing the granny games.
OLD PEOPLE GAMES: Of course, I'm one to talk. At the ripe old age of 27, I'm the youngest player at my $1-$5 seven-card stud table. Yes, I know, it's low limits, so sue me! At least I'm not wallowing in $1-$3 limits, right? When I initially arrived there was only one name on the "list of interest" for 7-stud at these stakes. Everyone and their brother was playing 7-card stud for dummies.......oh, I mean Texas Hold 'Em. So anyway, I put my name on the lists of interest for $1-5 seven-stud, $2-4 Omaha hi/lo and $5-10 Omaha Hi/Lo. The 7-stud filled up first and I don't think they ever got an Omaha game going while I was there.
THE PLAYERS: While there were a few people that traveled through our table, there were a number of players that remained constant throughout. Here are the characters:
Grumpy Old Man #3: Where are grumpy old man #1 and #2 you ask? I'm sure they were there, somewhere.....just not at my table. This guy reminded me of the skinny guy from the movie Grumpy Old Men, one of the main characters. He just didn't seem too friendly, or keen to be sitting next to me, one of the "young guns". He was in the middle seat, which I think is great, you can see all the hands and keep track of the cards that are out. But he prefers a seat on the corner of the table.
Dirty Old Man #679: This guy sat to my immediate left, and would tell dirty jokes (or just plain cheesy ones) to the guy to his left, throughout the day. One of his jokes: "Yeah, so these poker chips I heard were made by Monks............................can you believe that? Monks!" Other guy: "Monks, what kind of Monks?" Him: "Chipmunks!" *cue laughter*
Guy-To-His-Left-Man: This guy was friendly and having a good time. One of the younger players at the table (40's). He had actually taken over the seat from another older player who had been complaining about his bad run of cards (this new guy wound up catching numerous hands and doubled up his starting chips)
The Super: The only black guy we had at the table. I was originally going to call him "Bill Cosby" for this story, but didn't want to be seen as racist. We had a few asians come through the game from time to time, but they didn't play as tricky as I expected. It was those ornery old white guys that were trouble. But anyway, back to "The Super". That's short for "superintendant". I figure this guy probably handled that position for some building. Anyway, he was SUPER loose and agressive. He'd try to be in a lot of hands, raising it up with crap showing on the board for his hand. Whenever I had a hand he'd pay me off BIGS TIME! He did catch a full house here and there.......against other players. But for the most part his play was terrible as were his calls. It was like he was chasing a runner-runner-runner-runner a lot of times.
Mrs. ATM: This lady (in her early 40's) should have had an ATM machine grafted to her skin. She'd lose, and go to the ATM, and lose, and go to the ATM. She kept coming back for more punishment. Now, in her defense, she did get unlucky and drawn out on. One monster hand she was dealt trip Kings from the start, and lost to a player who caught a flush. She complained about her bad luck, said she liked being the table bully and pushing others around, not vice versa, and eventually moved to a 7-stud table over from us.
Lady Luck: Alright, not really. She didn't win a lot of hands. But my last hand of the day (2pm I planned as my return time) she turned her trip 10's (two on board, one in the hole) into a full boat on the river, against my made flush.
RESULTS: I plunked 200 bucks down at the cashiers cage for my chips. Most players at the $1-$5 table like to start with $100, but you know me, big spender. I'm surprised they don't comp everything for me! So anyway, at no point during my play was I down more than $15-$20 of my original starting stack. And even then, it only happened about two times. I was usually up $40-$60. At one point I was up $85-$90, and had I won that last hand against Lady Luck, I would have left with more than $100 profit. As it was, I left with $60 more than I started with. Certainly better than a loss, although not worth driving through all that crap and spending all that time.
Nevertheless, I have a 7-stud game on Saturday at my house, and needed to get some practice in (playing too much NL Hold 'Em will really dumb down your attention skills for games like stud)
AJ