CasinoRama evening at the casino report (Long story) |
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Posted Mon Mar 19, 2007 7:59 pm GMT by supafrey
So my brother dragged me to Casino Rama in fantabulous Rama, Ontario which is a roughly 90 minute drive from my lovely suburban paradise outside of Toronto. Driving 140 on the highway I was subjected to nearly an hour-and-a-half quizzing on poker theory as my too-eager OLDER brother tried to sap some of my delicious poker knowledge before we got to the felt. Naturally I blew his mind. Either way… after answering stupid “SHOULD I FOLD JJ HERE?!” questions for far too long we arrived at the casino door, showed our ID’s and were soon strutting into the poker room.
My brother regularly plays the 1/2 NL (200 max) game at this place, but I much-less-regularly (3 times?) play the 2/5 ($500) max. It’s a pretty standard 10% rake with a $5 max toke, min 2 bucks taken if flop seen. Beers are $4.25 each and rye and gingers (my drink of choice) are $4.50 (one red chip and one white for the lady).
I sit down to a very lively bunch of guys and realize I’m in for a bit of an odd evening. I sit down to the direct right of the dealer in the 11 seat, but instantly get asked to trade by a gentleman in the 5. That’s a much better seat to, like, actually see the table, and as the new guy I really had little tactful way to refuse anyways…. So I trade with him. This is important later, apparently.
Anyways… I proceed to throw away a couple hundred, $50 or $100 at a time. Nothing special. Continuation bets that missed blah blah blah. I bought in for a rack of reds but kept 3 blacks in my pocket to top up whenever my stack got below $420ish. Then this hand came up…
I’ve got 460ish and villain has me covered with atleast twice that.
I was on the button with 82s of clubs with all but one person limping in before me. Getting like 20-1 on my money or something I limp and the sb+bb both check. The flop comes 2-2-J. Everyone checks to me and I figure nobody would believe that I have a deuce on the button, regardless, and I had just thrown money around so easily ANY made hand would think I was doing a position bet anyways…. So I bet $25 into the 45ish pot. The BB thinks for a second and calls (uh oh. Worst person to be calling me…) Everyone else folds. Pot is now 95. The turn brings a 7 and he checks. I bet out $60… and with a dramatic pause he raises another $100 on top. This isn’t that great a position for me, but I figure a lot of pretty important things are coming into play here:
This is a lot how AJ or even KJ would play against me with most average players. Ditto for any smaller deuce… ditto for a lot of medium pairs like 99… Or anyone making a play against the button raiser firing a second bullet… either way. I called and figured I’d let the river give me some more info on whether my 8 will play.
The river brings a 4. Super? Either way… the pot is now $415 and he pushes. I flex, think about it for an agonizing 3 seconds, and quietly say I call. The guy grabs his cards, slams them on the table and says TRIPS. I look at his cards and they’re a lovely 25o…. Oh, wait. I flip over my 82 of clubs and mutter “oh then I think my kicker plays.” Ship it. Up to $950ish.
Either way, I quickly donk away a hundred or two of that doing my usual semi-bluffs and then proceed to get JJ UTG+1. I limp as do a couple people behind me. The button (loud, chubby guy wearing a “Just FOLD” visor) raises to $25. I call, as does a shortstack Asian old man a couple spots to my left. The flop comes T-T-J. Yahtzee! I check because I’m trick, as does the old man, and the young gun bets out $60. I think about it for a few seconds and call. With little hesitation, the quiet Asian man pushes all of his remaining chips for $140 total. I look at the other white guy in surprise and we both do an “oops” look across the table. He thinks about it for a second… shakes his head, saying “obviously I have to call.. but this guy will probably even call behind me”, referring to my stack, which covered his effective 420ish total from the beginning of the hand, and then makes the call. I look at his stack, the Asian dude, and realize that the best way to “chop up” the whitey’s remaining stack is by making a small raise here and commit him on the river to a shockingly small amount.
Hero: “I raise another $100 on top”. And I look straight at my opp and cover my mouth. This call would leave him with only $170ish remaining to call with on later streets. The chubby dude laughs and takes one of the longest breaks I’ve ever seen at the table, like, ever. He asks me what I have, goes through the entire routine, tells me jokes trying to gauge my reaction, stared at me… and then he made a serious mistake:
1) He showed me his cards? There’s very little purpose to this except to “get more tells” but it gives up some serious EV because of the remaining stack he has left to play on another street.
