Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[MANTIS01]

Posted by: tikay

.but when did you eve see a Dealer, or Cardroom Manager (we don't really have TD's) intervene in such a case? Never, because that's not included in the Dealer's training.

Yep, the training in the service industry these days seems to revolve around performing the basic functions of the job rather than the appreciation of what constitutes "good service" for the customer. So many dealers know how to deal cards but lack the appreciation of what makes an enjoyable fluid game of poker for the players. And valets (as fit as they might be) know how to pour a cup of tea but fail to appreciate that pouring one every three hours doesn't contribute greatly to quenching anyone's thirst.

[tikay]

I'm jumping around chronologically a bit here, but I'm allowed to. So there.

On Thursday, I went  see Norman Pace in his new play, "Donkeys' Years", at Richmond Theatre. It was a farce. No, I mean a proper "farce", as in a Whitehall Farce. Only Karabiner would be old enough to remember Whitehall farces, but they used to star Brian Rix, & involve lots of doors opening & closing, & men with their trousers round their ankles. Donkeys' Years is a farce.

I went via Sky Feltham, & gave a lift to one of the suits. Lady suit, mind, & we hooked up with a bunch of Sky mates in a boozer in Richmond called "The Racing Page". This was some weird boozer. It served food - Thai food! We were due to eat, 5 or 6 of us, so I was obliged to eat something. Thai food sucks. I located the most English dish in the 38 page menu - steamed fish - but it was wholy inedible, it had all sorts of weird shit in it. Luckily, I also ordered a side-dish of steamed rice. In effect, £10-50 for a dollop of steamed rice. Not good.

So, to the play. Norman was excellent, really superb. But it's a very physical role, & he looked exhausted to me when we hooked up after in the pub. I hope he does not overdo it, the play goes on Tour right round the UK shortly, I think Brighton & Stoke are next, but it goes everywhere.

It also stars Ian Lavender - Pike from Dad's Army I'm told, he has grey hair now!

The only female role was played by one Sara Crowe, & she almost stole the show, she was awesome. We met her in the pub after, too, I went & spoke to her, & it was only then that I realised who she was - she was the dizzy shrill-voiced blonde in the Philadelphia cheese ads. A very talented & funny lady. We fell in love.

One of our companions for the evening was a young lady from Marlow, who was super cool. Slim, late twenties, long blonde hair, bright & cheery, trilby hat, rugby shirt, the epitome of cool lady. She is on one of those Teleshopping Channels, & sells poop scoops & that sort of junk. I fell in love with her, too.

Norman came back to The Racing Page pub with us afterwards, & he really did look tired.

A grey curly-haired man came up to Norman while we were chatting & congratulated him on his performance. I thought for a moment it was Frank Bough, but it turned out to be John Sessions. I think he's an actor. They look very alike - Frank & John.

Richmond Theatre itself is stunning, a rare survivor of what used to be hundeds of Theatres in the UK. Set opposite Richmond Green, it's over 100 years old, & is a listed building I imagine. Lots of red carpet, plush furniture, brass handrails, velvet rope barriers, gilt-encrusted chandeliers, the lot. Stalls, Lower Circle, Upper Circle, Boxes, the lot. I've not been to the Theatre in 30 years, & this was like being transported back in a time machine. Even the usherettes, with their trays of ice-cream & little torches, & they were as old as the Theatre. The only thing that has changed is th mode of dress for the audience. In my day, you'd not dream of going to the Theatre without a suit & tie, ladies in fine gowns, but anything goes now. A bit sad, I thought. Externally, the building is a delight, & it's fair to say, could not be built today, it''s full of finely detailed stone carvings & ornate detailing. Superb, simply superb. I hope such buildings ae never allowed to be demolished.

The threate is not my thing, but it made a nice change, & I had a lovely evening. I dropped my friend off in Holoway on my way back to Derbyshire, & was back home by 3am.

[tikay]

"Responsible Gambling" & all that. The GC is supposed to look after our best interests, it even advises us how best to play Blackjack etc.

And all Casinos preach "responsible gambling", with "do you have a gambling problem?"leaflets prominently displayed everywhere to keep the authorities happy.

So how come all Casinos have ATM's these days? If ever there was an inducement to bet beyond one's means, it's ATM's in Casinos. I watched a man swear at an ATM in Luton-G on Friday, "fu** you" he was saying, as it refused his cash request! I was tempted to tell him there was not a little man behind the ATM, but I thought better of it.

 

[tikay]

Not sure if I mentioned this, but I cashed in the 90 runner £75 Freezeout at Luton-G on Friday for £450. Delighted, little fish still taste very sweet, & the Bankroll remains in rude health.

