Saturday, December 31, 2011

Saturday Play

I arrived at the casino at 9AM ready for the big day. Today is the $1,000 tournament. I didn't know if I would be one of the dealers for this one. It would be a very long day and usually I don't do the 3PM tournaments.

I dealt the first one at 10AM and then got ready for the second one at Noon. I was getting pretty tired towards the end. I started dealing at table #1 and then it got down to the final table. I was tired and the players were grumbling a little bit. Finally a few of the players started going all in just for the sake of it to get done. I was finally pushed and got some time before the next tournament.

I also found out I was done for the day and I could play the next tournament if I wanted. I paid the buy in of $40 for the chance at the $1000 prize.

I didn't last very long in the tournament. In fact I believe I was number two or three to go out. I got 1010 and I raised. The flop came A10x. I then raised and got one person to follow. The turn came 3. No flush or straight draws. I went all in and the person called. The river came Ace and we turned over our cards. I had 101010AA vs AAA1010. This means I get to go home early.

I used to get really upset with myself for tournaments when I would go out but now I am more concerned when I play the live game. I like to do well in tournament play but I use it now for a distraction from the live play. Since I don't get to play very often it has been nice for the last couple of days to have the opportunity to play.

Well, tomorrow is another day dealing. We will have only one tournament in the morning and then the 3PM Player of the Week. Again not sure if I will be needed.

Have a fun day......

Friday, December 30, 2011

Amazing Day

It is amazing how you write a blog in the morning and by evening time you have done something completely different.

I wrote this morning about having the time off and needing to do some stuff in my office at home. After I got home from eating breakfast I started the financial stuff and getting bills paid for my parents.

Around 11:30 I got a text from the poker manager letting me know about the $750 quaranteed tournament they were having today. I thought that I probably should try since it was $15 and would be a great opportunity. I got stuff together and drove to the casino.

I was there early enough that I could play the noon tournament as well for $5 and figured why not do that as well as a buildup for the 3PM. I haven't played in a while and would give me a chance to get some tournament time in as well.

I didn't stay in the tournament very long and that was fine. I then went over and got into the live cash game. They were playing $1-$6 Spread. I sat down in seat 6 with $40. I had an amazing ride for about 1 1/2 hours. I got a couple of sets that gave me $5 extra in the pots that I won. I love the Monte Carlo board. On Friday and Saturday you get $5 for any trips or sets that win.

The tournament was getting closer to starting and the poker manager wanted to use the table for the tournament since we had 69 players signed up. He asked that we start putting our chips in the trays and he would take care of the exchange. I started putting my chips in the trays and I filled up the first one for $100. I kept playing as I was doing that and needed to fill up another tray at $100 and at the end I had to use a third tray for another $100. I couldn't believe what I just accomplished. I closed out the session with $301 in chips and started with $40. This was a good day.

Of course I still had the tournament to play. We had 69 players and I ended up being taken out with my QJ vs 99. The flop, turn and the river did not help me. I went out in 18th place. Not bad for not playing tournaments for some time.

Now it is time for bed and will get up ready to go back to dealing the tournaments tomorrow.

Have a fun day......

Frustration

Yesterday was my Friday for the week. I have today off and will catch up on the mail and working with my parents financials. So much to do and so little time.

Dealing the tournaments yesterday went well. I was a little frustrated with some of the stuff going on at the podium. Since we are a small casino, but number two in the Tri-Cities, everything happens in a 3x3 space at the computer. Multitasking is something that we all need and it can get crazy. Even having a person trying to help.

I did get to play my Thursday evening live cash game in the $2-$10 Spread. I started off well hitting flushes and straights and then cooled off. I was even money when we got three new people sitting down at our table. Things got worse from there.

The player in seat four, who was drinking, got insulted by one of the new people at the table. Words started going and I even wondered if this would go on outside. The floor and the dealer got involved and got the situation cooled down. It doesn't help when seat seven starts making donkey noises. What makes that person better than others? Seats nine and ten were together with seat seven and they all were trying to run the table.

My issue for the night was the fact that every time I was in the big blind seat nine would raise. I never had a good hand to raise back but that was my frustration. I have watched this group play before so I was glad I was on the left of them, but still it didn't help since I knew what they were trying to do.

My session ended when I got KK and decided I would make a stand against seat ten and I ended up loosing to a straight. Just couldn't make it happen.