2) It limits his future options on what plays would work
3) I SEE HIS FREAKING CARDS?
4) Oh yeah, they were KK.
So he flashes me his COWBOYS and I immediately lower my head into my arms, on my chips and cards and table and cover my face entirely, immobile. I stay like this for another 30 seconds as everyone at my table is laughing their asses off. The loud and boisterous guys at my table think the 20 year old guy with his face on the table and cowering his shaved head in his hands was the funniest thing in the entire world and couldn’t keep it together as this KK guy thought about his decision. Little did I know this was drawing a crowd of every straggler, off duty dealer, chip runner and pit boss in the area, not to mention people from nearby tables over to our humble game. My face is still down.
The dude is making obvious references that he wants to call while the table is subtly giving him “are you crazy?” comments as they mention they’re going to call the clock. Eventually one of the nearby poker room managers that’s watching decides the amount of time was “ridiculous” and called the clock. With a few seconds remaining he PUSHES.
WTF?
If you think about it, the combination of him SHOWING ME HIS CARDS and him PUSHING is absolutely horrible, especially considering there was now a $160ish decision with him giving away his hand? What’s the point? Either way. I obviously quickly call and lift my head to find a FREAKING CIRCLE of bystanders around us, literally in a complete crowd. I flip over the full house and get slapped on the back by my brother (who I didn’t see) who loudly screams “F*CK YEAH!” as I quietly look down at my chips.
Anyways, right about when the turn brought a rag one of the other people at my table giggled that he had, in fact, folded K4 as I suddenly realized what was about to happen.
Naturally the river brought the case K and a collective “AH!” from the crowd of revelers. The fat dude jumped up screaming ONE TIME! And I realized what just happened. Ship the roughly $1000 pot to him.
Either way…
I found myself with only a few hundred left in my stack and quickly lost that. Another buyin later I found myself down -$1300 at roughly 9 pm. I realized this would be a good time for my dinner break and asked the dealer if I could have a dinner button for an hour and whether I needed to put some money down to reserve the seat. The dealer and players said it was fine (obviously wanting me to lose more money while steaming) and I went off to grab my brother and some of the mediocre buffet.
This is the first half of the evening, not including our hero’s most interesting encounter with a licensed weed smoker and my attempts at a comeback. If you want I’ll write up the second half.
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Posted Mon Mar 19, 2007 8:31 pm GMT by Geno
You cannot stop there, I gotta hear the second half 
As for Mr Cowboys, that has got to be one of the most bone-headed moves ever flipping cards to get a reaction when you've not been set all-in 
Posted Mon Mar 19, 2007 8:39 pm GMT by xDiamond_CutteRx
| Geno wrote: | You cannot stop there, I gotta hear the second half
As for Mr Cowboys, that has got to be one of the most bone-headed moves ever flipping cards to get a reaction when you've not been set all-in |
I believe that's called the "Jamie Gold Effect."
Posted Mon Mar 19, 2007 9:14 pm GMT by misterjokerboy
Ok tell us the rest of the story, I want to hear about you going brokeski again 
Posted Mon Mar 19, 2007 9:14 pm GMT by crack
Please Please Please type up the 2nd part of this most wonderful story. 
Posted Mon Mar 19, 2007 9:38 pm GMT by jeffonline
I love a good story but prefer a happy ending can’t wait
Posted Mon Mar 19, 2007 9:57 pm GMT by Sean_in_NJ
Yeah, I want to hear the rest, especially if it involves someone getting shivved in the kidney with a sharpened, rusty butter knife from the buffet.
Posted Mon Mar 19, 2007 11:33 pm GMT by exit music
Ouch that's so sick, 1 outter for a 1K pot, I would have vomitted on the table. That would have been funny with a big crowd standing there.
Posted Tue Mar 20, 2007 5:54 am GMT by MrDarling
Nice writing dude.
Am still looking to see why changing places was so important. And did old Asian guy flipped AT or do we simply forget him?
I do hope hero came back and bust loud fat mouth. Other wise this will not be an american story.
Darn, its not american, its Canadian. Don't tell me hero went bust, had to borrow money from brother, lost that and the car as well and both had to perform sexual duties in the back room to manage to buy a bus fare back home...
Posted Tue Mar 20, 2007 6:24 am GMT by Fat Tony
Nice thread supa. I hope part 2 is as good a read as part 1 has been. 
Posted Tue Mar 20, 2007 10:49 am GMT by supafrey
Heh I forget to mention what the old guy had. Yeah he had T6s for trips, obv.
