Trip Report
by TIGER123
hiya, folks!
a review of my archives shows that i've posted some
sixteen trip reports, four "atlarge" reports (two each
about '96 and '97), and one "barge" report (about '97)
since i started posting here in february 1995. but i
didn't save my first report (my de-lurk) about a day
trip to bally's park place.
and i'm tired of smoking/non-smoking flames; obscure
probability questions about how many jacks can be
adjacent to red aces; and the rantings of a certain
person who seems to think that those of us who post
here are all casino shills.
so, here's another trip report!!
enjoy!
:)
tiger
---------------
friday
i'm tied up all day in depositions about this little old
italian lady who slipped and fell in my client's supermarket.
what else is new? two-thirds of my practice involves
little old ladies of various ethnicities who slip and fall
in my client's supermarkets.....
but i'm able to catch the 4:30 bus out of the port authority,
but since there's a rainstorm and traffic, i don't get
to atlantic city until close to 8 pm. larry ("senor el
fuego") and josh ("puggy") are already in play at the taj
mahal. i dump my bag in the room and head back down to
the poker room. the place is pretty empty. apparently,
the tropicana's friday afternoon poker tournament is one
helluva big draw - nobody's on the north side of the board-
walk. so, after i sit down and play for about 30 minutes
(and get on the comp clock), josh and i drive down to the
tropicana.
the place is pretty busy, and both of us are soon seated at
different 10/20 stud tables. the main topic of discussion
at my table is the future of sportscaster marv albert. all
the players at my table are agreed: he's finished. i gotta
disagree - i'm willing to lay odds that he'll be back on top
within two or three years.
josh and i both book a win, and it's back to the taj. our
roommate larry hasn't done very well at his 20/40 stud game.
but we each take $10 in comp and go into the bengal club.
they have some food, and i have some scotch. they have a
beer or two, and i have some more scotch. :) no trouble
getting to sleep tonite.....
saturday
i stagger into the shower around noon - the boys are still
sound asleep. i spend the entire day switching tables, taking
one beat after another. rgp'er jay sipelstein sees this one:
three people fold after the bring-in. a 10 of spades raises, and
there are two more folds. i have a 5 up, with a pair of jacks in the
hole. i re-raise, and i'm heads-up with the ten. on 4th street,
he gets a suited 4, and i get my jack. i'm high, and disdainfully
toss in two reds. he raises, and i smooth call. on 5th street,
he catches an offsuit ace, and i don't help. he bets $20, and i
raise it. he calls. nothing happens on 6th street: check, bet and
call. on the river, he squeezes his hole cards, and bets out at me.
i don't help. i throw four chips into the pot and say, "three jacks!"
he says, "oh no! i've got a flush!" and shows three little spades.
::::sigh::::
the only good thing about my day is that it's better than larry's!
he calls an early end to the weekend, and leaves before our other
friends mike and kathy show up! we can't get into the dynasty (gourmet
chinese restaurant with a sushi bar on the side), nor into any other
gourmet restaurant at the taj. what to do...what to do....
hey!! let's do the white house!!
for those of you who don't know this place, the white house is a
*world* famous emporium of submarine sandwiches (grinders, hoagies,
heroes - or whatever you call them)!! every single celebrity who
has ever lived has a picture on the wall of the place!! so, we
order a white house special, and a cheesesteak, and a meatball,
and a tuna, and an italian special... and drinks! and the whole
damn dinner costs $6.50 per person! wow!!
back to the taj for some poker!!
i quit at about 1 am, and go up to the room. two hours later,
josh calls. "hey tiger! c'mon downstairs! it's time for some
hold 'em!" josh, mike, kathy and your dauntless reporter all sit
down at a 2/4 hold 'em game. my first hand is the big blind, and
i've got a j 10 unsuited. five people have called the blind.
"let's see some!" sure enough, the flop is a pair of tens and a 5.
i bet and get three or four callers. there's nothing on the turn,
and one guy calls my bet. he pays me off on the river. "cocktails!!"
very next hand, i see a 6 9 suited in the little blind, and
there's the usual five or six callers. i flop two pair and fill
in on the turn! hey! i love this game!! :)
twenty minutes later, i'm in later position with pocket rockets
(and i've already had 2 double scotches....) "i raise! hey! i got
a really good hand!" four people call, including josh in the big
blind. flop is three spades to the queen and josh bets. i'm pretty
sure that one of my aces is the spade, but i don't bother to double-
check before i call. another guy calls behind me. another queen
hits on the turn. josh bets again, and this time i do check - yeppers!
there's the spade ace! i call! so does the other guy. the river pairs
a three. josh checks, i check, and the other guy bets his full house.
::::sigh::::
meanwhile, mike (who's sitting to my immediate left) has twice raised
on the button with 7 2 offsuit. and both times, he's flopped a pair
or two, improved on the turn, and gotten paid off on the river!!
wtg mike!! so, pretty soon, i'm again holding aces! i raise and a
couple people call. flop is two fives and a nine. big blind bets
and i raise it! we're head to head, and she just calls my raise.
the turn is the third five. i call her bet on 4th and again on 5th.
yeah. she had the case five.
::::sigh::::
two hands later, i'm on the button. couple people have called, and
i see i've got the deuce-three of spades. well, i can play just
about anything on the button....('specially after 3 double scotches)....
mike picks his hand up off the table. i can't believe it. he's got
the aces this time. but he's seen what's happened to me. hehehehehe.....
most of the players at the table manage to see his hand before he throws
it into the muck. mike later explains that his hand wasn't suited,
and he didn't think it was worth completing his small blind! };)
so, the flop comes 9 5 2 rainbow. you *know* i bet it! and get three
callers. nothing happens on the turn; it's checked to me, and i bet
again! one caller! the river, of course, is a trey! and somebody
actually pays me off! lol!!!
we all stagger up to the room around 5 am, laughing all the way....
sunday
i take a jitney to the tropicana, and play there for a couple hours.
when i'm done playing, i have a nice chat with poker room manager doug
dillon. doug had a big part in nolan dalla's last column in "card
player" magazine, entitled "ten atlantic city poker regulations that
should be changed." for the record, i favor changing all ten.
here they are:
1 allow dealers to keep their own tips
2 allow chip runners and "two-way" cashiers
3 allow more game variations to be spread
4 show greater flexibility in advertising and announcements
5 show greater flexibility in regulating tournaments
6 allow poker in non-gaming areas, when necessary
7 allow shills and props
8 permit poker personnel to play in their own rooms
9 eliminate bureaucratic overkill
10 condense and simplify regulations
--------
p.s. i happened to see rgp'er marty frasca this weekend! he
confirms that his computer is still down - but he promises
that as soon as he's back up and running, he'll get back
to handling the "california split" list! :)
---------
tiger
