Last night I got to deal the $5K 6-handed event. The players were already in the money so the play was very slow. Some of the familiar faces that I dealt to included Ryan Daut, Alex Jacob, JJ Liu, Bryn "All it takes is confidence" Kenney, Bertrand "ElkY" Grosspellier, Shannon Shorr, and my buddy Chris "Cmoney3" Kline. I got to CMoney's table right after the dinner break and was hoping I'd be able to get him some cards and possibly double him up, but the 30 minutes I spent at his table wasn't enough. He made a nice run though and finished 25th of 805 entries for just over $20K. Nice job, bud.
I dealt that tournament until there were 15 left and they wanted me to stay overtime but I couldn't. I got over to TI by 2:30 and the games there weren't very good and I was happy to get out of there at 7:15am.
The other night I got assigned to deal a game that I haven't dealt since dealing school. It was the $1,500 Stud Eight or better event. After a few downs, I was feeling pretty comfortable. All I can say is I was happy to not have to deal to Men 'The Master' again. After reading some other stories about him and hearing episodes about him from other dealers over at the Series, I think he ranks #1 as the worst player to deal to at the moment. The guy has no manners at the table and treats dealers like garbage. I personally don't agree with continuing to allow this guy to play in all of the events other than the fact that they want the juice out of him and 'that he makes for great TV'. He's a known cheat in tournaments and is way too verbally abusive when he's at the tables. By the end of the Series, I might just let him know what I think of him.
As the players were on break during that same event, I was at a table where David Sklansky was sitting by himself, reading a copy of Bluff magazine. He and I started talking about 2+2 (www.twoplustwo.com) and a brief conversation started in regards to beginning a 'dealer forum' on his site. I think that would be interesting if he actually goes through with it. He made a phone call about it so we'll see if it happens.
I'm working the Series on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday and still don't know my TI schedule. Over at the WSOP, they aren't telling us our preliminary assignments anymore (Live, Tournaments or Satellites) because it appears that too many dealers were calling in sick when they were scheduled to deal live/ca$h games. That will give you an idea of where dealers prefer to be. Who wants to deal through the high limit string of tables when you are most likely to get berated and bitched at by angry players, many of whom are just grumpy degenerates? In addition to that, the money you make in the live game section is significantly less than tournaments.
Now having said that, I guess I can look forward to a nice, long string of live games over the next few shifts which will include several trips through 'The Gauntlet'...aka the string of high limit games. I'm excited. It took 2 weeks to get 6 total tournament downs and then I went back-to-back nights where I got 12 tournament downs each night. I'd guess my next entry will reflect a few evenings dealing over in the ca$h games...
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Men the Master dislikes me
I haven't really needed to update everyday since I haven't been running into anything really juicy or having too much gossip happen. Although, I have had quite the work schedule over the past 5 days, working 7 shifts. I've done pretty well and my savings for a down payment on a house are going perfectly as scheduled...in fact, I am ahead of schedule. My goal was to save $400 a week and put it all away into a money market and am further along than I am supposed to be.
Now my best night this week was at TI, where I did $218 (plus hourly) in 4.5 hours which comes out to $56.19 an hour. I say that not as a 'brag post' but I know that some people reading this blog are interested in the amount of money that a dealer can make. Is this rare? Absolutely. But for all of the stiffs, there are plenty of generous people who make up for them.
Tonight I dealt ca$h games and started out in the 2/5NL and 5/10NL section. I eventually made my way over to the high limit section which is almost always a nightmare. I dealt 2 tables of high limit mixed games. The first table had Men the Master and Greg Raymer. Now Raymer has always been one of my favorites and he verified it tonight with how nice and classy he was at the table as I dealt to him. Men the Master on the other hand was a complete ass to me. I am not very familiar with dealing mixed games except for the 2/4 and 3/6 limit mixer at Treasure Island. Jumping up to 400/800 is pretty intense. Plus, at the higher level, they are pretty specific in the way they do things and the way they want the dealer to run the game. This takes some time to learn and adjust. Many of the high limit players don't care though.
So what happened with Men the Master? First, he yells at me for not moving the lammer before cutting the deck (the lammer signifies which # of hand you are on in that particular game...in this case it was Badugi) and then went off on me about the timing of taking the time rake from the players which was ridiculous. So I'm a little rattled by this and the next hand, I somehow skip past Men when dealing out the cards in Badugi (players get 4 cards) so basically Men had 3 cards and everyone else had 4. Well he went apeshit and started yelling at me and Raymer had to calm him down. Had I been able to express my opinion, I'd have told him what he is which is a known cheater, but I kept my mouth shut and figured it would be a good experience to go through this and would probably end up with a good story as well. Raymer stuck up for me by saying, "He's doing fine, it was an honest mistake." After that, Men did end up raking a nice pot and then cooled off, gave me a look as if he was saying 'everything's alright now, its all good' and actually threw me a couple bucks because I think he felt bad and realized that I was really trying hard. As I got up out of there, Raymer threw me $5 and said, "Good job John....do you play golf?" I told him I did not and he made a brief comparison about swinging a club and not letting abusive players bother me...I forget the exact statement, but it was nice of him to say.
