Monday, April 30, 2012
Rough Weekend
It is becoming that time of year when the sun is out and the days are getting nice. Who wants to spend their time in a casino where there is no outside light?
I did play the tournament on Friday and got to the final table only to go out in 10th. I made a pair on the flop and with what I had left I pushed all in. One person folded and the other person called. He had a smaller pair on the flop and ended up making trips. Thats the way the cards play.
On Saturday we were not able to get any tournaments off the ground. It was very frustrating for the dealers as well as the players. We need to get at least 18 players to have a tournament and when you get to ten players and still can't play the tournament it gets frustrating.
This is when everyone needs to just cool down and not blame the dealers and we need to understand that this is the time of the season for this. There are a few of us that will come in on our days off so we can help get a game going whether it be live or in a tournament. We try to help each other.
I have been reading the book on Cash Games being a business and hopefully I can start taking some it and putting it into my game. I really need to stop playing during the day and stop playing short handed. Playing five handed just to be in the Monte Carlo's just doesn't work with my bankroll. I play differently during the day than at night and I will usually give away my buy in by not playing like I should. I open my range of playing hands due to the blinds coming around often.
New rule for me to play with at least 8 players at a table. I am working on my starting hands as well as position. I will all come together at some point. My tournament play is doing fine. I need to be a litte bit tighter in the early stages and I will work on that as well.
We watched "Dexter" Season four episodes 1-3 the other night. We like that show and we are trying to watch it when we have a chance of being home together. I was at Blockbuster last night and they had a weekly sale going on for 5 for $20 and I purchased five DVD's. Ones I haven't seen yet, and ones I missed in the theaters.
Our heat pump was worked on this morning and it is now working. Ready for the summer heat. It had a burnt fuse. Could have been worse.
Have a fun day.....
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Biggest Loss
I dealt the first tournament yesterday morning. It went well and we were getting ready for the second one. In the meantime we sat down to play some live game. Dropping a couple of $20's during the morning game is usual for me. We get shorthanded and I start opening up my game and then it seems to go pretty fast. I am out and then at some point I will deal the game and get into the rotation.
I did go back to playing in the game and clocked out due do not having a game. I then put a full buy in on the table to start the next part of the game. This was the hardest one ever where I couldn't pick up a hand at all. Everything I had that was good was trumped one better. I know there are days like this and I just have to work through them.
I went back in the evening and played a tournament and placed in 6th and didn't get the money by 2 spots. I figured why not stick around and play some more live. I bought in with a full buy in again and by the time I went home I had about half of that left. What a day.
I am back to working on my bankroll again. I let too much go this week. I can get this back up but it will take me a bit to do it. The cards where not with me on Wednesday.
You will notice that blogspot puts all the words together. Even though I put them in paragraghs they don't show up like it should. I wish they would fix that.
Have a nice day......
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Missed Monday
Sunday was a day of just one tournament. The weekend was slow for us in the casino. I had Monday off so it felt like I had two days off.
Monday I decided to take my Dad to lunch and I also purchased two Kindle Fires. Now you know what I was doing all afternoon. I was loading up the Kindle with some applications and getting my books on there so I could start using it as well. I got my wife one for her birthday coming up as well and now she can read her books on the kindle as well.
Trying to be more frugal and thinking of ways to save money. I am working on getting rid of our Landline phone as well as downgrading from the iPhones to just basic phones. The Kindles will fill in for us. I understand trying to find the hotspots and that will be fine as well. Keeping up with Twitter and Facebook on the go is not important to me as texting. Right now the phones are in my target sight.
I am reading a new book as well from Rob Tucker. This one is about Cash Games and the business part of it. I find it interesting and some of it I am doing already. Will put some of it on my blog as well. Right now must get ready for work.
Have a fun day......
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Tale of Two Cards
I know that to build my bankroll, and the experience I need playing live, I need to put in the time and study. Yesterday I dealt two tournaments and played in the first one. I didn't last long and that was alright with me. Remaining focused and playing cards is hard to do when you know your working as well.
I had a crazy table on the first tournament I dealt and it seemed I could not get anything right. Just not one of my good sessions. When I started the second tournament it was better and one of the players told the others to leave me alone as I was having a bad day. It turned out alright and I just suppose I needed to get myself into the swing of getting the cards out and paying attention.
After everything was done I was asked to deal the live game. I did that and when I was relieved of those duties I decided to have something to eat and then go home.
Finding out my wife had a party to go to and I would be home alone I decided to stay and get into the live game. I put in my one buy in, that I normally do, and just watched the table. After a period of time I got KK and I bet them. I am trying to be more aggressive when I have the cards at the pre-flop. I will usually limp along with every one else to see what the flop brings and then start firing away. Since most of these players will call anything to see a flop I am not worried about not building a pot. Flop, turn and river did not produce a flush possibility, straight. I felt I was good and kept firing away at the pot. It turned out to be a pretty big size pot. I did win at showdown.
During the middle of all of this I had 99's and won with these as well. My chipstack was well over 1 1/2 the buyin at this point.
I was ready to go home since my wife had let me know she left the party. I started racking my chips and even told the dealer not to deal me in. The player across from me, a friend and dealer I work with, looked over and told me that I should stay and at least see two more free hands. I felt it was no harm to see a couple of hands before I go. What could happen? Well, the first hand is KK's and now I must bet them. I raised and then I got 3 followers. We ended up seeing the flop, turn and river and the flop was J10Q. The end result was a very big pot and I did not win.
I leave the table instead of 1 1/2 the buy in to 1/2 the buy in. I should have made a better decision about what I was looking at and what the other two players were telling me. I didn't do that. It was my fault for playing the cards and I should have folded after the betting on the flop. Of course I was playing to a straight as well if an Ace would have hit. There we go chasing and that is something I like to do if the price is right. Actually I should have picked up my racks and taken them back to the podium a bigger winner.
I am reading a magazine "CardPlayer" that I picked up at Wildhorse last week. It is interesting reading and I was struck by what Matt Glantz had to say. I will try to quote this.
