Trip Report
by Doug Dunn
THURSDAY:
It's Thursday and its time to get ready for my trip to AC. I'd
been putting off an alignment problem in my car that had been trashing
my tires, so I decide its best to get that fixed before the drive. I
drop the car off at Firestone, because they were the cheapest I could
find locally for 4 tires and an alignment. I'm told it'll probably
be 2 hours so I decided to walk across the street to the shopping plaza
to kill some time. Apparently I look like an easy mark, because I'm
propositioned by two hookers and a dealer before I can get to the Rite
Aid which is less then 100 yards away from the tire place. I let them
know that I'm going to AC and can find much higher quality hookers
and drugs there.(just kidding if you are reading this Heather)
I kill some time looking around Rite Aid, and end up buying some
Antacid and some cinnamon mints that contain all the crap that energy
drinks do that keep you wired. Both of these came in very useful for
the trip. I notice a barber shop pole farther down the plaza and
decide that I could use a haircut, and it would be a good way to kill
some time. I walk in and there are only 2 guys in the whole place, and
they are in the back of the shop playing whatever the latest version of
NBA Live on playstation is on a big screen TV. I was going to tell
them not to stop as I was in no hurry, but they didn't look like they
had any intention of stopping for me anyway.
I watch them finish up the game and the guy that appeared to be the one
actually working there lost in the final seconds. Tim Duncan was the
MVP of the game if anyone was curious. Fearing his emotional loss
could impact the outcome of my haircut I offer to play him a game first
as I was killing time anyway. He is a young skinny guy with a platinum
grill that included large fangs. I throw the game to him, by picking
the Wizards and he beats me by like 30 points ending the game with Yao
Ming shooting 3 pointers.
I contemplate asking him why gangster vampires need day jobs, but still
fearful for my hair decide to leave him in the good mood from stomping
me at NBA Live and take a seat. He does a decent fade, but it takes
him forever to do it. The haircut only costs 10 bucks which is amazing
to me, so I give him a 20 and let him keep the change. I walk back to
get my car this time avoiding the crosswalk and intersection.
The tire people tell me that there is more parts jacked up that are
messing with the cars alignment, but I don't have the time to fix it
as I have to pick up my girlfriend and get to the PHI airport by 430.
I just won't mention this to anyone riding with me. Well we arrive
at the Airport on time (ish) and call Tanya. She meets us outside the
baggage claim, and I have to say that I didn't recognize her at
first. She looks much younger in person then she does on her blog
picture. She mentioned that she gets pissed of when getting carded for
drinks, but I'd probably card her too. Lisa her friend that we were
also meeting and taking up to AC was delayed a slight bit, but we found
her with no problems as well and off we went.
Me and my GPS lady decide to take them on a nice scenic tour of a small
town outside of Philly as they are tourists before we actually get on
Interstate to AC.(If you here any accounts of this that differ from
Tanya or anyone else they are lying!) I pull in to one of the left
exit Gas/Food stations about 40 miles out as I was low on gas. All of
the pumps on the left side were full so I drive around to face the
other way where nobody is waiting. This Gas Nazi yells at me and says
that my car can't face the other direction. I was unaware that which
direction your car is facing makes a fucking difference while pumping
gas, but since she is the expert and all I turned my car around and
stretched the nozzle to the other side of the car. Gas Nazi yells
again and tells me there is no self service at this gas station. I tip
the Nazi anyway as I'm sure there is some anti tipping road spikes
setup for such situations.
Traffic was a little rough and I had depleted my arsenal of small talk
so I turned on some music. Little did I know my passengers were fans
of hardcore rap, so we listened to almost the entire Lil Geezy CD
before we got to the Taj where we are staying. Check in is a little
slow as they only have 2 front desk clerks working, but we still manage
to get settled in and meet back downstairs to head to the smokers
dinner.
GPS lady and I take us directly to the Old Waterway Inn (anyone who
disputes this is a liar!) The 4 of us walk in and there is a small
group at the bar of who I recognize .... Nobody! I mostly just chatted
with Lisa as Tanya was off and socializing. Lisa was really nice and
we even convinced her to have more drinks then her norm. Although one
of the younger guys from MD did actually recognize my name and says he
loves my posts! (Chew on that Chrisbro!)
We have several drinks before moving to a large table for dinner and I
lose a game of Roshambo to Tanya so I have to let her buy our drinks.
She was very generous for a simple ride from the airport and even
offered to pay for our dinners! No way I was letting that happen, as
the bill was split evenly by the number of people and each persons
share was around 100 bucks. I knew there had to be a reason everyone
was getting the surf and turf with a bottle of wine! You guys just
wait till next year, I'm calling ahead to make sure they've got
some Louis in stock and going to town. There was a pool where everyone
puts in 10 bucks and writes down the amount they think the bill will be
including gratuity. Someone nailed it to the dollar, and I'm certain
they are sleeping with the waitress.