After that I dealt a 150/300 mixed game and it was cake. That down went perfect and during it I dealt 2-7 Triple Draw and Omaha 8b. Easy game.
Tomorrow -- wait, actually today considering it around 3:30am -- is Clay's birthday and it will be interesting to see what kind of trouble we find. I've got the day off which is much deserved...
Now my best night this week was at TI, where I did $218 (plus hourly) in 4.5 hours which comes out to $56.19 an hour. I say that not as a 'brag post' but I know that some people reading this blog are interested in the amount of money that a dealer can make. Is this rare? Absolutely. But for all of the stiffs, there are plenty of generous people who make up for them.
Tonight I dealt ca$h games and started out in the 2/5NL and 5/10NL section. I eventually made my way over to the high limit section which is almost always a nightmare. I dealt 2 tables of high limit mixed games. The first table had Men the Master and Greg Raymer. Now Raymer has always been one of my favorites and he verified it tonight with how nice and classy he was at the table as I dealt to him. Men the Master on the other hand was a complete ass to me. I am not very familiar with dealing mixed games except for the 2/4 and 3/6 limit mixer at Treasure Island. Jumping up to 400/800 is pretty intense. Plus, at the higher level, they are pretty specific in the way they do things and the way they want the dealer to run the game. This takes some time to learn and adjust. Many of the high limit players don't care though.
So what happened with Men the Master? First, he yells at me for not moving the lammer before cutting the deck (the lammer signifies which # of hand you are on in that particular game...in this case it was Badugi) and then went off on me about the timing of taking the time rake from the players which was ridiculous. So I'm a little rattled by this and the next hand, I somehow skip past Men when dealing out the cards in Badugi (players get 4 cards) so basically Men had 3 cards and everyone else had 4. Well he went apeshit and started yelling at me and Raymer had to calm him down. Had I been able to express my opinion, I'd have told him what he is which is a known cheater, but I kept my mouth shut and figured it would be a good experience to go through this and would probably end up with a good story as well. Raymer stuck up for me by saying, "He's doing fine, it was an honest mistake." After that, Men did end up raking a nice pot and then cooled off, gave me a look as if he was saying 'everything's alright now, its all good' and actually threw me a couple bucks because I think he felt bad and realized that I was really trying hard. As I got up out of there, Raymer threw me $5 and said, "Good job John....do you play golf?" I told him I did not and he made a brief comparison about swinging a club and not letting abusive players bother me...I forget the exact statement, but it was nice of him to say.
After that I dealt a 150/300 mixed game and it was cake. That down went perfect and during it I dealt 2-7 Triple Draw and Omaha 8b. Easy game.
Tomorrow -- wait, actually today considering it around 3:30am -- is Clay's birthday and it will be interesting to see what kind of trouble we find. I've got the day off which is much deserved...
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Make it a double
I worked last night at the WSOP and was scheduled to deal satellites but got moved over to deal the $330 Nightly No Limit tournament. I worked 5 hours and then had a few hours to kill before my 2am shift at TI. I ended up dealing there for 4.5 hours until the mixed game that a bunch of 2+2'ers were playing died, for a total of 9 hours. Once the link goes up on 2+2, I'll put it up...but there was quite an episode there last night at their table. One guy who was extremely intoxicated ended up vomiting all over himself and the table. They got pics. I was back dealing 1/3NL on table 8 and the smell from this instance was bad enough that even our table had trouble functioning properly. The cleaning crew did a good, quick job fixing it and they were all in there with masks and intricate cleaning apparati. Mr. Tim Caum (local pro Steve O'Dwyer) and the 2+2'ers moved their game to another table and the drinking decreased significantly, although Steve and some of them left which I believe was to go check up on his friend. The guy got taken away to the hospital and hopefully recovered from most likely some alcohol poisoning.
On www.pocketfives.com there is a thread detailing the interest of poker dealing from a n00b named BurgerLT so I will answer a few of the questions:
What do dealers average per hour with tips included? No shift is quite ever the same. Out here in Vegas, we keep our own tips. We get paid an hourly wage but due to the IRS, we get heavily taxed on this wage because of the Tip Complience agreement. I won't get into that because it would, more than likely, bore you.
I've had a night where I averaged as low as $12 an hour (an example of when no game is running, you sit on deadspreads most of the time, and barely got any downs) but have also had nights where I have averaged over $50 an hour.
Let's look at last night's two shifts, which overall was definitely an above-average night. Here's a partial breakdown by the numbers:
9.5 hours worked (5 hours at WSOP @ $6.41/hr) (4.5 at TI @ $7.75/hr)
8 tournament downs at WSOP (last week's average was $28 a down...a 'down' is a 30 minutes session in the box)
$127 in tips at TI ...add it all up and you've got $44 per hour on average (note: before taxes)
How hard is it to get into the good casinos? It isn't easy. Unless you are in the right place at the right time, know the right person (and possibly have the right amount of $$$)...don't expect to get a job dealing at the Wynn, Bellagio, MGM, or an upper-end room. I'm very satisfied with my work situation although it is a rather odd one. I deal at Imperial Palace and Treasure Island, so I work for both Harrah's and MGM. It is very difficult to get full time...in a nutshell, these companies do what they can to avoid hiring full-timers in order to avoid having to give benefits. There are also several slow times of the year for poker which also make it hard to get a job, depending on when you are looking. On the good side, there are tournaments that casinos will hire extraboards for throughout the year, and there's always the WSOP for a guaranteed 6 weeks of work.
