Drunken Wrapup (AC Trip Report Pt 5)
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
I finished my shower and met up with Roose, Randy and Robbie Hole. Petey Pablo had already returned to his wife and family at the Tropicana. We contemplated what to do, but I had one thing first and foremost in my mind: food.
I have already lamented the food selection at the Showboat, so I won't rehash it again. I chose, instead, to walk the Boardwalk. My goal was to walk to the mall opposite Caesar's casino; while I was there, I figured that I could pick up a new (clean) hoodie and a belt for my cargo pants. I suppose I was just riding high on the win, since I'm not usually one to shop.
The rest of the crew had eaten during my tournament run, so I told them of my plan. Someone asked if I was going alone and I explained, "Yeah, unless someone wants to come, but I don't want anyone to feel obligated." I returned to the bathroom where I washed my hands. I overheard Roose saying, "He needs some alone time."
Roose had a point. I tend to withdraw at times from certain social situations. I find a freedom in being alone. I don't have to adjust to anyone else's pace; I don't have to compromise. I can lose myself in my head and in my surroundings. Roose was dead on. Inside, I felt like I needed to get away for a bit, if only to reflect on the weekend thus far and to have ultimate freedom as I wandered the same Boardwalk I walked countless times before as a child.
On my way to the Boardwalk exit, I stopped by the poker room. To earn a comp at the Showboat poker room, you have to give the floor your player's card at the begining of your session and then "check out" at the end. I had forgot to check out since I started playing at the cash game table at about 1pm. I walked to the floor's desk at an odd angle to appear as though I was coming from inside the room. The guy took my card and swiped me out. I got credit for over 7 hours of play, even though tournament play doesn't count and the last hour, I was upstairs showering.
Even though it was 8pm or later, there was still trace amounts of light outside. The breeze was light and the temperature was moderate.
I walked the Boardwalk for a while, checking out the many crappy food options. About 10 to 15 minutes into my walk, I realized how far Caesars was. I decided to shorten my trip and stopped at Godfathers, a local pizza place. I grabbed a chicken parm sandwich and took my time eating and people watching. Satiated, I returned to the hotel, where Roose, Robbie and Randy were all playing a version of rummy in the hotel room.
We hung out for a while trying to figure out what to do. "Let's play drunken limit." Roose was correct once again: some drunken 2/4 Limit poker was definitely in order.
The four of us made our way to the poker room, where we put ourselves on the 8-deep 2/4 limit list. While the other guys sat at a nearby bar and drank, I felt the itch to play and got seated immediately at a 3/6 limit game. I was there for 15 minutes, losing $18 or so, before I heard the floor announce a new table...and all of our crew were on it.
I got to the new table first out of our crew. Two middle-aged business men were waiting patiently in the 5s and 6s. I took the 8s, so I could see the whole table. Roose took the 10s and Randy took the 9s. Robbie sat on the other side of the dealer in the 1s.
Once we got started, the fun really began. The waitresses were fairly consistent, and we all kept ordering drinks constantly. Once the prop betting began, things got really fun.
I started a All Red/All Black Flop bet with Roose to start off. The bet goes like this. He chose all black, I got all red. If the flop is all black, I give him a dollar. If the turn is also black, I give him $2. If the river is also black, he gets $5. The same is true for me and my red cards. Once Robbie Hole heard, he wanted in on it too, so I double booked. Later in the game, Randy wanted in, so I triple booked.
The problem was, the gaming commission doesn't approve of prop bets, so we had to pass our chips discretely. Because it was a fun-time game, Roose and I worked out a signal, an extremely loud Ka-Kaw! crow noise that I would make whenever we shifted our payouts back and forth. Naturally, we waited for the dealer's head to turn, but the Ka Kaw! made it obvious in an absurd way.
Since Robbie was so far away, I just had him tip the dealer with whatever I won from him. Again, I'm basically throwing money away, but it was in the interest of having fun.
A blonde chick sat down next to me after a while. She looked confused by our antics until she started asking questions about the prop bets. She had never seen such a thing before, but once it was explained (by one of the dealers, no less), she wanted in...so she double booked All Red with Roose. By then, the whole table was whooping it up, due in large part to our shenanigans.