After thinking about the situation last night I have decided that I need to make some rules for engagement and rules for my play and table dynamics. I need to make the session work for me and not just sit there since it is my night to play. I am thinking about what rules I want to put into effect for myself.

I know that decision making is very critical and I have a book for that. I stopped reading it when I started dealing but now that I am trying to play live I need to start my reading up again. The book will be "Decide to play great Poker" by Annie Duke. I am hearing a lot of good things about the book. Hopefully I can learn some good things from the book.

Well, it is time to get some work done before the new year hits us in a couple of days.

Have a fun day.....

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Seeing Hands

Yesterday was a usual day in dealing. Nothing out of the ordinary in dealing to the players.

I know that as a player you should always watch every hand to see what is happening and try to put together the story of each hand being played. I have been doing that even before I started dealing. I have always had a hard time seeing hands and trying to put people on hands.

Now that I have been dealing for awhile I am starting to see the hands that are being made before the cards are turned over. This is really helping my live game as I am looking at the cards on the table more and trying to figure out what I am up against before I just take my hand as the one that is always going to win.

Something else I have noticed is that when I put out the ten cards to figure out who gets the dealer button at the start of the tournament, I notice the cards that are put out. People need to realize that this is a normal deal and if those cards are all low cards then what would the hands be like.

Just a thought. I guess it just goes with the area of noticing the cards more and your cards less when playing. They are important but you need to be able to look at what someone else is playing.

We have had a pretty busy week so far in that Christmas was over the weekend and then my sister came into town. Now we have Cindy's sister coming into town tomorrow. We are having fun seeing everyone. It is hard for us to get out of town since I now work every weekend and only have a day off at a time. No complaints here though.

Tonight I am scheduled to play late and in the $2-$10 live game. Hopefully I will do well.

Have a fun day.......

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Unusual Request

I had the most unusual request yesterday. I was sitting in the box dealing on table #1. We were down to two tables getting close to combining into the final table. The guy in the number 6 seat looks at me and tells me to slow down. I tell him that what I usually get is the opposite and that is to speed up.

I have been doing this for 2 1/2 months now and the request struck me as being funny. Once he found out the length of time I have been dealing he says to me that I am doing fine.

I have had a number of people tell me that they can see a difference from when I started. That means a lot to me since I quit two times in the first month. I am glad I hung on and am still learning the skill of dealing. I know I still have a ways to go but at least the skill is getting better.

I had another dealer at the table yesterday and she was playing the tournament. She was holding a conversation with one of the players about how she knows how he plays. Since she deals she has a read on what how some the players will play their cards. I mentioned to the table that you ought to see my book. One of the players took it seriously and asked if I really had a book on players. I told him no, I was just joking. It's all in my head. Not a bad idea though.

Last night was our adult dinner with our Dad. He enjoyed his dinner with two of his kids. I wish Mom could have been there.

Now I am off to work another day.

Have a fun day......

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Tuesday

After having a couple of days off and being able to be with my family it has been nice.

We spent the time eating and then Cindy and I have been able to spend some time together. We are on such different schedules right now. I am working on my poker in the evening and she works long during the day. I am sure others are in the same boat.

I will spend some time talking about the past and the future soon. What did I do in 2011 and what are my goals for 2012. There are a number of personal things that will be taking place next year and will they affect my time at the tables? We will see what happens together.

One thing that did happen this last week was some depletion of my poker bankroll. Christmas and family and that was important. Now I must rebuild that account and get back to what I need to have to be able to play in the $2-$10 game.

I am reading a book called "Winning Low Limit Hold'em" by Lee Jones. There is so much information out there and I try to keep learning. The other great news is that Internet Poker looks to be making a comeback. That is something else to think about.

Well, off to work and see if we can get a live game going this morning.

Have a good day......

Saturday, December 24, 2011

My Day Off

Yesterday was my day off and I had an opportunity to sit down and play a tournament with $500 guaranteed. The only problem with this was we didn't have enough players. No tournament.

Since there was a live game going I sat down in the $2-$6 spread game. I ended up sitting for 3 hours and came away with $56 added to my bankroll. I have been putting this information into my iPhone application and so far it is moving in the right direction.

I hope at some point this week I can put together my year in review. Just little snippets of the 2011 year.

Today I showed up for work ready to deal the freeroll and we ended up with about 20 players. We went ahead and dealt it and then we didn't get the amount of players needed for the next tournament. The poker manager at that point called it a day and we were done.