"What most players don't realize in poker is that we should not attempt to be the best, so that we can beat the second best or the third best. We should try to improve our game in all areas so that we can pofit off of our opponent's mistakes and they can not profit from us in the same manner. The truth is the best players don't make money from outplaying other great players. The best players make money from playing sound poker and taking advantage of spots in which others are making mistakes". Thanks Matt Glantz for your thoughts.
It just hit me reading that last night.
Have a fun day......
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Frustration Day
My day off from dealing poker at the Island Casinio. I went and visited my Dad and then I did go to the casino to play in a 12:30 tournament. Now that Wildhorse is having their Spring Round-Up our games, just like the rest of the casinos around here, have had a hard time getting the numbers.
The Noon tournament did not go off. It was cancelled. The 3PM was cancelled as well. I ended up playing live $2-$6 Spread all afternoon. I left at around 4:30 to go home because I needed to reload on my money. I lost a whole buy in for this session. You talk about frustration I had it big time.
I started looking at what happens in the afternoon when I play and I am usually loose buy ins during this time. I will have to either stop playing or figure out why and fix the leak.
The 6PM tournament did play and I was signed up. I took my seat at table 3 and I venture to guess it was the hardest table of the three. There was some very good players and they were mixing it up early. I just played my game and watched and when I had a hand I would come out and bet. I ended up felting three players at this table.
I then was moved to Table 1 and this was good news for me. I had chips and this meant I was not moving and I could watch and play against the people that where here. I did well at the start and was chipping up again by making appropriate moves.
I made one mistake and it hurt my chipstack slightly. It did open the door for some plays that I tried to make to get back into the game and I couldn't make it happen. I was leaking chips fast. I probably shoulded sat back and watched a little more but that is not what I did.
I did make it to the final table and there was eight of us. The prize pool was $700 and I was looking to see if I could get to that final 4. Not to be I went out in eighth place trying to hang on. I ended up playing a K8 and was called by K10 and a 10 came on the turn.
Good tournament. I will try to learn something from this and then try it again.
Right now I am reading about flopping big cards and what to do with them. What about one pair on the flop and playing them. Some of that hit me during the tournament. Did I play them right?
Have a good day........
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Live Wednesday
So far this has been a very good week for me.
Even though we only had one tournament yesterday it was a good day. After the tournament was done I offered to help wash chips. The first part is easy as all you need to do was put them in the tray and place them in the dishwasher. It only takes about a minute or two and they are all washed and rinsed and all we needed to do was wipe them off.
We cleaned 1000 chips. They look so nice and clean and they were stacked back in their racks and put back in our vault. It is nice to do that every so often since they just start looking dirty. So many hands are handling them and then leave grime on them. I am sure they enjoyed their bath.
One of our Islands staff is going to be dealing in the WSOP. We are so proud of her and also getting to do something she has dreamed about for quite awhile. She has an opportunity now to build on this.
I decided to come back to the casino and play in the bounty tournament at 6pm. When I got there we were able to get a live game going as well. We played $2-$10 Spread Limit. After about 30 minutes of playing the tournament was cancelled and we just continued on at the table. My plan was not to stay past 8pm. I have to work the next day.
I ended up playing a hand, pocket Aces, and when I was done was able to win the hand with two pair AA33. Someone else had 7744 and their was a flush possibility on the river. I got lucky since I slow played from the beginning and letting more people come into the pot. I should have raised to limit the field and get the 74 out. I will learn from this one that limping to put more money into the pot can sometimes come back to bite you and someone else can take the money you helped build.
I also got the high hand early in the evening of KKK99 and this meant I needed to have the game go till 10pm so I could also get the $100 for having the high hand. When I left at 10pm I was still the leader. I shouldn't have though. The guy next to me played a hand with two jacks on the flop and bet big only to have everyone fold. He turned over his hand and two jacks. He would have been the high hand for the night. If I get this I will consider it a gift.
My night ended well in that I doubled my buy in and still have the chance of adding more money. Bankroll is growing and that does make me happy. I have had two sessions this week of live play and they were both winning sessions.
Now I am off to work for another day.
Have a fun day......
Even though we only had one tournament yesterday it was a good day. After the tournament was done I offered to help wash chips. The first part is easy as all you need to do was put them in the tray and place them in the dishwasher. It only takes about a minute or two and they are all washed and rinsed and all we needed to do was wipe them off.
We cleaned 1000 chips. They look so nice and clean and they were stacked back in their racks and put back in our vault. It is nice to do that every so often since they just start looking dirty. So many hands are handling them and then leave grime on them. I am sure they enjoyed their bath.
One of our Islands staff is going to be dealing in the WSOP. We are so proud of her and also getting to do something she has dreamed about for quite awhile. She has an opportunity now to build on this.
I decided to come back to the casino and play in the bounty tournament at 6pm. When I got there we were able to get a live game going as well. We played $2-$10 Spread Limit. After about 30 minutes of playing the tournament was cancelled and we just continued on at the table. My plan was not to stay past 8pm. I have to work the next day.
I ended up playing a hand, pocket Aces, and when I was done was able to win the hand with two pair AA33. Someone else had 7744 and their was a flush possibility on the river. I got lucky since I slow played from the beginning and letting more people come into the pot. I should have raised to limit the field and get the 74 out. I will learn from this one that limping to put more money into the pot can sometimes come back to bite you and someone else can take the money you helped build.
I also got the high hand early in the evening of KKK99 and this meant I needed to have the game go till 10pm so I could also get the $100 for having the high hand. When I left at 10pm I was still the leader. I shouldn't have though. The guy next to me played a hand with two jacks on the flop and bet big only to have everyone fold. He turned over his hand and two jacks. He would have been the high hand for the night. If I get this I will consider it a gift.
My night ended well in that I doubled my buy in and still have the chance of adding more money. Bankroll is growing and that does make me happy. I have had two sessions this week of live play and they were both winning sessions.
Now I am off to work for another day.
Have a fun day......
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Poker Tuesday
After a day off it was time to get back to work.
Our Tuesday sessions are 10AM and 12:30PM. At least that is the times I am dealing cards. Our first tournament is the usual $2 and we had almost 30 players this morning. The prize pool consists of the $200 guarantee. The new format of the players being able to buy the add on is working well. No complaints so far.
