Thursday, August 27, 2015

Greg's Game

Well, it was quite a day.  Great fun. 
John and his boy Ben showed up for just an hour or so.  There was no large splashing calls in the dark to get chips on the table, nor did the kid take his dad to the cleaners, but I think they both had fun.
I guess I was disappointed that there wasn't that moment where John was all in with Ben looking up and smiling that smile of pity, pushing to call, and the old novelist going down to the ground penniless.
Oh, well, next time Ben.

I had a tough time getting to the game at all, but Gregg took care of me and Peter, driving a good bit to get us to the game on time.  We had a good lunch too in the old Dragon buffet.  Ezzy sure missed another great time there.  We know you want to go, Ezzy, in spite of all those inspections of unrefrigerated meats in Chinese places.

My van is still unfixed waiting for parts although they promised to order them last week.  I hate dealers because they are so dysfunctional.
Elizabeth picked us up just after we played to seven.  It worked out well for her. She ended up in the area, but thanks Gail for the offer of the ride home. 
I felt a bit unsettled without my card protectors or my own trays, all of that in the van.  I brought a watch as card protector but the back kept coming off.  O le[t trying to hold it together with electrical tape.   The watch was a bit like my game.

Peter, after a couple of weeks of small losses, was on his game again, ending up with a profit of about $220 which will be parlayed in Vegas in September into millions.  He just could not be beat.
He destroyed me early in the game by going all-in with pocket kings after the flop when I had the famed 9-6  and it caught two pair.  Runner-runner sevens meant his two pair was higher.  I never got a decent bankroll back and in the end was down $60, forty of it in that one hand.

And Peter won at the Pineapple too.  We played that for a little over an hour.

I think Ed left with some money.  I'm not certain about Ezzy.

Jim got destroyed.  He could not catch any playable cards.  He was the folding king. The only thing he got out of poker this week was a full development of his arm muscle, the one used to toss in the cards.  The one hand I remember Jim winning was on so few chips that his "main pot" was a third the size of the "side" pots after his all-in.

The music was good again.  Plenty of old fifties music that clicks emotional memories of my youth listening to the jutebox across from the cottage at Lime Lake or slow dancing with a girl. Some Louie Prima and finally, finally to Jim's great relief came the ignored kitchen utensils singing.... something...... Jim's commentary was grand as well.  And he was quick on the draw to eliminate the rauchy song before it spoiled the ears of the your Ben.  "Hahahahahahaha.  Like that could happen,"   Ben said.

Gail too got slammed.  I talked her into going over her budget and playing $10 in Pineapple and that was very bad advice.  Added to her losses, she had the job of cleaning up the coffee I spilled on the rug, and she stayed a while to be our official dealer.  Thanks, Gail.  Then to add insult to injury some thoughtless one of us peed with the seat left down and left small droplets for her to clean before she sat.  Some of us know we did not do such a thing because we also sit.  Yes, old men sometimes sit so they don't pee on the seat or really so they don't dribble down the pantleg.  You will all know someday so quit your grinning.
Anyway Gail came back to the table and was Sgt. Gregory, chewing us out and threatening us with the firing squad if it happened again.  Of course, that wouldn't work because Gail would be left to clean up the blood after the shooting.

Jim had his own troubles when in honor of Chuckmonk he knocked over a tray of chips.  It just was not his day.

High hand went to me.  Ezzy tried his best to take it away with Aces full of Kings that showed on the river, but it was a river dealt only as "the rabbit" so that last Ace was not in the live part of the game and did not count. 

No one had cracked Aces but Gregg had winning Aces a few times.  Peter had them.  I never did, but I did pull three Aces once but never saw the fourth.  I saw a full house, however, and won a bit of money on the river.

Ed caught quad jacks, but he had not played the bonus this week.  Thanks Ed for not playing.