Is dealing school necessary? YES imo. That is, unless you want to be one of the several dealers around town who has horrible technique, doesn't know correct procedure, etc. etc. I wouldn't be where I am now if it wasn't for Glenn Deno, poker instructor and dealer at the Mirage. He has become a great friend of mine and has taught me so much and has even got me investing money now, got me to build 2 different 401K's, and just really goes out of his way to make sure that his students are on the right path and helps them find jobs. He teaches over at www.americanschoolofdealing.com
What kind of benefits do dealers get? Must be hired on full-time, and good luck with that. I've actually been offered full-time at IP several times but have turned it down so I can keep my job at Treasure Island. At least part-timers/extraboards are offered the option of opening a 401K which you all hopefully realize is a must.
What is a dealers work schedule like? Full-time dealers usually have the same schedule. The either work day (11am-7pm), swing (7pm-3am), or graveyard (3am-11am). These hours aren't exact, but give you an idea. I personally have one of the craziest schedules you'll ever see. Just ask my friends. I don't like monotony. Therefore, I make myself available for all 3 shifts, any day of the week. My schedule is rarely ever the same.
7 day schedule (9 shifts):
Friday (already worked WSOP, got 5 hours)
Saturday (already worked TI shift, 4.5 hours), WSOP 6pm satellites
Sunday 2am, TI.
Monday 2am, TI. 6pm, WSOP.
Tuesday 2am, TI. 4pm, WSOP.
Wednesday OFF
Thursday 6pm, WSOP.
Surprisingly, I gotta get ready for work. More later.
On www.pocketfives.com there is a thread detailing the interest of poker dealing from a n00b named BurgerLT so I will answer a few of the questions:
What do dealers average per hour with tips included? No shift is quite ever the same. Out here in Vegas, we keep our own tips. We get paid an hourly wage but due to the IRS, we get heavily taxed on this wage because of the Tip Complience agreement. I won't get into that because it would, more than likely, bore you.
I've had a night where I averaged as low as $12 an hour (an example of when no game is running, you sit on deadspreads most of the time, and barely got any downs) but have also had nights where I have averaged over $50 an hour.
Let's look at last night's two shifts, which overall was definitely an above-average night. Here's a partial breakdown by the numbers:
9.5 hours worked (5 hours at WSOP @ $6.41/hr) (4.5 at TI @ $7.75/hr)
8 tournament downs at WSOP (last week's average was $28 a down...a 'down' is a 30 minutes session in the box)
$127 in tips at TI ...add it all up and you've got $44 per hour on average (note: before taxes)
How hard is it to get into the good casinos? It isn't easy. Unless you are in the right place at the right time, know the right person (and possibly have the right amount of $$$)...don't expect to get a job dealing at the Wynn, Bellagio, MGM, or an upper-end room. I'm very satisfied with my work situation although it is a rather odd one. I deal at Imperial Palace and Treasure Island, so I work for both Harrah's and MGM. It is very difficult to get full time...in a nutshell, these companies do what they can to avoid hiring full-timers in order to avoid having to give benefits. There are also several slow times of the year for poker which also make it hard to get a job, depending on when you are looking. On the good side, there are tournaments that casinos will hire extraboards for throughout the year, and there's always the WSOP for a guaranteed 6 weeks of work.
Is dealing school necessary? YES imo. That is, unless you want to be one of the several dealers around town who has horrible technique, doesn't know correct procedure, etc. etc. I wouldn't be where I am now if it wasn't for Glenn Deno, poker instructor and dealer at the Mirage. He has become a great friend of mine and has taught me so much and has even got me investing money now, got me to build 2 different 401K's, and just really goes out of his way to make sure that his students are on the right path and helps them find jobs. He teaches over at www.americanschoolofdealing.com
What kind of benefits do dealers get? Must be hired on full-time, and good luck with that. I've actually been offered full-time at IP several times but have turned it down so I can keep my job at Treasure Island. At least part-timers/extraboards are offered the option of opening a 401K which you all hopefully realize is a must.
What is a dealers work schedule like? Full-time dealers usually have the same schedule. The either work day (11am-7pm), swing (7pm-3am), or graveyard (3am-11am). These hours aren't exact, but give you an idea. I personally have one of the craziest schedules you'll ever see. Just ask my friends. I don't like monotony. Therefore, I make myself available for all 3 shifts, any day of the week. My schedule is rarely ever the same.
7 day schedule (9 shifts):
Friday (already worked WSOP, got 5 hours)
Saturday (already worked TI shift, 4.5 hours), WSOP 6pm satellites
Sunday 2am, TI.
Monday 2am, TI. 6pm, WSOP.
Tuesday 2am, TI. 4pm, WSOP.