Pokerwise, I basically played ABC poker, raising with top 10 hands and folding the rest. I still kept losing due to repeat suckouts, but each time I laughed and made some tongue-in-cheek sore loser comment that let everyone know that it really didn't bother me one bit. I also made a couple of great laydowns, folding a flopped set of Queens with my QQ when the river put out an inside four-card straight (the bettor got a caller and showed the straight) and laying down a flopped set of Tens with my TT when the river completed a flush draw (which was also shown, proving that I made the right play).
The props continued and built upon themselves. Roose and I booked a Rank bet. I chose Jack and he chose Ten. Basically, you get a dollar if your card comes out on the flop. If it is the middle card on the flop, you get $2. You have to call it out though before the hand is over or else you don't get paid. Randy and I booked the same prop bet as well, with him taking Ten. When a flop came down TTx, I asked Randy when it got so dark. We stared out the window for a minute before I saw the hand end. I then pointed out the hand to Randy. BURN!
Other prop bets came and went. Most notably, we bet on how long it would take the waitress to return with my drink. I took the over, so that I felt like a winner no matter what. I lost the bet, but at least my drink arrived quickly.
We played for hours, finally walking away when fatigue set in. On the way to the room, we picked up random snacks.
Upstairs, I reclaimed my bed. Roose moved to the other bed. Robbie took the cot. Randy took the floor. As Roose opened his bag of sunflower seeds, a small explosion occurred. Sunflower seeds covered his bed. I saw opportunity.
"Rob, I'll give you $10 to eat all those seeds off of the bed without your hands."
"Deal."
$10. A small figure, but I knew he didn't need $400 to do it. He probably would've done it for free.
We videotaped the event, thanks to Roose's cell phone. Unfortunately, the fucknut neglected to mention that he couldn't email video, so we are working on that problem.
After the "show." we discussed plans for the next day and agreed upon the noon tournament at Bally's. I was a bit concerned since it could take over 5 hours to complete, but I had to go with the flow.
The next morning, we woke up around 10:30am and got our shit together. We got to the cars, with Roose and I heading to his car with the Holes went to Rob's car. Once out of the parking lot, we got a call from Randy. Rob's car wouldn't start.
We re-entered the lot, paying another $5 to get past the crack security. Rob's battery was fine, but some water leakage must've affected something more serious. He called AAA while we waited.
It was clear that the tourney was out, so we fell back on Plan B, White House Subs. The White House Sub Shop is a local favorite that I found via Jamie from Wall Street Poker. Roose, Randy and I headed there to grab "brunch". I went with the cheesesteak, which was good, although it needed salt. Randy got a random chicken cacciatore sub and a chicken cheesesteak sub. Roose got a 12" Italian hero, as is his tradition. We got the half-size for Rob.
Getting back to Rob's car, we decided to try something different. After chowing down, we pushed the car out of the parking spot and started it rolling. Sure enough, when Rob popped the clutch, the car started up. The water damage must've affected his starter. Whatever the case, we were free from that dilemna.
There isn't much more to say. I drove home with Roose. It was an easy enough drive, and I was happy to get home. I had an amazing trip, not only because of the tourney win, but because of the comraderie. I've made the trip to AC solo, and it pales in comparison to going with my group of degenerates. I'm already thinking of a Foxwoods trip for June.
Until next time, make mine poker!
posted by Jordan @ 1:58 PM,
2 Comments:
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At 12:37 PM,
Booby Stealz said...
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Nice cash. do you incorporate your live tourney winnings as part of yearly goals, or do you separate your online and live play?
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At 2:58 PM,
Jordan said...
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Hey B.S. I include my tournament wins as part of my yearly goal. If anything, I do not count the majority of my online play.
My basic ledger system is to always count live game wins/losses, whether tourney, cash, nlhe, mixed games, etc. I only count online poker as a win when I withdraw money from an online poker account. I count any deposit to online poker as an immediate loss. Any day-to-day losses online are not recorded.
So my annual goal of $8,000 this year is mostly from live play. I am woefully behind, but I've got a new burst of confidence.