The seat change applies later. myum myum
ill type up the second half later, then.
Posted Tue Mar 20, 2007 10:59 am GMT by vyni
Very nice read, very nice post.
/me points attention to the fact that that post was post number 4000 for supa as well.
Looking forward to hearing the rest of the story.
Posted Tue Mar 20, 2007 4:51 pm GMT by supafrey
So I sit down with my brother at the buffet and we have our fill of mediocre pot roast and 'tatoes and some club soda. My brother seems more disheartened than myself, even, but he's up a good 800 or so at the 200 table he's outflopping. He's concerned that I'm not having a very good time but regardless loans me a grand that I promise to debit out should the lean times continue.
Feeling bloated (it was the Greek style pork, i fear) but level-headed I head back to my table roughly 45 minutes after I left.
Now's a good time to introduce Russell (Russ). Russel was the man to my direct right in the 4 seat that I got the pleasure of spending my evening at the felt with. Loud, with a rough and booming voice, Russ was a natural jokester and eccentric for the sake of it. Did I mention that he has a license to consume up to five OUNCES of pot a month?
The government of Canada recognizes (sort of) the benefits of licensing people to use marijuana for medicinal reasons. Glaucoma, MS, pain, chemo, the benefits are numerous and a growing number of Canadians are applying for the card. Currently only 300ish patients have the right to medicinal pot courtesy of the government, and an even smaller percentage of those people are allowed to have a DIFFERENT dealer outside of the government get a license to grow weed in small quantities purely for the patient. Russ is of that tiny other group that gets weed grown for them by their dealer, and as such he can ration out 5 grams or so a day of the finest cheeba that he happily ingests throughout the day. This includes several sessions he pops out during the game for, smoking his joint while laughing and cracking up with security and police outside as he blows smoke rings near by.
Either way, it turns out that during my 1 hour allowed dinner break policy dictates I actually SHOULD first buyin back to the game, leave my chips stacked neatly and just return to my rack so that the other players understand i have some gaurantee of returning when I say I do. Well the table thought I was honest enough, but subsequent dealers and the poker managers both realized what they let me do and as such were advocating my seat being taken. This would have actually sucked for me, as there was, in fact, a line 5-6 players deep and the odds of me getting back to my table with ANY of my loose and reckless image remaining would be nonexistant.
Either way, it turns out that most of the players were indifferent to my return (the odds of me not returning being balanced by the fact I'm obviously willing to lose lots and lots of money to the tune of $1300 already). EXCEPT for good old Russ. Apparantly he fought tooth and nail for my return and was the first to LOUDLY greet me as I trudged back, informing me that they were gonna "TAKE MY SEAT, BUT RUSS THREATENED TO WHACK 'EM".
So I sat.
I quickly blinded down a little bit, but I had extra money still to top up my stack. I figured any real move i make would be overbet due to my reckless image, as the meta stuff had already been firmly set in place by my earlier antics. I didn't get a chance until later.
In late position I get 89, and call the small raise preflop with a couple others. I've got a full stack of 500 to start, as does the same fattie from before, with the PERSON FROM MY ORIGINAL seat being the original raiser with about 300. He mentions something about us clashing and the fattie looks at me in much of a similar fashion.
Well the flop comes 589, with two of a suit. Bingo bango. The gentleman I traded with bets out 1/2 of the pot and the fattie makes a raise to 110. This leaves about 220ish in the pot and it comes to me with about 450 behind. I hesitate for a minute, look down, and push it AARRRRRRR INNNNNNNN.
The asian man speaks about horrible luck being transferred between the seats and how he never should have traded with me, but calls for his stack. The fattie thinks about it... and thinks about it... and thinks about it...
I shit you not. He did the EXACT SAME THING AS BEFORE, taking up a fullllll chunk of time with his decision before finally flipping over his J4 sooted for the flush draw, proudly announcing his call with a few seconds to spare before his clock ran out again.
Either way....
Asian man flips over a gutshot with a pair and it's off to the races.
The turn brings a 4, pairing up our fattie but leaving me still in a comfy lead.
And the river brings a......
Offsuit deuce. No whammy! Ship it.
... So my stack moves up considerably and I'm riding with enough vig to really capitalize on a couple more big pot situations. I'm riding fairly well and am whopping most of the players, only slightly avoiding Russ who turned out to be a Casino Rama regular for a very good reason: He was quite a strong player.