Wednesday OFF
Thursday 6pm, WSOP.
Surprisingly, I gotta get ready for work. More later.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Sattys and Ca$h Games
There hasn't been too much going on involving my shifts over at the WSOP. The same goes with Treasure Island. I failed to get any tournament downs this past week which is where the stories usually come from. I dealt ca$h games and satellites and haven't done all that well in either.
Last night I got to deal a $530 Pot Limit Omaha single table satellite. I'm glad I got the chance to do this as I want some more familiarity with pot limit. The first guy that sat down was from Alexandria, Virginia which is very close to my hometown of Oakton, Virginia. It turns out that it was Lee Childs who final tabled, and finished 7th in, the Main Event last year. We chatted for a bit about Virginia and I found him to be very personable. He ended up getting the better end of his heads-up battle vs. a very good English player when they both got it all in on a queen-high flop...luckily for Lee, he had flopped the nuts and it held.
Last night was another wild one...it always is when you hang out with people like Wretchy, Clay, BeL0W, Nechita, gboro780, AceRunner, and JeffBoski. I also finally got to meet Pokerjamers and Crzysavage and I must say I had the most fun I have had in a long time after meeting and hanging out with those two.
I'll get my schedule for next week and hopefully will be scheduled for some more tournaments. Until then, I will be working this weekend at Treasure Island, getting paperwork ready to apply for a mortage loan, and studying for the state insurance test.
Last night I got to deal a $530 Pot Limit Omaha single table satellite. I'm glad I got the chance to do this as I want some more familiarity with pot limit. The first guy that sat down was from Alexandria, Virginia which is very close to my hometown of Oakton, Virginia. It turns out that it was Lee Childs who final tabled, and finished 7th in, the Main Event last year. We chatted for a bit about Virginia and I found him to be very personable. He ended up getting the better end of his heads-up battle vs. a very good English player when they both got it all in on a queen-high flop...luckily for Lee, he had flopped the nuts and it held.
Last night was another wild one...it always is when you hang out with people like Wretchy, Clay, BeL0W, Nechita, gboro780, AceRunner, and JeffBoski. I also finally got to meet Pokerjamers and Crzysavage and I must say I had the most fun I have had in a long time after meeting and hanging out with those two.
I'll get my schedule for next week and hopefully will be scheduled for some more tournaments. Until then, I will be working this weekend at Treasure Island, getting paperwork ready to apply for a mortage loan, and studying for the state insurance test.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Hit or miss
With the amount of dealers overflowing the Rio, there is a 'hit or miss' mentality in terms of how we actually do financially. The schedule is sectioned off into a few different categories:
1. Ca$h games
2. Tournaments
3. Satellites
4. NNL (Nightly No Limit Tournament)
The tournaments have turned out to be the best bet. I don't know how much we are getting paid per down (each 30 minute session of dealing) but it is projected to be over $20 per. The key is to (obviously) accumulate as many downs as possible during your shift. You don't just deal straight through...the line-up is very complicated and as big as the Series is, it isn't ever set in stone. I've had nights where I have had as few as 5 total tournament downs in a 5 hour span and then sent home because there was no more room for me in the rotation.
Last night was a different story though. On Wednesday, June 4th, I had 14 tournament downs which I thought would be tough to beat. Once I got to the Rio yesterday at 6pm, it took me 3 hours just to get into the rotation but it was worth the wait. I ended up staying until 7am for a total of 13 hours and got 16 downs. So if you take away the 3 hours that I waited, 16 downs in 10 hours is pretty damn good. If you don't deal poker, you'd think that would be easy work. Wait until you get up from the table though...the level of soreness in your back and shoulders is pretty overwhelming.
I've dealt a couple of shifts at the WSOP since I last blogged. One night I was scheduled to deal tournament but never got into the rotation and got moved over to the ca$h games. This section is the one I like the least. You work very hard for oftentimes little to show for it. The games at the Rio definitely don't pay nearly as good as they do over at Treasure Island. The number of rude players and players who don't tip far outweigh the ones I deal to, as a whole, in both rooms in which I am regularly employed. I'm not going to complain though -- the money is pretty good regardless.
Also over the weekend, in between the WSOP shifts, I worked at TI. 5.5 hours on Saturday morning and a full 8 hours on Sunday morning. I'm really starting to log in a bunch of hours which I had expected. I have picked up a shift at TI tomorrow...hell, why not? I knew that June and July were going to be my busiest months so I am going to keep up the pace.
LOL......OK this is pretty insane. I'm talking to a good friend of mine, everyone's favorite degenerate from Las Vegas, Clay 'LVPokerDealer' Gongora. I told him about the first house that I am going to go look at since I'd like to buy something by the end of the year. I AIM'ed him the Mapquest of the location since it is close to where he currently lives and he starts freaking out. He sends a message back saying that he lived in that EXACT house! Now I'm pretty psyched to go see it since he said its a nice house, its in a good neighborhood, and its got a pool with a waterfall and plenty of room out back for a BBQ. Might be some potential here...I'll give an update once I go check it out. Maybe its time for me to pick up another digital camera so I can get pics to liven up this blog.