So, with a little 4 day break in my diary in early October, I'm looking to play some proper poker. I've not played in Mainland Europe hardly at all this year or last, so I've been having a look round at the 1st week in October. I'm working Monday 1st & Saturday 6th, so can play Tuesday 2nd to Friday 5th.

Theres a nice Fessie in Italy, but the Flyer is in foreign, I don't even know the nearest airport. It's here....

http://www.blondepoker.com/index.php?q=node/12072

Concorde in Vienna - possibly my favourite cardroom on earth - has a nice fessie that week, too, here....

http://www.blondepoker.com/index.php?q=node/11895

But the current favourite is the Aviation in Paris, & Bruno invited me across when I spent some time with him earlier this week. On the Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday, there is a €1,000 Double Chance Freezeout each & every day, part of the Annual "Hold 'Em" Series. I quite fancy some of that. Allowing for fares (Eurostar or plane) & hotel, I'm thinking it'd set me back the fat end of €4,000. If I thought I could cash just once in the 3 x €1,000 Tourneys, it'd not be too pricey. If......

It's a dilemma. I'm happily making a nice profit in sub £500 Events in the UK, but life's for living, & I really fancy Paris. Then again, Bankroll, Bankroll, Bankroll.....

Tough decision, but I think I'll give Paris or Vienna a bash.

OK, gotta go, am doing the Sky Show in London tonight, and am staying over, as I'm working in London tomorrow for Poker Week at Leicester Square, so I've booked a hotel for tonight, & I'm heading south now to get booked in & get some pre-show kip.

[NoflopsHomer]

On Thursday, I went  see Norman Pace in his new play, "Donkeys' Years", at Richmond Theatre. It was a farce. No, I mean a proper "farce", as in a Whitehall Farce. Only Karabiner would be old enough to remember Whitehall farces, but they used to star Brian Rix, & involve lots of doors opening & closing, & men with their trousers round their ankles. Donkeys' Years is a farce.

Farces are incredibly difficult to put on but always brilliant when they work. If you ever get a chance to see a well-worked Dario Fo piece, do so, always very funny.

[ifm]

Talking about smaller comps i could name a dozen or so players that frequent the broadway, walsall even starcity that would be termed professionals and who play 97% of comps with less than £50 buyins.
Vince Madden is one who has been around for donkeys years, he carries a little book with him detailing every penny he has spent and every cash he has made and he'll chat to you about it, gives very good advice as he's been there done everything.

[RioRodent]

Theres a nice Fessie in Italy, but the Flyer is in foreign, I don't even know the nearest airport. It's here....

http://www.blondepoker.com/index.php?q=node/12072

Casino di Venizia in Venice. Casino website - http://www.casinovenezia.it/en/eventi_risultato_dettaglio.jsp?id=568 - has english translation.

Nearest airport - Venice.

[tikay]

There are endless perks to working for Poker Week, & I've been extremely fortunate to interview just about every world poker "face" in the last fortnight, but yesterday topped the lot. When I arrived at Leicester Square to do Poker Week, they'd managed to find Annette, just before she departed for home, & so Compo & I interviewed her for this week's Show.

The first shock was her size (height) - barely 5' I'd say, really very tiny. And great humility, perfect English, & wonderful manners.

And this pocket-sized battleship, with barely a Live Tourney behind her, had busted the world's best.

She was still overwhelmed from the previous night, hugging the WSOP Bracelet. 18 years of age - 19, today, in fact. A million quid in her suitcase, a WSOP Bangle, a 5 year Betfair Contract in her pocket, and her head squarely on her shoulders. Playing the EPT London? Nope, off to Aruba. She has some life ahead of her, & I think it was a superb result for poker. It also proved that, given a certain degree of competence, anyone can win at the highest level in poker, & the "Big Name Stars" are in fact wearing the Emperors suit of clothes.

And what happened to the Americans, how many Bracelets did they get? An Italian, a German, & a Norwegian busted their arses.

If there were ever a Ryder Cup of Poker - a proper one, not a commercial sham - Europe would do just fine.

[wormster]

The first shock was her size (height) - barely 5' I'd say, really very tiny. And great humility, perfect English, & wonderful manners.

Even I towered above her!!!

[tikay]

The first shock was her size (height) - barely 5' I'd say, really very tiny. And great humility, perfect English, & wonderful manners.

Even I towered above her!!!

Well she must have been 4' tall then......

[jizzemm]

I just wanna say at this point.. I frikin love reading this diary..

 

[tikay]

Talking about smaller comps i could name a dozen or so players that frequent the broadway, walsall even starcity that would be termed professionals and who play 97% of comps with less than £50 buyins.
Vince Madden is one who has been around for donkeys years, he carries a little book with him detailing every penny he has spent and every cash he has made and he'll chat to you about it, gives very good advice as he's been there done everything.