**********************************************************************************

In other Gambling news, the 1-1 game at the Linq might be less a low roller game than I thought because the Max buy-in is $300.  That defeats the purpose of 1-1 in my opinion.  In Ocala the Max is $60 (Min $20)  and at Mohegan the Max is $100 (min$50)  The game might get filled with Min buy-in folks, but if not, I won't play it and go back to limit or 2-6 spread limit. 
This guy was hired to deal, however.  He is a bit of blog celebrity. 
The Tropper
https://www.youtube.com/user/TheTrooper97Vlog

Slots are reported to be reducing payouts across the country.  Here is one article on one area. 
http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-slots-payouts-20150826-story.html

It is such a shame that in all this development of gambling the gambler gets no good deals.  If the state had not decided to tax this entertainment to death, thus getting their Tony Soprano "taste" of the action,  natural competition might have offered gamblers a better bang for the buck, but as it is now, we get screwed with bad games and then we have to pay taxes on top of that.  If the IRS has there way, we'll be filling out paperwork on every win of $600 or more.  When it is the governments interest to make the games bad, those of us who like to play lose.

Okay, write back your favorite or least favorite hands. 
See you next week, but after that, you won't have old Dewey to kick around any more until October.  I leave on the 9th for Vegas and the great 40th birthday of my middle boy.  Since I'm just barely over forty, I don't quite understand the math of it, but it should be a grand trip with all five boys in on the celebration. 
Oh, Peter thanks you for his Vegas bankroll and hopes you will all fold and catch lesser hands against him next week as well.



 

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Greg's Game

A much quieter game, but delightful just the same.
Dewey, Peter, Gail, Greg, Charlie, Jim
We played Hold em until Jim left and then an hour and a half of pineapple.

Jim banked and then Charlie banked and everyone came out even.  Thanks guys.  If I banked, I'd lose more at the banking than the game. 
Of course, we did not get into the gold rings this week.  John did not take us on that roller coaster.  Still, there were some huge pots and great shifts of money.  In each session Peter and I bought in multiple times. 

Peter had a tough day.   He lost about $40.  His magic has dwindled. 
One of the last hands had him with three queens, Charlie with two pair, and Greg with the winning straight.
Pineapple can be like that.  Better hands.  Larger pots.

Greg made some money.  I could not beat him,  He chickened out at just the right times all day. 
One time he took me for a huge all-in and then would not call the next hand.  I went all-in to see.  I had the nuts. 
Cluck, Cluck, Cluck, Cluck, Cluck,  Cluck, Cluck, Cluck, Cluck, Cluck Cluck, Cluck, Cluck, Cluck, Cluck Cluck, Cluck, Cluck, Cluck, Cluck Cluck, Cluck, Cluck, Cluck, Cluck Cluck, Cluck, Cluck, Cluck, Cluck Cluck, Cluck, Cluck, Cluck, Cluck

Gail lost her bankroll and then became our official dealer.  It reminded me of the days of Jerry Silver.  Especially at the end of the game, when I am super tired, I very much appreciate a dealer.   Thanks, Gail. That was a delightful treat.  Feel free to lose your bankroll anytime.

I'm not sure how Charley or Jim did. Charley took a big hand toward the end. 
Sorry I don't remember hands like John remembers them. 
Okay, I actually don't remember hands as well as a live gorilla might remember them. 

Jim took the high hand with Ace's Full of Queens, established earlier and never overcome.  Oh, Jim remind me I have a dollar for you as you left before Gail hit the Cracked Aces. You can use it to buy into the next game bonus. 
Unlike last week, Jim did not leave $28 on the floor as he left.  I looked.  Last week some SOS fellow returned his money to him when he came back to see if he had dropped it.
Jim, when folks say that they "dropped" money at a poker game, they don't meal that literally.

Thanks for the music.  It was a fine mix of old time pleasures. 

I won $33.  I won with pocket Kings twice.  Greg had his cracked.  (We could do a kings cracked $1 bonus.)

