The stuff that goes on around the table

[JimRivett]

Here's a couple of things that I witnessed and participated in during the past week or so. All of these events occurred in Los Angeles card rooms.

Item 1.

We have a meek female Asian dealer. Seat 1 is a (at best) a break even Asian female who is prone to tilt. Seat 2 is a losing, loose playing white kid with a "White Boyz" tatoo on his arm. I am in seat 3. I can't remember exactly where we were, relative to the button on this hand, however it isn't important.

Seat 1 oprn raises, Seat 2 calls, I believe everyone folds, just seat 1 (Asian female) and seat 2 (White boy) in the hand.

Flop comes 3 hearts, King high and uncordinated, bet, call.

Turn is a black blank, bet, call.

River puts a fourth heart on the board. Check, bet.

Seat 1 glares at the dealer and throws her cards into the board and muck while being emotional and critizing the dealer. Seat 2 says, "Don't blame the dealer, blame yourself for not calling, I don't have anything" and shows ace high. Seat 1 goes all quiet and proceeds to tilt off a rack of chips.

Item 2

Very loose game, lots of callers seeing every flop. I'm in the big blind with A 10 of diamonds.

About 4 callers to the cutoff who raises, button and small blind calls as do I and the rest of the callers.

The cutoff is the type of player who when he wins a hand, he stands up and says "Send it to me" or "Ship me the pot", we he loses a hand the cards are thrown at the dealer and he demands to be dealt out the next hand. He will then start calling for a "push" and start asking the dealer how much longer before he/she is pushed. As you can tell, he's a piece of work.

Anyway, practically the whole table is going to see the flop for two small bets.

Flop: 2 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif 10 /images/graemlins/club.gif 7 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif

Not a bad flop for me, the small blind bets, I raise, 2 callers to the cutoff who doesn't seem to like what's going on, he calls as the button and small blind.

Turn is the A /images/graemlins/spade.gif

Small blind bets, and I raise, one mid position caller to the cutoff of throws his cards in the general direction of the dealer and demands to see all hands!

The river is 5 /images/graemlins/diamond.gif

Small blind checks, I bet, the mid position player folds. The small blind says "Normally I would call, but I don't want you to see the hands!" and mucks. The table bursts into laughter at this and I scoop the pot. The small blind told me later that he wasn't going to call anyway and just said that to irritate the cutoff.

btw isn't it nice to flop top pair, top kicker, turn top two and river the nuts?

Isn't live poker fun?

Internet poker - No Way!

[Mike Gallo]

Jim,

Great post. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[DeezNuts]

This is also why I love live poker. People just crack me up. Great post.

[Zeno]

Excellent and enjoyable post. California poker sounds like a ball.

-Zeno

PS - I agree with your comment on live poker.

[Al_Capone_Junior]

Oh, the simple joys of live poker. When I arrive in vegas in may, I may never play online again. I think I'll take lots of trips to cali tho. Sometimes even to play poker.

In the first hand, that was simply a great bluff, and a great comment. Put moron boy on tilt!

In the second hand, that was classic. I hope you kept your hand on your cards when pushing then to prevent the old "reach across the table and see them anyway" maneuver.

al

[Tommy Angelo]

Good post, Jim.

"Isn't live poker fun?"

I'm calling it "table poker" from here on in. Calling it "B&M" poker doesn't get it for me because "brick and mortar" is a silicon-valley-made adjective born of confusion.

And the phrase "live poker" always read first to my mind as "live poker," the same way we would say "live well." So that's confusing too.

But I know what a table is.


Tommy

[scrub]

Great post!

Not to be a nit, but you probably would have made more money on the second hand by just calling on the flop and 3-betting if CO raised...

scrub

[MaxPower]

As far as I know when I play online it is "live". It is certainly not on tape.

Then again all the "live" albums (CDs for the youngsters) I own are definitely pre-recorded.

Table Poker - I like that.