The 12:30 session is now the $10 tournament and also has the $400 guarantee. This use to be a $200 guarantee as well and having the extra money in the prize pool should help in getting players to the casino to play. The players seem to be having fun and they enjoy the added money as well. We were done by 3PM and we were able to get ready for the evening tournament that starts at 6PM.
I didn't get a chance to play any live this morning as I kept busy signing players in. I do prefer not to play during the morning times as I seem to not play well and usually donate my money to the players. I also believe it is because it is short handed play and I don't like to play that way. My range will open up and I tend to see too many flops with cards I would not play.
I am back to reading "Decide to Play Great Poker" by Annie Duke. I also purchased Jonathan Little's two books for my Kindle on PC. I am reading all of them on my iPhone. Not to bad. I would like to get a Kindle Fire but will wait to get one when the price drops some. I don't want to pay the $200 to get one.
My bankroll is back up since I played at Wildhorse last week. It was nice to get myself back above where I started. Got to keep working on that bankroll.
Not much to write about and I am about ready to head to bed.
Have a fun day.....
Our Tuesday sessions are 10AM and 12:30PM. At least that is the times I am dealing cards. Our first tournament is the usual $2 and we had almost 30 players this morning. The prize pool consists of the $200 guarantee. The new format of the players being able to buy the add on is working well. No complaints so far.
The 12:30 session is now the $10 tournament and also has the $400 guarantee. This use to be a $200 guarantee as well and having the extra money in the prize pool should help in getting players to the casino to play. The players seem to be having fun and they enjoy the added money as well. We were done by 3PM and we were able to get ready for the evening tournament that starts at 6PM.
I didn't get a chance to play any live this morning as I kept busy signing players in. I do prefer not to play during the morning times as I seem to not play well and usually donate my money to the players. I also believe it is because it is short handed play and I don't like to play that way. My range will open up and I tend to see too many flops with cards I would not play.
I am back to reading "Decide to Play Great Poker" by Annie Duke. I also purchased Jonathan Little's two books for my Kindle on PC. I am reading all of them on my iPhone. Not to bad. I would like to get a Kindle Fire but will wait to get one when the price drops some. I don't want to pay the $200 to get one.
My bankroll is back up since I played at Wildhorse last week. It was nice to get myself back above where I started. Got to keep working on that bankroll.
Not much to write about and I am about ready to head to bed.
Have a fun day.....
Monday, April 16, 2012
New Schedule
After spending time at the Wildhorse Casino I felt ready to get back to the grind of Islands Casino. Saturday was a very busy day and I dealt in three tournaments. When I got home I just sat on the couch and couldn't move.
Sunday was a nice day in that we start with the first tournament at Noon and we had two tables to get things going. Our 3PM had two tables as well and we dealt that tournament until completion at around 6:30PM.
I was asked to stay around for awhile to help get a live game going. My plan was not to play but anytime I can help out I am not going to turn that down. It is important to get something started and then see if it catches on with more people. The game got going before we finished the tournament so it was a about 30 minutes before I got there.
I didn't do my usual buy in since I wasn't planning to stick around very long. I hadn't eaten dinner and I was ready to go home. During this time I had a winning hand of KKK44 which ended up being the high hand so far for the evening. It made the evening interesting and the table got to be fun as well. We had a person talking about women and how he knew all of the ways to enjoy them. I guess that is one way of saying this. He was being so sure of himself.
It was getting late in the evening and I got the black pocket Aces. In our casino on odd days it is the black ones and on even days it is the red ones. If they get cracked then the person wins $100. I was checking and calling trying to get someone to beat the Aces. I ended up with one person and the board was textured for a straight. We made it to the river and when he turned over his cards he did have the straight which beat my one pair. Yes, I get the $100.
We had three to four dealers playing at our table during the session. It was fun to banter back and forth and everyone was trying to beat my High Hand. When we got down to five players the one goal the other four had was to beat my High Hand. We had three dealers and two regular players left. Everytime I saw Kings come up on the board I would watch the hand very carefully. When one of the regulars finally felted we ended up calling it a night at around 11:30PM and I was paid out my $100 for the high hand.
It was a fun session and I was glad I stayed.
Have a fun day.....
Sunday was a nice day in that we start with the first tournament at Noon and we had two tables to get things going. Our 3PM had two tables as well and we dealt that tournament until completion at around 6:30PM.
I was asked to stay around for awhile to help get a live game going. My plan was not to play but anytime I can help out I am not going to turn that down. It is important to get something started and then see if it catches on with more people. The game got going before we finished the tournament so it was a about 30 minutes before I got there.
I didn't do my usual buy in since I wasn't planning to stick around very long. I hadn't eaten dinner and I was ready to go home. During this time I had a winning hand of KKK44 which ended up being the high hand so far for the evening. It made the evening interesting and the table got to be fun as well. We had a person talking about women and how he knew all of the ways to enjoy them. I guess that is one way of saying this. He was being so sure of himself.
It was getting late in the evening and I got the black pocket Aces. In our casino on odd days it is the black ones and on even days it is the red ones. If they get cracked then the person wins $100. I was checking and calling trying to get someone to beat the Aces. I ended up with one person and the board was textured for a straight. We made it to the river and when he turned over his cards he did have the straight which beat my one pair. Yes, I get the $100.
We had three to four dealers playing at our table during the session. It was fun to banter back and forth and everyone was trying to beat my High Hand. When we got down to five players the one goal the other four had was to beat my High Hand. We had three dealers and two regular players left. Everytime I saw Kings come up on the board I would watch the hand very carefully. When one of the regulars finally felted we ended up calling it a night at around 11:30PM and I was paid out my $100 for the high hand.
It was a fun session and I was glad I stayed.
Have a fun day.....
Friday, April 13, 2012
Wildhorse
After the tournaments were done on Thursday I headed out to Pendleton to play some live and a tournament at the Wildhorse Casino.
As I came up the hill out of Pendleton, OR I was able to see a pretty big building about 3 miles away. I wondered if that was the new Wildhorse Hotel and Casino. As I got closer to the exit it was obvious that this was the new and improved casino.
I haven't been to Wildhorse in almost two years. I enjoy playing the Round-ups but haven't had the time to go. I was going to make the most of it this time around.