I'm reasonably drunk now, but somehow convince our group that I'm
the best choice to drive! It occurs to me that I may not have been the
best choice to drive when I pull in to the Showboat self park instead
of the Taj. I blame it on the GPS lady. We are supposed to meet back
up with everyone but me and Heather get sidetracked at a bar on the
way. We eventually head back to our room, with me having the intention
of sneaking back down to play some cards. Heather has other intentions
and that pretty much brings us well in to Friday morning.
FRIDAY:
This is the best night of my life. I can't believe I actually talked
Jessica Alba into coming back to my room with me. Man I must have won
a fortune last night there are stacks of hundreds all over the bed.
Wait why is she beeping? There must be a bomb inside her! Huh? Oh
it's the fucking alarm. (Jessica Alba is my pet name for you if you
are reading this Heather I swear!) I wake up, hit the shower, and head
down to the poker room around 10am. I get my ATLARGE badge, apply for
a Taj Card, sign away the rights to my 1st born child, and register
for the 11am Hose tourney.
I go to the first podium and ask to be put on all the NL lists. This
consists of 1-2 and 2-5. I ask if there is anything higher, but this
podium doesn't deal with that so you have to go to the other podium
so that they can answer no for you. I figure they are just trying to
help me lose weight so I'm not mad at them. I get called for a 1-2
seat and I kid you not when I say this is the absolute best 1-2 game I
have ever been in. And that really means something coming from me.
I take the 8 seat and buy in for the max $300. There is an older
middle-eastern guy(Meg) in the 5 seat with over 1k that puts in a raise
or reraise preflop with any hand that he likes, and he likes a lot of
hands. There is a French guy in the 3 seat that I'm pretty certain
is using some form of randomizing device to pick whether he bets calls
or checks on every street with no regard to the board or his hand who
also has over 1k. The rest of the table is pretty much on tilt I'm
guessing from giving the 2 big stacks their stacks.
First hand I watch there are 2 limpers to Frenchy who makes it 20.
Another guy that I swear just sat down next to him with 600 chips
smooth calls, and as expected MEG raises to 100. Frenchy smooth calls,
and the 600 chip buying in bastard pushes. MEG declares all in as well
and Frenchy declares call. The powerhouse hands you must be dying to
know? ATo for Frenchy, QQ for 600 chipper, and presto for MEG. Well
the stupid QQ holds up and I'm not happy about this at all. I'm
sure he bought in for that just a few min ago. And to make matters
worse the dealer just counts out the amount he had from the 2 big
stacks and completely ignores the fact that MEG declared all in and his
55 beat the ATo. So now my main mark only has 400ish left.
Meg takes down the next 4 or 5 pots preflop with raises or reraises,
then stacks the guy to the left of me when he rivers 2 pair against the
other guys top pair. I limp in early position with Ad 9d. Someone
else limps and Frenchy raises to 10. Meg picks up his hand so I can
clearly see it from 3 seats away holding it over the table so I say to
him I can see your cards. The table informs me he has been doing it
often and has been told about it. Ok fine with me if its fine with
him, he calls with 2h 4h. I call and the other limper folds??. The
flop is Tx 8x 6x with one diamond. I check Frenchy bets 10, Meg calls
and I call as well. The turn is another T not a diamond and it is
checked around. The river is a 5 and meg bets 40. You heard me right,
the guy who showed his 2 4 is now bluffing on the river. I raise to
80, Frenchy folds and Meg looks at me funny and asks "You have good
card?" I see no reason to lie and tell him I have A9, he doesn't
re-bluff and I take it down. A new guy sits down to my left and buys
in for 200. Frenchy opens for 20, Meg raises to 40, I call with 55
(hey I AM at an ARG event, plus I'm pretty sure I'm still ahead)
and the new guy Smooth calls on the button? The flop is 8 8 5! Frenchy
checks, Meg picks up his hand and shows my half of the table 9hTh and
checks, I'm not happy about this and check. To my surprise the guy
on my left pushes for his remaining 160. Frenchy and Meg fold (damn
you new guy) and I quickly call. New guy comments he didn't even
know I was in the hand as I snap off his QQ.
Its already 1130 by now, and while I don't want to leave this game I
figure I better get to my seat before they completely blind me off.
Little did I know the tourney wouldn't even start for another half an
hour! I don't know anyone at my starting table, but I actually
didn't know very many people at all at the event. The table was
ridiculously tight with the exception of Maverick who raised about
every other hand. I took down quite a few pots with re-steals, then
the one time he made a stand in Omaha I made queens full with my a q 6
4. Our table was the first to break, then my second table was the
second to break.