[Rick Nebiolo]

Jim,

Read your post last night after a day of "table poker" at the Bike while playing online on the other screen.

Poker is fun /images/graemlins/smile.gif.

Great post!

Rick

[J.A.Sucker]

Only in poker, only in Hayward:

Four wheezing retirees, one complete with oxygen bottle are sharing the table with a mechanic, a guy in a suit, and three gang-bangers playing 4/8 omaha. They were all having a good time and joking with each other. Tell me anywhere else that these folks would be rubbing elbows together, other than in the prelude to a snakehead joke post...

If you've ever been to Hayward, you'll know what I'm talking about.

[andyfox]

Good stuff, Jim. I'm surprised you didn't add this one, which you witnessed when you were sweating me:

40-80 game. I'm betting all the way and get check-raised by an A-B-C player on the river. I fold my pocket kings to a board of something like Q-J-4-2-7. The winner of the pot flashes me a 4. Another player, not involved in the hand, demands to see his other card. He refuses. The floorman is called over and the complainer says that just an hour ago, at the other table, he was told by this same floorman that when a guy shows one card, he must show both. The floorman asks if there was a bet and call on the river. There was not. The floorman says then that the winning player does not have to show his other card. The complainer asks why he was told just the opposite at the other table. The floorman says it was bet and called at the other table.

The complainer tells the winner that he is a jerk, don't take a guy's money and flash him a 4. Jim and I just smile at each other and Jim says the people are a lot happier at the 9-18 tables.

I believed him until I read this post. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Gabe]

"Four wheezing retirees, one complete with oxygen bottle are sharing the table with a mechanic, a guy in a suit, and three gang-bangers playing 4/8 omaha. They were all having a good time and joking with each other."

I wish they would open up some poker rooms in the middle east.

[DonWaade]

Fun post. A most enjoyable read. I have never played poker in LA so I have to live vicariously through my brother and other great 2+2 scribes such as yourself.

[symphonic]

Moron boy was the one who made the comment ,asian female was the one who went on tilt.

[andyfox]

A joke, I know, but I wouldn't be suprised if it happens ond day. The Palestinians are basically becoming marginalized, like the American Indians, who have found the Promised Land of Casino-land.

[kingdavid]

I'll add one that happened this weekend at Grand Tunica. Waiting on a 10-20 seat, I sat down to play 4-8. I was seated next to this guy, about 25 I guess, wearing deep dark sunglasses and a cowboy hat pulled down close to his eyes (this is 4-8!). Anyway, he played pretty good but would stare at every flop and at every player acting in front of him for about ten seconds before acting. It was slowing the game down but quite comical. He also explained his every move after the hand...you know the type. The story please..okay. He went to the river with one other player with a board of 2-4-K-7-A in that order with the final card being the third club. Our pro here bet on the end with top two pair and the other player, who called, was about to muck when our pro says "wait, I want to see his hand". The player still had the cards and reluctantly turned over his pair of sevens. At that instant the dealer annnounces the player's hand as a flush as he had the 7-9 of clubs. It was all I could do not to fall out of the seat. Embarrased, the young pro began chastising this player for calling the opening raise (his AK) with such a terrible hand. It was very uncalled for.

A few hands later I was heads up on the river with another player and he called my river bet. I flipped over two pair and he studies the board for about five seconds (possible straight out) and then mucks. At this point I said "Don't worry sir, you could have taken all night; I was not going to ask to see your cards." The whole table erupted..well almost the whole table.

King

[Schmed]

[Josh W]

My other card was a 2.

I flopped the now world famous "Bottom Pair Bottom Kicker", and nailed my two pair on the turn. I wanted to wait for a blank on the river before springing my trap.

Now you know /images/graemlins/smile.gif /images/graemlins/smile.gif

Josh

[limon]

since it's hayward by "mechanic" you mean the dealer right?

[J.A.Sucker]