Congrats to Joe Speaker who is probably the only WPBT member who owns five different department store credit cards and has a tailor on speed-dial. He's going to the show, its a little tournament before the big one at the Aladdin :) Thanks Pauly who once again brings life to the WPBT events with his excellent reporting, go check him out (I'm pretty sure you already have...).
The weekend started out with all the excitement of a wet bottle rocket. It rained, it was cold, I wanted to be at home instead of the cabin with this weather. Usually I look forward to my weekends up at the cabin, knowing I'll be drinking one too many beers with my good friend E and his recently pregnant wife and relaxing outside with a good book or a golf club in my hand. Dreary weather can suck the fun out of the whole experience. It rained the whole weekend, everytime we'd go out within 30-45 minutes it would start raining again. Sigh. But, my loving wife knows how to please her man in ways not limited to the bedroom.
"Casino?" she said as we drove to check out a garage sale along a dusty, country road
Immediately my weekend took a turn for the better, especially since Grand Casino Hinckley just opened a poker room.
Four hours was the time allotted, more then enough for me to get my poker morsel for the weekend. But first I had to walk through 15,435,982 slots to find my way to the new poker room which became even harder to find since there were no signs directing me (or anyone else) towards the room. Sadly I succumbed to the calling of NEW SLOTS BIGGER PAYOUTS FUN NEW BONUS GAMES!!!!! Jez why don't you just flash some 36DDs in my face and give me some singles. I dropped $40 on two new slots while getting zero bonus games.
I guess the double Ds were fake after all. Maybe in Vegas I'll find a pair more to my liking.
After my failure to successfully find the poker room without playing a slot, I decided to walk around the back area towards the hotel. A nice new corridor, complete with a mini-strip mall (salon, coffee shop, knick-knacks shop, native american arts) I saw the sign to the Royal Oaks poker room.
The Royal Oaks poker room contained six tables in a smallish but well decorated room. Four TVs for viewing, a waitress who came with my lemonade (sorry no free alcohol here...) so quickly I didn't even see she dropped it off! There was a plasma screen up front to show the different limits being spread and a loud enough announcement of when your seat was ready (I had to wait 15 minutes for my seat, and yes I PLAYED MORE GODDAMN SLOTS!!).
The limits being spread were $2-$4, $3-$6, $4-$8 (for Stud and O8), $2-$10 (eh??), and something I thought was a misprint $5-$30 limit hold em'. I think Hank could live off that game if he could stand the weather out here.
After being called to play I sat down to a very enjoyable three hours of poker. What began as a shorthanded 6 man game quickly exploded to all six tables being filled with a waiting list filling up as well!
And I must say... live players suck. You want strategy on how to beat a low limit live game? Here it is...
1) If you feel someone has a top pair/no kicker DO NOT TRY TO BLUFF HIM/HER OFF IT, they will call you down everytime. Especially the doofus with proper UV protection and the Ultimate Fillmaff hat.
2) If you flop the nuts, you will get called down every street. Just keep betting and hope that a runner-runner straight/flush doesn't hit. No one will drop their third pair 93o just because you raised pre-flop and led out.
3) Be nice to the dealers, because if even if you don't win, a smile on their faces is worth more then winning a couple big bets. (Thanks to Carol for the fun time).
4) If the guy who looks like Newt Gingrich suddenly bets out when a third flush/straight card hits... give him credit for hitting his 15th runner-runner of the day and order a Corona.
I ended up 2.5BBs after three hours of play. Not bad considering I won only two pots the entire time (Hilton Sisters flopped a set, and nut flush vs. a not-so-nut flush).
Positives of the room: Excellent decor, friendly staff, friendly dealers, decent waiting board and announcements that even I heard (I'm hearing impaired for those not in the know).
Negatives of the room: Only six tables (they advertised a Wed. night tourney for 80 people, like to know how they'd pull that off), limited room to move around (the tables were big fairly tight together), and they limit how many chips you can buy ($100 worth at the $2-$4 table, I like to have a mini-castle of chips because I feel limp without em).
After I cashed my big winnings out my wife arrived with Little Drizz right on time and we headed back to the cabin for some burgers and pork chops on the grill. Nighttime fell, and we shivered outside to chat with E and his wife over a bonfire while discussing Catholics and the new pope, drunken casino night at the park (very fun time!), and plans for Memorial Day (warm-up drinking weekend for Vegas).
Sunday came too soon and we got home in the afternoon to fire up the computer while my wife cut the lawn (her idea not mine) and little Drizz caught some well needed Zs (toddler in a car for more then an hour when its nap time SUCKS!). I nailed a nice hit n' run at a $2/$4 Razz table on Full Tilt (BONUS CODE: Drizz99) for 6BBs. The wife gave me and stern look and informed me it was time for yard work. Sigh.
Got back in around five to see Otis had IM'd me about a tourney.... (to be continued tomorrow, this is too long as it is :P )
Thanks for dropping by now go read up about how Joe crushed the bloggers to win his seat at the WSOP!
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