Alright, I'm out for now. Meeting up tonight with Clay, Ryan, Nechita and some more of the crew at Dragonfly.
1. Ca$h games
2. Tournaments
3. Satellites
4. NNL (Nightly No Limit Tournament)
The tournaments have turned out to be the best bet. I don't know how much we are getting paid per down (each 30 minute session of dealing) but it is projected to be over $20 per. The key is to (obviously) accumulate as many downs as possible during your shift. You don't just deal straight through...the line-up is very complicated and as big as the Series is, it isn't ever set in stone. I've had nights where I have had as few as 5 total tournament downs in a 5 hour span and then sent home because there was no more room for me in the rotation.
Last night was a different story though. On Wednesday, June 4th, I had 14 tournament downs which I thought would be tough to beat. Once I got to the Rio yesterday at 6pm, it took me 3 hours just to get into the rotation but it was worth the wait. I ended up staying until 7am for a total of 13 hours and got 16 downs. So if you take away the 3 hours that I waited, 16 downs in 10 hours is pretty damn good. If you don't deal poker, you'd think that would be easy work. Wait until you get up from the table though...the level of soreness in your back and shoulders is pretty overwhelming.
I've dealt a couple of shifts at the WSOP since I last blogged. One night I was scheduled to deal tournament but never got into the rotation and got moved over to the ca$h games. This section is the one I like the least. You work very hard for oftentimes little to show for it. The games at the Rio definitely don't pay nearly as good as they do over at Treasure Island. The number of rude players and players who don't tip far outweigh the ones I deal to, as a whole, in both rooms in which I am regularly employed. I'm not going to complain though -- the money is pretty good regardless.
Also over the weekend, in between the WSOP shifts, I worked at TI. 5.5 hours on Saturday morning and a full 8 hours on Sunday morning. I'm really starting to log in a bunch of hours which I had expected. I have picked up a shift at TI tomorrow...hell, why not? I knew that June and July were going to be my busiest months so I am going to keep up the pace.
LOL......OK this is pretty insane. I'm talking to a good friend of mine, everyone's favorite degenerate from Las Vegas, Clay 'LVPokerDealer' Gongora. I told him about the first house that I am going to go look at since I'd like to buy something by the end of the year. I AIM'ed him the Mapquest of the location since it is close to where he currently lives and he starts freaking out. He sends a message back saying that he lived in that EXACT house! Now I'm pretty psyched to go see it since he said its a nice house, its in a good neighborhood, and its got a pool with a waterfall and plenty of room out back for a BBQ. Might be some potential here...I'll give an update once I go check it out. Maybe its time for me to pick up another digital camera so I can get pics to liven up this blog.
Alright, I'm out for now. Meeting up tonight with Clay, Ryan, Nechita and some more of the crew at Dragonfly.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Bigger = miserable??
Aren't cramps brutal? Sometimes I get toe cramps and it is funny how they make you squirm around all while grasping and clenching the affected area...as you pray for time to speed up and you imagine how pleasant life will be once the cramp finally ends its stranglehold on you.
That's what happened to me this morning. Actually, the cramp itself woke me up. Now I must say that this was the most insane, intense, painful cramp that I have ever had. It was in my right calf. I wish I had a video camera that overlooked my bed because the footage would have been priceless. Laying there in a nice, comfortable slumber and then all of a sudden, I pop up from dreaming and start rolling around the bed in inexplicable, strange positions. It actually hurt so bad that I didn't even touch my calf while it was occuring...it was just that painful. Perhaps I felt that massaging it would possibly make it worse, and I did not want any increase in intensity with this calf cramp.
Moving on...
Why did I entitle this blog "Bigger = miserable??" Well, after dealing ca$h games at the WSOP last night, this thought passed through my consciousness. What I am talking about is the vibe that I got is this: the higher the limit in poker games I dealt last night, the more miserable the people were. This may already be standard or typical to dealers who have been dealing higher stakes but to me it is new because I don't deal high limits in the rooms where I work. More on that in a minute...
Last night I went through a rotation of the following:
10/20 limit
10/20 Omaha 8/b w/half kill
2/5 PLO
2/5 NL
This was my first time dealing any form of pot limit (other than at TI when a 2/5 PLHE/Omaha game was running but was short-handed and there weren't even any pot bets made) so I was most concerned with this table. I'm not great with numbers like some people are but the table was a good group of people and I'm solid enough as a dealer to run an efficient game. Calculating/following what's in the pot isn't as difficult as it seems. Tally up the amount that the players put into the pot and be ready to give them a figure once they "pot" it. The formula is this:
Preflop in ca$h games: 4x big blind and then 3x the last bet + what's in the pot
Preflop in tournament: 7x small blind and then 3x the last bet + what's in the pot
It will take a few more downs to get comfortable with it and many players who do play it always know how much is in the pot and what a pot bet would be if, in fact, someone does make a pot bet.
