When is your Boat No Good?

A nice evening. I stopped by the poker room on my way out and hunted down Karen in the office. She always sets me up with room reservations, and I hadn't seen her in over a year (just email traffic). She's always great to me (at least I think she is). I'm no high roller, so I don't expect to be comped or anything, but it's just so nice to come here and have a sort of comfort zone with everything.

I walked down to MGM Grand to catch Rich and his crew. I found him in their poker room at a table with his brother and a college buddy playing $3/6. I was an hour early, and they decided to keep playing until our reservation, so I had a couple of choices of $3/6 tables. I didn't want to sit with them, so I took the 3s at another table. I decided to live straddle the first hand and was dealt KJo. I had last action and raised it up, with an older guy with weird glasses in the 10s calling. Flop came AJx, I bet, he raised, I re-raised, he called. Blanks on the turn and the river, and he called me down with QQ. I was immediately in a little hole, bluffed a guy off of a pot with nothing (now taking down a $3/6 pot checking the turn and betting the river is skill). Most hands had 6-7 players, and I was able to pick my spots and win a quick $100. In the hour I was there, one guy had two re-buys in addition to his first $100. I was a chatty-cathy, which I like to be if I'm playing lower limits, hamming it up a bit. I'm crazy like that.

Turned out that QQ guy was Rich's dad! This crew has been coming here every March Madness for 19 or 20 years. They used to be big time craps players, getting comped and fawned over right and left. Now, they had their room given to someone else, and they had to sleep on cots in a suite. Really funny guys. Rich's roommate in college Rich told about this game that he plays with his boys in their basement, where they chase him around. They call it Touch Daddy. So Aunt Edna asks them what they've been doing one afternoon, one of the boys tells her they've been playing Touch Daddy; she confronts him, and Rich says yeah, it's one of his favorite games to play with them. Of course, I chime in, "Yeah, but Suds Daddy, that's gotta be really fun for you guys..." It was really great, they let me fit right in, and Rich's dad even scored for my meal, which was very nice (nothing like $85 for mozzarella and spaghetti with meatballs for me...).

I walked back to the Bellagio, a bit tired. I went to the poker room unsure if I would play. I was 4th on the list for $15/30 and there were four names for $30/60. Just couldn't pull the trigger, so I stayed with $15/30. Got seated by Mike, a retiree regular who I've seen probably every time I've come here. I was a puppy next to all these guys, and I did well to stay even for the session. Lost a couple of big pots with good hands (including KK cracked by Q5s). Had another of my hands that almost tilted me crazy, I'm on the button with four limpers in front of me and see J8o. I think for a second, then much the hand. Flop comes T9x, with a 7 on the turn. There are three folks paying at the end, and it would have been a super nice $400 pot. It never makes it easier when you think slightly about limping with a bad hand only to catch the monster and watch everyone pay off. I won a nice pot with A4 soon after the KK hand, which brought me back to -$75 for the session. Table broke, and we drew for four seats. I thought I was sitting at one table, then snuggled into another table in the 10s (same as the broken table). This table had a broader mix of folks. One guy from my table, couple of college guys, an Asian lady, a Korean guy, a Chinese guy, and a couple of older guys. I was able to be dealt in after the button past me, raised with my AA and had them paid off and hold up. Later, I went on a nice tear winning three pots in a row with a mucked river, AA, and then a great hand. I raise with KTs and get a couple of callers (one lady who had rebought once and had her son sitting behind her). Flop comes KT7, I bet and am called (two diamonds). Td comes on turn, I bet and am called, Ad on the river, I bet, she raises, I re-raise, and she calls. She flips over T7o for the baby boat, which sinks by my TTTKK boat. I started getting impatient, giving back $200 or so, but I ended up +$500 for the Bellagio. Even as good as the table was, sometimes if you're tired and you feel you're getting impatient, you need to either take a walk or get up. I've given it all back plus had a re-buy in exactly the same situation, so I'll take a $600 profit for the night and move on.

Couldn't find Linda Geneen, so I'll try to look for her tomorrow. Bobby's room had Gus Hansen, Eli Elizra, David Benyamine, and a couple others. The top tables had David Williams there as well. Many empty tables, so hopefully it will heat up.

I'm going night-night now. Should have a busy day tomorrow, but hopefully I'll be able to get in some time at the tables. I'm a real big shot, bigtime playing $15/30 and everything, but I again would recommend playing some lower limits occasionally. I really enjoyed the $3/6 (with a kill, forgot to say that). It's neat to remember how fun poker is, how scary it is when you start, how many hands folks play.