Gail is trying to recruit a few of her friends to play because we are such a friendly bunch.  Nice,  especially because Peter and I won't be there for most of September unless Peter wins big in Vegas and can stake himself and so more players would be good for the game.

This game was a long one, ending at 6:46.  Thanks Greg.  That is perfect. 

Peter and I supped at the Golden Coral around the corner.  I could get food on my diet and it was nice, but I was too tired to be of much company.

Then, Jay, we went home and spray painted the number 3 on Peter's house.  He used the screw driver, I used the can of black paint, and now everything matches Jay's work on the front of Peter's house.  Nice job, Jay.  I hope you were not too hot working yesterday at other houses.  I thought of you and wondered how it was going.  Think of Jay if you need work done.  He does a good job and he needs the cash for poker.

I got a nice public thank you from author Jean Scott

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Scott_(author)

for helping her with her upcoming book Frugal 2, and so some congratulations from the discussion boards where I post daily. 
Here are the links I promised, Charlie.  The first is the Jean Scott blog.  The others are the two boards I most frequently visit.

http://jscott.lvablog.com/2015/08/17/frugal-resources/

http://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/showthread.php?123569-Jean-Scott-Gives-A-Shout-Out-To-Dewey

http://blonde4ever.yuku.com/topic/32919/Jean-Scotts-Frugal-Vegas-featuring-Dewey

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Other Vegas news includes big changes downtown.  The Downtown Grand is being sold and The Vegas Club is sold.

http://vitalvegas.com/downtown-grand-hotel-casino-will-announce-its-up-for-sale/

Derek Stevens bought The Vegas Club. He owns the D and Gateway and has brought each of those places up from huge slumps.  He will have three places when finished.  I doubt any will have poker rooms or full pay tables on VP although The Plaza and Main Street Station are right near the Vegas Club, and both have full pay.

http://vegasinc.com/business/gaming/2015/aug/18/drugstore-plan-spurred-casino-owner-las-vegas-club/

Finally, I think I have a political candidate that will win.  He is a fellow called "Deez Nuts" and he came in third in a North Carolina poll of voters, getting 9% of the vote.  Worth a look.
http://jezebel.com/breaking-deez-nuts-announces-candidacy-for-president-1720645540





 

Thursday, August 13, 2015

greg's Game

Well, John came today and that made it a very different game.
"I just want to announce that for the first four times around the table, I'll blind call any all-in bet."
And we took advantage, one of us going all-in almost every hand.

We took advantage while John took the luck.
He accomplished his purpose by getting lots of chips on the table, so the stakes were higher for the rest of the afternoon.  John won big, walking away with maybe $175?  I just know that he had all the gold rings.

He also announced after I told him of the high hand bonus.
"I never win the high hand."
And then, of course, he managed to assemble quad eights for a $20 bonus award.

At one point we had eleven playing: Greg, Gail, Ed, Peter, Dewey, Jay, John, Charley, Ezzy Jim,    Or was it ten?  If it was ten, then the high hand should have been $18, not $20 because Gail had not bought in.  Oh, well.  I'm missing a name somehow, perhaps.
John wins yet again!

Sorry, I forgot who took the cracked Aces.

I didn't.  I was up and down and ended up losing $10.  Peter lost $39.  Others lost more.

But there was action.
I took two of the preflop all-in giveaways and then tried to pay back by going all in with just 5-10.  But the board played and we chopped that one so I got my money back.
My big loss was to Charlie when my third Jack and his Broadway came on the turn.  I probably lost $30 on that hand.

I remember taking Peter for an extra $20 when the river gave me 10-J two pair and another river gave me 7-2 two pair.

I wish I could remember more hands.

I'm sorry I had to rush out.  As it was Elizabeth had thought the game ended at 5 and she was pretty tired after a full day from Casey and a little annoyed.

We went up to the Alexis diner and had supper.  I had scallops and the others had decadent Italian meals.  Huge portions at the diner.  Nice place.