Back to the topic of 'miserable' ... I get back into the rotation which leads me towards the 'bullpen'. This 'bullpen' is a somewhat-sectioned off area in the Amazon room that contains the highest limits being played. The amount of money on the table in these games is mindblowing. My friend Dustin dealt a hand at the 25/25 PLO table where the pot ended up being over $75K (flopped straight vs. 2nd nut flush draw + some other outs I believe). No emotion from either the winner or the loser of the pot, and the winner just raked in this monster pot (and didn't even toss Dustin a dollar). I won't get into tipping as it is the player's choice, but these stiffs seem to happen at a very high rate at the higher levels.
I get into the bullpen and push into a 75/150 Omaha 8/b game. Now I've heard stories about this game. It turns out that these stories were going to be valid after I sat in and dealt with these players. I seriously don't think I've ever dealt to a more miserable, nastier, unfriendly group of people in my life. I've been called a "F'n A'hole", cursed at several times, had cards thrown at me, and even been threatened to have my ass kicked, but this was different. None of the players did anything like that, it was just the overall VIBE of the table that made it so bad. These players can't WAIT to rip you apart. They thrive on it. These players are sitting there with thousands of dollars in front of them yet they seem to literally hate life.
It just goes to show that (I guess) its all relative. Say you find $10 on the ground, you are going to have the thought, at some point, that you wish it had been more. If you find $100...same thing. The ego does not and will not ever allow for satisfaction. Not only does the ego not allow for it, it does not and will not ever comprehend the meaning of it. So, when allowing your mind to 'think' ...which involves bringing the ego into play... it is going to be impossible to ever be 'satisfied'.
If anything clicks with you in regards to that little ramble of mine, read a life-changing book entitled "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle and this will make more sense. It is this concept that keeps me from falling into the pit of the Vegas lifestyle and keeps me in check.
OK, enough for now...I did go to TI last night and work 5.5 hours after doing 7 at the WSOP and tonight will be a repeat of that. Another double. I'm hoping to get all 8 hours in over at the WSOP dealing tournaments and then I'll roll over to Treasure Island and take it from there...
That's what happened to me this morning. Actually, the cramp itself woke me up. Now I must say that this was the most insane, intense, painful cramp that I have ever had. It was in my right calf. I wish I had a video camera that overlooked my bed because the footage would have been priceless. Laying there in a nice, comfortable slumber and then all of a sudden, I pop up from dreaming and start rolling around the bed in inexplicable, strange positions. It actually hurt so bad that I didn't even touch my calf while it was occuring...it was just that painful. Perhaps I felt that massaging it would possibly make it worse, and I did not want any increase in intensity with this calf cramp.
Moving on...
Why did I entitle this blog "Bigger = miserable??" Well, after dealing ca$h games at the WSOP last night, this thought passed through my consciousness. What I am talking about is the vibe that I got is this: the higher the limit in poker games I dealt last night, the more miserable the people were. This may already be standard or typical to dealers who have been dealing higher stakes but to me it is new because I don't deal high limits in the rooms where I work. More on that in a minute...
Last night I went through a rotation of the following:
10/20 limit
10/20 Omaha 8/b w/half kill
2/5 PLO
2/5 NL
This was my first time dealing any form of pot limit (other than at TI when a 2/5 PLHE/Omaha game was running but was short-handed and there weren't even any pot bets made) so I was most concerned with this table. I'm not great with numbers like some people are but the table was a good group of people and I'm solid enough as a dealer to run an efficient game. Calculating/following what's in the pot isn't as difficult as it seems. Tally up the amount that the players put into the pot and be ready to give them a figure once they "pot" it. The formula is this:
Preflop in ca$h games: 4x big blind and then 3x the last bet + what's in the pot
Preflop in tournament: 7x small blind and then 3x the last bet + what's in the pot
It will take a few more downs to get comfortable with it and many players who do play it always know how much is in the pot and what a pot bet would be if, in fact, someone does make a pot bet.
Back to the topic of 'miserable' ... I get back into the rotation which leads me towards the 'bullpen'. This 'bullpen' is a somewhat-sectioned off area in the Amazon room that contains the highest limits being played. The amount of money on the table in these games is mindblowing. My friend Dustin dealt a hand at the 25/25 PLO table where the pot ended up being over $75K (flopped straight vs. 2nd nut flush draw + some other outs I believe). No emotion from either the winner or the loser of the pot, and the winner just raked in this monster pot (and didn't even toss Dustin a dollar). I won't get into tipping as it is the player's choice, but these stiffs seem to happen at a very high rate at the higher levels.
I get into the bullpen and push into a 75/150 Omaha 8/b game. Now I've heard stories about this game. It turns out that these stories were going to be valid after I sat in and dealt with these players. I seriously don't think I've ever dealt to a more miserable, nastier, unfriendly group of people in my life. I've been called a "F'n A'hole", cursed at several times, had cards thrown at me, and even been threatened to have my ass kicked, but this was different. None of the players did anything like that, it was just the overall VIBE of the table that made it so bad. These players can't WAIT to rip you apart. They thrive on it. These players are sitting there with thousands of dollars in front of them yet they seem to literally hate life.