I sat down at the Spanish 21 table today and decided to play for a little bit. I ended up $5 positive and decided to walk away with that. I don't play them and feel the house has too much advantage. Today was just something to do before going home.

Merry Christmas to everyone......

Friday, December 23, 2011

Thursday was a busy Day

I got to work this morning and was approached by the poker manager. He wanted to know if I would be willing to show up tonight to be an alternate dealer.

The day was usual as we dealt two tournaments and mixed in the live cash game. By 3PM I was walking out the door and was time to get some lunch.

I have been enjoying Sushi lately since it is light and does fill you up at least until dinner time. I headed over to my Dad's place to get ready for the Christmas dinner the facility was putting on for the families. We got down to the cafeteria and we were seated in the corner of the room by the Christmas tree.

This was a good spot for us. We were served first and we were able to get through the meal with no problems. We were served Prime Rib with Green Beans with bits of Bacon and a half of Potato. It was the right amount and seasoned just fine. I told my Dad, why do you complain so much about the food, it was good. He just chuckled. I guess I need to be there on the other days.

We walked back to his room and I noticed the time. It was now 5:30PM and I was to be back at the Casino before 6PM. I said my goodbyes and headed out the door.

I sat down at the live cash game to wait and see if I was needed. We did end up with 4 tables and with me we were at the appropriate amount of dealers with a floor person. I dealt the fourth table and as soon as it was broken up I helped clean up the area and get it ready for the live game. I was paid my tip money and the dealing fee for the freeroll and I was ready to get down to business of playing.

Once the $2-$10 Spread started I put the information into my iPhone analyzer to follow my progress. I ended up staying about 5 hours at the table. It was so good I couldn't leave since I was building my chip stack. I bought in for $100 and at one point I was about $350. I let some of that slip back to the table and since the dynamics changed on the table I decided it was time for me to go home.

It was about 1AM in the morning. I walked out of the casino with $160 above my starting buyin. I shut down the analyzer and I noticed I am now at a $17 per hour rate. I know this will fluctuate according to the tables and what happens. Something I can watch. I am anxious to build the bankroll up and to keep it climbing.

Right now my plan is to play at least one or two times per week. I will work on at least 4 hour sessions and that needs to be on a day that I have the next day off since I am staying late in the evening. Since I am off on Friday I will make Thursday evening one of them. Overall, I am happy with my play so far. I do have to remember that when I don't play a hand it is just like earning the money.

Money saved is Money earned.

Have a good day......

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Premium Cards

I hadn't played cards in a few days, at least not a $2-$10 game where I
want to be playing now. Since we needed a fifth player at the table and I had some time I decided to sit in and just muck my cards. This is called a "Butt in the Seat". I would also get tips since I was still on the
clock.

In these $1-$6 spread games I will only put $20 on the table and usually
do not take the game very seriously. Everyone will put in that $1 just to see a flop. Don't even think about raising from the blind since everyone will follow for that extra dollar. What does it take to get people to
fold their less than premium hands?

I was in the blind with 10x and checked when it came around to me. When the flop came out it was x10x. Since I had top pair on the board I
decided to raise and get as many people out as I could. I raised it to $4. I got two callers. The Turn came with an Ace. I guess at that point I should have just folded but since I was first I decided to raise and put in $6. Both callers put in their $6 and we had a pot brewing. The River came and another Ace came. I put in my last $4 and was called.

I didn't win the hand but the two others split the pot. They were both holding Aces.

Is AK that good that you want to chase the AK after the flop when you
don't make the pair? What does the guy have if he is betting on a board with a 10 on the flop? I figured I was beat when the Ace showed up on the turn but still couldn't believe someone would follow through.

I do have to remember we are playing $1-$6 and everyone will just throw money in just to be playing. Anyway my rant for the day.

Tonight I will be going to a Christmas Party with my Dad at the Assisted Living place and then after that I am going to try playing the $2-$10 game. I have built my bankroll up enough that I want to start playing and with a certain amount. I will let you know what my criteria is in a blog soon. I have been working on my goals for playing poker and need to put them down in writing.

Have a good day......

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Disappearing Act

I don't usually have any stories to tell about the people I meet at the casino. I don't have any funny stories or things that happen to me that sound interesting to put in the blog. That is until today.

Yesterday I was working the floor after getting done dealing a tournament and I was at the podium working on the spreadsheet for the final tally of players and winners before it was sent to the cage.