I checked in to my room and then headed out to see the new spacious area. The poker area for this was still in their main room. The table games are the same and they added a whole bunch of slot machines. Things are more spread out and it is nice.
I met one of the area players and we discussed the live game and the tournament going on that night. I decided to play the tournament instead of live due to the chance at a good payout. I signed up for the Super Satellite and the #1 tournament the next day.
We had 171 players signed up for the satellite and I will say that I was busted 47th and 36 players were going to be paid $500 each. So close but just didn't have the chips to make it to the end.
Today was another tournament and we had 548 players sign up and I busted in 144th with the money being distributed starting with the 54th player. Again the chips I had just were not going to last to get me to the end.
I really enjoyed my time at the Casino. Very nice people and they made it fun to be there. Now I am ready to get back to Islands and deal to our customers.
Have a fun day.....
As I came up the hill out of Pendleton, OR I was able to see a pretty big building about 3 miles away. I wondered if that was the new Wildhorse Hotel and Casino. As I got closer to the exit it was obvious that this was the new and improved casino.
I haven't been to Wildhorse in almost two years. I enjoy playing the Round-ups but haven't had the time to go. I was going to make the most of it this time around.
I checked in to my room and then headed out to see the new spacious area. The poker area for this was still in their main room. The table games are the same and they added a whole bunch of slot machines. Things are more spread out and it is nice.
I met one of the area players and we discussed the live game and the tournament going on that night. I decided to play the tournament instead of live due to the chance at a good payout. I signed up for the Super Satellite and the #1 tournament the next day.
We had 171 players signed up for the satellite and I will say that I was busted 47th and 36 players were going to be paid $500 each. So close but just didn't have the chips to make it to the end.
Today was another tournament and we had 548 players sign up and I busted in 144th with the money being distributed starting with the 54th player. Again the chips I had just were not going to last to get me to the end.
I really enjoyed my time at the Casino. Very nice people and they made it fun to be there. Now I am ready to get back to Islands and deal to our customers.
Have a fun day.....
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Blood Sugars and Dealing
I started out working at 8:45 putting the chips on the tables and doing overall getting ready for the first tournament. I felt good and everything was working smoothly.
I worked the first tournament without incident. I was a little bit frightened to have my first all ins because I knew they would start talking to me and what was I going to say to them to keep them quiet and let me do my job. I never happened and I was grateful for that. Today may be a different story.
When I finished the final table I got the room cleaned up and the chips ready for the next tournament. Once I had that done I immediately went over and pushed the person in the live box and took over that game until the tournament started.
I closed down the live game and immediately sat down at table 2 this time and started to deal. I must have gotten to about one hour of this tournament and I knew I was in trouble. I was not feeling well, I was starting to shake. I wondered if I could push on and make it to the break. Thank goodness I decided to ask the poker manager to come over and order me a pop to drink and then get me out of the box for a bit. I turned around and looked at the table and I don't remember much. My questions were what are the chip amounts and where are we at for the table. I could hear the poker manager in the middle of the hand tell me to put the hand down and move.
What I do remember was drinking the pop and starting to feel like I could think again and my shaking went away. I did eventually finish the tournament at the final table but it was a little scary for me in that this has never happened to me before. I will take a snack bar with me today.
I have been trying to monitor my Blood Sugars closer and I have succeeded in bringing them down but when I do that I need to make sure I am eating at good intervals.
Today I will be headed to Pendleton, OR for the Spring Round-Up. I plan on staying the night and will play live tonight and then the tournament tomorrow. Just a little bit of a getaway for me to have some fun and do something different.
Have a fun day......
I worked the first tournament without incident. I was a little bit frightened to have my first all ins because I knew they would start talking to me and what was I going to say to them to keep them quiet and let me do my job. I never happened and I was grateful for that. Today may be a different story.
When I finished the final table I got the room cleaned up and the chips ready for the next tournament. Once I had that done I immediately went over and pushed the person in the live box and took over that game until the tournament started.
I closed down the live game and immediately sat down at table 2 this time and started to deal. I must have gotten to about one hour of this tournament and I knew I was in trouble. I was not feeling well, I was starting to shake. I wondered if I could push on and make it to the break. Thank goodness I decided to ask the poker manager to come over and order me a pop to drink and then get me out of the box for a bit. I turned around and looked at the table and I don't remember much. My questions were what are the chip amounts and where are we at for the table. I could hear the poker manager in the middle of the hand tell me to put the hand down and move.
What I do remember was drinking the pop and starting to feel like I could think again and my shaking went away. I did eventually finish the tournament at the final table but it was a little scary for me in that this has never happened to me before. I will take a snack bar with me today.
I have been trying to monitor my Blood Sugars closer and I have succeeded in bringing them down but when I do that I need to make sure I am eating at good intervals.
Today I will be headed to Pendleton, OR for the Spring Round-Up. I plan on staying the night and will play live tonight and then the tournament tomorrow. Just a little bit of a getaway for me to have some fun and do something different.
Have a fun day......
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Tips
It seems the poker players now days are more concerned with what a dealer gets in tips. Granted we work for minimum wage when we are on the clock. I get to deal cards. Now comes the interesting part. When we are done with a tournament we get very little in tips from the players if at all. Was it bad dealing? They got into the money didn't they? What is ettiquette for tipping the dealers. We split the tips in our casino with all of the dealers that were on at the time.
I usually don't care about how much a person tips but it seems the players are really getting into this right now.
I believe the baseball players need to be tipped on how well they did in the game. Pay them minimum wage and when the fans leave the stadium they can leave a tip at the gate. We could do that for Football players as well. That would be an incentive to do well. What about leaving a tip at the hospital and all the employees get tips depending on how they do their job in getting the patient better. It just seems there are a few areas that get these tips and we need get more areas involved.
As a player I don't say much at the table. My job, as a player, is to watch and listen to the other players to see if I can pick up any information. We have players that will badger other players in the way they play and what they are playing. It just doesn't make any sense to me. All it does is drive those players away and they either get better or they don't play anymore. You loose players.