It was just grand to see so many at the game.  Keep coming.  Bring a friend. 

Thanks for banking, Jim.  I got a message from you but it was incomplete.  Hope the banking went well.

 

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Greg's game

Seven at the table this week. 
Ed, Jim, Ezzy, Greg, Charlie, dewey and Peter.
I brought two unwrapped new decks of cards.  Thank you, me.
I think it is a very different game with seven over out usual five.
The frustration goes up because there are more real contests, more close calls, more frustrating second best hands.
Peter socked me with one when he went all in on the river with a full house that beat my Ace high heart flush.

Jim seemed to get the brunt of frustration in this game.  Rivers were not good to him.  I can't remember all of them, but I was in one huge hand with him.  He had the nut hand, a straight.  The river counterfeited it and so I had it too.  There were plenty of chips by the river.  We split.

Peter had a similar hand with Ed.  A jack on the river gave him a straight.

Straddles were better challenged.  Ezzy used a few to his advantage with good bets that stole those large blinds.  It was much more rare to see head to head battles and more common for a good hand to be aggressively bet and push out the speculative blinds.   Ed picked up the straddle passion a few times, but in his position there was not an immediate double straddle. 
All straddles, and especially double straddles, are affectionately dedicated to the memory of John Blowers who used to be a poker player at Greg's games.  No, he didn't die.  He just faded away.

Along with more drama in the poker, we managed a bit more talk than usual.  There was talk of horses at Saratoga, including the recent upswing of anti-horse racing sentiment.  I saw an anti horse billboard on I -90.  1,000 horses die every year, it says.  I am curious where the horse meat goes.  In the UK it goes to market.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/feb/06/racehorse-slaughter-animal-welfare
The US exports to Mexico because we don't slaughter horses for meat.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/02/kentucky-derby-horsemeat-pipeline

I see new legislation in the pipeline
http://poststar.com/blogs/all_politics_is_local/legislation-to-ban-export-of-horse-meat-advances/article_9fd1de6f-9319-5e58-8393-7efb315e08e0.html

I know some of the meat used to go for dogfood but not so much for glue anymore.
http://www.slate.com/articles/life/explainer/2012/02/what_do_horses_have_to_do_with_glue_.html

 In Spain when they kill the bulls at the bullfight, the meat used  to go  orphanages.  However, recently it has become popular as a healthy, ecological food.
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/aug/20/fighting-bull-beef-most-ecological-meat-in-world

A related controversy over wild horses rounded up for meat.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/09/eating-wild-horsemeat-America

There may be some issues with eating racing horses due to the chemicals that can be in their bodies.
http://www.americanhorsemeat.com/

I did hear an NPR special that suggested there was more of demand now for race horses as home horses or pets than was worked into the market system and that a system much like the one used to preserve the lives of greyhounds merely needed some interest in getting the horses to loving owners rather than the meat market.

Ezzy told some stories of interesting inspections where chickens or ducks hung unrefrigerated in the kitchen.  I don't think he is a fan of Chinese food customs.  However, he reassures us that our favorite Dragon buffet was fine for eating even with some issues on inspection.
I eat Chinese duck whenever I get a chance. 
And by the way, China has lots of duck races and we have at least one I've always wanted to attend in New Mexico
http://racingducks.com/

Hey Bill, how does one handicap a duck?

Most of the ducks sold in the US come from one place.  I can't seem to cook one right anymore.  Honest Weight has organic ducks, but they are $25 each.  Still, I might try again one of these days. 


There was some talk of Vegas.  A few jokes went around including the joke about marriage and cards. In the beginning all that is needed is two hearts and a diamond, but a couple decades into marriage, the players are looking for a club and a spade.

It was not a quiet game;  I like that.

After Ezzy left we played Pineapple.  Thanks Jim.  I'm not certain you wanted to accommodate us for that game.  I like it,  so it was a treat to me.  Not profitable, however.  Ed played it with Greg another time and he likes it.  We play a very conservative version with the third card discarded right away.  It is hardly any different than hold'em.  However, if anyone objects, we just keep with the classic hold em.
Greg has a million ideas for adding a variety of Pineapple mutant games, but I object.