The dealer in the live cash game turns around and tells me we had Aces cracked and I needed to call the surveillance to get a picture of the table and give them the information. Of course I immediately called and told them we had Aces cracked and he asked for all of the pertinent information. I asked the table who won and they pointed to a gentleman in seat 7. I asked his name and he gave that to me. I had to ask him his last name and he gave that to me as well.

I then asked for his casino number and he told me that he did not have one. Now, in order to be paid I needed that number. I asked him to go to the cage, and it was free to have one, and please bring that back to me. He agreed and I then told surveillance I would call them back with the numbers.

After some time went by I couldn't find the person in the casino anymore. No idea where he was so I left the slip of paper on the podium and explained the situation to our poker manager. He called surveillance and told them if he came back we would pay this out to the gentleman. We still owed it to him.

Today I noticed the piece of paper was gone on the board. I asked the dealer that was at the table if he knew what the rest of the story was. He told me that the person did come back into the casino only long enough to give the chips that were left at the table to the dealer as a tip. He did not collect the money from the Aces being cracked.

Every once in a while you come across some strange things.

Have a good day.....

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Tuesday Poker

Monday was my day off and I did a lot of things to catch up to where I needed to be. That was a big list. The only thing I didn't complete was to put the Christmas lights up around the outside of the house.

I did get my Dad over to visit Mom and then back to the house to start cooking for the Christmas party for the dealers at Island Casino. I cooked up some Enchiladas and then waited around for my sweatheart to come home and then we took off for the party.

It was a fun time had by all. Gifts were exchanged and we played a game that was non poker related. My gift was the movie "Rounders" and the book "The Art of War". The person who picked the gift was the perfect person to recieve them. Hopefully she enjoys them. She has never watched "Rounders" and now she can.

Today being Tuesday is our big day. We have a regular Freeroll and then we have the $25 tournament. At 6PM is the $65 tournament. I am trying not to play tournaments anymore but that is one I wouldn't mind trying. A lot of the good players play in this one and it would be good to see where I rate when playing with them. Of course one tournament does not make the rating of how good you really are. It would be fun to watch the players though.

This evening after getting home we put up the lights around the outside of the house. They look nice. It was cold and I was glad to get back into the house.

Now I am headed to bed and then get back to dealing the game tomorrow. I am working on my bankroll and have a number I am trying to reach before the new year comes around. I haven't played in a number of days so am anxious to get back at the table as a player.

I am reading a new book. "How to Win the World Series of Poker (or not)". So far it is a fun book to read and it is giving me things to think about while playing. Maybe I can learn from this guy in a different way.

Have a fun day......

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Weekend Work

As usual I have spent the weekend dealing cards. No different than any other day of the week. We do tend to have less players showing up for the weekend. Today was Sunday and we are struggling to get 20 people to show up and play the morning freeroll.

The one thing that does get going is the live cash game. We will start a $1-6 spread game and people tend to enjoy that one. We are trying to get people to change to $2-6 but for some reason they just enjoy the slow pace of the smaller one.

I will tend to deal the game and not play. With this one people will call everything down to the river and show that they were chasing instead of playing real hands. Just makes for waiting for the right hand and then play aggressively and take a good size pot down.

Today I dealt my first Regressive Bad Beat. I have won one of these a few months ago and then was at the table for another one. Today was the first in dealing this bad boy. The prize payout is $500. The looser gets $300 and the winner will get $100. The last $100 is split with the players at the table that were not in the hand but started the hand. In this case there were four players to split the $100. I was able to share in the tips of course and with three dealers on at this point it was a nice share.

After my work today I headed down to the Mid Columbia Gymnastics where a birthday party was being held for two of our grandchildren. They had fun playing and then eating the cupcakes. Of course presents were fun as well.

I am off tomorrow and will go see my Mom and then I will be cooking for the Christmas Party potluck for the dealers. Not sure what will be taking place but should be fun. Can't stay out too late since I will be working on Tuesday. This is one of our better days during the week since the buy in is a little bit more challenging. Better players of course.

Have a good day and a good week......

Friday, December 16, 2011

Early Friday Morning

Here it is 1AM and I am still up. I just got back home from the Casino after a 4 hour session of poker.

I worked today dealing two tournaments and then helped the poker manager clean chips. They look real nice now that they have been washed. Makes you proud.