I was at 3kish chips from my starting 1k and in the 100-200 level of
Stud Hi/low when this hand came up. Paul Mcginis(sp?) He seemed to be
taking notes, so you might get better details from his report. He
opened with a K showing and I re-raised with Ad5dAc. All folded to him
and he called. He catches a 4x and I catch a Td. I bet and he raises.
I'm not sure how the 4 would have helped him other then 2 pair or
adding some low possibilities to a flush draw, but since I'm going to
be out of position I just call. On 5th he catches another K and I
catch a 7d. He bets and I call (probably not a good idea, but I'm
not sure he doesn't just have K's up and I did pick up a flush
draw.) I don't remember what he caught on 6 but I caught a non
diamond 4. He bet and I called. The river bricks for me with no
low/flush or 2nd pair and he checks. I check and can't beat his 3
K's.
That table broke too and I went out in an Omaha hand where I re-raised
the flowerman Steven Jacob's late position raise with Ax Ks 5s 3x.
The 8-2 club guy in the BB called as well. I bet all in on the K 8 8
flop, both called and 82 guy's 8 9 7 2 takes high and flowermans A Q
3 4 gets the low. Out in 22nd for no loot. I stand up, kick myself
square in the nuts for leaving the 1-2 game and go put myself back on
the list.
Unfortunately both of my buddies had long since gone bust, so I get in
to a 2-5 game. My first hand I play I make a sizeable river bluff with
AhKh on a 4 spade board, and get insta-called by 2 pair. Good start!
I had QQ hold up against JJ, but no other big hands of note and cash
out 300 ahead to go to the Pokerstars dinner.
I met up with Heather, Lisa, 8-2 Goodfellas and the MD home game crew I
play with occasionally and we hit up the Pstars dinner. The spread was
really good. Prime rib, grilled veggies, some kinda chicken and fish,
desserts ect. The main guest speaker was Tom McEvoy. He seems like a
really down to earth nice guy, but his public speaking skills leave a
lot to be desired. Instead of a pre-written speech, he babbled a bit
awkwardly then opened up the floor for questions. Nobody asked one for
what seemed like forever which was even more awkward. Then they
bludgeoned him, or more importantly my ears with pointless drivel of
the evolution of the WSOP. Our table started to slowly empty, I think
the last one standing was Lisa who we left by herself. (sorry but I
could take no more)
I intended to make it back to the card room, or another casino but
somehow ended up at a bar or a club. I'm not really sure which, but
there was music and lots of crown and coke's. Heather was drinking
some Martini concoction that included red bull, a cool glass, and
required 15 bucks. I guess the Taj's philosophy is that if you
can't be a real classy casino you should at least charge like one.
Anyway we got tanked and made it back to our room sometime in the A.M.
I do remember someone dancing to En Vogue, and wanting to remember to
write up something comical about it. Unfortunately the details escape
me now.
SATURDAY:
I get woken by a call from my friend Jeremy who is driving up to AC to
play in the NLHE tourney with us today. It is early and one of my eyes
won't open. My other eye soon gets jealous and closes too and I'm
sound asleep again. Jeremy gets there about 9:30 and finally forces me
out of the room about 10:30. We run him through all the crap you have
to do to get in to the tourney: see Thursday report for details, then
jump in a 1-2 NL cash game as I know the tourney won't actually start
till 12:00.
I'm at the same table with my friend Jeremy and a guy from my first
table of the Hose tourney, but that's all that I recognize. The guy
on my right orders a jack and coke, and asks if I'm going to order
anything. I cave to peer pressure and get a crown and coke, when I
realize he just wanted to use me to order another jack and coke so he
could have 2 at a time! Our table is pretty boring, not much action at
all. At one point I raised 4 straight hands taking the blinds, and I
didn't look at my cards for the 3rd and 4th hands.
We're at the 10-25 blinds level I think. I cut my chips in front of
my cards for a raise, which is apparently a big NO NO, and somehow the
dealer determines my raise to be to 75 when I moved a stack of 1k out
there to cut the chips and had cut a raise of 125. I have no idea how
that was decided but am ok with it as I actually get 2 callers for a
change. I have AhKh and the flop is Ax 9x 2x, I don't' remember
the suites because its already Thursday and I'm just writing this.
Its checked to me and I bet 200. One folds and the other raises me to
500. He only has 200 chips left so I re-raise expecting to have him
dominated. Well he turns over As2s for 2 pair, but a 9 on the turn and
blank on the river send him home.