I had an incident the other day where I had to call the floor over to make a decision and I relayed the story as I saw it. You get other views about what someone else saw all the time. The floor has to make the right decision and listen to the dealer. After I got done my version of the story was not believed and as of the meeting we had last night it proved to me I was still not believed. They would much rather believe a player than their own dealer. What does that tell me?
As a player I bring my money into the casino and will put it at risk just like everyone else. When you are treated like a second class citizen because you are not carrying thousands of dollars I believe your priorities are wrong. I could go back through my books and see how much I spend at the casinos. I think I would be surprised at the numbers. For me I want to get better at playing as well as dealing. Sometimes you are not allowed to do that depending on the agendas of others.
Today I will head back to the casino and deal the tournaments. As I heard someone say once it is a new day. Lets hope it is.
Have a fun day......
I usually don't care about how much a person tips but it seems the players are really getting into this right now.
I believe the baseball players need to be tipped on how well they did in the game. Pay them minimum wage and when the fans leave the stadium they can leave a tip at the gate. We could do that for Football players as well. That would be an incentive to do well. What about leaving a tip at the hospital and all the employees get tips depending on how they do their job in getting the patient better. It just seems there are a few areas that get these tips and we need get more areas involved.
As a player I don't say much at the table. My job, as a player, is to watch and listen to the other players to see if I can pick up any information. We have players that will badger other players in the way they play and what they are playing. It just doesn't make any sense to me. All it does is drive those players away and they either get better or they don't play anymore. You loose players.
I had an incident the other day where I had to call the floor over to make a decision and I relayed the story as I saw it. You get other views about what someone else saw all the time. The floor has to make the right decision and listen to the dealer. After I got done my version of the story was not believed and as of the meeting we had last night it proved to me I was still not believed. They would much rather believe a player than their own dealer. What does that tell me?
As a player I bring my money into the casino and will put it at risk just like everyone else. When you are treated like a second class citizen because you are not carrying thousands of dollars I believe your priorities are wrong. I could go back through my books and see how much I spend at the casinos. I think I would be surprised at the numbers. For me I want to get better at playing as well as dealing. Sometimes you are not allowed to do that depending on the agendas of others.
Today I will head back to the casino and deal the tournaments. As I heard someone say once it is a new day. Lets hope it is.
Have a fun day......
Monday, April 09, 2012
Weekend
It was a long weekend. I got home late in the evening on both days and just couldn't get myself to do anything. I would park myself in front of the television and just turn my mind off while watching.
The tournaments on Saturday went well and I ended up dealing three of them. The last one of the day was the hardest. When you get people that are rude at the table it makes it hard to be nice. I think we get the idea, it is a tournament and you are paying very little money and getting a quaranteed amount. Some of us have not been dealers very long, at least not a year, and we are trying our best to deal and maintain the speed to allow hands to be played.
If you want the best dealers then go to the bigger casinos where you can pay hundreds of dollars and they will be perfect in every way. I am having fun dealing and once that is gone then I will go back to playing tournaments again myself.
I am having an issue at this point with people trusting the players story of a hand over the dealers. I thought our story of the hand would be taken by the floor personnel and then acted upon. When you give your story it should be a done deal with the floor. No, I quess we now will run down verbally the dealer and not accept the story. Then you have players that will not like what took place and will call the poker manager and complain and then still not be accepted as the true story.
There is so much drama going on right now it just makes you not want to be there. I was thinking about playing today but then I don't want to deal with all of the other stuff that is going on. It is easier to just take the day off and do other things like taxes.
I haven't made it to Virtual Pomeroy yet. I have 12 miles to go and will get there today. This weekend just didn't get it done. I want to take Saturday off and after yesterday and getting home late I was not in the mood to sit on the bike and ride. Having ridden 87 miles this last week is still good. I am not sure I will get that many this week but will get the itenerary set up.
Today my dad and I will be going to Red Lobster for lunch. I love to eat fish and we don't get it very often.
Have a fun day.....
The tournaments on Saturday went well and I ended up dealing three of them. The last one of the day was the hardest. When you get people that are rude at the table it makes it hard to be nice. I think we get the idea, it is a tournament and you are paying very little money and getting a quaranteed amount. Some of us have not been dealers very long, at least not a year, and we are trying our best to deal and maintain the speed to allow hands to be played.
If you want the best dealers then go to the bigger casinos where you can pay hundreds of dollars and they will be perfect in every way. I am having fun dealing and once that is gone then I will go back to playing tournaments again myself.
I am having an issue at this point with people trusting the players story of a hand over the dealers. I thought our story of the hand would be taken by the floor personnel and then acted upon. When you give your story it should be a done deal with the floor. No, I quess we now will run down verbally the dealer and not accept the story. Then you have players that will not like what took place and will call the poker manager and complain and then still not be accepted as the true story.
There is so much drama going on right now it just makes you not want to be there. I was thinking about playing today but then I don't want to deal with all of the other stuff that is going on. It is easier to just take the day off and do other things like taxes.
I haven't made it to Virtual Pomeroy yet. I have 12 miles to go and will get there today. This weekend just didn't get it done. I want to take Saturday off and after yesterday and getting home late I was not in the mood to sit on the bike and ride. Having ridden 87 miles this last week is still good. I am not sure I will get that many this week but will get the itenerary set up.
Today my dad and I will be going to Red Lobster for lunch. I love to eat fish and we don't get it very often.
Have a fun day.....
Friday, April 06, 2012
Friday
I spent the morning working in the office at home trying to clean up the desk from the weekly mail. I try to take care of all the phone calls and pay the financial stuff that comes in during the week. I try to get some quality time in and then if it looks good after that I will head out and take care of the running around town that I need to do.
Today it was done my noon so I headed over to the casino to play in the 3pm tournament. I ended up playing some live before the tournament started. This made the 4th week in a row that I have come in no further down than this at the final table. I like where I am at when playing and just need to watch my strategy during the first few levels and make sure I don't get caught up in the limping that goes on.
Reaching virtual Pomeroy didn't happen tonight. I decided to take one extra day and rest my legs. I did ride 13 miles tonight and have 12 miles left to finish out this portion of the ride. I hope to do this tomorrow evening. I wanted to take Saturday off but instead this week I will take Sunday off. This first section is the longest and I don't want to hurt myself for what I will need later.