Once the shift was done I then headed out to the Alzheimers unit for the annual Christmas party. They had the usual Country band singing and they were doing the usual christmas songs along with the other country favorites. Mom was not doing well and at one point she stated that she was uncomfortable and they went ahead and gave her medication. It did help but she wanted to go to bed and the music was loud for her. It was hard for her and I was glad Dad was not there to watch her. I will pick him up tomorrow and take him over to see her. She will probably be very tired tomorrow.

After the party I decided to go over to the Casino and play a couple of hours of live. I have decided to play with my usual buy in of $100 to start and see where the variance of poker play would take me. I was going to leave at 10PM. We were playing a $1-$6 game and at 10PM the game turned to $2-$10. My chip stack started going down and I decided to stick around because the game was slow and nobody was playing deep poker.

I ended up with one hand that brought me back. I came up with JJ's and I called to see a flop at $2. The flop was all low cards so I raised it up and got 3 or 4 callers. The turn was low as well and it gave someone the draw for a flush. Again I bet and got followers again. On the river it was a low card again and the board did not pair up or give anyone a flush and no straight possibilities. I turned over my JJ's and everyone left mucked their hands. Wow, I just made over my buy in for the night. I ended up with $10 for 4 hours of play. I will take that as a positive. Especially with this group.

I played a few more hands to get past the button and decided I needed to get home and get some sleep. So here it is after 1AM and I am headed to bed.

Have a good Friday everyone......

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Wednesday

Today was a good day for me dealing the cards. I was able to make the chip changes as needed. I don't know why but when I am pushed by the players it must make my mind stop thinking and start worrying over the process.

At the end of the 2nd tournament we ran there were four players and they decided to chop the prize money. They each got the $50 for their efforts and that isn't bad.

One of the players got up and after a few people left the table area he told me that he hadn't been to Islands Casino in some time. He didn't like playing here. Today he said that he enjoyed himself and he had fun and the dealers were fun and kind. He stated he was planning to start playing here again. It is nice to have a place you can play a tournament or a live game with people that you enjoy being around.

I had a conversation with another dealer from another Casino last night. We started texting since my phone number is on the list at the other casino to play live games whenever they are available. She was surprised to learn that I was now dealing poker since that casino wouldn't give me the opportunity to learn. She thought it was nice and hoped I would come back to visit them. Maybe the casinos are looking for players in this economy to help them keep going. We do and enjoy having new players join us for a game.

My brother took off and is now back home in New Mexico. Just in time too since today we have snow on the ground. Maybe it will warm up some now that the weather decided to give us the blanket of white stuff.

Well, off to work today and tonight I have a Christmas party to go to at my Moms Alzheimers Unit.

Have a great day......

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Tuesday

This is the second post of the day but since I have to leave early in the morning I need to get this post in and then I can try and post tomorrow evening.

I was dealing today and got myself into some trouble with dividing up the chips with 3 or 4 players all in and with different amounts. I am trying to work on this and it is frustrating for me to keep having this problem.

I was on the floor and walked up to the poker manager and asked him if he would spend some time with me and go over this concept and how I can get better at this. I know it frustrates the players because of the time but it really frustrates me because I know I need to get better. I know I am probably making this harder than it should be. I need to just relax and get it done instead of stressing over it and making it hard.

I worked two tournaments today and spent some time dealing the live game. I understand this sounds like a broken record but this right now is what I do. I am trying to build my bankroll by playing and dealing. I keep putting the tips away and will be able to play a bigger chip stack soon. Playing for the usual $20 will not make it for me. I want to start with $100 and then I can get through the variance of the ups and downs of
poker.

I spent some time today talking with a young person who is working on his live game skills as well. We talked about the difference of tournament and live and the skills needed between the two. Hopefully he can improve but then again he will understand how I play the game. Will have to adjust some when he is in the game. I enjoy talking about the game and the people we are playing against. I don't get a chance too often to do that.

Tomorrow my brother will be going home. It has been nice to have him here for a visit and a chance for him to visit our Mom and Dad. I know she doesn't know who he is but still you can't just leave her out of the visits. She is getting so thin right now. Cancer is really a tough process for anybody and watching this is hard. We just want Dad to be sure and take care of himself during this process as well.

Have a good day tomorrow......

