08-05-2002, 02:20 PM
Hello. I'm a beginner at posting trip reports, so I'll post this here.
I play a lot of internet poker. I know I don’t play very well, but I play OK and in the first half of 2002 won enough to afford a small poker holiday. Friends couldn’t understand this, after all I’m not good enough to play the mid or high limits so using the money to go abroad and play low limit poker might seem crazy. There was no hope of me winning enough in the 3-6 game to make a profit on the trip, but that wasn’t my purpose for going.
I like limit poker (actually like isn’t strong enough a term!) but because I live in a country where it isn’t played, going abroad represented my only chance of experiencing my hobby in a B+M casino – something I’ve been itching to do for a long time.
Originally I planned to go to Vegas, but in the end opted for Vienna which is closer to home and cheaper to get too. The cardroom I went to is called the Concord Card Casino (CCC). I believe it’s Europe’s biggest cardroom and it spreads limit games 24/7 – fantastic!
I must admit to being a little nervous on my first trip to the cardroom. For some reason I expected my real life opponents (as opposed to internet opponents – who I know are real as well, but you get what I mean right?) to be excellent players. Boy was I in for a shock!
Within minutes of sitting down I witnessed my first (but definitely not last) eight way capped pot. The chips were being slammed down with abandon while the table groaned under the weight of the pot. Showdown: bottom pair, busted flush draw, trips, Ace high, jack high, eight high (really!) – holy cow! I wasn’t expecting this.
The crazy action wasn’t the only shock. One hand this guy had his pocket kings cracked by a maniac playing 73os – instead of pushing them into the muck he flipped em over screwed them up and threw them in the dealer’s face – woah, slow down there!
My friend who came with me was also in shock and managed to get into an argument with a massive Turkish guy who played OK poker, but had a habit of throwing his cards in the dealer’s face halfway through a hand when he folded.
My friend pointed out that exposing cards halfway through a hand was not on. “This is Vienna, not London” piped up another player “Things are different here”. My friend didn’t agree and called the floorman. He instructed the Turkish guy to stop throwing his cards in face up and he did – we weren’t the most popular people at the table after that though I’ll tell you.
Anyway first session I won. Didn’t take any risks just played solid cards. Softly, softly.
Second day we come back and to my amazement some of the people who were playing when we left are still there. Same clothes, same seats they had not moved. Unbelievable.
One guy tells me he has been playing 40 hours straight and has to go to work in two hours! He was a pretty bad player so I dread to think how much he’d lost in that time – no matter his luck was about to change.
The CCC offers prize money for high hands, so when the dealer flops down 9c10cJc the crazies at the table begin to get excited. The turn is the Qc. We are down to two players Mr 40 hours and an old guy who has played every hand he has been dealt. River (you guessed it) Kc. Gasps of amazement. Old guy checks, Mr 40 hours bets. Old guy thinks and thinks and thinks some more and then he mucks!!!!!!!!!! I mean, there’s a massive pot in the middle, a straight flush on the board and he folds for one bet. I just don’t think I could do it.
Anyway Mr 40 hours flips over the ace of clubs for the royal – so maybe it was an inspired fold after all. But for six euros I ‘d have to have a look. Even though the hand wasn’t played to completion and he only used one hole card, Mr 40 hours was paid his jackpot (about 1k I think) and was kind enough to get the whole table a drink. One cheeky guy ordered a large Remy – ha-ha nice one.
Anyway I play solidly again, opening up a bit here and there and book another winning session. Fantastic, this is easy money I tell myself. Wronnnnnnnnnnng!
Day three was hell. I mean I played 16 hours and the best hand I saw was a straight (and that was the idiot’s end!). I didn’t make trips once, I didn’t see a flush once. I got dealt JJ on my first hand and saw it beat by 94os. I saw KK once it was beaten by K5. I saw QQ once, the flop came AK4, furious action and I mucked. I saw AA once, everyone folded to my raise. In 16 hours I bled 65 big bets and found myself sitting in a short handed game at 8 am betting my Ace high into the nut flush – taxi!!!!!
Day four - my final day was better – I recovered a lot of what I lost the day before and began to have fun again. I talked poker with Fishy Whale (a fellow 2+2 poster) ate schnitzel and watched my friend come fourth in a stud/hold em mix tourney. Well played!
Overall I broke even, but on my return to England I managed third place in a pot limit hold em tourney which pretty much covered the cost of the holiday. Hoorah for poker!