At Turning Stone the Pineapple tournament on Sundays, the third card is held to after the flop. Crazy Pineapple. 
I thought it went well. There was some mild confusion, but we are often confused anyway, and sometimes we are even confused about how confused we are.

I did not like my own  need to rush at the end.  Peter and I wanted to make the Texas Steakhouse over near Wolfe Road and the early bird specials end at 6, so we were pushing and gambling on getting a seat in time. 
Usually we have to wait for a seat.
We just made it, but it all was a bit too frantic for me.
It made the end of the game too hectic for me.  I think we'll look for another place to eat next week, perhaps the Country Buffet. Anyone interested in joining us for supper  there or at another venue of your choice would be enjoyed. 

As a result of the rush I don't have everyone's scores, but some players must have donated to Peter's $70 win, including me.  I lost $20.  Very few playable hands for me.  I think Ed suffered hard this week. 

I took him in one hand where I flopped trip sevens, slow played in early position, called Ed's bets until the river where I check raised him with an all-in (not much left of my chips at that point) after it gave me a full house.  Since I showed no strength, he was understandably surprised.

I am sorry for the confusion on high hand payouts Greg.  I'm going to just pay out of my pocket and not have the little piles.  I'll collect and pocket the money at the beginning,  do the math a to how many players are in, keep record of the players, and then count the money out of my wallet in front of the winner.
Much easier with less chance of confusion. 
I did count three times, one dollar at a time, but if you did lose a buck or two, just think of it as your donation to the new playing cards.

Greg won the high hand with kings full of jacks.
Jim took the Aces cracked, his trip Aces beat by a straight.
Dewey caught quad sevens after 4 PM.

Just a review on the rules of the two bonuses.  We play the high hand until 4PM  each day unless we have a table of folks all staying until a later time who agree to extend the bonus. Then it can be extended, but the extension for that bonus needs to be made before the cards are dealt. Folks arriving late or leaving earlier than 4 PM do suffer some reduction in odds to hit it.  If you hold the high hand and have to leave before 4 PM, I'll pay you the following week if that hand  holds up until 4 PM, but if someone beats it before 4 PM, you lose.

Aces cracked is very different.  If it is not hit and anyone leaves, s/he gets a dollar back on the way out.  It can be extended for as long as the game lasts.
Also, once it is hit, we can start a new Aces cracked bonus if anyone is interested.  Charlie asked about that.  I'm happy to restart it because I hate the heavy losses of Aces cracked.

Both high hand and Aces Cracked are totally optional and no one needs to participate. Not even any peer pressure on those, Just a bit of a fun side bet.

Ezzy would have won high both high hand awards again after his two week in a row victory.  However, the good hands that would have qualified for the $$$  Ezzy overbet to push out the straddle and double straddle, and so they were not given the chance to develop.

Jerry "Goat" Silver.    SILVER!!!  was fondly remember for the shake of his head as he folded and his mournful, "What a shame!"

Oh, if there are any Elvis lovers out there who would like some old calendars or an old Elvis era photo, Greg has them in the sale section of SOS.  Email him for price and have him save them for you.

See you all next week.
Gail, we all expect you.
Great seeing you again Chuckmonk.  Try to keep your family from visiting, so they don't preclude the truly important things in your life.  Or bring them along. 

Jay.....you fink......

Please respond to this newsletter using the reply-all function.  It is meant to be discussion, not lecture.









 

Saturday, August 1, 2015

Gregg's draft

I have been working on my cartomancy skills in preparation for Wednesday's game.  I may have done something wrong however, when I focused the magic on Jay.


I keep inviting him to the games.  Maybe he'll show up.

See you all on Wednesday.  Bring a friend.  Keep the poker alive.