Our poker manager has decided to stay with Islands Casino. So much drama going on it is nice to see something get done. Maybe now we can get moving forward.
I need an attitude adjustment.
Have a fun day.....
Today it was done my noon so I headed over to the casino to play in the 3pm tournament. I ended up playing some live before the tournament started. This made the 4th week in a row that I have come in no further down than this at the final table. I like where I am at when playing and just need to watch my strategy during the first few levels and make sure I don't get caught up in the limping that goes on.
Reaching virtual Pomeroy didn't happen tonight. I decided to take one extra day and rest my legs. I did ride 13 miles tonight and have 12 miles left to finish out this portion of the ride. I hope to do this tomorrow evening. I wanted to take Saturday off but instead this week I will take Sunday off. This first section is the longest and I don't want to hurt myself for what I will need later.
Our poker manager has decided to stay with Islands Casino. So much drama going on it is nice to see something get done. Maybe now we can get moving forward.
I need an attitude adjustment.
Have a fun day.....
Thursday, April 05, 2012
Thursday
Trying to think of titles for the blogs are so hard. I try to make them close to what I am writing about. Today I decided to just use the day of the week. I guess it works.
I started my day walking around the block like I have every day this week. It is a good start for the day. I replaced writing the blog in the morning with the walk. Putting stuff in the blog now is happening the same day I am writing.
Today was a long day at the casino. We had our morning tournament and it went well. I am getting better at my speed as well as the chips. I am happy where I am at this point in dealing for the casino. I don't think I will ever be a "class A" dealer but it works for me.
At around noon today we started our live game and since the noon tournament wasn't going to take place due to lack of players it was easy to just get started dealing for the duration of the live game. We turned the game over to the next shift at 5PM. We ran this live game for five hours. I dealt one Monte Carlo. I dealt the quad 6's and it was worth $130 to the player.
I was ready to get something to eat and head home.
At home I had to continue my ride to Pomeroy. Today I was scheduled to ride 25 miles. This would be the longest of the week and I am scheduled to get to virtual Pomeroy by tomorrow. I have 25 miles left for the week and will be doing this during the day. I haven't added up the time it has taken me to do 74 miles so far. I will do that tomorrow and will take Saturday off. Achieving 99 miles for the first week is really big.
Even though today was good in many ways I am still fighting some mental thoughts that are bothering me. I am angry at one of my co-workers for getting in my face and basically yelling at me for something I had no part in. Why she would do that in front of the poker table I don't know. I am not sure what I am going to do about this yet. The poker manager that hired me and wouldn't let me give up is leaving and I am not sure how to feel about that. My Mom has been gone almost 2 months now and I am still working through that in my mind. Just so many mental and physical things and I am trying to work through them.
Well, time to get to bed and get ready for tomorrow. I hope to play in the afternoon tournament.
Have a fun day.......
I started my day walking around the block like I have every day this week. It is a good start for the day. I replaced writing the blog in the morning with the walk. Putting stuff in the blog now is happening the same day I am writing.
Today was a long day at the casino. We had our morning tournament and it went well. I am getting better at my speed as well as the chips. I am happy where I am at this point in dealing for the casino. I don't think I will ever be a "class A" dealer but it works for me.
At around noon today we started our live game and since the noon tournament wasn't going to take place due to lack of players it was easy to just get started dealing for the duration of the live game. We turned the game over to the next shift at 5PM. We ran this live game for five hours. I dealt one Monte Carlo. I dealt the quad 6's and it was worth $130 to the player.
I was ready to get something to eat and head home.
At home I had to continue my ride to Pomeroy. Today I was scheduled to ride 25 miles. This would be the longest of the week and I am scheduled to get to virtual Pomeroy by tomorrow. I have 25 miles left for the week and will be doing this during the day. I haven't added up the time it has taken me to do 74 miles so far. I will do that tomorrow and will take Saturday off. Achieving 99 miles for the first week is really big.
Even though today was good in many ways I am still fighting some mental thoughts that are bothering me. I am angry at one of my co-workers for getting in my face and basically yelling at me for something I had no part in. Why she would do that in front of the poker table I don't know. I am not sure what I am going to do about this yet. The poker manager that hired me and wouldn't let me give up is leaving and I am not sure how to feel about that. My Mom has been gone almost 2 months now and I am still working through that in my mind. Just so many mental and physical things and I am trying to work through them.
Well, time to get to bed and get ready for tomorrow. I hope to play in the afternoon tournament.
Have a fun day.......
Wednesday, April 04, 2012
Virtual but Real
I keep saying this is more about playing poker than about my personal life. I guess there is more to me than just a person who deals and plays poker. I am a real person with everyday issues and I feel the only way for me to document where I am at in my life is to put some of it here in the blog so I don't forget what I am going through.
In everything I do I have good intentions. I say I will do something and I try to complete those items. Throughout my life I believe one of the issues I have is completing what I start.
When I was close to turning 30 I still did not have a direction in my life. I didn't know what I was going to do for my career path. I figured it would be in business somewhere and I tried doing that. It just wasn't going in the direction I was hoping for. I ended up going back to school and got into the Medical field. This was someone who stayed away from anything biology or chemistry in high school because I was headed to business.
Working in the medical field for 20 years was great. I was able to do different things and experience some things that I would never have done following the career path that I thought I was going to follow. I was able to push myself and became a Registered Therapist in my field. It made me feel like I finally achieved what I set out to do.
Now on my shoulder are two individuals. Positive and negative sit on my right and left shoulder telling me yes you can and the other telling me that you won't make it or you won't follow through. A lot of times I am very quiet about the things I do because I don't want someone to know if I made it or if I failed. It makes it easy to hide behind these two individuals.
One of my dreams is to ride a motorcycle across this beautiful country of ours. It is a bucket list item for sure. Something I don't think I will ever complete. In fact I still have the motorcycle endorsement on my drivers license and I haven't ridden a bike since the early 80's. Will I ever get the chance to complete it? I don't think so but it is a dream. My dream.
I visited the doctor the other day about my diabetic issues and I walked away very embarrased because I have let myself get to this point and I haven't done anything about it. Is it apathy or that negative person on my shoulder talking to me telling me I can't do anything about it anyway so why try. My dreams don't matter. No one "cares" right?