I'm the chipleader at our table by far with over 3k from the starting
1k, but since our table has little action I'm probably pretty far
down the totem pole overall. I don't remember any big hands of note
after that until my bust out hand. I still had over 3k, but it was at
the 50-100 blind level when Badman Dan raises to 400 UTG. I have QQ
and raise to 1400. He asks me to count down and when I tell him what I
have he reraises enough to put me in(I think he had like 5k) and
declares that he is on a draw? I assume that means AK and call. He
has AcQc, and hits not only an ace, but makes the flush too.
Out in 58th or 59th, just good enough for the last longer bet I
didn't get to make!
I hook up with Goodfellas crew, as they are staying at the Borgata
tonight, and I wanted to check out there room. I call ahead because I
heard the lists could be ridiculous(and they are!) and am told they
have lists for 1-2, 2-5, and 5-10 NL. I get 3k from our room safe
which I'm sure housekeeping probably has a master code too, I mean
what do they do if someone forgets their code? We head over and I take
off to the poker room while they are checking in.
The poker room, also has a race betting place and a lounge that need to
be immediately removed and replaced with poker tables as I am still
number 40+ on all 3 lists. I go back and check out their room, its
nicer then mine and they are paying $225 less! I kill time, by tipping
over old people at the slots, then go check on my list progress. Still
waaaaaay down the list, but I notice on the automatic board that there
is open seating for 25-50 NL??!! WTF they told me there was only 1-2,
2-5, and 5-10 on the phone. I ask one of the podium people and they
confirm that there is open seating, so I go get a rack of green and sit
down in time to post the blind. Well for some reason the 50BB minimum
buyin that they use for EVERY other table is different for this game.
I'm told I have to buy in for 5k minimum. Well I don't HAVE 5k on
me, because I thought 5-10 would be as high as I would get to play. I
look like a complete jackass, and have to pick up my chips and endure
the list.
Fortunately not long after that they start up a new 10-25 NL game that
had a 20+ deep list. Only 3 people showed up so I got to get in
immediately. The 3 that were there bought in pretty deep all having at
least 5k, but they hardly ever played a hand even though we were 4
handed. I was up 500 without having gone past the flop when a 5th
player sat down. He was a younger guy with a really hot girlfriend.
He didn't want to endure the list either so had decided to play a bit
higher. He bought in for 1k and was given shit by the other players,
but I was friendly and he seemed cool. He gets his stack in the very
first hand against the guy that was giving him shit, and wins lol. I
never make a pair that I didn't start with or better, but am up 1200
when they call my name for 5-10.
I loved the game I was in, but the young guy said he was soon leaving
for dinner, and on of the originals had already left. We had been
playing over an hour with nobody else joining so I feared the game
might break and didn't want to have to go to the bottom of a list to
play again. So I took the 5-10 seat, which was at a great game. There
were multiple stacks over 3k and TONS of action. The table quickly
informs me that only 1500 of my chips can go in to play. Everyone is
so concerned with what I buy in for here! One lady is moved to our
table with 1500ish in chips and calls a 600 all in bet on the river,
where the board is A K J T 5 with 8d 9d. And no I don't have the
board or her hand wrong. AQ takes down a 2k pot. And she happily
rebuys, well at least I'm happy about it. She pays off a few of my
big hands, although not quite to the same extent.
There is one Swedish guy that has around 3k in chips that lost a big
hand where his q 4 filled up on the river against aa on a a q 4 j 4
board who goes on major tilt. He raises every hand for the next few
rounds, and every time someone makes a stand he hits a monster lol. He
snaps off AK with K8 for about 1k ect ect.. The guy on my right is
obsessed with the floor lady Anne(sp?) who I must admit is model
quality. But he is making some pretty derogatory comments and it
pisses off the ATM lady and she leaves.
Right about this time is when Heather comes and gets me for dinner. I
hate to leave now, as I've worked my stack up to over 2500 and I just
KNOW the Swedish guy is going to eventually give me his chips.
We eat at the Metropolitan café or somesuch place. I had the garlic
mussel steamer and it was pretty good. She had some salad creation and
said it was good too. Dinner takes about an hour and when I get back
there is virtually none of the same players. What a bad beat. I lose
a few hands, including the one I posted the other day to RGP, and cash
out 1700 which was quite a disappointment all things considered. I'm
a little bummed at my bad play towards the end of the night, so we had
back to the TAJ around 1am. As well pull in to the parking garage the
lady asks for our room #, and we find out that we didn't have to pay
for parking after all if you are staying there. The other lady must
have pocketed my cash to support her family/crack addiction. For some
reason Heather orders a movie of which we don't pay any attention to
anyway(obviously part of her overall scheme to keep our expenses above
my poker profit). And that's it for Saturday.