Monday Poker

After the Seahawk-Rams game I decided to go play some poker. I should have gone earlier since the game was so bad. I know the Seahawks won and that is nice but Rams lost and that doesn't make me happy either. Rough when you like both teams. My brother was happy.

I got to the Casino around 9PM and got right into the game of $2-$6 spread. Fortunately for me the seat that was open was seat 10 and a very loose aggressive player in seat 9. He was raising basically every hand and he had enough drinks on board that he was shipping his chips to whomever would call him.

It was frustrating when you wanted to see a flop but also good in the point that it made you wait for a good hand. I stayed for 1 1/2 hours and mostly waited and I ended up bluffing a two pair hand to get someone off of the trips. I had pocket 10's and two Aces showed up in the flop. I played them with raise and was called to the River when I raised again and the other player thought about it and threw away his Ace. I couldn't show the bluff. He was so frustrated with the LAG that I just told him he was beat. Let it go at that.

Today I am starting my three days on at the Casino dealing. Probably won't play much live. Hope for a good day.

Have a good day everyone......

Monday, December 12, 2011

Good Day at the Casino

On Sunday we only have to deal with the one basic tournament at Noon and then we have a Player of the Week Tournament at 3PM. There are 4 dealers for the first one and then we get a couple more dealers coming in at 3PM to help us out. If we don't have the players then we start sending dealers home.

Since I dealt the first game I then stayed around and another dealer and I started up the Live game and worked it till the next tournament started. It gives us experience in live game and does give us some more tokes before the new dealers come in. It all works out for us. We will alternate every 30 minutes so we don't get tired and gives us time to work the floor with people signing up for the next game.

Today is Monday and is my day off. Since I have my brother here from New Mexico I will not be playing poker tonight. It is important that I watch the Seattle Seahawks and the St. Louis Rams play tonight. Even though I am a fan of both teams I am a die hard Rams fan. My brother is a Seahawk fan and there you have the rivalry. There is a wager on the game tonight between the two of us.

I will be wearing my Rams clothes tonight and putting out my Rams rug in front of the TV. I hope it is a good game tonight.

Have a fun day.....

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Hard Day

For the last couple of months I have been dealing at the casino. Even though I know the game and can play the hard part is sometimes dealing and listening to the banter about your skills.

One of my issues is making sure the pots are correct when there are all ins with different amounts. I know I struggle with this and I keep working on it to get better. I have gotten so I don't listen to the players complaints and just do my job.

Over a period of time I have gotten better but then you get a day like yesterday and only one time gets you all off balance and then you start to doubt yourself. For me it is more frustration because I know I could get this done.

Today is a new day and I am back at it again. I have Monday off and I may play some poker in the evening. At this time I am just building the bankroll up so I can attack the tables again.

Have a good rest of the weekend......

Friday, December 09, 2011

TGIF

Today I have a day off and I need it. I woke up the other day sneezing about 2AM and I was having a hard time stopping. It continued throughout the next day and my nose is stuffed up. I don't think it is a cold but it could be the sinuses having issues with the dry weather. The past few days have been very cold and dry around here.

I didn't play any poker yesterday. I did my usual dealing for the day and then went home. In that case I guess I don't have any poker related things to talk about.

Last night I did get to watch the Tuesday evening session of Live@theBike. I really think listening and watching the live game has helped me learn some things that I should be doing in my game. They were talking about some iPhone apps that would be good to put on either the iPhone or the iPad. I have put one of them on my phone and will use it for my play from now on. There is one that would be good to use that would track players at the table. I am thinking about getting that one as well since I do play with the same people quite a bit.

As I said earlier today is a rest day for me and I will be ready to go for tomorrow. My older brother will be in town to visit my Mom for the next few days and it will be nice to see him. All of my siblings will have come into town in the last month to see Mom and Dad. Hope the visit goes well and the weather warms up a bit.

Have a good weekend......

Thursday, December 08, 2011

Being a Butt in the Seat

We are asked to be butts in the seats to support our fellow dealers. Even though I think that is a good idea I am not sure about the outcome.

I don't mind being a butt in the seat to help the fellow dealers get a game going. I will put my money in there and not expect much back as long as the others are doing the same thing. The problem with the whole thing is the mentality of the non dealers that are playing at the table.

In this type of game I will usually say something about my hand being made to the other person if we are one on one. They then have the option to fold or bet. If they have something better than that is alright. At least we are giving them the option to call or raise.