It just goes to show that (I guess) its all relative. Say you find $10 on the ground, you are going to have the thought, at some point, that you wish it had been more. If you find $100...same thing. The ego does not and will not ever allow for satisfaction. Not only does the ego not allow for it, it does not and will not ever comprehend the meaning of it. So, when allowing your mind to 'think' ...which involves bringing the ego into play... it is going to be impossible to ever be 'satisfied'.
If anything clicks with you in regards to that little ramble of mine, read a life-changing book entitled "A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle and this will make more sense. It is this concept that keeps me from falling into the pit of the Vegas lifestyle and keeps me in check.
OK, enough for now...I did go to TI last night and work 5.5 hours after doing 7 at the WSOP and tonight will be a repeat of that. Another double. I'm hoping to get all 8 hours in over at the WSOP dealing tournaments and then I'll roll over to Treasure Island and take it from there...
Friday, June 6, 2008
Catching up
So on Tuesday, I was assigned to deal the $1,500 Omaha 8/b limit tournament. It was quite a handful as I dealt 12 downs of it. Now I haven't dealt this game since dealing school except for a few hands here and there over in the mixed game at TI, so I knew it would take a couple of downs to adjust. A few minutes after sitting for my first down, veteran/multiple bracelet winner Eric Seidel joined the table along with Gobboboy who was already busy winning pots.
The keys to running an Omaha 8/b game consist of making sure that the pot is split correctly and keeping an eye on the board so you can be ready to read the hands once they are turned over...all in addition to following the action, making sure the bets/raises are legit, and making change when necessary as to ensure that the pot is evenly split. It is quite a change if you deal NL and limit poker most of the time. I definitely butchered some lows while trying to read them, but there are so many table captains during 8/b that any dealer mistakes get taken care of pretty quickly.
Approximately 400 entrants was the guesstimation for this tourney and it turned out to be more than 2x that with a total of 833. My friend Bobby 'Pupkin' Crosby entered the event after ca$hing in his first ever WSOP event earlier. He squeaked into the money in Event #2 which was a $1,500 NL donkament. I had 5% of him in that tourney but ended up breaking even (Thanks to Bobby because I actually ended up $28 in debt to him because the purchase but he decided to call it even). He busted out after shoving his 88 on the button after an EP player limped in and having the BB call Bobby's shove (not sure of the blinds) but this clown puts in half his stack, out of position, with the original limper still left to act. He couldn't fold JT s00ted. A ten obv snapped off on the flop. GG Bobby. Also among the entrants was a guy named Steve 'whitealroker' Bent. Now this is one interesting human. If you follow the OT section www.pocketfives.com you already know who he is. The MicroGod couldn't get the cards he needed to build a stack in this tournament and was left to give the Binion's and/or Venetian tournaments a shot before flying back home his beloved Target back in Springfield, Pennsylvania. GL next year, WAR.
I have dealt nightly NL tourney for the past 2 nights and there hasn't been too much worth reporting in regards to it so I'll hold off on posting until tomorrow after I go in this evening and deal ca$h games and then head over to TI to complete a double. Then again, earlier this week when I was dealing this tournament, Bryan 'The Icon' Micon was a late registrant and strolled over to my table after he had 'just woken up for the day' ...at 7pm. He was seemingly a really fun guy who enjoyed talking to the table and although he busted within the first 15 minutes after a blind vs. blind race, he didn't lose his enthusiasm as he ran off after wishing everyone good luck and probably found some other way to put some monies into action.
The keys to running an Omaha 8/b game consist of making sure that the pot is split correctly and keeping an eye on the board so you can be ready to read the hands once they are turned over...all in addition to following the action, making sure the bets/raises are legit, and making change when necessary as to ensure that the pot is evenly split. It is quite a change if you deal NL and limit poker most of the time. I definitely butchered some lows while trying to read them, but there are so many table captains during 8/b that any dealer mistakes get taken care of pretty quickly.
Approximately 400 entrants was the guesstimation for this tourney and it turned out to be more than 2x that with a total of 833. My friend Bobby 'Pupkin' Crosby entered the event after ca$hing in his first ever WSOP event earlier. He squeaked into the money in Event #2 which was a $1,500 NL donkament. I had 5% of him in that tourney but ended up breaking even (Thanks to Bobby because I actually ended up $28 in debt to him because the purchase but he decided to call it even). He busted out after shoving his 88 on the button after an EP player limped in and having the BB call Bobby's shove (not sure of the blinds) but this clown puts in half his stack, out of position, with the original limper still left to act. He couldn't fold JT s00ted. A ten obv snapped off on the flop. GG Bobby. Also among the entrants was a guy named Steve 'whitealroker' Bent. Now this is one interesting human. If you follow the OT section www.pocketfives.com you already know who he is. The MicroGod couldn't get the cards he needed to build a stack in this tournament and was left to give the Binion's and/or Venetian tournaments a shot before flying back home his beloved Target back in Springfield, Pennsylvania. GL next year, WAR.
