Turning Stone

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Turning Stone The Poker

As is generally the case, the players at the Turning Stone tables were for the most part dull.

Mike from Colonie, an ex prison worker who did some scared straight programs for Albany High, was talkative and funny.  Most other people were just playing the game.  No stories.

Some of the dealers were engaging.

Promotions were good and attracted the better players.   A half hour high hand paid $200 and the bad beat is up to over $350,000.  I played well, but came out $10 behind after a few hours of play.  It was hard to keep the tables full.  They opened six tables and these dwindled.  It was hard to get them to move us.  They like lots of tables because it increases their rake and dealer tips.

One old fellow drove me nuts.  He tapped is hands and so I had to hold up to see if he was really checking or not.  Then too he talked about the bad beat in a way that might jinx it were it to hit.  Many of us tried to explain that this could allow the casino not to pay, but then later dealers seemed to point out possibilities as well.  So, who knows.

I found out that the main casino offers free coffee and soda that can be accessed by us rather then delivered by the waitress.  No free alcohol here.  But that is good.  I can't entertain myself long enough and there is that drive back.

I loved the no highways ride back to Utica.  I just stay on the one road that passes Turning Stone and it takes me directly to the hotel.  No Thruway tolls and just as fast a ride with less traffic.  Easy.  Nice to have the GPS teach this to me.

DAY 2

I went over for the morning high hand session, from noon to five.  I was the first there at about ten and the room was  empty. 

I decided to amuse myself with some video poker in spite of the very poor pay tables.   I rarely do this.  I amused myself on a Double Double Bonus 6/5 until I lost $60.  This is the worst VP I've played in my life.  94%. 
By then the craps table was full of folks and I used my $10 matchplay and lost that.

There was no game yet.

Just outside the poker room I sat down at a fish barrel slot.  I never play slots, but at one nickle a spin I thought I would amuse myself.  I hit a bonus and the bonus spins did well.  When they opened my table I cashed my $20 out for $98.  Very ironic.

By the time I quit at 5 PM my score for the day was minus one dollar.

I was pretty hungry and went to the Savoy for a fine meal. 

https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=360069252682634449#editor/target=post;postID=7847221253451772432 I had thought about going to the movies, but instead I went back  for the second session, going from 7PM until 10PM.  I had good cards and I played well.  When I cashed out, my score for the trip was plus $68.

It was a good table with joking players.  Most of the players were good, but there was enough playing poorly to make the pots in general fairly large.  My closest to a high hand was flopped quad fours.  Aces were already on the board, but I did make money.  Later, I got a full house, but there was a higher one on the board.  There were fewer players than on Sunday, and so the odds of hitting a high hand were better.  I think other trips will be weekday trips.  The high hand brings in the players,

There was not much interesting conversation, however.  And there were two annoying issues.  One fellow who seemed nice enough kept trashing my play to the young woman social studies teacher to his left.  First, it was to point out the ridiculous habit of raising and then folding.  I had raised preflop with A-K off and when the board did not support it, I folded.  I said that to him.  Then in a head to head with him, I raised on top two pair, J-9 with a pair of 5's on the board.  He had a five and so I lost the pot.  So he went on about how he did not know why I raised into him.  When I did, he thought I must at least have a 5.  I got ticked and asked him why he needed to debase my hand.  He apologized.  He seemed a good fellow, but I had listened to enough.  I need to stop letting those negative bits affect me.  I have a short temper these days. Later, we joked once.  It was over.  

A woman Shirley had come from Rochester on the bus.  She played during the day session and was very , very tight.  She did not lose much.  I tried to stay out of hands with her, but for a preflop raise I could generally count on her folding.

She joked a good bit.  She hit one high hand.  She also asked about the art museums and NARM.  She praised the Rochester museums.  She had a tough time when Kodak went bankrupt.  Her husband lost his job and his pension.  

The Filipino fellow who jokingly called himself Don Pedro came around after the high hand awards were over and sat to my right.  I had played with this fellow the day before and I liked him.  He was fairly new to the game,   He had a quirky sense of humor and he made little jokes.  At one point he moved like he was going to push all-in and then folded.  The Slink joke move I call it after my old poker buddy Slink who amused himself in the same way at home games.  Because he had made those motions the dealer insisted he raise the pot.  The cards had not mucked.  He called the floor. Don Pedro complied without argument to avoid the floor.  When the pot was reraised, he folded and within a hand or two he packed up his chips and left.  "You can't joke around here anymore" he said.

There was talk and so I spoke up for the newness of the player, and the dealer kept coming into the conversation with his same, worn rule argument.  I told him I got all that.  I was just explaining how it was from the perspective of Don Pedro.  Then some woman who made a habit of checking and betting out of turn, who always seemed to think that the button acted first, said, "Well, you can't fool around at a poker table."  I just laughed at her.  

I understand the sense of no collusion in high hand play, but clearly the dealers were all on edge enforcing it, sometimes annoyed with the threat of job loss, sometimes annoyed at player ignorance of rules.  The no talking rules have to be looked at in the context of other casinos around the country.  It is very common to have an expression like "Spread the pot" to signal that the player had the high hand and just needs one more bet.  Many casinos don't care about enforcement.

In general all the dealers were very efficient and better than I remember.  They knew how to call the game.

One brush talked to me about my writing.  He had seen some of it, but he may also have confused me with another writer of more stature.  It was fine to be noticed.  He was a very fine fellow too.

I missed Don Pedro because he laughed a good bit and we had become friendly.  His very quiet and inverted friend watched the game from behind and smiled when I tried to get him to play.  They were from Kingston, Canada.  He introduced me as Don Dewey.

That took the edge off the evening for me and within a few hands I packed it up for the night. Probably a good thing.  I don't leave with profit often.

I had bought in for $60 and again for $40 and been down below the $40 until I started to improve, so my $59 winnings meant I had won back over $100 from my lowest point.  

These fellows seemed like good players, but they did not seem to register my tight play.  Pocket Aces on the button when raised and an Ace flopped got folks betting in to me.  That was a good hand.

In another I had the king high club flush and check raised on the river to two pair.  In another a very good player and I each had a king when the flop came K-K-8.  Mine was with an 8.  Again, there was no high hand.  I just called the first $2 bet and others bet behind me.  The fellow check raised me on the turn and I reraised and was called on the river.  He had K-Q, but I had the nut.

Very few bad beat jackpot possibilities.  The players were better about not talking about it, but not perfect.  We had to educate folks again.  Dealers said they had been admonished at meetings with the threat of job loss if they did not tighten up on talk around the bonus pays and the casino had refused to pay a few bad beat jackpots.

So there it was.

Such a rule nazi atmosphere just takes a bit of fun out of it all.  So, between Connecticut and Turning Stone I am drawn more to Connecticut.  Not as much sense of rigid rules.  Better hotel choices with TCM and refrigerators.  VP that is full pay.  Free drinks add to the value. Turning Stone at $200 has better high hand pays on weekdays.

With the coupons the poker room sends I could probably come out on the bus and go back on the bus for one overnight of about $60 on weekdays.  Some dates in August have $7 Yankee Trails rides. However, it would mean no meal at the Savoy.