Other than that most of the players were fairly straightforward, but few were as lively as the short philipino woman that took Russ' spot after he bade us farewell.
I don't remember her name but she was louuuuuuud as a whale in heat and subjecting my ear and the dude on her other side's to some real punishment. She told us her hand EVERY time after the flop came, whispered, just to complain about the bottom pair, gutshot draw, and backdoor flush she COULD have made. And if she WOULD have made them, watchout! The complaining ensued with a vengeance.
Either way, I quickly realized how superstitious, luckbased, drawy, etc, she was, and subsequently limped or called the raise of every single pot that she entered on my direct right. I isolated her a couple times, but never with any animosity, always include a joke and basically yukking it up with her.
She lost a stack to someone chasing a flush draw with mediocre odds (slightly wrong, but not toooo far off) and rebought for 100 that she promptly lost again. I quickly came to understand that she may not be infinitely wealthy and was eager to grab some of the cash, so isolated her more and more.
Finally I grab AK right after she rebuys a second time for 100. She raises to 10 (from 5) and I instantly push for 100 total. Everyone folds behind me and she quickly calls saying "LEZ GO!". Naturally the board comes Q high and she proudly throws in her AQ to take the pot.
I realize that this is probably good for her, and laugh along with her as she scoops in my pot.
Two hands later I call her $15 dollar raise with J5s and a couple people do behind us as well. The flop comes J53 and I dollar signs flash in my head. She checks and I bet out 40ish into the pot. The two people behind me fold, and she MINRAISES in front of me. Naturally I push.
She looks angry at me, then says "OKAY" and slams in her chips, flipping over 84s for a flush draw.
Whiff, whiff, old lady, and I'm scooping in a nice size pot as she looks to reload again.
She gives me a growl and admonishes me for calling a raise with my Jack-rag sooted, but I remind her about what hand she showed down as well. I joke that she "put me in the mood to gamble" to which she snorts out a dirty sneer and in a thick accent laughs "I put you in the mood, huh?"
Touche, lady.
Either way, she buys in one last time for 100 which I quickly split in half with the fattie as she throws down 3 bucks and mutters something about going to the ATM. 30 minutes later she still hasn't returned, so they bag up her 3 bucks and she's reduced to the land of myth and memory.
A couple hands later I remove the $50 from the fattie's possession with a nice resteal and I'm riding high for several hours. I do a couple more of those "lowering my head" acts, once with the fattie and yet again with the man I've traded seats with. Both times, ironically, I had flopped two pair yet again, and both times I had to sweat out some scary boards against these loosey goosey players. They both turned out in the green for me, however, as my favourites held up both times.
I thought the little act could work one more time, and I tried it as a reraise on a 60 buck pot by raising a 20 buck continuation bet to 100 and covering my head one more time. Either way, he quickly called and I lost a medium sized pot right there to, like, third pair or something with my 7 high.
It was right at about this point I looked up at the clock and realized it was probably a good time to drag my brother home. I figured he'd want to drop by the noodle bar for some soup at this late hour, and I had class at 9:30 in the morning. We were still at the poker room at 3am, I had already consumed 7-8 ryes and we still hadn't eaten before our 90 minute ride back to the city. Gurgle.
I finally decide to count up my chips, which had now grown to a comfy fortress of reds topped with a half dozen greens and a couple black from my original topups. In all, I had roughly $2200 after paying for my drinks, to end up in the green for roughly $400 bucks. I spoke to my brother, who I found out had made roughly $450 across the same 8ish hours that we had played, and we headed off for some beef soup before getting in the car to drive home in the dark.
Posted Thu Mar 22, 2007 6:25 pm GMT by exit music
We sure liked your story
Posted Mon Apr 02, 2007 1:00 am GMT by MrDarling
Nice 1 Supa.
Though a little too Holloywoody ending to my liking.
All well that ends.
Posted Mon Apr 02, 2007 10:13 am GMT by Sean_in_NJ
I'm still disappointed no one got stabbed.
Posted Mon Apr 02, 2007 12:17 pm GMT by supafrey
I got home later and stabbed your mum with my man-sword. Happy? 
Posted Mon Apr 02, 2007 2:53 pm GMT by Sean_in_NJ
That would explain her frustrated expression and the fits of laughter.
Posted Tue Apr 03, 2007 7:19 am GMT by Fat Tony
+1 to Sean. 
Posted Sat May 12, 2007 1:28 am GMT by Phil14312
"philipino"
canadians are funny.
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