Last night playing in a $2-$10 game with overs to $2-$20 did not go very well for me. When you have a person that is betting every hand it ceases to be fun and the table does not play along. I basically invested my tip money to the game and I am not sure I will do this again.

When I play live poker I am there to increase my chipstack and play the game like it should be played. My options are to not play to be a butt in the seat and I have decided if certain people are in the game I will not sit down at the table.

I have to make better decisions on when to sit down and put my chips at risk. It is all about risk and reward when sitting at the table. I would like to have some sort of advantage from picking my seat and having certain players on my right or left.

Today is my last day to deal this week. Hopefully it will be a good day....

Wednesday, December 07, 2011

Bankroll Management

I don't talk too much about my bankroll since talking about money is not something that I want to put out on a blog. Maybe sometime later I won't mind showing what the whole bankroll is and how I am accumulating it through poker.

I do have a set number in my mind that would make me comfortable to be able to play at the levels I do play at. Every person is different and what you would need is different than what I would get in a game for.

I do look for ways to build the bankroll. My bankroll does not all come from the game itself. I would like for it too but that just isn't possible at this time. I am always happy to get on the positive side of the night and bring home cash.

I am feeling more comfortable playing in the higher levels since my style has gotten more patient and not always wanting to see the flop on every hand for a cheap amount. That in itself is the problem with lower limit games. Everyone wants to see the flop.

I am forcing myself to make better decisions before the flop and that way I can play the cards and try and figure out what the other person has. I am learning to read cards by doing the dealing. Seeing cards all day and seeing what people play is really helping me be able to again make better decisions and see what the story is that the other person is telling me.

I am learning that there is more to this game that I need to study. Back to the bankroll. I do feel you don't need a big bankroll to start playing the game you just need to figure out how to build to keep playing. By playing low limit games you can learn and build at the same time.

I have pretty much stopped playing tournament poker for now. For me the Live cash game is where I am learning and adding to my bankroll. I will continue to play, learn and be patient.

Have a good day......

Tuesday, December 06, 2011

Playing Poker

I was texted by the poker manager to see if I would be interested in playing Monday evening. Monday was my day off and I had decided that I would not go play poker and just have one day off. Well, I ended up going to the casino and putting in a 2 hour session.

I sat and waited about an hour for a seat in the $1-$6 game. I finally got my seat and waited for some good cards. Immediately I lost a couple of big pots and was down over half of my stack. I felt I needed to be patient and things would turn around.

I didn't have to wait very long. I got a set of 10's and then topped it off with a set of J's and I was back over my starting stack.

I then moved over to a $2-$20 game and continued to play well. I was very patient and again I was able to keep myself on the positive side with the chip stack. One good hand was K10 and the flop came 10K10. The other person betting with me ended up with K10 as well. At least we didn't loose with the hand.

Before I left for the night we ended my session changing over to a $2-$10 game and I stayed for another 15 minutes before heading home for the night and for the 2 hours I was able to cash out +$20. Not bad for the evening especially the stakes I was playing. This should be a tuneup for the bigger game I would like to play. Will have to do this again.

Have a good day.....

Monday, December 05, 2011

New Dream

The other day I was thinking about a way to get players into the casino now that we are Marketing as well as Dealers. I did work in sales back in the early 80's but haven't done any of that since then. As I have mentioned before it is not something I want to do and being responsible for getting them into the casino is not for me. I will do whatever to help but that I can't do.

I did come up with an idea yesterday and put it down on paper to see if it would be possible. This is following another casino and what they are doing as a promotion. Not exactly the same but close. Why not put someone into the biggest game we have with $200 to $300 dollars and give them 3 hours to see if they can have fun and possibly earn some money. I have the information on paper and may turn it in to the poker manager.

Then, I got another idea. If I am going to put that idea to them why not do it myself. I will have a set amount of money and a set amount of time to play in the biggest game. Can I make it myself? I am putting my ideas on paper to see if I can achieve this.

The only thing I would like to see if I can get help with is having someone willing to coach me a little bit to make sure I am doing the right things. Having my mind properly set to play this big of a game would be important. I have read many books on poker and have my own style but when put into a live cash game and the stakes are bigger I want to make sure I am ready.

One of the books that I think will help me is the one written by Annie Duke called "Decide to Play Great Poker." There a many great ideas and thought processes that I can use. There are others I have on my shelf I will probably get back into. I don't want to clutter my mind with ideas or strategies but ways to play hands and be productive.