If any of you folks are in Europe at any time and pass through Vienna, I heartily recommend a visit to the CCC club.
I play a lot of internet poker. I know I don’t play very well, but I play OK and in the first half of 2002 won enough to afford a small poker holiday. Friends couldn’t understand this, after all I’m not good enough to play the mid or high limits so using the money to go abroad and play low limit poker might seem crazy. There was no hope of me winning enough in the 3-6 game to make a profit on the trip, but that wasn’t my purpose for going.
I like limit poker (actually like isn’t strong enough a term!) but because I live in a country where it isn’t played, going abroad represented my only chance of experiencing my hobby in a B+M casino – something I’ve been itching to do for a long time.
Originally I planned to go to Vegas, but in the end opted for Vienna which is closer to home and cheaper to get too. The cardroom I went to is called the Concord Card Casino (CCC). I believe it’s Europe’s biggest cardroom and it spreads limit games 24/7 – fantastic!
I must admit to being a little nervous on my first trip to the cardroom. For some reason I expected my real life opponents (as opposed to internet opponents – who I know are real as well, but you get what I mean right?) to be excellent players. Boy was I in for a shock!
Within minutes of sitting down I witnessed my first (but definitely not last) eight way capped pot. The chips were being slammed down with abandon while the table groaned under the weight of the pot. Showdown: bottom pair, busted flush draw, trips, Ace high, jack high, eight high (really!) – holy cow! I wasn’t expecting this.
The crazy action wasn’t the only shock. One hand this guy had his pocket kings cracked by a maniac playing 73os – instead of pushing them into the muck he flipped em over screwed them up and threw them in the dealer’s face – woah, slow down there!
My friend who came with me was also in shock and managed to get into an argument with a massive Turkish guy who played OK poker, but had a habit of throwing his cards in the dealer’s face halfway through a hand when he folded.
My friend pointed out that exposing cards halfway through a hand was not on. “This is Vienna, not London” piped up another player “Things are different here”. My friend didn’t agree and called the floorman. He instructed the Turkish guy to stop throwing his cards in face up and he did – we weren’t the most popular people at the table after that though I’ll tell you.
Anyway first session I won. Didn’t take any risks just played solid cards. Softly, softly.
Second day we come back and to my amazement some of the people who were playing when we left are still there. Same clothes, same seats they had not moved. Unbelievable.
One guy tells me he has been playing 40 hours straight and has to go to work in two hours! He was a pretty bad player so I dread to think how much he’d lost in that time – no matter his luck was about to change.
The CCC offers prize money for high hands, so when the dealer flops down 9c10cJc the crazies at the table begin to get excited. The turn is the Qc. We are down to two players Mr 40 hours and an old guy who has played every hand he has been dealt. River (you guessed it) Kc. Gasps of amazement. Old guy checks, Mr 40 hours bets. Old guy thinks and thinks and thinks some more and then he mucks!!!!!!!!!! I mean, there’s a massive pot in the middle, a straight flush on the board and he folds for one bet. I just don’t think I could do it.
Anyway Mr 40 hours flips over the ace of clubs for the royal – so maybe it was an inspired fold after all. But for six euros I ‘d have to have a look. Even though the hand wasn’t played to completion and he only used one hole card, Mr 40 hours was paid his jackpot (about 1k I think) and was kind enough to get the whole table a drink. One cheeky guy ordered a large Remy – ha-ha nice one.
Anyway I play solidly again, opening up a bit here and there and book another winning session. Fantastic, this is easy money I tell myself. Wronnnnnnnnnnng!
Day three was hell. I mean I played 16 hours and the best hand I saw was a straight (and that was the idiot’s end!). I didn’t make trips once, I didn’t see a flush once. I got dealt JJ on my first hand and saw it beat by 94os. I saw KK once it was beaten by K5. I saw QQ once, the flop came AK4, furious action and I mucked. I saw AA once, everyone folded to my raise. In 16 hours I bled 65 big bets and found myself sitting in a short handed game at 8 am betting my Ace high into the nut flush – taxi!!!!!
Day four - my final day was better – I recovered a lot of what I lost the day before and began to have fun again. I talked poker with Fishy Whale (a fellow 2+2 poster) ate schnitzel and watched my friend come fourth in a stud/hold em mix tourney. Well played!
Overall I broke even, but on my return to England I managed third place in a pot limit hold em tourney which pretty much covered the cost of the holiday. Hoorah for poker!
If any of you folks are in Europe at any time and pass through Vienna, I heartily recommend a visit to the CCC club.