I was reading a letter put out by a person that just had heart surgery and he is getting ready to go on a journey to better himself. He is riding a bicycle cross country to Washington DC. Wow, he is doing that for himself and taking a sabbatical from his job as well. I thought that would be fun but then I have this negative person on my shoulder saying I can't do that. I am not fit to ride 3,000 miles. I just get tired of someone saying I can't make it or I can't do it. Maybe I should get rid of the shoulder.
Since I have a recumbent bike available and the itenerary for his bike ride with all the mileage and towns he is going to visit I decided to ride to Washington DC on my own. Virtual of course. This is something I can do and maybe I could make my physician happy again. Is this for him or for me? I guess I will have to find out when I see him again.
Ok, lets get this started. His first day has him travelling 99 miles. I started on Monday and as of today I am 49 miles into my trip. My goal is to get to my first destination by Friday. It will take me 5 days what it is taking him one day to complete. I hope to build stamina to ride the many miles I will need to complete this. I am not looking at the second day until I reach my first goal of 99 miles. Tell that negative shoulder to keep quiet and just pedal. Where is the positive shoulder when I need him.
All I can say is stay tuned for more. I wish I could tell you about the beautiful trees and mountains I could see on my trip but the bike is looking at a painted wall in our bedroom. I have to imagine in my mind the beauty of our country.
Nothing new with poker. Dealt a tournament today and then worked in the live game until it finally stopped. I continue to build my bankroll and need to continue playing the $2-$10 spread and be prepared to move up in levels.
Have a fun day......
In everything I do I have good intentions. I say I will do something and I try to complete those items. Throughout my life I believe one of the issues I have is completing what I start.
When I was close to turning 30 I still did not have a direction in my life. I didn't know what I was going to do for my career path. I figured it would be in business somewhere and I tried doing that. It just wasn't going in the direction I was hoping for. I ended up going back to school and got into the Medical field. This was someone who stayed away from anything biology or chemistry in high school because I was headed to business.
Working in the medical field for 20 years was great. I was able to do different things and experience some things that I would never have done following the career path that I thought I was going to follow. I was able to push myself and became a Registered Therapist in my field. It made me feel like I finally achieved what I set out to do.
Now on my shoulder are two individuals. Positive and negative sit on my right and left shoulder telling me yes you can and the other telling me that you won't make it or you won't follow through. A lot of times I am very quiet about the things I do because I don't want someone to know if I made it or if I failed. It makes it easy to hide behind these two individuals.
One of my dreams is to ride a motorcycle across this beautiful country of ours. It is a bucket list item for sure. Something I don't think I will ever complete. In fact I still have the motorcycle endorsement on my drivers license and I haven't ridden a bike since the early 80's. Will I ever get the chance to complete it? I don't think so but it is a dream. My dream.
I visited the doctor the other day about my diabetic issues and I walked away very embarrased because I have let myself get to this point and I haven't done anything about it. Is it apathy or that negative person on my shoulder talking to me telling me I can't do anything about it anyway so why try. My dreams don't matter. No one "cares" right?
I was reading a letter put out by a person that just had heart surgery and he is getting ready to go on a journey to better himself. He is riding a bicycle cross country to Washington DC. Wow, he is doing that for himself and taking a sabbatical from his job as well. I thought that would be fun but then I have this negative person on my shoulder saying I can't do that. I am not fit to ride 3,000 miles. I just get tired of someone saying I can't make it or I can't do it. Maybe I should get rid of the shoulder.
Since I have a recumbent bike available and the itenerary for his bike ride with all the mileage and towns he is going to visit I decided to ride to Washington DC on my own. Virtual of course. This is something I can do and maybe I could make my physician happy again. Is this for him or for me? I guess I will have to find out when I see him again.
Ok, lets get this started. His first day has him travelling 99 miles. I started on Monday and as of today I am 49 miles into my trip. My goal is to get to my first destination by Friday. It will take me 5 days what it is taking him one day to complete. I hope to build stamina to ride the many miles I will need to complete this. I am not looking at the second day until I reach my first goal of 99 miles. Tell that negative shoulder to keep quiet and just pedal. Where is the positive shoulder when I need him.
All I can say is stay tuned for more. I wish I could tell you about the beautiful trees and mountains I could see on my trip but the bike is looking at a painted wall in our bedroom. I have to imagine in my mind the beauty of our country.
Nothing new with poker. Dealt a tournament today and then worked in the live game until it finally stopped. I continue to build my bankroll and need to continue playing the $2-$10 spread and be prepared to move up in levels.
Have a fun day......
Tuesday, April 03, 2012
Rumor Mill
I enjoy going to work on Tuesdays. They have been pretty big days for the tournament schedule. We would start the day with a $2 tournament and then go into a $24 tournament that would offer T$6,000 in chips and we would get a good turnout. That has changed in the last month or so and we finally stopped putting this one together.
We started doing the $2 tournament back to back and have been doing very well. The players accepted this and are back to playing in the noon tournament on Tuesdays. The big tournament of the week is the evening one at $65 with T$20,000 in chips. This one will get over 50 players and the payout is good as well. I don't deal this one and with the caliber of player I am glad I don't.
The last month we have had rumors flying about the casino and what is happening around us. I really dislike rumors and will not pass them on here but they just don't stop. It would be nice if someone would just come out and say what is happening to us as dealers and employees. We are hanging together as a team and will do what we need to do to keep going.
I have started something new and I hope this will help me with my medical condition. I am trying to ride on a daily basis the recumbant bike and the mileage I put in is getting to actual towns. Right now I am working on a 99 mile section and yesterday I put in 14 miles. Tonight I would like to put in 15 miles and get closer to the town I need to get to. The end result will put me in Washington DC. Lets see how long it takes me to get there. It would be fun to see actual pictures of where I will be at certain times. I have a map on the wall but pictures would be great. I will have to work on that one.
Have a fun day......
We started doing the $2 tournament back to back and have been doing very well. The players accepted this and are back to playing in the noon tournament on Tuesdays. The big tournament of the week is the evening one at $65 with T$20,000 in chips. This one will get over 50 players and the payout is good as well. I don't deal this one and with the caliber of player I am glad I don't.