I will let everyone know when I am going to do this and the specifics when I get them all nailed down. Coaching is my first priority and will be talking with a few people I trust in this game. In the meantime I will be cutting out tournament play to put all of my efforts into the live cash game thinking.

Nice to have a new dream........

Sunday, December 04, 2011

Whats Good for the Goose...

You've heard that saying, "whats good for the goose is good for the gander"? Well maybe not.

Yesterday I was talking with one of the dealers about playing live and how to approach the game. We are talking about a $1-$6 game so not a big amount of money. We will get a game going in the morning before the tournament to try and rake some money for the casino. We as dealers will also sit in just to be a feeder for other people to see a game going on and when it starts to fill up we then back out of the game.

Now, I am not interested in throwing a lot of money at the game since I am not sitting for a long period of time. I also know that the tips coming from this game will also be part of my tips at the end of my shift. If I don't put a lot of chips into the game I know I could break even for the amount of time I spend.

This morning I wanted try out a play that was talked about between me and the other dealer. Money in the pot and I raised on the turn after the flop had been out and we called. The other person folded thinking I had a good hand and I showed the bluff.

What I got next was something I didn't expect. I was told that if I wanted to play like that come on and I would be beat. The player wasn't even in the hand. He also stated earlier he does the same thing only to put tips into the bag. I can understand that but this hand also brought me back up to even for the day.

I know one thing is that when I play poker I play to increase my chip stack. I have no problem putting in tips for the dealers but then I am not there to just sit there and do nothing if I am in the game. I guess I could just fold, fold and continue to fold but then I am not guaranteed in getting my money back at the end of the day.

Another day dealing poker and we will see how this day goes. Last week we didn't get a tournament going at all and ended up playing live all day. Tips were good.

Have a fun day......

Saturday, December 03, 2011

Dreams

Yesterday was a day off so I spent the time playing Live poker in the morning and then played a tournament at Noon. What a way to spend your time off. I enjoy learning the skills and seeing the cards and learning for me is what I want to do.

I have been thinking about my dreams of where I want to be in life and what I want to do. I felt it all got messed up in January of 2010 and now all of my hopes and dreams are gone. Trying to figure out how to do the things I want to do is hard.

My dream of purchasing a MotorHome and travelling is gone. Playing bigger games in poker is gone. Having an investment vehicle with the stock market is gone. Most all of the dreams are gone.

Sounds like a bad beat story. I still remain pretty positive but I know that the things I do and worry about really don't make a difference. I have a roof over my head. Great family members and friends and I figure that is really all I need.

Yesterday the decision was made to move my Mom to a different pain medication for her cancer. We will try this and if it doesn't work for the pain relief then we will have Hospice move to Morphine to stop the pain. We knew this time was coming and now we need to get through this as a family and make sure our Dad is maintaining his health.

Still not sure what is going to happen with the job at the casino. With the family issues going on the job really doesn't seem that important. My time will be taken up with both parents at this point. I can worry about that later.

Have a good weekend.....

Thursday, December 01, 2011

Dealers Night

The poker manager let us know that he was going to have a dealers night live cash game. This was to get us together and have some fun and not have any pressure of a tournament or live game.

I showed up at around 6PM and they had an usual $1-$6 spread game going. I jumped into that game since I had another hour before the dealers game was to start. At first my chip stack was depleting and I was wondering if I would have enough to start the next game.

Then I started hitting hands. It was nice to bring in some pots and I built my chip stack up where I was very comfortable. We switched over to a $2-$4 Limit Kill and that wasn't bad either.

By the time 7PM came around there were 2 other dealers that came in and one of the dealers decided to play in the pits and the other one came over and sat down at the table. No one else showed up for the dealer night out.

I sat at this table for a good 4 hour session and when I left at 10PM I was up $50. We had also switched the game over to a $2-$10 spread. I am not a good $2-$10 player but tonight it payed off and I was able to head home with a good profit for myself. Any positive cash at the end of a session is good and I will take it as a win.

Hopefully by being a "butt in a seat" when the poker manager has these games will be enough to keep my job. I am willing to play and be there to deal the games anytime. I don't really care about the hours as much as I do care about building my skill level at dealing the game.

I don't get alot of time to play long sessions at the table and it was nice to sit and just play the game and be patient on the winning hands.

Off to deal my 3rd day in a row and then will have tomorrow off.

Have a fun day......