I agree, Ian, to me, these are the REAL stars of Poker, these guys survive, year in, year out, they don't go round nipping, they don't play above their bankroll, & they quietly earn a nice little living, playing poker, living the dream really. So many of the so-called "names" have to borrow the Entry Fee to every Tourney, yet they turn up at every GUKPT, bold as brass, giving it large, jack-the-lad, "lend us £500 will ya?". And they usually play loose & lairy, it's easy when you are using other folks money. I really despise these serial-nippers.

Guys like Vince, "jobbing Pro's" I would label them, are the salt of the earth, real men, proper blokes. There are many like them, too.

[Ecosse]

I just wanna say at this point.. I frikin love reading this diary..

 

Me too. Cheers Tikay, really great read.

[tikay]

I just wanna say at this point.. I frikin love reading this diary..

 

Thanks jizzemm, I am enjoying writing it, & I especially enjoy it when people respond to Diary stuff & we get a debate going.

[tikay]

Just when you think the game is easy, "I'm the boyo", the game jumps up & smacks you in the chops. I went to The Sportsman last night with Compo, & we looked set for a good evening in the £250 Freeze. We finished filming in Leicester Square at about 7pm, & got a cab across to Marble Arch

They do a quite esquisite 2 course-meal, for free, pre-comp, & among those partaking were Ian Woodley, Wilie Tann, Stuart Nash, Paul Alterman & his lovely better half, Tony Rutter & Donna, Tony Chapman, Koresh, Dave Lloyd, Mark McCluskey, etc.

Willie starts messing about straight away in the comp, Raise, & I think "hmm, I'm gonna put a stop to this". I call with  1st hand, & miss completely, so let go. Probably winning, but he'll wait.

I find KK 2nd hand, Willie Raises again, I RR, I've got him this time. But I find another caller, & Willie lets go, damn. The flop is A high, he bets, I let go again. Hmm, my 5k stack is down to 4,200 already, after 2 hands......This is a bad thing.

Then I button limp with garbage, it's been Raised to 100, & it's 7 way action. Everyone checks the flop, I bet & they all Pass. Back to 5k. Easy game.

And then it all went horribly - horribly horribly - wrong, & I won the World's Worst Played Hand in 2007 Award by a mile. And the thing is, the WORST mistake was a tnisy-winsy, daft, no idea why, call on the flop, for just a few chips, 100 I think. I  suppose I thought I could catch 2 pair, or trips, or steal it down the streets, but that little error bacame magnified when the turn came......

Here's the hand, & how it played, I can't recall the exact betting, but it's near enough.

I have....

 

We see this flop.....

  

So, bottom pair, no draw. It's 6 way, & SB makes it 100, we all call like leemimgs. Why did I call? Well, it was only 100, & I'm last to speak, there's no conviction anywhere. Why did I not bet, to test the water? Pass. Or Pass? Pass.

Now we see the ultimate dream/horror card.

 

And now we are in trouble. DEEP trouble. All because of that daft 100 call on the flop.

EP makes it 500, it's re-popped to 1k, then someone else calls, so I call.

And EP man now RE-POPS to 2k. Shit. This is getting silly. It's a clear & easy Pass, why gamble? I can outplay these guys later, or at least, out-grind then. Pass, I think. CALL, I say. What?

Meanwhile, some geezer - the re-popper - is begging me - BEGGING, PLEADING - "you don't wanna call for your miracle out! you know you are behind". And I'm thinking, boy, this lad should be on telly, he reckons I'm behind. With my 8 high. Get away. Too late, the die is cast, I've called.

And the river is a taunting, teasing, 

So I  missed my straight flush, missed my flush, but hit my straight - the wrong end, & I was probably drawing dead with the bottom straight anyway. (I was).

And I have 1k left. And the Pot is 14k. 14/1........and my stack is dust. So I call, & that was that.  EP man had the nut straight on the turn, the other 2 had 2 pairs. Wernick would never have called on the end in a mlilion years, but somehow, I did not have the stomach to try & fight back from 1k, & I called pretty much hoping for a miracle..

And it was a LONG drive home. I've started the week £275 behind, now I have to play catch-up all week. And I'm LIVID with myself.

Count the errors. And stop when you get to 10.

I'm still seething with myself now. But these things happen from time to time, & they act as wake up calls to me, a smack in the gob, a reality check. This is a dangerous game, with real money, & if I play like that for more than a few weeks, I'll be history.

I know one thing. Next time I play, I'll be on my A+ game.

All because of a daft call for 100 chips on the flop! And countless other errors I suppose, but the first mistake was the clincher.

Compo Bubbled, I later heard, & Koresh spared my blushes by busting before even me.