The last month we have had rumors flying about the casino and what is happening around us. I really dislike rumors and will not pass them on here but they just don't stop. It would be nice if someone would just come out and say what is happening to us as dealers and employees. We are hanging together as a team and will do what we need to do to keep going.
I have started something new and I hope this will help me with my medical condition. I am trying to ride on a daily basis the recumbant bike and the mileage I put in is getting to actual towns. Right now I am working on a 99 mile section and yesterday I put in 14 miles. Tonight I would like to put in 15 miles and get closer to the town I need to get to. The end result will put me in Washington DC. Lets see how long it takes me to get there. It would be fun to see actual pictures of where I will be at certain times. I have a map on the wall but pictures would be great. I will have to work on that one.
Have a fun day......
Monday, April 02, 2012
Gator on the Prowl
Sunday was back for dealing again. It must get old just hearing about another day at the table. We did have the Noon tournament and after that we had the live game going. For some reason we are getting more players coming in than we have had the last few weeks. The rumors are flying about what is going to happen with the casino and if we will even have jobs. I am just happy to keep going until they tell me to stop.
I don't get to play very often but the times I have I try to put a good showing at the table. I have been able to cash in two tournaments in the last two weeks so it allowed me to pay the lesser amount for the Player of the Week tournament. Since we didn't have the tournament last week due to the Wildhorse satellites this week the pot was a little bit bigger.
I asked to play in this tournament instead of dealing. I was given the okay to play so I clocked out and got prepared to sit down and play. The tournament started out great and I was playing my strategy and was able to win some pots to keep going.
I am called "Croc" in the casino because of my name. You know the Australian guy who died playing with the sting ray. I am a complete opposite and not a fan of animals that can hurt you. Of course, when I am playing at the table I am not afraid to let people know that the croc is on the prowl looking for pots.
I was able to get to the final table and my chip stack was growing. I was feeling good and so far my hands were holding up. I tried to take a couple of people out but couldn't get the right cards to come. We were able to get down to five players and we had been going at it now for 3 1/2 hours. We were just passing chips around at this point. I was chip leader so I put out the offer to chop the pot at five players and end this game.
I would have liked to keep going and get a couple more to go out. Since I have a diabetic issue and having not eaten yet I was getting tired. I had asked for some pop but the server never came back.
We did indeed chop this at five and we all made over $100 for our efforts. I was alright with this and we can move on. I will add that I was able to increase my bankroll and have reached my second number that I wanted in the first place but since the rumors I had set my goal lower. Now I made the second amount and am really happy. This also makes the third tournament in three weeks I have cashed.
I decided not to take that personal time I was talking about and I am putting my efforts in more tournament play as well as dealing as long as the casino stays open. Remember that horse blog? I will ride as long as I can.
Today was a day off and now I will get back at it tomorrow and deal a couple of tournaments.
Have a fun day......
I don't get to play very often but the times I have I try to put a good showing at the table. I have been able to cash in two tournaments in the last two weeks so it allowed me to pay the lesser amount for the Player of the Week tournament. Since we didn't have the tournament last week due to the Wildhorse satellites this week the pot was a little bit bigger.
I asked to play in this tournament instead of dealing. I was given the okay to play so I clocked out and got prepared to sit down and play. The tournament started out great and I was playing my strategy and was able to win some pots to keep going.
I am called "Croc" in the casino because of my name. You know the Australian guy who died playing with the sting ray. I am a complete opposite and not a fan of animals that can hurt you. Of course, when I am playing at the table I am not afraid to let people know that the croc is on the prowl looking for pots.
I was able to get to the final table and my chip stack was growing. I was feeling good and so far my hands were holding up. I tried to take a couple of people out but couldn't get the right cards to come. We were able to get down to five players and we had been going at it now for 3 1/2 hours. We were just passing chips around at this point. I was chip leader so I put out the offer to chop the pot at five players and end this game.
I would have liked to keep going and get a couple more to go out. Since I have a diabetic issue and having not eaten yet I was getting tired. I had asked for some pop but the server never came back.
We did indeed chop this at five and we all made over $100 for our efforts. I was alright with this and we can move on. I will add that I was able to increase my bankroll and have reached my second number that I wanted in the first place but since the rumors I had set my goal lower. Now I made the second amount and am really happy. This also makes the third tournament in three weeks I have cashed.
I decided not to take that personal time I was talking about and I am putting my efforts in more tournament play as well as dealing as long as the casino stays open. Remember that horse blog? I will ride as long as I can.
Today was a day off and now I will get back at it tomorrow and deal a couple of tournaments.
Have a fun day......
Sunday, April 01, 2012
Sunday
I am still here. I have been sick the last few days and not in the mood to write. I did get back to dealing yesterday and it was a long day.
The last tournament I dealt was the Women's Satellite for the Wildhorse Tournament. Dealing to a table to women was very interesting. You talk about ruthless and take no enemies when they play. I heard more talking in this tournament than I hear in the usual tournaments we put on. It was fun to see the difference in play.
I did get to play some live before I went home and doubled my buy in so that was a good day. My bankroll is getting closer to my second number I had in mind. It was actually my first but downgraded it because of all the issues going on in the casino. I am getting close to going back to the casino today to deal some more.
I am thinking about doing something out of the ordinary. Taking some time for myself and travel. Having diabetes and being overweight and now getting the possible peripheral neuropathy is making me think about my health a little bit more. I will possibly write more on that later.
Have a fun day......
The last tournament I dealt was the Women's Satellite for the Wildhorse Tournament. Dealing to a table to women was very interesting. You talk about ruthless and take no enemies when they play. I heard more talking in this tournament than I hear in the usual tournaments we put on. It was fun to see the difference in play.
I did get to play some live before I went home and doubled my buy in so that was a good day. My bankroll is getting closer to my second number I had in mind. It was actually my first but downgraded it because of all the issues going on in the casino. I am getting close to going back to the casino today to deal some more.
I am thinking about doing something out of the ordinary. Taking some time for myself and travel. Having diabetes and being overweight and now getting the possible peripheral neuropathy is making me think about my health a little bit more. I will possibly write more on that later.
Have a fun day......
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