I have dealt nightly NL tourney for the past 2 nights and there hasn't been too much worth reporting in regards to it so I'll hold off on posting until tomorrow after I go in this evening and deal ca$h games and then head over to TI to complete a double. Then again, earlier this week when I was dealing this tournament, Bryan 'The Icon' Micon was a late registrant and strolled over to my table after he had 'just woken up for the day' ...at 7pm. He was seemingly a really fun guy who enjoyed talking to the table and although he busted within the first 15 minutes after a blind vs. blind race, he didn't lose his enthusiasm as he ran off after wishing everyone good luck and probably found some other way to put some monies into action.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
LoL
You gotta be kidding me. I just typed for 30 minutes and lost everything. I guess it would be smart to click on 'save' every so often.
I'll REtype everything later, where you'll hear about everyone from Gobboboy to Shannon Elizabeth.
I'll REtype everything later, where you'll hear about everyone from Gobboboy to Shannon Elizabeth.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Madness is a fair term
I mentioned before that they changed our schedules after we had been given the original ones for the week during orientation. Well, last night after arriving at the Rio for work, there was an announcement that they would be changing AGAIN for the week. Luckily, once it was posted, it was to my benefit as I don't have to go in there tonight.
After the insanity of last night, I don't mind waiting another day to go back and deal there. There are so many dealers running around that place and you have to see it to believe it. There were hundreds of dealers sitting around listening and waiting for their assigments just on swing shift alone. Many didn't even get assigned. This is standard when there are that many people scheduled and luckily I weaseled my way into the lineup. I finished up a bit early over there -- I got out at 1:30 and was able to rush over to Treasure Island where I was in the box by 2am. That shift went very well and the game died at 8am and I came home and quickly fell asleep. Any day without too many incidents that I can net over $400 is going to be decent in my book.
All of the downs I had last night consisted of 2/5NL and 5/10NL. The action was pretty heavy on most of the tables, especially on the 5/10NL considering it there is no max as to the player's buy-in. I had a couple of very good downs where I dealt great and then a couple of others that weren't nearly as good which included some mistakes. I am going to blame that on it being my first night there in the ca$h games as it is quite a bit different than dealing at my regular jobs. There are quite a few things within the routine at the WSOP that one must adjust to when in the box and I expect to have the comfort level smooth out after about a week.
There were a couple of big action pots that were a few thousand dollars that I pushed. As I get a few more shifts, I plan on seeing many more pots being pushed that are well into 5 figures. I've already talked to a few of my friends that have pushed these types of pots. Once (and if) I get over to the high stakes Pot Limit Omaha game, these huge pots become routine. Two of my friends even pushed 6 figure pots last year a couple of times. People winning and losing in one hand well over what the average joe makes in a year...this can be pretty overwhelming.
GL to amak316 who is about to start the final table of the 10K PLHE event today! Double up that short stack and put yourself in position for a chance at that bracelet, bro! Also, to my friend Bobby (Pupkin/Snagglefood) who is playing in the $1,500NL event today...plow your way through the 4K that entered to steal ALL CHIP! Bobby has an awesome website to check out where he writes a hilarious poker-related comic at http://www.plusev.net/ so check that out (if you haven't already).
As Glenn, my good friend and poker instructor would say, "More updates as the week progresses." <----stolen from SportsCenter fwiw...
After the insanity of last night, I don't mind waiting another day to go back and deal there. There are so many dealers running around that place and you have to see it to believe it. There were hundreds of dealers sitting around listening and waiting for their assigments just on swing shift alone. Many didn't even get assigned. This is standard when there are that many people scheduled and luckily I weaseled my way into the lineup. I finished up a bit early over there -- I got out at 1:30 and was able to rush over to Treasure Island where I was in the box by 2am. That shift went very well and the game died at 8am and I came home and quickly fell asleep. Any day without too many incidents that I can net over $400 is going to be decent in my book.
All of the downs I had last night consisted of 2/5NL and 5/10NL. The action was pretty heavy on most of the tables, especially on the 5/10NL considering it there is no max as to the player's buy-in. I had a couple of very good downs where I dealt great and then a couple of others that weren't nearly as good which included some mistakes. I am going to blame that on it being my first night there in the ca$h games as it is quite a bit different than dealing at my regular jobs. There are quite a few things within the routine at the WSOP that one must adjust to when in the box and I expect to have the comfort level smooth out after about a week.
There were a couple of big action pots that were a few thousand dollars that I pushed. As I get a few more shifts, I plan on seeing many more pots being pushed that are well into 5 figures. I've already talked to a few of my friends that have pushed these types of pots. Once (and if) I get over to the high stakes Pot Limit Omaha game, these huge pots become routine. Two of my friends even pushed 6 figure pots last year a couple of times. People winning and losing in one hand well over what the average joe makes in a year...this can be pretty overwhelming.
GL to amak316 who is about to start the final table of the 10K PLHE event today! Double up that short stack and put yourself in position for a chance at that bracelet, bro! Also, to my friend Bobby (Pupkin/Snagglefood) who is playing in the $1,500NL event today...plow your way through the 4K that entered to steal ALL CHIP! Bobby has an awesome website to check out where he writes a hilarious poker-related comic at http://www.plusev.net/ so check that out (if you haven't already).
As Glenn, my good friend and poker instructor would say, "More updates as the week progresses." <----stolen from SportsCenter fwiw...
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